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VOliUME'XXV 


O.      UBLISPiGRS. 

211  TRECDONT  ST.  BOSTON- 


Hartford  Hotel, 

>.'H,  181 
-,  182 


'4,  119,  144,   167, 

Building,  160 
•fflce  of.  145 

ecture  in,  97 

w,  18,  234 

Engravings,  46 

e  System,  229 
.    The,  176 
.    The,  217 
•ch  Case.    The, 

•ment  of  the,  2, 
1,234 
.•oposed,  218 

niou.     Decision 


of    the   Milan 

>1  of  the,  50 
60 

aving,  192 
ain  for,  227 
.ildings,  277 
ing  Strength  of,  133 
jscence  on,  1H6, 179 
. I  Weather.  Laying,  1 
Proposed,  236 

'Ound.     Submarine, 

uube.  Proposed,  'J8D 
e.    Coal,  240 
Odin's,  28,  44,  65,  66, 

American   Archi- 


J2 

-hall  Competition, 

ilpts,  12 

y  '1'ower  for  the 

,"  157 

•nt  to  the    Duke 

In  Virginia,  2X0 
ipetition  in,  290 

of  National  As- 
£5,  98, 107 
!,   51,   63,  87,  111, 
231,  267,  291 


diligent,  226 
of  Certain  Coni- 
auses  in,  167 
ual    Payment 
in,  70,  131 

*osed  "  Standard 
,.  for,  92,  107,  131, 


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INDKX    TO   VOLUME:    XXV, 


JANUARY -JUNE,  1889. 


Accident  Insurance,  218 
ACCIDENTS  :  — 
Blowing  up  of  a  Hartford  Hotel,  85, 

134 
Fall  of  an  Elevator  at  Providence,  R. 

I.,  230 

"     "   Floors  in  United  Bank  Build- 
ing, New  York,  85 

"     "       "        "  the   Owings    Build- 
ing,    Chicago,   85, 
134  137 
Acoustic    Properties    of   the    Vienna 

Court  Theatre.  Bad,  266 
Acropolis.  The  Athens,  84 
Affiliation  of  Student  Architectural 

Societies.    The,  14 
"  Age  of  Brass."    Rodin's,  27,  45,  «5,  99, 

112,  249,  263,  283 
A.  I.  A.    The  New.  253 

"          and  the  Western  Association 
of  Architects.    The,  47,  235, 
253 
"         Chicago  Chapter,  10 

Philadelphia  Chapter,  94 
"         Washington  Chapter,  94 
Air-ship.    1  he  I>e  Bausset,  146 
Alaska.    The  Forests  of,  264 
Albany   Assembly   Chamber    Vault. 

The,  37,86,  07,  134,  169 

Capitol:    Cost  of  the,  49 

"  "          Reported  Settlement 

of  the,  179 

"  "          Reporting  on  the,  49 

Allison,  Builder.    Death  of  Walter,  169 
Alternating  and    Continuous    Electric 

Currents,  13 
American  Architect    Broken    Volumes, 

253 

-'*  Travelling-schol- 

arship.   The,  24, 
206,  241 
"          Architecture.    A  Foreigner's 

Views  of,  242,  243 

"         Fine  Arts  Society.    Incorpo- 
ration of,  301 

"  American  Mansions."    Pfeift'er's,  227 
Americas.    Proposed  Exhibition  by  the 

Three,  265 
Ancient   Art.    The    Lotus  in,  66,  115, 

148,  200,  225,  308 

Authemion  aud  Lotus  in  Art,  308 
Apartment-house  Fire.    An,  79 
Apartment-houses  in  Washington,  294 
Applied    Mechanics.    International 

Congress  of,  163 

Aqueduct.    The  Washington,  146, 169 
Arch  In  New   York  City.    Centennial, 

230,238 

"      of  Aurelius  at  Tripoli.    The,  1KO 
"      I  irigin  of  the,  141 
Archaeological  Camping  in  Arizona,  8, 

15,  32,  43 

AHCH-KOLOGICAL  :  — 
Ancient  Tombs  at  Naples,  276 
Arch  of  Aurelius  at  Tripoli,  180 
Babylonian  Expedition.    The,  267 
Camping  in  Arizona,  8,  15,  32,  43 
Casa  Urande.     Ruin  of,  15,  192 
dirt  Dwellings  in  Morocco,  118 
Egypt.    Explorations  in,  276 
Hawara  Pyramid.    Opening  the,  82, 

185 

Lotus  in  Ancient  Art.    The,  06,  115, 
148,  200,  225 


:  ARCHJCOLOGH  AL  :  — 

Phillippe  Pot.    The  Tomb  of,  27S 

Ruins  at  Paleuque,  Mexico,  95 

Sepulchre  of  Ameneinhat  III,  185 

Susa.    Discoveries  at,  22 
ARCHITECT  :  — 

Boston  City,  145 

Charges  against  the  Supervising,  1, 
37,  109 

of  the  Milan  Cathedral  Parade.    The, 
122 

Responsibility  of  an,  61,  143,  170 

Supervising.    1  he  New,  145,  233 

Suit  for  Extra  Services,  217 
AKC  HITECTS  :  — 

Convention    of    Western  New    York 
Association  of,  73 

Frauds  on,  159 

Grievances  of,  159 

and  Heat  Contractors,  62 

Internal  ional  Congress  ot,  98,  158 

a  Lien?    Have,  104 

in  Texas.    Examination  of,  205,  231 

"       "      Licensing,  251 

New  Tariff  of  Swiss,  110 

On-ario  A»sociation  of,  137, 188,  235 

Responsibility  of,  61,  143, 170 

Texas  State  Association  of,  251 

Western  Association  of,  10,  235,  253 
ARCHITECTS'  :  — 

Designs.    Compensation  for,  105 

Club  of  St.  Louis,  215 

Extras  and  Municipalities,  205 

Guaranteeing  the  Cost  of  Buildings, 
98 

Protective  Associations,  159 

Schedule  of  Charges,  254 

ARCHITECTURAL  :  — 
Adjuncts.  Equestrian  Monuments  as, 

39,  171 

Association.    The  English,  138 
Associations  in  Canada,  189 

"  Consolidation  of,  37,  47, 

235,253 
Club.    Boston,  94,  119,   144,  167,  227, 

300 

Drawing.    Books  on,  108 
Education  at  Columbia  College,  11, 

95 

Evolution,  141 
Fellowship   for    Columbia    College. 

An,  265 

Guild.    Toronto,  35,  81, 137, 189 
Instruction  at  the  Chicago  Art  Insti- 
tute, 79 

League  Exhibition.    The,  17,  29 
Library  of  the  N.  Y.  Y.  M.  (J.  A.,  119 
Shades  and  Shadows,  88,  125,  175 
Societies.    The  Affiliation  of  Student, 

14 
Style,  248 

ARCHITECTURE  :  — 
Canadian  School  of,  35 
Color  in  Grecian,  29,  71,  94,  159 
Combustible.  11,  54,  59 
Foreigner's  Views  of  American.    A, 

242,  243 
in  Boston.    Cost  of  Official,  97 

"  New  York,  80 

"  Philadelphia,  233 
Style  in,  248 


Arena  at  Verona.     The,  247 

Arizona.    Archieolngieal    Camping    in, 

8,  15,  32,  43 

Arsenic  in  wall-paper.    Test  for,  182 
Arsenical  Poisoning,  206 
Art  Associations  in  Canada,  29*! 
"    Exhibitions  in  London,  140,  255 

"  "  New  York,  136 

"    Institute.    The  Chicago,  79 
"    League,  New  York.    National  Free, 

301 
"    Lotus  in  Ancient,  66,  113,  148,  200, 

225,  308 

"    ill  the  Modern  State,  239 
"    Rodin's  Ideas  on,  261 
"    Romanticism  in,  257 
"    Tariff  on  Works  of,  !>7 
Artaxerxes.    The  Palace  of ,  22 
"  Artistic  Japan,"  274 
Asphalt  Pavements,  277.  2'J5 
Association  of    Architects.      Proposed 
Ontario  Provincial, 
137 

"  "    Master  Builders.    Con- 

vention of  National, 
85,  98,  107 
Associations.      T  h  e    Consolidation    of 

Architectural,  ."7,  47,  235,  253 
Athens.    The  Acropolis  at,  84 
Athletic  Club's  Building.     Boston,  160 
Augusta,  Me.,  State-house.    The.  17s 
Autumn  Journeys  in  Mexico,  282,  305 
Awning-hinges,  5 


Babylonian  Expedition.    The,  276 
Balloons  in  Warfare,  146 
BALTIMORK  :  — 

Building  in,  186 

City    Officials    D  is  regard   Private 
Rights.     How,  186 

Court-house    Building.     Proposed 
Alterations  in  the,  186 

Letters  from,  186,  236 

Wai  ers  Art  Collection.    The,  236 
Banking-room.    A  Huge,  233 
Hanqnet  to  trench  Prize-uien.    A,  US 
Barye's  Bas  relief  of  Napoleon,  173 
"        Lion  on  the  Bastille  Column, 

156 

Basque  Border-land.    In  the,  258 
Bastieii-Lepage.    Rodin's  Statue  of,  199 
Bath-house.    A  German  Public,  26 
Baths  of  Ancient  Rome.     Hot,  118 
Battles.    Mediaeval,  207 
Belgian  Palace  of  Justice.    Cost  of,  49 
"       Theatre.    Competition  for  a,  25 
Bell  Hardware,  292 
Bellite  Experiments,  168 
Berlin  Real  Kstate,  98 

'*      The  Techuische  Hoehschule  of, 

211,290 

"  Biblicou  "  Tower  Swindle.    The,  157 
Black  Pigment.    A  New,  170 
Blake.    Resolutions  of  Respect  to  the 

late  H.  M.,  119 
Blind-fasts,  3 

Blomfleld,  knighted.    A.  W.,  302 
Blowing  up  of  a  Hartford  Hotel,  85, 

134 
Blue  Pigment.    A  New,  170 

"     Printing.    A  new  Device  for,  26 
Board  of  Trade  Building.    Toronto,  81, 

95,  236 


Boiler  Explosion  in  a  Hartford  Hotel, 

85,  134 

"      Explosions,  85,  134,  191 
"      Tubes.    Flanged,  182 
Books,  71,  215 
BOSTON  :  — 
Architectural  Club,  94,  119,  144,   167, 

227,  300 

Athletic  Association's  Building,  160 
City  Architect.    The  Office  of.  145 
Cost  of  Official  Architecture  in,  97 
Court-house.    The  New,  18,  234 
Exhibition  of  Diirer's  Engravings,  46 
Letter  from,  234 

Metropolitan  Sewerage  System,  229 
Museum  of  Fine  Arts.    The,  176 
Public  Library  Floors.    The,  217 
Spiritual  Temple  Porch  Case.    The, 

143 
State-house.    Enlargement  of  the,  2, 

8,  13,  18,  25,  31,  61,  193,  234 
Trade  Schools  for.    Proposed,  218 
B  mlder-walls,  144 
Boycotting  a  Trade   Union.     Decision 

against  a,  50 
Brackets,  207,  291 
Brentano,  Architect   of    the   Milan 

Cathedral  Facade,  122 
Bressa  Prize.    Award  of  the,  50 
Brick  Foundations,  60 

"     for  a  Street  Paving,  192 
"     Walls.    A  Stain  for,  227 
"      veneered  Buildings,  277 
Brickwork.   Crushing  Strength  of,  133 
Efflorescence  on,  156, 179 
in  Cold  Weather.  Laying,  1 
Bridge  at  Quebec.    Proposed,  236 
"       St.  Louis,  48 
"       under  the  Sound.     Submarine, 

312 

Bridges  over  the  Danube.  Proposed,  289 
Briquettes  in  France.    Coal,  240 
"  Broken  Nose."    Rodin's,  28,  44,  65,  66, 

99,  113,249,263 

Broken   Volumes  of   American    Archi- 
tect, 253 
Bronze  Castings,  156 

"        Malleable,  312 
Brockton,  Mass.  City-hall  Competition, 

301 
Brooklyn  Bridge  Receipts,  12 

"        N.  Y.    Lofty  Tower  for  the 

"Biblicon,"157 
Brunswick.     Monument  to  the    Duke 

of,  298 

Bruton  Parish  Church  In  Virginia,  280 
Buenos  Ayres.    A  Competition  in,  290 
Builders.    Convention  of  National  As- 
sociation of  Master,  85,  98,  107 
Builders'  Hardware,  3,  51,  63,  87,  111, 

123,  147,  183,  196,  219,  231,  267,  291 
BUILDING  :  — 
in  Baltimore,  186 
Committee.    The  Intelligent,  226 
Contracts.    Futility  of  Certain  Com- 
mon Clauses  in,  167 
T  h  e    Final    Payment 

Clause  in,  70,  131 

"  The  Proposed  ••  Standard 

Form"  for,  92,  107, 131, 
155 

Laws.    French,  26 
Paper,  251,  258 

"       Still-wax  for,  258 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.  —  Index. 


[VOL.  XXV. 


BUILDING  :  — 

Safe,  285 

Speculation  in  Borne,  278 
Burning  of  Rome.    The,  84 


Calais  Monument.    Rodin's,  198 
Cambridge,  Mass.    New  Buildings 

234 
Campanile.    History  of  the  Florence 

IM 
Canada.    Letters  from,  35,  81,  137,  188 

235,  295 

Canadian  Art  Associations,  296 
"         Competitions,  31 
"        Engineering  Projects,  35 
"        Royal  Academy.    The,  296 
"        School  of  Architecture,  35 
Canal.    The  Corinth,  202 

"        The  Nicaragua,  206,  273 
"       The  Panama,  132,  206 
"        The  Suez,  276 
Canal-boat  Elevator.    A,  206 
Candles.    A  rsenic  in  Colored,  206 
Capitals  of  Italy.    Among  the,  163 
Capitol.    Cost  of  the  United  States,  49 
Carbon-soda  Stove.    The,  278 
Carpentry  and  Joinery.    Chapters  fron 

the  History  of,  128 
Carving.    Stone,  121,  233 

"          Wood,  130 
Casa  Grande.    Kuin  of,  192 
Castings  from  Bronze,  156 
Cat  Stories.    Some,  194 
Catalogues.    A  New  Thing  in,  192 
Cathedral.    New  York  Episcopal,  121 
181.  239,  241,  2S3,  275,296 
"  Peklu,    The  New,  72 

"  Verona.    The,  248 

Ceiling  of  the  Albany  Assembly-Cham 

her  Vault.    The,  37,  86,  97,  134,  16'J 
Cellars.    Water-tight,  179,  215 
Cements  and  Mortars,  177 
Centennial    Arch    in    New  York  City, 

230,  238 

Century  of  British  Art.    A,  140 
Charge?.    Architect's  Schedule  of,  254 
"          of  Swiss  Architects,  110 

CHICAGO  :  — 

Art  Institute.    Exhibitions  at  the.  7!) 
Fall  of  Floors  in  the  Owings  Build- 
ing, 85.  134,  137 
Fires  in.  79 

Letters  from,  79,  137,  235,  29.'! 
Umce-buildings  in.    High,  29:1 
Opera-bou?e.     Burning  of  the,  79 
Standard  Club-house.    The,  137 
Tacoma  Building.    The,  -'94 
Chimney  Construction.    Factory,  132 
"        Flues.    Action  of  Creosote  <>n, 

276 

Chimneys,  214 

Christ  Church,  Bruton  Parish,  Va..  280 
Church  burned.    An  Old  Norwegian,  16 
"       of  Guaiialupe,  Mexico.    '!  he,  60 
"       moved  by  a  Tree-  root,  40 
Churches.    Montreal ,  35 
City  Architect  of  Boston.    The,  145 
"    hall    Competition.      Brockton, 

Mass..  301 

Clerk-of-works  Question.    The,  157,  254 
Cliff-dwellings  in  Morocco,  118 
"Close  Call."    A,  60 
Closet-fittings.  267 
Coal  Briquettes  in  France,  240 
Coffee.    Artificial,  278 
Cold  Weather.    Laying  Masonry  in,  1 
Colleoni,  Statues  of,  269 
Colonial  Work   of   Virginia  and  Mary- 
land.   Old,  279,  303 
Colony  Days  in  Virginia.    Old,  281 
Color    in   Greek.     Architecture.      The 

Use  of,  29,71,  94,  159 
"       in  Nature  and  Art,  142 
Colors.    New,  170 

Columbia  College.    Architectural  Edu- 
cation at,  1 1 ,  95 

"  "         Architectural    Fel- 

lowship for,  265 

"  "         New  School  of  Elec- 

t rlcal  Engineer- 
ing at,  38 
Columbus   Architectural   Sketch-Club, 

83 

Combustible  Architecture,  11,  54,  59 
Commissions.    Illegal,  f& 
Compensation.    Suit  for  Extra,  235 
Competition.    Idea.     An,  266 

"  New  Condition  of,  98 

COMPETITION  :  — 
Brockton,  Mass.    City  Mall,  301 
Canton,  O.    School-house,  1"5 
Decorating  the  Hotel  de  Ville,  Paris, 

218 

Enlargement  of  the  State-house,  Bos- 
ton, 2,  8,  13,  18,  25,  31,  61,  193,  234 
Laving  out  St.  Petersburg,  302 
Milan   Cathedral.      Winner   of    the, 

122 
New  York  Episcopal  Cathedral,  121, 

181.  23!),  241.  253.  275,  296 
Competitions  in  tfueuos  Ayres,  290 

in  Canada,  81,  235 
"  Foreign  and  American 

Methods  in,  133 
"  Humorous  Side  of,  81 

Swindling,  159 
COMPETITIONS  :  — 
Belgian  Theatre,  25 
Business  Block  in  Montreal,  189 
Grant  Monument,  25 
Lowell  City-hall,  LSI 
Maine  State-house.    The,  178 
Ontario  Parliament-House,  81 
School-house,  47,  105,  145 
Toronto  Board  of  Trade,  81,  95 


Compressed  Air  System.  The  Popp,  11 
Concord  Granite.    Pointing  for,  263 
Concrete-filled  Walls,  188 

"       Work.    Cost  of,  69 
Cmdottieri.    The,  190,  207,  269 
Congress  of  Applied  Mechanics.    Inter 

national,  163 
"        "  Architects.    Internationa 

98,158 
Consolidation  of  Architectural  Associa 

tions.    The,  37,  47,  235,  253 
Conspiracy.    A  Question  of,  157 
Construction.    Slow-burning,  11,  54,  5 
Continuous  Electric   Currents.    Alter 

nating  and,  13 

Contract.  Failure  to  fulfil  a  Paving,  21 
"         Form  of  Notice  to  Terminate 

105 
Contract.  A  Question  of,  299 

"         The    Uniform    Building,   92 

107, 131, 155 
Contracts.     Futility   of   Certain  Con 
111011  Clauses  in  Building 
167 
"  Final  Payment  Clause  in 

Building,  70,  131 
Contracts.     Proposed     "Standar 

Form"  for  Building,  92,  107,  131,  15f 
Convention  of  National  Association  o 
Master-Builders,  85,  ?8 
107 

"  Western  New  York  As 
sociation  of  A  r  c  h  i 
tects,  73 

Cooperative  Building  in  Prussia,  74 
Jopper,  230 

Corinth  Canal.    The,  202 
~!orot  and  Others  in  London.    Pictures 

by,  257 

Corrections,  11,83 
Cost  of  Official  Architecture  in  Boston 

•I  he,  97 

"  Various  Public  Buildings,  40 
Uourt-house  designed  by  Wren.    A  Vir 

ginian,  279 

"  The  New  Boston,  18,  234 

"  The  Toronto,  295 

Court-martial  on  Major  Lydecker.    The, 
146,  169,  229 
remation  in  Paris,  180 
Creosote   on    Chimney    Flues.    Action 

of,  276 
Crushing  Strength  of  Brickwork.    The, 

133 

Customs-duties  in  France.  64 
Jypriote  Art,  67,  68,  69,  116,  117 


)anger  from  Alternating  and  Continu- 
ous Currents,  13 

)avid  and  Napoleon  1 .    The  Painter,  230 

)ead.    Dessicatirg  the,  278 

)eaths  on  the  Forth  Bridge,  252 

designs    for    Public    Buildings.      The 
European  Method  of  Procuring,  133 

Jessicating  the  Dead,  278 

Detroit  Architectural  Sketch-Club.  239 

Jieulafoy's  Discoveries  at  Supa,  22 

Mscoums.    List  Prices  and  Trade,  169 

)onatello,  165,  272 

>oor    for   the  Museum    of  Decorative 
Art.     Kodin's,  101,  199,  223,  249 

)oor-hnnger.    The  Prescott,  168 

)oor-knobs,  219,  231 

)oors,  193 

"      Old  Monastery,  156 
irainage,  245,  255 

)rains  in  London.    Bad,  192 

)raughtsmeu.      The    Government  Ex- 
amination for,  £3 

)rawing.    Books  on  Architectural,  108 
"          in  Kansas  City.    School  of, 

193 
rawings.    Blue-printing  Large,  26 

by  Rodin,  260 

"  New  Method  of  Reproduc- 

ing, 26 
The  Ownership  of,  168 

)ry-dock  at  Newport  News,  Va.    The, 
216 
Tying  up.    Western  Lakes,  275 

>uel.    An  Electrical,  13 
iirer's  Engravings.    Exhibition  of,  46 
nty  paid  on  a  Pharaoh.  64 


:arthquake-proof  Houses,  170 
arthquakes,  90,  135, 179 
Earthworks.    Cost  of  Miscellaneous,  69 
ducation  in  Berlin.   Technical,  211,  290 
(florescence  on  Brickwork,  156,  179 
gg-and-dart  Moulding.    The,  225 
gypt  Exploration  Fund.    The,  276 
gyptian  Encaustic  Proce»s.    The,  288 
iffel  Tower.    Painting  the,  170 

"         Preparing  for  a  Settling 

of  the,  95 
"         Royalties    on     Sale    of 

Views  of  the,  182 
"         Vertically  of  th«,  182 
lastic  Sandstone,  204 
t.KCTBic:  — 

Currents.     Dispute  as   to  the  Com- 
parative  Dangerougness  of   Alter- 
nating  and  Continuous,  13 
Heating.    Domestic,  251 
Indicator  for  Lightning  rods,  312 
Light.    A  Travelling,  86 
Lighting,  12 

Railway.    A  Private,  290 
lectrical  Engineering  at  Columbia  Col- 
lege.   New  School  of,  38 
"        Treatment  of  Sewage,  213 


Electricity.    Execution  by,  289 
"  Pel  ling  Trees  by,  95 

"  Heating  by,  251 

Elevator  Accident  at  Providence,  R.  I., 

230 

"       A  Canal-boat,  206 
Emancipation  Monument.    An,  144 
Encaustic  Process.    The  Old  Egyptian, 

288 
Engine  Foundations,  48 

7l       In  the  World.    The  Largest,  2iK> 
ENGINEERING  :  — 
Aqueduct.    The  Washington,  146, 169 

229 

Bridge  at  Quebec.    Proposed,  236 
"      The  St.  Louis,  48 
"       under  the  Sound.    Submarine 

312 
Bridges  over  the  Danube.    Proposed 

289 
Canal.    The  Corinth,  202 

"       The  Nicaragua,  206,  273 
Canal.    The  Panama,  132,  206 

,  "       The  Suez,  276 
Dry-dock  at  Newport  News.  Va.,  216 
Elevator.    A  Canal-boat,  206 
Embankment  Proposed  at  Montreal 

137 

Flume.    The  San  Diego,  287 
Matters  in  Canada,  35, 137 
Railway.    A  South  American  Trans 

Continental,  266 
"          The  Trans-Asian  205 
Ship-railway  in  Canada,  189 
Tunnel.    The  Hudson  River,  242 

"         The  St.  Clair,  236 
Tunnelling    the    North    and    Eas 

Rivers,  New  York,  120 
Underground  Railway  for  Paris,  228 
Work.      Cost    of     Executing    some 

Classes  of,  69 
Kngineeis'  Club  of  Philadelphia,  177 

Society  of  Western  Pennsyl 

vania,  83,  105,  177,  27S 
Kngravings.    Exhibition  of  Diirer's,  46 
[Enlarging  the  Maine  State-house,  178 
Episcopal    Cathedral,  New   York,  121 

181,  239,  241,  253,  275,  2% 
Equestrian    Monuments,    39,    171     190 

207,  209,  297 
Estimates    for    the    Paris    Exposition 

Buildings,  110 
Eucalyptus-tree  Roots,  46 
Evolution.    Architectural,  141 
Examination   of   Architects  in  Texas 

205,  261 
Excavating  Streets  in  Frosty  Weather 

73 
Excursion  to  the  Paris  Exposition.    A 

Workingmen's,  241 
Execution  by  Electricity,  289 
Exhaust  Steam.    Healing  by,  24 
EXHIBITION  :  — 

at  Philadelphia.    An  Industrial  Art 

254 
by  the  Three  Americas.  Proposed, 

265 
of  the  Architectural  League.  The, 

of  Diirer's  Engravings,  46 
EXHIHITIOXS  :—  | 
Floating,  228 
in  New  York.    Art,  136 
Industrial  Art,  238 
International,  139 
Explanation.    A  Personal,  106 
^xposition    Buildings.     Estimates   for 

the  Paris,  110 
Power  at  the  Paris  122 
Visits  to  the,  306 
xtinguisbing  Fire  by  Steam,  242 
Extra  Services.     Architect's  Suit  for 


217 

xtras  and  Municipalities.    An  Archi- 
tect's, 205 


'actory  Chimney  Construction.  132 

Mutual  Insurance  Companies. 

Report  of  the,  110 

'all  of  Floors  in  the  Owiugs  Building 
Chicago,  85,  134,  137 
"  United    Bank    Build- 
ing, New  York,  85 
'amily  Pews,  188 

rans  as  Sanitary  Agents  in  China,  312 
'ees  on  Party-walls,  119 
"elllng  Trees  by  Electricity.  98 
fellowship  for  Columbia  College     An 
Architectural,  265 
fertilization  by  Sewage,  266 
"evers.    Malarial,  245,  255 
'ine  Arti  Commission.    A  New  French 

156 

Society,  New  York.    Incorpo- 
ration of  the  American,  301 
Ire  in  the  Quirinal  Palace,  Rome,  38 
"    on  the  Hearth  Stove.    The,  71 

"  Shipboard     »xtinguithed    with 

Steam,  242 

'iremen.    A  Hint  for,  229 
^reproof  Theatre.    A,  79 
~ireproofing  Wood,  312 
"IKES:  — 
Report  of  Factory  Mutual  Insurance 

Companies  on,  110 
in  Chicago,  79 
Theatre,  1 
ixtures,  83 

lexible  Foundations,  GO 
loating  Inhibitions,  228 
loors.    Hospital  and  Barrack,  205 
lorence  Campanile.  History  of  the,  194 

"        Vandalism  in,  120 
lume.    The  San  Diego,  287 


Foreign  Views  of  American  Architec- 
ture, 242,  243 
Foresti  of  Alaska.    The,  264 

"       "  Guateraela.    The,  263 
Forth  Bridge.    Deaths  on  the,  252 
Foundations.    Brick,  60 
"  Engint,  48 

"  Flexible.  60 

Francis  I.    Monument  to,  298 
Frauds  on  Architects,  159 
Free  Art  League,  New  York.    National, 

301 
Freezing  Process  in  Building,  240 

"       Weather.  Laying  Masonry  In,  1 
Fremlet's  Joan  of  Arc,  242 
French  Architects.    Woes  of,  159 
"       Building  Laws.  26 
"       Paintings  Exhibited  in  London, 

256 

Frost-proof  Mortar,  1 
Fungus  under  Floors.    Mould  and,  205 
Furnished  Houses.    Liability  of  Land- 
lords of,  228 


Galliera.    The  Dnchesse  de,  24 
Galliera's  Revenge.  The  Ducketse  de,  48 
Gamier  on  Sign-boards.    Charles,  241 
Garnier's  History  of  Habitations  at  the 

Paris  Exposition.    Charles,  241 
Gas-fitter.    A  Dishonest,  47,  59 
"    Piping  a  House  for,  47,  59 
"    rates  in  England,  50 
"   stoves  Harmless?    Are,  158 
Gate.    One  Way  to  get  a,  274 
Gate-hardware,  292 
Gattamelata  Statue  of,  271 
German  Methods  in  Competition,  133 
"       View   of   American    Architec- 
ture.   A,  243 
Giotto's  Work  on  the  Campanile,  194 
Glazing  with  Old  Negatives,  182 
Government  Examination  for  Draughts- 
men.   The.  83 
Gradlon.    King,  40 
Grain.    The  Flow  of,  144 
Granite.    Pointing  for  Concord,  263 
Grant  Monument  Competition.    The,  25 
Greek  Architecture.    The  Use  of  Color 

in,  29,  71,  94,  159 

Guadalupe,  Mexico.    The  Church  of,  60 
Guaranteeing   the  Cost   of   Buildings. 

Architects,  98 

Guaranty  given  by  Makers  of  Heating- 
appliances,  62 

Guatemala.    The  Forests  of,  263 
Gutters,  102 

Gymnasium.    A  New  Bnston,  160 
Gymnasiums.    Swiss  School,  254 


Habitations  at  the   Paris   Exposition. 

A  History  of.  241 
Half-timbered  Work,  128 
Hall,  Author.    Death  of  S.  C.,  181 

"    New  Staircase  in  Westminster,  302 
Hammer-beam  Roofs,  128 
Hapsburgs.    New  Tomb  for  the,  48 
Hardware.     Builders',  3,  51,  63,  87,  111, 

123,  147,  183,  195,  219,  231,  267,  291 
'  Harlequin   Gorgeousness "    of  Greek 

Architecture.    The,  29,  71,  94 
Hartford  Hotel.    Blowing  up  of  a,  85 
Harvard  College  Buildings,  234 
Hathorne,  Architect.    Death  of  George, 

38 
Hawara  Pyramid.    Opening  of  the,  82, 

185 

Sawkwood.    Sir  John,  190 
law  Pond's  Comings  and  Goings,  288 
leat-contractors  aiid  Architects,  62 
Heating  Buildings  by  Exhaust  Steam, 

24 

"         Domestic  Electric,  251 
•'         and    Ventilating   the    new 
Court-house  at  Boston,  Is, 
leight  of  Buildings.    Restricting  the, 
290 

lemenway.    Camp,  8, 15,  32 
Hemlock  and  Rats,  242,  263 
rlip-rafter.    To  Cut  a,  106 
Historic  Inundations,  312 
History  of  Art,"  92 

'•        "  Habitations   at   the    Paris 

Exposition.    A,  241 
Homes.    Prof.  Norton  on  Old,  233 
Hooks,  268,  291 
Horse.    Donatello's  Model  of  a,  272 

In  Sculpture.    The,  39, 171,  190, 

207,  269,  297 
Horses  of  Italian  Statues.     The,  272, 

287 
Hose-holes  in  Fireproof  Shutters,  86 

"     ports  In  Party-walls,  36 
Hospital  and  Barrack  Floors,  205 

"        at  Montreal.    Royal  Victoria, 

189,236 

lot  Baths  of  Ancient  Rome.  118 
Hot  Water  in  China,  312 
Hotels  in  Washington,  295 
louse  in  New  York.    A  Narrow,  132 
1  udson  River  Tunnel.    The,  242 
iugo.    Rodin's  Bust  of,  113 
[timorous  Side  of  Competitions,  HI 
Hygiene.    Prize  for  a  Text-book  on,  218 


ce-castle.    Montreal,  35 
dea-competition.    An,  266 
llegal  Commissions,  82 
llinois  State  Association  of  Architects, 
106 

Iliterates.    The  Number  of,  31 
Hustons.    Theatrical,  26">,  290 
mportation  of  Labor,  121 


JAN. -JUNE,  1889.]       The  American  Architect  and  Building  News. — Index. 


Incorporation  of   the    American    Fine 

Arts  Society,  301 
India-rubber  Pavement,  252 
Indian  Government  offers  a  Prize  for  a 

Text-book  on  Hyginne.     The.  218 
Indicator  for  Lightning-rods.    Electric, 

312 
Industrial  Art  Exhibition  at  Philadel- 

delphia.    An,  254 

International  Congress  of  Applied  Me- 
ch  an  i  cs, 
163 

"  "          "  Architects 

at  Paris. 
An,  89,  158 

"  Exhibitions,  139 

"  Skilled  Laborers,  121 

Inundations.    Historic.  312 
Ionic  Capital.    The,  66.  115 
Iowa  Soldiers'  Monument.    The,  251 
Iron  and  Steel.    Nature  and  Uses  of, 

285 
"     Columns  In   a  Railroad  Station. 

Patched,  205 

"      smelting.    Silica  In,  288 
"      vs.  Steel,  289 
Italian  Capitals,  163 

"      Cities  —  Verona,  203.  247 
"       School-buildings,  264 
"       Statues.     The    Horses  of,  272, 
287 


"Japan."    "  Artistic,"  274 

Jo»n  of  Arc.    Fremiet'i  Statue  of,  242 

Joinery.    Chapters  from  the  History  of 

Carpentry  and,  128 
Journeys.    Mexican  Autumn,  282,  306 


Kansas  City.    School  of  Drawing,  193 


Labor.    Importation  of,  121 

Troubles,  50,  121 
Lakes  Drying-up.    Western,  275 
Landlord  vs.  Tenant,  239 
Landlords  of  Furnished  Houses.    Lia- 
bility of,  228 
Langlais,  Architect.     The   late  Felix, 

181 

Lead.    An  Empirical  Test  for,  287 
League  Exhibition.    The  Architectural , 

17729 
League,  New  York.    National  Free  Art, 

301 

Leaks  in  roofs,  103 
Leaning  Tower  of   Pisa   as  a  Lottery 

Prize.    The.  242 
LEGAL:— 
Accident  Insurance  Policy.    Failure 

to  recover  on  an,  218 
Boycotting  Trade   Union.     Decision 

against  a,  50 
Compensation  for  Designs,  105 

"  Suit  for  Extra,  217,  235 

Conspiracy.    A  Question  of,  157 
Contract.    A  Question  of,  217  299 

"          Form    of   Notice    to   ter- 
minate, 105 

Contracts.    Futility  of  Certain  Coni- 
"  mon  Clauses  in  Build- 

ing, 167 

"  The    Final     Payment 

Clause  in  Building,  70, 
131 

"  The  Proposed  "  Standard 

Form  "  for  Building,  92, 
107, 131. 155 
Extras  and  Municipalities,  205 
Fees  on  Party-walls,  119 
French  Building-laws,  26 
Heating-apparatus.  A  Question  about 

an  Unsatisfactory  Guaranteed,  62 
Illegal  Commissions,  82 
Liability  of  Landlords,  228 
Lien?    Have  Architects  a,  104 
Lien  Law  In  Rhode  Island.    1'he  New, 

73, 101 

"       "    Lumbermen's,  45. 101, 131 
Liens.     Time  for  Filing  Mechanics, 

104, 105, 131 
"  Notice "  to  an  Architect  was  not 

Binding.    A  Case  where,  109 
Owner's  Kight  to  give  Orders.    An,311 
Ownership  of  Drawings.    The,  16< 
Payment  for  Unexecuted  Plans,  155, 

177 
Porch  Case.    The  Spiritual  Temple, 

143 

Recovery  for  Scamped  Work,  47 
Responsibility  of  an  Architect.    Suit 

to  settle  the,  61, 143,  170 
"Satisfactory  to  Owner."     Meaning 

of,  311 
Suit  for  Damage  by  Overhead  Wires, 

74 
"      "   Extra  Services.    Architect's, 

217,  235 
Leopardi,  269 

Letters  from  Baltimore,  186,  236 
'  "         "     Boston,  234 
"         "     Canada,  35,  81, 188,  '.'35,  29!i 
"  "      Chicago,  79,  137,  235,  293 

"          "      London,  138,  1411.  1*7 

"      New  York,  80,  136,  238,  296 
"          "     Paris,  139 
"         "     Philadelphia,  231 

"     Washington,  34,  294 
Liability    of    Landlords   of    Furnished 

Houses,  228 
Libby  Prison,  80,  235 
Library  Floors.    Spanish  Tile  Vault  for 

the  Boston  Public.  217 
"       of  the  New  York  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
Architectural,  119 


Lien? 


ing 
Ha 


ve  Architects  a,  104 


Lien  Law  in  Rhode  Island.    The  New, 
73,  101 

"       "     Lumbermen's    Demand  for  a 

New,  45,  101,  131 
Liens.    Time  for  Filing  Mechanics,  104, 

105,  131 

I.iernur  Sewerage  System.    The,  5C 
Lighting  by  Electricity,  12 
Lightning-rods.    Electric  Indicator  for, 

312 

List  Prices  and  Trade  Discounts,  169 
Locks,  51,  63,  87,  111,  123,  147,  183,  195 
Locomotives.    Soda,  252 
LONDON  :  — 

Architectural  Association.    The,  138 

"Century    of    British    Art"    at    the 
Grosvtnor  Gallery,  1411 

Drains  in.     Bad,  192 

Examinations.    R.  I.  B.  A.,  188 

Exhibitions.    Art,  140.  255 

French  Paintings  exhibited  in,  257 

Letters  from,  138,  140,  187 

Metropolitan  Board  of  Works  Scan- 
dals.   The,  187 

Monument.    The,  139 

Prize-men  of  the  K.  I.  B.  A.,  138 

Spanish  Exhibition.    The,  50 

St.  Mary-le-Strand,  188 

Water-colors  at  the  National  Gallery, 
197 

Water-supply  of,  55 

Westminster  Abbey,  188 
Lot.    An  Unusable,  14 
Lottery  Prize.    The  Leaning  Tower  of 

Pisa  as  a,  242 
Lotus  in  Ancient  Art.    The,  66,  115,  148, 

200,  225,  308 

Lowell  City  hall  Competition,  181 
Lumbermen's  Demand  for  a  New  Lien 

Law.    The,  45,  101,  131 


Machinery.    Theatrical,  290 

Maine  Capitol.    Enlargement  of  the,  178 

Malaria,  244,  255 

Malatestas.    The,  190,  209 

Malleable  Bronze,  312 

Manor-houses,  129 

"  in  Virginia.    Old,  281 

Marble  Statuary.    Preserving,  230 
Marquand  to  the  Metropolitan  Museum. 

Pictures  given  by  Mr.,  78 
Maryland.    Old  Colonial  Work  of  Vir- 
ginia and.  279,  303 
Masonry.    Cost  of,  70 

in  Cold  Weather.    Laying,  1 
Massachusetts  State  Board  of  Health. 

The,  229 

"  State-house    Extension, 

2,  8,  13.  18,    25,  31,  61, 
193.  234 
Mechanics.    International  Congress  of 

Applied,  163 
Mediasval  Battles,  207 
Metropolitan  Board  of  Works  Scandals. 

The,  187 
"  Museum  of  Art.    The,  77, 

108, 12T 
"  Sewerage  System.     The, 

229 
Mexico.     Autumn    Journeys    in,    282, 

305 

Michael  Angelo.    Rodin  on,  65 
Milan  Cathedral  Facade.    The    Archi- 
tect of  the,  122 
Mllls's  Unpaid  Services  to  the  State  of 

Massachusetts.    Mr.  H.  F.,  229 
Missouri  State  Association   of    Archi- 
tects, 94 

Model  Town.    A,  168 
Montreal  Churches,  35 

"        Ice-Castle.    The,  35 

"        Proposed  Embankment  at,  137 

"        Royal    Victoria  Hospital    at, 

189,  236 
Monument.    An  Emancipation,  144 

London,  l.j., 
,  •••(ui       to  the  Dukeot  Brunswick, 

298 

•Jit; '        "  Francis  I,  299 
!  if.I ,        "  Otho  I,  298 
Monuments.    Designing  Public.  133 

Equestrian,  39,   171,  190, 

207,  269,  297 
Morocco.    Cliff  Dwellings  In,  118 
Mortar.    Frost-proof,  1 
"          Sugar  in,  174 
Mortars  and  Cements.  177 
Mottos,  131 

Mould  and  Fungus  under  Floors,  2nr> 
Municipalities  and  Extras,  205 
Museum   of  Decorative  Art.     Rodin's 
Door  for   the,   101,   199, 
223,  249 

"  "    Fine  Arts,  Boston,  176 

Music-hall  for  New  York.     Proposed, 

145 

Mutual  Insurance  Companies.    Rti(K>rt 
of  the  Factory,  110 


Mails.    A  Keg  of,  211 
Naples.    Ancient  Tombs  at,  276 
Napoleon  I.    The  Painter  David  and,  230 
Narrow  House  in  New  York.     A.  i:1.'.! 

"        Lots.    Ways  of  Using,  14 
National  Exhibits  at  the  Paris  Exposi- 
tion, 158 
1        Free  Art  League.    New  York, 

31)1 

"       Gallery.    Water  colors  at  the, 

in- 
Negative,.    Glazing  with  Old,  182 


Nero's  Burning  of  Rome,  84 
New  Law  Department.    Our,  49,  58 
NKW  YOKK  :  — 
American  Fine  Arts  Society.     Incor- 

poration of  the,  301 
Architectural  League  Exhibition,  17, 

29 

Architecture  in,  80 
Art  Exhibitions  in.  136 
Brooklyn  Bridge  Receipts,  12 
Centennial  Arch  in  Washington  Sq., 

230,  238 

Columbia  College.  An  Architectural 
Fellowship  for, 
265 

"          Architectural  Ed- 

ucational, 11,95 

"          School  of  Electri- 

cal Engineering 

at,  38 

Episcopal     Cathedral     Competition. 

The,  121,  181,  239,  241,  253,  275,  296 
Fall  of  Floors  in  the  United  Bank 

Building,  85 

Letters  from.  80,  136,  238,  296 
Library  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.    Archi- 

tectural, 119 
Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art.    The, 

77,  108,  127 

Music-ball.    Proposed,  145 
Narrow  House.    A,  132 
National  Free  Art  League,  301 
Pavements,  277 
Retirement  of  Mr.  d'Oench,  Chief  In- 

spector of  Buildings,  169 
Sketch  Club,  227 
Sunday  Opening  at  the  Metropolitan 

Museum.    No,  127 
Tiffany  Exhibit  for  the  Paris  Exposi- 

tion.   The,  238 
Tunnelling  the  North  and  East  Rivers, 

120 
Willard  Architectural  Collection,  81, 

107 

Niagara.    The  Recession  of,  264 
Nicaragua  Canal.    The,  206,  273 
Nortou  on  Old  Homes.     Prof.,  233 
Norway.     Burning  of  an  Old  Church 

in.  16 

Notice     to     an     Architect     was 
Binding.    A  Case  where,  109 


not 


OBITUARY  :  — 

Allison.    Walter,  Builder,  169 

Hall.    S.  C.,  Author,  181 

Hathorne.    George,  Architect,  38 

Philbrick.    Edward  S.,  Engineer,  85 
Office-buildings.    High,  293 

"  in  Washington,  34 

Official  Architecture  in  Boston.     The 

Cost  of,  97 
OM    Colonial    Work    of    Virginia    and 

Maryland.  i7!>,  303 
Old  Masters.     Mr.  Marquand's,  78 
Ontario  Association  of  Architects,  137, 

188,  235 
"        Parliament-house  Competition. 

The,  81 
Opera-house.     Burning  of  the  Chicago, 

79 

Orders.    An  Owner's  Right  to  give,  311 
Organ  at  l.ibuu,  Russia.    Church,  119 
Otho  I.     Monument  to,  298 
Overhead  Wires.    Property  Owners  and, 

74 
Owner."    Meaning  of  "  Satisfactory  to, 

311 

Owner's  Kight  to  give  Orders.    An,  311 
Ownership  of  Drawings.    The,  168 


Painting  the  EUfel  Tower,  170 

Paintings.    Aboriginal  Rock,  216 

Paints.    New,  74 

Palace  of  Justice,  Brussels.    Cost  of,  49 

Palmetto.    The  Lotus  and  the,  200 

Panama  Canal.    The,  132,  206 

Paper  for  Building,  251,  258 

"       "          "         Still-wax  for,  258 
Papyrus  and  the  Lotus.    The,  148 
PARIS:  — 
Barye's  Lion  on  the  Bastille  Column, 

156 

Cremation  in,  180 
Decorating  the  Hotel  de  Ville,  218 
Eeole  des  Beaux-Arts.    The,  136 
Eiffel  Tower.    The,  95,  170, 182 
Exposition.    The,  95,  98, 110,  122,  139, 

158,  170,  241.  306 
"  History  of  Habitations 

at  the, 241 
Power  at  the.  122 
Tiffany's    Exhibit    for 

the,  238 
Buildings.    Estimates 

for  the,  110 

International  Congress  of  Applied 
Mech- 
anics, 
163 

"  "  K>      "     Archi- 

tects, 
98,  158 

Letters  from,  139 

Louvre.    Susa  Antiquities  in  the,  '.'2 
Museum  of  Decorative  Art.    Rodin's 

Door  for  the,  101, 199 
Plilllippo  Pot  in    the    Louvre.    The 

Tomb  of,  278 
Popp  Compressed-air   System.    The, 

114 

f'ri  r   tie   llrcnnnaisscence   tJf8    Archi- 
In-tft  Americains.    The,  84,  140 


PARIS  :  — 

Sewerage  Work  in.    New,  266 
Underground  Railway  for,  228 
Parliament  Buildings  in  Toronto  236 
Party-walls.    Fees  on,  119 
Patched  Iron  Columns  in  a  Railroad 

Station,  205 

Pavement.    India-rubber,  262 
Pavements.    City,  192  252,  277  295 
Paving-contractor  in  Toronto  fails  to 

fulfil  his  Contract.    A,  217 
in  Toronto  and  Montreal  295 
"       Street,  252,  277,  295 
Payment  Clause  in  Building  Contracts 

The  Final,  70, 131 

Peer.    Baron  von  Schmidt  made  a  86 
Pekin.    The  new  Cathedral  in  72  ' 
Persian  Art.    Ancient,  23 
Personal  Explanation.    A,  106 
Petchikapou  Waterfall.    The  47 
Peterborough  Cathedral,  188 
P«ws.    Family,  188 

Pfeitt'er's  "  American  Mansion  t  "  227    ' 
Pharaohs.    The  Tombs  of  the,  82,  185 
PHILADELPHIA  :  — 

Architecture  in,  233 

Banking-room.    A  Fine,  233 

Industrial  Art  Exhibition,  254 

Letter  from,  233 

Trade  Schools  in,  1C9 

T-square  Club.    The,  155 
Philbrick,  Engineer.    Death  of  E.  S. 

85 

Phillippe  Pot.    The  Tomb  of  278 
"Pictured   Rock"    in  West    Virginia. 

1  ho,  216 
Pictures  at  the  Metropolitan  Museum, 

Piping  a  House  for  Gas,  47,  59 

Pisa  as  a  Lottery  Prize.  The  Leaniue 
Tower  of,  242 

Pisauo's  Work  on  the  Florence  Cam- 
panile, 194 

Pit  Props,  96 

Plans.  Payment  for  Unexecuted  155 
177 

Plaster-of-Paris.     Hardening,  215 

"          Manufacture  of,  182 

Pneumatic  Guns,  218 

Pointing  for  Concord  Granite,  263 

Poisoning.    Arsenical,  206 

Polychromy  and  Grecian  Architecture 
29,  71,  94,  159 

Pompeian  House  at  St.  Augustine.  A 
170 

Pond.    A  Sinking,  28S 

Popp  Compressed-air  System  in  Paris, 

Porches  and  Porticos.  143 
Portland,  Conn.,  Sandstone  96 
Portraits.    Old  Egyptian,  288 
Powder-house,  Wil'liamsburg,  Va.    The 

Postal  Tube  for  the  Channel.    A  95 
Power  at  the  Paris  Exposition,  122 
Prescott  Door-hanger.    The,  168 
Prices  and  Trade  Discounts.    List.  169 
Prix  <lt  Reconnaissance  ties  Arc/iitectes 

Amtrimins.    The,  84,  140 
Prize.    Award  of  the  Bressa.  50 

for  a  Text- book  on  Hygiene,  218 
men.     A  Banquet  to  French,  98 
winners.    The  R.  1.  B.  A.,  138 
Profit-sharing,  38 
"  Prq/lt-tharmg  between  Employer*  and 

Employes."  310 
Property-owners  and  Overhead  Wires, 

Protest  against  Massachusetts  State- 
house  Extension  Competition  2  8  13 
18,  25,  31,  61.  193,  234  ' 

Providence,  R.  I.  Elevator  Accident 
at,  230 

Public  Buildings  and  Monuments.  De- 
signing, i..;; 

Puddle  Trenches  and  Puddle.  Cost  of 
69 

Pueblo  Antiquities,  15,  33,  43 

Puget  Inlet  Timber  Belt,  281 

Pulp.    The  Age  of,  192 

Pyramid.    Opening  of  the  Hawara,  82, 


Quebec.    A  Glimpse  of,  56 

Proposed  Bridge  at,  236 
Queretaro,  Mexico,  305 
(jnlrlnal  Palace,  Rome.    Fire  in  the,  38 


'rans- 


Hallway.    A  Private  Electric,  290 
"  A    South    American    T 

Continental,  266 
The  Trans-Asian,  205 
Rat  and  a  Water-n;eter.    A,  242 
Rats  and  Hemlock,  242,  263 
Real  Estate  in  Berlin,  95 
Rebuilding  of  Modern  Rome.    The,  278 
Reproducing  Drawings.    New  Method 

of,  26 
Responsibility  of  Architects.    The,  61 

143, 170 
UKVIKWS  :  — 

"  Art  in  the  Modern  State,"  239 

"  A  rtistic  Japan,"  271 

"History  of  Art,"  92 


, 
"  Profit-sharing    betireen 

and  Employes?'  310 
"  Rude."    "  Francois,"  70 


Right  to  give  Orders.    An  Owner's,  311 
Hock-face  Work,  233 

"      painting  in  West  Virginia,  216 
Rodin,   Sculptor.    Anguste.  27,  41,  llfl. 

99,  112.  198,  223,  249,  2(JO,  2S3 
Rodin'B  "Age  of  Brass,"  27,  45,  65,  99, 
112,  249,  263,  283 


VI 


The  American  Architect  and  Building  News.— Index. 


[VOL.  XXV. 


Rodin's  "Broken  Nose,"  27,  45,  65,  99. 

112,  249,  262 

Basts,  28,  113,  1!>9,  200,  250 
Calais  Monument,  198,  250 
Door   for   the    Museum  of 
Decorative    Art,   101,   199, 
223,  249 
Drawings,  260 
Ideas  on  Art,  201 
"         "St.  John  Preaching,"  99,  113, 

1!49,  263 

Statue  of  Bastion-Lepage,  199 
Romanticism  in  Art,  257 
BOMB : — 

Burning  of.    Nero's,  84 
Hot  Baths  of  Ancient,  118 
Quirinal  Palace.    Fire  in  the,  38 
Rebuilding  of  Modern.    The,  278 
Koottng-slate.    The  Output  of,  156 

"       slates.    Tests  of,  289 
Knots.    Leaks  in,  103 
Roots.    Church  moved  by  Eucalyptus- 
tree,  49 

Rosette.    The  Lotus  and  the,  148 
Rotch  Scholarship.    The,  218 
Royal  Academy.    The  Canadian,  296 

"      Institute  B.  A.  Prize-winners,  138 
"  Rude.    Francois,"  70 
Ruins  at  Palenque,  Mexico,  95 
Kusslan     Competition    One    Hundred 

Years  ago.    A,  302 
Ruskin  on  Origin  of  the  Arch,  141 


School-houses.    An  Expert  in,  47 

"  Model,  253 

Scripps  League  Expedition.    The,  241 
Sculpture.    The  Horse  in,  39,  171,  190, 

207,  269,  297 
Second-hand  Doors.    Expensive  Use  of 

170 

Secret  Writing  on  Type-writers,  276 
Sepulchre  of  Amenemhat  III.    The,  185 
Settlement  caused  by  Oil  and  Salt  Wells. 


Safe  Building,  285 

St.  Albans  Abbey  Restorations,  188 

St.  Augustine,  Fla.  A  Pompeian  House 

at,  170 

St.  Clair  Tunnel.    The,  236 
"  St.  John  Preaching."   Rodin's,  09  113 

249,  263 
St.  Louis.    Architects'  Club  of,  215 

Architectural  League,  36,94 
"        Bridge.    The,  48 
San  Diego,  Gal.,  Flume.    The,  287 
Sandstone.    Elastic,  201 

Portland,  Conn.,  90 
SANITAKY  :  — 
Arsenical  Poisoning,  20ti 
Cellars.    Water-tight,  179,  215 
Cremation  in  Paris,  180 
Desiccating  the  Dead,  278 
Drainage,  192,  244,  255 
Drains  in  London.    Bad.  192 
Fans  and  Hot- water  in  China,  312 
Hygiene.    Prize  for  a  Text  book  on 

218 

Malaria,  244,  255 
Massachusetts  State  Board  of  Health. 

The,  229 

Mould  and  Fungus  under  1'loors,  205 
Sewage  Disposal  by  the  Gravitation- 
siphon  System,  72 
Electrical  Treatment  of,  213 
Sewerage.  Liernur  Pneumatic  System 


of,  50 
System. 


The  Metropoli- 


tan, 229 

"          Work  in  Paris.    New,  266 
Well-water.    Animal  Life  in,  276 
San  Sebastian,  Spain,  259 
Sansovino,  166 

San  Zeno,  Verona.    Church  of,  247 
"  Satisfactory  to  Owner."    Meaning  of, 

Scaligers.    The  Tombs  of  the,  203,  297, 

298 

Scenery,    Theatrical,  265 
Schedule  of  Charges.    Architects',  254 
Schmidt  made  a  Peer.    Baron  von.  86 
Scholarship.    The  American    Architect 

Travelling,  24,  206  241 
The  Rotch,  218 
School  of  Architecture.    A  Canadian 

35 
Buildings.     Swiss  and  Italian, 

253 

"      Gymnasiums.    Swiss,  254 
School-house  Competition.    Canton   O 
105 


Terrestrial,  50 
"          of  the  Albany  Capitol.    Re- 

ported, 179 

Seville  Cathedral,  2*7 
Sewage  Disposal   by   the  Gravitation- 

siphon  System,  72 
Electrical  Treatment  of,  213 
in  Fertilization.    Use  of,  26ti 
Sewerage.    Liernur  Pneumatic  System 

of.    The.  50 

System.    Metropolitan,  229 
Work  in  Paris.    New,  266 
Shades   and    Shadows.    Architectural, 

88,  125,  175,  221 
Ship-railway  in  Canada,  189 
Shutter  Fasts  and  Locks,  3 
Shutters.    The  Use  of  Iron,  86 
Sign-boards.    Charles  Gamier  on,  241 
Silica  in  Iron-smelting,  288 
Silicon-bronze  Wire.    A  Long,  220 
Silk.     An  Artificial,  260 
Sixteen-story  Buildings,  293 
Sketch-Club.  Detroit  Architectural,  239 

"  "     of  New  York,  227 

Sketches.    Spanish.  258 
Sketching  Tours,  14 
Skylight  Fittings,  6 
Slate.    The  Output  of  Roofing,  156 
Slates.    Tests  of  Roofing,  289 
Slow-burning  Construction,  11,  54,  59 
Smelting.    The  Use  of  Silica  in,  288 
Smoke.    The  Waste  in,  204 
Soapstone  and  its  Uses,  287 
Society,  New  York.     Incorporation  of 

the  American  Fine  Arts,  301 
Soda  Locomotives,  252 
Soldiers'  Monument.    The  Iowa,  251 
Sound.     A   Submarine   Bridge    under 

the.  311 
Spanish  Cedar,  ISO 

"        Exhibition  at  London.    DO 
"        Sketches,  258 

Tile    Vault   for    the    Boston 

Public  Library  Floors,  217 
Specification-writing,  150 
Speculation  in  Koine.    Building,  278 
Spruance.    In  Memoriam,  J.  H.,  119 
Stain  for  Brick  Walls,  227 
Staircase  in  Westminster  Hall.      Dis- 

cussion over  a,  302 

State  house  at  Boston.  Competition  for 
the  Enlargement  of  the, 
2,  8,  13,  18,  25,  31,  61,  193, 
234 

The  Story  of  a,  178 
Statistics.    Interesting,  179 


Student  in  New  York.    Facilities  for    Underwriter*'  Wire,  157 


the,  136 
Submarine  Bridge  under  the  Sound. 

311 

Suez  Canal.    The,  276 
Sugar  in  Mortar,  174 
Suit  for  Extra  Compensation,  235 
Sunday  Opening  at   the  Metropolitan 

Museum.    No,  127 
Sun-dials,  239 

Superintending  Work  at  a  Distance,  59 
Supervising  Architect.  Charges  against 

the,  1.37,  109 
Dinner    to    the 

New,  215 
Report   of  the, 

109 
"          The    New,   145, 

233 

Suppressing  Information,  253 
Susa.    Dieulafoy's  Discoveries  at,  22 
Swiss  Architects     Charges  of,  110 
'     School-buildings,  253 
"  "      gymnasiums,  254 

Syracuse  Sketch-Club,  300 


Unexecuted  Plans.    Payment  for,  155, 


A,       177 


290 


W.  Va. 
for  a,  115 


Competition 


Statuary.     Preserving  Marble,  230 
Statue.    Frnmiet's  Joan  of  Arc,  242 
Statues.    Equestrian,  39,  171,  190,  207, 

269,  297 

Steam  as  a  Fire-extinguisher,  212 
Engine.    A  large  Naval,  2! 
Heating  by  Exhaust,  24 
Steamships.    An  Appliance  for  Increas- 
ing the  .speed  of,  26 
Steam-turbine.    A,  158 
Steel  Bridges  over  the  Danube.    Pro- 
posed, 289 
Girders,  96 

Nature  and  Uses  of  Iron  and,  285 
Use  of  Structural,  289 
vs.  Iron,  289 

Still-wax  for  Building  Paper,  258 
Stone-carving,  1,  21,  233 

Testing  Building,  75 
Stove.    The  Carbon-soda,  278 

Fire  on  the  Hearth,  71 
Stoves  in    France.     Condemnation   of 

Movable,  158 
Strasburg  Cathedral,  173 
Street-paving,  192,  252,  277,  295 

signs.    Charles  Gamier  on,  241 
Student  Architectural  Societies.    The 


Affiliation  of,  14 


Tacoma  Building,  Chicago.    The,  294 
Talenti's  Work  on  the  Florence  Campa- 
nile, 194 
Tariff  of  Swiss  Architects.    New,  110 

"     on  Works  of  Art.    The,  97 
Teak-wood.  84 

Technical  Education  in  Berlin,  211,  290 
Technische  Hochschulo  of  Berlin.  The, 

211,290 

Telephone  Wire.    A  Long,  220 
Texas.    Examination  of  Architects  in, 

205,  251 
Theatre.    Competition  for  a  Belgian,  25 

Fires,  1 
"         not    an    Acoustic    Success. 

Vienna  Court,  266 
Theatrical  Machinery,  290 

"         Scenery  and  Effects,  241.  265 
Three  Americas.    Proposed  Exhibition 

by  the,  265 

Tiffany  Exhibit  for  the  Paris  Exposi- 
tion.   The,  2.i8 
Tile     Vault    for    the    Boston    Public 

Library  Floors.    Spanish,  217 
Timber-belt.    Puget  Inlet,  281 
Time  Measurement,  248 
Toluca,  Mexico,  282 
Tomb  for  the  Hapsburgs.    New,  48 
Tombs  at  Naples.    Ancient,  276 

in  Virginia.    Old,  280 
TORONTO,  CAN.  :  — 
Architectural  Guild,  35,  81, 137  189 
Board  of  Trade  Building,  236 

"      "       "      Competition,    81,    9B, 

138 

Court-house.    The,  295 
Growth  of,  295 
New  Buildings  in,  236 
Parliament  Buildings  in,  236 
Tours.     Sketching,  14 
Tower  for  the  ••  Biblicon,"  Brooklyn 

N.  Y.    Lofty,  157 
Trade  Schools  for  Boston.  Proposed,  218 

"       in  Philadelphia,  170 
Trade  Surveys,  12,  24,  36.  48,  60,  72,  84 
96,  108,  120,  132,  144,  156,  180,  192,  204, 
216,  228,  240,  252,  264.  276,  288,  300,  312 
Trans-Asian  Railway.     The,  205 
Trans-continental  Railroad.     A  South 

American,  266 
Transom-fittings,  6 
Travelling-scholarship.    The  American 

Architect,  24,  206,  241 
'         Electric-light.    A.  86 
Tricks.    Theatre,  265,  290 
T-square  Club.    The,  155 
Tunnel.    The  Hudson  River,  242 

The  St.  Clair,  236 
Tunnelling  the  North  and  East  Rivers, 

New  York,  120 
Type-writers.    Secret  Writing  on,  276 


Vandalism  in  Florence,  120 

Vault  for  the  Boston  Public  Library 

Floors.    Spanish  Tile,  217 
"      of  the  Albany  Assembly  Cham- 
ber.   The,  37,  86,  97,  134,  169 
Veneer  Buildings.    Brick,  277 
Venetian  Church  Monuments,  208 
Ventilating  and  Heating  the  New  Court- 
house at  Boston,  18 
Verestchagin  Paintings.    The,  79 
Vermin  in  Dwelling-houses,  266 
Verochio,  269 
Verona,  204,  247 
Vienna  Court-Theatre  not  an  Acoustic 

Success.    The,  266 
Vinci.    Leonardo  da,  12 
Virginia  and  Maryland.    Old  Colonial 

Work  of,  279,  303 
"         Old  Tombs  in  280 
Visconti.    The,  207 


Underground  Railway  for  Paris,  228 
Wires,  236 


Wall  paper.    Test  for  Arsenic  in,  182 
Wall-papers,  188 
Walls.    Concrete-filled,  188 
Walters  Art  Collections.    The,  236 
WASHINGTON  :  — 
Apartment-houses  in,  294 
Aqueduct.     The,  146,  169,  229 
Capitol.    Cost  of  the,  49 
Hotrls  in,  295 
Letters  from,  34,  294 
Office-buildings  in,  34 
Waste  in  Smoke.    The,  264 
Water-colors  at  the  National  Gallery. 

197 

fall.    The  Petchikapou,  47 
meter.    A  Rat  and  a,  242 
supply.    London's,  55 
tight  Cellars,  179,  215 
wheel.    Curious,  120 
Waves.    Theatrical,  265 
Well-drilling.    Primitive,  36 

'•'    in  California.    A  Big  Bored,  198 
"  Iowa.    A  Big,  24 
Water.    Animal  Life  in,  276 
Wells.    Terrestrial  Settlement  caused 

by  Oil  and  Salt,  50 

Western  Association  of  Architects.  10 
Westminster  Abbey.  Additional  Burial- 
space  for,  188 
Hall.      A  New  Staircase 

in,  302 

Wheelbarrow.    Inventor  of  the,  12  ' 
Whistler    and    the    Royal    Society   of 

British  Artists,  204 
Whitewash.    A  German,  95 
Willard  Architectural  Collection.    The 

81,  107 

William.    Memorial  to  the  Emperor,  133 
William  and  Mary  College,  303 
Williamsburg,  Va.,  279 
Wilmerding,  Pa.    A  Model  Town,  168 
Wire.     Underwriter's,  157 
Woes  of  Architects.    The,  159 
Women  Ironworkers,  96 
Wood-carving,  130 
Wood.    Fireproofiug,  312 
Woods  on  Metal.    Effect  of  Different, 

240 
Workingmen's  Excursion  to  the  Paris 

Exposition.    A,  241 

Wren.    A  Virginian    Court-house   De- 
signed by,  279 

Write  for  the  Paper.    How  to.  71 
Wythe  House,  Williamsburg,  Va.,  303 


Young  Men's  Christian  Association, 
New  York.  Architectural  Library  of 
the,  119 


Zalinski's  Pneumatic  Gun,  218 
Zuni  Antiquities,  15,  33,  43 


APARTMKNT-HOL'SKS. 

Hier  Flats,  Syracuse,  N.  Y.  J.  M 
Elliott,  Architect,  688 

CLUB-HOUSES. 

Algonquin  Club-house,  Boston,  Mass. 
MoKira,  Mead  &  White,  Architects 
684  (Gel.) 

Alterations  to  Building  of  the  New 
York  Club.  R.  H.  Robertson  &  A.  J. 
Manning,  Architects,  701 

Arion  Club-house,  New  York,  N.  Y 
De  Lemos  &  Cordes,  Architects,  686 
(Gel.) 

Boston  Athletic  Association  Building 
Boston,  Mass.  J.  H.  Sturgis,  Archi- 
tect, 693 

Lodge  Building  for  Knights  of  Pythias 
Chestnut  Hill,  Philadelphia,  Pa.     G! 
T.  Pearson,  Architect,  705 
DETAILS. 

Baths,  etc.,  Boston  Athletic  Associa- 
tion Building.  J.  H.  Sturgis,  Archi- 
tect, 693 

Designs  for  Fireplaces,  694 

Details  of  Slow-burning  Construction 
Florence  Flats,  Minneapolis,  Minn! 
James  C.  Plant,  Architect,  680 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

[The  figures  refer  to  the  number  of  the  journal,  and  not  to  the  page.] 


Doorway  to  House  of  John  Peabody 
Boston,  Mass.     Peabody  &  Stearns, 
Architects,  689  (Gel.) 
Entrance  to  City-hall,  Albany,  N.  Y. 

H.  H.  Richardson,  Archt.,  688  (Gel.) 
Entrance  to  Commercial    Bank    Build- 
ing, Albany,  N.   Y.     K. 
W.     Gibson,     Architect. 
697  (Gel.) 

"  House  of  C.  L.  Tiffany, 
New  York,  N.  Y.  Mc- 
Kim,  Mead  &  White,  Ar- 
chitects, 682  (Gel.) 
"  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Building,  Al- 
bany, N.  Y.  Fuller  & 
Wheeler,  Architects,  691 
(Gel.) 

Fireplace  designed  by  J.  W.  Bliss,  699 
Garden    Gate   for    Curwen     stoddart 
Benezet,  Pa.    Frank  Miles  Day,  Ar- 
chitect, 695 
High    Altar.    Church    of    Guadalupe, 

Mexico,  682 

King  Memorial  Decoration,  St.  Paul's 
Church,  Augusta,  Ga.  Designed  by 
F.  S.  l.amb,  700 

Mantel  in  Dining-room,  Poland  Springs 
House  Poland  Springs,  Mo.  Stevens 
&  Cobb,  Architects,  680 


New   Gateway    for   Harvard    College,  i 
Cambridge,  Mass.     McKim,  Mead  & 
White,  Architects,  697 

Pulpit,  Choir  Stalls  and  Bishop's  Chair, 
Trinity  Church,  Lenox,  Mass.  W. 
C.  Brocklesby,  Architect,  681 

Window  in  Dining-room,  Poland  Springs 
House,  Poland  Springs,  Me.  Stevens 
<&  Cobb,  Architects,  6SO 

DWELLINGS. 

Alterations  In  House  for  N.  W.  Taylor, 
Cleveland,  O.  Clarence  O.  Arey,  Ar- 
chitect, 703 

Bramshill,  Hampshire,  England,  704  * 

Brereton  Hall,  Cheshire,  England,  704* 

Cottage  at  Watch  Hill,  K.  f.    Howard 

Hoppin,  Architect,  687 
"       No.  4,  Watch  Hill,  R.  I.    How- 
ard Hoppin,  Architect,  689 

Country  House.  C.  W.  Stoughton,  Ar- 
chitect, 695,  700 

Crewe  Hall,  Cheshire,  England,  704* 

Design  for  a  Country  House.  C. 
Scbii'fer,  Architect,  683 

Gate-lodge  for  G.  A.  Mckerson,  Ded- 
liam,  Mass.  Longfellow,  Aldeu  & 
Uarlow,  Architects,  695 

*  lasued  only  in  the  Imperial  Edition. 


House  ami  Stable,  Haverford  College 
Station,  Pa.  W.  Eyre,  Jr.,  Architect 
705 

House  at  Rochester,  N.  T.  Thomas 
Nolan,  Architect,  684 

H^USE  OF:  — 

J.  W.  Allen,  York,  Pa.  B.  F.  Willis,  Ar- 
chitect, 705 

Mrs.  Alice  Bacon,  Louisville  Ky.    C. 
J.  Clarke,  Architect,  689 

Mr.  Baker,  Devon,  Pa.    Geo.  T.  Pear- 
son, Architect,  095 

E.   J.    Barney,    Dayton,    O.       S.    S. 
Beman,  Architect.  701 

C.    E.    Bowen,     Kochetter,     N.     Y. 
Thomas  Nolan,  Architect,  691 

Frank  Campbell,    York,  Pa.      J.  A. 
Dempwolf,  Architect,  682 

J.  Frank  Collom,  Minneapolis,  Minn. 
G.  W.  &  F.  I).  Orff,  Architects,  699 

Enrique    Concha    y    Toro,    Santiago. 
Chili.  S.  A.,  681 

J.  M.  Davis,  Rochester,  N.  Y.    Otto 
Block,  Architect,  699 

A.    J.    Drexel,    Jr.,    Lansdown,    Pa. 
Wilson  Kyre,  Jr.,  Architect,  698 

Mrs.  Eldriilge,  Newport,  R.  I.    Dud- 
ley Newton,  Architect,  687  (Gel.) 


JAN.  -  JUNE,  1889.]         The  American  Architect  and  Building  News. — Index. 


Vll 


HOUSE  OF  :  — 

Frederick     Frelinghuysen,       Lenox, 

Mass.    Kotch  &  Tilden,  Architects, 

699  (Gel.) 
G.  G.  Haven,  Lenox,   Mass.     J.  D. 

Johnston,  Architect,  705  (Gel.) 
K.  S.  Isbam,  Manchester,  Vt.    F.  W. 

Stiekiiey,  Architect,  704 
George  M.  Jones,  Greensbnrgh,  Pa. 

J.  A.  DempwolfjArchitect,  704 
M.  Ogden  Jones,  Wood's  Holl,  Mass. 

Wheelwright  &  Haven,  Architects, 

M 
J.  l)e  F.  Junkin,  West  Philadelphia, 

Pa.    Albert  W.  Dilks,  Archt.,  698 
Mrs.  Jeremiah  Milbank,  Greenwich. 

Conn.     Lamb  &  Rich,  Architects, 

098  (Ge/.) 
Mrs.  Isabelle  Nash,  Bridgeport,  Conn. 

C.  T.  Beardsley,  Jr.,  Archt.,  681 

C.   J.    Page,    Boston,  Mass.      H.  L. 

Warren-,  Architect,  6% 
Dr.    W.    B.    Parker,    Boston,    Mass. 

Hartwell  &  Richardson,  Architects, 

690  (Gel.) 
W.   C.    Proctor,    Cincinnati,  O.     H. 

Neill  Wilson,  Architect,  697 
R.  C.  Pruyn,  Albany,  N.  Y.    R.   W. 

Gibson,  Architect,  685  (Oel.) 
Grange  Sard,  Albany,  N.  Y.     H.  H. 

Richardson,  Architect,  701  (Gel.) 
M.  S.  Severance,  Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

Curlett,  Eisen  &  Cuthbertson,  Ar- 
chitects, 686 
J.  F.  Sinnott,  Rosemont,  Pa.    Hazle- 

hurst  &  Huckel,  Architects,  704 
B.  E.  Taylor,  Newton,  Mass.    Hand 

&  Taylor,  Architects,  696 
Alexander  Ure,  Toronto,  Can.    Knox 

&  Elliot,  Architects,  689 
James  E.  Waugh,  Charlton  Heights, 

D.  C.    T.  F.  Schneider,  Archt.,  6x1 
V.  F.  Whitmore,    Rochester,  N.   Y. 

Otto  Block,  Architect,  699 

B.  F.  Willis,  York,  Pa.    B.  F.  Willis, 
Architect,  688 

Houses  of  Mrs.  J.  J.  French  and  Mrs. 

C.  E.  Stratton,  Boston,  Mass.    Allen 
&  Kenway.  Architects,  681  (Gel.) 

Moreton  Hall,  Cheshire.  England.  704 
Old  House  at  Grey's  Ferry,  Philadel- 
phia,   Pa.      Sketched    by  Frank    A. 
Hays,  702 

Proposed  House  f  or  K.  F.  Crocker, 
Fitchburg,  Mass. 
Guy  Kirkham, 
Architect,  688 

"  "       "  C.     D.      Hosley, 

Springfield,  Mass. 
Guy  Kirkham, 
Architect,  688 

ECCLESIASTICAL 

All  Saints'  Church,  Pasadena,  Cal.  E. 
A.  Coxhead,  Ar- 
chitect, 692 

"        "  "        Pontiac,  It.  I.  How- 

ard   Hoppin,   Ar- 
chitect, 6X1 
Baptist  Church,  Maiden,  .Mass.    Shep- 

ley,  Kutan  &  Coolldge,  Archts.,  701 
Brua  Memorial  Chapel,  Pennsylvania 
College,     Gettysburg,     Pa.       J.    A. 
Dempwolf ,  Architect,  680 
Cathedral,  Mentz,  Germany,  683  (Gel.) 

"          Verona,  Italy,  700 
Christ  Church,  Williamsbnrg,  Va.,  703 

(Gel.) 

Church  at  Ann  Arbor,  Mich.     W.  G. 
Malcomson,  Architect,  fi87 

CHDBCH  OF:  — 

San  Antonio,  Padua,  Italy,  702  (Gel.) 
"   Miehele,  Pavia,  Italy,  083 

Miguel,   Jerez   de   la    Frontera, 

Spain,  692 

Xeno,  Verona,  Italy,  700 
St.  Giles,  Luray,  Va.    Geo.  T.  Pear- 
son, Architect,  «86 
Martin,  Laon,  France,  694 
SS.  Giovanni  e  Paolo  and  School  of 
St.  Mark,  Venice,  Italy,  702 

OMPETITIVE  DHSIUN  FOR:  — 


Calvary  Baptist  Church,  Devenport, 

lo.    Wm.  Cowe,  Architect,  681 
Christ  Church,  New  York,  N.  Y.    R. 

H.  Robertson,  Architect,  695 
Church,  Clergy-house  and  Schools  for 

Trinity  Corporation,  New  York,  N. 

Y.    H.  M.  Congdon,  Architect,  705 
Church,  Clergy-house  and  Schools  for 

Trinity  Corporation,  New  York,  N. 

Y.    K.  M.  Hunt,  Architect,  700 
Church,  Clergy-house  and  Schools  for 

Trinity  Corporation,  New  York,  N. 

Y.    F.  C.  Withers,  Architect,  702 
Church,  Clergy-house  and  Schools  for 

Trinity  Corporation,  New  York,  N. 


Pulpit.  Choir  Stalls  and  Bishop's  Chair, 
Trinity  Church,  Lenox,  Mass.    W.  C. 
Brocklesby,  Architect,  681 
Sketcn  for  a  Country  Church,  Chapel 
and  Parsonage,  Montclair,  N. 
J.     R.   H.  Robertson,  Archi- 
tect, 693 

of  the  Church  of  the  Blessed 
Sacrament,  Providence,  R.  I. 
Heins  &  La  Farge,  Architects, 
694 

St.  Peter's  Episcopal  Church,  Albany, 
N.  Y.  R.  M.  Upjohn,  Architect, 
700  (Gel.) 

EDUCATIONAL. 

Bryn  Mawr  School-house,  Baltimore, 
Md.  H.  K.  Marfhall,  Architect,  692 

Competitive  Design  for  a  School-house, 
Yonkers,  N.  Y.  Farnsworth,  Hamil- 
ton &  Mersereau,  Architects,  692 

Science  Hall.  Randolph  Macon  College, 
Ashland,  Va.  W.  M.  Poindexter, 
Architect,  702 

State  Military  Academy,  Albany,  N.  Y., 

680  (Gel.) 

"  Normal  Art  School,  Boston,  Mass. 
Hartwell  &  Richardson,  Archi- 
tects, 688 

Technische  Hochschule,  Berlin,  Ger- 
many, 697 

Upper  Canada  College,  Toronto,  Can. 
George  F.  Durand,  Architect,  682 

FOREIGN. 

Arena,  Verona,  Italy,  6% 
Bramshill,  Hampshire,  England,  704  » 
Brereton  Hall,  Cheshire,  England,  704* 
Calais    Monument.      Figures   for    the, 

Auguste  Kodin,  Sculptor,  696  (Gel.) 
Cathedral,  Mentz.  Germany,  683  (Gel.) 

"          Verona,  Italy,  700 
CHUBCH  OF  :  — 

San  Antonio.  Padua,  Italy,  702  (Gel.) 
"    Miehele,  Pavia,  Italy,  683 
"    Miguel,    Jerez   de    la    Frontera, 

Spain,  692 
SS.  Giovanni  e  Paolo  and  School  of 

St.  Mark,  Venice,  Italy,  702 
St.  Martin,  Laon,  France,  694 
Crewe  Hall,  Cheshire,  England,  704  * 
Fountain,  Jativa,  Spain,  691 
High    Altar,    Church    of     Guadalupe, 

Mexico,  682 

Hotel  de  Ville,  Compiegne,  France,  683 
"     "       "     Lyons,  France,  683 
"      "        "     Rheims,  France,  683 
"    des  Brasseurs,  Brussels,  Belgium, 

683  (Gel.) 

House  of  Enrique  Concha  y  Toro,  San- 
tiago, Chili,  S.  A.,  681 
Interior    of   St.  Mark's,  Venice,  Italy, 
after  an  Etching  by  Otto  Bacher,  690 
Juliet's  Tomb,  Verona,  Italy,  700 
Model  of  Gattamelata's  Horse,  Padua, 

Italy,  702 

Monument  to  Duke  of    Brunswick, 
Geneva,      Switzerland, 
704 
"         "  Malaspina,  Verona,  Italy, 

697 
"         "  Niccoio   Orsini,     Venice, 

Italy,  697 

Moretou  Hall,  Cheshire,  England,  704  * 
Old  Hotel  de  Ville,  Lyons.  France,  683 
Place  of  Arms,  Santiago,  Chili,  S.  A 

685 

Scaligers.    Tombs  of  the,  696 
St  Zeuo,  Verona,  Italy,  700 

STATPF.  OF : — 

Duke  Antoine  of  Lorraine,  Nationa 
Museum,  Nancy,  France,  694 

Colleoni,  Venice,  Italy,  702 

Gattameiata,  Padua,  Italy,  702  (Gel.) 

Louis  XII,  Chateau  de  Blois,  France 

694 
Street  Views  in  Quebec,  Can.    Sketchet 

by  Robert  Brown,  Jr.,  684 
Tecbnische   Hochschule,    Berlin,  Ger 

many,  697 
Upper  Canada  College,  Toronto,  Can 

George  F.  Durand,  Architect,  682 
Verona,  Italy.    Views  in,  6%,  700 

(.'  '.  \  I  IM 


Y.    W.  Halsey  Wood,  Archt.,  698 
(iraue   Church   Cathedral    and   Guild- 
H.  M.  Cong- 

Guadalupe, 


Hall,  Topeka,  Kansas. 

don,  Architect,  69C 
High    Altar,    Church    of 

Mexico,  682 
Interior  of  St.  Mark's,  Venice,  Italy. 

After  an  Etching  by  Otto  Bacher,  690 
King  Memorial  Decoration,  St.  Paul's 
Designed  by 


Church,  Augusta,  Ga. 
F.  S.  Lainb,  700 


Mission  Chapel  for  Emmanuel  Church, 
Boston,  Mass.     Kotch  &  Til- 
den,  Architects,  695 
Church,    Santa    Barbara,   Cal. 

J.  G.  Howard,  Archt.,  090 
Proposed  Twelfth  Baptist  Church,  Bos- 
ton, Mass.    Eugene  C.  Fisher,  Archi- 
tect, 691 


Algonquin    Club-house,  Boston,  Mass 

McKim,  Mead  £.  White,  Archts.,  684 
Arion  Clubhouse,  New   York,    N.   Y 

De  Lemos  &  Cordes,  Architects,  686 
Atlantic  Building,  Washington,  D.  C 

James  G.  Hill,  Architect,  694 
Billiard-room,  Boston  Athletic  Associa 

tion   Building,   Boston,  Mass,    J.  H 

Sturgis  Architect,  893 
Cathedral,  Mentz,  Germauy,  683 
Christ  Church,  Williamsburg,  Va.,  703 
Church  of  Sau  Antonio,  Padua,  Italy 

702 
Doorway  to  House  of  John  Peabody 

Boston,  Mass.     Peabody  &  Steam 

Architects,  689 

ENTRANCE  TO  :  — 

City-hall,  Albany,  N.  Y.    H.  [I.  Kiel 

ardson,  Architect,  688 
Commercial  Bank  Building,  Albany 

N.  Y.    B.  W.  Gibson,  Archt.,  6H7 
House  of  C.  L.  Tiffany,  New  York.  > 

Y.    McKim,  Mead  &  White,  Arch 

tects,  682 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  Building,  Albany,  N.  Y 

Fuller  &  Wheeler,  Architects,  091 
Figures    for     the     Calais     Monumen 
Auguste  Itodin,  Sculptor,  696 

•  Issued  only  in  tli«  Impf  rial  Edition, 


Gymnasium,  Boston  Athletic  Associa- 
tion Building,  Boston,  Masj.    J.  H. 

Sturgis,  Architect,  6<J3 
Hotel  des  Brasseurs,  Brussels,  Belgium, 

683 
HOUSE  OF  :  — 

Mrs.  Eldridge,  Newport,  R.  I.    Dud- 
ley Newton,  Architect,  687 

Frederic  Frelinghuysen,  Lenox,  Mass. 
Rotch  &  Tilden,  Architects,  699 

Mrs.  Jeremiah  Milbank,  Greenwich, 
Conn.    ljunb  &  Rich,  Archta.,  698 

Dr.    W.    B.    Parker,    Boston,    Mass. 
Hartwell  &  Richardson.  Archts.,  690 

R.  C.  Pruyu.  Albany,  N.  Y.    K.   W. 
Gibson,  Architect,  685 

Grange  Sard,  Albany,  N.  Y.    H.  H. 

Richardson,  Architect,  701 
Houses  of  Mrs.  J.  J.  French  and  Mrs. 

C.  E.  Stratton,  Boston,  Mass.    Allen 

&  Kenway,  Architects,  681 
N.  Y.  C.  R.  It.  Employes'  Reading-room, 

New  York,  N.  Y.    R.  H.  Robertson, 

Architect,  695 

ailroad  Station,   Battle  Creek,  Mich. 

Rogers  &  MacFarlane,  Architects,  692 

t.  pbter's  Episcopal  Church,  Albany, 

N.  Y.    K.  M.  Upjohn,  Architect,  700 

,ate  Military  Academy,    Albany,  N. 

Y.,  6X0 

tatue  of   Gattameiata,   Padua,  Italy, 

702 

pper   part   of    Extension    to    Adams 

House,   Boston,  Mass.    W.   Whitney 

Lewis,  Architect,  704 

HOTELS. 

amily  Hotel,  Minneapolis,  Minn.      H. 
W.  Jones,  Architect,  705 
uray  Inn,  Luray,  Va.    Geo.  T.  Pear- 
son, Architect.  690 

roposed  Hotel,  Kingsville,  Out.,  Can. 
Mason  &  Rice,  Architects.  691 
The   Talleyrand,"  Bar   Harbor,  Me. 
De  Grasse  Fox,  Architect,  686 
pper   part   of    Extension    to    Adams 
House,  Boston,   Mass.    W.   Whitney 
Lewis,  Architect,  704  (Gel.) 

INTERIORS. 

Jilliard-room,  Boston  Athletic  Associa- 
tion Building,  Boston,  Mass.  J.  H. 
Sturgis,  Architect,  693  (Gel.) 

lymnasium,   Boston  Athletic  Associa- 
tion  Building,  Boston,  Mass.    J.  H. 
Sturgis,  Architect,  693  (Oel.) 
iterior  of  St.  Mark's,  Venice,  Italy. 
After  an  Etching  by  Otto  liacher,  690 

MERCANTILE. 

rcher  Building.  Kochester,  N.  Y.    C. 
S.  Ellis,  Architect,  688 
tlantic   Building,   Washington,  D.  C. 
James  (i.  Hill,  Architect,  694  (Gel.) 
Auchmnty     Building,     Boston,    Mass. 

Wiuslow  &  Wetherell,  Archts.,  fi99 
branch  Bank  of  America,  Philadelphia. 

Pa.    Charles  W.  Bolton,  Archt.,  703 
iuilding  for  F.  L.  Ames,  Boston,  Mass. 
Shepley,  Rutan  &  Cool- 
idge,  Architects,  686 
"          "    Bell     Telephone     Co,    St. 
I.ouis,    Mo.     Shepley, 
Rutau  &Coolidge,  Archi- 
tects, 682 

"  "  Maj.  F.  H.  Phipps  &  Mrs. 
It.  R.  Wallace.  St.  Louis, 
Mo.  A.  F.  Kosenheim, 
Architect,  689 

ompetitive    Design    lor    the     World 
Building,  New    York,  N.   Y.     R.   H. 
Robertson,  Architect,  685 
Mohawk  Block,  Buffalo,  N.  Y.    E.  A. 

Kent,  Architect,  692 
National  Bank  of  Washington,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C.    James  G.  Hill,  Archi- 
tect, 6X8 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Architectural  Shades  and  Shadows,  687 

698 
Armory,  Worcester,  Mass.     Fuller   & 

Delano,  Architect!,  697 
Building  at  Berkeley,    R.  I.,  for    the 

Berkeley    Co.     Stone,    Carpenter   & 

Wilson,  Architects,  701 
Design  for  a  Plaster  Ceiling  by  C.  J, 

Brooke,  686 
Details  of  Slow-burning  Construction 

Florence  Flats,  Minneapolis,   Minn, 

James  C.  Plant,  Architect,  680 
Donatello's  St.  John  the  Baptist,  6X8 
Fountain,  Jativa,  Spain,  691 
Hotel  des  Brasseurs,  Brussels,  Belgium 

683  (Gel.) 

Juliet's  Tomb,  Verona,  Italy,  700 
Sculptures  by  Auguste  Rodin,  682,  688 

689,  6%,  703 
Sketches  at  Williamsburg,  Va.,  by  A 

B.  Bibb,  703 
"         in  California  by  J.   Q.  How 

ard.  690 
Slow-burning  Construction.    Drawing. 

of,  684 
Street  Views  in  Quebec,  Can.    Sketch* 

by  Robert  Brown,  Jr.,  684 

MONUMENTAL. 

Bust  of  Mme.  Morla.    Auguste  Itodin 

Sculptor,  703 

Busts  by  Auguste  Rodin,  689,  703 
Figures   for    the    Calais     Monument 

Auguste  Rodin,  Sculptor,  696  (Gel.) 
Model  of  Gattamelata's  Horse,  Padua 

Italy,  702 

Monument  to  Duke  of  Brunswick 
Geneva,  Switzerland 
704 


Monument  to  Malaspina,  Verona,  Italy? 

697 
"  Niccoio   Orsini,    Venice, 

Italy,  697 

Scaligers.    Tombs  of  the,  6% 
STATUE  OF  :  — 
Duke  Antoine  of  Lorraine,  National 

Museum,  Nancy,  France,  694 
Colleoni,  Venice,  Italy,  702 
Gattameiata,  Padua,  Italy.  702  (Gel.) 
Louis  XII,  Chateau  de  Blois,  France, 

694 
Statues  of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  688 

PUBLIC. 

Competitive  Design  for  City-hall, 
Lowell,  Mass.  Wait  &  Cutter,  Archi- 
tects, 703 

Hotel  de  Ville,  Compiegne,  France,  683 
"      "      "      Lyons,  France,  683 
"      "      "      Rheims,  France,  683 

Memorial  Library,  Acton,  Mass.  Hart- 
well  &  Richardson,  Architects,  705 

Memorial  1  ibrary,  Lexington,  Ky. 
Willis  Polk,  Architect,  689 

Miners'  Hospital,  Hazleton,  Pa.  Benj. 
Linfoot,  Architect,  703 

Old  Hotel  de  Ville,  Lyons,  France,  683 

Place  of  Arms,  Santiago,  Chili,  S.  A., 
685 

Probate  Office,  East  Cambridge,  Mass. 
Wait  &  Cutter,  Architects,  687 

Proposed  Municipal  Buildings,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C.  Willis  Polk,  Architect, 
6X7 

KAILROAD. 

N.  Y.  C.  R.  R.  Employes'  Readlug-rocm, 

New  York,  N.  Y.  "  R.  H.  Robertson, 

Architect,  695  (Gel.) 
Railroad  Station,  Battle  Creek,  Mich. 

Rogers  &  MacFarlane,  Architects,  692 

(Gel.) 
Station  on  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  R.  R. 

A.  H.  Bieler,  Architect,  6X3 

STABLE. 

Stable  for  W.  F.  Proctor,  Lorhada, 
New  York,  N.  Y.  W.  Rosa 
Proctor,  Architect,  681 
and  Billiard-room,  Pelham,  N. 
Y.  Walgrove  &  Israels,  Ar- 
chitects, 6X9 

TOWERS   AND   SPIRES. 

"entilating  Tower,  Presbyterian  Hos- 
pital, New  York,  N.  Y.  J.  C.  Cady  & 
Co.,  Architects,  6X9 

iOTHIC  SPIRES  AND  TOWERS. 

1'ublished  only  in  the  Imperial  Edition.] 
_11  Saints',  Oakham,  695 
Jathedral,  Canterbury,  t>X2 
St.  Andrew,  Billingborough,  fiXG 
Augustine,  Fledon,  695 
James,  I.outh,  691 
Mary,  llminster,  695 
"      Malvern,  695 
"      Swineshead,  695 
"     Magdalene,  Chewton-Mendlx, 

680 

"  "  Newark,  682 

Nicholas,  Newcastle-on-Tyne-,  699 
Peter,  harrold,  686 
SS.  Mary  and  Nicholas,  Spalding,  695 
"    Peter  and  Paul,  Easton  Maudit,  6x6 

THE  AtiE    OF  FRANCIS  I. 

Published  c  til  if  in  the  Imperial  Edition.] 
Jhamber  of  Marie  de'  Medici,  Blois,  695 
Chapel  of  St.  Hubert,  Amboise,  682 
Court-yard,  Chateau  de  Blois,  699 
Uiniug-hall,  Chenonceaux,  704 
juard-room,  Chambord,  691 
Pulpit  in  Church  at  Fontainebleau.  699 
Tomb  of  Cardinal  d'Amboise,  68fi 
Tourney  Field,  Chambord,  6al 

INITIAL  CUTS. 

These  figures  refer  lo  the  page  of  text, 
•not  to  the  plates.] 

Belfry,  18,  43 

Boston  Athletic  Association  Building. 

Details,  160.  161, 162 
Calvary.     Plougastel,  Brittany,  41 
Capitals,  44,  45,  54,  69,  75,  140,  103,  164, 

165,  166,  226,  255,  273,  285 
Cathedral.    Quimper,  Brittany,  40 
Centennial  Arch.    Washington  Square, 

New  York,  N.  Y.,  238 
Choir  of  St.  Peter's,  Leipsic,  8 
Church,  Folgoet,  Brittany,  203 

u        Snrgeres,  France,  41 
Doorway  of  Convent  at  Palrua,  172 
Elephant  de  la  Bastille,  in 
Elmwood,  Cambridge,  Mass.,  77 
Equestrian   Designs,  171,  190,  191,  207, 

269 
EQUESTRIAN  STATUES:  — 

Annibale  Bentivoglio,  208 

Duke  of  Brunswick,  299 

Clovis.    King,  41 

Colleoni,  269,  270,  272 

Pietro  Farnese,  209 

Francis  1, 297 

Gattameiata.  270 

Gradlon.    King,  40 

Lesdiguieres.    Marshal,  89 

Koberto  Malatesta,  209 

Otho  I,  298 

Leonardo  <1a  Prato,  210 

Rene  II.    Duke,  172 

Pierre  de  Rohan,  173 

Rudolph  of  Hapsburg,  41 

St.  George,  171 

St.  Martin,  41,  42 


Vlll 


The  American  Architect  and  Building  News. — Index. 


[VOL.  XXV. 


EQUESTRIAN  STATUES:  — 

*  Cortesio  Sarego.  207 

Paolo  Savelli,  210 

Bernabo  Visconti.  209 
Flight  of  King  Gradlon.    The,  40 
Fountain.    Mexican,  305 
Gable,  135 

Horse-Court,  Seringhain,  India,  39 
Horses   of    the    Colleoni   and    other 

Statues.  270 

House  in  Zalt  Bommel,  17,  46 
Josefplatz,  Vienna,  174 
Kuocker,  22 


Lotus-forms.  66,  67,  68,  69,  115,  116,  117, 
148,  149,  200,  201,  202,  225,  226,  309,  310 

Main  Entrance,  Strasbourg  Cathedral, 
39 

Maximilian's  Monument,  Mexico,  306 

Medal,  269 
j  Mexican  Sketches,  282 

MONUMENT  TO:  — 
Mickiewicz,  Cracow,  172 
The  Palatinate  Protestants,  243 
I  Pope's  Loggia,  Siena,  Italy,  118 

Porch,  St.  Maria  Maggiore,  Bergamo, 
173 


Portal,  Chateau  de  Gallon.  171 

"       Wissingso  Church,  Sweden  ,174 
Pump,  Merseburg,  Germany,  247 
Quebec  Sketches,  56,  57,  68 
Rmnan  Cavalier  by  Verrochlo,  270 
Science  Hall ,  Randolph  Macon  College, 

Ashland,    Va.     W.    M.    Poindexter, 

Architect,  271 
Sculptures  by  Auguste  Hodln,  27,  65,  99, 

112,  198,  199,  223,  224,  249,  260,  262,  283 
Spanish  Sketches,  258,  259,  260 
Stable  of   E.  J.  Wardell,  Cambridge, 

Mass.    Rand  &  Taylor,  Architects,  29 


Staircase,  Palace   of   Justice,   Vienna, 

244 

"         Rouen,  France,  257 
Tomb.    An  Italian,  128 

"        of   Governor   Nott,    Williams- 
burg,  Va..  279 
"        Verona,  Italy,  101 
Tower,  Cathedral,  Nimes,  141 
Towers.    German,  150..       213 
Vera  Cruz,  Mexico,  32,1»ji  *, 
Victory  Monument,  Berlinj^ll 
Williamsburg,  Va.,  Sketches,  279,  280, 
281 


INDEX    BY   LOCATION. 

[The  figures  refer  to  the  number  of  the  journal,  and  not  to  the  page.} 


Aoton,  Mass.     Memorial  Hall.     Hart- 
well  &  Richardson,  Architects,  705 
ALBANY,  N.  Y.:  — 

Entrance  to  City-hall.    H.   H.  Rich- 
ardson, Architect,  688  (Gel.) 
Entrance  to  Commercial  Bank-Build- 
ing.   R.  W.  Gibson,  Architect,  697 
Entrance  to  V.  M.  C.  A.  Building. 
Fuller  &  Wheeler,  Archts.  GUI  (Get.) 
House  of  R.  C.  1'ruyn.    R.  W.  Gibson, 

Architect,  6S5  (Gel.) 
House  of  Grange  Sard.    H.  H.  Rich- 
ardson, Architect,  701  (Oel.) 
State  Military  Academy,  68ft  (Gel.) 
St.  Peter's  Episcopal  Church.    K.  M. 

Upjohn,  Architect,  700  (Gel.) 
Ann    Arbor,    Mich.      Church.      W.    G. 

Malcomsou,  Architect,  6S7 
Augusta,  Ga.    King  Memorial  Decora- 
tion, St.  Paul's  Church.    Designed  by 
F.  S.  Lamb.  700 

Baltimore,    lid.     Bryn    Mawr    School- 
house     H.  R.  Marshall,  Archt.,  692 
Bar  Harbor,   Me.    "The  Talleyrand." 

De  Grasse  Fox,  Architect,  686 
Battle  Creek,  Mich.    Railroad  Station. 
Rogers  &  HacFarlane,  Architects,  692 
(Gel.) 

Benezet,  Pa.    Garden-gate  for  Curwen 
Stoddart.    F.  Miles  Day,  Archt.,  695 
Berkeley,  R.  I.    Building  for  the  Berke- 
ley Co.    Stone,  Carpeuter  &  Willson, 
Architects,  Till 
Berlin,  Germany.    Technische    llochs- 

chule,  697 

Blois,  France.    Statue  of  Louis  XII, 694 
BOSTON,  MASS.  :  — 
Algonquin    Club-house,      lie  Kim, 


Mead  &  White,  Archts.,  6S4  (Gel.) 
Auchmuty     Building.      Winslov 


Wetherell,  Architects,  699 

Billiard-roum,  Boston  Athletic  Asso- 
ciation Building.  J.  H.  Sturgis, 
Architect.  (193  ((.'<>/.) 

Boston  Athletic  Association  Building. 
J.  H.  Sturgis,  Architect,  693 

Building  for  F.  L.  Ames.  Sheplt-y, 
Rutan  &  Coolidge,  Architects,  6*6 

Doorway  to  House  of  John  Peabody. 
Peabody  &  Steams,  Architects,  G89 
(GeL) 

Gymnasium,  Boston  Athletic  Asso- 
ciation Building.  J.  II.  Sturgi-«, 
Architect,  1.93  (Gel.) 

House  of  C.  .1.  Page.  H.  L.  Warren, 
Architect,  690 

House  of  Dr.  W.  B.  Parker.  Hartwell 
&  Richardson,  Architects,  wa(Oel.) 

Houses  of  lira.  .1.  .1.  French  and  Mrs. 
C.  K.  Stratton.  Allen  &  Kenway, 
Architects,  681  (Gel.) 

Mission  Chapel  for  Emmanuel  Church. 
Rotch  &  Tilden,  Architects,  6115 

Proposed  Twelfth  Baptist  Church. 
Eugene  C.  Fisher,  Architect,  691 

State  Normal  Art-School.  Hartwell 
&  Richardson,  Architects.  G8K 

Upper  part  of  Extension  to  Adams 
House.    W.  Whitney  Lewis,  Archi- 
tect, 704  (Gel.) 
Bridgeport,    Coiin.        House    of    Mrs. 

Isabelle  Nash.    C.  T.  Beardsley,  Jr., 

Architect,  681 
Brussels,    Belgium.     Hotel   des    Bras- 

seurs,  683  (Gel.) 
Buffalo,  N.  VT.    Mohawk  Block.    E.  A. 

Kent,  Architect,  692 
Calais,  France.    Figures  for  the  Calais 

Monument.     Auguste  Rodin,  Sculp- 
tor, 696  (Gel.) 
Cambridge,  Mass.     New  Gateway  for 

Harvard  College.     McKim,  Mead  & 

White,  Architects,  607 
Charltou     Heights,    D.    C.      House    o, 

James  E.  Waugh.    T.  F.  Schneider! 

Architect,  681 
Chestnut   Hill,  Philadelphia    Pa 

Knights   of    Pythias    Lodge.      G.  T. 

Pearson,  Architect,  705 


Cincinnati,  O.    House  of  W.  C.  Procter. 

H.  Neill  Wilson,  Architect,  697 
Cleveland,  O.    Alterations  In  House  for 
N.    \V.    Taylor.     Clarence    O.  Arey, 
Architect,  703 

Complegne,  France.    Hotel  de  Ville,  683 

Davenport,  la.    Competitive  Design  for 

Calvary  Baptist  Church.     Wm.  Cowe, 

Architect,  681 

Dayton,  O.     House  of   K.   J.   Barney. 

S.  S.  Beman,  Architect,  701 
Dedhanl,  Mass.    Gate-lodge  for  G.  A. 
Nickerson.    Longfellow,  Alden  &  Har- 
low,  Architects,  095 
Devon,  Pa.    House  of  Mr.  Baker.    Geo. 

T.  Pearson,  Architect,  694 
East  Cambridge,  Mass.    Probate-Office. 

Wait  &  Cutter,  Architects,  087 
Fitchburg,  Mass.    Proposed  House  for 
K.  F.  Crocker.    Guy  Kirkham,  Archi- 
tect, 688 
Geneva,    Switzerland.      Monument    to 

Duke  of  Brunswick,  704 
Greensburg,  Pa.    House  of  George  M. 

Jones.    J.  A.  Dempwolf,  Archt.,  704 
Greenwich,  Conn.    House  of  Mrs.  Jere- 
miah MilDank.    Lamb  &  Rich,  Archi- 
tects, 0118  (Gel.) 
Guadalupe,    Mexico.     High    Altar    In 

Church,  682 

Gettysburg,  Pa.  Brua  Memorial  Chapel, 
Pennsylvania  College.  J.  A.  Demp- 
wolf, Architect,  080 

Haverford  College  Station,  Pa.    House 
and  Stable.    W.  Eyre,  Jr.,  Architect, 
705 
Hazleton,  Pa.   Miner's  Hospital.    Benj. 

Linfoot,  Architect,  703 
Jativa,  Spain.     Fountain,  GUI 
Jerez  de  Ja  Frontera,  Spain.    Church  of 

San  Miguel,  692 
Kingsville,  Out.,  Can.    Proposed  Hotel. 

Mason  &  Rice,  Architects,  G91 
Lansdown,  Pa.     House  of  A.  J.  Drexel, 
Jr.    Wilson  Eyre,  Jr.,  Architect,  698 
Laon,  France.    Church  of  St.  Martin,  694 
Lenox,  Mass.     House  of  Frederic  Fre- 
linghuysen.    Rotch  & 
Tildeu,  Architects,  69!i 
"        House  of  G.  G.  Haven. 
J.  D.  Johnston,  Archi- 
tect, 705  (Gel.) 

"        Pulpit,  Choir-stalls  and 

Bishop's  Chair,  Trinity 

Churcll.    W.  C.  Brock- 

lesby.  Architect,  681 

Lexington,     Ky.      Memorial     Library. 

Willis  Polk,  Architect,  689 
Lorhada,  New  York,  N.  Y.    Stable  for 
W.   F.    Proctor.     W.    Ross    Proctor, 
Architect,  681 

Los    Angeles,    Cal.     House   of    M.    S. 
Severance.      Curlett.  Eisen   &  Cuth- 
bertson,  Architects,  6X5 
Louisville,   Ky.    House  of  Mrs.  Alice 

Bacon,  689 

Lowell,  Mass.    Competitive  Design  for 
City-hall.    Wait  &  Cutter,  Archts.,  703 
Luray,  Va.    Church  of  St.  Giles.    Geo. 
T.  Pearson,  Architect. 686 
"         "      Luray  Inn.    Geo.  T.  Pear- 
son, Architect,  690 
Lyons,  France.    Hotel  de  Ville.  683 

"          Old  Hotel  de  Ville.  683 
Maiden,  Mass.    Baptist  Church.    Shep- 

ley,  Riitau  &  Coolidge,  Archts.,  701 
Manchester.  Vt.    House  of  E.  S.  Isham. 

F.  W.  Stickney,  Architect,  704 
Meutz,  Germany.    The  Cathedral,  6X3 

(Gel.) 

Minneapolis,  Minn.  Details  of  Slow- 
burning  Con- 
struction, Klor- 
e  n  ce  Flats. 
James  C. Plant, 
Architect,  680 
"  Family  Hotel.  H. 
W.  Jones,  Ar- 
chitect, 705 


Minneapolis,  Minn.     House    of    J. 

Frank  Collom.    G.  W.  &  F.  D.  Orff, 

Architects,  699 
Montclair,  N.  J.    Sketch  for  a  Country 

Church,  Chapel  and  Parsonage.    R. 

H.  Robertson,  Architect,  693 
Nancy,  France.     Statue  of  Duke  An 

toine  of  Lorraine,  National  Museum, 

694 

NEW  YORK,  N.  Y.  :  - 

Alterations  to  Building  of  the  New 
York  Club.   H.  H.  Robertson  and  A. 
J.  Manning,  Architects,  701 
Arion    Club  -  house.     De    l.emos    & 

Cordes,  Architects,  686  (Gel.) 
Competitive  Design  for  Christ  Church. 

R.  H.  Robertson,  Architect,  695 
Competitive    Design    for    Church, 
Clergy-house  and  Schools.     H.  M. 
Cougdon,  Architect,  705 
Competitive    Design    for    Church, 
Clergy-house  and  Schools  for  Trin- 
ity Corporation.    R.  M.  Hunt,  Ar- 
chitect, 700 

Competitive  Design  for  Church, 
Clergy-house  and  Schools  for  Trin- 
ity Corporation.  H.  C.  Withers, 
Architect,  702 

Competitive  Design  for  Church, 
Clergy-house  and  Schools  for  Trin- 
ity Corporation.  W.  Halsey  Wood, 
Architect,  698 

Competitive  Design  for  the  World 
Building.  R.  H.  Robertson,  Archi- 
tect, 685 

New  York  C.  R.  R.  Employe's 
Reading-room.  R.  H.  Robertson, 
Architect,  695  (Gel.) 
Entrance  to  House  of  C.  L.  Tiffany. 
McKim,  Mead  &  White,  Architects, 
682  (Gel.) 

Ventilating  Tower,  Presbyterian  Hos- 
pital.   J.C.  Cady£  Co.,  Archts.,  689 
Newport,  R.  I.     House  of  Mrs.  Eldridge. 
Dudley  Newton,  Architect,  687  (Gel.) 
Newton,  Mass.    House  of  B.  E.  Taylor. 

Rand  &  Taylor,  Architects,  696 
Padua,  Italy.    Church  of  San  Antonio, 

702  (Gel.) 
"          "       Model  of  Gattamelata's 

Horse,  702 
"          ••        Statue   of  Gattamelata, 

702  (Gel.) 
Pasadena,    Cal.     All    Saints'    Church. 

E.  A.  Coxhead,  Architect,  692 
I'avia,  Italy.    Church  of  San  Michele, 

613 

Pelhatn,  N.  Y.  Stable  and  Billiard- 
room.  Walgrove  &  Israels,  Archi- 
tects, 689 

Philadelphia,  Pa.  Branch  Bank  of 
America.  Chas. 
W.  Bolton,  Ar- 
chitect, 703 

"  Old  House  at 
Grey's  Ferry. 
Sketched  by 
Frauk  A.  Hays, 
702 

Poland    Springs,     Me.      Window     and 
Mantel    in    Dining-room    of    Poland 
Springs  House.    Stevens  &Cobb,  Ar- 
chitects, 6811 
Pontiac,    H.    1.     All    Saints'    Church. 

Howard  Hoppin,  Architect,  681 
Providence,  R.  I.    Sketch  of  the  Church 
of  the  Blessed  Sacrament.    Heius  & 
La  Farge,  Architects,  694 
Quebec,  Can.    Street  Views.    Sketched 

by  Robert  Brown,  Jr.,  681 
Rheims,  France.    Hotel  de  Ville,  683 

ROCHESTER,  N.  Y. :  — 
Archer  Building.    C.  S.  Ellis,  Archi- 
tect, 688 

House.    Thomas  Nolan,  Archt.,  684 
House    of    C.    E.    Boweu.     Thomas 
Nolan,  Architect,  691 


ROCHESTER,  N.  Y. :  — 
House  of  J.   M.  Davis.    Otto  Block, 

Architect,  699 
House    of    V.    F.    Whitmore.      Otto 

Block,  Architect,  699 
Rosemont,  Pa.    House  ot  J.  F.  Sinnott. 
Hazlehurst  &  Huckel.  Architects,  704 
Santa  Barbara,  Cal.    Minion  Church, 

Drawn  by  J.  G.  Howard,  690 
Santiago,  Chili,  Sa.    House  of  Enrique 
Concha   y  Toro, 
681 
"      "      The  Place  of  Arms, 

685 

Springfield,  Mass.  Proposed  House  for 
C.  D.  Hosley.  Guy  Kirkham,  Archi- 
tect, 688 

St.  Louis,  Mo.  Building  for  Bell  Tele- 
phone Co.  Shepley, 
Rutan  &  Coolidge, 
Architects,  682 

'      Building  for  Maj.  F.  H. 

Phipps  and  Mrs.  R.  R. 
Wallace.  A.  F.  Rosen- 
helm,  Architect,  689 
Syracuse,  N.  Y.     Hler   Flats.     J.  M. 

Elliott,  Architect,  688 
Topeka.  Kansas.    Grace  Church  Cathe-- 
dral  and  Guild-hall.    H.  M.  Congdon, 
Architect,  696 

Toronto,   Can.     House    of    Alexander 
Ure.     Knox   & 
Elliot,  Archts.,  689 
Upper   Canada   Col- 
lege.    George  F. 
Durum!,  Arcbt.,682 
VENICE,  ITALY  :  — 
Interior  of  St.  Mark's,  after  an  Ktcli 

ing  by  Otto  Bacher,  690 
Monument  to  Niccolo  Orsiul,  697 
School  of   St.  Mark  and  Church  of 

SS.  Giovanni  e  Paolo,  702 
Statue  of  Colleoni,  702 
VERONA, ITALY : — 
Arena.    The,  6% 
Cathedral.    The  700 
Juliet's  Tomb,  700 
Monument  to  Malaspina,  697 
Porta  Borsari,  696 
Porta  dei  Leoni,  696 
St.  Zeno,  700 

Tombs  of  the  Scaligers,  698,  704 
WASHINGTON,  D.  C.  :  — 
Atlantic  Building.     James   G.  Hill, 

Architect,  694  (Gel.) 
National  Bank  of  Washington.  James 

G.  Hill,  Architect,  688 
Proposed  Municipal  Buildings.    Wil- 
lis Polk,  Architect,  687 
Watch   Hill,  R.  1.    Cottage.     Howard 
Hoppin,     Archi- 
tect, 6.7 

"  "  "  Cottage  No.  4. 
Howard  Hoppiu, 
Architect,  689 

West  Philadelphia,  Pa.     House  of  J. 
De    F.    Junkin.     Albert    W.    Dilks, 
Architect,  698 
Williamsburg,  Va.    Christ  Church,  703 

(Qel.) 
"      Sketches  by  A.  B. 

Bibb,  703 

Wood's  Holl,  Mass.    House  of  M.Ogdeu 
Jones.     Wheelwright  &  Haven,  Ar- 
chitects, 6*0 
Worcester,  Mass.    Armory.    Fuller   & 

Delano,  Architects,  697 
Yi inkers.  N.  Y.    Competitive  Design  for 
a  School-house.    Farnsworth,  Hamil- 
ton &  Mersereau,  Architects,  692 
York,  Pa.    House  of  I.  W.  Allen.    B. 

F.  Willis,  Architect,  708 
"       "      House  of  Frank  Campbell. 
J.    A.    Dempwolf,  Archi- 
tect, 682 

"       "      House  of  B.  F.  Willis.    B. 
F.  Willis,  Architect,  688 


THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT  AND  BUILDING  NEWS. 


VOL.  XXV. 


Copyright,  1889,  by  TICKNOK  &  COMPANY,  Boston,  Mags. 


No      680, 


JANUARY  5, 1889. 

Entered  at  the  Post-office  at  Boston  as  second-class  matter. 


SUMMARY:  — 

Carrying  on  Mason- work  in  Cold  Weather.  —Theatre  iires  at 
Oswego,  N.  Y.,  and  Chicago,  111. —The  Supervising  Archi- 
tect and  the  New  York  Tribune  s  Charges.  —  Some  Details  of 
the  alleged  Improprieties  committed  by  Mr.  Freret. —  The 
Moral  to  be  deduced  from  this  Accusation.  —  Massachusetts 
State-House  Competition 

BUILDERS'  HARDWARE. — XVI •„    • 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  — 

State  Military  Academy,  Albany,  N.  Y.  — House  of  Mr.  M. 
Ogden  Jones,  Woods  Holl,  Mass.  —  Dining-room  Window, 
Poland  Springs  Hotel.  —  Dining-room  Fireplace,  Poland 
Springs  Hotel.  — Brua  Memorial  Chapel,  Pennsylvania 
College,  Gettysburg,  Pa.  — Details  of  Slow-burning  Con- 
struction  

PltOTEST  AGAINST  THE  MASSACHUSETTS  STATE-HOUSE  COMPETITION'. 
AltCH.-EOLOGICAL    CAMPING    IN    ARIZONA. —I ,       •       • 

SOCIETIES 
COMMUNICATIONS  :  — 

The  Architectural  Course  at  Columbia  College.  —  Slow-burning 

Construction. —  A  Correction 

NOTES  AND  CLIPPINGS 

TRADE  SURVEYS 


HE    question    of    carrying    on    mason-work    in    freezing 
weather  has  excited  a  good  deal  of  attention  among  archi- 
tects, since   the   publication  of   an    official  report  to  the 
British  Government  by  a  representative  in  Copenhagen,  from 
which  it  appeared  that  brick  walls   are  laid  in   that   city  in 
winter  with  perfect  success,  the  only  precaution  taken  being  to 
use  freshly-slaked  lime  in  the  mortar,  so  that  it  may  be  warm 
when  put  on.     It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  many,  if  not 
most,  architects  doubt  seriously  the  propriety  of  using  under 
any  circumstances    mortar    made   with  Jime   half-slaked,    and 
doubt  still  more  whether  the  inevitable  freezing  would  be  any 
more  advantageous  to  this  sort  of  mortar  than  to  the  ordinary 
kind.     Quite  recently  interesting  contributions  to  the  discussion 
have  been  made  by  architects  and  engineers  in  Norway.     One 
of  these,  Herr  Torp,  a  Government  Engineer,  had  several  ex- 
perimental walls  built  in  1879,  part  with  materials  prepared  in 
the  ordinary  manner,  and  part  with  mortar  made  with  freshly- 
slaked  lime.     The  work  was  done  in  winter,  the  thermometer 
varying  from  six  to  twelve-and-one-half  degrees   below  zero. 
We  must  note,  by  the  way,  that  the  Deutsche   Bauzeitung,  in 
which  we  find  this  interesting  account,  does  not  say  whether 
the  thermometer  used  is  Fahrenheit  or  Reaumur  or  Centigrade, 
but  although  there  seems  to  be  a  fashion  in  Germany  just  now 
of  using  Reaumur's  scale,  we  may  perhaps  assume  that  these 
are  Fahrenheit  temperatures.      The  walls  were  left  for  five 
years  exposed  to  the  weather,   and  were  then  taken  down. 
Although  the  best  materials  had  been  used,  both  in  the  hot  and 
cold  mortar,  and  the  bricks  had  been  laid  with  great  care,  the 
walls  proved  worthless.     There  was  no  cohesion  between  the 
bricks,  and  the  mortar  in  all  cases  was  mere  powder.      On 
the  other  hand,  Herr  Due,  an  architect  of  Christiania,  who  had 
built  experimental  walls,  both  with  lime  and  cement,  in  very 
severe  frosts,  found  in  the  following  summer  that  the  frozen 
walls  were  quite  equal  in  quality  to  thosfc  laid  with   similar 
materials  in  warm  weather.     A  third  expert,  Herr  Werwing, 
of   Stockholm,  reports  that  in  1881,  five   experimental  piers 
were  built  in  the  city  material-yard,  with  brick  in  lime  mortar. 
The  bricks  were  thoroughly  dried,  and  the  lime  was  not  only 
freshly  slaked,  but  the  sand  was  piled  on  iron  plates,  heated 
learly  to  redness,  and  in  this  condition  was  mixed  with  the 
imo.     The  first  pier  was  built  when  the  thermometer  showed 
:our  below  zero,  the  second  at  ten  below,  the  third  at  fourteen 
ilow,  and  the  fourth  and  fifth  at  eighteen  below.     Each  pier, 
hen  completed,  was  covered  with  a  small  roof,  to  keep  the 
.in  off  the  top.     At  present  these  piers  are  in  tolerably  good 
mditioii,  but  the  joints  of  those  built  at  a  temperature  of  ten 
ilejrrees  or  more  below  zero  were  disintegrated  to  a  consider- 
able depth  by  the  frost  soon  after  their  completion.     In  the 
winter  of  1886-7  a  technical  society  in  Stockholm  had  several 
experimental  piers  and  walls  built  in  cold  weather,  but  the  re- 


sult was  so  unfavorable  that  it  was  decided  that  the  experiment 
had  not  been  carried  out  with  sufficient  care,  and  the  piers  are 
to  be  .rebuilt.  The  Deutsche  Bauzeitung  hopes,  as  will  all 
architects  and  engineers,  that  careful  and  extensive  tests  may 
be  made,  to  decide  conclusively  under  what  circumstances 
mason-work,  in  lime  or  cement  mortar,  can  be  safely  carried  on 
in  severely  cold  weather,  and  we  earnestly  commend  the  sub- 
ject to  the  attention  of  students  at  our  schools  of  scientific 
architecture.  So  far,  the  only  points  upon  which  the  experi- 
menters seem  to  be  agreed,  are  that  the  bricks  must  be  dry, 
and  that  the  work  must  be  done  with  great  care.  These,  how- 
ever, coyer  only  a  small  portion  of  the  subject.  In  fact, 
"  great  care  "  is  not  to  be  expected  of  bricklayers  at  work  in  a 
piercing  February  wind,  and  what  architects  and  builders  want  to 
know  is  how  walls  can  be  safely  built,  with  either  lime  or  cement, 
with  ordinary  care  during  the  cold  season.  To  our  mind,  the 
idea  of  warming  the  mortar  by  using  freshly-slaked  lime,  or  by 
toasting  the  sand  on  hot  plates,  has  something  ridiculous  about 
it.  The  mass  of  mortar  is  so  small  in  proportion  to  that  of 
the  bricks,  that  if  the  latter  were  employed  at  the  temperature 
of  the  atmosphere  in  a  cold  day,  the  mortar  would  freeze  be- 
tween them  almost  instantaneously  even  if  it  were  at  boiling- 
point  when  applied.  Any  one  can  satisfy  himself  of  this  by 
pouring  hot  water  on  a  brick  pavement  on  a  cold  day,  and 
mortar  freezes  much  more  readily  than  clear  water.  Of 
course,  the  mortar  under  some  circumstances,  may  not  be  in- 
jured by  freezing,  but  this  immunity  from  injury  should  not  be 
wrongly  attributed  to  the  effect  of  using  hot  lime  in  prevent- 
ing it  from  freezing.  If  we  might  make  a  suggestion,  it  would 
be  that  some  one  should  experiment  in  a  field  hitherto  almost 
untried,  bv  warming  the  bricks,  instead  of  the  mortar.  We 
had,  years  ago,  occasion  to  lay  brickwork  in  cement  in  winter, 
and  the  bricks  were  kept  hot  by  piling  them  over  one  of  the 
low,  flat  furnaces  used  for  heating  pebbles  for  making  coal-tar 
concrete.  They  retained  the  warmth  for  a  long  time,  probably 
long  enough  for  the  cement  in  the  inner  portions  of  the  wall,  at 
least,  to  set  before  freezing,  and  the  work  seems  to  have  been 
perfectly  sound ;  but  whether  this  was  a  better  plan  than  heat- 
ing the  mortar  alone,  or  how  the  bricks  can  be  best  warmed,  or 
whether  the  cement  under  such  circumstances  would  be  better 
with  salt  or  lime  in  it,  are  points  which  trial  alone  can^decide. 


TTTO  have  two  theatres  burned  in  one  night,  without  any  loss 
•'i  of  life,  is  a  piece  of  good  fortune  which  is  not  likely  to 
occur  again  very  soon.  In  Oswego,  N.  Y.,  the  other  night, 
during  the  performance  of  one  of  Mrs.  Langtry's  plays  at  the 
Academy  of  Music  in  that  city,  clouds  of  smoke  were  seen  to 
pour  up  from  the  hot-air  register  in  the  middle-aisle,  and  the 
crackling  of  fire  was  heard  beneath.  Naturally,  the  audience 
and  the  actors  made  a  rush  for  the  doors,  which  was  partially 
checked  by  what  the  newspapers  call  some  "  cool-headed  men." 
who  jumped  upon  the  stage  and  shouted  that  there  was  "  no 
danger."  Fortunately,  the  people  in  the  audience  trusted  the 
evidence  of  their  own  senses,  rather  than  the  representations 
of  the  "cool-headed  men,"  and  in  two  minutes  the  theatre  was 
cleared,  just  as  flames  began  to  come  through  the  floor.  The 
fire,  it  seems,  caught  from  an  overheated  furnace  in  the  base- 
ment, which,  by 'a  judicious  effort  of  planning  which  we  would 
like  to  commend  to  the  attention  of  the  next  grand  jury,  was 
placed  under  the  middle-aisle,  near  the  main  entrance,  just 
where  it  would  have  cut  off  the  escape  of  a  large  part  of  the 
audience,  if  they  had  listened  to  the  blandishments  of  the  "  cool- 
headed  men,"  and  delayed  their  rush  for  safety.  In  Chicago, 
on  the  same  night,  just  after  the  close  of  a  performance  at  the 
Chicago  Opera  House,  one  of  the  calcium-lights  -used  for  the 
stage  effects  fell  to  the  floor,  setting  fire  to  the  carpet,  and  in  a 
short  time  the  building  was  completely  burned  out.  If  the 
accident  had  happened  half  an  hour  earlier,  it  is  impossible  to 
say  how  many  lives  might  have  been  lost,  but  only  one  or  two 
persons  were  left  in  the  building,  who  easily  escaped. 


w 


E  generally  prefer  to  wait  for  more  definite  information 
before  taking  up  the  "  charges  "  which  are  so  liberally 
hurled  at  Democratic  office-holders  by  Republican  news- 


papers, and  vice  versd,  and  the  New  York  Tribune,  we  regret 
to  say,  is  not  the  journal  to  which  we  refer  with  the  most  im- 


The   American    Architect  and  Building   News.        [Vou  XXV.  —  No.  680. 


plicit  confidence  for  information  on  topics  bearing  upon  politics  ; 
but  one  of  its  recent  "  developments,"  or  "  mare's  nests,"  or 
whatever  else  our  readers  may  choose  to  call  it,  has  so  much 
importance  to  the  public  and  the  profession,  whether  there 
is  any  truth  in  it  or  not,  that  we  will  try  to  extract  a  moral 
from  it,  without  attempting  to  investigate  its  probability.  Ac- 
cording to  the  Washington  correspondent  of  the  Tribune,  who 
has  just  turned  his  austere  Republican  eye  upon  the  office  of 
the  Democratic  supervising  architect,  a  state  of  affairs  has  been, 
or  rather,  is  likely  to  be  found  there,  which  must  excite  the 
gravest  concern  in  all  lovers  of  virtue.  Among  other  things, 
it  appears  that  Colonel  Freret,  the  present  supervising  archi- 
tect, has  so  monstrous  a  love  for  Democratic  draughtsmen  that, 
after  the  recent  order  of  the  President,  placing  his  office  under 
Civil  Service  rules,  he  "  summoned  his  henchmen  "  and  con- 
cocted with  them  an  extraordinary  scheme  for  resisting  the 
operation  of  the  order.  As  soon  as  draughtsmen  were  needed 
for  the  office,  although,  under  the  new  rules,  it  was  necessary 
to  select  the  candidates  by  competitive  examination,  the  con- 
spirators, to  whom,  for  some  unexplained  reason,  the  Civil 
Service  Commissioners  appear  to  have  entrusted  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  examination  papers,  drew  up  a  set  of  questions 
"  that  would  turn  any  would-be  applicant  gray."  Advertise- 
ments for  candidates  were  inserted  in  the  newspapers,  accom- 
panied with  a  statement  of  requirements  which  was  "  enough  to 
knock  the  best  architectural  draughtsman  in  the  country  dizzy," 
with  the  purpose  of  preventing  candidates  from  presenting 
themselves  or  passing  the  examination,  so  that,  in  default  of 
material  from  this  source,  Colonel  Freret  would  be  permitted 
to  appoint  his  assistants  himself.  Whether  this  plan,  in  the 
description  of  which  it  will  be  observed  that  the  Tribune  corre- 
spondent keeps  up  in  perfection  the  style  of  composition  be- 
queathed by  the  late  Mr.  Greeley  to  his  successors,  worked 
well  or  not  we  are  unable  to  ascertain,  but  it  appears  that,  if 
any  candidates  presented  themselves,  none  were  accepted  at  the 
examinations,  and  only  a  small  amount  of  imagination  is  re- 
quired to  infer  all  the  rest  from  this  circumstance. 


OOON  afterwards,  however,  another  fell  plot  was  conceived 
k\  in  the  bosom  of  the  supervising  architect,  whose  "  insatiable 
•  desire  for  self-glorification  and  enrichment "  is  soon,  it 
appears,  to  be  fed  by  means  which  have  been  revealed  to  the 
Tribun^  correspondent,  although  kept  secret  from  all  other 
persons.  The  principal  point  of  this  scheme,  and,  it  need 
hardly  be  said,  the  one  which  causes  the  keenest  anguish  to 
good  Republicans,  is  to  consist  in  an  effort  to  have  contracts 
entered  into  for  all  public  buildings  for  which  an  appropriation 
has  been  made  before  the  fourth  of  March,  when  the  present 
administration  goes  out  of  office.  As  the  execution  of  this 
heinous  purpose  requires  the  cooperation  of  the  principal  as- 
sistants in  the  office,  they  have  been  seduced  by  "  plums  "  in 
the  shape  of  missions  to  buy  sites  for  the  new  buildings,  and 
will,  we  suppose,  come  back  prepared  for  any  iniquity,  although, 
as  it  is  usual  to  obtain  sites  for  public  buildings  before  proceed- 
ing to  their  erection,  and  as  these  gentlemen  have  been  for 
years  entrusted  with  that  duty,  we  do  not  at  once  perceive  how 
Satan  should  be  able  to  utilize  the  present  opportunity  any  better 
than  the  previous  ones.  However,  we  suppose  that  Colonel 
Freret,  who  evidently  maintains  intimate  relations  with  the 
powers  of  evil,  will  look  out  for  that,  and  on  their  return  the 
conspirators  will  find  the  plot  ready.  Omitting  the  least  important 
of  the  horrid  details  which  the  Tribune  correspondent  gives,  the 
scheme  contemplates  nothing  less  than  the  employment  of  the 
office-draughtsmen  after  hours  in  making  the  drawings  required 
for  contracting  for  the  new  buildings.  As  there  seems  to  be 
some  objection  to  doing  this  directly,  the  plan  is  said  to  be  for 
the  supervising  architect  to  employ  outside  architects  to  furnish 
drawings  for  given  buildings,  which,  by  the  way,  is,  we  think, 
often  done,  with  the  understanding  that  they,  in  their  turn, 
will  engage  the  office-draughtsmen  to  do  for  them,  as  private 
individuals,  out  of  hours  the  work  which  official  routine  does 
not  allow  them  to  do  for  the  public  authority.  By  this  indirect 
means  the  persons  familiar  with  the  proposed  buildings  will  be 
enabled  to  push  the  drawings  far  more  rapidly  than  would  be 
the  case  in  the  ordinary  course,  and  at  the  same  time,  according 
to  the  Tribune  correspondent,  there  will  be  "  general  demorali- 
zation of  the  office,  and  the  establishment  of  a  precedent  dan- 
gerous and  impracticable,"  besides  "  utter  confusion  and  the 
worthless  work  that  must  ensue  in  consequence  of  its  being 
done  in  less  than  one-fifth  the  time  required  for  good  work," 


followed  by  the  award,  "  on  these  drawings  bristling  with  mis- 
takes," of  contracts  which  "  cannot  be  annulled  without  great 
cost  to  the  Government,"  while,  "  if  the  buildings  are  begun, 
half  the  work  will  have  to  be  torn  down  as  worthless."  This 
"  startling  conspiracy,"  which,  to  the  ordinary  mind,  looks 
exactly  like  an  attempt  of  a  faithful  and  energetic  architect  to 
free  himself  from  the  intolerable  fetters  of  official  deliberation 
and  routine  and  try,  for  once,  to  get  public  work  done  with  the 
same  promptness  that  would  be  shown  in  private  transactions, 
is  called  by  the  Tribune  correspondent  a  "  premeditated  and  de- 
termined attempt  to  violate  the  law,"  devised  by  Colonel 
Freret  to  "  enrich  himself."  Abundant  proof  is  asserted  to  be 
in  the  possession  of  the  same  correspondent  "  to  send  several 
of  the  officials  of  the  supervising  architect's  office  to  State 
Prison,"  and  "  at  least  twenty  "  of  these  gentlemen  are  repre- 
sented as  "  liable  to  indictment  and  punishment  by  fine  and  im- 
prisonment, or  both,"  while  Congress  is  called  upon  to  inter- 
fere at  once,  and,  in  fact,  the  Senate,  as  the  guardian  of 
Republican  interests,  has  already  ordered  an  investigation  into 
charges  which,  so  far  as  we  can  see,  are  based  simply  on  specu- 
lations as  to  what  Colonel  Freret's  motives  could  have  been  in 
making  his  examination  papers  so  hard,  and  sending  certain  of 
his  clerks  to  certain  places,  and  on  predictions  as  to  what  he  is 
likely  to  do  hereafter. 


TITHE  moral  which  decent  architects,  as  well  as  decent  people 
i.  generally,  will  draw  from  all  this  is  that,  under  present 
conditions,  appointment  to  a  post  of  professional  responsi- 
bility under  the  United  States  Government  is  a  disgrace  and 
degradation  to  be  avoided  at  all  hazards.  So  long  as  Tribune 
and  World  correspondents  and  their  like  are  allowed,  under  the 
excuse  of  political  zeal,  to  lay  hold  of  the  simplest  acts  of  an 
official,  garnish  them  with  false  constructions  and  interpolations 
invented  on  the  spot,  and  exhibit  their  victim,  day  after  day,  as 
a  fit  subject  for  the  criminal  courts,  just  so  long  will  the  public 
be  served  mainly  by  persons  with  no  reputation  to  lose.  We 
have  always  believed  the  supervising  architect's  office  to  have 
been  originally  a  device  for  exercising  an  extensive  political 
influence  under  cover  x>f  doing  work  which,  as  has  been  amply 
demonstrated,  would  be  much  better  and  more  cheaplv  done  by 
employing  local  architects.  The  excellent  character  of  the 
heads  of  the  office  has  done  much  to  deprive  it  of  its  usefulness 
as  a  political  machine,  and  the  scandals  which  disgraced  it 
during  the  early  days  of  its  existence  would  be  impossible  under 
the  well-trained  professional  men  who  have  of  late  years  con- 
ducted it,  but,  with  its  disposition  and  opportunity  to  exert 
political  influence,  its  only  reason  for  existence  disappears. 
The  uniform  testimony  of  those  who  should  know  best,  the  in- 
cumbents of  the  office,  is  that  it  is  a  slow  and  cumbrous  device 
for  producing  poor  work  at  an  enormous  expense,  and  that  it 
exposes  the  Government  to  fraud  on  the  part  of  contractors  by 
allowing  the  architect  no  discretion  in  dealing  with  them,  while 
the  endless  defamation  poured  upon  those  who  hold  what  the 
Tribune  correspondent  calls  its  "  fat  berths "  by  those  who 
would  like  to  get  into  them  themselves  brings  Government  em- 
ployment into  contempt  among  self-respecting  members  of  the 
profession. 


JI7HERE  is  a  homely  adage  about  the  bird  that  fouls  its  own 
X  nest  which  has  a  close  application  to  this  matter  of  com- 
petitions conducted  under  improper  conditions,  and.  if 
architects  as  a  body,  who,  if  we  understand  an  article  in  this 
month's  issue  of  the  Century,  are  looked  on  by  the  public  as  a 
cross  between  the  vampire  and  the  turkey  buzzard,  are  not  in- 
terested in  the  cleanliness  of  their  own  nest,  they  have  themselves 
to  blame  if  the  public  continue  to  proffer  them  offal  for  their 
subsistence.  The  protest  against  the  manner  of  conducting 
the  competition .  for  the  enlargement  of  the  Massachusetts 
State-House  is  put  in  such  a  form  as  to  have  application  to 
any  similar  invitation,  and  the  greater  the  number  of  pro- 
testants  —  from  all  parts  of  the  country  —  the  more  respectful 
consideration  it  will  receive,  the  more  valuable  precedent  will 
it  establish,  and  the  greater  step  forward  toward  the  desired 
better  condition  of  things  will  have  been  taken.  We  will  remind 
the  younger  men  who  may  be  disposed  to  regard  such  affairs 
as  their  "  chance,"  that  when  they  are  a  few  years  older  they 
will  look  upon  the  matter  from  a  different  standpoint,  and  will 
then  regret  that  they  did  not  make  an  effort  to  help  abolish 
the  evil. 


JANUARY  5,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect   and  Building  News. 


Fig.  235.     Spring  Wire  Blind-fast. 


BUILDERS'  HARDWARE.1  — XVI. 

SHUTTER    FASTS    AND    LOCKS. 

TT7HE  appliances  for  se- 
X  curing  outside  blinds, 
though  in  some  cases 
combined  directly  or  indi- 
rectly with  the  blind 
hinges,  are  more  often 
distinct  fixtures,  acting 
independently  of  the 
blind  attachments.  The 
usage  in  regard  to  shutter 
fasts  and  locks  varies  in 
different  portions  of  the 
country.  In  the  West 
there  seems  to  be  a 

willingness  to  accept  considerable  complication  in  the  de- 
vices, whereas  the  standard  Eastern  goods  are  mostly 
very  simple ;  though,  of  course,  this  distinction  is  not  a  rigid 
one,  by  any  means.  The  West,  however,  is  rapidly  developing 
new  ideas  and  fresh  combinations,  in  hardware  no  less  than  in 
nearly  every  other  department  of  mechanical  industry,  and 
special  patent  forms  seem  to  be  more  naturally  expected  there 
than  elsewhere.  This  does  not  imply  that  the  Eastern  cities 
are  united  in  the  usage  of  particular  forms,  for  places  as  near 
to  each  other  as  New  York,  Providence  and  Boston  employ 
different  forms,  as  will  be  seen  later  on. 

Figure  235  will  serve  to  illustrate  one  of  the  most  common 
forms  of  shutter  or  blind  fast,  consisting  of  a  tempered  steel 
rod,  or  wire,  one  end  of  which  is  cut  with  a  thread  arid  screws 
into  the  under  side  of  the  blind,  while  the  other  end  is  held  by 
a  staple.  The  rod  is  bent  so  that  the  loop  is  kept  away  from 
the  blind,  and  the  elasticity  of  the  metal  enables  it  to  spring 


Fig.  236.     Folsom's   Blind-fast.     J.  H.  Hiller. 

into  the  malleable-iron  catch  on  the  sill,  or  on  the  outside  of 
the  wall.  The  well-known  "  Stedd "  blind  fastener  is  prac- 
tically the  same  as  this,  except  that  the  rod  is  bent  in  a  com- 
plete twist  to  gain  the  elasticity,  and  a  common  screw  takes 
the  place  of  the  threaded  end.  The  same  form  is  made,  with 
slight  variations,  by  several  of  the  leading  manufacturers. 

Figure  236  shows  the  only  form  of  wire  blind-fast  which 
allows  one  to  close  the  blind  without  leaning  out  of  the  window, 
or  in  any  way  lifting  the  shutter  to  release  it  from  the  back 
catch.  It  consists  of  a  steel  wire,  bent  as  shown  by  the  figure, 
but  carried  as  far  back  towards  the  hinge  as  the  hanging-style 

of  the  blind  will  per- 
mit. To  release  the 
blind,  the  fastener  is 
simply  pulled  inward. 
Any  form  of  back 
catch  may  be  used. 
For  the  sill-catch  a 
wide  staple  is  used, 
which  is  set  on  an 
angle  to  the  blind,  so 


Fig.  237.   Boston  Pattern  Blind-fast.    Stanley  Works. 


as  to  force  the  spring 
back  and  permit  it  to 
catch  behind  the  staple.  This  fastener  has  but  very  recently 
been  put  on  the  market. 

The  blind-fast  shown  by  Figure  238  works  entirely  by  gravity. 
It  consists  of  a  bent  lever,  working  in  a  mortise  cut  through 
the  bottom  rail  of  the  blind,  pivoted  so  that  one  arm  protrudes 
above  the  top  of  the  rail,  while  the  other  catches  over  an  ordi- 
nary hook  on  the  sill  or  against  the  wall.  Lugs  on  the  end  of 
the  horizontal  lever  arm  catch  on  a  thin  plate  screwed  to  the 
under  side  (,f  the  rail  and  prevent  the  fast  from  dropping  too 


1  Continued  f roan  page  276,  No.  G77. 


POTTOA  RAILOF  BLin 


low  or  being  lifted  too  high.     This  fast  is  made  of  coppered 
malleable-iron,  and  seems  like  a  very  satisfactory  article. 

Figure  237  is  an  older  style  of  blind-fast,  on  essentially  the 
same  principle  as  Figure  236 ;  using,  however,  a  flat  bar 
instead  of  the  spring  wire.  This  form  requires  a  little  more 

work  in  adjustment.     It 

is  designated  peculiarly 
as  the  "  Boston "  pat- 
tern blind-fast.  The  so- 
called  "  New  York  " 
pattern  is  illustrated  by 
Figure  239.  The  action 
of  this  fast  will  be  better 
appreciated  when  it  is 
.  remembered  that  in 
New  York,  the  blinds 
are  usually  hung  flush 
with  the  outer  casing, 
and  the  sill  is  rebated 
so  that  the  bottom  of 
the  blind  strikes  against 
the  upper  rebate.  The 
latch  is  hinged  on  the 
inner  plate,  the  weight 
of  the  long  arm  keeping  the  inner  hook  thrown  up.  The  sill- 
staple  is  driven  perpendicularly,  while  the  back  catch  is  screwed 
horizontally  into  the  wall.  The  Stanley  Works  also  has  what 
is  designated  as  the  "  Providence  "  style  of  blind-fast.  This  is 


HOVJC    .STAPLE 


JILLjTAPLE 


Fig.  238.     Gravity  Blind-fast. 


Fig.  240.  Standard  Screw 
Blind-fast.  Stanley 
Works. 


Fig.  239.     New  York  Pattern  Blind-fast.     Stanley  Works. 

exactly  the  same  as  the  "  New  York  "  pattern,  except  that  the 
inner  hook  catches  over  instead  of  under  the  sill-staple,  and  is 
shaped  like  the  back  catch  of  Figure  235,  inverted. 

Figure  240  shows  a  form  of  blind-fast  which  is  screwed 
bodily  through  the  blind,  catching  on  sill  and  wall  staples  in 
the  same  manner  as  the  preceding  styles.  A  flat  spring 
inside  of  the  case  keeps  the  inner  hook  constantly  pressed  up 
and  against  the  sill- 
staple.  A  variation 
of  this  same  pattern 
is  made  which  acts  by 
gravity,  the  catch 
working  in  an  oblique 
slot  in  such  a  manner 
that  the  weight  of  the 
outer  catch  forces 
the  inner  catch  always 

Fig.  241.     Security  Blind-fast.     Stanley  Works. 

against  the  sill-staple. 

Figures  241  and  242  illustrate  two  forms  of  fasts  which  are 
screwed   to   the   under  side   of   the  blind.     The   former  acts 


Fig.  243.     Turn-buckle 
A.  G.  Newman. 


Fig.  242.     Lock  Blind-fast.     Stanley  Works. 


entirely  by  gravity.     The  lobes,  A  A,  are  connected  through 
the  case,  and  are  counterbalanced  so  as  to  always  drop  to  the 


The  American   Architect  and  Building  News.         [VOL.  XXV.  — No.  680. 


position  shown.  When  the  blind  is  closed,  the  lobe  strikes 
against  the  sill-pin  and  is  forced  up  as  shown  by  the  dotted 
lines,  dropping  so  as  to  catch  inside  of  the  pin.  Figure  242 
has  a  concealed  spring,  to  force  the  action  of  the  lever. 

The  foregoing  styles  of  blind-fasts  are  intended  to  be  used 
on  wooden  buildings,  but  with  some  modifications  in  the  sizes 
might  also  serve  for  brick  buildings.  In  New  York,  it  is 
customary  to  use  some  form  of  turn-buckle,  Figure  243,  which 
is  driven 'into  the  joints  of  the  brickwork,  the  cross-piece  being 
free  to  turn,  but  hanging  naturally  in  a  vertical  position  by 
reason  of  the  greater  weight  of  the  longer  arm.  Turn-buckles 
of  a  slightly  different  shape  are  sometimes  used,  also,  for 
wooden  buildings. 

All  of  the  foregoing  are,  in  a  certain  sense,  automatic  ;  that 
is  to  say,  the  blind,  if  "flung  open  or  shut  will  stay  in  position, 
requiring  no  special  adjustment.  Figure  244  is  a  form  of  drop- 


Fig.  244.     Drop-and-Prn-fast.      Stanley  Works. 

and-pin  fast,  much  used  in  some  cases,  consisting  simply  of  a 
plate  secured  to  the  blind  by  a  screw-eye,  perforated  with  a 
hole  to  fit  over  the  pin  driven  into  the  sill.  For  holding  the 
blind  open,  a  back  catch  is  made  as  shown  by  the  figure,  which 
locks  with  a  plain,  flat  spring,  screwed  to  the  under  side  of  the 
blind.  The  figure  also  shows  the  form  of  back  catch  used  for 
brick  buildings. 

Firrures  245  and  240  show  two  very  simple  forms  of  blind- 
catch    serving   only   to    keep  the    blind   closed,  and  generally 


Fig.  245.   Seymour's  Blind-catch. 
f.  &  F.  Corbin. 


Fiir.  246.     Blind-catch. 

Shepard     Hardware 

Co. 


Fig.  247.  Seymour's 
Blind  catch  and  lock. 
P.  &  F.  Corbin. 


used  with  some  form  of  turn-buckle  to  hold  the  blind  open. 
Figure  24.5  works  with  the  aid  of  a  small  spring,  as 
shown ;  Figure  246  works  entirely  by  gravity.  There  are 
several  varieties  of  each  of  these  forms 
in  the  market.  The  catch  shown  by 
Figure  247  acts  in  the  same  manner 
as  Figure  245,  but  has,  in  addition,  a 
locking-lever,  operated  by  a  key,  which 
secures  the  catch  so  that  the  blind  can- 
not be  opened. 

There  are  a  number  of  forms  of  blind- 
hinges,  which  have  been  previously  de- 
scribed in  the  chapter  on  hinges,  that 
iu  a  measure  serve  as  blind-fasteners, 
keeping  the  blind  either  open  or  shut. 
They  are  all  perfectly  simple  in  their 
operations,  and  it  is  difficult  to  discrim- 
inate between  them.  The  common 


Fig.    248. 
hinge. 
Baker. 


ByRam,hesteerwaBrtnd&  fault  with  them  all  is  in  the  difficulty 


of  opening  and  closing  the  blind.  With 
most  of  the  forms  of  patent  self-locking  blind  -  hinge,  the 
blind  must  be  raised  from  its  seat  in  order  to  be  swung 
around.  With  the  blind-fasts  previously  described  in  this 
chapter,  it  is  necessary  to  lean  far  out  of  the  window  to 
release  the  catch  from  underneath.  Figure  248  shows  a  device 
intended  to  overcome  the  difficulties  of  both  styles.  It  consists 


simply  of  a  lever  attached  to  the  blind,  and  hooking  into  a 
plate  screwed  onto  the  jamb  of  the  window.  It  is  only 
necessary  to  lift  the  end  of  the  lever  in  order  to  swing  the 


•  OUTSIDE  OP  RAIL 

PINQER.  LEVER  HOLS 


Fig.  249.     Tenon  Blind-fastener.     Tenon  Fastener  Co. 

blind  shut.  The  advantages  are  that  in  closing,  no  lifting  of 
the  blind  is  necessary ;  there  is  no  danger  of  throwing  it  off  the 
hinges,  and  no  chance  of  pinching  the  fingers  or  bumping  the 
head. 

There  arc  several  other  devices  intended  to  hold  the  blind, 
either  shut  or  open.  Figure  210  illustrates  the  "Tenon" 
blind-fastener,  which  con- 
sists of  a  bent,  flat  bar, 
attached  to  the  outside 
of  the  blind  and  catching 
in  slots  cut  in  a  plate 
which  is  secured  to  the 
sill,  so  that  the  blind  can 
be  held  either  open  or 
shut,  or  in  either  of  two 
intermediate  positions. 
The  bar  is  lifted  by 
means  of  a  lever  on  the 
inside  of  the  blind.  This 
fixture  does  away  with 
the  ordinary  bottom 
hinge,  substituting  therefor  a  pivot  working  in  the  locking  sill- 
plate.  A  blind-fastener  of  this  description  is  especially  suita- 


Fig.  250. 


xcelsior  Blind-adjuster 
Erwin. 


Russell  & 


Fig.  251.     Washburn's  Blind-adjuster.     B.  0.  Washburn. 

ble  for  bay-windows,  or  any  place  where  the  blinds  cannot  open 
clear  back.     Being  placed  on  the  outside  of  the  blind  exposes 

it  to  the  weather  to  an  undesirable 
degree,  though  it  is  made  of  Bower- 
Barffed  ifon  to  prevent  it  from 
rusting. 

Figure  250  is  a  very  simple  form 
of  bar  blind-adjuster,  the  bar  being 
attached  to  the  blind,  and  held  in 
position  by  the  action  of  the  thumb- 
screw on  the  jamb ;  Figure  25 1 
shows  a  variation  of  the  same 
principle,  consisting  of  a  bar  which 
fits  into  the  sockets  at  several  points 
on  the  sill,  enabling  the  blind  to  be 
held  in  several  different  positions. 
The  action  of  the  adjuster  will 
readily  be  understood  by  the  figure. 
Zimmerman's  Blind-fast  is  on 
practically  the  same  principle  as 
this. 

The  difficulty  with  the  two  fore- 
going patterns  is,  that  they  do  not 
hold  the  blind  perfectly  rigid,  and 
the  rods  are  likely  to  get  in  the  way, 
specially  as  the  rods  and  sockets 
take  up  considerable  space  on  the 


Fig.  2K2.    Mallorv's  Shutter-* 
Frank  B.  Mallory. 


sill.     There  is  but  little  practical  advantage  in  having  a  fixture 
which  permits  of  the  blind  being  open  at  various  degrees,  for, 


JANUARY  5,  J889.] 


The    American   Architect  and  Building   News. 


aa  a  rule,  most  people  prefer  to  have  their  blinds  either  entirely 
open  or  entirely  shut. 

The  desire  to  open  and  operate  blinds  without  opening  the 
window  has  led  to  the  invention  of  several  devices  which  are 

worked  by  rods  pass- 
ing entirely  through 
the  frame  of  the 
house  and  attached  to 
the  blind.  It  is  not 
altogether  easy  to 
understand  why  such 
devices  are  used  so 
little,  but  it  must  be 
admitted,  that  all  of 
those  now  in  the  mar- 
ket are  more  or  less 
clumsy.  Still,  the 
.idea  is  an  excellent 
one,  and  if  there  were 
greater  demand  for 
such  appliances,  un- 
doubtedly better  ones 
would  be  put  before  the  public.  The  shutter-worker  of  this 
description  that  is  the  most  natural  in  its  adjustment  is  illus- 
trated by  Figure  252.  This  consists  simply  of  a  rod,  at  the 


Fig.  253.     Brown's  Shutter-worker.     Ireland  Mfg.  Co. 


Brockton    Shutter-worker. 
Tyler  Mfg.  Co. 


Fig.  254.     Automatic  Shutter-worker.     Dudley  Shutter- Worker  Co. 

end  of  which  is  a  thread  working  against  a  cog-wheel  forming 
a  part  of  the  bottom  hinge  of  the  blind.       On  account  of  the 

slowness  of  pitch  of  the  thread, 
it  is  very  difficult  to  move  the 
blind  from  the  outside,  but  the  lev- 
erage is  sufficiently  strong  to 
enable  one  to  easily  open  the 
blind  from  within  by  turning 
the  crank. 

A  very  similar  appliance  to 
this  is  the  Brown  shutter-worker, 
Figure  253,  in  which  the  thread 
on  the  spindle  works  into  teeth 
on  the  bottom  of  a  plate  forming 
a  part  of  the  lower  shutter  hinge. 
The  Automatic  Shutter-worker,  Figure  254,  combines  the 
good  points  of  several  other  devices,  and  is  somewhat  more 
complicated  than  either  of  the  preceding.  Two  cog-wheels 
gear  into  each  other.  The  shaft  of  one  wheel  is  carried 
through  the  wall  and  can  be  operated  by  a  crank  or  handle  in- 
side the  house.  The  shaft  of  the  other  wheel  turns  a  crank, 
or  bent  lever,  the  end  of  which  works  in  a  slide  attached  to  the 
face  of  the  blind.  The  cog-wheels  are  encased  in  an  iron  box, 
which  is  shown  partly  removed  in  the  figure,  in  order  to  illus- 
trate the  workings.  Aside  from  the  number  of  parts,  which  is 
no  very  great  objection,  this  shutter-worker  has  a  great  deal  to 
recommend  it.  It  is  strong  and  compact,  and  can  act  on  the 
shutter  with  such  force  that,  it  is  asserted,  a  child  can  work 
the  blind  with  it  in  a  high  wind.  It  has  the  advantage  of  per- 
mitting the  blind  to  be  removed  without  disturbing  the  fixtures. 
One  of  the  simplest  acting  shutter-workers,  is  illustrated  by 
Figure  255.  This  is  very  ingenious  in  its  idea,  consisting  of  a 
straight  rod  set  on  an  angle,  with  a  bent  lever  on  the  end 
working  in  a  curved  slot  or  catch  secured  to  the  outer  face  of 
the  blind.  This  shutter-worker  will  lock  the  blind  as  securely 


as  any  door  can  be  locked,  the  handle  of  the  rod  being  dropped 
down  onto  the  pin  as  shown  by  the  lock. 

The  company  which  manufactures  the  Brockton  shutter- 
worker  has  bought  up  the  patents  of  the  Prescott  shut- 
ter-worker, which  was  somewhat  on  the  same  principle. 
There  are  a  few  other  shapes  in  the  market ;  but  practically  a 
very  few,  which  embody  ideas  essentially  different  from  those 
described. 

AWNING-HINGES. 

Awning-hinges  might  more  properly  be  considered  with 
common  blind-hinges,  but  they  are  included  in  this  connec- 
tion, as  they  are  in  a  measure  blind-adjusters,  permitting  the 
blind  to  be  opened  part  way.  The  writer  has  been  able  to 
find  only  two  forms  in  the  market.  The  simplest  is  shown 


Fig.  256.     Tucker   Awning   Blind-hinge.     Hamblin  &  Russell  Mfg.  Co. 

by  Figure  25G.      This  consists  of   a  double-acting  hinge  for 
the  upper  portion  of  the  blind,  a  lower  hinge  being  screwed  to 
the  jamb  and  fastened  to  the  blind  only  by  a  turn-button. 
The  other  form  of    awning-fixture  is  more  commonly  used 


fig.  '2M.     Byam's  Blind-slat  Adjuster.     Byam, 
Stewart  &   Baker. 


Fig.  257.     Automatic    Blind-awning 
Fixtures.      F.  O.   North  &  Co. 


Fig.  259.      Shutter-bar. 


about  Boston,  Figure  257.  The  upper  hinge  is  so  made  as  to 
work  in  either  direction,  while  the  lower  hinge  consists  of  a 
cup  fitting  over  a  pin  screwed  to  the  jamb.  A  small  catch,  A, 
keeps  the  blind  from  pushing  out  when  the  hinges  are  to  be 
used  in  the  ordinary  manner,  but  is  readily  lifted  when  the 
blinds  are  to  be  pushed  out  from  the  bottom.  The  fixtures  are 


Fig.  260.     Shutter-bar.  Fig.  261.     Morris's  Self-locking  Shutter-bar.     Ire- 

land Mfg.  Co.  j 

sold  with  side-bars  to  hold  the  bottom  of  the  blind  away  from 
the  building,  and  with  a  centre  cross-bar  which  permits  the 
blinds  to  be  opened  part  way  in  the  ordinary  manner,  and 
secured.  The  description  and  the  figure  might  seem  to  imply 


The  American   Architect  and  Building  News.      [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  680. 


a  somewhat  complicated  arrangement,  though  the  fixtures  work 
very  simply,  and  seldom  fail  to  give  satisfaction. 

Figure  258  shows  a  form  of  slat-adjuster  intended  to  be 
operated  by  a  key  from  the  inside  of  the  house  without  opening 
the  window.  The  slats  are  connected  with  an  eccentric  which 
is  turned  by  the  key,  so  that  the  slats  can  be  either  raised  or 
lowered  as  desired. 

HARDWARE    FOR    INSIDE    SHUTTERS. 

There  is  little  to  be  said  as  regards  fasts  or  locks  for  inside 
shutters.  The  shutters  themselves  are  usually  provided  with 
knobs  of  some  description,  with  porcelain  or  metal  heads 
secured  in  position  by  a  screw.  The  shutters  are  also  provided 
with  some  form  of  latch  or  bar,  of  which  Figure  259  is  a  very 
simple  type.  Figure  260  shows  a  more  elaborate  form,  for 
inside  work.  There  are,  of  course,  many  variations  of  these 
forms.  A  few  of  the  hardware  manufacturers  have  been 
making  self-locking  shutter-bars,  in  which  the  cross-bar  is 
secured  by  some  form  of  auxilliary  lever  or  cam.  Figure  261 
illustrates  one  variety.  There  is,  however,  but  little  demand 
for  such  appliances. 

For  sliding  shutters  a  bar  like  that  shown  by  Figure  260 
may  be  employed.  There  are  also  several  varieties  of  mortise 
hooks,  Figure  262,  which  work  with  a  spring,  and  are  rather 
preferable  for  most  cases. 

The  retail  prices  of  the  foregoing  blind  and  shutter  fixtures 
are  as  follows : 

TABLE     OF     SHUTTER-FIXTURES.- — PRICES     PER     WINDOW,     WITH 
TWO   SINGLE-FOLD   BLINDS. 


Fig 

235 
236 
237 
239 
240 
241 
242 

243 

244 
245 
246 
247 
248 
249 
250 
251 
252 
253 
254 
2B5 
256 
257 
268 
259 
260 

261 
262 


Name. 


Stanley's  wire  blind-fast 

Folsom's  shutter-fastener 

Boston  pattern  blind-fast 

New  York  pattern  blind-fast 

Standard  screw  blind-fast 

Security  blind-fast 

Lock  blind-f ast 

Turn-buckles  or  drop-buttons  for  brick 

Turn-buckles  or  drop-buttons  for  wood 

Drop-and-piu  fast 

Seymour's  blind-catch 

Shepard  blind-fast 

Seymour's  blind  catch  and  lock 

Rochester  blind-hinge 

Tenon  blind-fastener 

Excelsior  blind-adjuster,  galvanized 

Washburn's  blind-adjuster,1  galvanized,  10-inch  bar 

Mallory's  shutter-worker,  with  hinges  and  handle 

Brown's  shutter-worker,  japanned 

Automatic  shutter-worker,  with  hinges  and  handle 

Brockton  shutter-worker 

Tucker  awning  blind  hinges1 

Automatic  blind  awning  fixtures1 

Byam's  blind  slat-adjuster 

Shutter-bars  —  bronzed-iron,  2-inch,  per  dozen 

Shutter-bars,  bronze,  2-inch,  per  dozen 

Morris's  self-looking  shutter-bar,  bronzed-iron,  2-inch,  per  dozen. 

Morris's  self-locking  shutter-bar,  bronze,  2-inch,  per  dozen 

Sliding  shutter-hook,  bronze,  each 


Price. 


$  .07 
.08 
.08 
.09 
.09 
.08 
.08 
•10J 
.08J 
.08 
.12J 
.04 
•21 
.17 
.45 
.55 
.50 

1.25 
.85 
.75 
.65 
.87 
.75 
.25 
.84 

1.35 
.60 

3.00 
.75 


1  For  wooden  house. 

TRANSOM   AND    SKY-LIGHT   FITTINGS. 

Transoms  are  hung  by  common  butts  at  the  top  or  bottom, 
or  are  pivoted  in  the  centre  horizontally.  The  ordinary  hinges 
used  for  transoms  are  such  as  might  be  used  for  any  purpose. 
These  have  been  previously  discussed.  Sash  centres  or  pivots 
are  commonly  mortised  into  the  frame  and  into  the  sash. 
Figure  263  is  the  ordinary  form.  Figure  264  is  another 
variety  in  which  both  pivots  are  exactly  alike.  This  is 


secured  in  place  by  first  fastening  the  round  part  of  the  pivot 
at  entire  end  of  the  sash,  and  securing  one  socket-piece  to  the 
sash-frame.  The  other  socket  is  then  fitted  to  the  opposite 
pivot,  and  the  sash  placed  in  position  and  turned  at  right 


Fig.  262.     Sliding  Shutter-hook.  Fig.  263.     Sash-centres  or  Transom-hinges. 

P.  &  F.  Corbin. 

angles,  thus  uncovering  the  second  socket,  so  that  it  can  be 
screwed  to  the  jamb.  This  form  is  claimed  to  be  tighter  and 
consequently  more  secure  against  draughts  than  the  ordinary 
style. 

Instead  of  either  of  the  foregoing,  it  is  sometimes  desirable 


Fig.    265.        Surface    Sash- 
centre.     P.  &  F.  Corbm. 


Fig.  264.     Sash-pivot.     A.G.Newman. 


to  use  pivots  which  do  not  turn  on  the  line  of  the  centre  of  the 
sash.     Figure  265  illustrates  a  form  which  can  be  used  in  such 


0 


9 


il 


Fig.  266.     Surface   Sash-centre.     J.  F.  Fig.    267.     Transom-pivot.      Hopkins  & 

Wollensak.  Dickinson  Mfg.  Co. 

a  case,  both  pivot  and  socket  being  planted  on  the  faces  of  the 
sash  and  the  frame.  Figure  266  and  Figure  267  are  other 
varieties  sometimes  met  with.  The  different  uses  for  which 


Fig.  269.     Cupboard  and  Transom  Catch.     Ire- 
land Mfg.  Co. 


Fig.  268.     Transom-catch.     A.  G.        Fig.  270.     Transom-catch.    J.  B.  Shannon  & 
Newman.  Sons. 

these  various  forms  are  applicable  will  readily  be  appreciated ; 
the  first  being  for  a  case  in  which  the  jambs  and  the  sash  are 
flush  ;  the  second,  one  in  which  the  transom  sets  out  from  the 
jamb ;  and  the  third,  one  in  which  the  jamb  is  too  deep,  or  the 


>0.  650.  |[MEI^IG5IN  IfaGHITEGT  r«ND  BUILDING  HEWS,  J^K  5.    155.9 


COJTBtSHT  1889  BY  TirKNOR  1  C» 


0.  650. 


^ND 

COraiSHT  1889  BYT1CXNOR  1C 


»,  JflK  5.  1(359 


650. 


$[MEI\IGSIN 


S,  JflX  5.    1559 


&&&& 


>4  ////^ „../////'  '//"'///'Hid  W;v 

SH^S    ;„/ •      ,sfe® 


Vh^lwri^ht  X  H^v^n ,  Ardifr 


|[iviEi\iG5iN  HI^GHITEGT  MND  BUILDING HEWS,  Jax  5.  1559       Ho.  650. 


5,  1889.] 


TJie   American   Architect  ana,  Building  News. 


transom  set  too  far  in  to  permit  of  the  hinges  being  applied  to 
the  face  of  the  jamb. 

Transoms  are  usually  provided  with  some  form   of   spring 
catch  to  hold  them  closed.     Figure  268  is  a  direct  catch,  the 


Fig.  271.     Transom-lift.      J.    F. 
Wollensak. 


Fig.  272.     American  Transom-lift. 
American  Mfg.  Co. 


latch  being  secured  to  the  transom.  This  is  for  use  when  the 
jamb  and  the  sash  are  flush.  Figure  2G9  is  a  transom-catch 
worked  on  a  little  different  principle  from  the  foregoing.  The 
same  form  is  also  used  for  cupboards.  This,  as  well  as  the 
first,  is  fastened  onto  the  face  of  the  transom.  Figure  270  shows  a 
transom-catch  intended  to  be  mortised  into  the  edge  of  the  tran- 
som, either  at  the  top  or  the  bottom. 

In  the  best  work  it  is  customary  to  provide  some  appliance 
for  lifting  the  transom  and  holding  it  in  position.     With  the 


Fig.  273.  Steller  Tran-  Fig.  274.  Overall's  Transom-  Fig.  275.  Excelsior  Tran- 
som-lifter. Russell  &  lifter.  P.  &  F.  Corbm.  som-lifter.  Russell  & 
Erwin.  Erwin. 

ordinary  catches  previously  described,  a  chain  is  attached  at 
one  side  of  the  transom,  permitting  it  to  be  opened  down  from 
the  top  a  certain  distance  only ;  but  it  is  much  more  convenient 
to  have  some  appliance  that  will  permft  the  transom  to  be 
opened  in  either  direction,  and  will  hold  it  securely.  The, 
most  popular,  and  one  of  the  best  known  is  the  Wollensak 


transom-lifter,  Figure  271.  This  consists  of  a  straight  rod  with 
a  hinged  arm  attached  to  it,  the  arm  being  secured  to  the  edge 
of  the  transom,  while  the  rod  works  up  and  down  in  a  series  of 
rings,  being  held  at  any  given  height  by  turning  a  button  at 
the  bottom  binding  on  the  rod.  These  are  made  for  transoms 
either  pivoted  at  the  centre  and  swinging  down,  or  pivoted  and 
swinging  up,  or  hinged  at  either  top  or  bottom.  Figure  272 
shows  another  form,  made  by  the  American  Manufacturing 
Company.  The  rod  in  this  case  is  replaced  by  a  flat  bar,  the 
attachment  otherwise  being  essentially  the  same  as  in  the 
previous  example.  The  bar  is  notched  at  the  bottom  on  the 
inner  edge,  and  a  catch  on  the  lower  guide-ring  locks  the  bar 
at  any  height.  Figure  273  is  another  form 
manufactured  by  Russell  &  Erwin.  In  this 
case  the  bar  is  held  in  position  by  turning 
the  button  at  the  bottom.  This  transom 
is  provided  with  a  supplementary  set  of 
guides  at  the  top,  so  that  in  shoving  up  the 
bar  there  will  be  no  opportunity  "for  the 
weight  of  the  transom  to  deflect  it  sidewise. 
Figure  274  shows  a  form  of  transom-lifter 
manufactured  by  P.  & 
F.  Corbin,  consisting 
of  a  straight  rod,  with 
a  long,  flexible  steel 
attachment  at  the  top. 
The  rod  is  secured  at 
any  height  by  a  turn- 
button  in  the  same 
manner  as  in  the  first 
example,  while  the 
flexibility  of  the  upper 
portion  of  the  rod  per- 
mits the  transom  to 
turn  at  any  angle. 
There  is  yet  another 
form,  Figure  275.  This 
consists  of  a  single 

o 

rod    attached    directly 
to    the    transom,    and 
secured    on    the   jambFig. 
only  by  a  single  turn- 
button,  near   the    bot- 

bottoin.  This  turn-button  is  placed  at  an  angle  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  allow  considerable  side-play  on  the  rod,  and  so 
permit  of  the  deflection  necessary  for  opening  the  transom. 

TABLE    OF    TRANSOM-FITTINGS. 


276. 
Lock. 


Skylight-lift     and 
J.  F  Wollensak. 


Fig. 


277.     Skylight-lift. 
S.  L.  Hill. 


Fig. 
263 

2G4 

265 
266 

267 
268 
269 

270 
271 

272 
273 

27J 
275 
276 

277 


Sash-centres,  japanned,  per  dozen  pairs 

Sash-centres,  brass,  per  pair 

Sash-pivots,  If-inch  brass  or  bronze,  per  set 

Sash-pivots,  bronzed-iron,  per  set 

Surface  sash-centres,  P.  &  F.  Corbin,  brass,  per  set 

Surface  sash-centres,  Wollensak,  bronze  No.  4,  per  set 

Surface  sash-centres,  Wollensak,  bronzed-iron,  per  set 

Surface  sash-centres,  Hopkins  &  Dickinson,  bronze,  per  set 

Transom-catch,  per  dozen 

Transom  and  cupboard  catch,  bronze,  per  dozen 

Transom  and  cupboard  catch,  bronzed-iron,  per  dozen 

Transom-catch,  bronze,  per  dozen 

Wollensak's  transom-lifter,  bronzed 

Wollensak's  transom-lifter,  nickel-plated 

American  transom-lifter,  coppered 

American  transom-lifter,  nickel-plated 

Steller's  transom-lifter,  bronzed-iron 

Steller's  transom-lifter,  bronze 

Overell's  transom-lifter,  bronzed 

Excelsior  transom-lifter,  bronzed 

Wollensak's  skylight-lifter,  No.  12,  each 

Hill's  skylight-lifter,  each 


$    .62 

.G2 

2.00 

1.00 

4.00 

l.QO 

.17 

.95 

15.00 

7.50 

.50 

5.00 

1.20 

2.50 

1.10 

3.15 

.53 

2.50 

.50 

.55 

2.00 

1.50 


Prices  for  transom-lifters  are  lor  a  medium  4-foot  rod  and  for  a  single  fixture. 


8 


The   American   Architect   and  Building   News.       [VOL.  XXV.  — No.  680. 


Closely  allied  to  the  transom-lifters  are  those  which  are  used 
for  skylights.  Figure  276  shows  a  form  manufactured  by 
Wolleusak.  This  consists  of  a  double  bar  attached  to  a  socket 
working  on  a  slotted  bar.  The  socket  has  attached  to  it  a 
spring-catch  which  slips  into  the  slots  on  the  bar.  The  rope 
passes  through  the  socket  up  over  a  pulley,  and  down  through 
an  eye  in  the  end  of  the  spring-catch.  By  pulling  the  bar  out 
away  from  the  socket,  the  spring-catch  is  released  and  the 
socket,  and  with  it  the  skylight  may  be  lifted  or  lowered,  the 
spring-catch  shutting  back  when  the  horizontal  strain  on  the 
rope  ?s  relaxed.  This  is  made  in  two  sizes,  with  a  length  of 
eighteen  inches  each.  Figure  '277  shows  another  form  of  sky- 
light-lifter in  which  a  ratchet  on  the  side  of  the  upper  frame- 
work fits  into  slots  on  the  edge  of  the  lifting-rod,  the  ratchet 
being  worked  by  a  separate  cord.  The  ratchet  is  fitted  with  a 
spring  to  keep  it  in  position. 

The  preceding  table  gives  the  retail  prices  of  the  goods  de- 
scribed in  this  chapter, 

[  To  be  continued.! 


[Contributors  are  requested  to  send  with  their  drawings  full  and 
adequate  descriptions  of  the  buildings,  including  a  statement  of  cost.'} 

STATK    MILITARY    ACADEMY,    ALBANY,    N.    Y. 
[Gelatine  Print,  issued  only  with  the  Imperial  Edition.] 

HOUSE   OF    M.    OGDEN    JONES,    ESQ.,    WOODS    IIOI.L,   MASS.      MESSRS. 
WHEELWRIGHT    &    HAVEN,    ARCHITECTS,    BOSTON,    MASS. 

DINING-ROOM       WINDOW,      POLAND      SPRINGS      HOTEL.  MESSRS. 

STEVENS    &    COlili,    ARCHITECTS,    PORTLAND,    ME. 

• 

DINING-ROOM     FIREPLACE,     POLAND     SPRINGS      HOTEL.         MESSRS. 
STEVENS    &   COlili,     ARCHITECTS,    PORTLAND,    ME. 

BRl'A      MEMORIAL      CHAPEL,      PENNSYLVANIA     COLLEGE,     GETTYS- 
BURG,   PA.      MR.   J.    A.    DEMPWOLF,    ARCHITECT,    YORK,    PA. 

DETAILS  OF  SLOW-BURNING  CONSTRUCTION,  FLORENCE  FLATS, 
MINNEAPOLIS,  MINN.  MR.  JAMES  C.  PLANT,  ARCHITECT,  MIN- 
NEAPOLIS, MINN. 


PROTEST    AGAINST     THE     COMPETITION     FOR 
MASSACHUSETTS   STATE-HOUSE. 


THE 


BOSTON,  MASS.,  December  18, 1888. 

TlIE  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts  lias,  by  its  Commissioners, 
advertised  for  designs  for  the  State-House  extension,  said 
designs  to  be  furnished  in  open  competition.  The  conditions 
of  the  competition,  as  announced,  have  evidently  been  framed  with- 
out due  regard  to  the  best  custom  in  the  conduct  of  such  matters, 
the  sole  end  and  aim  of  which  should  be  to  secure  to  the  State  the 
best  service  by  making  sure  that  "  the  best  men  shall  take  part ;  that 
they  shall  be  "encouraged  to  do  their  best;  that  the  best  they  offer 
shall  be  selected;  and  that  the  author  of  the  successful  design  shall 
be  employed  as  architect,  provided  the  building  is  built  and  he  is 
competent." 

The  conditions  announced  are  faulty  — 

First.  In  that  they  are  not  drawn  up  in  accordance  with  the  best 
custom,  and  no  assurance  is  given  that  an  expert  adviser  will  be 
employed  to  aid  the  Commission  in  their  choice. 

Second.  That  no  assurance  is  given  that  the  successful  competi- 
tor will  be  employed,  but,  on  the  contrary,  it  is  distinctly  stated  that 
all  premiated  competitors  are  to  relinquish  all  ownership  in  their 
plans  to  the  State,  without  any  further  claim  to  compensation  or  em- 
ployment. 

Third.  Even  if  the  first  prize  in  the  competition  were  as  it  should 
be,  the  execution  of  the  building,  the  actual  prizes  offered  would 
still  be  entirely  insufficient  compensation  to  the  authors  of  the  draw- 
ings placed  second  and  third. 

For  the  above  reasons,  we,  the  undersigned  architects,  citizens  of  the 
State  of  Massachusetts  [and  elsewhere],  protest  against  this  form  of* 


competition,  which,  in  our  opinion,  is  not  for  the  best  interests  of  the 
State  or  of  our  profession,  and  we  therefore  decline  to  enter  it : 


prof< 

BOSTON,  MASS. 

Cabot.  Everett  &  Mead. 
Wheelwright  It  Haven. 
Joseph  K.  Richards. 
John  A.  Fox. 
Geo.  M.  Young. 
E.  A.  P.  Newcomb. 
Longfellow,  Aldeu  &  Har- 

low. 

Edwin  J.  Lewis. 
Andrews  &  Jaques. 
H.  Langford  Warren. 
Walker  &  Best. 
Win.  Kotch  Ware. 
Hartwell  &  Richardson. 
Cummings  &  Sears. 
T.  M.  Clark. 
Allen  &  Kenway. 
Rand  &  Taylor. 
Thos.  O'Grady,  Jr. 
Slurpis  &  Cabot. 
Shepley,  Kuttui   &  Cool- 

idge. 

Rotcli  &  Tilden. 
Snell  &  Gregerson. 
Shaw  &  Hunnuwell. 
Win.  G.  Preston. 
L.  Weissbeiii. 
Franz  E.  Zerrahn. 
Carl  Fehmer. 
Arthur  Little. 
Penbody  &  Stearns. 
Winslow  &  Wetherell. 


BOSTON,   MASS. 

W.  H.  McGinty. 
W.  M.  Bacon. 
W.  P.  Richards. 
Daniel  Appleton. 
H.  M.  Stephenson. 
W.  R.  Emerson. 
Wm.  Whitney  Lewis. 
J.  Merrill  Brown. 
Chamberlin  &  Whidden. 
Win.  D.  Austin. 
F.  W.  Chandler. 

HOLYOKE,  MASS. 

E.  A.  Ellsworth. 
H.  Walther. 

'Jas.  A.  Olough. 
Geo.  P.  B.  Alderman. 
Cain  &  Kilburn. 
Henry  H.  Gridley. 
W.  E.  Fitch,  C.  E. 
D.  H.  &  A.  B.  Tower. 
T.  W.  Maun. 

LAWRENCE,  MASS. 

Chas.  T.  Emerson. 

LYNN,   MASS. 

Wheeler  &  Northend. 
Call  &  Varney. 
H.  W.  Rogers. 

LOWELL,  MASS. 

F.  W.  Stickney. 
Merrill  &  Cutler. 


SI'KINOFIELD,   MASS. 

Gardner,  Pyne    &   Gard- 
ner. 

Richmond  &  Seabury. 
Jason  Perkins. 
F.  S.  Newman. 
J.  M.  Currier. 

WOBCESTER,  MASS. 

Stephen  C.  Earl. 
E.  Boyden  &  Son. 
Fuller  &  Delano. 
A.  P.  Cutting. 
J.  B.  Woodworth. 

BALTIMORE,  MD. 

T.  B.  Ghequier. 
K.  F.  J.  Johnson. 

BIRMINGHAM,  COSN. 

Alderman  &  Lee. 

BRIDGEPORT,  CONlf. 

C.  T.  Beardsley,  Jr. 

NEW  YORK,  N.   Y. 

W.  B.  Bigelow. 
Fowler  &  Hough. 

PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 

Smith  &  Pritchett. 

SAYVILLE,  N.   Y. 

I.  H.  Green,  Jr. 


ARCHAEOLOGICAL   CAMPING   IN   ARIZONA.  — I. 


Choir  of  St.  Peter's,  Leipsic,  from  Architektonische  Rundschau. 

TTfHE  writer  has  elsewhere  given  an  account  of  the  work  of  the 
J I »  Hemenway  Southwestern  Archaeological  Expedition  in  Arizona, 
under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Frank  Hamilton  Gushing :  its  pur- 
poses, its  composition,  and  the  results  reached  in  the  first  fifteen 
months  of  its  operations.1  Some  details  about  the  country,  pictures 
of  life  in  camp,  and  the  methods  of  exploration  pursued  —  rambling 
though  they  be  —  will  probably  help  the  many  who  are  interested 
in  the  important  prehistoric  story  of  our  continent  to  gain  a  clearer 
conception  of  the  character  of  the  researches. 

First,  then,  a  glance  at  the  country:  The  scene  of  operations  has 
chiefly  been  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  flourishing  young  towns  of 
Phoenix  and  Tempe,  in  the  valley  of  the  Rio  Salado,  now  usually 
called  the  Salt  River  by  the  American  inhabitants.  T  prefer,  how- 
ever, to  keep  to  the  more  euphonious  Spanish  name.  To  the  north- 
ward and  eastward  the  mountains  rise  grandly  in  compact  ranges, 
the  main  peaks  having  about  the  same  relative  height,  as  seen  from 
the  plain,  as  Mount  Washington  when  viewed  from  the  Saco  Valley 
at  Conway,  in  New  Hampshire.  Out  of  this  mountain-wall  the 
Salado  breaks  from  a  wild  canon,  whose  neighborhood  was  the 
scene  of  some  fierce  and  momentous  struggles  between  the  gallant 
troops  of  General  Crook  and  the  wild  Apaches  fifteen  years  ago  or 
more,  at  the  time  when  that  splendid  soldier  gave  the  country  its 
first  relief  from  their  incursion? ;  a  peace  which  would  probably  have 

remained   unbroken   to   this   day   had   it  not  been  for  the  wicked 

•     . 

111  The  Old  New  World,"  An  illustrated  letter  from  Camp  Hemenway,  Ari- 
zona, in  the  Boston  Herald  of  April  15,  1888.  Reprinted  in  pamphlet  form  by 
the  Salem  J'ress. 


JANUARY  5,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


9 


mismanagement  of  the  Indian  Department,  under  the  control  of 
corrupt  rings. 

Not  far  from  its  exit  into  the  plain  the  Salado  is  joined  by  the  Kio 
Verde  near  a  huge  ruddy  rock,  that  looks  like  a  Cyclopean  fortress, 
called  Mount  McDowell.  The  military  post,  Fort  McDowell,  is  near 
its  base.  A  few  miles  below  Phoenix  the  Salado  joins  the  Gila,  the 
former  being  really  the  main  stream  above  their  confluence,  although 
the  latter  gives  its  name  to  the  river  in  its  further  course  down  into 
the  grand  Colorado.  From  the  southeastward  around  to  the  north- 
wesf  the  mountains  rise  in  detached  groups,  with  the  land  sloping 
away  evenly  and  gradually  from  their  feet  in  a  way  that  may, 
perhaps,  be  best  illustrated  by  imagining  a  great  carpet  with  heaps  of 
sharp  stones  placed  here  and  there  beneath  it,  and  their  ragged  tops 
appearing  above  the  sagging  surface  they  have  torn  through. 

It  is  a"  semi-tropical  region,  the  latitude  being  that  of  Southern 
California,  and  the  altitude  in  the  neighborhood  of  a  thousand  feet. 
The  winters  are  delightful  in  temperature ;  a  fiercer  summer  heat  is 
hardly  to  be  found  in  North  America  :  dry  and  oven-like,  at  times  rising 
to  something  like  130  degrees,  but,  on  account  of  its  dry  ness,  it  is  not 
so  oppressiv^  as  a  temperature  of  90  degrees  in  the  humid  air  of  the 
Eastern  States.  The  vegetation  is  the  monotonous  growth  of  the 
desert  sage-brush,  greasewood,  forests  of  stunted  mesquite,  and 
clumps  of  ironwood  and  palo  verde  near  the  mountains,  cottonwoods 
along  the  river,  and  many  varieties  of  fantastic-looking  cactus  almost 
everywhere  on  the.  plains.  But  where  the  land  has  been  brought 
unde'r  irrigation  a  new  and  luxuriant  growth  appears  :  fertile  fields 
of  grain  and  pasturage,  vineyards,  orchards  of  peaches  and  apricots, 
and  already,  in  spots,  date-palms,  fan-palms,  orange-trees,  oleanders, 
and  cypress  are  imparting  a  new  aspect  to  the  landscape. 

It  is  in  the  early  afternoon  of  January  1 1  when  I  step  from  the  train 
of  the  Maricopa  &  Phoenix  Railroad  —  a  branch  from  the  Southern 
Pacific — onto  the  platform  of  the  new  brick  station  at  Tempe,  at 
present  the  only  regular  stopping-place  on  the  line  between  Maricopa 
Junction,  about  twenty  miles  away,  and  Phoenix,  the  terminus,  nine 
miles  farther  on.  I  am  greeted  by  Mr.  Fred.  Hodge,  the  stalwart 
young  private  secretary  of  Mr.  Cushing.  We  proceed  to  Camp 
Hemenway  in  a  buckboard  drawn  by  two  stout  mules.  The  weather 
seems  to  be  a  strange  commingling  of  early  summer  and  late  autumn. 
The  sky  is  serenely  blue,  the  air  is  quiet,  and  the  sun  shines  with  a 
warm,  southern  friendliness.  But  the  ground  is  brown  and  the  trees 
are  bare,  though  some  sparse  yellow  leaves  still  cling  to  the  alamos, 
or  cottonwoods,  here  and  there. 

The  town  has  enjoyed  a  "  boom  "  from  the  building  of  the  rail- 
way, and  its  evidences  are  seen  in  many  new  buildings ;  the  railway 
has  made  the  great  timber-supply  of  California  and  Oregon  available, 
and,  frame-construction  being  a  novelty  here,  its  attainability 
has  given  it  a  proportionate  desirability  in  the  eyes  of  the  inhabi- 
tants. Wooden  buildings  are,  however,  totally  unsuited  to  this  hot 
and  dry  climate,  and  the  folly  of  substituting  them  for  the  thick- 
walled  and  comfortable  adobe  structures,  so  despised  as  "  mud- 
houses"  by  the  average  settler,  must  soon  be  made  manifest  by  ex- 
perience. It  is  possible  to  make  an  adobe  building  architecturally 
attractive,  though,  as  commonly  constructed  by  the  American  or  the 
somewhat  Americanized  Mexican,  they  are  about  as  ugly  as  they 
can  possibly  be  made,  with  their  bare  walls  contrasting  with  the 
bony  whiteness  of  painted  door  and  window-frames,  and  the  incon- 
venient sliding  sashes  set  even  with  the  wall-surface,  thus  giving  no 
shadows  or  depth  to  the  openings.  Houses  with  such  windows  have 
a  vulgar  impertinence  of  expression.  The  conservative  traits  of 
ordinary  humanity  are  shown  in  hardly  anything  more  than  in  their 
methods  of  construction,  and  the  presumedly  wide-awake  and  pro- 
gressive American  will  cling  to  the  customs  of  his  predecessors  with 
all  the  tenacity  of  the  most  primitive  raccs^  though  he  has  no  other 
ground  than  that  his  fathers  did  so  before  him,  and,  therefore,  it 
must  be  good,  reasoning  no  more  about  it  until  experience  in  a 
changed  environment  slowly  teaches  him  more  convenient  ways.  The 
unintelligent  savage  builds  like  his  fathers  because  his  fathers  were 
taught  to  build  like  the  gods,  and,  therefore,  those  ways  are  sacred, 
and  must  not  be  changed.  The  northern  origin  of  the  American 
population  that  is  filling  up  this  region  is  shown  by  its  adoption  of 
details  of  construction  totally  unsuited  to  the  climate,  who  reason,  of 
course,  that  that  is  the  way  things  are  done  in  a  "  white  man's 
country,"  and,  therefore,  must  necessarily  be  superior  to  the  ways 
in  which  Mexicans  do  things.  So  they  go  on  stifling  and  sweltering 
all  through  the  long,  hot  summer  days  in  their  boxy  little  houses, 
survivals  of  the  habits  brought  from  regions  where  timber  is  plenty 
and  the  climate  fickle. 

Considering  these  things,  I  have  thought  I  should  like  to  settle 
down  in  a  place  like  this  long  enough  to  set  an  example  of  how  it  is 
possible  to  live  comfortably  with  pleasant  surroundings  by  adapting 
the  ordinary  materials  to  modern  means  and  taste.  For  instance  : 
a  one-story,  wide-spreading  house  of  thick  adobe  walls,  with  large, 
high,  airy  rooms,  and  casement-windows  opening  to  the  floor,  giving 
the  full  benefit  of  the  air-space  ;  above  the  flat  roof,  supported  on  posts 
or  thick  adobe  piers,  with  a  space  of  eight  to  ten  feet  between,  a 
second  roof  of  corrugated  tile,  such  as  is  used  so  extensively  in  Spain 
and  Spanish  America,  sloping  gently,  and  with  wide  eaves.  This 
would  answer  the  purpose  of  a  double-roof,  the  shaded  air-space 
keeping  the  rooms  below  cool,  and  would  also  give  a  second  story, 
open  to  the  air.  In  the  summer  this  open  story  would  be  used  for 
sleeping  purposes,  divided  by  screens  in  the  Japanese  fashion  to  give 
privacy,  if  need  be,  and  with  mosquitoes,  flies,  and  other  insects  kept 


out  by  wire-netting  surrounding  the  whole.  People  in  this  region 
find  it  impossible  to  sleep  in  their  houses  in  the  summer  now  :  they 
take  to  the  open  air  with  their  mattresses,  either  on  the  roofs  or  on 
the  ground  outside.  By  this  means,  however,  they  would  have  all 
the  advantages  of  open  air  combined  with  shelter,  for  drenchin<* 
rains  come  up  in  the  night-time  not  infrequently.  Care  would  be 
taken,  in  such  a  house,  to  leave  no  interstices  for  the  concealment  of 
tarantulas,  scorpions,  centipedes,  and  other  things  of  the  kind.  An 
agreeable  exterior  would  be  given  by  coating  the  walls  with  cement, 
colored  with  some  pleasant-hued  paint  or  wash  so  common  in 
Mexico  and  other  Spanish  countries.  A  beautiful  feature  could  be 
introduced  in  the  shape  of  a  large  central  hall,  running  up  to  the 
second  roof,  with  a  handsome  staircase  to  a  gallery  communicating 
with  the  open  space  on  either  side.  Instead  of  the  hand-made  adobe, 
a  much  cheaper  and  better  material  might  be  obtained  by  making 
the  blocks  in  an  ordinary  brick-machine,  like  common  bricks,  thus 
saving  the  very  considerable  expense  of  burning  them,  while  the 
pressure  used  in  making  them  would  give  them  a  compactness,  assur- 
ing a  lasting  quality  far  greater  than  that  of  the  common  adobe.  I 
have  seen  an  unburnt,  machine  made  brick  that  has  been  kept  for 
years  without  crumbling,  as  hard  as  when  first  turned  out.  I  wonder 
something  of  the  sort  has  not  been  adopted  in  countries  like  this, 
where  the  dry,  frostless  climate  renders  burning  the  brick  for  ordi- 
nary uses  really  superfluous.  Like  many  other  most  useful  and 
simple  things,  the  idea  has  probably  never  occurred  to  makers. 

Several  rocky  hills  rise  abruptly  around  the  town,  the  main 
portion  of  which  lies  at  the  base  of  one  of  them.  Here,  as  elsewhere 
throughout  the  West,  the  French  term  "  Inttle "  is  applied  to  such 
isolated  hills,  although  here  one  might  expvct  to  find  the  Spanish 
"cerrn"  fully  domesticated.  It  is  in  all  probability  a  lingual  acquisition 
from  the  French  trappers  and  voyiir/eurs,  handed  along  from  the  time 
when  the  French  were  in  possession  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  and 
incorporated  into  the  vernacular  of  the  plains  by  the  Missourians, 
who  are  the  pioneers  in  all  the  trans-Missouri  migratory  movements. 
The  Missourians  have  the  reputation  of  being  a  nomadic,  semi- 
vagrant  people,  and  might  be  called  the  gypsies  of  the  Western 
World.  Possibly  this  trait  may  be  due  to  an  absorption  of  considerable 
of  the  French  half-breed  blood  by  much  of  the  Missouri  population, 
inoculating  it  with  the  same  roving  impulse  that  characterizes  the 
French-Canadians.  The  word  butte  appears  to  be  one  of  the  few 
things  in  the  vernacular  of  the  plains  —  which  has  become  that  of 
the  entire  far  West  —  taken  from  the  French,  Spanish  being  the 
the  most  fruitful  foreign  source,  due  chiefly  to  the  influence  of  the 
Texan  vaquero,  of  which  "cow-boy"  is  a  literal  translation.  The 
reception  of  the  word  through  immediate  racial  contact  is  proved 
by  its  pronunciation  throughout  the  West,  bule  —  as  near  the  French 
u  as  Anglo-Saxon  lips  could  be  expected  to  approach.  Had  it  been 
a  literary  acquisition,  the  pronunciation  of  but  would  have  been 
given  the  word,  for  we  invariably  strive  to  phoneticize  —  a  tendency 
which,  with  our  unspeakable  orthography  and  ill-formulated  phonetic 
rules,  has  thoroughly  distorted  our  English  tongue.  Thus  the  plains- 
man talks  of  the  States  of  Culorayilo  and  Necayda ;  but,  heariw  the 
name  of  the  celebrated  Ute  chief  spoken  as  it  is  in  the  Spanish 
dialect  of  the  Mexican  peasantry,  he  calls  him  Colorow,  which  is 
really  nearer  to  the  proper  pronunciation  of  the  State. 

The  rapidity  and  luxuriance  of  vegetable  growth  in  a  region  like 
this  encourages  the  use  of  ornamental  plants,  shrubs  and  trees;  the 
streets  are  well  shaded,  and  dwellings  are  usually  surrounded  ly 
pleasant  gardens.  The  formally  located  roads  are  all  straight  and 
rectangular  in  their  intersections,  running  due  north  and  south,  cast 
and  west,  as  throughout  the  West,  following  the  "section-lines,"  the 
surveys  of  the  National  Land  Department  cutting  the  country  up 
into  sections  of  a  mile  square.  So  the  roads  are  a  mile  apart,  and, 
in  going  between  any  places  not  lying  in  the  direction  of  the  cardinal 
points,  one  has  to  travel  along  two  sides  of  a  triangle,  necessitating 
much  superfluous  travel  and  consequent  expenditure  of  time.  This 
does  not  speak  well  for  the  American  "  practicality  "  of  which  we 
are  accustomed  to  boast,  especially  when  we  are  so  used  to  regard 
time  and  money  as  equivalents.  This  difficulty  might  have  been 
avoided,  and  the  distance  saved,  by  providing  for  a  second  system  of 
roads  traversing  the  sections  from  corner  to  corner,  making  the 
quarter-sections  triangular  in  shape.  All  portions  of  the  country 
would  thus  be  within  convenient  reach  of  each  other. 

Where  the  land  has  not  been  taken  up  and  brought  under  cultiva- 
tion, of  course  the  roads  are  free  to  run  across  country  at  random, 
and  in  an  open  country  like  this  it  is  easily  done,  for  the  making  of 
a  road  involves  no  more  than  to  drive  along  the  same  path  until 
tracks  are  made ;  but  as  soon  as  the  land  is  occupied  the  roads 
must  confine  themselves  to  section-lines,  so  that  in  a  journey  between 
two  places  that  lie,  say,  twenty  miles  apart  from  northeast  to  south- 
east one  would  have  to  travel  nearly  thirty  miles.  This,  to  be  sure, 
is  not  so  serious  as  it  would  be  were  it  not  for  the  railways,  the  great 
modern  highways,  which,  when  a  country  becomes  so  well  settled  as 
to  necessitate  the  rectangular  system  of  roads,  are  certain  to  cover 
it  with  their  network,  and,  as  they  are  subject  only  to  the  limitations 
of  the  most  convenient  grades,  they  take  the  straightest  possible 
course  between  two  points.  It  would  probably  be  hardly  practicable 
at  this  late  day  to  adopt  such  a  system  of  roads  in  our  country,  but, 
as  there  is  a  tendency  to  lay  out  new  towns  in  a  way  to  provide 
amply  for  future  growth,  it  ought  to  be  possible  to  plan  them  so  as 
to  give  streets  between  the  corners  of  the  squares  as  well.  It  seems 
strange  that  our  rushing  Western  communities,  where  people  are  so 


10 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.        [VOL.  XXV.  — No.  680^ 


intent  upon  making  the  most  of  their  time,  should  not  from  the  start 
have  avoided  one  of  the  greatest  wastes  of  time  and  exertion  to 
which  the  planning  of  their  towns  subjects  them. 

Our  road  takes  us  first  to  the  eastward.  Facing  us  are  the  Super- 
stition Mountains,  their  name  another  mistranslation  from  the 
Spanish :  Sierra  de  la  Encantacion  is  the  original  designation,  sug- 
gestive of  sacrificial  caves  and  weird  rites  held  there  by  the  Indians, 
as  they  undoubtedly  were.  It  is,  however,  a  matter  for  congratula- 
tion that  the  English  name  is  not  of  the  average  commonplaceness, 
but  also,  like  the  Spanish,  has  a  mystic  significance.  The  Supersti- 
tions have  a  broad,  cliff-like  frontage,  rising  abruptly  from  the  plain, 
with  high  banks  of  steeply  sloping  detritus  at  their  feet.  Their  tops 
are  mesa-like,  though  broken,  and  on  their  faces  are  plainly  traced 
the  strata-lines  that  indicate  their  geological  history.  Their  forms 
are  suggestive  of  some  grand  primitive  architecture ;  castle-like 
towers  and  pinnacles  stand  out  from  the  ruddy  mass  in  the  bright 
sunlight  of  the  afternoon ;  in  the  clear  atmosphere  the  mountains 
seem  close  at  hand,  but  they  are  a  day's  journey  distant  by  wagon ! 
A  prominent  landmark  to  the  northward  of  the  Superstitions,  rising 
just  over  the  gap  of  the  Salada  canon,  is  the  great  mountain  mass  of 
the  Cuatro  Pieos,  the  Four  Peaks  —  four  clustered  summits,  beau- 
tiful in  the  Alpine  purity  of  their  winter  snow-mantle  that  seems 
flung  over  them  like  some  graceful  drapery.  A  similar  garb  is  worn 
bv  the  Sunflower  Peaks,  still  farther  northward,  and  by  others  of  the 
mountain  wall  that  extends  in  compact  ranges  across  the  northern 
horizon,  ending  in  the  lofty  Bradshaws  off  beyond  Phoenix  in  the 
northwest.  Beyond  and  above  the  Superstitions,  to  the  eastward, 
rise  the  Pinal  Mountains,  and,  then,  to  the  southeastward,  the  de- 
tached masses  of  the  high  Santa  Catalinas,  near  Tucson,  with  the 
Tortolitas  and  the  Picachos  intervening,  and  the  Zacaton  near  at 
hand;  southwesterly,  just  across  the  Gila,  is  the  abrupt  wall  of  the 
Estrellas  frowning  in  the  shadow,  and  close  at  hand  are  the  humbler 
Maricopas.  These  mountains  are  nearly  all  full  of  mineral  treasures 
awaiting  some  lucky  prospector  to  reveal  them ;  several  rich  mines 
are  being  worked,  and  in  the  Pinal  Mountains  is  the  famous  Silver 
King  mine,  one  of  the  great  silver-producers  of  the  wor.d. 

Now  and  then  we  pass,  by  the  road,  traces  of  ancient  ruins,  in  the 
shape  of  low  mounds  of  earth  that  the  ordinary  observer  takes  for 
natural  irregularities  of  the  surface.  Tempe  is  partly  built  on  the 
site  of  one  of  the  ancient  cities,  and  the  Mexican  quarter,  locally 
known  as  "  Sonora,'"  in  token  of  the  neighboring  Mexican  State 
whence  nearly  all  the  inhabitants  immigrated,  covers  long  rows  of 
these  mounds.  Beyond,  we  pass  a  house  of  one  of  the  well-to-do 
American  residents,  built  on  the  summit  of  a  large  mound  formed  by 
the  crumbled  walls  of  a  ruined  temple,  which  have  been  nicely  graded 
and  terraced,  and  planted  with  shrubs  and  fruit-trees.  At  first 
thought  it  seems  a  pity  that  the  sites  should  be  so  occupied,  but  there 
are  in  the  open  more  than  can  at  present  be  explored,  and,  in  reality, 
the  ruins  thus  covered  are  reserved  for  the  future  explorer  whom 
science  may  send ;  effectively  guarded  against  the  burrowings  of 
relic-hunters  —  those  pests  of  the  archaeologist,  who  simply  destroy, 
confuse  and  disturb  for  the  sake  of  what  are  to  them  but  mere 
"  curiosities." 

The  irrigating  canals,  or  acequiaf,  are  marked  features  of  the 
landscape.  They  give  the  soil  its  fertility  and  are  again  converting 
these  valleys  into  luxuriant  gardens.  The  night-frosts  of  January 
are  just  strong  enough  to  check  the  growth  of  most  things,  but  the 
fields  of  barley  and  wheat  are  mantled  witli  the  tender  verdure  of  the 
infant  blades,  and  the  darker  alfalfa  covers  expansive  pastures  with 
its  velvety  garb.  The  land  spreads  away  in  floor-like  evenness  to  the 
feet  of  the  mountains  on  all  sides,  towards  which  it  rises  in  a  gradual 
incline,  the  direction  of  which  would  be  almost  imperceptible  did  not 
the  purling  water  in  the  ditches  tell  the  tale.  Where  the  canals  or 
ditches  have  been  established  a  few  years,  long  lines  of  trees  mark 
their  course  and  give  beauty  to  the  landscape.  These  trees  are 
mostly  cottonwoods,  which,  under  the  stimulus  of  plenty  of  water, 
attain  a  height  of  fifty  feet  or  so  in  a  comparatively  short  time. 
They  are  usually  planted  along  the  water-ways,  their  shade  and  their 
shelter  from  the  dry  winds  preventing  evaporation.  Where  not 
planted,  they  spring  up  themselves  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  from 
seeds  scattered  by  the  wind,  or  borne  by  the  water  to  the  banks. 
The  settlers  are  beginning  to  plant  other  varieties  than  the  cotton- 
wood,  which  will  make  better  timber ;  among  them  the  catalpa,  which 
grows  as  rapidly  and  makes  a  handsome  tree,  particularly  beautiful 
in  flowering  time. 

The  main  canals  cut  across  country  regardless  of  section-lines, 
following  the  course  that  enables  them  to  irrigate  the  most  land,  but 
the  supply-ditches,  for  the  most  part,  keep  along  the  margins  of  the 
fields,  and  the  lines  of  trees  that  mark  their  course  relieve  the 
monotony  of  the  level  expanses,  making  hollow  squares  of  the  farms. 

Our  mules,  though  stolid  enough  in  aspect,  show  that  experience 
has  not  been  an  unheeded  teacher.  Tough  are  their  hides,  but  their 
feet  are  small  and  delicate,  and  they  have  a  horror  of  mud  as  of  the 
evil-one.  At  a  harmless-looking  wet  place  on  the  road,  they  shy  in 
alarm.  Well  they  may.  for  this  peculiar  soil,  stable  as  it  is  under 
ordinary  conditions,  is  converted  into  something  like  quicksand  when 
water  flows  upon  it  for  the  first  time.  In  such  a  place  a  mule-team  will 
suddenly  sink  almost  to  the  ears,  and  the  animals  will  be  likely  to 
smother  unless  speedily  rescued,  floundering  about  without  a  foothold, 
and  with  every  movement  sinking  deeper  and  deeper.  After  such  a 
mud-bath,  a  mule  is  a  sight  to  behold,  with  skin  and  harness 
thoroughly  plastered.  A  new  ditch,  into  which  the  water  has  flowed 


for  the  first  time,  seems  to  present  but  a  slight  obstacle  to  travel,  but 
it  is  something  to  be  dreaded  by  the  traveller,  and  hardly  any  amount 
of  persuasion  can  induce  a  mule  to  venture  across  it.  A  well-travelled 
road,  however,  gets  compacted  so  that  water  has  no  effect  on  it,  or 
after  water  has  flowed  over  a  piece  of  ground  for  two  or  three  succes- 
sive times,  something  in  the  soil  seems  to  be  so  affected  as  to  give  it 
stability.  A  mule  has  keen  discernment  and  seems  able  to  tell  such 
a  place  from  freshly-flowed  land,  for  it  will  fearlessly  enter  upon  a 
part  of  the  regular  road  where  water  stands,  perhaps  from  the  over- 
flow of  a  broken  ditch,  or  will,  unhesitatingly,  cross  an  acequia  or  a 
stream  at  a  regular  ford.  The  liabilities  to  these  mishaps,  in  a 
country  where  new  land  is  being  extensively  brought  under  cultiva- 
tion, gives  an  element  of  adventure  to  drives  around  the  valley. 

A  half-mile  to  the  eastward,  two  miles  southward,  another  mile 
eastward,  and  then  we  turn  southward  again,  following  an  irregular 
road  across  country  after  passing  the  great  Tempe  Canal.  As  we 
proceed,  the  country  has  become  more  open,  for  the  trees  have  not 
yet  had  time  to  grow  up  on  the  newly-cleared  land.  The  irregular 
road  is,  for  the  most  part,  through  the  original  wilderness  growth  of 
the  desert—  which  is  not  destined  to  remain  so  for  many  weeks  more. 
A  drive  of  nearly  ten  miles  from  town  brings  us  through  a  low 
mesquite  wood,  and  we  emerge  with  the  white  tents  of  Camp  Hemen- 
way  before  us  half  a  mile  to  the  westward.  The  place  has  a  pleasant 
look  in  the  midst  of  a  cleared  plain,  the  military-appearing  cluster 
gleaming  in  the  light  of  the  setting  sun  against  the  dark  background 
of  the  Maricopa  and  Estrella  Mountains. 

Our  drive  ends  in  the  space  enclosed  by  the  various  tents  like  a 
parade-ground ;  the  ladies,  Mrs.  Gushing  and  her  sister,  Miss  Magill, 
advance  to  welcome  their  guest  and  receive  the  daily  mail,  and  a 
handsome  Mexican  youth  steps  forward  to  take  care  of  the  team. 
Mr.  Gushing  is  still  out  at  the  excavations,  but  in  a  few  minutes  he 
comes  galloping  into  camp  on  his  beautiful  horse,  "  Douglass,"  and 
his  eyes  shine  with  happiness  at  meeting  his  old  friend. 

It  is  dark  when  the  violent  clattering  of  a  cow-bell  summons  us  to 
the  kitchen  tent  to  supper.  All  our  little  community,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  laborers,  who  wait  for  the  "  second  call,"  are  gathered 
around  the  board,  and  the  presence  of  the  ladies  imparts  an  ameliorat- 
ing influence  rare  in  camp-life.  There  are  the  two  anthropological 
members  of  the  staff,  Dr.  Herman  F.  C.  ten  Kate  and  Dr.  Jacob  L. 
Wortman.  Dr.  ten  Kate  I  have  known  and  esteemed  for  nearly  two 
years,  and  in  Dr.  Wortman  I  am  delighted  to  find  a  man  whose 
quiet,  unassuming  ways  do  not  obscure  the  recognition  of  the  re- 
markable scientific  attainments  of  which  I  have  heard  from  mutual 
friends  in  Washington.  Dr.  Wortman  is  the  comparative  anatomist 
for  the  Army  Medical  Museum,  at  Washington,  and  has  been 
temporarily  detailed  to  look  after  the  preservation  of  the  valuable 
ancient  skeletons  excavated  here.  Doctor  Washington  Matthews, 
also  surgeon  in  the  Army,  and  at  present  Curator  of  the  Museum, 
himself  a  distinguished  ethnologist,  was  ordered  to  this  place  by  the 
Secretary  of  War,  last  summer,  owing  to  the  critical  condition  of 
Mr.  Cushing's  health.  Dr.  Matthews,  who  is  an  old  friend  of  Mr. 
Cushing's,  having  been  surgeon  at  Fort  Wingate  when  Mr.  Gushing 
was  making  his  important  investigations  at  Zufii  near  by,  was  so  im- 
pressed with  the  scientific  value  of  the  ancient  skeletons  unearthed 
here,  that  his  representations  induced  Dr.  J.  S.  Billings,  the  Director 
of  the  Museum,  to  enter  into  an  arrangement  whereby  the  Museum 
should  secure  duplicate  series  of  the  skeletons  in  consideration  of 
attending  to  their  preservation  and  classification.  The  result  was 
the  detail  of  Dr.  Wortman  for  this  purpose,  a  young  man  already 
known  as  the  foremost  comparative  anatomist  in  the  country,  and 
one  of  the  ablest  of  osteologists  and  palaeontologists. 

SYLVESTER  BAXTER. 

(To  be  continued.) 


CHICAGO    CHAPTER    AMERICAN   INSTITUTE    OF    ARCHITECTS. 

117 HE  regular  annual  meeting  of  the  Chicago  Chapter  A.  I.  A.,  was 
J I  ^  held  at  Kinsleys,  Thursday  evening,  December  13,  1888.  After 
dinner  the  reports  of  various  officers  and  committees  were  re- 
ceived. The  officers  elected  for  the  ensuing  year  were,  President, 
W.  L.  B.  Jenney ;  Vice-President,  W.  W.  Clay ;  Treasurer,  S.  S. 
Beman  ;  Secretary,  W.  A.  Otis. 


WESTERN   ASSOCIATION   OP    ARCHITECTS.  —  COMMITTEES     AP- 
POINTED   FOR    1889. 

Committee  on  the  Metric  System.  —  Normand  S.  Fatten,  Chairman, 
Chicago,  111.;  G.  W.  Kramer,  Akron,  Ohio;  E.  T.  Mix,  Milwaukee, 
Wis. 

Committee  on  Uniform  Contracts  and  Specifications.  —  S.  A.  Treat, 
Chairman,  Chicago,  111. ;  J.  F.  Alexander,  La  Fayette,  Ind. ;  W.  R. 
Forbush,  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

Committee  on  Consolidation  of  Architectural  Societies  of  America.  — 
D.  Adler,  Chairman,  Chicago,  111. ;  George  B.  Ferry,  Milwaukee, 
Wis.  ;  W.  W.  Carlin,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. ;  A.  Van  Brunt,  Kansas  City, 
Mo. ;  John  W.  Root,  Chicago,  111. 


JANUARY  5,  1889.] 


The    American   Architect   and  Building   News. 


11 


Committee  on  a  Code  of  Ethics  for  Professional  Practice.  —  L.  H' 
Sullivan,  Chicago,  111. 

Committee  on  Bill  governing  Office  oj  Supervising  Architect,  U.  S. 
Treasury  Department.  —  D.  Adler,  Chairman.  Chicago,  111.;  D.  H. 
Burnham,  Chicago,  III. ;  J.  F.  Alexander,  La  Fayette,  Ind. 

Committee  on  Statuatory  Revision.  —  D.  Alder,  Chairman,  Chicago, 
111. ;  George  B.  Ferry,  Milwaukee,  Wis. ;  J.  F.  Alexander,  La 
Fayette,  Ind. 

Committee  to  Organize  State  Associations.  —  J.  F.  Alexander, 
Chairman,  La  Fayette,  Ind. ;  S.  A.  Preston,  Los  Angeles,  Cal. ;  A. 
P.  Cutting,  Worcester,  Mass. ;  A.  C.  Dallas,  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah ; 
E.  W.  Wells,  Wheeling,  W.  Va. ;  T.  H.  Morgan,  Atlanta,  Ga. 

Committee  on  Statistic*  of  Competitions.  —  C.  E.  Illsley,  Chairman, 
St.  Louis,  Mo. ;  J.  W.  Yost,  Columbus,  Ohio  ;  A.  Van  Brunt,  Kansas 
City,  Mo.;  S.  M.  Randolph,  Chicago,  111.;  J.  H.  Pierce,  Elmira,  N. 

Committee  to  Collect  Legal  Decisions  Relating  to  Building  In- 
terests.—  Charles  C.  Hellmers,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 


THE   ARCHITECTURAL   COURSE   AT   COLUMBIA 
COLLEGE. 

BOSTON,  MASS.,  December  29, 1888. 
To  THE  EDITORS  OF  TBE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT:  — 

Dear  Sirs,  —  In  your  reply  to  Mr.  Kimball  in  the  American  Archi- 
tect of  December  29,  1888,  you  convey  the  impression  in  regard  to 
the  comparative  "  progressiveness  "  etc.,  of  the  trustees  or  managers 
of  different  schools  of  architecture  which  is  not  quite  justified,  so  far 
as  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology,  the  principal  rival  of 
the  Columbia  College  School,  is  concerned.  During  my  seven  years' 
experience  in  the  Institute  of  Technology,  whatever  mav  have  been 
the  faults  of  the  Architectural  Department,  they  were  certainly  not 
due  to  any  lack  of  intelligent  interest,  and  desire  to  promote  the 
welfare  of  the  Department,  on  the  part  of  the  officers  of  the  Cor- 
poration. In  the  efforts  of  the  Corporation  to  accomplish  the 
utmost  possible  good  with  the  limited  funds  at  their  command, 
the  Architectural  Department  was  never  forgotten  or  neglected,  and 
it  is  hardly  fair  to  compare  their  prudenfand  far-seeing  management 
of  the  whole  school  of  which  the  Department  formed  a  part,  with  the 
enthusiastic  zeal  of  the  wealthy  private  gentleman  at  whose  expense 
the  Columbia  Architectural  School  was  founded  and  maintained,  and 
who  could  be  called  upon  with  confidence  for  almost  unlimited  con- 
tributions for  the  good  of  his  admirable  scheme. 

Very  truly  yours,  T.  M.  CLARK. 

[ALTHOUGH  our  statement  was  positive,  and  not  comparative,  it  is  possible 
we  may  have  been  unlucky  enough  to  be  understood  iu  the  latter  sense  by 
others  than  Mr.  Clark.  — EDS.  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT.] 


SLOW-BURNING  CONSTRUCTION. 

MINNEAPOLIS,  MINN.,  December  17,  1888. 
To  THE  EDITORS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT:  — 

Dear  Sim, —  I  am  prompted  to  send  you  sketches  of  a  cheap  con- 
struction which  I  have  used,  by  the  letter  you  published  from  Mr. 
Atkinson  in  one  of  your  October  issues.  No.  1  is  from  an  apart- 
ment-house of  my  own,  where  I  felt  at  liberty  to  experiment,  and  in 
some  respects  I  consider  it  a  success.  The  outside  walls  have, 
common  brick  outside,  bonded  through  the  wall  every  six  courses  ; 
the  backing  is  of  hollow  bricks,  4"  x  6"  x  12",  of  which  I  should  not 
care  to  build  piers,  but  which  I  have  tested  with  actual  weights,  and 
consider  them  strong  enough  for  ordinary  four-story  brick  walls. 
This  wall  receives  the  plaster  without  lath  or  furrings,  and  is  dry. 
The  extra  expense  of  this  wall  is  met  by  the  saving  in  furrings  and 
laths. 

The  partitions  are  all  made  of  2"  x  4"  studding,  run  into  "  sheath- 
ing-lath  "  on  two  sides,  as  shown  by  No.  3,  with  a  groove  in  each 
edge,,  These  are  set  flat-ways  and  spiked  —  toe-nailed  —  every  two 
feet  on  each  side,  so  that  .the  spikes  are  only  1'  0"  apart.  As  there 
are  no  tongues  or  splines,  it  is  very  necessary  to  thoroughly  secure 
these  studs  against  the  danger  of  springing  by  each  other  and  crack- 
ing the  plaster.  These  partitions  have  sills  and  plates  of  similar 
2  x  4's  on  edge,  so  it  will  be  seen  that  the  grooves  between  each 
upright  are  connected  with  a  similar  groove  top  and  bottom.  Thus 
it  is  hoped  to  get  enough  circulation  to  prevent  dry-rot.  For  open- 
ings, 2"  x  3"  studs  are  set,  as  shown  in  No.  4,  which  serve  as  a 
ground  for  plaster  and  a  firm  nailing  for  door-frames  and  finish. 

Where  partitions  run  with  the  joists,  the  joists  are  trebled  below, 
making  a  solid  barrier  against  fire. 

These  partitions  I  have  made  12'  0"  high,  without  cross-bracing, 
and,  after  plastering,  they  prove  stiff  enough  for  general  use.  I 
have  never  used  them  for  carrying  the  weight  above. 

The  ceilings  are  covered  with  1"  x  4"  sheathing-lath,  as  shown  on 
No.  1,  and,  where  possible,  the  laths  are  put  on  before  the  partitions 
below  are  set.  On  top  of  this  are  3"  of  mortar  :  one  part  lime,  two 
parts  sand,  three  parts  coarse  saw-dust.  This,  when  set  and  dry, 
makes  a  light,  porous  substance,  weighing  about  50  pounds  to  the 
cubic  foot.  It  should  be  worked  stiff,  and  allowed  some  time  to  dry 
and  set  before  the  ceiling  below  is  plastered ;  otherwise  yellow  stains 


will  appear.  I  had  hoped  that  the  deafening  properties  of  the  3"  of 
mortar  would  be  good,  even  though  only  a  single  floor  should  be  put 
above,  but  it  is  found  to  be  worthless  for  that  purpose.  It  has 
been  suggested  that  a  double-floor,  with  two  layers  of  cheap  felt 
between,  would  remove  the  sounding-board  effect  of  the  single  floor, 
and,  with  the  mortar,  make  a  floor  proof  against  the  passage  of 
ordinary  sounds. 

These  partitions  and  ceilings  are  plastered  as  indicated,  and  all 
angles  are  cut  through  to  the  lath  —  a  thing  it  is  very  hard  to  get  the 
average  plasterer  to  do.  Then  any  change  in  the  relative  positions 
of  the  two  backs  does  not  produce  ugly  cracks  across  the  face  of  the 
wall. 

In  using  sheathing-lath  so  freely,  it  was  feared  that  the  greatest 
trouble  would  occur  from  the  twisting  and  shrinking  of  the  lumber, 
and  cracking  the  plaster,  but  now,  after  heat  has  been  in  the  building 
over  two  months,  I  am  satisfied  there  are  fewer  cracks  than  would 
have  appeared  if  ordinary  lath  had  been  used.  The  mortar  adheres 
firmly  to  the  surface,  and  the  face  of  the  plaster  is  less  liable  to 
breakage. 

I  now  propose  to  build  a  floor  as  shown  in  No.  2,  which,  I  think, 
will  be  a  successful  deafener,  and  it  dispenses  with  the  3"  of  mortar, 
which  in  some  cases  would  be  an  objection.  The  bottoms  of  all 
joists  are  run  to  sheathing-lath,  the  sides  grooved  for  air-spaces, 
and  above  mineral-wool  is  used  between  wide  joists. 

While  these  methods  of  construction  are  not  as  cheap  as  the  ordi- 
nary stud-and-lath,  they  are  cheap  compared  with  any  of  the 
ordinary  methods  of  "  fireproofing,"  or  making  slow-burning  con- 
struction, and  even  than  the  simple  use  of  wire-lath  over  studs  and 
joists.  I  give  below  approximately  the  cost  of  the  different  modes 
of  construction  here. 

With  us  there  is  much  less  danger  from  "dry-rot"  than  is  usual, 
as  nearly  all  of  our  lumber  is  cut  from  logs  which  have  been  in  the 
water  from  six  to  eighteen  months,  and  are  soaked  dry;  that  is,  the 
water  has  driven  out  the  sap. 


PARTITIONS. 

Cost  of  100  square  feet  ordinary 
partition  plastered  2  sides  — 

50  feet,  2x4  studs  set 31.10 

22  yards  lath  and  plaster. 


4.40 


5.50 


Cost  of  100  square  feet  of  parti- 
tion as  shown  in  No.  1,  plas- 
tered 2  sides  — 

200  feet,  2x4  run  and  set 

22  yards  plaster 


4.60 
3.30 


Cost  of  100  square  feet  studs  and 
wire-lath  plastered  2  sides,  — 

50  square  feet  studs,  2x4 
set 

22  yards  plaster  and  wire-lath. 


1.10 
9.90 


11.00 

Cost  of  100  square  feet  3"  Hollow 
tile,  plastered  2  sides  — 

100  square  feet  tile  set 12.00 

22  yards  plaster 3.30 

15.30 


FLOORS. 

Cost  of  100  square  feet  of  ordi- 
nary floors  without  lining  or 
finished  floor  —  2  xlO  set  1 :4" 
on  centres  — 

125  feet,  2  x  10  set $2.75 

1 1  yards  lath  and  plaster 2.20 


4.D5 

Cost  of  100  square  feet  as  shown 
in  No.  1,2x10,  set  I'O"  on 
centres  — 

1 70  feet,  2  x  in  set 3.74 

100  feet,  1x4  sheathing-lath. . .     2.20 

11  yards  plaster 1.65 

1 1  yards  3"  mortar 1.32 


8.91 
Cost  of  wire-lath  construction  — 

170  feet,  2  x  10  set  3.74 

11  yards  plaster  and  wire  lath. .    4.95 

8.69 
Cost  of  No.  2  construction  — 

635  feet,  2x8  and  2x  6  set 15.24 

11  yards  plaster 1.65 


17  89 
Cost  of  tile  arches  — 

100  square  feet  tile 20.00 

11  yards  plaster 1.65 


21.65 


In  giving  the  cost  of  tile,  arches  ami  positions,  no  account  is  made 
of  the  iron  frame,  which  is  usually  equal,  if  not  greater,  than  the 
cost  of  the  filling. 

The  building  from  which  Nos.  1,  3,  and  4  are  taken  is  occupied 
by  twenty-eight  families,  and  the  insurance  rate  is  90  cents  on  $100, 
insured  for  Jive  years.  Yours  truly, 

JAMES  C.  PLANT. 

[IN  describing  this  method  ol  building,  Mr.  Plant  sets  an  example  which 
we  would  like  to  have  followed  by  other  architects  who  have  experimented 
successfully  or  unsuccessfully  with  variations  upon  the  ordinary  methods 
of  construction.  —  Ens.  AMKRICAN  ARCHITECT.] 


A   CORRECTION. 

NEW  YOBK,  N.  Y.,  December  26, 1888. 

To  THE  EDITORS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT  :  — 

Dear  Sirs,  —  In  your  column  of  death  notices  of  architects  pub- 
lished December  22,  1888,  you  have  attributed  to  Arthur  Crooks  the 
architectship  of  St.  Thomas's  Church  in  the  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York. 
This  is  incorrect,  Mr.  Crooks  was  in  the  employ  of  R.  &  R.  M. 
Upjohn  as  draughtsman  at  the  time  St.  Thomas's  Church  was  built. 
The  design  and  scheme  of  the  building  had  been  worked  out  to  an 
eighth-inch  scale  for  Dr.  Morgan  five  years  before  Mr.  Crooks  came  to 
this  country,  and  the  design  and  scheme  of  the  building  was  made  by 
my  father.  He  was  the  architect  of  the  building.  According  to  our 
books  Mr.  Crooks  entered  our  employ  three  days  after  he  landed  from 
England,  the  last  of  July  in  1863,  he  then  said  he  was  not  quite 
twenty-one  years  old,  he  remained  in  our  emplov  for  upwards  of 
eight  years  continuously.  In  Mr.  Crooks  we  always  found  an  able 
and  willing  assistant.  In  England,  he  had  been  architect  to  a  Mr. 
Sutton  an  architect  of  Nottingham,  England.  By  publishing  the 
above  you  will  be  correcting  an  error  undoubtedly  unintentionally 
made.  Yours  respectfully,  R.  M.  UPJOHN. 


12 


The  American  Architect  and  Building  News.      [VOL.  XXV.  — No.  680. 


THE  INVENTOR  OF  THE  WHEELBARROW.  —  There  are  probably  very 
few  people  who  know  the  name  of  the  inventor  of  the  wheelbarrow. 
The  sculptor,  painter,  architect,  engineer  —  in  fact  many-sided  genius 
and  universal  scholar,  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  of  Italy  —  the  man  who 
painted  the  original  picture  of  "The  Last  Supper"— is  the  inventor  of 
the  wheelbarrow.  His  fertile  brain  conceived  the  idea  about  the  time 
Columbus  discovered  America.  It  is  hardly  possible  to  think  of  a  man 
who  was  touched  with  the  highest  order  of  the  divine  art  of  painting 
bringing  himself  down  to  the  diametrically  opposite  study  of  a  simple 
mechanical  invention,  but  such  is  the  case,  says  history.  —  Chicago 
Herald. 


INCREASE  IN  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE  RECEIPTS. — The  annual  report  of 
the  Trustees  of  the  New  York  and  Brooklyn  Bridge  shows  that  the  re- 
ceipts for  tolls  during  the  year  ending  November  80,  1888,  were  §917,- 
961.56,  divided  as  follows:  Promenade,  $16,069.63;  carriageways, 
$67,231.59;  railroad,  §833,760.34.  The  tolls  exceed  those  of  the  pre- 
vious year  by  $757.35  for  the  promenade,  §1,488.33  for  carriageways, 
$64,991.65  for  the  railroad,  and  $67,237.33  in  the  total.  The  number  of 
railroad  passengers  was  30,331,283,  compared  with  27,940,313  the  pre- 
ceding year;  of  foot  passengers,  2,785,533,  against  2,604,313  in  1887. 
This  shows  a  total  of  33,116,816  passengers,  and  a  total  increase  of 
2,512,090  over  1887.  The  largest  monthly  number  of  foot  passengers 
was  in  April  292,778  —  and  of  railroad  passengers  in  October  — 
2,859,697  —  in  which  month  also  the  total  traffic  was  largest  — 
3,116,198.  The  average  monthly  receipts  have  been  §76,496.79,  an  in- 
crease of  §5,603.11  over  last  year.  The  total  receipts  for  the  year  wer.e 
11,012,254,  of  which  §917,961.50  was  for  tolls,  §84,880.58  for  rents, 
§7,146.17  for  materials  sold,  and  $2,266.51  for  interest.  The  expendi- 
tures for  the  year  have  been  §831,497.22,  leaving  the  balance  on  hand 
December  1,  1888,  $238,710.10.  Among  the  extraordinary  expenditures 
were  §40,033.28  for  the  new  cable  plant,  $32,055.13  for  additional  real 
estate,  §92,097.25  for  Washington  Street  extension,  §23,400  for  six 
Pullman  cars,  §11,000  for  two  locomotives,  $15,370  for  lawsuits 
(§o,750  being  for  patent  suits),  and  §17,01)0  for  repairs  and  extensions. 
The  pay-rolls  amounted  to  §433,044.73,  besides  $39,199.20  in  salaries. 
Of  the  total  receipts  from  rentals  $11,052.02  was  for  the  429  telegraph 
and  telephone  wires  and  the  single  Commercial  cable.  —  AW  York 
Evening  Post. 

A  GKI.IXTIC  EtBCTRtC-LtOHTlwo  SYSTEM. —  The  newest  item  of  in- 
terest in  electrical  development  is  the  condensations  printed  in  the 
electrical  journals  for  the  current  week  of  the  articles  in  the  English 
electrical  press,  descriptive  of  the  plan  for  the  new  Deptford  Station  of 
the  London  Klectrical  Supply  Corporation.  The  Electrical  Engineer 
says:  Projects  for  central  station  electric  lighting  on  a  large  scale  in 
England  are  following  one  another  with  great  rapidity,  in  London  and 
in  provincial  towns  a«  well.  This  recent  activity  is  doubtless  due  in 
large  measure  to  the  improved  situation  of  the  capitalists  who  under- 
take such  enterprises,  consequent  upon  the  modification  by  Parliament, 
of  the  onerous  restrictions  of  earlier  legislation  touching  their  privileges, 
and  still  more  perhaps  to  the  widespread  and  successful  introduction  of 
the  alternating  current  and  transformer  method  of  distribution  for  large 
areas.  Chief  among  the  new  schemes  which  have  marked  the  reaction 
following  the  removal  of  restrictions  of  the  Electric  Lighting  Act  is  the 
Ferranti  system  to  be  used  at  Deptford.  This  is  upon  a  plan  so  vast 
as  to  dwarf  the  most  extensive  appliances  in  use  to-day  into  compara- 
tive insignificance,  and  its  conception  is  so  bold  as  to  excite  both  the 
admiration  and  the  apprehension  of  those  best  qualified  to  judge  of 
such  matters.  If  successful  it  will  be  a  great  advance  upon  present 
achievements.  Mr.  Ferranti  proposes  to  employ  a  potential  of  10,000 
volts,  with  one  side  of  the  circuit  bare  ami  designedly  grounded  at  in- 
numerable points.  The  strongest  arc-lighting  current  in  use  in  Provi- 
dence, has  a  potential  of  about  4,000  volts  and  this  increase  of  tension 
will  demand  an  absolute  insulation,  the  possibility  of  which  is  still  an 
open  question.  The  Deptford  Station  has  available  about  four  acres  of 
ground  at  the  riverside,  almost  the  whole  of  which  will  be  eventually 
covered- with  the  steam  and  electric  plant,  capable  of  lighting  half  of 
London.  The  "  small  "  dynamos  will  have  a  capacity  of  25,000  lights 
each,  and  will  be  the  largest  electric  generators  yet  constructed,  and 
the  "large"  dynamos,  forty-five  feet  high  over  all  and  weighing  500 
tons  each,  when  driven  by  10,000  horse-power  engines,  will  be  capable 
of  supplying  20l),Oi)(J  lights  each.  The  dynamos  will  be  inclosed  and 
magnetically  locked  by  the  exciting  current  so  that  it  will  be  impossible 
to  get  a  shock  from  the  dynamos  themselves.  The  conductors  will  also 
present  a  radical  departure  from  anything  practised  at  the  present  day. 
No  precedents  being  available  for  the  transmission  of  such  high  volt- 
ages, Mr.  Ferranti  had  to  invent  a  cable  to  suit  the  requirements  of  the 
case.  Throughout  the  whole  system  one  end  of  the  primary  is  con- 
nected to  earth  and  the  difference  of  potential  between  it  and  the 
human  body  is  therefore  nil.  The  high-pressure  end  of  the  main  is 
enclosed  within  this  grounded  copper  conductor,  separated  from  it  by 
the  most  perfect  insulating  compound  obtainable.  By  this  means  it  is 
expected  to  deliver  electricity  at  this  enormous  pressure,  and  yet  render 
no  more  precaution  unnecessary  in  running  the  conducting  main  than  in 
placing  an  ordinary  gaspipe.  In  the  transmission  of  high  electrical  press- 
ures, Sir  William  Thompson  has  shown  that  the  interior  of  a  solid  cop- 
per rod  is  practically  useless  and  the  weight  of  the  inside  copper  is 
thrown  away.  Mr.  Kerranti  has  therefore  made  his  inner  conductor 
cylindrical  of  pure  copper  3-10  inch  in  thickness.  The  high-pressure 
mains  will  be  laid  along  the  embankments  and  lines  of  the  various 
railway  companies  and  underground  along  the  District  railway.  At 
the  distributing  points  a  transformer  of  125  horse-power  and  weighing 
a  ton  will  expand  the  current  down  to  2,400  volts,  which  is  the  pressure 


now  used  in  the  Grosvenor  Gallery  and  will  be  capable  of  supplying 
2,500  lamps  of  10  c.  p.  From  these  stations  the  current  will  be  dis- 
tributed by  overhead  lines  to  private  houses,  each  of  which  will  have 
its  own  transformer,  expanding  the  current  until  the  pressure  is  only 
100  volts,  which  can  be  used  in  the  ordinary  incandescent  lamps.  The 
Electrical  Supply  Co.,  limited,  it  about  to  install  a  Westinghouse plant, 
and  a  third  undertaking,  the  St.  James  Electrical  Light  Co.,  has 
announced  the  intention  to  construct  a  station  for  20,000  lamps. 


THE  features  of  the  week  are  heavy  traffic  on  nearly  all  trunk  lines,  and 
an  active  distribution  of  products  of  all  kinds.  The  year's  business,  accord- 
ing to  bank  clearings,  was  slightly  in  excess  of  last  year.  Railroad-con- 
struction was  about  5,000  miles  less.  Pig-iron  output,  exclusive  of  Besse- 
mer, was  fully  up  to  1887.  The  capital  of  manufacturing  companies  in  the 
Southern  States  was  §168,000,000.  Stock  operations  last  year  show  quite  a 
falling  off  at  all  the  exchanges.  There  was  an  increase  in  the  number  of 
firms  of  37.600,  according  to  one  agency;  the  total  number  being  put  at 
1,133,000.  The  failures  for  the  year  averaged  one,  for  110  firms.  In  New 
York  3,073  new  buildings  were  constructed  at  a  cost  of  $47,000  000  against 
4.374,  1887,  costing  $07,00,000.  Philadelphia  expended  last  year  $2S,000,- 
000  in  buildings.  Mortgage  foreclosures,  so  far  as  returns  are  to  hand, 
show  a  wonderful  falling  off.  Business  men  are  under  less  necessity  to 
borrow,  and  are  better  able  to  pay,  especially  as  much  money  is  borrowed 
at  from  one  to  two  per  cent  less  than  two  or  three  years  ago.  There  is  con- 
siderable trouble  in  the  far  West  over  the  lack  of  money,  especially  among 
small  traders  and  manufacturers,  but  it  is  partly  due  to  the  fact  that  the 
activity  iu  railroad-building  for  the  past  two  or  three  years  was  not  kept  up. 
The  Atcheson  has  completed  its  line  to  Chicago,  the  St.  Paul  to  Kansas  City, 
the  Rock  Island  into  Colorado.  The  Denver,  Texas  &  Fort  Worth  is  de- 
livering freights  from  New  York  via  New  Orleans  throughout  the  Rocky 
Mountain  region.  This  year  the  Northern  Pacific  will  run  unbroken  trains 
from  the  Pacific  f oast  to  Chicago.  The  Baltimore  &  Ohio  will  probably  get 
to  New  York,  and  New  England  will  have  a  valuable  additional  outlet  West- 
via  Ponghkeepsie  bridge.  This  little  panorama  shows  substantially  what 
has  been  done  by  the  railroad-builders.  Among  the  new  roads  projected 
are  one  from  Omaha  into  Ducotah,  400  miles;  one  in  Iowa  to  Superior  points, 
200  miles;  one  in  Montana,  one  in  Arkansas  and  one  in  Texas;  all  long 
lines.  A  road  will  probably  be  started  this  year  through  an  unsettled  part 
of  California,  parallel  to  the  Southern  Pacific'  and  distant  from  it  twelve  to 
twenty  miles.  The  architects  aud  builders  in  the  older  sections  of  the 
country  have  no  fault  to  find  with  present  indications.  In  all  probability 
builders  will  have  more  work  than  last  year.  Authorities  in  a  half-dozen 
large  Western  cities  have  already  m.-ide  some  little  preparation  for  it  to  the 
extent  of  contracting  for  lumber.  A  large  amount  of  new  work  will  be 
undertaken  west  of  the  Mississippi.  Combinations  have  been  made  looking 
to  house-building  on  a  large  scale  wherever  encouragement  may  be  offered. 
The  greatest  activity  will  be  in  the  smaller  towns,  as  was  the  c.'ise  last  year. 
Capital  is  taking  more  chances  farther  away  from  home.  It  is  leaving  its 
accustomed  channels,  and  is  finding  better  and  more  productive  emplov- 
meut.  Never  iu  our  history  was  there  less  speculation  aud  less  tendency  to 
speculate,  if  exception  be  taken  in  the  cases  of  a  few  successful  trusts. 
Values  are  more  uniform.  Railroad  rates  will  probably  fluctuate  less  than 
ever;  but,  if  pooling  is  authorized,  it  will,  for  a  while,  introduce  another 
unsettling  factor. 

Architects,  especially  in  Eastern  cities,  incline  to  the  opinion  that  their 
services  will  be  in  as  great  requisition  as  last  year,  and  that  suburban-resi- 
dence work  will  be  heavier.  Summaries  made  by  lumber  authorities  show 
that  a  very  abundant  supply  of  hard  and  soft  woods  will  be  thrown  upon 
the  market  next  year,  and  that,  on  account  of  the  competition  from  the  new 
mills  both  Noith  and  South,  prices  may  not  be  altogether  uniform.  A 
very  large  amount  of  money  will  be  expended  by  municipalities,  big  and 
little,  for  municipal  improvements,  such  as  pavements,  water,  gas,  electric- 
light,  etc.  The  builders  of  machinery  aud  engines  have  had  inquiries  for  a 
large  amount  of  work.  The  builders  of  locomotives  believe  that  from 
present  indications  they  will  have  a  busier  year  than  ever  in  their  history, 
and  some  large  South  American  orders  are  i'n  sight.  The  year's  anthracite 
coal  output  finally  foots  up  38,000,000  tons  By  next  April  there  will  be 
facilities  for  4,000,000  tons  additional.  Throughout  New  England  trade 
and  manufacturing  conditions  are  favorable.  'Ihe  print-cloth  manufac- 
turers, the  boot  and  shoe  manufacturers,  paper-makers,  machinists,  and 
hardware  manufacturers  are  all  running  full  time,  and  the  new  projections 
indicate  that  the  safe  limits  of  productive  capacity  have  not  yet  been 
reached.  Other  sections  are  flourishing  trumpets  and  calling  on  all  the 
world  to  look  at  them,  but  quiet  New  England  is  even  surpassing  them  in 
enterprise  and  expansion  without  a  word.  Her  capital  moves  the  machinery 
in  a  dozen  far-off  States,  and  her  brains  control  it.  The  records  of  the 
year's  work  so  far  as  completed  shows  no  decline  in  the  volume  of  business. 
Much  paper-making  machinery  has  been  added,  machine-shops  have  been 
enlarged,  more  meu  are  at  work  now  than  a  year  ago,  and  it  is  safe  tu  say 
that  there  is  much  more  work  in  sight.  New  England,  instead  of  losing 
manufacturing  advantages,  is  gaining.  There  are  prospects  for  cheaper 
coal  and  iron,  and  perhaps  lower-priced  lumber  and  planing-mill  products. 
Real  estate  valuations  are  even,  and  taxation  is  not  increasing  its  burdens. 
Skilled  labor  is  increasing  in  supply,  and  numerous  small  economies  are 
being  worked  out.  The  expansion  iu  the  newer  sections  of  the  country 
bring  wider  and  better  markets  to  the  far  East.  Abroad,  matters  are  not 
mending.  This  year  the  big  end  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  million  dollars 
will  be  expended  in  war  nonsense  by  the  great  powers,  who  imagine  the 
people  will  stand  such  drafts  forever.  France  proposes,  if  she  can  tax  it 
out  of  the  people,  to  put  one  hundred  million  dollars  into  destructive 
agencies.  Germany  has  set  aside  fifty  million  dollars.  Russia  has  bor- 
rowed one  hundred  millions.  Austria  wants  twenty  millions.  Italy  is 
scampering  around  among  the  money-lenders  after  twenty  millions.  Spain 
must  have  a  small  matter  of  five  millions.  Turkey  lias  resolved  on  empty- 
ing seven-and-a-half  millions  on  a  new  rifle.  So  it  goes.  The  people  see 'it 
all,  and  wonder  when  and  how  the  end  will  come.  All  this  plundering  is 
m  violation  of  the  spirit  of  our  civilization,  and  the  men  who  are  preparing 
to  set  the  people  onto  each  other  will  fall  short  of  the  mark.  Bonds  of 
sympathy  and  fraternity  are  strengthening  themselves.  The  two  Americas 
are  the  great  outlet  for  the  overflow  population,  and  the  outflow  will  in- 
crease aa  opportunities  for  making  new  homes  in  the  New  World  multiply. 

S.    J.    PARKHILL  &  Co.,  Printers,  Boston. 


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THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT  AND  BUILDING  NEWS. 


VOL,  Xxv. 


Copyright,  1889,  by  TICKNOK  &  COMPANY,  Boston,  Ma»B. 


No.   681. 


JANUARY  12,  1889. 

Entered  at  the  Post-Office  at  Boston  as  second-class  matter. 


SUMMABT-  — 

The  Protest  against  Improper  Conditions  of  Competition.  — 
The  Dispute  as  to  the  comparative  Dangerousness  of  the  Al- 
ternating and  the  Continuous  Current  Electric  Systems. — 
The  Assertions  of  the  Champion  of  the  Alternating  System. 
—  His  Opponent  proposes  a  Scientific  Duel,  possibly  to  the 
Death.  —  An  alleged  unsalable  because  unusable  Lot  in 
Brooklyn.  —  Ways  of  Using  Narrow  Lots.  —  The  Affiliation 
of  Student  Architectural  Societies. — Sketching  Tours.  .  .  13 

ARCHAEOLOGICAL  CAMPING  IN  ARIZONA.  —  II 15 

THE  LEAGUE  EXHIBITION. — 1 17 

ILLUSTRATIONS : — 

Houses  of  Mrs.  J.  J.  French  and  Mrs.  C.  E.  Stratton,  Common- 
wealth Ave.,  Boston,  Mass. — Stable  for  W.  F.  Proctor, 
Esq.,  Lorhada,  New  York,  N.  Y.  — Church  of  All  Saints, 
Pontiac,  K.  I.  —  Pulpit  and  Choir  in  the  Kneeland  Memorial 
Chapel,  Lenox,  Mass.  —  Residence  of  Senor  Enrique  Concha 
y  Toro,  Santiago,  Chili,  S.  A. — Competitive  Design  for 
Calvary  Baptist  Church,  Davenport,  lo.  — House  for  James 
E.  Waugh,  Esq.,  Charlton  Heights,  1).  C.  —  House  of  Mrs. 

Isabelle  Nash,  Bridgeport,  Conn 18 

A  GENERAL  PROTEST  AGAINST  IMPROPER  CONDITIONS  OF  COMPE- 
TITION  18 

HEATING  AND  VENTILATING  THE  NEW  COURT-HOUSE  AT  BOSTON.    18 

M.  DIEULAFOY'S  DISCOVERIES  AT  SUSA 22 

COMMUNICATION  :  — 

The  American  Architect  Scholarship 24 

NOTES  A-ND  CUPPINGS 24 

TRADE  SURVEYS 24 


fJJ  LARGE  portion  of  the  profession  seem  to  regard  the  pro- 
F\  test  against  the  Massachusetts  State-House  competition  as 
'  a  matter  of  local  interest  only,  and  overlook  the  fact  that 
the  wording  of  the  text  makes  the  protest  one  "  against  this 
form  of  competition,"  and  it  is  solely  because,  of  this  that  we 
invite  signatures  from  architects  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 
We  hope  that  next  week's  list  will  show  a  very  material  in- 
crease over  the  one  published  to-day. 


CURIOUS  controversy  is  going   on  in   the   newspapers 
between  the  VVestinghouse  Electric  Company,  representing 
a  large  amount  of  vested  interest,  on  the  one  hand,  and 
Mr.  Harold  P.  Brown,  who  claims  that  he  represents  the  public 
interest,  on  the  other.     It  will  be  remembered  that  Mr.  Brown, 
some  time  ago,  wrote  a  letter  to  the  New  York  Evening  Post, 
over  his  own  signature,  calling  attention  to  the  dangerous  char- 
acter of  the  alternating  electric  currents  used  in  the  Thomson- 
Houston  system,  the  Jablochkoff  system,  and  several  others. 
In  reply  to  this  letter,  various  anonymous  insinuations  were 
circulated,  to  the  effect  that  Mr.  Brown  was  in  the  pay  of  the 
Edisou  Electric  Company,  which  uses  only  continuous  currents, 
and  implying  that  he  was  attempting  to  deceive  the  public,  for 
the  benefit  of  that  company,  by  attributing  imaginary  dangers 
to   rival   systems  of   electric-lighting.      Mr.  Brown    then,   to 
fortify  his  opinion  by  the  strongest  evidence,  applied  to  Mr. 
Edison  for  the  use  of  his  great  electrical  laboratory  at  Menlo 
Park,  for  the  purpose  of  trying  whether  alternating-currents  of 
the  strength  used  in  lighting  would  be  fatal  to  animals.     Dogs 
of  different   sizes    were  first   operated   upon,  and,  while   one 
weighing  fifty  pounds  received  six  successive  shocks,  the  last 
shock   lasting   two  and  one  half   seconds,  with   a   continuous 
current  of  intensity  varying  from    one  thousand    to    fourteen 
hundred  and  twenty  volts,  without  experiencing  any  injury,  a 
fifty-six  pound  dog  was  killed  in  five  seconds  by  an  alternating- 
current  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  volts,  a  little  more  than  one- 
ninth  the  intensity  of    the   harmless  continuous  current.     As 
soon  as  these  results  were  published  a  new  attack  was  made 
upon  them  and  Mr.  Brown.     The  Society  for  the  Prevention 
of  Cruelty  to  Animals  was  called  upon  to  put  a  stop  to  the  ex- 
periments, while  the  experiments  themselves  were  declared  to 
be  of  no  value  as  showing  the  relative  effect  of  alternating  and 
continuous  currents  on  human  beings,  because  the  dogs  treated 
were  smaller  than  men.     Mr.  Brown  then,  with  the  cooperation 
of  the  Commission  appointed  by  the  State  Government  of  New 
York  to  determine  the  best  method  of  executing  criminals  by 


electricity,  carried  out  a  new  series  of  experiments  upon  a  horse 
weighing  twelve  hundred  and  thirty  pounds,  and  two  calves 
weighing  about  as  much  as  an  average  man.  With  all  death 
followed  in  a  few  seconds  the  application  of  an  alternating- 
current  of  seven  or  eight  hundred  volts  intensity. 

PPARENTLY,  the  public  apprehension  must  have  been 
so  aroused  by  these  experiments  as  to  make  itself  felt  in 
the  business  of  lighting  by  alternating-currents,  and  the 
Westinghouse  Electric  Company,  which  is  said  to  control  in 
this  country  all  the  systems  employing  alternating-currents, 
thought  fit  to  hire  a  large  number  of  newspapers  to  publish  a 
letter,  to  which  every  honorable  man  must  be  sorry  to  see  the 
name  of  Mr.  George  Westiughouse,  Jr.,  subscribed.  The  letter 
begins  with  a  reiteration  of  the  insinuation,  which  has  been 
refuted  over  and  over  again,  that  Mr.  Brown  is  "  conducting 
lis  experiments  in  the  interest  and  pay  of  the  Edison  Electric 
Light  Company,"  followed  by  an  assertion  that  "it  is  generally 
understood  "  that  as  the  Edison  Company's  business  may  be 
vitally  injured  if  the  alternating-current  apparatus  continues  to 
successfully  introduced  and  operated,  "the  Edison  repre- 
sentatives, from  a  business  point-of-view,  consider  themselves 
justified  in  resorting  to  any  expedient  to  prevent  the  extension 
of  the  system."  As  the  idea  that  "  the  Edison  representa- 
tives "  have  anything  to  do  with  the  "  expedients  "  in  question 
rests  entirely  on  the  false  assumption  that  Mr.  Brown  is  one  of 
;hose  "representatives,"  it  does  not  need  to  be  disproved;  but 
most  people  who  have  followed  the  course  of  electric-lighting 
in  this  country  will  be  tempted  to  point  out  to  Mr.  Westing- 
liouse  that  with  the  Edison  Company  the  "business  point-of- 
view  "  has  hitherto  been  generally  identical  with  the  point-of- 
view  of  honesty  and  decency,  and  that,  if  he  considers  the 
systems  that  his  company  controls  superior  to  the  Edison 
system,  he  will  get  more  public  sympathy  by  describing  their 
advantages  without  any  accompaniment  of  bragging  and  slan- 
derous imputations.  Proceeding  to  discuss  the  facts  in  the 
case,  Mr.  Westinghouse  says  that  the  animals  killed  by  the  al- 
ternating-currents in  Mr.  Brown's  experiments  were  "carefully 
placed  "  so  as  to  receive  the  shock  in  a  way  that  would  be  im- 
possible under  ordinary  circumstances,  and  offers  to  produce 
a  large  number  of  persons  "  "  who  have  received  a  shock  of 
one  thousand  volts  from  alternating-currents  without  injury," 
explaining  further  that  alternating-currents  are  less  dangerous 
to  life  than  continuous  currents,  because  the  latter  decompose 
the  tissues,  while  the  former  only  affect  the  nerves. 


TTR.  WESTINGHOUSE'S  contemptuous  and  abusive  ad- 
jo.!.  vertisement  has  now,  very  naturally,  stirred  up  Mr. 
Brown  to  make  a  reply  which  is  a  little  more  vigorous 
than  we  could  wish,  inasmuch  as  it  goes  out  of  its  way  to 
impute  to  Mr.  Westinghouse  motives  which  would  be  much 
better  left  for  the  readers  of  the  correspondence  to  infer  for 
themselves.  In  regard  to  the  facts  of  the  matter,  Mr.  Brown 
says  that  however  it  may  have  been  with  Mr.  Westinghouse's 
friends,  who  have  "withstood"  pressures  "exceeding  one 
thousand  volts  "  "  without  permanent  inconvenience,"  many 
people  have  been  already  killed  by  the  alternating-currents, 
and  many  more  have  been  crippled  for  life,  and  are  supported 
by  pensions  from  the  electric-lighting  companies  which  furnish 
such  currents.  Moreover,  he  asserts  that  the  alternating-cur- 
rent wires  cannot  be  made  safe,  for  the  reciprocating  movement 
greatly  increases  the  tendency  of  the  electricity  to  leave  the 
wire,  and,  according  to  his  tests,  the  leakage  from  the  wires 
used  by  the  alternating-companies  to  the  ground  is  sufficient  to 
kill  or  cripple  any  person  standing  on  a  damp  place  and  touch- 
irjc  either  wire,  while  with  a  continuous  current,  even  of  very 
high  intensity,  a  fatal  shock  can  only  be  received  by  touching 
both  wires  of  the  circuit.  As  to  whether  it  is  more  agreeable 
to  have  one's  tissues  decomposed  by  a  continuous  current,  or 
one's  nerves  shocked  by  an  alternating  one,  he  proposes  a  simple 
experiment.  As  he  thinks  the  alternating-current  the  more 
dangerous,  and  Mr.  Westinghouse  says  that  it  is  less  so,  he 
suggests  that  Mr.  Westinghouse  and  himself  should  meet  in. 
some  public  place  and  each  grasp  a  pair  of  wires  of  his  favorite 
variety.  Through  these  wires  should  then  be  sent  electrical 
currents,  beginning  with  a  pressure  of  one  hundred  volts,  and 
increasing  by  fifty  volts  at  a  time.  Mr.  Brown,  who  is  to  hold 
the  continuous-current  wire,  offers  to  lead  at  each  increase  of 


14 


The   American    Architect   and  Building   News.        [VOL.  XXV.— No.  681. 


pressure,  and  proposes  that  the  one  who  first  cries  enough  shall 
be  considered  to  have  acknowledged  himself  in  error.  This  is 
certainly  a  fair  offer,  and,  if  Mr.  Westinghouse  does  not  like  to 
leave  his  business  for  such  trifles,  we  strongly  advise  him  to 
send  one  of  his  thousand-volt  salamanders  as  his  champion.  As 
the  controversy  now  stands,  his  friends  maintain  that  the  current 
used  in  his  system  is  "  absolutely  harmless,"  and,  consequently, 
we  suppose,  that  the  persons  who  have  been  killed  on  touching 
the  wires  carrying  it  must,  by  a  singular  coincidence,  have  died 
of  consumption,  or  old  age,  or  some  other  natural  ailment  just 
at  that  instant.  Mr.  Brown  maintains  that  an  alternating- 
current  of  one-sixth  the  intensity  used  by  the  Westinghouse 
people  has  killed  a  large  dog  in  five  seconds  in  his  experiments, 
and  that,  for  safety,  tRe  tension  of  alternating-currents  ought 
to  be  limited  by  law  to  three  hundred  volts;  and  unless  the 
Westinghouse  companies  can  show  a  man  receiving  a  shock  of 
greater  force  than  this  without  injury,  we  are  much  inclined  to 
think  that  the  public  will  agree  with  him. 


'TT  CURIOUS  story  about  an  American  town  comes  to  us 
r\  by  the  way  of  Paris.  According  to  this,  there  is  in  the 
'  city  of  Brooklyn  a  lot  of  land  which  has  no  owner.  The 
lot  is  not  very  spacious,  being  only  twenty  inches  wide,  by, 
apparently,  two  hundred  feet  or  so  in  length,  but  it  is  regularly 
taxed  to  "  Owner  Unknown,"  and  as  regularly  put  up  at  auction 
for  the  non-payment  of  taxes  by  this  mysterious  individual,  but 
finds  no  purchaser,  the  building  laws  of  New  York  being  un- 
favorable to  the  erection  of  a  house  on  a  lot  of  those  dimen- 
sions. The  explanation  given  for  the  origin  of  this  orphan 
estate  is  that  the  block  was  laid  out  many  years  ago  with  the 
standards  of  length  then  in  use,  but  was  not  divided  into  lots. 
Long  afterwards,  when  the  land  had  become  valuable,  the  sale 
of  the  tract  in  lots  began,  the  measurements  of  the  lots  being 
taken  from  the  street-lines,  which  had  been  fixed  at  the  original 
survey.  The  length  of  the  legal  standard  for  New  York  had, 
however,  changed  since  the  survey  was  made,  and,  when  all 
the  lots  had  been  sold  by  measurements  conforming  to  the  new 
standard,  there  still  remained  the  strip  in  question,  which  was 
included  in  nobody's  deed,  and  could  not  be  conveyed  to  any 
one  without  an  apparent  violation  of  the  laws  of  arithmetic. 

'TTLTHOUGH  this  explanation  may  satisfy  the  Parisians, 
A]L  we  are  too  proud  of  the  astuteness  and  ingenuity  of  our 
'  countrymen  to  let  it  pass  without  question.  We  have 
seen  a  lot  not  much  more  than  twenty  inches  wide  in  an 
American  city  utilized  for  a  very  profitable  little  fruit  store,  by 
the  simple  process  of  roofing  it  in,  and  furnishing  it  with  a 
movable  front,  which  served  as  door,  counter  and  window, 
while  there  was  plenty  of  room  for  reserves  of  goods  in  the 
space  behind;  and  it  is  incredible  that  the  Brooklyn  people 
should  be  so  blind  to  commercial  opportunities  as  to  let  this  one 
escape.  Nor  can  we  quite  believe  in  the  story  of  the  origin  of 
the  surplus  lot.  So  far  as  we  know,  there  has  been  no  change 
in  the  American  standard  of  length,  since  Brooklyn  was  laid 
out,  which  would  account  for  any  such  residuums  of  territory; 
and  it  is  far  more  likely  that  the  original  surveyor  used  an  in- 
correct chain,  or  forgot  just  where  the  end  of  it  had  been,  and 
drove  his  stakes  somewhat  at  random.  Scores  of  errors  of  this 
sort  are  discovered  in  most  of  our  States  in  retracing  with 
modern  instruments  the  boundaries  given  in  old  deeds,  but  any 
excess  of  territory  is  usually  amicably  divided  among  those  who 
have  claims  upon  it. 


TTR.  HERBERT  D.  APPLETON,  the  earnest  and  thought- 
|X1  ful  President  of  the  London  Architectural  Association, 
"*  recently  read  a  paper  before  the  Birmingham  Architect- 
ural Association  on  the  "  Affiliation  of  Student  Architectural 
Societies,"  which  is  full  of  valuable  suggestions,  as  well  for  us 
as  for  those  to  whom  it  was  particularly  addressed.  By  the 
new  charter  of  the  Royal  Institute  of  British  Architects  the 
London  Architectural  Association  has  a  representative  in  the 
Council  of  the  Institute,  and  Mr.  Appleton  thinks,  with  reason, 
that  this  arrangement  could  be  made  much  more  useful  to  the 
younger  members  of  the  profession  throughout  Great  Britain 
by  the  establishment  of  somewhat  intimate  relations  between 
the  London  Association  and  those  which  already  exist,  or 
which  may  be  formed,  in  the  provincial  towns.  It  is  a  curious 
fact  that  the  adoption  of  the  compulsory  examination  for  ad- 
mission to  the  Institute  has  greatly  fostered  the  development 
of  student  societies,  which  find  plenty  of  reasons  for  existence 


in  the  advantages  which  their  classes  offer  for  preparing  their 
members  for  the  Institute  examination,  and  the  ready  commu- 
nication between  the  Institute  and  the  students,  afforded  by  the 
presence  in  the  government  of  the  Institute  of  a  representative 
of  the  federation  of  student  societies,  would  be  most  useful  in 
preventing  misunderstandings,  in  improving  from  year  to  year 
the  system  of  examinations,  with  the  concurrence  of  all  the 
parties  interested,  and  in  promoting  professional  attainment 
and  inculcating  the  best  professional  ethics.  Beyond  this,  how- 
ever, Mr.  Appleton  thinks  that  a  regular  communication  be- 
tween the  student  societies  will  be  of  much  value  in  many  ways. 
It  would  not  take  long,  for  instance,  for  a  body  comprising 
several  hundred  young  men  to  form  a  lending-library  of  all  the 
best  architectural  books,  journals  and  photographs,  and  pass 
them  from  hand  to  hand,  under  the  advice  of  persons  familiar 
with  the  subject,  until  all  the  students  who  cared  for  it  had 
acquired  some  knowledge  of  the  standard  works,  as  well  as 
special  acquaintance  with  such  particular  departments  of  art 
or  science  as  pleased  them.  It  seems  to  be  the  case  in  Eng- 
land, as  here,  that  the  public  libraries  are  deplorably  poor  in 
books  of  value  to  the  student  of  architecture.  In  this  country, 
according  to  our  experience,  the  few  libraries  which  contain 
even  a  meagre  assortment  of  standard  works  will  not  allow 
them  to  be  taken  from  the  room  in  which  they  are  kept,  so  that 
they  are  almost  entirely  unavailable  for  young  men  employed 
in  offices,  while  the  selection  is  usually  so  poor  that  students 
who  have  not  been  warned  what  to  avoid  are  likely  to  waste  a 
large  part  of  the  time  which  they  can  manage  to  devote  to 
them.  Under  such  circumstances,  a  proper  students'  lending- 
library  would  be  invaluable,  while,  as  Mr.  Appleton  suggests, 
until  this  could  be  formed,  much  good  might  be  done  by  ap- 
pointing members  in  the  various  towns  to  examine  the  local 
libraries,  and  urge  the  purchase  of  books  from  a  list  to  be  pre- 
pared for  the  purpose  by  a  library  committee  or  some  similar 
authority. 


BESIDES  all  this,  Mr.  Appleton  proposes  that  the  local 
societies  should  mutually  help  each  other  in  facilitating 
the  study  of  buildings,  both  ancient  and  modern.  He  cites 
the  example  of  the  Cycling  Club,  which,  by  the  appointment 
of  "  consuls "  in  all  the  principal  English  towns,  to  direct 
tourist  members  of  the  club  to  places  of  interest,  and  give  in- 
formation about  roads  and  inns,  has  immensely  facilitated  the 
use  of  wheels  for  pleasure  travelling,  and  proposes  that  the 
affiliated  societies  of  students  of  architecture  should  in  the  same 
way  appoint  members  in  as  many  places  as  possible,  as  local 
advisers  to  students  on  sketching-tours.  This,  to  our  mind,  is 
one  of  the  most  valuable  suggestions  ever  made  for  the  benefit 
of  young  architects,  and  the  plan  might  well  be  carried  out  on 
an  international  scale.  Every  architect  who  has  made  a  sketch- 
ing-tour in  an  unfamiliar  district  knows  the  difficulty  of  finding 
what  he  wishes  most  to  see.  The  guide-books  give  him  a  little 
information  about  the  principal  buildings,  and  tell  him  how  to 
find  the  cathedrals,  which  are  usually  visible  for  five  miles 
around,  but  they  are  silent  in  regard  to  thousands  of  lovely 
'•  bits  "  more  available  for  sketching,  and  quite  as  instructive  as 
the  more  renowned  structures.  In  fact,  the  great  cathedrals 
are  so  familiar  by  photographs  and  drawings  that  they  tempt 
the  sketcher  less  than  buildings  which  he  never  heard  of  before, 
and  to  which  his  sense  of  proprietorship  as  a  discoverer  gives 
an  interest  and  charm  which  fix  their  beauties  of  design  or  con- 
struction in  his  mind,  and  lend  facility  to  his  brush  and  pencil. 
We  can  well  recollect  the  pleasure  with  which  we  stumbled 
upon  the  little  Carmelite  church  and  convent  in  Paris,  on  the 
south  side  of  the  Seine,  near  the  Hotel  Cluny,  or  the  church 
of  Saint-Pere  at  Chartres,  or  an  old  tower  of  brick  and  terra- 
cotta in  a  back-yard  at  Milan,  and  how  novel  and  delightful 
they  seemed  after  the  familiar  grandeur  of  the  cathedrals,  and 
do  not  doubt  that  many  of  our  readers  have  had  the  same  ex- 
perience, and  have,  like  us,  lamented  the  fortune  which,  while 
it  brought  us  to  a  few  treasures,  led  us  in  ignorance  past 
hundreds  of  others,  to  which  a  fellow-student  acquainted  with 
the  region  could  have  directed  us.  In  the  study  of  modern 
architecture,  which  Mr.  Appleton  strongly  recommends  to 
young  men,  the  system  of  architectural  consuls  would  be  of 
the  greatest  benefit.  We  often  have  occasion  to  furnish  pro- 
fessional tourists,  both  young  and  old,  with  lists  of  the  most 
interesting  buildings  in  the  American  towns  with  which  we 
happen  to  be  acquainted,  and,  judging  from  our  own  experience, 
the  amount  of  time  that  could  be  saved  by  having  such  lists  pre- 
pared by  a  competent  resident  in  each  place  would  be  enormous. 


JANUARY  12,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


15 


Elephant  dc  la  Bastille.     Suggestion  of 
M.  Alavoin«. 


ARCHAEOLOGICAL  CAMPING 'IN  AlllZ.ON A.  1  —  II, 

WITH  sundown  the  air  has 
suddenly  become  sharp  and 
keen,  much  like  that  of  late 
October  at  home,  differentiating 
the  midwinter  night  of  this  region 
considerably  from  the  midwinter 
day>  The  stars  glitter  brilliantly 
In  the  clear,  cloudless  sky,  and  an 
impressive  silence  broods  over  the 
country,  hardly  disturbed  by  the 
•  slight  sounds  of  the  camp  —  the 
Mexicans  quietly  chatting  in  their 
tent,  the  cook  setting  things  to 
rights  in  the  kitchen  for  the  night, 
and  the  "  chomp,  chomp,  chomp  "  of  the  animals  at  their  fodder  in 
the  neighboring  corral.  The  lights  in  the  tents  shine  through  the 
canvass  and  give  them  a  cheery  aspect :  from  the  inside  there  is 
heard  the  steady  hum  peculiar  to  blazing  wood  in  confinement,  for  a 
genial  warmth  is  maintained  in  little  stoves  simply  made  of  sheet- 
iron  fashioned  into  a  cone  shape  and  kept  full  of  mesquite  wood, 
which  is  almost  as  hard  and  heavy  as  iron  and  gives  out  a  heat  like 
coal.  These  stoves,  with  the  pipe  running  straight  up  from  the  top 
of  the  cone  are  simply  inverted  funnels,  with  a  little  draught-hole  at 
the  bottom.  The  cold  of  the.  nights  would  occasion  no  discomfort  to 
house-dwellers  in  this  climate,  but  it  easily  penetrates  the  tents,  and 
brisk  fires  are  needed  for  comfort,  even  late  into  the  spring. 

Mr.  Cushing's  tent,  occupying  the  centre  of  the  camp,  has  a  cosy, 
home-like  appearance,  with  the  touches  of  decoration  and  aspect  of 
order  that  betray  the  feminine  presence.  It  is  a  large  wall-tent, 
divided  by  a  curtain  into  two  rooms.  A  canvass  covers  the  ground 
and  makes  a  neat  floor,  cases  of  shelves  contain  a  considerable  refer- 
ence-library for  use  in  working-up  the  results  of  the  excavations 
from  day  to  day,  and  there  is  a  convenient  portable  desk;  shelves, 
desk,  etc.,  all  made  so  as  to  be  packed  into  small  compass  and  easily 
transported  when  camp  is  moved.  Bright  colored  Zuni  blankets 
cover  the  two  cot-beds,  and  there  are  tastefully  displayed  on  the 
walls  and  shelves  some  handsome  examples  of  the  decorated  basketry 
of  the  Pima  Indians,  mostly  with  bold,  rich  designs  woven  in  blac-k 
and  white,  and  sometimes  additional  decoration  painted  in  red  and 
green.  There  are  also  a  few  specimens  of  the  ancient  pottery  exca- 
vated near  by.  A  sewing-machine  lands  an  air  of  domesticity  to  the 
place,  and  several  candles  illuminate  it. 

Mrs.  Gushing,  who  is  the  custodian  of  the  smaller  treasures  of  the 
collection  and  guards  them  with  jealous  care,  brings  them  out  and 
delights  my  eyes  with  some  exquisite  arrowheads,  carefully  chipped 
and  graceful  in  form,  made  of  quartz  and  agate,  or  other  colored 
stone,  evidently  chosen  with  regard  to  its  beauty ;  ornaments  of 
turquoise  and  beads  of  shell;  bracelets  and  finger-rings  carved  from 
sea-shells,  and  last  and  most  beautiful,  a  wonderful  frog  found 
wrapped  in  asbestos  in  a  sacred  jar  excavated  from  the  ruins  of  the 
great  temple  of  Los  Muertos.  It  is  an  exquisite  piece  of  work,  show- 
ing not  only  a  genuine  sesthetic  sense  possessed  by  the  ancient 
people,  but  an  artistic  conception  and  decorative  quality  that  would 
do  honor  to  our  own  race  and  civilization  if  produced  to-day.  In 
making  it  a  shell  similar  to  that  of  a  quahaug,  or  "  little-neck  clam  " 
was  taken  and  on  its  convex  side  the  effigy  of  a  frog  was  produced 
in  lines  of  mosaic-like  fragments  of  turquoise  embedded  in  a  black 
cement  made  from  the  gum  of  the  greasewood,  or  hediondilla.  The 
line  down  the  centre  of  the  back  was  made  in  red  bits  of  shell,  re- 
sembling coral  in  color.  The  whole  was  worn  down  smooth  by 
rubbing.  The  effect  is  extremely  realistic  —  an  exception  to  the 
conventionalism  that  characterizes  most  of  the  art  of  this,  in  common 
with  other  North  American  primitive  cultures.  Prof.  Edward  S. 
Morse,  who  visited  Camp  Hemenway  in  April,  took  this  frog  East 
with  him  for  safe-keeping,  and  stopping  over  in  New  York  he  showed 
it  to  the  people  at  Tiffany's,  who  expressed  great  delight  and  mar- 
velled that  such  a  thing  could  have  beea  produced  by  an  ancient 
people  in  this  country. 

The  rest  of  Camp  Hemenway  consisted  of  a  tent  occupied  by 
Mr.  Hodge  with  his  desk  and  records,  a  tent  adjacent  occupied 
by  Mr.  C.  A.  Garlick,  the  surveyor  and  practical  superintendent,  a 
small  tent  in  which  Miss  Magill  was  domiciled,  commonly  known  as 
the  "  dog-tent "  from  its  diminutive  size  and  fancied  resemblance  to  a 
kennel,  a  tent  occupied  by  Dr.  ten  Kate,  a  Sibley  tent  for^  guests,  a 
large  tent  for  housing  the  collections,  with  a  shelter  of  canvass,  called 
by  its  Spanish  name  of  ramada,  originally  meaning  "  brush-shelter," 
adjacent  as  an  annex ;  a  tent  for  the  Mexican  laborers,  a  tent 
for  the  photograph  material  and  other  stores,  a  shelter  for  the  bag- 
gage, a  little  "dark  tent"  for  photographing  operations,  and  a  shelter 
for  the  harnesses.  The  mules,  with  the  two  horses,  are  tethered 
around  a  large  crib  under  one  of  the  few  mesquite  trees  that  have 
been  left  standing  about  the  camp;  they  need  no  shelter  in  this 
climate  and  beyond  an  occasional  kick  or  bite  at  an  encroaching 
neighbor  they  live  together  in  amity. 

The  next  morning  I  make  the  acquaintance  of  Ramon  Castro,  the 
noble-faced  young  Mexican  who  acts  as  foreman  of  the  laborers; 
faithful,  industrious,  and  an  innate  gentlemen.  Later  in  the  day 


.ConttoueafrompagelO.No.e80. 


Don  Carlos,  as  Mr.  Garlick  is  called*  drives  in  from  Phoenix,  four* 
teen  miles  away,  where  he  has  been  over  night  on  his  semi-weekly 
errand  of  purchasing  supplies  for  the  camp. 

It  is  a  typical  morning  of  this  region,  clear,  sparkling  air,  and  the 
sun  soon  warms  up  the  world  —  or  all  that  portion  that  lies  about  us 
—  into  summerish  cheeriness,  melting  the  ice  that  has  skimmed  over' 
;he  buckets  in  the  camp  and  fringed  the  ditches  with  frosty  lace. 
But  off  in  the  upland  regions  of  Arizona,  three  or  four  thousand  feet 
above  our  level,  they  are  having  some  real  winter,  as  the  snow  tells 
us  that  is  glittering  on  the  mountains. 

A  great  mound  lies  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  distant,  rising  in  a 
ow,  broad  mass  of  brown  earth  above  the  plain,  and  something  like 
twenty-five  feet  above  the  general  level.  It  is  the  ruin  of  the  great 
central  temple  of  the  place,  and  Mr.  Gushing  takes  me  out  to  see  it. 
>t  has  been  excavated  sufficiently  to  show  its  construction.  It  was 
originally  probably  six  or  seven  stories  high,  and  divided  into  various 
rooms  on  each  floor.  Only  the  remains  of  two  stories  are  now  to  be 
.raced.  The  outer  wall  is  very  thick,  something  like  three  or  four 
leet.  The  material  is  indurated  earth,  and  in  the  course  of  excava- 
aon  Mr.  Gushing  made  a  highly  important  discovery  concerning  the 
constructive  methods,  of  these  people.  Along  the  top  of  these  outer 
walls  is  seen  a  double  row  of  holes  running  down  perpendicularly, 
and  each  row  a  few  inches  within  the  outer  and  inner  face  of  the 
wall,  respectively.  These  holes  were  found  filled  with  the  powder  of 
decayed  wood,  and  some  large  fragments  of  the  wood  itself  were  dis- 
covered. Further  investigation  showed  that  these  walls  were  con- 
structed by  first  driving  a  double  row  of  stakes  into  the  ground,  and 
hen  wattling-in  between  the  stakes  so  as  to  form  two  parallel  lines  of 
wattled  work.  Building  this  wattling  up  to  a  height  of  a  foot  or  two, 
/he  space  was  filled  with  moistened  earth,  packed  down  firmly,  per- 
laps  by  treading  with  the  feet,  or  tamping  with  heavy  stones.  The 
wattling  was  then  built  up  higher,  and  the  process  continued  until 
the  wall  was  carried  to  its  full  height.  Thus  a  solid  structure  was 
'ormed  with  walls  enclosed  within  a  wattled  surface.  This  surface 
'ormed  a  sort  of  lathing,  and  it  was  covered  with  a  thick  plastering 
of  mud  with  a  smoothly  finished  surface  such  as  is  still  to  be  found  on 
the  walls  at  Casa  Grande  after  a  lapse  of  centuries.  It  was 
jnknown  that  this  was  the  method  of  building  these  massive  walls 
until  Mr.  Cushing  made  this  discovery.  As  soon  as  he  saw  these 
louble  rows  of  holes  he  declared  what  their  origin  must  be,  and  said 
that  wattling  must  have  been  used  in  the  way  it  proved  to  have  been, 
as  revealed  by  subsequent  investigation,  where  the  impress  of  the 
wattling  was  found  plainly  made  Inside  the  walls.  Here,  then,  was  a 
most  significant  fact.  The  origin  of  pottery  in  forms  of  basketry  has 
ong  been  made  familiar.  This  discovery  showed  that  not  only  did 
the  primitive  utensils  of  burnt  clay,  but  also  the  primitive  structures 
with  walls  of  clay,  find  their  origin  in  basketry  types.  For,  just  as 
the  coating  of  baskets  with  clay  suggested  the  making  of  pottery,  so 
this  form  of  structure  bears  the  records  of  the  story  how  the  primitive 
wattled  hut,  first  rendered  more  substantial  and  weather-proof  by  a 
coating  of  mud,  suggested  a  more  massive  form  of  construction  with 
a  basketry  basis.  Possibly  all  mud  or  earthen  walled  construction 
may  thus  have  been  developed  from  basketry. 

In  this  connection,  a  subsequent  discovery  deserves  mention. 
Readers  of  the  American  Architect  may  remember  an  article  that 
appeared  in  these  columns  a  few  years  ago,  briefly  recounting  how 
Mr.  Cushing  discovered  that  in  the  ancient  Pueblos  the  doors  to  the 
nouses  were  made  of  stone  slabs,  through  an  analysis  of  the  ety- 
mology of  the  modern  Zuni  word  for  door,  which  signifies  "  a  wooden 
stone  close,"  showing  that  before  boards  were  made  available  for 
the  construction  of  their  doors,  they  must  have  closed  their  doorways 
with  slabs  of  stone.  Thus  throughout  their  language  the  successive 
stages  through  which  their  methods  of  house-construction,  their  im- 
plements, etc.,  passed  in  their  development  from  lower  or  ancient  to 
higher  or  recent  types  are  preserved  in  the  structure  of  their  words. 
In  investigating  the  ruins  of  Casa  Grande,  one  of  these  "  stone 
closes"  made  of  mud  was  found  in  the  shape  of  a  great  and  heavy 
block  of  adobe,  nicely  finished  with  square  corners,  and  accurately 
fitting  into  the  place  where  it  filled  a  doorway  from  one  of  the  rooms 
to  another.  Subsequently,  in  excavating  the  ruins  of  a  smaller  temple 
in  Las  Acequias,  one  of  the  ancient  cities  near  Los  Muertos,  a  similar 
door  of  adobe  was  discovered  lying  upon  the  ground  close  to  the 
doorway  to  which  it  belonged,  its  position  such  that  it  might  readily 
be  raised  to  fill  the  opening.  These  huge  blocks  were  probably 
made  in  moulds  of  basketry,  and  their  surfaces  afterwards  smoothly 
finished  by  hand.  Even  if  moulds  of  wood  were  possible,  they  would 
have  been  so  difficult  to  make  with  their  crude  implements  that  the 
idea  would  hardly  have  occurred  when  basketwork  was  so  universal, 
and  so  easily  made  available  for  plastic  purposes.  The  greater 
portion  of  the  soil  in  these  regions  contains  elements  of  clay  and  of 
natural  cement,  so  that  when  indurated  it  hardens  to  an  almost  rock- 
like  consistency. 

From  the  top  of  the  temple-mound  there  is  a  good  view  over  the 
country.  We  are  just  about  on  the  low  divide  between  the  Salado 
and  Gila  Valleys,  and  from  this  point  the  water  in  the  irrigating- 
canals,  brought  up  gradually  to  this  level  from  the  Salado  above, 
runs  down  towards  the  Gila,  instead  of  back  towards  the  Salado. 
When  the  operations  of  the  expedition  began  at  this  point  something 
like  seven  months  ago,  it  was  supposed  by  the  settlers  that  the 
supply  of  the  irrigating-canals  would  hardly  reach  much  farther 
southward,  but  the  researches  showed  that  the  irrigation-works  of 
the  ancient  inhabitants  penetrated  far  beyond,  and,  in  consequence, 


16 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.         [VOL.  XXV.— No.  681. 


the  available  land  in  this  region  has  all  been  taken  up,  and  there 
has  been  a  great  development  all  around,  with  thousands  of  acres 
brought  under  tillage. 

Therefore,  the  landscape  has  undergone  a  rapid  transformation. 
When  the  camp  was  established  here,  the  section  upon  which  the 
'  main  portion  of  Los  Muertos  stands  was  covered  with  a  thick  growth 
of  very  old  mesquite  trees.  Only  the  great  mound  betrayed  the 
existence  of  an  ancient  city  on  the  spot.  The  other  ruins  were 
hardly  discernible.  The  whole  place  has  now  been  cleared  and 
"brought  under  water,"  as  they  say  here;  that  is,  brought  under 
irrigation.  Only  a  few  trees  are  left  standing  just  about  the  camp, 
and  the  owner  of  the  section,  who  took  it  up  under  the  Desert-land 
Act,  has  sown  the  greater  part  of  it  with  barley.  Thus  the  land  is 
resuming  the  fertility  which  characterized  it  ages  ago.  The  settlers 
have  made  a  mistake  in  making  such  a  clean  sweep  of  the  mesquite. 
With  a  few  dozen  trees  left  on  each  section,  standing  singly  or  in 
groups  here  and  there,  the  appearance  of  the  landscape  would  have 
been  much  improved,  and  shade  afforded  for  cattle  in  their  alfalfa 
pastures  during  the  summer  heat.  With  its  thirst  amply  gratified, 
as  it  is  on  irrigated  land,  the  mesquite  becomes  quite  a  different  tree 
from  the  scraggly,  dwarfed  growth  of  the  desert-plains,  with  mis- 
shapen, unsound,  contorted  limbs.  Given  plenty  of  water,  it  becomes 
inspired  with  new  vigor,  and  it  lifts  its  head  proudly  high  into  the 
air.  animated  with  health  that  becomes  manifest  in  symmetrical 
shape. 

Objects  of  considerable  size  soon  lose  themselves  in  the  vastness 
of  such  a  landscape  as  that  spread  before  us ;  the  white  tents  of  the 
camp  become  mere  specks  on  the  plain,  and  the  little  shanties  of 
the  settlers  on  neighboring  lands  become  so  diminutive  as  to  afford 
a  scale  for  estimating  a  distance  that  otherwise  would  prove  very 
deceptive  in  this  clear  air. 

The  land  chosen  by  Mr.  Gushing  for  his  excavations  has  been 
kindly  left  undisturbed  by  the  owner,  beyond  clearing  it  of  its  trees. 
Low  mounds  slightly  rising  from  the  level  indicate  the  ruins,  and 
lar"e  areas  laid  bare  testify  to  the  industry  of  the  laborers  whom 
we  see,  here  and  there,  casting  out  the  earth  with  their  shovels. 
We  stand  a  long  time  watching  them  at  their  work.  The  Mexican 
laborers  have  gained  something  of  the  enthusiasm  of  Mr.  Gushing, 
and  are  eager  for  results.  When  something  is  found  they  gain  new 
encouragement,  and  their  shovels  and  picks  are  plied  with  greater 
celerity.  They  are  gentler,  more  impressionable  and  receptive  than 
men  of  a  corresponding  grade  in  our  own  race,  and  seem  to  have  a 
greater  natural  intelligence.  Their  training  has  made  them  careful, 
and,  when  evidences  of  the  presence  of  pottery,  of  skeletons,  or  other 
objects  are  encountered,  they  proceed  cautiously,  and  do  their  best 
to  remove  intact  what  is  found.  Ramon,  in  particular,  has  been  an 
admirable  disciple  under  Mr.  Cushing's  schooling,  and  he  has  become 
a  practical  archaeologist,  with  an  almost  intuitive  capacity  for  dis- 
cerning the  presence  of  ruins  and  relics.  He  can  trace  the  course 
of  walls  unerringly  by  indications  imperceptible  to  any  one  else 
except  Mr.  Gushing,  and  marks  out  with  his  shovel  the  lines  for  the 
men  to  follow  in  their  excavations.  He  will  likewise  tell  just  where 
the  skeletons  are  to  be  found  in  the  house-ruins,  and  one  day,  at  Las 
Acequias,  I  see  him  fill  Doctors  ten  Kate  and  Wortman  with  aston- 
ishment and  admiration  ;  they  are  anxious  to  find  some  good  skele- 
tons, and  are  beginning  to  be  discouraged  at  the  prospect  of  encoun- 
tering them  in  a  certain  excavation,  where  two  badly-decayed  ones 
have  been  found  near  the  surface.  "Let  us  dig  deeper,"  said 
]! union,  "and  we  sliall  find  three  tine  dijunlos:  one  here,  one  here, 
and  one  here,"  indicating  the  places  and  the  positions  of  their  heads, 
anxl,  sure  enough,  they  were  soon  found.  "  Es  usled  un  Jiombre  de 
mucjio  talenlo!"  1  remarked,  in  response  to  Dr.  Wortman's  enthusi- 
astic request  to  "Just  tell  him  he  is  a  mighty  smart  man  !"  and  a 
modest  smile  of  gratification  illuminated  Ramon's  expressive  features. 

The  excavations  of  the  house-ruins  were  usually  carried  to  a  depth 
of  three  or  four  feet  below  the  present  surface  of  the  country,  laying 
bare  the  remains  of  the  walls,  and  showing  the  interiors.  The  only 
evidences  of  these  houses,  which  had  long  been  concealed  in  the 
Hicsquiic.  forest  that  had  grown  up  over  them,  perceptible  at  first 
sight,  was  a  slight  and  gradual  elevation  above  the  surface  formed 
from  the  gradually  crumbling  material.  In  the  excavation  work  it 
was  difficult  to  distinguish  the  walls  from  the  material  that  buried 
them,  being  of  the  same  color  and  quality  of  earth,  and  varying  only 
in  hardness.  Therefore,  the  sense  of  touch  was  the  determining 
factor  in  bringing  them  to  light.  One  of  the  workmen,  in  his 
ambition  to  please  by  laying  bare  a  goodly  line  of  wall  would 
habitually  be  led  astray  by  his  imagination  and  frequently  show  a  con- 
siderable stretch  of  "pader  "  as  they  called  the  Gastilian  pared  or  wall, 
in  their  Sonora  vernacular ;  but  the  test  of  a  not  over-vigorous  kick 
from  the  foot  of  Mr.  Gushing  or  Ramon,  whose  practised  63-6  could 
detect  that  no  wall  belonged  there,  would  bring  the  sham  structure 
down  into  an  ignominiously  crumbling  mass.  The  real  walls  would 
not  yield  to  such  an  assault,  but,  after  months  of  exposure  to  sun, 
wind  and  rain  still  showed  the  plans  of  the  great  blocks  of  buildings 
to  which  they  belonged,  often  covering  an  area  of  an  acre  or  more, 
and  honeycombed  into  small  rooms  and  narrow  passages. 

The  domestic  utensils  would  be  found  undisturbed  in  just  the 
places  where  they  belonged  in  a  well-regulated  Pueblo  household, 
unbroken  save  by  the  falling  walls  or  tlie  weight  of  earth  upon  them. 
This  fact  indicated  a  deliberate  abandonment  of  the  place,  under 
Fuch  a  taboo  as  would  be  laid  upon  it  by  tlie  prieetliood  in  the  case  of 
a  region  made  unstabls  and  uninhabitable,  according  to  their  notions, 


by  an  earthquake  or  succession  of  earthquakes,  such  as  Mr.  Gushing 
found  evidence  of.  Here,  and  nearly  universally  among  all  the  ruins 
explored  in  this  and  the  Gila  Valley,  the  charred  remains  of  the 
roofs  were  found.  This  might  have  happened  by  the  roofs  of 
earthquake-demolished  houses  falling  in  upon  the  hearth-fires,  and 
communicated  to  the  adjacent  houses.  The  uniformity  with  which 
the  roofs  are  everywhere  burned,  however,  seems  to  militate  against 
their  destruction  in  this  manner.  It  might  have  happened,  however, 
that  the  whole  region  was  overwhelmed  by  a  savage  horde  like  the 
wild  and  nomadic  Apaches,  who  exterminated  the  inhabitants  and 
burned  their  towns,  or  caused  them  to  flee  to  other  parts  of  the  con- 
tinent, possibly  thus  putting  in  motion  the  migratory  movement 
southward  that  established  the  Mexican  cultures.  An  investigation 
of  ancient  ruins  at  various  stages  southward  in  Mexico,  beginning  in 
Chihuahua  and  Sonora,  as  careful  as  that  which  has  been  pursued 
here,  is  of  importance  in  settling  these  questions,  for  the  conditions 
in  which  they  were  left,  in  comparison  with  those  here,  would  tell 
much.  It  would  seem  that  an  invading  horde  would  be  likely  to  sack 
the  houses  and  smash  their  contents.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the 
towns  were  left  deserted  they  might  remain  unmolested  even  after 
the  lapse  of  years,  for  the  superstition  of  other  tribes  settling  in  the 
region  would  very  likely  prevent  their  venturing  within  the  pre- 
cincts of  a  place,  much  more  across  the  thresholds  of  its  dwellings, 
that  had  been  abandoned  because  of  divine  disfavor,  and  over  which 
still  presided  the  powerful  demons  who  would  work  harm  to  all  who 
might  be  so  rash  as  to  defy  them.  But,  whence,  then,  the  universal 
conflagration  that  seems  to  have  visited  every  one  of  these  ancient 
towns?  Possibly  the  departing  inhabitants  might  have  applied  the 
torch  themselves,  making  a  final  sacrifice  of  their  abandoned  homes 
in  hopes  of  thereby  regaining  the  favor  of  the  gods  for  their  new 
dwelling-places. 

Beneath  the  floor  of  nearly  every  house  are  found  buried  at 
different  depths  and  often  in  three  successive  layers  the  skeletons 
of  members  of  the  family  that  occupied  it.  The  topmost  skeleton 
was  invariably  that  of  a  young  person ;  on  account  of  their  immaturity, 
and  also  from  the  fact  of  being  near  the  surface,  these  skeletons 
of. the  upper  tier  were  in  the  worst  state  of  preservation.  It  seems 
likely  that,  when  the  young  persons  of  a  household  began  to  die  the 
house  was  abandoned  because  of  the  misfortune  that  had  come  upon 
it,  thus  accounting  for  the  fact  that  the  last  burials  made  in  a  house 
were  those  of  young  people.  Another  interesting  fact  was  that  it 
was  the  custom  to  bury  an  infant  beneath  the  kitchen  hearth.  This 
practice  of  house-sepulture  could  not  have  been  promotive  of  sanitary 
conditions,  though,  in  this  dry  climate,  the  results  would  not  be  so 
disastrous  as  they  might  have  been  elsewhere.  Mr.  Gushing,  while 
in  Zuiii,  was  puzzled  to  account  for  the  fact  that  graves  were  called 
the  "  houses  of  the  dead,"  but  the  discovery  of  this  custom  of  house- 
sepulture  threw  light  on  the  subject.  Ancient  Pueblo  skeletons  have 
hitherto  been  very  rare,  for  explorers,  not  suspecting  the  custom  of 
house-sepulture,  could  not  find  where  they  were  buried. 

But  a  small  proportion  of  the  remains  was  disposed  of  by  sepulture, 
for  that  was  a  privilege  only  accorded  to  members  of  the  priestly 
easte  or  of  the  esoteric  societies,  whose  control  over  the  soul  was 
believed  to  be  such  that  they  had  no  need  of  external  aid  to  separate 
the  soul  from  the  body  at  death.  The  ordinary  people  were 
cremated,  and  the  pottery  vessels  containing  their  remains  were 
found  buried  near  the  bases  of  pyral  mounds,  or  great  heaps  wherein 
were  found  the  fragments  of  the  personal  belongings  of  tlie  dead, 
burned  with  them  to  accompany  them  into  the  other  world.  These 
vessels  in  which  the  dead  were  buried  were  usually  plain,  while  the 
food-bowls  and  water-jars  buried  with  the  skeletons  exhumed  in  the 
houses  were,  for  the  most  part,  handsomely  decorated. 

In  Mr.  Cushing's  paper  on  the  evolution  of  Pueblo  pottery,  con- 
tributed to  the  Fourth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology, 
the  growth  of  form  from  primitive  types  was  traced  as  clearly  as  is 
the  course  of  development  in  a  chain  of  species  in  natural  history. 
Some  of  the  types  necessary  to  complete  the  chain  were  not  to  be 
found  at  that  time,  but  he  pointed  out  what  they  should  be.  All  the 
missing  types  were  found  here  in  the  course  of  these  excavations, 
thus  substantiating  the  correctness  of  his  reasoning. 

Owing  to  the  nature  of  the  soil,  which  is  exceptionally  rich  and 
retentive  of  moisture,  encouraging  the  penetration  of  the  roots  of 
vegetation  to  a  considerable  depth,  and  probably  also  to  a  great 
extent  due  to  the  antiquity  of  the  remains,  the  pit  ery  found  here  at 
Los  Muertos  is  very  tender,  and  falls  easily  into  fragments,  requiring 
particularly  careful  handling.  Close  examination  of  pieces  freshly 
excavated,  will  show  how  delicate  little  rootlets  have  wrapped  their 
fine  net-work  all  around  them,  and  with  their  subtle  acid  extracted 
from  the  pottery  some  element  that  gave  it  cohesion.  For  the  same 
reason  the  skeletons  excavated  here  at  Los  Muertos  crumble  after 
exposure,  so  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  preserve  them,  despite 
the  utmost  skill  of  Dr.  Wortman.  The  potsherds  found  on  the 
surface  are  as  hard  as  when  freshly  burned.  Both  the  pottery  and 
the  skeletons  found  at  Las  Acequias  were  much  better  preserved, 
owing  to  the  more  gravelly  nature  of  the  soil  there. 

SYLVESTER  BAXTER. 


DESTRUCTION  OF  AN  ANCIENT  NORWEGIAN  CHCRCH  BY  FIRE. — The 
Noes  Church,  by  the  Lake  Mjosen,  in  Norway,  so  well-known  to  tourists 
through  its  picturesque  situation,  was  totally  destroyed  by  lire  the  other 
day.  It  dated  from  the  early  part  of  tlie  thirteenth  century.  The  tire 
was  caused  by  the  carelessness  of  workmen.  —  The  Builder. 


JANUARY  12,  J889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


17 


THE   LEAGUE   EXHIBITION.— I. 


K 


OW  that  the  Annual  Exhi- 
bition  of    the   New   York 
Architectural   League   has 
become  an  established  factor  in 
professional  life,  the  first  duty 
of  the  conscientious  critic  is  to 
,  try  to  compare  each  year's  col- 
I     J^  lection  of  drawings  with  those  of 
'  •*      the    preceding    year,   so  as   to 
trace,  if  possible,  the  tendency 
of   a  branch   of   American    art 
which  is  unquestionably  gather- 
ing   strength   and    courage   for 
undertaking  a  brilliant  flight  at 
no  distant  day,  and  to  do  what 
little  he  can   to   point   out   the 
stumbling-blocks   which   appear 
likely  to  be  found  in  the  way  of 
true  progress. 

On  the  whole,  the  present  ex- 
hibition   cannot    be    called   an 

advance  upon  the  last  one.  The  general  character,  both  of  the  design 
and  draughtsmanship,  is  better,  and  there  is  a  notable  absence  of 
the  monstrosities  which  in  former  years  have  disfigured  the  walls,  but, 
at  the  same  time,  there  are  very  few  of  the  conspicuously  beautiful 


stagnate  in  its  hands.  The  first  black-and-white  drawing  that  we 
come  to  is  one  of  Mr.  Pennell's  Century  sketches.  Several  others  are 
hung  about  the  room,  and,  of  course,  all  are  good,  the  best  being 
perhaps  the  pen-and-ink  drawing  of  Plantin's  studio  at  Antwerp, 
well  known  by  its  publication  in  the  Century.  Near  by  are  two  pen- 
and-ink  sketches  of  houses,  one  by  Mr.  W.  A.  Bates,  and  the  other 
by  Messrs.  Lamb  &  Rich,  both  tolerably  good,  and  a  colored  draw- 
ing of  St.  Mark's  Church  at  Kansas  City,  by  Mr.  T.  K.  James, 
which  is  also  pretty  good.  Then  comes  a  very  brilliant  pen-and-ink 
sketch  of  the  portal  of  Prince  Otto  Henry's  Palace  at  Heidelberg,  by 
Sidney  L.  Smith,  This  drawing  is  worthy  of  study  by  architectural 
draughtsmen  for  the  perfection  with  which  the  shadows  are  rendered. 
We  are  accustomed  to  think  of  Mr.  Ruskin  as  a  visionary  egotist, 
and,  very  properly,  to  warn  our  pupils  against  reading  the  "  Stones 
of  Venice,"  or  the  "  Seven  Lamps  "  ;  but  there  is  one  book  of  his,  the 
"  Elements  of  Drawing,"  which  every  draughtsman  should  own,  and 
more  than  that,  should  utilize  by  thoroughly  mastering  every 
exercise  in  it.  In  this  way,  more  rapidly  than  by  any  other  method 
we  know  of,  can  one  acquire  the  ready  perception  of  delicate  differ- 
ences of  light  and  shade,  and  the  precision  in  representing  them  on 
paper,  which  form  the  foundation  of  good  pen-and-ink  drawing. 
Mr.  Smith,  however  he  formed  his  hand,  has  secured  the  evenness 
of  shadow  which  is  so  hard  to  obtain,  and  which  Mr.  Ruskin's 
exercises  develop  so  surely,  and  his  drawing  is  a  signal  illustration 
of  its  value. 

Number  8  is  a   pen-and-ink   drawing    done  with  liquid  sepia,  a 
medium  which  seems  this  year  to  be  greatly  in  favor,  and,  with  its 


examples,  either  of  drawing  or  architecture,  which  do  most  to  in-  near  relative,  the  mixture  of  India  ink  and  burnt  sienna,  revived 
struct  and  attract  the  public,  and  give  the  greatest  value  to  an  exhi- 
bition. Another  thing  that  strikes  the  experienced  spectator  is  that 
although  the  most  renowned  of  the  American  designers  are  repre- 
sented, their  work  is,  as  a  rule,  inferior  to  that  shown  bythe  same  men 
in  former  years.  We  find  still  in  the  catalogue  the  familiar  names  of 
Rossiter  &  Wright,  Lamb  &  Rich,  John  Calvin  Stevens,  Burn- 
ham  &  Root,  Cass  Gilbert,  Babb,  Cook  &  Willard,  Brunner  & 
Tryon,  and  a  dozen  others,  but  on  going  with  pleasurable  anticipa- 
tions to  examine  the  numbers  to  which  the  names  are  attached,  we 
find  in  very  many  cases  work  bearing  the  obvious  marks  of  having  been 
principally  designed  by  assistants,  or  "  dashed  off  in  a  hurry,"  or 
"  got  through  as  rapidly  as  possible,"  or  offering  in  other  ways  a 
very  slender  flavor  of  the  talent  which  we  once  admired  so  much. 

It  is  easy  enough  to  account  for  this.  The  authors  of  the  works 
which  charmed  us  two  or  three  years  ago  are  now  in  the  full  tide  of 
what  their  friends  call  prosperous  business,  and,  instead  of  designing, 
have  to  spend  their  time  in  adding  up,  or  rather,  in  subtracting 
from,  plumbers',  masons',  carpenters',  gas-fitters',  plasterers'  and  paint- 
ers' bills;  in  listening  meekly  to  the  objurgations  of  their  female 
clients,  who  refuse  to  be  comforted  because  their  victim  forgot  which 
house  was  to  have  six  shelves  in  the  kitchen  dresser  and  which  was 

to  have  only  five ;  or  in  rushing  -in  terror  a  thousand  miles  across 

the  country,  because  a  disappointed  local  contractor  has  discovered 

that  their  church  tower,  in  whose  entasis  they  took  particular  pride,  is 

"  a  bulgin'  about  a  third  of  the  way  up,"  and  the  church  committee,  to 

whom  he  has  communicated  this  information,  have  hardly  been  able 

to  wait  for  the  arrival  of  the  architect  with  his  explanation,  before 

voting  to  displace  him,  and  appoint  a  protege'  of  the  contractor's  in 

his  stead.     As  for  the  older  lights  of  architectural  drawing,  Stan- 
ford White,  McKim,  W.  R.  Emerson,  E.  C.  Cabot,  T.  P.  Chandler 

and   others,  we   do   not   find   them   personally   represented  at   all. 

Whether  their  omission  this  year  to  exercise  their  powers  for  our 

admiration  is  due  to  the  fact  that  all  their  leisure  time  is  consumed 

in  cutting  off  Interest  coupons  from  their  stacks  of  investment  bonds, 

we  cannot  say,  but,  whatever  the  cause  may  be,  it  is  none  the  less 

a   misfortune  for  American   architecture  that  the  most  capable  and 

brilliant  men  in  it,  in  the  height  of  their  powers,  should  be  compelled 

by  our  system  of  practice  to  abandon  personal  work,  and  substitute 

the  pale  reflection  of  themselves  which  is  obtained  by  "  influencing  " 

-*   ~i«~«-  j«nn/»u*0«^rtTi       We   are   not  consoled  for  their 


a  corps  of  clever  draughtsmen, 
absence  from  the  exhibition  by  the  appearance  of  a  few  new  men  of 
great  promise,  for,  although  it  is  pleasant  to  see  young  designers 
coming  forward  and  developing  year  by  year  into  skilful  and 
accomplished  architects,  there  is  no  art  in  which  the  process  of 
development  continues  longer,  and,  if  circumstances  would  permit, 
the  men  who  delighted  us  by  their  designs  ten  years  ago  could  do 
work  now  surpassing  that  as  much  as  that  surpassed  the  crude  efforts 
of  their  student  days. 

Looking  through  the  entrance-door  of  the  large  room  in  the 
admirable  Ortgies  gallery,  we  find  the  general  coldness  of  effect  of 
the  black-and-white  drawings  relieved  by  spots  of  color  judiciously 
dispersed  about  the  walls.  Many  of  these  are  furnished  by  the 
always  interesting  designs  for  stained-glass  lent  by  the  faithful 
friends  of  the  League,  the  Tiffany  Glass  Company.  This  year  we 
are  ($lad  to  remark  the  absence  of  any  sketches  for  stained-glass 
wainscots,  and  there  is  rather  more  variety  than  usual  about  the 
window  designs.  Some  of  these  use  nothing  but  pieces  of  opal 
glass,  put  together  with  the  smallest  possible  modicum  of  design,  so 
as  to  depend  almost  entirely  upon  the  play  of  color  in  the  glass  itself 
for  effect  —  a  method  of  design  which,  both  in  theory  and  practice, 
we  cannot  help  considering  an  abuse  of  a  most  beautiful  material. 
Some  of  the  other  sketches  show  novel,  as  well  as  successful  treat- 
ments of  figure  jind  decorative  subjects,  and  the  Tiffany  Glass  Com- 
pany evidently  does  not  intend  to  have  the  great  art  of  glass-staining 


from  the  grave  in  which  it  has  lain  for  ten  or  fifteen  years  past,  to 
have  almost  driven  out  the  indelible  brown  ink  which  was  once  so 
popular,  but,  we  believe,  is  not  used  in  a  single  pen-and-ink  drawing 
in   the   exhibition.     The   sketch   in   question  shows   very  well  the 
merits  of   the  new  medium,  which   is   dark  enough   to  give  force, 
without  the  harshness  and  coldness  of  India  ink ;  and  although  the 
design  and  the  drawing  are  both  rather  thin,  the  effect  is  pretty. 
Next  to  this  is  a  drawing  in  black  ink  by  Mr.  E.  R.  Tilton,  purport- 
ing to  represent  "  Bits  of  Italian  Detaj!,"  of  which  we  wish  we  could 
speak  as  well.     Mr.  Tilton  is  by  no  means  a  bad  draughtsman,  and 
his  subjects  are  drawn  from  photographs,  so  that  they  might  have 
been,  and  ought  to  have  been  faithful  representations  of  some  of  the 
most  delicate  and  beautiful  sculptured  detail  in  existence ;  but  he 
appears  to  have  thought  that  no  one  would  notice  trifling  aberrations 
of  outline,  or  oversights  in  regard  to  the  proportion  of  pattern  and 
ground,  so  that  it  was  not  worth  while  to  take  much  pains ;  and  the 
result  is  that  his  drawings  are  little  better  than  caricatures,  boldly 
rendered,  but  presenting  nothing  of  the  fine  feeling  which  is  the  most 
valuable  part  of  Italian  work.     Much  better  than  this  are  his  draw- 
ings of  the  Giraud-Torlonia  Palace,  and  a  lot  of  colonial  doorways, 
Nos.  122  and  123,  which  are  careful  and  good.     Numbers  11  and  12 
are  in  color,  the  first  being  a  rough,  but  rather  effective  sketch  by 
Mr.  Taft,  of  a  house  which  would  be  likely  to  be  considerably  less 
effective  than  the  sketch,  and  the  second  a  well-executed  drawing  of 
what  looks  like  a  parochial  school,  but  turns  out  to  be  a  Washington 
dwelling-house.     The  next  number  exhibits   Mr.  Henry  Neu  as  a 
pen-and-ink  draughtsman,  in  a  competition  sketch,  made   for  Mr. 
R.  H.  Robertson,  for  the  new  World  building,  an  effort  which  cannot 
be  called  particularly  successful  in  any  respect.     Another  pen-and- 
ink  drawing  in  sepia,  by  Mr.  Hubert  Pierson,  is  intended  to  repre- 
sent  the  door   of   Bourges  Cathedral,  but,  like   too   many   others, 
sacrifices  conscientious  attention  to  detail  to  a  dash  and  effectiveness 
of  drawing  which  would  be  tenfold  more  attractive  ifjit  accompanied 
fidelity  to  the  lovely  original.     There  are  plenty  of  drawings  on  the 
walls  which  are  quite  as  effective,  as  dashing  and  as  sketchy  as  this, 
but  which   give   such   facts   as  they  are   intended  to  express  with 
perfect  faithfulness,  the  best  among   these,  next  to  those  by  Mr. 
Kirby  and  Mr.  Bacon,  of  which  we  shall  have  more  to  say  hereafter, 
being  perhaps  Mr.  Schladermundt's  sketch  in  Venice,  No.  88,  and 
Mr.  Schweinfurth's  frame  of  little  drawings,  No.  140,  the  most  careful 
of  which  are  extremely  good. 

In  No.  17  we  arrive  at  the  first  example  of  a  tribe  of  works  which 
is  represented  in  great  force  in  this  exhibition  —  unfortunately  for 
the  exhibition,  and  for  those  who  cherish  the  idea  that  architecture 
consists  of  something  more  than  colored  blots  on  paper.  This  is  not 
the  worst  of  the  lot,  the  most  glaringly  superficial  and  meaningless  of 
them  all,  such  as  Nos.  50,  118,  154,  202,  being  attributed  in  the 
catalogue  to  that  very  clever  architect,  Mr.  C.  S.  Luce.  The  last 
one  is,  indeed,  signed,  "  C.  Luce,  Pinxit;"  the  tool  used  by  the 
"  Pictor  "  being  apparently  a  whitewash  brush,  with  which  several 
puddly  daubs  of  various  colors  have  been  slopped  together  into  a  sort 
of  outline  of  a  building,  on  which  have  been  subsequently  dropped 
some  little  blobs  of  indigo,  which,  we  suppose,  are  intended  to  do 
duty  for  windows,  although  in  two  instances  they  appear  on  the  out- 
side of  what  are  evidently  designed  to  indicate  chimneys.  Of  archi- 
tecture in  these  works  there  is  little  or  none.  A  rectangular  wooden 
box  surmounted  by  a  clumsy  roof,  and  furnished  with  shapeless 
windows  at  regular  intervals  is  not  an  architectural  object,  even 
though  one  end  of  it  may  be  yellow  and  the  other  red.,  nor  does  it 
help  it  to  cloud  the  middle  with  green.  On  the  contrary,  such  veils 
of  chromatic  haze  would  spoil  the  effect  of  the  best  piece  of  archi- 
tecture ever  designed,  and  on  an  ugly  barn  they  simply  increase  the 

ugliness, 

[To  be  continued,! 


18 


The  American   Architect  and  Building  News.      [VOL.  XXV.— No.  681. 


[Contributors  are  requested  to  send  with  their  drawings  full  and 
adequate  descriptions  of  the  buildings,  including  a  statement  of  cost.] 

HOUSES  OP  MRS.  J.  J.  FRENCH  AND  MRS.  C.  E.  STRATTON,  COM- 
MONWEALTH AVE.,  BOSTON,  MASS.  MESSRS.  ALLEN  &  KENWAY, 
ARCHITECTS,'  BOSTON,  MASS. 

[Gelatine  Print,  Issued  only  with  the  Imperial  Edition.] 

STABLE    FOR   W.    F.    PROCTOR,    ESQ.,   LORHADA,   NEW    YORK,    N.   Y. 
MR.   W.   ROSS   PROCTOR,    ARCHITECT,   PITTSBURGH,   PA. 

CHURCH    OF    ALL   SAINTS,   PONTIAC,   R.    I.        MR.    HOWARD    HOPPIN, 
ARCHITECT,    PROVIDENCE,    R.    I. 

PULPIT  AND  CHOIR  IN  THE  KNEELAND  MEMORIAL  CHAPEL, 
TRINITY  CHURCH,  LENOX,  MASS.  MR.  W.  C.  BROCKLESBY,  AR- 
CHITECT, HARTFORD,  CONN. 

RESIDENCE     OF     SENOR     ENRIQUE       CONCHA   Y    TORO,    SANTIAGO, 
CHILI,    8.    A. 

COMPETITIVE    DESIGN   FOR    CALVARY    BAPTIST    CHURCH,    DAVEN- 
PORT,  10.      MR.    WM.    COWE,   ARCHITECT,    MILWAUKEE,   WIS. 

HOUSE   FOR    JAMES    E.   WAUGH,   ESQ.,    CHARLTON    HEIGHTS,    D.    C. 
MR.    T.   F.    SCHNEIDER,    ARCHITECT,    WASHINGTON,    D.    C. 

HOUSE   OF   MRS.    ISABELLE    NASH,    BRIDGEPORT,    CONN.      MR.    C.    T. 
BEARDSLEY,   JR.,    ARCHITECT,    BRIDGEPORT,   CONN. 


A   GENERAL    PROTEST    AGAINST    IMPROPER    CONDI- 
TIONS OF  COMPETITION. 

[ARCHITECTS  in  every  part  of  the  country  are  invited  to  send  us  their  au- 
thorization to  add  their' names  to  the  protest.  —  Ecs.l 

BOSTON,  MASS.,  December  18, 1888. 

TTTtlE  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts  has,  by  its  Commissioners, 
Jlti  advertised  for  designs  for  the  State-House  extension,  said 
designs  to  be  furnished  in  open  competition.  The  conditions 
of  the  competition,  as  announced,  have  evidently  been  framed  with- 
out due  regard  to  the  best  custom  in  the  conduct  of  such  matters, 
the  sole  end  and  aim  of  which  should  be  to  secure  to  the  State  the 
best  service  by  making  sure  that  "  the  best  men  shall  take  part ;  that 
they  shall  be  encouraged  to  do  their  best ;  that  the  best  they  offer 
shall  be  selected;  and  that  the  author  of  the  successful  design  shall 
be  employed  as  architect,  provided  the  building  is  built  and  he  is 
competent." 

The  conditions  announced  are  faulty  — 

First.  In  that  they  are  not  drawn  up  in  accordance  with  the  best 
custom,  and  no  assurance  is  given  that  an  expert  adviser  will  be 
employed  to  aid  the  Commission  in  their  choice. 

Second.  That  no  assurance  is  given  that  the  successful  competi- 
tor will  be  employed,  but,  on  the  contrary,  it  is  distinctly  stated  that 
all  premiated  competitors  are  to  relinquish  all  ownership  in  their 
plans  to  the  State,  without  any  further  claim  to  compensation  or  em- 
ployment. 

Third.  Even  if  the  first  prize  in  the  competition  were  as  it  should 
be,  the  execution  of  the  building,  the  actual  prizes  offered  would 
still  be  entirely  insufficient  compensation  to  the  authors  of  the  draw- 
ings placed  second  and  third. 

For  the  above  reasons,  we,  the  undersigned  architects,  citizens  of  the 
State  of  Massachusetts  [and  elsewhere],  protest  against  this  form  of 
competition,  which,  in  our  opinion,  is  not  for  the  best  interests  of  the 
State  or  of  our  profession,  and  we  therefore  decline  to  enter  it : 


BOSTON,  MASS. 

Cabot,  Everett  &  Mead. 
Wheelwright  &  Haven. 
Joseph  R.  Richards. 
John  A.  Fox. 
Geo.  H.  Young. 
E.  A  P.  Newcomb. 
Longfellow,  Alden&Har- 

low. 

Edwin  J.  Lewis. 
Andrews  &  Jaques. 
H.  Langford  Warren. 
Walker  &  Best. 
Wm.  Rotch  Ware, 
Hartwell  &  Richardson. 
Cummings  &  Sears. 
T.  M.  Clark. 
Allen  &  Kenway. 
Band  &  Taylor. 
Tlios.  O'Grady,  Jr. 
Sturgis  &  Cabot. 
Shepley,  Rutan   &  Cool- 

IdjfB. 

Botch  &  Tilden. 
Snell  &  Gregerson, 
Shaw  &  Hunnewell. 


BOSTON,  MASS. 

Wm.  G.  Preston. 
L.  Weissbein. 
Franz  E.  Zerrahn. 
Carl  Fehmer, 
Arthur  Little. 
PeabodyA  Stearns. 
Winslow  &  Wetherell. 
W.  H.  MeGinty. 
W.  M,  Bacon, 
W.  P.  Kichards. 
Daniel  Appleton. 
H.  M.  Stephenson. 
W.  R.  Emerson. 
Wm.  Whitney  Lewis. 
J.  Merrill  Brown. 
Chamberlin  &  Whidden. 
Wm.  D.  Austin. 
F.  W.  Chandler. 

HOLYOKE,  MASS. 

E.A.Ellsworth. 
H,  Walther. 
Jas.  A.  < -lough. 
Geo.  P.  B.  Alderman, 
Cain  &  Kilburu. 


HOLYOKE,  MASS. 

Henry  H.  Gridley. 
W.  E.  Fitch,  C.  E. 
D.  H.  &  A.  B.  Tower. 
T.  W.  Mann. 

LAWRENCE,  MASS. 

Chas.  T.  Emerson. 

LOWELL,  MASS. 

F.  W.  Stickney. 
Merrill  &  Cutler. 

LYNN,   MASS. 

Wheeler  &  Northend. 
Call  &  Varney. 
H.  W.  Rogers. 

SPRINGFIELD,   MASS. 

Gardner,  Pyne    &  Gard- 
ner. 

Richmond  &  Seabury. 
Jason  Perkins. 
F.  S.  Newman. 
J.  M.  Currier. 


WORCESTER,   MASS. 

Stephen  C.  Earl. 
E.  Boyden  &  Son. 
Fuller  &  Delano. 
A.  P.  Cutting. 
J.  B.  Woodworth. 

TORONTO,  CANADA. 

W.  R.  Gregg. 

BIRMINGHAM,  CONN. 

Alderman  &  Lee. 

BRIDGEPORT,  CONN. 

C.  T.  Beardsley,  Jr. 

HARTFORD,  CONN. 

M.  P.  Hapgood. 
W.  C.  Brocklesby. 

NEW   HAVEN,  CONN. 

L.  W.  Kobinson. 

WATERBURY,  CONN. 

E.  W.  Hill. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 
W.  J.  Marsh. 
H.  T.  E.  Wendell. 

CHICAGO,  ILL. 

J.  E.  O.  Pridmore. 

BALTIMORE,  MD. 

T.  B.  Gheqnier. 
H.  F.  J.  Johnson. 

CEDAR  RAPIDS,  MICH. 

Josselyn  &  Taylor. 

KANSAS   CITY,  MO. 

Willis  Polk. 

ST.   LOUIS,   MO. 

C.  E.  Illsley. 


ST.  LOUIS,  MO. 

Eames  &  Young. 
A.  F.  Rosenheim. 

ST.   PAUL,  MINN. 

Gilbert  &  Taylor. 

EAST  ORANGE,  N.  J. 

S.  W.  Whittemore. 

NEWARK,  N.  J. 

P.  G.  Botticher. 

ALBANY,  N.  Y. 

Fuller  &  Wheeler. 

F.  H.  Janes. 

BROOKLVN,  N.  Y. 

C,  F.  Eisenach. 
M.  J.  Merrill. 
H.  M.  Davis. 

BUFFALO,  N.  Y. 

Marling  &  Burdett. 
R.  A.  &  L.  Bethune. 
Green  &  Wicks. 

ELMIEA,  N.   Y. 

Pierce  &  Dockstader. 

NEW   YORK,  N.   Y. 

W.  B.  Bigelow. 
Fowler  &  Hough. 

G.  Edw.  Harding  &  Co. 
Rossiter  &  Wright. 
W.  A.  Potter. 

A.  J.  Bloor. 
J.  B.  Hinchman. 
C.  P.  Karr. 
G.  E.  Harney. 
J.  C.  Cady  &  Co. 
G.  M.  Walgrove. 
C.  H.  Israels. 
H. M.  Congdon. 
Withers  &  Dickson. 


NEW  YORK,  N.   Y. 

Babb.  Cook  &  Willard. 
H.  H.  Holly  &  Jelliff. 
H.  D.  Hooker. 

0.  P.  Hatfleld. 
G.  M.  Huss. 
H.  O.  Avery. 

C.  W.  &  A.  A.  Stoughton. 

W.  H.  Beers. 

H.  Edwards-Ficken. 

H.  R.  Marshall. 

A.  H.  Thorp. 

L.  B.  Valk. 

H.  F.  Kilburn. 

J.  A.  Hamilton. 

W.  H.  Mersereau. 

ROCHESTER,  N.  Y. 

J.  R.  Church. 

SAYVILLE,  N.  Y. 

1.  H.  Green,  Jr. 

UTICA,  y.  Y. 
W.  H.  Symonds. 

CINCINNATI,  O. 

E.  Anderson. 

PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 

Smith  &  Pritchett. 
G.  C.  Mason,  Jr. 
Moses  &  King. 

F.  M.  Day. 
B.  Linfoot. 
J.  M.  Wilson. 
H.  A.  Macomb. 
Cope  &  Stewardson. 
Hazlehurst  &  Huckel. 
'J.  J.  Deery. 

PROVIDENCE,  R.   I. 

Stone,  Carpenter  &  Will- 
son. 


COURT- 


Vai5t-r\  Vaucluse, 


HEATING     AND    VENTILATING     THE    NEW 
HOUSE   AT   BOSTON. 

HERE  is  no  one  type  of  apparatus, 
no  complete  system  of  heating  or 
of  ventilating,  just  as  there  is  no 
one  construction  suited  to  all  the 
varieties  of  building.  Each  building 
has  its  characteristic  peculiarities  and 
special  requirements,  calling  for  modi- 
fications in  the  heating  and  ventilating 
apparatus.  In  most  cases,  even  of 
'  public  buildings  where  ventilation  is  of 
paramount  importance,  the  selection 
of  the  apparatus  is  likely  to  depend  up- 
on its  possessing  some  one  feature  per- 
haps of  great  excellence  in  itself,  but 
not  necessary  in  any  sense  to  the  attainment  of  the  result  supposed 
to  be  peculiar  to  it,  and  not  having  a  single  one  of  the  elements 
essential  to  producing  the  effects  most  appropriate  and  desired. 
These  may  have  been  taken  for  granted  or  overlooked  altogether, 
because  overshadowed  by  the  undue  prominence  accorded  to  some 
detail  of  really  secondary  importance.  It  appears  in  this  case  as  if 
the  Commissioners,  believing  a  certain  type  to  be  generally  excellent, 
and  having  been  shown  some  actual  examples,  impressive  from  their 
very  magnitude  (for  that  reason  perhaps)  had  forthwith  adopted  it 
for  the  court-house. 

Beyond  the  care  shown  in  the  preparation  of  the  plans,  for  whose 
completeness  the  engineer  deserves  the  highest  praise,  we  think 
magnitude  and  the  lavish  use  9f  iron  in  almost  unlimited  quantities, 
cast,  wrought  and  galvanized,  constitute  the  only  merits  of  the  design, 
if  indeed  it  be  a  merit  to  cram  the  valuable  space  of  a  costly  building 
with  useless  material,  of  which  the  whole  excess  is  in  fact,  nothing 
but  junk. 

We  propose  to  investigate  the  subject  of  heating  and  ventilating 
this  building  somewhat  exhaustively,  and,  having  determined  the 
elements  which  should  indicate  the  design,  see  to  what  extent  they 
have  had  influence  in  the  plans  of  the  court-house  apparatus.  It  is 
first  essential  to  examine  the  conditions  depending  upon  the  con- 
struction and  arrangement  of  the  building,  and,  considering  the  use 
to  which  it  is  to  be  applied,  to  fix  the  requirements  in  accordance 
with  established  principles  and  within  the  capacity  of  modern 
engineering. 

These  data  being  ascertained,  the  next  step  is  to  design  an  appa- 
ratus that  can,  with  least  first  cost  but  greatest  permanence,  most 
nearly  attain  the  results  aimed  at,  doing  this  with  economy  in  fuel 
and  maintenance,  and  ease  and  simplicity  of  management. 

The  degree  of  excellence  which  the  apparatus  will  possess  will  de- 
pend upon  the  thoroughness  with  whieli  the  conditions  and  the 
requirements  have  been  studied  in  all  their  aspects,  the  resources  of 
the  designer  and  his  skill  in  securing  indispensable  results  notwith- 
standing obstacles  and  unavoidable  restrictions. 

The  apparatus  should  be  capable  of  such  a  variety  of  effects  as  to 
set  at  nought  the  caprices  of  wind  and  weather,  but  the  effects  will 
not  be  secured  if  the  means  of  producing  them  are  lost  in  a  multi- 
plicity of  details  not  readily  accessible  and  scattered  over  a  wide 
area.  The  arrangement  should  favor  a  reduction  in  the  number  and 
a  gathering  together  of  parts  and  making  the  details  conspicuous, 
tending  to  concentration  of  management.  A  great  number  of  parts, 


}|0.  601.  J[MEIfl(K*IN  lUGHITEGT  flND  BUILDING  1.EWS,  J^N.  1 2  1559 


CO/IOHA-     Y    TOPL,O 
,       C-WIUI,    ^    A 


Heliotype  TrinUDgCo.Bostoi 


.  651.       |[MEI\IG&N  HI^GHITEGT  ,HND  BUILDING HEWS,  J^K  1 2 


COFffltSHT  1889  BY  T1CKKOR  i  0" 


651.      .JSME^iGSN  MRGHITEGT  ^ND  BUILDING  HEWS,  Jax  121559 


1689  BY  T1CKSOR  iC° 


Tlnjerican  flrcljitect  arjd  Building  IJews,  January  12,  1359.       I}o.  051. 


Copyright,  1889,  by  TICKNOR  &  Co. 


HOUSES  OF  MRS.  J.  J.  FRENCH    AND  MRS.  C.  E.  STRATTON,  COMMONWEALTH  AVE.,  BOSTON,  MASS. 


HMEI^IGSIN  MHGHITEGT  *ND  BUILDING HEWS,  Jax  12  1559     J|o.  651 


—    .ALTERNATIVE 

CALVARY    BAPTIST  CHURCH, DAVENPOFST  Jo, 


PLAN. 


HeUtfype  Printing  Co.Hostan. 


URGHITEGT  ^ND  ]|UILDTOG HEWS,  JHN.  1 2  1559      ^o.  651 


COPYBIBHT  1889BYT1C1Q(ORJ.C» 


siN  '|[l^GHIT£6T  HND 


1559          }|o.  GO  1  . 


1889  BY  T1CKNOR  4  C» 


ALL  SAINTS    CHURCH. 

PONT1  AC,   R.I. 
owing      RECTORY 

AS        proposed.  . 


Hdiotype  Trailing  Co  Bostim . 


JANOARST  12,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


19 


either  similar  or  different,  involving  endless  repetition  of  adjustment, 
invites  confusion.  The  control  of  all  those  elements  from  whose 
flexibility  proceeds  the  adaptability  of  the  apparatus  to  changing 
conditions,  should  be  judiciously  concentrated,  and  the  operation  of 
each  part  and  |he  whole  together  be  responsive  to  it. 

It  must  be  taken  into  account  in  the  first  place  that  there  will  be 
machinery  to  be  run  by  steam-power ;  half-a-dozen  elevators  and 
possibly  electric-lighting  besides.  Therefore  a  considerable  amount 
of  steam-generating  power  is  required.  Now,  it  is  an  important  fact 
that  the  heating  effect  of  the  exhaust  steam  of  engines,  though  less 
intense,  is  equal  in  quantity  to  that  of  live  steam.  Compared  with 
live  steam  under  pressure  it  is  theoretically  not  exactly  so,  but  sub- 
stantially and  practically  no  difference  can  be  detected  without  the 
greatest  nicety  in  the  measurements.  The  significance  of  this  is  that 
a  large  element  of  economy  may  be  availed  of  by  utilizing  this  waste 
steam  for  heating. 

There  are  two  modes  of  transferring  heat  from  a  central  source  : 
in  one,  the  heat  conveyed  by  water  or  steam  in  pipes  is  liberated 
from  the  surfaces  of  radiators  set  in  the  spaces  to  be  warmed.  In 
the  other,  the  heat  is  transferred  by  a  current  of  air,  which  also  may 
subserve  the  purpose  of  ventilation. 

As  between  the  two  methods  the  latter  is  justly  believed  to  be  the 
more  desirable,  because  with  the  heat  there  is  supplied  a  continuous 
flow  of  fresh  air. 

In  those  cases,  however,  where  a  rapid  change  of  air  is  of  no  con- 
sequence, this  form  of  heating  is  needlessly  wasteful.  Let  it  be 
understood  that  if  the  temperature  is  to  be  kept  at  a  fixed  point,  say 
70°,  the  entering  fresh  hot  air  must  displace  an  equal  quantity  at 
that  temperature,  whose  heat  is  thus  carried  away  by  the  outlet  flues 
and  lost.  / 

The  average  winter  temperature  is  near  32°  ;  now  if  the  air  is 
taken  into  the  heating  apparatus  at  this  temperature  and  heated  to  a 
point  high  enough  to  maintain  the  building  at  70°  (which  is  there- 
fore the  temperature  of  the  air  thrown  away),  then  the  loss  by  this 
system  is  measured  by  the  quantity  of  air  raised  from  32°  to  70°  and 
continuously  discharged.  Supposing  the  air  in  this  building  to  be 
changed  once  in  fifteen  minutes  as  would  be  the  case  with  this  un- 
modified system,  the  loss  would  amount  in  the  case  of  the  Court- 
house to  the  combustion  of  571  pounds  of  coal  per  hour  more  than 
would  be  required  to  maintain  the  temperature  of  the  building,  and 
in  cold  and  windy  weather  this  loss  would  be  disproportionately  in- 
creased, owing  to  accelerated  velocity  in  the  flues,  and  consequent 
excessive  flow  of  air. 

The  system,  in  mild  weather  when  unlimited  ventilation  can  be 
afforded,  is  almost  stagnant ;  on  the  other  hand,  when  severe  cold 
indicates  a  restricted  supply  of  air,  the  flow  is  excessive,  and  the 
apparatus  is  taxed  far  beyond  the  just  needs  of  the  building  for  both 
heat  and  fresh  air.  The  use  of  the  building  will  be  sueh  that  a 
change  of  air  need  only  be  maintained  during  eight  hours  of  each 
working-day;  therefore  during  two-thirds  of  the  time  at  least,  change 
of  air  is  not  necessary. 

It  is  plain  then,  that  economical  considerations  demand  that  the 
heating  should  not  depend  upon  the  supply  of  fresh  air ;  that  the 
building  should  be  kept  warm  by  direct  radiation,  and  that  the  air 
should  be  supplied  in  proportion  to  the  demand  for  ventilation,  some- 
times more,  sometimes  less,  and  only  heated  to  70°.  Being  freed 
from  the  duty  of  transferring  heat  (except  so  far  as  it  should  be 
suitably  warmed  for  introduction  into  inhabited  apartments)  the  air- 
supply  can  be  brought  under  exact  control  and  the  ventilation  can  be 
adapted  to  actual  needs,  be  increased,  diminished  or  stopped  alto- 
gether, without  in  any  way  affecting  the  heating  or  being  itself 
affected. 

Thus  the  heating  can  be  suited  to  the  exigencies  of  the  weather 
and  the  ventilation  to  the  wants  of  the  occupants,  without  interfer- 
ence. But  if  the  two  are  inseparably  connected,  the  joint  apparatus 
will  be  worked  chiefly  with  regard  to  the  heating,  which  is  indispens- 
able, and  the  ventilation,  as  being  of  less  importance,  will  be  in- 
evitably sacrificed  and  finally  lost  sight  of  altogether. 

Next,  as  to  the  modes  of  heating :  We  have  to  decide  between  hot 
water  and  steam.  It  is  important  to  cover  a  considerable  range  of 
temperature,  and  to  secure  flexibility  or  promptness  of  action.  Of 
the  two,  the  former  is  more  important.  Water-circulation  affords  a 
complete  range  of  temperature,  so  that  every  variety  of  weather  can 
be  perfectly  met.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  slow  to  change  its  tem- 
perature. Steam  is  much  more  quickly  turned  on  and  shut  off,  but 
acts  within  narrow  limits.  The  radiating-surfaces,  being  calculated 
for  the  coldest  weather,  are  excessive  for  all  other  times.  As  a  rule, 
steam-heated  buildings  are  too  hot  in  mild  weather,  and  not  always 
warm  enough  in  extremely  cold  weather ;  there  is  no  provision  for 
extremes,  yet  it  is  the  extremes  of  weather  which  it  is  the  very 
province  and  intention  of  a  complete  system  to  meet  and  nullify. 
No  device  for  regulating  the  heat  of  steam-radiators  has-  yet  come 
into  general  use,  and,  in  spite  of  the  greater  slowness  of  action,  we 
must  accept  the  hot-water  system  on  account  of  its  wide  range  of 
temperature.  But  there  is  another  property  of  steam  which  we  may 
make  use  of,  which  will  enable  us  to  save  the  waste  steam  of  engines, 
and  to  secure  a  great  economy  of  space  and  apparatus  in  the  transfer 
of  heat  from  the  heating  centre  to  the  local  heaters.  We  have  found 
that  we  should  use  hot-water  radiators,  but  it  is  not  therefore  neces- 
sary that  the  water  should  be  heated  at  some  remote  point,  and 
thence  be  slowly  transferred  to  the  distant  radiators  through  ponder- 
ous pipes.  The  radiators  can  be  heated  locally  by  brass  coils  sup- 


plied with  steam,  and  placed  within  and  acting  upon  the  water 
system  at  the  base  of  the  rising  mains.  Nothing  can  exceed  the 
rapidity  with  which  steam  can  transmit  heat  at  great  horizontal 
distances  through  pipes  of  but  moderate  dimensions,  and  with  but 
slight  loss  of  pressure  and  reduction  of  intensity.  Next  to  its  use  ill 
driving  engines,  this,  the  transfer  of  heat  in  great  quantities  economi- 
cally, is  its  most  valuable  proprety,  and  we  must  not  neglect  it. 
There  need  be,  then,  no  separate  system  of  hot-water  boilers,  but 
only  one  type  of  steam-boilers,  useful  alike  for  power  and  heating, 
thus  saving  one  set  of  fires. 

We  can  take  up  next,  having  settled  the  heating,  the  question  of 
fresh  air,  its  quantity,  distribution,  and  control. 

The  purest  air  contains  3  parts  of  carbonic  acid  per  10,000;  in 
cities,  the  air  contains  4  per  1 0,000 ;  all  agree  that  the  air  is  still 
agreeable  when  it  contains  6  per  10,000.'  The  amount  of  carbonic 
acid  in  the  breath  is  about  5  per  100,  besides  other  impurities  of 
which  it  is  the  measure,  or  100  times  as  much  as  in  air  usually 
thought  fit  to  breathe.  The  quantity  of  air  consumed  by  one  man 
in  an  hour  is  less  than  18  cubic  feet,  producing  on  an  average  O.G 
cubic  feet  of  carbonic  acid;  whence,  to  keep  this  from  increasing 
above  6  per  10,000,  it  is  necessary  to  supply  not  less  than  3,000  cubic 
feet  per  person  per  hour.2  This  must  be  the  limit  for  small  rooms,  for 
the  jail  and  the  library.  For  crowded  court-rooms,  a  greater  degree 
of  vitiation  will  have  to  be  accepted,  if  not  by  the  judge  and  jury, 
certainly  by  the  spectators,  for  causes  largely  owing  to  themselves. 
But  the  air  need  not  be  so  bad  as  to  be  noticeable,  except  to  one 
coming  in  from  the  fresh  air  out-of-doors. 

The  supply  of  air  should  be  proportionate  to  the  number  of  occu- 
pants of  the  rooms  as  nearly  as  can  be  estimated,  and  provision 
should  be  made  for  increasing  or  diminishing  this  supply  by  simple 
means,  and  without  affecting  the  heating. 

Where  the  so-called  indirect  system  is  used,  the  only  way  to  lower 
the  temperature  is  by  shutting  the  registers,  and  thereby  arresting 
the  ventilation,  or  by  opening  the  windows  and  pouring  cold  air 
down  the  backs  of  the  occupants;  or,  where  a  system  of  mixing- 
dampers  is  used,  while  there  may  be  an  approximate,  but  practically 
very  imperfect,  control  of  temperature,  there  is  no  control  of  the  air. 
So,  too,  if  there  are  numerous  inlets  for  the  air,  the  supply  will  be 
most  irregular.  Sunday,  when  the  building  is  empty,  it  may  be 
flushed  with  deluges  of  air  pouring  in  from  a  hundred  openings  ex- 
posed to  a  furious  gale ;  Monday  it  may  be  calm,  and  the  ventilation 
inactive  when  the  house  is  crowded.  If  there  are  dampers  for  the 
engineer  to  adjust  when  the  wind  is  northwest,  he  can  change  the 
position  of  them  all  when  the  wind  is  southeast.  At  the  next  change 
of  wind  he  will  probably  close  them  altogether,  and  take  fresh  air 
from  the  cellar,  as  is  done  in  most  of  our  city  school-houses.  There 
can  be  no  system  and  no  regulation  under  such  conditions.  The 
flow  and  quantity  of  air  can  be  regulated  and  controlled  by  air-pro- 
pelling machinery  only,  and  should  not  be  left  dependent  upon  the 
accident  of  wind,  or  the  manipulation  of  hundreds  of  dampers  by 
several  hundreds  of  people  scattered  all  over  an  immense  building, 
and  acting  without  knowledge  or  agreement  with  each  other.  It  is 
evident  that  a  systematic  ventilation  demands  effective  means  to 
regulate  and  control  both  the  temperature  and  volume. 

Besides  the  temperature  and  volume,  the  moistness  of  the  air  must 
be  considered.  Air  contains  the  vapor  of  water  at  all  temperatures, 
but  its  capacity  for  absorption  increases  with  the  temperature.  For 
example,  at  32°  one  cubic  foot  of  air  can  hold  two  grains  of  water, 
while  at  70°  it  can  hold  eight  grains,  although,  being  expanded  by 
heat,  it  weighs  less.  But  in  natural  air  it  is  only  at  times  saturated, 
its  mean  in  this  climate  being  71  per  cent  of  saturation,  in  England 
81  per  cent,  while  it  varies  between  the  unusual  limit  of  30  per  cent, 
or  extremely  dry,  and  100  per  cent,  or  saturation,  when  it  either 
rains  or  snows. 

If  we  take  air  from  out-of-doors  at  32°  and  at  70  per  cent  of  satu- 
ration, called  its  relative  humidity,  and  heat  it  to  70°  without  adding 
water,  having  about  1.4  grains  to  start  with,  the  warm  air  will  only 
have  about  one-sixth  of  its  capacity  for  water  supplied,  or  17°  of 
humidity.  This  is  not  because  the  heating  process  lias  dried  it,  as  is 
commonly  supposed,  but  because,  by  rise  of  temperature,  the  power 
to  absorb  water  is  enormously  increased.  Air  as  dry  as  this  is  very 
disagreeable  to  many  people ;  whether  it  is  hurtful  or  not  is  an  un- 
settled question.  But  it  would  appear  that  Nature  would  be  a  safe 
guide  in  the  matter,  and,  if  we  moisten  somewhat  the  air  which  we 
heat,  we  should  only  do  what  Nature  does  on  a  large  scale.  Here, 
again,  we  are  restrained  by  practical  difficulties.  It  the  moisture  is 
abundant,  that  is,  if  the  relative  humidity  is  high,  the  dissolved 
vapor  will  be  precipitated  as  dew  on  cold  surfaces,  just  as  we  see  it 
in  summer  on  pitchers  of  iced  water.  If  the  temperature  of  the 
inner  surface  of  a  pane  of  glass  is  45°,  and  the  temperature  of  the 
inside  air  is  65°,  moisture  will  just  begin  to  condense  on  the  window- 
glass  if  the  air  is  at  50  per  cent  relative  humidity.  There  is  no  ob- 
jection to  this  except  in  the  ease  of  exposed  iron  skylights,  where 
condensation  and  dripping  might  be  troublesome.  Experience  shows 
that  the  relative  humidity  may  be  kept  up  to  50  per  cent  in  this 
climate,  except  in  the  most  severe  cold  weather,  without  incon- 
venience practically,  and  with  great  comfort  to  many  people. 

Since  the  greater  part  of  the  time  is  spent  indoors  in  winter,  the 
question  of  moisture  probably  has  an  important  part  in  the  effects  of 
the  climate  in  this  country,  and  more  attention  will  hereafter  be  paid 


1  Angus  Smith. 
'  l)r.  Parkcs. 


20 


The   American   Architect  and  Building   News.       [VoL.  XXV.  —  No.  681. 


to  it.  Where  there  is  no  ventilation,  of  course  there  need  be  no  moist- 
ure provided,  and  it  is  only  as  ventilation  becomes  more  prevalent 
that  the  subject  of  humidity  will  receive  more  consideration. 

Its  bearing  on  the  climate  is  already  being  investigated,  while  its 
influence  on  the  weather  has  long  been  established ;  but,  as  to 
climate,  it  is  somewhat  obscured  by  the  other  influences  of  tempera- 
ture and  sunshine,  and  not  much  knowledge  has  yet  been  reached. 
It  is  known,  however,  that  the  climate  of  Florida  and  of  many  other 
places  much  sought  by  invalids  is  moist ;  Nice  has  a  humid  climate, 
but  at  times,  in  spring,  is  almost  intolerable,  owing  to  the  excessive 
dryness  of  the  atmosphere.  This  dryness,  which  also  prevails  in 
spring  in  some  localities  on  the  coast  of  New  England,  is  to  this  day 
popularly  supposed  to  be  a  dampness,  from  its  chilling  effects,  but 
repeated  observation  has  established  the  facts  as  above  explained. 

Evaporation  produces  cold,  because  each  little  atom  of  vapor 
carries  off  with  it  a  quantity  of  heat,  and  a  dry  air  chills  by  its  rapid 
absorption  of  invisible  perspiration.  To  avoid  chill,  dry  air  must  be 
rather  warm ;  it  should  have  a  temperature  so  high  as  not  to  remove 
much  heat  from  the  body  beyond  what  is  carried  off  by  the  evapo- 
ration. A  dry  air  at  80°  is  not  too  hot  for  many  persons.  If  the 
cold  produced  by  evaporation  can  be  avoided,  it  is  plain  a  lower 
temperature  would  suffice,  and  it  is  probable  that  a  moist  atmosphere 
at  62°  would  have  the  same  effect  on  our  sense  of  heat  as  a  dry  air 
at  75°  or  more,  and  is  desirable  for  many  reasons.  The  blood  is  not 
able  to  furnish  an  unlimited  supply  of  water  for  perspiration,  and 
probably  the  injurious  effects  of  a  dry  atmosphere  will  be  found  to 
consist  in  such  a  rapid  evaporation  from  the  skin,  while  the  body  is 
at  rest  and  the  circulation  slow,  as  to  diminish  the  proportion  of 
water  in  the  blood  of  smaller  vessels  faster  than  it  can  be  replaced 
by  the  circulation.  This  explanation  is  plausible;  but,  after  all,  ex- 
posure to  dryness  may  cause  no  permanent  harm,  though  to  many  it 
is  a  source  of  momentary  discomfort. 

The  usual  way  of  supplying  moisture  is  by  rapid  boiling  from  a 
pan  or  hot  surface.  There  are  some  objections  to  this,  because  the 
water  contains  organic  matter  and  dissolved  gases,  some  of  which 
are  decomposed  and  set  free  by  boiling,  and  impart  a  smell  to  the 
air.  There  will  be,  however,  a  residue  which  is  not  driven  off  with 
the  vapor,  and  which,  by  slow  accumulation,  makes  the  water  very 
foul.  Both  of  these  objections  are  obviated  by  evaporating  the 
water  at  a  relatively  low  temperature,  and  by  allowing  it  to  flow 
through  the  evaporator  in  a  constant  stream,  only  three-quarters  of 
it  being  evaporated.  This  part  of  the  heating  apparatus  ought  to 
be  placed  where  it  can  be  frequently  inspected  and  seen  to  be  in 
working  order. 

Having  now  considered  the  ruling  elements  with  sufficient  fulness 
to  be  able  to  outline  a  plan,  and  summarizing  the  results,  we  find 
that  economy  and  efficiency  require  that  the  main  heat-distributing 
system  should  be  worked  by  steam  ;  adaptability  to  regulation  through 
a  wide  range  of  temperature  determines  that  the  local  radiators 
should  be  warmed  by  hot  water,  which,  as  shown,  ought  to  be 
arranged  in  detached  circuits  deriving  their  heat  from  a  steam  appa- 
ratus centrally  placed  ;  that  systematic  and  regulated  ventilation  can- 
not be  had  without  a  mechanical  propulsion  of  the  air  which  should 
be  susceptible  of  complete  control  at  one  point ;  that  for  the  sake 
of  comfort,  the  relative  humidity  of  the  heated  air  should  be  kept  up, 
and,  since  this  is  evidently  impracticable  if  the  fresh  air  lie  admitted 
at  many  points,  we  have  another  reason  for  concentrating  the  entire 
control  and  treatment  of  the  air  in  such  a  way  that  system  in  the 
management,  prompt  adjustment  and  regularity  of  working  may  be 
assured.  We  now  know  exactly  what  is  requisite,  and  the  proper 
means  to  obtain  it.  The  question  is,  are  these  means  within  the 
reach  of  the  architect  and  the  Commissioners,  and  if  so,  have  they 
availed  themselves  of  them  ? 

There  are  numerous  examples  in  our  own  country  as  well  as  in 
Europe  where  these  principles  have  been  applied  with  complete 
success;  where  the  apparatus  was  designed  by  engineers  who  not 
only  appreciated  all  that  is  demanded  by  good  ventilation  and  under- 
stood clearly  what  they  were  aiming  at,  but  possessed  the  skill  to  so 
utilize  their  resources  as  to  hit  the  mark  with  certainty.  It  is  true 
that  many  of  these  examples  are  impaired  by  want  of  money,  for 
none  of  them  had  the  friendship  of  Government  officials  and  a  Gov- 
ernment surplus  to  draw  upon. 

Before  examining  the  proposed  plans  to  find  an  answer  to  these 
questions,  it  would  be  instructive  to  determine  for  ourselves  the 
quantities  and  the  power  of  a  heating  apparatus  suitable  for  this 
court-house. 

The  contents  in  cubic  feet  are  2,695,000  divided  as  follows:  in 
rooms,  1,468,000;  library,  132,000;  corridors,  etc.,  1,095,000. 

The  area  of  external  walls  is  in  square  feet  148,000  ;  and  of  glass 
in  windows  and  skylights,  25,800.  Our  figures  are  approximate. 

The  average  loss  of  heat  at  internal  temperature  of  70°  and  ex- 
ternal, 32°  (the  average  of  our  winter  climate),  will  be,  according  to 
Peelet  and  Box,  per  hour, 

by  walls,  148,000  sq.  ft.  at    8.3    units  of  heat     U  1,228,400 

by  windows,    25.800  sq.  ft.  at  19.75       "      "     "  509,600 

by  leakage  of  air,  200,000  cu.  ft.  at    0.64      "     "     "  128,000 

Total  loss  of  heat  per  hour  in  heat  units,         1,866,000 

Allowing  th^t  one  pound  of   coal  by  its  combustion  yields  only 

8,000  units  of  useful  effect,  and  dividing  by  this  number  the  above 

total,  we  have  the  loss  per  hour  measured  in  fuel  to  be  233  pounds  of 

coal.     This  is  the  average  loss.     At  6°  below  zero,  the  loss  would  be 


double  this,  or  466  pounds  if  the  cold  should  be  continuous.  But  in 
this  latitude,  the  cold  seldom  reaches  so  low  a  point  and  never  re- 
mains there  long,  moreover,  a  massive  building  is  not  readily  pene- 
trated by  it,  so  that  if  we  provide  for  such  a  degree  of  cold,  with  an 
apparatus  capable  of  meeting  this  extreme  loss  of  heat  we  should  have 
ample  power  and  something  over. 

We  have  not  considered  the  cubic  space  for  the  reason  that  it  has 
no  fixed  relation  to  the  loss  of  heat.  It  may  help  us  to  determine  the 
quantity  of  ventilation. 

If  we  change  the  air  in  the  corridors  twice  per  hour  we  have 

1 ,095,000  x  2     —  cu.  f t.     2, 1 90,000 

in  the  rooms,  6  times,  1,468,000x6     =     "         8,808,000 

in  the  library,  once  in  40  minutes,      132,000  x  1.5  =     "  198,000 

Total  hourly  change  of  air,  cubic  feet,         11,196,000 

Or  186,600  cubic  feet  per  minute. 

The  hourly  consumption  of  coal  to  heat  this  air  from  32°  to  70° 
will  be -11-196'00-  X0.07.  _Xa24  X  88;=  893 


quantity  at  6°  below  zero  would  be  double  this,  or  1 786  pounds, 

The  average  heating  effect  then  calls  for  the  combustion  of 
233  I  893 

—  (the  ventilation  being  carried  on  only  one-third  of  the 

O 

time,  eight  hours  in  twenty-four)  or  about  530  pounds  of  coal  per 
hour. 

The  maximum  effect,  which  indicates  the  power  of  the  apparatus, 
calls  for  466-)-  1786,  or  curiously  enough,  about  2240  pounds  per 
hour.  This  is  an  extravagant  provision,  because  it  is  very  improba- 
ble that  all  the  rooms  will  require  full  ventilation  at  the  same  time, 
and  since  at  6°  below  zero,  the  quantity  of  ventilation  may  be  re- 
duced somewhat,  as  in  fact  it  always  is,  even  sometimes  to  the  point 
of  shutting  tight  all  cold-air  inlets.  But  we  intend  to  be  liberal  to 
extravagance,  so  that  we  cannot  be  accused  of  suggesting  less  than 
the  real  requirements  of  the  case. 

Above  we  gave  some  figures  showing  the  quantity  of  air  required 
per  person  for  good  ventilation  to  be  3,000  cubic  feet  per  hour.  In 
our  arbitrary  rate  of  change,  we  allowed  for  11,196,000  cubic  feet 
per  hour,  consequently  we  have  provision  for  adequately  supplying 

fresh  air  for  (  '  -=  J  nearly  4,000  persons  when  the  ther- 

mometer outside  is  at  6°  below  zero.  This  is  more  than  generous. 

The  boiler  power  to  fully  convert  into  useful  heating  effect  the 
above  extreme  and  improbable  use  of  coal  is  that  of  about  288 
horses,  reckoning  a  maximum  combustion  of  16  pounds  per  hour 
per  square  foot  of  grate-surface,  and  an  evaporative  efficiency  of  only 
7.7  pounds  of  water  per  pound  of  coal,  or  6  boilers  of  48  horse-power 
each. 

As  we  intend  to  utilize  the  exhaust  steam  of  machinery  for  heat- 
ing, we  need  make  no  provision  for  power,  simply  lending  the  steam 
to  the  engines  before  using  it  for  heating,  and  thus  getting  the  ele- 
vating and  lighting-work  done  for  nothing. 

To  transmit  this  heat  by  radiation  from  surfaces  at  a  moderate 
temperature  agreeable  to  the  occupants,  calls  for  about  12,400  super- 
ficial feet  of  radiating-surface  in  the  local  heaters  whose  duty  it  is  to 
maintain  the  temperature  of  the  building,  and  for  heating  the  air  dis- 
tributed for  ventilation,  a  central  coil  of  pipes,  containing  about 
8,000  square  feet,  very  compact  and  efficient. 

For  moving  this  air,  one  fan  about  14  feet  in  diameter  running  at 
100  revolutions  per  minute  and  an  engine  of  30  horse-power  would  be 
required.  Two  smaller  fans  and  two  engines  would  be  better,  form- 
ing a  duplicate  apparatus,  and  there  ought  to  be  a  separate  fan  for  the 
jail.  In  the  system  here  outlined,  if  the  heating-plant  should  be  dis- 
abled, the  heating  could  be  continued  by  the  power-plant  and  venti- 
lating-apparatus,  and  vice  versa,  and  the  business  of  the  courts  need 
not  be  interrupted. 

To  have  sufficient  power  even  above  the  improbable  maximum 
demand,  we  should  increase  the  boilers  by  one-third ;  as  the  radiat- 
ing-surtaces  maybe  subject  to  disadvantages  of  location,  arrange- 
ment or  construction  (such  as  being  massed  too  much  together)  we 
should  increase  them  liberally,  and  also  provide  a  surplus  so  that  if 
the  building  should  have  become'chilled,  the  apparatus  can  recover 
the  lost  ground  rapidly.  Let  us  double  the  heating-surfaces:  We 
now  have  6  X  1-33  =  8  boilers  of  48  horse-power,  and  12,400  X  2  =; 
24,800  square  feet  in  radiators  and  8,000  square  feet  in  the  main 
coils  for  heating  fresh-air,  making  a  total  heating-surface  amounting 
to  32,800  square  feet.  We  also  need  three  blowing-fans,  with  their 
engines,  to  force  the  movement  of  fresh-air,  evaporators,  and  prob- 
ably three  fans  to  insure  positive  movement  in  the  ventilating-flues 
if  they  are  tortuous  and  very  unequal  in  length  and  frictional  resists 
ance.  The  exhaust-fans  should  be  run  by  electro-motors.  It  is  to 
cost  nothing  for  power  to  run  these  fans.  There  should  also  be  a 
small  fan  to  expel  heat  from  the  boiler-room  in  the  summer,  to  pro- 
vent  it  and  the  odor  of  hot-oil  from  machinery  from  passing  into 
other  parts  of  the  building. 

These,  then,  are  our  estimates  of  the  boiler  and  heating  power 
required  -by  the  Court-house,  and  arrangements  similar  to  those  we 
have  described  for  insuring  the  ventilation  we  think  not  only 
desirable  but  indispensable  to  a  good  result. 

VVe  have  only  sketched  an  outline,  but,  in  general,  our  apparatus, 
besides  being  capable  of  the  effects  which  we  stated  to  be  necessary 
at  the  outset,  and  which  we  think  will  command  unquestioning 


JANUARY  12,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


21 


assent,  would  possess  this  important  quality,  the  entire  control  of 
temperature  by  the  occupants  of  the  rooms  or  persons  in  charge  of 
them,  without  reference  to  the  ventilation ;  there  need  be  no  opening 
or  shutting  of  registers  i;i  attempts  to  regulate  the  heat,  and  no  un- 
certainty in  the  supply  and  removal  of  air.  If  it  should  be  too  hot 
or  too  cold,  the  remedy  is  in  operating  the  local  radiators ;  but  the 
ventilation  should  and  could  go  on  absolutely  without  reference  to 
temperatures  in  the  building,  for,  as  stated  among  the  essentials  in 
our  enumeration  of  the  effects  to  be  obtained,  this  air  would  be 
delivered  in  all  parts  of  the  building  at  a  constant  temperature,  say 
70°,  which,  if  the  rooms  were  colder  than  that,  might  add  to  their 
heat  up  to  that  point,  but  could  by  no  means  make  it  greater.  Thus 
the  engineer's  duty  would  be  extremely  clear  and  easy  for  him  to 
perform ;  and  if  the  control  were  properly  concentrated,  he  could 
have  no  excuse  for  unsatisfactory  results  anywhere. 

We  are  forced  to  admit  that  in  many  cases  neither  has  the 
managing  engineer  any  clearly  defined  duty  beyond  keeping  the 
building  as  hot  as  he  can,  nor  the  means  of  doing  much  else  than  this. 

We  believe  that  our  conclusions  cannot  be  shaken  by  any  evidence 
obtained  from  the  actual  use  of  any  type  of  apparatus;  on  the  con- 
trary, that  it  is  founded  on  correct  principles  and  supported  by  the 
best  experience  and  practice  the  world  over,  except  in  Great  Britain 
and  districts  controlled  by  the  architectural  bureau  of  the  United 
States  Treasury  Department;  that  it  is  strictly  in  line  with  modern 
progress,  and  within  the  capa.ity  of  modern  engineering. 

Let  us  see  to  what  extent  the  proposed  apparatus  is  conformable 
to  them. 

The  Commissioners'  engineers  specify  (12  hot-water  and  2  steam 
=)  14  boilers  of  45  horse-power  each ;  about  30,382  square  feet  of 
direct  and  57,240  square  feet  of  indirect  radiators,  or  a  total  of 
87,622  square  feet  of  heating-surface,  besides  a  large  amount  in 
ventilating-flues  designed  to  insure  a  draught.  There  are  no  fans. 
There  is  no  provision  for  moisture ;  no  utilization  of  exhaust  steam 
for  heating.  There  are  no  less  than  195  cold-air  inlets  exposed  to 
all  points  of  the  compass,  to  be  operated,  in  addition  to  as  many  sets 
of  valves  under  varying  conditions,  by  an  indefinite  number  of 
occupants  of  the  rooms,  of  whom  there  is  no  guaranty  that  a  single 
one  will  be  an  expert  in  ventilation.  There  are  74  cold-air  dampers, 
32  switch-dampers  and  64  mixing-dampers,  all  to  be  operated  at 
every  change  of  wind  and  temperature  by  the  efficient  corps  of 
supernumerary  engineers  under  the  supervision  of  a  skilful  chief, 
probably  a  graduate  of  the  Signal  Service  of  the  United  States 
Treasury  Department,  who  will  issue  hourly  bulletins,  with  maps, 
indicating  the  probable  climate  for  the  ensuing  hour  in  various  parts 
of  the  structure,  for  the  guidance  of  his  subordinates  and  consolation 
of  the  inmates.  Far  from  centralizing  the  control,  the  care  of  all 
these  confused  and  differing  subdivisions  is  scattered  all  over  the 
building  in  dark,  inaccessible  flues,  ducts  and  tunnels  obstructed  by 
enormous  pipes,  and  all  this  mass  of  material,  the  larger  part  of 
which  must,  on  account  of  its  unsuitable  arrangement,  remain 
forever  inert  and  worthless,  is  to  be  buried  up  in  masonry,  in  whose 
construction  600,000  bricks  are  actually  specified  to  be  consumed, 
besides  many  tons  of  cast  and  galvanized  iron. 

A  large  part  of  the  apparatus  is  exposed  to  certain  damage  from 
freezing  in  case  of  neglect  to  manipulate  the  valves  and  dampers 
properly ;  and  it  is  so  built-in  within  walls  and  metal  casings  as  to 
make  the  repairs  resulting  from  such  accidents  very  costly  and 
annoying. 

The  main  pipes  are  to  be  covered  with  felting  of  cow's  hair,  which, 
after  a  year  or  two,  will  be  rotten  or  moth-eaten  ;  —  some  of  this  is  in 
the  fresh-air  ducts,  where  it  will  contaminate  the  air. 

As  to  the  excessive  boiler-power  and  the  enormous  surplus  of 
heating-surface,  it  won't  do  to  try  to  substantiate  the  correctness  of 
the  estimates  by  reference  to  Government  buildings.  In  these  it 
can  be  shown  that  the  power  of  the  apparatus  is  so  far  beyond  the 
requirements  that  large  quantities  of  material  have  been  from  time 
to  time  removed,  and  much  more  is  never  used,  that  in  none  (except 
where  improved  methods  have  been  added)  is  there  any  systematic 
ventilation  ;  that  in  many  the  cold-air  inlets  are  permanently  closed, 
and  where  the  dampers  fit  imperfectly,  paper  is  pasted  over  the 
registers  or  screens  to  prevent  the  wind  from  blowing  documents 
off  the  tables  and  desks,  the  heating-power  being  so  excessive  as  to 
heat  sufficiently  through  the  casings  with  the  open-work  screens  thus 
closed. 

In  the  Government  buildings  in  New  York  and  Boston  where  this 
system  is  used,  these  dampers  are  all  permanently  fastened  up; 
some  of  the  outer  gratings  have  been  closed  by  solid  plates  of  cast- 
iron  ;  in  the  Boston  Custom-IIouse,  where  a  new  apparatus  of 
similar  design  has  recently  "been  placed,  the  wind  blows  straight 
through  the  building,  in  at  one  side  and  out  at  the  other,  carrying 
away  out-of-doors  heat  intended  for  warming  the  interior,  and,  un- 
fortunately, not  available  for  heating  neighboring  buildings. 

The  same  unsystematic  arrangements  for  supplying  air  have  been 
inflicted  upon  most  of  the  Boston  public  schools,  largely  under  the 
administration  of  Mr.  Clough,  the  Court-house  architect.  Out  of 
many  reports  made  by  sanitarians  and  health-inspectors  upon  the 
condition  of  these  buildings,  we  select  the  most  recent,  of  which  the 
following  is  a  part,  by  a  prominent  authority  : 

"  From  the  reports  of  the  inspectors,  I  fail  to  find  the  standard 
reached  even  in  the  best-ventilated  buildings  of  the  city  of  Boston  ; 
and  in  a  large  number  of  the  older  buildings  (especially  those  occupied 
by  the  primary  department  of  the  school)  the  deficiency  is  startling, 


the  condition  of  air  being  such  that  no  test  is  required  to  prove  its 
unfitness  for  respiration,  and  danger  to  the  teacher  and  pupil  occu- 
pying the  building.  In  many  buildings  we  find  no  provision  even 
for  fresh-air  supply,  and  in  others  the  supply  is  through  the  cold-air 
boxes  leading  to  furnaces,  where,  as  a  rule,  they  are  entirely  in- 
adequate, and  not  infrequently  are  partially  or  entirely  closed.  In 
the  class  of  buildings  heated  by  steam,  by  what  we  call  the  indirect 
system,  we  find  the  best  provision  for  air-supply  ;  but  even  that,  with 
scarcely  any  exception,  comes  far  short  of  the  standard  adopted,  and 
the  supply  for  the  different  rooms  is  irregular,  and  materially  affected 
by  the  condition  of  the  temperature  and  wind  outside.  A  very 
general  and  almost  universal  deficiency  is  in  the  size  of  the  fresh 
and  foul  air  flues,  which  are  found  so  small  as  to  require  a  very  high 
velocity  in  order  to  accomplish  the  necessary  work.  To  illustrate, 
it  is  rarely  that  we  find  more  than  two  supply-pipes  to  a  room,  and 
these  are  not  over  fourteen  inches  in  diameter.  To  get  the  amount 
of  air  required  for  fifty-six  pupils  through  these  pipes  would  call  for 
a  velocity  of  1,309  feet  per  minute,  which  is  not  obtained.  The  same 
deficiency  exists  in  the  foul-air  flues,  and  it  is  not  infrequently  the 
case  that  the  inspectors  have  found  no  movement  of  air  whatever  in 
these  flues." 

To  return  to  the  Court-house  plans,  we  assert  that  they  contain  no 
internal  evidence  of  careful  study  of  the  conditions,  or  of  design  to 
effect  a  single  result  beyond  the  certain  overheating  of  the  buildinc. 
In  fact,  we  can  with  difficulty  refrain  from  the  thought  that  the  only 
design  is  to  effect  a  sale  to  the  County  of  a  vast  amount  of  material, 
leaving  to  accident  all  the  essentials  of  comfort  and  health,  to  obtain 
which  these  Commissioners  were  appointed,  and  for  which  mainly 
the  edifice  is  to  be  constructed.  Certainly,  without  them,  no  perfec- 
tion or  magnificence  of  architecture  will  be  a  compensation. 

Perhaps,  as  the  county  has  gone  so  far  as  Baltimore  and  Washing- 
ton for  a  type  of  apparatus,  we  may  go  still  farther  for  evidence  to 
prove  its  worthlessness.  It  so  happens  that  there  is  an  example  of 
the  greatest  historical  value,  which  has  established  for  all  time  the 
comparative  merits  of  the  accidental  system  of  ventilation  which  our 
Commissioners  have  adopted  and  the  designed  and  regulated  system 
which  has  alone  yielded  positive  results.  We  refer  to  the  Hospital 
Lariboisiere  (du  Nord),  in  France.  About  1848,  the  commission 
having  charge  of  the  construction  of  this  hospital  accepted  without 
competition  plans  for  heating  and  ventilation  prepared  by  an  influ- 
ential house  in  the  trade.  Fortunately,  the  Council  of  Administra- 
tion of  Public  Assistance  of  the  State  vetoed  this  arrangement,  and 
required  the  commission  to  obtain  a  report  by  competent  experts 
upon  the  proposed  plans,  together  with  other  propositions  from 
parties  of  high  reputation  as  engineers.  The  examining  experts 
reported  unanimously  in  favor  of  one  of  the  new  plans,  but  the  com- 
mission, under  pressure  from  high  quarters  friendly  to  the  former 
proposers,  decided  to  give  one-half  of  the  hospital  to  them,  and  one- 
half  to  the  successful  competitor.  Both  apparatuses  were  finished 
in  1854,  and  began  work  the  following  year.  In  the  third  volume 
of  "Peclet's  Traite  de  la  Chaleur,"  edition  of  1861,  will  be  found 
forty  pages  of  matter  devoted  to  this  hospital,  containing  the  able 
writer's  own  criticism  upon  the  several  phins,  and  embodying  the 
report  of  M.  Grassi,  pharmacist  resident  at  the  hospital.  In  this  re- 
port, the  results  of  accidental  ventilation  compared  with  regulated 
ventilation  are  fully  set  forth  in  tabulated  statements  compiled  from 
careful  observations  regularly  repeated  and  continued,  and  confirm- 
ing, after  extended  use,  the  views  of  the  Board  of  Engineers  who 
had  reported  unanimously  in  favor  of  the  mechanical  system  of 
MM.  Thomas  and  Laurens,  amended  by  M.  Grouvelle's  hot-water 
apparatus,  wherein  the  local  hot-water  heaters  were  joined  in  short 
circuits  heated  by  steam.  This  brilliant  idea  had  already  been  suc- 
cessfully applied  at  the  great  Mazas  prison. 

The  latest  example  of  this  kind  of  work  which  we  have  seen  is 
that  at  the  Hotel  Dieu  (City  Hospital),  Paris.  In  this  immense  in- 
stitution the  entire  heating  and  cooking  are  done  by  steam  from  two 
boilers  of  about  50-horse-power  (we  speak  from  memory),  the  hot- 
water  radiators  being  run  by  steam-coils.  The  two  main  pipes  are 
of  copper  beautifully  fitted,  all  angles  being  turned  by  arcs  of  circles 
of  long  radius.  They  appeared  to  us  not  over  three-and-one-half  or 
four  inches  in  diameter.  Those  in  the  Suffolk  County  Court-House 
are  proposed  to  be  thirty  inches  in  diameter. 

We  confess  that  the  heating  effect  of  an  apparatus  in  Paris  should 
be  considerably  less  than  here,  and  that  there  is  no  hospital  in  France 
(except  those  which  are  ventilated  by  windows  kept  permanently 
wide  open,  as  in  England  also)  which  is  adequately  ventilated.  We 
believe  this  to  be  due  to  the  extreme  economy  of  the  French  people, 
and  to  the  fact  that  until  the  recent  researches  of  Dr.  Angus  Smith 
and  Dr.  Parkes  in  England,  and  Professor  Pettcnkofer  in  Germany, 
the  quantity  of  air  needed  for  good  ventilation  was  not  appreciated. 
The  apparatus  of  the  French  engineers  has  not  failed  to  yield  the 
calculated  results.  If  there  still  exist  deficiencies,  they  are  due  to 
the  real  requirements  not  having  been  known  and  stated  in  the  first 
place,  as  we,  from  later  knowledge,  are  able  to  state  them  now. 

Another  great  building,  the  116tel  de  Ville  in  Paris,  of  which  we 
have  examined  the  heating  and  ventilating  plans,  but  which  was  not 
complete  at  the  time  of  our  visit,  is  ventilated  also  by  the  mechanical 
system,  the  local  heating  depending  upon  steam-radiators  so  con- 
structed as  to  retain  the  water  of  condensation  in  very  large  quantity, 
thus  gaining  the  supposed  advantage  of  a  reservoir  of  heat  remain- 
ing in  the  water  after  the  steam  is  shut  off,  and  utilizing  this 
property  of  the  hot-water  system,  apparently  in  the  mistaken  view 


22 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.        [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  681. 


that  it  is  the  most  valuable  one.  In  our  opinion,  this  is  a  decided 
defect  in  a  heating  apparatus,  and  the  very  and  only  objection  to 
hot-water  heating. 

Pe'clet,  the  greatest  investigator,  and,  at  the  same  time,  highest 
practical  authority  on  heating,  prefers  steam-heating,  pure  and 
simple,  with  mechanical  ventilation,  to  all  else,  owing  to  its  rapidity 
of  action,  and  when  a  great  range  of  pressure  is  permissible,  to  its 
corresponding  range  of  heating  effect.  But  later  experience  goes 
to  show  that  there  are  objections  to  using  high  pressure  in  steam- 
heating,  and,  consequently,  its  action  is  confined  within  narrow 
limits.  No  way  of  imparting  to  hot  water  the  quick  action  of  steam, 
or  of  constructing  a  steam-apparatus  possessing  as  great  a  range  of 
temperature  as  hot  water,  has  yet  come  into  established  use.  Either 
system  would  be  perfect  with  the  attributes  of  the  other,  but  the 
world  yet  waits  for  their  successful  union  in  practice. 

Regarding  the  Johns  Hopkins  Hospital,  which  the  Commissioners 
visited,  and  where  the  basement  is  crammed  with  apparatus  for 
heating  and  ventilation,  and  where,  if  they  were  merely  in  search  of 
something  calculated  to  astonish  by  magnitude  and  quantity,  they 
certainly  found  what  they  were  looking  for,  it  should  be  told  that 
the  apparatus  (fans  and  all)  was  confessedly  experimental.  The 
physician  who  is  supposed  to  be  responsible  for  it,  though  a  learned 
and  able  writer  and  student,  not  possessing  the  knowledge,  training, 
or  experience  qualifying  him  to  design  a  practical  apparatus,  ar- 
ranged with  the  Commissioners'  firm  to  furnish  one  on  a  ten  per  cent 
commission,  he  making  suggestions  borrowed  from  books  and  obser- 
vations of  travel.  It  is  plain  to  see  that  both  partitas  to  this  contract 
were  interested  in  multiplying  the  real  requirements  by  some  factor, 
the  doctor's  being  a  factor-of-safety  (to  him),  and  the  contractor's  a 
factor-of-profit. 

For  doing  this  work  and  that  of  the  Government  buildings,  which 
by  inliuence  (the  chief  motive  power  in  Washington)  are  alleged  to 
have  been  turned  into  the  hands  of  the  same  firm  which  the  Court- 
Ilouse  Commissioners  have  employed,  many  costly  patterns  and  spe- 
cial fittings  were  required.  It  is  claimed  that  many  of  these  special- 
ties are  called  for  in  the  plans  for  our  Court-house,  and  that  the  firm 
who  prepared  the  plans  have  thereby  handicapped  all  competitors 
against  th.'in  for  the  work  by  a  preference  amounting  to  many  thou- 
sands of  dollars  in  their  own  favor.  This  would  seem  to  have  some 
color,  for  the  reason  that  some  very  desirable  fittings  purposely 
designed  for  water-heating,  and  increasing  the  efficiency  of  the  circu- 
lation, but  not  handled  by  this  firm,  are  not  specified,  named,  or 
shown  in  the  plans. 

It  has  begun  to  be  known  that  the  Commissioners  are  not  likely  to 
get  many  bids.  They  must  expect  that  there  will  be  but  few,  and 
perhaps  collusion  between  the  competitors,  and  that,  consequently, 
the  evident  enormous  cost  of  the  proposed  scheme  may  be  forced  up 
to  the  point  of  exhausting  the  financial  strength  of  the  County, 
which,  left  weak  and  helpless,  will  sink  down  under  the  tremendous 
weight  unloaded  upon  it  under  this  cover  of  an  alleged  apparatus 
for  heating  and  ventilating  the  new  Court-house. 

We  have  a  parting  word  to  add :  We  hope  the  many  thousands 
of  dollars  (as  much  as  $30,000?)  spent  in  changing  and  adapting 
this  building  into  a  storehouse  for  this  apparatus,  and  the  space 
sacrificed,  will  not  prove  to  liave  been  wholly  thrown  away.  \Ve 
think  that  the  Commissioners'  expert  house  of  contractors  and 
engineers  can  afford  to  give  up  the  $4,000  they  are  to  receive  for 
services  in  specifying  their  own  materials,  and  pay  $10,000  for  the 
monopoly  ami  privilege  thus  accorded  them.  We  think  that  they 
ought  to  do  it.  Suffolk  County,  in  Massachusetts,  will  then  have 
reason  to  be  doubly  grateful  to  them,  and  be  better  able,  with  this 
legacy  in  reserve,  to  keep  in  repair  the  monument  with  which,  at 
her  expense,  they  propose  to  peipetuate  their  memory. 

ENGINEER. 


M.   DIEULAFOY'S   DISCOVERIES   AT  SUSA. 


IP' 


THE  new  attraction  at  the  Musee  du 
Louvre  in  Paris  is  the  Susa  Caller)-. 
Directly  above  the  Salle  Assyrienne  a 
handsome  and  spacious  apartment  has  been 
fitted  up  for  the  purpose  of  holding  the  mar- 
vellous specimens  of  Achemenidan  architect- 
ure and  Achemenidan  art  which  M.  Marcel 
Dieulafoy  has  dug  up  out  of  the  mounds  that 
cover  the  site  of  the  ancient  capital  of  the 
Persian  Empire.  After  two  years  spent  in 
arranging  the  collection  —  a  task  that,  for 
reasons  which  will  become  apparent  in  the 
course  of  this  article,  involved  unusual  diffi- 
culties —  the  gallery  is  now  thrown  open  to 
the  public. 

It  was  in  December,  1884,  that  M.  Dieula- 
foy, accompanied  by  his  talented  wife,  Mme.  Jeanne  Dieulafoy,  and 
two  assistants,  Messrs.  Babin  and  Houssay,  left  Paris,  intrusted  by 
the  French  Government  with  an  archaeological  mission.  The  exten- 
sive mounds  which  were  the  immediate  goal  of  the  expedition  had 
attracted  the  attention  of  travellers  for  many  years.  As  early  as 
1851  Sir  William  Loftus  visited  the  village,  which  still  retains  the 
ancient  name  of  Shus,  or  Susa,  to  the  north  of  Dizfoul,  in  the  south- 
western corner  of  modern  Persia,  and  made  a  careful  examination 
of  the  mounds  at  that  place.  He  found  unmistakable  proofs  of  the 


existence  of  ruins  beneath  these  vast  accumulations  of  dust  and 
rubbish,  and  hoped  to  induce  the  authorities  of  the  British  Museum 
to  undertake  excavations  on  a  proper  scale.  But  the  archaeological 
interest  was  at  that  moment  centred  upon  the  mounds,  similar  in 
character  and  formation,  on  the  banks  of  the  Tigris  and  in  the 
valley  of  the  Euphrates.  A  few  years  before,  the  Frenchman,  P.  E. 
Botta,  had  astonished  the  world  by  unearthing  the  palace  of  King 
Sargon  at  Kharsabad,  and  Sir  Austen  H.  Layard,  following  close 
upon  the  heels  of  Botta,  created  a  veritable  sensation  by  the  dis- 
covery of  old  Nineveh,  with  the  palaces  of  several  Assryian  kings. 
A  second  French  expedition  was  about  to  be  sent  into  the  field,  and 
Sir  Henry  Rawlinson  was  busily  engaged  hunting  for  the  "  founda- 
tion "  records  of  Nebuchadnezzar  at  Birs  Nimroud.  Thus  the  glory 
of  resuscitated  Nineveh  and  of  reawakening  Babylon  threw  every- 
thing else  into  the  shade  for  the  time  being,  and  Susa  was  destined 
to  be  neglected  until  the  worthy  compatriot  of  Botta  took  up  the 
spade.  M.  Dieulafoy  was  particularly  well  fitted  for  his  task.  Ex- 
tensive travels  in  Persia  made  some  years  before  had  made  him 
thoroughly  familiar  with  land  and  people ;  prolonged  studies  in 
Persian  art,  of  which  his  five  volumes  on  "L'Art  Antique  de  la 
Perse  "  are  the  fruit,  had  secured  for  him  a  high  rank  among  archae- 
ologists, while  his  practical  profession  as  an  architect  and  his  long 
experience  as  "  Ingenieur  en  chef  des  Ponts  et  Chausees  "  in  Paris 
gave  him  additional  advantages,  which  were  no  small  factors  in  his 
success. 

Arrived  on  the  spot,  M.  Dieulafoy  encountered  the  same  opposi- 
tion from  the  natives  which  all  explorers  in  the  Orient  have  had  to 
face,  and  this  despite  the  firman  with  which  he  was  provided.  The 
fanaticism  of  a  Mussulman  populace,  fanned  by  the  agitation  of  a 
still  more  fanatical  clergy,  form  a  combination  which  it  is  exceedingly 
difficult  to  master,  and  when  to  this  front  be  added  the  intrigues  of 
officials  greedy  for  bribes,  one  is  surprised  to  find  that  Dieulafoy 
should  have  succeeded  at  all  in  carrying  out  the  object  for  which  he 
came.  In  reading  his  narrative,  one  is  struck  more  particularly  by 
the  close  analogy  existing  between  the  vexations  which  he  had  to 
endure  and  those  which  rendered  Sir  Austen  Layard's  life  miserable 
during  his  sojourn  in  Mesopotamia  some  forty  years  ago  —  another 
instance,  and  a  very  unsavory  one,  of  the  well-known  Oriental  con- 
servatism. Mohammedans  are  taught  to  look  upon  every  scientific 
effort  not  bearing  directly  upon  their  religion  with  a  contempt  not 
unmingU'd  with  dread.  To  resuscitate,  accordingly,  the  "  buildings 
of  the  infidels  "  is  both  impious  and  dangerous.  Hence  every  attempt 
at  any  kind  of  excavations  in  the  East  is  frowned  upon,  and  it  is 
only  in  the  face  of  the  indomitable  spirit  of  a  Layard  or  a  Dieulafoy 
—  aided  by  a  sufficient  quantity  of  baksheesh — opposition  in  the 
end  is  forced  to  give  way. 

The  half  of  February  had  gone  by  ere  Dieulafoy  sighted  the 
mounds  of  Susa.  Every  day  was  of  the  utmost  value  to  him,  for  in 
a  few  weeks  the  approach  of  the  hot  and  rainy  season  would  compel 
him  to  interrupt  his  labors.  Fancy,  then,  his  exasperation  when,  in 
response  to  an  appeal  for  workmen,  despite  the  prospect  of  good  pay, 
three  men  and  a  child  presented  themselves.  To  add  to  his  im- 
patience, the  Governor  of  the  province,  with  a  coolness  that  chal- 
lenges admiration,  wrote  to  Dieulafoy,  in  reply  to  his  demand  for 
assistance,  that  it  would  be  better  for  him  to  desist  from  stirring  up 
the  prejudices  of  the  population,  and,  assuming  a  tone  of  concern  for 
Dieulafoy's  safety,  lie  suggested  that  Dieulafoy  leave  his  baggage  at 
Dizfoul  and  pay  the  Governor  a  visit  at  Schuster,  when  they  might 
at  their  leisure  talk  over  matters.  Dieulafoy  was  not  long  in  sus- 
pecting the  Governor  to  be  in  league  with  the  opposition.  The 
existence  of  graves  in  the  mound  was  a  further  weapon  in  the  hands 
of  his  opponents,  and  the  clergy  were  particularly  loud  in  their  de- 
nunciation of  this  profanation  of  the  soil.  The  same  cry  was  raised 
when  Layard  started  to  dig  at  Nimroud,  and  it  was  afterward  ascer- 
tained that  the  Governor  of  Mosul  had  given  secret  instructions  to 
7'emove  tombstones  from  an  existing  cemetery  and  plant  them  in 
various  parts  of  the  mound  at  Nimroud.  The  graves  at  Susa  seemed 
to  be  of  a  more  genuine  character,  but  Dieulafoy  showed  that  they 
were  the  graves  of  the  "  infidel  "  Parfhians  not  of  believers.  The 
appeal  to  consistency  was  probably  not  of  much  avail.  What 
enabled  him  to  conquer  in  the  end  was  his  dogged  obstinacy.  He 
simply  would  not  "go."  He  remained  on  the  spot,  despite  the  allur- 
ing invitation  of  the  Governor,  and  devoted  himself  to  quieting  the 
fears  of  the  populace,  who  were  told,  among  other  things,  that  the 
Frenchman  had  come  "  to  spy  out  the  nakedness  of  the  land."  By 
degrees  workmen  came,  and  the  work  of  digging  could  be  begun, 
Mme.  Dieulafoy  herself  setting  the  example  by  striking  the  first 
blow  with  the  pick.  It  wa3  not  long  before  Dieulafoy  was  able  to 
determine  with  tolerable  certainty  tHe  nature  and  extent  of  the 
remains  which  the  mounds  contained.  Trenches  were  opened  at 
various  points,  a  wall  encircling  a  building  of  vast  proportions  was 
traced,  and  it  was  ascertained  that  the  edifice  in  question  must  have 
consisted  of  several  and  sharply-marked  divisions.  Bricks  bearing 
cuneiform  characters  were  found,  which  made  it  clear  that  the  edifice 
was  none  other  than  the  palace  of  Artaxerxes  Mnemon,  or  Arta- 
xerxes  II,  the  seventh  monarch  in  the  Achemenidan  dynasty,  who 
ruled  over  the  Persian  Empire  from  406  to  359  B.  c.  Short  inscrip- 
tions found  by  Loftus  in  the  course  of  his  examination  of  the  mounds 
had  also  borne  witness  to  the  fact  of  a  palace  having  been  constructed 
at  Susa  by  this  same  Artaxerxes.  Dieulafoy's  thorough  knowledge 
of  Persian  architecture,  as  exhibited  by  the  ruins  at  Persepolis  and 
elsewhere,  aided  him  in  fixing  upon  the  general  distribution  of  the 


JANUARY  12,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


23 


apartments  of  which  such  a  palace  was  composed,  and  he  now  de- 
voted himself  more  especially  to  that  portion  of  it  when;  he  con- 
jectured the  grand  reception  or  "  throne  "  room  to  have  been  situated, 
and  which  promised  a  particularly  rich  return.  His  expectations 
were  not  disappointed.  The  trenches  being  widened,  they  came  into 
the  "throne"  room  itself,  where  hundreds  of  glazed  tiles  in  various 
states  of  preservation  still  bore  witness  to  its  former  glory.  Each 
tile,  as  it  was  taken  out,  was  carefully  numbered,  and  upon  piecing 
them  together  it  was  found  that  they  formed  part  of  a  large  frieze 
representing  a  series  of  lions,  whose  fierce  look,  as  they  stand  to-day 
in  the  Louvre,  still  is  well  calculated  to  inspire  terror.  These  glazed 
tiles  constituted  the  decoration  of  the  palace  walls,  corresponding  to 
the  alabaster  slabs,  which  was  the  ordinary  material  employed  by  the 
Assyrian  kings  in  their  palaces. 

It  may  be  imagined  into  what  ecstasies  of  joy  this  discovery  threw 
the  Dieulafoy  partyi  But  still  greater  surprises  were  in  store  for 
them.  From  other  sources,  it  was  known  that  Artaxerxes  had 
erected  his  dwelling  on  the  ruins  of  an  older  building,  which  had 
been  the  work  of  his  predecessor  Xerxes,  which  had  been  destroyed 
by  fire.  Upon  digging  below  the  foundations  of  the  "  Apadana"  of 
Artaxerxes,  as  this  "throne-room"  of  the  palace  was  called,  M. 
Dieulafoy  actually  came  upon  abundant  traces  of  this  older  building. 
Indeed,  the  glazed  tiles  found  here  form  perhaps  the  most  brilliant 
pieces  in  the  "  Susa "  collection.  Upon  entering  the  gallery  in  the 
Louvre  the  first  thing  that  will  strike  the  eye  of  the  visitor  are  the 
enormous  friezes  to  the  right  and  left  of  the  entrance,  showing  a  pro- 
cession of  archers.  These  friezes  once  graced  the  walls  of  Xerxes's 
palace,  and  what  is  most  remarkable  about  them  is  that  now,  after  a 
lapse  of  2,000  years,  they  have  been  restored  to  view,  the  coloring  on 
the  files  is  almost  as  fresh  and  as  gaudy  as  thousfh  the  glazure  had 
been  put  on  within  a  few  years.  Specimens  of  glazed  bricks  have 
been  found  beneath  the  mounds  both  of  Upper  and  Lower  Meso- 
potamia which  date  probably  from  a  period  anterior  to  the  conquest 
of  the  country  by  Persia,  and  there  are  reasons  for  believing  from 
traces  of  coloring  found  on  the  slabs  of  the  Assyrian  palaces  that  the 
scenes  sculptured  on  them  were  painted  in  many  colors,  but  the  art 
of  glazing  could  never  have  been  carried  to  that  perfection  in  Baby- 
lonia and  Assyria  as  was  the  case  in  Persia  tinder  the  Achemenidan 
dynasty.  Here  results  were  obtained  which  were  simply  marvellous, 
and  which  have  never  been  surpassed  since.  Dieulafoy  began  his 
archa;ological  studies  with  the  avowed  purpose  of  finding  the  source 
for  the.  brilliant  decoration  which  plays  so  prominent  a  role  in 
Arabian  architecture,  and  here  in  the  palaces  of  Artaxerxes  and 
Darius  he  found  not  only  this  but  also  the  prototype  for  much  of  the 
art  that  through  the  Arabs  has  come  down  to  us.  Herodotus  speaks 
in  his  history  of  the  guards  of  archers  known  as  "  the  immortals," 
who  were  in  constant  attendance  upon  the  Persian  king,  and  Dieu- 
lafoy is  of  the  opinion  that  the  men  on  the  friezes  are  intended  as  a 
representation  of  this  body-guard.  Another  interesting  question 
raised  by  the  discovery  is  an  anthropological  one.  Upon  placing 
the  scattered  tiles  in  position  it  was  noticed  that  there  was  a  differ- 
ence in  the  coloring  of  the  hands  and  faces.  While  some  presented 
the  complexion  common  in  the  Orient,  others  were  of  a  decidedly 
black  hue,  pointing  apparently  to  an  African  origin.  Have  we  here 
traces  of  a  black  race  that  once  flourished  in  this  region,  and  to  the 
existence  of  which  a  number  of  other  circumstances  would  seem  to 
point,  or  did  the  Persian  kings  import  these  men  from  the  other  side 
of  the  Red  Sea?  Professor  lloussay,  one  of  the  members  of  the 
Dieulafoy  expedition,  is  at  present  engaged  in  studying  this  im- 
portant problem. 

It  will  now  be  clear  why  the  work  of  arranging  the  collection 
which  Dieulafoy  brought  along  involved  such  an  expense  of  time  and 
labor.  The  thousands  of  tiles  had  each  to  be  carefully  examined  and 
the  position  of  each  to  be  accurately  determined.  Naturally,  upon 
placing  them  together,  both  in  the  cases  of  the  archers  of  Darius  and 
of  the  lions  from  the  apadana  of  Artaxerxes,  there  were  gaps  every- 
where. In  order  to  furnish  the  visitor  with  a  vivid  picture  of  the 
actual  appearance  of  the  friezes  in  the  palaces  of  the  Achemenidans, 
M.  Dieulafoy  went  to  the  great  trouble  of  restoring  the  missing 
portions  in  following  most  faithfully,  as  a  matter  of  course,  the 
original  designs.  He  lias  been  severely  criticised  in  some  quarters 
for  this  attempt,  but,  as  1  believe,  unjustly.  The  student  of  art  will 
not  be  led  astray  by  these  restorations,  which,  moreover,  are  con- 
scientiously indicated  on  a  drawing  placed  at  the  side  of  the  friezes, 
and  the  layman  will  certainly  carry  with  him  a  far  clearer  and  withal 
faithful  impression  of  old  Persian  art  than  could  possibly  have  been 
the  case  with  merely  a  confused  and  imperfect  lot  of  glazed  tiles 
before  him.  What  deserves  more  justly  to  be  criticised  is  the 
arrangement  of  the  tiles  in  the  friezes  of  the  archers  on  which 
cuneiform  characters  are  inscribed  —  in  the  same  brilliant  colors  — 
and  which  are  evidently  misplaced.  As  they  now  stand  they  give 
no  sense  whatever,  and  all  that  can  be  recognized  is  the  name  of 
Darius.  Besides,  it  is  more  than  likely  that  the  inscription  was 
beneath  the  pictures  of  the  archers,  as  is  generally  the  case  on 
Assyrian  slabs,  and  not  between  the  pictures,  as  Dieulafoy  seems  to 
believe.  The  vestments  of  the  archers  call  for  special  notice.  The 
short  tunics  fall  in  graceful  folds  over  the  shoulders,  and  the  varia- 
tion in  the  patterns  of  the  garments  adds  materially  to  the  effect 
produced. 

Let  us  return  to  the  field  of  excavations  for  a  moment.  With  the 
approach  of  the  hot  season  the  Dieulafoy  party  deserted  their  camp, 
but  early  the  following  winter  they  were  on  the  ground  again. 


Things  went  more  smoothly  now,  though  there  was  still  an  opposi- 
tion to  contend  with,  and  already  in  December  work  was  recom- 
menced at  the  mounds.  By  the  end  of  the  season  the  funds  at  the 
disposal  of  Dieulafoy  were  exhausted,  and  he  was  obliged  to  close 
his  labors.  His  success  during  the  second  season  was  not  less 
significant  than  during  the  first.  Among  the  discoveries  made  there 
is  only  room  here  to  mention  the  wall  supporting  an  enamelled  brick 
staircase.  Mme.  Dieulafoy  claims  this  piece  as  her  particular  share 
of  the  discoveries,  for  she  was  the  first  to  literally  stumble  over  it, 
while  engaged  in  digging'  a  large  piece  of  the  wall  that  now  occupies 
a  post  of  honor  in  the  Susa  Gallery,  and  a  most  gorgeous  piece  of 
workmanship  it  is.  The  design,  consisting  of  a  series  of  rosettes,  is 
delicately  executed,  and,  as  in  the  case  of  the  friezes,  blue,  green  and 
yellow  are  the  predominating  colors.  With  the  whole  palace  fitted 
up  in  the  fashion  of  which  the  friezes  and  the  staircase  may  be  taken 
as  samples,  the  effect  must  indeed  have  been  startling  in  its  grandeur. 
Dieulafoy  also  brought  along  portions  of  these  enormous  columns  of 
solid  stone  which  ran  in  the  form  of  a  colonnade  around  a  wing  of 
Artaxerxes's  palace.  The  longest  of  these  is  over  17  feet  high,  but 
the  calculation  is  that  in  their  perfect  state  they  measured  over 
30  feet  with  a  circumference  of  about  three  feet.  The  style  of  the 
column  is  distinctly  Ionic,  but  it  is  spoiled  by  a  grotesque  figure  of 
a  double  bull  worked  in  bronze  which  surmounts  it.  The  combina- 
tion, inartistic  though  it  be,  is  exceedingly  instructive  as  illustrating 
the  attempt  made  by  the  Achemenidans  to  combine  two  wholly 
different  species  of  art  and  architecture.  The  idea  of  the  columns 
is  a  direct  importation  from  Greece,  if  they  are  not  indeed  the  work 
of  Greek  workmen  brought  over  into  Persia  for  the  purpose,  a  sup- 
position which  appears  to  be  borne  out  by  passages  in  the  works  of 
some  ancient  authors,  while  the  bulls  are  borrowed  from  the  Babv- 
lonians  and  Assyrians,  in  whose  architecture  they  occupy,  as  is  well 
known,  so  essential  a  place.  It  is  quite  impossible  to  conceive  an 
Assyrian  palace  without  the  bulls  in  various  shapes  and  forms 
guarding  tiie  approaches  to  the  palace  chambers.  The  combination 
of  Greek  with  Babylo-Assyrian  art  has  produced  the  monstrous 
creation  above  referred  to.  It  would  appear  from  this  that  the 
originality  of  the  Persians  in  their  art  was  confined  to  their  methods 
of  glazing  and  enamelling,  and  it  is  probable  also  that  not  only  in  the 
construction  of  their  edifices  but  also  in  their  inner  disposition  of  the 
various  quarters  they  followed  foreign  models,  in  the  first  instance 
Assyrian  models. 

Thanks  to  the  attainments  of  M.  Dieulafoy  as  architect  and  civil 
engineer,  he  has  been  able  to  ascertain  the  relative  position  of  the 
various  quarters  of  which  the  palace  of  Artaxerxes  was  composed, 
with  tolerable  accuracy,  despite  the  fact  that  he  has  only  excavated 
what  is  in  reality  a  small  portion  of  the  edifice.  From  the  plan 
which  lie  has  drawn  up  it  appears  tiiat  the  palace  consisted  of  three 
distinct  wings,  the  "  apadana,"  or  public  reception-rooms,  the  harem 
and  the  apartments  of  the  King.  Included  under  the  latter  were  the 
rooms  set  aside  for  the  royal  attendants  as  well  as  for  the  immediate 
family  of  the  King.  A  wall  ran  around  the  whole  edifice,  and  as  an 
additional  protection  for  the  sacred  person  of  his  Majesty,  the  two 
entrances  leading  to  his  apartments,  the  position  of  which  was 
admirably  chosen  with  a  view  of  securing  exclusion  combined  with 
safety,  were,  guarded  by  sentinels  kept  posted  there.  What  adds  to 
the.  interest  of  M.  Dieulafoy's  discovery  is  the  remarkable  agreement 
to  which  he  himself  has  called  attention  between  the  references  to 
the  palace  of  Ahasuerus  in  the  Book  of  Esther  and  the  very  building 
which  he  has  unearthed.  The  three  wings  just  referred  to  are  dis- 
tinctly mentioned  by  the  biblical  author  under  their  proper  designa- 
tions as  "bithan,"  which  corresponds  to  the  Persian  apadana,  the 
"  house  for  the  women,"  which  is  the  harem,  and  "  the  house  of  the 
King,"  which  represents  the  third  quarter.  Moreover,  the  position 
of  these  three  quarters  tallies  with  the  picture  of  the  palace  which  we 
would  necessarily  form  had  we  the  Book  of  Esther  alone  to  guide  us. 
Adjoining  the  bithan  or  apadana  was  the  harem,  and  immediately 
to  the  south  of  the  latter  were  the  royal  apartments,  the  three 
forming  together  an  inverted  letter  L.  The  Book  of  Esther,  it  will 
be  remembered,  opens  with  a  magnificent  description  of  the  festival 
which  King  Ahasuerus  gave  in  the  bithan,  and  is  worthy  of  note 
that  in  the  delineation  of  the  splendors  of  the  palace  the  colors  of 
the  draperies  singled  out  for  special  mention  are  the  very  ones  which 
appear  most  prominently  in  the  decoration  of  the  friezes  and  the 
staircase.  Again  the  scene  where  Queen  Esther  approaches  his 
Majesty  becomes  all  the  more  vivid  now  that  we  know  that  the 
King's  throne  was  stationed  at  the  hack  of  a  hall  in  the  centre  of  his 
apartments  facing  a  corridor  which  led  into  the  harem.  He  was  so 
placed,  accordingly,  that  he  could  see  any  one  approaching  from 
quite  a  distance,  and  could,  by  raising  his  sceptre,  indicate  that  he 
granted  the  visitor  permission  to  step  before  him.  There  was  a 
second  entrance  to  the  King's  rooms  by  a  fortified  gate  to  the  left, 
and  it  is  by  this  gate  that  the  King's  minister,  Hainan,  is  represented 
in  the  book  as  coming  to  the  King.  The  terms  used  to  denote  these 
small  details  are  all  so  exact  that  the  conclusion  is  well-nigh  forced 
upon  us  that  the  biblical  writer  who,  it  will  be  recalled,  places  his 
narrative  in  the  city  of  Susa,  must  have  had  before  him  the  very 
building  which  Dieulafoy  has  found,  and  it  is  in  accord  with  the 
general  conditions  reflected  in  the  book  to  suppose  that  it  was 
written  at  Susa  during  the  reign  of  Artaxerxes. 

I  have  only  spoken  above  of  the  large  objects  in  the  collection, 
but  there  are  hundreds  of  smaller  articles  that  might  be  mentioned. 
M.  Dieulafoy  shipped  in  all  70  boxes  from  the  scene  of  his  labors  to 


24 


TJie    American   Architect   and  Building   News.      [VOL.  XXIV. —  No.  681. 


Paris  ;  among  these  many  handsome  jars  and  vases,  several 
hundreds  of  seals  and  cylinders,  numerous  ornaments  of  a  miscel- 
laneous character,  and  —  what  is  particularly  valuable  —  about  20 
large  unglazed  terra-cotta  tiles  in  a  good  state  of  preservation. 
These  tiles  are  covered  with  inscriptions  in  the  cuneiform  character, 
and  when  they  come  to  be  deciphered,  as  no  doubt  they  soon  will  be, 
our  knowledge,  of  the  occurrences  in  the  reign  of  Artaxerxes  will  be 
still  further  increased.  There  are  good  grounds,  too,  for  believing 
that  with  the  continuation  of  the  excavation  still  further  inscrip- 
tions will  be  brought  to  light.  Indeed,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that 
Dieulafoy  has,  after  all,  only  made  a  beginning  with  the  great  mound 
at  Susa.  The  results  obtained  are  the  more  marvellous  because  of 
this  fact,  but  the  hope  is  expressed  on  all  sides  that  the,  French  Gov- 
ernment will  enable  its  distinguished  citizen  to  continue  the  im- 
portant mission  which  he  has  so  successfully  begun,  and  for  which 
he  has  shown  himself  to  be  so  eminently  fitted.  A  countryman  of 
Dieulafoy,  Ernest  de  Sarzec,  who  spent  several  years  digging  at  Trl- 
loh,  in  Southern  Mesopotamia,  has  shown  that  it  is  far  more  advis- 
able to  confine  one's  efforts  to  exhausting,  so  far  as  possible,  one 
mound,  rather  than  what  so  many  of  the  predecessors  of  De  Sarzec 
have  done,  and  superficially  work  o\er  a  large  territory.  —  Morris 
Jaslrow,  Jr.,  in  the  New  York  Times. 


THE   AMERICAN   ARCHITECT   SCHOLARSHIP. 

BOSTON,  MASS.,  Juiuary  7, 1889. 
To  THE  EDITOUS  OF  THE  AMERICAN'  ARCHITECT  :  — 

Dear  Sirs, —  The  architect  in  whose  office  I  worked  for  three 
years,  was  a  member  of  the  American  Institute  from  1858  to  about 
1867.  Would  the  fact  that  he  resigned  in  the  latter  year  prevent 
my  competing  for  the  Travelling-scholarship  next  June? 

Yours,  DRAUGHTSMAN. 

[No.    The  reason  for  formulating  the  condition  which  has  given  rise  to 
'this  question  WHS  merely  to  make  sure  that  applicants  had  received  a  cer- 
tain minimum  amount  of  good  training  and  so  to  lighten  (lie  labor  of  the 
examiners  by  ruling  out  those  who  probably  had  had  less.  —  Eus. 
ARCHITECT. I 


Chicago  Tribune  says  :  "  The  flowing  well  near  Tripoli,  Bremer  County, 
is  attracting  considerable  attention,  as  it  appears  to  be  another  Belle 
Plaine  gusher  on  a  slightly  smaller  scale.  It  is  located  on  the  farm  of 
J.  J.  Cooke,  about  three  miles  east  of  Tripoli,  and  only  a  short  distance 
frcfm  the  Wapsie  River.  The  well  was  drilled  down  through  the  rock 
and  sand  about  135  feet.  Watei  was  struck  several  times,  and  when  a 
depth  of  129  feet  was  reached  the  water  filled  the  well  to  within  eight 
feet  of  the  surface.  After  drilling  two  hours  longer  the  water  began  to 
overflow.  Work  was  stopped  and  a  six-inch  easing  put  in.  At  three 
o'clock  the  next  morning,  December  30,  Mr.  Cooke  was  awakened  by  a 
roaring  noise,  and,  on  going  to  the  well,  he  found  the  water  spouting 
about  three  feet  above  the  top  of  the  tubing  and  throwing  out  blue 
sand  and  clay.  After  throwing  out  about  three  wagon  loads  of  this 
debris  the  water  became  clearer,  but  its  force  increased  until  it  rose 
fully  six  feet  above  the  top  of  the  casing,  besides  opening  the  seams  in 
the  casing  at  several  places.  Four  joints  of  stovepipe  were  then  put 
on  the  casing,  and  the  water  flowed  in  a  torrent  from  the  top  of  this  im- 
provised tube  fully  twelve  feec  from  the  ground.  "  Since  then  the  well 
seems  to  have  lost  some  of  its  force,  but  it  still  sends  out  a  stream, 
which,  if  confined,  would,  it  is  estimated,  throw  a  three-inch  stream 
fifty  feet  high.  It  is  the  intention  to  replace  the  casing  in  the  well  with 
a  six-inch  gas-pipe,  and  in  that  way  it  is  expected  that  the  flow  of  water 
can  be  controlled. 


THE  DrciiEssE  DE  GAI.LIEKA.  —  As  the  late  Duchesse  de  Galliera 
expended  more  money  than  any  lady  of  our  time  upon  building  and 
construction,  her  death  should  not  he  allowed  to  pass  unnoticed  in  this  j 
journal.  The  name  of  the  Duchesse  does  not,  moreover,  appear  for  the  | 
first  time  in  The  Architect,  as  the  fine  series  of  illustrations  of  the  j 
"  Cities  of  Italy  "  which  we  published  in  1873  were  from  paintings  by 
1'aul  Baudry  in  the  mansion  of  the  Duchesse  in  the  Rue  de  Varennes. 
The  Duchesse  was  horn  in  Genoa,  and  that  city  owes  much  to  her 
liberality.  A  sum  of  25,000.000  francs  was  expended  on  the  harbor, 
the  mansion  belonging  to  the  Due,  with  its  contents,  a  gift  valued  at 
7,000,000  francs,  was  made  over  to  Genoa,  and  in  addition  two  hospitals 
were  constructed  at  a  cost  of  7,000,000  francs.  In  Paris  the  erection  of 
the  Musce  Galliera  cost  5,000,000  francs,  and  a  still  larger  sum  would 
have  been  expended  but  for  an  error  in  drafting  a  deed  by  which  the 
Jluse'e  became  the  property  of  the  city,  when  the  donor's  intention  was 
to  enrich  the  State.  Two  blocks  of  workmen's  houses  cost  2,000,000 
francs;  11,000,000  francs  were  spent  on  the  erection  and  endowment 
of  the  Ilopital  de  Clamart,  and  no  less  than  24,000,000  francs  upon  the 
erection  and  endowment  of  an  orphanage  at  i'ieury,  and  an  asvlum  at 
Meudon.  The  Due  was  known  as  a  great  railway  contractor  anil  specu- 
lator, and  is  said  to  have  left  a  fortune  to  his  widow  that  wa.s  valued  at 
nine  millions  sterling.  The  greater  part  of  that  vast  sum  has  been  ex- 
pended for  benevolent  purposes,  and  builders  have  reason  to  regret  the 
loss  of  so  munificent  an  enthusiast. —  The  Architect. 


HEATING  BUILDINGS  BY  EXHAUST  STEAM.  —  At  a  recent  meeting  of 
the  New  England  Kail  way  Club,  John  A.  Coleman  said:  I  have  had  a 
long  experience  in  heating  buildings  by  steam.  When  the  matter  of 
using  exhaust  steam  was  agitated,  and  most  people  were  opposed  to  it, 
we  took  a  number  of  mills,  using  then  a  sixteen-foot  tubular  boiler,  and 
averaged  a  ton  of  coal  a  day.  We  heated  the  mill  by  using  large  pipes, 
having  the  circulation  as  straight  as  possible,  open  and  free,  with  about 
two  pounds  back  pressure  on  the  engine,  using  no  direct  steam  except 
in  the  morning  in  starting  up  and  on  Sundays.  I  had  similar  experience 
in  heating  the  building  of  the  Providence  Tool  Company  during  the 
war.  The  building  was  seventy  feet  wide  by  more  than  two  hundred 
long,  the  rooms  with  fifteen-foot  studs,  and  large  windows  in  an  ex- 
posed situation,  then  heated  by  small  pipes  all  around  the  walls,  and 
using  about  a  ton  of  coal  a  day  for  the  boiler.  In  reconstructing  we 
took  out  the  small  pipe,  cut  it  up  into  coils,  which  we  placed  in  the  cen- 
tre of  the  building,  using  a  six-inch  pipe  as  the  main  artery  through 
the  building,  and  a  two-inch  socket-pipe  for  the  condensed  water, 
avoiding  bends  everywhere  as  much  as  possible.  Result  was  that  the 
building  was  overheated  by  using  only  exhaust  steam,  and  about  two 
pounds  back  pressure  and  no  extra  coal  was  used,  for  the  fires.  My 
idea  in  heating  is  to  use  large  pipes  and  carry  a  large  body  of  steam  to 
the  point  where  you  want  to  use  it,  and  not  strangle  it  on  the  way.  — 
Iron  Age. 

ANOTHER  BIG  WELL  IN  IOWA.  —A  Waterloo  (la.)  despatch  to  the 


BUILDING  authorities  in  six  or  eight  of  the  larger  cities  of  the  country  who 
have  gone  to  the  trouble  of  examining  into  building  probabilities  for  the  en- 
suing  year,  are  strongly  inclined   to  believe  that  taking  the  country  all 
through  there  will  be  an  increase  this  year  of  five  to  ten  per  cent  at  legist  in 
building  operations  which  will  be  mainly  of  small  houses  in  the  smaller 
cities  and  towns.    This  statement  is  based  upon  the  opinion  or  belief  that 
most  of  the  manufacturing  expansion  will  be  made  in  these  cities  where  ad- 
vantages are  very  inviting,  more  so  than  in  larger  cities  where  real  estate 
is  high  and  taxes  oppressive.     Besides,  circumstances  and  factors  are  still 
at  work  and  more  strongly  now  than  at   any  time  point  to  a  multitude  of 
smaller  industries  through  localities  now  barren.    This  tendency  is  appar- 
ent in  any  direction  that  observation  is  made.    The  advantages  of  location 
in  the  larger  Eastern  cities  are  not  a»  great  as  they  were  a  few  years  ago 
when  special  rates  gave  shippers  there  advantages  over  other  nearer  con- 
sumers.   A  second  fact  is  that  fuel  is  being  supplied  in  a  large  section  of 
country  at  a  low  price  where  heretofore  it  was  not  to  be  had  at  nny  except- 
ing extremely  high  prices,  and  third,  artificial  fuel  is  now  being  made  at  very 
low  prices.     Manufacturers  recognize  that  this  fuel  is  now  being  made  and 
utilized  very  generally  in  localities  which  heretofore  have  been  almost  with- 
out  manufacturing  facilities.     Another  factor  which  is  worth  noting  as  con- 
tributing to  this  scattering  tendency  among  our  industries  is  the  willingness  of 
capital  to  benefit  itself  with  bringing  industries  almost  anywhere.    The  fact 
has  been  mentioned  heretofore  that  there  is  less  opportunity  and  inducement 
for  capital  to  go  into  railroad  enterprises  and  it  must  therefore  seek  indus- 
trial channels.    This  tendency  is  a  very  marked  one     The  large  volume  of 
capital  that  has  found  its  way  into  the  Southern  States  during  the  past  year 
shows  the  strength  of  the  movement     On  account  of  the  lack  of  facilities 
for  obtaining  reliable  statistical  information  concerning  new  industries, 
only  guesses  can  be  made  or  statements  lelied  upon  by  the  leaders  in  these 
new  industrial  enterprises  in  these  new  sections  from  reliable  authorities  in 
far  off  cities  such  as  Nashville,  New  Orleans,  Kansas  City,  Fort  Worth  and 
smaller  towns  attracting  a  much  more  general  movement  of  capital  into  the 
country  of  which  these  cities  are  at  present  the  business  centres.     All  of 
this  activity  means  that  house-building  will  be  prosecuted  more  vigorously. 
There  has  been  a  scarcity  of  houses  all  over  the  new  West  and  the  new 
Smith  and  the  necessity  has  of  late  induced  a  good  many  to  undertake  to 
supply  it.    Another  influence  deserving  of  study  is  the  continued  outflow 
of  Eastern  reserves  to  Western  farmers.    Some  writers  indulge  in  appie- 
hcnsions  over  this  tendency  and  regard  it  as  dangerous.     The  West  is  very 
deeply  indebted  to  the  East  but  its  productive  capacity  is  being  correspond- 
ingly increased  and  the  borrowers  at  the  end  of  the  season  have  more 
wealth  than  they  would  have  had  had  they  not  obtained  the  assistance  of, 
capital.    The  rates  of  interest  are  slowly  moving  downward  and  with  this 
tendency  the  supplies  of  money  seem  to  increase.    Real  estate  in  these  nevr 
sections  is  rather  declining  excepting  in  the  larger  cities  where  business  is 
more  immense  and  elements  of  uncertainty  have  been  more  generally  re- 
mnved.    Putting  all  these  things  together  and  a  good  many  more,  building 
authorities  have  expressed  opinions  thus  early  in  the  season  and  are  quite 
certain  that  work  will  be  abundant  and  that  building  material  of  all  kinds 
will  be  in  active  demand.      The  buck-makers  seem  to  be  acting  in  view  of 
thi«  probability.    The  lumber  manufacturers  are  doing  the  same.     White 
and  yellow  pine  will  come  into  very  sharp  competition   throughout  the 
West.    The  Arkansas  supply  will  be  thrown  into  the  market  and  will  prob- 
ably help  to  depress  the  Michigan  and  Wisconsin  products.    Southern  rail- 
road managers  are  giving  attention  to  the  lumber  traffic  as  well  as  to  the 
iron  traffic  with  a  view  to  increasing  their  receipts  from  these  sources.    On 
Imn,  freight  rates  were  advanced  last  week  very  high,  to  fifty  cents  to 
Western  points  and  to  Southern  points  twenty  cents  per  ton.    These  con- 
I  flicting  rates  show  what  railroaders  propose  to  do.     On  the  old  lines  they 
(  propose  to  charge  all  the  traffic  will  bear  and  on  the  new  roads  they  pro- 
pose to  increase  the  volume  of  business  us  much  as  possible.     Late  advices 
from  the  cotton-fields  in  the  Smith  show  that  the  increase  of  capacity  will 
not  be  so  ereat  this  year,  not  that  there  are  any  actual  disagreements.    The 
lumber  concerns  are  securing  a  greater  control  overproduction  and  increase 
their  capacity  at  smaller  cost  than  new  mills  starting  up.     The  iron-makers 
throughout  the  country  report  a  backward  demand  just  at  present.    The 
steel-mil  makers  have  nothing  whatever  to  say.     The  amount  of  railroad 
building  is  uncertain      Regarding  the  probability  of  a  combination  among 
all  of  the  big  roads  of  the  country  it  can  be  stated  that  it  is  almost  chimeri- 
cal.   The  leaders  of  the  great  system  will  want  to  retain  their  independence 
and  control  over  their  respective  systems.     They  recognize  that  there  are  a 
great  many  dangers  to  be  encountered  in  the  development  of  the  railway 
systems  of  the  country,  that  a.  great  many  risks  are  to  be  run  and  that  some 
of  the  roads  may  go  down  under  the  contest.    Besides,  they  are  sure  that 
the  Go\  eminent  and  the  railway  commission  will  deal  more  leniently  with 
them  although  holding  them  to  the  law  as  it  is,  with  perhaps  a  few  unim- 
portant modifications  effected  for  the  lubricating  of  rough  places. 

S.    J.    PABKHILL  &  Co.,  Printers,  Boston. 


JANUARY  12,  1889.] 


The  American  Architect  and  Building  News. 


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The   American   Architect   and  Building   News.         [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  681. 


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THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT  AND  BUILDING  NEWS. 


VOL.  xxv. 


Copyright,  18S9,  by  TICKNOB  &  COMPANY,  Boston,  Mass. 


No.   682, 


JANUARY  19, 1889. 

Entered  at  the  Post-Office  at  Boston  as  second-class  matter. 


SUMMARY     

Precedents  Established  by  the  Massachusetts  State-House 
Competition.  —  What  a  Proper  Protest  may  Accomplish.  — 
The  Grant  Monument  Competition. — The  Terms  of  Compe- 
tition for  a  Belgian  Theatre.  —  French  Building  Laws.  —  A 
New  Method  of  Reproducing  Drawings.  — A  New  Device  for 
Blue-printing.  —  A  Bath-house  at  Frankfort-on-tlie-M:iin. — 
An  Appliance  for  Increasing  the  Speed  of  Steamships.  .  .  2'"> 

ACGITSTE  KOUIN,  SCULPTOR.  —  1 27 

THE  LEAGUE  EXMIKITION. —  II.  .    . 29 

ILLUSTRATIONS : — 

Entrance  to  the  House  of  C.  L.  Tiffany,  Esq.,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
—  Gothic  Spires  and  Towers,  Plates  37  and  38.  —  The  Aye 
of  Francis  I,  Plate  I.  —  "  The  Age  of  Brass  ";   "The  Broken 
Nose";   "  Pere  Aynrer."  —  Grand  Altar  in   the  Church   of 
Gaudalupe,  Mexico.  —  House  of  Frank  Campbell,  Esq.,  York, 
Pa  — Building  for  the  Bell  Telephone  Company  of  Missouri, 
St.  Louis,  Mo.  —  Upper  Canada  College,  Toronto,  Canada.    .     30 
A  GENERAL  PROTEST  AGAINST  IMPROPER  CONDITIONS  OK  COMPE- 
TITION  31 

ABCHJCOLOOICAL  CAMPINO  IN  ARIZONA.  —  III 32 

LETTER  FROM   WASHINGTON 34 

LETTER  FROM  CANADA 30 

SOCIETIES 30 

COMMUNICATION  :  — 

Hose-ports  in  Party- Walls 30 

TRADE  SURVEYS 30 


WHATEVER  may  be  the    result    in    the    matter    of    the 
Massachusetts  State-House   competition,  two  tilings    of 
service  to  the  profession   have  been  accomplished,  one 
which  concerns  public  ethics,  and  the  other  which  will  have  a 
certain  weight  as  a  semi-legal  precedent.     To  be  sure,  both  the 
utterances  to  which  we  refer  are  merelv  legislative  and  not 

.'  o 

judicial,  and  so  fall  short  of  what  is  desirable.  Still,  it  is  no 
small  matter  for  so  important  a  body  as  the  Massachusetts 
Senate  Committee  on  Finance  to  report  that  a  resolution 
looking  to  the  remodelling  of  the  terms  of  competition  for  the 
State-House  alteration  '•  ought  to  pass."  Nor  is  it  without  its 
value  that  Mr.  McDonough,  of  Boston,  should  declare,  without 
exciting  contradiction,  that  any  architect  laying  his  plans 
before  the  Governor  on  January  20,  in  accordance  with  the 
terms  of  the  original  advertisement  of  competition,  would 
"  have  legal  claim  against  the  State."  We  hopej  if  any  de- 
signs are  submitted  and  the  authorities  find  themselves  dis- 
posed to  withhold  the  promised  awards,  that  the  architects  who 
may  have  furnished  designs  in  strict  compliance  with  the  terms 
of  competition  will  carry  their  case  at  once  before  the  courts. 
The  entire  profession  could  afford  to  contribute  funds  for 
prosecuting  such  a  cause  and  Massachusetts,  if  the  case  went 
against  her,  would  willingly  sacrifice  the  money  for  the  sake 
of  aiding  to  establish  so  desirable  a  precedent.  We  trust  the 
action  of  the  House  in  recommitting  the  resolution  for  further 
consideration  will  not  prevent  its  being  finally  enacted. 

HE  manly  protest  of  the  Massachusetts  architects  against  the 
unsatisfactory  terms  of  competition  offered  by  the  committee 
of  the  Legislature  for  designs  for  the  State-House  enlarge- 
ment, and  still  more,  perhaps,  the  cordial  support  which,  as  our 
columns  show,  has  been  accorded  to  their  position  by  the  best 
architects  in  all  parts  of  this  country  and  Canada,  has  had  the 
effect  of  causing  the  unanimous  adoption  in  committee  of  a  reso- 
lution, given  in  full  in  another  column,  which  increases  the  appro- 
priation for  premiums  from  thirty-seven  hundred  dollars  to  eight 
thousand,  extends  the  time  for  submitting  designs  to  the  end  of 
March,  appropriates  five  hundred  dollars  for  expert  advice  in 
making  the  decision,  and  directs  that  the  architect' whose  plan  is 
adopted  shall  be  employed  to  superintend  its  execution.  So  easily 
has  been  won  the  first  encounter  in  what  many  thought  would 
be  a  desperate  and  almost  hopeless  battle,  and  so  easily  will 
those  persons  generally  win  who  have  courage  and  self-respect 
enough  to  stand  out  for  what  they  know  to  be  fair  treatment. 
As  we  have  often  said,  the  public  bears  no  malice  toward  archi- 
tects. It  wants  their  services,  and  is  willing  to  pay  a  reason- 
able price  for  them,  and  to  treat  those  who  can  furnish  them 


with  all  due  consideration,  but  of  what  architects  would  call 
proper  consideration  it  has  not  the  smallest  idea.  Hitherto, 
the  decent  architects  have  been  generally  too  modest  or  too 
proud  to  say  what  sort  of  treatment  they  wanted,  and  have  left 
the  field  of  official  competitions  to  the  sort  of  persons  who  con- 
sider it  a  favor  to  be  kicked,  and  the  public  has  supposed  that 
all  architects  were  of  the  same  humble  disposition  with  those 
who  ran  after  its  state-house  and  school-house  "jobs."  Now 
that  this  illusion  has  been  dispelled,  and  the  architects  of  repu- 
tation hat'e  declared  their  position  in  regard  to  open  competi- 
tions, the  public,  far  from  resenting  the  movement,  will, 
we  venture  to  say,  be  pleased  at  having  found  out  what 
architects  really  want,  and  at  being  enabled  at  last  to  frame  in- 
vitations which  will  be  acceptable  to  them.  Of  course  it  will, 
as  it  always  does  in  matters  outside  of  its  every-day  experience, 
only  emerge  from  one  blunder  to  plunge  into  another,  and  the 
axioms  of  fair  competition  are  still  nearly  as  far  as  ever  from 
being  really  understood  by  anybody  but  architects ;  but  the 
latter  will,  at  least  in  Massachusetts,  have  learned  the  lesson 
that  they  can  generally  get  decent  treatment  by  asking  for  it, 
and  that,  if  they  do  not  claim  it  for  themselves,  nobody  else  is 
likely  to  volunteer  to  be  their  champion. 


WE  doubt  if  many  of  our  readers  have  taken  any  part  in 
the  Grant  Monument  competition,  the  terms  of  which 
were  very  poorly  calculated  to  attract  architects  and  de- 
signers of  the  better  class ;  but  it  is  of  some  interest  to  know 
that  about  a  hundred  drawings  and  models  have  been  sent  in, 
and  that  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Monument  Associa- 
tion has  appointed  as  its  jury  of  experts  to  look  over  the  de- 
signs, and  report  on  their  merits  to  the  Committee,  Messrs. 
Post,  Ware  (W.  R.),  I,e  Brun,  Ware  (J.  E.),  Renwick,  archi- 
tects and  Professor  Wolf.  After  that  is  done,  it  is  possible 
that  all  the  designs  may  be  exhibited  to  the  public,  for  an  ad- 
mission-fee, the  proceeds  to  be  added  to  the  monument  fund. 
Whether  such  an  exhibition  would  do  much  to  increase  the  fund 
may  be  doubted,  the  public  in  general  taking  about  as  much  in- 
terest in  architectural  drawings  and  designs  as  in  Egyptian 
hieroglyphics,  but  it  would  have  a  certain  attraction  for  the 
profession,  and  we  hope  the  idea  may  be  carried  out. 


BELGIUM  is  a  place  where  architectural  competitions  are 
very  much  in  vogue,  being  favored  by  the  profession,  as 
well  as  the  public,  and  the  secret  of  the  mutual  satisfaction 
of  both  parties  to  these  may  perhaps  be  inferred  by  comparing 
the  following  programme,  abridged  from  the  notice  published 
in  L' Emulation,  with  the  terms  usually  proposed  to  architects 
in  this  country.  The  invitation  is  issued  by  the  city  of  Ver- 
viers,  which  proposes  to  build  a  small  theatre  this  summer,  to 
cost  about  ninety  thousand  dollars,  and  calls  architects  to  a  two- 
fold competition.  For  the  first  competition,  each  participant  is 
to  furnish  sketch  plans  and  sections  at  one-two-huudredth  the 
full  size,  or  very  nearly  one-sixteenth  of  an  inch  to  the  foot, 
and  elevations  at  double  this  scale,  all  rendered  in  tint,  together 
with  a  memorandum  of  materials  to  be  used.  Each  set  of 
sketches  is  to  be  signed  with  a  cipher,  and  must  contain  two 
envelopes,  both  endorsed  with  the  cipher,  one  containing  the 
real  name  of  the  author,  and  the  other,  marked  "  Vote,"  the 
name  of  the  architect  whom  he  wishes  to  have  on  the  jury. 
These  plans  are  to  be  handed  in  by  March  1,  and  will  then  be 
judged,  the  decision  being  promised  before  March  15.  The 
number  of  competitors  to  be  admitted  to  the  second  trial  is  not 
given,  but  six  hundred  dollars  will  be  equally  divided  among 
those  chosen  by  the  jury,  whatever  the  number  may  be.  The 
date  for  closing  the  second  competition  is  to  be  fixed  hereafter. 
Each  competitor  is  to  send  plans,  sections,  and  elevations  at  a 
scale  of  one  to  one  hundred,  or  about  one^eighth  of  an  inch  to 
the  foot,  rendered  in  tint,  together  with  an  estimate  of  cost  of 
the  rough  work,  and  estimates,  prepared  by  specialists,  of  the 
cost  of  heating,  electric-lighting,  and  stage-fittings.  The  jury 
will  be  the  same  as>  in  the  preliminary  competition,  and  the 
author  of  the  design  placed  first,  if  it  is  found  that  his  design 
can  be  executed  for  the  specified  sum,  is  to  be  appointed  archi- 
tect of  the  building,  and  is  to  be  paid  five  per  cent  on  the  total 
cost,  in  return  for  which  he  is  to  furnish  all  the  drawings  and 
details  required,  the  city  providing  the  necessary  superintend- 
ence, through  its  Department  of  Public  Works,  at  its  own 


26 


The    American    Architect   and  Building   News.        [Vou  XXV.  — No.  682. 


expense.  The  architect  is  to  be  paid  one  per  cent  on  the  pro- 
posed cost  when  the  principal  contracts  are  signed,  and  four 
per  cent  on  each  payment  made  to  the  contractors  afterward. 
The  authors  of  the  plans  placed  second  and  third  in  the  second 
competition  are  to  receive  three  hundred  dollars  each,  in  addi- 
tion to  their  share  of  the  six  hundred  dollars  awarded  in  the 
preliminary  competition.  In  case  the  design  placed  first  can- 
not be  contracted  for  within  the  specified  sum,  the  municipality 
is  to  have  the  option  of  having  it  remodelled  by  the  author,  or 
of  taking  possession  of  it  and  employing  some  other  architect 
to  remodel  it.  The  jury  is  to  consist  of  seven  members,  one  of 
whom  is  to  be  the  City  Commissioner  of  Public  Works  ;  the 
second  another  specified  municipal  official  ;  the  third  a  manu- 
facturer of  the  city  ;  the  fourth  an  architect  nominafed  by  the 
city  ;  the  fifth  the  city-engineer  ;  the  sixth  an  architect  desig- 
nated by  the  Societe  Centraledes  Architectes ;  and  the  seventh 
the  architect  receiving  the  greatest  number  of  ballots  from  the 
competitors. 


TTR.  FRANCIS  HOOPER  recently  read  before  the  Royal 
lol.  Institute  of  British  Architects  an  excellent  paper  on 
French  building  laws,  the  provisions  of  which  become 
every  day  of  more  interest  to  the  inhabitants  of  our  growing 
cities.  The  general  municipal-regulations  in  regard  to  building 
in  Paris  are  known  to  most  of  our  readers,  but  a  good  deal  is 
to  be  learned  from  the  different  customs  prevailing  in  the  pro- 
vincial towns.  Outside  of  Paris,  for  example,  when  it  appears 
that  the  widening  of  a  street  or  the  removal  of  an  obstruction 
will  soon  become  desirable,  a  survey  is  made,  the  value  of  the 
land  to  be  taken  is  appraised  as  if  it  were  vacant,  without 
regard  to  the  buildings  that  may  be  standing  upon  it,  and  the 
town  or  city  buys  it  at  this  valuation,  stipulating  with  each 
owner  that  so  long  as  the  building  upon  his  part  of  the  land 
remains  fit  for  occupancy  he  shall  not  be  disturbed  in  the  pos- 
session of  it,  but  that  no  structural  repairs  shall  be  made  to 
the  walls  or  foundations  of  the  portion  standing  on  the  land 
acquired  by  the  public  authority,  which  would  tend  to  prolong 
their  existence.  By  this  sensible  arrangement  the  town  or 
city  acquires  the  land  necessary  for  its  future  improvements 
without  having  to  pay  for  any  buildings  on  it,  loss  of  rent, 
damage  to  tenants,  or  other  expenses,  and  at  a  time  when  the 
cost  of  the  land  itself  is  probably  much  less  than  it  would  be 
later,  when  the  improvements  are  actually  in  progress,  while 
the  expropriated  owner  is  comforted  by  enjoying  for  some 
years  not  only  the  undisturbed  possession  of  his  house,  but  com- 
pound interest  on  the  value  of  his  land,  and  the  changes  de- 
sired are  effected  as  surely  as  by  the  methods  in  use  here,  and 
at  a  fraction  of  the  cost,  although  the  process  is  a  slower  one. 


{TT  NEW  device  for  reproducing  drawings  is  described  in  the 
fl  British  Architect,  which  seems  likely  to  find  extensive 
'  application  in  architects'  offices.  In  principle  it  appears  to 
partake  both  of  the  autotype  and  the  hektograph,  with  more 
advantages,  and  fewer  disadvantages,  than  either.  The  draw- 
ing is  made  with  lithographic  ink  or  crayon,  as  in  the  autotype 
process,  but  instead  of  transferring  it  to  stone,  it  is  executed 
directly  upon  a  prepared  plate  of  zinc,  which  may  be  had  of 
suitable  texture  for  either  pen  or  crayon,  and  is  said  to  be  very 
pleasant  to  work  upon.  The  plate  is  next  covered  with  a  fix- 
ing solution,  which  is  allowed  to  dry,  and  is  then  washed  off 
with  water.  The  third  step  is  to  transfer  the  drawing  to  the 
printing  pad,  which  is  done  by  applying  ink  with  a  roller,  and 
placing  the  plate  and  the  pad  in  contact  under  pressure.  The 
paper  for  printing  is  next  pressed  on  the  pad,  and  receives  an 
impression  exactly  like  the  original  drawing.  If  several  copies 
are  desired,  a  corresponding  number  of  pads  may  be  treated,  or 
successive  transfers  may  be  made  on  a  single  pad,  either  wash- 
ing it  with  cold  water  after  each  application,  or  trusting  to  the 
accuracy  of  the  register  formed  by  bars  provided  for  the  pur- 
pose. The  original  plate  is  cleaned  with  a  special  solution, 
and  used  for  other  drawings  for  an  indefinite  period. 


«7J  NEW  device  for  blue-printing  large  drawings  has  been 
I]L  lately  used,  which  many  architects  who  have  only  small 
'  "  frames  may  find  useful.  A  cylinder,  of  any  material, 
covered  with  felt,  is  used  instead  of  a  frame.  The  cylinder 
should  be  long  enough  and  of  sufficiently  great  diameter  to 
allow  the  drawing  to  be  wrapped  around  it  without  overlapping. 
The  sensitive  paper  is  first  drawn  around  the  cylinder,  and  the 


tracing  placed  over  it  and  smoothly  stretched  by  means  of 
clamps,  or  double  hooks  with  springs.  The  cylinder  is  then 
placed  in  some  sort  of  framework  which  will  allow  it  to  be  re- 
volved, either  by  hand  or  by  a  weight.  The  printing  is  done 
quite  as  rapidly  as  under  glass,  and  the  impressions  are  sharper, 
as  the  tracing-cloth  can  be  drawn  around  the  cylinder  so  tightly 
as  to  remove  the  wrinkles  which  always  appear  under  the  glass 
in  the  ordinary  frame.  We  should  think  that  the  paper-barrel 
manufacturers  might  furnish  cylinders  three  or  four  feet  long, 
and  sixteen  inches  or  more  in  diameter,  which  would  serve  an 
excellent  purpose,  and  might  be  mounted,  for  printing,  in  brackets 
outside  the  office-window,  with  an  endless  cord  and  two  pulleys 
for  securing  rotation,  and  the  office-boy  for  a  motor.  By  using 
rubber  bands,  a  large  number  of  negatives  could  be  placed  on 
the  cylinder  at  once,  over  a  sheet  of  sensitive  paper  of  suitable 
size,  and  printed  together. 


IIFIIE  Builder  describes  a  new  bath-house  just  built  in  Frank- 
\j  fort-on-the-Main,  which  seems  to  solve  the  problem  of 
cheap  public  bathing  more  successfully  than  anything  of 
the  kind  yet  attempted.  The  building,  which  is  placed  in  the 
centre  of  a  small  square  in  the  workingmen's  quarter  of  the 
town,  is  octagonal  in  plan.  Each  side  of  the  octagon  measures 
fourteen  feet,  which  would  give  a  diameter  of  about  thirty-four 
feet.  The  walls  are  twelve  feet  high  at  the  eaves,  and  rise, 
with  a  pitch  sufficient  to  carry  off  water,  to  a  central  portion, 
also  octagonal,  which  rises  to  a  height  of  twenty  feet.  The 
central  octagon,  which  is  about  twelve  feet  in  diameter,  con- 
tains the  furnace  in  the  basement,  the  drying-room  for  linen  in 
the  first  story,  and  a  hot-water  tank  above,  the  chimney  being 
in  the  centre  of  all.  Around  the  middle  octagon  are  ranged 
fourteen  trapezoidal  cells,  and  outside  of  these  is  a  passageway. 
The  segment  nearest  the  entrances  is  reserved  for  a  towel 
store-room  and  administration.  There  are  two  entrances,  one 
for  men  arid  the  other  for  women,  and  between  them  is  the 
ticket-office,  which  communicates  with  the  store-room  behind  it. 
Four  of  the  cells  are  allotted  to  women,  and  ten  to  men,  by  in- 
tercepting at  the  corresponding  point  the  exterior  passageway, 
but  the  proportion  can  be  varied  as  required.  A  water-closet 
is  provided  in  each  division.  Each  cell  is  entered  from  the 
passageway,  and  is  divided  by  a  waterproof  curtain  into  two 
parts.  The  outer  part,  next  the  passageway,  forms  a  dressing- 
room,  with  chair,  mirror,  books,  and  linoleum  carpet.  The 
inner  portion  contains  a  basin,  with  hot  and  cold  water  and  a 
douche,  the  temperature  of  which  can  be  regulated  at  pleasure, 
the  waste-water  passing  off  under  the  wooden  grating  on  which 
the  bather  stands.  The  charge  for  a  bath,  including  a  clean 
towel  and  soap,  is  two  cents,  and  the  place  is  already  visited 
by  two  or  three  hundred  bathers  a  day.  The  building  cost  less 
than  five  thousand  dollars,  and  stands  on  public  ground.  Sup- 
posing the  number  of  bathers  to  average  only  two  hundred  per 
day,  the  gross  income,  at  two  cents  each,  will  be  twelve  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars  a  year.  The  Builder  thinks  that  fuel,  water, 
light,  washing,  attendance,  and  wear  and  tear  would  not  be 
more  than  seven  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  a  year,  which  leaves 
a  net  profit  of  ten  per  cent  on  the  capital  invested.  With  us 
the  expenses  would  be  greater,  but  at  three  or  four,  or  perhaps 
five  cents  for  a  bath,  the  profit  of  such  an  undertaking  ought 
to  be  considerable,  and  the  benefit  to  the  public  health  would 
be  incalculable. 


NEW  appliance  for  increasing  the  speed  of  steamships 
was  recently  described  by  M.  Gouilly  to  the  Societe  des 
Ingenieurs  Civils,  which  promises  to  be  of  use.  Every 
one  who  has  watched  the  operation  of  the  propeller  in  a  screw- 
steamer  must  have  regretted  the  waste  of  energy  involved  in 
the  splashing  and  churning  of  the  water  about  the  screw  by  its 
revolutions,  and  the  displacements  which  can  be  seen  to  extend 
to  a  considerable  distance  laterally.  M.  Gouilly's  plan  for  pre- 
venting a  large  part  of  this  waste  of  power  is  to  have  the  pro- 
peller work  in  a  hollow,  truncated  cone  attached  to  the  stern 
of  the  ship,  having  its  larger  end  open  and  directed  toward 
the  bows,  and  its  smaller  end  continued  for  a  short  distance  by 
an  open  cylinder.  One  would  think  that  such  an  apparatus 
would  be  a  terrible  drag  upon  the  motion  of  the  vessel,  but  its 
effect  in  concentrating  the  energy  of  the  screw  is  so  great  that 
More  than  a  thousand  trials,  made  with  thirty  different  screws, 
lave  demonstrated  that  the  force  of  propulsion  is,  on  an  average, 
doubled,  and  in  many  cases  is  increased  in  a  far  greater  pro- 
jortion. 


JANUARY  19,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


27 


AUGUSTE  RODIN,  SCULPTOR.'  —  T. 


r 


has  been  well  said  that  the 
Paris  Salon  is  an  epitome  of 
human  life.  To  its  welcom- 
ing doors  come  each  year  the 
sufferings,  the  struggles,  the 
self-sacrifices  and  the  labors  of 
the  artists  of  all  nations.  In  it, 
centre  their  hopes,  their  fears, 
their  joy  and  their  desperation. 
It  is  the  competing  ground  of 
all  the  world  of  art;  a  living 
panorama,  a  Mecca,  a  confes- 
sion and  a  judgment.  Human 
above  all,  time  alone  confirms 
or  reverses  its  dictum. 

Among  the  many  hundreds 
of  works  of  sculpture  of  every 
conceivable  description  that 
sought  admission  to  the  Salon 
of  1877,  was  an  unobtrusive 
nude  figure,  in  plaster,  accom- 
panied with  the  usual  paper 
upon  which  were  written,  in  a 

strange  hand,  these  explanatory  words:  "Auguste  Rodin,  born  in 
Paris,  pupil  of  Messrs.  Barve  and  Carrier-Belleuse,  Rue  Bretonvilli- 
ers,  number  3  — '  L'Age  d'Airain  ';  statue,  plaster." 

The  character  of  the  modelling  of  this  statue  was  so  unusual,  and 
its  general  effect  so  life-like,  that  some  members  of  the  jury  of 
admission  suspected  that  it  was  not  a  veritable  piece  of  modelling, 
but  a  "moulage  sur  nature"  —  a  reproduction,  by  pressing,  from  a 
mould  on  the  living  model  —  and,  therefore,  not  entitled  to  admis- 
sion. This  suspicion  meant  that  the  figure  was  a  fraud  and  its 
author  an  imposter.  The  statue  caused,  considerable  and  varied 
comment  among  the  jury,  one  of  them  remarking :  "  If  it  is  not 
a  cast  from  Nature,  he  who  made  it  is  stronger  than  we  are."  It 
was  finally  accepted,  under  protest,  and  put  in  a  side  space  near  the 
entrance  reserved  for  objects  of  questionable  origin  and  merit. 

To  the  author  of  "  The  Age  of  Brass,"  who  is  one  of  the  most 
sensitive  of  men,  and  loyal  to  the  most  exacting  requirements  of  his 
art  to  a  degree  as  rare  as  it  is  high;  who  had  studied  and  labored 
like  a  slave  in  the  most  complete  obscurity,  and  suffered  the  acutest 
privations  for  more  than  twenty  years,  the  suspicion  that  he  was  a 
dishonest  man  and  bis  work  a  counterfeit  was  humiliating  to  the 
last  degree.  Nor  was  this  all,  he  had  been  an  obligatory  server  of 
others  all  his  life,  and  lie  had  drank  to  the  depths  the  bitter  and 
despicable  experiences  that  fine  souls  endure  in  their  struggle  against 
poverty  outside  the  pale  of  human  sympathy,  and  subject  to  the  abuse 
of  ignorant  and  brutal  employers. 

As  the  first  complete  result  of  all  this,  Rodin  had,  at  the  age  of 
thirty-seven  years,  brought  up  to  the  Salon  his  simple  work  that  he 
might  see  how  it  compared  with  that  of  good  sculptors;  and,  more 
than  all,  to  answer  to  himself  as  to  whether  fate  had  forever  destined 
him  to  be  a  workman,  or  would  now  possibly  reveal  to  him  that 
he  was  an  artist.  But  the  inexplicable  goddess  who  had  thus  far  so 
persistently  followed  him  in  dark  clouds,  now  appeared  in  a  new  and 
unexpected  guise — she  placed  the  mark  of  trickster  upon  himself 
and  his  work.  He  went  to  the  Salon  as  one  to  be  shunned.  His 
statue  was  pointed  at  with  scorn.  What  to  do  he  did  not  know. 

If  there  is  one  fact  more  than  any  other  that  makes  Paris  the 
heart  of  the  art-world,  it  is  that  a  real  work  of  art  or  a  real  artist  is 
never  lost.  Some  one,  sooner  or  later,  finds  them  out  and  helps  to 
put  them  into  their  deserved  place.  The  living,  radiating  life  of  this 
fact  is,  that  there  are  hundreds  of  artists,  writers  and  men  and 
women  in  private  and  public  life,  whose  keen  and  receptive  sensi- 
bilities are  quick  to  discover  and  ready  to  welcome  the  appearance 
of  everything  that  has  in  it  the  life,  nerve  and  worship  of  art.  They 
go  to  the  Salon,  not  alone  interested  in  the  general  average  of  the  art 
of  France,  but  to  find  out  and  acquaint  themselves  with  the  slightest 
and  earliest  indications  of  the  coming  of  new  men,  and  the  appear- 
ance of  advancing  notes  of  progress.  It  was  the  good  fortune  of  one 
of  these  devotees,  Adrien  Gaudez,  himself  a  sculptor  of  superior 
ability,  to  first  see  and  fully  appreciate  the  high  qualities  of  the  "  The 
Age  of  Brass,"  after  its  arrival  at  the  Salon.  He  immediately 
hastened  to  find  some  of  his  friends  and  lead  them  to  the  statue. 
They  saw  it  with  surprise,  examined  it  with  increasing  interest  and 
admiration,  and  left  it  fully  convinced  that  it  was  one  of  the  few 
master-pieces  of  French  sculpture.  Nor  was  this  enough,  they 
obtained  a  better  place  for  it,  where  it  could  be  seen  by  every  one, 
and  they  talked  about  it  and  sung  its  praises  as  only  enthusiastic 
French  artists  can. 

At  the  same  time  M.  Edmond  Turquet,  an  ardent  lover  of  art  and 
of  independent  judgment,  and  who  was  also  a  member  of  the  State 
Committee  of  Fine  Arts  and  one  of  buying-committee  of  the 
Salon,  in  making  his  first  visit  to  the  section  of  sculpture,  was 
strikingly  impressed  by  the  statue,  of  the  author  of  which  he  had 
never  heard.  Soon  after,  when  the  buying-committee  were  making 
their  first  visit  to  the  Salon,  M.  Turquet  brought  them  before  it,  and 
invited  their  attention  to  its  remarkable  merits.  To  his  astonish- 

1  AH  rights  reserved. 


ment  they  informed  him  that  it  was  noised  about  that  the  figure  was 
a^  reproduction  from  a  mould,  and  not  an  honest  piece  of  modelling. 
To  which  he  observed,  "  If  this  report  be  true,  the  figure  has  no 
right  to  be  here.  If  false,  it  ought  to  be  bought  by  the  State,  as  it 
possesses  exceptional  qualities."  To  this,  reply  was  made  that  it  was 
a  very  difficult  matter  to  decide  whether  a  statue  was  a  veritable 
piece  of  modelling,  or  a  cast  from  a  mould.  M.  Turquet  then  said  : 
"  There  is  a  chief-of-police  in  Paris  whose  duty  it  is  to  solve  greater 
mysteries  than  this,  call  him  and  ask  him  to  open  an  inquest.  It 
must,  certainly,  be  easier  to  find  out  the  truth  about  this  figure  than 
to  detect  counterfeit  money."  Notwithstanding  M.  Turquet's  urgent 
interest  in  the  matter  nothing  was  done,  and  the  statue  returned  to 
the  sculptor's  studio,  at  the  close  of  the  exhibition,  and  so  far  as  the 
authorities  of  the  State  were  concerned,  under  the  ban  of  counterfeit. 

In  the  meantime  admiration  for  the  statue  was  daily  extending, 
especially  among  the  younger  artists,  and  much  ctmosity  was 
awakened  in  regard  to  the  sculptor.  No  one  knew  him.  To  the 
inquiries,  Who  is  Rodin  ?  Where  did  he  come  from  V  The  only 
answers  were:  He  is  a  Belgian.  A  good-for-nothing,  and  will  be 
soon  disposed  of. 

The  first  inquiry  has  remained  to  this  day  unaswered,  and  the 
second  inquiry  and  the  first  answer  were  explained  in  the  catalogue 
of  the  Salon.  He  was  a  Parisian,  though  he  had  been  in  Belgium  for 
some  years  previous  to  his  appearance  at  the  Salon  with  his  "  Age  of 
Brass."  The  last  answer  and  the  prophesied  result  has  long  since 
been  reversed  into :  "  He  is  one  of  the  greatest  artists  that  France 
has  ever  produced,  and  has  been  so  ranked  by  the  best  art-judges 
in  the  world." 

Auguste  Rodin  was  born  in  the  Panthe'on  quarter  of  Paris,  in  the 
mouth  of  November,  1840,  of  parents  in  very  humble  circumstances. 
At  an  early  age  he  was  sent  to  a  little  boarding-school  at  Beauvais,  of 
which  his  uncle  was  the  principal,  and  where  he  pursued  only  the 
simplest  studies.  Neither  the  master,  the  school  nor  the  lessons 
attracted  him,  and  he  spent  the  most  of  his  time  in  drawing  fanciful 
designs,  telling  stories  and  reciting  imaginary  descriptions  to  his 
comrades. 

The  only  exercise  of  the  school  which  gave  him  pleasure  was  writ- 
ing descriptions  of  subjects,  given  out  by  the  master  and  read  aloud 
by  him  to  the  school.  "  The  Miser  "  was,  on  one  occasion,  allotted 
to  Auguste.  It  was  an  easy  and  timely  one ;  a  fruitful  example  was 
near  at  hand,  and  the  sous-loving  pedagogue  was  served  up  by  his 
young  relative  with  all  the  picturesqueness  of  which  he  was  capable. 
The  master  read  the  dissertation  without  recognizing  its  identity,  and 
complimented  its  author  upon  the  excellent  manner  in  which  he 
had  acquitted  himself.  But  the  scholars  were  more  acute  than  their 
teacher,  to  them  he  was  set  forth  in  his  true  colors,  and  they  warmly 
extolled  the  correctness  of  their  fellow-pupil's  description. 

As  the  resources  of  the  boy's  parents  were  not  sufficient  to  pay  the 
expenses  of  his  schooling  any  longer,  he  was  obliged  to  come  home 
when  he  was  fourteen  years  of  age.  The  tendency  of  his  natuie 
toward  art  had  begun,  many  years  before,  to  show  itself  in  various 
ways  more  or  less  common  to  all  children  of  artistic  temperament. 
With  Auguste,  his  first  attempt  at  making  anything  was  curiously 
characteristic  of  his  maturer  years.  When  he  was  five  years  of  age, 
his  mother  was  one  day  frying  some  cakes,  the  dough  of  which  was 
first  rolled  thin,  like  pie-crust,  and  then  cut  up  into  various  fantastic 
forms,  before  it  was  dropped  into  the  boiling  fat.  These  fanciful 
forms  attracted  the  boy's'attention,  and  he  asked  his  mother  to  let 
him  make  some  men,  to  fry.  She  assented,  and  he  immediately 
made  them  so  large  that  there  was  not  dough  enough  to  make  many 
of  them,  or  room  enough  in  the  kettle  to  fry  them,  and  his  mother 
hastened  to  cut  short  the  ambitious  career  of  the  dough-sculptor. 
Strange  as  it  may  appear,  the  incident  was  not  without  its  amuse- 
ment and  significance,  for,  when  the  men  were  fried,  the  dough  had 
been  tortured  by  the  fat  into  such  curious  and  striking  positions  that 
it  made  both  the  mother  and  child  laugh  heartily,  besides  indelibly 
impressing  upon  the  latter's  memory  his  first  sight  of  the  ex- 
traordinary movements  that  even  a  dough  man  could  be  made  to  go 
through.  The  reader  will  see,  in  the  course  of  this  narrative,  that 
size  and  movement  of  figure  are  fundamental  facts  in  Rodin's  nature. 

At  fourteen,  Auguste  had-no  other  thought  except  to  study  art,  and 
his  parents,  though  not  particularly  interested  in  it,  or  in  his  disposi- 
tion towards  it,  sent  him  to  what  is  now  known  the  world  over  as 
La  Petite  Ecole,  at  No.  5  Rue  de  1'Ecole  de  Mddecine,  a  school 
famous  for  its  age,  having  been  founded  in  1 766,  and  for  its  distin- 
guished scholars,  among  whom  are  Guillaume,  Fremiet,  Carpeaux, 
Aube,  Dalou,  and  Le  Gros.  His  teacher  was  Le  Coq  de  Boisbaud- 
ran,  of  whom  and  the  school  Rodin  now  speaks  in  the  highest  terms. 
"  They  had  preserved,"  he  says,  "  a  little  of  the  eighteenth  century 
in  the  school  —  good  antique  models  and  excellent  teachers." 

In  beginning  to  draw  from  plaster-cast  ornaments,  the  boy  drew 
only  the  more  prominent  portions,  and,  thinking  that  there  ought  to 
be  some  details  to  fill  up  the  spaces,  thus  giving  completer  interest  to 
his  work,  he  put  in  such  additional  forms  as  he  thought  best.  The 
master,  curious  to  know  why  the  model  was  not  more  faithfully 
copied,  discovered  that  his  pupil  was  near-sighted,  a  fact  which  no 
one  had  previously  found  out,  although  Auguste  had  often  wondered 
why  he  did  not  see  things  as  other  boys  did.  From  this  time  on  he 
was  obliged  to  wear  glasses.  He  remained  in  this  school  for  three 
years,  drawing  and  modelling  in  the  morning  and  evening,  and 
drawing  at  the  Louvre  in  the  afternoon.  At  fifteen-and-a-half  years 
he  gained  his  first  recompense,  a  bronze  medal,  for  drawing  from 


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the  cast,  and  at  seventeen  a  first  bronze  medal  for  modelling,  and  a 
second-class  silver  medal  for  drawing  from  the  antique. 

Though  Auguste  had  no  master  at  the  Louvre,  he  soon  found  a 
permanent  one  in  his  love  for  and  study  of  the  antique,  which  soon 
became  the  only  one  he  has  ever  acknowledged. 

Before  he  had  completed  the  three  years  at  the  school  it  became 
necessary  for  him  to  earn  his  own  bread,  as  well  as  to  decide  in  what 
way  he  was  to  do  so.  The  force  of  his  instinct  for  art  had  now 
become  an  authority,  whose  correctness  he  did  not  dream  of  question- 
ing, and  he  determined  to  follow  art.  His  mother,  with  true  parental 
anxiety,  and  sharing  the  prevailing  intelligence  of  the  time, 
cautioned  him  against  entering  upon  a  career  for  which  he  had  no 
solid  preparation,  and  his  family  no  means  of  providing.  "  If  you 
wish  to  be  an  artist,"  said  she,  "  you  must  have  not  only  money  to 
pay  your  teachers  through  a  long  course  of  study,  but  to  help  you 
along  afterwards,  for  art,  my  son,  rarely  brings  generous  returns 
to  its  followers."  To  which  the  audacious  youth  answered:  "I 
don't  want  any  professors.  I  can  work  it  through  alone."  Such 
an  expression  of  independence  and  of  apparently  overwhelming 
conceit,  coming  from  any  one  save  such  a  character  as  Rodin  has  proved 
himself  to  be,  would  give  anything  but  a  favorable  impression  of 
the  art-nature  of  him  who  uttered  it,  or  of  his  probable  future  success. 
Nothing  that  he  could  have  said  would  have  been  more  opposed  to 
what  is  universally  accepted  as  the  proper  state  of  mind  for  an  art- 
student  to  be  in,  as  well  in  regard  to  himself  as  to  the  respect  due 
to  artists  and  art-teachers.  It  was  an  astounding  and  revolutionary 
position  to  take,  but  the  true  one  for  Rodin.  In  that  expression  he 
summed  up  himself,  without  knowing  it,  as  able  to  exemplify  in  the 
years  to  come  one  of  the  profoundest  facts  of  individual  art  progress 
—  the  capacity  to  go  alone ;  to  begin,  keep  on,  in  spite  of  every 
obstacle  and  discouragement,  to  correct  his  own  efforts,  to  make  con- 
tinual progress,  and  finally  to  walk  above  the  clouds,  firm,  and  with- 
out impediment  or  danger,  and  in  debt  to  no  human  professional 
influence. 

The  question  of  bread  had  now  to  be  considered,  and  Rodin  settled 
it  by  finding  employment  among  the  makers  of  plaster  ornaments 
and  the  workers  in  papier-mache.  If  this  secured  him  a  living,  it 
also  cut  off  to  a  large  degree  his  hours  of  study.  And  now  his  inde- 
pendence and  perseverance  took  a  more  immediate  practical  shape, 
for,  to  gain  time  to  continue  his  studies,  he  arose  very  early  in  the 
morning,  and  studied  until  he  went  to  his  employer  at  eight  o'clock  ; 
at  noon  he  swallowed  his  dinner  qui.  kly  to  gain  half  an  hour,  and 
when  the  day  was  done  he  again  began  studies  that  extended  far 
into  the  night.  Sundays,  especially,  were  his  great  days.  This 
habit  of  continued  work  and  study  he  persistently  followed  for  the 
next  twenty-four  years. 

He  wanted  very  much  to  go  to  the  Ecole  des  Beaux-Arts,  and  he 
entered  upon  his  first  competition  for  a  place  in  drawing  and  model- 
ling at  the  age  of  seventeen.  Neither  the  first  nor  the  two  succeed- 
ing competitions  in  modelling  were  successful,  though  in  drawing  he 
was  accepted,  but  did  not  enter  the  class.  As  each  competition 
embraced  a  period  of  six  months,  it  was  a  year  and  a  half  before  he 
knew  that  the  privileges  of  the  school,  in  the  department  he  wished 
to  enter,  were  denied  to  him.  It  was  a  terrible  disappointment  and 
a  deep  humiliation.  Like  every  young  artist,  he  indulged  in  the 
prevailing  belief  that  such  men  as  Ingres,  Perault,  and  Pradier  were 
gods  in  art,  to  be  loyally  worshipped  by  every  student.  The  course 
of  study  they  had  passed  through  he  ardently  wished  to  follow,  and 
it  was  not  until  many  years  afterwards,  when  his  work  showed  the 
freedom,  boldness,  and  life  of  great  individuality,  untrammelled  and 
unaffected  by  the  influence  of  school  or  master,  did  he  believe  in  the 
truth  of  the  felicitations  extended  to  him  by  Dalou,  another  eminent 
sculptor  who  had  been  through  the  school,  that  he  was  fortunate  in 
escaping  the  kind  of  study  taught  in  the  school.  "  For,"  said  Dalou, 
"  it  would  have  killed  you." 

But  the  time  spent  in  the  competitions  was  by  no  means  lost. 
Before  he  had  left  La  Petite  Ecole  he  could  draw  from  the  living 
model  almost  as  well  as  he  ever  could.  He  had  unconsciously  begun 
to  develop  his  own  way  of  seeing  and  working,  and  the  competitions 
enabled  him  to  compare  what  he  could  do  with  the  work  of  the 
students  who  had  succeeded  in  being  accepted.  He  also  saw,  for 
the  first  time,  that  his  drawing  and  modelling  were  different  from 
that  of  other  pupils,  and  that  they  watched  him  and  his  work  with 
much  curiosity  and  attention.  Why  his  work  was  not  as  good  as 
that  of  the  more  fortunate  competitors  he  did  not  know,  nor  could 
he  explain  the  difference  between  theirs  and  his  own.  He  now  re- 
members that  his  "  things  were  well  constructed,  perhaps  a  little 
dry,  but  the  bones  were  there." 

Rodin  soon  found  out  that  the  difference  between  himself  and 
other  young  artists  was  leading  him  into  an  unknown  and  dreary 
path,  where  he  was  destined  to  travel  alone  for  the  next  twenty 
years  deprived  of  all  professional  sympathy  and  companionship. 

He  also  managed  at  this  time  to  go  to  the  evening  drawing-school 
at  the  Gobelins  manufactory  of  tapestry,  and  with  especial  satisfac- 
tion, because  the  model  posed  three  hours  at  one  time,  whereas  at 
the  Government  School  the  pose  was  for  only  two  hours.  Besides, 
he  attended  Barye's  class  at  the  Jardin  des  Plantes,  and  although  he 
saw  and  got  very  little  there  apparently,  he  felt  later  on  the  result 
of  what  he  had  instinctively  acquired.  Of  Barye,  Rodin  says  :  "  He 
talked  very  little,  and  I  saw  nothing  in  him  at  that  time.'"  "  But 
the  three  years  at  La  Petite  Ecole  was  the  germinating  period  of 
my  life,  where  my  own  nature  planted  itself  on  firm  ground  without 


let  or  hindrance;  where  the  seeds  of  my  subsequent  development 
were  sown ;  and  where  I  received  the  only  instruction  in  my  life." 

The  work  that  Rodin  was  obliged  to  do  for  his  employers  was  of 
the  most  menial  description.  He  mixed  plaster,  cut  off  the  mould- 
marks  from  plaster  and  papier-mache  casts,  performed  the  general 
duties  of  a  scullion  in  such  establishments,  and  made  occasionally  a 
simple  ornament,  for  all  of  which  he  received  the  luxurious  salary  of 
forty  cents  a  day.  He  hated  his  work  and  his  employers,  and  they 
returned  his  sentiments  by  hating  him  and  finding  fault  with  every- 
thing that  he  did. 

He  continued  to  serve  men  of  this  kind  for  six  years,  passing 
through  the  most  horrid  moments  of  his  life,  and  retaining  the 
memory  of  such  bitter  experiences  with  them  that  to  this  day  he  will 
not  speak  some  of  their  names.  In  his  spare  hours,  however,  he  was 
himself,  and  enjoyed  the  pleasure  of  doing  aS  he  pleased.  His  little 
sleeping-room  was  also  his  studio  —  more  the  latter  than  the  former 
—  and  there  he  modelled  and  drew  from  life  to  his  heai  t's  content. 
As  soon  as  he  could  he  got  a  hole  somewhere-  else  —  a  shed,  cellar 
or  stable,  no  matter  how  miserable  —  that  he  could  more  properly 
call  his  studio.  He  invariably  attempted  some  figure  larger  than 
life  as  the  principal  object  of  his  thought,  but  had  always  number- 
less sketches  in  various  degrees  of  execution  as  a  sort  of  momentary 
enjoyment.  Being  somewhat  negligent,  and  without  means  either 
to  care  for  or  preserve  these  sketches  and  finished  models  in  plaster, 
they  dried  up,  fell  to  pieces,  and  went  into  the  clay-tub,  to  continu- 
ally appear  again  in  other  forms,  and  to  follow  the  same  round  of 
resurrected  destruction. 

While  Rodin  occupied,  in  the  Rue  de  la  Reine  Blanche,  a  stable 
as  a  studio,  he  began  to  make,  and  finished  in  about  eighteen  months, 
a  mask  which  was  destined  to  result  in  one  of  the  most  sculpturesque 
pieces  of  modelling  of  modern  times,  and  which  is  now  known  as 
"  The  Broken  Nose."  It  was  made  from  a  poor  old  man  who  picked 
up  a  precarious  living  in  the  neighborhood  by  doing  odd  jobs  for 
any  one  who  would  employ  him,  and  who  went  by  the  name  of 
"  Bcbe."  Of  the  great  merits  of  this  mask,  some  observations  will  be 
made  in  another  place  and  in  connection  with  other  of  the  sculptor's 
works ;  but,  as  the  reader  may  have  the  same  curiosity  that  the 
writer  had,  and  ask  why  the  sculptor  should  choose  such  a  model,  his 
answer  is  given  in  this  place  :  "  He  had  a  fine  head  ;  belonged  to  a 
fine  race  —  in  form  —  no  matter  if  he  was  brutalized.  It  was  made 
as  a  piece  of  sculpture,  solely,  and  without  reference  to  character  of 
model,  as  such.  I  called  it  '  The  Broken  Nose,'  because  the  nose  of 
the  model  was  broken."  And  of  its  value  to  him,  as  a  point  attained 
and  to  be  guided  by,  he  further  observes :  "  That  mask  determined 
all  my.future  work.  It  is  the  first  good  piece  of  modelling  I  ever 
did.  From  that  time  I  sought  to  look  all  around  my  work,  to  draw 
it  well  in  every  respect.  1  have  kept  that  mask  before  my  mind  in, 
everything  I  have  done.  I  tried  it  on  my  first  figure,  '  The 
Bachante,  but  did  not  succeed ;  I  again  tried  it  on  '  The  Age  of 
Brass,'  also  without  success,  though  it  is  a  good  figure.  In  fact, 
I  have  never  succeeded  in  makin"  a  figure  as  stood  as  '  The  Broken 

XT  ,   ,,  00 

Nose. 

"  The  Bachante  "  was  Rodin's  first  large  figure,  made  about  the 
same  time  as  "  Tlie  Broken  Nose,"  and  upon  which  he  spent  nearly 
three  years.  As  he  now  remembers  it,  he  says,  that  "in  style  of 
modelling  it  was  like  '  The  Broken  Nose,'  and  better  than  '  The  Age 
of  Brass.'  Very  firmly  modelled  —  possibly  a  little  cold."  He  thought 
it  a  good  piece  of  work  at  the  time,  though  every  one  who  saw  it  was 
displeased.  So  solidly  was  the  clay  put  together,  so  severely  and 
endlessly  was  it  modelled,  that  when  it  had  dried  and  shrunken  up 
to  its  smallest  dimension,  it  retained  its  proportions  in  every  par- 
ticular. In  making  this  figure  the  sculptor  was  more  than  ever 
powerfully  influenced  by  the  increasing  domination  of  his  feeling  for 
pure  sculpture  —  the  question  of  lines,  masses  and  effects ;  of  drawing 
his  model  in  the  severest  sense  of  the  term.  The  subject,  as  such, 
occupied  no  place  in  his  mind.  It  was,  with  him,  then,  and  ever 
afterwards,  the  never-ending  and  all-imposing  problem  of  planes. 
The  sculptor  speaks  of  "  The  Bachante "  with  a  feeling  of  deep 
regret  because  he  was  not  able  to  preserve  it,  and  with  sadness 
when  he  remembers  the  long  hours  of  patient  and  suffering  labor  that 
the  figure  cost  him. 

Among  Rodin's  friends  was  a  priest,  named  Aymar,  the  founder 
of  a  society  called  The  Sainted  Sacrament,  and  who  had  summed 
up  the  experiences  of  his  life  and  observation,  in  the  expression  — 
which  he  enjoyed  repeating  —  that  "Life  was  an  organized  lie,"  and 
he  wanted  his  bust  made,  in  some  respects,  in  accordance  with  this 
conclusion.  Rodin  gladly  consented  to  make  it  as  he  saw  his  sitter, 
and  the  more  willingly  because  it  would  enable  him  to  earn  a  little 
extra  money,  and  this  meant  a  little  more  human  comfort.  After  the 
bust  was  completed  and  several  duplicates  made,  of  reduced  size, 
Aymar  took  the  sudden  fancy  that  the  masses  of  hair  on  the  sides 
and  top  of  his  bust  suggested  to  him  the  "  horns  of  the  devil,"  and  he 
would  not  accept  it  unless  these  troublesome  reminders  were  reduced 
to  a  more  human  appearance.  This  the  inflexible  young  sculptor 
would  not  do.  The  facts  of  Nature  had  more  influence  with  him 
than  the  desire  to  please  the  fears  of  the  superstitious  priest. 
Besides,  the  head  had  a  certain  interest  to  Rodin.  Aymar  was  a 
born  Jesuit,  his  head  and  face  gave  no  indication  of  its  owner's  age, 
and  it  had  a  character  that  the  sculptor  liked  to  study.  But,  the 
priest  was  a  poor  sitter,  and  in  spite  of  all  he  could  do,  Rodin  could 
;et  very  little  of  the  kind  of  modelling  he  had  put  in  "  The  Broken 
Nose,"  though  he  caught  the  character  of  his  sitter  with  force  and 


JANUARY  19,  J889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


29 


vigor.  The  result  was  that  Aymar  would  not  take  the  bust  nor  pay 
the  sculptor  for  the  time  he  had  expended  on  it,  nor  the  money  he  had 
paid  out  for  the  duplicates.  The  modelling  of  this  bust  taught  the  priest 
that  there  was  one  exception,  at  least,  to  his  favorite  expression.  So 
much  did  Rodin  need  the  money  at  this  time,  that  the  amount  he 
had  paid  for  reducing  and  duplicating  this  bust  was  a  matter  of 
serious  importance  to  him,  and  caused  him  considerable  subsequent 
privation. 

The  sculptor  was  now,  1862-3,  working  for  an  ornament-maker  by 
the  name  of  Bies,  whose  shop  was  in  the  same  street  with  Rodin's 
studio,  and  although  he  never  pleased  his  employer,  he  was  slowly 
winning  praise  from  his  fellow-workmen  as  an  adroit  draughtsman. 
In  the"  shop,  as  well  as  at  home  he  was  always  drawing,  and  as 
frosted-windows  were  his  peculiar  delight,  he  regaled  his  comrades  in 
cold  weather  with  imaginary  images  that  excited  their  wildest 
astonishment  and  extended  his  reputation  with  them,  as  a  being  they 
could  not  understand.  But  Bies,  even  with  "  The  Broken  Nose " 
before  his  eyes,  could  not  see  anything  in  his  workman  but  a 
wilful  maker  of  strange  ornaments  that  he  could  not  use. 

Rodin  was  also  making  jewelry  for  a  noted  Paris  manufacturer, 
Fanieres,  in  the  form  of  ear-rings  and  buckles,  of  the  smallest  possible 
dimensions.  They  were  modelled  in  hard  wax,  and  made  with  all 
the  skill  and  exactness  that  he  was  able  to  put  upon  them ;  but  they 
did  not  please  Fanieres.  To  better  his  condition  Rodin  made  several 
ineffectual  attempts.  In  1863,  there  was  in  Paris  a  private  art-club 
called  by  the  high-sounding  title  of  "  The  National  Exhibition  of 
Fine  Arts,"  which  was  directed  by  M.  Martinet,  and  included  in  its 
list  of  members,  Ingres,  Delacroix,  Baudry,  Carpeaux  and  nearly  all 
the  principal  artists  of  the  city.  Hearing  that  Martinet  was  very 
friendly  to  young  artists  and  much  disposed  to  give  them  a  word  of 
encouragement,  or  do  them  an  act  of  kindness,  Rodin  went  to  him  to 
see  if  he  could  be  made  a  member  of  the  club.  The  director  put  the 
young  aspirant  through  a  kind  of  examination,  and  came  to  the  con- 
clusion that  he  was  eligible.  From  time  to  time  the  club  gave 
private  exhibitions  of  the  works  of  its  members,  preceded  by  a 
banquet,  and  Rodin  brought  up,  on  one  of  these  occasions,  as  the 
sign  manual  to  his  right  to  sit  down  with  the  mighty  men  into  whose 
presence  he  was  now  to  enter,  his  bust  of  "  Aymar."  To  his  great 
comfort  it  was  much  admired,  and  he  felt,  for  the  first  time  in  his  life, 
that  there  was  a  ray  of  light  not  unwilling  to  fall  upon  his  -head. 
If  he  could  only  have  courage  to  bring  "  The  Broken  Nose  "  to  the 
next  dinner! 

But  before  that  patiently  awaited  for  event  was  to  take  place  the 
club  was  dissolved.  -During  his 'short  membership  he  had  seen  face 
to  face  the  great  lights  of  French  art,  and  been  introduced  to 
Dumas  pere  and  Theophile  Gautieri  Being  a  great  admirer  of  Car- 
peaux, he  ventured,  timidly  at  one  of  the  club  meetings,  to  speak  to 
him,  and  ask  him  if  he  would  give  him  work  and  take  him  into  his 
studio.  To  Rodin's  great  joy  Carpeaux  responded  in  the  most  cordial 
manner  :  "  Certainly  !  Come  when  you  please."  It  may  be  imagined 
that  he  did  not  wait  long  before  presenting  himself  at  the  latter's 
studio,  but,  to  his  sad  astonishment,  Carpeaux  received  him  coldly, 
almost  brutally,  and  he  left  without  any  disposition  to  return  at  a 
more  propitious  moment. 

One  of  Rodin's  comrades  was  a  native  of  Marseilles,  and  after 
completing  his  studies  in  Paris  he  returned  to  his  native  city  and 
undertook  the  execution  of  a  large  amount  of  stonework,  on  public 
buildings,  for  the  Government.  Needing  some  skilled  assistance  he 
sent  for  Rodin,  and  the  latter  set  out  for  the  shores  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean ;  taking  in  on  his  way  the  interesting  cities  of  Aries,  Vienne 
and  Nismes.  Glad  enough  to  get  out  of  Paris,  visit  places  as  enjoy- 
able as  the  more  famous  ones  of  Italy,  and  earn  his  bread  under 
circumstances  which  he  anticipated  would  be  more  agreeable,  he  set 
to  work  with  the  liveliest  enthusiasm ;  but  it  was  a  delusion  of  short 
duration.  He  interpreted  the  model,  which  he  was  reproducing  in 
stone,  very  differently  from  the  way  that  his  comrade  expected.  He 
cut  too  much  off  in  some  places,  and  left  too  much  on  in  others.  In 
fact,  he  was  not  the  kind  of  workman  that  his  employer  wanted, 
and  so  he  was  discharged.  Not  desiring  to  immediately  return  to 
Paris,  he  obtained  work  at  his  old  trade,  ornament-making.  Neither 
did  this  last  long,  two  or  three  weeks  of  an  individual  Parisian  was 
enough  for  the  warmer-blooded  inhabitant  of  the  Phoenecian  settle- 
ment, and  Rodin  packed  his  bundle  and  turned  his  footsteps  towards 
home.  But  he  had  no  sooner  arrived  than  he  was  asked  to  go  to 
Strasbourg,  by  a  manufacturer  of  church  sculpture,  or,  what  is 
known  in  the  vocabulary  of  sculptors  as  a  rnarchand  de  bans  dleux,  a 
class  of  men  not  held  in  good  repute  among  artists  for  any  reason, 
but  for  whom  many  young  sculptors  are  obliged  to  work  to  get  their 
living.  This  one  had,  however,  a  slight  recommendation  of  superiority 
for  Rodin,  because  he  followed  a  Gothic,  style  of  sculpture,  of  which, 
in  its  purity;  the  latter  is  an  enthusiastic  lover.  He  remained  in  this 
city  three  months,  and  one  day,  while  enjoying  the  festivities  of  a 
grand  church  celebration,  when  thousands  of  fair  women  and  young 
girls  were  filling  the  streets  with  their  beauty  and  pretty  costumes, 
he  saw  a  little  head  which  pleased  him  so  much  that  he  went  to  his 
room  and  modelled  in  an  hour  or  two  "  La  Petite  Alsacienne." 

The  six  years  before  referred  to  were  now  coming  to  a  close,  and 
in  all  that  time  Rodin  had  received  nothing  but  reproaches  from  his 
employers,  and  not  a  word  of  encouragement  from  those  who  had 
seen  his  busts,  sketches  and  figures.  The  truth  is,  he  had  altogether 
too  strong  a  nature  and  too  much  artistic  intelligence  to  have  any 
satisfactory  relations  with  the  class  of  men  he  was  obliged  to  serve. 


He  would  not  swerve  a  hair  to  please  any  one  in  his  work.  In- 
stinctively he  felt  that  Nature  was  the  best  guide  and  master,  and 
:ie  followed  her  with  unchanging  faithfulness  and  at  whatever  cost. 
It  is  also  true  that  his  genius  as  an  artist  was  not  of  that  sort  to 
recommend  him  to  ornament-makers  or  commercial  sculptors.  The 
kind  of  modelling  he  did  was  too  robust  for  the  petty  requirements 
of  such  employers. 

There  was  also  in  the  Rue  de  la  Reine  Blanche,  a  photographer, 
named  Aubry,  who  possessed  a  good  deal  of  appreciation  of  art, 
especially  as  it,  concerned  his  own  profession.  He  knew  Rodin,  felt 
kindly  disposed  towards  him,  and  had  the  unique  impression,  among 
all  of  the  sculptor's  acquaintances,  that  the  latter  might  possibly  get 
something  to  do  for  a  higher  class  of  employer  than  those  he  had 
been  working  for.  He,  therefore,  asked  Rodin  to  go  with  him  to  see 
Carrier-Belleuse,  the  most  extensive  commercial  sculptor  in  Paris. 
The  result  of  the  visit  was,  that  Belleuse  came  to  Rodin's  studio, 
examined  his  work,  particularly  "  The  Broken  Nose,"  and  told  him 
that  he  would  give  him  employment.  "I  was  very  happy,"  says 
Rodin,  "  To  go  to  Belleuse,  because  it  took  me  away  from  an 
ornament-maker  to  one  that  made  figures.  I  began  to  work  for  him 
in  1863,  and  remained  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  Franco-German 
War ;  although,  at  first,  I  only  worked  in  the  afternoons,  continuing 
with  Fanieres  in  the  mornings."  T.  H.  BARTLETT. 

LTo  be  continued.! 


THE   LEAGUE   EXHIBITION.1— II. 


WE  should  forget  one  of  the  most  satisfactory  drawings  in  the 
exhibition  if  we  passed  over  Mr.  C.  C.  Haight's  pen-and-ink 
sketch,  No.  24,  for  a  vestry,  offices  and  schools,  a  subject  in 
which  notwithstanding  its  difficulty,  he  finds  himself  thoroughly  at 
home.  His  sketch  for  a  church,  No.  164,  is  much  less  praiseworthy, 
either  in  design  or  drawing,  but  at  its  best  Mr.  Haight's  work  is 
quiet,  well-studied  and  poetical,  to  a  degree  which  few  architects  in 
this  country  surpass.  For  an  illustration  of  sentimentalism,  as 
opposed  to  real  sentiment  like  Mr.  Haight's,  we  could  hardly  have 
anything  better  than  the  works  of  Mr.  A.  Page  Brown,  which  are 
shown  in  different  places  on  the  walls.  Mr.  Brown  appears  to  be  a 
conscientious  person,  who  studies  architecture  by  reading  what  some 
one  else  thinks  about  it,  instead  of  doing  any  thinking  of  his  own, 
and  who  has  just  had  his  mind  stuffed  with  the  rhapsodies  of  the 
people  who  admire  Greek  architecture  on  account  of  its  "  intellectual 
coldness  and  purity,"  their  notions  on  the  subject  being  derived  from 
the  present  aspect  of  Greek  temples,  which  is  about  as  much  like  the 
harlequin  gorgeousness  which  their  builders  bestowed  upon  them  as 
the  grin  of"  a  mummy  is  like  the  smile  of  a  Theban  princess.  Being, 
however,  for  the  moment  convinced  that  coldness  and  purity  are  the 
correct  thing,  Mr.  Brown  can  think  of  nothing  better,  when  he  is 
requested  to°design  a  tomb,  than  to  present  a  bird's-eye  view  of  a 
little  Greek  temple  on  a  big  marble  platform.  As  this  would,  under 
ordinary  circumstances,  look  merely  like  a  small  school-house  from 
the  rural  districts,  he  has  had  the  happy  idea  of  differentiating  it 
from  a  school-house  by  presenting  it  as  it  would  appear  to  one 
hovering  in  the  air  over  it,  with  a  wealth  of  hills  and  woods  and 
other  things  in  the  distance.  As  district  school-houses  are  rarely 
observed  from  a  position  in  the  air  above  them,  whereas,  the  mind]s 
eye  is  quite  accustomed  to  soaring  over  Greece,  the  classic  illusion  is 
happily  preserved,  and  is  cleverly  heightened  by.  making  the  land- 
scape generally  purple,  it  being  well  known  that  Grecian  topography 
presents  that  color  to  sentimentalists. 

In  another  effort,  No.  172,  Mr.  Brown  has,  let  us  say,  assimilated 
the  Caryatid  portico  of  the  Erechtheum  into  a  design  for  a  mau- 

'  Continued  from  page  17,  No.  681, 


30 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.      [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  682. 


solemn ;  that  is,  he  has  not  copied  it  so  exactly  that  the  imitation  I 
indistinguishable  from  the  prototype,  since  we  see  marks  o 
originality  in  the  addition  of  wings  to  the  caryatides,  and  in  leaving 
out  the  frieze  from  the  entablature,  making  it  consist  of  a  dentillec 
cornice,  placed  directly  on  a  huge  three-faced  architrave.  We 
cannot  say  that  either  of  these  innovations  appears  to  us  an  im 
provement,  and  are  not  consoled  by  finding  the  name  of  Mr.  St 
Gaudens,  imperfectly  spelt,  associated  with  that  of  Mr.  Brown  in 
the  legend  on  the  drawing.  When  Mr.  Brown  gets  out  of  the 
Grecian  vein,  as  in  his  sketches  for  country  houses,  we  find  him 
much  more  agreeable,  as  is  usually  the  case  with  people  who  mistake 
archaeology  for  an  art. 

The  bird's-eye  view  seems  to  be  acquiring  an  undeserved  popularity 
among  sketchers.  In  No.  34  we  find  an  etching  of  Milan  Cathedral 
by  Mr.  Otto  H.  Bacher,  which  would  be  very  creditable,  if  the  point- 
of-sight  had  not  been  taken  from  about  the  level  of  the  third  story 
windows  of  the  houses  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Piazza.  It  is  true 
that  the  photographs  of  the  cathedral  are  often  taken  from  this 
point,  to  avoid  the  convergence  of  the  vertical  lines  caused  by 
tilting  upward  a  cheap  camera,  but  the  result  is  that  the  building 
looks  in  the  picture  like  a  small  model,  set  down  in  a  hole.  Very 
probably  Mr.  Bacher  copied  his  etching  from  such  a  photograph,  but 
it  would  have  been  worth  while,  before  spending  so  much  labor  on 
it,  to  have  translated  the  perspective,  so  that  the  building  should 
appear  as  high  above  the  eye  as  it  really  does  to  a  person  standing 
on  the  ground  in  front  of  it,  instead  of  destroying  the  dignity  of  the 
picture  by  showing  the  object  as  it  would  appear  to  a  giant  fifty 
feet  high.  In  another,  but  less  successful  etching  of  the  Church  of 
the  Holy  Sepulchre,  at  Jerusalem,  Mr.  Bacher  exhibits  the  sann 
fancy  for  belittling  his  subject  by  magnifying  his  spectator,  which  we 
hope  a  careful  study  of  Piranesi,  Bourgerel,  Prout,  Haig  and  the 
other  first-rate  engravers  of  architectural  subjects  will  induce  him  to 
correct  in  time. 

There  may,  perhaps,  be  a  certain  advantage  in  considering  th< 
sketches  of  old  work,  as  distinguished  from  the  modern  designs,  by 
themselves,  for  in  no  department  of  the  exhibition  is  there  more 
variety,  and  in  no  department,  perhaps,  do  we  find  works  of  such 
merit.  At  the  very  head  we  must  certain!}'  place  Mr.  F.  H.  Bacon's 
"Sketches  in  Greece  and  Asia  Minor,"  No.  101.  These  are  just  a 
little  stronger  and  better  than  the  ones  previously  exhibited,  and 
seem  to  us  the  finest  pen-and-ink  architectural  sketches  ever  made. 
In  saying  this  we  remember  perfectly  the  melting  beauty  of  Mr. 
Raffles  Davison's  best  work,  and  it  is  quite  possible  that  Mr.  Bacon 
would  have  failed  in  rendering  Davison's  subjects,  but  fortune  willed 
that  Mr.  Bacon's  quiet  precision  of  eye  and  hand  should  be  exercised 
on  the  brilliantly  lighted  but  barren  landscape  of  the  East,  rather 
than  on  soft  English  views,  and  the  result  is  greatly  to  the  advantage 
of  the  American  sketcher.  Next  to  Mr.  Bacon,  leaving  out  of  con- 
sideration Mr.  Pennell's  work,  which  has  a  different  object,  and 
should  hardly  be  considered  among  the  sketches,  and  Mr.  Kirby's 
drawings,  which  are  rather  works  of  imagination  than  records  of 
fact,  we  should  put  a  group  of  three  sketchers,  all  of  them  uneven, 
but  all  very  good  when  at  their  best  —  Mr.  Arthur  Ilotch,  Mr.  A.  W. 
Brunner  and  Mr.  Schweinfurth,  adding  perhaps  Mr.  Schladermundt. 
Mr.  Rotch's  color  drawing  of  the  Church  of  San  Pablo,  at  Seville, 
is  quite  a  model  of  an  architect's  water-color  sketch.  Close  after 
these  gentlemen,  and  a  long  way  in  front  of  the  people  who,  like 
some,  whose  names  we  will  not  mention,  make  splashy  caricatures  of 
buildings,  which  shriek  from  the  walls  for  us  to  admire  them,  come  the 
conscientious  students,  like  Mr.  T.  II.  Randall,  whose  frame,  No.  57, 
of  Italian  sketches  in  color,  is  so  earnest  and  true  that  we  easily 
forgive  a  little  crudeness  in  our  gratitude  to  the  artist  for  allowing 
us  to  think  of  his  subject  instead  of  him. 

Returning  from  Spain  and  Venice  for  a  little  while  to  the  nine- 
teenth century  of  American  architecture,  we  have  a  few  exceptions 
to  the  rule  of  creditable,  but  not  remarkable  designs  and  drawings, 
which  should  be  noticed.  The  most  curious  sketch  in  the  room  is 
perhaps  one  by  Mr.  Sydney  V.  Stratton,  No.  77,  of  a  house  at 
Natchez,  executed  in  pastel.  Now,  pastel  has  its  uses,  but  we  feel 
ourselves  compelled  to  say  that  the  rendering  of  hasty  architectural 
sketches  does  not  appear  to  be  one  of  them,  and  even  so  agreeable  a 
design  as  Mr.  Stratton's  fails  to  charm  when  set  in  a  coarse  land- 
scape of  emerald  green  with  two  rectangular  patches  of  vermilion  in 
the  foreground.  This  is  not  the  only  illustration  in  the  room  of  the 
fact  that  color,  in  architectural  drawings,  is  a  dangerous  thing,  and 
that  those  who  are  not  sure  of  using  it  well  had  better  let  it  alone. 
As  particularly  good  examples  to  enforce  this  moral,  we  might 
mention  Nos.  87  and  180.  The  former  is  a  water-color  drawing  of 
Mr.  Arthur  Little's  room  in  Boston,  by  Mr.  G.  P.  Fernald.  It  is 
faithful,  with  a  faithfulness  that  would  do  credit  to  Old  Dog  Tray, 
and  it  need  hardly  be  said  that  the  detail  of  the  finish  and  furniture 
in  the  room  of  so  accomplished  an  architect  is  all  interesting,  but  the 
very  completeness  of  the  rendering  takes  away  from  its  charm,  and 
one  cannot  help  criticising  the  contrast  of  color  between  the  sofa  and 
the  big  chair,  and  doubting  whether  so  much  brown  in  the  oak 
wainscot  ought  not  to  have  been  balanced  by  stronger  decoration  on 
the  ceiling,  and  so  on  ;  and  the  net  result  of  the  inspection  is  one  of 
mild  discontent.  No.  180,  on  the  other  hand,  which  is  a  mere  out- 
line sketch,  in  black-and-white,  of  "An  Old  Colonial  Hall,"  by  Mr. 
Frank  E.  Wallis,  attracts  us  at  once. 

The  design  is  beautiful,  both  in  arrangement  and  detail,  though 
perhaps,  no  more  80  than  Mr.  Little's  work,  but  the  firm  simplicity 


of  the  drawing,  showing  with  precision  what  it  wishes  to  insist  upon, 
and  leaving  us  to  infer  the  rest  from  what  we  see,  without  distracting 
us  by  irrelevant  accessories,  certainly  leaves  most  persons  with  the 
impression  that  it  represents  much  the  more  successful  design  of 
the  two.  The  late  Mr.  Richardson,  who  was  a  keen  observer  of  the 
conditions  of  success  or  failure  in  competitions,  was  always  prejudiced 
against  colored  drawings.  Until  his  success  in  the  Trinity  Church 
contest,  which  he  won  with  drawings  very  slightly  tinted,  he  was 
accustomed  to  say  that  he  had  never  gained  a  competition  to  which 
he  sent  colored  drawings,  and  never  lost  one  to  which  he  sent  a  per- 
spective in  pen-and-ink.  According  to  his  view,  it  was  a  mistake  to 
render  a  drawing  so  fully  as  to  leave  nothing  for  the  imagination  of 
the  spectator  to  supply.  Even  with  coloring  so  good  as  to  be  in  no 
danger  of  offending  any  one,  he  believed  that  the  average  jury,  even 
though  composed  in  part  of  experts,  was  disposed  to  fear  that  a  mild 
deception  was  being  practised  on  them,  and  that  the  building  in  exe- 
cution "  would  not  look  so  handsome  as  the  picture  ;  "  while  a  pen- 
and-ink  drawing  impressed  most  persons  as  an  inadequate  medium 
for  representing  the  beauties  of  the  design,  and  jurymen,  in  con- 
templating it,  would,  as  he  found,  say  to  each  other.  "  If  a  mere 
sketch  looks  so  well,  what  must  the  actual  building  be  ! " 

It  would,  however,  be  unfortunate  to  carry  this  principle  too  far. 
While  Mr.  Richardson's  maxims  would  apply  with  full  force  to  draw- 
ings like  an  extraordinary  one  rendered  in  color  by  Mr.  Lautrup  for 
Messrs.  Burnham  &  Root,  representing  a  bank  building,  in  which  we 
find  the  windows  represented  as  glazed  in  lead-work  on  a  scale  so 
colossal  that  the  disappointed  depositors,  who  are  shown  gathering 
in  groups  about  the  doorway,  could  easily  crawl  through  the  space 
made  by  the  removal  of  a  single  quarry,  it  is  certain  that  in  Mr. 
Peabody's  lovely  little  color  sketches,  showing  a  house  at  Brookline, 
a  church  at  Weston,  Mass.,  and  three  studies  for  a  church  at 
Pittsfield,  the  design  gains  much  from  the  rendering.  Perhaps  as 
sketches  the  church  drawings  are  the  most  effective,  but  the  study  for 
the  house  —  Mr.  White's,  is  so  full  of  the  sweetest  charm  of  peace 
and  home  that  we  are  very  much  inclined  to  rank  it,  slight  as  it  is, 
as  the  best  specimen  of  architectural  expression  in  the  exhibition, 
and  one  of  the  best  ever  shown  in  New  York. 

With  these,  as  shining  examples  of  that  rare  and  precious  quality, 
architectural  expression,  should  be  mentioned  Mr.  H.  P.  Kirby's 
drawings,  of  which  a  dozen  or  so  are  collected  on  a  stand  near  the 
door.  Our  readers  know  our  opinion  of  Mr.  Kirby's  compositions,  so 
we  need  say  no  more  than  that  in  some  of  those  here  shown  he  is  at  his 
very  best.  A  few  are  sketches  from  old  French  towns,  in  which  he 
seems  to  revel  in  picturesqueness  and  contrasts-  of  light  and  shade, 
while  the  others  are  mostly  compositions  of  his  own,  more  picturesque 
even  than  French  nature,  and  delicious  in  their  indications  of  detail, 
Why  it  is  that  we  do  not  see  some  of  Mr.  Kirby's  conceptions  carried 
out,  we  cannot  imagine.  There  seems  to  be  nothing  about  his 
"Court-house  Tower,"  or  his  "Country  Tavern,"  which  is  not  per- 
fectly adapted  to  modern  requirements,  and  either  of  them  has 
architectural  novelty  and  beauty  enough  to  endow  a  whole  American 
town  with  those  qualities,  yet  they  appear  to  remain  unfruitful.  We 
cannot  say  quite  as  much  for  his  sketches  for  a  Moorish  "Casino" 
as  for  the  French  Gothic  and  Transition  work,  but  in  the  latter,  as 
well  as  in  compositions  too  simple  to  be  of  any  style,  and  depending 
purely  on  picturesqueness,  his  sketches,  at  least,  are  unrivalled.  To 
have  them  lost,  even  as  sketches,  to  the  architectural  world  would  be 
a  serious  misfortune  and  we  trust  that,  before  it  is  too  late,  some 
one  will  see  to  it  that  a  complete  collection  is  made  of  the  works  of 
this  American  Prout. 


[Contributors  are  requested  to  send  with  their  drawings  full  and 
adequate  descriptions  of  the  buildings,  including  a  statement  of  cost.] 

ENTRANCE  TO  THE  HOUSE  OF  C.  L.  TIFFANY,  ESQ.,  NEW  YORK, 
N.  Y.  MESSRS.  MCKI5I,  MEAD  &  WHITE,  ARCHITECTS,  NEW 
YORK,  N.  Y. 

[Helio-chrome,  issued  only  with  the  Imperial  Edition.] 

OTHIC  SPIRES  AND  TOWERS,  PLATES  37  AND  38.  —  CANTEBBURY 
CATHEDRAL;  ST.  MARY  MAGDALENE,  NEWARK,  ENGLAND. 

[Issued  only  with  the  Imperial  Edition.!      .  . 

THE      AGE     OF     FRANCIS    I,    PLATE    1.  — CHAPEL     OF     ST.    HUBERT, 
AMBOISE. 

tissued  only  with  the  Imperial  Edition.! 

'THE  AGE  OF  BRASS";     "THE    BROKEN    NOSE";     "  PERE    AYMER." 
M.    AUGUSTE    RODIN,    SCULPTOR, 

SEE  article  elsewhere  in  this  issue. 


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JANUABST  19,  1889.]  TJie   American   Architect  ana  Building  News. 


31 


GRAND   ALTAR    IN    THE    CHURCH    OF   GUADALUPE,    MEXICO. 

HOUSE    OF    FRANK   CAMPBELL,     ESQ.,   YORK,    PA.      MR.   J.    A.    DEMP 
WOLF,    ARCHITECT,    YORK,    PA. 

BUILDING     FOR    THE    BELL     TELEPHONE      COMPANY   OF    MISSOURI 
ST.    LOUIS,     MO.        MESSRS.    SHEPLEY,     RUTAN   &    COOLIDGE,   AR 
CHITECTS,    BOSTON,    MASS. 

UPPER     CANADA    COLLEGE,    TORONTO,    CANADA.        MR.    GEORGE    F 
DURAND,    ARCHITECT,    LONDON,    ONTARIO. 

LAWRENCE,   MASS.                           CHICAGO,   ILL.                             NEW  YORK     N     Y 

Chas.  T.  Emerson.                 J.  L.  Silsbee.                         H.  R.  Marshall  ' 

F  wi™  "•  MA8S-    E  *  s™d'      *  "-^ 

F.  W.  Stickney.                                                                         u    \?   K-JIH 
Merrill  &  Cutler.                           PORTLAND,  ME.            f±  u^ltou 
LYNN,  MASS.               Stevens  &  Cobb.                    W.  H.  Mersereau. 
Wheeler  &  Northend.                   BALTIMORE.  MD.          C*T£™&  Hastings 
Call  &  Varney.                      T.  B.  Ghequier.                    E.  T.  Littell 
H.  W.  Rogers.                         R.  F.  J.  Johnson.                  E.  H.  Kendall 

PITT8FIELD.  MASS.              Wya"  &  NBltlng.                         W.  B.  Tuthill. 

H.  N.  Wilson.                           CEDAR  RAPID8,  MICH.      gTSSfiSS; 
SALEM,  MASS.             Josselyn  &  Taylor.                J.  Stroud. 
W.  B.  Smith.                                 DETROIT,  MICH.            £  F;  D™|n'ch 

SPRINGFIELD,  MASS.          A-  B-  Crane-                                     W-  s'.  KllOwleS. 

Gardner,  Pyne   &   Gard-         KANSAS  CITY,  MO. 
ner.                                      Willis  Polk.                                 ROCHESTER,  N.  Y 
Richmond  &  Seabury.          H.  B.  Pridden.                        J.  R.  Church 
Jason  Perkins.                        s.  E.  Chamberlin.                   Thomas  Nolan 
F.S.  Newman.                        A.  Van  Brunt.                         J.  G.  Cutler.    ' 
BT.LOUI8.MO.             O.K.Foote. 

WORCESTER,   MASS.            f,    j,    j,ls|ey>                                               SAYVILLE,  N.   Y. 

Stephen  C.  Earl.                     Eames  &  Young.                     I.  H.  Green  Jr 
E.  Boyden  &  Son.                   A.  F.  Rosenheim. 
Fuller  &  Delano.                    E.  Jungeufeld  &  Co.                          TTICA,  N.  Y. 

A.  P.  Cutting.                                                                                                   Ty-    jj    OvnmnHa 

J.  B.  Woodworth.                        ST.  PAUL,  MINN.            F.'lL'Gouge 
AvvisTfw    AH              Gilbert  &  Taylor. 

ANMSTON,   ALA.                                                                                              CINCINNATI     O 

Chisholm  &  Green.                           YORK,  NEB.                E.  Anderson 

LONDON,  OXTAEIO,    CAN.      ^  ^   ^""^                            J.  W.  McLaughlin. 

G.  F.  Durand.                            EAST  ORANGE,  N.  j.                CLEVELAND   o 
MONTREAL,  CAN.           S.  W.  Whittemore.               L.  T.  Scofleld. 
Taylor  &  Gordon.                           NEWARK,  N.  j.            E-  Schwabe. 
J.  Venue.                                P.  G.  Botticher.                             COLUMBIA,  PA. 

NAPANEE,   CANADA.                     PATEBSON,   N.   J.                P'  E-  Gouger. 

F.  Bartlett.                            C.  Edwards.                                        ERIE,  PA. 

TORONTO,   CAKADA.                        RAMSEYS,   N.  J.                 D'  K'  Dean  &  Son. 

W.H.Gregg.                           E.  R.  Storm.                                 ,,„.,  .__. 
Strickland  &  Symous.                                                                "ILADELPHIA,  PA. 
Langley  &  Burke.                          ALBANY,  N.  Y.             Smith  &  Pritchett. 
Fuller  &  \Vhpelpr                   ^*  ^*  Mason  Jr. 
DENVER,  COLO.              F.  H?  Janes                              Moses  &  King. 
W.  A.  Marean.                                                                      F-  JI.  Day. 

AUBURN,   N.   Y.                 B.  Linfoot. 

MONTE  VISTA,  COLO.        jr.  D.  JIakepeace.                 J-  JI-  Wilson. 
A.  Fehmer.                                                                                 H-  A.  Macomb. 

TUKMIvrmiu     <-nwx-                      BROOKLYN,  N.   Y.               Cope  &  Stewardson. 

IRMINGHAM,  tONN.                   Kiscnacu                         Hazlehurst  &  Huckel. 
Alderman  &  Lee.                   M  j  M<lrrili                         J.  J.  Deery. 
BRIDGEPORT,  CONN.         H.'  M.  Davis.  '                          A.  J.  Boyden 
C.  T.  Beantaley!  Jr.               *'  J'  ^^bach,  Jr.            £  &  ^orthington. 
Warren  R.  Briggs.                         BUFFALO,  N.  Y.            T-  K.  Williamson. 
HARTFORD,  CONN.          Marling  &  Burnett.                     PITTSBURGH    PA 
M.  P.  Hapgood.                      J*.  A.  &  L.  Hetliune.               w  g   Fraser 
W.  C.  Brocklesby.                 ^  cTorr 

NEW   HAVEN,  CONN.            W.  W.  Ca'rlin.                                             SCRANTON,   PA. 

L.  W.Robinson. 
H.  G.  Russell.                        p.erce  &  I)ockstader>                        YORK,  PA. 

WATERBCRY,  CONN.                                                                              »•  •*•  Deuipwolf. 
R.  W.  Hill.                                               JAMESTOWN,   N.   Y.                  WILKES-BARRE,   PA. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  c.                                                        Kipp  &  Podmore. 
W  J  Marsh                               OGDENSBURG,  N.  Y. 
H.'T.'E.  Wendell.                 J.  P.  Johnston.                           PROVIDENCE,  B.  i. 
K.  I.  Fleming.                                                                       Stone,  Carpenter  &  Will- 
J.  L.  Sinithmeyer.                        NEW  VOKK,  N.  Y.              son. 
W.  B.  Bigelow.                       Gould  &  Angell. 
MACON,  OA.                 Fowler  &  Hough.                   K-  I-  Nickerson. 
P.  E.  Dennis.                            G.  Edw.  Harding  &  Co.         L-  p-  Longworthy. 
Rossiter  &  Wright. 

SAVANNAH,    GA.                 W    A     potter.                                        WOONSOCKET,  E.   I. 

J.  J.  Nevitt.                             A.  J.  Bloor.                             W.  Kent. 
J.  R.  Hinchman. 
CHICAGO,  ILL.              c  p  Karr.                              EDGEFIELD  JUNCTION, 
J.  K.  O.  Pridmore.                G.  E.  Harney.                                        TENN. 
W.  I).  Cowles.                        J.  C.  Cady  &  Co.                    R.  Sharp. 
J.  N.  Til  ton.                            G.  M.  Walgrove. 
Burnham  &  Root.                 C.  H.  Israels.                              KNOXVILLE,  TENN. 
F.  L.  Lively.                             H.  M.  Congdon.                      Baumann  Bros. 
J.  J.  Egan.                             Withers  &  Dickson.              Beaver  &  Hoffmelstor 
O.  J.  Pierce.                           Babb.  Cook  &  Willnrd. 
Flanders  &  Zimmerman.      H.  H.  Holly  &  Jelliff.                 MEMPHIS,  TENN. 
W.  W.  Boyington.                 H.  D.  Hooker.                     .  A.  B.  Cook. 
O.  H.  Matz.                            O.  P.  Hatfleld. 
H.  I.  Cobb.                             G.  M.  Huss.                                    RICHMOND,  VA. 
F.  W.  Perkins.                      H.  O.  Avery.                          M.  J.  Dimmock. 
Beman  &  Parmenter.           C.  W.  &  A.  A.  Stoughton. 

A    GENERAL    PROTEST    AGAINST    IMPROPER    CONDI 
TIONS  OF  COMPETITION. 

[ARCHITECTS  in  every  part  of  the  country  are  invited  to  send  us  their  au- 
thorization to  add  their  names  to  the  protest.  —  EDS.] 

.1TTHE  fact  that  the  Committee  on  Finance,  to  whom  the  following 
•  1  •  resolution  was  referred  by  the  Massachusetts  Senate,  reported 
on  Monday  last  that  it  "  ought  to  pass  "  may  be  taken  by  the 
profession  as  a  distinct  encouragement  and  should  induce  all  archi- 
tects to  uphold  each  others'  hands  in  all  similar  cases. 
The  resolution  prepared    by  Mr.  Kittredge  of  Boston,  from  the 
Committee  on  the  State-House,  which  will  probably  now  be  passed 
before  this  issue  reaches  our  readers  is,  as  follows  : 
Resolved,  That  there  be  allowed  and  paid  out  of  the  Treasury  of  the 
Commonwealth  a  sum   not   exceeding   §8,000,  to  be   expended   under 
the  direction  of  the  Governor  and  Council,  to  enable  them  to  devise  and 
report  to  the  General  Court  in  the  month  of  March,  1889,  a  general 
plan  for  the  use,  occupancy  and  improvement  of  any  land  acquired  or 
taken  for  State  purposes,  including  the  present  State-House  grounds, 
and  for  the  alteration  or  enlargement  of  any  existing  buildings  or  the 
erection  of  any  new  buildings  thereon,  it  being  hereby  provided   that 
the  architects  presenting  the  plan  which  shall  be  adopted  by  the  Legis- 
lature or  by  its   authority  shall  be  employed  to  superintend  the  con- 
struction of  the  building  designed  in  such  plan,  on  terms  to  be  agreed 
upon  by  the  Governor  and  Council  ;  and  it  being  further  provided  that 
§500  of  the  above  named  sum  may  be  expended  under  the  direction  of 
the  Governor  and  Council  to  enable  them  to  employ  experts  to  advise 
them  in  deciding  upon  the  merits  of  plans  which  may  be  submitted. 
Resolved,  That   chapter   92,  Resolves   of   1888,  is   hereby  repealed, 
provided  that  any  bills  contracted  under  the  authority  of  said   resolve- 
may  be  paid  out  of  the  amount  authorized  herein. 

BOSTON,  MASS.,  December  18,  1888. 
TITHE  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts  has,  by  its  Commissioners, 
J|t  advertised   for   designs    for   the    State-House   extension,    said 
designs  to  be  furnished  in  open  competition.     The  conditions 
of  the  competition,  as  announced,  have  evidently  been  framed  with- 
out due  regard  to  the  best  custom  in  the  conduct  of  such  matters, 
the  sole  end  and  aim  of  which  should  be  to  secure  to  the  State  the 
best  service  by  making  sure  that  "  the  best  men  shall  take  part  ;  that 
they  shall  be  encouraged  to  do  their  best  ;  that  the  best  thev  offer 
shall  be  selected  ;  and  that  the  author  of  the  successful  design  shall 
be  employed  as  architect,  provided  the  building  is  built  and  he  is 
competent." 
The  conditions  announced  are  faulty  — 
First.     In  that  they  are  not  drawn  up  in  accordance  with  the  best 
custom,  and  no  assurance  is  given  that  an  expert  adviser  will  be 
employed  to  aid  the  Commission  in  their  choice. 
Second.     That  no  assurance  is  given  that  the  successful  competi- 
tor will  be  employed,  but,  on  the  contrary,  it  is  distinctly  stated  that 
all   premiated  competitors  are  to  relinquish  all  ownership  in  their 
plans  to  the  State,  without  any  further  claim  to  compensation  or  em- 
ployment. 
Third.     Even  if  the  first  prize  in  the  competition  were  as  it  should 
be,  the  execution  of  the  building,  the  actual  prizes  offered  would 
still  be  entirely  insufficient  compensation  to  the  authors  of  the  draw- 
ings placed  second  and  third. 
For  the  above  reasons,  we,  the  undersigned  architects,  citizens  of  the 
State  of  Massachusetts  [and  elsewhere],  protest  against  this  form  of 
competition,  which,  in  our  opinion,  is  not  for  the  best  interests  of  the 
State  or  of  our  profession,  and  we  therefore  decline  to  enter  it  : 

BOSTON',   MASS.                              BOSTON,    MASH.                              BOSTON,  MASS. 

Cabot,  Everett  &  Mead.       Sturgis  &  Cabot.                   Wrn.  Whitney  Lewis. 
Wheelwright  &  Haven.        Shepley,  Hutau    &  Cool-    J.  Merrill  Brown. 
Joseph  B.  Richards.                 idge.                                    Chainberlin  &  Whidden. 
John  A.  Fox.                           Eotch  &  Tilden.                      Wm.  D.  Austin. 
Geo.  H.  Young.                     Snell  &  Gregerson.                F.  W.  Chandler. 
E.  A.  P.  Newcomb.               Shaw  &  Hunnewell.              J.  P.  Putnam. 
Longfellow,  Alden  &  Har-    Win.  G.  Preston, 
low.                                     L.  Weissbein.                         „  JITCHBURG,  MASS. 
Edwin  J.  Lewis.                    Franz  K.  Zerrahn.                 H-  M-  Francis. 
Andrews  &  Jaques.              Carl  Fehmer.                                HOLYOKE,  MASS. 
H.  Langford  Warren.           Arthur  Little.                       E.  A.  Ellsworth. 
Walker  &  Best.                    Peabody&  Stearns.                H.  Walther. 
Wm.  Rotch  Ware.                Winslow  &  Wetherell.         Jas.  A.  Clough. 
Hartwell  &  Richardson.       W.  H.  McGinty.                    Geo.  P.  B.  Alderman, 
Cummings  &  Sears.                W.  M.  Bacon.                          Cain  &  Kilburn. 
T.  M.  Clark.                            W.  P.  Richards.                      Henry  H.  Gridley. 
Allen  &  Kenway.                  Daniel  Appleton.                  W.  E.  Fitch,  C.  E. 
Hand  &  Taylor.                     H.  M.  Stephenson.                D.  H.  &  A.  B.  Tower. 
Thos.  O'Grady,  Jr.                W.  R.  Emerson,                     T.  W.  Mann. 

A.  M.  F.  Holton.                   W.  H.  Beers.                               MILWAUKEE,  wis. 
D.  Adler.                                H.  Edwards-Ficken.             G.  B.  Ferry. 

THE  NUMBER  OF  ILLITERATES.  —  A  census  of  the  illiterates  in  the 
various  countries  of   the  world,  recently  published  in  the   Statistische 
Monatsschrift  places  the  three  Slavic  States  of  Roumania,  Scrvia,  and 
Russia  at  the  head  of  the  list,  with  about  80  per  cent  of  the  population 
unable  to  read  and  write.    Of  the  Latin-speaking  races,  Spain  heads 
the  list  with  63  per  cent,  followed  by  Italy  with  48  per  cent,  France 
and  Belgium  having  about  15  per  cent.      The  illiterates  in  Hungary 
lumber  43  per  cent,  in  Austria  39,  and  in  Ireland  21.    In  England  they 
are  13  per  cent,  in  Holland  10  per  cent,  in  the  United  States  (white 
population)  8  per  cent,  and  in  Scotland  7  per  cent.     Among  the  purely 
Teutonic  States  there  is  a  marked  reduction  in   the  percentage  of 
[literates.    The  highest  is  in  Switzerland,  2.5;  in  the  whole  German 
impire  it  is  but  1  per  cent;    while  in   Sweden,  Denmark,  Bavaria, 
Jaden,  and  Wiirtemberg  there  is  practically  no  one  who  cannot  read 
and  write. 

32 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.       [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  682. 


ARCHAEOLOGICAL   CAMPING   IN   ARIZONA. 1  —  III. 


Vera  Cruz,    Mexico. 

N  archaeological  camp  proves  to  be  a  very  busy  place,  although 
it  seems  a  very  region  of  dolce  far  niente,  under  the  serene  sky, 
on  the  wide  and  silent  sunlit  plains  basking  in  the  sunlight. 
The  landscape  is  a  picture  of  peace.  All  nature  is  enjoying  a  deli- 
cious repose.  No  hum  of  insects  is  heard  in  the  bright  and  quiet 
air.  The  Around  is  brown  and  bare ;  even  the  withered  herbs  have 
nearly  all  crumbled  into  dust  and  been  scattered  in  the  wind, 
leaving  the  brown  plain  bare  and  baked.  The  warm  sun  of  the  days 
canno?  yet  call  forth  the  plants  from  the  sleep  induced  by  the  cold  of 
the  night-time;  only  the  brave  blades  of  the  grain  have  the  strength 
to  thrust  themselves  up,  little  by  little,  day  after  day,  farther  and 
farther  into  the  air,  until  March  sees  them  undulating  like  sea-waves 
over  the  broad  fields,  their  bloom  showing  foam-like  and  creamy 
rreen,  while  mid-April  finds  them  golden  and  ready  for  the  harvest. 
The  brooding  calm  seems  emphasized  by  the  few  glimpses  of  anima- 
tion, the  few  sounds,  that  at  intervals  strike  the  eye  or  greet  the  ear  ; 
the  scurrying  rabbits,  the  timid  little  cotton-tails  and  the  great  jack- 
rabbit  with  his  enormous  ears  and  astonishingly  long  leaps;  those 
pretty  creatures,  the  "juancitos,"  which  word  means  "  Johnnies," 
rat-like  and  squirrel-like,  with  long  tails  terminating  in  a  tuft  of  hair 
like  those  of  shaven  poodles,  and  wee  ground-squirrels  dodging  into 
their  holes  with  which  the  ground  is  everywhere  burrowed  into  a 
honevcomb  that  keeps  horsemen  warily  on  the  lookout  when  dashing 
acros's  country;  that  humorous  fellow,  the  coyote,  skulking  among  the 
brush  or  sauntering  indifferently  along  a  few  dozen  feet  away  when 
he  seems  to  know  you  are  not  armed,  making  night  anything  but 
musical  with  his  yelpings ;  and  the  birds  that  hover  around,  some 
with  exquisite  musical  notes,  and  the  numerous  flocks  of  quail  with 
their  queer  crests  perked  forward  and  looking  like  some  prize 
carried  in  their  bills,  evidently  aware  that  their  meat  is  as  dry  and 
tasteless  as  sawdust,  for  they  run  across  the  roads  as  indifferently  as 
barnyard  fowl  and  rarely  take  wing. 

But  while  Nature  and  her  children  are  taking  their  ease,  Camp 
Ilemenway  is  well  occupied.  The  laborers  have  early  gone  afield  to 
carry  out"  the  instructions  that  Mr.  Cushing  has  dictated  to  his 
secretary  the  night  before ;  the  two  doctors  are  out  with  them  look- 
in"  after  the  skeletons  of  the  Ancients ;  Mr.  Hodge  is  at  his  desk  in 
his  neatly-kept  tent  writing  out  his  notes  or  busy  with  the  accounts ; 
Don  Carlos  is  looking  after  practical  affairs,  turning  out  some  needed 
carpentry  at  the  bench  under  one  of  the  mesquite  trues,  or  is  on  the 
way  to  Phcenix  for  supplies,  or  is  at  work  on  his  surveys,  while  Mr. 
Cushing  is  out  keeping  the  run  of  the  work  on  the  excavations,  pho- 
tographing the  finds  in  situ,  elated  over  some  interesting  discovery 
and  drawing  inferences  therefrom  in  the  light  of  his  manifold  ethno- 
lofieal  experiences,  ranging  the  plains  in  the  saddle  or  on  the  buck- 
board  with  eyes  alert  for  the  slightest  traces  of  ancient  landmarks, 
or  in  his  tent  finding  comparisons  among  his  books  or  among  his  old 
notes  that  throw  new  light  on  fresh  observations,  or  writing  or 
dictating  the  daily  reports  that  preserve  accurate  records  of  the  work 
as  it  progresses.  All  this  in  the  intervals  left  him  for  work  by  the 
delicate  condition  of  his  health,  and  often  accomplished  only  by 
dominating  over  keen. pain  by  the  mastery  of  a  strong  will. 

The  ladies  also  are  by  no  means  idle,  even  a  camp  providing 
abundant  domestic  cares  for  Mrs.  Cushing,  while  Miss  Magill 
spends  the  day  at  her  easel  over  the  beautiful  water-color  drawings 
which  she  is  making  of  all  the  important  articles  in  the  collections, 
with  conscientious  accuracy,  and  to  scale.  Of  the  pottery,  for  in- 
stance, she  makes  two  or  more  drawings  of  each  specimen,  one  from 
the  side  and  the  other  from  above  or  below,  or  perhaps  both,  while 
in  the  case  of  the  decorated  ware  she  makes  a  drawing  of  each 
different  motive  in  the  ornamentation,  affording  many  beautiful 
designs  and  hints  for  decoration  which  could  well  be  availed  of  by 
architects  and  painters.  This  idea  of  giving  in  a  painted  band  the 
motives  of  pottery  design,  adopted  in  the  reports  of  the  Bureau  of 
Ethnology,  originated,  1  believe,  with  Mr.  Cushing  and  it  is  extreme- 
ly useful  in  affording  an  understanding  of  the  decoration,  which, 
when  seen  on  the  vessel  appears  often  so  complicated  as  to  be  diffi- 
cult to  elucidate,  while,  by  presenting  the  motive  alone  it  is  made 
clear. 

Another  busy  man  in  camp  is  the  cook,  who  has  a  difficult  task  in 
suiting  the  appetites  of  so  many,  some  of  whom  have  been  made 
dyspeptic  by  the  exigencies  of  desert  fare.  Cooks  in  camp  appear 
to  maintain  the  reputation  of  the  craft  for  inconstancy  and  for  per- 
versity of  temper,  and  the  incumbency  of  the  office  often  changes. 


1  Continued  from  page  16,  No.  681. 


Various  nationalities  have  been  tried  :  Chinamen,  Mexicans,  Ameri- 
cans, Irishmen,  Germans,  Frenchmen.  The  Chinamen  bring  the 
economy  that  they  are  accustomed  to  exercise  in  their  own  affairs  in- 
to that  of  their  masters;  it  seems  a  second  nature  to  them,  and  they 
cannot  help  it.  This  is  an  admirable  trait  when  not  carried  too  far, 
as  it  is  when  they  economize  so  as  to  half  starve  those  dependent 
upon  them.  In  his  first  months  here  Mr.  Cushing  had  with  him  two 
of  his  Zuni  friends.  The  cook  at  that  time  was  a  Chinaman,  and  he 
held  that  men  who  were  idle  did  not  require  so  much  food  as  those 
who  worked,  and  he  applied  the  idea  very  rigidly  to  these  two  Zunis. 
One  of  them  rarely  condescended  to  labor,  while  the  other  often 
went  to  the  excavations  and  did  good  service  with  pick  or  shovel,  re- 
ceiving pay  accordingly.  To  the  worker  Mr.  Chinaman  allowed  two 
cups  of  coffee  —  a  beverage  of  which  the  Indians  are  very  fond  — 
but  the  other  was  sternly  denied  a  second  cup,  and  when  one  evening 
lie  contrived  to  help  himself  to  a  second  while  the  cook's  attention 
was  momentarily  diverted,  it  was  instantly  snatched  from  his  hand. 
The  cook  was  likewise  chary  of  pie  to  the  non-worker. 

When  I  first  came  to  the  camp  a  Mexican  was  temporarily  in 
charge  of  culinary  affairs,  during  a  hiatus  occasioned  by  the  resigna- 
tion of  a  much-esteemed  American  chef  in  consequence  of  a  spree, 
and  the  fare  was  something  unspeakable  in  the  way  in  which  good 
material  was  converted  into  various  materials  of  indigestibility. 
A  gaunt  and  pale  young  man  next  appeared  on  the  scene,  speaking 
one  of  the  vernaculars  prevailing  south  of  Mason  &  Dixon's  line, 
fond  of  talking  of  "  the  fine  old  family  "  to  which  he  belonged,  and 
expressing  a  sense  of  the  degradation  of  the  estate  to  which  he  had 
fallen.  If  he  had  had  more  respect  for  his  calling  and  talked  less 
about  his  antecedents  perhaps  his  claim  to  gentlemanly  rank  would 
not  have  had  to  be  so  volubly  expressed  in  order  to  obtain  recogni- 
tion —  for  I  have  hail  the  fortune  to  encounter  genuine  gentlemen 
in  nearly  every  walk  of  life.  Poore's  specialty  was  cakes  and  pud- 
dings, imposing  in  aspect  and  formidable  in  quantity —  of  their  quality 
perhaps  it  is  sufficient  to  say  that  our  failure  to  eat  any  of  them  did 
not  seem  to  discourage  him  in  the  least,  and  the  same  prodigious 
piles  —  that  is,  the  same  in  appearance,  though  unfortunately  for 
the  resources  in  eggs  and  sugar,  fresh-made  each  day —  were  triumph- 
antly borne  before  us  to  cap  the  climax  of  each  meal  though  left  un- 
Jiminished  at  its  end.  Perhaps  the  Mexicans  disposed  of  them  at 
their  table,  which  accounts  for  the  aversion  they  manifested  towards 
the  cook  before  lie  finally  vanished  in  the  cloud  of  the  customary 
:'tear"  that  usually  serves  to  mark  changes  of  culinary  administra- 
tion in  this  part  of  the  world.  Edward  the  Alsatian  next  appeared 
on  the  scene,  and  he  proved  a  treasure ;  he  took  a  pride  in  his 
work  and  knew  how  to  give  nice  little  attractive  touches  to  his  dishes 
and  impart  an  appetizing  flavor  to  his  preparations.  He  was  cheery 
and  diligent,  and  far  into  the  evening  he  would  sing  the  German 
folk-songs  of  his  fatherland  over  his  work ;  pleasant  to  hear,  for  their 
melody's  sake,  even  though  he  did  invariably  maintain  the  pitch  a 
semi-tone  below  the  key  !  Shortly  after  he  came  to  us  we  had  a  little 
fiesta  in  honor  of  the  birthday  of  Don  Carlos,  and  Edward  elaborated 
a  magnificent  cake  for  the  occasion ;  with  icing  ornamented  in  the 
height  of  the  confectioner's  art.  But  alas,  when  cut  it  was  like  lead 
within  !  When  Edward  came  in  shortly  after  he  saw  a  piece  lying 
on  a  plate,  and  the  transitions  from  astonishment,  through  disgust, 
to  humiliation  and  grief  that  passed  over  his  face  would  have  fur- 
nished profitable  study  for  a  comedian.  "Cheezus  G-h-r-i-s-t !  "  he 
muttered  slowly,  inspecting  it  critically  and  then  tasting  it.  We 
sympathetically  assured  him  that  the  cake  was  good,  the  icing  was 
fine  enough  to  assure  that,  any  way  ;  but  he  refused  to  be  consoled ; 
he  knew  what  cake  was  and  when  he  said  it  was  bad,  it  was  no  use 
to  tell  him  it  was  good  —  he  had  forgotten  the  yeast-powder.  ."I 
mague  you  a  gake  domorrow  !  "  he  declared,  and  the  next  noon  he 
set  his  success  before  us  in  justified  triumph.  But  the  spoiling  of 
that  cake  gave  us  enough  entertainment  to  atone  for  the  mishap. 
Edward's  weak  point  was  his  coffee,  which  was  strange,  considering 
the  part  of  the  world  from  which  he  came :  as  a  guest  expressed  it, 
he  was  "  coffee-blind."  It  happened  that  neither  Mr.  Cushing  nor 
the  ladies  were  coffee-drinkers,  and  so  the  rest  of  us  suffered  in 
silence  rather  than  reveal  the  flaw  in  the  one  who  gave  such  thorough 
satisfaction  to  them,  until  we  received  the  delightful  visit  from  the 
afore-mentioned  guest,  to  whom  a  good  cup  of  coffee  was  the  main 
dependence  at  breakfast,  and  he  frankly  declared  that  it  was  the 
most  abominable  stuff  it  was  ever  his  fortune  to  taste  ;  a  declaration 
which  was  concurred  in  by  the  rest  of  the  table  with  astonishingly 
hearty  unanimity.  Whereupon  Mr.  Cushing,  who  included  a  good 
knowledge  of  cooking  among  his  many  accomplishments,  proceeded 
to  give  Edward  a  course  of  instruction  in  coffee-making,  with  some 
degree  of  success,  for  the  time  being. 

Rafael  Castro,  the  handsome,  stalwart  youth  who  takes  care  of 
the  animals  and  attends  to  the  many  wants  of  the  camp,  is  a  favorite 
with  us  all,  like  his  brother  Ramon.  He  is  faithful,  diligent,  and  a 
natural  gentleman.  Watering  and  feeding  the  animals,  hauling 
water  and  wood,  driving  into  town  after  the  mail,  and  doing  the 
daily  chores  of  the  camp,  time  does  not  hang  heavily  on  his  hands. 
In  the  morning  the  animals  are  set  loose,  and  they  repair  in  a  herd 
to  the  neighboring  acequia  for  water,  Rafael  riding  bare-back  on 
Jack,  one  of  the  largest  of  the  mules.  The  other  mules  lie  down  to 
indulge  in  a  roll  the  first  thing,  kicking  the  dust  up  in  clouds.  Jack, 
a  solemn-faced  creature,  deliberately  follows  their  example,  Rafael 
stepping  from  his  back  as  he  nears  the  ground,  and  patiently  holding 
the  halter  until  the  exercise  is  finished.  "Get  up,  Jack  !  "  he  finally 


JANUARY  19,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


33 


exclaims  out  of  his  limited  English  vocabulary.  But  Jack  has  nol 
yet  got  enough,  and  proceeds  to  take  another  roll,  while  Rafae! 
smiles  indulgently.  Rafael's  English  is  limited  to  his  remarks  to  tht 
animals,  and  -1  observe  that  the  Mexicans  hereabouts  seem  to  think 
it  the  proper  thing  to  use  our  mother-tongue  in  addressing  horses 
and  mules.  Possibly  they  learn  it  from  the  American  teamsters,  or 
perhaps  it  is  because  the  horses  and  mules  are  American-bred,  anc 
understand  the  phrases  better !  Does  not  the  proverb  say  thai 
Spanish  is  the  language  of  heaven,  Italian  of  love,  French  of  socia' 
intercourse,  while  English  was  designed  to  be  spoken  to  animals ! 

Mules  are  devoted  admirers  of  horses,  and  Mr.  Cushing's  herd  is 
ardently  attached  to  Douglas ;  oftentimes  the  latter  will  set  them  a 
bad  example  when  returning  from  water,  and,  feeling  the  need  oi 
exercise,  go  galloping  in  splendid  style  off  to  our  neighbor's  barley- 
field,  whose  greenness  appeals  appetizingly  to  his  eyes.  The  others 
feel  themselves  privileged  to  follow,  and  there  is  a  grand  scampering 
and  flourishing  of  heels,  until,  after  great  efforts  on  the  part  ol 
Rafael,  they  are  finally  driven  back  to  camp,  each  marching  to  his 
or  her  respective  place  at  the  crib  with  the  sober  decorum  of  beings 
who  never  knew  what  a  frolic  was.  The  mules  are  a  fine-looking 
lot,  and  it  is  interesting  to  note  their  individual  peculiarities,  mani- 
ifest  when  together  in  camp,  or  when  driven  or  ridden,  in  sympathies 
and  antipathies  towards  each  other  —  the  mutual  friendship  of  one 
pair,  the  stolid  indifference  of  another ;  the  strong  affection  existing 
between  Dr.  ten  Kate's  horse  Billy,  alias  Cafe,  and  the  skittish  and 
sturdy  little  mule  Z^iii,  who  are  near  neighbors  at  the  crib,  and 
stand  and  caress  each  other  by  the  hour ;  the  nervousness  and  femi- 
nine eccentricities  of  handsome  Mary;  Bob's  occasional  outbursts  ol 
irritability ;  the  incurable  laziness  of  great  Pete  and  Barney ;  the 
alert  responsiveness  of  Chub  and  Thistle;  the  sullenness  of  Joe, 
and  the  omniverous  appetite  of  Jack,  who  has  a  fondness  for  bacon 
and  for  mutton  stewed  with  Chili-peppers. 

The  skeletons  exhumed  at  Los  Muertos  are  so  badly  decayed  that 
it  proves  next  to  impossible  to  preserve  them,  and  so  Mr.  dishing 
decides  to  establish  a  side-camp  at  Las  Acequias,  where  the  more 
gravelly  soil  affords  better  conditions  for  sound  bones.  True,  no 
skeletons  had  yet  been  found  there,  for  there  had  been  no  excava- 
tions on  that  site,  and  the  two  doctors,  who  are  to  have  charge  of 
the  operations,  express  some  doubt  as  to  the  result.  "  You  shall 
find  skeletons  in  abundance,  and  splendid  ones  at  that,"  said  Mr. 
Gushing,  and  the  result  proves  the  justification  of  bis  prediction. 

The  new  camp  is  pitched  in  a  pretty  little  hollow,  amid  a  clump 
of  old  mesquite  trees.  The  hollow  is  that  of  one  of  the  ancient 
reservoirs,  and  the  moisture  retained  there  makes  it  a  favorable 
place  for  the  luxuriant  growth  of  the  mesquite  trees,  which  always 
flourish  particularly  well  in  such  a  spot.  Three  tents  are  brought 
from  the  other  camp,  and  rjleam  brightly  amidst  the  trees  :  a  small 
wall-tent  for  the  Doctors,  a  larger  one  for  the  Mexican  laborers,  the 
main  force  being  transferred  to  the  new  field  here,  and  the  Sibley 
has  been  brought  for  the  storage  of  the  collections.  One  of  the 
Mexicans  has  assumed  the  duties  of  cook,  and  the  kitchen  is  estal>- 
lished  between  the  first  two  tents  in  the  open  air,  the  apparatus  con- 
sisting of  a  "  tarantula,"  or  great  iron  frame  supported  on  legs,  and 
placed  over  the  fire  for  the  support  of  the  various  kettles,  frying- 
pans,  etc.,  and  a  crib  is  built  for  the  animals  needed  for  service  here. 
The  name  conferred  on  this  ancient  city,  Las  Aeequias,  comes  from 
the  great  irrigating-canals  that  spread  out,  fan-like,  among  the  ruins, 
and  reach  away  to  various  parts  of  the  plain  to  supply  the  other 
cities  of  the  group.  Their  course  may  still  be  plainly  traced  here, 
and  one  of  them  runs  close  by  the  camp,  connecting  with  the  reser- 
voir in  which  it  is  situated.  It  must  have  been  an  enormous  labor 
to  excavate  them  in  those  times,  with  nothing  but  crude  stone  imple- 
ments and  baskets  for  transportation  of  the  earth.  The  present 
Tempe  Canal  follows  the  course  of  one  of  these  old  ditches  very 
nearly  for  some  distance  from  the  river,  and  where  another  passed 
through  a  hard  bed  of  natural  cement.  The  Mormons  of  the 
neighboring  settlement  in  constructing  their  canal  adopted  the  old 
route,  thus  saving  an  expenditure  of  between  $10,000  and  $20,000. 

In  a  short  time  the  plain  is  dotted  with  the  yellow  heaps  of  earth 
thrown  up  by  the  excavations,  and  rich  arclueological  treasures  are 
found  in  the  shape  of  skeletons,  pottery,  stone-implements,  and  other 
articles.  The  two  Doctors  are  found  grubbing  in  the  pits,  indus- 
triously at  work  over  the  skeletons,  over  whose  anatomical  charac- 
teristics their  enthusiasm  is  aroused  to  a  high  pitch.  They  are 
intent  on  securing  and  saving  every  bone,  and  are  regardless  of 
personal  discomfort,  not  only  their  clothes  being  covered  with  the 
dust,  but  their  faces  begrimed  and  their  hair  and  beards  thoroughly 
,  powdered,  making  them  look  like  some  strange  burrowing  animals. 
The  result  of  their  painstaking  is  one  of  the  finest  and  most  com- 
plete collections  of  ancient  skeletons  ever  brought  together,  and 
the  consequent  discovery  of  certain  anatomical  characteristics  that 
promise  to  be  of  high  importance  in  the  determination  of  racial  dis- 
tinctions. 

Las  Acequias,  like  the  other  ancient  cities,  consists  of  groups  of 
large  houses,  corresponding  to  our  city  blocks  of  dwellings,  each  of 
which  was  inhabited  by  a  single  clan.  These  are  numbered  in  the 
course  of  the  excavations,  and  the  numbers  are  recorded  on  the  plats 
of  the  ruins  subsequently  made.  The  skeletons  and  other  specimens 
found  are  labelled  with  the  numbers  of  the  ruins  and  rooms  where 
they  are  found,  and  the  circumstances  attending  them  are  also 
recorded,  so  that  each  object  is  accompanied  by  a  concise  statement 
of  its  history,  which,  in  connection  with  the  preliminary  and  daily 


reports  made  by  Mr.  Gushing,  will  prove  invaluable  in  the  study  of 
the  collection,  giving  it  a  scientific  worth  such  as  few  other  collec- 
tions possess.  The  circumstances  under  which  objects  are  found, 
particularly  when  observed  by  one  competent  to  make  deductions 
from  those  circumstances,  are  frequently  of  even  more  value  than 
the  objects  themselves  in  their  relation  to  the  main  purpose  of  such 
explorations  —  the  understanding  of  the  people  of  whom  they  are 
relics. 

The  drive  between  the  two  camps  becomes  a  familiar  experience. 
It  is_made  by  some  one  in  a  buckboard  almost  daily,  Mr.  Cushing 
keeping  close  watch  of  the  progress  of  the  excavations.  In  the 
early  weeks  of  my  stay  the  intervening  region  is  still  a  wilderness, 
with  a  clearing  only  here  and  there,  so  we  cut  straight  across 
country  through  the  various  patches  of  mesquite,  sage-brush,  and 
greasewood  that  make  up  the  wilderness.  It  is  more  difficult  to  find 
the  way  over  these  broad  valley-plains  than  one  might  think,  in  spite 
of  the  landmarks  presented  by  the  neighboring  mountains,  for  the 
spot  one  seeks  is  difficult  to  find  amidst  the  general  flatness  of  the 
land  and  the  uniform  character  of  the  surrounding  objects,  which, 
amidst  the  various  rambling  cart-ways,  make  even  the  road  itself  hard 
to  follow  until  one  has  made  the  acquaintance  of  its  details  through 
familiarity. 

The  landscape  undergoes  a  rapid  transformation  in  the  course  of 
a  few  weeks.  Here  and  there,  the  plain  is  dotted  with  the  camps 
of  laborers  engaged  in  clearing  it,  consisting  of  Mexicans  at  work  for 
some  contractor  who  has  undertaken  the  job  for  the  owner.  Our 
nights  are  enlivened  by  the  brilliant  brush-fires  gleaming  around  us 
in  all  directions,  near  and  far.  The  mesquite  trees  are  cut  down 
and  burned  in  piles  above  their  roots,  whose  ramifications  are  fol- 
lowed by  the  smouldering  combustion,  leaving  the  ground  ready  for 
the  plow  when  that  instrument  shall  eventually  be  brought  into 
requisition,  which  will  probably  not  be  for  two,  or  even  three  years, 
for  the  mellow,  rich  soil  needs  no  plow  at  first.  A  seed-drill  rapidly 
sows  the  grain  when  the  ground  has  been  cleared,  and  the  only  labor 
then  required  is  to  irrigate  and  harvest;  the  next  year,  even  the 
labor  of  sowing  is  unnecessary,  for  a  luxuriant  volunteer  crop  springs 
up  from  the  self-sown,  ripened  grain,  and  often,  the  second  year, 
there  is  still  another  volunteer  crop  as  abundant  as  the  first  ! 

The  growth  of  sage-brush  or  greasewood  is  cleared  off  with  slight 
trouble  or  cost;  a  stout  bar  or  beam  is  dragged  across  the  land  by  a 
pair  of  horses,  one  attached  to  each  end.  The  bushes  are  displaced 
by  the  powerful  leverage  at  their  bases  as  the  beam  is  dragged  over 
them.  The  team  then  follows  the  same  course  in  the  reverse  direc- 
tion and  completes  the  destruction,  either  yanking  up  the  brushes  by 
the  roots,  or  breaking  off  the  brittle  wood  close  to  the  ground.  The 
brush  is  finally  gathered  into  great  piles  and  burned,  making  a  strong, 
clear  flame  that  shows  across  country  for  a  great  distance. 

It  is  not  long  before  the  whole  country  is  cleared,  changing  the 
aspect  of  the  locality  entirely.  The  land  stretches  away  almost  as 
smooth  as  a  floor  for  miles,  the  very  uniformity  in  contrast  with  the 
rugged  mountain-chains  around  giving  it  a  curtain  attractiveness  akin 
to  beauty.  The  tents  of  the  settlers  follow  those  of  the  clearing  parties. 
It  is  an  easy  matter  to  become  domiciled  in  this  region,  with  its  mild 
climate,  unlike  the  settling  of  the  rigorous  Northwest:  no  shelter 
is  required  for  stock,  and  little  for  the  people,  who  live  at  ease  in 
light  tents,  with  their  domestic  belongings  scattered  about  them  in 
the  dry  air,  until  their  first  simple  cottage  of  adobe  or  boards  is 
ready.  Not  unfrequently  one  sees  a  handsome  new  buggy  standing 
with  evident  ostentation  before  the  tent  of  a  new-comer,  looming  up 
prominently  from  a  distance. 

The  greater  part  of  the  land  is  taken  up  under  the  Desert-land 
Act,  which,  in  order  to  encourage  the  reclamation  of  the  desert, 
enables  a  citizen,  or  a  man  intending  to  become  a  citizen,  to  take  up 
a  whole  section  of  640  acres,  a  square-mile,  in  the  arid  regions  of 
the  country,  on  condition  that  it  be  cleared,  irrigated,  and  cultivated 
within  three  years  from  the  time  of  entry,  on  the  payment,  at  the 
end  of  that  time,  of  either  $1.25  or  $2.50  an  acre,  according  as  the 
land  is  within  the  limits  of  a  railway  land-grant  or  not,  the  latter, 
or  "  double-minim  "  price,  being  charged  in  that  event ;  so  that,  for 
$800  or  $1.600,  one  can  obtain  a  square-mile  of  land,  and,  as  only 
one-fifth  of  the  amount  has  to  be  paid  at  the  start  on  making  the 
mtry,  the  land  will,  of  course,  pay  for  this,  and  also  the  expenses  of 
learing,  beside  a  handsome  profit,  if  it  be  brought  under  cultivation 
at  once. 

Much  of  the  land  is  also  obtained  by  settlers  under  the  Home- 
stead, Preemption  or  Timber-culture  Acts,  each  of  which  permits 
Jus  taking-up  of  a  quarter-section,  or  160  acres.  It  is  possible  for 
one  man  to  take  advantage  of  all  these  acts,  and  so  obtain  from  the 
aovernment  1,120  acres  of  some  of  the  richest  and  most  valuable 
agricultural  land  in  the  world.  Many  of  these  settlers,  who  came 
nto  this  valley  a  few  years  ago  with  nothing  but  their  blankets,  have 
already  handsome  fortunes. 

Before  I  leave  the  valley,  in  mid-April,  the  greater  part  of  this 
and,  which  I  first  saw  as  a  primitive  wilderness,  is  green  with  young 
;rain.  It  will  not  be  long  before  it  all  presents  the  same  aspect  as 
he  beautiful  homestead-region  of  Mesa  City,  the  Mormon  town 
tlose  by  Las  Acequias.  Driving  towards  the  latter  camp  from  Los 
Vluertos,  we  see  Mesa  City  simply  as  a  long  line  of  trees  in  the 
distance,  with  a  few  houses  of  recent  settlers  scattered  here  and 
liere  in  the  open  on  the  hither  side.  It  seems  but  a  single  line  of 
,rees  bordering  some  irrigating  canal,  but,  when  we  have  once  pene- 
trated it,  we  find  that  it  is  the  border  of  a  beautifully  embowered 


34 


The  American   Architect  and  Building  News.        [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  682. 


town,  with  neat  houses  and  long,  shady  avenues  enclosing  many  a 
square-mile  of  vineyard  and  orchard.  The  little  gurgling  streams 
that  run  rapidly  everywhere  by  the  roadside  beneath  the  rows  of  tall 
cottonwoods,  which,  with  all  their  great  trunks  and  spreading  boughs, 
are  but  a  few  years  old,  are  the  secret  of  this  prosperity.  The 
gravelly  soil  of  this  spot  was  despised  by  the  less  intelligent  Gentiles 
of  the  valley  as  comparatively  worthless,  but  the  more  experienced 
Mormons  at  once  saw  that,  for  fruit-culture,  it  could  hardly  be  sur- 
passed. Mesa  City,  like  scores  of  other  Mormon  towns  that  have 
sprung  up  in  this  "part  of  the  world,  affords  a  practical  example  of 
what  can  be  done  by  intelligent  and  systematic  cooperation  in  a  com- 
munity, great  economies  being  effected  by  the  union  of  all  the  pro- 
prietors of  the  land  in  introducing  a  water-supply  for  irrigation,  and 
economically  administering  it,  so  as  to  make  it  in  the  distribution 
utilized  to  the  utmost ;  also  by  a  well-devised  arrangement  of  the 
land  under  common  agreement,  that  enables  great  economies  in  the 
construction  of  boundary-fences,  and  also  in  its  cultivation  or  use  as 
pasturage ;  by  carrying  on  other  works  in  common,  and  thus  effect- 
ing a  great  saving  in  labor;  and  again  by  establishing  cooperative 
stores,  where  all  members  of  the  community  can  purchase  the  best  of 
supplies  in  great  variety  at  substantially  cost-price,  making,  of  course, 
a  great  saving  in  the  expense  of  living.  The  Mormons  accomplish 
all  this  by  their  superior  methods  of  organization  acquired  in  their 
years  of  isolation  from  the  rest  of  the  world ;  the  necessities  of 
their  situation,  as  well  as  their  devotion  to  a  common  cause,  teach- 
ing them  the  advantages  of  working  in  cooperation,  both  for  the  in- 
dividual and  the  community.  For  this  reason  the  Mormons  are,  as 
a  rule,  far  more  prosperous  than  their  Gentile  neighbors. 

SYLVESTER  BAXTEK. 


OFFICE  -  BUILDINGS.  —  THE  CORCORAN 
BUILDING.  —  THE  KELLOGG  BUILDING. 
• —  THE  ATLANTIC.  —  THE  PACIFIC.  — 
THE  BALTIMORE  SUN'S  BUILDING. 


FIIREE  years  ago  there  was  nothing,  as  the  term  is  understood 
in  other  cities,  that  could  be  classed  as  an  office-building  in 
Washington  City.  To-day  we  have  several  that  claim  attention, 
at  least,  for  their  magnitude,  convenient  arrangement  and  cost,  as 
well  as  one  or  two  for  their  artistic  effect.  The  Corcoran  Building, 
on  Fifteenth  Street,  built  some  twelve  years  ago,  was  the  first 
attempt  at  the  construction  of  a  large  building  devoted  principally 
to  office  purposes.  This  building  was  designed  by  Mr.  James  Ren- 
wick,  of  New  York,  and  cost  in  the  neighborhood  of  $300,000.  The 
ground-floor  is  taken  up  entirely  by  stores  fronting  on  Pennsylvania 
Avenue,  Fifteenth  and  F  Streets.  To  reach  the  first  office-floor,  it 
was  formerly  necessary  to  climb  a  flight  of  steps,  between  eighteen 
and  twenty  feet  high,  and  the  elevator  started  in  this  second  story. 
Recently,  a  great  improvement  has  been  made  in  this  respect  from 
plans  by  Cluss  &  Shultz,  architects,  by  sacrificing  a  part  of  one  of  the 
stores,  narrowing  the  original  stairway  and  changing  the  space  thus 
gained  into  a  hall  leading  to  the  elevator,  which  has  been  extended 
to  the  ground-floor.  The  building  is  rectangular,  the  interior  rooms 
and  water-closets  being  lighted  by  a  large  light-well  covered  with 
glass.  These  rooms  are  poorly  lighted  and  poorly  ventilated.  The 
exterior  is  built  of  red  and  buff  brick,  and  the  design  is  a  modern 
Renaissance.  The  effect  produced  by  the  composition  is  not  at  all 
pleasing,  as  it  has  the  appearance  of  a  huge  box  pierced  by  numerous 
small  and  distinct  openings,  each  treated  with  pilasters,  cornice 
and  pediments  in  buff.  The  main  cornice  of  the  building,  as  well  as 
the  cornices  and  pediments  over  the  windows,  are  built  of  boldly  pro- 
jecting brickwork.  The  effects  of  the  weather  and  time  show  that 
brick  is  not  the  proper  material  for  such  heavy  projections,  as 
the  brick  have  been  falling  from  the  cornice  so  often  that  it  has  been 
found  necessary  to  take  down  the  boldest  members  of  the  cornice  and 
substitute  galvanized-iron  in  its  stead. 

The  Kellogg  Building,  on  F  Street,  designed  by  R.  I.  Fleming, 
was  the  first  building  devoted  entirely  to  office  purposes.  It  is  con- 
veniently planned,  with  well-lighted  rooms  and  the  ordinary  office 
arrangements.  The  design  is  nondescript,  stiff,  poorly  proportioned 
and  inartistic ;  in  fact,  such  a  design  as  one  would  expect  from  a 
designer  who  was  brought  up  as  a  carpenter. 

The  Pacific  finished  about  two  years  ago  and  The  Atlantic  com- 
pleted last  fall,  both  of  which  are  situated  on  F  Street,  are  alike  ex- 
cellent in  their  arrangement,  size  and  grouping  of  the  rooms,  eleva- 
tors, stairways,  water-closets  and  other  small  conveniences,  as  letter- 
boxes and  speaking-tubes  for  each  room.  From  an  artistic  stand- 
point they  differ  materially.  The  Pacific  is  commonplace  to  the  last 
degree.  This  is  made  the  more  striking  because  of  the  evident  effort 
after  architectural  effect,  made  by  the  introduction  of  pilasters, 


segmental  arches  and  moulded  brick,  all  put  together  in  a  monotonous 
manner  and  with  poor  proportions,  which  produces  disagreeable 
effect  on  one  of  even  limited  artistic  taste.  The  front  of  The  Atlantic 
is  a  good  architectural  composition,  if  the  ground-floor  is  omitted 
when  it  is  taken  into  consideration.  This  floor  is  supported  by 
small  iron  columns  —  small  in  comparison  with  the  large  stone  piers 
which  are  above  them  in  the  second  storv.  The  second  and  third 
stories  are  built  of  Seneca  brownstone,  which  is  decidedly  reddish  in 
tone.  The  windows  are  grouped  in  three  large  semicircular  open- 
ings which  are  deeply  recessed.  The  windows  of  the  third,  fourth 
and  fifth  stories  are  grouped  under  three  arches,  with  brick  piers 
and  arches,  and  terra-cotta  caps  and  panels,  with  stone  lintels  and 
bond-stones.  The  seventh  story  is  a  row  of  small  semicircular  open- 
ings flanked  by  small  terra-cotta  columns  and  caps.  The  line 
between  the  seventh  and  eighth  stories  is  distinctly  marked  by  a  wide 
foliated  terra-cotta  moulding.  The  eighth  story  is  a  series  of 
rectangular  windows,  the  whole  being  finished  with  a  simple  parapet- 
wall  and  terra-cotta  coping.  This  building  can  be  praised  for  its 
good  points,  but  it  is  something  of  a  pity  that  its  construction  should 
not  be  fireproof,  and  that  the  modelling  of  the  stone-carving  and  the 
terra-cotta  ornamentation  should  lack  boldness  and  decision.  They 
are  so  flatly  treated  that  they  lose  their  distinctive  character  across 
the  street,  and  the  street  is  not  wide. 

The  Sun  Building,  erected  by  the  Baltimore  Sun  on  F  Street,  is 
decidedly  the  most  costly  and  pretentious  office-building  in  the  city. 
It  has  been  completed  in  the  last  year.  While  the  Atlantic  Building 
was  designed  by  Mr.  J.  G.  Hill,  ex-Supervising  Architect  of  the 
United  States,  the  Sun  Building  was  designed  by  Mr.  A.  B.  Mullet, 
also  ex-Supervising  Architect,  and  Mr.  Hill's  predecessor.  The 
designer  in  the  case  of  the  Sun  Building  has  not  been  nearly  so  suc- 
cessful in  the  treatment  of  his  problem  as  was  the  designer  of  the 
Atlantic.  The  front  of  the  former  is  in  white  marble.  With  the 
exception  of  the  first  two  stories,  the  windows  of  which  are  grouped 
into  two  large  and  one  small  round-arched  opening,  which  are  de- 
signed in  a  free  Renaissance  style,  the  design  of  this  building  has 
nothing  to  recommend  it  to  favorable  consideration.  From  the 
second  to  the  eighth  story  the  space  is  occupied  by  two  long  or  elon- 
gated oriel  windows  springing  from  lion-head  corbels,  which  cut 
through  and  destroy  the  apparent  integrity  of  the  arches  of  the 
second  story.  All  the  fifty  windows  above  the  second  story  to  the 
roof  are  made  on  the  same  pattern  (and  it  is  an  insignificant  and 
weak  pattern),  making  the  whole  painfully  monotonous.  The  eighth 
story,  with  its  sham  French  roof  and  a  central  tower,  seems  to  have 
no  reason  for  existence,  unless  it  is  intended  by  their  ungainly  stiff- 
ness to  act  as  a  foil  for  the  five  monotonous  stories  below. 

Decidedly  in  this  building's  favor  is  the  fact  that  it  is  well  and 
substantially  built,  and  its  construction  fireproof.  The  plan  is  of  the 
dumb-bell  form,  with  the  stairways,  elevators,  and  water-closets  placed 
in  the  narrow  central  portion  on  two  light-wells.  It  cost  about  five 
hundred  thousand  dollars,  so  I  understand  —  a  large  amount  in 
Washington  for  a  building  about  115  by  150  feet.  There  is  a  history 
connected  with  the  selection  of  a  design  for  this  building,  which  is  of 
interest  to  the  profession  as  a  warning  against  going  into  competi- 
tion without  clear  instructions,  or  with  merely  verbal  instructions : 
Several  architects  were  informed  that  they  could  submit  sketches, 
and  that  from  the  sketches  submitted  one  would  be  selected,  and 
that  the  rejected  ones  would  not  be  paid  for.  The  four  or  five  archi-. 
tects  mentioned  availed  themselves  of  the  tempting  bait,  which  was 
to  be  the  most  costly  business  structure  in  the  city.  The  competi- 
tors, after  waiting  patiently,  or  rather,  impatiently  for  a  month  or 
more,  discovered,  much  to  their  chagrin,  that  the  contract  for  mak- 
ing the  plans  had  been  awarded  to  an  architect  who  did  not  submit 
a  sketch  in  the  competition.  Two  competitors  wrote  for  their  plans 
repeatedly  (the  others  were  returned,  I  think,  in  a  short  time  after 
they  were  submitted),  but  did  not  receive  them  for  some  months. 
One  set,  in  particular,  was  written  for  repeatedly,  and  several 
excuses  were  received  in  reply,  giving  as  reasons  why  they  were 
not  returned  that  one  of  the  Sun's  agents  would  be  over  in  a 
day  or  two,  and  would  bring  them  with  him.  On  the  first  two  or 
three  trips  the  agent  forgot  them,  but  would  bring  them  the  next 
time.  Finally,  they  were  returned  by  this  same  forgetful  agent.  It 
is  a  little  strange  that  it  did  not  occur  to  the  Baltimore  Sun's  business 
men  that  two  cents  would  have  returned  the  sketches  by  the  United 
States  mail.  As  the  building  proceeded  in  construction,  the  archi- 
tect of  the  retained  sketches  was  very  much  surprised  at  the  re- 
markable similarity  between  the  design  of  the  first  two  stories  and 
the  general  plan  of  the  building  with  the  sketches  he  submitted. 
Whether  this  was  simply  a  coincidence,  only  the  proprietors  or  their 
agents  can  tell. 

All  the  office-buildings  mentioned  run  up  above  the  adjoining 
property  fifty  feet  or  more,  and  many  of  the  rooms  in  the  four  or 
five  upper  stories  depend  for  at  least  a  part  of  their  light  upon 
windows  in  the  side  walls.  This,  of  course,  will  prove  unfortunate 
in  case  the  adjoining  property-holders  at  some  time  carry  up  their 
buildings  to  the  height  of  the  office-buildings,  in  which  case  the  light 
in  many  of  the  rooms  will  be  limited  to  a  serious  extent. 

It  would  not  do  to  complete  the  subject  of  office-buildings  with- 
out mentioning  the  small  lawyers'-office  building  erected  recently 
from  the  plans  of  W.  M.  Poindexter  &  Co.  This  building  is  on  a 
corner,  constructed  in  simple  brickwork,  and  is  unobtrusive,  but 
effective,  in  its  design.  Being  on  a  corner  and  narrow,  the  rooms 
are  well  lighted.  It  has  an  elevator  and  other  office  conveniences. 


JANUARY  19,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


35 


:  CANADA = 


SCHOOL  OF  ARCHITECTURE,  TORONTO. 
—  GREEN  CHRISTMAS.  —  MONTREAL 
ICE-CASTLE. — NEW  ROMAN  CATHOLIC 
CHURCH.  —  SUCCESSFUL  SPECULA- 
TION. —  TORONTO  ARCHITECTURAL 
GUILD. ENGINEERING  MATTERS. 

HE  leading  architects  of  the  city  of 
Toronto,  with  whom  the  formation 
of  an  Architectural  Association  is  a 
matter  of  great  interest,  were  agreeably  surprised  early  last  month 
by  a  circular  from  the  Minister  of  Education  for  the  Provincial 
Government,  addressed  to  them,  requesting  them  to  meet  him  for  the 
discussion  of  a  scheme  he  had  in  hand  of  establishing  in  connection 
witli  the  School  of  Practical  Science  "full  courses  of  instruction  in 
applied  chemistry,  applied  mechanics,  and  architecture."  The  in- 
vitation was  extended  to  a  number  of  manufacturers,  skilled 
mechanics,  and  others  having  interests  of  a  similar  character,  and 
on  the  19th  of  the  month,  when  the  meeting  took  place,  one  hundred 
and  fifty  to  two  hundred  representative  men  met  the  minister,  and 
a  very  interesting  and  lively  meeting  was  held.  The  minister  di- 
rected the  attention  of  the  meeting:  1,  to  the  consideration  of  the 
various  kinds  of  skilled  labor  now  required  to  carry  on  the  industries 
of  the  country,  and  the  best  means  of  rendering  it  more  productive, 
and,  therefore,  more  valuable;  2,  to  the  consideration  of  what 
courses  of  instruction  would  be  necessary  to  provide  such  skilled 
labor  at  home  as  is  now  supplied  from  abroad ;  and  3,  to  inquire 
what  industries  (if  any)  not  yet  established  in  Ontario  could  be  made 
productive,  provided  we  could  supply  them  with  skilled  labor.  The 
minister  called  upon  the  engineers  and  engine-builders,  and  then 
upon  those  interested  in  the  manufacture  of  woollen  goods  and  of 
dye-works  in  connection  with  this  industry,  and  there  was  not  one 
who  did  not  agree  that  the  establishment  of  such  a  school  as  he 
proposed  would  be  of  immense  benefit  to  the  trades  represented, 
and,  therefore,  to  the  country  generally.  The  architects  were 
then  called  upon  to  express  their  opinions.  It  will  be  remem- 
bered that  a  deputation  of  architects  waited  upon  the  minister 
some  time  ago  with  reference  to  the  establishment  of  a  chair 
of  architecture,  so  that  he  knew  this  school  would  meet  with 
their  approval  if  founded  on  a  proper  basis,  but  his  knowledge  of 
this  was  confirmed  and  strengthened  by  the  answers  given  to  his 
questions.  It  was  shown  that  no  means  existed  in  Canada  for  the 
testing  of  the  strength  and  properties  of  the  various  building  mate- 
rials. Architects  specify  iron  girders  and  columns  —  cements  and 
mortars,  to  be  composed  according  to  given  quantities :  they  go 
upon  their  own  practical  experience  with  regard  to  ironwork,  and 
upon  private  experiments  witli  cement  and  mortar,  but  this  at  best 
is  unsatisfactory,  and  by  no  means  equal  to  the  satisfaction  of  having 
materials  tested  on  the  spot  by  proficients.  The  minister  was  also 
told  that  the  architects  would  undoubtedly  make  their  pupils  attend 
classes  for  instruction  in  the  art  and  science  of  architecture,  were 
such  a  school  to  be  established.  A  scheme  will  be  presented  at  the 
next  session  to  the  Legislative  Assembly,  and  it  is  sincerely  to  be 
hoped  that  no  time  will  be  lost  before  this  contemplated  school  will 
be  developed  and  in  working  order. 

It  is  many  years  since  we  have  had  a  "green  "  Christmas  in  Canada. 
But  two  days  before  Christmas  the  last  vestige  of  snow  in  the  streets 
of  Toronto  vanished,  and  Christmas  Day  opened  mild  and  inclined 
to  be  showery,  while  in  Montreal  the  rain  fell  heavily  the  whole  day. 
The  new  year  has  opened  without  any  change.  The  daily  prognos- 
tications are  "  fair  and  mild,"  and  with  the  thermometer  rising  to 
40°,  and  sometimes  above,  with  the  lengthening  days  and  the  fairly 
clear  atmosphere,  it  is  hard  to  realize  that  this  is  January,  and  not 
April.  Quebec  and  Montreal  keep  a  little  colder,  as  a  rule,  than 
Toronto,  and  there  is  more  snow,  but  the  temperature  of  the  North- 
west is  very  high  above  the  average.  Consequently,  building  opera- 
tions proceed  almost  without  interruption  and  without  much  risk. 
Many  people  who  intend  to  build  next  year  would  have  been  glad 
to  have  got  their  houses  started  a  couple  of  months  ago,  but,  unfor- 
tunately for  them,  there  was  no  weather-prophet  to  tell  them  we 
should  have  no  winter,  so  far.  Consequently  they  took  the  advice 
of  their  architects,  and  put  off  work  till  the  spring.  The  sudden 
changes  of  temperature  to  which  the  climate  is  subject  at  this  season 
render  it  impossible  to  say  what  a  day  may  bring  forth :  it  is  neces- 
sary to  cover  up  the  day's  work  every  night,  for  no  one  can  tell  that 
the  thermometer  will  not  be  below  zero  the  next  morning. 

The  good  people  of  Montreal  have  had  an  anxious  time ;  the  ques- 
tion has  been  daily  :  Will  the  cold  be  severe  enough  for  the  necessities 
of  the  winter  carnival.  These  carnivals  were  an  annual  week  of 
festivities,  but  it  was  decided  that  they  were  held  too  often,  and  if 
held  once  in  two  years  they  might  be  conducted  on  a  more  attrac- 
tive scale  and  would  prove  a  greater  novelty,  and,  therefore,  attract 
more  visitors.  The  ice  palace  is,  of  course,  the  central  feature,  and, 
with  the  exception  of  last  year  when  no  carnival  was  held,  it  has 
been  constructed  of  huge  blocks  of  ice,  averaging  two  or  two-and-one- 
half  feet  thick,  cut  in  the  river,  brought  up  to  the  site,  hoisted  by 


derricks  and  being  slightly  shaped  with  a  hatchet,  set  in  position, 
where  usually  they  soon  freeze  together.  This  year,  however,  the 
ice  is  only  about  one  foot  thick,  entailing  more  labor.  Messrs. 
Hutchinson  &  Steele,  architects,  have  hitherto  designed  the  castle  or 
palace,  which  usually  occupies  a  considerable  area,  and  rises  to  a 
general  height  of  forty  to  fifty  feet,  with  towers  in  addition.  For 
the  palace  of  the  former  carnival  a  few  architects  were  asked  to 
compete,  but  the  request  was  not  generally  responded  to.  But  the 
necessary  restrictions  on  the  account  of  the  peculiarity  of  the 
material  to  be  employed,  did  not  allow  of  very  great  variety  in 
design,  consequently  the  same  firm  of  architects  who  nad  undertaken 
the  work  on  previous  occasions  carried  it  out. 

In  addition  to  the  already  numerous  churches  of  the  Roman 
Catholics  of  Montreal,  another  one  is  talked  of.  It  is  to  be  built  in 
the  suburb  of  Point  St.  Charles,  and  $100,000  is  the  proposed  ex- 
penditure. Point  St.  Charles  is  a  poor  neighborhood,  but  this  fact 
seems  to  have  little  or  no  relation  to  the  construction  of  Roman 
Catholic  churches.  Already  the  parish  church  of  Notre  Dame, 
capable  of  seating  8,000  persons,  and  the  great  Church  of  St.  Peter's, 
which  requires  in  the  neighborhood  of  $300,000  to  complete,  are  a 
considerable  burden  to  be  borne  by  the  faithful,  not  to  mention  the 
smaller  churches,  almost  without  number,  supported  by  separate  con- 
gregations, or  by  the  revenues  from  the  properties  held  by  the 
various  orders  of  nuns.  At  Longuielle,  a  village  on  the  shore 
opposite  Montreal,  but  a  little  to  the  east,  with  a  very  poor  popula- 
tion, a  great  church  has  just  been  completed;  the  people  who  were 
ragged  and  but  half-fed  supplied  the  funds,  and,  it  is  to  be  inferred, 
that  the  poor  residents  of  Point  St.  Charles  will  be  made  to  pillage 
themselves  for  the  same  object  and,  of  course,  for  the  benefit  of  their 
souls. 

The  rulers  of  the  St.  James  Street  Methodist  Church  undertook  a 
great  speculation.  Their  church  was  too  small  for  them,  and  was 
out-of-the-way  for  the  congregation.  The  site  is  a  very  valuable 
one,  almost  in  the  centre  of  the  city,  and  was  adjoined  by  shops  and 
offices  crowding  closely  against  it.  They  decided  to  build  a  larger 
church  in  a  more  convenient  situation,  and  sell  the  old  place.  A 
purchaser  could  not  be  found ;  then  they  determined  to  pull  it  down 
and  erect  a  six-story  block  of  offices  (to  which  allusion  was  made  in 
a  former  letter).  This  building  is  not  completed,  but  an  offer  lias 
been  made  by  an  insurance  company  to  purchase  it  for  the  sura  of 
$400,000. 

The  Architectural  Guild  of  Toronto  holds  its  first  annual  meeting 
early  in  January,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  reports  of  the  various 
committees  to  be  presented  at  this  meeting  will  give  a  fair  idJa  of 
the  useful  work  done  by  the  Guild  in  the  first  year  of  its  existence. 
The  report  of  the  Committee  on  the  Matter  of  Professional  Charges 
is  one  of  interest  to  all.  Architects  in  Canada  are  fully  alive  to  the 
necessity  of  some  change  for  the  better  in  the  usual  tariff.  Of 
course,  the  one  and  two  per  centers,  who  cannot  rightly  be  called 
architects-  and,  therefore,  can  never  become  members  of  a  profes- 
sional body  or  corporation,  will  still  go  on  with  their  scheming, 
sneaking  and  underhand  methods  —  the  Guild  has  nothing  to  do  with 
them.  The  intention  is  to  get  its  members  to  agree  to  a  regular 
system ;  its  membership  consisting  of  all  the  principal  architects  of 
the  place,  and,  therefore,  being  the  only  representative  professional 
body  in  Canada. 

The  deepening  of  the  ship-channel  of  the  River  St.  Lawrence 
between  Montreal  and  Quebec  to  a  uniform  depth  of  27  J  feet  has 
been  completed,  and  the  history  of  the  successive  deepenings  illus- 
trates the  progress  of  oceanic  transport  business  during  the  last  twenty- 
odd  years.  Previous  to  the  date  of  Confederation,  July  1,  18(i7, 
the  ship-channel  had  been  improved  at  various  dates,  until  at  that 
time  there  was  a  channel  300  feet  wide  by  20  feet  deep.  The  in- 
creasing trade  necessitated  deepening  this,  and  a  Bill  was  brought 
before  the  Dominion  Parliament  and  passed  in  May,  1873,  by  which 
permission  to  contract  a  loan  of  $1,500,000  for  this  purpose  was 
granted.  Two  feet  was  the  extra  depth  decided  on  :  operations  were 
commenced  in  1874,  and  by  the  end  of  1878  the  work  was  completed, 
at  a  cost  of  $1,153,512.  The  rapid  increase  in  the  size  of  vessels 
engaged  in  the  Atlantic  trade  immediately  required  a  deeper  channel, 
and  as  soon  as  the  last  works  were  completed  it  was  decided  to 
deepen  again,  another  three  feet.  Four  years  afterwards,  1882,  saw 
the  completion  of  the  channel  25  feet  deep  and  300  feet  wide.  The 
quantities  of  material  dredged  out  by  deepening  from  20  feet  to  25 
feet  were  :  shale-rock,  289,600  cubic  yards ;  eartli  of  all  sorts,  includ- 
ing boulders  raised  by  dredges,  8,200,000  cubic  yards ;  boulders  lifted 
by  lifting-barges,  16,700  cubic  yards.  The  channel  through  Lake 
St.  Peter  was  the  longest  piece  of  dredging  in  one  length,  1 7^  miles, 
with  a  width  varying  from  300  feet  to  450  feet,  involving  the  removal 
of  8,000,000  cubic  yards.  The  total  cost  of  this  five  feet  of  deepening 
was,  I  believe,  $2,780,130.  In  1885  another  loan  was  applied  for 
and  immediately  granted,  for  $900,000,  this  time,  to  deepen  another 
two  and  one-half  feet  of  the  whole  area  of  the  channel,  and  it  is  this 
work  which  was  successfully  completed  in  the  beginning  of  October 
last,  and  which  was  opened  by  the  Montreal  Harbor  Commissioners 
by  a  trip  in  the  Allan  Line  steamship  "  Sarmatian  "  with  a  large 
number  of  guests. 

After  a  great  deal  of  time  spent  in  discussion  of  the  pros  and  cons, 
which,  for  such  a  scheme,  were  matters  of  great  importance,  it  has 
finally  been  decided  to  construct  a  ship-railway  from  the  Bay  of 
Fundy  to  Bale  Verte,  and  the  cost  is  set  clown  as  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  five  million  dollars.  If  carried  out,  as  it  is  proposed,  with 


36 


The    American   Architect   and  Building   News.      [VOL.  XXIV.  —  No. 


expedition,  this  ship-railway  in  Canada  will  probably  be  the  first  in 
use  in  the  world. 

Toronto  has  in  hand  a  piece  of  engineering  that  will  by  its  result 
add  considerably  to  its  trade  facilities,  and  the  first  sections  of  the 
work  are  nearly  completed.  The  River  Don  is  a  small  river  to  the 
east  of  Toronto,  running  in  a  southerly  direction  into  the  bay,  so 
small  and  narrow  that  it  was  of  no  use  commercially,  although  the 
supply  of  water  was  abundant.  A  scheme  for  straightening  and 
widening  and  deepening  this  river  was  determined  upon,  the  shores 
were  to  be  reduced  to  a  uniform  level,  and  waste  marshy  land  subject 
to  annual  inundations  was  to  be  reclaimed,  and  thus  a  new  district 
with  water  facilities  for  transport  purposes  was  to  be  prepared  for 
warehouse  and  factories.  Mounds  or  banks,  in  some  parts  70  feet 
high,  have  been  cut  through  and  entirely  removed,  and  the  place 
now  represents  a  desolate  waste,  flat  as  a  pancake,  with  a  wide  canal 
in  the  centre.  The  new  line  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  will 
enter  Toronto  along  one  of  the  new  banks.  It  is  estimated  that  the 
land  reclaimed  and  levelled,  with  the  advantages  of  the  canal,  will 
be  as  valuable  as  any  land  in  the  city,  the  price  being  $200  per  foot 
front.  The  total  reclaimed  area  is  about  60  acres,  valued  at 
$6,000  an  acre. 

Ottawa  has  in  hand  a  scheme  for  the  construction  of  a  bridge  to 
connect  the  two  shores  of  the  Ottawa  River  at  a  distance  of  about 
two  miles  from  the  city,  east  from  Rockcliffe,  near  the  residence  of 
the  Governor-General,  to  Gatineau  Point.  The  cost  is  estimated  at 
$250,000,  but  the  corporation  expect  the  Provincial  and  Dominion 
Parliaments  will  contribute  towards  the  expenses. 

The  little  suspension-bridge  spanning  the  river  just  below  the 
Chaudiere  Falls  at  Ottawa  is  to  be  replaced  by  a  new  bridge,  to  cost 
$30,000.  This  little  bridge  is  well  known  to  most  visitors  to  the 
city,  as  from  it  a  fine  view  of  the  Parliament  Hill  is  obtained  in  one 
direction,  and  the  Chaudie're  Falls  in  the  other.  The  volume  of 
water  over  these  falls  is  considerable,  and  they  are  well  worth  a  visit. 
"  The  Devil's  Cauldron,"  on  the  south  side  of  the  river,  is  one  of 
those  pits  into  which  the  water  rushes  at  a  terrific  rate,  seethes  and 
boils,  and  never  comes  out  again.  Under  the  bridge  are  the  chutes 
for  (he  lumber  rafts,  by  which  they  are  taken  from  the  higher  to 
the  lower  level  of  the  river.  In  the  season  distinguished  visitors  to  1 
the  city  arc  usually  treated  to  a  voyage  on  a  raft,  a  rather  exciting 
and  slightly  dangerous  species  of  summer  toboganning.  The  new 
bridge  will  be  236  feet  long  by  45  feet  wide. 

Contracts  for  the  construction  of  the  Saulte  St.  Marie  Canal  on 
Canadian  land  are  let,  and  the  work  is  to  be  proceeded  with  imme- 
diately, as  the  weather  permits. 


tendency  to  create  a  draught.  The  proper  way  to  fight  a  fire  is 
from  the  inside  which  is  done  when  possible ;  but  at  times  it  is  impos- 
sible to  reach  the  material  burning  from  the  inside,  and  the  fire- 
department  is  driven  to  the  street  which  necessitates  street  streams. 
It  is  at  this  point  that  owners  and  occupants  of  buildings  should 
provide  means  to  assist  the  department.  My  experience  of  the  long 
and  tedious  job  of  cutting  through  party-walls  at  fires  has  suggested 
to  me  the  advisability  of  having  a  permanent  orifice  in  the  party- 
wall  that  could  be  utilized  by  the  department  and  would  respectfully 
ask  your  opii  ion  on  the  same.  Yours,  L.  F.  STEVENS. 


PRIMITIVE  WELL-DRILLING.  — Abbe  Hue  thus  describes  the  system 
of  deep-earth  boring  practised  in  the  district  in  which  he  has  for  some 
time  resided.  A  wooden  tube  six  feet  in  length  is  first  driven  down 
through  the  surface  soil.  The  tube  is  held  at  the  surface  of  the  ground 
by  a  large  flagstone,  having  a  hole  in  the  centre  to  allow  tlie  tube  to 
pass  through  and  to  project  a  little  above  it.  A  cylindrical  mass  of 
iron,  weighing  about  four  hundred  pounds,  hollow  and  pointed  at  its 
lower  end,  and  having  lateral  notches  or  apertures,  is  jerked  up  and 
down  in  this  tube  at  the  end  of  a  lever,  from  which  it  is  suspended  by 
a  rope.  This  kind  of  "monkey"  disintegrates  the  rock,  the  debris  of 
which,  converted  into  sludge  by  water  poured  in,  finds  it  way  through 
the  lateral  apertures  into  the  interior  of  the  cylinder.  By  raising  the 
latter  at  intervals,  this  sludge  is  removed  from  the  bore  hole.  The  rate 
of  boring  in  rock  of  ordinary  hardness  is  one  foot  in  twelve  hours. 
Only  one  man  is  employed  at  one  time  to  work  the  lever.  By  this 
means  wells  of  18(10  feet  deep  are  sunk  in  about  two  years  by  the  labor 
of  three  men,  relieving  one  another  every  six  hours.  —  Boston  Transcript. 


ST.    LOUIS    ARCHITECTURAL    LEAGUE. 

FlIERE  has  been  formed  in  St.  Louis  an  organization  for  ad- 
vancement  and  improvement  in  architecture  and  kindred  arts. 
This  organization  is  known  as  the  St.  Louis  Architectural 
League,  with  olficers  as  follows :  Louis  C.  Bulkley,  President ;  J. 
P.  Annan,  Vice-President ;  II.  E.  Eames,  Secretary  ;  J.  L.  Wees, 
Treasurer  ;  L.  II.  Seubert,  Corresponding  Secretary  and  Librarian. 

This  organization  is  formed  somewhat  after  the  plans  of  the 
Chicago  Architectural  Sketch-Club.  Suitable  rooms  having  been  pro- 
cured and  furnished  in  a  respectable  manner.  Regular  meetings  are 
held  every  two  weeks.  The  rooms  are  open  all  day  from  10  A.  M. 
until  10  p.  M.  Special  evenings  are  given  to  sketching  and  lectures. 
There  are  twelve  monthly  competitions,  one  semi-annual  and  one 
annual  competition.  The  subject  of  the  first  monthly  competition  is  a 
mantle  for  the  League  Rooms. 

L.  II.  SEUBERT,  Corresponding  Secretary. 


HOSE-PORTS  IN  PARTY-WALLS. 

NEW  YORK,  Dec.  29,  1888. 

To  THE  EDITORS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT:  — 

Dear  Sirs,  —  I  saw  in  a  recent  issue  of  your  paper,  an  article  on 
Iron  Shutters  and  Solid  Roofs,  in  which,  it  is  recommended  that  one 
shutter  be  left  so  as  it  can  be  easily  opened  from  the  outside.  Now 
while  that  would  be  of  some  advantage  it  would  be  very  small,  and 
does  not  solve  the  problem  of  preventing  large  fires.  The  objective 
point  at  a  fire  is,  of  course,  the  material  burning  in  the  building,  as 
the  building  itself,  without  the  material,  would  not  make  much  of  a 
fire,  and  when  a  position  can  be  reached  from  which  a  stream  of 
water  can  be  brought  to  bear  upon  the  goods  on  fire,  it  can  be  easily 
extinguished.  The  penetration  and  effect  of  streams  from  the  street 
can  be  seen  by  a  line  representing  the  front  of  the  building  "  marked 
for  window  openings,"  and  a  line  for  the  street,  it  will  be  seen  that 
above  a  certain  height  the  stream  has  no  penetration  and  conse- 
quently no  good  effect  but  rather  acts  the  other  way  as  it  has  a 


THE  ability  which  American  ship-builders  and  manufacturers  of  ship- 
building material  are  showing  in  the  construction  of  vessels  is  conspiring  as 
much  as  anything  else  to  aid  the  Government's  efforts  to  supply  itself  with 
a  navy.  The  Delaware  ship-builders  have  made  wonderful  progress  during 
the  past  three  years  in  workmanship,  and  some  line  vessels  are  now  being 
turned  out  in  the  Delaware  yards.  Several  war-ships  under  construction 
will  be  of  the  most  advanced  type.  The  speed  of  those  that  have  been  tried 
is  up  to  the  expectations  and  specifications  of  unarniored  vessels  the  Gov- 
ernment has  named.  Five  have  been  recently  launched,  including  a 
dynamite  cruiser,  which  has  developed  a  higher  rate  of  speed  than  specifica- 
tions required.  It  is  a  model  of  neatness  and  of  marine  engineering,  and 
excels  like  devices  of  all  other  Government!'.  There  are  at  present  fix. 
vessels  building.  One  is  a  first-class  torpedo  boat.  The  tonnage  of  those 
under  construction  ranges  frnm  4,324  to  ],700  tons.  The  required  speed  is 
19  knots  an  hour.  The  speed  of  the  cruisers  in  commission  is  from  19  to  23 
knots,  and  the  tonnage  from  2,000  to  5,300  tons.  The  new  navy,  when  com- 
pleted, will  be  equipped  in  all  with  371  guns,  from  5  to  8  inch  bore,  besides  3 
15-inch  dynamite  guns  of  all  armored  vessels  Two  are  building  which  will 
carry  six  guns:  four,  10-inch,  and  two,  12-inch.  Fhe  are  completed  as  far 
as  the  hull,  which  will  carry  fomvlO-ineh  guns  each.  Public  sentiment  is 
to  be  credited  with  the  creation  of  a  proper  war-like  spirit  upon  the  part  of 
the  Government.  The  work  of  constructing  a  navy  will  be  pushed  under 
the  incoming  administration,  and  during  four  years  it  is  probable  that  the 
United  States  Government  will  be  able  to  protect  itself  against  any  prob- 
able attack  that  differences  in  any  event  might  bring  about.  Within  the 
past  thirty  days  information  has  been  received  from  interior  points  concern- 
ing the  probable  activity  on  boat  and  river-craft  building  for  the  lakes  and 
rivers.  A  great  dea.1  of  tonnage  is  now  projected,  and  by  the  1st  of  April, 
it  is  said,  on  good  authority,  that  the  lake  boat-yards  will  be  crowded  with 
work  for  the  rest  of  the  season. 

fever.il  large  interior  iron  works  have  already  received  inquiries  and 
specifications  for  material,  and  the  manufacturers  of  marine  boilers  and 
engines  and  of  engines  of  all  kinds  for  river  and  lake  service  are  living  in 
daily  expectation  of  large  orders  for  supplies  of  this  character.  The  manu- 
facturers of  structural  iron  have  reduced  prices  11.20  cents  per  ton 
in  order  to  bring  in  increased  trade.  Qidte  recent  advices  confirm  state- 
ments heretofore  made  relative  to  the  undertaking  of  a  large  amonnt  of 
bridge  building  in  the  Northwest  and  along  the  Pacific  Coast.  From  present 
indications  the  adjustment  of  railroad  troubles  will  be  brought  about  with- 
out any  serious  legislative  interference  upon  the  part  of  Congress.  The 
railway  managers  recognize  that  interference  of  that  kind  in  the  present 
complicated  relations  of  railroad  managers  would  be  most  disastrous.  They 
recognize  further  that  there  is  a.  strong  public  sentiment  in  favor  of  estab- 
lishing further  restrictions  upon  railway  malingers  and  of  drawing  the  line 
still  more  closely  about  them.  It  is  this  knowledge  that  has  made  a  feeling 
of  harmony  among  railway  managers  possible.  If  Congress  is  compelled  to 
act  it  may  act  without  proper  attention  and  knowledge  as  to  how  to  arrange 
legislation  that  can  reach  the  points  that  our  intricate  railway  conditions 
are  developing.  Whatever  combination  is  made  each  individual  system  will 
retain  its  individual  identity  and  control  over  its  own  interests  but  it  will 
surrender  to  the  authorized  authority  the  power  of  making  rates.  A  great 
many  evils  still  exist  in  the  way  of  hauling  freights  in  the  thousands  of  in- 
dustries. A  great  deal  more  is  charged  per  ratio  for  the  short  haul  than  for 
a  long  one.  Commissioners  '.;now  nil  these  things  and  are  slow  to  drive  the 
managers  into  obedience  to  the  law.  Their  wil.ingness  to  obey  the  law  is 
accepted  in  lieu  of  obedience  at  present.  Perhaps  this  is  the  most  that  can 
be  expected  while  t"ey  are  passing  through  the  transitional  period.  All 
these  comments  and  discussions  point  ultimately  in  the  direction  of  some 
sort  of  Government  control.  Neither  public  sentiment  nor  public  interest 
demands  that  such  an  ultimate  result  be  reached  but  the  influences  which 
are  at  work  are  driving  the  railroad  interests  in  that  direction. 

Trade  and  industrial  reports  from  all  the  industrial  and  commercial  in- 
terests of  the  country  m:ike  a  very  good  showing  as  to  volume  of  business. 
They  show  that  production  is  under  control,  that  competition  is  not  likely  to 
reassert  itself  to  any  damaging  extent,  that  prices  are  likely  to  be  uniform 
throughout  the  year  coming  in  and  that  the  evils  which  have  brought  about 
depressions  and  panics  in  years  past  will  not  be  permitted  to  assert  them- 
selves to  any  great  extent. 

S.    J.    PARKHILL  &  Co.,  Printers,  Boston. 


JANUARY  19,  1889.] 


The  American  Architect  and  Building  News. 


GABOT'S  CREOjoTE 


or  Shinles. 


a  nnuci)  more 
iWh  wnile  foey  are 

Very  <e*<ft^v   ro  ,ft1h>mV*  fry 


SAMVEL-  CABOT?8- 


The   American    Architect   and  Building   News.         [VOL.  XXV.— No.  682. 


ffi***'^"'" 

.'*  .    y  m* 

,.*#£**  J 


LIGHT-HOUSES. 


THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT  AND  BUILDING  NEWS. 


VOL.  xxv. 


Copyright,  1889,  by  TICKNOR  &  COMPANY,  Boston,  Ma»«. 


No    683. 


JANUARY  26,  1889. 

Entered  at  the  Post-Office  at  Boston  as  second-class  matter. 


SUMMARY    — 

The  Investigating  of  the  Supervising  Architect's  Office.  — 
English  Views  on  the  Consolidation  of  Architectural  Socie- 
ties. —  Scandals  concerning  the  New  Ceiling  over  the  New 
York  Capitol  Assembly-Chamber. — The  recent  Fire  in  the 
Quirinal  Palace,  Rome.  —  Another  Profit-sharing  Employer. 
—  Death  of  Mr.  George  Hathorne,  Architect.  —  Establish- 
ment of  a  new  School  of  Electrical  Engineering 37 

EQUESTKIAN  MONUMENTS. —  XII 39 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  — 

The  Hotel  des  Brasseurs,  Brussels,  Belgium.  —  A  Station  on 
the  line  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad.  — The  Hotel  dc 
Ville,  Rheims,  France.  —  The  Old  Hotel  de  Ville,  Lyons, 
France.  —Facade  of  San  Michel,  Pavia,  Italy.  —  The  Hotel 
de  Ville,  Compiegne,  France. —The  Hotel  de  Ville,  Lyons, 

France.  —  Design  for  a  Country  House 42 

ARCH-BOLOGICAL  CAMPING  IN  ARIZONA.  —  IV 43 

AUGUSTE  RODIN,  SCULPTOR.  —  II 44 

THE  LUMBERMEN'S  DEMAND  FOR  A  NEW  LIEN  LAW 45 

EXHIBITION  OF  DURER'S   ENGRAVINGS  AT   THE   BOSTON   MUSEUM 

OF  FINE  AKTS 4g 

COMMUNICATIONS  :  — 

Progress  of  the  Architectural  Societies'  Consolidation  Move- 
ment—How to  punish  a  Scamping  Gas-fitter.  — An  Expert 

in  School-houses 47 

NOTES  AND  CLIPPINGS ,47 

TRADE  SURVEYS .48 


TTTIIE  investigation  of  the  office  of  the  supervising  architect 
J.  of  the  Treasury  Department,  if  it  has  not  revealed  such 
depths  of  sin  and  woe  as  the  New  York  Tribune  antici- 
pated, has  brought  out  some  matters  of  interest  to  the  profes- 
sion. In  regard  to  the  accusation  that  he  had  made  his  exami- 
nation-papers for  draughtsmen  so  difficult  that  none  of  the 
candidates  who  presented  themselves  for  appointment  under 
the  Civil  Service  rules  could  answer  them,  Colonel  Freret  said 
that  many  of  the  draughtsmen  at  present  in  the  office  could 
answer  them,  and  gave  a  long  list  of  those  who  were  able  to 
do  so.  He  mentioned,  also,  that  the  only  person  to  whom  he 
had  given  any  appointment  since  he  took  charge  of  his  office 
was  one  messenger,  so  the  idea  that  he  concocted  questions 
adapted  to  turning  the  candidate's  hair  gray,  with  the  object  of 
keeping  out  Republican  assistants  and  getting  in  Democrats, 
appears  to  be  unfounded.  One  of  the  investigating  committee 
drew  from  this  evidence  the  singular  inference  that  the  Civil 
Service  rules  could  not  be  applied  to  architects  and  draughts- 
men. A  more  sensible  conclusion,  we  think,  and  one  much 
more  in  accordance  with  the  general  opinion  in  the  profession, 
would  be  that  a  position  in  the  Government  architect's  office 
presents  very  little  attraction  to  the  better  class  of  young  archi- 
tects, and  that  the  men  who  can  answer  such  questions  as 
Colonel  Freret's,  of  whom  there  are  plenty  to  be  found  in 
private  offices,  would  rather  struggle  for  many  years  against 
poverty  and  neglect,  with  hope  and  ambition  to  console  them, 
than  to  bury  themselves  for  the  best  part  of  their  lives  in  what 
the  Tribune  calls  the  "  fat  berths  "  of  the  Treasury  Depart- 
ment. 

TT  STILL  more  singular  charge,  to  which  Mr.  Freret  was 
/J.  called  to  answer,  was  that  of  having  neglected,  when  he 
wished  to  employ  outside  assistance  in  preparing  plans 
for  public  buildings,  to  advertise  for  proposals  for  such  assist- 
ance, as  the  law  requires  in  the  case  of  mechanics'  work.  As 
the  same  law  requires  that  the  contract  shall  be  made  with  the 
lowest  bidder,  a  comparison  of  the  proposals  for  furnishing 
plans  would  be  only  less  curious  than  au  inspection  of  the  plans 
which  would  be  furnished  at  the  lowest  price;  but  Mr.  Freret 
explained  that  the  work  needed  for  his  purpose  was  personal 
service,  and  that,  by  Secretary  Fail-child's  direction,  it  had  been 
regarded  as  being  outside  the  intention  of  the  law  relating  to  con- 
tracts with  mechanics.  Senator  Morrill  raised  a  question  of 
some  significance  by  asking  whether  it  would  not  be  better  to 
have  all  the  business  of  the  supervising  architect's  office  done  bv 
unofficial  persons,  to  which  Colonel  Freret  replied  that  the  prin- 
cipal architectural  associations  of  the  country  had  urged  this,  but 
that  he  was  not  iu  favor  of  it,  except  so  far  as  might  be  neces- 


sary to  expedite  the  Government  business.  Notwithstanding 
this  answer,  we  are  inclined  to  suspect  that  Senator  MorriFl 
has  his  own  opinion  on  the  subject,  and  the  investigation, 
which  is,  fortunately,  in  the  hands  of  some  of  the  best  men  in 
the  Senate,  will  undoubtedly  help  to  open  the  legislative  eye 
to  some  points  in  the  Government  practice  of  architecture 
which  it  has  never  before  been  able  to  perceive. 


E  British  Architect  has  something  to  say  in  regard  to  the 
Consolidation  scheme  now  under  consideration  by  the  pro- 
fessional societies  in  this  country,  which  is  worth  noting. 
In  commenting  upon  the  discussion  which  took  place  on  the 
subject  at  the  Convention  of  the  Western  Association,  it  takes 
up  Mr.  Sullivan's  remark,  that  the  new  Institute  "  should  be 
broad  and  democratic  ;  "  that  it  "  should  not  set  up  factitious 
barriers,"  but  should  welcome  all  the  thoughtful,  earnest,  am- 
bitious men  in  the  profession,  and  so  on.  It  is  not  very  sur- 
prising that  Mr.  Sullivan  should  have  been  understood  to 
advocate  the  admission  of  all  "thoughtful,  earnest,  and 
ambitious  men,"  without  inquiring  as  to  whether  they  pos- 
sessed, in  addition  to  these  qualifications,  the  important  one  of 
a  knowledge  of  their  business  ;  and  the  British  Architect  fears 
that  the  American  Institute  may  suffer,  as  the  English  societies 
have,  by  the  admission  of  men  concerning  whom  no  one  wished 
to  say  anything  unfavorable,  but  whose  presence  in  the  Institute 
will  repel  the  better  trained  architects,  who  will  see  no  honor, 
but  rather  the  reverse,  in  membership  in  a  society  which  already 
contains  those  whom  they  know  to  be  far  inferior  to 
themselves  in  attainment.  That  a  similar  consideration  kept 
for  many  years  some  of  the  best  English  architects  from  join- 
ing the  British  Institute  is  tolerably  certain,  and  it  is  with  a 
view  to  making  membership  more  honorable,  as  well  as  more 
difficult,  that  the  system  of  compulsory  examination  has  been 
adopted,  and  seems  to  be  working  successfully.  In  this  coun- 
try, we  are  inclined  to  think  that  a  similar  system  of  examina- 
tions will  soon  follow  the  adoption  of  the  new  constitution,  and 
the  revival  of  the  efficiency  of  the  Institute.  There  is  no 
question  that  the  State  professional  associations  are  strongly 
in  favor  of  requiring  proof,  from  an  applicant  for  admission  to 
their  ranks,  that  he  possesses  the  necessary  qualifications.  In 
many  States  petitions  have  been  drawn  up  by  the  professional 
societies,  and  presented  to  the  Legislature,  praying  that 
persons  who  cannot  pass  a  strict  technical  examination  may  be 
forbidden  to  practice  architecture  within  the  State  ;  and  the 
Boston  Society  of  Architects,  one  of  the  largest  and  most  in- 
dependent in  the  country,  some  years  ago  adopted  a  rule 
requiring  all  new  candidates  to  pass  an  examination.  There 
is  no  need  of  being  in  a  hurry  to  impose  such  a  standard  every- 
where. As  we  all  know,  the  technical  training  now  accessible 
to  American  students  of  architecture  was  unknown  when  the 
older  members  of  the  profession  began  their  career,  and  there 
are  scores  of  men  highly  honored  in  the  profession,  and  with 
reason,  who  never  heard  of  the  Accadians,  or  their  influence 
on  Greek  architecture,  and  who  would  be  hard  put  to  it  to  ex- 
plain the  use  of  the  pendants  in  fan  vaulting.  To  force  these 
men  through  an  examination  suited  to  the  graduate  of  a  pro- 
fessional school  would  be  ridiculous,  yet  their  admission,  on 
evidence  of  honorable  and  successful  practice  alone,  places  us 
under  no  obligation  'to  admit  without  examination  the  youth 
who  has  neglected  all  the  opportunities  which  his  senior  would 
have  so  eagerly  seized.  If  we  keep  in  mind  the  maxim  that 
examinations  should  be  devoted  to  finding  out,  not  what  a  man 
knows,  but  how  he  has  utilized  his  opportunities,  we  shall  not 
go  far  wrong.  At  present,  the  standard  in  the  remoter  States 
must  be  different  from  that  in  New  England  and  New  York, 
but  if  each  State  Chapter  will  devote  itself  to  attracting  and 
sifting  out  the  best  material  in  its  own  locality,  by  such  means 
as  it  finds  most  efficient,  all  the  members  of  the  general  body 
will  have  reason  to  be  proud  of  belonging  to  it. 


one  might  make  an  interesting  book,  for  architects, 
by  describing  the  successive  scandals,  alarms,  revolutions, 
quarrels,  disappointments  and  fatalities  which  have  at- 
tended the  construction  of  the  Albany  State-House.  The  last 
grief  that  has  afflicted  the  unfortunate  proprietors  appears  to 
relate  to  the  new  ceiling  of  the  Assembly  Chamber,  which  re- 
places the  famous  stone  vault.  It  seems  from  the  New  York 


38 


The    American    Architect   and  Building   Neics.        [VoL.  XXV.  — No.  682. 


papers  that  the  specification  required  that  after  the  ironwork 
was  in  position  "  the  whole  ceiling  "  should  be  "  covered  with 
first  quality  kiln-dried  quartered  white  oak,  wrought  out  and 
finished  in  accordance  with  the  several  designs,  in  first-rate 
cabinet  fashion,  of  the  several  shapes,  sizes  and  thicknesses 
called  for  by  the  plans,  sections  and  details ;  "  all  carved  work 
to  be  done  "in  an  artistic  and  spirited  manner  by  first-rate 
carvers,  who  understand  the  motive  and  intent  of  the  design." 
This  specification,  as  our  readers  will  acknowledge,  conveys 
the  idea  that  the  ceiling  was  intended  to  be  covered  with  oak, 
and  the  contract  price,  two  hundred  and  seventy  thousand 
dollars,  would  seem  to  be  large  enough  to  provide  for  using 
that  material ;  so  it  is  not  surprising  that  certain  members  of 
the  Assembly,  on  being  told  that  the  work  actually  consisted 
mainly  of  plaster-of-Paris,  expressed  a  dissatisfaction  which 
culminated  in  the  appointment  of  a  commission  of  three  ex- 
perts, to  investigate  the  matter.  We  imagine  that  the  office  of 
expert  to  the  Albany  Capitol  has  become  rather  a  thankless 
one,  for  two  of  the  gentlemen  appointed  immediately  declined 
to  serve,  and  the  third,  being  confined  to  his  house  with  serious 
illness,  could  not  serve  if  he  would,  so  the  Assemblymen  most 
interested  organized  themselves  into  an  informal  investigating- 
committee,  and  had  a  stage  built,  from  which  they  could  ex- 
amine the  ceiling  closely.  It  then  appeared  that  there  were 
some  oak  casings,  or  veneers,  over  the  iron  and  wooden  beams, 
but  that  the  "  artistic  and  spirited  "  carved  work,  together  with 
the  panelling,  consisted  entirely  of  plaster-of-Paris,  spread  on 
a  backing  of  jute  canvas,  and  painted  to  imitate  oak.  On  seek- 
ing an  explanation  of  this  singular  interpretation  of  the  con- 
tract, it  was  pointed  out  to  the  Assemblymen  that  another 
clause  in  the  specification  provided  that  the  panels  were  "  to  be 
of  quartered  oak,  as  shown,  properly  glued  up  and  finished,  or, 
if  papier-mache'  is- used  instead  of  oak,  the  panels  are  to  be 
formed  high  toward  the  centre."  Nowhere  else  does  there 
seem  to  be  any  mention  of  papier-mache  in  the  specification, 
and  the  sentence  has  a  curious  air  of  interpolation. 

WHETHER  interpolated  or  not,  the  clause  seems  to  have 
met  with  the  approbation  of  the  superintendent  of  the 
work,  who  very  frankly  explained  that  he  had  decided 
that  curved  panels  would  look  better  than  flat  ones,  and  as  it 
would  be  very  expensive  to  make  them  in  oak  with  the  dome- 
like form  which  he  preferred,  he  had  directed  papier-mache1  to 
be  used,  and  that  this  compound  of  burlaps,  asbestos  and 
plaster-of-Paris  was  the  sort  of  papier-mache  that  he  approved. 
In  his  opinion  the  panels  were  much  better  made  of  this 
material  than  of  oak,  as  the  oak  would  crack  with  the  heat  of 
the  room,  while  the  "  papier-mache  "  would  remain  perfect  for 
an  indefinite  period.  We  should  say  for  ourselves  that  we 
would  rather  have  an  oak  ceiling,  cracked  in  every  direction, 
than  one  adorned  with  "spirited  and  artistic  carving"  cast  in 
plaster,  but  this  view  of  the  subject  does  not  seem  to  have  sug- 
gested itself  either  to  the  superintendent  or  the  Assemblymen, 
whose  principal  anxiety,  aside  from  a  suspicion  that  they  have 
paid  for  something  a  good  deal  more  expensive  than  what  they 
have  got,  seems  to  arise  from  the  notion  that  the  plaster 
papier-mache  is  likely  to  be  disintegrated  by  the  heat  and  dry- 
ness  of  the  air  at  the  top  of  the  room,  and  to  fall  on  their  heads. 


'7TCCORDING  to  the  report  of  the  Royal  Commission  ap- 
f\  pointed  to  investigate  the  causes  of  the  conflagration  which 
'  nearly  destroyed  the  Palace  of  the  Quirinal  in  Rome,  last 
November,  the  fire  service  in  the  Imperial  City  seems  to  leave 
something  to  be  desired.  As  might  be  supposed,  the  palace, 
crowded  as  it  is  with  precious  objects,  is,  in  theory  at  least, 
protected  by  the  most  complete  modern  appliances  for  extin- 
guishing fire.  There  are,  or  were,  several  pumps  and  engines 
in  the  building,  besides  a  system  of  stand-pipes  and  hydrants, 
and  telegraph-alarm  lines  communicating  with  the  metropolitan 
stations ;  and  a  corps  of  firemen  is  always  on  duty.  The  fire  was 
first  observed  about  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening,  bursting 
through  the  windows  of  the  rooms  on  the  ground-floor.  The 
alarm  was  at  once  given,  and  the  palace  detachment  of  firemen 
appeared  promptly  on  the  scene.  The  next  thing  was  to  find 
.the  key  of  the  room  in  which  the  engines  and  extinguishers 
were  locked  up.  ,This  did  not  take  long,  but  as  the  room 
turned  out  to  be  one  of  those  which  was  blazing  most  fiercely, 
it  was  useless  to  attempt  reaching  anything  in  it.  The  next 
resource  was  to  telegraph  a  signal  to  the  metropolitan  stations, 


but,  as  the  wires  or  batteries  were  out  of  order,  the  signal  could 
not  be  transmitted.  There  was  a  telephone  from  the  palace  to 
the  city-stations,  which,  however,  also  proved  to  be  out  of 
order  and  unserviceable.  In  the  meantime  some  of  the  firemen 
had  been  detailed  to  open  the  hydrants,  and  were  looking  for 
the  keys,  which  had  been  mislaid.  After  the  search  had  finally 
been  given  up,  the  commander,  with  praiseworthy  energy, 
directed  that  the  pipes  should  be  broken,  since  they  could  be 
opened  in  no  other  way.  They  were  accordingly  smashed 
with  axes  and  hammers,  but  proved  to  be  quite  dry  inside,  the 
water  having  been  for  some  reason  shut  off  at  the  mains.  By 
this  time  a  group  of  soldiers  had  arrived,  who  formed  a  line 
and  passed  buckets  from  a  neighboring  fountain,  to  be  emptied 
on  the  flames.  Meanwhile  the  ciry  authorities  were  aroused, 
and  two  hand-engines  soon  made  their  appearance,  which 
poured  tiny  streams  into  the  blazing  building.  These  were 
followed  by  men  belonging  to  the  steam  fire-engine  corps,  who 
drove  up  in  cabs  or  arrived  on  foot,  ready  for  service  when  the 
engines  themselves  should  come.  There  was  a  delay,  however, 
of  about  an  hour  and  a  half  in  the  appearance  of  the  latter, 
owing  to  the  fact  that  the  Roman  fire-department  has  no 
horses,  but  makes  requisitions  on  the  omnibus  companies  for 
motive  power,  and  the  omnibus  companies,  which  receive  no 
pay  for  the  use  of  their  animals,  do  not  show  remarkable 
alacrity  in  furnishing  them.  When  the  engines  finally  arrived, 
it  was  discovered  that  no  one  had  thought  to  light  a  fire  in 
them,  and  an  hour  more  was  spent  in  remedying  this  deficiency 
and  getting  up  steam.  Toward  midnight,  however,  they  began 
to  work,  and  in  three  hours  afterward  the  fire  went  out. 


TITHE  well-known  establishment  of  Haines,  Jones  &  Cadbury, 
\J  of  Philadelphia,  now  organized  as  a  stock  company,  has 
for  the  past  two  years  carried  out  a  simple  plan  of  sharing 
profits  with  its  employes.  The  sum  divided  this  year  among 
the  men  is  ninety-one  hundred  dollars.  This  is  six  and  one- 
half  per  cent  on  the  total  wages  of  each  workman  who  has  been 
with  the  firm  long  enough  to  be  entered  on  the  list  as  a  sharer 
in  the  profits,  or  about  three  weeks'  extra  pay  for  each  man. 
There  are  few  persons  who  would  not  find  a  bonus  of  three 
weeks'  extra  income  at  the  end  of  December  in  each  year  ex- 
tremely convenient,  and  we  imagine  that  the  Haines,  Jones  & 
Cadbury  men  reflected  with  considerable  satisfaction,  the  night 
before  New  Year's,  upon  the  occasions  when  they  had  made  a 
special  effort  to  make  their  work  systematic  and  efficient,  and 
resolved,  for  the  ensuing  year,  to  make  these  occasions  more 
frequent,  and  to  use  their  experience  in  promoting  still  more 
the  harmonious  operation  of  the  factory  which  they  help  to 
conduct.  For  the  next  year,  a  dividend  to  the  workmen  is  to 
be  made  if  the  profits  exceed  six  per  cent  on  the  capital,  and 
will  be  shared  in  by  all  who  have  worked  for  the  company 
during  the  whole  year. 


R.  GEORGE  HATHORNE,  at  one  time  a  very  promi- 
nent  architect  in  New  York,  died  in  that  city  about  two 
weeks  ago.  Mr.  Hathorne  was  a  native  of  Massachu- 
setts, but  had  spent  most  of  his  life  in  New  York.  He  was  a 
man  of  quiet  tastes,  but  an  excellent  architect,  and  devoted  to 
his  profession.  He  was  one  of  the  early  members  of  the 
American  Institute  of  Architects,  and  for  many  years  took  a 
prominent  part  in  its  proceedings.  Much  of  his  work  was  out 
of  the  city,  Springfield  possessing,  perhaps,  his  most  important 
buildings.  He  was  unmarried,  and  leaves  no  very  near  rela- 
tives. 


HE  New  York  Mail  and  Express  announces  that  the 
Trustees  of  Columbia  College  have  decided  to  establish  a 
Department  of  Electrical  Engineering  in  connection  with 
the  School  of  Mines,  and  adds  that  "  There  is  no  such  depart- 
ment, it  appears,  at  any  of  the  American  universities. 
Columbia,  therefore,  will  have  the  honor  of  taking  the  lead  in 
the  matter."  While  we  wish  the  new  school  all  possible  suc- 
cess, and  do  not  doubt  that  it  will  deserve  it,  the  claim  that  it 
is  the  first  of  the  kind  in  the  United  States  needs  modification, 
the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology  having  for  several 
years  maintained  a  Department  of  Electrical  Engineering, 
which  is  very  popular,  and  has  graduated  some  of  the  most 
noted  young  electricians  in  the  country,  while,  if  we  are  not 
mistaken,  there  are  two  or  three  other  schools  of  the  kind  of 
high  reputation. 


JANUARY  26,  1889.]  The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


39 


EQUESTRIAN    MONUMENTS."  — XII. 


AS    ADJUNCTS    OF    ARCHITECTURE. 


Main  Entrance,  Strasbourg  Cathedral. 


TO  I  IE  fate  that  befell 
JjL  the  bas-relief  of 
Henry  IV  over 
the  central  portal 
of  the  H6tel-de-Ville, 
at  Paris,  has  already 
been  noted,  and 
whether  the  bas-relief 
of  the  same  monarch 
on  the  H6tel-de-Ville, 
at  Lyons,  shared  a 
similar  fate  during 
the  first  Revolution, 
when  the  city  was  be- 
sieged by  a  Republi- 
can army  under  Kel- 
lerman,  or  during  one 
of  the  numerous  upris- 
ings that  followed  can- 
not be  ascertained ; 
perhaps,  as  the  city 
was  doomed  to  de- 
struction in  revenge 
for  maintaining  a  de- 
fence for  two  months, 
it  is  likely  that  the 
H6tel-de-Ville  suffered 
at  that  time,  or  if  not 
then  it  may  have  fared 
ill  when  the  strik- 
ers, thrown  out  of 
work  by  the  commer- 
cial disorganization 
which  followed  the 
Revolution  of  1830, 
_  seized  the  building  in 
1831  and,  presuma- 
bly, pillaged  it.  It  is 


possible,  too,  that  the  bas-relief  now  extant  on  this  building  is  the 
third  of  its  kind  that  has  been  placed  there,  for  the  original  may  have 
been  erected  in  the  lifetime  of  Henry  and  so  have  been  destroyed 
when  the  building  was  burned  in  1702.  At  all  events,  the  illustra- 
tions show  that  the  building  at  some  period  of  its  existence  was 
restored,  and  that  the  place  of  honor  is  still  accorded  to  the  bas-relief 
of  Henry  IV,  by  Legendre  Herald,  a  native  sculptor. 

Coustou's  bronze  bas-relief  of  Louis  XIV,  which  still  ornaments 
the  central  fronton  of  the  Invalides,  was  also  subjected  to  a  certain 

amount  of  injury  at 
the  hands  of  the 
Paris  mob  in  1793; 
but  thanks  to  its  in- 
accessible position  or 
to  an  unexpected  ac- 
cess of  sentimentality 
on  the  part  of  the  in- 
surgents—  who  may 
have  reasoned  that 
the  Invalides  was  a 
highly  useful  and 
valued  charitable  in- 
stitution, and  that 
Louis  XIV,  whatever 
his  misdeeds,  did  one 
good  act  for  posterity 
in  founding  it,  and  so 
deserved,  in  so  far  as 
this  particular  effigy 
was  concerned, 
tender  treatment  at 
their  hands  —  a  per- 
sistent attempt  was 
not  made  to  dislodge 
it;  so,  though  bat- 
tered with  stones  and 
shot,  it  was  suffered 
to  remain  till  more 

peaceful  times  admitted  of  its  rehabilitation,  in  1816,  by  Cartellier. 
The  inscription  on  the  bas-relief  reads :  Ludovicus  Magnus  miiitibus, 
regali  munificentia  in  perpeluum  providens,  has  cedes posuit  1675. 

Wanton  destruction  in  almost  every  part  of  France  was  practised 
by  the  Republicans,  and  many  a  chateau  which  bore  within  or  without 
treasures  of  Renaissance  sculpture  was  destroyed.  Amongst  others 
that  succumbed  was  the  Chateau  de  Vizille  (Isere),  of  which,  how- 
ever, there  remains  a  doorway  which  once  opened  from  the  avenue 
into  the  garden,  and  still  bears  upon  its  fronton  a  bas-relief  of  Mar- 
shal Lesdiguieres  by  Jacques  Richier. 

The  H6tel-de-Ville,  at  Compiegne,  which  was  built  between  1502- 

1  Continued  from  No.  676,  page  270. 


Marshal  Lesdizuieres,  Chateau  de  Vizille,  France. 


1510,  in  the  reign  of  Louis  XII,  was  decorated  with  statues  of  saints  in 
niches,  and  in  the  place  of  honor,  in  a  niche  like  that  more  familiar  one 
at  Blois,  was  an  equestrian  figure  of  Louis  XII,  either  in  the  round  or 
in  high  relief.  This  figure  was  replaced  by  a  similar  figure  of  Louis 
XIII  at  a  later  day,  who,  in  turn,  was  probably  less  gently  dis- 
mounted during  the  Revolution.  This  building  was  restored  some 
fifteen  years  ago,  and  a  bronze  bas-relief  of  Louis  XII,  by  Jacquemart, 
executed  in  1869,  now  holds  the  place  of  honor. 

The  Hotel-de-Ville,  at  Rheims  now  bears  in  a  similar  position  an 
equestrian  bas-relief  of  Louis  XIII  the  work  of  the  Sculptor  Mil- 
hpmme  who  in  1818  thus  replaced  an  earlier  bas-relief  of  the  same 
kind  which  had  been  destroyed  on  August  13,  1793. 

The  famous  house  of  Jacques  Cceur,°at  Bourges,  formerly  bore  an 
equestrian  statue  of  Charles  VII,  and  a  more  humble  one  of  the,  lord 
of  the  manor  himself,  who  was  shown  mounted  on  a  mule,  which,  for 
some  now  unaccountable  reason,  was  shod  backwards,  so  that  it 
would  have  puzzled  an  American  redskin  to  know  how  the  animal 
was  travelling. 

In  the  same  category  should  be  mentioned  the  figure  of  Oldrado 
(or  Orlando  di)  da  Tresseno,  Podesta  of  the  city,  on  the  wall  of  the 
Palazzo  delta  Ragione  at  Milan,  a  building  erected  by  him  between 
1228  and  1233.  This  figure,  in  high  relief,  representing  a  personage 
famous,  or  infamous,  as  having  first  burned  heretics  at  the  stake,°is 
shown  "with  bare  head  and  hair  cut  close  in  the  neck,  after  the 
modern  fashion,  riding  on  a  heavy-limbed  horse.  The  group  though 
wanting  in  life  has  a  certain  homely  truth  to  nature,  and  is  interest- 
ing as  being  one  of  the  first  works  of  its  kind  made  in  Italy  since  the 
days  of  Justinian.2" 

But  equestrian  sculpture  had  other  forms  of  application  in  archi- 
tecture than  as  bas-reliefs  in  the  frontons  of  public  buildings. 
Surface-ornament,  either  in  high  or  low  relief,  was,  of  course,  the 


I-  • 


From  the  Temple  of  Vishnu,  Seringham,  India. 

form  in  which  it  was  most  commonly  used  from  the  times  of  the 
Egyptian  and  the  Assyrian  to  the  present.  The  use  of  the  horse  as 
a  feature  of  decorative  construction  is  comparatively  rare,  about  the 
only  instances  being  found  in  Southern  India  at  Madura,  Seringham 
and  elsewhere,  where  the  horses  take  the  place  of  cantilevers  to  sup- 
port the  superincumbent  structure. 

The  horse  friezes  of  Classic  times  are  too  familiar  to  all  to  need 
description  here,  but  there  are  to  be  found  in  many  countries  build- 
ings in  the  decoration  of  which  the  horse  has  been  introduced 
effectively,  ingeniously  or  ridiculously,  but  almost  always  with 
a  purpose  which  can  sometimes  be  deciphered,  but  oftener  cannot. 
One  of  the  earliest  of  modern  examples  is  to  be  found  in  the  facade 
of  San  Michel,  at  Pavia,  an  early  Lombard  church,  across  the  front 
of  which  at  irregular  intervals  stretch  narrow  sculptured  bands  of 
grotesque  figures,  amongst  which  are  easily  discernible  figures  of 
Horsemen,  centaurs,  Pegasi,  and  wild  horses3  mixed  with  other 
igures,  the  whole  suggesting  an  attempt  at  picturing  some  of  the 
iables  of  mythology  which  accident  has  singularly  disjointed.  The 
want  of  connection  and  arrangement,  and  the  seeming  lack  of  appro- 
priateness of  such  sculptures  as  parts  of  an  ecclesiastical  structure, 
suggest  that  the  building  offers  an  early  instance  of  the  once 


8  Perkins's  •*  Historical  Handbook  of  Italian  Sculpture," 

3  "  Dragons,  griffins,  eagles,  snakes,  sphinxes,  centaurs  —  the  whole  mythological 
menagerie  which  our  ancestors  brought  with  them  from  their  native  Iran  — and 
:hese  either  fighting  with  each  other  or  with  Lombard  warriors,  or  amicably  in- 
terlaced with  human  figures,  male  and  female,  or  grinning  and  ready  to  fly  at 
you  from  the  gray  wall — interspersed  with  warriors  breaking-in  horses  or 
following  the  hounds,  minstrels  and  even  tumblers,  or,  at  least,  figures  standing 
on  their  heads;  in  short,  the  strong  impress  everywhere  meets  you  of  a  wild 
and  bold  equestrian  nation,  glorying  in  war,  delighting  in  horses  and  the  chase, 
falconry,  music  and  gymnastics  —  ever  in  motion,  never  sitting  still —  credulous, 
too,  of  old  wives'  stones,  and  tenacious  of  whatever  of  marvellous  and  strange 
:iad  arrested  their  fancy  during  their  long  pilgrimage  from  the  East  —  for 
zodiacs  from  Chaldea  and  emblems  of  the  stirring  mythology  of  Scandinavia 
constantly  alternate,  in  these  and  similar  productions,  with  the  delineation  of 
those  pastimes  and  pursuits  which  their  peculiar  habits  induced  them  to  reiterate 
with  such  zest  and  frequency."  —  From  Lord  Lindsay's  "  Christian  Art." 


40 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.         [VoL.  XXV. — No.  683. 


common  fashion  of  rebuilding  into  a  new  building  the  artistic  wreck 
age  of  some  earlier  pile.  To  be  sure  the  figure  of  the  archangel 
trampling  down  a  dragon  over  the  central  door,  shows  that  some 
portion  of  the  work  was  especially  prepared  for  its  present  position 
—  perhaps  all  may  have  been,  for  through  the  whole  range  o 
mediaeval  sculpture  it  is  impossible  to  always  satisfactorily  explain 
the  presence  of  the  many  figures  and  groups  which,  while  un 
doubtedly  grotesque  from  a  modern  point-of-view,  it  is  wholly  impos 
sible  to  determine  whether  they  are  intentionally  or  unintentionally  so 
The  triumph  of  St.  George  over  the  dragon  has  been  immortalize< 
in  stone  in  so  many  places  by  so  many  notable  artists  that  it  deserves 
consideration  later  as  a  special  subject;  but,  besides  St.  George 
there  were  many  other  heroes  of  saintly  legend  who  performed  their 
feats  on  horseback,  and  there  are  many  churches  where  St.  Martin 
St.  Hubert,  St.  Paul  and  others1  are  more  or  less  intelligibly  and 
artistically  preserved  in  marble,  stone  or  bronze.  Besides  these 
there  are  legendary  heroes  and  historical  personages  of  doubtfu 
authenticity,  who  are  honored  in  the  same  way  upon  some  edifice  in 
what  is  supposed  to  be  their  natal  town.  To  search  these  out 
enumerate  them  and  briefly  recount  the  associated  legends  would  bi 
an  interesting  but  somewhat  laborious  task,  and  it  will,  perhaps 
be  enough  of  an  indication  of  the  character  of  the  field  which  might  be 
explored,  if  there  is  here  given  the  story  of  King  Gradlon,  whose 


Cathedral  at  Quimper,  Brittany.* 

equestrian  figure  surmounts  the  gable  of  the  facade  of  the  Cathedral 
at  Quimper,  in  Brittany,  the  most  important  and  almost  the  most  in- 
teresting ecclesiastical  structure  in  that  province.  Brittany  is  pecul- 
iarly rich  in  legendary  lore,  and  the  French  painters  of  our  day  are 
extremely  fond  of  turning  to  it  for  the  subjects  of  those  great  show- 
pictures  that  plaster  the  walls  of  each  year's  Salon.  Some  of  these 
legends  have  an  interest  also  for  the  descendants  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxon,  and  amongst  them  is  the  tale  of  Gradlon,  who  was  a  brother 
of  one  of  the  early  British  Kings,  and  was  a  sample  of  the  clean  and 
simple-minded  chivalry  who  have  caused  the  fame  of  Arthur's 
knights  to  survive  through  centuries.  King  Gradlon's  capital  was  the 
city  of  Is,2  on  the  seacoast,  or  rather  just  off  the  coast,  for  it  was 
actually  built  below  the  level  of  the  sea,  which  was  barred  out  by 
heavy  dikes :  like  Mont  St.  Michael,  it  could  only  be  approached  in 
boats  or  by  land  when  the  tide  was  out.  Unfortunately,  Gradlon's 
daughter  Dahut  does  not  seem  to  have  been  present  when  the 
occurrence  took  place  that  converted  him  to  Christianity,  for  one 
can  imagine  that  Messalina,  herself,  would  have  listened  to  warnings 
coming  From  the  lips  of  St.  Corentin,  after  she  had  seen  him  feed  the 
king  and  his  train  of  huntsmen  to  their  satisfaction,  all  from  a  single 
slice  of  a  carp,  which,  after  affording  this  feast,  swam  away  unin- 
jured. In  spite  of  the  entreaties  of  her  father  and  the  rebukes  of  the 
hermit  saint,  Dahut  continued  in  her  profligate  courses,  and  enter- 
tained lovers  unnumbered.  At  length  weary  of  the  constant  im- 
portunities of  the  hermit,  she,  one  night,  stole  from  her  father,  who 
always  wore  it  about  his  neck,  the  key  which  opened  the  gate  in  the 
sea-wall  or  dike,  and  giving  it  to  her  lover  of  the  moment,  persuaded 

JTHE  HORSE  AS  AN  ATTRIBUTE  IN  SACRKD  ABT.  —  The  horse  is  often  asso- 
ciated in  sculpture  and  painting  with  SS.  George,  Hubert,  James  the  Greater, 
John.  Bishop  of  Bergamo,  Martin,  Maurice,  Norbert,  Victor,  Pope  Leo,  Papon  de 
Marchienne  and  Count  Thibaut.  Besides  these,  a  horse  or  ass  kneeling  before 
the  holy  sacrament  is  an  attribute  of  Saint  Antony  of  Padua  ;  a  horse  before  an 
altar  is  associated  with  St.  Bernard  ;  a  wild  horse  drags  St.  Orestes  ;  a  horse 
falling  over  a  precipice  leaving  his  rider  unharmed  indicates  St.  Hugo ;  a 
hor-e  bearing  a  saint  with  a  child  mounted  behind  him  marks  Gregory  of 
Armenia ;  a  horse  beside  a  saint  betokens  St.  Ireneus  ;  a  horse  or  horses 
dragging  martyrs  along  the  ground  illustrates  the  stories  of  St.  Anastasius,  St. 
Martinien  and  St.  Saturniu  ;  saints  trampled  upon  by  horses  may  be  St.  Ge- 


2  is.  —  "  The  anonymous  chronicler  of  Ravenna  mentions  a  town,  which  he  calls 
Ker-is  as  existing  in  Armorica  in  the  fifth  century.  Here  ruled  a  prince  called 
Gradlon  vawre,  that  is,  Gradlon  the  Great.  Gradlon  was  the  protector  of 
Gwennle,  the  founder  of  the  first  abbey  established  in  Brittany."  —  From  Long- 
fellow's "  Poems  of  Places."  It  is  said  that  beneath  the  waters  of  the  Bay  of 
Douaruenez  traces  of  a  submerged  city  can  still  be  seen. 


him  to  open  the  gate  just  as  the  tide  reached  the  walls.  Roused 
from  his  sleep  by  the  report  of  the  pressing  danger,  Gradlon,  with 
unselfish  parental  affection,  sought  his  daughter,  and  then  his 
horse,  following  the  fleeing  crowd  with  his  daughter  en  croupe  as 


The  Plight  of  King  Gradlon.     After  a  Painting  by  E.  Luminais. 

the  frightened  citizens  splashed  through  the  rising  tide  toward  the 
shore.  The  horse  struggled  nobly,  but  being  overweighted  was 
losing  ground  every  moment,  when  St.  Gwenole,  who  alone  kept  pace 
with  the  king,  commanded  him  to  cast  Dahut  into  the  rising 
tide,  as  it  was  because  of  her  vicious  life  that  this  disaster  had  over- 
whelmed the  city.  The  king,  feeling  that  the  saint  voiced  God's 
will  obeyed,  and  saved  himself.8  The  legend  is  a  famous  one  and  is 
celebrated  in  poetry  as  well  as  prose.  Tom  Taylor  in  his  translation 
of  the  Ballads  of  Brittany  thus  renders  a  portion  of  the  "  Drowning  of 
Ker-Is" :  — 

Awake,  Sir  King,  the  gates  unspar! 
Kise  up,  and  ride  both  fast  and  far ! 
The  sea  flows  over  bolt  and  bar! 

Now  curse'd  forever  mote  she  be, 

That  all  for  wine  and  harlotry, 

The  sluice  unbarred  that  held  the  sea. 

"Say,  woodman,  that  wonn'st  in  the  forest  green, 
The  wild  horse  of  Gradlon  hast  thou  seen 
As  he  passed  the  valley-walls  between  ?  " 

"  On  Gradlon's  horse  I  set  not  sight, 

But  I  heard  him  go  by  in  the  dark  of  the  night 

Trip,  trep  —  trip,  trep,  —  like  a  fire-flaught  white." 

The  annexed  cut  shows  the  model  for  the  statue  which  is  now  in 
place  on  the  Cathedral  at  Quimper,  the  work  of  the  sculptor,  A. 
Menard,  made  neces- 
sary by  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  original 
statue  by  the  Revo- 
lutionists in  1793. 
Another  cut4  shows 
the  church  as  it  exist- 
ed for  many  years, 
but  it  now  bears  a  dif- 
ferent aspect,  for  one 
of  the  many  works 
of  restoration  and 
completion  entrusted 
to  Viollet-le-Duc  was 
the  completion  of  its 
western  spires,  in 
]  858,  the  funds 
being  raised  by  sub- 
icriptions  of  two- 
sous  pieces  con- 
;  r  i  b  u  t  e  d  by  the 
frugal  peasantry. 
The  actual  work  of 
construction  was 
arried  out  under 
M.  Bigot,  the  archi- 
tect of  the  Depart-  Kine  G'adlon,  Quimper,  Brittany.  A.  Menard,  Sculptor, 
ment. 

The  mention  of  Viollet-le-Duc's  name  gives  a  reason  for   intro- 
ducing here  a  reproduction   from  a   pen-drawing  made  by   him  of 


•THE  LI-GEND  or  KINO  GRADLON. —  Another  story  has  it  that  Dahut,  being 
•eproved  by  Gradlon  for  her  profligacy,  imprisoned  him  and  warned  Corentiu 
lever  to  approach  Is  again.  Coreutin,  however,  disguised  himself  as  a  prince, 
won  her  love  and  obtaining  the  key  to  the  sluice-gates  (as  above)  freed  the  king 
and  let  loose  the  waters  upon  Is  and  Dahut.  The  trampling  of  Gradlon's  horse 
which  carried  him  from  the  fated  city,  is  still  heard  at  night,  and  upon  a  rock 
ailed  Garree,  near  Le  Riz,  is  shown  the  mark  of  his  hoof.  Every  year  on  the  first 
light  of  May,  the  peasants  say  that  the  city,  with  all  its  castles  and  towers,  rises 
rom  the  waters  at  the  first  stroke  of  midnight  and  sinks  again  at  the  twelfth, 
inch  was  the  magnificence  of  Is,  or  Ker-is,  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  that  Parts 
s  said  to  have  derived  its  name  from  being  equal  to  Is,  —  Par-Is.  The  country 
jeople  say  that  they  can  hear  sometimes  the  church-bells  of  the  submerged  city 
'nging  with  the  motion  of  the  current. 

*From  Jules  Janin's  "La  Jjretagne." 


JANUARY  26,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


41 


the  Romanesque  church  at  Surgeres,  France,  (twelfth  century) 
upon  the  faQade  of  which  exist  two  fragments  of  equestrian  sculpture, 
bas-reliefs  in  niches  high  up  on  the  wall. 

The  Bretons,  at  once  the  most  superstitious  and  the  most  religious 
portion  of  the  French  people,  have  two  other  curious  monuments 
which  have  interest  for  us,  one  the  famous  Calvary  at  Plougastel,  a 


what  marred  by  the  narrowness  of  the  tabernacles  in  which  they  are 
placed,  the  heads  and  tails  of  the  horses  protruding  on  either  side 
in  a  very  awkward  manner.  A  more  agreeable,  if  somewhat  bold 


The  Calvary  at   Plougastel,  Brittany.1 

rich  mass  of  crude  sculpture,  in  the  round  and  in  the  flat,  which 
presents  scenes  from  the  New  Testament  which  involve  more  than 
two  hundred  figures  of  large  size.  The  equestrian  element  is  here 
represented  by  the  half  life-size  mounted  figures  of  two  centurions 
who  balance  one  another  at  either  end  of  the  middle  arm  of  the 
three-armed  or  pontifical  cross  which  is  the  important  feature  of 
the  composition.  This  calvary  is  a  rallying  point  for  the  pilgrimages 
which  are  incessantly  made  to  and  fro  over  the  face  of  Brittany.  It 
was  erected  in  1602-4,  at  a  time  when  the  province  was  ravaged  by 
a  great  plague,  and  was  restored  in  1867.  The  other  object  is  also  a 
calvary,  at  Pleyben,  which  is  likewise  large  but  somewhat  less  elabo- 
rate in  treatment.  The  equestrian  figures,  here  four  in  number,  are 
at  the  corners  of  the  pedestal  on  a  level  with  the  foot  of  the  cross. 

One  of  the  most  ordinary  forms  of  sculptural  decoration  applied  to 
architecture  is  the  representation  on  the  fapade  of  a  cathedral  of  a 
whole  college  of  saints  and  holy  fathers,  or  a  complete  series  of  the 
departed  sovereigns  of  the  kingdom.  These  are  usually  bestowed 
each  in  his  own  niche,  and,  as  a  rule,  are  pedestrian  figures.  The 


St.  Martin  and  the   Beggar-man,  Lucca,  Italy. 

and  seemingly  unstable  treatment  is  to  be  found  on  the  front  of  the 
cathedral  at  Lucca,  where,  his  horse's  feet  supported  on  corbels  only, 
St.  Martin,  in  the  round,  is  shown  in  the  act  of  dividing  with  his 
sword  bis  meagre  cloak  that  he  may  give  half  of  it  to  the  beggar-man 
who  stands  at  his  stirrup.  This  work  is  ascribed  to  Guidectus  of 
Lucca,  an  artist  of  the  thirteenth  century.  Unused  corbels  on  the 


Rudolph  of  Hapsburg,  from  the 
Front  of  Strasbourg  Cathedral. 
Erwin  von  Steinbach,  Sculptor. 


The  Church  at  Surgeres,  France      Aft 

Cathedral  of  Strasbourg  affords  a  variation  from  the  conventional 
treatment,  for  here,  just  above  and  on  either  side  of  the  main  door- 
way, are  equestrian  figures  of  King  Clovis  and  Rudolph  of  Hapsburg, 
while  Dagobert  holds  a  corresponding  position  in  a  tabernacle  on 
the  corner  buttress  and  is  kept  in  countenance  at  the  other  corner 
by  the  strangest  of  companions  to  be  paired  off  with  a  mediseval 
king  —  none  other  than  his  magnificence  Louis  XIV,  set  there  not 
as  might  be  supposed  during  the  lifetime  of  that  monarch,  a  piece  of 
the  regulation  self-glorification,  but  about  1823.  The  three  others 
are  coeval  with  the  church  structure.  But  the  effect  here  is  some- 

"From  Jules  Janin's  "  La  Bretagne." 

2  From  "  Compositions  et  Dessins  de  Vwllet-le-Diic."  ,\ 


King  Clovis,  from  the  Front  of 
Strasbourg  Cathedral.  Erwin 
von  Steinbach,  Sculptor. 


>r  a  Pen-drawing  by  Viollet-!e-Duc.2 

opposite  side  of  the  arch  seem  to  show  that  a  similar  figure  once 
occupied  or  was  intended  to  occupy  a  corresponding  position. 

King  Gradlon  is  not  the  only  one  who  has  mounted  to  the  topmost 
pinnacle  of  material  exaltation :  there  are  a  few  other  instances 
where  it  has  been  found  worth  while  to  set  an  equestrian  figure  as 
high  above  ground  as  possible.  The  most  recent  instance  of  this  is 
the  monument  to  the  Uuke  of  Brunswick,  at  Geneva,  which  is  closely 
patterned  after  the  tombs  of  the  Scaligers,  at  Verona,  in  this 
particular.  But  there  are  others  of  a  slightly  elder  time  which 
should  be  noted.  Why  the  brewers  of  Brussels  should  hold  in  special 
honor  Charles,  Duke  of  Lorraine,  can  be  explained  by  those  familiar 
with  the  history  of  the  Netherlands  in  the  last  century.  Possibly 


42 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.      [VOL.  XXV. — No.  688. 


he,  during  his  rule  as  stadtholder,  did  the  guild  some  real  or  trifling 
favor,  confirmed  a  privilege,  abated  a  tax  or  some  such  thing. 
Perhaps  he  was  merely  a  jolly-good-fellow,  and  liked  his  cakes  and 

ale,  and  so  became  a  sort  of 
patron  saint  of  the  craft.  At 
any  rate,  whatever  the  cause, 

Brussels,  bears  on  its  gable  top 
an  equestrian  figure  in  gilt 
bronze  of  the  Duke  modelled  by 
the  sculptor  Jacquet,  about 
1854.  This  is  the  fourth  eques 
trian  statue  that  has  been 
placed  here.  The  first  was  a 
statue  in  stone  of  the  Elector 
Maximilian  Emanuel  of  Bava- 
ria, the  work  of  the  sculptor 
Marc  Devos,  erected  in  1697, 
at  a  time  when  the  building  was 
known  as  L'Abre  d"  Or.  This 
statue  was  overthrown  by  a 
storm  and  was  replaced  by 
a  reproduction  in  bronze  with 


the     inscription,     DUX       BA 


Detail!  of  West  Front  of   Lucca  Cathedral.' 


SALTJs.     In  1752,   this    statue 

"ave  Plaee  to  a  bronze  Statue  .of 

Charles  of  Lorraine,  by  Simon, 
a  goldsmith  of  the  city.  This  statue  was  conceived  in  the  Classic 
style  and  would  pass  for  a  reproduction  of  Boiichardon's  Louis  XIV. 
When  the  French  invaded  Belgium  during  the  Revolution  this 
statue  was  destroyed  and  half  a  century  passed  before  the  void  was 
filled  by  the  present  statue.  A  model  of  the  statue  of  the  Elector 
of  Bavaria  exists  in  the  National  Museum  at  Munich. 

Still  another  misplaced  horseman  can  be  seen  apparently  riding 
over  the  roofs  of  the  cathedral  at  Mayence. 


JEAN  LEGENDRTC-HERAL  (OB  HERALD).  —  Born  at  Montpellier*  1795.  Died 
1851.  Pupil  of  Chinard  and  Kevoil.  Principal  works  :  Narcissus  Hebe  Eury- 
dice,  Leda,  Psyche,  St.  Paul  and  a  statue  of  "  Giotto  tracing  a  sheep's  head  in 
the  sand,"  the  latter  being  in  the  Louvre.  He  made  a  statue  of  Turgot  for  the 
Chamber  of  Peers  and  one  of  Laurent  de  Jussieux  for  Louis  Philippe  and  many 
portrait  busts. 

GUILLAUMF.  COUSTOIT.  — Born  at  Lyons,  1677.  Died  1746.  Brother  of  Nicolas 
Coustou.  another  well-known  sculptor.  Studied  in  Paris  under  Coysevox; 
gained  the  grand  prize  and  went  to  Rome.  Some  of  his  best  works  were  made 
for  the  garden  at  Marly,  including  the  "  Horse  Tamers  "  now  at  the  entrance  to 
the  Champs  Elysc'es.  He  also  executed,  among  other  works  a  bas-relief  of 
"  Christ  with  the  Doctors,"  at  Versailles,  and  statues  of  Louis  XIV  and  Cardi- 
nal Dubois.  In  the  Louvre,  the  Salle  des  Coustou  contains  his  statue  of  Marie 
Leczinska,  and  works  by  his  brother  and  his  son  Guillaume,  who  was  also  a 
sculptor.  The  elder  Guillaume  also  made  a  bronze  figure  of  the  Ehone  for  the 
pedestal  of  Desjardin's  equestrian  statue  of  Louis  XIV  at  Lyons  which  was 
destroyed  during  the  Revolution. 

FRANCOIS  DK  BONNE.  — Due  de  Lesdiguieres,  Connetable  de  France.  Born 
1643.  He  fought  on  the  Protestant  side  in  the  civil  war  which  began  about  1562 
and  obtained  the  chief  command  of  the  Pri.testant  army  in  1575.  He  was  one  of 
those  who  most  effectually  aided  in  placing  Henri  IV  on  the  throne.  In  1608  he 
was  made  Marshal  and  Duke  and  about  1610  commanded  the  army  in  Italy 
where  he  defeated  the  Spaniards.  He  abjured  Calvinism  in  1622  and  was  made 
Constable  of  France.  Henri  IV  once  said  he  would  acknowledge  his  own 
inferiority  to  no  captain  in  Europe  except  Lesdiguieres.  Died  1626. 

Louis  XII  (called  "  The  Father  of  his  People)." —Born  at  Blois  1462  Suc- 
ceeded his  cousin  Charles  VIII  in  1408.  Married  Anne  of  Brittany.  Conquered 
Milan  and  (in  alliance  with  the  Spaniards)  Naples.  He  was.  however,  afterwards 
defeated  by  the  Spaniards  (with  whom  he  had  quarrelled),  at  the  Garighano  and 
later  by  the  Holy  League  and  finally  forced  to  evacuate  Italy.  During  his  reign 
Brittany  was  reunited  to  France.  He  died  in  1515. 

HENRI  ALFRED  MARIE  jArQuF.MART.—  Born  at  Paris,  1824.  Pupil  of  P. 
Delaroche  and  Klagmann.  Among  his  works  are  an  equestrian  statue  of  "  The 
General-in-Chief  of  the  army  of  Italv.  17%"  (Salon  of  18641 ;  statues  of 
"  Michael  Ney,  December  7,  1815  ;  "  "  Suleiman  Pacha  "  and  "  Mahommed-Bey  " 
(both  for  Cairo) ;  a  bronze  group  of  "  A  Camel-driver  of  Asia-Minor  "  —  Souvenir 
of  Upper  Egypt,  and  many  other  admirable  works  portraying  animals,  in  the 
modelling  of  which  he  is  among  the  first  of  living  sculptors.  He  made  the  two 
Griffins  for  the  Fontaine  Saint  Michel,  at  Paris. 

FRANCOIS  DOMINIQUE  AIME  MILHOMME.  —  Born  at  Valenciennes,  1758.  Died 
at  Paris,  1823.  Pupil  of  Lebrun.  He  made  many  busts  and  statues  among  the 
latter  being  Hoche,  Colbert,  and  Louis  XIV,  and  executed  a  number  of  com- 
missions for  work  on  and  within  public  buildings. 

CHARLES  VII  ("  The  Victorious)."  —  Son  of  Charles  VI.  Born  1403.  Became 
kingin  1422.  With  the  help  of  the  Maid  of  Orleans  he  reconquered  France  from 
the  English.  Died  1461. 

JACQUES  C<ErR.  —  A  French  merchant  and  able  financier,  born  at  Bourges 
about  the  end  of  the  fourteenth  century.  He  acquired  an  immense  fortune  and 
Charles  VII  made  him  director  of  his  finances.  In  1448  he  lent  that  king  200.000 
crowns  of  gold.  It  is  stated  that  he  transacted  more  business  than  all  the  other 
merchants  of  France.  Falsely  accused  of  various  crimes  he  was  in  1453  fined 
400,000  crowns  and  banished.  He  died  in  exile  145B.  His  magnificent  hotel  at 
Bourges  is  famous  as  one  of  the  finest  monuments  of  the  Middle  Ages. 

MADURA  HALL,  built  between  1623-45.  "  The  facade  of  this  hall,  like  that  of 
almost  all  the  great  halls  in  the  South  of  India,  is  adorned  either  with  yalis  — 
monsters  of  the  lion  type  trampling  on  an  elephant  —  or,  even  more  generally  by 
a  group  consisting  of  a  warrior  sitting  on  a  rearing  horse,  whose  feet  are  sup- 
ported on  the  shields  of  foot  soldiers,  sometimes  slaying  men,  sometimes  tigers. 
These  groups  are  found  literally  in  hundreds  in  Southern  India,  and,  as  works 
exhibiting  difficulties  overcome  by  patient  labor,  they  are  unrivalled,  so  far 
as  I  know,  by  anything  found  elsewhere.  As  works  of  art.  they  are  the  most 
barbarous,  it  may  be  said  the  most  vulgar,  to  be  found  in  India,  and  do  more  to 
shake  one's  faith  in  the  civilization  of  the  people  who  produced  them  than  any- 
thing they  did  in  any  other  departments  of  art.  —  From  Fergusson's  "  History  of 
Indian  and  Eastern  Architecture." 

'  From  a  paper  in  the  Architectural  Association  Notes. 

'Some  authorities  say  at  Lyons,  or  rather  call  him,  "  unr. scutpteur  Li/nnnais." 
Joanne's  Guides  and  other  authorities  say  that  the  Lyons  Hotel  de  Ville  was 
erected  in  1646-1655 ;  burnt  in  1674  :  restored  in  1702  by  Mansart ;  entirely 
restored  by  Desjardins  about  1861.  The  statue  is  spoken  of  as  having  been  put 
up  since  this  last  restoration. 


AMEDEE-RENE  MENARD.  — Born  at  Nantes,  1805.  Pupil  of  Ramey.  He 
made  the  monument  of  Rear-Admiral  Theodore  Le  Rey  at  Pornic  ;  statues  of 
"  Haid«5e,"  "  Mercury  inventing  the  caduceus,"  "  The  Condemned,"  the 
monument  to  Billault  at  Nantes  and  one  to  Mgr.  Graveraud  in  the  Cathedral  of 
Quimper.  His  native  city  contains  a  number  of  works  by  him,  many  of  which 
serve  to  decorate  its  public  buildings. 

RUDOLPH  OF  HAPSBURG.  —  Emperor  of  Germany  and  founder  of  the  House  of 
Austria  ;  born  1218  ;  died  1291  ;  son  of  Count  Albert  IV  of  Hapsburg  ;  sought  to 
enlarge  his  patrimony  by  many  wars  —  with  the  Swifs,  Hungarians,  Alsatians  and 
other  German  peoples  ;  chosen  King  of  the  Romans  and  Emperor  in  preference 
to  Alfonso  of  Castillo  and  Ottocar  of  Bohemia  in  1273,  an  election  brought  about 
by  the  Archbishop  of  Mentz  as  a  reward  for  Rudolph's  escort  on  his  journey 
across  the  Alps,  then  infested  with  bandits ;  his  election  led  to  wars  with  his 
defeated  rivals  ;  failing  in  his  attempts  to  restore  the  imperial  power  in  Italy  he 
abandoned  his  claims  upon  that  country  and  ceded  to  the  pope  a  large  territory 
saying  :  "  Rome  is  like  a  lion's  den  in  the'  fable  ;  I  discover  the  footsteps  of  those 
who  went  toward  it,  but  none  of  those  who  return  :  "  he  put  a  stop  to  the  build- 
ing of  castles  by  the  nobles  and  in  one  year  razed  seventy  to  the  ground. 

CLOVIS.  —  Founder  of  the  Prankish  monarchy  :  born  466  ;  died  511  ;  was  con- 
verted to  Christianity  by  a  miracle  at  a  battle  near  Tolbiac,  496,  where  he  was  on 
the  point  of  being  overcome  by  the  Alemanni  when  he  thought  of  his  Christian 
wife  Clotilda  and  her  God,  and  falling  on  his  knees  cried  :  "  God  of  Clotilda,  give 
me  assistance  in  this  hour  of  need  and  I  confess  thy  name."  and  immediately 
the  tide  of  battle  turned  in  his  favor,  and  true  to  his  word  Clovis  was  baptized 
within  the  year. 

DAGOBERT.  — King  of  the  Franks;  son  of  Clotaire  II ;  born  600;  died  638  :  his 
court  rivalled  in  magnificence  that  of  Constantinople  ;  revised  and  published  the 
Salic  and  Ripnarian  laws.  His  is  a  curious  figure  to  find  upon  a  church  for  an 
old  French  chronicler  says  :  "  This  Solomon  of  the  Franks,  given  up  to  lewdness, 
entertained  no  less  than  three  wives  bearing  the  names  of  queens,  and  so  many 
concubines  that  it  would  be  too  long  to  enumerate  them."  He  was  buried  at 
St.  Denis. 


between  Maria  Theresa  and  Frederick  the  Great,  by  whom  he  was  defeated  at 
Czaslau  in  1742.  In  1744  he  forced  Frederick  to  evacuate  Bohemia.  Married  a 
sister  of  Maria  Theresa,  and  was  appointed  Governor  of  the  Low  Countries.  At 
the  beginning  of  the  Seven  Years'  War  he  was  commander  of  the  Anstrians,  and 
gained  a  victory  over  the  Prussians  at  Breslau  in  1757 ;  but,  having  been  com- 
pletely defeated  in  the  great  battle  of  Leuthen,  in  the  same  year,  he  resigned 
his  command.  Died  in  1780. 


of  "  Love  Disarmed  "  and  "Aurora." 


[To  be  continued.! 


[Contributors  are  requested  In  send  with  their  drawings  full  and 
adequate  descriptions  of  the  buildings,  including  a  statement  of  cost."] 

THE    HOTEL    DES    BRASSEURS,  BRUSSELS,  BELGIUM  —  EAST  END  OF 

THE    CATHEDRAL,    MENTZ,    GERMANY. 
[Gelatine  print,  issued  only  with  the  Imperial  Edition.! 
SEE  article  on  "  Equestrian  Monuments." 

A    STATION   ON  THE    LINE    OF    THE    BALTIMORE  &  OHIO    RAILROAD. 
MR.    A.    H.    BIELER,  ARCHITECT    TO    THE    CORPORATION. 

HE  building  contains  two  waiting  and  toilet  rooms,  ticket-office 
and  baggage-room,  on  first  lloor.  On  the  second  floor  there  are 
telegraph-offices  and  sleeping-apartment  for  night  operators. 

The  building  is  built  of  mountain  boulders  up  to  sill  line,  above  this 

of  brick.     The  interior  finish  is  of  red-oak. 

THE    HOTEL    DE    VILLE,    RHEIMS,    FRANCE. 

THE  last  number  of  the  Moniteur  des  Archilectes  brings  us  this 
print  just  in  time  to  include  it  amongst  the  illustrations  of  the  article 
on  "Equestrian  Monuments."  " 

THE    OLD    HOTEL    DE    VILLE,   LYONS,    FRANCE. 

THIS  plate  is  reproduced  from  the  "  Tableaux  Hlstoriques  de  la 
Revolution  Francaise,"  in  connection  with  the  article  on  "Equestrian 
Monuments  "  elsewhere  in  this  issue. 

FACADE    OF    SAN   MICHEL,    PA  VIA,    ITALY. 

THIS  plate  reproduced  from  RameVs  "Le  Moyen  Age  Monumenlale 
et  Archeologique "  in  connection  with  the  article  on  "  Equestrian 
Monuments  "  elsewhere  in  this  issue.  The  building  is  attributed  to 
the  Lombard  kings  but  belongs  to  the  late  eleventh  century. 

THE    HOTEL    DE   VILLE,    COMPIEGNE,    FRANCE. 

THIS  plate,  showing  the  building  as  it  now  exists,  is  referred  to  in 
the  article  on  "Equestrian  Monuments." 

THE    HOTEL    DE   VILLE,    LYONS,   FRANCE. 

TAKEN  in  connection  with  the  print  of  the  building  as  it  existed 
before  the  post-Revolutionary  restorations,  this  illustration  referred 
to  in  the  article  on  "  Equestrian  Monuments  "  elsewhere,  affords  an 
interesting  study. 

DESIGN   FOR   A   COUNTRY    HOUSE.        MR.   C.    SCHAFER,    ARCHITECT, 
CHICAGO,   ILL. 


653.  $fMEI\IG*N  IftGHITEGT  ,«ND  BUILDING  ]|EWS ,  J^N.  26  1559 


CCFYHffiHr  1869  BY  Ti£l!»OR  1C? 


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26,  1889.]  The   American   Architect  and  Building  Wows. 


43 


Avi&rion.  " 


ARCHAEOLOGICAL  CAMPING  IN  ARIZONA. '  —  IV. 

S  the  work  proceeds,  the  obscure 
hints  and  indications   concerning 
the   life    of   this    ancient    people 
become  more  clear  and  plain.     A  beau- 
tiful instance  of  how  history,  archaeol- 
ogy,  and   the   traditions    retained    by 
living   peoples  all   contribute  in   their 
interrelation  to  reveal  a  picture  of  the 
past  with  graphic   fidelity  is  afforded 
by  a  certain  thread  which  Mr.  Gushing 
followed  out  in  its  course   hither  and 
yon,   until    it  led   to   the    conclusion. 
Briefly  it   must  be  stated   here.     The 
narrations  of  the  early  Spaniards  men- 
tion a  certain  pueblo',  the  "  kingdom " 
of  Cibola,  or  Zuni,  as  containing  a  pop- 
ulation of  so  many  within  and  so  many 
without    the   walls.      Standing   by    it- 
self, this  statement  has  been  accorded 
no  particular  significance  by  historical 
students.     But  here  in   these  excava- 
tions Mr.  Gushing  came  across  frequent 
remains  of  a  different  class  of  dwelling 
than    the   urban    houses,   standin^    in 
clusters   in  the   fields,  or  just   outside 
the  boundaries  of  the  towns.     Then  he 
recalled  a  folk-tale  of  the  Zunis,  about 
a  maiden  who  herded  turkeys,  and  belonged  to  the  low-class  dwellers 
outside  the  town.     The  Zunis  to-day  have  certain  persons  who,  for 
various  shortcomings,  are  compelled  to  live  across  the  river,  outside 
the  town,  though  not  now  numerous  enough  to  form  a  distinct  com- 
munity.    AH  these  facts  combined  to  bring  out  certain  evidence  with 
distinctness:  that  these  peculiarly  situated  and  constructed  dwell- 
ings were  the  habitations  of  an  ultra-mural,  low-caste,  agricultural 
and  herder  population,  and  that  domesticated  animals  were  kept  by 
the   town-dwelling  Indians   in  pre-Columbian  days.     Among   these 
domesticated    animals    were    turkeys,   and   probably    rabbits,   and 
perhaps  still  another   very  important  kind,  as   we  shall  see.     Mr. 
Gushing   has   found,   in    his   linguistic   investigations   of   the    Zuni 
language,  how  the  past  of  a  people  may  be  recorded  in  the  structure 
of  their  idiom  as  plainly  as  fossil-remains  tell  the  story  of  the  geo- 
logical past,  or  contain  the  record  of  the  development  of  a  chain  of 
species  in  the  gradual  modifications  of  the  evolutionary  chain.     The 
Zuni  tongue  has  a  word   for  this   outcast,  ultra-mural    population, 
which  conveys  the  moaning  of  "self-thrust  out,"  or,  "cast  out  by 
their  own  acts " ;  that  is,  voluntary   outcasts.     Such  a   people,  bv 
Rome  circumstance,  some  act  of  desecration  perhaps  not  even  inten- 
tional, place  a  ban  upon  themselves  which  forbids  either  them  or 
their  descendants  to  live  in  contact  with  those  within  the  walls.     A 
permanent   outcast  class  is  thus  formed.     This   is  quite  in  accord 
with  primitive  religious  beliefs.     It  is  notable  that  in  Peru  there 
was  also  an  outcast  agricultural  population,  and  Peru  contains  many 
resemblances  to  this  primitive  North  American  culture.     It  is  also 
notable  that  the  Sudras,  the  low-caste  population  of  India,  are  tillers 
of  the  ground. 

In  excavating  the  remains  of  one  of  these  ultra-mural  houses,  a 
group  of  animal  figurines  was  found  buried  together.     They  were 
.crudely,  but  realistically  made  animals  with  long  ears  and  without 
horns.     The   Zunis  have   to-day  the  practice  of  making  figures  of 
sheep,  horses,  and  other  domestic  animals,  which  they  sacrifice  for 
an  increase  of  herd.     As  these  ruins  were  unquestionably  pre-Colum- 
bian, and  as,  of  course,  there  were  no  sheep  here  in  those  times,  the 
problem  was:  What  were  these  effigies  meant  for?     Their  resem- 
blance to  the  llama  was  so  marked  as  to  be  noted  at  first  sight  by 
Doctors  ten  Kate  and  Wortman  and  other  observers.     This,  taken 
in  connection  with  other  evidence,  led  Mr.  Gushing  to  the  belief 
that  among  the  domesticated  animals  of  these  ancient  people  there 
was  a  species  of  the  llama  family.     The  other  evidence  was  found  in 
the   numerous   petrographic  inscriptions   abounding   in  the   South- 
west, in  the  traditions  of  the  Zunis,  and  in  the  narratives  of  the 
early  explorers,  which  speak  of  a  domesticated  animal  answerino-  to 
this  description  among  the  Pueblos  of  that  day.     To  be  conclusive, 
however,  it  needs  the  finding  of  the  bones  of  the  species  among  the 
ancient   remains— something   that   has  not  yet  been    done  — 'and, 
while  the   testimony   of  the  old  Spanish  explorers   is  strong,  it  is 
notable  that  they  do  not  mention  seeing  the  animals  themsefves,  so 
that  at  that  time  they  must  already  have  become  rare.     Mr.  Gushing 
has,  however,  accumulated  an  important  mass  of  testimony  weighty 
enough  to  justify  laying  it  before  the  scientific  world  to  await' the 
time  when  the  required  links  shall  be  found,  encoura^in"  others  to 
look  in  the  same  direction. 

It  is  well  known  that  North  America  was  the  home  of  the  au- 
chinea,  or  llama  family,  the  ancestor  of  the  Old  World  camel,  and 
the  fossil-remains  of  numerous  species,  large  and  small,  have  been 
found  by  paleontologists,  while  no  fossils  have,  I  believe,  yet  been 
found  in  South  America,  the  present  home  of  the  family,  — limited  to 
four  species  there.  Two  of  these  species  are  domesticated  there, 
and  have  been  since  prehistoric  times  —  the  llama,  the  only  beast  of 
burden  that  existed  among  the  aboriginal  population  of  the  New 


World ;  and  the  alpaca,  which  was  bred  for  its  wool.  As  these 
species  are,  therefore,  comparatively  new  in  South  America,  and  as 
it  has  been  something  of  a  puzzle  for  naturalists  to  account  for  their 
being  there ;  and  as,  moreover,  North  America  was  the  home  of  the 
family,  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  some  one  or  more  of 
the  species  of  auchinea  were  already  domesticated- among  the  ancient 
populations  of  this  part  of  the  world;  that  they  were  taken  to  South 
America  by  the  gradual  spread  of  the  primitive  cultures  thither  in 
very  remote  ages ;  that  the  other  species  differentiated  there  from 
the  original  stock  in  consequence  of  escape  from  domesticity ;  that 
meanwhile,  in  North  America,  the  climatic  changes  wrought  by  the 
advance  of  the  glacial  period  drove  the  various  species  of  the  family 
into  new  environments,  where  the  conditions  proved  unfavorable 
and  brought  about  their  extinction.  Some  may  have  remained  in 
domesticity,  and  possibly  lingered  here  and  there  till  about  the  time 
of  the  Spanish  conquest,  when  descriptions  of  them  were  heard  by 
the  invaders  of  Cibola.  As  serious  epidemics  are  often  known  to 
break  out  among  domestic  animals,  it  is  not  unlikely  that  something 
of  the  sort  may  have  swept  the  last  of  them  from  existence,  which 
would  account  for  the  fact  that  none  of  them  were  seen  bv  the 
Spaniards. 

One  day  Mr.  Gushing,  Don  Carlos,  Ramon  and  I,  with  a  Mexican 
laborer,  proceed  to  explore  the  great  cave  in  the  face  of  Central 
Butte,  near  the  town  of  Tempe.  By  its  position  Mr.  Gushinc*  deter- 
mines it  to  have  been  the  "  northern  place  of  sacrifice  "  "for  the 
neighboring  ancient  town  of  Los  Hornos.  The  butte  lifts  its  head 
boldly  from  the  plain,  forming  a  lofty  cliff.  In  its  precipitous  face 
the  dark  opening  of  the  cave  shows  like  the  deeply  recessed 
entrance  of  a  Gothic  cathedral,  the  pointed  arch  something  like 
forty  feet  or  more  from  the  base.  The  customary  slope  of  detritus, 
worn  away  from  the  rock  by  the  slow  friction  of  the  ao-es  as  they 
pass,  lies  at  the  foot  of  the  butte.  Ascending  this,  and  standing  at 
the  mouth  of  the  cavern,  we  survey  the  surrounding  country.  The 
prospect  is  enchanting.  It  is  the  height  of  spring-time,  the  9th  of 
March.  Verdant  fields  rich  with  young  grain  spread  for  miles 
around,  embroidered  by  long  lines  of  trees  in  full  leaf,  and  silvery 
threads  of  irrigating-water  gleaming  in  the  sun.  Here  and  there  a 
house  may  be  seen  almost  concealed  beneath  a  mound  of  leafage,  and 
not  far  away  stands  the  clustered  town,  accented  bv  puffs  of"  steam 
from  the  train  just  arrived. 

Don  Carlos  leaves  us  and  drives  into  the  town,  regretful  that 
routine  errands  prevent  him  from  sharing  our  explorations,  and  the 
rest  of  us  turn  to  the  lesser  mysteries  of  the  cave  where  in  their 
devoutness  the  worshippers  of  "perhaps  many  centuries  ao-o  have 
stored  the  symbols  of  their  faith  that  shall  help  illuminate  the 
understanding  of  the  seekers  after  knowledge  of  what  man  is  as  they 
delve  in  the  soil  where  his  being  is  rooted  —  the  nature  of  primitive 


1  Continued  from  page  34,  No.  682. 


The  cave  is  a  great  crevice  between  the  two  monstrous  masses  of 
rock  which  lean  against  each  other,  and  form  the  mass  of  the  butte. 
It  narrows  gradually  and  runs  in  for  something  like  fifty  feet  or 
more,  far  enough  to  make  the  light  very  dim  at  the  farther  end. 
I  he  floor  slopes  upward  from  the  entrance  at  a  heavy  grade.     The 
air  is  dry,  and  at  a  considerable  distance  outside  the  entrance  may  be 
perceived  the  odor  peculiar  to  caverns  in  this  country,  coming  from 
the  droppings  of  the  bats  and  the  terrestrial  rodents  that  inhabit  it. 
The  rat-like  juaneitos  have  brought  in  the  joints  of  the  cholla  cactus  in 
great  abundance.     As  this  cactus  bristles  with  its  sharp  spines  like  a 
porcupine,  it  is  a  marvel   how  they  ever   manage  to   transport   it 
without  lacerating  their  mouths  or  making  pin-cushions  of  themselves 
after  the  style  of  St.  Sebastian  with  his  arrows,  as  portrayed  by  the 
old  masters.     Throughout  Arizona  the  floors  of  such  caves  are  found 
covered  with  a  deep  bed  of  chollas.     But  wherever  white   men  have 
entered  —  and  the  prospectors  for  mineral  have  been  about  every- 
where—  they  have  almost  invariably  set  these  chollas  on  fire,  for  the 
sake  of  enjoying  the  spectacle  of  seeing  the  animals  scamper  out  of 
the   place   in    terrified   swarms.      The   chollas   are  exceedingly  in- 
flammable, and  blaze   like  tinder.     The   fire   communicates  ?o   the 
accumulated  guano,  and  smoulders  down  beneath  the  surface  to  a 
considerable  depth.     Thus,  when  the  cave  is  a  sacrificial  one.  as  is 
apt  to  be  the  case,  great  quantities  of  precious  relics  are  heedlessly 
destroyed  to  afford  a  moment's  diversion  for  unthinking  men. 

This  cave  had,  of  course,  shared  the  usual  fate.  But  several 
months  before,  when  Mr.  dishing  had  visited  it,  he  had  found  a 
number  of  interesting  sacrificial  relics,  and  the  indications  were  that 
a  systematic  search  would  reveal  rich  finds.  So  Ramon  and  the 
laborer  took  pick  and  shovel  and  began  to  dig  over  the  floor  from 
the  entrance  inward,  and  Mr.  Gushing  and  I  grubbed  in  promisin"-- 
looking  corners.  The  floor  was  covered  with  the  broken  fragments 
of  rock  that  had  been  falling  from  the  roof  and  sides  throiurh  the 
ages,  covering  it  to  a  depth  of  three  or  four  feet.  All  this  was  im- 
bedded in  guano  and  a  surface  of  loose  ashes.  Our  search  was  soon 
rewarded,  for  relics  abounded  everywhere.  How  long  the  cave  must 
have  been  used  for  sacrificial  purposes  cannot  be  conjectured.  The 
relics  must  have  existed  by  thousands  before  the  fire,  for  savages 
never  disturb  a  sacrificial  place,  even  of  an  enemy,  fearing  to  provoke 
the  hostility  of  the  gods  and  spirits  that  guard  the  spot.  As  it  was, 
we  found  them  in  large  quantities ;  both  in  charred  fragments,  in 
whole  examples  more  or  less  charred,  and  many  that  had  escaped 
the  fire  entirely,  protected  by  their  depth,  or  some  intervening  rock. 
The  relics  were  chiefly  sacrificial  cigarettes,  made  of  cane;  also 
prayer-wands  and  plumes,  and  sacred  tablets.  Great  masses  of 


44 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.       [VOL.  XXV.  — No.  683. 


string  and  fragments  of  cloth  were  found,  gnawed  from  the  sacrifices 
by  the  juancitos  to  make  their  nests.  Many  of  the  cigarettes  were 
wrapped  with  miniature  breech-clouts,  nicely  woven  of  cotton,  some 
of  them  with  bits  of  turquoise  and  other  ornaments  attached.  Some 
of  the  cigarettes  were  in  bundles  of  four,  others  of  six,  according  to 
the  nature  of  the  sacrifice,  or,  perhaps,  of  the  rank  of  the  man 
making  it.  Some  were  still  filled  with  tobacco,  which,  when  a  bit 
was  burned,  had  the  familiar  smell.  In  spite  of  the  great  age,  the 
dryness  of  the  air  and,  perhaps,  the  quality  of  the  guano  imbedding 
them,  the  uncharred  relics  were  mostly  as  fresh  in  appearance  as 
when  new,  even  the  woven  cotton  looking  clean  and  white. 

In  these  ancient  cigarettes  of  cane,  we  find  the  prototypes  of  both 
the  pipe  and  the  cigarette.  They  are  always  made  to  include  the 
joint  of  the  cane,  which  is  punctured  with  a  small  hole.  The  hollow 
on  one  side  of  the  joint  corresponds  to  the  bowl  of  the  pipe,  being 
filled  with  tobacco,  while  that  on  the  other  side  answers  for  the  stem. 
What  a  job  we  had !  Our  excavations  filled  the  place  with  the 
dust  of  ashes  and  finely  pulverized  guano,  which  was  perfectly  dry, 
and  the  smell  of  ashes  and  guano  mingled  made  a  horrible  odor.  We 
were  nearly  suffocated ;  I  felt  myself  growing  sick  and  sicker,  but 
in  the  enthusiasm  of  the  search  I  hardly  heeded  it  until  the 
lengthened  shadows,  creeping  over  the  plains  as  we  looked  from  the 
entrance,  warned  us  that  the  day  was  nearly  ended,  and  we  had 
nearly  ten  miles  to  go  for  supper.  Don  Carlos  came  with  the  team, 
and  we  emerged  in  about  the  most  disreputable-looking  condition 
imaginable,  with  hair  and  clothing  filled  with  the  malodorous  dust, 
and  faces  grimy  with  it.  But  our  treasure-trove  was  worth  it ; 
besides  many  other  valuable  specimens,  it  included,  counting  what 
were  found  the  next  day  when  Mr.  Cushing  completed  the  explora- 
tion of  the  cave,  over  1600  of  the  sacrificial  cigarettes. 

Before  we  start  for  the  camp,  Mr.  Gushing  makes  a  reconnaissance 
of  the  butte  and  comes  across  a  smaller  cave.  A  rattlesnake  is 
coiled  up  at  the  entrance,  and  above  he  sees  a  pretty  tip  of  fur 
hanging  from  the  edge  of  the  shelf  of  a  sort  of  niche.  "  Ah,  a  Pima 
sacrifice !  "  he  exclaims  mentally,  and  he  is  about  to  slay  Mr.  Snake 
and  lay  hands  on  the  ethnological  specimen,  when  the  latter  stirs 
and  disappears,  and  in  its  place  appears  the  other  end,  the  head,  of 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  most  avoided  of  quadrupeds,  for  it  was 
the  tail  of  a  sleeping  skunk !  As  there  is  a  chance  that  the  cave 
may  contain  some  real  specimens,  he  concludes  not  to  spoil  it  by  the 
consequences  of  irritating  the  pole-cat,  and  he  leaves  both  the  occu- 
pants in  peace. 

We  ride  back  in  the  mild  evening  air,  in  the  white  light  of  a 
wonderful  silver  sunset  that  seems  like  warm,  glowing  moonlight. 
The  side-camp  is  now  at  Los  Hornos,  where  the  men  are  engaged  in 
excavations;  Dr.  Wortman  greets  us  with  the  news  of  an  important 
find,  in  the  shape  of  a  fragment  of  a  small  copper  bell,  the  first  piece 
of  metal-work  discovered  by  the  Expedition.  A  few  days  later  a 
complete  little  bell  of  the  same  metal  is  found  in  the  same  place : 
peculiarities  of  its  workmanship  tell  clearly  an  important  story  which 
Mr.  Cushing  interprets  in  the  light  of  his  knowledge  of  Zuni  silver- 
smithing,  in  which  he  served  an  apprenticeship.  It  tells  that  it  was 
of  pre-Columbian  origin,  that  the  art  of  fusing,  smelting  and  solder- 
ing metal  was  known,  and  that,  while  theirs  was  essentially  a  stone- 
age  culture  they  were  at  the  dawning  of  a  metal-age,  and  that  the  art 
of  metal-working  practised  to-day  by  the  Zuiiis  is,  as  they  have 
claimed,  of  native  origin  handed  down  from  ancient  times,  and  not 
acquired  from  the  Spaniards. 

Among  the  important  investigations  made  by  Mr.  Cushing  is  that 
of  their  system  of  irrigation,  which  was  both  elaborate  and  exten- 
sive. The  lines  of  their  canals  are  to  be  traced  for  miles  and  miles 
over  the  plains,  and  a  map  of  the  canals  supplying  the  Salado  group 
of  ruins  is  made  by  Mr.  Garlick.  Sections  of  the  canals  are  ex- 
cavated to  reveal  the  method  of  their  construction,  which  proves  to 
have  been  peculiar.  The  canals  contained  a  smaller  channel  running 
alon"  as  a  sort  of  groove  in  the  centre,  so  that  a  cross-section 
resembled  in  outline  that  of  a  vessel  amidships,  the  smaller  channel 
corresponding  to  the  keel.  The  purpose  of  this  was  apparently  to 
secure  the  maintenance  of  a  flow  in  the  smaller  channel  when  there 
was  not  water  enough  available  from  the  river  to  give  a  flow  in  the 
large  channel,  the  narrowness  of  the  former  giving  a  depth  and  a 
velocity,  with  the  minimum  of  evaporation,  such  as  would  have  beer 
impossible  with  the  shallow  flow  in  the  flat  bottom  of  a  broad  cana 
without  this  supplementary  device.  It  appears  likely,  also,  that  the 
canals  were  used  for  navigation  hy  rafts  of  reeds,  corresponding  to 
the  balsas  in  use  in  the  Colorado  River  and  the  Gulf  of  California 
to-day,  as  well  as  in  Peru  and  Bolivia.  So  long  has  been  the  time 
since  these  canals  were  in  use  that  in  many  places  they  are  filled  by 
the  action  of  the  elements  to  a  level  with  the  surface  of  the  country,  am 
it  was  not  until  the  growth  of  the  vegetation  of  spring-time  that  their 
course  could  be  traced,  being  then  marked  by  lines  of  bare  ground 
between  masses  of  flowering  plants  caused  by  the  gravelly  banks 
and  the  richer  soil  between  and  on  either  side.  These  lines  were 
shown  beautifully  in  some  photographs. 

In  the  excavations  of  the  canals  it  was  found  that  the  supply 
ditches  led  off  just  above  the  level  of  the  supplementary,  or  keel 
canal.  To  prevent  the  wearing  away  of  the  bank  and  consequen 
shoaling  at  the  point  of  junction,  the  acute  angle  at  the  branch  wa 
hardened  by  burning  it  under  a  hot  brush  fire,  being  baked  to  a 
coarse  terra-cotta,  and  a  projection  from  the  opposite  bank  to  deflec 
the  water  into  the  branch  channel  was  similarly  treated. 

SYLVESTER  BAXTER. 


AUGUSTE  RODIN,   SCULPTOR.1  —  II. 

HOUGH  Rodin  now  began  to  earn  a 
little  more  money,  and  was  pleased 
with  the  change  in  the  character  of 
his  vocation,  his  troubles  were  by  no 
means  at  an  end ;  in  fact,  the  worst  one 
was  about  to  begin.  If  he  had  endured 
many  annoyances  during  the  past  six 
years,  he  had  at  the  same  time  enjoyed  a 
large  amount  of  pleasure  in  the  pursuit 
of  his  studies.  They  had  enlarged  and 
deepened  his  artistic  insight,  sharpened 
his  sensibilities,  given  greater  authority 
to  his  instincts,  and  begun  to  formulate 
an  exacting  judgment  so  far  as  his  own 
work  was  concerned.  All  this  had  be- 
come a  force  which  he  hardly  realized. 
He  had  made  great  progress :  he  was 

sculptor ;  young,  but  going  at  a  great  pace  over  a  safe  route, 
and  free  from  any  serious  obstacle.  He  had  constantly  worked 
'rom  life  in  his  own  studio,  always  seeking  the  finest  points  of  his 
art,  the  harmonious  arrangement  of  masses,  and  the  severest 
sculpturesque  effects;  working  slowly,  thinking  much,  observing 
clearly,  and  trying  to  reproduce  his  model  with  exactness  in  all  its 
outlines,  interior  and  exterior.  It  was  his  only  and  his  sole  way  of 
jetting  happiness  —  endeavoring  to  make  good  sculpture.  But  when 
le  began  with  Belleuse  he  found  that  the  latter's  method  of  produc- 
_ng  sculpture  was  entirely  different;  that  the  main  object  was  to 
ulease  the  uncultivated,  often  vulgar,  fancy  of  the  commercial  world. 
To  accomplish  this,  the  living  model  was  dispensed  with,  haste  took 
the  place  of  thought  and  observation,  a  bad  style  of  modelling  was 
practised,  and  a  manner  of  finishing  equally  reprehensible.  To 
Rodin  this  was  unpleasant  and  injurious.  All  that  he  had  so  pain- 
iully  acquired  during  the  past  six  years  was  now  to  be  made  subser- 
vient to  this  method  simply  to  gain  his  daily  bread.  He  regards  the 
:ime  spent  with  his  new  employer  as  having  been  of  great  injury*  to 
liim  as  an  artist,  and  that,  had  it  not  been  for  the  intense  urgency 
of  his  temperament  and  the  persistent  habit  of  working  at  home 
from  life,  it  would  have  ruined  him.  The  advantages  of  increased 
Facility  in  handling  clay,  which  he  acquired  with  Belleuse,  "were 
nothing,"  he  says,  "  in  comparison  to  the  free  and  healthy  develop- 
ment of  his  own  instincts."  Of  some  of  his  experiences  during  the 
seven  years  with  Belleuse,  Rodin  observes:  "  Though  I  was  making 
poor  sculpture  for  Belleuse,  I  was  always  thinking  to  myself  about 
the  composition  of  figures,  and  this  helped  me  later  on.  I  carried 
to  the  work  I  did  for  him  the  result  of  my  study  at  home.  He  occa- 
sionally praised  me,  though  not  much  or  often,  and  rarely,  if  ever, 
criticised.  I  knew  he  liked  what  I  did.  He  was  too  much  of  a 
business  man  to  praise  much,  for  he  did  not  wish  to  raise  my  wages. 
He  was  no  common  man,  was  very  intelligent,  understood  his  own 
kind  of  work,  and  was  lucky  to  have  me  for  the  price  he  paid.  I 
think,  in  sentiment,  Belleuse  was  an  artist.  He  had  good  ideas  of 
arrangement,  a  pretty  correct  eye,  and  composed  well,  though  he 
had  never  been  able  to  study.  He  could  make  a  sketch  that  no  one 
could  finish  as  well  as  myself,  and  he  did  not  always  know  this.  He 
was  a  man  of  his  day  in  sculpture.  Nothing  that  I  ever  did  for  him 
interested  me." 

In  1864-5,  Rodin  ventured  to  carry  to  the  Salon  "  The  Broken 
Nose,"  but  it  was  refused.  This  was  a  blow  as  cruel  as  it  was  unjust. 
It  hurt  his  pride  so  much  that  he  did  not  try  again  to  exhibit  any- 
thing at  the  Salon.  It  cut  off  whatever  benefit  these  exhibitions 
might  have  brought  him,  and  prevented  all  professional  recognition. 
Its  effect,  for  a  long  time,  condemned  him  to  the  life  of  a  workman. 
He  had,  so  far,  been  unable  to  form  any  relationship  that  could 
help  him  along  in  the  world,  either  as  a  man  or  as  an  artist.  The 
refusal  of  the  Salon  to  accept  the  mask  deprived  him  of  his  last  and 
only  hope.  Save  for  a  devoted  wife,  he  was  utterly  alone. 

But  all  this  did  not  discourage  him.  He  continued  to  work  harder 
than  ever,  if  such  a  thing  were  possible,  and  in  his  own  way.  The 
love  of  his  idea  of  sculpture,  without  any  disturbing  consciousness 
that  he  possessed  any  especial  merit  as  an  artist,  pushed  him  on. 
His  rooms  were  filled  with  sketches  of  every  description,  with 
plaster-casts  of  "  The  Venus  of  Milo,"  "  The  Dying  Gladiator,"  and 
other  Greek  plasters,  and  always  a  clay-figure  under-way  larger  than 
life.  His  moments  of  deepest  despair  were  caused  by  his  never 
knowing  whether  or  not  he  was  making  progress,  while  his  burning 
ambition  was  to  make  good  sculpture  —  to  produce  a  figure  as 
thoroughly  modelled  as  "  The  Broken  Nose." 

"  At  my  work,"  he  says,  "  I  was  never  sad.  I  always  had  pleasure 
in  it.  My  ardor  was  immense.  I  was  always  studying.  Study 
embraces  it  all.  Those  who  saw  my  things  pronounced  them  bad. 
I  never  knew  what  a  word  of  encouragement  was.  The  little  terra- 
cotta heads  and  figures  that  I  exposed  in  shop-windows  never  sold. 
So  far  as  the  world  went,  I  was  shut  out  from  it,  nor  did  I  know 
that  it  could  be  of  use  to  me.  I  went  to  the  Salon  and  admired  the 
works  of  Perraud  and  other  leading  sculptors,  and  thought,  as  ever, 
that  they  were  great  masters,  though  in  their  sketches  I  saw  that 
they  were  not  strong.  In  looking  at  the  hands  they  made,  I  thought 
them  so  fine  that  I  never  should  be  able  to  equal  them.  I  was  all 

1  All  rights  reserved.    Continued  from  page  29,  No.  682. 


JANUARY 


1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


45 


this  time  working  from  nature,  but  could  not  make  my  hands  as 
good  as  theirs,  and  I  could  not  understand  why.  But  when  I  got 
my  hands  all  right  from  life,  I  then  saw  that  theirs  were  not  well  made, 
nor  were  they  true.  I  now  know  that  those  sculptors  worked  from 
plaster-casts  taken  from  nature.  Then  I  knew  nothing  about  casting 
from  nature ;  I  only  thought  of  copying  my  model.  I  don't  believe 
those  sculptors  knew  what  was  good  modelling  and  what  was  not,  or 
could  get  out  of  nature  all  there  was  in  it.  As  my  memory  was 
good,  I  copied  in  those  days,  at  home,  the  pictures  I  admired  at  the 
Louvre.  Many  of  the  things  I  made  in  my  studio  were  better  than 
anything  I  have  since  executed,  and,  had  I  been  less  negligent,  some 
of  them  might  have  been  preserved.  I  would  now  give  many 
thousands  of  francs  if  I  could  have  some  of  those  figures.  Since 
then  I  have  known  the  value  of  good  friends,  but,  if  I  could  have 
had  even  one  in  those  days,  it  might  have  been  a  world  to  me.  Then 
I  did  not  know  that  my  work  had  any  merit." 

The  thousand  and  one  encouragements  and  helps  that  young  artists 
usually  receive,  and  without  which  few  of  them  would  ever  succeed 
to  any  recognizable  degree,  Rodin  knew  nothing  about.  He  never 
came  into  close  and  instructive  contact  with  any  master,  never 
thought  of  asking  one  to  see  and  criticise  his  work,  because  he  sup- 
posed them  too  great  to  be  approached  by  humble  students  like  him- 
self. Besides,  he  felt  that  by  hard  work  he  could  carry  to  fruition 
the  expression  he  had  used  to  his  mother  —  "I  will  work  it  through 
myself." 

When  other  young  sculptors  were  receiving  medals  at  the  Salnn, 
and  were  being  encouraged  by  the  government  with  prizes  and  commis- 
sions, Rodin  thought  that  they  must  be  very  happy,  though  he  did 
not  envy  them  or  repine  at  his  own  humble  lot.  His  world  and  the 
world  around  him  were  wholly  distinct  from  each  other. 

When  the  Franco-German  War  broke  out  work  with  Belleuse 
came  to  an  end,  and  Rodin  applied  himself  harder  than  ever  to  the 
pursuit  of  his  studies.  He  was  then  living  in  the  Montmarte 
quarter,  and  had  a  studio  in  the  Rue  Hermul,  very  near  the  city- 
wall.  Like  every  other  able-bodied  citizen  of  Paris,  he  joined  the 
National  Guard,  and  served  the  hours  required  of  him  as  a  corporal. 
He  had  no  money,  food  and  fuel  soon  became  scarce,  and  misery, 
cold,  and  hunger  were  almost  unendurable.  They  were  at  first  glad 
to  eat  horse-meat,  and  at  last  a  small  piece  of  hardly  eatable  bread 
was  all  they  had.  To  make  two  busts  in  terra-cotta  of  the  officers 
of  his  battalion,  for  six  dollars  each,  was  a  veritable  godsend. 

Fortunately  for  Paris,  the  war  came  to  an  end,  the  city  was 
supplied  with  food,  and  Rodin  managed  to  get  money  enough  before 
the  Commune  began  to  start  him  for  London,  where  he  hoped 
to  find  work,  though  he  knew  no  one  in  that  city.  As  his  old 
employer,  Belleuse,  was  in  Brussels,  Rodin  took  that  way  of  reach- 
ing his  destination,  thinking  that  he  might  be  again  employed.  In 
this  he  was  successful,  and  he  began  for  the  second  time  to  put  into 
shape  the  sketches  of  this  enterprising  sculptor.  After  he  had  been 
at  work  for  a  few  months  at  the  extravagant  salary  of  thirty  cents 
an  hour,  Belleuse  made  an  exhibition  of  his  things,  and  Rodin,  also, 
put  some  of  his  own  terra-cotta  heads  and  figures  in  a  shop-window 
in  the  same  street  where  those  of  Belleuse  were,  but  without  the  slightest 
idea  of  competing  with  him.  He  soon  learned,  however,  of  the 
danger  of  even  a  similitude  of  competition  with  a  business  sculptor. 
When  the  next  pay-day  came  round,  Belleuse  parentally  suggested 
to  Rodin  that  it  would  be  a  good  idea  for  him  to  rest  awhile. 

Although  no  reference  was  made  by  Belleuse  to  the  two  exhibi- 
tions, Rodin  saw  the  point.  It  was  a  discharge,  and  the  workman 
accepted  it,  though  he  was  considerably  surprised.  Nor  was  it  very 
agreeable,  for  he  had  just  sent  all  the  money  lie  had  to  Paris,  save 
ten  dollars ;  he  was  in  a  strange  land,  had  not  enough  to  proceed  to 
London,  no  prospect  of  work  in  Brussels,  and  only  this  small  sum  to 
depend  upon ;  and  even  this  had  come  from  Antwerp,  in  payment 
for  some  terra-cottas  which  he  had  sent  there  before  the  war.  With 
the  ten  dollars  Rodin  laid  in  a  stock  of  provisions,  a  good  ham  being 
the  chief  reliance,  and  determined  to  work  for  himself  and  do  a  little 
waiting  for  events. 

In  the  meantime  Belleuse  had  made  a  successful  sale  of  his  works, 
while  Rodin  had  not  sold  anything.  The  heads  and  figures  that  he 
had  made  for  Belleuse  sold  for  many  thousand  per  cent  more  than 
they  had  cost  him,  and  it  puzzled  Rodin  to  think  that  he  should  be 
discharged  by  an  employer  who  was  making  such  large  profits  on  so 
small  an  investment.  In  about  three  weeks  Rodin  had  consumed  his 
store  of  food  and  was  wondering  what  to  do  next,  when  he  encoun- 
tered a  Brussels  sculptor,  named  Van  Rosbourgh,  who  had  some 
talent  for  making  figures  of  infants,  and  who  had  worked  for  Belleuse 
in  Paris  before  the  war.  Finding  Rodin  unemployed  hfi  proposed 
that  they  should  form  a  partnership  for  the  purpose  of  executing 
some  large  works  of  sculpture  that  he  could  get  to  do  from  an  archi- 
tect who  was  erecting  some  public  buildings  in  the  city.  Rodin 
agreed  to  this  proposition,  on  the  conditions  that  he  should  sign  no 
contracts,  but  share  equally  in  the  profits.  As  it  soon  appeared  that 
Van  Rosbourgh  was  a  good-for-nothing  drunkard,  as  well  as  a  worse 
than  useless  assistant  in  the  studio,  Rodin  dispensed  with  his 
services,  kept  him  out  of  the  studio  as  much  as  possible,  and  did  all 
the  work  himself. 

This  sculpture  consisted  of  two  large  groups  for  the  outside  of  the 
Money  Exchange,  and  two  large  caryatides  for  the  inside.  For  the 
King's  and  Ducal  Place  and  the  conservatory,  each,  two  large  bas- 
reliefs,  and  other  decorative  figures  for  private  buildings.  Rodin 


went  at  his  task  with  vigor,  and  pushed  it  along  with  an  untirincr 
enthusiasm.  His  models,  made  partly  from  life,  were  four  feet  high" 
or  one-third  the  size  of  which  they  were  executed  in  stone. 

The  Money  Exchange  sculpture,  Rodin  learned  afterwards,  had 
been  promised  to  Belleuse,  but  Van  Rosbourgh  had  sufficient 
influence  to  get  it  away  from  him.  He  also  learned  that  the  fact  of 
his  being  a  Frenchman  was  the  real  reason  why  all  his  work  was 
given  to  the  company  to  do.  The  prices  they  received  were  very 
moderate,  and  though  Rodin  worked  very  fast  he  could  succeed  in 
gaining  merely  ordinary  wages. 

In  1874,  soon  after  the  completion  of  the  Brussels  commissions, 
they  were  engaged  to  go  to  Antwerp,  to  make  a  monument1  in  com- 
memoration of  J.  F.  Loos,  a  Burgomaster. 

The  commission  for  this  structure  had  been  given  to  a  rich  ship- 
owner, who  had  the  ambition  to  pose  as  a  sculptor.  He  agreed  to 
pay  the  two  sculptors  two  thousand  dollars  for  making  the° plaster 
models  of  five  figures,  life-size.  But  Rodin,  thinking  it  a  good 
opportunity  for  the  credit  of  all  concerned,  to  do  some  extra  fine 
statues,  decided  to  make  them  full-size,  or  nine  feet.  Unfortunately 
he  was  throwing  pearls  before  swine,  and  received  the  reward  often 
meted  out  in  payment  for  generous  actions,  for  the  contractor  would 
only  pay  fourteen,  of  the  twenty  hundred  dollars  promised ;  though 
he  was  very  willing  to  put  his  name  on  the  monument,  as  its  author. 
Nor  did  Rodin's  annoyances  begin  or  end  here,  and  of  them  he  savs : 
"  I  made  the  figures  as  I  pleased,  as  I  did  everything  I  ever  made, 
but  our  employer  did  not  like  them.  He  wanted  them  in  the 
Rubens  style  of  sculpture,  and  he  would  come  to  the  studio  when  I 
was  absent  —  he  did  not  dare  to  come  when  I  was  there  —  and  oblige 
Van  Rosbourgh  to  alter  them,  to  their  great  injury.  I  left  the'm 
hardy  and  vigorous,  but  Van  Rosbourgh's  changes,  and  the  wretched 
way  that  they  were  executed  in  stone,  have  made  them  round,  heavy 
and  lifeless.  I  was  so  disgusted  with  this  that  I  lost  all  interest  in 
the  figures,  and  never  went  near  them  while  they  were  being  cut. 
Miserably  as  this  was  done,  the  workman  gained  more  money  for 
what  they  did  than  I  got  for  the  models.  Although  I  was  in  feeble 
health,  a  severe  cough  making  my  nights  wretched,  I  worked  on 
those  figures  with  the  greatest  ardor  from  a  decorative  point-of-view, 
and  it  was  while  I  was  making  the  figure  of  the  sailor  that  I  was 
struck  with  its  resemblance  to  the  statues  of  Michael  Angelo,  though 
I  had  not  had  him  in  my  mind.  The  impression  astonished  me,  and 
I  wondered  what  should  cause  it.  I  had  always  admired  Michael 
Angelo,  but  I  saw  him  at  a  great  distance.  My  studies  had  been  a 
blind  search  after  the  movement  of  figures,  and  in  making  this  one,  I 
was,  for  the  first  time,  impressed  with  its  resemblance  to  the  com- 
positions of  the  great  Florentine.  I  tried  to  understand  and  explain 
it  to  myself,  but  could  not.  My  interest  and  curiosity  were  greatly 
awakened,  and  to  satisfy  my  mind  of  the  reality  of  this  resemblance, 
and  to  confirm  my  hope  of  its  depth  and  value,  either  as  the  result 
of  my  long  years  of  effort,  or  as  the  effect  of  my  admiration  for  him, 
I  made  a  lot  of  sketches  to  see  if  I  could  get  the  same  character,  but 
without  success." 

As  badly  as  the  figures  on  the  monument  were  executed  in  stone, 
they  produced  sufficient  effect  in  Antwerp,  upon  the  public,  to  cause 
it  to  suspect  that  they  were  not  the  handiwork  of  the  person  whose 
name  was  upon  the  structure.  This  suspicion  grew  to  such  propor- 
tions that  he  went  to  Van  Rosbourgh  and  earnestly  advised  him  to 
get  rid  of  Rodin.  "  But  how  can  I  do  it  ?  "  said  the  latter,  "  he  is  a 
very  valuable  man."  "  Easy  enough,"  answered  the  disturbed  ship- 
owner, "  Don't  give  him  any  more  work."  The  suggestion  was 
potent,  the  partnership  was  dissolved  and  Rodin,  again  the  object  of 
brutal  treatment,  returned  to  his  old  studio  in  Brussels,  at  HI  Rue 
Sans-Souci,  and  began,  with  the  little  money  he  had  saved  by  the 
greatest  economy,  "  The  Age  of  Brass."  Knowing  a  captain,  con- 
nected with  the  Belgian  War  School,  Rodin  asked  him  to  send  to  his 
studio  some  of  his  young  soldiers  that  he  might  select  a  model.  Of 
the  eight  or  ten  thus  placed  at  his  disposal,  he  selected  a  Flemish 
youth,  of  twenty-two  years  of  age,  named  Neyt,  a  fine  noble-hearted 
boy,  full  of  fire  and  valor.  T.  H.  BARTLETT. 

(To  be  continued.) 


THE  LUMBERMEN'S  DEMAND  FOR  A  NEW  LIEN  LAW. 

.  TIT  HE  annual  agitation  of  the  Massachu- 
« I »  setts  lumber  dealers  in  favor  of  legisla- 
tion giving  to  material-men  an  absolute 
lien  without  notice  to  the  owner  and  irrespec- 
tive of  payments  made  by  him  to  the  contrac- 
tor, or,  as  they  ingeniously  put  it,  the  repeal 
of  the  "  law  requiring  notice,"  has  begun 
again ;  and  a  more  vigorous  effort  than 
usual  is  being  made,  by  the  subscription  of 
money  and  the  circulation  of  petitions,  to 
make  that  impression  on  the  Legislature 
which  previous  efforts  in  this  direction  have 
failed  to  produce.  For  a  number  of  years 
past  the  lumber  dealers  have  petitioned  the  Legislature  for  such  a 
law,  invariably  without  success ;  and  there  is  little  danger  of  this 
year's  movement  proving  successful ;  but  it  would  be  well  for  owners, 
contractors,  architects  and  the  public  generally  to  keep  an  open  eye 
upon  the  lumber  dealers'  movement,  and  be  prepared,  if  necessary, 


1  See  the  American  Architect  for  June  25, 1887. 


The  American  Architect  and  Building  News.        [VOL.  XXV.  — No.  683. 


England  States,  by  the  great  commercial,  industrial  and  building 
communities  of  New  York,  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio,  in  fact  of  every 
State  and  Territory  in  this  country,  except  those  mentioned  above, 
and  take  its  building  laws  from  the  new  and  thinly  settled  territories 
of  Arizona  and  New  Mexico,  is  preposterous  and  altogether  unlikely 
to  prevail. 

LTo  be  continued.l 


A  CHURCH  MOVED  BY  A  TREE  ROOT.  —  The  foundation  of  a  church 
in  San  Lins,  Cal.,  has  been  shifted  seven  inches  by  the  roots  of  eucalyp- 
tus trees,  and  the  latter  are  therefore  to  be  cut  down.  The  trees  are 
perfect  giants,  their  tops  reaching  thirty  feet  above  the  church's  steeple. 
—  Cleveland  Leader. 


to  resist  the  bill  by  organized  effort.  Hardly  any  scheme 
could  be  devised  more  unjust  or  inequitable  in  itself,  or  more  likely 
to  injure  the  interests  of  all  persons  engaged  in  building  opera- 
tions, than  this  plan  of  putting  material  on  a  par  with  labor,  and 
giving  an  absolute  lien  to  both. 

Owners  of  real  estate,  of  course,  will  object,  because  it  would 
compel  them,  without  any  means  of  self-protection,  to  run  the  risk  of 
paying  for  the  material  that  goes  into  their  buildings,  twice  over. 
Practically,  the  large  owners,  capitalists  and  trustees,  who  would  be 
apt  to  employ  legal  advice  before  building,  would  not  be  the  ones  to 
suffer ;  for  they  could  and  would  protect  themselves  either  by  exact- 
ing of  the  contractor  heavy  bonds  with  responsible  sureties,  or  they 
would  withhold  until  the  end  of  the  job  a  much  larger  proportion  of 
the  contract  money  than  is  now  customary.  So  far  as  the  owners  of 
real  estate  are  concerned,  it  is  the  men  of  moderate  means  who  build 
houses  and  stores  for  themselves  to  occupy,  upon  whom  the  burden 
of  the  proposed  legislation  would  mainly  fall. 

Contractors,  however,  would  suffer  heavily.  The  smaller  ones 
would  be  driven  out  of  business  entirely  ;  those  possessed  of  moderate 
capital  would  not  be  able  to  swing  so  many  contracts  as  under  the 
present  system ;  and  a  great  part  of  the  business,  that  relating  to 
large  buildings,  at  least,  would  tend  to  concentrate  itself  in  the 
hands  of  the  few  builders  possessed  of  sufficient  capital  or  credit  to 
get  along  without  large  advances  on  their  contracts,  or  who  could 
furnish  good  security.  They  would  also  suffer  by  reason  of  the 
undue  power  which  the  material-men  would  have  over  them  if  any 
dispute  should  arise  as  to  the  quality  of  the  material  furnished  :  dis- 
advantageous and  inequitable  settlements  could  be  easily  forced  by 
the  material-men,  by  threats  of  stopping  the  advances  by  putting  on 
a  lien. 

This  whole  question  concerns  the  architect  also;  for  although  he 
has  no  pecuniary  interest  in  the  matter,  yet  if,  as  would  inevitably 
be  the  result  of  this  legislation,  the  cost  of  building  houses  should,  in 
many  cases,  far  exceed  the  estimated  sum,  the  blame  would,  rightly 
or  wrongly,  be  thrown  upon  the  architect,  and  he  would  be  censured 
for  selecting  irresponsible  contractors,  or  permitting  unscrupulous 
sub-contractors  to  furnish  material. 

We  think  that  on  the  whole  and  in  the  long  run,  the  material-men 
themselves  would  not  gain.  Those  among  them  who  want  the 
privilege  of  selling  goods  to  an  obviously  irresponsible  contractor 
might,  perhaps,  save  a  debt  here  and  there ;  but  the  general  result 
to  material-men,  as  a  class,  would  not  be  beneficial.  Anything  that 
tends  to  increase  the  cost  of  building  must  tend  to  diminish  in  like 
proportion  the  amount  of  it;  and  probably  the  new  business  methods, 
which  the  change  would  necessitate,  would  compel  material-men 
either  to  give  longer  credits,  or  to  waive  their  lien.  Furthermore,  it 
is  fair  to  assume  that  any  material-man  who  should  make  a  practice 
of  selling  goods  to  irresponsible  contractors,  then  lie  by  without 
giving  notice  to  the  owner,  lulling  him  into  paying  out  the  contract 
money,  and  then  jump  upon  him  with  a  lien  when  the  building  was 
done  and  the  money  all  paid,  would  not  get  extensive  employment 
from  the  architects'  offices. 

The  only  people  pushing  the  matter  are,  curiously  enough,  the 
lumber  dealers.  Why  these  people  alone  among  material-men  should 
be  so  persistent  in  their  demand  for  this  change  is  a  little  difficult  to 
understand,  unless  it  be  that  the  business  methods  of  the  lumber 
trade  are  particularly  lax.  At  a  two-days'  hearing  before  the  House 
Judiciary  Committee,  last  year,  where  the  lumber  dealers  were  out 
in  force,  the  two  most  prominent  facts  brought  out  were  the 
alleged  desire  on  their  part  to  drive  the  cheap  contractor  out  of 
business,  and  the  wholly  mistaken  idea  that  the  legislation,  such 
they  demand,  is  common  in  this  country.  Their  real  object  is,  of 
course,  not  to  drive  out  the  irresponsible  contractors,  but  to  do  all 
the  business  they  can  with  them,  and  then,  through  the  intervention 
of  the  State,  make  innocent  third  parties  pay  for  their  materials 
twice  over. 

Nor  has  such  legislation  commended  itself  to  the  judgment  of 
legislators  in  other  States  of  this  country.  In  only  five  States,  viz., 
Maryland,  Delaware,  Kansas,  Missouri  and  Minnesota  and  seven 
Territories,  has  such  a  law  been  enacted ;  and  in  some  of  these  there 
are  qualifying  provisions  for  the  protection  of  owners.  In  Pennsyl- 
vania, New  Jersey,  and,  we  believe,  also  in  Virginia,  similar  laws 
have,  at  various  times,  been  upon  the  statute  books,  but  have  been 
repealed.  In  none  of  the  States  and  Territories  in  which  the  lumber 
dealers'  scheme  obtains,  is  the  collection  of  debts  facilitated  by  any 
right  of  attachment  on  mesne  process  such  as  we  in  New  England  are 
familiar  with.  The  claim  of  the  lumber  dealers  that  the  great  State 
of  Massachusetts  should  ignore  the  essential  principles  of  right  and 
justice,  disregard  all  the  precedents  furnished  by  the  rest  of  the  New 


EXHIBITION  OF  DURER'S  ENGRAVINGS   AT  THE 
BOSTON  MUSEUM  OF  FINE   ARTS. 

TI7II  ERE   has    been   lately,  at  the 
J^>  Museum  of  Fine  Arts  in  Boston, 
a  collection  of  engravings,  etch- 
er ings  and  wood-cuts  by  Albert  Diirer, 
\    which    remained    on    view    until  the 
middle  of  January.     For   an   oppor- 
tunity to  study  many  of  the   prints, 
the  public  was  indebted  to  Mr.  Henry 
F.  Sewall,  of  New  York,  and  the  rest 
were  drawn  from  the  Gray  Collection 
_^       of  Engravings  belonging  to  Harvard 

r  College,  but   now  in   the   custody  of 
the   Art   Museum.      The    admirable 


annotated  catalogue  prepared  by  Mr. 
Koehler,  Curator  of  the  Print  De- 
partment, records  275  numbers,  and 
among  them  eight  original  draw- 
ings by  Diirer,  from  the  Collection 
von  Franck,  lent  by  Mr.  F.  Meder, 
of  New  York.  We  have  heard  of 
"original"  paintings  by  the  great 
German  artist  being  in  the  possession 
of  some  of  our  highly  favored  fellow- 
countrymen,  but  here  were  some  au- 
drawings  which  are  accepted  by  such 


horities  as  Heller,  Thausing  and  Ephrussi  —  for  our  inspection, 
ey  include  a  "  Portrait  of  a  Woman  " ;  a  "  Head  of  the  Virgin  " ; 


thenticated 
authorities 
They 

a  study  for  the  left  arm  of  Eve,  for  the  painting  of  "  Adam  and 
Eve  " ;  one  for  the  feet  of  an  apostle  in  the  picture  of  "  The  Assump- 
tion of  the  Virgin,"  and  three  studies,  in  pen-and-ink,  washed  with 
color,  for  the  details  of  the  portrait  of  Charlemagne  (now  at  Nurem- 
berg), showing  the  Imperial  crown  and  orb,  and  a  part  of  the  sword 
of  thc^  mighty  Emperor.  Among  the  prints  were  to  be  found  all  of 
Durer's  masterpieces,  his  "  Great "  and  "  Little  Passion,"  his 
"Apocalypse,"  his  "Life  of  the  Virgin,"  his  "Adam  and  Eve," 
"Melancholy,"  "Knight,  Death  and  the  Devil,"  "St.  Jerome  in  his 
Cell,"  and  "  Great "  and  "  Little  Fortune,"  with  other  prints  familiar 
enough  and  many  more  not  often  seen. 

One  of  (he  most  remarkable  things  was  the  "  Arch  of  Honor,"  or 
"  Triumphal  Arch,"  designed  by  Diirer  in  honor  of  the  Emperor 
Maximilian,  an  immense  drawing  which  was  engraved  upon  ninety- 
two  blocks  of  various  sizes,  measuring,  when  put  together,  nine  feet 
wide  by  ten-and-one-half  feet  high.  Impressions  from  but  thirty-six 
of  the  blocks  were  exhibited,  but  there  was  a  modern  (photome- 
chanical) reproduction  of  the  whole  arch,  reduced  in  size.  Un- 
fortunately, however,  this  so  folded  as  to  hide  a  portion  — 
we  suppose  because  of  want  of  space.  This  "  Arch "  was  drawn 
upon  wood  from  Durer's  sketches,  mainly,  it  is  supposed,  by  Hans, 
Albert's  brother,  and  Hails  Springinklee.  It  was  cut  by  Hieronymus 
Andrea,  and  is  dated  1515.  The  work  was  intended  to  represent  a 
Roman  triumphal  arch,  but  its  style  is  that  of  the  period  of  the  early 
German  Renaissance,  and  it  is  covered  with  fantastic  and  symbolic 
ornamentation,  while  some  of  the  details  recall  Venetian  architec- 
ture. The  arch  has  three  gateways.  Above  the  central  one  (the 
"  Porch  of  Honor  and  Might ")  is  the  genealogical  tree,  reaching 
back  to  Troy,  of  the  Emperor;  while  over  the  side-gates  (called  of 
"  Praise  "  and  "  Nobility,"  respectively)  are  twenty-four  scenes  from 
the  life  of  Maximilian ;  and  the  arch,  also,  bears  representations  of  his 
predecessors  and  the  princes  with  whom  he  was  allied,  with  a  pro- 
fusion of  other  figures  and  coats-of-arms.  The  inscriptions  and  ex- 
planatory text  are  by  Stabius,  the  Emperor's  historiographer  and 
poet-laureate,  and  the  whole  is  a  marvel  of  minute  precision  and 
"xuberant  fancy,  quite  impossible  to  describe,  but  worthy  of  the  most 

Intimately  connected  with  this  arch 


careful  examination  and  study, 
are   the   ~ 
Hans  '. 
example 

pieces,  of  "  The  Siege  of  a  City,"  with  its'representation'oYa  fortified 
mediaeval  town  towards  which  is  advancing  an  enemy's  army,  its 
advance  guard  already  in  close  combat  with  some  of  the  besieged, 
should  be  noticed.  Look,  too,  at  the  background  of  the  little  "St. 
Anthony,"  supposed  to  show  the  city  of  Nuremberg,  with  the  hi"h 
roofs  of  its  quaint  half-timbered  houses  guarded  by  castle  towers. 
The  saint,  free  for  a  time  from  besetting  visions  of  foul  fiend  and 
lovely  seducing  woman,  is  here  quietly  studying  his  prayer-book ; 
near  by  his  staff  has  been  stuck  in  the  ground  and  from  below  its 


double-cross  hangs  a  bell,  signifying  the  power  of  the  saint  to  banish 
evil  spirits.  Another  most  finely  executed  landscape,  with  buildino-s, 
may  be  seen  in  the  "  St.  Eustace  "  (generally,  but  mistakenly,  called 
'St  Hubert"),  Durer's  largest  plate;  and  there  are  wonderful 
glimpses  of  distant  cities  crowning  rocky  hillsides,  or  slopino-  gently 
to  some  calm  river-shore,  in  many  others  of  his  prints.  For 
examples  of  his  marvellously  fine  and  firm  decorative  drawing  see 
the  "  Coat-of-Arms  with  the  Skull,"  the  superb  "Coat-of-Arms"with 
a  Cock,"  and  several  similar  plates.  Not  all  of  our  readers,  perhaps, 
know  that  Diirer,  who  in  the  universality  of  his  genius,  recalls 
Leonardo,  was  a  competent  architect,  though  he  designed  little,  nor 
is  it  known  that  he  ever  practised.  He  wrote  upon  architecture,  also 


JANUARY  2G,  1889.] 


TJie    American    Architect   and  Building   News. 


47 


a  book  on  fortification,  and,  in  the  manuscript  works  he  left  behind 
him,  may  be  found  extracts  from  Vitruvius,  reproductions  of  old 
capitals,  plans  for  the  construction  of  the  cupola  of  St.  Peter's  at 
Home,  and  various  other  plans  and  illustrations. 


PROGRESS    OF    THE    ARCHITECTURAL    SOCIETIES' 
CONSOLIDATION    MOVEMENT. 

NEW  YORK,  N.  ¥.,  January  17,  1889. 

To  THE  EDITORS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT  :  — 

Dear  Sirs,  —  Accompanying;  is  a  synopsis  of  the  proceedings  of 
the  meeting  of  the  Committees  on  Consolidation  of  the  A.  I.  A.  and 
W.  A.  A.  held  on  January  7th,  8th,  and  9th. 

Pursuant  to  the  resolutions  adopted  at  the  late  conventions  of  the 
American  Institute  of  Architects  and  of  the  Western  Association  of 
Architects,'the  committees  appointed  by  the  two  societies,  met  on 
January  7th,  at  the  rooms  of  the  American  Institute  in  the  Welles 
Building,  New  York. 

There  were  present,  on  behalf  of  the  Institute,  Mr.  Littell,  Chair- 
man, and  Mr.  E.  H.  Kendall  of  New  York,  Mr.  A.  Stone  of  Provi- 
dence, and  Mr.  James  G.  Cutler  of  Rochester.  Mr.  D.  H.  Burnham 
of  Chicago,  the  fifth  member  of  the  Institute  Committee,  being  una- 
voidably absent,  had  sent  a  letter  setting  forth  his  views. 

The  Committee  representing  the  Western  Association  consisted  of 
Mr.  1).  Adler,  Chairman,  of  Chicago,  Mr.  W.  W.  Carlin  of  Buffalo, 
Mr.  John  W.  Root  of  Chicago,  Mr.  A.  Van  Brunt  of  Kansas  City, 
and  Mr.  George  B.  Ferry  of  Milwaukee,  all  of  whom  were  present. 

On  coming  together  informally,  Mr.  Alder  gave  a  statement  of  the 
position  of  the  committee  in  its  representation  of  the  views  of  the  W. 
A.  A. ;  its  main  feature  expressing  the  belief  that  any  system  of 
unification,  to  carry  the  vitality  necessary  to  success,  must  be  based 
on  principles  of  equal  fellowship.  The  committee  then  separated  to 
consider  and  act  upon  this  proposition. 

The  Institute  Committee  also  took  up  the  communication  presented 
from  Mr.  Burnham.  On  reassembling,  after  these  separate  sessions, 
a  committee  of  the  whole  was  formed.  Mr.  E.  H.  Kendall  being 
chosen  Chairman,  and  Mr.  George  B.  Ferry,  Secretary.  The  com- 
mittee at  once  proceeded  to  consider  the  various  matters  incident  to 
the  scheme  of  consolidation,  which  embraced  :  the  draft  of  a  Consti- 
tution and  By-Laws,  a  circular  letter  to  the  members  of  each  associa- 
tion, and  the  recommendation  of  a  place  for  holding  the  first 
convention. 

Then  followed  three  days  of  active  hard  work,  characterized  by 
the  most  hearty  co-operation  on  the  part  of  every  member  of  the 
committee. 

The  discussion  was  full,  broad  and  of  the  most  cordial  nature. 

Every  effort  was  made  to  embody  such  features  in  the  rules  to  be 
recommended  as  would  promote  the  vitality  of  the  new  organization. 

The  belief  prevailed  that  every  stimulus  should  be  given  to  the 
ambition  of  members,  to  seek  preferment  at  the  hands  of  their 
associates ;  also  that  much  of  the  animosity  and  ill-feeling  arising 
between  individuals  was  due  to  a  lack  of  acquaintanceship. 

To  promote  »ood  fellowship,  the  annual  convention,  with  its  at- 
tendent  social  features,  was  looked  upon  as  an  essential  requisite, 
and  steps  were  taken  to  prevent  the  burden  of  expense  falling  upon 
the  Fellows  resident  at  the  place  of  meeting. 

It  was  also  believed  that  the  adminstration  should  be  left  within 
the  control  of  the  convention,  to  the  utmost  degree  ;  while  the  exe- 
cutive portion  should  be  administered  by  the  fewest  number  necessary 
for  the  efficient  handling  of  the  work. 

Nothing  was  more  agreeable  to  the  members  of  the  committee 
than  to  find  that  anticipated  fears  of  disagreement  were  entirely 
groundless ;  and  it  is  believed  that  every  member  carried  away  with 
him,  not  only  feelings  of  the  most  agreeable  nature  as  to  the  work 
accomplished,  and  the  cordiality  of  relations  between  the  members, 
hut  the  belief  that  the  scheme  of  consolidation,  as  formulated,  will 
meet  with  approval  on  the  part  of  the  members  of  each  association, 
and  that  it  will  mark  an  important  event  in  the  history  of  the  archi- 
tectural profession  in  this  country.  EDWARD  H.  KENDALL. 

Chairman  of  Joint  Committee  on  Consolidation. 


HOW  TO  PUNISH  A  SCAMPING  GAS-FITTER. 

To  THE  EDITORS  OP  THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT:  — 

Dear  Sirs,  —  Is  there  any  way  of  obtaining  satisfaction  from  dis- 
honest contractors  who  have  no  money?  A  gas-fitter  takes  a  con- 
tract to  pipe  a  house  for  thirty  dollars.  He  runs  the  pipes  for  the 
drop-lights  through  the  middle  of  the  rooms  the  whole  length  of 
the  house,  and  saws  all  the  beams  nearlv  in  two  in  the  centre,  to 
make  a  notch  to  lay  the  pipe  in,  although liis  specification  expressly 
forbids  the  notching  of  any  beam  more  than  two  feet  from  the  bear- 
ing. He  puts  in  a  piece  of  split  pipe,  mended  with  putty  and  red 
lead,  under  the  floor,  and  lays  the  pipes  with  a  fall  in  miscellaneous 
directions,  and  with  bracket  outlets  at  all  varieties  of  height  from  the 
floor.  The  carpenters,  without  saying  anything  to  me,  put  a  row  of 
shores  through  the  middle  of  the  parlor  and  dining-room,  to  keep 


the  floor  above  from  falling,  and  complete  the  house.  It  is  then 
discovered  that  the  chamber  floors  sag  frightfully  when  any  one 
walks  over  them ;  that  there  is  a  copious  leak  in  the  floor,  but  that 
the  gas  —  naphtha,  refuses  to  emerge  from  most  of  the  proper  out- 
lets, through  the  trapping,  by  condensation,  of  the  numerous  bends 
and  hollows  in  the  pipes.  After  enduring  this  as  long  as  possible, 
the  second  story  beams  are  removed,  and  replaced  with  others,  not 
notched;  the  plastering  is  stripped  off  the  walls  and  ceilings  in  both 
stories,  new  gas-pipes  put  in,  and  the  plastering,  flooring  and  finish- 
ing done  over  again,  at  a  cost  about  fifty  times  as  large  as  the 
amount  of  gas-fitter's  contract.  He  has  not  a  cent,  and  is  in  debt  for 
beer.  From  whom  can  I  get  satisfaction?  Is  not  the  carpenter  at 
fault  for  going  on  and  completing,  without  notifying  me,  a  building  the 
strength  of  which  the  gas-fitter  had  destroyed?  If  not.  is  there  not 
some  way  of  recovering  judgment  against  the  gas-fitter  and  sending 
him  to  the  debtor's  prison  ?  Or  is  there  no  such  thing  as  a  debtor's 
prison,  or  any  other  place  where  he  and  his  like  can  be  shown  the 
error  of  their  ways?  SIXEX. 


AN   EXPERT  IN   SCHOOL-HOUSES. 

To  THK  EDITORS  OF   THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT: — • 

Dear  Sirs,  —  A  rather  novel  competition,  if  it  may  be  so-called, 
came  under  my  notice  recently  which  may  interest  your  readers,  and 
comment  on  the  same  by  yourselves  may  not  be  lost  on  the  committee 
whom  the  citizens  have  vested  with  power  to  act  in  their  service  and 
who  are,  of  course,  responsible  to  them  in  the  matter.  The  facts  are 
these  :  a  certain  city  being  about  to  increase  her  school  accommoda- 
tions, were  beseiged  by  architects  of  all  sorts  to  secure  the  job,  until 
it  finally  came  down  to  a  matter  of  the  price  at  which  they  would 
do  the  work.  Some  offered  their  full  services  without  compensation  ! 
Finally,  a  selection  was  made  of  one  who  represented  to  the  commit- 
tee that  he  was  building  numbers  of  school-buildings,  which  the 
committee  evidently  swallowed  easily  enough,  while,  in  fact,  the  only 
school-houses  he  was  superintending  were  under  investigation  which 
resulted  in  his  dismissal  for  certifying  to  payments  for  the  builder 
when  the  work  was  neither  done  in  a  correct  manner  nor  as  per  draw- 
ings and  specifications  from  the  foundation,  and  the  specifications 
had  provided  for  only  2x10  joists  for  long  spans  over  large 
school-rooms  and  in  other  ways  were  entirely  inadequate,  if  followed 
to  the  letter.  Later,  this  same  architect  was  engaged  as  an  expert 
witness  to  give  testimony  in  an  action  with  a  builder,  and,  after  he 
had  given  his  evideiv  e  the  learned  counsel  on  the  other  side  on  cross- 
examination,  killed  this  expert  testimony  by  asking  him  about  the 
schools  he  had  just  been  employed  to  superintend  and  if  he  had  not 
been  dismissed  on  account  of  incompetency,  which  question  he  tried 
to  dodge,  but  chagrined,  he  finally  admitted.  This  city  has,  I  think, 
fallen  into  bad  hands,  and  would  have  done  better  if  an  architect  that 
is  both  capable  and  honest  had  been  employed  by  them  to  take 
charge  of  the  expenditure  of  a  hundred  thousand  dollars  or  more  of 
money,  even  if  they  had  to  pay  five  to  seven  per  cent  for  his  services. 

SPHINX. 

[WE  think  our  correspondent  must  be  mistaken  in  (werting  that  "  archi- 
tects of  all  sorts  "  besieged  this  committee  to  secure  the  job.  —  ED.*.  AMER- 
ICAN ARCHITECT.] 


THE  PETCHIKAPOU  WATERFALL.  — Marvellous  stories  are  related  by 
the  few  Montagnais  and  Nascapee  Indians  who  have  penetrated  far  into 
the  interior  of  Labrador  respecting  a  cataract,  beneath  whose  terrific 
leap  Niagara  pales  into  insignificance.  But  one  white  man  has  ever 
seen  these  falls,  and  the  Indians'  ideas  of  measurements  and  distances 
are  so  imperfect  that,  even  where  their  stories  agree,  it  is  exceedingly 
difficult  to  deduce  from  them  anything  like  reliable  data.  An  expedi- 
tion lately  undertaken  by  Handle  F.  Holme,  F.  R.  G.  S.,  and  H.  Duff, 
Fellow  of  All  Souls'  College,  Oxford,  to  explore  the  interior  of  Labrador 
and  investigate  these  falls,  unfortunately,  failed  in  its  object,  the  ex- 
plorers having  been  misled  by  erroneous  calculations  as  to  distances 
and  the  exact  location  of  the  cataract,  and  compelled  to  return  in  con- 
sequence of  running  short  of  provisions.  They  got  so  near  to  the  object 
of  their  expedition,  however,  that  they  were  enabled,  from  the  general 
configuration  of  the  country,  to  form  what  must  be  a  tolerably  correct  es- 
timate as  to  both  the  location  and  magnitude  of  the  cataract.  This 
estimate  agrees  with  the  description  of  the  grand  falls  furnished  by 
Maclean,  who  visited  them  in  1839,  and  whose  farther  progress  into  the 
interior  was  stopped  by  them.  He  gave  the  width  of  the  river  immedi- 
ately above  the  falls  at  1,500  feet,  but  says  that  the  cataract  itself  is 
not  more  than  150  feet  across.  The  height  of  the  falls  he  estimates  at 
2,000  feet.  This  estimate  is  indorsed  by  a  half-breed  named  Kennedy, 
met  by  Messrs.  Holme  and  Duff  in  the  interior,  and  who  thirty  years 
ago  was  in  charge  of  Fort  Nascapee  on  Lake  Petchikapou.  One  of  the 
chief  difficulties  encountered  by  explorers  desirous  of  reaching  the  falls 
is  the  obstinate  refusal  by  the  Labrador  Indians  to  approach  them. 
They  believe  them  to  be  haunted,  and  think  it  impossible  to  look  upon 
them  and  live.  Kennedy  was  conducted  to  them  by  an  old  Indian 
named  Louis-over-the-fire,  who,  being  an  Iroquois  did  not  share  the 
superstitious  belief  of  the  Montagnais  and  Nascapees.  Messrs.  Holir.e 
and  Duff  were  principally  misled  by  the  erroneous  statements  and  cal- 
culations as  to  distances  contained  in  Professor  Hind's  "  Labrador," 
the  leading  authority  upon  this  virtually  unknown  country.  The  fails 


48 


TJie    American   Architect   and  Building   News.      [VOL.  XXIV.  —  No.  683. 


are  on  the  Grand  or  Petchikapou  River,  which  flows  into  Hamilton  in- 
let. They  are  thirty  miles  above  Lake  Waminikapou,  a  body  of  water 
which  is  itself  forty  miles  long,  and  situated  150  miles  inland  from  the 
mouth  of  the  river.  Professor  Hind  gives  this  lake  as  only  100  miles 
from  the  mouth  of  the  river,  so  that  the  expedition  of  Messrs.  Holme 
and  Duff  has  brought  to  light  the  fact  that  the  best  works  heretofore 
published  upon  this  terra  incognita  contain  anything  but  reliable  data. 
They  agree,  however,  with  Professor  Hind  that  the  elevation  of  the 
immense  tableland  which  forms  the  interior  of  Labrador  is  about  2,240 
feet.  On  this  height  of  land  are  a  succession  of  great  lakes,  joined  by 
broad,  placid  streams,  and  when  these  reach  the  edge  of  the  tableland 
they  commence  their  wild  career  to  the  sea.  The  Moisie  and  the  Cold- 
water  Rivers  descend  by  successive  falls,  but  toward  the  southeast  the 
descent  from  the  elevated  tableland  is  quite  sudden.  This  is  particu- 
larly true  of  the  Grand  River,  which  has  a  drop  of  over  2,000  feet  in 
the  thirty  miles  commencing  with  the  falls  and  ending  at  Lake  Wamin- 
ikapou. There  is  a  slight  rapid  below  the  falls,  but  none  near  the  lake, 
and  everything  goes  to  show  that  the  height  of  the  grand  falls  is  very 
little,  if  anything,  short  of  2,000  feet.  They  are  by  a  great  deal  the 
highest  falls  in  existence  that  are  composed  of  any  great  volume  of 
water.  There  are  mere  mountain  torrents  that  fall  from  a  greater 
height,  and  the  great  fall  of  the  Yosemite  Valley  measures  2,050  feet, 
but  it  is  broken  into  three  distinct  lea|>s.  Niagara,  on  the  other  hand, 
has  a  height  of  104  feet  only.  —  Boston  Herald. 


ENGINE  FOUNDATIONS.  —  An  engine  foundation,  says  the  Aije  of  Steel, 
bears  the  same  relationship  to  the  structure  which  has  afterward  to  be 
raised  upon  it  as  does  the  carefully  laid  basis  upon  which  a  substantial 
building  is  to  be  erected.  This  being  so,  too  much  care  cannot  be  ex- 
ercised in  its  construction.  A  good  foundation  will  in  many  cases 
partially  compensate  for  the.  defects  of  a  bad  bed,  in  the  case  of  a  fixed 
engine ;  but  of  course  the  latter  ought  to  be  firmly  bolted  to  the  founda- 
tion so  that  the  two  form  one  immovable  mass.  It  should  be  bonded 
and  tied  in  such  a  manner  that  no  unequal  settlement  can  take  place, 
for  should  it  cause  this,  there  will  be  a  danger  of  springing  in  the  bed, 
and  of  heating  the  bearings  as  a  result  of  these  being  twisted  out  of 
parallel.  The  higher  the  speed  of  the  engine  the  more  substantial 
should  be  the  foundation,  for  vibration  and  tremor  ought  especially  to 
be  absent  in  the  settings  of  a  high-speed  engine.  A  good  bottom  of 
concrete  is  perhaps  the  best  substance  to  make  a  start  with,  but  its  size 
ought  of  course  to  be  determined  by  the  nature  of  the  soil  upon  which 
it  is  to  rest.  If  it  is  a  rock  bottom  the  bed  can  of  course  be  fastened 
directly  to  it  with  but  a  mere  pretence  for  a  foundation  between  ;  but 
should  it  be  sandy  or  wet  a  concrete  surface  of  large  area  should  be  first 
laid.  Then  should  follow  the  bricks,  laid  close  and  jointed  with  the 
best  cement,  or  if  it  is  proposed  to  use  stone  the  larger  the  blocks  used 
the  better,  the  bonding  of  course  being  particularly  studied.  Rubble 
work  is  not  to  be  recommended,  as  the  irregular  shape  of  the  stones 
forms  a  very  unreliable  bond,  and  the  cement  which  this  kind  of  work 
requires  is  not  calculated  to  add  to  the  stability  of  the  foundation.  The 
bed  or  engine  frame  should  never  be  bolted  down  until  the  foundation 
is  completed  and  thoroughly  set;  when  in  position  and  found  thorough- 
ly true,  the  joints  may  be  filled  and  packed  with  melted  sulphur  to  in- 
sure rigidity.  With  a  bad  foundation  no  engine  can  be  expected  to  run 
long  without  deterioration,  and  there  is  no  part  of  the  detail  of  engine 
fixing  which  is  of  more  importance  than  the  foundation. 


THE  ST.  Louis  BIIIDGE. — The  beautiful  bridge  built  by  Captain 
Eads  over  the  Mississippi  River  at  St.  Louis,  hold  in  its  design  and  ex- 
cellent in  its  execution,  is  an  object  of  admiration  to  all  who  visit  it, 
but  the  impression  of  its  importance  would  be  greatly  magnified  if  the 
part  below  the  surface  of  the  water,  which  bears  the  massive  towers, 
and  which  extends  to  a  depth  twice  as  great  as  the  height  of  the  pier 
above  the  water,  could  be  visible.  There  are  three  steel  arches,  the 
centre  one  having  a  span  of  520  feet,  and  each  side  arch  a  span  of  602 
feet.  Each  span  has  four  parallel  arches  or  ribs,  and  each  arch  is  com- 
posed of  two  cylindrical  steel  tubes,  18  inches  in  exterior  diameter,  one 
acting  as  the  upper  and  the  other  as  the  lower  chord  of  the  arch.  The 
tubes  are  in  sections,  each  12  feet  long,  and  connected  by  screw  joints. 
The  thickness  of  the  steel  forming  the  tubes  runs  from  1  3-16  to  2  1-8 
inches.  These  upper  and  lower  tubes  are  parallel  and  12  feet  apart, 
connected  by  a  single  system  of  diagonal  bracing.  The  double  tracks 
of  the  railroad  run  through  the  bridge  adjacent  to  the  side  arches  at 
the  elevation  of  the  highest  point  of  the  lower  tube.  The  carriage  road 
and  footpaths  extend  the  full  width  of  the  bridge,  and  are  carried,  by 
braced  vertical  posts,  at  an  elevation  of  23  feet  above  the  railroad. 
The  clear  headway  is  55  feet  above  ordinary  high  water.  The 
approaches  on  each  side  are  masonry  viaducts,  and  the  railway  con- 
nects with  the  city  station  by  a  tunnel  nearly  a  mile  in  length.  The 
great  tubular  ribs  were  built  out  from  each  side  of  a  pier,  the  weight 
on  one  side  acting  as  a  counterpoise  for  the  construction  on  the  other 
side  of  the  pier.  They  were  thus  gradually  and  systematically  pro- 
jected over  the  river,  without  support  from  below,  till  they  met  at  the 
middle  of  the  span,  when  the  last  central  connecting  tube  was  put  in 
place  by  an  ingenious  mechanical  arrangement,  and  the  arch  became 
self-supporting.  —  Scrilmer's  Magazine. 


tablet  of  revenge"  should  cease  to  disfigure  the  walls  of  a  noble  build- 
ing which  has  been  erected  in  the  name  of  charity,  which  covers  a 
multitude  of  sins,  and  of  humanity,  which  condones  them.  —  Exchange, 

A  NEW  TOMB  FOR  THE  HAPSBURGS. —  It  has  been  decided  to  con- 
struct a  new  tomb  for  the  Austrian  imperial  family,  the  vaults  under 
the  Church  of  the  Capuchins  affording  no  more  room.  More  than  100 
princely  personages  are  buried  in  these  vaults,  which  have  been  the 
burial  place  of  the  Hapsburg  family  since  the  early  part  of  the  seven- 
teenth century.  —  New  York  Evening  Post. 


THE  DUCHESSE  DE  GAI.LIERA'S  REVENGE. — The  late  Duchess  of 
Galliera,  who  gave  during  her  Jifetime  upwards  of  830,000,000  to  the 
poor,  is  to  have  a  statue  in  her  native  city  of  Genoa.  Wherever  the 
traveller  turns  he  will  be  shown  schools  and  colleges,  infirmaries  and 
hospitals,  alms-houses  and  model  dwellings  founded  by  the  Duchess  for 
the  benefit  of  the  Genoese.  Now  that  the  Duchess  is  dead  no  time 
should  be  lost  in  removing  from  the  entrance  hall  of  the  Galliera 
Hospital  the  tablet  which  records  "  to  his  eternal  shame  "  the  treachery 
of  her  agent  and  relative,  who  decamped  with  §4,000,000,  the  money 
paid  to  his  credit  by  the  Duchess  for  the  building  of  the  hospital.  The 
poor  old  general,  if  rumor  does  not  lie,  used  the  money  to  save  a  spend- 
t'.irift  son  from  disaster.  At  any  rate,  with  the  Duchess"  death  "the 


ONCE  more  reference  must  be  made  to  a  worn-out  topic  in  order  to  pick 
up  some  pointers  for  trade  and  business  possibilities.  Boston  and  New 
York  financiers  are  just  at  present  discussing  and  considering  railroad- 
building.  What  lines  to  build,  how  much  money  to  invest  and,  in  general, 
how  to  look  after  their  railroad-building  interests  for  the  coming  year. 
Witliin  sixty  days  the  programme  will  be  completed.  There  is  an  anxiety 
among  those  who  have  the  greatest  interests  at  stake  to  have  all  matters 
pertaining  to  the  relation  of  the  railroads  to  the  Government  disposed  of 
one  way  or  another,  right  or  wrong.  If  rightfully  disposed  of,  they  know  that 
there  will  be  plenty  of  grand  opportunities  for  good  investments.  If  wrong- 
fully disposed  of,  they  can  have  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  what  to  do  and 
what  course  to  pursue  till  things  come  right  again.  There  is  a  strong  feel- 
ing iu  the  public  mind  that  the  railroad  interests  will  be  put  under  some  sort 
of  control,  and  a  more  complete  control  than  is  now  exercised.  Our  best 
authorities  do  not  believe  what  so  many  newspaper  authorities  assert  in 
regard  to  an  over-construction  of  railroads,  on  the  contrary,  they  believe 
that  there  are  opportunities  as  favorable  now  as  there  have  been  at  any 
time  for  years  past  for  great  railroad-building  enterprise.  The  work  is 
of  two  kinds:  First,  the  construction  of  long  lines  in  remote  sections  of  the 
country,  as,  for  instance,  in  British  America,  California,  Mexico  and  South 
America;  and  second,  the  construction  of  short  lines  mainly  in  the  Southern 
States.  Financial  managers  will  not  indicate  in  advance  what  they  intend 
to  do.  Were  they  to  do  so,  manufacturers  of  material  would  at  once  take 
the  cue,  and  at  once  hardeu  prices.  It  is  to  their  interest  to  play  a  fine 
game,  and,  if  possible,  bring  about  a  reduction  for  all  kinds  of  material 
that  they  will  need.  It  would  look  as  though  there  were  some  concert  of 
action  in  this  direction.  During  the  past  three  months  fewer  rails  have 
been  contracted  for  than  during  any  like  period  for  five  years  past.  Even 
in  the  matter  of  cars  and  locomotives,  orders  have  not  been  up  to  the 
apparent  large  requirements.  The  same  applies  to  other  branches  of  rail- 
road-building material.  The  country  does  not  absolutely  need  more  mileage, 
but  a  great  deal  more  mileage  could' be  built,  and  built  with  safety.  There 
are  sections  of  country  through  which  roads  could  be  constructed  with 
advantage,  because  of  the  appreciation  in  value  of  real  estate  that  would 
soon  follow.  Capitalists  do  not  enter  things  without  a  long  head.  They 
count  from  five  to  ten  years  ahead.  They  recognize  the  fact  that  prnductive- 
capacity  will  steadily  increase.  'J  hat  emigration  will  fill  up  out-of-the-way 
places,  and  that  the  markets  of  the  world  will  call  for  the  product  of  labor 
of  all  kinds  in  increasing  supply.  For  this  reason  the  opinion  is  enter- 
tained iu  some  high  circles  that  despite  indications  to  the  contrarv  we  will 
see  some  five  to  ten  thousand  miles  of  road  built  during  the  coming  year. 
Much'of  it  will  not  be  undertaken  before  midsummer.  There  is  an  abund- 
ance of  money  for  railroad  work  Foreign  capital  has  been  organizing 
itself  to  spread  over  America,  North,  South  and  West.  Numerous  lines  of 
railroad  are  projected  which  will  probably  be  built  in  the  coui>e  ef  the  next 
five  years,  and  in  less  time  perhaps.  A  foreign  steel-rail  trust  is  being 
organized  in  order  to  profit  by  this  increasing  demand.  It  is  for  this  that 
the  foreigners  have  put  their  heads  together.  The  iron  trade  is  dull. 
Prices  are  sinking  in  all  markets  South,  West  and  East. 

The  lumber  trade,  considei  ing  the  season  of  the  year,  is  active.  Prices 
are  firm  in  all  markets  for  hard  woods.  The  Southern  interests  have  com- 
bined, and  the  combination  will  hold.  The  Northwestern  lumber  interests 
expect  a  heavy  demand  in  the  far  West  for  the  coming  season.  If  ship- 
ments are  not  restricted,  there  will  be  a  greater  distribution  of  Western 
and  Southern  lumber  bevoud  the  Mississippi  than  ever  before  in  a  single 
year.  One  reason  for  this  statement  is  that  there  is  a  great  deal  of  money 
being  borrowed,  and  the  indications  point  that  as  much  more  will  be  Bbr- 
rowed  in  the  South  to  prosecute  work  of  various  kinds  in  the  West.  The 
agencies  that  are  loaning  money  on  farms  report  a  demand  for  all  the 
money  they  can  secure.  In  some  quarters  payments  are  not  being  promptly 
made,  but  investors  are  learning  to  select  their  localities  where  their 
securities  can  be  best  located.  The  hardware  manufacturers  throughout 
New  England  are  gettiug  down  to  work,  and  are  now  running  more  regu- 
larly than  during  the  fall  to  supply  stocks  for  the  coming  spring  and 
summer.  The  nail-factories  East  are  working  less  than  half-time,  and  in 
the  West  are  scarcely  any  better  fixed.  The  makers  of  wood-working 
machinery  are  moving  along  rather  slowly,  as  the  capacity  in  this  direction 
is  fully  up  to  all  the  requirements.  Plough-makers  are  short  of  orders. 
Stove  manufacturers  are  busy;  machinery-makers  all  over  the  West  are 
crowded  with  work.  The  boat-yards  along. the  Lakes  will  be  very  busy 
during  the  coming  season.  The  pipe-makers  expect  to  have  all  the  work 
they  can  do.  Natural-gas  companies  talk  of  combination.  Electricians  are. 
looking  after  a  centralizing  of  control.  Real-estate  speculators  are  making 
large  purchases  of  land  iu  the  neighborhood  of  the  growing  commercial 
centres  of  the  West.  Every  indication  is  of  the  healthful  sort.  Those  who 
are  watching  the  financial  features  are  inclined  to  think  that  the  present 
financial  policy  will  result  in  an  astringeucy  at  some  time  during  the  next 
two  or  three  \ears.  Such  a  probability  is  to  remote  to  worry  over.  A  con- 
ference of  old-time  Greenbackers  is  called  to  meet  at  Washington  to  formu- 
late plans  for  a  renewal  of  the  greenback  agitation.  'Ihis  step  is  taken  thus 
early  because  the  believers  in  governmental  money  anticipate  an  attack  of 
the  banking  interests  upon  the  legal-tender  issues.  They  argue  that  the 
need  of  money  is'  increasing,  and  that  the  supply  is  diminishing  ;  that 
more  business  is  being  done  on  credit  now  than  a  year  or  two  ago,  and 
that  the  control  of  money  is  centring  into  fewer  hands.  These  allegations 
may  or  may  not  be  true,  but  there  are  signs  in  business  circles  of  justifying 
the  prediction  of  a  more  or  less  astringent  condition  of  the  money-market  at 
some  time  in  the  near  future.  Real  dangers  are,  however,  not  often  seen 
in  advance,  and  anticipated  dangers  seldom  overtake  us  The  probabilities 
are  that  the  financial  question  will  settle  itself,  and  that  the  control  of  the 
currency  of  the  country  will  not  be  secured  by  class  interests. 

S.    J.    PAKKHILL  &  Co.,  Printers,  Huston. 


JANUARY  2fi,  1889.] 


The  American  Architect  and  Building  News. 


GA6OT'5  CREOJoTE 


or  5hm$fe*.  Fences, 


y^ore 
.  wlyile  Mc    are 


TITIO 
or  jfeiTis 


SAMVEL-  CABOT 


The   American   Architect   and  Building  News.         [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  683 


DETAIL  or  TO/AB 

CATHEDRAL 


.B*/.reJie/.  Ch.y*. CUBA. 

- 


Paine!    :  Vv|/lf>Vjyaimi .  London. S-r 


ADVERTISERS'    TRADE    SUPPLEMENT. 


No.  79. 


SATURDAY,  JANUARY  5,  1889. 


VOUJM   XXV. 
No.    680. 


DETROIT  HEATING  AND  LIGHTING 
CO.'S  (BOLTON  PATENT)  HOT- 
WATER  HEATER. 

THE  ADVANTAGES  OF  HOT-WATER  HEATING. 

THE  advantages  of  hot-water  heating  over 
all  other  methods  are 
manifold.  It  is  the 
most  healthful  system 
known  to  the  scien- 
tific world,  the  most 
economical  in  the  con- 
sumption of  fuel,  the 
most  durable  and  the 
only  one  which  is  ab- 
solutely safe ;  it  re- 
quires the  least  care, 
and  in  its  simplicity 
outranks  the  plainest 
of  aH  plain  stoves. 

By  this  system  an 
even  temperature,  soft 
and  pleasant  and  free 
from  all  poisonous 
gases,  is  obtained, 
and  controlled  in  all 
parts  of  the  building, 
regardless  of  the  out- 
side temperature. 
There  are  no  draughts 
or  blasts  of  hot  or 
cold  air  so  insepara- 
ble with  the  opera- 
tions of  the  hot-air 
furnaces. 

Heat  is  obtained 
by  the  hot-water  sys- 
tem as  soon  as  the 
fire  is  lighted  and 
continued  until  after 
the  fire  is  out  and 
the  water  cold.  With 
steam  no  heat  is  se- 
cured until  the  water 
boils,  and  the  fuel  con- 
sumed up  to  that  time 
is  wasted.  With  the 
hot-water  system  the 
heat  is  controlled  at 
the  furnace,  the  fire 
and  fuel  being  di- 
rectly and  immedi- 
ately regulated  to 
meet  the  require- 
ments, while  with 
steam  the  valves  of 
the  radiators  are 
made  use  of  and 

the  fuel  in  the  furnace  frequently  consumed 
to  no  purpose.  Numerous  tests  and  years  of 
experience  prove  that  a  good  hot-water  sys- 


tem will  consume  from  twenty-five  to  thirty 
per  cent  less  fuel  than  the  best  steam  plants, 
and  from  forty  to  fifty  per  cent  less  fuel  than 
a  hot-air  furnace. 

The  hot-water  plant  is  not  subjected  to  the 


wear  and  tear  caused  by  uneven  pressure,  ex- 
pansion and  contraction  of  pipes  and  regu- 
lators that  is  common  to  the  steam  system, 


and  properly  put  in  will  last  throe  times  as 

long.     Its  longevity  in  comparison  with  hot-air 

furnaces  is  even  greater. 

The  hot-water  system   cannot  explode,  as 

there  is  never  any  pressure  except  the  weight 
of  the  water,  the 
pipes  being  open  to 
the  at  mo  sphere. 
There  is  absolutely 
no  danger  from  fire, 
as  the  fire-box  is  en- 
cased in  iron  and 
brick,  and  the  pipes 
and  radiators  cannot 
be  heated  above  190° 
to  200°. 

The  simplicity  of  a, 
good  hot-water  sys- 
tem is  one  of  its  chief 
merits.  It  requires 
less  attention  than  an 
ordinary  base-burner 
stove. 

THE  SPECIAL  AD- 
VANTAGES OF  OUH 
IIOT-WATKK  IIKAT- 
KR. 

The  fire-pot  and 
heater  is  so  con- 
structed that  it  pos- 
sesses the  largest  heat- 
ing surface  of  any 
system  now  offered 
the  public.  (See  cut). 
It  is  thereby  able  to 
heat  a  larger  volume 
of  water  in  a  shorter 
period  of  time  than 
any  other  and  is, 
therefore,  more  eco- 
nomical in  the  con- 
sumption of  f  uel  . 
This  superiority  is 
obtained  partly  by 
using  wrought  -  iron 
tubes  instead  of  east- 
iron,  which  are  thick- 
er and  consequently 
require  more  heat  to 
affect  the  water  with- 
in ;  partially  by  the 
vertical  arrangement 
of  the  tubes,  whereby 
the  water  begins  to 
circulate  with  the 
first  heat  (a  news- 
paper furnishing  sufficient  heat  to  start  the 
water  in  motion)  and  partly  by  the  tubes  be- 
ing brought  into  direct  contact  with  the  heat 


2 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.        [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  680. 


in  such  a  manner  that  no  useless  fire-bricks 
intervene]or  clinkers  can  form  to  absorb  any 
portion  of  the  heat. 

In  point  of  durability  there  is  no  heater  that 
can  equal  it.  In  addition  to  the  advantages 
in  its  construction,  above  noted,  this  heater 
possesses  a  merit  not  to  be  found  in  any  other. 
The  entire  heater  is  practically  one  piece,  all 
parts  being  screwed  together.  There  are  no 
bolts,  no  flanges  and  no  packings  to  leak  in  it 
—  fatal  defects  that  are  the  source  of  con- 
stant annoyance  and  frequent  repairs  in  other 
heaters.  Only  the  very  best  materials  and  the 
most  experienced  workmanship  are  employed 
in  its  manufacture. 

The  cut  which  shows  how  the  heater  is  en- 
cased in  brick  and  iron,  speaks  of  its  perfect 
safety.  Its  location  (generally  in  the  cellar 
or  basement)  is  further  security  in  this  respect. 
The  exposed  surface  of  the  covering,  either  at 
top,  bottom  or  sides,  does  not  give  forth  a 
particle  of  warmth.  A  sulphur  match  left  for 
months  on  the  top  will  not  ignite,  and  wood, 
or  even  paper,  can  be  left  on  the  exposed 
pipes  with  perfect  impunity. 

The  extreme  simplicity  and  cleanliness  of 
the  heater  adds  to  its  superiority  over  all 
others.  Every  portion  of  the  heater  is  plainly 
visible,  ready  of  access,  and  can  therefore  be 
cleaned  easily.  There  are  no  recesses  for  soot 
to  accumulate  in.  The  fire  requires  less  at- 
tention than  an  ordinary  coal  stove,  a  replen- 
ishment of  the  fuel  once  in  twenty-four  hours 
being  suflicient  during  average  winter  weather, 
and  once  in  twelve  hours  being  necessary  only 
in  extreme  cases.  No  skill  is  required  in 
firing.  Any  desired  heat  can  be  obtained  at 
once,  and  an  equable  temperature  maintained 
in  every  room  in  the  house  regardless  of  dis- 
tance from  the  heater.  The  heater  is  entirely 
noiseless  in  its  operations. 

References  and  further  information  will  be 
cheerfully  furnished  upon  application  to  the 

DETKOIT  HEATING  AND  LIGHTING  CO., 
DETROIT,  MICHIGAN. 


"HIS  SECOND   SUCCESS." 

OVEII  twenty  years  ago,  Mr.  E.  T.  Barnum, 
of  Detroit,  commenced  in  a  small  way  the 
manufacture  of  wire  and  iron  work.  By  indus- 
try and  perseverance  the  business  rapidly  in- 
creased, and  gradually  outgrew  the  different 
quarters  at  which  it  was  conducted,  finally 
becoming  so  large  that  Mr.  Barnum  found  it 
to  his  advantage  to  incorporate,  although  he 
still  continued  to  be  the  sole  manager. 

The  business  was  then  pressed  with  re- 
doubled energy.  A  large  factory,  the  largest 
in  the  world,  was  built  and  thoroughly  equipped 
with  the  very  best  machinery  then  known, 
nearly  all  of  which  was  especially  constructed 
for  his  work,  and  an  immense  fortune  seemed 
to  be  practically  within  his  grasp. 

But  one  morning  Mr.  Barnum  saw  that  fac- 
tory, the  reward  of  the  persevering  diligence 
of  years,  go  up  in  smoke,  leaving  only  the 
bare,  blackened  walls.  However,  with  that 
untiring  energy  which  had  built  up  one  fortune, 
he  commenced  again,  even  before  the  smould- 
ering ruins  were  cold. 

This  was  in  1885.  It  was  a  difficult  and 
disheartening  task  to  again  trudge  slowly 
along  the  financial  stairs  up  which  he  had 
pressed  for  so  many  years,  and  down  which 
he  had  been  so  recently  and  suddenly  hurled, 
but  lie  kept  quietly  and  steadily  at  work,  and 
is  now  again  firmly  re-established  with  new 
works  built  under  his  own  supervision  and  for 
his  own  special  use,  and  equipped  with  the 
latest  improved  machinery. 

The  present  factory  is  located  at  Noa.  715, 


717,  719  Grand  River  Avenue,  where  every- 
thing in  the  line  of  wire  and  iron  work  can  be 
had,  and  any  special  order  promptly  filled. 

Mr.  Barnum  sells  goods  not  only  in  every 
State  and  Territory  in  the  United  States,  but 
in  Canada,  Australia,  Brazil,  Europe,  in  fact, 
there  is  no  considerable  portion  of  the  civ- 
ilized world  but  what  is  more  or  less  familiar 
with  his  work.  • 

Mr.  Barnum  is  proud  of  his  second 
success  and  his  course  is  a  good  illus- 
tration of  the  fact  that  in  this  country  all  ob- 
stacles and  misfortunes  are  overcome  by 
intelligent,  diligent  and  patient  work. 

He  has  just  issued  an  illustrated  catalogue 
which  will  be  mailed  upon  application.     All 
correspondence  should  be  directed  to 
E.  T.  BARNUM. 

P.  O.  Box  66,  DKTROIT,  MICH. 


TRAP-SEAL   PROTECTION. 

LETTER  from  Mr.  Putnam  to  the  Sanitary 
News,  comparing  the  "  Trap- Vent  "  with  the 
"  Sanitas "  system  of  plumbing,  in  reply  to 
Mr.  Houman : 

BOSTON,  MASS.,  November  23. 
To  THE  EDITOR: 

Your  correspondent,  Mr.  Houman,  in  reply 
to  my  letters  on  "  Trap-Seal  Protection," 
asserts  that  a  simple  S-trap,  protected  against 
siphonage  by  some  form  of  automatic  air- 
supply,  is  better  than  an  antisiphon  or  seal- 
retaining  trap  on  the  ground  of  cleanliness. 

Several  important  considerations  affecting 
this  question  seem  to  have  been  overlooked  by 
Mr.  Houman,  which  appear  to  me  to  be 
sufficient  to  reverse  his  conclusions;  and,  as 
these  considerations  are  founded  on  very  care- 
ful experiments  of  mine,  some  of  which  have 
never  as  yet  been  published,  I  will  avail  my- 
self of  your  invitation  to  contribute  our  ex- 
periences on  the  subject,  to  present  them  here. 

They  may  be  summarized  as  follows : 

1.  No  automatic  air-supplv  has  ever  been 
invented,  nor  probably  ever  will  be,  which 
will  form  a  reliable  protection  against  siphon- 
age,  although  such  a  form  of  air-supply,  as 
your  correspondent  recommends,  seems  to  me 
to  be  much  more  reliable  in  many  ways  than 
the  ordinary  back-vent  pipe. 

The  scouring  properties  of  a  trap  are  due 
not  to  the  absolute  size  of  its  body,  but  to  its 
•elative  size  as  compared  with  the  discharge 
outlet  of  the  fixture  it  serves. 

I  have  found  a  common  S-trap  used  under 
an  ordinary  small-outlet  wash-basin,  nearly 
filled  with  a  jelly-like  filth,  through  which  the 
waste-water  passage  left  was  no  larger  than  a 
man's  little  finger  or  than  the  free  outlet  of 
the  basin,  and  not  more  than  a  tenth  of  the 
capacity  of  the  trap  and  pipe  when  new. 

There  are  no  "  greatly  enlarged  cavities  "  in 
a  scientifically  designed  (the  "  Sanitas  ")  seal- 
retaining  trap.  When  such  a  trap  is  used 
under  a  fixture  having  an  outlet  as  large  as  its 
waste-pipe,  and  the  fixture  is  properly  used, 
so  as  to  fill  these  pipes  "  full  bore,"  the  scour 
will  be  sufficient  to  keep  all  parts  of  the  trap 
lean.  When  such  a  trap  fouls,  the  fault  is 
in  the  fixture  or  in  its  usage,  and  not  in  the 
trap. 

With  improperly  formed  or  used  fixtures 
any  trap  will,  and  must,  necessarily  foul  in 
time,  and  an  S-trap  is  no  more  exempt  from 
this  law  of  nature  than  any  other.  Even  per- 
fectly straight  and  smooth  pipes  will  foul 
under  such  circumstances. 

The  safe  rule  to  avoid  this  trouble  is  to  con- 
struct every  fixture  on  the  principle  of  the  flush- 
tank,  and  to  use  it  as  such,  and  it  is  self- 
evident  that  no  other  practice  will  keep  the 
waste  passages  clear. 


2.  Ordinary  S-traps,  recommended  by  your 
correspondent,  are  liable  to  lose  their  seals 
through  other  causes  than  siphonage,  such  as 
back-pressure  and  capillary  action,  against 
which  the  automatic  air-supply  forms  no  pro- 
tection whatever;  whereas,  our  seal-retaining 
trap  is  formed  with  reference  to  withstanding 
those  adverse  forces,  and,  properly  set,  it 
affords  perfect  security  in  these  particulars. 
'  3.  The  volume  of  water  in  an  ordinary  S- 
trap  is  too  small,  and  the  trap  is  not  scien- 
tifically designed  with  a  view  to  the  perfect 
preservation  of  its  seal  against  evaporation. 
The  automatic  air-supply  is  infinitely  better 
than  the  back-venting  system  in  this  respect, 
inasmuch  as  it  does  not  materially  increase 
the  evaporation  of  the  water-seal ;  but  the  S- 
trap  in  the  combination  is  at  fault.  In  a  well- 
designed  seal-retaining  trap  all  danger  from 
evaporation  is  practically  avoided. 

4.  Accepting,  then,  as  evident  (as  we  must) 
the  fact  that  any  pipe  or  any  trap  under 
improperly  formed  or  used  fixtures  will  foul 
in  time,  it  becomes  clear  that  the  seal-retaining 
trap  is  safer  than  a  vented  S-trap,  because 
even  a  partial  clogging  of  the  latter  will  close 
the  mouth  of  the  air-supply,  and  thereby  at 
once  destroy  the  entire  value  of  the  device 
without  announcing  it  to  the  house-owner ; 
whereas,  a  clogging  of  the  former  will  simply 
retard  the  outflow  of  the  waste-water,  which 
will  at  once  announce  the  obstruction  and 
lead  to  its  removal.  In  no  case  will  such 
clogging  destroy  the  ability  of  the  trap  to 
resist  siphonage,  since  the  relative  propor- 
tions of  the  interior  remain  the  same,  and  the 
very  obstruction  which  prevented  the  escape 
of  the  waste-water  also  prevents  siphonage 
and  the  escape  of  sewer-air.  Practice  has 
shown  this  theory  to  be  true,  after  a  test  of 
five  years. 

It  is  now  well  known  that  the  mouth  of  the 
ordinary  back  -  vent  pipe  becomes  quickly 
clogged  by  grease  under  kitchen  and  pantry- 
sinks,  and  this  objection  to  back-venting  is 
no.w  considered  so  serious  that  many  practical 
plumbers  are  urging  its  abandonment  on  this 
ground  alone. 

Now,  the  mouth  of  the  automatic  air-supply 
pipe  is,  in  this  respect,  precisely  the  same, 
and  is  clogged  in  exactly  the  same  manner ; 
hence,  it  must  be  condemned  on  the  same 
grounds. 

Your  correspondent  objects  to  "  enlarged 
cavities"  in  traps.  What  is  the  mouth  of  the 
automatic  air-vent  pipe  but  exactly  such  a  cavity  ? 
It  is  worse  than  that,  since  it  is  a  cavity 
placed  precisely  where  it  will  be  first  and 
asiest  filled  with  filth,  and  when  filled  it  will 
never  be  washed  out  again  since  the  scour 
does  not  reach  it.  Still  worse  than  that,  it  is 
a  cavity  which,  when  once  even  partially 
Slled,  will  cause  the  air-pipe  to  lose  its  orig- 
nal  protecting  power ;  and  with  this  loss  the 
value  of  the  entire  apparatus  is  destroyed. 

Finally,  worst  of  all,  this  loss  of  protecting 
power  occurs  without  the  slightest  warning 
;o  the  house-owner. 

The  mouth  of  the  air-supply  is,  and  must 
36,  placed  at  the  upper  side  of  the  trap  or  its 
outlet-pipe.  Grease  and  those  allied  matters 
which  cause  obstructions  in  the  waste  pas- 
sages by  adhering  to  them  are  lighter  than 
water,  and  must  float,  therefore,  to  the  top. 
Hence,  it  is  evidently  exactly  there  that  clog- 
ing  must  first  take  place,  and  cavities  placed 
;here,  like  the  mouth  of  the  air-supply  pipe, 
must  be  the  first  to  be  clogged,  and  in  prac- 
tice it  is  found  that  this  is  the  fact. 

With  our  seal-retaining  trap,  on  the  contrary, 
no  such  dangerous  cavities  exist.  The  water- 


JANUARY  5,  1889. —No.  79.] 


Advertisers'  Trade  Supplement. 


passage  is  substantially  of  the  same  calibre 
throughout,  and  even  should  clogging  through 
careless  usage  take  place,  it  could  do  no  harm, 
but  would  at  once  announce  itself  and  be  re- 
moved. 

5.  The  automatic  air-supply   pipe,  in  com- 
bination with  a  trap,  forms  a  somewhat  ex- 
pensive and   delicate  combination,  involving 
quite  a  number  of  joints  throughout  its  sev- 
eral  parts,  and  the   use   of   delicate  moving 
parts  and   sensitive  adjustments  and  also  of 
free  mercury.     It  would  also  seem  as  if  water 
thrown   up  by  back-pressure   into  the  valve 
and    mercury    compartment    might    in    time 
easily  destroy  its  operation. 

The  seal-retaining  trap,  on  the  contrary,  is 
simplicity  itself,  has  no  moving  parts,  and  is 
of  solid  and  durable  construction  throughout. 

6.  To   recapitulate,  then,   the   very   argu- 
ments raised  by  your  correspondent  in  favor 
of  the  S-trap,  with  automatic  air-supply,  are 
really   the    strongest   against   it,  and   are   in 
favor  of  the  unvented  anti-siphon  trap. 

The  former  (the  vented  S-trap)  is  not 
secure  against  siphonage ;  has  no  resistance 
whatever  in  itself  against  back-pressure  or 
capillary  action ;  is  not  constructed  with  a 
view  to  resisting  evaporation ;  has,  as  a  neces- 
sary part  of  its  construction,  an  "  enlarged 
cavity  "  placed  where  it  is  most  easily  clogged 
by  grease  and  filth,  and  where  such  clogging 
is  fatal  to  its  operation  and  extremely  danger- 
ous to  the  house-owner ;  and  it  is  expensive, 
complicated  and  delicate  in  construction. 

From  all  these  objections  our  seal-retaining 
trap  is  free,  and  its  practical  trial  for  many 
years  has  amply  demonstrated  the  truth  of 
the  statement.  Respectfully  yours, 

J.  P.  PUTNAM. 


CHANGE    OF    PARTNERSHIP. 
THE   partnership    heretofore    existing  be- 
tween the  undersigned  under  the  firm  name 
of   Haines,  Jones   &  Cadbury,  has    this   day 
been  dissolved  by  mutual  consent. 

THOMAS  J.  JONES, 
JOHN  W.  CADBURY, 
JOEL  CADBURY, 
WILLIAM  H.  HAINES. 
November  30,  1888. 


HAVING  purchased  the  plant  of  the  late 
firm  of  Haines,  Jones  &  Cadbury,  we  would 
call  attention  to  our  facilities  for  supplying 
all  kinds  of  plumbers'  and  steam-fitters'  sup- 
plies, and  solicit  a  share  of  your  future  trade. 

HAINES,  JONES  &  CADBURY  CO., 
1136  KIDOB  AVENUE,  PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 


SOME      NEW     SYRACUSE     STRUCT- 
URES. 

THE  scaffolding,  which  has  encumbered  the 
Everson  and  Lynch  Blocks,  on  South  Salina 
Street,  has  been  removed,  and  two  handsome 
buildings  are  presented  to  view.  There  is  a 
certain  similarity  in  the  structures  owing  to 
the  free  use  of  pressed-brick  and  terra-cotta. 

The  Everson  Block,  which  adjoins  the 
Weiting  Block,  is  from  designs  by  Messrs. 
Baxter,  Buell  &  Tabor,  and  is  as  near  fire- 
proof as  it  is  possible  to  make  it,  being  con- 
structed solely  of  iron,  stone,  brick  and 
terra-cotta,  none  of  which  have  very  good 
burning  qualities.  This  building  is  seven 
stories  high,  and  has  a  frontage  on  Salina 
Street  of  forty-four  feet,  and  from  cornice  to 
sidewalk  it  is  just  100  feet.  The  ground-floor 
will  be  taken  up  with  a  double  store  40  x  137 
feet,  divided  through  the  centre  by  nine  mas- 
sive iron  columns.  The  second-story  front 
will  be  finished  for  occupancy  by  a  bank,  and 


will  be  fitted  with  stone  and  steel  vaults.  The 
front  of  this  building  is  very  attractive,  and  is 
beyond  question  the  most  imposing  structure 
on  South  Salina  Street.  The  piers  each  side 
of  the  stores  are  of  Carlisle  brown  sandstone, 
and  the  second  and  third  stories  are  of  the 
same  material.  Above  the  third  floor  the 
front  is  of  iron,  brick  and  terra-cotta.  No 
wood  is  used,  nothing  but  iron  girders  and 
pillars  from  cellar  to  roof.  The  chief  attrac- 
tion centres  in  the  terra-cotta  work,  which  is 
of  very  choice  design.  It  shows  what  can  be 
done  with  architectural  terra-cotta,  whether 
used  in  friezes,  window-caps  or  coping.  The 
latter  is  a  work  of  art  in  itself,  and  the  New 
York  Architectural  Terra-Cotta  Company,  of 
No.  38  Park  Row,  New  York  City,  naturally 
feel  proud  of  their  work,  as  do  the  architects. 
The  iron-work  is  from  the  Trenton,  N.  J.,  Iron- 
works, which  is  being  erected  under  the 
supervision  of  James  B.  Cornell,  of  New 
York,  while  Messrs.  O'Brien  and  Hoolihan,  of 
this  city,  have  the  contract  for  the  mason- 
work.  The  Lynch  Block  adjoining,  from 
designs  by  Architect  Russell,  shows  a  magnifi- 
cent front,  stone,  pressed-brick  and  terra-cotta 
being  the  materials  employed.  There  are 
some  fine  designs  in  the  terra-cotta  work, 
which  is  furnished  by  the  same  company  as 
above  mentioned.  This  building,  which  is  be- 
ing erected  by  Messrs.  O'Brien  and  Hoolihan, 
is  six  stories  high,  and  reflects  great  credit 
upon  its  designer.  These  two  blocks,  artistic- 
ally considered,  are  the  handsomest  structures 
on  Salina  Street. 

The  new  Grand  Opera-House  Block  is  be- 
ing rapidly  pushed.  There  was  a  hitch  over 
the  employment  of  non-union  masons  by 
Messrs.  Ryan  &  Rafferty,  which  was  ad- 
justed by  Mr.  Moore  going  ahead  with  the 
work  himself.  The  plans  and  elevation  for 
the  block  have  been  perfected  by  Architect 
Russell,  and  McElfatrick  &  Son,  the  New 
York  theatrical  architects,  will  attend  to  the 
plans  for  the  opera-house  proper.  The  block 
will  be  four  stories  high,  with  an  additional 
mansard  in  the  centre  of  the  block.  On  the 
ground-floor  there  will  be  space  for  six  stores, 
running  from  Genesee  to  Fayette  Streets. 
The  opera-house  will  be  located  on  the  second 
floor,  as  in  the  old  building,  and  will  be 
reached  by  a  twenty-foot  lobby  from  Genesee 
Street.  The  upper  floors  of  the  block  fronting 
on  Genesee  Street,  will  be  devoted  to  offices 
and  halls,  and  every  foot  of  space  will  be 
utilized.  The  building  will  be  constructed  of 
Trenton  brick  and  terra-cotta,  some  of  the 
latter  showing  some  very  fine  carving.  This 
work  is  also  furnished  by  the  New  York 
Company.  The  style  of  architecture  belongs 
to  no  particular  school,  and  may  be  described 
as  "  modern."  The  general  arrangement  of 
the  interior  of  the  opera-house  will  differ  very 
little  from  the  old  structure.  It  will  be  much 
more  elaborate,  and  will  be  a  model  structure 
of  its  kind,  with  every  precaution  for  safety 
and  means  of  exit  in  case  of  fire.  What  it 
will  cost  to  erect  this  new  temple  of  amuse- 
ment, Messrs.  Moore  and  Lynch  will  know 
when  they  get  through.  It  is  intimated  that 
it  is  contemplated  to  add  another  story  to  this 
structure,  which  would  make  it  five  stories,  with 
mansard.  —  Syracuse  Real  Estate  Record, 
December  8,  1888. 


MAHOGANY. 

IN  our  desire  to  extend  our  business  in  the 
sale  of  Mahogany  it  occurs  to  us  that  if  more 
were  known  regarding  this  standard  wood,  its 
adoption  and  use  would  become  much  more 
general.  We  believe  an  impression  exists 


that  it  is  an  expensive  wood  only  to  be  in- 
dulged in  by  the  few  — this  however  is  not  the 
case. 

The  facilities  for  procuring  Mahogany  in 
its  native  country  and  the  devices  for  reducing 
it  into  lumber  have  so  improved,  that  its  cost 
to-day  compares  favorably  with  some  of  our 
domestic  hardwoods,  notably  Cherry. 

We  are  prepared  to  supply  Mahogany  of 
the  best  texture  and  grain  as  low  as  fourteen 
to  sixteen  cents  per  foot  on  cars  in  New  York 
—  the  grade  known  as  "seconds"  at  seven  to 
eight  cents  per  foot  —  and  a  grade  between 
the  two  at  ten  cents.  In  measuring  these 
grades  last  mentioned  allowance  is  made  for 
faults,  and  there  are  very  many  places  where 
for  small  work  these  grades  prove  very  advan- 
tageous. 

The  cost  of  working  Mahogany  is  certainly 
not  greater  than  any  of  the  domestic  woods  — 
computing  then  for  any  given  work,  this 
difference  in  price  of  the  raw  material,  the  cost 
of  Mahogany  over  the  domestic  hardwoods 
will  be  found  to  be  small. 

It  is  universally  acknowledged  that  Mahog- 
any warps  less,  stands  better,  and  is  in  every 
way  more  reliable  than  any  other  wood 
known  :  it  is  the  only  wood  that  grows  more 
beautiful  with  age,  all  other  woods  grow  dull 
and  deteriorate  in  appearance.  Mahogany 
has  been  called  the  "  king  of  woods,"  and  it 
imparts  to  an  interior,  a  tone  and  richness 
conceded  by  all.  Will  not  therefore  the  in- 
trinsic value  of  a  private  residence  or  a  public 
building  finished  in  Mahogany  warrant  the 
use  of  this  wood  at  a  greater  difference  in  cost 
than  we  have  here  set  forth  ? 

Inasmuch  as  there  appears  to  be  a  vast 
deal  of  misinformation  regarding  Mahogany, 
we  are  led  to  place  before  you  the  actual  facts. 
We  are  sometimes  met  with  the  assertion  that 
there  is  now  no  Mahogany,  that  it  is  all  "Bay- 
wood."  As  well  might  one  argue  that  there  is 
now  no  Black  Walnut  from  the  fact  that  it  is 
no  longer  supplied  (to  but  a  small  extent)  from 
Ohio  and  Indiana,  but  largely  from  the  Indian 
Territory.  Thirty  years  ago  Mahogany  was 
commercially  designated  as  "  St.  Domingo " 
(from  the  Island  of  St.  Domingo)  and  "  Bay- 
wood  "  or  "  Bay  Mahogany  "  (from  the  vicin- 
ity of  the  Bay  of  Honduras  in  Central 
America).  The  Central  American  wood  was 
rightly  condemned  as  being  too  soft,  of  light 
weight,  straight-grained,  and  characterless : 
in  later  years  it  has  ceased  coming  to  this 
market,  but  one  cargo  having  arrived  at  the 
port  of  New  York  (now  the  largest  Mahogany 
market  in  the,  world)  in  six  years.  St. 
Domingo  Mahogany  likewise  exists,  we  may 
say,  in  name  only.  The  original  growth  of  the 
Island  of  St.  Domingo  has  been  long  since 
utilized,  and  the  importation  of  small  lots  at 
exceedingly  long  intervals  are  only  of  the 
small  and  stunted  second  growth,  crooked, 
stained  and  defective,  only  individual  logs  of 
good  size  and  quality  are  now  and  then  to  be 
secured.  The  markets  of  the  world  are  now 
therefore  principally  supplied  from  Mexico. 
The  Island  of  Cuba  furnishes  considerable 
quantities  of  a  smaller  size  (more  especially 
valuable  for  small  work)  which  is  hard  and  of 
good  texture ;  but  the  great  bulk  of  the 
Mahogany  used  in  later  years  is  supplied  from 
the  forests  of  Mexico.  This  great  area  of 
country  however  produces  not  only  our  largest 
and  most  beautiful  grades  of  Mahogany,  but 
also  some  of  the  softer  and  less  desirable  grades, 
somewhat  resembling  the  Baywood  or  Hon- 
duras Mahogany  of  olden  time,  though  still 
better. 

This  we  regard  as  an  important  fact  to  be 
noted  by  architects  and  others  interested  in 
the  use  of  Mahogany,  for  here  arises  the 


The   American   Architect  and  Building   News.        [VOL.  XXV. — No.  680. 


difference  in  opinion  on  our  Mexican  Mahogany 
of  the  present  day,  some  claiming  it  is  soft  and 
unlike  genuine  Mahogany,  and  others  that  it  is 
hard  and  beautiful  in  texture.  It  is  both,  as 
we  have  explained.  Let  the  architect  or 
householder  specify  Frontera  Mexican  Mahog- 
any or  similar,  and  if  the  specifications  are 
followed  the  result  will  be  all  that  can  be  de- 
sired. Frontera  is  the  shipping  point  for  the 
better  grades  of  Mexican  Mahogany. 

In  the  erection  of  buildings  of  all  classes, 
there  is  in  general  a  steady  advance  toward 
improvement.  In  recommending  the  use  of 
Mahogany  we  believe  the  simple  statement  of 
facts  is  sufficient  to  warrant  its  adoption,  and 
architect  and  client  will  derive  in  its  use  a 
satisfaction  far  outweighing  the  small  advance 
in  cost.  We  therefore  feel  that  we  are  war- 
ranted in  calling  the  attention  of  architects 
and  builders  to  this  subject,  and  asking  their 
influence  and  co-operation  to  the  end  indicated. 
We  shall  take  great  pleasure  in  giving  atten- 
tion to  any  correspondence,  and  in  giving  any 
further  information  in  our  power. 

\V.  E.  UPTEGROVE  &  BEO., 
457  EAST  TENTH  STBEET,  NEW  YORK,  N.  Y. 

NOTES. 

THE  sales  of  Babcock  &  Wilcox  boilers 
during  October  and  November,  1888,  were  as 
follows  :  Chicago  Sugar  Refining  Co.,  Chicago, 
111.,  fourth  order,  1,088  horse-power ;  Brooklyn 
Sugar  Refining  Co.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  fifth 
order,  488  horse-power ;  Westinghouse  Brake 
Co.,  Wilmerding,  Pa.,  third  order,  480  horse- 
power; Aitken,  Mitchell  &  Co.,  Gowan,  Glas- 
gow, Scotland,  110  horse-power;  Societ^  Gen- 
eVale  des  Monteurs  de  Boites  d'Or,  Besan9on, 
France,  35  horse-power ;  James  Simpson  & 
Co.,  Pimlico,  London,  sixth  order,  414  horse- 
power ;  James  Miller  &  Co.,  Melbourne,  Aus- 
tralia, 312  horse-power;  R.  &  J.  Salmond, 
Aberdeen,  Scotland,  40  horse-power ;  A.  Ver- 
astegui,  Havana,  Cuba,  300  horse-power ; 
Singer  Mfg.  Co.,  Kilbowie,  Scotland,  eighth 
order,  93  horse-power;  N.  K.  Fairbanks  & 
Co.,  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  140  horse-power ;  John 
Collins,  Denny,  Scotland,  fifth  order,  240 
horse-power ;  "Brazilian  Extract  of  Meat  & 
Hides  Factory,  Ltd.,  Parcdas,  Porte  Alegro, 
Brazil,  1 24  horse-power  ;  Schwarktzopff  Co., 
Berlin,  Germany,  82  horse-power  ;  Kansas 
City  Electric  Light  Co.,  Kansas  City,  Mo., 
second  order,  276  horse-power;  Central  Rail- 
road of  New  Jersey,  Jersey  City  Station,  3G8 
horse-power  ;  Girard  Estate,  ^Philadelphia. 
Pa.,  fifth  order,  122  horse-power;  Summerlee 
&  Mossend  Iron  &  Steel  Co.,  Mossend,  Scot- 
land, TOOJiorse-power  ;," James  Simpson  &  Co., 
Pimlieo,  London,  seventh  order,  124  horse- 
power;' Maitland,  Phelps  &  Co.,  New  York 
City,  for  Luz  Electriccita,  Oxaca,  Mexico, 
eighth  order,  61  horse-power;  Edison  Electric 
Illuminating  Co.,^Paterson,  N.  J.,  second 
order,  250  horse-power ;  Calvart  &  Co., 
Gothenberg,  Sweden,  124  horse-power;  Sharp 
&  Kent,  London,  England,  104  horse-power; 
C.  Tattersall,  Manchester,  England,  75  horse- 
power ;  Edison  Machine  Works,  Schenectady, 
N.  Y.,  fourth  order,  146  horse-power  ;  Devoux 
Freres  &  Co.,  Adrimont,  Vorviers,  Belgium, 
75  horse-power ;  R.  E.  Crompton  &  Co., 
Chelmsford,  England,  165  horse-power  • 
Anthony  Shaw,  Son  &  Pamphilon,  Burslom| 
England,  166  horse-power;  Gomex  &  Pearsall 
New  York  City,  for  export,  73  horse-power; 
Decastro  &  Conner  Sugar  Refining  Co., 


Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  eighth  order,  385  horse- 
power; Beau  &  Bortrand  Faillet,  Paris, 
France,  120  horse-power;  Alexander  B.  Bary, 
Moscow,  Russia,  nineteenth  order,  73  horse- 
power; Ing'o  Jesus  Maria,  on  Sta.  Ana, Cuba, 
150  horse-power ;  Berliner  Machinenbau 
Actien,  Gessellschalt,  Berlin,  122  horse- 
power ;  Prentice  Brothers,  Stowmarket,  Eng., 
105  horse-power ;  Agar  Cross  &  Co.,  Glasgow, 
Scotland,  51  horse-power;  American  Brake 
Co.,  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  125  horse-power;  West- 
inghouse Electric  Co.,  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  328 
horse-power ;  Anglo-American  Brush  Electric 
Light  Corporation,  Ltd.,  London,  England, 
fifth  order,  84  horse-power;  Anglo-American 
Brush  Electric  Lt.  Corporation,  Ltd.,  London, 
England,  sixth  order, 62  horse-power;  Joaquin 
Arango,  Rio  de  Janeiro,  Brazil,  35  horse- 
power ;  Jonathan  Ring  &  Son,  Philadelphia, 
Pa.,  second  order,  104  horse-power;  Charles 
McNeil,  Jr.,  Glasgow,  Scotland,  126  horse- 
power ;  M.  M.  Mosser  &  Fils,  St.  Etienne, 
Loire,  France,  45  horse-power;  Chavanne 
Brun  &  Co.,  St.  diamond,  France,  248  horse- 
power ;  Charles  Schlaeber,  Paris,  France,  20 


horse-power ;  Alexander  B.  Bary,  Moscow, 
Russia,  twentieth  order,  104  horse-power; 
William  Beardmore&  Co.,  Parkhead,  Glasgow, 
Scotland,  140  horse-power  ;  Consolidated  Elec- 
tric Light  Co.,  New  York  City,  second  order, 
250  horse-power;  making  a  total  of  9442 
horse-power. 


THE  Whittier  Machine  Company  have  re- 
cently constructed  for  the  United  States 
Treasury  Department  at  Washington,  D.  C., 
an  hydraulic  freight  elevator,  operated  by 
their  Pressure  Tank  System  ;  for  Mr.  John  H 
Clark  of  Amesbury,  Mass.,  one  hydraulic 
freight  elevator ;  for  the  Continental  Bank 
Building,  Boston,  a  steam  elevator  for  their  pas- 
senger service ;  for  Dr.  Baker's  house,  No.  22 
Mount  Vernon  Street,  Boston,  an  hydraulic 
passenger  elevator ;  and  for  the  Coy  Paper 
Company  of  West  Claremont,  N.  H.,  a  horizon- 
tal steel  boiler,  five  feet  in  diameter. 

THE  manner  in  which  Messrs.  Dexter  Bros., 
propose  to  illustrate  their  advertisement  will 
make  it  worth  while  to  look  at  it  each  week. 


Southwark  Foundry  and  Machine  Company, 

f»-FTTT  .  A.  -misr  .T=»-m-  A.          T=»  A 


BOILERS. 

TANKS. 

STEAM 

HAMMERS. 

HEAVY 
CASTINGS. 


BLOWING  AND 
REVERSING 

ENGINES. 
CENTRIFUGAL 

PUMPS. 
STEAM  PUMPS. 


SOLE  MAKERS   OF 


HIGH    ECONOMY. 


DUJtAJtILI'I'Y. 


CLOSE    KEGULATIOti. 


ESTAB1.1JHED-1872  :  REORGANIZED  i6S5'. 


.  rJUU-iSFZ:  REORGANIZED  i6S5 '  nk,f     II    I     •     I  n  •  r 

si  Photo-Wand  Printing, 

:!  IOI  \  Kb  ^°-Li%^y- 

ni3i\  rptvi  4  AI-v  Pliolo-Enrnvioff  and  Zinc  MM. 

I  PRINTING  U>  [1,oto-Cakprin%       ^ 

^l^l.TremontSUojlon^  ^^ 

rl^Sr^^»|  Cliromo-ljyiograpliy. 


Designing. 


ATLANTIC  WHITE-LEAD  &  LINSEED-OIL  CO.. 

MANUFACTURERS  OP 

The  best  and   most    reliable 
White-Lead  made, 

ind  anequaled  for 

Uniform 

Whiteness, 
Fineness, 

and  Body. 

ADDRESS, 

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887  Pearl  St.,    NEW  YORK. 


"ATLANTIC" 

PURE 

WHITE  LEAD, 

—  AND  — 

Pure  Linseed-Oil, 

Raw  Refined  and  Boiled. 


PHILADELPHIA,  56  North  7th  St. 

149  Michigan  Avo.,  CHICAGO. 


CINCINNATI,  Room  47,  Hammond  Building. 

A.  O.  6OSHORN,  Agent. 


A.    U.    CrClaHLOJ 

HEROY    &    IY1ARRENNER, 

124  &  126  South  Fifth  Ave.  NEW  YORK,  102  &  104  Thompson  St. 

Class  Merchants  and  Importers. 

-  MANUFACTURERS    OF  - 

PLAIN   AND   BEVELED    FRENCH    LOOKING-GLASS    PLATES. 

POLISHED  AND  CRYSTAL  PLATE,       —IMPORTERS  OF—   CHANCE'S  MUFFLED  (a  New  Art)  GLASS. 

FRENCH  WINDOW  AND  PICTURE  GLASS, 

CHANCE'S  CROWN  BULLIONS,        -ALSO-  CHANCE'S  CATHEDRAL  GLASS 

CHANCE'S  26  OZ.  ENGLISH  CRYSTAL  SHEET  GLASS. 


K>MQ  °*'  r°li8fled  Plate>  bei»6  superior  to  any  other  Foreign  Sheet  Glass  OB 

FLATNESS    and  brilliancy  of  surface,  avoiding  the  distorting  effect  of  ordinary  Window  Glass. 

Estimates    furnished    on    Application. 


THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT  AND  BUILDING  NEWS. 


VOL,  XXV. 


Copyright,  1889,  by  TICKNOB  &  COMPANY,  Boston,  Mass. 


No.    684, 


FEBRUARY  2, 1889. 

Entered  at  the  Post-Office  at  Boston  aa  second-class  matter. 


SUMMARY- — 

Our  New  Department.  —  Reporting  on  the  Present  Condition 
of  the  Albany  Capitol.  —  The  Cost  of  that  Building.  —  A 
Decision  against  a  boycotting  Trade  Union.  — Terrestrial  Set- 
tlement caused  by  Salt  and  Oil  Wells.  —  Gas  Kates  in  ling- 
land. —  The  Award  of  the  Bressa  Prize. — The  Spanish 
Exhibition  at  London.  —  The  Liernur  Pneumatic  System  of 
Sewerage. 49 

BDTLDKRS'  HARDWARE. — XVII 51 

ILLUSTRATIONS : — 

The  Algonquin  Club-house,  Commonwealth  Ave.,  Boston, 
Mass. — Two  Street  Views  in  Quebec,  Canada. — Sugges- 
tions as  to  the  Construction  of  Slow-burning  Houses, 
Churches  and  Hospitals.  —  House  at  Rochester,  N.  Y.  .  .  54 

SLOW-BURNING  CONSTRUCTION 54 

A   GLIMPSE  OF  QUEBEC GO 

BUILDING  LAW 58 

COMMUNICATIONS:  — 

Combustible  Architecture  Again.  —  Superintending  Work  at  a 
Distance.  —  Piping  a  House  for  Gas.  —  The  Church  of 
Gaudalupe,  Mexico 59 

NOTKS    AND    Cl.ll'l'lKUS GO 

TRADE  SURVEYS CO 


WITH  tliis  number  the  American  Architect  opens  a  new 
department,  wliicli  it  is   hoped  will  prove  very  useful  to 
its  readers.     For  a  long  time    the  editors  have  hud  in 
mind  the    desirability  of    maintaining  a  department  like  that 
which    forms  an    important  portion  of    the    French    technical 
journals,  in  wliicli  questions   involving  legal   points  should  be 
answered,  and,  if  of  general  interest,  discussed  at  some  length 
by  a  thoroughly  competent  lawyer.     Their  correspondence  with 
their  subscribers,  both  privately  and  through  the  columns  of 
their  journal,  has  shown   them  not  only  how  valuable  to  archi- 
tects and  builders  timely  advice  of  this  sort  may  often  be,  hut 
how  much  more  valuable  it  is  if  it  is  always  ready,  and  is  to  be 
implicitly  relied  upon.     The    persons    who    can    furnish  such 
advice  are  by  no  means  numerous,  even  in  the  legal  profession, 
and  the  editors  consider  themselves  fortunate  in  having  secured 
the  services  of  a  lawyer  not  only  very  thoroughly  trained,  but 
experienced  to  an  unusual  degree  in  building  cases,  and  familiar- 
ized with  the   technicalities  of  construction   by  many  building 
operations  carried  on  under  his  care,  either  on  his  own  account 
or  as  trustee  for  others.     His  own  introductory  remarks,  to  be 
found  in  another  column,  will  best  indicate  the  character  of  the 
work  which  he  is  to  do  in  the  interest  of  the  subscribers  to  the 
American  Architect,  and  the  editors  need   only   add  that  they 
have  reason  to  believe  that  the  work   will  be  well  done,  and 
that    those    who  consult   the    department  will    receive    advice 
which  may  be  depended  upon  as  having  been  carefully  weighed, 
and  based  upon  accurate  knowledge  of  the  subject. 


TT  RESOLUTION  has  been  introduced  in  the  New  York 
f\  Legislature,  directing  the  Supervising  Commissioners  of 
the  Capitol  "to  make  a  thorough  examination  of  the 
present  condition  of  the  Capitol  building;  to  ascertain  the  kind 
and  quality  of  materials  and  labor  that,  will  be  required  to  com- 
plete the  same,  internally  and  externally,  according  to  the 
plans  and  specifications  therefor  already  adopted  and  now  in 
force;  and  to  make  as  full,  accurate  and  detailed  an  estimate 
of  the  cost  of  such  material  and  labor  as  they  may  be  able  to 
prepare."  They  are  also  empowered  "  to  suggest  modifications 
or  changes  in  the  .plans  for  the  building,  or  for  any  part  there- 
of, making  a  detailed  statement,"  with  estimates  of  cost,  in 
regard  to  any  such  modification,  and  are  directed  to  "express 
their  opinion  as  to  the  length  of  time  that  will  probably  be  re- 
quired to  complete  the  building  according  to  the  plans  which 
they  may  recommend,"  and  to  report  in  full  on  all  those  points 
"on  or  before  the  fifth  day  of  February  next."  On  the 
twenty-third  of  January  the  resolution  was  still  pending  in  the 
Senate,  and,  if  it  passes  there,  it  must  go  to  the  Assembly  for 
concurrence,  so  that,  supposing  other  business  to  be  suspended, 
and  the  resolution  pushed  through  with  all  possible  expedition, 


the  Commissioners  will  have,  at  the  utmost,  twelve  days  in 
which  to  "  make  a  thorough  examination  of  the  building,"  con- 
coct "modifications  or  changes  in  the  plans,"  and  prepare 
detailed  estimates,  not  only  of  the  cost  of  these  changes,  but  of 
all  the  work  remaining  to  be  done  under  the  existing  plans  and' 
specifications.  It  ought  to  be  unnecessary  to  say  that  any 
plans  or  estimates  prepared  under  such  conditions  would  be 
perfectly  useless  and  ridiculous,  but  as  the  New  York  Legisla- 
ture has  now  spent  eighteen  millions  of  dollars,  in  tinkering  its 
building,  year  after  year,  on  just  this  system,  it  would  seem 
that  there  are  some  people  who  still  need  to  have  the  lesson 
impressed  on  their  minds  that  to  employ  four  independent 
architects  on  the  most  important  structure  in  the  State,  to 
accept,  without  expert  advice,  designs  from  each,  which,  after 
they  have  been  half  carried  out,  the  others  are  employed  to 
demolish  and  replace  by  something  else ;  to  leave  all  the  archi- 
tects in  the  dark  as  to  what  each  is  expected  to  do,  and,  after 
each  has  done  a  great  deal  of  work  which  turns  out  to  be  in 
his  colleagues'  province,  to  appoint  some  one  else  to  execute  a 
miscellaneous  mangling  of  the  entire  assortment  of  designs; 
and  finally,  to  disgust  all  the  architects  by  shabby  treatment, 
and,  finding  their  zeal  chilled,  to  seek  a  substitute  for  it  in 
a  succession  of  commissions  of  all  sorts,  is  not  the  way  to  secure 
either  rapidity  or 'economy  in  building,  whatever  other  objects 
may  be  attained.  

IT  would  hardly  be  credible  that  the  Albany  Capitol,  even  in 
its  present  unfinished  condition,  is    by  far  the  most  costly 
building  of  modern  times,  if  we  had  not  the  official  statement 
of   the   expenses.      The    Capitol  at  Washington,  from  1793, 
when  its  corner-stone  was  laid,  up  to  1878,  had  cost,  including 
all  expenses  of  repairs,  supervision,  furnishing,  alterations   and 
minor  items,  less  than  thirteen  millions,  and  in  eighty-five  years 
of  constant  use  all  the  furniture,  and  much  of  the  structural  part, 
must  have  been  several  times  replaced.     The  Patent  Office  has 
now  cost  nearly  as  much,  but  this,  we  suppose,  includes  re- 
building after  the  disastrous  fire  ;  and  the  Treasury,  a  more 
expensive  design  than   the  Capitol,   has   cost   seven    millions. 
On  the  other  side  of  the  ocean,  the  architectural  wonder  of  the 
century  is  the  Palace  of  Justice  at  Brussels,  the  largest  known 
building  in  the  world,  which  covers  two  hundred  and  seventy 
thousand  square  feet,  or  nearly  twice  the  area  of  the  Capitol  at 
Washington,  with  a  mass  of  sculptured  and  polished  marble, 
surmounted  by  a   marble  tower  four  hundred  feet  high.     The 
palace  stands  on  the  edge  of  a  precipice,  so  that  the  foundations 
were  enormously  expensive,  yet  the  whole  was  finished  com- 
plete for  ten  million  dollars.     Undoubtedly,  building  is  some- 
what cheaper  in  Belgium  than  in  Albany,  but  the  real  reason 
why  the  people  of  Brussels  got  at  least  four  times  as  much  as 
those  of   Albany  for  about  half   the  money  is  that  they  had 
sense  enough  to  select  a  design  carefully,  to  employ  its   author 
honorably,  to  pay  him  properly  for  his  services,  and  to  let  him 
carry  out  his  plan  without  blundering  interference,  and  without 
upsetting  his  calculations,  and  those  of  the  contractors,  every 
few  months  by  neglecting  to  make  appropriations,  or  by  letting 
loose  upon  the  work  a  new  set  of  commissioners  with  power  to 
change  everything  at  their  own  sweet  will.      Whenever  the 
New  York  Capitol  is  finished,  it  will  bo  inaugurated,  not  with 
the  rejoicings  of  King  and  people,  but  with  the  execrations  of 
nearly  every  one  who  has  ever  had  anything  to  do  with  it,  in- 
cluding  the  tax-payers.      The   various   architects,  who  have 
worked   harder,  and  brought  more   knowledge  to  their  task, 
than  any  one  else,  have  suffered  most.     The  late  Mr.  Richard- 
son, to  whom,  we  may  well  say,  the  Capitol  owes  most  of  its 
fame,  did  some  of  his  best  work  for  it  after  his  tiny  salary  had 
been  cut  down,  by  a  vote  of  the  Legislature,  to  a  sum  which 
would  not  much  more  than  pay  for  the  paper  and  ink  used  for 
the  drawings.     lie  nearly  decided,  as  he  told  us  at  the  time,  to 
resign,  but  other  work  came  in,  from  the  proceeds  of  which  he 
could  pay  out  of  his  own   pocket  the  draughtsmen  who  were 
helping  him  to  endow  the  State  of  New  York  with  a  structure 
to  which  Mr.  Freeman  accords  the  highest  praise  that  he  be- 
stows on  any  modern  building.     We  can  wish  for  the  public 
and  the  profession,  and  for  architecture  in  this  country,  nothing 
better  than  that  such  transactions  may  for  the  future  be  im- 
possible in  connection  with  public  buildings.     There  is  good 
reason  to  hope  that  our  architects  have  nearly  done  with  sub- 
mitting their  work,  and  their  fortunes,  to  the  whims  of  persons 


50 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.        [You  XXV.  —  No.  684. 


who  know,  and  care,  nothing  about  their  art,  and  when  they 
have  fully  made  up  their  minds  in  this  respect,  they  will  be  in 
a  position  to  demand  such  treatment  as  their  brethren  abroad 
receive  in  return  for  services  no  more  valuable  than  their  own. 


DECISION  has  just  been  rendered  in  Ohio  which  will, 
we  hope,  serve  to  encourage  in  the  managers  of  trades' 
unions  a  little  more  decency  than  they  have  hitherto 
shown  in  regard  to  the  means  which  they  employ  for  coercing 
people  against  whom  they  have  a  grudge.  A  firm  of  con- 
tractors in  Cincinnati  happened  in  some  way  to  offend  the 
Bricklayers'  Union.  This  is  by  no  means  a  difficult  thing  to 
do  with  most  trades'  associations,  as  the  income  and  influence 
of  the  leaders  is  dependent  on  tlie  frequency  and  ferocity  of 
the  quarrels  between  masters  and  men  which  they  foment,  and, 
as  usual,  a  trifling  workshop  misunderstanding  was  nursed  into 
a  struggle  which  was  carried  on  for  ten  months,  with  the  help  of 
all  the  cowardly  weapons  that  the  modern  -'Knights  "delight  in. 
The  first  step  was  to  induce  non-union  men  to  leave  the  firm's 
employment,  and  to  threaten  those  with  vengeance  who  should 
take  their  places.  This  was  followed  by  appeals  to  persons 
who  had  contracts  with  the  firm  to  break  them,  and  to  dealers 
to  refuse  to  sell  materials  to  them.  Notwithstanding  all  these 
malicious  proceedings,  the  firm  prospered,  and  the  Union 
managers  then  had  the  usual  circular  printed  and  distributed 
broadcast,  informing  the  public  that  the  firm  employed  unskilled 
men,  and  did  inferior  work  as  contractors.  At  this  point  the 
firm  thought  the  matter  had  gone  far  enough,  and  appealed  to 
the  law.  By  the  time  it  had  heard  the  testimony,  the  jury  was 
unanimous  in  favor  of  a  verdict  for  the  plaintiffs  ;  the  only 
question  that  it  considered  was  the  amount  of  damages  that 
should  be  awarded.  Naturally,  the  actual  loss. that  a  person 
or  a  firm  suffers  from  such  foul  attacks  is,  in  most  cases,  in- 
capable of  exact  estimate.  The  law  does  not  allow  the  jury  to 
take  a  handsome  sum  from  the  offender  and  confer  it  upon  the 
victim,  as  a  consolation  for  the  injury  done  to  his  feelings;  it 
can  only  award  such  a  sum  as  will  reimburse  him  for  his  actual 
loss  of  business  or  reputation  ;  and  it  is  not  surprising  that 
one  juryman  thought  that  seven  hundred  dollars  would  pay  for 
all  the  actual  harm  that  the  Union  was  able  to  inflict,  while 
another  thought  that  fifteen  thousand  dollars  was  not  too  much 
to  award.  Finally,  these  diverse  views  were  harmonized,  and 
a  verdict  was  brought  in  for  thirty-seven  hundred  dollars, 
twenty-seven  hundred  of  which  the  jury  thought  was  a  fail- 
estimate  of  the  pecuniary  loss  caused  by  the  publication  of  the 
circular,  while  it  considered  that  one  thousand  dollars  would 
pay  for  the  damage  due  to  the  previous  proceedings.  The 
next  thing  will  be  to  collect  the  money.  Like  private  persons, 
unions  which  have  no  property  can  damage  other  people's  busi- 
ness as  much  as  they  like,  secure  in  the  knowledge  that  no  one 
can  make  them  suffer  from  their  actions,  and  we  fear  that  after 
execution  had  been  issued  the  financial  condition  of  a  good 
many  unions  would  be  found  less  flourishing  than  their  treas- 
urers' reports  indicated.  Perhaps  a  good  way  would  be  to 
enact  a  statute,  under  which,  in  the  case  of  such  wanton 
mischief  as  this,  the  officers  of  the  Union,  in  default  of  money 
to  make  good  the  damage  they  had  caused,  might  be  sold  as 
slaves  for  a  limited  period,  and  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  applied 
to  satisfy  the  judgment.  This  method  of  disposing  of  the  cases 
would  have  two  advantages.  Not  only  would  justice  be  se- 
cured in  favor  of  the  person  aggrieved,  but  the  union  officers 
would  have  an  opportunity  for  practising  useful  industry,  such 
as  they  seem  to  find  it  difficult  to  meet  with  under  ordinary  cir- 
cumstances. 

IIE  people  who  live  near  oil-wells  and  salt-works  ought  to 
take  warning  from  the  fate  of  some  villages  in  England, 
in  the  county  of  Cheshire.  According  to  the  Builder,  the 
property-owners  in  the  town  of  Nortliwich  have  petitioned  the 
Government  to  send  a  Itoyal  Commission  to  see  the  damage 
which  has  resulted  from  the  working  of  the  salt-mines  in  the 
vicinity.  The  surrounding  district,  like  that  about  Syracuse, 
in  New  York  State,  is  filled  with  wells,  from  which  are  pumped 
enormous  quantities  of  brine,  containing  about  twenty-five  pet- 
cent  of  salt,  which  is  recovered  by  evaporation.  About  one 
million  tons  of  salt  are  thus  manufactured  iu  Cheshire  every 
year,  and  sent  away  to  all  parts  of  the  world.  The  removal  of 
all  this  matter  from  the  subsoil  causes  settlements,  which  have 
been  more  serious  and  extensive  this  year  than  ever  before. 
In  the  region  about  the  village  of  Wiusford  more  than  one 
hundred  acres  of  land  have  sunk,  and  are  now  covered  with 
water  to  a  depth  of  twenty  feet.  The  Wiusford  market  has 


sunk  thirty  feet,  and  one  of  the  houses  in  the  village  has  gone 
down  so  far  that  only  the  top  of  the  roof  is  now  visible 
above  ground.  Throughout  the  entire  region,  streets,  houses, 
bridges,  gas  and  water  pipes  are  moving  so  rapidly  that  con- 
tinual rebuilding  and  repairing  is  necessary.  The  memorial 
represents  that  the  owners  of  the  salt-wells  pump  out  and  sell 
the  salt  on  which  the  houses  of  the  citizens  rest,  and  keep  the 
money;  while  the  citizens  themselves  not  only  have  to  spend 
large  sums  in  rebuilding  their  own  dwellings,  but  are  taxed  to 
repair  the  highways  and  other  public  property  ;  ami  it  prays 
that  an  impost  may  be  laid  on  the  salt  trade  sufficient  to  pay 
the  damage  caused  by  its  prosecution. 

TITHE  British  Architect  gives  some  figures  from  the  reports  of 
Ji.  the  public  gas  companies  in  England  which  are  interesting. 
In  many  cases  there  the  towns  own  the  gas-works,  charge 
fair  rates,  and  appropriate  the  profits  to  public  improvements; 
but  there  is  certainly  a  surprising  difference,  either  in  the  cir- 
cumstances under  which  the  gas  is  distributed,  or  the  economy 
with  which  the  manufacture  is  carried  on,  which  shows  itself  in 
a  great  variation  in  the  profits  derived  from  the  business.  The 
lowest  price  charged  for  gas  in  1887  was  in  Plymouth,  a  small 
city  in  Devonshire,  where  it  was  sold  for  forty-two  cents  per 
thousand  feet,  and  at  this  price  the  year's  business  earned  a 
dividend  of  thirteen  and  one-quarter  per  cent  on  the  capital  in- 
vested. The  highest  price  charged  was  a  dollar  and  eighty 
cents  a  thousand  cubic  feet.  This  was  at  Walton-on-the-Naze, 
and  even  at  this  rate  no  dividend  was  earned. 


HFIIE  Royal  Academy  of  Science  of  Turin  announces  that  the 
_1  prize  founded  by  the  will  of  Dr.  Cesare  Alessandro  Bressa, 
amounting  to  twenty-four  hundred  dollars,  and  open  to 
authors  and  inventors  of  all  nations,  will  be  awarded  at  the  end 
of  December,  18'JO,  to  that  competitor  who  shall  have  made 
the  most  important  and  useful  discovery,  or  published  the  most 
valuable  work  in  physical  or  experimental  science,  natural 
history,  mathematics,  chemistry,  physiology,  or  pathology,  or 
in  geology,  history,  geography,  or  statistics.  The  prize  will 
be  awarded  by  the  Academy  of  Turin,  and  all  its  members, 
resident  or  non-resident,  are  excluded  from  the  competition. 

VISITORS  to  Europe  this  summer  can  entertain  themselves 
in  London  by  visiting  the  Spanish  Exhibition,  which  is  to 
open  there  in  April.  The  President  of  the  Exhibition  Com- 
pany is  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  who  ranks  as  a  Spanish  noble, 
and  the  affair  promises  to  be  interesting.  Among  other  things,  a 
herd  of  Andalusian  bulls  is  to  be  imported,  together  with  a 
large  number  of  matadors  and  other  persons,  and  bull-fights 
will  be  shown  daily.  It  is  said  that  these  will  be  free  from  the 
cruelty  usually  accompanying  them,  so  we  suppose  the  bulls 
will  have  their  horns  cut  off.  A  special  point  will  be  made  of 
the  costumes  of  the  various  provinces,  and  natives  of  Cordova, 
Salamanca,  Granada  and  the  Basque  provinces  will  be  seen  in 
their  native  villages,  engaged  in  the  sports  or  occupations 
peculiar  to  them.  In  manufactures  Spain  is  not  particularly 
rich,  but  Cordova  leather,  Toledo  steel  and  damascened  work, 
laces  and  cigars,  will  be  exhibited. 


TTR.  SANDERS,  of  St.  Petersburg,  has  revived,  in  a 
I XI.  modified  form,  the  old  Liernur  pneumatic  system  of 
sewerage,  with  improvements  that  seem  to  make  it 
practically  available  in  many  cases  where  the  other  is  not. 
Under  the  Liernur  system  the  entrance  of  water  into  the 
sewers  is  avoided  as  much  as  possible,  and  even  Dutch 
cleanliness  does  net  suffice  to  keep  the  house-drains  of  Amster- 
dam, exhausted  periodically  by  suction,  but  not  flushed,  sweet 
enough  for  American  taste  ;  but  the  Sanders  system  encourages 
the  use  of  water,  disposing  of  the  matters  with  which  it  deals 
by  means  of  ejectors,  which  will  transfer  solid  substances  to  the 
outfall,  but  work  more  freely  with  liquids.  It  is  probable  that 
when  a  severe  epidemic  of  diphtheria  shall  arouse  the  public 
again  to  the  importance  of  sewerage  in  our  inland  towns,  dis- 
posal by  irrigation  will  be  generally  preferred.  In  this  case 
there  will  be  many  improvements  needed  in  the  methods  of 
conveying  the  sewage  to  the  irrigated  fields.  The  pumps, 
settling  tanks  and  stand-pipes  which  have  hitherto  been  em- 
ployed are  cumbrous  and  expensive,  and  a  good  system  of 
ejectors,  buried  far  enough  underground  to  be  out  of  reach  of 
frost,  and  operated  from  a  central  station,  might  be  less 
troublesome,  as  well  as  more  efficient,  than  tanks  and  stand- 
pipes. 


FEBRUARY  2,  1889.] The   American   Architect   and  Building  JFews. 


Fig.  2770.       Egyptian  Wooden    Lock. 


BUILDERS'  HARDWARE.1  — XVII. 

LOCKS. 

f  NY  one  who  should 
visit  the  mediaeval 
museums    of    Eu 
rope,  and  should  chance 
to  see  among  the  curi 
osities    of    iron  -  work 
some  of  the  elaborately 
wrought  and  apparent- 
ly intricate  locks  of  the 
fourteenth,  fifteenth 
and  sixteenth  centuries, 
would  hardly  think  ol 
comparing     those    un- 
weildly    and     cumber- 
some  devices    with    the    locks    that   are   turned    out    in    such 
quantities  by  our  best  modern  manufactories.     And  yet,  if  the 
older  contrivances  are  examined  attentively  it  will  be  seen  that 
the  difference  between  the  old  and  the  new  is  one  of  finish 
and  delicacy,  rather  than  of  idea  or  mechanism;  and  that,  with 
the  exception  of  a  few  noteworthy  inventions  for  obtaining  a 
greater  security  against  picking  by  an  ordinary  thief,  the  locks 
of  to-day  are  exactly  the  same,  in  principle  and  arrangement, 
as  those  which  were  made  centuries  ago.     Indeed,  it  is  rather 
strange  that  with  all   the  inventions  which   have  been    made 
during  the  nineteenth  century  and  especially  within  the  present 
generation,  and    notwithstanding   the  inventive    genius  which 
American  industry  has  brought  to  bear  upon  the  subject,  the 
Yale  system  should  be,  after  all,  very  nearly  the  only  invention 
of  practical  utility  which  is  a  direct  departure  from  the  older 
methods  of  lock  making.     Probably  a  large  proportion  of  the 
readers  of  this  paper  can  distinctly  remember  the  time  when 
pin  locks  were  almost  unheard  of.     It  might  be  said  in  expla- 
nation of  the  seeming  fruitlessness  of  mechanical  research  upon 
this  subject,  that  there  was  really  very  little  that  could  be  dis- 
covered or  improved  upon,  as  the  real  principle  of  a  lock  is  too 
simple  and  too  definite  in  its  nature,  not  to  have  been  thorough- 
ly appreciated  and  exhausted  long  ago  ;    but  the   same  could 
have  been  said  before  Linus  Yale  brought  his  Yankee  wit  to 
work  upon  the  subject,  and  it  would  be  impossible  at  present 
to  foretell  what  discoveries  may  be  made  or  what  radical  changes 
brought  about  iii  the  appliances  for  locking  our  doors.     Possibly 
our  descendants  may  some  day  wonder  at  the  locks  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,  even  as  we  wonder  at  the  cumbersome  pieces 
of  mechanism  and  the  ponderous  keys  "of  our  great  grandfathers. 
At  any  rate,  it  will  not  do  to  claim  that  our  locks  are  perfect, 
or  that  the  record  of  progress  is  entirely  closed.     A  very  few 
years  ago  the  Yale  lock  was  pronounced  to  be  complete ;  but 
some  very  radical  improvements  have  been  made  in  it  since 
then,  and  the  opponents  of  the  system  claim  it  has  yet  many 
defects  both  in  construction  and  idea.      So  it  would  not  be 
strange  if  our  best  locks  should  one  day  become  obsolete. 

But  if  the  progress  which  has  been  made  in  the  essential, 
mechanical  principles  of  lock  manufacture  is  small,  the  im- 
provements in  finish  and  the  reduction  in  the  cost  of  the  locks 
have  been  marvelous.  Less  than  a  century  ago,  locks  were 
made  entirely  by  hand,  and  very  crude  affairs  they  were,  too, 
costing  a  great  many  times  the  price  of  a  better  article 
of  to-day.  At  present,  good,  well-made,  well-planned  locks 
can  be  had  at  prices  varying  from  twenty-five  cents  to  five  dol- 
lars, suited  to  all  needs  and  all  conditions  ;  while  the  amount 
of  real  security  afforded  is  of  a  much  more  tangible  nature. 
And  with  the  improvements  in  niceness  and  delicacy  of  arrange- 
ment, it  has  been  possible  to  affect  a  change  in  the  style  and 
weight  of  the  keys  which  the  present  generation  can  only 
faintly  appreciate.  The  old-fashioned  keys  were  heavy,  cum- 
bersome, and  so  large  that  no  one  ever  thought  of  carrying 
them  about  the  person.  Now  they  are  made  so  small  that  the 
keys  for  an  entire  house  can  be  carried  in  one's  vest  pocket. 
Formerly  the  strength  of  a  lock  was  judged  by  its  weight,  and 
it  was  considered  essential  to  have  heavy  bolts  or  levers,  and 
strong  springs,  requiring  considerable  force  to  operate  ;  while 
now,  all  the  parts  are  so  well  adjusted  and  so  light,  that  a 
touch  is  sufficient  to  put  the  mechanism  in  operation. 

The  fundamental  principles  forming  the  basis  of  all  locking 
constructions,  include  a  bolt  which  is  moved  by  the  direct 
action  of  the  key,  while  secondary  bolts  or  levers  drop  into 

1  Continued  from  page  8,  No.  680. 


such  positions  that  the  lock  bolt  cannot  be  forced  back  except 
by  breaking  some  portion  of  the  mechanism.  The  secondary 
bolt  is  usually  termed  a  lever,  and  either  acts  by  gravity  or  by 
the  aid  of  a  spring  —  usually  by  both.  The  key  is  so  made 
as  to  first  raise  the  levers,  and  then  to  shoot  the  bolt  by  a 
single  turn  of  the  hand.  These  principles  have  governed  the 
manufacture  of  locks  since  the  days  of  Adam,  and  apply 
equally  to  the  ponderous  locks  of  the  Middle  Ages  and  to  the 
corrugated-key  locks  of  the  Yale  &  Towne  Manufacturing 
Company.  Complications  have  been  added  to  the  construction 
of  locks  in  the  shape  of  multiple  levers,  requiring  nicely  fitted 
keys,  or  fancy  wards  which  would  allow  none  but  the  right  key 
to  enter ;  and  there  have  been  special  forms  devised  for  bank 
uses,  working  by  combinations  of  letters,  by  dials,  or  by  clock- 
work ;  but  in  the  locks  used  about  an  ordinary  house,  the  prin- 
ciple is  always  the  same  —  that  of  a  key  simultaneously  lifting 
one  or  more  levers  and  moving  a  bolt. 

In  order  to  clearly  illustrate  the  antiquity  of  the  principles 
upon  which  modern  locks  are  constructed,  it  may  be  of  interest 
in  this  connection  to  refer  to  a  few  of  the  older  forms.  A  rude 
style  of  lock  which  has  been  used  in  Eastern  countries  for 
ages,  no  one  can  say  how- long,  but  certainly  for  over  two 
thousand  years,  is  approximately  shown  by  Figure  277a.  All 
the  parts  are  of  wood,  including  the  key.  The  bolt  is  chan- 
nelled on  the  inner  edge,  and  slides  through  heavy  wooden 
staples  in  which  are  arranged  a  number  of  pegs,  of  varying 
lengths,  fitting  into  corresponding  holes  bored  through  the  top 
of  the  bolt.  The  key  consists  of  a  flat  piece  of  wood  somewhat 
smaller  than  the  channel  which  is  cut  in  the  bolt,  and  in  use, 
is  inserted  lengthwise  of  the  bolt.  On  the  end  of  the  key  are 
pins  spaced  to  correspond  with  the  pegs  in  the  staple,  "it  is 
evident  that  while  the  pegs  are  caught  in  the  bolt  itself  and  in 
the  staple,  the  bolt  cannot  be  moved ;  but  when  the  key  is  in- 
serted, the  pins  will  be  directly  beneath  the  holes  in  the  upper 
part  of  the  bolt,  and  by  raising  the  key,  the  pins  will  lift  the 
pegs  just  enough  to  clear  the  joint  between  the  bolt  and 
the  staple,  and  the  bolt  can  then  be  moved  at  will.  In  this 
lock,  the  action  of  the  key  is  almost  exactly  the  same  as  in  the 
Yale  lock ;  namely,  to  lift  a  series  of  pins  of  unequal  lengths 
so  as  to  bring  the  bottom  of  each  on  the  same  line,  though  the 
Yale  key  has  other  functions,  as  will  be  noted  later. 

Figure  278  shows  a  key  which  was  dug  up  in  Pompeii, 
was  evidently  intended  to  operate  a  warded  lock,  a 
style  which  was  in  almost  universal  use  up  to  thirty 
years  ago.  Figure  271)  illustrates  a  fine  old  Eliza- 
bethan lock.  This  could  be  described  as  a  fully- 
developed  lever-lock,  the  springs  on  the  levers  be- 
ng  arranged  in  exactly  the  same  manner  as  the  v^^ 
ocks  which  are  sold  over  the  counter  to-day.  Strip-  ng.  278.  Key 
led  of  all  the  fancy  cutting  and  misleading  wards  from  p°mPeii- 
which  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  efficiency  of  the  lock,  it  will 
)e  seen  that  this  is  really  a  very  simple  contrivance,  though 
quite  complicated  in  appearance. 


Fig.  279.       Elizabethan   Lock. 


The  number  of  antiquated  examples  might  be  multiplied  in- 
lefinitely,  but  the  foregoing  will  suffice  for  the  purpose,  as 
hey   may  be   taken   as   types   of   the   three   most  markedly 
[ifferent  arrangements  for  adding  to  the  security  of  a  lock, 
namely  with  wards,  with  pins  or  with  spring-levers. 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.         [VOL.  XXV.  — No.  684. 


Fig.  280. 


The  various  parts  of  a  lock  will  need  some  definition  and 
explanation,  in  order  to  prevent  any  ambiguity  in  the  terms. 
Figure  280  shows  the  general  shape  of  the  ordinary  key,  in 
which  A  is  called  the  bow;  B,  the  shank,  and  C,  the  bit. 
The  difference  between  the  keys  of  to-day  and  those  of  two  or 
three  generations  ago  has  been  already  alluded 
to.  Many  of  the  hand-made  locks  are  still  pro- 
vided with  the  old-fashioned,  heavy  brass  keys,  but 
the  "Yale"  locks  have  prejudiced  people  against 
anything  but  a  flat  key,  and  nearly  all  manufac- 
turers use  them  in  one  form  or  another.  A  few 
lock-makers  have  keys  which  are  arranged  to  fold 
up  like  a  knife,  to  be  used  in  connection  with  rim- 
locks,  or  with  locks  requiring  a  visry  long  key,  but 
generally  the  key  is  of  steel,  nickel-plated,  with  a 
fiat  shank  and  a  thin  bit.  When  the  cuts  on  the 
bit  are  on  the  side  or  edge,  as  shown  by  the  cut, 
it  indicates  a  tumbler  or  lever-lock,  while  cuts  on 
the  top  or  bottom  show  that  the  lock  is  fitted  with 
wards.  Many  of  the  old  keys  preserved  in  mu- 
seums are  made  with  very  elaborate  bits,  cut  in 
curious  and  intricate  patterns.  In  some  instances  the  cuts  cor- 
respond to  equally  intricate  wardings  in  the  lock,  but  generally 
they  are  purely  fanciful.  When  the  shank  of  the  key  is  tubu- 
lar, it  indicates  a  lock  which  can  be  operated  from  one  side  only, 
such  as  those  used  for  drawers,  etc.  All  keys  for  door-locks 
now  have  solid  shanks. 

The  bolt  which    secures  the  lock,  is  generally  made  quite 
heavy  where  it  projects  beyond  the  face-plate,  but  is  thinned 
down  inside  the  lock  so  as  to  be  as  light  as  possible,  and  to 
give  space  for  the  levers. 
The   talon,    A,    Figure 
281,  is  the  notch  in  the 
under   side  of    the    bolt 
in  which  the  key  works. 
The  post,  B,  is  the  part 
which  catches  in  the  lev- 
ers, preventing  the  bolt  Fi^  2si.    Bolt. 
from    being     forced. 

Guide-posts  on  the  case  of  the  lock  fit  in  the  slots,  C,  one  of 
the  same  posts  often  serving  as  a  pivot  for  the  levers. 

The  most  primitive  form  of  lock  would  be  one  consisting 
simply  of  a  bolt,  which  is  shot  back  and  forth  by  the  key. 
But  as  any  other  key  or  even  a  wire  would  answer  equally  well, 
some  obstacle  must  be  interposed  to  prevent  picking.  This  is 
done  by  combining  with  the  bolt  a  series  of  levers  or  tumblers 
which  permit  only  the  proper  key  to  be  used.  The  two  terms 
are  used  at  present  synonymously.  Figure  282  illustrates  a 
typical  lever.  There  are  from  one  to  five  lerers  in  an  ordinary 
lock,  and  they  are  usually  placed  one  over  the  other,  pivoted 

over  the  guiding-post,  and  the 
bolt-post  is  so  arranged  as  to 
fit  through  one  of  the  cuts,  A, 
when  the  bolt  is  thrown  back, 
and  through  B  when  thrown 
out.  The  connecting  gatings, 
C,  are  cut  at  different  heights, 
so  that  the  levers  must  be 
lifted  unequally  in  order  to 
permit  the  bolt  to  move. 
When  the  key  is  turned  in 
the  lock,  the  bits,  which  are 
cut  to  match  the  levers,  bear 
against  the  bellies,  D,  lifting  the  levers  simultaneously  until 
the  gatings  are  exactly  on  a  line  with  each  other.  The  key 
then  catches  in  the  talon  of  the  bolt,  the  bolt-post  passes 
through  the  gatings,  and  the  levers  drop  as  the  key  turns, 
catching  behind  the  bolt^post  and  effectually  preventing  the 
bolt  from  being  forced  back.  This  is,  generally  speaking,  the 
function  of  all  lock-levers,  though  there  are  many  variations 
from  the  form  illustrated. 

The  levers,  of  course,  slide  one  over  the  other,  and  in 
common  locks  they  are  laid  closely  together.  In  the  best  of 
hand-made  work,  however,  and  in  a  few  of  the  machine-made 
locks,  the  levers  are  separated,  either  by  side-wards  cast  onto 
the  thickness  of  the  lever,  or  by  intermediate  strips  of  brass 
which  bear  on  each  other  and  on  the  levers  only  at  certain 
points,  thus  reducing  greatly  the  friction  between  the  parts. 

A  somewhat  different  form  has  been  much  used  in  English 
locks,  which  is  shown  by  Figure  283.  In  this  case  the  levers 


Fig.  282.       Lever. 


are  beneath  the  bolt.  On  each  is  a  post  which  works  in  slots 
and  through  gatings  cut  through  the  bolt.  Price,  in  his 
"  Treatise  on  Locks,"1  which  is  a  very  valuable  and  interesting 
work  on  the  subject,  as  it  was  understood  up  to  I860,  makes 


Fig.  283.       English  Lever. 

the  distinction  between  levers  and  tumblers,  applying  the 
latter  term  to  the  device  shown  by  Figure  283,  and  the  former 
to  that  illustrated  by  Figure  282.  His  distinction  seems  to  be 
a  fair  one,  though  seldom  made  in  this  country,  where  what  he 
calls  tumblers  are  little  used. 

A  little  reflection  will  cause  one  to  comprehend  the  number 
of  changes  possible  in  a  lever-lock.  The  levers  may  be 
transposed,  and  within  certain  limits  the  heights  of  the  gatings 
may  be  varied,  so  that  with  six  levers  there  can  be  as  many  as 
7,770,000  changes,  no  two  of  which  can  be  operated  by  the 
same  key.  Simple  transposition,  without  any  variation  in  the 
heights  of  the  gatings,  will  give  720  changes. 

A  device  has  been  used  in  some  makes  of  locks,  intended 
not  only  to  increase  the  difficulty  of  picking  but  also  to  show  if 
the  lock  has  been  tampered  with.  It  consists  of  a  spring  so 
arranged  that  when  one  of  the  levers  is  lifted  too  high,  as 
would  naturally  be  done  by  any  one  attempting  to  pick  the 
lock,  it  is  caught  and  held  in  such  a  position  that  the  bolt-post 
cannot  possibly  pass  through  the  gatings.  The  spring  is 
released  by  using  the  right  key  and  turning  the  bolt  out  more, 
but  no  key  can  unlock  the  mechanism  until  the  detector  spring 
is  released.  This  is  a  very  ingenious  arrangement,  and  at  one 
time  was  considered  absolutely  burglar-proof,  though  it  is  now 
very  seldom  met  with  in  the  market.3 

The  wards  of  a  lock  are  fixed  obstructions  which  are 
attached  to  the  inside  of  the  lock-case,  so  arranged  that  none 
but  the  proper  key  can  pass  and  reach  the  levers.  Formerly 
the  confidence  in  warded  locks  was  so  great  that  levers  and 
tumblers  was  used  very  little,  but  that  feeling  has  entirely 
passed  away.  Modern  locksmiths  use  wards  very  sparingly, 
and  limit  themselves  to  small  shoulders  or  ridges,  cast  on  the 
inside  of  the  upper  and  lower  case-plates,  which  require 
corresponding  cuts  on  the  upper  and  lower  edge  of  the  key- 
bit.  They  do  not  add  in  the  least  to  the  burglar-proof  quali- 
ties of  a  lock.  At  one  time,  however,  locks  were  constructed 
with  very  elaborate  wardings.  Figure  284  illustrates  the 
wards  of  a  French  lock  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  old. 

The  wards  consist  of  two  thin 
plates,  one  each  side  of  the  key- 
hole, with  a  series  of  ridges 
forming  a  semicircle  on  each, 
the  ridges  being  star-shaped  in 
section.  The  key-bit  is  cut 

Fig.  284.       Wards  of  an  old  French  Lock.  out     wjtn     a    gtar    pattern    which 

has  to  exactly  fit  the  wardings. 

This  is  one  of  the  simpler  forms  which  the  ingenuity  of  French 
locksmiths  at  one  time  delighted  in,  and  though  seemingly 
proof  against  intrusion,  can  be  opened  with  very  little  trouble, 
by  a  judicious  use  of  a  few  stout  wires. 

"  There  is  a  great  difference  in  the  quality  and  arrangement 
of  springs  used  in  connection  with  a  lock.  In  regard  to 
material,  the  best  is,  undoubtedly,  phosphor-bronze ;  but 
springs  of  this  material  require  to  be  so  large  in  order  to  have 
the  desired  stiffness,  that  their  use  is  not  always  practicable, 
especially  as  they  can  be  used  to  advantage  only  in  the  shape 
of  flat-bands.  The  springs  which  hold  the  levers  in  place 
against  the  bolt-post  are  usually  made  of  round  steel  or  brass 
wire,  and  are  attached  directly  to  the  heel  of  the  lever,  as 
shown  by  Figure  282.  A  separate  spring  is  necessary  for  each 
lever.  It  is  sometimes  desirable  to  attach  the  spring  to  a 
secondary  lever  acting  directly  on  the  top  of  the  main  lever, 
Figure  285,  as  in  a  case  where  the  levers  move  up  and  down  in 
the  lock  instead  of  being  pivoted  together.  With  such  an 
arrangement  "the  edge  of  the  secondary  lever  should  be  grooved 
so  as  to  fit  over  the  top  of  the  primary  lever,  thus  obviating 

'This  work  is  entirely  oat  of  print,  but  can  be  found  In  most  of  the  large 
public  libraries.  It  is  complete  and  thoroughly  Illustrated. 

*  The  detector-spring  was  an  important  feature  of  the  celebrated  "  CUubbs " 
(English)  locks. 


FEBRUARY  2,  J889.] 


The    American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


58 


any  difficulty  of  the  levers  slipping  by  each  other,  or  of  the 
wrong  springs  acting  on  the  levers. 

The  latch  is  a  feature  of  the  modern  lock  which  our 
ancestors  did  not  enjoy.  Except  in  the  case  of  store-doors,  all 
door-locks  are  now  made  with  some  form  of  spring-latch. 
There  are  three  distinct  kinds  of  latches  commonly  used,  the 
simple  spring-latch,  anti-friction  latch  and  front-door  latch. 
The  cheapest  form  of  ordinary  spring-latch  consists  of  a 
bevelled  head,  projecting  from  the  face-plate  of  the  lock,  with 
a  shank  inside  the  lock,  about  which  is  coiled  a  strong  spiral 
spring,  keeping  the  latch  pressed  out.  The  inner  end  of  the 
latch-shank  is  forked  and  hooks  under  each  side  of  what  is 
termed  the  follow,  through  which  passes  the  spindle  of  the 
door-knob.  Turning  the  knob  either  way  draws  back  the  latch. 
The  objection  to  this  arrangement  is  that  while  only  a  very 
slight  spring  is  really  necessary  to  keep  the  latch  in  position, 
a  pretty  strong  spring  is  required  so  that  the  knob  shall  not 
turn  too  easily ;  otherwise,  every  time  the  door-knobs  were 
touched  the  latch  would  be  opened.  Consequently  in  the 
better  class  of  work  a  door-latch  is  usually  fitted  with  two 
springs,  one  of  which  is  operated  when  the  latch  is  pushed 
back  bv  the  door  being  closed,  while  both  springs  are  acted 
upon  when  the  knob  is  turned. 
In  this  way  the  requisite 

resistance    can    be    obtained  ^  To 

for  the  knob,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  the  latch  will  close 
easily.  A  latch  so  arranged 


Fig.  285.       Compound  Lever, 


Fig.  286.       Anti-friction  Strike. 
E.  Robinson. 


is  termed  an  easy  spring-latch.  There  are  several  methods  of 
attaching  the  two  springs.  Ordinarily,  spiral  brass  springs  are 
employed.  Hopkins  &  Dickinson  and,  we  believe,  a  few  others, 
are  able  to  introduce  into  their  locks  springs  made  of  phosphor- 
bronze,  which,  it  is  claimed,  will  keep  its  elasticity  much  longer 
than  steel  or  brass.  The  different  methods  by  which  the  springs 
are  attached  and  the  knob  operated  will  be  made  clear  when 
the  various  makes  of  locks  are  described,  later  on. 

The  ordinary  form  of  latch  is  made  with  a  V-shaped  bevel, 
the  long  side  of  the  bevel  striking  against  the  jam-plate. 
Enoch  Robinson,  of  Boston,  was,  it  is  believed,  the  first  to 
patent  an  anti-friction  strike,  as  it  is  called.  Figure  286  illus- 
trates the  construction  of  his  device,  which  is  incorporated  into 
all  of  the  locks  which  he  makes.  It  is  simply  an  application 
of  the  principle  of  the  old  bell-levei  crank.  The  action  of  the 
anti-friction  strike  is  to  raise  the  latch-bolt  from  the  bed  of  the 
lock  and  carry  it  back  without  friction 
on  the  sides.  Actual  tests  have  been 
made  proving  that  it  requires  less  force, 
acting  directly  on  the  side  of  the  anti- 
friction strike,  to  force  the  lever  back, 
than  is  required  to  push  back  the  latch 
bv  straight  pressure  against  the  apex  of  v^ 

,-       ,          ^,  /T«J»t 

the  bevel. 

Figure    287  shows    a   form   of    anti- 
friction strike  used  by  several  other  man-  LOCK  c^e 
ufacturers.      There   is   no  difference  in    Fig.  287.      Anti-friction 
principle  between  this  and  the   ''  Robin- 
son "  make,  though  the  appearance  is   a  little  different,  the 
"  Robinson  "  strike  being  in  the  centre  of  the  bolt,  while  the 


others  are  on  one  side,  also  in  "  Robinson's  "  strike  the  pin  is 
on  the  latch  and  the  slot  in  the  strike,  while  in  the  other  anti- 
friction strike  they  are  exactly  the  reverse.  Figure  288  shows 


Fig.  288.      Anti-friction  Rocker  Strike. 

a  form  which  is  made  by  a  few  manufacturers,  being  listed 
in  the  catalogue  of  both  J.  B.  Johnston  and  the  Nashua 
Lock  Company.  It  consists  simply  of  a  steel  rocker  at- 
tached by  swivel  pins  to  the  bolt,  the  lower  pin  passing 
underneath  the  shank  of  the  bolt.  When  the  door  is 
closed  the  latch,  instead  of  moving  straight  back,  swings 
on  the  lower  edge  of  the  rocker,  being  lifted  from  the  lock- 
frame,  and  thus  reducing  the  friction.  The  gain  by  this 
device  is,  of  course,  less  than  by  the  others  previously  de- 
scribed. Yet  another  form  of  so-called  anti-friction  strike  is 
made.  Figure  289  shows  the  pattern  adopted  by  Hall,  of 
Boston,  for  his  spring-latches.  It  consists,  essentially,  of  an 

adaptation  of  the  well-known 
car-door  latch,  the  latch-strike 
being  hinged  at  the  base  and 
attached  by  a  loose-pin  to  the 
latch-shank  at  the  top,  while 
the  face  of  the  latch-strike  is 
curved  slightly.  This  device 
makes  really  a  very  efficient 
anti-friction  strike.  The  only 
objection  to  it  is  that  the  wide 
plate  necessitated  by  it  cuts  the 
door  a  great  deal,  and  many 
persons  do  not  like  it  on  that 
account. 

The    custom    in    regard    to 
latches  varies  in  New  York  and 
Boston.        In    New  York    the 
Fig.289.    Anti-friction  strike.    H.M.     onteide  knob  is  generally  fixed 

firmly  so  as  not  to  move  at  all,  while  in  Boston  the  knobs 
are  arranged  with  a  swivel  spindle  permitting  either  to  be 
turned  without  acting  upon  the  other,  and  the  mechanism  in- 
side of  the  lock  is  so  devised  that  by  pushing  a  button  or  a 
slide  the  outer  knob  can  be  held  fast.  In  cheaper  forms  of 
front-door  locks,  the  knob-spindle  is  made  without  a  swivel, 
and  security  is  obtained  by  a  bolt  on  the  inside. 

Locks  are  designated  as  being  either  right  or  left  hand, 
though  the  distinction  is  one  which  is  confined  entirely  to  the 
latch.  A  left-hand  lock  belongs  to  a  door  fitted  with  left- 
hand  hinges,  as  has  been  previously  explained,  the  term  right 
or  left  being  decided  by  whether  the  door  turns  on  the  hinges 


Fig.  290.      Right  «nd  Left  Hand  Locks. 

when  opening  either  in  the  direction  of  the  hands  of  a  clock  or 
the  reverse.  Locks  are  also  designated  as  being  either  left 
or  right  hand  reverse  bevel,  the  reverse  bevel  applying  to  a 
door  which  swings  out  instead  of  swinging  in.  That  is  to  say, 
in  the  case  of  a  front  door,  for  instance,  if  it  swings  out  the 
night  latch  would  be  on  the  outside,  but  the  latch  bolt  would 
be  just  the  reverse  in  arrangement  from  what  it  would  be, 
relatively,  on  an  ordinary  front  door  swinging  in. 

Figure  290,  will  fix  this  distinction  clearly  in  mind.  The 
figure  is  taken  from  the  catalogue  of  the  Yale  &  Towue  Manu- 
facturing Company.  It  is  believed  that  the  distinction  between 
right  and  left,  and  reverse  bevels  is  seldom  appreciated  by 
architects. 


54 


The  American   Architect  and  Building  News.      [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  684. 


It  is  very  often  desirable  to  have  a  latch  which  can  be  re- 
versed so  that  if  any  mistake  is  made  in  ordering,  the  lock  will 
not  be  useless.  Reversible  latches  are  made  in  several  ways 
the  latch  shank  being  generally  of  such  shape  as  to  permit 
its  being  turned  over  and  worked  in  the  opposite  direction, 
without  interfering  with  the  action  of  the  lock. 

Locks  wear  out  not  so  much  by  actual  failure  or  breaking 
of  the  parts,  but  by  the  lever  and  key  wards  being 
worn  so  that  the  key  will  not  lift  the  levers  and  permit  the 
bolt  to  pass.  Key-wards  are  the  slight  projections  which  are 
cast  on  the  inner  face  of  the  lock-plates  to  form  an  additional 
obstruction  to  the  passage  of  strange  keys.  Of  themselves 
they  affect  the  value  of  a  lock  but  little,  as  the  key  will  operate 
as  well  without  as  with  them,  so  that  the  only  part  which 
actually  wears  out  is  the  edge  of  the  levers  against  which  the 
key  acts.  The  constant  striking  and  turning,  when  a  lock  is 
used  continually,  will  in  time  wear  off  the  surface  of  the  lever 
so  that  it  will  not  rise  quite  sufficiently  to  allow  the  bolt-post 
to  pass.  The  springs,  also,  sometimes  become  brittle,  and  the 
follows  operating  the  latch  will  wear  so  as  to  work  loose  and 
rattle,  but  a  little  tinkering  can  remedy  any  of  these  difficulties. 
It  costs  but  a  trifle  to  have  a  new  key  made  which  will  fit  a 
partiallv  worn-out  set  of  levers.  New  springs  are  inserted  at  a 
trifling  cost,  and  if  the  latch-spring  is  lengthened  a  trifle  the 
rattling  of  the  follows  can  be  obviated  ;  so,  there  is,  really,  no 
reason  why  a  fairly  good  lock  should  not  last  indefinitely.  It 
is,  also,  a  very  simple  thing  to  make  a  new  combination  of  the 
levers  when  they  cease  to  work  smoothly,  and  renewed  life 
can  thus  be  imparted  to  an  apparently  worn-out  set  of  works. 

In  judging  of  the  intrinsic  worth  of  a  lock,  therefore,  the 
following  conditions  should  be  carefully  observed. 

First :  Good  material  for  the  use  to  which  it  is  put. 

Second :  Careful  adjustment,  so  that  the  parts  will  work 
easily  and  will  stand  any  possible  strain  in  use. 

Third  :  The  whole  secret  of  the  value  of  a  lock  is  in  the 
levers,  which  should  be  so  made  as  to  ensure  a  minimum  of 
friction,  of  material  not  easily  corroded  nor  easily  worn  away  ; 
and  they  should  be  adjusted  to  secure  the  greatest  amount  of 
security  against  picking,  with  springs  not  too  easy,  nor  so  hard 
as  to  bring  undue  wear  on  the  levers. 

A  very  good  test  of  the  workmanship  of  a  lock  can  easily  be 
made  by  shooting  out  the  bolt,  removing  the  cap  to  the  lock 
case,  and  then  pressing  in  strongly  on  the  bolt,  at  the  same 
time  lifting  the  levers,  one  by  one.  If  the  gatings  are  ac- 
curately fitted  they  should  all  bear  equally  against  the  bolt- 
post,  so  that  the  gating  of  no  one  lever  would  catch  on  the  post 
as  it  is  lifted  by.  Few  of  the  ordinary  locks  will  stand  this 
test  successfully.  i 

Intricate  combinations,  made  ostensibly  to  prevent  the  lock 
from  being  picked,  add  very  little  to  its  value  for  ordinary 
house  work.  It  may  be  safely  stated  that  any  lock  can  be 
picked  which  is  operated  by  a  key,  so  that  a  good  three-lever 
lock  affords  all  the  intricacy  and  gives  one  all  the  protection 
that  could  be  desired.  A  lock  has  a  personality  of  its  own, 
and  so  much  of  its  value  depends  on  the  maker  that  it  is  wise 
in  purchasing  to  always  get  the  best ;  keeping  in  view  sim- 
plicity, and  the  points  previously  noted.  A  cheap,  but  well- 
made  lock  is  better  than  an  expensive  one  which  is  put  together 
in  a  careless  and  indifferent  manner. 

[To  be  continued.l 


[Contributors  are  requested  to  send  with  their  drawings   full  and 
adequate  descriptions  of  the  buildings,  including  a  statement  of  cost.'] 

THE  ALGONQUIN  CLUB-HOC8E,  COMMONWEALTH  AVE.,  BOSTON. 
MASS.  MESSKS.  McKIM,  MEAD  &  WHITE,  ARCHITECTS,  NEW 
YORK,  N.  Y. 

[Oelatine  print,  issued  only  with  the  Imperial  Edition. 1 

TWO     STREET      VIEWS   IN    QUEBEC,     CANADA      SKETCHED      BY     MR. 
ROBERT    BROWN,   JK.,    ARCHITECT,    BOSTON,    MASS. 

SEE  paper  on  "  Quebec  "  elsewhere  in  this  issue. 

SUGGESTIONS     AS     TO      THE      CONSTRUCTION     OF     SLOW-BURNING 
HOUSES,    CHURCHES    AND    HOSPITALS. 

FOR  explanations  see  the  following  article. 


HOUSE  AT  ROCHESTER,  N.  Y.   MR.  THOMAS  NOLAN,  ARCHITECT, 
ROCHESTER,  N.  Y. 


SLOW-BURNING   CONSTRUCTION.* 


r 


N  order  to  meet  the  frequent  calls  for 
plans  for  the  safe  or  slow-burning  con- 
struction of  office-buildings,  dwelling- 
houses,  and  other  buildings  auxiliary  to  the 
factories  which  come  under  the  supervis- 
ion of  the  Mutual  Companies  (such  de- 
msinrls  having  more  than  once  been  made 
for  plans  of  slow-burning  churches  and 
hospitals),  certain  studies  are  herewith 
presented  which  may  be  a  good  basis  for 
suggestion  and  for  further  improvement. 

These  plans,  even  if  they  prove  to  be 
crude  and  imperfect,  will  certainly  assure 

greater  safety  than  can  be  expected  when  offices,  houses,  churches, 
and  hospitals  are  built  according  to  the  common  practice  of  com- 
bustible architecture. 

The  ordinary  method  of  building  a  wooden  dwelling,  hospital,  or 
other  similar  structure  may  be  called  the  cellular  system  of  construc- 
tion. The  floors  consist  of  a  series  of  wooden  cells ;  the  walls  con- 
stitute another  series;  the  roof  is  the  worst  and  most  dangerous 
series  of  all ;  each  cell  in  each  series  being  connected  in  some  more 
or  less  open  way  with  all  the  rest. 

Provision  is  made  in  many  contracts  for  cutting  off  the  communi- 
cation between  the  cells  of  the  main  floor  and  the  vertical  cells  in 
the  walls,  either  by  laying  bricks  between  the  studs  upon  the  sill  or 
by  some  other  suitable  method ;  the  intention  of  these  safeguards 
being  to  prevent  either  vermin  or  fire  passing  from  the  cellar 
through  the  cells  in  the  first  floor  to  the  cells  in  the  walls,  and  thence 
throughout  all  the  floors  and  partitions  to  the  roof.  These  provisions 
of. the  contract  are  excellent  on  paper,  but,  when  left  to  the  average 
supervision  of  the  architect  and  of  the  contractor,  they  are  very  apt 
to  fail :  the  mice  almost  always  find  a  way  through  the  smaller  cracks, 
and  the  rats  follow ;  the  fire  also  finds  its  way  everywhere  through 
all  the  cracks  with  the  utmost  facility.  The  writer  knows  from 
personal  experience  that  even  if  the  most  careful  provision  be  made 
in  the  contract,  and  even  if  the  work  be  supervised  day  by  day  by 
the  owner  himself,  all  the  customary  devices  may  utterly  fail  to  keep 
rats  and  mice  out  of  hollow  walls  in  a  wooden  house. 

But  even  if  the  common  contract  precautions  thould  suffice  to 
keep  vermin  from  infesting  the  house,  yet  the  customary  plan  of  con- 
struction utterly  fails  to  prevent  the  passage  of  fire  from  cell  to  cell, 
and  through  the  same  cracks  by  which  the  fire  may  pass  there  is  a 
constant  circulation  of  air.  This  circulation  of  air,  although  it  may 
be  slow  and  somewhat  obstructed,  yet  practically  destroys  the  value 
of  the  air-spaces  in  the  walls,  which  walls  are  assumed  to  be  non- 
heat-conducting  because  of  this  air-space.  It  is  admitted  that,  if  air 
be  encased  in  a  substantially  tight  cell  free  from  circulation,  it  may 
be  one  of  the  very  best  non-conductors  of  heat  and  cold  ;  but  the  air- 
spaces in  the  walls  of  a  wooden  building,  as  ordinarily  constructed, 
are  nothing  but  a  fraud  ;  there  are  small  open-air  ducts  connected  by 
cracks  and  crevices  everywhere. 

It  is  generally  assumed  that  an  air-space  is  in  the  nature  of  things 
one  of  the  best  of  non-conductors,  without  much  resrard  as  to  how 
the  air  is  encased  ;  but  the  error  of  this  assumption  was  disclosed  by 
the  experiments  made  at  the  instance  of  the  factory  underwriters  a 
few  years  ago  for  the  purpose  of  determining  the  conditions  most 
favorable  for  preventing  a  loss  of  heat  by  radiation  from  steam-pipes. 
In  the  course  of  this  work,  which  was  of  the  most  thorough  nature 
both  as  to  the  methods  employed  and  the  extent  and  variety  of 
materials  tried,  it  was  found  that  an  air-space  was  a  very  good  con- 
ductor of  beat  by  reason  of  circulation  by  convection,  which  resulted 
and  effected  a  very  rapid  transfer  of  heat ;  on  thu  other  hand,  the 
non-conducting  property  of  many  substances  which  proved  to  be 
most  efficient  was  undoubtedly  due  to  the  small,  isolated  cells  of  en- 
trapped air  which  they  contained.  In  our  tests,  a  given  material, 
when  placed  in  a  loose  or  porous  condition  about  a  pipe,  proved  to 
be  an  effective  non-conductor ;  yet,  when  pressed  to  an  extent  which 
closed  up  the  air-spaces  or  pores,  the  same  material  served  as  an 
effective  conductor  of  heat. 

It  may  be  interesting  to  cite  the  fact  that  an  air-space  would 
transmit  a  quantity  of  heat  represented  by  the  number  1302,  the 
radiation  of  heat  through  wool  under  similar  conditions  being  repre- 
sented by  the  numbers  301  to  237,  according  to  the  amount  of 
pressure  applied  to  it.  Charcoal  was  found  to  be  subject  to  about 
the  same  rule  as  wool.  The  application  of  these  results  to  the  con- 
struction of  buildings  leads  to  the  conclusion  that  the  most  effective 
non-conduction  of  heat  may  be  attained  by  cutting  up  air-spaces  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  prevent  circulation  by  convection,  or  by  the 
connection  of  one  air-space  with  another. 

Au  effort  has,  therefore,  been  made  to  make  framing-plans  and 
specifications,  which  are  submitted  herewith  as  studies  of  the  question, 
for  the  construction  of  the  class  of  buildings  under  consideration,  in 
which  the  timbers  shall  be  so  arranged  that  the  builder  will  be 
obliged  to  go  out  of  his  way  and  to  work  on  an  entirely  different 
framing-plan,  in  order  to  connect  one  cell  either  in  the  floor  or  wall 
with  any  other  cell  in  any  other  part  of  the  building.  The  motive 


'A  Circular  iesued  by  the  Boston  Manufacturers  Mutual  Insurance  Company. 


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COFffllSHT  1B89  BY  TiCKNOR  1C? 


Associated  Mutual  Insurance  Cos. 
Plan  fora  Slow  Burning'Brick  Hospital  or  Dwelling" 


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Section  of  Chimney 


If  the  bulletin y  tsof  consiSeruMe  Size, 

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Copyright,  1889,  by  TICKNOK  &  Co. 


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FEBRUARY  2,  1889.] 


The   American    Architect  and  Building   News. 


55 


is  to  compel  the  builder  to  do  his  work  well  in  this  particular,  even 
if  lie  docs  not  care  to  do  so,  or  might  not  know  how. 

On  this  motive  the  framing-plan  of  a  church  has  been  made  by  a 
student  of  architecture  (sketch  No.  1),  and  a  framing-plan  and  method 
of  plastering  for  a  dwelling-house  have  been  devised  under  my  own 
direction  (sketch  No.  2).  In  respect  to  both  dwelling-house  and 
church,  it  is  suggested  that  there  is  no  reason  why  there  should  be 
any  cells  in  the  main  floor,  such  as  will  be  made  if  the  basement- 
ceiling  is  either  sheathed  or  plastered  on  the  underside  of  the 
timbers.  So  far  as  this  floor  is  concerned  either  in  a  dwelling-house 
or  a  church,  there  may  be  no  objection  to  the  downward  passage  of 
sound  ;  therefore,  the  money  commonly  expended  in  sheathing  or 
plastering  had  much  better  be  put  into  the  substance  of  the  floor, 
and  the  open-timber  or  mill-construction  may  be  adopted  on  this 
story  in  any  and  every  case.  If  this  floor  is  made  of  two-inch  plank 
grooved  and  splined,  covered  with  three-fourths-inch  mortar,  good 
sheathing-paper,  and  then  finished  with  a  good,  hard  top-floor,  birch 
preferred,  the  cold  air  of  winter  may  be  permitted  to  circulate  freely 
through  the  cellar  or  basement  without  any  danger  of  passing  up 
through  this  solid  floor,  to  the  discomfort  of  those  who  occupy  the 
stories  above,  and  the  upward  passage  of  sound  will  be  very  slight. 
If  the  heat  required  in  the  main  floor  or  story  be  brought  in  near 
the  centre  of  each  room  a  little  below  the  ceiling,  with  right  provi- 
sion for  ventilation,  the  floor  will  be  well  warmed  at  any  and  all 
times ;  while,  on  the  contrary,  if  the  heat  be  brought  in  through 
registers  in  the  floor,  it  will  rise  and  accumulate  near  the  ceiling, 
while  the  cold  air  from  the  windows,  which  either  comes  in  by  the 
cracks  or  through  the  glass,  will  fall  and  spread  itself  over  the  floor, 
to  the  great  discomfort  of  all  the  occupants.  May  it  not  be  that 
people  bake  their  heads  and  bodies,  burn  the  air  as  it  comes  through 
the  furnace,  catch  colds  or  get  catarrh  from  vitiated  air,  in  a  vain 
attempt  to  keep  their  feet  warm?  Even  in  this  they  may  fail,  unless 
bottom  circulation  is  induced  by  bringing  the  heat  in  at  the  top  or 
overhead. 

Under  the  common  conditions  of  bringing  the  heat  in  through 
registers  in  the  floor,  there  will  be  nearly  stationary  planes  of  different 
degrees  of  heat,  to  the  discomfort  of  the  occupants,  cold  in  the  lower 
plane,  and  very  hot  in  the  upper  one,  while  by  the  overhead  system 
there  may  be  a  very  free  circulation ;  even  basements  with  stone  floors, 
which  have  been  of  no  use  in  factories  when  the  steam-heating  pipes 
have  been  placed,  in  the  usual  way  at  the  sides  of  the  room,  near  the 
floors,  having  been  converted  into  useful  rooms,  with  warm  floors,  by 
merely  changing  the  position  of  the  same  heating-pipes  from  the 
side-walls  to  points  near  the  ceiling,  ten  or  twelve  feet  from  the 
windows. 

To  return  to  construction :  even  if  the  mill  construction  is  con- 
sidered too  expensive  for  the  whole  house,  and  if  it  is  thought  that 
the  downward  passage  of  sound  through  the  upper  floors  cannot  be 
sufliciently  prevented,  then  the  motive  of  the  architect  may  well  be 
to  make  use  of  about  the  same  quantities  of  timber  and  board  which 
are  now  required  in  ordinary  framing,  but  so  disposed  and  so  con- 
solidated that,  without  requiring  much  more  material,  the  cells  in 
walls,  partitions,  floors  and  roof  may  be  absolutely  separated  each 
from  the  other;  the  frame  being  at  the  same  time  made  stiffer  and 
better  in  every  way  ;  the  substance  of  the  roof  also  made  thick 
enough  to  save  the  attic  or  upper  story  from  being  an  oven  in 
summer  and  a  refrigerator  in  winter.  To  this  end  the  plans  of  the 
dwelling-house  are  submitted.  They  speak  for  themselves.  Posts 
and  floor-beams  may  be  10  x  6  inches;  studs,  4x6  inches,  placed 
five  feet  on  centres.  These  sizes  may  be  substituted  for  the 
ordinary  construction  of  2  x  4  inch  planks,  posts  and  studs,  with 
little  or  no  increase  in  the  quantity  of  material  required  in  the  lower 
story ;  the  second  story  is  drawn  in  the  ordinary  way. 

The  method  of  constructing  the  foundation,  placing  the  sill 
thereon,  and  the  method  of  adjusting  the  girders  and  plate,  are  so 
devised  that  even  the  most  uniustructed  builder  cannot  connect  any 
number  of  cells  anywhere  without  using  more  ingenuity  than  he 
customarily  applies  to  the  ordinary  conditions  of  framing  in  making 
such  connections.  The  diagonal  furring  and  lathing  convert  the 
wall  into  a  truss,  strengthening  the  building,  and  this  system  of 
plastering  on  the  plank,  as  drawn  in  the  lower  story,  also  lends  itself 
to  the  separation  of  the  cells  in  the  best  manner. 

If  the  second  story  should  be  built  of  2  x  4  studs,  boarded  and  not 
planked,  one  special  provision  will  be  called  for  to  cut  off  the  second- 
floor  spaces  from  the  wall-spaces  in  the  second  story,  to  wit :  solid 
blocks  between  the  studs;  but  even  if  this  were  neglected,  little 
harm  would  come  from  it,  because  there  is  no  open  way  from  the 
first  to  the  second  floor. 

It  may  be  suggested  that  a  cheap  method  of  making  small  wooden 
dwelling-houses  much  saf.r  from  fire,  and  also  warmer  in  winter  as 
well  as  cooler  in  summer  is  to  fill-in  between  the  studs  behind  the 
plastering  and  inside  the  boarding  with  sifted  coal  ashes  mixed  with 
mortar,  just  enough  mortar  being  used  to  bind  the  material. 

In  this  way  many  buildings  of  bad  construction  have  been  made 
suitable  for  mutual  insurance  to  the  great  satisfaction  of  the  owners, 
who  have  discovered  after  the  spaces  between  the  studs  set  up  inside 
of  brick  walls  with  a  view  to  the  supposed  non-conduction  of  an  air- 
space, that  their  buildings  have  been  made  much  warmer  in  winter, 
cooler  in  summer,  and  safer  in  every  way,  after  the  ashes  and  plaster 
had  been  poured  from  the  top  into  these  spaces  between  the  s;uds, 
than  they  were  before  this  precaution  had  been  taken. 

These  plans  and  specifications  are  submitted  as  primary  studies 


only,  subject  to  suggestion  and  to  improvement.  The  came  problem 
needs  to  be  solved  for  the  construction  of  brick  dwelling-houses  and 
hospitals,  as  well  as  those  built  of  wood.  The  Building  Act  of 
Boston  and  the  customary  forms  of  contract  call  for  incombustible 
stops  at  every  floor,  behind  the  furring  or  mop-board. 

Do  these  provisions  suffice?  In  what  proportion  of  the  houses, 
hospitals,  or  asylums  constructed  under  the  present  system  are  there 
not  a  number  of  more  or  less  open  ways,  by  which  vermin  or  fire 
may  pass  from  basement  to  roof?  Cannot  some  framing  or  floor- 
plan  be  devised  by  which  the  ignorance,  stupidity,  or  carelessness 
of  workmen  or  contractors  may  be  rendered  incapable  of  opening  a 
way  for  fire,  except  at  an  increase  of  the  cost  or  of  the  work? 

At  the  suggestion  of  the  writer  sketch  No.  3  has  been  made,  in 
which  a  plan  is  submitted  for  cutting  off  the  connection  between  the 
air-spaces  or  cells  of  each  floor  from  the  air-spaces  in  the  walls  of  a 
brick  hospital  or  dwelling-house  furred  in  the  usual  way,  and  for 
separating  the  latter  at  each  story.  It  is  admitted  that  if  specifica- 
tions like  those  of  the  present  Building  Act  of  Boston  are  completely 
carried  out,  there  would  be  no  need  of  any  further  provisions  for 
fire-stops;  but  the  carrying  out  of  the  provisions  of  the  Building  Act 
for  placing  stops  at  each  floor  calls  for  some  additional  work  on  the 
part  of  the  builder,  which  may  be  omitted,  neglected,  or  shammed. 
The  motive  of  the  suggestion  submitted  in  sketch  No.  3  is  to  build 
the  walls  themselves  in  such  a  way  that,  when  the  floors  and  the 
furrings  are  placed  in  position,  the  projections  from  the  brick  wall 
and  chimneys  will  be  interposed  between  the  air-spaces,  thus  making 
the  necessary  stops  without  requiring  any  additional  or  special  work 
to  be  done. 

In  order  to  stop  the  air-spaces  which  are  of  necessity  left  between 
the  brickwork  of  chimneys  and  the  studs  which  support  the  lathing 
around  them,  it  is  proposed  to  corbel  the  brickwork  on  the  sides  and 
the  hack  of  the  chimneys  as  well  as  on  the  front. 

The  studs  at  the  sides  and  on  the  back  of  the  chimneys  may  be 
placed  in  position  supported  by  brickwork,  which  will  cut  off  any 
possible  connection  with  the  air-spaces  in  the  stories  below  or  above. 
A  horizontal  wooden  support  to  the  studs  is  placed  over  the  brick- 
work (which  timber  should  be  laid  on  a  thick  bed  of  mortar  between 
it  and  the  bricks),  in  order  to  provide  for  the  same  shrinkage  that 
may  occur  in  the  floor-timbers. 

This  plan  may  make  safety  consistent : 

1.  With  economy. 

2.  Even  with  the  riile-of-thumb  methods  of  carrying  out  plans  and 
specifications  the  motives  of  which  the  builders  may  not  themselves 
understand,  so  that  the  faults  in  the  present  methods  of  construction 
will  be  cured  without  the  extra  work  of  putting  special  stops  at  each 
floor.     It  is  in  this  way  that  the  mutual  underwriters  have  made  it 
for  the  interest  of   every  manufacturer  to   adopt   their   plans  and 
methods;  because,  even  taking  no  cognizance  of  the  greater  s-afety 
from  fire,  their  plans  and   methods   of  construction   have  been  con- 
clusively proved  to  be  the  least  costly  ways  in  which  buildings  can 
be  erected,  which  will  be  most  suitable  for  the  occupations  upon 
which  they  take  risks. 

In  the  case  of  the  hospital  or  asylum,  again,  if  the  mill  floor  and 
open  timber  construction  are  objected  to  above  the  main  floor  over 
the  basement  or  cellar,  the  common  cellular  floors  may  be  adopted ; 
but,  according  to  the  plans  submitted,  there  may  be  no  direct  com- 
munication between  these  cells  and  of  one  story  with  those  of  another. 

It  is  assumed  that  when  such  attention  is  given  to  the  slow-burning 
construction  of  a  hospital  or  asylum  as  would  be  implied  by  giving 
attention  to  this  suggestion,  the  same  reasoning  would  forbid  any  of 
the  common  bad  forms  of  roof,  especially  of  the  "crazy  order," 
which  now  render  so  many  of  this  class  of  buildings  costly,  dangerous 
and  unsuitable.  The  solid  deck-roof  of  plank,  not  less  than  three 
inches  thick,  would  become  a  necessary  element  in  this  plan  of  con- 
struction. 

The  basement  floor  had  also  better  be  of  plank,  laid  over  a  pro- 
perly prepared  concrete,  in  such  manner  that  it  may  not  decay  and 
without  any  open  space  beneath  in  which  fne  or  vermin  can  exist. 
Of  such  plans  for  basement  floors  we  have  more  than  one  which  have 
stood  the  test  of  time.  Kespectfully  submitted, 

EDWARD  ATKINSON, 

President  Boston  Manufacturers  Mulual  Fire  Insurance  Company. 
Boston,  January,  1889. 


LONDON'S  WATER-SUPPLY.  —  A  somewhat  alarming  view  of  the  con- 
dition of  the  water-supply  of  London  is  taken  by  Major-General  Scott 
in  his  official  report  published  in  the  annual  volume  of  the  Local  Gov- 
ernment Board.  "On  a  general  view  of  the  whole  circumstances,"  he 
says,  "  it  seems  evident  that  the  question  of  the  water-supply  of  the 
north  and  east  of  London  has  entered  a  critical  stage,  and  it  may  be 
said  that  the  restriction  in  the  supply  found  necessary  by  the  East 
London  Company  during  the  past  summer  [1887]  was  a  premonitory 
symptom  of  difficulties  which  in  future  seasons  of  scanty  rainfall  will  be 
more  severely  felt."  The  Board  also  remark  "  that  at  no  very  distant 
period  the  margin  between  supply  and  demand  may  become  perilously 
small ;  and  that,  at  any  rate,  in  the  case  of  some  of  the  companies,  the 
question  how  the  existing  sources  can  be  supplemented  from  others  out- 
side the  watersheds  of  the  Thames  and  Lea,  is  one  of  which  the  consid- 
eration cannot  be  long  deferred."  —  Pall  Mull  Gazette. 


TJie   American   Architect  and  Building  News.       [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  684. 


r 


ing 
ship 


On  Flavian  St. 


A  GLIMPSE  OF  QUEBEC.1 

F,  in  the  course  of  the  de- 
scriptive   sketch    which   I 
have  ventured  to  bring  to 
your  notice  this  evening,  I  di- 
verge    too     much     from    the 
beaten    paths    in    which     an 
architect  is  supposed  to  tread, 
I  ought  to  say,  in  explanation, 
that    these     observations     on 
Quebec  are  chiefly  the  result 
of   a  brief  holiday  tour,  and 
not  the  outcome  of  any  serious 
study ;    and,  if  I  become  too 
discursive,  I  must   plead   the 
holiday    attitude    or    present 
thep'ei  of  ''general  inteiest  ' 
allowable  by  our  rules  regard- 
topics    whose     relation- 
to   architecture  and  the 
fine  arts  is  not  apparent. 

When  the  heat  of  summer 
makes  us  long  to  leave  the 
dusty  city  and  our  routine 
work,  a  sail  to  northern 
climes,  to  mingle  for  a  time 
with  a  foreign  race  and  hear  another  language  spoken  than  our 
own  —  to  sojourn  in  a  country  whose  life  and  aspect  is  a  perfect  con- 
trast to  our  own  —  gives  rest  and  healthful  change. 

Nowhere  will  the  sportsman  find  a  better  field  for  rod  and  gun  than 
round  about  Quebec ;  and  to  the  lover  of  the  picturesque,  to  the 
artist  in  painting,  poetry  or  romance  this  northern  city  gives  themes 
of  surpassing  interest. 

The  scenery  in  the  surrounding  country  is  delightful.  Other 
landscapes  may  be  grander,  more  sublime,  but  none  more  interesting 
from  the  human  existence  and  association  wrought  for  three  centuries 
into  the  very  soil.  It  has  what  Matthew  Arnold  called  "the  charm 
of  beauty  which  comes  from  ancientness  and  permanence  of  rural  life." 
The  inroads  of  modern  progress  and  the  effects  of  increasing  com- 
merce have  touched  this  northern  capital  but  lightly.  The  con- 
servatism of  its  religions  life  has  left  the  spirit  of  a  bygone  century  in 
every  stone.  In  some  aspects  it  is  still  mediaeval.  The  habitants, 
from  the  country  round,  gin  her  now  in  quaint  groups  in  the  market- 
place, just  as  they  did  a  hundred  years  ago.  They  bring  their 
flowers  and  fruit  full  many  a  mile.  Their  quiet  horses  stand  in  rows 
beside  the  wagons  looking  as  much  domesticated  as  the  house  cat. 

Priests  and  nuns  move  in  groups  along  the  narrow  streets  or  walk 
in  procession  on  saint  days  as  in  the  days  of  the  old  regime,  and  on 
every  hand  there  is  some  landmark,  some  old  building  to  remind  us 
of  stirring  events  in  the  life  of  the  old  colony  —  New  France. 

As  in  the  case  of  the  ancient  capital  of  Scotland,  so  here.  Nature 
has  bestowed  a  site  of  incomparable  grandeur.  Abruptly  from  the 


•%Ui!rvW..j       .  ff:' 

Xl^UlM  "f^tt-jf 


Soul  Le  Cap. 

noble  river  rises  the  roek  round  whose  base  clusters  the  lower  town, 
while  higher  up  the  churches,  monasteries,  towers,  terraces  and  ram- 
parts spi  ing,  until  we  reach  the  citadel  which  crowns  the  lofty  summit. 

A  brief  study  of  the  topography  of  the  place  shows  us  at  once  a 
natural  fortress.  From  the  geologist  we  learn  that  the  land  on 
which  the  city  stands  was  once  an  island,  for  at  Cap  Rouge,  about 
eight  miles  above  Quebec,  the  formation  of  the  rocks  distinctly  show 
that  a  channel  of  the  St.  Lawrence  forked  northwards,  and  probablv 
followed  the  present  course  of  the  Charles  River.  From  Quebec  to 
Cap  Rouge  the  bank  is  formed  by  towering  rocky  headlands,  the 
slope  on  the  northern  side  to  the  valley,  in  many  places,  being  almost 
as  steep. 

From  the  terrace  called  Durham,  on  a  summer's  evening  as  we 
stand  more  than  two  hundred  feet  above  the  river,  a  truly  magnificent 
panorama  lies  before  us.  So  steeply  does  the  cliff  fall  away  from  the 
terrace  that  we  look  down  on  the  chimneys  and  roofs  of  the  lower 
town,  and  wonder  how  the  people  there  live  under  the  snowdrifts  of 
winter's  long  reign.  The  broad,  sombre  river  flows  northwards  and 
eastwards  from  the  Isle  of  Orleans.  On  the  northern  shore  the  eye 

'  A  paper  by  Mr.  Robert  Brown  read  before  the  Boston  Society  of  Architects 
Friday,  Feb.  1,  1S8!>. 


follows  a  winding  road,  along  which  straggle  little  cottages,  each 
with  a  ribbon-like  strip  of  farm-land,  and  here  and  there  a  church  — 
the  village  heart.  Beauport  lies  nearest  Quebec,  then  Montmorenci, 
L'Ange  Gardien,  Chateau  Kichter  and  Ste.  Anne  (La  Bonne  Ste. 
Anne,  as  the  villagers  lovingly  call  it),  until  in  the  blue  gray  distance 
Cape  Tourmente,  forty  miles  away,  closes  the  vista.  The  scene 
looked  peaceful  and  beautiful  in  the  deepening  color  of  the  setting 
sun,  changing  from  green  to  purple  the  Lawrentian  range  of  moun- 
tains which  bound  the  view  to  the  northward. 

In  the  valley  to  our  left,  the  narrow  Charles  River  flows  on  its 
sinuous  way  to  join  the  St.  Lawrence.  It  was  on  this  river  near 
where  a  little  stream,  the  "  Lairet,"  joins  it,  that  Jacques  Cartier,  of 
St.  Malo,  wintered  in  1535,  and  the  remains  of  the  fortification  built 
there  by  him,  three  hundred  and  fifty-three  years  ago,  can  still  be 
seen. 

In  1608,  Champlain  landed  at  Stadacona,  which  was  the  Algonquin 
name  of  the  place  where  Quebec  now  stands,  the  word  meaning  the 
narrowing  of  the  waters,  for  the  St.  Lawrence  is,  at  this  point,  less 
than  a  mile  wide.  Champlain  and  his  followers  founded  the  city, 
and  he  was  the  first  governor.  From  that  time,  down  to  1 759,  one 
governor  followed  another,  each  appointed  by  the  ruling  powers  of 
France. 

The  city  has  been  besieged  no  less  than  five  times,  and  often  been 
the  prey  of  extensive  conflagrations.  The  last  great  siege  of  1759 
must  have  laid  in  ruins  the  greater  number  of  its  buildings;  yet, 
considering  these  devastations,  it  is  surprising  to  find  so  many 
structures  with  the  stamp  of  age.  As  the  French  people,  after 
Canada  had  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  British,  were  left  with 
entire  religious  liberty  and  their  existing  institutions,  untouched,  we 
may  presume,  that,  with  their  conservative  instincts,  they  rebuilt 
and  restored  on  the  old  lines,  or  in  the  same  spirit. 

The  wall  on  the  western  side  of  the  city  still  stands,  but,  within  the 
past  half  century,  the  last  of  the  old  gateways  was  taken  down.  The 


Ste.  Famille  St. 

old  archways  were  found  too  narrow  for  the  increasing  traffic,  ami, 
instead  of  diverting  the  road  to  one  side  and  piercing  the  wall  with 
another  archway  as  might  have  been  done,  the  old  gateway  with  its 
guard-room  over  loopholed  for  firing  on  the  enemy,  was  also 
demolished.  The  modern  gateways  are  prosaic-looking,  and  without 
interest  to  us.  Quaint  and  picturesque  as  this  gray  old  capital  is 
now,  how  much  more  so  must  it  have  been  in  the  middle  of  last 
century.  Let  us  hope  the  Quebec  Historical  Society,  so  far  as  its 
influence  can  go,  will  carefully  preserve  all  that  is  left,  and  save  the 
city  from  further  acts  of  vandalism. 

The  churches  and  chapels  are,  perhaps,  the  most  interesting  of  the 
buildings  in  Quebec.  Chief  amongst  them  is  the  French  Cathedral 
consecrated  in  1666  by  Monseigneur  De  Laval,  the  first  bishop  of  the 
colony.  The  style  of  the  present  interior  is  that  of  the  time  of  Louis 
XIV,  and  this  style  pervades  the  interiors  of  the  other  churches  as 
well.  There  is  much  gilding  and  white  paint.  The  church  is  of 
good  proportions,  with  a  lofty  nave,  covered  by  an  elliptical  vault 
under  a  high  pitched  roof.  The  windows  are  "semicircular-headed, 
without  stained-glass  and  divided  into  small  panes.  There  are  two 
sets  of  sashes,  the  outer  being  flush  with  the  outside  face  of  the  wall. 

We  are  accustomed  to  associate  the  style  of  Louis  XIV  with  ball- 
rooms and  apartments  devoted  to  festive  purposes,  and  one  might 
suppose  in  a  church  such  a  style  would  not  lend  itself  to  the  devo- 
tional spirit,  but,  to  my  surprise,  it  seemed  quite  otherwise. 

I  stood  near  the  entrance,  far  back,  and  took  in  the  whole  picture. 
One  by  one  the  worshippers  came  in,  dipping  their  fingers  as  they 
passed  into  the  holy-water  near  the  door,  then  kneeling  in  the  fore- 
ground or  by  some  side  altar.  The  brilliant  high-altar  and  the  large 
paintings  which  adorned  the  walls  ;  the  richness  of  the  gilded 
ornament,  the  scarlet  capes  and  gold  lace  of  the  vergers,  the  organ 
in  the  western  gallery  and  the  foreign  look  of  the  congregation,  made 
up  a  most  impressive  picture.  It  brought  to  mind  stage-scenes  of 
Irving's,  and,  but  for  the  costumes  of  the  people,  might  have  been 
part  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

I  was  given  a  seat  near  the  pulpit  in  the  nave;  the  singers  sang 
out  right  lustily,  attracting  a  young  lady  in  front  of  me  who  turned 
around  and  cast  piercing  upward  glances  towards  them  through  a 
pair  of  eyeglasses,  which  at  once  suggested  Boston.  Excepting  this 
slight  interruption,  I  felt  as  though  I  must  be  in  Europe,  so  dis- 
tinctively foreign  were  my  surroundings,  and  when  tlie  warden  came 


FEBRUARY  2,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


57 


around  with  his  collection-box,  guarded  and  shadowed  by  the  verger 
resplendent  in  scarlet  and  gold,  and  carrying  his  insignia  of  office 
aloft,  I  never  dropped  a  coin  more  willingly.  The  priest  at  the 
altar  robed  in  gorgeously  embroidered  vestments,  the  acolytes  in 
attendance,  the  wafting  of  fragrant  incense  from  burning  censers, 
swung  first  towards  the  altar,  then  to  the  choristers  and  lastly  to  us, 
the  unworthy  of  the  congregation,  all  heightened  the  general  effect. 
To  me  the  climax  came  near  the  close  of  the  service,  when  the 
organist,  a  consummate  artist,  played  slowly  and  softly,  what  to  my 
astonished  ears  was  nothing  more  or  less  than  the  old  familiar  air  : 

"  What's  this  dull  toun  to  me, 
Robin  Adair  ?  " 

Laval  University,  which  is  near  the  cathedral,  contains  a  large 
museum.  In  one  room  there  is  a  collection  of  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
three  paintings,  several  of  which,  it  is  said,  were  sent  to  Canada  by 
Abbe'  Uesjardin,  priest  of  the  foreign  missions  in  Paris,  who  resided 
a  few  years  in  Canada  during  the  French  Revolution.  He  bought 
these  paintings  from  some  of  the  old  nobility  who  were  then  leaving 
France,  and  sent  them  to  Canada.  Among  the  collection  are  three 
by  David  Teniers,  two  by  Salvator  Rosa  and  one  by  Tintoretto. 

T-    *v-    seminary  chapel   which   adjoins   tin \*,.~*\t,,    ™. 


In   the 


university,  were    a 


Sous    Le   Fort. 


number  of  valuable  paintings  by  celebrated  masters,  all  unfortunately 
destroyed  by  fire  on  New  Year's  Day  of  last  year.  Some  writers  in 
referring  to  these  paintings  in  Quebec,  have  been  quite  sceptical  as  to 

their  genuineness.  I  cannot 
speak  from  the  standpoint  of 
an  expert  in  this  branch  of 
fine  arts,  but  my  impression 
was  that  many  of  these  paint- 
ings had  all  the  characteris- 
tics of  the  several  old  masters 
whose  names  are  attached  to 
them,  and  with  reference 
generally  to  the  large  paint- 
ings which  are  framed  and 
hung  on  the  walls  of  the 
various  chapels  and  churches, 
it  is  immaterial,  when  we 
consider  their  decorative 
value  in  the  interiors. 

After  the  cathedral,  the 
most  interesting  chapels  are 
those  of  the  Ursnline  Convent 
and  the  Hotel  Dieu.  At  the 
former  convent  you  talk  with 
a  nun,  invisible  behind  a  metal 
plate,  at  a  barred  opening  in 
the  hall,  and  a  servant  is  sent 
to  show  you  the  chapel.  The 
convent  was  founded  in  1641  by  Madame  De  la  Peltrie,  and  after- 
wards rebuilt  in  1686.  A  monument  to  the  memory  of  Moutcalm  is 
in  the  chapel,  and  here  lie  his  remains. 

Quebec  is  a  city  of  contrasts.  On  a  Sunday  afternoon  I  entered 
the  town  by  the  place  where  once  stood  the  Palace  Gate,  through 
which  Montcalm  rode  in  hot  haste  to  defend  the  town.  Sounds  of 
primitive  music  came  from  a  building  up  the  street :  the  Salvation 
Army  had  taken  possession.  I  turned  down  a  narrower  street,  to  the 
left,  and  heard  a  softer  strain  of  music  coming  from  the  convent 
walls.  I  opened  a  door  and  entered  an  outer  garden  from  which, 
bevond  another  wall,  I  saw  through  the  open  windows  of  a  side 
chapel  the  veiled  figures  of  the  nuns  rising  and  falling  as  they  sang 
the  sacred  chants.  In  the  chapel,  to  which  visitors  are  admitted, 
were  a  few  worshippers ;  the  arched  opening  to  the  side  chapel  was 
filled  with  a  metal  grating  which  hid  the  nuns  from  view. 

The  early  history  of  Canada,  when  Jesuit  priests  went  out  to 
Christianize  the  Indians,  is  filled  with  many  a  martyr's  story.  There 
is  nothing  in  all  the  annals  of  the  early  Christian  martyrs  to  com- 
pare with  the  terrible  fate  that  befel  Jean  de  Brebceuf,  a  man  of  noble 
lineage.  It  would  horrify  you  were  I  to  relate  his  torture,  yet 
never  did  man  die  more  bravely  or  heroically.  "  His  family  sent 
from  France  a  silver  bust  of  their  martyred  kinsman,  in  the  base  of 
which  was  a  recess  to  contain  his  skull,  and  to  this  day  these  are 
preserved  with  pious  care  by  the  nuns  of  the  Hotel  Dieu." 

One  of  the  most  delightful  excursions  from  Quebec  is  that  to  the 
village  of  Ste.  Anne  de  Beaupr^,  about  eighteen  miles  down  the  St. 
Lawrence.  The  journey  may  be  performed  by  either  road  or  river, 
but  the  tourist  would  do  well  to  include  both.  It  will  well  repay 
him.  A  little  steamer  leaves  the  wharf  at  the  lower  town,  about  six 
o'clock  in  the  morning.  We  sail  past  the  Falls  of  Montmorenci,  a 
body  of  water  leaping  down  a  sheer  precipice  full  two  hundred  feet 
in  height.  There  are  saw-mills  along  the  shore  near  it  driven  by 
water-power,  and  the  same  force  has  been  ingeniously  utilized  to 
generate  the  electric  current  which  lights  Quebec  eight  miles  distant. 
The  spot  is  memorable,  too,  as  being  the  scene  of  Wolfe's  first  attack 
on  the  French,  when  he  had  to  retreat  with  a  loss  of  over  four 
hundred  men.  We  sail  past  groups  of  quaint-looking  farm-houses 
which  form  the  sleepy  villages,  stopping  now  and  then  at  landings  by 
the  flats  on  the  river  side,  until  about  eight  o'clock  we  step  ashore 
under  the  lee  of  steep  hills. 

At  the  suggestion  of  mv  travelling  companions,  two  French  Cana- 
dians from  Quebec,  we  repaired,  with  sharpened  appetites,  to  the 


Convent  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity  for  breakfast.  This  institution 
partakes  of  the  character  of  an  hostelry,  providing  in  the  refectory 
plain,  substantial  fare  for  the  wayfarer  and  pilgrim.  The  rates  and 
other  particulars  about  boarding,  which  are  printed  in  French  and 
English,  are  hung  in  the  hall.  The  novelty  of  the  situation  led  us 
to  think  of  staying  all  night,  but  a  chat  later  on  in  the  day  with  the 
girl  who  sat  knitting  in  the  hall  and  acting  as  doorkeeper,  revealed 
the  fact  not  explained  in  the  rules  and  regulations  aforesaid,  that  the 
regular  boarders  must  be  of  the  gentler  sex. 

There  are  hotels  enough  in  the  village,  one-half  of  them  called 
"  Hotel  de  la  Bonne"  Ste.  Anne."  They  are  not  so  picturesque  as 
one  would  like,  for  most  of  them  are  modern ;  but,  in  spite  of  this, 
one  is  again  and  again  here  reminded  of  French  country-life.  A 
girl  hay-making  in  a  field  comes  down  the  road  when  she  leaves  her 
work,  looking  the  very  counterpart  of  her  Normandy  cousin,  or  as 
if  she  had  stepped  bodily  from  one  of  Millet's  peasant  pictures.  In 
this  pleasant  village,  under  the  shelter  of  a  hill  called  Petite  Cap, 
the  pious  Governor  Aillebout,  in  1658,  began  a  church  with  his  own 
hands;  and  here  I  must  quote  the  historian:  "Louis  Grumont,  a 
habitant  of  Beaupre,  sorely  afflicted  with  rheumatism,  came,  grinning 
with  pain,  to  lay  three  stones  in  the  foundation,  in  honor,  probably, 
of  Ste.  Anne,  St.  Joachim,  and  their  daughter,  the  Virgin.  Instantlv 
he  was  cured.  It  was  but  the  beginning  of  a  long  course  of  miracles, 
continued  more  than  two  centuries,  and  continuing  still."  .Every 
year,  pilgrims  came  from  all  parts  of  Canada  and  the  United 
States,  numbering  hundreds  of  thousands  annually.  There  were 
cures  reported  in  the  newspapers  while  I  was  in  Quebec,  but  no 
miracles  were  wrought  on  the  day  I  visited  the  church,  perhaps 
because  it  was  a  Friday,  an  inauspicious  day.  Lest  any  one  should 
doubt  the  reality  of  these  marvellous  works,  there  stand  inside  at 
the  western  end  of  the  church  two  circular  wooden  stagings,  about 
four  feet  diameter  at  the  base,  and  from  thirty  to  forty  feet  high,  on 
which  hang  many  an  old  stave  and  crutch,  left  behind  by  those  who 
have  been  cured  at  the  shrine  of  Ste.  Anne. 

To  the  antiquarian,  it  is  a  matter  of  deep  regret  that  the  old 
church  was  taken  down.  In  1871  it  was  still  standing,  but  in  a  ruin- 
ous condition.  About  two  years  later  a  new  church,  on  a  much  larger 
scale,  was  begun,  and  in  due  course  finished.  The  old  church,  to 
judge  from  the  photographs  of  it,  must  have  been  a  quaint  and  inter- 
esting structure.  On  the  site  where  it  once  stood  a  chapel  was  built, 
and  the  picturesque  double  bell-tower  of  the  old  church,  shown  in  this 
sketch,  surmounts  it.  The  old  stones  were  used  to  build  the  walls, 
and  some  of  the  old  parts  of  the  interior  were  used  in  the  new  chapel. 
It  is  thus  not  destitute  of  the  interesting  element,  especially  as  it 
contains  some  highly-prized  relics,  but  the  big  new  church  across 
the  road,  like  all  the  modern  work  in  and  around  Quebec,  very 
grandiose  in  its  way,  has  little,  if  any,  artistic  merit. 

A  study  of  the  history  of  the  country  leads  one  to  suppose  that 
the  building  and  decorative  arts  never  attained  to  any  marked  ex- 
cellence, nor  could  this  be  otherwise.  The  people  were  too  much 
under  the  surveillance  of  their  religious  teachers,  and  their  time,  too 
much  taken  up  with,  religious  work  and  exercises ;  or  else  th  y  were 
engaged  in  war  with  the  Indians,  and  latterly  with  their  neighbors, 
the  British  colonists,  whilst  the  resources  of  the  country,  the  harvests 
of  the  land  and  sea,  were  but  half  developed. 

The  historian  tells  us  that  in  the  seventeenth  century  the  nuns  of 
the  Hotel  Dieu  made  artificial  flowers  for  alt  irs  and  shrines,  and 
the  boys  of  Laval's  Industrial  School,  at  the  seminary,  were  taught 
to  make  carvings  in  wood  for  the  decoration  of  churches.  Pierre, 
son  of  Le  Ber,  a  Montreal  merchant,  had  a  turn  for  painting,  and 
made  religious  pictures,  described  as  very  indifferent.  His  sister 
Jeanne,  an  enthusiastic  devotee  and  recluse,  made  embroideries  for 
vestments  and  altars,  and  her  work  was  much  admired  and  greatly 
in  demand. 

There  were  repeated  complaints  from  the  governors  and  intend- 
ants  as  to  the  dearth  of  skilled  workmen.  The  demand  was  greater 
than  the  supply,  so  it  would  seem  that  the  priests  in  charge  of  the 
schools  were  more  successful  in  making  good  Catholics  than  good 
carpenters,  masons,  blacksmiths,  and  weavers. 

As  far  as  I  rambled,  there  was  hardly  a  moulding  or  bit  of  detail 
worth  sketching  for  furt'ier  study,  but  it  is  possible  that  I  did  not 
explore  thoroughly  enough.  Once,  while  rambling  through  the  blank 
corridors  of  Laval  University,  I  came  upon  a  wooden  chimney-piece 
which  reminded  me  strongly  of  those  still  to  be  found  in  our  old 
colonial  houses.  In  one  of  the  pencil-sketches  you  will  see  what 
might  be  called  a  bit  of  New  England  in  New  France.  This  was  a 
house  of  some  importance  in  its  day,  being  occupied  by  the  French 
governors,  but  it  is  now  all  gone  to  rack  and  ruin. 

One  cause  of  gratitude  we  have  towards  these  Northern  French- 
men is  that  stone  was  their  chief  building  material.  It  gives  at  once 
a  sense  of  solidity  and  depth,  even  when  covered,  as  it  often  is  in 
many  of  the  older  buildings,  with  a  whitewashed  coat  of  plaster.  The 
heavy  chimneys,  high  gable  walls,  and  deep  reveals  help  the  effect. 
Not  uncommonly  we  see  the  exposed  gable-end,  and  even  the 
chimneys  of  a  cottage,  covered,  as  an  additional  protection,  with 
wood  outside  the  masonry. 

You  will  notice  in  this  sketch  at  Point  Levis,  across  the  river 
from  Quebec,  three  different  types  of  wooden  houses  :  first,  the 
oldest,  with  solid  timbers  laid  horizontally,  and  dovetailed  at  the 
angles,  the  joints  being  filled-in  with  mortar ;  next,  a  later  type 
shows  the  exterior  covered  with  upright  planks  or  boards,  even  the 
Cables  and  chimneys  being  similarly  covered;  and  lastly,  the  latest 


58 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.        [.VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  68 1. 


type  of  all  shows  a  wide  projection  of  the  eaves,  sometimes  extend- 
ing about  a  yard  from  the  wall.  This  is  a  particularly  effective 
feature,  giving  a  bold  shadow,  and  protecting  the  upper  part  of  the 
wall  from  the  weather. 

I  observed  on  the  country-road  to  Montmorenci,  that  the  fronts  of 
the  cottages  were  not  always  placed  parallel  with  the  road,  being 
very  often  at  angles  with  it,  when  the  road  changed  direction.  The 
simple  explanation  of  this  was  that  the  cottages  were  built  with  the 
gable-end  towards  that  quarter  of  the  compass  from  which  the  stormy 
winds  would  blow,  but  it  is  needless  to  add  that,  besides  the  uses  of 
this  expedient,  it  tended  greatly  to  the  general  picturesqueness 


Point    Letts. 

The  barns  in  the  rear  of  these  cottages  were  quaint-looking  and 
admirable  in  color.  At  the  apex  of  many  of  the  gable-ends  the  roof 
projected,  as  in  sketch,  forming  a  kind  of  hood.  In  the  city  many 
odd-looking  dormers  are  to  be  seen  with  similar  projecting  roofs. 
A  telescope  form  of  chimney,  such  as  appears  in  another  sketch,  is 
another  feature  occasionally  found. 

From  a  study  of  roofs,  one  soon  notices  that  ladders  are  left  there 
all  the  year  around,  which  would  seem  to  indicate  that  repairs  are 
frequently  needed,  owing  probably  to  the  frequent  use  of  unpainted 
tin  shingles.  And  yet,  in  spite  oif  its  drawbacks  as  a  roof-covering, 
this  material  has  to  a  stranger  —  that  is,  to  the  artistic  stranger  — 
a  very  charming  effect.  It  soon,  by  exposure  to  the  weather,  assumes 
a  steel  gray  and  gray-green  appearance,  and  those  portions  which 
turn  rusty  have  the  color  of  burnt  sienna.  The  effect  in  the  distance 
is  to  relieve  masses  of  dull  gray  by  a  glistening  sheen,  like  gold,  on 
the  rustier  roofs.  I  saw,  on  the  way  to  Montreal,  an  old  windmill 
that  was  almost  black,  covered  with  a  dome-shaped  roof,  which  shone 
like  burnished  gold.  It  seemed  hard  to  believe  that  it  was  simply 
rusty  tin.  In  the  design  of  the  belfries,  you  will  observe  that  the 
lower  tier  of  arched  openings  is  almost  invariably  repeated  above  on 
a  smaller  scale.  These  belfries  often  have  finials  and  crosses  of 
wrought-iron,  generally  light  in  appearance,  as  at  the  Ursuline  Con- 
vent. There  are  also  iron  crosses  by  the  roadside,  on  the  way  to 
Ste.  Anne,  which  doubtless  came  from  France. 

In  the  early  days,  when  the  ships  sailed  only  once,  or  twice  in  the 
year  to  the  old  country,  the  governors  and  intendants  were  much 
given  to  writing  what  might  be  termed  long-winded  epistles  to  the 
ministers  at  home  ;  and,  as  the  home  government  was  remarkably 
considerate  of  the  young  colony's  claims,  it  is  more  than  likely  that 
much  of  the  church  interior  furnishings,  such  as  paintings,  metal- 
work,  and  embroidery,  came  from  France. 

Glancing  into  the  wayside  cottages  as  we  passed,  we  could  often 
see  an  old  chair  or  -a  table,  plain  and  simple  in  form,  but  undoubt- 
edly ancient.  It  seemed,  therefore,  that  the  town  would  not  be  com- 
plete without  an  old  curiosity-shop,  and  when  we  found  it,  this,  too, 
was  satisfying.  It  partook  very  much  of  the  character  of  a  museum, 
and  must  be  a  perfect  mine  to  the  archaeologist  and  the  antiquarian. 
It  was  a  rare  and  varied  collection  :  swords,  muskets,  and  bayonets 
picked  up  on  the  field  of  battle;  bullets  and  cannon-shot;  a  piece  of 
the  chain  that  moored  one  of  Jacques  Cartier's  ships ;  old  Indian 
curiosities,  geological  specimens,  coins,  furniture,  silver  plate,  metal 
and  china  ware  —  filling  in  all  three  large  rooms.  Of  old  French 
art  there  did  not  seem  to  be  much;  but  no  doubt  the  curio-hunter 
has  long  before  this  ransacked  the  country  and  borne  away  such 
booty.  Other  things  seemed  to  suggest  the  departed  glory  of  English 
families,  who  have  probably  either  gone  back  to  the  old  country  or 
come  to  grief  in  this. 

And  now  a  few  words  about  Quebec  as  a  field  for  the  artist. 
Some  of  you,  in  your  rambles  round  about  Boston,  have  perhaps 
lost  many  an  hour  hunting  for  a  subject  to  sketch.  We  all  know 
what  that  means  —  something  interesting,  picturesque,  and  good  in 
composition.  I  dare  say  you  have  found  that  Nature  is  not  always 
pictorial.  In  and  around  Quebec  you  will  find  subjects  plentiful, 
without  much  need  to  change  or  modify,  the  whole  composing  hap- 
pily. It  may  be  a  view  in  the  rear  of  a  house,  with  an  odd  group- 
ing of  various  accessories  in  the  back-yard ;  a  few  chimneys  and 
old  roofs ;  a  large  azalea  in  flower  amid  ruin  and  decay  ;  or  an  old 
tannery  with  orange-russet  color  in  the  bark  on  the  ground,  and 
dark  umber  color  OB  the  barns  and  roofs  —  the  hides  hanging  on  a 
line.  Again,  there  are  old  boats,  stranded  on  the  river-bank  —  old 
wharves  going  to  decay,  grown  gray,  green,  and  umber  in  color. 


Many  painters  in  France  represent  green  fields  with  a  color  which 
any  one  at  all  familiar  with  the  work  of  different  schools  would 
recognize  as  distinctively  French.  Now,  around  Quebec,  I  saw  more 
than  once  in  the  fields  just  such  a  color  of  green.  Was  it  merely 
imagination,  or  had  the  landscape  become  susceptible  to  French 
influence,  and  thus  resembled  the  mother-country?  I  should  be  glad 
to  know,  from  those  who  have  been  in  both  Old  and  New  France, 
whether  this  theory  has  any  basis  of  fact. 

From  what  I  have  already  remarked  about  the  rural  districts,  it  is 
almost  needless  to  add  that  the  figure-painter,  also,  finds  charming  sub- 
jects here.  In  a  word,  it  is  a  painter's  paradise,  and  some  of  our  Bos- 
ton artists  have  found  this  to  their  profit.  The  majority  of  us,  who 
are  but  amateur  dabblers  in  landscape-painting,  and  even  those  who 
have  no  talent  for  sketching,  may  benefit  largely  from  the  quiet  study 
of  such  scenes  as  these.  To  enlarge  our  horizon,  to  rest  and  drink 
in^the  silent  influences  of  the  time  and  place  —  by  the  very  contrast 
this  makes  with  our  work-a-day  world  —  will  surely  bring  freshened 
and  original  thoughts. 

Before  seeing  this  country  you  should  know  its  history  well,  and, 
if  you  read  Francis  Parkman  on  this  subject,  you  will  be  astonished 
to  find  how  much  of  an  outline  your  school-history  has  become.  It 
will  afford  you,  at  the  same  time,  a  glimpse  of  this  country  in  the 
early  colonial  days,  and  you  will  feel  grateful  to  the  historian  for  his 
able  work,  doubly  enhancing,  as  it  will,  the  enjoyment  of  your  tour. 

With  much  that  is  romantic  in  the  annals  of  New  France,  we 
have  here  also  an  historical  study  of  peculiar  interest.  How,  on  the 
one  hanJ,  the  British  colonies,  peopled  for  the  most  part  with  a  race 
trained  in  habits  of  self-reliance,  grew  strong  and  independent ;  on 
the  other,  this  colony  of  New  France,  of  earlier  birth,  but  always 
under  paternal  leading-strings,  reflecting  in  its  later  life  some  of  the 
corrupting  influences  at  work  in  the  mother-country  precursory  to 
the  French  Revolution;  and  when  the  end  drew  near  the  gathering 
of  the  army  to  defend  Quebec,  the  story  of  that  long  summer's  siege, 
the  splendid  strategy  of  the  gallant  Wolfe,  his  death  in  the  hour  of 
victory,  and  the  brave  Montcahn  in  the  hour  of  defeat  —  all  reads 
like  a  page  of  some  grandly  written  drama.  Wreathed  with  such 
thrilling  historic  associations  as  these,  this  hoary  old  town  must  ever 
remain  a  delightful  Mecca  to  all  thoughtful  and  observant  pilgrims. 


TITHE  aim  of  this  department  will  be  to  answer  such  questions  of. 
•>  1 1"  law  arising  out  of  building  transactions,  and  of  general  interest 
to  the  profession,  as  may  be  sent  in  to  the  editors  by  subscribers 
or  others,  and  also  from  time  to  time  to  discuss  in  a  more  general 
way  the  various  legal  questions  which  are  continually  arising  between 
architect,  contractor,  and  client.  The  principles  of  law  applicable 
to  building  disputes  will  be  presented,  so  far  as  practicable,  in  the 
language  of  the  layman,  rather  than  in  the  technical  garb  of  the 
lawyer's  brief,  and  as  concisely  as  possible.  If  correspondents  desire 
further  or  more  detailed  answers  than  the  scope  of  this  department 
and  the  space  at  its  disposal  will  permit,  they  can  be  accommodated 
on  special  application  to  the  editors. 

The  solution  of  questions  involving  a  knowledge  of  local  regula- 
tions can  —  with  the  exception  of  the  building  laws  of  the  city  of 
Boston  —  hardly  be  attempted,  owing  to  the  difficulty  of  obtaining 
the  ordinances.  The  questions  that  interest  architects,  however,  and 
the  disputes  they  are  called  upon  to  settle,  usually  involve  merely  a 
correct  application  of  the  general  principles  of  the  Common  Law ; 
jeing  seldom  controlled  by  the  statute  laws  of  the  several  States, 
and  more  rarely  still  by  city  ordinances. 

A  greater  diversity  of  service  is  expected  of  the  modern  architect 
;han  of  any  other  class  of  professional  men.  He  must  not  only  be 
skilled  in  construction  and  design  ;  he  must  look  after  the  financial 
nterests  of  his  client;  he  must  act  as  arbitrator  in  disputes  between 
the  latter  and  the  contractor ;  and  he  is  expected  to  pass  on  every 
question  of  law  that  arises  during  his  employment.  All  this  wealth 
of  learning,  skill  and  business  keenness  is  expected  to  be  at  his 
client's  disposal  without  extra  compensation  ;  and  it  is  not  strange 
;hat  oftentimes  the  architect  gets  weary  and  the  client  dissatisfied. 

Probably  none  of  the  manv  problems  which  the  nature  of  his  call- 
ng  and  the  oftentimes  unreasonably  exacting  demands  of  his  client 
throw  upon  the  architect  give  him  more  trouble  than  the  legal  diffi- 
culties which  surround  all  building  operations.  From  the  selection 
of  the  site  and  the  drawing  of  the  contracts  and  specifications  to  the 
payment  of  the  last  bill,  or  the  termination  of  the  last  law-suit, 
questions  are  continually  arising  which  demand  some  knowledge  of 
;he  law.  These  cannot  generally  be  referred  to  a  lawyer,  partly 
Because  the  owner  will  not  stand  the  expense,  and  partly  because  an 
accurate  and  ready  answer  to  many  of  them  would  demand  a  more 
thorough  familiarity  with  building  methods  than  most  lawyers  possess. 
An  acquaintance,  therefore,  with  the  rules  of  law  applicable  to  build- 
ng  transactions  is  essential  to  the  architect ;  but  it  is  not  such  an 
easy  thing  to  acquire.  The  law-books  devoted  to  the  subject  are 
rew  in  number,  and  totally  inadequate  in  substance  from  the  stand- 
joint  of  both  architect  and  lawyer ;  study  of  the  building  cases  in 
,he  law-reports  is  laborious  in  the  extreme,  and  altogether  unlikely 


FEBRUARY  2,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


59 


to  load  a  layman  to  correct  conclusions.  Practically,  therefore,  the 
usual  road  to  accurate  knowledge  of  the  law  for  builders,  architects, 
and  owners  is  the  vexatious  path  of  litigation. 

It  is  not  that  the  rules  of  law  applicable  to  building  operations  are 
complicated  or  uncertain  :  they  are,  on  the  contrary,  few  and  simple ; 
but  for  this  very  reason,  and  because  of  their  general  character,  they 
are  usually  taken  for  granted  in  the  cases  and  books  on  building. 
It  is,  therefore)  the  more  general  works,  the  books  on  agency,  on 
real  property  and  on  contracts,  that  the  layman  in  search  of  building 
law  must  digest,  and  that  is  generally  a  task  for  which  he  has  not 
time. 

The  characteristic  feature  of  the  English  common  law  as  distin- 
guished from  the  jurisprudence  of  continental  Europe,  founded 
mainly  on  principles  inherited  from  the  days  of  the  Roman  law,  is 
its  freedom  from  special  branches  and  special  rules  applicable  to  par- 
ticular subjects  only.  The  fundamental  principles  of  the  common 
law  are  extremely  few,  and  they  are  of  general  application.  There 
is,  for  instance,  no  '-building  law,"  strictly  speaking;  that  if,  there 
is  no  set  of  rules  of  special  and  peculiar  application  to  buildings. 
There  is  no  special  law  of  party-walls,  there  being  no  such  thing  in 
our  system  of  jurisprudence  as  a  "  party-wall,"  considered  as  a 
distinct  species  of  property  with  special  legal  attributes.  There  is 
no  law  peculiar  to  architects  as  such  ;  they  have  with  us  no  definite 
legal  status,  as  in  France  and  other  countries.  An  architect  has,  in 
our  law,  no  authority  whatever  as  such,  and  all  his  legal  relations  with 
his  client  are  to  be  determined  pimply  by  the  general  rules  of  agency 
and  contract.  Thus  the  questions  commonly  put  by  architects  to 
lawyers:  "Can  the  architect  do  so  and  so?"  "  Has  the  architect 
authority  to  order  such  and  such  things  ?  "  are  in  that  form  incapable 
of  being  answered,  for  the  extent  of  the  architect's  authority  depends 
in  every  case  upon  the  instructions  which  he  has,  in  fact,  received 
from  his  client. 

A  full  appreciation  of  the  fact  that  we  have  no  special  "  building 
law,"  that  the  term  itself,  strictly  speaking,  is  a  misnomer,  being 
simply  a  convenient  designation  for  the  group  of  cases  in  which  the 
general  rules  of  law  have  been  applied  to  building  contracts  and 
kindred  questions,  is  the  first  thing  to  be  grasped  by  every  one 
whose  calling  makes  it  important  for  him  to  become  familiar  with 
the  principles  of  law  which  govern  these  matters. 

An  attempt  will  be  made  in  this  department,  to  present  in  a  concise 
form  the  legal  principles  which  it  is  important  for  architects  to 
know,  and  which,  for  the  reasons  given  above,  it  is  difficult  for  them 
to  ascertain.  It  is  hoped  that  this  work,  supplemented  by  answers 
to  correspondents  and  by  some  discussion  from  the  legal  standpoint 
of  other  matters  of  general  interest  to  architects,  will  meet  with  the 
approbation  of  our  readers  and  of  the  profession  generally. 


COMBUSTIBLE  ARCHITECTURE   AGAIN. 

BOSTON,  MASS.,  January  22,  1889. 
To  THE  EDITORS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT  :  — 

Dear  Sim,  —  Under  the  title  of  "Church  Vestry  Destroyed,"  the 
Boston  Herald,  under  the  date  of  Monday,  January  21,  gives  an 
account  of  the  destruction  of  the  vestry  belonging  to  the  old  Cam- 
bridge Baptist  Church,  which  was  a  large  and  expensive  structure, 
purporting  to  be  built  of  stone.  The  firemen  on  reaching  the  fire 
"  found  the  whole  roof  of  the  vestry  blazing,"  and  with  great  difliculty 
the  fire  was  prevented  from  penetrating  the  hollow  roof  and  the 
hollow  walls  of  the  main  church,  which  was  barely  saved. 

The  cause  of  the  fire  is  said  to  have  been  a  defective  flue : 
this  may  be  a  very  good  guess,  but  one  who  has  studied  the  frequent 
combustion  of  this  class  of  buildings  may  venture  to  guess  that 
during  the  variable  weather  of  last  week  the  furnace  was  lighted 
when  the  church  was  very  cold,  and  when  the  outer  air  became 
warm,  back  action  may  have  taken  place  through  the  furnace  air- 
box,  probably  made  of  wood,  setting  the  floor  and  hollow  wall  of  the 
vestry  on  fire;  the  fire  being  immediately  communicated  to  the  roof, 
where  there  was  a  space  of  four  feet  between  the  ceiling  and  the 
roof  proper. 

A  loss  of  twenty  thousand  dollars  and  four  firemen  injured  is  the 
price  paid  for  this  example  of  combustible  architecture.  I  think 
this  is  the  third  instance  of  similar  fires  in  Cambridgeport  in  recent 
years.  In  the  previous  case,  a  second  church  upon  the  same  spot 
where  the  previous  one  had  been  burned,  having  been  destroyed  in 
the  same  way,  I  ventured  to  recommend,  under  the  name  of  "Ignis 
Fatuus,"  that  the  Building  Committee  should  advertise  for  a  safer 
method  of  combustible  architecture,  which  should  ensure  the  very 
prompt  combustion  of  the  church  itself  without  exposing  the  firemen 
to  danger.  Whether  or  not  this  plan  was  followed  in  the  building  of 
the  church  for  the  third  time  I  am  not  informed. 

I  venture  at  this  time,  in  the  light  of  the  fire,  to  send  you  three 
studies  for  slow-burning  churches,  houses  and  hospitals  which  may 
serve  a  useful  purpose  in  calling  the  attention  of  the  public  to  the 
usual  faults  in  construction  of  thfe  kind.  These  buildings  are  out  of 
our  customary  line,  but  since  we  have  been  obliged  to  refuse  to 
insure  a  Memorial  Church,  belonging  to  the  owners  of  some  very 


large  cotton  factories  which  we  d'vl  insure  —  owing  to  its  faulty  con- 
struction—  we  thought  it  might  not  be  inconsistent  to  give  our 
members  some  hints,  so  that  they  might  construct  safe  memorial 
churches,  or  other  buildings  appurtenant  to  their  factories.  We 
submit  these  sketches  merely  as  studies,  for  what  they  are  worth. 
Yours  very  truly,  EDWARD  ATKINSON. 


SUPERINTENDING  WORK  AT  A   DISTANCE. 

SEATTLE,  W.  T.,  January  18, 1889. 

To  THE  EDITORS  OP  THE  AMERICAN"  ARCHITECT  :  — 

Dear  Sirs,  —  I  have  a  work  to  design  and  superintend,  to  cost 
$200,000.  It  is  located  at  Seattle,  W.  T.,  while  my  home  and 
business  is  in  New  York.  I  cannot  give  it  personal  supervision, 
and  must  leave  the  superintendence  to  a  deputy.  There  is  one  of 
tried  experience  who  offers  his  services  at  $2,400,  a  year.  The 
price  is  moderate  ;  he  surely  should  be  worth  that  if  he  is  efficient 
for  the  service,  while  the  payment  —  if  so  large  a  building  is  as  long 
in  construction  as  usual  —  will  probably  more  than  eat  up  the  entire 
commission  allowed  me  for  supervision.  This  1  should  not  at  all 
object  to,  but  here  enters  another  feature:  as  my  representative,  I 
am  responsible,  minus  all  compensation  for  responsibility  for  him,  and 
if —  as  in  the  case  of  a  hotel  at  Kansas  City,  where  I  understand  a  truss 
at  the  top  of  the  building  slipped  and  lauded  in  the  cellar,  ca»sin<* 
several  thousand  dollars  loss,  and  where  combined  with  the  con'- 
tractor,  the  architects  —  though  their  plans  were  faultless,  were 
held  for  the  mishap  because  they  were  the  superintendents'  —  if,  I 
say,  such  troubles  should  arise  in  my  work,  where  would  I  stand? 
And  what  safeguard,  if  there  is  any,  could  I  provide  to  eliminate 
this  unjust  element  of  risk? 

It  has  seemed  to  me  that  the  owners  have  a  distinct  right  to  look 
to  me  to  perform  for  them  all  the  duties  of  an  architect ;  but  ou^ht 
not  I  also  to  have  some  provision  by  which  I  can  sleep  in  security 
while  my  work  is  going  forward? 

Any  suggestion  that  can  help  me  to  adjust  this  business  on  a  proper 
and  if  possible,  a  safe  professional  basis,  will  be  greatly  appreciated 
by,  Yours  respectfully,  VITKUVIUS. 

[WE  should  sny  that  "subscriber's"  best  way  would  be  to  furnish  draw- 
ings and  specifications  for  the  building,  receiving  for  them  the  usual 
commission  for  such  limited  service  of  tinee  nnd  one-hnlf  per  cent,  and  have 
it  understood  that  his  responsibility  ends  then  and  there,  the  owner  pro- 
viding as  he  may  see  lit  for  the  carrying  out  and  supervision  of  the  work. 
If  the  owner  wishes  to  have  the  architect  superintend  the  building,  the  only 
fair  way  would  be  to  pay  him  for  the  time,  as  well  as  the  money',  expended 
in  travelling  to  and  from  .New  York,  tlie  frais  <le  cle'plucemi'nt,  as  the 
Fienuh  law  calls  it.  To  expect  the  architect  to  keep  a  deputy  on 
the  ground,  committing  his  fortune  and  his  professional  reputation  abso- 
lutely to  a  stranger,  simply  because  the  owner  does  not  wish  to  pay  the 
reasonable  cost  of  having  the  architect  himself  see  to  the  work  in  w  hicii  he 
has  so  heavy  a  responsibility,  may  seem  right  to  an  owner,  but  it  hardly 
will  to  any  one  else  ;  and  an  architect  who  would  take  so  grave  a  lisle 
deserves  no  sympathy  from  the  profession.  —  Eus.  AMKIUCAN  AUCHITKCT.] 


PIPING  A  HOUSE   FOR  GAS. 

NEW  YOEK,  January  20, 1889. 
To  THE  EDITORS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT:  — 

Dear  Sirs, —  The  complaint  of  "Sinex"  is  most  interesting,  and 
we  hope  it  will  provoke  discussion.  No  part  of  the  construction  of 
a  building,  of  equal  expense,  is  more  important,  and  none  so  univer- 
sally neglected  by  both  owners  and  architects,  as  the  gas-fitting. 
During  an  experience  of  more  than  twenty-five  years'  gas-fitting,  light- 
ing  many  thousands  of  country  buildings  of  all  classes,  we  have  hardly 
ever  seen  specifications  furnished  by  either  architect  or  owner  which 
would  furnish  reasonable  direction  to  the  gas-fitter,  or  afford  any 
protection  to  the  owner. 

We  have  men  employed  nearly  all  the  time  in  taking  out  pipinf 
from  houses  imperfectly  piped,  and  doing  what  may  be  done  to 
rectify  inferior  work.  During  the  last  thirty  days  we  have  found 
three  buildings  in  the  suburbs  of  New  York  in  such  a  condition  that 
it  was  dangerous  to  turn  the  gas  into  them.  Removing,  at  great 
expense  and  annoyance  to  the  owner,  oak  floors  and  wainscoting, 
tearing  off  decorations,  and  in  some  instances  removing  clapboards 
from  the  outside  of  houses,  we  have  found  every  rule  "of  tbe  trade 
violated  —  split  pipe,  fittings  full  of  sand-holes,  joints  so  loosely  put 
together  that  they  may  be  swung  around  by  hand,  pipe  of  insufficient 
capacity,  drops  taken  out  from  the  bottom  of  running  lines,  bracket- 
lights  run  from  overhead  instead  of  from  below,  and  drips  carrying 
a  condensation  into  fixtures,  instead  of  into  risers  and  out  of  the 
house. 

How  may  these  difficulties  be  avoided  ? 

First,  let.  "  Sinex  "  pay  what  the  work  is  worth. 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  no  house  to  which  even  the  smallest  gas- 
machine  made  would  be  attached  can  be  honestly  piped  for  thirty 
dollars.  No  gas-fitter  ought  to  consent  to  pipe  any  house  for  less 
than  fifty  dollars.  In  a  matter  of  so  much  importance,  and  where 
the  cost  is  so  trifling,  why  should  not  the  owner,  selecting  tradesmen 
of  financial  responsibility  and  known  skill,  order  the  gas-fitting  done 
by  the  day  ?  Why  invite  dishonest  work  by  asking,  in  a  general 
way,  for  bids  from  anybody  and  everybody,  without  providing,  first, 
suitable  specifications  for  the  work,  and,  second,  insisting  on  a  cer- 
tificate signed  by  an  inspector  known  to  be  competent?  We  have 
furnished  printed  directions  and  specifications  in  detail  for  the  piping 


60 


TJie   American   Architect  and  Building  News.     [VoL.  XXIV.  —No.  684. 


of  suburban  buildings  suitable  for  gasolene-gas  for  many  years,  and 
have  distributed  thousands  of  them  to  architects  and  owners  without 
charge,  but  have  never  in  a  single  instance  seen  one  of  them  used. 

So  long  as  owners  and  architects  are  so  singularly  and  conspicu- 
ously indifferent  to  the  character  of  work  done,  how  can  gas-fitters 
and  plumbers  be  expected  to  care. 

Probably  "  Sinex  "  got  more  than  thirty  dollars'  worth  of  work  in 
the  case  he  complains  of. 

GILBERT  &  BARKER  MANUFACTURING  COMPANY. 


THE   CHURCH  OF  GAUDALUPE,  MFXICO. 

HARTFORD.  Coys.,  January  22,  1889. 
To  THE  EDITORS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT:  — 

Dear  Sirs, —  Some  of  your  readers  may  be  interested  to  know  that 
the  massive  frame  surrounding  the  '•  miraculous "  picture  of  the 
Virgin  in  the  centre  of  the  high  altar  of  the  church  at  Guadalupe, 
published  in  last  issue,  is  of  solid  gold,  and  was  given  by  a  wealthy 
merchant  who  had  been,  it  is  alleged,  benefited  by  the  Virgin's  in- 
terposition in  his  affairs. 

The  double  balustrading  reaching  down  from  the  altar  to  the 
organ  in  middle  of  nave  is  of  solid  silver. 

The  frame,  I  am  not  able  to  vouch  for,  but,  while  I  was  at  the 
church  a  few  months  ago,  the  organ  was  undergoing  partial  removal 
and  I  inspected  the  railing,  and  found  it  cast  hollow,  with  a  shell 
one-quarter  inch  thick,  apparently  of  pure  silver  throughout. 

Silver  js  not  dear  in  Mexico,  and  in  the  thin,  dry  air  preserves  its 
brilliant  lustre  a  long  time  without  rcpolishing. 

In  this  church  of  Guadalupc  are  hung  numerous  effigies  in  silver 
of  portions  of  human  bodies  which  have  been  healed  by  the  Virgin's 
miraculous  powers.  Yours  very  respectfully, 

MELVIN  II.  HAF-GOOD. 


shocks  upon  the  teeth  of  the  gear,  and  in  that  way  acted  as  a  buffer 
preventing  the  gears  from  committing  a  mechanical  suicide.  A  steam 
engine,  used  to  operate  the  dynamos  for  lighting  an  insurance  building 
in  New  York,  gave  a  great  deal  of  annoyance  to  the  occupants  by  the 
jar  which  was  transmitted  throughout  the  building.  It  is  supposed 
that  the  motion  of  the  engine  was  in  rhythm  with  the  key-note  of  the 
building.  The  makers  of  several  engines  tried  to  solve  the  problem, 
which  was  at  last  achieved  by  one  firm,  who  bolted  the  beil  of  their 
engine  to  a  timber  raft  which  rested  upon  a  layer  of  hair  felt  such  as 
is  used  for  non-conducting  coverings  for  steam  pipes  and  boilers,  but 
fourteen  inches  thick.  This  felt  was  placed  upon  the  masonry  founda- 
tion recently  prepared  for  the  engine,  and  surrounded  by  a  heavy 
timber  box  which  prevented  its  spreading.  An  engine,  used  to  operate 
the  electric-light  plant  in  one  of  the  principal  hotels  in  New  York  City, 
gave  annoyance  to  the  guests  because,  when  it  was  in  operation,  beats 
could  be  heard  all  over  the  building,  notwithstanding  that  the  engine 
was  situated  in  a  tightly-closed  room  in  the  basement.  After  various 
other  expedients  had  failed,  the  doors  to  this  room  were  taken  down 
and  replaced  by  double  thicknesses  of  carpet  fixed  upon  the  frame- 
work. This  served  to  break  up  the  rhythm  in  such  a  way  that  the 
sound  was  not  heard  throughout  the  building.  Sawdust  has  been  used 
for  foundations  in  many  instances,  and  there  are  numerous  towns  in 
the  United  States  which  have  been  built  up  from  small  villages  origin- 
ally around  a  sawmill,  and  the  sawdust  from  the  mill  has  been  used  to 
fill  up  low  places  which  have  afterwards  served  as  building  lots.  In 
course  of  time  such  filling  becomes  very  compact,  and  does  not  appear 
to  waste  by  decay.  —  Engineering* 


A  "CLOSE  CALL."  —  One  of  the  worst  frightened  men  in  Fall  Kiver, 
Mass. ,  recently,  was  Alderman  Durfee.  He  happened  to  be  standing 
on  a  ledge  of  rock  from  which  building  stone  was  being  quarried. 
Everything  was  quiet,  but  he  finally  noticed  a  man  crawling  towards 
him  cautiously  on  his  hands  and  knees.  The  alderman  naturally  in- 
quired why  this  was  being  done,  and  was  informed  that  for  the  past  ten 
minutes  lie  had  been  standing  on  top  of  a  dynamite  cartridge,  and  that 
the  crawler  had  been  trying  to  set  it  off  by  means  of  an  electric  wire. 
The  alderman's  heel  was  upon  the  wire  and  had  grounded  it,  and  that 
was  the  only  reason  why  the  blast  did  not  go  off.  —  Fire  and  Water. 


BRICK  FOUNDATIONS.  —  Mr.  II.  Leonard,  M.  I.  C.  E.,  the  late  chief 
engineer  to  the  Bengal  1'ublic  Works  Department,  gives  in  Indian 
Ettghieering  an  interesting  account  of  experiments  carried  out  by  him 
at  Akra  with  a  view  to  determining  the  proper  proportions  of  brick 
foundations  in  alluvial  soil.  The  experiments  were  made  on  a  large 
scale,  the  piers  being  of  a  size  such  as  might  be  used  in  real  work,  and 
the  indications  obtained  are  correspondingly  valuable.  First,  with  re- 
gard to  the  pressure  permissible,  Mr.  Leonard  found  that  with  a 
ptessure  of  one  ton  per  square  foot  on  the  soil  there  was  practically  no 
sinking,  whilst  with  two  tons  the  sinking  was  decided,  and  sufficient  to 
cause  bad  cracks.  If  one  part  of  a  building  were  built  with  a  pressure 


THK  combination  of  electric-light  interests  which  has  been  Ions:  under  dis- 
cns.-ion,  has  been  finally  partially  effected  by  the  United  States  and  the 
Westiiisslioiise  uniting.  These  companies  will  control  some  7<'0  patents  and 
represent  a  capital  of  $10,000,001).  The  manufacturing  capacity  at  present 
is  15.000  lamps  per  day.  and  new  works  will  be  erected  at  New  York  and 
Pittsburgh  to  expand  production  to  any  desired  limit.  This  unification  of 
interests  is  significant  in  many  respects.  It  means,  among  other  thinsrs, 
that  a  good  many  patents  that  ha\e  heretofore  been  unused  will  hereafter 
j  be  developed,  and  that  a  great  deal  of  work  will  be  prosecuted  w  inch  it  was 
to  the  individual  interest  of  the  companies  to  hold  in  {-heck.  While  this  is 
in  the  form  of  a  monopoly,  it  is  one  of  those  combinations  which  will 
naturally  result  in  much  good.  It  is  probable  that  the  cost  of  tlei  trie 
lighting  w-ill  decline  rather  than  inctease.  The  reports  from  the  leading 
companies  all  over  the  United  States  all  speak  of  an  unusually  active 
condition  of  business.  During  the  past  ninety  days  more  business  for 
electric-light  conveniences  have  been  received  and  ordcrf  d,  it  is  stated,  than 
during  any  previous  twelve  months.  Manufacturers  of  machinery  of  all 
sorts  of  equipments  and  supplies  are  now  crowded  with  work,  and  this 
conditions  of  things  is  not  likely  to  be  changed  by  any  decadence  of  demand 
for  an  indefinite  period.  The  demand  for  elect ric-li^ht  goods  from  all 
sections  of  the  country,  from  small  towns  in  the  far  West  and  Southwest, 
as  well  as  from  the  larger  cities,  is  large.  The  activity  in  electrical  circles  is 
a  fair  sample  of  what  is  uoing  on  in  many  other  directions.  The  projectors 
and  promotors  of  industrial  enterprises  arc  entering  upon  their  new  work 
for  the  coming  season.  A  resume  of  the  extensive  operations  projected 
during  the  past  thirty  days  may  be,  presented  in  the  compass  covering 
almost  every  kind  of  manufacturing  enterprise.  Throughout  the  South, 
cotton-mills,  agricultural  implement-works,  wagon-factories,  rolling-mills, 
blast-furnaces,  besides  innumerable  small  manufacturing  establishments, 
are  all  projected  for  construction  as  soon  as  material  can  be  luid.  Louis- 
ville will  become  quite  a  manufacturing  city  if  all  the  schemes  that  are  pro- 
jected aro  carried  out.  Mississippi  has  already  made  wonderful  progress, 
and  several  large  companies  ate  now  preparing  to  operate  in  that  State,  in 
railroad  construction,  in  the  establishment  of  ship  lines,  in  cotton-mills, 
in  lumbering  operations  and  in  many  others.  A  great,  deal  of  money  will 
be  invested  in  Northern  Alaska  this  year,  and  four  or  five  long  Hues  will  be 


,.,.,,.  .,  ,          uc  uiieBbcu  01  i^ui  LII£I  ii  miii*n>i  im>  icnr,  it 

of  two  tons  per  square  loot  on  the  foundations,  and  another  part  with  coll.t,.,,cted,  the  others  of  fifty  miles  in  leu 
one  ton  only,  the  unequal  settlement  would  be,  he  considers,  quite 
sufficient  to  cause  bad  cracks ;  hence  the  load  on  the  foundations 
should  be  under  one  ton  per  square  foot,  or  if  over  should  be  equal  on 
all  the  piers.  Experiments  were  next  made  on  the  proper  depth  for 
the  foundations.  Trials  were  made  with  foundations  at  two  feet,  six 
inches,  or  just  below  the  usually  disturbed  soil,  at  four  feet  where  the 
true  alluv  al  deposit  was  undisturbed,  at  eight  feet  where  a  different 
though  not  better  soil  was  touched,  and  at  eleven  feet  where  the  soil 
was  soft  and  wet.  The  foundations  at  two  feet  six  inches  were  found 
to  be  affected  by  heavy  rains,  whilst  those  at  eleven  feet  sank  more 
than  those  at  four  feet  and  eight  feet,  and  Mr.  Leonard  finally  con- 
cludes that  in  undisturbed  alluvial  soil  the  foundations  of  important 
buildings  should  be  laid  at  a  depth  of  between  four  feet  and  six  feet. 
The  third  point  examined  was  the  proper  spread  to  give  the  brickwork 
in  such  soil,  and  from  these  experiments  he  concludes  that  for  a  press- 
ure of  one  ton  to  the  square  foot  in  Bengal  soil  the  thickness  at  the  toe 
of  the  slope  should  not  be  less  than  one  foot  six  inches  and  the  step- 
ping at  an  angle  of  not  more  than  forty-five  degrees.  —  Engineering. 


FLEXIBLE  FOUNDATION'S.  —  The  ordinary  conception  of  a  foundation 
is  that  its  virtue  is  in  exact  proportion  to  its  rigidity,  and  that  the  more 
unyielding  it  is,  the  better  it  serves  its  purpose.  And  while  this  as- 
sumption may  be  true  in  supporting  a  heavy  load,  yet  where  questions 
of  impact  enter,  the  "  soft  answer  will  turn  away  wrath,"  as  well  in 
dynamics  as  in  polemics.  At  a  factory  in  the  United  States  some 
bevelled  gears  which  were  used  to  change  the  direction  of  main  shaft- 
ing from  one  mill  to  another,  were  at  the  end  of  very  heavy  shafts, 
which  ran  in  pillow  blocks,  simply  bolted  to  an  outcropping  ledge,  which 
was  dressed  to  a  level  for  the  purpose  of  sustaining  the  foundations. 
Some  of  the  teeth  of  these  bevelled  gears  would  break  from  time  to 
time,  and  in  a  most  unaccountable  manner.  The  accident  might  be  de- 
ferred for  three  months,  or  it  might  occur  at  any  moment.  Various 
expedients  were  tried,  and  finally  that  of  taking  up  the  pillar  blocks 
and  placing  them  on  seats  of  raw  hide  which  had  been  soaked  in  oil ; 
these  gave  the  bearings  enough  elasticity  to  prevent  a  concentration  of 


Along  the  Atlantic  coast  numerous  enterprises  are  talked  of,  most  of 
them  the  property  of  Northern  capitalists.  Late  advices  from  Kansas  City, 
Omaha  and  Minnesota  show  that  indications  from  these  centres  can  be  re- 
lied upon  as  general  that  there  will  be  larger  building  operations  nudettaken 
tins  year  than  last.  One  reason  is  that  last  year's  investments  have  been 
unusually  profitable,  another  is  that  the  country  is  rilling  these  localities 
and  that  the  country  is  bein^  developed.  Omaha  is  becoming  a  very  im- 
portant commercial  centre  and  important  railroad  schemes  will  make  that  a 
sort  of  centre.  Basides  this,  numerous  small  manufacturing  enterprises 
are  springing  up  in  Montana,  Colorado  and  Utah  and  they  are  drawing 
capital  and  enterprise  in  their  wake.  In  Minnesota,  St.  1'atil,  Duliith  and  that 
region  of  conn  try,  those,  who  will  make  investments  as  the  railmad  situation 
clears  are  waiting.  The  solution  of  the  railroad  question  will  erase  a  great 
many  difficulties  in  the  way  of  farmers,  miners,  lumbermen,  and  the  copper- 
mining  interests  as  well  as  the  agricultural  and  commercial  interests  and 
the  paper  interests  of  this  wonderful  section.  Not  one  single  branch  is 
threatened  with  restriction.  Enlarging  operations  will  probably  be  reported 
within  ninety  days  in  every  branch.  The  leading  lumber  antb.nities  are 
predicting  on  improvinz  trade  and  are  intending  to  prepare  for  it  when  it 
coniRs.  In  New  York  City  there  is  a  growing  accumulation  of  money.  The 
surplus  there  is  now  in  excess  of  -520,000,000.  This  is  an  encourngtnjt  thTng 
just  now.  Financiers  are  pleased  at  the  manner  in  which  borrowers  are  re- 
paying their  loans  everywhere.  Very  few  failures  are  taking  place.  The 
great  bulk  of  obligations  are  being  promptly  met.  Bankers  find  but  little 
demand  for  money,  yet  it  must  be  remembered  that  there  is  an  increase  in 
the  amount  of  business  that  is  being  done  by  the  use  of  negotiable  paper. 
Business  men  are  interested  in  keeping  as  near  to  the  cash  system  as  possi- 
ble. Bankers  themselves  nre  disposed  to  favor  an  increased  supply  of 
money  to  meet  the  enlarging  business,  operations,  but  they  are  not  willing 
that  it  should  be  issued  otherwise  than  under  the  supervision  of  banking 
interests  whose  business  it  is  to  measure  the  requirements  of  the  country,  so 
far  as  money  is  concerned  and  to  meet  that  demand.  The  railiorid  que'-tinn 
is  generally  gliding  toward  a  quiet  solution.  Two  or  three  meetings  have 
been  held  within  ten  days  and  the  serious  obstacles  which  then  taxed  the 
patience  and  ingenuity  of  the  most  experienced  railway  managers  for  years 
past  are  now  likely  to  be  adjusted.  f 

S.    J.    PARKHILL  &  Co.,  Printers,  Boston. 


FEBRUARY  2,  1889.] 


The  American  Architect  and  Building  News. 


QABOT-- 

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The   American   Architect   and  Building  News.         [Voi,.  XXV.  —  No.  684. 


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THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT  AND  BUILDING  NEWS. 


VOL.  XXV. 


Copyright,  1889,  by  TICKNOK  &  COMPANY,  Boston,  Maes. 


No.    685, 


FEBRUARY  9,  1889. 

Entered  at  the  Post-Office  at  Boston  as  second-class  matter. 


SUMMARY  — 

The  Massachusetts  State- House  Extension  Competition.  —  The 
Award  of  the  Prizes.  —  A  Case  of  Architects'  Responsibility. 

—  Architects  and  Heat  Contractors.  —  The  Guaranty  given 

by  Makers  of  Heating  Appliances ,61 

BUILDERS'  HARDWARE. — XVIII 63 

AUGUSTS  RODIN,  SCULPTOR.  —  III 65 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  — 

House  of  Charles  Pruyn,  Esq.,  Albany,  N.  Y. — Competitive 
Design  for  the  World  Building,  New  York,  N.  Y.  —  House 
for  M.  S.  Severance,  Esq.,  Los  Angeles,  Cal.  — The  Place  of 

Arms,  Santiago,  Chili 66 

THE  LOTUS  IN  ANCIKNT  ART.  —  1 66 

COST  OF  EXECUTING  SOME  CLASSES  OF  ENGINEERING  WORK.    .     .    69 

BOOKS  AND  PAPERS 70 

BUILDING  LAW 70 

COMMUNICATIONS  :  — 

The  Harlequin  Gorgeousness  of  Greek  Architecture.  —  Books. 

—  The  Fire  on  the  Hearth  Stove 71 

KOTES  AND  CLIPPINGS 71 

TRADE  SURVEYS.      ...          72 


HE  history  of   the  competition   for  the  extension    of  the 
Boston  State-House,  which  has  now  apparently  closed,  is 
a  curious  one.     According  to  the  Boston  newspapers,  the 
reason  why  the  Commissioners  who  had  the  matter  in  charge 
allotted  seven  weeks  for  making  designs  for  a  building  to  cost 
perhaps  two   million  dollars  was  that  the  Governor,  who  was 
one  of  the  Commissioners,  was  ill  for  several  months,  so  that 
the  commencement  of  the  affair  was  put  off  until  his  recovery, 
while   its  conclusion  was  fixed  by    the  Legislature  at  a  date 
which    could   not  be  changed  without  new  legislative   action. 
When  a  large  number  of  the  best-known  architects  of  the  State 
united  in  protesting  against  the  shortness  of  the  time,  as  well 
as  the  other  objectionable  conditions  of  a  programme  which  fell 
very  far  short  of  the  standard  acceptable  to  the  profession,  the 
Commissioners   frankly    acknowledged    that   there   was   some 
reason  for  the  protest,  and  informally  supported  a  resolution, 
which  passed  unanimously  through  the  committee  stage  in  the 
Legislature,  to  the  effect  that  the  time  for  submitting  drawings 
should  be  extended  to  the  end  of  March ;  that  a  larger  sum 
should  be  awarded  in  money-premiums  ;  that  the  execution  of 
the  work  should  be  promised  to  the  author  of  the  best  design, 
and  that  expert  assistance  should  be  employed  in  making  the 
awards.     The  Commissioners  evidently  supposed  that  the  reso- 
lution would  be  adopted  by  the  Legislature  without  hesitation, 
and  sent  out  circulars  to  architects,  giving  the  text  of  the  pend- 
ing resolution,  and  extending  the  time  meanwhile,  on  their  own 
responsibility,  to  the  twenty-eighth  of  January,  the  latest  date 
that  they   could    set  under    the  authority  given  them  by  the 
statute  under  which  they  acted.     When  the  new  resolution  was 
reported   from  the  committee    to    the   House   of   Representa- 
tives for  action,  the  sentiment  of  the  members  is  said  to  have 
been  so  generally  favorable  to  it  that  there  appeared  to  be  no 
doubt  of  its  immediate  passage  until  a  member  rose  and  ex- 
plained that,  even  if  they  passed  it,  they  would  still  be  legally 
bound  to  pay  the  premiums  that  had  been  promised  to  plans 
submitted  in  January,  as,  if  any  one  chose  to  comply  with  the 
terms  already  announced,  he  would  have  an  implied  contract 
with  the  State,  and  could  require  the  State  to  fulfil  its  part  of 
the  contract  and  award  the  premiums  in  conformity  with  the 
stipulations  first  published.     It  is  hardly  likely  that   a   com- 
petitor who  thought  his  design  was  good  for  anything  would, 
if  it  happened  to  be  ready  in  January,  go  to  law  to  compel  the 
State   to  take   it   then,  and  pay  a   small  money-prize   for  it, 
instead  of  keeping  it  two  mouths  and  then  presenting  it,  with 
the  chance  of  securing  either  the  execution  of  the  work  or  a 
money-prize  twice  as  large  as  the  old  conditions  promised,  but 
there  was  certainly  a  chance  that  some  trickster,  after  the  field 
had  been  temporarily  cleared  of  the  respectable  architects  by 
the  extension  of  the  time  and  the  remodelling  of  the  programme, 
might  present  an  apology  for  a  sketch,  and  demand  the  stakes 
that  the  State  had  incautiously  pledged. 


TITHE  chance  of  this  catastrophe,  by  which  the  State  might 
A    possibly   have  to  pay  out  thirty-five   hundred   dollars  in 
prizes  for  worthless  designs,  besides  what  it  would  have  to 
pay  later  for  properly  studied  ones,  would  not  greatly  alarm  a 
private  person,  who  would  consider  a  sacrifice  of  one-fifth  or 
one-sixth  of  one  per  cent  on  the  cost  of  a  proposed  building  not 
too  great  a  price  to  pay  for  the  privilege  of  cancelling  hasty 
and  injudicious  engagements,  and  setting  himself  free  to  con- 
clude more  satisfactory  arrangements  for  the  administration  of 
his  investment ;   but  it  frightened  the  legislators,  who  decided 
that   their   thirty-five  hundred   dollars   must   be  saved   at  all 
hazards,  and  rejected  the  resolution.     The  Commissioners,  with 
consistent  courtesy,  immediately  sent  out  another  circular  to 
architects,  informing  them  of  the  action  of  the  Legislature,  and 
pointing  out  that  under  the  circumstances  nothing  was  left  to 
those  who  wished  to  compete  but  to  hand  in  their  drawings  on 
or  before   January  28.     When  that  day  arrived,  ten  designs 
were  found  to  have  been  submitted.     Two  accomplished  archi- 
tects, one  of  whom  had  already  studied  the  problem  thoroughly 
as  professional   adviser   to  the  Legislative  Committee  on  the 
State-House,  while  the  negotiations  for  the  site  were  in  progress, 
were  called  in  as  experts,  and  an  award  made  and  reported  to 
the  Legislature  on  the  appointed  day.     Bv  this  award,  the  first 
premium,  of  fifteen  hundred  dollars,  was  awarded  to  Messrs. 
Brigham  &  Spofford ;  the  second,  of  twelve  hundred  dollars, 
to  Mr.  John   Lyman  Faxon  ;  and  the  third,  of  nine  hundred 
dollars,  to    Mr.  H.  S.  McKay,  all   of   Boston ;    and   Messrs. 
Brigham  &  Spofford's  plan   was,  in  the  report  of  the  Commis- 
sioners, recommended    for  adoption,  with  modifications.     We 
sincerely  hope  that  this  may  be  the  end  of  the  matter,  and  that 
the  design  will  be  carried  out  by  its  authors  with  satisfaction 
to  all  concerned.     In  justice  to  their  design,  it  should  be  men- 
tioned that  they   were  employed  by   the  State,  some  time  ago, 
to  make   complete   measured  drawings   of  the  present  State- 
House,  and  of  the  plans  and  levels  of  the  site  for  the  extension. 
In   doing  this  work,  which  was  admirably  executed,  it  would 
have  been  strange  if  the  knowledge  of  the  conditions  so  gained 
had  not  shaped  itself,  as  their  work  proceeded,  into  some  idea 
of  the  best  plan  for  satisfying  them,  so  that  their  design  may 
fairly  be  regarded  as  having  had,  perhaps,  several  months  of 
study  before  the  other  architects  knew  anything  about  the  matter. 
Possessing  this  advantage,  it  may  have  been  fortunate  for  them 
that  the  decision  was  made  before  the  other  architects  who  chose 
to   compete   had   had   time    to   make   a   similar  study  of  the 
problem,  and  we  need  hardly  point  out  how  fortunate  it  cer- 
tainly was  for  the  great  majority  of  the  Massachusetts  archi- 
tects that  they  withdrew  in  time  from  a  contest  which,  as  it 
turns  out,  would  have  been  so  unequal,  even  if  it  had  been  un- 
exceptionable in  other  respects. 

CASE  involving  a  principle  of  great  importance  to  archi- 
tects was  recently  decided  in  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas 
in  New    York.      A   well-known    architect,  Mr.  Hubert, 
brought  suit  to  recover  the  value  of  his  services  from  a  client 
for  whom  he  had  built  an  apartment-house.     The  client,  Mr. 
Aitkeu,  claimed  an  offset  of  one  thousand  dollars  from  the  bill, 
on    the   ground    that   "  the   area  of  the   flue  provided  in  the 
chimney  was  inadequate  for  the  service  of  the  boiler,  so  that 
the  proper  consumption  of  the  coal  could  not  be  secured,"  and 
that   he   would,  in   consequence,  be   obliged   to   build  a  new 
chimney-flue  on  the  outside  of  the  building,  the  "  necessary  cost 
and  expense  "  of  which  would  be  a  thousand  dollars,  as  claimed. 
It  was  proved  that  the  architect  asked  the  contractor  for  the 
steam-heating  about  the  size  of  the  flue  he  needed,  and  that  the 
flue  was  built  according  to  his  instructions,  but  the  court  held 
that  the  architect,  not  the  steam-heating  contractor,  was    re- 
sponsible for  the  failure  of  the  latter  to  know  his  own  business, 
and  that  the  architect  must  pay  the  thousand  dollars  claimed. 
We  presume,  from  a   somewhat   extended  acquaintance  with 
such  cases,  that  there  is  not  the  slightest  probability  of  the 
new  chimney  being  built,  and  that  the   owner,  after  he  gets 
through  chuckling  over  the  ingenious  device  by  which  he  trans- 
ferred a  thousand  dollars  from  an  architect's  pocket  to  his  own, 
will  find  that  the  old  flue  really  answew  very  well,  and  that  it 
is  hardly    worth  while   to  annoy  his  tenants  by  making  any 
changes,  and  so  on.     The  fact  is,  as  every  architect  who  has 
studied  the  subject  knows,  that  not  one  flue  in  five  hundred 
for  boilers  devoted  principally  to  heating  is  made  of  the  dimen- 
sions required  for  the  "proper,"  that  is,  the  economical  con- 


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THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT  AND  BUILDING  NEWS. 


VOL.  XXV. 


Copyright,  1889,  by  TICKSOB  &  COMPANY,  Boston,  Mass. 


No.    685. 


FEBRUARY  9,  1889. 

Entered  at  the  Post-Office  at  Boston  as  second-class  matter. 


SUMMARY:  — 

The  Massachusetts  State-House  Extension  Competition.  —  The 
Award  of  the  Prizes.  —  A  Case  of  Architects'  Responsibility. 

—  Architects  and  Heat  Contractors.  —  The  Guaranty  given 

by  Makers  of  Heating  Appliances .61 

BUILDERS'  HARDWARE. — XVIII 03 

AUGUSTS  RODIN,  SCULPTOR.  —  III 65 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  — 

House  of  Charles  Pruyn,  Esq.,  Albany,  N.  Y. — Competitive 
Design  for  the  World  Building,  New  York,  N.  Y.  —  House 
for  M.  S.  Severance,  Esq.,  Los  Angeles,  Cal.  — The  Place  of 

Arms,  Santiago,  Chili 66 

THE  LOTUS  IN  ANCIENT  ART.  —  1 66 

COST  OF  EXECUTING  SOME  CLASSES  OF  ENGINEERING  WORK.    .     .    60 

BOOKS  AND  PAPERS 70 

BUILDING  LAW 70 

COMMUNICATIONS  :  — 

The  Harlequin  Gorgeousness  of  Greek  Architecture.  —  Books. 

—  The  Fire  on  the  Hearth  Stove 71 

NOTES  AND  CLIPPINGS 71 

TRADE  SURVEYS.      ...          72 


HE  history  of    the  competition    for  the  extension    of  the 
Boston  State-House,  which  has  now  apparently  closed,  is 
a  curious  one.     According  to  the  Boston  newspapers,  the 
reason  why  the  Commissioners  who  had  the  matter  in  charge 
allotted  seven  weeks  for  making  designs  for  a  building  to  cost 
perhaps  two   million  dollars  was  that  the  Governor,  who  was 
one  of  the  Commissioners,  was  ill  for  several  months,  so  that 
the  commencement  of  the  affair  was  put  off  until  his  recovery, 
while    its  conclusion  was  fixed  by    the  Legislature  at  a  date 
which    could   not  be  changed  without  new  legislative   action. 
When  a  large  number  of  the  best-known  architects  of  the  State 
united  in  protesting  against  the  shortness  of  the  time,  as  well 
as  the  other  objectionable  conditions  of  a  programme  which  fell 
very  far  short  of  the  standard  acceptable  to  the  profession,  the 
Commissioners   frankly    acknowledged    that   there    was    some 
reason  for  the  protest,  and  informally  supported  a  resolution, 
which  passed  unanimously  through  the  committee  stage  in  the 
Legislature,  to  the  effect  that  the  time  for  submitting  drawings 
should  be  extended  to  the  end  of  March ;  that  a  larger  sum 
should  be  awarded  in  money-premiums ;  that  the  execution  of 
the  work  should  be  promised  to  the  author  of  the  best  design, 
and  that  expert  assistance  should  be  employed  in  making  the 
awards.     The  Commissioners  evidently  supposed  that  the  reso- 
lution would  be  adopted  by  the  Legislature  without  hesitation, 
and  sent  out  circulars  to  architects,  giving  the  text  of  the  pend- 
ing resolution,  and  extending  the  time  meanwhile,  on  their  own 
responsibility,  to  the  twenty-eighth  of  January,  the  latest  date 
that  they   could   set  under   the  authority  given  them  by  the 
statute  under  which  they  acted.     When  the  new  resolution  was 
reported   from  the  committee   to   the   House   of   Representa- 
tives for  action,  the  sentiment  of  the  members  is  said  to  have 
been  so  generally  favorable  to  it  that  there  appeared  to  be  no 
doubt  of  its  immediate  passage  until  a  member  rose  and  ex- 
plained that,  even  if  they  passed  it,  they  would  still  be  legally 
bound  to  pay  the  premiums  that  had  been  promised  to  plans 
submitted  in  January,  as,  if  any  one  chose  to  comply  with  the 
terms  already  announced,  he  would  have  an  implied  contract 
with  the  State,  and  could  require  the  State  to  fulfil  its  part  of 
the  contract  and  award  the  premiums  in  conformity  with  the 
stipulations  first  published.     It  is  hardly  likely  that   a   com- 
petitor who  thought  his  design  was  good  for  anything  would, 
if  it  happened  to  be  ready  in  January,  go  to  law  to  compel  the 
State   to  take   it   then,  and  pay  a   small  money-prize   for  it, 
instead  of  keeping  it  two  months  and  then  presenting  it,  with 
the  chance  of  securing  either  the  execution  of  the  work  or  a 
money-prize  twice  as  large  as  the  old  conditions  promised,  but 
there  was  certainly  a  chance  that  some  trickster,  after  the  field 
had  been  temporarily  cleared  of  the  respectable  architects  by 
the  extension  of  the  time  and  the  remodelling  of  the  programme, 
might  present  an  apology  for  a  sketch,  and  demand  the  stakes 
that  the  State  had  incautiously  pledged. 


TITHE  chance  of  this  catastrophe,  by  which  the  State  might 
A    possibly   have  to  pay  out  thirty-five   hundred   dollars  in 
prizes  for  worthless  designs,  besides  what  it  would  have  to 
pay  later  for  properly  studied  ones,  would  not  greatly  alarm  a 
private  person,  who  would  consider  a  sacrifice  of  one-fifth  or 
one-sixth  of  one  per  cent  on  the  cost  of  a  proposed  building  not 
too  great  a  price  to  pay  for  the  privilege  of  cancelling  hasty 
and  injudicious  engagements,  and  setting  himself  free  to  con- 
clude more  satisfactory  arrangements  for  the  administration  of 
his  investment ;   but  it  frightened  the  legislators,  who  decided 
that   their   thirty-five  hundred   dollars   must   be  saved   at  all 
hazards,  and  rejected  the  resolution.     The  Commissioners,  with 
consistent  courtesy,  immediately  sent  out  another  circular  to 
architects,  informing  them  of  the  action  of  the  Legislature,  and 
pointing  out  that  under  the  circumstances  nothing  was  left  to 
those  who  wished  to  compete  but  to  hand  in  their  drawings  on 
or  before   January  28.     When  that  day  arrived,  ten  designs 
were  found  to  have  been  submitted.     Two  accomplished  archi- 
tects, one  of  whom  had  already  studied  the  problem  thoroughly 
as  professional   adviser   to  the  Legislative  Committee  on  the 
State-House,  while  the  negotiations  for  the  site  were  in  progress, 
were  called  in  as  experts,  and  an  award  made  and  reported  to 
the  Legislature  on  the  appointed  day.     Bv  this  award,  the  first 
premium,  of  fifteen  hundred  dollars,  was  awarded  to  Messrs. 
Brighatn  &  Spofford ;  the  second,  of  twelve  hundred  dollars, 
to  Mr.  John  Lyman  Faxon ;  and  the  third,  of  nine  hundred 
dollars,  to    Mr.   H.   S.   McKay,  all    of    Boston ;    and    Messrs. 
Brigham  &  Spofford's  plan   was,  in  the  report  of  the  Commis- 
sioners, recommended    for  adoption,  with  modifications.     We 
sincerely  hope  that  this  may  be  the  end  of  the  matter,  and  that 
the  design  will  be  carried  out  by  its  authors  with  satisfaction 
to  all  concerned.     In  justice  to  their  design,  it  should  be  men- 
tioned that  they  were  employed  by  the  State,  some  time  ago, 
to  make   complete   measured  drawings    of  the  present  State- 
House,  and  of  the  plans  and  levels  of  the  site  for  the  extension. 
In   doing  this  work,  which  was  admirably  executed,  it  would 
have  been  strange  if  the  knowledge  of  the  conditions  so  gained 
had  not  shaped  itself,  as  their  work  proceeded,  into  some  idea 
of  the  best  plan   for  satisfying  them,  so  that  their  design  may 
fairly  be  regarded  as  having  had,  perhaps,  several  months  of 
study  before  the  other  architects  knew  anything  about  the  matter. 
Possessing  this  advantage,  it  may  have  been  fortunate  for  them 
that  the  decision  was  made  before  the  other  architects  who  chose 
to   compete    had   had   time    to   make   a   similar  study  of  the 
problem,  and  we  need  hardly  point  out  how  fortunate  it  cer- 
tainly was  for  the  great  majority  of  the  Massachusetts  archi- 
tects that  they  withdrew  in  time  from  a  contest  which,  as  it 
turns  out,  would  have  been  so  unequal,  even  if  it  had  been  un- 
exceptionable in  other  respects. 

CASE  involving  a  principle  of  great  importance  to  archi- 
tects was  recently  decided  in  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas 
in  New    York.      A    well-known    architect,  Mr.  Hubert, 
brought  suit  to  recover  the  value  of  his  services  from  a  client 
for  whom  he  had  built  an  apartment-house.     The  client,  Mr. 
Aitkeu,  claimed  an  offset  of  one  thousand  dollars  from  the  bill, 
on    the   ground    that   "  the   area  of  the   flue  provided  in  the 
chimney  was  inadequate  for  the  service  of  the  boiler,  so  that 
the  proper  consumption  of  the  coal  could  not  be  secured,"  and 
that   he   would,  in   consequence,  be   obliged   to   build  a  new 
chimney-flue  on  the  outside  of  the  building,  the  "  necessary  cost 
and  expense  "  of  which  would  be  a  thousand  dollars,  as  claimed. 
It  was  proved  that  the  architect  asked  the  contractor  for  the 
steam-heating  about  the  size  of  the  flue  he  needed,  and  that  the 
flue  was  built  according  to  his  instructions,  but  the  court  held 
that  the  architect,  not  the  steam-heating  contractor,  was   re- 
sponsible for  the  failure  of  the  latter  to  know  his  own  business, 
and  that  the  architect  must  pay  the  thousand  dollars  claimed. 
We  presume,  from  a   somewhat   extended  acquaintance  with 
such  cases,  that  there  is  not  the  slightest  probability  of  the 
new  chimney  being  built,  and  that  the   owner,  after  he  gets 
through  chuckling  over  the  ingenious  device  by  which  he  trans- 
ferred a  thousand  dollars  from  an  architect's  pocket  to  his  own, 
will  find  that  the  old  flue  really  answer*  very  well,  and  that  it 
is  hardly    worth  while   to  annoy  his  tenants  by  making  any 
changes,  and  so  on.     The  fact  is,  as  every  architect  who  has 
studied  the  subject  knows,  that  not  one  flue  in  five  hundred 
for  boilers  devoted  principally  to  heating  is  made  of  the  dimen- 
sions required  for  the  "  proper,"  that  is,  the  economical  con- 


n 


62 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.        [You  XXV.  —  No.  685. 


sumption  of  coal.  The  obvious  reason  for  this  is  that,  if  the 
dimensions  of  the  flue  are  calculated  by  the  rules  of  proportion 
to  grate-surface  used  in  designing  the  chimneys  for  power- 
plants,  where  economy  of  coal  is  of  the  utmost  importance,  the 
owner,  when  he  sees  the  plans,  is  horror-stricken  at  its  size. 
To  his  mind,  it  appears  to  block  up  most  of  the  rentable  portion 
of  his  building,  and  he  flies  to  a  steam-heating  contractor,  who 
soothingly  assures  him  that  a  twelve  by  sixteen  flue,  or  even 
an  eight  by  twelve,  in  case  of  need,  will  do  very  well,  and,  as 
is  probably  true,  that  he  has  often  utilized  the  latter  for  boilers 
where  nothing  better  was  to  be  had.  Nothing  is  said  then  by 
either  party  about  the  "  proper  consumption  of  the  coal,"  and 
the  indignant  owner,  after  relieving  his  feelings  by  going  about 
among  his  friends  and  denouncing  his  architect  as  a  "  crank  on 
the  subject  of  flues,"  and  warning  them  to  have  nothing  to  do 
with  him,  comes  back  to  the  office  and  requests  that  the  matter 
may  be  left  entirely  to  the  judgment  of  the  heating-contractor, 
who  "guarantees  the  results."  In  most  cases  this  ends  the 
matter ;  the  boiler  works  as  well  as  house-heating  boilers 
generally  do,  and  the  owner  congratulates  himself  ever  after 
on  his  good  fortune  in  having  headed  off  the  architect  in  time 
to  prevent  him  from  spoiling  the  building  with  his  huge 
chimney.  In  the  five  hundredth  instance;  perhaps,  the  owner, 
aroused,  as  many  persons  are,  by  the  presentation  of  a  bill  to 
an  inquiry  after  pretexts  for  not  paying  it,  bethinks  himself  of 
his  chimney-flue,  and  the  unfortunate  architect  then  h'nds  that 
the  law,  at  least  in  New  York,  does  not  allow  him  "  to  shelter 
himself  behind  the  heating-contractor,"  although  it  gives  the 
heating-contractor  admirable  facilities  for  hiding  behind  him, 
and  that  he  must  pay  not  only  for  a  new  chimney,  but  for  the 
consequences  of  any  other  error  of  judgment  that  the  heating- 
contractor  may  fall  into  in  regard  to  his  own  guaranteed  work. 

IF  this  doctrine,  as  we  deduce  it  from  the  report  which  the 
Engineering  and  Building  Record  gives  of  the  case,  were 
often  acted  upon,  the  practice  of  architecture  would  soon 
be  abandoned,  and  owners  and  steam-heaters  would  have  to 
grapple  with  each  other  directly,  instead  of  both  healing  the 
wounds  that  each  chose  to  fancy  the  other  had  inflicted  by 
helping  themselves  to  balm  out  of  the  common  reservoir,  the 
architect's  pocket ;  but  even  the  possibility  that  an  occasional 
individual  may  try  to  take  advantage  of  it  acts  as  a  continual 
menace  to  the  profession.  We  shall  leave  comment  upon  the 
legal  aspects  of  the  case  to  other  hands,  but,  from  the  point-of- 
view  of  practising  architects,  we  cannot  help  feeling  how 
serious  a  misfortune  it  is  that  such  a  case  as  this  could  not  have 
been  taken  up  by  a  powerful  protective  association  and  carried, 
if  necessary,  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  so 
that  the  law  might  be  settled,  once  for  all,  and  the  professional 
conduct  of  such  matters  shaped  accordingly  by  unanimous 
action.  As  we  all  know,  most  steam-heating  contracts  include 
a  guaranty  that  the  work,  if  carried  out  according  to  the  pro- 
posal made,  shall  be  efficient  and  satisfactory.  As  this  guar- 
anty is  a  serious  matter  for  the  contractors,  they  usually  seize 
any  interference  or  direction  of  the  architect  as  a  pretext  for 
withdrawing  it,  reserving  their  right  to  complete  the  contract 
without  it.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  work  done  on  a  heating- 
contract  under  guaranty  seldom  fulfils  the  guaranty  when 
first  completed,  and  is  only  brought  to  conformity  with  it  after 
several  successive  struggles,  while  work  done  on  such  a  con- 
tract after  the  guaranty  had  been  withdrawn  might  safely  be 
warranted  not  to  do  anything  that  was  required  of  it ;  so  that 
architects  are  very  careful  to  avoid  giving  any  advice  or  in- 
structions that  might  be  tortured  into  an  interference  with  the 
contract.  In  the  light  of  this  decision,  however,  it  appears  it  is 
the  architect  who  furnishes  the  guaranty  in  all  cases,  while 
the  steam-heater  gets  the  money.  If  the  architect  meddles  in 
any  way  with  the  latter's  method  of  carrying  out  his  contract, 
the  guaranty  clause  of  the  contract  is  immediately  withdrawn, 
the  work,  when  completed,  proves  inefficient,  and  the  owner 
pays  the  contractor  in  full,  and  requires  the  architect  to  put  in 
new  heating-apparatus  at  his  own  expense  as  a  penalty  for  in- 
terfering with  the  contractor's  operations.  If,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  architect  refrains  from  giving  any  directions,  so  that 
he  may  be  sure  of  being  able  to  enforce  the  guaranty  clause 
of  the  contract,  the  owner,  if  his  heart  is  tender  toward  steam- 
heaters,  or  he  gets  tired  of  waiting  for  the  guaranty  to  be  ful- 
filled, has  only  to  pay  the  contractor  in  full  and  lay  hands  on 
the  architect,  who  will  be  informed  by  the  court  that  "  Respon- 
sibility cannot  be  shifted  in  that  way,"  and  will  be  compelled, 
as  before,  to  put  in  new  heating-apparatus  at  his  own  expense 


as  a  penalty  for  not  interfering  with  the  contractor's  operations. 
It  may  be  that  this  is  the  law,  'which,  according  to  the  highest 
authority  in  England,  is  quite  a  different  affair  from  justice, 
but  we  are  willing  to  entertain  a  doubt  on  the  subject. 


WHILE  we  are  considering  the  subject  of  heating  contracts, 
and  the  sort  of  guaranty  that  the  manufacturers  of 
heating  apparatus  are  supposed  to  give  with  their  goods, 
we  may  draw  a  lesson  from  a  letter  addressed  to  the  law 
editor  of  La  Construction  Moderne.  The  writer  of  the  letter, 
an  architect,  says  that  one  of  his  clients,  who  had  just  opened 
an  ice-cream  saloon  in  a  new  building,  began  to  think,  on  the 
approach  of  winter,  of  means  for  warming  his  room.  He 
wrote  to  an  establishment  in  Paris  for  suitable  apparatus,  and 
the  Parisian  firm  sent  a  representative,  who  examined  the 
chimney  fine,  and,  on  the  arrival  of  the  heating  apparatus,  set 
it  up,  ready  for  use,  and  left  it.  The  new  owner,  however, 
found,  on  taking  possession  of  it,  that  it  would  not  heat  the 
room,  and  that  a  fire  would  hardly  burn  at  all  iii  it.  He  com- 
plained to  the  Paris  manufacturers,  who  altered  and  lengthened 
the  chimney,  until,  as  they  said,  everything  was  in  proper 
order.  The  new  arrangement  proved  no  better  than  the  old, 
but  it  was  hardly  possible  to  make  any  change  in  the  middle  of 
winter,  so  the  proprietor  endured  the  cold,  as  best  he  might, 
until  spring.  He  then  went  to  the  manufacturers,  and 
described  his  condition  at  length.  They  offered  to  take  back 
the  original  stove,  and  put  in  a  larger  one ;  and  the  proprietor 
agreed  to  this,  but,  on  returning  home,  he  reflected  that  the 
new  stove,  which  would  be  six  feet  high,  and  nearly  a  yard  iq 
diameter,  would  be  anything  but  an  ornament  to  his  room,  and 
he  telegraphed  back  the  same  day  to  the  manufacturers,  de- 
clining the  proposed  arrangement,  on  the  ground  that  he  had 
concluded  to  have  a  furnace  put  in  the  cellar  by  a  local  con- 
tractor. The  Paris  firm  replied,  offering  to  take  back  the 
unsatisfactory  stove,  on  condition  that  they  were  employed  to 
build  the  new  furnace;  but  the  saloon-keeper  thought  he  had 
had  enough  of  their  goods,  and  went  on  with  the  local  furnace- 
man,  who  put  in  a  perfectly  satisfactory  apparatus.  Mean- 
while, the  original  stove  had  been  shipped  back  to  the 
manufacturers,  who  simply  acknowledged  the  receipt  of  it, 
mentioning  that  they  had  put  it  in  storage.  All  this  part  of 
the  transaction  took  place  in  May,  and  the  saloon-keeper,  who 
had  paid  forty  dollars  on  account  for  the  unsatisfactory  stove, 
probably  thought  that  he  had  paid  dear  for  a  disagreeable  ex- 
perience. Seven  months  later,  however,  in  December,  the 
Parisian  manufacturers  sent  a  demand  for  the  balance  of  the 
price  of  the  rejected  stove,  amounting  to  forty-four  dollars,  to- 
gether with  a  bill  for  storage,  and  another  bill  for  the  price  of. 
the  larger  stove  which  they  had  agreed  to  furnish  in  place 
of  the  unsatisfactory  one,  but  which  had  been  countermanded 
by  telegraph,  less  an  allowance  for  its  return. 


THE  saloon-keeper,  who  thought  in  paying  half  the  price  of 
a  guaranteed  apparatus,  which  had  turned  out  perfectly 
useless  to  him,  and  had  been  returned  in  good  order  to  the- 
makers,  to  be  sold  to  some  one  else,  he  had  done  all  that  could 
be  expected  of  him,  applied  to  his  architect  for  advice  in 
regard  to  the  new  demand,  and  the  architect  applied  to  the 
law-contributor  of  the  journal,  M.  Ravon,  who  replies  un- 
hesitatingly that  the  Parisian  manufacturers  are  technically  in 
the  right,  and  that  the  saloon-keeper  will  have  to  pay  the  bill. 
In  France,  as  here,  although  a  furnace-maker  is  presumed  to 
guaranty  the  proper  working  of  an  apparatus  which  he  sets  up. 
he  must  be  allowed  all  reasonable  opportunity  for  making  good 
his  guaranty,  and  the  fact  that  the  apparatus  fails  to  do  what 
it  was  warranted  to  do  must  be  clearly  established  before 
expert  and  impartial  witnesses.  In  this  case  the  proprietor 
had  refused  to  allow  the  manufacturers  to  make  good  the 
deficiency  in  their  apparatus  by  substituting  another,  and  he 
had  not  called  in  experts  to  establish  its  defects,  but  had  taken 
the  law  into  his  own  hands  by  sending  back  the  stove  with 
nothing  but  his  own  assertion  that  it  was  useless  to  him.  The 
manufacturers,  on  the  other  hand,  had  proceeded  cautiously  and 
legally.  On  being  notified  that  the  stove  was  unsatisfactory, 
they  had  twice  offered  to  replace  it,  first  by  a  new  stove,  and,, 
secondly  by  allowing  its  price  toward  that  of  a  furnace.  On 
the  rejection  of  these  offers,  and  the  return  of  the  stove,  they 
had  promptly  given  notice  that  it  was  received  only  as  the 
saloon-keeper's  property,  to  be  stored  at  his  expense,  and  like 
most  people  who  prefer  legality  to  abstract  justice,  they  had 
come  out  of  the  affair  with  all  the  winning  cards  in  their  hands. 


FEBRUARY  9,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


63 


BUILDERS'  HARDWARE.1  — XVIII. 

IT  has  not  been  the  in- 
tention to  consider  in 

detail  any  articles  of 
hardware  which  are  not 
in  actual  daily  use  at 
the  present  time ;  but 
there  are  a  few  styles 
of  locks  which  are  en- 
tirely obsolete  so  far  as 
the  American  trade  is 
concerned,  but  which 
should  be  included  in 
any  study  of  the  subject, 
if  one  wishes  to  thor- 
oughly understand  the 
principles  of  modem 
lock-making,  and  the 
processes  of  elimination 
and  survival  of  the  fit- 
test which  have  brought 
the  manufacture  to  its 
present  state  in  this 
country. 

Figures  291  and  292 
illustrate  the  old  "  Eng- 
lish Bramah"  lock. 
This  consists  of  a  revolv- 

Fig.  291.     Tn.  Bramah  Lock.  jng    cylinder  in  which    IS 

disposed  radially  a  series-  of  flat  sliders  working  up  and  down 
through  slots  in  a  fixed  horizontal  plate.  The  sliders  have 
notches  on  the  outer  edges,  cut  at  different  heights,  so  that  the 
cylinder  can  revolve  only  when  the  notches  on  the  sliders  are 
on  a  line  and  level  with  the  plate.  The  sliders  are  forced 
outward  by  a  single  central  coiled  spring.  The  key  consists  of 
a  tube,  on  the  sides  of  which  are  straight  grooves  corresponding 
to  the  desired  depression  of  the  slides,  with  a  shoulder  to  turn  the 
cylinder.  The  locking-bolt  is  moved  by  an  eccentric  attached 
to  the  cylinder.  The  notches  on  the  sliders  are  disposed  as 
irregularly  as  possible,  and  false  notches  are  added,  with  cor- 
responding false  widenings  of  slots  in  the  plate.  All  of  the 
sliders  can  be  pushed  in  farther  than  is  needed  to  bring  the 
notches  on  a  line  with  the  plate,  so  that  the  lock  is  picked  with 
great  difficulty. 

"  CotterilPs "  lock,  Figures  293,  294  and  295,  is  another 
example  of  English  ingenuity.  The  portion  which  is  acted 
upon  by  the  key  consists  of  a  rotating  flat  disk  or  cylinder  con- 
taining ten  or  more  slides  moving  in  radial  grooves  and  pressed 


Fig.   292.     The  Locking-plate  of  the 
Bramah  Lock. 


Fig.  293.     Plan  of  Cotterill's  Lock. 


towards  the  centre  by  springs.  A  fixed  ring  or  plate  is  fitted 
to  a  circular  groove  on  the  face  of  the  disk,  and  has  slots  cor- 
responding in  position  to  the  radial  slides.  There  are  also 
grooves  cut  on  the  edge  of  the  slides,  so  that  when  the  key  is 
in  place  the  slots  011  the  slides  coincide  with  the  circular 
groove  on  the  disk,  permitting  the  whole  to  be  revolved. 
When  the  key  is  withdrawn  the  slides  are  forced  in  different 
degrees  towards  the  centre,  so  that  the  solid  portions  intercept 
the  groove  in  the  disk,  in  which  position  it  is  held  fast  by  the 
fixed  ring.  It  is  believed  that  this  lock  never  has  been  picked. 
A  lock  which  in  its  time  was  a  strong  competitor  with 
"  Bramah "  and  "  Cotterill's "  locks,  and  was  equally  im- 
pregnable, is  "  Day  and  Newells "  Parautopic  bank-lock,  an 
American  invention  which  was  in  great  demand  at  one  time, 
but  has  long  since  ceased  to  be  manufactured.  It  has  the 
curious  property  that  the  key,  which  is  made  with  movable  bits, 

1  Continued  from  page  54,  No.  684. 


can  be  changed  at  will,  so  that  the  lock  can  be  opened  only  by 
the  key  which  was  last  used  to  shoot  the  bolt.  The  lock  has 
never  been  picked.  Figure  296,  which  is  taken  from  Price, 
is  too  complicated  to  fully  illustrate  the  workings.  Figure 
29  6 b,  while  not  exactly  like  the  lock,  embodies  the  same 
arrangement  and  will  serve  to  make  the  construction  under- 
stood. The  letters  refer  to  both  figures.  There  are  three  dis- 
tinct sets  of  levers,  A,  B  and  C,  each  admitting  of  a  sliding  or 


Fig.  295.      Locking-plate. 


Fig.  294.     Section. 


lifting  motion  up  and  down,  the  levers  A  having  springs  which 
keep  them  pressed  down,  D,  and  the  levers  C  being  constantly 
forced  up  by  a  spring  of  lesser  strength  E,  so  that  the  levers  G 
will  always  move  up  and  down  exactly  as  A  are  raised  or 
lowered,  the  tops  of  G  bearing  against  the  bottom  of  exten- 
sions to  A.  The  levers  B  have  no  springs,  and  slide  up  and 
down  between  studs  attached  to  a  wing  of  the  bolt-tail,  so  that 
when  the  bolt  is  shot,  the  levers  B  move  with  it.  F  is  a  dog 


Fig.  296.     Parautopic  Lock. 


Fig.  2966.     Parautopic  Lock. 

or  lever,  which  is  hinged  to  a  stud  on  the  bolt  at  the  top,  ai  d 
hinged  with  a  bent  elbow  attached  to  the  lock-case  at  the 
bottom.  On  this  dog,  F,  is  a  tooth,  and  on  the  edge  of  each 
of  the  tumblers  B  are  notches  corresponding  in  mutual  dis- 
tance with  the  difference  in  lengths  of  the  movable  bits  of  the 
key.  Furthermore,  the  levers  A  are  each  made  with  an  arm 
G  which  fits  into  a  corresponding  notch  in  the  levers  B,  and 
the  levers  B  have  each  an  arm  Jf  which  exactly  fits  between 
two  arms  on  each  of  the  levers  G.  Figure  296  shows  the  lock 
with  the  bolt  thrown,  and  Figure  2966,  shows  it  drawn  back. 
When  the  key  is  turned  in  the  lock,  the  bits,  no  matter  in  what 
order  they  may  be  arranged,  lift  the  levers  A.  These,  by 
means  of  the  arms  G  and  H,  lift  the  other  sets  of  levers  in 
exactly  the  same  proportion.  The  key  then  forces  out  the 
bolt,  and  the  levers  B  are  withdrawn  from  the  arms  G  and  H, 
but  before  the  arms  /Tare  entirely  free  from  the  arms  on  the 


64 


The   American    Architect  and  Building   News.'        [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  685. 


levers  C,  the  notches  on  B  are  caught  on  the  tooth  of  the  dog 
f,  the  le-,ers  B  being  then  held  at  exactly  the  relative  heights 
to  which  they  were  raised  by  the  action  of  the  key  on  levers  A. 
The  key,  continuing  to  turn,  then  allows  levers  A  and  G  to 
drop  to  their  original  position,  and  the  bolt  is  then  locked.  It 
is  evident  that  only  the  proper  key  will  answer  to  unlock  the 
combination,  as  unless  the  levers  A  and  (7  are  raised  in 
exactly  the  proportion  they  were  when  the  bolt  was  shot,  the 
arms  //cannot  enter  between  the  arms  on  .levers  G,  and  the 
bolt  cannot  be  moved.  There  are  several  other  features  of 
the  lock,  such  as  detector  plates,  wards,  etc.,  which  need  not 
be  noticed  here.  A  circular  curtain  protects  the  keyhole,  and 
a  solid  partition  entirely  prevents  access  to  the  levers,  while  if 
any  attempt  is  made  to  discover  the  combination  by  applying 
pressure  to  the  bolt  and  tentatively  rising  the  levers  A,  the 
arms  on  the  levers  B  and  G  which  have  notches  on  the  ends 
will  catch  on  each  other  and  be  immovable  as  long  as  the 
pressure  remains  on  the  bolt.  With  an  eight-lever  lock  and 
eight-bitted  key,  over  5,000  different  combinations  can  be  made. 
A  very  ingenious  idea  which  seems  not  to  have  survived  the 
the  test  of  years  was  embodied  in  another  English  device  — 
"  Parnell's  "  Defiance  lock.  The  peculiarity  here  is  in  the  key, 
which  is  made  with  expanding  bits.  When  out  of  the  lock  it 
has  the  appearance  of  a  key-blank.  Eccentrics  in  the  lock 
force  out  the  proper  bits  to  act  on  the  levers,  and  the  keyhole 
is  guarded  in  such  a  manner  that  a  key  which  could  enter  and 
was  without  expanding  bits,  would  simply  turn  without  'affect- 
ing the  lock ;  whereas  a  key  with  fixed  bits  which  would  be 
right  to  move  the  levers  could  not  enter  the  keyhole. 

As  previously  stated,  none  of  the  foregoing  are  now  used  in 
this  country,  but  from  them  several  of  our  best  locks  have  been 
derived.  Prior  to  1851  all  of  the  best  locks  used  here  were 
of  English  make,  but  from  causes  which  will  be  explained  in  a 
a  subsequent  chapter,  American  locks  came  to  the  front  about 
that  time,  and  to-day  an  English  lock  would  be  looked  upon 
as  a  curiosity  in  our  hardware  trade. 

Turning  then  to  our  own   current  manufactures,  there  are 
several  varieties  of   locks  which  are   commonlv  found-in'  the 
market.     The  "dead-lock"  consists  simply  of  a  bolt  thrown  by 
the  action  of  the  key  on  the  levers,  but  does  not  include  any 
knob  or  latch.     A  "mortise  lock"  is  one  which  is  mortised  into 
the    frame    of   the    door,  and    always    includes,  as   commonly 
understood,  both  bolt  and  latch.     A  mortise  lock,  is  generally 
operated  from  either  side.     A  "rim-lock"  is  one  that  is  planted 
on  the  face  of  the  door.     It  is  generally  made  with  a  nicer- 
looking  case  than  the  mortise  locks,  and  requires  longer  keys 
and  a  little  different  adjustment  of  the  knob-spindles.     A  dead- 
bolt  may  be  either  mortise  or  rim,  but,  generally  speaking,  rim- 
locks  are  understood  to  have  both  latch  and  bolt.     A  "  rebated 
lock"    is  one  which    is  mortised  into  the   door-frame  like  an 
ordinary  mortise  lock,  but  the  face-plate  is  rebated  so  as  to  fit 
the  rebates  of  the  door  to  which  it  is  attached.     This  form  of 
lock  is  used  only  for  front  double-doors.     In  the  East  it   is 
customary    not    to    rebate    the    front   doors,  but,   we    believe, 
generally   speaking,  in    the  West    such   locks    are    necessary. 
Special  locks  are  usually  made  for  front  and  vestibule  doors. 
The  lock  for  the  front  door  includes  a  dead-bolt  and  a  latch 
operated  by  a  knob  from  within,  and  worked  by  a  key  from 
without.     The  vestibule  lock  consists  simply  of  a  latch  worked 
by  a  knob  from  the  inside  and  a  key  outside,  the  same  night- 
key   answering  for   the   latches  of   both   front  and  vestibule 
doors.     Hotel  locks  are  understood  to  be  those  which  are  so 
arranged  that  they  can  be  opened  from  either  the  inside  or  the 
outside,  but  when  locked  from  the  inside  cannot  be  unlocked 
from   the   outside.     There  are  many  varieties  of  hotel   locks. 
Generally  they  are  made  in  sets  of  fifty,  one  hundred,  two 
hundred,  or  more,  as  desired,  and  are  master-keyed,  that  is  to 
say,  the  tumblers  are  so  arranged  that  one  key  will  unlock  the 
whole  series,  though  the  individual  keys  of  the  different  locks 
will  not  unlock  each  other.     Again,  they  are  sometimes  made 
so  that  the  lock  can  be  locked  from  the  inside  with  one  key, 
and  an  exactly  similar  one  can  unlock  it  from  the  outside,  but 
the  master-key  cannot  unlock  it  after  the  bolt  has  been  thrown 
from  the  inside,  and  after  the  bolt  has  been  thrown  twice  from 
the  inside  nothing  can  open  it  from  the  outside.     Such  locks 
are  intended  to  be  used  where  two  persons  room  together,  but 
do  not  come  in  at  the  same  hour,  each  wishing  to  be  secure 
against  intrusion,  and  yet  leave  the  lock  so  it  can  be  opened 
by  his  comrade. 

Locks  are  made  both  by  hand  and  by  machinery.     Boston, 
at  present,  seems  to  lead  the  country  in  lines  of  hand-made 


locks.  Indeed,  it  is  doubtful  if  in  any  other  city  such  an  in- 
dustry could  so  long  •  survive  the  extended  application  of 
machinery  to  labor  which  has  so  strongly  marked  this  century. 
But  in  Boston  the  old  ideas  are  slow  to  go,  and  the  people  are 
loath  to  give  up  a  thing  once  tried  and  proved,  merely  because 
there  is  something  else  in  the  market,  even  though  the  some- 
thing else  may  be  cheaper.  There  is  no  question  but  that  a 
hand-made  lock,  if  the  manufacturer  is  thoroughly  conscientious, 
is  better  than  one  made  by  machinery,  especially  as  the  hand- 
made lock  manufacturers,  thus  far,  never  have  catered  to  a 
cheap  trade,  and  have  always  kept  their  goods  up  to  the  very 
highest  mark.  In  the  hand-made  locks  the  levers  are  care- 
fully adjusted,  nearly  all  the  interior  fittings  are  made  of  brass, 
and,  while  in  some  respects  hand  goods  may  be  inferior  in  fine- 
ness of  polish  and  smoothness  of  exterior  appearance,  no  one 
ever  denies  their  excellence.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  cost 
of  hand-made  goods  is  so  much  higher  than  those  made  by 
machinery  that  the  former  are  gradually  being  driven- out  of 
the  market,  especially  since  some  of  the  best  of  the  machine- 
lock  manufacturers  have  succeeded  in  turning  out  such  admir- 
able goods.  To  the  uninitiated  the  best  of  the  machine-made 
locks  are  quite  as  good  as  any  that  are  turned  out  by  hand, 
while  the  progress  of  machinery  has  been  so  great  that  it  is 
possible  to  obtain  almost  any  desired  accuracy  of  adjustment. 
Of  course,  the  best  of  locks,  even  those  which  are  nominally 
machine-made  are  fitted  by  hand.  Only  in  the  cheapest  forms 
are  locks  left  as  they  come  from  the  machine. 

In  regard  to  price,  machine-made  locks  may  be  divided 
generally  into  six  classes.  This  division,  of  course,  -is  not 
absolute.  Locks  are  made  in  all  grades,  and  are  of  all  prices. 
Some  very  good  locks  are  made  in  cheap  form,  and  some  very 
poorly  designed  locks  are  listed  at  a  high  price ;  but  for  general 
comparison  this  division  will  be  satisfactory:  — 

First,  the  cheapest  form  of  lock  made,  with  iron  face  and 
bolts,  steel  springpitnd  a  single  lever  :  P.  &  F.  Corbin  have  a 
lock  of  this  description  which  sells  in  the  market  for  a  $1.50 
a  dozen. 

Second,  a  lock  with  brass  face  and  bolts,  all  the  rest  of  the 
construction  iron,  one  lever ;  average  price  $4.00  to  $4.50  a 
dozen. 

Third,  brass  face  and  bolts,  all  the  rest  iron,  with  two 
levers  ;  $7.00,  or  with  three  levers  $8.00  per  dozen. 

Fourth,  anti-friction  latch,  brass  face  and  bolts,  three  levers, 
$17.00  per  dozen. 

Fifth,  front  door  lock  and  latch,  $1.50  to  $4.50  each. 

Sixth,  hotel  locks,  $2.50  to  $5.00  each. 

Hand-made  locks  may  be  divided  according  to  cost  into  five 
classes  :  — 

First,  single  lever  with  brass  face  and  bolts,  $1.50  each. 

Second,  three  levers,  brass  face  and  bolts,  $2.50  each. 

Third,  anti-friction  strike,  three  levers,  brass  face  and  bolts, 
$3.00  each. 

Fourth,  anti-friction  strike,  all  brass-work,  $5.00  each. 

Fifth,  front  door  locks  from  $8.00  up. 

The  foregoing  classification  of  machine  and  hand-made  locks 
according  to  price  does  not  imply  two  classes  in  regard  to 
either  efficiency  in  working  or  nicety  of  plan.  The  machine 
and  hand-made  locks  are  designed  on  exactly  the  same  princi- 
ples, and  the  differences  are  but  slight.  Still  the  hand-made 
locks  are,  throughout,  better  than  a  relatively  corresponding 
grade  of  machine-made  locks. 

[To  be  continued.] 

DCTY  PAID  ON  A  PHARAOH.  —  An  absurd  instance  of  the  length  to 
which  the  policy  of  protection  is  carried  out  by  French  douaniers  was 
told  the  other  day  by  M.  Maspe'ro  to  some  friends.  He  had  brought 
back  from  Egypt  a  royal  mummy.  Of  course  the  case  had  to  be 
opened  at  Marseilles.  Being  told  it  contained  a  Pharaoh,  the  officer 
looked  up  "Pharaoh"  in  the  tariff;  but,  as  it  was  not  to  be  found,  he 
decided  that  Pharaohs,  being  an  article  of  which  there  was  no  mention, 
should  be  taxed  according  to  the  highest  scale.  So  M.  Masp£ro  was 
made  to  pay  as  for  dried  fish.  For  years  an  English  mustard  had  been 
imported  and  the  ordinary  duty  on  mustard  charged.  However,  the 
French  customs  one  day  decided  that  the  mustard  contained  flour  and 
should  be  charged  a  higher  duty.  On  a  further  analysis  a  homoeopathic 
quantity  of  an  ingredient  not  in  the  tariff  was  found,  and  so  the 
mustard  was  held  to  fall  under  the  heading  of  unspecified  spices,"  and 
accordingly  a  duty  of  24s.  a  hundredweight  is  now  payable  on  thirty- 
shilling  mustard.  Pickles  are  called  in  the  French  tariff  "conserves  au 
vinaigre."  Last  year,  however,  it  was  discovered  that  pickles  mostly 
contained  ginger  or  cloves  or  cayenne  paper,  and  pickles  were  forth- 
with subjected  to  an  extra  duty.  —  London  Daily  Netcs. 


FEBRUARY  9,  1889.]  The    American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


65 


AUGUSTE  RODIN,   SCULPTOR.1  — HI. 


"  Ugolin."     A.Rodin,    Sculptor. 

FREE  once  more  from  the  repulsive  relationship  of  ignorant  and 
troublesome  employers,  in  (inn  possession  of  that  insight  which 
directed  him  to  the  simplest  and  purest  expression  of  sculpture, 
and  a  facility  of  hand  that  made  the  clay  an  unobstructive  obstacle, 
Rodin  started  upon  the  execution  of  the  statue  that  was  eventually  to 
place  him  among  the  greatest  sculptors  of  his  country. 

But  the  sailor  at  Antwerp  lay  uneasy  on  his  mind.  The  studios 
of  the  past  eighteen  years  were  demanding  some  definite  order  and 
classification,  some  tangible  point  of  departure.  The  visions  of  the 
compositions  of  the  Renaissance  Colossus,  had  a  nearer  and  more 
forcible  effect,  and  Rodin  set  out  for  Italy  to  study  them  in  their 
original  surroundings. 

of  - 

more 
mean  as 

his  works  because  they  are  living  and  I  could  find  in  them  what  I 
wanted.     After  lookin'g  at  these  figures  long  and  well,  I  returned  to 
my  room  at  the  hotel  and  began  making  sketches,  to  test  the  depth 
of  my  own  capacity  of  composition  and  of  the  impressions  I  had 
received ;  and  1  found  that  I  could  do  nothing  like  my  sailor,  unless 
1  copied  Michael  Angelo.     I  made  no  end  of  sketches,  always  with 
the  same  result.     During  my  journey  to  Rome,  Naples,  Sienna  and 
Venice,  I  continued  drawingj  in  the  hope  of  discovering  the  principles 
upon   which   the   compositions   of    Michael   Angelo's   figures   were 
founded.     I  was,  at  the  same  time,  struck  with  the  idea  that  these 
principles  were  not  original  with  him,  but  the  result  of  discoveries 
made  by  those  who  had  preceded  him.     I  also  had  my  doubts  about 
his  being  conscious  of  these  principles,  or  that  he  was  the  consum- 
mate artist  and  man  that  many  think  he  is.     He  seems  to  me  to  have 
worked  little  from  nature ;  that  he  had  one  figure,  or  type,  that  he 
reproduced  everywhere   and  constantly,  and   that   he   took   entire 
figures   from  Donatello,  besides  using   a  certain  movement   of   the 
w'rist   and    foot,  common  to  the  latter.      I  think  Michael  Angelo 
simply   completed,  in   movement   and   general   scheme,  the   figures 
whose  natural  principles  of  composition  were  discovered  by  those 
who  went  before  him."     Rodin  returned  to  Brussels  and  continued 
his   investigations   of    the    principles    of    composition    upon   which 
Michael   Angelo's   figures   are   founded.      At    last,   he   solved   the 
problem,  and  the   mystery  became   clear.     With   its   solution   also 
came  the  key  of  the  principles  inherent  in  his  own  nature,  and  by 
which  he  has  been  guided  in  all  of  his  subsequent  works.     He  does 
not  feel  certain  that  he  would  have  found  them  had  he  not  first 
studied  Michael  Angelo  and  discovered  the  principles  by  which  he 
was  guided.     Of  them  all,  he  says  :  "  They  are  found  in  nature,  or  she 
verifies  them,  if  you  look  carefully  enough.     They  are  so  simple,  that 
they  can  be  taught  in  six  months  to  any  student  of  average  in- 
telligence, so  that  he  can  exemplify  them,  as  facts,  almost  as  well  as 
J  can  myself.     In  a  word,  Nature  tells  the  whole  story."     The  work 
on  "  The  Age  of  Brass,"  also  went  on,  and  for  eighteen  months  the 
sculptor  gave  it  his  best  efforts,  never  for  a  moment  feeling  that  he 
should   arrive   at   any  satisfactory  result.     "I  was   in   the  deepest 
despair  with  that  figure,"  he  observes,  "  and  I  worked  so  intensely 
on   it,  trying  to  get  what  I  wanted,  that  there  are    at  least    four 
figures  in  it."     When  it  was  completed  he  exhibited  it  in  January, 
1S77,  in  the  Circle  Artistique,  in  Brussels,  where  it  was  generally 
received  with  derision,  pronounced  a  reproduction  from  moulds  made 
on  the  living  model,  and  criticised  because  it  did  not  stand  well. 

But  .a  writer  on  one  of  the  city  papers,  L'Echo  du  Parlement, 
recognized  its  surprising  qualities,  and  spoke  of  them  with  deserved 
words  of  praise.  "The  statue,"  he  says,  "has  made  a  sensation 
among  artists,  and  will,  no  doubt,  attract  much  attention  in  the 
Paris  Salon.  Wholly  taken  up  as  the  artist  has  been  —  and  as  every 
true  artist  is  who  makes  his  art  his  chief  aim  — with  the  question  ol 
style  and  execution,  he  has  only  forgotten  one  thing,  and  that  is  tc 
•  explain  his  subject.  This  lack  has  awakened  much  criticism,  and 
caused  many  questions  to  be  asked.  Why  are  the  eyes  half  closed 
and  that  hand  lifted  up  ?  Is  it  the  statue  of  a  somnambulist  ?  But 
let  us  be  reassured ;  all  is  clearly  and  logically  explained  by  thi 


'  All  rights  reserved.    Continued  from  page  45,  No.  683. 


title,  'The  Vanquisher,'  and  it  suffices  to  add  that  the  raised  hand 
ought  to  hold  two  spears.  From  a  pure  art  point-of-view,  the  work  is 
very  beautiful,  and,  above  all,  very  original.  It  is  realism  —  that 
which  proceeds  directly  from  the  Greeks ;  it  is  their  modelling,  in 
large  planes,  their  accentuation,  sober  and  firm,  their  learned  anatomy 
but  profoundly  living,  indicated  as  it  is  in  nature,  with  movements 
that  change  and  are  sometimes  hidden ;  anatomy  studied  in  the  exer- 
cises of  the  gymnasium,  and  not,  like  that  of  the  Florentines  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  from  a  skinned  anatomical  figure.  This  realism  is 
not  only  a  striking  truth,  it  is,  at  the  same  time,  a  great  selection  and 
a  grand  style.  If  M.  Rodin  ever  had  a  master,  he  was  certainly  not 
one  of  the  realists  of  these  days,  who  confine  themselves  so  often  to 
sefvile  copying  of  plaster  casts.  The  statue  is  inspired  by  the 
powerful  metopes  of  the  Parthenon,  or  the  supple  and  robust 
Illyssus,  by  Alcamene." 

Among  the  large  studies  made  by  the  sculptor  in  Brussels,  in  the 
development  of  his  principles  of  composition,  was  a  group  called 
'•  Ugolin,"  but  he  was  not  satisfied  with  it,  and  destroyed  all  save  the 
body  of  the  principal  figure.  This  is  one  of  the  best  examples  of 
his  large  style  of  modelling.  He  also  found  time,  before  he  began 
'•  The  Age  of  Brass,"  to  make  a  number  of  heads  and  figures  in 
terra-cotta,  which  he  could  not  sell  in  Brussels,  but  which  were 
bought  by  a  Mr.  Gammon,  an  English  art-buyer,  who  afterwards  sold 
them  at  Albert  Hall  in  London.  Rodin  did  not  set  any  artistic  value 
upon  these  things,  but  Dalou,  an  eminent  French  sculptor,  who  saw 
hem  in  London,  affirms  that  they  possessed  great  merit. 

Rodin  had  one,  not  very  satisfactory,  transaction  with  the 
Anonyme  des  Bronzes  Company.  He  sold  them  a  very  beautiful 
narble  bust  which  he  called  "La  Petite  Manon,"  for  the  small  price 
of  one  hundred  dollars.  The  company,  appreciating  the  commercial 
?alue  of  the  work,  bought  of  the  sculptor  for  twenty  dollars  more 
Jus  right  to  reproduce  it  in  bronze.  Thinking  they  had  a  mine  in 
iodin  which  they  could  work  for  their  exclusive  profit,  they  wished 
to  buy  more  of  his  things,  but  his  suspicions  were  aroused  at  their 
readiness  to  purchase  at  a  low  price,  and  feeling  that  they  had  taken 
advantage  of  him  in  the  first  transaction,  he  would  not  let  them  have 
anything  else. 

To  a  considerable  extent  Rodin's  professional  life  in  Belgium  had 
jeen  satisfactory.  For  the  first  time  he  had  been  his  own  master, 
and  engaged  upon  work  that  suited  his  temperament,  large  composi- 
tions of  many  figures.  From  first  to  last  he  had  had  his  own  way. 
With  his  genius  it  was  a  sublime  obstinacy  —  the  obstinacy  of  all 
;reat  men.  In  six  years  his  eyes  had  become  open  to  the  art  around 
lim,  and  he  saw  it  from  a  different  point-of-view.  "  Up  to  1871,"  he 
remarks,  "  I  lived  in  the  old  idea  that  sculpture  was  making  progress 
.n  France.  But  it  was  not  true.  I  had  changed  during  my  life  in 
Belgium,  and  when  I  came  back  to  Paris  my  idols  had  fallen  in  the 
dust.  I  saw  that  we  had  no  successors  to  Puget,  and  that  we  were 
really  going  down  hill.  The  statues  that  I  adored  before  I  went 
away,  1  could  not  bear  after  I  had  returned.  I  do  not  like  sculpture 
made  from  plaster  casts,  it  has  no  life."  It  is  difficult  to  measure, 
with  any  degree  of  exactness,  the  amount  or  character  of  Rodin's 
progress  while  in  Belgium.  The  work  he  did  for  public  buildings, 
except  in  the  matter  of  composition,  would  hardly  be  a  fair  test,  and 
we  must  rely  upon  "The  Age  of  Brass"  as  the  consummated  result, 
or,  rather  the  best  outcome  of  what  he  did  in  Belgium,  at  least  so 
far  as  modelling  goes.  The  result  of  his  study  of  the  principles  of 
figure  composition  showed  itself  later  on. 

"  The  Broken  Nose,"  made,  it  will  be  remembered,  when  he  was 
about  twentv-two  years  of  age,  remains  the  tremendous  witness  of 
the  power  of  his  earlier  efforts,  and  his  own  judgment  in  regard  to 
the  merits  of  the  many  figures  he  had  executed  in  the  following  ten 
years,  some  of  which  he  feels  sure  were  as  good  as  "  The  Age  of 
Brass,"  must  stand  good.  This  being  true,  his  progress  was  on  the 
side  of  deeper  insight  into  the  subtile  secrets  of  composition,  the  more 
exact  formulation  of  his  own  temperament,  greater  familiarity  with, 
and  better  judgment  of,  fine  works  of  art,  and  a  more  correct  ob- 
servation of  nature.  His  own  world  of  art  had  begun  to  take  in 
the  world  around  him. 

Rodin's  individual  life  in  Belgium  had  been  so  much  more  agree- 
able than  it  was  in  Paris,  that  both  himself  and  Mme.  Rodin  look 
back  upon  it  as  "the  most  beautiful  and  happy  days  of  our  lives." 
In  Brussels,  they  lived  in  Rue  Bourgeneist,  quite  on  the  outskirts 
of  the  city,  practically  in  the  country.  They  occupied  one  room, 
hired  of  a  florist,  whose  gardens  surrounded  them,  for  which  they 
paid  twenty-two  dollars  a  year  rent.  With  it  they  had  a  garden, 
twice  the  size  of  their  room,  which  contained  one  tree  —  a  forest  to 
them  —  and  under  which  in  summer  they  ate  their  meals,  drank 
French  wine,  reposed  themselves-  and  rejoiced  in  sylvan  happiness. 
For  company,  they  had  a  dog,  a  goat,  a  cat  and  some  rabbits. 
Mme.  Rodin  cultivated  her  plants  and  flowers,  while  her  husband  lay 
on  the  grass  and  gazed  at  the  merciless  firmament  above  him.  Both 
loved  tranquility  and  the  country,  and  out  of  it  they  drank  unceasing 
deli"ht.  As  Brussels  was  surrounded  by  endless  fields  and  fine 
roads,  and  both  were  fond  of  walking,  they  made  long  journeys  of 
many  miles,  without  regard  to  where  they  were  going,  or  when  or 
how  they  would  return.  In  Antwerp  their  life  was  the  same. 
There  was  neither  nook,  corner,  or  object  of  interest  that  they  did 
not  see  or  explore.  Rodin  saw  all  the  art  there  was  to  be  seen. 
With  Rubens  he  was  in  love,  and  copied,  from  memory,  in  his  room 
many  of  the  great  painter's  pictures.  Of  the  art,  he  says,  that  '•  It 
is  all  in  the  paintings,  with  the  exception  of  Fiammingo's  infants.  In 


The  American   Architect  and  Building  News.      [VOL.  XXV.  — No.  685. 


sculpture,  there  is  nothing  else  great,  though  some  of  it  is  excellent 
in  execution." 

It  was  in  Brussels,  in  1872,  that  Rodin  exhibited  "The  Broken 
Nose,"  in  the  Artistic  Circle,  and  received,  for  the  first  time,  words 
of  commendation  for  it.  They  came  from  Biot,  the  engraver,  and 
Baure",  a  sculptor.  The  mask  was  generally  admired  and  helped  to 
make  him  friends.  Among  them  was  M.  Jules  Petit,  a  French 
singer,  whose  bust  Rodin  made  in  terra-cotta.  An  especially 
interesting  friend  was  I)r.  Thiriar,  now  a  very  prominent  mem- 
ber of  his  profession,  whom  Rodin  came  to  know  in  this  way : 
He  was  taken  suddenly  ill,  from  overwork,  and  Mme.  Rodin  ran  for 
the  nearest  physician,  who  proved  to  be  lame.  He  came,  examined 
his  patient,  performed  an  operation  and  made  a  number  of  successive 
visits.  "  When  I  asked  him  for  his  bill,"  relates  Rodin,  '|  the 
doctor  seeing,  no  doubt,  that  we  were  not  rich,  said,  very  timidly, 
that  he  thought  that  a  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  would  not  be  too 
much.  I  was  so  charmed  with  his  conduct  that  I  went  soon  after  to 
see  him,  and  told  him  that  I  should  be  happy  to  make  his  bust  as  an 
acknowledgment  of  my  appreciation  of  his  kindness.  He  hesitated 
at  first,  but  soon  afterwards,  consented,  and  I  made  it  in  terra-cotta. 
I  learned,  later  on,  that  he  consulted  some  of  his  friends  and  made 
some  inquiries  in  regard  to  my  capacity.  Another  bust  that  I 
enjoyed  making,  and  one  of  the  best  I  ever  executed  was  of  an 
apothecary,  named  Vanberkaeler.  J  made  it  in  marble,  though  I  was 
not  paid  for  it.  He  had  a  remarkable  head,  of  pure  Flemish  type, 
with  a  slight  touch  of  Greek  in  it."  These  busts  were  exhibhed, 
and  very  highly  and  justly  spoken  of  by  the  Brussels  papers.  The 
apothecary's  bust  especially,  was  praised  for  its  powerful  character, 
and  largeness  and  nobility  of  style.  "  A  veritable  bit  of  the  antique, 
did  not  its  coat  reveal  its  time  and  place."  The  bust  of  "  La  Petite 
Alsacienne,"  which  Rodin  had  made  in  Strasbourg,  was  also  shown 
in  Brussels  and  greatly  admired. 

Although  he  had  fairly  good  friends  in  that  city,  they  could  do  but 
little  or  nothing  for  him.  To  all  intents  and  purposes  he  was  quite 
as  isolated  as  he  had  been  in  Paris.  Society  did  not  attract  him. 
His  home  and  his  studio  were  his  heavens.  His  general  want  of 
close  friends,  or  even  interested  acquaintances,  was  often  the  cause 
of  serious  trouble,  as  the  following  incident  will  illustrate :  When  he 
went  to  Brussels  he  left  in  his  studio,  in  the  Rue  llermel,  a  large 
number  of  precious  sketches,  a  quantity  of  valuable  plaster  casts  and 
a  clay  figure,  larger  than  life,  upon  which  he  had  worked  for  two 
years,  had  cared  for  through  the  war  with  great  difficulty,  and  upon 
which  he  set  a  high  value.  All  at  once,  the  owner  of  the  studio,  one 
Robinet,  took  the  fancy  that  he  wanted  it,  and  without  even  inform- 
ing Rodin  of  his  wish,  sold  its  contents  at  auction.  Nor  had  Rodin 
a  friend  in  Paris  who  cared  enough  for  his  interests  to  either  inform 
him  of  this  shameful  transaction,  or  try  to  protect  his  property. 
When  Rodin  returned  to  Paris,  instead  of  finding  his  studio  safe  and 
sound,  ready  for  his  occupancy,  he  discovered  that  his  possessions 
were  scattered  to  the  four  winds,  and  his  clay  figure,  broken  to 
pieces  for  the  purpose  of  getting  the  iron  that  supported  it,  to  sell  to 
a  junk  dealer.  It  was  truly,  as  he  mournfully  says,  one  of  the 
cruelest  events  of  his  life. 

As  a  whole,  Rodin's  experience  in  Brussels  was  like  that  of  all 
artists  everywhere  who  are  entirely  given  up  to  their  work.  The 
world  cares  little  for  them  or  their  art ;  it  only  cares  for  those  who 
care  for  it.  Art,  pure  and  simple,  has  never  won  for  its  creator  any 
particular  personal  attention,  nor  is  there  any  reason  why  it  should. 
Occasionally  the  artist  and  man  of  the  world  are  joined  together  in 
one  person,  as  in  the  case  of  Rubens.  Rodin's  groups,  bas-reliefs 
and  busts,  were  forgotten  as  soon  as  made,  and  as  things  go,  there 
was  no  reason  why  their  author  should  be  longer  remembered. 

T.  II.  BARTLETT. 


[  Contributors  are  requested  to  send  with  their  drawings  full  and 
adequate  descriptions  of  the  buildings,  including  a  statement  of  cost.] 


HOUSE     OF     CHARLES     PRUYN,     ESQ.,     ALBANY,   N.    Y.        MR.    R.   W. 
GIBSON,    ARCHITECT,    NEW   YORK,    N.    Y. 

[Gelatine  print,  issued  only  with  the  Imperial  Edition.l 


COMPETITIVE  DESIGN  FOR  THE  WORLD  BUILDING,  NEW  YORK, 
N.  Y.  MR.  R.  H.  ROBERTSON,  ARCHITECT,  NEW  YORK,  N.  Y. 

HOUSE  FOR  M.  8.  SEVERANCE,  ESQ.,  LOS  ANGELES,  CAL.  MESSRS. 
CURLETT,  EI8EN  &  CUTHBERTSON,  ARCHITECTS,  LOS  ANGELES, 
CAL. 

THE    PLACE    OF    ARMS,    SANTIAGO,    CHILI. 


THE   LOTUS   IN   ANCIENT   ART.  — I. 

THE    IONIC    CAPITAL    AND    THE   LOTUS. 

HE  object  of  this  paper  is  to 
call  attention  to  certain  previ- 
ously unknown  or  insufficiently 
developed  facts,  relating  to  the  in- 
fluence of  the  lotus  on  Greek  orna- 
ment which  it  is  hoped  may  prove 
of  interest,  not  only  from  a  profes- 
sional,  but    also    from    a   popular 
standpoint. 

As  introductory  topic  I  have 
chosen  the  subject  of  the  Ionic 
capital,  a  hitherto  unrecognized  con- 
ventional lotus  form.  This  topic 
will  be  found  to  lead  over  to  that  of 
the  anthemion,  in  other  words  to  the 
one  all-important  typical  form  of 
Greek  ornament,  —  in  its  various 
modifications  the  most  universally 
recurrent  feature  of  modern  deco- 
ration. The  anthemion  is  a  hith- 
erto unrecognized  conventional 
development  of  lotus  decoration, 
and  in  its  early  history  that  of  the 
later  Greek  spirals  and  scrolls  is  also  involved.  In  the  demonstra- 
tion to  be  offered  on  this  head,  the  "  rosette  "  is  included  as  another 
hitherto  unrecognized  lotus  motive.  The  most  apparently  improba- 
ble, yet,  most  easily  demonstrated  case  of  lotus  decoration  in  Greek 
art  is  that  of  the  "  egg-and-dart  "  moulding.  Its  association  with 
the  Ionic  capital  and  other  Ionic  details,  is  an  interesting  point  con- 
nected with  the  lotiform  origin  of  the  latter. 

The  suggestion  that  the  "  egg-and-dart  "  moulding  is  derived  from 
an  Egyptian  lotus  border  has  been  previously  made  by  Owen  Jones 
but  his  interpretation  of  the  evolution  is  unsatisfactory.  I  was  not, 
however,  aware  of  his  suggestion  when  my  own  conclusions  were 
formed.  The  sungestion  that  the  Ionic  capital  is  a  lotus  form  has 
also  been  previously  published  but  without  attracting  conviction  or 
attention.  In  this  case  also  the  interpretations  hitherto  given  of  the 
evolution  are  insufficient  and  in  this  case,  also,  my  own  observations 
were  made  without  knowledge  of  the  anticipations  as  regards  publi- 
cation. As  publication  is  universally  admitted  to  be  the  te!«t  of  preced- 
ence, I  only  mention  the  fact  that  the  entire  series  of  observations  was 
made  independently,  because  they  have  all  been  based  on  the  study 
of  lotus  forms  found  on  Cypriote  vases,  and  because  the  clue  offered 
by  these  vases  is  in  my  own  conviction  the  only  correct  one  —  the 
only  starting-point  that  will  compel  from  experts  in  history,  in 
archoeology  and  in  decorative  art  a  recognition  of  the  facts  asserted. 
This  has  not  been  hitherto  accorded  the  suggestions  of  a  lotiform 
origin  for  the  Ionic  capital  and  the  "  egg-and-dart "  moulding  by 
any  standard  authority,  nor  has  the  slightest  notice  been  hitherto 
taken  of  the  isolated  suggestions  which  were  correct  intuitions  of 
most  important  facts. 

As  regards  the  anthemion,  the  rosette,  and  the  Assyrian  pal- 
mette  (to  be  mentioned  presently)  I  believe  that  both  my  observa- 
tions and  demonstration  are  unanticipated,  as  the  demonstration  is 
in  all  cases.  From  the  observations  bearing  on  the  Ionic  capital 
and  the  anthemion,  the  Corinthian  capital  will  prove  to  be  a  later 
and  remote  phase  of  the  same  initial  motives. 

The  now  generally  accepted  theory  of  the  Ionic  capital  and  the 
universally  accepted  theory  of  the  rosette  and  anthemion,  is  that 
the  Greeks  obtained  them  from  Assyrian  ornament,  by  Phoenician 
transmission  and  by  way  of  Asia  Minor.  This  theory  will  prove  to 
be  no  longer  tenable  and  the  Assyrian  "  palmette "  itself,  hitherto 
considered  the  first  form  of  the  anthemion,  will  be  proved  an  Egyp- 
tian lotus  motive,  not  a  conventional  palm-tree  as  hitherto  supposed. 
That  the  Greek  spirals  and  Greek  frets  are  of  Egyptian  derivation 
is  already  obvious  from  recent  publications.1  Mr.  Joseph  Thacher 
Clarke  has  offered  convincing  proof  on  the  long-debated  subject  of 
the  Egyptian  origin  of  the  Doric  shaft  in  a  recent  number  of  the 
American  Journal  of  Archoeology  (Vol.  II,  No.  3).  Similar  proofs 
have  also  been  lately  published  on  the  head  of  the  Doric  Triglyphs.2 
The  discoveries  at  Naucratis,  the  most  important  and  ultimately  the 
only  Greek  Colony  of  the  Nile  Delta,  of  which  the  Boston  Museum 
of  Fine  Arts  offers  such  interesting  specimens,  have  -also  given  an 
impetus  in  various  ways  to  the  disposition  to  connect  the  origins  of 
Greek  art  with  influences  from  Egypt. 

Thus  the  demonstration  to  be  offered  for  the  lotiform  origin  of  the 
Ionic  capital,  of  the  anthemion,  of  the  rosette  and  of  the  egg-and- 
dart  moulding,  will,  if  it  proves  satisfactory,  only  substantiate  and 
widen  a  point  of  view  for  the  history  of  Greek  art  in  general,  which 
has  already  been  acknowledged  probable  or  clear  in  important  particu- 
lars. In  1873  when  the  Cypriote  pottery  of  the  Cesnola collections  was 
first  exhibited  in  New  York,  I  called  the  attention  of  friends  whose 
testimony  is  still  available  to  certain  cases  of  lotus  decoration,  such  as 
appear  on  the  vase  in  the  Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art,  herewith  ' 

1  Prisse  d' Avennes's  "  Hietoire  de  I' Art  Egyptien ; "  Schliemanu's  "  Myccnte," 
!'  Orchomfiws."  and  "  Tiri/ns." 

"Aner  ln"Ztittchrift.fiir"  Dildentle  KKnst"  18SO  (colored  illustrations  at  the 
close  of  Dunn's  "  Batkunst  tier  Griechen.") 


Ho.  685.        |[MEi\iG^NMH6HiTEGT  aND  BUILDING  llEws,  FEB.  9  1559 


COFYBIGHT  1889  BY  TICXNOR  IC.« 


Competitive  I 

Propos 

World    H 


I — II  ri«"Bm!  I' — 1|  l~ll  M.J1 — II  II — il  li — il 


Elevation  on  Frankfort  Street: 


Scale-  'ain.-IFool: 


ii BUILDING  HEWS,  FEB.  9  1559 

*!  TICKIIOR  S.  .-. 


II  IllrliS 
111  I 


EleVation  on  Chatham  Street: 


'/iDQerican  ^rctfitect  an.d  Building  Dews,  February  9,  1359. 


Copyright,  1889,  *>v  TICKNOR  &  Co. 


Do.  635. 


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o.  635. 


FEBRTJAKY:  9,  1889.]  Tfie   American   Architect  ana;  Building  News. 


67 


figured,  with  enlarged  details  from  similar  vases  (Figures  1,  2,  3,) 
which  seemed  to  me  to  argue  a  lotiform  derivation  for  the  Ionic 
capital. 

The  lotiform  derivation  of  the  Ionic  capital  was  first  suggested, 
hut  on  other,  and  1  think  it  will  appear  on  less  satisfactory  grounds, 
by  French  students  in  1875  and  1885.  In  1875  Georges  Colonna- 
Cecci'ldi  (since  deceased)  published  an  article  in  the  Revue  Archeo- 
logique  on  a  Cypriote  sarcopagus  now  in  the  New  York  Museum  and 
known  as  the  sarcopagus  of  Athience,  in  which  he  also  published 
one  of  two  tombstones  found  with  it  and  also  now  in  the  New  York 


Fig.   3. 


Fig.  4. 


Fig.   5. 


Museum.  One  of  these  is  figured  at  4.  He  asserted  this  stele  to  be 
a  conventional  representation  of  the  lotus  in  which  the  triangle  be- 
tween the  volutes  figured  the  ovary  of  the  flower.  The  volutes 
themselves  were  interpreted  as  petals  curled  over  and  the  introrsi 
scrolls  above  were  supposed  to  represent  the  stamens.  It  will  be 
subsequently  shown  that  the  details  of  this  interpretation  are  all 
erroneous  but  it  will  also  appear  that  the  intuition  regarding  the  en- 
tire form  was  correct.  As  the  lotus  is  an  Egyptian  symbol  of  the 
Resurrection,  the  suggestion  in  this  sense  was  extremely  apt  although 
this  point  was  not  made  by  Colonna-Ceccaldi. 

In  1885,  Mr.  Dieulafoy,  the  distinguished  explorer  of  the  ruins  of 
Susa,  announced  the  lotiform  origin  of  the  Ionic  capital  in  his 
"Monuments  Antiques  de  la  Perse."  His  starting-point  was  a  form 
of  Egyptian  capital  found  in  relief  representation  at  Karnak 
(eighteenth  dynasty)  :  figured  at  5.  He  interprets  the  scrolls  as 
representing  lotus  petals  conceived  as  curling  downward  under  press- 
ure and  the  object  between  them  as  a  representation  of  the  ovary. 
It  will  appear  later  that  this  interpretation  which  corresponds 
essentially  to  the  earlier  one  by  Colonna-Ceccaldi,  is  also  incorrect  in 
detail  but  correct  as  to  result. 

In  1886,  a  summary  of  the  literature  of  the  Ionic  capital  up  to 
date,  was  published  in  the  American  Journal  of  Archaeology  (Vol.  II, 
No.  I1),  by  Mr.  Joseph  Thacher  Clarke  which  did  not  include  the 
suggestion  of  its  lotiform  derivation.  This  led  me  to  examine  the 
New  York  Cypriote  vases  more  closely  and  to  connect  the  lotus 
motives  on  them  with  others,  to  be  subsequently  illustrated,  in  such  a 
way  that  I  believe  the  fact  may  now  be  asserted  delinitely  and  con- 
clusively that  the  Ionic  capital  is  derived  from  a  conventional  form 
of  lotus  flower  and  that  it  is  of  Egyptian  origin.  My  view  has  been 
adopted  hy  Prof.  Allan  Marquand,  of  Princeton,  in  a  recent  number 
of  the  American  Journal  of  Archaeology,  (Vol.  IV,  No.  1).  It  has 
been  considered  with  much  interest  and  I  believe  with  approval  by 
Prof.  A.  L.  Frothingham,  Jr.,  of  Princeton,  the  editor  of  the  Journal 
and  has  otherwise  met  the  approbation  of  experts.  The  observa- 
tions on  the  Ionic  capital  led  me  to  those  on  the  anthemion  or 
palmette,  a  more  important,  because  a  more  universally  employed 
decoration  and  there  seems  to  me,  to  be  no  escape  from  admitting 
that  they  are  a  necessary  consequence  of  the  demonstration  for  the 
Ionic  form. 

The  interest  of  the  related  observations  is  considerably  enhanced 
by  the  recent  successful  efforts  to  naturalize  in  this  country  the 
various  water-lilies,  commonly  known  by  the  one  name  of  "  lotus  " 
and  by  the  opportunities  to  observe  the  natural  flower  which  many 
of  us  have  thus  recently  enjoyed.  Mr.  E.  D.  Sturtevant,  of  Borden- 
town,  N.  J.,  and  Mr.  Benjamin  Grey,  of  Maiden,  Mass.,  are  florists 
who  have  been  especially  prominent  in  this  connection.  From  the 
lily-ponds  of  the  former  the  fountain  basins  of  the  various  parks  in 
New  York  have,  for  instance,  been  very  generally  stocked  with  lotus- 
plants  of  all  three  kinds  known  to  the  ancient  Egyptians. 

The  cut  numbered  6  shows  a  selection  of  details  from  these  plants, 
combined  from  sketches  made  in  Union  Square,  New  York. 

The  plant  most  generally  quoted  as  a  "  lotus  "  is  now  extinct  in 
Egypt  and  Africa,  but  still  grows  in  Asia.  It  bears  the  flower  so 
well  known  in  Oriental  art  and  decoration  as  the  emblem  of  Buddha. 
According  to  botanical  terminology,  this  nelumbium  speciosum  is  not 
a  lotus.  It  is  distinguished  by  the  peculiar  seed-pod  seen  on  the  left 
of  the  cut,  shaped  like  the  spout  of  a  watering-pot  and  containing 
seeds  about  the  size  of  small  filberts,  by  a  bulbous,  tulip-like  shape 
of  bud,  by  much  larger  petals  than  belong  to  the  lotus  proper,  and 
by  the  fact  that  its  leaves  grow  by  the  centre  in  bell-shaped  form  on 
erect  stems  rising  above  the  water.  Botanically  speaking,  the  word 
"  lotus  "  is  confined  to  the  large  white  water-lily,  nymphcea  lotus,  and 
large  blue  water-lily,  nymphcea  cerulea,  but  the  flowers  of  all  three 


1  "  A  Proto-Ionic  capital  from  the  site  of  Neandreia." 


kinds  of  plants  are  closely  allied  in  appearance,  aside  from  distinc- 
tions of  color.  All  resemble  the  common  pond-lily,  although  superior 
to  it  in  vigor,  beauty,  and  size.  Unlike  the  pond-lily,  the  flowers  of 
all  three  plants  rise  high  above  the  water  on  erect  stems.  The 
leaves  of  the  white  and  blue  lotus  float  on  the  water. 

The  pond-lily  occasionally  exhibits  a  phenomenon  as  regards  the 
calyx  leaves,  which  can  be  more  distinctly  observed  in  the  Egyptian 
water-lilies,  because  they  are  larger  and  stand  so  high  above  the 
water.  In  the  Egyptian  varieties  of  the  lotus  the  calyx  leaves 
forming  the  outer  coarse-green  envelope  of  the  bud  and  partly-opened 
flower  frequently  or  occasionally  curl  over  and  downwards  after  the 
flower  opens,  as  seen  in  the  cut,  and  as  represented  in  the  flowers  of 
certain  Cypriote  vases  above  referred  to  (Figs.  1,  2,  and  3).  This 
downward  curl  of  the  calyx  leaves  appears  to  have  been  the 
starting-point  of  a  lotus  motive  with  exterior  volutes,  ultimately  de- 
veloped into  spirals,  which,  for  decorative  reasons,  finally  became,  as 
far  as  the  Ionic  capital  is  concerned,  the  one  remnant  of  the  orio-mal 
floral  form. 

The  suggestion  of  Colonna-Ceccaldi  and  Dieulafoy  that  the  Tonic 
volutes  represent  curling  lotus-petals  is  not  supported  by  any  related 
appearance  of  the  natural  flower,  as  the  petals  never  curl  downward 


Fig.  6. 

or  outward.  When  the  lotiform  origin  of  the  Ionic  capital  has  been 
universally  conceded,  the  details  of  the  interpretation  would  not  be 
a  matter  of  vital  importance.  As  long  as  these  intuitions  of  the  true 
origin  of  the  Ionic  capital  have  not  been  quoted  or  mentioned  by  a 
single  authority,  it  is  important  to  present  an  interpretation  which 
compels  acceptance.  The  first  step  in  this  direction  is  to  insist  on 
the  point  that  the  lotus-flower  occasionally  exhibits  a  phenomenon, 
which  was  observed  by  ancient  decorators  in  a  manner  to  which  the 
Ionic  volutes  fairly  correspond. 

The  different  lotus-varieties,  as  above  described,  are  occasionally 
distinguished  by  naturalistic  coloring  in  Egyptian  design,  the  blue 
lotus  especially,  but  more  frequently  only  the  form  of  the  flower  is 
indicated  in  a  variety  of  color  combinations  of  purely  conventional 
character.  It  does  not  appear  that  the  rose-lotus,  nelumbium  speci- 
osum, had  a  more  distinctly  sacred  character  in  Egypt  than  the 
white  and  blu«  water-lilies,  although  this  has  been  sometimes  sup- 
posed. Egyptologists  simply  speak  of  the  "lotus,"  without  distinc- 
tion as  to  its  varieties  in  the  information  given  as  to  its  sacred  sig- 
nificance. 

The  opinion  of  Wilkinson,  expressed  in  his  "Ancient  Egyptians," 
that  the  lotus  had  no  sacred  significance  must  be  abandoned,  in 
view  of  the  numerous  opinions  of  later  authorities.  It  was  a  symbol 
of  the  Resurrection,  according  to  Pierret  ("  Pantheon  Eyyptien"  p. 
62).  It  was  the  flower  sacred  to  Osiris,  the  God  of  the  Resurrec- 
tion, and  usually  crowned  the  altars  of  offerings  to  him.  The  four 

Genii  of  Amenti,"  i.  e.,  of  the  world  of  departed  spirits,  are  for  this 
reason  sometimes  represented  in  Egyptian  pictures  of  the  "  Last 
Judgment "  and  otherwise  as  standing  on  the  lotus.  Bouquets  of 
lotus-flowers  were  presented  to  the  guests  at  Egyptian  funerals,  un- 
doubtedly for  this  same  reason.2  According  to  Maspero,  the  lotus 
was  one  of  the  mystic  forms  or  habitations  of  the  departed  spirit. 
According  to  Prisse  d'Avennes,  the  lotus  was  an  emblem  of  life  and 
of  immortality. 

The  association  of  the  lotus  with  Osiris  explains  that  with  Horus, 
the  child  of  Osiris  and  Isis.  The  infant  Horus  appears  frequently 
in  Egyptian  temple-reliefs  seated  on  the  lotus,  or  rising  from  it.  In 
his  various  guises  of  hawk,  of  hawk-headed  human  being,  or  human- 
lieaded  hawk,  the  lotus  constantly  appears  as  his  attribute,  as  it  is 
also  that  of  Isis.  The  identity  of  Horus  with  the  sun  and  with  the 
solar-winged  disk  (Pierret)  so  constantly  represented  on  the  Egyptian 
monuments  thus  explains,  also,  an  association  of  the  lotus  with  solar 
worship,  and  involves  the  fact  that  the  lotus  was  a  symbol  of  the  sun, 
which  can,  moreover,  be  abundantly  demonstrated  from  monuments 
to  be  subsequently  quoted.  Finally,  the  flower  is  known  to  have 
}een  a  generative  emblem.  For  this  significance,  the  association 
with  Osiris  in  his  generative  and  reproductive  character  is  sufficient 
demonstration.  The  association  of  the  lotus  with  Phallic  represen- 
tations of  the  Egyptian  divinities  is  very  common.  As  the  Apis 


•Osbnrn's.    "  Monumental  instory  of  Egypt,"  Vol.  I,  p.  43. 


68 


The   American   Architect   and  Building   News.       [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  685. 


Bull  was  considered  an  incarnation  of  Osiris,  the  association  of  the 
lotus  with  Apis  is  also  a  frequent  appearance  on  the  monuments. 
The  third  member  of  the  Egyptian  Trinity  was  Isis,  the  spouse  of 
Osiris,  mother  of  Horus,  and  Moon-Goddess.  To  her,  also,  the 
lotus  was  consequently  sacred. 

In  the  decorative  motives  of  the  Egyptian  tomb  pictures,  borders, 
panels,  friezes,  etc.,  the  lotus  is  the  most  constant  and  almost  ex- 
clusively dominant  form.  In  the  temple  architecture  it  forms  the 
basis  for  all  capitals  antedating  the  Ptolemaic  period  (see  Reber's 
"  History  of  Ancient  Art").  The  Egyptian  words  for  lotus  and  for 
the  capital  of  a  column  are  interchangable  as  appears  from  transla- 
tions of  Maspero  in  his  '•  Historie  des  Peuples  Anciens  de  I' Orient." 
Although  the  papyrus  has  been  frequently  considered  as  having  sug- 
gested the  motive  for  the  campaniform  capital  the  contrary  can  be 
conclusively  demonstrated.  Other  confusions  of  lotus-forms  with 
that  of  a  supposed  papyrus  can  be  also  shown  to  have  been  made 
and  increase  the  admittedly  overwhelming  prepondence  of  the  lotus 
and  its  derivatives  in  Egyptian  decoration  to  a  maximum  which  is 
almost  exclusive  of  other  forms  as  regards  surface  ornament. 

The  preponderance  of  lotus  motives  in  Egyptian  art  and  decora- 
tion, being  sufficiently  explained  by  the  dominance  of  the  Osiris  and 
Horus  cult  and  by  the  well-known  hieratic  and  symbolic  character 
of  all  Egyptian  art,  we  have  no  difficulty  in  recognizing  the  source 
and  raison  d'etre  of  the  lotus  motives  so  constantly  found  in  the 
decorative  art  of  the  Phoenicians  and  on  the  vases  of  Cyprus. 

The  solar  cult  was  a  dominant  one  among  the  Phoenicians  and  their 
adoption  of  Horus  worship,  of  the  winged  solar  disk  and  of  various 
forms  of  lotus  decoration  from  the  Egyptians,  is  one  of  the  most  pal- 
pable illustrations  of  their  well-known  dependence  on  Egyptian  in- 
fluences, Kenan  speaks  of  Phoenicia  as  a  "province  of  Egypt "  in 
matters  of  religion  (Mission  de  P/tenicie).  The  myth  of  the  death 
and  resurrection  of  Osiris  is  distinctly  connected  with  localities  on 
the  Syrian  coast,  and  the  worship  of  Osiris  is  known  to  have  been  es- 
pecially affected  at  Byblus,  of  which  seaport  the  earliest  Phoenician 
colonists  of  Cyprus  were  native.  It  is  also  recorded  to  have  been  the 
distinctive  cult  of  Amathus,  one  of  the  oldest  Phoenician  settlements  in 
Cyprus.  Such  special  points  are  not  as  important  as  the  general 
one,  that  Phoenician  decoration  exhibits  a  preponderance  of  lotus 
forms  and  derivatives,  similar  to  that  found  in  Egyptian  art  and 
explained  by  it.  The  close  and  early  relations  between  Phoenicia 
and  Egypt  are  made  especially  vivid  by  the  fact  that  the  cedar  oil 
on  which  the  Egyptians  were  absolutely  dependent  for  their  most 
generally  practised  method  of  embalmment  (the  second  in  the  scale  of 
costliness  and  pomp)  was  entirely  supplied  by  Phoenician  commerce 
and  manufacture. 

The  dependence  of  early  Cypriote  art  on  the  Phoenicians  of  Syria, 
and  the  general  dependence  of  the  Phoenicians  on  Egypt  for  many 
mythological  conceptions,  and  for  the  symbolisms, 
forms  and  motives  of  their  own  hieratic  art,  thus 
justifies  a  treatment  of  Cypriote  decorative  art  from 
a  standpoint  which  regards  it  as  a  unit  in  the  matter 
of  its  lotus  motives,  and  which  justifies  the  search 
for  analogies  between  decorative  motives  of  Cypriote 
capitals  and  steles  and  those  found  on  its  pottery. 
The  steles  in  question  were  tombstones.  The  pot- 
tery has  been,  without  exception,  found  in  tombs, 
and  as  the  lotus  was  the  Egyptian  symbol  of  the 
Resurrection,  and  also  of  a  solar  Horus  worship 
especially  affected  by  the  Phoenicians,  the  associa- 
tion is  palpably  significant.  The  worship  of  the 
moon  and  of  a  moon-goddess,  cither  Isis  herself  or 
one  assimilated  to  her,  or  both,  is  well-known  to 
have  been  a  prominent  Phoenician  cult.  Hence 
the  associations  of  the  lotus  with  Isis  worship  above 
explained  are  also  in  point. 

As  for  Phoenician  capitals,  which  are  known  by  a 
number  of  reliefs  to  have  especially  favored  the 
Ionic  form,  we  may,  without  insisting  in  all  cases  on 
a  symbolical  significance,  which  can  be  shown  to 
have  existed  in  spine  cases,  simply  point  to  the 
general  fact  that  Phoenician  architectural  decora- 
tion was  especially  derived  from  Egyptian  sources, 
and  that  lotus  Ionic  forms  can  be  demonstrated  to 
have  existed  in  Egypt  near  the  eighteenth  century 
B.  c.  (beginning  of  the  eighteenth  dynasty).  One 
indication  of  this  fact  is  offered  by  the  painted  imi- 
tations of  architectural  capitals  in  wood  or  metal, 
of  which  an  illustration  is  offered  at  Fig.  7,  from  a 
tomb  at  Thebx's  of  the  time  of  Menephtah,  son  of 
Ramses  II.  The  Ionic  form  appears  distinctly  in  the  upper  member 
of  this  capital. 

As  regards  the  pottery  of  Cyprus,  it  is  not  necessary  to  assume 
that  the  decorators  of  the  vases  had  invariably  preserved  a  conscious- 
ness of  the  symbolical  significance  of  the  lotus  decorations  so  univer- 
sally found  on  them.  The  Greek  colonists  of  Cyprus  borrowed  the 
Phoenician  art  before  the  dawn  of  recorded  Greek  history,  and  before 
there  was  an  independent  art  in  Greece;  but,  with  a  conservatism 
otherwise  attested  for  the  Cypriote  Greeks,  and  otherwise  unknown 
to  Greek  art,  they  perpetuated  these  Phoenician  forms  down  to  the 
time  of  Alexander  the  Great  and  later.  In  the  demonstration  to  be 
subsequently  offered  we  are  thus  freed  at  the  same  time  from  diffi- 
culties regarding  the  question  of  dates,  and  from  the  suspicion  calcu- 


Fig.  7. 


lated  to  fall  on  those  who  look  for  symbolical  meanings  in  Greek 
decoration.  The  lotus  motives  were  traditional,  and  had  been  con- 
ventionalized to  an  extreme  degree  in  their  symbolical  stage,  and 
the  art  of  Cyprus  was  so  conservative  that  the  most  expert  students 
are  unable  to  distinguish  between  the  pottery  of  Cypriote  Greeks 
and  that  of  Cypriote  Phoenicians,  or  to  specify  distinctions  in  style 
dependent  on  succession  of  time  in  either  case. "  Vases  demonstrably 
of  the  second  century  B.  <;.,  resembling  Fig.  7,  belong  to  types,  and 
show  lotus  motives  which  are  demonstrably  as  early  as  the  fifteenth 
century  B.  c. 

The  same  conservative  character  in  Cypriote  art  also  saves  us 
from  the  uncertainty  regarding  dates  in  the  matter  of  the  Cypriote 
proto-Ionic  steles  and  capitals  to  be  illustrated  and  considered. 
These  may  be  individually  of  relatively  late  date  (Figure  4  is 
certainly  not  earlier  than  §,00  B.  c.),  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  they 
represent  types  of  sufficient  antiquity  to  serve  as  links  in  a  chain  of 
demonstration  affecting  the  Greek  Ionic  forms.  A  glance  at  the 
geographical  position  of  Cyprus,  the  only  spot  on  which  Greeks  and 
Orientals  met  and  amalgamated  from  the  earliest  to  the  latest  dates 
of  Greek  history  without  interruption  and  without  national  feuds  or 
animosity  (before  the  time  of  the  Persians),  gives  sufficient  explana- 
tion how  and  why  connecting  linns  of  all  kinds  for  the  relations  of 
Greek  and  Oriental  art,  as  well  in  sculpture  as  in  architecture, 
should  be  found  on  this  particular  island.  The  peculiar  conservatism 
of  the  Cypriote  Greeks  is  undoubtedly  explained  by  the  same  Oriental 
influence  and  character. 

The  foregoing  preliminary  remarks  are  essential  to  a  satisfactory 
argument  based  on  the  illustrations  to  be  subsequently  presented. 
Above  all,  the  point  must  be  kept  in  view  that  Cypriote  Greek  art 
in  general  exhibits  the  first  stage  of  the  development  of  Greek  art  in 
general,  of  whatever  date  the  individual  piece  of  record.  A  few 
words  are  now  necessary  as  to  the  present  accepted  theory  of  the 
origin  of  the  Ionic  capital. 

Standard  authorities  are  united,  so  far,  in  deriving  the  Ionic  capital 
from  Assyrian  architecture.  So  far  as  actual  remains  are  con- 
cerned, only  one  Assyrian  capital 
has  been  published,  and  only  two 
or  three  capitals  are  known  to 
be  in  existence.  The  evidence  is 
found  in  Assyrian  bas-reliefs,  nota- 
bly in  an  aedicule  represented  on  a 
relief  from  Khorsabad,  figured  at 
8,  and  in  the  capitals  of  an  sedic- 
ule  represented  on  a  tablet  found 
at  Sippara,  in  Babylonia,  and 
hence  known  as  the  Sippara  tab- 
let. This  form  of  capital  is  fig- 
ured at  9.  The  latter  is  dated  be- 
tween the  eleventh  and  ninth  centuries  B.  c.  The  Ionic  of  Khorsa- 
bad is  of  the  eighth  century  B.  c.  As  there  are  no  definitely  dated 
Greek  Ionic  capitals  earlier  than  the  fifth  century  B.  c.,  and  no 
records  of  Greek  Ionic  temples  earlier  than  the  sixth  century  B.  c., 
the  precedence  of  the  Assyrian  forms  is  clear,  and  the  presumption 
in  favor  of  the  Assyrian  origin  of  the  Greek  Ionic  is  apparent. 

From  the  standpoint  of  this  presumption,  Mr.  Clarke  published 
in  the  essay  previously  mentioned  a  capital  which  he  recently  found 
at  Chigri  (ancient  Neandreia),  in  Asia  Minor,  during  his  explora- 
tions at  Assos  (Figure  10).  This  capital  was  supposed  by  him  to 
be  a  corroboration  of  the  theory  advanced  by  the  German  architect 
and  aesthetic  critic,  Gottfried  Semper,  in  his  work  on  "Style."1 
Semper  considers  the  volutes  at  the  base  of  the  Assyrian  palraette, 


Fig.  9. 


Fig   10. 


Fig.   II. 


of  which  one  form  is  shown  at  Figure  11,  to  be  the  original  starting- 
point  of  the  Assyrian  proto-Ionic.  The  palmetto  form  itself  has 
been  universally  considered  a  derivative  from  the  palm-tree,  as  rep- 
resented on  Assyrian  reliefs  (Figure  12),  and  Mr.  Clarke  supposes 
the  pendant  bunches  of  dates,  which  are  always  conventionally 
represented  as  shown  in  the  cut,  to  be  the  starting-point  of  the 
decorative  scrolls  at  the  base  of  the  palmette. 

Semper's  theory  conceives  that  the  upper  palmate  portion  of  the 
palmette  was  gradually  eliminated  in  architectural  usage,  as  unfitted 
for  position  under  pressure,  and  that  the  scrolls  were  consequently 
and  correspondingly  developed.  Mr.  Clark  naturally  considered  the 
Neandreian  capital  to  be  a  vestige  of  the  palmette  origin  of  the 
Ionic,  and  published  in  support  of  this  view  three  details  of  ivory 
plaques  from  Nineveh,  in  the  British  Museum,  one  of  which  is 
figured  at  13.  These  details  appeared  clearly  enough  to  be  connect- 
ing forms  between  10  and  11.  and  might  fairly  be  considered  repre- 
sentative of  similar  lost  architectural  capitals.  As  the  Greek 

1 "  Der  Stil  in  (Jen  technischen  und  tektonischen  Kiinaten."  . 


FEBRUARY  9,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


69 


authemion  (typical  form  from  an  Attic  vase  at  Figure  14)  has  so  fai 
been  always  related  to  the  Assyrian  palmette  and  to  the  palm-tree 
through  that  ornament,  the  attractions  of  a  theory  which  unites  the 
anthemion  and  the  Ionic  capital  as  developments  from  the  same 
starting-point  are  apparent,  and  the  connections  between  10,  13  anc 
14  are  too  obvious  to  be  disregarded.  Moreover,  two  other 


Fig.    I  2 


Fie.  13. 


Fig.  14. 


Ionic  capitals,  more  or  less  similar  to  th  it  from  Neandreia,  have  been 
still  more  recently  discovered  at  Athe:\s,  and  have  just  been  pub 
lished  by  Mr.  Trowbridge,  in  the  '•  Amer,  *an  Journal  of  Archceoloyy' 
(Vol.  IV.  No.  1). 

It  thus  appears  that  the  theory  of  the  lotiform  origin  of  the  Ionic 
capital  which  necessarily  carries  with  it  the  theory  of  an  Egyptian 
derivation,  is  antagonistic  to  the  accepted  theory  of  an  Assyrian  ori 
gin,  and  also  to  recent  corrobations  of  this  theory  of  an  apparently 
conclusive  character.  It  is  clear  that  no  theory  of  Ionic  origins  can 
now  be  accepted  which  does  not  reckon  with  the  capital  from 

Neandreia.  But  the  antagonism 
is  only  partial,  and  is  more  ap- 
parent than  real.  It  would  be 
absurd  to  question  the  impor- 
tance of  the  Assyrian  proto-Ionic 
as,  at  least,  the  possibility  that  it 
was  a  reactive  element  through 
Asia  Minor  on  the  development 
of  Greek  form?.  It  is  only  neces- 
sary to  show  that  the  Assyrian 
proto-Ionic  forms  are  themselves 
derived  through  Phccnician  medi- 
tation from  Egypt,  and  that  the 
Egyptian  Ionic  passed  more  di- 
rectly to  the  Greeks  by  way  of 
Syria  and  Cyprus.  This  can  be  done  by  analogies  between  the 
Egyptian  Ionic  and  the  lotiform  Ionic  motives  of  Cyprus.  The 
ivories  which  are  so  interesting  as  connecting  links  can  be  shown  to 
belong  to  a  series  of  admitted  Egypto-Pheenician  manufacture. 

The  crucial  question  is  that  of  the  Assyrian  palmette.  Strange  as 
the  assertion  may  seem,  this  form  is  not  originally  Assyrian,  and  it 
is  not  a  palmette,  i  e.,  not  a  palm-tree.  As  remarked  at  the  opening 
of  this  paper,  the  "rosette"  which  has  so  far  been  always  con- 
sidered an  A'ssyrian  and  Babylonian  decoration,  is  an  element  of  the 
problem.  This  is  also  Egyptian,  and  it  is  also  a  lotus  motive. 

These  points  are  naturally  too  important  for  despatch  in  a  single 
paper,  and  it  will,  therefore,  be  understood  that  the  analogies  and 
comparisons  for  the  Ionic  capital,  which  appear  in  a  following 
article,  are  also  introductory,  and  that  they  are  not  propounded  as 
absolutely  conclusive  alone  and  ir  themselves  before  the  considera- 
tion of  the  anthemion  is  reached.  That  they  will,  at  least,  throw 
the  scales  of  the  balance  into  equilibrium,  as  regards  the  rival  claims 
of  Egypt  and  Assyria  I  have  not  the  slightest  doubt.  As  the  ques- 
tion is  one  which  involves  most  of  the  scrolls,  spirals  and  rosettes  of 
modern  decoration;  beside  the  Ionic  capital  itself  —  the  tracing 
back  of  these  various  motives  to  a  single  typical  flower  —  an  emblem 
of  the  belief  in  a  future  life  so  dear  to  the  ancient  Egyptians  is  a 
matter  of  general  popular  interest.  I  presume  that  the  archa;ologieal 
considerations  involved  may  be  considered  interesting  in  their  re- 
sults, if  not  in  themselves.  WM.  H.  GOODYEAR. 
[To  be  continued.! 


D1 


COST  OF  EXECUTING  SOME  CLASSES  OF  ENGINEER- 
ING WORK.* 

CURING  the  past  twelve  years,  while  in 
charge  of   various    engineering  unde,r- 
takings,  the  author  has  devoted  a  good 
'deal  of   attention  to  the  cost  of  executing 
different    classes    of     work,     and     it     has 
occurred  to  him  that  a  short  paper  on  this 
subject   might   not   be   uninteresting.       He 
regrets  that  he  has  not  taken  full  advantage 
of  his  opportunities  in  this  way,  and  also 
that  some  of  his  memorandums  have  been 
lost  in  moving  about. 

The  author  proposes  to  take  up  the  follow- 
ing classes  of   work:  —  1.  Puddle  trenche.-i 
and   puddle.      2.  Miscellaneous   earthwork. 
3.  Concrete  work.     4.  Masonry. 

The  factors  which  appear  chiefly  to  demand  consideration  in  en- 

1  From  a  paper  by  Mr.  A.  Fairlie  Bruce,  read  at  a  meeting  of  the  Civil  and 
Mechanical  Engineers'  Society. 


Capital  from   Rosheim. 


deavouring  to  arrive  at  an  estimate  of  the  probable  cost  of  excavating 
any  puddle  trench  are  :  —  1.  The  geological  strata  to  be  cut  through. 
2.  The  quantity  of  water  likely  to  be  met  with.  3.  The  maximum 
and  average  depths  from  which  the  spoil  has  to  be  exca-vated  before 
the  impervious  strata  are  reached.  4.  The  methods  of  excavation  to 
be  adopted. 

The  first  two  of  these,  which  might,  perhaps,  be  more  properly 
taken  as  one,  the  second  being  a  consequence  of  the  first,  are 
necessarily  the  most  important  considerations  in  determining  both 
the  cost  of  execution  and  the  ultimate  success  of  any  puddle  trench. 
Before  the  site  of  an  embankment  is  finally  fixed  on,  its  geological 
formation  should  be  very  carefully  investigated,  not  only  "by  means 
of  borings,  which,  taken  by  themselves,  are  generally  very  illusory, 
but  by  trial  pits,  the  number  depending  on  the  length  of  the  trench, 
sunk  well  into  the  strata  in  which  it  is  proposed  to  found.  Great  ia 
the  difference  in  the  amount  of  work  done  per  man  day,  in  different 
materials,  at  about  the  same  depth.  For  instance,  in  trap  or  whin- 
stone  rock  at  a  depth  of  40  or  50  feet  from  the  surface,  a  man  can 
barely  excavate  £  a  cubic  yard  per  day,  at  a  cost  of  about  8s.  per 
cubic  yard,  whereas  2J  cubic  yards  of  sandy  clay  or  blaes  can  be  re- 
moved at  the  same  depth,  costing  only  about  2s.  3rf.  per  cubic  yard. 
It  is  obvious,  also,  how  seriously  the  expense  of  excavation  of  an 
otherwise  easy  material  may  be  augmented  by  the  presence  in  it  of 
water  in  large  quantities,  quite  apart  from  the  mere  question  of 
pumping.  This  is,  perhaps,  best  exemplified  by  sand,  which,  when 
dry,  can  be  taken  out  more  easily  than  anything  else,  but  when  it  is 
changed  into  running  sand  by  water,  and  if  mingled  with  boulders, 
often  gives  an  infinite  amount  of  bother.  In  the  case  in  point,  for  a 
time,  only  ^th  cubic  yard  could  be  got  out  per  man  day. 

The  next  point  to  be  considered  is  the  depth  at  which  the  excava- 
tion has  to  be  done.  For  the  first  5  feet  the  soil  can  be  cast  out  as 
it  is  dug,  but  below  that  depth  either  a  staging  must  be  introduced, 
and  the  stuff  cast  onto  it,  and  from  it  again  to  the  surface,  or  in  the 
wings  of  the  trench  it  may  be  wheeled  out  in  barrows.  When 
the  depth  exceeds  12  feet  or  15  feet,  mechanical  aid  must  be  called 
in,  and  the  materials  excavated  raised  to  the  surface  by  horse  or 
steam-power,  by  appliances  similar  to  those  already  described.  As 
might  be  anticipated,  the  reduction  due  to  this  cause  is  most  rapid 
down  to  a  depth  of  about  15  feet.  It  then  becomes  gradually  less, 
until,  after  30  feet  is  reached,  it  is  comparatively  slight,  and  is  due 
almost  exclusively  to  the  time  lost  in  lifting  the  spoil  and  to  the 
diminishing  amount  of  light  which  reaches  the  bottom  of  the  trench 
as  the  depth  increases,  especially  in  winter.  Additional  depth  also 
means  additional  pumping-power,  which  must  not  be  left  out  of 
account. 

Puddle.  — The  cost  of  puddle  varies  in  proportion  to  the  distance 
from  which  it  has  to  be  conveyed  to  the  embankment  and  the  nature 
of  the  clay,  boulder  clay  requiring  much  more  working  to  make  it  into 
good  puddle  than  some  of  the  softer  clays,  and  it  also  requires  to  have 
a  great  many  stones  picked  out,  though  this  is  frequently  carried  too 
far,  a  few  stones,  if  they  are  not  too  large  or  allowed  to  touch  one 
another,  being  in  some  respects  rather  an  advantage  than  otherwise, 
as  they  tend  to  prevent  the  clay  from  cracking  and  fisstiring,  in  con- 
tracting, and  also  somewhat  increase  its  weight.  If  water  for 
"  souring  "  the  clay  is  difficult  to  obtain  near  the  site  it  adds  to  the 
cost.  It  is  generally  best  to  "  sour  "  for  clay  as  close  to  the  bank  as 
possible  to  reduce  the  weight  of  material  transported,  and  also  be- 
cause the  water  from  it  assists  the  subsidence  of  the  banking.  Or, 
the  Paisley  Water-works  one  of  Priestman's  diggers  was  used  with 
very  good  results  for  lifting  the  puddle  from  the  heaps  and  casting  it 
into  the  trench.  Puddle  in  the  trench  usually  costs  somewhat  more 
than  that  in  the  wall,  all  other  things  being  equal,  on  account  of  the 
pumping  required  and  the  labor  expended  in  removing  timber. 

Miscellaneous  Earthworks.  —  Most  of  the  remarks  already  made 
with  reference  to  the  cost  of  excavating  puddle  trenches  apply  to 
that  of  sinking  deep  foundations,  in  which  neither  caissons  nor 
coffer-dams  are  used.  In  excavations,  when  barrow-work  is  resorted 
to  exclusively  for  the  removal  of  the  soil,  the  work  done  per  man 
engaged  depends  considerably  on  the  length  and  gradient  of  the 
barrow  road;  if  this  be  level,  or  nearly  so,  an  additional  wheeler 
must  be  put  on  for  every  30  to  35  yards  of  distance,  or  if  on  a  slope 
of  say  1  in  10,  the  length  of  the  stages  would  require  to  be  reduced 
to  about  25  yards.  In  the  case  of  rock  excavation,  not  only  is  the 
degree  of  hardness  of  the  rock  to  be  considered  in  estimating  the  cost 
of  its  removal,  but  also  the  way  in  which  it  is  "  bedded  "  forms  an 
mportant  item.  Especially  is  this  so  in  taking  out  narrow  channels 
and  foundations,  and  there  is  much  more  scope  in  this  class  of  work  for 
lie  exercise  of  economy  in  the  judicious  use  of  explosives,  etc.,  than 
'n  ordinary  earthwork. 

Concrete  work.—^n  making  concrete,  the  labor  expended  per 
cubic  yard  is  greatly  dependent  upon  its  mass  form,  and  the  amount 
of  face  work,  if  any,  per  cubic  yard.  In  foundations,  under  ordinary 
conditions,  about  2J  cubic  yards  can  be  mixed  and  put  in  per  man 
day  by  manual  labor,  whereas  in  confined  positions,  such  as  in  coffer- 
lams,  etc.,  this  may  fall  as  low  as  £  cubic  yard  per  man  day.  It  is 
ilways  of  importance  to  place  the  mixing-platform  as  nearly  as  pos- 
ible  on  the  same  level, 'as  well  as  as  close  as  possible  to  the  position 
where  the  concrete  is  required,  on  account  of  the  disgregation  of  the 
naterials  caused  by  a  tip  of  a  considerable  height ;  and  to  wheel  it 
lown  a  steep  incline  is  hard  on  the  men  and  leads  to  the  loss  of  time, 
n  making  the  screening-well  at  Acreknawe  Reservoir  and  Water- 
vorks,  which  was  constructed  of  concrete  faced  with  bricks,  only  1^ 


70 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.        [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  685. 


cubic  yards  were  done  per  man  day  in  the  lower  part  of  the  wall 
where  the  concrete  had  to  be  wheeled  down  a  slope  of  1  in  10,  where- 
as 2.55  cubic  yards  were  done  per  man  day  in  the  upper  part  with  a 
barrow  road  at  1  in  50.  In  designing  concrete  work,  both  with  a 
view  of  saving  time  and  to  obtain  good  work,  it  is  advisable  to  make 
the  corners  as  few  as  possible,  and  with  large  "  splays,"  and  the 
curves  of  as  large  a  radius  as  the  exigencies  of  the  work  will  admit 
of,  as  sharp  radii  involve  a  good  deal  of  loss  of  time  in  framing. 
Making  all  due  allowance,  however,  for  economy  in  labor,  to  be 
effected  by  careful  design  and  management,  the  cost  of  concrete- 
work  is  chiefly  dependent,  the  prop  >rtions  being  the  same,  on  the 
local  conditions  governing  the  price  of  cements,  etc.  If  cement  and 
sand  are  dear,  and  a  good  rubble  is  easily  obtained,  it  is  often 
cheaper  to  use  it  than  concrete,  and  in  many  cases  quite  as  efficient, 
as  the  cost  of  breaking  stones  is  saved,  and  somewhat  less  sand  and 
cement  is  needed  than  is  required  for  concrete  at,  say,  6  to  1. 

Masonry.  —  The  price  of  masonry,  like  that  of  concrete,  is  of 
course  chiefly  controlled  by  local  circumstances,  which  have  all  to  be 
investigated  and  weighed  before  its  cost  is  estimated  or  its  class  fixed 
on  ;  that  is  to  say,  whether  it  is  to  be  brickwork,  ashlar,  or  rubble, 
supposing  the  particular  requirements  of  the  projected  work  admit  of 
such  a  choice. 

Ashlar.  —  Save  in  special  cases,  such  as  important  copes,  etc.,  in 
most  classes  of  engineering  work  where  it  is  necessary  to  use  ashlar, 
"dabbled  "  or  "  scabbled  "  work  will  be  found  sufficiently  fine,  and 
the  time  demanded  for  them  is  only  about  half  that  needed  for 
"  droving,"  and  one-third  of  that  for  "  polishing,"  so  that  they  might 
with  advantage  be  more  frequently  substituted  for  these. 

Hubble.  —  As  a  rule,  however,  where  stone  is  plentiful,  nothing 
better  can  be  used  for  work  below  ground,  such  as  retaining-walls, 
etc.,  than  good  solidly  built  rubble,  faced  with  what  are  called  in  the 
North  "shoddies,"  i.  e.,  stone  squared  on  the  face  joints.  From  1£ 
to  1J  cubic  yards  can  usually  be  done  per  man  day  at  this  descrip- 
tion of  work  in  light  retaining-walls,  etc.,  of  2  to  3  feet  thick  without 
a  crane,  and  with  a  crane  in  viaduct  piers.  In  heavier  masses  of 
masonry,  such  as  abutments,  heavy  retaining-walls,  etc.,  about  2£ 
cubic  yards  can  be  done  per  man  day.  In  one  of  the  abutments  of 
the  Clyde  Viaduct  as  much  as  5  cubic  yards  were  accomplished  per 
man  day,  but  in  this  case  the  stone  used  was  quarried  immediately 
along-side  the  building,  placed  by  the  quarry  steam-crane  straight  onto 
the  work,  which  enabled  very  large  stones  to  be  used. 

In  Northern  Italy,  where  good  building  stone  is  usually  very 
plentiful  and  labor  cheap,  a  good  mason  only  receiving  3.5  lire  a  day, 
masonwork  can  be  done  very  cheaply,  the  best  class  of  hydraulic 
masonry,  built  of  mortar,  composed  of  one  of  Casali  cement  (an 
Italian  copy  of  Portland  cement),  one  of  Casali  hydraulic  lime,  and 
four  of  sea-sand,  only  costing  10s.  to  12s.  per  cubic  yard  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Genoa.  If  river-sand  is  used,  the  price  is  reduced 
to  8s.  a  cubic  yard  ;  but  this  latter,  being  formed  by  the  action  of 
water  on  limestone  rock,  contains  silica,  and  consequently  a  very 
inferior  mortar  is  the  result. 

In  conclusion,  the  author  may  say  that  no  greater  mistake  can  be 
made  than  that  frequently  fallen  into  by  small  contractors  of  trying 
to  dispense  with  necessary  "  plant,"  carrying  on  works  in  a  hand-to- 
mouth  sort  of  way,  using  manual  labor  where  cranes  should  be  em- 
ployed and  horse-power  where  steam  is  required.  Money  judiciously 
expended  in  suitable  "  plant "  is  sure  to  repay  the  contractor  in  the 
long  run  by  saving  much  more  than  its  equivalent  in  time,  labor,  and 
trouble. 


HE  opinions  passed  upon  the  works  of  Rude  have  been  as  vari- 
able  as  the  English  climate.  Lauded  to  the  artistic  skies  by 
some  as  a  Burgundian  Phidias  or  Michel-Angelo,  he  has  been 
scoffed  at  and  depreciated  by  others,  as  if  there  were  no  merit  what- 
ever in  his  sculptures.  Perhaps  the  truth  lies,  as  usual,  in  a 
middle  course. 

Born  of  humble  parents  in  a  back  street  of  Dijon,  in  1 784,  Rude 
seems  to  have  imbibed  democratic  notions  while  working  at  his 
father's  forge;  for  in  1792,  such  was  the  enthusiasm  of  the  latter,  for 
the  cause  of  the  Republic,  that  he  enrolled  the  boy  in  a  scholastic 
corps  called  by  the  people,  the  Royal-Bonbon  regiment.  Thus  his 
life  was  divided  between  smithing  and  soldiering,  until  an  accident 
in  the  form  of  a  red-hot  bar  falling  upon  his  foot,  turned  his  atten- 
tion to  drawing  ;  and,  when  about  sixteen  years  old,  he  began 
seriously  to  take  lessons,  working  early  and  late.  In  1807  he  went 
to  Paris  and  was  employed  by  Denon  upon  the  Vendome  column. 
This  and  the  stirring  events  which  were  quickly  succeeding  one 
another,  seem  to  have  made  him  a  violent  Bonapartist ;  and  we  find  him 
and  four  or  five  fellow-students  turning  the  beads  of  the  soldiers  who 
accompanied  Marshal  Ney  to  Dijon,  to  stop  the  progress  of  the  ogre 
de  Cone,  on  his  return  from  Elba.  Rude  and  his  friends  stood  on 
the  steps  of  the  theatre,  and  as  the  troops  passed  (some  18,000  men) 
the  boys  cried,  "  Vive  I'empereur .' "  The  first  detachment  went  by, 
astonished,  but  unmoved ;  but,  as  the  cry  was  repeated  over  and  over 
again  it  took  effect,  and  the  soldiers  joined  in  with  a  unanimous 

i "  Francois  Kutle,"  i>ar  Alexis  Bertrand.  Librarie  de  1'Art,  cits  d'Antin,  29, 
Paris. 


"  Vive  I'empereur .' "  and  next  day  the  officers  followed  suit.  After 
Waterloo,  Rude  joined  David  the  painter  at  Brussels,  where  a  great 
deal  of  his  work  was  accomplished,  and  where  he  married  Sophie 
Fremiet,  an  accomplished  artist  and  musician.  Besides  being  a  painter 
of  merit  and  pupil  of  David,  Sophie  was  an  enthusiast,  for  when 
her  husband  had  no  money  to  continue  his  "  Pdcheur  Napolitain," 
she  suggested  that  they  should  sell  some  necessary  garments  :  "  Nous 
vendrous  nos  chemises  "  !  All  artists  are  not  blessed  with  such  self- 
sacrificing  partners,  unhappily ;  but,  then,  Rude's  wife  knew  the 
trials  of  making  bricks  without  straw,  and  the  miseries  of  being 
stayed  from  carrying  out  great  ideas  'for  want  of  a  little  necessary 
filthy  lucre. 

Whatever  Rude  may  have  been  as  an  artist,  his  private  life  was 
exemplary.  He  loved  his  home  and  his  work,  and  in  the  evenings 
when  not  drawing  or  modelling,  he  read  or  listened  to  his  wife's 
music.  An  indefatigable  worker,  and  in  merit  the  equal  of  any  of 
the  sculptors  of  his  own  time;  he  never  was  received  at  the  Institut, 
because  he  was  above  scheming  for  a  fauteuit ;  but,  nevertheless,  he 
acceded  upon  one  occasion  to  the  persuasion  of  his  friends,  and 
became  a  candidate.  Promised  by  many  that  he  should  have  their 
votes,  the  election  proved  that  .he  had  had  none.  But  there  was  no 
love  lost  between  him  and  the  Immortels ;  for,  while  he  called  them 
the  pdtissiers,  they  dubbed  him  "I'homme  a  la  barbe"  ;  and  when  he 
heard  of  his  unsuccess,  he  said  to  his  wife,  "  Tu  vois  bien,  Sophie, 
qu'il  faut  que  je  laisse  pousser  mes  moustaches,  on  dirait  que  je  me 
rase  pour  entrer  a  V Institut."  Perhaps  M.  Daudet  is  not  quite  wrong 
in  his  estimate  of  "  Les  Immortels." 

Of  Rude's  work  as  a  sculptor  M.  Bertrand  speaks  enthusiastically. 
He  considers  the  "  Mercure  rattachant  ses  Talonnieres  "  superior 
to  the  "  Mercury  "  of  Jean  de  Bologna.  In  this  I  cannot  agree,  nor 
in  M.  Bertrand's  estimate  of  Rude's  other  works,  for  his  classical 
subjects  always  strike  me  as  resembling  Canova's  namby-pamby 
gracefulness ;  and  his  religious  one?,  Thorwaldsen's  false  senti- 
mentality. What  can  be  weaker  and  more  maudlin,  for  example, 
than  his  "  Baptism  of  Christ "  in  the  church  of  the  Madeleine, 
Paris?  and,  although  his  "Depart  des  Volontaires,"  on  the  Arc  de 
Triomphe,  has  a  certain  grandeur  in  the  "  movement,"  it  decidedly 
approaches  clap-trap.  The  Salons  for  the  last  eighteen  years  have 
contained  "  Liberties "  innumerable,  grander  in  effect  and  far  less 
shrieking.  Again,  what  can  be  more  hideous  than  the  "  Napoleon 
ler  s'eveillant  a  la  Posterite,"  in  the  Pare  de  Fixin.  A  plintl-, 
upon  which  rests  a  rock  and  an  eagle  in  the  agony  of  death ;  at  the 
summit  Napoleon  sleeping  upon  a  bier,  all  but  covered  with  a  sheet. 
—  Can  a  subject  be  more  utterly  unfit  for  sculpture  1  Perhaps 
Rude's  best  work  is  his  recumbent  statue  of  Cavaignac  in  the  Mont- 
martre  Cemetery,  which  has  something  of  the  feeling  of  the  Renais- 
sance sculptors.  But  when  M.  Bertrand  places  such  work  upon  a  par 
with  the  grand  tombs  of  Louis  XII,  by  Jean  Juste  ;  of  Henri  II,  by 
Germain  Pilon,  and  of  Francois  I,  by  Philibert  Delorme ;  or  with 
the  works  of  Jean  Goujon,  of  Michel  Colombe,  of  Ligier  Richier,  of 
Jean  Cousin,  of  Simon  Guillain,  of  Pierre  Bontems,  of  Francois 
Anguier,  or  of  Franqueville  or  Prieur,  one  cannot  help  wondering  if, 
for  the  moment,  he  forgot  what  these  great  men  of.  the  French 
Renaissance  have  left  behind  them.  Even  amongst  the  moderns, 
surely  the  work  of  Boucher,  of  Carpeaux,  of  Chapu,  of  Paul  Dubois, 
Falguiere,  Guillaume,  Moreau-Vauthier  and  of  many  others,  quite 
equals  or  excels  that  of  Fran9ois  Rude.  Whether  Rude  would  have 
made  a  better  design  for  the  completion  of  the  Arc  de  Triomphe, 
than  that  which  was  temporarily  placed  upon  it  some  years  ago  by 
Falguiere,  is  very  doubtful  —  but  M.  Bertrand,  no  doubt,  thinks 
otheiwise.  But  if  one  cannot  agree  with  the  author  in  his  estimate 
of  Rude  as  an  artist,  we  may  endorse  his  views  upon  the  man  and 
the  teacher :  "  Ne  craif/nez  pas  qu'on  vous  reproche  vos  ceuvres  de 
debutants  et  gardez  rous  d'en  rougir  jamais  vous-memef,  pourvu  que 
vous  fassiez  toujours  de  votre  mieux.  .  .  Pourvu  qu'elle  soil  vraie, 
confonnc  a  la  nature,  une  ceuvre  aura  toujours  ce  qu'on  est  convenu 
d'appeler,  sans  trap  se  rendre  compte  de  ecu  mots  iniymatiques,  le  style 
et  le  caractere ;  substituer  a  la  nature  limitation  d'autrui,  tes  procedes 
d'ecole,  c'est  effacer  les  differences  des  hommes  et  des  ceuvre*.  et  re- 
pandre  sur  tout  ce  que  I' on  fait  ce  vernis  d'uniformite  qui  tst  I' 'oppose 
du  style  qui  est  I'homme  meme  avec  ses  qualites  et  ses  defauts  persunnttf, 
I'oppose,  du  caractere  qui  est  precise'ment  le  resultat  de  I'individualite 
de  Carlisle  fierement  maintenue  dans  na  vie  et  affirmie  dans  son  ozurre. 
.  .  .  Plus  une  oeuvre  serrera  de  pres  la  nature, plus  elle  sera  decoralire 
et  monumentale ;  Voyez  le  Parthenon."  These  are  sentiments  which 
every  one  in  our  own  day  will  echo,  and  which  are  the  doctrin  s  of 
modern  realists :  "  A  u  fond,  I'art  ne  s'ajoute  pas  it  la  nature :  U  la 
compren/l,  I'imite  et  I'interpr'ete."  S.  BEALE. 


THE    FINAL    PAYMENT    CLAUSE   IN    BUILDING    CONTRACTS. 

IT  has  been   suggested  to  us  by  art   architect  of  this  city  that  a 
synopsis  of  the  lien  laws  of  the  different  States  and  Territories 
—  in  so  far  as  they  affect  the  time  for  the  final  payment  of  build- 
ing contracts  —  would  be  of  great  use  to  such  architects  as  have 
occasion  to  draw  contracts  to  be  executed  in  other  States. 


FEBRUARY  9,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


71 


We  have  accordingly  prepared  the  following  schedule  of  what,  in 
our  opinion,  after  careful  examination  of  the  various  statutes,  is  the 
longest  time  allowed  for  the  filing  of  liens  against  real  estate  by  sub- 
contractors, material-men,  or  other  persons  furnishing  labor  or 
material  to  the  principal  contractor : 


Nebraska, 

Nevada, 

New  Hampshire, 

New  Jersey, 

New  Mexico, 

New  York, 

North  Carolina, 

Ohio, 

Oregon, 

Pennsylvania, 

Rhode  Island, 

South  Carolina, 

Tennessee, 

Texas, 

Utah, 

Vermont, 

Virginia, 


year 
days. 


1 

(II) 
go 

i 

ao 
so 

00 

6  months. 
90      days. 
4  months. 
6 

30      days. 
3  months. 
30      days. 

Washington  Territory,  00 
West  Virginia,  00 

Wisconsin,  <i  months. 

Wyoming,  90       days. 

District  of  Columbia,      3  months. 


Alabama,  4  months.      Nebraska,  4  months. 

Arizona,  60      days.      Nevada,  30      days. 

Arkansas,       .  90  New  Hampshire,  90 

California,  30          "          New  Jersey,  1       year. 

Colorado,  40          "          New  Mexico,  00      days. 

Connecticut,  60          " 

Dakota,  6  months. 

Delaware,  90      days. 

Florida,  6  months. 

Georgia,  3       " 

Idaho,  30      days. 

Illinois,  3  months. 

Indiana,  60      days. 

Kansas,  60 

Kentucky,  60 

Maine,    '  30 

Maryland,  60 

Massachusetts,  30 

Michigan,  00 

Minnesota,  90 

Missouri,  4  months. 

Montana,  00       days. 

In  Mississippi  the  time  is  six  months  if  the  amount  is  over  $150. 
In  Iowa  and  Lousiana,  and  in  Mississippi  for  amounts  under  $150, 
there  is  apparently  no  time  fixed  for  filing  liens  in  favor  of  the 
owner,  though  purchasers  and  mortgagees  are  protected  if  the  lien  is 
not  filed  within  a  certain  time. 

It  is  probable  that  in  some  of  the  States  where  the  longer  periods 
obtain,  it  was  not  the  intention  of  the  Legislature  to  give  to  laborers 
and  material-men  such  extended  time ;  but,  we  have  constructed  the 
schedule  according  to  what  seems  to  us  to  be  the  most  unfavorable 
interpretation  of  the  law  from  the  owner's  standpoint,  with  a  view 
to  fixing  such  time  for  the  final  payment  as  shall  without  any  ques- 
tion protect  the  owner  against  the  claims  of  all  parties  other  than  the 
original  contractors.  The  time  that  original  contractors,  that  is,  all 
parties  dealing  directly  with  the  owner,  have  for  filing  liens,  is,  in 
some  States,  different  from  that  given  to  sub-contractors  and  others ; 
the  owner,  however,  can  protect  himself  against  a  claim  of  lien  from 
all  persons  with  whom  he  deals  directly  by  requiring  a  release  of  all 
claims  on  the  property  before  the  contract  is  finally  settled.  The 
time  for  the  final  payment  need  not  be  deferred  beyond  the  last  day 
on  which  it  is  possible  for  third  persons  to  file  liens  against  the 
property. 

The  contract  should,  however,  provide  that  the  final  payment  shall 
not  be  due  for  a  period  exceeding  by  a  few  days  the  time  allowed 
sub-contractors  for  filing  liens ;  as  the  e,xact  day  when  a  building  is 
actually  completed,  or  work  on  the  contract  ceases,  is  often  a  matter 
of  dispute.  It  is  best  to  defer  the  final  payment  until  five  or  ten 
days  after  the  time  apparently  open  for  filing  liens  has  expired. 

The  following  is  submitted  as  a  final  payment  clause  for  use  in 
contracts  to  be  executed  in  Massachusetts ;  and  the  same  will  hold 
good  for  other  States  with  the  necessary  change  as  to  time  indicated 
by  the  above  schedule  : 

"$ thirty-five  days  after  the  said  work  shall  have  been  com- 
pleted in  accordance  with  the  terms  of  this  contract ;  provided, 
further,  however,  that  no  liens  shall  then  have  been  filed  against  the 
property  and  remain  undischarged,  and  that  said  contractor  shall 
tender  to  the  owner  a  satisfactory  release  under  seal  of  all  claims  on 
his  part  against  the  owner's  estate,  and  shall  also  (if  requested)  fur- 
nish satisfactory  vouchers,  receipts  or  other  evidence  that  no  claim 
against  the  said  estate  can  be  made  by  any  person  or  persons  who 
have  furnished  labor  or  materials  for  the  work  embraced  in  this 
contract." 


THE  HARLEQUIN  GORGEOUSNESS  OF  GREEK   ARCHI- 
TECTURE. 

PHILADELPHIA,  PA.,  January  25, 188t». 
To  THE  EDITORS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT:  — 

Dear  Sirs,  —  I  wish  to  call  attention  to  an  unfortunate  paragraph 
in  your  review  of  the  "  League  "  exhibition  in  this  week's  Architect 
(January  19)  in  which  your  correspondent  attacks  Grecian  archi- 
tecture in  such  a  hasty  and  unappreciative  manner. 

It  is,  perhaps,  a  human  failing  to  plight  and  misunderstand  that 
which  one  is  prejudiced  against,  but  the  prejudice  in  this  case  is  so 
glaring  in  itself  and  withal  so  conspicuous  in  the  midst  of  a  criticism 
characterized  by  such  conscientious  aggressiveness  and  expressed 
with  such  simple  force  that  it  should  not,  I  think,  pass  unchallenged. 

If  your  author  will  take  the  trouble  to  look  up  the  subject  of 
Grecian  temples  he  may  have  occasion  to  reverse  his  decision  as  to 
their  "  harlequin  grotesqueness  "  as  well  as  to  Mr.  Brown's  origin- 
ality in  drawing  his  Caryatid  porch  without  anv  frieze. 

Very  truly,  HE'RBERT  P.  KELLY. 

[THE  writer  of  the  article  on  the  League  Exhibition  protests  against  be- 
ing accused  of  a  prejudice  against  Greek  architecture.  As  to  Mr.  Brown's 


Caryatid  porch,  while  he  can  certainly  claim  that  the  Erechtheum  portico 
has  no  frieze,  the  profiling  of  the  mouldings,  together  with  the  special 
treatment  of  the  upper  face  of  the  architrave,  give  it  an  effect  quite  different 
from  his  design,  although  it  is  not  perhaps  settled  whether  even  the 
Erechtheum  portico  had  not  once  a  frieze  of  some  sort.  The  main  question 
however,  whether  the  appearance  which  the  Greek  architects  intended  their 
buildings  to  have  was  that  of  "cold  purity,"  "pure  intellect,"  "abstract 
form,"  and  so  on,  as  the  pentimentalists  of  the  early  part  of  the  centurv 
maintained,  or  of  "  harlequin  gorgeousness,"  (not  "  grotesqueness  ")  is 
best  answered  by  referring  to  the  works  of  Penrose,  Hittorff  and  Zanth,  and 
many  others.  Our  older  readers  will  well  remember  the  commotion  which 
was  caused  by  the  first  publication  of  the  result  of  explorations  which  showed 
that  all  the  important  buildings  on  the  Athenian  Acropolis,  retained  traces 
of  having  been  painted.  It  was  announced,  by  those  who  professed  to  have 
the  most  profound  intuition  into  the  workings  of  the  Hellenic  mind,  that  a 
Greek  was  incapable  of  profaning  the  purity  of  his  Parian  marble  by  cover- 
ing it  with  pigments,  and  that  the  traces  of  color  upon  it  were  due  to  the 
loathsome  levity  of  the  Slnvonic  conquerors  during  the  dark  ages,  who 
daubed  with  gaudy  paint  the  buildings  whose  "  calm  intellectuality  "  thev 
were  incapable  of  comprehending.  This  theory  greatly  comforted  the  senti- 
mentalists, until  it  was  shown  that  the  early  Doric  temples  of  Magn.'i 
Grajcia,  which  no  mediaeval  barbarians  had.  ever  approached  with  their 
paint-pots,  had  not  only  been  painted  all  over,  but  had  been  prepared  for 
painting  when  they  were  built  by  the  application  of  a  film  of  stucco  to  the 
stone,  to  form  a  ground  for  the  pigments.  In  all  important  respects  the 
coloring  and  the  patterns  agreed  with  the  traces  remaining  on 
the  Athenian  buildings,  and  subsequent  researches  have  only  confirmed, 
what  was  already  amply  proved,  that  the  Athenian  temples  in"  the  time  of 
Pericles  had  their  delicately  profiled  mouldings  speckled  and  dotted  and 
streaked  with  blue  and  red  ;  that  the  sculpture  upon  them  was  fet  forth  by 
a  blue  background,  and  that  the  walls  and  columns  were  painted  in  broad 
stripes  and  bands,  of  the  most  vivid  tints.  Whether  the  Greeks  showed 
proper  respect  for  the  theories  of  their  future  eulogists  in  behaving  so  it  is 
unnecessary  to  inquire.  We  know  now  beyond  a  doubt  what  they  did,  and 
the  sooner  we  accommodate  our  ideal  of  them  to  the  facts,  the  better  off  we 
shall  be.  Unless  the  building  has  been  repainted  recently,  the  most  life- 
like reproduction  of  a  Grecian  Doric  portico,  as  it  appeared  when  its  build- 
ers left  it,  is  probably  to  be  found  in  the  entrance  porch  of  the  Cirque  d'Ete", 
in  Paris,  an  architectural  object  to  which  the  term  of  "harlequin  gorgeous- 
ness"  is  about  as  well  applied  as  to  any  structure  we  know  of.  To  the 
writer's  mind,  the  abandoumeut  of  the  idea  that  the  Greeks  were  nothing 
but  "cold  idealists"  greatly  improves  their  position  as  artists.  It  is 
doubtful  whether  their  coloring  would  appear  beautiful  to  an  Oriental,  or 
even  to  us.  but  it  would  have  been  a  strange  insensibility  that  would  have 
made  the  statue  of  Athene  inside  the  temple  of  ivory,  inlaid  with  gold,  and 
left  -the  gods  and  heroes  in  the  tympanums  and  the  metopes  outside  to 
shiver  in  white  marble.  We  are  so  accustomed  to  see  our  buildings  bare, 
and  are,  possibly,  so  seusitive  to  color,  that  we  have  formed  a  dislike  to  the 
idea  of  exterior  polychromy  which  the  ancients  or  the  medisevals  could  not 
conceive,  and  which  would  quickly  disappear  if  some  genius  should  produce 
a  really  successful  example  of  it.  If  architects  who  cousider  a  staring 
uniform  white  the  proper  color  for  the  highest  effects  of  architecture 
would  read  Chaucer's  description  of  Diana's  coral  temple,  and  the  iron 
sanctuary  of  Mars,  they  would  get  some  suggestions  as  to  the  value  that 
color  might  have  in  architecture  which  ought  to  furnish  them  with  food  for 
thought.  — THE  WHITER  OK  THK  ARTICLE.] 

BOOKS. 

WILKES-BABRE,  PEHX. 
To  THE  EDITORS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT  :  — 

Dear  Sirs,  —  Will  you  kindly  let  me  know  through  the  medium  of 
your  paper,  what  are  the  best  works  treating  of  "Southern  Roman- 
esque," also  on  theatre  construction,  where  I  can  get  them,  and  the 
price.  You  will  greatly  oblige, 

Yours  respectfully,  E.  H.  DAVIS. 

[(1.)  REVOII/S  "Architecture  Romane  du  Midi  de  la  France" ;  Cor- 
royer's  ' '  L' Architecture  Romane."  (2.)  Gousset's  "  TraiU  de  la  Con- 
struction des  Theatres."  (3.)  Any  importing  bookseller  will  obtain  them 
for  you.— EDS.  AMKRICAN  ARCHITECT.] 

THE  FIRE  ON  THE  HEARTH  STOVE. 

BOSTON,  MASS.,  February  4, 1889. 
To  THE  EDITORS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT:  — 

Dear  Sirs,  —  Can  any  one  tell  me  whether  the  Fire-on-the-Hearth 
Stoves,  once  manufactured  by  the  Open  Stove  Ventilation  Company, 
in  New  York,  are  still  made,  and  if  so,  by  whom,  and  what  is  the 
address  ?  I  have  used  half-a-dozen  or  so  in  my  practice,  and  would 
have  used  many  more,  probably,  if  it  were  not  for  the  extreme 
difficulty  of  getting  them.  The  last  one  I  bought  I  heard  of,  after 
many  inquiries,  at  Salem,  Mass.,  and,  secured  it,  but  this  seems  to 
have  been  the  sole  survivor  of  the  race,  and  what  I  shall  do  when  I 
am 
to  repair 

A  NURSERY  ARCHITECT. 


next  applied  to,  to  recommend  a  nursery  stove,  or  to  get  pieces 
•epair  those  I  have  already  bought,  I  do  not  know. 


How  TO  WHITE  FOR  THE  PAPER.  —  There  are  not  a  few  scholars, 
fitted  for  even  the  Chair  of  Rhetoric,  who  arc  sadly  uninformed  in  the 
matter  of  writing  for  a  newspaper.  Possibly  they  could  write  a  book, 
but  their  communications  must  receive  a  little  —  often  a  great  deal  — 
of  "doctoring"  before  they  are  put  into  the  hands  of  a  periodical 
compositor.  Of  course  the  grammar  will  usually  —  by  no  means  uni- 
formly—  be  satisfactory.  What  they  err  in  pertains  mainly  to  the 
mechanical  make-up  of  the  manuscript.  We  note  a  few  particulars 
where  a  long  experience  has  discovered  amazing  defects. 

(1.)  Abbreviations  are  an  abomination.  No  one  who  really  knows 
"how  to  write  for  the  paper"  ever  gives  "Pres."  for  President,  or 
"  V.  Pre8/'  f°r  Vice- President,  or  "  Thurs,"  for  Thursday.  Certain 
abbreviations  are  established  and  printed  as  such  —  "Mr.,"  "Hon.  " 
"Mass.,"  "Esq.,"  for  examples.  But  when  it  is  expected  that  the 


72 


The    American   Architect   and  Building   News.      [VOL.  XXIV.  —  No.  685. 


compositor  will  put  in  every  letter  of  a  word,  those  who  know  "  how  to 
write  for  the  paper,"  will  write  out  every  word.  In  editorial  offices 
where  the  incumbent  feels  at  liberty  to  be  autocratic,  the  sight  of  an 
abbreviation  is  the  occasion  of  instant  doom.  More  humble,  we  usually 
fight  down  a  vexation  and  fix  the  manuscript. 

(2.)  It  seems  a  small  thing  to  complain  of  the  writing  on  little  bits  of 
paper.  Marriage  notices  often  come  on  slips  less  than  the  size  of  one's 
hand.  These  we  must  stick  to  a  bigger  sheet,  else  the  danger  of  its 
blowing  away  is  imminent.  Nothing  should  be  put  on  a  sheet  of  less 
size  than  note  paper.  We  are  always  glad  when  the  size  is  that  of 
letter-sheet.  Of  course  we  make  no  complaint  of  postal  cards. 

(3.)  Paragraphing  is  largely  arbitrary.  It  ought  to  have  regard  to 
the  physical  appearance.  Some  of  the  English  newspapers  will  give  a 
whole  column  without  a  break.  Of  course  the  paragraphs  should  be 
made  where  the  sense  requires  it ;  and  also  —  provided  the  sense  is  not 
disturbed  —  with  a  view  of  the  mechanical  appearance.  But  our 
special  point  is,  that  one  who  "knows  how  to  write  for  the  paper"  will 
himself  indicate  —  and  distinctly  —  where  the  paragraph  is  to  begin. 
We  should  say  that  the  frequent  failure  to  do  this  is  stupid,  but  for  the 
fact  that  intelligent  people  are  often  thus  negligent. 

(4. )  In  most  newspaper  offices  a  manuscript  is  often  given  in  parts 
to  different  compositors.  Therefore  but  one  side  of  the  sheet  should  be 
written  upon. 

(6.)  In  this  age  paper  is  cheap.  We  hate  to  see  a  communication 
without  a  title,  and  with  the  first  line  so  near  the  top  that  the  editor, 
guessing  what  the  proper  title  is,  must  get  a  new  sheet  on  which  to 
write  it.  Be  generous  in  the  use  of  paper. 

(6.)  Sometimes  a  news  item,  a  marriage  notice,  and  a  business 
matter  will  be  crowded  in  on  the  same  sheet.  Then  they  must  be  re- 
written, or  else  scissors  and  paste  must  be  put  to  use  in  getting  them 
apart.  Every  separate  matter  should  be  written  on  a  separate  sheet. 

(7.)  Finally  —  for  ministers  especially  —  care  should  be  taken  in 
reference  to  Scripture  citations.  Absolutely  full  half  the  references  to  j 
chapter  and  verse  arc  erroneous!  Further,  the  quotation  is  almost 
certain  to  contain  an  omission  or  other  mistake !  This  statement  may 
seem  incredible.  But  we,  who  know  by  much  observation,  speak  by 
authority. 

We  might  extend  this  inventory  of  things  which  those  who  "  write 
for  the  papers"  need  to  know,  and  knowing  need  to  practise.  But  for 
the  present  let  these  seven  particulars  suffice. —  Christian  Leailer. 


pounds  broken  to  pass  through  a  ^-inch  riddle.  The  other  niters  con- 
tained 5J£  cubic  feet  of  spent  shale  broken  to  pass  through  an  8-inch 
sieve.  In  the  first  set  of  trials  the  sewage  was  passed  through  at  the  rate 
of  1440  gallons  a  day ;  this  rate,  however,  it  was  found  advisable  to  reduce 
in  subsequent  experiments  to  700,  as  the  sewage  was  of  an  exceptionally 
foul  character,  containing  158.28  grains  of  solid  matter  to  the  gallon. 
The  trials  extended  over  twenty-five  days,  and  the  results  obtained  were 
most  satisfactory,  as  samples  of  the  effluent  collected  in  April  last  are 
still  sweet  and  free  from  smell.  Experiment  showed  that  15  grains  per 
gallon  of  potassium  permanganate  were  required  to  produce  an  equiva- 
lent degree  of  oxidation.  As  the  sludge  produced  during  the  process  is 
free  from  chemicals  and  contains  no  road  detritus,  it  has  exceptional 
manurial  value,  analyses  showing  that  SOper  cent  of  the  manurial  salts 
existent  in  the  raw  sewage  remains  in  the  sludge.  —  Engineering. 


THE  NEW  PEI-TANO  CATHEDRAL: — The  new  cathedral  in  1'ekin, 
which  is  to  take  the  place  of  the  1'ei-tang,  removed  two  years  ago  from 
the  neighborhood  of  the  Imperial  Palace,  after  having  for  many  years 
excited  the  irritation  of  the  Chinese,  is  now  complete  externally,  and 
was  consecrated  on  December  8.  Abbe  Faires  of  the  Lazarist  Society 
designed  the  edifice  and  superintended  its  construction.  The  internal 
decorations  remain  to  be  completed  and  will  take  several  months.  The 
organ  is  described  as  a  masterpiece  of  Cavaille  de  Col  of  Paris,  and  the 
painted  windows,  which  are  also  fine  works,  are  in  their  places. 
The  glass,  which  was  brought  from  France,  arrived  in  Pekin  in  excellent 
order.  The  building  is  not  so  large  as  the  granite  cathedral  in  Canton. 
The  total  interior  length  is  248  feet;  breadth  of  transept,  108  feet ; 
breadth  of  nave,  52  feet ;  height  under  the  beams,  50  feet ;  height  under 
the  arched  roof,  00  feet.  The  height  was  fixed  in  a  convention  between 
the  Chinese  Government  and  the  Lazarist  Mission,  and  one  of  the  con- 
ditions imposed  was  that  there  should  be  no  tower.  These  conditions 
added  to  the  difficulties  of  the  architect,  but  he  is  said  to  have  over- 
come them,  and  the  design  is  pronounced  "noble,  harmonious,  and 
beautiful."  It  is  said  that  the  Chinese  Government  were  to  send  rep- 
resentatives of  high  rank  to  take  part  in  the  ceremony,  "as  by  the 
cession  of  the  mission's  former  site  in  exchange  for  the  grounds  now 
occupied  a  troublesome  and  even  dangerous  question  has  been  laid 
finally  at  rest  to  the  perfect  satisfaction  of  the  Imperial  Court,  the 
Tsung-li-Yamen,  and  Chinese  public  opinion  —  the  last  an  important  ele- 
mentinthe  matter  —  and,  on  the  other  hand,  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
Catholic  mission  also."  —  London  Times. 


SEWAGE    DISPOSAL    BY    THK    GRAVITATION     SIPHON    SYSTEM.  —  A 
method  of  sewage  purification,  depending  mainly  on  aeration,  was  de- 
scribed by   Mr.   W.  Kaye  Parry,  M.  I.    C.   E.,  in  a  paper   read   at  a 
recent  meeting  of  the  members  of  the  Institution  of  Civil  Engineers  of 
Ireland.     The  process,  which  is  the  invention  of  Mr.  W.  H.  Hartland, 
is  as  follows:   the  sewage  passes  from  the  sewer  into  a  settling-tank 
situated  some  feet  below  the  sewer  invert.     This  tank  is  constructed  in 
the  form  of  a  siphon,  and  the  liquid  leaving  it  rises   again  to  the  level 
of  the  sewer  invert.     In  this  tank  a  separation  of  the  road  detritus  and 
other  heavy  suspended  matter  takes  place,  and  the  effluent,  on  leaving 
the  tank,  contains  only  the  fatty  matter  of  the  sewage  and  the  lighter 
particles  that  float  on  its  surface.     The   liquor  is  now  led  through  a 
number  of  vertical  filters  filled  with  broken  limestone  or  chalk,  and  in 
its  passage  is  deprived  of  its  greasy  matter,  whilst  its  acidity  is  at  the 
same  time  neutralized  by  the  lime.      After  this  the  liquor  enters  an 
aeration  chamber,  where  it  is  broken  up  into  a  finely  divided  spray, 
which,  in  falling,  comes  in  contact  with  a  strong  current  of  fresh  air, 
and  carries  down  with  it  a  large  quantity  of  oxygen.    It  now  passes 
through  another  settling-tank,  of  similar  design  to  the  former,  in  which 
the  precipitation  caused  by  the  oxidation  takes  place.     The  liquor,  how- 
ever, still  contains  some  of  the  ammoniacal  and  nitrogenous  elements  of 
the  sewage,  which  are  recovered  by  passing  it  through  a  second  set  of 
filters  filled  with  charred  earthy  refuse  shale  or  other  suitable  material. 
When  a  high  standard  of  purity  is  required  it  is  also  filtered  through 
peat.     In  1887,  Mr.  Kaye  Parry  erected  an  experimental  plant  for  test- 
ing the  process  at  Monkstown,  Dublin,  the  sewage  being  drawn  fiom  a 
sewer  draining  certain  portions  of  Kingstown.     The  first  settling-tank 
was  constructed  to  hold  95  gallons,  the  neutralizing  and  filtering  tank  to 
hold  165  gallons,  and  the  second  settling-tank  124  gallons.    All  these 
tanks  were  in  duplicate,  to  permit  the  cleansing  of  one  set  whilst  the 
other  was  at  work.     The  power  for  compressing  the  air  was  supplied  by 
a  1^  man-power  gas-engine,  the  air  pressure  adopted  being  equivalent 
to  4  inches  of  water.     The  first  filter  was  filled  with  316  pounds  of  chalk 
broken   to  pass  through  a   l>£-ineh  ring,  and   the   second  with   328 


MOST  of  the  business  in  the  hands  of  architects  at  this  time  is  for  house- 
building. Most  of  the  work  ia  for  houses  costing  from  $5,000  to  $20,000. 
Architects  in  Boston  and  New  York  and  Philadelphia  and  Chicago  and 
other  large  cities  have  given  it  as  their  opinion  that  there  will  be  large 
building  operations  this  year,  most  of  them  in  the  suburbs  of  the  larger 
cities.  They  also  said  that  in  all  probability  there  will  be  an  unusual 
amount  of  work  done  on  the  cheaper  class  of  houses  for  laborers  and 
persons  of  small  means.  Real  estate  agents,  particularly  throughout  the 
West,  corroborate  these  statements  and  say  that  their  sales  of  real  estate 
this  winter  have  been  much  larger  than  last  and  far  ahead  of  any  season  for 
years  past  for  building  purposes  especially.  A  careful  consultation  of  the 
real  estate  sales  in  all  our  larger  cities  proves  this  to  be  correct.  Large  plots 
of  land  have  been  selling  all  winter  in  New  York  City  for  building  purposes. 
Larger  transactions  have  been  reported  in  Philadelphia  than  for  years.  The 
same  is  true  of  Pittsburgh,  ]  (ninth  and  other  Western  Cities.  The  improving 
demand  for  real  estate  is  not  of  a  speculative  character.  Builders  and 
others  have  observed  that  real  estate  in  our  larger  cities  is  steadily  im- 
proving and  they  have  been  simply  buying  sites  for  building  purposes  in 
order  to  protect  themselves  against  a  speculative  advance  which  influences 
now  at  work  are  gradually  bringing  about.  In  Chicago  it  is  stated  on  very 
high  authority  that  there  is  an  improving  demand  for  desirable  sites  in  both 
the  city  and  suburban  places  for  house-building  purposes  and  for 
factory  u*e.  There  is  a  considerable  increase  in  the  demand  for  sites 
throughout  the  larger  cities  of  Indiana  and  Ohio,  and  influences  there  are 
working  to  develop  industrial  growth,  one  of  which  is  cheaper  coal  and  to 
some  extent  cheaper  fuel.  Schemes  are  under  consideration  which  will 
probably  result  in  the  supplying  of  small  manufacturers  in  the  Northern 
towns  of  these  States  with  natural  gas  at  a  price  one-third  less  than  that  of 
coal.  Some  estimates  put  the  figures  at  less. 

The  Standard  Oil  Company  is  securing  the  control  of  the  entire  natural-gas 
region  of  Ohio,  and  it  will  consequently  be  supposed  that  natural-gas  will 
be  sold  at  the  highest  price  the  traffic  will  bear.  The  industrial  towns  and 
cities  of  these  three  States  are  growing  more  rapidly  than  in  any  other  part 
of  the  country.  Part  of  this  growth  is  due  to  the  industrial  development 
throughout  the  South,  where  the  products  of  these  States  are  finding  in- 
creasing sale.  The  stimulus  is  also  largely  due  to  the  filling-up  of  the 
Northwest,  of  which  Chicago  is  the  base  of  supplies.  Then  these  three 
States  are  growing  in  population  and  wealth  very  rapidly,  with  the  Lakes 
on  one  side,  and  the  Mississippi  River  bounding  them  on  the  west  and 
south.  It  must  be  noted,  however,  that  farm-lands  in  these  States  are  not 
improving  in  value,  but  in  many  cases  declining.  Cereal  products  can  be 
purchased  cheaper  in  the  West  than  they  can  be  grown  there,  and  hence 
real  estate  is  to  be  had  at  prices  which  are  favorable  to  purchasers  for 
manufacturing  purposes.  The  cities  of  the  Ohio  Valley  are  generally  in- 
creasing in  population  and  wealth.  New  iron  and  steel  companies  are 
being  organized,  and  oil-producing  companies  are  also  operating  there. 
There  are  schemes  for  the  laying  of  several  hundred  miles  of  pipe.  Rail- 
road companies  have  their  plans  completed  for  the  laying  of  their  tracks  on 
both  sides  of  the  Ohio,  and  smaller  manufacturers  by  the  hundred  are 
thriving  in  their  little  circles  from  the  general  activity  within  and  without 
this  region.  Throughout  the  entire  West  there  are  growing  evidences  of 
an  increasing  activity  in  building  operations,  in  mining,  in  railroad-build- 
ing, in  ship  and  boat  building.  The  West  is  becoming  gradually  more  and 
more  financially  independent  of  the  East,  although  a  great  deal  of  money 
is  still  floating  in  that  direction.  The  Western  States  are  gradually  be- 
coming financial  centres  within  themselves.  There  is  a  transfer  of 
capital  gradually  going  forward  because  of  the  increasing  security  of  loans 
and  the  generally  satisfactory  rewards  secured.  Among  the  prosperous 
industries  of  the  West  are  to  be  noted  the  paper-maker?  of  Wisconsin, 
where,  within  two  years  past,  capital  has  been  more  than  doubled.  New 
paper-making  enterprises  are  springing  up,  stimulated  by  the  abundant 
supply  of  facilities.  Besides  this,  the  demands  for  paper-making  are  in- 
creasing rapidly,  and  the  freights  to  markets  are  much  lower  than  from  the 
Eastern  sources  of  supply. 

The  lumber  trade  of  Michigan  and  Wisconsin  is  good  although  the  in- 
creasing supply  of  lumber  from  Arkansas,  Louisiana  and  Mississippi  is 
threatening  the  supremacy  of  white  pine  especially  in  the  far  Western 
markets.  The  demand  for  Southern  lumber  products  is  increasing  mucb 
more  rapidly  than  Northern.  The  rates  from  Southern  points  are  low. 
The  cost  of  stumpage  only  a  fraction  of  what  it  is  in  Michigan.  The 
facilities  for  transporting  lumber  are  being  improved  and  it  is  only  a  question 
to  experts  in  the  lumber  trade,  when  those  who  control  the  Southern  interests 
will  control  the  lumber  interests  of  the  entire  country.  The  fancy  grades  of 
hard  wood  are  growing  in  demand  throughout  the  West  and  speculation  is 
going  on  in  choice  Southern  lumber  territory.  The  iron  and  steel  makers 
are  still  complaining  of  a  backward  tendency  in  the  spring  demand.  Rail- 
road builders  are  creeping  along  slowly,  prices  are  steadily  declining,  two 
dollars  per  ton  has  taken  place  on  steel  rails.  A  Pig-iron  Association  has 
been  formed  with  a  capital  of  $2,000,000  which  will  deal  in  warrants.  Each 
warrant  represents  100  tons  which  can  be  used  as  collateral  in  commercial 
transactions.  This  will  probably  result  iu  the  steadying  of  the  iron  market 
throughout  the  country  and  in  the  carrying  of  larger  stocks  as  is  done  in 
Great  Britain.  The  combination  is  composed  of  some  of  the  leading  finan- 
ciers, manufacturers  and  iron  dealers.  It  has  a  backing  which  insures  it  a 
success  and  the  trade  conditions  call  for  just  such  a  movement.  The  charges 
will  be  about  fifty  cents  per  ton  per  year  for  iron,  and  production  will  be 
kept  under  conservative  control. 

S.    J.    PABKHILL  &  Co.,  Printers,  Boston. 


FEBRUARY  9,  1889.] 


The  American  Architect  and  Building  News, 


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The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.         [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  685. 


AMERICAN  WINDMILLS. 


THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT  AND  BUILDING  NEWS. 


VOL.  XxV. 


Copyright,  1889,  by  TICKNOR  &  COMPANY,  Boston,  Mass. 


NO.     686, 


FEBRUARY  16,  1889. 

Entered  at  the  Post-Office  at  Boston  as  second-class  matter. 


SUHHAKT  :  — 

Convention  of  the  Western  New  York  Association  of  Archi- 
tects. — The  Operations  of  the  New  Rhode  Island  Lien  Law.  — 
Excavating  Streets  in  Frosty  Weather.  —  Cooperative  Build- 
ing at  Remseheid,  Prussia.  — Property  Owners  and  Overhead 

Wires.  —  New  Paints 73 

ON  THE  TESTING  OF  BUILDING  STONE 75 

THE  METROPOLITAN  MUSEUM  OF  ART 77 

ILLUSTRATIONS : — 

The  Arion  Club-house,  Park  Ave.  and  59th  St.,  New  York,  N. 
Y.  —  Gothic  Spires  and  Towers,  Plates  39  and  40.  —  The  Age 
of  Francis  I,  Plate  2.  — Church  of  St.  Giles,  Luray,  Va. — 
Warehouse  for  F.  L.  Ames,  Esq.,  Boston,  Mass.  —  "The 
Talleyrand,"  Bar  Harbor,  Me.  —  Design  fora  Plaster  Ceil- 
ing by  Mr.  C.  J.  Brooke,  Philadelphia,  Pa 78 

LETTER  FROM  CHICAGO 79 

LETTER  FROM  NEW  YORK 80 

LETTER  FROM  CANADA 81 

OPENING  OF  THE   HAWARA   PYRAMID 82 

ILLEGAL  COMMISSIONS 82 

SOCIETIES 83 

COMMUNICATIONS  :  — 

Fixtures. —  A  Correction.  — The  Government  Examination  for 

Draughtsmen 83 

NOTES  AND  CLIPPINGS 84 

TRADE  SURVEYS 84 


TIFIIE  Western  New  York  Association  of  Architects  held  its 
J[  second  annual  convention  last  week,  with  an  attendance  of 
about  twenty-five  members.  The  usual  questions,  about  the 
licensing  of  architects  and  the  regulation  of  competitions,  were 
brought  up,  and  informally  discussed.  Mr.  Carlin  of  Buffalo, 
the  Secretary  of  the  Association,  read  to  the  Convention  the 
draft  of  the  bill  which  is  to  be  presented  to  the  Illinois  Legis- 
lature, to  restrain  persons  who  have  not  passed  a  satisfactory 
examination,  before  a  board  appointed  by  the  State,  from  prac- 
tising architecture  within  the  State  ;  and  a  committee  consist- 
ing of  Mr.  Carlin,  Mr.  Dockstader  of  Elmira,  and  Mr.  Colton 
of  Syracuse,  was  appointed  to  consider  the  advisability  of  pre- 
senting a  similar  bill  to  the  New  York  Legislature.  Another 
committee,  consisting  of  Messrs.  Curtis  of  Fredonia,  Marling  of 
Buffalo,  and  Walker  of  Rochester,  was  appointed  to  consider 
the  subject  of  uniform  contracts ;  and  the  committee  on  com- 
petitions was  continued  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  it  to  draw 
up  a  set  of  propositions  in  regard  to  such  matters,  which  it 
proposes  to  have  adopted  by  the  Association  as  suggestions, 
rather  than  fixed  rules.  We  suppose  it  is  needless,  at  this 
day,  to  point  out  the  advantage  to  the  profession  of  such  discus- 
sions. Although  the  topic  of  competitions  is  tolerably  well  worn 
in  the  deliberations  of  architects,  and  that  of  the  regulation  of 
practice  hardly  less  so,  some  advance  is  made  every  year  in 
both  of  them.  About  ten  years  ago,  the  Boston  Society  of 
Architects  had  a  "  Tract  on  Competitions  "  prepared,  present- 
ing the  principles  for  which  the  profession  has  fought  so  long. 
As  a  tract,  it  was  interesting,  and  convincing,  to  architects,  but 
the  idea  of  attempting  to  induce  the  public  to  conform  to  it 
was  at  that  time  almost  ridiculous,  and  we  doubt  whether 
many  copies  were  circulated,  unless  as  curiosities,  outside  of 
professional  circles.  A  few  years  afterward  the  English  ar- 
chitects, under  the  lead  of  a  group  of  resolute  and  distinguished 
men,  joined  in  a  movement  to  establish  public  competitions  on 
a  satisfactory  basis,  which  soon  secured  the  adhesion  of  nearly 
every  respectable  architect  in  Great  Britain,  and  has  already 
completely  transformed  the  relation  of  architects  to  important 
public  work.  After  the  formation  of  the  Western  Association 
of  Architects  in  this  county,  the  leaders  of  that  body  took 
early  occasion  to  secure  an  emphatic  expression  of  opinion  on 
the  subject ;  and  now  the  State  arid  local  societies  seem  to  be 
in  a  fair  way  to  finish  the  work  by  the  adoption  of  rules  which 
will  be  binding  on  their  own  members,  and  will  soon  become 
familiar  to  the  comparatively  limited  public  with  which  each 
society  deals.  The  Missouri  State  Association  has  already 
formally  adopted  the  principles  generally  approved  in  the  pro- 


fession ;  the  Boston  Society  has  done  the  same,  and  has  issued 
a  new  pamphlet  of  rules  and  suggestions,  of  which  each  mem- 
ber receives  a  number  of  copies,  for  distribution  where  they 
may  be  needed ;  and  if  the  Western  New  York  Association, 
followed  by  the  others,  will  do  the  same,  the  battle  for  justice 
and  fair  treatment  will  be  nearly  won. 


O^OME  of  the  people  in  Rhode  Island  are  beginning  to  be 
Lj  sorry  that  they  passed  a  new  lien  law  last  year,  giving 
material-men  a  lien,  without  notice  to  the  owner,  and 
sixty  days  in  which  to  file  the  claim.  A  certain  school-house 
has  just  been  completed  in  East  Providence,  under  the  direction 
of  Messrs.  W.  R.  Walker  &  Son,  as  architects,  and  the  full 
contract  price,  together  with  a  trifling  sum  for  extras,  was 
promptly  paid  to  the  contractor,  a  man  named  Moulton,  after 
the  completion  of  the  structure.  About  two  weeks  after  the 
final  payment  to  the  contractor,  Messrs.  J.  B.  Gurney  &  Son, 
Fred  E.  Hovey,  and  J.  C.  Dodge  &  Son  filed  liens  for 
materials  furnished  to  Moulton,  to  the  amount  of  five  hundred 
and  twenty-two  dollars  and  some  cents.  No  bonds  were  re- 
quired of  the  contractor,  and  as  lie  lias  just  assigned  his  wages, 
and  mortgaged  his  personal  property,  it  looks  very  much  as  if 
the  town  would  have  to  pay  the  amount  of  the  liens,  with  costs. 
Naturally  enough,  the  taxpayers  blame  the  School  Committee, 
or  rather,  the  Superintendent  of  Schools,  who  was  delegated 
by  the  committee  to  attend  to  the  matter,  for  paying  the  con- 
tractor in  full  before  the  time  for  filing  liens  had  expired,  and 
the  Superintendent  transfers  the  blame  to  the  architects,  who, 
as  he  says,  gave  Moulton  certificates,  on  receipt  of  wliich  he 
was  bound  to  make  payments.  The  truth  appears  to  be  that 
neither  was  much  to  blame,  if  at  all.  Moulton,  it  seems,  went  to 
the  architects,  saying  that  the  Superintendent  wished  them  to 
give  him  a  certificate  for  a  certain  amount,  and  they,  knowing 
that  matters  of  payment  are  very  often,  much  too  often,  in 
fact,  arranged  between  the  builder  and  the  owner,  or  the  rep- 
resentative of  the  owner,  without  consulting  the  architect,  be- 
lieved what  he  said,  and  gave  the  certificates,  looking  out  that 
they  did  not  exceed  the  contract  price,  and  undoubtedly  sup- 
posing that  the  Superintendent  would  take  the  necessary 
precautions  to  protect  the  town  against  liens.  On  his  part,  the 
Superintendent  probably  supposed,  as  he  says,  that  the  archi- 
tects' certificate  amounted  to  an  order  to  him  to  pay  the  sum 
mentioned  at  once,  without  inquiry  or  reserve.  Of  course,  we 
know  that  this  is  an  error,  the  architect's  certificate  being 
simply  an  expression  of  his  opinion  that  the  money  is  due, 
which  imposes  no  obligation  upon  the  owner  to  make  the  pay- 
ment if  he  has  reasons,  which  may  have  been  unknown  to  the 
architect,  or  forgotten  by  him,  for  not  doing  so,  but  it  is  a  very 
common  error,  and  the  novelty  of  the  law,  under  which  this 
seems  to  be  the  first  case,  probably  helped  both  parties  to  for- 
get it.  The  next  time  that  the  town  builds  a  school-house,  it 
will  probably  require  bonds  from  the  contractor ;  and  we 
advise  architects  who  may  be  called  upon  to  practise  in  Rhode 
Island  to  draw  their  contracts  in  such  a  way  that  a  sum  ample 
to  cover  all  possible  liens,  for  materials  or  wages,  may  be 
reserved  until  the  time  within  which  they  can  be  filed  shall 
have  expired. 


fTJ  GERMAN  engineer  has  published  some  observations  on 
r\  the  most  efficient  method  of  excavating  streets  in  frosty 
weather,  which  we  find  copied  in  two  or  three  of  the 
foreign  technical  journals.  Every  one  knows  the  difficulty  of 
making  any  impression  with  ordinary  tools  on  frozen  ground, 
and  a  surface  protected  with  paving-stones  is  even  more  in- 
tractable than  ordinary  material.  Unless  fires  can  be  lighted 
over  the  line  of  the  proposed  trench,  so  as  to  thaw  the 
ground  beneath  them,  the  usual  way  is  to  pick,  painfully  and 
slowly,  into  the  hard,  tough  mass  until  a  sufficient  depth  is 
reached,  or  the  frozen  stratum  is  penetrated.  According  to 
Herr  Schindler,  who  has  carried  his  theory  into  successful 
practice,  much  of  the  labor  incidental  to  such  work  may  be 
saved  by  considering  that  the  ground  does  not  freeze  all  at  once 
into  a  homogeneous  mass,  but  by  successive  stages,  which 
produce  a  stratified  condition,  something  like  that  of  sandstone 
or  limestone.  If  the  work  is  carried  on  vertically  downward 
from  the  surface,  the  material,  whether  of  stratified  stone  or 
frozen  earth,  must  be  removed  in  small  particles,  while,  by 


74 


The    American    Architect   and  Building   News.        [Vou  XXV.  — Wo.  686. 


taking  advantage  of  the  stratification,  and  working  horizontally 
from  a  shaft  or  an  exposed  face,  the  material  may  be  split  off 
in  large  pieces  through  the  seams  between  the  strata.  Where 
earth  has  been  filled-iu,  the  strata  do  not  always  lie  horizontally, 
but  may  follow  the  surfaces  of  successive  deposits  of  material. 
Such  cases  are,  however,  easily  distinguished,  and  with  a  little 
care  on  this  point,  after  a  pit  has  been  sunk  in  the  spot  where 
the  excavation  is  to  begin,  the  operation  may  be  continued 
rapidly  and  successfully  by  means  of  iron  wedges,  long  and 
ghort/which  are  driven  horizontally  as  the  work  advances,  and 
lift  and  break  up  the  frozen  earth  in  large  sheets  until  the  neces- 
sary depth  is  attained. 


OME  good  people  in  Remscheid,  in  Rhenish  Prussia,  have 
recently   carried  out   a    cooperative    building    scheme   on 
rather  a  new  plan.     Remscheid  is  a   town  of   fifteen  or 
twenty  thousand  inhabitants,  who  occupy  themselves  principally 
in  blacksmith  work,  making,  with  the  help  of  forges  set  up  at 
their  homes,  small  wrought-iron  articles,  which  are  shipped  to 
all  parts  of  the  world.     The  managers  of  the  new  enterprise 
began  their  work  with  the   sensible  step  of  ascertaining  the 
exact  rents  paid   for    the   existing  tenements   by  the  persons 
whom  they  wished  to  aid  in  securing  houses  of  their  own.     For 
this  purpose,  they  distributed  circulars  through  the  quarters  in- 
habited by  working  people,  asking  each  householder  who  might 
receive  one  to  give,  over  his  signature,  the  number  of  persons 
in   his  family ;  the  number  of  rooms   occupied  by  them ;  the 
rent  paid ;  the  amount  of  land  attached  to  the  house,  and  so 
on.     Six    hundred    and    forty-seven    circulars    were    returned, 
properly  filled  out.     From  these,  which  certainly  presented  a 
tolerably  reliable  view  of  the  condition  of  the  working-people 
of  the  town,  it  appeared  that  the  most  expensive  tenements 
were  those    in    the    immediate    neighborhood   of    the    railway 
station,  which  brought  about  twenty  dollars  a  year  per  room, 
without   water-service,    or    twenty-three     dollars    with    water- 
supply.     The   attics   in   the   same  houses  brought  about   two- 
thirds  the   rent  of  the  first  and  second  story  rooms.     Tene- 
ments at  some  distance  from  the  centre  of  the  town  brought, 
for  the  first  and  second  story  rooms,  about  two-thirds  the  rent 
of  the  more  conveniently  located  ones,  while  the  rent  of  the 
attics  was  very  little  less.'    In  the  outlying  districts  the  average 
rents  were  about  one-half  those  in  the  middle  of  the  town.     In 
regard   to  the   number  of  rooms  occupied   by  each  family,  it 
appeared  that  the   people   intelligent  enough  to   reply  to  the 
circulars  lived,  on  an  average,  two  in  a  room.     One  hundred 
and    twenty-one,    out    of    the    six    hundred    and    forty  seven 
persons  who  answered,  said  that  their  families  slept  three  in  a 
room,  on  an  average,  and  in  twenty-six  cases  there  were  four 
or  five  persons  to  a  room.     A  comparison  of  the  rents  paid  with 
the  cost  of  the  houses  mentioned  in  the  replies,  including  the 
value    of    the    land  on   which   they    stood,  showed    that    they 
brought  in  an  average  return  of  about  eleven  per  cent  a  year 
above  expenses ;  and  in  some  cases  the  income  was  as  much  as 
fifteen    per    cent.       As    the    account,    which    we    find    in    the 
Deutsche  Hauzeitung,  justly  says,  these  facts  showed  plainly 
that  there  was  not  only  need  of  cheap  and  wholesome  houses 
for  workingmen,  but  that  the  rents  which  they  would  command 
would   pay    a   good    interest  on    the    cost.     A  company  was, 
therefore,  formed,  with  a  capital  of  forty-four  thousand  dollars, 
land  was  bought  in  several  different  quarters  of  the  town,  and 
the  construction  of   houses  commenced.     The  constitution  of 
the  company  was  much  like  that  of  similar  corporations  here, 
the  liability  of  each  stockholder  for  the  debts  of  the  company 
being  limited  to  the  value  of  his  paid  or  secured  interest  in  its 
property,  and  the  administration  being  placed  in  the  hands  of 
officers  elected   by  the  members.     At-  present,  the  company 
builds  houses  either  for  sale  or  rent,  or  buys  them,  to  sell 
again,  where  this  may  seem  advisable.     Of  those  built  by  the 
company,  some  are  detached,  and  some   "  semi-detached,"  as 
the  English  say,  or  "double,"  to   use   our  word.     A  siugje 
house  sells  for  fifteen  hundred  dollars,  to  which  one  hundred 
and   fifty  is  added   if   a  blacksmith's  shop  is   attached  to  it. 
One-half    of  a  double-house  brings  twelve  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars.     If  a  member  wishes  to  hire  a  house,  instead  of  buying 
it,  he  pays  six  per  cent,  net,  on  the  value,  as  rent.     By  paying 
seven  per  cent,  he  is  entitled  to  have  two  per  cent  set  aside  as 
a  sinking-fund,  leaving  five  per  cent  as  the  net  rent.     "When 
the  sinking-fund  reaches  one-third  of  the  value  of  the  house,  a 
deed  of  it  is  given  to  the  tenant,  who  becomes  thenceforth 
responsible  for  the  insurance,  taxes  and  repairs.     The  remain- 


ing two-thirds  of  the  value,  which  is  secured  by  a  mortgage  OH 
the  property,  is  provided  for  by  requiring  the  new  owner  t» 
continue  paying  five  per  cent  on  the  full  value.  Three  per 
cent  of  this  goes  as  interest  on  the  mortgage,  while  the  remain- 
ing two  per  cent  constitutes  a  new  sinking-fund  for  the  extinc- 
tion of  the  principal.  For  the  other  provisions  adopted  by  the 
company  we  must  refer  persons  interested  to  the  original 
article,  or  rather,  series  of  articles,  or  to  their  author,  Herr 
Walther  Lange,  Remscheid,  Rhenish  Prussia.  Besides  the  pre- 
liminary collection  of  statistics,  on  which  to  base  the  work, 
which  strikes  us  as  a  particularly  commendable  idea,  the 
course  of  the  company  in  buying  lots  scattered  through  various 
parts  of  the  town  seems  on  some  accounts  very  judicious. 
Among  us,  certainly,  the  idea  of  living  in  a  vast  cite  ouvriere, 
composed  of  nothing  but  small  houses,  is  neither  so  attractive 
nor  so  wholesome  for  a  modest  citizen  and  his  family  as  the 
consciousness  that  the  handsome  mansion  of  his  richer  neighbor 
is  not  far  off,'  and  that  it  is  worth  an  effort  on  their  part  to 
keep  their  cottage  dainty  and  attractive,  and  to  look  after  the 
appearance  and  manners  of  the  children,  so  that  they  may  not 
suffer  by  comparison  with  the  carefully  trained  young  people 
near  by  ;  while  the  corporate  property,  scattered  in  this  way, 
is  much  less  likely  to  suffer  serious  depreciation  in  value  than 
if  concentrated  in  a  large  area,  which  may  be  rendered  nearly 
worthless  by  the  establishment  of  some  offensive  manufacture 
near  by. 

HE  French  tribunals  have  made  up  their  minds  that  the 
stringing  of  wires  over  a  house  is  an  injury  to  the  pro- 
prietor of  the  house,  for  which  he  should  be  paid ;  and  we 
hope  that  some  time  the  courts  of  certain  commonwealths 
nearer  home  may  come  to  the  same  conclusion.  An  electric- 
lighting  company,  finding  that  the  shortest  route  for  its  wires 
to  a  place  which  it  wished  to  reach  was  over  the  roof  of  a  house, 
proceeded,  as  such  companies  generally  do,  to  string  them 
across  it,  without  asking  the  owner's  leave.  In  this  country 
the  company  would  probably  have  put  up  poles  and  frames  on 
the  roof,  or  would  have  fastened  the  wires  to  a  chimney,  with- 
out paying  any  attention  to  the  protests  of  the  proprietor,  but 
in  France  the  right,  or  the  habit,  of  appropriating  other 
people's  property  is  not  so  highly  developed  as  here,  and  it 
ventured  only  to  place  supports  on  the  neighboring  buildings, 
so  that  the  wires  swung  free  over  the  house  in  question.  The 
owner,  however,  chose  to  consider  the  wires  an  annoyance,  and 
sued  for  an  order  to  have  them  removed,  and  for  damages  for 
the  injury  they  had  already  done  him.  The  company  resisted, 
on  the  ground  that  the  owner  of  the  house  under  the  wires  had 
no  rights  in  the  space  through  which  they  were  stretched,  and 
that  moreover,  they  did  him  no  harm.  The  court  decided  that 
the  ownership  of  a  piece  of  ground  carried  with  it  the  owner- 
ship of  all  the  space  above  it  capable  of  being  utilized.  As  to 
the  damage  caused  by  the  wires,  it  held  that  the  possible 
danger  from  the  current  to  persons  in  the  house,  even  if  it  ex- 
isted only  in  imagination,  was  an  injury,  while  the  sound  of  thft 
wind  through  the  wires  was  a  real  annoyance,  and  the 
necessity  for  allowing  workmen  to  walk  over  the  roof,  together 
with  the  chance  that  the  wires  might  be  broken  by  a  storm, 
and  trail  over  the  tiles,  constituted  a  risk  of  damage  which 
would  not  exist  if  the  wires  were  not  there.  For  these  reasons, 
it  ordered  the  immediate  removal  of  the  wires,  but  decided  that 
the  complainant  had  not.  up  to  the  time  of  the  trial,  suffered 
enough  injury  to  give  him  an  appreciable  claim  for  damages. 

TITHE  Wiener  Bauindustrie-Zeitung  gives  a  recipe  for  a  paint, 
J/  to  be  applied  to  woodwork  exposed  to  the  weather,  which, 
it  says,  is  proof  against  all  ordinary  influences,  and  is  toler- 
ably cheap.  No  oil  is  used,  but,  for  the  first  coat,  finely- 
ground  zinc-white  is  rubbed  up  with  lime-water,  and  the  objects 
to  be  painted  covered  with  a  good  coat  of  the  mixture.  When 
this  is  dry,  which  will  be  in  two  or  three  hours,  a  second  coat 
is  applied,  composed  of  a  solution  of  chloride  of  zinc  in  lime- 
water.  By  the  action  of  the  chloride  on  the  oxide  of  zinc  a 
smooth,  shining  coating  is  formed,  which  is  extremely  durable, 
and  the  paint  may  even  be  used,  instead  of  tar,  to  protect  the 
ends  of  wooden  posts  in  the  ground.  Another  durable  paint, 
which  has  the  advantage  of  rendering  wood  covered  with  it  fire- 
proof, is  composed  of  one  part  each  of  salt,  alum,  silicate  of 
soda  and  tungstate  of  soda,  with  four  parts  of  lime,  mixed,  and 
ground  in  linseed-oil.  Three  coats  of  this  paint  make  a  woode* 
object  incombustible,  and  it  is  said  to  last  for  thirty  years  ex- 
posed to  the  weather. 


FEBRUARY  16,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


75 


ON  THE   TESTING  OF   BUILDING   STONE.1 

VTfHE  problem  of  ascertaining 
J|»  the  suitability  of  a  stone  for 
any  form  of  structural  appli- 
cation is  one  peculiarly  com- 
plicated and  difficult.  Briefly  put 
tlie  question  is  simply  this :  By 
what  methods  in  the  laboratory  is 
it  possible  to  ascertain  within  the 
space  of  a  few  days  or  weeks  the 
relative  strength  and  durability 
of  any  stone  for  as  many  genera- 
tions or  even  centuries. 

In  order  that  the  difficulties  in- 
volved may  be  fully  appreciated, 
let  me  present  the  main  points 
to  be  considered.  In  the  order  of 
their  impjrtance —  as  I  believe  — 
they  are : 

1.  Resistance  to  changes  in  temperature. 

2.  Resistance  to  the  chemical  action  of  an  acid  atmosphere. 

3.  Durability  of  color. 

4.  Crushing  strength  and  elasticity. 

5.  Resistance  to  abrasive  action  of  feet  and  wind-blown  sand. 
The  order  as  given  above  may  be  subject  to  modification  to  suit 

individual  cases.  In  many  instances  the  actual  strength  of  the  stone 
is  a  matter  of  little  importance,  and  in  protected  situations  the  quali- 
ties mentioned  under  (3)  and  (5)  may  be  of  no  essential  value.  In 
still  other  cases,  as  in  bridge  abutments,  strength  and  elasticity  are 
matters  of  greatest  import,  while  that  of  change  of  color  can  be 
left  wholly  out  of  consideration.  In  the  arrangement  given  above  I 
have  had  especial  regard  to  stone  exposed  in  the  exterior  walls  of  a 
building,  and  in  a  varied  climate  like  that  of  the  Northern  and 
Eastern  United  States. 

Before  proceeding  to  a  discussion  of  methods  by  which  these 
essential  qualities  can  be  estimated,  let  me  call  attention  briefly  to 
the  peculiarly  trying  conditions  under  which  a  stone  thus  exposed  is 
placed,  and  offer  a  few  criticisms  on  the  methods  now  commonly 
employed. 

None  of  the  conditions  under  which  a  stone  is  commonly  placed 
are  more  trying  than  those  presented  by  the  ordinary  changes  of 
temperature  in  a  climate  like  that  of  our  Northern  and  Eastern 
States.  Stones,  as  a  rule,  possess  but  a  low  conducting  power  and 
slight  elasticity.  They  are  aggregates  of  minerals  more  or  less 
closely  cohering,  each  of  which  possesses  degrees  of  expansion  and 
contraction  of  its  own.  In  the  crystalline  rocks  these  dissimilar 
elements  are  practically  in  actual  contact ;  in  the  sandstones  thev  are 
removed  from  one  another  by  a  slight  space  occupied  wholly  or  in 
part  by  a  ferruginous,  calcareous  or  siliceous  paste.  As  temperatures 
rise,  each  and  every  constituent  expands  more  or  less,  crowding  with 
resistless  force  against  its  neighbor ;  as  the  temperatures  decrease  a 
corresponding  contraction  takes  place.  Since  with  us  the  tempera- 
tures are  ever  changing,  and  within  a  space  of  even  twenty-four 
hours  may  vary  as  much  as  forty  degrees,  so  within  the  mass  of 
the  stone  there  is  continual  movement  among  its  particles.  Slight  as 
these  movements  may  be  they  can  but  be  conducive  of  one  result,  a 
slow  and  gradual  weakening  and  disintegration. 

The  effects  of  moderate  temperatures  upon  stone  of  ordinary 
dryness  are,  however,  slight  when  compared  with  the  destructive 
energies  of  freezing  temperatures  upon  stones  saturated  with 
moisture.  At  a  temperature  of  30  degrees  Fahrenheit  the  pressure 
exerted  by  water  passing  from  a  liquid  to  a  solid  state  amounts  to 
not  less  than  138  tons  to  the  square  foot,  or  as  Professor  Geikie 
has  strikingly  put  it,  is  equal  to  the  weight  of  a  column  of  ice  a 
mile  high.  Is  it,  then,  astonishing  that  a  porous  sandstone  exposed 
in  a  house-front  to  be  saturated  by  a  winter's  rain  and  then  sub- 
jected to  temperatures  perhaps  several  degrees  below  the  freezing 
point  shows  signs  of  weakness  and  exfoliation  after  a  single  season's 
exposure  ? 

Since  then,  as  every  quarryman  knows,  no  stone  however  strong 
can  endure  the  enormous  strain  it  would  be  subject  to  if  frozen  solid 
when  holding  any  considerable  amount  of  water  confined  within  its 
pores,  it  is  but  natural  to  conclude,  as  a  matter  of  course,  that  other 
things  being  equal  those  stones  are  most  durable  which  will  absorb 
and  retain  the  least  moisture.  This  rule  is  not  to  be  accepted, 
however,  without  a  considerable  grain  of  allowance,  since  a  coarsely 
porous  stone,  though  capable  of  taking  up  a  large  amount  of  moisture 
will  also  part  with  it  readily,  or  if  frozen  while  saturated  will  permit 
a  considerable  proportion  of  the  expansive  force  of  the  solidifying 
water  to  be  expended  otherwise  than  in  pushing  apart  the  grains 
composing  it.  Otherwise  expressed,  the  water  will  freeze  out  of  a 
coarsely  porous  stone,  while  in  one  that  is  compact  it  may  create 
sad  havoc.  This  is  well  illustrated  by  the  common  occurrence  of  water 
freezing  in  straight  cylindrical  or  widely-expanding  vessels,  and  in 
narrow-necked  pitchers  and  bottles.  In  the  first  instance  the  open 
space  above  is  sufficient  to  allow  all  the  expansion  to  take  place 
vertically.  The  narrow-necked  vessel,  on  the  other  hand,  is  almost 
invariably  broken. 

1  By  George  P.  Merrill,  Curator  in  the  National  Museum  at  Washington. 


Still  other  objections  to  a  porous  sandstone  than  its  liability  to 
disintegration  on  freezing  may  be  given.  A  stone  front,  while 
undoubtedly  imposing,  may  become  saturated  by  prolonged  rains, 
and  actually  hold  tons  of  water.  This  in  cold  weather  is  slow  in 
evaporating,  and  must  render  a  house  damp,  requiring  a  larger 
outlay  of  fuel  to  render  it  comfortable.  This  matter  is,  in  part, 
remedied  by  building  double  walls,  the  inner  of  brick.  In  our 
climate  a  stone  house  constructed  otherwise  would  be  well  nigh  un- 
inhabitable. Moreover,  a  porous  sandstone  is,  of  all  stones,  most 
likely  to  afford  foothold  for  the  growth  of  algce,  lichen  and  mosses. 
While  it  is  yet  to  be  proved  that  these  growths  are  in  themselves 
actually  injurious,  they  are,  at  least,  suggestive  of  an  unhealthy 
dampness.  A  stone  covered  by  these  organisms  will  absorb  more 
water  and  give  it  up  more  slowly  to  evaporation  than  one  whose 
surfaces  are  not  thus  protected. 

To  ascertain,  then,  the  porosity  or  ratio  of  absorption  of  any  stone 
is  an  important  test;  to  ascertain  the  ratio  of  absorption  and  resist- 
ance to  freezing  while  saturated  is  a  most  important,  and  for  a  single 
test  the  most  conclusive  of  any  one  test  yet  suggested.  Nevertheless, 
it  is  a  matter  which  at  present  is  almost  wholly  ignored.  I  will  reler 
later  to  methods  which  have  been  employed  to  some  extent  in  times 
past. 

The  second  essential  quality,  that  of  resistance  to  atmospheric 
chemical  agencies,  is  also  one  that  architects,  as  a  rule,  ignore. 
Like  the  last,  it  needs,  therefore,  to  be  enlarged  upon. 

The  atmosphere  in  its  normal  state  consists  of  a  mechanical 
admixture  of  nitrogen  and  oxygen  in  about  the  proportion  of  four 
volumes  of  the  former  to  one  of  the  latter,  together  with  minute 
quantities  of  carbonic  acid,  ammonia  and  vapor  of  water.  In  the 
vicinity  of  large  cities,  however,  it  carries  in  addition  to  increased 
quantities  of  carbonic  acid  appreciable  amounts  of  sulphurous, 
sulphuric,  nitric  and  chlorhydric  acids.  These,  when  brought  by 
rains  in  contact  with  the  walls  of  buildings  are  capable  throughout 
many  years  of  time  of  producing  marked  results,  especially  when 
aided  by  the  extreme  diurnal  ranges  of  temperature  already  alluded 
to.  Carbonate  of  lime,  the  material  of  ordinary  marble  and  lime- 
stone is  particularly  susceptible  to  the  solvent  action  of  these  acids, 
even  though  they  may  be  present  in  extremely  minute  quantities.  Of 
all  stones  the  uncrystalline  limestones  are  most  readily  effected ;  the 
crystalline,  if  equally  compact  a  trirte  less  so,  and  a  dolomite  still 
less.  It  does  not  necessarily  follow,  however,  that  a  dolomite 
will  be  the  more  durable,  since  the  questions  of  texture  and  tenacity 
come  in  for  consideration.  In  the  uncrystalline  limestones  the 
effects  of  an  acid  atmosphere  are,  perhaps,  less  noticeable  since  these 
stones  are  not,  as  a  rule,  used  in  finely  finished  work.  The  crystal- 
line limestones  (marbles)  often  suffer  severely,  however.  Professor 
Geikie  found  that  slabs  of  marble  exposed  in  the  climate  of  Edin- 
burgh lost  their  polish  within  the  space  of  a  year  or  two,  and 
became  completely  illegible  within  a  century. 

Professor  Julien  found  that  in  the  city  cemeteries  about  New  York 
the  polish  on  marble  tombstones  did  not  often  survive  over  ten 
years.  The  writer's  own  observations  on  the  subject  are  to  the 
effect  that  in  the  cemeteries  of  the  smaller  cities  and  towns  of  New 
England  marble  tombstones  will  retain  their  polish  for  a  period  of 
from  ten  to  fifteen  years,  and  up  to  twenty-five  or  thirty  years  will 
present  no  signs  of  disintegration  of  a  very  serious  nature.  Beyond 
this  time  the  surface  becomes  rough  and  granular,  and  the  edges  of 
the  stone  may  be  found  filled  with  fine  rifts  in  which  particles  of  dirt 
become  lodged  or  lichens  take  root,  giving  it  a  dirty  and  unkempt 
appearance. 

It  is  to  this  ready  solubility  of  calcic  carbonate  that  is  also  due, 
in  large  part,  the  poor  weathering  qualities  of  sandstones  with  cal- 
careous cements.  The  calcite  is  slowly  removed  by  solution ;  the 
siliceous  grains  thus  become  loosened,  and  failing  away  under  the  in- 
fluence of  wind  and  rain  expose  fresh  surfaces  to  be  acted  upon. 
Certain  of  the  ferrugineous  cements  are  likewise  susceptible  to  the 
influence  of  the  acidulated  rains;  though  the  anhydrous  oxide,  as  it 
exists  in  the  Potsdam  stones,  is  said  to  be  less  soluble  than  the 
hydrated  oxide  occurring  in  those  of  Triassic  age. 

The  third  essential  quality  which  I  have  mentioned  is  that  of 
durability,  or  permanence  of  color.  Here,  again,  the  chemical  action 
of  atmospheres  are  to  be  contended  with.  The  possibility  that  a 
stone  may  contain  certain  constituents  which  on  exposure  to  the 
atmosphere  will  undergo  certain  chemical  changes  productive  of  a 
simultaneous  change  in  color  is  apparently  not  fully  realized.  No 
better  illustration  of  the  prevailing  ignorance  on  this  point  — -  unless 
indeed  it  was  due  wholly  to  gross  carelessness  — '  is  needed  than  that 
presented  by  the  exterior  basement-wall  in  the  new  capitol  building 
at  Albany,  New  York.  These  are  built  of  a  light,  -and  in  its  fresh 
state,  uniformly  gray  granite.  On  exposure  the  numerous  included 
particles  of  pyrite  (iron  disulphide)  underwent  oxidation  and  in  many 
instances  the  "whole  face  is  so  disfigured  by  blotches  of  iron-rust  as  to 
be  very  unsightly.  Iron  in  the  form  of  disulphide,  protoxide  or 
carbonate  is  the  prime  factor  in  producing  color  changes  in  all  stone 
used  for  architectural  purposes.  As  is  well  known  many  a  light  gray 
sandstone  turns  buff  or  reddish  after  short  exposure  in  an  outer  wall. 
This  is  brought  about  through  the  oxidation  of  some  one  of  the  above- 
named  ingredients.  If  the  resultant  tints  are  uniform  the  effects  are 
not  always  objectionable,  and  indeed  are  often  beneficial.  The 
mellowing  of  a  stone  with  age  is  due  mainly  to  changes  of  this  nature. 
If,  however,  the  oxidizing  mineral  occurs  irregularly  disseminated  in 
streaks,  nests  or  bunches,  the  color  often  appears  in  dirty  blotches 


76 


The  American   Architect  and  Building  News.         [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  686. 


and  utterly  ruins  otherwise  beautiful  work.  While  on  the  whole  the 
presence  of  an  easily  oxidizable  mineral  may  or  may  not  be  objection- 
able in  the  fragmental  rocks  it  is  always  prejudicial  in  the  crystalline 
marbles  and  the  gEanites.  It  is  the  presence  of  finely  disseminated 
pyrite,  protoxide  or  carbonate  of  iron  that  renders  so  unsafe  the 
selection  of  certain  lime  and  sand  stone  from  below  the  water-level  in 
the  quarry-bed.  As  there  displayed  the  stone  may  be  beautifully 
and  uniformly  dark  bluish  gray,  or  drab.  The  same  stone  quarried 
and  put  in  the  walls  of  a  building  becomes,  owing  to  oxidation, 
of  dull  yellow  or  brownish  hue. 

Crushing  strength  and  elasticity.  —  If  we  are  to  judge  from  the 
ordinary  modes  of  procedure  the  crushing  strength  of  a  stone  is  con- 
sidered by  architects  and  engineers  in  general  as  the  one  essential 
quality.  Scarcely  a  public  building  of  any  importance  is  erected  but 
a  long  series  of  crushing  tests  is  inaugurated  at  a  considerable  out- 
lay of  time  and  consequent  expense.  These  tests  are  applied  to 
rectangular  blocks  of  all  sizes  and  with  ever-varying  results,  and  this 
in  the  face  of  the  fact  that  there  is  to-day  scarcely  a  stone  upon  the 
market  that  will  not  bear  at  least  fifty  times  the  pressure  likely  to  be 
demanded  of  it  under  any  but  the  most  exceptional  circumstances. 
The  stone  in  the  bottom  courses  of  the  Washington  monument,  in 
this  city,  and  that  bears  the  entire  weight  of  the  superincumbent 
550  feet,  is  a  stone  so  weak  and  of  such  poor  weathering  qualities  as 
to  be  practically  out  of  the  market,  yet  its  pressure-tests  will  show  a 
strength  many  times  greater  than  will  be  required  of  it  under  the 
most  trying  conditions  of  wind  and  weather.  Indeed,  I  have  yet  to 
learn  of  a  single  instance  in  which  a  stone  built  into  a  wall  has  be- 
come crushed  through  any  inherent  weakness  of  the  stone  itself. 
Blocks  have  become  broken,  or  scaled  on  the  edges  through  unequal 
settling  of  the  foundation  or  improper  bedding,  but  the  number  of 
instances  in  which  a  stone  properly  laid  has  actually  crushed  through 
inability  to  withstand  the  strain  are,  I  believe,  so  few  that  they  may 
almost  wholly  be  left  out^  of  consideration.  In  short  we  may  safely 
take  it  for  granted  that  the  majority  of  stones  are  fully  strong  enough 
for  all  ordinary  structural  application.  What  is  desired  is  not  a 
knowledge  of  its  actual  strength  to-day  but  rather  its  power  to  resist 
for  a  century  and  more  the  severe  trials  above  enumerated.  The 
tests  as  now  applied  will  give  no  clew  to  this,  whatever. 

The  elasticity  of  a  stone  is,  I  believe,  a  matter  of  much  greater  im- 
portance. It  will  be  remembered  that  it  was  found  necessary  not 
long  ago  to  substitute  iron  in  place  of  the  stone  towers  of  the 
Niagara  Suspension  Bridge.  The  original  towers  were  of  an  im- 
pure magnesian  limestone  with  seams  of  gypsum.  Under  the  constant 
strain  from  the  bridge  and  loaded  trains  this  gradually  became  filled 
with  rifts  and  cracks,  rendering  necessary  their  replacement  by  other 
material.  Pressure  tests  would  have  shown  the  stone  to  have  origin- 
ally possessed  all  necessary  strength.  The  individual  grains  of 
which  it  was  composed  did  not,  however,  possess  sufficient  elasticity 
and  cohesive  force  to  yield  to  the  strain  and  regain  their  original 
positions  when  the  strain  was  removed.  Had  a  tough,  impervious 
and  tenacious  rock  like  a  diabass  been  employed,  the  writer  ventures 
to  assert,  replacement  would  not  have  become  necessary  in  our  day 
and  generation,  to  say  the  least. 

Resistance  to  abrasive  action\  —  That  the  power  of  any  stone  to 
resist  the  abrasive  action  of  wind-blown  sand  and  dust  may  in 
certain  situations  be  an  item  worthy  of  consideration  is  not  generally 
realized.  The  amount  of  actual  wear  to  which  a  stone  in  the  walls 
of  a  building  is  exposed  from  this  source  is  naturally  but  slight  in 
comparison  to  that  to  which  stones  in  walks  and  sills  are  subject  from 
the  friction  of  passing  feet.  Nevertheless,  it  is  sufficient  in  many  in- 
stances to  become  appreciable  after  the  lapse  of  many  years.  There 
is  now  on  exhibition  in  the  National  Museum  at  Washington  a  plate 
of  glass  formerly  a  window-pane  in  the  light-house  at  Nausett  Beach, 
Massachusetts.  This  was  so  abraded  by  wind-blown  sand  during  a 
storm  of  not  over  forty-eight  hours'  duration  as  to  be  no  longer  trans- 
parent and  to  necessitate  its  removal.  The  grinding  is  as  complete 
over  the  entire  surface  as  though  done  by  artificial  means.  This 
same  process  is  going  on,  though  in  a  greatly  lessened  degree,  in  all 
our  city  streets  where  the  wind  blows  dust  and  sand  sharply  against 
the  faces  of  buildings.  The  impact  of  these  small  particles  is  not 
sufficient  to  perceptibly  wear  away  the  fresh  stone  within  a  limited 
time,  but  it  may  often  be  sufficient  to  crumble  away  the  small 
particles  already  loosened  by  atmospheric  action  and  expose  new 
faces  to  be  acted  upon.  Professor  Egleston  states  that  in  many  of 
the  church-yards  in  New  York  City  the  effects  of  this  abrasive  action 
can  be  seen  where  the  tombstones  face  in  the  direction  of  the  prevail- 
ing winds.  In  such  cases  the  stones  are  sometimes  worn  very  nearly 
smooth,  and  are  quite  illegible  from  this  cause  alone.  Illustrations  of 
the  mistake  in  laying  soft  and  friable  sandstones  for  walks  and  steps 
are  so  numerous  I  hesitate  to  touch  upon  the  subject  at  all.  At  the 
present  moment  the  most  pronounced  case  in  mind  is  that  offered 
by  the  old  flight  of  stone  steps  (lately  removed)  leading  up  to  the 
western  entrance  of  the  Capitol  building  at  Washington.  These 
were  of  a  soft  sandstone  and  while  they  might  have  answered  well 
for  a  private  building  had  become  worn  and  hollowed  from  the  daily 
friction  of  thousands  of  footsteps  to  a  very  marked  degree,  the  front 
edge  of  the  tread  being  in  some  cases  lowered  fully  an  inch  below  its 
original  level. 


As 


to  the  commonly  employed  methods  of  testing:  as  a  matter  of  fact 
no  tests  are  now  systematically  made  with  a  view  of  ascertaining  the  ab- 
sorptive properties  and  resisting  powers  of  any  stone  to  the  action  of 
frost,  although  these  are,  as  I  have  already  noted,  the  most  important 


qualities.  In  testing  the  absorptive  powers,  the  methods  adopted  by 
both  General  Gillmore,  at  Staten  Island,  and  Professor  Winchell,  at 
Minneapolis,  were  substantially  as  follows  :  well-dressed  cubes  from 
one  to  two  inches  in  diameter  were  thoroughly  dried,  and  after  cool- 
ing weighed,  and  then  immersed  in  water  for  periods  of  several  days. 
They  were  then  removed,  the  surface-water  removed  as  quickly  as 
possible  with  bibulous  paper  and  the  specimen  again  weighed ;  the 
increase  in  weight,  of  course,  representing  the  weight  of  the  absorbed 
water.  In  stating  the  result  the  increase  was  always  designated  in 
the  form  of  a  fractional  part  of  the  entire  weight ;  thus  if  a  cube 
weighing  300  grains  dry  weighed  301  when  saturated  the  ratio  was 
expressed  as  yjj.  This  method  when  carefully  carried  out  in  all  its 
details  seems  sufficiently  accurate.  Care  needs  to  be  exercised  in  dry- 
ing to  expel  all  previously  absorbed  water ;  and  certain  authorities 
have  gone  to  the  trouble  of  immersing  the  cubes  under  a  bell-glass  and 
then  exhausting  the  air,  to  ensure  complete  saturation.  This  is  an 
unnecessary  refinement  of  methods  since  no  stone  is  subject  to  any- 
thing like  such  conditions  either  in  its  natural  bed  or  in  the  walls  of' a 
building. 

Obviously,  the  best  method  for  ascertaining  the  ability  of  a  stone 
to  resist  the  action  of  frost  is  to  actually  expose  the  blocks  when 
saturated  to  freezing  temperatures,  and  then,  after  several  repeti- 
tions of  the  freezing  and  thawing  process,  to  note  by  weighing  the 
actual  loss  by  disintegration,  or,  better  yet,  the  loss  in  strength.  °  Un- 
fortunately, this  cannot  at  all  times  and  all  places  be  done,  and  arti- 
ficial methods  must  be  resorted  to.  Brard's  process,  as  modified  by 
M.  Hericart  and  Thurg,  consisted  in  boiling  the  stone  to  be  experi- 
mented upon  for  half-an-hour  in  a  saturated  solution  of  sulphate  of 
soda  (glauber  salt),  and  then  allowing  it  to  dry,  when  the  salt  taken 
into  the  pores  of  the  stone  crystallized  and  expanded  in  a  manner 
supposedly  similar  to  that  of  water  when  freezing.  This  process  is 
now  practically  given  up,  as  experiment  showed  that  the  salt  exer- 
cised a  chemical,  as  well  as  mechanical  action,  giving  results  some- 
what at  variance  with  those  of  freezing  water.  Nevertheless,  the 
tests  made  by  Mr.  C.  G.  Page,  in  1847,  with  reference  to  the  selec- 
tion of  stone  for  the  Smithsonian  Building  at  Washington  are  suffi- 
ciently instructive  to  be  noticed  here.  The  samples  operated  upon, 
it  should  be  stated,  were  cut  in  the  form  of  inch-cubes.  Each  cube 
was  immersed  for  half-an-hour  in  the  boiling  solution,  and  then  hung 
up  to  dry;  this  performance  being  repeated  daily  throughout  the 
four  weeks  that  the  experiment  lasted.  The  results  obtained  were 
as  follows : 


Specific  Gravity 

Loss  in  weight, 

Marble,  close-grained,  Maryland. 

2.834 

in  grains. 
.19 

Marble,  coarae,  "  Aluin  Stone."  Md. 

2.857 

.50 

Marble,  blue,  Md. 

2.613 

.34 

Sandstone  coarse,  Portland,  Conn. 

14.36 

Sandstone  tine,  Portland.  Conn. 

2.583 

24.93 

Sandstone  red,  Seneca  Creek,  Md. 

2.672 

.70 

Sandstone  dove-colored,  Seneca  Creek,  Md. 

2.486 

1.78 

Sandstone  Little  Falls,  N.  J. 

1.58 

Sandstone  Little  Falls,  N.  J. 

2.482 

.62 

Sandstone  coarse,  Nova  Scotia. 

2.518 

2.16 

Sandstone  dark,  Seneca  Aqueduct,  Md. 

5.60 

Sandstone  Aquia  Creek,  Va. 

2.230 

18.60 

Granite,  Port  Deposit,  Md. 

2.609 

5.05 

Marble,  Montgomery  Co.,  Penna. 

2.927 

.35 

Marble,  blue,  Montgomery  Co.,  Penna. 

2.699 

.28 

Soft  brick. 

2.211 

16.46 

Hard  brick. 

2.294 

1.07 

Marble  (coarse  dolomite),  Pleasantville,  N.  T. 

2.86 

.'91 

Results  to  which  I  wish  to  call  especial  attention  are  those  obtained 
on  the  red  sandstone  from  Seneca  Creek,  Md.,  and  that  from  Aquia 
Creek,  Va.  The  first  of  these,  with  a  specific  gravity  of  2.672,  or  a 
weight  per  cubic  foot  of  167  pounds,  lost  by  disintegration  but  .70 
grains.  This  was  the  stone  ultimately  selected  for  the  Smithsonian, 
and  the  building  as  a  whole  is  to-day  probably  in  as  good  state  of 
preservation  as  any  of  its  age  in  the  United  States.  The  second 
stone,  with  a  specific  gravity  of  2.23,  or  a  weight  per  cubic  foot  of 
but  139.37  pounds,  and  which  lost  18.6  grains,  is  the  one  used  in  the 
construction  of  the  old  portions  of  the  United  States  Patent  Office, 
Treasury,  White-House,  and  Capitol  Buildings.  The  stone  is  so 
poor,  and  disintegrates  so  badly,  that  only  repeated  applications  of 
paint  and  putty  keep  them  in  anywise  presentable.  The  results  ob- 
tained with  hard  and  soft  brick  are  even  more  striking:  the  one 
weighing  at  the  rate  of  138  pounds  per  cubic  foot  losing  l(f.46  grains, 
while  the  harder  brick,  weighing  143  pounds,  lost  but  1.07.  If  any- 
thing can  be  learned  from  the  series,  it  is  that,  with  substances 
having  the  same  composition  —  those  which  are  the  most  dense, 
which  are  the  heaviest,  bulk  for  bulk  —  will  prove  the  most  durable. 
The  results  obtained  on  the  coarse  an  1  fine  blocks  of  Portland  sand- 
stone suggest,  at  least,  that  water  would  freeze  out  of  the  coarser 
stone,  and,  therefore,  create  less  havoc  than  in  that  of  finer  o-rain, 
a  probability  to  which  I  have  already  referred. 

The  pressure-tests  that  have  been  made  in  times  past  have,  for 
purposes  of  future  reference,  been  deprived  of  a  large  share  of  what- 
ever value  they  might  otherwise  have  had  by  the  unsystematic 
manner  in  which  the  experiments  were  carried  out.  General  Gill- 
more  has  shown,  in  his  admirable  series  of  experiments  upon  cubes 
of  varying  sizes,  that  "at  least  within  certain  limits,  the  compressive 
resistance  of  cubes  per  square-inch  of  surface  under  pressure  in- 
creases in  the  ratio  of  the  cube  roots  of  the  sides  of  the  respective 
cubes  expressed  in  inches."  So  far  as  I  can  learn,  however,  these 


656. 


1889B1 


ling 


HEWS,  FEB.  16  1559 


FEBRUARY  16,  1889.]  The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


77 


results  are  wholly  ignored,  each  architect  or  engineer  working  on  an 
independent  basis,  testing  blocks  of  such  size  and  shape  as  are  sent 
him,  or  are  most  readily  obtained.  Gillraore,  as  above  noted,  used 
two-inch  cubes.  The  architect  of  the  Congressional  Library  Build- 
ing proposed,  I  believe,  to  use  one-inch  cubes.  Tests  on  stone  for 
the  Philadelphia  City-hall  were  made  on  blocks  varying  from  six 
to  seven  inches  in  diameter ;  indeed,  the  size  of  the  block  seems  in 
many  instances  to  be  limited  only  by  the  capabilities  of  the  testing- 
machine,  and,  in  the  report  of  the  last  case  alluded  to,  we  find  record 
of  three  blocks  that  sustained  the  maximum  of  load  of  the  machine 
(800,000  pounds)  without  perceptible  injury.  Still  another  discrep- 
ancy lies  in  the  fact  that,  in  advertising  for  blocks  to  be  tested,  no 
mention  is  made  of  the  manner  in  which  these  blocks  are  to  be  pre- 
pared. A  small  cube  trimmed  out  with  hammer  and  chisel  from 
necessity  becomes  filled  with  incipient  fractures,  and  such  a  block 
may  crush  under  considerably  less  pressure  than  a  really  weaker 
stone  which  has  been  sawed  to  proper  size  and  retains  its  natural 
strength.  Still  further,  the  reports  of  such  tests  are  often  wholly  in- 
validated through  the  ignorance  of  whoever  may  be  in  charge  of  the 
exact  nature  of  the  material  experimented  upon.  All  finely  frag- 
mental  siliceous  rocks,  whether  composed  wholly  of  grains  of  quartz, 
or  quartz,  feldspar  and  mica,  whether  with  siliceous,  ferruginous,  or 
calcareous  cements,  are  classed  together  as  sandstone,  with  no 
further  description  than  a  reference  to  color.  All  crystalline  sili- 
ceous rocks,  including  granite,  gneiss,  mica-schist,  and  even  trappean 
rocks,  like  the  diabases,  noritcs,  diorites,  and  kersantites,  are  con- 
sidered as  granites.  AH  calcareous  rocks,  whether  magnesian  or 
otherwise,  are,  if  of  good  color,  marbles ;  or,  if  of  poor  color,  and 
finely  compact  or  amorphous,  merely  limestones.  It  is  obvious  that 
such  a  classification  is  not  sufficiently  precise  to  be  of  value. 

I  think  there  can  be  no  doubt  but  I  have  shown  that,  as  first 
stated,  the  problem  is  a  difficult  one,  and  also  that  the  few  efforts 
made  toward  its  solution  are  of  little  value,  except  as  showing  what 
methods  are  to  be  avoided  in  the  future.  It  remains  to  be  seen  if 
anything  better  can  be  suggested.  I  will  briefly  outline  a  scheme 
such  as  been  gradually  shaping  itself  in  my  mind  for  several  years 
past.  The  subject  has  been  very  forcibly  impressed  upon  me  in  con- 
nection with  my  duties  as  curator  in  the  National  Museum,  and  more 
particularly  when  preparing  for  exhibition  the  extensive  building- 
stone  collection  made  by  the  Tenth  Census,  a  partial  duplicate  of 
which  was  also  prepared  under  my  direction  for  the  American 
Museum  in  New  York  City. 

Assume,  first,  that  the  stone  to  be  examined  is  designed  for  use 
in  the  exterior  walls  of  a  building,  subjected  to  all  the  vicissitudes  of 
our  Northern  climate,  and  to  only  such  conditions  of  pressure  and 
strain  as  exist  in  any  of  our  government  buildings. 

All  things  considered,  it  seems  best  that  the  experiments  be  con- 
ducted on  two-inch  cubes.  These  should  be  prepared  by  sawing 
and  grinding,  never  by  hammer  and  chisel.  After  drying  at  a  tem- 
perature not  exceeding  that  of  boiling  water,  the  ratio  of  absorption 
should  be  determined  by  complete  immersion  for  a  period  of  not  less 
than  forty-eight  hours ;  the  method,  as  followed  by  General  Gill- 
more,  is  sufficiently  accurate.  The  cubes  should  then  be  repeatedly 
frozen  and  thawed  while  in  a  saturated  condition,  and  the  amount 
of  disintegration  ascertained  by  careful  weighings.  If  the  stone  is  a 
fragmental  one  (sandstone),  and  it  is  found  to  suffer  appreciable  dis- 
integration by  freezing,  it  may  be  well  to  ascertain  the  loss  in  strength 
as  well.  This  can  be  done  by  crushing  the  cubes  after  freezing,  and 
while  still  saturated,  and  also  freshly-prepared  cubes  not  otherwise 
tested.  The  freezing  can  be  brought  about  artificially  by  means  of 
such  apparatus  as  is  used  in  making  artificial  ice. 

The  question  of  durability  of  color  and  resistance  to  atmospheric 
action  can  be  settled  only  by  chemical  and  microscopic  tests.  The 
condition  of  the  iron,  whether  in  the  form  of  sulphide,  carbonate  or 
protoxide,  is  the  main  question  to  be  considered.  A  little  can, 
perhaps,  be  learned  by  submitting  samples  to  the  action  of  artificial 
atmospheres,  samples  being  suspended  for  several  weeks  under  bell- 
glasses  charged  with  acid  fumes.  The  resistance  to  the  effects  of 
carbonic  acid  can,  perhaps,  be  best  determined  as  Professor  Win- 
chell  has  done,  by  placing  the  samples  in  a  basin  of  water  through 
which  carbonic-acid  gas  is  kept  bubbling.  This  test  is  scarcely 
necessary,  except  upon  calcareous  rocks  or  fragmental  rocks  with 
calcareous  or  ferruginous  cements.  The  determination  of  the  modu- 
lus of  elasticity  as  made  by  processes  now  in  vogue  is  apparently  suffi- 
ciently accurate.  When,  as  may  sometimes  happen,  it  is  desired  to 
ascertain  the  relative  powers  of  resistance  to  wear,  as  in  pavements, 
or  from  wind-blown  sand,  this  can  readily  be  done  by  means  of  a 
carefully-regulated  sand-blast,  such  as  is  used  in  the  Tighhnan  process 
of  stone-carving.  This  property  might  almost  equally  well  be 
learned,  however,  by  observing  the  manner  in  which  the  stone 
worked  under  the  chisel. 

A  very  essential  item  in  this  connection  is  that  the  tests  be  con- 
ducted under  the  direct  supervision  of  one  thoroughly  acquainted 
with  the  mineral  and  chemical  composition  of  rocks,  their  structure, 
origin,  mode  of  occurrence,  and  characteristic  manner  of  weathering. 
A  purely  theoretical  knowledge  is  valueless,  and  only  one  who  has 
devoted  years  of  time  to  the  work,  both  in  the  laboratory  and  in  the 
field,  can  hope  to  deal  with  the  matter  successfully.  One  great  diffi- 
culty with  all  such  work  is  that  we  are  prone  to  expect  too  much,  to 
obtain  immediately  results  which,  in  the  ordinary  course  of  events, 
can  be  brought  about  only  by  months,  and  perhaps  years,  of  care- 
ful observation,  study  and  experiment. 


THE  METROPOLITAN  MUSEUM  OF  ART. 


El 


HE  reopening  of  the 
Metropolitan  Muse- 
um in  December  was 
an  event  of  decided  in- 
terest in  the  art-world. 
The  new  wing  having 
doubled  the  space  at  its 
command,  the  Museum 
was  able  to  make  an  im- 
posing show  of  its  valu- 
able belongings,  supple- 
mented by  some  impor- 
tant loans. 

The  casts  of  Assyrian 
and   Greek    sculpture 
which   decorate   the   fine 
hall  into  which  the  main 
entrance    conducts    the 
visitor  are  a  welcome  ac- 
quisition, though   as   yet 
not   sufficient   in  number 
to  form  a  representative 
collection.     The   munifi- 
cence  of   Mr.  Henry  G. 
Marquand,   one    of   the 
Trustees,   has,    however, 
provided   means   for   the 
completion  of  this  depart- 
ment,   and    casts   of   the 
most    important  sculpt- 
u  r  e  s   in    European    mu- 
seums   have    been    pur- 
chased, and  will   be   dis- 
played  as  soon    as  space 
can   be   found   for  them. 
The  collections  of  Phoeni- 
cian,   Greek,     Roman, 
Venetian,  and  Florentine 
glass,  also  given  by  Mr. 
Marquand,  together  with 
that  presented  by  the  late  James  Jackson  Jarves,  and  the  ancient 
glass  from  the  Cesnola  collection,  are  now  placed  in  one  room,  and 
form  a  most  important  group,  said  to  be  equal  to  any  in  the  world. 
Be  this  as  it  may,  there  is  here  a  wealth  of  beauty  in  form  and  color 
which  is  inexhaustible.     In  the  same  hall  is  a  fine  lot  of  rare  and 
beautiful  old  laces  from  Europe  and  the  East,  given  by  the  late  Mrs. 
John  Jacob  Astor  and  Mrs.  R.  L.  Stuart,  and  costing  many  thousands 
of  dollars.     They  are  placed,  with  the  MacCallum  collection  of  la^es, 
in  swinging  frames  on  iron  standards.     The  Museum  has  lately  re- 
ceived a  valuable  collection  of  Egyptian  antiquities,  including  many 
sarcophagi  and  mummies,  with  numerous  smaller  objects,  found  by 
Maspe'ro  in  1886.     These,  or  a  number  of  them,  are  of  persons  of 
high  rank  and  their  burial-cases  are  richly  decorated,  the  colors  on 
some  being  as  bright  and  fresh  as  if  laid  on  yesterday.     The  mum- 
mies and  their  double  cases  have  been  most  ingeniously  and  advan- 
tageously  arranged,  separately  and   in   different  positions,  so  that 
(aided  sometimes  by  mirrors)  one  can  see  not  only  all  around  and 
underneath,  but  inside  the  cases.     As  these  interiors  are  often  also 
highly  ornamented,  this  is  a  distinct  aid  to  examining  them.     Near 
these  splendid  and  curious  coffins,  in  some  of  which  fair  and  noble 
ladies  —  princesses,  perhaps  —  have  lain  embalmed  for  tens  of  cen- 
turies, are  frames  filled  with  embroideries  and  textile  fabrics  found 
in  the  Fayum,  dating  from  the  second  to  the  eleventh  centuries  of 
our  era,  many  of  them  elaborately  patterned,  and  with  colors  still  in 
excellent  preservation.     The  Ward  collection  of  Assyrian  and  Baby- 
lonian  antiquities,  such   as   clay-tablets,   seals,  cylinders,  inscribed 
clay  barrels,  gold  and  other  ornaments  and  bronzes,  has  also  been 
acquired  and  is  now  on  exhibition.     An  alcove  of  the  lower  hall  is 
devoted   to   wrought-iron   and  other   metal-work,  and   there  are  a 
number  of  antique  musical  instruments,  a  huge,  finely-carved  clock 
of  English  work,  dated    1640,  two   large  cabinets,  one  inlaid  with 
Oriental  porcelain  and  various  pieces  of  carved  wood,  including  some 
fine  specimens  of  Frullini's  work.     The  great  main  hall  of  the  older 
portion  of  the  building  is  to  be  devoted  to  the  Willard  collection  of 
architectural  casts,  and  a  large  inscription  to  this  effect  has  been 
put  up.     A  number  of  them  have  arrived,  and  are   stored  in  the 
Museum,  and  it  is  hoped  that  they  will  be  placed  in  position  during 
this  winter.     In  the  meantime  the  floor-space  of  this  hall  is  vacant, 
but  on  the  faces  of  the  north  and  south  galleries  have  been  placed 
casts  from  the  frieze  of  the  Parthenon,  and  at  one  end  are  hung 
some  old  tapestries,  opposite  which  Makart's  enormous  picture  of 
"  Diana's  Hunt,"  a  lately  acquired  gift,  lends  its  rosy  flesh-tints  and 
sumptuous  color  to  the  spacious  hall. 

The  Huntington  gallery  of  memorials  of  Washington,  Franklin, 
and  Lafayette  is  an  interesting  place,  where  are  arranged  represen- 
tations and  all  kinds  of  souvenirs  of  these  distinguished  patriots. 
The  paintings,  busts,  statuettes,  medallions,  pottery,  prints,  medals, 
autographs,  and  many  other  objects  here  displayed  serve  to  recall 
their  deeds  and  vivify  their  memories.  The  Lamborn  collection  of 
American  antiquities  is  composed  of  antique  and  comparatively 


78 


The  American   Architect  and  Building  News.      [Vot.  XXV.  — No.  686. 


modern  idols  and  fetishes  worshipped  by  the  aborigines  of  New 
Mexico,  and  objects  from  Mexico,  Central  America,  Peru,  and  else 
where.  Another  room  is  devoted  to  gems  and  objects  in  preciou: 
metals,  and  contains  the  Johnston-King  collection  of  ancient  gems 
the  Curium  treasures  from  the  Cesnola  collection ;  the  Lazarus  col 
lection  of  miniatures  ;  cases  of  coins,  watches,  snuff-boxes,  and  silver 
ware;  and  the  Maxwell  Summerville  collection  of  engraved  gems 
pastes,  cameos  and  rings.  This  is  an  exceedingly  valuable  anc 
beautiful  gathering,  and,  by  the  kindness  of  the  owner,  will  remain 
on  loan  with  the  Museum  for  several  years.  Around  the  walls  o 
this  —  the  "Gold  "  room  —  are  hung  some  magnificent  Persian  rugs 
old  tapestries,  and  pieces  of  Spanish  and  Venetian  leather,  French 
embroidered  silks  and  Genoese  velvets,  loaned  by  Mr.  Marquand 
The  Vanderbilt  collection  of  drawings  by  the  old  masters,  with  a 
large  number  of  similar  sketches  and  studies  given  in  1887  by  the 
artist  Cephas  G.  Thompson  (since  deceased)  has  been  hung  in  a 
long  gallery  on  the  second  floor,  with  several  frames  of  etchings  by 
Haden,  Whistler,  Jacque  and  others,  given  by  W.  L.  Andrews.  An 
alcove  leading  from  the  gallery  holds  the  Hadden  collection  of  civi 
and  military  decorations  and  orders,  and  here,  also,  have  been  hung 
the  water-colors  by  William  T.  Richards. 

The  most  popular  of  the  many  good  things  shown  reems  to  be,  as 
usual,  the  modern  paintings,  two  galleries  being  filled  with  the 
pictures  given  by  Miss  Wolfe;  two  with  the  other  modern  works,  in 
eluding  such  well-advertised  canvases  as  Rosa  Bonheur's  "Horse 
Fair,"  Meissonier's  "1807,"  Detaille's  "Defence  of  Champigny' 
and  Piloty's  "  Thusnelda,"  which  are  the  property  of  the  Museum: 
and  one  with  its  old  masters,  including  the  large  and  importani 
example  of  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  —  "  The  Hon.  Henry  Fane  and  his 
Guardians" — given  by  Mr.  Junius  S.  Morgan.  Then  there  is  a 
gallery  full  of  loaned  modern  paintings,  and  another  —  the  Mecca  oi 
many  a  pilgrim  of  art  —  holding  a  splendid  collection  of  old  masters 
the  like  of  which  was  never  seen  in  this  country  before,  and  which 
was  given  to  the  Museum,  since  its  reopening,  by  Mr.  Marquand. 
This  makes  seven  galleries  of  pictures  in  all,  and,  in  round  numbers, 
five  hundred  paintings.  Mr.  Marquand  has  generously  despoiled 
his  beautiful  house  of  its  choicest  paintings  and  sent  them  here. 
This  gentleman,  and  his  name  should  be  dear  to  all  true  art-lovers, 
is  one  of  the  very  few  American  collectors — Mr.  Quincy  A.  Shaw, 
of  Boston,  is  another  —  who  cares  to  gather  any  pictures  but  modern 
ones.  He  acts  in  the  spirit  of  those  words  from  one  of  the  discourses 
of  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  which  are  inscribed  on  the  walls  of  England's 
National  Gallery :  "  The  works  of  those  who  have  stood  the  test  of 
ages  have  a  claim  to  that  respect  and  veneration  to  which  no  modern 
can  pretend." 

It  is  an  ungracious  thing  to  criticise  gifts,  but  if  part  of  the  large 
sums  spent  upon  some  of  the  pictures  of  the  day  (and  of  the  day 
only)  which  have  been  presented  to  the  Metropolitan  Museum,  had 
been  used  to  buy  good,  not  necessarily  "important,"  examples  of 
the   work   of   the   great   artists   of  former   centuries,  it  would   be 
much   better   for   everybody.     The   chief   glory   of   the  Marquand 
paintings  is  the  portrait  of  James  Stuart,  Duke  of  Richmond  and 
Lennox,  by  Van  Dyck,  which  hangs  at  one  end  of  the  gallery.     It  is 
a    life-size,   full-length    representation    of    a    pleasant-faced   young 
cavalier,  with  long,  curling,  yellow  hair,  who  wears  a  black  dress 
with  white  silk  stockings,  and  stands  easily  before  us,  one  hand  rest- 
ing on  the  head  of  a  fine  greyhound  which  looks  up  into  its  master's 
face.     Van  Dyck  painted  half-a-dozen  portraits  of  this   nobleman, 
one  (a  half-length)  being  now  in  the  Louvre,  and  introduced  the 
dog  in  two  or  three  of  them.     The  story  is  that  the  youthful  Duke 
when  travelling  on  the  Continent  was  preserved  from  assassination 
by  this  dog,  which  slept  in  his  chamber  and  aroused  him  from  his 
sleep.     James  Stuart  was  a  favorite  courtier  and  faithful  adherent  of 
Charles  I,  whose  father  and  his  were  cousins,  and  received  many 
favors  from  the  King,  which  he  well  repaid.     He  was  hereditary 
Lord   Chamberlain   and  High   Admiral   of   Scotland,  was   made   a 
member  of  Charles's  Privy  Council  when  scarcely  twenty-one,  and 
appointed  Lord  Steward  of  the  royal  household  and  Warden  of  the 
Cinque  Ports.     He  loaned  Charles  large  sums  of  money  ^to  help  his 
failing  cause,  and  his  two  younger  brothers  both  entered  the  royalist 
army  and  were  slain.     He  lived  a  few  years  after  the  death  of  the 
King,  at  whose  execution  he  was  present  (it  is  told  that  he  offered  to 
suffer  death  in  his  cousin's  place),  and  was  allowed  the  privilege  of 
burying  him.     After  this,  he  retired  into  absolute  privacy  and  died, 
it  is  said,  of  the  gradual  effects  of  grief,  in  1655,  being  then  only 
forty-three  years  of  age.     This  portrait  formerly  belonged  to  Lord 
Methuen,  in  whose   collection   at  Corsham  Court,  it  was  seen  and 
described   by  Dr.  Waagen   over   thirty   years   ago,  and   has   been 
engraved  by  Earlom.     It  displays  all  the  dignity,  ease  and  refine- 
ment which  are  associated  with  Van  Dyck's  courtly  sitters,  and  is  a 
superb  example  of  his  powers  as  a  portrait-painter.     Some  one  has 
truly  said  that  we  cannot  judge  how  much  of  the  romantic  interest 
and  sympathy  with  which  the  subsequent  generations  have  regarded 
the  cause  of  the  Stuarts  is  owing  to 'the  pictures  of  them  and  their 
supporters  by  Van  Dyck.     The  beautiful  hound  in  this  portrait  is 
painted  as  carefully  as  his  master,  his  affection  towards  whom  being 
admirably  represented.     An  excellent  portrait  of  a  lady  is  also  by 
Van  Dyck,  and  by  Rubens  there  is  an  early  work,  "  Pyramus  and 
Thisbe,"  and  a  good  portrait  of  a  man.     Of  the  Flemish  school,  also, 
we  find  a  small  and  minutely  finished  "  Virgin  and  Child,"  attributed 
to  Jan  Van  Kyck. 
There  is  a  masterly  little  portrait  of  the  child  Don  Batthasar,  by 


Velasquez,  and  a  larger  one  of  the  Dona  Maria  Anna,  a  stolid-look- 
ing young  woman,  with  an  enormous  head-dress  ;  and  one  other 
Spanish  picture,  a  "St.  Michael  and  the  Devil,"  warm  and  bright  in 
color,  by  Zurbaran.  Of  the  English  school,  there  is  a  charming 
portrait  of  Lady  Carew,  tender  and  sweet,  by  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds ; 
a  fine  "  Young  Girl  with  Cat,"  by  Gainsborough ;  and  a  warm  golden- 
brown  picture  by  Turner,  showing  the  little  port  of  "  Saltash." 
This  was  painted  about  1812,  and  Mr.  Ruskin  praises  it  as  an 
example  of  perfect  truth  in  the  painting  of  water.  Then  we  come 
to  two  large  landscapes  by  Constable,  "  The  Valley  Farm "  and 
"  The  Lock,"  both  subjects  which  the  artist  has  made  familiar  by 
other  renderings  of  them  ;  a  good  landscape  by  "  Old  "  Crome,  and 
a  beautiful  small  shore  view  by  Bonington.  Only  one  French  artist 
is  represented  — Prud'hon,  by  a  sketch  for  his  large  painting  of  the 
"  Assumption  "  in  the  Louvre.  This  once  belonged  to  William  M. 
Hunt.  Masaccio  is  the  single  Italian  present,  to  him  being  ascribed 
a  "  Female  Head,"  with  a  man  in  a  curious  red  hat,  looking  through 
a  window,  the  whole  in  the  delightfully  quaint  early  Florentine  style 
of  portraiture.  The  Dutch  school  is  shown  in  portraits,  not  one  of 
which  is  without  its  good  qualities,  and  some  being  excellent,  by 
Juriaen  Ovens ;  Hoogstraten  (a  man  and  woman  on  the  same 
canvas);  Franz  Hals  (two  pictures),  Janssen  and  Terburg ;  in 
landscape,  by  Ruysdael  and  Teniers ;  and  in  genre  by  Teniers,  with 
two  copies  from  Bassano,  Netscher,  Zorg,  and  an  exquisite  small 
painting  of  a  "Young  Women  opening  a  Casement,"  by  that  rare 
and  little-known  master,  Van  der  Meer  of  Delft.  This  is  one  of  the 
gems  of  the  gallery,  and  it  would  be  an  incredible  monster  of  a 
collector  who  could  have  congratulated  Mr.  Marquand  upon  owing  it 
without  envying  him. 

An  "  Adoration  of  the  Shepherds,"  the  authorship  of  which 
is  given  to  Rembrandt,  hangs  near  the  grave  head  of  a  man 
in  a  black  hat,  from  Lord  Lansdowne's  collection,  by  the  same 
great  artist,  two  of  whose  best  portraits  are  also  here.  These 
are  the  portraits  of  Van  Beresteyn,  burgomaster  of  Leyden,  and 
his  wife,  which  Mr.  Henry  O.  Ilavemeyer  lends  to  the  Museum. 
Discovered  a  few  years  ago  at  a  sale  of  the  old  portraits  belonging  to 
the  Beresteyn  family,  in  Holland,  they  were  afterwards  brought  over 
by  Messrs.  Cottier  &  Company,  who  sold  them  to  Mr.  Ilavemeyer. 
They  are  magnificent  examples  of  the  great  Dutch  portrait-painter, 
and  are  in  admirable  condition,  dated  1632,  which,  with  the  master's 
signature,  is  plainly  to  be  seen  on  each.  The  figures  are  of  two- 
thirds  length,  life-size.  These  plain,  shrewd,  honest  people,  this 
man  who  has  doubtless  made  a  substantial  competency  in  his  busi- 
ness, and  his  careful  spouse  who  has  helped  him  to  economize  it, 
stand  before  us  made  alive  again  by  the  marvellous  brush  of  Rem- 
brandt. 

Van  Dyck's  patrician  at  the  other  end  of  the  room  and  Rem- 
brandt's bourgeois  at  this,  are  the  select  ones  of  this  goodly  company 
of  pictures.  It  is  perhaps  worth  noting  how  nearly  alike,  and  how- 
few  and  sober  are  the  hues  which  the  painters  have  used  on  these 
portraits.  Black,  white  and  yellow  —  but  what  rich  harmonies  of 
color  are  the  result. 

The  list  of  old  masters  is  closed  by  a  "  Christ  before  Pilate  "  (in 
distemper)  and  an  "  Ecce  Homo,"  both  attributed  to  Lucas  Van 
Leyden,  and  an  interesting  portrait  by  a  master  common  to  all  the 
schools,  who  has  produced  innumerable  pictures  of  all  kinds  —  good, 
bad  and  indifferent.  His  name  is  "Unknown,"  and  this  time  he  is 
Dutch.  All  these  paintings,  save  the  two  Berefteyn  portraits,  have 
been  presented  by  Mr.  Marquand.  Several  of  them,  besides  the 
Van  Dyck,  are  from  the  Methuen  collection. 

The  loaned  modern  pictures,  most  of  which  are  lent  by  that  well- 
known  collector,  Mr.  George  I.  Seney,  comprise  Stewart's  "Hunt 
Hall  "  ;  Laurens's  "  Repudiation  of  "Bertha,  wife  of  Robert  the 
Pious  " ;  Delacroix's  magnificent  sketch  for  his  "  Expulsion  from 
Eden "  (belonging  to  Mr.  Havcmeyer)  ;  Isabey's  "  Blessing  the 
Hounds,"  an  important  Leys ;  GeVome's  "First  Kiss  of  the  Sun" 
(on  the  Pyramids)  ;  two  examples  of  Cazin ;  Boughton's  "  Tarn 
O'Shanter,"  and  many  more. 

From  this  review  it  will  be  seen  how  many  varied  attractions  New 
York's  Museum  now  possesses,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  others, 
among  her  many  rich  men,  may  add  their  contributions  to  those  so 
generously  made  by  some  of  their  fellow-citizens. 


[Contributors  are  requested  to  send  with  their  drawings  full  and 
adequate  descriptions  of  the  buildings,  including  a  statement  of  cost. ~\ 

•HE  ARION  CLUB-HOUSE,  PARK  AVE.  AND  59TH  ST.,  NEW  YOEK, 
N.  Y.  MESSRS.  DE  LEMOS  4  COKDES,  ARCHITECTS,  NEW  YORK 
N.  Y. 

[Hello-chrome,  issued  only  with  the  Imperial  Edition.] 

OTHIC  SPIRES  AND  TOWERS,  PLATES  39  AND  40.  —  ST.  MARY 
MAGDALENE,  CHEWTON-MENDIP ;  ST.  PETEU's,  HARROLD  ;  ST. 

ANDREW'S,  BILLIXGBOROUGH;    ss.  PETER  AND  PAUL,  EASTON- 

MAUDIT,    ENGLAND. 

[Isgued  only  with  the  Imperial  Edition.l 


>0.  656  ^MEI^IGHN  iHGHITEGT  aND  BUILDING  ]|EWS,  ^EB.l  6  15(59 


COPYRIGHT  1689  BYTICKNOR  &C° 


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Copyright,  1889,  by  TICKNOR  &  Co, 


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BUILDING  HEWS,  FEB.  16  1559 


BUILDUP     POR    FREDK"   L-AME.S 

OT,      B^S-SEX    *T   .    TUFTCS     AT    &-    E^AEX    PLACE 

,  A1A.S3 


Hdiotype  Printing  Co.Bostor.  - 


MI^GHITEGT  ^ND  BUILDING  HEWS ,  FEB.  ]  6  15  59        J|o.  656. 


COP1EI6HT  1889BYTICKNORIC" 


Helinviir  Pniwig  CiBisim. 


F-OR.       PLANTER-.     OBILIHG 


FEBRUARST  16,  1889.]  TJie   American   Architect  ana  Building   News. 


79 


THE    AGE    OF    FRANCIS    I,    PLATE    2.  —  THE    TOMB    OF    THE    CARDI- 
NAL D'AMBOISK  IN  THE  CATHEDRAL,  ROUEN,  FRANCE. 

tissued  only  with  the  Imperial  Edition.l 

CHURCH  OF  ST.  GILES,   LURAY,    VA.      MR.    GEORGE  T.  PEARSON,  AR- 
CHITECT,   PHILADELPHIA,    PA. 

TTfHE  walls  are  to  be  built  of  native  limestone,  face-work  on  both 
J I  ^  inside  and  outside,  and  roof  supports  of  undressed  timbers  so 
far  as  possible ;  and  it  is  the  intention  to  finish  the  whole 
interior  in  as  simple  a  manner  as  possible  consistent  with  churchly 
effect.  The  cost  of  this  chapel  will  be  about  five  thousand  dollars, 
and  it  is  intended  to  be  erected  on  the  grounds  of  the  Luray  Inn, 
principally  for  use  in  the  summer  by  guests  thereof. 

WAREHOUSE  FOR  F.  L.  AMES,  ESQ.,  LINCOLN  STREET,  BOSTON, 
MASS.  MESSRS.  8HEPLEY,  RUTAN  &  COOLIDGK,  ARCHITECTS, 
BOSTON,  MASS. 

"  THE    TALLEYRAND,"    BAR    HARBOR.    ME.        MR.    DE    GRASSE    FOX, 
ARCHITECT,     PHILADELPHIA,    PA. 

DESIGN     FOR    A    PLASTER    CEILING    BY   MR.    C.    J.   BROOKE,      PHILA- 
DELPHIA,   PA. 


BURNING  OF  THE  CHICAGO  OPERA-HOUSK. 
—  HOW  CHARTERS  FOR  OFFICE-BUILD- 
INGS ARE  OBTAINED.  —  HOW  AN  "AB- 
SOLUTELY FIREPROOF  "  THEATRE  IS 
BUILT. —  AN  APARTMENT-HOUSE  FIRE. —  PROPOSED  ARCHI- 
TECTURAL INSTRUCTION  AT  THE  ART  INSTITUTE. —  THE  OUT- 
LOOK.—  MR.  KHRICH'S  COLLECTION  OF  DUTCH  AND  FLF.MISH 

PICTURES. —  THE    VERESTCHAGIN    PAINTINGS.  —  SUNDAY    OPEN- 
ING  AT    THE    ART    INSTITUTE.  —  LIBBY   PRISON. 

TTMONG  the  numerous  blazes  that  are  constantly  occurring, 
r\  Chicago  has,  within  the  last  few  months,  been  the  victim  of 
/  two,  which,  with  a  slight  change  of  hour  or  circumstance,  might 
have  been  catastrophies.  The  first  occurred  in  the  early  part  of 
December  at  the  Chicago  Opera-house.  The  performance  here  had 
scarcely  been  finished  fifteen  minutes,  and  the  actors  were  still  in  the 
building,  when  an  alarm  of  fire  was  given,  and  although  this  estab- 
lishment is  advertised  and  described  on  every  programme  and  poster 
as  being  "  the  only  absolutely  fireproof  theatre  in  the  city,"  still  in 
less  than  an  hour  all  the  auditorium  was  a  complete  wreck  either  by 
fire  or  water.  This  opera-house  is  not  a  building  by  itself,  but 
occupies  the  lower  stories  of  the  court  of  a  large  office-building.  The 
reason  for  such  a  location  is  that  the  laws  of  the  State  of  Illinois  are 
such  that  a  charter  to  build  an  office-building  pure  and  simple, 
cannot  be  obtained.  As  a  result  all  sorts  of  expedients  are  resorted 
to,  in  order  to  obtain  charters  for  those  syndicates  that  desire  to  build 
such  buildings,  and  probably  the  large  majority  of  them  are  incor- 
porated as  safety-deposit  companies,  although  the  safe-vault,  if  it 
exists  at  all,  consists  of  a  closet  in  which  is  stored  a  trunk  containing 
a  watch  or  two.  Owing  to  this  law  a  syndicate  was  formed  to  build 
an  opera-house,  although  the  opera-house  itself  was  but  a  small  part 
of  the  plan  since  the  building  is  ten-stories  high,  while  the  theatre, 
as  mentioned  above,  onlv  occupies  the  space  in  a  few  lower  stories 
that  above  becomes  the  court,  from  which  many  offices  obtain  their 
light.  The  office-building  is  undoubtedly  fireproof,  and  possibly  it  was 
originally  intended  that  the  theatre  should  be  so  also,  but  it  certainly 
did  not  prove  such  when  the  fire  broke  out.  This  fire,  which  started 
in  an  upper  gallery,  was  apparently  due  to  some  defect  in  the  electric- 
light  plant,  but  the  exact  how  and  why  does  not  seem  to  be  really 
known,  although  numerous  positive  theories  are  not  wanting.  But, 
as  is  usual  in  theatre  fires,  in  an  incredibly  short  time  the  building 
was  filled  with  smoke.  Actors  fled  leaving  their  wardrobes  a  prey 
to  the  flames  or  the  deluge  of  the  fire-department.  The  inaccessibility 
of  the  building  obliged  the  firemen  to  work  slowly,  but  the  amount 
of  damage  caused  by  the  flames  was  small  in  comparison  with  that 
caused  by  the  water,  since  every  nook  and  corner  was  soaked. 
Although  the  money-loss  was  considerable,  the  work  of  repairs  was 
at  once  commenced,  and  the  theatre  was  again  in  full  blast  within 
three  weeks.  It  is  noticeable,  however,  that  the  legend  "absolutely 
fireproof  "  has  now  been  changed  to  "  fireproof  "  ;  hut  it  would  seem 
to  be  extremely  questionable  if  even  such  an  announcement  should 
be  permitted  by  the  authorities,  since,  in  the  ordinarily  received 
sense,  the  theatre  is  evidently  not  fireproof,  and  such  an  advertise- 
ment is  only  calculated  to  deceive  the  people,  and  in  case  of  another 
accident  might  lead  to  more  disastrous  results  than  if  the  actual 
truth  were  not  concealed,  and  each  one  was  on  his  guard  against  a 
panic.  Had  this  fire  occurred  only  a  few  minutes  earlier  the 
casualties  must  have  been  numerous,  and  the  whole  city  congratulates 
itself  on  the  fact  that  such  a  disaster  did  not  take  place  Upon  ex- 
amination by  architects  it  was  found  that  this  so-called  and  much 
advertised  "  absolutely  fireproof  "  theatre  had  an  attic  which,  with 


the  exception  of  a  few  girders,  was  entirely  of  wood,  just  the  same 
as  the  cheapest  theatre  in  the  city.  Moreover,  the  gallery  was 
practically  a  wooden  construction,  owing  to  the  fact  that  from  the 
original  gallery  built  on  iron  framework  a  sight  of  the  stage  was 
absolutely  impossible  from  many  parts,  and  in  order  to  remedy  this 
a  wooden  construction  was  built  on  top  of  the  old  gallery  until  the 
desired  si<*ht-lines  were  secured ;  all  of  which  seems  to  have  resulted 
in  something  very  inflammable.  The  repairs,  so  far  as  known  to  your 
correspondent,  seem  to  have  been  of  about  the  same  character  as  the 
old  construction  ;  but  still  the  building  is  advertised  as  "  fireproof." 

The  second  escape  that  we  have  had  from  a  calamity  was  a  fire  in 
one  of  the  highest,  largest,  and  finest  apartment-houses  on  the  North 
Side.  The  building,  seven  stories  high,  constructed  especially  with 
a  view  to  please  the  eye,  with  a  stone  front,  elaborate  entrance, 
marble  wainscoting,  natural-wood  finish  and  hard-wood  floors  in  the 
apartments,  but  otherwise  of  a  rather  flimsy  construction,  caught  fire 
in  the  attic  one  morning  about  seven  o'clock.  Many  of  the  occu- 
pants were  still  abed :  they  hastened  to  arise,  however,  and  several 
of  them  went  forth  in  garments  scarcely  adapted  to  a  cool  winter's 
morning.  The  fire  had  made  considerable  progress  when  first  dis- 
covered, and  this  attic,  being  occupied  as  store-rooms  by  the  occu- 
pants of  the  flats  below,  was  filled  with  much  that  was  light  and  in- 
flammable, so  that  it  burned  right  merrily.  Although  the  fire-engines 
were  promptly  on  the  ground,  the  height  was  so  great  that  even 
"  siamesing "  a  stream  from  two  engines  had  little  effect,  and  it 
was  necessarily  some  time,  comparatively  speaking,  before  the  proper 
long  ladders,  hose,  etc.,  could  be  arranged  to  work  at  such  a  great 
height.  By  this  time  the  fire  had  worked  down,  so  that  the  upper 
story  was  smoking  vigorously,  but,  when  the  streams  once  got  to 
work,  the  deluge  was  such  that  the  fire  soon  succumbed,  but  the 
drenching  with  dirty  water  that  the  apartments  below  received  as 
the  liquid  gradually  filtered  through  from  one  floor  to  another  was 
something  appalling.  One  person  was  injured  by  jumping  from  a 
window,  but  otherwise  there  were  no  casualties.  Had  the  fire 
occurred  lower  down,  so  that  it  could  have  taken  advantage  of  the 
elevator-shafts  and  worked  both  up  and  down,  there  would  in  all 
probability  have  been  one  less  "  elegant  apartment-building  "  in  the 
city  ;  while,  had  the  stairways  been  cut  off,  as  probably  would  have 
been  the  case,  the  loss  of  life  in  such  a  high  building  might  have 
been  very  serious. 

The  subject  of  an  architectural  school,  or,  at  least,  some  kind  of 
an  extended  course  in  architectural  drawing  at  the  Art  Institute,  is 
receiving  considerable  attention  in  the  daily  papers,  and  eventually 
something  may  come  of  it,  although  at  present  it  docs  not  seem 
probable  that  any  very  definite  action  will  be  taken  for  some  con- 
siderable length  of  time.  This  agitation  has  been  brought  about 
principally  by  the  generous  action  of  Mr.  Robert  Clark,  who  has  given 
the  Chicago  Architectural  Sketch  Club  the  sum  of  one  thousand 
dollars,  the  interest  of  which  is  each  year  to  be  devoted  to  medals 
for  the  best  work,  and  he  has  stated  that  he  will  give  considerably 
more  if  a  school  is  started.  Several  other  gentlemen  have  intimated 
a  willingness  to  imitate  Mr.  Clark's  example,  so  that  when  the 
matter  is  brought  to  a  head,  funds  will  probably  not  be  lacking. 

The  outlook  for  building  the  coming  season,  if  one  may  now  judge 
by  what  architects  say,  is  that  there  will  be  fully  as  many  pieces  of 
work  as  last  year,  but  the  number  of  extremely  heavy  and  large  con- 
structions, especially  office-buildings,  appears  to  be  somewhat  limited  : 
there  will,  however,  be  several  important  buildings  of  a  semi-public 
character,  such  as  libraries,  that  will  undoubtedly  be  commenced 
during  the  next  twelve  months,  while  an  unusually  large  number  of 
fine  residences  are  already  on  the  boards. 

During  the  past  few  months  Chicago  has  been  favored,  as  never 
before,  with  art  displays  in  all  directions  and  of  all  kinds  and  it  is 
extremely  remarkable  to  note  the  extraordinary  growth  of  popular 
interest  during  the  past  year  alone,  in  all  art  questions.  We  are 
getting  so  fully  satisfied  with  our  own  appreciation  of  art,  and  this 
artistic  spirit  is  so  rapidly  growing  and  developing  in  every  one  that 
it  seems  a  perfect  matter  of  course  that  the  Vcrestchagin  collection 
should  come  here  direct  from  New  York  before  being  exhibited  at 
the  other  Eastern  cities. 

The  first  important  display  of  the  season  was  a  collection  of  old 
Dutch  and  Flemish  paintings  belonging  to  Mr.  Louis  Ehrich.  This 
exhibit  contains  some  two  hundred  paintings,  and  although  there  are 
few  canvases  by  the  great  masters,  still  it  contains  many  extremely 
good  things  of  this  period  and  gives  as  perfect  an  idea  of  the  art  of 
Holland  and  Flanders  as  many  of  the  smaller  museums  of  Europe, 
and  as  an  exhibit  of  these  schools,  which  had  never  before  been  at 
all  fully  exhibited  here,  it  attracted  great  attention.  Especially  on 
the  free  days  the  rooms  were  crowded. 

The  Dutch  pictures  were  followed  by  a  small  collection  of  the  old 
Italian  masters,  which  in  their  turn  were  much  admired  and  now 
they  have  given  place  to  the  most  remarkable  exhibition  ever  yet 
shown  to  the  Chicago  public  at  the  Art  Institute,  in  the  collection  of 
the  famous  Russian,  Verestchagin.  This  was  opened  to  the  public  on 
February  1,  and  has  ever  since  been  thronged. 

To  the  disappointment  of  many  the  artist,  himself,  does  not  come 
to  Chicago,  still  the  pictures  were  hung  by  his  regular  assistants  who 
have  licerally  taken  possession  of  the  Institute.  The  noble  Greek 
and  Roman  gentleman  (in  plaster)  have  been  unceremoniously  hustled 
off  into  back  rooms  to  allow  for  the  proper  display  of  this  collection, 
while  the  few  casts  that  could  not  be  moved  have  been  covered  with 
drapery  until  entirely  concealed.  The  manner  of  arranging  the 


80 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.       [VOL.  XXV.  — No.  686. 


exhibit  savors  possibly  a  little  of  the  panorama  with  its  little  tricks  of 
effect,  but  the  result  is  so  very  satisfactory  as  scarcely  to  make  one 
wish  that  it  were  otherwise.  The  huge  rugs,  duplicated  for  the 
artist  from  those  now  in  temples  in  India,  are  draped  upon  all  sides 
with  bits  of  Oriental  armor,  so  that  the  servants  in  Russian  costume, 
and  the  tea  served  from  a  samovar  does  not  possibly  seem  entirely 
out  of  place  with  the  surroundings. 

If  Verestchagin  excelled  in  no  other  department  he  certainly  would 
always  be  marvellous  as  a  painter  of  architectural  subjects  and  his 
views  of  the  Taj,  and  some  of  the  mosques  of  India  together  with 
his  scenes  of  the  Kremlin,  at  Moscow,  are  wonderful  revelations  of 
the  beauty  of  those  monuments.  At  the  same  time  that  this  collection 
is  before  the  public  at  the  Art  Institute,  the  Chicago  Artists'  Club  is 
giving  an  exhibition  of  the  work  of  its  members  during  the  past 
year,  and  the  result  is  certainly  a  credit  to  those  painters  who  have 
their  studios  in  Chicago. 

Besides  these  various  displays,  there  have  also  been  in  the  course  of 
the  winter  several  fine  exhibits  in  the  salesroom  galleries,  any  of 
which  would  have  been  considered  a  treat  a  few  years  ago.  Then, 
not  only  are  the  painters  busy  but  the  sculptors'  studios  all  seem 
unusually  full  of  work  of  a  high  order  of  merit,  and  bronze  statues 
and  bas  reliefs  are  now  being  cast  here  for  some  of  the  most  impor- 
tant sculptural  work  in  the  West. 

As  mentioned  some  time  since  in  one  of  these  letters,  it  was  de- 
cided to  try  the  plan  of  having  Sunday  opening  of  the  collections  of 
the  Institute.  This  has  now  been  in  operation  for  nearly  three 
months,  and  the  results  have  been  most  satisfactory,  and  in  some 
respects  surprisingly  so,  for  the  experiment  has  been  tried  of  ex- 
hibiting without  any  railing  or  signs  of  "hands  off,"  and  up  to  the 
present  the  authorities  have  had  no  cause  to  regret  this  step.  In 
one  point,  however,  there  is  possibly  a  little  disappointment :  it  was 
hoped  that  the  poorer  working-classes  would  especially  take  advan- 
tage of  the  day  and  the  fact  that  no  admission-fee  "was  charged. 
Such,  however,  does  not  appear  to  have  been  the  case,  for  the  crowd 
consists  mainly  of  the  rather  well-to-do  class,  who  possibly  cannot, 
but  certainly  think  they  cannot  get  away  from  business  upon  a  week- 
day, so  that  the  visitors  are  generally  well-dressed  and  well-behaved. 
For  some  time  a  number  of  Chicago  capitalists  have  been  negotiat- 
ing with  parties  at  Richmond,  Va.,  for  the  purchase  of  the  ofd  and 
historic  Libby  Prison,  and  the  business  has  now  been  closed.  The 
building  will  at  once  be  taken  down  in  sections,  each  carefully 
numbered  and  shipped  to  Chicago,  where  it  is  to  be  re-erected  and 
used  as  a  war-museum.  Whether  it  will  be  a  financial  success  or 
not,  architects  will  be  decidedly  interested  to  watch  the  construction 
as  it  proceeds,  for,  of  all  the  curious  building  operations  at  Chicago, 
this  will  assuredly  be  the  most  remarkable  one  during  the  coming 
six  months. 


'YORK: 


THE  DAWNING  OF  A  BETTER  TIME.  —  RE- 
TROSPECTIVE.—  THE  WORK  OF  THE  MAG- 
AZINES. —  THE  GROWTH  OF  SOCIETIES. 
—  THE  WILLARD  COLLECTION  OF 
CASTS. 

HAT  there  are  better  days  in  store  for  the 
profession,  and  that  we  stand  to-day  upon 
the  threshold,  none  but  the  hardened 
pessimist  can  doubt.  The  tendencies  shown  in  architectural  dis- 
cussions both  public  and  private,  the  positions  taken  by  the  daily 
papers  and  by  the  more  intelligent  laymen  regarding  our  work  and 
our  position,  all  confirm  the  progress  made  within  th«  last  dozen 
years  and  are  assuredly  full  of  promise  for  the  future. 

The  great  trouble  in  our  past  history  has  been  such  as  is  inevitably 
associated  with  the  growth  and  development  of  any  new  and  far- 
reaching  factor  in  our  already  complex  civilization,  and  the  peculiar 
position  of  the  architect  making  him  both  artist  and  engineer,  both 
judge  and  advocate,  has  helped  to  retard  our  progress  towards 
assured  recognition.  The  architect  of  but  a  short  generation  ago 
had  to  justify  his  very  right  to  exist,  and  his  clients  came  to  him,  if 
they  came  at  all,  with  an  uneasy  consciousness  that  they  were  in- 
dulging in  an  extravagance ;  deep  down  in  their  minds  lurked 
analogies,  drawn  perhaps  from  political  campaign  literature,  anent 
republican  simplicity  and  the  effete  despotisms  of  Europe.  The 
architect  seemed  to  them  in  someway  associated  with  riotous  living, 
with  the  Baron  Haussman  and  the  Third  Empire.  This  attitude  on 
the  part  of  the  client  was  fostered  and  prolonged,  indeed  it  still  lives 
to  a  degree,  by  a  variety  of  influences  actively  working  within  the 
profession  itself.  The  first  American  architects,  to  except  the  very 
few  notable  but  isolated  instances  in  our  earliest  history,  began  their 
careers  well  within  the  memory  of  men  now  living  and  practising ; 
before  their  time,  architect  and  master-builder  were  practically 
synonymous  terms  and  had  identical  functions.  The  only  training 
then  attainable  was  to  be  had  only  in  Paris  or  in  London,  and  with 
the  influences  of  that  training  and,  perhaps,  some  European  travels 
fresh  upon  him  our  architect  wai  thrown  upon  a  community  more 


self-centred,  more  intent  upon  the  immediate  dollar  and  less  open  to 
the  softening  influences  of  the  artistic  amenities  of  life  than  any  so- 
ciety of  equal  worth  ever  known.  They  were  obliged  to  battle  for 
recognition  almost  alone,  mistrusted  by  their  nominal  associates  the 
master-builders,  distrusted  by  the  public  and  stigmatized  as  mere 
theorists.  In  spite  of  all  they  triumphed,  and  not  the  least  of  their 
achievements  was  the  training  of  scores  of  devoted  and  enthusiastic 
younger  men,  inspiring  them  with  their  own  love  for  their  chosen 
profession,  and  instilling  into  them  by  precept  and  example  the  deter- 
mination to  do  the  best  that  was  in  them  to  do. 

But  both  master  and  pupil  felt  the  influences  of  environment,  and, 
of  necessity,  emulated  the  reed  rather  than  the  oak  in  their  relations 
with  the  public.  Under  the  necessity  of  compromising  with  their 
ideals  (let  us  hope  not  with  their  consciences)  in  order  to  meet  the 
demands  of  their  clients,  who  did  not  understand  their  position  and 
grudgingly  admitted  their  utility,  the  architects  had  to  throw  over  the 
traditions  learned  abroad,  or  growing  up  out  of  the  building  trades 
had  no  traditions  of  professional  life,  and  thus  lacking  a  clearly  ex- 
pressed and  definite  purpose  all  their  attempts  at  united  action  were 
at  first  feeble,  halting  and  inefficient.  There  was  little  besides  the 
individual  effort,  and  the  personal  example  of  isolated  enthusiasts  to 
recreate  a  body  of  traditions  that  would  be  adapted  to  their  sur- 
roundings and  would  carry  the  force  of  law  both  within  the  pro- 
fession itself  and  to  the  wider  public.  The  marvel  is  that  so  much 
has  been  done  by  so  small  a  group  in  so  few  years. 

To-day  the  battle  is  practically  won,  and  hereafter  we  shall 
look  back  upon  the  fusion  of  the  American  Institute  of  Architects 
with  the  Western  Association  as  marking  the  close  of  the  era  of 
the  struggle  for  existence,  and  the  opening  of  the  new  era  of 
assured  recognition. 

That  this  is  not  too  hopeful  a  view  to  take  may  be  shown  by  many 
instances,  some  of  the  most  conclusive  of  which  are  marked  by  the 
entirely  unconscious  acceptance  by  the  public,  and  by  the  architects 
of  tenets  that  were  not  long  ago  disputed. 

As  slender  straws  showing  this  unconscious  drift,  yet  convincii'g 
to  any  one  looking  back,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  the  names  of  the 
architects  appeared  in  the  New  York  daily  papers  six  times  within  a 
week,  in  connection  with  buildings  built  or  to  be  built ;  that  in  the 
new  and  progressive  districts  about  West  End  Avenue  and  the 
Riverside  Drive,  the  names  of  the  architects  are  commonly  used  by 
the  real-estate  agents  to  give  added  value  to  the  really  very  cleverly 
designed  speculative  houses  (as  distinguishing  them  from  the  houses 
built  to  be  occupied  by  the  builder).  During  a  long  morning's  stroll 
through  this  same  district,  only  one  watchman  was  found,  though 
there  may  be  others,  who  did  not  know  who  designed  the  houses  he 
was  in  charge  of,  and  he  developed  unmistakable  traces  of  a  blush, 
obviously  at  his  lamentable  ignorance. 

To  turn  to  more  serious  signs,  let  us  note,  with  a  word  of  grateful 
acknowledgment,  the  splendid  services  rendered  to  the  profession  by 
the  Century  Magazine  and  Mrs.  Van  Rensselaer,  and  by  several 
other  well-known  periodicals.  One  need  not  doubt  their  entire 
sincerity,  and  yet  see  that  their  talents  are  turned  in  our  direction  in 
answer  to  a  demand  on  the  part  of  their  readers. 

The  Architectural  League  particularly,  and  the  many  other 
kindred  associations,  sketch-clubs  and  T-square  clubs  springing  up 
and  flourishing  in  many  of  the  larger  cities,  bear  this  same  uncon- 
scious testimony  to  the  fact  that  the  position  of  architecture  is 
recognized,  and  the  period  of  struggle  is  being  lost  sight  of. 

The  complex  grows  out  of  the  simpler  form,  and  the  League  thus 
shows  its  progressive  tendency  in  that  it  is  not  simply  an  association 
of  architects  or  draughtsmen,  but  has  brought  together  the  followers 
of  architecture  and  of  the  allied  arts.  The  election  at  the  last 
annual  meeting  of  Mr.  Russell  Sturgis  as  President  and  Mr.  E.  H. 
Blashfield  as  Vice-President,  both  being  notably  representative  men, 
most  felicitously  marks  this  blending  of  kindred  pursuits.  The 
League  is  rapidly  increasing  in  numbers  and  influence,  and  it  is 
pleasant  to  note  a  growing  breadth,  earnestness  and  enthusiasm  pro- 
portionate to  its  increasing  scope  and  influence.  There  is,  also,  a 
tendency  to  give  public  expression  to  its  opinions  upon  pertinent 
questions  of  public  interest  in  a  manly  and  properly  assertive  way, 
as  in  the  protests  against  the  terms  of  the  competitions  for  the  Grant 
Monument  and  the  city  buildings. 

There  has  been  in  the  past  rather  too  little  of  this  collective 
assertiveness,  even  where  questions  intimately  affecting  rights 
and  duties  were  at  stake.  This  has  been  due  partly  to  the  lack  of 
fixed  traditions,  as  outlined  above ;  partly,  perhaps,  to  the  fact  that  the 
quasi-judicial  position  of  the  architect,  as  between  the  client  and  the 
contractor,  influences  his  mental  attitude,  and  leads  him  to  weigh 
carefully  both  sides  of  every  question,  and  to  prefer,  where  rights 
conflict,  the  judicial  attitude  to  that  of  the  advocate. 

To  these  same  causes  may  be  ascribed  the  fact  that  many 
architects  have  been  surprised  to  find,  and  many  have  yet  to  discover, 
what  is,  nevertheless,  true,  and  that  is  that  the  average  client  has  no 
definite  desire  to  trample  him  underfoot  or  to  subject  him  to  humili- 
ating conditions,  but  acts  either  from  simple  ignorance  of  the  archi- 
tect's complex  position,  or  from  having  been  misled  by  the  question- 
able methods  in  the  practice  of  other  architects,  whose  pride  or 
whose  backs  were  over-weak.  In  numerous  instances,  a  temperate 
explanation  of  the  duties  involved,  and  a  firm  insistence  upon  the 
consideration  due,  have  been  accepted  by  the  client  in  the  spirit  in 
which  it  was  offered,  and  relations  of  mutual  confidence  and  respect 
have  ensued  and  continued. 


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FEBRUARY  16,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


81 


Professor  Ware  made  the  interesting  announcement  at  the  last 
League  dinner  that  the  first  instalment  of  casts  purchased  under  the 
Willard  Trust  had  arrived  at  the  Metropolitan  Museum,  and  would 
soon  be  on  exhibition.  It  seems  that  we  owe  what  promises  to  be 
a  most  complete  and  invaluable  collection  of  casts  of  architectural 
works  to  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Pierre  Le  Brun,  who  persuaded  Mr. 
Willard  to  thus  dispose  in  his  will  of  a  fortune  of  some  eighty 
thousand  dollars.  A  commission  was  named,  consisting  of  the  Le 
Bruns,  father  and  son,  and  Messrs.  Littell  and  Bloor,  to  expend  this 
amount  in  the  selecting,  purchasing,  and  placing  in  the  Metropolitan 
Museum  of  plaster  reproductions  of  architectural  works  and  details. 
Mr.  Pierre  Le  Brun  has  visited  all  the  places  in  Europe  where  such 
casts  are  to  be  had,  and  has  succeeded  in  making  a  most  interesting 
selection,  which  includes  many  subjects  not  before  accessible  and 
other  interesting  features. 

A  model  of  the  Parthenon  is  being  made  at  a  scale  that  will  make 
it  about,  ten  feet  long  and  five  feet  wide,  with  all  the  sculptures  re- 
duced from  the  original  marbles.  This  work  is  in  charge  of  Mons. 
Chipiez,  the  well-known  French  architect  and  archaeologist,  who  will 
also  superintend  the  coloring  of  this  model  in  accordance  with  the 
traces  of  color  discovered  by  his  researches.  The  120  cases  of  casts 
now  at  the  Museum  represent  the  expenditure  of  only  one-quarter  of 
the  fund. 

What  with  the  bequests  of  splendid  paintings  of  past  and  present 
schools,  made  by  Miss  Wolfe,  Mr.  Marquand  and  others,  this  bequest 
of  Mr.  Willard's,  and  the  considerable  extension  of  the  Museum 
building,  New  York  will  now  begin  to  take  the  rank  her  wealth 
entitles  her  to,  or,  at  the  least,  she  need  no  longer  blush  at  her  utter 
insignificance. 


=  CANADA ; 


EDL 


THE  HUMOROUS  SIDE  OF  COMPETI- 
TION.—  THE  ONTARIO  PARLIA- 
MENT HOUSE.  —  THE  TORONTO 
BOARD  OF  TRADE  BUILDING. 

'!>     TO  THAT  a  capital  subject  for  an  inci- 
-'       JLM.    dent    in    "Martin    Chuzzlewit" 


in    "  Mar, 

would  have  been  "a  competition 
for  a  public  building  of  some  small 
country-town,"  were  the  book  being  written  now.  How  Dickens 
would  have  relished  the  humor  of  a  dozen  or  so  all-impor- 
tant village  authorities  —  the  rector,  the  wardens,  and  a  few  of  the 
richer  men  of  the  parish  —  beaming  with  self-satisfaction  and  radiant 
with  complacency  as  they  sit  round  the  vestry-table  and  pass  a  reso- 
lution of  invitation  to  all  the  architects  of  neighboring  cities  to 
compete  for  a  fifteen-hundred-dollar  school-room.  Perhaps  the 
rector  —  often  the  only  gentlemen  in  the  place  —  is  not  always  to 
blame,  overruled,  as  he  is  often  overawed,  by  the  loud  vulgarity  of  a 
turbulent  subscriber.  He,  poor  man,  has  to  submit  and  share  the 
ridicule  that  such  a  company  would  call  down  upon  itself  from  the 
humorous  author. 

Three  invitations  of  this  character  have  been  in  circulation  re- 
cently. When  publicly  advertised,  the  invitation  is  clothed  with  a 
certain  amount  of  decency,  borrowed  from  the  respectability  of  the 
press;  but,  when  sent  through  the  post,  the  true  character  of  the 
people  the  competitor  would  have  to  deal  with  betrays  itself.  A  bit 
of  foolscap-paper,  roughly  torn  off,  just  large  enough  to  contain  the 
words  of  the  resolution,  badly  written  by  an  office-boy,  enclosed  with 
a  note  from  the  secretary  of  the  committee,  who  signs  his  surname 
without  initials,  as  if  he  were  "  my  lord."  Such  is  the  amusing  com- 
mencement usually. 

An  invitation  that  should  have  a  more  respectable  stamp  about  it 
comes  from  a  cathedral-owning  town  in  Ontario.  The  charm  about 
it  is  the  innocence  of  the  committee,  "  who  will  be  happy  to  receive 
suggestions  or  plans  for  proposed  alterations  to  the  cathedral,  pro- 
vided they  are  submitted  free  of  cost."  This  dear  committee  expects 
architects  to  travel  three  hundred  miles,  spend  a  day  or  so  examin- 
ing and  measuring,  and  then  to  submit  plans  and  suggestions  on  the 
chance  of  getting  a  job,  <;  free  of  cost."  In  another  competition  for  a 
$75,000  building,  the  architect  whose  plan  is  approved  will  be  mag- 
nanimously presented  with  a  check  for  $250.  For  this  handsome 
remuneration  he  is  to  supply  working-drawings  and  specification, 
and  the  whole  will  become  the  property  of  the  committee.  This 
may  be  considered  a  pretty  good  specimen,  but  yet  there  is  one 
more,  really  very  beautiful  in  its  conception :  a  small  hospital  is 
required,  the  cost  not  to  exceed  $7,000 ;  the  requirements  are  all 
that  is  necessary  and  that  can  be  put  in  for  the  money,  but,  say  the 
"conditions,"  "any  design  showing  that  this  accommodation  can  be 
supplied  for  a  less  sum  will  have  the  preference."  The  grammar,  as 
well  as  the  sentiment,  is  truly  noble. 

At  a  recent  meeting  of  the  Toronto  Architectural  Guild,  the  exe- 
cutive committee  was  empowered  to  deal  with  such  competitions  as 
it  might  think  fit  on  its  own  responsibility,  without  reference  to 
the  Guild,  the  intention  being  to  instruct  these  committees  "  in  the 


way  in  which  they  should  go."  The  question  was  raised  as  to  why 
it  was  that  the  conditions  did  not  ask  for  a  subscription  towards  the 
buildings,  to  be  forwarded  by  competing  architects,  together  with 
their  designs.  The  tariff  question  before  the  Toronto  Guild  had  to 
be  held  over  from  the  last  meeting  on  account  of  press  of  other  busi- 
ness. It  was  decided  that  the  committee's  report,  which  was  read, 
should  be  printed  and  submitted  to  each  member,  and  a  special  night 
appointed  for  the  discussion  of  the  matter.  A  matter  of  such  great 
importance  deserves  and  requires  some  time  for  its  elucidation. 
Whatever  is  done  must  be  done  unanimously. 

The  Canadian  Architect  and  Builder  publishes  with  the  January 
number  an  illustration  of  the  design  for  the  Provincial  Parliament- 
House  of  Ontario,  by  Messrs.  Darling  &  Curry,  and  gives  in  its 
letter-press  an  account  of  the  reprehensible  proceedings  of  the  com- 
mittee on  the  competition.  It  appears  that  the  authors  of  the 
drawing  published  were  awarded  the  first  position,  but  the  expert 
who  judged  the  designs  "  did  not  consider  them  entitled  to  a 
premium  because  the  limit  of  cost  had  been  exceeded."  A  second 
competition  was  entered  into,  the  result  of  which  was  that  working- 
drawings,  specifications,  and  details  were  prepared  for  this  design 
and  for  the  first  premiated  design.  Tenders  were  obtained,  and  the 
premiated  design  came  out  at  $542,000,  and  this  one  at  $612,- 
000.  Both  were  Canadian  firms.  However,  the  Government  would 
not  proceed  with  the  works  because  of  the  cost.  Ultimately,  they 
obtained  a  vote  of  $750,000,  and  submitted  the  two  designs  to  Mr. 
R.  A.  Waite,  of  Buffalo,  who  was  to  decide  on  their  relative  merits. 
The  result  was,  both  designs  were  thrown  out,  and  Mr.  Waite  was 
employed  to  prepare  designs  of  his  own  for  the  building,  which  are 
now  being  proceeded  with.  The  first  contract  let  exceeds  the  appro- 
priation for  the  entire  building  ($750,000). 

The  competition  for  the  Toronto  Board  of  Trade  block  of  offices 
was  decided  on  January  26  at  a  meeting  of  the  Property  Committee. 
Professor  Ware  returned  three  sets  of  designs  with  his  report,  and 
the  decision  remained  with  the  Committee  as  to  which  of  the  three 
should  be  accepted.  Nineteen  sets  were  sent  in,  two-fifths  of  these 
being  from  architects  in  the  States ;  the  rest  being  from  local  archi- 
tects. Messrs.  James  &  James,  of  New  York,  are  the  successful 
men ;  the  four  invited  competitors,  two  Canadians  and  two  Ameri- 
cans, receiving  each  $400  for  their  designs.  Messrs.  James  &  James 
are  Englishmen,  who  opened  their  offices  in  New  York  about  two 
years  ago,  and  their  design  is  very  prettily  got  up  in  pen-and-ink, 
though  it  is  a  matter  of  considerable  doubt  as  to  whether  it  can  be 
carried  out  for  the  stipulated  sum  —  $200,000.  The  Committee  can 
hardly  be  said  to  have  made  the  best  choice,  for  the  authors  of  this 
design  appear  to  be  little  acquainted  with  requirements  of  a  city  such 
as  Toronto,  with  regard  to  the  office-rooms,  or  with  the  climate  in 
reference  to  the  heating-apparatus.  Light  in  the  corridors,  elevators, 
back  offices  and  main  staircase,  except  as  may  be  provided  arti- 
ficially, is  apparently  considered  unnecessary,  our  bright  Canadian 
climate  being  accredited  with  powers  which  it  hardly  possesses, 
such  of  going  round  corners  and  along  long,  narrow  passages, 
shining  through  walls  three  feet  thick,  and  beautifully  illumi- 
nating offices  and  water-closets  at  the  bottom  of  a  well,  enclosed 
with  solid  brick  walls  to,  at  least,  fifty  feet  of  its  height.  Neither 
are  Canadians  supposed  to  have  nasal  organs  of  very  good 
quality,  as  some  twenty-five  water-closets  and  an  equal  number  of 
urinals  ventilate  into  the  area  which  lights  two  offices  and  the  stair- 
case on  every  floor.  Perhaps  a  description  of  this  building  may  be 
wearisome  to  non-competitors,  but  so  much  interest  has  been  shown 
not  only  by  architects  in  the  City  of  Toronto  but  by  architects 
generally  in  the  Dominion,  and  the  people,  especially  of  the  Pro- 
vince, that  for  the  benefit  of  those  unable  to  see  the  drawings  a  few 
words  may  be  acceptable.  The  Secretary  tells  me  that  several 
matters  of  detail  will  be  reconsidered  :  as,  for  instance,  the  excessive 
size  of  the  restaurant  in  the  basement ;  the  want  of  space  for  coal  and 
the  heating-apparatus;  the  arrangements  of  the  banking-room  which 
afford  far  too  small  a  place  for  clerks  and  give  too  much  for  the 
public ;  the  awkward  arrangement  of  putting  the  secretary's  office 
(on  the  Board  of  Trade  floor)  at  a  considerable  distance  from  his 
clerk's  room,  and  half-a-dozen  such  items  which,  it  rather  strikes  an 
outsider,  should  have  been  considered  before  the  design  was  accepted. 
A  member  of  the  Board  of  Trade  remarked  to  me  when  I  was  look- 
ing at  the  drawings,  that  for  his  part  he  thought  it  a  very  unsatis- 
factory arrangement  that  the  vaults  for  the  use  of  tenants  should  be 
entirely  separate  from  the  offices,  and  cut  off  from  them  by  public 
passages  into  which  they  open,  being  carried  up  in  one  stack,  in,  as 
nearly  as  possible,  the  centre  of  the  building,  necessitating  long 
journeys  on  the  part  of  tenants,  with  armfuls  of  papers  and  books 
along  the  public  corridors,  attended  by  a  clerk  to  open  the  vault, 
light  the  necessary  gas-lamp  and  close  it  up  fast  again  after  every 
visit  to  it,  with  perhaps  a  new  "  combination "  every  time.  The 
building  contains  between  forty  and  fifty  offices  only  ;  a  small 
number  compared  with  some  of  the  other  designs,  and  all  the  rooms 
are  about  twenty  feet  deep,  except  such  as  may  be  shortened  some 
three  feet  or  so  by  cupboards  and  closets.  The  main  hall  of  the 
Board  of  Trade  suite  of  rooms  is  circular  on  plan,  fifty  feet  in 
diameter,  entailing  a  number  of  three-cornered  spaces  which  have 
been  worked  in  as  closets  in  every  direction.  Externally,  the  design 
is  good,  in  what  we  may  call  the  present 'American  style  of  bold- 
features;  the  lower  floors  having  heavy  horizontal  lintels,  and  the 
upper  semi-circular  heads;  but  the  treatment  of  these  upper  stories 
runs  into  Gothic,  with  gables  over  each  window  of  the  Board  of 


82 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.        [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  686. 


Trade  rotunda.     There  is  a  high  pitched  roof  at  the  corner  of  the 
site  over  the  rotunda,  with  an  open  turret  for  a  finial. 

The  three  designs  returned  by  the  Professor  to  the  Committee 
were  by  Messrs.  Darling  &  Curry,  Messrs.  Helliwell  &  Jordon  and 
the  accepted  one.  The  two  former  firms  are  both  of  Toronto,  and  as 
has  been  said  the  authors  of  the  accepted  design  are  English.  For  a 
long  time  the  design  by  Messrs.  Darling  &  Curry  hung  in  the 
balance  with  that  of  Messrs.  James  &  James,  it  is  still  doubtful, 
whether,  after  all,  their  design  may  not  be  carried  out.  There  is 
still  the  question  of  cost,  which,  it  is  possible  when  tenders  are 
received,  may  throw  out  the  accepted  design. 


OPENING  OF   THE   IIAWARA   PYRAMID. 

T  JR.  W.  F.  FLTND- 
jyi    ERS     PET II IE 

J  has  at  last  accom- 
plished the  difficult  task 
which  he  began  last 
season.  He  has  suc- 
ceeded in  forcing  an  en- 
trance into  the  sepul- 
chral chamber  of  the 
Pyramid  of  Amenemliat 
HI.  at  Hawara,  in  the 
Fayum.  In  our  last  re- 
p  o  r  t  of  Mr.  Petrie's 
work,  we  related  how 
he  had  tunnelled  a  pas- 
sage from  the  north  face 
of  the  pyramid  as  far  as 
the  stone  casing  of  the 
central  chamber,  which 
proved  to  be  enormously 
massive  and  resisted  all 
his  efforts.  The  sum- 
mer was  then  so  far 
advanced  and  the  heat 
had  become  so  over- 
whelming that  he  found 
himself  compelled,  very 
reluctantly,  to  postpone 
the  completion  of  his 
operations  till  the  pre- 
sent winter.  Returning 
to  Egypt  in  November 
last,  Mr.  Petrie  at  once 
went  back  to  Hawara, 
and  began  by  making 
trial  excavations  at  vari- 
ous points  round  the 
base  of  the  pyramid,  in 
the  hope  of  discovering 
the  original  entrance. 
Failinsc  in  these  at- 
tempts, he  decided  to  call  in  the  assistance  of  skilled  masons  from 
Cairo,  and  quarry  down  through  the  roof  of  the  central  chamber, 
which  he  had  already  reached  last  season.  The  fact  that  the  roof  is 
fifteen  feet  thick  and  that  it  has  taken  Mr.  Petrie's  masons  some 
three  weeks  to  cut  a  very  small  vertical  shaft  through  it,  gives  some 
notion  of  the  massiveness  of  the  structure.  Once  in,  the  secret  of 
the  true  entrance-passage  was  disclosed,  and  the  explorer  was  free  to 
track  the  path  by  which  he  might  have  made  his  way  into  the  central 
chamber  had  he  but  succeeded  in  finding  the  point  from  which  it 
started.  That  point  proves  to  be  outside  the  pyramid,  and  ap- 
parently at  some  distance  from  it ;  so  that  the  tomb  of  the  founder 
may  have  been  entered  from  the  adjoining  Labyrinth,  the  site  of 
which  was  identified  last  year  by  Mr.  Petrie.  This  may,  in  fact,  be 
what  Herodotus  intended  to  convey  when  he  said,  "  At  the  corner  of 
the  Labyrinth  stands  a  pyramid  forty  fathoms  high,  with  large 
figures  engraved  <  n  it ;  which  is  entered  by  a  subterranean-passage  " 
(Book  II,  chapter  148). 

Entry  from  a  distance,  by  means  of  a  subterranean-passage,  is  a 
novelty  in  construction,  and  has  no  precedent  in  any  of  the  Ghizeh 
pyramids  (fourth  dynasty),  nor  yet  in  those  of  the  sixth  dynasty,  of 
which  so  many  were  recently  opened  at  Sakkarah.  This,  indeed,  is 
the  first  time  that  the  plan  of  a  royal  tomb  of  the  twelfth  dynasty 
has  been  laid  open,  and  it  differs  very  considerably  from  the  plan 
observed  by  the  architects  of  the  ancient  Empire.  The  Great 
Pyramid  and  all  the  other  pyramids  of  the  Ghizeh  group,  the 
pyramid  of  Meydum  and  the  Sakkarah  pyramids  have  the  entrance- 
passage  in  the  centre  of  the  north  face  of  the  structure,  and  at  some 
height  from  the  level  of  the  desert ;  but  the  pyramid  of  Amenemliat 
III  is  entered  from  the  south  side,  and  by  an  opening,  not  in  the 
middle  of  the  side,  but  at  about  one-fourth  of  the  distance  from  the 
southwest  corner.  It  is  here  that  the  subterranean-passage,  from 
whatever  point  conducted,  strikes  the  south  face  of  the  structure. 
The  ups  and  downs  of  the  passages  in  the  earlier  pyramids  are  not 
many,  and  the  obstacles  placed  in  the  way  of  possible  intruders  con- 
sist chiefly  of  a  series  of  masfive  granite  portcullises,  let  down  from 
above,  after  the  mummy  had  been  deposited  in  its  last  resting-place ; 
but  the  defences  of  the  pyramid  of  Amenemhat  III  are  of  a  different 


kind,  and  more  nearly  resemble  the  baffling  turns  and  windings  and 
wells  of  the  rock-cut  sepulchre  of  Seti  I  at  Thebes.  It  marks,  in 
fact,  the  transition  from  the  Memphite  to  the  Theban  style  of  sepul- 
ture. "The  passage,"  says  Mr.  Petrie,  "does  not  run  straight  into 
the  chamber,  but  slopes  down  northward  for  some  distance.  Then  a 
branch-passage  leads  eastward,  the  main  line  continuing  on,  as  a 
blind.  The  branch-passage  (still  going  eastward)  ends  blank,  but 
the  issue  from  it  is  by  a  large  trap-door  in  the  roof.  This  trap-door 
opens  into  an  upper  passage  leading  north,  which  presently  turns  off 
to  the  west.  Here  it  again  ends  blank  and  another  roof-trap  gives 
access  to  another  upper  passage  running  farther  west.  This  passage 
ends  in  a  well  leading  to  a  short  passage  southward,  which  ends  in 
another  well  now  full  of  water.  This  well,  I  imagine,  must  lead  to 
another  short  passage  going  eastward,  whence  a  last  well  would 
ascend  into  the  chamber." 

The  pyramid,  as  Mr.  Petrie  feared  and  expected,  had  been  broken 
into  and  plundered  long  ago  —  probably  in  the  time  of  the  Persian 
rule  in  Egypt.  A  forced  entrance  has  been  made  from  the  second 
roof-trap  into  the  sepulchral  chamber,  and  anything  of  portable  value 
which  that  chamber  contained  has,  of  course,  disappeared.  The 
chamber  itself,  which  is  three  feet  deep  in  water,  is  all  but  mono- 
lithic, the  floor  and  the  four  sides,  up  to  a  height  of  six  feet  (inside 
measurement),  being  hollowed  out  of  a  single  block  of  sandstone. 
The  dimensions  of  the  chamber  are  twenty-two  feet  long  by  eight  feet 
wide  inside,  and  Mr.  Petrie  estimates  the  weight  of  the  block  as  from 
one  to  two  hundred  tons.  One  course  of  stone  all  round  supports 
the  roofing-slabs,  of  which  there  are  but  three.  This  chamber 
contains  one  large  and  one  smaller  sarcophagus  of  polished  sand- 
stone, both  perfectly  plain  and  without  inscriptions.  A  projecting 
plinth  decorated  with  panelled  ornaments  runs  round  the  base  of  the  • 
large  sarcophagus.  The  second  sarcophagus  has  been  contrived  by 
the  insertion  of  a  head  and  a  foot  slab  between  the  large  one  and  the 
wall,  and  this  has  been  closed  over  by  a  narrow  lid.  There  were 
also  two  boxes  of  polished  limestone  in  the  chamber,  decorated  round 
the  base  with  the  same  panelling  as  the  large  sarcophagus.  One  of 
these  is  broken  up.  A  similar  kind  of  stone  box,  it  may  be  remem- 
bered, was  found  in  the  pyramid  of  the  Pepi-Merira  (sixth  dynasty), 
which  was  opened  some  eight  or  nine  years  ago.  Some  fragments 
of  alabaster  vessels  have  been  recovered  from  the  water  in  the 
chamber,  but  these,  like  the  sarcophagi  and  the  boxes,  are  un- 
inscribed,  with  the  exception  of  one  fragment  of  an  alabaster  vase, 
which  bears  the  name  of  Amenemhat  III.  The  walls,  also,  as  far  as 
Mr.  Petrie  has  been  able  to  examine  them,  are  quite  plain,  thus  dif- 
fering from  the  pyramids  of  Unas,  Pepi,  and  Tota  of  the  fifth  and 
sixth  dynasties,  which  are  lined  with  religious  texts  of  great  value 
and  interest.  That  the  great  sarcophagus  is  the  sarcophagus  of 
Amenemhat  III,  and  that  the  pyramid  is  his  pyramid,  admits,  how- 
ever, of  no  shadow  of  doubt.  In  the  ruins  of  the  two  temples  adjoin- 
ing the  pyramid,  Mr.  Petrie  last  year  found  fragments  of  inscriptions, 
in  which  the  names  and  titles  of  this  king  repeatedly  occurred,  to 
say  nothing  of  classic  tradition,  which  has  consistently  assigned  the 
pyramid  "  at  the  corner  of  the  Labyrinth "  to  the  royal  builder  of 
that  famous  structure.  But  for  whom  was  the  second  and  smaller 
sarcophagus  constructed  ?  Mr.  Petrie  suggests  that  it  may  have 
been  for  Amenemhat  IV,  who  was  for  several  years  associated  with 
his  father  upon  the  throne ;  or  for  Queen  Sebakneferu,  who  suc- 
ceeded her  brother,  Amenemhat  IV.  Either  conjecture  is  probable; 
but,  remembering  that  Diodorus  attributes  one  of  the  Hawara  colossi 
to  Amenemhat  III,  and  the  other  to  his  queen,  and  that  he  further 
states  how  the  revenues  derived  from  the  fisheries  of  Lake  Moeris 
were  assigned  to  this  royal  lady  "  for  her  perfumes  and  her  toilette," 
we  are  tempted  to  inquire  whether  a  wife  so  honored  as  this  tradition 
implies  would  not  have  been  the  more  likely  occupant  of  the  lesser 
sarcophagus  ? 

Simultaneously  with  his  work  on  the  pyramid,  Mr.  Petrie  has  also 
been  continuing  his  excavations  in  the  neighboring  cemetery,  where 
he  has  found  many  large  tombs  of  the  twelfth  dynasty  and  a  few  in- 
scriptions of  that  period.  Besides  the  usual  yield  of  amulets,  beads, 
etc.,  he  has  also  found  three  large  and  quite  perfect  Greek  deeds  of 
the  Christian  period,  beautifully  written  on  papyrus,  and  a  few  more 
mummies  of  the  same  type  as  those  exhibited  last  summer  in  the 
Egyptian  Hall,  Piccadilly,  with  panel-portraits  laid  over  the  faces  of 
the  dead.  Mr.  Petrie  will  probably  next  attack  the  pyramid  of 
Illahun,  which,  it  is  supposed,  has  never  been  opened.  It  is,  how- 
ever, very  unlikely  that  any  pyramid  has  escaped  being  plundered  by 
either  the  Persian,  Roman,  or  Arab  conquerors  of  ancient  times.  — 
Correspondence,  London  Times. 


ILLEGAL  COMMISSIONS. 

IN  view  of  the  fact  that  many  in  the  community  believe  that  archi- 
tects, as  a  rule,  do  accept  commissions,  and  that  successful  mate- 
rial-men pay  commissions  as  a  matter  of  course,  it  is  not  strange 
to  find  movements  instituted  on  the  part  of  both  the  architects  and 
material-men  looking  to  a  correction  of  public  sentiment  in  this 
regard.  We  have  already  referred  to  the  action  of  the  architects  in 
their  professional  organizations.  They  have  taken  such  steps  as 
make  it  inexpedient,  to  say  the  least,  for  any  member  to  take  a  com- 
mission or  fee  of  any  kind  from  any  one  except  his  legal  clients.  On 
the  other  hand,  certain  leading  material-men,  not  content  with  the 
simple  denial  of  the  assertion  that  they  pay  commissions,  are  ener- 
getically following  up  every  charge  of  this  kind,  and  by  bringing 


FEBRUARY  16,  1889.] 


The    American   Architect   and   Building   News. 


83 


their  accusers  into  court,  either  through  libel-suit  or  otherwise,  are 
showing  that  they  are  not  to  be  trifled  with  in  this  manner.  Promi- 
nent among  those  who  are  now  acting  in  this  manner  are  Merchant 
&  Co.,  of  Philadelphia.  Out  of  a  number  of  cases  pending  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  country,  they  have  recently  put  their  accusers  to 
rout  in  two  instances,  to  the  serious  financial  cost  of  those  who  have 
carelessly  asserted  that  commissions  to  architects  are  the  reason  for 
the  preference  for  their  roofing-plates.  With  still  other  suits  pend- 
ing, and  being  vigorously  pushed,  it  is  fair  for  the  trade  at  large  to 
assume  that  it  is  not  safe  to  charge  this  house,  at  least,  with  dishonest 
practices.  We  hope  their  good  work  in  this  direction  will  receive 
the  support  it  deserves,  first,  from  others  in  correlated  lines  of  trade, 
who,  in  justice  to  themselves,  should  emulate  the  example  thus  set 
them ;  and,  second,  from  the  roofers  and  other  sub-contractors,  who 
can  be  of  substantial  assistance  in  bringing  offenders  to  the  test. 
Commissions  to  architects  are  wrong  —  wrong  to  the  man  who 
receives  them,  wrong  to  the  man  who  pays  them,  wrong  to  the  house- 
owner,  whose  interests  are  trifled  with  whenever  they  are  paid,  and 
wrong  to  the  community  at  large,  whose  fair  name  is  tarnished  by 
every  transaction  that  is  not  strictly  honest.  It  is  manifestly  appro- 
priate that  a  house  that  has  been  conspicuous  in  its  stand  in  the  past 
for  honestv  in  the  tin-plate  trade  should  lead  in  this  movement. 
But  we  say  again  we  hope,  for  the  sake  of  good  morals  and  good 
buildings,  others  will  follow  their  example,  and  that  the  good  work 
may  go  on  to  its  conclusion  —  when  no  commissions  will  bo  paid,  and 
no  one  will  be  accused  of  paying  them.  —  The  Metal-Worker. 


PHILADELPHIA,  February  0,  1889. 
To  THE  EDITORS  OF  TIIK  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT:  — 

Dear  Sirs, —  We  enclose  you  the  foregoing  article  from  the  edi- 
torial columns  of  the  Metal-  Worker,  which  may  be  of  interest  to  you. 
•We  have  just  finished  our  third  suit  against  roofers  in  past  five 
months,  and  have  commenced  the  fourth  against  a  firm  who  have 
charged  an  architect  "  with  taking  a  commission,  and  our  firm  with 
paying  him."  As  our  attorney  requests  us  to  send  him  our  cheek 
for  $500  as  a  retaining-fee,  which,  he  assures  us,  "  will  not  be  all 
required,"  you  can  understand  what  reform  in  the  roofs  means.  We 
propose  to  carry  this  suit  to  the  end  if  the  cost  is  ten  times  the  amount 
demanded,  and  we  simply  mention  this  to  satisfy  you  of  our  inten- 
tion in  all  such  cases  to  stop  at  no  expense. 

Yours  truly,  MERCHANT  &  Co. 

[IT  is  a  great  pity  that  architects  will  not  bestir  themselves  as  actively  in 
their  own  behalf  us  does  this  generous-minded  ally  of  theirs.  The  insinua- 
tion that  architects — not  n  few,  but  all  —  are  always  ready  to  accept  a 
bribe  from  mnterwl-men  is  to  be  heard  on  every  side  and  is  a  greater 
menace  to  the  profession  than  all  the  improper  competitions  that  have  ever 
been  devised.  It  is  a  matter  for  the  architectural  societies  to  take  up  and  in- 
vestigate fully,  if  only  for  the  selfish  reason  that  the  public  may  kno\v  just 
how  it.  is  possible  for  one  man  to  do  a  job  for  one  per  cent  or  less,  while  his 
neighbor  demands  upwards  of  five  per  cent  for  what  seems  to  be  the  same 
service.  It  is  a  matter  that  should  receive  the  first  attention  of  the  new 
American  Institute  of  Architects,  who  cannot  afford  to  have  in  good- 
membership  a  single  member  against  whom  the  charge  of  accepting  a  com- 
mission or  bribe  can  be  proved.  The  members  of  the  new  Institute  should  be 
above  suspicion  on  this  head  even  if  they  cannot  design  a  hen-coop,  or  compute 
the  commission  on  it.  We  probably  hear  more  of  these  accusations  than  archi- 
tects themselves  do,  and  at  the  same  time  we  probably  hear  only  a  tithe  of 
what  the  general  public  hears.  It  is  a  vastly  greater  danger  than  the 
"competition  evil"  in  that  it  is  concealed.  Slander  and  back-biting  are  to 
improper  conditions  of  competition  as  the  cobra  is  to  the  rattlesnake.  — 
BDS.  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT.] 


ENGINEERS'  SOCIETY  OF  WESTERN  PENNSYLVANIA. 


HE  ninth  annual  meeting  of  the  Engineers'  Society  of  Western 
Pennsylvania  was  held  in  the  commodious  rooms  of  the  Society 
in  the  Penn  Building,  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  on  the  evening  of  January 
22d. 

The  reports  of  the  Secretary,  Treasurer  and  Chairman  of  the 
Library  Committee  showed  the  Society  to  be  in  a  very  satisfactory 
condition.  The  attendance  at  the  meetings  and  the  general  interest 
taken  in  the  proceedings  during  the  year  have  been,  indeed,  flatter- 
ing, the  average  attendance  being  fifty-three.  The  financial  status 
is  encouraging,  and  the  library  is  being  increased  by  regular  addi- 
tions, much  of  which  is  due  to  the  interest  and  energy  of  those 
charged  with  its  direction. 

The  retiring  President  read  his  address,  giving  a  review  of  the 
points  of  general  interest  to  the  members,  and  making  some  sugges- 
tions relative  to  future  action.  The  election  of  officers  for  the 
ensuing  year  was  held,  and  the  recommendation  of  the  Nominating 
Committee  was  ratified  in  the  choice  of  Jno.  Brashear  for  President ; 
A.  E.  Hunt,  Jr.,  Viec-President ;  Wm.  Metcalf  and  M.  J.  Becker, 
Directors;  Col.  S.  M.  Wickersham,  Secretary,  and  A.  E.  Frost, 
Treasurer.  After  the  election  of  five  new  members  the  meeting 
adjourned,  but  the  members  did  not  retire  until  they  had  gratified 
themselves  with  the  tempting  collation  that  had  been  provided  as  a 
•urprise  by  a  few  of  the  members  as  a  compliment  to  their  fellows. 
A  very  pleasant  "  sociable  "  was  thus  indulged  in  to  the  pleasure  of 
all  present,  which  they  would  do  well  to  repeat,  as  it  affords  culture 


to  the  "  social  qualities  "  too  often  neglected.  The  next  meeting  will 
be  held  on  the  third  Tuesday  of  February  (the  18th)  at  which  an 
interesting  paper  will  be  read  by  H.  D.  Hibbard  on  the  "Thomson 
Electric- Welding  Process." 

Any  engineers  from  other  societies  or  other  parts  of  the  country, 
in  Pittsburgh  are  kindly  welcomed  to  call  at  ot*r  meetings  or  at  the 
rooms  at  any  time.  S.  M.  WICKERSHXM,  Secretary. 

THF.  COLUMBUS  ARCHITECTURAL  SKETCH  CLUB. 

IN  order  to  bring  ourselves  before  the  public,  I  have,  as  Secretary 
of  the  Club,  been  instructed  to  write  to  your  paper  and  notify  you 
of  the  existence  of  the  Columbus  Architectural  Sketch  Club. 

Our  Club  was  organized  in  April.  1887,  and  has  steadily  increased 
in  membership. 

We  have  lately  moved  into  our  cosy  club-room,  which  has  been 
fitted  up  at  considerable  expense. 

We  have  meetings  every  Thursday  evening,  each  of  which  is 
devoted  to  a  special  subject. 

Our  programme  is  divided  into  four  distinct  parts,  viz.: 

A  monthly  competition. 

Papers  by  the  members. 

Free-hand  sketches. 

Black-board  problems. 

In  June  and  December  we  have  exhibitions  of  all  drawings  sub- 
mitted in  the  competitions  during  the  intervening  six  months. 

By  publishing  this  letter  you  will  confer  a  great  favor  on  the 
members  of  the  Club.  Respectfully  yours, 

HARRY  W.  LUMB,  Secretary. 


FIXTURES. 

KOCHESTKR,  N.  Y.,  February  7,  1889. 

To  THE  EDITORS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT:  — 

Dear  Sim,  —  Will  you  please  explain  to  me  through  the  Ameri- 
can Architect,  just  what  is  meant  by  all  the  fixtures  necessary  to 
render  a  house  fit  for  occupation,  as  mentioned  in  the  schedule  of 
charges  of  the  American  Institute  of  Architects.  For  instance  if  a 
client  wanted  a  small  cupboard  or  locker  with  an  elaborately  carved 
facing  built  into  a  wall  of  one  of  the  rooms,  or  an  expensive  window- 
seat  built  in  somewhere,  would  these  come  under  the  head  of  fix- 
tures? Or  say  a  fancy  sideboard  or  clock  or  other  numerous 
articles  that  may  be  built  into  a  house.  If  these  are  all  fixtures  then 
the  only  things  that  are  not,  are  chairs  and  tables,  and  if  they  are 
not,  where  is  the  line  to  be  drawn.  An  answer  to  this  will  greatly 
oblige,  Yours  truly,  GREEN. 

[THIS  is  a  very  indefinite  expression,  as  most  architects  team  to  their  cost. 
It  is  generally  understood  to  mean  that  the  architect  is  entitled  to  include 
in  the  sum  on  which  his  percentage  is  reckoned,  the  heating-apparatus' 
gas-fitters',  steam- fitters',  electricians'  and  plumbers'  work,  and  so  on" 
although  the  owner  may  have  selected  his  own  furnace,  or  made  a  contract 
for  his  own  steam  or  hot-water  apparatus,  gas-fittiug,  plumbing,  and  so  on. 
The  reason  of  this  of  course  is  that  the  architect  has  to  consider  all  these 
tilings  in  arranging  his  plans,  and  that  the  owner  has  no  right  to  deprive 
him  of  compensation  for  his  skill  and  care  ou  account  of  the  trifling  circum- 
stances of  having  spent  a  few  minutes,  in  place  of  the  architect,  in  making 
the  actual  contract  for  the  work.  How  far  the  same  rule  is  to  be  applied  to 
"fittings"  in  the  nature  of  furniture  is  a  question  much  discussed.  Many 
perhaps  most,  architects  will  select  or  design  the  mnntels,  and  allow  their 
cost  to  be  added  to  thnt  of  the  house  in  calculating  their  commission 
Many  others,  however,  consider  this  unfair  to  them,  and  charge  ten,  fifteen 
or  twenty  per  cent  on  the  cost  of  the  mantels,  as  a  separate  compensation 
for  selecting  or  designing  them.  While  a  doubt  may  thus  exist  as  to 
whether  mantels  are  "  fittings  "  or  "  furniture,"  there  could  hardly  be  anv 
in  regard  to  sideboards  or  clocks,  or  even  carved  cupboards,  unless  these 
foi  med  an  essential  part  of  the  design  of  a  room,  and  few  clients  would  be 
unreasonable  on  such  a  point.  — EDS  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT.] 

A    CORRECTION. 

NEW  YORK,  N.  Y.,  February  11, 1889. 
To  THE  EDITORS  OF  THK  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT:  — 

Dear  Sirs, —  I  see  in  No.  685  of  American  Architect  a  view  of  a 
house  at  Albany,  said  to  be  that  of  Charles  Pruyn,  Esq.  It  is  a 
mistake,  the  house  in  question  is  the  property  of  Robert  C.  Pruvn, 
Esq.  Yours  truly,  ROBERT  W.  GIBSON. 

[WE  regret  the  mistake  which  was  due  to  misinformation  on  the  part  of  a 
correspondent  in  Albany. —  EDS.  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT.] 

THE  GOVERNMENT   EXAMINATION   FOR   DRAUGHTS- 
MEN. 

NEW  YORK,  N.  Y.,  February  9,  1889. 
To  THE  EDITORS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT:  — 

Dear  Sirs,  —  I  notice  in  your  issue  of  "  January  26  "  there  seems 
to  be  an  impression  that  the  Civil  Service  Examination  Grade  is  too 
high.  As  a  participant  I  did  not  find  it  so.  It  consisted  of  practical 
work,  such  as  any  draughtsman,  worth  $5.00  to  $6.00  per  day  is  liable 
to  be  called  on  to  perform  and  should  be  competent  to  do.  As  for 
the  charge  that  none  of  the  candidates  could  answer  the  questions, 
my  certificate  from  the  United  States  declaring  that  I  passed  the 


84 


The    American   Architect  and  Building   News.      [VOL.  XXIV.  —  No.  686. 


examination  is  proof  to  the  contrary.  I  do  not  wish  to  defend  or 
uphold  Mr.  Freret  in  reported  actions  at  Washington,  but  believe  in 
giving  credit  where  credit  is  due.  EDWIN  R.  STORM. 


THE  BURNING   01-"    ROMK. —  Professor  Lanciani's    "Ancient  Rome" 
throws  new  light  upon  the  subject  of  the  conflagration  of  Rome  by 
Nero,  or,  at  least,  presents  the  matter  in  a  manner  which  will  appear 
original  to  many  people.     The  burning  of  Home  was  undertaken  as  a 
hygienic  measure  to  accomplish  better  sanitation  for  the  Eternal  City. 
The  author  says  :   "  Nero  conceived  the  gigantic  plan  of  renewing  and 
of  rebuilding  from  the  very  foundations  not  only  the  imperial  residence, 
but  the  whole  metropolis;  and,  as  the  metropolis  was  crowded  at  every 
corner  with  shrines  ami  altars  and  small  temples,  whieh  religious  super- 
stition made  absolutely  inviolable,  and  as  the   slightest  work  of  im- 
provement  was  fiercely,  opposed  by  private  owners  of  property,  and 
gave  occasion  to  an  endless  amount  of  law-suits  and  appraisals,  and 
fights  among  the  experts,  he  rid  himself  of  all  these  difficulties  in  the 
simplest    and    cleverest    way.     He    ordered    his    favorite    architects, 
Severus  and  Ccler,  to  druw  a  new  plan  of  the  city,  and  to  draw  it  ac- 
cording to  the  best  principles  of  hygiene  and  comfort;   then  he  caused 
an  enormous  number  of   wooden  booths  and  tents  to  be  secretly  pre- 
pared, and  ordered  fleets  of  grain-laden  vessels  to  be  kept  in  readiness 
to  sail  from  the  various  harbors  of  the   Mediterranean  at  a  moment's 
notice.     Having  taken  all  these  precautions,  and  secured  the  success 
of  his  stratagem  as  far  as  human  foresight  could,  Xero  set  the  whole 
city  into  a  blaze  of  fire,  and  did  it  so  neatly  that,  although  of  the  four- 
teen regions  or  wards  into  which  Rome  had  been  divided  by  Augustus, 
three  were  annihilated  completely,  and  seven  for  the  greater  part,  yet 
not  a  single  human  life  seems  to  have  been  lost  in  the  gigantic  confla- 
gration.    The  homeless  crowds  found  a  ready  and  comfortable  shelter 
under  the  booths  and  tents,  raised  by  thousands  in  public  parks  and 
squares ;  at  the  same  time,  a  large  number  of  vessels  laden  with  grain 
from  Sardinia,  Sicily,  Numidia,  and  I'.gypt  appeared  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Tiber,  and  relieved  the  emperor  from  any  anxiety  as  far  as  famine 
was  concerned.     Kvcn  in  our  age  of  progress  and  material  improvement 
and  comfort,  we  cannot  help  admiring  the  profound  wisdom  shown  by 
the  two   imperial  architects,  Severus  and  Celer,  in  designing  and  re- 
building the  city.     The  straight  line  and  the  right  angle  were  followed, 
as  far  as  could  be  done  in  a  hilly  region,  in  tracing  the  new  streets  and 
avenues  through  the  still  smoking   ruins.     Hasty  and  irregular  con- 
structions were  forbidden;   the  line  of  frontage   of  each  new  building 
had  to  be  sanctioned  and  approved   by  one  of  the  official  surveyors. 
Large  squares  were  opened  in  place  of  filthy,  thickly-inhabited  quarters. 
The  height  of  private  houses   was  not  allowed  to  exceed  double  the 
width  of  the  street,  and  porticos  were  to  be  built  in  front  of  each  one, 
to  provide  the  citizens  with  cool,  sheltered  walks  in  case  of  rain  or  ex- 
cessive heat.     In  the   rebuilding  of  the  city,  the  emperor  secured  for 
himself  the  lion's  share  ;  and  his  golden  house,  of  which  we  possess 
such  beautiful  remains,  occupied  the  whole  extent  from  the  Palatine  to 
the  Quirinal,  where  now  the  Central  Hallway  station  has  been  erected. 
Its  area  amounted  to  nearly  a  square  mile,  and  this  enormous  district 
was   appropriated,    or   rather    usurped,   by  the  emperor,  right  in   the 
centre  of  a  city  numbering  about  two  million  inhabitants." 


shipbuilding,  is  notable ;  the  latter,  which  is  really  the  most  valuable 
timber  produced  in  that  country,  is  light  and  easily  worked,  strong, 
durable,  not  liable  to  the  attacks  of  insects,  abounds  in  silex,  and 
resembles  coarse  mahogany.  The  tree  requires  some  sixty  to  eighty 
years'  growth  to  produce  the  size  of  timber  preferred  for  shipbuilding) 
and  much  of  it  is  used  in  England  for  this  purpose.  —  Pittsburgh  Dei- 
/xttcli. 

PKIX  DE  RECONNAISSANCE. — The  judgment  of  the  Prix  de  Reconnais- 
sance des  Architectes  Americains  took  place  at  the  Ecole  des  Beaux- 
Arts  yesterday.  It  was  awarded  to  M.  Huguet,  pupil  of  M.  Blondel. 
Honorable  mentions  were  given  to  MM.  Henry,  Eustache  and  Jonkel, 
pupils  of  MM.  Gaudet,  Ginain  and  Andre".  —  New  York  Herald,  January 
20,  Paris  Edition. 


THE  Acitoroi.ts  ov  TO-DAV.  —  The  town  of  Athens,  and  especially 
the  Acropolis,  is  now  passing  through  a  very  remarkable  period  in  its 
existence.  It  is  with  mixed  feelings  that  even  those  who  reside  here, 
and  whose  chief  interest  is  in  archaeology,  look  upon  the  sweeping 
alterations  that  have  quite  changed  the  character  of  its  appearance. 
The  tendency  to  demolish  all  monuments  of  mediaival  or  modern  history 


THK,  chief  value  of  manv  trade  reviews  of  the  day  is  found  in  the  truth 
that  the  facts  and  conditions  are  already  the  reverse  of  what  are  set  forth. 
Some  of  them  are  mere  vehicles  for  erroneous  opinions  and  statements. 
Much  that  is  ?aid  is  written  with  a  view  to  influence  public  opinion  wrong- 
fully. A  plain  statement  of  facts  and  conditions  is  demanded  just  at  this 
time,  when  the  plans  and  programmes  for  the  coming  season  are  under  con- 
sideration. The  fact  will  not  be  disputed  that  at  no  time  has  tile  spirit  of 
investment  in  Southern  and  Western  mineral,  lumber,  mining  and  agricult- 
ural lauds  been  stronger.  Delegations  of  Eastern  capitalists  have  been 
enjoying  weeks'  vacation  in  the  newer  sections  of  the  country,  looking  after 
opportunities  for  investment.  The  outflow  of  Northern  capital  continue?. 
A  gradual  appreciation  of  value  is  in  progress.  More  industrial  enterprises 
are  projected  at  this  time  than  ever.  Southern  journals  which  keep  a 
faithful  record  of  industrial  progress  prove  it.  The  anxiety  of  capitalists 
to  invest  in  remote  localities,  South  and  West,  cannot  be  easily  overstated. 
This  rush  means  simply  that  land,  mineral  and  timber  values  South  fire 
appreciating,  and  the  State  assessments  show  it.  Lumber  manufacturers, 
ore  and  coal  miners,  iron  and  steel  makers,  and  manufacturers  in  scores  of 
industries,  are  chasing  each  other  in  their  haste  and  greed  to  buy  up  cheap 
lands  to  hold  them  for  the  advance  which  increasing  population  and  in- 
dustrial activity  is  sure  to  bring.  Another  false  impression  should  be  cor- 
rected, viz.  :  the  impression  sought  to  be  made  by  ill-iiiformed  writers  of 
financial  articles,  that  railroad  building  is  practically  at  an  end  for  the 
present  in  this  country.  Nothing  is  farther  from  the  truth.  Since  January 
1,  ,'5,500  miles  of  road  have  been  projected.  Prior  to  that  date  a  careful 
estimate  shows  that  between  ten  and  twelve  thousand  miles  of  road  were 
projected.  This  information  is  within  the  reach  of  any  one  who  cares  to 
keep  posted.  There  are  schemes  incubating  at  this  hour  iu  Boston,  New 
York  and  Philadelphia,  covering  contemplated  operations  iu  Canada,  the 
United  States.  Mexico  and  South  America,  which  swell  the  total  aggregate 
of  possible  railroad  enterprise  to  twenty  thousand  miles,  a  fact  which  can 
be  demonstrated. 

Because  two-thirds  or  so  of  the  rail-mill  capacity  of  the  country  is  just  at 
this  time  idle  is  no  reason  why,  in  ninety  days,  work  may  not  be  abundant. 
Buyers  and  builders  are  purposely  holding  off.  Even  with  all  the  lamenta- 
tions over  bad  railroad  returns,  the  net  earnings  on  the  trunk-lines  in 
1888  were  only  .$3,000,000  less  than  in  1887.  The  iron-makers  have  been 
for  months  steadily  increasing  their  production,  and  stocks  to-day  are  prac- 
tically unknown.  The  lumber  manufacturers  have  sold  their  stocks  down 
lower  than  usual,  and  are  now  awaiting  the  opportunity  to  pile  up  heavier 
stocks  for  the  requirements  of  the  coming  season.  The  margins  in  trade 
are  no  closer  than  usual,  failures  are  not  shown  to  be  more  numerous,  and 
general  indebtedness  is  not  increasing.  In  financial  affairs  there  is  no  need 
of  apprehensiou.  Since  187!),  the  circulating  medium  has  increased  from 
$827,000,000  to  $1.400,000.000  in  round  figures,  and  gold  has  increased 
$42(>,OOp.OOO.  With  pessimist.",  facts  like  these  go  for  nothing.  '1  he  sun- 
shine side  of  business  is  unwelcome.  Legitimate  industry  is  well  paid. 
Speculators  have  but  little  chance.  Yet  all  is  not  smooth  sailing  in  the 
business  world.  The  trusts  are  thriving.  New  ones  are  coming  up.  Their 
profits  are  encouraging  the  spirit  of  combination,  especially  in  financial 


has  been  allowed  free  play  of  late  years;  in  a  short  time  hardly  any-   I  affairs,  but  all  these  signs  do  not  portend  evil  because  of  the  general  neces- 
thing  will  be  left  that  does  not  go  back  at  least  to  Roman  tin.es.     The      ?£  J*J?2S£  *!*2?2_i!5  *^*£5^  ^S^1^*!**.™* 

c       .,,  11,  1  ,, 1 .        il ._!.      •£ 


line  will  probably  be  drawn  here,  though  if  one  regards  nothing  but  the 
work  of  the  great  age  of  Athens  as  worthy  of  preservation,  it  is  hard  to 
see  why  (for  instance)  the  pedestal  of  Agrippa  deserves  more  respect 
than  the  "  Prankish  tower,"  which  certainly  was  more  picturesque  and 
of  higher  historical  interest.  But  now  it  is  too  late  to  regret  what  may 
have  been  lost.  Only  two  or  three  insignificant  fragments  of  later 
walls  remain,  and  those  of  quite  recent  period  :  when  they  are  removed 
the  Acropolis  will  appear  —  but  for  the  wear  and  accidents  of  ages  — 
much  as  it  did  when  the  so-called  "  Bcule"  gate  "  was  first  built.  This 
is  an  intelligible  aim,  and  we  imagine  it  will  now  be  recognized  by  all 
as  the  best  attainable.  The  Acropolis  can  never  again  present  that 
picturesque  medley  of  historical  associations  and  monuments  of  all 
periods  that  delighted  the  visitor  twenty  or  thirty  years  ago;  but  we 
may  hope,  when  the*  ugliness  of  recent  excavations  and  alterations  has 
worn  off,  when  a  painfully  exact  appearance  of  order  and  arrangement 
has  been  avoided  (as  is  promised),  and,  above  all,  when  the  old  verdure 
and  flowers  have  once  more  spread  over  the  whole,  that  a  new  and  more 
purely  classical  charm  may  be  found  to  have  resulted  from  the  tempor- 
ary loss  of  beauty. — Athens  Correspondence  London  Athenaeum. 

TEAKWOOU.  —  So  indestructible  by  wear  or  decay  is  the  African  teak- 
wood,  that  vessels  built  of  it  have  lasted  fully  100  years,  to  be  then 
broken  up  only  on  account  of  the  poor  sailing  qualities  on  account  of 
faulty  models.  The  wood,  in  fact,  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  em- 
ployed in  human  industries,  on  the  score  of  its  very  great  weight, 
hardiness  and  durability,  its  weight  varying  from  some  forty-two  to 
fifty-two  pounds  per  cubic  foot.  It  works  easily,  but  because  of  the 
large  quantity  of  silex  contained  in  it,  the  tools  employed  in  its  manipu- 
lation are  in  a  short  time  worn  away ;  it,  however,  possesses  the 
advantage  of  containing  an  oil  which  prevents  the  spikes  and  other  iron- 
work with  which  it  may  come  in  contact  from  rusting.  The  difference 
between  this  and  the  East  Indian  teakwood,  though  both  are  used  for 


nintty  ton  engines  are  found  necessary  on  railroads,  and  500-horse-power 
Corliss  engines  are  found  necessary  in  shops  in  place  of  10-horse-po»er 
engines.  Architects  and  builders  may  be  as  ignorant  as  some  of  their 
critics  say  they  are,  but  any  anxious  iuquirer  can  ascertain  in  any  of  the 
larger  cities  that  there  is  fully  as  much  work  projected,  and  in  some  cities 
more  than  at  this  time  last  year.  Civil,  mechanical,  and  mining  engineers 
of  repute  and  experience  do  not  say  that  there  is  any  decline  in  work  in 
their  special  fields.  On  the  contrary,  some  of  the  most  noted  have  stated, 
since  January  1,  that  the  volume  of  work  is  larger.  This  is  proved 
by  reports  from  the  larger  machine-shops  where  heavy  machinery  is  made. 
New  mining  enterprises  are  calling  for  a  great  deal;  irrigation  companies 
are  large  buyers;  municipalities  are  large  buyers  of  equipments  and  plants 
for  gas,  water  and  electricity.  The  bridge-builders  are  not  working  fewer 
hours  this  winter  than  they  have  worked  for  several  years,  and  labor  itself 
is  no  more  disemployed  than  it  has  been  for  years  at  this  season  Yet, 
there  is  no  boom  in  sight.  Producing  capacity  is  being  expanded  just  as 
rapidly  as  it  is  safe  to  do  so.  Bon  owed  money  is  very  generally  in  safe 
hands.  Our  financial  institutions  are  sound;  our  railroad-managers  are  in 
better  shape  than  three  months  ago,  although  still  badly  enough  off  because 
of  excessive  competition  and  mileage.  Shrewd  and  far-sighted  business 
management  are  more  in  demand  than  ever  in  our  history,  because  of  the 
multiplication  of  agencies  of  all  kinds,  and  the  building  up  of  so  many  new 
competing  sources  and  centres ,  cornered  schemers,  defeated  speculators, 
disemployed  professional  talent  and  incompetency  of  all  kinds  tees  naught 
but  trouble  ahead,  and  observes  only  the  reverse  of  the  truth  in  plain  state- 
ments of  trade  facts.  It  is  a  fact  patent  to  all  that  there  is  now  less  idle 
capital  than  ever,  and  less  idle  labor  than  perhaps  with  one  or  two  excep- 
tions; that  more  houses  were  built  iu  the  country  last  year  than  ever  in  our 
history,  and  that  the  volume  of  business  was  larger,  with  one  exception, 
than  iu  our  entire  history.  The  country  is  in  a  transition  state,  but  it  is 
not  in  danger.  Its  financial  system  is  not  a  permanent  one,  but  the  wisdom 
of  its  business  men  will  solve  the  question  of  establishing  a  better  one 
when  the  time  comes.  The  complainers  and  fault-finders  with  business 
conditions  and  facts  to-day  are  in  the  ranks  of  the  incompetents. 

S.    J.    PAKKHILL  &  Co.,  Printers,  Boston. 


|o.  6d(J. 


$i(GHiTEGT  *IND  BUILDING  ]|EW,S,  FEB.  16  1659 


FEBRUARY  16,  1889.]  The  American  Architect  and  Building  News. 


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PRICES  are  4O,  6O  and  76  cents   per  Gallon 

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SEND   for  Samples  on  Wood,  and    Circulars. 

'SAMVEL-  CABOT> 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.         [VOL.  XXV. —  No.  686. 


ITALIAN  STATUES. 


THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT  AND  BUILDING  NEWS. 


VOL.  Xx.V. 


Copyright,  1889,  by  TICKHOB  &  COMPANY,  Boston,  Mass. 


No    687. 


FEBRUARY  23, 1889. 

Entered  at  the  Post-Office  at  Boston  as  second-class  matter. 


SUMMARY"  — 

The  Death  of  Edward  S.  Philbrick,  Engineer.  —  Fall  of  Ten 
Floors  in  the  Owens  Building,  Chicago.  —  Convention  of  the 
National  Association  of  Master-Builders. — The  Papier- 
Mache  Ceiling  over  the  Albany  Assembly-Chamber.  — 
Hose-holes  in  Fireproof  Shutters.  —  A  Travelling  Electric 

Light.  —  Baron  von  Schmidt  made  a  Peer 85 

BUILDERS'  HARDWARE. — XIX 87 

ARCHITECTURAL  SHADES  AND  SHADOWS.  —  1 88 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  — 

House  of  Mrs.  Eldridge,  Ochre  Point,  Newport,  R.  I.  —  Archi-  - 
tectural    Shades    and    Shadows,    Plate    I. — Church,    Ann 
Arbor,  Mich.  —  One  Design  for  the  Proposed  Municipal  Build- 
ing, Washington,  D.  C.  —  Cottage   at  Watch-Hill,   R.   I. — • 

Probate  Office,  East  Cambridge,  Mass 00 

EARTHQUAKES.  —  1 90 

BOOKS  AND  PAPERS 92 

BUILDING  LAW 92 

SOCIETIES 94 

COMMUNICATIONS  :  — 

Greek  Architecture.  —  Toronto  Board  of  Trade  Competition. 
—  The  Columbia  College  Architectural  Course 94 


NOTES  AND  CLIPPINGS.. 
TRADE  SURVEYS. 


9o 
96 


have  had  to  choose  between  staying  at  home,  to  look  out  for 
the  interest  and  comfort  of  his  aged  mother  and  his  own  family, 
and  accepting  important  commissions  at  a  distance,  which 
would  be  sure  to  bring  him  professional  renown  ;  but,  notwith- 
standing his  energetic  disposition  and  his  consciousness  of  his 
ability  to  carry  them  out  successfully,  he  unhesitatingly  chose 
the  less  brilliant,  but  more  unselfish  part,  and  spent  contentedly 
at  home  in  Brookline,  or  on  his  place  at  Newport,  a  life  which 
he  would  not  render  more  gratifying  to  his  own  ambition  at  the 
cost  of  the  comfort  of  those  dependent  upon  him. 


TITHE  profession  of  architecture,  as  well  as  that  of  engineer- 
A    ing,  has  suffered  a  loss  in  the  death  of  Mr.   Edward  S. 
Philbrick,  who  died  last  week  very  suddenly,  like  so  many 
other  members  of  what  may  well  be  termed  the  anxious  pro- 
fessions, on  his  way  in  the  train  from  Boston  to  his  home  in 
Brookline.       Mr.   Philbrick  was   born  in   Brookline  sixty-one 
years  ago,  and  was  therefore  hardly  past  the  prime  of  his  energy 
and  usefulness  at  the  time  of  his  death.     lie  graduated  at  Har- 
vard College,  and  travelled  extensively  abroad  while  a  young 
man.     Being  natural!}'  clear-headed  and  observing,  as  well   as 
energetic  and  industrious,  he  soon  attained  a  high  rank  in  his 
chosen  profession  of  engineering,  and  the  diversity  of  the  com- 
missions entrusted  to  him,  with  his  signal  success  in  all  of  them, 
show  that  his  abilities  were  of  no  common  order.     Early  in  his 
career  he  was  engineer  to  the  Boston  and  Albany  Railroad, 
the  most  important  road  in  Massachusetts  ;  but  his  independent 
and    investigating    spirit  found  greater  satisfaction  in  general 
practice,  which  presented  more  varied  and  difficult  problems  to 
be  solved  ;  and  most  of  his  professional  life  was  spent  in  this 
way.     He  was  still  quite  a  young  man  when  he  was  chosen  to 
represent  the  State  of  Massachusetts  as  engineer  in  the  con- 
struction of    the  Hoosac  Tunnel,  and   many  of    the  most  im- 
portant works  of  water-supply  and  drainage  in  the  State  have 
been  carried  out  either  under  his  direction,  or  with  help  of  his 
advice  as  consulting   engineer.      Of   late   years  he  had  been 
much  interested  in  sanitary  engineering,  rather,  perhaps,  as  a 
study  than  a  source  of   profit ;   and  the  books  and  published 
articles  in  which  he  gave  the  results  of  his  extended  experience 
still  form  a  very  valuable  part  of  the  literature  of  sanitation. 
Personally,  Mr.   Philbrick  was  remarkable  for  the  dispassion- 
ate and  truth-loving  spirit  with  which  he  treated  the  problems 
presented  to  him.     He  had  no  theories,  no  prejudices,  and  no 
hollow    enthusiasms.       AVhile    he  was  far  too    kind  and  con- 
scientious to  reject  another  person's  notions  merely  for  the  sake 
of  showing  the  superiority  of  his  own,  he  would  accept  no  con- 
clusion, either  from  himself  or  other   people,  which  could  not 
be  shown  to  rest  on  a  solid  basis  of  facts  ;  and  it  was.  perhaps, 
the  knowledge  of    this  characteristic  which    made    him    more 
sought  after,  as  a  general  consulting  engineer,  than  any  other 
person  in  the  State.     Although  the  distractions  incident  to  the 
management  of  a  large  amount  of  property,  belonging  to  him- 
self and  others,  interfered  with  the  number  and  extent  of  the 
professional  commissions  which  he  was  able  to  carry  out.  they 
never  interfered  with  his  love  for  science,  or  prevented  him 
from  attending  to  the  minutest  details  of  the  work  which  he 
undertook.     They  did,  however,  probably  limit  to  some  exteni 
his  reputation.     It  was  inevitable  that  he  should  not  sometimes 


TI7WO  very  strange  building  accidents  have  taken  place  this 
JJ_     week.     In  Chicago,  the  Owens  Building,  a  new  fireproof 
structure,  fifty  feet  square  on   the  ground,  and  fourteen 
stories  high,  was  almost  completely  ruined  on  Sunday  morning 
by  the  failure  of  some  of  the  terra-cotta  blocks  in  the  floors. 
The  building  was  nearly  completed,  the  floors,  of  iron  beams 
illed-iti  witli  flat  arches  of  terra-cotta  blocks,  were  all  in  place, 
he  roof  was  on,  and  the  iron  staircase  was  being  put  up.     For 
;ome  reason,  a  part  of  the  terra-cotta  filling  in  the  tenth  floor 
;ave  way,  at  a  time  when  very  few  men  were  in  the  building 
and  fell  to  the  floor  below.     The  arching  of  this  floor  was  also 
weak,  and    the    shock    of    the  fall  of  the    blocks  from  above 
carried  it  away  where  they  struck,  and  the  whole  fell  together 
to  the  eighth  floor,  where  the   same  effect  was  produced.     Bv 
the  time  the   increasing  mass  had    reached   the  fifth  floor  its 
momentum  had  become  irresistible,  and  this  floor,  together  with 
all  those  beneath  it,  was  torn  out,  beams  and  all,  and  precipi- 
;ated  to  the  cellar,  while  the  walls  on   which  the  ends  of  the 
jeams  rested  were  so  badly  cracked  and  shaken  that  thev  may 
tiave  to  be  pulled  down.     Fortunately,  no  one  was  in  the  upper 
stories,  and    at  the    sound  of  the    fall  of  the   first  terra-cotta 
blocks  in  the  ninth   story,  the  men  in  the  lower  stories,  some 
eight  or  nine  in  number,  rushed  into  the  street  just  in  time  to 
save  their  lives.     The  cause  of  the  collapse  of  the  floor  will 
probably  be  easily  determined  by  expert  examination.     It  will 
be  remembered  that  a  somewhat  similar  accident  took  place  in 
the  United  Bank  Building  in  New  York  very  soon  after  its 
completion,  the  terra-cotta  blocks  of  several  of  the  floors  fullin<* 
out  by  their  own  weight.     In  this  case  it  was  found  that  some 
of  the  workmen,  who  were  unaccustomed  to  the  use  of  the  flat- 
arch  blocks,  had  fitted  them  in  upside  down,  so  that  they  hung 
by  the  adhesion  of  the  mortar,  and  even  this  was  diminished  by 
the  fact  that  they   were  laid  in  winter,  many  of  them  without 
removing  the  ice   which   covered  them,  and    that  the  mortar 
froze  between  them.     As  it  happened,  the  floors  in  the  New 
York  building  failed  singly,  so  that  nothing  was  necessary  but 
to  replace  the  blocks  and  refinish,  but,  under  circumstances  a 
little  different,  the  result  might  have  been  verv  similar  to  that 
at  Chicago.     The  other  accident  reported  took  place  at  Hart- 
ford, Conn.,   where  a  hotel,  built  only   fifteen  years  ago,  was 
blown  up,  perhaps  by  the  explosion  of  the  steam-boiler  in  the 
basement,  although,  as  no  fragments  of  the  boiler  have  been 
found,   tliis  is  doubtful,  and    eighteen   or  more    persons  were 
instantly  killed,  while  many  others  were  severely  injured. 


TITHE  Third  Annual  Convention  of  the  National  Association 
\j  of  Master  Builders  was  held  in  Philadelphia  last  week. 
From  the  reports  in  the  daily  papers  we  should  say  that, 
as  is  apt  to  be  the  case  in  conventions  where  the  business  is 
not  previously  laid  out,  and  carried  through  with  a  strong 
hand,  the  work  done  was  rather  of  the  hand-to-mouth  kind,  the 
convention  waiting  until  some  one  offered  a  resolution  of  some 
kind,  and  then  passing  or  rejecting  it,  without  looking  to  the 
establishment  of  any  definite  policy.  Perhaps,  however, 
the  official  report  will  make  a  different  showing.  Certainly, 
the  leaders  of  the  Association  have  ability  and  penetration 
enough  to  secure  the  adoption  of  a  policy,  if  they  see  occasion 
for  one.  The  most  singular  paper  read  before  the  convention 
appears  to  have  been  one  sent  by  Mr.  Hatfield  of  New  York, 
but  read  by  Mr.  McArthur,  in  which  the  author  is  reported  to 
have  said  that  "  the  architect's  position  was  that  of  an  umpire, 
or  judge,  whose  duty  it  was  to  guard  the  interests  of  the 
owner,  as  well  as  those  of  the  builder."  Why  it  should  be 
the  duty  of  the  architect  to  guard  the  interests  of  the  builder 
we  are  unable  to  imagine.  That  it  is  his  duty  to  judge  fairly, 
in  controversies  between  the  builder  and  the  owner  which  he 


86 


The    American    Architect  and  Building   News.        [Vou  XXV.  —  No.  687. 


is  called  in  to  decide,  is  evident  enough,  but  that  is  a  very 
different  thing.  However,  as  the  paper  is  to  be  printed,  and 
circulated  among  architects,  as  well  as  builders,  we  will  not  at- 
tempt to  judge  of  it  from  newspaper  reports.  Colonel  R.  T. 
Auchmuty  of  New  York,  read  a  paper  on  <•  Trade  Training, ' 
which  was  vigorously  applauded,  as  was  also  its  author,  who 
concluded  his  reading  by  saying  that  the  opposition  of  the 
trades'  unions  to  the  education  of  young  men  in  such  schools 
came  from  foreigners.  He  thought  it  ought  not  to  be  allowed 
to  prevail,  and  called  upon  his  hearers  to  control  their  own 
business,  which,  we  venture  to  say,  they  are  quite  disposed  to 
do.  Resolutions  in  favor  of  exerting  the  influence  of  the 
Association  against  the  repi-al  of  the  conspiracy  laws,  which  is 
now  being  urged  by  the  trades'  unions  in  several  States;  of 
establishing  a  lire  insurance  company,  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Association,  to  take  builders'  risks ;  and  of  endeavoring  to 
secure  legislation  to  restrain  persons  or  associations  from  in- 
terfering with  the  efforts  of  American  youths  to  learn  any 
trade,  were  adopted;  and  Mr.  E.  J.  Scribner,  of  St.  Paul,  was 
elected  President  for  the  ensuing  year,  Messrs.  John  J.  Tucker 
of  New  York,  and  A.  McAllister  of  Cleveland,  Vice-Presi- 
dents,  Mr.  W.  H.  Sayvvard  of  Boston,  Secretary,  and  Mr. 
George  Tupper  of  Chicago,  Treasurer. 


1ITIIE  investigation  into  the  construction  of  the  papier-mache 
_£  ceiling  over  the  Assembly  Chamber  at  Albany  is  still 
going  on,  with  endless  charges,  counter-charges,  denials 
and  rejoinders,  but  with  very  little  result  so  far  as  any  elucida- 
tion ol  the  real  matter  in  question  is  concerned.  This  matter, 
it  may  be  necesi-ary  to  explain,  is  not  whether  members  of 
the  investigating  committee  have  been  bribed  to  shut  their  eyes 
to  the  facts,  or  whether  the  newspaper  correspondents  have 
been  guilty  of  criminal  libel,  but  whether  the  papier-mache 
ceiling  now  in  place  is  worth  the  two  hundred  and  seventy 
thousand  dollars  that  it  cost ;  and,  if  not,  who  got  the  differ- 
ence between  the  amount  paid  for  it  and  the  true  value,  and 
through  whose  fault  did  the  State  make  so  bad  a  bargain. 
The  first  question  could  be  answered  by  experts  in  six  hours, 
and  the  Legislature  would  then  have  some  definite  basis  for 
further  action.  It  is  certain  that  the  papier-mache  cost  only  a 
fraction  of  the  contract-price  of  the  ceiling.  The  manufacturer, 
Mr.  Sinclair,  refuses  to  disclose  what  he  was  paid  for  it,  but 
says  that  it  was  under  thirty  thousand  dollars,  and  the  news- 
paper correspondents  profess  to  have  ascertained  with  certainty 
that  the  exact  amount  was  eleven  thousand,  five  hundred 
dollars.  If  this  report,  which  Mr.  Sinclair  does  not  deny,  is 
correct,  we  shall  have  two  hundred  and  fifty-nine  thousand 
dollars  as  the  cost  of  erecting  a  stage  and  putting  up  the  new 
ceiling  in  place  of  the  old  one,  with  the  necessary  supports  for 
it.  This  may,  for  all  we  know,  be  a  reasonable  price,  but  any 
first-class  builder  could  settle  the  point  after  reading  the  speci- 
fication and  looking  at  the  place,  and  the  ground  would  then  be 
cleared  for  the  inquiries  into  the  disposition  of  the  money,  about 
which  the  world  outside  of  politics  cares  very  little.  It  seems 
that  the  drawings  for  the  ceiling  were  made  by  an  architect 
named  Rowe,  the  seventh  architect,  if  we  are  not  mistaken, 
who  has  been  employed  on  the  building,  without  counting  the 
experts  who  have  been  brought  in  ior  temporary  service.  This 
gentleman,  who  seems  to  have  done  his  work  well,  and  to  have 
been  entirely  innocent  of  any  connection  with  the  subsequent 
financiering,  received  the  usual  treatment  accorded  to  persons 
who  furnish  designs  for  public  work  iu  having  his  flat,  carved-oak 
panels  summarily  converted  into  "  dome-shaped  "  or  "  conical  " 
caissons  of  paper  pulp  and  plaster,  cast  in  gelatine  moulds,  at 
the  instance,  so  far  as  can  be  discovered,  of  the  superintendent. 
As  to  the  committee  which  had  the  matter  of  the  construction 
in  charge,  and  made  the  contracts  for  the  ceiling,  we  believe 
that  no  member  has  yet  been  found  who  had  even  read  the 
specification.  Some  of  them  had  a  general  idea  that  they  had 
signed  a  contract  for  "either  a  quartered  or  a  carved  oak 
ceiling,"  but  they  seem  to  have  then  dismissed  the  whole  matter 
from  their  minds,  until  they  discovered  that  the  ceiling  was 
likely  to  drop  on  their  heads  iu  bits  of  plaster-of-Paris. 
Perhaps  we  are  too  obtrusive  in  presenting  the  merits  of  the 
profession  of  architecture,  but  it  certainly  seems  to  us  that  the 
services  of  a  man  who  would  design  the  ceiling,  and  see  that  it 
was  built  as  specified,  for  five  per  cent  on  the  cost,  would  be 
cheaper  than  those  of  the  combination  of  architects,  superin- 
tendent and  committee,  who  have  spent  more  than  a  quarter  of 


a  million  dollars  in  such  a  way  that  no  one  can  tell  where  most 
of  it  has  gone. 


pIRE  AND  WATER  calls  attention  again  to  the  discussion 
which  has  been  going  on  in  the  newspapers  about  the  value 
of  iron  shutters  in  protecting  buildings  from  the  effect  of  con- 
flagrations outside  of  them,  and  makes  some  very  timely  re- 
marks on  the  subject.  The  history  of  the  curious  case  in  New 
York,  where  a  building  considered  nearly  fireproof  was 
destroyed,  with  its  contents,  because  the  firemen  found  it  for  a 
long  time  impossible  to  open  the  iron  shutters,  or  break 
through  the  brick  roof,  so  as  to  throw  water  on  the  blazing 
goods  inside,  has  been  copied  into  nearly  all  the  daily  journals 
in  this  country,  and  many  foreign  ones,  and,  with  their  usual 
celerity  in  reasoning  from  the  smallest  possible  number  of 
facts,  the  newspaper  theorists  have  decided  that  buildings 
would  be  better  off  without  any  shutters  at  all,  and  there  is 
some  danger  that  they  may  persuade  owners  of  store  property 
in  some  cases  to  refuse  to  use  them.  It  ought  to  be  needless 
to  say  that  this  would  be  a  grave  misfortune,  and  the  under- 
writers' associations  should  be  on  their  guard  against  the  dis- 
semination of  such  notions.  Of  course,  the  real  object  of 
shutters  is  to  keep  fire  on  the  outside  from  entering  a  building, 
and  they  accomplish  this  object  a  hundred  times  for  every  time 
that  they  prevent  firemen  from  reaching  a  blaze  inside  the 
building  so  protected.  Moreover,  there  is  no  necessity  for 
fastening  iron  shutters  in  such  a  way  as  to  keep  firemen  from 
opening  them  from  the  outside.  In  New  York,  where  burglars 
are  more  dreaded  than  fire,  as  there  is  no  insurance  against 
their  ravages,  outside  shutters  are  usually  firmly  secured  on 
the  inside,  but  in  Chicago,  if  we  are  not  mistaken,  it  is  the 
rule  to  arrange  the  shutters  so  that  all  of  ^them  can  be  opened 
from  the  outside,  and  in  many  places  one  window  in  each  story 
is  protected  by  shutters  so  arranged.  One  of  the  best  shutters 
we  have  seen  is  a  patented  one,  which  fastens  on  the  inside, 
with  a  latch  hooking  over  a  bar,  in  the  usual  way,  but  has  on 
the,  outside  a  plate,  connected  with  a  small  lever  passing 
through  the  shutter,  by  which  the  latch  can  be  lifted.  The 
plate  protects  the  small  opening  through  which  the  lever 
passes,  and  is  so  arranged  that  by  directing  a  powerful  stream 
of  water  upon  it,  from  a  fire-engine  or  hydrant,  the  lever  is 
moved,  lifting  the  latch,  and  allowing  the  shutters  to  swing 
open,  which  they  do  under  the  pressure  of  light  springs.  A 
shutter  of  this  sort  is  as  safe  against  fire  as  anything  that  can 
be  made,  yet  it  can  be  opened  in  a  moment  from  the  street  by 
the  firemen,  without  requiring  ladders,  which  can  hardly  be 
used  if  a  fire  is  raging  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street,  or 
after  the  flames  have  burst  out  of  the  lower  windows  of  the 
building  to  be  dealt  with. 


USEFUL  piece  of  apparatus  has  come  into  use  in  Ger- 
many  in  the  shape  of  a  travelling  electric  light.  The 
affair  is  very  simple:  a  dynamo,  with  an  engine  to  drive 
it,  is  mounted  on  a  wagon,  something  like  that  of  a  steam  fire- 
engine,  containing  boiler,  fuel-box  and  water-tank,  complete 
for  a  night's  service.  A  dozen  or  so  of  jointed  poles,  a  corre- 
sponding number  of  arc-lamps,  and  a  supply  of  wire  complete 
the  equipment,  and  the  whole  is  readily  drawn  by  a  pair  of 
horses  to  the  place  where  it  may  be  needed.  On  its  arrival, 
the  poles  are  set  up  where  required,  and  stayed  with  wires 
fastened  to  stakes  driven  into  the  ground;  the  lamps  are  hung 
to  them  and  properly  connected,  and  the  engine  is  set  iu 
motion.  The  lamps  immediately  kindle,  giving  a  light  nearly 
as  bright  as  day  over  the  whole  neighborhood  as  long  as  it  is 
needed.  Any  number  of  lamps,  from  one  to  fifty,  may  be 
operated  from  a  machine  of  suitable  power ;  and  as  they  may 
be  suspended  anywhere,  and  are  not  affected  by  rain  or  wind, 
it  would  seem  that  the  apparatus  might  be  very  useful  to  con- 
tractors and  others  who  have  to  carry  on  night-work  on  an 
extensive  scale. 


IIE  Emperor  of  Austria  has  conferred  a  signal  honor  upon 
the  noted  Vienna  architect,  Baron  von  Schmidt,  who  was 
ennobled  some  years  ago  as  a  reward  for  his  professional 
achievements,  and  has  now  been  called  to  the  Austrian  House 
of  Lords,  "in  testimony  of  the  confidence  and  regard  which  the 
Emperor  entertains  toward  him."  The  German  technical 
journals  call  this  the  highest  honor  that  has  ever  been  con- 
ferred upon  an  architect,  and  it  is  certainly  a  very  great  one. 


FEBRUARY  23,  1889.]  Tlie   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


8? 


BUILDERS'  HARDWARE.1  — XIX. 


ORDINARY   MODERN    DOOR-LOCKS. 


Fig.  297.     Mortise   Dead-look. 
Russell  &    Erwin. 


N  considering  the  locks 
at  present  in  the  mar- 
ket, it  is  manifestly 
impossible  to  even  men- 
tion all  of  the  styles  and 
varieties,  nor  has  it  been 
found  practicable  to  gather 
reliable  data  concerning 
all  of  the  different  makes. 
It  is  believed,  however, 
that  those  illustrated  will 
serve  as  fair  criterions  of 
what  the  market  is  pro- 
ducing. The  descriptions 
will  be  limited  chiefly  to 
such  as  are  used  about  an 

ordinary  building.  Time-locks,  bank-locks,  safe-locks,  prison- 
locks,  etc.,  are  too  complicated  to  come  within  the  scope  of  this 
treatise,  and  are,  besides,  quite  outside  the  line  of  what  could 
fairly  be  termed  builders'  hardware. 

An    analysis    of    the  various    styles    of   locks    can    be    best 
followed  by  taking  the  different  examples  according  to  the  use 
to  which  each  is  put.     They  may,  then,  be  classed  as : 
First,  dead-locks. 

Second,  ordinary  lock  and  latch  combined. 
Third,  front-door  locks. 
'Fourth,  vestibule-locks. 
Fifth,  hotel-locks. 

Any  of  these,  except  the  first,  may  have  anti-friction  strikes, 
and  may  be  mortise,  rim,  or  rebate,  and  all  can  be  master- 
keyed.  Consequently  in  these  five  categories  can  be  included 
all  ordinary  house-locks. 

DEAD-LOCKS. 

Figure  297  is  a  type  of  the  most  simple  form  of  dead-lock, 
manufactured  by  Russell  &  Erwin,  having  five  plain,  pivoted 
levers,  permitting  of  120  changes  in  the  lock  by  transposition 
of  the  levers.  The  same  style  of  lock  is  made  with  as  few  as 
one  lever.  A.  G.  Xewman  manufactures  a  very  good  store- 
door  lock,  Figure  298,  in  which  the  levers  slide  up  and  down 
but  are  not  pivoted  together.  Figure  299  illustrates  the 
"Standard  "  store-door  lock,  manufactured  by  the  Yale  &  Towne 


Fig.   298. 

Mortise   Dead-lock. 


Fig.   299. 


Newman. 


Mfg.  Co.,  a  very  strong,  well-made,  and  almost  unpickable 
lock.  The  bolt-tail  is  the  full  thickness  of  the  bolt  but  is 
made  with  a  shell  so  that  the  tumblers  work  within  the  bolt,  as 
it  were,  and  the  key,  instead  of  acting  against  the  under  side 
of  the  four  levers,  works  through  the  centres  ;  and,  instead  of 
acting  directly  upon  the  bolt,  simply  rotates  an  irregularly- 
shaped  cam.  The  side  figure  showing  the  bolt  and  the  cam 
alone,  will  illustrate  how  this  lock  works.  The  levers  in  this 
example  are  of  steel,  as  in  all  the  "  Standard  "  locks. 

Neither  of  the  foregoing  offers  any  special  protection  against 
picking,  except  such  as  results  from  careful  fitting,  or,  in  the 
Standard  lock,  from  the  difficulty  of  reaching  the  levers  through 
a  small  key-hole.  Figure  300  shows  a  "  Robinson  "  store-lock, 

1  Continued  from  page  64,  No.  685. 


in  which  the  inside  of  the  bolt-post  is  cut  with  a  square  notch. 
If  an  attempt  is  made  to  pick  the  lock  by  exerting  a  pressure 
on  the  bolt  while  the  levers  are  raised  tentatively  in  succession, 
the  notch  in  the  post  will  catch  in  corresponding  notches  on 
the  edges  of  the  lever  gatings,  holding  the  levers  so  they  can- 
not be  moved  in  either  direction.  Two  of  the  levers  only  are 
so  notched,  the  uppermost  lever  having  plain  gatings  to  pre- 
vent the  posts  from  catching  when  the  proper  key  is  used. 
This  is  a  hand-made  lock,  with  all  the  works  made  of  brass 
except  the  bolt-post. 

Figure  301  shows  another  "Robinson"  lock  in  which  the 
post  and  gatings  are  notched  in  the  same  manner  as  the  pre- 
ceding example,  but  in  which  additional  security  is  obtained 


Fig.    300. 


Fig.   301. 


Store    Locks,       E.    Robinson. 


by  attaching  the  post  to  a  thin  plate,  sliding  up  and  down  in 
the  bolt-tail,  but  held  down  by  a  spring  lever  such  as  those 
which  work  against  the  main  levers.  The  post  and  the 
gatings  are  so  arranged  that  if  the  levers  could  be  so  lifted  as 
to  bring  the  gatings  exactly  in  a  line,  the  bolt  could  not  be 
moved,  as  the  post  would  be  too  low  down  to  pass.  The  post, 
as  well  as  the  levers,  has  to  be  raised,  and  on  account  of  the 
notches,  which  prevent  any  tentative  picking,  this  can  be  done 
only  by  the  proper  key.  The  works  of  this  lock  are  all  of  brass, 
except  the  sliding  parts  of  the  bolt  and  the  bolt-post  which  are 
of  steel.  The  key  is  tubular,  and  the  lock  can  be  opened  from 
one  side  only.  It  is  an  old  style,  and  is  little  used  at  present. 

A  lock  which  is  asserted  to  be  absolutely  proof  against  pick- 
ing, is  the  "  Dietz  "  lock,  Figure  302.  In  this  the  locking-levers 
are  not  touched  at  all  by  the  key,  being  separated  from  the 
key-hole  by  a  curtain  or  partition  on 
the  bolt-tail,  so  that  no  wire  or  pick- 
ing instrument  can  reach  the  levers 
through  the  key-hole.  There  are  two 
sets  of  levers,  exactly  corresponding  in 
thickness  and  bearing  against  each 
other  only  at  the  shoulders,  as  shown 
by  the  figure.  The  key-bits  first  lift 
the  primary-levers,  which  are  fitted 
with  the  stronger  springs.  The  springs 
of  the  secondary  or  locking-levers 
then  force  the  latter,  down  in  propor- 
tion as  the  primary-levers  are  raised. 
The  secondary-levers  are  so  arranged 
that  the  gatings  are  above  the  line  of 
the  lock-post,  rather  than  below  it  as 
in  ordinary  locks,  and  it  is  evident  that 
by  raising  the  primary-levers  to  the 
proper  heights  the  gatings  of  the  sec- 
ondary-levers can  be  brought  exactly  in  line  to  permit  the  bolt- 
post  to  pass.  But  to  prevent  picking  by  the  tentative  process, 
one  of  the  secondary-levers  is  made  with  plain  gatings  but  the 
others  are  finely  notched  to  correspond  with  notches  on  the  post, 
so  that  if  any  attempt  is  made  to  force  the  bolt,  the  levers 
become  fixed.  The  bolt  is  moved  by  a  key-cam  similar  to  that 
shown  by  Figure  299.  The  small  slide  at  the  bottom  of  the 
lock  is  simply  to  prevent  the  cam  from  turning  too  far.  The 
"  Dietz"  lock  is  machine-made,  but  is  first  class  in  every  respect, 
with  all-brass  inside  works.  The  agents  maintain  that  this 
lock  never  has  been  picked.  The  description  may  seem  com- 
plicated, but  the  lock  is  very  simple  in  action,  and  it  is  one  of 
the  most  satisfactory  of  its  kind  in  the  market. 

[To  be  continued.) 


.     Fig.  302. 
Store    Lock.      A.  E.  Dietz. 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.         [VOL.  XXV.— No.  687. 


ARCHITECTURAL  SHADES  AND  SHADOWS.1 

INTRODUCTORY   NOTE   BY    PROF.   W.    R.   WARE. 

IT  is  a  number 
of  years  since 
1  promised  the 
editors   of   the 
American  Archi- 
tect and  Building 
News     that      1 
would    put     in 
shape   for   publi- 
cation   in    these 
columns     some 
Ga.fi'ces  in  Light: b.Thce  ui  Sliade:  c. Shadow,  notes  upon  shades 

and      shadows 

which  I  was  in  the  habit  of  giving  to  my  pupils.  This  promise  I 
have  constantly  found  myself  unable  to  fulfil,  and,  not  to  keep  them 
longer  waiting,  1  have  now,  with  their  cordial  consent,  handed  over 
my  memoranda  to  my  friend  and  former  pupil,  now  my  assistant  and 
coadjutor,  whose  name  stands  at  the  head  of  this  paper.  In  his 
hands  the  subject  has  been  greatly  developed,  many  new  topics  have 
been  added,  and  the  whole  has  been  enriched  by  an  amplitude  of 
examples  and  illustrations,  which  makes  the  work  as  it  stands  mainly 
his  own. 

The  ideas  upon  which  we  have  worked  are  so  simple  and  obvious 
that  it  seems  strange  that  they  have  not  long  ago  been  fully  de- 
veloped. But,  though  their  application  to  some  special  problems  — 
as,  for  example,  to  that  of  the  torus  —  is  sufficiently  familiar,  espe- 
cially to  the  students  of  the  Ecole  des  I3eaux-Arts,  I  believe  that  no 
attempt  has  hitherto  been  made  to  frame  them  into  a  consecutive 
system,  and  to  carry  to  its  logical  conclusion  the  methods  which 
those  examples  exemplify. 

It  is  an  obvious  commonplace  that  almost  all  architectural  forms 
and  features  are  composed  of  geometrical  elements  —  cylinders, 
cones,  spheres,  cubes  and  parallopipedons,  circles,  octagons,  and 
squares.  In  architectural  drawings,  moreover,  the  light  is  generally 
taken  in  a  definite  and  uniform  direction,  that  of  one  of  the  diagonals 
of  a  cube,  and  the  surfaces  upon  which  the  shadows  fall  are  gener- 
ally plane  surfaces,  vertical  or  horizontal.  It  is  plain,  then,  that  if 
we  ascertain,  once  for  all,  the  shape  of  the  shadows  of  these  common 
geometrical  figures  when  cast  upon  vertical  or  horizontal  planes  by 
rays  of  light  falling  at  the  customary  angle,  we  shall  have  solved, 
once  for  all,  the  chief  part  of  the  problems  of  architectural  scio- 
graphy. 

In  pursuance  of  this  idea,  it  is  the  plan  of  these  papers  to  take  up 
each  of  these  geometrical  figures,  one  after  the  other,  and  ascertain 
the  shape  of  its  shadow  under  these  conditions,  pointing  out  not  only 
the  geometrical  considerations  which  determine  its  form,  but  the 
geometrical  characteristics  of  the  figure  thus  obtained,  and  the  most 
direct  method  of  describing  it.  At  the  same  time,  the  shape  of  the 
shade,  or  the  figure  presented  by  the  dark  side  of  the  object  which 
casts  the  shadow,  will  be  similarly  investigated.  Finally,  it  will 
appear  that  the  methods  pursued  and  the  results  obtained  are  appli- 
cable to  other  problems  in  which  the  conditions  are  somewhat  less 
simple. 

These  results  will  be  embodied  in  a  series  of  formulas,  or  maxims 
for  daily  use,  and  their  practical  application  will  be  exhibited  in  a 
series  of  strictly  architectural  problems,  some  of  which  will  be  solved 
in  the  text,  by  way  of  illustration ;  others  will  be  left  to  the  skill  and 
patience  of  the  reader. 

It  is  assumed  that  the  reader  is  acquainted  with  the  elements  of 
plane  and  solid  geometry  and  of  orthographic  projections.  When- 
ever it  is  necessary  to  recall  them  to  memory,  they  also  will  be  stated 
in  the  form  of  maxims  without  demonstration. 

CHAPTER   I.  —  LIGHT. 

Light,  direct  and  indirect,  natural  and  artificial ;  shade  and  shadow ; 
reflected  light,  reflected  shadows,  diffused  light;  conventional  and 
pictorial  representation ;  the  third  dimension  indicated  by  shades 
and  shadows ;  luminosity  modified  by  color,  texture,  angle  of  inci- 
dence, contrast,  and  aerial  perspective  ;  maxims. 

1.  Light  is  called  direct  or  indirect  according  as  it  proceeds  from 
its  source  directly  to  the  illuminating  object,  or  indirectly  by  reflec- 
tion from  other  objects.  It  is  called  natural  light  when  it  proceeds 
from  the  sun ;  all  light  of  terrestrial  origin,  however  produced,  is 
called  artificial.  The  rays  which  reach  the  earth  from  the  sun  or 
from  any  other  celestial  body  are  practically  parallel,  owing  to  the 
immense  distance  of  their  source.  Rays  of  artificial  light,  on  the 
other  hand,  radiate  in  every  direction  from  their  source,  and  the 
shadows  cast  by  these  divergent  rays  not  only  vary  in  size  with 
every  change  in  distance  from  the  source  of  light,  but  are  different 
in  form  from  those  cast  by  the  parallel  rays  of  natural  light.  The 
great  distance  of  the  sun  also  prevents  those  variations  in  the  in- 
tensity of  light  due  to  differences  of  relative  distance  from  the 
illuminated  objects,  which,  characterize  artificial  light. 

These   papers   will   treat  only   the  shades  and  shadows  cast  by 

'  By  A.  I>.  F.  Hamlin,  Instructor  in  Architecture  in  the  School  of  Mines' 
Columbia  College. 


natural  light,  as  the  architectural  draughtsman  rarely,  if  ever,  has  to 
occupy  himself  with  those  produced  by  artificial  light. 

2.  A  surface  is  said  to  be  in  light  when  direct  light  falls  upon  it ;  in 
shade  when  it  is  turned  away  from  the  light.     It  is  in  shadow  when 
the  light  is  excluded  from  it  only  by  the  interposition  of  some  other 
object.     A  surface  in  shadow  is,  therefore,  always  a  surface  turned 
towards  the  light ;  hence  shadows  can  be  cast  only  upon  illuminated 
surfaces;  that  is  to  say,  a  shadow   cannot   fall  upon  a   surface  in 
shade,  nor  upon  a  surface  already  in  shadow,  except  as  it  may  be 
cast  by  a   secondary  or  reflected  light.     These   surfaces  are  often 
spoken  of  as  "the  light,"  "the  shade,"  and  "the  shadow,"  respec- 
tively.    The  line  which  divides  the  light  from  the  shade  is  called  the 
dividing  line  of  light  and  shade,  or  simply  the  line  of  shade.     The 
outline  of  the  shadow  cast  upon  any  surface   is  called  the  line  of 
shadow. 

3.  Shade  and  shadow  do  not  imply  the  utter  exclusion  of  light ; 
the   darkness  of  the   surfaces  they   cover  is  mitigated  by  indirect 
light   reflected   from   a   multitude  of  objects :   from   the  earth,  the 
clouds,  buildings  and  trees,  and  from  the  particles  of  the  atmosphere 
itself.     These  reflect  rays  of  light  in  every  possible  direction,  soften- 
ing the  shadows  and  lighting  up  corners  otherwise  as  dark  as  mid- 
night.    Such  light,  made  up  of  indirect  rays,  is  called  diffused  light. 
Sometimes  the  rays  from  some  one  general  direction  predominate,  as 
in  the  light  from  above  on  a  cloudy  day,  or  from  below  by  reflection 
from  a  marble  pavement  or  smooth  sand,  or  from  the  side  opposite 
the  sun  by  reflection  from  vertical  walls.     In  such  cases  the  reflected 
light  is  sometimes  strong  enough  not  only  faintly  to  illuminate  those 
shaded  surfaces  presented  most  directly  to  its  rays,  but  even  to  cast 
secondary  shadows  across  them ;  while  the  shaded  surfaces  which 
are  turned  away  from  these  reflected  rays,  and  which,  therefore,  do 
not  receive  this  subdued  illumination,  preserve  their  original  inten- 
sity of  darkness.     This  phenomenon,  which  may  easily  be  verified 
by  observation,  is  made  use  of  by  architectural  draughtsmen  to  bring 
out  architectural  relief  and  detail  otherwise  lost  in  shadow.     It  is 
these  diffused  and  reflected  lights  alone  that  render  visible  objects 
lyins  in  shadow  or  shade :  without  it  all  shades  and  shadows  would 
become  mere  areas  of  inky  blackness',  like  the  dark  side  of  the  moon. 
In   architectural  drawing,  the  precision   and  intensity  of  these  re- 
jlected  shadows,  as  they  are  called,  are  generally  exaggerated,  the 
direction  of  the  predominant  rays  being  assumed  at  such  an  angle  as 
will  most  strikingly  bring  out  the  forms;  i.  e.,  backwards  and  up- 
wards to  the  left,  as  if  coming  mainly  from  the  ground  and  from 
vertical  walls  opposite  the   sun.     Vertical  walls  on  the  other  side, 
being,  of  course,  in  shade,  would  cast  no  reflected  light.     Plate  I, 
No.  1,  illustrates  this  practice. 

4.  The  object  of  architectural  drawing  being  to  render  clear  and 
intelligible  the  forms  of  a  design,  rather  than  to  present  a  realistic 
picture,  such  exaggeration  is  perfectly  legitimate.     In  the  same  way, 
nearly  all  the  phenomena  relating  to  the  intensity,  as  well  as  to  the 
direction  of  the  ray  of  light  itself,  are  treated  in  a  precise  and  con- 
ventional manner,  in  accordance  with  the  conventional  character  of 
all  representation  by  elevations,  sections,  and  plans.     This  may  be 
seen  by  referring  again  to  the  cornice  in  Plate  I,  No.  1.     In  No.  3 
the  same  cornice  is  drawn  from  actual  observation  which,  in  No.  1, 
is  drawn  according  to  the  conventional  method.     In  diffused  light, 
as  on  the  north  side  of  a  building,  or  on  a  cloudy  day,  the  same 
cornice  would  appear  as  in  No.  2,  in  which  light  from  overhead  pre- 
dominates, while   the   reflected  light   is   very   feeble,  owing  to  the 
absence  of  any  direct  light  to  be  reflected.    "Reflected  shadows  are, 
therefore,  wholly  wanting. 

5.  The  contrast  between  No.  1  and  No.  2  illustrates  the  difference 
between  the  phenom- 
ena of  direct  and  of 

diffused  light,  and 
thereby  also  makes 
clear  one  of  the  dif- 
ferences between  ar- 
chitectural and  pic- 
torial drawing.  The 
painter  of  figures 
or  of  still-life  prefers 
the  soft  effects  and 
delicate  gradations 
of  diffused  light,  as 
being  better  adapted 
to  bring  out  subtile 

differences   of   text-  _  _. 

ure     or     modelling  •=>"«cfea  arK*  -^nadau-s  on  r.Jextiion  indicate  thePlan.'. 

The  works  of  the  architect,  on  the  other  hand,  stand  in  the  full  glow 
of  the  open  heavens,  with  forms  vigorous  and  precise,  strongly  re- 
lieved by  deep  shadows.  The  accessories  introduced  into  such  draw- 
ings, also,  whether  sculpture  and  carvings  on  the  building  itself,  or 
figures,  trees,  or  landscape  in  the  foreground  and  background,  are 
treated  in  a  similar  spirit,  with  broad,  flat  surfaces  of  light  and  shade. 

6.  Moreover  as  the  shape  of  the  shade  depends  entirely  upon  the 
form  of  the  illuminated  body,  and  the  shape  of  the  shadow  depends 
partly  upon  that  and  partly  upon  the  form  of  the  surface  on  which  the 
shadow  falls,  it  follows  that  the  shade  and  the  shadow  must  be  care- 
fully delineated  in  order  that  they  may  give  precise  information  as  to 
the  real  form  of   the  surfaces  in  question.      This  is,  indeed,  perhaps 
the  chief  reason  for  representing  them  at  all  in  architectural  draw- 
ings,   the    artistic     considerations    involved    being     of     secondary 


FEBRUARY  23,  1889.]  The    American    Architect   and  Building   News. 


89 


importance.  The  elevation,  for  instance,  can  show  only  two  of  the 
dimensions  of  a  building,  its  height  and  breadth.  But  if  the  shadows 
are  put  in,  we  can  judge  of  the  third  dimension  or  depth  of  its  various 
parts  almost  as  accurately  as  if  a  plan  were  given,  while  the 
representation  is  far  more  vivid  and  attractive.  In  Figure  2  the 
shades  and  shadows  convey  a  livelier  idea  of  the  true  form 
of  the  building  shown  than  an  elevation  without  shadows,  even 
accompanied  by  a  plan,  could  convey. 

7.  Surfaces  exposed  to  the  divergent  rays  of  artificial  light,  are,  as 
has  been  said,  less  brilliantly  illuminated  in  proportion  to  the  square 
of  their  distance  from  its  source.     But  though  this  cannot  happen 
with   the   parallel   rays  of  sunlight  —  (all  terrestrial   objects  being 
virtually  at  the  same  distance  from  the  sun),  there  are  a  number  of 
other  reasons  why  surfaces  exposed  to  direct  light  are  not  represent- 
ed as  all  equally  brilliant.     The  degree  of  their  luminosity  is  affected 
by  the  color  and  texture  of  the  surfaces  themselves,  and  by  the  angle 
at  which  the  light  falls  on  them.     The  darkness  of  surfaces  in  shade 
is  affected  by  their  exposure  to  reflected  light,  by  the   contrasted 
luminosity  of  the  surfaces  near  them,  and  by  their  remoteness  from 
the  spectator. 

8.  Color.  —  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  in  the  first  place,  that 
dark-colored  objects  are  naturally  represented  as  less  luminous  than 
light-colored  or  white  ones.     It  is  worth  while,  however,  to  point  out 
that,  especially  when  drawings  are  made  in  black  and  white,  this 
consideration  is  often  disregarded,  brick,  stone,  marble  and  wood  be- 
ing all  represented  as  of  the  same  "  value."  1 

9.  Texture. —  Rough  objects  appear  darker  than  smooth  ones,  the 
little  eminences  into  which  their  surfaces  are  broken  up  having  each 
a  minute   shade  and   shadow  of   its  own,  the  magnitude  of  which 
depends  upon  the  steepness  of  its  sides  and  the  angle  of  incidence  of 
the  light  (Figure  3). 

10.  Angle  of  Incidence.  —  Surfaces  turned  fully  towards  the  light 
are  more  brilliantly  illuminated  than  those  on  which  the  sun  shines 

obliquely.  But  it  is  only  on  rough  surfaces 
that,  through  the  multiplication  of  minute 
shades  and  shadows,  as  above  explained,  this 
difference  is  at  all  noticeable.  The  light 
upon  a  smooth  column  of  marble,  or  even 
of  sandstone,  exposed  to  the  noonday  sun, 
appears  of  nearly  uniform  intensity,  so  that 
the  curved  surface  looks  almost  flat.  As 
the  shade  upon  the  dark  side  of  the  column, 
lighted  only  by  reflected  light,  is  also  of 
nearly  uniform  intensity,  it  follows  that 
whereas  in-doors,  where  it  is  exposed  to 
diffused  light  alone,  a  column  or  other  cylin- 
drical surface  passes  gradually  from  the  hisrhest  light  on  one  side 
to  the  deepest  shade  on  the  other,  a  column  in  sunlight  shows 
one  side  light  and  one  side  dark,  the  light  and  shade  meeting  ab- 
ruptly at  the  line  of  shade.  Both  are  apparently  flat,  and  the 


5)       

especially  those  drawn  to  a  large  scale,  to  tone  down  the  lights 
towards  the  line  of  shade,  as  if  the  stone  were  rough  or  the  sun  de- 
clining (Plate  I,  No.  4).  But  this  should  be  done  with  moderation, 
and  not  at  all  when  the  scale  of  the  drawing  is  small  as  in  No.  5.2 

11.  Contrast.  —  Where  two  surfaces  of  different  luminosity  meet, 
the  lighter  one  appears  by  an  optical  illusion  to  be  lighter  and  the 
darker  one  darker,  along  the  line  of  contact ;  and,  curiously  enough, 
this  is  the  more  marked  the  less  intense  is  the  illumination.     In  a 
polygonal  prism  for  example,  especially  if  the  light  to  which  it  is  ex- 
posed is  not  very  strong,  each  face  will  seem  darker  along  the  edge 
nearest  the  light  and  lighter  on  the  other,  than  it  really  is,  making  it 
appear   concave  instead  of  flat  (Plate  I,  No.   6).       This   is   often 
witnessed    upon    octagonal    chimneys,   especially    towards    sunset. 
This   illusion    serves   to   heighten  that   mentioned  in    the  previous 
section.     The  shade  upon  a  round  column  enhances  the  apparent 
luminosity  of  the  light  side  just  where  the  diminution  in  the  angle  of 
the  light  tends  to  impair  it,  making  the  light  side  look  quite  flat.     At 
the  same  time  the  light,  by  contrast,  enhances  the  apparent   depth 
of  the  shade  where  they  come  together,  so  that  the  line  of  shade 
forms  an  abrupt  boundary  between  them  (Plate  I,  No.  5). 

12.  Distance.  —  Finally,  it  is  to  be  observed,  that  the  apparent  in- 
tensities of  lights,  shades,  and  colors,  are  alike  affected  by  distance. 
This  is  what  is  called  "  Aerial   Perspective,"  and  is  due  partly  to 
the  imperfect  transparency  of  the  air,  partly  to  the  different  apparent 
scale  upon  which  objects  at  different  distances  are  presented.     This 
phenomenon,  which  is  conspicuous  enough  out  of  doors,  may  even  be 
detected  across  a  room.8     It  is  customary  in  architectural  drawings 


>  Even  in  pictorial  draughtsmanship  this  is  often  the  case,  as  may  be  witnessed 
daily  in  wood-cuts  and  engravings,  in  many  of  which  the  local  color  of  objects  is 
entirely  disregarded.  Indeed,  even  in  paintings,  different  artists  and  schools  of 
art  differ  in  nothing  more  than  in  the  degree  of  importance  they  attach  to  the 
faithful  representation  of  the  relative  amount  of  light  reflected  from  different 
surfaces,  or,  as  it  is  termed,  to  the  "  preservation  of  the  values." 

»  A  curious  illustration  of  this  fact  is  presented  by  the  moon,  which  ordinarily 
is  seen  in  the  full  glow  of  the  sunlight  upon  it  and  looks  absolutely  flat.  When, 
however,  the  edge  of  the  earth's  shadow  falls  upon  it  in  an  eclipse,  in  the  conse- 
quent diminution  of  its  illumination  it  appears  perfectly  gobular  —  a  reddish  ball 
instead  of  the  customary  brilliant  disc. 

'  The  lights  and  shades  in  a  room  are  so  confused  that  it  is  always  difficult  to 
identify  correctly  the  cause  of  every  gradation  of  light  and  dark,  and  to  dis- 
tinguish between  the  effects  of  aerial  perspective  and  those  of  diminished 
illumination. 


somewhat  to  exaggerate  this  effect,  making  the  more  remote  parts  of 
buildings  less  vigorous  in  light  and  shade,  as  well  as  in  color,  than 
those  nearer  the  eye  (See  Plate  I,  No.  7). 

13.  From  these  considerations  it  follows  that: 
First.  The  shade  upon  an  object  is  not  so  dark  as  the  shadow 
which  it  casts,  since  the  surface  in  shade  is,  in  general,  turned 
towards  the  reflected  light,  and  the  surface  in  shadow  is  turned  away 
from  the  reflected  light  and  towards  the  shaded  surface,  so  that  it  is 
doubly  dark  (See  Figure  1). 

Second.  The  line  of  shade  is  the  darkest  part  of  the  surface, 
since  it  is  exposed  neither  to  the  rays  of  direct  light,  like  the  light 
side,  nor  to  those  of  reflected  light  like  the  dark  side,  both  sets  of 

rays  being  tangent  to  it.  Moreover, 
it  looks  even  darker  than  it  is  through 
the  effect  of  contrast,  as  has  been 
already  pointed  out.  This  phenom- 
enon is  often  very  conspicuous  in  na- 
ture, pebbles  on  a  white  road  looking 
sometimes  in  the  strong  light  reflected 
upward,  as  if  a  black  thread  were  tied  around  them.  (Figure  4). 
Even  in  the  diffused  light  of  a  room  the  line  of  shade  upon  rounded 
surfaces  is  often  conspicuously  dark  (Figure  5). 

Third.  Surfaces  in  shade  or  in  shadow  are  seldom  perfectly  flat  in 


Fig.4. 


Lvu  c/5hade  ui  doused  Light . 


i.  6. 


tone,  some  parts  appearing  lighter  or  darker  than  others  by  contrast 
with  the  surfaces  next  them,  or  being  really  lighter  in  one  part  than 
another,  because  more  exposed  to  reflected  light  or  nearer  to  it.  For 
reflectedlight  being  of  terrestrial  origin  is  divergent,  and  more  power- 
ful near  its  source  than  at  a  distance. 

It   is   customary,  therefore,   in   architectural   drawings  to   make 
shades  and  shadows  darkest  next  the  sky,  by  contrast,  and  lighter  as 


.  7rfrcadt5  usually  tinted  darkest  at  the  Top.        Fi(J.8.A<}>&cJ)oonqy. 

they  approach  the  ground,  from  which  the  chief  reflected  lights  are 
supposed  to  come;  to  make  the  small  and  narrow  shades  and 
shadows  darker  than  the  large  ones ;  and  to  make  the  large  ones 
darker  on  one  edge  than  on  the  other.  Window-openings  and  door- 
ways are  made  darkest  at  the  top  as  if  modified  by  reflected  light 
from  the  floors  (Figure  6) ;  but  in  arcades  and  archways  the 
shadows  are  sometimes  made  darkest  below,  in  recognition  of  the 

effect  either  of  contrast 
with  the  sunlight  below, 
or  of  a  diffused  light, 
doubly  reflected,  from 
the  ceiling  above  (Figure 
7).  When  an  opening 
occurs  within  another 
opening,  the  two  are  gen- 
erally graded  in  opposite 
directions  (Figure  8,  and 
Plate  I,  No.  7). 

Fourth.  When  a  cast 
shadow  extends  to  the 
edge  of  the  body  on 

ffa  ff.  ShadMS  cast  across  Shades,  -      wllich,  k  falls  and.  conse: 
ShadawdShod'oocoa/exe.        quently  across  and  beyond 

its  line  of  shade,  it  meets 
and   coalesces   with  the   shade  as   in  Figure   9.     In  this  case  the 


90 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.      [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  687. 


_, 

.  JU.  Shadows  cast  across  Shades, 
distinguis 


line  of  shade,  though  obscured,  exists  as  the  line  of  division  be 
tween  the  shade  and  the  shadow,  that  side  of  the  object  turned 
towards  the  light  being  in  shadow,  and  that  turned  away  from  it  in 

shade.  If  in  a  drawing 
the  shade  is  made  lighter 
than  the  shadow,  as  in 
Figure  10,  the  line  ol 
shade  reasserts  itself  anc 
becomes  again  visible 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  how- 
ever, there  can  be  no  such 
sudden  change  of  intensi- 
ty from  shadow  to  shade 
except  on  adjacent  sur- 
faces meeting  at  an  an- 
gle, for  only  by  such 
abrupt  change  of  direc- 
tion can  one  of  two  ad- 
jacent portions  of  surface 
be  exposed  to  reflected 

light  and  the  other  wholly  deprived  of  it.  In  Figure  10  along  the 
line  of  shade  from  a  to  b  there  is  no  such  abrupt  change  of  direction 
in  the  surface  as  would  expose  the  shade  to  strong  reflected  light 
while  wholly  excluding  (he  latter  from  the  adjacent  shadow.  The 
change  of  luminosity  would  be  gradual  as  in  Figure  9,  and  the  line 
of  shade  would  exist  as  a  mathematical  and  theoretic  boundary 
between  the  shadow  of  the  abacus  and  the  shade  of  the  echinus. 

14.  Summing   up  the    considerations    thus  far   adduced,  we    may 
state  their  results  in  the  form  of  maxims,  as  follows  : 

I.  Surfaces  in  shade  are  turned  away  from  the  light,  surfaces  in 
shadow^are  turned  towards  it.     Consequently, 

II.  No  shadow  can  be  cast  upon  a  surface  in  shade,  nor  upon  a 
surface  already  in  shadow  except  by  reflected  or  artificial  light. 

III.  None  but  illuminated  bodies  can  cast  shadows. 

IV.  Those  shadows  are  darkest  that  fall  on  the  brightest  side  of 
an  object,  and  small  shadows  near   large  lights  seem  by  contrast 
darker  than  large  shadows  near  small  lights.     (See  shadow  of  capon 
octagonal  pier,  Plate  I,  No.  (i.) 

V.  Shades  and  shadows  are  darkest  near  the  edges  adjacent  to 
the  light ;  they  are  lightest  in  those  portions  most  exposed  to  reflected 
light,  that  is,  those  most  turned  away  from  the  sun. 

VI.  Shadows  are  darker  than  the"  adjacent  shades.     The  lightest 
shades  (that  is,  those  most  affected  by  reflected  light)  are  darker 
than  the  feeblest  lights. 

Maxim  II  is  not  infrequently  violated,  one  shadow  being  rep- 
resented as  crossing  an- 
other although  cast  by 
the  same  light,  as  in 
Figure  11.  The  error 
is  manifest  when  we 
reflect  that  a  surface 
already  in  shadow  can- 
not be  further  dark- 
ened except  by  the  ex- 
clusion of  reflected,  dif-  :;1 

I*  1  .,..!,.,  I'linlillH     III, 

fused,  or  artificial  light 
which  would  otherwise 
reach  it.  Sometimes 

one  also  sees  the  absurd-  — . 

ity  committed  of  repre-   fyJJ-  Shadows  incorreclly  crossing  Shadow 
senting  an  unilluminated, 

object  as  casting  a  shadow,  as  at  a,  Figure  11,  which  is  evidently 
impossible,  and  contrary  to  the  principle  of  Maxim  III. 

15.  Plate  I,  No.  8,  is  from  a  photograph  of  a  plaster  cast  in  full 
sunlight.  The  intensity  of  the  high  lights  where  the  solar  rays  are 
normal  to  the  lighted  surface ;  the  delicate  gradations  of  half-light 
near  the  lines  of  shade  on  the  minutely-roughened  surface  of  the 
fruit;  the  darkness  of  the  line  of  shade;  the  intensity  of  the  cast 
shadows,  especially  where  contrasted  with  adjacent  high  lights  and 
in  recesses  where  no  reflected  light  can  penetrate ;  the  generally 
darker  tone  of  the  shadows  as  compared  with  the  shades,  and  the 
brilliancy  of  some  of  the  reflected  lights  cast  back  into  the  shades, 
excellently  illustrate  the  principles  just  set  forth,  and  prove  their 
foundation  on  the  facts  of  nature. 

LTo  be  continued.! 


[Contributors  are  requested  to  send  with  their  drawings  full  and 
adequate  descriptions  of  the  buildings,  including  a  statement  of  cost.] 


HOUSE   OF    MRS.    ELDRIDGE,    OCHRE     POINT,    NEWPORT,    R.    I. 
DUDLEY   NEWTON,   ARCHITECT,     NEWPORT,     R.    I. 
[Gelatine  print,  issued  only  with  the  Imperial  Edition.1 

ARCHITECTURAL   SHADES    AND    SHADOWS,    PLATE    I. 

SEE  article  elsewhere  in  this  issue. 


MR. 


CHURCH,  ANN  ARBOR,    MICH.      MR.  W.  G.  MALCOMSON,   ARCHITECT, 
DETROIT,    MICH. 

tT?HIS  plate  exhibits  the  accepted  design  for  a  church  building  now 
«l»  in  course  of  construction,  under  the  auspices  of  the  National 
Christian  Woman's  Board  of  Missions.  Exterior  shows 
roughly-squared  boulder  stone.  Interior  finish  is  oak  and  ash, 
natural.  Estimated  cost  about  $20,000. 

DESIGN     FOR     THE    PROPOSED     MUNICIPAL     BUILDING,     WASHING- 
TON,   D.    C.      PREPARED   BY   MR.    W.   J.   POLK. 

COTTAGE   AT    WATCH-HILL,    R.    I.        MR.    HOWARD    HOPPIN,    ARCHI- 
TECT,   PROVIDENCE,    R.    I. 

PROBATE    COURT     AND    REGISTRY    OF    DEEDS,     EAST     CAMBRIDGE, 
MASS.      MESSRS.   WAIT   &    CUTTER,   ARCHITECTS,    BOSTON,    MASS. 


EARTHQUAKES.  — I. 


View   at  Vera  Cruz,    Mexico. 

FATHER  IGNAZIO  GALLI,  director  of  the  astronomical  ob- 
servatory at  Velletrie,  near  Rome,  has  just  published  a  long  and 
very  detailed  memoir  on  earthquakes,  which  casts  an  unex- 
pected light  upon  a  momentous  scientific  problem.  Father  Galli  is  a 
savant,  very  conscientious  and  perspicacious  —  one  who  for  several 
years  has  applied  himself  to  the  fathoming  of  the  phenomena  of 
aerial  electricity,  as  well  as  of  those  which  are  connected  with 
terrestrial  convulsions.  I  have  the  honor  of  knowing  him  personally, 
and  I  have  had  occasion  in  several  conversations  to  notice  the  spirit 
of  research,  observation  and  critical  power  with  which  he  is 
animated,  and  without  which  science  reaches  only  chimerical  con- 
clusions. He  is  one  of  those  churchmen  who  do  not  believe  that  the 
brutalities  and  mysteries  of  nature  are  at  enmity  with  the  respect 
which  we  owe  to  the  divine  being.  He  thinks,  on  the  contrary,  that 
every  scientific  advance  enlarges  the  limit  of  human  knowledge  and 
increases  the  sum  of  lawful  well-being,  and  the  security  which  man 
enjoys  in  harmony  with  the  views  of  Providence  such  as  the  Christian 
society  conceives. 

The  work  which  he  offers  to  the  meditation  of  the  world  of 
scientists  consequently  deserves  to  betaken  into  serious  consideration, 
and  although  consecrated  to  the  examination  of  certain  meteorologic 
and  telluric  phenomena,  it  interests  in  a  very  different  way  archi- 
tects and  engineers;  for  it  furnishes  very  exact  and  useful  indica- 
tions as  to  the  best  means  of  protecting  structures  against  damage  by 
earthquake. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  parts  of  the  book  before  us  is  that 
where  the  author  recounts  the  history  of  the  different  beliefs  and 
theories  which  have  been  current  on  this  subject.  All  true  savants 
have  always  believed  that  the  earthquake  proceeds  and  propagates 
itself  by  the  vibration  of  the  soil.  In  ancient  times  they°had 
stranger  notions.  Pliny  believed  that  earthquakes  were  a  conse- 
quence of  the  explosion  of  thunderbolts  in  the  interior  of  the  globe. 
Aristotle  attributed  them  to  dry  exhalations  from  the  soil,  which 
produced,  according  to  him,  not  only  these  convulsions,  but  thunder 
and  wind.  Averroes,  in  speaking  of  the  terrible  earthquake  which 
desolated  the  Province  of  Cordova,  his  native  country,  in  1139  (566 
of  the  Hegira),  mentions  a  plant  called  the  "earthquake  plant,"  and 
in  so  doing  informs  us  that  at  this  time  they  believed  that  the  up- 
neavals  and  rending  of  the  soil  had  the  property  of  giving  birth  to  a 
special  flower.  This  points  without  doubt,  in  the  case  of  Averroes,  to 
seeds  borne  from  neighboring  islands,  perhaps  the  Azores,  by  the 
urious  winds  which  ordinarily  accompany  this  kind  of  phenomena; 
and  as  these  seeds  found  the  soil  deeply  disturbed  by  the  violent 
vibrations,  they  prospered  there  rapidly,  and  offered  to  the  eyes  of 
;he  astonished  inhabitants  the  fruit  of  an  unexpected  vegetation. 

The  invention  of  powder  gave  an  unexpected  appearance  of  truth 
o  Pliny's  theory.      The  effect  which  the  explosion  of  mines  pro- 
duced made  people  believe  that  the  entrails  of  the  earth  contained 


>o.  657.        |[ME^IGSIN  $[^GHITEGT  JIND  BUILDING  HEWS ,  FEB.  231559 


COPYBKHT  1889BYTICKNOR1C" 


>o.  657.        |[ME^iG50f  HHGHTIEGT  JIND  BUILDING  HEWS,  J&EB.2o  1639 


ONE 

OF 

FIVE    COTTAGES 

TO   BE    BUILT   AT 

WATCH  HILL  R.I. 


fU 


"•    *„..,.  L_,., 


1 

T"-| 


^t  „ 


e  ftintiiy  Ji? 


lo.  657. 


"WASHINGTON  *  D 

-ARCHITECT- WBiLLV  POLK- 


§UILDING]|EWS,  pEB.23 


l^GHITEGT  HND  BUILDING  I^WS,  ^EB.  23  1559          If  O.  657. 


GHITEGT  ^ND  UUILDTSG  HEWS,  FEB.  23  1559.       If  o.  6 S 7. 


COPYRIGHT  1889  BY  T1CKHOR  A.  C° 


HADES AHD  SHADOWS.^--' PLATE  I. 


Cornice  in  Direct  Light:  Conventional. 


Cornice  in  Diffused  Light. 


Cornice  in  Direct  Lights  theOfyect. 


-. 


Doric    Co\\\vm\  Small  Scale 


5hade&  Shadow    1     on  Plaster  Cast. 
Doric   Column  -.Large, -Scale.  ^^  Octagonol  Pier  and  Cap. 


?7'.  Elevation  showing  Aeria.1  Perspective. 


1m  M.  36 


Rdiaype  Printing  A  Boston 


FEBRUAKST  23,  1889.]  TJie   American   Architect  ana  Building   News. 


91 


deposits  of  sulphur  and  nitrous  matter  which  the  sun's  heat  or  sub- 
terranean fires  suddenly  lighted,  thus  producing  formidable 
explosions.  They  began  to  believe  in  consequence  that  there  ex- 
isted some  connection  between  volcanoes  and  earthquakes,  and  then 
to  the  supposed  action  of  sulphur  and  nitre  was  added  that  ol 
bitumen  and  vitriol. 

Descartes  thought  that  the  mechanical  action  of  these  hypothetica 
explosions  proceeded  from  the  infiltration  of  sea-water  into  the  sub- 
terranean cavities,  and  this  supposition  was  rejuvenated  in  1884,  at 
the  time  when  an  earthquake  ravaged  the  south  of  Spain.  Only  a 
more  profound  study  of  the  question  has  allowed  us  to  doubt  the 
credibility  of  this  theory,  and  especially  because  of  the  enormous  ex- 
tent of  territory  sometimes  affected  by  an  earthquake. 

Stukeley,  in  1750,  calculated  that  in  order  to  shake  up  a  zone 
having  an  extent  of  300  miles,  the  explosion  must  be  produced  at  a 
depth  of  at  least  200  miles.  Now  no  explosion  could  lift  up  a  cone 
of  this  proportion,  even  if  it  were  possible  to  accumulate  at  the 
central  point  of  upheaval  all  the  powder  manufactured  since  its  in- 
vention. Here  are  the  figures:  the  English  mile  being  1609  metres. 
By  taking  a  base  of  three  as  the  mean  specific  weight  of  the  rocky 
layer,  we  have  in  round  figures  a  total  weight  of  60,000,000,000,000,- 
000  kilogrammes.  The  force  necessary  to  raise  through  even  ten 
centimetres  such  a  mass  as  this  would  be  6,000,000,000,000,000,000 
kilogrammetres. 

Toward  the  end  of  the  last    century  superstition  took  another 
direction,  which  gradually  acquired  a  certain  resemblance  to  Pliny's 
theory.     This   was  the  time  when  everybody  was  speaking  of  the 
electric-fluid,  the  electric-spark  and  electric-explosions.     Franklin's 
experiments   were   decisive,   and   by   bringing    the    lightning   into 
captivity  the  grand  American  savant  proved  that  it  was  only  the 
result  of  the  condensation  of  fluid.     From  this  they  passed  on  to  a 
belief  in  the  incessant  discharge  of  electric-currents  between   the 
clouds  and  the  earth,  and  to  the  idea,  very  analogous  to  that  of 
Pliny's,  that  earthquakes  were  only  the  physical  consequences  of  in- 
ternal explosions.     Father  Beccaria  published  in   1783  a  very  long 
memoir  for  the  sake  of  developing  this  theory,  which  was,  neverthe- 
less, refuted  by  Galvani  and  Volta.     The  first  admitted,  at  most,  that 
the  electrical  whirlwinds  resulting  from  earthquakes  could  strictly  be 
the   cause   of   certain  troubles  which  had   been  observed   amongst 
animals.     As  to  Volta,  he  revolted  energetically  against   those  too 
generalizing  minds,  who,  since  the  discovery  of  Franklin,  explained 
all  the  hitherto  unexplained  phenomena  of  nature  as  being  due  to 
electricity.     This  momentary  aberration  led  astray  for  a  time  the  in- 
vestigations of  the  sonants,  but  little  by  little  studies  and  geological 
discoveries  brought  back  the  attention  of  physicists  to  the  mechani- 
cal process,  and  especially  to  the  vibratory  form  of  the  tremblings  of 
the  earth.     Before  long  people  felt  sure  that  at  a  depth  of  forty  to 
fifty  kilometres  none  of  the  known  bodies  could  exist  in  a  solid  state 
and  that  the  fluid  mass  which  formed  almost  the  whole  of  the  terres- 
trial sphere  must  constantly  be  modifying  its  shape  under  the  in- 
termittent and  periodical  action  of  the  moon  and  sun,  as  can  be  seen 
in  the  liquid  masses  which  flow  on  the  surface  of  the  globe.     Here 
we  are,  then,  in  the  presence  of  the  hypothesis  according  to  which 
earthquakes   are   only  the   consequence  of   the  shaking  of   the   in- 
candescent seas  which  are  constantly  in  agitation  under  the  crust  of 
the  globe.     This  theory,  to-day  almost  entirely  abandoned,  had  the 
advantage  of  fixing  the  investigations  of  certain  physicists  ufion  the 
nature  of  these  shocks,  and  of  creating  a  suspicion  of  a  vibratory 
principle  in  their  propagation.     Accordirig  to  Humboldt,  this  prin- 
ciple had  been  suggested,  in  the  first  place,  by  the  studies  of  Thomas 
Young  on   the  analogy  between   the  vibratory   movement  of  solid 
bodies  and  that  of  the  sound  waves  of  the  air.   "What  is  indisputable 
is  that  the  theory  of  the  vibrations  of  the  ground  was  formulated 
categorically   in    1830   by   Father  Pianciani.     Robert  Mallett   and 
William    Hopkins    gave    to    this    theory    synthetic    precision,    and 
AV'ertheim   distinguished   the  vibrations  anil  waves   into   longitudi- 
nal and  transverse.      Once  this  point  reached,  the   author   defines 
with  preciseness  the  thesis  which  he  proposes  to  uphold,  and  which 
must  be  the  proper  one.     What  has  been  called,  up  to  the  present 
time,  the  movements  of  mass,  or  to  word  it  better,  the  perpendicular 
upheavals,  apropos  of  earthquakes  do  not  exist.     It  may  happen  that 
the  nature  of  the  ground  can  give  to  the  vibratory  wave  a  concentric 
and  saltatory  form,  but  the  general  character  of  the  phenomenon  is 
undulatory    and    vibratory,   and    grows    gradually    weaker    as    it 
advances.      Proof   is  that  almost   always  the  earthquake  is  super- 
ficial and  does  not  penetrate  the  upper  crust.     Berzolius  informs  us 
that  in  1823  the  miners  who  worked  in  the  mines  of  Persberg  and 
Falhun  had  not  the  slightest  knowledge  of  the  earthquake  which 
desolated  the  whole  country  above  their  heads.     In  1828  the  Rhenish 
provinces  were  ravaged  by  an  analagous  disaster,  and  the  miners  at 
Miilheim  and  at  U nn  heard  no  sound  of  it.     On  the  1 7th  of  March, 
1872,  the  southeastern  portion  of   California,  notably  the  mineral 
deposits  at  Long  Pine,  was  devastated  in  its  turn.     The  little  town 
which  was  springing  into  being  at  that  place  was  entirely  destroyed, 
except   the  wooden   houses.     More   than   a   hundred   shocks   were 
counted,  and  yet  the  miners  at  work  in  the  shafts  had  no  knowledge 
of  even  one  of  them.     The  same  was  the  case  with  the  earthquake 
which  took  place  in  Virginin,  in  1879.     One  which  more  recently 
caused  some  destruction  in  the  same  city  was  hardly  perceived  by  the 
miners  who  were  in  the  upper  galleries.     Those  in  the  lower  drifts 
heard  no  noise. 

At  Cesena,  in  Roumania,  at  the  end  of  an  earthquake  shock  the 


population  hurried  in  a  body  to  the  pit-shaft,  believing  that  there 
had  been  an  explosion  below,  and  astonishment  was  boundless  when 
at  the  usual  hour  the  miners  were  seen  coming  to  the  surface  unhurt, 
much  surprised  in  their  turn  at  the  solicitude  with  which  they  were 
welcomed.  They  had  heard  nothing. 

In  the  evening  of  December  30,  1883,  so  violent  was  the  shock 
that  shook  the  city  of  Dorignier,  near  Douai,  in  France,  that  the 
frightened  inhabitants  precipitately  abandoned  their  houses.  Here 
the  miners  at  work  in  the  pits  heard  only  a  subdued  rumbling,  but 
did  not  perceive  the  least  motion  of  the  earth.  M.  Domeyka, 
Engineering  General  of  the  mines  of  Chili,  reported  to  the  Academy 
of  Sciences  that  once  on  leaving  the  pit-shaft  he  found  his  own  house 
thrown  to  the  ground  by  an  earthquake,  of  which,  beneath  the 
surface,  he  had  had  no  indication.  He  added,  that  according  to 
tradition,  the  miners  believed  themselves  safer  against  earthquake 
shocks  when  they  were  below  ground,  than  when  they  were  upon  its 
surface. 

Such  citations  could  be  multiplied  without  stint,  and  would  demon- 
strate to  the  farthest  limit  the  proof  that,  at  a  depth  of  a  few  metres, 
the  oscillation  of  the  ground  does  not  take  place,  and  that  between  the 
superficial  crust,  where  the  vibrations  are  transmitted,  and  the  lower 
strata,  where  the  phenomenon  is  absolutely  imperceptible,  there  is 
an  intermediate  layer,  where  it  is  only  sensible  in  an  acoustic  form. 

Finally,  all  the  observations  bearing  upon  this  subject  have  equally 
established  that  earthquakes  are  propagated  really  in  the  form  of 
undulations  of  the  ground.  At  Albano,  for  instance,  the  inhabitants 
of  that  country  were  perfectly  familiar,  in  1829,  with  this  pheno- 
menon, which,  for  a  certain  length  of  time,  was  reproduced  in  their 
midst  with  an  undesirable  frequency.  They  saw  from  afar  plants 
and  trees  tottering,  bowing  themselves  and  rising  up  again,  as  do 
the  masts  of  ships  which  float  upon  the  sea,  and  they  stopped  in  the 
midst  of  their  tasks  in  order  that  the  undulation,  of  which  they  had 
had  this  warning,  might  pass  on  its  way.  A  soldier,  a  friend  of  the 
author,  told  him  that  in  1879  he  was  sitting,  one  May  evening,  in  the 
open  field,  and  all  of  a  sudden  he  felt  himself  lifted  up  and  saw 
the  ground  in  front  of  him  taking  the  form  of  a  receding  wave-crest. 
Finally,  in  his  admirable  work  on  volcanoes  and  earthquakes,  M.  K. 
Fuchs  describes  with  great  minuteness  these  undulatorv  movements 
of  the  ground.  The  surface  seems  to  rise  up  and  fall  back  with  regu- 
larity, while  the  movement  is  propagated  in  a  determinate  direction. 
During  the  severe  shocks  the  earth  seems  to  have  lost  its  solidity, 
and  resembles  a  moving  liquid.  xYn  undulatory  movement  does  not 
make  itself  felt  merely  as  if  the  observer  were  in  a  boat,  but  some- 
times the  movement  of  the  ground  can  actually  be  seen. 

The  still  superficial  ideas  which  obtained  regarding  the  transmis- 
sibility  of  geological  bodies  seem  to  refute  this  manner  of  explaining 
earthquakes  ;  but  Father  Galli  ([notes  a  very  plausible  example  for 
establishing  this  transmissibility  :  If  an  observer  takes  his  place  at 
some  distance  from  the  spot  where  pile-driving  is  going  on,  he  receives 
through  the  soles  of  his  feet  a  very  sensible  impression  every  time 
that  the  hammer  falls,  and  the  intensity  of  this  impression  augments 
or  diminishes  according  as  he  removes  farther  from  or  approaches 
nearer  to  the  point  of  percussion.  Is  not  this  a  clear  proof  that  the 
soil  serves  as  conductor  for  circular  vibrations  which  diminish  in 
force  as  the  circumference  of  vibration  enlarges  ?  The  same  Fuchs, 
besides  this,  assures  us  that  the  transmission  of  the  undulatory  move- 
ment is  sometimes  very  easily  seen,  especially  in  the  matter  of  trees. 
Dolomieu  reports  that  he  saw,  in  1 783,  during  an  earthquake  in  Cala- 
bria, trees  bowing  themselves  so  greatly  when  an  undulation  passed 
under  them  that  their  summits  touched  the  ground.  The  same  ob- 
servation was  made  during  an  earthquake  in  Missouri  in  1811,  when 
the  trees  first  bent  themselves,  as  I  have  just  said,  and  then  raised 
themselves  erect  at  each  passage  of  an  undulation.  This  interpreta- 
tion would  explain  in  a  certain  manner  certain  secondary  phenomena 
which  up  to  the  present  have  remained  obscure,  such  as  the  projec- 
tion of  a  solid  body  to  a  distance  during  these  earthquakes;  crevices 
opening  in  the  ground,  and  so  completely  closing  up  after  the  shock 
that,  for  example,  a  hen  was  found  that  had  her  claw  caught  in  a 
crevice  in  the  pavement  after  the  disaster  at  Melfi  in  1851  ;  and,  in 
the  last  place,  the  cloud  of  dust  which  accompanies  earthquakes,  and 
which,  in  a  country  where  the  land  is  dry  and  sandy,  is  only  a  con- 
sequence of  strong  vibrations  of  the  ground.  In  Provence  and 
Liguria,  during  the  terrible  calamity  of  1887,  there  was  clearly  dis- 
tinguished on  the  beach,  and  in  those  places  where  the  sand  is  fine, 
such  a  cloud,  which  formed  itself  and  then  the  scattered  sand  drifted 
nto  the  air. 

During  the  earthquake  which  devastated  Liguria  in  1887,  there 
was  also  established  a  peculiarity  worthy  of  the  greatest  attention. 
We  know  that  in  this  province,  planted  with  olive  vineyards,  there 
are  a  great  number  of  slate  cisterns  of  considerable  depth,  which 
serve  as  receptacles  for  the  oil  after  the  harvest.  At  the  time  when 
this  catastrophe  took  place  these  cisterns  were  all  full,  since  the 
larvest  was  but  just  finished.  Now,  not  one  of  these  spilled  over, 
and  not  one  of  them  received  the  slightest  injury,  although  the  water- 
wells  were  all  damaged,  and  their  waters  spoiled.  Even  in-villages 
which  were  almost  entirely  destroyed,  these  oil-cisterns  were  found 
absolutely  unharmed.  What,  then,  is  the  explanation  of  these  sur- 
3rising  phenomena?  —  The  difference  of  vibratory  conductibility 
vhich  exists  between  oil  and  water,  and  the  almost  absolute  inca- 
jacity  of  the  first  of  these  substances  to  transmit  a  shock.  The  ex- 
jeriment  made  on  this  head  by  Father  Galli,  and  which  everybody 
:an  repeat,  is  a  very  clear  demonstration.  If,  by  the  aid  of  a  fiddle- 


92 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.       [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  687. 


bow,  we  cause  to  vibrate  a  finger-glass  filled  with  oil,  we  observe 
the  surface  of  the  liquid  is  agitated  by  the  merest  shivering.  It  is 
the  same  with  a  glass  containing  water  covered  with  a  film  of  oil. 
The  oil  presents  no  perceptible  agitation,  while  pure  water  shudders 
and  is  disturbed,  and  is  covered  with  miniature  waves,  so  long  as  the 
vibration  continues.  The  oil,  then,  remains  non-conducting,  even 
when  it  only  forms  an  exceedingly  thin  layer ;  and  this  phenomenon 
is  very  closely  related  to  that  which  is  produced  during  a  storm  at 
sea,  when  a  certain  quantity  of  oil  is  thrown  upon  the  water.  Now 
it  is  certain  that  the  thing  which  saved  these  oil-cisterns  in  Liguria 
is  the  vibratory  form  of  the  shocks,  for  if  the  movement  of  the 
ground  had  been  concentric  or  upheaving  the  bottom  of  the  cistern 
would  have  been  raised,  and  the  liquid,  overcoming  the  resistance  of 
the  covers,  would  inevitably  have  been  spilled.  H.  MEREU. 

[To  be  continued.! 


IT  would  seem  as  though  there  were  no  room  in  the  aesthetic  and 
literary  world  for  another  history  of  art,  and,  in  a  certain  sense 
there  is  certainly  no  very  crying  need  for  many  more  such  works 
as  Liibke  and  von  ileber  have  given  to  artists ;  still,  a  very  tangible 
evidence  that  the  lists  are  not  yet  full  is  afforded  by  William  Henry 
Goodyear's  recent  "  History  of  Art,"1  a  work  which  would  seem  to  be 
more  fittingly  designated  by  the  humbler  title  of  "  hand-book,"  as, 
in  the  three  hundred  pages  of  the  volume  the  leading  points  are  only 
touched  upon.       The  author's  familiarity  with  art  is  unquestionable, 
and  in  the  distinct  lines  of  both  architecture  and  painting  he  is  well- 
known  as  a  writer  and  critic,  while  a  long  experience  in  connection 
with  the  Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art  is  proof  of  his  artistic  appre- 
ciation.    Such  a  work  as  this  will  then   be  welcomed  by  every  one 
who  feels  the  need  of  a  concise  presentation  of  facts  in  the  history  of 
art,  made  by  one  who  confines  himself  to  such  statements  as  arc  in- 
disputable, without  undertaking  any  elaboration   of   details.      The 
pages  are  divided  pretty  evenly  between  the  arts,  one-third  of  the 
book  being  given  to  architecture  and  about  eighty  pages  to  sculpture. 
As  would  very  naturally  be  expected,   many  of  the  architectural 
distinctions  of  style  are  lost  sight  of,  or  at  least  they  do  not  seem  to 
be  preserved  with  the  care  one  might  wish,  though  the  writer  hits  off 
very  justly  the  lack  of  style  in  our  modern  work  when  he  says  that 
many  or  most  of  our  buildings  do  not  belong  to  any  style  at  all,  unless 
it  be  one  of  which  we,  as  moderns,  a"re  unconscious.     In  treating  the 
subject,  a  radical  departure  has  been  made  from  the  order  usually 
followed  by  writers  upon  the  history  of  architecture,  the   modern 
work  being  considered  first  in  considerable  detail ;  and  it  is  a  change 
which  subsequent  writers  may  follow  to  advantage.     We  naturally 
draw  our  first  ideas  of  architecture  from  the  examples  about  us,  and 
it  is  really  only  after  a  long  training  in  art  that  one  can  rightly 
appreciate   such   monuments   as     the    Egyptian    pyramids   or    the 
Assyrian  brick  palaces.     In  fact,  analysis  is,  to  most  minds,  more 
appreciable  and  satisfactory  than  synthesis,  and  the  former  process 
of  reasoning  has  the  advantage  that  it  is  complete  as  far  as  it  goes  —  a 
point  which  must  be  kept  in  view  when  writing  a  book  such  as  this, 
which,  after  all,  is  more  properly  intended  for  the  public  than  for 
those  to  whom  art  is  a  profession,  though  the  same  idea  could  be 
applied  to   a   more   detailed  art  history.      Tell  a  student  that  St. 
Patrick's    Cathedral    is    of    French   architectural    extraction    and 
Gothic  —  or  buttressed  Gothic,  as  Mr.  Goodyear  has  it  —  by  classi- 
fication ;  that  Girard  College  is  Corinthian  and  Classic;  that  William 
K.  Vanderbuilt's   house  is  Renaissance   and    Francis  I ;    and  if  he 
never  hears  another  word  about  architecture,  these  buildings  will  be 
as  types  to  him  and  he  will  have  a  hundredfold  more  knowledge  of 
the  art  than  if  he  were  to  give  months  to  an  investigation  of  the 
Egyptian  hypostyle  halls,  or  an  elucidation   of   the   knotty  Greek 
hypajthral  question.      This  seems  to  be  exactly  the  idea  which  the 
writer  of  this  history  had  in  view,  and  though  elaborated  only  to  a 
slight  degree  it  is  sufficient  to  render  the  study  of  architecture  in- 
teresting from  the  first  page. 

Another  noteworthy  feature  of  the  book  is  the  illustrations,  and 
they  are  noticeable  quite  as  much  for  the  medium  employed,  as  for  the 
execrable  manner  in  which  they  are  set  forth.  The  two  hundred 
and  five  process  reproductions  of  photographs  which  illustrate  the 
work  are  excellent  in  idea,  and,  granting  the  claim  that  the  worst 
photograph  has  some  peculiar  advantages  over  the  best  engraving 
for  the  reproduction  of  works  of  art,  "  the  illustration  of  the  book  is 
a  successful  experiment  as  regards  the  use  of  photography,  and  as 
regards  the  effort  to  illustrate  adequately  a  history  of  art  in  number 
and  choice  of  objects."  As  regards  the  process,  it  is  hoped  that  in 
future  editions  something  more  satisfactory  may  be  found.  There 
are  several  other  methods  of  reproducing  photo-prints,  and  althoug" 
it  would,  of  course,  be  quite  out  of  the  question  in  connection  with  a 
work  so  modest  in  size  and  in  price  as  this,  we  can  imagine  nothing 
more  complete  as  illustrations  to  the  history  of  art  than  a  series  o 
three  or  four  hundred  of  the  best  gelatine  prints  made  directly  from 
the  old  works  of  art. 

As  a  text-book  or  as  a  handy  volume  to  carry  to  Europe  with  one 


i  "  A  History  of  Art " ;  by  William  Henry  Goodyear,  B.  A. ;  lately  Curator  in 
the  Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art.    New  York  :  A.  S.  Barnes  &  Co.    Price,  $3.50. 


,s  a  guide  to  historic  art,  this  book  seems  to  be  peculiarly  suitable, 
>oth  by  reason  of  brevity  and  at  the  same  time,  its  completeness  ; 
,nd  by  reason  of  the  categorical  manner  in  which  the  facts  are 
.rranged  and  set  forth.  The  text  is  sometimes  a  trifle  dogmatic, 
)erhaps,  and  yet  it  well  shows  that  the  history  of  art  is  not  the 
undefined,  vaguel}'  aesthetic  study  some  writers  would  have  it  appear, 
and  that  the  old  masters  have  a  precise  historic  and  artistic  value 
which  is  not  measured  by  individual  appreciation.  "  Personal  taste, 
one's  chance  acquaintances  and  surroundings,  or  the  fashion  of  the 
lour,  are  apt  to  be  disturbing  elements  when  we  use  modern  work 
as  the  standard  of  appeal  for  educational  purposes.  In  dealing  with 
the  past,  we  stand  on  firmer  ground.  The  weight  of  authoritative 
criticism  is  such,  and  its  verdicts  are  so  well-known,  that  the  in- 
dividual instructor  becomes  the  exponent  of  these  and  must  be 
udged  by  his  own  rendering  and  appreciation  of  them.  The  learner 
hen  stands  in  face,  not  of  an  individual  teacher,  but  of  the  criticism 
>f  art  as  determined  by  its  standard  authorities.  To  develop  and 
'orm  an  original  and  independent  taste  is  the  object  of  the  learner. 
I'o  offer  a  firm  basis  for  this  development  by  the  suppression  of  in- 
lividual  views  and  by  attention  to  the  most  general  principles  must 
je  the  object  of  the  teacher.  On  the  whole  the  matter  of  fact  is  the 
main  thing." 

These  last  three  sentences  fitly  express  the  scope  and  the  intent 
of  the  book. 


THE    PROPOSED    "STANDARD    FORM"    FOR    BUILDING    CONTRACTS. 

WE  have  been  requested  to  examine  the  form  of  contract  adopted 
by  the  Joint  Committee  of  the  American  Institute  of  Archi- 
tects, the  Western  Association  of  Architects  and  the  National 
Association  of  Builders,  as  a  "  standard  form,"  to  which  it  is  hoped 
that  all  building  contracts  will,  in  time,  conform. 

While  the  end  in  view,  viz.,  the  drawing  of  all  building  contracts 
with  the  same  general  provisions  and  conditions  which  eventually 
would  become  familiar  in  meaning  and  effect  to  owners,  architects 
and  builders,  is  a  praiseworthy  one,  we  have  serious  doubts  as  to 
whether  any  such  scheme  is  practicable ;  and  we  are  unhesitatingly 
of  opinion  that  this  particular  attempt  will  not  commend  itself  to  the 
judgment  of  the  building  public. 

The  chief  objection  to  the  form  in  question  is  the  extended 
authority  given  to  the  architect :  he  is  made  the  agent  of  the  owner  ; 
he  is  given  authority  to  make  alteration  and  order  extras,  and  to 
waive  the  provisions  as  to  time ;  he  is  to  determine  the  amount  of 
loss  sustained  by  the  owner  in  case  of  delay  on  the  contractor's  part ; 
also,  whether  the  contractor  is  in  such  default  as  to  justify  the  owner 
in  continuing  the  work  on  his  own  account,  and  (apparently)  to  pass 
upon  the  sufficiency  of  evidence  that  the  premises  are  free  from 
liens.  He  is  also  to  "direct"  the  work. 

The  real  parties  to  this  contract  would  seem  to  be  the  contractor  and 
the  architect,  rather  than  the  contractor  and  the  owner  of  the 
premises ;  the  latter  having  nothing  to  do  but  to  promptly  pay  what- 
ever bills  may  be  incurred  by  the  architect,  howsoever  much  in  excess 
of  the  contract  price.  The  architect  can  increase  the  cost  of  the 
building  to  any  extent  that  he  sees  fit,  and  the  owner  has  apparently 
no  power  to  get  rid  of  him.  The  contract  amounts,  in  short,  to  an 
irrevocable  power-of  attorney  to  the  architect  to  build  such  a  house 
as  he  sees  fit,  with  full  power  to  pledge  his  employer's  credit  in  pay- 
ment of  the  bills. 

We  doubt  if  one  owner  in  a  thousand  would  sign  a  contract  like 
this,  if  he  fully  understood  its  scope  and  meaning.  There  may  be 
some  special  cases  in  which  the  owner  is,  for  some  reason,  willing  to 
give  the  architect  carte  blanche  in  regard  to  plans  and  cost ;  but,  as 
a  rule,  of  course,  the  wishes  and  necessities  of  the  owner  in  respect 
to  design,  construction  and  expense,  are  essential  conditions  of  the 
problem.  Even  if  the  owner  is  willing  to  let  the  architect  build  the 
house  at  his  own  discretion  as  to  cost,  it  would  still  be  unwise  to 
clothe  him  with  a  general  authority  to  order  alterations  and  extras  ; 
for  it  must  never  be  forgotten  that  the  real  cause  of  building  disputes 
and  the  real  question  at  issue  between  the  contractor  and  the  owner 
is  not  whether  the  alterations  were,  in  fact,  ordered,  but  whether  a 
jury  will  find  that  they  were.  As  the  law  stands  to-day,  before  the 
contractor  can  saddle  a  bill  for  extras  on  the  owner,  he  must  show 
either  that  the  owner  himself  directly  ordered  the  work,  or  else  that 
it  was  ordered  by  the  architect,  and  that  the  latter  had  express 
authority  to  give  the  ort'er.  Every  one  who  has  tried  building  cases 
knows  the  ease  with  which  unscrupulous  contractors  can,  through 
their  own  evidence  or  that  of  their  workmen,  convince  a  jury  that 
the  order  was  given  by  the  architect ;  when  it  comes  to  the  second 
step,  however,  the  builder's  case  generally  fails,  unless  the  owner  did, 
in  fact,  order  the  extras  himself,  or  expressly  authorize  the  architect 
to  do  so.  Under  this  proposed  "  standard  form "  of  contract  this 
second  and  most  important  step  in  the  builder's  case  would  be  unneces- 
sary ;  he  would  only  have  to  convince  the  jury  that  the  architect 
ordered  the  alterations ;  and  the  main  safeguard  of  the  owner  against 
manufactured  and  fraudulent  evidence  would  be  gone. 

We  think,  also,  that  this  extension  of  the  architect's  authority 


FEBRUARY  23,  1889.]  The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


93' 


would  be  a  serious  annoyance  and  danger  to  him.  Such  a  provision 
might,  at  first  sight,  seem  convenient  as  permitting  an  architect  to 
secure,  without  special  consultation  with  his  client,  the  execution  of 
any  work  that  may  have  been  omitted  from  the  plans  and  specifica- 
tions. In  practice,  however,  exactly  the  opposite  result  would  be 
pretty  sure  to  follow;  the  owner  would  be  more  indignant  at  the 
presentation  after  the  building  was  done  of  a  heavy  bill  for  extras 
ordered  by  the  architect  without  his  knowledge,  than  he  is  now  at 
the  necessary  additions  to  the  contract  price  that  are  made  known  to 
him  during  the  progress  of  the  work.  And,  although  in  most  cases  it 
would  be  wholly  unreasonable  to  expect  that  plans  and  specifications 
prepared  before  the  work  is  begun  should,  in  fact,  prove  coextensive 
with  the  case,  and  contain  everything  that  is  necessary  to  the  com- 
pletion of  the  building;  still,  it  is  plainly  the  architect's  duty  to 
make  the  original  plans  and  specifications  as  comprehensive  as  he 
can.  He  is  employed  and  paid  to  do  that  very  thing ;  and  if  any 
omission  is  subsequently  discovered,  it  is  and  ought  to  be  incumbent 
on  him  to  go  to  the  owner  and  procure  his  express  and  special 
authority  to  make  it  good.  The  obligation  to  consult  the  owner 
before  ordering  extras  is  in  one  sense  a  burden  to  the  architect,  but 
in  the  end  it  probably  gives  him  much  less  trouble  than  if  he  had  the 
right  to  give  orders  without  saying  anything  about  them  to  his 
client.  The  architect  should  spare  no  time  or  labor  in  making  the 
plans  and  specifications  as  comprehensive  as  he  can  at  the  outset; 
he  should  take  pains  to  explain  to  the  owner  that  in  all  probability 
there  will  still  be  some  things  forgotten  or  omitted ;  and,  then,  when 
such  omission  is  discovered  he  should  in  each  and  every  case  procure 
the  written  consent  of  the  owner  to  the  alteration  or  extra.  If  small 
items  have  to  be  ordered  before  the  owner  can  be  reached,  it  should 
be  understood  that  this  is  done  subject  to  the  owner's  approval,  and 
he  should  be  notified  at  once,  the  architect  assuming  the  risk  until 
ratification  by  his  client.  This  is  the  uniform  practice  in  many 
architects'  offices,  and  should  be  in  all. 

The  proposed  form  of  contract  would  prove,  moreover,  not  only 
more  troublesome  to  the  architect  than  the  existing  practice,  but 
would  also  be  a  source  of  pecuniary  danger  in  a  manner  and  to  an 
extent  that  would  not  be  apt  to  suggest  itself  to  the  architect,  unless 
he  has  been  mixed  up  a  good  deal  with  building  litigation.  Under 
the  present  practice  if  an  owner  is  dissatisfied,  and  he  often  is,  with 
the  amount  of  the  bills  for  extras,  there  is  practically  not  much 
danger  of  the  architect  being  held  responsible.  The  owner  cannot 
voluntarily  pay  the  bills,  and  then  sue  the  architect  for  breach 
of  contract  in  ordering  them ;  for,  if  the  orders  for  extras  were  not 
given  by  the  architect  with  the  express  sanction  of  the  owner,  the 
latter  would  not  be  liable  to  the  contractor,- and  had  no  business  to 
pay  the  bills.  If  he  does  not  pay  them  the  contractor  brings  suit,  and 
in  ninety-nine  cases  out  of  a  hundred,  so  far  as  our  experience  goes, 
in  fact,  we  might  say  in  every  instance  where  the  owner  is  financially 
responsible,  the  suit  is  brought  against  him  rather  than  against  the 
architect.  In  such  suit  the  architect  is  a  witness  as  to  the  authority 
given  him  by  his  client;  if  it  was  given,  he,  of  course,  so  testifies, 
and  that  generally  settles  the  case'in  favor  of  the  contractor.  Judg- 
ment being  rendered  for  the  contractor  and  paid  by  the  owner,  the 
latter  cannot  turn  round  and  sue  the  architect,  for  the  very  basis  of 
the  judgment  against  him  in  the  contractor's  suit  was  that  he  had 
given  express  authority  to  the  architect  to  order  the  work.  If  the 
contractor  is  unsuccessful  in  his  suit,  that,  of  course,  ends  tfie  con- 
troversy as  between  the  architect  and  owner,  leaving  the  former  still 
open  to  a  suit  with  the  contractor.  In  this  suit  the  contractor 
cannot  succeed  unless  the  architect,  in  fact,  ordered  the  extras ;  and, 
if  he  did  so  without  authority  from  his  client,  he  has  only  himself  to 
blame. 

Let  us  see  now  what  the  course  of  events  would  be  under  this  pro- 
posed "standard  form."  The  contractor  sues  the  owner  for  the 
price  of  extras  which  he  claims  were  ordered  by  the  architect.  He 
is  relieved  from  proving  that  the  architect  had  any  authority  in 
fact,  because  the  contract  has  made  him  the  owner's  agent  for  the 
purpose  of  ordering  alterations  and  extras.  He  recovers  a  judgment 
for  the  amount  of  his  bill  and  interest.  The  owner  thereupon  sues 
the  architect  for  breach  of  some  private  understanding  that  he  may 
have  had,  or  claim  to  have  had  with  him,  to  the  effect  that  no  extras 
should  bo  ordered  without  special  authority.  In  such  an  action  the 
former  judgment  against  the  owner  would  be  no  bar  to  the  latter's 
recovering  from  the  architect  the  who'«  amount  paid  to  the  con- 
tractor, and  the  issue  would  be  simply  this :  whether  in  the 
first  place  there  was  any  such  private  arrangement  or  understanding 
between  the  architect  and  the  owner;  and  secondly,  if  there  was, 
whether  it  was  adhered  to  by  the  architect.  We  think  architects 
will  hesitate  before  suggesting  to  their  clients  a  form  of  contract 
which,  by  reason  of  its  unusual  provisions,  would  subject  them  to 
such  risks  as  these. 

A  case  in  point  has  just  been  called  to  our  attention  as  editor  of 
this  department.  The  owner  of  a  large  building  which  is  just  com- 
pleted has  been  presented  with  bills  for  extras  amounting  to  some 
twenty  to  thirty  thousand  dollars,  and  has  refused  to  pay  them,  charg- 
ing that  the  architect  had  no  authority  to  order  them.  This  means 
trouble  for  the  architect  of  course ;  but  there  is  practically  little  dan- 
ger that  he  will  be  called  upon  to  pay  the  bills  himself,  if,  as  we  assume 
was  the  case,  the  owner  did,  in  fact,  authorize  the  alterations.  The  con- 
tractors will  sue,  and,  if  they  lose,  that  is  the  end  of  the  owner's 
case  against  the  architect.  If  they  win,  the  verdict  will  settle  con- 
clusively the  fact  that  the  owner  did  expressly  authorize  the  extras. 


If,  however,  the  proposed  "standard  form"  of  contract  had  been 
used,  there  would  be  little  to  save  the  architect  from  a  law-suit  at 
the  instance  of  the  owner,  if  the  latter  adhered  to  his  position. 

We  have  taken  some  pains  to  ascertain  the  practice  of  the  profes- 
sion in  the  city  of  Boston ;  also  their  opinion  as  to  the  desirability 
of  enlarging  the  scope  of  the  architect's  authority  in  the  manner 
proposed.  We  have  been  unable  to  find  a  single  form  of  contract  in 
use  in  architects'  offices  containing  such  a  clause,  or  anything  similar, 
and  we  have  yet  to  find  an  architect  who  personally  desires  to 
assume  the  responsibility  that  such  a  change  would  throw  upon  him. 

The  great  authority  vested  in  the  architect  under  this  proposed 
form  of  contract  is  objectionable  for  another  reason.  If  the  archi- 
tect is  the  agent  of  the  owner,  and  the  work  is  carried  on  under  his 
direction  as  such  agent,  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  hold  the  contractor 
to  a  strict  compliance  with  the  terms  of  his  contract ;  the  defence  in 
every  case  is  that  the  architect  interfered  and  ordered  the  work 
done  as  it  was  done,  and  —  the  architect  being  the  agent  of  the 
owner  —  the  latter  is  bound  to  accept  the  defective  work  as  a  due 
performance  of  the  contract. 

A  further  special  objection  to  the  architect's  being  made  the  agent 
of  the  owner  for  any  purpose  at  all  is  to  be  found  in  the  operation  of 
the  Employers'  Liability  Act,  passed  by  the  Massachusetts  Legisla- 
ture in  1887.  Section  4  of  that  act  makes  the  owner  responsible  for 
accidents  that  arise  from  "any  defect  in  the  ways,  works,  machinery, 
or  plant  if  they  are  the  property  of  the  owner,"  —  and  anything  per- 
manently attached  to  the  building  is  the  property  of  the  owner  —  "if 
such  defect  arises,  or  had  not  been  discovered  or  remedied,  by  the 
negligence  of  any  person  entrusted  "  by  the  owner  "  with  the  duty 
of  seeing  that  they  were  in  proper  condition."  The  meaning  of  this 
clause  has  never  been  judicially  construed  ;  but  it  is  obvious  that  if 
the  architect  is  made  the  owner's  agent  to  "  direct "  the  progress  of 
the  work,  any  accident  due  to  a  defect  in  the  stairways,  floors,  or 
anything  else  affixed  to  the  building  would  form  the  basis  of  a  very 
dangerous  law-suit. 

There  is  no  necessity  for  the  architect's  being  the  owner's 
agent  for  any  purpose;  he  prepares  the  plans,  specifications,  and 
contracts  not  as  an  agent  of  the  owner,  but  as  his  confidential 
adviser ;  if  he  is  afterwards  to  act  as  superintendent,  it  is  much 
safer  in  all  cases  that  such  superintendence  should  take  the  form  of 
inspection  coupled  with  a  right  to  condemn  the  work  if  not  done 
properly,  rather  than  that  he  should  have  the  actual  direction  and 
charge  of  the  work.  Where  all  agency  and  control  of  the  work  is 
withheld  from  the  architect,  it  is  much  easier,  as  already  pointed  out, 
to  hold  the  contractor  to  a  strict  accountability,  and  therefore 
before  the  passage  of  the  Employers'  Liability  Act,  it  was  the  almost 
universal  practice  among  lawyers  drawing  building  contracts  to 
insert  a  clause  that  the  architect  should  not  be  the  owner's  agent  for 
any  purpose  whatsoever.  Since  the  passage  of  this  act  such  a  clause 
seems  indispensable. 

Then  the  authority  given  to  the  architect  to  determine  the  amount 
of  loss  by  the  owner  in  case  of  delay,  and  to  pass  upon  the  right  of 
the  owner  to  terminate  the  contract  when  the  contractor  is  in  default, 
is  in  effect  to  substitute  the  judgment  of  the  architect  for  the  will  of 
the  owner  in  matters  which  the  latter  is  fully  capable  of  determining 
for  himself.  We  are  unable  to  see  what  inducement  there  is  for 
owners  to  surrender  plain  contract  rights  of  this  character  to  the  de- 
termination of  third  parties. 

The  next  objectionable  feature  that  we  notice  is  the  multitude  of 
arbitrations  provided,  sometimes  by  the  architect,  sometimes  by  out- 
side parties.  Arbitration  clauses  in  building  contracts  are  never  of 
the  slightest  use  to  the  owner,  and  should  always  be  omitted.  This 
is  the  advice  of  everybody  who  has  ever  written  on  the  subject,  and 
is  the  uniform  practice  of  lawyers  who  are  in  the  habit  of  drawing 
building  contracts.  The  reason  is  that  there  is  practically  no  method 
of  enforcing  the  arbitration  clause  if  the  other  party  does  not  choose 
to  arbitrate,  and,  in  building  disputes,  the  contractor  always  throws 
the  arbitration  overboard  if  he  or  his  lawyer  think  they  can  get 
more  from  a  jury.  Moreover,  arbitrations  are  notoriously  more  ex- 
pensive than  law-suits,  and  are  seldom  satisfactory  to  the  owner,  for 
the  reason  that  arbitrators,  if  not  lawyers,  are  apt,  in  making  up 
their  award,  to  take  into  account  all  sorts  of  considerations  that  are 
legally  and  justly  wholly  foreign  to  the  case.  On  the  other  hand,  if 
the  parties  really  desire  to  arbitrate  a  dispute  that  has  arisen,  thev 
can  always  do  it  whether  there  is  any  provision  to  that  effect  in  the 
contract  or  not ;  in  Massachusetts,  a  peculiarly  advantageous  arbi- 
tration can  be  had  by  first  instituting  an  action  at  law  and  then 
having  it  referred  under  a  rule  of  court  to  some  one  of  the  many 
lawyers  who  are  in  the  habit  of  sitting  as  auditors  in  building  cases. 
In  such  proceedings  the  expense  of  the  auditor  is  borne  by  the 
county,  and  the  parties  have  only  to  pay  their  counsel.  As  to  the 
many  small  matters  of  detail  that  are  constantly  arising  during 
the  progress  of  building  operations,  the  architect  is  the  natural  and 
usual  referee ;  but  no  arbitration  clause  is  needed  to  make  him  such 
if  the  parties  desire  to  leave  the  matter  to  him. 

Lack  of  space  forbids  us  to  continue  this  criticism,  or  to  point  out 
the  manj  other  impracticable  and  objectionable  features  of  this  con- 
tract, or  to  refer  to  the  omission  of  certain  clauses  and  provisions 
which  have  been  found  extremely  useful  in  practice,  as  tending  to 
prevent  litigation  and  to  protect  the  rights  of  the  owner. 

We  will  only  add  that  this  "  standard  form  "  of  contract  is  founded 
on  a  total  misconception  of  the  actual  and  proper  relations  of  the 
several  parties  to  it.  The  architect  is  employed  at  the  outset  to 


94  The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.        [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  687. 


draw  plans,  specifications  and  contracts,  and  to  devote  to  that 
purpose,  in  the  interest  of  his  employer,  all  the  knowledge  and  skill 
which  he  possesses.  He  occupies  a  position  of  trust  and  confidence, 
being  the  professional  adviser  of  his  client,  and  his  whole  and  sole 
duty  is  to  him.  The  relation  is  substantially  the  same  as  that 
between  solicitor  and  client,  and  it  is  as  much  the  duty  of  the  one  as 
of  the  other  to  draw  contracts  solely  with  a  view  to  the  protection  of 
his  employer. 

Architects,  in  drawing  contracts,  though  generally  more  competent 
for  that  purpose  than  lawyers,  on  account  of  their  greater  familiarity 
with  building  methods,  should  always  bear  two  things  in  mind  :  first, 
that  their  duty  is  to  their  employer,  and  to  him  alone,  and  in  no 
sense  to  the  contractor ;  and  secondly,  that  the  practical  question  in 
building  litigation  is  not  whether  the  work  was  in  fact  done  properly, 
but  whether  a  jury  will  find  that  it  was;  not  whether  the  contractor 
was  in  fact  told  by  the  architect,  as  the  owner's  agent,  to  make 
certain  alterations,  but  whether  the  jury  will  believe  the  testimony 
of  the  contractor  and  his  workmen  that  an  order  was  given,  or  the 
testimony  of  the  architect  that  it  was  not.  If  the  architect  is  to 
certify  the  progress  of  the  work,  he  stands,  in  so  far  as  the  execution 
of  that  duty  is  concerned,  in  a  somewhat  different  position,  being 
bound  to  consider  not  the  interest  of  the  owner  alone,  but  the  actual 
facts  of  the  case  with  truth  and  impartiality ;  but,  in  so  far  as  the 
drawing  of  the  contracts  is  concerned,  he  is  simply  the  confidential 
and  professional  adviser  of  the  man  who  employs  and  pays  him. 

We  are  at  a  loss  to  understand  how  the  committee  of  architects 
appointed  by  the  American  Institute  and  the  Western  Association 
could  have  drafted  such  an  instrument  as  this,  unless  these  gentlemen 
agree  with  the  writer  of  a  recent  text-book  that  the  architect  is  the 
"  recognized  head  of  the  building  trade,"  employed  by  the  contractor, 
rather  than  by  the  owner,  and  anxious  to  make  trouble  for  himself, 


expense 


2r  than  by  the  owner,  ana  anxious  to  make  trc 
inse  for  the  owner,  and  litigation  for  the  courts. 


PHILADELPHIA      CHAPTER     OF      THE     AMERICAN'      INSTITUTE      OF 
ARCHITECTS. 

«TTT  a  meeting  of  the  Philadelphia  Chapter  of  the  American  In- 
F\  stitute  of  Architects,  held  February  12,  a  committee  was 
/  appointed  to  prepare  a  blank  form  of  contract  to  be  used 
between  the  architect  and  the  owner.  It  is  intended  in  this  form  to 
clearly  state  both  the  duties  and  the  responsibilities  of  each  party  to 
the  contract.  Any  blank  forms  of  any  similar  contracts  or  any  in- 
formation on  the  subject  would  be  very  gladly  received  by  Edward 
Hurst  Brown,  1305  Arch  Street,  the  Secretary  of  the  committee. 


ST.    LOUIS    ARCHITECTURAL    LEAGUE. 

AT  a  regular  meeting  of  the  St.  Louis  Architectural  League,  held 
February  2,  the  successful  competitors  for  December  were  declared 
to  be :  L.  H.  Seubert,  First ;  M.  P.  McArdle  and  J.  L.  Wees, 
Second,  both  receiving  same  number  of  points ;  S.  Carlisle  Martin, 
Third.  The  subject  was  a  "Mantel  for  the  League  Rooms." 

The  successful  competitors  for  January  were  as  follows :  M.  P. 
McArdle,  First;  L.  II.  Seubert,  Second;  E.  11.  Falkenbeimer,  Third. 
The  subject  was  a  "Porte  Cochere  for  a  Suburban  Residence." 


MISSOURI   STATE    ASSOCIATION    OF    ARCHITECTS. 

SPECIAL  prize  competition  offered  by  the  Missouri  State  Associa- 
tion of  Architects,  the  subject  being  a  "  Membership  Certificate  for 
the  Year  1889."  The  successful  competitors  were:  L.  H.  Seubert, 
First;  II.  E.  Eames,  Second. 

Mr.  T.  B.  Annon  read  a  very  interesting  paper  on  "  Construction." 
Respectfully, 

L.  H.  SEUBERT,  Corresponding  Secretary. 


WASHINGTON      CHAPTER      OF      THE      AMERICAN  ,  INSTITUTE       OF 
ARCHITECTS. 

THE  Washington  Chapter  of  the  American  Institute  of  Architects 
would  be  pleased  to  see  any  of  the  Institute  or  the  Western  Associa- 
tion members  who  may  be  visiting  Washington  during  the  Inaugural, 
at  their  room,  No.  906  F  Street.  By  calling  on  or  addressing  the 
Secretary,  the  freedom  of  the  room  will  be  gladly  tendered  them. 
One  of  the  regular  meetings  of  the  Chapter  will  be  held  on  the  first 
of  the  month  at  8  p.  M.,  on  which  date  the  members  will  be  pleased 
to  meet  visiting  architects. 

GLENN  BROWN,  Secretary,  939  F  Street. 

BOSTON   ARCHITECTURAL   CLTJB. 

THE  Boston  Architectural  Club  held  its  fortnightly  conversazione 
Friday  evening,  the  loth,  at  the  club-rooms,  No.  6  Hamilton  Place. 
The  subject  for  discussion  was  "  Methods  and  Mediums  for  Sketch- 
ing." A  few  sketches  in  the  various  mediums  were  exhibited,  and 


Mr.  W.  R.  Emerson  made  some  suggestions  about  architectural 
sketching,  illustrating  his  remarks  with  sketches  which  he  made 
before  the  Club.  A  sketch  was  first  made  with  the  pencil-point, 
then  with  pencil  used  flatwise,  treating  in  masses  of  light  and  shade, 
rather  than  with  lines.  Next,  he  made  a  very  spirited  sketch  with 
an  English  reed-pen,  followed  by  one  with  a  pen  made  from  a 
stem  of  golden-rod,  which  Mr.  Emerson  has  found  to  be  very  nearly 
as  serviceable  as  the  English  reed-pen,  and  much  more  easily 
obtained.  He  then  made  one  of  his  characteristic  sketches  with  a 
common  wooden  tooth-pick,  and  finally  showed  what  could  be  done 
with  a  pencil-smooch  sketch.  His  sketches  were  exceedingly  inter- 
esting, and  were  watched  by  the  members  of  the  Club  with  the 
closest  attention. 

The  monthly  exhibition  of  the  Club  will  be  held  from  Wednesday, 
the  20th  to  the  27th,  inclusive,  and  will  consist  of  water-colors  by 
members  of  the  Club.  The  list  of  exhibitors  is  quite  large,  including 
Ross  Turner,  E.  C.  Cabot,  C.  Howard  Walker,  11.  C.  Sturgis,  F.  H. 
Bacon,  and  others  equally  well  known.  The  exhibition  is  not 
public,  but  tickets  can  be  obtained  through  members  of  the  Club. 


GREEK   ARCHITECTURE. 

PHILADELPHIA,  PA.,  January  12,  1889. 
To  THE  EDITORS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT:  — 

Dear  Sirs,  —  Permit  me  to  explain  more  fully  than  I  did  in  my 
rather  hasty  communication  of  January  25,  my  position  in  regard  to 
the  question  of  Grecian  architecture.  That  the  caryatid  porch  (so 
existing)  of  the  Erectheum  ever  had  a  frieze  is,  I  think,  exceedingly 
improbable,  for  if  we  separate  the  architrave  and  cornice  enough  to 
insert  one  of  the  usual  height  (or,  in  fact,  if  we  separate  them  at  all) 
the  proportion  of  outline  is  such  as  to  strike  the  eye  very  un- 
pleasantly at  once,  on  account  of  the  increase  in  height  of  the 
entablature  from  less  than  two-fifths  to  about  one-half  that  of 
the  columnar  space,  this  proportion  being  greater  than  those  corres- 
ponding in  the  early  Doric  temples  dating  approximately  to  the  sixth 
century  u.  c.  Aside  from  this  the  construction  of  the  panelled  ceil- 
ing is  such  as  to  preclude  the  probability  of  a  change  after  the  porch 
was  built. 

The  fact,  however,  that  the  antre  continue  down  to  the  stylobate 
behind  the  stereobatic  platform,  and  form  long  vertical  joints  with 
the  rubble  backing  of  the  latter,  points  to  the  possibility  of  the  porch 
having  existed  at  one  time  as  an  ordinary  columnated  portico  built 
upon  the  stylobate,  in  which  case  the  entablature  may  have  been 
built  as  usual,  this  would  make  it  in  height  equal  to  one-fourth  that  of 
the  column,  which  proportion  corresponds  to  those  of  the  other 
porticos  of  the  building.  (These  figures  are  merely  approximate; 
I  do  not  believe  that  the  Greek  architects  built  their  temples  as 
mathematical  puzzles  for  the  benefit  of  modern  archaeologists.) 
The  frieze  might  then  have  been  removed  to  preserve  the  correct 
proportion  of  parts  when  the  portico  was  rebuilt  in  the  caryatid  order. 
This,  of  course,  is  merely  speculative,  and  I  should  be  pleased  to 
hear  of  any  other  opinion,  or  anything  definite  upon  this  peculiar 
construction. 

I  did  not  intend  to  bring  up  the  long  contested  question  as  to 
whether  the  Grecian  temples  received  their  chromatic  decoration, 
exteriorly,  at  the  hands  of  their  builders,  or  at  a  later  time :  that  they 
were  so  decorated  in  the  best  period  is  now,  I  believe,  generally 
admitted.  Neither  do  I  wish  to  insist  upon  the  ideas  which  long 
forbade  the  acceptance  of  this  truth,  and  which  are  held  in  just  con- 
tempt by  "  The  Writer  of  the  Article,"  but  the  fact  that  traces  of 
design  in  crude  color  have  been  found  upon  the  temples  is  not  by 
any  means  conclusive  evidence  that  the  final  coloring  was  of  a 
debased  type  —  either  intrinsically  or  in  comparison  with  our 
standard. 

That  the  element  of  beauty  in  Classic  art  is  a  vital  one,  although 
thoroughly  opposed  to  the  intrinsic  principles  of  everything  asso- 
ciated with  the  romantic  period  is,  in  spite  of  individual  preference, 
established  by  long  ascendency  in  times  perhaps  productive  of  the 
greatest  human  culture  that  the  world  has  known,  and  also  by  its 
subsequent,  frequent  resurrections.  This  being  so,  why  should  the 
Greeks  —  who  deserve  the  credit  not  only  of  their  own  exquisite 
work  but  of  so  much  that  followed,  and  who  were  so  successful  in 
form  and  detail  —  fail  in  the  problem  of  color?  Such  an  assumption 
I  cannot  think  warranted  by  the  light  already  thrown  upon  the 
subject. 

Will  "  The  Writer  of  the  Article  "  pardon  me  if  I  assume  that  it 
would  have  been  a  stranger  insensibility  on  the  part  of  Phidias,  wl&o 
created  the  chryselephantine  statue  of  Athene  —  famous  in  Greek 
literature  for  its  beauty  and  splendor  —  to  have  painted  those  of  the 
gods  and  heroes  without  —  several  of  which  are  regarded  on  account 
of  their  exquisite  modelling  to  be  the  finest  works  known  to  modern 
artists  —  like  gorgeous  harlequins,  or  to  have  placed  them  in  juxta- 
position to  work  treated  in  such  a  manner  ? 

Very  truly,  HERBERT  P.  KELLY. 


FEBRI-AHY  23,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


95 


TORONTO  BOARD  OF  TRADE  COMPETITION. 

NEW  YORK,  N.  Y.,  February  18,  1889. 
To  THE  EDITORS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT:  — 

Dear  Sirs,  —  Your  report  on  tliia  competition,  evidently  inspired 
by  a  disappointed  competitor,  is  so  glaringly  incorrect  in  every 
particular  that  we  ask  your  permission  to  make  the  following  state- 
ment of  facts : 

We  take  the  "faults"  referred  to,  in  the  order  in  which  they 
occur. 

1.  As  to  lighting.     There  will  not  be  a  dark  corner  in  the  build- 
ing.    The  staircase  and  elevators,  together  with  a  large  proportion 
of  the  corridors,  are  lighted  by  three  large  windows  (each  7'  0"  x  4' 
0")  on  every  floor;  the  very  short  lengths  of  corridor  from  which 
these  windows  are  not  distinctly  visible,  will  receive  abundance  of 
light  from  the  glass-doors  and  fan-lights. 

2.  Ventilation  and  warming.     We  venture  to  promise  that  there  is 
not  a  building  in  the  Dominion  of  Canada  more  efficiently  warmed 
and  ventilated  than   this  will  be.     The  extreme  simplicity  of  the 
general  scheme  of  the   building  greatly  favors  us  in  working  out 

'  those  very  important  matters. 

The  water-closets  and  urinals  are  all  provided  with  special  ventila- 
tion ;  they  will  not  ventilate  into  the  area,  but  into  steam-heated 
shafts. 

3.  At  our  own  suggestion,  the  public  restaurant  in  the  basement  is 
omitted  altogether. 

4.  The  entire  basement  is  given  up  to  boilers,  coal,  dynamos,  etc. 

5.  There  will  be  no  banking-room  at  all;    that  was  merely  an 
alternative  suggestion  —  not  our  main  scheme. 

6.  The  "clerk's  room,"  on  our  original  plan,  owed  its  position  to 
a  printer's  error  in  the  "  instructions,"  an  error  which  we  leave  our 
critic  to  discover  for  himself. 

7.  Your  correspondent  seems  to  be  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  by 
surrounding  the  central  stack  of  fireproof  vaults  with  a  corridor,  we 
render  them,  humanely  speaking,  absolutely  secure  from  fire,  as  well 
as  from  the  attacks  of  burrowing  burglars. 

These  vaults  would  probably  be  rented  to  the  tenants  of  the 
largest  offices  on  each  floor,  immediately  opposite  the  vaults. 

8.  The  building  contains  sixty-two  offices,  of  which  twenty  are 
twenty  feet  deep. 

Ten  of  these  deep  offices  (three  hundred  superficial  feet  in  area) 
have  not  less  than  ninety  superficial  feet  of  window  area;  the  remain- 
ing ten  have  forty-five  feet  of  window  area,  which  is  above  the 
average  allowance. 

9.  The  "  closets  in  every  direction,"  on  the  Board  of  Trade  floor, 
owing  to  the  circular  form  of  the  large  hall,  reduce  themselves,  in 
actual  fact  to  one,  in  the  secretary's  private  office. 

10.  There  remains  the  question  of  cost.     On  this  matter  we  have 
a  well-grounded  confidence  that  your  correspondent  will  be  utterly 
disappointed 

Is  the  dense  ignorance  displayed  by  your  correspondent  careless, 
or  malicious?  It  savors  strongly  of  both. 

Yours  truly,  JAMES  &  JAMES. 


THE  COLUMBIA  COLLEGE  ARCHITECTURAL  COURSE. 

CHICAGO,  ILL.,  January  24, 1889. 
To  THE  EDITORS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT:  — 

Dear  Sirs, —  I  desire  to  ask  a  few  questions  apropos  of  your  reply 
to  Mr.  Kimball,  concerning  Columbia  College  as  "  the  best  school  of 
architecture  "  in  America. 

By  your  first  statement  do  you  mean  to  imply  that  other  institu- 
tions—  notably  the  one  at  Boston  —  have  not  "corps  of  instructors 
of  long  and  wide  experience?"  If  so,  I  consider  the  statement 
unjust,  for  architecture  is  so  largely  a  matter  of  personal  instruction 
1  that  tabulated  diplomas  and  certificates  of  "experience"  count  for 
little  in  results.  What  do  the  results  of  training  show? 

Second,  is  a  course  of  four  years'  duration,  compnlsorily  under- 
taken, of  more  benefit  in  itself  than  a  course  of  the  same  length 
which  is  voluntary? 

I  will  not  question  your  third  statement,  not  wishing  to  enter  a 
discussion  on  rival  "equipments." 

Fourth,  in  consideration  of  the  fact  that  the  faculty  of  the  Ecole  des 
Beaux-Arts — -acknowledged  by  all  to  be  the  best  school  for  the  pro- 
fession in  the  world  —  is  of  (he  so-called  "narrow-minded  and  un- 
progressive"  variety,  is  progressiveness,  especially  in  these  days  of 
harum-scarum  innovation,  to  be  regarded  as  an  unmixed  blessing  at 
the  start? 

Fifth,  in  consideration  of  your  publication  of  architects'  votes  on 
the  merits  of  buildings  in  this  country,  do  you  think  that  New  York 
is  the  acknowledged  centre  of  the  highest  architectural  art  in  the 
country?  Respectfully,  HOWARD  G.  HODGKINS. 

fWK  will  print  our  correspondent's  question?,  while  we  mnst  decline  to 
answer  them,  since  by  answering  we  should  seem  to  acknowledge  the  truth 
of  his  inference  that,  because  we  made  certain  absolute  statements  concern- 
ing Columbia  College,  only  the  converse  of  those  statements  could  be  true 
of  those  institutions  which  were  not  mentioned.  Our  correspondent's 
amiable  esprit  de  corps  has  caused  him  to  institute  comparisons  which  were 
not  made. —  EDS.  AMKUICAN  ARCHITECT.! 


VALUE  OF  BERLIN  REAL  ESTATE. — ^The  enormous  rise  in  the  value 
of  property  at  Berlin  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  Hotel  du  Nord  lias 
just  been  sold  to  the  German  Discount  Society  for  £175,000,  whereas 
in  18(51  it  was  purchased  for  £10,000,  and  in  1813  for  £18,000.  —  London 
Truth.  

A  POSTAL  TUBE  FOR  THE  CHANNEL. — One  of  our  English  con- 
temporaries has  the  following  item  of  interest  respecting  a  projected 
postal  tube  under  the  English  Channel,  to  be  operated  presumably  by 
the  pneumatic  method  of  propulsion,  though  on  this  point  "deponent 
saitli  not,"  viz:  —  "  Whatever  objection  may  be  urged  against  the  con- 
struction of  a  Channel  Tunnel,  it  is  not  easy  to  discover  grounds  for 
opposing  the  development  of  a  recently  revived  scheme.  It  is  proposed 
(not  for  the  first  time,  however,)  to  lay  down  a  postal  tube  between 
Dover  and  Calais.  The  idea  is  to  suspend  two  tubes  of  about  a  yard 
each  in  diameter  by  means  of  steel  cables  across  the  Channel,  forty 
yards  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  The  steel  cables  will  be  fixed  to 
pillars  at  distances  of  about  800  yards,  and  in  each  tube  a  little  railway 
will  run  with  cars  capable  of  carrying  450  pounds  in  weight.  No  parcel 
of  greater  weight  that  this  will  be  taken,  and  the  cost[is  estimated  at 
the  modest  figure  of  £1,000,000."  —  Iron. 


RTINS  IN  THE  CHIAPAS  DISTRICT,  MKXICO.  —  An  interesting  an- 
tiquity has  recently  been  discovered  at  Palenque,  in  the  Chiapas  dis- 
trict of  Mexico.  The  monument  is  situated  upon  the  River  Xhupa. 
Although  it  is  now  a  complete  ruin,  it  was  originally  a  structure  of 
considerable  height ;  as  three  distinct  stories  are  still  distinguishable. 
The  ground-floor  is  very  large,  measuring  some  120  feet  by  75  feet. 
The  floor  above  is  attained  through  holes  in  the  ceiling  or  vault,  and 
here  a  room  is  found  measuring  some  27  feet  by  9  feet.  The  openings 
referred  to  are  natural  and  have  been  formed  by  the  disintegration  of 
the  stone  and  the  sinking  in  of  the  roof.  On  stone  slabs  set  into  the 
wall  are  bas-reliefs  of  human  figures,  warriors,  etc.  Although  these 
stones  are  in  a  very  bad  state  of  preservation  they  are  to  be  sent  to  the 
capital  of  Chiapas.  Near  this  ruin  are  a  row  of  houses  forming  a  street, 
and  not  far  from  these  the  vestiges  of  quite  a  large  town,  all  of  course 
in  a  state  of  complete  ruin.  —  Scientific  American. 


PREPARING    FOR    A    SETTLING    OF    THE     ElFFEL    TOWER.' During    the 

last  forty-eight  hours  the  great  question  for  Parisians  has  been  whether 
M.  Eiffel's  tower,  now  some  two  hundred  and  fifty  metres  high,  is  in 
danger  of  falling.  Within  the  last  few  days  many  people,  chiefly  those 
living  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Champ  de  Mars,  have  been  examining 
the  huge  iron  structure,  and,  after  looking  at  it  with  plumb-lines  held' 
between  it  and  their  eyes,  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  does  not 
stand  straight.  The  result  has  been  that  all  Paris  went  to  look  at 
the  tower  to-day.  In  the  afternoon  the  Trocadero,  the  quays 'and 
the  bridge  were  constantly  crowded  with  spectators  ;  contemplating 
the  structure.  The  question  had  on  Saturday  caused  such  a  commotion 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  Champ  de  Mars  that  it  became  necessary  to  have 
the  condition  of  the  edifice  officially  vouched  for.  The  engineers  of  the 
exhibition  works  consequently  met  those  of  M.  Eiffel,  and  proceeded 
with  great  care  to  examine  the  structure  with  their  theodolites  from 
every  point  of  view.  Their  verdict  was  that  the  structure  leaned 
neither  to  the  right  nor  to  the  left,  but  stood  perfectly  straight.  T!;is 
is  reassuring  information  for  those  who  live  near  the  "Cliamp  de  Mars 
but  I  doubt  whether  the  simultaneous  announcement,  "Precautions 
have  been  taken  to  put  the  tower  straight,  if  ever  it  docs  show  an  in- 
clination to  lean  over,"  is  equally  so.  It  appears  that,  in  view  of  the 
possibility  of  such  an  occurrence,  a  complicated  system  of  machines 
lias  been  placed  at  the  base  of  the  edifice,  designed  to  pu^  it  straight  if 
ever  it  should  deviate  from  the  perpendicular.  This  mechanism,  which 
is  hidden  in  the  brickwork,  will,  it  is  stated,  if  ever  required  'be  put 
in  motion  by  a  hydraulic  press  of  800  tons  power.  By  its  aid  it  will  be 
easy  to  remove  one  or  more  of  the  thin  plates  of  steel  now  resting  be- 
tween the  brick  foundations  of  each  of  the  four  feet  of  the  tower  and 
the  iron  girders,  and  thus  right  the  giant  edifice  speedily.  —  London 
Standard  Paris  Correspondence,  January  8. 


FELLING  TREES  BY  ELECTRICITY.  —  Hitherto  machines  for  felling 
trees  have  been  driven  by  steam  power,  but  this  is  sometimes  incon- 
venient, especially  in  thick  woods,  and  electric  power  has  recently  been 
adopted  in  the  Galician  forests.  Usually  in  such  machines  the  trunk  is 
sawed,  but  in  this  case  it  is  drilled.  When  the  wood  is  of  a  soft  nature 
the  drill  has  a  sweeping  motion  and  cuts  into  the  trunk  by  means  of 
cutting  edges  on  its  sides.  The  drill  is  actuated  by  an  electric  motor 
mounted  on  a  carriage,  which  is  brought  up  close  to  the  tree  and 
shackled  to  it.  The  motor  is  capable  of  turning  round  its  vertical  axis  • 
and  the  drill  is  geared  to  it  in  such  a  manner  that  it  can  turn  through 
an  arc  of  a  circle  and  make  a  sweeping  cut  into  the  trunk.  The  first 
cut  made,  the  drill  is  advanced  a  few  inches  and  another  section  of  the 
wood  removed  in  the  same  way  until  the  trunk  is  half  severed.  It  is 
then  clamped  to  keep  the  cut  from  closing,  and  the  operation  continued 
until  it  would  be  unsafe  to  go  on.  The  remainder  is  finished  by  a  hand- 
saw or  an  axe.  The  current  is  conveyed  to  the  motor  by  insulated 
leads  brought  through  the  forest  from  a  generator  placed  in  some  con- 
venient site.  —  London  Times. 

A  GERMAN  WHITEWASH. —A  German  paper  publishes  a  formula  for 
a  wash  which  can  be  applied  to  lime  walls  and  afterwards  become 
waterproof  so  as  to  bear  washing.  Resenschek,  of  Munich,  mixes  to- 
gether the  pewder  from  three  parts  silicious  rock  (quartz),  three  parts 


96 


The    American   Architect   and  Building   News.      [VOL.  XXIV.  —  No.  687. 


broken  marble  and  sandstone,  also  two  parts  of  burned  porcelain  clay, 
with  two  parts  freshly-slaked  lime,  still  warm.  In  this  way  a  wash  is 
made  which  forms  a  silicate  if  often  wetted,  and  becomes  after  a  time 
almost  like  stone.  The  four  constituents  mixed  together  give  the 
ground  color,  to  which  any  pigment  that  can  be  used  with  lime  is 
added.  It  is  applied  quite  thickly  to  the  wall  or  other  surface,  let  dry 
one  day,  and  the  next  day  frequently  covered  with  water,  which  makes 
it  waterproof.  This  wash  can  be  cleansed  with  water  without  losing 
any  of  its  color;  on  the  contrary,  each  time  it  gets  harder,  so  that  it 
can  even  be  brushed,  while  its  porosity  makes  it  look  soft  The  wash 
or  calcimine  can  be  used  for  ordinary  purposes,  as  well  as  for  the  finest 
painting.  A  so-called  fresco  surface  can  be  prepared  with  it  in  the  dry 
way .  —  Invention. 

WOMEN  IRON-WORKERS. — There  are  probably  a  thousand  women 
working  in  the  iron-mills  in  Pittsburgh,  making  bolts,  nuts,  hinges  and  j 
barbed-wires.  Three  years  ago,  owing  to  a  difficulty  with  the  men 
working  in  the  bolt-mills,  the  proprietors  decided  to  try  women,  and 
since  that  time  they  have  been  employed  very  generally  in  all  the  iron- 
works. Women  are  also  employed  in  Pratt  &  Letehworth's  malleable-  j 
iron  works  at  Black  Rock,  N.  Y.  Four  years  ago  the  proprietors  en- 
gaged two  young  women  to  do  office- work.  That  they  employ  ten 
women  in  that  department  to-day  is  proof  of  the  success  of  this  move- 
ment. The  firm  employ  in  all  about  150  women  in  the  different  depart- 
ments. The  work  there  is  all  piecework,  and  the  young  women  earn 
about  §6  per  week.  The  more  expert  earn  more.  They  do  work  that 
is  usually  done  by  boys,  but  one  of  the  proprietors  says :  "  We  find  the 
girls  more  attentive  to  business  and  more  faithful ;  they  are  nearly  all 
under  twenty  years  of  age,  and  it  is  our  experience  that  girls  of  four- 
teen know  more  than  boys  of  the  same  class  at  eighteen."  "When 
they  get  through  their  work  they  wash  every  suspicion  of  dirt  from 
faces  and  hands,  change  their  shoes  and  gowns  and  smooth  their  hair. 
Then  they  don  comfortable  and  becoming  wraps  and  hats  and  sally 
forth.  No  one,  from  their  appearance,  could  guess  that  they  had  not 
been  handling  ribbons  and  laces  all  day  over  a  dry-goods  counter 
instead  of  operating  oily  and  face-blacking  machinery."  —  Sjnrimjjield 
liejtublicaii.  

PORTLAND,  CONN.,  SANDSTONE.  —  Some  of  the  redstone  quarrymen  to 
the  east  of  this  city  have  been  agitated  by  a  report  that  the  supply  of 
the  famous  Portland  sandstone  or  freestone  on  the  Connecticut  River, 
opposite  Middletown,  was  limited,  and  that  for  this  reason  New  York 
builders  were  getting  into  the  habit  of  using  pressod-brick  in  its  stead. 
Investigation  shows  the  rumor  to  be  totally  without  foundation. 
None  of  the  quarrymen  can  tell  where  it  sprung  from,  but  it  is  probably 
a  revival  of  a  similar  story  which  it  appears  has  floated  about  the  Con- 
necticut Valley  with  greater  or  less  regularity  ever  since  the  Portland 
quarries  were  opened.  The  remarkable  deposit  of  sandstone  at  Port- 
land covers  an  area  of  over  '200  acres,  and  is  practically  inexhaustible. 
It  lies  in  horizontal  strata,  usually  with  each  stratum  in  the  upper 
•levels  varying  a  trifle  from  the  others  in  the  fineness  of  the  sand.  In 
one  of  the  three  large  quarries  now  worked  several  acres  have  been 
quarried  to  a  depth  200  feet  below  the  surface,  and  as  an  experiment 
some  time  ago  to  decide  the  probable  depth  of  the  sandstone,  a  diamond 
drill  was  started  down  from  the  bottom  of  the  200-foot  level.  It  was 
driven  down  312  feet  without  reaching  the  bottom  of  the  deposit, 
making  512  feet  in  all.  The  core  that  was  taken  out  showed  no 
material  change  in  the  character  or  quality  of  the  stone.  Illustrative 
of  the  recent  rumor  it  is  remembered  that  in  1715  the  Middletown 
people  became  frightened  because  of  the  extensive  quarrying  of  the 
stone  that  was  being  carried  on  and  passed  a  law  prohibiting  people 
from  quarrying  the  stone  for  transportation  out  of  the  town.  —  Kew 
York  Times.  

PIT  PROPS.  —  In  the  Landes  district  of  western  France,  on  the 
Gironde,  the  soil  is  sandy  and  will  grow  little  but  pines,  of  which 
forests  have  been  successfully  cultivated.  The  inhabitants  subsist 
almost  exclusively  upon  the  revenues  derived  from  the  production  of 
pit-props,  raflway-ties,  telegraph-poles,  fuel  and  resin.  The  annual 
shipments  of  pit-props  from  Bordeaux  to  England  now  amount  to  about 
175,000  tons,  which  is  twice  as  much  as  was  shipped  ten  years  ago. 
The  ties  and  poles  are  used  mainly  in  France.  A  large  quantity  of 
young  pines  are  also  shipped  to  England  for  manufacture  into  paper. 
The  poorer  classes,  especially  those  farthest  from  transportation 
facilities,  give  their  attention  to  resin,  but  there  is  said  to  have  been  a 
serious  decline  in  the  exportation  of  that  article  from  Bordeaux  through 
competition  from  the  United  States,  which  has  greatly  increased  its 
exports,  and  is  the  chief  source  of  supply.  This  has  been  a  serious 
misfortune  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  Landes  district.  Pine  oil  is  made 
from  the  refuse  of  resin  left  in  making  turpentine.  It  is  used  extensive- 
ly in  Bordeaux  as  an  illuminating  oil.  It  burns  brightly,  is  cheaper 
than  petroleum  and  is  non-explosive.  It  is  also  prepared  and  sold  to 
some  extent  in  this  country,  patents  having  recently  been  taken  out 
for  its  production.  In  France  the  pine  does  not  appear  to  suffer  from 
the  extraction  of  resin,  where  care  is  used,  but  on  account  of  it  the 
wood  is  said  to  be  better  fitted  for  certain  purposes,  such  as  the  manu- 
facture of  paper  and  pyroligneous  acids.  The  Landes  forests  are  all  of 
comparatively  recent  origin.  —  Northwestern  Lumberman. 

STEEL-GIRDEHS.  — The  substitution  of  steel  for  iron  in  girder  manu- 
facture appears  to  be  making  steady  progress.  The  j/oniteur  det 
Inerts  Muterie/s  slates  that  for  the  large  new  warehouses  in  course  of 
erection  at  Buenos  Ayres  steel-girders  are  specified,  and  that,  as  these 
cannot  be  advantageously  obtained  in  Belgium,  the  contractors,  llalot 
&  Company,  Louvain,  have  had  to  place  the  order  with  the  Hothe 
Krde  Works,  in  Germany,  a  concern  which  makes  a  specialty  of  this 
kind  of  work.  As  the  order  is  for  5,000  tons,  the  Belgian  iron-girder 
rollers  are  asking  themselves  to  what  extent  steel-girders  are  likely  to 
replace  iron  in  the  future,  and  how  far  their  present  practical  monopoly 
of  the  export  business  in  large  rolled-girders  is  threatened  by  this 
preference  for  steel.  The  Moniteur  draws  comfort  from  the  reflection 
that  while  for  the  nine  months  ending  September  30,  the  export  of 


steel  from  Belgium  was  only  80,000  tons,  the  shipments  of  manufac- 
tured iron  reached  210,000  tons.  —  Iron  Trade  Review. 


AMONO  the  notable  incidents  of  the  past  week  in  trade  and  manufactur- 
ing circles  are  the  notice  of  a  5  to  12  per  cent  reduction  in  wages  among  the 
iron-workers  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania  ;  the  further  progress  of  negotia- 
tions among  North western  railroad  presidents  for  the  establishment  of 
freight  schedules;  the  organization  of  companies  for  manufacturing 
South  of  the  Ohio  River,  capitalized  at  twenty  million  dollars  ;  the 
strengthening  of  Southern  lumber  associations  in  view  of  an  increasing  de- 
mand for  Southern  mill  products  in  the  North;  an  increase  of  4  1-2  per  cent 
in  railroad  gross  earnings  of  given  roads  dining  January;  Impioving  export 
trade  prospects  and  an  enlarging  domestic  distribution  of  mill,  shop  and 
factory  productions;  more  rails  and  railway  material  have  been  put  under 
contract  this  year  than  last.  The  copper  syndicate  is  forced  to  recognize 
the  fact  tu.it  there  will  be  a  probable  surplus  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
million  pounds  of  copper  in  the  United  States  this  year  to  take  care  of, 
besides  increases  in  other  quarters  of  the  world,  which  were  not  fully  taken 
into  account  when  the  combination  was  formed.  Lumber  manufacturers  in 
Virginia,  representing  800,000,000  feet  per  annum,  held  a  convention  at  Nor- 
folk, Va.,  recently,  to  form  a  protective  association  in  the  interest  of  higher 
prices.  The  Georgia  Railway  Commission  is  endeavoring  to  secure  evidence 
that  the  recently  formed  yellow-pine  combination  in  that  State  is  illegal. 
The  white-pine  manufacturers  of  the  Northwest  are  advised  by  very  ex- 
cellent authority  not  to  run  their  mills  to  full  capacity  on  account  of  the 
large  supply  of  yellow-pine  coming  into  that  section. 'The  recent  auction 
sale  of  fifteen  million  feet  of  hemlock  at  Williamsport,  Pa.,  shows  an 
advance  in  one  year  of  50  cents  to  $1  per  thousand.  The  Southern  shingle 
manufacturers  meet  in  New  Orleans',  March  7,  to  restrict  production  and 
mark  up  prices.  The  most  significant  feature  in  the  lumber  trade  is  the 
wonderful  development  of  Southern  Territory  and  the  inroads  that 
Southern  lumber  is  making  throughout  the  North  from  the  coast  to  the 
Rocky  Mountains. 

North  Carolina  mountaineers  are  establishing  offices  in  Chicago  for  the 
distribution  of  their  products  throughout  the  Northwest.  Oregon  fir  and 
cedar  and  California  redwood  is  crowding  East.  Architects  are  using  a 
greater  variety  of  wood.'',  and  builders  are  experimenting  with  substitutes  for 
products  heretofore  used,  all  of  which  is  stimulating  demand  for  newer  kinds 
of  wood  in  all  channels  of  trade.  Trade  indications  are  that  lumber  will  rule 
low  all  this  season,  a  fact  which  is  proven  by  the  hand-to-mouth  policy  of 
wholesalers  and  retailers.  The  downward  tendency  in  prices  growing  out 
of  increasing  manufacturing  and  transportation  facilities  is  offset  partly  by 
the  growth  of  the  spirit  of  and  necessity  for  trade  combinations.  'Ihe 
Southwestern  yellow-pine  manufacturers  met  at  Texarkana,  Mo.,  on 
Thursday  of  last  week,  and  took  steps  to  control  production  in  the  direction 
of  higher  prices.  Lumber  magnates  in  Wisconsin  are  preparing  to  build  a 
long  line  of  road  to  connect  with  the  Union  and  the  Canadian  Pacific  roads, 
by  which  the  Northwestern  lumber  interest,  or  a  considerable  percentage 
of  it,  can  have  a  new  trans-continental  line,  independent  of  the  roads  which 
now  control  the  lumber  traffic  of  that  section.  Business  in  lumber  in  the 
aggregate  all  over  the  country  has  been  larger  since  Jjinunry  1,  than  for 
same  time  last  year.  The  general  expression  of  opinion  privately  «mong 
the  builders  at  their  National  Convention  in  Philadelphia,  last  week,  was 
that  it  was  probable  more  building  would  be  done  this  year  than  last. 
Building  enterprise  is  starting  out  well  throughout  the  New  England  States. 
At  New  York,  230  buildings  were  projected  in  January,  which,  it  is  esti- 
mated, will  cost  $2,000.000  more  than  the  projected  work  «f  January  last 
year.  A  corresponding  improvement  is  apparent  at  Philadelphia.  No  dis- 
couraging reports  are  heard  from  farther  Western  cities.  The  successful 
adjustment  of  lailroad  questions  in  the  Northwest  will  strengthen  confi- 
dence in  more  than  railroad  circles,  but  nothing  less  than  a  material  expnu- 
sion  in  traffic  will  bring  permanent  peace  to  the  warring  railroad  iuteiests. 
Railroad  earnings  on  one  hundred  aid  eleven  roads  for  the  first  month  of 
the  year  exhibit  an  increase  of  nearly  four-and-one-half  per  cent  in  gross 
earnings  over  same  month  last  year.  Last  year,  imports  increased  two  per 
cent,  and  exports  declined  three-aud-one-fourth  per  cent.  But  little  iron 
and  steel  are  arriving,  and  American  makers  are  prudently  restricting  out- 
put to  actual  requirements.  Brick-makers  are  making  active,  preparations 
wherever  weather  permits  for  an  enlargement  of  output,  particularly  in  the 
interior,  where  new  industries  are  springing  up. 

The  brick-machinery  makers  have  no  less  work  on  hand  than  they  have  had 
for  months,  and  in'some  Western  works  the  orders  on  hand  will  engflge  the 
capacity  to  June  1st.  Brick  is  entering  much  more  geuerallv  into  con- 
struction of  new  houses  and  works  than  a  few  years  ago.  A  better  class  of 
work  is  apparent.  Most  of  the  works  constructed  are  larger,  have  more 
capital  behind  them  and  their  owners  are  looking  further  ahead,  than  when 
the  industries  were  struggling  for  existence.  One  authority  estimates  that 
over  one  hundred  large  brick  works  are  projected  at  this  time.  Since  hist 
September  two  hundred  saw  and  planing  mills  have  been  begun  or  pro- 
jected in  the  country  so  far  as  records  snow.  On  March  1st,  the  present 
restriction  among  sash,  door  and  blind  manufacturers  in  the  West  termi- 
nates and  each  manufacturer  can  then  produce  to  suit  himself.  The  manu- 
facturers of  building  materials  and  house  and  mill  supplies  have  looked 
very  carefully  into  trade  conditions  and  prospects  and  they  feel  that  as 
much  money  will  be  expended  in  these  channels  as  last  year.  Wall-pnper 
makers  have  sold  the  bulk  of  their  stock.  Carpet  makers  are  ppeediug  up, 
cotton-goods  manufacturers,  North  and  South,  are  quite  busy  though  late  re- 
ports show  that  average  dividends  run  only  from  six  to  eight  per  cent.  This 
fact  does  not  seem  to  check  cotton-mill  building  euterpri-e,  for  since 
January  1st,  one  half  more  has  been  projected  than  tor  the  first  two 
months  last  year,  so  far  as  reports  of  projections  show.  The  improving 
conditions  are  not  universal,  however.  There  are  weak  spots  here  mid 
there,  little  or  no  profits,  enlarging  obligations  and  so  on  ;  but  sizing  up  all 
interests  the  country  is  gaining  in  strength  and  activity,  and  confidence  in 
future  prosperity  is  general.  Yet  the  bottom  fact  mu.-t  never  be  lost  sight 
of,  that  the  country's  financial  system  is  slipping  away  and  no  sufficient 
substitute  has  been  suggested.  The  most  abundant  prosperity  and  super- 
human energy  cannot  stand  up  against  a  weak  financial  s\  stem.  Political 
parties  have  not  a  word  to  say  on  this  topic  and  business  men  are  too  busy 
making  dollars.  Yet  the  necessity  for  a  new  system  is  growing  apace  and 
in  time  the  leaders  in  the  nation's  enterprises  will  come  to  recognize  that 
some  preparation  must  be  made  for  the  change  that  is  rendered  imperative 
by  the  gradual  extinction  of  the  public  debt. 

S.    J.    PAKKHILL  &  Co.,  Printers,  Boston. 


Tl?e  ^ipericai?  TIrcljitect  aijcl  Bnildiijg  IJews,  February  25,  1339. 


Copyright,  1889,  by  TICKNOR  ft  Co. 


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The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.         [VOL.  XXV.  — No.  687. 


, 


ADVERTISERS'    TRADE    SUPPLEMENT. 


No.  80. 


SATURDAY,  FEBRUARY  2,  1889. 


VoLrm    XXV. 
No.   1.84. 


THE  GEARED  HOIST  MACHINE. 

THE  Geared  Hoist  for  passenger  or  freight 
elevator  service  as  shown,  has  several  new 
features;  both  pinion  and  gears  are  cut  by 
the  most  approved  methods,  securing  greater 
accuracy  than  has  been  attempted  heretofore 
in  the  same  class  of  machinery,  and  giving  a 
smooth  and  noiseless  motion  at  a  high  speed. 
It  is  provided  with  a  Centrifugal  Governor 
that  acts  in  case  th'i  belts  break  in  descend- 
ing; has  Slack  Cable  Device  that  stops  the 
car  instantly  and  applies  the  brake,  keep'.ng 
the  cables  taut  on  the  drum  when  the  car  is 
obstructed  in  its  descent.  It  is  also  provided 
with  Automatic  Drop  Forge,  Wrought-iron 
Stop  Device,  which  absolutely  prevents  break- 
age. The  machine  is  right  or  left  hand^nd 


I  very  strongly  made  from  a  design  furnished 

j  by  William  R.  Walker  &  Son,  architects,  and 
manufactured  by  Thomas  W.  Jones  at  172 
Front  Street,  New  York.  It  is  the  largest 

j  eagle  ever  made  for  such  a  purpose  and  will 
be  a  permanent  ornament  to  the  building. 
Mr.  Jones's  tower  ornaments,  weather  vanes, 

'.  finials,  etc.,  made  from  all  sorts  of  curious 
and  unique  designs  of  architects  are  to  be  seen 
from  one  end  of  the  country  to  the  other,  as 
he  uses  only  copper  or  brass  —  which  though 
more  expensive  than  other  metals,  is  far  more 
durable — and  gilds  only  with  pure  gold  leaf. 
Some  work  is  still  defying  the  elements  after 
twenty-five  years  of  use. 

THOMAS  W.  JONES, 

NEW  YORK,  N.  Y. 


noted  for  their  quality.  The  Stettin 
("Anchor"  brand)  Portland  Cement,  as  its 
names  implies,  is  made  near  the  city  of 
Stettin.  It  has  been  in  use  in  the  United 
States  since  the  middle  of  1885,  and  since 
that  time  has  met  with  great  favor. 
It  possesses  the  following  merits  : 

1.  It  is  always  uniform. 

2.  It  is  very  finely  ground. 

3.  It  is  of  a  good  color. 

4.  The    packages   are    large    and   of    full 
weight. 

5.  The  barrels  are  lined  with  thick  asphalt 
paper. 

G.  It  is  cheap,  because  it  will  do  more  work 
than  most  other  brands,  as  it  will  carry  more 
sand. 


can  be  placed  in  any  position  desired  as  the 
bdts  will  run  at  any  angle.  The  pulleys  are 
self-oiling,  requiring  attention  only  once  in 
six  months.  It  is  manufactured  by  Morse, 
Williams  &  Co.,  Philadelphia,  New  York  and 
Boston,  who  also  manufacture  Hydraulic, 
Worm  Geared  and  Hand-Power  Elevators. 
MORSE,  WILLIAMS  &  CO., 

PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 


A   LARGE  EAGLE. 

THE  tower  of  the  new  City-Hall  at  Fall 
River,  Mass.,  is  to  be  surmounted  with  an  im- 
mense eagle,  nine  feet  in  height  with  pro- 
portionate outstretched  wings  made  of  sheet 
copper  artistically  hammered  into  shape  and 


GEARED     WINDING     MACHINE. 

PORTLAND  CEMENT. 

THF,  subject  of  Portland  Cement  is  one  of 
increasing  importance,  and  each  year  finds 
the  amount  imported  larger  than  the  pre- 
ceding year.  When  this  aiticle  was  first  in- 
troduced into  America,  it  was  almost  exclusive- 
ly English  in  its  manufacture.  For  some 
years,  this  held  the  preference,  but  the  German 
manufacturers  were  steadily  improving,  and 
they  forced  their  way  to  the  front  until  at  the 
present  time  the  German  Portland  Cements 
arc  acknowledged  by  experts  and  the  princi- 
pal artificial-stone  manufacturers  to  be  the 
best  on  the  market. 

This  is  especially  true  in  regard  to  the 
cements  from  Stettin  which  have  always  been 


7.  It  never  fails  to  give  satisfaction. 

Last  year  between  10,000  and  15.000  bar- 
rels of  this  cement  were  used  in  St.  Augus- 
tine, Fla.,  in  (he  construction  of  the  large 
hotels  and  the  restoration  of  the  old  Spanish 
Cathedral,  etc. 

A  recent  test  by  the  Dock  Department  of 
New  York,  gives  the  following  results  : 

Fineness.  98^  per  cent  through  a  2,500 
mesh  sieve. 

(The  Dock  Department  only  require  90 
per  cent.) 

Tcnsihs  Strength.  Mixed  neat  and  broken 
in  seven  days —  467  pounds  per  square  inch. 

(The  Dock  Department  only  requires  300 
pounds.) 

Mixed,  one  part  cement,  two  parts  sand, 


2 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.        [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  684. 


and  broken  in  seven  days  —  240  pounds  per 
square  inch. 

(The  Dock  Department  only  require  125 
pounds  ) 

Capt.  W.  W.  Maclay,  the  engineer  in 
charge  of  the  Testing-Department  of  the  Dock 
Department  of  this  city,  says  : 

"  This  cement  is  very  finely  ground  and  the 
tensile  strength  both  neat  anil  gauged  with 
two  parts  standard  sand  at  the  end  of  seven 
days  is  high. 

"The  test  is  therefore  a  very  satisfactory 
one,  as  the  cement  is  very  finely  ground  and 
perfectly  reliable." 

He  also  made  a  twenty-eight  day  test  with 
the  following  result : 

Tensile  Strength.  Mixed  neat,  575  pounds 
per  square  inch. 

Mixed,  one   part  cement,  two  parts  sand, 
274  pounds  per  square  inch. 
Of  this  he  says  : 

"  The  twenty-eight  day  test  confirms  the 
good  opinion  I  gave  about  this  cement,  based 
upon  the  result  of  the  seven  day  test. 

"  The  tensile  strength  is  very  high  both 
with  sand  and  gauged  neat,  and  taken  in  con- 
nection with  the  fineness  and  general  satis- 
factory working,  places  this  cement  in  the 
rank  of  the  best  Portland  Cements  in  this 
market." 

Do  not  fail  to  send  for  ray  pamphlet  on 
Portland  Cement. 

For  prices  either  for  immediate  delivery  or 
"  to  arrive  "  write  to 

EKSKIN'E  W.  FISHER, 
WELLS  BCILDIXG,  18  BROADWAY,  NE\V  YORK,  N.  T. 


These  centres  are  all  finished  before  leaving 
the  factory,  and  painted  a  lustreless  white,  to 
correspond  with  plaster-finish  of  ceiling,  and 
are  priced  in  this  way.  They  can,  however, 
be  painted  and  ornamented  to  suit  the  taste 
of  purchasers,  and  to  correspond  with  style 
and  decoration  of  room  where  used.  These 
centres  are  simply  screwed  to  the  ceiling  after 
plastering  is  put  on,  and  can  at  any  time  be 


taken   down,  cleaned,  and   replaced   without 
damage  to  the  ceiling  or  centre-piece. 

We  present,  also,  a  few  designs  of  sheet-  j 
metal  interior  cornices  and  ceilings,  which  we 
will  be  pleased  to  price  on  application,  and 
which  will  be  found  far  cheaper  than  work  of 
corresponding  style  in  any  other  material. 
Another,  and  probably  the  chief  advantage 
of  this  class  of  work  is  its  extreme  light 
weight  as  compared  with  stucco,  and  the  fact 


Hartman  Steel  Company,  Limited,  by  J.  G. 
A.  Leishman,  Chairman. 

Carnegie,  Phipps  &  Co.,  Limited,  by  Win. 
L.  Abbott,  Chairman. 

CALENDARS. 

THE  makers  of  calendars,  and  those  who 
use  for  an  advertising  placard  these  useful 
aids  of  daily  commercial  life  as  a  species  of 
side  issue,  seem  to  be  divided  between  several 
classes.  With  every  class  the  real  object  is 
the  same  —  to  impress  on  the  memory  of  the 
beholder  that  So-and-So  deals  in  such  and 
such  goods,  at  such  an  address. 

One  class  seeks  to  achieve  this  end  by  the 
pyrotechnic  method,  attempting  to  make  a 
single  but  lasting  impression,  following  the 
methods  of  the  theatre  placard-maker  in  size, 
much  color  and  audacious  movement.  This 
class  is  not  nowadays  a  very  large  one. 

With  all  the  other  classes  there  is  a  common 
leading  idea  —  to  secure  the  preservation  of 
the  calendar,  or  rather  the  advertisement,  as 
long  as  possible,  and  the  methods  employed 
are  various.  With  one  class  the  inducement 
is  to  make  the  advertisement  wholly  sub- 
ordinate to  the  calendar,  and  to  make  the 
calendar  itself  as  useful  as  possible  as  to  con- 
venience of  size,  method  of  arrangement  and 
legibility.  The  best  specimen  of  this  class 
that  has  come  to  us  this  year  is  the  calendar 
issued  bv  the  Boston  Lead  Manufacturing 

.  o 

Company. 

The  principle  that  guides  the  issue  of 
another  class  of  calendars  is  to  make  the 
article  as  intrinsically  artistic  as  possible,  so 


SHEET-METAL  AS  INTERIOR  DECO- 
RATION  AND  FINISH. 

SiiEF.T-mctal  work  for  ceiling  decoration 
and  fini.-h  has  long  been  used  in  Europe, 
while  in  this  country  it  has  only  recently  been 
introduced,  and  it  is,  therefore,  comparatively 
little  known.  As  used  for  ceiling  centre- 
pieces, it  possesses  great  advantages  over  the 
heavier  and  more  expensive  stucco  and  cast 
work,  which  will  at  once  recommend  it  to 
those  in  want  of  ornamentation  of  this  char- 
acter. 

The  principal  advantage  claimed  for  sheet- 
metal  centre-pieces  is  the  extremely  low  price 
at  which  they  can  be  sold,  beauty  of  finish, 
durability,  lightness,  the  ease  with  which  they 
can  be  put  up,  and  the  fact  that  they  may  be 
shipped  without  danger  of  breakage. 


that  it  will  not  crack  or  fall  off,  and  is  not 
injured  by  water. 

Correspondence  solicited.  Always  state 
whether  work  is  to  be  sent  by  express  or 
freight. 

BAKEWELL  &  MULLINS, 

SALEM,  O. 


COALITION. 
PlTTSBUBOn,  PA.,  January  1,  1889. 

THE  business  of  the  Hartman  Steel  Works, 
at  Beaver  Falls,  heretofore  conducted  by  the 
Ilartman  Steel  Company,  Limited,  has  been 
transferred  to  Carnegie,  Phipps  &  Co.,  Lim- 
ited, by  whom  it  will  hereafter  be  controlled. 

The  works  will  hereafter  be  known  as  the 
Beaver  Falls  Mills,  operated  by  Carnegie, 
Phipps  &  Co.,  Limited. 


that  it  shall  be  kept  for  this  quality  alone. 
Here  the  calendar  is  subordinated  entirely  to 
the  decorative  treatment,  and  the  advertise- 
ment is  skilfully  worked  in  with  it  on  the  face 
of  the  picture,  or  is  relegated  to  the  back  of 
the  sheet.  The  most  attractive  calendar  of 
this  type  that  has  come  to  us  this  year  is  that 
issued  by  the  Smith  &  Anthony  Stove  Com- 
pany, of  Boston,  a  calendar  similar  to  the 
one  issued  by  them  last  year.  Two  out  of  the 
six  leaflets,  in  chromo-liihograph,  are  extremely 
satisfactory  in  treatment,  and  the  others  are 
on  a  par  with  other  good  commercial  color- 
work.  Another  establishment,  the  Taunton 
Iron  Works  Company,  of  Boston,  issue  a 
similar  calendar,  smaller  in  size,  with  half  the 
number  of  leaflets  and  more  sketchy  in 
the  treatment  of  the  decoration;  but,  still  the 


FEBRUARY  2,  1889.  —  No.  80.]  Advertisers'  Trade  Supplement. 


effect  is  good,  and  if  some  of  the  colors  wcr 
not  a  little  overbright  would  be  very  dainty. 

The  Magee  Furnace  Company,  of  Boston 
follow  a  somewhat  similar  course,  though  licit 
the  decoration,  the  monthly  calendar  and  the 
advertisement  of  the  issuing  firm  have  abou 
equal  prominence,  and  the  decorations  an 
steel-engravings  and  not  colored  prints. 

With  another  class  the  advertisement  is  in 
tended  to  be  the  thing  of  importance,  am 
the  advertisers  send  them  out  as  they  woul 
send  out  similar  placards  at  any  other  seasoi 
of  the  3'ear;  the  calendar  attachment  seem 
to  be  added  as  an  after-thought,  as  sort  o 
apology  and  concession  to  New  Year's  Da.\ 
prejudices.  At  the  head  of  this  class,  since 
the  calendar  is  quite  inconspicuous,  we  shouli 
place  the  expensive  card  issued  by  Messrs 
Samuel  II.  French  &  Company,  of  Philadel 
phia,  and  in  the  same  category  the  even  more 
expensive  one  issued  by  Messrs.  Merchant  & 
Company  of  the  same  city,  which,  taking  al 
things  into  consideration,  is  the  most  successf  u 
advertising  placard  we  have  received,  thougl 
it  is  not  the  best  calendar.  The  Gurne} 
Hot-Water  Heater  Company,  who  come  in 
the  same  class,  are  more  successful  in  some 
ways  than  either  of  the  two  firms  just  men 
tioned;  their  calendar  is  for  wall  service,  am. 
the  figures  are  large  enough  to  be  read  a  dozen 
feet  away,  while  the  tone  of  colors  used  am. 
the  style  of  letters  and  decoration  makes  one 
quite  ready  to  keep  it  during  the  year. 

The  calendars  issued  by  the  Abram  Co? 
Stove  Company  and  of  the  Thorn  Shingle 
Ornament  Company  might  almost  be  ineludec 
in  the  class  first  mentioned  —  the  pyrotechnic 
class,  but  they  both  have  enough  good  points 
to  warrant  their  being  kept. 

The  ready-made  calendar  has  come  to  be  a 
regular  visitor  everywhere  in  a  multitude  ol 
forms.  It  is  less  expensive,  of  course,  to 
select  a  pattern  from  a  stock  of  ready-made 
designs  for  backgrounds  and  use  that  rathei 
than  have  one  specially  prepared,  and  it  is 
about  as  satisfactory,  for  the  multitude  ol 
these  ready-made  backgrounds  is  so  great  that 
one  person  is  unlikely  to  receive  calendars  ol 
the  same  design  from  two  or  more  different 
advertisers.  In  this  class  we  should  place,  at 
a  guess,  the  calendars  sent  us  by  the  13.  C. 
Bibb  Stove  Company,  of  Baltimore ;  Messrs. 
Burditt  &  Williams,  of  Boston  ;  the  Lawrence 
Cement  Company,  of  New  York  ;  Messrs. 
McKenncy  &  Waterbury,  of  Boston,  and 
Keeler  &  Company,  of  the  same  city.  The 
backgrounds  used  by  the  last  three  mentioned 
being  excellent  specimens  of  stcel-cngravin 
done  by  the  firm  of  J.  A.  Lowell  &  Company, 
of  Boston. 

The  conclusions  we  draw  from  comparing 
the  samples  we  have  received  —  less  than  in 
former  years  —  is  that  advertisers  do  not 
often  enough  try  to  put  themselves  in  the 
position  of  the  recipient.  Of  the  many 
calendars  that  may  come  to  a  given  person, 
he  will  probably  keep  two  for  use,  one  for  the 
wall  with  figures  large  enough  to  be  read  from 
across  the  room,  good  in  design  of  decoration 
and,  above  all,  not  glaring  of  color  ;  the 
second  will  be  kept  for  desk  use,  and  must 
have  all  the  attributes  of  the  other,  and  be, 
moreover,  of  such  size,  shape  and  form  as  not 
to  be  too  much  in  the  way.  All  others  will 
be  thrown  away  in  the  course  of  a  few  days, 
and  all  the  excess  of  money  spent  in  their 
manufacture,  over  and  above  the  cost  of  a 
single  plain  circular,  is  absolutely  lost,  and 
worse  than  lost,  it  is  misspent,  since  by  being 
paid  for  advertising  in  magazines,  journals 
and  newspapers,  it  would  have  assured  the 


spender  those  benefits  of  constant  iteration 
which  is  the  essence  of  advertising. 


IMPORTANT  TO  HOUSE-OWNERS. 

AMONG  the  almost  innumerable  inventions 
of  modern  times,  there  is  no  subject  that  has 
so  engrossed  the  mind  of  the  American  in- 
ventor as  the  subject  of  window-fastenings; 
and  though  hundreds  of  patents  have  been 
issued  in  this  line  to  as  many  inventors 
during  the  last  decade,  a  comparatively  small 
number  of  these  inventions,  when  reduced  to 
practice,  have  met  with  anything  like  general 
approval.  There  is  probably  no  article  in 
the  line  of  builders'  hardware  upon  the 
market  with  so  great  a  variety  to  select  from, 
and  none  that  meets  with  such  universal  dis- 
approval, as  the  article  known  as  "Centre" 
sash-fasteners,  for  the  reason  that,  when 
applied,  they  afford  neither  protection  nor 
convenience,  and  such  a  thing  as  security  and 
ventilation  at  same  time  was  never  dreamed 
of. 

Within  the  past  few  months,  however,  a 
new  and  unique  device  has  been  placed  upon 
the  market,  known  as  the  "Timby"  burglar- 
proof  sash-lock  and  ventilator.  This  me- 
chanical device  is  quite  novel,  if  compared  to, 
or  rather,  contrasted  with,  the  old  stylo  of 
window-fastenings.  It  is  so  simple  in  con- 
struction that  the  casual  observer  must  wonder 


that  some  mechanical  genius  did  not  long  ago 
discover  and  apply  it. 

Even  such  as  are  but  superficially  posted 
in  mechanism  can  comprehend  the  workings 
of  this  lock,  and  the  most  obtuse  can  acquire 
the  art  of  manipulating  it  in  one  easy  lesson. 
The  very  simplicity  of  its  construction,  the 
readiness  of  its  adaptability  to  any  window, 
and  the  ease  with  which  it  is  operated,  are 
Features  so  apparent  that  to  be  immediately 
approved  it  needs  only  to  be  seen.  One  lock 
only  is  required  for  a  window.  It  locks  one 
sash  or  both  sashes  at  the  pleasure  of  the  one 
:ontrolling  the  thumb-nut,  or  operating  device, 
securing  them  in  any  desired  position  whether 
:he  windows  are  perfectly  closed,  or  are  ad- 
usted  for  purposes  of  ventilation.  It  is  a 
neans  of  absolute  security  against  burglars  and 
thieves,  who,  if  their  tracks  are  evidence, 
seldom,  if  ever,  find  dilliculty  in  overcoming  the 
irotecting  qualities  of  the  old-fashioned  samples 
of  hardware  attached  to  the  meeting-rails  of  the 
sash,  while  the  absence  of  complex  mechanism 
n  the  construction  of  this  lock  is  apparent. 

The  effective  purposes  for  which  it  is  de- 
iigned,  strength  and  durability,  arc  assured 
n  the  superior  quality  of  the  material  used  in 
all  component  parts,  which  are  of  the  very 
jest  malleable-iron,  steel,  brass,  and  bronze 
netal. 

The  device  automatically  secures  the  sashes, 
and  the  lock  itself  is  applied  in  such  a  manner 
is  to  bejproof  against  the  possibility  of  yield- 


ing to  any  tampering  by  thieves  or  others 
from  without.  It  would  seem  to  commend 
itself  to  parents  and  others  having  small 
children  under  their  charge,  beyond  whose 
control  the  opening  or  closing  of  windows 
may  be  desirable.  In  every  direction  claimed 
for  it,  it  may  safely  be  said  that  it  is  a  perfect 
safeguard. 

"  Every  man's  house  is  his  castle  "  is  one  of 
the  best  known  maxims  of  the  old  English 
common  law.  As  light  and  transparent  and 
fragile  as  is  the  glass  of  the  castle-windows,  it 
seems  strange  that  it  is  not  the  vulnerable 
part  of  the  structure.  It  appears  to  serve  as 
a  wall  as  well  as  the  brick  and  stone,  and,  if 
the  fashes  are  securely  locked,  the  window 
partakes  of  all  the  presumed  invulnerability 
of  a  barred  and  bolted  door.  The  accom- 
panying illustration  shows  a  section  of  window- 
frame  with  the  lock  applied.  The  thumb-nut 
is  moved  upward,  releasing  the  upper  sash, 
the  cut  being  semi-transparent,  to  show  the 
inner  construction  of  the  lock,  actuatin^- 

'  o 

spring,  etc. 

The  bolts  are  made  from  the  best  malleable- 
iron,  the  case  from  wrought-steel,  the  face- 
plate and  thumb-nuts  from  brass  and  bronze 
metal  highly  polished  and  lacquered,  present- 
ing a  very  handsome  appearance  when  ap- 
plied. Varying  thickness  of  sash  or  inside 
strips  does  not  in  the  least  interfere  with  its 
application.  It  is  equally  well  adapted  to 
windows  having  sash  adjusted  with  or  without 
weights  or  balances,  and  does  not  obstruct  the 
attachment  of  weather-strips  or  inside-blinds. 
The  descriptive  circular  of  the  manufacturer 
gives  full  and  explicit  directions  for  applying 
and  operating,  and  a  diagram  or  pattern 
accompanying  each  lock,  so  that  no  difficulty 
will  be  experienced  in  attaching  them  to 
buildings  already  constructed.  We  quote 
from  our  contemporary,  the  Manufacturer 
and  Builder,  published  in  New  York  City : 
"  There  seems  to  be  nothing  about  the  con- 
struction or  operation  of  this  device  to  render 
it  liable  to  become  disarranged;  it  should  be 
very  durable,  and  must  form  a  very  desirable 
and  substantial  lock,  affording  much  greater 
security  and  convenience  than  the  centre- 
sash  devices  in  common  use.  It  seems  to 
have  much  merit,  and  we  commend  it  to  our 
readers." 

Letters  patent  of  the  United  States  were 
issued  to  the  inventor,  Mr.  T.  F.  Timby, 
under  date  of  March  29,  1887.  Preparations 
for  the  manufacture  of  them  were  begun  soon 
thereafter,  and  from  the  first  day  they  were 
placed  upon  the  market  they  met  with  de- 
served approval.  The  reputation  gained  at 
first  remains  with  the  lock,  and  as  time  rolls 
on,  and  its  merits  become  more  widely  known, 
it  must  meet  with  that  measure  of  practical 
application  to  its  intended  use  as  to  defy  all 
competition  in  the  line  of  devices  for  window- 
sash  fastenings. 

At  the  fifty-seventh  exhibition  of  the  Ameri- 
can Institute,  held  in  the  city  of  New  York 
in  the  fall  of  1888,  this  improved  window- 
fastening  was  exhibited,  and  met  with  un- 
qualified approval  of  thousands  of  persons 
who  examined  it,  among  whom  were  many 
leading  architects  and  builders. 

Besides  the  favorable  comment  of  the 
public  generally,  and  architects  and  practical 
house-builders  particularly,  more  tangible  ap- 
proval followed  in  the  form  of  numerous 
orders  for  the  goods.  We  also  see  by  the 
published  lists  of  awards  made  by  the  Ameri- 
can Institute  for  the  year  1888,  that  the 
"  Timby  "  burglar-proof  sash  lock  and  venti- 
lator received  the  first  prize  over  all  competi- 


TJie   American   Architect  and  Building  News.        [Voi»  XXV. — No.  684. 


tors,  the   award   being  the  beautiful  bronze 
medal  of  excellence. 

This  firm  is  also  engaged  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  another  new  look  designed  expressly 


for   use   in   windows   having   a 


sash. 


several   grades   being 
st}lc  and  finish  of  the 


This  loek  combines  all  the  desirable  features 
of  the  double-sash  lock,  viz.,  automatic  action, 
adjustability,  ventilating  qualities,  etc.,  but  is 
constructed  much  heavier  in  all  its  parts, 
adapting  it  to  the  heaviest  sasli  used  in  the 
more  modern  styles  of  expensive  blocks  and 
dwellings.  Special  attention  will  be  given  to 
furnishing  these  goods  in  any  style  and  finish 
to  order,  or  upon  specifications  to  match  other 
trimmings  used  upon  blocks,  dwellings,  or 
public  buildings. 

Man}'  of  the  leading  architects  of  the  cities 
of  New  York,  lioston,  Philadelphia,  Washing- 
ton, Pittsburgh,  Cincinnati,  Chicago,  St.  Paul, 
Minneapolis,  Kansas  City,  and  other  points 
have  examined  and  approved  this  lock. 
Agencies  will  be  established,  and  the  goods 
placed  on  sale  in  all  the  principal  cities. 
Dealers  in  first-class  builders'  hardware  not 
already  supplied  will  be  visited  at  an  early 
date.  The  locks  are  graded  in  price,  ac- 
cording to  the  quality  and  finish,  and  are 
numbered  from  1  to  5,  the  difference  in  tin- 
apparent  only  in  the 
face-plates  and  thumb- 
nuts,  which  are  made  in  polished  brass,  nickel- 
plate,  real  bronze  highly  polished,  oxidized- 
silver,  etc. ;  also  a  special  A  A  of  rich  gold 
metal,  plain  or  figured  pattern,  very  fine,  with 
buyer's  monogram  engraved  upon  the  face  of 
the  thumb-nut,  to  order.  The  inventor  of  this 
lock  is  Mr.  T.  F.  Timby,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y., 
who  has  charge  of  the  Xcw  York  ollicc.  The 
factory  is  located  at  Oswego,  N.  Y.  An 
office  has  rccentlv  been  opened  in  the  city  of 
Nev 

Chambers  Street,  Room  8,  where  models  ex- 
emplifying the  practical  workings  of  the  lock 
may  be  inspected.  There,  also,  the  several 
parts  of  the  device  and  samples  of  the  finished 
locks  can  be  seen,  and  all  desired  information 
will  to  given. 

Samples  mounted  on  a  section  of  window- 
frame  will  be  distributed  to  architects  and 
builders  throughout  the  city  and  vicinity,  and 
will  be  forwarded  to  any  part  of  the  country 
upon  application.  Special  attention  will  be 
given  to  export  orders,  as  also  to  the  manu- 
facture of  special  designs  to  meet  the  require 
ments  of  architects  or  others  to  crder. 

This  novel  device  will  without  doubt  find  a 
ready  place  upon  the  market,  as  it  seems  to 
meet  a  want  not  supplied  by  any  of  the  sash 
lock  fastenings  in  the  market ;  namely,  sc 
curity  and  ventilation  —  at  the  same  time 
covering  a  field  heretofore  left  vacant,  which 
fact  will  be  appreciated  by  house-owners. 

JENKINS  &  TIMBY, 

OSWEGO,  N.  T. 


Yoi'k  in  the  Aldrich  Building,  No.  102 


THE  S-TRAP  AND  THE  McCLELLAN 
TRAP  VENT. 

Ix  my  contribution  to  the  subject  of  trap 
seal  protection,  I  called  attention  to  the  fact 
that  Mr.  Putnam's  experiments  demonstrated 
that  an  unused  vented  S-trap  would  lose  its 
seal  by  evaporation  in  less  than  two 
weeks,  and  that  an  undented  S-trap  unused 
would  retain  its  seal  for  many  months.  Since 
all  disinterested  parties  agree  that  the  S-trap, 
with  fair  usage,  will  rarely  or  never  foul,  and 
that  traps  of  all  other  forms  do  foul  in 
proportion  to  their  departure  from  a  uniform 
calibre,  the  conclusion  is  inevitable  that,  if  its 
seal  can  be  preserved  against  siphonage  and 


evaporation  the  S-trap  is  incomparably  better 
than  any  other. 

Your  correspondent  asserts  that  "no  auto- 
matic air  supply  has  ever  been  invented,  nor 
probably  ever  will  be,  which  will  form  a  re- 
liable protection  against  siphonage;"  but 
admits  that  such  form  of  air  supply  seems  to 
him  "to  lie  much  more  reliable  in  many  ways 
than  the  ordinary  back-rent  pipe."  (The 
italics  are  mine.) 

The  many  tests  made  of  the  automatic  vent  J 
refer,  ed  to  by  me  in  my  former  communica- 
lion  —  in  this  city,  under  the  direction  of  Dr- 
William  K.  Newton,  Health  Inspector,  at  the 
rooms  of  the  New  York  Master  Plumbers' 
Association,  at  the  New  York  Trade-Schools, 
etc.,  fully  established  its  reliability  in  pre- 
venting siphonnge.  Mr.  Kdward  Murphy, 
Secretary  of  the  New  York  Plumbers'  Associa- 
tion of  New  York,  says:  "I  am  free 
to  say  that  it  fulfilled  every  claim  made  for  it, 
notwithstanding  the  tests  were  made  more 
severe,  as  regards  siphoning,  than  are  ever 
found  in  actual  practice."  In  addition  to  this, 
I  understand  that,  after  careful  testing  by  its 
experts,  the  New  York  Board  of  Health  has 
repeatedly  approved  plans  calling  for  its  use  to 
the  exclusion  of  back-vent  pipes. 

The  question  as  to  the  cost  and  complica- 
tion is  sufficiently  answered  by  Mr.  Murphy's 
further  remark  that  "  its  advantage  in  re- 
ducing the  cost,  of  plumbing,  in  furnishing  an 
adequate  supply  of  fresh  air,  and  its  non- 
liability to  get  out  of  order  arc  so  patent  that 
further  comment  would  be  useless." 

My  statement  that  "all  so-called  anti-siphon 
traps  acquire  their  non-siphoning  quality  at 
the  cost  of  cleanliness,"  and  "have  greatly 
enlarged  cavities  which  gradually  fill  up  with 
lecoinposing  filth,"  is  met  by  the  assertion 
that  "there  are  no  'greatly  enlarged  cavities' 
in  a  scientifically  designed  anti-siphon  trap." 
My  remarks  were  not  directed  .against  any 
special  form  of  trap,  but  against  an  un- 
scien/(fic  method  of  preventing  loss  of  seal  by 
siphonage.  It  is  well-known  to  every  compe- 
tent expert  that  no  unvented  trap  has  ever 
been  made  that  will  maintain  its  seal  against 
strong  siphonic  action  unless  its  up-cast  limb 
is  greatly  enlarged,  and  hence  that  any  trap 
of  uniform  calibre  must  be  provided  with  an 
air  supply  at  or  near  its  crown  to  prevent 
siphonage. 

More  certainly  a  one-and-onc-half  inch 
trap,  with  a  cylindrical  chamber  of  some  three 
inches  in  diameter,  and  nearly  five  inches  loncr, 
forming  a  part  of  its  up-cast  limb  is  no  ex- 
ception to  the  foregoing  proposition.  Nor  do 
1  think  such  a  cavity  with  its  sharp  angles 
and  extended  surface  will  be  found  less  likely 
to  accumulate  filth,  with  a  given  water  flow, 
than  similar  enlargements  in  other  traps. 

The  advantage  to  be  gained  by  the  use  of 
large  outlets  to  fixtures  so  as  to  secure  the 
thorough  scouring  of  the  trap  and  waste-pipe 
is  well  known,  but  shamefully  neglected  in 


1  McClellan   Anti-siphon    Imp-vent   made    by   the 
Dubois  Manufacturing  Co.,  245  9th  Avenue,  New  1'ork. 


practice.  The  statement  about  the  filling  up 
of  an  ordinary  S-trap  until  its  waterway  was 
just  large  enough  to  carry  the  little  stream  its 
small-outlet  fixture  permitted,  simply  supports 
my  position  that  all  enlargements  form  con- 
venient lodgments  for  filth,  and  that  it  is  only 
a  matter  of  time  when  they  will  so  fill  up  as 
to  leave  a  nearly  uniform  waterway  through 
the  trap. 

The  talk  about  back-pressure  amounts  to 
nothing,  if  reasonable  skill  is  used  in  con- 
structing the  drainage  system.  If  the  open- 
ings of  the  fixtures  are  large  enough  to  allow 
a  proper  Hush  to  scour  the  trap  and  waste-pipe 
shreds  of  lint  will  not  find  lodgment  in  the 
trap,  and  without  their  presence  loss  of  seal 
by  capillary  action  will  not  occur. 

The  small  quantity  of  water  required  to  seal 
the  S-trap,  and  the  readiness  with  which  it  is 
scoured  by  a  reasonable  flush  are  not  ob- 
jections, but  are  among  its  greatest  virtues; 
while  the  increased  volume  of  water  required 
to  form  the  seal  of  a  so-called  non-siphoning 
trap  decreases  its  scouring  quality  and  tends 
to  establish  a  miniature  cesspool,  increasing 
the  evil,  as  its  greater  volume  of  water  and  its 
non-siphoning  qualities  increase. 

The  claim  that  in  the  case  of  a  kitchen  or 
butler's  pantry  sink  trap  «rcase  is  liable  to 
spatter  up  into  the  mouth  ot  the  vent-pipe  or 
vent-connection,  and  thus  eventually  close  it 
up,  is  true  only  when  the  vent-connection  is 
placed  directly  over  the  up-cast  limb  of  the 
trap.  This  should  be  avoided  by  placing  the 
connection  beyond  the  crown  of  the  trap,  but 
sufficiently  near  to  it  to  prevent  siphonic 
action. 

Finally,  this  discussion  plainly  points  to  the 
following  conclusions,  viz : 

1.  That  the  ordinary  S-trap  is  the  simplest 
and  most  cleanly  ever  devised. 

2.  That  to  prevent  siphonage  with  absolute 
certainty,  an  air-supply  irust  be  provided  to 
the  wastt-pipe  at  or  near  the  crown  of  the 
trap  sufficient  to  meet   all   demands  without 
disturbing  the  seal  of  the  trap. 

3.  That  while  back-vent  pipes,  when  short 
and  direct,  furnish  air-supply  adequate  to  pre- 
vent siphonage,  they  fail  in  this  respect  when 
the  lines  are  indirect  or  very  long;  besides, 
the     air    currents     they     maintain     rapidly 
destroy  by  evaporation    the  seals   of   unused 
traps. 

4.  That  the   back-venting  of   traps  to  the 
roof  is  costly,  complicated  and  dangerous. 

5.  That    an    automatic    air-supply  directly 
from  the  room  at  the  point  needed  is  the  only 
uniformly     reliable     method     of     preventing 
siphonage  in  all  situations.  —  M.  Huumon,  in 
the  Sanitary  Netct. 


NOTES. 

TIIK  Lidgerwood  Manufacturing  Company, 
New  York,  have  just  issued  their  new  cata- 
logue for  1889.  It  is  a  credit  to  this 
enterprising  concern.  The  book  contains 
fully  a  hundred  excellently  executed  engrav- 
ings of  their  superior  hoisting  machinery, 
boilers,  etc.,  and  will  be  forwarded  to  those 
making  application. 


THE  Whittier  Machine  Company  have  re- 
cently put  into  the  Commonwealth  Hotel, 
Boston,  three  horizontal  steel  boilers.  They 
liave  constructed  for  the  Fall  River  Bleachcry, 
Fall  River,  Mass.,  four  horizontal  steel  boilers, 
each  six  feet  in  diameter.  Also,  have  re- 
cently put  in  for  Mr.  M.  Brennan,  at  the 
corner  of  Eighty-fourth  Street  and  Ninth 
Avenue,  New  York  Crly,  two  hydraulic  ele- 
vators'for  passenger  service. 


ASPHALT  PAVING  BLOCKS  AND  TILES 

F»r  Streets,  Sidewalks,  tiutteri*,  Railway  Stations, 
12X  "rX  5  IN  gP?  ">s.  Stables,  Cellars,  Breweries,  Areas,  Etc. 

MATERIALS. — Crashed  Limestone  and  Trinidad  As- 
phaltum,  subjected  to  a  pressure  of  3,000  pounds  to  the 
•Mjii  ire  inch  at  250**  (Fahrenheit. 

A'oiseless,  non-absorbent  and  tess  costly  than  stone  or 
iny  other  durable  pavement. 

WGT.  22  ^HHBSBKB*      Subjected  to  10  years'  trial.    In  1887  over  5,000,000  of 

™  these  blocks  and  tiles  were  laid  in  \Vaebington.Haltimore, 
Philadelphia,  Camdeu,  Trenton,  New  York,  Chicago,  Etc. 

MANUFACTURED  BY 
THE    HASTINGS   PAVEMENT    CO.,  14O  Pearl  Street,  New  York.  N.  T. 
THE    ASPHALT    BLOCK     CO.,  SOI  Chestnut  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

THE  MARYLAND  PAVEMENT  CO.,  5  Chain,  of  Com.  Build.,  Baltimore.  Md 

Licenses  under  dlteen  patents  for  processes  and  machinery  and  exceptional  'acilitles  for  the  purchase  of 
Trinidab  Asphalt,  to  btj  used  in  making  these  blocks  and  tiles,  granted  by  The  International  Pavement  Co.. 
Chaiuder  of  Commerce  Building,  Baltimore,  Md.,  or  8ti  Equitable  Building,  Boston,  Mass. 


THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT  AND  BUILDING  NEWS. 


VOL.  XXV. 


Copyright,  1889,  by  TICKNOB  &  COMPANY,  Boston,  Mass. 


No.    688. 


MARCH  2,  1889. 

Entered  at  the  Post-office  at  Boston  as  seoond-olass  matter. 


SUMMARY:  — 

Current  Misapprehensions  regarding  this  Journal. —The  Al- 
bany Ceiling  Investigation.  — The  Cost  of  Official  Architect- 
ure in  Boston.  —  The  Tariff  on  Works  of  Art.  —  A  New  Con- 
dition of  Competition.  —  An  International  Congress  of  Archi- 
tects at  Paris.  — The  Conduct  of  the  late  Convention  of 
Master-Builders.  —  A  Banquet  to  French  Prize-men.  ...  97 

AUGUSTE  RODIN.  — IV •    •     •     •     •     •     •    ^? 

THE  LUMBERMEN'S  DEMAND  J-OR  A  NEW  LIEN  LAW. —  II.       .     .  V 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  — 

Main  Entrance  to  City-Hall,  Albany,  N.  Y.  —  House  of  Mr.  B. 
F.  Willis,  Architect,  York,  Pa. —The  Normal  Art  School, 
Boston,  Mass. — The  Archer  Building,  Rochester,  N.  Y. — 
Statues  of  John  the  Baptist.  —  Proposed  House  for  C.  I). 
Hosley,  Esq.,  Springfield,  Mass.  —  Proposed  House  for  H.  F. 
Crocker,  Esq.,  Fitchburg,  Mass.  —  Hier  Flats,  Syracuse,  N.  Y. 

—  The  National  Bank  of  Washington,  Washington,  D.  C.     .  102 

GUTTERS 102 

BUILDING  LAW 1' 

SOCIETIES 105 

COMMUNICATIONS:  — 

A  Personal  Explanation.  —  To  Cut  a  Hip-Rafter. —The  Uni- 
form Building  Contract.  —  The  Willard  Architectural  Casts. 

—  Architectural  Drawing IOC 

TRADE  SURVEYS 108 

FOR  some  time  our  agents,  who  are  constantly  brought  into 
contact  with  advertisers  and  material-men,  have  reported 
that    misstatements   were    being    made    concerning    this 
journal  by  interested  parties.      Though  disagreeable,  we  be- 
lieved that,  coming  from  such  sources,  these  false  impressions 
would  be  set  right  through  the  mere  passage  of  time.      But 

when  "  one  of  the  most  prominent  of architects  "  ventures 

to  make  mendacious  statements  concerning  the  conduct  of  this 
journal  the  matter  seems  serious  enough  to  notice  publicly. 
We  therefore  ask  attention  for  a  letter  and  our  answer  which 
appear  in  another  column. 

YTTHE  matter  of  the  ceiling  in  the  Albany  State-House  does 
"'JJ*  not  look  any  nicer  as  time  goes  on.     As  we  said  the  other 
day,  any  one  who  really  wanted  to  find  out  how  much  the 
ceiling  was  worth  need  only  call  in  some  one  who  knew  about 
such  matters,  and  in  half  a  day  the  true  value  could  be  ascer- 
tained, and  compared  with  the  cost  to  the  State.     Singularly 
enough,  this  has  been  done.     After  a  month  or  so  of  apparent 
distress  and  perplexity,  diversified  with  a  convulsive  attempt  to 
chastise  a  newspaper  reporter  who  got  tired  of  waiting  for  the 
official  investigation  to  discover  something,  a  few  experts  were 
sent  for,  who  were  incautious  enough  to  ascertain  the  truth  in 
a  few  hours,  and  to  report  just  what  they  ascertained.     The 
substance  of  this  was,  that  the  true  value  of  the  ceiling,  as 
erected,  including  a  liberal  allowance  for  risk,  contingencies  and 
profit,   was   not   over   one   hundred   and    sixty-five   thousand 
dollars.     What  has  become  of  the  difference  between  this  sum 
and  the  two  hundred  and  seventy  thousand  that  the  State  has 
actually  paid,  or  will  have  to  pay,  it  was  not  the  province  of 
the  experts  to  determine,  and  the  outside  public  will  probably 
never  know.     Every  one,  in  or  out  of  the  New  York  Legisla- 
ture,  undoubtedly   believes   that    the    tax-payers   have   been 
robbed  of  a  large  sum,  but  an  investigation  that  really  in- 
vestigates is  too  dangerous  an  undei  taking  to  be  attempted, 
and  the  whole  matter  will  blow  over,  the  New  York  tax-payer 
having  long  ago  made  up  his  mind  that  it  is  foreordained  that 
he  should  pay  a  great  deal  for  his  State-houses,  and  get  very 
little,  just  as  the  Boston  tax-payer  has  resigned  himself  to 
paying  twice  as  much  for  his  school-houses  as  other  people. 
Both  of  them  understand  well  enough  that  their  money  has 
been  used  for  corrupt  purposes,  but  to  ascertain  who  got  it,  and 
to  bring  him  to  justice,  is  more  trouble  than  to  go  to  work  and 
earn  enough  to  make  good  the  amount  stolen.     Of  course,  this 
way  of  looking  at  the  matter  just  suits  the  people  who  get  the 
money,  and  they  grow  bolder  every  day.     Some  further  state- 
ments of  the  experts  throw  a  curious  light  on  the  carelessness, 
to  call  it  by  no  harsher  name,  with  which  the  public  business 
in  relation  to  buildings  is  carried  on.     According  to  the  official 
accounts,  Mr.  Snaith's  bid,  of  two  hundred  and  seventy  thousand 
dollars,  was  the  lowest  one  received  for  the  work  as  shown  by 


the  drawings  and  specifications.     It  seems  a  little  strange  that 
a   contract  amounting  to   so   large   a   sum  should  have  been 
fought  for  with  so  little  spirit  that  the  lowest  bidder  could 
secure  a  profit  of  about  one  hundred  per  cent,  but  the  superin- 
tendent acknowledged,  we  believe,  that  he  did  not  advertise  for 
offers,  but  spoke  to  some  contractors  that  he  knew,  and  invited 
them  to  come  in  and  make  a  bid.     This  would  be  bad  enough, 
but  from  the  report  of  the  experts  it  appears  that  out  of  the 
fifty-one  drawings  shown  to  them  as  those  on  which  the  contract 
was  based,  only  six  had  been  made  at  the  time  the  contract  was 
awarded,  and  these  six  were  so  vague  that  no  estimate  could, 
in  their  opinion,  have  been  made  upon  them.     Whether  the 
other  bids  submitted  at  the  same  time  as  Mr.  Snaith's  were, 
therefore,  fictitious  estimates,  put  in  for  the  purpose  of  making 
his  appear  the  lowest,  they  do  not  pretend  to  say,  but  they 
think  it  might  be  interesting  to  find  out.     Another  curious  dis- 
covery, which  they  made  by  the  simple  process  of  counting  the 
panels  shown  on   the  drawings,  and  those  in  the  ceiling  as 
built,  was  that  while  the  drawings   showed   it   divided   into 
seven  hundred  and  sixty-four  panels,  the  actual   ceiling  was 
divided  into  only  three  hundred  and  ninety-six.     A  saving  of 
ten  thousand  dollars  was  made  to  the  contractor,  they  think,  in 
the  item  of  iron-work  alone,  by  this  change,  which  was  ordered 
after  the  contract  was   signed,  on   the   sole  authority,  as   it 
appears,  of  the  Superintendent  of  Buildings.     Another  change, 
by  which  ten  thousand  dollars  more  was  put  into  the  pocket  of 
the  contractor,  or  some  one  else,  was  the  substitution  of  papier- 
mache  for  carved  oak  in  the  spandrels  on  the  walls,  for  which 
no  warrant  whatever  existed,  even  in  the  remarkable  specifica- 
tion on  which  the  contract  was  based.     What  will  be  the  next 
step    in    the  process   of   getting  out    of    the  predicament  into 
which  this  over-candid  report  has  put  the  persons  interested 
remains  to  be  seen.     We  imagine,  however,  that  it  will  consist 
in  the  summoning  of  a  new  board  of  experts,  who  will  come  to 
conclusions  very  different  from  those  of  the  first  board.     Thus 
the  whole  matter  will  again  be  thrown  into  a  state  of  hopeless 
chaos,  from  which  it  will  sink  quietly  into  oblivion. 

HE  Boston  School  Board  is  just  now  reflecting  whether 
official  architecture  is  any  more  economical  than  the  article 
furnished  by  private  members  of  the  profession.  It  was 
some  time  ago  demonstrated  in  Boston  that  the  cost  of  draw- 
ings, specifications,  contracts  and  supervision  from  the  City 
Architect's  office  was  more  than  the  five  per  cent  on  the  cost 
of  the  buildings  which  a  private  architect  would  charge ;  and  it 
has  now  occurred  to  some  one  to  compare  the  cost  of  the  build- 
ings erected  under  official  auspices  with  that  of  similar  struc- 
tures built  elsewhere.  The  public  accounts  show  that  a  certain 
school-house  recently  completed  in  Boston  cost  one  hundred 
and  twenty-eight  thousand  dollars.  A  similar  school-building 
has  just  been  finished  in  a  city  near  Boston  for  sixty  thousand 
dollars,  and  Chicago  has  lately  put  up  several  of  about  the 
same  pattern  for  less  than  sixty  thousand.  There  is  no  pre- 
tense that  the  Boston  school-houses  are  more  sumptuous  than 
those  of  its  rival  towns,  and  the  simple  inference  is  that  under 
its  system  Boston  pays  about  twice  as  much  per  head  for 
accommodations  for  its  school-children  as  other  towns  do  under 
the  ordinary  system.  Mr.  Capen,  of  the  School  Board,  ex- 
pressed the  opinion  that  the  Boston  method  was  "  a  scheme  for 
spending  the  most  money  for  the  least  work,"  and  most  persons 
will  agree  with  him,  but  whether  there  is  any  possibility  of 
getting  it  changed  is  another  matter. 

T  must  be  confessed  that  the  strong  point  of  public  officials 


TT  must  be  confessed  that  the  strong  point  ot  public  officials 
does  not  seem  to  lie  in  their  appreciation  of  the  wishes  and 
needs  of  artists.  The  annual  season  of  blushing  over  the 
confusion  and  misapprehension  existing  in  Congress  on  the  sub- 
ject of  works  of  art,  as  shown  by  its  discussions  on  the  tariff 
affecting  them,  has  just  begun,  and  seems  this  year  to  be  more 
painful  than  ever.  Under  the  old  tariff,  as  every  one  knows, 
works  of  art  by  American  artists  residing  abroad  were  ad- 
mitted into  this  country  free  of  duty,  while  those  made  by 
foreigners  were  charged  with  a  heavy  impost.  Naturally 
enough,  this  airy  generalization  was  soon  utilized  to  cover  a 
multitude  of  petty  frauds,  to  the  injury  of  all  decent  artists, 
and  the  discredit  of  the  framers  of  the  law.  It  is  said,  and,  we 
believe,  with  a  certain  amount  of  truth,  that  some  enterprising 
metal-dealers,  after  the  law  was  passed,  hired  an  impecunious 
American  abroad  to  buy  pig-lead,  on  which  there  is,  or  was 


98 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.        [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  688. 


then,  a  heavy  duty,  melt  it,  and  cast  it  in  a  mould,  from  which 
it  issued  in  a  rude  semblance  of  a  figure  of  George  Washing- 
ton. When  the  firm  wished  to  replenish  its  stock  of  lead,  it 
notified  its  "  sculptor,"  and  he  soon  turned  out  the  requisite 
number  of  "  statues,"  which  were  entered  as  "  works  of  art  by 
an  American  sculptor  residing  abroad,"  and  passed  through  the 
Custom-House  free  of  duty,  much  to  the  financial  advantage  of 
the  firm.  It  does  not  seem  as  if  a  very  astute  mind  would  be 
required  to  devise  a  law  which  would  not  be  subject  to  such  a 
ridiculous  abuse,  but  the  Senate  Tariff  Bill,  now  pending, 
makes  a  bad  matter  worse  by  amending  the  law  with  a  defini- 
tion which  says  that  the  term  "  statuary  "  shall  be  understood 
to  include  "  only  such  statuary  as  is  cut,  carved,  or  otherwise 
wrought  by  hand  from  a  solid  block  or  mass  of  marble,  stone 
or  alabaster,  or  from  metal."  Under  this  definition  the  im- 
portation of  pig-lead  Washingtons  would,  indeed,  be  cut  off,  but 
with  it  appears  to  be  prohibited  the  free  introduction  of  any  sort 
of  bronze  or  other  metal  statue  by  an  American  artist,  unless 
he  is  prepared  to  swear  that  he  has  "  cut,  carved,  or  otherwise 
wrought  it  by  hand,"  out  of  a  solid  block  of  the  material.  If, 
however,  the  "  American  artist  residing  abroad  "  finds  himself 
thus  unhappily  prevented  from  sending  home  any  of  his  bronze 
statues  which  he  has  not  himself  filed  or  whittled  out  of  the 
ingot,  he  may  perhaps  gain  consolation  in  another  way.  Under 
the  proposed  bill,  the  provisions  in  regard  to  duty  are  specified 
as  applicable  to  "  paintings,  statuary,  fountains  and  other  works 
of  art."  The  method  prescribed  by  the  law  for  making 
statuary  does  not  apply  to  fountains,  and,  so  far  as  we  can  see, 
there  is  nothing  to  prevent  an  ingenious  American  from  casting 
lead  fountains,  instead  of  statues  of  the  "  Pater  Patria?,"  and 
sending  them  over  here  to  adorn,  temporarily,  the  back-yard 
of  the  importer,  before  they  are  consigned  to  the  melting-pot. 
On  the  whole,  the  Senate  Bill,  which  will  probably  form  the 
basis  of  any  legislation  on  the  subject  for  the  present,  con- 
siderably increases  the  duty  on  works  of  art  produced  by 
foreigners,  while  allowing  the  free  importation  of  those  made 
by  Americans ;  and,  as  the  international  copyright  question 
has  been  decided  in  exactly  the  opposite  sense,  the  country  is 
apparently  committed  to  the  absurd  position  that  the  works 
of  one  kind  of  art,  if  produced  by  foreigners,  ought  to  be  dis- 
seminated here  as  rapidly  and  cheaply  as  possible,  for  the 
public  benefit,  and  that  the  American  producers  of  that  kind  of 
art  ought  not  to  ask  for  protection  in  their  best  market ;  while 
foreign  works  in  another  sort  of  art  are  kept  out,  also  for  the 
public  benefit,  by  a  high  tariff,  which  is  avowedly  imposed  to 
foster  the  interests  of  American  artists  of  that  sort,  by 
enabling  them  to  get  a  larger  price  for  their  works. 


r/T LTHOUGH  the  number  of  public  functionaries  who  con- 
fl  sider  that  architects  have  no  rights  that  anybody  is  bound 
to  respect  grows  smaller  day  by  day,  there  are  a  few  left, 
even  in  the  older  countries,  where  the  position  of  the  profession 
is  much  more  assured  than  it  is  with  us.  We  find  in  the 
Belgian  journal,  L' Emulation,  an  advertisement,  setting  fortli 
that  the  Mayor  and  Council  of  a  certain  town  will  receive  plans 
for  a  hospital,  or  asylum  of  some  sort,  up  to  a  certain  date.  In 
the  lordly  style  which  is  so  familiar  here,  but  which  seems  very 
antiquated  abroad,  it  goes  on  to  say  that  the  author  of  the  plan 
adopted  will  be  charged  with  the  execution  of  the  work,  and 
will  receive  as  compensation  four  per  cent  on  the  contract-price. 
It  is,  however,  stipulated  that  the  cost  is  not  to  exceed  fifteen 
thousand  dollars,  complete  for  occupancy,  with  "  the  key  in  the 
door "  ;  and  that  all  expenses  exceeding  ten  per  cent  beyond 
the  contract-price  shall  be  paid  by  the  architect  who  has  the 
direction  and  supervision  of  the  work.  The  editor  of  L' 'Emula- 
tion mildly  observes  that  this  programme  "  seems  to  be  not 
quite  complete,"  and  we  imagine  that  the  competition  will 
be  confined  mainly  to  office-boys  and  students,  Belgium  being 
a  place  where  the  value  of  real  architects'  services  is  very 
well  understood.  To  the  profession  there,  we  suppose  that 
the  clause  by  which  the  architect  guarantees  the  cost  of  the 
building  will  seem  the  most  extraordinary  part  of  the  pro- 
gramme. There  is  no  doubt  that  it  would  be  binding  upon  any 
one  who  chose  to  accept  the  terms  by  entering  the  competition, 
and  we  should  not  be  very  sorry  if  some  indiscreet  youngster, 
filled  with  the  blissful  confidence  of  being  able  to  get  an  indefi- 
nitely large  amount  of  work  done  for  an  indefinitely  small 
amount  of  money,  which  is  characteristic  of  youth,  should 
bring  himself  and  his  family  to  financial  disaster  as  an  example 
of  its  force,  for  the  benefit  of  other  persons  who  might  be 
tempted  in  the  same  way.  It  is  not  that  we  object  to  the  prin- 


ciple of  an  architect  guaranteeing  the  cost  of  the  buildings  he 
designs.  On  the  contrary,  there  is  no  more  reason  for  an  archi- 
tect's refusing  to  make  such  a  contract,  if  he  is  paid  for  it,  than 
for  an  insurance  company  refusing  to  insure  the  building  against 
fire.  What  is  the  proper  price  to  be  paid  to  the  architect  for 
this  guaranty,  in  addition  to  the  compensation  for  his  profes- 
sional services,  is  the  only  question  that  need  admit  of  a  doubt. 
Builders  usually  add  to  their  estimate  ten  per  cent  for  "con- 
tingencies," and,  if  the  architect  is  expected  to  pay  for  the 
"contingencies,"  ten  per  cent  on  the  cost  would  not  be  too 
much  to  cover  his  risk.  Most  experienced  architects,  we 
imagine,  would  take  the  risk  on  their  own  plans,  carried  out 
under  their  direction,  for  about  this  percentage,  and  few,  who 
had  money  to  lose,  would  do  it  for  any  less.  In  the  case  of 
public  buildings,  particularly,  this  understanding  might  be  an. 
advantageous  one  for  all  parties,  and  we  should  be  by  no  means 
sorry  to  see  it  often  entered  into.  The  architect  would  gain 
by  the  more  efficient  control  and  freedom  from  interference 
which  it  would  give  him  over  his  work,  while  the  tax-payers 
could  count,  if  their  plan  and  their  architect  had  been  carefully 
selected,  on  getting  a  satisfactory  building  complete  within  the 
amount  of  the  appropriation. 

'TTN  international  Congress  of  Architects  is  to  take  place  this 
r±  year  in  Paris,  in  connection  with  the  Exhibition  so  far  as 
this,  that  the  invitation  is  issued  in  the  name  of  the 
French  Government,  and  the  principal  officials  in  charge  of  the 
Exhibition  have  honorary  places  on  ths  Committee  which  will 
conduct  the  Congress.  In  addition  to  these  official  members, 
the  committee  includes  the  most  distinguished  French  archi- 
tects, besides  many  amateurs,  artists  and  others.  The  Con- 
gress will  meet  on  the  seventeenth  of  June,  and  will  continue 
five  days.  On  the  first  day  the  subject  of  discussion  will  be 
the  theoretical  and  practical  teaching  of  architecture,  and  the 
instruction  of  workmen  concerned  in  building  operations.  On 
the  second  day,  mutual  assistance  among  architects  will  be  con- 
sidered, and  the  matter  of  protective  associations,  and  mutual 
insurance,  or  charitable  societies  will  be  taken  up.  The  third 
day  will  be  occupied  with  the  consideration  of  the  property  of 
architects  in  their  designs ;  and  the  fourth  by  discussions  on 
architects'  diplomas ;  public  competitions,  and  their  influence 
upon  architecture ;  and  the  compensation  of  architects  and 
experts.  On  the  fifth  day  a  visit  will  be  made  to  the  Castle  of 
Chantilly,  recently  presented  by  the  Duke  of  Orleans  to  the 
Republic  of  France. 

TIfllE  Secretary  of  the  National  Association  of  Builders 
JL  points  out  that  our  remarks  last  week  upon  the  apparent 
want  of  preparation  in  the  conduct  of  the  recent  conven- 
tion at  Philadelphia  do  injustice  to  himself  and  the  com- 
mittee in  charge,  and  expresses  the  opinion  that  we  might  have 
remembered  that  we  received  from  him  at  an  early  day  the  full 
programme  of  the  proceedings,  which  showed  that  nothing 
which  could  promote  the  prompt  despatch  of  business  had  been 
left  unprovided  for.  It  seems  needless  to  say  that,  had  we  re- 
membered that  we  had  this  programme  at  hand,  it  would  have 
been  used  to  rectify  the  impressions  created  by  the  reports  in 
the  daily  papers. 

T  A  CONSTRUCTION  MODERNE  contains  a  descrip- 
•*"*  tion  of  a  banquet  given  by  the  architects  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  the  Maritime  Alps  to  the  winner  of  the  Prize  of  Rome 
of  1888  in  architecture,  M.  Albert  Tournaire.  M.  Tournaire 
is  a  native  of  Nice,  the  principal  town  in  the  Department,  and 
about  thirty  gentlemen,  including  the  Count  de  Malaussene, 
Mayor  of  the  city,  with  distinguished  engineers  and  other 
persons,  besides  the  architects,  assisted  at  the  entertainment. 
M.  Louis  Convers,  the  winner  of  the  Prize  of  Rome  in  sculpture, 
and  M.  Henri  Leriche,  the  Grand  Prize  in  engraving,  who 
were  on  their  way  to  Rome  with  M.  Touruaire,  were  invited 
to  the  feast,  and  compliments  enough  were  bestowed  on  all 
three  to  turn  the  heads  of  young  men  of  less  capacity.  For- 
tunately for  them,  the  conquest  of  the  Grand  Prize  in  any 
section  of  the  School  of  Fine  Arts  is  a  matter  of  hard  and 
long-continued  work,  of  many  disappointments,  followed  by  re- 
newed effort ;  and  the  courage  and  perseverance  developed  by 
such  discipline  are  incompatible  with  a  weak  susceptibility  to 
flattery.  M.  Tournaire's  reply  to  the  toasts  drunk  in  his  honor 
seems  to  have  been  modest  and  sensible,  and  the  festivities 
probably  served  an  excellent  purpose  as  a  mark  of  encourage- 
ment and  appreciation  such  as  we  wish  our  own  ambitious 
students  might  more  frequently  meet  with. 


MARCH  2,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


99 


AUGUSTS  RODIN.1— IV. 

O  O N  after 
"The  Age  of 
Brass"  was 
completed,  Rodin 
made  preparations 
to  return  to  Paris. 
In  answer  to  the 
question  as  to 
whether  he  would 
ever  have  left  Brus- 
sels if  he  had  not 
been  refused  furth- 
er employment,  he 
replied :  "  Perhaps 
not.  I  did  not 
know  that  I  had 

u«°iin  and  hl  any  talent,  though 

I  knew  I  had  some  skill,  and  I  never  thought  I  was  anything  more  than 
a  workman.     I  never  signed  my  work,  and  so  I  was  not  known." 

On  arriving  at  Paris  in  the  early  spring  of  1877,  and  finding  that 
he  had  no  studio,  he  occupied  for  a  short  time  part  of  one  belonging 
to  an  acquaintance,  in  the  Rue  Bretonvilliers.  As  he  had  spent  all 
his  money  in  making  his  figure,  it  was  again  necessary  for  him  to 
seek  employment  among  the  same  class  of  men  for  whom  he  had 
worked  before  he  left  Paris.  Strangely  enough,  Belleuse  was  the 
first  one  that  he  happened  to  meet,  and  who  immediately  offered  to 
give  him  something  to  do.  The  offer  was  accepted,  and  for  the 
third  time  Rodin  began  to  finish  the  sketches  of  his  old  employer, 
but  this  time  in  his  own  studio  and  in  such  hours  as  he  chose  to 
give.  For  the  next  three  years  he  was  obliged  to  pass  through  the 
same  kind  of  unpleasant  experiences  that  had  made  his  early  life 
little  less  than  miserable :  he  worked  for  various  decorative 
sculptors,  as  occasion  or  necessity  required. 

One  would  naturally  suppose  that  Rodin's  superior  skill  would 
have  been  to  these  men  a  recommendation  of  unusual  character, 
and  that  they  would  have  seen  in  him  a  workman,  at  least,  of  no 
common  order.  Yet  it  was  precisely  the  contrary.  No  matter  how 
faithfully  he  labored,  or  how  much  art  he  produced  for  them,  they 
were  "enerally  dissatisfied,  and  some  of  them  discharged  him. 
"Not  one  of  these  men  treated  me  like  a  man,"  he  says.  A  well- 
known  and  successful  young  sculptor,  who  worked  in  the  same  shop 
with  Rodin  on  one  of  these  occasions,  declares  that  the  latter  "  was 
the  most  learned,  skilful,  and  rapid  worker  in  clay  that  had  ever 
been  seen  in  Paris.  There  was  no  one  like  him.  His  things  were 
masterpieces,  but  his  employers  were  ignorant,  pretentious  and 
abusive." 

Just  before  the  great  exhibition  of  1878,  Rodin  was  working  for  a 
certain  decorative  sculptor  who  was  especially  critical,  and  for  whom 
he  made  a  number  of  large  heads,  destined  for  the  Trocadero  Palace, 
though  eventually  they  were  not  used  for  that  purpose.  If  they 
were°not  wholly  satisfactory  to  the  employer,  he  was  yet  quite  willing 
to  sign  and  exhibit  them  in  the  Industrial  Art  Section  of  the  exhibi- 
tion,°where  they  gained  for  him  a  gold  medal.  In  the  same  section, 
.Rodin  showed  his  "Broken  Nose"  and  some  other  works  of  like 
merit,  but  received  no  recompense.  The  heads  were  afterwards 
presented  by  their  owner  to  the  Trocadero  Museum,  and  are  now 
regarded  as  prized  examples,  some  say  masterpieces,  of  modern 
French  decorative  sculpture,  though  no  one  knows  who  really  made 
them. 

Rodin  had  occasionally  the  surprising  good  fortune,  in  spite  of  the 
cunning  of  his  employers,  to  earn  as  much  as  twenty  dollars  in  a 
dav,  working  by  the  piece.  But  this  could  not  last  long ;  a  work- 
man with  such  a  capacity  would  soon  destroy  the  trade,  and  his 
astonished  employer  found  means  to  prevent  its  repetition.  lie  also 
tried  his  hand  again  with  a  well-known  jewelry  manufacturer,  but 
with  less  success  than  before,  for  the  latter  %vould  neither  accept  the 
sculptor's  model  nor  pay  him  for  his  work.  "  Yet,"  says  Rodin, 
"  he  thought  there  was  something  in  what  I  did,  though  he  could  not 
understand  it.  All  these  men  wanted  what  is  known  as  '  the 
sculpture  of  the  School.'  " 

We  will  now  go  back  a  year  to  the  Salon  of  1877,  when  "The 
A"e  of  Brass"  was  on  exhibition.  As  soon  as  Rodin  heard  that  his 
figure  was  suspected  of  being  a  reproduction  from  a  mould  made 
over  the  livin^  model,  he  went  to  an  eminent  sculptor  who  was  con- 
nected with  the  Salon  and  asked  his  advice  in  regard  to  what  was 
best  to  be  done  in  order  to  prove  that  the  suspicion  had  no  founda- 
tion in  fact.  "  Make  some  casts  and  photographs  of  the  model  you 
employed,  bring  them  to  the  Salon,  and  we  will  see,"  was  the  reply. 
Rodin  wrote  to  a  good  friend  in  Brussels  to  have  them  made,  and  at 
once  forwarded  to  Paris.  They  arrived  in  a  few  days  and  were 
ready  for  examination,  but  this  was  all.  No  attention  was  paid  to 
them.  The  statue,  as  before  stated,  was  carried  to  the  sculptor's 
studio  with  the  bann  of  disgrace  upon  it  and  him. 

Durin"  these  two  months  Rodin  had  come  in  contact,  for  the  first 
time  in  his  life,  with  four  powerful  influences ;  namely,  a  friendly 
government  official,  in  the  person  of  M.  Turquet,  artist  friends,  pro- 
fessional antagonism,  and  the  press.  Of  the  effect  of  the  first  three 
some  indication  has  been  given,  but  the  writer  is  obliged,  in  this  pre- 
liminary and  ha-tily  written  sketch,  to  put  off  for  a  later  occasion 

i  All  rights  reserved.    Continued  from  page  66,  No.  685. 


any  consideration  of  the  expression  of  the  last  in  regard  to  "The 
Age  of  Brass  "  or  of  the  two  subsequent  exhibitions  of  the  sculptor. 
The  following  paragraph,  which  appeared  in  L'Arl  for  1877  (Vol.  3, 
page  100),  is,  so  far  as  the  writer  is  informed,  the  first  notice  of  any 
length  that  appeared  in  a  Paris  paper  concerning  this  statue.  It  is 
from  the  pen  of  Mr.  Charles  Tardieu.  An  earlier  number  of  the 
same  journal  contained  an  illustration  of  the  figure  from  a  drawing 
by  the  sculptor. 

" '  The  Age  of  Brass,'  by  M.  Rodin,  has  been  very  much  discussed. 
'Age  of  Brass'?  M.  Rodin  has  undertaken  to  symbolize  the  hard- 
ships of  war  ;  only  he  has,  perhaps,  neglected  to  give  the  statue  an 
explanatory  attribute  that  would  have  made  its  intention  more  clear. 
However,  without  this,  the  tension  of  the  muscles,  the  expression  of 
the  face,  the  gesture  of  the  arm,  suffice  to  define  the  object  of  the 
artist,  and  the  title  would  have  been  accepted  without  objection  if 
the  pretension  had  not  arisen  of  discovering  in  this  work  of  remark- 
able truthfulness  traces  of  its  having  been  made  from  a  mould  taken 
from  the  living  model.  We  are  convinced  of  the  inanity  of  this 
reproach,  and  we  can  bring  in  favor  of  the  loyalty  of  the  artist  the 
most  disinterested  and  absolute  evidence.  But,  without  insisting  on 
this  point,  one  fact  must  be  allowed,  without  justifying  the  insinua- 
tions or  the  jealousy  expressed  in  his  regard :  the  work  of  M.  Rodin 
is  a  study,  rather  than  a  statue;  a  too  servile  portrait  of  a  model 
without  character  or  beauty ;  an  astonishingly  exact  copy  of  a  low  type. 
But  if  M.  Rodin  appears  to  care  so  little  for  style,  he  makes  it  all 
up  in  the  living  reproduction  of  the  life  of  his  model.  On  this  point 
his  work  is  very  interesting,  and,  with  the  addition  of  a  few  modifi- 
cations, such  as  a  little  more  nobility  in  the  head,  a  little  less  thin- 
ness in  the  lips,  it  may  easily  rise  above  the  criticisms  now  made 
against  it." 

When  the  Salon  closed,  a  new,  and  the  heaviest,  trouble  lay  on 
Rodin's  mind.  It  was  the  accusation  that  he  was  not  an  honest  man 
or  a  workman  of  integrity.  He  had  never  thought  of  a  recompense 
in  bringing  his  statue  to  the  Salon,  but  now  he  wanted  justice. 
Satisfied  that  it  was  impossible  for  the  present  to  get  it  for  "  The 
A^e  of  Brass,"  he  thought  that  the  only  way  by  which  he  could  get 
it  lor  himself  was  to  make  another  statue,  this  time  larger  than  life, 
and  in  the  modelling  of  which  he  could  not  use  or  adapt  reproduc- 
tions from  moulds  made  on  the  living  model.  He  was  so  simple- 
minded  that  he  thought  that  this  was  all  he  need  do  to  convince  people 
that  he  was  perfectly  straightforward  in  his  production  of  a  statue ; 
and  he  never  dreamed  that  both  "The  Age  of  Brass"  and  him- 
self were  revolutionary  forces,  disturbing  conventionalism  and  raising 
up  an  army  of  perpetual  foes  ;  or  that  prejudice  is  never  convinced 
of  its  errors,  or  such  foes  changed  into  friends.  In  Paris,  at  least, 
every  good  effort  is  welcomed,  he  thought,  and  he  set  about  his 
newly  decided  task.  Selecting  the  subject  of  "  St.  John  Preaching," 
he  began  a  sketch  half  the  size  of  what  he  intended  the  statue  to  be, 
working  on  it,  as  had  been  his  habit  for  the  past  twenty  years, 
during  the  mornings  before  he  went  to  his  daily  labor,  and  long  into 
the  nights  after  he  had  left  his  employer's  shop. 

Tolhe  Salon  of  1878.  Rodin  offered,  for  the  second  time,  "The 
Broken  Nose,"  and  under  the  designation  of  — "  Portrait  of 

M ;  bust,  bronze."     Though  it  was  this  time  accepted,  it  was 

very  badly  placed.     The  same  class  of  appreciative  observers  who 
had  discovered  "  The  Age  of  Brass,"  also  found  this  mask,  and  it 
served  to  increase  interest  in,  and  admiration  for  its  author  among 
his  few   admirers,  and   renewed   discussion  concerning  his  merits. 
The  younger  generation  of   artists,  many  of  them  students  at  the 
government  school  of  fine  arts,  saw  its  tine  qualities,  and  wondered 
more  than  ever  about  the  man  that  made  it.     What  kind  of  a  man  is 
he?  they  asked.      No  one  knew  Rodin,  and  no  one  saw  him.     One 
day,  a  number  of  these  students  were  together  at  the  school,  talking, 
as  usual,  about  Rodin,  when  some  one  exclaimed,  "  Let  us  all  go  and 
see   him,  and   let  him  know,  if   we  are  students,  that  we  like   his 
things."     The  proposition  met  with  enthusiastic  approval  and  was 
at  once  carried  into  effect.     The  following  account  of  this  visit  is 
cnven  in  the  language  of  one  of  these  students,  who  is  now  one  of  the 
best  of  the  younger  French  sculptors  :    "The  first  work  of  Rodin's 
that  I  saw  was  his  '  Age  of  Brass,'  in  the  Salon  of  1877.     Among  the 
real  artists  it  had  a  great  success.     But  the  old  school,  many  of  whom 
had  made  fine  things,  and  were  still  making  them,  were  down  on  it 
to  a  man.     We  thought  that  it  was  the  most  life-like  piece  of  sculpt- 
ure that  had  been  produced  in  French  art  since  the  '  Mercury '  by 
Brian,  and  that  it,was  really  entitled  to  the  Medal  of  Honor.     We 
were  wild  over  it.      When  '  The  Broken  Nose '  was  exhibited  we 
thought  that  was  the  most  extraordinary  example  of  modelling,  of  its 
kind^that  had  ever  been  seen  in  Paris  — worthy  of  the  times  of 
Donatello,  and  fit  to  be  mentioned  with  the  antique.     When  we  went 
to  his  studio,  Rue  des  Fourneaux,  to  our  amazement,  we  found  him 
working  on  the  same  kind  of  commercial  art  that  Belleuse  made  by 
the  yard,  and  in  spite  of  ourselves,  we  involuntarily  expressed  our 
feelin"s  in  words.     To  which  he  modestly  remarked,  'Yes,  I  am  do- 
ino-  this  for  Belleuse  —  to  get  my  bread.'      Our  pain  was  as  great 
as°our  surprise,  to  see  an  artist  who   had  produced  such  things  as 
'The  Age  of  Brass'  and  'The  Broken  Nose,' obliged  to  work  for 
such  a  man  as  Belleuse  ;  to  spend  his  time  and  murder  his  sensibili- 
ties on  the  stuff  he  was  then  making.     The  courage  he  displayed  in 
consenting  to  work  for  such  an  employer,  excited  our  astonishment 
beyond  measure.     But  when  he  showed  us  the  body  of  the  '  Ugolin,' 
we  were  still  more  surprised,  and  hardly  knew  what  to  say.      It 
looked  like  a  bit  of  Michael  Angelo,  it  was  so  large,  life-like,  and 


100 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.         [VOL.  XXV.  — No.  688. 


ample  in  the  character  of  its  planes  and  modelling.  We  expressed 
our  admiration  for  his  things  as  well  as  we  could  and  assured  him  of 
our  belief  in  the  true  origin  of  '  The  Age  of  Brass."  He  appeared 
very  much  pleased  and  expressed  his  gratification.  He  then  showed 
us  some  casts  taken  from  his  model  and  asked  us  to  compare  them 
with  the  statue.  Of  course,  there  was  no  similarity,  the  differences 
were  as  plain  as  day.  As  we  so  much  admired  'The  Broken  Nose,' 
we  asked  him  if  he  would  permit  us  to  have  copies  of  it,  to  which  he 
very  willingly  assented.  1  cannot  tell  you  how  much  I  prize  my 
copy  of  that  mask.  He  talked  about  art  with  an  intelligence  entirely 
new  to  us,  and  the  only  reference  he  made  to  himself,  was  this,  '  I 
only  think  of  outlines,  to  see  that  they  are  right  and  just.'  We  left 
him  with  the  impression  that  we  had  seen  a  great  .and  real  artist,  a 
genius ;  who  was  sure  to  be  the  most  powerful  demoralizer  of  what 
is  called  '  the  sculpture  of  the  School '  that  we  have  ever  had.  At  this 
time,  remember,  we  were  all  working  at  the  School,  and  obliged  to 
follow  the  old  manner  of  study  taught  there.  But  Hodin,  so  vividly 
impressed  us,  that  we  took  a  new  start,  determined  to  look  out  for 
everything  that  was  good,  no  matter  where  it  came  from  or  who 
did  it.  Seeing  Rodin  gave  us  new  life,  in  fact  it  saved  us.  I 
always  think  of  him  with  the  liveliest  gratitude,  and  rejoice  in  the 
pleasure  of  talking  about  him.  Whenever  any  of  us  meet,  we  always 
say,  as  the  first  thing,  '  Have  you  seen  Rodin?  '  If  I  owe  anything 
to  any  one  for  what  little  I  have  accomplished  or  am  able  to-  think 
in  matters  of  art,  it  is  to  his  work.  Before  our  visit  we  all  thought 
that,  at  least,  we  could  make  a  head,  but  Rodin's  things  completely 
disabused  us,  we  saw  that  we  could  do  nothing.  He  has  no  end  of 
detractors,  men  who  ought  to  know  better,  who  are  determined  to 
kill  him,  but  he  will  outlive  them  all.  He  goes  deeper  into  a  subject 
than  any  living-  artist.  Look  at  his  'St.  John.'  It  is  the  only 
thing  in  the  Luxembourg.  He  has  finished  that  subject;  it  is  the 
great  note  of  this  century.  We  have  never  had  a  sculptor  who 
could  interpret  nature  as  he  does.  His  work  is  profoundly  just  and 
beautiful  ;  and  as  a  man  he  is  as  fine  as  he  is  great  as  an  artist. 
Nothing  can  compare  with  him.  Happily  our  first  impressions  were 
correct,  for  many  years  after  this  visit,  and  after  I  had  worked  a 
great  deal  and  been  all  over  Italy,  I  went  to  see  him  when  he  was 
working  on  his 'Porte  d'Enfer.'  If  I  needed  to  be  convinced  of 
the  correctness  of  my  first  impressions,  I  got  it  then.  What  a  com- 
bination is  the  upper  part!  and  the  panels  on  each  side!  outside  of 
their  originality,  they  are  divine,  as  a  piece  of  color.  It  is  only 
through  men  like  Rodin  that  French  sculpture  can  be  revived.  But 
the  fact,  after  all,  that  set  us  to  thinking  for  the  first  time  on  that 
subject,  was  that  Rodin  owes  nothing  to  any  school  or  professional 
authority.  He  is  greater  than  them  all,  and  among  French  sculptors, 
he  is  the  only  one  that  is  worthy  to  be  considered  with  Barye  and 
Fremiet." 

While  Rodin  was  perfecting  his  sketch  of  "St.  John,"  he  made  a 
bust  of  the  same  subject  and  from  the  same  model,  an  Italian,  about 
forty-two  years  of  age,  who  was  named  Pagnitelli.  The  bust  was 
shown  in  the  Salon  of  1879,  in  bronze  plaster.  Though  badly  placed, 
the  sculptor  received  an  honorable  mention.  Both  the  bust  of  "  St. 
John"  and  "The  Broken  Nose"  were  quite  unnoticed  by  the  news- 
papers. 

In  this  same  year  a  memorable  event  occurred  in  the  art  affairs  of 
France,  M.  Turquet  became  Under  Secretary  of  Fine  Arts,  M. 
Jules  Ferry  being  Minister  of  Public  Instruction.  M.  Turquet  had 
not  forgotten  his  admiration  for  "  The  Age  of  Brass,"  nor  lost  in- 
terest in  its  unknown  author.  His  first  official  duty  was  performed 
by  sending  for  Rodin  to  come  to  his  office,  to  talk  over  the  subject 
of  the  statue,  with  the  ultimate  intention  of  buying  it  for  the  State. 
M.  Turquet  had  no  doubt  himself  concerning  its  authenticity,  but  as 
a  public  functionary  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  conform  to  the 
methods  usually  followed  in  such  matters  by  the  Government,  and  he 
requested  the  State  Art  Committee  to  go  to  Rodin's  studio  and 
examine  the  statue.  They  did  so,  expressed  their  belief  that  it  was 
a  veritable  piece  of  sculpture,  assured  Rodin  of  their  admiration  for 
his  talent,  and'  reported  to  M.  Turquet  accordingly. 

But  in  their  report,  they  added  the  observation  that  the  custom  of 
producing  statues  with  the  assistance  of  casts  from  nature  was  very 
prevalent.  Rodin  learning  of  this  supplementary  addition  to  the  re- 
port, and  hearing  nothing  from  the  Secretary,  believed  himself  lost. 
There  really  seemed  no  hope  for  him.  Although  he  had  received, 
for  the  first  time  in  his  life,  warm  expressions  of  professional  regard 
and  appreciation,  and  had  dared  to  hope  that  fortune  might  yet  smile 
upon  him,  yet  the  help  he  needed  to  put  him  on  his  feel  was*  Govern- 
ment recognition,  the  sanction  of  its  buying  authority .  He  was  then  in 
deep  poverty,  making  the  most  strenuous  exertions  to  finish  his 
statue  of  "  St.  John,"  and  working  so  hard  and  incessantly  upon  it 
during  the  nights,  that  he  was  unable  to  reach  his  lodgings  without 
assistance,  after  he  had  left  his  studio.  It  was,  indeed,  a  time  of 
sorrow ;  an  overwhelming  confirmation  of  the  real  name  of  his 
Brussels  figure,  "The  Age  of  Sorrow." 

M.  Turquet  was  not,  however,  idle,  nor  was  he  shaken  in  his 
opinion  about  Rodin.  He  "  firmly  believed  that  he  had  discovered  a 
great  artist,  deserving  of  every  encouragement.  Such  an  one  as  the 
State  needed,  whose  duty  it  was,  for  its  own  fame,  to  loyally  sup- 
port." He,  therefore,  to  satisfy  every  possible  official  doubt,  sent  to 
Brussels  and  made  the  strictest  inquiries  in  regard  to  the  model 
whom  Rodin  had  employed,  and  the  entire  history  of  the  making  of 
the  statue.  -At  the  same  time  he  requested  a  number  of  the  best- 
known  sculptors  in  Paris  to  examine  the  statue.  Their  written  re- 


port, and  the  result  of  the  Brussels  inquiry,  satisfied  all  and  every 
official  requirement,  and  M.  Turquet  then  bought  the  plaster  statue 
of  "  The  Age  of  Brass  "  for  the  State,  giving  the  sculptor  the  modest 
sum  of  three  hundred  dollars.  It  was  a  great  event  for  Rodin.  He 
had  now  a  friend  at  court,  and  such  a  friend  as  he  little  imagined. 
What  mattered  it  if  he  only  got  a  hundred  dollars  for  his  eighteen 
months'  work,  having  paid  two  hundred  to  his  model  for  posing,  he 
had  at  last  received  the  justice  due  him,  and  had  come  into  re- 
lationship with  the  chief  authority  of  his  country  ;  an  authority  which 
was  eventually  to  make  his  future  path  free  from  all  obstacles.  The 
past  was  now  lifted  up,  and  he  began  to  see  that  his  own  way  had 
been  true  and  wise. 

Other  experiences  were  also  helping  to  fill  up  the  years,  and  which 
were,  in  their  own  time,  to  bring  about  other  gracious  recognitions  of 
his  genius.  Carrier  Belleuse  had  become  Art  Director  of  the  Sevres 
Porcelain  Manufactory,  and  he  asked  Rodin  to  go  there  and 
decorate  vases.  This  he  consented  to  do,  working  by  a  new  method, 
called  pate  rayporlee,  or  modelling  on  the  vase  after  it  comes  from  the 
mould,  and  sometimes  with  a  different  kind  of  clay  from  that  of 
which  the  vase  is  made. 

Rodin's  method  permitted  perfect  freedom  in  working,  gave  full 
opportunity  for  variety  of  decoration  and  the  play  of  the  artist's 
imagination.  The  reader  may  safely  anticipate  that  Rodin  was  sure 
to  find,  even  at  Sevres  his  accustomed  fault-tinder.  He  first  decorated 
two  vases,  with  figures,  and  when  they  were  taken  out  of  the  kiln, 
the  administrator  of  the  establishment,  Lauth,  by  name,  declared 
that  they  were  so  poorly  executed  that  he  would  not  accept  them. 
But  other  persons  connected  with  the  factory  were  so  much  delighted 
with  them,  that  he  finally  accepted  one  and  threw  the  other  away 
among  the  objects  that  had  already  been  condemned. 

Very  soon  after,  the  accepted  vase  was  sent,  with  other  examples 
of  work,  to  an  industrial  art  exhibition  held  in  the  Palace  of  Industry. 
It  was  there  seen,  greatly  admired  and  bought  by  the  Art  Buying 
Committee  of  the  Government,  for  four  hundred  dollars,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  preservation  in  the  Sevres  Museum,  as  a  precious  specimen 
of  art.  This  astonishing  appreciation  of  a  thing  he  had  at  first  con- 
demned, and  only  accepted  under  protest,  so  angered  Lauth,  that  he 
put  it  in  the  most  out-of-the-way  position  he  could  find  in  the 
museum.  This  was  carrying  matters  a  trifle  too  far,  and  the  proper 
influences  were  brought  to  bear  upon  the  administrator  to  the  effect 
that  the  vase  was  replaced  in  a  position  worthy  of  its  merit.  Lauth 
had  the  right  to  discharge  Rodin,  though  he  did  not  dare  to  do  it, 
yet  he  was  determined  to  get  rid  of  him  in  one  way  or  another. 
Such  a  disturbing  element  as  Rodin  ought  and  should  not  demoralize 
a  great  Government  institution.  It  was  a  matter  of  no  earthly 
moment  if  he  was  making  the  finest  things  ever  seen  in  the  factory, 
he  did  not  please  the  administrator  thereof^  who,  strange  to  say,  was 
not  an  artist,  but  a  chemist.  To  accomplish  his  purpose,  Lauth 
wrote  to  M.  Turquet,  that  Rodin  wished  to  leave  Sevres,  and  he  was 
willing  that  he  should  go  away.  The  secretary,  who  knew  very  well 
that  it  was  a  fortunate  thing  tor  the  Government  to  have  such  a  man 
as  Rodin  in  its  employ,  was  surprised  at  this  information,  and  he 
sent  for  the  artist  to  come  and  explain  his  reasons  for  desiring  to 
leave.  When  Rodin  told  him  that  the  letter  was  false,  and  that  he 
had  no  intention  of  leaving,  but,  rather,  wished  to  remain,  M.  Turquet 
expressed  his  satisfaction  and  desired  him  to  continue  the  produc- 
tion of  the  beautiful  work  in  which  he  had  already  distinguished  him- 
self. As  a  fitting  conclusion  to  his  deceitful  conduct,  Lauth  changed 
his  tactics  for  the  moment,  and  treated  the  sculptor  with  obsequious 
politeness  and  as  though  nothing  had  happened,  even  going  so  far 
as  to  deny  that  he  had  ever  written  to  the  Secretary. 

Lauth  still  had  the  right  to  criticise  Rodin's  work,  and  this  he 
never  failed  to  do,  being  joined  in  this  by  Belleuse,  who,  for  the 
first  time,  attempted  to  guide  the  mind  and  hand  of  his  workman. 
This  Rodin  would  not  submit  to.  He  had  had  enough  of  criticism 
from  his  inferiors,  and  he  practically  left  Sevres,  going  there  only 
occasionally  for  an  hour  or  two,  though  his  name  remained  on  the 
roll  of  workmen,  and  so  remains  to  this  day. 

Of  one  of  these  vases,  M.  Roger  Miles  writes,  in  the  Journal  des 
Artistes,  as  follows:  "The  caprices  of  M.  Rodin's  imagination  are  as 
delicate  as  a  breath  borne  on  a  gentle  breeze.  He  is  the  living 
proof  that  a  beauliful  disorder  is  an  effect  of  art.  The  '  Vase  of 
Pompeii,'  of  which  he  is  the  author,  comprises  a  frieze  on  a  brown 
ground.  To  say  that  the  subject  is  a  difficult  one  is  very  little : 
there  is  everything  in  it  ;  the  personages  follow  in  procession, 
group  around  each  other,  mix  and  entangle  themselves ;  some  make 
an  offering  to  Ceres,  others  taste  the  ripe  fruits  of  autumn ;  this  one, 
protected  by  the  green  foliage,  teaches  a  little  cherub  to  read,  while 
at  her  feet  a  spring  sends  forth  a  little  rivulet  that  winds  its  silver 
current  through  the  tender  grass ;  farther  on  are  the  disciples  of 
Bacchus  who  come  staggering  along  with  their  foreheads  crowned 
with  green  grapes.  Everywhere  a  strange  variety,  everywhere  a 
delicious  fancy.  The  modelling  is  both  exquisite  and  powerful. 
The  vase  denotes  that  the  artist  possesses  an  overflowing  facility. 
His  Persian  vase  is  a  jewel." 

In  1879,  Rodin  entered  two  competitions,  one  for  a  monument  to 
commemorate  the  defence  of  Paris,  and  the  other  for  a  bust  of  the 
Republic.  Neither  was  successful.  The  sketch  for  the  former  was 
much  admired  by  the  sculptor's  artist  friends  as  possessing  ex- 
traordinary merit.  For  the  latter  he  made  a  large  head  wearing  a 
helmet.  Of  it,  the  journal  La  France  said :  "  A  work  of  singular 
originality,  but  which  the  jury  could  not  accept.  Instead  of  a 


MARCH  2,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


101 


Republic,  it  represents  a  sullen  Bellona  with  a  physiognomy  very 
dramatic."  On  another  occasion  the  same  paper  referred  to  the  bust 
as  "  a  sculpturesque  fantasy,  a  bedevilled  fervor  that  makes  one 
dream  of  Carpeaux  when  in  his  most  audacious  moments  of  imagina- 
tiye  composition."  Other  notices  of  the  bust  did  not  fail  to  recognize 
that  it  was  conceived  from  a  different  point  of  view  from  that  which 
the  public  had  been  accustomed  to  seeing. 

By  the  spring  of  1880,  Rodin  had  managed  to  complete,  in  plaster, 
his  statue  of  "  St.  John  Preaching,"  the  State  had  cast  "  The  Age  of 
Brass  "  in  bronze,  and  both  were  exhibited  in  the  Salon  of  that  year. 
As  recompenses  generally  go,  he  had  a  right  to  expect  one  of  very 
distinguished  character,  but  the  calumniation  that  had  followed  the 
exhibition  of  "  The  Age  of  Brass,"  now  appeared  against  the  "  St. 
John."  The  evident  fact  that  the  statue  was  much  larger  than 
nature  did  not  overbalance  the  suggestion  that  "  he  must  have  had  a 
large  man  for  his  model."  He  received  a  third-class  medal,  and  the 
statues  were  better  placed  than  his  previous  exhibitions  had  been. 
M.  Turquet  continued  his  recognition  of  the  sculptor,  by  buying  for 
the  Government,  the  plaster  statue  of  "  St.  John,"  for  fourteen 
hundred  dollars. 

On  the  appearance  of  this  statue  there  was  repeated,  among  the 
sculptor's  adherents,  the  same  surprised  enthusiasm  —  with  the  added 
interest  that  such  a  work  would  naturally  excite  —  that  had  been 
aroused  over  "  The  Age  of  Brass."  It  created  an  immense  excite- 
ment among  artists,  and  the  discussion  over  its  qualities  was  lively 
and  general. 

While  the  notices  of  these  statues,  by  the  press,  were  neither  ex- 
tensive nor  enthusiastic  it  is  interesting  to  observe,  that  by  examin- 
ing twenty  or  more,  beginning  with  one  where  the  names  only  of  the 
statues  are  given,  and  finishing  with  an  article  of  two  dozen  lines,  a 
gradually  inclined  plane  of  rising  appreciation  is  discovered,  which  I 
am  inclined  to  think  represents  the  first  grade  of  a  subsequent  gen- 
eral and  highly  eulogistic  expression  of  the  newspaper  critics  of  Paris 
in  regard  to  Rodin  and  his  work.  A  number  of  writers  simply  said, 
" '  Age  of  Brass,'  by  M.  Rodin  " ;  several  others,  "  Rodin,  935, 
'  The  Age  of  Brass  '  " ;  98G,  l:  Saint  John  Preaching."  Then, 
"  Here  are  two  austere  bronzes,  of  a  superb  originality,  by  M. 
Auguste  Rodin."  Again,  "  If  we  look  at  the  sculpture,  we  shall 
notice  as  without  rival,  '  The  Age  of  Brass '  and  the  '  Saint  John 
Baptist,'  by  Rodin,  full  of  life,  power  and  character."  Another  a 
little  stronger  —  "a  man  in  the  full  vigor  of  his  years,  wasted  by 
privations,  but  powerful  and  healthy  above  all  suffering;  this  is  the 
Precursor.  Saint  John  comes  towards  you  with  long  steps,  mouth 
open,  hand  raised.  What  fire  in  his  look  and  on  his  lips.  What 
authority  in  his  gesture!  This  statue  by  M.  Rodin  is  a  marvel  of 
reality,  of  intimate  concentration,  of  a  precise  and  significant  execu- 
tion. He  is  animated  by  the  soul  of  a  Gothic  sculptor.  We  have  in 
him  a  master."  Of  "  The  Age  of  Brass,"  M.  Paul  Mantz,  wrote  as 
follows :  "  There  is  something  strange  and  mysterious  about  it.  It 
is  a  standing  figure  of  a  man  of  a  primitive  age ;  the  style  is  curiously 
archaic  and  almost  Grecian.  This  statue  has  no  relationship  what- 
ever with  the  prevailing  commonplaces."  L'Art,  for  last  year,  con- 
tained an  illustration  of  the  "  St  John,"  from  a  drawing  by  Rodin. 

The  fault  found  with  the  statues  was  rather  more  emphatic  than 
was  the  praise,  but,  as  the  years  went  on,  this  kind  of  criticism 
almost  entirely  ceased.  "M.  Rodin  exposes,  under  the  title  of  'St. 
John  Preaching,'  the  worst-built  man  in  the  world."  "  These  two 
statues,  curious  to  look  at,  are  not  wholly  wanting  in  talent,  but  they 
seek  to  attract  attention  by  too  much  pretense.  This  is  to  be  re- 
gretted." "Incomprehensible,  this 'Age  of  Brass' (Rodin).  Why 
does  this  little  man  grasp  his  head?  Why  do  his  eyes  appear  to  be 
blinded  ?  Why,  anyway,  does  he  not  stand  straight  on  his  legs  ?  " 
"  Too  much  of  the  pose  and  study  of  the  studio.  M.  Rodin  shows 
too  much  of  what  he  has  learned,  in  this  good  study,  not  to  give  a 
little  more  freedom  to  his  imagination.  'The  Age  of  Brass'  has  too 
much  suffering  in  it,  and  too  little  of  its  author's  philosophy  and 
poetry.  This  Precursor  recalls  in  no  sense  the  legend  of  the  great 
apostle,  covered  with  goat-skin,  and  preaching  the  coming  of  the 
Messiah.  Give  more  liberty  to  your  timid  imagination,  M.  Rodin." 
"  For  ugliness  and  triviality  he  approaches  the  extreme.  M.  Rodin 
shows  us  in  his  'St.  John'  that  vice  has  its  manner  of  expression, 
and  ugliness  its  degrees.  It  would  be  difficult  to  find  anything  more 
repulsive  than  this  statue." 

The  sculptor  himself  was  still  pursuing  the  humble  employment  of 
a  workman,  though  happier  than  usual,  because  he  felt  that  a  few 
members  of  his  profession  were  concerned  in  his  existence.  The 
future,  however,  was  not  assuring,  and  there  were  no  certain  indica- 
tions, even  with  a  government  friend  like  M.  Turquet,  that  he  could 
set  up  a  studio  as  a  sculptor  and  be  sure  of  his  daily  bread.  M. 
Turquet  had  purchased  the  two  figures  more  as  a  personal  matter 
than  one  supported  by  general  art  approbation,  and  his  official 
permanency  was  not  guaranteed  for  any  certain  period.  So  far  as 
Rodin  knew,  he  had  not  an  influential  friend  in  the  world,  and  he 
was  certain  that  he  had  powerful  enemies.  He  was  really  in  distress. 
Imagine,'then,  his  indescribable  astonishment  when,  on  answering 
a  note  from  M.  Turquet,  he  appeared  at  that  official's  office  in  July, 
1880,  and  heard  these  words:  "  I  wish  to  give  you  a  commission  to 
execute  the  model  of  a  great  door  for  the  Museum  of  Decorative 
Art,  the  subject  to  be  taken  from  Dante's  '  Inferno.' "  With  them 
appeared  Fortune  in  all  her  unreserved  and  generous  splendor. 
There  was  opened  to  the  sculptor's  eyes  a  vista  such  as  had  never 
before  dazed  an  artist  of  modern  times. 


When  the  French  government  gives  important  commissions  to 
artists  it  provides  them  with  studios  in  which  to  execute  their  work, 
and  Rodin  was  given  one  at  182  Rue  de  I'Universite",  on  the  premises 
of  the  State,  known  as  the  Marble  Depot,  or  the  yards  and  ware- 
houses of  marbles  and  works  of  art  belonging  to  the  State.  In  the 
same  memorable  month  of  July  the  sculptor  took  possession  of  the 
studio  marked  J  and  began  his  work.  There  we  will  leave  it,  shut 
out  from  the  reader,  as  it  was  hidden  from  the  public,  for  the  next 
six  years,  and  occupy  ourselves  with  other  matters  relating  to  Rodin 
with  which  the  world  was  more  or  less  familiar. 

T.  H.  BARTLETT. 
(To  be  continued.) 


THE    LUMBERMEN'S    DEMAND    FOR    A    NEW    LIEN 
LAW.— II. 

EOPLE  anxious  to  be 
satisfied  from  actual 
experience  how  the 
law  which  the  lumber  deal- 
ers want  would  work  in 
practice  may  profitably 
turn  their  attention  to  the 
operation  of  the  new 
Rhode  Island  law.  Until 
recently  material-men  had 
no  lien  in  that  State  ;  last 
year,  however,  the  Legis- 
lature under  the  impetus 
of  a  decision  by  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  the  Slate, 
and  stimulated,  we  pre- 
m-  sume,  by  the  organized  ef- 
forts of  the  lumber-dealers, 
enacted  a  general  lien 
law.  The  law  seems  to 
have  been  passed  without 
attracting  much  notice  or 
discussion,  and  gave  to 
material-men  an  absolute  lien  without  notice  to  the  owner. 

The  first  case  under  the  new  law  was  that  of  a  school-house  for  the 
town  of  East  Providence.  The  contract  seems  to  have  been  drawn 
by  the  architect  in  the  usual  way,  providing  for  partial  payments  as 
the  work  progressed ;  and  these  were  made  as  due.  After  the  con- 
tract was  completed  and  the  last  instalment  paid,  the  committee  was 
startled  by  the  filing  of  liens  to  a  considerable  amount;  the  con- 
tractor failed,  and  the  town  will  be  obliged  to  settle  the  bills. 

The  case  has  occasioned  considerable  comment,  and,  as  predicted 
in  our  former  article  on  this  subject,  the  blame  seems  to  fall  on  the 
unfortunate  architect;  the  individual  members  of  the  committee  dis- 
claiming all  responsibility  for  the  form  of  the  contract.  While  the 
architect  is  probably  not  legally  responsible  for  drawing  the  contract 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  render  the  committee  liable  to  pay  twice  over 
for  the  material ;  still,  his  position  is  not  a  comfortable  one,  and  it  is 
safe  to  predict  that  no  more  such  contracts  will  go  out  of  his  office. 

It  seems  to  be  generally  taken  for  granted  by  the  Rhode  Island 
press  that  for  the  future  it  will  not  be  safe  to  make  partial  payments 
on  a  building  contract,  and  that  the  bulk  of  money  must  be  with- 
held till  the  time  for  filing  liens  has  expired. 

Turning  to  Massachusetts,  we  understand  that  the  Master-Builders' 
Association  of  Boston  at  a  meeting  held  on  January  22  voted  to 
oppose  the  bill  which  the  Lumber  Dealers'  Association  has  presented 
to  the  State  Legislature,  giving  to  material-men  a  lien  without  that 
notice  to  the  owner  which  the  law  now  requires.  It  is  encouraging 
to  find  that  the  leading  builders'  organization  in  New  England,  com- 
prising among  its  members  most  of  the  large  material-men  doing 
business  in  and  about  Boston,  takes  a  decided  stand  against  the  un- 
just attempt  of  a  few  lumber-dealers  to  throw  the  burden  of  their 
own  improvident  business  methods  upon  the  owners  of  real  estate. 
The  opposition  of  the  Master-Builders'  Association  ought,  of  itself, 
to  defeat  the  lumbermen's  scheme. 

The  Chicago  Builders'  and  Traders'  Exchange  at  its  fifth  annual 
meeting,  held  January  21,  1889,  resolved  with  substantial  unanimity 
in  favor  of  the  repeal  of  all  lien  laws. 

The  several  States  and  Territories  of  this  country  may  be  divided 
into  two  classes  according  as  their  respective  lien  laws  do  or  do  not 
protect  the  owner  in  respect  to  payments  made  to  the  contractor 
before  notice  from  material-man  or  sub-contractor.  In  the  first  class 
are  found  the  following :  Maine,  Massachusetts,  South  Carolina, 
West  Virginia,  Arkansas,  Indiana,  New  Jersey,  New  Hampshire, 
Connecticut,  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Illinois,  Iowa, 
Michigan,  California,  Alabama,  Georgia,  Kentucky,  Virginia,  Texas, 
North  Carolina,  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  Utah,  Idaho,  Colorado, 
Wyoming;  and  probably  also  Oregon,  Arizona  and  Dakota.  In 
Vermont  material-men  have  no  lien  whatever. 

In  all  of  the  above  some  means  is  provided  by  which  the  owner 
can  protect  himself  against  the  danger  of  being  compelled  to  pay 
twice  over  for  his  house  without  exacting  bonds  from  the  contractor 
or  postponing  the  bulk  of  the  contract  payments  to  the  end.  Some- 
times, as  in  Maine,  the  owner  may  prevent  the  running  of  a  lien  by 

1  Continued  from  page  46,  No.  683, 


102 


The  American   Architect  and  Building  News.      [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  688. 


giving  notice  to  the  material-man ;  sometimes,  as  in  Massachusetts, 
South  Carolina  and  elsewhere,  the  material-man  must  himself  give 
notice  before  delivery.  More  generally,  however,  the  so-called 
"  subrogation "  system  obtains,  under  which  any  person  furnishing 
labor  or  material  may,  at  any  time,  put  a  lien  upon  the  building; 
but  all  payments  made  by  the  owner  to  the  contractor  prior  to  the 
filing  of  the  lien  are  protected,  and  the  lien  holds  only  the  unpaid 
balance  of  the  contract  money.  The  latter  system  is  undoubtedly 
the  most  equitable,  as  it  is  the  most  common :  it  gives  to  the 
material-man  all  he  ought  to  have,  viz.,  the  right  to  be  put  in  the 
contractor's  place  in  respect  to  after-accruing  payments ;  and,  as  the 
owner  can  protect  himself  by  taking  the  simple  precaution  to  make 
no  payments  on  the  contract  without  preliminary  inquiry  at  the 
Kt'gistry  of  Deeds,  there  is  no  object  for  him  to  hold  back  his  pay- 
ments to  the  end  of  the  job,  or  to  exact  heavy  bonds. 

In  many  of  these  States  and  Territories,  however,  the  machinery 
is  extremely  cumbersome,  and  the  precautions  to  be  taken 
are  so  numerous  as  to  greatly  embarrass  owners  and  contractors. 
Thus  the  Illinois  law  of  1887,  while  theoretically  protecting  the 
owner  against  payments  before  notice  of  the  lien,  is  so  complicated 
in  its  provisions  as  to  have  become  obnoxious  to  nearly  all  sections 
of  the  building  trades.  Hence  the  opposition  of  the  builders  and 
contractors,  indicated  by  the  vote  of  the  Chicago  Builders'  and 
Traders'  Exchange  referred  to  above. 

On  the  other  hand,  in  the  States  of  Maryland,  Delaware,  Missouri, 
Kansas,  Rhode  Island,  Florida,  Tennessee,  Nebraska,  Nevada  and 
Minnesota,  and  the  Territories  of  Montana,  New  Mexico  and  Wash- 
ington, the  owner  is  completely  at  the  mercy  of  the  contractor  and 
material-men  unless  he  gets  bonds  from  the  former,  or  draws  his 
contract  in  such  a  manner  as  to  enable  him  to  withhold  the  great 
bulk  of  the  contract-money  until  the  last  day  for  the  filing  of  liens 
has  elapsed. 

In  the  District  of  Columbia  and  in  Wisconsin  the  statutes  are  so 
vague  as  to  render  it  impossible,  in  the  absence  of  judicial  decision, 
to  determine  whether  or  not  the  owner  is  protected  as  to  payments 
made  before  notice. 

In  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  and  Virginia  the  law  has  recently 
been  changed  so  as  to  afford  to  owners  greater  protection  than  they 
had  before.  In  Florida,  Khode  Island,  and  Tennessee  the  course  of 
recent  legislation  has  been  the  other  way.  In  Missouri,  it  seems 
that  the  Kansas  City  Builders'  and  Traders'  Exchange  is  endeavor- 
ing to  procure  the  adoption  of  some  system  which  shall  relieve 
owners  and  contractors  from  the  burden  of  the  lien  law  as  it  stands 
in  that  State. 

On  the  whole,  it-cannot  be  said  that  the  demand  for  a  lien  law 
that  will  render  the  owner  liable  to  material-men  without  protection, 
except  at  the  expense  of  the  contractor,  has  made  much  headway, 
though  it  has  had  for  many  years  the  support  of  the  various  organiza- 
tions of  lumber-dealers  that  are  scattered  over  the  country.  The 
tendency  of  legislation  and  public  opinion  generally  has  been  in 
favor  of  the  simplest  system  that  will  give  to  material-men  the  right 
to  avail  themselves  of  the  unpaid  instalments  of  building  contracts, 
without  subjecting  owners  to  the  risk  of  paying  for  their  houses 
twice  over,  or  contractors  to  the  necessity  of  giving  heavy  bonds. 
The  general  opinion  among  the  contractors  themselves  is  probably 
hostile  to  every  kind  of  lien  law,  at  least  in  so  far  as  material  is  con- 
cerned. The  public  generally,  if  not  prepared  for  the  total  abolition 
of  our  lien  laws,  will  certainly  oppose  the  extension  of  them  in  any 
manner  that  will  operate  as  an  outrage  on  contractors  and  a  swindle 
on  owners. 

To  give  to  material-men  an  absolute  lien  is  to  make  of  them  a 
special  favored  class  in  the  community,  having  rights  and  privileges 
not  open  to  other  kinds  of  merchants  or  to  the  people  at  large,  and 
is  inconsistent  not  only  with  sound  business  methods,  but  with  the 
essential  principles  of  justice.  It  is  class  legislation  in  its  most 
offensive  form,  enacted  for  the  sole  benefit  of  people  who,  by  their  own 
confession,  are  incompetent  to  manage  their  affairs  without  the 
assistance  of  the  State,  and  selfish  enough  to  wish  to  shift  the  burden 
of  injudicious  credits  on  unsuspecting  and  innocent  third  parties, 
whom  they  have  not  had  the  honesty  to  notify  beforehand. 

It  is  fortunate  that  the  fate  of  similar  attempts  during  the  past 
few  years  leaves  little  ground  to  fear  that  the  present  attack  of  the 
lumber-dealers  on  our  State  Legislature  will  be  successful. 


[Contributors  are  requested  to  send  with  their  drawings  full  and 
adequate  descriptions  of  the  buildings,  including  a  statement  of  cost.] 

MAIN     ENTRANCE     TO    CITY-HALL,     ALBANY,     N.    Y.        MR.     H.     H. 

RICHAKDSON,    ARCHITECT. 
[Gelatine  print,  issued  only  with  the  Imperial  Edition.! 

'     HOUSE   OF   MR.    B.    F.    WILLIS,    ARCHITECT,   YORK,    PA. 

PROPOSED   materials:      Dark    blue   limestone   with   red-brown 
pointing  for  all  base  work  as  indicated  as  stone.     Sills,  lintels 
and    porch-coping,  Hummellstown    "tool-dressed"  brownstone. 
Red  selected  stretcher  brick  and  red-brown  mortar  for  all  other  ex- 


terior walls  and  chimneys.  Dark  blue  slate  roofs.  Hardwood  finish 
tin  oughout  interior:  stairs,  hall  and  dining-room,  quartered  oak  ;  par- 
lor and  library,  Mexican  mahogany;  kitchen,  etc.,  maple.  Second 
story  throughout,  selected  North  Carolina  pine.  First  story  floors 
principal  rooms,  oak ;  second  floor  throughout,  also  kitchen,  etc., 
maple.  Sand-finished  plaster  throughout  for  oil  painting. 

THE   NORMAL   ART    SCHOOL,    BOSTON,    MASS.      MESSRS.    HARTWELL 
A    RICHARDSON,    ARCHITECTS,    BOSTON,   MASS. 


PL/MM 


THIS  school  is  a  State  institution.  The  building  was  erected  in 
1886.  Appropriation  for  its  construction  was  $85,000.  It  was  com- 
pleted inside  of  the  appropriation.  Materials  used  in  construction 
are  brick  and  brown  freestone.  The  building  is  so  arranged  that 
the  staircases,  toilet-rooms  and  coat-rooms  occupy  the  south  and  west, 
while  the  north  and  east  are  wholly  available  for  the  working  pur- 
poses of  the  school. 

THE    ARCHER    BUILDING,    ROCHESTER,    N.    Y.      MR.  C.    8.    ELLIS,  AR- 
CHITECT,   ROCHESTER,    N.   Y. 

THIS  building,  on  North  St.  Paul  St.,  covers  an  area  266'  x  112' 
and  cost  $'210,000. 

STATUES     OF    JOHN     THE     BAPTIST,    BY   AUGUSTE    RODIN    AND    BY 
DONATELLO. 

SEE  article  elsewhere  in  this  issue. 

PROPOSED     HOUSE    FOR   C.    D.    HO8LEY,    ESQ.,     SPRINGFIELD,    MASS. 
MR.    GUY   KIRKHAM,    ARCHITECT,    SPRINGFIELD,    MASS. 

PROPOSED    HOUSE    FOR   H.    F.    CHOCKER,    ESQ.,     FITCHBURG,      MASS. 
MR.   GUY   KIRKHAM,    ARCHITECT,    SPRINGFIELD,    MASS. 

HIER    FLATS,    SYRACUSE,    N.    Y.        MR.   .T.    M.    ELLIOTT,    ARCHITECT, 
SYRACUSE,   N.    Y. 

THE   NATIONAL    BANK    OF    WASHINGTON,    WASHINGTON,  D.  C.      MR. 
J.    G.    HILL,    ARCHITECT,   WASHINGTON,    D.    C. 


GUTTERS. 

HE  humorist  who 
cursed  the  memory 
of  h  i  s  '•  Pilgrim 
Fathers  "  for  presuming 
to  settle  on  a  "bleak 
New  England  shore " 
was  an  architect  by  pro- 
fession, and  his  temper 
was  doubtless  more 
stirred  by  the  effect  on 
his  fortunes,  through  his 
work,  than  by  his  more 
immediate  physical  dis- 
comforts. 

A  region  foreordained 
for  the  use  of  Esqui- 
maux and  polar  bears 
is  a  trying  location  for 
builder  and  householder, 
and  to  the  daily  toil  for 
bread  is  added  the 
greater  toil  needed  to 

A  ,-  -n        j        -  -n  i      secure   reasonable    pro- 

/\  picturesque  Corner   -Providence,  l\l  .  f 

tection   against   inclem- 
ent weather  and  violent  changes  of  temperature. 

In  our  earlier  civilization,  when  the  programme  of  daily  life  was 
simple,  "when  honest  hearts  made  iron  arms,  and  tender  maids  were 
tough,"  the  minimum  of  shelter  that  would  now  be  held  insufficient 


|O.  655.  ^MEI^IGSIN  '&1{GHITEGT  flND  BUILDING  HEWS,  M^H -2.   1559 


COraiSHT  ISSflBVTICKKCRScC' 


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6o5. 


^GHITEGT  HND  BWLDI^|>EWS,  M^R  2    1559. 


188SBYT1CMOR4C" 


6o5. 


T  HND  BUILDING  HEWS,  M^H  2     1559 


COPYHtSHT  1889  BY  T1CKNOR  1  C» 


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Tlje  ^njericai?  ^rcljitect  and  Building  IJews,  I^arclj  S,  1559. 


Qo.  655. 


Copyright,  1889,  by  TICKMOR  &  Co. 


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COPYHIOHT  1689BYTlCKKORiC» 


•ARCHER  •  BVILDINO-  NoRTH  ST.  P*^L  STREET 
•ROCHE5TER-NY-  -  •  •  OS-  ELLIS  •  ARCHITECT 


l^GHITEGT  ?HND  BUILDING  f^WS, ^[SO{.  2.    1559  gao.  655 


COFW&HT  1885BYTICKbrORiC» 


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Hetiatype  Ainfn^  Co.  Boston 


MARCH  2,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  ancf  Building  News. 


108 


for  a  respectable  horse  was  thought  ample  for  wife  and  babes.  The 
"  Thanksgiving  "  family  gathering  was  not  only  around  the  fire,  but 
so  far  as  possible  in  the  fireplace ;  and  the  guests  turned  themselves, 
as  well  as  their  roasting  apples,  before  the  roaring  blaze,  so  as  not 
to  be  done  all  on  one  side.  But  all  this  has  been  improved  away. 
The  generation  of  men  who  boasted  that  they  had  to  kick  a  snow- 
drift from  the  quilt  before  rising  in  the  morning  is  fast  passing  on, 
and  the  descendants  of  the  tender  maids  of  Puritan  days  lack  the 
necessary  muscle  to  enable  them  to  totter  the  length  of  a  block,  and 
are  more  affected  by  a  draught  than  their  grandmothers  were  by  a 
cyclone. 

The  modern  architect,  "to  the  manner  born,"  must  follow  the 
changed  conditions  and  patiently  endeavor  to  make  his  buildings 
hot-houses  in  winter,  cold-blast  refrigerators  in  summer,  and  hermeti- 
cally tight  all  the  year  round. 

Professional  testimony  would  be  somewhat  at  variance  on  the  rela- 
tive importance  of  the  different  branches  of  weather  protection  or 
neutralization.  Insufficient  heating,  imperfect  or  excessive  ventila- 
tion, and  leaky  roofs,  all  claim  their  victims;  but  perhaps,  in  these 
later  times  of  the  picturesque  and  ornate,  the  sufferers  from  leaks 
may  claim  a  first  hearing.  In  the  simple  old  days,  when  houses 
were  used  principally  for  sleep  or  sickness,  and  "  God's  canopy " 
was  the  most  familiar  ceiling,  and  the  good  wife's  worldly  posses- 
sions were  few  and  simple,  and  not  readily  damaged,  a  few  stains  of 
rain  on  plaster  or  wood  were  a  pleasant  variation  from  the  usual 
monotony,  and  there  was  reason  for  satisfaction  if  the  water  took 
any  other  course  than  down  the  back  of  one's  neck. 

But  now  one's  clients  live  in  bric-a-bric  shops  and  art-museums, 
surrounded  by  palace  frescos,  and  they  walk  on  costly  rugs,  and 
leaks  mean  money  out  of  pocket  and  wounded  vanity  and  vexation 
of  spirit  —  all  which  eventually  result  in  goading  to  the  verge  of 
desperation  the  ever-responsible- architect. 

Surely,  if  the  man  who  makes  two  blades  of  grass  grow  where  one 
grew  before  (a  very  simple  result  of  time  and  fertilization)  is  a 
public  benefactor,  the  roof  doctor,  who  can  so  prescribe  as  to  reduce 
two  leaks  to  one,  is  entitled  to  a  share  of  gratitude. 

Of  th,e  earliest  colonial  dwelling,  the  shanty  or  log-hut,  no  local 
examples  remain,  but  they  doubtless  differed  little  from  similar 
structures  still  common  to  all  the  wild  country  of  the  Southern  and 
Western  States.  The  same  style  of  roof  that  sheltered  Miles 
Standish  answers  for  Uncle  Tom's  cabin  or  Buffalo  Bill's  ranch. 
The  roof,  as  tight  as  practicable,  was  made  steep,  in  order  to  shed 
water  rapidly,  and,  as  houses  were  generally  located  near  streams  or 
springs,  every  effort  was  made  to  convey  the  water  away  from  the 
walls  as  quickly  and  directly  as  possible.  This  was  done  by  digging 
a  shallow  trench  in  the  ground  under  the  eaves,  banking  the  earth 
against  the  walls  as  an  additional  protection,  and  connecting  the 
trench  by  another  with  the  nearest  lower  ground. 

With  the  rapid  advance  of  civilization,  the  need  arose  in  some 
locations  for  soft  water  to  wash  clothes,  and  the  first  forms  of  gutter, 

conductor  and  cistern  were  devised 
~ tlie  two  f°rmer  rough  troughs,  and 

tlle  Iatter  a  section  of  a  larSe  tree  JuS 
out  deeper.  These  were  soon  re- 
placed by  the  V-shaped  eaves-gutters 
•  and  spouts,  formed  of  strips  of  boards 
nailed  together,  and  leading  to  a  rude 
barrel  or  cask  —  types  which  may  still 
be  found  doing  their  honest  work  on 
many  a  New  England  farm-house  and 
barn.  In  their  elementary  and  radi- 
cal features  they  have  never  been  im- 
proved upon. 

When  the  farm-house  gave  way  in 
a  measure  to  the  more  stately  colonial 
mansion,  the  cornice-members  devised 
for  simple  use  were  superseded  by  an 
imitation  in  thin  boards  of  the  stone 
and  brick  Renaissance  work  of  the 
mother-country  ;  but  often  the  formal 
mouldings  were  supplemented,  if  not 
improved,  by  a  trough-gutter  slightly 
removed  from  the  eaves  on  iron 
brackets. 

It  is  a  curious  coincidence  that  in  a  different  climate  the  workers 
in  the  parent  style  were  led  or  driven  to  the  same  expedient,  as 
seen  in  many  Italian  Renaissance  buildings.  The  foreign  and 
domestic  examples  are  given  together  in  the  cut. 

There  seems,  however,  to  have  been  no  persistent  effort  made  to 
modify  and  adapt  this  sensible  makeshift  so  as  to  establish  a  type 
that  should  be  both  .serviceable  and  elegant.  Instead  of  showing 
improvement,  the  art  of  building  deteriorated,  and  the  wooden  or 
sheet-metal  gutters  of  wooden  houses  were  concealed  behind  cornice 
mouldings,  and  so  located  and  arranged  as  most  readily  to  conduct 
the  water  into  the  houses  or  walls  in  event  of  any  slightly  defective 
construction.  The  common  styles  of  gutter  in  use  For  many  years 
past  are  shown  in  the  following  diagram  sections  ;  A  being  the 
common  form,  B  often  known  as  the  New  Yoik  gutter,  and  C  the 
shallow  gutters  formed  in  metal  roofs.  There  are  other  modifica- 
tions, but  these  fairly  represent  the  larger  number. 

It  is  plainly  to  be  seen  with  all  of  tliese  forms,  that  the  least  care- 


lessness in  the  fitting  of  parts  by  the  journeyman  or  any  shrinkage 
of  material  may  open  a  course  for  the  rain  directly  into  the  walls. 

It   often  happens   that  a   leak  in  the  first  story  can  be  traced 
directly  to  the  cornice ;  and,  even  if  the  soakage  Is  not  enough  to 


No.2. 


-No.3.  A 


OLD 
HOUSE. 

PORTSMOUTH 
N.H. 


show  on  inside  walls  or  ceilings,  it  keeps  the  outside  of  walls  so  damp 
that  the  paint  is  continually  peeling  from  clapboards  and  finish. 
But  this  is  not  the  worst.  Any  fairly  perfect  construction  should  be 
proof  against  ordinary  storms  of  rain  or  snow,  or  even  of  rain  or 
snow  driven  horizontally  by  the  wind.  But,  in  the  climate  of  New 
England,  we  have  both  the  rain  and  snow  in  connection  with  the 
most  extreme  and  sudden  changes  of  temperature.  Almost  summer 
warmth  is  succeeded  in  a  few  hours  by  Arctic  cold  and  drifting  snow ; 
and  this,  again,  by  a  thaw,  with  floods  of  rain  that  back-up  through 
every  minute  crack  and  pinhole  in  a  roof.  In  fact,  the  inexpert 
would  be  astonished  to  see  the  smallness  of  the  crevice  which  has 

grown  in  imagination  to  the 
dimensions  of  a  considerable 
conduit. 

If  moist  snow  drifts  heavily 
upon  a  roof,  and  is  made  still 
>'  more  moist  and  compact  by 
/  the  warmth  of  the  house,  it 
is  liable  at  any  time  to  form  a 
dam  underneath  that  shall 
back  the  water  of  a  thaw  or 
of  succeeding  rains  up  against 
the  roof-covering  in  such  a 
way  as  to  work  through  any 
structure  not  designed,  built 
and  maintained  with  the  great- 
est care. 

To  employ  a  new  and  un- 
tested material  for  covering  is 
as  hazardous  as  to  use  without 
modification  a  style  of  roof 
foreign  to  our  climate. 

Many  an  architect  has  come 
to  grief  through  the  eccen- 
tricities of  the  grouped  gables, 
chimney-stacks  located  at  the 
foot  of  valleys  and  other  pe- 
culiarities of  English  design ; 
or  the  flat  pitches  or  tiles  ai  d 
stone-gutters  of  the  south  of 
Europe.  Everything  in  build- 
ing must  be  acclimatized  and  domesticated.  A  client  with  a  long 
purse  and  a  love  for  novelty  may  be  temporarily  pleased  by  a  clever 
importation  of  style.  But,  if  comfort  is  lacking  in  his  house,  if  ceil- 
ings drip  and  inside  walls  stain,  and  books  and  pictures  suffer  from 
mould  and  dampness,  he  soon  tires  of  novel  effects  and  their  author, 
and  tries  for  a  more  practical  investment. 

Much  can  be  done  to  avoid  accidents  by  making  roofs  as  steep  as 
possible  —  never  less  than  45°  pitch  for  slate  or  shingles  —  by 
omitling  level  valleys  and  flats  between  pitches,  and  inclines  towards 
upright  walls;  and  by  avoiding  all  unnecessary  breaks  and  projec- 
tions, and  allowing  sufficient  opportunity  for  the  expansion  and  con- 
traction of  flashings  under  varying  temperatures ;  and  lastly,  by  em- 
ploying only  the  best  workmen  and  materials. 

But,   with    all    precautions,   it  is    somewhat    unusual   for  a  roof 


104 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.     .[VOL.  XXV.  —  No. 


No. 3.  B 


exposed  to  the  full  fury  of  the  elements  to  stand  for  twenty  years 
without  showing  some  slight  defects. 

An  ordinary  two-story  wooden  house  shrinks  in  height  during  the 
first  year  of  its  existence  an  inch  or  more,  while  well-built  chimneys 
settle  very  little.  Consequently  there  is  usually  a  rupture  between 

the  counter-flashings 
attached  to  the  chim- 
ney and  the  under- 
flashings  and  roof- 
covering,  which 
causes  the  slates  or 
hingles  to  stick  up 
like  the  ruffled  feath- 
ers of  a  hen,  and  ne- 
cessitates repairs  of 
this  portion  of  a  roof 
within  a  year  or  two 
from  the  time  it  is 
completed.  Some- 
tiling  of  this  could 
be  prevented  by  the 
use  of  well-seasoned 
lumber;  but  well- 
seasoned  lumber  is 
practically  a  thing  of 
the  past. 

But  even  when  the 
design  is  proper  and 
the  construction  is 
sound  above  .the 
eaves,  we  have  in 
the  ordinary  forms 
of  gutter  the  worst 
sort  of  incentive  to 
an  ice-dam  and  con- 
sequent leakage.  If 
there  is  the  slightest 
check  to  the  (low  of 
the  water  through 
the  leaders  or  con- 
ductors caused  by 
the  freezing  of  the 
pipes  near  the 
ground,  or  in  some 
part  that  is  cold 
from  absence  of  sun 
or  special  exposure, 
it  at  once  backs  up, 
freezes  in  the  gutter, 
and  ice  begins  to  ac- 
cumulate and  work  back  onto  the  roof.  At  the  next  stage  of  thaw  it 
melts  underneath ;  and  the  water,  held  back  by  the  frozen  case,  is 
forced  up  on  the  roof  to  search  out  its  weakest  spot,  and  thence  in- 
vade the  house.  The  old  V-shaped  trough,  in  use  on  barn  and 
farm-house  for  two 
hundred  years,  fur- 
nishes a  rough  model 
for  the  practical  ,.  i  .4  A 

remedy  of  the  difli-  |\j  Q  ^£Jf>  f~\ 
culty,  and  a  trilling 
exercise  of  ingenuity 
and  taste  will  adapt  it 
to  modern  conditions. 
The  essential  points 
are  a  gutter  so  de- 
tached and  hung  as  to 
allow  the  water  to  flow 
over  the  back,  as  well 
as  front,  in  case  of 
any  unusual  check ; 
and  eaves  of  the 
skeleton  or  .  open- 
rafter  form,  or,  at 
any  rate,  eaves  sloped 
upward  from  the  gut- 
ter, so  that  the  water 
will  have  to  run  up 
hill  to  reach  the  wall. 
Such  combinations 
have  undoubtedly  be;  n 
employed  in  more 
than  one  instance ; 
but  two  are  here  illus- 
trated that  have  been 
used  by  the  writer  for 
more  than  twelve 
years  with  unvarying  success;  so  far  as  known  no  leakage  having 
occurred,  such  as  usually  follows  with  the  common  form. 

A  represents  the  skeleton-rafter  form,  with  a  trough-gutter  hung  to 
every  second  rafter  by  a  £"  x  1"  wrought-iron  stirrup  screwed  to  the 
rafter,  before  the  eaves-boarding  is  placed,  and  screwed  to  underside 
of  gutter.  • 


No.4.B 


B  represents  a  modification  of  the  "  New  York  Gutter,"  so-called, 
made  of  boards  and  lined  with  sheet-metal. 

Both  are  susceptible  of  unending  variety  of  treatment,  and  can  be 
made  more  or  less  expensive  without  the  loss  of  their  leading  character- 
istics. If  one  is  not  slavishly  bound  to  a  Chinese  fidelity  of  imitation, 

there  is  no  form  of 
domestic  building  to 
which  these  gutters 
cannot  be  appropri- 
ately  suited.  Even 
in  the  matter  of  de- 
s'8n  they  have  many 
good  points.  The 
shadow  thrown  by  the 
sloping  eaves  is  black 
and  telling.  The  light 
that  passes  over  the 
gutter  and  under  the 
eaves  makes  a  bright 
pattern  on  the  wall, 
that  is  as  effective 
as  that  made  by  a 
bracketed  cornice. 
The  rafter  ends  and 
underside  of  cornice 
are  so  much  in  shade 
that  slight  defects  in 
material  are  obscured, 
and  fairly  good 
spruce-rafter  ends 
and  mill-planed 
spruce-boards  answer 
for  most  purpose?. 
The  paint  on  the 

underside  of  such  a  cornice  will  outlast  three  paintings  of  the  rest  of 
the  building. 

Of  the  many  practical  advantages  of  this  form,  the  fact  that  it  can 
be  readily  repaired  or  replaced  is  not  the  least,  and  of  almost  equal 
importance  is  its  reliability  and  strength  as  a  support  for  the  painters' 
or  other  hanging  stage. 

When  the  projection  of  eaves  is  not  great,  the  trough  may  be  set 
on  wooden  or  iron  brackets  secured  to  the  wall ;  or  in  very  simple 
constructions  the  ends  of  the  rafters  may  be  notched  and  the  gutter 
set  on  the  rafters. 

In  freezing  and  thawing  weather  there  is  sometimes  a  drip  from 
this  arrangement  of  cornice,  and  long  icicles  often  form.  But,  as  the 
object  of  such  contrivances  is  to  keep  the  water  out  of  the  house,  this 
peculiarity  may  be  quoted  in  their  favor.  It  is  not  suited  for  use  on 
the  line  of  a  sidewalk,  as  city  buildings  are  often  located ;  but  in 
such  cases  the  danger  from  eaves  sloping  towards  the  street  is  very 
great  in  many  ways,  and  they  should  be  prohibited  by  law. 

The  sole  hope  for  the  establishment  of  a  local  and  characteristic 
style  of  architecture  lies  in  a  careful  adaptation  of  features  in  build- 
ing that  are  found,  through  careful  trial,  to  suit  the  manners  and 
customs  of  the  people  and  the  requirements  of  the  climate.  Bad 
types  of  gutter  have  made  trouble  enough.  If  these  modifications  of 
ancient  examples  promise  improvement,  architects  cannot  do  better 
than  to  favor  their  regular  use  in  some  of  the  many  forms  that  will 
readily  occur  to  any  one  giving  them  full  and  careful  consideration. 

JOHN  A.  Fox. 


HAVE   ARCHITECTS   A   LIEN  t 

BOSTOK,  February  15,  1889. 

Question.  —  Will  the  lien  laws  of  Massachusetts  allow  an  architect  to 
attach  a  building  for  labor  on  plans  and  specifications  for  said  build- 
ing f     Is  he  not  a  mechanic  in  the  sense  of  the  law? 
Answer. —  The  Massachusetts  lien  law  is«iot  restricted  in  terms  to 
mechanics  ;  it  gives  a  lien  for  "  labor  performed  or  furnished  in  the 
erection,  alteration  or  repair  of  any  building,"  etc.     Similar  statutes 
in  other   States   have  been  construed  to  give  to  an  architect  who 
superintends  the  erection  of  a  building  a  lien  for  that  work,  and,  if 
he  has  also  prepared  the  plans  and  specifications  under  a  general 
contract  for  the  whole,  his  lien  has  been  held  to  embrace  his  entire 
bill. 

This  rule  has,  however,  been  much  criticised"  by  other  courts,  and 
we  do  not  think  that  an  architect  would  be  permitted  in  Massachu- 
setts to  maintain  a  lien. 

MECHANICS'  HENS.  —  TIME  FOR  FILING. 

Question. —  A  sub-contractor,  say  a  painter,  has  to  all  intents  and  pur- 
poses completed  his  work  and  removed  his  materials.  Twenty-eight 
days  after  (not  having  been  paid  by  the  contractor)  he  puts  in  an 
appearance  with  paint-pot  and  brush  and  repaints  one  window,  in 
order  to  extend  the  time  of  expiration, of  lien  to  thirty  days  from  that 
date.  Perhaps  this  one  window  icas  intentionally  left  without  one 


MARCH  2,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


105 


coat  of  paint,  as  called  for  in  the  specification.    Will  the  act  as  above 

extend  the  time  for  filing  a  lien? 

Answer. —  Whether  a  claim  of  lien  has  been  filed  within  the  time 
allowed  by  law  is  a  question  of  fact  for  the  jury.  If  the  last  work  is 
merely  colorable,  done  without  necessity,  and  with  the  sole  intention 
of  extending  the  time  for  filing  a  lien,  the  jury  ought  to  find  for  the 
owner.  Whether  such  a  verdict  would  in  fact  be  returned  is,  of 
course,  a  matter  of  uncertainty. 

Question. —  A  sub-contractor,  a  mason,  for  instance,  has  left  the  work 
for  twenty-eight  days,  and  on  the  twenty-ninth  appears  and  cleans 
down  and  oils  the  same,  having  been  ordered  by  the  owner  and  archi- 
tect not  to  do  so,  as  they  were  not  ready  to  have  it  done.  Will  that 
extend  the  lien  f 

Answer.  —  The  whole  matter  is  for  the  jury,  as  explained  above. 
Ko  question  of  law  is  involved  in  such  cases  except  when  the 
evidence  is  so  overwhelmingly  one  way  that  the  court  will  take  the 
case  away  from  the  jury  or  set  the  verdict  aside.  It  seems  needless, 
however,  to  point  out  that  such  a  condition  seldom  prevails  in  lien 
cases,  as  the  mechanic  can  almost  always  produce  some  evidence  in 
support  of  his  claim  upon  which  the  jury  is  entitled  to  find  for  him  if 
it  chooses. 


MECHANICS     LIENS. 

Quest-'on.  —  Please  give  me  your  opinion  of  the  following  case  in  col- 
umns of  the  American  Architect:  A,  the  contractor,  employs  B,  a 
laborer,  to  work  on  a  building  which,  he  is  erecting.  A  pays  B 
his  wages  for  a  few  months,  then  fails  to  pay  him  his  January  pay, 
and  at  the  end  of  February  pays  him  for  work  dime  during  that 
month.  Has  B  a  right  to  lien  on  building  for  pay  for  icork  during 
January  f  Yours  truly,  A.  II.  B. 

Answer. —  We  think  he  has.  The  appropriation  of  the  money  to 
the  work  for  the  last  month  would  not.  we  think,  amount  as  matter 
of  law  to  a  waiver  of  the  lien ;  that  would  be  a  question  for  the  jury, 
and,  in  the  absence  of  strong  proof  that  the  acceptance  of  the  money 
and  its  appropriation  in  the  manner  described  was  intended  by  both 
parties  as  an  abandonment  of  the  lien,  the  verdict  would  undoubtedly 
be  for  the' plaintiff . 


FORM  OF  NOTICE  TO  TERMINATE  CONTRACT. 

Question.  —  What  form  is  proper  for  an  architect's  notice  to  a  con- 
tractor who  has  failed  to  comply  with  his  directions,  anil  what  form 
is  proper  when  the  contractor  becomes  bankrupt  and  refuses  to  pay 
his  workmen  * 

Answer. —  No  special  form  is  required.  The  architect  had  better 
put  his  notice  in  the  form  of  a  letter  addressed  to  the  contractor, 
quote  the  clauses  of  the  contract  permitting  the  termination  of  the 
contract,  then  recite  the  manner  in  which  the  contractor  has  failed 
to  comply  with  the  contract,  and  conclude  with  a  simple  statement 
that  the  owner  or  architect,  as  the  case  may  be,  has  decided  to  avail 
himself  of  the  privilege  to  determine  the  contract,  and  docs  so  by 
this  letter.  If  some  preliminary  notice  is  required,  the  letter  should 
state  that  unless  the  terms  of  the  contract  (specifying  them)  are 
complied  with,  the  contract  will  be  considered  as  at  an  end  on  such 
and  such  a  day.  The  architect  should  take  a  letter-press  copy  of  his 
letter,  and  should  see  that  the  original  is  delivered  to  the  contractor 
in  the  presence  of  witnesses. 

THE    CANTON  (OHIO)    SCHOOL-HOUSE    COMPETITION. 

CANTON,  OHIO,  February  11,  1889. 

Question.  —  Enclosed  I  send  you  a  circular  issued  by  the  Board  of 
Education  of  this  city.  The  advertisement  on  the  first  page  is  a 
copy  of  the  advertisement  as  it  appeared  in  the  daily  papers. 

I  cian/ieted.  My  design  was  reported  by  the  buildiny  committee 
as  being  the  best  — •  in  fact,  the  only  one  which  comjilied  with  the 
requirements  of  the  circular  —  but  the  Board  refused  to  act,  and  em- 
ployed an  architect  to  make  drawings  who  was  not  a  competitor. 

Am  I  entided  to  anything  for  my  design?  Note  particularly 
Section  1 7  of  the  requirements. 

Yours  very  truly,  Guy  Tilden. 

The  notice  to  architects  in  the  newspapers,  referred  to  in  the 
above  communication,  is  as  follows: 

Competitive  drawings  will  be  received  by  the  Building-committee  of  the 
Board  of  Edtu-atiuu  of  Canton,  Ohio,  until  noon  of  June  20,  18H8. 

S:iid  drawing!  are  to  conform  to  the  programme  of  requirements  and  in- 
structions prepared  for  said  building.  Said  programme  may  be  had  by 
applying  to  the  Chairman  of  said  Committee  on  Building*,  Isaac  Harter. 
Any  drawing!)  not  in  accordance  with  said  requirements  will  not  be  con- 
sidered. By  order  of  the  Committee  on  Building*. 

CLERK  OK  BOAIID  OF  EDUCATION. 

The  "  Programme  of  Requirements  and  Instructions  "  to  the  com- 
peting architects  contained  the  following  clauses  : 

10th.  Said  competitive  drawings  are  to  consist  of  a  foundation  plan,  a 
first  and  second  story  plan,  a  front  and  side  elevation,  all  drawn  to  a  scale 
of  eight  feet  to  one  inch,  and  a  perspective  view  measuring  eight  feet  to 
one  iucli  on  the  near  corner.  All  to  be  executed  with  pen  and  black  ink  on 
ordinary  white  drawing-paper.  Said  drawings  may  be  accompanied  with  a 
description  or  any  information  that  will  assist  a  competent  builder  in 
making  an  approximate  estimate. 

17th.     The  architect  who>e  drawings  are  accepted  by  the  Board,  as  the 


best  of  all  submitted  in  this  competitive  contest,  will  be  awarded  the  work 
at  a  commission  of  two-and-one-half  per  cent,  and  all  unsuccessful  archi- 
tects will  have  their  drawings  returned  without  any  compensation.  Any 
drawings  received  which  do  not  conform  with  the  foregoing  requirements 
will  be  returned  by  the  Building  Committee  without  compensation. 

18th.  All  drawings  must  be  in  the  hands  of  the  Chairman  of  the  Building 
Committee  before  noon  of  June  30,  1888.  It  is  the  understanding  that  for 
these  two  buildings  the  same  plans  will  be  used,  both  being  alikej  and  that 
the  School  Board  of  the  city  of  Canton  will  pay  but  one  commission  of  two- 
and-one-half  per  cent  to  the  successful  architect  for  the  plans  to  be  used  for 
both  school-houses. 

A  subsequent  communication  from  Mr.  Tilden  makes  clear  that  a 
commission  of  two-and-one-half  per  cent  was  expected  to  cover 
drawings  and  specifications  only  —  a  point  which  the  circular  itself 
leaves  in  some  obscurity. 

The  programme  in  this  case  contemplated  an  acceptance  by 
the  Board  as  the  condition  of  success;  and,  if  that  had  been  all,  the 
Board  would  have  had  the  legal  right  to  reject  all  plans  offered 
without  compensation  of  any  kind.  Architects  who  undertake  to 
draw  plans  which  shall  be  acceptable  or  satisfactory  to  the  owner  or 
a  committee  or  board  should  understand  that  they  are  wholly  without 
remedy  if  their  employer  does  not  find  the  plans  satisfactory.  It  is 
so  with  a  tailor  who  undertakes  to  make  a  suit  of  clothes  to  the 
satisfaction  of  his  employer  ;  in  case  the  latter  does  not  like  the  suit 
he  can  return  it,  and  the  tailor  must  stand  the  loss.  Cases  of  this 
kind,  where  the  work  furnished  is  not  in  fact  used  by  the  employer, 
and  can  be  returned  by  him,  are,  of  course,  to  be  distinguished  from 
cases  of  work  done  or  material  furnished  in  building  operations,  for 
there  the  owner  does  in  fact  receive  the  benefit,  and  the  contractor 
is  entitled  to  recover  the  value  of  the  work  and  materials,  even  if  he 
has  not  strictly  complied  with  the  terms  of  his  contract.  lie  cannot 
recover  more  than  the  contract-price,  deducting  what  it  will  cost  the 
owner  to  make  the  work  good;  but  he  can  recover  something,  and 
therein  his  case  differs  from  that  of  an  architect  or  a  manufacturer 
who  undertakes  to  furnish  plans,  stoves,  or  anything  else  of  a  mov- 
able nature  which  are  to  be  satisfactory  to  the  owner,  and  which  he 
can  return  if  he  does  not  like  them.  So,  in  the  above  case,  if  accept- 
ance by  the  Board  had  been  an  express  condition  of  the  competition, 
our  correspondent  would  have  no  remedy. 

But  Section  17  provides  not  simply  that  the  drawing  shall  be  ac- 
cepted by  the  Board,  but  they  are  to  be  accepted  by  the  Board  "  as  the 
best  of  all  submitted."  We  think  a  fair  interpretation  of  this  qualifying 
clause  is  that  the  Board  bound  itself  to  accept  the  plans  which  it  con- 
siders the  best ;  and  their  refusal  to  adopt  any  of  the  plans  would 
seem  to  be  a  breach  of  the  contract  held  out  by  the  prospectus  and 
accepted  by  each  competitor  when  he  handed  in  his  plans. 

We  think,  therefore,  that  Mr.  Tilden  has  a  case  against  the  Board 
of  Education  of  the  city  of  Canton.  The  measure  of  damages  would 
probably  be  the  value  of  the  time  and  labor  expended  in  preparing 
the  preliminary  drawings;  that  is,  whatever  a  jury  would  think  was 
a  fair  compensation  for  the  expense  and  trouble  he  has  been  to.  If 
the  drawings  had  been  accepted  by  the  Board,  and  it  had  then 
refused  to  permit  the  successful  architect  to  complete  his  plans,  the 
measure  of  damages  would  include  whatever  the  jury  would  think 
would  have  been  the  profit  to  the  architect  on  the  whole  transaction  ; 
but  where  the  cause  of  action  is  the  failure  of  the  Board  to  accept  any 
plans  at  all,  the  measure  of  damages  would  be  simply  the  value  of 
the  time  and  labor  bestowed  upon  them;  and  we  do  not  see  why 
each  and  all  of  the  competing  architects  should  not  have  a  separate 
action,  and  recover  from  the  Board  of  Education  the  value  of  the 
labor  and  time  expended  by  him.  The  contract  of  the  Hoard  was, 
first,  to  accept  some  one  plan,  and  second  to  allow  the  architect  whose 
plan  was  accepted  to  go  on  with  the  work.  We  think  that  every 
person  tendering  plans  conforming  to  the  conditions  of  the  competi- 
tion can  hold  the  Board  liable  for  a  breach  of  its  preliminary 
obligation  to  accept  some  one  of  them. 


ENGINEERS'  SOCIETY  OF  WESTERN  PENNSYLVANIA. 

VTFlIE  regular  monthly  meeting  of  the  Engineers'  Society  of  West- 
•  I »  ern  Pennsylvania  was  held  February  19,  in  the  rooms  of  the 

'    society  in  the  Penn  Building. 

A  good  attendance  of  members  was  present  and  greatly  interested 
in  the  reading  of  the  two  very  able  papers  prepared  and  read  by 
Prof.  John  W.  Langley,  of  the  Allcghany  Observatory,  on  "  Inter- 
national standard  for  the  analysis  of  iron  and  steel "  and  H.  D. 
Hibbard  on  the  subject  of  "  Welding  metal  by  electricity,"  illustrated 
by  samples. 

The  attention  shown  by  members  manifested  their  interest  in  the 
subjects  read  and  discussed.  A  committee  was  appointed  to  con- 
sider and  report  upon  the  "Best  methods  to  construct  and  maintain 
Public  Highways,"  in  the  State  and  recommend  legislation  relative 
thereto.  After  which  the  meeting  adjourned. 

The  library  rooms  are  open  daily  and  engineers  from  any  part  of 
the  country  are  cordially  invited  to  call,  when  in  Pittsburgh,  and 
make  themselves  known  to  the  Secretary,  Col.  S.  M.  Wickersham. 

1). 


106 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.        [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  688. 


ILLINOIS    STATE    ASSOCIATION    OF    ARCHITECTS. 

AT  a  regular  meeting  of  the  Illinois  State  Association  of  Archi- 
tects which  convened  the  18th  inst.  in  Chicago,  the  following  resolu- 
tions were  unanimously  adopted : 

"  Whereas:  The  Illinois  State  Association  of  Architects,  together 
with  their  professional  brethren  in  all  parts  of  this  country,  feel  a 
deep  interest  in  the  course  which  the  United  States  Government 
shall  pursue  in  the  designing  and  construction  of  its  buildings ;  and 

"  Whereas:  A  change  of  administration  in  the  Government  is 
about  to  take  place,  and  changes  in  this  branch  of  the  public  services 
may  follow ;  therefore  be  it 

"Resolved:  That  the  Illinois  State  Association  of  Architects 
hereby  respectfully  petition  the  President-elect,  and  the  incoming 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  make  such  changes  in  the  practice  of 
designing  and  erecting  public  buildings  as  shall  more  nearly  conform 
to  the  methods  adopted  by  independent  corporations  and  private  in- 
dividuals, thereby  obtaining  a  much  better  grade  of  buildings  at  con- 
siderably less  cost ;  and  be  it  further 

"Resoloed:  That  we  distinctly  disclaim  any  intention  to  reflect 
upon  the  incumbent  of  the  office,  or  on  any  of  his  predecessors ; 
believing  that  their'comparative  want  of  success  is  due  to  the  system 
under  which  they  were  laboring;  yet,  if  a  change  is  made  in  the 
office  of  Supervising  Architect,  we  respectfully  request  the  appoint- 
ment of  some  architect  whose  energy,  skill,  experience,  executive 
ability  and  integrity  shall  be  thoroughly  established,  and  who  is  in 
sympathy  with  the  desire  for  reform  in  the  methods  of  the  Govern- 
ment, so  far  as  they  relate  to  the  architectural  design  and  administra- 
tion of  its  public  buildings,  as  expressed  by  the  resolutions  of  the 
'  Western  Association  of  Architects  '  and  the  '  American  Institute  of 
Architects.' " 

In  pursuance  with  the  instructions  of  this  Association,  we  take 
pleasure  in  forwarding  copies  of  the  above  resolutions  to  you  with 
the  request  that  the  subject  matter  of  this  communication  may  be 
laid  before  your  Society  at  the  earliest  available  opportunity;  and 
with  the  hope  that  you  will  earnestly  cooperate  with  us  in  the  en- 
deavor to  correct  the  obvious  evils  of  the  present  methods  of  Govern- 
ment building.  Will  you  kindly  distribute  surplus  copies  to  the 
officers  of  any  local  architectural  Societies  or  Chapters  which  we 
may  not  have  reached  in  this  distribution. 
Very  truly  yours, 

WILLIAM  W.  CLAY,  President. 
OSBOKXE  J.  PIERCE,  Secretary. 


A  PERSONAL    EXPLANATION. 
To  THE  EDITORS  OP  THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT:  — 

Dear  Sirs,  —  The  closing  sentence  of  your  letter  gives  me  oppor- 
tunity to  say  a  few  additional  words,  which  I  regret  cannot  be  said 
verbally  to  avoid  any  misconstruction. 

One   of    the   most   prominent   of architects   told  me   that  it 

cost  $50.00  to  get  a  gelatine  print  into  the  American  Architect,  and, 
while  he  is  a  man  in  whom  I  have  perfect  faith,  1  could  not  let  the 
matter  go  without  testing  it  for  myself.  I  do  not  believe  that  he 
bears  your  journal  any  ill  will.  I  have  also  heard  some  sharp  criti- 
cisms of  the  conduct  of  it  from  Western  men  whose  position  in  the 
profession  entitles  their  opinions  to  consideration.  No  one  can  realize 
so  well  as  yourself  the  ease  of  criticism  as  compared  with  the  difficulties 
attending  the  production  of  such  a  work,  and  the  best  architects  in 
the  country  are  to  blame  in  no  small  degree  for  the  condition  in 
which  we  find  things.  We  used  to  see  occasionally  a  sketch  of  Mr. 
Peabody's  or  one  of  Stanford  White's  for  Richardson,  but  now  they 
as  well  as  Mr.  Hunt,  Air.  Post,  Mr.  Withers  and  manv  others  are 
conspicuous  by  their  absence.  They  have  the  best  of  examples 
across  the  water  in  such  men  as  Ernest  George,  Alfred  Waterhouse, 
Norman  Shaw,  J.  L.  Pierson,  Webb  and  Bell,  etc.  It  is  small 
pleasure  to  see  the  paper  filled  month  after  month  by  men  no  better 
than  myself  —  is  there  no  influence  that  can  be  brought  to  bear  upon 
them  ? 

I  suppose  it  would  be  inexpedient  but  I  should  like  to  see  a  depart- 
ment of  anonymous  criticism  of  architectural  work,  whether  it  agreed 
with  my  conclusions  or  not :  it  would  stimulate  thought  and  arouse 
discussion,  which  is  certainly  better  than  apathy.  I  should  like  to 
see  a  column  of  questions  and  answers  similar  to  those  in  the  Build- 
ing News.  Some  of  the  Western  men  thought  that  the  principal 
architectural  journal  should  have  had  some  representative  at  their 
convention  and  did  not  hesitate  to  say  so.  This  is  but  an  individual 
expression  of  feeling  brought  about  by  your  letter  so  far  as  the  sug- 
gestions are  concerned,  and  I  am  sure  will  be  received  as  intended. 
Yours  very  truly,  ,  WESTERNER. 

[THE  answer  which,  Westerner  received  from  ns  in  reply  to  a  letter  which 
antedates  the  one  above,  and  intended  by  him  to  test  the  truth  of  the 
allegation  for  himself,  must  have  shaken  his  belief  in  the  trustworthiness 

of  "one  of  the  most  prominent  of architects."     Like  the  boy  in  the  story 

who  lied,  this  prominent  gentleman  made  a  misstatement,  perhaps  in- 
tentionally, perhaps  only  giving  utterance  to  a  belief  that  may  be  current  in 


.  With  one  exception,  no  man  has  ever  paid  any  money  toward  pro- 
curing the  publication  of  any  design  in  the  American  Architect.  Oddly 
enough  the  only  man  who  has  paid  was  Henry  Hobson  Richardson  —of  all 
men  the  one  who  had  least  reason  to  expect  such  treitment.  Mr.  Rich- 
ardson declined  to  allow  any  of  his  work  to  be  published  save  as  gelatine 
plates,  and  several  times  during  the  early  years  of  this  journal,  when  the 
cost  of  gelatine  printing  was  practically  prohibitive  for  our  uses,  we  ac- 
cepted his  offer  to  bear  half  the  expense  of  printing  such  plates  as  he  pre- 
ferred. It  is  barely  possible  that  during  these  years  we  may  have  replied 
to  others  making  similar  requests  that  we  could  only  grant  them  under 
similar  conditions.  But  never  of  late  years.  It  seems  very  hard  for  some 
minds  to  conceive  the  possibility  of  independent  and  impartial  action  on  the 
part  of  the  editors  and  for  years,  we  know,  there  existed  a  belief  that  the 
journal  was  managed  in  the  interest  of  a  "  clique"  or  as  an  attachment  to 
the  American  Institute  of  Architects,  because  that  body  had  voted  to  adopt 
it  as  its  "organ  of  publication"  — the  result  of  which  action  has  been  that 
perhaps  a  dozen  times  during  as  many  years  official  documents  have  been 
sent  us  for  publication.  But  in  spite  of  the  internal  evidence  afforded  by 
our  pages  which  showed  such  catholic  range  of  selection  as  made  it  difficult 
to  determine  who  were  the  members  of  the  favored  "  clique  "  to  whose 
glorification  all  our  efforts  were  said  to  be  directed  the  belief  died  hard  —  if 
it  be  yet  dead.  In  the  words  we  employed  in  answering  our  correspondent's 
guileful  letter,  the  "only  'condition'  under  which. we  publish  gelatine 
prints,  is  that  the  subject  seem  to  us  one  upon  which  it  is  worth  while  to 
spend  so  much  money  as  the  gelatine  process  requires." 

We  can  only  guess  at  what  the  "sharp  criticism"  of  Western  men  has 
been.  Is  it  because  the  printed  matter  is  of  inferior  quality,  of  indifferent 
interest,  of  no  practical  value,  the  discussions  illogical,  and  the  advice  in- 
judicious? Is  it  because  Boston  book-makers  prefer  to  use  unclayed  paper? 
Is  it  that  our  building  items  are  incorrect?  Or  is  it  the  character  of  the 
illustrations  that  is  to  blame,  and  do  Western  architects  feel  that  they  and 
their  work  are  neglected?  If  this  is  the  matter,  whose  fault  is  it?  How- 
many  of  the  complainants  (if  there  be  such)  have  offered  drawings  and  had 
them  declined?  And  how  can  we,  sitting  at  our  desks  in  Boston,  know  the 
character  of  the  work  done  in  places  eight  or  nine  hundred  miles  away,  and, 
knowing,  take  steps  to  get  it?  That  the  architects  named  above  are  not 
nowadays  represented  oftener  in  our  pages  is  a  fact  that  we  regret  more  than 
he  does,  but  it  is  owing  to  the  architects  themselves,  not  to  any  lack 
of  urgency  on  our  part.  If  the  men  capable  of  the  best  work  choose 
to  withhold  it,  and  prefer  to  take  the  part  of  fault-finder  and  scorner 
because  better  work  is  not  shown,  it  is  they,  and  not  we,  who  make 
it  impossible  to  achieve  better  results.  There  is  no  architect  in  the  country, 
however  unknown  to  us,  even  our  bitterest  personal  enemy  (if  we  have 
one),  who  stands  the  least  chance  of  having  a  creditable  presentation  of  a 
good  piece  of  design  rejected  by  us  when  offered  for  publication  ;  but  as  to 
whether  a  given  drawing  is  a  creditable  presentation  of  good  architecture, 
we,  in  the  nature  of  things,  must  be  the  judge,  and  not  the  contributor. 
We  have  not  the  least  misgiving  that  we  have  not  made  the  best  selection 
from  the  material  that  has  been  offered.  We  have  corresponded  with  the 
editors  of  some  of  the  English  papers,  who  declare  that  it  is  impossible  for 
them  to  understand  the  apathy  of  the  profession  in  this  country  in  the 
matter  of  giving  support  to  the  technical  journals. 

As  to  the  other  points,  —  and  we  are  really  grateful  to  Westerner  for  bring- 
ing these  matters  to  our  attention  and  shall  always  value  any  similar  criti- 
cism or  suggestion  from  any  source  —  we  will  reply  briefly  that  we  have  con- 
idered  the  matter  of  anonymous  criticism,  and  have  gone  even  as  far  as 
Paris  in  search  of  the  right  man  for  the  work.  The  question  and  answer 
column  was  tried  years  ago,  but,  as  it  only  resulted  in  the  editors  manu- 
facturing both  question  and  answer,  it  died  a  natural  death.  As  to  the 
convention  matter,  the  gentleman  whom  we  expected  to  represent  us  could 
not  attend  and  there  was  not  time  to  make  other  arrangements. 

If  we,  in  these  random  remarks,  have  not  answered  the  "  sharp  criti- 
ci.-ms,"  we  will  make  another  attempt  if  any  one  chooses  to  put  them  into 
definite  form.  We  houe.-tly  believe  that  the  publication  of  the  American 
Architect  during  the  last  dozen  years,  which  have  witnessed  the  amaz- 
ing growth  of  architecture  in  this  country,  has  done  more  to  make  it  possi- 
ble for  architects  to  find  appreciative  clients  than  any  other  cause  that 
h:is  conduced  to  the  same  result,  and  we  as  honestly  believe  that  we 
have  not  received  the  reciprocal  support  and  consequent  benefit  that  could 
properly  have  been  anticipated  by  us  and  should  have  been  extended  by 
the  profession.  —  EDS.  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT.] 


TO   CUT   A  HIP-RAFTER. 

CLEVELAND,  OHIO,  February  6, 1889. 
To  THE  EDITORS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT  :  — 

Dear  Sirs,  —  I  enclose  the  solution  of  a  problem  that  I  frequently 
come  across  in  my  work,  thinking  that  it  may  be  of  use  to  some  of 
your  readers.  The  problem  is  this :  Having  in  the  main  roof  of  a 
hip-roofed  building  a  given  pitch,  and  having  a  wing  where  it  is  im- 
possible to  give  the  roof  the  same  pitch  without  destroying  the 
masses  of  the  roof,  to  make  the  pitch  at  the  end  of  this  win""  such 
that  the  hip  at  the  intersection  of  the  two  pitches  of  the  wing  shall 
have  the  same  angle  with  the  horizon  as  the  hips  of  the  main  roof, 
and  thus  give  the  same  apparent  pitch  to  the  eye. 

The  simplest  way  to  solve  the  matter  is  by  a  sample  problem  as 
any  other  problem  of  like  character  can  be  solved  in  the  same  way. 

Suppose  the  pitch  of  the  main  roof  is  4  to  5  ;  the  plan  of  the  hip 


MARCH  2,  1889.] 


TJie   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


107 


would  give  the|ratio  of  4  to  4  bettween  its  sides ;  then  by  squaring 
adding  the  squares  and  taking  the  square  foot,  the  length  of  the  hip 
as  it  would  be  shown  on  a  roof  plan  would  be  5.65  and  the  ratio  of 
this  line,  the 
base,  to  the 
height  of  the 
hip  would  be 
as  5.65  is  to  5. 
This  is  the 
slope  that  the 
eye  sees.  Now 
suppose  that 
a  roof  of  J 
pitch  gives  the 
proper  rela- 
tive mass  to 
the  wing,  then 
a  pitch  at  the 
end  of  the 
wing  to  give  a 
hip  with  a  ra- 
tio of  5.65  to 
5  between  its 
base  and  alti- 
tude must  be 
determined. 
With  one-half 
pitch  the  ratio 
may  be  called 
5  to  5  ;  then 
having  a  ratio 
of  5.65  to  5  be- 
t  w  e  e  n  base 
and  altitude  of 
hips  and  the 
same  ratio  be- 
tween base  of  hip  and  the  one  side  of  triangle  forming  plan,  the 
other  short  side  or  base  of  new  pitch  desired  is  at  once  determined 
to  be  2.6-)-.  This  givef  a  ratio  of  2.6-)-  to  5  for  the  desired  pitch 
for  the  end  of  wing.  For  a  graphical  solution  lay  off  A  B  and  B  C 
at  right  angles,  each  equal  to  4.  The  hypothenuse  or  base  A  C, 
then  scales  5.65.  Lay  off  altitude  A  D  at  right  angles  to  this  as  5. 
Then  revolve  triangle  A  C  D  around  on  the  point  C  till  A'  B'  par- 
allel to  A  B  scales  5  which  give  the  ratios  of  5  to  5  between  A'  B' 
and  A'  D'  requisite  for  a  £  pitch.  Then  the  desired  base  will  be 
C  B'  which  will  scale  2.6-)-.  The  plan  of  the  hips  of  the  main  roof 
being  A  C  and  the  plan  of  the  hip  of  wing  being  A'  C. 

Very  respectfully  yours,  CLARENCE  O.  AREY. 

THE    UNIFORM   BUILDING  CONTRACT. 

NEW  YOKK,  February  26, 1889. 
To  THE  EDITORS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT  :  — 

Dear  Sirs, —  In  your  issue  of  the  23d  inst.  you  refer  to  some  frag- 
mentary newspaper  report  which  had  met  your  attention  on  the 
paper  prepared  by  me  and  read  by  Mr.  McArthur  at  the  Convention 
of  the  National  Association  of  Builders  at  Philadelphia,  and  quote 
what  was  there  said  with  some  expressions  of  alarm.  I  assure  you 
that  no  such  clause  as  the  one  quoted,  or  expressing  that  idea,  can  be 
found  in  the  paper,  and  that,  on  the  contrary,  the  views  advanced 
are  entirely  in  harmony  with  your  own  remarks  on  the  subject. 

The  paper  was  prepared  by  me  at  the  request  of  the  President  of 
the  Association,  Mr.  John  S.  Stevens,  of  Philadelphia,  and  upon  a 
subject  suggested  by  him.  I  presume  you  will  soon  be  placed  in 
possession  of  copies  of  the  papers  read  on  the  occasion,  and  can  then 
make  such  comment  as  may  occur  to  you  with  a  somewhat  clearer 
understanding  of  their  contents. 

The  Association  here  referred  to  is  one  which  should  excite  much 
interest  among  architects.  It  brings  together  at  its  conventions  the 
principal  builders  of  the  United  States,  who  are  generally  sent  in 
delegations  from  local  societies.  Its  form  and  methods  correspond 
with  those  of  the  American  Institute  of  Architects,  and  it  promises 
to  be  a  great  power  in  regulating  and  elevating  the  building  trades. 
The  credit  is  due  mainly  to  one  of  your  townsmen,  Mr.  VVm.  H. 
Sayward,  the  Secretary,  for  the  enterprise  and  self-sacrificing  exer- 
tions which  have  resulted  in  starting  it  on  its  useful  and  successful 
course.  No  one  can  doubt  that  it  has  a  mission,  and  that  the  fulfil- 
ment of  that  mission  will  result  in  much  good  to  all  concerned. 

With  this  Association,  it  is  known,  originated  the  idea  of  having 
all  building  contracts  drawn  out  on  blanks  which  are  uniform  for  all 
work.  By  consultation  and  cooperation  with  the  two  great  national 
associations  of  architects  such  a  form  was  prepared,  and,  after  bein» 
adopted  by  the  three  societies,  it  has  been  distributed  for  general 
use.  And  in  regard  to  this  uniform  contract  form,  as  might  have 
been  expected  among  architects  who  have  been  in  the  habit  of  using 
forms  of  a  dissimilar  construction,  there  are  several  clauses  which  do 
not  meet  with  universal  approval.  Among  these  is  that  which 
makes  the  architect  the  agent  of  the  owner,  and  which  was  so  ably 
inquired  into  in  an  article  in  your  last  number. 

The  conclusion  arrived  at,  however,  in  that  article,  that  it  is 
neither  good  policy  nor  good  law  to  consider  the  architect  as  the 
agent  of  the  owner,  I  think,  from  my  observation,  is  not  general 


among  those  who  have  examined  and  have  used  the  form.  It  cer- 
tainly is  not  so  among  those  whose  opinion  I  have  heard  expressed. 
A  member  of  a  firm  of  architects,  who  are  engaged  very  extensively 
in  business  in  this  city,  in  Boston,  and  all  over  the  country,  stated 
to  me  that  his  firm  liked  the  form  very  much.  When  I  called  his 
attention  to  the  objection  that  had  been  made  to  the  clause  making 
the  architect  the  agent  of  the  owner,  he  said  that  this  was  one  of  the 
best  features  about  it.  In  explanation,  he  said  that  they  had  once 
been  prosecuted  as  principals  by  a  contractor  for  work  ordered  by 
them  as  architects,  and  had  had  considerable  difficulty  in  proving 
that  they  were  acting  simply  as  agents  of  the  owner.  If  they  had 
been  so  fortunate  as  to  have  had  that  clause  here  referred  to  in  their 
contract-form,  there  would  have  been  no  ground  for  the  suit,  and 
there  would  have  been  not  even  a  suspicion  of  their  responsibility  in 
the  matter. 

A  friend  has  called  my  attention  to  the  wording  of  a  contract  pub- 
lished twenty  years  ago,  that  has  an  instructive  bearing  upon"  the 
subject.  He  says  that  the  view  that  the  architect  should  be  consid- 
ered as  the  agent  of  the  owner  was  held  by  no  less  a  jurist  than  the 
late  Theophilus  Parsons,  LL.D.,  Professor  of  Law  in  Harvard  Uni- 
versity, etc.,  who  makes  use  of  the  same  term  in  the  form  of  contract, 
to  be  found  in  his  "Laws  of  Business,"  published  in  1869,  which  he 
entitles  "  A  Full  and  Minute  Building  Contract."  In  this  form  he 
has  provided  that  the  work  shall  be  done  "  under  the  superintend- 
ence of  Mr. ,  who  is  hereby  appointed  superintendent  and  agent 

of  the  party  of  the  second  part";  that  is,  the  owner. 

In  conclusion,  it  is  believed  that  there  is  no  good  reason  win- 
uniform  contract-blanks  may  not  be  used  in  building  operations,  anil 
it  is  only  by  a  comparison  of  views  among  those  who  are  called  on 
to  study  them  that  a  universal  concensus  of  opinion  among  architects 
may  be  evolved,  and  the  custom  be  established  of  using  a  well- 
digested  and  generally-accepted  form.  Hence  these  discussions  are 
not  without  their  use.  Very  truly  yours, 

O.  P.  HATFIELD. 


THE   WILLARD    ARCHITECTURAL   CASTS. 

NEW  YORK,  N.  Y.,  February  19,  1889 
To  THE  EDITORS  OP  THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT: 

Dear  Sirs,  —  The  article  headed  "New  York,"  in  your  issue  of 
Saturday  last,  invites  attention  to  what  I  conceive  to  be  the  truth 
that  the  comparatively  slow  growth  in  public  recognition  of  the  pro- 
fession of  architecture  in  America  was  inevitable  under  the  adverse 
circumstances  dominant  in  a  new  community,  based  largely  on 
bourr/eoin  and  Puritan  conditions,  and  centring  itself  mainly  oil  the 
two  platforms  of  sufficiently  sharp  trade,  and  not  always  ovcrclean 
politics.  This  I  have  repeatedly  urged  in  print  during  the  last 
twenty-five  years,  while  insisting  on  the  greater  necessity,  i/tso  facto, 
of  the  profession  first  recognizing  and  clarifying  itself,  and  then 
making  use  of  "  collective  assertiveness "  in  its  relations  with  the 
conscious  and  the  much  more  frequent  unconscious  Philistinism  of 
our  environment. 

The  article  is,  in  a  number  of  other  respects,  timely,  instructive 
and  encouraging,  and  I  share  with  you  the  belief  that  the  recent  and 
current  work  of  the  Institute  and  the  Western  Association  toward 
the  consolidation  of  all  the  architectural  organizations  in  the  national 
territory  worthy  of  professional  and  fraternal  affiliation,  will  "  mark 
the  close  of  the  era  of  the  struggle  for  existence  and  the  openin"  of 
the  new  era  of  assured  recognition." 

I  share,  too,  in  your  appreciation  of  the  admirable  work  that  has 
been  accomplished  by  the  Architectural  League  of  New  York,  which 
under  the  leadership  of  Mr.  Russell  Sturgis  (whose  long-volunteer 
labors  did  much  to  help  the  Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art  to  its 
present  position),  is  not  likely  to  relax  any  of  its  energy  and  useful- 
ness; but  your  correspondent  perhaps  does  not  remember  what 
energetic  protests  were  uttered  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago 
by  the  Institute  against  the  New  York  Post-Office  and  other  ill- 
conducted  public  competitions;  and,  moreover,  I  feel  well  assured 
that  the  League  could,  in  the  future,  do  much  more  for  the  prac- 
tice of  all  the  fine  arts,  inclusive  of  and  in  architecture,  if  it  were 
to  reduce  its  methods  somewhat  to  the  lines  suggested  in  a  letter  I 
wrote  last  summer  to  its  able  ex-President,  Mr.  John  Beverley 
Robinson. 

You  also  obviously  recognize  what  seems  to  me  indisputable,  viz., 
that  the  work  of  the  Willard  Architectural  Commission  has  already 
—  though  not  much  more  than  fairly  started  —  added  much  to  the 
encouraging  outlook  for  the  profession.  Not  only  will  the  collection, 
when  completed  by  the  Commission,  be  a  constant  source  of  instruc- 
tion and  delectation  to  the  laity,  but  it  will  be  an  inestimable  boon 
to  students  entering  on  the  practice  of  architecture.  My  esteemed 
friend,  Professor  Ware,  has,  within  a  few  weeks,  as  a  special  com- 
mitteeman  on  architectural  casts  (appointed  with  the  eminent 
sculptor,  J.  Q.  A.  Ward,  and  another  of  the  Museum  Trustees,  Mr. 
Rhinelander),  supplied  valuable  assistance  to  the  Commission's 
agent,  Mr.  Pierre  L.  Le  Brun,  in  unpacking  the  cases  so  far  con- 
signed to  the  Commission,  and  in  arranging  their  contents  for  re- 
articulation,  and  I  tell  the  Professor  that  he  and  his  students  will 
reap  more  directly  from  the  collection  than  all  others  put  together. 

Permit  me,  however,  while  cordially  recognizing  the  appreciative 
spirit  of  your  New  York  correspondent,  to  note  two  or  three  points 
in  his  communication  which  are  somewhat  misstated.  Obviously, 
either  Professor  Ware  is  misquoted,  or  he  was  himself  under  a 


108 


The    American   Architect  and  Building   News.      [VOL.  XXIV.  —  No.  688. 


misapprehension  (as  he  very  well  might  be  from  his  quite  recent 
participation  in  the  matter)  in  the  statement  that  it  was  the  younger 
Mr.  Le  Brun  (Pierre  L.)  alone  who  persuaded  Mr.  Willard  to  make 
his  generous  bequest.  Mr.  Pierre  L.  Le  Brun,  as  modest  as  he  is 
capable  and  faithful,  would  be  the  last  person  to  make  any  such  ex- 
clusive or  even  any  major  claim;  while,  too,  his  father,  Mr.  Napoleon 
Le  Brun,  the  President  of  the  Commission,  would  on  the  other 
hand,  in  the  fulness  of  paternal  feeling,  be  the  last  to  protest  against 
any  mistake  likely  to  redound  to  the  credit  of  either  of  his  sons,  both 
of  them  once  his  pupils  and  now  his  partners,  worthily  continuing  a 
name  and  reputation  as  much  honored  in  the  profession  as  they  are 
in  antecedents  and  general  relations.  I,  therefore,  as  familiar  with 
the  circumstances  of  the  case,  but  without  the  knowledge  of  either 
father  or  son,  and  simply  in  the  interest  of  exact  justice,  speak  for 
both  as  I  do. 

I  must  also  say  that  Mr.  Le  Brun  fils,  is  not  a  member  of  the  Com- 
mission, as  the  communication  in  your  columns  states;  though,  as 
one  of  the  best  architectural  archaeologists  in  the  country,  he  might, 
with  extreme  propriety  be  so,  were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  Mr.  Willard 
preferred  —  as  he  solemnly  made  known  in  the  posthumous  letter  he 
wrote  to  Mr.  N.  Le  Brun  which  was  published  in  your  columns,  in 
1883  —  that  the  son  should  act  as  the  agent  in  Europe  of  a  Commis- 
sion to  be  appointed  by  the  New  York  Chapter,  A.  I.  A.  ;  Mr. 
Willard's  bequest  being  conditioned,  however,  on  the  father's  being 
one  of  such  Chapter  members,  while  the  choice  and  appointment  of 
the  other  members  —  Mr.  Littell  and  myself  as  it  turned  out  — 
were  left  to  the  Chapter.  The  functions  of  Mr.  Le  Brun,  the 
younger,  consist,  according  to  the  will  of  Mr.  Willard,  in  making 
selections  and  purchases  "  under  the  direction  "  of  the  Commission, 
that  is,  in  selecting  and  listing  architectural  objects  as  alternates  for 
the  consideration  and  choice  of  the  Commission ;  some  of  the  most 
important  of  them  —  large  models  of  buildings  in  their  entirety  — 
having  been  indicated  to  him  near  the  beginning  of  the  Commission's 
labors ;  while,  none  the  less,  large  discretion  has  been  left  to  him  in 
the  matter  of  detail  examples,  and  in  that  of  securing  bargains  not 
likely  to  recur,  when  time  is  not  available  for  correspondence  by  mail. 

Again,  the  Commission  is  not  restricted  to  objects  in  plaster. 
The  model  of  the  Cathedral  Church  of  Paris  —  Notre  Dame  —  now 
being  made  for  the  Commission,  will,  for  instance,  have  the  row  of 
kings  (which  all  will  remember  as  running  the  length  of  the  prin- 
cipal fafade)  in  metal;  and  to  give  an  idea  of  the  scale  I  may  add 
that  these  figures  will  be  seven  inches  high. 

Finally,  in  the  way  of  the  correction  of  errata,  let  me  mention  that 
there  had  already  been  received  at  the  Museum,  when  I  attended  the 
annual  meeting  of  its  incorporators  a  week  ago  (and  a  dozen  other 
cases  or  so  have  since  been  received),  more  than  double  the  number 
of  cases  your  correspondent  mentions,  viz.,  270  instead  of  120; 
while  their  cost  represents  only  about  one-fifth  of  the  fund.  I  will 
add  that  a  personal  inspection  in  recent  years  of  the  principal  archi- 
tectural collections  in  the  museums  of  Lurope  —  and  some  of  them, 
more  than  once,  has  convinced  me  that  before  the  end  of  our  fund  is 
reached,  we  shall  already  have  secured  a  more  valuable  assortment 
of  architectural  examples  than  any  single  collection  in  Europe. 

The  collection  of  casts  presented  to  the  Museum  in  its  first  years 
by  the  President  of  the  Institute,  Mr.  R.  M.  Hunt,  will,  moreover, 
be  an  addition  to  its  whole  architectural  collection,  interesting  not 
only  for  its  intrinsic  art  value,  but  as  the  first  gift  to  the  Museum  in 
this  department  of  the  fine  arts,  while  President  H.  G.  Marquand's 
personal  contribution  of  casts  of  the  external  and  internal  friezes  of 
the  Parthenon  already  forms  the  initial  enrichment  (on  the  face  of 
the  galleries)  to  the  magnificent  original  hall  in  the  Museum  which 
has  been  assigned  to  the  Willard  collection. 

But,  when  I  look  back  to  the  first  days  of  the  Museum  — •  twenty 
years  ago  —  and  recall  (being,  for  a  short  time,  jointly  with  Mr.  S.  P. 
Avery,  its  first  Secretary)  the  answers  from  art  connoisseurs  and 
collectors  which  were  received  in  response  to  requests  for  financial 
assistance  and  loans  of  art  objects  —  all  (with  only  one  exception  so 
far  as  I  remember)  conceived  in  sympathizing  spirit,  but  almost  all 
covering  an  evident  tone  of  regretful  distrust,  and  some  of  them  quite 
outspoken  in  the  belief  that,  however  much  it  were  to  be  wished,  the 
time  was  very  far  off  when  it  would  not  be  mere  waste  to  give  time, 
strength  and  means  to  such  aims  in  this  country  —  when  I  remember 
this  and  look  on  the  Wolfe  collection  of  modern  masters  and  the 
Marquand  collection  of  old  masters,  the  Cesnola  collection,  the 
bronzes,  the  marbles,  the  Egyptian  and  Assyrian  antiquities,  the 
jewels,  the  laces  and  the  score  of  other  fields  of  fine  arts  illustrated 
in  the  Museum,  I  feel  that  these  first  fruits  of  the  Willard  Commis- 
sion's influence  and  labors,  bought  with  Mr.  Willard's  money,  will 
prove  but  the  Alpha  of  what  will  later  be  gathered  together,  and 
which  the  architectural  students  of  the  next  generation  will  have  right 
at  hand  to  study,  and  the  public  to  enjoy;  and  that  though  our 
Parthenon  and  Cathedral  of  Paris,  (the  latter,  as  well  as  the  former, 
now  fast  approaching  completion  under  the  daily  supervision  of 
Mons.  Chipiez),  and  our  Medinet  Abou  temple,  now  being  nego- 
tiated for,  will  cost  us  thousands  of  dollars  apiece  (because  Europe 
has  nothing  from  which  to  duplicate  them  on  the  splendid  scale  we 
have  ordered)  the  Metropolitan  Museum  will  yet  contain,  in  its  new 
annexes,  those  equally  ample  models  of  the  Taj  Mehal,  of  St. 
Sophia,  of  St.  Mark's,  and  the  other  and  later  representative 
cathedrals  of  Europe,  as  well  as  of  the  ancient  edifices  of  Africa 
and  of  pre-Christian  America  which  are  on  the  Commission's  lists. 
And  not  this  alone :  every  great  city  of  this  country  will  have  its 


own  component  and  representative  Chapter  of  the  all-comprehensive 
Institute  to  originate  its  own  architectural  museum,  largely  made  up, 
on  interchangeable  terms  of  courtesy  and  advantage,  of  duplicates  of 
the  models  and  minor  examples  now  being  acquired  by  the  Willard 
Architectural  Commission.  Yours  truly,  A.  J.  BLOOU. 


ARCHITECTURAL  DRAWING. 

RICHMOND,  VA..  February  23, 1889. 
To  THE  EDITORS  OF  THK  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT:  — 

Dear  Sirs,  — •  Will  you  be  so  kind  as  to  inform  me  of  a  good  work 
on  Architectural  Picture-making.  If  you  do  not  publish  such  a  book 
and  know  of  one,  please  inform  me.  Hoping  to  hear  from  you 
shortly.  I  am  yours  respectfully,  WILLIAM  C.  WEST. 

["  Picture-making  in  Pen-and-ink  "  by  Benjamin  Lin  foot,  Philadelphia, 
Pa. —Eos.  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT  ] 


BUSINESS  men  everywhere  have  their  attention  riveted  upon  trade  signs 
and  indications  in  the  hope  of  learning  something  that  will  indicate  future 
probabilities.  Among  the  numerous  indications,  favorable  and  unfavorable 
are  these.  On  25  per  cent  of  the  railroad  earning  capacity  of  the  country 
last  year,  the  net  earnings  were  823,826,960  less  than  for  same  mileage  in 
1887,  and  yet  the  gross  earnings  were  the  largest  in  our  history.  The  public 
profited  bj  the  competition  to  this  extent,  and  this  is  on  the  surface  a 
matter  of  congratulation  rather  than  regret.  The  loss  in  net  earnings  on  the 
Trunk  lines  last  year  over  1887  was  $5, 798,861;  Northwestern  roads,  $13,- 
547,305;  Southwestern,  $4,504,664,  and  Southern  roads,  §178,650.  January 
net  earnings  on  75  roads  reporting  show  a  net  decrease  over  January,  1888, 
of  81,180,580.  Notwithstanding  these  unfavorable  returns  new  railroad 
work  Is  seriously  projected,  and  construction  will  begin  in  the  Northwest  on 
the  opening  of  spring.  Railroad  interests  are  discounting  the  restoration  of 
rates  and  the  adjustments  of  all  differences  which  have  made  such  havoc 
for  two  or  three  years  past.  Great  confidence  is  felt  in  the  recuperative 
powers  of  the  country,  especially  where  railroad  interest*  are  concerned. 
Yet,  the  situation  is  not  a  comfortable  one,  and  very  competent  authorities 
regret  that  there  is  so  much  occasion  to  fear  the  intervention  of  the  strong 
arm  of  the  Government  by  future  supplemental  legislation  to  bring  some 
permanent  harmony  between  the  railroads  and  the  manufacturing  and 
shipping  interests.  As  pointed  out  months  ago  the  crop  of  speculative 
ventures  is  on  the  increase.  The  pig-iron  storage  scheme  is  under  con- 
sideration, and  has  warm  supporters  and  warm  opponents.  It  would 
naturally  stimulate  the  production  of  the  more  or  less  unsalable  brands  of 
pig-iron.  The  iron  trade  is  feeling  its  way  along  carefully,  afraid  of 
accumulation  and  lower  prices.  Consumers  are  waiting  for  business  to 
come  before  they  buy  largely.  The  most  interesting  features  in  the  iron 
trade  are  the  enlarging  ship-building  demand.  The  rail-makers  are  In  a 
bad  way,  and  unremunerative  prices  are  accepted  by  a  few  makers  rather 
than  shut  down.  The  smaller  industries  are  gathering  business  slowly; 
carriage  and  wagon-makers,  implement  manufacturers,  wood-working- 
machinery  makers,  founders,  shelf-hardware  manufacturers,  architectural- 
iron  makers  are  nearly  all  running  practically  full  time,  though  there  is  not 
much  work  ahead.  Shingle  manufacturers  report  stocks  light  in  the  West, 
and  prices  have  been  marked  up  by  some  concerns.  Manufacturers  of 
building  material  have  been  feeling  their  way  along  with  unusual  caution, 
and  the  consequence  is  to-dav  that  stocks  are  light  and  new  contracts  are 
made  at  strong  but  not  high  prices  for  brick,  cement,  stone,  hardwood, 
glass,  etc.  Builders  have  confidence  that  all  probable  requirements  will  be 
readily  covered  this  year,  and  hence  there  is  no  general  anticipation  of 
wants. 

Architects  in  the  Middle  and  Western  States  are  not  as  a  rule  busy.  A 
good  many  builders  in  the  larger  cities  have  not  as  yet  been  engaged  to  do 
summer  work.  A  spirit  of  delay  is  manifest  in  many  quarters.  A  question 
has  been  raised  in  some  quarters  if  small  house  building  is  not  in  danger 
of  being  overdone.  But  the  possibility  does  not  check  enterprise.  Reports 
this  week  from  New  York  architects  show  that  fully  twentv-five  per  cent 
more  work  is  on  the  boards  for  February  than  for  that  mo'nth  last  year. 
At  Philadelphia  the  architect?  have  comparatively  little  work  in  hand,  but 
the  builders  have  been  engaged  to  push  small  house  building  aa  usual.  At 
Pittsburgh  new  work  promises  well  but  is  not  yet  in  hand.  At  Cleveland, 
Toledo,  Columbus  and  Cincinnati  new  work  is  coming  along  and  the  archi- 
tects who  control  work  in  these  cities  have  about  the  usual  amount  of  work 
on  the  boards.  The  same  unfavorable  comments  are  being  made  on  the 
revenue  laws  of  the  State  of  Ohio,  which  it  Is  alleged  tends  to  drive 
capitalists  with  their  capital  out  of  the  State.  Enterprises  connected  with 
the  development  of  natural-gas  and  oil  and  their  utilization  are  forging 
ahead,  although  in  Western  Pennsylvania,  and  notably  at  Pittsburgh,  deep 
and  wide-spread  complaints  are  being  made  by  large  manufacturing  con- 
sumers over  the  monopoly  charges  made  for  fuel  gas.  The  control  of 
natural-gas  territory  and  of  facilities  and  means  of  transportation  are 
generally  drifting  into  centralized  control,  to  the  discouragement  of  those 
who  for  years  past  have  been  counting  so  much  on  cheap  gas  and  the 
position  it  secured  in  the  manufacturing  world,  to  its  possessors.  The  prob- 
lem of  substituting  artificial  fuel  for  raw  fuel  i»  receiving  the  most  earnest 
attention  from  process  men  and  manufacturers,  and  while  definite  results 
have  not  been  reached,  tho  difficulties  have  been  greatly  reduced  in 
number  and  a  very  general  adoption  of  artificial  fuel  in  large  and  small 
manufacturing  establishment)!  is  only  a  question  of  time.  The  slow  jiro- 
gress  is  largely  due  to  the  backwardness  of  steam  users.  There  are  excellent 
systems  to-day  deserving  of  recognition  which  must  drag  on  and  wait  for 
the  tardy  practical  men  to  accept.  The  Siemen's  furnace  process  had  to  be 
practically  given  away  until  its  vast  advantages  became  apparent.  And  so 
of  many  other  mechanical  advantages.  Cities  and  towns  East,  West  and 
South,  will  be  large  contractors  for  gas,  water  and  electric-light  equipments. 
Upwards  of  one  hundred  artesian  wells  will  be  started  West  and  South  in 
the  next  sixty  days.  One  authority  says  one  thousand  shops,  foundries, 
saw  and  planing  mills  will  be  erected  in  twelve  Southern  States  in  the  next 
four  months.  Whether  an  exaggeration  or  not  the  facts  all  go  to  show  that 
there  is  an  unprecedented  industrial  activity  in  the  sections  mentioned,  and 
that  capital  finds  attractive  opportunities  for  safe  investment. 

S.   J.    PAKKHILL  &  Co.,  Printers,  Boston. 


MARCH  2,  1889.] 


The  American  Architect  and  Building  News. 


TK  CREDSOTCSNlHCLE5TAir<S 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.         [VOL.  XXV.  — No.  688. 


Curious  old  5lovfe.Dudswfell.Quc 

On*  ilo/k   pfc*»e«  tmderO<«  partition  «nd    hekli 
1*0  ApArtmentft.  being   fed  from   other    fti'de- 


"Fire-dog. 

designed   by 
~ 


FIRE    UTENSILS. 


THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT  AND  BUILDING  NEWS. 


VOL    X*V 


Copyright,  1889,  by  Tic  KNOB  &  COMPANY,  Boston,  Ma 


No.    689, 


MARCH  9, 1889. 


Entered  at  the  Poet-Office  at  Boston  as  second-class  matter. 


SUMMARY: — 

Report  of  the  Supervising  Architect.  — The  Cost  of  Drawings 
made  in  the  Governmental  Architect's  Office.  —  A  Case 
where  "  Notice  "  to  an  Architect  was  not  binding.  —  Reports 
of  the  Factory  Mutual  Insurance  Companies.  —  The  New 
Tariff  of  the  Swiss  Architects.  —  The  Estimates  for  the  Paris 

Exhibition  Buildings 109 

BUILDERS'  HARDWARE. — XX Ill 

AUGUSTE  RODIN.  —  V 112 

ILLUSTRATIONS : — 

Doorway  to  House  of  John  Peabody,  Esq.,  Marlborough  St., 
Boston,  Mass.  —  Sketch  for  a  Memorial  Library,  Lexington, 
Ky.  —  Store  Building  for  Maj.  J.  F.  H.  Phipps  and  Mrs.  R. 
R.  Wallace,  St.  Louis,  Mo.  —  Ventilating  Tower  for  the 
Presbyterian  Hospital,  Madison  Ave.,  New  York,  N.  Y.  — 
Sketch.for  Stable  and  Billiard-room,  Pelham,  N.  Y.  —  Busts 
of  Victor  Hugo,  Dalou,  Rochefort,  Legros  and  Laurens. — 
Cottage  No.  4,  Watch-Hill,  R.  I.  — House  for  Mrs.  Alice 
Bacon,  Louisville,  Ky.  —  House  of  Alexander  lire,  Esq., 

Toronto,  Canada 114 

THE  POPP  COMPRESSED-AIR  SYSTEM  IN  PARIS 114 

THE  LOTUS  IN  ANCIENT  ART.  —  II 115 

HOT  BATHS  OF  ANCIENT  ROME 118 

SOCIETIES 119 

RESOLUTIONS  OF  RESPECT  TO  THE  LATE    H.  M.  BLAKE 119 

IN  MEMORIAM 119 

COMMUNICATIONS  :  — 

Fees  on  Party- Walls 119 

NOTES  AND  CLIPPINGS 119 

TRADE  SURVEYS 120 


TITHE  annual  report  of  the  Supervising  Architect,  the 
J_  advance  sheets  of  which  have  reached  us,  is  an  unusually 
interesting  public  document.  Taken  as  a  whole,  it  fully 
confirms  the  idea  which  we  had  derived  from  the  reports  of  the 
recent  investigation  into  the  conduct  of  his  office,  that  the 
present  Supervising  Architect  had  incurred  the  unfavorable 
criticism  of  outsiders  mainly  through  the  efforts,  praiseworthy 
in  a  private  citizen,  but  unpardonable  in  a  public  official,  which 
he  had  made  to  promote  expedition  and  economy  in  administra- 
tion. We  cannot  say  that  we  approve  of  some  of  the  economies 
effected,  the  reduction  in  the  cost  of  designs  and  specifications, 
while  involving,  probably,  no  practical  disadvantage,  having 
the  serious  aesthetic  objection  of  tending  to  aggravate  in  the 
highest  degree  the  commonplace,  monotonous  and  ill-studied 
character  which  has  been  so  long  the  reproach  of  our  official 
architecture ;  but  the  mere  existence  of  the  office  is  a  standing 
defiance  to  aesthetic  considerations,  and  Colonel  Freret  is 
certainly  not  at  fault  in  endeavoring  to  administer  the  business 
entrusted  to  him  as  efficiently  as  possible,  and  in  something  the 
spirit  in  which  those  who  founded  the  office  intended  that  it 
should  be  carried  on.  Aside  from  this,  however,  many  really 
useless  extravagances  have  been  stopped,  and  the  very  tangible 
saving  of  three  hundred  and  thirty  dollars  a  day  effected  in  the 
expenses  of  the  office.  Nevertheless,  the  advantage  to  the 
public  of  real  architectural  service,  as  distinguished  from 
routine  construction,  has  not  been  forgotten,  and  Colonel 
Freret  proposes  that  designs  for  at  least  some  of  the  public 
buildings  shall  hereafter  be  secured  by  competition.  In  regard, 
also,  to  the  local  supervision  of  the  public  building  work,  he 
strongly  urges  that  the  superintendence  of  such  work  should  be 
given  to  properly  qualified  architects,  residing  in  the  locality, 
who  should  furnish  their  own  assistants  and  clerical  work,  and 
should  be  paid  by  a  fixed  commission  on  the  cost  of  the  build- 
ing erected  under  their  care ;  the  commission  which  he  pro- 
poses varying  from  five  per  cent,  where  the  cost  does  not 
exceed  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars,  to  two  and  one- 
half  per  cent,  where  the  cost  is  more  than  five  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars.  

IN  regard  to  the  matters  of  procuring  sites  for  buildings,  ane 
employing   outside   assistance   in   preparing   drawings,  the 
Supervising  Architect  gives  explanations  which  agree  with 
those  made  before  the  Investigating  Committee,  and,  it  neec 
not  be  said,  could  hardly  be  otherwise  than  satisfactory  to  any 
one  familiar  with  such  work.     Entering,  however,  more  into 


detail,  he  gives  some  rather  curious  statistics  of  the  cost  to  the 
~  overnment  of  draughtsmen's  work,  both  within  and  outside 
of  the  office.  From  these,  which  are  taken  from  the  records 
of  the  office,  it  appears  that  the  amount  paid  for  the  services  of 
,he  draughtsmen  in  the  office  in  preparing  the  drawings  of  the 
Jnited  States  Court-house  at  Lynchburg,  Va.,  a  building 
which  cost  nearly  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  thousand 
dollars,  was  forty-six  hundred  and  thirty-one  dollars,  or  three 
and  four-tenths  per  cent  on  the  cost  of  the  building.  The 
draughtsmen's  work  on  the  plans  for  the  Court-house  at  Fort 
Wayne,  which  cost  two  hundred  and  thirty-one  thousand 
dollars,  amounted  to  three  per  cent,  and  on  the  Quincy  Court- 
»ouse,  which  cost  one  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  dollars,  to 
two  and  nine-tenths  per  cent,  on  the  cost.  The  amounts  thus 
quoted  as  paid  for  draughtsmen's  services  include  nothing  for 
.racing,  photographic  duplication,  clerical  work,  or  the  salary 
of  the  Supervising  Architect,  or  the  services  of  experts,  and, 
of  course,  nothing  for  local  superintendence  ;  and  the  cost  of  the 
>uildings  on  which  the  percentage  assigned  to  draughtsmen's 
work  is  calculated  is  the  total  amount  of  the  appropriations, 
ncluding  all  extras  of  every  kind,  and  the  cost  of  the  site, 
[n  many  cases  this  was  probably  as  much  as  that  of  the  build- 
ng  itself,  so  that  the  real  percentage  of  cost  of  draughtsmen's 
services  to  that  of  the  buildings  was  probably  nearer  four  or 
ive  per  cent  than  the  two  and  two-tenths  per  cent  which 
'olonel  Freret  finds  to  be  the  average  for  a  long  list  of  cases, 
selected  at  random  from  the  office  books,  and  covering  build- 
ings ranging  in  cost  from  fifty-live  to  four  hundred  and  twenty- 
two  thousand  dollars.  As  an  illustration  of  the  great  expense 
of  making  drawings  in  the  Government  office,  he  mentions  also 
that  the  working-drawings  for  the  heating  apparatus  alone  for 
seven  buildings,  made  in  the  years  1882  to  1884,  cost  the 
Government  twenty-seven  thousand  nine  hundred  dollars. 
These  facts  are  brought  forward  in  the  present  instance  to 
show  only  the  saving  which  was  effected  by  the  letting  of  con- 
tracts to  outside  architects  for  the  preparation  of  drawings, 
which  so  shocked  and  grieved  the  New  York  Tribune  and  some 
other  Republican  newspapers,  but  perhaps  the  new  American 
Institute  of  Architects  may  do  well  to  make  a  note  of  Hpni. 
and  when  the  time  comes  for  presenting  to  Congress  that  um- 
answerable  appeal,  which  is  some  time  to  be  made,  in  favor  of 
having  our  public  architecture  carried  on  as  it  is  among  all 
other  civilized  nations,  it  will  find  abundant  material  for  sup- 
porting its  argument  in  the  archives  from  which  Colonel 
Freret  has  quoted. 


CASE  involving  several  points  of  interest  to  builders  and 
architects  was  decided  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  California 
recently.  A  Frenchman  named  Monnier  entered  into  a 
contract  with  a  builder  named  Harding  to  construct  for  him  a 
house.  The  contract  provided  that  the  building  should  be 
erected  under  the  supervision  of  a  certain  architect,  and  that 
payments  should  be  made  on  his  certificate ;  and  the  firm  of 
Renton,  Holmes  &  Co.  undertook  to  assist  the  builder  by  pro- 
curing bonds  for  him,  and  in  other  ways  giving  him  financial 
support.  Before  the  first  certificate  was  given,  Renton,  Holmes 
&  Co.,  feeling  nervous  about  their  money,  obtained  from  the 
builder  an  assignment  of  his  payments  under  the  contract,  and 
notice  of  the  assignment,  with  a  direction  to  deliver  certificates 
to  the  assignees,  and  not  to  the  builder,  was  given  to  the  archi- 
tect. At  the  same  time,  a  man  was  sent  to  Monnier  with  a 
copy  of  the  assignment,  which  he  read  to  Monnier  and  showed 
him,  asking  him  to  sign  it.  Monnier  declined  to  sign  the 
paper,  and  told  the  man  that  he  was  a  Frenchman  and  did  not 
read  or  understand  English,  and  asked  him  to  come  again  when 
his  clerk  was  in.  Before  any  further  notice  was  given  Harding 
went  to  the  architect,  who  gave  him  a  certificate  that  payment 
of  a  thousand  dollars  was  due,  and  Harding  went  with  it  to 
Monnier,  who  paid  him  the  money.  Reuton,  Holmes  &  Co., 
after  trying  unsuccessfully  to  get  him  to  hand  it  over  to  them, 
sued  Monnier  for  it,  on  the  ground  that  he  had  sufficient  notice 
of  the  assignment,  and  was  bound  to  keep  the  money  for  them. 
The  notice,  they  claimed,  was  given  in  two  ways :  once  directly 
to  him,  and,  secondly,  through  the  medium  of  the  architect, 
who,  they  claimed,  was  Monnier's  agent,  so  that  notice  to  him 
was  constructively  notice  to  his  principal.  On  this  point  the 
court  held  that  under  the  contract  the  architect  was  expressly 
authorized  to  see  that  the  building  was  constructed  in  a  good, 


110 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.        [You  XXV.— No.  689. 


substantial  and  workmanlike  manner,  according  to  the  plans 
and  specifications  ;  to  sign  and  issue  certificates  that  the  work 
had  been  done  in  a  faithful  manner  and  to  his  satisfaction ;  and 
to  decide  any  dispute  that  might  arise  respecting  the  true  intent 
or  meaning  of  the  drawings  or  specifications.  These  were  all 
the  powers  delegated  to  the  architect  by  the  contract,  as  the 
plaintiffs  were  aware,  and  the  matter  of  making  the  payments, 
or  of  deciding  how,  when,  or  to  whom  they  should  be  made, 
was  not  included  in  those  powers,  and,  under  the  contract,  in 
no  way  concerned  the  architect,  so  that  the  notice  given  to  him 
was  not  notice  regarding  or  connected  with  the  subject-matter 
of  ^his  agency,  and  was,  therefore,  not  properly  constructive 
notice  to  his  principal.  As  to  whether  notice  given  to  Mou- 
nier,  in  a  language  that  he  did  not  understand,  was  such  notice 
as  the  law  required,  the  court  held  that  it  was  "  evidently  not," 
and  ordered  judgment  for  the  defendant. 


asks  for  the  best  quality,  and  pays  for  it,  he  should  have  such 
rubbish  palmed  off  on  him.  The  hose  investigation  is  to  be 
continued,  and  will  probably  furnish  valuable  material  for  the 
next  report. 


reports  of  the  Factory  Mutual  Insurance  Companies 
for  1888  contain  the  usual  amount  of  interesting  matter. 
As  might  be  expected,  the  statistics  of  the  year's  business 
show  that  the  continued  investigations  of  the  principles  of  fire- 
resisting  construction   made  by  the  officers  of  the  companies, 
and  their  steady  influence  in  getting  these  principles  adopted, 
have  led  to  a  constant  decrease  in  the  cost  of  mill  insurance, 
and  a  saving  of  property  which,  for  the  ten  years  which  have 
elapsed  since  the  companies  began  to  try  to  influence  construc- 
tion, is  estimated  at  five  million  dollars.     It  is  fortunate  that, 
as  mill-construction  is  brought  more  and  more  into  conformity 
with  the  rules  now  laid  down,  the  investigation  of  the  causes 
and  results  of  fires  becomes  easier  and  more  accurate,  so  that 
compliance  with    the    rules    as    they  stand  furnishes  the  best 
means  for  promoting  improvement  in  them.     At  present,  the 
observation   of   mill   fires    is    very    accurate   and    extensive. 
During  18»8,  two  hundred  and  ten  fires  were  reported  upon, 
the  causes  ascertained  or  inferred,  the  loss  estimated,  and  all 
the   circumstances   of   their  origin,  spread  and  extinction  de- 
scribed so  far  as  they  were  known.     Of  the  causes  of  fire  in 
mills,  friction  or  foreign  matters  in  the  machinery  is  by  far  the 
most  common,  fifty-four  out  of  the  two  hundred  and  ten  fires 
of  the  year  having  been  due  to  this.     Next  comes  spontaneous 
combustion,  which    was  responsible  for  forty-three   fires,  and 
next  hot  journals,  which  caused  twenty.     Four  fires  during  the 
year  were  caused  by  steam-pipes.     Of  the  appliances  for  put- 
ting out  such  fires,  the  most  efficient  by  far  are  the  automatic 
sprinklers,  which  played  an  important  part  in  the  extinction 
of   nearly   all   the   conflagrations    that   were  finally  subdued. 
Next   to  the  automatic  sprinklers,  pails  of  water  proved  the 
most  efficient  instruments  for  the  purpose.     In  very  few  cases 
was  the  loss  more  than  a  few  hundred  dollars,  although  in  two 
instances  cotton,  blazing  from  friction  or  spontaneous  combus- 
tion, was  thrown  by  the  machinery  into  bins  containing  ten  to 
twenty  thousand  pounds  of  loose  cotton  fresh  from  the  bale. 
In  fact,  the  experience  of  the  year,  even  more  than  that  of  the 
previous  one,  shows  how  much  more  to  be  relied  upon  these 
simple   appliances  are  than  the  more  ambitious   apparatus  of 
steam-pumps,  engines  and  hose.     In  one  case,  where  both   a 
steam-pump  and  a  rotary-pump  had  been  provided,  and  were 
put  in  operation  on  the  breaking-out  of  the  fire,  it  was  observed 
that  they  did  not  succeed  in  throwing  any  water  on  the  fire, 
and,  on  investigation,  it  turned  out  that  the  valves  were  turned 
different  ways,  so  that  one  pump  raised  water  vigorously  into 
the  other,  which  as  vigorously  drove  it  back  to  its  source.     On 
readjusting   the  valves  the  water  began   to  go  where  it  was 
wanted,  but  by  that  time  the  fire  had  gained  serious  headway. 
Another  weak  point  in  the  fire-service  of  many  mills  was  rather 
unexpectedly  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  insurance  officials. 
There   seemed   to  be  a  question    whether  the   hose   provided 
for  the  mills  was  in  all  cases  what  it  should  be,  and  a  special 
agent  was  deputed  to  investigate  the  matter.     On  testing  some 
nice-looking  hose  at  certain  factories,  he  found  that  more  water 
leaked  out  of  the  hose  on  its  way  to  the  nozzle  than  escaped 
through  the  nozzle  ;  and  he  learned  further  that  "  linen  "  hose 
could  be  bought  for  less  than  the  cost  of  the  flax  of  which  it 
was  supposed  to  be  made.     On  making  inquiries  of  dealers  as 
to  prices  and  quality  of  the  hose  they  sold,  he  was  asked  in 
several  places  whether  he  wanted  the  hose  for  use  or  to  pass 
the   insurance   inspector's  examination,  the   requirements   for 
these  two  objects  being  apparently  very  different  in  a  dealer's 
eyes.     As  the  bad  hose  is  sold  for  about  one-fourth  the  price  of 
a  serviceable  article,  one  can  see  the  dealer's  interest  in  keep- 
ing it,  but  it  is  disgraceful  that  where  a  mill-superintendent 


E  Society  of  Swiss  Architects  and  Engineers  has  adopted 
a  new  tariff  of  charges,  somewhat  similar  in  its  classifica- 
tion to  the  German  schedule  which  we  described  not  long 
ago,  but  shorter.     So  far  as  the  architects  are  concerned,  the 
structures  with  which  they  deal  are  divided  into.three  classes. 
The  first  class  comprises  rural  buildings,  factories,  warehouses, 
workmen's    barracks    and     simple    school-buildings,    without 
attempt    at    artistic   treatment.      The   second   class   includes 
dwelling-houses  and  their  dependances,  hotels  and  boarding- 
houses,  all  public  establishments,  railway-stations  and  similar 
buildings ;  and  the  third  class  comprises  interior  and  exterior 
decorations,  furniture,  monuments,  fountains,  and  other  objects 
of  the  kind.     For  designing  and  superintending  constructions 
of  the  first  class,  architects  are   paid  a  commission  varying 
from  five  per  cent,  where  the  cost  is  from  two  to  five  thou- 
sand dollars,  to  three  and  one-half  per  cent,  where  the  cost  ex- 
ceeds one  hundred   thousand  dollars.     As  stables   or  simple 
school-buildings  costing  more  than  a  hundred  thousand  dollars 
must  be  rare,  even  in  Switzerland,  this  seems  to  amount  prac- 
tically to  a  rate  of  about  five  per  cent  for  all  such  constructions 
costing  over  two  thousand  dollars,  and  a  higher  rate  for  cheaper 
ones.     For  buildings  of  the  second  class,  which  must  include 
much  the  largest  part  of  the  architect's  work,  the  commission 
varies  from  six  per  cent,  for  those  costing  between  two  and  five 
thousand  dollars,  to  four  and  one-half  per  cent,  where  the  cost 
exceeds   one  hundred  thousand.     This  commission,  however, 
does  not  cover  services  in  regard  to  the  decoration  of  the  house. 
These  come  under  the  third  class,  for  which  the  commission 
varies  from  six  per  cent,  where  the  cost  is  more  than  one 
hundred  thousand  dollars,  to  ten  per  cent,  where  it  is  between 
two  and  five  thousand.     In  all  cases  where  special  supervision 
is  desirable  a  clerk-of-works  is  to  be  employed,  and  paid  by  the 
client,  and  where  a  clerk-of-works  is  not  employed  the  client 
must  pay  for  measuring  up  work,  for  verifying  the  builder's 
accounts,  and  similar  service,  independent  of  the  architect's  com- 
mission.    All  travelling  expenses  incurred  by  the  architect  in 
connection  with  the  work,  whether   in  supervision  or   other 
service,  are  to  be  repaid  in  full,  and  iu  addition  to  these  he  is 
allowed  in  ^all  cases,  beyond  his  commission,  a  fixed  sum,  or 
frais  de  deplacement,  as  compensation  for  being  absent  from 
his  office,  amounting  to  four  dollars  for  each  half-day,  or  six 
dollars  for  a  whole  day.     The  commission  for  work  costing  less 
than  two  thousand  dollars,  in  any  class,  is  to  be  fixed  by  special 
agreement,  and  where  a  design  made  by  one  architect  is  given 
to  another  to  execute,  which  can  only  be  done  by  consent  of 
the  former,  the  compensation   of   the   second,  for  'what  he   is 
called  upon  to  do,  must  be  increased  by  twenty  per  cent.     The 
anomaly,  common  to  sliding  scales  of  charges,  by  which,  for 
example,    the   commission   on    a   ninety-eight-thousand-dollar 
building  would  be  larger  than  on  one  costing  a  hundred  and 
four  thousand,  is  got  over  by  providing  that  in  all  cases  the 
commission  shall  be  reckoned  at  the  highest  figure  allotted  to 
the  class  below,  until  a  point  is  reached  at  which  the  fees, 
reckoned  at  the  rate  proper  to  the  class,  shall  reach  a  sum  in 
excess   of   that   figure.      Thus   the   same   fee,   nine   hundred 
dollars,  is  charged  on  all  buildings  of  the  first  class  costing  from 
twenty  thousand  dollars  to  twenty-two  thousand  five  hundred. 
After  this  the  fee  becomes  a  larger  sum,  reckoned  by  the  lower 
scale. 


0NE  of  the  most  remarkable  and  satisfactory  things  about 
the  Paris  Exposition  of  1889,  which  will  open  in  a  few 
weeks,  is  the  precision  with  which  the  estimates  have  been 
followed  in  regard  to  the  buildings.  We  are  so  accustomed  to 
see  the  actual  cost  of  buildings  of  this  kind  far  exceed  the  esti- 
mates that  it  is  surprising,  as  well  as  gratifying,  to  find  tliat  the 
palace  for  the  exhibition  of  works  of  art  and  skilled  manual 
labor  cost  seventy-eight  thousand  dollars,  or  six-and-one-half 
per  cent,  more  than  the  original  estimates ;  the  Machinery  Hall, 
which  cost  fifteen  hundred  thousand  dollars,  exceeded  the  esti- 
mates by  only  four  per  cent ;  and  the  remaining  building,  the 
Palace  of  Diverse  Arts,  exceeded  the  estimates  by  less  than 
two  per  cent  in  a  total  of  twelve  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
The  cost  of  the  contingencies,  moreover,  has  been  much  less 
than  was  anticipated,  so  that  the  net  result,  instead  of  an 
enormous  excess  of  cost  over  the  estimates,  shows  a  balance  of 
six  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  which  will  not  be  needed. 


MARCH  9,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


Ill 


Fig.  304.      Lock. 
Corbin. 


P.  &  F. 


BUILDERS'  HARDWARE.1  — XX. 

ORDINARY  LOCK  AND  LATCH. 

@NE  of   the  cheapest   locks   in   the 
market,  and  one   which,  consider- 
ing the  price,  is  a  very  fair  article, 
is  manufactured  by  P.  &  F.  Corbiu, 

B^M  ^ji'^j  Figure  3(M.  Everything  about  this 
f^^^^Jl  lock  is  of  cast-iron  except  the  springs. 

The  single  lever,  shown  by  dotted  lines 
under  the  bolt-tail,  A,  has  a  small 

tr>  Wr?^*  .,  7^£  shoulder  instead  of  gatings,  and  the 
V^i^/JI  latch  has  only  one  steel  spring.  It  is 

•^  "%^  _J-^yi  a  l°cli  *nat  offers  no  real  security,  but 
it  is  worth  all  it  costs,  $1.50  per  dozen. 
It  works  easily,  and  is  so  simple  in  con- 
struction that  it  seems  capable  of  with- 
standing considerable  wear,  perhaps 
more  than  a  better  article.  Figure 
305  is  a  more  expensive,  one-lever  lock 
by  the  same  manufacturers,  having 

double  springs  for  the  latch.     The  form  of  follow,  A,  and  the 

arrangement   of   springs   in   this  example   is  that  which   lias 

been    found  to    give    the 

best  results,  generally 

speaking,  and   which  has 

been   adapted   to  a  great 

many  varieties    of    locks. 

When  the  latch  is  forced 

back,    upon    closing    'the 

door,     the    lower     spring 

alone  is  compressed,  re- 
acting against  the  plate 

and  posts  at  B,  but  when 

the    door-knob    is   turned 

in     either     direction    the 

follow  forces  back  one  of 

the  arms  of  C,  compress- 
ing the  upper  spring, 

while  a   shoulder  on    the 

lower  part  of    C   catches 

on    D,  which  is  attached 

to    the     latch-bolt,     thus 

bringing    both    springs 

into    play.       This    would 

be  termed  an  easy  spring- 
latch,  in  that  the  knob 


Fig.  305.     Lock.     P.  &  F.  Corbm. 


can  be  turned  with  equal  ease  in  either  direction. 

Figure  306  illustrates  a  lock  manufactured   by  Nimick  & 
Brittan,  in  which  the  lever  and  bolt  are  essentially  the  same 

as  in  the  preceding  ex- 
ample, but  which  has  a 
follow  arranged  upon  a 
different  principle,  lugs 
being  cast  on  the  top 
and  bottom  so  as  to 
bear  against  the  irreg- 
ular spring-lever  A,  and 
the  latch-bolt  being 
pinned  to  an  extension 
of  the  lever.  The  fol- 
low and  lever  shown  in 
Figure  307,  a  lock  by 
J.  B.  Shannon  &  Sons, 
is  of  much  the  same  de- 
scription. In  both  of 
these,  the  knob  can  be 
turned  more  easily  to 
I  the  left  than  to  the 
by  reason  of 
unequal  leverage 
against  the  piece  A, 
though  the  difference  in 
resistance  is  partially 
compensated  for  by  making  the  shoulders  on  the  follow  of 
unequal  lengths.  The  lock  shown  by  the  last  figure  has  three 
levers,  and  is  catalogued  as  being  hand-made.  In  Figure  306 
the  latch  is  reversible  so  that  the  lock  can  answer  for  either  a 
right  or  a  left  hand  door. 


right 
the 


Fig.  306.     Reversible  Mortise  Lock.     Nimick  & 
Brittan  Mfg.  Co. 


1  Continued  from  page  87,  No.  687. 


The  "  Niles  "  locks,  of  which  Figure  308  is  a  type,  are  all 
made  to  be  operated  by  knobs  having  a  follow  cast  solid  onto 
the  spindle.  The  action  of  the  knob  will  be  referred  to  later 

on.  The  figure 
shows  only  the 
follow,  A,  which 
is  inserted  from 
the  back.  The 
"  Niles  "  locks 
have  the  name 
of  wearing  very 
well.  The  levers 
are  of  steel  and 
are  pretty  well 
fitted,  for  a  ma- 
chine-made lock, 
and  the  springs 
are  also  of  steel, 
the  bolt  being  the 
only  portion  of 
the  mechanism 
for  which  brass 
is  employed.  As 
in  some  of  the 
previous  exam- 
ples, the  knob 
turns  more  easily 
towards  the  left 
than  the  right. 
If  instead  of  the 

Fig.  307.      Mortise  Knob-Lock.     J.  B.  Shannon  8t  Sons          irregular    hinged 

lever,  B,  a  form  were  adopted  similar  to  that  shown  in  Figure 
305,  the  "  Niles "  locks  would  leave  little  to  be  desired,  and 
would  compare  favorably  with  anything  else  in  the  market. 

An  examination  of  the  figures  will  show  that,  except  in  the 
very  cheapest  example,  the  face-plate  of  the  lock  is  screwed  to 


Fig.  308.     Niles  Lock.     Chicago 
Hardware  Co. 


Fig.  309.     Reversible  Lock.     Ireland 
Mfg.  Co. 


the  lock-case  in  such  a  manner  that  it  can  be  moved  slightly 
and  set  at  whatever  bevel  may  be  desired  in  order  to  fit  the 


Fie    310.     Reversible  Lock.     Ireland 
Mfg.  Co. 


Fig.  311.    Three- Lever  Lock.     Hopkini 
&  Dickinson  Mfg.  Co. 


door.     Figure  309  shows  a  lock  of  the  Ireland  Manufacturing 
Company  in  which  all  the  parts  can  be  reversed.     The  latch  is 


112 


The  American   Architect  and  Building  News.         [VOL.  XXV.  — No. 


simply  drawn  out  and  turned  over.  The  bolt-tail  is  in  two 
sections  and  the  outer  part  can  be  unscrewed  and  reversed  to 
match  the  change  in  bevel.  Otherwise  this  lock  is  of  the 
ordinary  type.  Figure  310  shows  another  lock  manufacture 
by  the  same  company,  in  which  the  hand  can  be  changed  by 
turning  the  latch  over. 

Figure  311    illustrates  a  very  satisfactory  three-lever  lock 
made  by  the  Hopkins  &  Dickinson  Manufacturing  Company, 


Fig.  312.     Reversible   Lock.     Hop- 
kins &  Dickinson  Mfg.  Co. 


Fig.  313. 


The  key-hole  in  this  example  is  protected   by  a  small   rotating 
curtain  similar  to  those  described  in  connection  with  the  store- 
door  locks,  intended  to  aid  in  securing   the  levers  from   bein 
tampered  with.     Figure  312  is  another  lock  by  the  same  coi 
pany,  in  which   the  latch-springs  are  of  phosphor-bronze,  and 


Fig.  314.     Standard  Lock.     Yale  &  Towne 
Mfg.  Co. 


Fig.  3  I  5.     Lock.     Enoch  Robinson. 


quite  ingeniously,  though  very  simply  arranged  so  as  to  give 
an  easy  spring-latch.  The  latch  is  reversible.  The  lock  is 
shown  with  a  single-lever,  but  is  also  made  with  three,  if 
desired.  Both  of  these  locks  are  ex- 
cellently finished. 

Figure  313  shows  a  lock  in  which 
the  latch  is  operated  by  a  peculiar 
form  of  knob  having  no  spindle  or 
follow,  but  working  against  the  latch 
mechanism  with  a  lever  at  A.  It  has 
the  same  disadvantage  as  the  "Niles" 
locks,  that  the  ordinary  form  of  knob 
and  spindle  cannot  be  used  with  it. 
Aside  from  the  latch,  this  lock  pre- 
sents nothing  out  of  the  usual  line. 

Figure  314  is  a  type  of  a  make  of 
locks  which  for  simplicity  of  design, 
carefulness  of  execution  and  for  good 

a]  lasting  qualities  is  hardly  excelled  by 
.    ./anything   in  the    market,  except    the 
best    hand-made    work.      The    Yale 
Fig.  3 1  e.    Lcok.^  Enoch  Robin-  «  Standard  "  locks,  as  they  are  termed, 
to  distinguish  them  from  the  ordinary 

Yale  pin  locks,  are  made  with  steel  levers,  and  brass  springs, 
bolts  and  follows.     They  are  so  perfectly  simple  as  to  require 


no  description.  The  best  forms  of  springs,  levers,  and  follows 
are  used  in  these  locks,  so  that  they  seldom  fail  to  give  satis- 
faction. 

Excepting  Figure  307,  all  of  the  foregoing  locks  are 
machine-made,  the  levers  being  hand-fitted  only  in  the  best 
grades.  Figure  315  shows  one  of  "  Robinson's  "  cheapest  hand- 
made locks  costing  $1.25  each,  fitted  with  a  single  iron  lever, 
bronze  or  brass  being  used  only  for  the  follow  and  the  bolts. 
Figure  316  is  a  better  example  of  Robinson's  work,  costing 
$3.50  per  lock.  In  this  the  levers,  as  well  as  the  bolts  and 
the  follow  are  of  bronze,  and  the  latch  is  fitted  with  an  anti- 
friction strike.  The  interior  of  a  machine-made  lock  usually 
is  finer  looking  than  that  of  one  made  by  hand,  as  in  the  latter 
all  the  care  is  concentrated  on  the  adjustment  of  the  mechanism. 
There  is  no  denying  the  excellence  of  the  "  Robinson  "  locks,  at 
least  it  would  be  difficult  to  persuade  many  Boston  builders 
that  they  are  not  the  best  to  be  had,  and  although  the  locks 
are  much  more  expensive  than  the  best  of  the  Yale  "  Standards  " 
or  the  Hopkins  &  Dickinson  locks,  they  are  used  a  great  deal 
on  all  kinds  of  work.  It  is  a  satisfaction  to  know  that  there 
is  one  corner  of  this  country  where  careful,  conscientious  work 
can  command  its  own  price,  in  the  face  of  the  competition 
which  exists  in  the  hardware  trade. 

(To  be  continued.) 


AUGUSTS  RODIN.i—  V. 


Figure  belonging  to  the  Door.     A.  Rodin,  Sculptor. 


<7T  S  Rodin 
rj  had  many 
/  pleasant 
memories  of 
Belgium,  he  was 
very  glad  that 
"  The  Age  of 
Brass"  was  sent 
in  October, 
1880,  to  an  art 
exhibition  at 
Ghent,  in  that 
country,  by  M. 
Turquet.  While 
the  sculptor  was 
living  in  Bel- 
gium, he  had  ex- 
hibited in  that 
city  his  bust  of 
Dr.  Thiriar,  and 
had  received  for 
it,  from  J.  Rous- 
seau, a  writer 
for  L'Echo  du 
Parlement, 
warm  and  in- 
telligent appre- 
ciation. 

The  authori- 
ties  of  the 
Ghent  exhibi- 
tion h  a  d  pro- 
vided two  gold 
medals  to  be 
given  to  exhibi- 
tors from  other 
countries,  and 
Rodin  was 
one  of  the  m. 


The  statue  received  an  especial  consideration  from  the  pen  of  M. 
Camille  Lemonnier,  a  distinguished  Brussels  art-writer.  Some 
months  after  the  exhibition  there  came  to 'the  sculptor's  humble 
lodgings  an  elderly  gentleman,  who,  when  received  by  Mme.  Rodin, 
appeared  somewhat  surprised  at  the  simplicity  of  the  surroundings 
that  met  his  gaze.  He  asked  if  M.  Rodin  lived  there,  and  was 
answered  in  the  affirmative.  "  The  sculptor?"  "Yes."  "Then," 
said  he,  "  I  have  come  to  bring  him  something  that  I  think  will  give 
him  pleasure,"  and  he  unrolled  from  a  carefully-prepared  package  a 
gold  medal,  and  presented  it  to  Mme.  Rodin,  expressing  at  the  same 
time,  in  the  most  fatherly  manner  and  familiar  terms,  his  apprecia- 
tion of  the  talents  of  her  husband,  his  firm  belief  in  the  certainty  of 
his  future  success,  and  the  pleasure  he  enjoyed  in  performing'the 
duty  of  bringing  this  medal,  that  had  been  given  to  the  sculptor  at 
the  Ghent  exhibition  for  his  noble  statue  "The  Age  of  Brass." 
"  I  think,"  says  Rodin,  "  that  this  was  the  loveliest  thing  that  ever 
mppened  to  me.  The  gentleman  was  M.  Rolin  Jacijtieinyns,  a 
Conner  Belgian  minister,  who,  by  the  way,  was  succeeded  by  his  son. 
lie  spoke  as  though  I  had  not  yet  succeeded,  but  should  eventually, 
by  reason  of  his  good  wishes  and  a  little  more  work  and  patience." 


1  All  rights  reserved.    Continued  from  page  101,  No.  688. 


MARCH  9,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


113 


In  this  same  year  the  "  St.  John  "  and  "  The  Broken  Nose  "  were 
sent  to  an  exhibition  at  Nice.  There,  also,  the  sculptor  was  awarded 
a  gold  meJal,  but  under  somewhat  different  conditions  than  at  Ghent. 
The  Nice  authorities  provided  that  those  to  whom  such  a  distin- 
guished recompense  was  given  must  pay  for  its  cost.  As  Rodin 
had  not  then  any  money  to  spare  for  this  purpose,  he  has  not  yet 
come  into  the  possession  of  the  Nice  medal. 

In  the  Salon  of  1881,  Rodin  exhibited  a  plaster  statue  called  "The 
Creation  of  Man"  and  the  "St.  John"  in  bronze,  and  received  two 
votes  for  the  Medal  of  Honor.  In  these  exhibits,  the  press,  for 
the  first  time,  took  a  general,  warm,  and  very  decidedly  varied 
interest.  Of  the  first  statue,  hardly  anything  was  said  in  favor, 
it  being  the  subject  of  both  ridicule  and  caricature.  Here  and  there, 
a  writer  found  something  in  it  that  caused  him  to  pause,  think,  and 
finally  conclude  that  its  author  was  looking  for  some  result  quite 
outside  of  the  usual  track  of  sculpturesque  expression.  "If  it  dis- 
pleases by  its  democratic  style  of  treatment,  we  must  accord  to  it  a 
power  and  intensity  of  life  that  forces  us  to  forget  its  lack  of  moderate 
idealism  to  which  we  are  accustomed.  We  are  forced  to  believe 
that  this  artist  is  destined  to  open  a  new  route,  a  route  in  which  he 
will  not  be  without  followers  ami  admirers."  "  His  '  Creation  of 
Man  '  is  worthy  of  all  praise.  Without  doubt,  it  is  a  striking  remi- 
niscence of  Michael  Angelo,  an  intended  exaggeration,  an  extrava- 
gant expression  of  nature:  this  time,  M.  Rodin  cannot  be  accused  of 
having  made,  as  he  was  two  years  ago,  his  work  from  moulds  taken 
from  the  living  model.  Besides,  the  proportions  are  well  preserved, 
and  the  muscular  rendering  reveals  solid  anatomical  knowledge. 
The  artist  who  shows  such  a  hardy  work  must  really  have,  as  they 
say,  '  something  in  his  stomach."  M.  Rodin  is  evidently  haunted  by 
some  philosophical  preoccupation ;  he  wishes  to  show,  in  inert 
matter,  a  life  that  is  unveiling  itself  little  by  little ;  and  he  has  given 
to  this  personage  the  dolorous  expression  of  a  man  waking  from  a 
heavy  sleep  in  order  to  enter  into  the  sad  reality  of  active  life.  It 
is,  perhaps,  too  daring  to  try  to  express  such  complicated  things  in  an 
art  that  is,  above  all,  entirely  material,  but  when  an  artist  succeeds 
he  is  not  to  be  reproached.  In  any  case,  a  conscientious  and  valiant 
effort  like  this  of  M.  Rodin's  seems  to  me  much  more  worthy  of 
eulogy  than  the  commonplace  compositions  that  appear  every  year, 
stringing  out  before  our  eyes  a  mythology  of  conventionalism,  a 
lying  history  of  unsuccessful  antiquity."  The  "  St.  John  "  was  much 
less  condemned  and  much  more  commended.  "  Another  artist  of 
high  value,  who  receives  no  justice,  is  M.  Rodin.  His  '  St.  John  ' 
preaching  is  beautifully  executed,  though  criticised  because  the 
shoulder-blade  on  the  right  side  is  not  in  its  right  place,  and  the 
action  of  the  legs  do  not  show  that  he  is  walking,  nor  the  feet  that 
he  is  in  repose,  because  they  are  too  far  apart.  But  we  salute  it  for 
its  personal  style,  superb  and  biblic  rusticity,  and  the  frank  and  un- 
conscious effect  it  produces.  It  is  a  magnificent  and  noble  work 
that  our  sculptors  will  no  doubt  examine  with  great  attention,  if  not 
learn  a  little  from  it."  "  The  '  St.  John,"  by  Rodin,  is  a  powerful 
piece  of  modelling;  the  awkwardness,  and,  at  the  same  time,  the 
simplicity  of  this  personage  could  not  be  better  expressed.  It  is 
evident  that  the  artist  is  inspired  by  a  deep  regard  for  nature,  and 
is  willingly  carried  along  in  the  extreme  study  of  his  model.  The 
head  is  beautiful  in  character." 

In  the  autumn  of  this  year  the  "  St.  John  "  was  sent  to  Brussels 
and  exhibited  in  the  "  Salon  of  Twenty."  If  anything,  there  was  a 
more  lively  discussion  of  its  merits  in  that  city  than  there  had  been 
in  Paris.  Condemned  for  its  "  vulgar  pose,  gesture  and  expression," 
and  praised  as  "  an  exceptional  piece  of  modelling ;  a  work  of  the 
first  order,  one  of  the  most  remarkable  efforts  of  present-day 
sculpture." 

In  the  Salon  of  1882,  Ro.Un  exhibited  two  busts:  one  of  the 
eminent  painter,  J.  P.  Laurens,  in  bronze,  and  the  other  of  Carrier 
Belleuse,  in  terra-cotta.  With  hardly  an  exception,  the  first  took 
the  critics  by  storm,  nothing  being  left  unsaid  in  its  favor,  while  the 
last  was  cordially  admired  for  its  workmanship,  and  the  sculptor 
occasionally  called  to  account  for  making  a  head  of  such  passing 
interest.  The  critics  seemed  to  have  become  aware  that  a  new  and 
different  style  of  man  was  claiming  their  attention.  The  Laurens' 
bust  was  a  projectile  that  produced  a  retrospective,  as  well  as  a 
prospective  effect,  and,  in  speaking  of  its  merits,  the  occasion  was 
very  often  used  to  make  up  for  the  neglect  that  had  been  shown  in 
past  years  to  the  "St.  John  "  and  "  The  Age  of  Brass." 

M.  Fourcaud  wrote  as  follows  in  Le  Gaulois  :  "  Of  all  the  young 
sculptors,  I  place  this  one  (M.  Auguste  Rodin)  the  highest  by  a 
great  deal.  Last  year,  he  exhibited  a  bronze  statue  of  '  St.  John, 
the  Precursor,'  old  and  thin,  savage  and  nervous,  and  of  an  incom- 
parable energy  ;  this  year  he  shows  a  bust  of  the  painter,  Jean  Paul 
Laurens,  nude  shoulders,  severe,  proud,  living,  like  a  Gothic  work  of 
the  strongest  epoch.  I  have  respect  and  a  religious  love  for  this 
expression  of  art  integrity,  powerfully  and  profoundly  human.  I 
expect  from  M.  Rodin  such  masterpieces  of  robust  individuality  as 
will  make  everybody's  eyes  sparkle,  and  I  count  on  him  to  make  me 
prove  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  modern  sculpture  outside  of  an 
intimate  human  expression,  of  typical  movement,  and  of  obstinate 
observation  of  the  human  body." 

In  the  journal,  Exposition  des  Beaux-Arts,  M.  Philippe  Burty,  wrote 
these  observations :  "  That  which  M.  Dubois  seeks  in  physiognomy, 
M.  Rodin  looks  for  in  character.  His  bust  of  M.  Jean  Paul  Laurens 
is  a  very  thrilling  work.  His  manner  of  rendering  form  is  rare  in  these 
times  when  every  one  comes  from  the  same  school  where  they  have 


acquired  nearly  the  same  disposition  not  to  learn  from  a  close  study 
of  nature.  There  are  many  defects  of  taste  in  this  composition. 
In  spite  of  this,  one  feels  that  he  faces  a  resolute  artist,  capable  of 
rallying  the  young  who  feel  how  powerless  academical  electicism  has 
left  them  in  the  face  of  the  imperious  need  of  the  truth  which  the 
spirit  of  modern  times  requires.  This  doctrine,  that  they  call 
naturalism,  is  that  of  which  Rude  and  David  d'Angers  were  high 
representatives."  The  question  of  Rodin  deserving  the  Medal  of 
Honor,  had  become  a  living  one  among  his  admirers,  and  the  subject 
was  canvassed  in  L'Art,  in  July,  1882,  by  M.  Paul  Leroi.  He  says: 
"  What  if  the  Medal  of  Honor  is  the  least  serious  thing  in  the  world, 
the  question  of  art  is  the  only  thing  that  weighs,  and  this  being  true 
there  can  be  but  two  competitors  possible  for  the  painting  and  the 
sculpture:  M.  Leon  Lhermitte  and  M.  Auguste  Rodin,  the  sculptor 
of  the  portrait  of  M.  J.  P.  Laurens,  a  bust  that  does  honor  to  the 
greatest  masters  of  all  times.  There  is  but  one  name  to  give  to  it, 
that  of  masterpiece.  Look  out  for  Rodin.  He  is  going  a  long  way." 

During  the  year  1882,  Rodin  exhibited  in  four  different  cities, 
London,  Vienna,  Pau  and  Paris.  In  the  first  city  he  sent  to  the 
Grosvenor  Gallery  "  The  Broken  Nose,"  and  the  "  St.  John  "  to  the 
Royal  Academy.  His  name  had  already  reached  London  through 
the  newspaper  and  art-journal  correspondents,  and  generally  with  an 
intelligent  appreciation  of  the  superior  qualities  of  his  work,  the 
principal  exception  being  Mr.  Kdmond  Gosse,  the  eminent  writer  and 
critic,  who  kindly  suggested  ''the  tempered  sobriety  "  with  which  he 
would  like  to  have  M.  Rodin  handle  the  modelling  tool.  Mr.  Gosse 
disliked  the  very  qualities  that  the  French  writers  hailed  with  the 
liveliest  satisfaction,  and  is  the  only  critic,  out  of  the  dozens  that 
spoke  of  the  sculptor,  for  or  against,  that  presumed  to  advise  him  in 
regard  to  what  sculpture  was.  As  a  general  thing  these  two  ex- 
hibits were  received  in  London  with  the  heartiest  appreciation. 
A  most  enthusiastic  notice  of  them  was  written  by  Arthur  Warren, 
to  the  Boston  Transcript. 

When  the  Vienna  exhibition  took  place,  Rodin  requested  the 
Committee  of  the  French  Government  to  include  in  the  list  of 
selected  works  the  two  statues  he  had  sold  to  the  State.  They  were 
sent  to  Vienna,  but  so  badly  placed,  that  the  newspapers  from  every 
country,  included  in  their  commendation  of  the  figures  a  protest 
against  the  unworthy  treatment  they  had  thus  received. 

The  exhibition  in  Paris,  above  alluded  to,  was  called  the 
Triennial  Salon,  and  in  it  were  shown  the  bronze  copies  of  "  The 
Age  of  Brass  "  and  the  "  St.  John,"  for  the  first  time  together  in  that 
city.  Though  badly  placed,  as  usual,  they  became  the  objects  r.f  the 
most  enthusiastic  and  general  praise.  The  unique  qualities  of  the 
statues  were  distinctly  noticed,  and  their  author  often  mentioned  in 
connection  with  Donatello  and  Michael  Angelo.  As  a  whole,  Rodin 
was  set  apart  squarely  and  intelligently  as  representing,  with  one  or 
two  other  sculptors,  the  highest  note  of  i  rench  sculpture.  For 
originality  of  workmanship,  living  interpretation  of  nature,  and  pro- 
found and  scientific  understanding  of  the  human  form,  he  was 
declared  to  be  the  greatest  living  representative.  At  the  close  of 
this  exhibition  the  "  The  Age  of  Brass  "  was  erected  in  the  garden 
of  the  Luxembourg.  Rodin  was  now  fast  becoming  a  recognized 
element  in  art  in  his  native  city.  The  striking  and  original  char- 
acter of  his  work  was  affecting  serious  minds  in  literature  and  art. 
He  was  making  friends  among  the  best  people  in  these  professions. 
His  exhibits  in  the  Safari  of  1883,  consisted  of  a  bronze  bust  of 
Danielli,  and  one  of  A.  Legros,  a  distinguished  French  artist  and 
friend  of  the  sculptor,  living  in  London.  They  were  spoken  of  with 
the  warm  accord  given  to  his  previous  busts.  Those  of  Laurens  and 
Legros  were  shown  in  the  Antwerp  Salon,  and  were  received  with 
the  same  admiration  that  had  been  given  to  them  in  Paris.  Besides 
several  exhibitions  of  his  busts,  including  one  of  Manon  Lescaut  and 
the  "Petite  Alsacienne,'  in  various  places,  Rodin,  in  company  with  a 
number  of  French  painters,  made  one  in  London,  at  Egyptian  Hall. 
His  list  comprised  seven  works,  the  plaster  statue  of  "  St.  John,"  a 
figure  of  "  Kve  after  the  fall,"  half  life-size,  "  The  Broken  Nose,"  busts 
of  Laurens,  Legros  and  the  "  Petite  Alsacienne,"  and  a  little  group  in 
bronze  called  "The  Children's  Kiss."  By  all  the  London  writers 
these  works  were  regarded  as  the  most  striking  part  of  the  exhibi- 
tion, and  the  point  chiefly  made  was  the  varied  capacity  shown  by 
the  sculptor.  Some  then  asserted  that  Rodin  was  not  only  greater 
than  any  other  French  sculptor,  but  the  greatest  one  in  the  world. 

The  exhibition  was  not  a  pecuniary  success,  but  it  served  to  make 
for  Rodin  an  excellent  London  reputation. 

To  the  Salon  of  1884,  the  sculptor  sent  a  bronze  bust  of  Victor 
Hugo,  and  a  plaster  one  of  the  distinguished  sculptor,  Jules  Dalou. 
The  former  was  cast  by  the  wax-process,  as  had  been  the  bust  of 
Laurens,  and  this  incident  was  noticed,  not  only  as  indicating  the 
care  the  sculptor  took  in  the  reproduction  of  his  modelling,  but  as  an 
opportunity  to  pay  a  deserved  tribute  to  the  founder,  Gonon.  With 
rare  exceptions  these  busts  were  welcomed  by  the  press  with  in- 
creased acclamations  of  praise.  The  Paris  correspondent  of  the 
London  Daily  News  referred  to  them  as  the  work  of  the  man  who 
was  greater  than  any  sculptor  living,  mentioning  other  Frenchmen 
who  were  popularly  regarded  as  the  greatest,  "  because  he  had  more 
to  say,  and  sees  farther  into  life  and  art."  Both  busts  were  after- 
wards shown  in  Brussels  and  London. 

The  art-lovers  and  critics  of  Paris,  London,  Brussels,  Antwerp, 
Pau,  Nice,  Ghent  and  Caen,  had  seen  during  the  past  four  years  all 
the  works  that  Rodin  had  thus  far  exhibited.  It  is  safe  to  say  that 
no  other  sculptor  of  modern  times  h;«l  produced  so  strong  and  varied 


114 


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an  impression,  and  been  received  with  more  admiration  by  the  most 
intelligent  and  liberal  representatives  of  those  two  classes.  The 
only  serious  antagonism  that  the  sculptor  had  aroused  was  in  his  own 
country.  That  had  not  diminished,  nor  was  it  likely  to,  for  it  was 
based  on  a  natural  temperament  as  strong  as  that  which  was  seen  in 
Rodin's  statues.  The  history  of  the  Hugo  bust  is  an  interesting  one. 
Sometime  in  1883,  M.  Edmond  Baziere,  one  of  the  editors  of  the 
Paris  journal,  L' Intransigent,  and  an  ardent  friend  of  Rodin,  and 
who  wished  to  have  him  make  a  bust  of  the  poet,  went  with  him  to 
see  Hugo  to  consult  about  it  and  arrange  for  some  sittings.  Un- 
fortunately, the  latter  had  just  completed  giving  a  wearisome 
number  of  hours  for  the  same  purpose  to  another  sculptor,  and  he 
did  not  feel  disposed  to  begin  again.  But  a  member  of  Hugo's 
family,  who  was  not  pleased  with  the  bust,  was  very  desirous  that 
Rodin  should  at  least  make  an  attempt  in  some  way,  and  as  a  pre- 
liminary step  he  was  cordially  invited  to  come  to  Hugo's  house  every 
Sunday  evening,  dine,  and  study  his  subject  as  best  he  could. 

After  a  number  of  these  agreeable  visits  the  sculptor  brought  his 
modelling  stand  and  clay,  established  himself  out-of-the-way,  in  one 
corner  of  the  veranda,  and  began  his  work,  without  in  any  way  dis- 
turbing or  expecting  the  poet  to  pose  expressly  for  him.  The  bust 
was  practically  made  from  memory,  the  sculptor  first  looking  at 
Hugo,  wherever  he  might  be,  and  then  returning  to  his  clay  and 
working  out  the  result  of  his  observation,  losing,  of  course,  much  that 
he  had  seen  and  been  impressed  with,  in  going  from  the  subject  to 
his  work.  It  was  a  difficult  and  almost  endless  task,  and  the  bust 
was  only  completed  about  six  months  before  Hugo's  death.  By 
many  of  the  poet's  friends  it  was,  at  first,  regarded  as  a  complete 
failure,  but  time  gradually  developed  its  merits,  and  those  who  at 
first  disliked  it  became  its  enthusiastic  admirers.  Rodin  made  two 
wax-process  bronze  copies,  giving  one  to  the  Hugo  family  and  retain- 
ing the  other  for  himself. 

To  assist  him  in  modelling  the  bust  the  sculptor  had  made  many 
sketches,  on  paper,  of  his  unwilling  sitter  from  every  possible  point- 
of-view. 

Soon  after  Hugo's  death,  an  iron  merchant  of  Besancon,  commis- 
sioned M.  Sagot,  a  Paris  dealer  in  art  and  rare  books,  to  buy 
everything  that  he  could  find  in  any  way  connected  with  the  poet. 
As  the  distinguished  qualities  of  Rodin's  bust  had  become  well  known 
to  M.  Sagot,  he  went  to  the  sculptor  to  get  a  copy  of  it,  and  while 
there  he  learned  of  the  existence  of  these  drawings.  The  result  was 
that  both  bust  and  drawings,  eighty  in  all,  went  into  the  possession 
of  the  Besan9on  collector.  As  fate  would  have  it,  in  a  few  years, 
this  admirer  of  the  poet  met  with  pecuniary  reverses,  and  the  bust, 
with  other  objects,  was  advertised  to  be  sold  at  auction  in  the  city 
of  Lyons.  M.  Sagot  hastened  to  the  sale,  and  to  the  comfort  of  his 
pocket,  as  well  as  his  surprise  at  the  narrow  geographical  range  of 
familiarity  with  Hugo's  physiognomy,  he  found  that  no  one  knew 
whom  the  bust  represented,  nor  saw  its  merits  as  an  art  production. 
He  bought  the  bust  for  ten  dollars.  The  drawings  have  disappeared, 
and  not  all  of  M.  Sagot's  perseverance  and  enterprise  have  been 
able  to  find  them. 

Rodin  also  made  two  etchings  of  Hugo's  portrait  from  these  draw- 
ings. Several  bronze  copies  of  the  bust  have  been  sold,  and  the 
Paris  Society  of  the  Men  of  Letters  has  a  plaster  copy.  Xot  long 
ago  the  city  of  Paris  ordered  a  marble  copy. 

It  need  hardly  be  said  that  Rodin's  social  and  professional 
relations  with  Hugo  were  of  the  most  agreeable  description.  At  his 
table  the  sculptor  met  the  most  distinguished  persons  in  Paris.  Here 
are  some  of  his  observations :  "  Hugo  had  the  air  of  a  Hercules ; 
belonged  to  a  great  race.  Something  of  a  tiger,  or  an  old  lion.  He 
had  an  immense  animal  nature.  His  eyes  were  especially  beautiful, 
and  the  most  striking  thing  about  him.  As  a  man  he  was  large  and 
agreeable,  no  personal  pride.  When  he  showed  pride  it  was  outside 
of  himself.  He  always  had  twelve  or  fourteen  guests  at  his  table, 
and  being  somewhat  deaf  he  heard  little  of  the  conversation,  but 
often  in  the  very  midst  of  it  he  would  break  out  with  some  astonish- 
ing observation.  It  was  not  until  two  or  three  years  after  his  death 
that  I  really  saw  the  man,  the  amplitude  of  his  character,  and  felt 
the  force  of  his  private  work  and  impersonal  nature." 

T.  H.  BARTLETT. 
LTo  be  continued.] 


[Contributors  are  requested  to  tend  with  their  drawings  full  and 
adequate  descriptions  of  the  buildings,  including  a  statement  of  cost.] 

DOORWAY  TO  HOUSE  OF  JOHN  PEABODY,  ESQ.,  MARYBOROUGH 
ST.,  BOSTON,  MASS.  MESSRS.  PEABODY  &  STEARNS,  ARCHITECTS, 
BOSTON,  MASS. 

[Gelatine  print,  issued  only  with  the  Imperial  Edition.] 

SKETCH    FOR     A    MEMORIAL     LIBRARY,    LEXINGTON,    KY.,    BY     MR. 
WILLIS    POLK. 


STOKE  BUILDING  FOR  MA.I.  J.  F.  H.  PHIPPS  AND  MRS.  R.  R.  WAL- 
LACE, ST.  LOUIS,  MO.  MR.  A.  F.  ROSENHEIM,  ARCHITECT,  ST. 
LOUIS,  MO. 

TTtHE  building  has  a  frontage  of  70  feet  by  depth  of  65  feet,  is  6 
J I  •  stories  and  basement  high  and  is  to  be  used  for  wholesale  busi- 
'  ness  purposes.  The  first  2  stories  are  carried  up  in  Portage 
Entry  and  Marquette  (Lake  Superior)  red  and  brown  sandstone  al- 
ternating, in  courses  crandled  and  quarry  faced.  The  upper  4 
stories  are  carried  up  in  brown  brick  of  chocolate  color  for  facing, 
and  Portage  Entry  red  stone  for  trimmings,  the  effect  being  uncom- 
monly good,  and  the  unusually  deep  reveals  at  windows  being  very 
effective.  The  interior  construction  is  what  is  called  slow-burning 
or  mill  construction,  girders  composed  of  2  pieces  8"  x  16"  Georgia 
pine  bolted  together  at  regular  intervals  and  these  carry,  on 
wrought-iron  stirrups,  cross  beams  6''  x  12",  anchored  thoroughly  to 
said  girders  at  intersections.  At  right  angles  to  these  beams  and 
on  top  of  same  is  laid  a  8"  yellow  pine  tongued-and-grooved  flooring, 
and  again  on  top  of  this  and  in  the  opposite  direction  a  1  ^"  maple 
flooring,  the  whole  making  an  exceedingly  stiff  and  rigid  floor.  Iron 
columns  throughout  fireproofed  and  plastered.  Plate-glass,  hy- 
draulic elevators,  electric-lighting,  and  in  short  all  modern  conven- 
iences and  appliances.  Total  cost  8100,000.  To  be  completed 
about  May  1,  1889. 

VENTILATING  TOWER  FOR  THE  PRESBYTERIAN  HOSPITAL,  MADI- 
SON AVE.,  NEW  YORK,  N.  Y.  MESSRS.  J.  C.  CADY  &  CO.,  AR- 
CHITECTS, NEW  YORK,  N.  Y. 

THIS  is  one  of  a  series  of  buildings  now  erecting  for  the  Presby- 
terian Hospital.  It  was  recently  completed.  The  tower  forms  the 
main  exhaust  shaft  for  the  system  of  ventilation,  which  is  connected 
to  all  the  buildings  by  means  of  large  underground  ducts  which  when 
completed  will  cover  an  entire  block.  The  rest  of  this  building  is 
used  for  dispensary  purposes,  excepting  the  cellar,  in  which  are 
located  the  fans  and  other  machinery  necessary  for  driving  the  ven- 
tilating apparatus. 

SKETCH  FOR  STABLE  AND  BILLIARD-ROOM,  PELHAM,  N.  Y. 
MESSRS.  WALGROVE  &  ISRAELS,  ARCHITECTS,  NEW  YORK,  N.  Y. 

BUILDING  is  to  be  entirely  covered  with  shingles  and  billiard- 
room  to  be  finished  in  yellow  pine;  to  have  all  improvements  and  to 
cost  about  $3,000. 

BUSTS    OF    VICTOR    HUGO,  DALOU,    ROCHEFORT,    LEGROS    AND   LAU- 
RENS.      M.    AUGUSTE    RODIN,    SCULPTOR. 

SEE  article  elsewhere  in  this  issue. 

COTTAGE    NO.   4,    WATCH-HILL,    R.    I.        MR.    HOWARD     HOPPIN,    AR- 
CHITECT,   PROVIDENCE,    R.    I. 


HOUSE      FOR      MRS.      ALICE      BACON,      LOUISVILLE,    KY. 
CLARKE,    ARCHITECT,    LOUISVILLE,    KY. 


MR.    C.   J. 


HOUSE    OF    ALEXANDER     URE,    ESQ.,    TORONTO,    CANADA.      MESSRS. 
KNOX    *    ELLIOTT,    ARCHITECTS,    TORONTO,   CANADA. 


THE  POPP  COMPRESSED  AIR   SYSTEM   IN    PARIS. 

EVERY  visitor  to  Paris  has  noticed 
the  pneumatic  clocks  which  stand 
at  the  corners  of  the  streets,  and 
in  the  rooms  of  the  principal  hotels 
and  public  buildings.  When  indoors, 
they  attract  attention  by  the  absence  of 
the  ordinary  ticking,  which  is  replaced 
by  an  unusual  click,  occurring  every 
minute.  If  the  mechanism  of  one  of 
these  clocks  be  investigated,  it  is  found 
to  be  exceedingly  simple,  the  principal 
part  being  a  small  cylinder  with  a  pis- 
ton. This  cylinder  is  connected  by  a 
small  flexible  tube  with  a  network  of 
fixed  pipes  running  through  the  build- 
ing, and  these  are  again  coupled  to  a 

main  in  the  street.  Every  minute"  a  wave  of  pressure  circulates 
through  the  entire  system  of  pipes,  and  the  hands  of  all  the  clocks 
make  an  advance.  There  are  an  immense  number  of  these  clocks  in 
Paris,  the  total  on  October  31  of  last  year  being  7,800.  Their  in- 
stallation has  been  greatly  facilitated  by  the  system  of  so-called 
sewers  which  exist  in  the  city,  for  the  main  pipes  can  be  laid  in  these 
without  breaking  the  streets.  It  would  be  more  correct,  according 
to  English  ideas,  to  denominate  these  underground  conduits  as  sub- 
ways, for  they  consist  of  passages  having  a  drain  in  the  centre,  with  a 
footpath  at  each  side,  and  ample  head  room  for  a  man  to  walk 
through.  Even  the  liquid  flowing  through  the  drain  is  much  less 
foul  than  ordinary  sewage,  owing  to  the  prevalent  use  of  cesspools. 

The  notification  of  time  by  means  of  compressed  air  was  begun  in 
1879  by  the  Compagnie  Gdnerale  des  Horologes  et  Forces  Pneumati- 
ques.  In  1886,  the  company,  which  then  underwent  reconstruction, 
enlarged  its  sphere  of  action,  and  obtained  a  concession  for  forty 


)jo.  659 


GHITEGT  ^ND  JUHDING  HEWS,  M«l  9  1359 


BUILDING  roRMAJ.F.H.PHIFPS  ^M"?RR.WALLACE.  gMXWIS. 

S.elioype  Minting  7c  Boston 


.  659. 


flND 


155?). 


1889BYTOKKOR1C;? 


WjlOS'PcLK*  AKCHITiECT 


C. J.ClarKe  Architect  Louisville.Ky. 


9-  1559 


VE/1TILATI/K3-      TOWEt  , 


A1     HOSPITAL 
J-C-CAt>Y   &•  CO. 


Tlroericai?  ^Ircljiteot  ai?d  Building  IJews,  I^arclj  9,  1559.      l]o.  659. 


Copyright,  1889,  by  TICKNOR  &  Co. 


DOORWAY  TO  HOUSE  OF  JOHN  PEABODY,  ESQ.,  MARLBOROUGH  STREET,  BOSTON. 

PEABODY  &  STEARNS,  Architects. 


1; 


o.  6o9. 


DALO.U. 


VICTOR  -HW<3-O. 


-A  '  I? 


.-sr.v/i 


BUILDING ]|EWS,>p«l  9  1559       J|o.  6o9 


COFffilGHT  1889  BY  TICMOR  i  r 


(9 


etch   For, Stable 


COTTAGE    NO.  4. 

To  be  buil-t  at  WATCH  HILL  'R.I 


Hoppin  .Architect. 

Pro  violence ,  Tl .  I . 


Printing (7aBo5 


BUILDING  I 


9  1559       }|o.  6S9. 


COPYRIGHT  1889  BYTICKROR&C? 


r 
•ox. 


x.^7     I — '  . 

•lAeddence-  op  (iiex^lrfe- 

n\s  * 

id^Qifchilccfer 


Htliotype  SrinfiT^  ft?.  .Boston. 


MARCH  9,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  ana  Building  News. 


115 


years  for  the  distribution  of  compressed  air  for  motive-power  pur- 
poses. An  air-compressing  installation  of  3,000  horse-power  was 
laid  down  at  Belleville,  and  the  work  was  pushed  on  with  such 
energy  that  there  are  now  55  kilometres  (34)  miles  of  compressed-air- 
mains  in  action,  in  addition  to  65  .kilometres  (40  miles)  of  pipes  for 
the  time  service.  The  two  trunk  mains  of  the  compressed  air 
service  are  each  11.8  inches  in  diameter.  The  first,  which  is  in 
operation,  starts  from  the  Hue  Saint  Fargeau,  descends  to  the  Place 
de  la  Kepublique,  which  it  traverses,  and  then  follows  the  grand 
boulevards  as  iar  as  the  Madeleine.  The  other  descends  parallel  to 
the  first  as  far  as  the  Hue  des  Pyrenees,  runs  to  the  Place  de  la 
Bastille,  and  follows  the  Kue  St.  Antoine  and  the  Hue  de  Rivoli  as 
far  as  the  Place  de  la  Concorde,  where  it  joins  the  first  in  the  Kue 
Koyale.  This  second  main  is  not  yet  completed.  The  distribution 
to  the  houses  is  made  by  pipes  varying  from  1£  inch  to  4  inches  in 
diameter,  according  to  the  demand  to  be  met.  On  October  1,  1888, 
the  demands  for  power  from  these  mains  amounted  to  400  horse- 
power for  manufacturing  and  trade  purposes,  and  to  58U  horse- 
power for  generating  electric-currents  to  feed  4,200  ineamleseent- 
lanips  and  107  arc-lamps.  There  are  six  central  electric-lighting 
stations  equipped  to  utilize  100  horse-power  each,  and  three  of  50 
horse-power  each.  In  addition  there  were  three  private  installations 
50  horse-power  each  at  theatres,  eight  installations  varying  from  10 
to  25  horse-power  at  cafes  and  restaurants,  one  of  45  horse-power  at 
the  olhce  of  the  Figaro,  one  of  12  horse-power  at  the  Hotel  Meurice, 
and  four  of  smaller  sizes,  making  350  horse-power  in  all.  Air  is  also 
supplied  to  thirteen  sewing-machine  factories,  to  four  ice  manufac- 
turers, to  thirty-nine  turners  taking  about  2  horse-power  each,  to  six- 
teen printers  aggregating  43  horse-power,  to  thirty-five  saw  and 
moulding  mills,  taking  about  70  horse-power  in  all,  and  to  eighty-six 
miscellaneous  industries. 

Paris  presents  a  capital  field  for  the  exploitation  of  such  a  system 
as  this.  Its  industries  are  nearly  all  small  ones,  and  require  only  a 
moderate  amount  of  power.  But  when  the  power  is  derived  from  a 
steam-engine  the  expense  is  relatively  great.  The  police  regula- 
tions do  not  permit  of  boilers  being  placed  on  upper  stories  where 
the  work  can  be  best  carried  on,  while  small  engines  and  boilers  are 
notoriously  inefficient,  and  cost  almost  as  much  for  attendance  as 
motors  of  much  larger  size.  Uas-engines  offer  great  advantages  to 
small  manufacturers,  but  when  the  gas  costs  7*.  a  thousand  feet,  as 
it  does  in  Paris,  they  are  not  economical.  These  facts  explain  the 
great  success  of  the  Compagnie  Parisienne  de  1'Air  Compvime,  Pro- 
cedes  Victor  Popp,  which,  in  little  more  than  two  years,  has  sprung 
into  a  most  flourishing  position,  and  is  advancing  by  leaps  and 
bounds.  In  the  interval  between  October  31  sind  December  20  of 
last  year  there  was  an  increase  in  the  air  delivered  for  power  pur- 
poses of  78  horse-power,  and  for  electric-lighting  purposes  of  2b'4 
horse-power.  Financially,  the  undertaking  is  in  a  capital  position  : 
we  have  before  us  an  account  of  the  receipts  and  expenditure,  which, 
however,  we  are  not  at  liberty  to  publish,  but  which  shows  that  the 
shareholders  will  receive  a  most  satisfactory  return  on  their  capital. 

After  several  tentative  attempts  have  been  made  at  electric-light- 
ing the  Municipal  Council  of  Paris  has  determined  that  the  time  has 
come  at  length  for  a  comprehensive  scheme,  and  in  the  last  days  of 
December  a  concession  was  granted  to  the  Popp  Company  for  an 
area  extending  from  the  Madeleine  in  the  west  to  the  Place  de  la 
Bastille  in  the  east,  and  from  the  line  ot  the  Hue  de  Kivoli  in  the 
south  to  the  grand  boulevards  in  the  north.  This  is  in  many 
respects  the  most  important  section  of  Paris  from  an  electric-lighting 
point-of-view.  It  is  more  than  two  miles  long  and  nearly  a  mile 
wide;  it  is  crowded  with  cafes,  restaurants,,  theatres,  shops  and 
hotels,  all  of  which  will,  sooner  or  later,  abandon  the  use  of  gas. 
The  competition  for  the  concession  was  keen,  the  following  interests 
being  represented  :  Rothschild  (Marcel  Desprez),  Edison  (Com- 
pagi  ie  Edison),  Cencier  (representing  Uonon),  and  Milde  (repre- 
senting a  group).  The  Popp  Company  was  chosen  as  presenting 
the  best  guaranty  of  giving  satisfaction  to  the  public  for  electric 
light  and  power ;  they  propose  to  lay  down  plant  immediately,  it 
being  estimated  that  150,000  lamps  will  be  required  eventually. 

It  is  well  known  that  distribution  by  compressed  air  has  a  very 
low  efficiency  unless  the  air  be  heated  before  it  is  employed  in  the 
motors.  According  to  a  report  by  M.  Joseph  Francois,  the  air,  if 
employed  cold,  has  an  efficiency  of  46  per  cent;  if  heated  to  200°  C. 
(392°  Fahr.)  previously  to  being  employed  in  the  motor,  it  has  an 
efficiency  of  64  per  cent,  while,  it  water  be  injected  into  the  heated 
air,  the  efficiency  rises  to  87  per  cent,  as  by  the  following  table : 

EFFICIENCY  OF  COMPRESSED-AIR,  DISTRIBUTION   SYSTEM. 


— 

Cold  Air. 

Heated  Air. 

Heated  Air  with 
Injection  of  Water. 

Weight  of  air  delivered  per  indi- 
cated horse-power  of  motors  . 
Volume   of    air   per   indicated 

110ft. 
1363  cub.  ft. 

68  deg.  F. 
—  6S 
46  per  cent. 

78  ft. 
974  cub.  ft. 

392  deg.  F. 
32        " 
64  per  cent. 

58.6  ft. 
727  cub.  ft. 

392  deg.  F. 
122        " 
87  per  cent. 

Temperature  of  compressed  air 

Efficiency  of  compressed  air  

It   is  stated   that  these  results  have  been  found  by  experiment, 
though  they  appear  to  be  very  high;   they  are  about.  8    per  cent 
better   than   those  calculated  for   under  similar  conditions   by   the 
promoters   of    the    Birmingham   Compressed-Air  Power   Company. 

By  the  consumption  of  .44  Ib.  of  coke  and  the  injection  of  6.6  Ib.  of 
water  j>er  horse-power  per  hour,  the  efficiency  is  raised  to  87  per  cent, 
it  is  said.  For  practical  purposes,  M.  Francois  takes  the  efficiency 
at  80  per  cent,  and  on  this  basis  he  has  made  a  calculation  of  the 
cost  of  working  fifteen  air-compressing  machines  of  400  horse-power 
indicated  (6,000  horse-power  in  all).  He  estimates  the  buildings  at 
£18,000,  the  land  at  £14,000,  the  compressing  machinery  and  boilers 
at  £84,000,  the  pipes  at  £54,000,  the  air  engines  and  fixing  at  £20,- 
000,  and  other  expenses  at  £10,000,  or  £200,000  in  all.  M.  Francois 
assumes  that  the  installation  will  be  at  work  sixteen  hours  a  day  on 
an  average  of  the  entire  year,  basing  his  assumption  on  the  experi- 
ence of  the  Campagnie  Parisienne  dc  1'Air  Comprime,  and  on  the 
hypothesis  that  secondary  batteries  will  be  used  in  electric-lighting. 
He  puts  the  coal  consumption  at  2.2  Ib.  per  hour,  equal  to  £100  a 
day;  wages  at  £32;  accessories  and  repairs  at  £8;  and  salaries  at 
£4,  or  an  aggregate  of  £144  per  day  for  the  compressing  station. 
The  supervision  of  the  motors  he  estimates  at  £16,  and  the  manage- 
ment of  the  company  at  £20,  the  total  daily  expense  being : 

& 

Interest  and  amortisation 65 

The  compressing  station 144 

The   motors 16 

General  expenses 20 

liis 

AVith  the  assumed  efficiency  of  80  per  cent,  the  customers  would 
receive  4,800  X  16,  or  76,800  horse-power  hours  per  day,  which 
would  cost  to  supply  £245,  or  about  76r/.  per  hour.  If  the  cost  of 
the  coke  is  reckoned  at  one-tenth  of  a  penny,  the  total  expense 
may  be  estimated  in  round  figures  at  one  penny,  which  is  an  addi- 
tion of  16  per  cent  for  losses  of  various  kinds. 

It  is  interesting  to  compare  this  estimate  with  that  made  in  1883 
by  Messrs.  English,  Hannsen,  and  Sturgeon  for  the  Birmingham 
scheme.  In  the  latter  case  the  expense  of  the  plant  came  to  £200,- 
000,  as  in  Paris.  The  indicated  power  of  the  compressing  engines 
was  8,400  horse-power.  They  were,  however,  only  estimated  to 
work  at  full  power  ten  hours  a  day,  against  sixteen  in  Paris,  so  that 
the  fixed  expenses  per  hour  were,  consequently,  greater.  However, 
there  was  a  great  saving  in  the  item  of  coal,  which  costs  6s.  in  Bir- 
mingham, against  20*.  in  Paris.  Wages  and  salaries  stand  for  £4,900, 
repairs  and  renewals  for  £5,000  a  year.  The  total  sum  of  the  yearly 
expenditure  is  £21,000,  against  £65,000  in  Paris,  £28,000  of  the  differ- 
ence being  due  to  the  coal  bill.  On  the  other  side  of  the  account,  it 
is  estimated  that  the  customers  will  pay  for  5.000  horse-power  for 
about  twelve  hours  per  day  during  fix  days  a  week,  or  for  about  ten 
hours  a  day  during  seven  days.  The  average  price  is  put  down  at 
£9  a  year  per  horse-power,  or  about  |rf.  per  hour.  Such  a  sum 
would  pay  all  the  expenses,  and  would  leave  £24,000  a  year  to  pay 
12  per  cent  interest  on  the  capital. 

The  two  estimates  are  sufficiently  alike  to  confirm  each  other  in 
many  respects,  but  the  Parisian  scheme  has  a  great  advantage  in  the 
number  of  hours  the  machinery  is  expected  to  be  at  work.  \Ve  may 
safe'y  assume  that  a  great  part  of  the  power  will  go  for  electric- 
lighting,  for  the  manufactures  and  miscellaneous  industries  of  the 
city  will  only  absorb  a  small  proportion  of  it,  unless  there  should  be 
a  very  great  extension  in  the  way  of  refrigerators  and  cold  stores. 
We  believe  that  this  is  an  outlet  which  is  expected  to  develop  very 
largely,  and  it  will  offer  the  additional  advantage  that  it  will  make 
the  greatest  demands  in  summer,  when  the  least  artificial  light  is 
required.  The  surplus  power  will  be  used  during  the  daytime  for 
charging  accumulator?,  and  in  the  evening  part  of  the  lighting  must 
be  done  by  batteries  charged  during  the  day,  and  part  by  current 
supplied  direct  from  the  dynamo  in  the  evening.  By  this  plan,  both 
the  compressing  plant  and  the  dynamo  could  be  kept  nearly  continu- 
ously at  work  during  the  winter  months. 

The  scheme  is  one  of  very  great  magnitude,  and  will  be  watched 
with  much  interest  in  all  parts  of  the  world.  —  Engineering. 


THE   LOTUS   IN   ANCIENT   ART.1  — II. 

THE    IONIC    CAPITAL   AND   THE    LOTUS. 


I  HAVE   described   the   different  varieties    of    lotus    known    to 
Egyptian  decoration.     That  this  flower  was  its  dominant  decora- 
tive motive,  and  that  it  was  thus  used  as  a  symbol  of  immortality 
and  of  the  resurrection,  and  as  a  solar,  lunar  and  generative  emblem, 

1  Continued  from  No.  685,  page  69. 


116 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  JVews.       [VOL.  XXV.  — No.  689. 


sacred  to  all  three  members  of  the  Egyptian  Trinity  has  been  shown 
from  the  highest  living  authorities  in  Egyptology,  as  it  is  also  clearly 
to  be  gathered  from  the  monuments  themselves.  The  Phoenician 
adaptations  of  Egyptian  mythology  and  art  symbolism  in  general, 
and  of  the  Osiris,  Horus  and  l.«is  cult  in  particular,  with  its 
attendant  lotiform  symbols  have  been  alluded  to  as  matters  of  current 
historical  information.  These  with  the  dependence  of  Cypriote 
Phoenician  art  on  Egyptian  models  has  been  made  apparent. 

It  has  also  been  pointed  out  that  the  Cypriote  Greek  art  of  all 
periods  so  closely  followed  its  early  Phoenician  models  that  a  separa- 
tion of  the  Cypriote  Greek  from  Cypriote  Phoenician  motives  in 
pottery  or  otherwise,  is  frequently  or  generally  impossible. 

It  has  been  observed  that  this  Cypriote  Greek  art  represents  the 
first  progressive  stage  of  the  Greek  art,  or  rather  its  introductory 
stage,  down  to  a  certain  ]>eriod  —  say  in  the  seventh  and  eighth 
centuries  B.  c.,  and  that  it  subsequently  continued  in  this  introduc- 
tory stage  owing  to  certain  Oriental  and  conservative  tendencies  of 
the  Greeks  of  Cyprus  long  after  the  Greek  art  farther  west  had 
abandoned  its  childhood  and  archaic  period. 

In  the  Cypriote  lotus  motives,  whether  on  pottery  or  in  stone,  we 
are,  therefore,  always  dealing  with  forms  typical  of  an  early  period, 
however  late  the  individual  pieces  may  be. 

It  has  been  shown  in  the  preceding  article  that  the  lotus  flowers 
represented  on  Cypriote  vases  occasionally  exhibit  exterior  scrolls  or 
incipient  volutes  which  are  rude  imitations  of  the  downward  curling 
calyx-leaves  of  the  natural  flower,  as  also  illustrated  from  nature  in 
that  article.  Such  vase  motives  are  also  shown  in  the  details  1-8 
inclusive,  in  this  paper.  Among  these  details  No.  8  shows  a  step 
further  in  the  conventional  direction  apparent  in  No.  4,  as  appears 
in  the  diminished  number  of  petals.  In  both  these  cases  where  the 
proportions  most  nearly  approach  that  of  the  Ionic  capital,  the  vases 
from  which  the  motives  are  taken,  are  of  such  a  shape  and  panelled 
in  such  a  way  that  the  expansion  of  the  volutes  and  depression  of 
the  petals  is  clearly  an  adaptation  of  the  floral  motive  to  the  oblong 
and  mirrow  shape  of  the  panel  into  which  it  is  compressed.  We 
have,  then,  in  these  two  details  4  and  8,  so  far  as  vase  decoration  is 
concerned,  a  palpable  approach  to  the  shape  which  a  similar  lotus 
form  might  be  expected  to  assume  when  used  as  an  architectural 
decorative  motive  under  pressure,  whun  due  allowance  is  made  for  the 
extra  conventional  quality  belonging  naturally  to  stone-carving. 

No.  9  is  a  Cypriote  proto-Ionic  stone  capital  which  approaches 
quite  closely  the  general  appearance  of  the  detail  8.  It  is  figured  in 
Colonna-Ceccaldi's  "  Monvments  de  Chypre."  This  work  is  a  post- 
Immous  publication  of  the  student  whose 
suggestion  as  to  the  lotiform  origin  of  the 
Cypriote  stele,  figured  at  10,  was  noted  in 
the  preceding  paper.  This  stele  is  repro- 
duced in  this  article  for  convenience  of 
reference  and  comparison.  Unhappily, 
the  capital  in  question  (No.  9)  was  pub- 
lished from  a  design  found  among  Colonna- 
Ceccaldi's  papers  after  death,  without 
comment  or  description.  It  is,  therefore, 
placed  at  the  close  of  the  book  which  is 
otherwise  mainly  a  collection  and  republi- 
cation  of  articles  from  the  Reeve  Arclueo- 
loyirjue,  with  a  few  similar  inedited  designs 
and  memoranda.  Measurements  are  fig- 
ured on  the  capital  in  the  original  publication,  and  it  is  indexed  with 
the  word  "  Dali,"  the  present  name  of  the  ancient  Idalium  of 
Cyprus.  The  said  indication  of  locality  or  derivation  is  followed 
by  a  mark  of  interrogation. 

If  Colonna-Ceccaldi  had  lived  to  edit  this  capital,  he  would  prob- 
ably have  made  a  more  successful  interpretation  in  detail  of  the  con- 
nection between  the  lotus  and  the  proto-Ionic  steles  and  capitals  of 
Cyprus  than  that  recorded  in  my  preceding  paper,  or,  at  least,  he 
could  have  pointed  out  analogies  with  the  Ionic  form  which  are  im- 
mediately obvious.  So  far  as  the  lotus  flower  is  concerned,  we  have 
seen  that  he  considered  the  volutes  of  No.  10  to  be  conventional 
representations  of  curling  petals.  It  has  also  been  remarked  that,  as 
an  actual  matter-of-fact,  the  petals  of  the  lotus  never  curl  over 
or  downward,  and,  as  the  calyx-leaves  constantly  do,  it  is  more 
probable  that  the  actual  natural  phenomenon  was  the  starting-point 
of  the  conventional  representation.  Colonna-Ceccaldi  had  not  ob- 
served the  vase-designs  in  which  these  curling  calyx-leaves  are  so 


clearly  represented,  nor  does  he  appear  to  have  noticed  this  phase 
of  the  natural  flower.  As  for  the  triangles  of  No.  9,  these  are  ob- 
viously conventional  reminiscences  in  stone-carving  of  a  representa- 
tion of  two  petal  triangles  analogous  to  that  of  the  vase-design,  No. 
8.  The  intermediate  curve  is  a  conventional  or  decorative  modifica- 
tion of  the  central  triangle  of  No.  8  and  related  vase-designs. 

No.  11  is  a  Cypriote  stone  stele  (tombstone)  in  the  Metropolitan 
Museum  of  Art.     The  lower  portion  is  clearly  a  lotus  flower  with 


conventional  exterior  volutes.  The  entire  design  may  be  compared 
with  the  vase-designs  numbered  1  and  5.  Cases  of  a  more  conven- 
tional proto-Ionic  form,  in  which  the  volutes  also  rise  from  the  lower 
part  of  the  capital,  are  seen  occasionally  in  the  terminal  supporting 
ornaments  of  furniture,  as  shown  on  Greek  vases.  Compare  the 
Ionic  of  Mashnaka,  Figure  38  of  this  paper. 

An  analogous  conventional  Ionic  design  (Figure  12)  is  found  in 
an  Egyptian  ceiling  decoration  of  the  eighteenth  dvnasty  (eighteenth 
century  B.  c.)  taken  from  the  plates  of  Prisse  d'Avennes,  and  may 
be  compared  with  Mr.  Clarke's  capital  from  Neandreia,  figured  in 
my  last  paper. 

We  will  now  return  to  the  Cypriote  vase-design,  No.  8,  in  order 
to  compare  it  with  a  conventionalized  lotus  pattern  taken  from  a 
Rhodian  vase  publishe-l  in  Salzmann's  "  Necrnpole  de  Camire."  It 
is  clear  that  13  repeats  the  elements  of  8,  but  in  a  more  purely  Greek 
and  decorative  spirit.  A  still  further  departure  from  the  original 
form  appears  in  the  decorative  motives  of  14  and  15,  which  are  taken 
from  Greek  vases  of  Melos  (published  by  Professor  Conze  of  the 
Berlin  Museum).  A  similar  vase  motive  has  been  previously  speci- 
fied by  Dr.  Samuel  Birch  of  the  British  Museum  as  "a  sort  of  trefoil 
lotus"  ("  Pottery,"  p.  184).  We  have  reached,  then,  in  these  last 

designs  a  lotus  motive 
consisting  simply  of  a 
triangle  between  two 
spirals.  Similar  simpli- 
cations  of  the  lotus 
motive,  where  the  spirals 
do  not  appear,  may  be 
quoted  here  as  analogies 
which  are  already  familiar  to  students,  and  which  will  presently  assist 
the  argument  on  the  Ionic  capital.  For  instance,  the  Egyptian 
motive  16  is  a  recognized  simplification  of  a  lotus  motive  like  17  (both 
taken  from  designs  in  liosellini's  "  Monumenti "). 

In  the  same  way  18  is  clearly  a  simplication  of  19,  both  lotus 
motives  from  Cypriote  vases  in  New  York,  and  the  floral  forms  be- 
tween the  palmettes  in  20  from 
an  Etruscan  cist  are  familiar  lotus 
motives  and  already  recognized  as 
such  in  Greek  decoration. 

Before  beginning  the  compari- 
sons for  proto-Ionic  capitals  let  us 
finally  notice  the  following  conven- 
tional lotus  patterns,  21  and  22 
from  Egypto-Phoenician  metal-work  found  in  Etruria  (Regulini 
(ialassi  tomb)  and  23,  detail  from  the  border  of  a  Cypriote  sarco- 
phagus in  the  New  York  Museum  ami  otherwise  common  in 
Phoenician  decoration.  In  these  last  designs  we  return  to  a  modified 
conventional  form  of  the  exterior  spirals  or  scrolls  combined  with  the 
central  triangle. 

We  will  now  return  to  the  Cypriote  lotus  patterns  which  furnish 
the  starting-point  of  the  argument  in  order  to  determine  what  this 
central  triangle  is.  In  these  patterns  (1  to  8  inclusive)  it  is  clearly 
distinct  from  the  petals.  It  undoubtedly  represents  the  central 
calyx-leaf.  In  all  Egyptian  lotuses  where  the  petals  are  represented 
the  distinction  of  a  larger  triangle  is  given  the  centre  calyx-leaf  as  in 
No.  1 7.  Although  in  nature  the  calyx-leaves  all  curl  downward  to- 
gether, if  at  all,  the  absence  of  perspective  and  foreshorting  methods 
in  ancient  decoration  and  the  habit  of  representing  the  central  calyx- 
leaf  as  a  larger  triangle  in 
lotus  motives  without  the 
scrolls  or  spirals,  as  in  16, 
18,  20,  would  explain  this 
combination,  Thus  an  ex- 
planation is  reached  of  the 
conventional  forms  14  and 
The  central  triangle  is  a 
In 

petal 
Nos.  8  and  13  represent  the 


15  as  related  to   the   natural    flower. 


reminiscent  form  of   the    central  calyx-leaf  represented   erect, 
the  process  of  conventional  elimination  of   minor  details  the   ] 
triangles  have  disappeared  entirely, 
intermediate  conventional  step. 

If  we  now  approach  the  proto-Tonic  forms  in  architectural  ex- 
amples by  way  of  the  capital  of  the  Sippara  tablet  reproduced  from 
my  first  paper  at  24,  it  becomes  sufficiently  clear  that  we  are  dealing 
here  with  a  conventional  form  of  lotus.  The  intermediate  steps  as 
far  as  forms  in  stone  are  concerned  are  all  illustrated  by  9  and  11. 

There  are  cases  of  Greek-Ionic  designs,  of  a  comparatively  late 
date,  in  which  the  central  triangle  still  remains  as  reminiscence  of 
the  lotiform  Ionic. 
No.  25  is  a  capital 
from  a  G  r  e  c  o  -  i 
Etruscan  relief 
dating  as  late  ;• 
the  third  century 
B.  c.,  (from  Cones- 
tabile's  "Perugia)."  No.  26  is  the  decoration  of  a  bronze  mirror 
handle  found  at  Olympia  ("  Olympia "  Plate  XXII,  Vol.  IV) 
dating  about  500  B.  c. 

In  No.  27,  a  capital  from  a  Greek  vase  published  by  Mr.  Clarke  in 
his  article  already  quoted,  this  triangle  has  1  ejn  transformed  into  a 
curve  just  as  the  central  calyx  triangle  is  modified  into  a  curve  in 
No.  9. 

The  decisive  significance  of  certain  proto-Ionic  steles  and  capitals 


MARCH  9,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


117 


from  Cyprus  for  the  history  of  the  Ionic  capital  now  becomes 
apparent  —  in  view  of  the  transitional  character  of  the  art  of  tins 
Island  —  of  its  geographical  location  as  a  connecting  point  between 
the  Oriental  culture  and  the  Greek,  and  in  view  of  the  fact  that 
Cypriote  art  continued  in  the  grooves  of  the  Oriental  Greek  stage 
long  after  the  further  development  of  the  Western  Greek  art.  In 
the  case  of  No.  10  there  are  positive  grounds  for  not  assigning  an 
earlier  date  than  500  B.  c.,  connected  with  the  style  of  the  sar- 
cophagus with  which  it  was  found,  but  the  central  triangle  between 
the  volutes  is  undoubtedly  a  survival  of  the  central  calyx-leaf  of  the 
lotus.  (Not  a  representation  of  the  ovary  as  suggested  by  Colonna- 
Ceccaldi  —  it  will  appear  subsequently  that  the  lotus  ovary  is  repre- 
sented by  a  rosette.)  The  upper  introrse  scrolls  of  this  stele  will  be 
subsequently  explained.  A  stele  (probably  a  tombstone)  of  related 
form  in  the  Louvre  (28)  shows  that  we  are  dealing  with  a  type  and 
not  with  an  exceptional  case.1 

Two  Cypriote  capitals,  also  in  the  Louvre,  show  the  same  signifi- 
cant triangle  (Nos.  29  and  30).  The  curve  which  joins  the  volutes 
in  29  appears  to  be  a  decorative  development  from  the  crescent  in  30. 
Here  the  association  of  the  solar  disk  and  crescent,  familiar  emblems 
of  Phoenician  worship  of  the  sun  and  moon,  or  of  gods  which  per- 
sonified them,  carries  us  back  to  the  previously  noted  connection 


26. 

between  the  lotus  and  the  worship  of  the  sun.  A  similar  association 
with  the  solar  disk  and  crescent  appears  in  the  Louvre  stele,  No.  28. 
Whether  or  no  we  are  dealing  with  a  conventional  survival  of 
emblems  which  had  lost  their  significance,  it  is  immaterial  to  inquire. 
That  the  association  did  originally  have  a  significance  is  fairly 
proved  by  No.  11.  The  head,  which  appears  about  the  lotus  flower, 
is  clearly  seen  in  the  original  to  be  one  of  Hathor  (Isis)  the  Moon- 
Goddess,  where  relation  to  the  lotus  has  been  explained. 

That  the  Ionic  capital  had  originally  a  hieratic  and  sacred  signifi- 
cance is  probable  from  the  engraved  Assyrian  cylinder  published 
by  Layard,  "  Culte  de  Mitkra,"  from  which  the  detail  31  is  taken, 
and  from  the  support  of  the  solar  disk  on  the  Sippara  tablet. 

For  the  Kgyptian  association  of  the  lotus  with  the  god  Horus  and 
the  solar  disk  see  the  preceding  article,  and  compare  the  Hittite 
relief  at  35  of  this  paper,  where  Ionic  capitals  support  the  Egyptian 
solar-winged  disk  —  a  form  of  the  god  Horus  (Pierret,  as  quoted). 

The  presumptions  established  by  the  foregoing  comparisons  may 
be  summed  up  as  follows :  Assyrian  proto-Ionic  forms  are  like  the 
Cypriote  in  retaining  the  rudimentary  signs  of  a  lotiform  origin.  As 
Egypto-Pboenician  influences  on  Assyrian  decorative  art  are  known 
to  have  been  powerful  and  manifold,  there  is  no  a  priori  difficulty  in 
admitting  that  the  proto-Ionic  forms  were  among  them.  The  Assy- 
rian inscriptions,  especially 
those  of  Largon,  expressly 
state  that  Assyrian  palaces 
were  imitated  from  those 
of  the  Syrian  Hittites, 


whose  ornamental  art,  so  far  as  known,  has  mainly  a  modified 
Egyptian  style.  As  all  the  lotus  motives  of  ancient  art  are  admitted 
to  have  been  originally  Egyptian,  the  Ionic  form  is  originally 
Egyptian  if  it  be  a  lotus  motive. 

The  question  may  now  be  asked :  If  the  Ionic  form  is  Egyptian, 
why  do  we  not  find  it  in  Egypt?  I  answer  that  we  do  find 
it.  The  cut  herewith  (33)  from  Rosellini's  "  Monttmenti,"  Vol. 
II,  PL  LXXXI,  is  the  handle  of  a  mirror,  to  be  sure,  but  it 
is  clearly  an  imitation  of  an  architectural  column  and  capital, 
and  the  Ionic  volutes  are  portions  here  of  a  conventional  lotus. 

/^..i.       XT  _         oj       •          J  _  .  ;_*__.        f  i  »       * 


two  materials  combined,  are  to  be  presumed.  Belonging  to  the 
eighteenth  and  nineteenth  dynasties,  these  forms  antedated  any  of 
those  known  to  Assyrian  art"  by  a  number  of  centuries.  They  are 
not  less  than  seven  centuries  earlier  than  the  earliest  Assyrian  Ionic 
forms,  and  as  we  know  that  Assyria  was  an  Egyptian  province 
under  the  eighteenth  dynasty,  we  are  not  even  under  the  necessity 
of  assuming  a  Phoenician  intervention  as  regards  the  transmission. 
The  lowest  member  of  this  capital  is  a  conventional  lotus  bud.  The 

1  The  more  strictly  archaeological  aspects  of  the  subject  as  regards  authorities 
references  and  quotations  etc..  are  more  fully  published  in  the  American  Journal 
of  ArchKology  (Vol.  Ill,  Nos.  3  and  4). 


next  is  a  lotus  flower  of  the  form  most  commonly  known  to  Egyptian 
art,  associated  with  two  lotus  buds.  Above  this  we  observe  that 
form  of  the  lotus-Ionic  capital  in  which  the  calyx  triangle  appears 
between  the  calyx  volutes,  a  common  Egyptian  architectural  form, 
as  seen  at  Figure  37  of  this  paper. 

The  top  member  of  the  capital  shows  an  absolutely  Ionic  form  so 
far  as  tjie  upper  line  joining  the  volutes  is  concerned.  The  orna- 
mental detail  figured  at  12  is  another  instance  of  Ionic  forms  in 
Egyptian  art  to  which  other  illustrations  can  be  added.  The  llittite 
relief  at  Boghaz  Keni,  in  Asia  Minor,  where  proto-Ionic  capitals 
support  the  winged  solar  disk,  may  be  also  adduced  as  an  illustration 
(35).  The  monument  may  be  Hittite,  and  the  art  may  be  Phoeni- 
cian, but  the  winged  disk  carries  us  back  to  Egyptian  influence  and 
the  association  of  the  lotus  with  Horus,  one  of 
whose  forms  is  the  winged  disk,  is  a  parallel  with 
the  appearance  of  the  solar  disk  and  crescent  in 
Nos.  28  and  30,  and  with  the  appearance  of  the 
head  of  Isis  Hathor  at  11.  The  date  of  this  Hittite 
relief  is  probably  not  later  than  the  second  millen- 
nium B.  c. 

The  Egyptian  Ionic  forms  illustrated  at  36  and 
37  are  not  esoecially  remote  when  we  consider  the 
number  of  Ionic  capitals  now  known  in  which 
the  spirals  rise  from  the  necking.  The  instance 
illustrated  at  38  is  probably  Syro-Phccnician,  ante- 
dating the  Greek  influence  in  Syria  (from  a  relief 
at  Mashnaka,  published  in  lleber's  '•'•History  of 
Ancient  Art"  p.  42). 

The  absence  of  Egyptian  lotus-Ionic  forms  in 
the  existing  stone  monuments,  in  contrast  with  the 
multitude  of  capitals  like  36  and  37,  represented 
in  paintings  and  reliefs,  is  undoubtedly  explained  by 
the  fact  that,  in  Egyptian  use,  these  forms  were 
confined  to  architecture  in  wood,  with  or  without 
metal  decoration.  Jt  has  been  abundantly  pointed 
out  that  the  Ionic  capital  was  originally  designed 
for  construction  in  wood  (see,  for  instance,  Mr. 
Clarke's  article).  The  Greeks  simply  imitated  or 
modified  in  stone  capitals  of  wooden  architecture, 
which  have,  consequently,  disappeared.  The  ab- 
sence of  Egyptian  stone  architectural  forms  like 
33  is  thus  explained.  The  lotus-Ionic  volutes  were 
not  sufficiently  solid  in  aspect  for  the  severe  and 
massive  taste  of  Egyptian  stone  construction  and 
decoration. 

It  has  been  observed  in  the  preceding  paper  that  the  Persian  ex- 
plorer, M.  Dieulafoy,  has  specified  No.  37  as  an  Ionic  form  and  as  a 
lotus  derivative,  and  that  he  has  made  it  his  starting-point  for  a 
theory  of  the  Egyptian  Ionic  in  which  the  volutes  are  conceived  to 
represent  petals  bending  downward  under  pressure,  and  the  inter- 
mediate member  is  supposed  to  represent  the  ovary.  My  reasons 
for  dissenting  from  this  last  interpretation  will  appear  later.  The 
reasons  for  supposing  the  calyx-leaves,  rather  than  the  petals,  to 
have  been  the  initial  motive  of  the  Ionic  volutes  are  already  apparent. 
It  is  certainly  to  be  admitted  as  a  possibility  that  a  form  like  37  is  a 
decorative  exaggeration  of  the  form  16,  which  is  a  simplification  of 
1  7.  It  is  clear  that  the  volute  of  36  could  be  easily  reached  from 
the  curves  of  37.  If  any  one  should  prefer  this  theory  of  the  lotiform 
Ionic,  I  will  only  ask  that  judgment  be  held  in  abeyance  until  the 
observations  on  the  anthemion  and  on  its  peculiar  relations  to  the 
Ionic  capital  have  been  offered. 

It  is  true  that  Cypriote  vase-designs  of  the  second  millennium  B.  c. 
are  not  a  conclusive  link  in  a  chain  of  proof  relating  to  Egyptian 
forms  which  are  possibly  much  earlier  as  regards  the  type.  We  can 
only  insist  on  the  persistence  ami  long  established  typical  character 
of  all  forms  in  Oriental  art;  on  the  continuance  in  Oriental  art  of 
initial  conventional  forms  long  after  highly  remote  decorative  devel- 
opments of  the  same  have  been  reached;  on  the  intimate  relations 


between  Egypt  and  Cyprus ;  on  the  rarity  of  decorated  pottery  in 
Egyptian  tombs ;  and  on  the  fact  that  the  study  of  Egyptian  pottery 
is  admittedly  the  most  backward  branch  of  Egyptology.  The  point 
that  my  own  observations  are  the  first  published  on  the  lotus-volutes 
of  Cypriote  pottery  is  an  indication  that  something  of  the  same  kind 
may  be  almost  any  day  discovered  or  brought  to  notice  in  Egyptian 
design. 

In  general,  and  aside  from  M.  Dieulafoy's  observations,  the  signifi- 
cance of  the  Egyptian  Ionic  forms  has  been  disregarded  even  bv 
authors  who  have  published  them.  As  explained  in  my  last  paper, 
all  standard  authorities  have  considered  the  Assyrian  Ionic  as 


118 


Tke,   American   Architect  and  Building  News.        [VOL.  XXV.  — No.  689. 


original  of  the  Greek.  The  only  formal  announcement  of  the 
significance  of  the  Egyptian  Ionic  (aside  from  M.  Dieulafoy)  has 
been  made  by  Auer  in  his  paper  on  the  Egyptian  origin  of  the  Doric 
Triglyphs  (p.  356,  Zeitschrifl  fur  B'ddende  Kurutt,  1880),  and 
without  reference  to  the  lotus. 

Some  explanation  of  the  reasons  why  the  Assyrian  proto-Ionic  de 
signs  have  so  far  thrown  these  palpable  and  much  earlier  Egyptian 
Ionic  forms  into  shadow,  may  appropriately  be  offered  as  conclusion 
of  this  article.  The  only  satisfactory  treatment  of  proto-Ionic  forms 
is  that  which  considers  the  relations  and  analogies  between  all  ol 
them,  and  which  unifies  all  of  them  under  one  point-of-view.  The 
only  basis  for  such  an  examination  is  that  which  takes  the  lotus  as  a 
starting-point.  As  soon  as  the  lotiform  development  of  the  Ionic 
becomes  clear,  the  Egyptian  phases  of  it  take  their  proper  place. 
Otherwise  the  Egyptian  volnted  capitals  may  readily  be  considered 
as  having  only  an  accidental  resemblance,  and  as  being  too  remote 
in  time  and  place  for  any  relations  with  the  Greek  Ionic. 

Another  consideraiion  is  this.  The  study  of  the  foreign  origin  of 
Greek  art  has  only  been  developed  since  the  time  of  Assyrian  dis- 
coveries, i.  e.,  since  1800.  Assyriology  has  'attracted  that  extra 
amount  of  attention  which  is  always  claimed  by  a  new  study  as 
against  an  older  one,  and  all  the  analogies  with  Greek  art  discover- 
able in  it  have  received  the  same  preponderant  amount  of  attention. 
For  the  same  reason  the  palpable  dependence  of  Assyrian  art  on 
Egyptian  and  Egypto- Phoenician  ornamental  forms  has  not  received 
due  attention.  It  has  not  been  sufficiently  observed  that  the 
campaigns  and  conquests  of  Assyria  in  Egypt  during  the  eighth 
and  seventh  centuries  B.  c.,  resemble  those  made  by  Spain  and  France 
in  Italy  during  the  early  sixteenth  century.  In  both  cases  the  military 
strength  is  that  of  the  more  brutal,  more  recently  civilized  nations, 
and  the  civilizing  influences  are  those  of  the  older  and,  physically, 
weaker  state. 

We  cannot,  of  course,  ignore  in  Assyrian  art  and  history  the 
superior  importance  of  the  earlier  Chaldsean  culture,  but  no  traces 
of  any  of  the  decorative  motives  under  consideration  have  been 
found  so  far  in  this  earlier  Chakhcan  art. 

Of  all  authorities  so  far,  Reber1  has  come  nearest  the  truth  re- 
garding the  Ionic  capital  in  suggesting  that  the  volutes  of  the  Assy- 
rian proto-Ionic  originally  represented  the  curling  leaves  of  a  plant. 
"  There  is  reason  to  suppose  that  the  double  helix  was  not  the  primi- 
tive and  normal  form  of  the  Assyrian  capital,  but  was  rather  an 
abbreviation  of  the  leaved  calyx  so  frequently  met  with  in  Phoenicia, 
Palestine  and  Cyprus,  and  that  the  rolled  ends  of  the  leaves 
originally  suggested  the  volutes  of  the  capital  and  the  various  spiral 
forms  occurring  upon  carved  Assyrian  furniture  "  (Plate  70  of  the 
work  cited).  To  Keber's  view  we  have  only  to  add  the  point  that 
the  plant  in  question  is  the  lotus  with  the  consequent  conclusion 
that  the  form  is  derived  from  Egypt.  This  point  he  does  not  reach 
as  appears  from  his  matter  relating  to  Solomon's  temple  (Page  150), 
where  he  says :  "  It  is  to  be  observed  that  the  normal  Egyptian  bell- 
calyx,  without  additions,  could  not  be  spoken  of  as  having  the  form 
of  a  lily,  by  which  name  the  curled  ends  of  leaves  were  usually 
designated  in  the  Orient.  The  volutes  referred  to  must  have  been 
similar  to  those  upon  the  Assyrian  capital,  etc."  At  Page  231  he 
also  alludes  to  the  Assyrian  origins  of  the  Ionic  capital. 

To  a  satisfactory  argument  on  the  origin  of  the  Greek  Ionic 
capital  it  is  still  necessary  to  add  one  point  —  an  explanation  of  the 
palmette  form  which  appears  in  the  Ionic  capital  found  by  Mr. 
Clarke  at  Chigri,  illustrated  in  the  preceding  article,  (American 
Architect,  February  9,  1889)  and  which  also  appears  in  the  Athenian 
capitals  recently  published  by  Mr.  Trowbridge  (American  Journal  of 
Archaeology,  Vol.  IV,  No.  1).  Before  this  explanation  can  be 
offered  the  subject  of  the  Greek  anthemion  must  be  taken  up  — 
these  capitals  being  simply  phases  of  it.  The  demonstration  of  the 
lotiform  origin  of  the  anthemion  will  comprehend  the  Chigri  and 
Athenian  capitals  and  will  react  on  the  demonstration  for  the  Ionic 
capital  in  an  absolutely  conclusive  way.  The  anthemion  is  perhaps, 
bes"t  approached  by  way  of  the  "  rosette  "  and  this  subject  again 
may  be  made  clearer  by  some  preliminary  remarks  on  the  so-called 
papyrus  motives  of  Egyptian  decoration.  WM.  H.  GOODYEAR. 

[To  be  continued.] 


CLIFF  DWELLINGS  IN  Monocco.  — Cliff  dwellings  are  found  in  great 
numbers  in  Morocco  which  are  now  and  probably  have  been  inhabited 
from  the  time  of  their  first  construction.  These  dwellings  in  all 
particulars  are  like  those  found  in  Arizona  and  New  Mexico  on  this 
continent.  A  New  York  paper  speaks  of  them  as  follows  :  It  was  not 
until  last  year  that  the  Moors  would  permit  any  examination  of  the  cliff 
dwellings  which  have  long  been  known  to  exist  some  days'  journey 
southwest  of  the  city  of  Morocco.  The  strange  city  of  the  cave- 
dwellers  is  almost  exactly  like  some  of  those  in  New  Mexico  and  other 
Territories,  which  archaeologists  have  explored.  The  dwellings  were 
dug  out  of  the  solid  rock,  and  many  of  them  are  over  two  hundred 
feet  above  the  bottom  of  the  valley.  The  face  of  the  cliff  is,  in  places, 
perpendicular;  and  it  is  believed  that  the  troglodytes  could  have 
reached  their  dwellings  only  with  the  aid  of  rope-ladders.  Some  of  the 
dwellings  contain  three  rooms  the  largest  of  which  are  about  seventeen 
by  nine  feet,  and  the  walls  of  the  larger  rooms  are  generally  pierced  by 
windows.  Nothing  is  known  as  to  who  these  cave-dwellers  were. — 
Exchange. 

1  "History  of  Ancient  Art";  translated  by  Joseph  Tb.acb.er  Clarke.    Harper  & 


HOT  BATHS  OF  ANCIENT  ROME.5 

HERE  is  no  ancient 
treatise  extant  on 
the  hot  baths  of 
Rome,  nor  on  their  meth- 
ods of  bathing.  Celsus 
and  Galen,  being  physi- 
cians, naturally  only  treat 
of  the  bath  as  forming 
part  of  the  treatment  in 
cases  of  disease.  We 
gather,  however,  that  the 
methods  were  much  like 
those  adopted  in  our 
Turkish  baths  ;  some 
went  gradually  from  the 
warm  room,  through  the 
hot,  into  the  laconicum; 
and  some  began  with  the 
laconicum  and  went  grad- 
ually through  the  cooler 
rooms,  and  in  both  cases 

The  Pope'.  Loggia,  Si.na,  Italy.  then  took   tlie  colj   bat1'- 

And  much  of  the  bathing 

was  done  by  having  buckets  of  water  of  different  temperatures  poured 
over  the  bathers.  Some  were  oiled  before  they  began  to  bathe,  some 
during  the  process  as  well,  and  all  were  so  after  it ;  some,  of  course, 
with  perfumed  oil  or  unguents.  Julius  Caesar  left  3,000,000  pounds 
of  oil  annually  to  the  bathers  of  Rome.  Before  the  final  unction  they 
had  been  strigilled  and  shaved. 

In  Lucian,  who  lived  in  the  time  of  the  Antonines,  there  is  a  de- 
scription of  a  public  bath  built  by  Hippias,  an  architect,  and  a  friend 
of  Lucian.  In  it  there  is  no  mention  of  the  laconicum,  but  it  gives 
us  some  notion  of  the  way  of  bathing,  though  this  bath  was  probably 
very  insignificant  as  compared  with  the  vast  Roman  Therma. 
"After  you  have  passed  a  lofty  vestibule,  to  which  you  ascend  by  a 
flight  of  steps  of  an  easy  ascent,  you  enter  a  spacious  hall,  proper  for 
attendants  to  wait  in.  To  the  left* are  rooms  set  apart  for  the  company 
before  they  leave  the  baths,  the  most  elegant  and  cheerful  of  any. 
As  you  advance  you  enter  a  room,  not  wanted  in  the  baths,  but 
appropriated  to  the  more  opulent ;  after  which,  on  both  sides,  are 
places  for  your  clothes.  The  middle  of  this  room  is  exceedingly 
lofty,  very  light,  and  contains  three  lavacra  of  cold  water,  ornamented 
with  Lacedemonian  marble ;  in  the  same  room  are  marble  images  of 
ancient  work,  one  of  Health  and  another  of  ^sculapius.  As  you  go 
out  of  the  room,  through  an  oblong,  vaulted  passage,  the  house  grows 
sensibly  warmer,  although  the  heat  is  far  from  being  disagreeable ; 
this  passage  leads  to  a  very  light  chamber  on  the  right  hand,  where 
you  may  be  supplied  with  unguents;  this  room,  likewise,  has  a  com- 
munication with  the  Palaestra,  and  both  sides  of  the  door  are  cased 
with  Phrygian  marble. 

"  The  next  apartment  is  the  most  beautiful  of  any  yet  mentioned, 
eing  resplendent  with  Phrygian  marble  to  the  very  ceiling ;  in  it 
ire  many  conveniences  for  sitting;  it  is  also  sufficiently  extensive 
or  walking  or  taking  exercise.  On  going  out  you  enter  a  hot 
jassage,  long  enough  for  a  race,  and  encrusted  with  Numidian 
marble,  which  leads  you  to  a  very  elegant  and  light  room,  painted  of 
a  purple  color ;  in  it  are  three  warm  baths.  After  having  bathed 
)-ou  need  not  return  by  the  same  way  you  came,  but  slowly  by  a 
shorter  way,  which  brings  you  to  the  cold  bath  through  a  warm  room, 
gradually  decreasing  in  heat.  All  these  rooms  are  exceedingly  well 
ighted  from  the  top. 

"  Hippias  has  wisely  constructed  the  room  which  contains  the  cold 
>ath  so  as  to  front  the  north  ;  the  other  apartments,  which  require 
a  greater  degree  of  heat,  he  has  exposed  to  the  south,  southeast,  and 
west." 

The  Romans  had  no  thermometer,  so  we  cannot  tell  what  the 
precise  heat  was,  but  the  water  seems  to  have  been  hot. 

Athenaeus  gives  the  following  lines  (lib.  1,  cap.  32) : 

"  Plague  take  the  bath  !  just  pee  the  plight 

In  which  the  thing  has  left  me  ; 
It  seems  t'have  boil  d  me  up,  and  quite 

Of  strength  and  nerve  bereft  me. 
Don't  touch  me,  curct  was  he  who  taught  a 

Man  to  soak  in  boiling  water." 

That  stoic  philosopher,  Seneca,  whose  business  Macaulay  describes 
s  being  "  to  declaim  in  praise  of  poverty,  with  two  millions  out  at 
sury  ;  to  meditate  epigrammatic  conceits  about  the  evils  of  luxury 
n  gardens  which  moved  the  envy  of  sovereigns ;  to  rant  about  liberty 

while  fawning  on  the  insolent  and  pampered  freedmen  of  a  tyrant ; 
o  celebrate  the  divine  beauty  of  virtue  with  the  same  pen  which  had 
ust  before  written  a  defence  of  the  murder  of  a  mother  by  her  son,* 

was  very  severe  on  the  heat  of  the  water  in  the  baths,  and  says  :  "  It 
s  hot  enough  to  boil  a  naughty  slave  in." 

Both  Martial  and  Celsus  describe  the  heat  of  the  laconicum  as  dry 
leat.  If  the  heat  was  anything  like  that  of  our  Turkish  baths,  from 

230°  to  300°  Fahrenheit,  and  there  were  water  in  it,  the  bathers 

would,  I  should  think,  have  been  scalded  to  death  with  the  steam. 


»  Extract  from  a  lecture  before  the  students  of   the  Koyal  Academy  by  Pro- 
essor  Aitchison. 

'  Lord  Bacon,"  Macaulay's  Essays. 


MARCH  9,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


119 


I  read  an  account  of  a  fire-king  at  a  country-fair  who  remained  in 
a  hot-room  till  a  fowl  was  cooked,  and  then  ate  it.  A  chemist  who 
happened  to  be  there,  and  had  ascertained  that  there  was  no  trick, 
thought  it  over,  and  concluded  that  the  heat  was  possible  to  be  borne 
from  the  air  being  dry ;  next  day  he  inserted  unseen  a  bowl  of  water, 
and  shortly  afterwards  the  fire-king  burst  open  the  door,  half  scalded 
to  death. 

The  recesses  round  the  laconicum,  i.  e.,  in  the  thickness  of  the 
wall,  are  paved  and  lined  with  white  marble  slabs,  and  have  seats. 
One  that  remains  looks  like  a  water-bath,  though  I  saw  no  exit,  but 
some  believe  that  they  contained  no  water,  but  were  used  by  old 
bathers,  who  could,  not  get  heat  enough  in  the  room  ;  for  they  must 
have  been  hotter,  as,  in  addition  to  the  hanging-floor,  the  walls  were 
lined  with  flue-pipes.  In  Pliny  the  Younger's  letter  to  Romanus  he 
tells  us  that  Macedo,  a  person  of  Prtetorian  rank,  whose  father  was 
a  slave,  was  trampled  to  death  by  his  servants,  who  "threw  him 
upon  the  burning  pavement  of  the  hot  bath  to  try  if  there  was  any 
remaining  life  in  him." 

Many  think  that  the  Roman  method  of  bathing  is  still  adhered  to 
in  the  East.  I  can  give  you  my  experience  of  bathing  in  one  of 
those  in  Cairo,  and  I  trust  that  the  ancient  Roman  ones  were  not  so 
offensive  to  the  sense  of  smell. 

I  was  first  ushered  into  a  vast  hall,  lit  by  a  lantern,  with  a  raised 
seat  for  the  bath-keeper  and  a  baltlachino  over  the  coffee-stove,  with 
a  fountain  in  the  middle  of  the  hall.  The  whole  hall  was  gorgeously 
painted,  and  had  towels  drying  on  the  tie-beams,  which  the  attend- 
ants hung  up  and  took  down  by  means  of  long  bamboo  poles.  A 
little  above  the  main  floor  were  a  series  of  carpeted  compartments, 
each  as  big  as  a  small  room.  Here  I  undressed  and  wrapped  myself 
in  cloths,  while  my  interpreter  folded  up  my  clothes  and  tied  them 
up  in  a  sheet.  I  was  then  led  by  an  attendant  across  the  hall  to  a 
dark  passage,  and  was  ushered  into  a  darkish  hot  room,  where  I  sat 
on  a  marble  seat,  and  I  was  gradually  moved  from  room  to  room, 
each  of  which  was  hotter  than  the  last,  until  1  was  taken  into  a  light- 
domed  room,  with  a  central  peristyle,  in  the  middle  of  which  was  a 
large  steaming  tank  of  water,  with  steps  running  down  into  the  water. 
The  walls  were  lined  with  white  marble,  inlaid  with  colored  ones  in 
patterns ;  the  domed  porticos  of  the  peristyle  were  plastered  and  lit 
by  star-shaped  openings,  several  in  each  dome,  the  space  between 
each  arch  and  the  wall  being  domed. 

Within  the  marble  margin  of  the  bath  was  a  gutter.  I  was  laid 
down  at  the  side  of  it,  rubbed  with  a  horFehair  glove,  and  then 
soaped  over  and  scraped  with  a  sort  of  artificial  sponge,  composed 
of  dried  grass  resembling  diminutive  bamboo.  I  was  then  washed  by 
hot  water  being  poured  over  me  from  a  large  copper  cup,  and  when 
this  was  finished  I  was  made  to  walk  down  the  first  step  and  sit 
down  with  my  legs  in  the  water,  which  was  nearly  scalding.  I  was 
then  made  to  sit  lower  and  lower,  till  I  was  up  to  my  middle;  the 
attendant  then  went  into  the  bath,  caught  hold  of  my  hands,  and 
jumped  me  into  the  hot  water,  and  put  my  head  under  it  several 
times.  I  was  taken  back  by  the  passage  into  another  darkish  room, 
where  two  marble  basins,  projecting  fiom  the  wall,  were  running 
over  with  hot  and  cold  water ;  water  was  dashed  over  me  from  a 
cup,  at  first  hot,  afterwards  tepid,  and  at  last  quite  cold,  and  I  was 
then  led  back  to  the  place  where  I  undressed.  I  was  then  dry- 
shampooed,  and  every  joint  in  my  body  cracked,  including  my  back- 
bone, both  backward  and  sideways. 

The  Esryptians  had  their  heads  shaved,  their  beards  combed,  their 
nails  cut,  and  their  feet  rasped.  After  my  dry-shampooing  I  was 
covered  up,  laid  on  a  cushion,  given  a  cup  of  black  coffee  and  a 
narghiley.  I  felt  quite  refreshed  and  ready  for  dinner,  though  I  had 
started  at  2  A.  M.  that  day,  and  been  up  the  big  Pyramid  and  into 
the  King  and  Queen's  chamber,  and  had  a  long  ride  back. 

As  I  think  we  know  enough  about  the  exercises,  and  all  I  can  tell 
you  about  the  method  of  bathing,  I  will  go  back  to  the  plan. 


YOUNG    MEN'S   CHRISTIAN   ASSOCIATION,    NEW    YORK. 

TITHE  Library  Committee  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
J 1 1  tion  of  New  York  invited,  on  Washington's  Birthday,  the  archi- 
tects and  students  of  the  architectural  schools  of  the  city,  to  an 
exhibition  of  books  contained  in  their  library,  on  architecture  and 
the  decorative  arts.  The  exhibit  was  from  11  to  5,  and  during 
those  hours  several  hundred  visited  the  library.  Much  surprise  was 
expressed  at  the  extent  and  richness  of  the  collection.  Only  a 
partial  display  of  the  books  could  be  made,  as  the  capacity  of  the 
tables  was  not  sufficient  for  all.  The  library  contains  about  600 
volumes,  in  the  two  sections  exhibited ;  450  in  the  line  of  architec- 
ture, of  which  upwards  of  350  are  folio  and  quarto  volumes,  and  118 
volumes  of  folios  in  the  decorative  arts. 

The  collection  embraces  works  on  architecture  by  Pugin,  Albert!, 
Gailhabaud,  Fergusson,  Viollet-le-Duc,  Ruskin,  Vitruvius,  Street, 
Britton,  Daly,  Rickman ;  and  on  decoration  by  Prignot,  Berian, 
Audsley,  Claessen,  Dresser,  Day,  Jacobstahl  ("  Die  Grammatik  der 
Ornamenle  ")  Li^nard,  Daly,  Gerlach,  Pugin,  Shaw,  Adrouet. 
There  is  a  complete  set  of  the  American  Architect  in  the  library  and 
of  the  Revue  des  Arts  Decoratifs. 


BOSTON    ARCHITECTURAL    CLUB. 

THE  Boston  Architectural  Club  held  its  fortnightly  conversazione 
Thursday  evening,  February  28,  at  the  club-rooms,  6  Hamilton 
Place. 

The  subject  of  the  evening  was  "Architectural  Travelling  in 
Europe." 

Mr.  Peabody  read  notes  of  his  travels  in  England. 

Mr.  Newton  traced  the  best  routes  through  Spain,  indicating 
where  to  depart  from  the  usual  paths  to  advantage. 

Mr.  Andrews  described  the  various  changes  and  influences  in  the 
architecture  of  France,  and  pointed  out  where  they  are  the  most 
clearly  distinguished,  leaving  to  the  student  the  choice  of  the  locality 
appealing  to  his  individual  taste. 

Mr.  Bacon  described  the  more  convenient  ways  of  reaching 
Athens  and  Olympia,  and  Mr.  Walker  dwelt  at  some  length  on 
Italy  and  what  to  see  there. 

The  discussion  was  closed  by  Mr.  Blackall  who  gave  some  details 
of  necessary  expenses,  etc. 

The  water-color  exhibition  by  members  of  the  Club  closed 
February  27,  and  was  well  attended. 

The  principal  exhibitors  were :  E.  C.  Cabot,  F.  II.  Bacon,  C.  H. 
Walker,  Ross  Turner,  R.  A.  Cram,  R.  C.  Sturgis,  and  included 
sketches  abroad  and  many  drawings  of  local  interest. 

RESOLUTIONS  OF  RESPECT  TO  THE  LATE  H.  M. 

BLAKE. 

Whereas,  in  the  inscrutable  ways  of  an  all-wise  Providence,  our 
Superintendent  has  been  removed  from  us  by  sudden  death,  we, 
associated  with  him,  desiring  to  express  our  deep  sympathy  with  his 
wife  and  family  in  their  affliction,  do  unite  in  this  expression  of  our 
warm  regard  for  him,  and  deplore  deeply  his  death. 

Words  are  inadequate  to  express  our  sorrow,  and  language  cannot 
console  in  this  sad  bereavement,  but  we  cannot  refrain  from  some 
expression,  and  so  convey  this,  our  sympathy,  as  best  we  can.  May 
He  "Who  doeth  all  things  well "  have  ever  in  His  keeping  the  wife 
and  children  left  behind,  and  raise  up  many  and  warm  friends  who 
will  care  for  the  widow  and  fatherless. 

Be  it  resolved,  that  a  copy  of  the  above  resolutions,  adopted  at  a 
meeting  of  the  employe's  of  the  late  Howard  M.  Blake,  be  forwarded 
to  his  family  and  near  relatives,  and  that  they  be  inserted  in  the 
Boston  Herald  and  American  Architect.  D.  W.  GRAY. 

For  the  employes  of  the  deceased. 

IN   MEMORIAM. 

JAMES  HOWARD  SPRUANCE,  a  young  architect  of  Philadelphia, 
who  recently  won  a  prize  for  design  in  a  competition  at  the  Philadel- 
phia Chapter,  A.  I.  A.,  died  at  Denver,  Colorado,  on  February  22, 
in  his  twenty-third  year.  He  was  buried  from  the  residence  of  his 
parents,  James  W.  and  Fannie  C.  Spruance,  near  Smyrna,  Delaware, 
on  Thursday,  February  28,  at  1  P.  M. 


FEES  ON  PARTY-WALLS. 

KANSAS  CITY.  Mo.,  February  21,  1889. 
To  THE  EDITORS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT  :  — 

Dear  Sirs,  —  If  an  architect  contracts  with  a  client  to  furnish 
general  drawings,  specifications  and  details  for  a  store  building  at 
the  usual  rate  per  cent  on  the  cost  of  the  completed  building,  on  one 
or  both  sides  of  which  is  a  party-wall  in  place,  one-half  of  which  it  is 
expected  will  be  used  and  paid  for  by"  the  client,  is  it  usual  and 
customary  to  include  the  value  of  such  half  of  party-walls  in  the  cost 
of  the  completed  building  in  computing  the  architect's  fees  when  it 
is  not  specifically  mentioned  in  the  contract?  Can  you  cite  any 
legal  decision  in  which  the  architect  is  allowed  for  the  value  of  party- 
walls  in  arriving  at  the  amount  of  his  fees?  If  you  will  do  me  the 
favor  to  answer,  it  may  be  of  interest  to  others  in  the  profession. 

Yours  truly,  A.  V.  B. 

[IT  is  usual,  so  far  as  we  know,  to  pay  architects  commission  on  the  por- 
tion of  the  party-wall  acquired  by  their  clients.  We  do  not  think  there  is 
any  recorded  decision  on  the  subject.  — EDS.  AMERICAN  ABCBITECT.] 


THE  CHURCH  ORGAN  AT  LIBAU,  RUSSIA.  —  A  correspondent  of  La 
Science  en  Famille  says  that  in  the  Protestant  church  at  Libau,  Russia, 
there  is  an  organ  which  occupies  the  whole  width  of  the  church,  about 
60  feet,  and  which  has  131  registers,  8,000  pipes,  and  14  bellows  of 
large  size.  It  has  4  harpsichords  and  1  pedal.  The  largest  pipe  is 
formed  of  planks  3  inches  thick  and  31  feet  in  length,  and  has  a  section 
of  7  square  inches  and  weighs  1,540  pounds.  Besides  the  131  registers, 
there  are  21  accessory  stops  that  permit  of  combining  various  parts  of 
the  instrument  without  having  direct  recourse  to  the  registers.  By 
special  pneumatic  combination  the  organist  can  couple  the  four  harpsi- 
chords and  obtain  surprising  results.  —  Exchange. 


120 


The    American   Architect   and  Building   News.      [Vou  XXIV. — No.  689. 


VANDALISM  IN  FLORENCE.  — "  Ouida,"  in  a  second  letter  to  the 
London  Times  in  regard  to  recent  atrocities  perpetrated  in  Florence 
under  the  pretence  of  improvements,  says: 

Every  one  knows  the  great  hall  of  the  Cinque  Cento  in  the  Com- 
munal Palace,  where  of  old  1,500  delegates  could  meet  in  the  name  of 
the  ancient  liberties  of  Florence.  In  this  grand  hall  of  Cronaca  and 
of  Vasari  there  is  to  be  seen,  at  this  present  moment  a  common  painted 
wooden  partition,  cutting  the  mighty  chamber  in  two ;  behind  this 
wooden  paling  are  displayed  the  designs  and  programmes  of  the  rival 
engineers  and  architects  who  aspire  to  attain  the  eternal  infamy  of 
destroying  and  reconstructing  the  centre  of  Florence.  The  cheap  and 
common  wooden  boarding,  the  poor  and  paltry  drawings  and  pro- 
spectuses, side  by  side  with  the  superb  frescos  under  the  glorious  ceil- 
ing and  the  superb  archway,  beside  the  statues  of  Leo  X  and  Giovanni 
of  the  Bande  Neri,  with  the  white  majestic  form  of  Savonarola  fronting 
them,  are  an  apt  and  curious  symbol  of  the  mean  and  tawdry  tastes  of 
modern  life,  contrasted  with  the  stern  and  splendid  achievements  of  the 
past.  No  juxtaposition  of  dignity  and  imprudence  was  ever  more  dis- 
tinctly displayed  than  in  this  infortuitous  exhibition  of  the  municipal 
projects  of  to-day  in  the  great  hall  of  II  Cronaca.  The  slightest  sense 
of  proportion  —  nay,  even,  the  smallest  spice  of  that  humor  for  which 
their  forefathers  were  famous  —  would  have  saved  them  from  this  bathos. 
The  projects  for  the  demolition  of  Florence  should  have  been  exhibited 
anywhere  sooner  than  at  the  Palazzo  Vecchio,  where  the  very  shields 
on  the  walls,  the  very  lilies  and  crosses  of  stone,  seem  to  cry  out 
against  them. 

"  Once  we  were  lions,  and  then  we  fought.  Now  we  are  sheep,  and 
we  only  follow,"  said  an  Italian  to  me  but  yesterday.  It  is  sadly  true. 
The  rage  for  imitation  —  imitation  of  all  the  most  trivial  and  destruc- 
tive temper  of  modernity  —  possesses  Italy  in  the  persons  of  its 
municipal  counsellors.  That  these  counsellors  do  not  in  any  sense 
represent  the  better  part  of  public  feeling  is  certain  ;  you  will  probably 
find  that  your  London  Council  will  not  do  so  either.  Election  by  vote 
has  a  charming  promise  in  its  sound ;  but  its  practical  result  is  usually 
that  the  best  men  stand  aloof  from  submitting  to  its  coarse  struggles 
and  its  questionable  awards.  Allow  me,  in  conclusion,  to  demur  to 
your  opinion,  that  none  except  Italians  born  on  the  soil  have  a  right 
to  treat  of  Italian  matters.  Gregoravius  has  deemed  it  his  duty  (as  it 
was)  to  print  his  just,  if  unavailing,  protest  against  the  present  ruin  of 
Rome.  It  cannot  be  doubted  that  were  Byron,  Shelley,  Keats, 
Stendhal,  George  Sand,  Jules  Janin,  Chateaubriand,  or  Savage  Landor 
all  living  now,  they  would  write  as  I  write.  Swinburne,  in  his  lines  to 
Landor,  calls  on  the  city  to  remember  him  : 

"  And  thou.  his  Florence,  to  thy  trust 

Receive  and  keep, 
Keep  safe  his  dedicated  dust. 

His  sacred  sleep ; 
So  shall  thy  lovers,  come  from  far, 

Mix  with  thy  name, 
As  morning  star  with  evening  star, 

His  faultless  fame." 

Florence  was  his  (Landor's),  because  he  loved  her  unspeakably. 
Think  you  that  Dante  would  not  more  willingly  have  seen  a  Florentine 
worthy  of  the  soil  in  Savage  Landor  than  he  would  see  one  in  any  of 
the  shameless  contractors  and  architects  hungering  for  her  ruin,  or-  in 
the  rapacious  lawyers  and  speculators  who  would  break  up  the  Venus 
de  Medici  into  rubble,  and  melt  down  the  Perseus  into  copper  money, 
willingly,  if  they  could  1 


TUNNELLING  THE  NORTH  AND  EAST  RIVERS,  NEW  YORK.  —  Two 
years  ago  Heman  Clarke,  the  well-known  contractor,  broached  a  scheme 
for  a  great  system  of  tunnels  under  New  York  City  and  the  East  and 
North  rivers,  connecting  the  city  with  the  suburban  points.  Little  at- 
tention was  paid  to  the  plan,  as  it  was  considered  too  expensive  to  be 
practicable.  To-day  Mr.  Clarke  announces  the  completion  of  the 
arrangements  for  carrying  out  the  great  work.  A  capital  of 
$150,000,000  has  been  guaranteed  of  which  $30,000,000  is  considered 
sufficient  to  do  the  tunnelling.  The  tunnels  will  be  150  feet  below  the 
surface,  thus  avoiding  all  buried  wires,  gas-pipes,  etc.,  and  avoiding  any 
difficulty  with  the  rivers.  The  main  tunnel  will  extend  from  the  City 
Hall  in  New  York  to  Fleetwood  Park  on  the  north,  under  Brooklyn  to 
Coney  Island  on  the  east,  and  under  Jersey  City  to  Newark.  There  will 
be  four  tracks.  Freight  and  passengers  will  be  carried.  The  passenger 
trains  will  run  at  full  express  speed.  Elevators  will  convey  freight  and 
passengers  between  the  street  stations  and  the  tunnel.  The  plan  for 
carrying  freight  will  relieve  the  city  streets  of  much  trucking.  Cars 
will  be  brought  under  the  larger  stores,  and  freight  can  be  lowered 
directly  to  them.  Negotiations  are  now  pending  with  the  city  govern- 
ment for  the  required  permission  to  begin  work.  —  Exchange. 


CURIOUS  WATER-WHEEL. — There  is  a  water-wheel  in  use  at  Bow- 
doinham,  Me.,  which  is  probably  the  only  one  of  its  kind  in  existence. 
It  is  twenty-seven  feet  in  diameter,  with  a  foot  of  its  rim  out  of  water 
at  high  tide  ;  the  spokes  are  wide  and  set  diagonally,  like  the  vanes  of 
a  windmill.  It  turns  eighteen  hours  a  day  by  tide-water,  running  one 
way  with  the  flow,  the  other  with  the  ebb.  With  one  foot  fall  of  the 
tide  this  wheel  gives  about  fifty  horse-power.  —  Commercial  Advertiser. 


So  FAR  the  weekly  and  monthly  statistical  statements  of  railroad  com- 
panies and  large  commercial  and  manufacturing  organizations  reveal  what 
business  men  and  financiers  regard  as  a  most  healthful  trade  condition.  If 
there  are  any  latent  evils  they  have  not  given  indications  of  their  existence. 
There  is  no  issue  before  the  country  in  which  business  men  are  deeply  in- 


terested. The  pressure  for  a  national  bankrupt  law  is  increasing;  the  con- 
struction of  a  formidable  navy  is  in  progress.  Financial  conditions  reveal 
no  weakness,  although  there  are  reasons  for  apprehending  stringency  in 
time.  The  producing  interests  are  not  making  complaints  as  to  excessive 
taxation  or  immoderate  rates  of  interest.  The  National  Government  stands 
close  to  the  people,  and  the  various  State  Governments  are  the  willing 
servants  of  the  people  in  all  things,  except  where  organized  corporate  in- 
terests are  concerned.  Even  here  there  is  a  looser  grip  upon  legislation, 
and  a  score  or  more  of  laws,  of  more  or  less  drastic  character,  are  up  for 
passage;  the  ostensible  purpose  of  which  is  to  curb  corporate  rapacity  or 
power.  Matters  are  moving  along  in  the  right  direction.  The  percentage 
of  mishaps  in  business  is  not  increasing,  rather  declining,  consideringthe  in- 
creasing volume  of  business.  This  it  surprising,  too,  when  we  count  up  the 
increase  in  manufacturing  and  general  productive  capacity  that  has  been 
added  during  the  past  three  years.  No  such  additions  as  have  been  made 
during  those  years  was  then  dreamed  of.  The  most  important,  and  usually 
least  noticed,  has  been  the  increase  in  shop  and  factory  capacity.  Over  one 
hundred  thousand  traders  have  been  added  to  the  list,  and  only  about  thirty 
thousand  have  dropped  out,  leaving  an  increase  of  seventy  thousand  to 
transact  the  business  of  the  country.  The  volume  of  business  has  increased 
fully  30  per  cent,  but  this  does  not  represent  the  actual  increase  or  potential 
increase  in  capacity.  Hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars  have  been  invested 
during  that  time  which  has  not  yet  become  productive,  except  in  small  part. 
The  competition  which  it  involves  has  not  yet  been  felt.  In  short,  the 
adjustments  which  this  enormous  increase  of  capital  necessitates  has  not 
yet  been  effected,  and  when  it  does  take  place,  it  will  exert  a  very  marked 
influence  on  trade,  and  production  in  general.  Not  a  single  injury  has 
followed  from  this  rapid  outflow  of  money.  Financiers  themselves  confess 
to  feelings  of  surprise  and  of  gratification  at  the  outcome  of  these  extraor- 
dinary expenditures  in  every  conceivable  direction.  A  time  and  condition 
have  been  reached,  which,  in  the  opinion  of  a  few  of  the  more  conservative 
managers  of  srreat  financial  and  industrial  operations,  calls  for  a  rearrang- 
ing of  lines  of  action,  a  recasting  of  the  charts  of  trade  and  a  revision  of 
plans.  These,  however,  are  in  the  minority.  The  great  body  of  managers 
and  pushers  are  too  busy  with  new  and  inviting  schemes  and  enterprises  to 
patiently  consider  a  scheme  to  apply  the  air-brakes;  in  fact,  they  are 
opposed  to  brakes  altogether,  and  feel  that  things  will  take  care  of  them- 
selves. Long-headed  financiers  rather  lean  to  this  view  of  the  case  and  are 
quite  willing  to  loan,  and  loan  money;  and  let  obligations  of  one  character 
or  another,  pile  themselves  up  millions  upon  millions  until  a  crisis,  a  crash 
comes,  when  through  forced  sales  the  lenders  of  money  will  be  able  to 
sweep  in  the  pledged  properties  at  enormous  sacrifices.  They  recognize 
that  this  has  been  the  course  of  things  ever  since  the  dawn  of  the  commer- 
cial age,  and  while  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  such  sweeping  trade  revolu- 
tions must  come,  it  is  their  duty  to  take  advantage  of  them.  The  rank  and 
file  of  business  men  do  not,  in  the  least,  suspect  such  a  possibility,  much 
less  such  a  thought  on  the  part  of  the  money-lending  interests;  but  all 
doubts  can  be  cleared  up  if  the  proper  source  is  appealed  to.  It  is  the 
strongly  entertained  conviction  that  among  a  certain  class  of  financiers  in 
high  places,  that  the  present  bounding  prosperity  and  activity  will  not  con- 
tinue without  interruption.  Reference  is  made  to  it  only  that  precautionary 
steps  may  be  taken  by  those  who  are  in  a  position  to  take  them.  When  the 
actual  danger  comes,  comparatively  few  will  be  able  to  cast  anchor.  But 
what  is  it,  it  may  be  critically  asked,  that  is  to  check  existing  prosperity 
and  precipitate  misfortune  ?  No  specific  answer  need  be,  or  can  be  made,  as 
every  set  of  new  conditions  brings  different  results. 

So  far  as  the  danger  of  mere  over-production  is  concerned,  it  can  be 
measurably  guarded  against  by  trade  and   manufacturing  combinations ; 
but  when  the  evil  develops  itself  to  restrict  consumption,  or  through  a  wide- 
spread inability  to  make  settlements,  then  no  mere  artificial  restriction  will 
avail.    Tlie  chief  point  to  be  dwelt  upon  now  is  that  the  money-lending 
interest  contemplate  the  possibility  within  a  few  years  of  securing  much 
better  returns  than  they  now  do.    Commercial  and  business  enterprise  will 
especially  display   itself  in  the  year   1889  by  seeking   new    channels  of 
activity.     Schemes  by  the  score  are  coming  up,  all  apparently  well  capi- 
talized.   The  managers  of  the  vast  coal  interests  of  Northern  Alabama  are 
contemplating  making  New  Orleans  a  coal  depot  for  the  Gulf  Coast  and  the 
West  Indies,  where  the  distribution  is  between  three  and  four  million  tons 
per  annum,  equal  to  the  entire  output  in  Eastern  markets  of  the  mountain 
soft-coal  mines  of  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and  West  Virginia  three  years 
ago.     With  the  completion  of  the  progressing  government  improvements 
on  the  Warrior  Kiver,  involving  the  outlay  of  a  half  million  dollars,  the 
channel  will  be  opened  for  cheap  water  transportation  for  the  excellent  soft 
coal  or  that  region  to  New  Orleans,  a  distance  of  650  miles,  in  place  of  a 
dangerous  and  costly  two-thousand-mile  float  from  Western  Pennsylvania, 
the  present  source  o"f  supply.    Canal-building  enterprises  will  also  receive 
attention  as  soon  as  the  purely  agricultural  and  manufacturing  interests  of 
the  country  begin  to  predominate  in  the  State  and  National  councils  over 
selfish  corporate  interests.    Several  thousand  miles  of  canal  are  already 
built  on  paper  and  filed  away  until  the  right  hour  comes  for  the  smaller 
interests.    Experts  in  mineral  lore  believe  that  the  production  of  precious 
metals,  lead,  copper,  and  even  tin,  will  increase   quite  rapidly  during  the 
next  few  years.    The   undesirability  of  railroad   investments  has  led  to 
numerous  large  investments  in  mines  and  mineral  territory  in  the  West  and 
Southwest.    The  capitalization  of  new  companies  within  the  past  four  months 
is  moderately  estimated  at  fifty  million  dollars.    The  weekly  orders  for 
new  and  expensive  mining  and  milling  machinery  in  our  machinery  centres 
show  the  strength  of  the  movement  of  capital  into  this  inviting  field.    It 
was  General  Grant  who,  some  years  ago,  predicted  some  day  an  extraordi- 
nary development  of  mineral  wealth  in  the  Southwest,  and  the  practical 
steps  taken  of  late  by  capitalists  in  that  direction  make  it  look  as  if  his  pre- 
diction might  be  verified  soon.    The  opening  up  of  Oriental  marts,  and  the 
encouragement  of  the  far  Eastern  nations  to  adopt  the  arts  and  methods 
and  industries  of  the   Western  nations,  is  creating  and   will  continue  to 
create  a  greater  demand  for  silver  especially.    Gold  follows  the  behest  of 
commerce,  but  the  drifting  tendencies  of  trade  go  to  show  that  we  will  as  a 
nation  profit  much  more  in  the  future  with  the  increasing  production  of 
gold  than  we  ever  have  profited.    Considerations  of  this  kind  may  possibly 
appear  to  have  no  immediate  and  direct  relation  to  our  business  affairs,  but 
in  truth  they  lie  at  the  bottom  of  permanent  prosperity.    The  gold  and 
silver  miners  of  the  West  are  doing  more  to  lay  strong  trade  foundations 
than  the  men  who  build  ships  and  transport  shop  and  factory  products  to 
remote  lauds.    Along  with  this  enterprise  comes  the  heretofore  recorded 
development  of  valuable  coal  properties,  which  is  leading  to  hundreds  of 
little  shop  and  factory  and  foundry  industries.    Coal  and  coke  will  in  a 
year  or  two  be  about  as  cheap,  the  longer  or  shorter  haul  being  considered, 
as  in  the  East.    It  has  been  the  want  of  fuel  that  has  held  the  West  back  so 
Ions:,  but  now  that  the  miners  have  been  encouraged  to  effort,  it  is  safe  to 
predict  that  industries  that  have  been  hugging  the  Alleghany  Mountains 
will  seek  shelter  under  the  shadow  of  the  Rockies. 

S.    J.    PARKHILL  &  Co.,  Printers,  Boston. 


MARCH  9,  1889.] 


The  American  Architect  and  Building  News. 


ix 


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for  Shinies,  pence?, 

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PRICES  are  4O,  6O  and  78  cents  per  Gallon 

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.  JtH 


:SAMVEL-CABOT? 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.         [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  689. 


THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT  AND  BUILDING  NEWS. 


VOL  xxv. 


Copyright,  1889,  by  TICKNOE  &  COMPANY,  Boston,  Mage. 


No.   690, 


MARCH  16, 1889. 

Entered  at  the  {"oat-Office  at  Boston  as  second-class  matter. 


SUMMARY : — 

The  New  York  Cathedral  Competition.  —  International  Skilled 
Laborers. —  Stone-carving. —The  Production  and  Distribu- 
tion of  Power  for  the  Exhibition  of  1880.  —  Signor  Brentano, 

Architect  of  Milan  Cathedral  Facade 121 

BUILDERS'  HARDWARE. — XXI 123 

ARCHITECTURAL  SHADES  AND  SHADOW*.  —  II.       .......   125 

ILLUSTRATIONS : — 

House  of  Dr.  W.  B.  Parker,  Marlborough  St.,  Boston,  Mass.  — 
The  Luray  Inn,  Luray,  Va.  —  Interior  of  St.  Mark's, 
Venice.  —  The  Mission  Church,  Santa  Barbara,  Cal.  —  An 
Old  California  House.  —  Court  of  an  Adobe  House  at  Los 

Angeles,  Cal 127 

CHAPTERS  FROM  THE  HISTORY  OP  CARI-ENTKV  AND  JOIKERY.   .     .  128 

BUILDING  LAW 131 

COMMUNICATION  :  — 

Mottos 131 

NOTES  AND  CLIPPINGS 132 

TRADE  SURVKVS 132 


CCORDING  to  the  New  York  Sun,  the  competition  for  the 
New  York  Episcopal  Cathedral  will  be  decided  before  this 
paper  is  laid  before  our  readers.     We  do  not  feel  always 
quite  certain  of  the  accuracy  of  the  Sun's  information  on  such 
subjects,  and  the  account  which  it  gives  of  the  way  in  which 
the  best  designs  are  to  be  selected  has  a  rather  improbable  air, 
but,  as  the  contest  really  seems  to  have  closed  for  the  present, 
we  will  permit  ourselves  to  make  a  few  remarks  upon  some  of 
the  circumstances  that  have  attended  it.     In  the  first  place,  the 
"literary  bureau"  has,  to  our  mind,  been  altogether  too  promi- 
nent ever  since  the  designs  were  sent  in.     Mr.  Russell  Sturgis's 
well-meant  and  interesting  description  of  his  idea  of  a  great 
cathedral,  which  was  published  before  the  drawings  were  sent 
in,  and  thus  escapes  any  imputation  of  having  been  circulated 
pendente  lite,  seems  to  have  served  as  the  text,  or  rather,  as  the 
excuse,  for  a  number  of  others,  which,  however  innocent  the 
intentions  of  their  authors  may  have  been,  are  certainly  open 
to  that  reproach.     The  variety  of  these  lucubrations  seems  to 
have   been    as   admirable   as    the   eloquence  with    which    the 
opinions  contained  in   them   were  advocated.     One  author  ad- 
vised   the   Trustees,    in    the   most   earnest   manner,    that   the 
"Gothic  style  was  dead,  never  to  be  revived,"  an  announce- 
ment which  will,  we  imagine,  be  news  to  a  good  many  archi- 
tects, as  well  as  to  the  Trustees.     Another  thought  that  the 
Byzantine  style  was  the  only  one  which  had  any  claim  to  con- 
sideration for  an  important  American  building.     In  fact,  several 
people  had  this  idea  about  the  Byzantine  style,  but  their  notions 
varied  as  to  what  the  style  consisted  in.     One  writer  was  sure 
that,  to  be  architecturally  valuable,  the  Cathedral  should  be 
arranged  like  a  Greek  church,  forming  a  cross  of  four  equal 
arms  on  plan.     This  disposition,  he  thought,  was  not  only  more 
truly  Byzantine  than  any  other,  but  it  afforded  peculiar  facili- 
ties for  gathering  a  large  congregation  about  a  preacher  placed 
in  the  centre.     It  did  not  escape  the  penetration  of  this  author 
that   a  good  many  Episcopalians  do  not  think  that  the  only 
object  of  going  to  church  is  to  hear  preaching,  but  he  contrived 
to  head  off  unfavorable  criticism  from  such  persons  by  explain- 
ing that  while  a  few  "  Ritualists  "  might  not  like  a  church  de- 
voted wholly  to  congregational  purposes,  they  formed  only  a 
small  and    insignificant   portion  of  the  Episcopal  communion, 
and,  besides,  they  might  have  processions  in  the  side-chapels  if 
they  wanted  them.     Another  essayist,  while  he  thought,  like 
the  others,  that  the  Byzantine  was  the  only  style  admissible, 
considered  that  even  this  would  not  make  the  church  what  it 
should  be  unless  the  design  comprised  a  tower  four  hundred 
feet  high.     A  fifth  believed  that  nothing  but  a  round-arched 
design  should  be  thought  of,  but  it  might  be  either  Byzantine 
or  Renaissance,  and  there  were  advantages  in  the  Renaissance; 
while  a  sixth  was  sure  that  the  Renaissance,  of  which  he  men- 
tioned St.  Peter's,  at  Rome,  as  a  conspicuous  example,  was  the 
only  suitable  style.     It  would  take  too  long  to  mention  all  the 
different  methods  of  treatment  which  were  extravagantly  lauded 
in  one  newspaper  or  another,  and  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  say 
that,  to  architects,  all  the  arguments  and  considerations  brought 
forward  were  pure  rubbish.     If  they  had  been  of  any  value, 
the  proper  time  to  advance  them  would  have  been  six  months 


ago,  when  the  competitors  were  getting  their  ideas  into  shape, 
and  a  suggestion  that  was  good  for  anything  would  have  been 
welcome;  but,  coming  after  all  the  designs  had  been  sent  in, 
and  nothing  remained  but  to  judge  them,  some  of  them,  at  least, 
had  an  air  of  attempting  surreptitiously  to  influence  the  deci- 
sion, which  was  very  disagreeable.  In  a  shabby,  second-rate 
contest,  like  that  for  the  Boston  State-House,  where  the  quills 
of  the  penny-a-liners  reinforced  to  an  amazing  degree  the  pencils 
of  the  draughtsmen,  such  things  are,  perhaps,  to  be  expected ; 
but  even  in  Boston  the  services  of  the  newspapers  were  not 
called  in  until  after  the  experts  had  rendered  their  judgment, 
and  the  affair  had  gone  for  decision  into  the  hands  of  the 
members  of  the  Legislature,  who  were  presumed  to  be  vulner- 
able to  arguments  at  which  an  expert  would  only  laugh. 

'TJ  NEW  and  important  question  has  come  up  among  the  trades- 
rj  unions.     For  some  time  the  annual  transfer  of  skilled  me- 
chanics from  this  country  to  England,  and  vice  versa,  has 
been  increasing,  until  it  has  come  to  threaten  seriously  the  power 
of  the  Union  leaders.   Some  time  ago,  when  the  walking-delegates 
of  certain  trades  saw  fit  to  keep  their,  subjects  idle  and  poor, 
while  they  drew  good  salaries  for  talking  nonsense,  or  worse,  a 
considerable  number  of  the  victims  of  this  arrangement  quietly 
slipped    across  the   water,  and    went    to  work  at  their  trades 
where    they    need    not   fear  being   denounced  to  their  Union 
officers  and  deprived  of  their  living.     The  result  was  so  encour- 
aging that  they  repeated  the  experiment,  taking  others  with 
them,  and  the  Union  discipline  has,  in  consequence,  now  lost  its 
terrors  for  many  of  the  more  enterprising  working  members. 
On  the  other  hand,  members  of  foreign  trades-unions  about  the 
same  time  discovered  the  advantage  of  a  reciprocal  arrangement 
of  the  kind,  and  it  is   becoming  a  very  common  practice  for 
English,  Irish  and  Scotch  stone-cutters,  masons,  and  carpenters 
to.  come  over  to  New  York  in  the  spring,  spend  the  summer  in 
working  at  their  trades,  without  asking  leave  of  any  one,  and 
go  back  in  the  autumn,  with  their  pockets  full   of  American 
money,  to  work  in  England  through   the  winter,  when  there 
would  be  no  employment  for  them  here.     A  reporter  of  the 
Philadelphia    Call   recently    made    some    inquiries    about    the 
matter  in  that  city,  and  found  that  nearly  all  the  trades  were 
more  or  less  affected  by   the  competition  of  the  foreign  work- 
men.    The  Union  officers  were  unanimous  in  the  opinion  that 
the  "  evil "   was  increasing,  and  that  "  heroic  remedies  "  were 
necessary.     What    their  "  heroic  remedy  "  will  consist  in  re- 
mains to  be  seen,  but  some  indication  may  be  found  in  the  reso- 
lution which  was    passed  at  the  Convention  of  the  National 
Association  of  Stone-cutters,  held  the  other  day,  which  provided 
that  members  "  should  not  visit   Europe  oftener   than  once  in 
five  years."     If  such  a  rule  should  be  enforced,  the  American 
workingtnen   would  lose  the  last  prospect  of  escape  from  the 
tyranny  of  delegates  which   now  remains  open  to  them.     This, 
from  the  Union  point-of-view,  would  be  a  great  gain,  but  there 
seemed  to  be  an  idea  in  the  Convention  that,  if  the  resolution 
was  passed,  the  foreign  unions  would  take  similar  action,  and 
workingmen  on  both  sides  of  the  water  would  be  held  captive, 
for  fear  that  they  might  interfere  with  each  others'  monopoly. 

TITHE  British  Architect  publishes  a  short  article  on  stone- 
_£  carving,  which  we  hope  may  be  the  introduction  to  a  more 
extended  discussion  of  this  very  important  subject.  The 
writer  of  the  article  had,  it  seems,  met  a  man  who  had  once 
been  a  stone-carver,  but  who  had  abandoned  his  profession  on 
account  of  the  difficulties  and  annoyances  connected  with  it, 
for  which  he  considered  the  architects  principally  at  fault. 
According  to  him,  there  are  plenty  of  skilful  and  artistic 
carvers  to  be  had,  but  they  get  such  poor  pay,  and  are  treated 
with  so  little  deference,  that  they  have  become  discouraged, 
and  either  leave  the  business,  or,  we  suppose,  console  them- 
selves by  turning  out  the  stupid,  spiritless  work  that  we  usually 
see.  How  different  things  would  be  if  architects  did  their  duty, 
we  may  infer  from  this  gentleman's  description  of  the  good  old 
times  when  stone-carvers  and  architects  alike  were  virtuous  and 
happy.  This  blissful  period  coincided  with  the  construction  of 
the  Saint  Pancras  Railway-station  in  London,  when  the  carvers 
got  fifteen  shillings  a  foot  for  their  labor,  and  often  "  drove  up 
in  hansoms  to  their  work,  and  worked  only  three  or  four  days 
in  the  week."  Then,  also,  the  carvers  did  not  have  to  use  their 
brains  (if  they  possessed  any,  which  we  should  say  was  doubt- 
ful in  the  case  of  men  who  went  to  their  work  in  carriages), 


122 


TJie   American   Architect  and  Building  News.        [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  690. 


but  did  all  their  carving  from  models,  previously  prepared  by 
some  one  else.  Unfortunately,  through  the  machinations  of 
architects,  the  price  of  carving  is  now  reduced  to  twelve 
shillings  a  foot,  and  the  men  who  do  it  are  compelled,  like  the 
architects  themselves,  to  work  six  days  in  the  week  in  order  to 
get  a  living.  This  is  the  reason,  we  are  told,  why  the  work  is 
done  so  badly.  If  architects  want  good  carving  on  their  build- 
ings, the  way  to  get  it  is  to  make  a  contract  directly  with  a 
carver,  give  him  plenty  of  money  for  his  work,  and  plenty  of 
time  to  do  it  in,  construct  a  warm  and  comfortable  enclosure 
for  him,  and  treat  him  with  great  deference  and  politeness. 
We  hope  architects  will  lay  this  advice  to  heart.  While  it 
may  not  be  perfectly  obvious  why  the  work  of  a  man  who 
devotes  three  days  in  the  week  to  his  business,  and  the  other 
four  to  getting  drunk,  should  be  so  much  superior  to  that  of 
people  who  keep  steadily  at  their  task,  it  is  plain  that  men 
work  better  who  have  a  reasonable  amount  of  comfort  about 
them,  and  if  the  carvers  are  too  lazy  to  get  this  for  themselves, 
they  might  as  well  expect  the  architect  as  any  one  else  to  pro- 
vide it  for  them.  As  every  service  on  one  side,  however,  im- 
plies a  corresponding  obligation  on  the  other,  we  hope  it  is  not 
too  much  to  expect  one  thing  from  the  persons  for  whom  the 
architect  is  to  do  so  much ;  that  is,  that  they  should  know 
something  about  their  business.  So  far  as  architects  are  con- 
cerned, there  would  be  no  difficulty  in  having  all  necessary 
facilities  provided,  and  a  proper  price  paid,  for  anything  like 
such  carving  as  they  wish  to  see  on  their  buildings;  but  in  the 
great  majority  of  cases  English  and  American  architectural 
carving  is  simply  a  disfigurement  to  the  building  to  which  it  is 
applied,  and  the  architect's  principal  anxiety  is  to  get  it  done 
as  quickly,  and  with  as  little  elaboration  to  its  ugliness,  as 
possible.  Even  if  it  is  good,  the  more  quickly  it  is  done  the 
better,  and  the  elegant  and  well-paid  leisure  which  seems  to  be 
so  dear  to  the  carver,  signifies  to  the  architect  the  ruin  of  the 
effectiveness  of  his  carving  by  sand-papering  and  smoothing. 
This  is  the  real  reason  why  architects  who  care  about  the 
carving  on  their  buildings  always  want  it  done  rapidly.  The 
examples  that  they  have  in  mind,  the  mediaeval  and  early  Renais- 
sance details,  were  done  very  quickly  and  cheaply.  Perhaps 
the  most  beautiful  specimens  of  architectural  carving  in  exist- 
ence, the  capitals  at  the  Castle  of  Chambord,  are  known  to 
have  cost  twenty  cents  apiece,  and  it  is  hard  to  give  up  the 
hope  that  by  limiting  the  time  that  a  good  carver  is  allowed  to 
devote  to  the  work,  he  may  be  forced  into  the  brilliant  and 
effective  style  of  the  early  sculpture.  That  the  hope  is  a  delu- 
sive one  most  experienced  architects  know.  A  few  carvers  can 
work  effectively  with  a  toothed-chisel  and  a  drill,  but  they  are 
very  few,  and  even  their  skill  is  almost  always  limited  to  a  set 
of  stock  forms,  outside  of  which  they  are  helpless.  At  present, 
in  this  country,  what  little  capacity  for  carved  stone  detail 
once  existed  seems  to  be  disappearing,  under  the  influence  of 
the  gigantic  acanthus-leaves  which,  by  the  authority  of  Revoil, 
apparently,  do  duty  for  Romanesque  detail.  To  produce  such 
things  there  is  no  need  of  taste,  power  of  design  or  knowledge 
of  nature,  and  those  aids  to  architectural  sculpture  will  prob- 
ably remain  dormant  until  some  change  in  the  fashion  shall 
bring  them  again  into  activity.  When  this  happens,  we  hope 
the  change  may  be  a  complete  one.  Before  our  architecture 
can  take  its  place  as  an  art  worthy  of  a  great  people,  it  must 
include  beautiful  and  original  sculptured  detail.  This  it  has 
never  had,  and  never  will  have,  until  a  school  of  architectural 
sculpture  shall  be  founded,  in  which  shall  be  taught,  not  the 
art  of  keeping  up  a  genteel  appearance,  or  of  dawdling  four 
days  out  of  the  seven,  but  that  of  composing  and  representing 
natural  forms,  an  art  in  which  no  one  has  yet  reached  perfec- 
tion. 

'7J  DESCRIPTION  of  the  arrangements  for  producing  and 
f\  distributing  force  at  the  Paris  Exhibition  is  given  in  Le 
Genie  Civil,  which  will  have  an  interest  for  those  who 
may  have  to  do  with  such  installations  on  a  large  scale.  The 
motive  power  is  to  be  derived  from  eleven  boilers,  placed  in  the 
space  behind  the  Machinery  Hall.  Three  of  these  are  English, 
one  Belgian,  and  the  rest  French,  our  own  country  not  being 
represented  in  this  department.  A  contract  has  been  made 
with  the  exhibitors  of  these  boilers  for  the  supply  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty  thousand  pounds  of  steam  per  hour,  to  be 
used  not  only  in  the  various  engines,  large  and  small,  which  are 
to  be  shown  in  motion,  but  for  other  purposes  where  steam  is 
required.  The  main  engines,  which  propel  the  great  lines  of 
counter-shafts  from  which  all  the  small  machines  not  having 


motive  force  in  themselves  take  their  power,  are  thirty-two  in 
number.  Two  of  these  are  American,  one  from  Sweet,  of 
Syracuse,  and  one,  of  a  hundred  horse-power,  from  Brown,  of 
Fitchburgh,  and  these  will  provide  the  motive  power  for  the 
American  part  of  the  exhibit  of  machinery.  We  venture  to 
say  that  our  countrymen  will  have  no  reason  to  be  ashamed  of 
the  way  in  which  the  service  is  rendered  ;  but  they  will  not 
be  entirely  dependent  on  these,  an  arrangement  having  been 
made  by  which  each  section  of  the  great  counter-shafts,  although 
ordinarily  independent  of  the  rest,  can  be  coupled  by  means  of 
a  sleeve  to  the  neighboring  section  on  either  side,  so  that  the 
movement  is  kept  up,  even  though  the  action  of  its  own  pro- 
pelling-engine is  suspended.  Power  enough  is  kept  in  reserve, 
also,  for  such  a  contingency.  A  contract  has  been  made  with 
the  exhibitors  of  the  engines  for  the  regular  supply  of  twenty- 
six  hundred  horse-power  at  the  counter-shafts,  but  the  engines 
are  amply  able  to  supply  double  that  quantity  if  required,  and 
a  price  has  been  agreed  upon  at  which  extra  power  may  be 
had  from  any  engine.  As  steam  is  supplied  to  the  engines,  the 
cost  of  the  power  is,  of -course,  only  that  of  oil  and  attendance, 
with  a  certain  amount  for  wear  and  tear,  and  interest  on  the 
value  of  the  plant.  This  seems  to  have  been  closely  calculated 
by  the  owners  of  the  engines,  and  a  uniform  contract  has  been 
made  with  all  of  them,  by  which  they  agree  to  furnish  the 
twenty-six  hundred  horse-power  fixed  as  the  normal  require- 
ment, dividing  the  amount  among  themselves,  in  proportion  to 
the  capacity  of  their  engines,  at  eight  dollars  per  horse-power 
for  the  one  hundred  and  eighty  days  that  the  exhibition  is  in- 
tended to  last,  and  for  seven  hours  each  day.  If  extra  power 
is  required  during  the  regular  exhibition  hours,  this  is  to  be 
supplied  at  six-tenths  of  a  mill  per  horse-power  per  hour,  and, 
if  the  duration  of  the  exhibition  should  be  prolonged,  the  price  of 
power  is  to  be  one  mill  per  horse-power  per  hour.  The  counter- 
shafts are  arranged  in  four  lines  through  the  building,  their 
total  length  being  a  little  over  a  mile.  As  with  everything 
else,  a  contract  has  been  made  for  the  erection  and  use  of  these 
shafts,  including  supervision  and  oiling,  at  something  less  than 
thirteen  dollars  for  the  intended  duration  of  the  exhibition  for 
each  metre  in  length  of  shaft.  If  more  than  seven  hours' 
service  per  day  is  required,  a  small  sum  is  to  be  paid  extra  for 
surveillance  and  oiling,  and  for  every  day  of  prolongation  of 
the  exhibition  the  price  per  metre  per  day  of  seven  hours  is  to 
be  eight  cents.  To  give  suitable  facilities  for  supplying  the 
boilers  with  water  and  the  engines  with  steam,  and  for  carrying 
off  the  condensed  water  from  (lie  exhausts,  if  that  should  be 
required,  a  subway  has  been  built,  in  which  run  three  pipes. 
One  of  these,  two  feet  in  diameter,  carries  cold  water  to  the 
boilers  from  the  Seine  ;  another,  of  the  same  diameter,  serves 
as  principal  steam-main,  and  the  third  conveys  the  condensed 
water.  A  similar  subway,  parallel  with  the  first,  contains  a 
group  of  smaller  pipes,  and  branches  extend  to  the  various 
engines,  the  whole  length  of  subway  being  about  a  mile. 


1IF1IE  foreign  papers  have  a  good  deal  to  say  about  Signor 
X  Brentauo,  the  winner  of  the  first  prize  in  the  competition 
for  the  completion  of  the  Cathedral  of  Milan,  and  the 
author  of  the  design  adopted  for  execution.  He  is,  as  it  seems, 
a  very  young  man,  being 'only  twenty-four  or  five  years  old, 
and  this  is  naturally  his  first  important  work.  A  few  years 
ago  he  was  a  student  at  the  Higher  Technical  School  at  Milan, 
being  maintained  there,  if  we  are  not  mistaken,  by  the  town  of 
Siena,  his  native  place.  While  at  the  school  he  was  under 
the  instruction  of  Professor  Beltrami,  also  one  of  the  favored 
competitors  for  the  Cathedral,  and  seems  to  have  imbibed  his 
master's  ideas.  On  leaving  the  school,  three  years  ago,  he 
competed  for  a  travelling-scholarship  offered  by  the  town  of 
Siena  and  won  it,  and  the  Cathedral  competition  being  just  at 
that  time  announced,  he  resolved  to  devote  his  tour  to  the 
study  of  cathedral  architecture,  with  a  view  to  entering  the 
competition.  The  success  of  his  efforts  has  made  him  famous 
throughout  the  civilized  world,  and  nothing  remains  but  the 
execution  of  the  work,  which  we  hope  will  not  bo  long  delayed, 
to  place  him  among  the  foremost  architects  of  the  century. 
Singularly  enough,  his  design  and  that  of  Professor  Beltrami 
were  very  much  alike,  both  of  them  having  devoted  themselves 
to  the  production  of  an  elaborate  fagade,  following  the  outline 
of  the  building  behind  it,  without  any  addition  of  towers  or 
screen-work.  Professor  Beltrami,  indeed,  placed  a  detached 
campanile  by  the  side  of  his  design,  but  this  was  rather  an  in- 
dependent suggestion  than  a  part  of  the  design. 


MARCH  16,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


123 


BUILDERS'  HARDAVARE.1  — XXI. 

FRONT-DOOR   LOCKS. 

THE  greatest  amount 
of  care  and  ingenu- 
ity has  been  ex- 
pended upon  the  locks 
which  are  used  for  the 
front-doors  of  dwelling- 
houses,  and  the  largest 
degree  of  complication 
is-  usually  found  in  these 
goods.  They  afford, 
generally  speaking;,  a 
greater  security  against 
picking  than  do  the 
locks  which  are  em- 
ployed for  inside-doors. 
The  conditions  of  an 
outside-door  lock  are 
that  it  shall  have  two 
sets  of  mechanisms  oper- 
ated by  keys,  to  move 
either  bolt  or  latch  at 
will,  and  shall  have  the 
knob-spindle  so  arranged 
that  the  latch  can  be 
moved  by  turning  either 
knob,  and  that  the  out- 
side knob  can  be  made  immovable,  while  the  inner  one  is  free 
to  move.  Front-doors  are  usually  two  inches  or  more  thick, 
and  the  lock  can  consequently  be  made  quite  thick,  so  as  to 
permit  of  multiplication  of  the  levers,  and  a  stronger  mech- 
anism than  for  inside-doors.  A  front-door  lock  should  always 
have  an  anti-friction  strike. 

Figure  317  shows  a  form  of  front-door  lock  manufactured  by 
P.  &  F.  Corbin.  This  is  fitted  with  an  anti-friction  strike,  and 
has  four  levers  each  for  the  lock  and  the  night-latch.  The 
follow  is  in  two  pieces.  When  the  small  catch  on  the  face- 


Fig.  3  I  7.    Front-Door  Lock.    P.  &  F.  Corbin. 


facturers.     It  is  inserted  here  merely  to  show  the  manner  in 
which  mortise-locks  are  fitted  to  a  rebated-door. 

Figure  319  illustrates  a  front-door  lock  manufactured  by 
Russell  &  Erwin.  The  levers  on  the  locking-bolt,  A,  are 
attached  to  the  bolt,  and  move  with  it,  not  being  particularly 

proof  against  picking, 
however.  In  operating 
the  night-latch,  the  levers 
B  are  pushed  to  one  side 
until  the  gatings  are  on  a 
line  to  permit  the  post,  C, 
to  pass,  the  post  forming 
part  of  a  bent  lever,  the 
end  of  which  shows  at  D, 
which  portion  acts  directly 
against  K,  and  so  draws 
back  the  latch.  In  order 
to  secure  the  outside  knob, 
the  catch  on  the  face- 
plate is  pushed  up,  throw- 
ing the  slots  on  the  lever 
F,  F  over  a  shoulder  on 
the  outside-follow.  Fig- 
ure 320  is  another  front- 
door lock  by  the  same 
manufacturers. 

Figure  321  is  a  very 
excellent  lock  manufact- 
ured by  J.  B.  Shannon  & 
Sons,  so  arranged  that  the 
knob  comes  between  the  night-latch  and  the  lock-bolt.  It  will 
be  noticed  that  the  levers  and  the  posts  are  notched  in  the  same 
manner  as  was  explained  for  some  of  the  dead-lojks.  The  latch 
is  moved  by  means  of  a  lever,  A,  underneath  the  upper  set  of 
levers,  A  being  attached  to  the  latch-bolt.  This  is  a  very 
secure  lock. 

Figure  322  shows  a-  variety  of  the  "  Niles "  front-door 
lock,  which  is  quite  simple  in  its  arrangement.  The  latch  is 
worked  by  the  lever  A. 

A  very  simple  but  efficient  lock  is  shown  by  Figure  323. 


Fig.  319.     Front- Door  Lock.     Rusjell  &  Erwin. 


Fig.  320.     Front-Door  Lock.     Russell  &  Erwin. 


Fig.  321.     Front-Door  Lock.     J.  B.  Shannon  It 
Sons. 


Fig.  3  I  8.     Morti.e  Knob-Lock.     P.  it  F.  Corbin. 


plate  over  the  latch  is  shoved  to  one  side,  the  lever,  A,  is 
moved  so  as  to  fit  in  a  slot  on  the  side  of  the  outside  follow, 
as  shown  by  the  figure,  thus  holding  the  follow,  and  with 
it  the  outside-knob  and  spindle,  so  they  cannot  be  moved. 
The  night-key  operates  by  first  lifting  the  levers  B,  and  by 
moving  the  lever,  (7,  which  carries  back  with  it  the  latch-bolt. 
Figure  318  is  a  form  of  rebated-door  lock  by  the  same  manu- 

1  Continued  from  page  112,  No.  689. 


The  latch-key  works  through  a  curtain.  A,  raising  the  levers 
until  the  post,  B,  and  with  it  the  plate  0  and  the  latch  can  be 
drawn  back.  This  lock  is  made  in  the  "  New  York "  style, 
with  a  single  follow,  intended  to  receive  the  spindle  of  the 
inside-knob. 

Figures  324  and  325  illustrate  two  styles  of  front-door  locks 
by  the  Hopkins  &  Dickinson  Manufacturing  Company.  The 
former  is  rather  a  light  lock,  the  latter  especially  strong  and 
heavy,  and  fitted  with  five  levers  to  both  latch  and  lock. 

Figure  326  shows  one  of  the  best  of  the  front-door  locks, 


124 


The  American   Architect  and  Building  News.        [VOL.  XXV.— No.  690. 


the  "Standard,"  by  the  Yale  &  Towne  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany. There  are  three  steel  levers  for  both  the  latch  and  the 
lock.  The  night-key  pushes  the  levers  B  to  one  side  and 
moves  the  bent  piece  A,  which  forces  back  the  latch-bolt.  The 


the  edges  C.  The  post  D  is  attached  to  a  sliding-plate,  work- 
ing between  the  levers  and  the  dead-bolt  tail.  The  lever  E 
is  pivoted  to  this  plate  and  also  to  the  lock-case.  When  the 
levers  are  raised  so  as  to  allow  the  post  D  to  enter  the  ratch- 


Fig.  322.     Niles's  Front-Door  Lock.     Chicago 
Hardware  Co. 


Fig.  323.     Front-Door  Lock.     A.  G.  Newman. 


Fig.  324.     Front-Door  Lock.-  Hopkini  &  Dick- 
inson Mtg.  Co. 


tongue,  C,  which  locks  the  ontside-knob,  is  pushed  in  or  out  by 
the  buttons  on  the  face-plate.  It  is  not  intended  to  use  this 
lock  witli  a  swivel-spindle,  but  when  the  knob  is  locked  by  the 
tongue  (7,  a  spindle  and  cam  at  D  serve  to  throw  back  the 
latch  from  the  inside  of  the  door.  The  arrangement  of  the 


ings,  the  plate  and  the  lever  E  are  drawn  back  together  at  the 
same  time  as  the  latch.  The  follow  is  made  double,  to  permit 
of  swivel-spindles,  and  the  outside  is  locked  by  the  arm  F. 


Fig.  325.     Front-Door  Lock.      Hopkins  &  Dickinson 
Mfg.  Co. 


Fig.  326.     Yale  Standard  Front-Door   Lock.     Yale  & 
Towne  Mfg.  Co. 


levers  B  is  defective  in  this  lock,  in  that  they  will  not  work 
should  the  springs  give  out.  Levers  which  act  by  gravity,  as 
well  as  with  springs,  would  seem  to  be  more  suitable. 

The  lock  represented  by  Figure  327,  is  one  of  "  Robinson's" 
best  make,  being  sold,  with  the  corresponding  vestibule  lock, 
at  $14  per  set.  It  is  a  hand-made  lock,  all  the  mechanism 
being  of  brass.  In  the  examples  previously  considered,  there 
have  been  two  sets  of  levers  to  each  lock.  In  this  case,  how- 
ever, there  is  but  one,  the  holes  for  the  night-latch  and  the 
dead-lock  key  being  side  by  side.  The  shape  of  the  levers  will 
explain  the  arrangements,  two  sets  of  gatings  and  rackings 
being  cut  on  each.  The  dead-lock  key  acts  against  the  edges 
at  A.  B  is  the  post  on  the  bolt-tail,  which  passes  through  the 
gatings  in  the  ordinary  manner.  The  night-key  acts  against 


Fig.  327.     Front  Door-Lock.     E.  Robinson. 


The  latch  has  a  very  easy  spring,  the  follows  being  stiffened 
by  a  spring  beneath  G. 

Hall   manufactures   a    front-door  lock   almost  exactly  like 
Figure  327,  but  with  his  peculiar  anti-friction  strike. 


(To  be  continued.) 


MARCH  16,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


125 


ARCHITECTURAL  SHADES  AND  SHADOWS.1  — II. 


16. 


CHAPTER    II.  —  GEOMETRICAL   CONSIDERATIONS. 

We    have     already    ob- 
served that  that   part    of 
the  surface  of  any  opaque 
body   which   receives   light   from 
the  sun  at  any  one  time  is  said  to 
be  in  light ;  the  unlighted  part  is 
said  to  be  in  shade,  and  the  math- 
ematical  line  separating  the  two 
is  called  the  line  of  shade.     That 
-.  portion  of  space  lying  behind  the 

Unlit 'Shatft  ated  Of  Sphen  an greaJ  object,  and  from  which  the  rays 
<Jrcle:UsSf!ado»aJ,lCi<l,ona.f>tanta  which  lierht  the  object  are  ex- 
«. anlt  a-  cdvae  eluded,  is  called  its  shadow  in 

space  or  innisible  shadow.  Whenever  this  or  any  portion  of  it  is 
crossed  by  an  opaque  surface  turned  towards  the  sun,  the  light  is  ex- 
cluded from  so  much  of  this  surface  as  intersects  the  shadow,  while 
the  rest  remains  illuminated.  The  darkened  portion  of  the  surface 
is  called  the  visible  or  cast  shadow  of  the  object,  and  its  outline  the 
line  of  shadow*  Fog,  smoke,  or  dust  will  render  these  invisible 
shadows  visible  by  filling  the  air  with  countless  microscopic  particles 
of  vapor  or  solid  matter,  a  part  of  which  remain  in  the  darkness  of 
the  shadow  in  space  while  the  rest  are  in  light. 

1 7.  The  form  of  a  cast  shadow  is  evidently  that  produced  by  the 
intersection  of  the  surface  on  which  it  falls  (sometimes  called  the 
surface  of  incidence)  with  the  invisible  shadow.     The  latter  is,  in 
the   case   of   a   sphere,  for   example,    a   solid   circular  cylinder   of 
indefinite  length.     If  the  surface  of  incidence  is  a  plane,  its  inter- 
section with  this  cylinder  must  be  bounded  by  a  circle  or  ellipse,  which 
is  therefore  always  the  form  of  the  shadow  of  a  sphere  upon  a  plane 
(Figure  12). 

18.  Now  if  we  imagine  the  body  that  casts  the  shadow  to  be  in- 
finitely small  —  in   other  words  a   point  —  its   cylinder  of   invisible 
shadow  becomes  a  mere  line,  and  its  cast  shadow  is  reduced  to  a 
point.     The  shadow-in-space  of  a  line  is  a  surface  whose  elements 
are  the  invisible  shadows  of  all  the  points  composing  the  line;  its 


Line  of  Shade,  oj 

hence  unchanged  by  dis/iffunnff  "tht   Cylinder  composed  q/  tuo  haff 'circles 
ob/ecf  i/LintoSShacfe  u>  intact.         a6c,  def.  and  tvo  right  line?,  Of,  cd. 

cast  shadow  is  a  line  composed  of  the  cast  shadows  of  all  these  points. 
Returning  now  to  our  illuminated  sphere,  it  is  easy  to  perceive  that 
every  point  of  its  line  of  shade  casts  a  shadow  which  is  a  point  of  the 
outline  of  shadow  of  the  sphere.  This  outline  of  shadow  depends 
therefore  wholly  upon  the  line  of  shade  for  its  form  upon  any  given 
surface  of  incidence,  and  the  same  is  true  of  the  shadow-in-space 
whose  surface  is  composed  of  the  invisible  shadows  of  all  the  points 
of  the  same  line  of  shade.  This  is  very  important  to  note,  for  it  re- 
duces the  whole  problem  of  sciography  to  the  finding  of  the  shadows 

of  lines  of  shade  only.  No  matter 
how  irregular  or  complicated  the 
surface  of  an  object  may  be,  its 
form  need  concern  us  no  further 
than  is  necessary  for  ascertain- 
ing its  line  of  shade.  When  the 
shadow  of  this  line  is  found, 
the  problem  is  solved.  Thus  the 
sphere  shown  in  Figure  12,  may 
be  disfigured  out  of  all  recogni- 
tion, as  in  Figure  13,  yet  if  the 
"ne  °f  shade  is  not  touched  but 
remains  still  a  circle,  the  cast 
sha(iow  wil!  remain  unrhansed,  a 
circle  or  ellipse.  The  problems  of 
sciography  are  greatly  simplified  by  bearing  constantly  in  mind  that 
there  is  no  question  of  the  shadows  of  surfaces  or  solids,  but  only  of 
the  shadows  of  lines.  Even  the  problem  of  finding  the  shadow 
of  a  point  is  solved  by  finding  the  shadows  of  any  two  lines  passing 
through  it. 

20.  The  line  of  shade  of  any  solid  or  surface  is  a  line  passing 
through  all  the  points  at  which  the  rays  of  light  are  tangent  to  the 
surface.  To  find  and  draw  these  points  and  this  line,  is  a  problem 
of  pure  descriptive  geometry  which  will  be  fully  discussed  later. 
But  in  the  case  of  many  solids  composed  of  geometric  elements  it 


J-Wfo/ Shade, 
q/  fhraJlelopifieclon.  comfxjsedtf 
six  right  linea.ak. &<..<.<{  detf.fa. 


1  By  A.  D.  F.  Hamlin,  Instructor  in  Architecture  in  the  School  of  Mines, 
Columbia  College.  Continued  from  page  90.  No.  687. 

!  Lunar  eclipses  are  caused  by  the  moon's  entering  the  invisible  shadow  of  the 
earth,  so  that  the  illuminated  side  of  the  moon  is  partly  or  wholly  covered  by  the 
earth's  visible  shadow.  They  can  only  be  witnessed  by  persons  on  the  side  of 
the  earth  that  is  in  thade  :  i.  e.,  at  night. 


can  be  at  once  determined,  by  observation  of  the  nature  of  these 
geometric  elements  and  their  relation  to  the  light.  Thus  the  line  of 
shade  of  a  sphere  in  any  position  is  a  great  circle  perpendicular  to 
the  rays  of  light.  The  line  of  shade  of  a  cylinder  is  composed  of 
the  two  opposite  half-circumferences  of  its  two  bases,  and  the  two 
rectilinear  elements  of  the  cylinder  joining  them  (Figure  14).  So  of 
a  parallelopipedon,  the  line  of  shade  is  evidently,  in  most  positions, 
composed  of  six  lines,  viz. ;  two  adjacent  edges  of  each  base,  and  the 
two  parallel  edges  connecting  them  (Fig.  15).  And  in  case  of  any 
finite  solid,  the  line  of  shade  must  be  a  continuous  and  complete  figure. 

21.  The  case  of  plane  figures  offers  some  peculiarities  worth 
noticing.  We  shall  for  the  sake  of  convenience  and  analogy  treat 
them  as  having  two  sides  or  faces,  and  edges  of  infinitesimal  thick- 
ness, or  in  other  words,  as  very  thin  discs. 

a.  When  such  a  disc  is  normal  to  the  direction  of  the  light,  one 
face  is  light,  the  other  dark ;  the  whole  edge  or  perimeter  becomes 
its  line  of  shade,  having  a  cylindrical 8  surface  for  its  invisible 
shadow  and  a  figure  for  its  cast  shadow  (Figure  16,  A).  When  it  is 
inclined  to  the  rays  of  light,  a  part  of  its  edge  is  light  and  the  other 
dark,  and  the  short  elements  separating  these  two  portions,  form 

B 


16. 


A.  Disc  or  Plane   Figure   normal  to 
Light. 

B.  The  same,  oblique  to  Light. 

C.  The  same  in  the  Plane  of  the  Light  : 


its  Shadow  on  a  Plane  is  a  Right  Line. 
D.  Plane  Figure  casting  Shadows  on  its 
own  Edge  :   aAcv/iCi/i  are  Shadows 
of  aftcrfr/. 


ffnte:  —  When  disc  becomes  a  plane  figure,  the  short  elements  ab,  cd,  on  its 
edge  (B)  with  their  shadows  0,6,  c,rf,  lose  their  significance  unless  the  figure  is  in 
the  plane  of  light  (C)  when  these  tihadows  mark  extreme  points  of  the  whole 
shadow. 

part  of  the  line  of  shade,  their  shadows  being  those  of  straight  lines 
connecting  the  shadows  of  the  two  opposite  half-perimeters  which 
complete  the  line  of  shade  (irf.,  B).  But  in  the  true  plane  figure 
these  become  mere  points,  important  only  as  the  rays  passing  through 
them  mark  extreme  points  of  the  cast  shadow. 

b.  When  such  a  disc  is  in  a  plane  parallel  to  the  direction  of  the 
light  (i.  e.,  a  plane  one  of   whose   elements  is  parallel  to  the  rays 
of  light)  the  only  light  it  receives  is  on  its  edge,  part  of  which  is 
in  light  and  part  in  shade,  separated  from  each  other  both  by  the 
elements  e  e  of  the  edge  where  the  rays  are  tangent  to  it,  and  by 
the    two    faces    of    the    disc,   which    are   in   shearing    light,   and 
form  in   reality  a  part  of   the   "line"   of    shade    (id.   C).      In   a 
real    plane  figure   we   have  a  curious    anomaly;    these   two   faces 
coalesce ;   the  lighted  edge,  like  the  shaded  edge,  becomes  a  mathe- 
matical  line,  and   the  short  elements   that   divide   them  are  mere 
points;  hence  the  whole  figure  is  its  own  line  of  shade:  the  invisible 
shadow  is  a  plane  coinciding  with  that  of  the  figure  itself,  and  its 
cast  shadow  a  line  or  figure  lying  in  that  plane ;  a  right  line,  indeed, 
where  the  surface  of  incidence  is  a  plane.     The  short  elements  e,  e, 
that  divide  the  light  from  the  dark  edge  are  significant  points,  their 
shadows  being  the  extremities  of  the  shadow  of  the  figure. 

c.  When  the  figure  is  irregular,  these  points  of  tangency  may  be 
numerous,  with  shadows  sometimes  falling  upon  the  edge  of   the 
figure  itself,  and  sometimes  outside  of  it  (id,  D).     All  these  consid- 
erations are  extremely  important,  as  they  form  the  foundation  of  the 
"  Method  of  Slicing  "  to  be  described  in  a  future  chapter,  by  which 
the  shade  and  shadow  of  any  geometrical  solid  may  be  found. 

22.  The  following  maxims  resume  the  preceding  considerations: 

VII.  The  invisible  shadow  of  a  point  is  a  line,  and  its  cast  shadow 
a  point. 

VIII.  a.  The  invisible  shadow  of  a  line  or  figure  is  a  surface,  and 
its  cast  shadow  a  line  or  figure. 

b.  The  invisible  shadow  of  a  right  line  is  a  plane,  and  its  cast 

•  A  cylindrical  surface  in  geometry  is  a  surface  generated  by  the  movement 
parallel  to  itself  of  a  right  line,  not  necessarily  in  a  circle,  but  along  a  path  or 
directrix  which  may  be  any  curve.  The  circular  cylinder  is  only  a  special  form 
of  cylindrical  surface. 


126 


The  American   Architect  and  Building  News.      [VOL.  XXV.— No.  690. 


shadow  a  right  line  when  oast  upon  a  plane.  In  all  other  cases  it  is 
a  plane  figure,  lying  in  the  plane  determined  by  the  line  itself  and 
the  rays  passing  through  it;  that  is,  in  the  plane  of  invisible  shadow. 

IX.  a.  The  invisible  shadow  of  a  plane  figure  is  a  surface,  cylin- 
drical or  prismoidal,  and  its  cast  shadow  a  figure,  except  when  the 
figure  lies  in  a  plane  parallel  to  the  light. 

b.  Jn  this  case  its  invisible  shadow  is  a  plane,  coinciding  with  that 
of  the  figure.  Its  cast  shadow  is  a  figure  lying  in  this  same  plane, 
and,  when  cast  upon  a  plane,  a  right  line. 

X.  The  shadow  of  a  solid  is  the  shadow  of  its  line  of  shade. 

23.  We  are  now  prepared  to  take  up  those  considerations  espe- 
cially relating  to  architectural  s-hades  and  shadows.     Attention  has 
already   been  called  to   the  precise  and  conventional  treatment  in 
architectural  drawings  of  the  phenomena  of  intensity  of  light,  shade 
and  shadow,  as  well  as  of  those  relating  to  the  direction  of  the  light 
(4).     The  former  have  been  treated  with  some  fulness ;  the  direc- 
tion of  the  luminous  rays  remains  to  be  considered.1 

24.  In  accordance  with  universal  practice,  the   direction  of  the 
light  in  architectural  plans,  elevations,  and  sections  is  assumed  to  be 

that  of  a  line  inclined  downward  to  the  right 
and  towards  the  picture  at  such  an  angle  that 
both  its  projections  are  inclined  at  45°  to 
the  ground-line  (ac,  a'c',  Figure  1 7).  This 
is  the  direction  of  one  of  the  diagonals  of  a 
cube  whose  faces  are  respectively  parallel 
and  perpendicular  to  the  planes  of  projec- 
tion, and  which  we  shall  hereafter  frequently 
refer  to  as  a  "  principal  cube."  For  in  the 
cube  abcil,  a'b'c'd'  (Figure  18),  which  is  so 
situated,  the  projections  of  the  diagonal 
from  the  left-hand  upper  near  corner  aa'  to 
the  lower  right-hand  farther  corner  cc'  are 
diagonals  of  the  squares  which  represent  the 
cube,  and,  therefore,  inclined  at  45°  to  cd, 

c'd'  and  GL.     But  this,  as  already  remarked,  is  the  assumed  direc- 
tion of  the  light. 

25.  This  angle  of  45°  is  the  projection  of  the  real  angle  made  by 
the  ray  with  either  plane  of  projection,  or,  in  other  words,  of  the 
anfile  made  by  the  diagonal  of  a  cube  with  any  of  its  faces,  to  all  of 
which  it  is  equally  inclined.     This  is  evident  from  an  inspection  of 
the  figure,  bearing  in  mind  the  fact  that  the  angle  of  inclination  of  a 
line  to  a  plane  is  always  measured  in  a  plane  normal  to  the  latter. 


E 


Diagonal  of  Cube  makes  equal  Angles^  * 
all  &ca  j/Oiif  Angle  aO^aC- 


The  assumed  direction- of l*ighl 
isthat  aj  one  Diagonal  o/  a.  Cube. 

Now,  if  we  take  the  side  of  a  square  as  unity,  its  diagonal  will  be 
measured  by  y/2,  (1.4142),  and  the  diagonal  of  the  cube  constructed 
upon  this  square  by  y/3,  (1.732).  The  ansle  &,  made  by  this  diag- 
C'i  al  with  either  face  of  the  cube,  will  then  be  the  angle  whose 
tangent  is  j^g  or  -707153,  which  is  the  natural  tangent  of  35°  15', 
very  nearly.  This  angle  is  easily  constructed  at  any  point  of  a  line, 
as  C  (Figure  20),  by  the  following  process  :  Erect  at  C  a  perpendic- 
ular of  convenient  length,  CD,  and  complete  the  square  CDEF. 
Draw  CE  and  revolve  it  down  upon  AB  ;  E  becomes  E'.  Now  com- 
plete the  rectangle  CDGE  and  draw  CG  :  GCE  will  be  the  angle  re- 
quired, GE  and  CE  being  respectively  equal  to  the  side  and  diago- 
nal of  the  square  of  CD.  A  pasteboard  triangle  similar  to  GCEwi\\, 
however,  save  the  trouble  of  geometrically  constructing  the  angle  #. 
26.  The  three  sides  of  such  a  triangle,  corresponding  respectively 
to  the  edges  of  a  cube,  the  diagonals  of  its  faces  and  its  own  diagonals, 
hold,  therefore,  to  each  other  the  simple  and  easily-remembered 
relation  of  y/1,  y/2,  and  y/3.  When  the  base  (instead  of  the  short 

side)  equals  unity,  the  short  side  is  equal  to  TTT  or  £  y/2,  and  the 
hypothenuse  to  y  ~  .  When  the  hypothenuse  equals  unity,  the  short 
side  equals  y/3  or  J  y/3,  and  the.  base  y/!  or  J  y/1 .' 

1 1n  the  discussion  of  this  topic  and  those  that  follow,  the  reader  is  supposed 
to  be  familiar  with  the  rudiments  of  descriptive  geometry.  Those  who  desire  to 
refresh  their  memories  in  regard  to  such  of  these  rudiments  as  are  necessary  for 
understanding  these  discussions  will  Ilnd  them  in  a  note  at  the  end  of  this 
chapter,  embodied  in  the  form  of  maxims,  for  whose  demonstration  they  are 
referred  to  the  text-books  on.the  subject. 


27.  Hereafter  the  angle  35°  15'  will  in  these  papers  be  called  the 
angle  i>.  The  square  constructed  upon  a  given  line  as  its  side  will 
be  called  the  square  of  lite  line,  and  its  diagonal  the  diagonal  of  the 


Fig.20 

Ceomelrical  Construction  of  Angled:  DE^Ct) 
CE.t-CE;QCE.-35'l5 


Diagonal  oj 'Side  <jf  Cube 


line.  The  latter  term  will  also  be  used,  when  necessary,  as  a 
measure  of  leni/lh,  the  diagonal  of  a  line  being  equal  to  the  line 
multiplied  by  y/  2. 

28.  The  advantages  of  taking  the  light  at  this  angle  can  be  indi- 
cated here  only  in  part.  Chief  among  them  is  the  fact  that  the 
widths  of  the  shadows  cast  by  architectural  features  become  thereby 
v  true  measures  of  the  amount 

»  ^.  of    relief    or    projection    of 

these  features  from  the  sur- 
face of  incidence.  Conse- 
quently, horizontal  and  verti- 
cal architectural  members 
projecting  or  retreating 
equally  from  a  vertical  wall 
or  other  surface,  as  the  jamb 
and  lintel  of  a  door,  cast 
shadows  of  equal  width  upon 
it,  which  can  only  happen 

/  ^-  when    the    light   falls   at   an 

Sha&as  cast  byLigntal  Angle 8 alcmtjurniji  anSle.  wh°se    vertical  projcc- 

fsataj-fs  cases  the  widths  of  the  shad- 

ows   are    wholly    misleading 

as  indications  of  the  amount  of  relief  or  projection  (  Figure  22). 
The  incidental  advantage  derived  from  the  use  of  the  45°  triangle 
alike  for  the  horizontal  and  vertical  projections  of  the  ray  is  by 'no 
means  an  unimportant  consideration. 

We  are  now  fully  equipped  for  the  encounter  with  the  problems 
of  architectural  sciography.  The  next  chapter  will  discuss  the 
general  method. 


NOTE  Figure  I  (1)  represents  in  perspective  a  portion  of  two  planes  of 
projection  commonly  employed  in  descriptive  geometry.  HP  is  the  hor- 
izontal, and  V'P  the  vertical  plane, 
and  their  intersection,  GL,  is  the 
ground-line.  Let  A  and  B  be  two 
points  in- space;  a  and  6  are  their 
horizontal,  and  a'  and  6'  their  verti- 
cal projections.  06  and  a'b'  are  the 
projections  of  the  line  in  space,  AB. 
The  lines  dropped  from  a  point 
in  space  to  its  projections  on  cither 
plane  arc  called  projecting-lines 
(Alt',  Aa;  Bb',  Bb) ;  they  are  nor- 
mal to  these  planes,  and  are  them- 
selves projected  as  lines  perpendic- 
ular to  GL  (aa,  a'a;  bb,  b'b).  The 
projecting-lines  of  all  points  in  a 


afo-verlica.1  prujecl/on  and ab  honzon 


'a'b,  andcd. adore  projections  of  lines  in 
spaceAB  tvdCDpamllet  toeach  other  But  Ef 
and  GH  are  not  parallel  since 'fjf 'and  ffh  Oft  not 


a.  t>    c     3 

tons  oja  line  Ofjigure  par 
a/If  I  to  one  plane  c/ projection. 


straight  line  to  a  plane  of  projection  collectively  form  a  projecting-plane 


1  It  Is  worth  remembering  that  the  reciprocal  of  the  square-root  of  a  quantity  is 
equal  to  the  square-root  of  its  reciprocal,  and  to  its  owu  square-root  multiplied 

by  its  own  reciprocal.    Thus,  i/ JT   =  reciprocal  of  y  |-  =  y  —  =  -j  ^~  • 


>o.  690. 


|  -  OLD-TIME .- 
Q^LIFOKMIA  • 


Htliitfpe  Srintixl  Ct.  Sostm 


.  690. 


^ND 

COPffllfiHT  1883  SI 


c 


lC>  T  PKAK50M  •  ARCHITECT 


,DING  HEWS, 


1559 


AT 


Heliitype  Printing  Co.Boston. 


Tlje 


^rcljitect  ai}d  Building  IJews,  EQarcli  16,  1559.      I^o.  690. 


Copyright,  1889,  by  TICKNOR  &  Co. 


HOUSE  OF  DR.  W.  B.  PARKER,  MARLBOROUGH  STREET,  BOSTON,  MASS. 

HARTWELL  &  RICHARDSON,  Architects. 


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TJie   American   Architect  ancf  Building  News. 


127 


d,b 


perpendicular  to  the  plane  of  projection.     In  descriptive  geometry  the 
two  planes  of  projection  are  represented  as  opened  apart,  so  to  speak, 

eo  as  to  coincide  with 
the  plane  of  the 
paper,  being  sepa- 
rated by  the  line  GL, 
as  shown  in  I  (2). 
Lines  and  points  in 
space  are  designated 
by  capital  letters, 
their  projections  by 
small  letters. 

1.  The  two  projec- 


I 


b 


Fro/edu>ns  if  lines  perpendicular  io  a  plane  t/fro/edtan. 
ABu,  perpendicular  to  VPand  CD  to  HP 


ht*honzonfa}  tr&ce 
of  plane  T  oblique  to 


u v 


tions  of  a  point  are 
points  lying  in  the 
same  straight  line 
perpendicular  to  GL.  The  projections  of  a  right  line  are  determined 
by  the  projections  of  any  two  points  of  that  line ;  and  the  projections 
of  a  point  are  the  intersections  of 
the  projections  of  any  two  lines  pass- 
ing through  it. 

2.  The  projections  on  either  plane 
of    projections  of  parallel   lines  are 
parallel.       Conversely,    lines    whose 
projections  in  both  planes  are  respec- 
tively parallel   are   parallel  to    each 
other.     In  Figure  II,  ab,  a'b>  and  erf, 
c'd'  are  projections  of  parallel  lines, 
AB  and  CD;  but  EF  and    GH  are 
not    parallel    because    their  vertical 
projections    e'f1     and     g'h'   are    not 
parallel. 

3.  If  a  line  or  plane  figure  is  par- 
allel to  a  plane  of  projection,  its  pro- 
jection   on   that  plane  is   a  line  or 

figure  equal  and  parallel  to  itself;  upon  the  other  plane  it  is  a  right 

line  parallel  to  GL  (Figure  III).    If  a  line  is  parallel  to  both  planes 

of  projection,  itself  and 
both  its  projections  are 
parallel  to  GL. 

4.  If  a  line  is  perpen- 
dicular to  one  plane  of 
projection  it  is  parallel 
to  the  other.  Its  pro- 
jection on  the  former 
is  a  point;  on  the  latter 
it  is  a  line  perpendicu- 
lar to  GL. 

6.  Every  imaginable 
plane  must  cut  one  or 
both  planes  of  projec- 
tion in  a  line  or  lines 
called  traces,  (a)  If  a 
plane  T  is  oblique  to 
both  planes  of  projec- 
tion its  traces  ht  and  v't 
are  oblique  to  G  L 
which  they  meet  in  a 
common  point  (.  (6) 
If  a  plane  Kis  parallel 
to  one  plane  of  projec- 
tion it  is  perpendicular 
to  the  other.  It  has 
no  trace  in  the  former, 

•while  its  trace  in  the  plane  to  which  it  is  perpendicular,  is  parallel 

to  GL. 

6.  When  a  plane  V  is  perpendicular  to  a  plane   of  projection,  its 
trace  in   the    latter 

contains  the  projec- 
tion of  every  point, 
line  and  figure  ly- 
ing in  V. 

7.  If   a   plane    is 
perpendicular  to  one 
plane  of  projection 
and  oblique  to  the 
other,    the     angle 
made  with   G  L  by 


el!  parallel  to  HP  has  (lertica. 
trace  vii  parallel  to  GL. 


'lane  IJp&pcndLcukir  to  VP  has  rtort  • 
eita]  trace  perpendicular  to  GL. 


TandU.bcing  per/jfnct'cuiaf  fo 
true  angle  between  them. 


its  trace  in  either 
plane  will  measure 
its  own  inclination 
to  the  other.  If  it 
is  perpendicular  to 
both  planes  of  pro- 
jection, both  its  tra- 
ces are  perpendicu- 
lar to  GL  and  in  the 
same  straight  line. 

7  a.  If  two  planes 
T  and  Khave  their 
traces  in  one  plane 
perpendicular  to  G 
L,  they  are  them- 
selves perpendicular 
to  the  other  plane  of 
projection,  and  the 
angle  between  their 
traces  in  the  latter,  measures  the  inclination  of  these  planes  to  each 
other.  Consequently  when  these  traces  cross  at  right  angles,  the  planes 
T  and  Fare  perpendicular  to  each  other  (Figure  VIII). 

8.  The  intersection  xy  of  two  planes  T  and  U  in  space  is  a  line  con- 


^Intersection  oj  hto  plaaesTiuMl  U  connect* 
the  mienectioruX 'ana 'Y 'gf 'their  tracts, 


necting  the  intersection  Y  of  its  horizontal  traces  with  that  x  of  its 
vertical  traces.  The  vertical  projection  of  XY  is  a  line  x'y'  connecting 
the  intersection  x1  of  the  vertical  traces  with  the  point  y'on  G  L  which  is 
the  vertical  projection  of  the  intersection  y  of  the  horizontal  traces. 
Similarly  xy  is  drawn  from  y,  the  intersection  of  the  horizontal  traces 
to  x  the  horizontal  projection  of  the  intersection  x1  of  the  vertical 
traces  (Figure  IX). 

8  a.  When  one  of  the  two  planes  is  perpendicular  to  a  plane  of  pro- 
jection, its  trace  on  that  plane  itself  contains  one  projection  of  X.  Y, 
(see  6).  When  both  are  perpendicular  to  a  plane  of  projection,  the  in- 


Fig.X\ 


! 
i 
i 
\fi 

Truces  ancf  intersection,  of  two 
planes iJsrpendLCular  IQ  V  'P- 


tersection  of  their  traces  on  that  plane  is  itself  the  corresponding  pro- 
jection of  X  Y.  On  the  other  plane  the  projection  of  X  Y  is  a  line  par- 
allel to  the  parallel  traces  of  the  two  planes. 

9.  If  a  plane  figure  is  parallel  to  one  plane  of  projection  it  is  perpen- 
dicular to  the  other.  Its  projection  on  the  former  is  a  figure  equal  and 
parallel  to  itself  ;  its  other  projection  is  a  line  parallel  to  G  L  and  coin- 
cides with  the  trace  of  its  own  plane  (see  0).  If  a  plane  figure  is  per- 
pendicular to  one  plane  of  projection  but  oblique  to  the  other,  its 
projection  on  the  former  is  a  right  line  coinciding  with  the  correspond- 
ing trace  of  its  own  plane  (6),  but  its  other  projection  is  neither  similar 
nor  parallel  to  the  figure.  Thus  a  circle  A  B  perpendicular  to  //  P  and 
oblique  to  V'P  has  for  its  horizontal  projection  the  right  line  afc, 
while  its  vertical  projection  is  the  ellipse  a'li'. 

[To  be  continued.l 


[  Contributors  are  requested  to  send  with  their  drawings  full   and 
adequate  descriptions  of  the  buildings,  including  a  statement  of  cost.] 

HOUSE  OF  DR.  W.  B.  PARKER,  MARLBOROUGH  ST.,  BOSTON, 
MASS.  MESSRS.  HARTWELL  &  RICHARDSON,  ARCHITECTS, 
BOSTON,  MASS. 

[Gelatine  Print,  issued  only  with  the  Imperial  Edition.] 

THE    LURAY   INN,    LURAY,    VA.      MR.    GEORGE    T.    PEARSON,  ARCHI- 
TECT,   PHILADELPHIA,   PA. 

THIS  illustration  shows  the  building  as  recently  enlarged. 

INTERIOR   OF    ST.    MARK'S,    VENICE,    AFTER    AN    ETCHING    BY  OTTO 

BACKER. 

THE  MISSION  CHURCH,  SANTA  BARBARA,  CAL.  —  AN  OLD  CALI- 
FORNIA HOUSE.  —  COURT-YARD  OF  AN  ADOBE  HOUSE  AT  LOS 
ANGKLE8,  CAL.  SKETCHED  BY  MR.  J.  G.  HOWARD,  CI1ELMS- 
FORD,  MASS. 


No  SUNDAY  OPENING  FOR  THE  METROPOLITAN  MUSEUM  OF  FIXE 
ART.  —  The  interest  that  is  felt  in  the  proposition  to  open  the  Metro- 
politan Museum  of  Art  to  the  public  on  Sundays  is  not  confined  to  the 
progressive  citizen  of  New  York.  People  of  this  description  in  all  parts 
of  the  country  are  equally  interested  in  the  matter,  and  one  of  them 
has  recently  taken  a  very  emphatic  course  to  show  how  thoroughly  he 
believes  the  thing  ought  to  be  done.  In  recent  conversation  with  one 
of  the  Trustees  of  the  Museum  upon  the  question,  Mr.  W.  T.  Walters 
of  Baltimore,  was  given  to  understand  that  the  principal  reason  why 
the  Museum  was  not  opened  on  Sundays  was  that  it  would  cost  $2,000  a 
year  in  addition  to  the  present  expenses  of  maintenance  to  do  so.  Mr. 
Walters  upon  his  return  home  at  once  inclosed  his  check  for  §10,000  to 
the  Board  of  Trustees,  and  wrote  an  accompanying  letter,  saying  that 
the  contribution  was  to  be  used  in  defraying  the  cost  of  keeping  the 
Museum  open  on  Sundays  to  the  general  public  for  five  years.  The 
matter  was  submitted  to  the  consideration  of  the  Board,  and  after  con- 
sultation the  check  was  returned,  with  the  statement  that  the  Board 
could  not  afford  to  accept  the  proposition.  They  were  afraid  of 
alienating  strong  support  from  the  institution.  —  New  York  Times. 


128 


The   American  Architect  and  Building  News.      [VOL.  XXV.  — No.  690. 


CHAPTERS    FROM    THE    HISTORY    OF    CARPENTRY 
AND  JOINERY.1 


An  Italian  Tomb.     From  Le  Monlteur  des  Architect!!. 

BETWEEN  the  decline  of  the  Roman  Empire  and  the  tenth 
century  there  is  a  long  and  dark  period,  when  little  peaceful 
activity  and  much  warlike  strife  went  on  in  Europe,  and  this  has 
left  nothing  for  us  to  consider  to-night.  After  this  comes  the  period 
known  as  the  Middle  Ages,  which  may  be  roughly  described  as 
beginning  a  little  before  the  First  Crusade,  and  continuing  to  the 
Reformation.  We  have  a  great  many  remains  of  work  done  at  that 
time  in  our  own  country,  and  the  same  is  true  of  the  time  which 
followed  it  —  the  modern  period. 

England  (and  when  it  is  practicable,  London)  will  chiefly  illus- 
trate this  history  for  us,  though  we  must  refer  to  Continental  wood- 
work also. 

There  is  not  much  builders'  work  of  any  sort  except  the  most 
sturdy  which  has  come  down  to  us  from  the  time  of  our  Saxon  kings, 
but  there  is  —  or  was  ten  years  ago  —  a  small  ancient  timber  church 
at  Greenstead,  in  Essex,  near  Ongar,  of  which  Sir  Gilbert  Scott 
gives  a  description  in  his  lectures.  lie  says  that  "the  foundation  of 
it  can  be  traced  back  to  A.  D.  1013,  which  is  more  than  fifty  years 
anterior  to  the  Norman  Conquest.  The  structure  is  composed  of 
cleft  oak  trees,  grooved  and  tongued  together  by  their  edges,  and  let 
into  grooves  in  horizontal  beads  and  sills.  The  exterior  of  the  trees 
was  exposed  on  the  outside  of  the  church,  the  sapwood  of  which 
having  long  since  perished,  the  furrowed  and  gnarled  heart  is  now 
seen,  presenting  a  most  ancient  and  interesting  appearance.  It  has 
been  repaired,  but  I  trust  that  its  antiquity  has  not  been  com- 
promised.'' 

The  Norman  Conquest  placed  this  country  at  the  disposal  of  a 
race  of  very  energetic  and  clever  invaders,  who  were  builders, 
sailors  and  shipbuilders.  In  every  part  of  England  Norman  churches 
and  castles,  and  in  the  great  towns  Norman  cathedrals  and 
monasteries  sprang  up,  and  the  floors  and  roofs  of  these  buildings 
required  the  skill  of  the  carpenter,  and  some  of  the  roofs  —  such,  for 
example,  a?  that  over  the  nave  of  Peterborough  Cathedral  —  were  of 
not  inconsiderable  span,  and  carried  a  flat  wooden  ceiling.  As 
Gothic  architecture  gradually  developed,  the  roofs,  timber-spires  and 
floors,  and  the  internal  woodwork  of  churches  and  other  buildings 
improved ;  though  it  must  be  admitted  that,  with  our  present  notions 
and  habits,  we  should  have  considered  the  carpenters  of  those  early 
times  clumsy ;  and  it  is  impossible  to  deny  that  some  of  the  earlier 
roofs  of  which  the  framing  still  remains  are  unscientific.  The  most 
important  works  of  the  carpenter  are  timber  roofs.  I  had  the  honor 
of  giving  a  lecture  on  this  subject  in  1885,  and  as  many  of  you  may 
have  heard  that  lecture,  and  all  can  consult  it  in  the  building 
journals,  I  shall  make  my  reference  to  this  branch  of  the  subject 
brief,  pointing  out,  however,  that  the  early  carpenters  used  very- 
large  timbers,  placed  very  close  together,  and  of  oak  or  chestnut,  so 
that  their  structures,  if  heavy,  were  very  strong. 

I  had  to  point  out  in  that  lecture  how  the  use  of  a  tie-beam  was 
early  abandoned,  and  a  collar  substituted  as  roofs  became  more  steep ; 
how  in  various  ways  curved  ties,  ribs  and  struts  were  introduced ; 
and  how  the  what  is  called  a  wall-piece,  which  it  was  always 
customary  to  use,  was  made  to  project  inwards,  and  was  supported 
by  braces  and  grew  by  steps  which  can  be  traced  in  a  succession  of 
English  church-roofs,  till  it  became  that  peculiarly  English  feature, 
the  hammer-beam.  The  finest  specimen  of  the  hammer-beam  roof  is 
that  over  Westminster-Hall,  dating  from  A.  D.  1397.  The  peculari- 
ties  of  English  roof-carpentery,  when  at  its  best,  are  well  illustrated 
in  this  roof.  They  may  be  pointed  out  as  the  use  of  the  hammer- 
beam;  the  use  of  vertical  and  horizontal  main  timbers  within  the 
lines  of  the  principal  rafters,  to  the  almost  total  exclusion  of  raking- 


i  A  portion  of  a  lecture  delivered  by  Prof.  T.  Roger  Smith  at  Carpenters'  Hall 
on  Wednesday,  Feb.  6. 


struts  or  braces  —  keeping  all  horizontal  ties  high  up;  the  introduc- 
tion of  curved  ribs  and  struts  so  as  in  some  way  to  give  an  arched 
form  to  the  main  lines  of  the  truss,  and  the  filling-in  of  all  spaces  in 
the  framework  with  small  bars.  In  several  respects  these  peculari- 
ties  are  not  those  to  be  met  with  in  modern  roofs,  but  it  must  not  be 
forgotten  that  the  material  was  hardwood,  and  the  joints  were 
excellently  made  and  pinned,  so  that  the  timbers  were  far  more 
rigid  when  framed  together  than  ours. 

No  one  can,  I  think,  look  at  this  noble  roof  without  feeling  that, 
as  a  work  of  fine  art  executed  in  carpentry,  it  is  one  of  the  most 
successful  that  have  come  down  to  us.  The  roof  really  is  West- 
minster-Hall, and  nowhere  hare  we  an  example  of  carpentry  so 
thoroughly  architectural. 

Among  the  causes  of  its  success,  we  must  reckon  the  excellence  of 
the  lines  of  the  truss  and  the  regular  repetition  of  truss  after  truss. 
The  repetition  of  any  framework  good  enough  to  span  that  vast 
space  would  strike  the  eye,  for  regular  repetition  is  one  of  the 
acknowledged  sources  of  architectural  effect,  but  this  framework  is 
not  only  obviously  sturdy,  but  it  is  full  of  beauty.  The  great  curved 
ribs,  the  bold  hammer-beams,  the  finely-carved  angels  that  terminate 
these  hammer-beams  —  each  of  these  is  a  striking  feature,  and  its 
force  is  intensified  by  its  being  repeated  again  and  again  all  down 
the  long  space.  Then  the  appropriateness  and  beauty  of  the  mould- 
ings and  the  filling-in  heighten  the  effect,  of  which  the  force  is 
further  intensified  by  the  introduction  of  a  series  of  arched  braces 
which  run  from  one  truss  to  another,  and  connect  the  whole  into  one 
roof,  and  by  the  skill  with  which  the  openings  are  formed  where  the 
dormer  lights  occur.  In  smaller,  and  perhaps  in  simpler,  roofs,  all 
these  sources  of  beauty  may,  to  some  extent,  be  found,  but  nowhere 
else  are  they  so  perfect;  and  the  impression  they  produce  on  the 
spectator  is,  no  doubt,  heightened  by  the  great  span  of  the  hall,  and 
the  almost  colossal  scale  on  which  the  work  has  been  done. 

Referring  you  to  my  previous  lecture  for  details  of  this  roof,  and 
for  an  account  of  other  hammer-beam  roofs,  especially  the  singularly 
beautiful  one  which  spans  the  Middle  Temple  hall,  I  propose  to  ask 
you  to  consider,  for  a  little,  timber-built  dwelling-houses,  a  subject  of 
no  small  interest. 

In  France  there  still  remained  till  the  early  part  of  this  century, 
and  may  linger  yet  occasionally,  half-timbered  houses  dating  from  the 
twelfth  century.  One  of  them  is  described  and  illustrated  in  Viollet- 
le-Duc's  "Dictionary."  It  is  a  small  three-storied  house  fronting  the 
street,  with  side  walls  of  masonry,  which  are  corbelled  out  just 
below  the  level  of  the  first  floor.  The  front  wall  is  formed  of  large 
heavy  timbers,  framed  together,  and  with  the  comparatively  narrow 
spaces  that  they  leave  filled-in  with  plastering. 

The  first  floor  overhangs  the  ground-floor,  but  the  second  floor  is 
plumb  over  the  first.  The  window-heads  are  partly  segmental  and 
partly  semicircular,  and  cut  out  of  the  solid  wood.  The  timbers  are 
most  elaborately  mortised  and  tenoned  together,  the  framing  being 
more  like  that  employed  in  joinery  or  shipbuilding  than  like  car- 
penters' work. 

From  the  thirteenth  to  the  sixteenth  century  half-timbered  work 
was  freely  employed  in  France  in  house-building,  and  the  timbers  are 
much  more  moderate  in  size,  well-squared,  very  carefully  put 
together,  and  where  enriched  the  mouldings  are  truly  worked.  In 
these  timber-framed  structures  we  may,  from  the  first,  see  well 
carried  out  the  principle  which  was  universally  adhered  to  in  Gothic 
carpentry  in  joinery  ;  namely,  that  wherever  the  timbers  met  and  were 
framed  together,  whether  they  were  halved  or  were  mortised  and 
tenoned,  they  should  be  square.  Consequently,  all  mouldings  are 
stopped  or  made  to  run  out  to  the  face.  There  is  thus  as  much  wood 
as  possible  at  the  shoulders  to  the  mortises  and  tenons,  and  the 
strength  is  kept  for  the  places  where  it  is  most  wanted. 

It  is  almost  invariably  the  case  in  these  timber  fronts  that  each 
story  overhangs  the  one  below  it,  and  at  the  top  there  is  either  a 
gable  with  a  finely-worked  barge-board,  or,  less  frequently,  an  eaves- 
gutter  and  a  roof,  usually  broken  by  one  or  more  dormers. 

In  the  general  treatment  there  was  a  tendency  for  the  timbers  to 
be  lighter  as  time  went  on,  otherwise  the  changes  in  mode  of  framing, 
etc.,  were  not  great,  except  that  in  later  examples  you  will  find  more 
diagonal  braces.  The  ornamental  work,  however,  e.  g.,  the  carving, 
the  enriched  barge-boards  and  the  heads  of  doorways  and  windows, 
partook  always  of  the  character  of  the  moulding  and  carving  in 
general  use  at  the  time. 

It  is  specially  characteristic  of  French  timber-built  houses  that  the 
plates  into  which  the  overhanging  joists  are  pinned  are  almost 
always  beautifully  moulded,  and  that  the  gables  and  the  dormers 
(where  those  features  occur)  have  curved  timbers,  so  combined  with 
their  barge-boards  as  to  give  a  distinctly  arched  appearance  to  that 
feature. 

In  England  timber-built  houses  dating  from  before  the  fifteenth 
century  are  very  scarce  ;  we  have  some  of  that  century,  more  of  the 
sixteenth,  and  still  more  of  the  seventeenth;  nor  did  the  change  in 
taste,  which  we  call  the  Renaissance,  very  radically  affect  our  timber 
houses. 

Had  it  not  been  that  they  all  perished  in  the  Great  Fire,  we 
should  have,  no  doubt,  still  many  examples  of  timber  buildings  in 
London ;  as  it  is,  I  can  only  point  you  to  one  or  two.  The  most 
accessible  specimen  is  on  the  south  side  of  Holborn,  nearly  opposite 
Grav's  Inn  Road,  where  the  gabled  fronts  of  several  houses,  modern- 
ized on  the  ground-floor,  retain  above  the  kind  of  construction  which 
caused  this  ancient  Company  of  Carpenters  to  hold  at  one  time  the 


MARCH  16,  1889.] 


The  American  Architect  and  Building  News. 


129 


most  important  position  of  any  of  the  London  companies  that  had  to 
do  with  building. 

A  timber-built  house  was  what  is  now  usually  called  half-timbered. 
It  had  a  low  plinth  or  foundation  of  masonry.  The  fabric  of  its 
walla  consisted  of  vertical  timbers  framed  into  a  plate  resting  on  the 
foundation  and  into  another  above,  and  usually  strengthened  or 
stayed  sideways  from  one  to  another.  Usually  the  first  set  of 
timbers  only  reached  to  the  top  of  the  ground  story.  The  joists 
of  the  first  floor,  which  were  really  massive  timbers,  quite  unlike  our 
modern  joists,  overhung,  and  the  framing  of  the  upper  part  conse- 
quently could  be  carried  on  a  plate  supported  upon  the  ends  of  the 
joists,  and  so  could  project  beyond  that  of  the  ground  story. 
Where  this  occurred  at  the  corner  of  a  street,  a  massive  post,  often 
much  enriched  with  carving,  was  usual,  and  many  of  these  posts  re- 
main in  country  towns,  even  though  the  houses  have  been  modern- 
ized. The  spaces  between  the  timbers  were  filled  with  brickwork, 
or  more  often  lathed  and  plastered.  Occasionally  they  were  filled 
with  tiles,  and  sometimes  with  woodwork,  or  even  the  whole  boarded 
over. 

A  great  many  good  manor-houses  were  constructed  in  this  manner 
in  the  North  of  England,  where  a  series  of  fine  old  half-timbered 
houses  remaining  in  Cheshire  and  Lancashire  may  serve  as  a  basis 
for  some  general  remarks.  The  dates  of  the  most  famous  examples 
belong  to  the  sixteenth  century,  or  are  near  it.  Thus,  out  of  a  list 
of  thirty-eight,  I  find  seven  to  belong  to  the  fifteenth  century,  the 
earliest  date  being  1460,  and  nine  to  belong  to  the  seventeenth 
century,  the  latest  date  being  1648,  but  the  remaining  twenty-two 
are  sixteenth  century.  ]t  is  astonishing  to  note  how  small  the 
differences  are  between  the  early  and  the  late  examples.  Almost 
without  exception  these  homely,  but  very  striking,  houses  are  of  two 
low  stories  only.  The  upper  story  usually  overhangs,  but  not  in  a 
very  marked  way.  The  gables  are  never  of  a  sharp  pitch.  The 
roofs  overhang  considerably,  and  are  finished  by  plain  barge-boards 
usually  without  finials,  pendants,  or  carving.  The  walls  and  gables 
are  constructed  of  strong  timbers,  well-framed  together  and  pinned 
at  the  joints;  almost  always  stained  a  strong  black,  and  with  the 
spaces  between  them  filled-in  with  plastering  kept  quite  white,  so 
that  the  contrast  is  striking.  There  seem  to  be  two  schemes  of 
arrangement  for  the  timbers,  but  both  occur  sometimes  in  the  same 
building  in  different  parts.  In  the  simpler  scheme  the  timbers  are 
most  of  them  uprights,  fixed  very  little  more  than  their  own  width 
apart,  and  with  a  few  horizontal  timbers  hardly  breaking  the 
monotony.  Good  examples  of  this  are  Agecroft  Hall,  Cheshire,  and 
parts  of  Bramhall  Hall,  Cheshire,  and  Worsley  Old  Hall,  near  Man- 
chester. In  the  other  scheme  the  timbers  are  about  three  times  as 
far  apart  as  in  the  last.  Horizontal  transoms  are  more  frequent, 
and  there  is  a  strong  tendency  to  form  panels  that  are  nearly  square, 
though  oblong  upright  panels  are  also  common. 

These  panels  are  filled-in  by  smaller  pieces,  often  so  arranged  as 
to  form  a  diamond,  arranged  with  its  corners  resting  against  the 
sides  of  the  main  square,  and  having  the  inner  face  worked  into 
some  sort  of  quatrcloil  —  which  figure  is  constantly  employed  in 
many  different  forms.  Sometimes  the  long  panels  are  filled  with 
diagonal  braces  —  a  whole  row  of  these  sloping  all  the  same  way  — 
but  it  is  interesting  to  notice  that  crossed  diagonal  braces,  which  are 
quite  common  in  French  examples,  rarely  occur  in  the  panels,  though 
in  some  instances  a  gable-end  is  covered  with  a  kind  of  reticulation 
formed  of  crossed  beams.  In  the  Hall  i'  th'  Wood,  a  late  example 
near  Bolton,  attributed  to  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
nearly  every  form  of  enriched  panel  is  used,  including  panels  formed 
by  the  use  of  curved  lines,  obtained,  probably,  by  selecting  naturally 
curved  pieces ;  and  in  this  and  some  other  examples  the  builders 
seem  to  have  been  bent  upon  covering  every  part  of  the  surface  with 
elaborate  and  startlingly  brilliant  patterns ;  but  generally  the  richness 
is  kept  concentrated  on  such  places  as  gables  and  bands  of  ornament, 
and  considerable  portions  are  kept  simple  in  treatment.  The  ex- 
tremely strong  contrast,  between  the  black  timber  and  the  white 
filling-in  makes  all  these  buildings  a  little  startling  in  appearance. 

I  have  mentioned  that  in  these  north-country  examples  the  over- 
hanging of  the  upper  story  is  not  always  met  with  and  not  made 
conspicuous.  I  ought  to  add  that  when  it  occurs  it  often  is  worked 
into  a  kind  of  shallow  cove. 

If  you  compare  these  examples  with  such  as  can  be  found  nearer 
London  —  say  at  Penshurst  or  Tonbridge  -  some  points  of  contrast 
present  themselves.  In  the  south-country  houses  the  roofs  are 
steeper,  the  barge-boards  more  ornamental  and  often  have  pendants, 
and  the  buildings  are  sometimes  higher.  The  quatrefoiled  and  other 
patterns  in  panels  rarely  occur,  and  the  timbers  are  not  so  massive, 
nor  are  they  made  so  black.  On  the  other  hand,  the  upper  story 
generally  overhangs  very  decidedly,  and  so  as  to  cast  a  bold  shadow ; 
and  very  often  a  bay-window  is  thrown  out  in  the  lower  story,  the 
front  of  which  projects  exactly  as  far  as  the  upper  timbers  overhang, 
so  that  the  face  of  the  bay  is  carried  on  by  the  face  of  the  upper 
part  of  the  building  in  the  story  above. 

One  example  of  a  timber-fronted  building  of  the  most  ornamental 
class,  containing  also  a  fine  hall,  survives  in  London  in  Crosby  Hall, 
Bishopsgate,  ami,  though  various  alterations  have  been  introduced 
into  the  interior,  which  is  now  a  restaurant,  I  believe  the  front  to 
the  street,  though  it  has  necessarily  been  much  repaired,  gives  a  good 
example  in  the  original  form  of  what  such  places  as  this  were  at 
their  best. 

Following  the  plan  I  have  before  adopted,  let  us  consider  for  a 


moment  the  carpenter  engaged  upon  these  timber-framed  houses  as 
an  artist.  Very  few  persons  will  deny  that  these  buildings  possess  a 
great  charm.  They,  of  course,  have  the  antique  air  which  adds 
a  touch  of  something  like  romance  to  the  actual  beauty  of  any  work 
of  architecture ;  but  they  have  intrinsic  claims  on  our  admiration. 
One  of  these  is  that  they  display  their  structure.  In  all  buildings 
where  the  construction  can  be  traced  at  a  glance  the  mere  fact  of 
seeing  how  the  fabric  holds  together  seems  to  rivet  attention  and  to 
satisfy  the  instincts  of  the  spectator.  This  structural  work  has, 
moreover,  the  quality  of  breaking  up  and,  so,  enriching  the  surface  of 
the  wall.  This  pleases  the  eye,  and,  what  is  more,  it  adds  to  the 
apparent  size  of  the  building,  so  that  quite  a  modest  house,  not  much 
more  than  a  cottage,  rises  into  importance.  The  bold  shadows 
thrown  by  the  overhanging  story,  where  it  occurs,  and  by  the  pro- 
jecting roof,  are  sources  of  striking  effect  when  the  building  is 
lighted  up  by  sunshine,  and  if  the  panels  have  ornamental  fillinn-in, 
or  if  any  of  the  prominent  timbers  or  the  barge-boards  have  carving 
or  are  moulded,  such  a  touch  of  refinement  enriches  the  whole. 
Simplicity  in  the  general  forms  united  to  a  good  deal  of  variety,  and 
richness  to  a  certain  extent,  concentrated  upon  well-chosen  points, 
are  characteristic  of  the  greater  part  of  our  English  half-timbered 
houses  and  halls,  and  such  a  combination  is  almost  sure  to  succeed. 

Examples  of  English  half-timbered  work  are  to  be  found  in  many 
of  our  oldest  towns,  and  also  in  country  places.  They  exist,  for  ex- 
ample, at  Chester,  Shrewsbury,  Tewkesbury,  Coventry,  Bury  St. 
Edmunds,  Canterbury;  Weobley,  in  Herefordshire;  Sherborne,  in 
Dorsetshire — -all  of  them  places  of  remote  origin.  The  most 
interesting  country  examples  are,  of  course,  more  widely  scattered, 
but  a  good  many  can  be  found  within  reach  of  Penshurst  and  Ton- 
bridge,  including  almost  the  whole  of  one  little  village  —  Chidding- 
stone. 

There  are  timber  houses  in  many  parts  of  the  continent  of  Europe, 
as  well  as  France.  In  several  parts  of  Germany  and  Switzerland 
timber  houses,  often  of  great  size,  and  sometimes  of  great  beauty, 
are  common,  and  the  same  is  the  case  in  Sweden  and  Norway,  but 
as  these  buildings  differ  altogether  from  our  timber  houses,  and 
would  require  almost  an  evening  to  themselves,  if  justice  is  to  be 
done  to  them,  I  shall  not  attempt  to  notice  them  to-night. 

It  can  hardly  have  escaped  at  least  some  of  you  that  these  timber 
buildings  in  England  have  been  described  as  resembling  one  another 
very  greatly,  and  yet  that  the  date  of  many  of  them  is  long  past  the 
time  when  a  radical  change  of  taste  took  place.  That  transformation, 
which  we  now  call  the  Renaissance  —  or  the  revival  of  Classic  art  — 
began  in  Italy  in  the  fifteenth  century,  spread  to  France,  and  made 
its  first  appearance  in  this  country  at  or  soon  after  the  beginning,  in 
1509,  of  Henry  VIIl's  reign  ;  but  after  that  there  was  a  long  period 
of  transition  known  by  the  names  of  Tudor  and  Jacobean  before  the 
new  style  completely  prevailed,  and  it  is  interesting  to  note  that 
even  long  after  the  details  of  most  stone  buildings,  especially  in  the 
great  cities,  had  become  quite  Italianized,  the  old  traditions  in- 
lluenced  the  builders  of  timber  houses.  In  many  country  places  they 
lingered  on  very  late  indeed,  and  in  some  sorts  of  woodwork 
they  still  exist ;  as,  for  example,  in  the  ornaments  and  mouldings  of 
some  sorts  of  barges  and  of  many  country  wagons,  which  resemble 
to  this  day  those  in  use  in  Gothi:  buildings. 

In  other  branches  of  the  carpenter's  art  the  change  in  taste  was 
more  rapidly  visible.  Such  open-timber  roofs  as  belong  to  the 
seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries  are  entirely  different  in  their 
details  and  ornaments  from  the  Gothic  ones,  and  as  time  went  on 
ornamental  carpentry  became  much  more  scarce  than  it  had  been, 
and  carpentry  after  the  sixteenth  century  is  chiefly  remarkable  for 
the  scientific  skill  of  the  carpenter. 

Carpentry  was,  however,  largely  employed  in  providing  the  shell 
or  form  of  domes,  high-pitched  roofs  and  turrets,  which,  covered 
with  metal  or  tiles,  formed  conspicuous  ornaments  on  the  sky-line  of 
Renaissance  buildings,  and  in  this  way  it  contributed  to  the  archi- 
tectural effect  of  many  striking  buildings.  For  example,  the  external 
dome  of  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  in  London,  and  the  Invalides,  in  Paris, 
are  timber-framed  and  covered  with  lead  in  one  case,  and  copper  in 
the  other. 

One  more  chapter  —  a  brief  and  imperfect  one  —  we  will  devote 
to  joiners'  work.  Of  very  ancient  joinery  we  have  a  few,  but  very 
few  traces,  of  the  sort  which  ancient  carpentry  has  left.  Of  Gothic, 
or  medijEval  joinery  very  little  remains  from  as  far  back  as  the 
thirteenth  centurv ;  more  remains  from  the  fourteenth,  and  a  vast 
amount  from  the  fifteenth  and  the  early  part  of  the  sixteenth. 
These  examples  are  chiefly  in  the  benches,  stalls,  screens  and  other 
fittings  of  cathedrals  and  churches. 

Many  noble  examples  of  transitional  joinery  exist  in  the  shape  of 
the  great  staircases,  the  panelled  walls,  the  screens,  and  occasionally 
the  ceilings  of  the  many  fine  mansions  erected  in  Elizabeth's  reign ; 
and  while",  as  we  have  just  seen,  carpenters'  work  lost  much  of  its 
ornamental  importance  at  the  time  when  the  Renaissance  became 
fully  established,  that  of  the  joiner  continued  to  be  prominent.  Of 
this,  the  choir-stalls  and  organ-screen  at  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  and 
the  fittings  of  Wren's  churches  generally,  may  stand  as  examples. 

In  the  pinery  both  of  England  and  France,  executed  at  the  time 
when  Gothic  architecture  prevaile.l,  we  find,  as  is  well  pointed  out 
by  the  great  French  writer,  Viollet-le-Duc,  two  main  principles:  1. 
Great  economy  of  material.  2.  As  much  strength  as  possible  secured 
where  the  parts  join.  It  is  an  almost  invariable  rule  that  all  the 
framin"  is  of  moderate  dimensions.  The  panels  are  always  of 


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moderate  width,  so  that  they  can  be  cut  from  one  piece  of  wood,  and 
no  pieces  of  large  scantling  or  great  thickness  are  introduced.  The 
material  was  mostly  hard  wood  —  nearly  all  oak.  It  was  selected 
with  care ;  a  great  deal  of  time  was  devoted  to  seasoning  it,  and  it 
came  to  be  looked  upon  as  very  precious,  and  if  material  could  be 
spared,  even  at  the  expense  of  extra  labor,  the  preference  was  given 
to  the  economy  of  material  rather  than  economy  of  labor. 

The  other  point,  the  care  with  which  the  joiner  of  the  Middle 
Ages  secured  as  much  of  the  stuff  as  possible  at  the  places  where  his 
joints  come,  can  hardly  have  escaped  the  notice  of  any  practical  men 
in  my  audience  who  have  examined  a  piece  of  old  framing,  and  it 
affects  the  design  quite  as  much  as  the  construction. 

Wherever  two  pieces  are  framed  together,  it  is  usual  that  both  — 
or,  if  not  both,  at  least  one,  and  that  one  usually  the  one  in  which 
the  mortise  is  cut  —  should  be  square.  Consequently,  in  such  a 
piece  of  work  as  a  door,  if  there  are  mouldings  or  chamfers  on  the 
styles,  they  are  stopped  before  the  point  where  each  rail  is  framed. 
In  much  Gothic  panelling,  therefore,  the  sides  that  enclose  each 
panel  are  stop-chamfered  or  stop-moulded,  the  top  of  the  panel  (i.  e., 
the  bottom  edge  of  the  rail)  is  moulded,  but  the  bottom  of  the  panel, 
t.  e.,  the  top  edge  of  the  lower  rail,  is  very  often  splayed ;  and  the 
system  which  we  are  all  familiar  with,  of  mouldings  mitred  round  a 
panel,  was  almost  unknown  in  England  till  the  sixteenth  century  ; 
nor  was  it  the  practice  to  plant  mouldings  on  as  we  now  often  do,  or 
to  make  use  of  the  projecting  mouldings,  called  bollection  mouldings. 
Thus,  you  perceive,  the  framework  of  every  panel  was  quite  different 
from  the  framework  of  a  modern  panel  in  appearance.  The  panel 
also  sometime?  differed;  it  was  often  enriched  by  carving  on  it  an 
ornament  in  relief.  This  ornament  was  very  often  what  is  known 
as  a  linen-fold  panel  —  a  conventional  sort  of  imitation  of  a  piece  of 
cloth  nailed  upon  the  panel,  and  extremely  rich  in  effect  in  many 
cases. 

Although  curved  forms  were  largely  used  in  the  stone  architecture 
of  Gothic  buildings,  the  designers  of  joinery  were  very  chary  indeed 
of  introducing  them.  Sometimes  imitations  of  small  arcades,  cut  out 
of  not  very  thick  stuff,  and  similar  small  decorative  features,  occur ; 
but,  generally  speaking,  all  the  main  lines  of  the  joinery  are  straight, 
so  as  not  to  cut  across  the  grain  of  the  wood.  In  rich  and  elaborate 
work  there  is  hardly  any  limit  to  the  degree  of  ornamental  work  in- 
troduced, and  here,  of  course,  circular  work  occurs  at  times. 
Perhaps  no  example  within  reach  will  give  you  so  good  an  idea  of 
what  was  accomplished  when  joinc.ry  was  employed  as  the  ornament 
of  a  very  rich  building,  as  the  stalls  in  Henry  VIl's  Chapel  at  West- 
minster Abbey  —  a  work  executed  just  at  the  time  when  Gothic 
architecture  was  about  to  give  way  to  the  new  style,  and  as  florid 
and  ornate  as  possible. 

The  general  appearance,  however,  of  even  highly  ornamental 
Gothic  joiners'  work  is  decidedly  dignified,  if  not  severe.  The 
squareness  and  regularity  of  the  leading  lines,  the  frequency  of  the 
panels  and  the  smallness  of  the  mouldings  all  contribute  to  produce 
this  effect.  Much  modern  joinery  has  been  done  from  designs  made 
by  men  who  thoroughly  understand  the  old,  and,  for  our  purpose, 
some  of  it  is  as  good  as  the  old.  For  a  good  specimen  of  what  I  call 
the  severe  quality  of  Gothic  joinery,  I  think  you  may  go  to  the  new 
Law  Courts,  from  Mr.  Street's  designs,  where  you  will  see  in  the 
wainscot  fittings  of  the  courts  and  other  parts  the  style  of  the 
thirteenth  century  thoroughly  well  carried  out.  For  an  equally 
exact  reproduction  of  the  richest  joiners'  work  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  I  would  ask  you  to  go  to  the  I  louses  of  Parliament,  espe- 
cially the  House  of  Lords,  where  you  will  see  elaboration  carried  to 
an  extent  for  which  only  a  national  work  of  that  sort  affords  the 
opportunity. 

The  joiner's  work,  like  that  of  the  carpenter,  was  affected  by  the 
change  of  taste  at  the  Renaissance,  and  was,  I  think,  earlier  and 
more,  completely  transformed  than  the  mason's  and  carpenter's  work. 
It  is  not  an  unusual  thing  to  see  in  an  Elizabethan  manor-house, 
where  the  general  forms  retain  a  great  deal  of  Gothic  character, 
panelling  in  the  hall  and  staircase  of  thorough  Classic  design,  and 
possibly  a  screen  in  woodwork  (such,  for  example,  as  the  one  at 
Audley  End),  where  imitations  of  Italian  pilasters,  columns,  arcades, 
and  so  forth,  are  executed  in  wood  cleverly  enough,  and  with  excel- 
lent effect  of  their  kind,  but  of  a  character  entirely  and  totally  dif- 
ferent from  that  which  a  screen  executed  a  century  earlier,  or  even 
fifty  years  earlier,  would  have  had.  Something  of  this  difference 
exists,  indeed,  between  the  roof  of  the  Middle  Temple  hall  and  the 
wooden  screen  thrown  across  the  lower  end  of  the  hall  to  cut  off  a 
corridor.  The  roof  we  might  call  Transitional,  the  screen  almost 
complete  Renaissance. 

The  best  specimens  of  English  joinery  after  the  sixteenth  century 
are  most  of  them  largely  indebted  to  the  art  of  the  carver  for  their 
effectiveness.  St.  Paul's  Cathedral  shows  this  both  in  the  choir- 
stalls  and  the  woodwork  of  the  library,  and,  though  the  carving  there 
is  a  miracle  of  skill  and  richness,  and  certainly  combines  consistently 
with  the  fabric,  I  doubt  if  the  stalls  at  St.  Paul's  are  as  fine  pieces 
of  joiners'  work,  or  as  good  artistically,  as  any  similar  piece  of  good 
Gothic  stall-work ;  and  I  am  quite  sure  that  the  general  run  of 
Kenaissance  joiners'  work  is  less  constructive,  less  thoughtfully 
designed,  and  I  believe,  to  most  tastes,  less  pleasing  and  interesting 
than  the  Gothic. 

Between  the  mediaeval  and  the  revived  Classic,  or,  as  it  might  be 
termed,  the  imported  Italian,  there  is  a  great  borderland,  where  work 
known  as  Elizabethan,  Jacobean  or  Queen  Anne  occurs,  both  in 


joinery  for  domestic  purposes  and  in  furniture.  More  than  one  of 
the  lectures  of  this  course  seems  likely  to  touch  a  little  upon  this, 
and  this  is  a  reason,  if  the  length  to  which  this  paper  has  already 
extended  were  not  in  itself  a  sufficient  excuse,  for  not  entering  upon 
what  has  a  great  deal  of  interest  for  us  at  the  present  day  in  connec- 
tion with  the  modern  revival  of  Queen  Anne  worK.  Suffice  it  to 
say  that  in  its  combination  of  forms  and  ornaments  drawn  from 
various  sources,  this  transitional  work  often  forces  us  to  admire  it 
even  when  we  feel  that  much  of  its  charm  rises  from  its  being 
irregular.  Nowhere  is  such  a  work  more  in  place  than  in  joinery, 
especially  for  domestic  use ;  and  a  vast  amount  of  picturesque  effect 
is  obtained  at  the  present  day  by  the  use  of  joinery  for  dwelling- 
houses  designed  in  close  imitation  of  the  old  English  and  Anglo- 
Dutch  work,  to  be  even  found  scattered  about  in  many  parts  of 
London  that  have  not  yet  been  modernized. 

Under  no  circumstances  would  the  time  have  allowed  me  to  go 
much  farther  in  considering  ancient  joinery,  and,  with  your  permis- 
sion, we  will  now  break  off  and  turn  to  the  "very  latest  chapter  in  the 
history  of  works  in  wood  —  a  chapter  which  "is  perfectly  new  —  of 
special  interest  to  us  in  this  hall,  and,  I  sincerely  trust,  of  vital  im- 
portance to  the  craft. 

By  the  liberality  of  one  of  its  members  —  Mr.  Harben,  a  member 
of  the  County  Council  for  London  —  the  Carpenters'  Company  is 
enabled  to  offer  a  series  of  prizes  especially  for  the  encouragement 
of  skill  and  design  in  joinery  as  art,  and  in  carving.  Our  technical 
examination  has  been  directed  to  science  and  practical  knowledge  in 
carpentry  and  joinery  as  construction,  and  remains  so.  This  is  a 
new  departure.  For  this  Company  it  is  a  privilege,  and  no  small  re- 
sponsibility, to  be  called  to  administer  this  gift  through  a  series  of 
years.  For  you  it  is  an  opportunity. 

The  prizes  offered  this  first  year  are  a  first  series,  and  there  is  a 
prospect  that  they  will  be  carried  farther  in  the  future  if  the 
designers  and  craftsmen  of  London  and  the  country  generally  en- 
courage the  Company  by  assisting  us  to  make  this  movement  a 
success.  I  appeal  to  you  and  to  every  designer,  carver,  and  high- 
class  workman  who  may  become  aware  of  it  to  respond  to  the  invita- 
tion which  is  addressed  to  you  by  throwing  yourselves  heartily  into 
the  competition,  and  during  the  months  between  the  present  day 
and  June,  preparing  specimens  of  the  best  you  can  do. 

The  suhjects  proposed  for  prizes  are,  it  is  hoped,  varied  enoush 
and  suitable  enough  to  give  opportunities  to  many.  The  first  is  a 
hammer-beam  in  hard  wood.  In  designing  this,  you  will  remember 
that  it  is  to  be  in  a  horizontal  position,  to  be  seen  from  below  at 
about  ten  feet  from  the  eye,  that  the  end  cf  it  is  free  and  projects, 
and  the  remainder  is  part  of  the  framing  of  the  truss  of  an  open  roof. 
If  competitors  guide  themselves  by  old  examples,  as  I  hope  they  will, 
remember  that  the  hammer-beam  was  used  from  during  the  fifteenth, 
sixteenth,  and  part  of  the  seventeenth  centuries,  and  that  the  details 
and  carving  must  correspond  with  models  within  those  dates.  Of 
course,  it  is  open  to  competitors  to  imagine  a  quite  modern  hammer- 
beam  roof,  and  originate  a  modern  treatment;  but  this  is  a  very- 
much  more  difficult  thing  to  do  even  tolerably  well. 

Whatever  period  is  chosen,  such  mouldings  as  are  introduced 
should  be  such  as  will  be  seen  from  below,  and  will  be  effective  when 
looked  up  to,  and  at  ten  feet  distance.  Carving  is,  I  think,  only 
appropriate  at  the  fore  end  of  the  beam  ;  but  here  a  fine  opportunity 
is  offered  to  the  carver,  and  the  competition  will  no  doubt  turn 
mainly  on  the  skill  with  which  this  is  designed  and  executed,  and 
adapted  to  the  situation  and  the  height,  and  also  to  the  material,  not 
forgetting  that  it  will  be  one  of  a  series,  and  so  must  have  an  outline 
that  will  bear  repetition.  It  will  make  the  hammer-beam  more  com- 
plete if  it  is  mortised  for  the  brace  and  post,  and  that  should  tenon 
into  it ;  and  if  any  of  its  mouldings  are  to  mitre  with  those  on  the 
brace,  for  those  on  the  hammer-beam  to  be  properly  cut. 

The  pieces  of  barge-board  and  finial  are,  of  course,  intended  to 
occupy  the  apex  of  at  least  a  two-story  building.  There  is  very 
great  scope  for  variety  of  design  in  this  subject.  The  examples 
begin  in  the  fourteenth  century,  and  barge-boards  have  continued  in 
use  to  the  present  day.  Some  are  cut,  some  only  moulded,  some 
pierced,  a  few  partly  carved.  The  finial  is  always  moulded,  and 
gives  a  good  opportunity  for  design  and  for  skilful  execution. 

A  bench-end  is  a  comparatively  familiar  subject.  What,  of  course, 
is  meant  is  one  of  more  or  less  o. namental  character.  It  is  difficult 
to  point  to  many  good  old  Gothic  ones  in  London,  but  very  many 
modern  ones  of  excellent  design  and  execution  are  scattered  about 
our  best  churches,  and  in  Wren's  and  Gibbs's  churches  specimens  of 
Renaissance  designs  are  to  be  met  with.  In  dealing  with  this  sub- 
ject, it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  competitors  will  remember  that  it  is 
the  whole  thing,  not  the  bits  of  ornamental  carving  which  they  will 
introduce  that  will  be  considered.  Good  outline,  good  proportions, 
good  mouldings,  as  well  as  good  execution  of  skilful  carving  will, 
accordingly,  each  play  a  part. 

A  table-leg  presents  the  peculiarity  that  it  is  looked  down  upon. 
It  requires  both  to  be  strong  and  to  look  strong.  The  great  risk  in 
designing  it  is  making  it  clumsy  or  commonplace.  It  is  not  a  sub- 
ject into  which  it  is  easy  to  introduce  carving  successfully,  for  as 
soon  as  the  leg  begins  to  look  as  if  it  has  to  carry  the  carving,  it 
begins  to  lose  the  look  of  carrying  the  table.  Good  enrichments  to 
mouldings  are,  however,  free  from  this  danger. 

A  frieze  is  preeminently  a  carver's  subject,  and  demands  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  nature  of  surface  ornament,  and  power  as  a  designer  and 
carver.  The  work  must  be  very  good,  because  it  is  to  be  opposite 


MARCH  16,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


131 


the  eye,  but  it  must  not  be  extraordinarily  delicate,  because  it  is  to 
be  executed  in  soft  wood.  In  such  a  subject,  if  animals  or  figures  are 
introduced,  they  add  extremely  to  the  effect  if  they  are  well  done ; 
but  if  the  carver  is  not  sufficiently  skilled  in  this  branch  of  his  art  he 
had  better  not  introduce  them. 

A  bracket  is  perhaps  almost  more  than  anything  else  an  open  sub- 
ject. Usually  it  is  so  treated  as  to  be  carved  work  entirely,  but  it 
may  quite  as  "appropriately  be  exclusively  moulded,  or  a  combination 
of  the  two.  Remember  that,  however  managed,  the  idea  of  support 
must  not  be  lost,  or  the  bracket  is  a  failure. 

The  prize  for  a  chair  of  moderate  value  offers  in  some  respects  the 
best  opportunity  to  a  man  of  genius.  All  the  other  subjects  are, 
more  or  less,  of  an  ornamental  nature,  and  offer  considerable  scope 
for  elaboration.  Hern  the  subject  is  familiar.  The  limitation  of 
cost  shows  that  the  article  must  be  a  useful  one,  and  that  its  excel- 
lence must  be  in  itself  rather  than  in  its  ornaments.  At  the  same 
time  it  is  quite  possible  for  a  skilful  man  to  improve  upon  the 
ordinary  chair,  and  it  is  very  probable  that  if  he  really  does  so,  his 
design  may  have  a  success  outside  the  walls  of  Carpenters'  Hall. 

There  is  one  prize  which  is  intended  to  be  won  by  skill  and  readi- 
ness in  designing  and  drawing.  The  competitors  will  be  set  a  sub- 
ject unknown  to  them  till  they  enter  the  examination-room,  and  will 
have  two  hours  in  which  to  do  their  best  with  it.  No  limitation  is 
set  as  to  what  drawing  materials  are  to  be  used,  and  you  will  note 
that  competitors  are  to  bring  their  own.  Probably  the  best  for  such 
work  is  tolerably  soft  pencil.  Of  course,  I  have  no  clue,  and  can 
offer  none,  as  to  what  the  subject  will  be ;  but  it  seems  to  me  that  it 
will  be  likely  to  be  of  the  same  general  description  as  the  specimens 
of  work  —  that  is  to  say,  something  requiring  good  joinery  and 
admitting  good  carving ;  and,  of  course,  its  merits  will  be  judged  as 
a  piece  of  artistic  design  and  draughtsmanship.  Last,  but  by  no 
means  least,  there  is  a  prize  for  beginners  in  the  art  of  carving  in 
wood. 

In  closing  these  remark?,  and  with  them  this  lecture,  I  have  only 
to  express  very  earnestly  the  hope  that  there  may  be  a  very  good 
competition  for  each  of  these  Harben  prizes,  and  my  conviction  that 
to  win  any  of  them  is  likely  to  do  good  to  the  successful  competitor 
by  bringing  him  into  notice.  The  judges  will  award  no  prize  unless 
they  are  satisfied  with  the  work,  and  will  not  be  desirous,  so  far  as  I 
can  foresee  their  intentions,  to  admit  or  pass  anything  that  is  bad  or 
indifferent.  In  the  construction  examinations  a  very  high  standard 
was  set  last  year,  and  will  be  maintained  this  year;  and  there  is  no 
reason  why  the  same  thing  should  not  be  done  in  the  adjudication  of 
the  art  prizes,  and  every  reason  why  it  should  be  done.  To  take 
a  prize  here  will,  therefore,  be  creditable  and  honorable  to  the  suc- 
cessful candidate,  and  on  this  account,  quite  irrespective  of  the 
money  value  of  such  prize,  will,  I  venture  to  predict,  be  of  advantage 
to  him  in  his  career  in  life. 


THE    UNIFORM    BUILDING    CONTRACT. 

R-  O.  P.  HATFIELD  in  a  letter  published  in  the  American 
Architect  for  March  2,  suggests  that  if  the  architect  is  made 
the  owner's  agent  (as  proposed  by  the  "  Standard  Contract  ") 
there  would  be  no  "  suspicion  "  of  the  personal  responsibility  of  the 
former  for  work  ordered  by  him. 

We  think  that  Mr.  Hatfield,  as  well  as  the  framers  of  the  "  Stand- 
ard Contract,"  misconceive  the  true  relation  of  the  architect  to  his 
client,  and  overlook  the  wide  departure  from  business  principles  and 
professional  practice  involved  in  an  attempt  to  give  the  architect  a 
power  of  attorney  to  order  what  he  pleases.  In  special  cases  the 
owner  would  doubtless  be  willing  to  enter  into  such  a  contract ;  but 
ordinarily  the  idea  would  be  rejected  as  soon  as  understood.  We 
are  aware  of  no  relation  in  life  where  such  a  power  is  commonly 
given  by  a  principal  to  the  person  he  employs.  Even  an  attorney-at- 
law  has  no  authority  to  compromise  his  client's  case. 

But  we  think  that  there  is  no  ground  for  the  suggestion  that  if  the 
architect  were  the  owner's  agent  he  would  himself  escape  the  danger 
of  litigation.  On  the  contrary,  as  more  fully  set  forth  in  the  Ameri- 
can Architect  for  February  23,  1889,  there  is,  in  our  opinion,  little 
room  to  doubt  that  the  proposed  "  agency  "  of  the  architect  would 
create  more  trouble  than  it  would  cure.  Our  correspondent  invokes 
the  authority  of  Professor  Parsons  in  support  of  the  architect's  un- 
limited agency ;  and  quotes  a  provision  from  a  form  said  to  be  con- 
tained in  his  "  Laics  of  Business  "  making  the  architect  the  agent  of 
the  owner  for  the  purpose  of  superintending  the  work.  Such  an 
agency  would  give  no  right  to  order  extras,  and  the  power  to  order 
extras  given  by  section  three  of  the  "standard  form"  is  what  we 
object  to  most.  Moreover,  the  book  referred  to  contains  no  such 
contract  or  any  form  of  building  contract  whatever.  Perhaps  Mr. 
Hatfield's  friend  had  some  English  book  in  mind  ;  English  architects 
very  generally  insert  some  such  clause  in  their  contracts,  though  the 
practice  has  been  severely  condemned.  See  the  introductory 
chapter  of  Sir  Edmund  Beckct's  "  Book  on  Building." 

We  agree  with  Mr.  Hatfield  that  a  proper  uniform  contract  blank 
would  be  extremely  useful. 


THE    LUMBER    DEALERS'    DEMAND    KOU    A    NEW    LIEN    LAW. 

THE  joint  judiciary  committee  of  the  Massachusetts  Legislature 
has  given  the  lumber  dealers  "  leave  to  withdraw."  This  ends  the 
matter  for  this  year  at  least. 


THE    FINAL    PAYMENT   CLAUSE    IN    NEW    YORK    CONTRACTS. 

SAYVILLE,  N.  Y.,  February  18, 1889. 

Question.  —  Several  years  ago  I  had  occasion  to  consult  a  lawyer  in 
relation  to  the  lien  law  in  this  State  [New  York~}. 

I  was  advised  that  it  was  not  necessary  to  defer  the  final  payment 
until  the  time  had  expired  in  which  liens  could  be  filed.  The  lawyer 
said  that  it  would  be  perfectly  safe  to  write  contracts  for  building  in 
such  a  manner  that  the  last  payment  would  be  due  ten  days  after  the 
work  on  the  contract  teas  finished.  lie  claimed  that  it  was  the  right 
of  material-men  and  others  who  might  be  entitled,  to  liens  to  know  the 
terms  of  a  contract  (as  to  payments)  under  irhich  they  were  furnish- 
ing material  or  labor  and  that  in  order  to  hold  the  owner  i  esponsible 
they  must  record  liens  before  the  time  when  payment  is  due.  The 
substance  of  his  advice  was  to  the  effect  that  so  long  as  the  owner  made 
payments  when  the  contract  said  tliat  they  were  due  and  not  before 
he  was  released  from  all  responsibility  for  liens  unless  said  liens 
were  recorded  before  the  time  when  the  payment  became  due.  From 
what  you  say  about  liens  in  i/our  law  department  I  infer  that  the 
above  advire  is  not  reliable,  and  I  icould  like  to  know  positively 
whether  it  is  or  not.  In  case  the  advice  is  sound  of  course  it  is  not 
necessary  to  keep  the  contractor  waiting  three  months  for  his  last 
payment  which  is  sometimes  quite  a  hardship.  As  I  understand  it, 
your  legal  department  has  been  established  for  the  discussion  of 
questions  of  this  nature,  and  I  believe  such  a  department  will  be  of 
great  service  to  the  profession,  as  it  is  sometimes  difficult  and  expen- 
sive to  get  reliable  information  relating  to  building  laic.  If  i/ou  can 
give  me  the  late  on  this  lien  question  without  too  much  trouble  I  think 
it  would  be  useful  to  many  architects,  builders,  etc.,  as  well  as  to 

Yours  truly,  I.  H.   Green,  Jr. 

Answer.  —  In  reply  to  the  above  inquiry  it  may  be  said  with  em- 
phasis that  it  is  not  safe  to  pay  all  the  contract  money  out  before  the 
last  day  for  filing  liens  has  elapsed.  Wherever  the"  mechanics'  lien 
attaches  irrespective  of  the  state  of  accounts  between  the  owner  and 
contractor,  the  danger  of  paying  out  all  the  money  while  it  is  still 
possible  that  liens  may  be  filed  is  of  course  obvious ;  where,  however, 
as  in  New  York,  the  owner  is  protected  as  to  payments  made  before 
the  filing  of  the  lien,  there  is  some  ground  for  the  opinion  referred  to 
by  our  correspondent  to  the  effect  that  the  last  payment  may  safely 
be  made  before  the  three  months  have  expired.  But  the  New  York 
law  contains  another  provision  which  practically  goes  far  to  destroy 
this  protection  extend'cd  to  the  owner.  Section"  two  provides  that  if 
the  owner  "  for  the  purpose  of  avoiding  the  provisions  of  this  Act  or 
in  advance  of  the  terms  of  any  contract  "  pays  the  contractor,  he 
shall  be  liable  to  the  material-men  to  the  extent  of  the  monies  thus 
paid.  That  is  if  the  plaintiff  in  a  lien  suit  can  satisfy  the  jury  that 
the  money  was  not  due  from  the  defendant  to  the  contractor  at  the 
time  it  was  paid,  and  was  paid  collusively,  the  owner  will  have  to  pay 
the  money  over  again.  The  owner  has  not  only  to  face  the  well-under- 
stood danger  that  the  jury  will  find  for  the  less  wealthy  party  to  the 
action,  irrespective  of  the  weight  of  the  evidence,  but  also  labors  under 
the  very  serious  disadvantage  of  having  practically  to  prove  that  the 
contractor  was  legally  entitled  to  the  money  at  or  before  the  time 
when  it  was  paid.  Now  everybody  knows  that  partial  payments  on  a 
building  contract  are  made  in  ninety-nine  cases  in  a  hundred  before 
they  are  strictly  due  according  to  the  terms  of  the  contract.  Some 
little  thing  has  not  been  done,  for  the  omission  of  which  the  owner 
may,  if  he  choose,  refuse  to  pay  the  contractor ;  but  in  most  cases 
where  the  work  is  progressing  satisfactorily  he  is  perfectly  willing  to 
make  the  payment.  Now  in  a  lien  case  under  the  New  York  law^the 
owner  must  be  able  to  satisfy  a  jury  that  the  money  was  strictly  and 
legally  due  when  paid. 

It  is  to  guard  against  the  danger  of  not  being  able  to  prove  that 
none  of  the  contract  money  was  paid  before  it  was  due.  that  it  is  ex- 
pedient to  hold  a  portion  of  it  back  till  all  risk  of  such  litigation  is 
over,  that  is,  until  three  months  have  elapsed  since  the  completion  of 
the  contract.  As  already  pointed  out  in  this  Department  the  real 
and  practical  object  of  protective  clauses  in  a  building  contract  is 
not  so  much  to  vary  the  law  in  favor  of  the  owner  as  to  guard  him 
against  the  adverse  verdict  of  a  jury  based  on  sympathy  or  a  mis- 
taken view  of  the  evidence. 


MOTTOS. 


NEW  YORK,  N.  Y.,  March  7, 1889. 
To  THE  EDITORS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT:  — 

Dear  Sirs,  —  Would  you  kindly  mention  a  few  pithy  and  sug- 
gestive mottos  or  maxims,  English  preferred,  suitable  for  dinin?- 
room,  hall  and  library  ?  Have  any  such  ever  appeared  in  previous 
issues  of  your  paper  1 

Yours  respectfully,  EMIL  GINSBURGER. 

[As  English  phrases  such  as  "Let  good  digestion  wait  on  appetite"  arc 


132 


The    American   Architect   and  Building   News.      [VOL.  XXIV. — No.  690. 


hackneyed  in  the  last  degree  we  give  below  some  which  have  not  been  so 
hard-ridden. 
"  Lea  fans  font  desfestins,  et  les  sages  les  manyent." 

"  Appetitus  rationi  parent." 

'  Mayister  artis  ingenuque  lari/itor,  Venter."  — Persins. 

'  Ventre  affamt  n'a  point  d'oreilles." 

'Sine  Cerereet  Baccho  fri(jet  Venvs." 

'  Sero  venientibits  ossa." 

'  Beware  of  a  man  of  one  book." 

'  A  book  is  a  book  although  there  is  nothing  in  it."  —  Byron. 

'In  the  four  quarters  of  the  globe,  who  reads  an  American  book?"- 
Sydney  Smith. 

'  Books  cannot  always  please,  however  good."  —  Crabbe. 

'  Welcome  ever  smiles,  and  farewell  goes  out  sighing."  — Shakespeare. — 
EPS.  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT.] 


about  one  sixth  the  height  of  the  chimney,  and  air  space  is  not 
necessary,  unless  where  a  strong  flame  (as  from  wood  fuel)  would  he 
constantly  striking.  Finally,  have  as  few  openings  as  possible  into  the 
chimney,  and  upon  no  consideration  allow  waste  or  exhaust  steam  to 
enter  it.  —  The  Architect. 


PRKSENT  NAVIGATION  IN  THE  PANAMA  CANAL. — The  fact  that  a 
British  vessel  of  270  tons  has  passed  through  the  Panama  Canal  from 
Aspinwall  to  Chagres,  a  distance  of  fifteen  miles,  shows  that  the  canal 
is  something  more  than  a  scratch  on  the  earth's  surface.  It  is  more 
reasonable  to  suppose  that  such  an  enterprise  will  be  completed  than  it 
is  to  believe  that  it  will  be  abandoned. —  Atlanta,  G<i.,  Citizen. 


A  NARROW  HOL-BE  IN  NEW  YORK. —  It  is  possible  to  swing  a  eat,  if 
any  one  ever  did  want  to  apply  that  time-honored,  but  rather  useless 
system  of  measurement,  in  the  four-story  brick  house  at  the  northwest 
corner  of  Lexington  Avenue  and  Eighty-second  Street.  Hut  to  do  it 
without  damage  to  the  cat  and  the  furniture,  puss  must  be  swung  from 
north  to  south,  not  from  east  to  west,  for  though  the  house  stands  upon 
a  lot  102  feet  deep,  the  land  is  only  five  feet  wide,  the  actual  width  of 
the  building  being  four  feet.  The  sills  and  lintels  are  of  white  marble, 
and  three  bay-windows  run  up  from  the  first  floor  to  the  roof.  It  is 
probably  the  narrowest  brick  dwelling-house  in  the  city,  if  not  in  the 
country.  Small,  round  windows,  like  port-holes,  let  light  into  the 
basement,  and  the  doors  are  mere  slits  in  the  brick  walls.  It  was  built 
in  1882  by  its  owner,  Mr.  Kichardson,  who  lives  in  it.  He  is  a  brother 
of  Captain  "  Ben"  Kichardson,  the  eccentric  millionnaire,  who  died  in 
Harlem  the  other  day,  and  is  a  wealthy  builder  and  contractor.  He 
owned  the  lot,  and  being  unable  to  sell  it  at  a  good  price  on  account  of 
its  narrowness,  he  determined  that  it  should  not  be  sacrificed.  So  he 
built  a  house  on  it  for  himself,  and,  though  the  rooms  on  the  inside  are 
barely  more  than  three  feet  wide,  the  family  say  they  do  not  feel  un- 
comfortable in  their  cra'mped  quarters. — New  York  Tribune. 


FACTORY   CHIMNEY   CONSTRUCTION.  —  A   tall   chimney   is   seldom    a 
very  pleasing  architectural  feature;    yet  it  is  an  important  part  of  fac- 
tory construction,  requiring  special  architectural  skill,  a  point  not  often 
acknowledged  by  either  architects  or  owners.      A  manufacturer  con- 
tracts with  a  boiler-maker  for  a  certain  amount  of  power  from  a  given 
quantity  of  coal,  and  if  he  fails  to  perform  his  contract  there  is  trouble, 
when  the  chimney  may  be  the  whole  cause  of  the  failure.     If  a  chimney 
is  required    to  take  away  gases  or  fumes  from  retorts  and  furnaces, 
then  it  must  be  built  to  a  height  sufficient  to  carry  these  clear  off  the  sur- 
rounding premises.      This  height  can  only  be  determined  by  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  nature  of  the  gases,  etc.,  and  the  situation  of  the  factory. 
In  the  following  remarks  it   is  only  intended  to  deal  with  a  chimney 
necessary  for  ordinary  factory  purposes.     In  order  to  give  the  required 
draught  to  the  common  steam-boiler,  the  chimney  should  be  not  less  in 
height  than  80  feet  above  ground  surface  at  its  base,  and  not  exceed  150 
feet  unless  there  is  higher  land  in  the  immediate  neighborhood.      To 
find  the  necessary  area  of  a  chimney,  first  ascertain  as  nearly  as  possi- 
ble the  area  of  the  grate-bar  surface  of  the  various  furnaces  ;  then  if 
the  chimney  is  to  be  80  feet  in  height  above  the  ground  surface,  multi- 
ply the  area  of  the  grate  surface  in  square  feet  by  14 ;  for  a  chimney 
100  feet  high,  multiply  by  11;   for  a  chimney  120  feet  high,  multiply 
by   12 ;    and  for   a  chimney  150   feet   high,  multiply  by  9.8,  and  the 
quotient  in  each  case  will  be  the  area  of  the  chimney  in  square  inches 
at  its  narrowest  point.     The  area  at  the  top  of  a  chimney  should  never 
be  less  than  at  the  base ;  some  engineers  say  that  it  should  be  greater, 
because  the  smoke  and  air  entering  the  chimney  at  a  very  high  temper- 
ature ascends  rapidly,  but  as  it  cools  in  its  passage  through  the  flue  its 
progress  gradually  becomes  slower.      A  square  chimney  was  erected 
only  last  year,  in  Hamilton,  for  the  Canadian  Screw  Company.     It  is 
100  feet  from  floor  of  boiler-house  to  top  of  cope.     The  flue  has  an  equal 
area  at  top  and  bottom  of  2,110  square  inches.     It  was  designed  to  give 
draught  to  three  boilers  of  100  horse-power  each,  two  drying  ovens  and 
four  annealing  furnaces.     To  it  also  was  connected  an  eight-inch  pipe 
from  the  drains.      It  is  now  working  and  giving  perfect  satisfaction. 
The  foundations  ought  to  be  deep  enough  to  take  all  the  footings  below 
the  reach  of  frost,  each  course  projecting  beyond  the  one  above  not 
more  than  two-thirds  of  its  own  depth  —  thus  increasing  until  a  pro- 
jection  of   foundation  is  gained   beyond  the  line  of   the  base  of   the 
chimney,  equal  to  one-twenty-fifth  of  the  height  of  the  chimney  above 
the  ground  surface.     This  is  necessary  for  the  stability  of  the  chimney 
upon  a'good  hard  bottom.     On  soft  land  or  bad  bottom,  the  area  of  the 
foundation  must  be  increased  so  as  to  spread  the  weight  over  a  surface 
sufficient  for  its  support.     The  strongest  chimney  is  one  built  entirely 
with  brick  above  a  stone  foundation,  and  the  best  form  of  plan  is  the 
octagon,  the  draught  of  which  is  almost  as  good  as  the  circular,  and 
the  cost  of  the  building  is  considerably  less.     In  setting  out  the  brick- 
work, start  at  the  top  and  figure  downwards.     If  the  width  of  the  flue 
is  less  than  five  feet,  then  the  walls  of  the  chimney  will  only  require  to 
be  one  brick  for  twenty-five  feet  below  the  cope,  and  if  the  outside  of 
the  chimney  has  a  batter  of  one-fourth  inch  in  every  foot,  the  thick- 
ness of  the  walls  at  the  base  will  be  what  they  measure.     The  inside 
face  of  brickwork  above  foundation  ought  to  be  of  fire-brick,  carried 


THE  generally  prosperous  condition  of   the  country   is  manifested  jn 
various  ways.     The  volume  of  imports  and  exports  for  the  first  two  months 
exceed  all  previous  records  and  the  same  is  true  of  imports  and  exports  for 
seven  months  past.     The  distribution  of  merchandise  is  also  in  excess  of 
former  years  according  to  trunk-line  statistics  and  clearing-house  returns. 
At  the  same  time  there  is  a  marked  downward  tendency  in  prices  as  shown 
in  iron,  coal,  lumber,  oil,  etc.      By  many  this  tendency  is  regarded  in  an 
unfavorable  light  but  coming  as  it  does  before  the  opening  of  the  active 
year's  business,   it  helps  to  lay  a  solid   foundation   for  future   trading. 
Those  who  closely  follow  the  UPS  and  downs  of  trade  are  familiar  with  the 
depressing  or  exciting  influences  that  fluctuations  in  values  have,  and  often 
too,  when  there  is  no  legitimate  cause  for  a  modification  of  opinions".    Just 
now  the  general  markets  of  the  country  are  liable  to  price  fluctuations  when 
the  condition  of  stocks  and  the  condition  of  demand  do  not  at  all  warrant 
such  fluctuations.      The  secret  of  the  whole  matter  is  this,  that  there  is  a 
certain  oi1  rather  an  uncertain  surplus  producing  capacity,  machinery,  labor, 
money,  plant,  etc.,  and  the  question  is,  will  all  or  any,  and  if  so,  how  much 
of  this  surplus  capacity  be  employed.      If  all,  then  prices  will  advance,  if 
none,  then  prices  will  decline,  if  a  little,  then  there  will  be  a  fluctuation 
this  way  and  that  as  the  country  exceeds  in  its  consumptive  demands,  the 
limits  reached  last  year.      The  third  month  of  the  year  like  the  first  and 
second,  have  brought  more  railroad,  mining,  financial  and  business  activity 
than  last  year  if  accustomed  authorities  are  to  be  believed.     In  New  York 
plans  were  filed  during  February  for  298  buildings,  to  cost  85,477  475.00  or 
JW  over  February,  1888,  when  the  estimated  cost  was  $3,271,080.00.     During 
four  days  this  week  permits  were  taken  out  in  Philadelphia  for  over  GOO 
dwellings  according  to  the  permit  file  in  the  inspector's  office.      At  Pitts- 
burgh over  one  million  dollars'  worth  of  new  work  has  been  placed  in  the 
hands  of  architects  within  a  mouth  to  say  nothing  of  two  bridges  to  cost 
$000,000,  one  below  the  city  to  cross  the  Ohio  River  at  Brunots  Hand,  and 
another  across  the  Allegheny  River  at  the  point  where  tradition  says  Wash- 
ington crossed  on  a  raft  when  executing  his  first  commission  for  Governor 
Dinwiddee  of  Virginia.    Architects  in  Chicago  have  not  entered  upon  the 
heavy  work  of  the  season  but  are  confident  of  abundant  work.     An  unusual 
amount  of  hotel  building  is  on   the  boards.      Theatres,  halls  and  public 
buildings  will  engage  more  than  average  attention  and  capital  this  year. 
The  same  is  true  of  bank  buildings.     Within  thirty  davs,  a  record  of  thirty 
new  bank   buildings  has  been  made,  costing  from  §300,000  down.      The 
record  of  projected  educational  institutions,  churches,  asylums  and  the  like 
is  quite  large.     Another  very  important  feature  is   the  amount  of  railroad 
terminal  work.    All  of  the  Eastern  and  Western  trunk  lines  have  schemes 
and  programmes  to  carry  out  involving  unusual  outlays.     At  Philadelphia 
large  sums  have  been  invested  in  river-fronts.     Also  water-fronts  have  been 
purchased  at  Stateu  Island.     Freight-handling  facilities  are  to  be  improved 
all  along  the  Atlantic  Coast ;  whatever  else  the  railroad  companies  have  to 
complain  of  they  cannot  fairly  grumble  at  declining  traiSc.      Prices    in 
nearly  all  directions  are  lower  than  last  fall,  and  the  general  feeling  in  trade 
circles  that  they   have  touched  rock-bottom  is  helping  confidence.      The 
textile  goods  manufacturers  are  producing,  all  through,  about  25  per  cent 
more  than  January  1.    The  iron  and  steel  makers  are  producing  less,  the 
steel-rail  makers  less  than  ever  and  prices  refuse  to  harden,  notwithstand- 
ing the  rather  general  refusal  of  makers  to  accept  business  at  prices  railroad 
builders  are  offering.     Makers  of  machine-shop  products  have  been  quite 
busy  all  winter  aud'railroads  have  been  pretty  well  supplied  with  the  result- 
j  ing  traffic  westward   to   storage  and   distributing  points   throughout  the 
!  Mississippi  Valley.     Agricultural  implements  are  likely  to  be  very  generally 
wanted  this  season,  at  least  manufacturers  have  for  months  been  acting  on 
this  belief.     Wood-working-machinery  makers  have  not  been  overcrowded 
at  all  but  fairly  busy  excepting  some  of  the  younger  aspirants  for  trade. 
Builders  of  light  locomotives  for  mine  and  lumber  use  have  been  quite  busy, 
and  all  butabout  three  locomotive-building  concerns  have  had  a  full  average 
labor  force  at  work  all  winter. 

There  is  a  certain  percentage  of  traders  and  manufacturers  who  are  feel- 
ing the  nipping  effects  of  increasing  competition,  and,  in  their  efforts  to 
tide  over  temporary  difficulties,  a  good  deal  of  second-class  "paper"  has 
been  made,  which  far-seeing  and  prudent  bankers  do  not  care  to  encourage. 
While  there  is  a  surplus  above  the  legal  limit  in  New  York  banks  of  from 
six  to  seven  million  dollars,  there  is  a  pronounced  stringency  among  these 
traders,  who  are  crowded  towards  the  outer  edge  of  the  world's  race-track. 
Times  are  not  getting  harder,  but  there  are  more  business  men  in  need  of 
kind  cousideration  from  banks  than  three  or  six  months  ago,  and  it  is  not 
an  easy  matter  to  clearly  explain  why  it  is  the  case.    Very  few  in  trade  or 
production  are  realizing  as  much  margin.    The  strong  point  everywhere  is 
that  there  is  scarcely  any  accumulation  of  stocks.    The  copper  trust  is  a 
magnificent  exception,  and  the  copper  buyers  on  both  sides  of  the  water 
have  their  mouths  set  for  a  cheer  if,  and  when,  it  terminates  its  existence. 
There  is  a  greater  necessity  for  caution  in  mercantile  dealings  now  than 
heretofore  for  one  or  two  reasons.     Kvery  producer  is  anxious  to  utilize  his 
capacity  or  capital,  or  whatever  he  has  to  sell,  and  but  little  pressure  is 
necessary  to  carry  the  present  conservative  management  across  the   line 
into  over-production.    The  possibility  must  always  be  kept  in  mind,  in 
attempting  to   form   opinions  of  trade  probabilities,  that  a  general  and 
price-stimulating  expansion  of  demand  is  always  present,  much  as  the 
statement  may  be  doubted.     Any  posted  financier  or  promoter  will  say 
to-day  that  if  the  projected   work   now  before  the  country  were  entered 
upon,  a  boom  in  demand  and  prices  would  of  necessity  follow.    But  of  this 
there  is  little  present  possibility.     Railroad  building  will  exceed  the  propor- 
tions anticipated  by  even  well-informed  editors  of  railway  journals,  as  those 
know  who  keep  a  list  of  projected  roads.    There  is  no  decline  of  manufac- 
turing activity  in  the  Southern  States.    Gold  and  silver  mining  enterprise 
is  pushed.    Last  year,  gold  and  silver  production,  according  to  mint  figures, 
was  $92,870.000.    Large  mining-machinery  orders  are  drifting  into  foundries 
and  mills  where  facilities  are  such  as  to  do  heavy  work.    The  impulse  that 
has  been  given  to  the   mining  of  the  precious  metals   by  the  profitable 
workings  of  new  and  old  mines  will  not  disappear,  for  railroad  building  in 
the  far  West  is  leading  to  a  closer  inspection  of  mineral  territory,  and  the 
opening  up  of  remarkably  rich  mines. 

S.    J.    PARKHILL  &  Co.,  Printers,  Boston. 


MARCH  16,  1889.] 


The  American  Architect  and  Building  News. 


/*     ILf  V  t. 

^GABOTS  CREOjofK  STAINS 

f?.for  5h^gfe*f  Fences, Clfii^oarJ^ 


<t?re  Very 

muc>  more  ' 

JTP      m1,  wlbile  ?*T)cv  are 

T) 

Very  easy  fo  4 

?]*a?T 

ef rorV?TiS  t 


PRICES  are  4O,  6O  and  7B  cents  per  Gallon 

According  to  Color. 
SEND  for  Samples  on  Wood,  and  Circulars. 


•-  SAMVELr  CABOT 
70KILBV 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.         [Voi,.  XXV.  —  No.  690. 


\ 


HALF-TIMBERED  HOUSES. 


THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT  AND  BUILDING  NEWS. 


VOL.  XXV. 


Copyright,  1889,  by  TICKNOB  &  COMPANY,  Boston,  Mass. 


No.   691, 


MARCH  23, 1889. 

Entered  at  the  Poet-Office  at  Boston  as  second-class  matter. 


SUMMARY : — 

The  European  Method  of  Procuring  Designs  for  Public  Build- 
ings. —  The  Crushing-strength  of  Brickwork.  —  The  Albany 
Assembly-Chamber  Ceiling.  —  Coroner's  Verdict  on  the 
Hartford  Hotel  Accident.  —  The  Owings'  Building  Accident. 

—  House  Rents  near  London 133 

EARTHQUAKES.  —  II 135 

LETTER  FROM  NEW  YORK 136 

LETTER  FROM  CHICAGO 137 

LETTER  FROM  CANADA 137 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  — 

Entrance  to  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  Building, 
Albany,  N.  Y.  —Gothic  Spires  and  Towers,  Plate  41.  —  The 
Age  of  Francis  I,  Plates  3  and  4.  — Proposed  Hotel,  Kings- 
ville,  Ont.  —  Proposed  Twelfth  Baptist  Church,  Boston, 
Mass. — A  Fountain,  Jativa,  Spain.  —  House  at  Rochester, 

N.  Y 138 

LETTER  FROM  LONDON 138 

LETTER  FROM  PARIS 139 

THE  GROSVENOR  GALLERY 140 

ARCHITECTURAL  EVOLUTION.  —  II 141 

BUILDING  LAW 143 

SOCIETIES 144 

COMMUNICATION  :  — 

Boulder- Walls 144 

NOTES  AND  CLIPPINGS 144 

TRADE  SURVEYS 144 

PROFESSOR   EATON,    of   New    Haven,    has    done    the 
public  a  service  in  calling  its  attention  to  the  advantages 
of  having  buildings,  particularly  public  buildings,  including 
monuments,  designed  with  some  regard  to  the  artistic  impres- 
sion they  will  make  on  the  beholder.     It  is  of  little  use  for 
architects  to  make  representations  of  that  kind,  as  they  are 
always  supposed  to  do  so  from  selfish  motives ;  but  the  opinion 
of  a  layman  of  position  is  sure  to  be  received  with  interest  and 
attention.     Professor  Eaton  describes  the  careful  preparations 
which  have  been  made  for  securing  the  best  work  that  German 
artists  are  capable  of  in  the  memorial  which  is  to  be  erected  to 
the  late  Emperor  William.     As  most  of  our  readers  know,  a 
preliminary    competition    has    been    arranged,    in    which    the 
choice  of  site,  out  of  a  number  of  available  ones  in  Berlin, 
which  are  specified,  is  left  to  the  competitor,  as  well  as   the 
method  of  treatment,  whether  architectural  or  sculptural,  or 
both,  and  nearly  all  other  matters  except  the  scale  on  which 
the  drawings  or  models  shall  be  made.     This  preliminary  com- 
petition is  to  decide  which  of  the  artists  engaged  seems  to 
comprehend   best    the    character    and    services   of    the    late 
Emperor,  and  when   that   has   been   decided,  a  second  com- 
petition is  to  settle  what  design  shall  be  executed.     The  jury 
which  will  decide  in  both  competitions  is  to  be  composed  of  ex- 
perts, and  the  result  is  sure  to  be  in  the  highest  degree  in- 
teresting and  successful.     Professor  Eaton  remarks  that  as  the 
contest  is  to  be  confined  to  German  artists,  the  French  sculp- 
tors will  lose  the  opportunity  that  they  might  otherwise  have 
had,  to  gain  an  artistic  triumph  over  the  great  rival  nation. 
We  are  by  no  means  so  sure  that  the  French  sculptors  "would 
have  an  easy  victory  over  their  antagonists  across  the  Rhine. 
In  combining  sculpture  and  architecture  the  French  are  as  yet 
unapproached,   probably   for    the    reason   that   with   them   a 
sculptor  and  an  architect  always  work  together,  but  for  power 
of  expressing  sentiment  by  sculpture  there  is  little  to  choose 
between  the  French  and  the  Germans,  when  both  are  at  their 
best.     Nor,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  would  there  be  much  to 
choose  between  either  and  the  best  Americans,  if  the  latter  had 
a  chance  to  show  what  they  could  do.     We  say  advisedly,  that 
if   Americans   could   be   properly  taught,  encouraged   by   in- 
telligent criticism,  in  place  of  the  drivel  that  most  newspapers 
pour  out  over  what  they  call  "  art,"  and  kept  employed  on 
work  that  would   rouse   their   interest  and  enthusiasm,  they 
would  equal,  if  they  did  not  surpass,  any  civilized  nation  in  the 
variety  and  elevation  of  their  sentiment,  the  vividness  of  their 
impressions,  and  their  power  of  expressing  them.     There  is 
plenty  of   evidence  that  we   possess   already  in   this  country 
heaven-born  geniuses,  capable  of  opening  our  eyes  almost  to  a 
new  life,  if  we  -would  only  give  them  an  opportunity,  but  we 
never  seem  to  find  them,  and  we  are  never  likely  to  find  them 


until  it  occurs  to  some  one  that  there  may  be  a  question  about 
the  correctness  of  the  ordinary  theory,  that  any  one  who  can 
read  and  write  is  capable  of  judging  of  works  of  art,  and  that 
the  more  thick-skinned  and  loud-voiced  a  man  is,  the  more 
likely  he  is  to  be  a  great  sculptor.  When  some  American 
shall  take  it  into  his  head  to  have  the  inside  or  outside  of  his 
house  adorned,  as  it  would  be  in  the  Berlin  residence  of  a  Ger- 
man noble,  with  beautiful  and  touching  sculpture,  the  beginning 
will  have  been  made  of  a  new  step  in  American  civilization. 
He  would  probably  not  get  what  he  wanted,  for  there  are  only 
half-a-dozen  persons  at  present  in  this  country  who  could 
furnish  it ;  but  if  he  successfully  resisted  the  temptations  that 
would  be  presented  to  him,  to  "  let  the  job  out  by  contract," 
or  to  have  the  work  done  in  papier-mache,  or  in  stamped  zinc, 
or  reproduced  by  casting  from  some  foreign  example,  and  had 
the  discretion  to  avoid  the  old  stagers  from  Rome,  and  the 
belauded  favorites  of  the  society  newspapers,  who  would  seek 
his  favor,  he  would  at  least  put  it  into  the  head  of  some  people 
who  loved  that  sort  of  work  to  try  to  learn  to  do  it  well,  in  the 
hope  of  employment,  and  of  other  citizens  to  desire  similar  but 
better  work  in  their  own  houses,  and  to  look  for  persons  to  do 
it  for  them.  By  that  simple  process  a  demand  for  "art" 
would  have  been  created  which  horrid-looking  acanthus-leaves 
seven  feet  long  could  not  supply,  and  sooner  or  later  some  one 
would  be  found  who  could  do  what  was  wanted,  and  thus  furnish 
a  point  of  departure  for  the  next  step.  In  fact,  the  first  step 
has  already  been  attempted.  General  Meigs,  in  the  Pension 
Office  at  Washington,  has  introduced  a  terra-cotta  frieze,  or 
rather  band,  of  historical  subjects,  which  is  not  only  interest- 
ing, but  contains  some  beautiful  work ;  several  good  pieces  of 
interior  sculpture  are  to  be  found  in  New  York,  and  Governor 
Ames,  of  Massachusetts,  has  a  well-meant  band  of  sculpture 
around  his  house  in  Boston,  which,  by  the  way,  was  put  there 
at  his  own  suggestion.  The  next  thing  is  for  others  to  do  the 
same,  on  a  smaller  scale,  if  they  wish.  The  size  of  the  sculp- 
ture has  nothing  to  do  with  its  value,  and  the  possessor  of  a 
panel  a  foot  square  may  find  himself  famous  on  account  of  it, 
if  he  will  take  pains  to  have  it  good,  and  to  put  it  where  it  can 
be  seen.  If  the  present  generation  did  nothing  but  build 
rock-faced  walls,  with  one  small  panel  of  such  sculpture  to 
each  house,  it  would  have  prepared  a  sure  foundation  for  the 
most  brilliant  architecture  that  the  world  has  ever  seen,  and 
there  is  no  way  in  which  the  preparation  for  such  an  architec- 
tecture  can  be  so  well  made. 


PROF.  IRA  0.  BAKER,  of  the  University  of  Illinois, 
writes  to  the  Clay-  Worker  a  letter  on  the  crushing-strength 
of  brickwork,  which  is  interesting,  but  needs,  perhaps,  a 
little  comment.  It  seems  that  at  the  recent  Convention  of 
Brick-makers,  one  of  the  members  expressed  himself  as  being 
"provoked"  at  the  "absurd  ideas"  commonly  entertained  in 
regard  to  the  resistance  of  brickwork  to  crushing.  During  the 
discussion  which  followed  this  declaration,  another  member 
said  that  "  a  brick  wall,  laid  in  excellent  mortar,  two  feet  thick, 
and  of  ordinary  brick,  will  stand  its  weight  two  hundred  feet 
high,"  while  a  third  referred  to  chimneys  that  had  been  built 
two  or  three  hundred  feet  high.  As  these  chimneys  were,  of 
course,  built  thick  at  the  bottom  and  thin  at  the  top,  their 
height  affords  no  indication  whatever  of  the  crushing  strain 
upon  the  base ;  and  the  second  speaker's  impression,  that  a 
good  brick  wall  would  stand  the  pressure  due  to  its  own  weight 
if  built  two  hundred  feet  high,  is  far  within  the  limit  accepted 
by  those  "  absurd  "  persons,  the  architects  and  engineers,  who 
commonly  allow  a  pressure  of  fifteen  tons  per  square  foot  on 
good  brickwork,  equivalent  to  the  weight  of  a  column  of  the 
same  brickwork  of  uniform  dimensions  in  plan,  and  about  two 
hundred  and  sixty-eight  feet  high.  Professor  Baker,  however, 
throws  the  usual  data  completely  aside,  and  says  that  in  some 
experiments  made  by  himself  brick  piers  in  lime-mortar  have 
resisted  a  pressure  of  one  hundred  and  eight  tons  per  square 
foot,  while  piers  in  Portland  cement  have  stood  one  hundred 
and  eighty  tons  per  square  foot.  He  asks  whether  "any  one 
ever  heard  of  brick  masonry  being  crushed  by  any  load  brought 
upon  it  in  an  actual  structure,"  and  evidently  thinks  that  the 
ordinary  limit  for  crushing-strength  of  brickwork  is  set  far  too 
low.  In  regard  to  his  question,  whether  any  one  ever  heard 
of  the  actual  failure  of  brickwork  by  crushing  under  the  load 
brought  upon  it  in  a  building,  we  can  say  at  once  that  we  have. 


134 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.        [Vou  XXV.  —  No.  691. 


Some  years  ago  a  building  fell  in  Denver,  Colorado,  under  cir- 
cumstances which  showed  plainly  that  the  failure  was  due  to 
the  crushing  of  the  brickwork  under  the  ends  of  a  large  wooden 
truss  which  supported  the  front  above  the  first  story.  It  is 
true  that  the  bricks,  a  sample  of  which  was  sent  to  us,  were  poor, 
but  the  load  on  the  wall,  which  we  computed  at  the  time,  was 
far  less  than  that  which  Professor  Baker's  piers  sustained  safely. 
How  many  other  cases  of  the  kind  there  may  have  been  we 
cannot  say,  but  our  impression  is  that  they  have  been  tolerably 
numerous.  The  former  Superintendent  of  Buildings  in  New 
York,  Mr.  Esterbrook,  would  not  pass  plans  which  showed 
that  the  possible  load  on  any  pier  or  wall  of  brick  exceeded 
fourteen  tons  per  square  foot,  and  as  this  limit  is  different  from 
that  given  in  any  book  with  which  we  are  acquainted,  we 
suppose  that  it  must  have  been  founded  on  experience  with  the 
New  York  bricks,  which  are  ordinarily  of  excellent  quality. 
In  most  places,  we  think,  the  limit  is  fifteen  tons  per  square 
foot,  which  is  about  equivalent  to  Professor  Baker's  result  for 
crushing,  with  a  factor-of-safety  of  seven ;  and  as  a  factor-of- 
safety  of  six  is  commonly  used  for  members  subjected  to  a 
crushing  strain  in  buildings,  and  is  specified  by  law  as  the 
minimum  in  some  places,  we  doubt  whether,  even  on  Professor 
Baker's  results,  the  usual  limit  can  under  ordinary  circumstances 
be  with  prudence  exceeded. 

TITHE  investigation  in  regard  to  the  Assembly  Chamber 
\J  ceiling  at  Albany  has  been  pressed  with  more  zeal  than  at 
one  time  seemed  likely  to  be  expended  upon  it,  and, 
although  nothing  will  probably  be  discovered,  the  principal 
actors  in  the  affair  have  been  made  temporarily  nervous,  and 
have  scattered  to  parts  unknown,  taking  their  books  with  them. 
The  immediate  cause  of  this  ignominious  flight  appears  to  have 
been  the  failure  of  the  attempt  to  get  experts  to  testify  that 
there  was  no  ground  for  the  report  of  the  first  commission. 
One  architect  did,  it  is  true,  testify  that  he  did  not  think  there 
was  an  unreasonable  profit  in  the  contract,  but  he  did  not  say 
what  he  considered  an  unreasonable  profit ;  and,  as  another 
expert  said  that  the  profit  was  one  hundred  and  thirty-five 
thousand,  two  hundred  and  seventy-four  dollars  and  a  half,  or 
just  one  hundred  per  cent,  the  contractor  probably  thought  that 
there  might  be  persons  who  would  consider  that  too  much,  and 
that  he  had  better  withdraw  himself  from  the  public  eye  until 
the  unfortunate  affair  had  blown  over.  Another  reason  for  his 
sudden  fit  of  modesty  is,  perhaps,  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that 
when  his  examination  before  the  committee  had  shown  him 
that  he  could  neither  frighten  the  committee,  nor  satisfy  their 
curiosity,  by  calm  insolence,  and  that  they  were  likely  to  take 
what  the  New  York  Tribune  calls  the  •'  most  extraordinary 
step  "  of  compelling  him  to  show  his  books,  he,  or  some  one 
else  for  him,  made  the  mistake  of  having  the  books  tampered 
with,  by  alterations  and  interpolations,  so  as  to  conceal  what 
he  had  really  done  with  the  money.  He  forgot  that  there  are 
a  hundred  men  who  can  detect  a  falsification  in  an  account- 
book  for  one  who  can  detect  a  defect  or  a  fraud  in  a  piece  of 
construction,  and  the  immediate  exposure  of  the  alterations 
rendered  him  liable  to  questions  which  he  preferred  to  avoid 
answering.  He  seems,  however,  to  have  found  a  worthy  suc- 
cessor as  a  witness  in  the  person  of  the  sub-contractor,  Mr. 
Sullivan,  who,  when  his  time-keeper  testified  that  the  main  beams 
in  the  ceiling,  instead  of  being  of  iron,  as  required  by  the  speci- 
fications and  contract,  were  of  wood,  "  explained  "  that  "  they 
were  lateral  beams,"  and  "  had  to  be  of  wood,  as  iron  could  not 
have  been  successfully  used."  It  would  puzzle  an  architect  to 
say  why  iron  could  not  have  been  used  for  the  lateral  beams  as 
well  as  any  other  part  of  the  structure,  but  we  must  remember 
that  the  persons  principally  concerned  in  the  matter,  instead  of 
regarding  it  from  the  architect's  standpoint,  seem  to  have  looked 
only  to  the  most  efficient  method  of  doing  the  worst  possible 
job  for  the  largest  amount  of  money ;  and  from  this  point-of- 
view  the  employment  of  iron  would  be  less  successful  than  that 
of  wood  in  places  where  the  latter  could  be  made  to  hang 
together. 

TITHE  cause  of  the  disaster  at  Hartford,  by  which  a  hotel  was 
\|_  blown  up  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  and  many  persons 
killed,  is  now  definitely  known  to  have  been  the  fastening 
down  of  the  safety-valve  of  the  boiler  by  one  of  the  two 
engineers,  probably  with  the  knowledge  of  the  ether;  and 
both  engineers  have  been  held  for  trial  on  a  charge  of  man- 
slaughter. Although  the  building  was  proved  to  have  been 
weak  and  badly  built,  the  verdict  states  that  there  is  no 
evidence  that  this  contributed  to  the  result,  for  the  explosion 


must  have  been  violent  enough  to  destroy  any  building,  how- 
ever strong,  in  which  it  occurred.  It  seems  from  the  evidence 
that  some  complaint  had  been  made  of  the  lack  of  steam  in  the 
morning,  and  the  engineers  found  that  a  simple  way  of  over- 
coming the  difficulty  was  to  keep  up  a  good  fire  during  the 
night.  Sometimes  the  fire  was  too  good,  and  the  steam- 
pressure  ran  up  so  high  that  the  safety-valve  blew  open.  This 
startled  the  inmates  of  the  house,  who  made  complaint,  and 
the  ingenious  engineers  then  provided  for  the  new  difficulty  by 
fastening  down  the  safety-valve  so  that  it  could  not  blow  open 
under  any  circumstances.  How  effectual  their  precaution  was 
the  result  showed.  It  would  be  interesting  to  know  how  many 
more  steam-boilers  in  our  large  cities  have  their  safety-valves 
tied  down,  for  fear  they  may  blow  open  and  frighten  their 
owners.  Probably  the  number  is  by  no  means  inconsiderable. 

ME.  CHARLES  S.  FROST,  the  architect  of  the  Owings 
Building,  in  Chicago,  in  which  some  of  the  floor-arches 
fell  a  few  weeks  ago,  writes  us  to  say  that  the  account  of 
the  matter  in  the  daily  papers,  on  which  our  comments  were 
based,  was  entirely  erroneous,  and  that  the  total  damage  due 
to  the  accident,  which  seems  to  have  been  caused  by  the  in- 
judicious handling  of  a  heavy  water-tank  in  the  upper  story, 
did  not  exceed  four  hundred  dollars.  Mr.  Frost  adds  to  this 
explanation  an  observation,  the  justice  of  which  we  meekly 
acknowledge,  to  the  effect  that  it  would  have  been  becoming  in 
us  to  have  made  "  at  least  some  effort  to  get  at  the  truth  of 
the  matter,  before  publishing  such  statements."  We  think  we 
can  honestly  say  that  we  do  not  lightly  give  circulation  to 
reports  in  regard  to  buildings  which  may  affect  the  reputation 
of  their  architects  or  builders,  and  we  are  sorry  that  the 
exaggerated  reports  of  the  accident  in  the  daily  papers  should 
have  been  plausible  enough  to  mislead  us,  but  while  making 
this  apology  to  Mr.  Frost,  we  hope  he  will  consider  that  it  is 
rarely  possible  for  us  to  send  experts  to  investigate  occurrences 
of  the  sort,  so  that  we  must  rely  on  the  ordinary  accounts, 
unless  some  of  the  people  on  the  ground,  who  can  see  and  com- 
prehend the  facts,  will  do  us  the  great  service  of  writing  to  us 
their  version  of  them.  If  several  accounts,  from  different 
persons,  should  be  sent  of  the  same  thing,  it  would  be  so  much 
the  better,  and  if  we  could  receive  them  early,  we  should  often 
be  put  in  a  position  to  render  effective  service  to  the  architect 
or  builder,  in  counteracting  the  erroneous  impressions  given  by 
the  ignorant  and  sensational  reports  in  the  daily  press. 


WE  heard  an  Englishman  once  inquire  how  much  rent  was 
asked  for  a  certain  house  in  New  York.  The  house  was 
a  tolerably  modest  one,  on  a  side  street.  lie  was  told 
that  the  rent  then  paid  was  eight  thousand  dollars  a  year.  He 
apologized  for  not  having  made  himself  understood,  and  ex- 
plained that  he  had  not  asked  the  price  of  the  house,  but  only 
wanted  to  know  the  annual  rent.  On  being  told  that  this  was 
what  the  tenant  paid  every  year,  he  was  overwhelmed  with 
amazement,  and  expressed  the  opinion  that  Buckingham  Palace 
was  the  only  house  in  London  which  would  command  anything 
like  such  a  rent,  and  he  doubted  whether  even  that  would 
fetch  so  much.  To  Americans  it  is  a  standing  wonder  how 
English  houses  can  be  rented  so  cheaply,  considering  the  fact 
that  building  costs  nearly  or  quite  as  much  in  England  as  here, 
and  that  houses  being  built  on  ground-leases  for  the  most  part, 
the  interest  on  the  value  of  the  land,  as  well  as  a  sinking-fund 
for  reimbursing  the  value  of  the  building  during  the  term  of 
the  ground-lease,  must  be  paid  by  the  tenant.  The  British 
Architect  gives  a  description  of  some  new  houses  now  offered 
for  rent  near  London  which  is  calculated  to  make  a  New 
Yorker  envious.  The  houses  in  question  stand  in  Bush  Hill 
Park,  a  large  estate  which  has  recently  been  improved  by 
building  a  number  of  picturesque  houses  surrounded  by 
gardens,  in  which  the  old  trees  on  the  estate  have  been  pre- 
served. One  of  these  houses,  containing  on  the  ground-floor  a 
recessed  porch  with  a  tiled-floor,  a  drawing-room  sixteen  feet  long 
by  thirteen  and  one-half  feet  wide,  a  dining-room  fourteen  feet 
long  by  the  same  width  as  the  drawing-room,  a  square  hall, 
with  two  roomy  closets,  a  staircase  having  an  oriel  window  on 
the  landing,  a  kitchen,  scullery  and  coal-house,  with  four 
chambers,  bath  and  water-closet  above,  a  roomy  garden  in 
front,  and  three  thousand  feet  of  land  in  the  rear,  rents  for  one 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars  a  year.  Others,  with  larger  rooms 
and  more  chambers,  and  about  twice  as  much  land,  are  rented 
for  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  and  some  of  intermediate 
quality  for  two  hundred  dollars  a  year. 


MARCH  23,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


185 


EARTHQUAKES.1  —  II. 

HERE  remains  to  be  explained  many 
of  the  peculiarities  of  earthquakes 
accompanied  by  aerial  tempests, 
water-spouts,  hurricanes  and  whirlwinds. 
These  earthquakes  are  the  most  frequent, 
and  it  is  perhaps  the  observation  of  these 
which  suggested  the  theory  endorsed  by 
Aristotle  in  regard  to  these  phenomena. 
From  the  farthest  antiquity,  moreover, 
atmospheric  perturbation  accompanying 
great  terrestrial  shocks  have  been  re- 
marked. It  is  narrated  in  the  song  of 
Deborah  and  Barak  in  the  passage  where 
it  speaks  of  the  people  of  Israel  in  the 


neighborhood  of  Sinai,  "  Domine,  cum  exires  de  Sahir  et  transires  per 
regiones  Edom,  terra  mota  est,  ccdique  ac  nubes  distillaverunt  aquis." 
In  several  psalms  we  also  find  analogous  descriptions  whioh,  although 
written  by  inspired  men  and  prophets,  agree  perfectly  with  observa- 
tions which  have  been  made  later  by  physicists  and  naturalists. 
Consequently  it  cannot  be  denied  that  the  great  convulsions  of  the 
earth  are  very  commonly  connected  with  violent  rainstorms.  How, 
then,  reconcile  the  theory  of  terrestrial  vibrations  with  the  meteo- 
rological perturbations  which  so  often  accompany  the  earthquake  ? 
Father  Galli  succeeds  in  doing  this  by  means  o'f  a  very  ingenious 
comparison.  He  recalls  the  discovery  of  Chladni,  so  admirably  ex- 
plained by  Faraday,  and  fully  confirmed  by  the  experiments  of 
Savart,  to  wit,  that  the  powder  of  the  lacopods  is  concentrated  in 
little  round  balls  upon  the  protrubrances  rather  than  along  the 
nodal  lines,  because  it  is  raised  up  with  a  circular  motion^  and 
transported  by  little  whirlwinds  which  are  formed  where  the  vibra- 
tions are  strongest.  It  is  only  needful  to  apply  this  theory  on  a  much 
greater  scale,  to  understand  that  the  mighty  vibrations  of  the  ground 
can  give  birth  to  the  local  cyclones  which  ordinarily  accompany 
earthquakes. 

Certain   other   phenomena  have   been   noted,   which   seemed   to 
appeal  against  the  vibratory  theory,  but  which  the  author  has  suc- 
ceeded in  interpreting  practically  in  a  sense  favorable  to  his  theory. 
For  example,  after  some  earthquakes  there  have  been  found  statues 
and  even  pyramids  moved   from  their  bases,  and   sometimes  even 
overthrown.     Now  listen  to  the  experiment  to  which  Father  Galli 
had  recourse  to  explain  these  facts  :   He  took  one  bracket  of  marble 
and  one  of   slate,   of  dimensions  absolutely  equal,   and  built  them 
solidly  into   the  wall  without  any  other   support.      He   then    built 
on  each  of  these  two  brackets  a  pile  of  prisms  of  hardwood,  of  the 
same  height  and  with  rectangular  bases.     He  then  made  the  front  of 
each  of  these  brackets  vibrate   by  rubbing  with  a  stick  upon  his 
finger  resting  against  this  same  side.     The  effect  in  both  cases  was 
the  same.     If  the  front  face  of  the  pile  was  perpendicular  to  the 
axis  of  vibration,  the  prisms  were  displaced  from  the  front  back- 
wards, preserving  a  parallel  alignment ;  but  if  the  anterior  face  of  the 
pile  was  oblique  to  the  axis  of  vibration,  the  prisms  all  turned  to  the 
same  side  with   an  angular  displacement   increasing  from  base  to 
summit,  and  bending  to  right  or  to  left,  according  to  the  character 
of   their   obliquity.     It   seemed   to    result   from    this   with   perfect 
certainty  that  the  earthquake  is  nothing  more  than  an  essentially 
vibratory  movement  of  the  crust  of  the  globe,  and  that  the  waves  of 
earth  are  veritable  waves  of  vibration  similar  to  those  which  a  shock 
produces  on  the  surface  of  non-oleaginous  liquids.     Consequently  the 
rocky  mass  does  not  move,  does  not  oscillate,  and  the  displacement 
of  some  bodies,  the  slipping  of  some  superficial  layer,  the  turnino- 
movement  of  stone  prisms,  the  oscillations  of  walls  and  trees,  are 
only  various  effects  of  vibratory  movement,  which  alone  or  in  com- 
bination with   the  action   of  gravity,  are   transformed   into   reflex 
movements   determined  by  all  of  the  conditions  of  equilibrium  of 
bodies  and  the  laws  controlling  the  communication  of  the  movement. 
1  he  surface  of  the  soil  vibrates   as  does  the  surface  of  water  in 
longitudinal   and   transverse  vibrations;  and   when   this   vibratorv 
movement   is  propagated   in  a  horizontal   direction  the   transverse 
vibrations  are  the  most  extensive,  and  become  vertical,  that  is  to  say 
are  effected  in  the  plane  of  the  least  resistance.     The  superficies 
enveloping  these  elementary  waves  becomes  a  crest,  more  or  less 
elevated,  which  sometimes  becomes  visible,  and  which  alwavs  is  felt 
in  passing  by  the  successive  upheaval  and  sinkino-  of  the"  "round 
Ihis  movement  is  very  improperly  called  saltatory,  when  in  reality 
it  ought  to  be  considered  as  a  phase  of  undulatory  movement. 

Ihese  principles  once  stated,  it  becomes  of  the  neatest  import- 
ance, from  the  point  of  view  of  the  solidity  of  habitable  buildings, 
to  know  the  different  degrees  of  conductivity  of  the  terrestrial  strata 
Urn -this  we  can  have  recourse  to  the  remarkable  and  recent  studies 
of  Professor  Fouque",  who  by  the  aid  of  explosives  and  by  the  em- 
ployment of  electricity  and   photography  has  been  able  to    obtain 
very  precise  results.     Thanks  to  these  studies  we  now  know  that 
irent    geological    formations    offer    very   different    decrees    of 
-pidity  of  transmission,  the  proportions  of  which  are  arraWd  in 
the  following  table  for  the  principal  strata  : 

i  granite  the  mean  rapidity  is  from  2.450  to  3.141  metres  per 

second.     In  compact  coal-bearing  sandstone,  from  2  to  2.526  metres ; 

M  TJT*  Sandstone'  from  1-«0  metres  upwards ;  in  Cambrian 

marble,  .632  metres;  in  the  sandstone  of  Fontainebleau,  .300  metres. 

'Continued  from  No.  687,  page  92. 


We  are  thus  assured  that  the  more  friable  and  porous  the  layer  is 
the  less  proper  it  is  for  transmitting  vibrations,  and  also  that  its 
power  of  conductivity  increases  in  direct  ratio  with  the  adherence 
of  the  molecules  which  compose  it,  so  that  a  strono-  shock  passing 
from  a  rocky  piece  of  ground  to  one  which  is  sandy  loses,  little  by 
little,  its  rapidity  and  its  intensity,  and  finishes  by  bein*  wholly 
absorbed.  In  short,  clayey,  pebbly  and  dusty  soil  should  be  the 
least  subject  to  receive  and  propagate  heavy  terrestrial  shocks. 
1  his  is  the  reason,  for  example,  that  Northern  Belgium  and  Holland, 
formed  from  the  alluvium  of  the  Rhine,  the  Scheldt  and  the  Meuse, 
have  rarely  been  desolated  by  earthquakes,  and  the  same  can  be  said 
of  all  the  countries  where  the  geological  structure  resembles  that  of 
the  Netherlands.  In  Italy  also,  although  the  land  is  generally 
volcanic,  and  the  country  very  subject  to  convulsions,  the  zone  com- 
prised within  the  delta  of  the  Po  is,  as  a  rule,  exempt  from  them.  In 
the  month  of  March,  1873,  a  shock  of  very  general  violence,  having 
its  centre  in  the  Paduan  Campagna,  shook  "the  whole  peninsula  from 
the  Alps  to  the  very  extremity  of  Calabria.  Now,  cities  placed  on 
the  borders  of  the  delta  of  the  Po  did  not  experience  the 
shock,  although  they  were  only  a  short  distance  from  the  focus 
of  radiation.  On  the  morning  of  the  19th  of  January,  1873,  a 
strong  shock  was  felt  at  Rome,  but  the  inhabitants  on  the  isle  of  St. 
Barthelmy,  which  is  formed  of  "  made  "  land,  had  no  knowledge  of 
the  event. 

Herodotus  has  stated  that  in  the  Scythian  region  which  surrounds 
the  marsh  Mseotis,  by  others  called  the  Sea  of  Azov,  the  shocks  are 
so  rare  that  they  are  considered  a  prodigy.  Now,  this  region  is 
essentially  oozy,  because  of  the  alluvium  brought  down  by  the  several 
rivers  which  surround  it,  and  especially  by  the  Dneiper,  the  Don 
and  the  Kuban.  A  great  part  of  Northern  Germany  possesses  the 
same  characteristics.  It  is  for  this  same  reason  that  Lower  Egypt, 
comprised  between  Lake  Moeris  and  the  mouth  of  the  Nile"  has 
always  enjoyed  a  kind  of  immunity  from  terrestrial  convulsions.  In 
like  manner  Mesopotamia,  formed  by  the  alluvium  brought  by  the 
Tigris  and  Euphrates,  enjoys  an  analogous  privilege.  Persia  on  the 
other  hand,  although  only  a  short  distance  off,  has  frequently  been 
troubled  by  earthquakes. 

The  experiments  of  Dr.  Fuchs  have  once  more  made  it  possible  to 
determine  an  important  point  of  the  scientific  theory  which  relates 
to  the  convulsions  of  the  earth  ;  namely,  that  vibratory  waves  are  not 
transmitted  in  the  same  manner  at  the  surface  of  the  ground  as  be- 
neath it.  At  the  surface  an  instantaneous  upheaval  creates  a  series 
of  three  or  four  successive  waves,  so  that  the  movement  lasts  quite  a 
long  time.  In  the  depths  of  the  earth,  on  the  contrary,  there  is  only 
one  single  wave,  and  the  movement  stops  quite  suddenly,  as  well  in 
a  horizontal  sense  as  in  a  vertical.  A  characteristic  difference  also, 
which  experiment  has  always  confirmed,  cannot  be  accidental,  and 
corresponds  perfectly  to  the  two  forms  of  vibration  which  have  been 
mentioned  above:  at  the  surface  the  resistance  is  least  for  the 
transverse  vibrations  which  become  the  prevalent  motion  and  spread 
themselves  about  with  the  greatest  freedom  ;  but  beneath  the  surface 
there  is  great  resistence  to  transverse  vibrations  as  well  as  to  longi- 
tudinal ones,  and  the  only  movement  transmitted  is  that  produced 
by  the  shock,  while  that  which  results  from  the  elasticity  of  the  body 
is  non-existent. 

In  the  actual  state  of  things,  what  is  the  best  means  to  follow  to 
make  habitations  as  invulnerable  as  possible?  The  conclusions  of 
Father  Galli  on  this  point  are  of  capital  importance  for  the  arts  of 
architecture  and  construction,  and  in  a  few  words  are  these: 
"  Observation  has  demonstrated  that  on  the  ground-floor  shocks  are 
not  very  easily  perceived.  Now,  if  it  is  true,  that  the  movement  is 
essentially  vibratory,  if  the  most  intense,  the  most  extended  and  con- 
sequently the  most  dangerous  vibrations  are  those  of  the  superficial 
layer,  it  must  be  inferred  that  the  shock  received  through  the  walls 
is  not  easily  transmitted  to  the  ground  which  they  enclose  and  that 
the  foundations  present  a  considerable  resistance  to  the  passage  of 
the  wave.  If,  then,  a  house  should  be  entirely  surrounded,  at  a  little 
distance  off,  by  a  wall  with  deep  foundations,  very  solid  and  well 
built,  this  protecting  wall  would  absorb  the  violence  of  the  shock  and 
would  suffer  injury  in  place  of  the  enclosed  building.  If,  more  than 
this,  there  should  also  be  arranged  a  vacant  space  between  this  wall 
and  the  ground  which  supports  the  house,  we  should  then  believe 
that  the  building  would  be  almost  entirely  protected  against  vibra- 
tion. In  cities  this  system  would  certainly  seem  to  be  very 
expensive,  but  this  difficulty  could  be  overcome  by  protecting  several 
buildings  collected  into  one  group.  Besides,  the  question  of  expense 
disappears  when  it  becomes  really  a  question  of  protecting  human 
life,  and  rendering  impossible  irreparable  catastrophes  such  as  those 
which  in  these  last  years  have  had  Andalusia  and  Liguria  for  a 
theatre.  It  is  a  question  in  short  of  constructing  such  harbors  as 
shall  shelter  human  habitations  from  terrestrial  storms,  and  of  pro- 
tecting them  by  dikes  and  quais,  which  form  an  almost  insurmount- 
able barrier  to  the  undulation  of  the  ground,  just  as  we  construct 
harbors  to  protect  our  ships  against  the  fury  of  the  seas." 

This  is  not  to  say  the  kind  of  protection  proposed  by  Father 
Galli  makes  it  impossible  for  a  building  to  be  overthrown ;  but  what 
difference  does  that  make?  We  have  seen  ships  perish  in  port 
when  the  riot  of  the  elements  had  reached  such  a  degree  of  violence 
that  it  exceeded  everything  that  human  imagination  had  been  able 
to  foresee ;  but  all  the  same,  this  has  not  afforded  a  reason  for  not 
building  harbors  for  ships. 

In  any  event,  there  is  in  this  book  of  Father  Galli's  several  ideas 


136 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.         [VOL.  XXV.  — No.  691. 


worthy  of  being  studied  by  architects  and  constructors,  who  possess 
all  the  technical  information  needful  for  judging  the  possibility  of 
making  application  of  them.  They  can  now  establish  rules  on  this 
subject  when  they  know  what  are  the  kinds  of  soil  which  they  ought 
to  choose  by  preference  for  their  buildings  to  guard  them  naturally, 
and  protect  them  from  violent  shocks.  H.  MEREU. 


-YORK: 


RECENT  EXHIBITIONS  AND  SALES. — FACILI- 
TIES NEW  YORK  OFFERS  TO  THE  STUDENT. 
• — THE  REAL  TRAINING  AT  THE  ECOLE  DBS 
BEAUX-ARTS.  —  DRAWING  CLASSES. — 
READING. 

WE  are  at  the  height  of  the  exhibition  sea- 
son, and  nothing  short  of  a  daily  chroni- 
cle would  suffice  to  keep  track  of  the 
noteworthy  examples  of  painting,  sculpture,  bric- 
a-brac  and  furniture  passing  before  our  eyes. 

The  Water-Color  Society's  exhibition  was  opened  in  a  charming 
and  novel  manner  this  year  by  a  brilliant  costume  ball.  The  ball 
was  for  the  benefit  of  the  Socie'ty  of  Decorative  Art,  and  was  a  social 
and  artistic  success,  the  water-colorists  courteously  offering  the  use 
of  the  Academy,  all  draped  and  ready  for  their  own  opening.  The 
exhibition  was  above  the  average,  and  especially  charming  in  effect 
from  the  draping  of  the  rooms  with  delicate,  light-toned  stuffs. 
Maynard's  "Sirens,"  which  took  the  Evans  prize  of  $300  for  the 
most  meritorious  water-color  exhibited,  was  deserving  of  its  dis- 
tinction. 

The  exhibitions  and  sales  of  the  Stebbins  collection,  with  good 
examples  of  modern  French  painters,  the  Howell  collection,  with 
notable  French  landscape  work,  and  three  or  four  more  really  good 
collections  can  only  receive  passing  mention,  though  any  one  of  them 
deserves  a  column. 

The  sale  of  the  late  F.  O.  C.  Barley's  paintings  and  drawings  was 
a  vivid  reminder  of  progress  made.  The  Artists'  Fund  was  no  more 
and  no  less  interesting  than  in  other  years. 

The  monthly  exhibitions  of  the  Union  League  Club  mark  a  de- 
parture that  is  full  of  interest.  Besides  the  usual  loan  of  pictures 
by  the  members,  they  were  asked  to  contribute  from  their  collections 
rare  specimens  of  porcelains  of  special  types.  Last  month  was 
devoted,  I  believe,  to  sang-de-boeuf  glazes,  and  this  month  there  is 
a  really  beautiful  exhibition  of  blue  and  white.  Rare  pieces  have  been 
loaned  by  Mr.  Walters,  of  Baltimore,  by  gentlemen  from  Washing- 
ton and  Chicago,  and  Messrs.  T.  B.  Clarke,  Charles  A.  Dana,  James 
A.  Garland,  and  other  well-known  collectors  of  this  city  have  con- 
tributed. It  is  really  a  revelation  to  see  such  a  wealth  of  rare  and 
exquisitely  beautiful  examples  brought  out  to  illustrate  a  single  small 
branch  of  art.  Amongst  the  pictures,  Frank  Millet's  "Old  New 
Amsterdam"  interior  pleased  me  most. 

I  had  nearly  forgotten  an  acquisition  to  the  Metropolitan  Museum 
collections  —  Mrs.  John  Crosby  Brown's  recent  gift  of  her  collection  of 
musical  instruments.  There  are  amongst  them,  I  am  told,  many 
exquisite  examples  of  artistic  workmanship,  delicate  inlays  and 
carvings  of  curious  and  suggestive  forms.  The  only  collection 
said  to  be  comparable  with  it  is  the  one  at  South  Kensington. 

I  have  been  asked  what  facilities  New  York  offers  a  young  and 
ambitious  draughtsman  for  pursuing  his  studies  after  office-hours, 
and  I  am  somewhat  puzzled  how  to  answer.  There  are  and  can  be 
but  few  opportunities  for  systematic  evening  study,  but  there  are  un- 
limited opportunities  for  learning  and  development.  The  first  thing 
for  a  young  man  ambitious  to  rise  in  his  profession  to  do  is  to  create 
a  sympathetic  atmosphere  about  himself,  and  to  so  train  his  percep- 
tions as  to  get  the  most  good  out  of  his  surroundings. 

When  I  went  to  Paris  to  enter  the  Ecole  des  Beaux-Arts,  I  was 
somewhat  prepared  to  adapt  myself  to  the  conditions  there,  for  I  had 
enthusiastic  and  appreciative  friends  who  had  been  there  before  me. 
Presenting  myself  and  my  credentials,  I  suddenly  found  myself 
member  of  an  atelier  or  studio,  one  of  a  group  of  thirty  or  forty 
students  under  the  direction  of  a  well-known  architect,  a  brilliant 
Prix  de  Rome  man,  and  then  engaged  upon  one  of  the  public 
buildings.  If  I  had  counted  upon  this  architect,  upon  the  lectures 
or  examinations,  or  upon  the  designs  required  under  the  programmes 
for  my  training,  my  time  would  have  been  wasted ;  and  1  say  this 
not  in  depreciation  of  the  school  and  its  curriculum,  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, to  point  out  how  much  deeper  than  the  mere  courses  of  study 
is  the  real  work  done  there.  The  students  amongst  whom  I  thus 
found  myself  thrown  lived  in  a  miniature  republic,  an  ideal  com- 
mune, with  a  body  of  traditions  and  unwritten  laws,  to  which  each 
must  give  loyal  adhesion  or  withdraw.  Each  member  took  rank 
according  to  his  achievements  in  the  common  pursuit,  and  all  outside 
considerations  were,  so  far  as  possible,  eliminated.  It  was  decidedly 
bad  form  for  one  member  to  be  appreciably  wealthier  than  another, 
and  titles  were  not  obtruded.  One  man,  I  remember,  was  known 
as  the  "  Cassowary  "  on  account  of  his  tufted  hair,  and  it  was  over  a 
year  before  I  discovered  that  his  real  name  was  an  historic  one,  and 


that  he  was  Vicomte.  Our  schooling  disappointed  me  at  first.  In- 
deed, it  was  not  until  some  time  after  I  had  returned  to  my  own 
country  that  I  fully  understood  all  its  advantages.  The  nouveau, 
upon  being  introduced  and  going  through  a  few  simple  formalities, 
was  put  through  a  course  of  initiatory  teasing,  intended  to  test  his 
temper  and  measure  his  goodfellowship.  It  was  pretty  severe  some- 
times, but  never  cruel  or  ill-natured.  Once  passed,  the  nouveau  was 
admitted  to  companionship,  but  must  not  forget  that  he  was  a 
nouveau  and  knew  nothing.  He  was  expected  to  do  cheerfully 
all  the  routine  drudgeries  for  the  more  advanced  men :  stretch 
paper,  grind  India-ink,  black-in  the  plans,  or  make  tracings.  These 
duties  were  gradually  delegated  to  still  newer  arrivals,  and  progress 
depended  upon  individual  quality.  Each  must  still  be  helpful  in 
lightening  the  labor  of  men  above  him  by  doing  whatever  he  was 
best  fitted  for.  One  could  give  or  take  assistance  in  all  the  inessen- 
tials: the  sketching-in  of  statues  or  of  backgrounds,  the  laying  of 
washes,  or  many  other  such  things ;  but  it  was  one  of  the  unwritten 
laws  —  never,  I  think,  transgressed  —  that  no  student  should  accept 
the  assistance  of  a  comrade  in  the  vital  and  essential  features  of 
design,  although  counsel  and  criticism  was  constantly  and  freely 
given  and  received.  Our  patron,  or  director,  spent  but  little  time  in 
the  atelier,  and  most  of  the  attention  was  given  to  the  older  men, 
with  a  word  of  encouragement  here,  or  of  warning  there,  to  the 
others  ;  just  enough  to  keep  them  in  mind.  The  students  to  whom 
he  gave  his  greatest  care  were  bound,  in  their  turn,  to  look  after  the 
others.  They  thus  had  the  added  advantage  of  at  once  practising 
and  testing  all  they  learned,  and  the  others  gained,  too,  in  that, 
instead  of  one  director  and  teacher  for  a  few  minutes,  they  had 
several  working  at  their  elbows  all  the  time,  and  so  far  companions 
and  friends  that  modest  doubts  and  aspirations  could  be  aired  with- 
out the  paralyzing  feelings  inspired  by  the  presence  of  such  immeasu- 
rable superiority  as  the  patron's. 

Here,  then,  was  the  great  principle  governing  our  little  community ; 
a  mutual  helpfulness  from  the  lower  to  the  higher  in  things  manual 
and  an  equal  helpfulness  from  the  higher  to  the  lower  in  things 
spiritual,  and  with  this,  the  constant  progression  of  the  individual 
and  the  liberty  to  attain  the  best  it  was  in  him  to  do.  We 
lived  together  in  an  absolute  community  of  interests.  Went  to 
the  galleries  and  museums,  went  sketching,  travelling,  lunching,  in 
knots  and  groups,  and  talked  and  fought  and  sang  amongst  ourselves. 
It  was  sometimes  difficult  to  pick  out  the  grain  of  architectural 
wisdom  from  the  atelier  chaff,  but  it  is  clear  in  looking  back  that  we 
all  thirsted  for  knowledge  and  power  and  even  our  play  felt  the  in- 
fluence of  our  more  serious  aspirations.  I  have  given  this  bit  of 
personal  experience  because  I  could  not  otherwise  explain  so  clearly 
what  I  meant  by  a  sympathetic  atmosphere.  It  is  perfectly  attain- 
able, here  as  well  as  in  Paris  although  it  does  not  always  exist  where 
one  would  most  expect  it.  A  young  draughtsman  should  of  all 
things,  fight  shy  of  offices  where  there  are  no  enthusiasms  for  the 
things  beyond  the  scope  of  the  day's  work,  or  the  week's  pay,  better 
go  elsewhere  even  if  the  pay  be  less  and  the  daily  work  less  am- 
bitious, if  only  generous  enthusiasms  are  at  home  there. 

As  to  what  disposal  may  be  profitably  made  of  the  evenings,  I  can 
only  make  a  few  suggestions.  The  Architectural  League  is  open  to 
all  draughtsmen  over  twenty-one  and  is  not  expensive.  Besides^ 
whatever  may  go  on  of  interest  at  the  meetings,  the  acquaintances 
and  friendships  formed  will  help  to  keep  one  posted  as  to  what  is 
going  on  elsewhere.  Professor  Ware  gives  a  course  of  Wednesday 
evening  lectures  at  Columbia  College,  to  which  all  are  welcomed,  and 
which  are  charmingly  instructive  and  bountifully  illustrated. 

It  is  worth  all  it  costs  and  more  to  keep  the  run  of  the  various  ex- 
hibitions and  to  go  often,  with  a  fellow  architect  if  possible.  Paint- 
ings, sculpture,  bric-a-brac,  old  furniture  iind  many  other  interesting 
things  are  exhibited  previous  to  sales  and  one  soon  learns  to  avoid 
the  trash,  so  that  besides  the  Academy  of  Design  and  the  American 
Art  Association  you  can  count  the  Fifth  Avenue  Galleries  and 
Leonard's  rooms,  and  to  give  zest  to  an  afternoon  stroll  places  like 
Knoedler's,  Bausserd,  Valadais,  Sypher's-Deween's  and  the  Japanese 
Trading  Company.  A  little  courtesy  and  tact  will  always  open  the 
way  into  these  shops  and  a  display  of  real  interest  will  draw  out  a 
fund  of  interesting  information. 

A  course  of  drawing  from  the  figure  or  from  casts  can  be  taken  in 
the  evenings  either  at  the  Metropolitan  Museum  Schools,  corner  of 
49th  Street  and  3d  Avenue ;  at  the  Art  Students  League,  1 7th  Street 
and  Fifth  Avenue,  or  at  the  Cooper  Institute  where  those  unable  to 
pay  are  favored  and  where  the  work  is  more  elementary:  the 
Museum  and  Cooper  Institute  also  have  classes  in  modelling. 

Reading  is  a  more  difficult  matter,  and  outside  of  books  of  general 
reference  such  as  are  to  be  found  in  the  Mercantile  Library,  one  can 
only  consult  the  architectural  publications  under  restrictions,  at  the 
Astor  Library,  the  Society  and  Lenox  Libraries  and  at  Columbia 
College.  The  hours  and  privileges  vary  so  that  it  is  impracticable  to 
give  them  here,  but  a  direct  application  personally  or  by  letter  will 
show  how  far  they  may  be  individually  available.  To  study  the 
more  scientific  branches,  construction,  strength  of  materials,  per- 
spective stereotomy,  etc.,  the  most  practicable  way  is  to  get  a  few 
fellow  architects  to  go  in  together  and  form  a  private  class  either  for 
mutual  help  with  good  text-books  or  better,  under  the  tuition  of  some 
recent  graduate. 

The  one  caution  it  occurs  to  me  to  give  is  to  cultivate  a  live 
interest  in  all  good  art  whether  it  be  painting,  sculpture,  music, 
literature  or  the  play  and  do  not  be  afraid  you  are  not  perfecting 


MARCH  23,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


137 


yourself  as  an  architect  because  you  are  not  always  studying  archi- 
tecture. There  are  times  when  Henry  Irving  will  do  you  more  good 
than  Vignola  and  when  Wagner  is  more  to  the  purpose  than  the  best 
work  on  transverse  strains.  Architectural  requirements  are  com- 
plex and  involve  artistic,  mechanical,  business  and  social  questions  of 
all  kinds  and  degrees. 


THE  STANDARD  CLUB'S  NEW  BUILDING. — 
THE  FALSE  REPORTS  CONCERNING  THE 
ACCIDENT  AT  THE  OWING'S  BUILDING. 

PROBABLY  no  one  fact  shows  so  plainly  the  rapid  change  here 
from  a  comparatively  small  city  to  a  wealthy  metropolis  as  the 
increasing  number  of  social  clubs,  together  with  the  rapid  in- 
crease both  in  number  of  members  and  wealth  of  the  older  ones. 
There  are  now  in  Chicago  fully  twenty  such  associations  in  a  most 
flourishing  condition.  Of  this  number  probably  one-half  have  club- 
houses that  belong  to  themselves,  and  during  the  past  month  one  of 
the  older  of  these  social  organizations  has  opened  its  new  home  with 
the  usual  formality  of  a  large  reception.  The  building  being  finished 
and  occupied,  one  is  now  able  to  examine  it  intelligently  and  pick 
out  the  points  that  do  not  appear  to  be  in  harmony  with  the  usually 
accepted  ideas  of  architectural  composition. 

The  new  house  of  the  Standard  Club  is  located  at  the  corner  of 
Michigan  Boulevard  and  Twenty-fourth  Street,  and,  according  to  the 
dailv  press,  has  cost  over  $100,000,  exclusive  of  land.  The  two  street 
fronts  are  faced  with  Bedford  limestone  of  a  grayish  tone.  This 
stone,  while  one  of  the  cheaper  stones  in  our  market,  is  still  one  of 
the  best.  It  almost  goes  without  saying  that  the  structure  is  "  rock- 
face,"  for  nearly  the  whole  city  —  or  the  architectural  portion  of  it, 
at  least  —  seems  to  have  gone  crazy  on  this  kind  of  work,  and 
nothing  is  thought  of  but  rough  and  jagged  stone :  here,  indeed, 
some  mouldings  have  been  cut,  but  their  comparatively  small  number 
and  the  total  absence  of  carving  (except  one  minute  line  near  the 
top  where  it  is  scarcely  visible)  give  to  the  whole  building  the 
general  rock-faced  air. 

If,  as  some  claim,  every  building  should  by  its  exterior  indicate 
what  is  its  purpose,  no  one  would  be  surprised  if  the  public  at  large 
rarely  guessed  correctly  the  end  and  aim  of  this  building.  A  more 
strictlv  commercial-looking  construction  it  is  almost  impossible  to 
imagine ;  as  for  beauty  of  outline,  as  well  talk  of  the  beauty  of  out- 
line of  a  dry-goods  box,  to  which  in  shape  it  very  nearly  compares. 
But,  having  such  a  plain  contour,  why,  at  least,  the  comfort  and  con- 
solation of  a  good  cornice  with  its  attendant  shadow  was  denied,  is 
something  that  seems  incomprehensible;  for  in  place  of  some  good 
lines  and  projections,  one  is  left  with  the  involuntary  impression  that 
it  was  maliciously  clipped  off,  or  else  that  the  owners  had  the  thrifty 
idea  of  eventually  putting  on  some  more  stories,  without  the  expense 
of  taking  down  any  useless  cornice  since  the  coping  stone  (the  only 
member  now  there)  would,  with  small  outlay,  answer  capitally  for  a 
sill-course  to  the  new  story.  The  outline  of  the  house  being  entirety 
devoid  of  artistic  form,  the  effect  of  the  structure  could  certainly 
have  been  greatly  improved  by  some  color  effect,  and  an  extremely 
careful  study  of  the  shapes  and  combinations  of  the  openings.  The 
former  was  certainly  not  even  attempted,  for  the  whole  mass  of  the 
building  (except  a  few  buff  terra-cotta  panels  under  the  windows)  is 
an  even  gray,  the  color  of  the  stone,  and  this  monotony  is  made  still 
more  apparent  by  all  the  woodwork  of  the  windows  being  painted 
the  same  general  color  as  this  facing,  so  that  there  is  absolutely  no 
relief  for  the  eye.  Had  economical  reasons  rendered  it  necessary 
to  use  only  one  stone,  a  much  happier  result  could,  without  question, 
have  been  obtained  by  a  more  careful  study  of  the  method  of  joint- 
ing the  stonework.  Above  the  first  story  one  can  discover  no  study 
of  this  kind,  for  through  the  upper  three  stories  the  thickness  of  the 
courses  of  stone  are  so  nearly,  if  not  absolutely,  alike  as  to  add 
monotony  to  the  already  monotonous  color.  Again,  the  shapes  and 
combinations  of  the  openings  are  not  entirely  agreeable  to  the  eye, 
semicircular  and  square-headed  windows  alternate  with  each  other 
in  the  same  story  without  any  apparent  reason  for  such  changes, 
while  large  and  small  windows,  some  extending  through  two  stories 
and  others  only  one,  do  not  give  a  harmonious  effect  to  the  general 
exterior. 

The  main  entrance,  which  is  at  the  side,  is  one  of  the  best  features 
of  the  building,  being  a  generous  arch  with  a  fine  sweep.  Unfortu- 
tunately,  the  interior  of  the  vestibule  was  left  rock-faced,  and,  as  a 
natural  result,  the  fitting  of  the  woodwork  of  the  inner  doors  against 
this  stone,  though  resulting  in  an  irregular  contour  line,  has  not  from 
an  artistic  point  been  what  any  one  could  call  a  success. 

The  gas-fixtures,  both  in  this  vestibule  and  at  the  sides  of  the 
entrance,  are  too  insignificant  and  cheap  to  bear  description,  and, 
although  the  architects  probably  had  nothing  to  do  with  their  de- 
signing, it  would  certainly  have  been  wise  in  them  to  have  made 


arrangements  for  the  one  in  the  vestibule  ceiling,  so  that  it  would  have 
come  in  the  centre  of  a  panel,  rather  than  in  the  middle  of  a  moulding, 
as  is  now  the  case.  The  interior  of  the  house  is  said  to  be  extremely 
satisfactory,  both  in  arrangement  and  decoration,  and  in  many  parts 
Is  very  handsome.  It  is  certainly  to  be  hoped  that  such  is  the  case, 
'or  the  part  of  which  the  general  public  gets  the  benefit  cannot  fairly 
!>e  qualified  by  any  higher  compliment  than  that  it  appears  massive 
and  bold. 

From  the  wide  publicity  that  has  been  given  throughout  the  whole 
country  to  the  accident  that  happened  recently  at  the  Owing's 
Building,  an  impression  has  gone  abroad  that  it  was  a  casuality  of 
most  serious  nature,  while,  in  fact,  it  was  not  so,  as  $500  will  more 
than  cover  the  cost  of  repairs.  It  was  an  accident  that  might  have 
happened  in  any  building  of  similar  construction  where  workmen 
were  careless,  and,  moreover,  such  things  have  happened  in  several 
of  our  buildings  here  without  any  notice  being  taken  of  it  either  by 
the  daily  or  professional  press,  although  the  damage,  certainly  in 
one  case,  was  nearly  four  times  as  great.  Occurring,  as  it  did,  on 
Sunday,  the  Monday  morning  papers  gave  this  particular  accident 
all  the  space  possible,  in  order  to  "  fill  up "  what  is  ordinarily  the 
most  dry  and  uninteresting  issue  of  the  whole  week.  Reporters  were 
flying  around  until  late  Sunday  night,  even  routing  some  architects 
out  of  their  beds  to  get  their  opinions  —  and  they  generally  got 
them,  though  in  more  forcible  than  polite  language.  But,  notwith- 
standing all  the  talk,  probably  not  a  dozen  architects  took  the 
trouble  to  go  around  to  the  building  the  next  day  to  look  at  the 
debris. 


!  CANADA  = 


PROPOSED  ONTARIO  PROVINCIAL  ASSO- 
CIATION OF  ARCHITECTS. —  THE  EF- 
FECTS ON  ADJACENT  LAND  OF 
HEIGHTENING  THE  EMBANKMENT  AT 
MONTREAL.  —  DIFFERENT  METHODS 
OF  QUOTING  PRICE  OF  LAND  AT  TO- 
RONTO  AND  MONTREAL.  —  THE 
TORONTO  BOARD  OF  TRADE  COMPE- 
TITION. 

'TJ  VERY  decided  step  has  been  taken  within  the  last  month  by 
r°l  the  Toronto  Architectural  Guild  towards  the  establishment  of 
/  the  proposed  Ontario  Provincial  Association  of  Architects. 
Draft  by-laws  have  been  prepared,  and  a  copy  forwarded  to  every 
architect  in  the  Province,  with  an  invitation  to  attend  a  general  con- 
vention on  March  21  to  discuss  the  subject  and  provide  actual 
and  definite  means  for  the  object  in  view.  The  invitation  bears  the 
request  that  all  the  architects  in  each  town  or  city  will  meet  and  go 
over  the  by-laws,  with  a  view  to  expediting  matters  at  the  conven- 
tion, so  that  from  every  place  men  coming  to  the  meeting  may  be 
prepared  to  the  fullest  extent.  The  Hamilton  architects,  so  the 
daily  papers  announce,  have  already  met,  and  are  taking  the  matter 
up  warmly.  From  Ottawa  comes  an  expression  decidedly  in  favor 
of  the  notion,  and  the  promoters  of  the  scheme  have  every  hope  of 
the  convention  being  a  great  success.  Some  architects  in  Quebec, 
who,  of  course,  cannot  share  the  benefits  of  an  Ontario  association, 
wish  the  Toronto  men  would  go  further  and  get  up  a  Dominion 
association,  but  that  is  quite  out  of  the  question.  Montreal  archi- 
tects, who  are  decidedly  in  the  majority,  must  learn  to  control  their 
jealousies,  and  the  English  and  French  elements  must  amalgamate 
first  before  any  such  universal  scheme  could  be  promulgated. 

A  few  months  ago  I  sent  you  an  account  of  the  works  carried  out 
by  the  Harbor  Commissioners  of  Montreal  in  deepening  the  ship- 
channel  of  the  River  St.  Lawrence.  Another  engineering  scheme  is 
being  discussed  which  will  probably  involve  an  outlay  of  $3,000,000. 
It  is  proposed  to  widen  the  street  (Commissioner  Street)  that  runs 
along  face  of  city,  riverwards,  to  an  extent  that  will  give  it  an 
average  width  of  ninety  feet ;  to  raise  the  present  quay  and  wharves 
to  the  level  of  this  street  (they  are  at  present  some  fifteen  feet 
below,  and  entirely  submerged  every  winter),  and  do  away  with  the 
inclined  roadways  from  the  street  to  the  quays;  to  build  a  parapet- 
wall  to  keep  out  the  floods ;  and  to  construct  an  outer  wall  in  the 
river,  enclosing  the  whole  harbor. 

Apart  from  the  question  of  cost,  this  great  work  as  a  whole  cannot 
be  carried  out  without  a  very  careful  investigation  of  the  conse- 
quences likely  to  ensue.  The  first  question  is :  Where  will  the 
water  that  usually  occupies  the  space  it  is  now  proposed  to  fill  up  by 
raising  the  wharves  and  quays  go  to  in  the  winter.  As  I  have  before 
explained,  the  river  rises  as  much  as  forty  feet  in  some  springs,  and 
if  the  water  can  no  longer  spread  itself  "out  to  the  northward  over 
the  city  of  Montreal,  it  is  likely  to  overflow  the  south  shore  to  an 
extent  far  more  serious  than  heretofore,  and  the  villages  of  St.  Lam- 
bert and  Longueille  on  this  shore  would  be  buried.  There  can  be 
no  doubt  that  the  benefit  of  such  a  scheme  would  be  immense  to 
Montreal,  and  therefore  the  villages  must,  perhaps,  go  to  the  wall, 
but  something  must  be  done  in  the  interest  of  the  inhabitants  to  save 
them  from  sudden  and  overwhelming  inundation.  One  night  would 


138 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.      [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  691. 


be  sufficient  to  destroy  the  villages  when  the  ice-dam  gives  way: 
the  irresistible  torrent  of  water,  laden  with  tons  of  ice  in  blocks, 
would  sweep  the  south  shore  clean.  However,  the  engineers  who 
have  the  matter  in  hand  are  not  likely  to  do  anything  rash.  Expe- 
rience with  other  improvements  of  the  kind  in  other  places  has 
shown  that  "  after-effects "  must  be  duly  considered.  When  the 
Thames  embankment  was  widened,  and  at  Westminster  and  Chelsea 
the  river  was  narrowed  by  one  hundred  feet  for  a  considerable 
length,  the  flood-water  in  the  spring,  unable  to  get  away  as  fast  as 
before,  spread  out  above  London  over  a  far  greater  area,  so  that 
even  at  Wallingford,  at  a  distance  of  fifty  miles  from  London,  the 
floods  are  worse  now  than  before. 

With  the  prospect  of  an  early  spring,  the  building  trades  are 
brightening  up,  and  there  seems  to  be  every  prospect  of  a  consider- 
able amount  of  work  being  begun  as  the  frost  comes  out  of  the 
ground.  Usually  the  first  of  April  is  the  day  by  whicli  excavating 
work  can  be  commenced,  but,  with  the  short  winter  and  the  lack  of 
the  usual  amount  of  frost,  such  work  will  in  all  probability  be 
started  a  fortnight  earlier  this  year.  The  value  of  real  estate  seems 
to  be  steadily  on  the  increase.  Prices  are  rising  rapidly,  and  new 
property  has  recently  been  put  into  the  market.  New  districts,  as 
they  are  opened  up,  are  commanding  very  high  prices.  The  rapidity 
with  which  Toronto  is  increasing  in  area  is  something  astonishing, 
outlying  suburbs  being  annexed,  and  neighboring  districts  being  laid 
out  for  building  estates  north,  east  and  west.  Montreal  is  less 
favorably  situated  for  such  extension,  owing  to  the  "  mountain  " 
which  bounds  the  city  to  the  north  at  a  distance  of  only  a  mile-and- 
a-half  from  the  river.  But  the  class  of  cities  to  which  Montreal 
belongs  is  so  very  different  from  that  of  Toronto  that  the  two  places 
cannot  be  compared  by  the  same  standard  of  prosperity.  Montreal, 
with  its  older  foundation,  has  many  disadvantages  in  the  way  of  old 
and  narrow  streets,  poor  districts,  such  as  Hochelaga  and  Griffin- 
town,  and  then,  as  the  great  port  of  the  Dominion,  its  quays,  wharves, 
docks  and  canal-basins,  and  the  accompanying  store  and  ware  houses, 
mills  and  houses  for  employe's,  render  improvement,  except  by  a  very 
vast  outlay  of  capital,  difficult  and  almost  impossible.  Montreal  can 
only  spread  itself  out  practically  in  one  direction;  namely,  to  the 
west,  where  Cote  St.  Antoine  is  a  favorite  suburb  for  private  resi- 
dences. As  to  the  price  of  land  in  the  two  cities,  that  is  not  easily 
compared  through  real-estate  reports  unless  the  dimensions  of  the 
property  sold  are  given,  because  in  Montreal  the  price  is  so  much 
per  foot  superficial  of  the  whole  surface,  while  in  Toronto  it  is 
quoted  per  foot  frontage.  To  speak  of  seventeen  dollars  a  foot  on 
St.  James  Street,  Montreal,  and  four  hundred  dollars  a  foot  on  King 
Street,  Toronto,  is  misleading  to  the  uninitiated. 

I  note  Messrs.  James  &  James's  letter  in  reference  to  the  criti- 
cism on  their  plans  for  the  Toronto  Board  of  Trade  Building  in  my 
letter  of  last  month.  I  will  only  add,  in  conclusion  of  my  allusions 
to  the  matter,  that  my  remarks  were  made  without  any  bias  in  my 
mind  against  them.  I  took  the  plans  as  they  were  before  me,  and 
made  such  criticism  as  they  appeared  to  warrant. 


[  Contributors  are  requested  to  send  with  their  drawings  full   and 
ad  quote  descriptions  of  the  buildings,  including  a  statement  of  cost."] 

ENTRANCE  TO  THE  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 
BUILDING,  ALBANY,  N.  Y.  MESSES.  FULLER  &  WHEELER, 
ARCHITECTS,  ALBANY,  N.  Y. 

[Helio-chrome,  issued  only  with  the  Imperial  Edition.] 

GOTHIC     SPIRES    AND    TOWERS,     PLATE   41.  —  ST.   JAMES'S,    LOUTH, 
ENGLAND. 

[.Issued  only  with  the  Imperial  Edition.] 

THE  AGE  OF  FRANCIS  I,  PLATES  3  AND  4. — THE  TOURNEY 
FIELD,  CHAMBORD;  THE  GUARD-ROOM,  CHAMBORD. 

tissued  only  with  the  Imperial  Edition.] 

PROPOSED      HOTEL,      KINGSVILLE,      ONT.      MESSRS.    MASON    &    RICE, 
ARCHITECTS,    DETROIT,    MICH. 

PROPOSED    TWELFTH    BAPTIST    CHURCH,    BOSTON,    MASS.       MR.     EU- 
GENE  C.    FISHER,    ARCHITECT,    BOSTON,    MASS. 

A    FOUNTAIN.        JATIVA,    SPAIN. 

HOUSE    FOR    CARROLL    E.    BOWEN,    ESQ.,     ROCHESTER,    N.    Y.        MR. 
THOMAS    NOLAN,    ARCHITECT,    ROCHESTER,   N.    Y. 


THE  SCHOLARSHIP  PRIZE-WINNERS.  —  THE 
ARCHITECTURAL  ASSOCIATION  AND  ITS 
FEATURES.  —  THE  ADMIRALTY  AND  WAR 
OFFICE.  —  THE  MONUMENT. 


TTTHE  Exhibition  of  Students'  Works  sub- 
J|«  mitted  in  competition  for  the  various 
prizes,  medals,  etc.,  of  the  Royal  Insti- 
tute of  British  Architects  was,  I  think,  on 
the  whole  hardly  equal  to  that  of  last  year. 
Some  prizes  have  been  more  stubbornly 
fought  for,  and  others  have  brought  out  less 
talent,  but  this  is  always  the  case  with  these  competitions.  The 
"Pugin"  student  is  Mr.  C.  E.  Mallows,  who  worked,  I  understand, 
a  good  deal  with  Mr.  Pennell,  of  The  Century  fame.  His  draw- 
ings indicate  a  thorough  acquaintance  with  the  pencil,  and  a  knowl- 
edge which  he  uses  to  great  advantage  of  the  way  to  obtain  striking 
contrasts  of  light  and  shade ;  an  all  important  thing  in  a  certain 
style  of  draughtmanship.  He  was  run  very  close  by  several  of  the 
competitors.  The  "  Glissell "  medal  was  not  awarded.  Mr.  Lan- 
chester's  charming  color  studies  carried  off  the  "  Owen  Jones " 
studentship.  He  exhibited  the  sketches  which  he  made  while 
travelling  in  Italy  last  year  as  "  Aldwinckle  "  student,  and  it  is  a 
noteworthy  fact  that  success  in  a  minor  travelling-studentship  nearly 
always  secures  the  winner  a  place  in  more  important  competitions, 
since  he  is  able  to  spend  the  time  that  he  uses  in  working  out  his 
studentship  in  preparing  drawings  for  another.  But  this  by  the  way, 
Mr.  Lanchester's  drawings  are  as  good  as  any  I  have  seen  in  the 
room  for  a  long  while. 

The  Tite  Prize  has  produced  nothing  in  quality  equal  to  last  year's 
competitions.  Mr.  Verity,  son  of  the  architect  of, the  "Criterion," 
takes  the  prize  for  a  pure  and  neat  design  in  Italian  Renaissance. 
The  Institute  Silver  Medal  for  measured  drawings  was  won  by  a 
Nottingham  man,  Mr.  Allen,  for  drawings  of  Wollaton  Hall,  visited 
by  the  Architectural  Association,  last  autumn,  though  Mr.  Troup 
comes  in  a  good  second  with  some  excellent  drawings  of  St.  John's 
College,  Oxford.  The  "  Soane  "  Medallion  has  proved  the  competi- 
tion this  year.  Mr.  Arthur  Sykes  was  primus  inter  pares  with  a 
well-studied  and  careful  design,  with  nothing  very  wonderful  in  it, 
but  with  everything  very  thoughtfully  worked  out.  Mr.  George 
Kcuyon,  who  has  studied  in  the  Paris  Ecole  des  Beaux-Arts,  sub- 
mitted a  work  in  which  the  influence  of  his  alma  mater  is  strongly 
pronounced.  There  were  one  or  two  Gothic  designs,  as  a  warning 
to  others,  I  suppose.  The  design  of  the  exhibition  was,  however, 
one  submitted  under  the  title  Espana.  It  is  one  of  the  most 
eccentric,  extraordinary  designs  that  can  be  imagined,  but.  at  the 
same  time,  masterly  and  powerful,  and  striking  in  its  originality. 
There  is  a  Moorish  feeling  about  the  design,  which  the  author 
emphasized  by  a  really  beautiful  perspective  drawing,  with  southern 
sky  and  Algerian  surroundings.  There  was  quite  a  storm  in  a  tea- 
cup about  this  design.  The  judges,  startled  perhaps  at  its  originality, 
passed  it  over.  When  their  report,  however,  came  to  be  read 
before  the  Institute,  Professor  Aitchison  got  up  and  moved  that  the 
judges'  report  be  amended,  and  that  Espana  be  awarded  a  Medal 
of  Merit.  He  was  backed  up  by  Mr.  Ewan  Christian,  a  Past 
President,  but  their  efforts  were  unavailing,  as  the  Institute  con- 
firmed their  Judging-Committee's  report  by  the  majority  of  five. 
This  will  serve  to  show  you  what  interest  this  design  has  excited, 
and  I  dare  say  you  will  see  it  in  one  of  the  professional  papers. 
The  Godwin  Bursary  was  awarded  to  Mr.  Frank  Stephen  Grainger, 
M.  A.  These  prizes,  amounting  as  they  do  to  over  £250  per 
annum,  arc  a  great  incentive  to  students  to  work  here  in  England, 
and  what  I  may  venture  to  term  your  spirited  action  is  founding 
a  similar  travelling-studentship  for  our  fellow-students  across  the 
water  has  attracted  notice  here,  and  been  warmly  commended, 
though  the  breadth  of  your  conditions,  in  opening  your  competition 
to  students,  "  male  or  female,  white,  red  or  black,"  reads  like  a  dry 
piece  of  humor.  Nevertheless,  let  me  promise  the  lucky  man  (or 
woman)  a  hearty  welcome  to  the  "ould  countree,"  and  we  won't 
grumble  even  though  she  be  a  Pawnee  squaw. 

The  latest  move  of  our  student  body,  the  Architectural  Associa- 
tion, has  been  hardly  what  you  might  term  architectural.  We  have 
founded  a  Lyric  Club  under  eminent  patronage,  and  twice  a  month, 
under  the  soothing  influence  of  the  fragrant  weed,  offer  up  our  de- 
votions to  the  Muses.  The  Club  has  had  an  excellent  effect  in  help- 
ing to  bind  together  in  the  bonds  of  brotherhood  the  students  at  the 
Association  of  Architects.  What  a  wonderful  body  this  is,  though 
I  "  say  it  as  shouldn't."  With  past  and  present  students,  we  have 
over  one  thousand  names  on  our  books.  We  carry  on  an  illustrated 
journal  and  a  sketch-book  monthly.  '  We  have  a  Cycling  Club,  two 
companies  in  the  Volunteers,  and  now  a  Lyric  Club.  We  have  rep- 
resentatives all  over  the  country  to  aid  the  wandering  student  whilst 
sketching,  and  our  classes,  lectures,  etc.,  are  very  numerous.  Indeed, 
as  you  see,  we  are,  excepting  the  Royal  Institute  of  British  Archi- 


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MARCH  23,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


139 


tects,  the  most  powerful  professional  body  in  the  kingdom,  and,  I  am 
happy  to  say,  disaffection  is  hardly  known  in  our  midst,  and  we 
loyally  stand  by  the  Institute  through  thick  and  thin,  although,  in 
times  gone  by,  our  relations  with  the  powers  that  be  have  been  well 
strained.  Forgive  this  little  outburst  of  enthusiasm,  but  it  is  difficult 
to  avoid  it  when  one  gets  on  the  subject  of  the  Association. 

The  other  night,  our  friend,  Mr.  Francis  E.  Masey,  held  forth  on 
"  London  As  It  Is  and  As  It  Might  Be,"  one  of  those  purely  theo- 
retical subjects  whose  ventilation  before  an  audience  of  architects 
seems  quite  superfluous.  The  lecturer  proposed  the  appointment  of  a 
wholly  impossible  individual  —  a  censor  in  art;  upbraided  archi- 
tects for  treating  each  fa9ade  per  se,  instead  of  in  connection  with 
its  neighbors,  and  entered  on  the  inevitable  comparison  with  Paris. 
The  dfscussion  was  of  more  interest  than  the  lecture.  It  afforded 
Mr.  Blashill,  the  Superintending  Architect  of  the  dying  Board  of 
Works,  an  opportunity  of  trotting  out  his  pet  idea  of  subjecting  all 
our  buildings  to  a  perennial  drenching  with  the  fireman's  hose,  to 
clean  off  the  dust  and  dirt  that  accumulates  on  them,  and  it  enabled 
Mr.  Bery  to  make  a  very  energetic  protest  against  the  continual 
comparison  of  London  with  Paris.  He  said,  and  I  quite  agree  with 
him,  that  the  very  incongruity  of  London  produced  a  picturesque- 
ness  impossible  of  attainment  in  a  modern  Continental  city,  and  that 
London  contained  features  of  interest  —  nay,  beauty  —  peculiar  to 
itself.  I  think  the  sensible  remarks  of  Mr.  Bery  fitted-in  with  the 
prejudices  of  the  meeting  much  better  than  the  theories  and  senti- 
mentalities of  the  lecturer. 

Vacillation,  vacillation !  There  is  a  rumor  floating  about  that  the 
Government  has  again  abandoned  its  project  about  patching  up  the 
Admiralty  and  War  Olfices  with  the  buildings  I  commented  on 
severely  in  one  of  my  former  letters,  and  contemplate  reverting  to 
the  original  design  of  Messrs.  Leeming  &  Leeming.  Although  it  is 
uncomfortable  to  have  a  government  that  does  not  know  its  own 
mind,  yet  this  time  the  pendulum  has  swung  in  the  right  direction, 
and  I  trust  there  is  some  solid  foundation  to  the  rumor. 

The  fears  about  the  safety  of  the  Monument,  which  I  mentioned 
some  months  ago,  have  happily  proved  to  be  groundless.  The 
erection  has  been  very  carefully  tested  from  top  to  bottom  by  an 
eminent  firm  of  contractors,  under  the  superintendence  of  the  City 
Architect,  and  has  been  found  to  be  perfectly  stable. 

The  tire  demon  has  been  busily  at  work  again.  His  latest  victim 
has  been  a  beautiful  county  mansion  in  Wiltshire,  which  was  erected 
some  five  or  six  years  ago  at  a  cost  of  £50,000  from  Mr.  Philip 
Webb's  designs.  The  house  was  almost  entirely  destroyed,  and  a 
great  quantity  of  beautiful  carved  oak  and  many  very  valuable  works 
of  art,  including  a  large  picture  by  Burne  Jones,  were  all  burned. 
Indeed,  the  total  loss  will  not  be  much  under  £100,000.  "  The  house 
was  fitted  with  the  latest  patent  fire-extinguishing  appliances,  but, 
owing  to  the  cold  weather,  they  would  not  act."  —  [Daily  Paper. .] 

The  elections  to  the  London  County  Council  have  taken  place, 
and,  with  the  exception  of  five  or  six,  all  the  members  of  the  old 
Board  of  Works  who  sought  the  suffrage  of  the  rate-payers  were 
rejected  at  the  polls.  There  is  some  talk  of  the  new  County  Council 
building  a  new  house  for  themselves  on  the  Thames  embankment. 
The  probable  chairman  of  the  new  body  will  be  the  Karl  of  Rose- 
bery,  K.  S. 


T 


THE  COMING  EXHIBITION.  —  INTERNA- 
TIONAL EXHIBITIONS,  THKIR  GENESIS 
AND  HISTORY.  —  THE  PRIX  DE  RECON- 
NAISSANCE DE8  ARCHITECTES  AMERI- 
CAINE8. 

T  TY  next  article  will  very  likely  be  dated 

I  oL  on  *ne  *^av  °^  'ne  °Pen'no  °f  the  Ex- 
*  hibition.  The  great  question  every- 
where is  this,  Will  it  be  ready?  Those  who 
are  confident  reply  in  the  affirmative.  Oth- 
ers maintain  the  contrary,  either  through  a 
spirit  of  pessimism  or  of  opposition,  for 
there  are,  it  must  be  acknowledged,  many 
enemies  of  the  enterprise,  and  these  last  cry 
out  at  the  top  of  their  lungs  that  it  is  very  possible  that  on  the  day  of 
opening  there  will  be  exhibited  only  unopened  packing-cases  and  un- 
finished show-cases.  These  two  ways  of  looking  at  things  are  evi- 
dently exaggerated.  It  is  time  to  acknowledge  the  truth :  no  one 
must  be  deceived,  and  the  lie  must  be  given  to  those  who  have  an  in- 
terest in  embarrassing  the  success  of  the  Exhibition.  Let  us  confess 
it,  we  are  behind  time ;  but  I  maintain,  and  I  am  in  a  position  to 
know,  since  I  am  employed  here  amid  the  installations,  this  delay  is 
not  general,  and  particularly  does  not  apply  to  the  industrial  sec- 
tions ;  this  is  very  important.  All  the  galleries  in  these  sections  will 
be  ready  if  the  exhibitors  think  it  worth  while  to  arrive  with  their 
goods  in  time.  They  will  have,  as  a  matter-of-fact,  two  long 
months  for  their  installations,  which  is  certainly  more  than  enough. 


Where  delays  are  to  be  feared,  particularly  if  the  bad  weather  per- 
sists, is  in  the  two  palaces  of  the  fine  arts  and  liberal  arts.  Here 
there  is  surely  no  time  to  lose,  for  it  will  not  be  possible  to  begin  the 
installations  at  a  seasonable  time  because  of  the  delays  in  the  execu- 
tion of  the  work  —  delays  arising  from  several  accidents  which  have 
brought  about  changes  in  the  original  plans.  But,  thanks  to  the 
activity  displayed  and  the  night-work,  we  shall  get  through  all 
right  in  a  fairly  satisfactory  way.  People  were  able  to  convince 
themselves  of  this  at  the  time  of  the  visit  of  the  President  of  the 
Republic  on  the  13th  of  January,  a  visit  which  produced  a  very 
good  effect,  since  the  public  being  invited  were  able  to  take  account 
of  the  progress  of  the  interior  work,  which  they  had  not  been  able  to 
inspect  from  outside  the  enclosure  of  the  Exhibition  Grounds. 

And  now,  before  speaking  in  my  next  article  of  the  curiosities  and 
distractions  of  the  Exhibition  of  1889,  let  us  glance  at  its  predeces- 
sors and  the  history  of  international  exhibitions.  From  what  epoch 
dates  the  first  exhibition?  A  Greek  historian  of  the  second  century 
(Athenaeus)  reports  that  under  Ptolemy  Philometer  there  was  given  a 
pompous  display  where  this  Pharaoh  caused  to  be  exhibited  by  the 
merchants  of  Thebes  and  Memphis  everything  which  Egypt  pro- 
duced in  the  way  of  luxury.  If  this  statement  is  exact,  it  would 
prove  that  there  is  "  nothing  new  under  the  sun,"  and  that  the  first 
national  exhibition  does  not  date  from  yesterday ;  but  it  is  allowable 
not  to  accord  too  great  confidence  to  these  statements  of  the  ancient 
historian  ;  and  I  only  mention  the  fact  by  way  of  curiosity,  without 
attaching  to  it  the  least  importance.  It  is  only  in  the  year  VI  of 
the  Republic,  in  1798,  that  there  took  place  the  first  gathering  like 
an  industrial  exhibition.  It  was  the  writer  FninQois  Neufchateau,  a 
member  of  the  Academy,  who,  on  the  occasion  of  one  of  the  public 
fetes  given  by  the  Directory,  had  the  idea  of  collecting  and  grouping 
together  for  the  sake  of  comparison  the  products  of  French  industry. 
This  exhibition  lasted  for  thirteen  days,  and  110  exhibitors  took 
part.  At  night  the  lamps  were  lighted,  and  the  number  of  visitors  was 
great.  Afterwards  the  Government  encouraged  these  undertakings, 
which  took  place  at  several  later  dates  and  finally  assumed  a  certain 
importance,  thanks  to  the  competition  of  the  provinces  and  the 
colonies  in  proportion  as  these  developed.  But  there  came  a  time 
when  the  need  made  itself  felt  of  comparing  the  different  products  of 
the  nations,  and  gathering  these  together  in  a  universal  exhibition. 
The  first  of  these  dates  only  from  1851,  and  took  place  at  London. 
Each  country  was  represented  there  with  its  national  characteristics. 
It  was  an  enormous  success,  and  all  Europe  passed  through  the  Crystal 
Palace:  but,  curious  and  regretable  to  remark,  the  fine  arts  were 
absolutely  unrepresented.  The  glory  of  France  was  upheld  by  1 750 
exhibitors,  who  obtained  a  large  number  of  recompenses. 

The  United  States  followed  the  example  of  England.  But  the 
universal  exhibitions  which  are  truly  memorable  are  those  which 
took  place  in  Paris  in  1855,  1867  and  1878.  The  Exposition  of 
1855  was  decided  by  a  decree  of  Napoleon  III,  dated  March  8, 1853. 
It  was  not  merely  an  industrial  exhibition  like  that  at  London  ;  for 
by  a  second  decree,  dated  June  22,  1853,  which  declares  that  the 
perfecting  of  the  industries  is  intimately  connected  with  the  fine 
arts,  a  section  of  painting,  sculpture,  engraving  and  architecture  was 
especially  organized.  A  general  commission,  placed  under  the  presi- 
dency of  Prince  Napoleon,  was  arranged  and  divided  into  two  sub- 
commisMons,  one  having  charge  of  Industry  and  the  other  of  the 
Arts.  Among  the  names  of  the  commissioners  of  Fine  Arts  we  find 
the  names  of  the  celebrated  artists  Eugene  Delacroix,  Ingres, 
Henriquel-Dupont,  Merimee  and  Visconti.  The  general  commission 
decided  that  in  the  interest  of  industrial  art  and  the  visitors,  the 
Exposition  should  be  a  place  of  sale.  They  decided  likewise,  and 
this  was  an  innovation,  that  the  visitors  should  pay  an  entrance-fee. 
This  rate  varied,  according  to  the  day  and  the  season,  from  twenty 
centimes  and  one  franc  to  five  francs  on  Friday,  from  the  IGth  to 
the  31st  of  July,  and  two  francs  from  the  1st  to  the  9th  of  November. 
All  this  was  complicated  enough.  The  visitors  turned  into  the 
treasury  in  this  way  a  total  of  3,302,484  francs  for  the  Department 
of  Fine  Arts,  and  2,506,194  francs  for  the  Department  of  Industries. 
The  Exhibition  took  place  in  the  Palais  de  1'Industrie,  which  at  this 
time  was  connected  with  the  panorama  of  the  Champs  Elysdes.  Be- 
sides, it  stretched  through  other  galleries  fully  to  the  Quai  de  Billy 
and  the  Avenue  Dantin  for  the  Department  of  Industries,  and  the 
Avenue  Montaigne  for  the  Fine  Arts,  and  the  number  of  exhibitors 
was  about  23,950.  At  the  Exhibition  of  1867  which  remains  a 
triumph  for  France,  there  were  52,000  exhibitors,  and  it  was  visited 
by  30,000,000  of  people. 

It  is  easy  to  recall  the  general  plan,  attributed  to  Prince 
Napoleon.  It  was  composed  of  a  central  garden  surrounded  by 
seven  rows  of  concentric  galleries,  which  formed  an  immense  ellipse, 
cut  transversely  by  sixteen  streets,  each  known  by  the  name  of  some 
country.  One  of  the  successes  of  this  exhibition  was  the  gallery  of 
the  History  of  Labor,  where  machines  in  motion  showed  the  transfor- 
mation of  primal  matter.  For  the  first  time,  also,  a  large  space  was 
devoted  to  social  studies  and  to  examination  into  the  methods  of 
education  and  instruction. 

In  1878,  France,  hardly  recovered  from  the  disasters  of  1870  and 
and  1871,  summoned  Europe  and  the  entire  world  to  a  grand  exhibi- 
tion, showing  thus  her  vitality  and  her  energy.  The  general  dis- 
position is  still  present  to  the  memory,  and  we  all  recall  the  success 
and  animation  of  the  Street  of  Nations,  where  each  country  was 
represented  by  a  typical  piece  of  national  architecture.  We  recall 
also  that  it  was  in  connection  with  the  Exhibition  that  the  Palace  of 


140 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.       [VOL.  XXV.  — No.  691. 


the  Trocadero  was  built,  and  that  there  was  transformed  into  gar- 
dens, terraces  and  cascades  all  of  the  hillside  which  extended  from 
the  Pont  de  Jena  to  the  Quarters  of  Passy  and  the  Arc  de  Triomphe. 

In  1878  the  exhibitors  numbered  52,800.  Paris  entertained  more 
than  40,000,000  of  visitors.  They  accused  the  Exhibition  of  1878  of 
one  defect,  however,  which  certainly  cannot  be  laid  to  the  charge  of 
the  coming  Exhibition.  It  was  not  a  lively  affair.  Places  of  pleasure 
were  distributed  too  promiscuously  and  strangled  by  the  larger  build- 
ings. The  Exhibition  itself  was  closed  at  night,  even  the  parks  and 
gardens.  This  year  they  have,  on  the  other  hand,  sacrificed  the 
regular  buildings  of  the  Exhibition,  that  is  to  say,  the  industrial 
galleries,  to  those  which  are  scattered  through  the  gardens.  These 
assume  a  great  importance,  and  at  night  will  present  a  fairy-like 
aspect.  Also  in  spite  of  the  larger  area,  which  is  really  occupied, 
the  exhibitors  will  only  number  about  42,000.  Of  the  eighty-four 
hectares  which  the  enclosure  of  the  Exhibition  contains,  only  twenty- 
nine  will  be  covered  with  buildings. 

I  have  already  spoken  of  the  general  organization  and  of  the 
direction  entrusted  to  the  three  directors  general,  M.  Alphand  for 
the  works,  M.  Berger  for  the  exploitation  and  installation,  and  M. 
Grison  for  the  finances.  I  will  add  to  this  the  information  contained 
in  the  third  article  of  the  rule  regulating  entrances :  "  The  right  of 
entry  to  the  Exhibition  shall  be  fixed  in  the  following  manner :  By 
day  one  franc  for  each  person  at  the  hours  of  general  entrance  ;  two 
francs  per  person  during  the  hours  devoted  to  study ;  at  night, 
two  francs  per  person  for  week  days  and  one  franc  on  Sunday; 
season  tickets  100  francs  each  for  the  whole  duration  of  the  Exhibi- 
tion ;  twenty-six  francs  for  subscription-cards  delivered  to  the 
members  of  the  commission  and  committees  of  the  Exhibition.  A 
weekly  bulletin  will  be  published  in  the  official  journal,  and  posted 
everywhere  it  may  be  necessary,  which  will  inform  the  public  of  the 
hour  of  opening  and  closing  the  departments  belonging  to  the  Exhi- 
bition. The  same  method  will  announce  the  hours  particularly 
devoted  to  study  and  distinguished  from  the  public  hours."  And 
now  let  fine  weather  and  sunlight  illumine  and  enliven  the  day  of 
opening. 

I  must  not  forget  before  finishing  this  letter  to  speak  of  the  first 
competition  which  has  just  been  held  at  the  School  of  Fine  Arts  for 
the  Prix  de  Reconnaissance  des  Architectes  Americaines.  There  is 
no  call  for  again  mentioning  the  effect  which  this  gift,  so  delicate 
and  so  ample,  produced  here,  and  which  every  year  must  recall  to 
us  and  tighten  the  bonds  of  comradeship  which  distance  cannot 
break.  The  subject  of  the  competition  was  a  monument  symbolic  of 
artistic  fraternity.  According  to  the  programme  it  must  present  a 
temple  or  a  triumphal  edifice  dedicated  to  Art,  placed  above  a  sub- 
basement,  and  so  raised  as  to  dominate  the  whole  composition, 
accompanied  by  porticos,  galleries,  open  staircases,  etc.  Nine  con- 
testants took  part  in  the  competition,  which  was  extremely  interest- 
ing. It  was,  however,  rather  difficult  to  avoid  the  appearance  of  a 
funeral  monument,  as  several  contestants  found  to  their  cost.  The 
prize  was  awarded  to  M.  Huguet,  pupil  of  M.  Blondel ;  and  "  mentions  " 
were  voted  to  Messrs.  Adolphe  Henry,  pupil  of  M.  Guadet; 
Eustache,  pupil  of  M.  Ginain ;  and  Jankel,  pupil  of  M.  Andr<5. 
Here  are  four  artists  at  any  rate  who  should  owe  to  their  American 
comrades  a  feeling  of  gratitude ;  and  you  know  very  well,  you  fellows 
over  yonder,  that  we  will  always  join  our  good  wishes  to  theirs. 

M.  BRINCOURT. 


THE   GROSVENOR   GALLERY. 

A    CENTURY   OF    BRITISH    ART;    FROM    1737    TO    1837. 

LONDON,  January  21, 1889. 

fO-DAY   this   exhibition    opens   to    the 
public  with  a  second  series  of  pictures 
painted   within   the   above  dates.     Sir 
Coutts  Lindsay  and  the  management   may 
be  congratulated  on  having  secured  a  thor- 
oughly representative   collection  of   a  mag- 
nificent period,  many  of  which  have  never 
been  exhibited  before,  and  nearly  all  of  high 
artistic  interest.      It   worthily  sustains  the 
reputation  of  the  Grosvenor,  and,  for  weeks 
to  come,  will  attract  all  the  artistic  world. 
The  pictures  are  hung  with  great  judgment, 
each  room  having  a  special  interest  of  its  own. 

Every  one  knows  the  two  large  galleries  and  the  two  small  ones  of 
the  Grosvenor  in  Bond  Street. 

To  begin  with,  the  largest  and  "  West  Gallery,"  where,  as  usual, 
most  of  the  gems  were  collected. 

Mrs.  Jordan's  large  portrait,  by  Romney,  stands  out,  sweetly 
gazing  into  the  rooms  from  a  park,  dressed  in  a  simple  white 
muslin,  cut  half-low,  with  elbow-sleeves  and  a  pink  sash.  The  fair 
hair,  waving  round  the  face  and  neck,  is  surmounted  by  a  small 
white  cap.  It  is  a  happy,  delicate  young  face  and  slender  figure, 
painted  evidently  in  the  heyday  of  Mrs.  Jordan's  life  and  beauty  — 
before  the  shadows  came,  and  she  was  repudiated  and  forgotten. 

Romney  was  a  charming  painter  of  women's  faces.  He  caught 
their  soft  witchery  and  smile,  which  make  his  portraits  irresistible. 
Note  his  many  portraits  of  Lady  Hamilton,  whom  he  worked  up  in 
every  sort  of  fancy  and  attitude.  It  is  said  that  for  years  he  was 
never  completely  happy  except  when  she  was  posing  before  him. 


No.  7  is  his  Lady  Hamilton  as  "  Miranda."  She  looks  like  the 
laughing  genius  of  a  storm,  with  her  head  thrown  back,  her  red 
auburn  hair  waving  in  disorder,  and  her  bare  right  arm  raised. 
This  lovely  creature,  who  took  captive  so  many  hearts,  was  the 
daughter  of  a  common  housemaid,  almost  destitute  and  uneducated. 
She  first  became  known  to  the  public  through  a  quack  doctor,  who 
exhibited  her  as  the  "  Goddess  of  Health."  Sir  William  Hamilton, 
ambassador  at  Naples,  married  her.  She  became  the  favorite  of 
society  there,  and,  as  every  one  knows,  was  the  love  of  Nelson's 
whole  life.  Whence  came  her  subtle  charm?  —  with  that  innocent 
mouth  and  radiant  expression  ? 

Romney  has  a  portrait  of  himself,  No.  81,  as  a  young  man  — •  so 
realistic  that  he  might  have  belonged  to  this  period,  and  painted  it 
yesterday.  He  is  in  a  slate-gray  coat  and  white  cravat,  holding  his 
chin  with  one  hand,  and  lost  in  thought. 

George  Moreland  fias  no  less  than  twelve  pictures  here,  all 
sunny  and  full  of  out-door  life  and  movement.  Who  would  think  the 
best  of  them  had  been  painted  in  King's  Bench  Prison,  where  he 
was  constantly  incarcerated  for  debt,  and  only  painted  his  way  out 
for  short  intervals. 

His  "  Lost  Kite,"  No.  1  of  the  catalogue,  has  become  entangled  in 
the  upper  branches  of  an  oak.  Note  the  tree,  so  strong  and  branched, 
while  the  new  kite  is  so  transparent  and  fragile  that  you  long  to  help 
the  unhappy  urchins  below  to  rescue  it  uninjured. 

His  Nos.  28  and  30  are  called  "  Partridge  Shooting."  They  seem 
to  plant  you  in  a  stubble-field  at  once,  and  keep  you  on  the  qui  vice, 
gun  in  hand.  Then  his  two  pictures  of  girls,  one  called  "  The 
Surprise,"  the  other  "The  Billet-doux."  The  brilliancy  of  the 
scarlets,  and  blues,  and  greens  in  their  draperies  is  wonderful. 
These  are  the  very  pictures  that  come  out  so  well  in  mezzotint,  and 
are  now  fashionable  got  up  in  little  old-fashioned  frames  of  white 
and  gold. 

Another  of  his,  No.  61 — "A  Summer  Afternoon"  —  in  which  a 
farmer  and  his  wife  sit  lazily  beneath  a  "  moreland  tree,"  while  their 
children  play  on  the  grass  with  a  dog. 

Perhaps  the  best  of  all  is  a  lovely  group,  which  he  calls  "  A  Happy 
Family,"  No.  87,  a  mother  with  her  three  children  in  a  garden,  who 
gather  flowers  for  her,  and  which  she  seems  to  explain  to  them 
botanically. 

Sir  Joshua  is  here,  of  course,  in  No.  3,  "  Lady  Elizabeth  Keppel " 
(one  of  the  famous  portraits  from  the  collection  of  Lord  Albemarle), 
a  conventional-looking  lady  in  conventional  dress  of  white,  with  white 
lace  fichu  and  pearl  ornaments,  which  have  all  faded  and  blended 
away  together  into  a  delicious  cream-color.  (The  painting  of  the 
hands  in  this  picture  seems  greatly  scamped.) 

His  portrait  of  Mrs.  Morris,  No.  5,  has  great  delicacy  of  touch  and 
color.  Many  other  portraits  of  his  are  shown.  Among  the  most 
remarkable,  one  of  Laurence  Sterne  (author  of  "  Tristam  Shandy," 
"  Sentimental  Journey,"  etc.)  It  is  a  very  large  picture,  and  well 
known  as  the  one  oft-quoted  by  the  phrenologists,  who  say  that,  in 
sitting  down  and  resting  his  elbow  on  the  table,  Sterne  involuntarily 
placed  his  forefinger  to  his  forehead  on  the  very  bump  which  was 
the  sovereign  point  of  his  character. 

Sir  Joshua  has  also  a  fine  picture  of  a  "Child  Crossing  a  Brook." 
A  sturdy  little  maiden,  about  ten  years  old,  barefoot  in  a  stream, 
clasping  round  the  body  a  shaggy  and  reluctant  terrier ;  she  wears 
a  blue  gown  over  a  yellow  petticoat.  These  colors,  as  well  as  the 
reds  of  the  flesh  tints,  are  much  faded  away,  but  the  real  child  and 
the  real  dog  are  left. 

Hogarth  has  a  scene  from  the  "  Beggar's  Opera,"  the  colors 
quite  as  good  as  ever.  The  picture  is  in  its  original  frame,  with 
a  carved  head  of  Hogarth  himself  on  the  top  of  it.  Hogarth  has 
two  others  of  very  conscientious  work  in  No.  102  and  103,  "The 
Thornhill  Family"  and  "The  Punch-Bowl,"  both  being  strong  con- 
trasts of  humor.  One  cannot  help  smiling  at  the  exceedingly  proper 
Thornhill  family  assembled  to  tea  in  their  oak-panelled  room ;  they 
look  like  a  family  of  starched  old  maids  and  prim  old  bachelors, 
doing  what  they  consider  the  correct  thing,  but  are  only  too 
evidently  thoroughly  bored  with  each  other.  Tea  is  being  poured 
out  into  exquisite  Nankin  blue  cups,  and  handed  round  by  the 
youngest  bachelor,  but  no  one  seems  either  "  cheered  or  inebriated." 
Hogarth,  I  believe,  eloped  with  the  eldest  Miss  Thornhill.  In  "  The 
Punch-Bowl "  ten  men  are  carousing  in  a  tavern.  In  the  centre  of 
the  table  is  a  large  bowl  of  punch,  which  is  being  served  out  with  a 
ladle.  One  man  has  fallen  prone  on  the  floor,  and  another  seems 
very  likely  to  follow  him.  It  is  the  juxtaposition  of  these  two  pictures 
that  brings  out  all  the  fun  in  them. 

"Manlius  thrown  from  the  Rock,"  by  Etty,  No.  107,  is  the  back 
view  of  a  nude,  foreshortened  male  figure,  sliding  downwards  from 
a  broken  cliff  of  rock  —  an  ambitious  figure  to  have  painted,  and 
in  better  color  than  most  of  Etty's.  So  strong  is  the  drawing  you 
feel  giddy  to  look  at  it. 

Sir  Thomas  Lawrence  has  a  very  fine,  full-length  portrait  of  Lord 
Castlereagh,  in  whose  refined,  sad  face  one  tries  to  find  a  clue  to  his 
inexplicable  suicide. 

Turner  has  two  pictures  —  one  of  terrific  grandeur,  "  The 
Avalanche,"  and  another  a  peaceful  idyllic  scene  on  the  Thames, 
with  a  view  of  "  Pope's  Villa." 

In  "  The  Avalanche  "  we  have  all  those  magnificent  natural  and 
atmospheric  effects  of  which  Turner  was  so  great  a  master;  while 
"  Pope's  Villa "  is  a  contrast  of  a  serene,  glowing,  sunlit  sky,  green 
trees  and  soft  distances. 


MARCH  23,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


141 


Jower  of  the 
Gathedral  ~7M  i  mes 


Sir  David  Wilkie's  "Blind  Man's  Buff"  seems  still  being  played 
as  merrily  as  it  was  a  century  ago,  while  in  his  "  Penny  Wedding  " 
the  bride,  the  bridegroom  and  bridesmaid  are  still  dancing  on. 

John  Cotman's  "Homeward  Bound"  is  a  notable  picture  of  a 
o-reat  three-masted  vessel  in  full  sail,  surging  towards  us  through  the 
green  water,  while  the  sun  has  just  set  in  broad  bands  of  crimson 
and  gol'd  across  the  yellow  sky. 

One  of  the  small  rooms  is  devoted  to  Constable  with  a  glass-case 
containing  his  relics.  His  color-box  and  palette,  and  even  some 
little  lace  shirts  and  caps  he  wore  as  a  baby.  His  work  as  a  painter 
was  sketchy  but  vigorous;  he  used  a  great  deal  of  black  in  his 
brush,  and  laid  on  heavily.  His  admirers  consider  him  the  greatest 
painter  of  natural  landscape. 

Another  room  was  devoted  to  pastel  portraits,  many  of  winch  i 
heard  Mr.  Pennell  and  other  artists  loudly  admiring ;  but,  to  me  as 
an  unprofessional  critic,  they  looked  cold,  glaring,  blue  and  crude. 

ARCHITECTURAL  EVOLUTION.'  —  II. 

IT  is  time,  however,  to  notice 
that  important  feature  which 
had  more  to  do  than  any 
other  with  the  change  in  the 
character  of  architecture.  The 
arch  is  one  of  the  earliest  forms 
of  construction,  and  is  coeval 
with  the  pyramids ;  it  is  found 
there  in  the  rudest  construc- 
tion, but,  nevertheless,  perfectly 
adapted  to  its  uses.  The  point- 
ed and  semicircular  arches  are 
alike  met  with,  but  they  are 
only  used  constructively.  It 
was  not  till  Roman  days  that  it 
was  brought  into  prominence 
as  a  feature  of  architecture. 

The  object  of  the  arch  is,  in  the  first  place,  similar  to  that  of  the 
lintel  —  to  arrest  the  downward  pressure  of  a  superincumbent 
weight,  that  the  material  beneath  may  be  omitted  and  an  open- 
ing"be  formed.  But  the  arch  had  a  higher  and  more  responsible 
duty  to  perform  —  a  lintel  merely  arrests  the  pressure  and  bears  the 
whole  of  the  weight,  the  arch  distributes  it.  In  later  days,  when 
radiating  joints  were  employed,  an  additional  function  was  given  to 
the  arch,  that  of  directing  the  pressure  into  certain  channels. 
Radiating  joints  were  for  centuries  unknown,  and  the  arches  were 
formed  of  stones  raised  in  two  piers,  e,aeh  stone  as  the  piers  rose  pro- 
jecting beyond  the  face  of  the  one  below  it,  in  the  direction  of  the 
other  pier,  until  these  projecting  stones  so  nearly  met  that  a  single 
stone  closed  the  intervening  space  and  formed  the  apex  of  the  arch. 
The  distribution  of  weight  was  effected  often  in  a  still  ruder  manner. 
Two  stones  placed  on  end  inclined  towards  each  other  and  touching 
at  the  upper  ends,  have,  in  many  instances  and  in  many  ages,  done 
duty  for  the  arch.  The  Greeks  required  no  arch  in  the  construction 
of  their  orders,  their  columns  were  placed  so  near  together  that  the 
horizontal  entablature  required  no  additional  support.  But,  the 
Romans,  as  I  have  remarked,  put  their  piers  so  far  apart  that  the 
heavy  cornice  running  between  them  must,  of  necessity,  have 
support ;  a  pier  in  the  centre  would  not  do,  and  they  wisely  made 
use  of  the  arch.  Bringing  it  out  from  the  obscurity  of  tombs  and 
merely  constructional  purposes,  they  set  it  in  the  light  of  day,  con- 
structed it  of  dressed  stone  and  made  it  an  object  of  untold  useful- 
ness. Hitherto  it  had  been  but  a  piece  of  "  construction,"  now  it 
was  to  be  "  ornamental  construction,"  and  was  to  take  its  place  as  a 
feature  in  the  art.  This  utilization  of  the  arch  as  a  feature  was  to 
alter  the  whole  style  of  architecture,  and  this  early  date  may  be  said 
to  be  the  dividing  line  between  the  distinctive  characteristics  of 
Classic  and  Gothic  architecture,  and  all  that  preceded  the  one  and 
followed,  and  will  follow,  the  other.  The  horizontality  of  the  one 
was  to  give  place  to  the  verticality  of  the  other.  Heathenism  was  to 
make  way  for  Christianity.  The  arch  was  to  take  the  place  of  the 
beam  or  lintel,  and  the  vault  —  the  lateral  continuation  of  the  arch  — 
the  place  of  the  flat  roof ;  nor  was  this  all.  I  have  alluded  to  three 
of  the  functions  of  the  arch  —  that  of  arresting  the  downward  pres- 
sure of  the  wall  above  it,  that  of  distributing  it  and  that  of  directing 
it  into  particular  defined  channels ;  but,  it  was  to  do  something  more 
than  this,  it  was  to  collect  pressures  froin  various  points,  and  then 
take  them  into  the  required  channels. 

Mr.  Ruskin  has  a  very  poetic  idea  as  to  the  origin  of  the  arch. 
He  says  in  his  "Stones  of  Venice":  "Let  us  watch  the  sun  for  a 
moment  as  it  climbs :  when  it  is  a  quarter  up,  it  will  give  us  the  arch 
a,  when  it  is  half  up  b,  and  when  three-quarters  up  c.  There  will 
be  an  infinite  number  of  arches  between  these,  but  we  will  take  these 
as  sufficient  representatives  of  all.  Then  a  is  the  low  arch,  b  the 
central  or  pure  arch,  c  the  high  arch,  and  the  rays  of  the  sun  would 
have  drawn  for  us  their  voussoirs."  He  goes  on  to  say,  "  The  central 
and  last  group  are  the  most  important.  The  central  round,  or  semi- 
circle, is  the  Roman,  the  Byzantine  and  Norman  Arch."  "  The 
Horseshoe  round  is  the  Arabic  and  Moorish  Arch  and  its  relative 
pointed,  includes  the  whole  range  of  Arabic  and  Lancet,  or  Early 
English  and  French  Gothics.  I  mean  of  course  by  the  relative 


'Continued  from  page  283,  No.  677. 


pointed,  the  entire  group  of  which  the  equilateral  arch  is  the  repre- 
sentative." I  have  not  sufficient  presumption  to  attempt  to  over- 
throw the  theories  of  so  great  a  man  as  John  Ruskin,  who  has  a 
wonderful  insight  into  the  intricacies  of  art  and  of  the  meanings  of 
the  various  parts  and  to  whom  we  all  owe  the  greatest  respect. 
Perhaps  there  is  no  one  of  the  present  day  who 
loves  art  more  dearly,  than  he,  —  who  sees  its 
divine  origin  more  clearly,  or  who  has  by  his 
lectures  and  writings  done  more  to  instill  into  the 
minds  of  hearers  and  readers  a  higher  sense  of- 
the  duties  of  those  who  would  be  expounders  of  the 
teachings  of  art.  It  is  a  matter  of  small  moment 
to  my  readers  that  I  have  not  yet  been  converted  to  the  theory  Mr. 
Ruskin  holds  about  the  origin  of  the  pointed  arch  or  the  truth  and 
beauty  of  the  Arabic  or  horseshoe  arch.  I  do  not  dispute  that  the 
idea  of  the  semi-circular  arch  may  have  arisen  from  the  rising  or 
setting  sun,  for  the  Egyptians  were  great  sun  worshippers  and  must 
have  been  struck  with  the  beauty  of  the  circle  and  its  parts.  But  I 
venture  to  think  that  they  would  have  used  the  low  and  the  high 
arch  as  much  as  the  "  central  "  or  semi-circular,  had  they  thought  of 
it,  but  that  they  did  not,  is  proved  by  the  fact,  that  the  pointed  arch 
was  in  the  first  instance  only  used  in  the  rudest  form,  very  occasion- 
ally, as  if  by  accident  rather  than  design.  Their  very  method  of 
constructing  the  arch  with  horizontal  beds  may  have  been  the  acci- 
dental means  of  the  discovery  of  the  pointed,  but,  when  discovered, 
they  made  no  particular  use  of  it.  Had  they  done  so,  where  would 
have  been  the  "  Classic  "  architecture? 

In  their  heathenism  they  had  not  sufficient  enlightenment  to 
strive  after  verticality,  and,  therefore,  they  could  not  grasp  the 
idea  of  the  arch  at  all  as  being  worthy  of  display,  and  I  think  we 
must  look  to  construction  as  the  origin  of  the  pointed,  and  this  in- 
vestigation I  must  leave  for  the  present.  The  Arabic  or  horseshoe 
arch  is  not  a  true  arch,  )'.  e.,  an  arch  in 
which  every  particle  has  its  particular  work 
to  do,  and  no  part  of  which  is  idle.  It  is  a 
piece  of  "  constructed  ornament,"  not  "  orna- 
mental construction."  The  continuation  of  , 
the  curve  below  the  springer  line  is  utterly 
useless  for  the  work  of  the  arch,  and  never  v,( 
could  be  of  use  unless  the  supporting  piers 
had  been  placed  as  shown  in  the  diagram, 
so  as  to  carry  on  the  pressure  in  the  same 
direction,  which  would  have  been  absurd. 
With  the  piers  vertical,  the  thrust  must  have  gone  down  in  the  usual 
direction,  and  reached  the  caps  of  the  piers  in  a  vertical  direction, 
and,  doing  so,  this  inward  projection  is  useless.  It  simply  adds  to 
the  weight  the  pillars  or  piers  have  already  to  bear,  and  may  be 
classed  among  the  useless  ornamentations  that  are  indulged  in  by 
those  who  are  ignorant  of  the  true  spirit  of  architecture. 

For  many  centuries  after  the  Romans  brought  the  arch  to  light 
horizontal  wood-ceilings  were  used,  and  they  continued  to  be  used 
here  and  there  at  the  same  time  as  vaulted  roofs. 

The  dome  is  the  earliest  development  of  the  arch  for  roofing  pur- 
poses, and  it  is  the  roofing  problems  that  resulted  in  the  introduction 
of  the  pointed  arch.  Circular  buildings,  or  even  buildings  square  on 
plan,  were  roofed  over  with  a  dome,  and  then  those  whose  naves  were 
made  up  of  a  succession  of  squares  were  roofed  with  a  succession 
of  domes.  The  attempt  was  made  to  make  the  one  covering  to  the 
nave  do  for  "ceiling"  and  roof,  but  the  height  that  was  sufficient  for 
the  interior  dome  was  always  found  too  stunted  for  the  exterior,  and 
the  stone  roof  was  finally  used  as  a  "ceiling"  only,  while  a  wooden 
roof  was  erected  outside  this  to  throw  off  the  water  and  protect  the 
stone  vaulting. 

The  barrel  or  tunnel  is  another  method,  and  a  very  simple  one,  of 
roofing  over  a  nave,  and  there  are  many  examples  extant.  It  con- 
sists of  an  arch  like  a  tunnel,  extending  from  one  end  to  the  other 
of  the  church.  But  I  must  say  something  here  about  the  plans  of 
the  churches,  or  else  the  difficulties  to  be  overcome  in  the  roofing 
question  will  not  be  easily  understood.  The  churches  were  trans- 
formed basilicas,  and  the  basilicas  were  the  Roman  business  build- 
ings. They  consisted  of  nave  and  aisles  —  oblong  —  and  one  end 
terminated  in  an  apse.  In  the  apse  were  the  magistrates'  seats, 
and  in  front  of  them  the  altar.  Very  little  change  was  required  to 
make  the  building  suitable  for  the  Christian  worship.  The  seats  of 
the  magistrates  were  removed,  and  the  altar  placed  nearer  the  wall 
they  had  been  against.  The  apse  was  railed  in,  and  finally  a  choir 
was  formed,  which,  raised  about  three  feet  above  the  floor  of  the 
rest  of  the  church,  became  the  chancel  arrangement  of  the  present 
day.  High  up  in  the  nave  walls,  above  the  aisle  roof,  were  small 
windows."  There  was  no  triforium,  but  the  space  usually  occupied 
by  a  triforium  was  here  used  for  decorative  purposes.  In  the  sunny 
south  fewer  and  smaller  apertures  were  required  for  the  admission 
of  light  than  in  more  northern  climates.  It  was  rather  an  object  to 
exclude  the  brilliant  daylight,  but,  as  churches  were  erected  farther 
north,  more  light  was  demanded.  But  hitherto  the  plan  of  each 
section  or  bay  of  a  cathedral  had  been  square,  and  the  spring  of  the 
tunnel-vault  came  down  very  low  upon  the  walls,  so  that  there  was 
little  space  for  windows.  When  the  domed  roof  was  used  the  walls 
were  higher,  for  the  dome  rested  on  the  top  of  four  arches  of  equal 
height.  °Had  the  two  systems  been  combined,  the  greater  part  of  the 
tunnel-vault  would  have  been  cut  away,  and  still  the  difficulties 
would  not  have  been  solved.  An  attempt  was  made  to  obtain  the 


142 


TJie   American   Architect  and  Building  News.        [VOL.  XXV.  — No.  691. 


required  height  for  the  windows  by  lengthening  the  bay  and  intro- 
ducing a  kind  of  intermediate  shaft,  which  supported  a  round  arch 
across  the  nave,  on  which  rested  the  crown  of  the  vault.  But  this 
was  contrary  to  the  principle  of  vaulting,  for  vaults  have  to  hold 
themselves  up.  However,  this  was  a  step  in  the  right  direction,  as  it 
proved,  and  it  turned  out  to  be  the  key  of  the  solution  of  the  diffi- 
culty. The  intermediate  pier  was  made  into  an  ordinary  pier,  so 
that  on  plan  the  nave  section  became  a  parallelogram  across,  instead 
of  lengthwise  of  the  church,  two  of  these  parallelograms  occupying 
the  space  of  the  former  square ;  then,  by  the  introduction  of  pointed 
arches  over  the  spaces  thus  arranged,  the  object  was  gained.  Mr.' 
Fergusson  has  a  diagram  which  expresses  this  perfectly.  I  will 
quote  him  : 

"In  spite  of  all  the  ingenuity  bestowed  upon  it  [this  inter- 
mediate pier]  in  Germany,  France,  and  England  in  the  eleventh 
and  beginning  of  the  twelfth  centuries,  it  never  produced  an  entirely 
satisfactory  effect  until,  at  last,  the 
pointed  arch  came  to  the  rescue.  It  is 
easy  to  see  how  the  pointed  arch  obvi- 
ated the  difficulty  :  Supposing  the  great 
vault  to  remain  circular,  two  segments 
of  the  same  circle,  AB  and  AC,  carry 
the  intersecting  vault  nearly  to  the 
height  of  the  transverse  one,  or  it  could 
be  easily  carried  to  the  same  height  as  at 
D.  AVhen  both  were  pointed,  as  at  E 
and  F,  it  was  easy  to  make  their  relative 
heights  anything  the  architects  chose 
without  either  forcing  or  introducing  any  disagreeable  curves.  By 
this  means  the  compartments  of  the  vaults  of  the  central  nave  were 
made  the  same  width  as  those  of  the  side-aisles,  whatever  their  span 
might  be,  and  every  bay  was  a  complete  design  in  itself." 

By  this  arrangement  the  arches  of  the  vault  collected  all  the 
weight  and  conducted  it  to  the  four  piers,  leaving  the  walls  free  of 
weight,  and  taking  away  from  them  every  function  but  that  of  a 
screen  or  "  wall-veil,"  as  Mr.  Ruskin  calls  it.  To  meet  the  thrust 
of  the  vaults,  buttresses  were  built  of  great  strength,  but  with  such 
ingenuity  that  the  bulk  of  material  was  reduced,  until  every  particle 
not  actively  engaged  in  the  work  of  support  was  removed.  It  was 
found  that  the  addition  of  ornamental  features  would,  from  their 
disposition  take  the  place,  as  far  as  the,  work  to  be  performed  was 
concerned,  of  some  of  the  massive  masonry  of  the  buttresses,  and 
hence  pinnacles  were  introduced,  which,  by  their  weight,  assisted 
in  the  resistance  to  the  outward  thrusting  of  the  vaults.  As  the 
wall  was  little  more  than  a  screen,  there  was  no  limit  to  the  size  of 
the  windows.  The  whole  space  between  the  piers  could  be  removed, 
except  for  the  necessity  of  a  little  lateral  support  to  the  piers,  with- 
out weakening  the  structure.  Large  windows,  then,  being  easy  to 
obtain,  were  speedily  executed,  and  colored  glass  put  into  them. 
The  colored  glass  in  the  windows  partly  obviated  the  necessity  for 
color  on  the  walls,  but  carving,  the  decoration  that  had  hitherto  been 
painted  on  the  walls,  gave  a  better  play  of  light  and  shade.  As  it 
happened,  the  lighter  the  wall-screen  was,  the  better,  as  it  had 
nothing  to  do  with  the  support  of  the  roof.  The  newly-carved  wall- 
space  between  the  sills  of  the  clerestory  windows  and  the  top  of  the 
nave-arches  was  wide  and  heavy,  and  windows  here  would  be  impos- 
sible, as  the  other  side  of  the  wall  was  covered  with  a  roof.  But 
there  was  no  reason  why  the  wall  should  not  be  pierced,  but  rather 
the  contrary.  It  had  been  pierced  in  earlier  days  to  admit  light  to 
the  nave,  but  this  was  not  found  to  be  a  success  artistically  or  con- 
structionally,  and  was  abandoned,  but  here  piercing  was  not  only  de- 
sirable, but  easily  executed,  and  in  effect  nothing  could  have  been 
more  beautiful. 

In  some  cases  the  aisle-roof  has  been  raised  and  windows  cut  in 
the  outer  wall,  but  wherever  this  is  the  case  it  gives  the  appearance 
of  weakness,  and  entirely  removes  the  repose  gained  by  this  belt  of 
arching  round  the  church,  with  its  dark,  mysterious  background. 
There  is  another  form  of  arch  which  Mr.  Ruskin  holds  in  contempt; 
namely,  the  four-centred.  The  reason  for  its  discovery  or  evolution 
was  not  so  much  construction  as  ornamentation,  but  as  it  is  not  orna- 
ment constructed  for  its  own  sake,  but  rather  ornament  arising  from 
a  desire  to  decorate  the  vaults,  and  in  its  arrangement  principles  of 
construction  are  observed,  it  is,  perhaps,  not  fair  to  condemn  it 
utterly.  The  effect  produced  is  certainly  beautiful,  but  it  heralded 
the  decline  of  architecture,  and,  when  the  form  was  made  use  of  for 
windows  and  doors,  a  mischief  was  done  that  it  is  impossible  not  to 
regret.  The  "  perpendicular  "  fan-vaulting  is  the  immediate  result 
of  discontent  and  deviation  from  perfect  truth.  When  the  vaulting 
problem  was  solved,  the  execution  of  it  was  correct  and  perfect.  It 
was  a  grand  example  of  the  art:  simplicity,  truth,  and  dignity  and 
repose  were  the  visible  characteristics,  and  that  which  was  visible  on 
the  surface  pervaded  the  whole  structure.  But,  not  satisfied  with 
this,  the  architects,  imbued  with  notions  of  change,  forced  the  idea, 
so  to  speak,  and  fell  into  error,  a  want  of  truth,  and,  therefore,  not 
true  art.  It  grieves  me  personally  to  recall  that  a  few  years  ago  I 
was  of  the  opinion  that  fan-vaulting  was  the  climax  of  the  art  and 
science,  and  that  I  have  written  to  that  effect,  but  further  study  of 
the  matter  has  given  me  a  different  opinion  of  it,  as  I  have  set  forth 
to  be  the  correct  state  of  the  case  above. 

The  forms  of  the  ornamentation  of  architecture  are  of  two  kinds, 
painted  and  cut,  and  they  are  both  essential  parts  of  architecture. 
In  the  earliest  specimens  examples  of  decoration  are  to  be  seen,  and 


it  stands  to  reason  that  it  should  be  so.  It  is  far  more  natural  that 
buildings  should  be  ornamented  in  color  than  that  they  should  be 
plain.  Color,  or  light  and  shade,  exists  in  everything,  and  "  archi- 
tecture "  is  not  architecture  without  it  any  more  than  Nature  would 
be  Nature  without  color.  Color  need  not  always  be  laid  on  as  with 
the  brush.  It  may  be  sufficient  to  use  materials  of  different  colors, 
such  as  stone  and  marble  in  combination  or  stained-glass,  which  will 
throw  colored  light  onto  the  work.  Profuse  carving  sometimes  has 
been  more  used  than  color,  but  even  here  there  is  color  in  the  lights 
and  shades.  A  perfectly  flat  surface  in  Nature  is  hardly  to  be  found, 
but  anything  approximating  to  it,  wherever  it  occurs,  is  always  re- 
lieved from  the  monotony  of  one  color  by  light  and  shade  and  color. 
A  green  field  does  not  exhibit  a  uniform  green.  It  is  varied  with 
numerous  shades,  and  dotted  with  simple  wild  flowers.  The  dead 
level  of  still  water  reflects  on  its  surface  every  color  around,  and  the 
precipitous  face  of  the  cliff,  however  smooth,  shows  endless  shades 
and  colors  as  the  weather  has  acted  on  its  composition.  A  bare  rock 
standing  out  of  the  earth  does  not  long  remain  one  color.  It  is  soon 
covered  with  lichen,  which,  itself,  becomes  soil  for  the  plant,  and  at 
last  even  a  tree  grows  upon  it.  Nature  is  not  satisfied  with  improv- 
ing herself,  but  directly  she  gets  a  chance  she  improves  on  the  works 
of  men.  Take  a  mining  district,  and  note  the  heaps  of  waste,  "  piled 
mountains  high,"  which  have  so  disfigured  and  changed  the  face  of  the 
country  round,  and  made  it  look  poverty-stricken,  desolate,  and 
God-forsaken  :  as  soon  as  man  has  ceased  to  pile  up  the  rubbish  she 
takes  possession,  and,  wherever  possible,  some  seed  takes  root,  and 
a  few  years  of  her  undisputed  reign  cover  the  mounds  with  vegeta- 
tion. A  stone  or  brick  wall  soon  loses  its  brand-new  appearance, 
and  "  tones  down,"  as  we  say,  and  is  mellowed  and  made  to  har- 
monize with  the  coloring  of  Nature.  So  then  love  of  color  is  a 
natural  characteristic  of  man  :  his  surroundings  and  every  association 
of  his  life  have  color  in  them.  Color  is,  itself,  evolutionary.  The 
secondaries  evolved  from  the  primaries,  the  tertiaries  from  the 
secondaries,  and  so  on  ;  the  chief  color  of  Nature  being  not  a  primary, 
but  a  secondary.  The  rock-cut  tombs  of  Egypt  were  elaboratly 
decorated  with  hieroglyphics,  as  I  have  said,  and  at  every  age  build- 
ings have  been  more  or  less  colored. 

Between  2000  and  3000  years  B.  c.,  the  Chaldeans  who  erected 
their  temples  in  seven  stories  and  dedicated  them  to  the  seven 
planets,  colored  each  story  with  the  color  dedicated  to,  or  symbolic 
of  them:  1.  Saturn,  black.  2.  Jupiter,  orange.  3.  Mars,  red.  4. 
Sun,  yellow.  5.  Venus,  green.  6.  Mercury,  blue.  7.  Moon,  white. 
Fragments  of  colored  work,  plastered  walls,  etc.,  have  come  down 
to  us  from  very  early  times,  and  in  the  earliest  works  of  Christian 
architecture  may  still  be  seen  the  faint  remains  of  such  coloring  on 
walls,  ceilings,  pillars,  piers  and  arch-moulds.  The  form  of  the  part 
to  be  decorated  had,  of  course,  a  great  deal  to  do  with  its  treatment, 
and  laws  must  be  respected  in  coloring  as  in  everything  else.  Plain 
surfaces  need  as  careful  consideration  in  reference  to  the  whole 
building  as  the  rounds  and  hollows  of  moulded  parts;  and,  if  the 
matter  is  gone  into  in  detail,  it  will  be  found  that  every  color  has  its 
proper  place.  The  zigzag  is  the  earliest  form  of  ornamentation,  a 
very  primitive  one  and  of  very  simple  origin ;  a  series  of  nicks  with 
a  sharp  instrument,  along  the  edge  of  a  projection,  is  the  forerunner 
of  all  cut  ornament.  These  nicks  or  indentations  widened  and 
placed  close  together  form  the  zigzag,  which  is  to  be  found  in  the 
works  of  all  nations.  This  form  proved  to  be  a  particular  favorite 
of  the  Normans,  who  adhered  to  it  for  so  long,  that  it  became  one  of 
the  distinctive  features  of  the  style.  The  single  zigzag  gave  rise  to 
the  double  zigzag,  and  that  to  the  lozenge,  the  varieties  of  each  and 
their  combinations.. 

But  the  truest  forms  of  architectural  decoration  are  those  whose 
origins  are  from  Nature,  natural  plants  and  foliage,  and  of  these  are 
to  be  found  in  early  examples  such  plants  and  flowers  as  the  lotus, 
which  is  a  characteristic  form  of  Egyptian  ornamentation ;  lotus  and 
palms  belong  to  Assyrian ;  almonds,  lilies,  etc.,  to  Phoenician  art. 
Later  we  come  to  the  Greeks  and  find  the.  so-called  acanthus  leaf, 
the  honeysuckle,  lily,  holly  and  others,  until,  in  the  perfection  of 
English  Gothic,  the  leaves  of  all  English  plants  are  introduced  into 
the  carving,  grape-vines,  maple,  rose,  ivy,  thorn,  burdock,  oak  and 
so  on.  These  carvings  are  very  seldom  colored,  the  true  undis- 
guised material,  the  richness  of  the  carving,  the  deep  undercutting 
making  it  like  lacework,  and  giving  a  dark,  deep  background  to 
throw  it  up.  The  color  of  the  stone  and  the  introduction  of  marble 
in  combination  with  it,  as  the  yellow  sandstone  and  purple  marble  at 
Lincoln,  with  the  light  through  stained-windows,  was  sufficient  to 
produce  the  richest  effect. 

In  the  "  Grammar  of  Ornament "  we  find  the  following  notes,  which 
we  should  do  well  to  remember,  as  well  as  others  which  I  shall  not 
quote,  on  the  rules  of  colo.-ing :  "  Color  is  used  to  assist  in  the 
development  of  form,  also  to  assist  light  and  shade."  "  These 
objects  are  best  attained  by  the  use  of  primary  colors  on  small  sur- 
faces, and  in  small  quantities  balanced  and  supported  by  the 
secondary  and  tertiary  colors  on  the  large  masses."  "  The  primary 
colors  should  be  used  on  the  upper  portions  of  the  objects,  and  the 
secondaries  and  tertiaries  on  the  lower."  "  In  using  primary  colors 
on  moulded  surfaces,  we  should  place  blue,  which  retires  on  the  con- 
cave surfaces ;  yellow,  which  advances  on  the  convex,  and  red,  the 
intermediate  color  on  the  undersides,  separating  the  colors  by  white 
on  various  planes." 

The  development  of  statuary  is  easily  traced,  from  the  wooden 
idol,  representing  in  the  rudest  form  the  imagined  attributes  of  a 


MABCH  23,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


143 


wrathful  deity,  to  the  exquisite  perfection  of  the  statuary  of  our  day 
copied  from  Nature.  On  festal  occasions  the  idol  would  be  covered 
with  colored  garments;  much  as  the  images  in  Roman  Catholic 
churches  are  arrayed  now  on  the  feast  days  of  the  saints  they  are 
intended  to  represent.  Later  these  garments  were  replaced  by  metal 
beaten  onto  the  surface,  and  then  the  hollow  metal  would  be  the 
figure ;  the  wooden  figure  being  no  longer  used.  The  idea  of  a  figure 
as  a  kernel  inside  gave  rise  to  casting,  a  thin  coat  of  liquid  metal 
being  run  over  the  shaped  core ;  the  core  taken  out  the  thin  metal 
would  hardly  stand  of  itself,  and  the  next  operation  would  be  the 
casting  of  a  figure  with  a  sufficient  quantity  of  metal  to  stand  alone, 
but  still  hollow.  The  cutting  of  figures  in  marble  soon  followed,  and 
the  nude  human  form,  as  the  highest  type  of  beautiful  creation,  was 
naturally  the  example  taken  for  the  highest  of  arts. 

In  the  works  of  the  past,  the  ancients  carried  out  certain  rules  to 
the  letter ;  they  were  not  aware  that  they  were  following  rules  but 
felt  what  should  be,  and  they  executed  it,  but  not  without  a  struggle : 
as  I  have  said,  in  their  simplicity  they  adapted  surrounding  objects 
to  the  ornamentation  of  their  buildings.  The  art  or  science  of  dyeing 
is  much  older  than  painting,  and  a  thorough  knowledge  of  colors 
existed  before  painting  was  much  practised.  Basing  their  colors  on 
natural  objects,  they  always  spoke  of  the  shades  as  having  reference 
to  particular  objects  as  apple  or  seagreen,  etc.  They  obtained  their 
greens  and  many  other  colors  from  the  vegetable  kingdom,  and  their 
purples  from  products  of  the  sea. 

Having  obtained  colors,  they  soon  found  forms  by  means  of  which 
they  could  display  them  together  for  the  decoration  of  their  build- 
ings. The  every-day  occupation  of  sewing  has  had  the  greatest  in- 
fluence on  the  evolution  of  the  art ;  a  seam  is  a  joint  in  stuffs ;  an 
ornamental  seam  is  ornamental  construction,  and  a  simple  knot  of 
thread  is  a  very  important  feature ;  it  became  a  couple  of  twisted 
serpents,  and  is  found  in  this  form  as  a  religious  symbol  in  every 
country.  Silk  was  the  foundation  of  the  ornament  of  the  Middle  Ages, 
as  wool,  flax,  linen,  etc.,  were  of  the  ornament  of  antiquity.  The 
sacred  tree-pattern  of  the  Assyrians,  derived  from  plaiting  and 
knitting,  has  constantly  been  used  for  the  decoration  of  walls. 

Sewing  had  an  influence  on  the  art,  as  I  have  said,  and  embroidery 
had  a  far  greater  influence  ;  it  is  the  "  prototype  of  all  mural  decora- 
tion." There  are  two  known  kinds  of  ancient  embroidery  —  "  opus 
plwnarium"  and  "opus  phrygionum" ;  the  first  is  the  earliest  kind, 
and  consists  of  colored  threads  laid  over  a  groundwork,  in  parallel 
rows,  and  this  allows  of  great  freedom  of  treatment ;  the  second  is 
cross-stitch  on  canvas,  the  nature  of  the  canvas  necessitates  the 
formation  of  squares,  as  the  stitching  followed  the  pattern  of  the 
canvas ;  and  we  find  examples  of  decorative  work  consisting  of 
squares  covering  large  surfaces  of  walls. 

The  rules  by  which  the  ancients  unwittingly  worked  have  been 
well  expressed  by  various  authors,  two  of  whom  of  very  different 
dates  and  of  very  different  feelings  on  the  subject  of  architecture,  I  will, 
in  conclusion,  quote.  Vitruvius  says  :  "  The  perfection  of  all  works 
depends  upon  their  fitness  to  answer  the  end  proposed  ;"  and 
A.  W.  Pugin  :  "  Every  ornament,  to  deserve  that  name,  must  possess 
an  appropriate  meaning  and  be  introduced  with  an  intelligent 
purpose,  and  on  reasonable  grounds.  The  symbolic  association  of 
each  ornament  must  be  understood  and  considered,  otherwise  things 
beautiful  in  themselves  will  be  rendered  absurd  by  their  applica- 
tion." R.  W.  GAMBIER-BOUSFIELD,  A.  R.  I.  B.  A. 


THE   RESPONSIBILITY    OF     AN    ARCHITECT — INADEQUATE     CHIM- 
NEY  FLUES. 

THE  case  of  Hubert  v.  Aitkin  recently  decided  in  the  Court  of 
Common  Pleas  of  New  York  City  and  referred  to  editorially  in  the 
American  Architect  for  February  9,  has,  we  learn,  been  set  down  for 
re-argument.  According  to  the  original  decision  the  architect  was  to 
pay  one  thousand  dollars  on  account  of  the  deficiency  of  the  chimney- 
flue  for  an  apartment-house,  it  being  claimed  and  the  Court  deciding 
that  the  chimney  was  inadequate  for  the  service  of  the  boiler  and 
that  the  proper  consumption  of  coal  could  not  be  secured.  The 
architect  is  said  to  have  relied  upon  the  judgment  of  the  steam-heat- 
ingcontractor. 

There  is  no  novel  question  of  law  involved  in  this  case,  as  the 
legal  principles  applicable  to  such  matters  are  well-understood.  The 
architect  in  undertaking  to  design  an  apartment-house  of  course 
holds  himself  out  as  capable  of  drawing  the  chimney-flues  of  such 
dimensions  as,  taking  all  the  elements  of  the  problem  into  account, 
would  generally  be  considered  proper  and  suitable  construction  for 
the  purpose.  He  cannot  shelter  himself  behind  the  opinion  of  the 
contractor  who  does  the  work,  but  must  be  prepared  to  fortify  his 
case  by  showing  that  the  construction  would  meet  with  the  general 
approval  of  the  profession.  The  general  purpose  of  the  building  is 
to  be  taken  into  account,  and,  as  pointed  out  in  the  comments  of 
February  9,  it  certainly  would  not  be  appropriate  to  design  for  a 
city  apartment-house  a  chimney  such  as  would  be  used  for  a  factory 
where  the  space  occupied  by  the  chimney  and  the  appearance  of  it 
would  be  matters  of  no  consequence. 


The  only  real  question  in  the  case  is  one  of  fact,  viz. :  whether  the 
chimney  flue  in  this  particular  case  was  such  as  would  commonly  be 
considered  in  the  profession  proper  for  the  purpose  intended ;  and 
the  main  interest  attaching  to  the  case  grows  out  of  the  natural  sus- 
picion that  the  owner  lias  really  got  the  kind  of  chimney  that  he 
ought  to  have  and  is  simply  trying  to  cut  down  the  architect's  fees. 


BACK-BAY     RESTRICTIONS  —  POUCHES     AND     PORTICOS — THE 
SPIRITUAL    TEMPLE. 

THE  case  of  the  Spiritual  Temple,  which  has  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  architects  and  the  public,  lias  at  length  been  decided  by  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts. 

As  many  of  our  readers  are  aware,  the  Spiritual  Temple  is  situated 
on  the  corner  of  Exeter  and  Newbury  Streets  in  Boston,  and  was 
built  from  plans  of  Messrs.  Ilartwell  &  Richardson  in  the  year  1883. 

The  controversy  arose  under  the  following  clause  in 'the  deeds 
from  the  Commonwealth,  under  which  both  parties  to  the  con- 
troversy claimed : 

"  The  front  wall  thereof  on  Newbury  Street  shall  be  set  back  22 
feet  from  said  Newbury  Street,  provided  that  steps,  windows,  porticos, 
and  other  usual  projections  appurtenant  to  said  front  wall  are  to  be 
allowed  in  the  reserved  space  of  twenty-two  feet,  subject  to  the 
following  limitations ;  namely,  First,  that  no  projection  of  any  kind 
(other  than  door-steps  and  balustrades  connected  therewith,  and  also 
cornices  at  the  root'  of  said  building)  shall  be  allowed  to  extend  more 
than  five  feet  from  said  front  wall  into  said  space ;  and  Second,  that 
no  projection  in  the  nature  of  a  bay-window,  circular  or  octagon 
front,  with  the  foundation  wall  sustaining  the  same  (such  foundation 
wall  being  a  projection  of  the  front  wall)  will  be  allowed  unless  any 
horizontal  section  of  such  projection  would  fall  within  the  external 
line  of  a  trapezoid  whose  base  upon  the  rear  line  of  aforesaid  space 
does  not  extend  seven-tenths  of  a  full  front  of  the  building,  nor  ex- 
ceeding eighteen  feet  in  any  one  case,  and  whose  side  line  makes  an 
angle  of  forty-five  degrees  with  the  base." 

At  the  Northwest  corner  of  the  building  on  Newburv  Street  a 
stone  porch  was  built,  fifteen  feet  high,  with  steep  slate  roof  seven 
feet  high  and  with  solid  side  walls  projecting  at  right  angles  to  the 
front  wall  of  the  building  into  the  reserved  space.  The  porch  was 
closed  in  front  by  an  iron  gate  and  projected  into  the  reserved  space 
substantially  five  feet,  though  the  three  lower  courses  went  some 
three  inches  beyond  the  limit. 

The  action  was  brought  by  the  Attorney  General  at  the  instance 
of  the  adjoining  owner,  whose  view  and  light,  in  respect  to  the  lower 
story  of  his  house,  were  seriously  interfered  with  bv  the  porch. 

It  was  contended  by  the  Commonwealth  that"  the  structure  in 
question  was  technically  a  porch  rather  than  a  portico ;  that  there 
was  no  such  thing  as  a  portico  with  closed  sides ;  that  the  structure 
in  question  could  not  be  called  a  usual  projection;  and  that  this  par- 
ticular porch  was  a  projection  in  the  nature  of  a  bay-window.  The 
defendant  on  the  other  hand  contended  that  there"  was  teclmically 
no  difference  between  porticos  and  porches ;  that  a  porch  with 
closed  sides  was  as  much  a  portico  as  if  it  had  consisted  simply  of  a 
roof  supported  by  columns  ;  that  projections  of  this  kind  were"  usual 
in  the  city  of  Boston  at  the  time  of  the  execution  of  the  deed  ;  and 
that  such  a  porch  was  not  a  projection  in  the  nature  of  a  bay 
window,  and  therefore  need  not  fall  within  the  trapezoid  mentioned 
in  the  deed. 

The  Court  decided  all  these  questions  in  favor  of  the  defendant 
and  disregarded  the  trivial  violation  of  the  restrictions  in  the  pro- 
jection of  the  lower  courses  of  the  porch. 

The  principal  architectural  contention  in  the  case,  so  to  speak, 
was  whether  the  word  portico  as  used  in  the  deeds  was  intended  to 
include  such  a  structure  as  this  porch  with  solid  sides  extended  per- 
pendicularly to  the  main  line  of  the  building.  The  evidence  on 
these  points  covers  one  hundred  and  sixteen  printed  pages.  One 
builder,  one  surveyor  and  two  architects  testified  that"  such  pro- 
jections were  unusual  in  the  city  of  Boston  ;  and  the  two  architects 
also  gave  it  as  their  professional  opinion  that  the  structure  in  ques- 
tion was  not  a  portico  by  reason  of  the  sides  being  closed.  On  the 
other  hand  the  authority  of  Ferguson,  Viollet-Ie-Duc,  and  Parker's 
"  Glossary  "  were  invoked  to  show  that  in  common  usage  the  words 
portico  and  porch  were  interchangeable;  and  Mr.  Ilartwell,  the 
architect  of  the  building,  and  Mr.  Henry  Van  Brunt  both  testified  to 
the  same  effect.  Upon  the  question  whether  such  a  porch  was  a 
"  usual "  projection,  the  porches  on  the  following  churches  in  Boston 
were  shown  to  be  undistinguishable  in  respect  to  the  distinctions 
made  by  the  witnesses  for  the  plaintiff  from  the  porch  on  the  Spirit- 
ual Temple;  viz.,  The  Second  Church,  Boylston  Street,  the  church 
on  Berkeley  and  Newbury  Streets,  Ferdinand  Street  Church, 
Charles  Street  Church,  Old  South,  Milk  Street,  Bowdoin  Square 
Church,  church  on  West  Springfield  Street,  Catholic  Church  on 
Washington  Street,  Swedenborgian  Church  on  Bowdoin  Street, 
School  Street  Church  on  Columbus  Avenue,  church  on  corner  of 
Marlborough  and  Berkeley  Streets,  Peoples'  Church  on  corner 
of  Berkeley  Street  and  Columbus  Avenue. 

The  following  were  also  referred  to  as  differing  from  the  porch  in 
question  only  in  having  windows  in  the  sides.  Hollis  Street  Church 
Emmanuel  Church  on  Newbury  Street,  Union  Church  and  Temple 
Street  Church. 

The  porches  of  various  secular  buildings  were  also  referred  to 
among  others  those  of  the  Mechanics  Fair  Building,  the  Art  Club  on 


144  The    American   Architect   and  Building   News.      [VOL.  XXIV.- 


Newbury  Street,  the  Institute  of  Technology,  a  number  of  apartment- 
houses,  hotels  and  private  houses,  and  the  Algonquin  Club. 

The  conclusion  to  be  drawn  from  this  case  is  that  although  the 
porch  in  question  is  as  serious  a  damage  to  the  adjoining  owner  as  a 
bay-window  of  similar  shape  and  height  would  be,  and  although  pro- 
bably if  the  parties  had  thought  of  the  matter  at  the  time  the  deeds 
were  executed  the  erection  of  such  porches  would  have  been  pro- 
hibited equally  with  bay-windows,  still  the  deeds  did  not  in  terms 
prohibit  the  building  of  a  porch  with  sides  perpendicular  to  the  main 
wall  and  solid.  Wherever,  therefore,  an  architect  has  this  particular 
form  of  restriction  to  deal  with  —  and  similar  restrictions,  we 
believe,  attach  to  a  great  part  of  the  land  in  the  Back  Bay  originally 
owned  by  the  Commonwealth  —  he  is  at  liberty  to  build  porches  or 
porticos  with  closed  sides  within  the  reserved  space,  though  not  ex- 
tending more  than  five  feet  into  it. 


BOSTON    ARCHITECTURAL    CI.TJB. 

HE  Boston  Architectural  Club  held  its  fortnightly  conversazione 
Thursday  evening,  March  14.  Mr.  Ross  Turner,  who  has  been 
in  charge  of  the  water-color  classes  instituted  by  the  Club,  made 
some  informal,  but  very  interesting,  remarks  on  the  subject  of  water- 
color  painting,  including  a  brief  summary  of  the  history  of  the  art; 
its  application  in  ancient  times  ;  its  more  modern  development ;  and 
the  characteristics  of  the  English,  French,  Spanish,  Italian  and 
Dutch  schools.  The  most  prominent  masters  of  these  various  schools 
were  compared  and  discussed,  and,  in  conclusion,  some  valuable  sug- 
gestions were  made  as  to  selection  of  studies,  materials,  subjects,  etc. 
In  the  open  discussion  which  followed,  Mr.  Turner  gave  in  detail  the 
steps  he  would  take  in  making  a  water-color  from  nature,  using  as 
illustrations  two  of  his  paintings  in  the  possession  of  the  Club  —  the 
old  Endicott  house  at  Salem,  and  a  large  interior  of  a  European 
church  —  and  he  also  explained  how  the  same  ideas  could  be  applied 
to  the  water-color  compositions  which  the  architect  is  called  upon  to 
make  in  ordinary  professional  practice. 

The  Club  is  to  hold  an  exhibition  of  stained-glass  and  tile-work, 
beginning  March  25.  Contributions  have  been  promised  from  the 
leading  Boston  dealers  and  manufacturers,  and,  in  addition,  there 
will  be  exposed  a  collection  of  sketches  of  European  glass  and  tile 
work. 


AN  EMANCIPATION  MONUMENT. —The  colored  people  of  Springfield, 
111.,  have  decided  upon  the  erection  of  a  monument  in  that  city  to  the 
memory  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  William  H.  Seward,  Charles  Sumner, 
Wendell  Phillips,  John  Brown,  and  soldiers  of  the  late  war.  The  pro- 
posed cost  of  the  monument  is  about  §200,000.00,  and  the  fund  will  }>e 
raised  by  subscriptions  from  all  the  colored  lodges  and  churches 
throughout  the  country.  The  association  will  secure  articles  of 
incorporation.  —  Exchange, 

THE  FLOW  OF  GRAIN.  —  St.  Paul  grain  men  have  been  vexing  their 
souls  over  a  problem  touching  a  grain-bin  and  contents.  It  is  this : 
Given  a  bin,  dump  into  it,  separately,  five  distinct  qualities  of  wheat ; 
open  the  spout  at  the  bottom  and  the  query  is,  which  layer  of 
wheat  comes  out  first  ?  The  uninitiated  say  at  once,  with  a  few  excep- 
tions, "  The  first  layer  at  the  bottom,  of  course!  "  W.  A.  Van  Styke 
was  determined  to  get  at  the  facts,  and  watched  the  bin  with  his  eagle 
eye  very  closely  the  other  day,  after  having  caused  a  layer  of  barley  to 
be  placed  on  top  of  several  layers  of  different  kinds  of  wheat.  The 
spout  was  opened  and  the  barley  came  rushing  out  first.  —  St.  Paul 
Pioneer  Pnxs. 


BOULDER-WALLS. 

March  9,  1889. 

To  THE  EDITORS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT:  — 

Dear  Sirs,  —  I  am  about  to  put  up  a  building  of  stone  picked  up 
from  the  surface  of  the  ground  of  which  there  is  great  abundance  in 
the  locality  and  I  propose  to  use  this  stone  for  the  exterior  facing 
without  any  tool  work  whatever  and  without  even  as  much  as  tooled 
margins  to  the  quoins.  The  door  and  window  openings  will  be 
trimmed  with  brick. 

This  style  of  construction  has  been  illustrated  by  you  frequently, 
but  as  my  masons  have  not  done  any  of  this  work  I  would  like  to 
have  some  hints  for  their  guidance  and  for  my  specification. 

I  should  imagine  that  such  a  wall  is  plumbed  from  the  inside  only, 
a  minimum  and  maximum  being  given,  within  which  the  outside  face 
should  come,  as  for  instance,  2'  0"  and  2'  9". 

Is  this  right?  and  how  much  variation  may  there  be  between 
minimum  and  maximum?  Is  it  necessary  to  rough-cut  beds  and 

joints? 

What  sizes  and  variations  of  sizes  looks  best  for  stone  . 

The  building  is,  say,  45  feet  square,  walls  18  feet  high  above 
oround.  Will  the  lichens  or  surface  vegetation  on  the  stones  inter- 
fere with  the  adhesion  of  the  mortar. 

If  you  can  favor  me  with  some  information  in  your  next  issue  you 
will  very  much  oblige,  "  LICHEN." 

[MucH  depends  on  the  stone.  In  some  places  the  surface  stones  are 
tolerably  regular  in  shape,  and  make  a  good  wall,  while  elsewhere  they 
are  mere  rounded  boulders.  With  boulders  the  whole  strength  of  the  wall 
is  in  the  mortar,  which  cannot  be  too  carefully  made  and  used.  The 
wall  should  be  built  to  two  faces  to  look  well,  whatever  may  be  the  allow- 
able projection  of  the  outside  stones  beyond  the  mortar  joints.  Usually, 
the  outside  joints  are  scraped  out  at  the  pointing,  to  give  the  proper  effect 
of  projection.  The  best  appearance  is  obtained  by  mixing  large  and  small 
stones  indiscriminately  together,  but  if  there  is  much  difference  in  size  the 
inequality  of  settlement  will  cause  cracks,  and  it  is  safer  to  Imve  the  stones 
in  the  courses  of  approximately  the  same  height.  Especially  should  the 
use  of  large  stones  for  the  corners  be  avoided.  The  corner  stone  should  be 
long  to  tie  the  angle,  but  not  high,  or  theie  will  be  cracks  near  them.  The 
brick  jambs  will  do  well.  In  England  a  wall  of  this  kind  sometimes  has 
horizontal  course*  of  brick  used  to  level  up  a  given  point,  as  at  the  window- 
sills  with  good  effect.  Lichens  would  interfere  with  the  adhesion  of  the 
mortar.  If  the  mortar  is  good,  the  joints  need  not  be  dressed,  even  witli 
rounded  stones.  Two  feet  would  be  rather  thin  for  such  a  wall,  18  feet 
high  30  inches  would  be  much  better.  Almost  any  size  of  stone  may  be 
used'  avoiding  only  those  which  go  nearly  but  not  quite,  through  the  wall. 
—  EM.  AMERICAN  A.RCHITKCT.] 


BANK  deposits  and  loans  have  been  increasing  this  year  to  unprecedented 
proportions.    At  New  York  last  Saturday  the  deposits  were  the  largest  ever 
known,  viz.,   $442,684,000.00,   and  loans,  $420,406,000.00.      Northwestern 
railroads  show  an  increase  in  earnings.     Southwestern  roads  do  not  make  a 
good  showing.    Koads  in  the  Gulf  States  are  carrying  increased  quantities 
of  freight  and  the  great  trunk  lines  from  Atlantic  ports  are  making  better 
returns  as  to  volume.      The  Inter-State  Committee  is  threatening  severer 
measures  unless  the  law  is  lived  up  to.    The  managers  are  gradually  being 
disciplined  into  closer  obedience  and  the  commercial   public  are  much 
pleased  at  these  evidences  of  cooperation.    The  rail-makers  expect  to  sell 
over  200,000  tons  of  rails  during  the  month  of  April  at  827.00  to  $27.00  East 
and  $30.00  to  $31.00  West.    A  new  allotment  will  be  made  in  a  few  days. 
Since  March  1,  over  two  thousand  miles  of  road  have  been  projected.    The 
talked-of  combination  of  three  Western  rail-mills  will  be  voted  on  May  1. 
The  collapse  of  the  copper  syndicate  is  the  subject  of  congratulation  among 
many  who  feared  further  combinations  in  the  event  of  success  in  that. 
Rumors  are  rife  of  a  tin-plate  combine,  but  such  a  move  would  only  result 
in  the  establishment  of  the  tin-plate  industry  on  this  side.    Every  week  de- 
velops something  new  in  mining  operations  in  the  far  West.    Within  a  few 
days  several  hundred  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  machinery  hare  been  con- 
tracted for  and  also  large  orders  for  machinery,  tools  and  equipments  have 
been  placed  for  irrigating  purposes.     Land  speculations  on  a  large  scale  are 
in  progress  by  companies  intending  to  improve  and  develop  land.      Specu- 
lators anticipate  an  increase  in  immigration  during  the  next  year  or  two  in 
the  far  West  and  are  preparing  by  railroad  building,  and  irrigation  to  take 
advantage  of  it.    The  demand  for  machinery  of  all   kinds,  and  tools  is 
deserving  of  special  remark.    The  progress  made  in  machinery,  tool  and 
implement  manufacture  has  necessitated  a  great  many  changes  in  plants, 
large  and  small,  and  this  in   addition  to  the  extraordinary  increase  in 
mechauical  capacity  is  sustaining  an  extraordinary  demand.    But  there  is 
an  observable  scarcity  of  work  nevertheless  in  many  establishments  East, 
due  in  part  to  the  starting  up  of  new  competitive  points  farther  West  and  in 
the  South.    'I  he  aggregate  demand  is  larger  than  even  a  year  ago,  except 
perhaps  for  locomotive  engines.    Railroad  managers  are  doing  more  repair- 
ing and  making  their  engines  last  longer  and  do  more  work.     Trade  and 
business  generally  is  dull.     A  sudden  apathy  has,  overtaken  the  leading 
retail  markets.    Wholesalers  have  but  little  as  yet  to  complain  of.    A  marked 
restriction  is  setting-in  in  some  branches  of  the  iron  trade,  although  the  pro- 
duction of  crude  iron  is  but  little  under  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  tons 
per  week  and  is  thirty  thousand  tons  per  week  over  a  year  ago. 

The  lumber  manufacturers  report  an  increased  distribution  in  nearly  all 
markets.  The  prospects  for  a  good  year  are  unusually  bright,  especially  in 
the  New  England  and  Middle  States.  Prices  are  somewhat  higher  for 
yellow  pine  and  poplar.  In  Chicago,  sales  of  lumber  for  the  first  two 
months  this  year  were  202,000,000  feet,  as  against  168,000,000  feet  same 
time  last  year.  Stocks  on  hand  March  13  were  533,000,000,  as  against  481,- 
000,000  a  year  ago.  Gulf  State  and  trans-Mississippi  yellow  pine  manufac- 
turers are  chasing  each  other  for  control  of  the  Northern  and  Northwestern 
markets,  and,  in  consequence,  prices  are  on  the  down-grade  in  those 
markets.  The  Northeastern  supply  is  practically  under  the  control  of  an 
organization,  and  prices  are  pointing  upward.  Extraordinary  lumber  de- 
velopments are  in  progress  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  The  coal  trade  is  sluggish 

ciallv  in  anthracite.    T 


because  of  the  possibility  of  lower  prices,  especially 


he 


Atlantic  soft-coal  interests  have  effected  a  combination  for  the  season. 
Western  mining  regions  are  averaging  three-quarters  output.  Coke-oven 
builders  are  hurrying  forward  work  on  new  plants.  About  one  oven  in 
thirteen  in  the  Connelsville  region  is  now  idle.  All  the  brick-makers  will 
soon  be  at  work.  Machinery-makers  report  large  deliveries  of  machinery, 
especially  in  the  South.  The  export  of  slate  is  increasing  rapidly,  most  of 
the  increase  going  to  Australia  and  New  Zealand.  The  production  of  coal 
last  year  is  figured  up  at  145,363,744  tons,  as  against  129,975,557  tons  in  1887 ; 
increased  value,  $26,000,000.  Of  this  Pennsylvania  produced  last  year  76,078,- 
000  tons,  or  over  one-half;  Rhode  Island  produced  6,500  tons,  Nebraska  1,500 
tons,  and  Idaho  600  tons,  all  net.  Only  one  ton  out  of  every  thirty-eight 
tons  of  anthracite  is  exported.  From  nearly  all  large  cities  come  rather 
favorable  reports  concerning  building  operations.  Architects  are  not  rushed 
with  work,  but  the  prospects  are  good  for  the  season.  The  erection  of 
small  houses  will  exceed  last  year's  record  if  opinions  are  reliable.  A  great 
deal  of  work  is  to  be  pushed  in  small  towns  and  cities  ;  relatively  more,  so 
far  as  accounts  go,  than  in  larger  cities.  A  disposition  is  manifested  to  get 
away  from  cities  by  many  manufacturers  operating  with  necessarily  limited 
capital.  Textile  manufacturers  are  slowly  increasing  their  output,  espe- 
cially in  cotton  and  mixed  goods.  Boot  and  shoe  statistics  show  a  slight 
increase  as  against  last  year.  Electrical  machinery-makers  are  very  much 
crowded.  Hardware  manufacturers  are  slackening  production.  Nail- 
makers  are  annoyed  with  large  stocks.  Bar  iron-makers  report  business 
very  depressed.  The  key-note  of  the  situation  is  delay. 


Sfce  ^njericau  ^rch.itect  awl  Building  I]ews,  HJarcl?  25,  1559.    IJo.  691. 

Copyright,  1889,  by  TICKNOR  8:  Co_ 


ENTRANCE  TO  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION   BUILDING,  ALBANY,  N.  Y. 

FULLER  &  WHEELER,  Architects. 


-•  '  •  »v    ;. 

•;y .:"  %  ••••;, 


MAHCH  23,  1889.] 


The  American  Architect  and  Building  N~en>s. 


exterior  of  fbi$  hov$e  fs  sfai 


GABOT'5  CREOjoTE  5TAIN. 


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are 
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F*RICESaare  4O,  6O  and  75  cents  per  Gallon 
""Recording  to  Color. 


Samples  on       ood,  and  Circulars 


t  SAMVEL 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.         [VOL.  XXV.  — No.  691. 


Statue  of  "Wm.  Penn,  in  front  of  City  Hospital 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Pere  Marqueite,  Detroit,  Mich 
J.  M.  Uouuldsuu,  Sculptor. 


Abraham  Pierson,  New  Haven, 
Conn.  L.  Thompson,  Sculptor. 


Nathan  Hale,  Hartford,  Conn.     Karl  Gerhardt,  Sculptor. 


THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT  AND  BUILDING  NEWS. 


VOL.  xxv. 


Copyright,  1889,  by  TICKNOB  &  COMPANY,  Boston,  Mass. 


No.    692, 


MARCH  30,  1889. 

Entered  at  the  Post-Offlce  at  Boston  as  second-class  matter. 


SUMMARY : — 

Appointment  of  Mr.  James  H.  Windrim  as  Supervising  Archi- 
tect of  the  Treasury  Department.  —  The  Office  of  City  Ar- 
chitect in  Boston.  —  Proposed  Music-hall  for  New  York. 
—  A  West  Virginia  School-house  Competition.  —  Major  Ly- 
decker  and  the  Washington  Aqueduct.  —  More  Particulars 
concerning  the  De  Bausset  Air-Ship.  —  Balloons  in  Warfare.  145 

BUILDERS'  HARDWARE. — XXII 147 

THE  LOTUS  IN  ANCIENT  ART.  —  III 1*8 

ILLUSTRATIONS : — 

Railroad  Station,  Battle  Creek,  Mich. —  The  Bryn  Mawr 
School,  Baltimore,  Md.  —  Church  of  All  Saints,  Pasadena, 
Cal.  —  Competitive  Design  for  a  School-house,  Yonkers,  N. 
Y.  — Church  of  San  Miguel,  Jerez  de  la  Frontera,  Spain.— 

The  Mohawk  Block,  Buffalo,  N.  Y 150 

SPECIFICATION-WRITING 150 

BUILDING  LAW 165 

SOCIETIES 155 

COMMUNICATION  :  — 

Payment  for  Unexecuted  Plans 155 

NOTES  AND  CLIPPINGS 156 

TRADE  SURVEYS 166 


HE  public  is  to  be  congratulated  on  the  selection  of  Mr. 
.1.  H.  Windrim,  of  Philadelphia,  as  the  new  Supervising 
Architect  of  the  Treasury  Department.  Mr.  Windrim 
has  been  long  and  favorably  known  in  the  profession,  and  the 
appointment  will  meet  with  general  commendation  among 
architects.  Whether  Mr.  Windrim  himself  is  to  be  con- 
gratulated, we  are  not  so  sure.  If  it  is  a  necessary  part  of  an 
American  architect's  lot  to  be  so  moderately  favored  by 
fortune  that  the  pittance  offered  by  the  Government  for  such 
service  can  attract  men  so  popular  and  distinguished  as  Mr. 
Windrim,  the  sooner  the  profession  is  emancipated  the  better. 
There  is  no  public  officer  in  the  United  States  from  whom  so 
much  technical  skill,  administrative  ability  and  honesty  are  ex- 
pected as  from  the  Supervising  Architect.  Yet  his  technical 
knowledge,  which  costs  him  as  much  to  acquire  as  that  of  any 
lawyer,  is  repaid  by  a  yearly  salary  which  would  not  be 
accepted  by  a  Government  counsel  as  a  fee  for  two-  days' 
attendance  in  court,  while  his  care  in  managing  a  corps  of  five 
hundred  professional  subordinates,  or  in  regulating  and  account- 
ing for  the  expenditure  of  many  millions  of  dollars  a  year, 
either  of  which  would  bring  a  salary  of  at  least  twenty  thou- 
sand dollars  a  year  to  the  president  or  treasurer  of  a  private 
corporation,  are  furnished  gratis. 


THE  subject  of  official  architecture  is  one  of  great  impor- 
tance to  the  profession,  and  such  influence  as  architects  of 
repute  can  exert  to  have  public  service  of  this  kind,  if  it 
cannot  be  provided  for  as  it  is  in  other  civilized  countries,  at 
least  put  into  the  hands  of  men  who  command  the  respect  of 
the  profession,  is  well  applied.     Next  to  the  Supervising  Ar- 
chitect of  the  Treasury,  the  official  architect  in  this  country 
who  controls  the  expenditure  of  the  most  money  is  the  City 
Architect  of  Boston,  and  if,  as  is  reported,  a  new  appointment 
is  to  be  made  in  this  case,  the  members  of  the  profession  in 
Massachusetts  owe  to  their  fellow-citizens  the  duty  of  pointing 
out,  as  no  one  else  can,  the  errors  that  have  been  made  in  the 
administration  of  this  part  of  the  public  service,  and  the  besl 
way  to  avoid  them  in  future.     It  is  notorious  enough  that  the 
management  of  the  public  architecture  in  Boston  has  at  times 
been  a  disgrace  to  the  city.     Not  only,  as  we  mentioned  a  few 
weeks  ago,  have  buildings  erected  under  the  City  Architec 
cost  in  some  cases  nearly  or  quite  twice  as  much  as  similar 
buildings  erected  in  neighboring  towns,  but  evidence  has  been 
produced,  showing  that,  so  far  from  securing  structures  of  the 
best  class  by  this  lavish  expenditure  of  money,  the  city  has 
been  defrauded  by  the  undetected,  or  unopposed,  substitution 
of  inferior  materials  and  workmanship  for  those  required  bj 
the  contracts  between  the  city  and  certain  individuals,  whose 
right  to  such  favors  remains  to  be  explained.     It  is  fair  to  sa; 
that  in  plan  and  design  the  Boston  public  buildings  have  gen 
erally  been   good,   and  we   do   not  wish  to   suggest  that 


ifficial  architects  did  not  try  to  do  their  duty  in  supervising 
heir  erection,  but  the  fact  remains  that  the  design  and  super- 
ision  have  cost  as  much  in  official  hands  as  they  would  have 
n  those  of  a  private  architect,  while  the  city  has  lost  the  bene- 
t  of  the  responsibility  for  mistakes  to  which  a  private  archi- 
ect  would  be  held,  and  has  suffered  immensely  through  the 
eebleness  of  the  supervision  which  an  over-driven  official, 
necessarily  so  little  familiar  with  the  details  of  the  numberless 
esigns  pushed  through  his  office  as  to  forget  what  his  plans 
,nd  specifications  called  for,  can  give. 


IF  it  is  necessary  to  have  professional  public  officers  of  this 
kind  at  all,  about  which  we  are  by  no  means  sure,  it  seems 
to  us  that  in  the  assignment  of  the  duties  which  they  are  to 
erform  a  good  lesson  might  be  learned  from  the  example  of 
he  other  professional  officers  attached  to  the  United  States 
government.     In  every  other  Department  or  Bureau  the  chief 
fficial  devotes  his  time,  not  to  devising  schemes  for  the  public 
lenefit  out  of  his  own  head,  but  to  examining  those  proposed 
>y  others,  digesting  and  comparing  them,  and,  if  he  sees  fii, 
recommending   them  for  execution,  and  seeing  that  they  are 
>roperly  carried   out.       The    Attorney-General  finds  himself 
nuch  better  occupied  in  examining  and  criticising  the  briefs  of 
he  various  Government  counsel  than  in  writing  them  himself ; 
,he  Commissioner  of  Education  can  do  more  good  by  engaging 
specialists  to  write  on  topics  of  which  he  perceives  the  importance, 

nd  by  disseminating  their  essays  among  the  public,  than  by 
.rying  to  write  them  all  himself  ;  and  in  the  same  way,  an 
official  architect  in  a  great  city  like  Boston  can,  we  think,  be 
'ar  more  useful  in  editing,  so  to  speak,  the  designs  for  new 
Buildings  prepared  by  different  men,  who  have  leisure  and 
skill  enough  to  study  them  properly,  and  in  seeing  that  they 
are  carried  out  exactly  according  to  contract,  than  in  trying  to 
make  them,  or  direct  the  making  of  them,  himself.  In  a  place 
ike  Boston,  long  experience  has  shown  that  certain  peculiar- 
ities in  school-house  design,  for  example,  are  suited  to  the 

haracter  of  the  population,  and  that,  perhaps,  it  is  desirable 
to  fulfil  certain  conditions  of  drainage,  heating  or  ventilation. 
These  matters  may  not  be  known  to  architects  in  general,  but 
by  providing  for  the  review  of  designs  for  city  work  by  a  man 
familiar  with  them,  all  the  advantages  to  be  derived  from  the 

kill  and  ingenuity  of  the  ablest  men  in  the  profession,  working 
at  their  best,  may  be  secured  in  connection  with  whatever  con- 
formity with  local  tradition  may  be  advisable.  In  the  offices  of 
the  Inspectors  of  Buildings  in  our  large  cities  a  very  similar 
set  of  traditions  has  grown  up  in  regard  to  matters  left  dis- 
cretionary with  the  Inspectors.  Without  any  interference 
with  architects'  freedom  of  design,  within  the  limits  of  the  law 
the  influence  of  the  Inspectors,  in  examining  and  passing  upon 
plans,  has  tended  to  promote  a  uniformity  of  construction  which 
has,  on  the  whole  been  advantageous  to  the  public,  and  to  the 
art  of  building,  while  it  has  greatly  facilitated  the  most  im- 
portant part  of  their  own  works,  the  prevention  of  gross  mis- 
takes in  carrying  out  construction. 

PLAN  for  a  gigantic  music-hall  is  being  discussed  in  New 
York,  and  a  plot  of  ground  has  already  been  secured  on 
the  corner  of  Seventh  Avenue  and  Fifty-seventh  Street, 
comprising  nearly  twenty-three  thousand  square  feet.  On  this 
is  to  be  erected  a  structure  as  perfect  as  study  of  the  best 
existing  music-halls  in  the  world  can  make  it,  and  capable  of 
accommodating  three  or  four  thousand  people.  Nearly  a 
million  dollars  has  been  promised,  and  there  can  hardly  be  a 
doubt  that  the  plan  will  be  carried  out.  New  York  certainly 
needs  a  good  music-hall.  Steinway's  and  Chickering's,  although 
good,  are  too  small  for  the  audiences  which  would  often  like  to 
occupy  them,  and  the  theatres  are  too  expensively  built  for 
general  use  as  music-halls,  and  are  not  very  well  adapted  to 
that  purpose.  The  situation  of  the  proposed  building  is  very 
central,  and  it  seems  likely  to  prove  a  good  investment  for  its 
owners.  

HE  Board  of  Education  of  Wheeling,  West  Virginia, 
recently  advertised  for  plans  for  a  new  school-house,  and,  we 
are  glad  to  say,  by  so  doing  incited  Mr.  O.  S.  Philpott,  an 
architect  of  the  city,  to  write  a  letter  to  the  Daily  Intelligencer, 
setting  forth  the  unfairness  of  expecting  architects  to  furnish 
for  nothing  the  various  plans  that  the  Board  wanted.  If  it 


146 


The   American   Architect  and  Building   News.        [VOL.  XXV. —  No.  692. 


was  desirable  to  compare  a  number  of  different  plans,  he  said 
why  should  not  the  Board  pay  those  who  could  make  them  for 
their  trouble  in  doing  so  ?  To  offer  architects  only  the  chance 
of  employment  was,  he  thought,  insulting  to  them,  as  putting 
them  on  a  level  with  gamblers,  and  he  advised  all  respectable 
architects  to  refrain  from  having  anything  to  do  with  the  affair 
We  are  much  inclined  to  think  that  they  will  follow  his 
advice,  and  that  the  Board  will  have,  as  is  usual  in  such  con 
tests,  nothing  but  a  lot  of  crude,  ignorant  plans  presented  to 
them  to  make  a  selection  from.  Of  course,  they  will  not 
know,  unless  they  have  engaged  an  accomplished  architect  to 
advise  them,  that  the  designs  are  crude  and  ignorant,  and  the 
authors  of  them  will  fill  the  air  with  praises  of  their  perfec- 
tions ;  but  this  will  not  alter  the  facts  of  the  case,  and  the 
result  will  be,  we  fear,  that  one  more  specimen  will  be  addec 
to  the  crowd  of  badly  planned,  badly  built,  badly  ventilated, 
badly  heated,  ugly  and  vulgar  structures  in  which  our  Ameri- 
can children  lose  their  eyesight,  their  health  and  their  morals, 
as  a  sacrifice  to  the  vanity  of  people  in  power,  too  ignorant  to 
know  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  scientific  school-building,  too 
conceited  to  listen  to  any  one  who  knows  more  about  it  than 
themselves,  and  too  mean  to  follow  his  advice,  if  by  chance  it 
should  be  forced  upon  their  attention. 


TTFHE  examination  of  the  Washington  Aqueduct  shows  that 
_£    the  work  has  been  shamefully  done,  the  brick  lining  bei 

hardly  backed  up  at  all,  so  that  in  many  places  a  man  can 
walk  a  long  distance  between  the  rock-cutting  and  the  brick- 
lining.  It  is  estimated  that  it  will  cost  five  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  dollars  to  make  it  fit  for  service,  and  meanwhile,  as 
it  would  be  dangerous  to  admit  the  water  to  it,  a  temporary 
pipe  is  to  be  laid  on  the  surface  of  the  ground,  to  convey  the 
water  where  it  is  needed.  As  usual,  the  newspapers  have 
fallen  foul  of  Major  Lydecker,  under  whose  supervision  the 
work  was  done,  as  the  principal  culprit,  instead  of  the  con- 
tractor who  impudently  violated  his  contract,  and  pocketed  the 
money ;  on  the  principle,  which  is  as  old  as  humanity,  that  the 
man  who  succeeds  in  what  he  undertakes,  even  if  that  is  a 
gigantic  robbery,  is  to  be  envied  and  praised,  while  the  un- 
successful man,  even  if  he  undertook  nothing  more  than  to  try 
to  catch  the  thief,  is  saddled,  not  only  with  the  burden  of  his 
own  fault,  but  with  the  sins  of  the  thief  whom  lie  failed  to 
catch.  In  accordance  with  this  view,  Major  Lydecker  is  to  be 
tried  by  court-martial,  on  a  charge  which  seems  to  be,  in  sub- 
stance, that  he  believed  what  the  contractor  told  him,  instead 
of  finding  out  the  truth  for  himself.  What  is  the  penalty  for 
this  crime  in  the  military  code  we  do  not  know,  but  when  the 
court-martial  gets  through  with  the  Major,  we  hope  it  will 
turn  its  attention  to  the  contractor.  Even  though  he  may  not 
be  amenable  to  military  justice,  the  opportunity  for  establish- 
ing the  difference  between  actual  swindling  and  the  simple 
inability  to  detect  the  fraud,  is  too  good  a  one  to  be  lost. 


'OME  time  ago  we  had  occasion  to  comment  upon  a  scheme 
for  building  a  balloon,  or  rather  air-ship,  of  steel,  not 
inflated  with  hydrogen,  but  made  buoyant  by  being  ex- 
hausted of  air.  To  aid  in  the  undertaking,  Congress  was 
asked  to  appropriate  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars,  and 
we  expressed  the  idea  that,  while  it  was  very  desirable  that  the 
solution  of  this  great  problem  should  be  generously  aided  with 
public  money,  the  proposed  air-ship,  as  described  in  the  daily 
papers,  presented  so  small  a  margin  of  ascensional  power,  in 
comparison  with  its  own  bulk  and  weight,  that  there  might  be 
danger  that  this  small  margin  would  be  absorbed  by  unforeseen 
conditions,  atmospheric  or  otherwise,  and  the  craft  would  be 
reduced  to  a  mere  useless  dead-weight.  Since  then  we  have 
obtained  more  accurate  information  in  regard  to  the  plans  and 
calculations  of  the  inventor,  and  the  difficulties  certainly  seem 
less,  and  the  chances  of  success  greater,  than  the  first  descrip- 
tion would  have  led  one  to  suppose.  The  floating  cylinder  is 
to  be  of  rolled  steel,  one-forty-fourth  of  an  inch  in  thickness, 
braced  against  collapse  by  internal  ribs  in  a  way  which  has 
been  carefully  studied  out,  and  is  ascertained  to  give  a  resist- 
ance to  external  pressure  twice  as  great  as  will  be  required. 
The  weight  of  the  cylinder,  which,  with  its  conical  ends,  is 
about  seven  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long,  is  something  like  one 
hundred  and  fifty  tons,  and  its  displacement,  supposing  only 
three-fourths  of  the  air  in  it  to  be  exhausted,  will  be  about  two 
hundred  and  seventy-six  tons,  leaving  a  force  available  for 
ascending  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-six  tons.  From  this,  to 
obtain  the  net  ascensional  force  available  for  lifting  passengers 


or  freight,  must  be  deducted  the  weight  of  the  car  and  of  the 
propelling  machinery  to  be  placed  upon  it.  Here,  as  it 
seems  from  the  particulars  we  now  possess,  was  the  principal 
point  in  which  our  previous  calculations,  or  rather,  estimates, 
were  at  fault.  Learning  that  the  force  was  to  be  derived  from 
accumulated  electricity,  operating  through  electric-motors  upon 
air-pumps,  we  estimated  the  weight  of  such  electric  accumu- 
lators, motors  and  air-pumps  as  are  in  common  use  for  supply- 
ing the  one  hundred  horse-power  mentioned  as  the  amount  to 
be  provided,  and  found  that  the  total,  added  to  a  moderate 
allowance  for  the  weight  of  the  car,  would  nearly  absorb 
the  available  balance  of  ascensional  force,  leaving  what  we 
thought  too  small  a  margin  for  contingencies.  It  seems  now, 
however,  that  instead  of  the  enormously  heavy  electric-accumu- 
lators that  we  are  familiar  with,  Dr.  de  Bausset,  the  inventor 
of  the  apparatus,  has  devised  something  quite  different,  which 
will  furnish  far  more  power,  with  a  given  weight  of  material, 
than  the  lead  plates  in  ordinary  use.  The  pumps,  moreover,  are 
to  be  specially  designed,  and  constructed  of  aluminium  and  steel, 
so  as  to  reduce  the  weight  to  a  minimum,  and,  as  we  suggested 
at  the  time  would  be  desirable,  the  principle  of  the  gas-engine 
has  been  adopted  in  a  device  for  supplementing  the  force  of 
the  electric-current.  By  these  great  economies  the  weight  of 
apparatus  has  been  so  reduced  as  to  leave  a  balance  of  ascen- 
sional force  at  the  sea-level  available  for  lifting  passengers  and 
freight  of  seventy-five  tons.  This  certainly  gives  a  reasonable 
allowance  for  contingencies,  and,  if  a  craft  of  this  kind  can  be 
built  for  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars,  as  is  estimated, 
capable  of  carryinganything  like  seventy-five  tons  of  mail-matter 
or  a  thousand  passengers,  at  the  rate  of  a  hundred  miles  an  hour 
about  the  world,  the  experiment  is  well  worth  trying  at  the 
public  expense ;  or,  if  that  is  objectionable,  at  the  expense  of 
persons  who  may  be  willing  to  risk  a  little  money  for  the 
prospect  of  a  great  profit  if  the  experiment  should  result  suc- 
cessfully. 

TITHE  consequences  of  a  successful  issue  to  the  undertaking 
J.    would  be  so  momentous  that  they  can   with  difficulty  be 
realized.     The  first  result  would  unquestionably  be  to  put 
an  end  to  wars.     To  show  how   hopeless  any  military  opera- 
tions would  be  in  a  country  defended  by  such  weapons,  we  will 
suppose   that    Prince    Bismarck,    after   waiting   until    Dr.   de 
Bausset  has,  unknown  to  him,  completed  a  few  of  his  air-ships, 
carries  out  the  intention    which  a   good  many  people  in  this 
country  attribute  to  him,  of  picking  a  quarrel  with  us  on  the 
pretext  of  a  dispute  about  Samoa.     War  is  declared  suddenly, 
after  the  German  manner,  and  the   military   trains   which  are 
said  to  stand  ready  packed,  with  the  horses  at  hand  for  harness- 
ing, in  the  German  arsenals,  are  set  in  motion.     The  trans- 
ports, which  lie  equipped  for  sea,  are  filled  with  men  from  the 
nearest  garrison,  and  in  a  few  hours  an  immense  force  is  on  its 
way  to  invade  America.     About  half-way  across  the  Atlantic 
the  fleet  is  met  by  one  or  two  de  Bausset  air-ships,  which  sail 
about,    far    out   of    reach    of    shot,    and,  taking  position  in   a 
leisurely  manner,  drop  a   five-hundred-pound  shell  filled  with 
explosive  gelatine  into  the  funnel  of  each,  and,  having  thus 
annihilated  the  expedition,  proceed  to   Berlin  to  treat  the  re- 
maining portion  of  the   hostile   army  in    the  same  way.     Of 
course,  it  might  be  that  the  Germans  would  have  the  air-ships 
first,  and  the  war  would  be  brought  to  a  conclusion  by  the  un- 
wnditional  surrender  of  all  the  principal  cities  in  the  United 
States,  under  the  persuasion  of  a  dynamite-shell  held  suspended 
over  each  ;  but  it  would  be  so  easy   to  turn  the  tables  at  a 
moment's   notice  that,  after   a  few  towns  had  been  mutually 
alown  up,  the  quarrel  would  be  terminated  by  common  consent, 
[n  regard  to  passengers,  the  air-ships,  if  they  proved  practi- 
cable at  all,  would  offer  such  immense  advantages  in  point  of 
safety,  speed  and  comfort,  that  they  would  soon  supersede  all 
other  conveyances  for  travelling  long  distances.     It  seems  to 
us  that  the  proposed  speed  of  one  hundred  miles  an  hour  would 
n  practice   be   greatly    exceeded.     There   would  be   no  such 
obstacles  to  fast  sailing  in  the  air  as  are  met  with  in  ocean- 
ravelling,  in  the  shape  of  waves,  fogs,  and  danger  of  collision. 
3y  keeping  ships  on  the  outward  passage  in  the  lower  strata 
of  the  atmosphere,  and  the  inward-bound  ones  in    the  upper 
strata,  serious  collisions  would  be  out   of  the  question ;  and, 
jrovided  the  speed  could  be  made  to  exceed  that  of  the  air- 
3urrents   as   much  as   that  of  steamships  exceeds  that  of  the 
)ceau-currents,  it  is  difficult  to  see  what  danger  would  remain 
f   which  travellers   by  well-built  and  well-managed  air-ships 
need  be  afraid. 


MARCH  30,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  Hews. 


14? 


BUILDERS'  HARDWARE.1  — XXII. 

VESTIBULE-LATCHES. 

TTTHESE  are  always  sold  in 
•'X  sets,  with  a  front-door  lock, 
and  the  levers  are  so  ar- 
ranged that  the  same  latch-key 
will  open  both,  the  vestibule- 
lock  having  no  dead-bolt.  But, 
more  generally  speaking,  a  ves- 
tibule-latch may  be  considered 
as  any  spring-lock  having  no 
dead-bolt.  When  used  for  a 
vestibule-door  the  latch  should 
have  swivel-spindles  and  levers 
to  lock  the  outside-knob. 

Figure  328  is  a  pattern  which 
P.  &  F.  Corbin  list  as  a  front- 
door lock,  but  which  seems  to 
be  more  properly  a  vestibule- 
latch.  The  key  lifts  the  levers 
and  moves  a  plate  on  which 
are  two  posts  A  and  B,  one 
of  which  must  pass  the  gatings 
before  the  other  can  reach  the 
shoulder  on  the  latch-bolt  C, 
and  force  it  back. 

Figure  329   is  the  vestibule- 
latch  sold  with  the  front-door  lock  represented  by  Figure  327. 
Figure  330  is  a  Standard  knob-latch  manufactured  by  the 
Yale  &   Towne   Company,   which    is    not,  properly   speaking, 

a  vestibule-latch,  but  which  is 
worthy  of  consideration  in  this 
connection.  It  is  provided  with 
triple-springs,  thus  permitting 
a  very  easy  action  on  the  part 
of  the  striker  while  giving  all 


Fig.  328. 


Front-Door   Lock. 
Corbin. 


P.  &F. 


Fig.  329. 


Vestibule-Latch.     Enoch 
Robinson. 


Fig.  330.     Standard   Knob-Latch.      Yale 
&  Towne  Mfg.  Co. 


This  can  be 


necessary  strength  to  resist  the  turn  of  the  knob, 
adjusted  to  either  right  or  left  hand  doors. 


HOTEL-LOCKS. 

Hotel-locks  are  usually  made  to  order,  and  master-keyed  in 
sets.  In  a  large  hotel  all  the  locks  on  a  floor  can  be  opened 
with  one  key.  In  smaller  buildings  all  the  room-locks  are 
master-keyed  in  a  single  series.  The  protection  afforded  by 
locks  which  are  master-keyed  is,  of  course,  less  than  it  would 
otherwise  be,  as  a  master-keyed  lock  can  very  easily  be  picked 
if  the  principle  of  master-keying  is  understood,  and  in  most 
cases  master-keying  benefits  no  one  but  the  hotel-keeper. 
Except  with  the  "  Yale  "  and  the  "  Hopkins  &  Dickinson  " 
cylinder-locks,  there  has  not  yet  been  devised  a  really  satis- 
factory system  of  master-keying.  The  two  exceptions  will 
be  described  in  a  subsequent  chapter. 

The  simplest  and  also  the  cheapest  method  of  master-keying 
is  illustrated  by  one  of  "Corbin's"  locks,  Figure  331.  The 
gating  on  the  one  lever  is  made  so  wide  as  to  admit  of  fifty 
different  positions,  in  any  one  of  which  the  bolt-post  could  pass. 
The  room-key  raises  the  lever  so  as  just  to  clear  the  top  of  the 
gating,  and  the  master-key  allows  the  post  to  clear  the  bottom 
of  the  gatings.  A  bent  wire  would  serve  quite  as  well  for 
opening  the  lock  as  either  of  the  keys.  Fortunately  for 
occupants  where  such  locks  are  used,  it  is  customary  to  fil 
hotel-locks  with  a  small  bolt,  worked  from  within.  Figure  332 


i  Continued  from  page  124,  No.  690. 


s   much  better.     The   levers   are  exactly  like  those  of  any 

ordinary  lock,  except  that  there  is  a  shoulder  A  at  the  back  of 

iach.     Beneath  the  bolt-tail  is  a  fourth  lever,  with  an  arm  on 


Fig.   331.      Master-keyed    Lock.     P.  &   F. 
Corbin. 


Fig.   332.     Master-keyed    Lock.     Hop- 
kins &  Dickinson  Mfg.  Co. 


it,  rising  so  as  to  catch  under  the  shoulders  A.     This  lever  is 
protected  by  a  ward  about  the  key-hole.     The  room-key  lifts 


Fig.  333.     Master-keyed    Lock.     Hopkins  & 
Dickinson  Mfg.  Co. 


Fig.  334-      Hotel-Lock.      Hopkins  Si 
Dickinson  Mfg.  Co. 


the  levers  and  shoots  the  bolt  without  disturbing  the  fourth 
lever.     The  master-key  lifts  the  fourth  lever  without  touching 

the  others,  the  shoulders  being  so 
sized  that  the  muster-key  lever 
will  bring  the  gatings  on  the  lock- 
ing-levers into  line. 

Figure  333  shows  another  form 
of  master-keyed  lock  by  Hopkins 
&  Dickinson.  In  this  instance 
the  regular  key  and  the  master- 
key  work  from  either  side  of  the 
lock  in  the  same  key-hole  on 
the  same  tumblers  and  bolts. 
Still,  each  has  a  different  set  of 
tumbler-rackings  and  a  different 
post  in  the  bolt.  When  the  mas- 
ter-key is  used  the  bolt-post  for 
the  regular  key  is  thrown  down 
by  a  patent  device,  and  another 
post  brought  up  in  the  second 
rackings  of  the  tumblers.  When 
the  master-key  is  removed  the 
lock  is  set  in  use  for  the  regular 
key.  It  is  claimed  that  1,200  of 

Fig.  335.  standard  Hotel-Lock,  these  locks  can  be  made,  all 
Yaie  &  Town.  Mfg.  Co.  different,  each  lock  with  a  key  of 
it  own  which  will  fit  no  other,  and  with  master-key  to  pass  all. 
This  is  a  rather  expensive  lock,  however,  and  on  that  account 
is  not  used  a  great  deal.  The  idea  is  an  exceedingly  ingenious 
one. 


148 


The  American   Architect  and  Building  News.         [VoL.  XXV.  — No.  692. 


Figure    334     shows   a    Hopkins   &    Dickinson    lock,    o 
rather  bolt,  used  for  hotel  and  office  doors  between  connecting 
rooms.     This  is  intended  to  be  used  when  it  is  desired  to  hav 
the  do«r  definitely  locked  from  either  side,  so  that  it  cannot  be 
unlocked  from  the  other  side,  and,  accordingly,  the  handle 
which  operate  the  bolts  are  placed  on  opposite  sides  of  the 
doors.      The   same   company  also   manufactures   a  hotel-loci 
which   is  so  arranged  that  the  locking-bolt  can  be  operate 
from  the  inside  by  a  turn-button,  instead  of  a  key.    .When  th 
door  is  locked  from  the  outside  it  can  at  any  time  be  opene( 
from  within  by  turning  the  button,  so  that  it  is  impossible  fo 
an  occupant  to  be  locked  in  the  room. 

Figure  335  shows  the  construction  of  a  Yale  "  Standard ' 
hotel-lock.     In  this  case  the  master-keying  is  provided  for  by 
second   set  of  rackings  cut  in   the  levers,  so  that  almost  an 
number  of  variations  can  be  had  in  a  given  series  of  locks,  th 
variation  being  entirely  in  the  lower  set  of  rackings.    The  room 
key  lifts  the  levers  exactly  the  same  distance  as  the  master 
key,  but  as  the  proportion  between  the  lengths   of  the  bits 
and  the  height  of  the  lever  bellies  above  the  lower  key-hole 
is  different  in  each  lock,  it  is  easily  understood  why  no  two 
locks  can  be  opened  by  the  same  room-key. 

[To  be  continued.! 


THE   LOTUS   IN   ANCIENT   ART.1  — III. 

THE    LOTUS    AND    THE    PAPYRUS  ;    THE    LOTUS    AND    THE    ROSETTE 


j  TITHE  observations  tending  to  show  that  the 
« I »  rosette  in  ancient  art  (from  which  it  has 
descended  to  be  part  of  the  stock-in-trade 
of  all  modern  decoration)  was  originally  an 
Egyptian  lotus  motive,  and  not  an  Assyrian 
ornament,  as  hitherto  supposed,  may  be  as- 
sisted by  some  preliminary  notes  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  papyrus. 
According  to  generally  current  views,  the  papyrus  and  the  lotus 
shared  the  honors  in  Egyptian  decoration.  Among  authorities  in 
decorative  art,  Owen  Jones,  and  among  Egyptologists,  Mariette, 
have  been  especially  prominent  in  attributing  a  papyriform  origin  to 
the  campaniform  capital  (1). 

Perrot,  who  does  not  accept  this  theory  of  the  campaniform 
capital  in  his  "History  of  Egyptian  Art"  speaks,  notwithstanding,  of 
the  form  (2)  as  a  papyrus.  This  is  the  prevalent  view  of  it,  but 
only  because  attention  has  not  been  called  to  the  subject. 

The  form  2  is  really  onlv  the  form  3  in  conventional  outline.  The 
demonstration  on  this  head  is  conclusive  when  we  observe  represen- 


tations like  4  and  5.  Figure  4  shows  the  Egyptian  god  Horus,  in 
his  guise  of  hawk,  standing  on  a  stele  surrounded  by  lotus  flowers. 
Figure  5  shows  the  same  god  standing  on  a  stele  having  the  campani- 
form capital.  The  Horus  hawk  in  this  cut  supports  the  solar  disk, 
an  illustration  of  the  association  of  Horus  with  the  sun  previously 
noted.  In  my  first  paper  on  the  Ionic  capital  the  association  of 
Horus  with  the  lotus  has  been  explained,  and  it  is  conclusive  for  the 
forms  in  question. 

1  Continued  from  No.  689,  page  118. 


The  confusion  of  the  lotus  with  the  papyrus  has  been  assisted  by 
the  fact  that  the  papyrus  is  extinct  in  Egypt,  and,  consequently, 
unknown  to  the  current  personal  observation  of  the  Egyptologists. 
As  illustrated  by  the  cut  herewith  (6),  borrowed  from  Perrot's 
"•History  of  Egyptian  Art,"  the  light,  feathery  nature  of  the  plant 
has  little  in  it  to  suggest  the  solid  form  of  an  architectural  capital, 
and  although  it  might  be  urged  that  the  lotus  flower  itself  has  no 
especially  solid  outline  or  construction,  we  have  in  this  case  the 
religious  significance  of  the  flower  as  explanation,  which  is  wanting 
in  the  case  of  the  papyrus.  Besides,  there  are  countless  cases  in 
which  the  lotus  flower  is  directly  represented  in  architectural  use, 
and  no  such  case  can  be  proved  for  the  papyrus.  The  umbelliferous 
outline  of  the  head  of  the  plant  does  certainly  correspond  to  the  outr 
line  of  the  campaniform  capital.  Undoubtedly  the  Egyptians  might 
have  taken  a  suggestion  from  its  outline.  As  a  matter-of-fact,  they 
did  not. 

The  papyrus  is  grown  as  a  curiosity  in  some  private  gardens  in 
Cairo,  but  it  does  not  in  this  way  come  under  the  observation  of 
travellers.  It  is  generally  quoted  as  growing  in  a  stream  near 


Syracuse,  in  Sicily,  and  as  otherwise  not  easily  accessible  to  observa- 
tion in  its  wild  state.  The  plant  has  been  naturalized  in  America. 
It  is  cultivated  by  Air.  Sturtevant,  the  florist  of  Bordentown,  N. 
J.,  whose  lotus  ponds  have  already  been  mentioned,  and  has  thus 
been  transferred  to  many  of  the  park  fountain-basins  in  New  York 
City. 

In  considering  the  confusion  which  has  arisen  concerning  the  use 
of  the  papyrus  and  the  lotus  in  Egyptian  art,  it  is  to  be  remarked 
that  the  rose-colored  lotus  is  also  extinct  in  Egypt.  Consequently, 
Egyptologists  are  not  familiar  by  personal  observation  with  the 
peculiar  seed-pod  represented  at  7.  (Also  shown  in  the  first  paper 
on  the  Ionic  capital.) 

The  form  8,  which  is  taken  from  the  ceiling  border  of  an  Egyptian 
tomb,  illustrated  by  Prisse  d'Avennes,  is  not  far  removed  in  outline 
from  Figure  2.  The  ridged,  perpendicular  lines  of  the  natural  seed- 
pod  give  the  clue,  however,  to  the  decorative  form  (which  supports 
an  inverted  bud). 

Certain  Egyptian  capitals  of  the  shape  illustrated  at  9  appear  to 
be  derived  from  the  rose-lotus  seed-pod,  rather  than  to  be  modifica- 
tions of  the  conventional  campaniform  lotus  flower. 

As  regards  the  papyrus,  certain  representations  in  Rosellini's 
"  Monumenti "  are  quite  conclusive,  in  which  birds  and  animals  are 


landing  on  umbelliferous  forms  which  are  positively  seed-pods  of 

he  lotus,  as  neither  the  flower  itself  nor  the  head  of  the  papyrus 
plant  could  possibly  give  the  amount  of  support  required  and  indi- 

ated. 
In  11  the  pointed  projections  at  the  top  of  the  pod  indicate  the 

eeds  which,  in  nature,  project  slightly  from  the  small,  cup-like 
recesses  which  contain  them.  A  modified  representation  of  the  same 
appearance  is  seen  at  10. 

THE   LOTUS    AND   THE   ROSETTE. 

There  is  no  apparent  connection  between  the  subject  of  the 
psette  and  that  just  considered.  The  only  question  is  one  of  asso- 
iation,  by  which  the  significance  of  the  rosette  is  partly  determined. 
t  is  important  to  eliminate  from  Egyptian  decoration  all  misconcep- 
ipns  on  the  subject  of  the  papyrus,  as  the  association  of  the  rosette 
nth  forms  of  papyrus  would  not  be  significant.  The  great  multi- 
ude  of  associations  with  the  lotus  form  become  clearer  when  the 
utlines  of  the  seed-pod  of  the  rose-lotus  and  the  conventional  cam- 
mniform  lotus  motive  are  recognized  distinctly. 


MARCH  30,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building   News. 


149 


As  regards  the  rosette,  we  may  observe  in  the  first  place  the 
constant'appearance  in  Egyptian  decoration  of  different  details  of 
the  lotus  in  conventional  combination.  For  instance,  in  the  ceiling- 
borders  illustrated  by  Prisse  d'Avennes,  we  may  add  to  No.  8,  in 
which  the  seed-pod  of  the  rose-lotus  supports  an  inverted  lotus  bud, 
another  case  in  which  one  bud  erect  supports  another  inverted  (12). 
When  we  add  the  cases  in  which  a  rosette  supports  the  bud  (13), 
and  in  which  a  bud  supports  a  rosette  (14),  the  question  naturally 
arises :  Are  these  also  cases  of  lotus  association  ? 

From  the  same  decorations,  we  now  add  the  cases  in  which  a  lotus 
flower  supports  a  lotus  leaf,  and  the  question  again  presents  itself : 
Are  the  cases  in  which  a  rosette  supports  a  leaf  also  cases  of  lotus 


1.3 


IS 


association?  Such  associations,  to  which  we  may  now  add  those  in 
which  the  lotus  flower  itself  supports  a  rosette  (1 7),  become  compre- 
hensible when  we  examine  the  seed-pods  of  the  white  and  blue  lotus. 
The  cuts  herewith,  18  and  19,  are  taken  from  the  botany  plates  of 
the  "  Description  de  I'Egyple." 

Egyptian  design  constantly  evades  representations  in  perspective 
by  the  union  of  objects  seen  at  the  same  time,  or  in  the  same  combi- 
nation at  once  in  elevation  and  in  plan.  We  have,  therefore,  no 
,  difficulty  in  understanding  a  representa- 
tion of  the  top  of  the  seed-pod  or  ovary 
as  supported  by  the  flower. 

Comparison  of  18  and  19  with  7  shows 
that  the  seed-pod  of  the  rose-lotus  has  not 
the  rayed  top;  and  in  certain 
decorative  combinations,  of 
which  20  is  an  example,  we 
have  probably  a  section  of  the 
top  of  the  seed-pod  of  the  rose- 
lotus  rising  above  the  flower. 
Figure  21  appears  to  show  a 
similar  combination,  possibly 
the  rounded  top  of  the  pod 
rising  above  the  flower.  In  these  cases,  the  brilliant  yellow  color 
of  the  curved  sections  correspond  to  the  color  of  the  seed-pod  of 
the  rose-lotus. 

In  a  preceding  paper  the  size  of  the  seeds  of  the  rose-lotus  has 
been  mentioned  as  about 
that  of  a  small  filbert.  The 
taste  is  agreeable,  not  unlike 
that  of  a  chestnut  but  not  as 
raw.  During  a  visit  to  the 
lily-ponds  at  Bordentown,  I 
was  advised  by  the  nursery- 
man in  charge  that  the  boys 
of  New  Jersey  had  already 
discovered  the  virtues  of  the 
new  edible,  which  is  grown  in 
sufficient  quantities  in  a  pond 
near  the  town  to  make  ex- 
cursions for  this  delicacy  an  20 

object.  We  know  from  Herodotus  and  other  ancient  authors  that  the 
Egyptians  used  the  seeds  for  food  and  made  bread  of  them.  The  same 
use  was  made  of  the  seeds  of  the  white  and  blue  lotus  which  are 


contained  inside  the  ovaries  and  have  the  size  of  small  grains.  It 
appears  even  that  the  lotus  was  sowed  as  a  food  crop.  All  this 
would  make  it  extremely  natural  that  the  Egyptians  should  have 
found  a  decorative  motive  in  the  rosette  form  of  the  stigmas  of  the 
white  and  blue  lotus. 

The  most  curious  oversight  of  modern  archaeology  is  its  prejudice 


that  the  rosette  is  a  distinctive  Assyrian  form  and  that  the  Greek 
rosette  is  hence  derived.  Authors  like  Longperier1  and  Charles 
Chipiez  2  have  attributed  the  decoration  of  certain  vases  figured  at 
Karnak  to  a  foreign  influence  on  the  ground  that  they  are  orna- 
mented with  rosettes,  in  absolute  oblivion  of  the  fact  that  the  rosette 

is  a  constantly  recurring  mo- 
tive in  Egyptian  tomb  decora- 
tions which  antedate  the  earli- 
est known  instances  of  a 
Babylonian  or  Assyrian  ro- 
sette by  at  least  seven  hun- 
dred years.  In  that  most 
recent  history  of  ancient  art 
which  is  supposed  to  sum- 
marize all  accepted  results  up 
to  date  M.  Perrot  treats  the 
rosette  off-hand  as  a  distinc- 
tively Assyrian  ornament. 
German  authorities  on  Greek 
vases  invariably  refer  a  rosette 
decoration  to  Assyrian  influence.  When  the  ceiling  fresco  at 
Orchomenos  was  recently  discovered  by  Schliemann,  Professor 
Sayce  immediately  attributed  the  rosettes  to  a  Babylonian  influence, 
although  the  decoration  has  a  thoroughly  Egyptian  character. 

The  decoration  at  Orchomenos  (undoubtedly  of  Egyptian  style) 
dating  from   the  prehistoric  Greek   period  (time   of  the   Mycenae 


jewelry)  is  illustrated  at  22  as  a  typical  case  of  the  constant  union 
in  Egyptian  decoration  of  the  lotus,  the  rosette  and  the  spiral.  Nos. 
23,  24,  25,  are  illustrations  of  the  frequent  appearance  of  the  rosette 
in  Egyptian  decoration.  All  are  details  from  tombs  of  the  eighteenth 


and  nineteenth  dynasties  : 


dating  back  to  a  period  beginning 
about  1800  B.  c.  The  earliest  in- 
stance of  an  Assyrian  or  Babylonian 
rosette  appears  on  the  dress  of  a 
Babylonian  king  of  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury B.  c.  There  are  no  remains 
of  Assyrian  ornamental  art  earlier 
than  the  ninth  century  B.  c.  Most 
of  the  Assyrian  rosette  decorations 
belong  to  the  eighth  and  seventh 
centuries. 

This  prejudice  in  favor  of  the  distinctively  Assyrian  character  of 
an  ornament  which  is  so  common  in  Egypt  and  which  appears  there  in 
constant  use  so  much  earlier  than  it  appears  at  all  in  Assyria  can  only 
be  explained  as  follows :  In  publications  of  Assyrian  monuments  the 
reliefs  have  been  the  most  constantly  illustrated  objects  and  it  is  on 
these  reliefs  that  the  rosettes  constantly  appear. 
In  Egyptian  publications  the  architectural 
reliefs  have  also  been  the  most  generally  illus- 
trated objects  and  in  Egyptian  relief  the 
rosette  is  almost  unknown.  It  is  in  the  Egyp- 
tian tomb-paintings  that  the  rosette  is  a  con- 
stant form  and  these  had  not  been  abundantly 
illustrated  until  the  publication  of  Prisse 
d'Avennes  in  1879.  In  the  earlier  folios  of 
Champollion  and  Rosellini  there  are  some 
details  by  which  they  are  illustrated  but  they 
were  published  at  a  time  when  the  high  an- 
tiquity of  the  eighteenth  dynasty  was  not  an 
axiom  of  Egyptian  chronology.  Perhaps  the 
most  important  explanation  is  that  the  history  of  ancient  ornamental 
art  antedating  the  period  of  the  Greeks  has  not  yet  been  scientifically 
founded. 

In  defining  the  rosette  to  be  a  lotus  motive  we  may  return  tor  a 
moment  to  the  Ionic  capital,  noticing  the  appearance  of  the  rosettes 
within  the  lotus  volutes  in  the  capitals  of  the  Erechtheium  and  in 
the  capital  from  Selinus  illustrated  at  26  (the  demonstration  still  to 
be  offered  for  the  lotiform  derivation  of  the  "  eg<r-and-dart  "  mould- 
\n<r  will  considerably  assist  the  general  argument  as  a  cumulative 
point).  The  appearance  of  rosettes  within  the  volutes  of  the 
Persian-Ionic  scrolls  (capitals  of  Persepolis  and  Susa)  is  another  case 
in  point.  We  are  now  prepared  to  understand  the  rosettes  figured 
on  the  Cypriote  lotuses,  as  in  Figure  27.  Another  case  in  point  is 

'  In  "  Muste  Napoleon  Iff." 
'In  "  Bistoire  des  Ordres  Qrecs." 


150 


The   American   Architect  and  Building   News.      [VOL.  XXV.— No.  692. 


shown  at  28,  the  detail  of  a  Cypriote  vase  in  the  Lawrence-Cesnola 
collection  in  England. 

The  relations  thus  established  between  the  rosette  form  and  the  ovary 
stigmas  of  the  white  and  blue  lotus  do  not  militate  against  the 
palpable  cases  in  which  a  rosette  form  is  derived  from  a  concentri- 
cally arranged  series  of  rayed  lotus  petals,  a  view  of  the  flower  itself 
seen  in  plan  as  it  were.  These  are  easily  distinguished  from  the 
pictures  of  the  ovary  stigmas  by  the  pointed  aspect  of  the  petals. 
The  angled  terminations  of  the.  blue  lotus  stigma  are  blunter.  These 
last  are  most  clearly  represented  among  the  gold  ornaments  found  by 
Dr.  Schliemann  at  Mycenas. 

In  preceding  papers  note  has  been  taken  of  interpretations  offered 
by  MM.  Colonna-Ceccaldi  and  Dieulafoy  of  the  lotiform  Ionic. 
According  to  the  matter  herewith  presented  their  views  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  ovary,  already  made  sufficiently  improbable,  would  appear 
to  be  permanently  set  aside.  Colonna-Ceccaldi  conceived  the  ovary 
to  be  represented  by  a  triangle  which  was  really  a  calyx-leaf. 
Dieulafoy  conceived  the  ovary  to  be  represented  by  a  form  which 
was  really  a  bud  inverted. 

As  regards  the  rosette  in  Assyrian  decoration  it  is  to  be  observed 
that  it  generally  appears  in  association  with  lotus  motives  which  are 
admitted  to  be  borrowed  from  Egypt.  Its  appearance  in  early 
Greek  vase  decoration  is  invariably  with  lotus  patterns  and  lotus 
derivatives.  WM.  II.  GOODYEAR. 

[To  be  continued.] 


[Contributors  are  requested  to  send  with  their  drawings  full  and 
adequate  descriptions  of  the  buildings,  including  a  statement  of  cost.'] 

RAILROAD    STATION,    BATTLE    CREEK,    MICH.        MESSRS.    ROGERS    & 

MACFARLANE,    ARCHITECTS,    DETROIT,    MICH. 
[Gelatine  Print,  issued  only  with  the  Imperial  Edition.] 

THE    BRYN     MAWR    SCHOOL,    BALTIMORE,    MD.        MR.    HENRY    RUT- 
GERS   MARSHALL,    ARCHITECT,    NEW   YORK,    N.    Y. 

TTTHE  building  for  the  Bryn  Mawr  School  for  Girls  which  is  now 
•)!'•  being  erected  on  Cathedral  Street  is  intended  to  accommodate 
150  day  scholars.  It  will  be  90  feet  front  and  70  feet  deep  and 
80  feet  to  the  peak  of  the  roof  from  the  level  of  the  ground.  It  will 
stand  in  the  middle  of  a  block  with  its  front  on  the  street  line.  The 
whole  block  will  be  surrounded  by  a  high  wall  and  the  part  not  oc- 
cupied by  the  building  will  be  used  as  a  play-ground.  The  building 
is  to  be  thoroughly  fireproof  throughout.  It  is  planned  in  compact 
form  to  insure  facility  in  management.  In  order  to  make  the  best 
use  of  the  space  it  has  been  found  desirable  to  adopt  different  levels 
for  the  two  sides  of  the  building  as  shown  by  the  section.  There 
will  be  a  gymnasium  on  the  south  side  occupying  the  height  of  base- 
ment and  first  story  on  the  north  side.  On  the  north  side  the 
basement  will  be  used  for  spray-baths,  a  plunge-bath,  dressing-rooms 
and  locker-rooms  in  connection  with  the  gymnasium,  while  the  first 
story  will  be  occupied  by  cloak-rooms  and  reception-rooms.  The 
lofty  room  on  the  north  side  of  the  second  story  will  be  used  as  a 
"  silent  study  room  "  in  which  each  scholar  will  have  her  desk  and 
from  which  the  pupils  will  go  to  the  recitation-rooms  which  occupy 
the  remainder  of  the  building.  The  drawing-room,  laboratory  anil 
science  lecture-room  being  on  the  top  floor.  All  the  class-rooms  are 
grouped  about  the  central  hall,  which  is  lighted  by  a  sky-light  in  the 
roof,  and  by  direct  sunlight  through  the  south  attic  room.  This  hall 
is  faced  throughout  with  English  glazed  brick.  The  gymnasium  and 
connecting  rooms,  the  lavatories  and  the  science  lecture-room  and 
laboratory  are  also  faced  with  the  glazed  brick.  In  connection  with 
the  silent  study  room  there  will  be  a  reference-library.  Particular 
study  has  been  made  of  arrangements  which  have  been  suggested  as 
desirable  by  practical  teachers  in  this  country  and  abroad  and  a  strict 
attention  to  these  requirements  has  furnished  the  elements  of  the 
design  of  the  exterior.  In  all  cases  the  windows  of  class-rooms  rise 
to  the  ceiling  level  and  have  sills  high  above  the  floor.  As  to  the 
exterior  effect,  the  building  is  to  be  a  study  in  brown.  Stone  will  be 
used  to  the  second  story  and  above  that  brown  brick  in  three  slightly 
contrasting  shades.  The  roof  will  be  of  dark  brown  tile.  The  or- 
namental effects  above  the  first  story  are  to  be  produced  entirely  by 
the  use  of  the  brick  of  different  shades  worked  into  the  designs  sug- 
gested by  the  sketch.  Thus  the  value  of  the  masses  will  be  retained 
without  risk  of  such  baldness  as  brick  of  one  color  would  be  likely  to 
give.  The  high  wall  around  the  property  it  is  hoped  will  give  an 
effective  base  to  the  structure  which  will  thus  attain  dignity  in  the 
simplicity  of  its  masses  while  picturesqueness  will  be  gained  by 
the  difference  of  floor  levels  and  the  variation  of  fenestration  which 
this  necessitates.  Especial  care  has  been  given  to  the  heating  and 
ventilation  of  the  building.  The  triangular  prism  at  the  peak  of  the 
roof  is  made  use  of  as  a  horizontal  ventilation-shaft  which  will  be 
closed  automatically  to  windward ;  the  suction  from  the  lee  side 
aiding  the  special  aspirating-shafts  which  are  arranged  to  draw  the 
vitiated  air  from  all  the  rooms. 


CHURCH    OF    ALL    SAINTS,    PASADENA,    CAL.      MR.    E.    A.    COXHEAD, 
ARCHITECT,    LOS    ANGELES,    CAL. 

THE  building  is  to  cost  about  $26,000  when  finished,  but  at  present 
the  outside  only  is  finished.  It  will  be  of  frame,  the  lower  portions 
of  walls  being  of  a  dark  red  stone ;  the  upper  parts  shingled.  The 
front  gable  is  "  half-timber  work."  Tower  shingled. 

COMPETITIVE      DESIGN      FOR    A    SCHOOL-HOUSE,      YONKERS,     N.    Y. 
MESSRS.    HAMILTON    &    MERSEREAU,    ARCHITECTS. 

MATERIALS  proposed.  Stone  basement,  brick  and  terra-cotta 
above,  with  copper  roof-finishings.  Cost  about  $100,000. 

CHURCH    OF    SAN    MIGUEL,   JEREZ    DE    LA    FRONTERA,    SPAIN. 

THE    MOHAWK    BLOCK,    BUFFALO,    N.    Y.        MR.    E.    A.    KENT,    ARCHI- 
TKCT,    BUFFALO,    N.    Y. 


t>ETTLEBACH- 

GERMAN 


SPECIFICATION-WRITING. 

S  specification-writing  is  a  matter 
of  perennial   interest,  we   need 
make  no  apology  for  copying  in 
extenso  from  the  Journal  of  Proceed- 
ings,  K.  I.  B.  A.,   the   following   ab- 
stract of  a  paper  on  the  subject,  by 
Mr.  T.  M.   Rickman,   F.  S.  A.,  and 
the  discussion  it  engendered  : 

MR.  THOMAS  M.  RICKMAN,  F.  S. 
A.,  Associate,  began  by  stating  that 
the  specification  was  one  of  the  means 
employed  by  the  architect  to  carry 
his  design  into  execution.  The  de- 
sign was  in  his  mind.  The  drawings 
presented  a  reproduction  of  the  de- 
sign in  scale  projection;  they  were  a 
representation  of  the  idea  in  the 
architect's  mind.  The  specification 
was  the  translation  of  the  design  into 
technical  language,  describing  the  se- 
lection of  the  materials  and  the  con- 
struction of  the  whole.  The  duty  of 
the  writer  of  the  specification  was  to 
translate  the  design,  from  all  the  ma- 
terials at  his  disposal,  into  another 
language :  from  the  image  in  the  mind 
of  the  architect  to  a  technical  description  of  the  work.  The  true 
specification  should  be  in  course  of  preparation  all  the  time  that  the 
design  was  being  elaborated  by  the  architect.  The  general  descrip- 
tion of  materials  should  govern  the  details  of  construction ;  and  the 
work  of  preparing  each  should  be  simultaneous.  The  writing  of  a 
specification  should  be  encouraged  as  part  of  a  pupil's  work  during 
his  articles,  rather  than  the  common  course  of  education,  which  left 
that  part  of  the  art  altogether  to  those  who  had  passed  through  their 
period  of  apprenticeship.  It  seemed  in  some  cases  as  if  the  architect- 
master  of  the  present  day  followed  the  discipline  of  Pythagoras,  who, 
it  was  said,  expected  a  probation  of  five  years  from  his  pupils,  and 
afterwards  instructed  them  in  the  meaning  of  the  enigmatical  sayings 
in  which  he  involved  much  of  his  doctrine. 

Before  writing  a  specification,  its  purpose  should  be  fully  con- 
sidered. Much  might  be  said,  as  regarded  the  order  of  treatment 
adopted,  in  favor  of  each  of  the  following  courses,  the  varied  in- 
fluence of  which  might  frequently  be  traced:  (1)  Giving  directions 
as  to  general  principles,  leaving  the  details  to  the  common-sense  and 
experience  of  those  who  have  to  carry  them  out;  (2)  following  the 
order  of  the  quantities,  and,  in  fact,  only  supplying  a  running  com- 
mentary upon  them ;  (3)  following  the  order  of  the  execution  of  the 
work  ;  and  (4)  following  the  order  in  which  the  work  would  be  taken 
when  measured  up. 

For  the  practice  of  specification-writing,  perhaps  the  most  im- 
portant mental  quality,  after  patience,  was  decision,  and  the  author 
considered  that  before  writing  a  specification  the  mind  should  be 
made  up  as  to  the  meaning  and  application  of  the  following  terms, 
about  which  there  were  varying  opinions.  Uniformity  in  the  use  of 
words,  and  the  avoidance  of  varied  terms  meaning  the  same  thing, 
would  also  be  of  great  assif  tance  in  making  a  specification  intelligible. 
Allow  for,  was  a  term  which  would  not  be  used:  it  belonged  to  a  bill 
of  quantities,  and  should  show  that  the  extent  of  the  work  was  at  the 
risk  of  the  contractor.  Provide,  was  intelligible,  if  applied  to  quan- 
tities of  materials  and  labor ;  if  applied  to  sums  of  money,  a  very 
clear  interpretation  clause  was  needed.  Supply,  if  used  in  place  of 
the  usual  "  provide  and  fix,"  increased  the  clearness  of  the  specifica- 
tion, and  avoided  some  prolixity.  Proper,  before  the  introduction  of 
work  in  imitation  of  mediaeval  structures,  had  an  intelligible  mean- 
ing, as  applied  to  lodged  doors,  door-frames,  etc. ;  it  was  now  safer  to 
fully  describe  what  was  intended.  Sufficient  was  a  legal  term  which 
required  breaking  down  so  as  to  convey  the  intention  of  the  writer ; 
to  describe  the  intention  might  save  much  trouble.  Best  had  ceased 
to  have  any  definite  meaning  through  the  introduction  of  the  terms 


692.       IME^IGSTN  MRGHITEGT  MND  guili>raG$EWS,]vl^30  1559. 


C!PYBI8HT  1889  Bf  T1CK¥"R  1C! 


tiTig  Cc  Bo5WJi. 


CHVRCH      OF    ^>ArS      MIGVEL-  JEREZ 
DE'   LA    FKONTE-R.A 


692. 


COPYHISHT  1889  3YTLCKNOR 


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MOHAWK.  BLOCK 


ijtrpt  flinmij  ft.  3>Jt«n 


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ND  BUILDING  EEWS, 


1559       ||o.  6  92. 


A-  COAMEAD  • 


'rhstype  Printing 


MRGHITEGT  HND  BUILDING  HEWS. 


1555)      J|o.  G92. 


COPVRIGHT  1689BYTICKSOR4C'' 


MARCH  30,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  ana  Building  News. 


151 


"  Best  Best,"  "  Double  Best,"  and  the  like.  Prime  cost,  required  ex- 
planation as  to  whether  it  was  to  be  taken  from  the  list-price  without 
trade  allowances,  without  also  discount  for  cash,  and  also  whether  it 
had  to  be  increased  by  establishment  charges,  carnage,  or  fixing. 
There  were  few  occasions  for  the  use  of  To  Fix,  which  would  not .require 
some  detail  beyond  the  term.  Average  was  a  dangerous  word,  as  it 
admitted  of  some  of  the  work  described  being  of  less  dimensions  than 
were  specified,  and  often  nothing  short  of  a  measurement  of  the 
whole  would  clear  up  the  doubts  thrown  on  the  execution  of 
the  work  by  foreman  or  clerk-of-works.  Sizes  should  be  explained 
as  "out  of,"  or  "finished,"  and  often  at  what  time  or  in  what  posi- 
tion they  were  to  be  taken.  Before  Attendance  was  used,  the 
amount  of  labor  and  responsibility  thrown  on  the  contractor  should 
be  clearly  explained,  and  the  Employers'  Liability  Act  should  be 
understood ;  the  delay  occasioned  by  other  tradesmen  should  also  be 
considered.  The  application  of  the  term  Reinstate  to  dilapidations 
was  not  considered  by  the  author ;  to  require  a  contractor  to  rein- 
state after  accident,  or  after  defects  other  than  those  of  his  own 
materials  and  labor,  demanded  a  specially  drawn  specification ;  and 
it  was  sometimes  better  for  the  immediate  use  of  the  building  to 
leave  a  small  defect  than  to  cut  the  structure  to  pieces  in  order  to  in- 
sert new  material  in  construction,  if  power  were  retained  by  the 
architect  to  charge  for  renewal,  when  an  opportunity  allowed  of  the 
work  being  executed.  Local  Requirements  should  be  mastered 
before  they  were  referred  to  in  a  specification.  Watching  and 
Lighting  should  be  explained,  whether  for  the  contractor's  own  work 
or  for  other  tradesmen,  whether  for  night  work  or  for  day  only  ;  the 
use  of  gas,  firing  and  special  lighting  varied  in  each  case,  and  no 
general  clause  was  in  all  cases  sufficient.  Search  for  Old  Drains  : 
some  knowledge  of  where  the  old  drains  were  was  necessary  before 
drawing  the  specification.  Facilities  were  to  be  afforded  for  inspec- 
tion of  work  and  for  the  introduction  of  other  tradesmen  for  fittings 
during  the  progress  of  the  contract,  and  it  was  only  fair  to  define 
beforehand  the  extent  to  which  this  was  to  be  carried,  and  the 
accommodation  and  responsibilities  involved.  If  Use  of  Scaffolding 
was  required  for  special  purposes,  or  to  be  specially  erected,  atten- 
tion should  be  drawn  to  the  subject,  as  otherwise  the  ordinary  words 
might  carry  only  the  use  of  scaffolding  erected  for  the  contractor's 
purposes,  the  extent  of  which  varied  greatly  in  different  localities. 
The  precise  mode  to  be  adopted  in  Secret  Fixing  should  be  clearly 
studied  before  writing  the  description.  Before  describing  Concrete 
it  was  well  to  make  up  the  mind  whether  absorbent  or  non-absorbent 
materials  were  to  be  used,  whether  burnt  ballast  was  to  be  allowed 
or  not,  whether  lime  and  cement  might  be  mixed  together,  and 
whether  the  material  should  be  shot  into  trenches  from  a  height  and 
left  untouched  under  a  penalty,  or  whether  it  was  to  be  carefully  laid 
without  dropping,  and  then  well  punned.  Would  the  architect 
approve  of  Art  Tiles  if  winding  and  out-of-shape ?  or  would  he 
insist  on  having  as  good  workmanship  in  their  manufacture,  without 
seconds,  as  he  would  have  expected  from  Hollins  or  from  Maw  ? 
Rubbish  and  Debris  were  both  dangerous  terms,  but  occasionally 
used  ;  they  were  supposed  to  mean  brickbats  :  waste-paper  and 
night-soil  should  be  specified  out  of  them.  If  by  Asjihalle,  tar  and 
sand  was  meant,  it  should  be  stated ;  if  superior  material  in  two 
thicknesses,  the  maker's  name  should  be  clearly  specified.  For 
Flooring,  the  mind  should  be  made  up  as  to  widths  of  boards,  thick- 
nesses, whether  from  the  saw,  the  mill,  or  the  plane,  mode  of  fixing, 
quality,  finish  and  bearing.  The  Ironmongery,  the  sets  of  hinges 
and  the  mastership  should  be  decided  on,  and  if  P.  C.'s  were 
given  they  should  be  continued  throughout.  The  tests  required  for 
Cast  and  Wrought  Iron  should  be  resolved  on,  and  who  was  to  pay 
for  the  testing  made  clear,  whether  the  material  passed  the  tests  or 
not;  whether  Belgian  iron  was  to  be  used  or  rejected  should  be 
decided  on,  and  the  cost  of  special  rolls  remembered.  The  capacity 
of  the  ordinary  bricks  should  be  studied  for  Brick  Facings ;  every 
special  mould  required  would  delay  the  building  so  many  days; 
whether  all  bricks  were  to  be  firsts,  or  any  percentage  of  seconds 
allowed,  should  be  clearly  stated  ;  and,  as  regards  pointing,  whether 
the  kind  described  was  likely  to  last  if  executed  with  the  brickwork 
ought  to  be  ascertained.  London  and  Manchester  interpret  the 
term  Old  English  Bond  differently ;  which  was  to  be  used  should  be 
determined  and  made  clear,  and  in  any  bond  it  should  be  decided 
whether  the  perpends  were  really  to  be  kept,  and  the  necessary  posi- 
tion of  closers  remembered.  With  reference  to  the  term  Trapped, 
the,  gases  of  the  present  day  got  through  obstacles  which  in  old  times 
had  been  intended  to  stop  rats ;  the  water-supply  forced  traps 
formerly  approved ;  and  he  considered  decision  as  to  the  form  of  a 
trap  the  strongest  proof  of  professional  influence.  The  mind  should 
he  made  up  as  to  what  Bonding  or  Cross-bonding  gave  the  better 
bond  between  stone  and  brick ;  it  should  be  remembered  that  the 
average  lengths  on  the  two  faces  of  a  quoin  stone  multiplied  together 
did  not  give  the  average  section  of  the  stone  quoin ;  and  in  what 
cases  jamb-stones  should  bond  within  the  face  of  wood-frames  ought 
to  be  stated.  Joggles :  doubt  should  be  inadmissible  as  to  whether 
the  material  mentioned  was  stone  or  cement,  or  as  to  the  cases  where 
the  joggle  ought  not  to  be  stopped.  It  should  be  decided  whether 
Scarfinrjs  were  to  be  described  by  a  general  rule  or  in  detail; 
whether  to  be  invariably  bolted,  and  whether  to  be  used  at  discre- 
tion. In  Fixing  Leadwork  decision  was  necessary  as  to  the  use  of 
bossed-seams  or  wooden-rolls  and  other  details  ;  in  some  cases  a 
judicious  reticence  was  safer  than  doubtful  detail.  As  to  Drain 
Pipes,  the  new  patent  joints  should  be  tried  before  specified ;  the 


tests  defined  whether  candle,  water  or  peppermint ;  the  sizes  stated, 
and  the  writer  of  the  specification  should  be  sure  as  to  the  construc- 
tion of  the  bottoms  of  the  access  chambers  before  binding  the  con- 
tractor as  to  the  mode  of  execution,  and  also  as  to  which  side  of  a 
trap  the  fresh-air  was  intended  to  be  introduced.  When  Centring 
was  wished  to  be  close-jointed  it  should  be  stated.  If  the  edges  of 
Plate-Glass  were  to  be  blacked  it  should  be  noted.  Custom  of  the 
Country  should  be  studied  with  reference  to  stone-facings,  and  the 
mode  of  pointing,  plating  and  tiling  of  all  sorts,  with  bedding  and 
torching  appropriate.  The  selection  of  stones  and  the  appropriate 
treatment  of  each  was  too  large  a  subject  for  the  author's  present 
purpose. 

Among  the  many  things  likely  to  be  forgotten  might  be  men- 
tioned: —  The  possible  necessity  of  driving  the  planking  of  founda- 
tions ;  the  application  of  a  rule  as  to  footings  to  piers  and  special 
cases;  the  liability  of  misinterpretation  of  the  width  of  bed  of  a 
stone ;  the  amount  of  labor  carried  by  descriptions  such  as  moulded, 
stopped,  enriched,  fitted,  veneered  and  the  like ;  the  accesses  to 
cisterns,  taps  and  many  other  things ;  and  the  selection  of  sizes  and 
shapes  to  suit  the  market  for  the  several  materials.  The  objects  of  a 
writer  of  specifications  would  be  the  best  gained  if  he  first  of  all 
placed  himself  in  the  position  of  his  client,  but  with  his  own  better 
knowledge  as  to  judicious  expenditure  ;  in  the  position  of  the  builder, 
but  with  an  art  knowledge  which  the  builder  might  not  have  as  to 
the  materials  available ;  and  in  the  position  of  the  clerk-of-works  and 
foreman  in  having  to  obtain  from  the  workmen  intelligent  labor. 

.    DISCUSSION. 

THE  CHAIUMAN. — -There  are  considerable  differences  of  opinion 
between  architects  as  to  the  way  in  which  a  specification  should  be 
treated.  Very  few  would  have  dealt  with  it  in  the  elaborate  and 
very  explicit  manner  which  Mr.  Kickman  submits  to  you  as  the 
proper  course.  Some  I  know  held  that  the  general  description  of 
the  qualities  of  the  materials  and  the  general  description  of  work- 
manship, in  rather  vague  terms,  was  sufficient.  This  was  some- 
times thought  the  best  way  of  dealing  with  the  specification,  leaving 
the  elaborate  drawings,  with  annotations  and  descriptions  thereon, 
to  c<5nvey  to  the  workmen  the  intentions  of  the  architect.  Thus  the 
workmen  would  have  their  instructions  always  at  hand  and  before 
them  on  the  face  of  the  drawings.  Even  in  that  case  there  would 
arise  a  considerable  difficulty  in  conveying  the  exact  meaning  to  the 
workmen,  and  difficulties  from  omissions  continually  and  frequently 
arose.  With  the  complete  system  which  Mr.  Rickman  from  his 
great  experience  advocates,  this  difficulty  would  be  less  likely  to 
arise ;  but  he  certainly  would  place  the  architect  in  the  position  of 
being  not  only  a  many-sided,  but  a  multiform  man,  to  be  thoroughly 
acquainted  with  the  minute  details  of  every  trade  in  the  elaborate 
manner  which  would  be  absolutely  essential  to  carry  out  his  scheme. 
Probably  he  would  receive  great  assistance,  not  only  from  the 
specification  draughtsman  in  his  office,  but  also  from  that  now 
apparently  imlispensible  adjunct  to  all  building  works,  the  quantity- 
surveyor,  whose  careful  revision  of  the  specification  during  the 
process  of  taking  out  the  quantities  would  supply  many  of  those 
minute  details  which  the  architect  had  perhaps,  in  the  first  instance, 
overlooked ;  and  in  that  respect  the  services  of  the  quantity-surveyor 
no  doubt  would  be  very  great  indeed  to  the  architect,  as  in  his  pro- 
cess of  analysis  he  would  necessarily  detect  essential  matters  of 
detail  which  the  broader  view  taken  by  the  architect  might  have  led 
him  to  overlook.  Of  the  essential  qualifications  of  patience,  decision 
and  accuracy  of  language,  which  Mr.  Rickman  invokes  as  necessary 
for  the  architect,  there  can  be  no  doubt  whatever.  Of  all  things  the 
first  qualification  for  the  architect  undoubtedly  is  patience,  and  after 
that  decision  becomes  an  essential  quality,  in  which  sometimes,  per- 
haps, we  are  occasionally  wanting.  Unless  an  architect  has 
cultivated  the  habit  of  precision  of  language  to  which  I  have  before 
alluded  —  a  precision  which  enables  him  to  make  himself  intelligible 
to  others  in  the  sense  in  which  he  himself  understands  his  words  — 
that  decision  will  be  of  little  value :  and  it  is  unfortunately,  I  think, 
in  the  experience  of  most  of  us  who  have  had  to  deal  with  litigation 
connected  with  building  matters,  that  such  litigation  arises  too 
frequently  from  what  I  may -call  the  looseness  of  expression  and  want 
of  precision  —  where  the  intentions  are  expressed  by  words  which, 
when  read  from  another  point^of-view,  and  read  many  months  after- 
wards in  a  reference  or  in  a  court  of  law,  will  bear  an  interpretation 
entirely  different  from  that  which  the  architect  intended  to  place 
upon  them.  Mr.  Rickman 's  observations  upon  "  best "  and  upon 
"  prime  cost "  are  also  of  very  great  value.  Some  years  ago,  when 
the  term  "best"  began  no  longer  to  mean  anything  but  the  "worst' 
it  was  the  ordinary  practice  to  introduce  at  the  head  of  the  specifica- 
tion a  declaration  to  the  effect  that  the  word  "  best "  throughout  the 
specification  is  intended  to  be  used  in  its  natural  sense,  and  that  no 
such  perversion  as  "best  best"  or  its  equivalents  would  be  enter- 
tained. There  is  another  point,  and  that  is  the  very  complicated 
question  of  the  employment  of  other  tradesmen  than  the  contractor 
with  whom  the  contract  for  the  main  building  is  placed,  and  the 
facilities  to  be  provided  for  the  execution  of  those  works  which  are 
not  paid  for  by  the  contractor,  or  which  are  ordered  by  the  architect 
as  a  provisional  amount,  and  for  which  the  contractor  pays  simply  on 
the  order  from  the  architect,  and  concerning  which  the  heartburn- 
ings and  the  differences  between  the  builder  and  the  special  trades- 
men, and  the  architect  and  the  client,  are  often  exceedingly  great, 
and  sometimes  lead  to  considerable  litigation.  In  the  present  day 


152  The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.       [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  692. 


that  practice  of  employing  special  tradesmen  has  become  so  general 
that  the  provisional  amounts  included  in  contracts  come  sometimes  to 
one-third,  and  in  some  cases  I  have  heard  of  to  nearly  one-half,  of 
the  amount  of  the  contract ;  and  it  becomes  exceedingly  important 
that  the  manner  in  which  those  prdvisional  amounts  ought  to  be  dealt 
with  should  be  clearly  expressed. 

MK.  E.  T.  HALT,,  Fellow.  —  Mr.  Chairman,  I  am  sure  we  have  all 
listened  with  the  greatest  pleasure  to  the  very  able  paper  which  we 
should  expect  from  a  man  of  Mr.  Rickman's  great  ability  and  experi- 
ence. As  time  is  short,  I  will  not  refer  to  the  general  outlines  of  the 
subject  to  which  you  have  made  reference,  but  rather  endeavor  to 
deal  with  details.  I  will,  however,  first  draw  attention  to  a  feature 
which,  I  think,  is  of  the  greatest  importance.  The  architect  should 
draw  his  specification  as  though  no  technical  person  like  the 
quantity-surveyor  was  to  follow  him,  and  if  he  sets  himself  to  work 
on  these  lines  he  will  have  a  much  more  perfect  specification.  It 
will,  of  course,  demand  patience,  and  also  compel  the  architect  to 
cultivate  that  quality  on  which  you  have  laid  stress,  viz.,  decision, 
which  is  of  so  great  importance.  If  an  architect  does  not  know  what 
he  is  going  to  do  in  the  execution  of  his  building,  it  is  impossible  that 
his  clerk-of-works  or  builder  should  know  it.  Therefore,  if  he  will 
study  the  work,  analyze  the  building  from  the  bottom  to  the  top,  and 
describe  what  is  to  be  done,  he  will  give  the  quantity-surveyor,  if  one 
is  to  follow  him,  much  less  labor,  and  he  will  have  the  gratification 
of  possessing  a  knowledge  of  his  building  which  the  clerk-of-the 
works  and  the  foremen  of  the  buildings  do  not  possess.  The 
advantage  and  comfort  of  this  to  him  will  be  appreciated  when  he  is 
superintending  the  erection  of  the  works.  Well,  Sir,  Mr.  Rickman 
has  drawn  attention  to  the  fact  that  a  specification  should  describe 
what  is  "  to  be  "  and  how  "  to  do  "  ;  the  suffering,  if  the  specification 
is  negligently  drawn,  will  be  on  the  part  of  the  client,  and  that  is 
generally  followed  by  suffering  on  the  part  of  the  architect,  who 
hears  of  it  again.  Mr.  Rickman  says  the  writing  of  specifications 
should  be  encouraged  as  part  of  a  pupil's  education.  I  think  the 
writing  of  the  specification,  by  which  I  understood  him  to  mean  the 
original  writing  of  the  specification,  can  hardly  be  part  of  the  pupil's 
work.  It  requires  the  very  greatest  experience,  I  think,  to  wr^te  a 
specification,  and  it  is  eminently  work  for  the  head  of  the  office  ;  but 
the  pupil  learns  how  to  do  that  by  being  set  to  copy  specifications. 
With  regard  to  loose  expressions  in  specifications,  for  such  phrases 
as  "  provide  everything  that  is  necessary,"  and  that  sort  of  thing,  of 
course  there  can  be  no  justification  whatever.  They  lead  always  to 
trouble,  and  frequently  to  those  arbitrations  which  we  occasionally 
hear  about.  Sir,  Mr.  Rickman  objected  to  the  expression  "  allow 
for,"  as  a  term  which  is  very  indefinite,  and  I  think  his  remark  was 
that  questions  would  arise  in  the  builder's  mind  as  to  how  sums  were 
to  be  calculated  under  such  a  direction.  There  are  certain  items 
which  I  tiiink  may  very  reasonably  come  under  that  heading.  For 
example,  an  architect  in  London  is  re-creating  a  building  which  is 
surrounded  by  old  sheds.  I  think  it  is  a  sufficient  description  for 
him  to  say,  "  allow  for  the  necessary  shoring  and  boarding-in  of 
adjauent  building  disturbed  by  removal  of  the  party-wall."  This  is 
a  perfectly  intelligible  description,  and  it  is  not  a  loose  description 
either.  Then,  Sir,  with  regard  to  the  trade  terms  to  which  attention 
has  been  drawn,  "  best  best  "  and  "  double  best."  I  should  imagine, 
and  I  think  I  am  not  saying  anything  improper  in  suggesting,  that 
these  originated  from  the  desire  of  merchants  to  assist  the  builder  in 
—  what  shall  I  say?  —  evading  the  common-sense  meaning  of  the 
word  "  best."  We  find  that  in  trade  phraseology  "  best "  is  not 
best,  but  may  be  a  third-or-fourth-rate  article,  and  that  merchants 
are  in  the  habit  of  using  other  terms  to  indicate  something  superior 
to  "  best."  In  plain  English  there  can  and  ought  to  be  nothing 
superior  to  "  best."  With  regard  to  the  vexed  question  of  "  prime 
cost " :  I  hope  before  long  the  Institute  may  see  its  way  to  have  a 
definition  of  prime  cost,  and  so  prevent  the  trouble  and  heartburn- 
ings which  have  arisen.  Prime  cost  can  have  but  one  meaning.  It 
means  the  first  cost  which  the  builder  pays  for  the  article  specified. 
It  can  have  no  other  legitimate  meaning.  To  say  prime  cost  refers  to 
prices  in'any  catalogue,  with  perhaps  a  discount  of  70  or  80  per  cent 
attached  to  it,  is  a  perversion  of  terms.  I  think  if  it  is  clearly  laid 
down  that  prime  cost  means  nothing  more  nor  less  than  the  actual 
cost  the  builder  pays  out  of  his  pocket  for  the  article  supplied,  no  in- 
justice will  be  done  to  any  man,  and  that  which  the  architect  means 
will  then  be  clearly  expressed  and  understood. 

Then,  Sir,  with  regard  to  architects'  knowledge  of  the  Employers' 
Liability  Act,  I  do  not  quite  follow  Mr.  Rickman  that  this  is  essen- 
tial. That  is  one  of  the  responsibilities  which  the  builder,  in  making 
his  estimate,  should  contemplate,  of  course ;  but  it  is  not  necessary 
that  the  architect  should  express  in  his  specification  the  liabilities 
under  which  the  builder,  as  an  employer,  comes  by  an  Act  of  Parlia- 
ment. As  to  the  question  of  "  re-instating,"  I  quite  agree  with  your 
views,  and  I  should  venture  to  press  on  this  Institute  a  clause  in  the 
Conditions  of  Contract  dealing  with  the  subject.  It  may  not  always 
be  desirable  to  remove  a  thing  which  may  have  wrongly  got  into  a 
building,  either  by  accident  or  design  —  we  will  say  by  accident. 
You  have  specified  something  —  by  accident  something  else  has  got 
in.  Now,  if  you  are  doing  your  strict  duty  to  your  client,  you  can 
insist  upon  that  being  taken  out ;  but  possibly,  in  doing  that,  you 
may  do  almost  an  irreparable  injury  to  the  building.  Under  your 
contract,  as  you  usually  draw  it,  you  must  either  take  that  out,  in 
order  to  have  the  specification  conformed  to,  or  you  must  leave  it  in, 
in  which  case  you  cannot  certify  that  the  building  is  complete 


according  to  specification.  It  would  be  a  very  reasonable  thing  that 
in  the  conditions  of  contract  provision  should  be  made  by  which, 
where  such  a  thing  happens,  the  architect's  discretion  may  be  used, 
leaving  him  the  power  to  allow  the  "  wrong  "  thing  to  remain,  and 
making  such  adequate  reduction  as  will  give  his  client,  the  building 
owner,  the  benefit  of  the  difference  in  value  between  the  article 
which  was  specified  and  that  which  was  put  in.  Another  question 
comes  in  with  regard  to  the  architect's  decision.  A  very  common 
expression  is  that  the  timber  is  to  be  absolutely  without  sap.  For  foists 
and  things  of  that  kind,  it  is  almost  impossible  to  get  timber  which  is 
absolutely  without  sap.  A  trifling  piece  of  sap  the  size  of  one's  fingers 
on  the  edge  of  a  joist  is  no  fault  whatever.  It  does  not  prejudice  the 
building,  and  it  is  reasonable  that  such  a  thing  should  be  passed.  It 
is  not  reasonable  that  you  should  have  a  clause  in  your  specification 
which  says  that  no  particle  of  sap  will  be  permitted  in  the  building 
if  you  intend  that  there  shall  be.  It  is  not  fair  to  the  builders  who 
compete.  One  who  does  know  that  you  are  reasonable  in  your 
interpretation  of  that  will  have  an  advantage  over  another  who  does 
not  know  it.  I  apprehend  that  "  watching  and  lighting,"  under  a 
contract,  applies  to  the  work  which  is  included  in  that  contract.  In 
other  words,  if  you  say  "  provide  watching  for  works,"  it  applies,  and 
can  only  apply,  to  the  work  which  is  the  subject-matter  of  the  eon- 
tract.  Therefore.  I  think,  a  general  expression  of  "  watching  and 
lighting  "  will  mean  that  you  are  to  provide  that  which  would  light 
all  the  works  by  day  or  by  night,  or  as  you  may  specify.  As  to 
searching  for  old  drains,  if  we  knew  where  the  old  drains  were,  we 
should  not  use  the  expression  "  search  for  them."  Take  the  case  of 
an  old  building  in  London.  If  you  are  pulling  down  a  building  two 
centuries  old,  you  may  be  positive  you  will  discover  an  old  cess-pool 
or  some  old  drains  under  your  floor.  But  the  architect  has  not  a 
staff  of  men  to  take  up  the  floor  or  to  excavate  under  the  old  vaults. 
Indeed,  until  the  old  building  is  pulled  down,  it  might  not  be  safe  to 
work  under  the  old  foundations.  I  think,  in  such  cases,  you  could 
not  put  anything  more  definite  than  simply  "  search."  With  regard 
to  asphalt:  the  architect  must,  of  course,  specify  what  he  wants. 
If  he  simply  means  tar  and  sand,  he  should  use  the  expression. 
But  I  suppose,  where  British  Lava  Asphalt,  or  some  of  the  more  ex- 
pensive asphalts  are  used,  such  as  Claridge's  or  Seyssil,  the  architect 
would,  as  a  matter-of-course,  say  so.  Again,  Mr.  Rickman's  descrip- 
tion of  stoneware  pipes  is  an  exhaustive  one ;  but  I  think  if,  instead 
of  that  description,  he  had  said  the  drain-pipes  must  be  "  perfection," 
he  would  have  said  all  that  was  wanted,  and  he  would  be  as  likely 
to  get  them  perfect.  He  describes  "  torching."  I  have  found  there 
is  a  considerable  difference  of  opinion  as  to  what  torching  means ; 
torching,  as  understood  in  many  countries  —  Sussex,  for  example  — 
is  simply  pointing  the  inside  of  the  tiles  with  mortar,  just  covering 
the  joint ;  but  the  system  of  torching  introduced  in  other  places,  and 
the  one  that  I  always  personally  adopt,  is  to  render  the  whole  under- 
side of  the  tiles  flush  with  the  battens.  Another  thing  which  is  of 
great  importance  is  with  regard  to  the  specification  of  plumbing. 
Now,  with  regard  to  lead-piping,  nothing  is  more  common,  and,  at 
the  same  time,  more  objectionable,  than  the  possibility  of  a  pipe 
bursting  in  a  house,  or  of  some  apparatus  getting  out  of  order ;  and 
the  thing  which  is  very  often  omitted  from  the  specification  is  that 
provision  shall  be  made  inside  your  own  premises,  by  means  of  a 
stop-cock  for  shutting  off  the  water  in  the  rising  main,  by  which 
means  you  can  at  any  time  save  a  burst  of  your  pipe  by  having  no 
water  to  freeze  in  it.  Another  thing  is  to  have  a  stop-cock  where 
the  supply-pipe  leaves  the  cistern,  by  which  means,  if  the  apparatus 
at  any  particular  spot  is  out  of  order,  you  can  turn  off  the  stop-cock 
of  that  branch  and  shut  off  the  water  in  that  branch,  leaving  all  the 
rest  of  your  sanitary  appliances  at  work.  Where  that  is  neglected 
—  and  it  is  very  commonly — if  any  one  water-closet  in  the  house 
gets  out  of  order,  everything  else  is  thrown  out  of  use.  Sir,  if  I  may 
be  permitted  to  do  so,  I  should  like  to  conclude  my  remarks  by 
moving  a  vote  of  thanks  to  Mr.  Rickman  for  his  very  able  and  most 
instructive  paper. 

PROF.  T.  ROGER  SMITH,  Fellow.  —  Mr.  Chairman,  I  think, 
perhaps,  we  may  be  in  danger  of  going  a  little  from  the  question  of 
the  nature  of  a  specification  to  the  question  of  the  nature  of  things 
that  should  be  specified.  Our  friend,  Mr.  Rickman,  has  tried  to 
turn  our  thoughts  to  the  somewhat  difficult  question  of  grasping 
exactly  what  a  specification  should  be.  He  has  told  us  some  of  the 
qualities  that  go  to  the  making  of  it,  but  I  think  there  are  one  or 
two  others  that  might  have  been  named,  and  upon  which  he  did 
not  lay  much' stress.  He  mentioned,  and  very  properly,  that  a  man 
should  have  patience  —  it  is  a  work  that  wants  a  good  deal  of 
patience  —  and  that  he  should  have  decision.  I  am  inclined  to 
think  that'  it  is  equally  important  that  he  should  have  knowledge. 
Unless  a  man  knows  thoroughly  what  materials  he  can  get ;  what 
things  tradesmen  are  furnishing;  what  will  be  expensive  or  the 
reverse  ;  what  will  be  inefficient ;  what  will  answer  his  purpose ; 
what  will  conform  to  the  general  scheme  of  the  building,  he  is  very 
much  abroad  indeed  when  he  comes  to  write  a  specification.  A 
man,  when  he  is  going  to  write  a  specification,  will  often  find  that 
he  must  furnish  himself  with  knowledge,  and  in  many  cases  he  will 
find  he  then  has  to  get  up  a  good  deal  of  information,  especially  if 
the  specification  travels  at  all  out  of  the  track  which  he  has  done 
before.  One  other  quality,  1  think,  is  very  essential,  and  that  is 
system.  A  man  should,  as  far  as  possible,  in  that,  as  in  many  other 
technical  parts  of  his  work,  proceed  uniformly  on  the  same  lines. 
I  believe  a  valid,  and  in  many  respects  a  good,  specification  may  be 


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The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


153 


written  comparatively  short,  describing  in  general  terms  the  work ; 
but  then  it  must  not  go  into  particulars  in  any  part.     On  the  other 
hand,  if  a  man  begins  to  go  into  particulars,  he  ought  to  go  into  par- 
ticulars for  every  part  of  his  specification.     He  should,  therefore, 
lay  down  a  system  for  himself,  and  adhere  to  it.     One  remarkable 
point   struck   me   during   the   observations   that   have  been   made. 
Years  ago,  buildings  were  done  by  various  tradesmen,  and  the  object 
of  the  specification  was  evidently  to  give  each  tradesman  a  descrip- 
tion of  that  part  of  the  work  which  fell  to  him.     The  ordinary  speci- 
fication of  the  present  day  is  done  as  though  it  was  to  be  carried  out 
by  a  series  of  different  tradesmen,  and  the  information  requires  to 
be  fairly  complete  for  each  branch ;  but  no  doubt  this  practice  took 
its  origin  from  the  ancient  custom  of  the  'work  being  done  in  this 
manner.     Later  on,  we  got  to  the  very  convenient  mode  of  having 
one  contractor  doing  every  class  of  work,  and  our  specifications  are 
made  up  in  one  volume,  although  they  still  contain  a  division  into 
trades.     But  the  curious  thing  is  that  now  we  are  going  back  to  the 
old   plan.     Our   Chairman   pointed  out  that  specifications  exist  in 
which  one-third,  and  even  one-half,  of  the  contract  amount  is  intro- 
duced in  the  shape  of  money-provisions.     Now  that  is  simply  em 
ploying  different  tradesmen.     A  money-provision  is,  in  fact,  a  kind 
of  allusion  to  a  distinct  specification,  which  may  exist  or  may  not 
exist,  but  which  in  many  cases  does  exist,  in  the  nature  of  a  distinct 
estimate   which    has   been   previously   obtained   from  some  special 
tradesman  ;  and  it  looks  to  me  very  much  as  if  to  a  certain  extent 
we  were  feeling  we  had  gone  a  little  too  far,  and  we  were  harking 
back  and  getting  more  of  our  work  done  by  separate  estimates  than 
a  few  years  ago  was  the  custom.     The  sole  reason,  or  almost  the  sole 
reason,  why  it  is  desirable  to  include  all  this  by  the  help  of  money- 
provisions  under  one  contract  and  in  one  specification  is  to  get  the 
supervision  and  the  control  over  them  that  the  general  contractor 
exercises.     I  am  not  at  all  sure  that  that  is  not  sometimes  bought 
too  dear ;  that  disputes  and  difficulties  about  how  the  money-provi- 
sion is  to  be  construed,  and  how  it  is  to  be  paid,  and  the  troubles 
which   we  all  know  are  apt  to  arise,  would  not  in  many  cases  be 
almost  better  avoided  by  the  architect  making  a  series  of  distinct 
contracts  for  his  employer  with  many  of  the  special  tradesmen,  and 
simply  making  a  contract  with  the  general  contractor  that,  in  respect 
of  their  work,  he  is   to  provide  the  necessary  attendance  and  the 
necessary  scaffolding.     At  any  rate,  it  strikes  me  it  is  a  point  which 
is   worth   consideration.     When   you   come   to   look   at  so  large  a 
portion  of  the  work  being  done  practically  without  description,  as  is 
the  case  where  these  money-provisions  abound,  the  question  arises 
very  much  whether  we  require  the  descriptions  of  which  a  specifica- 
tion consists  for  working  purposes  or  for  some  other  purpose ;  and 
the  idea  suggests  itself  that  a  specification  is  required  as  the  basis  of 
the  contract,  and  not  that  it  is  necessarily  needed  as  a  description 
of  the  work.     If  you  are  going  to  carry  out  work  without  a  contract 
—  I  have  had  an   opportunity  two  or  three  times  of  carrying  out 
work  without  a  contract — practically  you  find  that  whatever  speci- 
fication there   is   becomes   almost   useless.     The  drawings  and  the 
personal  directions  practically  suffice  ;  and  if  there  was  no  question 
of  contract,  if  there  was  no  question  of  having  a  definite  sum  wanted, 
to  be  first  arrived  at  and  then  adhered  to,  I  question  very  much 
whether,  if  a  man  makes  good  drawings,  it  would  be  necessary  for 
him  to  make  anything  more  than  a  general  specification.     Perhaps 
Mr.  Rickman  will  give  us  his  view  on  that.     But,  if  this  be  so,  it 
shows  that  we  ought  to  have  the  question  of  the  contract  in  our 
minds  in  writing  the  specification  from  beginning  to  end  ;  that  it 
ought  to  be  such  a  document  as  you  can  call  upon  the  contractor  to 
carry  out   in   every  description;  and,  if  so,  the   next  thing  which 
follows  is  that  the  nearer  it  runs  to  the  quantities  the  better,  because 
in  all  our  work  the  quantities  are  practically  the  foundation  of  the  con- 
tract, and  the  document  upon  which  the  contractor  forms  the  idea  of 
what  he  has  got  to  provide  and  what  he  has  got  to  do.     If,  then,  a 
specification  is  really  wanted  as  a  basis  of  contract  more  than  any- 
thing else,  then  I  am  inclined  to  think   that  the  more  closely  he 
follows  the  order  and  terminology  of  the  description  upon  which  the 
quantities  are  based,  the  more  likely  is  it  to  enable  the  architect  to 
carry  his  contract  through  without  serious  extras.     If  so,  that  seems 
to  show  that  those  gentlemen  who  get  the  assistance  of  the  quantity- 
surveyor,  at  any  rate,  to  expand  their  specifications  are  not  altogether 
unwise. 

MB.  WILLIAM  WHITE,  F.  S.  A.,  Fellow.  —  Mr.  Chairman,  in 
former  days  it  was  almost  the  universal  practice  in  the  country  for 
contracts  to  be  taken  by  different  tradesmen  together,  simply  because 
the  locality  was  such  as  not  to  justify  at  that  time  the  existence  of  a 
general  contractor.  I  have  had  contracts  carried  out  by  separate 
contractors  with  dispute  and  without  dispute;  but  I  do  not  know 
that  I  have  ever  had  them  as  pleasantly  carried  out  as  with  a  single 
contractor.  As  to  the  question  of  provisional  sums  for  certain 
works,  which  are  intended  to  be  taken  out  of  the  contractor's  hands, 
or  to  be  executed  independently  of  him,  they  require  to  be  very 
carefully  understood  and  described  in  the  specification  to  show  the 
understanding  which  is  to  be  made  between  the  builder  and  the  men 
supplying  such  work.  Some  contractors  insist,  and  very  rightly  in- 
sist, upon  having  an  understanding  beforehand  as  to  what  that 
recognition  should  be,  and  it  is  essential,  in  the  writing  of  a  specifi- 
cation at  any  rate,  that  it  should  be  clearly  laid  down.  That  covers 
the  question  of  prime  cost,  but  it  does  not  cover  the  manner  in  which 
prime  cost  is  to  be  defined.  Is  prime  cost  to  be  that  which  the 
builder  pays  without  a  commission  or  with  a  commission  — the  actual 


money  which  he  pays,  or  the  published  price  at  which  the  thing  is  to 
be  had  ?  I  have  known  builders  take  not  only  the  one,  but  add  the 
other  on  to  it.  I  have  letters  from  which  I  could  show  the  fact  of  a 
gentleman  selecting  his  grates,  and  the  builder  getting  his  10  per 
cent  out  of  the  stove-maker,  and  then  still  attempting  to  charge  his 
further  10  or  15  per  cent  upon  the  work.  That  having  been  done, 
it  certainly  shows  it  can,  and  will  be  done,  unless  the  matter  is 
properly  understood.  But,  in  drawing  a  specification,  as  Professor 
Roger  Smith  has  said,  system  and  knowledge  are  necessarily  the  two 
great  items,  and  I  think  the  system  which  ought  to  be  followed  is 
that  of  simply  describing  the  work  —  the  work  to  be  so-and-so  —  and 
to  include  in  all  those  items  the  manner  in  which  the  work  is  to  be 
done,  as  nearly  as  possible,  and  not  to  insert  that  the  contractors 
shall  do  this,  that,  and  the  other.  I  say  the  proper  place  for 
describing  his  duties  is  in  the  contract  —  and  if  there  be  not  a  con- 
tract there  ought  to  be  one ;  but  if  a  contract  is  not  wanted,  the 
specification  answers  every  purpose  as  to  the  description.  Another 
thing  in  writing  a  specification  is  to  make  all  necessary  local  in- 
quiries as  to  local  ways  of  doing  work,  as  well  as  as  to  local  material. 
The  writing  of  the  specification  ought  to  be  done  immediately  upon 
or  part  passu  with  the  preparation  of  the  drawings,  and  I  un- 
hesitatingly say  that  the  architect  ought  to  draw  the  specification 
distinctly  and  clearly  for  the  surveyor,  as  well  as  for  the  contractor. 
The  surveyor  ought  not  to  draw  the  specification  for  the  architect. 
It  may  be  the  duty  of  a  surveyor  to  detect  and  point  out  any  little 
omissions  which  may  have  taken  place  in  the  descriptions  of  the 
specification  ;  it  becomes  his  privilege  and  his  duty  to  do  this  small 
kindness  for  the  architect. 

MR.   LACY   W.   RIDGE,   Fellow.  —  Mr.   Chairman,  the   Practice 
Standing  Committee  have  now  before  them  the  subjects  of  general 
provisions   and   specifications,  and   these   questions  with  regard  to 
prime  cost  and  so  on  have  been  to  a  certain  extent  considered,  and 
will  be  considered  more  by  that  Committee.     That  particular  subject 
of  prime  cost  is  certain!}'  a  difficult  one,  because  if  you  tell  a  builder 
that  the  thing  is  to  be  prime  cost,  and  that  he  is  to  add  his  profit 
to  it,  when  you  send  in  the  account  that  the  tradesman  is  to  be  paid, 
he  wants  a  discount  from  the  tradesman  for  paying  him  then  and 
there  :  so  that  it  is  a  very  difficult  subject  indeed  to  get  quite  to  the 
bottom  of,  because  a  man  may  very  fairly  say :  "  Yes,  I  was  to  pro- 
vide so  much,  and  I  was  to  add  in  my  estimate  so  much  for  my  profit' 
on  that  work,   but  I  sha.ll  take  my  own  time  when   I  pay  for  this 
work."      Where  other  tradesmen  are  employed  —  and  it  is  a  very 
great  advantage  in  these  days  employing  men  who  devote  their  time 
especially  to  one  particular  of  a  building,  in  such  important  things 
as  fireproof  rloors  or  lifts,  and  things  which  require  a  great  deal  of 
mechanism  and  special  experience  —  it  is  a  very  great  advantage  to 
bring  in  men  who  devote  their  whole  time  to  that,  to  work  on  a 
building.     Therefore,  I  think  in  drawing  our  general  provisions,  and 
in  the  provisions  which  we  make  —  I  think  we  should  be  prepared 
to  provide  for  that.     I  do  not  think  Mr.  Hall's  objection  holds  right 
with  regard  to  watching.      There  is  no  reason  why  a  contractor 
should   only  watch  his  own  works ;   if  it  is  well  understood  in  the 
specification    that   he  is   to   watch  all   works,   he   takes   that    just 
the  same  as  the  supply  of  water,  and  everything  which  is  general  to 
the  building.      Then  with   regard  to   searching  for,  and  provision 
to  search  for,  drains  —  a  description  to  search  for  drains.     If  the 
architect  cannot  search  for  drains  before  he  draws  his  contract,  how 
can  the  builder  know  what  allowance  he  is  to  make  for  searching  ? 
Therefore  such  a  thing  as  searching  for  drains  should  invariably  be 
followed  by  a  provision  for  money.      Your  client  may  or  may  not 
like  it,  but  it  is  the  only  fair  way  of  making  a  contract.     If  the  thing 
is  so  uncertain  that  you  cannot  define  it,  surely  you  are  not  to  call 
upon  another  man  to  define  that  which  you  have  failed  to  do,  and 
put  down  a  sum  for  it  —  in  fact,  to  throw  his  hat  at  it.     You  —  or 
rather  your  client  —  ought  to  take  the  risk  by  putting  down  such  a 
sum.      I  can  understand  Professor   Roger   Smith's   remarks  about 
wanting  the  specification  in  general  terms  when  you  are  not  making 
a  contract ;  but  where  the  object  to  be  attained  is  to  make  a  con- 
tract, I  cannot  understand  how  a  specification  can  be  anything  else 
than  full.     I  feel  a  little  difficulty  in  what  Professor  Smith  says  with 
regard  to  writing  a  specification  by  trades.     I  think  we  must  all  have 
found  out  in  these  days,  with  regard  to  sanitary  matters,  that  there 
are  things  which  used  to  belong  undoubtedly  to  the  plumber,  which 
have  become,  to  a  great  extent,  earthenware  and  stoneware ;  and  to 
put  one  part  of  the  sanitation  at  one  end  of  the  specification  and  the 
rest  at  the  other  end  of  the  specification  is  rather  awkward.     I  have 
been  thinking  almost  of  heading  a  trade  "  Sanitation,"  so  that  the 
work  of  one's  closets  and  pipes  should  be  all  together.     I  agree  most 
heartily  with  Professor  Smith's  remarks.     It  comes  home  to  one  as 
one  gets  older  that  knowledge  is,  after  all,  about  as  important  a 
quality  as   any  that  you  can   bring  to  bear  on  such  a  subject  as 
a  specification  —  which  is  not  as  difficult,  I  may   venture  to  say,  to 
younger  men  than  myself,  as  it  once  was  —  and  I  think  if  that  is  the 
case  it  is  really  owing  to  that  accession  of  knowledge  which  comes 
with  increasing  years  and  experience.      Then  there  is  a  point  on 
which  one  might  feel  inclined  to  be  a  little  eloquent,  if  eloquence 
was  not  out  of  place  on  such  an  occasion,  and  if  I  had  the  supply  of 
material  to  lay  on  — -and  that  is  with  regard  to  the  specification 
following  the  quantities,  and  the  quantities  following  the  specifica- 
tion.    Now,  honestly,  is  it  not  the  duty  of  the  architect  to  say  what 
lie  means  and  to  put  it  in  ?    Has  it  anything  to  do  with  the  quantity- 
surveyor  at  all  ?     Then  there  is  a  very  practical  harm  which  arises 


154 


The  American   Architect  and  Building  News.        [Vox,.  XXV.  — No.  692. 


out  of  allowing  the  quantity-surveyor  to  write  your  specification,  and 
that  is,  you  do  not  know  what  is  in  your  contract. 

MR.  H.  LOVEGROVE,  Associate.  —  Mr.  Vice-President  and 
Gentlemen,  I  rise  with  very  great  pleasure  to  support  the  vote  of 
thanks  to  Mr.  Rickman  for  his  able  paper,  because  I  consider  him  to 
be  the  head  of  that  branch  of  the  profession  to  which  I  have  given  a 
considerable  part  of  my  time.  So  fully  has  every  item  been  dealt 
with  that  we  have  little  to  do  more  than  to  touch  briefly  upon  some 
of  the  leading  points,  taking  care  before  doing  so  to  express  great 
admiration  for  the  concise  form  in  which  Mr.  Rickman  puts  his 
papers  together.  I  can  only  compare  him,  from  an  architectural 
point-of-view,  to  what  the  late  Lord  Chief  Justice  Cockburn  was  in  a 
legal  way,  and  Canon  Liddon  in  a  clerical  way.  If  a  written  specifi- 
cation is  supplied  by  the  architect  to  the  surveyor,  the  surveyor  has" 
a  very  great  inducement  to  follow  the  order  of  his  quantities,  which 
is  a  great  advantage  to  him,  as  it  enables  him  to  compare  the  specifi- 
cation with  the  bills,  and  make  them  check  each  other ;  but  by  so 
doing  the  specification  is  made  into  a  document  which  does  not  agree 
with  the  order  in  which  the  work  is  executed.  Of  the  several  ways, 
the  third  way  of  placing  the  matter  in  the  specification  in  order  of 
execution  is  certainly  best,  and  the  architect  should  then  consider  in 
writing  the  building  in  its  various  stages,  and  carefully  describe  each 
operation  as  it  passes  before  his  mental  vision.  I  agree  with  Mr. 
Rickman  that  "allow  for-"  should  not  appear  in  the  specification. 
It  is  clearly  a  phrase  intended  for  the  bill  of  quantities.  "  Provide  " 
should  always  have  the  subsequent  words  very  clearly  explained. 
The  word  "  provide "  to  my  mind  should  rarely  be  used  in  the 
quantities.  In  referring  to  materials,  it  is  much  better  to  give 
the  number,  weight,  or  quantity,  and  then  recommend  the  word 
"  provisional "  after.  1  have  known  the  word  "  provide  "  misunder- 
stood by  the  contractor.  It  is  not  quite  certain  that  the  word 
"  supply  "  would  always  meet  the  case  if  used  in  lieu  of  "  provide  and 
fix."  Some  cantankerous  contractors  would  be  likely  to  assume  that 
to  supply  the  thing  did  not  mean  fixing  it.  I  agree  with  Mr.  Hick- 
man  that  the  word  "  fix  "  alone  does  not  adequately  represent  what 
the  architect  means.  Some  other  words  are  necessary.  With  our 
present  range  of  design  and  work  we  should  certainly  be  careful  to 
specify  exactly  how  these  things  are  to  be  done.  The  prime  cost 
question  has  been  touched  upon  by  a  great  number  of  speakers.  .  It 
seems  to  me  to  be  the  one  thing  in  the  specification  on  which  the 
architect  and  the  builder  can  never  agree  when  the  settlement  comes 
—  and  I  think,  as  a  former  speaker  stated,  the  builder  wants  to  get 
his  profit  from  the  seller,  and  then  to  put  another  profit  on  after- 
wards. I  think  it  should  be  distinctly  laid  down  that  the  prime  cost 
means  the  money  actually  paid  to  the  merchant  by  the  builder,  and 
then  his  profit  of  10  per  cent  or  15  per  cent  should  be  added  to  that 
amount.  Local  requirements  should  certainly  be  understood  and  de- 
fined care  be  taken  to  instruct  the  contractors  to  deposit  their 
plans  as  early  as  possible  —  in  fact,  before  they  commence  the  work. 
That  gets  over  a  great  many  difficulties ;  it  gets  over  the  difficulty 
with  the  vestry  or  the  district  board-of-works  with  regard  to  drains, 
and  it  helps  to  solve  some  points  of  area  lights,  building  line,  etc., 
and  difficulties  are  then  smoothed  over  by  the  earlier  application  to 
that  official.  In  the  case  of  architectural  drawings  for  any  large 
work  there  is  something  to  show,  but  with  twenty  or  thirty  or  more 
pages  of  foolscap  there  is  little  to  show,  and  the  more  or  less  neatly 
written  pages  cannot  compare  with  several  sheets  of  elaborately 
tinted  drawings. 

MR.  W.  H.  ATKIX-BERRY,  Associate. — I  have  been  very  glad 
indeed,  Sir,  to  hear  to-night  this  particular  question  of  prime  cost 
brought  so  prominently  forward,  because,  as  a  young  architect,  I 
have  experienced  the  greatest  difficulty  and  embarrassment  in  deal- 
ing with  this  subject,  and  I  think  many  others  have  experienced  the 
same.  I  am  glad  to  hear  it  so  definitely  expressed  to-night  that 
the  specification  is  still  to  be  regarded  as  the  work  of  the  architect, 
and  not  of  the  surveyor,  for  I,  in  my  small  experience,  have  had  the 
opportunity  of  noticing  that  it  has  become  the  custom,  amongst  a 
great  many,  to  look  upon  it  as  work  that  can  be  delegated  to  the 
surveyor.  The  architect  should  have  as  much  control  over  his 
specification  as  he  has  over  his  drawings ;  and  I  think  he  should  not 
let  the  surveyor  write  them,  any  more  than  he  should  let  his  clerk 
design  his  drawings  for  him.  I  would  just  like  to  ask  Mr.  Rickman 
in  his  reply  to  define  a  little  what  he  meant  by  his  observations  on 
the  word  "  trapped." 

PROFESSOR  AITCHISON,  A.  R.  A.,  Member  of  Council.  —  Mr. 
Chairman  and  Gentlemen,  this  is  a  subject  in  which  everybody  who 
has  to  practise  architecture  must  take  a  deep  interest,  and  I  am 
sure  we  are  all  extremely  obliged  to  Mr.  Rickman  for  pointing  out 
many  things  that  we  are  perhaps  too  apt  to  overlook  in  our  specifi- 
cations. There  are  two  or  three  considerations  with  regard  to 
specifications  that  perhaps  do  not  even  come  within  their  scope,  but 
which  really  affect  them  more  than  anything  else.  Most  of  us  who 
know  our  business  could  write  a  very  good  specification  if  we  had 
time,  quiet,  and  the  drawings  before  us;  but  it  frequently  happens 
that  we  are  pressed  for  time,  and  worried  as  well,  and  are  urged  by 
our  client  to  get  the  work  out  for  tender,  and  then  the  specification 
is  done  in  a  perfunctory  way.  Architects,  too,  are  very  insufficiently 
paid  for  doing  it  properly.  There  are  many  great  advantages  in 
employing  a  contractor ;  there  is  but  one  set  of  plant,  and  one  re- 
sponsible head  :  but  if  you  want  first-rate  work  done  you  would  go 
to  the  master-tradesmen  of  each  branch,  as  he  takes  a  pride  in  the 
excellence  of  his  work.  The  principal  cause  of  the  difficulties  we 


have  in  the  interpretation  of  a  specification  is  that,  though  the  archi- 
tect may  be  honest  and  know  what  he  means,  and  the  builder  also, 
yet  it  by  no  means  follows  that  the  architect  has  so  expressed  him- 
self that  the  builder  perfectly  apprehends  what  he  wants,  particu- 
larly if  the  work  in  question  is  out  of  the  common  way.  And  how 
it  is  to  be  avoided  unless  we  have  more  time  to  devote  to  it,  and  an 
independent  interpreter  before  the  tender  is  made,  I  do  not  know.  A 
great  deal  has  been  said  about  prime  cost,  so  I  may  say  something  on 
the  subject  both  for  the  architect  and  the  builder.  The  specification 
says :  "  such  an  article  is  to  cost  so  much,  prime  cost;  the  builder's 
percentage  to  be  added."  Generally,  the  article  has  to  be  sent  for 
—  and,  consequently,  the  time  or  the  cartage,  or  both,  are  very 
properly  added  to  the  co;t  —  but,  to  prevent  imposition,  the  surveyor 
can  always  insist  on  seeing  the  receipt  for  what  the  builder  abso- 
lutely paid,  and  it  is  then  to  be  considered  whether  he  is  entitled  to 
additional  payment.  I  always  set  my  face  against  the  discount  and 
the  profit  as  well ;  this  common  practice  is  very  unfair  and  very 
troublesome  when  the  architect  desires  some  particular  article  to  be 
used.  There  are  only  two  other  subjects  on  which  I  want  to  say  a 
word ;  one  is  on  the  subject  of  moulded  bricks.  I  strongly  advise  all 
architects  who  have  anything  to  do  with  moulded  bricks  to  insist  on 
a  larger  percentage  than  the  ordinary  one  for  himself,  and  not  to 
bind  the  builder  to  time,  because  it  may  be  impossible  to  carry  out 
the  latter  condition  —  the  bricks  cannot  be  moulded  till  the  contract 
is  let,  and  may  turn  out  badly  in  the  burning,  and  the  architect  will 
find  he  has  endless  extra  trouble  and  annoyance,  and  to  give  full- 
sized  details  of  every  angle  brick.  I  do  not  know  whether  "  proper  " 
has  gone  out  of  fashion,  but  it  appears  to  me  that,  if  you  described 
it,  that  you  were  justified  in  telling  the  builder  to  supply  it.  Almost 
the  only  use  of  it  is  for  solid  door  and  window  frames ;  and,  as  far 
as  I  understand  it,  a  "  proper  door  or  window  frame  "  is  one  which 
is  wrought,  rabbeted,  and  beaded ;  but  if  by  the  word  "  proper " 
you  mean  to  have  it  chamfered  or  moulded,  or  anything  of  that 
kind,  then  you  are  giving  a  wrong  description,  and  the  builder  may 
justly  claim  for  the  extra  work. 

MR.  WOODWARD,  Associate.  —  I  think  the  Institute  is  to  be 
congratulated  upon  having  had  brought  before  it  a  paper  on  so  im- 
portant a  matter,  and  I  venture  to  say  that  there  is  not  a  man  in  the 
profession  who  is  better  able  to  write  upon  this  subject  than  Mr.  Rick- 
man. The  theme  which  harmoniously  runs  through  Mr.  Rickman's 
paper  is  this  :  that  it  is  not  well,  it  is  not  proper,  that  the  writer  of  the 
specification  should  depute  to  others  the  elucidation  of  that  which, 
by  a  little  extra  trouble,  he  could  himself  elucidate.  I  think  the  im- 
portance of  the  specification  is  shown  by  the  use  to  which  it  is  con- 
stantly put  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the  building  by  the 
builder  and  by  the  building  foreman.  I  think  a  walk  through  a 
building  shows  to  the  practical  eye  not  only  the  design  of  the  archi- 
tect—  the  realization  of  the  drawings  —  but  those  various  points  to 
which  Mr.  Rickman  has  so  well  referred  —  the  realization  of  the 
specification.  I  think  a  specification  should  mean  this :  that,  suppos- 
ing the  architect  died,  or  should  be  compelled  to  be  absent  from  the 
building  during  the  whole  time  of  its  erection,  the  specification, 
taken  with  the  drawings,  should  be  sufficient  to  secure  the  entire 
carrying  out  of  the  work  in  every  detail  as  he  would  wish  it,  without 
any  further  conference  whatever.  To  this  end  it  is  obvious  that  the 
specification  must  be  written  with  considerable  detail,  for  the  archi- 
tect's own  mind  must  be  implanted  into  it  as  much  as  into  the  draw- 
ings. With  regard  to  the  use  of  the' word  "  best,"  Mr.  Rickman  says 
that,  for  reasons  which  he  properly  adduces,  he  does  not  now  employ 
it;  but  in  specifications  I  use  the  word  in  this  way :  the  word  "best" 
is  intended  to  mean  that  better  cannot  be  obtained  ;  that  enables  the 
architect,  when  the  builder  supplies  inferior  material,  to  say,  "  I  will 
get  you  better,"  and  thus  conform  to  the  terms  of  the  specification. 
With  regard  to  the  provision  of  scaffold  for  other  tradesmen  by  the 
contractor,  that  is  by  no  means  an  unimportant  point.  The  making 
good  after  other  trades  often  entails  upon  the  contractor  serious  and 
heavy  loss.  I  must  express  my  deep  regret  that  Prof.  Roger  Smith  has, 
I  think  unwittingly,  made  observations  which  may  lead  the  student 
to  undervalue  the  importance  of  the  specification.  As  I  understand 
his  observations,  they  point  to  this  :  that  the  architect  need  not 
devote  so  much  time  to  the  specification  as  certainly  I  and  others  in 
this  room  have  been  in  the  habit  of  believing  it  his  duty  to  do.  My 
belief  is  that,  if  any  such  doctrine  is  put  forward,  the  young  archi- 
tect, with  every  desire  to  avoid  what  he  now  thinks  is  drudgery,  will 
take  advantage  of  Professor  Smith's  observations,  to  the  disadvan- 
tage of  his  client,  to  the  disadvantage  of  his  building,  and  certainly 
to  his  own  detriment  as  an  architect. 

THE  CHArRMAN. —  Gentlemen,  I  tender  on  your  behalf  to  Mr. 
Rickman  a  cordial  vote  of  thanks  for  the  paper  that  he  has  read  to 
us  this  evening.  It  has  been  a  great  satisfaction  to  me,  Mr.  Rick- 
man, to  occupy  this  chair  this  evening;  and  1  hope  the  manner  in 
which  the  paper  has  been  received,  and  the  way  in  which  it  has  been 
discussed  fully  and  temperately,  have  given  equal  gratification  to 
you. 

MR.  T.  M.  RICKMAN,  F.  S.  A.,  Associate.  —  Mr.  Chairman  and 
Gentlemen,  I  feel  greatly  the  kind  manner  in  which  the  Institute  has 
received  my  efforts  in  behalf  of  the  Literature  Committee,  and  also, 
sir,  the  kindly  manner  in  which  you  have  expressed  it.  Some 
speakers  have  suggested  that  "best"  ought  to  be  sufficient;  but 
many  architects  do  not  mean  to  have  the  best  things.  You  do  not 
mean  to  have  the  best  class  of  materials  for  warehouses;  you  do 
not  mean  to  have  the  best  framing  for  attic  doors ;  you  do  not  mean 


MARCH  30,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


155 


to  have  the  best  glass  in  your  rooms  generally.  "  Best "  has  a 
curiously  technical  description  in  glass  —  it  means  you  have,  perhaps, 
selected  it  out  five  times.  You  do  not  generally  want  to  have  better 
glass  than  seconds.  As  regards  the  general  question  of  provisions, 
I  have  not  gone  into  it  on  this  occasion.  I  did  not  feel  it  was 
possible  to  compress  what  must  necessarily  be  said  on  that  subject 
into  a  paragraph  that  I  could  afford  in  a  paper  upon  specifications. 
I  understand  that  the  subject  is  to  be  discussed  at  the  Builders'  In- 
stitute in  the  course  of  a  few  weeks,  and  it  will  be  very  well  indeed 
if  architects  are  able  to  present  themselves  at  that  discussion,  and  to 
take  part  in  it,  in  order  that  they  may  understand  what  builders' 
views  are  with  reference  to  the  large  proportion  of  provisional  sums 
which,  as  our  Chairman  has  said,  are  now  frequently  brought  into 
the  contract.  The  one  real  difficulty  in  dealing  with  provisional 
sums  is  the  payment  through  the  contractor.  It  is  quite  true  that,  a 
generation  or  two  ago,  in  each  case  in  erecting  a  large  building, 
separate  tradesmen  were  employed,  and  in  the  earlier  part  of  this 
century  there  grew  up  certain  large  contractors  who  did  everything 
themselves,  who  understood  all  the  trades ;  but  at  the  present  time 
we  are,  by  way  of  provisional  sums,  re-introducing  a  separate  con- 
tracting-system.  I  suppose  that  what  is  really  necessary  in  order  to 
clear  up  these  difficulties,  which  are  difficulties  that  the  surveyors 
and  the  builders  are  feeling  at  the  same  time,  is  that  we,  as  archi- 
tects, should  have  a  better  understanding  with  our  clients ;  that  our 
clients  should  better  understand  what  the  position  of  the  contract 
is  —  what  can  be  contracted  for,  and  what  items  it  is  far  better 
should  be  placed  at  a  price  already  settled  in  the  hands  of  other 
tradesmen.  If  the  client  understands  really  what  the  position  of 
these  matters  is,  he  will  very  soon  find  that  it  is  far  better  for  him  to 
pay  for  these  things  direct,  and  to  pay  for,  among  other  such  things,  the 
surveyor's  quantities  direct,  than  it  is  for  these  sums  to  pass  through 
the  hands  of  the  contractor,  who  will  necessarily  pass  the  plane  over 
•them.  I  do  not  think  a  pupil,  before  he  has  had  five  years  in  an 
office,  is  much  capable  of  writing  a  specification  that  would  be  of 
service ;  but  I  do  think  that  if  the  notes  for  the  specification  were  in 
the  hands  of  the  men  who  make  out  the  drawings  in  the  office,  and 
of  the  pupils  among  them,  the  pupils  would  understand  far  better 
the  purpose  for  which  the  drawings  arc  made  out,  and  the  drawings 
themselves  would  be  far  better.  It  is  not  necessary  that  these  notes 
should  be  elaborate,  but  an  architect,  if  he  has  made  up  his  mind  on 
any  one  point,  should  put  it  onto  a  scrap  of  paper,  and  that  should  be 
in  the  hands  of  the  draughtsmen  to  assist  them.  Prof.  Roger  Smith 
says  that  I  have  not  recommended  knowledge.  I  think  the  first 
necessity  of  the  mind  which  I  propounded  in  my  paper  was  one 
which  I  put  before  patience  and  before  decision ;  namely,  curiosity. 
I  mean  by  curiosity  that  interested  desire  to  find  out  how  to  do 
things  which  will  enable  you  to  get  the  knowledge  on  specific  points 
necessary  for  you  to  write  a  specification.  I  have  endeavored  to 
avoid  giving  any  instances  in  my  paper  (the  only  instance  that  I 
have  given  has  been  misapprehended),  and,  therefore,  I  had  not 
stated  the  circumstance  which  induced  me  to  mention  searching 
for  drains.  One  speaker  alluded  to  the  word  "  supply  "  as  not  being 
necessarily  understood  as  providing  and  fixing.  1  am  quite  aware 
of  that,  and,  therefore,  I  think  one  of  the  first  interpretation  clauses 
in  a  specification  should  be  that  the  word  "  supply "  carries  the 
meaning  of  the  ordinary  words  "  provide  and  fix."  I  have  not  made 
myself  quite  clear  on  the  subject  of  "  trapped,"  because  it  is  the 
height  of  the  soil-pipes  and  the  weight  of  the  water  which  is  now 
passed  through  them  through  the  modern  water-closet  and  other 
appliances  which  draws  the  air  out  of  the  traps.  A  specification 
must  be  written  for  separate  trades,  because  the  workmen  them- 
selves are  still  artificers  in  separate  trades.  They  may  be  all  em- 
ployed by  one  contractor,  but  they  invariably  have  foremen  of  their 
own,  and  it  is  the  foremen  of  the  separate  trades  who  most  carefully 
read  the  specification.  Though  the  architect  has  to  write  the  speci- 
fication in  trades,  he  must  write  it  as  a  whole.  I  have  endeavored, 
in  going  through  the  terms  which  I  find  are  the  most  difficult  of  in- 
terpretation, not  to  give  my  own  opinion  in  any  way,  and,  if  my 
paper  is  of  any  service,  it  will  be  by  calling  the  attention  of  those 
who  are  learning  to  write  a  specification  to  the  points  that  they  have 
to  attend  to. 


THE    STANDARD    CONTRACT. 

PROVIDENCE,  R.  I.,  March  19,  1889. 
To  THE  EDITORS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT  :  — 

Dear  Sirs,  —  In  the  Law  Department  of  the  American  Architect 
for  March  16,  1889,  I  find  the  following  remarks  in  regard  to  Mr. 
Hatfield's  quotation  from  Professor  Parson's  "  Laws  of  Business  "  : 

"  Our  correspondent  invokes  the  authority  of  Professor  Parsons 
in  support  of  the  architect's  unlimited  agency,  and  quotes  a  provision 
from  a  form  said  to  be  contained  in  his  "Laws  of  Business,"  making 
the  architect  the  agent  of  the  owner  for  the  purpose  of  superintend- 
ing the  work.  .  .  .  Moreover,  the  book  referred  to  contains  no  such 
contract,  or  any  form  of  building  contract  whatever.  Perhaps  Mr. 
Hatficld's  friend  had  some  English  book  in  mind." 


I  am  the  friend  to  whom  Mr.  Hatfield  refers,  and,  notwithstanding 
the  denial  of  your  legal  authority  that  it  contains  "  no  such  contract, 
or  any  form  of  building  contract,"  I  will  say  that  in  "Laws  of  Busi- 
ness for  all  the  States  of  the  Union,  with  Forms  and  Directions  for 
all  Transactions,"  by  Theophilus  Parsons,  LL.D.,  etc.,  etc.,  Hartford, 
Conn.,  published  by  S.  S.  Scranton  &  Co. ;  Philadelphia,  Pa. :  Par- 
melee  &  Co.;  San  Francisco,  Cal.:  H.  H.  Bancroft  &Co.,  1869,  on 
page  74,  Form  23,  in  "  A  Full  and  Minute  Building  Contract,"  are 
found  the  words:  "And  under  the  superintendence  and  direction  of 
— ,  hereby  appointed  superintendent  and  agent  of  the  party  of  the 
second  part."  These  words  were  quoted  substantially  by  Mr.  Hat- 
field  from  information  furnished  by  me. 

^  I  wish  to  add  that  Professor  Parsons,  in  the  statement  preceding 
Form  23,  says :  "  I  now  give  a  very  full  and  minute  form,  prepared 
by  a  skilful  lawyer,  and  in  wide  use."  Yours  truly, 

ALFRED  STONK. 

[IN  reply  to  the  above  communication,  we  can  only  say  that  the  edition 
of  Parsons  s  "  Laws  of  Business"  published  in  1809  by  Little  &  Brown 
Boston,  contains  no  form  of  building  contract.  lu  the  edition  of  1879  how- 
ever, published  by  S.  S.  Scranton  &  Co.,  of  Hartford,  Conn.,  there  is  a  form, 
No.  23.  on  page  95.  This  form  contains  the  clause  to  which  our  correspond- 
ent refers,  but,  as  pointed  out  in  our  issue  of  March  10,  the  agency  of  the 
architect  does  not  include  the  authority  to  order  extras.  If  our  corre- 
spondent had  read  a  little  farther  into  this  form  of  contract,  he  would  have 
run  across  the  following  : 

"  It  being  expressly  understood  that  no  extra  work  of  any  kind  shall  be 
performed,  or  extra  materials  furnished,  by  the  said  party  of  the  first  part 
(the  contractor)  unless  authorized  by  the  said  party  of  the  second  part  (the 
owner)  and  the  superintendents  (the  architect)  in  w'riting,"  etc. 

It  is  indeed  common  in  building  contracts  to  make  the  architect  the 
owner's  agent  in  respect  to  superintending  the  work.  This  practice  is  not 
particularly  objectionable  ;  considerable  experience  in  trying  building 
cases  has  satisfied  us,  however,  that  such  a  clause  is  unnecessary  for  the 
owner's  protection,  and  renders  it  more  difficult  for  him  to  hold  the  con- 
tractor to  a  strict  compliance  with  the  terms  of  the  contract.  But  whatever 
authority  may  be  given  to  the  architect  to  represent  the  owner  as  his  agent 
in  the  work  of  superintendence  would  not  include  the  right  to  order 
extras;  and  it  will  be  observed  that  the  "skilful  lawyer"  who  prepared 
the  form  in  -'Parsons"  was  extremely  careful  that  "no  such  authority 
should  be  given  by  implication  even,  and  went  to  the  length  of  inserting 
the  express  provision  quoted  above  that  no  extras  should  be  ordered  without 
the  consent  of  the  owner  in  writing.  We  recommend  a  careful  attention  to 
this  and  the  other  provisions  of  the  "skilful  lawyer's  "  form  before  adopt- 
ing the  "standard  form." 

The  main  objection  to  the  "standard  form,"  we  again  repeat,  is  the 
attempt  to  give  the  architect  unrestricted  and  irrevocable  power  to  order 
extras.  We  do  not  believe  that  any  lawyer  in  the  United  States,  skilful  or 
unskilful,  can  be  found  to  sanction  such  a  practice.  —  ED.] 


T-SQUARE    CLUB. 


TTT  the  regular  meeting  of  the  T-Square  Club  held  on  the  6th 
FI  inst.,  at  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  action  was  taken  upon  the  death  of 
/  Mr.  J.  Howard  Spruance,  after  which  drawings  submitted  by 
members  (at  Mr.  Wilson  Eyre's  studio)  for  hardware  on  club-house 
door  drawn  three-fourth  inch  to  the  foot,  and  full-size  details  were 
criticised  with  the  following  result :  First  mentioned,  Louis  Hick- 
man ;  second,  Arthur  Truscott;  third,  Frank  A.  Hays.  The  meet- 
ing concluded  with  a  collation. 


PAYMENT  FOK  UNEXECUTED  PLANS. 

March  25,  1889. 

To  THE  EDITORS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT: 

Dear  Sirs,  —  Can  you  refer  me  to  any  adjudicated  cases  touchim* 
upon  an  architect's  right  to  be  paid  for  plans  and  specifications  for 
buildings  not  carried  out.  I  have  found  it  necessary  to  sue  for  pay 
for  such  services  and  beg  you  to  send  me  references  at  once. 

Very  truly  yours,  VITRTJVIUS. 


(THERE  is  no  question  about  the  right  of  an  architect  to  payment  for 
plans  and  specifications  for  buildings  not  carried  out,  provided  he   was 
asked  to  make  the  plans  and  specifications,  and  did  not  agree  not  to  ask 
for  any  pay  unless  they  were  carried  into  execution.    If  he  can  satisfv  the 
jury  on  these  points,  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  he  can  be  prevented  from  oh 
taining  judgment  for  a  proper  compensation   for  his   work       What  Un 
proper  compensation  will  be,  depends  again  on  what  the  jury  is  satisfied 
that  the  agreement  was.    If  he  had  been  engaged  for  full  professional  spr 
vice,  he  is  entitled  to  damages  for  being  prevented  from  completing  hi^ 
service,  in  addition  to  payment  for  what  he  actually  did.    Messrs  Fuller  & 
Wheeler  of  Albany,  had  a  case  of  this  kind  decided  in  their  favor  bv  a 
referee,  which  was  described  in  this  journal  some  time  ago.     On  the  eeo 
eral  question,  perhaps,  Lord  vs.  Nourry  and  Kutts  vs.  Pelby   ">0  Pick  fi1)" 
may  be  of  some  use,  but  the  matter  really  rests  upon  what  the  iurv  or  the 
referee,  may  find  that  the  contract  was.    If  they  find  that  the  defend-int 
either  expressly  or  by  implication,  asked  the  plaintiff  to  do  work  for  hi 
which  the  plaintiff  did,  in  a  proper  and  skilful  manner,  expecting  to  be  naid 
and  without  agreeing  to  any  conditional  terms  of  payment,  it  will  be  verv 
strange  if  they  do  not  award  him  a  fair  compensation.    As  to  what  const! 
tutes  a  fair  compensation  under  the  circumstances,  the  schedule  of  the 
American  Institute  of  Architects,  which  regards  three  and  one-half  per  cent 


156 


The    American   Architect  and  Building   News.      [VOL.  XXIV.  —  No.  692. 


on  the  proposed  cost  as  the  proper  fee  for  plans  and  specifications  for  build- 
ings of  the  value  of  not  less  than  ten  thousand  dollars,  which  are  not 
carried  out,  may  perhaps  be  admitted  as  evidence.  If  not,  individual  ar- 
chitects can  be  called  upon  to  testify  on  that  point.  —  EDS.  AMERICAN  AR- 
CHITECT.] 


A  NEW  FRENCH  FINE  ARTS  COMMISSION.  —  One  of  the  last  alterations 
effected  by  M.  Lockroy  as  Minister  of  Public  Instruction  and  Fine  Arts 
was  in  connection  with  the  Department  of  Fine  Arts.  For  many  years 
all  business  between  the  State  and  artists  was  conducted  by  the  officials 
of  the  Department.  In  1884  an  independent  committee  was  appointed, 
but  its  powers  were  limited.  M.  Lookroy  proposed,  and  the  President 
has  approved,  an  enlargement  of  the  committee  and  an  increase  of  its 
responsibility.  First,  there  is  a  general  commission  consisting  of  the 
chief  officers  of  the  Department  of  Fine  Arts,  several  senators,  de- 
puties, amateurs  and  artists.  Among  the  last  are  MM.  Bailly,  Gamier 
and  Dutertre,  architects  ;  M.  Puvis  de  Chavannes,  painter ;  MM. 
Chapu  and  Dalou,  sculptors;  and  MM.  Chaplain  and  Bracquemont,  j 
engravers.  The  commission  will  examine  all  projects  of  decoration  of 
public  buildings,  will  give  advice  on  competitions,  and  point  out  works 
in  exhibitions  which  are  worthy  to  be  purchased  by  the  State.  By  the 
new  arrangement  it  is  anticipated  that  more  unity  will  be  obtained  than 
was  possible  when  commissions  were  given  without  any  thought  of  other 
works.  In  order  that  delays  may  not  arise  through  the  difficulty  of 
bringing  so  many  members  together,  a  sub-commission  with  fewer 
representatives  has  been  nominated,  before  whom  questions  will  be 
brought  in  the  first  place.  It  is  expected  that  artists  will  be  more  in 
accord  with  a  commission  so  constituted  than  with  one  made  up  of 
officials,  whose  business,  everywhere,  is  to  create  difficulties.  —  The, 
Architect.  

CASTINGS  FROM  BRONZE.  — It  is  said  that  Sir  Richard  Wallace  has  re- 
fused the  offer  of  some  thousands  of  pounds  for  permission  to  take  a 
cast  of  the  shield  by  Benvenuto  Cellini,  which  is  one  of  the  treasures 
of  the  gallery  in  Manchester  Square.  Naturally  there  is  apprehension 
that  some  injury  to  the  shield  might  arise  in  the  course  of  the  process. 
Sir  Richard  Wallace's  views  will  be  confirmed  when  he  reads  how  the 
architect  who  has  charge  of  the  column  which  marks  the  site  of  the 
Bastille  has  declined  to  grant  permission  for  a  cast  to  be  made  from  the 
bronze  lion  which  is  sculptured  on  the  west  face  of  the  pedestal.  It  is 
one  of  Barye's  works,  and  the  cast  is  required  to  complete  the  collection 
of  French  sculpture  produced  during  the  century  which  is  to  form  a 
part  of  the  international  exhibition.  The  architect  says  that  part  of 
the  plaster  might  remain  and  fill  up  some  of  the  numerous  recesses  of 
the  tooling,  which  would  lose  their  character.  He  is  also  uncertain 
about  the  chemical  action  of  the  plaster,  which  might  remove  the 
patina,  or  in  any  case  affect  the  color  of  the  bronze.  There  is  some  dis- 
appointment at  the  resolution,  which  is  a  condemnation  of  the  action  of 
other  architects  and  conservators  who  have  raised  no  difficulties  about 
castings.  It  would  be  bad  news  for  many  museums  if  the  architect's 
opinion  prevailed.  That  moulding  has  not  become  more  dangerous  to 
bronze  in  Paris  than  elsewhere  is  evident  from  the  experience  of  the 
process  lately  in  the  Louvre,  casts  having  been  taken  of  many  delicate 
bronze  statuettes  without  any  injury  to  the  originals.  A  special  ex- 
hibition of  Barye's  works,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  money  to  erect 
a  statue  of  the  sculptor  will  be  opened  in  Paris  on  May  1  in  the 
galleries  attached  to  the  Ecole  des  Beaux- Arts. —  The  Architect. 

THE  EFFLORESCENCE  ON  BRICKWORK.  —  The  unsightly  efflorescence 
on  walls,  due  to  what  is  termed  "  saltpetring,"  and  noticed  generally  in 
dry  weather,  is  due  to  several  causes.  Perhaps  the  only  satisfactory 
explanation  is  that  the  newly-built  brick  wall  is  exposed  to  dampness, 
or  dampness  in  cooperation  with  something  in  the  bricks  themselves. 
It  is  stated  that  bricks  made  from  clay  containing  iron  pyrites  are  sub- 
ject to  this  efflorescence ;  that  the  sulphur  from  the  fuel  converts  the 
lime  or  magnesia  into  sulphates,  and  that  whenever  the  bricks  dry  the 
sulphates  evaporate,  leaving  behind  the  crystalline  appearance  or 
efflorescence.  The  evil  is,  therefore,  due  to  the  chemical  action  that 
takes  place  between  the  sulphur  in  the  fuel  and  the  magnesia  in  the 
clay.  The  mischievous  part  of  the  efflorescence  is  that  it  destroys  the 
pointing,  and  injures  the  work  generally.  Remedies  are  few.  The 
chief  object  is  to  stop  up  the  pores  with  some  solution  of  fatty  matter, 
quicklime  and  cement  powder;  but  the  main  thing  is  to  avoid  the 
particular  clay  and  coal  fires  employed  to  make  and  burn  the  bricks, 
a-nd  to  mix  the  mortar  with  animal  fat.  — Building  News. 

OLD  MONASTERY  DOORS.  —  Derbyshire  possesses  what  are  described 
as  the  finest  pair  of  old  monastic  doors  in  England.  The  great  doors, 
wicket  doorways  and  spy-hole,  of  the  Carthusian  priory  of  Beauvale, 
Notts,  have  long  lain  neglected  at  Melbourne  Hall,  being  brought  there 
when  the  old  gate-house  was  pulled  down  tn  the  last  century.  The 
present  tenant  of  the  hall,  Mr.  Fane,  has  placed  them  under  cover. 
They  are  in  fair  condition,  the  oak  bolted  through  with  great  clout  nails 
and  are  carved  in  panels,  with  intersecting  tracery  above  The  date 
seems  to  be  about  1350-1380.  Mr.  Fane  has  lately  brought  to  light 
among  the  Cole  papers  the  original  voluminous  charter,  with  great  seal 
attached,  granting  the  lands  of  the  dissolved  priory  of  Beauvale.  — Ex- 
change. _^__ 


24500;  Peach  Bottom,  Penn.,  23,000;  Maine,  38,000;  Vermont  and 
New  York,  159,000 ;  Virginia,  10,000 ;  making  a  total  of  Bo(!,300 
squares,  as  against  .">4o,000  squares  in  1887.  —  Hunyor  Courier. 


THE  characteristic  of  the  general  markets  of  the  country  is  dulness.  The 
depression  was  not  anticipated.  Coming  unexpectedly  as  it  did,  business 
interests  look  for  its  sudden  disappearance.  Wages  have  been  reduced  5 
to  15  per  cent  in  a  number  of  industries.  A  few  thousand  mechanics  have 
been  disemployed.  A  number  of  schemes  that  were  to  have  been  pushed 
this  month  are  delayed,  and  promoters  are  disposed  to  move  with  unusual 
caution.  What  is  the  actual  strength  of  the  trade  situation  is  asked.  Is 
production  excessive?  Are  prices  declining?  Are  opportunities  for  invest- 
ment dying  out?  Has  enterprise  less  chance  this  year  than  last?  Are  our 
finances,  as  a  nation,  in  good  condition?  Is  mortgage  indebtedness  in- 
creasing? Are  railroad  managers  approaching  harmony?  These  and  a 
dozen  other  queries  arise  among  practical  business  men,  and  most  of  them 
remain  unanswered.  There  is  but  little  in  the  stock-jobbing  reports  to  en- 
lighten business  enterprise.  Commercial  men  of  long  experience,  arguing 
from  the  past,  cling  to  the  opinion  that  the  year's  business  will  round  up 
grandly.  The  fact  standing  out  boldly  in  the  business  world  is  that  produc- 
tive capacity  has  been  very  greatly  increased  in  all  departments  of  activity. 
Can  this  increased  capacity  be  profitably  employed  is  what  the  business 
world  is  now  asking?  In  iron  and  steel  prices  are  still  weak.  So  also  in 
coal,  though  a  bituminous  operators'  compact  has  been  effected  to  preserve 
prices  20  to  30  cents  above  competitive  limits.  In  some  Western  States 
miners'  wages  will  be  reduced  12  per  cent.  In  some  iron  mills  wages  are 
down  10  per  cent.  At  the  Altoona  railroad-shops  4,000  men  have  been  re- 
duced to  nine  hours  a  day,  with  a  half  Saturday  holiday,  and  no  reduction 
in  pay.  The  eight-hour  agitation  is  progressing,  and  employers  are  observ- 
ing it  with  interest.  Railroad  bridge  work  is  coming  in  freely.  Three 
large  bridge-works  are  now  turning  out  material  for  forty  bridges  on  the 
Chesapeake  &  Ohio  Road.  The  Norfolk  and  Western  Company  are  also 
large  buyers  of  iron  for  bridges.  Three  bridges  are  to  be  built  near  Pitts- 
burgh. The  expanding  bridge-building  demand  is  stimulating  enterprise  in 
the  West  to  erect  large  structural-iron  establishments.  American  locomo- 
tive engines  are  in  demand  in  Central  and  South  America  ;  and  a  leading 
builder  stated  this  week  that  American  work  in  those  localities  would  be 
doubled  within  a  few  months.  Within  a  short  time  twenty-one  engines 
have  been  shipped  there.  Car-work  comes  in  slowly,  but  from  excellent 
authorities  it  is  learned  that  mucli  work  will  be  placed  among  builders 
during  the  next  sixty  days.  Railroad  managers  are  not  inclined  to  contract 
for  work  hastily.  Despite  all  the  complaints  over  dragging  railroad-build- 
ing enterprise,  much  new  work  has  been  projected  since  March  1.  A  road 
is  to  be  built  to  parallel  the  Duluth  and  Winnipeg,  now  building.  Ore  roads 
in  the  Lake  Superior  region  are  to  be  hurried  through.  Several  lumber 
roads  will  soon  be  heard  of.  A  ninety-five-mile  road  is  to  connect  Baton 
Rouge  and  the  Mississippi  River.  A  road  is  to  be  built  from  New  Orleans 
to  the  Pacific  Coast  ria  Dallas.  Within  thirty  days  forty  roads  have  been 
projected  ;  most  of  them  needed  to  satisfy  existing  traffic  requirements. 
Among  the  sensational  foreign  rumors  is  one  to  the  effect  that  the  English 
colleries  in  Cumberland,  Yorkshire,  Lancashire,  Northumberland  and  Dur- 
ham are  to  be  purchased  by  a  syndicate  representing  five  hundred  million 
dollars.  Grand  railway  schemes  are  coming  to  the  front  in  Mexico,  pushed 
by  foreign  capital  and  assisted  by  American  enterprise. 

The  Cuban  iron-ore  developments  are  very  encouraging  to  the  Americans 
that  are  extending  their  control  of  mineral    properties   in    that    island. 
Natural-gas  is  to  he  piped  to  Columbus,  Ohio,  from  a  rich  gas  territory 
twenty-five  miles  distant.    Wells  have  been  bored  in  Kentucky,  developing 
large  gas  supplies,  and  schemes   to  pipe  gas  are   up  for  consideration. 
Western  mining  interests  are  seeking  legislative  cooperation  to  erect  dams 
across  mountain  gorges  to  accumulate  such  a  supply  of  water  as  will  aid 
mining  and  smelting  operations  in  dry  weather.   This  is  an  important  move, 
and  in  some  respects  is  more  important  than  even  irrigation.     A  deep  ex- 
ploration-shaft is  to  be  sunk  at  Leadville  by  interested  parties  to  determine 
the  existence  of  valuable  minerals  at  lower  depths.    One  of  the  finest  ore- 
beds  on  the  continent  have  been  found  225  miles  north  of  Denver.     It  is 
said  to  average  67  to  72  per  cent  metallic  iron.    They  are  low  in  ordinary 
impurities.    The  ore  can  be  mined  at  fifty  cents,  and  delivered  at  Denver 
at  82.    Coal  and  iron  companies  are  springing  up  in  the  South.     Competi- 
tive influences  are  equalizing  economic  advantages,  and  industries  are  slip- 
ping from  one  place  to  another  every  week.    The  week's  reports  from 
architects  and  builders  strengthen  previous  statements  as  to  the  probable 
volume  of  work.     While  manufacturing  capacity    has   been  greatly  in- 
creased, manufacturers  are  preparing  to  increase  it  farther.    Textile  manu- 
facturers do  not  hold  back.    An  authority  on   hosiery  production  states 
that  as  many  as  twenty  factories  will  be  erected  this  year.    A  manufac- 
turer of  shoe-making  machinery  states   that  orders  for  machinery    are 
numerous.    The  wood-working  machinery-makers  will  endeavor  to  form  a 
national  combination   to  fix  prices.    The'  numerous  small  manufacturing 
combinations  are  all   renewing  their  mutual   vows  of  constancy  for  the 
coming  season.    Building  material  is  low,  but  lumber  may  not  drop  any  on 
account  of  the  short  log-cut.     Western  cities  are  inclined  to  buy  brick  for 
paving  purposes.    Lincoln,  Neb.,   will  have  seven  miles  of  brick-paved 
streets.    At  Des  Moines,  a  mile  and  one-half  have  been  laid     Glass  of  all 
kinds  will  be  in  abundant  supply.    All  the  factories  are  working.    Real 
estate  speculation  is  more  active,  especially  in  large  cities,  and  a  great  deal 
of  property  has  been  purchased  this  winter  by  parties  who  recognize  the 
upward  tendency  in  city  real  estate.     As  facilities  for  rapid  transit  improve, 
land  seems  to  appreciate  in  cities  for  manufacturing  purposes.    Extensive 
purchases  have  been  made   for  building  requirements  in  New  England 
towns  and  in  the  Middle  States.    Shop-building  enterprise  is  most  active. 
The  building  trades  threaten  no  disturbance  generally  this  year.    Wages 
are  acceptable,  but  a  movement  for  an  eight-hour  day  is  being  agitated  in 
nearly  all  the  larger  cities.    Foreign  workmen  are  taking  more  interest  in 
this  phase  of  agitation  than  Americans.    The  banks  are  exercising  greater 
caution  in  extending  loans,  especially  to  new  customers  and  outside  parties. 
The  surplus  reserve  in  New  York  is  near  eight  million  dollars.     Bankers 
have  confidence  in  the  general  solvency  of  the  country,  but  there  is  a 
feeling  that  greater  care  must  be  exerted  in  the  future  in  the  extension  of 
credit.    There  is  considerable  extended  manufacturing  paper  being  carried, 
and  bankers  are  anticipating  a  greater  demand  as  the  season  progresses  on 
their  resources.    Business  will  probably  swell  to  larger  proportions  within 
the  next  week  or  two,  but  manufacturers,  jobbers,  retailers,  and  all  in- 
terests feel  the  necessity  of  keeping  within  prescribed  limits.     It  is  not 
over-production  that  is  feared,  as  the  trade  combinations  have  shown  their 
ability  to  deal  with  that  phase  of  the  question,  but  a  decreased  consuming 
capacity.    But  this  is  a  danger  that  need  not  be  defined  until  it  approaches 
closer  than  it  is  at  present. 

S.    J.    PARKHILL  &  Co.,  Printers,  Boston. 


MARCH  30,  1889.] 


The  American  Architect  and  Building  News. 


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The   American   Architect   and  Building  News.         [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  692. 


ADVERTISERS'    TRADE    SUPPLEMENT. 


No.  81. 


SATURDAY,  MARCH  2,  1889. 


Voumi  XXV. 
No.   688. 


THE  GURNEY  HOT-WATER  HEATER. 

BELOW  we  append  cut  of  the  one  hundred 
series  of  the  Gurney  Improved  Hot-Water 
Heater,  which  is  the  production  of  years  of 
study  and  practical  experience,  combined 


with  theories  advanced  by  the  most  prominent 
heating  engineers  in  this  country  and  Canada. 

The  Gurney  Hot-Water  Heater  Company 
are  undoubtedly  the  pioneers  of  hot-water 
heating  in  this  country,  and  have  at  all  times 
had  uppermost  in  their  minds  the  ambition  to 
perfection,  and  for  the  public  good.  To  be 
outdone  by  none,  and  thus  always  hold  the 
lead.  And  to  the  eye  of  the  practical  engineer 
we  think  this  article  and  cuts  will  commend 
themselves. 

In  beauty  of  form,  durability  of  construction, 
compactness,  extent  and  quality  of  surface 
cheapness,  and  economy,  they  have  obtained 
the  best  results  ever  secured,  and  they  chal- 
lenge examination  and  comment  by  the 
engineering  talent  of  the  world. 

The  main  considerations  to  be  regarded  in 
a  Hot^Water  Heater  are  how  to  arrange  the 
heating  surfaces  to  obtain  the  best  results  and 
this  can  only  be  determined  by  continued  ex- 
periments, and  the  Gurney  Hot- Water  Heater 
Company  having  made  in  the  past  several 
years  series  of  practical  experiments,  are  led 
to  lay  down  the  following  essentials  for  the 
construction  of  a  satisfactory  Hot-Water 
Heater : 

1.  The  whole   arrangement  must   be  such 
that  the  least  possible  resistance  is  offered  to 
free  circulation. 

2.  The   area   of    heating-surface    must   be 


made  to  approach,  so  far  as  practicable,  a 
maximum. 

3.  The  arrangement  of  the  heating  surface 
must  be  such  that, 

(a)  A  maximum  of  the  heat  of  the  burning 
fuel  is  utilized. 

(It)  The  convection  currents  shall  not 
impede  each  other,  or  coalesce  to  the  forma- 
tion of  eddies. 

How  far  we  have  met  these  essentials  of  a 
good  heater  in  the  construction  of  our  one 
hundred  series  of  Heaters  will  be  best  under- 
stood by  referring  to  the  accompanying  cuts. 

To  meet  the  first  essential,  we  have  con- 
structed the  heater  so  that  the  inlet  and  exit 
ports  are  open  from  the  line  of  the  floor  to  the 
top  of  the  heater,  as  well  as  around  the  entire 
circumference  of  the  cross-sections.  All 
sharp  angles  and  other  obstructions  to  general 
circulation  have  been  avoided.  The  second 
essential  is  secured  by  the  introduction,  in 
series,  of  a  number  of  sections,  pierced  with 
flues,  through  which  (he  heated  products  of 
combustion  require  to  pass  before  entering 
the  chimney.  The  area  of  heating-surface  is 
thus  greatly  extended,  and  essential  three  (a) 
met  at  the  same  time,  since  the  heated  gases 
(products  of  combustion)  part  with  their  heat 
as  they  ascend  through  the  different  sections. 
The  essential  three  (6)  we  have  sought  to 


meet  by  giving 'the  sections  a  peculiar  shape. 
The  upper  and  lower  plates  of  each  section 
incline  from  the  ports  inwards,  giving  the  out- 
going and  incoming  currents  such  direction  as 
(in  our  belief)  will  most  effectually  prevent 
the  formation  of  eddies,  and  in  general,  pro- 
duce currents  which  may  accommodate  them- 


selves with  the  least  resistance  to  the  direc- 
tion of  the  main  currents  in  the  outer  jacket. 

The  Gurney  Hot- Water  Heater  is  especially 
designed  and  adapted  for  hot-water  heating. 
It  is  easy  to  erect,  most  economical  of  fuel, 
simple  to  manage,  presents  the  largest  heating- 
surface  to  the  fire,  is  moderate  in  cost,  and  we 
offer  them  to  our  patrons  fully  guaranteed. 

To  correspondents  living  at  a  distance  we 
would  recommend  a  conference  with  local 
fitters  with  a  view  of  obtaining  estimates  of 
fitting,  and  they  would  be  glad  to  furnish 
plans  which,  if  adhered  to,  will  result  in  giving 
a  thoroughly  reliable  heating  apparatus.  Cor- 
respondents, when  soliciting  estimates  of 
work,  will  have  the  kindness  to  be  as  explicit 
and  definite  as  possible  as  to  the  size  of  the 
building  to  be  warmed,  its  glass  surface,  con- 
struction, location,  points  of  compass,  exposure, 
and  conditions  generally.  A  sketch  of  the 
building,  with  its  size  and  height  of  ceiling, 
will  facilitate  matters  and  enable  them  to  form 
a  correct  idea  as  to  size  of  apparatus  needed. 

GURNEY   HOT- WATER  HEATER  COMPANY, 
BOSTON,  MASS. 


ASPINALI/S   ENAMELS. 

FOR  years  past  many  scientific  men  have 
endeavored  to  produce  an  enamel,  that  will 
stand  boiling-water,  something  especially 
adapted  to  renovating  baths,  that  have  become 
unsightly,  and  the  success  which  has  crowned 
the  efforts  of  Aspinall  &  Co.,  England,  in  the 
production  of  their  various  enamels  has  been 
hailed  with  delight  by  the  civilized  world. 
This  product  is  the  only  real  enamel  which 
does  stand  boiling-water  and  is  made  by  a 
secret  process  known  only  to  themselves.  It 
is  not  a  paint,  but  is  applied  as  easily  and 
readily  as  any  mixed  paint,  to  iron,  tin,  wood, 
or  any  other  substance,  however  open  or 
porous,  and  its  uses  are  so  manifold  as  to 
make  it  impossible  to  enumerate  them.  Old 
bath-tubs,  baskets,  tables,  chairs,  hot-water 
cans,  brackets,  bedsteads,  etc.,  can  be  easily 
and  quickly  rejuvenated  or  decorated  with 
any  color  desired,  over  a  hundred  different 
colors  or  shades  being  manufactured  from 
chalk  white  to  deepest  brown  and  black.  For 
prices,  list  of  colors,  testimonials  and  further 
information  apply  to, 

E.   ASP1NALL, 

Sole  agent  for  the  United  States, 
98  and  100  BEEKMAN  STREET,  NEW  YORK,  N.  Y. 


THE  Whittier  Machine  Company  have  re- 
cently constructed  for  Messrs.  Tiffany  & 
Company,  Union  Square,  New  York,  one 
hydraulic  passenger  elevator  operated  by  their 
Pressure  Tank  System. 


The   American    Architect  and  Building  News.        [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  688. 


THE   "WILLER"  SLIDING-BLINDS. 

THE  "  Wilier  "  sliding-blinds  have  been  in 
the  market  but  a  few  years,  but  in  that  short 
period  they  have  become  so  generally  known 
amongst  architects,  builders,  and  the  build- 
ing public  in  general  that  a  detailed  de- 
scription of  them  is  here  unnecessary.  The 
catalogue  shows  some  twenty  different  classes, 
or  twenty  distinctly  different  ways  of  arrang- 
ing these  blinds  in  the  windows.  For  illus- 
tration we  select  Class  E,  this  class  being 
universally  used  for  buildings  of  medium  cost, 


desired,  and   when   fitted   to   the   window 
ready  for  use. 

The  "  AViller  "  blinds,  on  account  of  thei 
superior  quality  and  merit,  and  their  adapta 
bility  to  windows  of  every  description,  hav 


on  account  of  its  simple  construction  and 
moderate  price.  This  class  consists  of  three 
separate  sections  of  blinds,  covering  the  entire 
window,  and  running  in  a  guideway  contain- 
ing three  grooves,  one  for  each  section  of 
blind,  all  within  the  space  of  the  window- 
opening,  no  pockets  being  employed  at  either 
the  bottom  or  top  of  the  window. 

The  other  classes  in  the  catalogue  show 
windows  fitted  with  blinds  of  two,  four  and 
six  sections,  without  pockets,  and  with  pockets 
at  either  the  bottom,  top,  or  both  ends  of  the 
window. 

The  "  Wilier  "  blinds  have  rolling  slats  of  a 
new  construction  throughout  all  sections,  or 


been  selected  in  preference  to  all  others,  am 
accorded  the  first  rank  in  all  parts  of  th 
country.  They  are  now  being  placed  in  the 
residence  of  the  widow  of  the  late  Emi 
Schandein,  Vice-President  of  the  Philip  Best 
Brewing  Company  of  Milwaukee,  erected  at  a 
cost  of  over  $300,000.  Mr.  Schandein  had 
examined  all  forms  of  inside-blinds,  and  hac 
given  these  the  preference  over  all  others. 
A  public  school-house  in  Denver,  Col.,  has 


lately  been  fitted  with  these  blinds,  the  total 
order  for  the  purpose  amounting  to  nearly 
",000. 

As  a  further  proof  of  the  superior  quality 
of  these  blinds  over  all  others,  the  firm  has 
been  awarded  the  bronze  medal  at  the  late 
Centennial  Exposition,  held  in  Cincinnati,  July 


in  as  many  divisions  of  the  blinds  as  may  be 
desired ;  the  springs  are  of  the  latest  pattern, 
and  the  only  springs  adapted  to  hold  the 
blinds  in  place.  The  blinds  are  handsomely 
trimmed  with  full  sets  of  hardware,  finger- 
plates, drop-handles  and  lifts,  in  Berlin  or 
genuine  bronze.  Each  set  of  blinds  is  finished 
complete,  varnished,  rubbed,  and  polished  as 


to  November,  1888.  This  bronze  medal  is 
the  highest  and  the  only  award  made  to  any 
exhibitor  of  sliding-blinds,  and,  although  there 
were  others  on  exhibition,  none  of  these  have 
received  any  award,  diploma,  or  medal  what- 
ever. In  their  report,  the  jury  said  :  "awarded 
on  account  of  excellent  workmanship,"  etc. 
We  print  herewith  an  illustration  of  the 


Wilier  exhibit  at  the  above  Exposition,  taken 
from  a  photograph;  also  a  fac-simile  of  the 
medal. 

We  employ  a  force  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  men,  of  whom  one  hundred  and  ten  are 
employed  exclusively  in  the  manufacture  of 
these  blinds.  The  sales  of  these  blinds  for 
1888  amount  to  over  $100,000.  The  blinds 
are  in  use  in  all  parts  of  the  country  from 
Maine  to  California,  and  Manitoba  to  Texas. 
Over  $10,000  worth  have  been  sold  in  Canada 
alone. 

We  will  send  our  No.  8  Catalogue  of  1888, 
free  of  charge,  to  any  architect  or  builder, 
etc.,  upon  application.  Our  new  catalogue  of 
1889-1890  will  be  issued  about  May,  1889, 
and  will  be  the  most  artistic  and  complete 
catalogue  of  its  kind  in  the  country. 

We  also  make  a  specialty  of  fine  stair-work, 
of  which  line  a  separate  catalogue  will  be 
issued  in  the  spring. 

The  firm  is  represented  at  present  by  nearly 
three  hundred  sales-agents  in  all  parts  of  the 
country.  Agents  are  wanted  everywhere, 
and  applications  for  agency  will  be  considered 
:rom  parts  not  yet  represented. 

Further  particulars  may  be  had  by  address- 

ng  the  firm, 

WILLIAM  WILLER, 

FOUBTH  AND  CEDAR  STREETS,  MILWAUKEE,  WlS. 


THE    SPRINGFIELD     GAS-MACHINE. 

THE    Springfield    Gas-Machine  has    been 
lerfected   by  an  experience  of  over   twenty 
rears.     As  it  has  from  the  first  been  made  of 
lie  most  durable  material    and  most  perfect 
workmanship,    no  doubt   there   are   more   of 
hese  machines  in  actual  operation  to-day  than 
f  all  others  combined.     Thousands  of  other 
nachines,  which  have  been   made  of  inferior 
material,   are  ROW   out  of  use,  because  they 
ave  been  destroyed  by  corrosion,  often  within 
hree  or  four  years  after  being  set  up. 

Our  air-pumps  are  constructed  entirely  of 
opper.  Our  gas-generators  are  of  heavy 
jalvanized-iron,  with  every  seam  not  only 
iveted  like  a  steam-boiler,  but  massed  in 
older,  so  that  the  cut  edges  of  the  iron  and 
lie  exposed  ends  of  the  rivets  are  completely 
lated  with  that  metal.  They  are  then  cov- 
red  with  boiling  tar  in  several  coats.  They 
re  divided  into  shallow  evaporating-pans, 
urnishing  by  this  means,  and  by  abundant  ab- 
orbent  material,  larger  evaporating  surface 
n  square  feet  than  any  other  gas-generator 
lade. 

We  confidently  assert  that  this  is  the  larg- 
it,  most  durable,  simple  and  efficient  gas-ma- 
line  in  the  world. 

The  gas  made  by  these  machines  is  usually 
now  as  Carbureted  Air  Gas,  being  common 
r  impregnated  with  the  carbonaceous  vapors 
f  gasolene.  It  burns  with  a  rich,  bright 
ame,  fully  equal  to  coal-gas,  and  it  is  con- 
ucted  through  pipes  and  ornamental  fixtures 
ith  the  same  convenience  and  safety. 
The  gas  is  really  analogous  to  coal-gas  in 
s  general  features  —  the  one  being  a  carbu- 
ted  air  gas,  the  other  a  carbureted-hydrogen 
as.  They  are  both  governed  by  the  same 
sneral  laws ;  the  particles  of  each  exist  in  a 
ate  of  mutual  repellancy ;  if  permitted  to 
scape,  they  alike  permeate  all  the  surrounding 
tmosphere,  and  are  detected  with  equal  read- 
less  by  their  odor.  Air  gas  possesses  an 
luminating  power  of  from  twenty  to  thirty 
andles.  equal  to  the  best  coal-gas,  and  much 
uperior  to  that  ordinarily  supplied  by  city 
as-companies.  It  is  a  remarkably  pure  gas  ; 
ontains  no  sulphurous  compounds  or  impuri- 
es  of  any  kind ;  with  proper  burners,  corn- 
ustion  is  perfect,  without  smoke  or  odor. 


MARCH  2,  1889.  — No.  81.] 


Advertisers'  Trade  Supplement. 


Gasolene,  the  fluid  used  in  making  gas  by 
our  apparatus,  is  a  light,  volatile  product  of 
petroleum,  analogous  to  kerosene;  chemically 
considered,  it  is  almost  a  pure  carbon ;  it  is 
produced  in  large  quantities  in  the  distillation 
of  petroleum,  and  is  a  common  article  of  mer- 
chandise, readily  obtained  from  almost  all  re- 
finers or  dealers  in  oils.  The  supply  yearly 
increases,  more  than  keeping  pace  with  the 
demand,  and  is  necessarily  as  inexhaustible  as 
the  supply  of  petroleum. 

The  Springfield  Gas-Machine  consists  of  a 
gas-generator  —  a  cylinder  containing  evapor- 
ating-pans  or  chambers  —  and  an  automatic 
air-forcing  apparatus. 

When  the  machine  is  in  operation  the  pump 
forces  a  current  of  air  through  the  gas-gener- 
ator; here  it  becomes  carbureted,  thus  form- 
ing an  illuminating  gas  that  is  returned  through 
the  gas-pipe  to  the  house,  and  carried  by  the 
distributing  pipes  in  the  walls  and  floors  of  the 
building  to  the  burners,  or  it  may  be  conducted 
from  the  gas-generator  to  other  houses  in  any 
other  direction  —  to  stables,  out-buildings,  or 
to  lamps  on  the  grounds,  wherever  light  is  re- 
quired. This  plan  of  gas-making  is  automatic. 
Gas  is  generated  only  as  fast  and  in  such 
quantities  as  required  for  immediate  consump- 
tion. The  process  is  continuous  while  the 
burners  are  in  use,  but 
instantly  stops  when  the 
lights  are  extinguished. 
The  Springfield  Machine, 
set  in  this  manner,  is  con- 
sidered as  safe  a  means  of 
lighting  as  any  that  can 
be  adopted  ;  all  the  gas- 
oline is  kept  in  an  air- 
tight vessel  under  gronnd, 
and  removed  from  the 
building  a  safe  distance. 
There  is  no  gas  in  the 
air-pump,  nor  inflamma- 
ble material  in  the  build 
ing,  except  the  gas  co  n- 
tained  in  the  distributing 
pipes. 

No  fire  is  used  in  the 
process  of  manufacture 
buildings  lighted  by  the 
gas  are  insured  at  the 
same  rates  as  though  coal 
gas  were  used. 

We  have  now  several 
thousand  machines  in  use  in  every  part  of  the 
country,  lighting  all  classes  of  buildings,  and 
in  no  c»se  has  a  building  been  burned. 

The  cost  of  the  gas  depends  upon  the  price 
of  gasolene ;  this  varies  from  fifteen  to  twenty 
cents  per  gallon.  Taking  this  as  a  basis,  the 
cost  per  thousand  feet  is  from  eighty  cents  to 
a  dollar,  six  gallons  being  a  liberal  estimate  of 
the  amount  of  fluid  required  to  produce  light 
equal  to  that  from  a  thousand  feet  of  ordinary 
coal-gas. 

The  economy  of  lighting  by  gasolene  gas 
has  induced  many  large  consumers  of  coal-gas 
to  adopt  our  machine,  and  with  the  most  grati- 
fying results,  the  cost  of  the  apparatus  being 
quickly  saved  in  the'  lessened  gas  bills. 

Air  gas  is  cheaper  fuel  than  coal  or  wood 
for  cooking  and  laundry  purposes.  Send  for 
our  illustrated  catalogue  of  gas  ovens,  ranges, 
griddles,  grills  and  broilers,  laundry-iron 
heaters,  coffee-roasters,  instantaneous  water- 
heaters  and  open  fireplace  heaters. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  uses  to  which 
gas  may  be  put  in  promoting  domestic  comfort 
is  undoubtedly  that  in  connection  with  the 
preparation  of  food.  It  is  a  matter  of  sur- 
prise that  it  has  not  been  much  more  exten 


sively  adopted  by  the  general  public.  Its  use 
for  these  purposes  is  of  special  interest  to 
those  having  gas-machines,  because  of  the 
great  economy  of  air  gas.  The  first  cost  of 
gas  ranges  is  not  half  that  of  good  coal  ranges, 
while  they  will  last  a  lifetime.  The  exact  de- 
gree of  heat  required  for  any  special  purpose 
is  at  once  obtained.  Since  combustion  is  per- 
fect, there  is  no  smoke  or  odor,  and  no  flue  is 
required.  On  the  score  of  economy,  it  will  be 
at  once  acknowledged,  after  trial,  that  the 
cost  of  a  coal  fire  doing  the  same  amount  of 
work  is  greater  than  the  cost  of  gas,  while  the 
certainty  of  its  results,  its  cleanliness,  conven- 
ience and  comfert,  are  obviously  in  favor  of 
the  latter  fuel.  Any  coal  stove  may  be  fitted 
with  a  burner  suitable  for  burning  air  gas, 
without  smoke  or  odor. 

Ordinary  open  coal  grates  furnished  with  a 
suitable  burner,  and  filled  with  ragged  bits  of 
lava,  which,  when  the  gas  is  lighted,  become 
incandescent,  perfectly  counterfeit  a  coal  fire, 
and  furnish  an  economical  and  abundant 
heat. 

Air  gas  is  used  as  fuel  in  the  mechanical 
arts  for  heating  light  forgings ;  melting  gold, 
silver,  brass,  glass,  etc.,  soldering,  brazing, 
bluing;  in  canneries,  and  by  manufacturers  of 
hollow  ware.  We  invite  correspondence  on 


has  the  Arabesque  design  in  its  purest  type,  is 
the  most  beautiful  that  has  ever  been  applied 
to  a  radiator.  The  appearance  of  the  radi- 
ator is  such  that  no  one  ever  grows  tired  of  it 
and  it  can  be  decorated  in  a  multitude  of  ways 
to  suit  the  surrounding  draperies,  etc. 

Also,  unlike  all  other  sectional  radiators 
made,  this  has  a  sectional  base  with  its  ac- 
companying advantages,  and  this  is  why  all 
prominent  architects,  with  rare  exceptions, 
specify  the  Bundy  Elite  Radiator,  because 
they  find  that  they  can  use  from  ten  to  forty 
per  cent  less  radiation  than  with  any  other. 

Steam-fitters  are  also  cognizant  of  this  fact 
and  when  the  matter  is  left  with  them  for 
decision  as  to  which  radiator  to  use,  and  they 
intend  to  conscientiously  serve  the  best  in- 
terests of  their  clients,  they  will  use  none 
other. 

It  also  possesses  a  great  advantage  over  all 
other  radiators  from  the  fact  that  the  surface 
consists  principally  of  arcs  of  a  parabolic 
curve,  and  so  all  parts  of  the  radiator  are 
constantly  surrounded  by  freely  circulating 
air.  Again,  all  sections  are  duplicates; 
legs  are  detachable  and  can  be  placed 
under  any  section  and  if  desirable  sections 
can  be  added  to,  or  taken  from,  the  radiator 
increasing  or  diminishing  its  heating  powers 
at  will. 

Much  more  might  be 
said  regarding  this  ex- 
cellent radiator,  but  it 
will  suffice  to  say  that 
we  will  gladly  fend  our 
catalogue,  which  is  a  ver- 
Hable  encyclopedia  on 
heating,  to  any  one  who 
may  request  it. 

THE    A.    A.   GRIPPING 

IRON  CO., 

782   COMMUNIPAW   AVENUE, 
JERSEY  CITY,  N.  J. 


this  branch  of  the  subject,  and  will  mail  our 
circular,  with  numerous  references,  upon  ap- 
plication. 

GILBERT  &  BARKER  M'F'G.  CO., 

75  MAIDEN  LANE.  NEW  YORK,  N.  Y. 


RADIATOR    WITH 
DESIGN. 


ARABESQUE 


OUR  illustration  shows  the  Bundy  "Elite" 
Radiator  which  has  the  most  beautiful  design 
that  has  ever  been  applied  to  a  radiator. 

It  is  of  Moorish  origin  and  consists  of  only 
lines,  curves  and  angles  as  the  superstitious 
Moors  thought  it  an  unpardonable  offence  to 
fashion  any  artifical  object  like  anything 
having  life.  The  Koran  taught  them  that  the 
imitated  object  would  immediately  die  and 
bring  down  upon  the  offender  the  curse  of 
their  God.  In  this  the  over-careful  Moors 
were  certainly  foolish,  but  at  the  same  time,  a 
study  of  their  architecture  shows  their  skill  in 
designing  works  of  rare  beauty. 

It  is  especially  appropriate  in  ironwork 
where  any  attempt  to  imitate  life  seems  out  of 
place,  inappropriate  and  in  time,  absolutely 
unbearable. 

For  this  reason  the  Elite  Radiator,  which 


FIREPROOF    BUILD- 
ING   MATERIALS. 

THE  practicability  and 
efficiency  of  Hollow 
Burnt  Clay  Blocks  and 
Tiles  and  Porous  Terra- 
Cotta  Material  in  the  con- 
struction and  protection 
of  buildings  against  loss 
by  fire,  has  been  fully  and 
satisfactorily  demonstrated,  and  the  security 
it  offers  is  so  palpable,  that  the  best  informed 
architects  and  builders  in  the  country  recom- 
mend its  use  in  all  structures  where  life  and 
property  is  jeopardized. 

Since  this  important  feature  in  buildings 
has  become  an  established  fact  —  the  demand 
for  "  Hollow  Brick  "  has  increased  largely,  so 
much  so  that  within  the  past  year  we  have 
been  obliged  to  greatly  exceed  our  former 
capacity  in  order  to  meet  the  requirements  of 
this  important  branch  of  industry.  Our 
works  are  now  the  most  extensive  of  the  kind 
in  the  country. 

The  advantages  we  possess  for  procuring 
and  handling  the  raw  material  are  unsur- 
passed, having  our  own  clay  beds  easy  of 
access  within  a  few  feet  of  our  works  — 
situated  on  the  Sound  at  Maurer's,  near  Perth 
Amboy  and  Woodbridge,  N.  J.,  with  railroad 
switches  alongside,  an  extensive  water-front- 
age, and  large  dock-room,  which  gives  us 
every  facility  necessary  for  shipments  to  all 
points  reached  by  rail  or  water.  We  are  pre- 
pared to  furnish  estimates  and  execute 
promptly  all  contracts  intrusted  to  our  care 
Correspondence  solicited  and  any  information 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  New*.        [VOL.  XXV. — No.  688- 


furnished  on  application.  A  new  descriptiv 
and  illustrated  catalogue  of  especial  value  t 
architects  and  those  contemplating  building 
now  ready  and  will  be  mailed  free  by  address 

inS' 

HENRY  MAUEER  &  SON. 
420  EAST  23d  STREET,  NEW  YORK  CITY,  N.  Y. 


THE   OSTRANDER   DOOR-OPENER. 


THE  Ostrander  Door-Opener  is  simple  am 
compact  in  construction,  positive  in  operation 
and  withstands  wind  pressure  or  other  force 
and  cannot  be  jarred  open. 

The  movable  bolt  is  a  steel  drop  forging 
and  the  other  parts  are  of  the  best  wrought 
iron  and  steel.  Nothing  has  been  spared  in 
its  construction,  as  our  aim  is  to  make  this 
the  Door-Opener. 

These  have  been  thoroughly  tested  and  in 
practical  operation  since  patent  was  applied 
for. 

The  movement  is  a  gravity  one  and  it  is 
devoid  of  any  delicate  springs  or  delicate 
mechanism. 

The  movement  is  protected  by  metal  sides 
to  prevent  dirt,  plaster  and  chips  from  inter- 
fering with  its  operation. 

This  Door-Opener  is  operated  by  com- 
pressed air  (Pneumatic)  or  by  electricity 
with  batteries ;  and  orders  must  state  which 
method  is  to  be  used  to  operate  the  Door- 
Opener,  and  also  state  if  for  right-hand  or 
left-hand  doors. 

\V.  R.  OSTRANDER  &  CO., 
21,  23  &  25  ANN  STREET,  NEW  YORK,  N.  Y. 

THE    NEW    SASH-CORD    FASTENER. 

THE  success  of  house-building  and  the  satis- 
faction of  living  in  it,  when  built,  depends, 
very  largely,  upon  the  little  and  unseen  con- 
trivances which  perfect  the  working  and  use 
of  the  details.  This  is  no  more  apparent  than 
in  the  hanging  of  the  window-sash,  which  too 
often,  is  done  in  such  a  slip-shod  and  careless 
manner  as  to  call  forth  the  imprecation  of  all 
who  have  to  do  with  them.  Especially  if  the 
sash  has  to  be  removed  from  the  frame  for 
cleaning  or  other  purposes. 

The  Empire  Portable  Forge  Company  of 
Cohoes,  N.  J.,  realizing,  from  actual  experi- 
ence in  building,  this  deficiency,  have  put  on 
the  market  a  new  sash-cord  fastener  (see 
advertisement  in  another  column)  which 
is  designed  to  do  away  entirely  with  the  diffi- 
culties to  a  cheap  and  effective  way.  The 
illustration  herewith  shows  the  old  method  of 
hanging  sash  and  the  new,  viz  :  — 


The  sharp  rib  extending  over  the  top  of  the 
fastener,  through  the  centre,  is  by  the  weight 
of  the  sash  caused  to  sink  into  the  frame  and 
thus  held  from  moving. 

Reasons  why  you  should  use  them : 
It  costs  less  than  one-and-one-half  cents  per 
sash.  Requires  no  nails  or  screws.  Can  be 
put  in  or  taken  out  in  less  than  one  minute. 
Prevents  the  knot  from  fraying  out  and  getting 
between  th«  sash  and  frame.  Does  not  split 


the  sash  like  nails  or  screws.  Prevents  th 
cord  from  running  back  into  the  weigh 
pocket.  The  most  useful  invention  fo 
window  sash  ever  put  on  the  market.  Ever, 
window  requires  them. 

The  Empire  Sash-Cord  Fastener  is  the  mos 
useful  little  thing  ever  offered  for  easily  at 
taching  cords  to  the  sash  — costing  a  mer 
trifle  —  at  same  time  saving  much  time  ant 
patience  in  hanging  the  sash  and  preventin; 
damage  to  it  by  the  use  of  nails  or  screw 
through  the  knot,  as  in  the  old  method,  anc 
wearing  and  binding  of  the  sash  and  frame  by 
the  knot  fraying  out  and  becoming  jammed  be 
tween  them. 

It   also   prevents  losing  the  cord    in    the 
weight-pocket  by  running  backward,  and  when 
the   sash   is   to   be   removed  for   cleaning  o 
glazing,  it  can  be  done  so  easily  and  so  easil; 
replaced  that  any  man  building  a  house  wil 
have  them,  and  the  work  will  be  much  more 
satisfactory. 

The  Empire  Forge  Company  call  the  at 
tention  of  architects,  especially,  to  this  little 
device  and  urge  them  to  include  the  sash-core 
fastener  in  their  specifications.  We  will  b 
glad  to  send  a  sample  of  it  with  cord  attachec 
to  a  block,  showing  both  the  old  and  new 
methods,  on  receipt  of  a  postal-card  request. 

Investigation  of  this  little  device,  will  show 
it  to  be  a  very  useful  one  and  destined  to  hav 
a  large  sale. 

EMPIRE  PORTABLE  FORGE  COMPANY, 
COHOES,  N.  Y. 


NOTES. 

THE  Whittier  Machine  Company  have  re- 
cently put  into  the  Adams  Building  on  Court 
Street,  this  city,  two  hydraulic  passenger 
elevators,  each  operated  by  their  Pressure 
Tank  System.  Also  have  constructed  for 
Messrs.  R.  &  O.  Goelet  for  the  building 
corner  of  Lexington  Avenue  and  41st  Street, 
New  York,  a  steam  elevator  for  freight  and 
passenger  service. 

They  have  recently  constructed  for  Dr 
John  Walters,  No.  1010  F  Street,  N.  W.. 
Washington,  D.  C.,  two  upright  steel  boilers, 
;ach  two  and  a  half  feet  in  diameter. 

WE  understand   that  the   Henry-Bonnard 

Bronze  Co.,  New  York,  have  contracted   to 

;ast  in  bronze  the  following  statues,  on  which 

;hev  are  now  engaged. 
S'tatue  of   Dr.  Gallaudet,  for  Washington, 

jy  D.  C.  French,  sculptor,  N.  Y.  Statue  of 
General  Stannard,  for  Gettysburg,  by  Karl 

jerhardt,  sculptor.  Statues  of  soldier  and 
sailor,  for  monument  at  Newport,  R.  I.,  by  W. 
Clarke  Noble,  sculptor.  Statue  of  Governor 

rlubbard,  for  Hartford,  by  Karl  Gerhardt, 
sculptor.  Statue  of  soldier  called  "Appa- 
matox,"  for  Alexandria,  Va.,  by  C.  Buberl, 
sculptor.  Two  soldiers  for  Gettysburg,  for 

Frederick  &  Field,  Quincy,  Mass.,  S.  J. 
O'Kelley,  sculptor.  Statue  of  Theodore 

?arker,  for  Boston,  by  Robert  Kraus,  sculptor. 

They  are  also  casting  the  bronze  rail  for  the 

United  States  Trust  Co.,  Wall  Street,  R.  W. 

ibson,  architect. 


MR.  I.  P.  FRINK  of  551  Pearl  Street,  New 
fork,  of  patent  reflector  fame,  whose  reflectors 

are  extensively  used  with  gas,  oil,  electric,  and 
lay  light,  has  orders  now  on  hand  covering  a 
jeat  variety  of  buildings ;  among  which  are, 
iliot  Street  Congregational  Church,  Newton, 
tfass. ;  St.  George's  Church,  Astoria,  N.  Y. ; 
Japtist  Church,  Bristol,  Conn. ;  Tabernacle 
baptist  Church,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.;  Centenary 
if.  E.  Church,  Jacksonville,  111.;  Pilgrim 
ongregational  Church,  Duluth,  Minn.; 
Jarland  Street  M.  E.  Church,  Flint,  Mich. ; 
!Yee  Reformed  Church,  Jersey  City,  N.  J. ; 
irst  Presbyterian  Church,  Englewood,  N. 
. ;  Cumberland  Presbyterian  Church,  Mur- 
reesboro,  Tenn. ;  The  Court-House  at  Las 

Animas,  Colo. ;  The  Town  Hall  at  Wickford, 
I.  L;  The  Assembly  Rooms  of  the  School 
buildings  at  Mechanicsville,  N.  Y.,  and  Gal- 
eston,  Texas.;  The  Art  Galleries  of  David 
;.  Lyall,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.;  W.  H.  Hogen- 
amp,  Patterson,  N.  J. ;  Chatelet  Club,  New- 
rk,  N.  J. ;  Opera  House,  Wilkes-Barre, 
5enn.,  and  Paris,  Mo. ;  Retail  Carpet  Depart- 

nent,  Arnold,  Constable  &  Co.,  New  York, 
nd  Heath  &  Drake,  Newark,  N.  J. 


FRINK'S 


Are  used  with  oil,  gas,  electric  or 
day  light.  Strongly  endorsed  by  the 
leading  Architects,  and  are  In  use  In 
most  of  the  prominent  Churches. 
Theatres,  Art  Galleries  and  Public 
Buildings  In  this  country. 

Among  the  prominent  buildings  lighted  by 
Mr.  Frlnk  within  the  p»8t  few  months  are  the 
following :  — 

ART   GALLERIES. 

Mrs.  R.  L.  Stuart,  871  5th  ATe.,  New  York. 
Eden  Mui«e  Co., 55  West  23J  St.,  New  York. 
L.  A.  Lauthier,  22  E.  16th  St.,  New  York. 
Fifth  AT6BD6  Art  Gal  lerics,  866  6th  Are. 
Century  Club,  109  E.  15th  St. 
Fifth  Are.  Auction  Rooms,  240  Fifth  Ave. 
Boussod,  Valadon  &  Co.,  303  Fifth  Are. 
G.  W.  Lininger,  Omaha,  Neb. 
Darid  O.  Lyall,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

THEATRES. 

Miner'«  Newark  Theatre,  Newark,  N.  J. 

Commonwealth  Hall,  Orange,  N.  J. 

Titusville  Opera  House,  Titusville,  Pa. 

Academy  of  Music,  Petersburg,  Va. 

Opera  Home,  Helena,  Ark. 

Perking  Opera  House,  Springfield,  Mo. 

Opera  House,  Wilkes-Barre,  Penn. 

Anntston,  Ala. 

Carbondale,  Penn. 

Paris,  Mo. 

Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

CHURCHES. 

First  Baptist,  Minneapolis,  Minn. 

First  Presbyterian,  WestfleM,  N.  J. 

Holy  Trinity,  Hoboken,  N.  J. 

Central  Congregational,  New  York. 

West  Harlem,  M.  E.,  New  York. 

Christ  Episcopal,  Jordan,  N.  Y. 

First  Congregational.  WilliamstowB,  Mass. 

First  Baptist,  Franklin,  Ind. 

Euclid  Are.  Congregational,  Cleveland,  O. 

Second  Congregational,  New  London,  Conn. 

Twenty-Second  St.  Baptist,  Louisville,  Ky. 

Methodist  Episcopal,  Chatham,  N.  Y. 

UniTersali.it,  Titusville,  Pa. 

Presbyterian,  Qreenwlch,  Conn. 

3t.  Stephen's,  Worcester,  Mass. 

Trumbull  Are.  Presbyterian,  Detroit,  Mich. 

Methodist  Episcopal,  >lemington,  N.  J. 

Jane  St.  M.  E.,  New  York. 

First  Unitarian,  l)eerfi«ld,  Mass. 

St.  Rose,  Lima,  N.  Y. 

Congregational,  De  Kalb,  111. 

St.  John's  M.  E.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Methodist  Episcopal,  San  Bernardino.  Cal. 

First  Baptist,  Columbus,  Miss. 

Methodist  Episcopal,  Ontario,  Cal. 

Jburch  of  the  Ascension,  Hamilton,  Ont. 

vladiaon  Ave.  Reformed.  New  York. 

Centenary  M.  E.,  Newark,  N.  J. 

Greenwood  Baptist,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Methodist  Episcopal,  Springfield,  Vt. 

Second  Reformed,  Newark,  N.  J. 
Seventh  Day  Baptist,  Plainflehi,  N.  J. 
''-.ion,  Greene,  N.  Y. 

•Vest  Side  Are.  Presbyterian,  Jersey  City,  N.  J. 

'resbyterlan,  White  Plains,  N.  Y. 

English  Lutheran,  Hazleton,  Pa. 

Jriek  Church,  Presbyterian,  Orange,  N.  J. 

ifethodist  Episcopal,  Austin,  Minn. 

riret  Baptist,  Johnstown,  PH. 

'resbyterian  Church,  Horseheads,  N.  T. 

•lethodist  Episcopal,  Hackettstown,  N.  J. 

?rinity  Church,  Portland,  Cenn. 

>wight  Place  Church,  New  Haven,  Conn. 

first  Presbyterian,  Galvetton,  Tex. 

Jlasson  Ave.  Presbyterian,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

'omkins  Ave.  Congregational,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Baptist,  Beverly,  Masi. 

Aibury  Memorial  M.  E.  Church,  Providence,  R.  I. 
St.  Bernard's,  Rarltan,  N.  J. 
Cumberland  Presbyterian,  Murfreesboro,  Tenn. 

rirst  Presbyterian,  Englewood,  N.  J. 

Mlgrim  Congregational,  Dnluth,  Minn. 
First  Congregational  Church,  St.  Albans,  N.  Y. 
Garland  St.  M.  E.  Church,  Flint,  Mich. 

nmmer  Ave.  M.  E.  Church,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

'abernacle  Baptist,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Saptlit  Church,  Bristol,  Conn. 

.utheran  Church,  Wooster,  O. 

Deutenary  M.  E.  Church,  Jacksonville,  111. 

Iliot  St.  Congregational,  Newton,  Mass. 

t.  George's  Church,  Astoria,  N.  Y. 
Correspondence  Invited.    Estimates  with  spe- 

inl  deiiyns  furnished  when  requested. 

I.    P.    FRINK, 

551  Pearl  Street,    -    NEW  "KORK. 


THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT  AND  BUILDING  NEWS. 


VOL.  xxv. 


Copyright,  1889,  by  TICKSOB  &  COMPANY,  Boston,  Mass. 


No.   693, 


APRIL  6,  1889. 

Entered  at  the  Post-Office  at  Boston  as  second-class  matter. 


SUMMARY : — 

Schedule  of  Charges.  — Underwriters'  Wire.  — The  Pranks  of 
the  so-called  Architect  of  the  Biblicon  Building  in  Brooklyn. 

—  The  International  Congress  of  Architects.  —  The  Compar- 
ative  Importance  of    National   Exhibits  at    Paris.  —  Con- 
demnation  of   Movable   Stoves  in  France.  —  A  Steam-Tur- 
bine. —  Polychromy  and  Grecian   Architecture.  —  The   Ex- 
pectations an  Architect  is  supposed  to  satisfy.  —  Instances  of 
Frauds  perpetrated  on  Architects 157 

THE  BOSTON  ATHLETIC  ASSOCIATION  BUILDING 100 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  — 

The  Boston  Athletic  Association  Building  —  The  Gymnasium, 
Boston,  Mass.  —  The  Billiard-room  in  the  same  Building. — 
Building  of  the  Boston  Athletic  Association,  Boston,  Mass. 

—  Turkish  Bath  and  Swimming-tank  of  the  Boston  Athletic 
Association.  —  Plans   of   the    Building   of   the  Boston  Ath- 
letic Association.  —  Sketch  for  a  Country  Church,  Chapel 
and  Parsonage,  Montclair,  N.  J 163 

AMONG  THE  CAPJTALS  OF  ITALY 163 

BUILDING  LAW 167 

SOCIETIES 167 

COMMUNICATIONS  •  — 

The  Prcscott  Door-hanger.  —  The  Ownership  of  Drawings.     .  1( 
'  NOTES  AND  CLIPPINGS 108 


fTT  VERY  interesting  communication  is  made  to  the  Engi- 
r\  neering  and  Building  Record  by  a  firm  of  architects  whom 
'         the  editor  of  the  Record  asserts  to  be  prominent  in  the 
profession,  quoting  two  or  three  forms  for  schedules  of  services 
which  have  been  under  consideration  by  the  firm,  and  asking  for 
advice  and  criticism  to  aid  the  firm  in  deciding  which  schedule 
to  adopt  definitely  for  its  future  business.     As  might  be  ex- 
pected, the  question  of  a  clerk-of-works  is  particularly  promi- 
nent in  the  matter,  but  the  firm  seem  to  be  in  doubt  as  to  the 
best  way  of  securing  his  employment.     In  the  first  schedule 
proposed,  the  charge  for  all  new  work  costing  more  than  fifty 
thousand  dollars  is  fixed  at  five  per  cent  on  the  cost,  and  it  is 
stipulated  that  a  clerk-of-works  shall  be  employed  and  paid  by 
the  owner  to  supervise  the  execution  of  the  building,  under  the 
direction  of  the  architects.     In  case  the  owner  is  unwilling  to 
employ  a  clerk-of-works,  it  is  stipulated  that  the  architects  shall 
be  considered  as  relieved  from  all  responsibility  for  defective 
workmanship,  unless  it  is  clearly  shown  to  be  due  to  faults  in 
their    drawings,    specifications    or    written    instructions.      For 
buildings  costing  less  than  fifty  thousand  dollars,  and  more  than 
ten  thousand  dollars,  the  charge  is  eight  per  cent  on  the  cost, 
and  the  architects  agree  to  employ  a  clerk-of-works  at  their 
own  expense,  who  shall  visit  the  building  at  least  once  a  day 
while  work  is  in  progress,  and  they  agree  to  be  responsible  to 
the  full  amount  of  their  commission  for  the  conscientious  exe- 
cution  of   the   work.     For   buildings   costing   less    than    ten 
thousand  dollars  the  charge  is  ten  per  cent,  and  nothing  is  said 
about  a  clerk-of-works.     In  the  second  schedule  the  architects' 
charge  is  fixe'd  at  ten  per  cent  on  the  cost  for  dwelling-houses 
or  apartments   costing   less   than   ten   thousand   dollars,  at   a 
round  sum  of  one  thousand  dollars  for  those  costing  between 
ten    and     sixteen   and   two-thirds    thousand   dollars,    and   six 
per   cent   for   those   costing  more  than  the  latter  sum.     For 
buildings  other  than  dwelling-houses  or  apartments  the  charge 
is  five  per  cent  where  the  cost  is  over  ten  thousand  dollars. 


to  the  use  of  the  inferior  wire,  which  has  hitherto  been  the  one 
most  commonly  employed,  and  will  lay  the  blame  upon  him 
when  the  underwriters  refuse  to  accept  it,  and  the  whole  has 
to  be  torn  out  and  done  over  again. 


TTTRCHITECTS  who  practise  in  Boston  should  take  notice 
rj[  that  a  new  regulation  went  into  effect  there  last  month 
by  which  the  use  of  the  white  asbestos-covered  "  under 
writers'  wire "  for  conveying  currents  for  electric-lighting  in 
buildings   is   practically    prohibited,    the    Fire    Underwriters 
Union  refusing  to  insure  buildings  in  which  it  is  used  for  tha 
purpose.     As  the  "  underwriters'  wire  "  is  much  cheaper  than 
the  waterproof  wire  now  required,  the  change  will  make  an  im 
portant  difference  in  the  cost  of  wiring  buildings  for  electric 
lighting,  and  architects  must  see  that  they  are  not  imposed  upon 
by  unscrupulous  contractors,  who,  in  their  anxiety  to  underbi 
each  other,  are  very  likely  to  try  to  get  the  architect's  cousen 


3OME  of  our  readers  may  remember  a  description  of  a  build- 
ing with  a  tower  five  hundred  and  twenty  feet  high,  or 
something  of  the  kind,  which  was,  according  to  the  daily 
papers,  about  to  be  erected  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  for  an  institu- 
tion which  was  to  undertake  the  uniform  training  of  young 
clergymen  of  all  denominations,  upon  some  system  which  was 
not  explained,  but  which  included  the  examination  of  the  stars 
through  a  telescope  to  be  mounted  in  the  tower.     The  name  of 
the  institution  which  had  undertaken  this  rather  delicate  busi- 
ness was  said  to  be  the  Biblicon,  and  large  sums  of  money  were 
reported  to  have  been  subscribed  to  support  it.     A  picture  of 
be   Biblicon   building   was   even   published   in   some   of   the 
>apers,  which  showed  the  hand  of  a  tolerably  practised  designer. 
<Yom  the  more  recent  accounts,  derived  from  the  records  of 
le  police  courts,  it  seems  that  the  "  Biblicon  "  enterprise  was 
imply  a  cover  for  a  peculiarly  mean  swindle,  concocted  by  an  ' 
irchitect  of   a  species   which,  we    imagine,  contains  but    one 
pecimen.     It  seems  that  the  youth  in  question,  after  his  pre- 
ended  "  Biblicon  "  building  had  been  sufficiently  advertised  in 
he  newspapers,  invited  estimates   for  it  from  mechanics   of 
lifferent  kinds.     One  of  these,  who  told  his  story  afterwards 
n  court,  said  that  he  was  invited  to  call  at  a  certain  office  in 
*Jew  York  and  estimate  on  the  mason-work  of  the  building, 
le  did  so,  and  came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  would  cost  about 
)ne  million  two  hundred  and  eighteen  thousand  dollars.     He 
old  the  architect,  who  obligingly  said  that  he  was  afraid  he 
vould  lose  money  on  it  at  that  price,  and  advised  him  to  add 
ifty  thousand  dollars  to  his  bid,  which  he  did.     If  the  con- 
ractor   had   been    better    informed    in  regard   to  professional 
ithics,  he  would  have  fled  from  an  architect  who  so  far  forgot 
limself  as  to  make  such  suggestions  to  him,  and  would  thus 
uave  been  saved  the  unpleasant  experience  which  followed; 
>ut,  like  the  other  people  who  think  that  a  man  who  is  false  to 
hose  who  trust  him  will  be  true  to  them,  he  swallowed  the 
>ait   at   once  when    he    was    notified    that   his    bid   had  been 
accepted,  and  went  to  see  the  architect  about  signing  the  con- 
tract.    The  little  drama  which  ensued  may  be  easily  divined. 
After  some  agreeable  conversation  the  architect  mentioned  that 
le  was  temporarily  short  of  cash,  and  would  be  much  obliged 
'or    a    loan    of   five    hundred    dollars.     The    mason    had,    un- 
'ortunately,  only  two  hundred  dollars  with  him,  but  the  archi- 
tect  said  that  this  would  do,  and  took   it,  giving  in  return  a 
note,  payable    in    three    months.     At    the    end    of    the    three 
months  the  note,  which  had  passed  into  other  hands,  was  pro- 
tested, and  the  mason  hurried  to  the  architect  for  an  explana- 
tion.    He  was  told  that  the  note  had  matured  unexpectedly, 
but  that  if  he  would  call  again  in  a  few  days  it  should  all  be 
settled.     As  he  had  already  made  a  contract  for  forty  million 
bricks  for  his  work,  he  could  not  feel  quite  easy  until  the  little 
affair  with  the  architect  had  been  adjusted,  and  called  again  at 
the  appointed  time,  only  to  find  that  the  office  was  closed,  and 
its  occupant  had  disappeared.     Upon  this  he  concluded  that  it 
would  be  prudent  to  make  some  inquiries  for  himself  about  the 
building  which  he  was  to  have  so  large  a  part  in  erecting,  and 
went  to  Brooklyn,  where  he  found  that  no  plans  for  such  a 
structure  had  been  presented  for  approval  at  the  office  of  the 
Inspector  of  Buildings,  and,  as  we  understand,  that  the  site  of 
the  proposed  institution  intercepted  a  public  street.     Convinced 
that  he  had  been  defrauded,  he  set  out  again  to  find  the  archi- 
tect, and,  after  a  long  search,  discovered  him  in  an  office  in 
New  York,  and   had  him  arrested.     Supposing  the   mason's 
story  to  be  true,  it  would  be  a  curious  inquiry  whether'  he 
might  not  be  debarred  from  obtaining  legal  redress  against  the 
architect,  through  the  questionable  nature  of  the  transaction  by 
which  he,  in  collusion  with  the  architect,  added  fifty  thousand 
dollars  to  his  bid.     A  man  who  enters  into  a  conspiracy  with 
another  to  betray  a  trust  cannot  invoke  the  aid  of  the  courts  to 
make  his  companion  in  crime  keep  his  promises ;  and,  although 
the  lending  of  the  money  to  the  architect  was  not  directly  con- 
nected with  the  raising  of  the  bid,  it  was  probably  understood 
by  both  parties  as  a  return  for  the  architect's  amiability  in 
suggesting  the  raising,  so  that  we  doubt  whether  the  interests 


158 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.        [Vou  XXV.  —  No.  693. 


of  morality  and  public  policy  very  strongly  demand  its  restitu- 
tion. 


HE  International  Congress  of  Architects,  which  we  hope 
some  of  our  readers  may  be  able  to  attend,  will  open  in 
the  hall  of  the  Trocade.ro  Palace  in  Paris,  on  the  seven- 
teenth of  June  next.  The  business  of  the  Congress,  after  the 
opening  addresses,  will  be  divided  among  committees  and 
sections  designated  for  the  purpose,  and  the  ensuing  meetings, 
except  the  last,  will  be  held  in  the  great  lecture-room  of  the 
Ecole  des  Beaux-Arts,  called  the  Hall  of  the  Hemicycle,  from 
the  noble  fresco  of  Paul  Delaroche  which  adorns  its  semi- 
circular wall ;  some  of  the  sections  being  also  furnished  with 
consultation-rooms  in  the  building  of  the  Socie'tes  Savantes,  in 
the  Rue  Serpente.  The  final  meeting  will  again  be  held  in 
the  Trocadero,  on  Saturday,  June  22,  and  the  same  evening  a 
fraternal  banquet  will  take  place  at  the  H6tel  Continental. 
Any  architect  may  join  in  the  Congress  by  sending  his  name 
previously  to  the  Committee  of  Organization,  or  by  applying  to 
the  Committee  on  his  arrival,  and  paying  a  contribution  of  five 
dollars,  or,  if  he  wishes,  of  twenty  dollars,  in  consideration  of 
which  his  name  will  appear  in  the  printed  account  of  the  Pro- 
ceedings among  those  of  the  "  Membres  Donateurs."  Each 
member  properly  registered  will  receive  a  card  of  admission,  a 
bronze  commemorative  medal,  and  the  printed  report  of  the 
Proceedings.  Any  French  or  foreign  association  of  architects 
may  subscribe,  either  as  an  ordinary  member  of  the  Congress 
or  a  Membre  Donateur,  and  will  then  be  entitled  to  participate, 
in  the  person  of  a  delegate,  in  the  privileges  of  the  Congress. 
Those  members  who  may  wish  to  address  any  communication 
to  the  Congress,  upon  the  subjects  mentioned  in  the  pro- 
gramme, which  we  have  already  published,  or  on  any  other 
matter  of  professional  interest,  must  send  notice,  with  a  copy, 
or  at  least  an  abstract  of  their  communication,  to  the  Committee 
on  Organization.  If  the  subject  to  be  treated  is  one  of  those 
mentioned  in  the  programme,  the  abstract  must  be  received  by 
the  thirty-first  of  March.  If  it  is  something  not  included  in 
the  programme,  it  may  be  presented  at  any  time  before  the 
fifteenth  of  May. 


WE  imagine  that  a  good  many  people  will  be  surprised  to 
learn  the  comparative  importance  of  the  exhibits  to  be 
shown  at  the  Paris  Exhibition,  at  least  as  indicated  by 
the  energy  with  which  the  governments  of  the  countries  from 
which  they  come  have  taken  part  in  the  matter.  To  begin 
with  our  own  country,  the  exhibits  from  the  United  States  will 
occupy  an  area  of  about  eighty  thousand  square  feet,  which 
will  be  mostly  devoted  to  private  contributors ;  but  the  Govern- 
ment has  appropriated  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand 
dollars,  and  will  make  some  sort  of  official  exhibit.  Our  little 
neighbor,  Mexico,  has  officially  appropriated  four  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  dollars,  and  has  a  large  building  of  its  own,  in 
which  will  be  shown  the  productions  of  what  most  of  us  imagine 
to  be  a  nation  of  priest-ridden  Indians.  The  Argentine  Re- 
public, which  many  Americans,  we  venture  to  say,  confound 
with  Patagonia,  has  appropriated  six  hundred  and  forty 
thousand  dollars,  and  will  fill  a  space  of  sixteen  thousand 
square  feet  with  objects  which  will  not  consist  exclusively  of  the 
hides  and  horns  of  wild  cattle.  Siam  is  to  have  twenty-five 
hundred  square  feet  for  its  official  exhibition,  and  private 
Chinese  merchants  have  engaged  about  three  thousand.  Japan 
is  to  have  a  splendid  agricultural  exhibit,  besides  a  larger  one 
of  manufactured  articles  than  it  had  in  1878.  Portugal  and 
Austria  will  each  occupy  about  the  same  space  as  Japan,  and 
Monaco,  Andorra,  and  San  Marino  will  be  represented.  Eng- 
land is  naturally  to  furnish  a  large  part  of  the  foreign  manufac- 
tures. Two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  square  feet  were  origi- 
nally appropriated  to  its  exhibit,  but  the  space  was  almost 
immediately  taken  up,  and  for  a  long  time  the  English  Com- 
missioners have  had  to  refuse  contributions  for  want  of  a  place 
to  put  them.  The  price  of  admission  has  been  fixed  bv  the 
Committee  on  Finance  at  two  francs  for  the  "  hours  of  study," 
from  eight  to  ten  in  the  morning ;  one  franc  for  the  hours 
between  ten  in  the  morning  and  six  in  the  evening ;  and  two 
francs  for  the  evening.  Season-tickets,  good  for  six  months, 
will  be  twenty  dollars. 


HE  French  Academy  of  Medicine  has  recently  been  enter- 
tained by  a  long  and  serious  protest,  written  by  one  of  its 
members,  against  the  employment  in  dwelling-houses  of 


the  so-called  "movable  stoves,"  which  have  a  certain  con- 
nection with  the  chimney,  by  means  of  a  flexible  smoke-pipe, 
but  are  liable  to  leak  carbonic-oxide  gas.  Every  one  knows 
the  poisonous  effects  of  carbonic  oxide,  but  the  introduction  of 
the  movable  stove  has  brought  them  more  prominently  into 
notice,  by  the  number  of  deaths  which  have  already  occurred 
through  the  use  of  them.  It  seems  that  poisoning  by  means  of 
these  or  any  other  sort  of  leaky  stove  may  be  either  rapid  or 
chronic.  In  cases  where  the  amount  of  gas  inhaled  is  small, 
but  the  dose  is  often  repeated,  the  patient  suffers  from  loss  of 
appetite,  occasional  vertigo,  and  violent  headaches,  and  seems 
to  fail  in  strength,  from  no  very  obvious  cause.  Where  the 
amount  of  gas  inhaled  is  considerable  the  sufferer  becomes 
dizzy,  then  unconscious  ;  the  brain  is  directly  affected,  and 
with  it  the  main  nervous  centres,  and  death  speedily  results. 
If  the  dose  has  not  been  large  enough  to  produce  death,  the 
patient  lingers  through  a  long  and  painful  convalescence, 
the  effect  of  the  poison  on  the  blood  disappearing  only  by  slow 
degrees.  Among  us,  the  movable  stove  has  as  yet  hardly 
made  its  appearance,  but  we  have  an  apparatus  of  very  similar 
character,  in  the  shape  of  the  gas  stove,  whose  merits  and 
demerits  greatly  need  investigation  at  the  hands  of  experts.  It 
may  be  that  the  gas-stove,  as  ordinarily  employed,  with  its  out- 
let pipe  pouring  all  the  products  of  combustion  into  the  room 
in  which  it  is  placed,  is  an  innocent  affair,  but  we  should  like 
to  have  it  proved,  and  if  it  is  not  proved,  we  should  like  to 
have  the  public  warned  against  its  use. 


remarkable  stories  are  told  of  a  new  steam-turbine, 
which  has  come  into  rather  extensive  use  for  driving  . 
dynamo-electric  machines  in  England.  T,he  inventor  is 
Mr.  Parsons,  who,  we  suppose,  must  be  the  same  with  the  in- 
ventor of  the  engine  with  four  cylinders,  revolving  with  the 
shaft,  which  we  described  some  years  ago.  If  it  be  the  same, 
his  subsequent  researches  seem  to  have  taken  the  direction  of 
the  application  of  steam  directly  to  fixed  wings  on  the  shaft, 
instead  of  using  the  indirect  system  of  cylinders  and  pistons. 
As  the  water-turbine  is  the  most  efficient  means  of  utilizing  a 
natural  force  yet  known,  it  is  not  strange  that  many  efforts  have 
been  made  to  apply  the  same  principle  to  steam-motors,  but 
they  have  hitherto  met  with  little  success.  Mr.  Parsons,  how- 
ever, has  avoided  the  defects  of  other  machines,  and  has  in- 
troduced some  important  improvements.  The  best  of  these  is 
perhaps  the  adaptation  of  the  compound  system,  each  of  the 
more  powerful  turbine  machines  securing  triple  expansion,  by 
using  three  turbines,  in  series,  the  steam  expanding  from  each 
into  the  next,  while  the  surfaces  are  so  arranged  as  to  give 
nearly  equal  power  to  each.  Moreover,  instead  of  expanding 
from  a  certain  fixed  pressure  to  another  fixed  pressure,  the 
wings  of  the  turbines  are  themselves  arranged  expansively,  so 
that  the  pressure  of  the  steam  diminishes  gradually  from  its 
entrance  into  the  machine  to  the  exhaust.  Through  this 
graduation  of  the  pressure,  supplemented  by  an  ingenious 
system  of  journals,  the  movement  of  the  engine  is  made  ex- 
tremely smooth  and  uniform,  even  at  enormous  speeds.  In 
the  recent  exhibition  at  Manchester  a  motor  of  this  kind,  con- 
nected with  a  dynamo,  was  suspended  by  two  wires  from  the 
ceiling.  There  was  no  swinging  or  vibration  of  any  kind,  and 
the  machine  appeared  to  be  quiescent,  yet  it  supplied  current 
for  all  the  incandescent  lamps  in  tlie  machinery  hall.  The 
rapidity  with  which  the  new  engine  can  be  run  is  almost  in- 
credible. The  earlier  Parsons  engine  made  twelve  thousand 
revolutions  a  minute,  which  was  considered  a  very  high  speed ; 
but  the  first  steam-turbine  which  succeeded  it  has  bfeen  furnish- 
ing six  horse-power,  at  the  rate  of  eighteen  thousand  revolu- 
tions per  minute,  almost  continually  for  four  years,  and  is  still 
in  excellent  condition.  How  a  machine  is  held  together  at 
such  speeds  it  is  difficult  to  imagine.  A  few  days  ago  a 
dynamo  in  the  basement  of  a  store  in  Chicago,  running  at  the 
rate  of  only  thirteen  hundred  revolutions  a  minute,  burst  by  its 
own  centrifugal  force,  the  engineer  being  seriously  hurt  by  the 
flying  fragments ;  and  a  similar  apparatus,  revolving  three 
hundred  times  in  a  second,  would  appear  to  be  a  dangerous 
neighbor.  This  view  of  the  matter,  however,  does  not  seem  to 
trouble  the  expert  editor  of  the  Revue  Industrielle,  who  is  so 
much  pleased  with  the  new  device  that  he  intentionally  gives 
the  account  of  it  the  place  of  honor  at  the  head  of  the  first 
number  of  the  volume  for  1889,  which,  as  he  says,  will  prob- 
ably contain  descriptions  of  an  unusual  number  of  interesting 
mechanical  devices. 


APRIL  6,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


159 


Iff  HE  people  who  talk  about  the  "intellectual  purity  of 
\J  appearance "  of  the  marble  temples  of  Greece  would  do 
well  to  read  the  discussion  now  going  on  in  L' Architecture 
on  the  antique  polychromy,  between  M.  E.  Loviot  and  M. 
Pettier.  Both  these  gentlemen  are  experts  in  archaeology  and 
architecture,  both  have  directed  archaeological  explorations  in 
Greece,  and  the  main  point  of  difference  between  them  appears 
to  be,  not  whether  the  Greeks  applied  paint  to  portions  of  their 
temples,  but  whether  they  ever  left  any  part  of  them  un- 
painted ;  M.  Pettier  doubting  whether  they  painted  the  out- 
side steps,  while  M.  Loviot,  who  himself  found  the  floor  of  the 
temple  of  Jupiter  Pauhellenius  at  Egina,  when  excavated  in 
1878,  covered  with  stucco  and  painted  red,  believes  that  if  they 
disliked  the  appearance  of  a  bare  marble  floor  they  would  not 
stop  at  the  steps,  but  would  cover  them,  as  appearances  still 
remaining  indicate  that  they  did,  with  color  similar  to  that  of 
the  pavement.  In  fact,  his  long  experience  leads  him  to  the 
conclusion  that  in  the  Greek  temples,  whether  of  marble  or 
coarser  stone,  no  white  was  ever  left  visible,  in  any  part  of  the 
building,  either  inside  or  outside,  except  where  touches  of 
white  pigment  were  used  to  accentuate  small  ornament,  or  in 
decorative  patterns. 


TITHE  woes  of  architects  continue  to  occupy  a  considerable 
J_£  space  in  the  foreign  technical  papers,  as  well  as  in  our 
own.  M.  Be'rard,  one  of  the  fraternity,  writes  to  La 
Semaine  des  Constructeurs,  as  only  a  clever  Frenchman  can 
write,  giving  a  list  of  the  virtues,  accomplishments  and  duties 
expected  of  a  French  architect,  and  comparing  it  with  the 
remuneration  that  he  receives  in  return  for  them,  which  will 
excite  the  sympathy  of  the  profession  everywhere.  The  prin- 
cipal works,  it  seems,  that  a  Parisian  architect  is  expected  to 
perform  with  cheerful  alacrity,  and  with  perfect  skill  and  suc- 
cess, are,  in  the  order  in  which  they  generally  present  them- 
selves to  him,  about  as  follows :  Measurements  and  plans  of 
large  lots,  for  the  purpose  of  sketching  subdivisions  and  the 
laying-out  of  streets ;  measurements  and  plans  of  small  lots,  for 
the  purpose  of  laying-out  schemes  for  building ;  measurements 
and  plans  of  quarries  or  other  subterraneous  circumstances ; 
measurements  and  plans  of  existing  buildings ;  examination  of 
deeds  and  titles;  preparation  of  sketches,  studies,  working 
plans,  elevations,  sections,  details,  specifications,  estimates,  con- 
tracts and  sub-contracts ;  negotiations  with  inspectors  of  build- 
ings, police  officials,  superintendents  of  sewers,  city  engineers, 
street  commissioners  and  other  public  officers,  to  obtain  the 
necessary  permits  to  carry  out  the  work ;  calculations  of  the 
strength  of  beams,  walls  and  piers,  columns,  trusses  and  ties ; 
supervision  of  the  work  during  its  execution,  with  the  regula- 
tion of  extras,  examination  of  accounts  and  certification  for 
payments ;  arbitration  in  case  of  dispute ;  assistance  in  case  of 
suits  before  courts  or  referees ;  management  of  funds  held  in 
trust  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  out  the  building  ;  purchase  of 
land,  buildings  or  materials ;  preparation  of  schemes  for  the 
financial  management  of  building  enterprises,  this  work  in- 
volving a  knowledge  of  the  money  market,  acquaintance  with 
banking  methods,  and  a  knowledge  of  the  fluctuating  values  of 
real-estate  and  building  materials  and  labor;  negotiations  in 
regard  to  party-walls  ;  and  assistance  in  fixing  rents,  arranging 
for  repairs  and  estimating  losses  in  case  of  fire.  It  will  be 
observed  that  this  catalogue,  which  says  nothing  about  prescrib- 
ing medicine  for  his  client's  horse,  or  offering  suggestions  in 
regard  to  agriculture,  would  be  very  imperfect  for  an  American 
architect,  but  even  so  limited  a  list  seems  to  M.  Be'rard  to 
imply  on  the  architect's  part  an  amount  of  intelligence,  knowl- 
edge and  activity  far  surpassing  the  ordinary  capacity  of  the 
human  intellect.  To  carry  out  such  duties  in  the  manner  which 
laymen  generally  expect,  and  New  York  judges  require,  the 
architect  must  be  not  merely  a  man  of  science,  of  profound 
reading  and  immense  experience,  but  he  must  be  also  a  lawyer, 
a  business  man,  a  financier,  a  real-estate  agent,  a  conveyancer 
and  a  civil  engineer,  to  say  nothing  of  the  moral  virtues  of 
honesty,  energy  and  courage,  which  he  must  possess  for  per- 
forming his  duties,  not  only  of  certifying  builders'  accounts,  but 
of  climbing  over  roofs,  and  descending  into  the  drains,  wells  and 
other  objectionable  places  which  he  is  called  upon  to  visit. 

IN  return  for  the  display  of  all  these  virtues  and  accomplish- 
ments, one  would   expect   to   see   the   architect  receive  a 
princely  remuneration,  which  would  be  guaranteed  to  him 
by  the  unanimous  consent  of  mankind.     In  France,  however, 


as  M.  Be'rard  says,  we  find,  instead  of  this,  the  architect  placed 
practically  at  the  mercy  of  any  one  who  has  the  heart  to  try  to 
plunder  him.  After  his  work  is  done,  if  his  client  chooses  not 
to  pay  him,  he  has  nothing  for  it  but  to  wait,  two,  three,  five 
or  ten  years,  until  his  debtor  experiences  a  change  of  heart,  or 
some  "compromise"  is  made,  by  which  he  submits  to  be 
robbed  of  a  part  of  the  money  that  is  due  him,  for  the  sake  of 
getting  the  rest.  If  this  course  does  not  suit  him,  he  has  the 
option  of  appealing  to  the  courts,  where,  after  distributing  fees 
and  dancing  attendance  upon  lawyers,  witnesses  and  judges  for 
two  or  three  years,  he  has  at  last  the  advantage  of  being  ex- 
posed for  a  season  to  the  assaults  of  what  M.  Berard  calls  his 
worst  enemy,  the  professional  expert,  from  whose  artfully 
directed  blows  he  may,  if  he  is  fortunate,  escape  without 
adding  a  second  loss  to  that  which  he  has  already  sustained, 
but  can  hardly  hope  for  anything  more.  Outside  of  these  two 
alternatives,  he  has  no  resource  whatever,  or  rather,  as  the 
editor  of  La  Semaine  interpolates,  had  none  until  the  Archi- 
tects' Protective  Association  was  formed ;  for  he  alone,  of  all 
business  men,  is  denied  the  right  to  cite  customs  and  tariffs  ia 
opposition  to  the  whims  of  judges  and  jury. 

ITTIIE  -New  York  Tribune  has  found  an  architect  in  this 
J[_  country,  more  discontented,  if  possible,  than  M.  Berard. 
According  to  this  gentleman,  it  is  useless  for  any  one  who 
has  not  a  large  capital,  or  at  least  "  extensive  social  affiliations," 
to  attempt  to  be  an  architect.  If  a  person  not  endowed  with 
these  requisites  enters  the  profession,  he  is  very  likely  to 
spend  the  rest  of  his  life  as  a  draughtsman  in  offices,  on  a 
small  salary,  which  he  has  to  compete  for  with  cheap  foreign 
draughtsmen ;  or  if  he  should  be  so  fortunate  as  to  get  a  little 
business  for  himself,  he  is  almost  sure  to  be  cheated  in  some 
way  out  of  the  pay  for  it.  The  "  trickery  and  deceit "  which, 
judging  from  his  experience,  architects  have  to  encounter,  would 
surprise  ordinary  people.  For  example,  he  had  himself  been 
asked,  a  few  days  before,  by  a  "  down-town  merchant,"  to 
furnish  sketches  for  a  house,  the  sketches  to  be  paid  for  only  if 
accepted.  He  made  the  sketches,  which  were  rejected,  but  not 
until  the  merchant  had  had  time  to  steal  tracings  of  them,  and 
he  had  since  learned  that  ground  had  been  broken  for  the 
house,  which  was  to  be  carried  out  substantially  in  accordance 
with  his  design.  So  far  as  he  could  see,  he  had  no  redress  for 
this  barefaced  fraud.  In  another  case  that  he  knew  of,  a 
wealthy  real-estate  owner,  proposing  to  erect  an  office-building 
in  the  city,  sent  out  circulars  to  architects,  inviting  them  to 
submit  full  plans  and  specifications  for  it,  and  promising  to  pay 
a  handsome  sum  for  the  ones  accepted.  The  plans  were  sent 
in,  and  after  examination,  were  all  returned  to  their  authors  as 
"  unsuitable."  Meanwhile,  however,  they  had  all  been  traced 
by  a  clever,  but  dissipated  draughtsman,  whom  the  proprietor 
had  picked  up  somewhere,  and  the  same  artist  afterwards  com- 
bined the  designs  into  a  conglomerate  structure,  which  stands 
at  this  day  in  the  lower  part  of  New  York,  as  an  example  of 
mercantile  acuteness,  and,  we  might  add,  of  the  folly  of  archi- 
tects. It  does  not  require  a  very  discerning  mind  to  perceive 
that  if  the  architects  in  question  had  simply  shown  ordinary 
prudence,  in  declining  to  do  any  work  "  on  approval,"  or,  if 
they  wished  to  enter  into  competition,  in  waiting  until  they 
were  offered  proper  terms,  they  would  not  now  be  suffering 
from  the  feeling  of  having  thrown  their  time  and  money  away 
for  nothing,  or  from  that  sharper  sting,  the  consciousness  of 
having  made  themselves  ridiculous  in  the  eyes  of  their  deceiver 
and  his  friends,  by  their  childish  credulity  and  lack  of  common- 
sense.  A  person  who  allows  himself  to  be  deluded  by  such 
proposals  may,  perhaps,  deserve  the  pity  of  the  humane,  but  he 
merits  no  sympathy  or  consideration  from  architects,  whose 
good  name  he  degrades  by  his  folly,  while  he  seriously  injures 
their  business  by  his  idiotic  competition  for  work  which  either 
he  or  they  might  do  at  a  fair  price,  if  he  were  not  always 
ready  to  be  deluded,  on  the  most  transparent  pretenses,  into 
doing  it  for  nothing.  In  the  cases,  which  are  quite  common 
enough,  where  architects  are  really  misled  by  false  promises, 
or  cheated  out  of  their  earnings,  some  means  of  securing 
justice  quickly  and  cheaply  is  greatly  needed,  and  we  hope 
that  the  reorganized  American  Institute,  of  which,  by  the  way, 
we  hear  nothing,  will  address  itself  in  earnest  to  the  question ; 
but  people  who  wish  the  profession  to  help  them  out  of  their 
troubles  should  deserve  that  favor,  not  only  by  loyalty  to  pro- 
fessional principles,  but  by  showing,  in  their  transactions,  a 
decent  amount  of  prudence  and  self-respect. 


160 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.         [VOL.  XXV. — No.  693. 


THE    BOSTON    ATHLETIC    ASSOCIATION'S    BUILDING. 


NO  new  building  in 
Boston  has  attract- 
ed so  much  atten- 
/tion  as  that  recently 
opened  by  the  Boston 
Athletic  Association,  on 
Exeter 'Street,  and  cer- 
tainly no  one  reflects 
more  credit  on  its  archi- 
tects and  the  building- 
committee,  who,  in 
place  of  beinc;  trouble- 
some and  practically  use- 
less coadjutors,  could 
in  this  case  hardly  have 
been  dispensed  with,  for 
the  requirements  which 
the  architects  were  called  upon  to  satisfy  were  of  a  kind  that  any 
ordinary  architectural  training  threw  no  light  on,  and  there  were 
few  precedents  that  could  be  consulted. 

The  movement  began  with  a  few  men  who  had  always  taken  an 
interest  in  outdoor  sports,  who  found  that  when  the  open   season 


The  Tennis-Court. 


houses  and  restaurants  everywhere,  but  all  were  more  or  less  widely 
scattered,  all  subject  to  separate  membership  fees  and  rules,  and  all 
more  or  less  unsatisfactory  for  one  reason  or  another. 

A  few  preliminary  meetings  made  it  clear  that  the  movement  could 
have  support;  the  association  was  incorporated,  bonds  issued  and 
taken  up  by  interested  members  who  had  capital  they  were  willing  to 
invest  in  this  way.  This  first  step  taken  and  a  site  secured ;  the 
next  was  to  procure  the  necessary  plans,  and  few  will  deny  that  a 
very  satisfactory  result  has  been  achieved.  The  fact  that  some  of 
the  rooms  are  a  size  too  small  is  a  misfortune  attendant  on  the  in- 
ability to  procure  a  larger  lot.  Excellent  advantage  has  been  taken 
of  the  space  available,  and  in  compactness,  distribution  and  conveni- 
ence it  is  an  interesting  model  to  be  consulted  by  those  who  may 
have  similar  buildings  to  erect  in  other  cities. 

From  the  very  start  success  has  been  a  certainty,  and  it  has  been 
owing  to  the  central  idea  of  uniting  under  one  roof  the  elements  of  a 
social  club  and  an  athletic  association,  since  it  secured  the  support 
and  countenance  of  elder  men  —  the  more  opulent  relations  of  the 
younger  athletes  —  who  would  hardly  have  thought  it  worth  while 
to  subscribe  to  the  support  of  a  mere  gymnasium  which  they  were 
likely  to  use  but  rarely,  partly  through  indolence,  and  partly  through 
an  unwillingness  to  show  their  younger  fellows  how  years  and  disuse 
had  softened  their  tissues  and  taken  from  the  former  manly  grace  of 
figure  they  once  so  highly  esteemed.  But  thanks  to  the  commingling 
of  the  provisions  for  social  and  athletic  enjoyment  these  athletes  of 


closed  there  were  practically  no  means  at  hand  for  keeping  up  that 
bodily  condition  which,  when  once  enjoyed,  one  is  willing  to 
do  so  much  to  preserve.  To  be  sure,  there  was  a  tennis-court  here, 
a  gymnasium  there,  a  bath  yonder,  billiard-rooms  in  all  the  club- 


a  former  day  do  not  find  themselves  out-of-place  here,  and  under  the 
pretense  of  a  lounge  can  get  actual  profit  from  their  membership  by 
taking  such  casual  exercise  as  their  years  and  inclination  may  permit, 
without  feeling  obliged  to  take  up  the  systematic  and  regular  course  of 


APRIL  6,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


161 


exercise  that  membership  at  an  ordinary  gymnasium  would  naturally 
urge  on  the  really  unwilling  man  of  years.  A  half-hour  at  the 
weights  in  a  place  like  this,  with  a  pleasant  dining-room  below  and 
ample  lounging-rooms  and  good  company  around,  is  a  vastly  more 
agreeable  thing  to  contemplate  than  the  same  time  spent  in  a  bare 
and  ill-smelling  gymnasium,  when  it  has  to  be  followed  by  a  chilly 
walk  home,  or  a  still  more  dangerous  ride  on  the  horse-cars.  The 


force  of  servants  and  superintendents,  and  it  has  wisely  been  decided 
to  make  it  practically  self-supporting  by  charging  fees  for  the  use  of 
bowling-alley,  tennis-court,  billiard-tables,  Turkish-baths  and  so  on, 
while  the  gymnasium  proper  is  free  to  all.  It  is  here  that  one 
whose  memories  of  gymnastic  apparatus  go  back  twenty  or  thirty 
years  to  the  little,  old  gymnasium  at  Harvard  opens  his  eyes  and 
goes  about  with  a  mien  of  respectful  inquiry,  trying  to  discover  the 


Fireplace  In  the  Billiard-room. 


real  element  of  success  lies  just  here,  and  whoever  originated  the 
idea  of  such  combination,  should  be  considered  the  founder  of  the 
club. 

Although  opened  only  a  few  weeks  ago,  it  is  already  the  most 
popular  resort  in  the  city  —  so  popular,  in  fact,  that  the  older  clubs 
which  are  merely  social  in  character,  already  feel  that  the  current  of 
favor  is  setting  away  from  them,  and  foresee  a  possibility  that  their 
past  prosperous  financial  condition  may,  in  time,  be  impaired  through 
the  greater  attractions  offered  by  the  new  club  which  already  has  a 
waiting-list  of  several  hundred ;  although,  since  the  opening,  the 
membership  has  been  increased  beyond  the  limit  originally  fixed. 

The  plans  and  illustrations  published  herewith  practically  give  all 
the  information  that  can  be  given,  but  they  can  give  but  an  imper- 
fect idea  of  the  homely  and  homelike  air  that  pervades  the  building,  so 
different  from  that  which  oppresses  one  in  so  many  club-houses  where 


A  Corner  of  the  Billiard-room. 


the  first  —  or  a  main  —  intent  is  a  showiness,  or,  at  least,  elaboration 
of  architectural  and  decorative  features,  which  makes  one  feel  as  if 
he  ought  to  appear  there  only  in  full  evening  dress. 

The  membership  of  the  club  is  so  large  that  it  will  evidently  be 
easy  to  provide  for  the  interest  on  the  bonds  and  the  needful  sinking- 
fund.  But  so  large  and  complex  an  establishment  requires  a  large 


whys  and  wherefores  of  the  intricate  apparatus  whose  very  neatness 
and  perfection  of  workmanship  is,  at  once,  an  invitation  to  strip  and 
go  to  work,  and  an  irritation,  as  one  feels  aggravated  that  these 
things  were  not  invented  two  or  three  decades  ago.  Clubs  and  bars 
and  rings  can  be  recognized,  but  this  great  array  of  lifting-weights  of 
different  models  need  explanation,  accompanied  with  demonstration, 
before  it  is  possible  to  understand  their  uses  or  conceive  what  set  of 
muscles  they  are  to  develop.  Many  of  these  are  due  to  the  ingenuity 
of  Dr.  Sargent,  the  Superintendent  of  the  Hemenway  Gymnasium,  at 
Cambridge,  and  give  evidence  of  the  wisdom  of  employing  in  that 
position  a  man  of  intelligence  and  education,  rather  than  the  retired 
"  bruiser,"  as  in  the  olden  time. 

In  regard  to  the  plan  and  arrangement  of  the  building,  we  are 
obliged  to  begin  contrary  to  custom,  at  the  top.  The  tennis  and 
racquet  courts  being  of  fixed  dimensions  regulated  the  main  partition- 


Buffet  in  the  Dining-room. 

walls  and  even  the  length  of  the  building  which  just  accomodates  the 
tennis  court.  The  building  is  then  divided  into  three  main  divisions, 
one  the  width  of  the  tennis-court,  one  the  width  of  the  racquet-court, 
and  the  third  the  space  left  between  when  these  two  are  taken  out. 
The  gymnasium,  occupies  all  the  space  under  the  tennis-court  and  this 
central  section,  and  we  find  that  there  is  now  only  one  portion  of  the 
building  which  being  unoccupied  from  top  to  bottom  is  suitable  for  a 
staircase,  viz.,  the  space  left  at  the  end  of  the  racquet-court,  and. 


162 


The  American  Architect  and  Building  News.      [Vot.  XXV.— No.  693. 


here  the  main  one  must  be.  Room  is  found  for  the  second  by  taking 
out  a  corner  of  the  gymnasium  proper  and  this  is  of  iron,  in  a  brick 
well.  So  much  for  the  skeleton  arrangement;  the  various  floor 
plans  show  the  result. 

We   enter   on   a  level  from   the  street  on  what  is  practically  a 
mezzanine  floor.     One  flight  down  carries  us  to  the  Turkish  baths 


Wall  Desk  in  the  Writing-room. 

with  the  tank  and  lounging-room  for  the  bathers  and  spectators  and 
a  flight  up  takes  us  to  the  main  social  floor;  while  on  the  level  are 
the  private  bowling   alleys,  which  being  for  ladies'  use   as  well  a 
members',  are  directly  at  the  entrance,  the  storage-room  for  cycles 
and  the  barber's  shop. 

In  all  the  decoration  of  the  building  economy  and  durability  hav*. 
been  the  first  considerations.     In  view  of  the  experimental  character 

of  the  undertakin 
the  first  was  a  neces 
sity  and  the  latter 
almost  equally  so  for 
a  club  which  the 
founders  intended  to 
be  permanent. 

In  the  basemen 
then  we  find  extreme 
simplicity,  the  walls  oi 
the  lounging-room  ant 
tank  of  Massachu 
setts  brick  are  all  ex 
posed  and  the  only  dec 
oration  permitted  is  a 
stencilling  of  strong 
green  over  the  uppci 
part  of  the  loung- 
ing-room  walls,  whicl. 
especially  at  night  is 
very  effective.  Five 
great  arches  divide 
this  room  from  the 
tank,  25'  x  39'  and 
holding  some  60,000 
gallons.  Below  the 
water-line  this  is  built 
of  glazed  brick,  the 
upper  six  courses 


Exit  from  Reception-room  to  Stairway. 


-rt~ 

light  green  and  the 
bottom  the  same, 
while  the  remainder 

is  white.     A  graded  platform  at  one  end  gives  any  required  height 

for  a  dive,  and  a  spring-board  at  the  other  end  gives  opportunity 

for     running-dives     and 

somersaults.     At  the  same 

end  a  platform  under  water 

makes  a  shoal  space  8  feet 

x   25  for  the   use   of   the 

inexperienced    and    the 

children  of  members,  who 

can  here  have  lessons   at 

stated  hours.     The   water 

is  filtered  through  a  large 

Oliphant     filter     w  h  i  c°h 

makes  the  otherwise  yellow 

water  of  Cochituate  clear 


Fireplace  in  the  Morning-room. 


and   colorless,  and  by  the 

aid    of     steam-pipes    laid 

about  the  bottom  of  the  tank  is  to  be  kept  at  a  temperature  of  about 

65°  to  70°  Fahrenheit. 

The   Turkish-baths   proper,  following  a  not  unusual  plan  in  the 
Mat,  are  clustered  around  one  central  room  which  is  covered  by  a 


dome.  The  four  openings  are  Moorish  arches  in  green,  brown  and 
white  glazed  brick  and  the  walls  up  to  the  springs  of  these  arches 
are  of  the  same  material.  Above,  and  up  to  the  spring  of  the  dome 
a  Persian  pattern  in  blue  and  green  is  stencilled  on  the  rough  plaster, 
and  the  dome  is  relieved  by  medallions  of  color,  and  circular 
windows  filled  with  stained-glass. 

The  rooms  surrounding  are  low  studded  (the  half-story  only)  and 
are,  a  room  at  140°-150°  Fahrenheit,  a  room  at  160°-170°  Fahren- 


A  Bit  of  the  Dining-room. 

heit,  a  steam-room  or  Russian-bath,  with  shower,  and  a  room  for 
massage  and  the  shampoo.  Having  finished  in  this  last  room,  the 
bold  bather  takes  a  cold  shower  and  then  plunges  into  the  big  tank, 
while  the  one  who  fears  the  shock  returns  as  he  came.  Before 
dressing  he  can  receive  a  rub  down  with  alcohol,  which  will  prevent 
his  catching  cold  and  will  act  like  a  cocktail  before  dinner. 

On  the  social  floor  we  find  the  usual  club-rooms,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  card-rooms  and  private  dining-rooms  —  there  being 
absolutely  no  space  for  these.  What  rooms  there  are,  are  large: 
the  dining-room  seats  85,  the  billiard-room  gives  very  ample  room 
for  6  tables  and  could  accomodate  8,  and  the  drawing-room,  morning- 
room  and  library  will  easily  accomodate  those  who  are  resting  from 

their  exercise  or 
are  too  lazy  to 
participate  in  the 
sports  which  the 
building  affords. 
The  three  last- 
named  rooms  are 
papered  in  quiet 
colors,  light  red 
being  the  prevail- 
ing tone  in  the 
drawing-room,  yel- 
low in  the  morn- 
ing-room, and  dark 
green  with  oak 
and  gold  in  the 
library. 

The  furniture  is 
all  in  keeping  with 
the  size  of  the 
rooms,  and  is  mas- 
sive oak  or  ma- 
hogany, covered 
with  soft,  red, 
green,  or  russet 
leathers. 

The  billiard- 
room,  which  is  in 
oak,  lias  seats  all  around  and  the  walls  covered  with  buckram,  which, 
on  the  natural  ground,  is  stencilled  with  a  good  mediaeval  pattern  in 
golden  browns,  harmonizing  with  the  oak  and  the  buff  tones  of  the 
jeamed-ceiling.  This  latter  is  of  stucco,  and  covers  the  great  gir- 
ders, some  of  which  weigh  over  seven  tons,  and  which  span  nearly 
40  feet,  carrying  the  gymnasium  floor. 

The  dining-room  is  in  cherry,  natural  color,  as  it  is  the  dark  room 
)f  the  building,  and  the  walls  are  stencilled  in  green,  on  a  light  yellow 
artridge  paper.  Two  dumb-waiters  run  70'  up  to  the  kitchen 
loor,  and  the  table  d'hote  meals  are  served  from  a  hot-table  in  th§ 
hina-closet. 


Bay-window  Seat  in   Billiard-room. 


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Copyright,  1889,  by  TICKNOR  &  Co. 


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COVYBISHT  1889BYTlCXUORiC° 


APEIL  6,  1889.] 


The  American  Architect  and  Building  News. 


163 


On  the  second  floor,  and  the  mezzanine  on  a  level  with  the  running- 
track,  are  the  gymnasium  and  all  its  baths  and  dressing-rooms.  A 
special  effort  has  been  made  to  make  both  these  latter  as  con- 
venient and  complete  as  possible.  The  members,  instead  of  owning 
large  lockers  where  they  hang  their  own  clothes  to  be  aired  or  dried 
as  they  may,  have  merely  small  cupboards,  only  large  enough  to 
receive  their  clothes  when  folded.  An  attendant  receives  the 
exercising  clothes  when  taken  off,  and  carries  them  to  a  large  well- 
ventilated  drying-room,  kept  at  a  temperature  of  90°.  When  dry 
and  aired,  he  "folds  them  and  places  them  in  the  lockers  ready  for  use. 
The  dressing-rooms  accommodate  two  each,  and  there  the  clothes 
are  hung  up  while  exercising ;  all  valuables  having  been  left  at  the 
gymnasium  office.  Besides  bath-tubs  and  bowls,  there  are  a  number 
of  private  shower  bath-rooms  where  the  bather  may  take  a  shower  or 
a  douche  of  any  required  temperature,  or  he  may  go  to  the  general 
shower  bath-rooms  and  there  receive  the  benefit  of  more  complicated 
showers. 

On  the  third  floor  are  the  two  large  courts,  which,  as  they  are  the 
same  as  all  other  racquet  and  tennis  courts,  needs  no  especial  descrip- 
tion. The  walls  of  one  are  of  Keene  cement,  colored  red,  and  of 
the  other,  Portland  cement  painted  black,  and  the  floors  are  an  inch 
of  Portland  cement,  on  4  inches  of  concrete,  on  hard-pine  planking, 
which  is  exposed  below  as  the  gymnasium  ceiling.  They  are  lighted 
by  skylights  half  the  width  of  the  court,  and  running  nearly  the  whole 
length. 

The  outside  speaks  for  itself.  It  is  of  simplest  materials,  Massa- 
chusetts brick,  with  a  sparing  use  of  Anderson  pressed-brick,  as 
economy  was  the  one  ruling  force  with  the  architects.  The  large 
spaces  to  be  spanned  and  the  heavy  floors  of  the  courts  made  it 
necessary  to  use  heavy  box-girders  which  added  considerably  to  the 
difficulties  of  the  construction,  as  they  tended  to  centralize  weight  at 
certain  points. 


[Contributors  are  requested  to  send  with  their  drawings  full  and 
adequate  descriptions  of  the  buildings,  including  a  statement  of  cost. ] 

THE  BOSTON  ATHLETIC  ASSOCIATION  BUILDING — THE  GYMNA- 
SIUM, BOSTON,  MASS.  MR.  J.  H.  STURGI8  [STURGIS  &  CABOT, 
SUCCESSORS],  ARCHITECT,  BOSTON,  MASS. 

[Gelatine  Print,  issued  only  with  the  Imperial  Edition.] 

THE    BILLIARD-ROOM    IN    THE    SAME    BUILDING. 
[Gelatine  Print,  issued  only  with  the  Imperial  Edition.] 

BUILDING  OF  THE  BOSTON  ATHLETIC  ASSOCIATION,  BOSTON, 
MASS.  MR.  J.  H.  STURGIS  [STURGIS  &  CABOT,  SUCCESSORS], 
ARCHITECT,  BOSTON,  MASS. 

FOR  description  see  elsewhere  in  this  issue. 

TURKISH   BATH    AND    SWIMMING-TANK    OF  THE  BOSTON    ATHLETIC 
ASSOCIATION. 

PLANS  OF  THE  BUILDING  OF  THE  BOSTON  ATHLETIC    ASSOCIATION. 

SKETCH  FOR  COUNTRY  CHURCH,  CHAPEL  AND  PARSONAGE,  MONT- 
CLAIR,  N.  J.  MR.  R.  H.  ROBERTSON,  ARCHITECT,  NEW  YORK, 
N.  Y. 


INTERNATIONAL  CONGRESS  OF  APPLIED  MECHANICS.  —  There  will  be 
held  at  Paris  at  the  Conservatoire  des  Arts  et  Me'tiers,  an  International 
Congress  of  Applied  Mechanics,  under  the  patronage  of  a  Committee 
of  Honor,  comprising  savants  and  engineers  of  renown  both  from 
France  and  from  other  countries,  who  will  give  the  work  of  the  Con- 
gress the  benefit  of  their  influence  and  the  weight  of  their  authority. 
The  President  of  the  Committee  on  Organization  is  Monsieur  Phillips, 
ex-Inspector-General  of  Mines  (retired).  The  five  members  appointed 
from  the  United  States  are,  in  the  order  of  their  mention  on  the  official 
bulletin:  Messrs.  Kobert  Grimshaw,  (President  Polytechnic  Section 
American  Institute,  New  York);  R.  H.  Thurston,  (Director,  Sibley 
College  of  Cornell  University,  Ithaca) ;  Professor  Egleston,  (Columbia 
College  School  of  Mines,  New  York) ;  and  the  Presidents  of  the  Ameri- 
can Societies  of  Civil  and  of  Mechanical  Engineers.  At  this  Congress, 
among  the  important  subjects  submitted  for  discussion  are  .  the  unifica- 
tion of  the  horse-power ;  the  choice  of  materials  in  machine  construc- 
tion ;  the  mechanical  production  and  utilization  of  artificial  cold ; 
transmission  to  a  distance,  and  distribution,  of  work,  by  other  means 
than  electricity,  (water,  air,  steam,  cables,  etc.);  automatic  cutoff 
engines  with  several  successive  cylinders ;  thermo-motors  other  than 
the  steam-engine.  Other  topics,  treated  by  papers,  will  be :  improve- 
ments in  steam-engines  since  1878;  progress  among  associations  of 
owners  of  steam  appliances ;  and  improvements  in  apparatus  for  the 
generation  of  steam,  (more  particularly  sectional  b,ojlers). 


AMONG  THE  CAPITALS  OF  ITALY.' 


Fig- 


From  the  Baths  of  Caracalla. 


HEREisnot 
in  the  whole 
r  an  ge  of 
a  r  c  h  i  tecture  a 
more  delightful 
section  of  study 
than  the  one 
having  to  do 
with  the  evolu- 
tion of  the  capi- 
tal. To  trace 
the  growth  of 
that  chief  of 
ornaments  from 
the  time  when 
our  savage  fore- 
fathers bound  a 
cluster  of  leaves 
around  the  sum- 
mit of  the  forest 
column,  to  the 
days  when 
cultured  Phidias 
embellished  the 


Parthenon  with  his  inimitable  work,  is  interesting  enough ;  but  to 
follow  its  course  through  the  fascinating  era  of  the  Italian  Renais- 
sance reveals  a  history  which  is  hardly  short  of  romantic.  On  the 
glorification  of  the  capital  the  ornamentist  has  bestowed  the  very 
ilower  of  his  thought,  the  sculptor  the  most  cunning  efforts  of  his 
chisel,  and  even  the  poet  has  delighted  to  hang  a  few  garlands  on  its 
volutes.  In  the  days  of  the  old  Greeks,  its  lines,  when  once  evolved 
by  a  "  master,"  were  looked  upon  with  such  veneration  that  they  be- 
came as  the  laws  of  the  Medes  and  Persians.  A  definite  form  of 
capital  was  associated  with  a  particular  epoch,  and  to  amend  or  alter 
it,  when  used  in  that  association,  was  considered  little  short  of 
sacrilege.  Even  now,  after  centuries  of  research,  it  must  be  con- 
fessed °that  it  is  difficult,  if  indeed  possible,  to  improve  upon  the 
capitals  devised  by  the  old  Grecian  architects ;  for  over  two  thousand 
years  of  usage  have  not  succeeded  in  rendering  them  at  all  stale  and 
unprofitable.  Phidias  and  his  immediate  successors  were  the 
artificers  who,  above  all  others,  succeeded  in  handing  down  to 
posterity  what  Lord  Macaulay  calls 

"  The  stone  that  breathes  and  struggles, 

The  brass  that  seems  to  speak  ; 
Such  cunning  they  who  dwell  on  high 
Have  giveu  to  the  Greek." 

Having  hung  my  chaplet  of  praise  on  the  capitals  of  Old  Athens, 
I  shall  proceed  to  "do  what  may  appear  to  be  inconsistent  with  that 
notarial  offering ;  for,  paradoxical  as  it  may  seem,  the  main  object  of 


Fig.  2.     From  the  Cathedral  at  Prato. 

these  notes  —  which  are  the  outcome  of  a  personal  sketching  tour  in 
Italy  —  is  to  show  that,  while  the  spirit  of  classic  originals  can  be 
retained,  detail  may  be  infinitely  varied,  greatly  to  the  benefit  of  the 
capital  itself,  and  therefore  of  architecture  and  woodwork  generally. 
This  statement  of  purpose  will  at  once  suggest  that  the  ruins  of  the 
Renaissance  form  the  happy  hunting-ground  from  which  I  captured 
the  specimens  adorning  these  pages,  the  most  notable  of  which  may 
be  attributed  to  la  Mia  Firenze.  But  before  sporting  on  the  banks 
of  the  Arno,  I  propose  to  pause  for  a  moment  by  the  Tiber,  in  just 
about  the  spot  where  Walter  de  Montreal  stood  when  he  gazed  on 
Rome.  "  Though  little  skilled  in  the  classic  memories  and  associa- 
tions of  the  spot,  he  could  not,"  says  Lord  Lytton,  "  but  be  impressed 

i  By  J.  William  Benn,  Member  of  tlie  London  County  Council. 


164 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.       [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  693. 


with  the  surrounding  witnesses  of  a  departed  empire;  the  vast 
skeletons,  as  it  were,  of  the  dead  giantess.  Now,  thought  he,  as  he 
gazed  around  upon  the  roofless  columns  and  shattered  walls  every- 
where visible,  over  which  the  starlight  shone  ghastly  and  trans- 
parent, backed  by  the  frowning  and  embattled  fortresses  of 
Frangipani,  half-hid  by  the  dark  foliage  that  sprung  up  amidst  the 
very  fanes  and  palaces  of  old  —  Nature  exulting  over  the  frailer  art ; 
now,  thought  he,  bookmen  would  be  inspired  by  the  scene  with 
fantastic  and  dreamy  visions  of  the  past.  But  to  me  these  monu- 
ments of  high  ambition  and  royal  splendor  create  only  images  of  the 
future." 

In  that  last  phrase  we  get  the  motif  of  these  notes.  "  These 
monuments  "  are  expressly  set  out  here  in  the  hope  that  they  may 
"create  only  images  of  the  future,"  not  only  in  the  matter  of 
capitals,  hut  in  a  hundred  other  ways.  Some  architects  and 
designers  may  be  shocked  at  the  statement ;  but  I  venture  to  assert 
that  the  majority  of  modern  capitals  are  monstrous  pieces  of 
plagiarism,  and  the  advent  of  a  new  composition  of  any  merit  is  as 
rare  as  the  dodo.  How  does  this  sameness  come  about  ?  Just  in 
this  way :  if  a  capital  is  wanted,  the  timid  architect  or  designer 
hesitates  to  employ  any  other  than  academical  examples,  and  so 
we  get  well-known  types  repeated  ad  nauseam.  Some  of  my  purist 
readers  may  retort,  "  Is  it  not  better  to  follow  recognized  and  re- 
spected models,  than  to  run  the  risk  of  failure  by  rummaging  in 
fresh  fields  and  pastures  new  ?  "  Perhaps  it  is  for  the  man  who  is 
content  to  remain  on  the  bottom  rung  of  his  profession  and  suffer 


splendid  mosaics.  What  a  scene  to  behold ;  these  works  of  art  in- 
termingled with  1,600  bathers !  A  comparison  of  the  present  ruins 
with  what  we  know  must  have  been  the  original  structure  covering 
thirty  thousand  square  yards,  is  enough  to  cause  one  "  to  sigh  like  a 
schoolboy,"  as  Shakespeare  puts  it.  To  notice  that  such  precious 
relics  as  the  one  which  is  here  sketched  have  been  carried  piecemeal- 
fashion  to  every  quarter  of  Rome,  and,  indeed,  Europe,  provokes  the 
exclamation  of  Mark  Antony  :  "  What  a  fall  was  there,  my  country- 
men ! "  This  superb  capital  is  reverently  sketched  just  as  it  is, 
broken  and  disfigured,  without  attempting  to  restore  or  imagine  any 
of  the  missing  parts.  It  no  longer  surmounts  one  of  the  grand 
columns  of  the  Thermae,  but,  when  I  saw  it,  was  propped  up  on  some 
lowly  brickwork.  One  of  the  saddest  things  about  visiting  Rome  is 
to  see  such  priceles  heirlooms  as  this  cropping  up  in  all  sorts  of 
commonplace  buildings  and  unexpected  corners,  having  been  stolen 
from  their  original  resting-places,  as  stones  would  be  taken  from  a 
heap.  Such  vandalism  is  enough  to  upset  the  equilibrium  of  the  out- 
sider, much  more  the  art-worshipping  sketcher.  As  Lord  Lytton 
truly  says  :  "  So  common  at  that  day  —  the  time  of  Rienzi  —  were 
these  barbarous  appropriations  of  the  precious  monuments  of  art, 
that  the  columns  and  domes  of  earlier  Rome  were  regarded  by  all 
classes  but  as  quarries,  from  which  every  man  was  free  to  gather  the 
materials,  whether  for  his  cattle  or  his  cottage,  —  a  wantonness  of 
outrage  far  greater  than  the  Goths,  to  whom  a  later  age  would  fain 
have  attributed  all  the  disgrace,  and  which  more,  perhaps,  than  even 
heavier  offences,  excited  the  classical  indignation  of  Petrarch." 


Fig.  3.     From  the  Ducal  Palace,  Urbino. 


Fig,  4. 


self-effacement.  But  the  one  who  desires  to  impress  himself  on  his 
work  is  respectfully  invited  to  accompany  me  to  a  few  famous  build- 
ings in  the  sunny  South,  in  order  to  consider  on  the  spot,  as  it  were, 
some  capitals  setting  forth  the  versatility  of  the  Renaissance,  my 
hope  being  that  a  contemplation  of  these  examples  may  impart  to 
some  the  necessary  courage  and  inspiration  to  go  and  do  likewise. 

The  object,  then,  of  this  architectural  excursion  is  to  show  how 
various  are  the  details  of  which  capitals  can  be  composed,  and  how 
miserable,  in  the  face  of  such  variety,  is  the  vocation  of  the  mere 
copyist.  Though  this  inquiry  naturally  takes  the  student  at  once  to 
the  period  of  the  Renaissance,  it  must  not  he  supposed  that  the 
ancients  were  fettered,  in  the  designs  for  their  capitals,  to  the  five 
orders.  As  I  have  hinted,  we  may  first  pause  for  a  few  minutes  at 
Rome,  and  there  it  is  at  once  apparent  that  the  Romans  were 
particularly  free  in  their  manipulation  of  the  Greek  series  of  forms. 
For  instance,  their  composite  capital  showed  a  determination  not  to 
be  bound  by  the  academical  copy  which  came  from  Corinth.  And 
even  the  composite  which  the  Romans  created  was  further  enriched 
or  altered  to  suit  special  circumstances.  The  first  sketch  to  which 
I  draw  attention  is  a  beautiful  example  of  this.  As  a  basis  we  get 
the  genuine  composite  —  the  massive  Ionic  volutes  being  introduced 
instead  of  the  somewhat  weak  tendril-shaped  volute  —  but  in  the 
centre  a  finely-modelled  figure,  almost  worthy  of  Michael  Angelo, 
appears.  And  why  ?  Because  this  noble  capital  was  one  of  those 
adorning  the  columns  surrounding  the  baths  of  Caracalla;  and  what 
"  finishing  touch  "  could  be  more  appropriate  than  the  figure  of  the 
hather  preparing  for  his  plunge?  How  few  modern  bathing-estab- 
lishments have  capitals  of  similar  artistic  taste  and  fitness.  Alas ! 
none  will  compare  with  the  magnificence  of  the  Thermse  of  Caracalla 
or  Antoninianae,  with  its  numerous  statues,  which  included  such 
treasures  as  the  Farnese  Bull,  Hercules  and  Flora  at  Naples,  and 


Fig.  5.     From  the  Cathedral  of  S.  Florido,  Citta  da  Ca«- 
tlllO. 

Happily,  this  dishonest  state  of  things  does  not  exist  now,  for  the 
Italian  Government  jealously  guards  every  such  relic  of  antiquity. 
Indeed,  Young  Italy  may  now  sing  with  Rienzi,  though,  at  present, 
in  not  too  blatant  a  strain  :  — 

"  The  Soul  of  the  Past,  again 
To  its  ancient  home, 
In  the  hearts  of  Rome, 
Hath  come  to  resume  its  reign  !  " 

Speaking  of  these  stones  of  Old  Rome,  some  may  urge  that  nearly 
all  the  details  of  the  Italian  Renaissance  can  similarly  be  traced 
among  the  remains  of  the  Roman  Forum  on  the  Palatine  Hill,  or 
among  the  ruins  of  the  Baths  of  Caracalla ;  but  one  might,  with 
equal  reason,  contend  that  the  pictures  of  Michael  Angelo  snowed 
no  advance  on  those  of  Cimabue,  because  the  same  lineaments 
and  muscles  were  portrayed.  The  capitals  in  the  following  series, 
meagrely  as  they  represent  the  wealth  of  a  subsequent  period,  will  be 
sufficient  to  show  how,  eventually,  the  dry  bones  were  clothed  afresh 
with  vitality.  Some  critics  imagine  that  the  Renaissance  is  merely 
an  imitative  style  because  it  sought  its  inspiration  in  the  work  of  the 
ancient  Greeks  and  Romans,  but  such  entirely  fail  to  understand 
the  new  spirit,  which,  while  awakening  men  to  an  appreciation  of  the 
romance  and  beauty  of  the  ancient  world,  also  imparted  to  them  a 
sense  of  their  own  individual  freedom  of  thought  and  design.  The 
beginnings  of  this  revival  are  noticeable  even  before  the  times  of 
Fillippo  Brunelleschi  (1377-1446),  but  he  was  unquestionably  the 
architect  who  gave  the  new  style  "  a  local  habitation  and  a  name." 
It  is  a  deeply-interesting  story,  which  tells  how  he  sustained  defeat, 
at  the  hands  of  Ghiberti,  over  the  celebrated  Baptistery-gates  com- 
petition, and  went  along  with  Donatello  to  try  his  luck  in  Rome,  and 
more  especially  to  study  specimens  of  the  antique  which  were  then 
being  excavated. 


APEIL  6,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


165 


Donatello  —  or  to  give  his  name  correctly,  Donate  di  Niccolb  di 
Betti  Bardi  —  rather  than  Brunelleschi,  claims  our  attention  just 
now,  for  he  was  one  of  the  earliest  of  the  masters  who  re-dressed  the 
Classic  after  the  courageous  manner  which  is  shown  in  capital  No.  2. 
Tourists  in  Italy  are  apt  to  be  led  away  by  the  lions  of  the  land,  the 
great  architectural  works  of  Brunelleschi,  Bramante,  or  Michael 
Angelo,  and  overlook  some  of  the  smaller  towns  and  examples. 
Such  a  method  of  viewing  is  something  like  enjoying  a  grand  land- 
scape in  its  entirety,  and  foolishly  remaining  oblivious  to  the  grasses, 
leaves  and  flowers  which  go  to  make  it  up.  The  vast  domain  of 
decorative  sculpture  is  full  of  flowers  of  thought,  whose  beauty 
appeals  not  only  to  the  architect,  but  to  every  student  of  decorative 
art.  Thus  it  is  that  the  most  delightful  lessons  can  be  derived  from 
isolated  works  in  metal,  stone,  stucco,  inlaid  (intarsia)  or  carved 
wood,  which  are  considered  by  some  as  outside  the  proper  range  of 
architecture.  How  many  men  who  are  fairly  good  in  working  out 
the  broad  lines  of  a  facade,  or  conceiving  a  sky-line,  fail  ignomin- 
iously  in  matters  of  detail  ? 

But  to  return  to  Donatello.  He  was  famous  for  introducing  into 
his  work  a  naturalistic  style  which,  while  erring  on  the  side  of 
harshness,  was  full  of  life  and  character.  This  capital  (Figure  2) 
from  the  cathedral  of  the  little  town  of  Prato  illustrates  this  remark 
perfectly.  How  he  has  crowded  into  this  one  effort  Cupid  on  Cupid 
and  figure  on  figure.  Why,  even  the  front  view  of  the  capital 
reveals  nine  figures,  large  and  small,  in  addition  to  the  bust  of  the 
Cupid  at  the  top  forming  the  centrepiece.  Just  think  of  it  —  nine 


famous  Federigo  Montefeltro.  Capitals,  or  rather  brackets,  Nos.  8 
and  4,  are  samples  of  many  others  put  there  by  Francesco  di  Giorgio, 
of  Siena,  and  Ambrosio  Baroccio,  an  ancestor  of  the  painter.  Herein 
we  find  a  marked  contrast  to  Donatello's  prolific  effort.  In  No.  3 
the  designer  confines  himself  to  simple  Grecian  details,  the  rams 
from  a  sacrificial  altar,  etc.,  but  he  disposes  of  them  in  a  new  way, 
and  the  result  is  a  bracket  of  marked  restraint  and  quiet  beauty. 
May  I  pause  here  to  suggest  to  the  modern  designer  who  would 
follow  on  these  lines,  and  yet  not  stultify  himself  as  a  mere  copyist, 
how  it  is  to  be  done?  Let  two  other  animals  equally  graceful  take 
the  place  of  the  rams  —  say,  rabbits  or  dogs  —  greyhounds  or  anv 
other  breed  —  some  local  leaves  be  substituted  for  the  acanthus  and 
honeysuckle,  and  the  thing  is  individualized  without  being  ostracized 
as  "  outside  the  range  of  the  styles."  In  No.  4  there  °is  more  de- 
parture from  strict  Classic  lines  shown.  The  curious  twist  of  the 
eel-like  scrolls  at  the  corners,  the  placing  of  the  facial  rosette,  the 
hanging  of  the  husk  festoons,  all  show  independence  of  thought. 
The  introduction  of  the  trident  and  the  dolphins  in  the  tail  of°the 
bracket,  and  the  hanging  of  a  couple  of  shields  by  the  ribbon  are 
decidedly  happy,  the  latter  suggesting  the  action  of  Icilius  when  he 

"  Sprang  upon  that  column,  by  many  a  minstrel  sung, 
Whereon  three  mouldering  helmets,  three  rusty  swords,  are  hung." 

Here  again  there  is  a  wealth  of  suggestion  to  the  designer  anxious 
for  change.  Anything,  from  fishes  to  flowers,  served  as  effective 
detail  for  this  designer  of  Urbino. 


Fig.  6.      From  Sta.  Marit  Maggiore,  Spello. 


figures  in  a  single  capital !  Nowadays  we  consider  ourselves  lucky 
if  we  get  a  single  good  head  or  mask  in  such  a  position,  much  less  a 
figure.  Thus  it  was  that  these  early  Renaissance  workers  seemed  to 
bubble  over,  so  to  speak,  with  genius.  Like  the  flowering  of  an 
exotic,  they  burst  forth  with  a  prodigality  which  was  so  bewildering 
in  its  brilliancy,  and  likely  to  be  judged  in  less  prolific  times  as  too 
profuse.  But  let  those  purists  who  would  throw  stones  at  Donatello 
lor  his  ornateness  go  to  S.  Antonio  at  Padua,  or  study  his  reliefs  on 
the  two  pulpits  in  S.  Lorenzo  at  Florence.  Further,  let  them 
reverently  study  his  Peter  and  Mark  in  the  Museo  Nazionale  of  the 
same  city.  The  latter  are  in  bronze,  as  is  also  this  capital  which 
adorns  the  cathedral  at  Prato,  a  place  rich  in  examples  from  the 
artists  of  the  early  Renaissance  —  Donatello,  Michelozzo  and  Andrea 
della  Robbia.  I  have  purposely  placed  this  first  because  it  repre- 
sents that  liberty  of  treatment,  the  admiration  and  cultivation  of 
which  are  the  main  objects  of  this  imaginary  sketching  tour.  Those 
who  understand  the  difficulties  of  working  in  bronze  will  most  appre- 
ciate the  technique  of  this  effort.  Not  a  few  of  those  Italian  bronzes 
put  the  best  of  modern  efforts  "  on  their  mettle."  Some  may  perhaps 
think  this  remark  to  be  over-praise.  If  so,  let  such  gaze  on  Dona- 
tello's famous  Victorious  David  in  II  Bargello,  and  I  will  repeat  in 
their  presence  Macaulay's  lines : 

"  And  he  made  a  molten  Image 

And  set  it  np  on  high  ; 
And  there  it  stands  unto  this  day, 
To  witness  if  I  lie." 

Taking  Donatello's  capital  as  indicating  the  beginnings  of  this 
great  resurrection  of  art  —  he  died  in  1466 — we  must  now  borrow 
from  a  beautiful  building  which  was  erected  two  years  after  his  death 
in  the  city  of  Urbino,  the  place  claiming  the  immortal  Raphael  as  a 
son.  I  refer  to  the  much-admired  Ducal  Palace  erected  there  by  the 


Fig.  7.  Fig.  8.     From  the  Palazzo  Vecchio,  Florence. 

The  next  sample,  No.  5,  is  one  of  several  in  the  Cathedral  of  S. 
Florido  at  Citta  de  Castello,  in  the  upper  valley  of  the  Tiber.  The 
building,  an  admirable  specimen  of  the  Renaissance  style,  was  begun 
in  1482  and  completed  in  1522.  Bramante  is  generally  credited  with 
being  the  builder,  but  the  records  mention  Lombardo  as  the  archi- 
tect. It  is  interesting  to  notice  that  if  any  family  achieved  eminence 
at  this  period  it  generally  spent  the  greater  part  of  its  resources  in 
building.  The  history  of  the  Vitelli,  the  lords  and  masters  of  Citta 
de  Castello,  show  how  vehement  was  the  rage  for  bricks  and  mortar, 
or  rather  marble  and  stone,  for  they  erected  and  embellished  no  less 
than  four  palaces  to  commemorate  their  name  and  culture.  It  is  a 
pity  that  our  modern  princes,  merchant  and  otherwise,  are  not  more 
moved  to  leave  behind  them  such  "  footprints  on  the  sands  of  time." 
The  capital  which  causes  our  present  detour  to  this  out-of-the-way 
Perugian  town  is  remarkable  for  its  simplicity.  Its  details  are 
within  the  grasp  of  any  carver  who  has  mastered  the  acanthus  leaf, 
and  yet  it  is  not  commonplace  or  strictly  academical.  It  shows  that 
by  taking  a  little  trouble,  ordinary  stock  materials  can  be  regrouped 
with  the  happiest  of  results.  Those,  then,  who  shrink  from  attempt- 
ing the  task  of  evolving  a  capital  filled  with  figures,  like  that  of  Dona- 
tello, may  run  upon  the  easier  lines  of  this  simpler  effort. 

To  brace  up  the  faculties  of  any  who  imagine  that  the  designing  of 
capitals  begins  and  ends  with  the  refined  sort  of  thing  figured  in 
No.  5,  I  shall  now  proceed  to  the  little  town  of  Spello  in  order  to 
study  some  lively  capitals  which  there  adorn  the  Cathedral  of  Sta.  Maria 
Maggiore.  They  are  shown  in  sketches  Nos.  6  and  7,  and  exhibit  to 
perfection  the  happy  liberty  in  which  the  early  Renaissance  artists 
rejoiced.  While  adhering  to  the  main  lines  of  the  Classic,  they 
seized  anything  —  masks,  grotesque  heads,  festoons  and  a  thousand 
other  things  —  to  secure  effect.  In  No.  6  we  get  masks  of  various 
mien,  and  in  No.  7  heads  which  might  answer  for  court-jesters  or 
chimerical  creatures.  These  capitals  are  not  perhaps  "  pretty,"  but 


The  American  Architect  and  Building  News.        [VoL.  XXV.  — No.  693. 


they  are  full  of  life,  and  in  that  respect  stand  head-and-shoulders 
above  many  timid  compeers.  A  feature  which  is  distinctly  Renais- 
sance in  character  occurs  on  these  columns,  and  that  is  the  elaborate 
decoration  of  the  shafts.  In  this  respect  the  Italians  of  the  fifteenth 
and  sixteenth  centuries  made  a  new  departure.  Discarding  the 
simplicity  of  Classic  orders,  they  produced  shafts  of  great  beauty, 
and  the  two  distinct  types  of  treatment  which  are  here  shown  will 
reveal  the  early  form  in  which  such  florid  ideas  developed.  The 
choir  in  the  Cathedral  at  Spello  contains  a  magnificent  canopy  in  the 

early  Renais- 
sance style 
which  is  full  of 
suggestion  to  the 
student  of  this 
epoch.  These 
two  examples 
will  indicate  the 
inspiring  char- 
acter of  the 
work  which  is 
to  be  found  in 
this  corner  of 
the  sunny  South. 
One  may  pick 
up  all  sorts  of 
captivating  little 
bits  while  wan- 
dering in  the 
byways  of 
Italy ;  but,  after 
all,  Florence  is 
the  centre  of 
most  interest  to 
those  who  care 
to  follow  up  the 
subject  in  hand. 
Both  as  regards 
intellectual  and 
artistic  life,  the 


From  S.  Spirito,  Florence. 


great  art  city  of  Tuscany  succeeded  during  the  Middle  Ages  in 
eclipsing  even  Rome  itself.  While  the  Imperial  city  seemed  ever 
affected  by  the  dead  hand  of  Cajsar,  its  rival  on  the  Arno  rose, 
Phcenix-like,  from  the  ashes  of  former  greatness,  and  exhibited  a 
vitality  which  has  never  been  excelled  in  the  world's  history.  As 
Leo  charmingly 
puts  it,  "Here  ~ 
everything  be-  ~| 
trays  the  work 
of  generation  af- 
t  e  r  generation 
of  ingenious  men. 
Like  a  water-lily 
rising  on  the 
mirror  of  the 
lake,  so  rests  on 
this  lovely 
ground  the  still 
more  lovely  Flor- 
e  n  c  e ,  with 
i  t  s  everlasting 
works  and 
its  inexhaustible 
riches.  From 
the  bold,  airy 
tower  of  the 
palace,  rising 
like  a  slender 
mast,  to  Brunel- 
leschi's  w  o  n  - 
drous  dome  of 
the  Cathedral; 
from  the  old 
house  of  the 
Spini  to  the  Pitti 

Palace,  the  most  imposing  the  world  has  ever  seen ;  from  the  garden 
of  the  Franciscan  Convent  to  the  beautiful  environs  of  the  Cascine 
—  all  are  full  of  incomparable  grace.  Each  street  of  Florence  con- 
tains a  world  of  art ;  the  walls  of  the  city  are  the  calyx  containing 
the  fairest  flowers  of  the  human  mind ;  and  this  is  not  the  richest 
gem  in  the  diadem  with  which  the  Italian  people  have  adorned  the 
earth." 

We  will  to  Florence,  then,  for  the  rest  of  our  specimen  capitals, 
and,  as  in  duty  bound,  first  call  at  the  Palazzo  Vecchio,  to  whose 
"  bold  airy  tower  "  Leo  so  poetically  alludes.  It  was  at  one  time  the 
residence  of  Cosimo  I,  but  now  used  as  a  town-hall  and  museum,  and 
contains  a  number  of  halls  decorated  by  various  eminent  Italian 
artists.  One  of  them,  perhaps  the  most  famous,  is  enriched  with 
beautiful  marble  doorposts  by  Benedetto  da  Magano,  and  sketch 
No.  8  shows  one  of  them.  The  same  gifted  artist  executed  the 
intarsias  of  Dante  and  Petrarch,  which  are  so  generally  admired. 
This  example  is  mainly  useful  in  the  present  series  by  way  of  show- 
ing that  an  episode  may  be  figuratively  set  out  on  the  face  of  a 


From 


capital  without  detracting  from  its  beauty  or  disturbing  its  propor- 
tion. Here  Cupid  is  ministering  to  the  wants  of  Venus,  the  whole 
scene  being  fitly  confined  within  the  limits  of  a  shell.  The  upper 
part  of  the  capital,  while  running  much  on  Classic  lines,  shows  a 
feeling  distinctly  its  own.  Notice  the  floral  terminals  of  the  inside 
ends  of  the  volutes  ;  how  nicely  they  fill  in  the  interstices.  Bene- 
detto da  Magano  could  certainly  handle  ornament  as  well  as  figures. 
The  tour  in  search  of  suggestive  capitals  may  well  and  pleasantly 
be  brought  to  a  conclusion  by  considering  four  specimens  from  the 

pencil  of  that  ar- 
chitect in  whom 
the  beauty  of  the 
Renaissance  has 
been  truly  said  to 
have  culminated. 
I  refer  to  Jacopo 
Tatti,  more  com- 
monly known  as 
Sansovino,  whose 
life's  work  was 
done  between  the 
years  1479  and 
1570.  This  ar- 
chitect must  not 
be  confused  with 
Andrea  Sanso- 
vino  (1460- 
1529),  the  sculp- 
tor of  the  mar- 
vellous groups  of 
Christ  and  the 
Baptist  in  the 
Baptistery  at 
Florence,  and 
other  fine  works 
at  Rome.  Jacopo 
Tatti  was  a  Flor- 
entine by  birth, 
and  had  the  good 
fortune  to  receive 
Fig.  II.  From  S.  Spirito,  Florence.  his  education  in 

that  city  during  one  of  its  most  art^inspiring  periods.      Like  most 

young  Italians  possessing  genius,  he  had  a  roving  temperament,  and 

so  we  find  him  working  at  Rome,  and  eventually  at  Venice,  which 

city   will   owe   him   a  lasting  debt  of    gratitude  for  the    "  Stones  " 

which  he  left  there.     It  was  not  until  I  had  an  opportunity  of  gazing 

upon  the  beautiful  _  _ 

facade  of  the  old 

library    of     St. 

Mark's,   and    the 

masterly      details 

of    the     Giants' 

Staircase    at    the 

Doge's     Palace, 

Venice,  that  I  at 

all  understood  the 

wonderful    genius 

of  this  Sansovino, 

or  the  part  which 

he     occupies     in 

this     culminating 

period  of  the  Re- 

naissance.      Bra- 

mante's   epoch  of 

what  may   be  de- 

scribed as    "sym- 

metrical       c  o  n  - 

struction  "     was 

succeeded     by    a 

style  in  which  the 

chief     aim    was 

general    e  ff  e  c  t  . 

Harmony    among 

the    individual 

members  began  to 

be  neglected,  and 

the    eye  was   ar- 

rested  by  boldness  of  construction   and  striking  contrasts.      As  I 

have  tried  to  make  clear  in  the  study  of  these  capitals,  new  modes  of 

expression  were  borrowed  from  antiquity,  the  axioms  of  which  had 

formerly    been    applied    in  a  manner   which    was    unsympathetic. 

This  culminating  period  had  for  its  exponents  Raphael,  Baldassare 

Peruzzi,   the    younger    Antonio    de    Sangallo,  of    Rome,    Michael 

San  Micheli,  of   Verona,  Michael   Angelo,  and  last,  but  no't  least, 

Jacopo  Tatti  Sansovino,  who  was  the  designer  of  the  four  Floren- 

tine capitals  to  which  these  prefatory  notes  are  intended  to  draw 

attention. 

The  Church  of  S.  Spirito  at  Florence,  where  these  capitals  are  to 
be  found,  has  the  fame  which  comes  of  being  originally  designed  by 
Filippo  Brunelleschi.  It  is  one  of  the  most  attractive  churches  in 
the  city,  mainly  on  account  of  the  noble  proportions  of  its  interior, 
which  is  borne  by  thirty-one  Corinthian  columns  and  four  pillars. 


'  2-    From  s- 


,  Florence. 


APRIL  6,  1889.] 


TJie   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


167 


But,  to  the  ornamentist,  there  is  nothing  in  the  church  which  is 
likely  to  prove  of  more  interest  than  these  two  Sansovino  studies. 
It  will  be  observed  that  these  are  all  antae  or  pilaster  capitals,  and 
as  such  they  are  likely  to  be  of  special  service  to  wood-workers,  as 
well  as  architects.  It  is  not  often  that  the  full  column  appears  in 
wood,  while  the  flat  or  (luted  pilaster  is  in  constant  requisition.  No. 
9  of  these  S.  Spirito  studies  is  chiefly  noticeable  on  account  of  the 
masks  which  finish  the  corners.  Here  was  a  striking  departure  in 
such  a  case,  and  one  which  required  a  good  deal  of  courage.  Perhaps 
the  Classic  authority  that  Sansovino  had  in  his  mind  when  he  de- 
signed it  was  the  Corinthian  capital  of  the  temple  of  Apollo  Didy- 
maeus,  at  Miletus.  The  idea  of  placing  a  vase  in  the  centre  of  the 
capital  is  common  enough,  but  there  is  rare  artistic  judgment  in 
showing  it  "on  the  round,"  as  the  article  would  appear  if  thus 
placed. 

Sketch  No.  10  shows  another  application  of  the  mask.  This  time 
it  occupies  a  central  position,  and  is  crowned  with  a  profusion  of  the 
"  kindly  fruits  of  the  earth."  The  decorative  placing  of  the  wheat- 
ears  and  the  crowning  of  the  whole  by  the  acorn  are  points  which 
should  not  be  passed  over  by  the  thoughtful  observer.  Further,  the 
way  in  which  the  beard  is  made  to .  blossom,  so  to  speak,  into  the 
acanthus  scrolls  at  the  sides  is  delightfully  artistic.  In  both  these 
examples  Sansovino  has  deemed  it  necessary  to  introduce  volutes  to 
finish  the  top-corners  of  his  capitals,  and  the  way  in  which  they  are 
pulled  out  from  the  moulding  is  not  altogether  graceful.  In  Sketches 
11  and  12  he  abandons  that  remnant  of  the  Classic,  and  boldly  uses 
detiiil  of  his  own  selection.  No.  11  is  a  striking  instance  of  this. 
The  pair  of  athletes  springing  from  the  corners  give  a  spirit  and 
contour  to  the  capital  which  are  seldom  met  with.  The  decorated 
band  on  which  the  figures  stand,  with  its  shells  and  dolphins,  is 
another  feature  showing  liberty  and  originality.  The  mystic  chi- 
merical conception  in  the  centre  is  more  queer-looking  than  captivat- 
ing, but  the  whole  thing  suggests  a  hundred  ways  in  which  the 
designs  of  our  capitals  can  be  refreshingly  varied.  It  does  not 
follow  that  the  modern  artist  need  put  Florentine  athletes  into  his 
design.  Let  him,  if  he  so  pleases,  put  a  couple  of  cricketers,  or  foot- 
ballers, and  fill-in  the  interstices  with  the  implements  of  the  play, 
surmounting  his  capital  with  the  prize-cup  which  the  players  are 
supposed  to  have  won.  Or,  if  the  capital  be  for  a  theatrical  purpose, 
kt  a  couple  of  Harlequins  hold  the  corners,  while  Columbine  graces 
the  centre.  Anything  to  get  away  from  the  slavish  copyism  which 
is  the  bane  of  so  many  buildings. 

In  the  last  of  the  Sansovino  capitals,  the  ever-favorite  subject,  the 
infant  form,  is  selected  as  the  motif.  The  graceful  pose  of  the  little 
fellow,  the  way  in  which  he  is  supported  by  cornucopise,  and  tiie 
balance  of  the  entire  thing,  leave  nothing  to  be  desired.  In  the 
whole  range  of  the  figure  subjects  there  is  no  study  more  profitable 
to  the  student  than  that  of  Master  Cupid.  He  will  invest  many 
otherwise  lifeless  bits  of  decoration  with  a  charm  which  no  amount 
of  inanimate  ornament  can  impart. 

The  summary  of  the  suggestions  which  these  capitals  have  to  make 
to  the  student  is  :  "  Anything  in  the  world  of  Nature  can  be  pressed 
into  your  service."  In  this  brief  series  of  a  dozen  capitals — just  a 
few  from  the  many  thousands  which  adorn  the  churches  and  palaces 
of  Italy — we  have  figures  ranging  from  the  Roman  bather  at  the 
baths  of  Caracalla  to  the  fruit-surrounded  Cupid  of  Sansovino.  We 
have  animals,  birds  and  fishes;  leaves,  fruit  and  flowers;  masks,  armor, 
and  pottery  ;  things  as  diverse  in  nature  as  can  be  imagined,  but  all  made 
harmonious  and  beautiful  under  the  influence  of  the  life-inspiring  Re- 
naissance. What  should  we  have  heard  of  Sansovino,  or  any  one  else 
of  the  noble  Florentine  school,  if  they  had  spent  their  lives  in  merely 
copying  the  detail  —  admirable  as  it  is  —  of  the  ancients  ?  Certainly 
very  little.  Then  let  the  ornament  of  each  epoch,  even  if  founded 
on  much  the  same  foundation-lines,  tell  its  own  tale  to  the  lasting 
credit  of  those  who,  like  Sansovino,  are  determined  to  speak  for 
themselves  in  the  art  which  they  make  their  own. 

There  is  just  another  point  on  which  I  should  like  to  animadvert 
before  leaving  the  consideration  of  these  Sansovino  capitals,  and  it 
has  to  do  with  the  public  more  than  the  student.  It  is  clear,  I 
think,  from  these  examples  thus  brought,  in  a  fragmentary  way,  from 
sundry  towns  in  Italy,  that  the  patient  student  may  possibly  become 
a  master-ornamentist  if  he  can  only  study  on  the  same  lines,  and 
catch  a  similar  spirit,  as  his  Italian  predecessors.  It  will  occur  to 
some  of  my  readers  to  sigh  and  inquire :  "  What  chance  has  the 
needy  art-enthusiast  of  these  times  to  do  any  such  thing?"  It  may 
be  admitted  at  once  that,  unless  he  is  greatly  aided  in  some  way  or 
other,  he  ie,  to  say  the  least,  heavily  handicapped.  Then  how  shall 
he  be  assisted  in  his  art-career  V  Simply  in  this  way  :  Let  any  place 
aspiring  to  the  style  and  title  of  town  or  city  set  about  establishing 
its  school  of  art,  amply  supplied  with  the  best  models.  Let  it,  if  it 
be  possible,  have  a  pleasant  garden  adjoining,  with  a  colonnade,  S. 
Marco-like,  running  round,  so  that  study  can  proceed  out-of-doors  in 
the  summer-time ;  and  let  the  alcoves  and  niches  be  redolent  with 
flowers,  and  filled  with  casts  of  Classical  sculpture  and  statuary.  To 
such  an  elysium  invite  a  number  of  picked  art-workers  —  young  men 
and  women  who  "  mean  it  "  —  to  gather  and  revel  over  precious 
lines  of  antiquity,  and  vie  with  each  other  in  the  pleasant  task  of  re- 
dressing old  forms  with  new  beauties.  A  truly  pleasant  picture ;  but 
who  is  to  pay  for  it  ?  Let  it  be  paid  for  out  of  the  rates,  and  hold 
any  place  which  will  not  provide  such  an  art-school  up  to  public 
opprobrium.  "What  a  Quixotic  idea!"  the  majority  of  my  readers 
will  exclaim.  "  No  town-council  or  rate-payers  would  hear  of  it." 


Then  let  us  inquire  how  they  managed  in  old  Florence  during  the 
days  of  young  Sansovino.  Experientia  docet,  said  the  old  Romans. 
Thanks  to  the  help  of  that  prince  among  art-patrons,  Lorenzo  de' 
Medici,  the  aspiring  Florentine  could  attend  art-gardens  expressly 
provided  by  his  ruler,  and  there,  among  the  choicest  antiques  the 
world  has  ever  seen,  study  and  model  to  his  heart's  content  under 
proper  tutors.  By  thus  surrounding  these  young  men  with  the 
remains  of  the  ancient  masters,  Lorenzo  succeeded  in  educating 
their  views  beyond  the  forms  of  common  life  up  to  that  ideal  beauty 
which  alone  distinguishes  works  of  art  from  mere  mechanical  produc- 
tions. And  best  of  all,  these  rare  privileges  were  not  confined  to 
those  who  could  afford  the  luxury  of  spending  time  over  unproduc- 
tive art-study —Jbut,  will  it  be  believed?— when  students  were  too 
poor  to  lose  time,  Lorenzo  de'  Medici  not  only  paid  them  competent 
stipends  while  they  attended  to  their  studies,  but  offered  considerable 
money-prizes  as  incentives  to  proficiency  1  What  has  your  cheese- 
paring town-councillor  to  say  to  that?  Wise  is  the  modern  munici- 
pality which  takes  ajlesson  out  of  the  history  of  the  Medici,  and  deals 
in  the  same  large-hearted  way  with  the  questions  of  art  and  technical 
training  for  its  sons.  Look  at  the  harvest  of  genius  Florence  reaped 
from  the  seed  thus  judiciously  sown  by  the  far-seeing  Lorenzo.  If 
only  more  of  our  machine-made  wealth  were  spent  in*  paying  for 
earthly  paradises  after  the  glorious  model  of  Lorenzo'de'  Medici 
next  to  the  monastery  of  S.  Marco,  we  should  not  give  cause  to 
those  croakers  who  are  constantly  protesting  that  art  died  in  Italy 
some  centuries  ago.  Let  our  young  men  have  the  chance,  and  I 
believe  that  if  we  are  to  see  no  more  Raphaels  or  Michael  Angelos, 
we  may  manage  to  raise  some  modern  Sansovinos. 


FUTILITY   OF   CERTAIN   COMMON    CLAUSES    IN   BUILDING    CON- 
TRACTS. 

HE  case  of  Bartlett  vs.  Stanchfield,  just  decided  by  the  Supreme 
Court  of  Massachusetts,  shows'  the  uselessness  of  that  very 
common  clause  in  building  contracts  prohibiting  all  claims  for 
extras  unless  ordered  in  writing.  The  contract  involved  in  this  case 
contained  the  following  clause  : 

"  And  it  is  further  agreed  that,  should  the  owner,  during  the 
progress  of  said  construction,  request  any  alteration  of,  addition  to, 
deviation  from  or  omissions  concerning  the  construction  of  said 
houses,  as  set  forth  herein  and  in  said  plans  and  specifications,  the 
same  shall  be  made  by  the  said  Bartlett,  and  shall  in  no  way  affect 
this  agreement,  but  shall  be  added  or  deducted  from  the  amount 
thereof  by  a  fair  and  reasonable  valuation,  and  that  no  charge  shall 
be  made  for  extra  work  or  materials  unless  the  same  is  ordered  in 
writing  and  the  price  thereof  agreed  upon." 

The  orders  for  extras  were  given  by  word-of-mouth,  and  not  in 
writing.  The  Court  held  that  such  orders  were  binding  on  the 
owner,  notwithstanding  the  terms  of  the  agreement;  and  Mr. 
Justice  Holmes,  in  delivering  the  opinion  of  the  Court,  uses  the  fol- 
lowing language : 

"  Attempts  of  parties  to  tie  up  by  contract  their  freedom  of  deal- 
ing with  each  other  are  futile.  The  contract  is  a  fact  to  be  taken 
into  account  in  interpreting  the  subsequent  conduct  of  the  plaintiff 
and  defendant,  no  doubt.  But  it  cannot  be  assumed  as  matter-of- 
law  that  the  contract  governed  all  that  was  done  until  it  was  re- 
nounced in  so  many  words,  because  the  parties  had  a  right  to 
renounce  it  in  any  way  and  by  any  mode  of  expression  they  saw  fit. 
They  could  substitute  a  new  oral  contract  by  conduct  and  intimation, 
as  well  as  by  express  words.  In  deciding  whether  they  had  waived 
the  terms  of  the  written  contract,  the  jury  had  a  right  to  assume 
that  both  parties  remembered  it  and  knew  its  legal  meaning.  On 
that  assumption,  the  question  of  waiver  was  a  question  what  the 
plaintiff  fairly  might  have  understood  to  be  the  meaning  of  the  de- 
fendant's conduct.  If  the  plaintiff  had  a  right  to  understand  that 
the  defendant  expressed  a  consent  to  be  liable,  irrespective  of  the 
written  contract,  and  furnished  the  work  and  materials  on  that 
understanding,  the  defendant  is  bound. —  West  v.  Platt,  127  Mass. 
367,  372;  O'Donnell  v.  Clinton,  145  Mass.  461,  463." 


BOSTON   ARCHITECTURAL   CLUB. 

TTTHE  Boston  Architectural  Club  held  a  conversazione,  Thursday 
J 1 1  evening  the  28th,  to  discuss  the  Exhibition  of  Stained-glass  and 
Tile  Work  which  has  been  held  in  the  rooms  of  the  Club  during 
the  past  ten  days.  The  attendance  was  quite  large  and  a  great  deal 
of  interest  was  manifested.  Mr.  C.  Howard  Walker  presented  a 
very  able  and  clear-sighted  consideration  of  the  subject  of  stained- 
glass,  touching  somewhat  upon  the  history  of  (lie  art  and  the 


168 


The,    American   Architect   and  Building   News.      [VOL.  XXIV.  —  No.  693. 


processes  of  manufacture,  illustrating  the  gradual  development  in  its 
use  from  the  Byzantine  mosaics  to  its  perfected  application  in  the 
Gothic  cathedrals,  noting  the  modern  and  more  miscellaneous  treat- 
pointing  the  moral  to  the  subject  by  reference  to  a  few  of  the  excel- 
ment  of  stained-glass,  glass-mosaics,  enamels,  etc.,  and,  indirectly 
lent  examples  on  exhibition. 

Mr.  J.  G.  Low  was  expected  to  address  the  Club  on  the  subject  of 
tile-work,  but  was  prevented  by  sickness  from  being  present.  Mr. 
A.  E.  Streeter,  who  is  associated  with  him  in  the  Chelsea  Tile 
Works  appeared  in  his  stead,  and  gave  a  very  interesting  account  of 
Mr.  Low's  early  attempts  at  the  manufacture  of  artistic  tiles  and 
pottery,  the  difficulties  which  he  encountered  and  some  of  the  means 
by  which  he  had  brought  his  work  to  so  high  a  standard.  Prof.  K. 
S.  Morse  also  spoke  upon  the  subject  of  tile-work,  urging  the 
necessity  for  more  men  in  this  country  who  would  do  just  what  the 
Lows  have  done,  bringing  an  artistic  training  and  thorough  good 
taste  to  bear  upon  a  subject  which  has  never  yet  received  sufficient 
attention  with  us. 

The  Club  has  every  reason  to  congratulate  itself  at  present.  The 
membership  is  large  and  constantly  growing  by  the  addition  of  some 
of  the  best  men,  both  in  the  profession  and  in  the  allied  arts.  There 
are  no  debts,  a  very  general  enthusiasm,  full  classes  for  study,  and 
every  indication  that  the  organization  will  accomplish  all  that  its 
friends  hope  for  it. 


THE  PRESCOTT   DOOR-HANGER. 

CHICAGO,  ILL.,  March  12, 1889. 
To  THE  EDITORS  OP  THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT:  — 

Dear  Sirs,  —  In  looking  over  the  files  of  your  paper  we  have 
chanced  to  notice  in  the  article  on  "  Builders'  Hardware,"  of 
November  10th,  the  following  sentence  in  reference  to  the  "  Prescott 
Sliding- Door  Hanger."  "The  only  objection  to  their  use  for  sliding- 
dours  is  that  they  have  to  be  put  on  before  the  plastering  is  applied 
and  ihey  are  somewhat  less  easily  adjusted."  We  have  used  a  large 
number  of  these  hangers  because  the  very  opposite  of  this  is  true  in 
regard  to  them. 

The  greatest  difficulty  with  the  running  of  sliding-doors  is  not  in 
the  hanger  but  in  the  track.  Almost  any  hanger  in  the  market  will 
run  well  if  the  track  is  perfect.  With  the  settling  of  the  building, 
and  shrinkage  of  woodwork,  added  to  poor  workmanship,  the  double 
tracks  usually  applied  for  parlor-doors  are  very  apt  to  get  out  of 
adjustment,  and  then  the  best  hanger  will  not  work  and  there  is  no 
remedy  except  to  tear  off  the  plastering  and  reset  the  track. 

After  trying  one  form  and  another  of  hanger  we  concluded  that 
the  only  sure  remedy  was  to  abolish  the  track  altogether.  With  the 
Prescott  hanger  there  is  no  track.  The  hanger  is  applied  to 
the  jamb  on  one  side  of  the  sliding-door  after  the  plastering  is  com- 
pleted and  the  interior  finish  in  place. 

The  hanger  is  screwed  to  the  jamb  and  covered  by  a  wide  stop. 
It  can  be  adjusted  by  taking  off  the  stop  and  altering  the  set  of  the 
hanger.  To  be  sure  this  is  a  more  difficult  operation  than  adjusting 
the  set  of  the  ordinary  hangers,  but  when  the  Prescott  hanger  is 
adjusted,  everything  is  adjusted,  while  with  the  wheel-hangers  the 
fault  is  most  likely  to  be  with  the  track  and  no  adjustment  of  the 
hanger  itself  will  help  matters. 

The  Prescott  hanger  is  especially  useful  therefore  with  very  narrow 
and  high  doors  which  are  almost  certain  to  give  trouble  when  hung 
in  the  ordinary  manner,  because  the  two  hangers  on  the  top  of  the 
door  must  be  set  so  close  together  that  a  slight  inequality  in  the 
track  will  throw  the  bottom  of  the  door  out  of  adjustment  and  a  sud- 
den push  at  the  bottom  of  the  door  will  cause  the  wheels  to  jump. 
With  the  Prescott  hanger  the  door  can  never  jump  no  matter  how 
the  pressure  may  be  applied. 

Very  respectfully,  PATTON  &  FISHER. 


and  specifications  are  and  remain  the  property  of  the  architect,"  and 
refused  to  sign  unless  this  was  scratched  out,  or  changed  to  read, 
"are  and  remain  the  property  of  G."  I  explained  that  it  was  the 
custom  the  world  over  for  the  architect  to  retain  his  drawings,  as 
they  were  but  a  means  to  an  end,  his  tools,  as  it  were  to  build  the 
house,  the  same  as  the  carpenters'  tools,  etc.  But  he  replied  that  he 
was  to  pay  for  them  and  wanted  them,  had  consulted  a  lawyer,  who 
told  him  that  they  were  his,  and  demanded  his  rights.  I  showed  him 
rolls  of  drawings,  the  accumulation  of  ten  years'  practice,  in  the  office, 
of  works  built  and  paid  for,  but  it  was  no  use,  what  he  paid  for  was 
his. 

Now  I  wish  to  know  as  a  matter-of-law-and-fact,  is  he  right,  and 
would  the  Courts  sustain  his  claim  for  the  drawings,  after  the  com- 
pletion of  his  house.  Very  truly  yours,  J.  J. 

[IF  the  owner  signs  a  contract  providing  that  the  drawings  are  to  be  the 
property  of  the  architect,  he  of  course  cannot  claim  them.  If  nothing  is 
said  about  this  point  in  the  agreement  between  him  and  the  architect,  he 
can  probably,  as  the  law  now  stands,  demand  them  of  the  architect  and  get 
them.  The  leading  case  on  the  subject  is  the  celebrated  one  where  the 
British  Government  demanded  the  plans  of  the  Westminister  P.-ilace  from 
the  heirs  of  Sir  Charles  Barry.  The  Barry  family  fought  bravely  for  pro- 
fessional rights,  but,  after  incurring  enormous  expenses  were  defeated  by 
the  decision  of  the  highest  Court,  and  the  decision  has  ever  since  served  ag 
a  precedent.  Among  architects  it  has  been  universally  denounced  as  unjust, 
and  the  exclamation  by  which  the  Lord  Chief  Justice  is  said  to  have  summed 
up  his  opinion  —  that  he  ' '  would  not  hear  of  it,  that  a  man  should  not  have 
what  he  had  paid  for,"  is  ceitainly  the  worst  example  of  petitio  principii 
recorded  in  legal  history,  but,  with  a  few  exceptions,  English  and  American 
judges  have  always  followed  it,  and  no  individual  architect  can  afford  to 
struggle  against  the  mass  of  precedents  which  would  be  opposed  to  him.  If 
the  owner  really  wishes  to  preserve  the  drawings,  and  thinks  he  can  do  so 
better  than  the  architect,  it  is  cheaper  to  trace  them  than  to  fight  with  him  ; 
if  he  is  one  of  the  kind  that  demand  the  surrender  of  the  drawings  with  a 
view  to  cheating  the  architect  out  of  a  part  of  his  pay,  the  most  profitable 
course  is  to  have  nothing  to  do  with  him.  —  EDS.  AMERICAN  ABCHITECT.] 


THE  OWNERSHIP  OF  DRAWINGS. 

SAVANNAH,  GA.,  March  26, 1889. 
To  THE  EDITORS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT:  — 

Dear  Sirs, — I  write  to  ask  the  opinion  of  your  law  editor  in  re- 
gard to  the  following  case  which  has  just  occurred  in  my  practice,  and 
being  the  first  of  its  kind  in  my  experience,  greatly  surprised  me. 

Mr.  G having  entrusted  me  with  the  duty  of  preparing  plans 

and  specifications  for  a  residence,  which  I  was  also  to  superintend, 
everything  was  prepared,  and  bids  received,  and  the  contract 
awarded  last  Wednesday.  Meantime  the  form  of  contract  was  to  be 
drawn  up  by  me,  and  to  be  signed  by  owner  and  contractor  when 
ready.  Yesterday  evening  he  came  to  the  office  to  sign  the  docu- 
ment, but  on  reading  it  over,  remarked  that  it  was  all  right  with  the 
exception  of  one  thing.  Asking  what  the  objectionable  thing  was, 
he  replied  that  he  objected  to  the  clause  referring  to  the  drawings 
which  read,  "  And  it  is  further  mutually  agreed  that  all  drawings 


BELLITE  EXPERIMENTS.  —  A  series  of  experiments  were  successfully 
carried  out  recently  at  Chadwell  Heath,  Essex,  with  anew  explosive,, 
bellite.  This  explosive  is  the  invention  of  Mr.  Carl  Lamm  of  Sweden, 
in  which  country  it  is  well  in  use  both  for  mining  and  military  pur- 
poses. Bellite  is  composed  of  di-nitro-benzole  and  nitrate  of  ammonia 
blended  together  in  certain  proportions  and  under  special  conditions. 
The  experiments,  which  were  conducted  by  Mr.  C.  Napier  Hake,  F.  I. 
C.,  and  Mr.  Perry  F.  Nursey,  C.  E.,  were  commenced  by  exploding 
l>»j  pounds  of  bellite  under  water,  a  fine  column  of  spray  being  pro-' 
jected  to  a  great  height.  Half  a  cartridge  of  bellite  was  then  placed  on 
a  coal  fire,  and  was  simply  roasted  away.  The  corresponding  half  was 
then  exploded  by  means  of  a  capped  fuse  on  a  piece  of  three-eighths- 
inch  boiler  plate  with  good  effect.  An  iron  weight  of  120  pounds  was 
then  dropped  from  a  height  of  18  feet  onto  some  naked  cartridges, 
which  were  crushed  but  not  exploded.  The  crushed  cartridges  were 
afterwards  exploded  on  a  piece  of  double-headed  rail,  out  of  which  was 
cut  a  short  length.  In  a  hole  in  the  earth  one  pound  of  bellite 
cartridges  was  mixed  with  one  pound  of  blasting  gunpowder,  and  the 
powder  was  fired,  the  explosion  throwing  the  bellite  cartridges  out  of 
the  pit  in  a  broken  and  partially  roasted  condition.  A  cartridge 
of  bellite  was  then  fired  from  a  rifle  against  an  iron  plate,  the  bellite 
being  merely  smashed  against  the  plate.  Some  comparative  experi- 
ments made  with  equal  quantities  of  dynamite  and  bellite  exploded  on. 
iron  plates  showed  that  bellite  was  slightly  stronger  than  dynamite, . 
and  that  it  had  more  of  a  rending  than  of  a  smashing  action.  As  a 
test  of  its  propelling  power  a  32-pound  ball  was  projected  from 
a  mortar  to  a  distance  of  120  feet  by  a  charge  of  one-half  ounce  of  rifle 
powder,  but  with  one-quarter  ounce  of  bellite  it  covered  285  feet  in  its 
flight.  The  final  experiment  consisted  in  demolishing  a  railway.  To 
this  end  a  sixty-foot  length  of  line  was  laid,  with  a  double -headed  rail 
carried  in  iron  chairs  on  timber  cross-sleepers.  A  mine  containing 
eight  pounds  of  bellite,  placed  in  the  earth  at  a  depth  of  five  feet  be- . 
low  the  railway,  was  exploded,  demolishing  the  railway  and  forming  a 
crater  twelve  feet  in  diameter  by  some  six  or  seven  feet  deep.  Portions 
of  the  line  and  sleepers  were  projected  many  feet  away,  and  the  scene 
was  one  of  perfect  wreckage.  The  experiments  fully  demonstrated  the 
safety,  power,  and  special  action  of  bellite.  —  London  Times,  February  8. 


WILMERDING,  PA.,  A  MODEL  TOWN.  —  George  Westinghouse,  pro- 
prietor of  the  air-brake  patent,  which  made  him  wealthy  and  famous, 
proposes  to  build  a  town  for  his  employes  at  Wilmerding,  near  Alle- 
gheny, Pa.  He  has  bought  600  acres  of  land,  and  will  spend  $3,000,000 
in  improving  it.  A  new  machine-shop,  costing  §1,000,000,  will  give 
employment  to  5,000  hands,  and  turn  out  five  times  the  work  done  at 
the  present  mills  in  Allegheny.  The  place  is  to  be  modelled  after  Pull- 
man, 111.  There  are  42  plots  in  the  town  site,  each  containing  a  number 
of  lots.  One  of  them  will  accommodate  a  fine  hotel  and  a  handsome 
club-house,  to  be  built  together,  and  to  form  the  most  pretentious 
structure  architecturally  in  the  new 'city.  Lots  that  are  not  taken  by 
employes  or  others  by  a  certain  date  will  be  built  on  by  the  company. 
About  two  hundred  houses  are  now  under  way.  The  improvement 
company  has  bought  625  feet  of  frontage  on  the  Monongahcla  River, 
near  Fort  I'erry,  to  establish  water-works  capable  of  supplying  20,000,- 
000  gallons  a  day.  Sewers  are  now  being  laid  in  every  street,  and 
natural-gas  will  be  used  exclusively  for  fuel. —  Sprinqfield  lie/inb/ican.  • 

S.    J.    PABKRILL  &  Co.,  Printers,  Boston. 


81?e  Tlnjericai!  Tlrcljitect  arjd  Building  IJews,  Jlpril  6,  1559. 


I?o.  695. 


Copyright,  1889,  by  TlCKNOR  &  Co. 


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THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT  AND  BUILDING  NEWS. 


VOL.  XXV. 


Copyright,  1889,  by  TICKNOR  &  COMPANY,  Boston,  Mass. 


No.    694, 


APRIL  13,  1889. 

Entered  at  the  Post-Offloe  at  Boston  as  second-class  matter. 


SUMMARY:  — 

List  Prices  and  Trade  Discounts.  — The  Court  Martial  on  Maj. 
Lydecker.  —  Ketirement  of  Mr.  d'Oench,  inspector  of  "Build- 
ings for  New  York  City. —  Death  of  Mr.  Walter  Allison, 
Builder.  —  Trade  Schools  in  Philadelphia.  — Painting  the 
Eiffel  Tower.  —  Special  Entertainments  during  the  Paris  Ex- 
hibition.—New  Blue  and  Black  Pigments.  —  An  Expensive 
Use  of  Second-hand  Doors.  —  A  Pompeiian  House  to  be 

built  at  St.  Augustine 169 

EQUESTRIAN  MONUMENTS.  —  XIII 171 

SUGAR  IN  MOUTAR 174 

ILLUSTRATIONS : — 

The  Atlantic  Building,  Washington,  D.  C.  —  Church  of  St. 
Martin,  Laon,  France.  —  Statue  of  Louis  XII  on  the  Chateau 
de  Blois,  France.  —  Statue  of  Duke  Antoine  of  Lorraine,  at 
Nancy.  —  Sketch  for  the  Church  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament, 

Providence,  R.  I.  —  Designs  for  Fireplaces 174 

ARCHITECTURAL  SHADES  AND  SHADOWS.  —  III 175 

THE  BOSTON  MUSEUM  OF  FINE  ARTS 176 

SOCIETIES 177 

BUILDING  LAW 177 

COMMUNICATIONS  •  — 

The  Story  of  a  State- House.  —  The  Efflorescence  on  Brickwork. 
—  Has  the  State  Capitol  at  Albany  Settled  ?  —  How  to  make 

a  Cellar  Water-tight 178 

KOTES  AND  CLIPPINGS 179 

TRADE  SURVEYS 180 


exact  net  price  that  his  client  can  get  the  goods  for,  and  the 
latter  concludes  by  saying  that  it  will  be  better  to  put  his  work 
out  to  contract,  so  as  to  secure  by  competition,  not  so  much 
the  lowest  price  for  the  labor,  as  for  the  materials  employed. 


'TT  VERY  damaging  admission  was  made  by  a  witness  at  the 
f\  recent  session  of  the  Ceiling  Investigating  Committee  at 
'        Albany.     The  witness  was  one  of  a  firm  of  dealers  in 
glass,  and  testified  that  he  sold  glass  to  Snaith,  the  contractor, 
for  the  ceiling,  at  three  dollars  a  foot,  with  an  arrangement  by 
which  a  bill  was  rendered  for  it  at  the  rate  of  six  dollars  a 
foot,  so  that  it  might  appear  that  Snaith  actually  paid  that 
price  for  it.     In  the  present  case  the  bill  at  six  dollars  seems 
to  have  been  made  out  at  the  request  of  Snaith,  after  he  got 
into  difficulties,  with  the  hope  that  it  might  help  him  to  frame 
a  plausible  explanation  of  what  he  did  with  all  the  money  that 
had  been  paid  him ;  so  that  perhaps  the  glass  dealers  should  be 
reproached  with  nothing  worse  than  an  over-zealous  readiness 
to  concoct  fibs  to  help  one  of  their  customers  out  of  a  scrape ; 
but  the  same  sort  of  trick  is  used  in  other  branches  of  the 
building  trades  to  an  extent  which  would  surprise  outsiders. 
In  altogether  too  many  cases  the  bills,  receipts  aud  vouchers 
presented   to    architects   as   evidence    for    the   settlement   of 
accounts  are  very  far  from  showing  what  was  actually  paid  for 
the  goods   charged  on   the  bills,  and  none  of   the  architect's 
duties  require  more  labor  and  experience  on  his  part  than  that 
of  finding  out  what  the  true  net  price  of  materials  used  in 
building  is.     The  habit  of   keeping  up  "long"  prices,  as  a 
means  of  deceiving  the  inexperienced  or  unwary,  while  the 
goods  are  really  sold  at  a  fraction  of  the  prices  marked  on  the 
bills,  seem  to  be  chargeable  mainly  to  the  wholesale  dealers. 
Of  course,  they  do  not  use  the  trick  against  their  own  custom- 
ers, all  of  whom  understand  it,  but  the  fact  remains  that  it 
provides  those  who  buy  of  them  with  a  means  of  deceiving 
those  to  whom  they  sell  again,  and  the  wholesale  dealers  seem 
to   think   that   this   inducement   will    bring   them   customers. 
Perhaps  it  does,  but  they  must  be  of  the  poorest  kind,  while 
the  honorable  men,  who  make  out  their  day-work  bills  with  the 
real  prices,  ignoring  the  list  prices  altogether,  find  the  lists 
simply  a  nuisance.     They  are  really  worse  than  that  to  them, 
for   there   is   no   question   that   the   suspicion  entertained  by 
owners,  that  they  are  likely  to  be  robbed  in  some  such  way, 
leads  them  to  put  many  thousands  of  dollars'  worth  of  work  out 
to  contract  which  would  otherwise  be  done  by  the  day,  with 
much  more  satisfaction  to  them  and  to  the  mechanics  employed. 
Nothing  is  more  common  in  architects'  offices  than  to  hear  in- 
quiries made  about  the  price  of  certain  materials.     Some  price 
is  mentioned,  or  looked  up  in  the  lists,  and  the  architect  is 
asked  whether  it  is  the  net  or  the  list  price,  and  if  it  is  the 
latter,  how  much  discount  there  is.     As  the  discounts  vary 
according  to  circumstances,  he  can  rarely  tell  what  will  be  the 


HE  proceedings  of  the  Lydecker  court-martial  seem  likely 
to  be  of  considerable  interest,  if  not  importance,  to  archi- 
tects.    The  charge  against  Major  Lydecker   is  that  he 
failed  to  do  his  duty  in  supervising  the  construction  of  the 
Washington  Aqueduct,  so  that  the  Government  was  defrauded 
out  of  a  large  amount  of  money  by  the  dishonesty  of  the  con- 
tractor, and  was  left  with  a  useless  piece  of  work  on  its  hands. 
It  seems  clear  that  he  did  not  visit  the  interior  of  the  tunnel 
very  frequently,  and  the  question  appears  to  be  whether  this 
circumstance  justifies  the  people  concerned  in  letting  the  con- 
tractor go  in  peace  with  his  ill-gotten  gains,  and  visiting  all  the 
consequence  of  his  rascality  on  a  person  of  whom  the  worst 
that  can  be  said  is  that  he  did  not  discover  the  tricks  that  were 
being  practised.     This  is  a  question  which  concerns  architects 
very  closely,  and,  as  a  contribution  to  the  discussion,  the  testi- 
mony before  the  court-martial  of  General  Newton,  for  many 
years  charged  with    the   supervision   of   the  most   important 
Government  works,  is  of  importance.     General  Newton  testified 
that  an  officer  appointed  to  superintend  operations  like  that  of 
the  construction  of  the  aqueduct  tunnel  "  could  never  prevent 
fraud    by    any  possible    personal    inspection   which    he   might 
make."     "  Whether  Major  Lydecker  visited  the  tunnel  more  or 
less  often  did  not  affect  the  question  at  issue,  for  he  could  never 
have  visited  it  often  enough  to  have  prevented  frauds  if  the 
workmen  desired  to  do  defective  work,  and  the  sub-inspectors 
were  incompetent  or  unreliable,  for  all  traces  of  fraud  could  be 
covered  up."     "  In   the   case   of   the  New  York  Aqueduct," 
General  Newton  said,  "  although  there  were  a  number  of  in- 
spectors, the  cheater  had  got  in,  and  the  discovery  of  the  fraud 
was  quite  accidental."     How  different  this  is  from  the  usual  talk 
on  the  subject,  architects  can  well  appreciate.     According  to 
manv  clients,  the  principal  use  of  an  architect  is  to  enable  his 
employer  to  put  in  a  "  cheater  "  to  build  his  house,  and  to  hold 
him  responsible  for  all  the  cheater's  frauds  that  he  does  not 
succeed  in  preventing,  and  lawyers  are  never  more  eloquent 
than  when  they  explain  that  an  architect,  who  "  holds  himself 
up  as  the  head  of  the  building  profession,"  is  accountable  to 
the  owner  for  all  defects  in  work  that  he  "  assumes  to  super- 
vise." 


TTRCHITECTS  in  New  York  will  regret  the  retirement  of 
j\  Mr.  Albert  F.  d'Oench,  who  has  resigned  his  post  as 
'  Chief  Inspector  of  Buildings,  to  engage  in  professional 
practice  as  an  architect.  Mr.  d'Oench  has  held  his  responsible 
position  for  about  five  years,  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  profes- 
sion and  the  public.  Under  him,  it  is  needless  to  say,  there 
have  been  none  of  the  scandals  which  have  at  times  cast  dis- 
credit on  the  office,  and  the  criticism  of  plans,  which  forms  an 
important  part  of  the  New  York  Inspector's  work,  lias  been 
done  with  a  comprehension  of  the  conditions  to  be  fulfilled 
which  saved  much  misunderstanding  and  annoyance.  Mr. 
Brady,  his  successor,  has  been  long  in  the  Bureau  as  a  sub- 
ordinate, and  is  spoken  of  as  a  hard-working  and  capable  man. 


PHILADELPHIA  has  just  lost  a  very  worthy  citizen,  in 
Mr.  Walter  Allison,  who  died  a  few  days  ago  at  the  age 
of  seventy-three.  Mr.  Allison  was  one  of  the  builders  of 
the  old  school,  who  have  done  so  much  for  the  credit  and 
prosperity  of  the  communities  in  which  they  have  spent  their 
active  days.  He  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  when  Philadelphia 
was  a  pleasant,  patriotic  town,  with  no  thought  of  railroads  or 
steamboats,  and  very  little  of  manufactures.  His  father  was  a 
well-to-do  carpenter,  and  the  boy  was  sent  to  school,  and  then 
apprenticed  to  a  book-seller.  He  soon  left  this  occupation,  and 
took  up  that  of  his  father,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-six  began 
business  on  his  own  account.  From  that  time  until  his  death 
he  lived  in  Philadelphia,  engaged  first  in  hit  own  affairs,  and 
afterwards,  as  he  became  better  known,  in  services  to  the 
public.  He  was  for  three  terms  a  member  of  the  City  Council, 
and  had  been  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Health,  and  a  director 
in  many  other  administrative  or  charitable  bodies. 


158 


The   American    Architect   and  Building   News.        [Vou  XXV.  —  No.  694. 


TITHE  Master  Builders'  Exchange  of  Philadelphia  has  decide- 
*J[    to  establish  a  complete  set  of  trade  schools,  in  which  shal 
be  taught  all  the  principal  branches  of  the  art  of  building 
A  school  of  plumbing  has  been  in  operation  under  the  sami 
auspices  for  about  five  years,  with  encouraging  success,  an< 
will  be  included  in  the  more  comprehensive  scheme  now  being 
carried  out.     Although  the  Exchange  has  taken  great  interes 
in  the  matter,  and  will  undoubtedly  do  all  that  it  can  to  insure 
success,  the  real  originator  and  supporter  of    the   enterprise 
is  that  unwearied  friend  of  the  American  workingman,  Colone 
E.  T.  Auchmuty,  of  New  York,  who  has  offered  to  contribut 
three  thousand  dollars  a  year   toward   the   expenses   of   th 
school  for  three  years,  after  which  it  is  hoped  that  it  will  be 
self-supporting.     Colonel  Auchmuty  has,  it  is  said,  proposed  to 
the  Master  Builders'  Association  of  Boston  to  do  the  same  for 
promoting  the  establishment  of  trade  schools  in  that  city,  an< 
it  is  altogether  likely  that  his  offer  will  be  accepted. 

TTFHE  Eiffel  tower  in  Paris  is  very  nearly  finished,  and  wil 
\~  certainly  be  completed  by  the  first  of  May.  The  painters 
have  for  some  time  been  at  work  decorating  it,  and  the 
Parisians  naturally  take  great  interest  in  their  labors.  With 
the  usual  French  ingenuity  in  seizing  opportunities  for  exaltin^ 
the  memory  of  persons  whom  they  wish  to  honor,  the  directors 
of  the  work  diversified  the  decoration  by  having  the  names  oJ 
distinguished  personages  of  the  last  century  painted  in  con- 
spicuous places.  This  pleased  the  spectators,  until  it  appeared 
that  some  of  the  most  honored  names  were  omitted.  The 
omissions  were  so  glaring  that  they  could  not  be  overlooked, 
and  inquiry  was  made  as  to  the  cause.  It  then  appeared  that 
the  names  had  to  be  painted  in  panels  of  a  limited  size,  none  of 
which  would  contain  a  long  name,  painted  in  letters  large 
enough  to  be  read  from  the  ground,  and  the  directors  were, 
therefore,  obliged  to  restrict  the  honors  to  be  bestowed  in  this 
way  to  persons  whose  names  were  not  more  than  six  or  seven 
letters  long.  Persons  who  visit  the  exhibition  should,  there- 
fore, remember,  as  they  study  the  names  of  the  illustrious  dead 
on  the  great  tower,  that  the  list  does  not  comprise  all  the  most 
distinguished  ones,  but  only  those  with  the  shortest  names. 

HE  Paris  Exhibition  is  to  be  enlivened  by  four  splendid 
entertainments,  which  are  to  be  provided  at  the  joint 
expense  of  the  State,  the  city  of  Paris  and  the  Exposition 
funds,  at  a  cost  of  six  hundred  thousand  dollars.  The  first  of  these 
is  to  take  place  on  the  fifth  of  May,  the  one  hundredth  anniver- 
sary of  the  meeting  of  the  States-General  that  became  the 
Constituent  Assembly,  which  is  to  be  celebrated  at  Versailles 
with  a  grand  banquet  for  fifteen  hundred  guests  in  the  Galerie 
des  Glaces.  The  second  entertainment  takes  place  the  next 
day  on  the  Exhibition  grounds,  when  the  buildings  are  to  be 
opened  for  the  first  time  to  invited  guests  with  ceremonies  ap- 
propriate to  the  inauguration  of  such  an  affair.  The  third  is 
on  the  fourteenth  of  July,  the  anniversary  of  the  taking  of  the 
Bastile,  when  all  Paris  is  to  be  illuminated  with  a  splendor  un- 
usual even  for  the  French  Fourth-of-July,  the  Boulevards  are 
'  to  be  lighted  with  strings  of  lamps,  and  the  Bois  de  Boulogne 
and  the  Forest  of  Vincennes  are  to  be  included  in  the  illumina- 
tions. The  last  affair  of  the  kind  is  the  festival  of  the  inaugu- 
ration of  the  monument  of  the  Republic,  by  Dalou,  which  is  to 
stand  in  the  Place  de  la  Nation.  The  date  of  this  is  not  fixed, 
except  that  it  is  to  take  place  some  time  in  September. 

TTTWO  new  colors  are  described  in  various  recent  technical 
JL  journals.  The  first  is  apparently  a  reproduction  of  a  color 
known  to  the  ancients,  and  made  by  them  with  sand  and 
lime,  heated  with  roasted  copper.  The  pigment,  on  analysis, 
appears  to  be  a  compound  silicate  of  lime  and  copper.  It  is 
now  made  with  exact  proportions  of  the  materials,  so  that  the 
product  is  uniform,  and  the  process  seems  likely  to  furnish  us 
with  a  material  of  great  value.  The  color  is  a  bright,  greenish 
blue,  so  that  it  will  be  more  available  for  decoration  than 
French  blue  or  cobalt  blue,  both  of  which  are  of  a  purplish 
cast,  and  do  not  mix  well  with  other  colors,  while  it  appears  to 
be  as  permanent  as  either  of  them.  The  other  color  is  a  black, 
which  has  been  made  by  treating  camphor  with  sulphuric  acid. 
By  steeping  camphor  in  strong  sulphuric  acid  a  jelly-like  mass 
is  formed,  of  a  reddish  color.  When  this  is  heated  it  boils,  giving 
off  fumes  of  sulphurous  acid,  and  turns  intensely  black.  By 
evaporation  the  unconverted  excess  of  acid  and  camphor  is 
driven  off,  and  a  black  mass  remains,  which  seems  to  have  the 
qualities  of  Indian  ink.  Like  Indian  ink,  it  can  be  apparently 
dissolved  in  water,  and  remains  suspended  for  a  long  time.  We 


hope  that  some  one  will  pursue  the  subject  of  this  camphor- 
black.  A  pure  liquid  black  is  one  of  the  things  that  science 
has  searched  for  in  vain  for  many  years,  and  even  so  near  an 
approach  to  it  as  good  Indian  ink  would  be  a  most  useful  sub- 
stance. 

architect  in  Paris  has  recently  been  made  to  feel  the 
weight  of  professional  responsibility  in  a  rather  disagree- 
able way.  Being  commissioned  to  take  charge  of  the 
erection  of  a  house  in  one  of  the  new  quarters  of  the  city,  he 
made  his  plans  and  commenced  the  construction  of  the  building 
before  the  grade-lines  of  the  street  had  been  given  by  the  city 
engineer.  His  drawings  had  been  made  for  a  high  and  spacious 
carriage  entrance  in  a  portion  of  the  front  where  variations 
could  be  made  in  the  grade  without  inconvenience,  but  the  pro- 
prietor, who  had  a  second-hand  pair  of  doors  that  he  wanted  to 
utilize,  directed  him  to  make  the  doorway  very  small,  to  fit  the 
dimensions  of  the  doors,  and  to  place  the  entrance  in  another 
part  of  the  front,  where  changes  could  be  made  only  with  diffi- 
culty. The  architect  followed  these  directions,  instead  of  pro- 
testing against  them,  as  he  should  have  done,  and  was,  more- 
over, so  careless  as  to  allow  the  door-sills  to  be  set  either  before 
the  grade-lines  had  been  given,  or  without  properly  referring 
to  them.  The  consequence  was  that  when  the  house  was 
finished,  and  the  time  arrived  for  laying  the  sidewalk,  it  was 
discovered  that  the  first  floor  would  come  below  the  street,  and, 
moreover,  that  the  sidewalk  line  would  be  less  than  eight  feet 
from  the  top  of  the  carriage-entrance.  Naturally,  the  pro- 
prietor, when  he  found  that  he  could  not  drive  into  his  house, 
refused  to  pay  the  architect's  bill,  and  the  latter  summoned  him 
before  the  Tribunal  of  the  Seine,  which  decided  that  the  archi- 
tect had  committed  a  grave  fault,  and  must  suffer  the  conse- 
quences to  the  amount  of  two  thousand  dollars  and  costs,  or  a 
little  more  than  the  balance  due  him  on  his  own  bill.  It  is 
characteristic  of  French  jurisprudence  in  such  matters  that  the 
fact  of  the  architect's  having  consented  to  the  adoption  of  a  de- 
fective position  for  the  carriage  entrance,  even  at  the  express 
desire  of  the  owner,  so  far  from  excusing  his  fault,  was  held 
rather  to  have  aggravated  it. 

AINT   AUGUSTINE,  Florida,  is  about   to   be  endowed 
with  remarkable  architectural  interest  by  the  erection  of 
a  Roman,  or  rather,  a  Pompeian  hou»e,  on  an  immense 
scale.     A  small  house  of  the  sort  was  once  built  by  Prince 
Napoleon  in  Paris,  and  King  Louis  of  Bavaria,  among  his  other 
freaks,  constructed  one  at  Aschaffenburg,  near  Munich,  where, 
under  the  name  of  the  Pompeianum,  it  still  attracts  visitors ; 
but  these  are  small  affairs  in  comparison  with  the  huge  house 
which  St.  Augustine  will  possess.     Externally,  the  building  is 
to  be  quite  plain,  presenting  walls  of  coquiua  concrete,  colored 
in    the  mass,  and  formed  into  panels   and  pilasters.     In  the 
middle  of  the  front  is  a  wide  door,  opening  into  the  vestibulum, 
and  thence  into  the  atrium,  a  room  thirty  by  forty  feet,  which 
forms  the  reception-room  of  the  mansion.     The  atrium  is  open 
to  the  sky  in  the  middle,  and  around  it  are  four  cubicula,  a 
bibliotheca  and   an   exedra,  or  conversation-room ;    while   an 
ostiarius  occupies  a  small  room  opening  out  of  the  vestibulum, 
and  opens  the  door  to  visitors.     Beyond  the  atrium  is  the  pe- 
ristylium,  a  room,  or  rather  court,  forty  feet  by  fifty-two,  open 
;o  the  sky  in  the  middle,  and  furnished  with  a  colonnade  and  a 
ions.     On  one  side  of  this  court  are  the  piuacotheca  and  the 
winter  triclinium,  both  of   which  are   also   entered  from   the 
atrium,  and  beyond  is  the  summer  triclinium,  with  which  is 
connected  a  culina  on  one  side,  and  on  the  other  a  lararium, 
where  the  proprietor  is  to  keep  what  purport  to  be  his  house- 
lold  gods.     The  house  stands  on  a  corner,  and,  according  to 
,he   Roman  custom,  one   side  is  occupied  by  tabernae,  which 
lave  no  communication  with  the  interior  of  the  house,  and  are, 
we  suppose,  to  be  rented  to  the  sewing-machine  agents  and 
grocery  men  of  St.  Augustine.     In  the  second  story,  which  is 
reached  by  a  separate  entrance  from  a  side-street,  are  a  few 
rooms  and  a  solarium  or  roof-garden,  which  will  have  fouii- 
ains,  trellises,  and  other  suitable  ornaments.     The  furniture  is 
o  be   copied   from   objects   in  the  British   Museum  and  the 
ouvre,  the  interior  is  to  be  decorated  by  Parisian  and  other 
artists  in  the  purest  Pompeian  style,  and  casts  of  a  complete 
et  of  statues,  such  as  a  Romano-Greek  gentlemen  of  the  first 
entury  A.  D.  would  be  likely  to  have  in  his  house,  will  be  set 
ip  in  appropriate  positions.     The  architect  is  Mr.  G.  Horn- 
ilower,  A.  R.  I.  B.  A.,  who,  with  the  consent  of  the  owner, 
Mr.  Franklin  W.  Smith,  of  Boston,  furnishes  the  Builder  with 
a  plan,  description,  and  two  fine  perspective  drawings. 


APRIL  13,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


171 


EQUESTRIAN   MONUMENTS.1  — XIII. 

AS    ADJUNCTS    OF    ARCHITECTUKE. 


HE  original  statue  of  Louis  XII  at  Blois  —  the  work  of  Guido 
Mazzoni,  a  sculptor  of  Modena  brought  from  Italy  by  Cliarles 
VIII  —  bore  under  it  the  inscription  : 

HIC    UBI   NATUS    ERAT    DEXTRO    LUDOVICUS    OLYMPO 

SUMPSIT    HONORATA    REGIA    SCEPTRA    MANU 

FELIX   QUAE    TANTI    FULSIT    HIX    NUNCIA    REGIS 

GALLIA    NON    AMO    PRINCIPE    DIGNA    FUIT. 

Faustus,  1498. 

This  statue  was  destroyed  in  1793  and  was  not  replaced  until  in 
1845  the  government  undertook  the  restoration  of  the  chateau.  The 
present  one  is  the  work  of  the  sculptor  Seurre,  who  based  it  upon  a 
drawing  preserved  in  the  Cabinet  des  Etampes  of  the  National 
Library. 

A  similar  statue,  probably  of  Francis  I,  may  have  once  had  a  place 
in  the  large  central  opening  of  the  facade  of  the  Chateau  de  Gaillon, 
but  the  only  reason  for  thinking 
so  is  a  lithograph  by  Muller,  an 
artist  who  was  somewhat  given 
to  embellishing  the  subjects  he 
•  depicted.  No  mention  of  such  a 
statue  can  be  found  in  the  printed 
descriptions  of  the  chateau,  nor 
any  other  illustration.  Whether  or 
no  Muller  had  any  authority  for 
introducing  this  statue  the  con- 
ception, as  shown,  is  both  good  and 
unusual,  in  that  it  represents  the 
king  boldly  riding  out  from  the 
archway,  and  not  aimlessly  ambling 
along  the  face  of  the  wall. 

The  photograph  of  the  north 
porch  of  St.  Maria  Maggiore,  at 
Bergamo,  is  familiar  enough,  but 
the  amusement  excited  by  the 
whelp-surrounded  lions  upon  whose 
backs  are  placed  the  pillars  of 
the  porch,  distract  attention  from 
the  equestrian  statue  in  the  upper 
part  which  shows  a  certain  St. 
Alexander,  or,  as  the  figure  is  often 
called,  Duke  Lupus  who,  also,  is 
shown  as  riding  out  from  under 
the  canopy.  This  piece  of  sculpt- 
ure is  inscribed :  "  F'dius  Ughi 
ill  Campilione  fecit  hoc  opus, 
1355."  This  porch,  which  was  re- 
moved to  its  present  position  from 
the  Church  of  San  Alessandro 
in  the  lower  town,  gave  Street  so 
much  pleasure  that,  in  his  "Brick 
and  Marble  Architecture,"  he 
speaks  of  it  thus:  "Such  a  porch 
as  this  northern  porch  at  Bergamo 
is,  indeed,  a  great  treat  to  an 
ecclesiologist,  teeming  as  it  does 
with  ideas  so  fresh  and  new ;  and, 
in  a  small  compass,  giving  so  much 
of  the  radical  points  of  difference 
between  northern  and  southern 
Gothic,  and,  at  the  same  time,  offering  so  beautiful  a  study  of  con- 
structional coloring,  that  it  is  impossible  to  tire  of  gazing  at  it." 

So  far  as  research  can  discover,  there  is  not  a  single  instance  of 
the  employment  in  modern  times  of  an  equestrian  statue  as  an 
adjunct  of  architecture  in  the  way  that  was  adopted  with  so  much 
success  at  Blois.  The  statue  of  Louis  XII  there  seems  as  much  a 
part  of  the  architecture,  as  integral  a  part  of  the  architect's  original 
conception,  as  the  open  staircase  itself  While  the  embrasure  over 

1  Continued  from  No.  683,  page  42. 


Portal  of  the  Chateau  de  Gaillon. 


the  entrance  remained  empty  pending  the  restoration  of  the  chateau, 
the  observer  could  not  but  have  felt  that  the  central  point  of  interest 
of  the  facade  was 
lacking.  Having  be- 
come habituated  to 
this  feature  of  one 
of  the  most  elegant 
pieces  of  modern 
architecture,  it  is 
doubtful  whether  a 
similar  employment 
of  equestrian  sculpt- 
ure in  connection 
with  another  style 
of  architecture 
would  be  unques- 
tioningly  accepted 
by  the  student  of 
art.  The  figures 
are  sculpturesque, 
and  the  action  of 
the  horse  is  gentle 
enough  not  to  in- 
terfere with  the  ar- 
chitectural quietude 
of  the  man. 

A  less  successful 
employment  of  the 
Louis  XII  motive;' 
may  be  found  at 
Nancy  —  less  suc- 
cessful because  less 
architectural  in  its  st'  George'  Vienna-  Fe'r'ko'".  Sculptor. 

treatment,  and  yet  not  altogether  unsuccessful,  since  the  more  viva- 
cious action  of  the  horse,  which  is  bestridden  by  Antoine,  Duke 
of  Lorraine,  together  with  the  uplifted  sword  of  the  rider,  bring 
the  composition  fairly  into  harmony  with  the  exuberant  flamboy- 
ancy  of  the  architectural  detail  of  the  central  motive  of  the  old 

Ducal  Palace,  now  converted 
into  the  museum  of  antiquities  of 
Lorraine.  Like  most  of  the  sculpt- 
ure now  extant  on  French  build- 
ings of  an  early  date,  this  group, 
by  the  sculptor  Viard-Jiorne,  is 
but  a  restoration  —  though  proba- 
3  bly  not  a  replica  —  of  an  earlier 
group  by  Mansuy  Gauvain,  a 
sculptor  of  the  early  sixteenth 
century,  which  had  been  destroyed 
by  the  revolutionary  iconoclasts 
in  1792.  The  building  itself  was 
begun  by  Duke  Raoul,  who  ruled 
about  1329,  and  was  finished  by 
Rene  II,  while  Antoine  and  Charles 
III  enlarged  and  embellished  it. 
The  central  motive,  the  doorway, 
was  due  to  Antoine,  who  finished 
it  in  1512,  and  it  was  his  figure 
that  was  placed  there.  The  build- 
ing was  not  restored  after  the 
Revolution  until  1848,  and  the 
present  statue  was  put  in  place  in 
1851  where,  though  all  the  rest  of 
the  building  was  destroyed  by  fire 
in  1871,  it  still  remains. 

A  less  familiar  statue  of  simi- 
lar character  is  to  be  found  at  the 
Chateau  de  Verger,  in  Anjou,  where 
Pierre  de  Rohan  rides  beneath 
a  projecting  canopy.  This  canopy 
and  the  withdrawn  curtains  held 
back  by  little  winged  genii,  stamp 
this  figure  as  less  in  place  on  the 
outside  of  a  building  than  the 
Louis  XII  and  Duke  Antoine  of 
Lorraine,  and  suggest  the  work  of 
an  Italian  sculptor,  who  still  re- 
tained memories  of  the  treatment 
of  equestrian  figures  on  some  of 
the  celebrated  mural  tombs  of  Italy. 
While  at  Nancy,  since  it  may 
not  be  visited  again,  it  is  well  to 
mention  another  equestrian  statute,  a  miniature  figure  of  Duke 
Rend  II  (1473-1508),  the  conqueror  of  Charles  the  Bold,  which  is  a 
reproduction  of  the  leaden  original  by  Le"py,  which  is  now  in  the 
Museum.  This  little  statue  surmounts  a  fountain  which  stands  in 
front  of  the  new  Church  of  St.  Epore,  built,  in  1863-75,  on  the  site 
of  an  earlier  church  dating  from  1451.  The  tower  and  spire  here 
shown  are  285  feet  high.  Besides  this  little  figure  which  is  not 
exactly  in  place  in  this  consideration  of  equestrian  sculpture  and 
architecture,  there  is  in  the  Museum  of  the  Hotel  de  Ville  a  bronze 


172 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.         [VOL.  XXV.  — No.  694. 


equestrian  statue  of  Duke  Charles  III,  by  the  sculptor  Chaligny,  a 
native  of  the  city ;  and  there  is  also  a  statue  of  the  same  personage 
—  which  may  or  may  not  be  equestrian  —  over  the  doorway  of  the 


Monument  to  Adam  Mickiewicz,  Cracow,  Poland.     Godebski,  Sculptor.1 

Church  of  Notre  Dame :  it  is  probably  equestrian,  however,  since  it 
is  said  to  have  been  taken  as  a  model  for  the  equestrian  figure  of 
Louis  XIII,  at  Dijon.  More  closely  connected  with  this  branch  of 


Doorway  of  the  Convent  of  St.  Francli  of  ASSISI,  Palms,  Belearic  Islands.8 

the  subject,  is  the  equestrian  figure  of    St.  George  and  the  dragon 
which  surmounts  the  Porte  St.  Georges,  at  Nancy,  a  work  of  the 

1  From  La  Semaine  dei  Architectes. 
1  From  the  Moniteur  des  Architectes. 


native  sculptor,  Florent  Drouin,  which  Duke  Charles  III  caused  to 
be  erected  there. 

There  is  a  minor  instance  of  a  treatment  somewhat  similar  to  the 
Blois  motive  to  be  found  at  Vienna  in  the  fountain  of  St.  George, 
which  decorates  the  palace  of  Prince  Montenuovo,  now  the  An- 
glo-Austrian Bank :  here  the  group,  a  St.  George  and  the  dragon 
by  Fernkorn,  gets  its  framing  in  a  shallow  niche  in  the  face  of  the 
wall  of  the  first  story,  but  the  sculpture  can  not  in  any  sense  be  con- 
sidered as  a  part  of  the  architecture. 

The  only  bit  of  modern  equestrian  sculpture  that  can  reasonably 
be  brought  into  the  same  category  with  these  figures  was  the  alto 
relievo  by  Mercie  over  the  guichet  of  the  Louvre,  which  has 
already  been  illustrated,  and  which  the  bas-relief,  evidently  inspired 
by  it,  on  the  new  monument  erected  at  Cracow,  to  Adam  Mickie- 
wicz, by  Godebski,  sculptor,  may  serve  to  recall.  The  figures 
on  Strasbourg  Cathedral  seem  to  be  entirely  accidental,  and  not  parts 
proper  of  the  architectural  design.  Wherever  else  equestrian 

sculpture  is  united  with  the 
architecture  of  the  building, 
it  is  usually  in  the  form  of 
bas-reliefs  in  such  a  way  as 
to  lie  in  a  sort  of  neutral 
.  ground  between  decorated 
construction  and  constructed 
decoration,  while  yet  always 
coming  within  the  province 
of  the  architect  to  control 
or  direct,  or  else  it  exists  as 
decoration  pure  and  simple, 
and  the  connection  of  the 
architect  with  it  has  been 
only  to  provide  the  proper 
pedestals  for  the  detached 
groups. 

It  is  strange  that  modern 
architects  should  have  ne- 
glected such  a  possibility  of 
lending  interest  to  their 
buildings,  although  it  is  not 
a  very  obvious  means.  An 
equestrian  statue  with  its 
pedestal  is  usually  in  the 
way  in  a  city,  and  has  either 
to  be  set  up  in  a  special  en- 
closure of  its  own  stolen 
from  the  lawful  claim  of 
traffic's  needs,  or  is  sent  off 
to  find  a  place  in  some 
large  park,  where  few  can 
see  it,  and  where,  generally, 
its  sculpturesque  and  archi- 
tectural lines  are  not  in 
keeping  with  sylvan  sur- 
roundings. But  if  such 
sculpture  should  be  de- 
signed for  a  place  on  some 
important  building,  where 
it  would  be  out  of  the 
way  of  traffic,  and  fitly 
form  the  central  point  of 
some  short  vista,  it  could 
effect  a  gain  in  many  ways. 
It  could  be  erected  more 
economically  than  a  statue 
standing  free  on  a  pedestal 
of  its  own,  for,  practically, 
only  two-thirds  of  the  figure 
need  be  highly  finished,  since 
the  parts  next  the  back  of 
the  niche  could  be  left  in  the 
rough,  and  what  would  cor- 
respond to  the  work  re- 
quired for  the  pedestal  could 
be  restricted  to  that  which 
would  be  needed  to  finish 
but  a  single  side  of  the  same. 
Or,  to  put  the  same  idea  in 
another  form,  for  the  money 
needed  to  erect  a  good  statue 
standing  free,  a  much  more 
elaborate,  more  satisfying, 
and  less  obstructive  result 


Duke  Rene  I 


Nancy,  France. 


could   be  achieved  by  designing  the  next  equestrian  statue  we  have 

to  erect  in  conjunction  with  some   public  or  semi-public  building 

about  to  be  erected  in  -a  place  suitable  for  the  fair  exhibition  of  such 

sculpture.  There  are  projects  now  afoot  in  many  cities  looking  to  the 

erection  of  equestrian  monuments  to  leaders  who  fell,  on  one  side  or 

he  other,  during  our  civil  war,  and  the  Government  might  do  worse 

hings  than,  after  having  taken  suitable  precautions  to  prevent  the 

upervising  architect  of  the  moment  turning  the  matter  into  a  farce, 

o  offer  a  wall  of  the  next  public  building  to  be  erected  in  such  city  as 

a  background  for  such  a  group  of  statuary.     Perhaps  the  influence 


APRIL  13,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building   News. 


173 


and  advice  of  an  able  sculptor  who  had  a  stake  in  the  matter 
might  do  more  to  effect  a  reform  in  Government  architecture  than 
all°the  expostulations  that  the  public  and  the  architectural  profes- 
sion can  formulate. 

In  spite  of  the  short  time  since  it  was 
in  evidence  and  the  great  number  of  pho- 
tographs of  the  Louvre  that  must  have 
been  taken  while  it  was  still  in  place,  it 
has  not  been  possible  to  procure  any  il- 
lustration of  the  "  Gingerbread  Man  " 
which  caused  its  unfortunate  author,  the 
famous  Barye,  so  much  mortification. 
Here  was  a  case  where  an  unfortunate 
sculptor  —  not  a  then  well-known  one,  to 
be  sure  —  was  wantonly  sacrificed  to  the 
supposed  exigencies  of  the  architectural 
surroundings.  When  it  was  decided  to 
place  a  bas-relief  of  Napoleon  III  over 
the  guichet  of  the  Louvre,  Barye,  to  whom 
the  task  was  assigned,  desired  to  make 
the  figure  in  high  relief,  but  the  archi- 
tect, probably  M.  Lefuel.  would  not  lis- 
ten to  his  entreaties,  but  declared  that 
he  could  not  have  the  delicate  lines  of 
his  mouldings  and  surface  enrichment 
interfered  with  by  a  treatment  so  robust 
as  that  which  the  sculptor  desired  to 
adopt.  As  was,  of  course,  strictly  proper, 
the  sculptor  had  to  yield,  and  the  figure 
was  modelled  in  tlie  flattest  of  relief  and 
reproduced  by  the  galvanoplastic  process 
by  Christophle,  with  such  poor  success 
that  it  was  necessary  to  plug  up  many 
holes  and  imperfections  with  lead  and 
wax,  which  gave  to  the  sculpture  the  mot- 
tled appearance  which  earned  for  it  the 
nickname  "  le  bonhomme  de  pain  d'epice." 
But  it  filled  a  void,  and  though  laughed 
at  by  all,  held  its  place  till  the  fall  of 
the  Empire,  when  it  was  one  of  the  things 
that  first  fell  a  victim  to  the  iconoclastic 
rage  that,  in  France,  follows  political 
change.  Strangely  though,  it  met  a 
kinder  fate  than  some  more  deserving 
efforts  :  thanks  to  its  flatness  it  was  an 
easy  task  to  conceal  it  behind  a  layer 
of  tinted  plaster,  which  served  the  purpose  of  the  moment  and 
allowed  popular  rage  time  to  cool,  and  made  it  possible  at  a  later 
day  to  remove  the  plaque  uninjured,  and  store  it  away  with  other 
displaced  royalties  and  royal  belongings  in  the  Governmental 
bric-a-brac  shop,  the  Garde  Meuble. 


trian  figure,  of  animated  action,  in  high  relief,  while  over  the  door- 
way of  the  Convent  of  St.  Francis  of  Assisi,  at  Palma,  a  city  on 
one  of  the  Balearic  Isles,  is  a  fragment  of  a  similar  equestrian  figure. 
As  one  more  instance  of  the  many  places  and  ways  in  which  the 
horse    was    wrought     into     ecclesiastical 
sculpture,    may    be  mentioned    the  relief 
of     St.    Martin,    as    usual    dividing    his 
cloak  with   a  beggarman,  on   the   fa9ade 
of  St.  Martin,  at  Laon,  France,  the  church 
dating   from    1150.     The   church   of   St. 
Croix  at  Bordeaux,  published  in  the  Am- 
erican  Architect,  for    December  6,  1884, 
also  contains  in  a  large  niche  in  the  facade 
a   group  of   St.  George   and   the  dragon 
in  high  relief. 

As  a  type  of  the  horse  used  as  an  ad- 
junct, of  what  may  be  styled  marine  sculpt- 
ure, the  famous  fountain  of  Apollo  in  the 
Park,  at  Versailles,  may  be  mentioned. 

A  very  admirable  type  of  the  many  uses 
of  the  horse  in  connection  with  pedimen- 
tal  sculpture,  or  as  crowning  feature  of 
a  triumphal  arch,  or  as  support  of  some 
piece  of  heraldic  sculpture,  may  be  cited 
in  the  group  which  has  a  place  over  the 
entrance  to  the  Imperial  Library,  at  Vien- 
na, whence  it  looks  down  upon  the  eques- 
trian figure  of  Joseph  II,  in  the  Josefplatz 
below. 


/NORTH  PORCH,  STA./AA&IA 


Pierre  de  Rohan,  Marechal  de  Gie.1 

In  this  connection  may  be  mentioned  two  bits  of  equestrian 
sculpture  of,  to  us,  unknown  originals  by  unknown  authors, 
which  hold  positions  in  respect  to  architecture  similar  to  one 
another :  supported  on  a  label  over  the  door  of  the  Loggia  del 
Mercanti  —  or  Exchange  —  at  Ancona,  in  Italy,  stands  a  little  eques- 


i  From  La  Croix's  "  Louis  XII  et  Anne  de  Bretayne." 


CHARLES-EMILE- MARIE  SEUKRE.  —  Born  at 
Paris.  1798.  Died  there  1858.  Pupil  of  Cartellier. 
Won  the  prize  of  Koine  in  1824.  His  works  com- 
prise a  statue  of  "  Leda"  ;  the  statue  of  Napol- 
eon I,  formerly  on  the  Vendome  column;  a  statue 
of  Charles  VII ;  one  of  Boileau  ;  and  the  figure 
emblematic  of  poetry  on  the  tomb  of  his  friend 
Casimir  Delavigne,  in  the  cemetery  of  Pere  Lach- 
aise. 

FKANCIS  I. —  Born  at  Cognac,  1494.  Succeeded 
Louis  XII,  1515 ;  conquered  the  Milanese  the 
same  year ;  was  a  candidate  for  the  imperial 
crown,  which  Charles  V  obtained,  and  formed 
a  league  with  England  and  the  Pope  against 
Francis,  who  was  defeated  at  Pavia,  1525,  and 
taken  prisoner  ;  confined  in  Madrid  until  1526, 
when  he  continued  the  war  until  1529,  and  later 
until  1544  ;  promoted  science,  art  and  literature  ; 
died  March,  1547. 

CHATEAU  DE  GAILLON.  —  This  magnificent 
castle,  erected  at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  was  built  by  Cardinal  Georges  d'Amboise,  minister  of  Louis  XIL, 
as  a  maison  de  plaisance  for  the  archbishops  of  Houen,  from  designs  by  An- 
drouet  du  Cerceau,  the  famous  architect.  It  was  enriched  with  sculptures  by 
Jean  Juste  of  Tours.  It  was  mostly  demolished  at  the  Revolution  and  is 
now  used  as  a  house  of  detention,  having  been  rebuilt,  though  greatly  altered. 
A  part  of  the  old  facade  was  preserved  and  has  been  erected  in  the  court- 
yard of  Ecole  des  Beaux-Arts  in  Paris.  The  line  marble  relief  of  St.  George 
and  the  Dragon  which  is  now  in  the  Salle  de  Michel  Colombe  at  the  Louvre, 
was  brought  from  Gaillou.  This  chateau  was  a  favorite  residence  of  Francis  I. 

PIERRE  DE  ROHAN.  —  Pierre,  Vicomte  de  Rohan,  Marechal  de  Gie\  was  born  in 
Brittany  about  1450.  He  was  made  Marshal  in  1475  and  enjoyed  the  favor  and 
confidence  of  Louis  XI  and  Charles  VIII,  the  latter  of  whom  he  accompanied  in 
his  Italian  expedition.  He  was  appointed  by  Louis  XII  preceptor  to  the  young 
prince,  afterwards  Francis  I,  but  subsequently  fell  into  disgrace  and  was 
deprived  of  his  dignities.  Died  1513. 

VIARD-JIORNE.  —  Born  at  Saint-Clement  (Meurthe).  Pupil  of  Bonnassieux. 
The  museum  at  Nancy  possesses  by  him  a  bust  of  the  chemist  Braconnot,  and 
statues  of  "  Christ  bound  to  the  column  "  and  "  St.  Sebastian." 

ANTOINE,  DUKE  OF  LORRAINE.  —  Born  at  Bar-le-Duc  in  1489.  Son  of  Rene1 
II.  Succeeded  his  father  in  1508.  Maintained  a  neutrality  in  the  war  between 
Charles  V  and  Francis  I  and  reigned  mostly  in  peace.  Died  in  1544. 

MANSUY  GAUVAIN. —  A  sculptor  who  flourished  at  the  beginning  of  the  six- 
teenth century. 

CHALIGNY.  —  There  were  two  sculptors  of  this  name,  David  and  Antoine, 
apparently  brothers,  and  this  statue  is  sometimes  said  to  be  their  joint  work. 

FLORENT  DROUIN.  —  A  sculptor,  of  Nancy,  who  lived  in  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury. 

CHARLES  III,  DUKE  OF  LOERAINE  ("The  Great"). —  Born  at  Nancy  in 
1543.  He  was  the  son  of  Francis  I,  Duke  of  Lorraine,  who  died  in  1545.  Married 
Claude,  daughter  of  Henry  II  of  France,  in  1559.  Died  1608. 

NICOLAS  LEPY.  —  Born  at  Nancy,  1785.  Died  1869.  Pupil  of  his  father.  He 
executed  medallions  in  ivory  of  the  Emperor  Alexander  and  the  archduke 
Charles.  In  the  museum  at  Nancy  is  a  bust  of  Leopold  I,  Duke  of  Lorraine,  in 
plaster,  which  Ldpy  executed  in  marble  for  the  monument  to  that  prince  in  the 
Church  of  the  Cordeliers. 

DUKE  KENE  II  OF  LORRAINE. —  Born  in  1451.  Became  duke  in  1473.  His 
dominions  being  invaded  by  Charles  the  Bold  of  Burgundy,  Ren<5,  with  his  Swiss 
allies,  defeated  Charles  at  Morat,  1476.  The  next  year  he  gained  another  famous 
victory  near  Nancy  where  Charles  was  killed  in  battle.  Ren4  formed  an  alli- 
ance with  Venice  and  in  1480  was  appointed  captain-general  of  that  republic ; 
but  on  the  death  of  Louis  XI  of  France  left  the  service  of  Venice.  He  died  in 
1508. 

THE  LOGGIA  DEI  MERCANTI,  ANCONA.  —  T.: is  building,  was  designed  by 
Pellegrino  Tibaldi,  who  lived  from  1527  to  about  1592. 

[To  be  continued.! 


THE  STRASBURG  CATHEDRAL.  —  Since  the  war  the  cathedral  at  Stras- 
burg  which  suffered  considerably  from  the  bombardment  of  1870,  has 
undergone  extensive  repairs.  In  answer  to  many  suggestions  on  the 
subject  the  building  was  subjected  to  a  very  close  examination  at  the 
end  of  last  year,  the  result  of  which  has  been  extremely  alarming.  It 
was  proved  beyond  doubt  that  many  portions  were  threatened  with 
complete  ruin  and  that  no  time  was  to"  be  lost.  A  report  to  this  effect 
will  be  submitted  to  the  municipal  council,  —  N.  Y,  Commercial  Adver- 
tiser. 


174 


The   American   Architect  and  JJuilding   News.      [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  694. 


SUGAR   IN   MORTAR. 

<TTLTHOTJGH 
r\  saccharine 
/  matter  has 
been  employed  in 
India  as  an  in- 
gredient of  mortar 
from  time  imme- 
morial, and  refer- 
ence has  been 
made  to  it  by  stand- 
a  r  d  authorities, 
which  has  attract- 
ed considerable  at- 
tention in  England 
and  America  dur- 
ing the  past  two  or 
three  years,  its 
effect  is  not  gen- 
erally known. 

Sugar  unites 
with  lime,  and 
forms  sucrate  of 
lime  —  a  solid 
which  possesses 
considerable 
strength,  dissolves 
freely  in  water,  and 
is  acted  upon  by 
carbonic  acid.  All 
hydraulic  cements 
contain  at  least  50 
per  cent  of  lime 
compounds ;  hence,  if  a  saccharine  substance  be  added  to  mortar, 
the  sugar  will  unite  with  the  lime  and  form  sucrate  of  lime.  The 
effect  of  this  compound  may  be  an  advantage  or  a  disadvantage, 
according  to  attendant  conditions.  For  example,  if  the  mortar  is 
composed  of  common  lime  and  sand,  the  sucrate  of  lime,  being 
stronger  than  the  carbonate,  will  add  to  the  strength  of  the  mor- 
tar ;  and  as  the  lime  will  unite  with  the  sugar  more  rapidly  than 
with  the  carbonic  acid  of  the  air,  the  sugar  will  also  cause  the  mortar 
to  set  more  quickly. 

In  India,  the  practice 
is  to  add  one  pound  of 
the  coarsest  sugar  (or 
its  equivalent  in  syrup) 
to  each  gallon  of  water 
with  which  the  mortar  is 
mixed.  "  This  amount  of 
sugar  adds  one-half  to  the 
breaking  strength  of  the 
mortar,  and  doubles  its 
cohesive  strength."  It  is 
better  to  dissolve  the 
sugar  in  the  water  than 
to  mix  it  dry  with  the 
lime,  since  some  limes  in 
slaking  "  burn  "  the  sugar, 
thereby  destroying  its 
strengthening  effect,  and 
also  blackening  the  mor- 
tar. 

The  addition  of  sugar 
increases  the  early 
strength  of  lime  mortar, 
since  the  sucrate  of  lime 
develops  its  strength 
more  rapidly  than  the 
carbonate.  Jf  lime  mor- 
tar were  used  in  the  in- 
terior of  thick  walls,  the 
addition  of  a  saccharine 
substance  would  be  beneficial,  since  lime  mortar  thus  placed  would 
never  become  fully  saturated  with  carbonic  acid.1  The  addition 
of  sugar  to  cement  mortar  will  accelerate  or  retard  the  setting  of  the 
cement,  depending  upon :  (1)  the  amount  of  sugar  present  (so  far  as 
the  cement  is  concerned  the  sugar  is  an  adulteration) ;  (2)  the  rela- 
tive indurating  activity  of  the  sucrate  and  the  silicate,  and  (3)  the 
amount  of  water  used  (the  cement  is  hydraulic,  while  the  sucrate  is 
non-hydraulic,  and  hence  the  former  will  set  in  the  presence  of 
water,  while  the  latter  will  not).  This  principle  may  explain  the 
conflicting  results  obtained  from  different  experiments.  For  exam- 
ple, one  experimenter2  found  that  sugar  greatly  accelerates  the 
setting  of  Portland  cement,  causing  it  to  set  in  a  few  minutes ;  on 
the  other  hand,  most  experimenters3  find  that  sugar  in  any  propor- 

"Lime  mortar  has  been  taken  from  the  walls  of  ancient  buildings  which  were 
only  50  to  80  per  cent  saturated  with  carbonic  acid  after  an  exposure  of  nearly 
2,000  years. 

2  Engineering  News,  Vol.  XVII,  page  6. 

>For  example,  Mechanics.  Vol.  IX,  pages  316-317;  a  paper  read  at  the  Wash- 
ington meeting  of  the  American  Society  of  M.  K,  to  be  published  in  Vol.  IX  of 
the  Transactions  of  that  Society. 


tions  retards  the  setting  of  Portland  cement.  All  experimenters 
agree  that  sugar  retards  the  setting  of  Rosendale  cement. 

Sugar  added  to  mortar  may  increase  or  decrease  the  ultimate 
strength  of  the  mortar,  depending  upon :  (1)  the  amount  of  sugar 
present,  and  (2)  the  relative  ultimate  strength  of  the  compounds 
formed.  For  example,  with  lime  mortar,  the  maximum  effect  —  an 
addition  of  50  per  cent  to  the  ultimate  tensile  strength  —  is  obtained 
when  the  weight  of  the  sugar  is  equal  to  about  10  per  cent  of  the 
weight  of  the  lime.  With  neat  Rosendale  cement  mortar,  the 
maximum  effect  at  the  end  of  three  months  —  an  addition  of  about 
20  per  cent  to  the  tensile  strength  —  is  obtained  with  £  to  £  per  cent 
of  sugar.  With  neat  Portland  cement  mortar  the  evidence  is  con- 
flicting. One  experimenter4  obtained  a  maximum  effect  —  an  addi- 
tion of  25  per  cent  to  the  strength  —  with  one  per  cent  of  sugar; 
while  another6  concluded  that  "  sugar  was  of  no  great  advantage  in 
combination  with  the  best  qualities  of  Portland  cement."  The  last 
was  corroborated  by  experiments  made  by  the  author. 

The  sucrate  of  lime,  being  soluble  in  the  water,  will  in  time  be 
washed  out  by  the  rain  ;  therefore  the  addition  of  a  saccharine  sub- 
stance to  mortar  is  most  beneficial  in  a  dry  climate,  as  in  India,  for 
example.  A  saccharine  substance  should  not  be  added  when  the 
cement  is  to  be  used  under  water.  The  compounds  of  lime  with 
sugar  are  attacked  by  the  carbonic  acid  of  the  air,  and  hence  the 
strengthening  effect  of  the  sugar  is  not  permanent  when  the  mortar 
is  exposed  to  the  weather.  Owing  to  these  two  facts,  the  use  of 
sugar  with  cement  is  not  of  much  practical  value.  Although  sugar 
adds  materially  to  the  strength  of  lime  mortar,  the  compound  is  in- 
ferior in  strength  and  durability  to  cement  mortar,  and  costs  pro- 
portionally more. 

It  is  highly  probable  that  the  effects  obtained  by  mixing  sugar 
with  mortar  can  also  be  obtained  by  the  use  of  gum-arabic,  dextrine, 
glucose,  etc.  The  use  of  such  materials  involves  some  interesting 
questions ;  and  a  study  of  this  subject  by  a  mason-chemist  might 
lead  to  valuable  results.  IRA  0.  BAKER,  C.  E. 


[  Contributors  are  requested  to  send  with  their  drawings  full  and 
a-lequate  descriptions  of  the  buildings,  including  a  statement  of  cost."] 


THE  ATLANTIC  BUILD- 
ING, WASHINGTON,  D. 
C.  MR.  JAMES  G.  HILL, 
ARCHITECT,  WASHING- 
TON, D.  C. 

[Gelatine   Print,  issued   only 
with  the  Imperial  Edition.] 


The  Josefplatz, 


Vienna,  Austria. 

HE   Atlantic  Building  has  a  frontage 
of  but  41  feet  and  a  height  of   106  "•-••  -•  ».c—°  *™, 

feet  from  sidewalk  to  top  of  parapet  .j^*.^..^ 

coping.     The  lower  story  supports  are  of 

iron.     Red  Potomac  sandstone  in  second  and  third  stories  and  brick 

and  terra-cotta,  with  a  few  stone  bands,  above. 

CHURCH  OF  ST.  MARTIN,  LAON,  FRANCE. 

THIS  plate  is  reproduced  from  Ramee's  "  Le  Moyen  Age  Monu- 
mentale  et  Archeoloyique  "  in  connection  with  the  article  on  "Eques- 
trian Monuments." 

STATUE    OF    LOUIS    XII    ON   THE    CHATEAU    DE    BLOIS,    FRANCE. 

SEE  article  on  "  Equestrian  Monuments,"  elsewhere  in  this  issue. 

4  Mechanics.  Vol.  IX,  pages  315-317;  a  paper  read  at  the  Washington  meeting 
of  the  American  Society  of  M.  E.,  to  be  published  in  Vol.  IX,  of  the  Transac- 
tions of  that  Society. 

•  Engineering  News,  Vol.  XVI,  page  333. 


ID.  694        UMEi\iG$m  MRGHITEGT  JIND  BUILDING  HEWS,  .^H*.  13  1559 


COFffilBHX  JB83  EY  TlCKbtOR  1C» 


HdBtyp*  Printin?  S3HJI. 


DVKE     AMTOIHE    OF    LOfTfeAIHE.,  NATIONAL 


,  HAMC.V  , 


to.  694. 


*ND  BUILDING  HEWS,  <3piU3  1359 


1889BYTICXKOR1C9 


aiwg  d.Ststm. 


,  c....,, 


>o.  694. 


|[MEi\iG5iN 


comrem-  isss 


SNS  aLA " 

•TEMPIE 


HIDING  HEWS,  ftpR  13  1359 


Heliotype  Fruiting  Co.Boston 


MND  IWLDINGflEWS, 

OirtSWWt  le89BYTlCKNORiC° 


.  1 3  1559     }|o.  6 94. 


rtTtintiJt  KtButou 


|[MEI\IG$IN  $[I^HITEGT  ^ND  BUILDING  HEWS, ^jpn.  15  1559        J|o.  694 


COPYBKJHT  wes  BY  TICKNOR  tc» 


^njericaij  flrcbitect  aijd  Building  IJews,  flpril  15,  1559.        IJo.  694. 


Copyright,  1889,  by  TICKNOH  &  Co. 


I!1 


Heliotype  Printing  Co.,  Boston. 


THE  ATLANTIC  BUILDING,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 

JAMES  G.   HILL,  Architect. 


APBIL  13,  1889.] 


The  American  Architect  and  Building  News. 


175 


STATUE    OF    DUKE   ANTOINE    OF    LORRAINE,    AT   NANCY. 

SEE  article  on  "  Equestrian  Monuments." 

SKETCH  FOR  THE  CHURCH  OF  THE  BLESSED  SACRAMENT,  PROVI- 
DENCE, R.  I.  MESSRS.  HEINS  &  LA  FARGE,  ARCHITECTS,  NEW 
YORK,  N.  Y. 

DESIGNS  FOR  FIREPLACES  BY  MESSRS.  W.  H.  ORCHARD  AND  C.  F. 
BRAGDON:  MEMBERS- OF  THE  ROCHESTER  SKETCH  CLUB. 


— ^ ^l  t,  q'»  ^ij.  fy      f 

/    /'  /    ' 'Rat/ Line, 


rff- 
*l 


ARCHITECTURAL  SHADES  AND  SHADOWS.!  —  III. 

THE    GENERAL   METHOD. 

Drawing  shadows  when  the  line  of  shade  is  known,  and  surface  of  in- 
cidence is  a  plane  parallel  to  a  plane  of  projection ;  difficulty  in 
other  cases;  ''slicing"  explained;  slicing  the  cone;  finding  points 
of  its  line  of  shade  anil  of  its  shadow ;  shadow  of  a  cone  on  a 
cone;  recapitulation;  note  on  surfaces  of  revolution. 

In  order  to  draw  the  pro- 
jections of  the  shadow  of 
an  object,  we  must  ascer- 

Shfclpv^Fbmllelapiped  ta;n  tne  projections  of  its  line  of 
>&_ Jfc<*,0k*flBnarfe<  shade.  By  drawing  through  a  suffi- 
cient number  of  points  of  this  line 
the  projections  of  rays  of  light,  and 
finding  the  intersections  of  the  latter 
with  the  surface  of  incidence,  we 
obtain  the  projections  of  points  in 
the  line  of  shadow  which  is  then 
drawn  through  these  points  with  an 
accuracy  depending  upon  their  num- 
ber. When  the  surface  of  incidence 

fltpirelta  vertically  airftt  .  ,  n    ,    A      ,1  \  t 

,m,ji, •  aSfc'^iefsHie-   ls  a  plane   parallel  to  the  plane  of 
nit*' bjriiifoj; on  mt  projection,  and  the  line  of  shade  is 
f   iai  iracf'"llJtUJ  ''tl"ma''  that  of   a  simple   geometrical    solid 
(as  in  a  large  part  of  the  cases  the 

draughtsman  has  to  deal  with),  the  problem  is  much  simplified. 
Thus  in  Figure  20  we  have  a  parallelopipedon  whose  projections 
coincide  with  those  of  its  line  of  shade  (20).  Through  the  extremities 
of  the  edges  forming  this  line  of  shade  we  draw  the  projections  of 
rays  of  light.  These  intersect  the  plane  of  incidence  (here  supposed 
parallel  to  V  P)  in  six  points,  whose  horizontal  projections  are,  of 
course,  on  the  horizontal  trace  of  the  plane  of  incidence,  and  their 
vertical  projections  directly  above,  upon  the  vertical  projections  of 
the  corresponding  rays.  The  lines  connecting  these  points  of  shadow 
thus  found  form  the  required  shadow  of  the  line  of  shade,  that  is, 
of  the  object  (19  and  Maxim 
X),  and  the  problem  is  solved. 
Figure  21  illustrates  the 
application  of  this  process  to 
a  plane  figure  not  parallel 
to  either  plane  of  projection, 
but  casting  its  shadow  on  one 
of  these  planes.  Here  the 
line  of  shade  is  evidently 
the  "edge"  or  outline  of  the 
figure  itself,  as  shown  in  21. 
In  the  same  way  may  be 
found  the  shadows  of  a  large 
number  of  plane  figures  and 
of  simple  geometrical  solids 
when  their  shadows  are  cast  upon  a  plane  parallel  to  a  plane  of 
projection.  Examples  of  this  kind  will  be  shown  in  Plate  II. 

30.  But  when  the  line  of  shade  is  not  given,  and  the  surface  of 
incidence  is  not  parallel  to  H  P  or  VP,  or  is  not  a  plane  at  all,  the 
problem  requires  some  more  comprehensive  method  for  its  solution, 
and  this  is  furnished  by  the  general  method,  sometimes  called  the 
"  Method  of  Slicing."     This  is  based  upon  the  principle  that  when  a 
plane   figure  is   parallel  to  the  direction  of  the  light,  or,  in  other 
words,  has  one  of  the  elements  of  its  plane  parallel  to  the  luminous 
rays,  the  figure  becomes  its  own  line  of  shade  (21,  6),  its  shadow  in 
space.a  plane,  and  its  cast  shadow  upon  a  plane  a  straight  line.     The 
points  where  rays  of  light  are  tangent  to  its  edge,  called  points  of 
tangency,  cast  shadows  which  limit  its  own  cast  shadow,  and  of  which 
a  part  may  fall  on  its  own  edge,  as  in  D,  Figure  16,  and  in  Figure 
22.     Now,  by  cutting  any  object  and   the   adjacent   surfaces   into 
slices  by  planes  parallel  to  the  rays  of  light,  we  obtain  a  number  of 
such  figures.     The  points  of  shade  and  shadow  on  their  edges  are 
points   in   the   lines   of   shade  and   of   shadow  of  the   object.     By 
drawing  the  projections  of  the  rays  tangent  to  the  outlines  of  these 
slices  we  obtain  the  projections  of  points  in  the  required  lines  of 
shade  and  of  shadow,  which  we  then  draw  through  these  points  with 
an  accuracy  depending  on  their  number.     This  operation  is  illus- 
trated in  Figure  23. 

31.  The  slices  may  be  cut  by  any  series  of  planes  parallel  to  the 

1  By  A.  D.  P.  Hamlin,  Instructor  in  Architecture  in  the  School  of  Mines, 
Columbia  College,    Continued  from  page  127,  No.  690, 


A'  4 1  ,  ahadao  on 
vPqf  abc.cLJx.'  atb,ct, 
horizontal projection  cj 
same 


rays  of  light,  i.  e.,  containing  one  element  parallel  to  them.  But  it 
is  convenient  to  have  these  slices  perpendicular  to  one  of  the  planes 
of  projection,  as  they  are  then  projected  upon  that  plane  as  right 
lines.  If  the  solid  is  a  geometrical  figure,  the  other  projection  of 


Flg.23. 


each  slice  may  be  found  by  assuming  points  upon  its  rectilinear  pro- 
jection, and  finding  their  positions  upon  the  surface  of  the  figure  in 
the  other  projection,  these  being  easily  deduced  from  the  geometrical 
properties  of  the  surface  in  question. 

32.  Figure  24  shows  this  process  applied  to  the  cone.  In  A  the 
cone  is  cut  by  a  plane  normal  to  VP,  and  five  points  are  taken  upon 
the  vertical  projection  of  the  resulting  slice  (Chap.  II,  note  9,  b). 
Through  these  the  vertical  projections  of  five  elements  of  the  cone 


A 


jcps  isftjtjal 'fopAZ  jfoiiseoua/fDoiy'    h1}  fi  O A    Jtrsis  equal  to  r$  u 

~~    /  &(/•  /C-TT. 

Slicing  a  Cone  by  Planes  O.PR.  perpendicular  to  the  Ver/ical  Plane 

are  first  drawn,  and  then  their  horizontal  projections,  upon  which 
the  horizontal  projections  of  the  five  points  are  easily  found,  together 
with  three  more  similarly  situated  upon  the  further  side  of  the  cone. 
These  eight  points  determine  quite  accurately  the  outline  of  the 
"  slice "  in  horizontal  projection,  and  greater  accuracy  may  be 
secured  simply  by  multiplying  the  points  assumed  in  the  first 
instance.  This  outline  is,  of  course,  an  ellipse,  and  upon  it  the  hori- 
zontal projections  of  two  points  of  the  line  of  shade  may  be  deter- 
mined, as  above,  by  means  of  tangent  rays.  Their  vertical  projections 
are  easily  found  on  the  vertical  projection  of  the  slice. 

In  B  the  same  process  is  repeated  higher  up  on  the  cone,  and  in 
C  a  section  is  taken  lower  down,  the  other  two  being  repeated.  The 
process  may  be  continued  as  long  as  new  points  in  the  line  of  shade 
are  required. 

It  will  be  observed  that  some  auxiliary  means  is  necessary  for 
finding  the  horizontal  projections  of  points  on  the  middle  elements, 
numbered  3  in  the  figure.  This  is  furnished  by  the  radii  //3  z',  o'3  v', 
and  r'3  y',  taken  at  the  respec- 

Tig. 2 5 

Sitting-planes 
perpenduuloK 


to  HP 


Ti 


tive  levels  of  the  points  situated 
on  these  elements,  and  which 
show  the  distance  of  these 
points  from  the  axis  of  the  cone. 
Indeed,  the  other  points  might 
all  have  been  got  in  horizontal 
projection  by  means  of  radii 
taken  at  their  various  levels,  as 
these  points  would  lie  upon  the 
horizontal  projections  of  circles 
described  by  these  radii  (Fig- 
ure 24,  D). 

In  Figure  25  the  secant 
planes  are  normal  to  H  P; 
the  horizontal  projections  of  the 
slices  are  rectilinear,  and  their 
vertical  projections  hyperbolas. 
Drawing  rays  tangent  to  these 
hyperbolas  in  vertical  projec- 
tion we  may  obtain  points  in 
the  vertical  projection  of  the 
line  of  shade,  and  their  hori- 
zontal projection  can  be  easily 
found  on  the  plan  below. 

32.  The  form  of  the  cast-shadow  of  a  plane  figure  or  slice 
parallel  to  the  light,  is  determined  by  the  intersection  of  its  invisible 
shadow  (which  is,  of  course,  a  plane  coinciding  with  that  of  the 
figure  itself,  [21,  6])  by  the  surface  of  incidence,  and  is  projected  as  a 
straight  line  when  the  figure  itself  is  normal  to  the  plane  of  projec- 
tion. If  the  surface  of  incidence  is  a  geometrical  figure  or  a  plane, 
the  other  projection  of  the  line  of  shadow  is  easily  found  in  the  same 
manner  as  was  that  of  the  line  of  shade,  by  consideration  of  the 
geometrical  properties  of  the  surface  in  question.  Both  lines, 


176 


The   American   Architect  and  Building   News.       [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  694. 


indeed,  are  the  intersections  by  one  and  the  same  plane  of  two  sur- 
faces, that  of  the  object,  and  the  surface  of  incidence ;  and  when  the 
secant  plane  is  normal  to  the  plane  of  projection,  the  corresponding 
projections  of  these  two  intersections,  that  is,  of  the  lines  of  shade 
and  of  shadow,  lie  in  the  same  straight  line.  Thus,  in  Figure  26, 
p'l  p"2,  is  the  shadow  cast  upon  cone  b'  by  one  slice  of  cone  a'.  By 

means  of  a  number  of 
such  slices  we  could  de- 
termine the  whole  shadow 

of  a'  upon  b'. 

„    A,,  .  ,        ,,     , 

33-  This  general  method 

may,  then,  be  summed  up 


(Shack  is  indicated  by 
horizontal  fines: 
Shadow,  by  obligue 
tines. 

x':a; 


Cone    . 

shadow  on  cone b.b'.  A 
slicing-plane  Peats  both 
caries  tn 
The  slice 


as  consisting  of  the  follow- 
ing operations : 

1.  Assume  any  conven- 
ient   number     of     secant 
planes     parallel     to     the 
light,  and   normal   to  one 
of  the   planes    of    projec- 
tion.    The  section  of   the 
object  made  by  each  plane 
will  have    one    projection 
coinciding  with  the   trace 
of  that  plane,  i.  e.,  it  will 
be  a  right  line  inclined  at 
45°    to    GL    (Figure    24, 
A). 

2.  Assuming   points   on 
this  right  line,  their  pro- 
jections on  the  other  plane 
are    found    by   means    of 
elements    of     the    surface 

j.  of     the    solid    passing 
'<m& '•<$&**  through  the  given  points; 


&"*"•  •>  i  lil^  ll'lr  y  ^rltMAt?  u  4.   u  *.  .  .  .         j  i.         j  . 

m&^f'  &./%/}  apautmtheine  the     method     of    drawing 
Of  -j/iaalouf  ufatf.  these  elements  in  horizon- 

tal and  vertical  projection 

being  determined  by  a  consideration  of  the  geometric  properties  of 
the  surface.  The  projection  of  the  slice  is  then  drawn  through  the 
points  thus  found  (Figure  24,  A). 

3.  To  the  outline  of  the  slice  thus  obtained,  tangents  are  drawn 
parallel  to  the  projection  of  the  direction  of  light,  i.  e.,  at  45°  to 
GL.     The  points  of  tangency  are  the  projections  on  that  plane  of 
points  of  the  line  of  shade.     The  other  projection  of  each  point  is 
found   upon   the   right-line  projection    of    the   corresponding   slice 
(Figure  24,  A,  a1  a'1;  Figure  26,  j»2,  X2).1 

These  operations  are  repeated  until  a  sufficient  number  of  points 
have  been  found  to  deter- 

mine with  reasonable    ac-  .-,/_£  _  »r 

curacy  the  line  of   shade.  if,  .  .,,.,        „  p    „.    . 

In  many  cases  the  known  •' 

geometrical  properties  of 
the  surface  enable  us  to 
determine  the  whole  line 
of  shade  by  the  aid  of  but 
one  or  two  of  its  points. 
Thus,  in  the  cone,  since 
the  line  of  shade  is  a  right 
line,  having  located  a  sin- 
gle point  by  means  of  one 
secant  plane,  the  line  of 
shade  is  drawn  through 
that  point  and  the  vertex 
of  the  cone  (Figure  26, 
a2,  a'2,  drawn  through  p2 
and  /2). 

4.  By    prolonging    the 
secant    planes   until  they 
intersect    the   next    adja- 
cent   surface,  and  produ- 
cing the  tangent  rays  until 
they  intersect  the  outline 
of   the   resulting  intersec- 
tion which  is  ascertainable 
when  the  surface  is  of  a 
geometrical    s  o  1  i  d   or    a 
plane,  points  of  the  line  of 


rapid.  These  short-cut  rules  generally  depend  upon  an  analysis  of 
the  properties  of  particular  classes  of  geometric  figures  and  solids 
occurring  most  frequently  in  architecture,  and  take  the  form  of  a 
categorical  statement  of  the  forms  of  their  lines  of  shade  and  of 
their  shadows  on  planes  and  other  simple  geometrical  surfaces,  with 
particular  instructions  for  drawing  both  projections  of  the  forms  thus 
stated.  The  application  of  the  general  method  is  thus  limited  to 
those  cases  which  do  not  fall  under  these  special  rules  and  conditions. 


NOTE.  Surfaces  of  Revolution.  —  When  a  surface  of  revolution  has 
the  axis  normal  to  one  plane  of  projection,  as  H  P,  for  example,  it  is 
projected  upon  that  plane  as  a  circle.  It  is  then  most  convenient  to 
take  the  slices  parallel  to  the  axis  and  normal  to  HP.  Any  point 
located  on  the  rectilinear  projection  of  the  slice  (that  is,  in  this  case, 
its  horizontal  projection)  will  be  in  a  circle  parallel  to  HP,  whose 
radius  is  the  distance  of  this  point  from  the  axis.  The  other  projection 
or  projections  of  this  circle  are  easily  found  (as  they  are  right  lines, 
forming  those  horizontal  elements  of  the  vertical  projection  of  the 
solid  whose  lengths  equal  the  diameter  of  the  circle  just  drawn),  and 
upon  them  (or  it)  the  required  projection  of  the  assumed  point  is  at 
once  determined.  This  is  virtually  what  was  done  in  Figure  24,  B, 
with  the  points  on  the  element  figured  3,  and  again  in  Figure  24,  D. 
In  Figure  27,  the  points  r'1,  rr2,  r'3,  etc.,  are  determined  in  this  way. 
The  symmetry  of  the  figure  gives  us  two  points,  r''2,  equally  distant 
from  the  centre  o,  and  these  give  us  four  points  in  vertical  projection, 
since  it  is  evident  that  the  circle  2  represents  two  circles  in  vertical 
projection  (both  marked  2'  in  Figure  27).  A  very  few  points  thus 
suffice  to  determine  quite  accurately  the  outline  of  the  slice  in  vertical 
projection.  It  is  frequently  convenient  to  first  assume  the  circles  1,  2, 
3,  etc.,  and  allow  them  to  determine  the  points  r'1,  r'2,  r13,  etc.,  of  inter- 
section with  the  rectilinear  projection  of  the  slice. 

Of  course,  when  the  axis  is  perpendicular  to  ViP,  the  conditions  are 
reversed  as  to  the  projections,  and  the  operation  is  carried  on  as  above 
by  substituting  one  set  of  projections  for  the  other.' 

The  student  will  find  it  profitable  to  practise  "slicing"  with  a 
number  of  different  solids  of  revolution — toruses,  spheres,  ellipsoids, 
etc. 


THE  BOSTON  MUSEUM  OF  FINE  ARTS. 

BOSTON,  MASS.,  March  25.  1889. 

1T7HE  Trustees  of  the  Museum  of  Fine  Arts  find  themselves  com- 
I     polled  by  the  needs  of  that  institution  to  appeal  to  the  public- 

spirited  citizens  of  Boston  for  means  to  carry  it  on. 
Early  in  1887  the  growth  of  the  collections  made  an  enlargement 
of  the  building  necessary.  A  subscription  was  asked  for,  and  the 
sum  of  $250,400  was  given  by  about  one  hundred  persons  for  this 
purpose.  It  was  hoped  that  a  part  of  this  amount  could  be  laid  aside 
as  a  fund  to  pay  the  running  expenses,  but  this  was  found  to  be  im- 

practicable. More  room 
was  needed  for  Japanese 
collections  of  the  highest 
value,  which  generous 
friends  of  the  Museum 
offered  to  place  in  it.  The 
proper  arrangement  of 
the  casts  of  sculpture, 
and  the  convenient  circu- 
lation of  the  public  on 
both  floors  of  the  Museum, 
required  that  the  building 
should  be  carried  round 
the  four  sides  of  a  cen- 
tral court.  This,  with  the 
necessary  purchase  of 
casts,  will  absorb  the 
whole  of  the  subscription. 
The  income  of  the  Mu- 
seum applicable  to  its  cur- 
rent expenses  was,  in 
1888,  $14,183.30;  the  cur- 
rent  expenses  were  $23,- 
025.19.  These  will  of  ne- 
cessity  be  increased  by  the 


S  being  mcft- 


'yurfaces  of  Revolution 

A    illustrates  Ihtepeiu/wrtq/'jinLlittgt/if  Mt/tries  of  sections  made  /jy 
andS.  l/y/neam  qf1/te/ionzon(at  ciiv/es  12.34.5,  the  intersections  vf  tieye  - 

caledfyt/iesma//  figures  rjftxed  to  p.r'ra  In  £  are  s&ovn  fafipertf  mys  draw  fojbur  section   enlargement  of  the  build 
outlirus  so  obtained  pamrjaofnfy  o/tfte  /me  of  3had°,(jfidua/ecl  fy  smaK/tyurcs  abc/i*  fhe  /e/i&)  ing- 

arulg?  'tfie  line  gf  '  shadov  (indicated  ty  small  'figures  &etok>  the  tetter^  To  administer  the  Mu- 

seum to  the  advantage  of 
the  public  requires  an  ad- 
ditional income  of  not  less  than  $15,000  a  year.     To  provide  this 


shadow  are  obtained,  and  the  line  of  shadow  drawn  through  them. 
The  problem  is  thus  solved  (Figure  26). 

34.  This  method  may  be  applied  to  the  case  of  any  object  or  sur- 
face whose  geometrical  properties  enable  us  to  obtain  two  projec- 
tions of  each  slice,  one  a  right  line  and  the  other  a  plane  figure  ; 
and  there  are  few  or  no  architectural  forms  which  do  not  fall  into 
this  category.  It  is  especially  convenient  of  application  to  solids  of 
revolution,  for  which  the  detailed  procedure  is  explained  in  the  note 
to  this  chapter.  But  there  are  a  great  many  cases  in  which  this 
method  though  applicable,  is  cumbrous  and  laborious.  For  such 
cases,  special  processes  of  more  limited  scope  are  handier  and  more 

1  Hereafter,  as  in  Figures  24  and  26,  points  of  the  line  of  shade  will  be  indicated 
by  letters  accompanied  by  small  figures  above  the  line;  points  of  shadow  by 
letters  with  figures  "  subscript  "  or  beliiw  the  line.  Letters  followed  by  small 
figures  on  the  line  indicate  points  in  the  slicing-sections, 


sum  the  Trustees  ask  for  fifteen  hundred  subscriptions  of  ten  dollars 
a  year.  Each  subscriber  will  be  entitled  to  a  ticket  admitting  four 
persons  to  the  Museum  on  every  day  in  the  year  on  which  it  is  open. 

The  Museum  of  Fine  Arts  receives  no  aid  from  the  State  or  the 
City  ;  it  depends  wholly  upon  voluntary  contributions.  It  has  been 
built  and  filled  with  precious  works  of  art  which  give  pleasure  and 
instruction  to  thousands,  solely  by  the  liberal  gifts  of  individuals,  not 
many  in  number.  With  the  exception  of  about  $5,000  a  year  re- 
ceived from  visitors,  its  annual  expenses  have  been  paid  in  the  same 
way.  It  rests  its  claim  for  help  only  on  the  service  it  renders  to  the 
public;  and,  in  appealing  to  the  public  for  a  wider  support, 
the  Trustees  feel  that  they  may  hope  for  a  general  and  generous 
response. 

Subscriptions  may  be  sent  to  E.  H.  Greenleaf,  Curator  (to  whose 


APRIL  13,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


177 


order  checks  may  be  made  payable),  at  the  Museum  of  Fine  Arts 
A  ticket  will  be  sent  to  each  subscriber  upon  the  receipt  of  the  sum 
subscribed. 


SAMUEL  A.  B.  ABBOTT, 
FREDERICK  L.  AMES, 
HENRY  J.  BIGELOW, 
STANTON  BLAKE, 
MARTIN  BRIMMER, 
FRANCIS  BROOKS, 
J.  ELLIOT  CABOT, 
JOHN  W.  DICKINSON, 
SAMUEL  ELIOT, 
CHARLES  W.  ELIOT, 
WILLIAM  ENDICOTT,  JR., 
JOHN  L.  GARDNER, 
WILLIAM  GRAY, 
WILLIAM  W.  GREENOUGII, 
THOMAS  N.  HART, 


EDWARD  W.  HOOPER, 
HENRY  LEE, 
W.  P.  P.  LONGFELLOW, 
CHARLES  G.  LORING, 
AUGUSTUS  LOWELL, 
CHARLES  ELIOT  NORTON, 
EDWARD  N.  PERKINS, 
HENRY  L.  PIKRCE, 
ALEXANDER  H.  RICE, 
M.  DENMAN  Ross, 
WILLIAM  G.  RUSSELL, 
EDWIN  P.  SEAVER, 
NATHANIEL  THAYER, 
GEORGE  W.  WALES, 
FRANCIS  A.  WALKER, 

Trustees. 


ENGINEERS'  CLUB  OF  PHILADELPHIA.  —  THE  PERMEABILITY  OF 
CEMENTS  AND  MORTARS. 

«TJT  the  regular  meeting  March  16,  1889,  Prof.  L.  M.  Ilaupt  prc 
rj  sented  some  notes  upon  the  permeability  of  cements  and 
/  mortars,  with  a  view  of  bringing  out  a  discussion  of  this  subject 
He  quoted  from  the  recent  report  of  the  Board  of  Experts  on  the 
Washington  Aqueduct  Tunnel.  That  report  says  : 

"  If  all  of  the  work  could  and  would  be  faithfully  fulfilled  in 
accordance  with  the  later  specifications  requiring  backing  \t\ 
masonry  laid  in  cement  mortar,  it  would  make  the  tunnel  reasonably 
water-tight;  yet  it  would  not  prevent  all  leakage  absolutely,  and  it 
is  difficult  to  foretell  how  much  water  would  pass  through. 

"The  head  of  the  water  in  the  tunnel  varies  from  about  75  to  175 
feet,  and  the  pressure  due  to  this  head  from  32  to  70  pounds  per 
square  inch.  This  is  an  internal  pressure,  tending  to  burst  the 
tunnel  outward  —  a  direction  of  force  which  the  tunnel  lining  is  not 
well  adapted  to  resist ;  and  in  an  inelastic  material  like  brick  or 
cement  cracks  are  liable  to  be  developed  on  the  least  yielding  — 
which  would  be  almost  inevitable  if  any  weak  points  were  left  in  th 
filling.  But  even  if  it  were  all  filled  it  must  be  remembered  that 
both  brick  and  cement  are  permeable  to  water.  It  is  well-known 
that  bricks  are  pervious  under  very  ordinary  pressure,  and  experi- 
ments have  demonstrated  that  even  the  best  cement  is  permeable  to 
water  and  will  allow  it  to  percolate  under  pressure.  Mr.  James  B. 
Francis,  consulting  engineer  of  the  proprietors  of  Locks  and  Canals  in 
the  Merrimac  River,  Lowell,  Mass.,  made  some  recent  experiments 
on  the  percolation  of  water  through  cement  mortar,  a  record  of 
which  was.  presented  to  the  American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers, 
May  16,  1888.  These  experiments  showed  that  about  17i  gallons  of 
water  per  square  foot  of  surface  passed  through  a  thickness  of  nearly 
16  inches  of  cement  in  twenty-four  hours  under  a  pressure  of  77  pounds 
per  square  inch.  A  thinner  block  would,  of  course,  leak  more 
rapidly  in  inverse  proportion  to  the  thickness.  If  the  brick  and 
cement  of  the  tunnel  were  of  the  same  thickness  and  leaked  at  the 
same  rate,  considering  only  half  the  perimeter  of  the  tunnel,  it  would 
amount  to  5,000,000  of  gallons  in  twenty-four  hours. 

"  Mr.  Stauffer's  experiments,  made  in  the  Dorchester  Bay  tunnel, 
serve  to  throw  light  on  the  leakage  through  brickwork.  He  con- 
structed a  bulkhead  of  brick,  laid  in  cement,  4  feet  thick,  in  a  tunnel 
10  by  10  feet.  He  found  that  under  a  pressure  of  72  pounds  per 
square  inch  the  water  percolated  through  at  the  rate  of  120,000 
gallons  per  day,  or  1,200  gallons  per  square  foot. 

"  The  experience  on  the  Bostain  Main  Drainage  Works  proved  that 
it  was  not  practicable  to  build  brick  masonry  that  was  water-tight 
under  a  pressure  of  64  pounds  per  square  inch. 

"  At  the  new  Croton  Reservoir,  New  York,  water  under  36  feet 
head  was  found  to  percolate  through  26  inches  of  brickwork  and  4 
feet  of  concrete. 

"The  board  of  experts  made  some  experiments  to  test  the  perme- 
ability of  brick  and  cement  mortar  to  water  under  pressure. 

"Figure  2,  plate  8,  shows  a, sketch  of  the  device  used  in  making 
the  tests.  A  wrought-iron  pipe  5  inches  in  diameter  and  about  15 
inches  long  is  closed  at  both  ends  by  caps  screwed  on.  The  cap  at 
the  bottom  has  in  it  a  rectangular  hole  slightly  smaller  than  the  end 
of  a  brick.  A  heavy  India-rubber  gasket,  with  the  same  sized  open- 
ing, is  placed  at  the  bottom.  In  the  cap  on  top  of  the  pipe  a  smaller 
pipe  enters,  which  leads  from  the  pump.  A  pressure-gauge  is  fixed 
to  this  pipe  so  as  to  indicate  the  pressure  applied.  The  brick  or 
block  of  cement  to  be  tested  is  set  upright  inside  the  cylinder,  with 
its  end  down,  the  upper  cap  being  removed  for  that  purpose.  A 
good  potter's  clay  is  then  pressed  into  the  open  space  around  the 
brick  until  the  clay  comes  up  to  the  brick.  The  cap  is  then  placed 
on  and  the  pump  applied. 

"  A  good,  fair  specimen  of  brick  was  selected  from  a  pile  at  the 
Champlain  Avenue  shaft,  and  under  a  pressure  of  water  amounting 
to  80  pounds  per  square  inch  for  one  hour  passed  23.4  cubic  inches 


of  water.  The  same  brick  under  trial  for  a  second  hour  passed  21.3 
cubic  inches  of  water.  Taking  the  average  of  these  two  experi- 
ments, and  reducing  to  the  amount  of  water  passed  per  square  inch 
of  exposed  area  of  surface  of  the  brick,  it  was  found  to  be  2.8  cubic 
inches.  This  is  equivalent  to  1.75  gallons  per  square  foot  of  surface 
per  hour;  or  for  the  whole  interior  surface  of  the  tunnel,  27,342,000 
gallons  per  day  of  twenty-four  hours. 

"For  another  selected  brick,  in  the  first  hour  under  80  pounds 
pressure,  46.8  cubic  inches  of  water  passed  through;  and  for  the 
same  brick  in  sixteen  hours,  under  only  53.8  pounds  pressure  per 
square  inch,  344.5  cubic  inches  passed  —  equivalent  to  1.68  gallons 
per  square  foot  of  surface  per  hour;  or  for  the  interior  surface  of  the 
tunnel,  26,248,320  gallons  per  day. 

"Blocks  of  cement  mortar  were  prepared,  in  the  proportion  of 
cement  one  part  and  sand  two  parts  —  the  materials  having  been 
obtained  from  the  stock  on  hand  at  Champlain  Avenue  shaft  (the 
same  as  used  in  the  tunnel).  These  blocks  were  allowed  to  set  for 
twenty-four  hours  in  the  air,  and  were  then  placed  in  water,  where 
they  remained  for  five  weeks. 

"One  of  these  blocks,  placed  in  the  testing  apparatus,  and  sub- 
jected to  a  water-pressure  of  80  pounds  per  square  inch,  passed  in  a 
time  of  two  and  one-half  hours  2,367.8  cubic  inches  of  water  — 
equivalent  to  73.8  gallons  per  square  foot  of  surface  per  hour  —  very 
far  beyond  the  amount  of  percolation  given  by  brick. 

"  A  second  experiment,  under  58  pounds  pressure  per  square  inch 
for  one  and  a  half  hours,  gave  a  percolation  of  874.8  cubic  inches  of 
water  —  equivalent  to  45.5  gallons  per  hour  per  square  foot  of  sur- 
face. 

"It  is  to  be  noticed  from  the  experiments  of  Mr.  Francis  that 
Portland  cement  mortar  having  the  same  proportions  of  material  as 
in  this  case  did  not  transmit  the  water  nearly  so  rapidlv.  This  was 
owing  in  a  great  degree  to  the  cement ;  but  probably  partially  to  the 
difference  in  the  quality  of  the  sand,  as  the  sand  here  used  was  not 
of  the  very  first  quality.  The  cement  bricks  presented  an  appear- 
ance of  great  porosity ;  and  the  result  was  not  altogether  unex- 
pected. 

"  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  time  at  the  disposal  of  the  Board 
would  not  allow  extensive  and  conclusive  experiments  on  this  sub- 
ject." 

There  was  some  discussion  by  Mr.  Arthur  Marichal  and  others. 
Mr.  Marichal  said  that  the  imperviousness  of  cements  is  a  question 
of  the  greatest  importance;  yet  it  seems  that  no  steps  are  taken  by 
manufacturers  to  improve  their  products  in  that  direction.  The 
fineness  is  one  of  the  most  important  considerations,  and  wherever 
percolation  is  prejudicial  —  as  is  the  case  in  aqueducts  subjected 
to  pressure,  in  dams,  and  in  works  exposed  to  sea  water  —  care 
should  be  taken  to  select  a  very  finely  ground  cement.  The  manipu- 
lation of  the  mortar  will  also  affect  its  imperviousness. 

When  asked  whether  it  was  possible  to  make  cellars  water-tight 
by  means  of  cement,  if  the  level  of  the  water  was,  for  instance, 
generally  a  couple  of  feet  above  the  floor,  Mr.  Marichal  answered 
that  some  years  ago  he  succeeded  in  rendering  perfectly  water-tight, 
by  means  of  cement,  some  cellars  which  used  to  contain  about  six 
feet  of  water.  He  then  described  the  process  of  construction,  some 
discussion  of  which  followed,  by  Mr.  Howard  Murphy  and  others. 
HOWARD  MUUPHY,  Secretary  and  Treasurer. 

THE  ENGINEERS'  SOCIETY  OF  WESTERN  PENNSYLVANIA. 

PAPER  of  the  evening  by  Jno.  A.  Brashear  on  "Optical  Glass." 
An  interesting  description  of  the  casting  and  grinding  of  the  glass, 
method  of  purification  and  annealing,  and  examination  for  internal 
strains  of  both  flint  and  crown  glass.  The  imperfections  of  the  glass 
were  described  as  being  due  to  improper  annealing,  leaving  internal 
strains,  which  can  be  detected  by  polarized  light ;  also  to  stria;  or 
chords,  which  are  shown  by  lines  running  through  the  glass,  which 
are  liable  to  be  formed  in  both  crown  and  flint  glass.  These  are 
shown  by  examining  with  a  lens,  which  gives  a  diffused  light,  and 
shows  them  up  well  in  looking  toward  a  bright  light  beyond.  Stria? 
are  caused  by  non-homogeneity  in  the  glass,  from  unequal  density  of 
the  mass,  and  from  mixture  of  alumina  arising  principally  from  the 
clay  of  the  pots  in  which  the  glass  is  melted.  Stria;  causes  abbera- 
;ions,  which  are  cured,  when  they  exist  in  small  areas,  by  rubbing 
;he  surface  down  at  the  location  where  the  stria  exists,  in  that  way 
changing  the  direction  of  the  light  so  much  as  to  throw  it  entirely 
away  from  the  focal  plane  of  the  lens  system,  thus  making  it  harm- 
ess.  An  interesting  description  was  given  of  the  method  of  cutting 
out  the  lenses  from  a  block  of  glass  with  emery.  This  is  done  in 
ifteen  minutes'  time. 

The  speaker  claimed  that  optical  glass  could  be  made  in 
:"ittsburgh,  and  ought  to  be,  that  it  needed  only  the  skill  and 
latience  of  trained  operators  such  as  have  had  long  experience  in 
France. 


PAYMENT    FOR    UNEXECUTED    PLANS. 

Question. —  Can  you  refer  me  to  any  adjudicated  cases  touching  upon  an 
architect's  right  to  be  paid  for  plans  and  specifications  for  buildings 


178 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.        [VoL.  XXV.  — No.  694. 


not  carried  out.      I  have  found  it  necessary   to  sue  for  pay  for 
such  services  and  beg  you  to  send  me  references  at  once. 

Very  truly  yours,  Vitruvius. 

In  further  reply  to  this  question  which  was  answered  in  the  Ameri- 
can Architect  for  March  30,  1889,  we  may  refer  to  a  recent  New  York 
case,  Romeyn  vs.  Sickles,  15  North  Eastern  Reporter,  698,  in  which  an 
architect  who  undertook  to  draw  plans  for  an  apartment-house  tried 
to  hold  the  defendant  personally  liable,  though  he  was  only  the  pro- 
moter of  a  proposed  club  for  the  erection  of  the  building,  and  the 
understanding  between  the  parties  had  been  that  the  architect's  pay- 
ment was  conditional  on  the  •formation  of  the  club  or  the  building  of 
the  house  by  the  defendant  personally.  The  club  was  not  formed 
and  the  defendant  abandoned  the  scheme  entirely.  On  these  facts 
the  Court  of  Appeals  decided  that  the  defendant  was  not  liable  for 
the  plans.  The  following  extract  from  the  opinion  shows  the 
businesslike  view  of  such  transactions  that  is  taken  by  the  courts 
of  law,  and  the  strong  presumption  of  fact  that  in  these  cases  the 
employer  does  not  make  himself  liable  except  in  the  event  of 
the  building  being  commenced. 

"  We  do  not  think  that  the  evidence  warranted  the  finding  of  the 
referee  that  the  defendant  agreed  with  the  plaintiff  to  erect  a  build- 
ing either  by  himself  or  through  a  club.  .  .  .  The  inquiry  in 
such  cases  always  is  what  the  parties  would  probably  have  agreed 
upon  if  the  contingency  had  been  within  their  contemplation  at  the 
time  of  making  their  contract.  Suppose  the  plaintiff  had  said  to 
the  defendant:  I  am  willing  to  rely  upon  your  judgment  and  taste  in 
the  adoption  or  rejection  of  my  plans,  and  to  give  you  credit  for 
their  payment  if  adopted;  but  your  plans  are  all  in  embryo,  and  I  do 
not  know  whether  you  will  finally  build  or  not;  I  therefore  insist 
upon  your  agreeing  absolutely  to  build.  Can  the  court  say  that  the 
defendant  would  have  entered  into  such  an  engagement?  We  think 
not.  .  .  .  Certainly  nothing  could  have  been  further  from 
the  contemplation  of  the  defendant  than  that  he  should  be  required 
to  pay  for  plans  which  would  prove  useless  to  him,  or  that  he  should 
be  compelled  to  proceed  with  the  erection  of  a  structure  which  he 
had  never  finally  concluded  to  build,  and  it  is  not  reasonable  to  sup- 
pose that  the  plaintiff  believed  that  the  defendant  absolutely  con- 
tracted with  him  to  carry  out  plans  which  he  knew  were  then 
immature  and  unformed.  .  .  .  An  absolute  contract  to  build 
was  foreign  to  the  object  and  design  of  negotiations  with  the  archi- 
tects, and  was  entirely  unnecessary  to  the  purpose  which  they  all 
had  in  view.  ...  It  cannot  be  assumed  that  the  employer 
intended,  under  such  circumstances,  to  pay  for  the  plans,  unless  they 
were  of  value  to  him,  and  were  usc.d  in  the  construction  of  a  build- 
ing ;  and  this  view  is  strengthened  by  the  further  provision  of  the 
contract  that  in  case  they  were  adopted,  such  architect  was  thereby 
employed  to  superintend  the  erection  of  the  building.  The  contract 
assumes  the  necessity  of  the  erection  of  a  building  following  the 
adoption  of  a  plan  as  the  consummation  of  the  act  of  acceptance. 
That  the  defendant  preferred  the  plaintiff's  plans  over  those 
presented  to  him,  falls  short  of  what  is  required  to  constitute  an 
adoption  of  plans  for  the  erection  of  a  building.  This  requires  a 
determination  to  build  as  well  as  an  inspection  of  plans  for  building. 
It  constitutes  something  more  than  a  mere  mental  emotion,  and,  in 
order  to  perfect  it,  demands  a  resolution  to  use  those  plans  in  the 
prosecution  of  work  already  determined  upon." 


[The  editors  cannot  pay  attention  to  demands  of  correspondents  who 
forget  to  give  their  names  and  addresses  as  guaranty  of  good  faith  ; 
nor  do  they  hold  themselves  responsible  for  opinions  expressed  by 
their  correspondents.'} 

THE  STORY  OF  A  STATE-HOUSE. 
To  THE  EDITORS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT:  — 

Dear  Sirs,  —  It  has  recently  been  announced  that  the  work  of 
carrying  out  the  enlargement  of  the  Maine  State  Capitol  at  Augusta, 
has  been  awarded  to  Messrs.  Brigham  &  Spofford,  architects,  of 
Boston,  and  the  story  of  this  whole  recent  agitation  as  to  the  location 
of  the  State  Capitol  building  may  be  of  some  interest  to  architects 
generally. 

There  had  developed  throughout  a  large  section  of  Maine  a  desire 
to  have  Portland  made  the  Capital  in  place  of  Augusta.  This 
desire  the  people  of  Portland  had,  naturally  enough,  been  active  in 
encouraging.  The  city  is  the  one  most  accessible  from  the  State  at 
large,  it  being  the  railroad  centre  as  it  is  unquestionably  —  to  use  a 
much  abused  expression  — "  the  intellectual  centre  "  of  the  State. 
The  beauties  of  its  surrounding  scenery  are  great.  All  these  con- 
siderations the  citizens  of  Portland  actively  urged  as  reasons  for 
locating  a  capitol  building  at  Portland,  the  time  having  come  when 
the  accommodations  afforded  by  the  capitol  at  Augusta  were  entirely 
inadequate  to  the  needs  of  the  legislature. 

The  question  being  agitated  of  making  alterations  to  the  present 
capitol  building,  it  was  felt  that  now  was  the  time  for  Portland  to 


make  her  bid  for  the  honor  of  being  designated  the  Capital  of  Maine. 
Her  citizens  offered  to  the  State  the  free  gift  of  an  ample  lot  of  land 
on  the  famous  Western  Promenade,  supplemented  by  a  sum  of 
$150,000  toward  erecting  on  this  lot  a  new  state-house.  This 
offer  being  declared,  there  was  appointed  by  the  legislature  a  com- 
mittee of  ten,  to  visit  Portland  and  inspect  the  city.  In  anticipation 
of  the  arrival  of  this  committee,  plans  for  a  capitol  building  were 
prepared  by  two  firms  of  Portland  architects.  These  designs 
were  made  on  a  basis  of  cost  not  to  exceed  $600,000,  exclusive  of 
furnishings.  One  of  them,  specially  adapted  to  the  lot  on  the 
Western  Promenade,  could  have  been  built  within  tlie  sum  men- 
tioned, while  the  other  would  not  have  exceeded  it  by  more  than 
$200,000  at  the  most.  The  committee  having  inspected  the  city 
and  the  designs  presented  by  the  Portland  men,  returned  to  Augusta 
determined  to  advocate  strenuously  the  building  of  a  new  capitol  at 
Portland,  rather  than  the  enlargement  of  the  old  capitol  at  Augusta. 
A  day  was  set  for  a  public  hearing  at  the  State-house,  on  the  sub- 
ject of  transferring  the  Capital.  On  the  day  of  this  hearing,  Port- 
land people  were  present  in  Augusta  in  large  numbers,  urging  in  all 
honorable  ways  the  claims  of  their  city.  Among  their  implements  of 
persuasion  were  the  two  designs  showing  what  manner  of  state- 
house  would  be  recommended  by  Portland  architects.  The  efforts 
of  the  Portland  people  on  this  day,  coupled  with  the  efforts  of  the 
committee  of  ten  advocating  removal,  so  impressed  the  members  of 
the  legislature,  that  a  canvass,  made  a  few  days  later,  showed  a 
majority  in  both  houses  in  favor  of  locating  a  new  state-house  at 
Portland. 

One  day  having  proved  insufficient  for  the  hearing  on  this  im- 
portant subject  now  agitating  all  sections  of  the  State,  the  hearing 
was  adjourned  to  a  date  some  days  later ;  and  it  was  at  this  meeting 
that  the  junior  member  of  the  firm  of  Brigham  &  Spofford,  archi- 
tects, rendered  his  first  efficient  service  to  the  then  minority  party 
in  the  legislature  opposed  to  removal.  He  was  introduced  by  them 
as  one  of  the  architects  of  the  extensive  additions  to  the  State 
Capitol  at  Boston — work  already  under  way. 

Having  been  thus  introduced,  Mr.  Spofford  proceeded  to  put  the 
people  of  Maine  on  guard  against  the  devices  of  their  own  architects, 
by  declaring  with  the  air  of  one  having  authority,  that  the  designs 
submitted  by  Portland  men,  and  there  to  be  seen,  would  cost  each  a 
sum  almost  double  that  reported  by  their  authors.  Though  his 
specific  criticism  was  directed  against  the  more  costly  of  the  two 
designs,  he  said  nothing  to  prevent  the  public  involving  the  other 
with  his  criticisms  against  the  first.  With  the  service  thus 
rendered,  the  tide  of  sentiment  in  the  legislature  was  in  a  few  days 
turned  against  the  claims  of  Portland,  with  her  architects  who  were 
scheming  to  involve  the  State  in  reckless  expenditure.  When  the 
question  of  removal  was  put  to  the  vote,  it  was  readily  voted  down  ; 
while  an  appropriation  of  $150,000  to  repair  and  enlarge  the 
present  State  Capitol  was  as  readily  voted  in. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  the  members  opposed  to  the  plan  of 
removal  should  desire  that  some  architectural  authority  be  found  to 
place  at  a  very  high  figure  the  cost  of  executing  the  designs  sub- 
mitted by  architects  of  Portland.  It  is  not  surprising  that  when 
this  authority  had  been  found,  and  had  passed  an  opinion  based 
upon  the  wishes  of  the  opposition,  rather  than  upon  any  fair  and  in- 
telligent survey  of  the  designs  themselves — it  is  not  surprising  that, 
when  this  had  been  accomplished,  the  hearts  of  the  opposition 
members  should  have  gone  out  to  the  gentleman  whose  opinion  had 
been  of  so  much  service  to  them. 

On  the  day  before  the  award  of  this  work  upon  the  Maine  State 
Capitol  to  Messrs.  Brigham  &  Spofford,  several  of  the  architects  of 
Maine  presented  themselves  before  the  Building  Commissioners  at 
Augusta.  This  was  done  in  response  to  the  following  notice : 

"The  Commissioners  on  enlargement  of  the  State  Capitol  will  give  a 
hearing  at  the  State-house  on  Wednesday,  April  3,  1889,  to  receive  any 
plans  or  suggestions  as  to  enlargement  which  may  be  offered.  Architects 
and  all  others  interested  are  invited  to  appear.  For  further  information, 
address  Secretary  of  the  Commission  on  Enlargement  of  the  State  Capitol, 
Augusta." 

A  note  sent  by  a  firm  of  Portland  architects,  requesting  certain 
further  information,  was  answered  by  a  written  letter  giving  sizes 
of  rooms  required,  etc.  This  was  received  four  days  previous  to  the 
hearing. 

At  this  hearing,  the  treatment  of.  the  Maine  architects  by  the 
Commission,  of  which  Governor  Burleigh  is  Chairman,  was  most 
courteous.  It  was  also  as  just  as  could  be  expected  of  gentlemen 
not  versed  in  the  ethics  of  architectural  competition. 

The  Commissioners  were  ready  to  allow  the  Maine  architects  to 
present  plans  in  competition,  but  under  such  conditions  of  ridicu- 
lously short  time  and  of  awards  as  to  constitute  terms  even  less  just 
than  those  offered  in  the  competition  for  enlargement  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Capitol.  The  protest  of  the  architectural  profession  against 
the  terms  of  the  Massachusetts  competition,  and  the  general  refusal 
to  engage  in  it,  are  events  too  fresh  in  memory  to  require  more  than 
passing  notice  here. 

John  Calvin  Stevens,  of  Portland,  acting  as  spokesman  for  the 
architects  of  Maine,  declared  to  the  Commissioners  that  it  would  be 
impossible  to  accept  the  terms  offered,  since  at  least  two  of  the 
architects  present  had  signed  a  published  remonstrance  against 
similar  terms  lately  offered  in  Massachusetts,  and  had  thereby  bound 
themselves  to  have  nothing  to  do  with  architectural  competitions 


APEIL  13,  1889.] 


Ttie   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


179 


conducted  on  such  a  basis.  He  then  presented  to  the  Commissioners 
terms  under  which  architects  might  compete  with  dignity  and  with 
justice  to  themselves.  These  terms  were  as  follows : 

The  Commissioners  shall  institute  a  competition  with  the  following 
terms  : 

All  drawings  to  be  submitted  under  motto  or  device,  in  no  case  the  names 
of  authors  to  be  shown  upon  the  drawings,  but  to  be  enclosed  in  a  sealed 
envelope  marked  with  motto  or  device  shown  on  plans. 

A  disinterested  architect  to  be  selected  to  assist  the  Commission  in  con- 
sidering plans  submitted,  and  award  position  in  regard  to  merit. 

Prizes  to  be  given  as  follows  : 

First  Prize  — Carrying  out  the  work  at  the  usual  rate  of  commission. 

Second  Prize  —  $  j  Such  sums  as  the  Commission  may 

Third  -Prize  — $  j  decide. 

Time  for  submitting  plans  shall  not  be  earlier  than  May  4, 1889. 

The  architects  of  Maine  did  not  ask  any  advantage  for  themselves. 
They  asked  merely  that  the  work  be  thrown  open  to  the  competition 
of  all  architects  in'the  country.  In  this  competition  the  Maine  archi- 
tects were  willing  to  take  their  chances. 

As  final  result  of  the  conference  between  the  Commission  and 
the  architects,  there  was  issued,  two  days  later,  this  circular : 

AUGUSTA,  ME.,  April  3, 1889. 

Dear  Sir, —  At  a  late  meeting  of  the  Commission  on  Enlargement  of  the 
State-House  last  evening,  it  was  voted  : 

That  the  terms  relative  to  a  competitive  trial  for  plans  proposed  by  archi- 
tects who  appeared  before  this  Commission  to-day  do  not  meet  the  approval 
of  this  Commission. 

It  was  further  voted  : 

That  the  Secretary  be  instructed  to  forward  a  copy  of  the  above  vote  to 
each  of  the  aforementioned  architects. 

Respectfully  yours,  C.  S.  HICHBOKN,  Secretary. 

The  Commissioners  then  awarded  to  Messrs.  Brigham  &  Spofford, 
of  Boston,  without  competition,  the  place  of  architectSjfor  the  en- 
largement of  the  State  Capitol  at  Augusta. 

ALBERT  WINSLOW  COBB. 


THE  EFFLORESCENCE  ON  BRICKWORK. 

BOSTON,  MASS.,  April  8,  1889. 

To  THE  EDITORS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT  :  — 

Dear  Sirs,  —  The  writer  has  made  some  investigations  of  the 
"  white  efflorescence  "  on  brickwork  which  may  be  of  value  to  your 
readers,  especially  if  they  will  aid  him  by  sending  samples  obtained 
from  their  experience. 

Four  samples  were  examined,  all  from  Brookline,  and  within  a 
narrow  space,  a  few  rods  in  fact,  of  each  other. 

Two  of  these  consisted  mainly  of  carbonate  of  soda.  These  were 
from  houses  built  at  different  times,  one  some  four  years  ago,  and  the 
other  more  recently. 

One,  from  the  house  of  Mr.  R.  S.  Peabody,  architect,  was  chiefly 
sulphate  of  magnesia,  and  one  was  chiefly  carbonate  of  lime. 

The  probability  is,  that  the  carbonate  of  soda  is  caused  by  the 
action  of  the  lime  of  the  mortar  acting  upon  a  silicate  of  soda  in  the 
brick,  forming  caustic  soda,  which,  when  it  comes  to  the  surface,  is 
carbonated  by  the  carbonic  acid  always  contained  in  the  air. 

The  presence  of  silicate  of  soda  in  a  brick  is  often  caused  by  the 
use  of  a  salt  clay,  taken  near  the  sea. 

Sulphate  of  magnesia  is  generally  due  to  the  presence  of  pyrites  in 
the  clay,  which,  when  the  bricks  are  burned,  changes  to  a  sulphate, 
forming  with  the  magnesia  of  the  lime,  a  sulphate  of  magnesia. 

The  carbonate-of-lime  sample  was  upon  a  very  new  house,  and 
was  merely  the  leaching  of  lime  from  the  mortar,  carbonated  by 
the  atmosphere. 

These  results  all  point  to  the  fact  that  in  all  cases,  so  far  examined, 
efflorescence  is  a  combined  result  of  the  mortar  and  the  brick. 

The  writer  would  suggest  that  it  would  be  likely  to  lead  to  in- 
teresting facts  if  the  architects  would  send  him  samples  of  efflores- 
ences  that  they  may  observe. 

Send  a  quarter  ounce  or  more,  if  possible,  and  when  practicable  a 
piece  of  the  brick  used. 

A  perfectly  impervious  oily  varnish  will  prevent  these  salts  exud- 
ing from  the  surface,  but  linseed  oil  is  not  suitable  alone. 

Any  samples  to  the  undersigned  will  be  carefully  examined,  gratis, 
and  may  lead  to  more  light  on  this  very  interesting  subject. 

SAMUEL  CABOT. 

70  Kilby  Street. 


HAS    THE    STATE    CAPITOL    AT    ALBANY  SETTLED? 

SAH  FKANCISCO,  CAL.,  March  21,  1889. 
To  THE  EDITORS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT: — 

Dear  Sirs,  —  At  various  times  during  the  past  few  years,  and 
since  the  completion  of  the  State  Capitol  Building  at  Albany,  N.  Y., 
newspaper  paragraphs  have  hinted  at  a  settlement  or  cracking  of 
that  structure. 

Is  this  true,  and  if  so  to  what  extent?  In  view  of  the  fact  that 
skilled  engineering  talent  was  employed  in  designing  the  foundations, 
and  the  methods  adopted  have  been  published,  it  would  be  of  value 
to  future  constructors  to  know  whether  the  work  was  a  perfect  suc- 
cess or  not.  "  FOUNDATION." 

[A  STORY  is  occasionally  circulated,  apparently  by  newspaper  reporters 
who  find  time  hang  heavy  on  their  hands,  that  the  Albany  Capitol  shows 


signs  of  sliding  down  the  hill  into  the  Hudson  River.  At  times  the  matter 
has  attracted  attention  enough  to  call  for  an  investigation,  but  we  believe 
that  no  indication  whatever  has  yet  been  discovered  that  the  ground  under 
the  building  had  yielded,  nor  has  any>  sign  appeared  of  a  failure  of  the 
foundations,  so  far  as  we  know,  except  under  one  or  more  of  the  piers 
supporting  the  vault  over  the  Assembly  Chamber,  where  a  settlement  is 
said  to  have  been  observed,  which  was  attributed  to  the  fact  that  a  load 
which  it  was  not  calculated  to  support  was  brought  upon  it  by  the  construc- 
tion, or  possibly  by  the  movement,  of  the  vault.  — EDS.  AMERICAN  ARCHI- 
TECT.] 

HOW  TO  MAKE  A  CELLAR  WATER-TIGHT. 

SALEM,  MASS.,  April  2,  1889. 

To  THE  EDITORS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT  : 

Dear  Sirs,  —  I  am  making  plans  for  a  heavy  brick  building  to  be 
erected  on  "  made  "  land  near  the  sea.     A  cellar  is  to  be  made  under 
part  of  it,  the  finished  bottom  of  which  is  2'  6"  below  high  water- 
mark.    Will  you  please  tell  me  how  this  cellar  can  be  made  tight  ? 
Yours  truly,  "  SEAWATER." 

[THE  common  way  of  making  such  cellars  tight  is  to  drive  sheet-piling 
around  the  outside,  of  three  or  four  inch  planks,  tongued  and  grooved,  or 
grooved  and  splined,  set  about  eighteen  inches  from  the  outside  of  the 
cellar  walls,  and  to  fill-in  the  space  between  the  walls  and  the  piling,  to  a 
depth  somewhat  below  the  cellar  bottom,  with  a  tough  blue  clay,  or  "  box- 
ing-clay," well-kneaded  to  make  it  homogeneous  —  this  keeps  the  water 
out  tolerably  well,  until  the  piles  rot ;  and  the  bottom  of  the  cellar  is 
covered  with  concrete,  to  keep  down  the  water  which  would  otherwise  force 
its  way  up  from  the  subsoil.  According  to  our  experience,  however,  this 
cannot  be  depended  upon  to  keep  all  moisture  out  of  the  cellar.  Some  will 
"  weep"  through  the  walls,  when  there  is  a  pressure  outside,  and  where  the 
hydrostatic  pressure  is  considerable,  drops  will  force  their  way  up  through 
several  inches  of  ordinary  concrete.  For  these  reasons,  it  is  usual  to 
provide  "boxed"  cellars  with  an  outlet-pipe  and  a  check-valve,  arranged 
BO  that  any  water  that  may  collect  will  run  out  at  low  tide,  but  will  be  pre- 
vented by  the  check-valve  from  coming  back  again.  A  more  effectual,  but 
expensive  method  is  to  line  the  cellar  walls  and  floor  with  several  layers  of 
asphalted  felt,  mopped  with  melted  asphalt.  As  the  pressure  of  the  tide 
would  force  this  in,  it  must  be  held  in  place  by  lining  the  walls  with  brick- 
work or  concrete,  a  foot  thick  or  more,  as  high  as  the  water  is  ever  likely  to 
rise  outside,  and  by  covering  the  floor  also  with  thick  concrete,  or  laying  the 
bottom  with  an  inverted  arch  of  brick,  and  then  levelling  up  with  concrete. 
There  are  two  or  three  contractors  in  New  York  who  will  undertake  the 
latter  process,  and  will  guarantee  its  success.  The  clay-boxing  is  done  by 
contractors  in  almost  all  seaboard  cities.  —  EDS.  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT.] 


STATISTICS  THAT  HAVE  INTEREST.  —  A  German  statistician  says: 
There  are  at  present  3,064  languages  spoken  by  the  inhabitants  of  our 
globe,  whose  religious  convictions  are  divided  between  1,000  different 
confessions  of  faith.  The  number  of  males  is  nearly  equal  to  that  of 
the  females.  The  average  duration  of  life  is  33  years.  One-fourth 
of  the  population  of  the  earth  dies  before  attaining  the  seventeenth 
year.  Of  1,000  persons  only  one  reaches  the  age  of  100  years,  and  not 
more  than  six  that  of  65  years.  The  entire  population  of  the  globe  is 
upward  of  1,200,000,000,  of  whom  35,214,000  die  every  year;  96,480 
every  day;  4,020  every  hour;  67  every  minute,  and  1  and  a  fraction 
every  second;  on  the  other  hand  the  births  amount  to  36,792,000  every 
year  ;  100,800  every  day  ;  4,200  every  hour ;  70  every  minute ;  1  and  a 
fraction  every  second.  Married  people  live  longer  than  the  unmarried, 
the  temperate  and  industrious  longer  than  the  gluttons  and  idle,  and 
civilized  nations  longer  than  the  uncivilized.  Tall  persons  enjoy  a 
greater  longevity  than  small  ones.  Women  have  a  more  favorable 
chance  of  life  before  reaching  their  fiftieth  year  than  men,  but  a  less 
favorable  one  after  that  period.  The  proportion  of  married  persons  to 
single  ones  is  as  75  to  1,000.  Persons  born  in  Spring  have  a  more 
robust  constitution  than  those  born  at  other  seasons.  Births  and  deaths 
occur  more  frequently  at  night  than  in  the  day  time.  It  may  finally  be 
added  that  only  one-fourth  of  the  male  inhabitants  of  the  globe  grow 
up  to  carry  arms  or  perform  military  service.  —  Paris  American  Register. 

EARTHQUAKE-PROOF  HOUSES. —  As  foundations  for  a  building,  there 
are  two  types  :  In  one,  which  is  the  European  method  of  building,  the 
structure  is  firmly  attached  to  the  ground  by  beds  of  concrete,  brick 
and  stone.  In  the  other,  which  is  illustrated  in  the  Japanese  system  of 
building,  the  structure  rests  loosely  on  the  upper  surface  of  stones  or 
boulders.  As  an  indication  of  the  relative  value  of  these  two  forms  of 
building,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  in  Yokohama,  in  1880,  many  of  the 
European  buildings  were  more  or  less  shattered,  whilst  in  the  Japanese 
portion  of  the  town  there  was  no  evidence  of  disturbance.  The  houses, 
like  the  foundations,  are  also  of  two  types.  In  the  European  house 
built  to  withstand  earthquakes,  of  which  there  are  examples  in  Tokio 
and  San  Francisco,  and  for  which  in  America  patents  have  been 
granted,  we  have  a  building  of  brick  and  cement  bound  together  with 
hoop-iron  and  numerous  tie-rods.  A  building  like  this,  which  from 
time  to  time  is  jerked  backwards  and  forwards  by  the  moving  earth,  to 
which  it  is  secured  by  the  firmest  of  foundations,  is  expected  to  resist 
the  suddenly  applied  and  varying  stresses  to  which  it  is  exposed  by  the 
strength  of  its  parts.  This  type  of  structure  may  be  compared  to  a 
steel  box,  and,  if  its  construction  involves  any  principle,  we  should 
call  it  that  of  strength  opposing  strength.  Some  of  the  buildings  in 
Caracas,  which  are  low,  slightly  pyramidal,  have  flat  roofs,  and  which 
are  bound  along  their  faces  with  iron,  belong  to  this  order.  These  so- 
called  earthquake-proof  buildings,  with  the  exception  of  their  chimneys, 
have  certainly  satisfactorily  withstood  small  earthquakes  in  Japan. 
As  to  how  they  would  withstand  a  disturbance  like  that  at  Cassamic- 
ciola  is  yet  problematical.  Unfortunately,  these  structures  are  very 


180 


The   American   Architect   and  Building   News.      [VOL.  XXIV.  —  No.  694. 


expensive.  The  second  type  of  building  may  be  compared  to  a  wicker- 
basket.  This  is  certainly  as  difficult  to  shake  asunder  as  the  steel-box 
type,  and  at  the  same  time  is  not  so  expensive.  The  Japanese  house 
belongs  to  this  type.  It  is  largely  used  on  the  west  coast  of  South 
America,  and  in  Manila,  since  the  disaster  of  1880,  it  has  rapidly  been 
replacing  the  heavy  stone  form  of  structure.  Briefly,  it  is  a  frame 
house  with  a  light  roof  of  shingle,  felt,  or  iron.  As  put  up  in  Japan, 
its  stability  chiefly  appears  to  depend  on  the  fact  that  it  is  not  firmly 
attached  to  the  earth  on  which  it  rests,  and  that  its  numerous  joints 
admit  of  considerable  yielding.  The  consequence  is  that,  whilst  the 
ground  is  rapidly  moving  backwards  and  forwards,  the  main  portions 
of  the  building,  by  their  inertia  and  the  viscous  yielding  of  their  joints, 
remain  comparatively  at  rest.  A  house  that  my  experience  suggests 
as  being  aseismic,  and  at  the  same  time  cheap,  would  be  a  low  frame 
building,  with  iron  roof  and  chimneys  supported  by  a  number  of  slightly 
concave  surfaces  resting  on  segments  of  stone  or  metal  spheres,  these 
latter  being  in  connection  with  the  ground.  Earthquake-lamps,  which 
are  extinguished  on  being  overturned,  would  lessen  the  risk  of  fire, 
while  strong  tables  and  bedsteads  would  form  a  refuge  in  case  of 
sudden  disturbances.  In  earthquake  towns  the  streets  ought  to  be 
wide,  and  open  spaces  should  be  left,  so  that  the  inhabitants  might 
readily  find  a  refuge  from  falling  buildings.  Brick  chimneys  running 
through  a  wooden  building,  unless  they  have  considerable  play,  and 
are  free  from  various  portions  of  the  building,  are  exceedingly  danger- 
ous. In  consequence  of  the  vibrational  period  of  the  house  not  coin- 
ciding with  that  of  the  chimney,  the  former,  by  its  sudden  contact  with 
the  latter  when  in  an  opposite  plane  of  motion,  almost  invariably 
causes  an  overthrow.  In  1880,  nearly  every  chimney  in  the  foreign 
settlement  in  Yokohama  was  overthrown  in  this  manner,  and  the  first 
alarm  inside  the  houses  was  created  by  a  shower  of  bricks  falling  on 
beds  and  tables.  Since  this  occurrence,  the  chimneys  in  Yokohama 
have  had  more  or  less  play  given  to  them  where  they  pass  through  the 
roofs.  Chimneys  with  heavy  tops,  like  heavy  roofs,  must  be  avoided. 
Another  point  requiring  attention  is  the  pitch  of  a  roof.  If  this  is  too 
great,  tiles  or  slates  will  be  readily  shot  off.  Archways  over  openings 
should  curve  into  their  abutments ;  otherwise,  if  they  meet  them  at  an 
angle,  fractures  are  likely  to  be  produced.  If,  for  architectural 
reasons,  or  as  a  precaution  against  fire,  it  is  necessary  to  have  build- 
ings which  are  substantial,  their  upper  portions  ought  to  be  as  light  as 
is  consistent  with  their  requisite  strength.  Hollow  bricks,  light  tiles, 
with  papier-mache  for  internal  decorations,  have  been  recommended 
as  materials  suitable  for  superstructures.  At  the  present  time,  the 
city  of  Manila,  partly  through  Government  interference,  and  partly 
through  the  desire  of  the  inhabitants  to  reduce  the  chances  of  further 
disasters,  presents  a  singular  appearance  of  light  superstructures  rising 
from  old  foundations.  Iron  roofs  are  visible  in  all  directions,  whilst 
on  the  massive  basements  of  old  cathedrals  and  churches  upper  stories 
of  wood,  with  cupolas  and  spires  of  corrugated-iron,  have  been  erected. 
—  J.  Milne. 


CREMATION  IN  PARIS.  —  Everything  is  being  done  in  Paris  to  induce 
people  to  have  their  dead  bodies  burned.  A  new  crematory  has  just 
been  constructed,  according  to  the  plans  of  M.  Geuilard,  a  municipal 
counsellor.  This  furnace  is  entirely  of  brick,  and  its  partition-walls 
have  in  their  entire  length  a  series  of  holes  which  give  passage  to  large 
metallic  tubes  through  which  gas  is  let  in  by  force,  having  been 
pumped  into  the  furnace  by  means  of  compressed  air.  The  tempera- 
ture under  such  conditions  is  as  high  as  1,300°  to  1,400°.  The  results 
obtained  have  been  satisfactorily  convincing.  In  thirty-five  minutes 
an  entire  sheep,  weighing  fifty  kilos  and  placed  in  a  wooden  box,  was 
reduced  to  ashes,  without  the  slightest  smoke  or  smell.  —  N.  Y.  Com- 
mercial Advertiser. 


THE    ARCH    OF    AURELIUS    AT    TRIPOLI.  —  It  is    characteristic    of 
Tripoli  that  the  most  remarkable  monument  in  the  whole  town  —  one 
might  almost  say  in  the  entire  province  —  should  be  so  hidden  away 
amid  a  litter  of  squalid  and  unsightly  hovels  that  a  careless  observer 
might  easily  let  it  pass  unnoticed.     Indeed,  more  than  one  student  of 
Mr.  Murray's  red-bound  Koran  has  left  Tripoli  under  the  impression 
that  the  "Arch  of  Aurelius  "  exists  no  longer,  having  doubtless  ex- 
pected to   see  something   like   the  Arc  de  Triomphe  at  Paris    or   the 
Brandenburger  Thor  at  Berlin  or  the  "Gate  of  Tiberius"  at  Ancona. 
But  the  wonder  is  actually  there  for  all  that.     Picking  your  way  along 
one  of   the  narrower  streets  that   lead  up  from  the  harbor,  you  are 
siruck  with  an  indefinable  something  in  the  aspect  of  a  shapeless  block 
of  masonry  on  your  right,  which  impresses  you  sufficiently  to  make  you 
halt  and  take  another  and  a  closer  look  at  it.      This  second  glance 
reveals  to  you,  in  the  midst  of  the  rough  stones  and  rubble  with  which 
Turkish  barbarism  has  filled-in  and  blurred  its  magnificent  outline,  the 
grand  sweep  of  a  noble  classic  arch,  which,  with  its  massive  blocks  and 
its  smooth,  symmetrical  masonry,  asserts  itself  unmistakably  through 
all  the  unsightly  chaos  around  it.     And  there  on  its  side,  distinct  in 
every  line  as  when  it  came  from  the  carver's  hand  1,725  years  ago,  the 
car  of  Roman  conquest,  whirled  along  by  the  mythical  she-wolf  with 
which  Rome's  history  commences,  is  seen  rushing  like  a  hurricane  over 
the  necks  of  prostrate  nations.     A  crafty-looking  old  Tripolitan  gentle- 
man in  a  greasy  blue  robe  and  soiled  white  turban,  with  a  face  like  a 
badly-made  piece  of  chocolate,  comes  slouching  up  as  soon  as  he 
notices  that  you  are  examining  the  monument,  and  gives  you  to  under- 
stand (in  a  queer  jargon  of  mingled  Italian  and  Arabic,  eked  out  by 
profuse  gesticulation)  that  there  is  still  something  more  to  be  seen. 
And  so  indeed  there  is,  for  the  old  fellow  promptly  unlocks  a  low  plank 
door,  and  in  another  moment  you  find  yourself  standing  right  under- 
neath the  famous  arch,  and  looking  up  at  it  from  the  inside.      It  is 
naturally  somewhat  of  a  shock  to  you  to  discover  that  the  interior  of 
this  splendid  monument  of  the  Classic  age,  erected  in  honor  of  one 
of  the  greatest  rulers  of  ancient  Rome,  is  now  used  as  a  storehouse  for 
casks  of  flour  and  potatoes.     But  all  thought  of  this  profanation  is 
quickly  lost  in  the  contemplation  of  the  grand  old  relic  itself.    Seven- 
teen centuries  of  storm  and  battle  have  failed  to  dislodge  one  block 
from  its  walls  or  to  shake  down  one  stone  of  its  roof.      When  it  first 
rose  above  the  Mauritanian  palm  trees  Christian   martyrs  were  being 
thrown  to  the  lions  in  the  newly-built  Colosseum  at  Rome  and  painted 
savages  were  hunting  wolves  over  the  future  site  of  London.      Since 
that  time  the  Roman  Empire  has  vanished  from  the  earth  and  the 
savage  "  Britanni,"  who  were  Virgil's  chosen  type  of  the  lowest  barbar- 
ism rule  thrice  as  many  lands  as  the  proudest  Csesars,  while  a  new 
world  of  which  the  boldest  classic  navigator  never  dreamed  has  arisen 
to  spread  its  renown  over  the  whole.      But  although  the  very  site  ol 
Aurelius's  palace  is  now  unknown  and  Aurelius  himself  is  but  a  dim 
historical  phantom,  this  strange  old  monument  of  his  greatness  stil 
stands  here  like  a  tombstone  of  Rome's  departed  glory,  the  same  yester 
day,  to-day,  and  forever.  —  David  Ker  in  the  New  York  Times. 


FORTUNATELY  for  both  employers  and  workmen,  a  truce,  practically 
speaking,  has  been  declared  for  the  season  and  no  general  disturbance  of 
the  existing  friendly  relations  is  to  be  feared.  In  some  quarters  the  work- 
men were  inclined  to  make  trouble,  but  just  now  the  leaders  among  them 
are  more  bent  upon  making  their  organization  compact  than  to  organize 
strikes  or  allow  them.  It  is  safe  to  go  farther  and  say  that  the  leaders  are 
more  conservative  than  they  have  ever  been  and  for  several  reasons,  one  of 
which  and  the  latest  one,  viz.,  that  they  are  coming  to  recognize  that  mere 
strikes  do  not  avail  so  much  after  all.  Another  reason  is,  that  more  of  the 
control  of  labor  organizations  is  passing  into  American  hands,  and 
the  foreign  element  is  losing  some  of  its  power.  The  considerable  falling- 
off  in  membership  during  the  last  year  or  two  has  been  due  in  a  measure  to 
the  disposition  of  American  workmen  not  to  be  under  foreign  control. 
Those  familiar  with  the  internal  commotions  in  many  of  our  national  labor 
organizations  know  this  to  be  the  cause  of  much  of  the  numerical  weakness 
occasioned  of  late.  Employers  as  a  rule  have  less  apprehension  from  the 
control  of  Americans  than  foreign-born  workmen  in  some  labor  organiza- 
tions. Even  now  there  is  a  wide  divergence  of  opinion  as  to  the  wisdom  of 
a  general  eight-hour  movement  next  year.  Lines  are  being  drawn,  the 
oreign  element  in  most  places  leading  in  the  agitation  for  a  reduction  and 
he  Americans  following.  In  Great  Britain  the  movement  has  much  greater 
orce,  and  promises  to  be  the  pivotal  question  which  will  decide  the  election 
)f  a  score  of  members  of  Parliament  at  the  next  election.  While  trades 
unionism  has  grown  rapidly  on  this  side  within  two  or  three  years,  it  has 
not  the  same  territory  to  work  in  or  the  same  problems  to  solve  as  the 
workmen  of  Great  Britain.  Eight-hour  laws  have  been  enacted  in  several 
States  and  they  remain  a  dead  letter.  That  a  more  or  less  general  move- 
ment will  be  inaugurated  by  labor  next  year  cannot  be  doubted  but  if  the 
present  inharmony  of  opinion  continues  as  is  probable  it  will,  to  a  very 
;reat  extent  at  least,  the  movement  will  do  no  more  than  to  postpone  work 
n  some  directions  and  stagnate  business  in  others.  The  error  about  to  be 
made  is  in  not  consulting  employers.  Already  large  employers  are 
endeavoring  to  hedge  against  it.  Some  weeks  ago  4,000  men  were  reduced 
to  eight  hours  in  a  great  railroad  shop.  This  week  the  employer  of  1,500 
mechanics  reduced  all  to  eight  hours  in  order  to  continue  all  in  employment. 
This  course  will  be  prudently  resorted  to  by  all  who  can  conveniently  do  so 
and  long  enough  before  the  date  fixed  for  the  inception  of  the  movement 
that  there  will  be  no  observed  connection  between  the  policy  and  the  move- 
ment. The  fact  is  the  old  labor  leaders  have  suffered  so  frequently  from 
defeat  when  they  were  assured  of  victory,  that  they  are  cautious  about 
leading  new  movements.  Conservatism  is  apparent  in  speeches,  acts,  and 
management. 

The  improving  industrial  conditions  in  Great  Britain  and  on  the  Conti- 
nent will  check  the  immigration  movement  from  this  out,  and  decrease  the 
surplus  labor  in  American  cities  and  towns.    'J  o  that  extent  it  will  favor 
the  movement  for  a  reduction  of  hours  of  labor,  but  facts  and  conditions 
like  these  seldom  enter  into  labor  counsels  or  decisions.    The  trade  condi- 
tions are  neither  better  nor  worse.    Last  week  the  Eastern  nail-makers  sub- 
mitted a  proposition  to  manufacturers  to  make  twenty-five  per  cent  less, 
and  this  week  a  favorable  vote   was  made  on  it.    The  merchant  steel- 
makers have  failed  to  renew  their  combination,  but,  as  a  rule,  the  twenty 
or  thirty  small  associations  in  the  iron  trade  are  holding  together,  restrict- 
ing production,  and  waiting  for  the  good  time  coming,  when  there  will  be 
two  buyers  for  the  same  product.    The  wood-working  machinery-makers 
have  not  effected  a  general  combination,  owing  to  the  unwillingness  of 
some  of  the  smaller  and  widely-scattered  concerns  to  come  in.    Architects 
in  Western  cities  have  started  since  the  first  of  the  month  on  a  great  deal 
of  new  work  for  public  buildings,  and  a  number  of  city  architects  have  emi- 
grated  into  small  Western  towns,  where  their  practical  services  are  in 
demand.    The  demand  for  nearly  all  kinds  of  materials  is  now  very  active; 
bricks,  particularly,  are  wanted  fully  as  fast  as  they  can  be  delivered  in  all 
markets.    Lumber  is  increasing  in  activity  in  all  markets.    Poplar  remains 
under  the  control  of  Southern  manufacturers.     Yellow  pine  is  strong  and 
active,  and  large  deliveries  are  being  made.    The  short-log  crop  is  helping 
prices.     Hemlock  holds  its  own,  and  spruce,  for  the  reason  above  given, 
will  not  be  shaded  as  much  as  usual.    The  money  market  is  easy,  even  with 
a  drop  in  the  surplus  reserves  to  about  one  million  dollars  —  above  the 
legal  limit  —  a  few  days  ago.    A  temporary  exportation  of  gold  to  offset 
diminished  imports  was  predicted  in  pome  financial  quarters  on  Tuesday. 
The  Treasury-bond  policy  will  be  continued,  at  some  cost  to  the  Govern- 
ment, but  there  is  a  compensating  benefit  in  easier  monetary  conditions. 
The  volume  of  business,  taking  the  country  all  through,  is  increasing. 
Prices  keep  low,  and  this  is  advantageous  to  the  masses,  although  occasion- 
ing much  unfair  complaint  among  manufacturers  and  exchangers  of  values. 
The  increasing  interest  given  to  the  creation,  or  rather  extension,  of  an 
export  trade  is  encouraging,  but  nothing  but  radical  measures  and  persist- 
ent and  well-directed  effort  will  enable  Americans  to  wrest  even  a  small 
sh.ire  of  the  world's  trade  from  the  nations  who  now  practically  control  it. 
If  purely  business,  instead  of  political,  considerations  could  prevail  in  State- 
councils,  the  battle  would  be  half  fought.    As  we  reach  nearer  and  nearer 
the  completion  of  our  general  internal  development,  we  will  devote  more 
and  more  attention  to  securing  our  share  of  the  commerce  of  the  world. 
American  machinery  and  special  products  have  found  their  way  into  more 
markets  of  the  world  than  is  popularly  supposed,  and  our  commercial  com- 
petitors, who  know  our  capabilities  even  better  than  we  do  ourselves,  are- 
making  strenuous  efforts  through  statecraft  and  through  commercial  enter- 
prise to  head  us  off  as  far  as  possible. 

8.   J.    PARKHILL  &  Co.,  Printers,  Boston. 


APRIL  13,  1889.] 


The  American  Architect  and  Building  News. 


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PRICES  are  4O,  6O  and  73  cents  per  Gallon 

According  to  Color. 
SEND  for   Samples  on  Wood,  and   Circulars, 


CABoTf- 


The   American   Architect   and  Building  News.         [VOL.  XXV. —  No,  694. 


Church   of   St.   Francisco,    JaJapa,    Mexico 


MEXICAN  SKETCHES. 


THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT  AND  BUILDING  NEWS. 


VOL.  XXV. 


Copyright,  1889,  by  TICK  NOR  &  COMPANY,  Boston,  Mass. 


No.    695, 


APRIL  20,  1889. 


Entered  at  the  Post-Office  at  Boston  as  second-class  matter. 


SUMMARY: — 

The  Lowell  City-hall  Competition.  —  The  New  York  Cathedral 
Competition.  — Death  of  Samuel  C.  Hall,  Author  and  Editor. 

—  The  Late  Felix  Langlais,  Architect.  — The  Vertically  of 
the  Eiffel  Tower.  —  Royalties  on  the  Sale  of  Views  of  the 
Eiffel  Tower.  —  A  Simple  Test  for  Arsenic  in  Wall-paper. — 
The    Manufacture    of     Plaster-of-Paris. —  Flanged    Boiler- 
Tubes.  —  Glazing  with  old  Negatives 181 

BUILDERS'  HARDWARE. — XXIII 183 

THE  SEPULCHRE  OF  AMENEMHAT  III 185 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  — 

New  York  Central  Railroad  Employes'  Reading-room,  Madi- 
son Ave.,  New  York,  N.  Y. — Gothic  Spires  and  Towers, 
Plates  42  and  43.  — The  Age  of  Francis  I,  Plate  5. —Com- 
petitive Design  for  Christ  Church,  New  York,  N.  Y. — 
Garden  Gate  for  Curwen  Stoddart,  Esq.  —  Mission  Chapel 
for  Emmanuel  Church,  Boston,  Mass. — A  Country  House. 

—  House  for  Mr.  Baker,  Devon,  Pa.  —  Gate-lodge  for  G.  A. 
Nickerson,  Esq.,  Dedham,  Mass 180 

LETTER  FROM  BALTIMORE 180 

LETTER  FROM  LONDON 187 

LETTER  FROM  CANADA 188 

EQUESTRIAN  MONUMENTS. —  XIV 100 

NOTES  AND  CLIPPINGS 191 

TRADE  SURVEYS 192 


THE  competition  for  the  Lowell  City-hall  and  Memorial 
Library,  which  interested  a  good  many  architects  in 
Massachusetts,  has  resulted  in  the  award  of  the  first  prize 
to  Mr.  F.  W.  Stickney,  of  Lowell.  Mr.  Stickney's  design  is 
said  to  have  been  a  very  good  one,  but  the  principal  import- 
ance of  the  matter  lies  in  the  fact  that  it  is  reported  that  it  will 
not  be  carried  into  execution.  The  programme  of  the  com- 
petition said  that  "  it  was  expected  that  if  the  appropriation 
for  the  City-hall  was  made  within  a  year,  the  author  of  the 
design  placed  first  would  be  employed  to  superintend  the  execu- 
tion," or  words  substantially  to  that  effect.  Undoubtedly,  the 
sentence  did  not  amount  to  a  positive  promise  that  the  author 
of  the  design  considered  best  should  be  appointed  architect  of 
the  building,  but  it  must  have  been  understood  as  a  virtual 
promise,  or  architects  of  Mr.  Stickney's  standing  would  have 
had  nothing  to  do  with  the  affair,  and  if  he  is  to  meet  with  the 
humiliating  treatment  that  common  report  predicts  for  him,  it 
seems  to  us  that  the  Commissioners,  some  of  whom  are  widely 
known  as  men  of  honor  and  reputation,  can  do  no  less  than  ex- 
plain clearly  and  publicly  why  they  feel  obliged  to  withdraw 
from  a  stipulation  which  undoubtedly  did  more  to  attract  com- 
petitive drawings  than,  anything  else  in  their  programme. 

TTCCORDING  to  the  New  York  Times,  the  competition  for 
rj[  the  new  cathedral  has  resulted,  so  far,  in  the  selection  of 
'  four  designs  by  the  Trustees,  followed  by  the  postpone- 
ment of  the  whole  matter  until  a  committee  of  experts,  com- 
prising two  architects  and  one  engineer,  shall  have  examined 
all  the  designs  de  novo,  and  shall  have  reported  upon  them  to 
the  Trustees.  If  their  judgment  shall  agree  with  that  of  the 
Trustees,  there  will  be  nothing  left  to  do  but  to  declare  the 
result,  or  to  arrange  for  the  second  and  final  competition  which 
is  said  to  have  been  proposed.  If  the  experts  should  noi 
agree  with  the  Trustees,  we  suppose  that  further  discussion 
will  be  necessary.  Fortunately,  there  is  no  great  haste  about 
the  matter,  and  the  more  thought  is  given  to  the  plans,  the 
more  satisfactory  will  be  the  final  result.  According  to  the 
Times,  the  choice  of  the  Trustees  has  fallen  upon  four  Gothl 
designs,  so  that  the  news  that  the  "  Gothic  style  was  dead ' 
seems  not  to  have  reached  them. 


EVERY  one  will  regret  to  hear  of  the  death  of  the  venerabl 
Samuel  Carter  Hall,  F.  S.   A.,  who,  as   "  S.   C.  Hall,' 
attached  his  name  to  nearly  all  the  best  and  most  usefu 
work  in  the  way  of  popularizing  the  art  of  architecture  whicl 
was  done  in  the  middle  of  the  present  century.     His  beautifu 
book,  the  "  Baronial  Halls  of  England"  is  probably  the  on 
by  which  he  is  best  known  to  architects,  but  this  is  only  on 


ut  of  some  three  hundred  and  forty  books  which  were  either 
ritten  by  him,  or  published  under  his  care  and  direction,  to 
ay  nothing  of  the  innumerable  articles  which  he  contributed 
o  the  Art  Journal,  which  he  founded  and  edited  for  forty-six 
ears.  He  was  born  of  a  good  family  and  educated  as  a 
awyer.  For  a  time  he  eked  out  the  scanty  income  of  a  young 
arrister  by  reporting  the  debates  in  Parliament  for  the  news- 
apers,  and  from  this  beginning  drifted  wholly  into  literature. 
At  the  age  of  twenty-nine,  after  one  successful  literary 
enture,  he  succeeded  the  poet  Campbell  as  editor  of  the  Neiv 
Monthly  Magazine,  and  four  years  later  brought  out  the  first 
umber  of  the  Art  Journal.  This  had  at  first  a  struggle  for 
xistence,  and  it  was  many  years  before  he  succeeded  in 
ringing  it  to  complete  success.  In  later  life  he  was  prominent 
n  public  charities  in  London,  and  leaves  a  name  which  will  be 
ong  remembered  and  honored. 


IT  is  a  good  thing  for  young  architects  to  have  their  attention 
called  occasionally  to  the  history  of  the  lives  of  the  more 
prominent  men  in  the  profession,  so  that  they  can  distinguish 
or   themselves    the    qualities   and  habits   which   lead   to  the 
arious  sorts   of    rewards,  in  the  shape   of    honors,  riches   or 
elfish  pleasures,  which   form   the   object  of   men's  ambition. 
Among   the   many  biographies   of   the   kind   which,  after   the 
Drench  custom,  are  published  in  the  professional  journals,  one 
)f  the  most  interesting  is  that  of  Felix  Langlais,  contributed  to 
U Architecture   by  M.  de  Joly.     Langlais,  one   of   the   best- 
uiown  architects  in  Paris,  was  the  son  of  a  soldier.     Being 
laturally  strongly  inclined  to  the  study  of  architecture,  he  was 
intered  as  a  pupil  in  the  office  of  Labrouste,  and  made  rapid 
n-ogress  in  the  art  under  the  tuition  of  that  great  man.     In 
lis   twentieth  year,  the  Revolution  of    1848   interrupted   his 
itudies,  and  called  him  home,  where  he  found  himself  obliged 
o  take  up  some  active  employment  to  provide  a   living  for 
lirnself  and  others.     He  was  employed  first  on  the  works  of 
construction  connected  with  the  railway  from  Paris  to  Lyons, 
and  was  attached,  six  years  later,  to  the  construction  of  the 
Exhibition  building  of  1855.     After  this  he  was  employed  as 
:lerk-of-works  upon  the  public  buildings  of  Paris,  and  spent 
several  years   in  the  midst   of   the   great  building  operations 
which  signalized  the  administration   of   the  Third  Napoleon. 
While  engaged  in  this  occupation  he  found  time  to  do  a  little 
jusiness  as  an  architect  on  his  own  account,  but  a  regulation 
was  established,  forbidding  architects  employed  by  the  city  to 
undertake  any  private  business,  and,  finding  that  he  must  give 
up  either  his  public  employment  or  his  small  private  business, 
lie  wisely  preferred  to  keep  the  latter,  and  resigned  his  post 
under  the  city.     He  had  already  built  a  country-house  of  some 
importance  in  Southwestern  France,  and  was  architect  to  -the 
small  Ardennes  Railway.     A  year  or  two  after  his  retirement 
from   the    public   service,  he  was  commissioned   to  build  the 
immense  warehouses  of  Bercy,  midway  between  the  Lyons  and 
Orleans   railway   stations.      About    the   same   time,    he   was 
engaged  to  build  a  house  in  Paris  for  the  rich  family  of  the 
Hardens.     This  house,  which  was  situated  on  the  road  to  the 
Bois  de  Boulogne,  attracted  the  attention  of  the  Rothschilds, 
who,  learning  the  name  of  the  architect,  soon  began  to  bring 
him   commissions.     His   first   work   for   the   family   was   the 
enlargement  of  a  house  in  the  Rue  Monceaux,  built  for  M. 
Eugene  Pereire,  and   afterwards   sold   to  Baron  Adolphe  de 
Rothschild.     This  he  altered,  adding  some  splendid  galleries, 
and   soon   afterwards   the  Baroness  Nathaniel   de  Rothschild 
entrusted  him  with  the  restoration  and  alteration  of  the  old 
chateau  of  Vaux  de  Cernay.     This  work  was  carried  out  very 
successfully,  and  he  built  two  more  country-houses,  one  for  the 
Baron  James-Edward  de  Rothschild,  and  the  other  for  Baron 
Edmund  de  Rothschild,  who  also  employed  him  to  build  a 
magnificent  house  in  Paris.     These  various  buildings  for  the 
Rothschild  family  attracted  the  notice  of  other  wealthy  persons, 
and,  besides  the  Hardens,  who  were  almost  his  first  clients,  he 
was  employed  by  the  Pereires,  the  founder,  by-the-way,  of  the 
Transatlantic  Steamship  Company,  and  by  many  others.     The 
patronage  of  these  wealthy  and  influential  people,  with  his  own 
prudence,  brought  him  fortune,  and  he  died  a  rich  man,  but 
much  more  than  that,  he  died  so  happy  in  family  affection, 
in  the  respect  and  esteem  of  his  associates,  and  in  his  chari- 
table, as  well  as  professional  occupations,  that  no  one  thought 
about  his  success  in  accumulating  money.     Next  to  his  work 


182 


Tlie   American    Architect   and  Building   News.        [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  695. 


as  an  architect,  and  as  referee  in  building  cases,  which  were 
often  assigned  to  him  by  the  courts,  his  principal  interest  was 
in  the  improvement  of  the  condition  of  the  working  classes, 
particularly  in  a  moral  sense.  He  was  himself  a  deeply 
religious  man,  and,  as  one  means  for  helping  the  poor  to  a 
better  moral  state,  he  engaged  actively  in  the  work  of  the 
Association  for  securing  the  observance  of  Sunday  as  a  day  of 
rest. 


HE  Eiffel  tower  continues  to  be  the  hero,  so  to  speak,  of 
various  adventures.  According  to  Le  Genie  Civil,  which 
is  its  official  biographer,  a  story  was  circulated  not  long 
ago  in  Paris  to  the  effect  that  it  had  begun  to  lean.  The  out- 
line of  the  structure  makes  it  very  difficult  to  see  whether  it  is 
vertical  or  not,  and  the  rumor  spread  rapidly,  until  it  came  to 
be  asserted  that  the  tower  would  soon  resemble  the  leaning 
tower  of  Pisa,  to  which  it  was  constantly  compared.  There 
was  no  reason  whatever  to  suppose  that  any  movement  had 
taken  place,  but  the  public  solicitude  became  serious  enough  to 
make  it  advisable  to  have  the  matter  tested,  and  two  engineers 
were  sent  with  theodolites  to  make  a  careful  survey.  As  there 
are  no  vertical  arrises  in  the  tower,  the  method  of  observation 
employed  was  to  trace  the  intersection  of  two  vertical  planes 
meeting  at  right  angles  in  the  centre  of  the  tower,  and  bisecting 
each  face.  This  was  done,  and  the  two  theoretical  planes  were 
found  to  divide  the  faces  of  the  tower  with  almost  perfect 
symmetry,  showing  that  the  shaft  was  not  inclined  in  any  way 
from  the  vertical.  On  three  of  the  sides  the  curvature  was 
found  to  be  exactly  as  designed,  while  the  fourth  side  showed  a 
hollow  amounting  to  about  an  inch  of  deviation  from  the  in- 
tended line. 


1 


N  another  affair  the  tower  is   the  aggressor,  instead  of  being 
the  victim  of  outside   malice.      It  seems   that   the  structure 
claims  to  be  a  work  of  art.  like  a  picture  or  a  statue,  and  to 
be,  therefore,  entitled  to  the  benelit  of  the  statutes  for  the  pro- 


matter  how  finely  ground  it  may  be.  If  it  is  overburnt,  it  will 
also  feel  gritty,  but  if  the  burning  has  been  continued  just  long 
enough,  it  will  be  unctuous  and  velvety  to  the  touch,  and  will 
leave  a  white  spot  on  the  skin.  It  will  surprise  many  people 
to  learn  that  the  calcination  of  gypsum  may  be,  and  often  is, 
effected  at  a  temperature  below  the  boiling  point  of  water.  In 
fact,  the  proper  temperature  for  calcination  lies  between  one 
hundred  and  seventy-five  and  two  hundred  and  fifty  degrees 
Fahrenheit,  so  that  the  process  is  rather  one  of  drying  than  of 
real  calcination.  It  is,  however,  effected  by  burning,  a  iire 
being  kindled  at  the  bottom  of  a  heap  of  gypsum  blocks,  and 
pushed  sufficiently  to  heat  the  nearest  blocks  to  redness. 
These  are  thus  very  much  overburnt,  and  the  outside  pieces 
are  nnderburnt,  but  all  are  ground  together,  and  if  the 
burning  has  been  judiciously  managed,  the  entire  product  is 
good.  In  Paris,  the  plaster  used  in  building  is  rather  coarsely 
ground,  and  is  considered  stronger  in  that  condition,  but 
plaster  for  finishing  work,  as  well  as  that  shipped  to  a  distance, 
is  ground  very  fine,  and  sifted  through  a  silk  bolting-cloth. 
Among  us,  plaster  is  an  expensive  material,  found  only  in  the 
Maritime  Provinces  and  in  the  far  West,  and  is  used  mainly 
for  finishing,  and  for  cementing  marble  or  tiles,  but  there  is  a 
good  deal  of  room  for  improvement  in  the  manufacture  of  the 
American  plaster,  and  architects  should  not  hesitate  to  demand 
the  best  results  that  the  material  is  capable  of  furnishino-. 


'£JN  improvement  has  recently  been  introduced  into  the 
j\_  design  of  boilers  which  promises  to  effect  an  important 
economy  in  the  production  of  steam.  An  article  in  Le 
Gi'nie  Civil,  by  M.  Lisbonne,  a  retired  director  of  naval  con- 
structions, describes  some  experiments  made  with  a  boiler  fur- 
nished with  tubes  having  ribs,  or  flanges,  on  the  inside,  so  as  to 
present  a  larger  surface  for  absorbing  the  heat  of  the  fire. 
The  projection  of  the  flanges  is  about  one-quarter  of  the  diam- 
eter of  the  tube,  and  eight  of  them  are  spaced  at  equal  distances 
around  the  inner  surface.  The  tubes,  which  are  the  invention 


tection  ot\irtistic  property.  Whatever  rights  of  this  kind  may  of  M.  Jean  Serve,  of  Cisors,  are  now  drawn  by  special  ma- 
attach  to  it  have  been  assigned  to  a  M.  Jaluzot,  who  has  under-  chiuery  out  of  brass,  so  that  they  require  no  soldering,  and  are 
taken  lo  defend  his  acquisition  by  claiming  that  all  person?  strong  and  easily  cleaned.  The  first  experiments  with  them 
who  sell  photographs,  models,  pictures  or  representations  of  !  were  made  in  a  steamboat  on  the  l\hone.  .  A  boat  with  copper 
any  kind  ol.  the  tower  must  pay  him  a  royalty  on  such  sales  of  [  tubes  of  the  ordinary  kind  was  carefully  watched,  and  it  was 
twenty  per^ceiit  on  the  price.  As  pictures  and  photographs,  found  that  the  combustion  of  one  pound  of  coal  would  evapo- 
to  say  nothing  of  models,  large  and  small,  in  gold,  brass,  bronze  rale  seven  pounds  of  water,  while  the  temperature  of  the  smoke 
and  many  other  materials,  are  for  sale  all  over  Paris,  the  royalty  :  as  it  issued  from  the  boiler  was  six  hundred  and  eighty  Fah- 


would    amount  to    a  very    substantial    sum,  and    some  of  the      renheit.      The  tubes  were  then  taken  out 


)laced  with  M. 


dealers  interested  have  refused   to  pay.  so  that  the  whole  ques-     Serve's   tubes,   and   the  evaporation    immediately   rose  to   i 


tiou  of  the  right  of  the  structure  to  the  protection  accorded  to 
pictures  and  poems  is  now  before  the  tribunals,  and  I  he  result 
will  be  awaited  with  some  curiositv. 


HE  Sanitary  News  quotes  from  the  British  iMedicalJournul 
a  description  of  a  simple  rough  test  for  arsenic  in  wall- 
papers. No  apparatus  is  required  beyond  a  gas-flame, 
which  is  to  be  turned  down  until  it  burns  'entirely  'blue.  A 
strip  of  the  paper  to  be  tested  is  then  cut  off,  one-sixteenth  of 
an  inch  wide,  and  one  or  two  inches  long.  As  soon  as  the  strip 
is  brought  in  contact  with  the  exterior  of  the  gas-flame,  if 
arsenic  is  present,  the  flame  will  be  colored  gray.  On  takinw 
the  strip  out  of  the  flame,  and  holding  it,  still  smoking,  to  the 
nose,  if  arsenic  is  present  the  fumes  will  be  found  to  have  the 
characteristic  garlic-like  odor  of  arsenic.  After  the  paper  is 
removed  from  the  flame  and  has  ceased  to  smoke,  the  charred 
end  should  be  examined.  If  it  shows  the  black  of  the  car- 
bonized fibre  covered  with  a  reddish  film,  and,  on  placing  it  a 
second  time  in  the  flame,  a  green  color  is  produced,  coppe^may 
be  assumed  to  be  present,  and,  by  implication,  arsenic,  as  arsen- 
iate  of  copper  is  the  poisonous  pigment  to  be  feared  in  danger- 
ous wall-papers. 


MARIETTE  gives,  in  La  Semaine  des  Constructeurs, 
an  account  of  the  manufacture  of  plaster-of-Paris  at 
the  quarries  near  Paris  which  has  a  certain  value  for 
our  architects,  who,  although  they  do  not  employ  that  material 
so  freely  as  their  brethren  across  the  Atlantic,  at  least  like  to 
know  how  to  tell  whether  it  is  of  good  quality  or  not.  Accord- 
ing to  him,  the  best  way  to  try  whether  plaster-of-Paris,  as 
delivered  at  a  building,  is  properly  burned,  is  to  handle  it.  If 
t  is  underburnt,  and  therefore  likely  to  give  an  incoherent 
weak  hydrate  with  water,  it  will  feel  harsh  to  the  touch,  no 


and  one-third  pounds  of  water  for  every  pound  of  eoal  eon- 
sinned,  and  the  temperature  of  the  escaping  gases  fell  to  four 
hundred  and  sixty  degrees.  These  results  would  seem  to  indi- 
cate an  economy  of  about  one-third  in  consumption  of  coal  ; 
and  some  other  experiments,  in  which  the  quantity  of  coal  con- 
sumed was  observed,  showed  an  actual  saving  of  twenty-four 
per  cent  in  coal.  At  the  naval  arsenal  in  Brest  some  further 
tests  were  then  made  by  officers  of  the  Government,  with  the 
result  that  with  natural  draught  the  economy  of  coal  effected 
by  using  the  Hanged  tubes  in  place  of  smooth  ones  was,  with  a 
given  quantity  of  water  evaporated,  fourteen  per  cent,  while 
with  forced  draught  the  economy  was  eighteen  per  cent. 

TITHE  American  Florist  describes  a  piece  of  glazing-work 
J."  which  appears  to  be  quite  novel,  and  certainly  commends 
itself  to  persons  who  may  be  in  search  of  original  effects 
in  decoration.  A  florist  in  Connecticut,  having  occasion  to 
renew  the  glazing  of  his  greenhouse,  bethought  himself  that  he 
might  save  a  little  money  by  using  for  the  purpose  glass  that 
had  already  seen  service  of  some  sort,  instead  of  buying  new. 
He  therefore  applied  to  a  photographer  of  the  neighborhood,  and 
made  a  contract  with  him  for  some  thousands  of  old  negatives 
of  suitable  size  for  his  purpose.  The  negatives  were  deliv- 
ered, and  their  new  proprietor  found  great  satisfaction  in  ar- 
ranging them  in  groups,  according  to  their  subjects  and  other 
circumstance?.  The  pictures  of  old  gentlemen  and  ladies  he 
placed  by  themselves,  where  they  could  keep  guard  together 
over  a  certain  portion  of  his  plants.  Next  came  the  middle- 
aged  persons,  sorted  in  a  suitable  manner,  and  lastly  tne 
children,  smiling  in  groups  in  a  sunny  corner.  For  the  amo- 
rous views  a  special  place  was  reserved,  and  the  pictures  of 
young  persons  taken  hand-in-hand  were  collected  over  a  helio- 
trope-bed, which  would,  it  was  confidently  expected,  attain  re- 
markable luxuriance  under  their  influence. 


APRIL  20,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


183 


BUILDERS'  HARDWARE.1  — XXIII. 

CYLINDER    LOCKS. 


Fig.  336.     Mechanitm  of  the  Yale  Lock.     Yale  &  Towne  Mfg.  Co. 


TITHE  broad  and  general  principle  which  distinguishes  the  or- 
JL  diuary  lever-lock  from  the  style  of  lock  manufactured  under 
the  Yale  patents,  is  that  in  the  latter  the  mechanism  upon 
which  the  key  directly  operates  is  entirely  distinct  from  the 
lock  itself,  being  enclosed  in  a  cylinder  or  escutcheon.  The 
function  of  the  key  consists  simply  in  so  arranging  certain 
movable  pins,  slides  or  other  obstructions,  that  the  mechanism 
is  free  to  rotate,  and  by  its  movement,  to  operate  on  the  locking- 
bolt.  This  variety  of  lock  is  by  no  means  without  a  prototype, 
as  we  have  already  seen  in  the  case  of  the  "  Egyptian,"  the 
"  Bramah"  and  the  "Cotterill"  locks;  but  in  its  application  it 
has  been  simplified  and  reduced  to  a  marketable  form  chiefly 
in  this  country,  and  can  be  fairly  claimed  as  a  product  of 
American  ingenuity. 

Linus  Yale  invented  the  lock  which  bears  his  name,  about 
thirty  years  ago.  His  original  patents  covered  substantially 
only  the  use  of  a  flat  key  to  operate  a  locking  mechanism,  a 
series  of  vertical  pins  of  unequal  lengths  being  lifted  by  means 
of  certain  ricks  or  irregularities  on  the  upper  edge  of  the  key, 
so  that  the  ends  of  the  pins  were  brought  on  a  line.  Within 
recent  years  an  important  change  has  been  made  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  Yale  escutcheon.  The  slot  through  which  the 

O 

key  reaches  the  pins  is  now  cut  in  sharp  corrugatiens,  the  key 
being  corrugated  longitudinally  so  as  to  exactly  fit  the  slot. 
By  this  simple  device,  the  "  Yale  "  locks  have  been  rendered 
practically  proof  against  any  but  the  most  expert  lock-pickers. 
The  external  appearance  of  the  "  Yale  "  lock  is  presumably 
familiar  to  every  one,  but  the  internal  construction  will  require 
some  explanation. 

Figure  33G  shows  a  cross  and  a  longitudinal  section  through 
a  typical  Yale  escutcheon,  together  with  the  exposed  face  of 
the  same.  It  will  readily  be  seen  that  the  action  of  the 
mechanism  is  very  simple.  There  are  two  barrels  or  cylinders, 
one  rotating  within  the  other,  but  eccentric  with  it.  When 
the  key  is  withdrawn  the  lower  cylinder  is  held  from  rotating 
by  means  of  five  sets  of  round  pins  which  are  fitted  in  vertical 
grooves  extended  partially  through  the  two  cylinders,  and 
pressed  constantly  downward  by  five  bar  springs.  In  each 
groove  are  two  pins  of  unequal  lengths,  one  over  the  other. 
When  the  proper  key  is  inserted  all  the  pins  are  raised  simul- 
taneously, but  to  varying  heights,  so  that  the  joints  between  the 
upper  and  the  lower  pins  are  brought  exactly  on  a  line  with 
each  other.  It  is  evident  that  as  the  inner  cylinder,  categor- 
ically designated  as  the  plug,  is  exactly  fitted  to  the  bore  in  the 
shell,  an  almost  imperceptible  variation  in  the  height  to  which 
any  one  of  the  pins  is  raised,  will  prevent  the  plug  from  turn- 
ing :  whence  it  follows  that  an  immense  number  of  locks  can 
be  made  with  this  mechanism  without  duplication.  From  this 
results  the  unrivalled  capacity  of  the  "  Yale  "  lock  for  permuta- 
tions, with  its  proportionate  safety  against  any  accidental 
interchange  of  keys. 

It  will  be  seen  that  in  this  lock  the  key  acts  only  as  an 
adjuster  of  the  pins.  Motion  is  communicated  to  the  locking- 
bolt  of  the  lock  simply  by  means  of  a  hub  on  the  back  of  the 
rotating  plug,  or,  in  the  case  of  a  rim-lock,  by  a  flat  key 
extending  from  the  plug  through  the  door.  Some  of  the 
opponents  of  this  system  consider  that  in  it,  too  much  is  de- 
manded of  the  key,  but  when  the  locks  are  otherwise  as  nicely 
arranged  and  evenly  balanced  as  the  "  Yale  &  Towne " 
goods  are  usually  found  to  be,  the  amount  of  twisting  strain  re- 
quired to  move  the  bolt  is  really  not  a  great  deal.  In  no 
well-made  lock  should  there  be  any  great  strain  on  the  key, 
much  less  in  such  a  device  as  this,  wherein  there  are  no  strong 
lever-springs  to  work  against. 

It  will  easily  be  appreciated  that  this  device  has  almost 
revolutionized  the  lock-trade  in  this  country.  Not  only  has  it 
opened  the  way  for  many  valuable  inventions  of  a  similar 

1  Continued  from  page  148,  No.  692. 


nature,  but  it  has  stimulated  the  perfecting  of  the  ordinary 
lever-locks,  and  was  instrumental  in  the  abandoning  of  the  old 
style  of  heavy  door-keys,  so  that  one's  pockets  are  no  longer 
burdened  with  such  keys  as  were  thought  indispensable  forty 
years  ago. 

The  advantages  claimed  for  the  Yale  lock  are  as  follows : 
First,  a  key  of  the  smallest  size  and  most  convenient  form. 
Second,  immense  capacity  for  changes  or  permutations,  so 
that  more  thousands  of   changes  are  possible  than  an  equal 
number  of  dozens  with  the  old  systems.2 
Third,  great  safety  against  picking. 

Fourth,  uniformity  of  size  of  the  key  for  locks  of  all  kinds 
and  for  all  purposes. 

Fifth,  protection  against  accidental  interchange  of  keys  by 
reason  of  the  great  capacity  of  the  lock  for  permutations. 

In  regard  to  the  third  point  claimed,  it  must  be  remembered, 
however,  that  with  all  its  security  the  Yale  lock  does  not 
offer  an  exception  to  the  general  rule  that  any  lock  can  be 
picked  which  is  operated  by  a  key.  Still,  very  few  persons 
have  the  nicety  of  touch  necessary  to  raise  the  pins  by  means 
of  fine  instruments  inserted  through  the  key-hole,  and  bring 
them  exactly  to  the  position  necessary  for  moving  the  phi". 
There  are  experts  who  claim  to  be  able  to  open  any  "  Yale  " 
lock  which  has  been  made,  but  for  all  practical  purposes  a  lock 
of  this  sort  affords  absolute  security,  as  the  time  required  to 
pick  it  renders  it  very  unlikely  that  any  thief  would  be  so  indis- 
creet as  even  to  make  the  attempt. 

It  will  be  understood  that  the  zig-zag  corrugations  extend 
entirely  through  the  length  of  the  plug.  In  a  measure,  this 
feature  prevents  any  duplicate  key  from  being  manufactured 
by  persons  not  authorized  to  do  so,  as  it  requires  very  heavy 
and  specially  made  machinery  to  produce  one  of  these  keys, 
and  unless  the  corrugations  exactly  correspond  with  the  lock, 
the  key  cannot  enter.  The  plugs  are  cut  by  a  peculiar  form 
of  band-saw  specially  designed  by  the  manufacturers ;  and 
altogether  it  seems  as  if  every  precaution  had  been  thought  of 
which  could  render  the  lock  more  inviolable. 

Like  a  great  many  other  successful  inventions,  the  Yale 
locks  are  remarkable  for  their  simplicity.  The  whole  of  the 
mechanism  being  practically  combined  in  the  escutcheon,  there 

is  no  necessity  for 
any  complicated 
system  of  levers  or 
springs  in  the  lock 
proper,  and  there 
remains  very  little 
to  get  out  of  order. 
The  older  plugs, 
made  with  a 
straight  slot,  would 
allow  a  certain 
amount  of  vertical 
play  to  the  key, 
so  that  it  would 
rock  in  the  cut 
and  would  not  al- 
ways exactly  lift 
the  pins ;  besides 
which  the  slot  per- 
mitted the  lock  to 
be  picked  with 
comparative  ease. 
This  is  entirely 
obviated  by  the 
corrugated  slot,  as 
already  explained. 
It  will  be  noticed 

Fig.  337.     Y.le  Front-Door  Lock.     Yale  &  Towne  Mfg.      also    Jha(,    the     lock 

is  not  in  any  way 

dependent  upon  the  springs,  as  the  pins  would  act  by  gravity, 
even  should  the  springs  give  out  entirely. 

It  would  seem  almost  an  impossibility  to  master-key  a  series 
of  Yale  lock,  and  yet  it  is  accomplished  in  two  different 
ways.  The  first  is  to  fit  each  lock  with  a  separate  master- 
escutcheon,  practically  making  a  double  lock,  though  both  sets 
of  escutcheons  act  on  the  same  locking-bolt.  By  this  method  a 
million  locks  could  be  master-keyed  in  a  single  series,  if 
desired.  The  second  way  is  to  use  three  pins  in  each  slot 

'  Assuming  that  a  variation  of  one-fiftieth  of  an  inch  in  the  length  of  a  pin  is 
sufficient  to  lock  the  plug,  267  331,200  locks  can  be  made  on  this  system,  no  two 
of  which  can  be  operated  by  the  same  key. 


184 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.         [VoL.  XXV.  — No.  695. 


instead  of  two,  the  lengths  of  the  pins  being  so  adjusted  thai 
throughout  the  series,  the  upper  joints  can  be  brought  on  a  lin 
by  the  master-key,  while  the  lower  jointings  are  all  differenl 
and  fitted  to  the  individual  room-keys.  This  method  necess: 
tates  a  larger  and  more  cumbersome  plug  and  cylinder,  and  i 
seldom  used. 

Yale  locks  are  manufactured  in  all  styles  and  for  all  pur 
poses,  but  the  escutcheon  is  always  arranged  in  exactly  the 
same  manner,  whether  intended  to  operate  a  night-latch  or  a 
desk-lock.     The  variations  consist  mainly  of  differences  in  the 
form  of  the  latch  or  of  the  lock.      A  single  example  will  bt 
sufficient  to  illustrate  the  whole.     Figure  337  represents  one  o 
the  most  perfected  forms  of  Yale  front-door  lock.      G  and  B 
are  the  two  escutcheons,  each  with  a  cam,  R,  attached  to  the 
back  of  the  plug.     M  and  .A^ are  two  levers  hinged  to  the  bolt 
tail.    L,  F'te  a  bent  lever,  hinged  to  a  flange  of  the  bolt-tail,  an 
catching  under  a  hub  on  the  bolt  of  the  latch.     The  dead-bol 
can  be  operated  from  either  side,  the  cams  first  depressing  th 
levers  so  as  to  pass  the  post,  S,  and  then  shooting  out  the  bol 
in  the  same  manner  as  with  an  ordinary  key.     When  the  dead 
bolt  is   unlocked  the   end  of  the  lever  F  takes  the   position 
shown  by  the  figure.     If  the  cam  R  is  then  turned  to  the  left 
I  it  so  acts  on  the  lever  as  tc 

cause   it    to   draw    back    th 
latch,     G.      Consequently    : 
single  key  serves  both  to  un 
lock    the    dead-bolt    and   to 
draw  back  the  latch. 

The  "Yale"  lock  has,  o 
course,  won  for  itself  a  hos 
of  imitators  in  the  hardware 
trade.  The  closest  approacl 
to  the  "  Yale "  system  is 
embodied  in  an  escutcheon 
lock  manufactured  by  P.  & 
F.  Corbin.  Figure  338  illus- 
trates this.  The  internal  ar- 
rangement is  exactly  the 
same  as  in  the  "  Yale  "  lock, 
so  far  as  relates  to  the  pins, 
etc.,  but  the  plugs  are  cut 
with  square-edged,  instead  of 
zig-zag  slots.  These  slots,  also,  are  not  carried  entirely 
through  the  plug,  but  extend  only  through  a  thin  face-plate, 
behind  which  is  a  wide  slot  exactly  like  that  of  the  original 
"  Yale  "  locks.  This  seems  like  an  imitation  of,  but  in  nowise 
an^improvement  on  the  original,  and  is  considered  by  the  Yale 
&  Towne  Manufacturing  Company  as  an  infringement  on  their 
patents. 

Figure  339  illustrates  the  "  Foster "  lock,  manufactured  by 
A.  G.  Newman,  a  very  ingeniously  devised  lock,  which  is 
harder  to  pick  than  the  "  Yale,"  and,  as  put  on  the  market, 


Fig.  338. 


The    Harvard    Lock. 
Corbin. 


P.    &    F. 


Fig.  339.     Th«  Foster  Lock.     A.  G.  Newman. 

shows  the  greatest  of  care  in  workmanship  and  finish.  The 
cross-section  of  the  escutcheon  shows  the  internal  construction. 
The  outer  shell,  A,  is  fixed  to  the  lock-case.  The  plug,  £,  is 
hollow,  and  fitted  with  ten  slides"  C,  which  work  through  cuts 
in  the  side  of  the  plug  and  catch  in  slots,  E,  E,  cut  in  the 
shell,  so  that  the  plug  cannot  rotate  until  the  slides  are  with- 
drawn. Half  of  the  slides  protrude  from  the  plug  towards  the 
right  and  half  towards  the  left;  each  slide  being  fitted  with  a 


small  brass  spring,  D.  The  key  is  cut  with  an  irregular  cleft, 
and  the  slides  are  cut  out,  with  a  cross-piece  near  the  centre. 
The  cross-pieces,  and  the  sinuosities  of  the  cleft  in  the  key  are 
so  mutally  spaced  that  when  the  key  is  inserted  all  of  the  slides 
are  drawn  in  and  the  ends  no  longer  protrude  but  are  flush 
with  the  surface  of  the  plug,  which  is  then  free  to  rotate.  It 
is  believed  that  this  lock  is  unique  of  its  kind,  and,  though  in 
outward  appearance  much  like  a  Yale  lock,  it  is  decidedly 
original  in  every  other  respect. 

A  form  of  cylinder-lock  has  recently  been  put  on  the  market 
by  the  Hopkins  &  Dickinson  Manufacturing  Company,  which 
partakes  somewhat  of  the  nature  of  the  old  "  Bramah  "  lock, 
previously  described.  Figure  340  illustrates  the  external  ap- 
pearance as  well  as  the  internal  construction  of  the  escutcheon 
or  cylinder,  whose  functions  are  the  same  as  in  the  Yale 
lock.  The  shell,  A,  is  secured  to 
the  lock-case  so  as  to  be  immov- 
able. The  plug,  J3,  rotates  inside 
of  this,  being  held  in  place  by 
screws,  C,  turned  through  the  outer 
shell.  Inside  of  the  plug  are  five 
slides,  D,  working  in  a  closely 
fitted  groove,  with  a  separate  spring 
to  each  slide.  The  springs  are  on 
opposite  sides,  in  separate  slots,  so 
that  there  is  no  chance  for  the  slides 
to  rock.  The  key  is  flat,  with  five 
notches  on  the  end  corresponding 
to  the  five  slides.  It  is  inserted 
through  a  straight  slot  in  a  capping- 
piece,  E,  and  bears  against  the  bot- 
tom of  slots  in  the  centre  of  the 
slides.  At  the  back  of  the  plug  is  a 


HOWZO/ITAL  secrion 


REAR. 


VERTICAL 


Fig.  340.     Cylinder  Lock.     Hopkins  &  Dickinson  Mfg.  Co. 

lat  piece  of  metal,  known  as  a  fence,  F,  working  up  and  down 
n  grooves,  with  a  hole  through  the  centre  sufficiently  large  to 
allow  the  ends  of  the  slides  to  protrude  by  it.  The  top  of  each 
slide  has  one  notch  in  it  the  same  width  as  the  thickness  of  the 
'ence,  at  varying  distances  from  the  key-hole,  besides  one  or 
more  false  notches  of  lesser  depth.  The  plug  is  extended  with 
an  arm,  G,  by  which  the  lock-bolt  is  operated. 

The  mechanism  operates  as  follows:  The  fence  is  in  the 
)lane  of  an  eccentric  groove  or  ward  cut  on  the  back  of  the 
hell,  as  shown  by  the  figure.  This  eccentric  groove  is  so 
ocated  with  reference  to  the  centre  of  rotation  of  the  cylinder 
hat  when  the  plug  is  turned,  the  longer  arm  of  the  fence  is 
orced  to  one  side,  the  amount  of  eccentricity  being  sufficient 
o  firmly  wedge  and  hold  the  plug,  in  case  the  fence  should  not 
>e  free  to  move  laterally.  When  the  key  is  inserted,  a 
houlder  on  it  first  presses  back  a  pin,  H,  which  works  in  a  slot 
o  as  to  hold  the  plug  and  the  shell  together  and  prevent 
ccidental  rotation.  The  cuts  on  the  end  of  the  key  then  force 
ack  the  slides  in  such  ratio  that  all  the  deep  notches  are 


APRIL  20,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


185 


brought  exactly  on  a  line  with  the  plane  of  the  fence.  The 
key  is  then  turned,  rotating  the  plug,  bringing  the  fence  to 
bear  against  the  walls  of  the  eccentric  groove,  and  forcing  it 
down  into  the  notches  of  the  slides,  these  notches  being  of 
sufficient  depth  to  allow  the  fence  to  entirely  follow  in  the 
eccentric  groove.  The  arm,  G,  can  thus  operate  on  the  lock- 
ing-lever. 

The  shallow  notches  on  the  slides  are  intended  as  a  safe- 
guard against  picking.  By  turning  the  plug  with  a  knife  blade, 
the  fence  can  be  brought  to  bear  against  the  slides.  Slight  in- 
equalities in  the  width  of  the  slides  cannot  be  avoided,  and  the 
widest  slide  will  bind  most  firmly  against  the  fence,  so  that  by 
depressing  the  slides  successively  with  a  fine  pick  one  might  in 
time  be  able  to  catch  all  the  notches  over  the  fence,  and  so 
undo  the  lock,  were  it  not  for  the  false  notches  which  are 
so  confusing  that  it  is  extremely  difficult,  and  for  most  persons, 
impossiWe  to  pick  the  lock. 

Many  improvements  have  been  made  in  the  mechanism  of 

this  lock  during  the  past 
six  months,  and  the  most 
thorough  study  and  care 
has  been  given  to  per- 
fect it  in  every  way. 
The  first  samples  put  on 
the  market  were  defi- 
cient in  many  respects, 
but  the  lock  as  now 
offered  to  the  trade  is 
about  as  perfect  in 
every  way  as  anything 
of  the  kind  which  has 
thus  far  come  before  the 
public.  It  has  excelled 
everything  except  the 
Yale  locks,  and  in- 
deed there  is  little  that 
can  be  said  of  the  "  Yale  " 
which  does  not  apply 
with  equal  force  to  the 
Hopkins  &  Dickinson 
cylinder-lock.  It  is  well- 
made,  compact,  not  liable 
to  get  out  of  order, 
easily  repaired  and  prac- 
tically burglar-proof. 

Figure  341  illustrates 
an  adaptation  of  this 
escutcheon  to  a  front- 
door lock.  The  works  are 
ingeniously  arranged  so 
that  the  key  will  operate  both  the  dead-bolt  and  the  latch,  while 
at  the  same  time  the  dead-bolt  can  be  shot  back  by  a  turn-button 
and  spindle  from  the  inside  of  the  door.  The  illustration  is  too 
clear  to  require  any  detailed  description.  This  kind  of 
escutcheon  or  cylinder  can,  of  course,  be  applied  to  any  form 
of  lock,  though  thus  far  it  has  been  used  by  the  manufacturers 
only  in  connection  with  front-door  and  office-door  locks. 

The  patents  to  a  very  interesting  cylinder-lock  are  controlled 
by   the    Yale    &    Towne    Manufacturing    Company.        The 


Fie.  341. 


Cylinder  Front-Door  Lock.     Hopkins 
&  Dickinson  Mfg.  Co. 


Kev 

'  Covuse  OP-  PE~oTo/i  ; 
Fig.  342.     The  Winn  Cylinder  Lock.     Yale  &  Towne  Mfg.  Co. 

"  Winn  "  lock.  Figure  342,  is  so  peculiar  in  its  workings  that 
even  after  taking  it  apart  it  is  hard, to  follow  the  movements  it 


makes  in  unlocking.  The  outer  cylinder  is  secured  to  the  lock- 
case  and  to  the  door,  so  as  to  be  immovable.  Inside  of  it 
rotates  the  plug,  a  section  of  which  is  cut  away  to  allow  for  a 
slide-holder,  A,  which  is  free  to  move  in  and  out.  Inserted  in 
the  face  of  the  holder  is  a  pin,  B,  projecting  sufficiently  to 
catch  in  a  groove  which  is  cut  out  from  the  inner  surface  of  the 
outer  cylinder-barrel,  the  groove  following  a  waved  line,  so 
that  when  the  plug  is  rotated,  the  slide-holder  is  first  drawn 
away  from  the  key-hole,  then  back,  then  away  again.  The 
slides  are  flat  pieces  of  steel,  one-twelfth  inch  wide  at  the  ends 
nearest  the  key-hole  and  one-sixth  inch  at  the  other,  and  are 
each  notched  on  one  edge,  at  varying  distances  from  the  end. 
There  is  also  a  sliding-post  which  passes  through  the  plug  be- 
hind the  slides,  which  is  a  little  longer  than  the  diameter  of  the 
plug,  so  that  one  end  of  the  post  must  project  through  a  short 
slot  in  the  outer  cylinder-barrel.  The  key,  when  inserted  in 
the  plug,  sets  the  slides  by  means  of  the  nicks  on  the  end, 
bringing  the  slots  exactly  on  a  line.  The  plug  being  then 
rotated,  the  peg,  G,  carries  the  slides  and  the  slide-holder  away 
from  contact  with  the  key,  the  notches  remaining  set  on  a  line. 
After  performing  a  quarter  revolution  with  the  plug,  the  project- 
ing end  of  the  sliding-post  encounters  an  obstacle  tending  to  force 
it  out  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  plug,  and  the  notches  on  the 
slides  being  on  a  line,  a  fence  on  the  sliding-post  slips  into 
the  notches,  and  the  plug  can  continue  to  rotate.  Before  a 
complete  revolution  is  effected,  the  slides  encounter  a  fixed 
obstacle  which  forces  them  back  to  their  original  position,  the 
alignment  of  the  notches  being  destroyed.  The  connection  be 
tween  the  plug  and  the  bolt  of  the  lock  is  the  same  as  in  all  the 
cylinder-locks. 

A  little  reflection  will  convince  one  how  futile  would  be  any 
attempts  at  picking  this  lock.  The  key  simply  sets  the  slides 
and  acts  as  a  lever  to  rotate  the  plug.  The  slides  are  all 
pointed  on  the  ends  towards  the  key,  and  a  very  slight  ex- 
perience is  sufficient  to  show  that  the  lock  cannot  be  picked  at 
all.  Indeed,  this  is  the  worst  thing  about  it  from  a  commercial 
point  of  view,  as  few  people  care  to  have  a  door-lock  so  im- 
pregnable that  the  door  has  to  be  broken  in  every  time  the  key 
is  lost. 

There  are  several  other  styles  of  cylinder-locks,  in  which  the 
key  operates  on  levers  instead  of  pins  ;  also  several  varieties 
which  have  much  the  same  appearance  as  the  Yale  locks. 
None  of  these,  however,  present  any  striking  peculiarities,  and 
being  used  more  for  cabinet  work  than  for  doors,  they  hardly 
came  within  the  scope  of  this  discussion. 

[To  be  continued.! 


THE   SEPULCHRE  OF  AMENEMHAT  III. 

BOUT  a  month  ago  was  re- 
printed  in   these   columns 
from  the  London   Times  an 
account   of   the   opening   of    the 
Hawara  Pyramid  in  the   Fayum 
by    Mr.   Petrie,   the    well-known 
explorer.     News  now  comes  from 
the  same  source  that  Mr.  Petrie 
has  succeeded  not  only  in  cutting 
an    entrance   into  the  sepulchral 
chamber  of  Amenemhat  III,  but 
in  searching  every  accessible  part 
of   the   structure.     He   has   thus 
turned   every   fallen    block,   and 
cleaned  away  the  sand  and  mud 
\accumulated   during    many    cen- 
turies.    The   lost  secrets   of   the 
monument    have,   in    fact,    been 
brought  to  light. 

In  the  sepulchral  chamber  had 
been  found  two  empty  sarcophagi. 
The  smaller  of  these  Mr.  Petrie 
at  first  conjectured  to  have  been 
made  for  the  King's  son  and  suc- 
cessor, Amenemhat  IV,  or  pos- 
sibly for  the  King's  daughter, 
Sebaknefru,  who  succeeded  her 
brother,  Amenemhat  IV,  and 
But  it  now  proves,  says  the  writer  in 
made  for  another  daughter, 


IM 


•CEKnAttY 


ended  the  twelfth  dynasty, 
the   London    Times,  to   have   been 

Princess  Ptahnefru,  who  probably  died  about  the  same  time  as  her 
father,  or,  at  all  events,  previous  to  the  closing  of  his  pyramid. 
This  Princess  is  new  to  history  ;  her  name,  Ptahnefru,  or  "  the  per- 
fections of  Ptah,"  being  composed  on  the  same  lines  as  that  of  her 
surviving  sister,  Sebaknefru,  or  "  the  perfections  of  Sebak."  A  large 
alabaster  vessel,  eighteen  inches  in  length,  curiously  carved  in  the  shape 
of  half  a  trussed  duck,  and  engraved  with  a  hieroglyphic  inscription 


186 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.      [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  695. 


signifying  "  the  royal  daughter,  Ptahnefru,"  was  found  in  one  of  the 
passages  a  day  or  two  after  the  opening  of  the  pyramid,  and  with  it 
three  similar  vessels,  smaller  and  quite  plain. 

Two  days  later,  as  the  work  of  clearance  went  on,  a  superb 
alabaster  table  of  offerings,  surrounded  by  the  broken  fragments  ol 
nine  more  alabaster  duck  vases,  was  unearthed  from  beneath  the 
rubbish  in  a  kind  of  anteroom  adjoining  the  sepulchral  chamber. 
This  beautiful  work  of  ancient  art  is  described  by  Mr.  Petrie  as  "  a 
rectangular  block  measuring  26£  inches  in  length,  by  1 7  in  breadth 
and  9  in  thickness."  It  is  bordered  all  round  by  a  funerary  invoca- 
tion of  the  ordinary  type,  praying  for  oblations  of  food  and  drink 
for  the  "  Ka  "  of  the  royal  daughter  Ptahnefru ;  the  inclosed  surface 
being  carved  in  low  relief  with  110  representations  of  miniature 
vases,  bowls,  cups,  plates,  loaves,  cakes,  birds,  fruits,  and  the  like. 
Each  object  has  its  name  engraved  beside  or  above  it,  thus  giving  a 
list  of  between  70  and  80  varieties  of  wines,  poultry,  cakes,  etc.,  and 
placing  us  in  possession  of  the  complete  menu  of  a  royal  funerary 
feast  circa  B.  c.  2800.  Oddly  enough,  the  ducks,  geese,  and  other 
birds  shown  in  this  interesting  list  are  represented  without  legs, 
probably  for  economy  of  space.  Mr.  Petrie  says  : 

"  There  is  a  flake  off  one  corner  of  the  block,  but  it  is  otherwise 
as  perfect  as  the  day  when  it  was  first  engraved.  It  is  a  lovely 
monument,  new  in  its  details,  and  new  as  to  the  Princess  whom  it 
commemorates.  It  also  shows  that  Ptahnefru  must  have  been  the 
daughter  of  Amenemhat  III,  and  sister  of  Sebaknefru.  We  had  a 
hard  job  to  get  it  out  of  the  pyramid,  as  it  weighed  400  pounds,  and 
had  to  be  hauled  up  all  sorts  of  slopes  and  holes,  and  twisted  round 
all  sorts  of  corners.  Being  alabaster,  not  a  rub  or  a  knock  could  be 
allowed  upon  it." 

The  mummies  of  the  great  Pharaoh  and  his  daughter  were 
burned  to  ashes  by  the  original  spoilers  of  the  pyramid,  who  shall 
say  how  many  centuries  ago  ?  Mr.  Petrie  carefully  cleared  out  the 
two  sarcophagi  with  his  own  hands  (both  being  under  water),  and 
found  at  the  bottom  of  each  nothing  but  a  deposit  of  charcoal  mixed 
with  grains  of  quartz  and  a  quantity  of  scales  of  mica.  The  char- 
coal showed  that  the  wooden  mummy  cases  and  their  occupants  had 
been  burned,  but  the  quartz  grains  and  mica  scales  puzzled  him 
sorely.  The  discovery  of  a  fine  lapis-lazuli  inlay,  carved  in  the  form 
of  a  false  beard  of  the  kind  represented  on  the  chins  of  gods  and 
Pharaohs,  explained  the  mystery  a  day  or  two  later.  It  showed  that 
the  destroyed  mummy  cases  had  been  decorated  with  mosaic  orna- 
mentation in  fine  stones,  which,  when  calcined,  would  have  produced 
precisely  the  residuum  found  in  the  charcoal. 

The  scattered  fragments  of  some  six  or  eight  alabaster  bowls  and 
vases  were  also  recovered  from  the  rubbish  on  the  flooded  floor  of 
the  sepulchral  chamber.  These  represent  the  funerary  vessels  of 
the  great  Pharaoh  himself,  whose  throne-name  was  found  on  a  frag- 
ment fished  out  of  the  water  when  the  chamber  was  first  opened. 
The  newly-discovered  pieces  are  mostly  inscribed,  and,  as  they  are 
apparently  mendable,  their  legends  may  once  more  be  read,  and  will 
possibly  be  of  historical  interest.  These  fragments,  together  with 
an  extraordinary  number  of  broken  amphora  of  Roman  date,  com- 
plete the  brief  list  of  objects  discovered  inside  this  pyramid,  which 
it  has  cost  the  explorer  so  much  time  and  labor  to  open. 

The  sepulchral  chamber  of  Amenemhat  III  proves  to  have  had  no 
door  and  no  entrance.  The  largest  sarcophagus  must  have  been 
placed  in  position  and  the  smaller  one  constructed  before  the  whole 
of  the  roofing-slabs  were  laid  on,  the  exit  having  been  closed  when 
the  funerary  rites  were  ended  by  dropping  the  last  slab  into  its 
place.  As  these  slabs  weigh  from  forty  to  fifty  tons  each,  the 
security  of  the  dead  might  well  be  deemed  eternal.  The  presence 
of  the  Roman  amphora?  shows,  however,  that  the  passage  from  the 
labyrinth  was  open  in  the  time  of  the  C;csars  ;  and  it  is  possible  that 
the  pyramid  may  have  remained  inviolate  up  to  that  period. 

How  many  centuries  have  elapsed  between  the  raid  of  the  last 
plunderer  and  the  systematic  siege  carried  on  by  Mr.  Petrie  is 
beyond  the  reach  of  conjecture ;  but  it  may  safely  be  predicted  that 
the  last  resting-place  of  the  Labyrinth  Pharaoh  "is  not  likely  to  be 
invaded  by  many  future  travellers.  Its  last  treasures  being  re- 
moved, the  spoiler  will  not  longer  be  tempted.  Its  problem  being 
solved,  it  offers  no  enterprise  to  the  man  of  science.  Neither  will  it 
long  remain  accessible  to  the  mere  tourist.  The  passage  from  the 
labyrinth  will  soon  be  choked  again,  and  its  place  will  be  forgotten ; 
and  Mr.  Petrie's  tunnel,  which  was  never  very  safe,  and  is  now  very 
dangerous,  will  shortly  cave  in,  if  it  has  not  done  so  already. 

In  the  meanwhile,  Mr.  Petrie,  whose  appetite  for  pyramids  seems 
to  grow  by  what  it  feeds  upon,  has  removed  to  Illahun,  there  to 
attack  another  of  these  stupendous  royal  sepulchres,  which,  accord- 
ing to  old  tradition  and  modern  report,  has  never  yet  been  opened. 


"SPANISH  CEDAR."  —  A  tall  man  walking  down  Chestnut  Street, 
laughingly  responded  to  the  inquiry  of  a  friend  as  to  what  he  was  doing : 
"  Sawing  Spanish  cedar  boards  in  West  Virginia  for  cigar-box  makers." 
To  the  remark  that  no  Spanish  cedar  grew  in  West  Virginia  he  re- 
plied :  "And  not  enough  anywhere  else  for  the  demand.  We  saw  up 
poplar  logs  into  thin  boards,  and  the  cigar  makers  dye  them  brown 
with  cedar  extract  that  gives  the  boxes  proper  color  and  odor."  The 
logs  are  sawn  with  ribbon-saws  that  make  little  sawdust  to  waste. 
Nearly  all  boxes  used  by  American  cigar-makers  are  made  from  this 
wood.  —  Philadelphia  Inquirer. 


[Contributors  are  requested  to  send  with  their  drawings  full  and 
adequate  descriptions  of  the  buildings,  including  a  statement  of  cost.] 

NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  RAILROAD  EMPLOYES'  READING-ROOM, 
MADISON  AVE.,  NEW  YORK,  N.  Y.  MR.  R.  H.  ROBERTSON,  AR- 
CHITECT, NEW  YORK,  N.  Y. 

[Helio-chrome,  issued  only  with  the  Imperial  Edition.] 

GOTHIC  SPIRES  AND  TOWtRS,  PLATES  42  AND  43.  —  ST.  MARY'S, 
ILMINSTER;  ST.  AUGUSTINE'S,  HEDON;  ST.  MARY'S,  MALVERN; 
ALL  SAINTS',  OAKHAM  ;  ss.  MARY  AND  NICHOLAS,  SPALDING; 
ST.  MARY'S,  SAINESHEAD. 

[Issued  only  with  the  Imperial  Kdition.l 

THE     AGE     OF     FRANCIS     I,     PLATE     5.  —  CHAMBER    OF     MARIE    DE* 

MEDICI,    BLOIS. 
[Issued  only  with  the  Imperial  Edition.! 

COMPETITIVE      DESIGN      FOK      CHRIST     CHURCH,    NEW   YORK,    N.    Y. 
MR.    R.    H.    ROBERTSON,    ARCHITECT,   NEW   YORK,    N.    Y. 

GARDEN   GATE    FOR    CURWEN    STODDART,  ESQ.      MR.  FHANK    MILES 
DAY,    ARCHITECT,    PHILADELPHIA,    PA. 

MISSION       CHAPEL      FOR      EMMANUEL       CHURCH,     BOSTON,      MASS. 
MESSRS.    ROTCH    &    TILDEN,     ARCHITECTS,   BOSTON,    MASS. 

A      COUNTRY      HOUSE.        MR.    C.    W.    STOUGHTON,    ARCHITECT,   NEW 
YORK,    N.    Y. 

HOUSE  FOR  MR.  BAKER,  DEVON,  PA.    MR.  G.  T.  PEARSON,  ARCHI- 
TECT, PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 

GAT'E-LODGE  FOR  G.  A.  NICKERSON,  ESQ.,  DEDHAM,  MASS.  MESSRS. 
LONGFELLOW,  ALDEN  &  HAIiLOW,  ARCHITECTS,  BOSTON,  MASS. 


BALTIMORE  AS  A  BUILDING-CENTRE. — 
PROPOSED  ALTERATIONS  IN  THE  COURT 
BUILDING.—  HOW  CITY  OFFICIALS  DISREGARD 
PRIVATE  RIGHTS. 

WE  may  not  inappropriately  deal  rather  more 
with  mere  matters  of  statistics,  as  gleaned 
from  the  usual  official  department  sum- 
maries and  journalistic  comments  —  in  the  first  regular  letter  of  the 
year  from  Baltimore,  than  it  would  perhaps  be  found  interesting  to 
do  later  on  or  frequently.  Nothing  can  prove  more  conclusively 
:iow  easy  it  is  to  compass  the  ruin  of  the  most  enviable  reputation, 
hitherto  held  quite  above  suspicion,  or  upon  how  frail  a  foundation 
;he  character  for  veracity  may  be  established,  for  it  becomes  only  a 
self-evident  proposition  that  "  figures  will  lie " ;  and  when  such 
statistics  touch  upon  matters  of  comparative  population,  bases  of 
taxation,  building  permits,  areas  and  increase  of  values,  we  doubt  if 
2ven  our  venerated  great  national  parent  himself  would  prove 
mmaculate,  or  if  the  blind  goddess  would  not  put  a  false  weight  into 
ler  scales  with  the  bandages  torn  from  her  eyes. 

For  example,  there  has  been  a  great  deal  of  local  newspaper  ex- 
altation, during  the  last  month  or  two,  in  articles  headed  "  In  the 
Front  Rank,"  etc.,  over  the  fact  that  figures  show  Baltimore  as 
standing  fifth  "  in  the  number  of  dwellings  among  the  cities  of  Ms 
country,"  and  that  since  1880  she  has  stood,  side  by  side  with  St. 
Louis,  first  in  the  list  "  in  rate  of  increase  in  dwellings  "  ahead  of 
STew  York,  of  Philadelphia,  of  Boston,  of  Chicago,  etc.  But  one  has 
no  sooner  received  the  impression  naturally  given  by  such  statements 
as  those  we  have  italicized,  when  one  meets  with  another  tabulated 
set  of  facts  which,  in  a  list  of  twenty-six,  places  Baltimore  about 
sixth  in  rank  in  "  the  number  and  cost  of  new  buildings,"  and 
urther  states,  "  It  will  be  observed  that  as  to  the  number  of  opera- 
ions,  Philadelphia  leads  every  city  given  by  a  very  large  majority." 
Tt  is  perhaps  needless  to  state  the  locality  whence  this  bit  of  news 


o.  695. 


IHGHITEGT  *ND  BUILDING  l^ws,  ,flpH.20  lof><) 


1889  BYTJCKSOR 


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Ho.  695.       UMEI^IGSTN  HI^GHITEGT  «ND  BUILDING  HEWS,  HPH..20  1359 


COFffilGHT  18  89  BY  TICXNOR  1C" 


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COPYRIGHT  186 


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HGHITEGT  ^ND  BUILDING  J|EWS, 


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COmtSHT  18B3BYTICKNORJ.C 


lUGHITEGT  HND  BIDING  I>EWS,  flPIiZO  1559  ]?().  693 


APRIL  20,  1889.] 


The  American  Architect  and  Building  News. 


187 


was  derived,  and  from  the  same  source  come  the  following  items 
about  real  estate  in  Baltimore :  "  Sales  have  fallen  off  and  prices 
ruled  as  low  as  in  1887,  much  of  the  depression  is  attributed  to  the 
absence  of  public  spirit  and  want  of  economy  in  public  affairs, 
absence  of  manufacturing  and  the  large  abatement  of  home  capital  — 
the  number  of  new  buildings  (shows)  a  falling  off  of  over  1,000, 
compared  with  1887."  The  force  of  these  remarks  is  somewhat 
modified  by  the  fact  that  they  proceed  from  a  town  to  which  many 
persons,  agreeing  with  our  esteemed  contemporary  Life,  have  not 
failed  to  attribute  certain  Rip- Van- Wrinkle  characteristics ;  also  by 
the  fact  that  during  the  month  in  which  they  appeared,  the  grain 
exports  of  Baltimore  are  said  to  have  exceeded  those  of  New  York 
and  Philadelphia  combined,  a  state  of  affairs  so  alarming,  that  an 
investigating  committee  was  at  once  sent  to  see  "  what  was  the 
matter."  It  grieved  them  to  discover  that  the  facts  were  undeniable, 
and  that  nothing  whatever  was  the  matter. 

Certain  incongruities  in  the  results  to  be  expected  from  these  data 
may  be  explained  by  the  lack  of  any  accurate  definition  of  what  tho 
single  dwelling-house  really  means,  and  by  the  careless  interchange 
of  the  "  multa "  for  the  "  multum."  A  Baltimore  dwelling  may 
house  comfortably  only  a  half-dozen  people,  a  New  York  one  a 
hundred  or  more,  the  one  may  cost  a  thousand  dollars,  the  other 
a  hundred  thousand.  The  same  comparison  holds  good  for  other 
cities,  as  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  from  one  of  the  tables  quoted 
above,  under  the  head  of  number  of  existing  dwellings  in  1888, 
Philadelphia  is  represented  by  146,412,  and  New  York  by  only 
76,684.  Truly  digits  are  doubtful,  and  if  we  may  be  permitted  a  not 
unclassical  form  of  speech,  although  they  may  not  absolutely  lie 
about  the  truths  they  can  get  out  of  statistics,  they  rarely  tell  the 
whole  truth  about  all  that  lies  in  them.  Baltimore  certainly  con- 
tinues to  hold  her  own  in  her  hackneyed  reputation  as  the  "  city  of 
homes,"  and  in  the  increase  of  the  small  individual  dwelling-house, 
tending,  among  those  showing  the  hand  of  an  architect,  to  grow  even 
smaller  than  formerly ;  we  have  not,  however,  seen  any  of  really 
satisfactory  interior  design,  or  indeed  without  decidedly  objectiona- 
ble features  in  the  planning,  where  the  width  of  the  lot  was  less  than 
sixteen  or  eighteen  feet.  As  to  the  facades,  on  the  other  hand,  here 
and  there  some  intelligent  and  simple  designs  stand  out  conspicuously 
amid  the  vast  amount  of  the  ordinary  builder's  foolish  conglomera- 
tions. Notably  a  group  of  quiet  white  marble  fronts  on  Townsend 
Street  near  Charles,  and  from  the  same  office  there  is  a  good  bit  of 
simple  design,  of  brownstone  and  brick,  in  a  single  house  on  St. 
Paul  Street,  near  the  bridge,  —  barring  the  galvanized-iron  frieze  and 
cornice  with  details  probably  designed  originally  for  stone. 

Two  items  of  City-hall  news  have  lately  excited  more  or  less 
public  interest  and  comment  and  give  a  certain  insight  into  methods 
of  municipal  government.  The  block  of  ground  in  the  very  heart  of 
the  city,  bounded  by  Calvert,  Fayette,  St.  Paul  and  Lexington 
Streets  has  for  many  years  been  occupied  over  a  large  part  of  its 


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area  by  various  court  buildings,  the  most  important  of  which  are  the 
old  Court-house  proper  in  brick,  and  of  colonial  design,  and  the  very 
severe  and  massive  looking  granite  Record  Office,  now  old  and  in 
many  respects  inadequate  to  be  sure,  but,  standing  isolated  within 
the  same  inclosure  upon  abruptly  rising  ground  separated  from  each 
other  by  a  wide  open  space,  they  are  not  without  some  claim  to 
architectural  merit,  nor  devoid,  as  a  group,  of  a  certain  monumental 
effect  and  solidity,  and  the  interest  of  local  historic  association. 
For  any  future  improvement  of  this  tract  on  an  extensive  scale  a 
most  excellent  treatment  is  strongly  suggested  by  the  surroundings, 
rising  westward  as  it  does  from  Battle  Monument  Square  to  the  east 
of  which  about  the  same  area  is  almost  entirely  covered  by  the  Citv- 
hall  and  the  new  Post-office,  so  that  there  is  possible  a  very  large 
and  effective  architectural  scheme  (in  s-pite  of  details  in  the  new 
buildings)  extending  over  four  blocks,  east  and  west  with  the 
monument  itself  as  a  centre.  If  the  plan  to  be  adopted  for 
the  future  improvement  should  be  only  additions  and  alterations  to 
the  old  buildings,  no  less  careful  consideration  and  treatment  would 
be  required  to  obtain  a  harmonious  and  successful  result. 

For  some  years  past  various  indefinite  suggestions  have  been 
occasionally  mentioned  for  this  improvement,  but  the  public  were  not 
aware  of  any  actual  steps  being  taken  in  the  matter  until  a  few  weeks 
ago,  when  the  following  piece  of  news  appeared  in  some  of  the  daily 


papers,  accompanied  by  a  ghastly-looking  sketch  of  the  proposed 
building. 

"  Building  Inspector  J.  Theodore  Oster  has  completed  designs  for 
the  new  Court-house  addition,  for  which  $150,000  of  the  $5,000,000 
loan  is  set  aside,  and  will  submit  them  to  the  City  Council  and  the 
Supreme  Bench  this  week,  Mr.  Oster  has  designed  an  ornate  and 
commodious  structure  with  all  modern  conveniences,  and,  it  is 
claimed,  with  sufficient  room  to  accommodate  all  the  judicial 
machinery  of  Baltimore  for  half  a  century  to  come :  a  little 
architectural  ornamentation  will  give  the  metamorphosed  and  re- 
created structure  a  handsome  appearance.  The  designs  completed 
by  Mr.  Oster  have  been  much  admired  and  will  probably  be  adopted 
with  little  change."  We  will  add  to  this  the  fact  that,  without 
questioning  in  any  way  Mr.  Oster's  ability  as  a  building  inspector, 
he  has  never  been  known  in  the  community  as  an  architect. 

As  soon  as  the  matter  became  generally  known  and  a  subject  of 
public  comment,  one  of  the  more  progressive  and  liberal-minded 
members  of  the  City  Council  at  once  offered  a  resolution  in  that 
body  to  the  effect  —  that  a  transaction  of  such  importance  to  a  city 
should  be  carried  out  only  with  the  most  careful  consideration  for 
the  best  practical  results  and  architectural  effects :  that  an  unpaid 
commission  of  five  citizens  (naming  them),  well-known  for  their  in- 
telligence and  public  spirit,  should  be  appointed  to  carefully  consider 
the  whole  matter  and  be  empowered  to  obtain  preliminary  sketches 
from  architects,  with  a  certain  sum  —  ludicrously  small  —  appro- 
priated for  that  purpose.  This  resolution  was  simply  "  referred  to 
the  committee  on  ways  and  means."  A  numerously  signed  paper 
from  conspicuous  citizens,  including  nearly  every  architect  in  town, 
was  also  presented  to  the  City  Council,  covering  about  the  same 
ground,  and  protestating  against  summary  proceedings  in  such  an 
important  matter.  The  mayor  himself  is  said  to  have  stated  that 
what  is  proposed  at  the  $150,000  would  be  at  best  a  temporary  and 
patched-up  building,  only  partially  fireproof,  which  could  be  erected 
in  about  a  year,  while  the  greater  scheme  for  entirely  new  buildings 
would  cost  $2,500,000,  and  would  require  an  enabling  act  from  the 
legislature  and  several  years  for  its  completion.  Having  reached 
this  stage  the  matter  quietly  went  to  sleep,  or  into  secret  session, 
and  nothing  has  been  heard  of  it  for  several  weeks. 

Another  very  recent  transaction  is  also  something  of  an  illustration 
of  methods  of  City  Government.  Upon  one  of  the  principal  up-town 
avenues,  a  main  thoroughfare,  and  one  of  the  widest  streets  of  the 
city,  the  property  owners  extending  along  two  blocks  had  given  an 
additional  fifty  feet  of  their  lots  to  the  width  of  the  street,  had  had 
the  central  space  curbed  and  plotted  in  parkings,  and  presented  the 
whole  to  the  city.  This  has  became  one  of  the  most  desirable  and  at- 
tractive locations  for  residences,  and  is  being  rapidly  built  up  as  such. 
A  public  livery  stable  firm  desired  to  establish  itself  on  one  of  the 
lots  opposite  this  parking.  An  option,  up  to  a  certain  date,  was  ob- 
tained on  the  property  from  the  owner,  and  the  required  legal  notice 
published  in  one  of  the  least  important  of  the  daily  papers.  This 
being  finally  discovered,  a  general  protest  immediately  arose,  a  hear- 
ing was  given  before  the  special  committee  to  whom  the  matter  was 
referred,  when  every  property  owner  represented  most  emphatic- 
ally and  unanimously,  with  strong  reasons  opposed  the  permit,  with 
one  exception,  and  that  was  the  man  who  was  selling  the  property. 
A  protest,  signed  by  a  large  majority  of  property-holders  in  the 
immediate  neighborhood  was  also  sent  to  the  City  Council  itself.  In 
the  face  of  this  very  general  opposition,  based  upon  the  most  self- 
evident  grounds,  the  permit  for  the  erection  of  the  building  was 
given,  and  the  work  upon  it  is  now  in  progress,  but  the  special  in- 
fluences, both  direct  and  indirect,  brought  to  bear  upon  those 
in  authority  in  order  to  obtain  the  desired  end,  were  not  unknown,  it 
is  said,  to  those  interested  in  the  matter,  and  their  own  line  of  justi- 
fiable opposition  was  quite  powerless  against  them. 


THE  LAST  ACT  OF  THE  METROPOLITAN 
BOARD  OF  WORKS.  —  THE  EXAMINATIONS. 
—  THE  ATTACK  ON  ST.  MARY-LE- 
STRAND.  —  WALL-PAPERS.  —  CONCRETE- 
FILLED  WALLS.  —  LORD  GRIMTHORPE  AND 
ST.  ALBAN'S  ABBEY.  —  PETERBOROUGH 
CATHEDRAL. — FAMILY  PEWS. 

NE  would  have  thought  that  the  recent 
troubles  of   the   Metropolitan   Board  of 
Works  would  have  been  a  strong  incen- 
tive to  them  to  pass  the  last  few  days  of  their 


chequered  life  in  some  sort  of  sober  respectability,  but  it  has  been  de- 
creed otherwise.  Bearing  in  mind  the  fact  that  it  must  dissolve  and  give 
place  to  the  new  London  County  Council  on  April  1,  yet,  on  March  15, 
almost  within  a  fortnight  of  its  dissolution,  in  the  face  of  the  strongly 
expressed  opinions  of  the  President  of  the  Local  Government  Board 
and  the  Chairman  of  the  London  County  Council,  it  actually  entered 


188 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.       [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  695. 


into  a  contract  for  a  tunnel  under  the  Thames  at  Blackwall,  costing 
some  hundreds  of  thousands  of  pounds,  and  some  fifty  thousand 
pounds  in  excess  of  the  official  estimate.  This  reckless  appropria- 
tion of  public  money,  by  a  body  whose  life  could  be  counted  by  days, 
was  really  scandalous  and  very  exasperating  to  the  public.  Fortur 
nately,  the  new  Local  Government  Bill  gives  power  to  the  Govern- 
ment to  advance  at  its  discretion  the  date  at  which  the  County 
Council  comes  into  existence,  and  Mr.  Ritchie,  the  President  of  the 
Local  Government  Board,  has  intimated  that  this  extreme  step  will 
be  taken,  and  the  Board  of  Works  summarily  put  out  of  existence 
before  they  can  hold  another  meeting  to  finally  seal  the  contract. 
If  this  be  done1,  it  will  be  a  fitting  end  to  a  misspent  life.  The  noble 
Chairman  of  the  Board  has  been  assuming  a  degree  of  hauteur  and 
officialism,  which  would  be  mightily  amusing  were  it  not  so  very 
absurd  considering  the  position  in  which  the  Board  is  placed. 

There  has  been  a  good  deal  of  discussion  here  lately  upon  the 
question  of  erecting  a  new  monumental  chapel  as  a  sort  of  Campo 
Santo  at  Westminster  Abbey.  As  you  know,  the  hallowed  acre 
where  our  most  illustrious  dead  rest  from  their  labors,  has,  un- 
fortunately, become  full,  and  there  is  hardly  a  space  remaining  for 
fresh  interments.  A  former  First  Commissioner  of  Works,  Mr. 
Shaw-Lefevre,  is  one  of  the  prime  movers  in  the  matter,  and  he 
published  recently  in  the  Nineteenth  Century  his  ideas  upon  the 
question.  This  has  provoked  a  storm  of  opposition,  and  various  other 
schemes  and  projects  have  since  been  started.  Public  feeling  is, 
however,  very  much  against  any  interference  with  the  Abbey,  and,  I 
think  it  very  improbable  that  the  idea  will  bear  practical  fruit. 
The  most  reasonable  plan  at  present  is  to  employ  the  existing 
cloisters  for  burial,  for  some  time  at  least,  and  there  is  very  little 
doubt  that  this  will  be  the  solution  of  the  difficulty. 

We  are  in  the  throes  of  another  examination  for  the  Associateship 
of  the  Royal  Institute  of  British  Architects.  Between  sixty  and 
seventy  students  have  presented  themselves,  so  that  the  examination 
is  the  largest  yet  held.  The  new  scheme  of  examination  is  now 
under  discussion,  and  it  will  probably  take  a  form  similar  to  that  now 
in  vogue  in  the  other  learned  professions,  i.  e.,  preliminary,  inter- 
mediate and  final.  The  first  of  these  is  a  simple  schoolboys'  ex- 
amination, but  the  other  two  are  professional ;  indeed,  the  filial  one 
will  probably  be  very  searching  in  its  nature.  Nothing  is  yet,  how- 
ever, quite  definitely  settled. 

The  Daily  Telegraph  continues  its  attacks  on  the  Church  of  St. 
Mary-le-Strand,  and  a  movement  is  being  got  up  among  the  trades- 
people in  the  neighborhood  to  agitate  for  the  removal  of  the  edifice, 
and,  unfortunately,  Mr.  Augustus  Harris  and  Captain  Probyn,  the 
representatives  of  the  Strand  Division  on  the  County  Council,  have 
bid  for  popular  support,  and  promised  to  vote  for  the  destruction  of 
the  church.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Architectual  Association  has 
unanimously  passed  the  following  resolution,  and  ordered  it,  to  be 
sent  to  the  County  Council,  the  Strand  District  Board  of  Works  and 
the  Rector  of  the  threatened  church : 

Resolved,  That  the  Architectural  Association  views  with  great  regret  the 
agitation  for  the  demolition  of  the  Church  of  St.  Mary-le-Strand,  and 
desires  to  enter  an  earliest  and  emphatic  protest  against  any  such  demoli- 
tion, as  being  not  only  utterly  uncalled  for  by  the  requirements  of  truffle, 
but  also  a  wanton  destruction  of  one  of  the  finest  examples  of  the  work  of 
that  eminent  architect,  James  Gibbs,  forming  with  the  buildings  around  it, 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  picturesque  architectural  groups  in  London. 

The  Royal  Institute  of  British  Architects  has  also  taken  up  the 
question  of  the  destruction  of  the  Church  of  St.  Mary-le-Strand,  and 
I  hope  that  this  combined  action  of  the  two  great  professional  socie- 
ties in  England  may  have  some  influence  in  getting  the  County 
Council  to  think  twice  before  they  commit  such  an  act  of  vandalism 
as  is  proposed. 

An  extremely  interesting  paper  was  read  the  other  night  before 
the  Architectural  Association,  by  Mr.  A.  B.  Pite,  upon  "  Wall- 
papers," and  the  collection  of  specimens  exhibited  illustrated  in  a 
striking  manner  the  great  advance  which  popular  taste  has  made 
during  recent  years.  Perhaps  one  of  the  most  noticeable  features  of 
quite  the  latest  fashion  is  the  immense  size  of  the  pattern,  which  is 
drawn  in  bold,  flowing  curves,  and  printed  in  two  simple  tints, 
without  shading  of  any  kind.  Several  of  Mr.  Heaton's  master- 
pieces of  design  and  manipulation  were  shown,  and  some  were  very 
ingenious  and  charming  in  effect,  particularly  the  specimens  upon 
which  hand-stencilling  had  been  called  in  to  the  assistance  of  the 
manufacturer. 

A  very  successful  visit  of  the  Architectural  Association  took  place 
on  Saturday  to  the  new  Parish  Church  of  St.  Mary,  Homsey,  which 
I  may  call  one  of  Mr.  James  Brooks's  most  successful  efforts.  Tn 
the  course  of  his  explanation,  Mr.  Brooks  stated  that  he  had  built 
the  walls  of  two  casings  of  stone  and  a  filling  of  Portland  cement 
concrete,  in  the  proportions  of  seven  to  one.  He  claimed  that  by 
this  method  he  had  saved  nearly  £1,000  and  made  a  stronger  job, 
and  it  certainly  seems  to  be  a  wrinkle  worth  thinking  about. 

Public  attention  has  again  been  called  by  Lord  Lamin;rton  in  the 
House  of  Lords  to  the  state  of  public  buildings  in  London"  but  it  has 

'  Later.  —  The  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works  is  no  more.  The  Provisional  Lon- 
don County  Council  took  the  hiut  of  the  President  of  the  Local  Government 
Board  and  made  a  formal  application  to  the  Government  to  determine  the  exist 
ence  of  the  Board  of  Works  on  Thursday,  the  21st  inst..  to  prevent  them  sealing 
the  contract  for  the  Blackwall  Tunnel  at  their  weekly  Board  meeting  on  the  fol- 
lowing day^  Mr.  Hitchie  duly  acceded  to  this  request,  and  issued  an  edict  to  the 


elicited  nothing  further  than  the  usual  official  rejoinder  that  the 
Government  has  no  funds  at  its  disposal.  The  homeless  condition 
of  the  National  Portrait  Gallery,  a  very  valuable  collection  of  por- 
traits, ought  to  move  to  pity  some  of  the  stony-hearted  keepers  of  the 
public  purse,  but  it  does  not;  and  unless  there  is  a  fire,  or  some 
other  extraordinary  occurrence,  this  gallery  will,  it  seems,  have  to 
do  without  a  home.  This  is  only  a  specimen  of  the  contemptuous 
manner  in  which  matters  architectural  are  treated  in  the  metropolis 
of  England. 

A  most  curious  dispute  is  proceeding  between  Lord  Grimthorpe, 
the  quondam  Sir  Edmund  Beckett,  Q.  C.,  author  of  a  "  Book  on 
Building,"  and  general  self-appointed  adviser  to  the  profession  gener- 
ally, and  Mr.  Henry  Hocks  Gibbs,  a  rich  city  financier,  as  to  who 
shall  repair  the  Lady  Chapel  at  St.  Alban's  Abbey.  The  noble  lord, 
as  you  know,  obtained  a  faculty  some  years  ago  for  restoring  the 
Abbey  generally,  and  now  wishes  to  make  out  that  no  other  person 
may  do  anything  to  the  building  except  himself.  The  sympathies  of 
the  profession  are  entirely  with  Mr.  Gibbs,  and  to  rescue  any  part 
of  the  once  noble  old  abbey  from  the  hands  of  a  wealthy  architectural 
charlatan  like  my  Lord  Grimthorpe  would  be  a  boon  indeed. 

While,  however,  these  two  amateur  restorers  are  fighting  over  St. 
Alban's  Abbey,  the  restorations  at  Peterborough  Cathedral,  which, 
you  remember,  were  obliged  to  be  done  to  save  the  building  from 
ruin,  have  come  to  a  complete  standstill  for  want  of  funds.  This  is 
a  great  pity,  for  Peterborough  is  one  of  our  chefs  d'ceuvre.  Still,  it 
is  far  better  for  the  restorations  to  be  carried  on  slowly,  in  a  reverent 
and  conservative  spirit,  than  to  be  abandoned  to  the  unhappy  fate  of 
St.  Alban's. 

An  interesting  decision  was  come  to  the  other  day  upon  the 
question  of  family  pews.  You  know  that  here  it  is  often  the  custom 
for  single  pews  to  remain  in  one  family  for  generations,  and  so  a 
sort  of  recognized  right  is,  after  a  time,  acquired  over  these  pews. 
Now  these  constructions  are  mostly  of  a  very  curious  character. 
Many  are  like  a  room,  with  curtains  all  round,  carpeted  and  fur- 
nished with  table  and  chairs,  and  what  went  on  inside  was  more 
often  prated  of  than  seen.  This  sort  of  thing,  though,  does  not  suit 
the  modern  ascetic  ecclesiastical  clergyman,  and  the  order  has  gone 
forth  to  clear  away  these  old  pews  and  substitute  natty  oak  benches, 
and  this  has  been  the  cause  of  much  strife  and  heart-burning.  At  last 
the  question  has  been  brought  before  the  higher  courts,  and  the  pew- 
owners  have  won  the  victory.  The  clergy  are  threatening  to  take 
the  matter  before  the  House  of  Lords,  our  final  Court  of  Appeal, 
and  it  will  be  interesting  to  watch  the  case  if  this  is  done. 


:  CANADA  •• 


THE  ONTARIO  PROVINCIAL  ASSOCIA- 
TION OF  ARCHITECTS.  —  THE  PRO- 
POSED ROYAL  VICTORIA  HOSPITAL  AT 
MONTREAL.  —  FORMATION  OF  OTHER 
ASSOCIATIONS.  —  THE  SHIP-RAILWAY 
TO  BE  BUILT. 

NOTHING  could  have  been  more  satis- 
factory than  the  inauguration  of  the 
Ontario  Provincial  Association  of 
Architects  last  month,  and  the  original  promoters  of  the  scheme  may 
be  very  heartily  congratulated  upon  the  ready  and  enthusiastic 
response  made  to  their  invitation  from  all  places  in  the  Province  by 
architects  anxious  to  uphold  a  movement  so  thoroughly  well  calculated 
to  benefit  not  only  the  profession,  but  the  public  also. 

An  association  of  this  kind,  as  was  pointed  out  by  the  chairman  of 
the  meeting,  has  in  no  sense  the  objects  of  a  trades-union  or  any 
similar  body.  By  the  combination  of  architects  to  uphold  the  dignity 
of  the  profession,  which  object  is  brought  about  in  various  ways  and 
upon  definite  principles,  the  public  are  protected  from  the  adventu- 
rous and  fraudulent  individuals  who  play  upon  the  credulity  of  their 
innocence,  and,  because  there  is  nothing  to  prevent  them  from  call- 
ing themselves  architects,  "  hang  out  their  shingles  "  and  gull  the 
poor  wretches  who  trust  to  their  fine  representations  of  themselves 
and  their  capabilities.  "  The  dignity  of  the  profession  "  has  become 
to  a  great  many,  unhappily,  a  by-word  and  a  joke,  and  none  are 
more  ready  to  laugh  af,  the  expression  than  those  architects  who  care 
so  little  about  their  own  reputations  for  professional  honor  that  they 
will  do  anything  to  get  hold  of  work,  no  matter  how  small  a  sum  is 
to  be  expended  upon  it.  Who  would  have  thought  it  worth  a  man's 
while  to  draw  away  a  client  from  a  brother  architect  who  was  about 
to  design  a  house  to  cost  $2,500  by  declaring  that  he  could  do  it 
much  better  if  the  client  would  come  to  him.  Yet  that  is  an  actual 
case.  But  such  dealings  as  these  the  members  of  the  Provincial 
Association  rightly  scorn.  Any  member  being  found  guilty  of  such 
practice  would  meet  with  severe  censure  from  the  whole  Association. 

Under-charging  one  another  is  deprecated  in  the  strongest  manner, 
and  perhaps  this  is  the  most  important  particular  in  professional 
ethics,  and  one  which  concerns  the  public  most.  If  the  public  want 
reliable  men  to  carr.v  out  their  work  they  must  pay  the  fair  market- 


I     .   ==•       — -?  C.    = 

<t'kf._: 


•Of)  5  HONH3IJ,  ^<l  '6881  ' 


APRIL  20,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  Neuos. 


189 


price,  and  they  must  be  taught  that  the  advice  and  work  supplied  to 
them  for  a  less  figure  than  that  authorized  by  a  regular  scale  o 
charges  is  not  to  be  relied  upon.  They  are  so  ignorant  that  the; 
only  argue  :  So-and-so  apparently  got  what  he  wanted,  and  only  paic 
1^  per  cent  for  it;  why  should  I  pay  you  five  per  cent?  They  little 
know  what  a  mere  blind  was  the  1^  per  cent,  and  how,  really,  thei 
have  paid  through  the  nose  instead.  The  following  is  a  goo< 
example  of  one  kind  of  person  architects  have  to  deal  with  some- 
times :  On  hearing  that  an  architect  would  charge  five  per  cent  for 
a  small  house,  the  client  remarked  that  he  did  not  see  why  he  shoulc 
pay  so  much,  as  he  understood  that  amount  was  the  "  highest  figure 
ever  charged,"  and  he  likened  the  case  to  that  of  certain  doctors 
with  whom  he  had  lately  something  to  do.  He  said  that  recently 

when  his  wife  had  been  confined,  he  had  called  in  Dr. ,  who  ha< 

charged  him  thirty  dollars.  "  Why,"  says  he,  "  if  I  had  only  calle< 
in  Dr.  So-and-so,  he,  for  the  same  thing,  would  only  have  charget 
ten  dollars."  Perhaps  it  is  needless  to  say  the  architect  told  him  he 
had  better  take  his  "  job  "  to  a  one-and-a-quarter-per-center  without 
further  delay. 

One  of  the  objects  of  the  Association  is  to  obtain  incorporation 
and  legislation  will  be  sought  early  with  that  object  in  view. 

The  meeting  which  was  held  in  the  Queen's  Hotel,  Toronto 
numbered  some  seventy  men.  The  Architectural  Guild  of  Toronto 
the  original  promoters  of  the  scheme,  and  the  representatives  of  the 
profession  in  that  city  were  there  in  force.  Deputations  came  from 
Ottawa,  Peterborough,  Kingston,  Hamilton,  London,  and  other  places 
all  of  whom,  having  received  copies  of  the  draft  Constitution  ant 
By-Laws,  came  prepared  to  discuss  them,  and  ready  with  resolutions 
for  their  improvement.  This  had  the  effect  of  greatly  simplifying 
the  business  before  the  meeting.  Mr.  Charles  Durand,  of  London 
Ontario,  was  voted  to  the  chair,  and  he  exhibited  splendid  qualifica 
tions  for  the  post.  The  manner  in  which  he  conducted  the  meetin 
was  deserving  of  all  praise,  and,  owing  to  his  tact  and  businesslike 
management,  the  meeting  was  one  of  the  most  orderly  of  its  kind  thai 
has  ever  been  held.  Mr.  Langton,  of  Toronto,  acted  as  Secretary 
and  to  him  is  due  great  praise  for  his  indefatigable  efforts  in  bring- 
ing about  the  formation  of  the  Association,  together  with  his  col 
leagues  in  Committee,  who  assigned  to  him  the  arduous  duties  ol 
Secretary  to  the  Committee.  The  professional  press  was  repre- 
sented by  the  Canadian  Architect  and  Builder,  which  paper,  in  the 
course  of  the  proceedings,  was  formally  declared  to  be  the  officia 
organ  of  the  Association. 

A  good,  steady  afternoon's  work  disposed  of  the  Constitution  and 
By-Laws  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  interested,  and  perhaps  not  the 
least  subject  of  satisfaction  was  the  fact  that  certain  men  found  the 
objects  and  sense  of  the  meeting  militate  against  their  ideas  of  the 
conduct  of  their  business,  and  disposed  of  themselves  by  quietly  slip- 
ping out,  but  not,  as  they  hoped,  unobserved. 

The  Directorate  of  the  Association  was  made  as  representative  as 
possible,  and  the  following  was  the  unanimous  result  of  the  voting 
on  nominations  made  by  a  special  committee  struck  at  the  meeting 
for  that  purpose:  President,  Mr.  Storm,  of  Toronto;  First  Viee- 
President,  Mr.  Arnoldi,  of  Ottawa;  Second  Vice-President,  Mr. 
Durand,  of  London ;  Third  Vice-President,  Mr.  Balfour,  of  Hamil- 
ton ;  Directors :  Mr.  Belcher,  of  Peterborough ;  Mr.  Burke,  of 
Toronto  ;  Mr.  Power,  of  Kingston ;  Mr.  Mulligan,  of  Hamilton ;  Mr. 
Curry,  of  Toronto ;  Treasurer,  D.  B.  Dick,  of  Toronto ;  Secretary, 
S.  H.  Townsend,  of  Toronto. 

The  first  annual  meeting  of  the  Association  is  to  take  place  on 
the  third  Wednesday  of  November  next,  in  Toronto. 

The  Architectural  Guild  of  Toronto  invited  all  the  visiting  archi- 
tects, as  well  as  the  rest  of  the  architects  of  Toronto,  to  dine  with 
them  at  the  Queen's  in  the  evening,  and  they  there  sat  down,  to  the 
number  of  about  sixty,  and  passed  a  very  pleasant  and  interesting 
evening  together.  Mr.  David  B.  Dick,  of  Toronto,  one  of  the  execu- 
tive officers  of  the  Guild,  took  the  chair,  and  at  his  right  hand  sat 
Professor  Galbraith  of  the  School  of  Practical  Science,  one  of  the 
guests  who,  though  not  architects,  were  all  much  interested  in  the 
movement.  The  Secretary  of  the  Guild  read  numerous  letters  from 
other  invited  guests  who,  through  previous  engagements,  were  unable 
to  attend,  all  expressing  their  sympathy  with  the  objects  of  the 
Association.  Among  these  were  the  Hon.  G.  W.  Ross,  Minister  of 
Education,  Sir  Daniel  Wilson,  head  of  the  University  of  Toronto, 
and  the  Mayor  of  Toronto.  Speeches  followed  the  dinner  on  the 
objects  of  the  Association,  the  professional  training  of  students,  the 
practical  and  theoretical  sides  of  the  profession,  and  these  were 
interspersed  with  songs.  Mr.  Rastriek,  of  Hamilton,  an  aged  but 
worthy  member  of  the  profession,  formerly  a  pupil  of  Sir  Charles 
Barry,  and  an  F.  R.  I.  B.  A.,  told  how  hard  pupils  had  to  work  in 
his  days  of  study  —  when,  in  Sir  Charles  Barry's  office,  he  had  to  be 
at  his  place  at  seven  in  the  morning,  and  remain  there  until  eight  at 
night.  Many  toasts  were  proposed  and  heartily  responded  to,  and 
the  guests  thanked  the  Guild  very  cordially  for  the  sumptuous 
manner  in  which  they  had  been  entertained,  and  so  ended  a  day- 
long to  be  remembered  in  the  annals  of  the  profession  in  Canada. 

Apropos  of  this  subject,  I  may  mention  that  the  Minister  of 
Education  has  just  issued  and  circulated  among  those  interested  his 
report  on  the  subject  of  "  Technical  Education."  The  Hon.  G.  W. 
Ross  gives  an  account  of  his  visit  of  inspection  to  the  Cornell  and 
Lehigh  Universities,  Columbia  College,  the  Stevens  Institute, 
Hoboken,  and  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology,  detailing 
the  systems  of  education  and  courses  of  study,  giving  descriptions  ol 


the  buildings  and  the  sums  expended  upon  them,  and  closing  his  re- 
port with  an  account  of  the  Ontario  School  of  Practical  Science,  in 
which  he  desires  to  found  a  chair  of  architecture;  and  a  report  of 
the  meeting  he  convened  last  December  to  ascertain  the  feelings  of 
representative  men,  with  reference  to  the  establishment  of  classes  for 
applied  chemistry,  applied  mechanics  and  architecture. 

The  Mayor  of  Montreal  has  received  from  Mr.  Saxon  Snell  the 
plans  for  the  proposed  great  Royal  Victoria  Hospital,  in  that  city, 
the  free  gift  of  Sir  George  Stephens,  Bart,  and  Sir  Donald  Smith, 
Knt.,  a  short  description  of  the  general  arrangements  may  be  of  in- 
terest :  it  is  a  very  large  group  of  buildings  estimated  to  cost  $556,- 
000,  giving  accommodation  to  348  patients,  at  a  cost  of  $1,600  per  bed. 
The  general  plan  consists  of  a  central  group  of  four  buildings —  the 
nurses'  apartments ;  the  clinical  department  ;  a  building  with 
operating  theatres  and  mortuary,  and  an  ice-house.  On  each  side 
of  the  central  block  are  buildings  connected  with  the  central  block, 
and  with  each  other  by  galleries  at  each  floor  level;  on  the  left, 
three  buildings,  and  on  the  right,  two,  each  four  stories  high.  Stair- 
cases connecting  the  different  floors  are  all  outside  the  building,  thus 
severing  connection  between  the  wards  themselves.  Accommodation 
is  provided  for  surgical  patients,  90  beds;  for  medical,  180;  for 
private  paying  patients,  20  beds,  and  for  infectious  cases,  35  beds. 
Verandas  are  attached  to  every  ward,  and  all  the  arrangements  are 
of  the  very  best  order.  In  securing  the  services  of  Mr.  Saxon  Snell 
whose  "  forte "  is  hospitals,  the  city  has  taken  the  wisest  possible 
course,  and  they  will  have  a  hospital  than  which  no  finer  exists  in 
the  world.  Particular  attention  has  been  paid  to  the  infectious- 
diseases  department :  it  is  situated  at  a  considerable  distance  from 
the  rest  of  the  buildings,  and  is  constructed  on  the  hut  system, 
divided  into  three  sections  for  the  separate  treatment  of  every  kind 
of  disease,  and  in  connection  with  it  are  provided  rooms  for  the  staff 
of  nurses  and  doctors  and  attendants  speciallv  devoted  to  the  work 
of  this  department. 

At  the  time  of  writing,  Montreal  is  not  yet  out  of  the  winter,  the 
ice  in  the  river  shows  signs  of  breaking-up,  while  in  Toronto  the  ice 
has  been  gone  a  week.  With  the  break-up  of  the  ice  at  Montreal, 
the  inhabitants  are  on  the  lookout  for  floods,  through  which  season 
they  have  to  pass  before  they  can  comfortably  settle  down  to  enjoy 
the  spring ;  but  this  year  they  are  cheered  with  the  probability  of 
getting  it  all  over  early.  Navigation  opens  very  irregularly  —  any 
day,  in  fact,  between  the  30th  of  March  and  the  29th  of  April.  An 
early  break-up  means  a  good  year  for  building,  for  the  earlier  the  frost 
comes  out  of  the  ground,  the  earlier  the  new  bricks  are  made  — 
usually  it  is  no  joke  having  to  wait  till  the  loth  of  June,  the  day 
new  bricks  are  ordinarily  ready. 

The  1st  of  May,  the  great  day  for  moving  in  Montreal,  is  looming 
on  the  horizon,  and  instigating  owners  of  houses  and  office-blocks,  to 
use  their  utmost  endeavors  to  get  their  unfinished  buildings  ready 
for  occupation  by  that  day. 

A  great  block  for  a  dry -goods  firm,  to  cost  $150,000,  has  recently 
been  competed  for  by  architects  in  Montreal.  On  receipt  of  the  de- 
signs (of  which  there  were  10  in  number  sent  in),  the  owners  of  the 
property  made  a  very  prompt  decision,  and  returned  the  other  de- 
signs without  delay.  It  does  not  appear  that  the  owners  were 
assisted  by  any  professional  referee ;  but,  then,  in  Montreal  they  do 
not  understand  that  kind  of  thing,  and  the  architects  who  will  not 
enter  into  association  have  to  put  up  with  ignominious  treatment  and 
take  their  chances,  and  then  howl  at  results  which  are  partly 
their  own  fault. 

Ottawa  has  established  an  "Institute  of  Architects,"  with  Mr. 
Fuller,  the  Government  Architect,  at  its  head  as  President;  and 
Hamilton  architects  have  also  associated,  giving  the  Presidency  to 
Mr.  Rastriek,  the  "  father  of  that  profession,"  in  that  town.  Both 
these  associations  are  the  outcome  of  the  Toronto  Guild's  movement, 
and  they  are  formed  with  the  same  objects,  in  the  interest  of  the 
profession  in  each  place. 

Contractors  and  master-builders  all  over  the  Province  of  Ontario 
are  agitating  with  the  object  of  forming  an  association.  Associations 
seem  to  be  the  order-of-the-day,  and  we  may  look  forward  to  seeing 
a  very  satisfactory  state  of  things  before  long.  Associations  of 
architects,  of  builders  and  of  workmen,  all  united  in  a  sort  of  mutual 
understanding,  and  able  to  meet  upon  definite  and  understood 
grounds  for  the  settlement  of  all  matters  of  dispute,  and  for  the 
regulation  of  the  building  trades  generally. 

After  closing  my  letter,  I  open  it  to  add  a  postscript  on  a  subject 
of  interest.  I  see  that  the  projected  ship-railway,  across  the  isthmus 
of  Chignecto,  Canada,  is  actually  to  be  commenced.  Its  object  is  to 
save  between  500  and  600  miles  of  sea  voyage  round  Nova  Scotia,  and 
small  vessels  will  be  enabled  to  go  direct  from  Chicago  via  the  lakes 
and  St.  Lawrence  River,  over  the  isthmus,  and  so  down  to  Boston, 
without  the  necessity  of  transhipping  their  cargoes  to  more  sea- 
worthy vessels.  The  isthmus  now  separates  the  St.  Lawrence  from 
the  Bay  of  Fundy.  It  was  first  proposed  to  make  a  canal,  but  the 
cost  of  $12,000,000  (twelve  million  dollars),  just  double  what  the 
railway  will  cost,  caused  it  to  be  abandoned.  Mr.  Henry  Ketchum 
s  the  prime  mover  in  the  scheme,  and  has  recently  succeeded  in 
ilacing  preference  shares  on  the  London  market.  Messrs.  Dawson, 
iimenes  &  Usher  have  the  contract.  Docks  are  to  be  provided  at 
each  end,  and  the  vessels  to  be  transported  will  be  raised  and 
owered  on  cradles  by  hydraulic  lifts.  Locomotives  will  draw  the 
rucks  on  which  the  vessels  are  placed,  which  may  be  loaded  up  to 
1,000  tons  burden. 


190 


The   American   Architect  and  Building   News.        [VoL.  XXV.  —  No.  695. 


An  Old  Florentine  Cut. 


EQUESTRIAN   MONUMENTS.1  —  XIV. 

THE    CONDOTTIERI. 

0F  the  ancient  Athenians,  Dion 
Chrysostomus,  the  golden- 
mouthed,  once  said  that  they 
used  to  bestow  statues  in  the  same 
spirit  that  toys  are  given  to  children ; 
that  is,  in  the  perfect  assurance  that 
sooner  or  later,  for  one  reason  or 
another,  they  would  be  broken  and  cast 
aside  in  favor  of  newer  playthings. 
This  seems  to  imply  that  his  observa- 
tion showed  that  political  feeling  or 
the  partisans  of  new  and  rising  sculpt- 
ors, even  in  comparatively  quiet  times, 
swept  out  of  sight  statues  of  men  who  had  had  their  day  in  popular 
favor.  The  same  remark  would  probably  hold  good  in  all  times, 
but  in  none  more  than  in  the  early  Renaissance,  in  those  turbulent 
times  when  violence  and  culture  travelled  in  company  from  one  end 
of  Italy  to  the  other,  and  left  their  so  dissimilar  traces  everywhere. 
Sack  and  rapine  make  wanton  waste,  and  it  may  well  have  been  that, 
besides  the  famous  equestrian  statues  that  survive  from  that  time, 
others  perhaps  no  less  worthy  have  disappeared  and  left  no  trace. 

Many  well-read  men  who  are  perfectly  familiar  with  the  names  and 
deeds  of  the  men  who  made  the  history  of  England  and  France  are 
largely  innocent  of  a  similar  knowledge  of  the  great  names  that 
are  sprinkled  over  the  brilliant  pages  of  the  history  of  Italy.  In  our 

Smth  we  are  taught  with  infinite  particularity  the  history  of  ancient 
ome,  and  are  even  hurried  through  the  tale  of  the  decline  of  the 
Roman  Empire,  so  that  in  later  life  now  and  then  a  name  is  encoun- 
tered which  has  a  familiar  sound,  but  not  the  good,  wholesome  ring 
which  attends  memory's  vibrations  when  one  of  the  grand  names  of 
the  Classic  epoch  is  encountered.  What  iiappened  in  Italy  between 
the  dissipation  of  the  Western  Empire  and  the  dawning  glories  of 
the  early  Renaissance  few  know  or  care  to  inquire.  We  are  content 
to  pass  over  as  of  too  little  interest  four  or  five  centuries  of  a  people's 
existence  without  taking  the  trouble  to  inquire  what  was  going  on 
politically,  commercially  or  educationally.  To  a  certain  extent  chaos 
reigned  for  centuries,  and  the  strong  hand  had  to  keep  each  man's 
head  and  hearthstone.  Armed  struggle  with  domestic  and  foreign 
foe  was  the  order  of  the  day,  and  all  cohesion  as  a  nation  came  to  an 
end  —  a  bourn  which  was  well  marked  by  the  disappearance  of  a 
common  language,  as  Latin  ceased  to  be  spoken  about  580,  and 
dialects  began  to  be  commonly  used.  Little  chance  had  the  arts  of 
peace  in  those  times,  when  German  hordes  poured  over  the  Alps  on  the 
one  hand,  and  the  Saracens  invaded  the  land  on  the  other.  Records 
are  few  and  imperfect,  save  in  the  matter  of  Papal  history,  and  people 
are  generally  willing  to  take  on  faith  the  long  chain  of  slight  events 
that  finally  restored  order,  and  the  superficial  student  of  the  history 
of  art  is  quite  ready  to  pass  from  the  glories  of  the  Empire  to  the 
equal  glories  of  the  full  Renaissance.  But  even  here,  though  the 
word  and  what  it  stands  for  is  a  common  household-word,  few  know 
what  a  fascinating  field  of  study  the  history  of  the  time  of  the  Italian 
Renaissance  really  is.  There  are  a  few  names  that  are  familiar 
enough  —  the  Medici,  the  Visconti,  the  Scalas,  and  the  Doge  of 
Venice  as  a  genus  are  commonly  known  to  readers,  and  to  artists 
and  architects  there  are  other  names  as  familiar,  while  the  traveller's 
ear  recognizes  others  from  their  association  with  the  titles  of  palaces 
and  other  buildings  he  has  recently  confronted ;  but  the  names  and 
deeds  of  others  who  play  not  insignificant  parts  are  quite  unknown 
to  most.  It  is  not  possible  here  to  give  even  a  sketch  of  the  history 
of  Italy,  but,  as  it  is  necessary  to  consider  next  a  series  of  monu- 
ments erected  to  the  honor  of  men  who  played  brilliant  roles  in  one 
of  the  most  stirring  of  historic  periods,  it  is  worth  while  to  try  to 
give  some  idea  of  the  magnificence  of  the  setting  of  the  scenes  amid 
which  these  men  played  out  their  brief  parts. 

These  splendid  pieces  of  architecture  that  we  accept  without 
inquiry  as  to  the  manner  of  life  led  by  the  builders  were  the 
result  of  a  great  but  slowly-developed  commercial  prosperity  2,  which 
had  been  largely  the  direct  outcome  of  the  founding  of  the  free 
cities,  by  which  the  rights  of  the  majority  were  protected,  and 
the  great  body  of  the  people  became  a  nation  of  traders.  The 
great  families  in  various  ways  still  managed  to  secure  a  lion's 
share,  either  by  directly  engaging  in  trade,  or  by  success  in  the 
never-ending  series  of  petty  wars  which,  even  in  the  most  commer- 
cially prosperous  times,  were  carried  on  here  or  there  almost  without 
cessation.  The  wealth  that  was  thus  gathered  into  the  possession  of 
a  single  noble  was  absolutely  fabulous,  and  while  the  nobles  of  Eng- 
land, France  and  Germany  had  to  content  themselves  with  bare 
walls,  rush-strewn  floors,  ungarnished  tables  and  simple  fare,  the 
Italian  princes  of  the  same  period  revelled  in  a  luxury  of  surround- 
ings and  furnishings  which  even  these  days  could  hardly  match. 
Tims  we  read  that  when  the  Duke  of  Clarence,  a  brother  of  the 
Black  Prince,  was  married  to  a  daughter  of  the  Visconti,  her 
marriage  portion  being  five  cities  and  200,000  gold  florins,  her  father, 
Galeazzo  Visconti,  gave  a  banquet  to  the  two  hundred  English  knights 
who  had  accompanied  the  Duke,  and  before  each  course  high-born 

1  Continued  from  No.  694,  page  173. 

» In  1288  there  were  in  Milan,  which  numbered  200,000  inhabitants,  13,000  private 
houses,  600  notaries,  200  physicians,  80  schoolmasters,  and  50  copyists  or  writers. 


attendants  brought  in  and  presented  to  each  guest  a  valuable  gift :  "At 
one  time  it  was  a  matter  of  sixty  most  beautiful  horses  with  trappings 
of  silk  and  silver ;  at  another  plate,  hawks,  hounds,  horse-gear,  fine 
cuirasses,  suits  of  armor  fashioned  of  wrought-steel,  helmets  adorned 
with  crests,  surcoats  embroidered  with  pearls,  belts,  precious  jewels 
set  in  gold,  and  great  quantities  of  cloth  of  gold  and  crimson  stuff 
for  making  raiment.  Such  was  the  profusion  of  this  banquet,  that 
the  remains  taken  from  the  table  were  enough  and  to  spare  for  10,- 
000  men."  And  a  similar  feast  was  held  shortly  after  in  honor  of  the 
marriage  of  his  son  Gian  to  Isabelle  of  France. 

These  were  curious  times,  when  it  was  quite  in  keeping  for  such  a 
man  as  Sigismondo  Pandolfo  Malatesta,  whose  family  nickname  — 
"  Evil  head  "  —  fitted  him  better  than  it  did  some  others  of  his  race,  to 
kill  three  wives  in  quick  succession,  violate  his  own  daughter,  and 
attempt  the  chastity  of  his  son  as  mere  incidents  in  his  animal  career, 
while  he  satisfied  the  demands  of  his  higher  nature  by  building  the 
Church  of  San  Francisco  at  Milan,  or  held  long  discussions  on 
philosophy  and  arts  and  letters  with  the  learned  men  he  had  drawn 
to  his  court;  while  Gian  Galeazzo  Visconti,  who  killed  his  own 
uncle  that  he  might,  rule  undisputed,  built  the  Certosa  at  Pavia  and 
the  Cathedral  at  Milan. 

It  was  a  singular  epoch,  an  age  of  tyrants  —  not  successive,  hut 
many  contemporaneous ;  an  age  of  warfare,  of  love,  of  passion  and 
intrigue  ending  in  sudden  and  violent  death ;  an  age  of  distrust  and 
self-seeking,  when  the  dagger  and  the  subtle  poison  accomplished 
what  the  sword  openly  unsheathed  could  not.  It  was  an  age  of  bar- 
barism and  yet  of  magnificence,  for,  though  the  leaders  were  con- 
stantly in  a  state  of  agitation,  there  were  now  and  then  short  periods 
when  a  less  turbulent  prince  held  the  succession,  and  then  the  prac- 
tisers  of  peaceful  vocations  had  their  day,  and  gathered  wealth  at 
every  hand,  for  through  it  all  the  greater  number  of  the  people  clung 
to  peaceful  pursuits.  So  the  life  of  the  times  was  everywhere  many- 
sided,  and  it  was  possible  for  the  tyrant,  at  length  sated  with 
conquest,  revenge  and  bloodshed,  to  seek  and  find  close  at  hand  a 
society  highly  cultured  in  the  arts  and  graces  of  a  rapidly  growing 
civilization.  The  great  cities  of  the  North  grew  and  expanded  as 
fast  as  those  coarser  tyrants,  like  Ezzelino  da  Romano,  were  extir- 
pated. This  man,  had  he  lived  in  Classic  times,  would  have  to-day 
with  all  men  a  reputation  which  would  put  Nero's  to  the  blush, 
for  he  had  none  of  Nero's  virtues.  He  was  simply  callous  to  all 
human  instincts;  his  one  pleasure  was  to  wring  a  human  being  with 
tortures  ineffable.  His  blood-thirstiness  was  his  one  all-absorbing 
vice ;  it  left  no  room  for  passions  of  more  human  kind.  In  Padua 
alone  he  had  eight  prisons,  holding  more  than  ten  thousand  victims, 
and  in  them  the  arm  of  the  executioner  had  no  rest,  and  it  was  plied 
usually  in  the  presence  of  this  monstrous  tyrant,  one  of  whose  most 
atrocious  acts  was  his  treatment  of  the  inhabitants  of  Friola,  whom, 
without  regard  to  age  or  sex,  he  put  beyond  the  pale  of  future  use- 
fulness by  putting  out  their  eyes,  and  cutting  off  their  noses,  arms 
and  legs.  The  mutilation  of  his  victims  was  one  of  his  most  ordi- 
nary practices,  and  it  was  at  that  time  the  habit  of  the  beggars 
throughout  Italy  to  excite  sympathy  by  attributing  their  real  or  ficti- 
tious infirmities  to  the  cruelty  of  the  Veronese  tyrant.  The  death 
of  this  monster  was  typical  of  his  life  :  overcome  at  length  by  a 
powerful  combination  formed  against  him,  defeated  in  battle,  and 
captured  sorely  wounded,  he  undid  the  dressings  of  his  wounds  and 
tore  them  open,  so  that  he  might  escape  the  doom  his  victors  had  in 
store  for  him. 

It  seems  incredible  that  during  the  constant  struggles  known  by 
name,  at  least,  to  all  as  the  wars  of  the  Guelphs  and  Ghibellines, 
which  lasted  nearly  four  hundred  years,  and  embroiled  Southern 
Germany  and  nearly  all  of  Italy,  that  the  arts  of  peace  should  have 
made  any  headway  at  all,  and  it  is  very  doubtful  if  they  would  if  it 
had  not  been  for  the  ingenious  idea  of  Frederick  II,  grandson  of 
Barbarossa,  and  the  last  emperor  who  undertook  to  govern  Italy  in 
person.  Being  also  King  of  Naples,  and  being  thus  brought  in 
contact  with  the  Saracens  who  had  maintained  a  footing  in  Naples 
and  Sicily,  he  conceived  the  idea  of  employing  them  as  mercenaries, 
that  is,  armed  foreigners  who,  having  no  lies  which  connect  them 
with  the  interests  of  the  people  amongst  whom  they  may  be  placed, 
may  be  counted  on  to  execute  the  orders  of  their  paymaster,  no 
matter  what  be  the  moral  bearings  of  the  orders  imposed.  This 
chance  inspiration,  and  the  establishment  at  Nocera  of  a  colony  of 
Saracen  mercenaries,  revolutionized  the  system  of  warfare  in  Italy, 
and  made  it  possible  for  civilization  and  chaos  to  advance  hand-in- 
hand  over  Italy.  From  this  time  [about  1225]  onward  warfare  was 
carried  on  mainly  by  mercenaries,  sometimes  German  or  English 
or  Swiss,  or  Gascon,  Breton,  Hungarian,  or  whoever  finding  life  at 
home  too  dull  cared  to  take  up  the  adventurous  life  of  the  free  lance. 
These  mercenaries,  who  in  English  history  are  known  as  free 
lances,  or  free  companions,  are  in  Italian  history  known  as  con- 
dottieri,  and  played  an  important  part  in  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth 
centuries  not  only  as  subsidiary  figures,  but  because  not  a  few  of 
their  leaders  by  force  of  character,  and  by  taking  advantage  of  their 
opportunities,  rose  to  positions  of  great  power,  and  not  only  tem- 
porarily became  the  rulers  of  towns  and  provinces,  but  succeeded  in 
founding  families  which  were  enabled  to  maintain  the  titles  and 
powers  that  had  been  seized  by  their  plebeian  ancestor,  and  many  a 
noble  Italian  to-day  is  as  proud  of  his  descent  from  some  rascally 
foreign  freebooter,  as  English  families  are  of  their  descent  from  some 
man-at-arms  who  "  came  over-"  with  the  Conqueror. 
John  Hawkwood,  or  Giovanni  Acuto  as  he  stands  in  Italian  annals, 


APRIL  20,  1889.] 


TJie   American    Architect   and   Building   News. 


191 


was  one  of  these  condottieri  to  whom  English  romancers,  at  least, 
have  given  a  most  satisfactory  character  for  unblemished  honesty  and 
manly' virtue.  He  is  pictured  as  one  of  those  rough  diamonds  who, 
while  first  of  all  a  soldier,  still  'preserved  amid  the  temptations  of  a 
roving  life  many  of  the  kindly  simple  virtues  of  the  typical  knight. 
This  "character  was  probably  not  ill-deserved,  and  he  was  held  in 

such  esteem  in  his  temporarily 
adopted  country  that,  although 
he  was  not  honored  by  the 
erection  of  an  equestrian  mon- 
ument, the  walls  of  the  Cathe- 
dral of  Sante  Maria  del  Fiore, 
at  Florence,  bear  a  large  mural 
fresco  of  the  doughty  Eng- 
lishman painted  by  Paolo 
Uccello.  Born  in  the  County 
of  Essex  of  ignoble  parents 
and  bred  a  tailor,  he  early 
abandoned  the  needle  and 
shears  for  a  nobler  cutting 
instrument,  and  served  under 
Edward  III  in  the  wars  in 
France,  and  was  knighted  by 
the  King  himself.  After  the 
disbanding  of  the  army,  Hawk- 
wood  joined  one  of  the  roving 
bands  of  freebooters  or  White 
Companions,  and  entered  the 


service  of  the  Marquis  of 
Monteferrat.  In  the  war  be- 
tween Pisa  and  Florence,  he 
appears  as  commander  of  the 
Pisan  forces,  and  for  the  next 
thirty  years  he  was  the  lead- 
ing coiiiloltitre  of  his  time, 


serving  now  the  Visconti,  now 


John  Hawkwood.    Painted  by  Paolo  Ucce 
Maria  del  F.ore,  Florence. 

Pope  Gregory  XT,  and  at  last  the  Republic  of  Florence  to  whom 
he  devoted  the  last  part  of  his  life  with  such  faithfulness  that,  at  his 
death,  he  was  decreed  a  public  funeral  and  a  monument  —  perhaps 
merely  the  mural  decoration  above  mentioned  —  was  created  in  his 
honor".  Evidently  Giovanni  Acuto  was  not  the  hero  of  the  legend 
which  relates  that  a  certain  northern  city,  rescued  from  foreign  in- 
vaders bv  a  famous  condoltiere,  was  in  consequence  overwhelmed 
with  rapturous  gratitude 
toward  its  deliverer.  Noth- 
ing within  the  sift  of  the 
city  seemed  to  promise  an 
adequate  expression  of  the 
honor  that  ought  to  be  be- 
stowed, and  day  after  day 
the  wisest  counsellors  of  the 
city  sate  in  vain  debate  as 
to  what  the  meed  should  be. 
At  length  a  veritable  in- 
spiration seized  one  of 
them,  and  he  cried  out : 
"  Let  us  kill  him,  and  then 
worship  him  as  our  patron 
saint."  All  agreed  that  the 
solution  was  found,  and  we 
may  fancy  with  what  pagan 
festivities  the  unfortunate 
savior  of  the  city  was  in- 
ducted into  immortality. 
Those  who  know  how  com- 
mon a  thing  it  was  for  a 
hired  leader  who  had  done 
such  a  service  to  a  be- 
leagured  city  to  take  advan- 
tage of  the  upheaval  to 
seize  the  reins  of  govern- 
ment for  his  own  use  and 
profit,  may-suspect  that  the 
inspired  counsellor  was  a 
practical  joker  of  rather 
a  grim  sort. 

Hallam  says:  "The 
name  of  Sir  John  Hawk- 
wood  is  worthy  to  be  remembered  as  that  of  the  first  distinguished 
commander  who  had  appeared  in  Europe  since  the  destruction  of 
the  Roman  Empire.  .  .  .  Every  contemporary  Italian  historian 
speaks  with  admiration  of  his  skilful  tactics  in  battle,  his  strata- 
gems, his  well-conducted  retreats.  .  .  .  Hawkwood  was  not  only  the 
greatest,  but  the  last  of  the  foreign  condottieri,  or  captains  of  merce- 
nary bands." 

The  Cathedral  at  Florence  contains  a  companion  painting  of 
another  comlottiere  of  a  later  day,  Niccolo  Mauruzzo  da  Tolentino, 
who,  captured  by  the  Milanese,  died  in  captivity  in  1434,  but  the 
grateful  Republic  esteemed  him  no  less  worthy  than  Hawkwood  of 
an  equestrian  portrait,  and  caused  one  to  be  painted  by  Andrea  del 
Castagno. 

The  monumental  portrait  of  Hawkwood  is  interesting,  because  he 


Painted  by  Andrea  del  Cas 
Maria  del  Fiore,  Florence. 


is  shown  in  the  half-civic  garb  probably  worn  on  occasions  of  state, 
rather  than  in  the  full  armor  of  the  military  commander  of  the 
period ;  the  painter  by  this  selection  throwing  away  one  of  those 
factitious  aids  which  add  so  much  to  the  interest  we  moderns  feel  in 
the  statues  of  the  full-armored  knight.  There  are  no  more  popular 
"sights"  in  Europe  than  the  great  gallaries  of  armor  at  Madrid, 
Pari=,  London,  Berlin  and  elsewhere,  and  next  perhaps  to  the 
pleasure  that  one  feels  in  examining  the  stuffed  figures  of  knights 
and  horses  in  full  armor,  to  be  found  in  these  galleries,  must  be 
counted  the  pleasure  of  looking  at  an  armored  statute  simply  because 
the  figure  is  shown  as  clad  in  metal,  and  not  in  stuffs. 


WEEVER'S  "Ancient  Funeral  Monuments,"  (issued  1631)  says,  speaking 
of  Hawkwood,  "The  Italian  writers,  both  Historians  and  Poets,  resound  his 
worthie  acts  with  full  mouth.  But  for  my  part  (to  use  M.  Camden's  words)  it 
may  suffice  to  adde  unto  the  rest  these  foure  verses  of  Julius  Feroldus  : 

"  The  glorie  prime  of  Englishmen,  then  of  Italians  bold, 
O  Hawkwood,  and  to  Italic  a  sure  defensive  hold  ; 
Thy  vertue  Florence  honored  sometime  with  costly  Grave, 
And  Jovius  adornes  the  same  now  with  a  Statue  brave." 

HAWKWOOD'S  DESCENT.  —  Hawkwood's  name  was  twisted  by  the  Italians  into 
Aucud,  Acuto  and  Aguto,  and  one  Italian  historian  speaks  of  him  as  Giovanni 
della  Guglia,  or  "  John  of  the  needle."  By  an  error  on  the  part  of  an  English 
writer,  who  translated  "  Acutus,"  the  Latin  form  of  his  name  (on  the  sarco- 
phagus) as  "  Sharp "  lie  has  frequently  been  called  John  Sharp.  Bernard 
Becker,  who  writes  of  Hawkwood  in  "  Jrfrenturous  /.//•<*,"  and  calls  him  "the 
type  of  the  free-lance,"  suggests  that  this  blunder  probahly  explains  the  whole 
story  about  .John  of  the  needle,  the  tailor's  son,  and  so  forth.  The  fact  that  the 
manor  of  Hawkwood  has  been  in  existence  since  the  time  of  King  .!ohn,  throws 
also  a  doubt  upon  the  humbleness  of  his  origin.  Nevertheless  "  his  name  has 
been  put  to  an  absurd  book,  published  in  IfJ^T,  called  '  The  Honour  of  the. 
Taylors;  or,  Tltv  Famous  and  /*'<  tnnrned  History  of  Sir  ,lo]ni  Hit  irk/mod, 
A'm<//*/,'  containing  his  many  rare  and  singular  adventures,  witty  Exploits, 
heroick  Achievements,  and  noble  performances,  etc."  \Yhether  he  was  ever  a 
tailor  or  not,  it  is  certain  that  the  Merchant-Tailor's  ijompnny  of  London  (which 
was  licensed  by  Edward  J),  counts  him  as  one  of  their  most  renowned  members. 

PAOLO  DI  DONO,  called  Paolo  Uccello,  from  his  love  of  painting  birds,  was  born 
at  Florence  in  t;il'7  and  in  early  youth  \vas  apprenticed  to  Lorenzo  Ghiberti.  It  is 
doubtful  from  whom  he  learned  to  paint,  or  1'roin  whom  he  acquired  the  laws  of 
perspective  for  which  he  became  so  famous,  although  it  is  known  that  Manetti 
taught  him  geometry.  Vasari  says  that  he  wasted  so  much  of  his  time  over  the 
study  of  perspective' "that  lie  became  more  needy  than  famous."  lie  executed 
four  battlepieces  for  the  Bartolini  family,  which  are  wonderful  specimens  <>f  his 
thorough  knowledge  of  foreshortening  and  perspective,  one  of  these  is  in  the 
Uftm,  another  in  private  hands  in  Florence,  one  in  the  National  Gallery  anil 
the  remaining  one  in  the  Louvre.  The  Louvre  also  has  a  panel  by  him  which 
contains  bust  portraits  .if  Giotto.  Donalclio,  Brnnellcschi,  Giovanni  Manetti, 
and  himself,  as  the  representatives  of  painting,  sculpture,  architecture,  mathe- 
matics and  perspective.  His  masterpieces  are  a  series  of  frescos,  imitating  bas- 
reliefs,  in  the  cloisters  of  Santa  MarijuXovella.  They  represent  scenes  from  the 
hook  of  Genesis,  "  About  the  year  1  Ktt'i  he  painted  in  the  cathedral  at  Florence 
the  colossal  equestrian  portrait  of  sir  -John  Hawkwood,  th"  aihenturcr  and 
•soldier.  This  chiaroscuro  painting,  which  is  in  terra  verde,  displays  a  wonderful 
power  of  I'oreshfrtening  and  proportion,  and  is  intended  to  imitate  a  stone  statue 
seen  aloft  standing  out  from  Hie  wall  of  the  church."  Genuine  works  by 
LTecello  are  very  rare.  H<-  died  at  Florence  in  147.".  —  From  Bryan's  "  Jlioyrrtjih- 
icaf  ]yt<:lion(inj  of  F<tlnl'  rs  ami  /,'?i</rrcr<  rx." 

ANDKICA  DKL  CAST AGXO.  — Born,  probably  in  Castagno,  in  l.'WO.  His  father 
was  a  small  proprietor  and  laborer  and  Andrea  was  tirst  stimulated  to  stud,\  art 
by  ^-eeing  an  itinerant  painter  at  work  in  a  tabernacle.  Some  of  his  ell'orts 
attracted  tin-  attention  o!  ri.Tnardetl'i  de'  Medici,  who  took  ion:  t»  Florence, 
Mhrre  lie  Ie:irned  to  pailM.  liis  early  lilV  \vast':i!l  of  priva;  ions.  Ills  frescos, 
many  of  which  have  perished,  included  a  s.-ri.s  of  portraits  uf  celebrated  men 
and  women  painted  for  (he  Villa  Pand"11hii  ;it  I,>'i>miia  :  the  porlrails  of  the 
fallen  leaders  of  the  |Vru//i  and  Alhri/./i  laetioiis,  in  the  l'n\nm>  del  I'oi!es.t:i  at 
Florenei';  and  several  v.nrks  in  ll..1  ht>>;-;lal  of  Santa  Maria  N.!<>\;t.  "  In  1 1,V> 
Castagii"  executed,  in  imitation  <u  M-ulpture.  the  colossal  <'<;ae.-trian  ti^n'.'*1  of 
Niccnlo  Tolomino,  which  i;'>w  lianas  in  tbr  cathedral  e]i>se  to  the  eoii^sal  tigure 
of  Sir  John  Ilawkwo'id  by  Uecello.  a  master  whom  Castagi  •>  approached  in  si  vie 
nearer  than  iiny  otln  r."  'lie  died  in  H.'oal  Florence.  He  is  said  to  bar. •  painted 
in  oil.  bin  no  work  by  him  in  1  hat  medium  e.xjsis.  —  From  l;r;  an's  "  /^",/r'ijiliical 
Dictionary  of  i'atnters  amf  J:'iiyriirt  r.-;." 


I!i>n.i:i;  K.\ri  OSION-.  —  The  Pittsburgh  explosion  of  a  battery  of 
boilers,  three  nut  of  live  exploding-  according  to  one  report,  a  suniewlnit 
similar  explosion  in  Heading  :ind  the  Hart  lord  explosion  ought,  but  we 
fear  will  not,  lo  lend  to  ;\  scientific  inquiry  into  the  muse  of  these 
explosions  anil  inure  careful  legislation  for  the  examination  of 
engineers  anil  the-  inspection  of  boilers. 

The  Coroner's  vcnli.'t  in  Hartford  concludes  that  the  boiler  would 
not  have  exploded  if  the  safety-valve  hail  not  been  fastened  down,  anil 
assumes,  with  no  direct  proof,  that  the  valve  was  locked  to  avoid  dis. 
turhing  the  guests,  as  it  had  done  once  or  twice  by  blowing  off  steam. 
This  deduction  is  based  on  the  fact  that  the  boiler  would  have  stood  105 
pounds  to  the  square  inch,  while  the  safety-valve  was  at  seventy-five 
pounds.  It  is  significant,  however,  that  where  the  rupture  occurred 
there  was  "no  thinning  or  deterioration;  that  the  break  passed  through 
the  plates  without  reference  to  the  seams,"  that  the  bottom  of  the 
boiler  was  laid  out  flat  and  every  tube  torn  out  at  both  ends.  "There 
was  no  evidence  of  local  weakness  of  any  kind,  nor  of  low  water  nor  of 
defects  of  construction." 

In  spite  of  the  not  unnatural  suggestion  that  the  safety-valve  was 
locked  we  mistake  greatly  if  the  facts  do  not  cause  the  Hartford  ex- 
plosion to  be  ranked  with  a  number  in  which  there  is  plainly  some  force 
at  work  in  addition  to  the  steady  expansion  of  steam  until  the  limit  of 
strength  in  the  boiler  is  passed.  Prof.  Robert  H.  Thurston,  in  a  paper 
read  before  the  Franklin  Institute  five  years  ago,  pointed  out  that  this 
force  might  be  furnished  by  the  sudden  conversion  into  steam  of  super- 
heated water  in  the  boiler  by  the  liberation  of  a  part  of  the  steam  by  a 
small  rent  a  whistle  or  some  like  cause.  Such  an  explosion  in  an  ex- 
periment made  by  Mr.  B.  F.  Stevens  in  1871  blew  up  a  boiler  some  time 
before  its  tested  strength  was  reached.  This  force  is  certain  to  be  most 
destructive  in  the  ordinary  shell  boiler,  which  holds  a  large  amount  of 
water  in  a  single  mass,  as  the  Hartford  boiler  did,  ready  when  the  right 


192 


The    American   Architect  and  Building   News.      [VOL.  XXIV.  —  No.  695. 


conditions  come  to  explode  with  a  force  far  greater  than  gunpowder. 
This  theory  explains  the  destructive  effect  of  boiler  explosions  like 
that  of  the  "  Westfield,"  which  took  place  with  only  twenty-five  pounds 
of  pressure  just  as  the  whistle  was  sounded.  It  may  give  the  cause  for 
the  recent  Pittsburgh  explosion,  which  came  just  as  the  whistle  was 
sounded  and  the  steam  turned  off  for  an  hour  given  to  a  meal.  The 
natural  moral  of  this  explanation  is  that  "sectional"  boilers,  in 
which  the  water  is  divided  up  in  smaller  masses,  ought,  as  far  as  possi- 
ble, to  be  used  in  buildings  where  an  explosion  will  cause  great  risk  to 
life.  At  the  same  time  the  "  case  "  boiler  offers  no  greater  risk  where 
care  is  taken.  When  one  reflects  that  the  United  States  has  7,500,000 
horse-power  scattered  among  100,000  to  150,000  stationary  boilers,  and 
that  in  1887,  the  last  year  reported,  only  184  of  these  exploded,  40  per 
cent  in  sawmills,  the  risk  is  seen  to  be  small.  The  Pittsburgh  explosion 
recalls  the  explosion  at  Friedenshutte,  July  25,  1887,  when  eighteen 
boilers  in  a  "battery"  of  twenty-two  exploded  at  midnight,  killing 
twelve  and  wounding  thirty  persons.  A  prolonged  inquiry  into  this 
disaster,  conducted  with  the  usual  painstaking  care  of  the  Prussian 
service,  failed  to  make  the  cause  clear,  and  the  conclusion  reached  was 
that  it  was  probably  due  to  the  explosion  of  the  Bessemer  furnace 
gases  used  in  making  steam,  which  combined  in  some  explosive  pro- 
portion with  the  products  of  coal  combustion.  As  in  the  Pittsburgh  ex- 
plosion the  disaster  came  at  the  hour  when  work  was  stopped  for  a 
meal,  it  affected  boilers  which  could  by  no  possibility  have  all  had  low 
water  at  once,  and  no  one  can  read  the  reports  made  on  it  without  feel- 
ing, as  we  said  at  opening,  that  there  is  still  much  to  be  learned  about 
some  boiler  explosions.  —  Philadelphia  Press. 


the  ruin  of  Casa  Grande,  situated  in  Pinal  county,  near  Florence,  Ari., 
§2,000 ;  and  the  President  is  authorized  to  reserve  from  settlement  and 
sale  the  land  on  which  said  ruin  is  situated,  and  so  much  of  the  public 
land  adjacent  thereto  as  in  his  judgment  may  be  necessary  for  the  pro- 
tection of  said  ruin  and  of  the  ancient  city  of  which  it  is  a  part.  — 
Boston  Herald. 


BRICK  FOR  STKKKT  PAVING.  — -A  Detroit  contractor  who  had  oc- 
casion to  do  some  work  at  Burlington,  Iowa,  has  brought  to  the 
Michigan  metropolis  such  good  opinion  of  the  brick  pavement  in  service 
at  Burlington  that  Detroit  may  be  induced  to  experiment  with  it.  If  it 
is  a  fact  that  brick  pavement,  laid  at  a  cost  of  §2  a  square  yard,  will 
last  from  ten  to  twenty  years  —  and  the  Detroit  contractor  says  he  saw 
at  Burlington  one  street  in  excellent  condition  that  had  not  been  dis- 
turbed for  seventeen  years  —  the  paving  problem  will  be  carried  a  long 
way  toward  solution.  As  this  pavement  is  laid  at  Burlington,  the 
foundation  is  prepared  by  levelling  and  packing  the  earth  :  which  is 
then  covered  with  ordinary  brick,  laid  on  their  sides.  These  common 
brick  are  then  covered  with  a  few  inches  of  sand,  upon  which  vitrified 
brick  are  laid  edgewise,  close  together,  and  covered  with  a  light  layer 
of  sand.  Milwaukee  brickmakers  can  produce  excellent  hard  brick 
suitable  for  a  test  of  this  pavement,  and  if  it  is  found  on  trial  that  the 
brick  pavement  will  withstand  the  wear  of  heavy  teaming,  it  will  lie  a 
good  substitute  for  the  noisy  granite-block  pavement  which  thus  far 
has  proved  more  satisfactory  than  any  other  pavement.  At  any  rate, 
for  residence  streets,  brick  pavement  would  be  much  preferable  to  the 
wooden  pavement,  which  in  a  few  years  becomes  rank  with  decay.  — 
Milwaukee  Eceniny  Wisconsin. 


A    NEW    THING    ix    CATALOGUES.  —  This    new    nomenclature    was 

recently  adopted  at  the  National  Gallery  : 

01,1)    STVLK.  NEW. 

Michael  Angelo.  M.  A.  Buonarrott. 

Francia.  F.  liaibolini. 

Paolo  Veronese.  Caliari. 

Titian.  Vecellio. 

(iiorgione.  Barbarelli. 

Correggio.  Allegri. 

Caspar  Poussin.  Dughet. 

Claude.  Gellee. 

Complaint  has  been  made  against  it  in  the  House  of  Commons. — 
London  Art  Journal. 


THE  AGE  OF  Pin.r. — The  Paper-Makers'  Circular  (England),  savs 
that  the  new  epoch  on  which  we  are  entering  will  surely  be  known  as 
"the  age  of  pulp."  Beyond  esparto  grass,  straw  and  wood,  few  fibrous 
substances  have  as  yet  practically  taken  the  place  once  occupied 
exclusively  by  rags ;  but  if  we  should  ever  exhaust  the  sources  from 
which  we  now  obtain  our  supplies,  there  will  assuredly  be  no  lack  of 
substitutes.  East  Indian  ramie,  pine-apple  fibres,  bamboo,  bagasse 
(the  refuse  matter  from  sugar-canes),  peat,  bracken  or  common  fern, 
flags,  rushes,  seaweed,  tan,  and  hop-stalks  have  all  been  proved  capable 
of  yielding  pulp.  In  Scotland  hollyhock  stems  have  been  made  into 
paper ;  In  Ireland  the  mallow,  red  clover,  hop  vine,  and  yellow  water- 
iris  have  been  turned  to  the  same  use.  In  Demerara  good  paper  has 
been  made  from  the  plantain.  In  France  a  patent  has  been  granted  for 
making  paper  out  of  leaves,  which  have  been  cut,  pressed  into  cakes, 
and  reduced  to  pulp  by  being  steeped  in  lime  water. 

BAD  DRAINS  IN  LONDON.  —  It  is  interesting  to  note  from  the  eighth 
annual  report  of  the  London  Sanitary  Protection  Association  that  more 
than  50  per  cent  of  the  drains  of  our  houses  are  bad.  Last  year  this 
association  inspected  454  houses,  and  only  22  1-2  per  cent  of  these  were 
in  good  order ;  16  1-2  per  cent  were  in  fairly  good  order ;  all  the  rest 
were  either  "rather  bad,"  "very  bad,"  or  "bad,"  35  percent  being  of 
the  worst  category.  As  it  is  by  no  means  the  worst  class  of  property 
that  is  subjected  to  the  inspection  of  the  Sanitary  Protection  Associa- 
tion we  may  take  it  as  an  under-statement  of  the  truth  that  every-other 
house  in  London  is  badly  drained.  It  would  have  been  interesting  if 
the  association  could  have  added  an  estimate  of  the  amount  of  expendi- 
ture that  is  necessary  on  an  average  to  put  the  drains  of  a  house  in 
good  condition.  At  present  we  can  only  remember  our  plumber's 
"little  account,"  and  shudder  at  the  number  of  millions  that  would  be 
required  to  meet  the  bill.  —  Pall  Mall  Gazette. 

RUIN  OF  CASA  GRANDE.  —  Friends  of  the  Hemenway  exploring  ex- 
pedition will  be  gratified  to  know  that  the  Judge  civil  act  contains  the 
following :  To  enable  the  secretary  of  the  interior  to  repair  and  protect 


TRADE  conditions  are  improving  week  by  week.  The  volume  of  business 
is  greater.  Demands  for  material  and  merchandise  of  all  kinds  are  increas- 
ing. Railroad  traffic  is  heavier  and  manufacturers  are  running  more  cars 
this  month  than  last.  Disemploved  labor  is  being  set  to  work  and  employ- 
ment is  becoming  more  abundant,  though  there  is  no  improvement  in 
wages,  or  is  any  probable.  Common  labor  is  in  more  active  demand 
throughout  the  newer  sections  of  the  country  than  in  the  older,  because  of 
the  inauguration  of  a  great  deal  of  new  work  beginning  with  the  highest 
construction  and  railroad  work.  Railroad-building  will  probably  set  in 
very  actively  in  the  summer.  So  far  this  year  about  15,000  miles  of  road 
have  been  either  let  to  contractors  or  are  in  process  of  completion,  and 
some  53,000  miles  of  road  in  all  have  been  projected.  This  is  certainly  a 
surprising  and  most  encouraging  exhibit.  It  means  what  has  heretofore 
been  pointed  out,  that  as  soon  as  railway  management  can  place  itself  in 
harmony  with  public  interests  new  roads  will  be  pushed  very  rapidly. 
In  New  England  seven  or  eight  hundred  miles  are  projected  in  small  lines, 
ranging  from  five  to  twenty  miles  in  length.  In  the  Middle  States  some 
5,000  to  7,000  miles  are  talked  of,  and  nearly  all  of  this  mileage  will  be  built 
in  the  next  five  years.  Most  of  the  new  work  is  projected  in  the  Western 
and  Southern  States.  The  rail-makers  are  hereby  much  pleased  at  the 
prospects  for  full  employment  later  on  in  the  year.  '  Prices  are  very  low  for 
all  kinds  of  iron  and  steel  products.  No  improvement  is  likely  to  show 
itself  till  railroad  work  is  entered  upon  with  greater  earnestness.  Real- 
estate  speculations  are  very  rare.  The  demand  for  real-estate  for  dwelling 
purposes  has  seldom  been  better,  particularly  in  the  large  cities.  In  many 
cities  manufacturing  sites  can  scarcely  be  had.  This  is  the  case  in  Pitts- 
burgh where  the  manufacturers  are  compelled  to  go  to  the  suburbs  for 
room,  and  this  is  also  true  of  Cleveland.  In  Chicago  and  St.  Louis 
there  are  more  opportunities  for  manufacturers,  but  even  in  these  cities 
and  among  smaller  ones  the  land  is  rapidly  appreciating  in  value,  and 
manufacturers  are  beginning  to  cast  around  for  where  the  rate  of  taxes 
are  more  in  their  favor.  This  outgoing  into  smaller  cities  and  towns  has 
heretofore  been  noticed ;  the  recent  developments,  however,  emphasize  this 
movement.  Advices  from  architects  in  many  sections  of  the  country 
strengthen  the  observations  recently  made  on  building  prospects  for  the 
season.  Many  architects  have  been  engaged  for  the  season  in  the  smaller 
towns  and  cities,  and  are  about  to  superintend  building  operations  there  of 
greater  or  less  magnitude.  Architectural  ability  is  being  placed  before 
ordinary  work.  The  old-time  rule-of-thumb  methods  are  being  abandoned, 
and  more  confidence  is  being  shown  in  the  wisdom  of  architects.  The 
younger  men  among  the  architects  are  finding  encouragement  which  has 
heretofore  been  denied  them.  Their  sphere  is  widening  by  superintending 
work  which  is  not  strictly  architectural  work,  but  which  helps  to  round 
them  up  as  architects,  and  it  is  creditable  to  them  to  be  able  to  say  that 
such  opportunities  are  not  permitted  to  pass. 

The  demand  for  all  kinds*  of  building  material  is  better  now  than  even 
two  or  three  weeks  ago,  excepting  for  iron.    The  demand  for  structural 
material  will  be  very  heavy  for  the  next  two  or  three  months.    The  use  of 
iron  is  steadily  increasing  in  large  buildings.    The  tendency  seems  to  be  to 
adopt  iron  supports  instead  of  timber,  or  more  liberally  in  conjunction  with 
it  than  in  years  past.    The  structural-iron  makers  have  of  late  had  a  good 
many   inquiries   from   builders  for  material   to  be  supplied  this   season. 
There  is  also  a  very  active  demand  for  cement,  brick  machinery  for  terra- 
cotta, tile,  etc.,  as  well  as  for  timber.    The  lumber  markets  of  the  country 
show  that  there  is  apparently  an  upward  tendency  in  prices.    When  this 
tendency  was  manifested  a  month  ago  it  was  looked  upon  by  builders  and 
buyers  as  delusive,  and  simply  a  ruse  of  manufacturers  and  dealers  to 
crowd  up  prices.    It  now  looks  as  though  the  improvement  were  legitimate. 
Hemlock  is  in  better  demand.    Poplar  is  picked  up  by  wholesalers  and  re- 
tailers, and  there  is  quite  a  scramble  for  it  in  Kentucky  and  Tennessee. 
Yellow  pine  is  selling  at  an  advance.     Shipments  of  white  pine  are  bringing 
equally  as  good  prices  as  a  year  ago.    Uppers  have  advanced.    Hard  woods 
in  geueral  are  in  good  supply,  but  dealers  are  taking  advantage  of  the 
better  trade  conditions  to  hold  on  for  a  firm  price.    Stone  and  slate  are 
held  at  last  year's  full  prices.    A  good  many  quarries  have  been  opened, 
and,  in  fact,  the  spirit  of  competition  has  been  manifested,  and  dealers  and 
buyers  have  been  obliged  to  take  cognizance  of  it.    It  seems  to  be  the  con- 
current opinion  among  a  good  many  architects  that  this  year  will  be  an  ex- 
ceptionally busy  one  for  both  ordinary  and  fine  residences.    Residents  of 
cities  are  seeking  homes  iu  the  suburbs,  and  this  accounts  for  a  large 
number.    A  large  number  of  residences  costing  from  $5,000  to  $10,000  are 
being  built.    Railroad  companies   will  be  also  large  buyers  of  material; 
builders  of  warehouses,  terminal  facilities,  etc.    Quite  a  number  of  belt- 
lines  are  projected.    Not  a  few  of  them  will  be  undertaken  next  fall  or 
winter.    The  outflow  of  population  into  the  West  and  South  still  continues. 
While  new  enterprises  in  the  South  are  greatly  magnified  by  journals  in- 
terested in  calling  attention  to  this  section,  tfie  fact  remains  that  a  great 
many  profitable  investments  are  being  made  there,  and  thousands  of  people 
are  locating  themselves  where  energy  will  find  constant  occupation.    The 
smaller  industries,  with  a  few  exceptions,  are  all  doing  well.    The  anthra- 
cite producers  have  undertaken  the  heavy  task  of  maintaining  last  year's 
prices  on  coal.    The  heavy  stocks  in  the  Eastern  and  Western  markets  are 
a  drag.    They  have  inaugurated  a  restriction  of  production.    Buyers  are 
hoping  that  the  drop  will  be  made  that  will  bring  coal  down  one  dollar  per 
ton,  which  reduction  could  easily  be  affected  without  injury  to  the  produc- 
ing interests,  according  to  current  commercial  opinion,  and  from  the  report 
of  the  Congressional  Committee    which   investigated   the  cause   of   the 
Reading  strike  a  year  or  so  ago.    There  is  a  very  active  demand  for  bitumi- 
nous coal  from  the  Allegheny  regions,  as  well  as  from  Western  Pennsylvania 
and  from  Ohio  and  Indiana  block-coal  regions.    There  is  also  a"  heavy 
demand  for  natural-gas  for  domestic  and  manufacturing  purposes,  and  new 
wells  are   being  bored  in  remote  localities  from   the  present  well-known 
sources  of  supply.    The  Standard  Oil  Campany  is  spreading  its  territory, 
and  has  prevented  that  development  of  natural-gas  interests  which  would 
have  taken  place  but  for  them. 

S.    J.     I'.UIKHILL  &  Co.,  Printers,  Boston. 


APRIL  20,  1889.] 


The  American  Architect  and  Building  Nems. 


GABOT'5  CBEOjoTE 


muc    yy^ore 


ejoni    ecrror 


PRICES  are  4O,  6O  and  7B  cents  per  Gallon 

According  to  Color. 
SEND  for  Samples  on  "Wood,  and  Circulars, 


-  SAMVEL-  CABCH> 
>  K I L  BY-6  T  -  -  BOSTON  - 


The   American   Architect   and  Building  News.         [VOL.  XXV.  — No.  695. 


CURNI  !Y 


HOT  WATER  HEATER. 


More  extensively  used  and  with  better 
results  than  any  other  Hot  Water  Heater. 
Conclusively  demonstrating  that 

HORIZONTAL  HEATING  SURFACE 

is  -infinitely  more  effective  than 
Vertical  Surface. 

Gold  Medal  Boston,--1887,    -     -    - 
-   -   -    Highest  Award  New  York,-1887, 
-    Highest  Award  Toronto,~1887.    • 

SPECIAL  SILVER  MEDAL  FOR  EXTRA- 
ORDINARY MERIT,  NEW 
YORK,  1888. 


For  Full  Particular*,  See  Catalogue  Gratis. 


GrURNEY    HOT    WATER    HEATER    OO-, 

237  Franklin  St.,  Boston,  Mass.  New  York  Office,  88  John  St. 

Selling  Agencies  : 

San  Francisco,  J.  J.  Lawton,  418  Fulton  Street. 
Detroit,  T.  R.  Chase.  138  Lamed  Street,  West. 
Portland,  Or.,  William  Gardiner  *  Co.,  134  Third  St 


Chicago,  Rice  *  Whitacre  Mfg.  Co., «! I » : «  W.  Monroe  St. 
Charleston,  S.  C.,  Valk  t  Murdoek.  It  IS  *  SO  Ha»el[  St. 
Covmgton,   Ky.,  J.   L.  Friable,  S26  Philadelphia  St. 
MENTION     THIS     PAPER. 


WARM  AIR  COMBINED 


One  Fire  Gene*  tah  fan  Air  iStei 


COMBINATION 

Steam  and  Warm  Air  Heater, 


the  entire  product  of  Combustion  in 
•proclticing  Heat.  A  perfection  for  warming 
Churches,  Schools,  Residences. 

SEND    FOR    CATALOGUE. 

J.  F.  PEASE  FURNACE  CO., 

SYRACUSE,  N.Y.,    and 

75  Union  Street,    Boston,   Mass. 
NEW   YORK,       CHICAGO,        TORONTO. 

Sole  M'f'rs  of  tliK    ECOXOMr    W^IJIM    AIH    FURXACE8. 


THE  STURTEVANT 

Steam  Hot-Blast  Apparatus 


FOR 


HEATING  and 
VENTILATING 


of  all  Kinds. 

Send  for  Illustrated  Treatise 
on  Heating  and  Ventilation. 

B.  F.  STURTEVANT, 

34  Oliver  street,  Cor.  ol  FraiHrn  St., 

BOSTON,  -    MASS. 

BRANCHES: 

115  Liberty  St.,  N.  T. 

31  No.  Canal  St.,  Chicago. 


Detroit  Heating  &  Lighting  Go's 

HOT  WATER  HEATER 

(BOLTON'S  PATENT) 

For  Heating  Public  and  Private  Buildings  by  Hot 
Water  Circulation. 

THE  COMBINATION 

GAS  MACHINE 

JPor  Lighting  all  kinds  of  Buildings  and  for  Furnisn- 
ing  Fuel  Gas  for  Manufacturing  Purposes. 

IDEAL  GAS  STOVES. 

WEBER  STRAIGHT  WAY  VALVES, 


DETROIT  HEATING  &  LIGHTING  CO. 


FISCHER'S 

Wrought  Steel  Family 
and  Hotel  Ranges. 

Cheaper  &  better  than  the  old  style  stoves. 
Thousands  in  use  in  this  country  alone. 

The  Wm.  C.  Fischer  Mfg.  Co 

CINCINNATI,  OHIO,  T7.  S.  A. 


U.  S.  MAIL  CHUTES 

Enable  you  to  mail  letters  without  leaving  the 
floor  on  which  your  office  is  located. 

NOW  IN  ALL  FIRST-CLASS  BUILDINGS. 
CUTLER  MF'G  CO.,  ROCHESTER,  NY. 

SOLE   MAKERS.  PATENTED. 


ASAHEL  WHEELER'S 
IVORY 

WHITE 

PAINT 

la  now  the  popular  desideratum  for  interior 
painting,  and  is  non-poisonous. 

145  Milk  Street,     -     BOSTON. 


ARCHITECTURAL  BOOKS, 

DRAWING  INSTRUMENTS. 

1889  Catalogues  Free.    Address 

WM.  T.  COMSTOCK, 

23   Warren  St.,  New  York. 


o 

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THE 


"Perfect"  Hot-Water  Boiler 

Having  Unprecedented  Power. 

QUICK   HEATER,  ECONOMICAL   IN  FUEL, 
FOR  HARD  OR  SOFT  COAL  OR  GAS. 

Hundreds  in  use  giving  perfect  satisfac- 
tion.   Send  for  Testimonial  List. 

RICHARDSON    &   BOYNTON   CO., 

232  &  234  Water  St.,  N.  Y.         84  Lake  St.,  Chicago. 


Decennial  Index  of  Illustrations 

IN  THE 

MM  News, 


1876  to  1885.  1  vol.  8vo.     .     .    .  $2.00 

A  carefully-made  topic»l  index  to  the  thou- 
sands of  illustrations  printed  in  "  The  Ameri- 
can Architects  "  for  the  past  ten  years,  with 
the  architects  and  costs  of  the  buildings  illus- 
trated. These  include  Sketches,  Etchings,  Gen- 
eral Views ;  Towers  and  Spires ;  Monuments, 
Statues,  and  Tombs;  Interiors  and  Furniture ; 
Entrances  and  Gateways ;  Educational,  Mer- 
cantile, and  Public  Buildings ;  Churches  and 
Parish-buildings ;  Dwellings  ;  Club-Houses ; 
Theatres,  Stables,  and  Farm-Buildings ;  Ho- 
tels, Museums,  Libraries,  and  Town-Halls. 


TICKNOR   &   COMPANY. 


THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT  AND  BUILDING  NEWS. 

VOL     XXV  Copyright,  1889,  by  TICKNOB  &  COMPANY,  Boston,  Mass. 


No.    696, 


APRIL  27,  1889. 


Entered  at  the  Post-Office  at  Boston  as  second-class  matter. 


•SUMMARY:  — 

Doors.  —  The  Founding  of  a  School  for  Drawing  in  Kansas 
City,  Mo.  —  The  Massachusetts  State-House  Extension. — 
History  of  the  Florence  Campanile.  —  Some  Cat  Stories.  .  193 

BUILDERS'  HARDWARE. — XXIV 195 

ILLUSTRATIONS : — 

Figures  for  the  Calais  Monument.  —  Armory,  Worcester, 
Mass.  —  House  of  C.  J.  Page,  Esq.,  Westland  Ave.,  Bos- 
ton, Mass. — Grace  Church  Cathedral  and  Guild- Hall, 
Topeka,  Kansas.  —  Views  in  Verona,  Italy.  —  House  of 

Bertrand  E.  Taylor,  Esq.,  Newton,  Mass IPS 

AUGUSTE  RODIN.  —  VI 198 

THE  LOTUS  IN  ANCIENT  ART.  —  IV 200 

ITALIAN  CITIES.  —  VI. — VERONA  —  1 203 

NOTES  AND  CLIPPINGS 204 

TRADE  SURVEYS.      .     .  .  204 


SERIES  of  lectures  to  artisans  has  been  given  this  winter 
at  the  Carpenters'  Hall  in  London,  on  subjects  connected 
with  the  building  trades.     The  last  of  these  was  given  by 
Mr.  Thomas  Blashill,  a  well-known  architect,  and  now  Super- 
intending   Architect    of    Metropolitan     Buildings,   on    doors. 
Most  of    his  hearers  being  practical    mechanics,  Mr.  Blashill 
had  the  good  sense  not  to  try  to  instruct  them  in  the  rudiments 
of  door-making,  which  they  undoubtedly  understood  as  well  as 
he,  but  brought    together   and   explained   a   great  variety  of 
ancient  and  foreign  examples,  which  would  not  only  interest  a 
mechanic,  but  would  be  useful  to  him  by  giving  him  resources 
for  use  in    cases  where    the    common    patterns    could  not    be 
applied.      For   instance,  an   English  or   American  carpenter 
would  be  rather  perplexed  at  being  told  to  hang  a  two-inch 
door  in  a   rebate   only  one   inch   deep,  but,  as   Mr.  Blashill 
showed,  this  is  not  only  frequently  done  on  the  Continent,  but 
it  is  the  common  way  in  France  to  make  the  rebate  narrower 
than  the  thickness  of  the  door,  and  rebate  and  mould  the  edge 
of   the  door,  so  as   to  make   a   neat  finish.      Of   course,    an 
arrangement  like  this  almost  precludes  the  use  of  mortise  locks, 
but  mortise  locks  are  not  much  in  favor  on  the  Continent.     It 
is  interesting,  but  not  surprising,  to  find  that  the  joinery  of 
modern  England   and   America   seems    to  have  been  derived 
from  that  of  Holland,  which  it  still  resembles  much  more  than 
it  does  that  of  any  other  Continental  country.      Not  only  are 
the  Dutch  frames  rebated  to  receive  the  full  thickness  of  the 
door,  like  ours,  but  many  Dutch  doors  are  framed  with  a  verti- 
cal "  muntin,"  or  stile,  in  the  middle,  which  is  invariably  found 
in  ordinary  English  or  American  doors,  but  is  never  seen  in  a 
French  or  German  door,  unless  it  has  been  made  expressly  to 
imitate   an  English  door,  or  has   the  muntin  marked  with  a 
centre-bead  down  the   middle,  to  look  like  a  pair  of  folding 
doors.     Probably  on  account  of  the  large  size  of  panel  required 
for   economical  work  with   only   two   vertical   pieces   in    the 
framing,  the  Continental   door   panels   are   invariably  raised, 
while  those  of  English  and  American  doors  are  almost  always 
plain.     Moreover,  our  doors  are  much  thicker  than  those  on 
the  Continent,  a  large  French  or  German  door  being  often  only 
an  inch  thick,  and  few  being  more  than  one-quarter  or  three- 
eighths  of  an  inch  thicker  than  that,  while  an  inch  and  a  half  is 
a  very  moderate  thickness  for  our  doors,  and  a  large  door  is 
almost  always  nearly  or  quite  two  inches  thick.     Owing  to  the 
thinness  of   the  Continental  doors,  neither  mortise  locks  nor 
butt  hinges  can  be  conveniently  used  upon  them,  and  the  latter 
are  replaced  by  the  hinges  on  the  face  of  the  door  which  often 
so  strongly  excite  our  admiration  by  their  beautiful  design  and 
workmanship.     The  rim-locks,  which  are  also  used  with  these 
thin  doors,  are  usually  placed  so  as  to  come  partly  on  the  lock- 
rail,  and  the  knob,  in  France  and  Germany,  is  commonly  set 
three  feet  and  nine  inches  above  the  floor,  and  a  lever  is  used 
instead  of  a  knob.     In  England,  as  we  know,  a  round  knob  is 
the  rule,  and  it  is  placed  about  three  feet  and  three  inches  from 
the  floor.     With  us  the  knobs  are  placed  lower  than  in  Eng- 
land, three  feet  from   the  finished  floor  to  the  centre  of  the 
knob  being  a   common   and   generally  satisfactory  rule.      In 


Holland,  the  door  furniture  is  something  like  that  in  England, 
but  the  Dutch  still  make  great  use  of  the  oval  and  egg-shaped 
knobs  which  our  ancestors  copied  or  imported  from  them,  and 
we  have  of  late  copied  again  from  our  ancestors.  Mr.  Blashill 
said  nothing  about  what  is  perhaps  the  most  striking  peculiarity 
of  the  Dutch  doors,  the  way  in  which  many  of  them  are  made 
to  open  in  two  sections,  divided  by  a  transverse  joint  in  the 
middle  of  the  height  of  the  door.  This  fashion,  which  is  still 
very  common  in  Holland,  is  preserved  in  many  houses  about  New 
York,  and  must  have  a  curious  history,  which  we  commend  to 
the  attention  of  some  amateur  of  Knickerbocker  archaeology. 
The  Italian  doors  retain  a  peculiarity  of  which  the  origin  is 
more  obvious,  in  the  shape  of  a  grated  opening,  which  is  almost 
always  found  in  the  outside  doors  of  houses,  at  a  convenient 
lieight  for  inspecting  a  caller  before  opening  the  door  to  let  him 
in.  Considering  the  sort  of  callers  that  a  man  was  liable  to 
have  in  Rome  or  Florence  three  or  four  hundred  years  ago,  it 
is  not  strange  that  some  such  facilities  for  reconnoitring  visitors 
should  have  become  fashionable.  The  most  interesting  doors 
of  which  Mr.  Blashill  spoke,  considered  artistically,  were  per- 
haps the  Moorish  ones.  These  are  framed  like  ours,  but  with 
the  panels  as  thick  as  the  framing,  so  as  to  give  a  smooth 
surface,  on  which  stamped  leather  is  often  placed,  and  secured 
by  brass  arabesques,  nailed  over  the  whole.  What  a  pretty 
suggestion  this  would  be  for  one  of  our  modern  houses,  we 
need  hardly  point  out,  and  many  ways  will  occur  to  architects 
by  which  a  somewhat  similar  treatment  might  be  carried  out 
in  other  materials. 


IT  is  gratifying  to  learn  that  so  enterprising  a  town  as  Kansas 
City  is  "  waking-up  to  its  art  needs,"  to  use  the  expression 
that  we  find  in  one  of  the  local  journals,  and  has  founded  a 
school  of  drawing,  in  which  the  architects  and  builders  of  the 
city  appear  to  have  interested  themselves  so  far  as  to  found 
prizes,  to  be  awarded  to  the  most  deserving  pupils.  We  are 
ad  to  wish  the  utmost  success  to  the  new  school,  and 
particularly  like  the  idea  of  placing  it  to  some  extent  under 
the  care  of  architects,  and  of  builders  also,  if,  as  appears  to  be 
the  case,  the  builders  of  Kansas  City  are  exceptionally  in- 
terested in  fine  art.  The  same  writer,  however,  considers  that  it 
is  desirable  to  have  more  pictures  immediately  imported  "  from 
the  East "  into  the  town,  which  is  not  quite  the  same  thing  as 
having  its  citizens  make  them  for  themselves.  It  thinks  that 
if  a  demand  for  pictures  were  to  manifest  itself,  it  would  soon 
be  supplied,  which  is  unquestionably  true,  the  "  Eastern 
artists,"  or  at  least  some  of  them,  having  facilities  for  supply- 
ing such  a  demand  which  would  probably  surprise  the  Kansas 
City  journalist.  Not  only  can  the  artists  in  question  furnish 
modern  paintings  in  oil,  of  assorted  subjects,  at  the  moderate 
price  of  one  to  two  dollars  each,  but,  if  report  does  not  belie 
them,  they  can  fit  out  the  future  "galleries  "  which  are  to  adorn 
the  metropolis  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  with  choice  llem- 
brandts,  Raphaels  and  Titians  at  about  the-  same  figure. 
These  pictures,  by  the  way,  are  really  painted  in  oil,  either  on 
canvas  or  a  tolerably  good  imitation  of  it,  by  what  is  called  the 
factory  system,  each  canvas  passing  by  turns  through  the 
hands  of  the  "sky-man,"  the  "tree-man,"  the  "foreground- 
man,"  and  so  on,  until  it  arrives  at  the  end,  a  picture  complete 
in  everything  except  that  which  makes  a  picture  valuable. 
The  productions  of  these  factories  are  said  to  be  extensively 
sold  in  the  West,  and  a  worse  fate  could  hardly  befall  Kansas 
City  than  to  be  known  as  a  good  market  for  them. 


TITHE  affair  of  the  addition  to  the  Boston  State-house,  which 
\j  at  one  time  seemed  likely  to  lead  to  unpleasant  rivalries 
between  the  architects  concerned,  as  well  as  to  undignified 
controversies  in  the  newspapers  and  before  the  legislature, 
appears  to  have  been  happily  settled  by  the  appointment  of  a 
consulting  architect,  who,  in  conjunction  with  the  architects  to 
whom  the  first  prize  was  awarded,  is  to  prepare  a  modified  de- 
sign, which  is  to  be  carried  into  execution.  In  this  way  the 
State  observes  the  principle  so  strongly  insisted  upon  by  archi- 
tects, that  the  execution  of  the  work  should  always  be  given  to 
the  author  of  the  design  placed  first,  and  at  the  same  time 
satisfies  the  popular  demand  that  "  a  first-class  architect,"  i.  e., 
one  who  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  competition,  should 
be  concerned  in  the  work.  It  will  be  observed  that  no  one,  so 
far  as  we  know,  has  ever  said  anything  against  the  skill  or 


194 


The   American    Architect  and  Building   News.        [Vou  XXV.— Mo.  696. 


ability  of  the  winners  of  the  first  prize,  but  the  fact  that  thej 
were  willing  to  compete  at  all  on  the  terms  offered,  and  stil 
more  so  the  fact  that  they  should  have  done  so  after  th 
almost  unanimous  withdrawal  of  the  members  of  the  profession 
in  Massachusetts,  appears  to  have  created  a  presumption  in  th 
minds  of  the  Massachusetts  public,  as,  in  fact,  it  generally 
does  iii  such  cases,  that  they  must  in  some  way  be  inferior  to 
those  who  themselves  set  a  higher  price  on  their  skill 
Although  we  consider  the  whole  scheme  of  placing  the  mos 
costly  and  important  part  of  the  State-house  in  a  separate 
building,  at  a  lower  level,  and  across  a  street,  over  and  under 
which  communication  is  obtained  by  means  of  tunnels  anc 
bridges,  to  be  a  most  mistaken  one,  and  the  reason  given  for 
it,  that  it  is  important  to  preserve  intact  a  certain  dome  of  inch 
boards  covered  with  tin,  to  be  little  short  of  absurd,  the  time 
has  gone  by  for  discussing  that  point,  and  we  hope  that  the 
legislature  will  see  that  the  disposition  which  its  supreme 
wisdom  has  adopted  is  carried  out  as  promptly  and  energetically, 
and  with  as  complete  an  absence  of  unseemly  squabbles  ane 
scandals,  as  possible. 


O'IGNOR  MELANI  writes  to  La  Construction  Moderne  an 
1^  extremely  interesting  letter  about  the  history  of  the  Cam- 
'        panile  at  Florence,  from  which  it  appears  that  our  text- 
books on  the  subject  ought  to  be  immediately  revised,  and  an 
immense  amount  of  esthetic  rubbish  extirpated  from  the  senti- 
mental literature  of  architecture.    To  sum  up  in  a  word,  Signor 
Melani  assures  us,  not  on  his  own  authority,  but  on  that  of 
persons  whose    conclusions  cannot  be    disputed,  that   Giotto's 
Campanile  was  principally  built  by  somebody  else,  and  from 
designs  which  Giotto  never  dreamed  of;  while  the  Cathedral 
of  Florence  itself,  instead  of  being  the  immortal  work  of  Ar- 
nolfo,  was  the  result  of  the  successive  labors  of  half-a-dozen 
architects,  one,  at  least,  of  whom  had  quite  as  much  to  do  with 
its    design    as    Arnolfo.     To    begin    with    the  Campanile,  the 
records  of  Florence  show  without  question  that  Giotto's  work 
upon  it  ended  when  it  had  reached  a  height  of  about  twenty 
feet  from  the  ground.     At  this  height  the  principal  part  of  the 
spreading  base  only  had  been  completed,  including  the  hexa- 
gonal panels,  which  were  sculptured   by  Giotto  himself.     At 
this  point  Giotto  was  succeeded  by  Andrea  Pisano,  an  artist 
almost  as  renowned  as  his  predecessor.     Where  Pisauo's  work 
ended  is  not  quite  certain,  but  a  picture  which  is  preserved  in 
Florence,  in  the  "  Uffizii  del  Bigallo,"  indicates  that  it  stopped 
at  the  height  of  the  first  large  windows.     This  suggestion  is 
confirmed  by  the  fact  that  a  writer  contemporary  with  Giotto 
and  his  successors,  speaking  of  the  work  that  Pisano  did  on  the 
tower,  mentions  that  his  employment  was  terminated  on  the  dis- 
covery that  he  had  made  a  change  in  the  design  of  a  sort  which 
displeased  the  authorities  in  charge.     What  this  change  was, 
Pucci,  the  writer    in  question,  does    not  explain,  but    Signor 
Melani  points  out  that  there  are  in  the  tower,  at  the  height  of 
the  first  story  windows,  some  small  pilasters  placed  in  the  line 
of  the    niches,  which  occur  nowhere  else,  and  are    of  an  un- 
pleasant effect.     Whatever  may  have  been  the  exact  point  at 
which  Pisano  was    discharged,  it  is  certain  that  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Francesco  Talenti,  who  carried  the  building  through 
to  completion,  and  there  is  plenty  of  evidence  that  he  treated 
the  design  of  the  upper  part  as  he  liked,  without  interference 
from  any  one.     The  usual  romance  about  the  construction  of 
the  Campanile  relates  that  Giotto,  before  it  was  begun,  made  a 
model  of  it  at  a  large  scale  in  wood,  on  which  every  stone  was 
marked  and  colored  in  imitation  of  the  piece  of  marble  which 
was  to  be  used   in  that  place.     It  is  quite   possible  that  the 
model  was  made  according  to  the  story,  but  it  is  certain  that  it 
was  not  followed.     Not  only  does  the  internal  evidence  of  the 
building,  which  plainly  shows  three  styles  of  treatment,  furnish, 
to  an  architect,  convincing  proof  that  it  was  not  built  in  accord- 
ance with  one  design,  but  the  familiar  tradition  in  Florence, 
that  it  was  intended  to  have  a  spire,  indicates  that  a  complete 
change   of   motif  must   have   been    made   before  the  present 
cornice   was   devised.      The   exact   character  of   the  original 
design  of  Giotto  is  not  described  by  any  contemporary  writer, 
but  Signor  Melani  has  discovered  in  the  Uffizio  dell'  opera,  or 
archives  of  construction,  of  the  Cathedral  of  Siena,  a  drawing 
on  parchment,  of  the  fourteenth  century,  representing  a  tower, 
the  lower  portion  of  which  is  absolutely  identical  with  that  at 
Florence.     At  the  line  of  the  mosaic  of  little  squares  begins  a 
variation  between  the  drawing  and  the  actual  tower,  which  con- 
tinues to  the  summit.     In  the  drawing,  the  octagonal  corner- 


buttresses,  which,  in  the  actual  tower,  are  simply  carried  up 
and  crowned  with  the  same  cornice  as  the  wall  between  them, 
are  formed  at  the  upper  end  into  pinnacles,  while  the  whole  of 
the  upper  story  is  made  octagonal,  and,  rising  between  the  but- 
tress-pinnacles, carries  a  high  octagonal  spire,  with  gabled 
windows  on  the  faces  corresponding  with  the  faces  of  the 
square  beneath.  This  arrangement  is  familiar  enough  in  North- 
ern Gothic  spires,  but  it  is  utterly  unlike  that  finally  adopted 
at  Florence.  Of  course,  there  is  no  certainty  that  the  Siena 
drawing  is  the  work  of  Giotto,  although  Signor  Melani,  from 
the  resemblance  of  the  details  shown  in  it  to  those  employed 
by  Giotto  in  the  backgrounds  of  some  of  his  pictures,  believes 
that  it  is,  but  there  seems  to  be  a  strong  probability  that  it  at 
least  represents  the  Florentine  campanile  as  it  was  first  de- 
signed by  Giotto,  and  that  the  variations  of  the  present  tower 
from  the  drawing  show  the  design  of  Pisano,  and,  after  him, 
of  Talenti,  who,  it  must  be  remembered,  did  not  complete  the 
tower  until  1358,  when  Giotto  had  been  dead  twenty-one  years, 
and  his  model,  if  it  ever  existed,  had  probably  long  been  for- 
gotten. Even  if  it  had  not  been  forgotten,  moreover,  it  would 
probably  have  been  thrown  aside  to  make  way  for  the  devices 
of  Taleuti,  who,  though  now  almost  unknown  to  fame,  must 
have  been  a  great  man  in  his  day  —  much  too  great  a  man,  in 
fact,  to  submit  tamely  to  carry  out  the  conception  of  a  dead 
artist  of  the  preceding  generation.  Investigations  into  the 
records  of  the  Cathedral  of  Florence  show  that  the  same 
Talenti  was  in  1357,  while  his  work  on  the  campanile  was  still 
in  progress,  commissioned  to  modify  the  design  of  the  nave  of 
the  Cathedral,  which  was  still  incomplete,  and  in  the  following 
year  he  gave  the  designs  for  the  decoration  of  the  portions  of 
the  exterior  of  the  nave  wall  nearest  to  the  faqade,  which  have 
since  been  erroneously  attributed  to  Giotto  and  Arnolfo. 


*7T  GREAT  many  cat  stories  are  just  now  circulating  through 
rj.  the  technical  press.     Fire  and   Water  has  two,  illustrating 
the   occasional   connection   of   cats    with    conflagrations. 
According  to  the  first,  an  Englishman,  a  few  weeks  ago,  saw  a 
cat  on  the  roof  of  his  house,  and,  after  the  British  manner, 
thought   it   would   be   good  sport  for  him   to  get  a  gun  and 
shoot  it.     He  got  the  gun  and  tried  to  shoot  it,  but  the  shot 
missed  their  mark,  and  pussy  escaped  to  a  neighboring  tree. 
Meanwhile,  the  blazing  wad  had  set  the  roof  on  fire,  and  the 
house  was  burned  to  the  ground.     Another  lover  of  sport,  in 
North  Carolina,  shut  himself  up  with  his  cat  in  his  store,  and 
amused  himself  by  throwing  lighted  fire-crackers  at  her.     This 
diversion  lasted,  with  great  satisfaction  to  one  of  the  parties, 
until  a  misdirected  cracker  landed  in  an  open  powder-keg,  and 
the  store,  with  its  contents,  were  scattered  over  the  surround- 
ing country.     The  hilarious  proprietor  was  blown  under  the 
counter,  and  was  subsequently  extracted  from  the  debris,  not 
;o  much  injured  as  he  deserved  to  be.     The  third  story  that 
we  have  to  relate  possesses  a  physiological  interest.     A  woman 
in  Liverpool,  who  had  a  pet  cat,  of  which  she  was  very  fond, 
was  seen  by  some  neighbors  to  take  the  cat  into  the  yard  and 
:ut  off  its   tail  by   a   blow  from  a   hatchet.     The  neighbors, 
although  she  appeared  just  as  kind  to  the  cat  after  the  amputa- 
tion as  before,  saw  fit  to  complain  to  the  police,  and  the  amateur 
surgeon  was  arrested.     The  defence  was  that  the  removal  of 
;he  tail  was  necessary  to  save  the  cat's  life.     Every  cat,  the 
woman  explained,  has  a  worm  in  its  tail,  which  occasionally 
;akes  a  fancy  to  crawl  up  through  the  tail  and  back  to  the  cat's 
lead,  where  its  presence  causes  the  familiar  and  fatal  "  fits." 
The  commencement  of  this  pilgrimage  on  the  part  of  the  worm 
may  be  detected  from  the  actions  of  the  cat,  which  begins  to 
run  after  its  tail.     In  this  stage  of  the  disease,  if  the  tail  is  cut 
off,  the  worm  is  removed  with  it,  and  the  symptoms  disappear, 
jut  unless  this   precaution  is  taken  a  fatal  termination  is  in- 
evitable.    Although  most  of  the  lady's  neighbors  confirmed  her 
theory,  the  judge  unfeelingly  replied  that  cruelty  is  not  excus- 
able because  based  on  superstition,  and  fined  her  ten  dollars 
and    costs.     With    a   few    more  judges  of  this  sort,  England 
would  be  a  dangerous  place  to  practice  medicine  in,  for  the  cat- 
surgery  has  quite  as  much  foundation  as  some  of  the  methods 
>f  healing  which  are  applied  to  human  beings.     Although  the 
worm-theory   is   new   to   us,  it  is  certain  that  cats  are  often 
roubled  with  a  disease  which  shows  itself  by  an  inflammation 
and  swelling  at  the  end  of  the  tail.     The  patient  whirls  round 
and  round,  endeavoring  to  scratch  and  bite  its  tail,  and  appears 
eriously  out  of  health.     Under  these  conditions,  it  is  a  matter 
>f  very  general  belief,  if  not  of  experience,  that  the  removal  of 
he  inflamed  tip  of  the  tail  effects  a  cure. 


APRIL  27,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


195 


BUILDERS'    HARDWARE.1  —  XXIV. 


COMBINATION    DIAL-LOCKS. 


IAL- 


Fig.  343.     Dial  Lock.     Damon  Safe  and  Lock  Works. 


-LOCKS 

are  used  al- 
m  o  s  t  exclu- 
sively for  safe 
and  vault  work, 
and  so  cannot 
be  included  un- 
der the  gen- 
eral topic  of 
Builders'  Hard- 
ware. But,  rep- 
resenting, as 
they  do,  the 
highest  degree 
of  perfection  in 
the  line  of 

locks,  a  brief  statement  of  the  principles  upon  which  they  are 
constructed  and  worked,  may  not  be  out  of  place. 

The  external  appearance  of  a  dial-lock  is  familiar  to  every 
one,  consisting  of  a  rotating  disk,  graduated  around  the  circum- 
ference either  with  letters  or  with  numbers.  To  operate  the 
lock,  the  knob  attached  to  the  dial-disk  is  turned  a  certain 
number  of  times  to  one  side  then  to  the  other,  etc.,  stopping 
each  time  on  a  certain  number  or  letter,  until  the  combination 
is  set,  when  a  single  turn  of  the  knob  draws  back  the  bolt. 
The  internal  arrangement  consists  of  a  series  of  flat,  circular 
disks  or  tumblers,  which  rotate  freely  on  the  spindle  of  the  dial- 
knob.  In  the  edge  of  each  tumbler  is  a  notch,  and  the  inner- 
most tumbler  is  made  with  a  dog  which  catches  the  tooth  of  a 
lever  attached  to  the  bolt.  This  inner  tumbler  is  made  fast  to 
the  spindle.  On  each  face  of  each  of  the  tumblers  is  a  small 
peg,  all  the  pegs  being  placed  at  the  same  distance  from  the 
centre  of  rotation  ;  so  that  when  the  spindle  is  turned,  the  peg 
on  the  first  tumbler  strikes  against  the  peg  on  the  second 
tumbler,  causing  the  latter  to  rotate,  and  in  turn  to  start  the 
third,  and  so  on,  so  that  with  a  four-tumbler  lock,  turning  the 
spindle  four  times  to  the  left  moves  the  fourth  tumbler  to  any 
desired  number;  turning  next  three  times  to  the  right  adjusts 
the  third  tumbler,  but  does  not  disturb  the  adjustment  of  the 
fourth;  then  turning  twice  to  the  right  adjusts  the  second,  but 
does  not  disturb  the  other  tumblers.  When  the  slots  in  all  the 
tumblers  are  brought  to  a  line,  a  bar  drops  into  them,  per- 
mitting the  bolt-lever  to  catch  in  the  teeth  of  the  first  or  lock- 
ing-tumbler, when  a  single  revolution  will  draw  back  the  bolt. 
A  single  lock  will  illustrate  the  subject  sufficiently  for  our 
purpose.  Figure  343  shows  the  works  of  one  form  of  safe- 
lock,  used  by  the  Damon  Safe  and  Lock  Works ;  and  though 
this  is  a  cheap  lock,  it  embodies  all  the  essential  principles  of 
every  combination  lock.  This  lock  is  susceptible  of  755,000 
different  combinations,  but  some  bank-locks  afford  as  many  as 
134,000,000  changes. 

There  is  absolutely  no  way  to  pick  such  a  lock  as  this, 
except  by  "ringing  the  changes,"  that  is  to  say,  by  making 
successively  all  the  possible  combinations,  until  the  right  one  is 
found. 

Combination  locks  cost  from  five  dollars  for  the  cheapest 
kind,  to  several  hundred  dollars  for  the  most  perfect  styles  of 
time  locks. 

x 

MISCELLANEOUS    LOCKS. 

In  addition  to  the  regular  lines  of  lever  and  cylinder  locks, 
there     are     several 
forms  which  may  be 
considered    in    this 
connection. 

Tubular  Locks.  — 
Some  cheap  styles 
of  lock  are  manu- 
factured of  such 
form  that  all  the 
mortising  can  be 
done  with  an  augur, 
being  essentially  the 
same  in  principle  as 
the  mortise  door-bolts  described  in  a  previous  chapter  and 
illustrated  by  Figure  56.  Figure  344  shows  the  construction 
of  the  "  Hollenbeck  Tubular  lock."  It  is  too  simple  and 


Fig.  344.     Tubular  Lock.     Hollenbeck. 


1  Continued  from  No.  695,  page  185. 


Fig.  345.      Electric  Lock.     Thaxter. 


cheap  to  afford  any  very  great  degree  of  security  as  compared 
with  an  ordinary  three-lever  lock,  but  for  some  cases  it  would 
answer  very  well,  as  it  saves  seventy-five  per  cent  of  the  labor 

ordinarily  necessary  to  fit  a 
common  lock  to  a  door.  It  is 
held  firmly  in  place  by  the 
lugs  at  top  and  bottom,  so 
it  cannot  work  loose.  Hol- 
lenbeck also  manufactures  a 
tubular  latch  on  essentially 
the  same  principle.  Several 
other  firms  have  tubular  locks 
listed  in  their  catalogues,  but 
they  are  too  much  alike  and 
too  simple  to  require  further 
illustration. 

Electric  Locks.  —  It  is  often 
desirable  to  have  a  lock  which 
can  be  operated  by  any  one 
at  a  distance  from  the  door. 
In  apartment-houses,  clubs, 
etc.,  it  is  well  to  fit  the  front- 
door with  a  lock  so  connected 
with  an  electric  battery  that 
when  a  knob  is  pressed  in  an 
upper  story  a  catch  in  the 
lock  is  drawn  by  the  action  of 
an  electro-magnet,  permitting  the  lock  or  latch  to  be  moved. 
Any  form  of  lever-lock  might  be  adapted  to  this  purpose,  but 
there  are  a  few  forms  of  specially  designed  electric  locks 
which  are  more  commonly  used.  Properly  speaking  these  are 
all  electric-latches,  as  none  of  them  have  a  locking  bolt. 
Figure  345  illustrates  "  Thaxter's  "  electric  lock.  The  pres- 
sure of  a  button  closes  the  circuit  through  the  electro-magnets, 
A.  These  act  on  the  bent  lever  so  as  to  release  the  arm,  B, 
from  its  catch  on  F. 
The  spring  at  C  draws 
back  F  and  D  from  the 
follow,  E.  The  out- 
side knob  can  then  be 
turned  and  the  door 
opened.  When  the 
latch  is  drawn  back  by 
closing  the  door,  it 
carries  with  it  the  arm 
F,  which  resets  itself 
so  that  the  bolt  D 
catches  in  the  follow 
and  locks  the  door. 
The  latch  is  also  fitted 
with  a  set  of  levers, 
so  it  can  be  operated 
by  a  key,  indepen- 
dently of  the  knob. 

"  Fullers  "  electric 
lock,  Figure  346,  is  a 
t  r  i  fl  e  simpler.  The 
magnets  draw  the  arma- 
ture A  away  from  the 
cam,  B,  permitting  the 
knob  to  be  turned. 
When  the  door  is  closed 
the  latch  lifts  the  bent 
arm,  O,  and  forces  back 
the  armature  under  B. 
The  "Thaxter"  and 
the  "  Fuller  "  locks  are 
the  ones  most  com- 
monly employed  in  and 
around  Boston,  though 
there  are  several  other  makes  in  the  market,  most  of  which 
are,  however,  asserted  to  be  infringements  of  the  patents. 

Sliding-door  Locks.  —  Figures  347  and  348  illustrate  two 
types  of  sliding-door  latch  and  lock.  The  locking  mechanism 
used  for  this  purpose  is  usually  quite  cheap  in  its  construction, 
as  a  finely  fitted  lock  is  seldom  required  for  sliding-doors. 
Indeed  in  many  cases  no  lock  at  all  is  necessary.  The  boU  is 
curved  and  hooks  down  into  the  face-plate  on  the  opposite 
door  or  on  the  jamb.  The  door-pull  is  either  in  the  form  of  a 
hinged-lever,  as  in  Figure  347,  or  a  straight  pull  reinforced  by 
a  concealed  spring,  as  in  Figure  348.  Both  pulls  can  be  pushed 


Electric  Lock.     Fuller  &  Holier. 


196 


The  American   Architect  and  Building  News.         [VOL.  XXV.— No.  696. 


in  flush  with  the  face-plate.     In  some  localities  it  is  though 
desirable  to  use  knobs  on  the  sliding-doors,  one  set  of  knob 


I 


Fig.  347.         Sliding-door  Locks.     J.  B.  Shannon  &  Sons.         Fig.  348. 

working    the    hook-latch,  while    the    other   knobs   are  simply 
dummies.     In  this  case  the  key  is  used  to  lock  the  latch-bolt. 
Drmcer  and   Wardrobe  Locks.  —  These  are   more  properly 


Fig.  351.  Post-office 
Lock.  Corbin  Cabinet 
Lock  Co. 


Fig.  349.     Wardrobe  Lock. 
G.  Newman. 


Fig.  352.     Padlock.     A.  E.  Dietz. 


associated  with  cabinet-work  than  with  builders'  hardware,  and 
will  not  be  considered  at  any  length.  Drawer-locks  are  made 
in  a  great  variety  of  sizes,  from  one  to  three  and  a  half  inches 
deep,  and  in  all  grades,  from  a  simple  bolt  worked  by  the  key, 
without  levers  of  any  sort,  affording  no  real  protection  against 
intrusion,  to  the  locks  which  are  operated  by  Yale  cylinders, 


having  all  the  latest  improvements  of  the  Yale  system,  and 
being  practically  unpickable.  Figures  349  and  350  illustrate 
two  good  types  from  the  great  variety  of  locks  used  for  ward- 
robes and  small  closet  doors.  The  first  shoots  a  bolt  up  and 
down  and  is  a  fair,  two-lever  lock.  The  second  shoots  a  double 
bolt  horizontally.  Both  are  gained  into  the  inner  face  of  the 
door. 

The   Corbin   Cabinet   Lock  Company  has  recently  put  on 
the  market  a  very  ingenious  change  lock,  intended  specially  for 
post-office  boxes.     It  is  somewhat  upon   the  principle  of  the 
Day    &    Newell     "  Perautopic "    lock    previously    described. 
Figure  351  shows  the  lock  with  the  face-plate  removed.     Each 
lock  can  be  locked  by  any  one  of  a  series  of  keys  which  can  be 
extended    in  number   almost   indefinitely,  all    the  keys  being 
different  in  the  arrangement  and  spacings    of    the  notchings. 
But  the  bolt  can  be  unlocked  only  by  the  key  which  was  last 
used  in  locking  it,  so  that  the  key  can  be  changed  as  often  as 
desired.  '  In  case  the  key  is  lost,  an  arrangement  at  the  back  of 
the  lock  permits  the  postmaster  to  open  the   box  and  throw 
back  the  bolt,  when  a  new  key  can  be  used,  without  in  any  way 
changing  the  lock,  and  the  key  which  was  lost  would  not  then 
work  the  lock   at  all.       Furthermore,  the  bolt  is  so  arranged 
that  it  will  turn  back  only  sufficiently  to  permit  the  box  to  be 
opened,  but  not  enough  to  allow  the 
key  to  be  withdrawn,  unless  the  bolt 
is    forced  back  by  external  pressure. 
The   working     is  as    follows :     The 
upper    levers    are   pivoted  so   as  to 
permit  of  a  rotary  as  well  as  a  longi- 
tudinal  motion.     The   second  set  of 
levers  moves  only  laterally.     The  op- 
posite  edges   of  both  sets  of    levers 
are  notched,  the  width  of  the  notches 
corresponding   to  the    difference  be- 
tween   the    notches    on    the     keys. 
Suppose    the    bolt   to  be  unlocked : 
when   the    key  is    turned,  the  lower 
levers  are   first   pushed  to  one    side 
Fig.  353.    Scandinavian  Padlock,  varying   distances,    corresponding   to 
the    notches    of   the    key,   and    the 
upper  levers  are  then  drawn  down   and  away  from  the  post. 
As  the  key  continues  to  revolve  the  levers  interlock  and  the 
lower   ones  are  forced  sidewise  by  the  springs,  carrying  with 
them  the  pivoted  upper  levers,  which  rotate  so  that  the  slot  in 
ach  lever  no  longer  comes  opposite  the  post.       At  the  same 
time,  the  bolt  is  shot  out.     It  is  evident  that  the  action  would 
be    the    same,    no 
matter    what    key 
were  used,  only  the 
sets   of    levers 
would  not  interlock 
n  exactly  the  same 
relation.    It  is  also 
evident     that     the 
only     key      which 
will    rotate    the 
upper  levers  so  as 
;o  bring  each   slot 
opposite    the    post 
and  permit  the  key, 
n  turning,  to  draw 

jack     the      bolt,      is  Fif^5L4; 

,he  key  which  last 

made  the  combination  between  the  two  sets  of  levers. 

This  lock  hardly  comes  within  the  scope  of  builders'  hard- 
ivare,  but  it  is  too  ingenious  to  pass  unnoticed.       The-  Corbin 
abinet  Lock  Company  also  makes  a  change  lock  for  drawers, 
perating  on  much  the  same  principle. 

Padlocks.  —  The  subject  of  padlocks  is  one  which  might  be 
llustrated   indefinitely,  as  there  are  quite  as    many  different 
varieties  as  have  been  noted  in  regard  to  lever-locks,  though 
with  a  few  exceptions  all  padlocks  are  on  essentially  the  same 
rinciple,  consisting   simply  of  spring-levers  and  a    shooting- 
jolt,  operated  by  a  key  in  the  same  manner  as  an  ordinary 
.oor-lock.     Padlocks  are  now  used  but  little  about  a  house,  as 
mortise  or  rim  locks  are  usually  more  convenient,  and  at  the 
ame  cost,  are  more  secure.     Only  a  few  of  the  market  forms 
vill  therefore  be  considered. 

Figure  352  illustrates  the  internal  arrangement  of  a  very 
ecure  padlock  manufactured  by  A.  E.  Dietz,  the  key,  notched 
overs,  etc.,  being  somewhat  similar  to  those  in  the  Dietz 


t  Padlock.         Fig.    355.      Hasp     Padlock. 
Smith  &  Egge  Mfg.  Co.  Stoddard    Lock  &  Mfg.  Co. 


APRIL  27,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building   News. 


197 


store-lock  previously  illustrated.  Figure  353  is  a  form  made 
by  nearly  all  the  leading  lock-manufacturers.  The  key  is  in- 
serted at  the  bottom  of  the  padlock  and  rotates  a  set  of  levers 
which  catch  in  the  slots  on  both  of  the  arms  of  the  hasp.  One 
arm  is  swivelled  into  the  padlock  case.  Figures  354  and  355 
are  two  other  well-known  padlocks,  the  former  being  used  a 
great  deal  for  government  work  and  the  latter  having  the  hasp, 
staple  and  lock  in  one  piece.  The  more  common  makes  of 
padlocks  are  too  well-known  to  require  illustration. 

LATCHES. 

The  ordinary  door-latches  have  already  been  described  in 
connection  witli  the  locks,  but  there  remains  quite  a  variety  of 
latches  which  are  made  without  any 
locking  appliances,  being  intended  sim- 
ply to  hold  the  door  in  position.  Fig- 
ure 356  shows  the  commonest  form  of 
latch  used  for  elevator-doors,  consist- 
ing simply  of  a  bent  lever,  the  lower 
arm  of  which  is  counterbalanced  so 
that  the  lock  will  drop  by  gravity  and 


Fig.  356.   Elevator-door  Latch. 
J.  B.  Johnston. 


Fig.  357.      Rim  Sliding-door  Latch.     J.  B. 
Shannon  &  Sons. 


Fig.  359.  Brass  Thumb 
Latch.  J.  B.  Shannon 
&  Sons. 


Fig.  358. 


Mack  &  Redway's  Barn-door   Lock.      Nimick  & 
Brittar. 


remain  closed  until  drawn  back  by  pressure  on  the  upper  arm. 
Figure  357  is  a  very  simple  rim  sliding-door  latch  ;  and  Figure 
358  is  a  very  good  rim  door-catch  which  is  self-acting,  the  hook 
being  released  by  raising  the  lever  A,  either  directly  or  by  aid 
of  the  spindle,  B,  from  the  outside  of  the  door;  while  it  is 
locked  from  within  or  without,  the  slide  C  being  moved  so  that 
A  cannot  be  raised.  Figure  359  represents  one  of  a  great 
variety  of  styles  of  thumb-latch,  a  very  simple,  old-fashioned 
form  which  is  very  suitable  for  some  cases.  Figures  300  and 
3G1  are  cheaper  forms  of  thumb-latches,  intended  to  be  used 
only  on  screen-doors.  Each  of  these  styles  has  a  lever  Df  some 
sort,  A,  which  serves  to  lock  the  latch.  All  of  these  patterns 
act  by  gravity.  Figure  362  shows  a  spring-catch  which  is  re- 
leased by  lifting  or  pulling  out  the  handle  on  one  side  or  by 
depressing  the  thumb-latch  on  the  other,  the  latch  being  locked 
by  the  swing-lever  A. 

For  French  windows  and  cupboard-doors  or  for  light  screen- 
doors,  one  of  the  styles  represented  by  Figures  363,  364  and 
365  are  employed.  Figure  364  can  be  locked,  and  it 
and  Figure  365  work  with  a  spring. 

TRICES    OP   LOCKS. 

It  has  not  been  deemed  advisable  to  publish  in  this  connec- 
tion any  summary  of  the  market  prices  of  the  locks  which  have 
been  illustrated  and  described,  as,  without  such  an  acquain- 
tance with  the  subject  as  can  come  only  by  examination  and 
comparison  of  the  actual  samples,  any  prices  which  might  be 
given  would  be  misleading,  and  would  often  be  unfair  criteria 
of  comparison.  The  real  value  of  a  lock  depends  so  largely 
upon  the  care  with  which  the  levers  are  fitted,  and  the  care 
taken  with  such  details  differs  so  much  with  the  various  manu- 
facturers that  the  price  ought  to  be  the  last  thing  to  be  con- 
sidered in  selecting  the  locks  for  a  house.  A  good  lock  by  a 


thoroughly  reliable  firm  can  always  be  matched  by  a  lock  sold 
for  considerably  less  money,  which  has  the  outward  appearance 
of  being  exactly  as  reliable,  and  yet  which  is  totally  inferior. 


Fig.  361.    Crown  Screen-door  Latch.    Van 
Wagoner  &  Williams  Co. 


Fig.  360. 


Roggin's    Latch. 
F.  Corbin. 


Fig.  363.     Cottage  Latch.     P. 
Si  F.  Corbin. 


Fig.  362.    Screen-door  Catch.     P.  &  F.  Corbin. 


Surely  the  difference  between  good  and  bad  workmanship 
could  not  be  fairly  illustrated  by  even  the  best  of  drawings, 
and  it  would  never  be  wise  to  select  merely  from  a  trade  cata- 
logue. The  only  approximation  which  can  be  presented 
here  is  that  previously  given  in  the  classification  of  locks  by 
prices.  It  is  of  course  very  general,  and  consequently  some- 
what vague,  and  liable  to  exceptions ;  but  it  was  prepared  in 
conjunction  with  one  of  the  largest  hardware  dealers  in  the 


Fig.   364.      Screen-door   Catch.      Read- 
ing Hardware  Co. 


Fig.  365.     French  Window  Catch. 
Reading  Hardware  Co. 


country,  and  is  sufficiently  exact  to  serve  as  a  guide  to 
the  general  prices  which  should  be  paid,  bearing  always  in 
mind  that  the  wisest  plan  is  to  select  only  from  the  work  of 
the  best  manufacturers  and  then  only  by  samples. 

The  seventy-five  or  more  locks  which  have  been  illustrated 
and  described  must  be  considered  as  types  rather  than  as  an 
exhaustive  selection.  A  simple,  three-lever  lock  is  common 
property  and  several  manufacturers  whose  names  have  not  been 
mentioned  in  this  connection  turn  out  locks  which  are  quite  as 
good  or  better  than  those  which  have  been  selected  for  illustra- 
tion. The  difference  would  be  entirely  in  the  fitting  or  the 
finish,  neither  of  which  can  be  shown  by  the  illustrations.  All 
that  can  be  hoped  for  is  that  this  chapter  may  serve  as  a  sum- 
mary to  guide  in  the  general  selection  of  the  goods. 

LTo  be  continued.! 


WHY  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY  EXHIIIITS  NO  WATER-COLORS.  — It  ap- 
pears that  the  directors  of  the  British  National  Gallery  are  not  responsi- 
ble after  all  for  the  fact  that  all  water-color  paintings  are  relegate< 
the'basement,  where  very  few  persons  ever  dream  of  looking  for  them, 
but  that  they  are  precluded  by  the  terms  of  the  Government  grant  from 
either  acquiring  water-colors  or  exhibiting  them  with  the  works  in  oil. 
An  effort  will  be  made  to  amend  this  condition  of  affairs. — J\.  i. 
Evening  Post. 


198 


The  American   Architect  and  Building  News.       [VoL.  XXV.  — No.  696. 


[Contributors  are  requested  to  send  with  their  drawings  full  and 
a  (equate  descriptions  of  the  buildings,  including  a  statement  of  cost.] 

FIGURES    FOR   THE    CALAIS    MONUMENT.      A.    RODIN,    SCULPTOR. 

SEE  article  on  "  Augusts  Rodin  "  elsewhere  in  this  issue. 
[.Gelatine  Print,  issued  only  with  the  Imperial  Edition.] 

ARMORY,  WORCESTER,  MASS.      MESSRS.  FULLER  &   DELANO,  ARCHI- 
TECTS, WORCESTER,    MASS. 

TTTHE  new  building,  which  is  to  occupy  the  lot  at  the  intersection 
J 1 1  of  Grove  and  Salisbury  Streets,  facing  Lincoln  Square,  is  to  be 
built  of  brick  with  brownsl.one  trimmings,  and  is  to  be  67  by  85 
feet,  four  stories  in  height.  The  second  and  third  floors  of  the  head- 
house  will  be  for  the  use  of  the  infantry  companies.  Each  floor  will 
contain  two  company  rooms,  26  by  27  feet,  the  commissioned  officers' 
rooms  occupying  the  projecting  bays  at  the  front,  while  the  rooms  for 
the  non-commissioned  officers  open  from  the  rear.  Each  company 
will  be  provided  with  all  the  necessary  rooms  for  uniforms,  guns, 
dressing,  etc.,  on  the  same  floor.  The  fourth  floor  is  occupied  by  a 
kitchen,  15  by  17,  a  large  mess-hall,  27  by  44  feet,  with  band  and 
drum-corps  rooms  at  the  front  and  a  room  for  a  gymnasium  at  the 
rear.  The  basement  will  be  fitted  up  with  dressing-rooms,  harness- 
rooms,  lavatories,  boiler-rooms,  armorer's-room,  etc.,  while  the  base- 
ment under  the  drill-shed  will  be  used  as  a  magazine.  A  well- 
equipped  rifle-range,  extending  through  the  basements  of  the  head- 
house  and  drill-shed,  giving  a  distance  of  at  least  200  feet,  will  be 
one  of  the  features  of  the  new  armory.  At  the  rear  of  the  head- 
house,  and  connected  with  it,  is  the  drill-shed,  a  partial  view  of 
which  is  given  in  the  cut.  This  will  be  only  one  story  high,  75  feet 
wide,  and"  will  extend  back  from  the  head-house  160  feet.  The  roof 
will  be  supported  by  iron  arch  trusses  rising  from  the  floor,  which 
will  be  entirely  unobstructed  by  pillars  or  partitions,  thus  affording 
an  excellent  place  for  drill.  A  small  section,  16  feet  wide,  will  be 
shut  off  from  the  rear  end  of  the  shed  as  a  gun  park  for  the 
artillery.  This  section  is  separated  from  the  main  hall  by  gates, 
which  may  be  raised  up  out  of  the  way.  The  entrance  to  the  drill- 
shed  for  the  artillery  will  be  in  the  centre  of  the  Salisbury  Street 
side,  and  the  rear  corners  of  the  shed  will  be  bastioned  and  furnished 
with  loop-holes,  commanding  the  sides  and  rear  of  the  building  in 
case  of  need.  The  floors  throughout  the  building  will  be  of  hard 
wood,  and  the  finish  will  be  generally  in  oak. 

HOUSE   OF    C.    J.    PAGE,    ESQ.,    WESTLAND    AVENUE,    BOSTON,    MASS. 
H.    L.    WARREN,    ARCHITECT,    BOSTON,    MASS. 

THIS  house,  which  was  completed  last  autumn,  is  built  of  common 
brick  laid  throughout  in  Flemish  bond  in  white  mortar,  with  bands 
and  arches  of  pressed-brick  laid  in  red  mortar.  The  diaper  pattern 
across  the  second  story  is  formed  by  using  the  same  two  materials  : 
dark,  common  brick  in  red  mortar,  with  a  light  prcssed-brick  in 
white  mortar.  The  columns  in  the  arched  windows  of  first  story  are 
of  Georgia  marble.  The  balconies,  lamps,  standards,  etc.,  are  of 
wrought-iron.  The  interior  is  elaborately  finished  in  hard  woods  : 
the  dining-room  is  in  quartered  oak,  with  wainscot  four  feet  high 
and  oak  ceiling,  and  has  an  arched  brick  fireplace-bay,  in  which  are 
placed  oak  settles.  The  parlor  is  finished  in  mahoganv,  with  carved 
pilaster  caps  in  the  windows.  The  hall  is  wainscoted  eight  feet 
nigh,  and  is  finished  in  cream-white.  In  the  roof  is  a  large  studio. 

GRACE    CHURCH    CATHEDRAL   AND  GUILD-HALL,  TOPEKA,  KANSAS. 
MR.   H.   M.    CONGDON,    ARCHITECT,   NEW   YORK,    N.    Y. 

THE  Guild-Hall  is  built,  costing  about  $25,000.  The  Cathedral  it 
is  hoped  to  commence  in  a  short  time  and  carry  out  in  its  complete- 
ness. Mr.  Seymour  Davis,  of  Topeka,  was  employed  as  superin- 
tendent of  construction  of  the  Guild-Hall,  but  the  local  papers  have 
mistakenly  given  him  credit  as  being  the  architect. 

VIEWS   IN   VERONA,   ITALY. 

SEE  article  on  "  Italian  Cities  "  elsewhere  in  this  issue. 

HOUSE    OF   BERTRAND    E.    TAYLOR,  ESQ.,  NEWTON,  MASS.      MESSRS. 
RAND   &   TAYLOR,   ARCHITECTS,    BOSTON,    MASS. 


A  BIG  BOBED  WELL  IN  CALIFORNIA.  —  M.  R.  Rose,  of  the  Capital 
Iron  Works  of  this  city,  has  bored  a  well  on  R.  D.  Stephen's  place,  near 
Mayhew  Station,  which  is  the  largest  in  this  section  of  the  State.  It  is 
thirty-two  inches  in  diameter  and  120  feet  in  depth.  It  is  not  only  the 
largest  bored  well  in  the  State,  but  it  furnishes  more  water  than  any 
other.  In  fact,  it  is  an  inexhaustible  resevoir  that  cannot  be  lowered. 
A  sixty  horse-power  engine  works  a  large  centrifugal  pump,  that 
throws  over  32,000,000  gallons  per  day,  —  more  than  our  City  Water 
Works  pumps  in  a  whole  week,  and  what  would  measure  in  a  ditch  or 
canal  over  1,000  miner's  inches.  So  strong  is  the  supply  that  this  im- 
mense volume  does  not  in  the  least  lower  the  source  of  supply,  and  the 
water  is  as  clear  and  pure  as  any  obtainable.  —  Sacramento  ( Cal. )  Record- 
Union. 


AUGUSTE   RODIN.'—  VI. 


I 


T  was  in  this  year,  1884,  that  Rodin 
began  a  bust  of  Rochefort.  From  the 
very  beginning  things  did  not  go  well 
with  the  Red  Republican.  As  the  work 
went  on  he  became  more  and  more  dissat- 
isfied, and  finally  would  not  give  any  more 
sittings.  His  explanation  of  his  experi- 
ence at  the  sculptor's  studio  is  amusing. 
He  says :  "  I  went  to  the  studio  in  the 
morning,  sat  down  ready  for  Rodin  to 
begin.  Then'  he  would  look  at  me  for  an 
hour  or  two,  turn  to  his  work  and  look  at 
that  for  the  same  length  of  time,  put  a 
bullet  of  clay  carefully  on  it,  and  by  that 
time  we  were  ready  for  breakfast.  On 
returning  to  the  studio  he  would  go 
through  the  same  preliminary  operation, 
and  then  take  off  the  bullet.  The  bust 
never  will  be  done."  The  sculptor,  on 
part,  was  equally  dissatisfied  with  his 
sitter's  impudence  and  total  lack  of  ap- 

Eve.    Augusta  Rodin,  Sculptor.  Pfeciation,  and,  at  last    he   too,  became 
disgusted,     liut  the  bullets  had  told  their 

little  story  in  the  production  of  a  great  work  of  characterization. 
Though  not  completed  it  was  cast  in  plaster,  and  declared  to  be,  by 
Roehefort's  assistant  editors  and  friends,  not  only  a  superb  likeness, 
but  an  astonishing  piece  of  individualization.  Plaster  copies  are  now 
in  the  possession  of  several  of  the  editors  of  Roehefort's  paper, 
L' Intransigent. 

As  time  went  on  and  Rodin's  reputation  increased,  Rochefort 
experienced  an  awakened  interest  in  the  formerly  despised  bust  of 
"bulleted"  construction,  and  he  indicated  a  willingness  to  resume  the 
sittings  he  had  before  ridiculed.  It  was  too  late.  The  head  that 
had  looked  Rochefort  through  and  through  by  the  hour,  and  had 
sent  his  cranium  and  visage  into  posterity  as  a  powerful  image  in 
sculpture,  had  its  sense  of  what  was  due  to  it  and  to  art.  The  bullet 
process  was  not  resumed. 

In  the  early  spring  of  1885,  Rodin  was  invited  by  a  committee  of 
the  city  of  Calais  to  make  a  sketch  for  a  monument  to  commemorate 
the  heroic  patriotism  of  Eustache  de  Saint  Pierre  and  his  five  com- 
panions, who  offered  themselves  as  sacrifices  to  the  demands  of 
Edward  III,  the  conqueror  of  the  city  in  1347.  The  original  in- 
tention of  the  committee  was  a  single  statue  of  the  principal  per- 
sonage, but  Rodin  included  in  his  sketch  the  whole  six  in  a  group, 
St.  Pierre  being  the  chief  figure.  Of  the  several  sketches  sent  into 
the  competition,  none  of  which  had  more  than  one  figure,  that  of 
Rodin  was  accepted  in  the  autumn  of  the  same  year.  The  supe- 
riority of  the  sculptor's  sketch  was  commented  upon  by  the  Calais 
newspapers,  and  references  made  to  the  merits  of  his  former  work 
as  a  guaranty  of  a  successful  result.  The  receipt  of  this  important 
commission  was  originally  due  to  the  friendship  of  artist  friends.  A 
pupil  of  Laurens's,  named  Isaak,  told  his  master  that  his  native  city, 
Calais,  proposed  to  erect  a  monument  to  these  six  men  who  went 
out  to  save  their  city  from  destruction,  dressed  as  criminals  in  long 
shirts  and  with  ropes  about  their  necks,  and  asked  him  if  he  knew  of  a 
French  sculptor  that  he  could  recommend  as  worthy  to  be  invited  by 
the  committee  to  make  a  sketch.  "  Certainly,"  quickly  answered 
Laurens,  "  Rodin  is  the  one." 

Rodin's  last  exhibition  at  the  Salon  was  in  1885,  when  he  sent  a 
bronze  bust  of  M.  Antonin  Proust,  a  former  Minister  of  Fine  Arts. 
If  such  were  possible,  it  was  spoken  of  with  more  enthusiasm  than 
were  the  busts  of  Hugo  and  Dalou.  The  correspondents  of  nearly 
every  important  newspaper  in  Europe  had  some  admiring  word  to 
say  of  this  bust,  some  of  them  entering  into  quite  a  dissertation  on  its 
unique  merits,  an  analysis  of  the  genius  of  its  author,  and  the  probable 
effect  upon  French  art  of  such  a  powerful  worker  in  clay.  In 
modern  times,  they  declared,  no  one  had  ascended  to  so  high  a  plane 
in  bust  sculpture.  Among  the  notices  was  now  and  then  a  reference 
to  the  immense  work  upon  which  the  sculptor  was  engaged  in  his 
secluded  studio  in  the  Rue  de  1'Universite,  and  to  the  terrible  diffi- 
culties he  had  encountered  before  he  had  become  known.  The  ap- 
pearance of  this  bust  seemed  to  be  a  gratifying  point  of  departure 
for  the  art-writers,  and  from  which  they  passed  in  eulogistic  review 
all  of  his  previous  works.  The  fact  that  Rodin  had  attained  his 
enviable  position  without  the  help  of  any  master  or  school  was  also 
commented  upon.  A  few  observations  on  this  point,  by  Roger 
Marx,  are  as  follows:  "If  one  were  obliged  to  judge  the  present 
condition  of  French  sculpture  by  the  works  of  the  students  at  the 
Villa  Medici  (the  French  School  of  Fine  Arts  in  Rome),  as  they  are 
now  seen  at  the  School  of  Fine  Arts,  one  would  be  led  to  conceive  a 
sad  opinion  of  French  artists.  But  it  would  be  an  error  to  believe 
that  noble  art,  elevated  art,  existed  nowhere  else,  and  that  there  was 
no  health  for  it  outside  of  the  School.  To  mention  the  names  of 
Puvis  de  Chavannes  and  Cazin,  of  Dalou  and  Rodin,  is  to  remember 
temperaments  of  an  essentially  new  kind,  that  develop  without  obey- 
ing any  rule  or  following  any  conventionalism.  These  men  repre- 
sent the  grand  art  of  to-day  —  as  grand  art  as  there  is  —  and  you 
can  study  it  in  the  first  work  you  see  treated  with  a  free  hand, 

1  All  rights  reserved.    Continued  from  page  114,  No.  689. 


696. 


CCFffllSHT  1889BYTlCiaiORi.C 


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HOV5E   OP    &-E-TAYLOR. 

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Architect  ai?d  Building  IJews,  ?Ipril  27,  1339.        fy).  696. 


Copyright,  1889,  by  TICKNOR  &  Co. 


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The  American  Architect  and  Building  News. 


199 


Group  from   the    Door.      Augusts    Rodin,    Sculptor. 


under  such  conditions  as  are  absolutely  necessary,  to  our  way  of 
thinking,  for  the  conception  and  execution  of  a  veritable  work  of  art 
really  worthy  of  the  name." 

In  the  summer  of  this  year,  1885,  the  commission  for  the  statue  of 
Bastien-Lepage,  which  was  proposed  to  be  erected  to  his  memory  in 
his  native  village,  Damvilliers,  was  given  to  Rodin  to  execute,  and 
it  came  about,  says  the  latter,  in  this  way  :  "  The  first  time  I  saw 
Lepage  was  several  years  ago,  at  a  club  that  met  in  the  Rue  Veron, 
called  the  Pieds  Crottees.  He  was  talking  very  loud  and  a  good 
deal,  his  hair  was  brushed  down  over  his  forehead,  and  he  made  con- 
siderable noise  generally.  I  said  to  myself  :  Who  is  this  young  chap 

who  makes  such  an 
uproar?  Hecan never 
be  a  friend  of  mine. 
Some  time  after  this 
he  came  to  my  studio, 
expressed  his  admi- 
ration for  my  work, 
and  after  he  returned 
home  he  sent  me  a 
very  charming  letter, 
full  of  appreciation  of 
what  he  had  seen, 
and  assuring  me  that 
he  would  get  some  of 
his  friends  to  buy  mv 
thing?.  In  a  little 
while  he  came  again 
and  bought  a  marble 
copy  of  the  figure  of 
'  Sorrow,'  which  he 
placed  in  his  studio 
as  the  only  piece  of 
sculpture  there.  We,  of  course,  became  the  best  of  friends,  and, 
after  he  died,  the  committee  who  had  charge  of  the  erection  of  the 
statue,  and  knew  of  our  friendship,  gave  the  commission  to  me.  I 
made  him  painting  in  the  open  air,  because  he  was  the  strongest 
living  representative  of  that  way  of  working.  It  will  be  a  little 
larger  than  life.  Lepage  was  a  follower  of  Manet,  with  a  little 
touch  of  the  School.  He  had  a  great  tenacity  for  nature,  and  was 
very  sincere.  He  understood  Mauet  better  than  any  one,  or  as  very- 
few  did.  I  did  not  understand  Manet  until  Lepage  led  me  to  one  of 
his  pictures  to  show  me  how  good  they  were.  But  I  was  not  con- 
verted, though  I  found  them  droll.  Afterwards,  I  became  a  great 
admirer  of  Manet.  I  saw  that  he  was  a  great  artist.  He  has 
made  a  tremendous  impression 
upon  French  art,  a  great  leader 
for  those  who  came  after  him. 
Even  prominent  artists,  who  de- 
spised him  when  living,  and  won't 
commend  him  now,  show  in  their 
pictures  that  they  are  willing  to 
copy  him.  Some  of  the  men  who 
paint  in  the  same  style  that  Manet 
did,  and  especially  Monet,  are 
stronger  than  he  was.  The  latter 
is  a  very  great  artist,  one  of  the 
deepest  seers  into  the  mysteries 
and  solidities  of  nature  that  we 
have  ever  had.  Sometimes  Manet 
was  a  little  thin,  though  always  in 
the  right  direction.  Poor  Manet ! 
though  such  a  reviving  power,  he 
is  quite  forgotten.  You  never 
hear  his  name  mentioned." 

It  was  also  during  this  year  that 
M.  Turquet  placed  to  Rodin's 
credit  the  sum  of  seven  thousand 
dollars  for  the  purpose  of  paying 
for  the  casting  of  the  door  in 
bronze  by  the  wax  process ;  and 
the  first  well-paid  commission 
that  Rodin  had  ever  received 
came  this  year  from  the  Baron 
Alphonse  de  Rothschild. 

Rodin's  exhibits  at  the  Salons 
of  1883-4  and  5  had  awakened  so 
much  interest  among  art-writers 
that  when  that  of  1886  came  round, 
and  nothing  from  his  hand  was  seen,  there 'was  expressed  a  general 
regret.  Allusions  were  made  in  regard  to  the  superiority  of  French 
sculpture  over  the  painting,  to  such  men  as  Aube,  Ualou  and  Rodin 
as  its  best  representatives,  and  to  the  fact  that  the  latter  had  not 
been  justly  treated  in  any  respect  by  the  art  authorities  of  the  Salon. 
In  regard  to  the  last  allusion,  it  was  prophesied  that  although  it  was 
a  disgrace  to  art  to  quarrel  over  such  a  man,  there  was  'complete 
consolation  in  the  belief  that  the  great  statues  of  the  Calais  Monu- 
ment and  the  surprising  compositions  for  the  great  door,  upon  which 
he  was  then  engaged,  and  which  would  be  shown  to  the  public  in  a 
short  time,  would  forever  set  at  rent  the  criticisms  which  had  begun 
on  his  first  arrival  in  Paris  with  "  The  Age  of  Brass." 

The  fifth   International   Exhibition   of   Painting   and   Sculpture 


at  the  galleries  of  Georges  Petit,  in  the  Rue  de  Seize,  was  open  at 
the  same  time  as  the  Salon  of  1886.  Rodin  had  been  invited  to  con- 
tribute, and  he  sent  his  busts  of  Dalou  and  Rochefort,  and  a  number 
of  small  plaster  sketches  of  figures  belonging  to  his  door.  The 
appearance  of  these  sketches  was  the  signal  for  a  more  general  and 
analytical  examination  of  the  sculptor's  genius,  and  for  a  renewed 
declaration  of  his  superiority.  At  the  close  of  a  long  article  in  the 
journal  Le  Voltaire,  Roger  Marx,  said:  "When  this  door  is  com- 
pleted, perhaps  in  1889  for  the  great  exhibition,  we  shall  see  what  a 
master  of  the  true  French  line  of  Pugets,  Rudes  and  Carpeauxs 
can  do,  one  whom  the  sculptors  keep  at  a  distance  —  from  fear  or 


Group  from  the   Door.     Auguste   Rodin,    Sculptor, 


Group  from  the  Door.     Auguste  Rodin,  Sculptor. 

jealousy  —  and  who  will   dominate   them   all   by  the   incomparable 
strength  of  his  talent,  strange,  original  and  profound." 

But  it  was  not  until  the  next  year,  at  the  same  place,  that  Rodin 
took  the  entire  Paris  world  of  art  by  storm  —  critics,  amateurs,  and 
the  most  distinguished  lovers  of  art.  Even  the  sober  and  age-respect- 
ing Gazette  des  Beaux  Arts  placed  its  palm  of  admiring  accord  upon 
the  now  successful  artist,  by  publishing  the  following1  article  from  the 
pen  of  Alfred  de  Lostalot :  "  Sculpture  has  for  a  representative,  in 
the  Rue  de  Seize,  an  artist  of  the  first  order  who  is  rarely  seen  at 
the  Salon,  and  whose  fame  has  not  yet  passed  the  limits  of  the 
members  of  his  profession  and  of  the  amateurs  whose  curiosity  is 
strongly  aroused.  It  is  impossible  in  a  few  lines  to  analyse  a  talent 

so  original  and  powerful  as  that  of 
M.  Rodin.  All  that  we  can  say, 
is,  that  there  will  be  a  lively  up- 
roar in  our  world  of  art  when  the 
great  door  that  he  is  making  for 
the  Museum  of  Decorative  Arts, 
and  his  group  of  the  •  Men  of 
Calais,'  are  shown  to  the  public. 
In  the  meantime  we  advise  every 
one  to  go  and  see  the  plasters  on 
exhibition  in  the  galleries  of 
Georges  Petit,  comprising  frag- 
ments of  these  great  works,  and 
some  finished  pieces,  the  bust  of 
Madam  Roll,  and  a  group  in 
bronze  that  Houdon  would  have 
called  the  '  Kiss.'  The  value  of 
these  works  strikes  the  eyes  at 
once;  one  feels  that  they  are  the 
emanations  of  the  brain  of  an 
artist  haunted  by  grand  and  origi- 
nal thoughts,  and  in  whose  hands 
the  finest  fancies  take  a  new  and 
imposing  movement.  Happily,  M. 
Rodin  is  not  without  his  faults, 
and  he  has  found  a  place  in  this 
exhibition  that  agrees  with  his 
temperament,  for  he  is  also  a 
sei'ker,  a  revolutionary,  if  you 
will,  who  in  sculpture  aspires  to 
deliver  us  from  the  Greeks  and 
Romans.  Let  us  salute  this  man 
of  convictions  and  wish  him  the 
best  of  fortune." 

Rodin's  contributions  to  this  exhibition  were  three  of  the  statues, 
in  plaster,  for  the  Calais  Monument,  a  sketch  of  the  Lepage  statue,  a 
marble  bust  of  Madam  Roll,  a  group  in  bronze  belonging  to  Baron 
Rothschild,  two  groups  in  marble,  a  statue  called  "  The  Source,"  and 
a  number  of  figures  and  groups,  in  plaster,  belonging  to  the  door. 
The  articles  concerning  this  exhibition  of  Rodin's  works  embraced 
the  whole  gamut  of  praise,  appreciation  and  encouragement ;  of  cut- 
ting illusions  to  the  Salon  —  filled  with  academical  nullities  —  andofbit- 
ter  references  to  the  shameful  struggle  that  such  an  artist  had  had 
to  pass  through  to  get  a  foothold,  even  in  beautiful  Paris,  and  the 
surprise  that  the  governing  art  authorities  of  the  State  had  not  dis- 
covered him  long  ago  and  filled  his  hands  with  the  execution  of  great 
monuments.  To  some  of  the  figures  belonging  to  the  door,  that  were 


200 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.       [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  696. 


'in  the  exhibition  of  the  previous  year,  an  occasional  allusion  was  made 
in  regard  to  the  unusual  freedom  of  their  composition  and  action,  and 
the  slightest  hint  was  given  that  too  susceptible  minds  might  not 
look  at  them  with  as  chaste  a  feeling  as  the  sculptor  intended  to 
convey. 

The  same  point  was  alluded  to  in  reference  to  several  works  in  the 
present  exhibition.  After  paying  his  admiring  respects  to  the  busts 
of  Dalou  and  Rochefort,  Arinand  Sylvester,  in  L' Independence  Beige, 
says :  "  Then  comes  a  series  of  works  in  plaster  and  marble  that  are 
evidently  not  intended  to  be  used  In  the  education  of  young  girls." 
After  describing  a  figure  of  Eve,  belonging  to  M.  Auguste  Vacquerie, 
which  he  regards  as,  beyond  comparison,  beautiful,  he  continues : 
"  We  now  approach  the  Baudclarian  series  that  begins  with  a 
magnificent  plaster  group,  representing  a  vigorous  man  who  has 
lifted  to  his  very  lips  the  gathered-together  body  and  limbs  of  an 
enamored  and  submissive  woman.  I  cannot  describe  the  trembling 
passion  that  is  shown  in  this  double  movement  of  victory  and  defeat, 
with  what  fury  this  savage  idyl  is  treated,  the  sharp  and  sensual  per- 
fume that  it  displays,  the  air  of  wild  voluptuousness  in  which  this 
scene  is  enveloped.  As  an  inscription,  this  line  — from  the  '  Flowers 
of  Eoll '  —  dedicated  to  beauty  :  '  I  am  beautiful,  O  mortals,  as  a 
stone  dream.' 

"What  melancholy  in  this  other  figure  of  despair  on  the  plinth,  of 
which  I  read  these  lines :  '  How  many  flowers  exhaust  themselves  in 
perfumed  regret  like  a  sweet  secret  in  the  depths  of  solitude.' 

"  Is  it  an  Ariadne  weeping  for  her  absent  lover  ?  Rather  a  Sappho 
before  being  conquered  by  the  virile  love  of  Phaon.  All  this  is  but 
the  threshold  of  the  temple  into  which  M.  Rodin  conducts  us  to  the 
presence  of  the  living  idols  of  the  flesh  that  are  crucified  by  desire. 
Here  I  close  all  description.  Never  has  physical  love  been  treated 
with  such  truthful  impetuosity,  in  such  a  sentiment  of  violence  and 
despair.  For  there  is  a  grand  foundation  of  unsatisfied  desire  and 
mortal  melancholy  in  these  entwined  bodies  that  stretch  out  in 
search  of  wild  kisses,  kisses  that  burn  rather  than  refresh  the  lips. 
The  august  fraternity  and  the  mysterious  parentage  of  Love  and 
Death  are  proclaimed,  without  ceasing,  in  these  strange  images,  to 
which  a  noble  sentiment  lias  given  a  relative  chasteness.  For  the 
beautiful  is  always  chaste  to  a  certain  degree,  as  Diderot  lias  said  in 
an  infinitely  more  picturesque  language.  In  fact,  all  these  little 
groups  are  incontestably  beautiful.  M.  Rodin  shows  himself  to  be  a 
greater  artist  than  ever,  and  that  is  the  essential  thing,  in  spite  of 
the  shocking  effect  that  sentimental  misses  will  experience  as  they 
pass  through  this  labyrinth  of  plasters." 

The  chief  object  among  the  sketches  belonging  to  the  door  was  a 
group  which  the  sculptor  called  "  Francesca  and  Paolo,"  but  which 
others  variously  named  "  The  Lovers  "  and  "  Love."  It  was  made  the 
subject  of  a  long  and  appreciative  article  by  Gustave  Geffrov,  and 
published  in  La  Justice  —  too  long  to  reproduce  at  this  time.  A 
catalogue  description  of  the  group  would  read  like  this :  A  young 
girl  sitting  in  the  lap  of  her  lover,  arms  of  both  entwined  around  the 
bodies  and  necks  of  each,  kissing  as  only  lovers  can  kiss  —  both 
figures  nude.  To  prudish  minds  this  group  would  be  deemed  vulgar, 
to  sane  ones,  a  beautiful  and  chaste  expression  of  the  sentiment. 
This  group  was  exhibited  in  Brussels  and  ridiculed  because  it  was 
nude,  the  fact  that  it  was  a  great  piece  of  sculpture  being  almost 
entirely  overlooked.  Octave  Mirbeau  closed  a  brilliant  article  on 
these  figures  in  these  words :  "  Ah  !  what  sovereign  melancholy,  and 
what  love ! "  Still  another  group,  more  vividly  or  surprisingly 
dramatic,  represented  a  female  fiend  of  hell,  or  a  syren  of  desperately 
sensual  character,  sailing  through  space  carrying  a  bewildered  lover 
upon  her  back.  From  the  point-of-view  of  audacity  of  movement, 
nobility  of  line,  dramatic  force,  living  and  human  personality,  the 
statues  belonging  to  the  Calais  Monument  were  declared,  by  all 
writers,  to  be  simply  masterpieces.  "  No  sculptor  of  modern  times," 
they  said,  "  lias  approached  M.  Rodin."  "  For  richness  of  imagina- 
tion, learned  grace,  robustness  and  power  in  the  use  of  clay,  and 
splendid  truth  in  the  representation  of  flesh,  he  has  no  equal." 
"  Say  what  you  will,  the  world  must  recognize  this  grand  artist." 

In  1886,  M.  Rene  Goblet,  the  Alinister  of  Fine  Arts,  delegated 
Rodin,  and  his  friend  Laurens,  to  go  to  Bourges  to  act  as  the  sole 
judges  in  awarding  the  recompenses  at  an  art  exhibition.  There 
had  been  provided  for  their  disposal  a  lot  of  honorable  mentions,  and 
a  Medal  of  Honor  for  each  department  of  sculpture  and  painting. 
Now  the  good  mayor  of  the  city,  who  belonged  to  a  noble  family,  had 
in  his  prideful  charge  the  Bourges  School  of  Fine  Arts,  the  chief 
professor  of  which  was  his  personal  favorite.  As  naturally  as  water 
runs  down  hill,  so  did  the  mayor  fancy  that  to  the  director  of  the 
school  would  be  awarded  the  Medal  of  Honor  in  the  Department  of 
Sculpture.  In  the  first  place,  this  personage  was  the  most  dis- 
tinguished representative  of  art  in  all  the  country  round ;  and  in  the 
second  place,  he  was  the  mayor's  choice  as  the  leader  of  the  youthful 
art  destinies  of  the  city,  and  to  whom  else  should  this  distinctive  seal 
of  approbation  be  entrusted!  Both  were  doomed  to  disappointment, 
and  their  mortification  cannot  be  described  when  they  learned 
that  the  medal  had  been  given  to  an  hitherto  unknown  young 
sculptor,  who,  as  a  poor  marble  cutter,  had  sent  to  the  exhibition  a 
statue  of  "Louis  II,"  and  some  busts  and  bas-reliefs. 

In  honor  of  the  expected  distinction  of  his  protege,  the  mayor  had 
prepared  a  bountiful  dinner  for  the  evening  of  the  day  when  the 
prizes  were  given,  and  to  which  the  distinguished  judges  from  Paris 
were  invited,  in  company  with  the  chief  notables  of  the  city.  But 
the  above  unexpected  and  sorrowful  event  cast  a  very  chill  of  death 


over  the  art  professor  and  destroyed  the  joy  of  the  generous  official. 
But  bein2  a  man  of  parts  and  undismayed  courage,  the  mayor  boldly 
and  vigorously  urged  the  artist  representatives  of  the  State  to  recon- 
sider their  decision,  but  all  without  success.  Neither  rich  viands, 
cheering  wine  nor  official  urgency  could  move  the  hearts  of  Rodin  and 
Laurens.  Neither  did  this  new  disappointment  deprive  the  host  of  all 
his  wits,  for  he  now  asked  them  to  explain  why  they  gave  the  medal 
to  the  despised  sculptor.  To  which  Rodin  answered,  "  Because  lie 
has  the  best  tilings  in  the  exhibition,  yet  you  don't  even  know  him 
or  care  to  recognize  him."  And  he  added :  "  When  you  make 
another  exhibition  do  it,  first,  for  the  benefit  of  your  citizens,  for  their 
encouragement,  then  if  you  have  not  enough  things  and  wish  to  send 
to  Paris  for  more,  get  the  best,  and  not  the  poorest,  as  you  have  now 
done.  You  ought  to  be  proud  to  have  a  young  man  in  your  city  who 
can  show  such  a  statue  as  the  'Louis  II,'  and  the  busts  and  bas- 
reliefs."  This  was  a  pretty  severe  lesson  for  the  good  mayor,  but  he 
bore  it  well,  agreed  with  its  good  sense,  and  promised  to  follow 
Rodin's  advice  in  the  future. 

Baffier,  was  the  name  of  the  young  sculptor.  He  afterwards  came 
to  Puris,  got  mixed  up  in  politics  and  attempted  to  kill  a  member  of 
the  French  Legislature.  He  came  originally  from  the  same  place  as 
St.  Just,  became  an  ardent  believer  in  the  tenets  of  that  personage, 
and  was,  by  many,  considered  crazy.  So,  incidentally,  Rodin  and 
Laurens  encouraged  a  mad  man.  T.  H.  BAHTLETT. 

(To  be  continued.) 


0 


THE   LOTUS   IN   ANCIENT   ART.1  — IV. 

THE  LOTUS  AND  THE  PALMETTE. 

HE  object  of  my 
last  paper  was  two- 
fold  —  to  elimi- 
nate the  supposed  pap- 
yrus from  tlie  list  of 
Egyptian  decorative 
motives,  and  to  add  to 
them  the  rosette  as  a 
picture  of  the  ovary 
stigmas  of  the  white 
and  blue  lotus.  I  now 
propose  to  explain  the  origin  of  the  Egyptian  lotus  palmette. 
This  will  be  found  subsequently  to  bear  on  the  development  of  the 
Assyrian  palmette  and  of  the  Greek  anthemion. 

The  matter  already  oifered  on  the  subject  of  the  Egyptian  Ionic 
will  explain  such  voluted  lotus  forms  as  are  seen  in  1 
and  2. 

These  may  also  be  understood  as  lotuses,  and  as 
regards  the  exterior  volutes,  from  the  form  3.  No.  1  is 
a  voluted  lotus  supporting  a  seed  of  the  rose  lotus 
(from  the  "  Description  de  I'Egypte,"  V,  Plate  80). 
No.  2  is  a  voluted  lotus  supporting  an  inverted  bud 
(from  Prisse  d'Avennes)  —  cases  analogous  to  those 
illustrated  in  the  last  paper. 

No.  4  from    Prisse    d'Avennes,   then   appears   as   a 
voluted  lotus  supporting  the  ovary  stigma,  a  case  analogous  to  the 
lotus  flowers  and  buds  supporting  rosettes  previously  illustrated.2 

No.  5,  an  Egyptian  palmette  of  the  eighteenth  century  B.  c. 
(Prisse  d'Avennes),  one  of  the  commonest  motives  of  Egyptian 
decoration,  is  thus  explained  as  a  lotus  palmette  in  which  only  a  por- 
tion of  the  rosette  (ovary  stigma)  appears  in  plan,  the  rest  being  con- 
cealed by  the  flower. 

In  Egypto-Phcenician  decoration  No.  6  is  a  common  and  related 
lotus  palmette,  differing  only  by  the  absence  of  volutes.  The  detail 


shown  in  this  case  is  from  a  shield  found  at  Amathus,  in  Cyprus. 

No.  7  is  seen  to  be  either  an  abbreviated  and  conventional  outline 
of  5  (within  which  an  inverted  bud  is  placed  as  in  2),  or  the  pal- 
mette may  represent  a  portion  of  the  top  of  the  seed-pod  of  the  rose 

1  Continued  from  No.  692.  page  150. 

!For  convenience  of  reference  and  direct  comparison,  the  cuts  herewith  are 
reproduced  from  the  preceding  article  :  a,  ovary  and  stigma  of  the  bine  lotus; 
b,  ovary  and  stigma  of  the  white  lotus;  c,  lotus  flower  supporting  ovary  stigma; 
d,  lotus  bud  supporting  ovary  stigma. 


APEIL  27,  1889.] 


TJie   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


201 


lotus,  on  which  there  are  no  rays.  (Compare  cuts  20  and  21  of  the 
last  paper.) 

No.  8  is  another  modification  of  No.  5.1 

Nos.  9  and  10  are  motives  in  gold  jewelry  illustrated  by  Prisse 
d'Avennes  ;  10  relates  to  No.  2 ;  9  to  No.  5. 

No.  1 1  is  a  rough  sketch  of  a  portion  of  the  gold  handle  of  a  tray 
in  the  Boston  Museum  of  Fine  Arts,  presumed  to  be  of  the  twenty- 
sixth  dynasty.  In  this  case  the  palmette  is  elongated  for  decorative 


reasons.     The  most  important  forms  are  those  of  Nos.  12,  13  and  14. 

The  designs   are   of  Egypto-Phoenician   art   in   metal  (bronze   and 

silver)  from  the  most  famous  Etruscan  tomb  in  Italy  —  the  Regulini 

Galassi. 

This  tomb  and  the  "  Grotta  Campana"  are  the  earliest  Etruscan 

tombs   known   in   Italy.      Its   construction   relates   it    to   those   of 
Mycente  and  Tiryns  as  regards  antiquity.     It  cannot 
in  any  case  be  dated  later  than  tho  eighth  century  B.  c. 
A  much  higher  antiquity  can  be    assigned  to    simi- 
lar palmette   designs,  as   it  will   be   shown  in  a  later 


14. 


article  that  they  were  copied  in  Mycenae  pottery  designs  of  the  sec- 
ond millennium  n.  c.  From  these  motives  we  have  no  difficulty  in 
reaching  the  palmette  pure  and  simple,  as  found  in  blue  enamel 
examples  of  the  Boston  Museum,  Nos.  15  and  16  (Hay  Collection). 

In  Marietta's  photographs  from  the  Boulak  Museum,  the  photo- 
graph No.  17  for  the  tomb  amulets  shows  three  such  examples  in  the 
centre  of  the  plate,  so  that  the  palmette  clearly  appears  to  have 
been  for  Marriette's  comprehension  a  typical  Egyptian  form. 

In  the  lotus  palmette  examples  herewith  offered  as  combinations 
or  derivatives  of  the  voluted  lotus  and  the  lotus  rosette  (ovary 
stigma)  the  question  of  dates  offers  no  difficulty  —  that  is  in  case  an 
influence  from  the  side  of  the  Assyrian  palmette  should  be  suggested. 
Sufficient  examples  can  be  proved  to  date  from  the  eighteenth 
dynasty  to  clear  up  any  suspicions  on  this  head.  The  earliest 
remains  of  Assyrian  ornamental  art  and  the  earliest  Assyrian 
palmettes  are  nine  centuries  later.2  Moreover,  the  tables  can  be 
turned  on  the  Assyrian  palmette  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  it  appear 
that  this  is  derived  from  the  Egyptian  lotus  palmette,  and  not  from 
the  palm-tree. 

It  has  been  observed  in  a  preceding  article  that  Assyria  was  an 
Egyptian  province  under  the  eighteenth  dynasty.  The  relations  of 
the  Phoenicians  to  Egypt  and  Egyptian  art  have  been  explained. 


16 


The  geographical  position  of  the  Phosnieians  on  the  Syrian  coast, 
midway  between  Assyria  and  Egypt,  made  them  the  natural 
mediators  between  the  civilizations  of  the  two  countries. 

Objects  of  Egyptian  style  are  found  in  great  number  among  the  As- 
syrian remains,  and  the  influences  of  Egyptian  ornament  on  the 
Assyrian  art  are  universally  admitted. 

Among  these  ornaments  of  admitted  Egyptian  origin  are  the 
Assyrian  lotus  motives,  to  which  I  have  proposed  in  the  preceding 
article  to  add  the  rosette.  The  outlines  of  the  Assyrian  palmette 
have  an  undeniable  resemblance  to  the  form  of  the  palm-tree,  as 
represented  on  Assyrian  reliefs  (see  illustrations  in  the  first  paper 
on  the  Ionic  capital),  but  there  are  absolutely  no  traces  of  a  decora- 
tive development  by  which  the  ornamental  palmette  form  was  evolved 
from  the  natural  palm-tree.  Above  all  there  are  no  cases  in 

1No  8  is  a  detail  from  Owen  Jones's  "  Grammar  of  Ornament";  No.  2  is  from 
the  "  Description  de  I'Eyypte";  No.  6  is  from  Colonna-Ceccaldi's  "  Xfonuments  de 
Chypre."  The  other  numbers  so  far  are  from  Prisse  d'Avennes's  motives  of 
ceiling  panels  and  borders  in  tombs. 


'According  to  Maspero  the  eighteenth  dynasty  begins  about  1800  B.  c.  The 
arliest  Assyrian  palace  which  has  been  excavated  belongs  to  the  ninth  century 
B.C.  —  the  latest  belongs  to  th~e  seventh  century.  There  are  no  remains 


earliest  Assyrian  palace  which  has  been  excavated  belongs  to  the  ninth  century 
B.C.  —  the    latest   belongs  to  th~e   seventh    century.     There   are  no   rem 
of  Assyrian  oruauieutal  art  earlier.  than  the  ninth  century  known  at  present. 


Assyrian  art  in  which  the  palm-tree  itself  is  used  as  an  ornament, 
while  the  instances  to  be  quoted  for  the  natural  lotus  form  are 
simply  innumerable.  Symbolical  use  of  the  palm  can  probably 
not  be  shown  to  have  been  frequent  much  earlier  than  the  Chris- 
tian era.  There  are  one  or  two  rare  instances  of  palm-trees  on  the 
Assyrian  or  cylinder  seals,  but  these  are  cases  in  which  the  natural 
aspect  of  the  tree  is  fairly  represented.  The  palm-tree  proper 
appears  in  the  Assyrian  sculptured  reliefs  purely  as  part  of  the 
natural  scenery,  and  never  as  an  ornamental  detail. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  resemblance  of  the  Assyrian  palmette  to 
certain  forms  of  the  Egyptian  lotus  palmette  is  so  close  that  a  deriva- 
tion of  the  one  from  the  other  appears  absolutely  certain. 

No.  1 7  is  an  Assyrian  motive  from  a  cast  in  the  Boston  Museum 
of  Fine  Arts.  Its  relations  to  13,  14,  15  and  16  are  sufficiently 
striking.  It  may  be  added  that  Phoenician  bronzes,  with  the 
Egyptian  motive  14,  have  been  discovered  at  Nineveh,  and  pub- 
lished by  Layard. 

No.  18  is  another  form  of  the  Assyrian  palmette  which  is  easily 
reached  from  17. 

Jn  the  case  of  the  Egyptian  palmettes  we  have,  aside  from  the 
precedence  of  dates,  a  precedence  of  at  least  seven  centuries,  a  detail 
which  forbids  the  counter  hypothesis  of  reaction  of  an  Assyrian  form 
on  Esiypt.  The  little  tabs  or  streamers  which  appear  under  the 
volutes  of  2,  3,  4,  5,  7,  8,  10,  12,  13,  14,  15  are  distinctively 
Egyptian.  They  are  possibly  to  be  conceived  originally  as  lotus 
buds,  and  appear  to  have  this  significance  as  reversed  in  the  cut 
36  of  the  second  article  on  the  Ionic  capital  and  the  lotus,  but  what- 
ever their  meaning  they  are  clearly  an  ear-mark  of  the  Egyptian 
lotus  motives.  It  is  certain  that  their  constant  appearance  in  so 
manv  different  lotus  motives  separated  by  remote  periods  of  time  is 
a  feature  of  that  curious  conservatism  and  adherence  to  traditional 
usage,  which  is  so  distinctive  of  the  Egyptian  character  and  art. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  Assyrian  art  would  be  naturally  bound  by  no 
such  conservative  or  traditional  feeling,  and  thus  we  understand  how 
the  palmette  form  itself  passed  into  Assyrian  usage  as  an  ornament 
without  the  extraneous  appendage,  which  in  Egyptian  use  was  rather 
a  tradition  than  an  essential  ornamental  feature. 

As  the  Persian  art  is  a  continuation  of  the  Assyrian  and  Baby- 
lonian, the  appearance  in  it  of  palpably  Egyptian  lotus  palmettes 


2o 


may  be  considered  a  corroborating  argument.  No.  19  is  a  relief- 
detail  from  Persepolis.  No.  20  is  a  detail  of  tile  decoration  from 
Susa  (excavations  of  M.  Dieulafoy).  No.  19  is  a  variant  of  C;  No. 

20  is  a  variant  of  11. 

ASSYRIAN   "  SACRED    TREE." 

The  Assyrian  "  Sacred  Tree  "  combination  of  palmettes  offers  a  new 
argument  in  favor  of  the  lotiform  character  of  the  Assyrian  palmette. 
The  two  typical  forms  of  the  Assyrian  "  Sacred  Tree  "  are  shown  at 

21  and  22. 

I  am  advised  by  a  competent  Assyriologist,'Prof.  A.  L.  Frothing- 
ham,  Jr.,  of  Princeton  College,  that  the  cuneiform  texts  offer  no  in- 
formation as  to  the  meaning  or  origin  of  the  "  Sacred  Tree,"  and 
that  it  does  not  appear  in  the  earlier  Chaldsean  period.  This  is  also 
apparent  from  what  has  been  said  as  to  the  late  appearance  of  the 
palmette  form  in  the  Tigris-Euphrates  valley.  So  many  Chaldaean 
cylinders  have  been  found,  that  they  furnish  fair  negative  evidence 
as  to  the  appearance  of  the  "  Sacred  Tree  "  of  palmettes  in  earlier 
times  than  the  ninth  century  B.  c. 

It  is  clear,  however,  from  the  monuments  that  the  "  Sacred  Tree  " 
of  palmettes  is  connected  with  the  worship  of  the  sun,  as  the  winged 


23. 

solar  disk  frequently  appears  above  it  and  the  attendant  worshippers 
(see  the  plates  of  Layard).  The  relations  of  the  lotus  to  the  solar 
cult  of  Egypt  have  already  been  explained  (first  article  on  the  Ionic 
capital),  and  the  same  relations  appear  in  the  art  of  the  Phoenicians. 
Figure  23  represents  a  Phoenician  relief  from  the  neighborhood  of 
Carthage,  in  which  the  solar  disk  and  crescent  appear  with  the  lotus. 
We  have  found  an  illustration  of  the  lotiform  significance  of  the 
Ionic  capital  in  the  support  of  the  solar  disk  in  the  Sippara  tablet 


202 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.        [VOL.  XXV.  — No.  696. 


(Figure  35,  second  ai  tide  on  the  Tonic  capital)  ;  in  the  Ionic  stele 
supporting  the  crescent  and  the  solar  disk  (Figure  31,  second  article 
on  the  Ionic  ca.pital)  ;  in  the  appearance  of  the  solar  disk  and  crescent 
on  Ionic  steles  and  capitals  of  Cyprus  (Figures  10  and  30  of  the 
same  article)  ;  in  the  Ionic  capitals  supporting  the  winged  solar  disk 
at  Boghaz  Keui  (Hittite  relief,  Figure  35,  same  article) ;  and  in  the 
lotus-Ionic  stele,  with  head  of  Isis  (moon-goddess,  Figure  11  of  the 
same  article).  Finally,  Assyrian  seals  and  cylinders  are  extant  in 
which  the  lotus  flower  itself  is  represented  before  the  worshipper  of 
the  winged  disk  or  of  the  crescent-moon. 

To  these  indications  that  the  "  Sacred  Tree  "  of  Assyria  is  a  phase 
of  the  same  associations  between  the  lotus  and  the  worship  of  the 
sun  which  are  otherwise  proven  to  exist  for 
Assyrian,  Phoenician  and  Egyptian  art,  still 
others  may  be  added.  Worshippers  of  the 
"  Sacred  Tree "  hold  branches  represented 
at  25,  26,  27,  28  —  details  taken  from  plates 
in  Layard.  These  branches  represent  cere- 
monial and  symbolic  insignia,  probably  in 
metal,  borne  by  the  worshippers  or  priests. 

No.  25  is  a   branch   of    lotus    flowers   with 

-  rosettes  (ovary  stigmas)  at  their  base.     No. 

^'  2G    represents    a    branch    of    lotuses    with 

rosettes  and  lotus  buds.  No.  27  is  a  branch  of  lotus  rosettes  ;  28  is 
a  branch  of  lotus  palmettos. 

To  these  associations  still  another  argument  may  be  added.  An 
object  frequently  held  by  the  divinity  facing  the  "  Sacred  Tree  "  has 
been  generally  interpreted  as  a  fir-cone.  This  interpretation  has 


been  suggested  by  a  purely  external  resemblance,  and  there  are 
absolutely  no  symbolisms  known  or  records  extant  which  would 
explain  the  use  of  such  an  attribute.  No  coniferous  fir-trees  are 
represented  on  the  Assyrian  reliefs,  according  to  a  recent  article  in 
the  Bahi/lonian  Record.  The  lack  of  authority  for  this  interpreta- 
tion, and  its  want  of  meaning,  have  lately  prompted  the  suggestion 
in  the  Babylonian  Record  that  a  citron  is  indicated. 

No.  2f)  is  a  detail  of  the  bud-shaped  object  held  by  the  divinity 
facing  the  Sacred  Tree. 

An  obvious  interpretation  of  this  supposed  fir-cone  is  suggested  by 
the  treatment  of  the  lotus  bud  in  Assyrian  relief.  No.  30  is  a  detail 
from  the  lotus  decoration  of  an  Assyrian  slab 
in  the  Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art.  Exami- 
nation of  the  Assyrian  lotus  patterns,  as  pub- 
lished by  the  various  compendiums  of  the  his- 


tory of  art,  or  by  Owen  Jones,  will  show  that  this  treatment  of  the 
lotus  bud  is  general  in  the  Assyrian  reliefs. 

The  bulbous  form  of  the  bud  of  the  rose-lotus  and  its  resemblance 
to  a  tulip  have  been  noticed  by  botanists,  and  are  apparent  to  any 
one  examining  the  plant.  (The  buds  of  the  blue  and  white  lotu's 
have  a  more  elongated  form.)  The  sketch  herewith  at  31  was  taken 
from  nature  in  the  lily-ponds  at  Bordentown,  N.  J.,  by  Professor 
Frothingham.  The  naturalistic  tendencies  of  Assyrian  art  are  well 
known,  and  the  hatched  lines  of  the 
Assyrian  reliefs  may  be  safely  supposed 
to  imitate  the  appearance  of  the  nat- 
ural bud,  as  represented  at  31.  Prc- 
fessor  Frothingham's  interest  in  my  the- 
y,  shown  by  his  sketch,  may  be  re- 
garded as  an  indication  that  it  is  not 
repugnant  to  the  present  known  facts 
of  Assyrian  science.  There  are  Assyr- 
ian tile  decorations  in  which  the  winged 
•*•  divinity  holds  the  bud-shaped  obiect 

facing  a  rosette,  another  case  of  lotus  association  according  to  "the 
views  presented  in  my  last  paper. 

It  may  be  urged,  in  the  next  place,  that  the  different  forms  of  the 
"Sacred  Tree"  are  brought  under  a  common  explanation  as  to 
origin  by  the  theory  proposed.  That  certain  "  Sacred  Trees  " 


should  represent  combinations  of  fir-cones,  as  in  22,  and  that  others 
should  represent  combinations  of  palms,  is  an  unexplained  and  in- 
explicable state  of  affairs.  Still  more  incongruous  would  be  the 
association  so  commonly  seen  in  Assyrian  decoration,  and  repre- 
sented at  32.  Why  fir-cones  should  spring  from  a  palm-tree  is  not 
easy  to  understand.  That  lotus  buds  should  spring  from  a  lotus- 
pahnette  is  easily  understood.  The  representation  of  lotus  buds  in 
the  branch  figured  at  26  appears  to  be  a  conclusive  point,  and  it 
may  be  observed  that  a  similar  treatment  of  the  lotus  bud  is  occa- 
sionally found  in  Egyptian  design. 

It  thus  appears  that  the  derivation  of  the  Assyrian  palmette  from 
the  Egyptian  lotus-palinette  is  rendered  probable  by  the  close  resem- 
blance of  the  forms,  by  the  precedence  of  the  Egyptian  motive  in 
point  of  time,  by  the  known  direct  relations  of  Egypt  to  Assyria 
under  the  eighteenth  dynasty  as  a  conquering  power,  by  the  depend- 
ence of  the  Assyrians  on  Egypto-Phoenician  influence  in  ornament, 
and  by  the  various  considerations  which  substitute  a  relation  of  the 
lotus  to  solar  worship,  known  to  exist  at  once  in  Egypt,  Phoenicia, 
and  Assyria  for  an  interpretation  of  the  "  Sacred  Tree  "  without 
authority  and  without  probability. 

The  sacred  character  of  the  lotus  "  tree  "  is  illustrated  by  a  series 
of  ivory  plaques  in  the  British  Museum  which  were  probably  inlaid 
decorations  of  furniture,  possibly  of  a  throne.  One  of  these  is 
shown  at  No.  33,  an  adorer  before  a  lotus,  which  rises  from  the  con- 
ventional form  of  lotus  volutes  and  triangle  explained  in  the  matter 


relating  to  the  Ionic  capital.  The  Egyptian  style  of  this  ivory 
plaque,  which  is  probably  of  Phoenician  manufacture,  speaks  for  it- 
self. It  is  from  this  series  of  Egypt  iani/ing  ivory  plaques  that  the 
details  are  taken  on  which  Mr.  Clarke  relied  for  his  connecting  link 
between  the  form  of  the  Chigri  capital  and  the  form  of  the  Assyrian 
palmette.  A  connecting  link  between  these  two  forms  of  lotus- 
palmette  it  undoubtedly  is. 

It  is  clear  that  we  are  dealing  with  a  motive  analogous  to  35. 
This  motive  is  an  Egyptian  variant  of  designs  like  5  and  13,  and  is 
taken  from  the  metal  designs  of  the 
Regulini-Galassi  tomb.  Thus  the  Ionic 
capital  of  Chigri  (Neandreia),  shown 
at  10  in  the  first  article  on  the  Ionic 
capital,  takes  its  place  among  the  forms 
of  the  lotus-Ionic,  and  is  seen  to  be  sim- 
ply a  variant  of  that  aspect  of  the 
lotiform  proto-Ionic  already  dealt  with, 
in  which  the  triangle  between  volutes  is 
the  distinguishing  feature.  One  more 

of  these  latter  motives  is  shown  at  36,  also  from  one  of  the  Egyp- 
tianizing  ivory  plaques  of  Nineveh  in  the  British  Museum,  in  order 
to  exhibit  the  contrast  and  unity  of  derivation  which  can  be  shown 
to  exist  within  the  limits  of  the  lotus  motive  for  the  various  forms  of 
the  proto-Ionic  capital. 

The  development  of  the  Greek  anthemion  will  be  found  to  bear 
out  the  position  taken  in  this  paper  as  to  the  Assyrian  palmette. 
A  reactive  and  secondary  influence  of  the  Assyrian  palmette  on  the 
Greek  anthemion  may  be  readily  conceded,  but  its  supposed  original 
relations  with  Assyrian  art  will  be  found  to  be  unsubstantiated,  and 
its  connection  with  the  Egyptian  lotus-palmette  will  be  demonstrated 
beyond  peradventure.  WM.  H.  GOODYEAR. 

LTo  be  continued.l 


THE  CORINTH  CANAL. — The  work  of  cutting  through  the  Isthmus  of 
Corinth  is  reported  to  suffer  under  the  same  financial  difficulties  as  the 
Panama  Canal  work.  A  German  technical  journal  states  that  when 
the  subscription  was  opened  for  the  carrying  out  of  the  scheme  in  1882, 
estimated  to  cost  thirty  million  francs,  and  to  be  finished  in  six  years, 
the  money  was  subscribed  five  times  over.  In  1887,  however,  this  sum 
had  been  expended,  and  a  further  sum  of  thirty  million  francs  was  in- 
vited. However,  up  to  the  present  only  a  third  of  this  sum  has  been 
obtained,  and  if  no  further  funds  can  be  obtained  the  work  on  the  canal 
will  soon  have  to  be  stopped.  Hitherto  about  two-thirds  of  the  earth- 
works have  been  executed,  but  there  still  remains  a  great  deal  to  be 
done,  and  it  is  now  stated  that  as  the  canal  will  cost  twice  as  much  as 
originally  estimated,  no  profits  can  be  anticipated.  —  The  Builder. 


APRIL  27,  1889.] 


TJie   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


203 


ITALIAN   CITIES.  —  VI. 

VERONA. — I. 


0N  the  road  to  Milan 
and  Venice,  the 
most  interesting  city 
that  is  encountered,  from 
the  point-of-view  of  his- 
tory and  of  art,  is  Ve- 
rona, sitting  on  the  banks 
of  the  Adige,  which  sep- 
arates it  into  two  un- 
equal parts,  the  smallest 
of  which  is  called  Ve- 
ronetta.  The  bridges 
serve  to  connect  these 
two  fragments  of  the 
city,  which,  with  its  an- 
cient towers  and  crenel- 
lated walls  garnished 
with  loop-holes,  preserves 
a  monumental  and  severe 
aspect  which  at  first 
sight  recalls  the  physiog- 
nomy of  towns  of  the 
Middle  Ages.  Through 
the  mixture  of  sumptu- 

ousness  and  martial  aspect,  we  understand  why  it  was  the  seat  of  the 
pewer  of  the  Scala  family,  the  most  illustrious  member  of  which, 
Can  Grande,  has  been  justly  called  the  Augustus  of  the  Midd 
A^es,  since  he  was  the  head  of  a  veritable  literary  court,  at  which 
Dante  the  m-and  Italian  poet,  and  all  the  other  illustrious  men  oi  the 
a<*e  rendezvoused.  To-day  Verona  is  dead,  and  its  vast  extent,  so 
little  proportioned  to  the  reduced  number  of  its  population,  con- 
tributes to  impress  upon  it  a  painful  air  of  desertion  and  irremedi- 
able decadence.  The  streets  have  needless  width,  and  the  squares 
are  so  vast  that,  as  President  Des  Brosses  said,  there  could  be  built 
in  them  entire  villages. 

The  origin  of  this  city  is  very  obscure,  but  the  most  reasonable 
tradition  is  that  which  attributes  its  foundation  to  the  Euganeans,  a 
people  which  had  its  cradle  in   a  group  of  grand  and  fertile  moun- 
tains, whose  silhouette  shows  itself  a  short  distance  beyond  1  adua, 
on   the   banks   of    the    Bochiglione.      About   the    second    century 
it   was    already   a   flourishing   city,   and   when    it   fell    under  the 
power  of  the  Romans  it  did  not  long  delay  in  acquiring  municipal 
dignity.     In  555  it  became  the  capital  of  the  Lombard  Duchy,  and 
under  the  successors  of  Charlemagne  was  the  capital  of  the  Lombard 
Kingdom.      From   this  time  dates   the   commencement  of   its  real 
splendor.      After  having  formed  a   part   of   the   Lombard  League 
against    Barbarossa,    it  fell   under   the   power   of   Ezzelino,  whose 
tyranny  and  scoundrelism  put  to  the  blush  the  memories  of  the  most 
cruel  tyrants  of  Sicily.      It  next  passed  successively  under  the  rule 
of  the  Scala,  the  Visconti  of  Milan  and  the  Carrara  of  Padua  ;  and 
finally,  in  1405,  it  became  apart  of  the  possessions  of  the  Republic  of 
Venice,  whose  vicissitudes  it  followed.     At  different  times  it  gave 
birth  to   men  of   universal  fame  —  Catullus,  Cornelius  Nepos,  and 
Pliny  the  Elder  were  born  here,  as  well  as  Fracastor,  who,  in  the 
sixteenth  century,  was  a  poet  physician  of  much  celebrity,  author  of 
a  poem  in  three  books,  which  the  learned  of  former  days  delighted 
to  consult.     Scipio  Maffei,  another  and  more  celebrated  poet,  author 
of  the  tragedy  "  Meropa,"  was  born  here  in  1713,  as  well  as  Pinde- 
monte,  a  friend  of  Hugo  Foscolo,  toward  the  end  of  the  last  century, 
and  Aleardo  Aleordi,  the  romantic   poet  at  the  commencement  of 
this  century  ;  but  although  all  these  names  suffice  to  assure  it  un- 
usual celebrity,  their  ^clat  is  eclipsed  by  that  of  Paul  Veronese,  the 
grand  painter  of  the  Venetian  school,  who  was  the.  equal  of  the  in- 
comparable Titian  in  composition  and  design,  and  who  would  have 
surpassed  him  perhaps,  if  he  had  little  more  fougue,  more  warmth 
and  more  dash  in  his  coloring. 

Like  all  the  cities  which  have  played  an  important  political  role 
in  Italy,  and  which  in  the  Middle  Ages  gave  an  asylum  to  some  of 
the  feudal  families  who  shared  the  power  amongst  themselves, 
Verona  occupies  an  important  place  in  the  history  of  art.  Roman 
domination  left  here  visible  traces  in  some  of  the  monuments 
religiously  preserved,  especially  the  arena,  which  is  assuredly  one  of 
the  finest  relics  of  antiquity.  Later  Verona  found  itself  exactly  at 
the  point  of  junction  of  Byzantine  and  Gothic  art,  whose  com- 
mincrlino-  gave  birth  to  the  Lombard  style  which  from  the  foot  of  the 
Alps  spread  through  the  whole  of  Italy  between  the  eighth  and  the 
eleventh  centuries,  undergoing  during  the  progress  the  transformations 
which  Italian  genius  impressed  upon  it  in  proportion  as  it  penetrated 
farther  into  the  depths  of  a  nation  always  rebellious,  in  matters 
of  art,  against  foreign  importations.  When,  consequently,  Italian 
Renaissance  assured  the  triumph  of  an  art  essentially  national  in  its 
characteristics,  Verona  lost  much  of  its  importance ;  but  it  had  paid 
a  sufficiently  large  tribute  to  the  artistic  progress  of  the  nation  and 
especially  to  architecture,  for  besides  Falconetto,  who  is  one  of  the 
most  distinguished  architects  of  the  sixteenth  century,  it  also  saw 
the  birth  of°Fra  Giocondo,  who  built  the  bridge  of  N6tre  Dame  at 
Paris,  and  Michel  San-Michele,  who  died  in  1559,  whose  brilliant 

»  Continued  from  page  122,  No.  664. 


career  we  will  trace  later  on,  and  who  disputes  with  the  famous 
Palladio  of  Vicenzo  the  title  of  the  Vitruvius  of  his  age. 

The  Austrian  domination,  entirely  repressive  and  retardatory  in 
its  nature,  prevented  this  interesting  city  from  following  the  social 
progress  realized  in  other  civilized  countries.  Under  the  yoke  of 
the  "foreigner,  the  Italian  people  was  forced  to  vegetate  in  fear,  with- 
out initiative,  without  impulse,  and  so  long  as  the  oppression  to 
which  it  was  subjected  endured,  it  underwent  a  period  of  at-rest,  at 
the  end  of  which  almost  the  whole  peninsula  was  found  to  be  in  the 
same  condition  as  at  the  moment  of  its  enthralment. 

The  history  of  the  arts  and  especially  of  architecture  gained,  for 
it  is  due  to  this  stagnation  of  Italian  genius  that  we  are  able  to  dis- 
cover in  a  "reat  many  Italian  cities  the  original  and  characteristic 
physiognomy  which  they  had  in  former  times,  and  which  now  is 
rapidly  beginning  to  disappear.  Rome,  for  example,  is  becoming 
little  by  little  unrecognizable,  and  the  rage  for  transformation  with 
which  its  municipal  authorities  are  animated,  and  which  is  inspired, 
it  must  be  confessed,  by  a  very  praiseworthy  desire  to  beautify  and 
renew,  is  exercised,  nevertheless,  in  such  a  vehement  and  ill-con- 
sidered manner  that  the  relics  of  the  past  are  sacrificed  without  pity, 
and  the  new  aspect  which  is  given  to  this  great  metropolis  of  the 
Christian  world  shocks  the  feelings  of  the  cultivated  and  those  of 
poetic  sensibilities.  It  is  almost  the  same  in  all  the  other  great 
Italian  cities  where  a  need  is  felt  of  making  good  lost  time  and 
effacing  the  stamp  of  varied  picturesqueness  which  the  mighty  ages 
of  art  have  impressed  upon  it. 

Placed  outside  the  great  currents  of  modern  life,  Verona  has  in 
many  ways  partly  escaped  this  mournful  municipal  sickness,  and  its 
houses   still   preserve   in    part   the   sombre   and   at  the    same   time 
gracious  proportions  which  they  had  in  the  fifteenth  century.     In  the 
chief  streets  we  still  see  the  long  ranges  of  iron  balconies  projecting 
from   the   fa9ades,  whose    too  brownish   color   is   relieved    by   the 
sparkle  of   the  pots  of   flowers  which  garnish  them.     The  marbln 
pillars,   the   flower-filled   windows,    the    arched    doorways,   certain 
facades   still   embellished   with   fresco,  degraded   by   age    and   bad 
weather,  and  the  magnificent  tombs  of  the  Scaligers,  which  are  to  be 
found  right  in  mid-street,  all  recall  to  the  imagination  those  agitated 
times  when  civil  discords  and  feudal  quarrels  soaked  the  soil  of  Italy 
with  human  blood ;  when  the  cares  of  cultivated  men  were  divided 
between  love  and  war,  and  the  patrician  went  out  by  night  with  a 
rope-ladder  in  one  hand  and  a  poniard  in  the  other  to  renew  his 
oaths  of  fidelity  at  the  feet  of  the  lady  of  his  thoughts.      Involun- 
tarily  one   thinks   of    the   terrible    hatreds   of    the   Capulets    and 
Montagues,  who  divided  Verona  into  two  factions  always  armed  one 
against5 the  other,  whose  tragic  denouement,  real  or  imaginery,  sug- 
gested to   Shakespeare  the  subject  of  his  immortal  drama.       The 
fame  of   Romeo  and   Juliet   still   lingers   persistently  amongst  the 
Veronese,   and   the   young   girls   cannot  mention   this   unfortunate 
heroine  without  tears  in  their  eyes.    It  is  on  this  account  that  one  must 
be  somewhat  on  his  guard  against  local  legends,  which  popular  faith, 
joined  with  a  spirit  of  speculation,  has  invented  and  fixed  tenaciously 
upon  certain  monuments  which  people  seek  to  attach  to  the  cult  of 
Juliet.     It  is  well,  also,  to  apply  this  feeling  of  distrust  wherever  one 
travels  in  Italy  to  almost  all  the  monumental  relics  which  the  rapacity 
of  local  showmen  has  nearly  succeeded  in  uniting  with  the  fame  and 
reputations  of  illustrious  persons.      We  are  shown  for  example  at 
Florence,  near  the  cathedral,  the  stone  upon  which  Dante  used  to 
sit  and  dream  before  his  exile;  and  at  Fcrrara  a  guide  conducts  the 
traveller  into  the  cell  which  served  as  Tasso's  prison.     Now,  recent 
studies  have  shown  that  the  author  of  "  Jerusalem  Delivered  "  was 
never  persecuted  at  the  courts  of  the  Dukes  of  Este,  that  his  cap- 
tivity is  a  fable,  and  that  at  the  time  when  he  lived  this  famous  cachot 
was  not  even  built  at  Verona.     We  are  shown,  also,  in  the  street  of 
San  Sebastiano,  and  not  far  from  the  Giusti  Palace,  celebrated  for  its 
garden   labyrinth,  the   house  where,  according  to   tradition,  Juliet 
was  born,  as  also  an  inscription  declares.     It  is  a  heavy,  commonplace 
looking   building,  provided  with   two   balconies,   and   possesses   no 
particular  character,  except  the  probably  unmerited  honor  which  is 
attributed  to  it  of  having  been  the  birthplace  of  Romeo's  sweetheart. 
At  the  side  of  the  Rue  des  Capucins,  near  the  banks  of  the  Adige, 
the  guides  point  out  an  old  sarcophagus  as  the  tomb  of  Juliet.     This 
is  found  at  the  bottom  of  a  garden,  and  the  structure  upon  which  it 
rests  is  carefully  enclosed  by  a  wire  grating.      Here,  also,  one  must 
preserve  a  grain  of  scepticism,  although  the  walls  are  covered  with 
ex  voto  offerings  and  precious  souvenirs  of  every  kind,  which  lacka- 
daisical  young  women  and  especially   young  English  misses,  have 
consecrated  to  the  shade  of  this  child  martyr.      There  was  a  time 
when  the  sarcophagus,  which  had  had  the  glory  of  receiving  these 
auonst  remains,  was  considered  to  be  a  talisman :  the  Archduchess 
Maria  Louisa  caused  a  necklace  and  bracelet  to  be  set  with  the  red 
stone  of  which  it  is  built,  and  the  prettiest  women  in  Verona  con- 
sidered it  an  honor  to  carry  charms  made  of  this  same  red  stone  fash- 
ioned like  a  little  sarcophagus  ;  but  in  1826  the  peasants  of  the  neigh- 
borhood very  prosaically  washed  their   lettuce  in   this   red   basin, 
which,  indeed,  from  the  form  in  which  it  is  fashioned  proves  that  it 
was  really  intended  for  a  more   every-day  use  than  that  which  is 
attributed  to  it  by  the  ignorant  common  people. 

The  tombs  of"  the  Scaligers  in  the  Cemetery  of  Santa  Maria 
Antica  have  at  least  the  merit  of  being  authentic.  We  designate 
under  the  title  of  Scaliger  the  dynasty  of  the  Princes  del  la  Scala, 
who  reigned  at  Verona  for  128  years,  from  1259  to  1388,  whose 
history  is  a  mixture  of  vices  and  virtues,  of  crimes  and  mighty  deeds, 


204 


The    American   Architect   and  Building   News.      [VOL.  XXIV.  —  No.  69»i. 


very  common  to  the  princes  of  that  time,  forced  for  the  most  part  to 
degrade  their  spirit  to  the  level  of  the  brutal  and  villainous  passions 
of  their  contemporaries. 

Mastino  I,  founder  of  the  dynasty,  was  killed  in  1277.  After  his 
death,  people  held  as  ruler,  his  brother  Albert,  who  had  the  good 
fortune  to  die  a  natural  death  in  1301.  Three  of  his  children, 
Bartolomeo,  Alboine  and  Can  Grande,  ruled  in  succession.  Bartolo- 
meo  remained  three  years  in  power,  and  it  was  under  his  reign  that 
Dante  first  came  to  Verona.  He  also  died  in  his  bed  —  a  rare  thing 
in  that  family.  Alboine  ruled  only  under  the  direction  of  his 
brother.  He  was  frail  and  sickly  by  nature,  and  after  the  death  of 
Bartolomeo,  Can  Grande  found  himself  in  truth  lord  of  Verona. 
This  man  was  a  magnificent  and  ambitious  noble,  who  became  in  a 
short  time  the  leader  of  the  Ghibelline  party  in  upper  Italy.  He  ex- 
tended the  dominion  of  Verona  over  a  great  portion  of  Venetia.  An 
infectious  fever  carried  him  off  in  three  days.  Can  Grande  II,  who 
succeeded  him,  found  himself  at  odds  with  the  two  sons  of  Alboine 
and  with  another  of  his  nephews,  who  disputed  the  throne  with  him. 
He  succeeded  in  defeating  the  conspiracy,  but  having  manifested  his 
intention  of  passing  his  sceptre  to  the  hands  of  his  natural  son,  be- 
cause he  had  no  legitimate  children,  he  was  poniarded  by  Cansig- 
norio,  his  second  brother,  who  desired  to  rule  after  him,  and  who,  to 
enjoy  in  peace  the  fruits  of  his  crime,  caused  to  be  imprisoned  at 
Peschiera  and  finally  strangled  his  brother  Pietro,  who  would  have 
been  able  in  his  turn  to  dispute  the  throne.  In  spite  of  this  double 
fratricide  Cansignorio  was  in  the  main  a  virtuous  prince.  He 
avoided  war,  and  did  everything  in  his  power  to  aggrandize  the 
power  and  prosperity  of  Verona.  It  was  the  fashion  of  the  times ; 
each  one  wished  to  be  an  Augustus  or  a  Marcus  Aurelius,  but  he 
always  began  by  smoothing  the  path  to  the  throne  by  every  possible 
means,  even  if  they  were  criminal.  The  two  natural  sons  of  Can- 
gignorio,  Bartolomeo  and  Antonio,  were  the  last  fruits  borne  by  this 
dynasty,  which,  having  its  birth  in  crime,  perished  in  blood. 
Antonio,  in  order  to  rule  undisputed,  cut  the  throat  of  his  brother 
Bartolomeo,  was  himself  dethroned  in  1387,  and  died  by  poison 
a  year  afterwards. 

These  are  the  men  to  whom  the  Middle  Ages  in  Italy  reared  altars 
and  erected  monuments.  In  the  tombs  of  the  Scaligers  have  been 
successively  deposited  the  ashes  of  nine  members  of  this  dynasty  of 
the  Atrides.  The  sarcophagi  are  enclosed  by  a  very  beautiful 
wrought-iron  screen ;  but  the  most  interesting  for  those  who  study 
history  and  architecture  is  that  of  Can  Grande,  which  dominates  the 
others,  and  has  a  truly  monumental  air.  It  is  a  sepulchre  built  after 
the  funerary  style  held  in  honor  in  upper  Italy  and  which  differs 
sensibly  from  that  which  at  almost  the  same  time  flourished  in 
central  Italy  and  especially  in  Tuscany.  In  his  masterly  study  on 
Donatello,  M.  Eugene  Miintz  very  clearly  and  justly  characterizes 
the  difference  between  these  two  schools ;  and  it  is  from  him  that  I 
borrow  this  definition.  He  very  justly  remarks  that  of  the  two  prin- 
cipal types  of  funerary  monuments  obtaining  in  Italy  during  the 
Middle  Ages  one  is  the  mausoleum  planted  against  the  wall,  which 
consists  only  of  a  facade  more  or  less  richly  decorated,  and  of 
which  Tuscany  can  claim  the  invention.  Arnolfo  di  Cambio,  a 
Florentine,  created  the  formula  for  this  kind  of  monument  during 
the  last  years  of  the  fourteenth  century  in  the  tomb  of  the  Cardinal 
de  Braylus.  The  other  is  a  mausoleum  isolated  on  all  sides  and  con- 
taining under  a  kind  of  baldachino  a  sarcophagus  with  the  couchant 
figure  of  the  departed,  and  upon  its  summit  another  statue  of  the 
same  person,  most  frequently  on  horseback.  This  original  concep- 
tion finds  its  most  eloquent  expression  in  the  tombs  of  the  Scaligers, 
but  we  also  meet  it  in  the  tombs  of  the  Visconti  at  Pavia  and  at 
Milan,  and  King  Louis  XII  of  France  introduced  it  in  the  tomb 
which  he  caused  to  be  erected  at  St.  Denis. 

At  the  top  of  the  tomb  of  Cans ignorio  stands  the  equestrian  figure  of 
Can,  whose  image  is  also  reproduced  on  the  sarcophagus  below. 
The  body  of  the  monument,  which  affects  the  pyramidal  form,  is  a 
mass  of  niches  and  pinnacles  peopled  with  statues  supported  by 
columns  and  colonnettes  which  enhance  the  exaggerated  luxuriance 
of  ornamentation.  All  the  complications  known  to  art  have  been 
here  united  to  contribute  to  the  splendor  of  the  work,  whiuh,  never- 
theless, bears  the  stamp  of  the  primitive  Gothic  school  immeasurably 
heavy  and  unhealthy,  such  as  the  North  invented,  and  such  as  we 
find  it  in  Italy  before  the  genius  of  local  art  rejuvenated  it  and  gave 
it  that  gay  and  inspiriting  expression  which  we  find  in  the  monu- 
ments of  a  later  day.  H.  MEREU. 


with  the  butterfly  on  it  —  they  would  have  made  money  by  the  trans- 
action. —  St.  James's  Budget. 

ELASTIC  SANDSTONE. — What  is  known  as  itacolumite,  or  elastic 
sandstone,  is  found  in  California,  Georgia,  and  other  localities  in  the 
United  States,  and  a  whole  mountain  of  it,  it  is  stated,  exists  in  South- 
ern Nevada,  a  short  distance  east  of  Death  Valley.  Itacolumite  is 
nearly  always  to  be  met  with  in  regions  producing  the  diamond,  and 
is  the  reputed  matrix  of  that  gem.  A  piece  of  this  elastic  sandstone, 
about  6  inches  long,  1  inch  wide  and  %  inch  thick,  is  in  the  possession 
of  the  Mining  and  Scientific  Press  (San  Francisco),  which  is  as  flexible 
as  a  piece  of  India-rubber.  Another  piece,  13  inches  long,  2  1-2  inches 
wide,  and  1-3  inch  thick,  is  in  the  office  of  the  acting  chief  clerk  of  the 
United  States  War  Department,  Washington,  and  said  to  possess  equal 
flexibility,  but  being,  without  doubt,  a  genuine  stone.  No  practical  use 
has  as  yet  been  made  of  the  stone,  but  it  would  appear  to  be  useful  for 
elastic  foundations  for  machinery,  to  prevent  vibration,  such  as  are 
now  being  introduced  in  America.  At  any  rate,  it  is  a  geological 
curiosity.  —  The  Builder. 


WHISTLER  AND  THE  ROYAL  SOCIETY.  —  Mr.  Whistler  and  the  Royal 
Society  of  British  Artists  have  been  fighting,  it  would  appear,  about  a 
lion  and  a  butterfly.  Mr.  Whistler  drew  a  golden  lion  on  the  Society's 
notice  board,  and  appended  a  butterfly,  more  suo,  as  his  emblem. 
According  to  the  president  of  the  Society,  the  design  was  made  in 
spurious  gold  leaf,  and  began  to  tarnish  to  a  dirty  brown,  whereupon 
the  Society  regilded  the  lion  and  effaced  the  butterfly.  The  Times  has 
been  publishing  quite  a  lively  correspondence  on  the  subject;  but 
unless  Mr.  Whistler's  pen  has  lost  its  cunning,  the  British  Artists  will 
probably  find  the  task  of  breaking  his  butterfly  a  little  harder  than 
their  president  seems  to  imagine.  Of  course  the  sympathies  of  the  self- 
respecting  artist  will  be  with  Mr.  Whistler.  The  Society  might  easily 
have  painted  a  fresh  notice  board,  and  had  they  sold  the  old  one  — 


ADVICKS  recently  received  from  quite  a  number  of  manufacturing  and 
building  centres  go  to  show  that  there  will  be  very  little  if  any  serious 
trouble  with  wage-workers  during  the  season.  In  some  quarters  fears  are 
expressed,  but  they  are  not  well-founded.  There  is  a  disposition  among 
workmen  always  to  strike  if  advantages  can  be  obtained,  but  at  the  present 
time  there  is  a  feeling  among  both  leaders  and  tlie  membership  that  this  is 
not  the  right  time,  and  that  present  contracts  had  better  be  executed.  The 
only  important  movement  on  foot  is  pushed  by  the  Amalgamated  Iron  aod 
Steel-workers  to  shut  down  the  rolling-mills  of  the  country  for  two  months 
during  the  summer,  as  do  the  glass-workers.  The  glass  industry  has 
adapted  itself  to  this  annual  suspension,  and  feels  no  bad  effects.  The  iron- 
makers  do  not  wisli  to  suspend  work  for  two  months,  and  if  they  were  in  a 
position  to  resist  they  would  undoubtedly  do  so.  As  it  is,  their  organization 
ceased  to  exist  a  year  ago.  The  workmen  will  probably  have  the  matter 
their  own  way.  It  is  scarcely  probable  this  movement  will  extend  to  other 
industries,  although  it  is  well  known  that  in  a  good  many  branches  of  trade 
workmen  would  welcome  a  few  weeks  suspension  during  the  summer; 
especially  those  who  are  able  to  afford  it.  In  the  building  trades  there  is 
very  little  discontent.  A  careful  inquiry  throughout  the  West,  where 
there  is  the  moat  danger  to  be  apprehended,  shows  that  the  arrangements 
made  for  the  early  spring  will  be  continued  throughout  the  season. 
Further  inquiry  developes  the  fact  that  quite  an  organized  effort  will  be 
made  next  spring  to  reduce  the  hours  of  labor.  Many  of  the  leaders  among 
American  workmen  who  have  held  aloof  from  this  movement,  have 
recently  expressed  their  willingness  to  give  it  their  sanction.  A  trial  will 
probably  be  made.  The  better  industrial  conditions  in  foreign  markets 
have  not  as  yet  apparently  reduced  the  outflow  of  labor,  as  much  of  it 
comes  from  agricultural  regions  where  ordinary  industrial  conditions  do  not 
influence  movements.  It  is  probable  that  next  year  fewer  emigrants  will 
come  from  the  larger  cities  and  towns  of  Great  Britain  and  the  Continent. 
There  is  in  general  more  employment  and  better  pay.  The  workmen 
prefer  to  remain  at  home  where  there  is  work  for  them,  as  the  fact  is 
becoming  more  and  more  apparent  to  them  that  the  apparent  advantages  of 
higher  wages  in  America  are  off-set  largely  by  the  increased  cost  of  living. 
The  dulness  which  has  existed  in  the  industries  engaged  in  iron-making  still 
continues.  Manufacturers,  jobbers  and  financiers,  railroad  managers  and 
all  others  are  anxiously  awaiting  the  word  "Go."  It  may  not  be  given 
for  some  time  to  come.  Perhaps  never  was  there  as  much  confidence  in 
future  activity  as  at  this  time.  Reasons  for  it  are  not  always  clear;  but, 
nevertheless,  there  is  a  very  wide  spread  and  general  confidence  that  the 
summer  will  not  pass  till  the  mills  and  factories  of  the  countries  are  boom- 
ing with  work. 

There  is  a  large  volume  of  money  seeking  employment  in  all  new  enter- 
prises, and  promoters  have  been  encouraged  by  investors  to  push  out  in  a 
good  many  new  directions.  Out  of  the  new  enterprises  reported  in  the 
South,  about  one  third  of  them  are  false  alarms.  Nevertheless,  there  is  a 
great  activity.  A  kind  of  land  speculation  is  in  progress  there,  and  it  has 
been  stimulated  recently  by  the  heavy  purchases  of  lumber  manufacturers, 
iron-makers  and  coal-miners.  Only  this  week  a  very  large  delegation  of 
capitalists  are  passing  through  the  West  Virginia  coal  regions  with  a  view 
of  deciding  upon  purchasing  several  large  tracts  of  land  which  have  been  on 
the  market  for  some  time.  There  are  several  very  important  schemes 
under  way  for  the  improvement  of  inland  navigation  and  the  construction 
of  canals  which  will  compete  with  railroads.  Just  what  shape  these  schemes 
will  take  it  is  impossible  to  say.  Among  the  schemes  contemplated  is  the 
slack-watering  of  a  portion  of  the  Ohio,  also  of  the  Allegheny,  and  the 
slack-watering  of  some  small  streams  in  the  West.  There  is  a  plan  afoot 
for  the  construction  of  a  canal  from  the  Ohio  River  to  Lake  Erie,  and  for 
an  inland  canal  for  several  hundred  miles  along  the  Atlantic  Coast. 
Besides  this,  there  are  important  irrigating  schemes  in  the  far  West,  and 
grand  schemes  looking  to  the  establishment  of  manufacturing  sites  and 
manufacturing  facilities  for  the  Pacific  Coast  north  of  San  Francisco.  These 
rumors  are  all  encouraging,  and  show  that  the  moneyed  men  and  the 
enterprise  of  the  country  are  only  awaiting  a  favorable  opportunity. 
Meanwhile,  reports  from  builders  in  the  large  cities  and  small  towns  show 
that  house-building  was  never  more  active  than  it  is  so  far  in  1889.  Very 
large  contracts  have  recently  been  closed  for  lumber  in  lumber  centres  in 
Arkansas  and  in  the  Gulf  States.  An  upward  tendency  in  prices  is  looked 
for.  No  such  tendency  is  manifested  in  iron.  Prices  have  not  been  weak- 
ened in  the  iron  trade,  although  pressure  in  that  direction  is  very  strong. 
The  rail-mills  are  coaxing  for  business,  but  the  railroad-builders  'are  slow 
to  give  it.  The  anthracite  coal  trade  is  considerably  broken  up,  and  the 
buyers  are  endeavoring  to  keep  clear  of  the  market,  hoping  that  the  anxiety 
of  the  miners  will  force  them  into  making  a  concession.  This  week  Lake 
navigation  opens  up,  but  this  will  not  help  trade  much.  Some  two  hundred 
miles  of  road  are  to  be  built  this  year  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  to 
develop  coal,  iron  and  timber  lands.  Another  effort  will  shortly  be  made 
to  build  the  South  Pennsylvania  Road.  Railroad-builders  have  plans  com- 
pleted for  a  vast  amount  of  work,  but  are  waiting  for  more  propitious  indi- 
cations. The  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  is  making  excellent  head- 
way in  the  extremely  difficult  problems  placed  in  their  hands.  It  has  a  few 
score  decisions  to  make  — enough  to  tax  the  strength  of  intellectual  giants. 

S.   J.    PAKKHILL  &  Co.,  Printers,  Boston. 


APRH,  27,  1889.] 


The  American  Architect  and  Building  News. 


tor  of  H>i$ 


GABOT'5  CREQ5oTE 


<&re!V<ery 

.  n  .  r.         cr      TL 

qvve  <a  Ywcb  more  arnjrYC  crrecr 
fiafnl*.  while  f'Kev 

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no 


PRICES  are  4O,  6O  and  7B  cents  per  Gallon 

According  to  Color. 
SEND  for  Samples  on  Wood,  and  Circulars. 

JE^rr^ 5T—  "  -**     ~ 

SAMVEL-  CABOT?* 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.         [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  696. 


From  th»  Church  of  St.  Denis. 


APTSR   KECORAT40H. 


:     r         ARCHITECTURE  IWA/VE. 


CAPITKL 

OLP    CHAPtL 

HOTEL  PIEW    :  PARIS 


CoUPl.fr  CAVItALS^ 


CAPITALS. 


ADVERTISERS'    TRADE    SUPPLEMENT. 


No.  82. 


SATURDAY,  APRIL  6,  1889. 


VOLOKI   XXV 
No.    693. 


THE      STURTEVANT      SYSTEM      OF 
HEATING  AND  VENTILATING. 

THE  necessity  of  mechanical  ventilation  in 
all  cases  where  positive  action  is  required  is 
becoming  more  and  more  keenly  felt  every 
day.  Particularly  in  this  vicinity,  has  the 
discussion  of  the  new  Suffolk  County  Court- 
House  and  the  condition  of  our 
public  school-buildings  brought 
the  subject  into  prominence. 

The  only  accepted  and  econo- 
mic means  of  mechanically  ven- 
tilating is  the  fan.  If,  in  con- 
junction with  the  fan  and  venti- 
lating system,  the  heating  system 
can  also  be  operated,  there  is 
not  only  a  marked  saving  in  ex- 
pense, but  a  combined  system 
is  formed  which  heats  and  ven- 
tilates with  the  maximum  of  effi- 
ciency. It  has  been  the  common 
practice  among  many  architects 
and  contractors  to  purchase  the 
fan  of  one  party,  the  heater  of 
another,  the  engine  of  another, 
and  so  on.  To  meet  the  re- 
quirements, and,  at  the  same 
time,  reduce  the  cost  to  a  mini- 
mum, this  house  has  for  years 
manufactured  what  is  known  as 
the  Sturtevant  Steam  Hot-Blast 
Apparatus.  This  line  of  man- 
ufacture was  started  nearly  a 
quarter  of  a  century  ago,  and 
since  that  time  over  five  thou- 
sand of  these  apparatuses  have 
been  sold.  They  are  now  to  be 
found  in  use  in  buildings  of  all 
classes,  from  the  machine-shop 
and  foundry  to  the  largest  and 
finest  public  buildings,  theatres, 
etc. 

Radical  changes  have  very  re- 
cently been  made  in  the  entire 
apparatus,  and  it  is  now  pre- 
sented in  the  improved  form, 
as  shown  in  the  accompanying 
cuts.  The  small  cut  represents 
the  apparatus  complete.  It  con- 
sists in  its  several  parts  of  a 
steel  pipe  steam-heater  (shown 
in  larger  scale  herewith),  a  fan, 
and  an  engine.  The  heater  is 
constructed  upon  a  series  of  cast- 
iron  sectional  bases,  into  which 
are  screwed  vertical  rows  of 
steel  pipe,  connected  at  the  top  by  cross-pipes. 
The  course  of  the  steam  is  clearly  shown,  the 
steam  inlet  and  drips  being  in  the  same  header 
connecting  with  the  series  of  sections.  The 


fan  is  specially  designed  for  handling  large 
volumes  of  air  at  a  minimum  expenditure  of 
power.  It  is  lightly  but  strongly  built  of  steel 
plate,  and  stiffly  braced.  The  engine  is  of  the 
best  type,  embodying  the  results  of  years  of 
experience  in  fan-propulsion,  and  is  capable  of 
continuous  running  at  high  speed.  When 


The  Sturtevant  Improved  Steam  Hot-Blast  Apparatus. 


or  flues  to  the  various  rooms.  The  admission 
of  warm  air  to  these  rooms  is  regulated  by 
registers  or  by  dampers  in  the  flues.  The 
peculiar  advantages  of  this  system  consist  in 
the  much  reduced  amount  of  heating-surface 
required,  the  positive  and  absolute  ventilation 
and  heating  of  the  apartments,  the  removal  of 
all  the  steam -pipes  from  the 
rooms,  and  the  placing  of  the 
\  control  of  the  entire  system  in 

\  the  hands  of  a  single-  person. 

It  is  adaptable  to  all  classes 
of  buildings,  and  this  house  is 
prepared  to  put  in  complete 
ventilating  and  heating  plants, 
comprising  boilers,  engine,  heat- 
ing and  ventilating  apparatus, 
return  -  water  apparatus,  flues, 
registers,  etc.  A  very  complete 
and  comprehensive  description 
of  this  system  is  contained  in  a 
large  eighty  -  page,  illustrated 
"  Treatixe  on  Ventilatwn  and 
Heating "  issued  by  this  house. 
A  copy  will  be  mailed  upon  ap- 
plication. 

B.  F.  STURTEVANT, 

BOSTON,  MASS. 


Section  through   Heater, 

desired,  the  fan  may  be  driven  by  belt  from 
an  independent  engine. 

The  outlet  of  the   fan  may  be  connected 
with  a  duct  rommunicatincr  with  the  branches 


RUBBER  GOODS. 
THE  New  York  Belting  and 
Packing  Company,  New  York. 
enjoy  the  reputation  of  making 
the  finest  mechanical  rubber 
goods  in  the  world,  and  also  the 
rare  faculty  of  knowing  just  how 
to  let  the  public  become  aware  of 
it,  through  liberal  and  judicious 
advertising  and  capable,  energet- 
ic representatives.  Their  latest 
lucky  stroke  is  in  having  secured 
as  their  Southeastern  agents  the 
Atlanta  Rubber  Company,  of 
Atlanta,  Ga.,  who  conduct  the 
only  jobbing  business  in  rubber 
goods  in  the  entire  Southeast. 
This  firm  will  carry  at  Atlanta 
a  very  large  stock  and  com- 
plete assortment  of  the  New 
York  Belting  and  Packing  Com- 
pany's vulcanized  rubber  goods, 
from  which  orders  can  be  filled 
without  an  hour's  delay  —  a  fact 
of  interest  to  every  one  who 
handles  or  sells  mechanical  rub- 
ber goodsjin  the  Southeast.  Dur- 
ing their  existence  of  some  six  years  they  have 
built  up  an  excellent  name  for  square-dealing, 
careful  and  prompt  attention  to  orders  and 
business  courtesv.  The  New  York  Beltinc  and 


TJie   American   Architect  and  Building  News.        [VOL.  XXV.  — No.  693. 


Packing  Company  is  to  be  congratulated  in 
securing  their  services,  as  the  New  South 
fast  developing  its  manufactures,  and  will  con 
stantly  demand  more  and  better  supplies  o 
this  kind,  and  no  one  is  in  a  better  position 
to  advance  their  interests  in  this  territory 
than  these  new  agents. 

NEW  YOEK  BELTING  AND  PACKING  CO, 
15  PABK  Row,  NEW  YORK. 


TIMER'S  LATEST  AUTOMATIC  LOCK 

FOR     SINGLK-SASH     WINDOWS     AND     DUMB 
WAITER    DOORS. 

IN  response  to  numerous  calls  from  archi 
tects  and  builders,  as  well  as  private  in 
dividuals  that  contemplate  erecting  dwellings 
or  business  blocks  during  the  coming  season 
whose  plansand  specifications  call  for  single 
sash  windows,  this  lock  has  been  specially 
designed  and  placed  upon  the  market- 
There  are  many  reasons  why  the  heavy  oak 
or  other  hard-wood  single  sash,  are  being  sub 
stituted  for  soft-wood  double  sash  for  windows 
in  many  of  the  costly  blocks,  and  residence; 
now  in  process  of  construction  in  differen 
parts  of  the  country.  Everything  considerec 
the  single  sash  makes  a  very  handsome  an 
desirable  window  and  the  number  used  is 
rapidly  increasing.  But  the  question  of  a 
suitable  locking  device  for  such  sash  has  beer 
a  puzzler.  From  amongst  all  the  "  centre 
sash  fasts "  in  the  market,  and  their  name 
is  lef  ion,  not  one  can  be  selected  that  can  bt 

o        ' 

applied  to  a  single-sash  winJow,  or  a  liftin 
dumb-waiter  door.  It  must  be  admitted  that 
it  is  just  as  essential  that  a  window  should  bt 
locked,  as  that  a  door  should  be,  and  while  it 
is  important  that  the  lock  used  should  be 
strong,  and  substantial,  it  is  of  the  highest 
importance  that  it  should  be  automatic  in  its 
action,  locking  the  sasli  securely  when  closed 
and  just  as  securely  when  open  for  ventilation 
or  other  purposes. 

The  "  Timby  "  Single  Sash  Automatic  Lock 
accomplishes  all  that  can  be  desired  in  this 
direction. 

It  is  a  mortise  lock,  entirely  novel  in  con- 
struction, extremely  simple  in  all  its  parts, 
applicable  to  any  window,  perfectly  automatic 
in  its  action  and  when  set  in  the  stile  of  the 
frame,  and  the  sash  adjusted  in  position,  all 
that  remains  in  sight  is  the  operating  device 
upon  the  face  of  the  inside  stop  bead. 

The  accompanying  illustration  represents  a 
section  of  window  frame  with  the  lock  applied 
to  the  left-hand  stile. 

The  positive  automatic  action  of  the  bolt, 
makes  it  simply  impossible  to  raise  a  sash  from 
the  outside  two  or  four  inches,  when  the  same 
has  been  left  slightly  open  by  the  carelessness 
of  servants,  or  others  or  for  purposes  of  venti- 
lation. If  by  the  accumulation  of  ice  or  snow 

under  a  sash  it 
cannot  be  per- 
fectly  closed, 
and  the  bolt 
does  not  enter 
the  socket  in 
the  sash,  should 
a  person  from 
without  attempt 
to  raise  it,  the 
bolt  would  auto- 
matically enter 
^he  next  socket, 
and  prevent  the 
possibility  of  raising  the  sash  farther. 

The  sockets  in  the  edge  of  the  sash  are 
provided  with  heavy  metal  plates,  or  bearings, 
secured  in  proper  position  at  different  points 
by  screws.  The  heavy  bolt  of  the  lock  is 


projected  automatically  into  the  same,  thus 
locking  the  sash  at  different  points  of  adjust 
ment. 

Particular  attention  is  invited  to  the  grea 
strength  of  all  the  component  parts  of  this 
lock.  Its  wonderful  simplicity,  and  ready 
adjustability  to  any  window,  the  bolt  being  o 
sufficient  strength  to  withstand  more  than  a 
thousand  pounds  pressure.  The  mechanisu 
of  the  operating  device  is  novel  in  the  ex 
treme ;  externally,  the  appearance  is  simply 
that  of  a  thumb-nut,  resting  upon  a  plate  be- 
neath. 

Suspended  from  the  extreme  inner  top  o: 
the  thumb-nut  is  an  adjustable  lever  extend 
ing  downward  within  the  walls  of  the  nut,  am 
far  enough  below  the  plane  of  the  face-plate 
to  admit  of  an  adjustable  connection  with  the 
extended  arm  of  the  lock  proper.  The  rock 
ing,  or  semi-rotary  motion  of  the  bolt  arm 
sufficient  to  withdraw  the  bolt  from  the 
socket,  and  thereby  release  the  sash  is  pro 
duced  by  sliding  the  thumb-nut  downward 
which,  having  a  leverage  of  nearly  two  inches 
the  greatest  possible  ease  of  operation  is 
assured.  This  new  lock  is  a  recent  invention 
of  Mr.  T.  F.  Timby  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  but 
it  is  a  separate  and  distinct  invention  fron: 
the  burglar-proof  sash-lock  and  ventilator. 

Three  different  sizes  of  this  new  lock  is 
manufactured.  No.  1,  being  for  the  heaviest 
hard-wood  single  sash.  No.  2,  for  medium 
weight.  No.  3,  for  dumb-waiter  doors  ant 
ordinary  single  or  double  sash  windows 

Descriptive  circulars  and  price  list  of  thi> 
new  lock  may  be  had  by  addressing  the  manu 
facturer, 

I.  G.  JENKINS, 

OSWKOO,  NEW  YORK, 

or  T.  F.  Timby,  manager  of  the  New  York  City  Office 
102  Chambers  Street,  New  York  City. 


ELECTRIC  TIME   SYSTEM   FOR  PUB- 
LIC   BUILDINGS. 
ARCHITECTS   are  without  doubt  aware  ol 
the   growing   demand  for   a  good   system  ol 
Electric    Time    for    Public     Buildings     and 
Factories. 

The  "Warner"  system,  supplied  by  the 
Standard  Electric  Time  Company,  of  New 
Haven,  Conn., 
meets  this  de- 
mand in  a  most 
satisfactory  man 
ner  and  has  at- 
tained an  enviable 
reputation  for 
good  and  reliable 
service  wherever 
it  has  been  used. 

In  this   system 
a   switch-board   is   used  by  means   of    which 
the  secondary  or  electric  clocks  are  all  con- 
trolled from  a  central  point,  whether  the  cir- 
cuit is  confined  to  one  building  or  extends  to 
all   parts  of    a   large    manufacturing    estab- 
lishment    covering 
acres    of     ground. 
The     switch-board 
shown    in   the    cut 
s   of    the    pattern 
used  when  the  sys- 
tem is  run  from   a 
tower  clock,   as   is 
often  done.    It  con- 
aiiis     an     electric 
;auge     of     simple 
:onstruction  which  shows  the  condition  of  the 
>attery  at  a  glance  and  a  small  indicator  clock 
which  always  shows  the  condition  of  the  sec- 
mdary   clocks  throughout   the  circuit.     An 
alarm-bell  is  also  attached  which  gives  imme- 


diate  warning  in  case  the  service  fails  from 
any  cause,  whether  failure  of   the  battery  or  , 
breaking  of  the  circuit  wires. 

When  it  is  desired  to  use  a  regulator  as  the 
master-clock  this  company  furnishes  a  fine 
self-winding  regulator  with  the  switch-board 
system  inclosed  in  its  case.  In  this  way  no 
care  is  necessary  except  to  replenish  the 
batteries  once  in  twelve  to  eighteen  months, 
as  the  alarm-bell  will  call  attention  to  it  in 
case  anything  goes  wrong. 

This  system  of  time  is  used  by  the  N.  Y., 
N.  H.,  &  H.  R.  R.  Co.,  and  many  others,  and 
has  never  failed  to  give  complete  satisfaction. 
In  cost  it  will  compare  favorably  with  any 
electric  clocks  ever  offered  to  the  public  and 
is  considerably  less  than  any  other  system 
capable  of  giving  even  fairly  good  service. 

THE  STANDARD  ELECTRIC  TIME  CO., 

NEW  HAVBN,  CONH. 


REMOVAL. 

ON  or  about  May  1, 1889, 1  shall  remove  my 
business  to  43  Beekman  Street,  a  much  more 
commodious  and  desirable  place  than  that 
which  I  now  occupy. 

I  desire  to  thank  my  friends  and  customers 
for  their  past  favors,  and  take  pleasure  in 
stating  that  it  is  due  to  their  patronage  in 
part  that  I  am  now  enabled  to  secure  a  more 
desirable  place  of  business. 

As  heretofore,  I  shall  take  pleasure  in 
giving  personal  attention  to  all  work  entrusted 
to  my  care,  and  in  my  new  place  shall  be  able 
to  show  the  different  sanitary  appliances  which 
I  am  now  having  manufactured  at  a  better 
advantage.  After  June  I  shall  be  able  to 
show  all  the  standard  closets  of  first  quality 
in  operation  in  my  store,  and  shall  keep  on 
hand  a  full  line  of  plumbing  fixtures. 

All  material  sold  and  all  work  done  by  me 
will  be  guaranteed. 

LEONARD  D.  HOSFORD, 
66  BEEKMAJJ  STKKET,  NEW  YORK. 


NOTES. 

THE  Whittier  Machine  Company  have 
recently  put  into  the  building  of  Messrs. 
George  C.  Goodwin  &  Co.,  on  Hanover  Street, 
Boston,  a  belt  elevator  for  freight  service. 

ALL  SAINTS'  CHURCH,  Richmond,  Va., 
from  plans  by  M.  J.  Dimmock,  architect,  has 
recently  been  finished  and  dedicated.  This 
church  has  been  entirely  decorated  and  fur- 
nished by  Messrs.  J.  &  R.  Lamb,  of  New 
York.  Their  work  includes  all  of  the  stained- 
glass  windows,  the  color  decoration  of  the 
walls,  and  all  the  chancel  furniture  in  carved 
oak.  The  result  obtained  is  very  consistent 
and  harmonious. 


MESSRS.  SOMERS,  LINDEMAN  &  Co.  have 
such  faith  in  their  liquid-filler,  the  "Lin- 
deman,"  that  they  are  willing  to  sell  it 
to  responsible  parties,  subject  to  their  ap- 
proval. It  obviates  the  necessity  of  rubbing 
off — an  expensive  and  laborious  task.  It  is 
an  excellent  substitute  for  white  shellac.  It 
an  be  used  on  the  lightest  wood  without  dis- 
coloring it ;  it  is  entirely  transparent ;  hence 
does  not  cover  up  the  finest  figures  of  the 
wood  ;  it  effectually  prevents  suction  or  ab- 
sorption. On  ordinary  close-grained  woods, 
one  coat  of  Liquid-Filler  and  ona  coat  of  var- 
nish will  make  an  excellent  finish,  presenting 
sufficient  body  on  which  to  rub. 

THE  attention  of  manufacturers,  importers 
and  dealers  in  building  materials  and  ap- 
pliances is  invited  to  the  advertisement  of 
BicknelPs  Advertising  Bureau  in  another 
column.  Mr.  A.  J.  Bicknell's  long  experi- 
mce  and  connection  with  the  architectural 
and  building  trades  as  a  publisher  and  adver- 
tiser is  a  guarantee  of  his  knowledge  of  the 
mediums  best  suited  to  the  introduction  and 
sale  of  the  various  articles  that  enter  into  the 
construction  and  finish  of  buildings.  In  the 
jstablishing  of  this  Bureau,  Mr.  Bicknell 
akes  the  position  of  not  confining  himself  to 
he  interests  of  any  one  publication,  but  of 
ilacing  the  business  of  his  patrons  where  the 
esult  will  be  most  satisfactory. 


APRIL  6,  1889.  — No.  82.] 


Advertisers'  Trade  Supplement. 


3 


THE   SANITAS  MANUFACTURING 
COMPANY. 

8ANITA8    SINK    AND    FLUSH-POT. 

THIS  new  device  has  successfully  solved  the 
problem  of  the  disposal  of  kitchen  and  pantry 
waste-water. 

It  is  absolutely  automatic  in  its  action,  and 
to  this  feature  is  largely  due  its  great  success. 

It  is  so  constructed  that  it  must  always  do 
its  work  correctly  and  completely,  and  it 
cannot  be  made  to  do  otherwise,  even  by  the 
greatest  ignorance  or  neglect  on  the  part  of 
the  user.  It  operates  on  the  principle  of  the 
intermittent  automatic  flush-tank,  keeps  the 
waste-pipes  clean  and  obviates  the  necessity 
of  using  a  grease-trap.  It  is  provided  with  an 
accessible  seal-retaining  trap  constructed  on 
the  principle  of  the  Sanitas  Trap,  and  is 
altogether  the  only  complete'  sanitary  kitchen- 
sink  ever  offered  to  the  public. 

One  of  the  most  difficult  problems  in  sani- 
tary plumbing  is  the  disposal  of  kitchen-waste. 

The  fatty  substances  dissolved  in  the  hot- 
water  of  dish-washing  are  in  ordinary  kitchen- 
sinks  discharged  into  the  waste-pipes,  where 
they  quickly  congeal  and  clog  them.  To 
overcome  this  difficulty  innumerable  devices 
have  been  invented,  hut  hitherto  without 
success. 

Large  pot-traps  have  been  used  under  the 
sink  with  the  view  to  collecting  the  grease 
before  it  entered  the  main  waste-pipes.  But 
these  traps  require  constant  attention  to  re- 
move the  accumulating  filth  at  suitable  in- 
tervals, and  as  there  is  nothing  in  their 
mechanism  to  remind  the  servant  when  they 


passage  of  solid  matters  sufficient  to  clog  the 
trap  through  this  outlet,  particularly  where 
the  strainer  is  movable,  and  in  practice  this  is 
what  is  found  to  occur. 

It  was  for  the  purpose  of  avoiding  these 
objections  that  the  Sanitas  Kitchen-Sink  was 
invented. 

It  has  been  assumed  at  the  outset  as  an  in- 
dispensable condition  in  the  design  of  the 
apparatus,  that  absolutely  nothing  should  be 
dependent  upon  the  intelligence  and  care  of 
the  servant,  and  that  by  no  possibility  could 
the  waste-passages  become  clogged  either  by 
accident  or  by  design.  In  short,  that  the 
operation  should  be  entirely  automatic,  and 
that  the  form  of  the  outlet  should  be  such  that 
no  solid  refuse  could  possibly  gain  access  to  it. 

These  results  have  been  obtained  in  the 
Sanitas  Sink  as  follows  : 

The  general  form  of  sink  and  flush-pot, 
designed  by  the  well-known  sanitary  engineer, 
William  Paul  Gerhard,  has  been  adopted  as  a 
basis.  It  consists  of  the  combination  of  a 
square  flush-pot,  with  an  ordinary  kitehen- 
sink,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  provide  a  sink  of 
the  ordinary  appearance  and  form  alone,  but 
having  a  deep  portion  or  flush-pot  at  the  end. 
This  deep  portion  is  partly  covered  with  a 
strainer,  and  the  waste-water  is  discharged 
through  a  stand-pipe  overflow  and  outlet-plug, 
preferably  the  "  Sanitas  "  waste. 

Mr.  Gerhard's  sink  is  an  improvement  on 
Colonel  George  E.  Waring,  Jr's.  flush-pot,  in 
being  more  convenient  in  form  and  arrange- 
ment, and  hence  less  liable  to  improper  usage 
than  the  latter.  But  neither  possesses  the 
all-important  requisite  of  automatic  action. 


but  closes  again  automatically  by  its  own 
weight  as  soon  as  released.  Clean-out  open- 
ings are  provided  at  the  trap  and  wier  cham- 
ber and  give  access  to  every  part  of  the  waste 
system.  No  bones  and  solid  refuse  can  be 
scraped  into  the  discharge  outlet  and  dropped 
into  the  waste-pipe,  because  this  pipe  ascends 
instead  of  descends  at  the  outlet  and  should  the 
trap  be  clogged,  it  will  simply  cause  the  water 
to  cease  to  flow  out  until  the  obstruction  is  re- 
moved, which  can  easily  be  done  by  simply 
raising  the  lower  strainer  and  lifting  out  the 
obstruction  by  hand. 

The  operation  of  the  Sanitas  Kitchen-Sink 
and  Flush-Pot  is  as  follows  :  The  sink  is  used 
in  the  ordinary  manner  until  the  flush  pot 
fills  to  the  height  of  the  siphon  overflow. 
When  this  point  has  been  reached  the  next 
discharge  of  a  quart  or  two  of  water  from  the 
washing-pan  charges  the  siphon  and  causes 
the  entire  contents  of  the  flush  pot  to  rush  out 
through  the  waste  passages  filling  them  full 
bore  and  scouring  them  from  end  to  end. 
The  solid  matter  and  lumps  of  grease  will  be 
left  on  the  bottom  of  the  flush-pot  and  must 
he  removed  by  the  servant  in  the  proper 


n. 


Fig.   2. 


Fig.   I. 

require  emptying,  and  as  the  emptying  is  an 
extremely  offensive  operation  owing  to  the 
putrid  condition  of  the  contents  of  the  trap, 
the  work  is  neglected  and  the  waste-pipes 
become  obstructed  as  much  as  if  no  poUrap 
existed.  Moreover,  the  trap  must,  on  account 
of  its  weight,  be  placed  on  or  below  the  floor, 
leaving  a  considerable  length  of  pipe  between 
it  and  the  sink  outlet  to  he  clogged. 

Large  grease-traps  have  been  used,  but  they 
are  open  to  the  same  serious  objections  as  the 
pot-traps,  and  utterly  fail  to  solve  the  problem. 

Flush-pots,  with  ordinary  outlet-plugs,  have 
been  tried.  But  as  the  outlets  must  neces- 
sarily be  operated  by  the  persons  who  use  the 
sink,  it  is  found  that  sooner  or  later  they  are 
improperly  used,  and  then  greater  objections 
than  ever  result. 

Any  simple  plug-outlet  in  kitchen-sinks 
offers  a  tempting  waste  receptacle  for  solid 
refuse  which  an  ignorant  servant  is  certain 
to  scrape  into  it  to  avoid  the  trouble  of  their 
proper  removal;  and  even  with  the  greatest 
care  there  is  nothing  to  prevent  the  accidental 


It  remained  for  Mr.  William  E.  Hoyt 
to  suggest  the  use  of  an  automatic  discharge 
in  connection  with  the  Gerhard  Sink  and  for 
Mr.  J.  P.  Putnam  to  embody  the  suggestion  in 
practical  form  in  the  Sanitas  Sink.  Thus  the 
Sanitas  Kitchen-Sink  is  the  creation  of  four 
competent  sanitarians,  and  its  construction  and 
operation  are  worthy  of  its  parentage. 

Figure  1  represents  a  perspective  view. 
Figure  2  a  plan  and  Figure  3  a  section 
of  the  Sanitas  Kitchen-Sink.  The  Flush- 
Pot  of  Gerhard  is  retained  except  that 
the  upper  or  horizontal  strainer  covers  the 
entire  pot  and  is  hinged  to  one  end  of  the  sink 
so  that  it  may  be  opened  when  it  is  desired  to 
use  the  deep  part  of  the  sink.  Instead  of  a 
stand-pipe  discharge  however,  a  siphon  dis- 
charge is  used,  and  a  vertical  strainer  is 
interposed  between  the  flush-pot  and  its 
siphon.  The  short  arm  of  the  siphon  is 
trapped  with  a  seal-retaining  trap  of  the 
Sanitas-trap  principle  just  behind  the  vertical 
strainer.  This  strainer  slides  upwards  in  a 
groove  to  give  access  to  the  trap  when  desired, 


Fig.  3. 

manner,  inasmuch  as  they  cannot  possibly  be 
removed  in  any  other  manner. 

Thus  by  the  use  of  the  Sanitas  Sink  and 
Flush  -  Pot  all  the  great  annoyances,  ex- 
penses and  dangers  arising  from  the  dis- 
charge of  sink  refuse  are  completely  avoided. 
Moreover,  the  Sanitas  Sink  is  in  most  cases 
much  more  economical  than  any  other.  The 
Sanitas  Flush-Pot  is  entirely  constructed  of 
iron,  and  is  of  simple  form.  The  additional 
cost  of  the  actual  flushing  apparatus  over  that 
of  an  ordinary  kitchen  sink  is  trifling.  But 
the  sink  contains  its  own  trap  and  the  cost  of 
trapping  is  avoided  rendering  the  sink  really 
no  more  expensive  than  an  ordinary  sink  and 
trap.  The  Sanitas  sink  trap  is  also  antisiphonic 
and  hence  requires  no  back-venting  in  which 
case  the  use  of  the  Sanitas  Sink  and  Flush- 
Pot  is  considerably  cheaper  than  that  of  any 
ordinary  sink. 

The  Sanitas  Flush-Pot  is  designed  for  use 


4  The  following  advertisers  acceptably  carried  out  contracts  on  the  Boston  Athletic  Association  Building. 


TORREY,  BRIGHT  &  CAPEN, 


IMPORTERS  AND  DEALERS  IN 


F 


INE 


c 


ARPETS 


AND   ORIENTAL    RUGS. 


348  AND  350  WASHINGTON  ST., 


BOSTON. 


E.  B.  BADGER  &  SON, 


COPPERSMITHS 


And  Manufacturers  of 


METAL   CORNICES, 


WINDOWS,  SKYLIGHTS,  ETC. 


Metal  Work  on  Athletic  Building  done  by  E.  B.  Badger  &*  Son. 


A.  H.  DAVENPORT, 

96  WASHINGTON  ST.,  BOSTON. 

932  BROADWAY,  NEW  YORK. 

Furniture  and  Wood  Work 


MADE  TO  ORDER. 


Rare    Stuffs  for    Drapery    and 

Coverings. 


WILLIAM  LUMB&CO., 


.•  /  PLUMBERS  :  : 


15  PROVINCE   ST.,  AND  9   CHAPMAN    PL., 


WILLIAM  LUMB.  BOSTON.  WM.  H.  MITCHBLL. 


either  with  ordinary  iron,  soapstone,  wooden, 
or  any  other  form  of  sink,  and  is  sold  either 
alone  or  in  combination  with  an  iron  sink 
body  especially  cut  out  to  receive  the  flush- 
pot,  as  shown  in  the  figures  already  referred 
to. 

DIRECTION   FOR   SETTING. 

The  Sanitas  Kitchen-Sink  and  Flush-Pot 
are  set  just  as  any  sink,  except  that  no  trap 
is  needed,  a  seal-retaining  trap  of  the  best  and 


most  scientific  form  being  constructed  in  the 
apparatus  itself.  This  trap  has  the  very 
great  advantage  of  being  directly  accessible 
from  the  flush-pot  of  the  sink  without  the 
removal  of  so  much  as  a  screw.  The  trap, 
moreover,  being  anti-siphonic,  requires  no 
venting,  and  this  expense  may  be  avoided. 
The  trap  may  be  vented,  however,  if  desired, 
like  any  other  trap,  in  which  case  the  vent- 
pipe  should  be  taken  from  the  lead  waste- 


pipe  just  beyond  the  wier  chamber,  or  at  the 
bend  of  the  floor,  as  is  usual  in  back-venting 
kitchen-sink  traps.  But  such  trap-venting 
decreases  the  rapidity  of  the  discharge  of 
waste-water  and  its  consequent  flushing  effect 
as  much  as  thirty  per  cent,  and  it  is  to  be 
condemned  as  an  expensive  and  useless  com- 
plication. 

The  discharge-pipe  below  the  siphon  should 
have  as  quick  a  fall  and  as  much  of  a  fall  as 


The  following  advertisers  acceptably  carried  out  contracts  on  the  Boston  Athletic  Association  Building.  5 


G.  W.  &  F.  SMITH  IRON  CO., 

Building  Iron  Work 


OFFICE,  411    FEDERAL  ST., 


BOSTON. 


WALTER  McCREARY. 


JOHN  D.  MOVES. 


McCREARY  &   NOYES, 


HOUSE,  SIGN  AND  DECORATIVE 


Painters  &  Glaziers 


HARD  WOOD  FINISHING  AND  POLISHING. 


9  LIME  STREET,    op &,,*,,     BOSTON,  MASS. 


Residence,    Fair  view   Street,    Roslindale. 


JOHN  Y.  MAINLAND, 

Carpenter  1  Builder 

164    DEVONSHIRE    STREET, 


BOSTON,   MASS. 


JAMBS     M. 

Formerly  H.  Riley  &  Son,  Established  in  1841. 

Slate,  Metal  and  Composition  Roofer. 

Personal  Attention  given  to  Repairs,  etc. 

OFFICE:   164  DEVONSHIRE  ST.,  BOSTON. 

Master  Builders'  Association. 

THE  HELLIWELL  PATENT  GLASS  ROOFS. 


possible,  in  order  to  increase  the  rapidity  of 

the  discharge  of  the  flush-pot 

and   its    consequent   scouring 

action.    It  is  best  to  use  a  1£ 

inch  or  If  inch  pipe  for  sev- 

eral   feet   below   the   siphon, 

since  a  small  pipe  fills  "full 

bore"  easier   than    a    larger 

one.     At  the  end  of  the  per- 

pendicular fall   the  1£  or  If 

pipe    may  enter    a   two-inch 

pipe. 

When  soapstone  or  earth- 
enware  is  preferred  for  the 
sink,  the  Sanitas  Flush-Pot  is 
provided  with  a  wide  flange, 
in  order  that  the  screws  se- 
curing it  to  the  soapstone 
may  be  placed  at  some  dis- 
tance from  the  edge  of  the 
latter  for  greater  strength. 


Fig-  4. 


The  flush-pot  is  set  with  such  a  sink  as  fol- 
lows :   A   square  opening  is  cut  in  the  bottom 


of  the  sink  of  the  size  and  form  of  the  inside 
of  the  top  of  the  flush-pot,  and  tapped  to 
receive  the  bolts  of  the  latter.  The  flush- 
pot  is  then  bolted  to  the  under-side  of  the 
soapstone  .with  the  bolts  furnished  with  the 
flush-pot. 

THE   8ANITA8    OPAL-PULL. 

Figure  4  illustrates  the  Sanitas  Pull.  This 
is  undeniably  the  most  ornamental  and  durable 
pull  on  the  market.  Having  the  texture  and 
pure  white  color  of  the  earthenware  of  the 
closet  and  other  plumbing  fixtures,  it  har- 
monizes with  them  in  appearance,  and  re- 
quires no  scrubbing  or  burnishing  to  keep  it 
permanently  as  bright  as  when  new.  Its  con- 
struction is  so  strong  and  solid  that  it  is  prac- 
tically indestructable.  For  sale  by  all  dealers 
in  plumbing  supplies,  and  by 

THE  SANITAS  MANUFACTURING  CO., 

207  TBEMONT  ST.,  BOSTON,  MASS. 

AOEHCIES  : 

C.  G.  Cunningham  &  Co.,.207  Tremont  St.,  Boston, 
Mass.;  54  Gold  St.,  New  York,  N.  Y.;  47-49  Dearborn 
St.,  Chicago.  111. 

W.  F.  &  D.  D.  Kearns,  229  Walnut  St.,  Cincinnati, 
0.;  316  Chestnut  St..  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Arnold  &  Co.,  40  California  St.,  San  Francisco,  Cal. 

Armand  Higman,  236  Sparks  St.,  Ottawa,  Ont. 


A  PAMPHLET  has  recently  been  issued 
under  the  title  of  "  Additional  Designs  for 
Iron  Greenhouses,  Palm-Houses  and  Con- 
servatories, taken  from  photographs  of  work 
recently  erected  by  Plenty's  Horticultural  and 
Skylight  Works,  of  144  Pearl  Street,  New 
York." 

In  looking  it  over  one  would  be  struck 
with  the  grace  and  proportion  obtained  by 
the  very  simple  lines  of  construction,  and  by 
the  subordinate  part  which  the  buildings  play 
in  the  exhibit  of  plants,  so  that  it  is  easy  to 
realize  the  fact,  often  commented  upon,  of  the 
extreme  lightness  and  airiness  of  buildings  of 
this  construction,  which  throws  no  shadow 
and  conveys  the  impression  of  unobstructed 
sunlight. 

The  growth  and  increasing  wealth  of  the 
country  is  creating  a  demand  for  permanent 
greenhouses  and  horticultural  structures,  and 
by  those  who  have  experienced  the  constant 
annoyance  of  continually  repainting  and  re- 
puttying  wooden  greenhouses,  the  system  of 


The   American   Architect  and  Building   News.         [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  693- 


puttyless-glazing  will  be  well  appreciated. 
The  Helliwell  Patent  Putty  less  Glazing  has 
been  used  in  this  country  for  the  past  three 
years,  and  has  proved  itself  adequate  to  all 

the  varying 
conditions  of 
our  change- 
able climate. 
It  has  given 
universal  sat- 
i  sf  a  ction 
wherever  it 

WA.SUel  Bar  h  a  8      b  6  6  n 

used.  A  glance  over  the  letters  and  testi- 
monials given  will  show  what  its  patrons 
think  of  it.  Some  very  successful  examples 
of  this  system  has  been  erected  by  me  for  the 
following  gentlemen,  among  many  :  L.  L. 
Lorillard,Esq.,  Newport,  R.  L;  Henry  Graves, 
Esq.,  Orange,  N.  J. ;  D.  B.  Wesson,  Esq., 
Northboro,  Mass. ;  J.  Pierpont  Morgan,  Esq., 
Highland  Falls,  N.  Y.;  Alfred  C.  Harrison, 
Esq.,  Chestnut  Hill,  Pa. ;  H.  M.  Boies,  Esq., 
Scranton,  Pa. ;  Edward  D.  Adams,  Esq.,  Sea- 
bright,  N.  J. ;  W.  H.  De  Forest,  Esq.,  Summit, 
N.  J. ;  G.  Krueger,  Esq.,  Newark,  N.  J. ;  H. 
B.  Perkins,  Esq.,  Warren,  O. ;  H.  E.  Law- 
rence, Esq.,  Sparkill,  N.  Y. ;  M.  D.  Thatcher, 
Esq.,  Pueblo,  Col. ;  J.  E.  Smith,  Esq.,  Bea- 
trice, Neb. ;  James  Clarke,  Esq.,  Louisville, 
Ky. 

In  the  matter  of  skylight  or  roof-lights,  the 
Helliwell  system  is  altogether  without  a  rival. 
For  strength, 
lightness  and 
durability  the 
new  patent 
rolled-steel  bars 
are  not  to  be 
compared  with 
bars  made  of 
galvanized-iron. 
The  system  is 
now  specified  by  the  most  prominent  architects 
of  the  country  on  their  best  work. 

We  give  an  illustration  of  the  new  passenger 
station  at  Jersey  City  just  erected  and  glazed 
under  this  system  for  the  Central  Railroad 
of  New  Jersey,  and  Baltimore  and  Ohio 
Railroads.  This  skylight  contains  about  30,- 
000  square  feet  of  glass,  the  main  trusses  are 
32  feet  apart,  and  the  skylight-bars  span 
13'  6"  between  purlins.  The  architects  are 
Messrs.  Peabody  &  Stearns,  Boston,  Mass. 

We  also  give  sectional  cuts  of  the  shape  of 
the  bars,  and  of  the  method  of  arranging  and 
fastening  the  glass  in  position. 

Any  one  who  contemplates  the  erection  of 
glass  buildings  of  any  description,  will  benefit 
by  the  perusal  of  the  pamphlets  and  circulars 
on  this  subject  published  by 

JOSEPHUS  PLENTY, 
144  PEARL  STREET.  NEW  YOBK. 


THE  STAR  METAL-CORED  RUBBER- 
STOPPER. 

AMONG  the  many  firms  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  bath-room  and  laundry  ap- 
pliances, there  is  none  that  stands  higher  than 
The  Wm.  Powell  Company,  of  Cincinnati,  O. 
Organized  in  1846 
under  the  style  of 
i  Wm.  Powell  &  Com- 
'  pany,  and  incor- 
porated in  1886,  we 
rank  among  the 
pioneers  in  this 
business. 

Enterprising  and 
ever  on  the  alert, 
we  have  been  quick 
to  note  the  de- 
mands of  the  trade, 
and  have  been  con- 
stantly making  improvements  in  this  class  of 
goods.  And  our  reputation  for  fair-dealing 
and  honest  work 
has  been  such  that 
our  goods  have  be- 
c  o  m  e  deservedly 
popular,  as  stated. 
In  1886  this  Com- 
pany was  incor- 
porated as  The 
Wm.  Powell  Com- 
pany, and  our  faculties  for  doing  good  work 
have  been  constantly  increasing. 

Among  the  recent  improvements  which  we 
offer  the  trade  is  the  Star  Metal-cored  Rub- 


EUREKA     SHEATHING  -  LATH 

The  Best  Article  in  the  Market. 
Saves  HVTortar,  Labor  and  JMoney. 

Combined  Sheathing  and   Lathing  is  now  well  known  and  is 

meeting  with  great  favor,  both  from  architects  and 

the  public.     Manufacturing  Rights  for  sale. 

Wm.  M.  DWIGHT  &  CO.,  Detroit,  Mich. 


CELLKR  WINDOW  FRKME  />  SHSH. 

13  Sizes.       Secure  and  Durable.       Send  for  Price  List. 

THE  McLAGON   FOUNDRY  CO..     -     -     NEW  HAVEN,  CONN. 


CLIMAX    METALLIC   CASEMENT   CO., 

MANUFACTURERS    OF 

WINDOW    FRAMES,   TRANSOMS,    SKYLIGHTS,    ETC. 

In    Wrought-lron,    Bronze    and    Copper. 
No.  19  Province  Street,          ......        BOSTON,   MASS. 


ber-Stopper,  a  cut  of  which  we  present  here- 
with. 

When  some  years  ago  we  introduced  the 
Star  Rubber-Stopper,  it  was  received  with 
favor  and  universally  adopted  by  the  trade, 
but  it  had  its  defects.  Now,  however,  we 
present  a  Stopper  that  is  perfect.  The  Metal- 
core  is  completely  enveloped  in  a  rubber- 
casing,  the  core  extending  up  into  the  rubber- 
neck, thereby  preventing  any  strain  on  the 
rubber,  and  its  weight  is  sufficient  to  prevent 
it  floating  from  its  socket.  While  the  me- 
tallic parts  being  protected  by  the  rubber 
casing,  all  danger  of  injuring  china-basins  or 
polished  linings  of  bath-tubs  is  entirely  ob- 
viated ;  at  the  same  time  the  prices  have 
been  so  reduced  as  to  enable  them  to  displace 
the  old  brass  style.  Any  information  relative 
to  prices  and  discounts  may  be  obtained  by 
addressing  the  sole  manufacturers  and  own- 
ers of  the  patent, 

THE  WM.  POWELL  COMPANY, 
50,  52  AND  54  PLUM  STREET,  CINCINNATI,  O. 


NOTES. 

THE  Manhattan  Brass  Company,  First 
Avenue,  Twenty-seventh  to  Twenty-eighth 
Streets,  New  York,  whose  advertisement  ap- 
pears on  page  i,  are  making  a  specialty  of  in- 
terior brass  decorations  of  a  superior  quality 
for  theatres,  banks,  offices,  etc.,  consisting  of 
railings  and  grill-work  of  all  patterns.  They 
have  just  completed  the  railings  and  grill- 
work  throughout  Proctor's  new  building, 
Twenty-third  Street,  located  between  Sixth 
and  Seventh  Avenues.  A  very  beautiful  and 
complete  piece  of  workmanship  in  all  its  de- 
tail, and  it  would  pay  all  admirers  of  fine 
workmanship  to  examine.  They  are  also 
continually  putting  up  some  of  the  very  fine 
brass  and  bronze  stoop-rails  seen  throughout 
the  city.  For  quality,  finish  and  workman- 
ship this  Company  cannot  be  excelled. 

THE  Whittier  Machine  Company  have  re- 
cently put  into  the  house  of  Mr.  U.  H. 
Crocker  on  Commonwealth  Ave.,  Boston, 
Mass.,  an  hydraulic  plunger  elevator  for  pas- 
senger service.  For  the  Masonic  Temple  in 
Washington,  D.  C.,  one  horizontal  steel  boiler 
and  an  hydraulic  piston  passenger  elevator 
upon  their  Pressure  Tank  System.  Also  for 
Messrs.  Prestwich  &  Fuller  of  Westerly,  R.  L, 
three  horizontal  steel  boilers,  each  two  and 
one-half  feet  in  diameter. 


DIXON'S  SILICA-GRAPHITE  PAINT,  made 
by  the  Jos.  Dixon  Crucible  Co.,  Jersey  City, 
N.  J.,  covers  more  than  double  the  surface  of 
any  other  paint.  It  is  unaffected  by  heat  or 
cold,  storms,  salt  air,  rust  or  even  acids.  A 
tin  roof  well  painted  will  not  need  repainting 
for  10  to  15  years  or  longer.  It  is  equally 
useful  for  metal,  iron  or  wood  work. 


MESSRS.  J.  &  R.  LAMB  have  recently 
executed  for  the  Church  of  St.  Martin,  in  the 
Fields,  Chestnut  Hill,  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  from 
plans  by  G.  W.  &  W.  D.  Hewitt,  architects, 
brass  pulpit,  eagle  lectern,  brass  and  oak  com- 
munion-rail, and  a  brass  and  oak  font-cover. 


All  are  of  intricate  design  and  elaborate  work- 
manship. Grace  Memorial  Chapel,  at  Evans- 
ville,  Ind.,  Messrs.  Reid  Bros.,  architects,  has 
recently  been  completed.  Messrs.  J.  &  R. 
Lamb,  of  New  York,  have  furnished  for  this 
chapel  a  beautiful  stained-glass  window,  an- 
tique oak  pulpit  and  bronze  memorial  tablet. 
The  chapel  is  built  by  Mrs.  David  J.  Mackay, 
of  Evansville,  in  memory  of  her  parents,  John 
and  Sarah  Law. 


AN  important  organization  entitled  "  Booth 
Brothers  &  Hurricane  Isle  Granite  Company,' 
has  just  been  incorporated,  with  a  capital  of 
$250,000.00  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on  an 
extensive  quarrying  and  contracting  business 
in  rough  and  cut  granite. 

It  is  a  consolidation  of  two  important  con- 
cerns. Messrs.  Booth  Brothers  have  been 
established  in  New  York  for  eighteen  years 
past,  having  their  office  at  60  Bank  Street, 
and  their  yard  at  113th  Street  and  Avenue  A, 
and  their  quarries  at  Millstone  Point,  Niantic, 
Conn.,  and  Long  Cove,  Tenant's  Harbor,  Me. 
The  Hurricane  Isle  Company  had  also  been 
in  business  for  a  number  of  years  in  the  same 
line. 

The  officers  of  the  new  company  are  :  Mr. 
William  Booth,  President ;  Mr.  John  Booth, 
Treasurer ;  Mr.  John  Donaldson  and  Mr. 
Charles  S.  Ferguson,  Secretaries.  Mr.  James 
Shands  and  Mr.  William  S.  White  are  also 
among  the  incorporators.  All  of  these  gentle- 
men are  well  and  favorably  known  in  the 
trade,  and  all  bring  important  connections 
and  relationships  to  the  new  company. 

The  office  of  the  company  remains  at  60 
Bank  Street,  and  the  New  York  yard  at  113th 
Street  and  Avenue  A,  and  the  company  will 
operate  about  half-a-dozen  of  the  largest 
granite  quarries  in  the  country,  mostly  in  the 
State  of  Maine,  the  others  being  in  Con- 
necticut and  Rhode  Island.  This  consolida- 
tion of  different  interests  makes  the  company 
one  of  the  largest  concerns  in  the  business, 
and  its  facilities  and  arrangements  are  unsur- 
passed. It  is  quite  certain  that  the  company 
will  do  a  large  business  from  the  first. 

The  management  could  not  well  be  in 
stronger  hands. 


THE  season  is  at  hand  when  builders  of 
homes,  are  looking  around  for  the  best  medium 
in  every  line,  with  which  to  improve  the 
artistic  effect  of  "  our  new  house." 

Among  the  many  new  styles  which  tend  to 
add  harmony  to  color,  is  the  use  of  stain  or 
coloring  for  mortar  or  plaster. 

These  goods  are  yearly  growing  in  favor 
and  have  come  to  stay.  Messrs.  S.  Bowen's 
Sons,  150  N.  4th  Street,  Philadelphia,  make 
the  "  Pecora "  Mortar  Stains  and  are  doing 
an  extensive  business  in  these  goods  and  have 
recently  published  a  book  of  gelatine  plates, 
illustrating  the  edifices  in  which  their  goods  are 
used,  with  letters  from  the  prominent  builders 
and  architects  connected  with  same.  Archi- 
tects and  masons  or  owners,  will  be  favored 
with  copies  by  writing  for  them  and  will  no 
doubt  be  enlightened  and  interested  in  this 
work. 


APBIL  6,  1889.  — No.  82.] 


Advertisers'  Trade  Supplement. 


DYCKERHOFF 

PORTLAND  CEMENT 

Is  superior  to  any  other  Portland  Cement  made.     It  is  very  finely  ground,  always  uniform  and  reliable,  and 
of  such  extraordinary  strength  that  it  will  permit  the  addition  of  2f>  per  cent  more  sand,  etc.,  than  other  well- 
known  brands,  and  produce  the  most  durable  work.     It  is  therefore  the  most  economical  to  use.     8,000  barrels 
have  been  used  in  the  foundations  of  the  Statue  of  Liberty.     Architects  and  those  interested  in  Portland  Cement 
will  please  send  for  my  pamphlet,  which  will  be  mailed  free  on  application.     It  contains  valuable  directions  for 
the  employment  of  Portland  Cement,  a  table  of  results  of  the  strength  of  the  Dyckerhoff  Cement  when 
mixed  with  sand  and  broken  stone  in  various  proportions,  together  with  tests  and 
testimonials  of  eminent  Engineers,  Architects  and  Consumers. 

E.  THIELE  78  William  St.,  New  York. 

SOLE    AGENT    FOR    THE    UNITED   STATES. 


ESTABLISHED  18S4. 


Wrought  Iron  Hot  Water  Boiler, 


For  Houses,  Pnlc  Builiinis,  Greenhonses,  &c 

PETER   DEVINE, 

Office,  387  So.  Canal  St.,  Chicago. 


WOOD  MANTELS 

for  the  trade  from  our  own  Catalogue  or  architect's 
special  designs  if  requested. 

HALL  &  GARRISON, 

1124  - 1132  Washington  AY.,  Phila.    280  Broadway,  N.  Y. 


Troy  Laundry  Machinery  Co., 

LIMITED.      TROY,  N.  T. 

New  Vork  and  Chicago 


The  most  complete  line  of  machinery  for  hotel!  am 
Public  [mutations.    Complete  laundries  for  ingtlto 

Hone  our  specialty. 
Estimates  furnished.    Send  for  Illustrated  Catalogue. 


Architects,  Builders,  and  others  will  confer  a 
favor  on  the  Publishers  by  mentioning  "  The 
American  Architect  and  Building  News  "  when 
tending  for  circulars  or  corresponding  with 
parties  advertising  in  these  columns. 


An.tiq.ue  Hinge  Plates 


0-A.S3T 


ON  HAND  AND  MADE  TO  ORDER  FROM  ARCHITECTS'  DRAWINGS. 

J.  B.  SHANNON  &  SONS, 


1020    3Vr<xx-ltot    Stx-oot, 


CX..A.. 


WRITE    FOR    ILLUSTRATED    CATALOGUE. 


BURDITT  &  WILLIAMS, 

KSTABUSHKD     I860. 
Manufacturers    and    Dealers    in 

FINE    HARDWARE 

FOB 

Dwelling-Houses,  Churches, 

Stores  and  Public  Building's. 

Every  Excellence  of  Mechanism.        Latest  and  most  approved  Styles  and  Finish. 

Special  New  Designs  of  Knoba  in  Cut-Glass.     Patterns  made  to  order  from  Architect's 
Designs.     Estimates  made.    Contracts  filled  in  all  Markets. 


20  DOCK  SQUARE,  BOSTON,  •«*»<>»  »"•«"• 

Our  Hardware  may  be  found  in  important  buildings  in  the  leading  cities  of  the  Country 


Electric  Time  System 


THE  ONLY  RELIABLE  SYSTEM  IN  USE. 


All  public  buildings  and  Schools 
should  be  supplied  with  Electric 
Time  Dials.  This  system  is  now  in 
use  by  the  New  York,  New  Haven 
&  Hartford  Railroad  Co.  and  many 
others. 


SJSffD    FOR    CATALOGUE. 


Sinyle  Circuit  Switch  to  be 


The  Stand,  Elec,  Time  Go, 

NFW  HAVF.N    fONN 


ELECTRIC    TIME 
DIAL. 


The   American   Architect  and  Building   News.       [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  693. 


THE  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE  RESTS 
ON  NORTON'S  CEMENT. 

!THE  TRUSTEES  OP  THE 
NEW  YORK  AND  BROOKLYN   BRIDGE, 
BROOKLYN,  August  9,  1883. 

MR.  F.  O.  NORTON, 
Dear  Sir: 

During  the  construction  of  the  New  York 
and  Brooklyn  Bridge  upwards  of  100,000  bar- 
rels of  your  cement  were  used.  The  concrete 
with  which  the  caissions  were  filled  was  made 
with  your  Cement,  and  the  entire  weight  of  the 
towers  rests  upon  it. 

Your  Cement  has  always  had  the  preference 
at  the  same  price  other  cements  were  offered 
for,  and  during  part  of  the  time  in  important 
parts  of  the  work  it  was  selected,  even  at  a 
higher  price,  on  account  of  its  superiority, 
especially  in  the  points  of  uniformity  of  quality 
and  fineness. 

Without  hesitation  I  can  recommend  your 
Cement  to  those  desiring  a  good  and  reliable 
article.  Very  truly  yours, 

C.  C.  MARTIN, 
Chief  Engineer  and  Superintendent. 

F.    O.    NORTON, 

99  Broadway,  NEW   YORK. 


TRADE 


MARK. 


The  "STAR"  Portland  Cement  Works, 

Toepffer,  Grawitz  &  Co,  Stettin,  Germany. 

ESTABLISHED  1860, 

Guarantee  their  entire  production  (about  240,000 
barrels  a  year)  to  have  the  following  Mimmum- 
Tenslle-Strength.  if  tested  according  to  thn  official 
German  regulations,  on  non-absorptive  beds  : 

Minimum  Breaking  Strain. 


Neat  "Star"  Cement 

do  do 

1  Cement  and  3  Standard  Sand 

do  do 

1  Cement  and  6  Standard  Sand 
do  do 


40  kilos.  <• 
23»,50     " 

7  J   15     *• 

»,,-  " 


711.1 
213.3 
284.4 
83.3 
142.2 


Send  for  Testimonals,  Pamphlet,  Directions  for 
Testing,  etc. 

fiustav  Grawitz.  16S  Broadway,  N,  V.,  Sole  fcent  In  the  U.  S. 


Something  New  for  the  Stable. 

Bead's  Patent  Harness  Bracket. 


An  Article  long  wanted  but  never  before  made. 

Holds  the  whole  harness,  takes  no  more  room  than 
the  ordinary  hook  or  peg,  can  be  used  for  both  single 
and  double  harness,  (lives  the  harness-case  a  neat 
appearance,  as  it  carries  tbe  harness  up  uniformly  in 
width  with  the  saddle,  beside  keeping  the  bridle  and 
breastplate  in  their  proper  shape.  They  are  neatly  ja- 
panned, with  gilt  facings.  Price  81 8  per  dozen.  Are 
now  in  use  in  over  100  first-class  private  stables  in  and 
about  Boston. 

Each  bracket  lettered  "J.  J.  Bead,  Boston, 
Mass."  For  sale  by  dealers  everywhere. 

Indorsed  and  approved  by  the  following  named  gen- 
tlemen, all  of  whom  have  them  in  use  : 

Boston:  K.  H.  White,  J.  Montgomery  Sears,  J.  T. 
Morse,  Jr.,  Thos.  Motley.  South  Boston  :  Benjamin 
Dean.  Cambridge :  F.  A.  Kennedy,  John  Bartlett, 
Chas.H.Gass.  Portsmouth,  N.  H. :  Hon.  Frank  Jones. 
Milton:  Col.  H.  S.  Russell,  J.Malcolm  Forbes.  Dedham : 
A.  W.  Nickerson.  Baltimore,  Md  :  J.  D.  Mallory. 
Newton  :  J.  O.  Potter,  C.  E.  Billings,  A.  R.  Mitchell. 
Walthan. :  J.  H.  Ellison.  Readville  :  C.  G.  White. 
Beverly  :  I>r.  Chas.  Haddock.  Swampsott ;  C.  P.  Cur- 
tis. Boston,  Mass. :  Waldo  Adams,  with  the  Adams 
Express  Co.  Philadelphia,  Pa. :  Edward  N.  Williams, 
of  the  Baldwin  Locomotive  Works. 

The  public  are  cautioned  against  all  similar  brack- 
ets, not  marked  with  my  stamp,  as  such  brackets  are 
infringements  of  patents  held  by  me. 

Also  cedar-top   riding-saddle  bracket.     Price  $3.50 
each.    And  whip-rack  tor  English  coach  and  straight 
whip  combined.    Price  50  cents  each. 
JAMES  J.  READ.  13  Tremont  Bow,  Room  1O. 


[STERBROOK'S 


STEEL 
PENS 


FOR  SALE  BY  ALL  STATIONERY. 
THE    ESTERBROOK    STEEL    PEN  CO. 

20  John  Street,  New  York,  N.  Y. 


South wark  Foundry  and  Machine  Company, 


BOILERS. 

TANKS. 

STEAM 
HAMMERS. 

HEAVY 
CASTINGS. 


SOLE   MAKERS   OF 


BLOWING  AND 
REVERSING 

ENGINES. 
CENTRIFUGAL 

PUMPS. 
STEAM  PUMPS. 


IPoirt©r-.AJLl©xx 

HIGH    ECONOMY.  DUMAHILLTY. 


TTn  glue. 

CLOSE    REGULATION. 


Hartman's  Patent  Inside  Sliding  Blind, 

A  great  improvement  over  all  other  blinds,  slide  up  and  down  in  the 
window  like  sash,  move  easily,  and  stay  where  placed.  No  hinges,  hence  no 
swinging,  sagging  and  tangling  with  curtains  and  window  drapery.  Must  be 
seen  to  be  appreciated.  Kzcel  any  other  sliding  blind  in  the  market  for 
economy,  durability,  style,  beauty,  convenience,  etc.  Also  the  most  perfect 
arrangement  for  Fly  Screens,  consisting  of  an  additional  section  which 
slides  same  as  the  blinds;  very  much  admired  by  all. 

They  are  also  made  to  slide  entirely  down  to  the  floor,  into  pocket,  out 
of  sight,  without  any  additional  expense.  25  per  cent,  cheaper  than  the 
hinged  blind,  and  will  last  double  the  length  of  time. 

No  more  an  experiment;  tens  of  thousands  now  in  use.  Architects  are 
specifying  them.  They  always  give  satisfaction. 

The  only  blind  that  Is  furnished  with  an  Automatic  Burglar-Proof  Lock, 
free  of  charge. 

Agents  wanted  everywhere.  Send  for  illustrated  catalogue  ami  prices  to 

HARTMAN  &  DURSTINE, 

No.  72  Larwill  Street,  Wooster,  Ohio. 


WITHROW    &    HILLOCK,    (Toronto,  Ont.), 

M'frs  for  the  Dominion  of  Canada. 


Wigger's  Patent  Sash  Lifters. 

A    SIMPLE    CONTRIVANCE    DESIGNED   TO  FACILI 
TATE  THE  RAISING  AMD  LOWERING  OF 

ONE -LIGHT     SASHES. 


A  strip  of  concave-convex  metal,  with  projecting  knobs, 
fitting  over  the  bead  on  the  stile. 

Readily  applied  to  either  new  or  old  work.  Furnished 
in  different  styles  —  brass,  nickel-plated,  white,  japanned, 
etc. —  to  correspond  with  painting  or  other  metal  trim- 
mings. 

Architects,  Builders,  Carpenters  and  Painters  will  be 
furnished  with  Circulars  by  the  Hardware  trade. 


BRAINERD    &    CO., 

Manufacturers'  Agents, 
97    CHAMBERS    STREET,        NEW   YORK- 


^GRKVEL  AND  METKL  ROOFINGS 

Artificial 

Stone 
Sidewalks. 

Warren's 
Natural 

Asphalt 
Roofing. 

TELEPHONE  CALL,  BROOKLYN  366. 
41-45   WAVERLY   AVE.,    BROOKLYN,  114    JOHN    ST.,    NEW    YORK. 


COMINS&EVAN 


A.  G.  NEWMAN,  late  NEWMAN  &  CAPRON. 


MANUFACTURERS   OF 


Cmo  Qrnnia  UarHuforn  Bank,  Office  and  Stoop  Railings  in  Bronze  or  Brass.  Anttque  Furniture- 
rlllc  DIUilZc  ndlUWdlGi  Trimmings.   Electrical  and  Mechanical  Bell-Hanging  Burglar-Alarms. 

Warerooms,  118O  BROADWAY.         Factory,  157-163  WEST  29th  STREET,  NEW  YORK,  N.  Y. 


THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT  AND  BUILDING  NEWS. 


VOL.  XXV. 


Copyright,  1889,  by  TICKNOK  &  COMPANY,  Boston,  Mass. 


No     697, 


MAY  4,  1889. 


Entered  at  the  Post-Offlce  at  Boston  as  second-class  matter. 


SUMMARY  •  — 

Examination  of  Architects  in  Texas.  —  Hospital  and  Barrack 
Floors.  —  Patched  Iron  Columns  in  a  Railroad  Station. — 
Municipalities  and  Extras.  —  The  Trans- Asian  Railway.  —  A 
Canal- boat  Elevator. — A  Case  of  Arsenical  Poisoning. — 
The  American  Architect  Travelling-Scholarship.  —  A  Change 

in  the  Publishers' Firm.  —  The  Nicaragua  Canal 205 

EQUESTRIAN  MONUMENTS.  —  XV 207 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  — 

Entrance  to  the  Commercial  Bank  Building,  Albany,  N.  Y.  — 
Armory,  Worcester,  Mass.  —  Equestrian  Monument  to  Spi- 
netta  Malaspina. — Equestrian  Monument  to  Niccolo  Orsini. 
—  The  Technische  Hochschule,  Berlin,  Germany.  —  House 
for  W.  C.  Proctor,  Esq.,  Cincinnati,  0.  —  The  New  Gateway 

for  Harvard  College,  Cambridge,  Mass 211 

THE  TECHNISCHE  HOCHSCHULE  OF  BERLIN 211 

THE  ELECTRICAL  TREATMENT  OF  SEWAGE 213 

CHIMNEYS 214 

SOCIETIES 215 

COMMUNICATIONS  •  — 

How  to  make  a  Cellar  Water-tight.  —  A  Book  for  a  Beginner.  215 

NOTES  AND  CLIPPINGS 215 

TRADE  SURVEYS.       ...          216 


TTTHE  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Texas  has  passed  the  law 
*jj  proposed  not  long  ago,  requiring  all  persons  who  wish  to 
practise  as  architects  within  the  State  to  present  them- 
selves before  a  Board  of  Examiners,  for  the  purpose  of  obtain- 
ing a  certificate  of  competency,  without  which  they  cannot 
pursue  the  profession.  The  State  Association  of  Architects 
has  approved  the  measure,  so  it  is  probably  suited  to  pro- 
fessional ideas,  and  architects  generally  will  watch  its  operation 
with  much  curiosity.  One  point  of  importance  about  the  new 
law  will  be  its  effect  upon  architects  from  outside  the  State, 
who  may  be  employed  to  do  work  there.  We  do  not  know 
the  exact  text  of  the  bill  as  passed,  but  it  has  been  suggested 
in  other  States  that  persons  practising  without  a  certificate 
should  be  denied  the  assistance-of  the  courts  in  collecting  pay- 
ment for  their  services.  If  any  such  rule  has  been  adopted  in 
Texas,  it  will  be  best  for  architects  from  outside,  however 
well  qualified,  to  be  cautious  in  accepting  commissions  for 
which  they  may  never  be  able  to  collect  their  pay ;  and,  if  they 
should  be  caught  in  the  unpleasant  predicament  of  having  to 
resort  to  force  to  defend  their  rights,  to  see  that  they  apply  to 
the  Federal  Courts,  which  would,  we  suppose,  take  no  account 
of  local  regulations. 

'If  NEW  source  of  danger  in  hospitals  and  similar  buildings 
j\  has  been  pointed  out  by  an  Austrian  military  surgeon. 
'  According  to  him,  several  cases  of  infectious  disease  had 
occurred  in  certain  Austrian  barracks,  and,  after  a  strong, 
healthy  artillery-man  had  been  carried  off  in  a  week  by  an 
attack  of  typhoid  pneumonia,  the  floor  under  his  bed  was  taken 
up,  and  a  mass  of  mould  and  fungus  two  yards  square  was  dis- 
covered beneath  it.  The  surgeon  proposes,  in  view  of  the 
dangers  to  be  expected  from  such  conditions,  that  the  walls 
and  floors  of  barracks  and  hospitals  should  be  covered  with 
coal-tar,  which  is  sufficiently  antiseptic,  he  thinks,  to  prevent 
the  formation  of  such  growths,  while  it  would  cover  up  all 
seams  and  fissures  with  a  smooth,  impermeable  coat,  which 
could  be  washed  with  facility.  If  an  architect  were  to  propose 
such  a  thing  he  would  be  denounced  as  an  ignorant  and  unskil- 
ful person,  but  because  it  is  the  suggestion  of  an  amateur  we 
suppose  the  experiment  is  likely  to  be  tried,  with  great  glorifica- 
tion of  its  inventor,  who  will  be  forgotten  by  the  time  the  timber, 
shut  out  from  the  air  by  the  impervious  coating,  has  rotted  away, 
and  the  coal-tar,  converted  into  dust  by  the  evaporation  of  the 
volatile  hydrocarbons  which  keep  it  plastic,  has  been  carried 
off  in  the  lungs  of  the  inmates  of  the  building.  To  the  mind 
of  an  architect,  the  existence  of  mould  and  fungus  suggests  the 
need  of  ventilation  more  than  anything  else,  and  we  should  say 
that  opening  the  basement-windows,  or  rather,  constructing 
the  building  on  open  arches,  without  any  basement,  as  is  now 
common  for  hospitals,  with  renewal  of  the  floor,  and  removal 
of  all  impervious  coverings  that  might  keep  the  air  away  from 


it,  would  do  more  good  than  all  the  disinfectants,  coal-tar  in- 
cluded, that  could  be  spread  upon  the  interior. 


^  architect  sends  to  L' Architecture  a  warning,  which  we 
hand  along  to  our  readers,  to  the  effect  that  if  any  of  them 
should  happen  to  be  in  the  railroad  station  at  Enghien,  a 
little  village  near  Paris,  and  should  be  tempted  to  lean  against 
the  iron  columns  which  support  the  roof  over  the  platform, 
they  should  resist  the  tempation,  lest  they  meet  the  fate  of 
Samson.  As  it  is  unusual  for  iron  columns  to  collapse  when 
any  one  leans  against  them,  the  case  of  those  at  Enghien  seems 
to  need  explanation,  which  the  architect  gives  by  relating  that 
while  waiting  in  the  station  one  day,  his  attention  was  attracted 
by  some  screws  in  the  sides  of  the  columns.  The  screws  did 
not  appear  to  hold  anything,  but  looked  as  if  they  had  been 
driven  in  at  random,  and  closer  observation  showed  that  the 
columns  so  treated  were  broken  in  two  across  the  middle,  and 
the  lower  half  was  in  some  cases  also  split.  The  seams,  as 
well  as  the  screw-heads,  had  been  puttied  up,  but  did  not 
escape  the  eye  of  the  expert,  who  searched  until  he  found  one 
of  the  railroad  men  who  could  explain  this  architectural 
mystery.  It  then  appeared  that  the  columns  had  been  broken, 
and  mended  by  the  ingenious  process  of  arranging  the  frag- 
ments together,  thrusting  a  stick  through  them,  and  screwing 
the  portions  of  the  shell  to  the  stick.  A  little  paint  then  gave 

;he  whole  affair  the  appearance  of  perfect  solidity,  and,  as  the 
writer  says,  it  will  probably  last  until  some  crowd  of  holiday 

passengers  presses  against  the  columns  and  brings  the  whole 
affair  down  about  its  ears. 


'If  QUESTION  as  important  to  architects  and  builders  as  it 
F\  is  common  in  their  practice  was  recently  decided  by  the 
highest  authority  in  France  in  a  particularly  clear  and 
succinct  manner.  As  L' Architecture  gives  only  the  barest 
memorandum  of  the  case,  we  can  only  infer  what  the  circum- 
stances may  have  been  ;  but  the  details  of  the  affair  are  not 
of  much  importance  so  long  as  the  court  clearly  states  the 
principle,  as  in  this  case,  that  "  A  town  cannot  refuse  to  pay 
for  extras  not  included  in  the  contract  if  such  extras  consist 
either  in  the  execution  of  modifications  from  the  original  plan 
ordered  by  the  superior  authority  of  the  Commissioners  of 
School-buildings,  or  in  work  which  was  indispensable  to  the 
good  execution  of  the  building,  and  has  been  for  the  advantage 
of  the  town."  In  regard  to  the  architect,  the  same  decision 
says  that,  "  Although  the  unauthorized  extra  work  might  have 
been  included  in  the  contract  and  specifications  if  they  had 
been  prepared  with  more  care,  the  cost  of  them  cannot  be 
charged  to  the  architect,  but  the  commission  which  he  would 
charge  on  these  extra  works  may  be  withheld  from  him." 
Another  point  which  seems  to  have  come  up  in  the  same  case, 
and  which  is  of  considerable  importance,  was  decided  by  the 
court  in  the  following  words  :  "  When  the  contract  between 
the  architect  and  his  client  allots  a  certain  sum  as  the  [/row 
de  deplacement,'  or  compensation  for  being  absent  from  his 
office,  to  the  architect,  the  sum  allotted  may  be  increased  ac- 
cording to  circumstances."  The  story  seems  to  show  that  the 
idea  that  the  architect  ought  to  pay  out  of  his  own  pocket  for 
everything  that  the  owner  wants  in  his  house,  which  his  om- 
niscience did  not  enable  him  to  discover  before  the  contracts 
were  made,  occasionally  makes  its  appearance  in  France,  to 
meet  with  the  same  fate  before  the  courts  as  in  other  civilized 
countries. 


CCORDING  to  the  Wiener  Bauindustrie-Zeitung,  the 
Emperor  of  Russia  has  given  his  assent  to  the  project  for 
the  construction  of  a  railway  extending  from  the  present 
terminus  of  the  Siberian  line  to  Vladivostock,  on  the  Sea  of 
Japan.  The  route  which  has  been  traced  for  the  road  follows 
the  north  side  of  the  Altai  Mountains  from  the  present  terminus 
of  the  Siberian  military  railway  to  Irkutsk,  and  thence  runs 
easterly,  across  the  mountains,  to  the  head-waters  of  the 
Amoor  River.  From  this  point  it  follows  the  Amoor  Valley 
southeasterly  until  the  river  turns  toward  the  north,  when  the 
railroad  leaves  it,  striking  southward  to  the  coast,  which  it 
reaches  at  Vladivostock.  The  cost  of  this  gigantic  piece  of 
engineering  is  estimated  at  four  hundred  and  fifty  million 
dollars,  the  total  length  of  the  line,  from  St.  Petersburg  to 
Vladivostock,  being  about  sixty-two  hundred  miles,  of  which 


206 


The   American    Architect  and  Building   News.        [Vou  XXV.  —  No.  697. 


more  than  a  thousand  is  already  in  operation.  As  a  com- 
mercial route  the  new  line  may  not  be  immediately  successful, 
but  as  an  auxiliary  to  military  operations  it  will  undoubtedly 
be  of  the  utmost  importance.  To  say  nothing  of  the  fact  that 
its  stations,  all  of  which  will  probably  be  fortified,  as  are  those 
of  the  present  Siberian  Railway,  will  form  a  line  of  military 
posts  close  to  the  Chinese  frontier,  to  which  the  Chinese  can 
oppose  nothing  similar,  it  will  bring  St.  Petersburg  prac- 
tically close  to  the  door  of  Japan,  and  even  in  peaceful  times 
will  make  St.  Petersburg  the  market  through  which  Japanese 
products  must  be  mainly  distributed  to  the  rest  of  the  world. 
According  to  the  newspapers,  Senator  Stanford,  of  California, 
has  had  a  dream,  or  a  inspiration  of  some  sort,  in  which  he 
has  perceived  that  the  United  States  and  Siberia  would  before 
many  years  be  connected  by  a  railway.  Just  how  the  rail- 
way is  to  cross  Behring's  Strait  is  not  decided,  nor,  indeed,  is 
it  settled  how  a  railroad  is  to  be  operated  in  winter  in  Alaska 
and  Kamtchatka,  but  Russia  seems  disposed  at  least  to  do  her 
part,  and  it  is  the  turn  of  the  United  States  to  make  the  uext 
move. 

CANAL  has  just  been  constructed  in  Belgium,  in  which, 
instead  of  locks,  the  boats  are  hoisted  by  elevators  from 
one  level  to  another.  The  canal  extends  from  the  coal 
region  in  the  interior  of  Belgium  to  Brussels,  crossing  several 
other  canals  at  the  same  grade,  so  that  Belgian  coal  can  be 
brought  directly  by  boats  to  Paris,  as  well  as  to  all  the  princi- 
pal towns  in  Belgium  and  Holland.  As  the  line  passes  over  a 
rather  hilly  country,  various  ascents  and  descents  must  be 
made,  and  to  save  the  long  delays  incidental  to  passing  locks, 
the  change  of  grade  is  made  by  means  of  hydraulic  elevators. 
The  boats,  which  measure  about  seventy  tons,  are  towed  at  the 
low  level  into  an  immense  tank,  with  gates,  which  is  submerged 
in  the  canal.  The  gates  are  then  closed,  and  the  tank,  which 
rests  on  the  pistons  of  a  huge  hydraulic  elevator,  is  raised  to 
the  upper  level,  when  connection  is  made  with  the  next  section 
of  the  canal  by  means  of  double  gates,  and  the  boat  proceeds 
on  its  way.  The  lift  of  the  Elevator  No.  1,  at  Houdeng- 
Goegnies,  which  is  carefully  described  and  illustrated  in 
Le  Genie  Civil,  is  about  fifty  feet.  The  hydraulic  apparatus 
is  calculated  to  raise  a  weight  of  one  thousand  and  forty-eight 
metric  tons,  or  considerably  more  than  the  same  number  of 
our  tons,  and  power  is  obtained  by  means  of  steam  pumps, 
which  force  water  from  the  canal  into  pressure  tanks.  The 
apparatus  is  double,  so  that  two  boats  can  be  handled  at  once, 
and  the  ascent  and  descent,  including  all  the  operations  of 
opening  and  shutting  the  gates  and  receiving  and  discharging 
the  boats,  occupies  fifteen  minutes.  The  cost  of  the  apparatus, 
exclusive  of  earthwork  and  masonry,  patents,  engineering  and 
purchase  of  land,  was  about  one  hundred  and  seventy-five 
thousand  dollars. 


TTTITE  Sanitary  News  reports  a  curious  case  of  poisoning 
\j  which  occurred  recently  in  London.  At  a  children's 
party,  at  Christmas,  which  was  enlivened  by  a  Christmas 
tree,  several  of  the  guests,  including  older  people  as  well  as 
children,  were  attacked  by  singular  symptoms,  which  could  not 
be  ascribed  to  any  of  the  causes  which  usually  produce  the  ail- 
ments incident  to  children's  parties.  Some  particularly  intell- 
igent person  seems  to  have  noticed  a  resemblance  between  the 
symptoms  and  those  of  arsenical  poisoning,  and  attention  was 
drawn  to  the  candles  on  the  Christmas-tree,  many  of  which 
were  of  a  bright  green  color.  Samples  of  the  green  candles 
were  submitted  to  an  official  analyst,  who  reported  that  they 
were  colored  with  arseniate  of  copper,  and,  presumably,  in 
burning  would  diffuse  vapors  of  arsenic  through  the  air.  Some 
of  the  red  candles  on  the  tree  were  also  analyzed  and  found  to 
contain  vermillion,  which  might,  we  suppose,  give  off  fumes  of 
mercury  during  the  burning  of  the  candles.  As  thousands 
of  Christmas  trees  are  exhibited  every  year  in  this  country,  to 
many  thousands  of  children,  and  the  bright-colored  candles 
burned  on  them  must  be  counted  by  millions,  it  would  not  be 
amiss  for  our  State  Boards  of  Health  to  find  out  whether  the 
candles  generally  sold  contain,  like  the  London  ones,  volatile 
poisonous  substances,  and  what  effects,  if  any,  have  been  traced 
to  the  use  of  them ;  and,  if  there  should  be  other  well-authenti- 
cated cases  of  injury  resulting  from  their  use,  to  procure  legis- 
lation forbidding  their  sale,  and  providing  for  the  inspection  of 
those  manufactured  or  imported.  Meanwhile,  some  chemist 
might  do  good  by  publishing  a  simple  test  by  which  poisonous 
articles  of  the  kind  could  be  readily  detected  with  the 
appliances  common  to  the  average  household. 


'7TS  the  time  approaches  when  it  will  be  necessary  to  make 
f\  and  announce  the  final  arrangements  for  the  conduct  of 
the  examination  for  the  American  Architect  Travelling- 
Scholarship,  we  desire  to  be  definitely  informed  as  to  the 
names  and  addresses  of  those  who  propose  to  enter  the  com- 
petition. It  is  our  intention  to  conduct  the  preliminary  ex- 
amination, at  least,  by  mail,  and  if  it  should  prove  that  most  of 
those  who  are  successful  in  passing  the  preliminary  examina- 
tion are  stationed  at  a  distance  from  Boston,  and  could  only 
take  part  in  a  viva  voce  examination  at  considerable  expense  to 
themselves  in  the  way  of  car  fare  and  lodging,  we  shall 
endeavor  to  decide  the  competition  entirely  by  means  of  the 
mail. 

WE  are  grateful  for  the  solicitude  expressed  by  certain 
well-wishers  who  have  inquired  whether  the  recent 
change  in  the  composition  of  the  firm  publishing  this 
journal  would  in  any  way  affect  the  usefulness  and  prosperity 
of  the  American  Architect.  We  are  pleased  to  say  that  the 
change  of  partnership  is  likely  to  tend  to  the  benefit  rather  than 
to  the  prejudice  of  our  supporters,  as  it  is  the  purpose  of  Messrs. 
Ticknor  &  Company  to  henceforward  devote  themselves  to  the 
publication  of  technical  rather  than  miscellaneous  literature. 
Naturally,  the  tendency  will  be  to  extend  the  line  of  architect- 
ural books  which  will  support  and  will  gain  support  from  this 
journal,  and,  as  one  thing  helps  another,  we  believe  that  the 
greater  interest  that  is  now  to  be  devoted  to  this  line  of  publica- 
tion will  enable  us  to  make  this  journal  of  greater  value,  even  than 
at  present,  to  all  classes  of  men  who  have  an  interest  in  building. 

IT  seems  to  be  well  settled  now  that  the  Nicaragua  Canal 
will  at  least  be  begun,  and  there  is  a  fair  prospect  that  it 
may  be  completed,  and  become  the  only  navigable  short-cut 
between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Oceans.  Notwithstanding 
the  courage  and  generosity  with  which  the  French  people  have 
supported  M.  De  Lesseps  in  the  Panama  scheme,  it  now 
appears  certain  that  the  enterprise  will  be  abandoned.  So 
long  as  any  hope  of  its  completion  remained,  the  French 
journals  spoke  with  natural  disfavor  of  the  competing  canal  at 
Nicaragua,  but  they  now,  so  far  as  we  can  learn,  have  gen- 
erally made  up  their  minds  that  it  would  be  folly  to  waste  any 
more  money  in  building  a  ship-canal  over  a  mountain  range,  by 
means  of  locks  which  would  apparently  be  dry  most  of  the 
time,  and  regard  the  Nicaragua  plan  with  much  more 
equanimity  than  before.  So  far  as  the  United  States  is  con- 
cerned, the  completion  of  the  Nicaragua  Canal,  instead  of  that 
at  Panama,  is  certainly  very  desirable.  To  a  ship  passing 
through  the  Panama  cutting  from  the  Pacific,  Liverpool  would 
be  about  as  near  as  New  York,  and  traffic  would  go  to  the 
port  presenting  the  preponderance  of  advantages,  which  would 
undoubtedly  be  Liverpool.  By  the  Nicaragua  route,  New- 
York  would  be  nearer,  by  a  distance  long  enough  to  offer  com- 
pensation for  the  advantages  of  docks  and  transhipment  facili- 
ties existing  at  Liverpool,  and  the  balance  would  be  likely  to 
incline  toward  our  own  ports  in  a  great  many  cases ;  much  to 
the  advantage  of  our  citizens,  who,  if  they  are  forbidden  to 
have  any  ships  of  their  own,  like  to  see  their  wharves  occupied 
by  foreign  craft. 

recapitulate,  according  to  the  most  recent  information, 
the  comparative  advantages  of  the  Nicaragua  and  the 
Panama  routes :  the  Nicaragua  line,  according  to  the 
surveys  now  determined  upon,  is  one  hundred  and  seventy 
miles  long.  This,  of  course,  is  something  like  five  times  the 
length  of  the  Panama  route,  but  the  Nicaragua  line  has  the 
immense  advantage  of  possessing  deep  water  at  the  highest 
level,  while  at  Panama  the  locks  by  which  the  ridge  of  the 
Culebra  must  be  crossed  would  have  to  be  supplied  artificially 
with  water.  At  Nicaragua,  the  only  excavation  needed  is  at 
;he  ends  of  the  canal,  where  low  hills  enclose  a  chain  of  lakes 
one  hundred  and  fifty-two  miles  long,  filled  with  water  de.ep 
enough  for  navigation,  and  extending  to  within  three  miles  of 
the  Pacific  Ocean  on  one  side,  and  fifteen  miles  of  the  Atlantic 
on  the  other.  By  cutting  through  the  hills  a  chain  of  locks 
will  be  formed,  supplied  with  water  from  the  lake  at  the 
summit,  and  vessels  can  easily  climb  the  one  hundred  and 
seven  feet  of  elevation  which  separates  the  lake  from  the  oceans. 
Since  the  arrival  of  the  colony  of  engineers  which  was  sent  out 
year  or  more  ago  the  final  surveys  have  gone  on  rapidly,  and 
second  working  party  is  to  sail  from  New  York  on  the  tenth 
of  this  month  to  begin  the  execution  of  the  plans. 


MA?  4,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


207 


EQUESTRIAN   MONUMENTS.*  —  XV. 


THE    CONDOTTIERI. II. 


The  King  of  Assyria  in  Battle.    After  Rene  Mtnard's  "La  Vieprivte  des  Ancient." 

TITIIERE  are  two  points  to  be  observed  while  dealing  with  this 
I  period  of  continuous  petty  wars :  the  first  is  that  the  greater 
part  of  these  struggles  took  place  either  before  the  invention 
of  gunpowder  or  before  firearms  had  come  into  general  use,  and 
hence  the  contending  forces  were  more  or  less  completely 
clad  in  armor,  thanks  to  which  the  losses  of  the  contestants  were 
ludicrously  small  in  comparison  with  the  effort,  and  consequently  the 
same  men  "lived  to  fight  another  day,"  —  and  many  more  after  that. 
Thus  at  the  battle  of  Anghiari  —  immortalized  by  Leonardo  da  Vinci 
in  his  famous  cartoon  the  "  Battle  of  the  Standard  "  —  which  was 
an  important  engagement, 
the  combined  loss  footed 
up  one,  a  man-at-arms  who 
tumbled  off  his  horse,  and 
being  hampered  by  his 
heavy  armor  could  not  get 
onto  his  feet  in  time  to  es- 
cape  being  trampled  to 
death.  There  was,  how- 
ever,  enough  bloodshed, 
but  it  was  that  of  the  non- 
combatant,  the  citizen  who 
attempted  to  defend  wife 
or  daughter  after  a  cap- 
tured town  had  been  turned 
over  to  the  lust  of  the  con- 
querors.2 

The  other  fact,  which 
has  also  a  bearing  on  the 
singular  immunity  of  the 
combatants,  is  that  these 
battles  were  fought  and 
seiges  conducted  by  hire- 
lings whose  first  care  was 
their  pay,  and  their  next 
the  ransom  of  their  prison- 
ers. So  that  where  the 
battle  was  honestly  waged 
the  object  was  not  to  slay, 
but  to  capture  for  the  sake 
of  obtaining  a  ransom. 
Moreover,  it  was  for  the 
advantage  of  these  merce- 
naries to  prolong  opera- 
tions as  much  as  possible, 
and  at  times  there  came  to 
be  a  perfect  understanding 
between  the  leaders,  so  that 
it  was  not  an  unusual  thing 
for  a  besieging  force  to  se- 
cretly introduce  provisions 
into  the  beleagured  place 
that  it  might  not  be  cap- 
tured too  speedily,  and  the 
hired  forces  both  inside 
the  walls  and  out  be  in 
consequence  out  of  a  job. 
When  the  amount  paid  to 
these  men  is  known,  and  when  it  is  considered  what  pleasures  gold 
could  secure  in  those  days,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  that  their  battles 
were  waged  with  a  view  to  prolonging  their  income :  Federigo  of 
Montefeltro  —  who  afterward  became  the  "good  Duke  of  Urbino,"  — 
as  captain-general  of  the  Italian  League  was  paid  yearly  165,000 
ducats,  45,000  of  which  were  for  his  own  purse,  and  while  he  served 
Alfonso  of  Naples,  his  pay  was  8,000  ducats  per  month. 

One  of  the  acts  that  distinguished  Federigo  of  Montefeltro  as 
perhaps  the  most  noble  and  humane  member  of  his  class,  was  his 
behavior  during  a  time  of  famine,  when  the  King  of  Naples  and  the 

1  Continued  from  page  191.  No.  B95. 

1 "  After  the  four  days'  devastation  of  Piacenza,  which  Sforza  was  compelled  to 
permit,  the  town  stood  empty,  and  at  last  had  to  be  peopled  by  force."  — 
Burkhardt's  "  Kenaitiance  in  Italy." 


Cortesio  Sarego  [or  Sarengo],  St.  Anastasia  at  Verona. 


Pope  were  making  money  by  the  monopoly  they  had  established  in 
corn.  Federigo  declared  that  he  was  not  a  merchant  but  merely  a 
soldier,  and  that  his  only  care  was  to  save  his  people  from  hunger ; 
accordingly  he  brought  grain  from  Apulia  and  filled  his  storehouses 
that  he  might  sell  to  his  dependants  at  less  cost  than  they  could  else- 
where procure  the  necessaries  of  life.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that 
attached  to  Duke  Federigo's  court,  to  which  all  the  chivalry  and 
learning  of  Italy  flocked,  were  five  architects  and  engineers. 

Very  different  was  the  manner  in  which  Bernabo  Visconti  treated 
his  subjects  while  he  ruled  Milan.  To  help  them  save  their  hard- 
earned  scudi  was  the  last  thing  he  thought  of :  on  the  contrary,  one 
of  his  chiefest  cares  was  how  to  empty  their  pockets  into  his  own 
ever  ravenous  one.  A  very  ingenious  device  which  exemplifies  the 
"  heads  I  win ;  tails  you  lose  "  principle  was  at  one  time  employed 
by  him.  He  was  a  mighty  sportsman  and  particularly  fond  of  pig- 
sticking, and  so  kept  large  packs  of  boar-hounds,  in  all  some  5,000 
beasts  :  these  he  quartered  on  his  unfortunate  peasantry  and  then 
established  a  regular  system  of  inspection  ;  if  the  dogs  were  found  to 
be  thin  and  ill-kept,  the  man  on  whom  they  were  billeted  was 
punished  and  heavily  fined ;  if  they  were  too  well-fed,  fines  and 
punishment  followed  equally ;  while  if  any  had  died,  the  unfortunate 
keeper  was  imprisoned  and  all  his  property  was  forfeited.  Whatever 
the  condition  of  the  dogs  might  be,  the  condition  of  Bernabo's  purse 
was  always,  through  this  ingenious  device,  found  to  be  in  good  case. 
This  was  one  of  the  mildest  freaks  of  this  interesting  personage  who 
was  afflicted  with  a  blood-thirst  very  similar  to  that  of  Ezzelino,  and 
State  criminals  were  by  his  orders  subjected  to  torture  during  forty 
days  —  provided  their  endurance  sustained  them  so  long,  and  the 
greatest  attention  was  lavished  on  them  after  one  torture,  that  they 
might  recuperate  enough  not  to  succumb  to  the  next  one. 

The  territory  ruled  over 
by  the  Visconti  was  at  this 
time  divided  between  Ber- 
nabo and  his  brother 
Galeazzo,  to  whose  share 
his  son,  Gian  Galeazzo, 
succeeded  on  his  father's 
death.  Then  uncle  and 
nephew  each  determined  to 
obtain  the  other's  portion 
and  unite  the  territory 
under  one  head.  Tlie  re- 
sult of  this  common  pur- 
pose was  one  of  the  usual 
family  broils  which  add  so 
much  to  the  incident  of 
Italian  history.  In  it  both 
force  and  craft  were  em- 
ployed, the  younger  man 
mainly  relying  on  the 
latter,  and  employing  it 
most  skilfully,  the  result 
being  that  Bernabo  was 
led  to  believe  that  his 
nephew  was  but  a  poor 
creature ;  so  when  the  lat- 
ter, in  1385,  pretended  to 
make  a  pilgrimage  to  Our 
Lady  of  Varese,  and  in  so 
doing  passed  near  Milan, 
Bernabo  and  his  sons  came 
out  to  meet  him  without 
the  protection  of  a  large 
guard.  As  soon  as  Gian 
saw  his  uncle  in  his  power 
he  ordered  his  own  guards 
to  seize  him,  and  at  once 
Bernabo  was  hurried  away 
to  prison  and  served  with 
a  cup  of  cold  poison  in 
place  of  being  flayed  alive, 
after  the  .fashion  in  which 
he  had  served  many  of  his 
victims  in  their  last  dis- 
robing in  this  life.  So 
Gian  ruled  over  all  the 
possessions  of  the  Vis- 
conti. 

But  although  Bernabo  Visconti  was  not  a  condottiere  or  a  particu- 
larly illustrious  person  —  morally  speaking  — his  equestrian  statue 
was  wrought  in  1354  and  survives  to  us.  It  is  one  of  the  large  class 
of  sepulchral  monuments,  but,  oddly  enough,  the  tomb  which  it  was 
made  to  adorn  was  not  that  of  Bernabo,  but  of  his  wife,  Regina  della 
Scala,  who  in  her  lifetime  had  done  what  she  might  to  soften  the 
savage  humors  of  her  husband.  The  statue  now  stands  in  the  Archae- 
ological Museum  in  the  Brera  at  Milan,  where  its  faded  magnificence 
of  gilding  and  color  are  not  unfitting  reminders  of  a  vanished  pomp, 
while  the  stern  and  rigid  features  of  the  Duke  suggest  the  unyield- 
ing character  of  the  man.  The  architectural  character  which  the 
sculptor,  Matteo  [or  Bonino]  da  Campione,  has  contrived  to  give  to 
the  horse,  which  suggests  little  of  the  grace  of  the  real  animal,  is  ad- 
mirably adapted  to  the  requirements  of  sepulchral  sculpture,  and  adds 


208 


The  American   Architect  and  Building  News.        [VOL.  XXV.— No.  697. 


not  a  little  to  the  dignity  of  the  monument.  The  tomb  was  placed  orig- 
inally behind  the  altar  in  San  Giovanni  in  Conca,  but  because  of  the 
height  of  the  monument  the  mounted  figure  appeared  above  the 
structure  of  the  altar,  and,  consequently,  worshippers  had  the  air  of 
addressing  their  petitions  to  the  bloody  human  tyrant,  rather  than 
to  the  afl-gracious  Deity.  This  sort  of  thing  could  not  be  long 
endured  after  Bernabo's  death,  and  it  was  soon  after  that  event 
removed  to  a  place  near  the.  door,  and  at  a  later  day  was  transferred 
to  its  present  resting-place,  on  the  plea,  perhaps,  that  secular,  rather 
than  religious,  surroundings  were  most  suited  for  it.  The  two 
figures  which,  like  pages,  stand  on  either  hand,  represent  Fortitude 
and  Justice. 

The  islands  in  the  Adriatic  to  which  some  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Padua,  Vicenza,  Verona  and  Treviso  had  fled  in  452  to  escape  the 
hordes  of  Attila,  had  by  slow  degrees  grown  to  be  the  mighty 
Venetian  republic,  ruled  over  by  a  doge  —  first  elected  in  697,  the 
city  itself  being  founded  in  809.  For  a  long  time  the  interests  of  the 
Venetians  lay°rather  in  the  Levant  than  in  the  Italian  peninsula,  and 
by  reason  of  their  position  the  inhabitants  became  a  race  of  sailors, 
and  because  of  their  comparatively  isolated  position  were  able  to  de- 
velop mercantile  pursuits 
somewhat  rapidly ;  but  the 
merchant  fleets  being  ex- 
posed to  the  depredations  of 
the  pirates  of  the  Adriatic 
and  the  Grecian  Archipel- 
ago compelled  the  formation 
of  a  navy  for  the  protection 
of  their  commerce  and  re- 
venge upon  the  depredators. 
For  centuries  their  opera- 
tions were  mainly  in  the 
East,  and  amongst  other  af- 
fairs they  took  a  prominent 
part  in  the  first  crusade, 
sending  a  fleet  of  200  vessels 
and  taking  part  in  the  cap- 
ture of  Acre,  Tyre,  Sidon 
and  Ascalon,  and  in  1198 
their  vessels  were  chartered 
by  Fulk  de  Neuilly  for 
another  crusade.  But  find- 
ing themselves  unable  to  pay 
the  charter  money  the 
whilom  crusaders  in  its  stead 
offered  the  republic  their  ser- 
vices to  aid  in  the  recapture 
of  the  revolted  city  Zara, 
and  the  operations  so  begun 
were  extended  to  an  attack 
on  Constantinople,  which 
ended  in  the  storm  of  the 
city  in  1254,  and  the  inci- 
dental transference  to 
Venice  of  the  horses  of  St. 
Mark's.  During  this  period 
the  republic  of  Genoa,  in  a 
corresponding  position  on 
the  other  side  of  Italy,  had 
also  developed  into  a  mari- 
time power  of  first  impor- 
tance and  in  the  confined 
area  to  which  the  commerce 
of  those  days  was  restricted, 
it  is  not  strange  that  disputes 
should  arise  between  the  Ve- 
netians and  the  Genoese 
which  developed  into  great 
naval  battles.  These  quar- 
rels naturally  engendered 
the  making  of  alliances  by 
one  power  or  the  other  with 


QVO  !€MO  VTlUORrKTRIE  ffiC  PACE  ^ARMIS 
BENTWOLE  GENUS  HANIBALHICS1TVSEST 
EXPVLI  T  IS  DVdVM  POSSESSAEX  VRBE  TIR 
ET  PROFVGOS  GIVES  REST1  TV1TPATR1E 


Annibale  B«ntivogllo  in  the  Church  of  S.  Glacomo  Maggiore,  Bologna. 

celebri  Italian*." 


some   of    the   cities  or   States   of 

Italy  "and,  as  a  consequence,  the  struggles  came  to  be  carried  on  by 
land  as  well  as  by  sea  and  Venice  was  at  length  as  bitterly  embroiled 
with  its  Italian  neighbors  as  the  non-amphibious  cities  of  central 
Italy.  As  the  sailor  population  of  the  Venetian  republic  were  not 
accustomed  to  operations  on  dry  land  it  became  more  necessary  for 
them  than  for  others  to  employ  mercenaries,  and  because  of  the 
length  of  the  republic's  purse  it  was  a  very  easy  matter  for  them  to 
command  the  services  of  the  leading  condottieri  of  the  day,  as  for  in- 
stance Francisco  Carmagnola  —  who,  being  suspected  by  his  employer 
Filippo  Maria  Visconti,  was  in  consequence  banished  from  Milan 
and  immediately  entered  the  service  of  Venice  then  at  war  with 
Milan,  and  was  put  at  the  head  of  the  republic's  army  ;  but  because 
he  followed  the  habit  of  his  kind  and  after  a  certain  battle  released 
his  prisoners  —  his  former  companions  in  arms  —  he  became  sus- 
pected by  his  new  employers  and  being  decoyed  back  to  the  city  on 
false  pretexts  was  then  accused  of  treason,  thrown  into  prison, 
tortured  and  beheaded. 

It  is  this  employment  of  condottieri  in  the  many  campaigns  in  Italy 
that  accounts  for  the  presence  in  the  Church  of  SS.  Giovanni  e  Paolo 


at  Venice,  of  several  equestrian  statues,  a  kind  of  monument  seem- 
ingly having  no  connection  with  the  ordinary  pursuits  of  the  citizens, 
it  is  not  necessary  to  suppose  that  these  monuments  are  always  ev- 
idence of  the  actual  interment  within  the  church  of  the  bodies  of  the 
famous  men  they  honor.  In  one  case,  at  least,  we  know  that  a  monu- 
ment, that  of  Marc  Antonio  Bragadino  [1596]  marks  the  resting 
place  not  even  of  the  ashes  of  this  famous  governor  of  Cyprus  but 
merely  of  his  skin.  After  a  prolonged  siege  of  Famagosta  by  the 
Turks,  Bragadino  surrendered  after  receiving  a  pledge  of  honorable 
treatment  for  himself  and  men  :  once  in  possession  of  the  place  the 
Turks  disregarded  their  word,  massacred  the  troops  and,  after  ten 
days  of  varied  and  ingenious  torture,  flayed  Bragadino  alive  and  then 
stuffing  his  skin  suspended  the  horrid  effigy  from  the  prow  of  the 
Turkish  admiral's  galley  during  the  voyage  back  to  Constantinople. 
Subsequently  Bragadino's  family  purchased  this  trophy  and  enurned 
it  at  SS.  Giovanni  e  Paolo.  The  monument  erected  to  his  memory  was 
not  of  equestrian  character,  however.  This  church  is  to  Venice 
much  what  Westminster  Abbey  is  to  London  and  rulers  and  leaders  of 
every  kind  are  here  honored  with  monuments  of  many  kinds,  amongst 
which  are  the  equestrian  figure,  in  gilded  wood,  of  Nicolo  Orsini  who 

led  the  armies  of  the  Repub- 
lic in  the  war  with  League  of 
Cambray  and  died  in  1510; 
one  of  Leonardo  da  Prato,  a 
knight  of  Rhodes  [1511], 
which  so  far  as  the  photo- 
graph throws  any  light  on  it, 
may  be  also  of  wood  ;  one  of 
Pompeo  Giustiniani  [1616] 
by  Franc  Terilli  and  one  of 
Orazio  Baglioni  [1617].  Be- 
sides these  which  sufficiently 
mark  the  amphibious  charac- 
ter of  the  people,  the  church 
of  Sta.  Maria  dei  Frari  con- 
tains the  equestrian  monu- 
ment, which  is  surely  of 
wood,  of  Paolo  Savelli,  a 
noted  condottiere  who  fell  in 
battle  against  Francesco  de 
Carrara  in  1405 ;  while  in 
the  church  of  S.  Stefano  is  a 
monument  to  one  of  the 
Contaniri  which  dates  from 
the  middle  of  the  seven- 
teenth centurv. 

It  is  possible  that  art 
could  have  spared  these 
monuments  but  history  could 
not.  The  grim  and  dwarfish 
figure  of  Savelli  on  his  big 
horse  is  worth  pages  of 
word-painting  in  helping  the 
student  to  an  understanding 
of  how  it  was  possible  for 
the  men  of  those  days  to  do 
the  soulless  deeds  with  which 
they  are  credited.  Perkins 
may  speak  of  the  "  depth  of 
degradation  to  which  sacro- 
monumental  art  eventually 
fell  "  but  he  speaks  as  a  stu- 
dent of  art  and  not  of  history, 
and  is  quite  as  unwarranted 
in  contemning  the  equestrian 
mural  monuments  for  their 
want  of  "  sacred  "  character 
as  he  would  be  in  disparag- 
ing Stevens's  Wellington  in 
St.  Paul's.  The  wrong 
in  both  cases  rests  not  on 
the  side  of  art  but  on  the  selection  of  a  sacred  edifice  as  a  national 
Walhalla.  These  Italian  mural  monuments  have  no  prototypes 
elsewhere,  though  there  are  mural  tombs  in  Westminster  Abbey,  in 
St.  Paul's,  at  St.  Denis  and  elsewhere  where  the  sculptured  horse  is 
introduced. 

Although  there  are  at  Venice  more  of  these  equestrian  sepulchral 
monuments  than  elsewhere,  there  are  others  belonging  to  the  same 
class  otherwheres  in  Italy,  but  only  in  the  northern  cities.  One  of 
these  was  —  for  it  no  longer  exists  —  of  somewhat  unusual  interest, 
and  was  notable  for  several  things :  first,  because  of  an  anecdotic  or 
legendary  interest,  as  it  embodied  in  monumental  form  a  real  incident 
of  the  career  of  Pietro  Farnese,  a  condottiere  of  the  fourteenth  cen- 
tury ;  next,  because  the  equine  portion  of  the  group  was  half  asinine 
—  in  reality,  not  in  artistic  merit;  next,  because  the  beast  was  one 
of  the  first  of  the  large  number  of  rearing  steeds  whose  attitude 
too  often  serves  as  the  point  for  unmeaning  criticism ;  and,  lastly, 
because  of  the  material  of  which  the  monument  was  constructed. 

Pietro  Farnese  —  who  afterwards  died  of  a  plague  in  1363  —  while 
engaged  in  battle  with  the  Pisans,  had  his  horse  killed  under  him, 
and,  as  there  happened  to  be  no  other  steed  within  reach  at  the 


SED!"ERmMSWPSlT  FACTIO  SVPPL1C1VM  „ 
NAWSCELERIS  TArTIATFlNIS  <M1CVN9  FVlfSETU 
H1C  FCRRO  AW  FLAMA  PRE.M  1A  D!  GNA  TKJT- 


From  Litta's  "  famiglie 


MAY  4,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News, 


209 


moment,  had  to  content  himself  with  a  sumpter  mule  which  he  seized 
and  continued  to  lead  his  troops  to  final  victory.  The  inciden 
was  thought  memorable  enough  to  be  commemorated,  and  Farnese's 
tomb  was  surmounted  by  a  wooden  group,  covered  with  canvas,  o 
Farnese  and  his  humble  steed,  though  the  sculptor,  who  is  variously 
thought  to  have  been  Jacopo  Orcagna,  Giuliano  d'Arrigo,  or  Angelo 
Gaddi,  felt  obliged  to  disguise  the  hybrid  character  of  the  mount  by 
throwing  a  hooded  horse-cloth  over  it,  and  taking  certain  artistic 
license  in  the  treatment  of  the  tail.  The  statue  existed  until  1842 


Bernabo  Visconti.     Archaeological  Museum  in  the  Brera,  Milan. 

when,  during  repairs  on  the  Cathedral  of  Santa  Maria  del  Fiore,  the 
monument  had  to  be  displaced  and  the  statue  fell  to  pieces,  and  has 
never  been  restored. 

Another  rearing  steed,  in  high  relief  this  time,  is  the  one  that 
supports  the  figure  of  Annibale  Bentivoglio  on  his  tomb  in  the  family 
chapel  in  the  Church  of  S.  Giacomo  Maggiore  at  Bologna,  which  is 
believed  to  be  the  work  of  Niccolo  da  Bari,  and  belongs  to  the  fif- 
teenth century.  This  figure  is  life-size  and  colored.  Of  about  the 
same  date  is  the  statue  of  Cortesio  Sarego  [or  Sarengo]  in  the  choir 
of  the  Church  of  S.  Anastasia  at  Verona,  which,  in  style,  is  closely 
allied  to  the  equestrian  tombs  at  Venice,  and,  as  the  sculptor's  name 
is  unknown,  we  are  at  liberty  to  assume  that  some  Venetian  sculptor 
driven  into  political  exile  had  sought  refuge  at  Verona.  The  isola- 
tion of  the  figure  by  means  of  the  drawn-back  curtains  is  certainly 
ingeniously  devised,  though  the  device  is  one  that  a  sculptor  of  a 


later  day  might  be  expected  to  practise  rather  than  a  master  in  the 
fifteenth  century. 

The  same  upholsterer's  motive  was  adopted  in  another  monument, 
that  of  the  Marquis  Spinetta  Malaspina  in  the  Church  of  S.  Giovanni 


Monument  to  Pietro  Farnese  in  the  Cathedral,  Florence.      From  Litta's  "  Fam'wlie 
celebri  Italiane." 

in  Sacco,  also  in  Verona,  though  here  the  drapery  lias  more  the  ap- 
pearance of  tent-folds,  and  less  that  of  curtains.  Why  it  should  be 
that  less  store  was  set  on  this  monument  by  the  Italian  authorities 
than  on  some  others  it  is  hard  to  say,  but  for  some  reason  this  work 


Roberto  Malatesta  in  the  Louvre.     From  the  Gazette  des  Beaux-Arts. 

if  art,  such  as  it  is,  found  its  way  into  the  market,  and  was  bought 
ly  the  South  Kensington  Museum  authorities  in  1888  for  about 
il,700  and  removed  to  London,  where  it  has  been  set  up  in  the 


210 


American   Architect  and  Building  News,      [VoL.  XXV.  —  No.  697- 


Architectural  Court.  Unfortunately,  the  figure,  more  than  life-size, 
which  was  executed  in  stucco  or  gesso,  was  badly  broken  in  transit, 
though  it  was  still  within  the  power  of  skilful  repairers  to  restore  it 
to  an  almost  perfect  condition. 

South  Kensington  is  not  the  only  museum,  however,  whose  walls 
are  graced  by  the  equestrian  figure  of  an  Italian  condottiere.  The 
Louvre,  too,  has  its  specimen,  intrinsically,  a  more  valuable  one  in 
that  it  is  the  work  of  Paolo  Romano,  which  represents  one  of  the 
typical  condottiere  of  the  fifteenth  century,  a  member  of  the  hated 
family  of  the  Malatesta  of  Rimini.  Roberto  Malatesta  was  an 


Leonardo  da  Prato  in  5.  Giovanni  e  Paolo,  Venice. 

illegitimate  son  of  Sigismund,  Lord  of  Rimini,  and  at  his  father's 
death  took  the  usual  steps  to  secure  the  succession  for  himself. 
Deceitful  diplomacy,  poison  and  cold  steel  prevailed,  and  once  firmly 
settled  with  the  aid  of  the  Duke  of  Urbino,  whose  daughter  he  after- 
ward espoused,  he  overcame  the  papal  troops  of  Paul  II,  who,  for 
State  reasons,  upheld  the  cause  of  the  legitimate  heirs.  Later,  under 
another  pope,  he  became  himself  commander  of  the  papal  forces,  and 
rendered  such  good  service  that  when  he  succumbed  to  poison,  as 
usual,  in  1482,  he  was  buried  in  the  vaults  of  St.  Peter's,  and  an 
equestrian  bas-relief  —  which  was  to  be  one  of  a  series  commemorat- 
ing the  services  of  the  captains-general  of  the  pontifical  troops  —  was 
executed  at  the  command  of  Sixtus  IV,  by  Paolo  Romano.  [Recent 
German  research  shows  that  this  attribution  of  the  work  to  Paolo 
Romano  is  a  mistake.]  In  1619  this  bas-relief  was  removed  to  the 
Villa  Borghese,  and  there  set  up,  but  it  was  afterwards  displaced 
and  thrown  aside.  In  its  neglected  state,  it  at  length  caught  the  eye 
of  the  Inspector  of  Fine  Arts  for  the  French  Government,  who  suc- 
ceeded in  buying  it  for  the  Louvre  from  Prince  Borghese. 

In  the  Church  of  San  Giuseppe  at  Aquila  is  a  tomb  by  a  German 
sculptor  Walter  Alemanno,  whereon  the  equestrian  figure  of 
Ludovico  Camponeschi  keeps  watch  and  ward  over  the  recumbent 
figure  of  his  father,  Count  Lalle,  Lord  of  Aquila.  The  work,  which 
was  erected  in  1432,  is  said  to  be  coarse  in  execution  though  the 
general  effect  is  good. 

BEBNABO  VISCONTI.  —  Born  In  1319;  became  master  of  Bergamo,  Brescia, 
Crema  and  Cremona.    He  also  ruled  Milan  conjointly  with  Galeazzo.    He  was 


notorious  for  his  cruelty  and  audacity,  and  defied  the  power  of  the  Pope,  who 
excommunicated  him.  Urban  V  preached  a  crusade  against  him,  and  united 
the  Emperor  Charles  IV  with  other  monarchs  in  a  league  against  him  about 
1363.  Bernabo,  however,  resisted  them  with  success.  He  died  in  1385,  having 
been  murdered  by  his  nephew,  Gian  Galeazzo,  who  succeeded  him, 

ANNIBALE  BENTIVOOLIO.  — Lord  of  Bologna,  died  in  1458. 

NICCOLO  DA  BABI.  —  Born  in  Bari,  in  Apulia,  in  or  about  1414,  and  died  at 
Bologna  in  1494  or  1495.    He  was  a  follower  of  Jacopo  della  Quercia,  and  is  often 


Paolo  Savelli  in   S.   Maria  dei   Frari,   Venice. 

called  Niccolo  dell'Arca  from  his  work  on  the  ana  or  sarcophagus  of  St. 
Domenick,  in  the  Church  of  St.  Domeuick,  at  Bologna.  He  spent  the  greater 
part  of  his  life  at  Bologna. 

PAOLO  SAVELLI.  — Killed  in  1405,  in  a  battle  against  Francesco  de  Carrara. 
NICCOLO  ORSINI.  —  Count  of  Pittigliano,  a  general  in  the  Venetian  army,  1510. 
PIETRO  FARNESE.  —  Died  in  1363. 

ROBERTO  MALATESTA.  —  Styled  "  The  Magnificent."    Born  1442  ;  died  1482. 
CORTESIO  S  AREOO.  —  Brother-in-law  and  general  to  Antonio  della  Scala. 

PAOLO  ROMANO.  —  Flourished  in  the  first  half  of  the  fifteenth  century,  and  In 
the  latter  part  of  it  he  retired  from  the  world  and  spent  his  remaining  days  in 
solitude  and  peace.  "  We  are  told  by  Antonio  Filarete,  in  his  manuscript  archi- 
tectural treatise,  that  Paolo  was  a  goldsmith,  as  well  as  a  sculptor,  and  that  he 
helped  to  make  the  silver  statues  of  the  twelve  apostles  for  the  altar  of  St. 
Peter's,  which  were  destroyed  in  the  sack  of  1527."  His  other  works  in  Rome 
are  a  statue  of  St.  Paul  on  the  Ponte  Sant*  Angelo,  the  tomb  of  Bartolomeo 
Carafa,  in  the  Church  of  the  Knights  of  Malta,  that  of  Cardinal  Stefaneschi,  at 
Santo  Maria,  in  Trastevere,  and  (probably}  that  of  Cardinal  Philippe  d'Alencon 
in  the  same  church.  "  Vasari  speaks  of  a  highly-praised  statue  of  an  armed  man 


n  the  same  church.  "  Vasari  speaks  of  a  highly-praised  st 
on  horseback,  by  Paolo  Romano  at  St,  Peter's,  and  the 
Paolo's  tomb  mentions  his  statue  of  Cupid." 


'i  an  armed  man 
epitaph  placed  upon 


THE  CONDOTTIEBI  AS  PATRONS  OF  ART. —  "There  is  nothing  more  curious 
in  the  history  of  Italy  in  the  fifteenth  century,  than  to  see  truculent  soldiers, 
known  as  faithless  leaders  of  armies,  or  guilty  perpetrators  of  dreadful  crimes, 
spending  the  fruit  of  their  depredations  on  the  erection  of  sacred  edifices,  and 
employing  not  only  the  best  architects  of  the  world  to  plan  and  erect,  but  great 
painters  to  adorn."  — From  Crowe  and  Cavalcaselle's  "History  of  Painting  in 
Italy." 

BLOODSHED  IN  ITALIAN  WARS.  —  "Sabellico  talks  of  much  bloodshed  (in  the 
battle  of  Maclodio)  but  it  would  seem  to  have  been  the  innocent  blood  of  horses 


that  alone  was  shed  in  this  great  battle.  *  Those  who  were  there '  (says  Bigli) 
4  affirm  that  they  heard  of  no  one  being  killed,  extraordinary  to  relate,  though  it 
was  a  great  battle.  Philip's  army  was  so  completely  equipped  in  armor  that  no 
small  blow  was  needed  to  injure  them ;  nor  is  there  any  man  who  can  record 
what  could  be  called  a  slaughter  of  armed  men  in  Italy,  though  the  slaughter  of 
horses  was  incredible.*  "  —  From  Mrs.  Oliphant's  "  Makers  of  Venice" 

"Instances  of  this  are  very  frequent.  Thus  at  the  action  of  Zagonara,  in  1423, 
but  three  persons,  according  to  Machiavelli,  lost  their  lives,  and  those  by  suffo- 
cation in  the  mud.  At  that  of  Molinella,  in  1467,  he  says  that  no  one  was  killed. 
Ammirato  reproves  him  for  this,  as  all  the  authors  of  the  time  represent  it  to 
have  been  sanguinary,  and  insinuates  that  Machiavelli  ridicules  the  inoffensive- 
ness  of  those  armies  more  than  it  deserves.  Certainly  some  few  battles  of  the 
fifteenth  century  were  not  only  obstinately  contested,  but  attended  with  consid- 
erable loss.  But,  in  general,  the  slaughter  must  appear  very  trifling.  Ammirato 


}|o.  G9  7  . 


SUGHITEGT  ^ND  BUJLDIN  G  HEWS  Ms*'  4.  1559 


COPmsHT  1889BYTLCKNOR&C? 


IMSPIS'F.T 
FVNDATORI 
A-CCC  •  LI! 


TETVMVLATA  RESVRGENT 


Sl?e  TlnQericai}  ^rcljitect  arjd  Building  I^ews,  Iljay  4,  1559. 


Copyright,  1889,  by  TlCKKOB  &  Co. 


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t>ALOLO  , 


I^GHITEGT  ^ND  BUILDING  HEWS,  \&Y  4  1559      lo.  697 


COPZHEHT  1889BYT1CKKORIC" 


>[5IY.  4    1559  1?.O.  697. 


MAY  4,  1889.] 


The  American  Architect  and  Building  News. 


211 


combats  is  unequivocal.  He  speaks  of  the  battle  of  Fornova  between  the  con- 
federates of  Lombard?  and  the  army  of  Charles  VIII  returning  from  Naples  in 
1495,  as  very  remarkable  on  account  of  the  slaughter,  which  amounted  on  the 
Italian  side  to  3,000  men."  —  From  Hallam's  "  Middle  Ages" 

[To  be  continued.1 


[Contributors  are  requested  to  send  with  their  drawings  full  and 
adequate  descriptions  of  the  buildings,  including  a  statement  of  cost."} 

ENTRANCE    TO    THE    COMMERCIAL    BANK    BUILDING,  ALBANY,  N.  Y. 

MR.    R.   W.    GIBSON,    ARCHITECT,    NEW   YORK,    N.    Y. 

[Gelatine  Print,  issued  only  with  the  Imperial  Edition.] 

ARMORY,  WORCESTER,  MASS.      MESSRS.  FULLER   &   DELANO,  ARCHI- 
TECTS, WORCESTER,    MASS. 

WE  reprint  here  the  description  of  this  building  which  by  accident 
was  printed  in  last  week's  issue. 

TTFHE  new  building,  which  is  to  occupy  the  lot  at  the  intersection 
J I  •  of  Grove  and  Salisbury  Streets,  facing  Lincoln  Square,  is  to  be 
built  of  brick  with  brownstone  trimmings,  and  is  to  be  67  by  85 
feet,  four  stories  in  height.  The  second  and  third  floors  of  the  head- 
house  will  be  for  the  use  of  the  infantry  companies.  Kach  floor  will 
contain  two  company  rooms,  26  by  27  feet,  the  commissioned  officers' 
room*  occupying  the  projecting  bays  at  the  front,  while  the  rooms  for 
the  non-commissioned  officers  open  from  the  rear.  Each  company 
will  be  provided  with  all  the  necessary  rooms  for  uniforms,  guns, 
dressing,  etc.,  on  the  same  floor.  The  fourth  floor  is  occupied  by  a 
kitchen,  15  by  17,  a  large  mess-hall,  27  by  44  feet,  with  band  and 
drum-corps  rooms  at  the  front  and  a  room  for  a  gymnasium  at  the 
rear.  The  basement  will  be  fitted  up  with  dressing-rooms,  harness- 
rooms,  lavatories,  boiler-rooms,  armorer's-room,  etc.,  while  the  base- 
ment under  the  drill-shed  will  be  used  as  a  magazine.  A  well- 
equipped  rifle-range,  extending  through  the  basements  of  the  head- 
house  and  drill-shed,  giving  a  distance  of  at  least  200  feet,  will  be 
one  of  the  features  of  the  new  armory.  At  the  rear  of  the  head- 
house,  and  connected  with  it,  is  the  drill-shed,  a  partial  view  of 
which  is  i;iven  in  the  cut.  This  will  be  only  one  story  high,  75  feet 
wide,  and"  will  extend  back  from  the  head-house  160  feet.  The  roof 
will  be  supported  by  iron  arch  trusses  rising  from  the  floor,  which 
will  be  entirely  unobstructed  by  pillars  or  partitions,  thus  affording 
an  excellent  place  for  drill.  A  small  section,  16  feet  wide,  will  be 
shut  off  from  the  rear  end  of  the  shed  as  a  gun  park  for  the 
artillery.  This  section  is  separated  from  the  main  hall  by  gates, 
which  may  be  raised  up  out  of  the  way.  The  entrance  to  the  drill- 
shed  for  the  artillery  will  be  in  the  centre  of  the  Salisbury  Street 
side,  and  the  rear  corners  of  the  shed  will  be  bastioned  and  furnished 
with  loop-holes,  commanding  the  sides  and  rear  of  the  building  in 
case  of  need.  The  floors  throughout  the  building  will  be  of  hard 
wood,  and  the  finish  will  be  generally  in  oak. 

EQUESTRIAN   MONUMENT    TO    SPINETTA    MALASPINA. 

SEE  article  on  "  Equestrian  Monuments,"  elsewhere  in  this  issue. 

EQUESTRIAN   MONUMENT   TO   NICCOLO    ORSINI. 

SEE  article  on  "  Equestrian  Monuments,"  elsewhere  in  this  issue. 

THE    TECHNISCHE    HOCHSCHULE,    BERLIN,     GERMANY. 

SEE  article  elsewhere  in  this  issue. 

HOUSE    FOR   W.    C.   PROCTER,    ESQ.,    CINCINNATI,    O.      MR.    H.   NEILL 
WILSON,   ARCHITECT,    PITT8FIELD,    MASS. 

THE   NEW    GATEWAY   FOR    HARVARD    COLLEGE,  CAMBRIDGE,  MASS. 
MESSRS.  MCKIM,  MEAD  &  WHITE,  ARCHITECTS,  NEW  YORK,  N.  Y. 


A  KEG  OP  NAILS. —  A  Hartford  lady  tells  this  true  relation  concern- 
ing her  ancestor,  who  was  a  direct  descendant  of  John  Eliot,  the  great 
missionary  and  scholar.  This  lady  lived  in  New  Haven,  and  had  occa- 
sion to  send  to  Boston  for  a  number  of  kegs  of  nails,  New  Haven  at 
that  time  (about  1765)  not  producing  these  necessaries.  In  due  time 
the  kegs  arrived,  and,  on  opening  them,  it  was  discovered  that  one  was 
filled  with  Spanish  dollars.  The  family  wrote  to  the  Boston  merchant, 
telling  him  that  one  of  the  kegs  held  something  more  valuable  than 
nails.  He  replied  that  he  had  bought  them  for  nails,  and  his  respon- 
sibility therewith  ended.  Well,  they  were  kept  among  the  family 
treasures  for  many  years  untouched  and  unclaimed  until  the  death  of 
the  head  of  the  house,  who,  in  her  will,  ordered  that  they  be  melted 
and  cast  into  a  communion-service  for  the  New  Haven  Church,  which 
was  done,  and  it  is  still  probably  in  use.  —  Hartford  Courant. 


THE  TECHNISCHE  HOCHSCHULE  OF  BERLIN. 

PROBABLY  no  other  technological 
educational  institution  in  the  world 
can  show  a  home  so  palatially 
beautiful  in  the  grandeur,  extent,  and 
site  of  its  buildings  as  the  new  quarters 
of  the  Technische  Hochschule,  or 
Technical  High  School,  of  Berlin. 
The  location  is  a  remarkably  attractive 
one,  in  the  suburban  city  of  Charlotten- 
burg.  The  main  buildings  front  on  the 
great  avenue  which  runs  from  the 
CharlottenburgGate,  in  Berlin,  straight 
out  through  the  noble  old  park,  the 
Thiergarten.  The  grounds  comprise  a 
large  area,  triangular  in  general  shape, 
and  charmingly  treated  in  a  park-like 
style,  formal  in  front  but  more  natural 
in  design  at  the  rear,  with  paths,  trees 
and  shrubbery  combining  to  make  a 
delightful  strolling  ground  for  the 
students.  Besides  the  enormous  main 
building,  there  is  a  large  and  handsome 
structure  devoted  entirely  to  the  chemi- 
cal laboratory,  and,  standing  apart 
from  each  other  and  the  other  edifices, 
in  the  rear,  is  the  building  of  the  tech- 
nical experimental  station  and  another 
for  the  boilers  and  engines,  with  the 
usual  tall  chimney. 
The  first  sight  of  the  main  building,  of  cheerful  creamy-colored 
stone  and  its  wealth  of  decoration  well-balanced  by  the  uniformity  of 
the  long  wings  connecting  the  prominent  ornamental  portions,  gives 
an  impression  of  well-combined  richness  and  simplicity.  The  unity 
of  the  structure,  in  spite  of  its  great  length  of  226.66  metres  and  its 
uniformity  of  height,  has  been  admirably  maintained.  The  end- 
sections  are  brought  forward,  forming  a  half-enclosed  great  open 
court  in  front.  The  attention  is  first  caught  by  the  conspicuous 
decorative  work  enriching  these  end-sections  and  is  then  carried  by 
the  graceful  repetitions  of  the  long  intervening  portions  of  the  edifice 
to  the  architectural  focus  of  the  composition,  the  central  section  with 
the  grand  entrance,  where  the  whole  design  blossoms  into  a  beautiful 
expression  of  structural  dignity  supported  by  an  elaboration  of 
sculpture  in  the  shape  of  statuary,  panels  of  reliefs,  medallions  and 
more  conventional  stone-carving.  The  contrast  of  the  light  color  of 
the  stone  with  the  clear,  luminous  shadows  of  the  harmoniously 
accented  recesses  effectively  heighten  the  working  of  the  sculpture. 
The  dominance  of  this  central  section  is  assured  mainly  by  this  con- 
centration of  decoration.  In  height  it  rises  but  a  few  feet  above  the 
rest  of  the  building,  and  the  quiet  emphasis  thus  given  is  just 
sufficient  to  serve  its  purpose,  without  giving  an  impression  of  a  rest- 
less self-assertion.  As  it  is,  the  effect  is  that  of  majestic  tranquility. 
The  dignity  of  the  fa9ade  is  also  much  enhanced  by  the  design  of 
the  approach  to  the  entrance,  the  broad  driveway  and  walks  ascend- 
ing by  a  slight  grade  to  a  beautiful  low  terrace,  while  the  broad 
steps  descend  directly  to  the  street  in  a  series  of  three  short  divis- 
ions, across  a  central  depressed  space  with  two  fountains. 

The  sculpture  of  the  exterior  is  by  several  of  the  leading  German 
artists,  and  its  beauty  testifies  to  the  high  rank  in  plastic  art  occupied 
by  Germany  to-day.  Two  niches,  on  the  right  and  left  of  the  main 
story  of  the  central  section,  are  occupied  by  statues  of  Schliiter  and 
Leonardo  da  Vinci,  and  corresponding  niches  in  the  terminal  sections 
of  the  great  faQades  by  statues  of  Brainante  and  Erwin  on  the  east, 
and  Stephenson  and  James  Watt  on  the  west.  The  sculptors  of 
these  are  Hundtricser,  Eberlein,  Encke  and  Kcil,  who  also  designed 
the  allegorical  reliefs  crowning  the  arches  of  the  niches.  The 
central  section  has  also  five  busts  carried  on  postaments  interrupting 
the  balustrade  of  the  main  story,  between  the  columns.  These  are 
the  work  of  Karl  Begas,  and  represent  five  masters  of  art  and  in- 
dustrial technique,  Gauss,  Eytelwein,  Schinkel,  Redtenbacher  and 
Liebi:*.  Five  sculptors  shared  in  the  creation  of  the  eighteen  gigan- 
tic figures  that  form  so  prominent  a  feature  of  the  front  and  sides  of 
the  attic  of  the  central  section,  Reusch,  Hartzer,  Herter,  Eberlein 
and  Schiiler.  These  figures  depict  each  some  branch  of  architectural 
or  technical  handwork,  and  the  idea  thus  embodied,  of  illustrating 
the  practical  side  of  technical  work,  is  further  carried  out  in  the 
great  reliefs  occupying  the  broad  spaces  between  these  figures. 
These  rich  compositions  are  by  Otto  Lessing.  They  represent 
various  events  in  artistic  and  architectural  activity,  ending  with  an 
illustration  of  a  festival  in  honor  of  the  completion  of  a  house.  The 
terminal  sections  of  the  north  facade  and  the  central  section  of  the 
south  facade  are  crowned  with  statuary  allegorically  depicting 
the  sciences,  arts  and  industries,  such  as  astronomy,  optics,  geometry, 
art-history,  painting,  sculpture,  commerce,  mechanical  construction, 
railway  construction,  etc.  The  sculptors  of  these  are  Liirssen, 
Franz|  Karl  Begas,  Moser,  Dorn  and  Schultz.  The  ornamental 
sculpture  of  the  fj^ades  was  designed  by  Otto  Lessing  and  C.  Dank- 
berg. 

The  talented  architects  Messrs.  Lucae  and  Hitzig  have  created 
an  interior  worthy  of  the  noble  exterior.  Color  is  here  a  leading 
element  in  the  effect,  working  by  means  of  the  natural  hues  of  the 


212 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.       [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  697. 


materials  used,  as  well  as  by  frescos  and  colored  glass.  The  coloring 
is  richly  reinforced  by  the  use  of  beautifully  executed  stucco-work, 
particularly  in  the  splendidly  ornamented  rooms  for  general  inter- 
course, such  as  the  entrance  hall,  the  grand  central  hall,  the  stair- 
ways and  the  corridors.  As  to  the  impression  produced  by  the 
interior,  I  can  do  no  better  than  quote  from  a  scholarly  criticism  that 
appeared  in  the  Centralblatt  der  Bauverwallung :  "  In  the  first 
degree,  on  entering,  one  is  fascinated  and  captivated  by  the  purely 
architectural  effect  of  these  various  rooms  that  unite  themselves  as 
one.  Adjustment,  proportion  and  apportionment  are  everywhere  so 
happily  dealt  with,  that  in  this  respect  the  work  has  reached  the  full 
height  attainable  with  the  resources  of  to-day.  The  variation  in  the 
treatment  of  the  single  features  of  this  whole,  the  combination  of  the 
same  with  each  other,  and  the  heightening  of  expression  thereby 
gained,  as  well  as  the  perfect  designing  of  all  details,  betray  at  the 
first  glance  that  the  creation  of  mature  masters  stands  before  one. 
The  vistas  opened  out  from  the  grand  central  hall  into  the  surround- 
ing galleries,  from  the  galleries  into  the  hall,  and  from  the  stairways 
into  the  hall  and  into  the  galleries,  are  enchanting  in  the  extreme." 

As  to  color,  the  entrance-hall  is  kept  low  in  tone ;  the  rest  of  the 
interior  is  maintained  in  soft,  light  hues.  In  the  entrance-hall  dark 
granite  columns,  with  bases  and  capitals  of  bronze,  support  a  vaulted 
ceiling  with  stucco  decorations  on  a  strong  blue  ground.  The 
marble  steps  leading  from  this  hall  into  the  inner  rooms  are  flanked 
by  two  bronze  sphynxs  modelled  by  Briitt.  The  grand  central 
hall  comes  next,  formed  by  a  great  court  roofed  with  glass,  and  it 
makes  a  noble  impression.  The  architectural  features  are  here 
preserved  in  the  light  tones  of  the  natural  stone.  The  broad 
surfaces  of  the  piers  in  the  ground  story  are  painted  in  tapestry 
designs  and  above  the  arches  of  these  piers  are  female  figures 
representing  various  activities  of  art,  construction  and  technique, 
supported  by  boy  figures.  These  symbolize  the  various  branches  of 
instruction  taught  in  the  building.  The  figures  are  in  monochrome, 
light  gray  on  a  yellow  ground,  and  are  by  M.  von  Beckerath.  In 
the  two  stories  above  stand  double  rows  of  dark  granite  columns, 
standing  in  pairs,  one  behind  the  other;  their  bases  and  capitals 
imitate  bronze,  the  spaces  above  the  arches  are  painted  in  yellow 
and  gray,  with  medallions,  one  series  composed  of  the  faces  of  artists, 
and  the  other  of  the  arms  and  names  of  leading  German  cities ; 
the  ground-work  of  these  is  blue.  The  skylight  is  composed,  in  its 
main  surface,  of  green  glass,  leaded  in  appropriate  patterns ;  the 
surrounding  frieze  is  composed  of  a  glass  mosaic  of  brilliant  colors. 
From  the  centre  there  hangs  a  great  sun-burner  of  decorative  design. 
The  vaulted  ceilings  of  the  galleries  surrounding  the  hall  are 
painted  in  two  alternating  colors.  The  grand  stairwa}rs  are  splendid 
with  columns  of  granite  and  marble,  balustrades  of  bronze  with 
fields  of  wrought-ironwork,  and  vaulted  ceilings  of  basket-arches 
with  handsome  stucco-work.  There  are  some  handsome  groups  of 
statuary  in  the  grand  central  hall,  including  the  bronzed  cast  of  the 
figure  of  Beuth  made  by  Rauch,  and  that  of  Schinkel  by  Wiese,  for 
the  monument  at  Neurippin. 

Another  splendid  room  is  the  aula,  or  grand  auditorium.  The 
walls  are  divided  by  pilasters  of  stucco  beautifully  counterfeiting 
red  marble,  and  animated  colors  predominate  on  the  walls  and  ceil- 
ing. Surrounding  the  hall,  in  the  fields  of  the  arches  occupying  the 
upper  portion  of  the  walls,  there  are  nine  architectural  paintings  by 
Spangenberg,  Jacob  and  Korner,  representing  famous  architectural 
monuments  of  successive  periods :  the  Parthenon  and  Acropolis  at 
Athens,  the  Ruins  of  Paestum,  San  Apollinare  in  Classe  near 
Ravenna,  the  church  at  Laach,  the  Elizabeth  Church  at  Marburg, 
the  Marienburg  in  West  Prussia,  St.  Peter's  and  the  Arch  of  Titus 
in  Rome,  and  the  ruins  of  Philse. 

The  rich  collections  of  the  institution,  consisting  of  casts,  models, 
drawings,  etc.,  belonging  to  the  various  departments  of  technical 
activity,  form  a  large  and  instructive  museum.  Several  rooms  are 
devoted  to  the  "  Schinkel  Museum,"  containing  a  large  collection  of 
the  drawings  and  models  illustrating  the  manifold  works  of  that 
great  and  versatile  architect.  By  the  way,  would  not  a  Richardson 
museum  on  a  similar  plan  be  an  admirable  feature  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Institute  of  Technology  ? 

The  corridors  are  largely  occupied  by  the  rich  collection  of  orna- 
mental casts  from  the  former  Bauakademie  and  the  Gewerbeaka- 
demie.  It  is  divided  into  sections  representing  respectively  the 
Greek,  Roman,  Byzantine,  Moorish,  Romanesque,  Gothic  and 
Renaissance  periods. 

The  great .  building  encloses  four  open  courts  of  comparatively 
simple  architecture,  their  walls  in  yellow  and  brownish  brick,  with 
details  of  sandstone  and  bands  of  sgraffito,  partly  decorative  and 
partly  with  figures,  the  former  work  by  Essdorf  and  the  latter  by 
Otto  Lessing. 

The  chemical  laboratory  has  a  handsome  exterior,  harmonizing 
with  that  of  the  main  building,  but  not  so  elaborate.  The  interior  is 
plain,  but  admirably  adapted  to  its  purpose  of  affording  the  best 
possible  opportunities  for  the  most  thorough  instruction  and  investi- 
gation in  all  branches  of  the  science.  Among  the  interesting  objects 
to  be  seen  here  is  a  collection  of  the  work  by  Professor  Vogel,  the 
famous  expert  and  experimenter  in  photography,  who  is  at  the  head 
of  the  photographic  department. 

The  Technische  Hochschule  was  formed  in  1879  by  the  union  of 
the  Bauakademie  and  the  Gewerbeakademie,  or,  in  English,  the 
Academy  of  Construction  and  the  Academy  of  Industry.  The  origin 
of  the  former  antedates  the  latter  by  over  a  century,  for  in  1699  the 


Prince  Elector  of  Brandenburg,  Frederic  III,  founded  the  Academy 
of  Arts,  comprising  instruction  in  architecture  as  well  as  in  painting 
and  sculpture.  Since,  however,  architecture  could  find  little  con- 
sideration in  such  an  institution  except  as  a  fine  art,  and  its  techni- 
cal aspects  were  neglected,  it  was  found  desirable  to  establish  a 
separate  institution,  and  on  March  18,  1799,  King  Frederic  William 
III  authorized  the  establishment  of  the  Bauakademie  with  its 
declared  objects  consisting  of  "  the  theoretical  and  practical  education 
of  able  surveyors,  civil  and  hydraulic  engineers,  and  also  hand- 
workers for  building,  chiefly  for  the  royal  states,  although  foreigners 
may  be  admitted  in  so  far  as  it  may  occur  without  detriment  to  the 
interests  of  natives."  The  course  of  instruction  embraced  twenty- 
three  separate  studies  at  the  start.  It  was  required  that  the 
students  should  visit  the  royal  edifices  of  the  city  under  the  guidance 
of  a  teacher  in  order  to  receive  practical  illustration  of  their  studies. 
The  minimum  age  for  architectural  students  was  fifteen  years.  The 
requirements  for  entrance  were  a  good  readable  handwriting  and  an 
orthographically  correct  composition,  a  fundamental  knowledge  of 
Latin  and  French,  and  a  ready  knowledge  of  the  arithmetical  prin- 
ciples necessary  in  common  life.  The  term  for  students  of  surveying 
was  a  year  and  a  half,  for  students  of  architecture,  two  years  and  a 
half.  This  was  the  first  institution  of  the  kind  in  Germany,  and, 
with  the  exception  of  the  Ecole  Polytechnique,  founded  in  Paris  in 
1794,  the  first  in  Europe.  In  1801  the  number  of  students  was  fifty- 
nine,  including  eleven  foreigners.  The  institution  first  occupied  the 
upper  story  of  the  Mint,  and  in  1832  the  erection  of  a  special  build- 
ing on  the  Werderschen-Markt  was  begun  after  a  design  by 'Schinkel, 
in  brick. 

A  word  about  the  origin  of  the  Gewerbeakademie.  After  the 
examples  of  the  Polytechnic  Institutes  established  in  Prague  in  1806, 
and  in  Vienna  in  1815,  Prussia  founded  in  1821  the  "  Technische 
Schule  "  in  Berlin  —  an  institution  quite  different  from  that  under- 
stood under  the  word  "  Polytechnicum  "  to-day.  The  age  for  admis- 
sion was  from  twelve  to  fifteen  years.  The  instruction  for  the  lower 
classes  consisted  of  geometry,  arithmetic,  natural  philosophy,  draw- 
ing and,  for  some,  modelling.  For  the  upper  class,  arithmetic  and 
algebra,  geometry,  stereotomy,  perspective,  trigonometry,  statics  and 
mechanics,  mechanical  construction  and  technology,  and  theoretical 
chemistry.  A  mechanical  workshop  was  early  connected  with  the 
institution.  In  1827  its  name  was  changed  to  Gewerbe-Institut,  and 
in  1866  it  was  again  changed  to  Gewerbe-Akademie. 

In  1876  the  union  of  the  two  institutions  was  decided  upon  under 
the  name  of  "  Die  Kb'nigliche  Technische  Hochschule  zu  Berlin,"  or 
the  Royal  Technical  High-School  of  Berlin.  The  preparations  were 
not  completed  until  1879,  from  which  time  the  present  magnificent 
institution  dates  its  foundation.  The  rules  of  the  institution  require 
for  the  admission  of  a  German  the  presentation  of  a  certificate  of 
graduation  from  a  German  gymnasium  or  Prussian  real-gymnasium 
(real-school  of  the  first  degree)  or  a  Prussian  upper  real-school 
(industrial  school  with  a  nine  years'  course  and  two  foreign 
languages).  There  are  five  departments :  architecture,  civil  engi- 
neering, mechanical  engineering,  including  ship-building,  chemistry 
and  mining,  and  a  general  scientific  course,  with  mathematics  and 
natural  science  in  particular.  The  various  courses  have  no  binding 
force  for  the  students,  but  are  designed  to  serve  as  a  guide  for  them 
in  obtaining  the  instruction  they  desire.  As  in  the  universities  of 
Germany,  so  in  the  Technical  High-School,  or,  more  correctly,  Uni- 
versity —  hochschule  and  universitat  being  synonymous  in  German 
—  there  is  complete  freedom  of  study,  every  student  being  at  perfect 
liberty  to  study  how,  when  or  what  he  may  choose,  the  entire  re- 
sponsibility being  placed  upon  him  as  to  whether  he  shall  take  advan- 
tage of  the  opportunities  so  freely  set  at  his  disposal.  The  German 
system  is  known  by  its  fruits,  and  by  these  it  may  be  judged  whether 
the  custom  of  regarding  the  student  as  a  responsible  man  is  not 
superior  to  the  English  and  American  custom  of  continuing  the 
school-boy  and  school-master  policy  into  the  higher  seats  of  learning. 
The  government  of  the  institution  consists  of  a  rector  and  senate, 
and  a  "syndicus"  for  the  administration  of  the  financial  affairs. 
Each  department  forms  an  independent  entity,  with  its  internal 
affairs  administered  by  a  chairman  and  the  members  of  its  faculty. 
The  rector  is  elected  every  year  by  the  collective  faculties,  the 
choice  being  formally  ratified  by  the  King.  The  students  have,  also, 
the  privilege  of  attendance  at  the  lectures  of  the  University  of  Berlin. 
The  splendid  buildings  at  Charlottenburg  were  finished  in  1884, 
and  dedicated  with  elaborate  ceremonies  and  festivities  on  November 
1  and  2  of  that  year.  Their  cost  was  8,150,000  marks,  or  over 
$2,000,000.  To  duplicate  them  in  this  country,  it  would  probably 
require  at  least  considerably  more  than  double  that  sum. 

In  the  winter  of  1885-86  there  were  662  regular  students  and  368 
"  Hospitanten,"  or  unmatriculated  students,  making  a  total  of  1,030. 
The  present  total  number  is  something  like  1,200.  The  instruction- 
corps  consists  of  regularly  appointed  professors,  named  by  the  King 
"  Docenten"  and  "Privat  docenten,"  or  instructors  and  unofficial  in- 
structors. The  latest  statistics  gave  the  number  of  professors  and 
instructors  as  57,  and  of  unofficial  instructors  as  24.  There  is  a  con- 
siderable number  of  stipendiums,  or  scholarships,  provided  by  the 
State,  and  also  by  the  provinces,  municipalities,  various  schools,  and 
private  individuals,  mostly  consisting  of  sums  of  600  marks  annually, 
and  with  other  amounts  from  300  marks  upwards.  Most  of  the 
scholarships  also  carry  the  privilege  of  freedom  from  the  payment  of 
instruction-fees,  and,  moreover,  six  per  cent  of  the  students  are  also 
absolved  from  the  same.  The  Louis  Boissonet  scholarship  for 


MAY  4,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


213 


architects  and  civil  engineers  yields  an  annual  income  of  something 
like  3,000  marks,  or  about  $750,  which  is  annually  given  alternately  to 
an  architect  and  a  civil  engineer  who  have  received  the  greater  part 
of  their  training  at  the  institution,  in  very  much  the  same  manner  as 
the  Rotch  scholarship  here ;  that  is,  with  the  condition  that  the  re- 
cipient shall  use  the  money  in  undertaking  a  journey  connected  with 
a  professional  task,  and  shall  submit  a  report  concerning  the  same. 
There  are  also  two  travelling-scholarships  of  1,500  marks  each  for 
students  of  Divisions  III  and  IV,  respectively,  mechanical  engineer- 
ing and  ship-building,  and  chemistry  and  mining,  who  have  distin- 
guished themselves  at  their  diploma-examination.  From  the  income 
of  the  Von  Seydlitz  scholarship-fund  —  a  sum  annually  fixed  by  the 
Curator  —  at  present  about  2,300  marks,  is  awarded  as  a  prize  to  a 
student  of  one  of  the  aforementioned  two  divisions  who,  in  the 
diploma-examinations  of  the  previous  year,  has  specially  distinguished 
himself.  For  each  division,  and  also  the  ship-building  section,  a 
prize-problem  is  set,  with  300  marks  and  a  silver  medal  for  the  best 
solution,  and  a  silver  prize-medal  for  the  second-best  solution. 

The  Technische  Hochschule  includes  the  following  collections  and 
institutes : 

The  Physical  Collection,  containing  all  the  apparatus  necessary  in 
the  courses  on  experimental  physics,  and  is  particularly  rich  in  in- 
struments relating  to  optics  and  electricity. 

The  Kinematic  Collection  contains  590  models,  comprised  in  two 
divisions,  one  illustrating  the  control  of  motion,  and  the  other  the 
transmission  of  motion. 

The  Electro-technical  Laboratory  affords  the  students  an  opportu- 
nity to  familiarize  themselves  with  the  practice  of  electrical  measure- 
ments. 

The  Geodetic  Collection  is  devoted  exclusively  to  means  for  in- 
struction. 

The  Mineralogical  Institute  comprises,  besides  its  lecture-halls, 
the  laboratory  for  crystallographic-physieal  and  chemie-mineralogical 
researches,  a  mineralogical  collection  for  instruction,  a  geological 
collection  for  instruction,  and  the  mineralogical  museum. 

The  Chemical  Laboratory  comprises  a  laboratory  for  inorganic 
chemistry,  another  for  organic  chemistry,  a  metallurgical  laboratory, 
a  laboratory  for  technical  chemistry,  and  a  photochemical  laboratory. 

The  lloyal  Mechanic-technical  Experimental  Institution  is  designed 
for  the  testing  of  all  materials  used  in  technical  work,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  specifically  building  materials.  Among  the  apparatus  are 
two  testing-machines  of  the  Werder  &  Martens  pattern,  with  a  power 
of  100,000  and  50,000  kilogrammes  respectively.  Among  the  great 
tasks  now  in  hand  are  an  investigation  of  railway  material  at  a  cost 
of  about  60,000  marks,  the  experiments  lasting  about  two  and  a  half 
years,  and  an  investigation  of  the  native  woods  of  Prussia,  the  cost  of  the 
preliminary  experiments  being  about  4,000  marks ;  both  of  these  are 
carried  on  in  behalf  of  the  Ministry  of  Public  Works.  In  behalf  of 
the  Ministry  of  Commerce  there  is  being  conducted  an  investigation 
of  the  products  of  the  German  and  foreign  wire-manufacturing  in- 
dustries, lasting  about  two  years,  and  costing  about  4,000  marks  ; 
and  an  investigation  of  German  and  foreign  lubricating  oils,  at  a  cost 
of  about  3,500  marks  for  preliminary  experiments.  There  are  also 
various  scientific  investigations  in  hand  in  the  interest  of  societies  and 
of  the  institution  itself,  such  as  the  conduct  of  plastic  masses  under 
pressure  on  all  sides,  the  sweating  of  powder-form  substances 
under  high  pressure,  microscopic  investigations  of  structural  changes 
in  metals  under  tests  of  strength,  etc. 

The  Royal  Testing-station  for  Building  Materials  was  established 
in  1871,  particularly  for  the  purpose  of  deciding  disputes  concerning 
the  worth  of  cements.  The  station  has  apparatus  for  testing  the 
strength  and  other  physical  properties  of  burnt  and  unburnt  artificial 
stones.  The  hydraulic  press  can  exert  a  power  of  14,000  kilogrammes. 
Among  the  means  for  testing  cements  are  sieves  with  600,  900  and 
5,000  meshes  to  the  square-centimeter. 

SYLVESTER  BAXTER. 


I, 


THE  ELECTRICAL  TREATMENT  OF  SEWAGE. 

|TIIERE  is  a  universal  consensus  of  opin- 
ion in  large  towns,  and  in  a  good  many 
small  ones  too,  that  "  something  must  be 
done  "  with  the  sewage  other  than  turning  it 
into  the  nearest  stream.  In  many  places 
"  something  "  has  been  done ;  the  results  have 
always  been  costly,  and  we  have  yet  to  learn 
that  they  have  ever  been  quite  satisfactory. 
In  the  metropolis  vast  sums  have  been  spent 
.  and  are  still  being  laid  out  upon  works  for 
carrying  on  the  precipitation  process  intro- 
duced by  Mr.  W.  J.  Dibdin,  the  chemist  to 
the  late  Board  of  Works.  This  process  con- 
sists in  the  precipitation  of  the  solids  in  the 
sewage  by  the  addition  of  3.7  grains  of  lime 
and  one  grain  of  sulphate  of  iron  to  each  gal- 
lon of  fluid.  By  this  means  the  matter  in 
suspension  is  precipitated  as  mud ;  the  clear 
liquid  is  allowed  to  flow  into  the  river,  while 
the  sludge  is  carried  out  to  sea  by  steamers 
and  deposited  in  deep  water.  There  are  plenty  of  chemists  who  do 
not  hesitate  to  declare  positively  that  these  quantities  of  chemicals 


are  quite  insufficient  to  produce  a  satisfactory  effluent,  and  that  if  they 
are  not  increased  the  condition  of  the  Thames  will  undergo  no 
amelioration.  Experience  only  can  decide  this  point ;  the  work's  are 
being  built  and  the  exact  method  to  be  followed  remains  to  be 
determined.  It  is  to  the  interest  of  Londoners  that  the  river  should 
be  rescued  from  its  present  state  of  filth,  and  that  it  should  be  done 
as  cheaply  as  is  compatible  with  efficiency. 

Among  the  many  processes  of  sewage  purification  which  are  being 
offered  for  adoption  at  the  new  works  by  the  London  County 
Council,  none  appears  to  be  more  promising  than  that  of  Mr.  William 
Webster,  of  8  St.  Martin's-place,  Trafalgar-square.  An  experi- 
mental plant,  capable  of  treating  1,000,000  gallons  of  sewage  per 
day,  has  been  erected  at  Mr.  Webster's  expense,  at  the  South  Metro- 
politan outfall  of  Crossness,  and  for  more  than  twelve  months  trials 
have  been  conducted  there  on  a  scale  corresponding  to  the  require- 
ments of  a  fair-sized  town.  These  trials  have  certainly  demons- 
trated the  efficacy  of  the  process,  and  so  far  as  their'  size  and 
intermittent  character  would  permit,  they  have  shown  it  to  be 
economical.  The  method  followed  is  to  electrolyse  the  sewao-e 
between  iron  electrodes.  The  chemical  reactions  have  not  yet  been 
very  clearly  ascertained,  but  the  nascent  chlorine  and  the  oxygen 
are  carried  to  the  positive  electrode,  probably  in  the  form  of 
hypochlorous  acid,  the  strongest  disinfectant  known,  and  there  they 
rapidly  oxidize  the  organic  matter.  The  iron  is  also  disolved  as  a 
hypochlorite,  and  combining  with  the  suspended  matter,  coagulates 
it  in  floceulent  particles.  These  are  buoyed  up  by  the  hydrogen 
bubbles,  and  rise  to  the  top  as  froth,  leaving  clear  liquid  beneath.  If 
the  treated  sewage  be  run  into  a  tank  and  allowed  to  remain  there 
for  two  hours,  the  hydrogen  gradually  disengages  itself,  whereupon 
the  coagulated  particles  subside  to  the  bottom  as  sludge,  and  the 
liquid  can  be  run  off.  It  is  found  on  analysis  that  the  amount  of 
iron  disolved  is  equal  to  2  grains  per  gallon  treated.  The  matter  in 
suspension,  as  shown  by  the  following  Table,  is  nearlv  all  removed, 
while  the  free  ammonia  and  albumenoid  matter  are  very  sensibly 
reduced.  Any  one  may  try  the  experiment  for  himself  in  a  beaker 
glass  with  a  sample  of  sewerage,  and  a  pair  of  iron  electrodes  having 
a  difference  of  potential  of  2£  volts ;  in  a  very  few  minutes  the 
organic  matter  is  rendered  ttocculent,  and  an  hour  sees  it  precipi- 
tated. 

THE  ELECTRICAL  TREATMENT  OF  SEWAGE. —ANALYSES  OF  EXPERIMENTS, 
1888-9.    PARTS  PER  100,000. 


Nitrogen  as 

a  • 

£      i-' 

Suspended  Mat- 
ters. 



APPEARANCE. 

Odor. 

4 

i      . 

=•§ 

so° 

"3 

o 

8)0  5 

d 

I 

i 

3s! 

S3 

3  o 

I 

| 

| 

Raw  sewage,  very 

turhid  &  opalescent 

Bad 

3.57 

n.e 

14.61 

4.03 

14.52 

595 

8.57 

(A) 

Effluent,  clear.... 

None 

2.9 

0.28 

13.39 

1.34 

1.48 

1.05 

0.43 

(A) 

Raw  sewage,  very 
turbid  &  opalescent 

Very 
bad 

1.89 

0.54 

29.5 

2.57 

15.43 

7.43 

8,00 

Effluent,  clear.... 

None 

1.8 

0.24 

29.0 

1.21 

2.20 

1.91 

0.29 

Average  ( 
of  20 
analyses  ( 

Kaw  sewage,  very 
turbid  &  opalescent 
Effluent,  clear.... 

Slight 
None 

4.34 

3.22 

0.5 

0.2 

21.64 
18.62 

1.24 

0.52 

33.35 

1.56 

not  esti- 
mated, 
not  esti- 
mated. 

(A)  Time  of  settlement  one  hour  in  open  reservoirs. 

At  Mr.  Webster's  works  the  raw  sewage,  as  it  is  received  from 
London,  is  lifted  into  a  tank,  from  which  it  flows  through  a  long 
inclined  channel  to  a  settling  reservoir.  In  this  channel  there  are  a 
large  number  of  iron  plates  arranged  in  groups.  All  the  plates  in 
each  group  are  parallel  to  each  other  and  to  the  sides  of  the  channel, 
the  sewage  flowing  between  them  in  streams  about  an  inch  wide  and 
the  depth  of  the  channel.  The  plates  are  alternately  positive 
and  negative,  the  difference  of  potential  being  2J  volts.  The 
dynamo  delivers  current  at  a  pressure  of  20  volts,  and  six  groups  of 
plates  are  arranged  in  series.  The  time  a  particle  of  sewage  is 
occupied  in  passing  through  the  entire  length  of  the  channel  varies, 
according  to  the  degree  of  its  pollution,  from  two  to  ten  minutes.  It 
is  estimated  that  on  the  average  it  requires  .25  ampere  hour  of 
current  for  each  gallon  treated,  the  current  density  being  1  ampere 
per  1 1  square  feet  of  electrode. 

No  positive  estimates  of  cost  have  yet  been  made.  The  sole  work- 
ing expenses  are  for  coal,  iron  and  labor;  and  it  is  calculated  that 
these  will  amount  to  13s.  per  million  gallons  of  London  sewage,  if 
treated  on  a  large  scale.  Interest  and  depreciation  of  plant  have  to 
be  added  to  this,  and  all  the  labor  of  dealing  with  the  sludge. 
According  to  the  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works,  it  costs  Gd.  per  ton 
to  discharge  this  into  the  sea  and  about  Is.  Gd.  per  ton  to  press  it. 
In  a  town  of  333,000,  having  a  sewage  discharge  of  30  gallons  per 
head,  the  mechanical  power  required  is  estimated  at  264  horse-power 
and  the  expenditure  of  iron  at  464  tons  per  annum.  This  latter  is  in 
the  form  of  plates,  1  inch  thick,  run  directly  from  the  blast  furnace. 

There  is  a  charming  simplicity  about  Mr.  Webster's  process.  He 
manufactures  his  chemicals  to  a  great  extent  out  of  the  sewage  itself, 
and  he  uses  them  in  the  nascent  state  where  it  is  weU-known  they  are 
most  powerful.  Instead  of  adding  5,  10,  12,  or  15  grains  per  gallon 
of  solid  matter,  as  is  now  done,  he  only  adds  two,  and  he  not  only 
precipitates  the  matters  in  suspension,  but  he  also  removes  some  of 
the  organic  matter  in  solution.  This  latter  is  an  important  matter,  as 
it  defers  the  second  decomposition  so  long  that  the  effluent  may  be 


214 


The   American   Architect  and  Building'  News.        [VOL.  XXV.  — No.  697' 


carried  down  to  the  sea,  or  oxidized  by  natural  influences,  before  it 
can  occur.  The  extent  to  which  the  purification  can  be  carried  is 
merely  a  matter  of  time,  and  in  hot  weather,  when  the  quantity  of 
sewage  is  reduced,  and  is  consequently  fouler,  it  can  be  allowed  to 
remain  for  a  longer  period  in  the  electrolytic  bath.  —  Engineering. 


CHIMNEYS.1 

/"7HIMNEYS  are  required  for  two  purposes  : 
\j  1,  to  carry  off  obnoxious  gases;  2,  to  pro- 
duce a  draught,  and  so  facilitate  combus- 
tion.   The  first  requires  size,  the  second  height. 

Each  pound  of  coal  burned 
yields  from  13  to  30  pounds  of 
gas,  the  volume  of  which  varies 
with  the  temperature. 

The  weight  of  gas  to  be  car- 
ried off  by  a  chimney  in  a  given 
time  depends  upon  three  things  : 
size  of  chimney,  velocity  of  flow 
and  density  of  gas.     But  as  the 
density    decreases     directly    as 
the  absolute  temperature,  while 
the    velocity    increases  with    a 
given     height,    nearly    as     the 
square  root  of  the  temperature, 
it  follows  that  there  is  a  temperature  at  which 
the   weight   of  gas  delivered  is   a   maximum. 
This  is  about  550  degrees  above  the  surround- 
ing  air.      Temperature,   however,    makes    so 
little  difference,  that  at  550  degrees  above,  the 


large  enough,  there  seems  no  good  mechanical  reason  for  adding 
further  to  the  height,  whatever  the  size  of  the  chimney  required. 
Where  cost  is  no  consideration  there  is  no  objection  to  building  as 
high  as  one  pleases ;  but  for  the  purely  utilitarian  purpose  of  steam- 
making,  equally  good  results  might  be  attained  with  a  shorter 
chimney  at  much  less  cost. 

The  intensity  of  draught  required  varies  with  the  kind  and  condi- 
tion of  the  fuel,  and  the  thickness  of  the  fires.  Wood  requires  the 
least,  and  fine  coal  or  slack  the  most.  To  burn  anthracite  slack  to 
advantage,  a  draught  of  1^  inch  of  water  is  necessary,  which  can  be 
attained  by  a  well-proportioned  chimney  1 75  feet  high. 

Generally  a  much  less  height  than  100  feet  cannot  be  recommended 


for  a  boiler,  as  the  lower  grades  of  fuel  cannot  be  burned  as  they 
should  be  with  a  shorter  chimney. 

A  round  chimney  is  better  than  square,  and  a  straight  flue  better 
than  a  tapering,  though  it  may  be  either  larger  or  smaller  at  top 
without  detriment. 


quantity  is  only  four  per  cent  greater  than  at  300  degrees.  There- 
fore, height  and  area  are  the  only  elements  necessary  to  consider  in 
an  ordinary  chimney. 

The  intensity  of  draught  is,  however,  independent  of  the  size,  and 
depends  upon  the  difference  in  weight  of  the  outside  and  inside 
columns  of  air,  which  varies  nearly  as  the  product  of  the  height  into 
the  difference  of  temperature.  This  is  usually  stated  in  an  equiva- 
lent column  of  water,  and  may  vary  from  0  to  possibly  2  inches. 

After  a  height  has  been  reached  to  produce  draught  of  sufficient 
intensity  to  burn  fine,  hard  coal,  provided  the  area  of  the  chimney  is 

1  Extract  from  "  Steam."  a  book  which  can  be  procured  of  the  Babcock  &  Wil- 
cox  Company  of  New  York,  without  cost. 


The  effective  area  of  a  chimney  for  a  given  power,  varies  inversely 
as  the  square  root  of  the  height.  The  actual  area,  in  practice, 
should  be  greater,  because  of  retardation  of  velocity  due  to  friction 
against  the  walls.  On  the  basis  that  this  is  equal  to  a  layer  of  air  two 
inches  thick  over  the  whole  interior  surface,  and  that  a  commercial 
horse-power  requires  the  consumption  on  an  average  of  5  pounds 
of  coal  per  hour,  we  have  the  following  formulas : 


=  3.33 


'i=(°E~ 


S  =  12  y/E  +  4 8 

D  =  13.54  y/E"-|-4 4 


MAY  4,  1889.] 


The    American    Architect   and  Building   News. 


215 


In  which  H  =  horse-power  ;  A  =  height  of  chimney  in  feet;  E  = 
effective  area,  ami  A=  actual  area  in  square  feet;  5  =  side  of 
square  chimney,  and  £>  =  diameter  of  round  chimney  in  inches. 

To  find  the  draught  of  a  given  chimney  in  inches  of  water  : 
Divide  7.6  by  the  absolute  temperature  of  the  external  air  (  ra  :=  £  -|- 
460)  ;  divide  7.9  by  the  absolute  temperature  of  the  gases  in  the 
chimney  (TC  =  ('-)-  460)  ;  subtract  the  latter  from  the  former,  and 
multiply  the  remainder  by  the  height  of  the  chimney  in  feet.  This  rule, 
expressed  in  a  formula,  would  be  : 


To  find  the  height  of  a  chimney,  to  give  a  specific  draught-power, 
expressed  in  inches  of  water:  Proceed  as  above,  through  the  first  two 
steps,  then  divide  the  given  draught-power  by  the  remainder,  the  result 
is  the  height  in  feet.  Or,  by  formula  : 


To  find  the  maximum  efficient  draught  for  any  given  chimney,  the 
heated  column  being  600  Fahrenheit,  and  the  external  air  62 
degrees:  Multiply  the  height  above  grate  in  feet  by  .007,  and  the 
product  is  the  draught-power  in  inches  of  water. 

The  above  diagram  shows  the  draught,  in  inches  of  water,  for  a 
chimney  100  feet  high,  under  different  temperatures,  from  50 
degrees  to  800  degrees  above  external  atmosphere,  which  is 
assumed  at  60  degrees.  The  vertical  scale  is  full-size,  and  each 
division  is  -fa  of  an  inch.  It  also  shows  tlie  relative  quantity,  in 
pounds  of  air,  which  would  be  delivered,  in  the  same  time,  by  a 
chimney  under  the  same  differences  of  temperature.  It  will  be  seen 
that  practically  nothing  can  be  gained  by  carrying  the  temperature 
of  the  chimney  more  than  350  degrees  above  the  external  air  at  CO 
degrees. 

To  determine  the  quantity  of  air,  in  pounds,  a  given  chimney  will 
deliver  per  hour,  multiply  the  distance  in  inches,  at  given  tempera- 
ture, on  the  diagram,  by  1,000  times  the  effective  area  in  square 
feet,  and  by  the  square  root  of  the  height  in  feet.  This  gives  a 
maximum.  Friction  in  flues  and  furnace  may  reduce  it  greatly. 

The  external  diameter  of  a  brick  chimney  at  the  base  should  be 
one-tenth  the  height,  unless  it  be  supported  by  some  other  structure. 
The  "  batter  "  or  taper  of  a  chimney  should  be  from  ^g  to  ^  inch  to 
the  foot  on  each  side. 

Thickness  of  brickwork :  one  brick  (8  or  9  inches)  for  25  feet 
from  the  top,  increasing  £  brick  (4  or  4^  inches)  for  each  25  feet 
from  the  top  downwards. 

If  the  inside  diameter  exceed  5  feet  the  top  length  should  be  1  £ 
bricks,  and  if  under  3  feet  it  may  be  £  brick  for  10  feet. 


tTf  HE  architects  of  Philadelphia  gave  a  dinner  to  the  lately  appointed 
J I  ^  United  States  Supervising  Architect,  James  H.  Windrim,  at  the 
Hotel  Bellevue,  Philadelphia,  on  Saturday  evening,  April  20, 
1889.  Owing  to  the  date  only  the  following  were  in  attendance : 
Messrs.  T.  Honey  Williamson,  John  Stewardson,  Frank  Miles  Day, 
Amos  J.  Boyden,  R.  G.  Kennedy,  Guy  King,  W.  B.  Powell, 
John  J.  Deery,  Wilson  Eyre,  Jr.,  C.  Balderston,  Oscar  Frotscher, 
Walter  Cope,  Lindley  Johnson,  Thomas  Lonsdale,  John  Ord,  Gray- 
son  P.  Mae  Arthur  and  John  T.  Windrim,  the  eldest  son  of  the 
guest.  Mr.  T.  P.  Chandler  presided,  and  after  the  menu  had  been 
about  half  discussed,  he  introduced  the  guest  of  the  evening  in  un- 
usually brief,  though  well-chosen  words.  Mr.  Windrim  evidently 
felt  the  compliment  of  the  occasion,  and  referred  in  feeling  terms  to 
the  invitation  of  his  professional  brothers  and  to  the  letters  of  con- 
gratulation he  had  received  from  his  comrades  here  on  his  appoint- 
ment. He  then  rapidly  sketched  his  connection  with  his  old  master, 
John  Notman  ;  the  duties  of  the  Supervising  Architect  of  the 
Treasury  Department ;  his  hopes  of  lifting  the  office  from  politics  to 
a  plane  of  business  and  artistic  excellence,  and  referred  humorously 
to  some  of  the  petty  troubles  which  such  an  official  daily  encounters. 
His  impromptu  remarks  were  liberally  applauded  by  his  colleagues, 
particularly  where  he  spoke  with  great  earnestness  of  his  intention 
to  appoint  men  of  mechanical  and  technical  knowledge  to  positions 
of  superintendents  and  supervision,  instead  of  the  recent  crop  of 
ward  politicians  and  men  utterly  unfamiliar  with  the  work  in  hand. 

Mr.  Frotscher,  after  making  extended  remarks  upon  the  Palais 
de  Justice,  Bruxelles,  said  Americans  were  in  advance  in  original 
work.  Mr.  John  Ord,  in  speaking  of  the  development  of  the  art  in 
America,  knew  that  the  honored  guest  would  give  as  high  a  char- 
acter to  the  aesthetic  requirements  of  his  trust  as  to  other  depart- 
ments. Mr.  T.  Roney  Williamson  made  pleasurable  remarks  and 
Mr.  John  J.  Deery  dilated  upon  the  benefit  of  re-unions  of  architects. 
Mr.  Wilson  Eyre,  Jr.,  made  complimentary  remarks,  and  referred  to 
his  hurried  trip  to  the  Appenines  during  the  early  winter.  Mr. 
Walter  Cope  gave  a  sketch  of  his  tricycle"  sketching  tour  in  Nor- 
many.  Mr.  John  Stewardson,  Mr.  R.  G.  Kennedy,  Mr.  Guy  King, 
Mr.  W.  B.  Powell,  Mr.  Lindley  Johnson,  Mr.  Thomas  Lonsdale,  Mr. 
Grayson  P.  MacArthur,  Mr.  Amos  J.  Boyden,  Mr.  John  T.  Windrim 


and  Mr.  Frank  Miles  Day  were  at  their  best  with  salutations,  which 
were  highly  gratifying  to  Mr.  Windrim. 

It  is  proper  to  state  that  Mr.  T.  Roney  Williamson  was  Chairman, 
and  Mr.  Frank  Miles  Day  was  Secretary  of  the  Committee  which 
brought  about  this  fraternal  meeting  of  gentlemen  devoted  to  the 
best  interests  of  a  great  people.  The  parting  was  as  generous  as  the 
reception,  and  will  be  long  remembered  by  all  the  participants. 

THE  ARCHITECTS'  CLUB  OF   ST.  LOUIS. 

I  ENCLOSE  a  copy  of  the  Constitution  and  By-Laws  of  the  Archi- 
tects' Club  of  St.  Louis,  which  has  just  been  formed  with  a  member- 
ship of  fifteen.  The  Executive  Committee  for  the  first  year  are  : 
President,  P.  P.  Furber;  Secretary,  L.  C.  Bulkley ;  Treasurer,  A. 
F.  Rosenheim.  The  Committee  thought  you  might  like  to  know 
that  St.  Louis  was  trying  to  keep  up  with  the  procession. 

Very  truly  yours,  P.  P.  FURBER. 

ST.  Louis,  April  18,  1889. 


[The  editors  cannot  pay  attention  to  demands  of  correspondents  who 
forget  to  give  their  names  and  addresses  as  guaranty  of  good  faith  ; 
nor  do  they  hold  themselves  responsible  for  opinions  expressed  by 
their  correspondents."] 

IIOW   TO   MAKE    A    CELLAR   WATER-TIGHT. 

NEW  YOHK,  N.  Y.,  April  15,  1889. 

To  THE  EDITORS  OF  THK  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT: — • 

Dear  Sirs, —  Instead  of  lining  the  inaide  of  walls  with  asphalt  for 
preventing  the  ingress  of  water,  I  have  found  that  the  best  method 
was  to  build  the  cellar  wall  as  per  sketch  and  place  the  asphalt 

TO  j~\AKP  AVWTER.-TIGKT  CELLAR 


3!S: 


'JfO.V      CQ/1C*ETP              $/£ 

D.B.-.DMPGES. 

ron.  pAre/ii  TILE-J 

POOT1MG5 

(afterwards  covered  with  cement  rendering)  on  the  outside.  This 
has  been  tried  successfully  in  several  warehouses  on  West  Street, 
New  York  City,  for  the  Rhinelander  and  Renwick  Estates  and  by  so 
doing  valuable  cellar-space  was  saved  and  the  weight  of  the  wall 
utilized  for  resisting  tide  pressure.  In  one  instance  the  cellar  floor 
was  3'  4"  below  high-tide  level.  The  use  of  a  part  of  the  floor  is 
patented.  The  suggestion  about  asphalt  is  for  professional  use. 

Yours  faithfully,  GEORGE.  MARTIN  Huss. 


A   BOOK    FOR   A    BEGINNER. 

INDIANAPOLIS,  IND.,  April  22,  1889. 
To  THE  EDITORS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT:  — 

Dear  Sirs,  —  Please  state  in  the  next  issue  of  the  American  Archi- 
tect a  good  work  on  general  construction  for  a  beginner.  Also  state 
where  same  can  be  purchased,  and  oblige  R.  E.  O'BRIEN. 

[''Building  Superintendence,"  by  T.  M.  Clark.  Ticknor  &  Company, 
publishers.— EDS.  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT]. 


NEW  PROCESS  OF  HARDENING  PLASTKR-OF- PARIS.  —  The  French 
Academy  of  Sciences  has  just  received  a  communication  from  M. 
Julte  on  a  new  process  of  hardening  plaster  so  as  to  adapt  it  to  the  con- 
struction of  flooring  in  place  of  wood,  and  to  other  purposes  for  which 
it  cannot  be  used  in  its  ordinary  state  on  account  of  its  want  of  hard- 
ness and  resistance  to  crushing.  M.  Julte  recommends  the  intimate 
mixture  of  six  parts  of  plaster  of  good  quality  with  one  part  of  finely 
sifted,  recently  slaked  white  lime.  This  mixture  ie  employed  like 
ordinary  plaster.  After  it  has  become  thoroughly  dry,  the  object 


216 


The    American   Architect   and  Building   News.      [VOL.  XXIV.  —  No.  697. 


manufactured  from  it  is  saturated  with  a  solution  of  any  sulphate  what- 
ever whose  base  is  precipitated  in  an  insoluble  form  by  lime.  The 
sulphates  best  adapted  for  the  purpose,  from  every  point-of-view,  are 
those  of  iron  and  zinc.  With  sulphate  of  zinc,  the  object  remains  white, 
as  might  be  supposed.  With  sulphate  of  iron,  the  object,  at  first 
greenish,  finally  assumes,  through  desiccation,  the  characteristic  tint  of 
the  sesquioxide  of  iron.  The  hardest  surfaces  are  obtained  with  iron, 
and  the  resistance  to  breakage  is  twenty  times  greater  than  that  of 
ordinary  plaster.  In  order  to  obtain  a  maximum  of  hardness  and 
tenacity,  it  is  necessary  to  temper  the  limed  plaster  well  in  as  brief  a 
space  of  time  as  possible,  and  with  no  more  water  than  is  strictly 
necessary.  The  object  to  be  hardened  should  be  very  dry,  so  that  the 
solution  c-mployed  may  penetrate  it  easily.  The  solution  should  be 
near  the  point  of  saturation,  and  the  first  immersion  should  not  exceed 
two  hours.  If  immersed  too  long,  the  plaster  would  become  friable. 
The  proportion  of  the  lime  and  plaster  are  arbitrary,  and  may  be  varied 
according  to  the  results  to  be  obtained ;  nevertheless,  the  proportions 
of  one  to  six  have  given  the  best  results.  As  it  is  important  that  the 
plaster  should  not  be  spread  over  the  surface  by  passing  and  repassing 
the  trowel  for  too  long  a  time,  the  fastest  workman  should  always  be 
the  best  one  to  employ.  When  sulphate  of  iron  is  used,  the  slabs  are 
of  the  color  of  iron-rust ;  but  if  linseed  oil  boiled  with  litharge  be 
passed  over  the  surface  they  assume  a  beautiful  mahogany  color,  and 
offer  a  certain  superficial  elasticity  to  the  tread.  If  a  coat  of  hard 
copal  varnish  be  added,  the  color  becomes  very  beautiful.  On  spread- 
ing a  two  or  three  inch  layer  of  limed  plaster  in  a  room,  and  treating  it 
in  the  way  above  described,  we  obtain  a  floor  which  is  as  smooth  as  a 
mirror,  and  which,  in  most  cases,  fulfils  the  office  of  an  oak  floor,  but 
which  has  the  advantage  over  the  latter  of  costing  four  times  less.  — 
Invention. 


ROCK-PAINTINGS    IN    WEST   VIRGINIA.  —  The   erection  of   the   new 
Government  dam  in  the  river  near  Charleston,  lias  hidden  from  sight  the 
famous  "  pictured  rock,"  one  of  the  familiar  landmarks  of  the  Kanawha 
Valley,  and  one  which  has  occasioned  much  wonder  and  fruitless  specu- 
lation.     The  rock  was  located  near  the  mouth  of   Paint  Creek,  and, 
while  the  river  was  in  its  natural  condition,  was  visible  at  low  water 
every  summer.     Some  years  ago  a  part  of  the  stone  was  removed  for 
building  purposes,  an  act  of  vandalism  which  should  have  been  pre- 
vented  at  all   hazards,  and  now  the   remainder   is   submerged   at    all 
seasons  of  the  year.     When  whole,  the  surface  of  the  "  pictured  rock  " 
was  about  20  by  30  feet  in  extent,  and  was  covered  with  representations 
of  animals,  fish",  and  fowls,  carved  deep  in  the  smooth  surface.     On  one 
side  were  the  figures  of  a  man  and  a  bear,  the  latter  being  about  life- 
size.     Near  by  was  a  buffalo  track,  and  a  short  distance  away  was  the 
representation  of  a  large  fish  and  a  number  of   footprints,  evidently 
representing  the  imprint  of  a  child's  feet.     The  work  was  evidently  done 
by  prehistoric  people,  as  the  traditions  of  the  valley  are  that  the  repre- 
sentations were  on  the  stones  when  the  first  white  men  visited  the  region, 
and  that  they  then  bore  unmistakable  signs  of  great  age,  being  water- 
worn  and  smooth.      The  vicinity  of  Paint  Creek  is  rich  in  aboriginal 
and   prehistoric   relics,    and  a  volume   might   be  written   on   the   dis- 
coveries which  have  been  made  there.     Almost  every  excavation  brings 
to  light  something  of   interest  to  the  antiquarian,  and  there  is  every 
evidence  that  in   past  ages  the  valley  was   thickly   peopled  by   an 
unknown  race,  probably  contemporary  with  the  mound  builders  of  the 
Ohio  valley.      At   Moorefield,  from   the  time   of   the  first  settlement, 
the  cliff  known  as  the  (Jap  Hocks,  in  the  Petersburg!!  Gap,  has  borne 
the  gigantic  representation  of  a  common  fox.     The  picture  is  upon  the 
sheer  and  inaccessible  face  of  the  rock,  some  30  feet  from  the  top  and 
nearly  100  from  the  bottom,  and  being  colored  a  dingy  yellow,  in  sharp 
contrast   to   the   brown   stone,  has   been   visible  for   a   long  distance. 
Recently,  Glen  McGill  of  Ohio,  who  was  visiting  Cell  Beans,  near  this 
place,  went  out  to  view  the  fox,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Beans.     After  an 
inspection  from  the  bottom  of  the  cliff  the  two  men  ascended  to  the  top, 
and  making  a  rope  fast  to  a  tree,  McGill  lowered  himself  down  to  the 
fox.     He  describes  it  as  being  about  twelve  feet  long,  and  painted  or 
plastered  upon  the  cliff  with  a  substance  resembling  earthenware  glaze, 
which  is  as  hard  as  the  rock  itself.      The  surface  of  the  fox  is  quite 
rough,  as  though  the  stuff  was  roughly  smeared  on  by  hand  before  it 
hardened.     There  was  a  high  wind  blowing  at  the  time  McGill  made 
his  venture,  and  he  ran  considerable  risk.     He  took  along  a  mallet  and 
chisel  intending  to  cut  his  name  on  the  fox,  but  was  prevented  by  the 
force  of  the  wind,  which  swung  him  about  at  an  alarming  rate.  —  New 
York  Sun. 


THE  DRY-DOCK  AT  NEWPORT  NEWS,  VA. —  The  largest  dry-dock  in 
the  United  States,  built  by  the  Chesapeake  Dry-Dock  and  Construc- 
tion Company,  was  opened  at  Newport  News,  Va.,  recently.  In 
connection  with  the  ceremony  of  opening,  the  United  States  monitor 
"  Puritan  "  was  taken  into  the  new  dock.  A  large  party  was  present, 
including  Governor  Lee  and  many  naval  officers.  As  the  party  arrived 
the  dock  was  flooded,  and  preparations  were  made  for  taking  the 
immense  iron-clad  "Puritan"  into  the  dock.  Lieutenant  Tyler  of 
the  "Mayflower"  was  in  command,  assisted  by  Constructors  Bowles 
and  Linnard,  and  the  "  Puritan  "  was  hauled  in  and  placed  in  position. 
The  gates  were  closed,  and  the  powerful  pumps  put  to  work  to  clear 
the  dock  of  water,  which  was  done  in  about  two  hours.  The  "  Puritan" 
is  300  feet  long  and  60  feet  wide,  but,  to  see  her  in  the  dock,  she  looked 
almost  like  a  tug-boat.  The  dock  is  630  feet  long  from  head  to  outer 
sill,  130  feet  wide  at  the  top  and  50  feet  at  the  bottom,  and  33  feet 
deep,  with  a  slope  in  the  bottom  of  24  inches  to.  the  660  feet.  The 
approach  to  the  dock  is  piling,  250  feet  long  and  150  feet  wide,  while 
on  each  side  piers  80  feet  wide  afford  ample  wharf-room.  The  caisson 
is  an  iron  structure,  96  feet  long  on  top,  50  at  bottom,  and  33  feet  deep. 
The  dock  is  supplied  with  two  centrifugal  pumps  of  a  capacity  of  40,- 
000  gallons  a  minute,  each  of  which  empties  it  in  1  hour  and  36 
minutes.  The  combined  power  of  the  two  engines  is  500  horse-power. 
The  new  dock  will  accommodate  any  ship  now  afloat.  The  peculiar 
construction  of  this  dock  meets  with  the  hearty  approval  of  sea- 
captains,  as  it  does  not  strain  their  ships  in  the  least.  —  Springfield 
Republican. 


TRADE  [SURVEYS. 

IN  all  the  voluminous  statistics  published  relative  to  railway  earnings, 
banking  operations,  mercantile  transactions  and  manufacturing  activity, 
one  underlying  tendency  is  observable,  viz.,  the  lessening  of  cost  and  the 
improvement  and  expansion  of  facilities.    Capital   is  earning  less  in  all 
organized  channels,  and   hence  the  outflow  into  new  fields  and  avenues 
where  the  rewards  are,  or  promise  to  be,  greater.    The  narrowing  margins 
instead  of  checking  investments  is  increasing  them,  in  order  that  greater 
capital  and  greater  centralization  of  effort  and  management  may  lessen 
cost  per  unit  of  product,  or  service  or  advantage  conferred.    There  are  two 
marked  tendencies  in  business  seemingly  contradictory,  but  in  reality  work- 
ing towards  one  result,  viz.,  the  centralization  of  enterprise  on  one  hand, 
and  the  springing-up  of  a  multitude  of  little  enterprises  on  the  other.    The 
construction  of  railroads  has  necessitated  this  on  one  hand,  and  made  pos- 
sible individual  enterprise  on  the  other.    Very  good,  cheap  land  is  rapidly 
disappearing,  and  speculative  holdings  are  increasing  at  an  alarming  rate. 
Eventually,  there  will   be  a  pressure  from  agricultural  employments  to 
mechanical  when  land  rises  in  value  beyond  a  certain  price,  and  competi- 
tion will  then  depress  the  value  of  mechanical  labor.    The  virtue  and 
strength  of  our  particular  form  of  Government  will  then  become  evident,  or 
its  inherent  weakness  will  be  then  manifest.    But,  meanwhile,  social  and 
economic  problems  are  in  process  of  solution,  which  will  prevent  or  control 
the  appreciation  of  land  on  one  side  and  the  decline  of  wages  on  the  other 
hand.    The  present  tendency  is  the  reverse  of  this,  viz.,  capital's  share  is 
decliuing  aud  labor's  share  is  iucreasing,  and  this  tendency  will  continue 
until  a  forced  settlement  of  accounts  will  be  made  between  debtors  and 
creditors  and  lenders  and  borrowers.     Questions  like  these  and  others  of  a 
more  or  less  abstract  character  are  discussed  by  practical  men  muctt  more 
than  editors  imagine,  and  very  comprehensive  and  logical  views  are  ex- 
pressed.   The  common  and  business  sense  of  business  men  recognizes  the 
fact  that  great  changes  are  taking  place,  and   that  new  conditions  and 
capabilities  are  developing  out  of  our  rapid  and  extraordinary  growth. 
The  events  of  the  week  indicate  an  enlargement  of  business  in  railroads, 
banks,    manufactures  and  among  those   engaged    in   the  distribution  of 
merchandise.    Yet,  the  unfavorable  influences  which  have  been  hanging 
around  the  market  for  months  have  not  disappeared,  aud  probably  will  not 
for  some  weeks  to  come.    The  iron  and  steel  makers  are  still  waiting  for 
summer  business.     Rail-makers  book  very  little  new  business.    Southern 
iron-makers  are  busy  and  new  furnaces  are  going  up.    The  talk  in  trade 
circles  still  is,  that  an  enormous  amount  of  work  will  be  entered  upon  by 
early  summer.    Crop  conditions  are  favorable;  agricultural  interests  are 
prosperous.      The   grangers  have    the    railroads    by  the   throat,  at    last, 
instead  of  by  the  tail,  as  they  had  a  decade  ago.    Railroad  conditions  have 
not   improved;  earnings  decline;  rigid   economical  management  is   being 
resorted  to.    There  is  urgent  need  of  the  development  of  ability  in  that 
direction ;  managers  feel  deeply  concerned  at  the  railroading  prospects,  and 
cannot  seen  their  way  out  unless  they  can  in  some  way  charge  more  for  a 
short  haul  than  a  long  one,  per  mile.    The  Inter-state  Commerce  Com- 
mission is  loaded  up  with  six  months'  business  of  a  character  which  cannot 
be  cast  aside.     Numerous  adjustments  are  imperatively  demanded  at  the 
hands  of  such  an  impartial  tribunal.     A  great  deal  depends  upon  the  settle- 
ment of  the  railroad  problem;  the  investment  of  very  many  millions  of 
dollars  will  be  determined  by  it.     Financial  authorities  await  the  outcome 
with  more  than  ordinary  interest. 

If  it  can  be  demonstrated  that  National  and  State  railroad  boards  can  do 
justice  to  shipping  interests  and  manufacturing  interests,  and  yet  do  no 
injustice  to  stockholders  and  railway  interests  generally,  then  the  railroad, 
investing  and  business  interests  will  square  themselves  to  and  with  that 
result,  and  fresh  railroad  construction  will  be  plunged  into,  and  the  bene- 
ficial influences  on  all  other  industries  cannot  be  measured.     At  present 
producers  are  keeping  a  tight  grip  upon  production,  and  jobbers  are  refus- 
ing to  carry  more  than  a  safe  volume  of  goods.    Manufacturers  are  working 
from  ten  to  forty  per  cent  below  their  capacity.    The  iron-workers  West 
threaten  to  cease  work  for  two  months  during  the  year.    The  glass-workers 
have  not  worked  during  the  summer  months  at  any  time.    The  anthracite- 
coal  producers  are   working  one-half  capacity,  and   barge  companies  are 
preparing  to  haul  coal  in  barges  along  the  coast,  instead  of  by  schooners, 
as  heretofore.     Extensive  preparations  are  being  made  in  Pennsylvania  to 
utilize  the  Poughkeepsie  Bridge  by  coal-miners,  lumber  and  iron  manufac- 
turers.   The  textile  manufacturers  are  not  adding  much  to  their  output. 
Much  satisfaction  is  expressed  by  domestic  woolen  manufacturers  over  the 
prospects  of  an  advance  of  duties  on  woolens  to  a  practically  prohibitive 
limit.    Hardware  manufacturers,  except  in  specialties,  are  blocking  up. 
Nail-makers  East  are  selling  nails  almost  at  cost;  in  the  West  better  prices 
rule.    There  is  an   active  demand  for  sheet-iron  pipe  iron,  barbed-wire 
and  merchant-steel.     Wood-working  machinery  interests  are  not  crowded, 
but  implement  and  tool  makers  are  fairly  busy.    Locomotive-makers  are 
working  twenty-five  per  cent  below  capacity,  and  car-builders  thirty-three 
per  cent,  approximately.    Better  conditions  are  looked  for  in  July.    An 
early  fall  trade  is  expected  by  jobbers  and  manufacturers.    Adjustments 
are  progressing  among  Western  coal  operators  and  miners.   Architects  report 
pretty  full  building  activity.     Architectural  ability  is  in  demand,  especially 
in  Western  cities  and  towns,  but  it  is  obliged  to  exceed  the  prescribed  pro- 
fessional limits  frequently  and  be  useful  all  around.    Building  material  is 
kept  in  good  supply.    Lumber,  excepting  poplar,  is  plenty.    The  lumber 
manufacturers  have  succeeded  very  well  in  maintaining  organizations  that 
repress  undue  competition.    Supplies  East  are  large,  but  under  control.    A 
great  deal  of  saw-mill  machinery  is  still  going  up.    In  fact,  the  expansion 
of  manufacturing  capacity  is  enormous,  and  to  some  people  it  is  alarming. 
If  it  were  possible  to  convene  a  congress  of  business  men  to  decide  upon 
how  much  manufacturing  to  do,  no  resolution  could  pass  authorizing  as 
much  as  is  now  in  hand  and  projected.    Among  the  agricultural  interests, 
the  mortgage  indebtedness  is  being  paid  off  according  to  agreement.    In 
manufacturing  channels  the  volume  of  borrowed  money  is  increasing  very 
rapidly,  but  the  amount  hazarded  in  any  one  industry  is  not  very  large. 
There  is  nothing  wrong  on  the  commercial  horizon.    The  copper  syndicate 
had  a  meeting  in   Paris  on  Monday  to  liquidate,  but  poor  headway  was 
made.    British  fingers  that  were  burned  are  seeking  redress  behind  legal 
measures,  and  this  does  not  add  to  the  peace  of  mind  of  the  speculators  in 
their   Waterloo  defeat.     Prices  are  drooping,  and  American   exports  are 
practically  nothing.    Deeper  interest  is  being  taken  in  schemes  to  foster 
exporting  enterprise,  but  no  very  practical  plan  can  be  projected  until  after 
the  coining  conference  of  North  and  South  American  governments.    Capi- 
talists have  been  critically  examining  our  ship-building  facilities,  it  is 
thought  with  a  view  of  possibly  starting  new  ship-yards,  should  such  enter- 
prise be  found  advisable  after'  Congress  shall  have  had  an  opportunity  of 
acting  in  the  interests  of  a  revival  of  the  American  export  trade. 

S.   J.    PARKHILL  &  Co.,  Printers,  Boston. 


THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT  AND  BUILDING  NEWS. 


VOL.  XXV. 


Copyright,  1889,  by  TICKNOB  &  COMPANY,  Boston,  Mass. 


No.    698, 


MAY  11, 1889. 


Entered  at  the  Post-Office  at  Boston  as  second-class  matter. 


SUMMARY: — 

Spanish  Tile  Vault  for  the  Boston  Public  Library  Floors.  —  An 
Architect's  Suit  for  extra  Services.  —  A  Contractor  unable 
to  live  up  to  his  Contract.  —  Failure  to  recover  on  an  Acci- 
dent Insurance  Policy.  — The  Rotch  Scholarship.  —  Proposed 
Trade  Schools  for  Boston.  —  Prize  for  a  Text-book  on  Hy- 
giene.—  Competition  for  Decorating  the  Hotel  de  Ville, 

Paris.  —  Pneumatic  Guns 217 

BUILDERS'  HARDWARE. — XXV 219 

ARCHITECTURAL  SHADES  AND  SHADOWS.  —  IV 221 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  — 

House  of  Mrs.  Jeremiah  Milbank,  Greenwich,  Conn.  —  Archi- 
tectural Shades  and  Shadows,  Plate  II.  —  House  for  A.  J. 
Drexel,  Esq.,  Lansdown,  Pa.  —  House  for  J.  De.  F.  Junkin, 
West  Philadelphia,  Pa.  —  Competitive  Design  for  Church, 
Clergy-house  and  Schools  for  Trinity  Corporation,  New 

York,  N.  Y ' 222 

AUGUSTE  RODIN.  —  VII 223 

THE  LOTUS  IN  ANCIENT  ART.  —  V 225 

THE  INTELLIGENT  BUILDING-COMMITTEE 220 

PFEIFFER'S  AMERICAN  MANSIONS 227 

SOCIETIES 227 

COMMUNICATION  •  — 

A  Stain  for  Brick  Walls 227 

NOTES  AND  CLIPPINGS 227 

TRADE  SURVEYS 228 

OOME  of  the  rooms  in  the  new  Public  Library  in  Boston 
k^  are  being  covered  with  a  sort  of  vaulting  which,  so  far  as 
'        we  know,  has  been  used  in  this  country  only  in  this  build- 
ing, and  in  some  about  New  York.     The  vaulting  is  constructed 
with  thin,  flat  tiles,  about  one  inch  thick,  six  inches  wide  and  a 
foot  long.     These  are  laid  in  three  or  four  courses,  according  to 
the  span  and  the  weight  to  be  sustained,  with  Portland  cement 
between.     At   the   Library,  the   rooms   already   covered   are 
about  twelve  or  fourteen  feet  wide,  and  the  vault  is,  in  most 
cases,  of  a  nondescript  order,  forming  a  portion  of  the  surface 
of  a  ring  of  circular  section.     This  shape  is  given  to  it  for  con- 
venience in  construction.     A  skew-back,  or  rather,  a  formeret, 
is  made  on  one  wall  by  means  of  three  or  four  courses  of  tiles 
built-in  in  the  form  of  a  circular  arc.     Another  skew-back,  in 
the  form  of  another  circular  arc,  is  then  formed  on  the  walls  at 
right  angles  with  the  first.     These  skew-backs  spring  from  the 
same  point,  in  the  corner  of  the  room,  as  the  first,  but  the 
radius  of  their  curve  need  not  be  the  same,  and  in  the  oblong 
rooms  is  generally  longer,  so  as  to  make  the  rise  the  same, 
with  a  longer  span.     The  mason  then  begins  at  the  first  skew- 
back,  using  a  light  centre,  which  he  can  carry  in  his  hand, 
formed  to  the  same  radius  as  the  skew-back  from  which  he 
starts,  and  lays  a  row  of  tiles  on  the  centre,  the  ends  of  which 
he  supports  on  the  side  skew-backs.     The  edges  of  the  tiles  are 
jointed  with  plaster-of-Paris,  which  sets  immediately,  so  that 
by  the  time  the  ring  of  tiles  is  finished,  the  centre  can  be  taken 
out  and  moved  along  on  the  side  skew-backs  for  setting  another 
row  of  tiles.     In  this  way  a  sort  of  dome  is  formed,  of  rings  of 
tiles,  all  of  the  same  radius,  but  rising  from  all  sides  to  the 
centre.     As  the  dome  approaches  the  remaining  side,  a  fourth 
skew-back  is  formed  on  that  side  to  rest  it  on.     As  soon  as  the 
first  shell  is  completed,  it  forms  a  platform  capable  of  bearing 
the  weight  of  the  men,  and  the  subsequent  courses  of  tiles  are 
laid  by  hand  directly  upon  it,  taking  care  to  break  the  joints. 
All   the   subsequent   work   is   laid   iu    Portland   cement,   the 
]>laster-of-Paris  being  used  in  the  first  course  only  to  hasten  the 
hardening  so  that  it  can  be  worked  on.     In  the  case  of  large 
rooms  at  the  Library,  where  piers  occur  in  the  middle  of  the 
rooms,  they  are  used  to  carry  arches,  also  of  three  or  four  rows 
of   tiles,  on   which   the   domes  rest  as   on  skewbacks.     The 
appearance  of  the  tile  domes  is  very  monumental,  even  without 
any  plastering  or  decoration,  but  of  course  they  can  be  finished 
as  required.     So  far  as  strength  is  concerned,  the  new  method 
of  vaulting  appears  to  surpass  a  construction  of  iron  beams  and 
terra-cotta  arches,  as  usually  put  in.     A  heavy  load  has  been 
put  on  one  of  the  arches  at  the  Library,  and  after  the  cement 
has  had  time  for  setting,  the  load  is  to  be  increased  until  the 
structure  breaks  down.     AYhether  the  thrust  is  greater  than 
that  of  the  brick  or  terra-cotta  arches  between  iron  beams 


seems  to  be  uncertain.  The  Portland  cement  unites  the  tiles 
into  a  solid  mass,  like  an  eggshell,  and  it  was  found  at  the 
Boston  Library  that  no  deflection  was  caused  by  the  heavy 
load  placed  upon  it,  showing  pretty  conclusively  that  it  acted 
as  a  shell,  and  not  as  a  proper  dome.  The  cost  of  the  new  con- 
struction is  about  the  same  as  that  of  iron  beams  and  brick  or 
terra-cotta  arches  over  the  same  span,  supposing  that  to  be 
moderate.  For  many  purposes  the  appearance  would  be  better, 
although  it  takes  much  more  height,  counting  the  distance  from 
the  springing  to  the  crown.  The  weak  point,  as  it  seemed  to  us, 
is  iu  the  cross  arches,  between  the  piers,  on  which  two  domes 
descend  from  opposite  sides.  The  three  or  four  rows  of  tiles 
which  form  these  arches,  if  they  constitute  a  real  arch,  give  a 
very  thin  one,  which  an  irregularity  of  loading  might,  one 
would  think,  easily  distort  beyond  the  limits  of  safety.  If  they 
do  not  form  an  arch,  but  a  curved  lintel,  the  thickness  appears 
too  small  to  sustain  safely  the  strain  which  would  be  brought 
upon  it  by  anything  like  a  heavy  load  on  the  two  vaults  which 
it  has  to  support.  This,  however,  is  a  matter  which  can  be  de- 
termined better  by  tests  than  by  theorizing,  and  it  is  to  be 
hoped  that  the  trials  which  the  Trustees  of  the  Boston  Library 
propose  to  make  will  cover  all  these  points,  and  that  the  re- 
sults of  them  may  be  published  for  the  benefit  of  the  building 
public. 

'7TN  architect's  suit  was  recently  decided  in  the  Supreme 
f\  Court  of  Massachusetts,  which  has  a  certain  interest. 
The  architect  of  the  Adams  House,  a  well-known  hotel  in 
Boston,  sued  the  owner  for  something  over  twenty-five  thou- 
sand dollars,  for  services  in  preparing  plans  and  superintending 
the  construction  of  the  building.  The  defendants  claimed  that 
the  architect  agreed  to  render  the  necessary  services  for  three 
and  one-half  per  cent  on  the  cost  of  the  building.  This  was 
four  hundred  and  fourteen  thousand  dollars,  so  that  his  com- 
mission amounted  to  fourteen  thousand  dollars,  of  which  they 
had  paid  him  eight  thousand  dollars,  and  were  ready  to  pay 
the  balance.  The  architect  admitted  the  agreement  to  accept 
three  and  one-half  per  cent  commission,  but  claimed  additional 
compensation  for  extra  services  and  for  superintendence. 
Evidence  was  brought  as  to  the  skill  and  reputation  of  the 
architect,  and  the  auditor  who  first  heard  the  case  awarded 
him  about  eighty-five  hundred  dollars.  The  case  was  tried 
again  before  a  jury,  which  brought  in  a  verdict  for  thirteen 
thousand  dollars  for  the  architect.  This,  added  to  the  eight 
thousand  dollars  previously  paid  on  account,  is  about  five  per 
cent  on  the  total  cost  of  the  building,  so  that  the  jury  seems  to 
have  taken  the  view  that  five  per  cent  on  the  cost  is  about 
what  the  architect  ought  to  have  for  such  work,  and  that  if  he 
was  foolish  enough  not  to  come  to  a  clear  understanding  in  the 
first  place  with  his  clients,  about  what  he  was  to  do  and  what 
he  was  to  be  paid  for  doing  it,  he  deserved  to  lose  the  com- 
paratively small  compensation  which  he  might  have  earned  by 
extra  work. 


1TTHE  city  of  Toronto  is  having  a  little  experience  with 
J_  building  contracts  which  is  likely  to  be  valuable  to  it  here- 
after. It  seems,  so  far  as  we  can  gather  from  the 
Toronto  Globe,  that  a  firm  of  contractors  agreed  to  furnish  the 
city  with  paving-blocks  of  "  first-growth  cedar,  free  from  pin- 
holes."  They  furnished  the  blocks,  but  some  one  happened  to 
examine  them  and  found  that  they  were  not  "  free  from  pin- 
holes,"  and  the  inspector  on  the  work  gave  notice  to  the  con- 
tractors that  no  more  blocks  not  in  strict  accordance  with  the 
specification  would  be  received.  The  contractors  appealed  from 
him  to  the  Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Public  Works,  saying 
that  all  first-growth  cedar  had  pin-holes  in  it,  and  that  it  would 
be  as  reasonable  to  expect  them  to  find  trees  without  birk  as 
timber  of  the  kind  specified  without  them.  The  chairman  gave 
them  no  comfort,  but  announced  his  intention  of  supporting 
the  inspector,  and  the  contractors,  after  a  little  consideration, 
resolved  to  ''throw  up  the  contract,"  and,  accordingly,  took  six 
hundred  men  and  nearly  two  hundred  teams  away  from  the 
work,  leaving  them  to  idleness.  If  the  contractors  expect  to 
coerce  the  city  authorities  by  this  expedient  to  accept  materials 
of  a  different  quality  from  those  contracted  for,  we  hope  they 
will  be  disappointed.  If  the  specifications  called  for  materials 
which  could  not  be  furnished,  the  time  to  find  it  out  and  speak 
about  it  was  before  the  contract  was  signed,  and  representations 


218 


The   American    Architect  and  Building   News.        [VoL.  XXV. —  No.  698. 


of  the  kind  should  not  now  be  listened  to  for  a  moment.  Still 
less  should  the  city  allow  itself  to  be  threatened  or  bullied  by 
men  whom  its  officers  are  simply  trying  to  compel  to  live  up 
to  their  own  promises.  If  the  contract  contains,  as  of  course 
it  ought,  provision  for  having  the  work  completed  by  other 
parties  at  the  expense  of  the  contractor  in  case  the  latter 
neglects  his  duty,  and  if  the  engineer  in  charge  has  been  care- 
ful to  guard  the  city's  interest  by  keeping  back  a  good  reserve 
of  payments,  a  good  lesson  can  be  easily  and  quickly  taught 
those  who  wish  to  have  dealings  with  the  municipal  authority. 
Of  course,  we  do  not  advocate  anything  like  oppression,  but 
the  high-handed  practice  which  is  so  popular  among  contractors 
for  public  work  of  "  throwing  up  "  their  contracts  at  the  least 
provocation,  and  turning  a  lot  of  hungry  voters  into  the  streets 
to  terrify  the  politicians,  needs  repression  to  be  rebuked.  If  a 
contractor  has  in  good  faith  undertaken  to  do  what  is  impos- 
sible, his  best  and  most  natural  course  is  not  to  try  to  terrify 
the  other  party  to  the  contract  into  accepting  something  else 
in  place  of  what  he  agreed  to  do,  but  to  go  to  him,  or  the 
expert  who  has  charge  of  his  interests,  and  explain  the  situa- 
tion frankly,  asking  for  such  relief  as  can  be  fairly  granted. 
Very  few  architects  or  engineers  would  advise  their  clients  to 
take  advantage  of  an  innocent  mistake,  or  to  insist  upon  impos- 
sibilities merely  for  the  sake  of  distressing  a  person  who  had 
inadvertently  entered  into  an  embarrassing  agreement;  but 
no  architect  or  engineer  would  fail  to  instruct  his  clients  that 
in  such  a  case  they  were  entitled  to  insist  upon  the  letter  of 
the  agreement,  and  that  any  concession  they  chose  to  make 
would  be  simply  a  favor  on  their  part.  However  it  may  be 
with  private  individuals,  municipalities  are  usually  very  willing 
to  do  justice  in  such  cases,  and  to  pay  fairly  for  work  and 
materials  honestly  and  faithfully  rendered,  even  though  the 
contract  provides  only  an  inadequate  price,  and  it  would  have 
been  much  better  for  the  Toronto  contractors  to  have  appealed 
to  the  public  sense  of  justice  for  subsequent  reimbursement,  if 
the  fulfilment  of  their  promises  involved  them  in  loss,  than  to 
have  plunged  at  once  into  a  struggle  in  which  not  only  the 
law,  but  the  general  sense  of  what  is  courteous  aud  fair,  will 
be  against  them. 


O  many  architects  carry  accident-insurance  policies,  that 
the  following  case,  which  was  decided  in  France  the  other 
day,  has  a  certain  interest.  A  man  held  an  accident- 
policy,  in  which  it  was  stipulated  that  accidents  proceeding 
"  from  infractions  of  the  laws  and  public  regulations  "  should 
not  be  covered  by  the  policy.  The  holder  of  the  policy,  being 
in  a  railway  station,  crossed  the  tracks  to  reach  a  train,  although 
he  was  warned  not  to  do  so  by  the  station-agent.  While  he 
was  crossing  a  locomotive  struck  him,  aud  he  died  from  the 
effect  of  the  blow.  The  accident-insurance  company  refused 
to  pay  the  indemnity,  on  the  ground  that  death  was  caused  by 
infraction  of  the  public  regulations,  and  the  widow  sued  to 
recover  the  money.  The  court  decreed  in  her  favor,  on  the 
ground  that  the  warning  of  the  station-agent  was  an  official  act 
as  servant  of  the  railway  company  only,  and  could  not  be  ex- 
tended to  serve,  in  a  contract  of  insurance,  as  the  act  of  a 
public  officer.  Lest,  however,  any  reader  should  be  tempted 
to  risk  his  life,  as  well  as  his  insurance,  by  crossing  tracks  in 
front  of  trains  in  this  country,  it  should  be  remembered  that 
American  accident-policies  often  provide  expressly  that  the 
insurance  shall  not  cover  accidents  arising  from  crossing  rail- 
road tracks  or  walking  on  them ;  and  in  some  of  our  States,  if 
we. are  not  mistaken,  the  act  of  walking  on  a  railroad  track  is 
itself  made  a  misdemeanor,  so  that  insurance  could  not,  under 
the  ordinary  accident-policies,  be  collected  for  mishaps  due  to 
this  violation  of  law. 


ITfHE  Rotch  Scholarship  for  the  present  year  has  been 
•'X  awarded  to  Mr.  Henry  Bacon,  Jr.,  of  Boston,  one  of  the 
best-known  draughtsmen  of  the  city.  As  usual,  the 
number  of  competitors  was  very  small,  only  three  or  four 
having,  we  believe,  applied  for  the  preliminary  examination. 
Fortunately  for  the  reputation  of  Massachusetts  architects,  the 
quality  of  the  candidates  has  been  uniformly  good,  but  it  is 
astonishing  that  so  great  a  prize,  the  realization  of  the  dearest 
dream  of  most  ambitious  young  architects,  should  not  be 
pursued  by  them  more  eagerly.  To  say  nothing  of  the 
pleasures  of  a  two  years'  sojourn  abroad  to  a  young  architect, 
the  advantage  to  his  future  career,  not  only  of  the  study  in 
which  he  would  occupy  his  time,  but  the  reputation  which  the 


winner  of  so  renowned  a  scholarship  gains,  is  almost  incalcu- 
lable. We  are  so  little  accustomed  to  artificial  distinctions 
among  men  that  it  hardly  occurs  to  us  that  the  winner  of  a 
great  professional  prize  in  this  country,  quite  as  much  as  in  any 
other,  has  his  future  practically  assured.  If  he  is  even 
moderately  possessed  of  prudence  and  common-sense,  employers 
and  clients  will  come  to  him,  in  preference  to  others,  simply 
because  they  have  heard  his  name  in  connection  with  a  pro- 
fessional distinction  which  could  not  have  been  gained  without 
professional  merit,  and  it  will  be  his  own  fault  if  the  connec- 
tion so  easily  and  happily  formed  is  not  indefinitely  enlarged 
and  perpetuated. 

TI7IIE  Massachusetts  Charitable  Mechanic  Association  seems 
Jl.  to  have  seen  an  opportunity  for  taking  the  wind  out  of  the 
sails  of  the  younger  body,  the  Association  of  Master 
Builders,  by  putting  itself  at  the  head  of  a  movement  for  the 
establishment  of  trade  schools  in  Boston.  It  is  well  known 
that  Colonel  Auchmuty  has  recently  made  an  offer  to  the 
Master  Builders'  Association,  or  certain  members  of  it,  pro- 
posing to  contribute  a  large  sum  every  year  for  three  years 
toward  the  support  of  such  schools.  Whether  this  association 
has  made  any  answer  to  the  offer  we  do  not  know,  but  the 
Charitable  Mechanic  Association,  by  appointii  g  a  commitee  to 
consider  the  subject  of  the  establishment  of  such  a  school 
"  either  alone  or  in  conjunction  with  other  parties,"  appears  to 
have  an  eye  out  for  such  help.  However  that  may  be,  it  has 
appointed  a  very  good  committee,  and  whether  the  Charitable 
Association  or  the  Master  Builders  carry  the  matter  through, 
it  is  sure  to  be  well  done. 


TfTIIE  Government  of  India  offers  a  prize  of  one  thousand 
JJ[  rupees,  about  three  hundred  dollars,  for  the  best  text-book 
on  "  Hygiene  and  Domestic  Economy,"  adapted  to  the  use 
of  senior  and  advanced  pupils  in  the  English  and  Anglo- 
Vernacular  schools.  The  book  should  treat  of  the  subjects 
mentioned  in  the  Sanitary  Primer  called  "  The  Way  to  Health" 
and  should  not  comprise  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  pages. 
Manuscripts  must  be  sent  to  the  Home  Office,  Simla,  and  must 
be  received  before  the  first  of  September  next,  and  the  success- 
ful one  is  to  become  the  property  of  the  Government. 


IIE  City  of  Paris  has  opened  a  competition  for  the  decora- 
tion  of  some  of  the  remaining  rooms  in  the  new  Hotel  de 
Ville.  Only  French  artists  are  admitted  to  the  competi- 
tion. One  of  the  rooms  to  be  decorated  is  a  reception-room  in 
a  certain  corner,  and  the  sum  of  eighteen  thousand  dollars  has 
been  appropriated  to  the  work.  The  other  room  is  the  vaulted 
gallery  known  as  the  Galerie  Lobau,  and  twenty-four  thou- 
sand dollars  is  to  be  paid  for  its  decoration.  The  subjects  and 
treatment  for  the  Galerie  Lobau  are  left  absolutely  to  the  dis- 
cretion of  the  artist,  but  the  subject  to  be  represented  in  the 
reception-room  must  be  the  siege  of  Paris.  . 


IT  seems  that  the  pneumatic  gun  invented  by  Lieutenant 
Zalinski  is  becoming  very  popular  as  a  destructive  agent. 
Already  the  company  formed  to  manufacture  the  guns  has 
received  orders  from  the  Italian,  Spanish  and  Egyptian  Gov- 
ernments, but  the  greatest  compliment  of  all  has  been  received 
from  the  German  Government,  which  is  said  to  have  con- 
structed a  gun  of  its  own  on  Lieutenant  Zalinski's  model, 
twelve  inches  bore  and  seventy-four  feet  long,  which  it  has 
been  experimenting  with  at  Kiel.  A  projectile  of  bronze,  six 
feet  long,  and  weighing  about  two  hundred  pounds,  was  used 
in  the  experiments,  with  a  charge  of  explosive  gelatine  which 
may  be  carried  up  to  six  hundred  pounds  if  desired,  although 
not  more  than  seventy-five  pounds  was  employed  in  the  trials 
at  Kiel.  With  this  charge  a  ship,  anchored  a  mile  and  a 
quarter  away,  was  completely  destroyed  with  two  shots.  The 
first  shell  fired  at  the  vessel  struck  the  water  a  little  distance 
from  it  and  exploded  under  water,  injuring  the  target  seriously. 
The  second  struck  it  fairly  in  the  middle,  completely  destroy- 
ing it.  From  this  account  it  would  seem  that  either  the  prac- 
tice of  the  German  artillerymen  must  be  very  superior,  or  their 
new  gun  must  have  been  made  and  bored  very  accurately  and 
stiffened  in  some  way.  In  the  earlier  Zalinski  guns  the  spring 
of  the  long,  light  barrel  interfered  with  the  accuracy  of  the 
fire,  and  if  a  gun  nearly  one-fourth  longer  than  these  had  been 
made  to  deliver  its  projectile  with  so  much  greater  steadiness 
and  accuracy,  the  improvement  will  be  worth  copying. 


MA?  11,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


219 


BUILDERS'    HARDWARE.1  — XXV. 

DOOR-KNOBS. 

TIMIE  ordinary 
X    appliance 
for      opera- 
ting a  door-latch 
consists      of      a 
knob    on     each 
side  of  the  door, 
made    of    porce- 

Fig.  366.     Knob  with  Spindle-screw  partly  covered.  lain,    WOod,  COm- 

position,  or  metal  in  various  forms,  but  generally  in  the 
shape  of  a  flattened  sphere.  The  knobs  are  attached  to 
metal  shanks  serving  to  hold  them  away  from  the  door, 
and  to  prevent  their  pushing  in,  and  the  two  knobs  are 
connected  through  the  lock  by  a  square  spindle.  The  spindle 
is  firmly  attached  to  the  shank  of  one  knob,  and  on  the  other 
side  of  the  door  it  fits  loosely  in  the  shank,  considerable  length 
being  allowed  for  the  adjustment  to  various  thicknesses  of 
doors,  the  inner  knob  being  finally  secured  in  place  by  a  screw 
on  one  side  of  the  shank  which  passes  entirely  through  the 
spindle,  and  sometimes  is  also  made  of  sufficient  length  to 
turn  into  the  opposite  side  of  the  shank.  The  hole  in  the  door 
through  which  the  spindle  passes  is  covered  by  a  metal  disk 
technically  designated  as  a  rose.  The  rose  is  secured  to  the 
door  by  screws,  and  as  the  shank  of  the  knobs  is  made  to  fit 
closely  against  the  rose,  if  well  put  on  there  will  be  no  strain 
on  the  lock  when  the  knob  is  pulled  from  the  opposite  side,  all 
strain  being  gathered  on  the  rose  itself.  Knobs  are  usually 
provided  with  a  number  of  small  washers,  so  that  the  adjust- 
ment between  the  bearing-surfaces  of  the  roses  and  the  ends  of 
the  shanks  can  be  made  exact,  and  thus  any  rattling  be 
obviated.  In  many  instances  the  shanks  are  secured  to  the 
spindle  with  screws  on  each  side  of  the  door,  so  that  the  knob 
can  be  taken  off  from  either  side  of  the  door.  For  front- door 
and  vestibule  work  the  outer  knob  should  always  be  securely 
attached  to  the  spindle,  so  that  no  screw  is  necessary,  as  other- 
wise, if  the  shank  is  held  by  a  screw  it  can  be  removed  from 
the  outside  of  the  door,  the  spindle  pushed  in  and  the  inner 
latch  follow  turned  back.  For  interior  work,  however,  it 
makes  liltle  difference  whether  screws  are  used  on  one  or  both 
sides,  though  many  consider  the  use  of  screws  as  altogether 
objectionable,  owing  to  their  liability  to  work  loose ;  and,  aside 
from  any  questions  of  design,  the  ingenuity  of  hardware  manu- 
facturers has  been  chiefly  expended  upon  securing  a  better  con- 
nection between  the  knob  and  the  spindle.  Still,  few  of  the 
patented  forms  of  attachment  have  been  very  generally 
received,  and  the  old  style  of  screw  attachment  seems  to  meet 
with  the  most  favor,  if  we  may  judge  by  usage.  It  is  not  the 
question  of  cost  alone  which  has  decided  this  in  the  minds  of 
many  builders  and  architects,  but  rather  a  belief  that  a  tangible 
fastening  like  a  screw  which  is  easily  placed  and  easily  re- 
moved, is,  after  all,  more  satisfactory  than  any  concealed 
device. 

The  objections  to  the  old  style  of  fastening  are,  however, 
easily  appreciated.  One  trouble  is  that  the  spindle  will  work 
and  wear  away  so  as  to  be  loose  in  the  follow,  and  rattle  every 
time  the  knob  is  touched.  This  is  particularly  noticeable  in 
very  old  work,  in  which  the  parts  are  sometimes  so  worn  as  to 
admit  of  as  much  as  half  an  inch  play  at  the  end  of  the  knob. 
In  new  work,  the  spindle,  the  follow  and  the  roses  can  be  fitted 
so  that  any  rattling  is  impossible,  though  with  the  old  styles  of 
fastenings  this  is  accomplished  only  by  the  best  manufacturers. 

With  the  old  style,  the  screws  are  apt  to  work  loose,  as 
applied  by  ordinary  mechanics.  In  cheap  work  they  nearly 
always  do  so ;  still,  if  proper  care  is  taken  and  the  screws 
turned  up  with  a  drop  of  thick  shellac  in  the  threads  there  will 
be  little  trouble,  and  none  that  cannot  easily  be  remedied  with 
a  screwdriver. 

There  are  other  objections  of  less  moment,  such  as  the  fact 
that  considerable  time  is  occupied  in  fitting  the  washers  neces- 
sary to  a  proper  adjustment  of  the  spindle  and  shank ;  and  the 
proper  attachment  of  the  screws  takes  time  also.  It  is  further 
found  that  when  the  spindle  and  shank  wear  away  there  is  apt 
to  be  a  strain  brought  upon  the  lock-plate  through  the  door, 
thereby  endangering  the  proper  action  of  the  levers.  We  have 
said,  however,  that  these  objections  are  by  no  means  vital,  and 
are  such  as  might  be  due  to  careless  or  indifferent  workman- 

1  Continued  from  No.  696,  page  197. 


Fig.  367.     Knob  and  Spindle-screws  covered. 
Erwin    Mfg.  Co. 


ship.  One  of  the  best  evidences  that  the  old  style  is  the  most 
satisfactory,  is  that  every  manufacturer  has  it  on  his  catalogue- 
list.  Anything  else  is  really  an  exception,  and  we  know  of 
only  one  instance  in  which  a  manufacturer  has  undertaken  to 
push  exclusively  a  single  form  of  knob  attachment  differing 
from  the  common  style.  It  must  not  be  thought,  however,  that 
no  clever  or  good  devices  have  been  thought  out.  It  is  hard  to 
simplify  simplicity,  and  the  screw  connection,  all  things  con- 
sidered, gives  eminent  satisfaction. 

The  first  variation  from  the  old  style  has  been  to  enlarge  the 
rose,  extending  it  out  over  the  shank  so  as  to  partially  or  com- 
pletely cover  the  screw-hole,  a  slot  being  left  at  each  side 
through  which  the  screw  can  be  applied,  the  rose  subsequently 
being  turned  and  secured  against  the  door  so  as  to  completely 
cover  the  screw.  Figure  366  shows  such  a  form.  This  de- 
vice renders  it  absolutely  impossible  for  the  screw  to  become 

detached,    though 
it    does     not    pre- 
vent it  from  beinsr 
o 

a  little  loose,  and 
so  permitting  the 
knob  to  rattle ; 
and  as  the  diffi- 
culties of  getting 
at  the  screw  are 
increased  by  this 
method,  the  pro- 
babilities are  that  most  people  would  let  the  knob  rattle 
instead  of  taking  the  trouble  to  tighten  the  screw.  Still,  this 
is  an  improvement,  and  when  well  applied  is  very  satisfactory. 
The  next  step  has  been  to  cover  the  screw  entirely.  Figure 
367  shows  one  mode  in  which  this  has  been  accomplished. 
The  rose  is  made  in  two  portions,  one  consisting  of  a  flat  piece 
resting  against 

O  O 

the     door,     and 
serving    as    a 

O 

bearing-plate  for 
the  shank,  while 
the  other  por- 
tion of  the  rose 
which  w  o  u  1  d 
show  in  the  fin- 
ished work  con- 
sists of  a  thin  shell  curved  out  so  as  to  entirely  cover  the 
screw.  The  screws  which  hold  the  rose  to  the  door  pass 
through  both  the  outer  shell  and  the  inner  plate. 

Figure  36tS  shows  another  form  in  which  one  screw  is  done 
away  with.  The  spindle  is  cut  with  screw-threads.  The  rose 
is  made  in  two  portions,  one  being  screwed  to  the  door,  and 
the  other  acting  as  a  binding-screw  or  washer,  screwing  onto 
the  threads  of  the  spindle  at  the  same  time  that  the  shank  of 
the  knob  screws  behind  it,  the  two  locking,  and  preventing  the 
knob  from  being  unturned  except  by  forcible  means.  As  the 

spindle  is  held  in  the 
latch,  the  knob  can,  of 
course,  be  turned  but 
half  way  in  either  direc- 
tion. 

Another  form  of  knob 
substitutes  a  continuous 
ratchet  on  one  face  of 
the  spindle  for  the  screw- 
holes  of  the  common 
form.  These  knobs' are 
made  by  the  Boston 
Knob  Company,  and 
outwardly  appear  like 
an  ordinary  knob.  The 
advantage  is  that  the 
knob  can  be  adjusted 
at  any  point  without  the 
aid  of  washer,  the  screw  catching  onto  the  ratchet  in  any  posi- 
tion of  the  shank. 

Figure  369  shows  a  form  which  does  away  with  the  screws 
entirely.  The  key  escutcheon  and  the  rose  are  combined  in  a 
single  plate  on  each  side  of  the  door.  Inside  of  the  rose  is  a 
hub  which  is  cut  with  a  screw-thread.  The  spindle  passes 
through  this  and  into  the  shank  of  the  knob,  which  is  cut  with 
a  thread  corresponding  with  the  thread  on  the  hub.  In 
applying  this  fixture  the  knobs  are  simply  screwed  on  until 


Fig.   368.     Knob  with  threaded   Spindle. 
Mfg.   Co. 


Stoddard    Lock 


Fig.  369, 


Screwless  Door-knob  and   Escutcheon 
combined.     P.  &  F,  Corbin. 


220 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.         [VOL.  XXV. — No.  698. 


they  bear  slightly  on  the  edges  of  the  rose.  The  escutcheon- 
plates  are  then  screwed  together  through  the  door  as  shown  on 
the  drawing.  As  the  spindle  passes  through  the  latch  it  will 
readily  be  seen  that  the  knob  cannot  be  unscrewed  except  by 
removing  the  escutcheon-plates,  and  as  these  plates  bear  on 

each  side  of  the  door 
above  and  below  the 
lock,  it  is  almost  impos- 
sible to  bring  any  strain 
on  the  lock-plate  itself. 

Figure  370  is  a  some- 
what similar  form  as  re- 
gards the  escutcheon- 
plates.  The  knob,  how- 
ever, is  attached  by 
means  of  lugs  on  the 
shank,  which  in  one  po- 
sition of  the  knob  will 
slip  into  the  hole  in  the 
rose ;  but  when  half 
turned  will  catch  on  the 
inner  side  of  the  plate, 
thus  rendering  it  impos- 
sible for  the  knob  to  be 

Fig.  370.     Screwless  Duor-knob  and  Escutcheon      rpmovpr1      ovpunt    hv    nn 
combined.     Russell  &  Erw.n.  Dy    un" 

screwing  the  face-plates 

from  the  door.  Figure  371  is  a  device  practically  the  same  as 
that  shown  by  Figure  308.  Figure  372  is  still  another  variety 


Tig.  371.      Mathes's  Adjustable  Screwlesc  Door-knnb.      Nimick  &  Brittan. 

of  the  same  general  style  of  attachment,  using  a  steel  binding- 
screw  to  hold  the  knob-shank  in  position. 

The  Yale  &  Towne  Manufacturing  Company  has  recently 
put  on  the  market  a  form  of  screwless  knob-shank  shown  by 
Figure  ,'573.  In  this  case  the  spin- 
dle is  turned  round  at  each  end  and 
threaded.  The  knob  is  provided 
with  a  swivel-nut,  D,  which  tits  the 
thread  of  the  spindle.  In  apply- 
ing, the  nut  is  turned  up  until  it 
bears  slightly  against  the  face  of  the 


Fig.  372.     Morris   Patent   Door-knob. 
Ireland  Mfg.  Co. 


Fig.  373.     Screwless  Knob-shank.     Yale  & 
Towne  Mfg.  Co. 


rose,  and  is  then  left  in  that  position,  a  washer  being  interposed 
between  the  rose  and  the  nut.  The  nut  takes  the  place  of  the 
ordinary  shank,  and  as  this  portion  of  the  knob  is  seldom 

touched,  there 
is  little  liabil- 
ity of  the  nut 
working  loose, 
especially  as  it 
can  be  turned 
up  pretty  tight, 
and  is  made  so 
as  not  to  work 
too  easily. 

Figure    374 

represents  still  another  variety  of  screwless  knob-fastening. 
The  nut,  C,  forces  the  washer,  B,  against  a  shoulder 
inside  of  the  shank,  A,  binding  the  latter  firmly  to  the 
rose  and  to  the  door.  The  knob  is  then  slipped  over  the 


Tig.  374.     Screwless  Fastening  Knob.     J.  Bardsley. 


spindle,  and  the  shank,  A,  screwed  over  the  shank,  D,  until 
the  knob  is  drawn  up  tightly.  The  only  chance  of  the  fasten- 
ing working  loose  is  by  accidental  turning  of  the  shank,  A, 
which  is  not  likely  to  occur. 

The  Yale  &  Towne  Manufacturing  Company  has  a  device 
illustrated  by  Figure  375  which  is  on  a  very  different  principle 
from  any  of  the  foregoing,  as  it  does  not  depend  upon  screws 
of  any  kind.  In  this  case  the  knob-shank  is  cut  out  with  an 
eccentric  socket  or  bore.  The  ends  of  the  spindle  are  turned 
down  to  exactly  the  same  contour  as  the  bore  of  the  shank ; 
so  that  while  the  knobs  on  either  side  of  the  door  can  easily  be 
slipped  over  the  ends  of  the  spindle,  they  can  be  fastened  by 
simply  rotating  them  in  opposite  directions,  when  the  fine 
pitch  of  grade  of  the  eccentrics  causes  a  great  pressure  to  be 
exerted,  which  results  in  binding  the  knobs  rigidly  to  the 
spindle.  This  is  the  simplest  form  of  knob  attachment  in  the 
market,  and  if  properly  applied,  will  always  remain  in  order, 
though  great  care  must  be  taken  that  the  knobs  are  turned  up 
firmly. 

For  front-door  locks  and  latches  it  is  necessary  to  have  some 
form  of  spindle  in  which  the  two  extremities  may  be  worked 
independently,  so  that  the  outer  knob  may  be  locked  while  the 
inner  one  is  free  to  rotate.  The  commonest  form  is  to  connect 
the  two  halves  of  the 
spindle  by  a  swivel 
joint,  Figure  376. 
Corbin  has  in  the 
market  a  spindle  in  F'£'  375- 
which  the  two  halves 
screw  together,  thus 
permitting  of  very 
careful  adjustment  to 
the  thickness  of  the 
door.  The  pitch  of 
the  screw-threads  is  so  slight  that  the  quarter  turn  necessary  to 
open  the  latch  does  not  throw  out  the  knob  from  the  door. 

There  are  various  methods  of  attaching  the  head  of  the  knob 
itself  to  the  shank.  When  porcelain  or  mineral  composition  is 
used,  the  shank  is  leaded  into  the  knob.  Hemacite,  zylonite, 
etc.,  are  cemented  or  screwed  to  the  shank,  as  are  the  cheaper 
forms  of  wooden  knobs.  Metal  knobs  are  blind  riveted,  cast 
solid  to  the  shank,  or  shrunk  on.  Glass  knobs  are  commonly 
leaded,  but  in  some  cheaper  forms  are  cemented  or  even 
puttied. 

There  are,  however,  some  devices  which  are  intended  to 
attach  the  knob  more  firmly  to  the  shank.  Figure  377  is  one 
which  is  used  in  connection  with  wooden  knobs.  The  shank  is 
cut  with  a  screw-thread  which  turns  into  a  corresponding 


Sctewless   Spindle  and   Socket.     Yale  & 
Towne  Mfg.  Co. 


Fig.  376.     Swivel  Spindle. 


Fig.  377.     Knob  Fastener. 
J.  Bardsley. 


Fig.    378.       Phipps's    Patent    Door-knob.       Milford 
Door-knob  Co. 


thread  cut  into  the  knob.  Before  the  shank  is  screwed  in,  a 
metal  key  extending  through  the  shank  is  placed  in  the  slot, 
and  after  the  knob  is  firmly  screwed  on  the  key  is  forced  into 
the  wood  by  means  of  a  punch  placed  in  the  opening  of  the 
shank,  the  key  thus  effectually  locking  the  shank  into  the  knob. 
Figure  378  shows  a  form  of  attachment  for  either  wood  or 
metal.  In  this  case  the  knob  is  held  by  a  screw  passing  from 
the  knob  through  the  upper  portion  of  the  shank  and  into  the 
head  of  the  spindle.  The  spindle  can  be  adjusted  for  any 
thickness  of  door  by  means  of  a  small  wedge  which  can  be 
driven  in  before  the  knob  is  attached,  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
hold  the  shank  at  any  given  position. 

[To  be  continued.] 


LONG  SPAN  OP  A  SILICON-BRONZE  WIRE.  —  A  wire  belonging  to  an 
English  telephone  company,  which  crosses  the  entrance  to  Dartmouth 
Harbor,  has  the  remarkable  span  of  nearly  half  a  mile,  viz. ,  800  yards. 
On  leaving  the  Dartmouth  side  the  wire  is  332  feet  above  high-water 
mark.  It  drops  to  198  feet  near  the  Kingswear  side,  and  then  rises 
again  to  207  feet.  The  wire  is  very  fine. and  light,  being  of  No.  17 
silicon-bronze,  weighing  twenty-four  pounds  to  the  span. —  Exchange. 


MAY  11,  1889.] 


The    American    Architect  and  Building   News. 


221 


ARCHITECTURAL  SHADES  AND  SHADOWS.1  —  IV. 

CHAPTER    IV.  —  LINES    AND    PLANE    FIGURES. 

Principal  planes,  lines  and  diagonals,  and  their  projections  an* 
traces;  shadows  of  points  on  either  plane  of  projection  ;  shadow^ 
of  lines  and  figures  parallel  to  a  plane  of  projection  and  of  principa 
lines  in  genera!. 

If  we  suppose  a  cube 
or  rectangular  prism 
to  stand  with  its 
faces  respectively  parallel  ant 
perpendicular  to  the  planes  01 
projection,  its  six  faces  ant 
six  edges  will  form  what  are 
called  principal  planes  anc 
lines.  Such  planes  are  paralle 
to  V'P  and  perpendicular  to 
HP;  parallel  to  HP,  and 


55. 


_ 
Three  B-inapai  fH 


r?Q.R.Je(ermi.ned  consequently,    perpendicular  to 
V'P'    or  perpendicular  to  both 


fig.  29. 

Pro/ectiono 
& 


Lines. 


lines  parallel  to  both  planes  of  projection  and  to  G  L.  They  are  illus- 
trated by  Figures  28  and  29.  Principal  lines  are  formed  by  the 
intersections  of  principal  planes,  and  any  two  such  lines  intersect- 
ing determine  a  principal  plane. 

36.     Lines  parallel  to  the  diagonals  of  the  faces  of  a  cube  placed 
as  above  may  be  classed  as  principal  di(i/j<m<i/.*\     They  lie  in  prin- 
cipal planes  at  an  angle  of  45°  to 
one  or  the  other  plane  of   projec- 
tion (as  A  F,  BE,  AG,  H K,  Fig- 
ure 30)  or  to   both   planes  (AD, 
HE).  Their  projections  are  shown 
in    Figure   31,    and   they    will   be 
generally  designated  by  the  letter- 
ing used  there  and  in  Figure  30. 
A  third  set  of  lines  should  be  no- 
ticed, parallel  to  the  diagonals  of 
the   same  cube ;    inclined,  that  is, 
at  35°  15'  to  the  planes  of  projec- 
tion, and  represented  in  projection 
by  lines  in  all  cases  at  45°  to  G  L, 
as  shown  in  Figure  32.    The  planes 
passing  through  opposite  edges  of 
the  cube  and  bisecting  it  may  be 
called   principal    diagonal   planes, 
each  containing  two  cube-diagonals, 
and  having  for  one  trace  a  line  at 
45°  to  G  L,  and  for  the  other  a  line  Tk/tttery  indicate  lines  parallel  to 
normal  to  G 1,,  or  else  having  both  f^oae  m  figureXBoimtiai^f  lettered 
traces  parallel  to  (j  L  (Figure  33).     The  shadows  of  these  various 
lines  and   of  figures  in  these  planes,  being  those  most  common  in 
architectural  drawing,  should  be  thoroughly  mastered,  and  to  these 
our  investigations  will  now  be  directed. 

37.  As  a  large  proportion  of  the  shadows  in  architectural 
drawings  fall  upon  vertical  or  horizontal  planes  parallel  to  H  P  and 
V'P,  and  the  picture-plane  or  plane  of  projection  may  be  assumed 
so  as  to  coincide  with  such  a  plane  (the  trace  of  the  latter  forming 
the  ground-line),  it  will  simplify  matters  to  consider  the  shadows  in 

the  following  rules  as  falling 
upon  the  plane  of  projection 
itself,  thus  avoiding  the  con- 
stant  repetition  of  the  words, 
•°"or  upon  a  plane  parallel  to 
the  plane  of  projection." 

38.  If  a  point  O  be  given 
by  its  projections,  o,  o'  (Figure 
34),  its  shadow  on  V'P  (for 
example)  is  found  by  drawing 
both  projections  of  a  ray  pass- 
ing through  the  point.  The 
horizontal  projection  of  this 
ray  intersects  GL  at  olt  which 
is  the  horizontal  projection  of 


R&30. 


Principal  Diagonal  Lines. 


the  required  shadow,  whose  vertical  projection  will,  consequently, 
be  at  o',  on  the  vertical  projection  of  the  ray.  In  the  same  way  its 
shadow  on  HP  may  be  found,  remembering  that  it  may  fall  behind 
VI  (i.  e.,  above  G  L)  quite  as  often  as  in  front  of  it,  in  which  case 
care  must  be  taken  not  to  confound  it  with  projections  on  V'P. 
o'2  is  the  vertical  and  o2  the  horizontal  projection  of  the  shadow  of 
o  o'  on  HP  in  Figure  34. 


olnmhh  ?^nF-  Hamli°'.  In8«?«t°r  '«  Architecture  in  the  School  of  Mines. 
lumbia  College.    Continued  from  page  176  No.  694. 

£?$*£  of  the  inconvenience  of  having  to  refer  to  back-numbers  for 
Fl  be  found  of  se^e*"  ""*  '"  ^  Pap6r8'  °>e  f°"°wi°e  memorandum 


"projections 
wherever    it    ca 


Hence  this  rule : 

(1)    The  projection  of  the  shadow  of  a  point  0,  cast  upon  a  plane  of 
projection,  is  found  upon  a  line  drawn  at  45°  to  G  L  through  the 
projection  of  0.     Its  distance  from  the  latter,  measured  horizontally 
or  vertically,  equals  that  of  O  from  the  plane  of  incidence. 
Hereafter,  for  the  sake  of  avoiding  tedious  repetition,  points,  lines 

and   shadows   will   be 

ajt  fa k  (L Q' a  6         distinguished      from 

their  projections  by 
prefixing  the  word 
"  real  "  or  "  actual," 
omitting  the  words 
of" 

can    be 

done  without  obscuring 
the  sense. 

39.     The  shadow  of 
any  right   line   is   de- 

Pno/cctu»i3  q/  Prmcifxit  Diagonal  Lines.       termined  by  the  shad- 
The  fetters  correspond  to  those  of  Fig.28a/id30.  ows    of     its     extreme 
,,n  points  (a,  Figure  35). 

When  only  the  direction  of  its  shadow  is  required,  the  shadows  of 
any  two  of  its  points  will  suffice  (V). 

40.  It  is  easily  seen  from  the  rule  in  38  that  the  shadow  upon  a 
plane  of  projection  cast  by  a  right  line  parallel  to  il  must  be  equal 
and  parallel  to  the  line,  since 
all  the  points  of  the  latter  are 
equidistant  from  the  plane. 
Hence  the  shadow  of  a  single 
point  of  such  a  line  suffices  to 
determine  its  shadow,  as  in 
Figure  36,  where  the  shadow 
of  the  line  is  drawn  through 
that  of  its  point,  a  a',  parallel 
to  the  line  itself,  and  its  two 
segments,  a',  c-',  and  a',  //,  laid 
off  equal  to  a'  c',  a'  b'. 

This  is  equally  true  of 
plane  figures  parallel  to  the 
plane  of  projection,  since  they 
may  be  considered  as  made 
up  of  infinitesmal  straight 
lines  (Figure  37).  The 
shadow  of  one  point  of  such 
a  figure  suffices  to  determine 
the  shadow  of  the  figure. 


a  -fe  "e 

Diagonals  of /he  cube  and  fac/r 
projections. 


41.  And  finally,  since  any 
lane  figure  and  its  shadow  on 

any  plane  parallel  to  itself  are  really  parallel  sections  of  its  shadow 
in  space,  these  sections  are  equal.     Whence  this  general  rule  : 
(77)     When  a  plane  figure  casts  its  shadow  on  any  plane  parallel  to 
itself,  this  shadow  is  both  equal  and  parallel  to  the  figure,  and  its 
projections  are  equal  and  parallel  to  the  projections  of  the  figure. 

42.  Applications  of  Rules  (I)  and  (II)  may  be  found  in  Plate  II. 
In  No.  8,  for   example,  the  difference  between  a'  and  its   shadow 
«'„    measured    horizontally,    is    a'o',   and   vertically    </«'„  each    of 
which  is  equal  to  the   distance  of   the   point   a  a'  from    the   plane 
of   incidence.      In    the    same  way,  the  horizontal  and  vertical  dis- 
tances  of   ft'  from  ft',  are  each   equal  to   that  of   the   edge  of   the 

coping  from  the  face 
of  the  projecting  pi- 
laster.     In    No.    11 
the  shadows  of  a',  ft' 
and  <;'  are  found  by 
o  laying    off    horizon- 
tally  and    vertically 
_  ^_______      —  the  distances  of  a', 

Fig 33  \$§_-— — - — — '  *'  antl   c'   from    'he 

plane  of  incidence, 
which  distances  can 
in  many  cases  be  as- 

thfir  75acea_| | «/"_       \     certained    without 

drawing  a  plan.    So, 

{also,  the  shadows  of 
the  horizontal  and 
of  the  raking 
lorona  are  found  by  means  of  the  shadow  of  a  single  point  in  each, 
hese  shadows  being  parallel  to  the  corona  in  each  case.  In  Nos.  2, 
,  4,  6  and  7  the  shadows  of  the  horizontal  and  vertical  edges 
iarallel  to  V'P  are  at  once  drawn  parallel  to  those  edges,  and 
imited  by  the  shadows  of  their  extreme  points.  In  No.  5  the 
vertical  right-hand  edge  of  the  parapet  casts  vertical  shadows  on  the 
isers  of  the  stairs  in  elevation,  their  width  in  each  case  being  equal 
o  its  distance  from  the  riser ;  while  in  the  plan  its  upper  horizontal 
dge  casts  parallel  horizontal  shadows  on  the  treads  as  wide  as  its 
wn  height  above  each  tread.  This  is  made  clearer  by  the  perspec- 
ive  sketch,  Figure  38.  From  all  these  examples  the  corollary  is  evi- 
lent  that  the  width  of  the  shadow  upon  a  vertical  plane,  of  any  horizontal 
r  vertical  member  parallel  to  it,  is  equal  to  the  overhang  or  projection 
f  the  line  or  edge  casting  the  shadow.  This  gives  a  simple  rule 
pplying  to  a  multitude  of  cases  :  the  jambs  and  lintels  of  doors  and 
windows ;  the  lower  edges  of  window-sills,  coronas  of  cornices 


Principal 
Diaffona.1 
Planea.and  ' 


222 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.      [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  698. 


and  string-courses  ;  horizontal  and  vertical  mouldings ;  the  edges  of 
piers,  pilasters  and  projecting  rectangular  masses  of  building,  and 
many  others.  Nos.  10  and  11  contain  several  examples  of  its  appli- 
cation, while  No.  9  illustrates  the  shadows  of  arches  upon  vertical 

planes  drawn  by  means  of  the 
shadows  of  their  centres  (Fig- 
ure 37).  The  plane  of  each 
stepping  of  the  arch  is  sup- 
posed to  be  extended  across 
the  opening  so  as  to  receive 
the  shadow  of  the  centre  of  the 
arch  next  in  front,  as  shown 
by  the  dotted  lines  in  the 
plan.  Having  thereby  found 
the  vertical  projections  of  the 
shadow  of  the  centre,  the  shad- 
ow of  the  arch  is  then  drawn 
from  this  new  shadow-centre 
with  a  radius  equal  to  that 
of  the  arch.  Thus  c',  is  the 


\ 

•Shadows  of  t-om. 

vs 

y^k 

\ 

j    \ 

• 

9i  Ai    \ 

XI  ij    V 

/ 

3       Oi  ;**              T^ 

/ 

in 

/ 

*\ 

/ 

i      /     i 

ft-- 


aiHP:behmd  VP 

ca-o:o;-oc-  datanceq/QJromptaneqf 

inudence  Similarly,  pb*  tpj  ^pa. 


shadow  upon  the  plane  of  the  main  wall  of  the  centre  of  the  archi- 
volt,  whose  radius  is  then  used  to  describe  its  shadow  from  c', ;  c'1, 
is  the  shadow-centre  from  which  the  shadow  of  the  first  arch  upon 
the  plane  of  a  second  is  drawn,  and  so  on. 

43.  A  line  perpendicular  to  a  plane  of  projection  has  for  its 
shadow  a  line  inclined  at  45°  to  G L,1  parallel  to  the  projection  of  a 
ray  of  light.  For  the  projection  upon  either  plane  of  a  line  perpen- 
dicular to  it  is  a  point  (note  to  Chapter  II,  4),  which  we  will  call 
p'.  Since  p'  is  the  projection  on  that  plane  of  the  whole  line,  it  is 
the  projection  of  every  point  in  that  line ;  consequently,  a  line 
drawn  through  p'  at  45°  to  G  L  must  contain  the  shadow  of  every 
point  in  the  given  line  (Rule  1).  But  this  will  be  true  whatever  the 
nature  of  the  surface  of  incidence,  so  that  the  shadows  of  the  various 
points  of  such  a  line,  even  when  they  fall  upon  an  irregular  surface, 
must  still  be  in  the 
line  drawn  through  // 
at  45°  to  G  L.  This  is 
further  evident  if  we 
consider  that  the  in- 
visible shadow  of  the 
line  in  question  is  a 
plane  perpendicular  to 
the  plane  of  projection, 
and  contains  the  cast 
shadow  of  the  line  (22, 

Maxim  VIII,  1),  which  ^w6»a afUwe pot,^^ toe Mom         a, 
is,  therefore,  projected  of  Ime.  Shadow  tf any  tuo</,ls  points  determutcdi- 
as    a    right    line ;    for  reciian  of  its  ovn  ^hac/ov. 
whatever  the  real  form 

of  the  cast  shadow,  it  lies  in  this  plane  of  invisible  shadow,  and,  as  this 
plane  is  seen  edgewise,  every  line  in  it  will  appear  straight,  although 
in  perspective  its  irregular  form  becomes  evident,  as  appears  by  com- 
paring Figure  38  with  No.  5,  Plate  II,  and  Figure  39  (note  to 
Chapter  II,  6,  and  Figure  37). 

The  length  of  the  shallow  of  such  a  line  falling  on  the  plane  of  pro- 
jection or  upon  a  plane  parallel  to  it  is  equal  to  the  diagonal  of  the 


Shactovuf  /we  paral/el  lo  Plane 
of  /~>rv/ecti£>n  ijztermtned 
shadou.'  of  a  single  point. 


Shadows  tf  figure 3  para/ld  to  plane  gf 
projection  can  6f  ascertained  by  meow 
Of  fht  shadow  of  any  one  point offfte/ip- 
ure. ctsof_aa.'  in  tn&nffle  abc. ct'oe;or  of 
center  oo'  m  ante  ros.  rb'i' 


line  itself.     This  is  easily  deduced  from  38  and  from  inspection  of 

the  geometrical  relations  of  the  shadow  itself.     The  various  facts  we 

have  considered  may  be  stated  thus  in  the  form  of  a  rule: 

44.    (III).   The  shadow  of  a  line  perpendicular  to  a  plane  of  projection 

3  is  a  right  line  at  45°  to  the  horizon,  regardless  of  the  form  of  the 

""surface  upon  which  it  falls.     Upon  a  plane  parallel  to  the  plane  of 

projection  its  length  is  equal  to  the  diagonal  of  the  line  casting  it. 

This  rule  has  very  frequent  applications  in  architectural  drawing, 

some   of  which   are   shown  in  Plate  II.     In    No.  1  the  right-hand 

upper  edge  of  the  abacus  casts  its  shadow  on  the  wall,  while  that  of 

the  lower  left-hand  edge  falls  across  the  echinus,  fillet  and  necking 

(crossing  several  other  shades  and  shadows)  ;  both  are  alike  lines 

at  45°  to  G  L.     In  No.  10,  the  shadow  of  the  horizontal  flagstaff 

seen  as  a  mere  point  over  the  window  in  the  wing,  and  the  shadow 

of   the  right-hand  cornice  of  that  wing  running  back  to  the  main 

body  of  the  building,  are  both  drawn  at  45°  to  G  L,  though  they 

cross  a  variety  of  surfaces,  mouldings,  pilasters,  windows,  etc.     In 

'It  is  hardly  necessary  to  constantly  repeat  the  qualifying  phrase,  "parallel 
to  the  projection  of  a  ray  of  light.''  which  may  hereafter  be  taken  for  granted 
witli  tb>-  irords,  "  at  45°  to  G  L,"  unless  the  contrary  is  specifically  stated. 


No.  5  the  shadow  of  the  upper  right-hand  edge  of  the  parapet,  which 
is  normal  to  V'P,  falls  across  the  wall,  door,  and  upper  riser ;  in  the 
„•  plan,  its  right-hand  vertical    cor- 

ner casts  a  shadow  across  three 
treads  of  the  steps ;  both,  alike, 
are  right  lines  at  45°  to  G  L.  It 
is  evident  that  lines  which  cast 
oblique  shadows  in  elevation,  being 


/a, 


'       /      • 

/       /        ' 


Fig5T. 


/  /    /  p  is  trje  vertical  pro- 
, ejection  of  ffyeWfyole 
\\vzabcd  Tbe  shadow  of 


. 

every  poirjt  oPa/5a/n)u5t  fell       g 
'  ° 


ir>  the 
to  tie 


p'dj  drawn 
,  tfjiBugb  p'- 


Fig.33. 


horizontal  lines,  must  in  the  plan  cast  shadows  parallel  to  themselves; 
while  vertical  lines  cast  shadows  at  45°  to  G  L  in  the  plan,  and 
vertical  shadows  in  the  elevation.  Inspection  of  No.  5  and  of  Figure 
38  will  make  this  clear.  The  returning  ends  of  stairs  and  window- 
sills  ;  the  invisible  right  and  left  edges  of  abaci  of  columns,  of  roofs, 
of  porticos,  and  of  projecting  rectangular  masses  of  building,  are 
among  the  commonest  examples  of  the  application  of  this  rule. 

45.  Since  all  principal  lines  are  either  parallel  or  perpendicular  to 
the  plane  of  projection,  Rules  (II)  and  (III)  suffice  for  obtaining  the 
shadows  of  all  plane  and  solid  figures  composed  of  principal  lines, 
such  as  rectangles  and  squares,  cubes  and  parallelepipeds,  of  every 
size  and  proportion.  It  is  only  necessary  to  cast  the  shadows  of  all 


/        CM-/    *^^f 

Vertical  projection  and 
/      Perspective  view  of  sbadow 
.costacrcos  a  n7otildif?g;bj/d  line 
perpendicular  to  \IRab,  a<b' 

the  edges  of  such  a  solid  ;  the  extreme  outline  formed  by  these  shadows 
bounds  the  shadow  of  the  solid  ,  and  since  by  means  of  the  shadows  of 
squares  and  cubes  the  dimensions  and  direction  of  the  shadows  of  their 
diagonals  and  of  the  sides  of  the  inscribed  octagons  may  be  found ; 
these  two  rules  suffice  for  all  the  various  classes  of  lines  described  at 
the  beginning  of  this  chapter,  and  the  figures  and  solids  composed  of 
them,  as  may  be  seen  in  Nos.  2,  3  and  4  in  Plate  II,  and  in  Nos.  6 
and  7,  which  show  their  application  to  octagonal  forms.  But  it  will 
be  advantageous  to  examine  certain  special  cases  more  closely,  and 
the  following  chapter  will  embody  the  application  of  these  rules  to 
the  most  important  of  them ;  namely,  the  square,  "  diamond "  or 
lozenge,  octagon,  and  their  derivatives. 

(To  be  continued.) 


[Contributors  are  requested  to  send  with  their  drawings  full  and 
adequate  descriptions  of  the  buildings,  including  a  statement  of  cost."} 

HOUSE  OF   MRS.  JEREMIAH    MILBANK,  GREENWICH,  CONN.     MESSRS. 
LAMB   &   RICH,    ARCHITECTS,    NEW   YORK,    N.    Y. 
[Gelatine  Print,  issued  only  with  the  Imperial  Edition.] 

HE  building  is  about  one  hundred  and  eighty-five  feet  long  and 
covered  with  Spanish  tiles.  The  interior  feature  is  the  large 
hall  with  Connecticut  stone  fireplace  and  a  window  in  staircase 


.  695. 


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Copyright,  1889,  by  TICKNOB  &  (Jo. 


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MAY  11,  1889.] 


The  American  Architect  and  Building  News. 


223 


10  x  19  in  which,  instead  of  colored  glass,  is  a  wrought-iron  interior 
grill  in  the  style  of  the  Renaissance. 

ARCHITECTURAL    SHADES    AND    SHADOWS.  —  PLATE    II. 

SEE  article  elsewhere  in  this  issue. 

HOUSE     FOR      A.   J.    DREXEL,    ESQ.,   LANSDOWN,    PA.       MR.     WILSON 
EYRE,   JR.,    ARCHITECT,    PHILADELPHIA,    PA. 

HOUSE    FOR   J.    D6.    F.   JUNKIN,    WEST    PHILADELPHIA,    PA.       MR.    A. 
W.    DILKS,   ARCHITECT,     PHILADELPHIA,    PA. 

COMPETITIVE  DESIGN  FOR  CHURCH,  CLERGY-HOUSE  AND  SCHOOLS 
FOR  TRINITY  CORPORATION,  NEW  YORK,  N.  Y.  MR.  W.  HALSEY 
WOOD,  ARCHITECT,  NEWARK,  N.  J. 


AUGUSTE  RODIN.  — VII. 

THE    DOOR. 

O  one  outside  of  the 
little  circle  of 
Rodin's  intimate 
friends  had  the  slightest 
idea  of  the  importance 
of  the  commission  that 
M.  Turquet  had  given 
him.  At  the  time  of 
receiving  it  he  explained 
the  plan  he  proposed  to 
follow  in  its  design,  and 
that  official  expressed 
his  entire  confidence  in 
the  sculptor's  ability  to 
carry  out  any  scheme  he 
might  undertake.  "I 
was  sure,"  said  M.  Tur- 
quet on  a  subsequent 
occasion,  "that  I  had 
discovered  a  great  artist, 
one  fully  capable  of  ex- 
ecuting any  task  con- 
fided t  o  h  i  m.  The 
result,  as  is  now  well- 
known,  has  amply  con- 
firmed my  judgment." 

Rodin's  friends  were 
equally    confident,     for 
though  he  had  not  ye 
-  made    any    work    com 
L.  posed  of   many  figures 
save  a  decoration  or  two 
on  vases  at  Sevres,  they 
felt  that  his  single  statues 
of  "  The  Age  of  Brass ' 
and    the    "St.    John' 
gave  unmistakable    evi 
dence  of  a  rich  imagination  and  a  wide  resource  of  conception.     Th< 
giving  of  such  an  order  to  Rodin,  in  view  of  the  unfortunate  cireum 
stances  which  had  surrounded  him  since  his  return  to  Paris,  and  th« 
opposition  to  him,  as  expressed  by  the  leading  art  influences  of  the 
city  in  refusing  to  justly  recompense  him  at  the  Salon,  was  regarded 
by  him  and  his  friends  as  a  bold  and  noble  act  on  the  part  of  M 
Turquet.     This  feeling  was  expressed  by  Dargenty  in  L'Art  of  1880 
when   he  wrote :   "  It  is  to  the  honor  of   M.  Turquet  that  he  ha 
dared  to  order  of  Rodin  a  monumental  door." 

A  year  after  the  commission  was  given,  a  journalist,  whose  nam 
is  not  known,  found  his  way  to  the  sculptor's  studio  and  reportei 
that  "  one  has  a  right  to  hope  that  the  door  will  introduce  a  new 
and  large  style  of  sculpture,  a  style  very  much  needed  in  these  dayi 
of  antique  imitations  and  commonplace  School  inanities."  For  thi 
next  year  or  two  an  occasional  journalist  also  caught  a  glimpse  o 
the  door,  in  spite  of  the  desired  seclusion  of  the  sculptor,  and  wrote 
his  surprise  at  its  colossal  proportions,  with  prognostications  of  it 
eventual  success.  In  1883,  L'Art  contained  a  number  of  illustra 
tions  of  the  first  sketches  on  paper  of  the  subjects  on  the  door,  thu 
giving  the  readers  of  that  journal  the  first  idea  of  the  character  o 
the  sculptor's  starting-point.  The  exhibitions  at  Petit's  galleries 
1885-86,  before  alluded  to,  caused  a  general  interest  in  the  sculptor' 
work,  and  before  the  close  of  1887  the  most  distinguished  art  lovers 
literateurs  and  critics  of  Paris,  as  well  as  many  trom  Belgium  am 
England,  had  visited  his  studio  and  seen  the  door.  As  its  genera 
composition  was  defined,  its  principal  groups  and  figures  decide( 
upon  in  sketches,  parts  of  the  work  completed,  and  nearly  all  of  tb 
hundreds  of  subjects  in  process  of  execution,  its  immense  scope  o 
design,  startling  originality  and  copious  art  expression  were  enthusi 
astically  recognized. 

It  was  declared  to  be  the  most  important  piece  of  sculpture  of  ill 


Group  from  the  Door.     Augusta  Rodin,  Sculptor. 


i  All  rights  reserved.    Continued  from  page  200,  No.  696. 


ineteenth  century,  and  nothing  since  Michael  Angelo  could  give 
ny  idea  of  its  magnificence.  No  illustration  of  any  sectional  part 
f  the  door  had  been  made  until  February,  1888,  when  L'Art 
^rancais  published  a  glyptograph  print  of  the  central  portion  of  the 
pper  part.  This  view  is  included  among  the  illustrations  of  The 
American  Architect,  together  with  many  of  the  figures  and  groups 
Belonging  to  the  door  not  before  published,  and  the  principal  statues 
ind  busts  executed  by  him ;  in  all  a  more  complete  exhibition  of 
lodin's  works  than  has  hitherto  appeared. 

The  preceding  pages  have  been  written  for  the  single  purpose  of 
'iving  the  bare  facts  of  Rodin's  life  as  they  occurred,  with  the  cir- 
:umstances  that  immediately  surrounded  him,  in  order  that  the 
•eader  may  be  free  to  form  his  own  impressions  and  draw  his  own 
conclusions  of  the  directness  of  the  sculptor's  nature,  his  loyalty  to 
t,  and  the  simplicity  and  force  of  his  character ;  of  his  single-minded- 
ness,  his  courage,  his  perseverance,  his  high  idea  of  art,  and  his 
perfect  belief  in  himself. 

The  writer  first  saw  the  door  and  its  author  in  November,  1887. 
On  entering  the  studio,  a  large,  barn-like  looking  place,  he  saw  an 
enormous  structure  in  plaster,  reaching  nearly  to  the  ceiling.  This 
was  the  door  upon  which  more  than  seven  years  of  the  sculptor's  time, 
of  hand  and  head,  have  been  spent,  and  upon  which,  in  the  words  of 
lis  friend,  Octave  Mirabeau,  he  may  well  pass  the  remainder  of  his 
ife. 

The  first  impression  is  one  of  astonishment  and  bewilderment : 
astonishment  at  the  size  of  the  door  and  the  style  of  its  design,  and 
jewilderment  at  the  extent  and  variety  of  the  forms  that  compose  it. 
If  possible,  this  impression  is  heightened  by  a  glance  at  the  floor, 
tor  half  of  it,  as  well  as  every  available  place  on  the  walls  of  the 
studio,  is  covered  with  plaster  figures,  in  every  conceivable  position, 
that  are  destined  to  complete  the  work.  It  is  like  looking  into  an- 
other and  strange  world.  And  it  is  only  after  repeated  visits 
that  this  impression  is  succeeded  by  the  more  gratifying  one  of 
wonder  and  admiration  of  the  prevailing  life  of  the  figures  and  the 
fine  sense  of  true  sculpture  that  everywhere  abounds.  All  idea  of 
subject,  illustration  or  purpose  takes  a  second  place  in  the  mind,  or 
is  forgotten,  in  presence  of  the  charm,  the  sensibility,  the  divine 
touch  of  art  that  takes  possession  of  the  beholder.  He  stands  like 
one  willingly  enchanted  in  an  atmosphere  created  by  the  wand  of  a 
magician.  If  he  looks  upward,  three  sinister  left  arms,  from  as  many 
herculean  forms,  point  straight  at  him,  as  though  in  condemnation 
of  his  intrusion  ;  if  he  turn  to  the  right,  his  eyes  meet  the  beautiful 
figure  of  a  youug  girl,  whose  whole  being  is  a  picture  of  despair  ;  if 
to" the  left,  "a  commanding  statue  of  St.  John  the  Baptist  bids  him  to 
waiting  silence  ;  if  he  turn  around,  the  piercing  look  of  the  life-like 
sketch  of  Basticn-Lepage  greets  him,  and  at  his  very  feet  lies  the 
mutilated  body  of  a  colossal  Ugolino.  Turn  where  he  will,  tread 
where  he  may,"  these  silent  images  follow  him  like  a  united  shadow. 

Although  the  door  is  generally  understood  and  popularly  called, 
for  description's  sake,  an  illustration  of  Dante's  "  Inferno,"  it  is  only 
true  to  a  limited  degree.  Of  its  design  and  the  thoughts  and  sentiments 
that  have  actuated  the  sculptor,  he  says  :  "  I  had  no  idea  of  interpret- 
ing Dante,  though  I  was  glad  to  accept  the  '  Inferno  '  as  a  starting- 
point,  because  I  wished  to  do  something  in  small,  nude  figures. 
I  had  been  accused  of  using  casts  from  nature  in  the  execution  of 
my  work,  and  I  made  '  The  St.  John  '  to  refute  this,  but  it  only 
partially  succeeded.  To  completely  prove  that  I  could  model  from 
life  as  well  as  other  sculptors,  I  determined,  simple  as  I  was,  to 
make  the  sculpture  on  the  door  of  figures  smaller  than  life.  My 
sole  idea  is  simply  one  of  color  and  effect.  There  is  no  intention  of 
classification  or  method  of  subject,  no  scheme  of  illustration  or 
intended  moral  purpose.  I  followed  my  imagination,  my  own  sense 
of  arrangement,  movement  and  composition.  It  has  been  from  the 
beginning,  and  will  be  to  the  end,  simply  and  solely  a  matter  of 
personal  pleasure.  Dante  is  more  profound  and  has  more  fire  than 
I  have  been  able  to  represent.  He  is  a  literary  sculptor.  He  speaks 
in  gestures  as  well  as  in  words ;  is  precise  and  comprehensive  not 
only  in  sentiment  and  idea,  but  in  the  movement  of  the  body.  I 
have  always  admired  Dante,  and  have  read  him  a  great  deal,  but  it 
is  very  difficult  for  me  to  express  in  words  just  what  I  think  of  him, 
or  have  done  on  the  door.  I  have  only  read  one  translation,  that 
of  Rivarol,  the  five-cent  edition,  and  I  have  always  carried  it  in  my 
pocket.  Other  translations  have  been  recommended  to  me  as  better 
than  his,  more  learned,  but  I  have  never  seen  them.  Rivarol's  seems 
to  be  clear,  charming,  simple,  and  without  pedantry.  He  may  not 
have  been  the  greatest  of  men  or  the  most  profound  scholar,  but  I 
like  his  translation.  It  has  always  satisfied  me. 

"  The  salient  subjects  of  the  door  are  the  two  episodes  of  Paolo  and 
Francesca  di  Rimini  and  Ugolino,  but  the  composition  includes  the 
three  phantoms  and  Dante.  I  never  so  much  as  thought  of  Beatrice, 
thouo-h  I  know  it  is  a  beautiful  subject.  Perhaps  I  may  include  it 
yet,  but  it  will  be  difficult  to  treat,  because  I  only  make  nude  figures 
for  the  door,  and  I  don't  feel  like  representing  her  nude.  I  can't 
think  of  her  as  a  nude  figure,  and  for  the  door  she  could  not  be  made 
otherwise.  Besides,  she  is  an  angel,  and  I  don't  see  angels  as  bodies, 
only  as  heads.  Neither  do  I  represent  Virgil." 

Though  the  sculptor  modestly  says  that  he  has  been  unable  to 
fully  represent  Dante,  the  writer  believes  it  will  be  heartily  conceded 
that  whenever  he  has  treated  any  of  the  latter's  subjects  it  has  been 
with  all  the  fire  and  comprehension  of  the  text,  and  has  produced 
works  of  sculpture  equal  to  anything  that  ever  came  from  the  poet's 
pen. 


224  The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.       [VOL.  XXV.  — No.  698. 


What  greater  sense  of  speechless  dole  could  be  shown  than  by  the 
three  phantoms  which  surmount  the  door : 

"  It  is  I  that  saw  the  fall  of  the  rebel  legions ; 
It  is  I  that  saw  the  guilty  races  pass; 
It  is  through  me  that  they  go  to  everlasting  sorrows. 
The  hand  that  made  the  heavens  laid  my  foundations  : 
My  birth  was  before  men  or  days, 
And  I  shall  remain  longer  than  time, 
Enter,  whoever  you  may  be,  and  leave  hope." 

Kivarol's  Translation. 

Nothing  less  can  be  said  than  that  this  group  is  matchless  as  a 
conception.  And  its  opposition  of  masses  and  power  of  concen- 
trated purpose  —  daring  in  repetition  —  make  it  a  work  of  sculpture 


Various  artists  have  treated  this  subject  at  the  moment  when  the 
father  is  in  the  act  of  biting  his  fingers  in  the  first  scene  of  his  agony, 
and  when  his  sons  are  suffering  the  first  pangs  of  hunger.  Rodin 
goes  at  once  to  the  depths  of  the  whole  tragedy.  The  youths  have 
fallen  to  the  ground,  and  Ugolino,  seeing  them  so,  and  feeling  the 
full  terror  of  his  situation,  throws  his  own  emaciated  carcass  down 
and  crawls  over  the  bodies  of  his  offspring  like  a  beast  benumbed 
with  rage  and  famine. 

"  They  expired  at  my  feet,  falling  one  by  one,  all  my  three  sons,  between 
the  fifth  and  sixth  day;  seeing  them  no  more,  so  surely  had  they  fallen; 
I  threw  myself  down,  shrieking  and  creeping  over  their  inanimate  bodies, 
calling  them  for  two  days  after  they  died,  and  calling  ever  until  the  grief 
which  hunger  hath  awakened  in  me  shall  die  out.  —  Rivarol's  Translation. 


...-/A'-".  ,.,i:-t,-:*.*, •—•  - 

-  ""• -^ -':'••'•  ^:-  :  f^^\" 

^j^SS^*****^;?--  v\-'-'  -'-.;, 
""^      jBT  '"  ^*kr  -s**.    ^~  .*- 


5-^^ 

t^,..^ '.  _; 

•^^^^«£.-^^^^^^  ^"'f^^-tC-V;^^^^-/'— ' 

:S^?'^;»;>^i-';liv-  i;a?  :•  "  •  f^-^f  •"-;- . 


Clay  Model  of  the  Top  of  the  Door.     Auguste  Rodin,  Sculptor. 


as  fine  as  it  is  original.  It  is  a  trio  of  despair  ;  a  drama  conclusive 
in  design  and  propriety  of  place.  Tt  tells  the  story  of  the  whole 
door. 

And  the  Dante  :  he  that  looks  down  upon  hell.  For  an  expression 
of  a  deep  understanding  of  and  a  penetration  into  the  very  soul  of 
him  who  walked  through  the  abodes  of  the  cursed  and  saw  its  end- 
less grief,  what  could  be  more  complete  than  this  statue.  This  awful 
Thinker :  seen  from  his  left,  he  looks  like  a  bird  of  prey  contented 
with  the  vengeance  he  has  meted  out  to  the  vile  of  the  earth ;  a  com- 
position of  physical  and  mental  dominance,  an  effect  of  personality 
seemingly  without  a  rival  in  all  the  sculpture  of  the  world.  More 
vital  than  he  of  the  Medici  Chapel,  and  more  to  be  feared  than  the 
motionless  prophet  who  keeps  his  vigils  in  the  icy  loneliness  of  St. 
Pietro  in  Vincula.  Here,  then,  are  two  works  every  way  worthy  of 
the  imperial  source  that  suggested  them ;  as  complete,  as  firm,  as 
living.  Of  Rodin's  power  of  seizing  the  most  dramatic  point  of  a 
subject,  the  group  of  Ugolino  and  his  sons  is  a  terribly  real  example. 


The  impression  made  by  this  being  is  so  forcible  that  it  seems 
more  like  the  half-conscious  response  of  an  unburied  corpse  to  the 
trumpet  of  the  resurrection  than  the  closing  moment  of  a  period  of 
torture.  So  far  as  delineation  of  subject  is  concerned,  this  group 
stand*  quite  alone  in  vividness  and  dramatic  force.  It  is  the  horror 
of  the  door. 

The  other  important  subject  included  in  the  scheme  of  the  sculptor 
is  the  group  of  Paola  and  Francesca  di  Rimini,  the  first  study  of 
which  was  too  large  for  the  purpose  intended,  it  being  over  half  life- 
size.  It  represents  the  lovers  sitting  close  together  with  their  arms 
around  each  other.  Its  whole  expression  is  the  embodiment  of 
accordant  love :  beautiful  in  its  contrasts  of  form,  delicate  and 
chaste  in  sentiment.  Paolo,  the  strong,  sensitive,  tenderly  ex- 
pectant lover ;  Francesca,  the  fully  confiding  and  willingly  submis- 
sive mistress.  No  note  or  vibration  of  this  exquisite  subject  that  was 
not  lived  by  the  sculptor  while  this  group  came  into  being.  It  was 
exhibited  in  Brussels  in  1SS7,  and  criticised  because  it  was  nude. 


MAY  11,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


225 


"  What !  make  them  naked.  Who  ever  heard  of  such  a  thing.  It's 
dreadful."  That  it  was  a  superb  piece  of  sculpture  passed  unnoticed. 

Of  the  many  studies  which  the  sculptor  has  made  of  this  subject, 
the  one  that  will  go  on  the  door  represents  the  figure  of  a  powerful 
man  holding  to  his  breast  and  neck,  with  all  the  desperation  of  un- 
dying lt>ve,  the  folded  together  form  of  a  woman.  The  composition 
of  this  group  is  as  original  as  the  comprehension  of  the  sentiment  is 
fervid.  It  seems  as  though  the  soul  of  the  woman,  in  its  haste  to 
meet  her  lover,  had  shot  through  the  air  like  a  thought,  to  find  rest 
in  his  arms.  Neither  figure  seems  fully  conscious  of  the  apparent 
effort  of  their  bodies,  it  is  like  something  their  hearts  alone  have 
done.  In  no  work  of  art  familiar  to  the  writer  in  which  corporeal 
bodies  are  represented  as  going  through  space  without  effort  is  there 
such  a  complete  expression  of  this  illusion  as  with  the  figures  on  the 
door,  and  this  group  is  perhaps  the  most  emphatic  of  them  all.  It  is 
the  urgency  of  a  great  emotion  unchanged  in  identity  and  individual 
force  even  during  that  mysterious  moment  when  life  on  earth  closes. 

The  penetrating  personality  of  these  five  pieces  of  sculpture,  and 
the  varied  character  of  their  execution  find  an  abundant  counterpart 
in  the  other  figures  of  which  the  door  is  composed. 

The  whole  structure  is  about  eighteen  feet  high  and  twelve  feet 
wide.  The  door  itself,  which  is  immediately  under  where  Dante 
sits,  is  not  divided  into  a  series  of  panels,  each  containing  a  special 
subject  and  treated  independently,  as  great  doors  generally  are,  but 
represents  a  perpendicular  soction  of  the  damned  world,  without 
apparent  background,  and  with  a  slight  moulding  running  through 
the  centre  from  top  to  bottom. 

The  formations  of  rock,  sea,  fire  and  cloud  are  peopled  with  the 
phantoms  of  human  beings,  syrens,  harpies,  fauns,  furies  and 
monsters ;  all  in  more .  or  less  movement,  according  to  the  desires, 
emotions  or  propensities  of  their  natures  while  on  earth,  and  as 
affected  by  their  present  surroundings.  They  sail  through  the  air, 
dive  into  the  sea,  dart  here  and  there  as  though  they  were  possessed, 
or  stand  as  motionless  as  death. 

The  spectator  looks  through  the  framework  of  the  door  into  this 
indescribable  scene.  Many  of  the  groups  and  figures  are  in  full 
relief,  and  are  placed  well  in  advance  of  the  surface-line  of  the  door, 
and  from  them  the  relief  gradually  lessens  until  the  dimmest  perceived 
distance  shows  the  vanishing  forms  in  delicate  mass  or  outline. 

The  frame  of  the  door,  composed  of  small  mouldings  setting  well 
out  from  it,  is  also  covered  in  the  most  surprisingly  ingenious  manner 
with  figures  of  every  kind,  age  and  sex,  making  it  appear  like  the 
shores  of  an  overflowing  sea  of  uneasy  souls  impossible  to  keep  within 
the  stately  authority  of  an  architectural  form.  The  sculptor,  more 
pitiful  than  the  poet,  grants  a  little  respite  to  these  unfortunates,  and 
permits  them  to  leave  their  direful  abode.  Or,  carried  away  with 
the  endless  procession  he  has  unguardedly  set  in  motion,  and  in  no 
way  restricted  by  the  arbitrary  topography  of  the  poet,  he  in  very 
truth  lets  Hell  loose,  and  the  limits  of  that  locality  are  only  bounded 
by  the  imagination  of  the  artist. 

After  the  first  large  sketch  of  the  entire  structure  had  been  deter- 
mined upon,  the  sculptor  intended  to  model  the  sculpture  in  wax  on 
its  background  of  plaster,  but  as  this  material  was  found  to  be  too 
expensive,  clay  was  used  in  its  stead.  The  figures  were  then  cut 
off  in  piece?  and  sections,  and  cast  in  plaster.  The  present  task  of 
the  sculptor  is  the  further  finishing  and  replacing  them  iu  their 
proper  order  and  composition.  The  size  of  the  figures  vary  from  six 
inches  to  about  four  feet  in  height.  If  the  reader  remember  the 
very  modest  price  which  Rodin  received  for  the  statues  he  sold  to 
the  Government,  he  may  correctly  surmise  that  the  amount  paid  for 
the  door  is  still  more  modest.  For  the  price  of  his  own  work  in 
making  the  plaster  model  the  sculptor  cannot  be  very  exacting,  but 
for  its  reproduction  in  bronze  it  is  an  absolute  condition  that  it  shall 
be  by  the  wax  process.  And  it  may  be  here  added  that  the  French 
nation,  in  the  large  majority  of  cases,  owes  far  more  of  its  art-glory 
to  the  individual  sacrifices  of  its  artists  than  to  any  organized  in- 
fluence. 

The  large  unfinished  panel,  or  the  tympanum  of  the  door,  before 
which  Dante  sits  in  silent  state,  contains  two  subjects,  that  on  his 
right,  "  The  Arrival,"  and  the  one  on  his  left,  "  The  Judgment." 
The  first  represents  a  crowd  of  spirits  pushed  on  by  relentless 
destiny  in  hurried  disorder  to  the  bank  of  the  Styx,  where  they  await 
the  arrival  of  Charon's  boat.  The  central  figure  of  this  part  of  the 
panel  is  a  kneeling  female  satyr  clasping  her  hands  behind  her  head. 
She  personifies  sensual  passion,  and  expresses  in  her  position  the 
consciousness  of  her  condition  and  readiness  to  accept  the  coming 
punishment. 

The  principal  figure  of  "  The  Judgment,"  is  a  young  girl  whose 
right  hand  is  raised  to  her  chin,  the  latter  meeting  it  at  the  shoulder, 
while  her  left  arm  is  extended  near  her  body.  If  any  distinction 
can  be  made  in  regard  to  the  character  of  the  sculpture  on  the  door, 
this  statue  would  be  called  the  most  beautiful.  Beautiful  in  every 
sense,  in  its  life,  naturalness,  delicacy  of  outline  and  exquisite 
sensibility  of  modelling.  It  is  a  delicious  consummation  of  girlish 
despair.  If  an  unexplainable  fate  has  placed  her  among  the  lost 
when  she  ought  to  have  bloomed  in  Paradise,  it  remained  for  the 
humane  artist  to  reverse  the  judgment  and  preserve  her  as  an 
embodiment  of  innocence,  a  joy  to  the  hearts  of  the  generations  that 
will  see  her  here. 

This  figure,  like  many  others  made  by  the  sculptor  without  refer- 
ence to  any  personality,  has  suggested  to  the  minds  of  writers  and 
others  a  variety  of  names,  though  it  has  no  name.  It  may  be 


selected  as  an  excellent  example  of  the  character  of  Rodin's  art 
temperament.  He  works  from  the  force  of  the  sentiment  that 
possesses  him,  that  he  lives,  and  not  from  the  motive  of  any  given 
name  or  outwardly  defined  subject.  The  Ugolino  group  is  the  chief 
point  of  interest  of  the  right-hand  part  of  the  door,  and  is  placed  on 
a  line  with  the  eye  of  the  observer. 

At  its  left  there  will  be  a  group  of  human  and  half-human  figures 
surrounding  "  The  Three  Syrens."  These  syrens,  unearthly  ereafures, 
weird  and  seductive  in  every  form  and  movement,  make  perhaps  the 
most  subtle  composition  on  the  door.  No  illustration  can  five  any 
idea  of  their  charm  and  color,  for  their  beauty  begins  and  ends  with 
themselves.  It  is  just  praise  to  say  that  they  are  beyond  the  reach 
of  the  camera. 

Just  behind  them  stands  a  splendid  youth,  in  full  relief,  with  his 
hands  clasped  over  his  head,  looking  in  wonder  at  a  kneeling  female 
figure  at  his  feet,  and  perfectly  unconscious  of  his  woeful  surround- 
ings. Above  him  is  a  group,  also  in  full  relief,  of  the  noble  figure  of 
a  man,  and  three  equally  fine  ones  of  women,  the  latter  representing 
fear  and  uncontrollable  grief.  A  short  distance  below  Un-olino  a 
narrow  panel  begins,  which  has  two  central  pieces  of  masks  of  those 
who  have  died  in  misery,  and  the  spaces  on  each  side  are  filled 
with  an  illustration  of  the  festival  of  Thetis  and  Peleus  when  invaded 
by  Centaurs.  Thoughtless  pleasure  is  personsined  by  a  youth  borne 
on  the  back  of  a  syren,  who  is  about  to  dive  into  the  sea  carrying  her 
joyful  and  unconscious  victim  with  her. 

LTo  be  continued. 1 


THE    LOTUS    IN   ANCIENT   ART.'  — V. 

THE    EOO-AND-DART    MOULDING. 

DURING   the   study   of    the   Cypriote 
pottery   in    New    York    which    was 
prompted  by  Mr.  Clarke's  article  on 
the  capital  of  Neandreia,  I  observed  some 
vases   with   lotus    borders   suggesting   an 
analogy  with  the  "  egg-and-dart  "   mould- 
ing.     One  of   these  borders  is  shown  in 
Figure  1.     A  little  examination  and  com- 
parison  proved   this   decoration   to  be   a 

double  lotus  border,  of  which  one  side  appears  in  2,  taken  from 
another  vase.  In  this  border  the  dart  appears  in  primitive  form  as 
the  central  triangle  of  a  simplified  lotus  resemblin^  3.  The  ovals 


corresponding  to  the  "f.gg"  of  the  moulding  are  formed  by  the 
connecting  exterior  curves  of  the  dowers.  Between  the  flowers, 
!.  «.,  in  the  middle  of  each  oval,  is  placed  a  bud. 

This  observation  was  assisted  by  the  comparison  with  a  decoration 
in  bronze  found  at  Olympia  (4)  bearing  some  resemblance  to  the  mould- 
ing in  question,  in  which  the  motive  is  a  simplified  lotus  form  corres- 
ponding to  5. 

It  then  occurred  to  me  that  the  excavations  at  Naukratis  in  the 
Nile  Delta  ought  to  have  revealed  some  traces  of  this  connection  if 
it  really  existed.2  I  accordingly  turned  to  the  then  recently  issued 
publication  of  the  Egypt  Exploration  Fund,  "Naukratis  I"  and 
found  the  conclusive  demonstration.  This  is  offered  by  the  archi- 
tectural mouldings  herewith  which  are  copied  from  the  plates  in 


"  Naukratis."  Nos.  6  and  7  are  clearly  lotus  borders  in  relief. 
When  reversed  they  are  "  egg-and-dart "  mouldings  (8,  9).  If  the 
mouldings  of  the  Erectheum  are  compared  and  reversed  in  the  same 
way,  it  appears  that  they  are  simply  deeper  cut  modifications  of  the 
same  motive  (10,  11). 

From  the  same  Ionic  temple  at  Naukratis  comes  the  column  neck- 
ing shown  at  12,  which  corresponds  to  the  necking  of  the  columns  of 
the  Erechtheum.  In  this  modification  of  lotus  border  the  forms 
looking  like  spear  heads  on  either  side  of  the  lotus  nearly  resemble 


1  Continued  from  No.  6%,  page  202. 

!  Nankratis  was  ultimately  the  only  Greek  colony  of  the  Nile  Delta  because 
ultimately  the  trading  privilege  was  confined  to  it,  but  the  Greeks  were  never 
confined  to  this  spot  as  individuals.  They  formed  the  most  Important  mercenary 
force  of  the  Egyptian  kings  from  the  middle  of  the  eighth  century  B.  c.,  until 
the  Persian  conquest,  525  B.  c.  The  excavations  at  Naukratis  date  from  1885. 


226 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


XXV.  -No.  698. 


the  buds  of  the  blue  lotus,  which  occasionally  have  the  same  square 
ano-led  section.  This  is  attested  by  the  botanical  cut  of  the  buds  of 
the"  blue  lotus  in  the  Description  de  I'Egypte  as  well  as  by  personal 
observation  from  nature.  It  is  quite  likely  that  the  forms  were  mis- 
taken for  spear  heads  by  the  Greek  artists.  The  diamond-shaped 
form  looking  like  an  arrow  head  above  the  lotus  proper  in  (12)  is 

not  more  remote  from 
the  central  lotus  calyx 
leaf  which  was  its  origi- 
nal form  than  are  the 
exterior  spear  heads 
from  buds. 

Comparison  of  the 
lotus  buds  on  the  ovals 
of  2  with  the  design  on 
the  relief  oval  of  6  shows  that  this  also  is  a  bud  and  the  elementary 
orio-inal  form  of  the  pointed  decoration  seen  on  the  "  leaf  "  oval  of 
the'Erechtheium  (10,  11).  The  "  egg-and-leaf  "  moulding,  so-called, 
seen  in  one  line  of  the  Erechtheium  moulding,  is  of  course  only  a 
modification  in  outlines  of  the  "  egg-and-dart." 

It  thus  appears  that  the  "  egg-and-dart  "  moulding  is  a  decoration 
in  which  the  egg  is  originally  an  oval   projection  resulting  from  the 


incised  cutting  of  M  sci-irs  of  ?ii»|.liliccl  lutiiM-s  |il:iccd  sidit  by  side.1 
It  is  well  known  that  the  ornamental  motives  of  Egyptian  archi- 
tecture were  mainly  painted  rather  than  incised.  It  is  also  a  matter 
of  general  information  that  the  development  of  ornament  in  Greek 
Art  was  one  from  decoration  by  color  in  flat  lo  decoration  in  low 
relief  and  that  the  incision  grows  deeper  and  the  relief  higher 
according  to  sequence  of  time.  Under-cutting  first  appears  in 
the  Greco-Roman  art  and  this  also  grows  in  extent  and  depth 
according  to  sequence  of  time. 

According  to  the  foregoing  observations  the  supposed  "  leaf " 
decorations  lound  in  color  on  the  capitals  of  the  Doric  order  and  else- 
where (Figure  13)  will  also  reveal  themselves  as  reversed  lotus 
borders. 

After  making  the  foregoing  observations  I  was  somewhat  disap- 
pointed to  fimf  that  they  had  been  partially  anticipated  by  Owen 
Jones  as  early  as  1856.  According  to  the  prefatory  remarks  of  the 
"  Grammar  of  Ornament  "  the  "  egg-and-dart  "  moulding  is  derived 
from  an  Egyptian  border  in  which  lotuses  alternate  with  bunches  of 
grapes.  The  bunches  of  grapes  are  said  to  be  the  origin  of  the  egg. 
An  example  of  this  border  is  shown  in  the  "  Grammar  of  Ornament." 
The  illustrations  offered  in  this  paper  from  Naukratis  make  the  hypoth- 
esis as  to  the 

— A  £^^^.^__«___^^-^— *•— ^  bunches    of 

grapes  quite 
unnecessar  y . 
It  is  not  from 
one  of  the 
rarest,  but 
from  one  of 
the  common- 
est forms  of 
Egyptian 

border  that  the  Greek  moulding  is  derived.  The  oval  is  simply 
formed  by  the  side  outlines  of  adjoining  lotuses.  In  this  sense  my 
observation  as  to  the  "  egg-and-dart "  moulding  is  novel  as  far  as 
my  reading  has  carried  me. 

Another  partial  anticipation  of  my  observation  on  the 
dart"   moulding,   was   made   by   M.    Leon   de  Vesly  in    1871    and 
published  in  the   Journal  (Annales)  of   the  "  Societe    Centrale   des 
Architectes."     M.  de  Vesly  transports  the  "  fir  cone  "  which  accord 
inf  to  my  views  has  disappeared  in  Assyria  into  the  heart  of  Egypt 
and  places  it  in  alternating  arrangement  with  lotuses  as  the  origin  o1 
the  "  ew."      M.  de  Vesly  has  clearly  been  misled  by  the  bulbous 
form    oF   the    lotus    buds    in    the    border    in    question    (see   the 
bulbous  bud  of  the  rose  lotus,  from  nature,  in  my  last  paper), 
cones"   are    unknown   in    Egyptian    ornament,   but    the    mistak 
is  equally  clear  in  either  case.     The  bud  is  placed  on  the  oval  (see  2 
6,  10  and  12).     There  is  no  case  of  an  Egyptian  border  in  which  the 
oval  itself  is  formed  by  the  bud  and  no  case  in  which  the  bud  can  be 
assumed  to  have  formed  the  starting-point  of  an  oval.     (It  is  worthy 
of  remark  that  a  projected  "egg"  moulding  without  the  dart  is  a 
old  as  the  fourth  dynasty,  as  appears  from  an  illustration  in  M 
Dieulafoy's  "  Monuments  Antiques  de  la  Perse.") 


'The  "  dart "  is  an  ultimate  rudiment  of  the  central  calyx  leal. 


The  importance  of  the  fact  to  which  this  paper  is  devoted  is  not 
o  be  judged  by  the  brevity  of  the  demonstrations.  The  intimacy  of 
elations  thus  proved  to  have  existed  between  Egyptian  and  Greek 
ecorative  art  reacts  on  the  whole  argument  as  to  the  importance  of 

gyptian  lotus  forms  as  basis  of  early  Greek  ornament  in  general. 
.nv  supposable  inherent  improbabilities  as  regards,  for  instaace,  the 

gyptian  origin  of  the  Ionic  capital  are  entirely  removed  by 
lie  demonstration  for  the  moulding  which  is  constantly  found  on  it. 
"he  Greek  colonies  of  the  Nile  Delta  dating  from  the  eighth  century 
I.  C.,  precede  by  three  centuries  the  present  known  cases  of  a 
eveloped  Greek  "  egg-and-dart "  moulding  and  abundantly  explain 
Egyptian  influence  in  question.  WM.  H.  GOODYEAR. 

f  To  be  continued.! 


THE  INTELLIGENT  BUILDING-COMMITTEE. 

MSUFFIT  reports  in 
L'  Architecture  the 
*  transactions  of  a  special 
meeting  of  the  Council  of  Ar- 
chitecture of  an  imaginary  de- 
partment called  on  the  twenty- 
ninth  of  February  last  to  con- 
sider the  designs  for  a  town- 
hall,  which  have  been  prepared 
by  Mr.  Beauplan,  architect, 
and  have  been  awarded  the 
highest  place  by  the  jury  of 
experts.  Mr.  Beauplan's 
drawings  are  spread  out  on  a 
table,  and  are  examined  with 
much  interest  by  the  members 
5EMW-5X-'  °f  Ae  Council  who  have  ar- 
rived earlier  than  the  rest, 
and  who  occupy  the  time  in 
exchanging  views  upon  archi- 
tecture in  general  and  ar- 
chitects in  particular. 

"Yes,  my  dear  Mr.  Hedge- 
row," says  the  legal  member  of 
the  Council,  evidently  in  conclusion  of  a  long  story,  "  the  architect 
had  forgotten  the  stairs  in  the  house;  just  think  of  it." 

"  I  can  easily  believe  it,  my  dear  sir,  for  the  same  thing  happened 
to  the  architect  of  a  cousin  of  mine.  I  have  often  heard  my  aunt 
say  — 

"  There   is   nothing   surprising   about   that,"  interrupts  another. 
"  They  are  always   doing  something  of  the  kind,  and  I  could  tell 
plenty  of  stories  of  similar  forgetfulness.     The  explanation  is  very 
simple  :  the  stairs  are  in  their  way,  and  so  they  suppress  them." 
Then  everybody  laughs. 

At  this  moment  the  President  of  the  Council  enters.  .  All  the 
members  seat  themselves,  and  the  President  announces  that  the 
object  of  the  meeting  is  to  examine  and  pronounce  upon  the  merits 
of  the  design  submitted,  and  to  make  such  suggestions  as  may  seem 
advisable,  which,  if  the  Council  so  decides,  will  be  followed  by  mak- 
:<*  a  modified  design  in  conformity  with  them. 

'The  architect  is  then  invited  in,  and  the  legal  member  takes  the 
floor.  He  begins  by  felicitating  the  architect  upon  his  manner  of 
laying  washes  of  India-ink,  about  which,  as  he  says,  he  happens  to 
know"  a  good  deal.  He  would  like,  however,  to  inquire  why  the 
entrance-hall  is  placed  over  the  vestibule,  and  why  there  is  no  stair- 
way from  one  to  the  other.  "Ordinarily,"  he  adds,  "these  two 
apartments  are  on  the  same  level,  and  open  directly  into  each  other." 
"You  see,"  he  remarks  to  the  architect,  "I  know  something  about 
these  matters." 

"But,"  expostulates  the  architect.  "But?"  repeats  the  other 
angrily,  "  I  have  eyes,  and  I  say  there  is  no  staircase  shown." 

"  But,"  persists  the  architect,  "  the  drawing  before  you  is  a  floor- 
plan,  and  the  rooms  are  shown  on  a  level,  not  one  over  another." 

"  Oh,  then  this  is  a  floor-plan,  is  it?  Why  is  it  not  written  so  on 
top  ?  You  cannot  expect  people  to  guess  at  these  things.  Let  me 
advise  you,  Mr.  Architect,  to  put  always  on  top  '  Floor-plan ' ;  then 
people  will  understand." 

"  Mr.  Architect,"  gently  inquires  Mr.  Goodman,  the  President  of 
the  Charitable  Association,  "are  your  plans  made  by  hand?" 

"Ordinarily,  sir,  we  make  them  by  hand  when  we  have  time 
enough." 

"  Ah !  I  have  heard  that  there  are  machines  for  that.  I  suppose, 
in  fact,  that  you  could  hardly  do  it  all  yourself." 

Mr.  Shorts,  President  of  the  local  grange,  takes  the  floor.     "  Why 
do  you  have  so  much  black  on  this  drawing,  Mr.  Architect  ?  " 
"  Those  are  shadows,  sir." 

"  Now  stop  right  there.  You  acknowledge  that  they  are  shadows. 
That  is  unfortunate.  In  a  town-hall  it  is  very  necessary  to  be  able 
to  see  clearly.  No  one  wants  to  have  the  gas  lighted  all  day  long. 
I  see  you  have  no  windows  in  your  section ;  that  is  why  you  have  to 
make  those  black  shadows." 

"  But  the  windows  are  not  on  that  side  of  the  section." 
"  Well,  then,  put  some  there.     I  tell  you  that  we  must  have  light. 
What  do  you  say,  Mr.  Beetroot." 


MAY  11,  1889.] 


TJie   American  'Architect  and  Building  News. 


227 


"  I  am  entirely  of  your  opinion,  my  dear  colleague,  but  permit  me 
to  ask  Mr.  Beauplan  one  question :  Why  are  the  shadows  in  your 
section  surrounded  with  red?" 

"  That,  sir,  is  the  conventional  color  for  showing  sections." 

"Oh,  dear  me,  what  do  we  want  with  the  Convention  and  the 
Sections.  You  know  we  don't  want  political  emblems  on  our  plans. 
I  advise  you  to  rub  out  that  socialistic  red,  and  put  red,  white  and 
blue  in  its  place." 

Here  Mr.  Hairygoat,  member  from  a  manufacturing  town,  leaps 
to  his  feet. 

"  Mr.  Hairygoat,"  says  the  President,  "  you  have  not  the  floor." 

"  I  know  it,  Mr.  President,  and  that  is  why  I  take  it.  I  vote  for 
the  red,  do  you  hear.  That  is  the  color  of  the  supremacy  of  the 
public,  and  a  town-hall  is  a  public  building." 

The  President:  "Well,  gentlemen,  to  satisfy  every  one,  I  will  ask 
the  architect  to  make  one  side  of  his  section  red,  and  the  other  red. 
white  and  blue." 

Enough  of  this.  Mr.  X.,  member  of  Congress  for  this  district, 
has  the  floor. 

Mr.  X.  rises.  Profound  silence.  "  Gentlemen,  to  the  interesting 
objections  which  have  already  been  made  to  the  plan,  I  will  add 
only  one,  relating  to  the  fa9ade.  Why,  I  would  like  to  know,  are 
those  lead-lights  put  in  the  windows?  In  our  town,  we  built  last 
year  a  lock-up,  and  there  were  no  lead  lights  in  the  windows ;  yet 
every  one  said  it  was  a  splendid  building,  and  it  was  done  by  the 
best  mason  in  the  town.  We  have  no  millions  to  spend  on  our 
buildings.  We  must  keep  the  cost  moderate.  What  do  you  think, 
Mr.  Senator?" 

"I  think  that  the  public  interest  must  be  guarded.  Mr.  Archi- 
tect, do  not  forget  to  have  weather-strips  around  the  doors.  They 
keep  out  the  cold  in  winter." 

The  President :  "  Has  any  one  anything  more  to  say  ?  The 
meeting  is  closed." 


PFEIFFER'S  AMERICAN  MANSIONS. 

WE  have  been  not  a  little  disappointed  that  the  architects  of  this 
country,  giving   due  weight  to  the   circumstances,  have  not 
accorded  a  more  hearty  support  to  the  proposition  that  was 
submitted  to  them  last  autumn  in  the  form  of  the  subjoined  circular : 

BOSTON,  November  15,  1888. 

DURING  the  past  ten  years  or  more  of  his  life,  the  late  Carl  Pfeiffer, 
F.  A.  I.  A.,  of  New  York,  busied  himself  in  preparing  for  publication  a 
work  on  American  Domestic  Architecture,  and  during  this  time  had 
prepared  with  much  elaboration  over  three  hundred  drawings. 

The  executor  of  his  estate,  finding  it  necessary  in  the  interests  of 
Mr.  1'feiffer's  family  to  realize  all  that  was  possible,  has  asked  us  to 
undertake  the  publication  of  this  material.  This  we  have  consented 
to  do,  provided  that  the  members  of  the  architectural  profession,  taking 
the  circumstances  into  consideration,  will  assure  us  by  their  subscrip- 
tion that  the  undertaking  will  be  of  value  to  the  beneficiaries. 

On  examination,  we  find  that  from  the  material  there  can  be  selected 
100  plates,  14  x  18,  which  we  propose  to  publish  in  five  parts,  each  part 
containing  twenty  plates,  at  the  price  of  $1.00  for  each  part,  payable 
on  delivery  or  for  the  entire  work  in  advance ;  and  you  are  invited  to 
signify  your  willingness  to  subscribe  for  the  work  by  filling  out  either 
of  the  annexed  forms. 

The  drawings  represent  designs  by  Mr.  Pfeiffer  for  dwelling-houses 
of  various  classes,  with  all  their  details  both,  decorative  and  construc- 
tive, carefully  worked  out.  The  draughtsmanship  is  excellent,  and 
many  of  the  drawings  have  been  made  by  Mr.  Bassett  Jones  and  other 
draughtsmen  of  nearly  equal  capacity. 

Trusting  that  we  may  hear  from  you  promptly  on  this  matter,  as 
publicUtion  depends  entirely  on  the  response  we  receive,  we  remain 
Very  truly  yours,  TJCKNOK  &  Co. 

Those  who  have  subscribed  for  the  work  have  done  so  with  ex- 
pressions of  warm  approval  of  the  undertaking,  but  the  plain  fact  is 
that  unless  a  greater  number  of  subscriptions  can  be  secured  the 
benefit  accruing  to  Mr.  Pfeiffer's  family  is  likely  to  be  but  small. 

If  any  of  our  readers  have  overlooked  the  matter,  we  ask  them, 
once  more,  to  send  in  their  subscriptions  at  once. 


BOSTON   ARCHITECTURAL   CLUB. 

TITHE  regular  conversazione  of  the  Club  was  held  Wednesday 
•  I »  evening,  May  8.  During  the  week  the  successful  drawings  of 
the  past  six  years  in  competition  for  the  Rotch  Travelling- 
Scholarship  have  been  on  exhibition  at  the  rooms  of  the  Club,  and 
the  conversazione  was  entirely  devoted  to  an  examination  and  dis- 
cussion of  these,  while  at  the  same  time,  the  general  subject  —  the 
scholarship,  its  aims,  methods  and  achievements,  was  considered  in 
detail.  Prof.  F.  W.  Chandler  of  the  Institute  of  Technology  was 
the  first  speaker.  He  spoke  of  the  advantages  of  just  such  training 
as  competition  for  the  scholarship  can  give  a  student,  and  expressed 
regret  that  so  few  of  our  younger  men  should  have  presented  them- 
selves for  the  recent  examination ;  a  problem  such  as  that  worked 
up  by  Mr.  Bacon,  the  successful  competitor  for  this  year,  is  a  great 


help  to  one  not  only  in  a  general  way,  as  influencing  the  ordinary  pro- 
blems of  everyday  office  practice,  but  is  also  the  very  best  prepara- 
tion for  a  trip  abroad,  enabling  one  to  more  truly  appreciate  Europe 
and  its  monuments.  While  the  advantages  which  would  accrue  to 
any  one  travelling  under  such  a  scholarship,  the  special  opportunities 
for  study  and  researcli  which  would  be  offered  only  to  one  who  is, 
in  a  measure  an  official  delegate  from  the  profession  "in  this  State,  are 
such  as  would  make  the  prize  worth  far  more  to  the  holder  than  the 
mere  amount  of  money  which  he  receives  with  it.  Prof.  Eugene 
Letang  was  called  upon  by  the  Club,  and  responded  with  some  ex- 
cellent criticisms  of  the  competition  drawings,  continuing  Professor 
Chandler's  remarks  about  the  value  of  serious  systematic  study.  In 
the  general  discussion  which  followed  many  suggestions  were  offered 
in  regard  to  the  scholarship;  and  the  general  sense  of  the  meeting 
seemed  to  be  that  it  was  perhaps  desirable  to  hold  the  competitions 
earlier  in  the  year,  at  a  time  when  architects  would  be  less  busy 
with  office-work,  and  the  draughtsmen  would  consequently  be  more 
free  to  compete;  and  it  was  questioned  whether  the  scholarship, 
which  is  now  open  only  to  those  who  have  been  employed  two  years 
in  the  office  of  a  Massachusetts  architect,  should  not  be  extended  to 
any  one,  no  matter  what  his  previous  training,  who  was  able  to  suc- 
cessfully compete  for  the  prize.  It  was  also  suggested  that  the  labor 
involved  in  preparing  the  competition  drawings  might  be  lessened  by 
having  a  preliminary  sketch  made  by  the  competitors,  and  from  those 
offered,  three  to  be  selected  for  a  final  competition.  In  reply  to  in- 
quiries as  to  the  expense  which  the  competition  entails  upon  those 
who  enter  it,  several  who  had  taken  part  during  past  years  agreed 
in  stating  that  the  total  cost  to  a  student,  aside  from  the  time,  need 
not  exceed  ten  dollars,  as  that  amount  would  cover  all  strictly 
necessary  outlay. 

The  meeting  was  closed  with  a  description  by  Professor  Ldtang  of 
the  manner  in  which  the  competitions  are  conducted  for  the  Grand 
Prix  de  Rome,  in  Paris.  The  attendance  was  quite  large  and  a 
great  deal  of  interest  was  evinced  in  the  scholarship  and  the  prize 
drawings. 


THE    SKETCH    CLUB    OF   NEW   YORK. 

AViLL  you  please  announce  under  heading  of  "  Societies  "  that 
the  Secretary  of  the  Sketch  Club  of  New  York  may  be  addressed  at 
No.  57  Broadway.  Very  truly,  WILLIS  POLK,  Secretary. 


A  STAIN  FOR  BRICK  WALLS. 

AKHON,  OHIO,  April  22. 1889. 
To  THE  EDITORS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT  :  — 

Dear  Sirs,  —  Can  you  furnish  us  with  address  of  parties  handling 
a  successful  stain  for  brick  walls  (not  an  oil  paint),  so  as  to  produce 
a  realistic  flat  brick  appearing  surface. 

Oblige  respectfully,  WEARY  &  KRAMER. 

[TRY  Samuel  Cabot,  70  Kilby  Street,  Boston,  Mass. —  Eos.  AMERICAN 
ARCHITECT.] 


SEVILLE  CATHEDRAL. — The  ruinous  condition  of  Seville  Cathedral 
has  become  so  serious  that  the  Spanish  Minister  of  Public  Works  has 
appointed  several  eminent  engineers  and  architects  to  go  down  and  re- 
port on  the  state  of  the  cathedral,  and  the  best  plans  for  rebuilding  this 
magnificent  specimen  of  Gothic  architecture.  At  least  ten  million 
pesetas  would  be  required  to  rebuild  the  famous  cathedral  and  the 
Giralda  tower.  The  repairs  attempted  last  year,  when  several  pillars 
in  the  central  nave  were  discovered  to  be  in  a  ruinous  state,  have 
proved  insufficient,  many  more  pillars  in  other  parts  of  the  cathedral 
being  in  a  very  bad  condition.  The  Government  is  disposed  to  ask 
Parliamentary  assistance  for  the  Seville  Cathedral  restoration,  as  the 
subscription  started  in  1888,  under  the  patronage  of  the  Queen- Regent, 
has  not  been  very  successful.  The  decision  has  been  arrived  at  none 
too  soon.  For  many  years  past  this  magnificent  specimen  of  Mauro- 
Gothic  architecture  has  been  falling  more  and  more  into  decay,  until 
temporary  repairs  are  no  longer  sufficient  to  stay  the  ravages  of  time. 
Pillar  after  pillar  has  fallen  away,  and,  unless  "the  roof  is  speedily 
strengthened,  the  famous  church  which  for  ages  has  attracted  sight- 
seers to  the  capital  of  Andalusia  will  be  in  imminent  deadly  peril  of 
collapse.  A  subscription  was  opened  last  year  for  a  repairing  fund. 
But  money  is  not  readily  extracted  from  a  Spaniard's  pocket,  and  10,- 
000,000  pesetas  —  .£400,000  —  is  a  heavy  sum  to  collect  in  a  poor 
country,  where  every  other  city  has  a  church  which  it  considers  the 
finest,  or  among  the  finest,  in  Christendom.  Accordingly,  Parliament 
will  probably  be  asked  for  help,  and  it  remains  to  be  seen  whether  the 
Cortes,  which  requires  all  the  funds  at  the  disposal  of  the  Treasury  for 
needs  far  more  pressing  than  the  restoration  of  old  buildings,  will  be 
inclined  to  take  the  same  view  of  the  matter  as  the  rest  of  the  world. 
For  the  Cathedral  of  Seville,  and  above  all,  the  Giralda  Tower,  which 
forms  part  of  it,  have  been,  like  the  Alhambra  and  many  other 
remnants  of  the  palmy  days  of  the  Moorish  rule  in  Spain,  in  one  sense 


228 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.     [VOL.  XXIV.  —  No.  698. 


the  property  of  mankind  at  large.  In  truth,  it  is  a  question  whether 
the  hundreds  of  painters  who  have  drawn  it  and  the  thousands  of 
visitors  who  have  admired  it  have  not  appreciated  the  building  quite  as 
fully  as  the  race  who  are  its  custodians.  Seville  without  the  Giralda 
would  assuredly  be  a  pleasant  town.  At  this  season  it  is  scented  with 
orange  blossoms  and  embosomed  in  joyous  greenery.  But  without  this 
most  celebrated  of  its  "lions,"  the  place  would  fall  in  public  esteem  to 
the  level  of  any  other  sleepy  provincial  city.  The  Giralda  is  the  first 
of  the  spires  of  Seville  to  come  in  sight,  and  the  first  to  be  visited. 
The  omniscient  schoolboy  of  Macaulay  could  tell  how  the  lower  part  of 
the  tower  was  built  in  the  latter  half  of  the  twelfth  century,  by  order 
of  Sultan  Abu  Yusuf  Yakub,  and  the  upper  portion,  with  the  belfry, 
surmounted  by  the  bronze  figure  of  "  Faith,"  by  Fernando  Kuiz,  400 
years  later.  The  cathedral  is  now  the  larger  of  the  two  structures. 
But,  historically,  it  is  simply  an  accretion  to  the  Giralda.  —  London 
Daily  Telegraph.  _____ 

FLOATING  EXHIBITIONS.— Floating  exhibitions  seem  to  have  taken, 
at  least  so  far  as  Germany  is  concerned.  The  German  Export  Com- 
pany has  decided  to  apply  the  sum  of  £250,000  (5,000,000  marks)  to 
the  building,  equipment  and  working  of  a  very  large  steamer,  which  is 
to  serve  as  a  floating  exhibition.  The  vessel  in  question  will  be  called 
"Kaiser  Wilhelm,"  and  the  principal  dimensions  are  as  follows  :  length, 
504  feet;  breadth,  60  feet;  depth,  46  feet;  so  the  question  is  not  of  a 
small  craft.  The  steamer  is  to  have  four  engines,  entirely  independent 
of  each  other,  and  four  propellers.  She  is  to  be  fitted  in  exceptionally 
good  style.  The  expenses  for  a  two  years'  tour  are  calculated  at  .£157,- 
000,  while  the  takings  for  hire  of  room  and  profits  on  sale  are  expected 
to  reach  £363,000,  leaving  the  very  handsome  profit  of  more  than 
.£200,000.  The  steamer  will,  according  to  the  present  arrangements, 
be  ready  to  start  in  the  spring  of  next  year.  A  previous  undertaking 
of  a  similar  nature,  the  steamer  "  Gottorp,"  despatched  from  Hamburg, 
is  understood  to  have  given  a  satisfactory  result.  Not  only  are  German 
goods  being  shown  in  many  different  parts  of  the  world,  but  the  staff 
accompanying  steamer  has  ample  opportunities  for  studying  in  each 
place  the  various  local  and  special  requirements,  and  to  see  to  what 
extent  and  in  what  manner  the  different  wants  are  being  supplied, 
either  by  home  or  by  other  foreign  makers. —  London  Engineering. 

LIABILITY  OP  LANDLORDS  or  FURNISHED  HOUSES. —  When  pater- 
familias packs  up  his  traps  and  conducts  his  family  to  the  seaside,  one 
of  the  expenses  for  which  he  makes  provision  in  his  estimates  is  the 
doctor's  bill  for  the  typhoid,  which  may  be  contracted  in  the  lodging- 
house,  where  it  takes  up  a  permanent  billet,  says  the  St..  James 
Gazette.  Will  he  mend  matters  if  he  shuns  the  delusive  "  Apartments 
To  Let,"  and  takes  the  whole  of  a  furnished  house  ?  No  :  he  will 
catch  the  typhoid  all  the  same;  but  he  can  get  damages  out  of  his 
landlord,  and  that  is  a  comfort,  if  he  only  lives  to  bring  his  action. 
Let  not  the  worthy  man  imagine  that  he  has  a  similar  remedy  for  a 
similar  grievance  against  the  landlord  of  his  house  in  town.  The  rule 
which  was  once  again  laid  down  recently  in  Charsley  vs.  Jones  is  only 
applied  to  "  furnished  houses,"  as  to  which  there  is,  in  the  eye  of  the 
law,  an  implied  undertaking  that  they  are  fit  for  human  habitation. 
With  regard  to  the  ordinary  house  leased  in  the  ordinary  way,  there  is 
no  such  legal  fiction.  If  the  new  tenant  wishes  to  make  himself  safe, 
he  must  get  an  express  undertaking  from  his  landlord;  or,  if  he  likes, 
he  may  call  in  a  sanitarv  adviser,  who  will  explain  that  for  the  outlay 
of  an  amount  equal  to  about  three  years'  rent  he  can  make  himself 
tolerably  safe  against  drain  fever,  provided,  of  course,  that  his  neigh- 
bors have  taken  the  same  precautions. 

AN  UNDERGROUND  EAILWAY  FOR  PARIS.  —  M.  Berlier  has  laid 
before  the  Socic'te'  d'Encouragement  a  scheme  for  an  underground 
tubular  tramway  for  Paris.  There  would  be  three  independent  lines : 
one  from  the  Place  de  la  Concorde  to  the  Bois  de  Boulogne,  a  length  of 
about  two  miles  ;  another  from  the  Place  de  la  Bastille  to  the  Place  de 
la  Concorde,  about  three  miles  long ;  and  the  third  from  the  Porte  de 
Vincennes  to  the  Place  de  la  Concorde,  a  distance  of  nearly  five  miles. 


motors,  and  running  at  intervals  of  one  minute.  The  rate  of  speed 
would  be  much  greater  than  with  omnibuses,  and  stations  would  be 
built  at  various  points.  The  cars  are  to  be  lighted  electrically.  M. 
Berlier  estimates  the  cost  of  these  lines  at  £2,160,000,  the  annual 
working  expenses  at  £06,000,  and  the  annual  receipts  at  £240,000.  It 
will  be  noticed  that  the  whole  scheme  appears  to  be  founded  on  the 
London,  City  and  Southwark  Subway,  with  the  only  exception  that  the 
up  and  down  lines  are  to  be  placed  in  the  same  tunnel,  instead  of  in 
separate  tunnels,  as  is  the  case  in  Mr.  Greathead's  subway.  — Industries. 


MANUFACTURING,  railway  and  commercial  statistics  for  April  and  the 
first  four  months  this  year  j'ust  published,  indicate  an  expansion  of  business 
in  the  aggregate,  a  decline  in  margins  and  profits,  and  an  exceptional  lull 
during  the  past  few  weeks.  Development  has  been  irregular.  Certain  in- 
dustries and  commercial  lines  have  prospered,  while  others  have  lagged 
behind.  A  careful  study  of  all  facts  affords  instruction  if  the  deductions 
are  properly  drawn,  financial  authorities  who  have  recently  spoken  on  the 
business  showings  so  far  this  year,  intimate  that  there  are  evidences  of  a 
possible  stringency  in  money,  that  the  condition!  to  create  it  are  at  work, 
that  the  needs  for  a  larger  volume  of  money  are  incre  'sing,  and  thnt  the 
element  of  risk  in  business  and  in  investments  is  increasing.  These  deduc- 
tions, if  true,  are  important,  but  it  is  easy  to  recall  numerous  prqgno^ica- 
tious  by  financial  authorities  in  past  years  that  were  proved  incorrect. 
Industrial  observation  and  experience,  however,  corroborates  these  views  in 
a  measure;  while  the  money  in  circulation  in  the  country  is  the  largest  ever 
known,  viz.,  $1,414,000,000,  the  enormous  investments  temporarily  unpro- 
ductive are  having  the  effect  of  creating  an  apparent  stringency  in  specula- 
tive circles,  but  not  elsewhere.  The  bank  clearings  for  the  first  quarter  of 


the  year  show  an  increase  of  17.2  per  cent  over  last  year,  and  yet  jobbers 
and  retailers  complain  of  widespread  dulness.    The  explanation  is  that 
wholesale  activity  in  anticipation  of  future  retail  demands  has  not  been  im- 
paired.   The  general  Government  has  in  cash,  $313,974,512;  the  Govern- 
ment deposits  in  National  banks  foot  up  $48,6«9.815;  Government  receipts 
for  April,  $31,458,799;  disbursements,  $22,457,781.    Among  the  railroad 
probabilities  of  the  near  future  are  an  alliance  between  three  or  four,  of  the 
larger  American  and  Canadian  railroads,  by  which  the  smaller  roads  now 
running  at  a  loss  will  be  saved,  and  a  new  through  route  under  a  centralized 
control  created.     The  railway   situation    continues  unsatisfactory.      The 
United  States  Senate  Committee  is  this  week  seeking  information  from  the 
highest  railroad  sources  concerning  the  effect  of  the  Interstate  Law  on  rail- 
road earnings.    It  is  only  a  question  of  time  for  a  conflict  to  arise  between 
the  public  and  the  railroad  corporations  over  the  existing  laws.    In  the  in- 
dustries prices  are  still  receding,  and  this  is  the  secret  of  the  dulness.    One 
leading  Pennsylvania  iron-maker  dropped  prices  $1  per  ton,  to  shut  out 
Southern  iron  which  is  every  month  becoming  more  pronounced.     Six  new 
blast-furnaces  are  nearing  completion  in  Northern  Alabama.    The  iron  trade 
is  suffering;  last  week  rails  dropped  $1  per  tot},  and  $25.50  at  mill  is  now 
threatened.      Lake-ore  miners  are  booking  immense  contracts;  mills  and 
furnaces  are  being  put  in  shape  for  greater  activity.    Confidence  in  a  mid- 
summer revival  of  activity  is  widely  expressed,  and  locomotive  and  car- 
builders  are  slack,  but  ship-builders  have  not  room  or  plant  enough  to  take 
all  business  offered.     The  coal  tr.'ide  is  dull;  anthracite  producers  will  soon 
have  facilities  to  store  between  three  and  four  million  tons,  which  can  be 
made  to  cover  two  to  three  months'  demand  in  case  of  a  strike.  Threatened 
miners'  agitations  in  the  Western  States  have  been  nearly  all  adjusted. 
Two  strikes  occurred  in  the  building  trades,  one  in  Chicago  and  one  in  Pitts- 
burgh;  elsewhere  quietness  prevails.    Building  activity   is  phenomenal; 
between  four  and  five  thousand  houses  have  been  started  this  year  in  Phila- 
delphia, and  in  Pittsburgh  manufacturers  are  driven  into  suburban  locali- 
ties for  sites.     Among  machinery-makers  there  is  great  activity,  especially 
for  heavy  machinery  for  mill,  mine  and  factory  use.     Despite  the  dulness  in 
manufactured  products,  there  is  a  very  general  extension   of  capacity. 
Cotton  mill-building  in  the  South  continues,  and  the  promoters  and  in- 
vestors refuse  to  be  frightened  at  pessimit-tic  warnings;  all  the  favorable 
conditions  in  the  South,   heretofore  referred  to,   continue.    The  lumber 
manufacturers  have  been  successful  in  maintaining  prices,  especially  in 
hardwoods,  and  an  expanding  market  is  helping  business  among  machinery- 
makers.    A  poplar  convention  was  held  in  Cincinnati  on  Tuesday,  to  take 
further  advantage  of  the  bettering  conditions.    Lumber  is  reaching  market 
from  a  much  larger  number  of  places  than  a  few  years  ago,  and  hence  the 
influence  of  lumber  centres  on  the  market  is  declining.    Building  material 
has  held  its  own;  nails  are  $1.60  to  $1.90  East,  and  $2  West  for  steel  and 
$2.40  for  wire  nails.    Barbed-wire  manufacturers  have  more  business  than 
they  can  do  at  present;  sheet-iron  mills  are  quite  busy;  long  gas-pipe  lines 
are  to  be  laid  this  season.    The  consumption  of  all  kinds  of  material  will  be 
large  and   continuous;  but,   owing  to  the  enlarged  capacity  during  the 
past  twelve  months,  buyers  are  not  obliged  to  place  their  orders  two  to  four 
months  in  advance  as  formerly.    The  reports  from  architects  are  quite  en- 
couraging.    Fully  as  much  work  is  on  the  boards  as  at  any  time  for  years. 
The  generally  improved  character  of  work  has  increased  the  demand  for 
skilled  assistance  in  building  work,  and  a  larger  number  of  young  men  are 
eugaged  now  than  ever  in  the  history  of  the  profession.    As  heretofore 
stated,  much  work  is  being  done  in  the  smaller  cities  and  towns. 

The  efflux  of  manufacturing  capital  and  capacity  from  larger  cities  con- 
tinues on  a  large  scale.    Annexes  are  springing  up,  and  numerous  little  in- 
dustries find  existence  possible  where  rent,  power,  fuel,  labor  and  taxes  are 
10  per  cent  less  than  in  populous  centres.    The  extent  of  this  industrial  re- 
arrangement is  greater  than  supposed,  and  hundreds  who  are  contemplating 
the  establishment  of  shops  are  looking  for  opportunities  in  entirely  new 
locations.      Foundries,   saw-mills,   wagon-shops    and  machine  and   boiler 
shops  and  the  like  are  multiplying  throughout  the  interior  and  west  of  the 
Mississippi.    There  is  a  constant  cheapening  in  the  cost  of  fuel  and  manu- 
facturing interests  in  the  far  West  which  have  been  chocked  by  excessive 
prices  for  fuel,  now  see  reductions  within  their  grasp  amounting  to  25  to  40 
per  cent.    This  means  a  rapid  outgo  of  industrial  life  in  the  near  future.    A 
new  field  for  American  enterprise  is  opening  up  in  Honduras  and  in  Central 
American  States.    Railroad  enterprise  is  proposing  to  build  a  line  of  road 
in  Honduras  that  will  stimulate  the  development  of  the  supposed  richest 
silver  mines  in  the  world,  and  in  the  development  of  the  fruit,  mahogany 
and  rubber  trades.    Then  recent  schemes  have  been  started  looking  to  the 
establishment  of  steamship  lines,  and  inquiries  as  to  cost  of  vessels  have  been 
made  within  two  weeks  at  Delaware  River  ship-yards.     A  copper  mine  said 
to  be  the  richest  in  the  world,  according  to  the  customary  enthusiastic  re- 
port, has  been  developed  in  Mexico,  and  promoters  are  hard  at  work  at 
it.    The  Paris  speculators  are  in  feverish  anxiety  as  to  the  probable  ex- 
tent of  their  losses,  concerning  which  cable  reports  are  unsatisfactory.     The 
development  of  new  and  rich  mines  of  precious  metals  is  very  important  in 
view  of  the  rapid  expansion  of  trade  and  commerce  throughout  the  world. 
More  coin  is  needed,  and  whatever  differences  of  views  may  exist  regarding 
the  utility  of  paper  money,  gold  and  silver  is  iu  demand,  and  the  need  of  it 
will  grow  possibly  more  rapidly  than  the  supply.   Some  financiers,  who  study 
the  mining  interests,  look  for  a  boom  in  business  within  a.  year  or  two  as  a 
result  of  greater  supplies  from  newly  discovered  deposits.    The  production 
for  years  past  has  been  practically  at  a  standstill,  and  it  would  seem  that 
there  is  a  great  need  of  an  increased  supply  of  precious  metals.    Experts 
estimate,  perhaps  rather  loosely,  that  when  projected  improvements  are 
made  the  capacity  of  the  Western  and  Mexican  mines  will  be  increased 
fully  25  per  cent.    The  country  certainly   needs  more  gold   and   silver, 
especially  as  there  is  no  easy  or  practical  method  of  preventing  a  large  and 
steady  draw  to  Eastern  countries,  where  the  demand  will  doubtless  increase 
as  commercial   relations  become  more  intimate.      Within  the  past  fnur 
months  American  electric-lighting  companies  have  closed  negotiations  for 
electric-lighting  plants  in  nearly  every  civilized  country  on  the  globe.    The 
increase  in  business  is  marvelous;  all  electrical,  well-equipped  companies 
are  crowded  with  work,  and  it  is  evident  that  foreign  work  will  grow 
rapidly.    Since  January  I  estimates  and  information  have  been  requested 
by  some  thirty  or  more  large  and  small  interior  municipalities  regarding 
electrical  roads.    The  cost  of  power  is  being  reduced,  and  the  early  clearing 
up  of  difficulties  in  point  of  economic  use  is  assured      Stores  for  the  prompt 
distribution  of  electrical  supplies  are  being  {established  by  Eastern  com- 
panies over  the  West,  and  storage  facilities  for  agricultural  implements  are 
being  extended.     Both  mining  and  agricultural  operations  will  be  greatly 
extended  from  this  out.     What  is  now  needed  to  impart  an  upward  tendency 
to  prices  is  a  covering  of  manufacturing,  railroad  and  mercantile  require- 
ment", to  no  greater  extent  than  is  usual,  and  which  would  now  be  covered 
but  for  the  fact  that  buyers  are  not  confident  that  present  pries  are  the 
lowest.    The  nssnrance  that  rock-bottom  has  been  reached  would  start  de- 
mand and  give  prices  an  upward  tendency. 

S.    J.    PARKHILL  &  Co.,  Printers,  Boston. 


11,  1889.] 


The  American  Architect  and  Building  News. 


IX 


GABOT'5  CREQ50TE  5TAIN- 


,  pence?, 


5 re  very 

more 

'  -    fti        L*H     1ML 

amu  wrjTie  They  #^0 

n  6  _ 


PRICES  are  4O,  6O  and  7B  cents  per  Gallon 

According  to  Color. 
SEND  for  Samples  on  Wood,  and  Circulars, 


•-SAMVEL-  CABOT  *• 
70  KILBY-6T-  -BOSTON  - 


Tlie,   American    Architect   and  Building   News.          [VOL.  XXV. —  No.  698. 


COMPOUND  **«*****. 

16  SIZES,    5  to  500  H.  P. 

Hot  yet  cquabd  iy  any  form  of  Engine  for 

HIGH  FUEL  DUTY  KHD  SIMPLICITY. 

o  13  Sizes  in  Stock. 

oTANDARD  s  to  250  H.  p. 

8000  in  use  in  all  parts  of  the  Cirillzed  World. 


As  Automatic  Engine  cheaper  than  a  Slide  Valve. 

WELL  BUILT.  ECONOMICAL.  RELIABLE. 

Over  300  Sold  the  First  Year. 

All  the  above  built  strictly  to  Gauge  with 

INTERCHANGEABLE  PARTS. 

EEPAIBS  CASHED  IN  STOCK. 

SEND   FOR   ILLUSTRATED  CATALOGUES. 


SELLING   DEPARTMENT  IN 
UNITED  STATES. 


New  York, 

H  Cortlandt  St.         )_. 

Boston, 

Hathaway  Building,     [  *f!tl"6"»»s«i 

Pittsburgh, 

Westinghouse  Build'g,  [ 

Chicago, 

156,  158  lake  St.       'J       4Co> 

Philadelphia, 

608  Chestnut  St.  I.  R.  Hackle,  Jr.  &  Co. 

St.  Louis, 

302,  304  Washington  Av    ) 

Kansas  City, 
Denver, 

312  Union  Avenue,            (  Fai(rbanks 
1330  Seventeenth  St.        ) 

Omaha, 

1619  Capilul  Avenue,  P.  C.  Ayer. 

Pine  Bluff's,  Ark 

•                      Geo.  M.  Dilley  S.  SOBS. 

Salt  Lake  City,  259  S.  Main  St.  /  I'tali  &  Houlana 
Butte,  Mont.       fc  Craiiite  St.     f  Machinery  Co. 

San  Francisco,    J|,  23  Fremont  Street,  Parke  i  lacy  Co. 
Portland,  Or.      33,  35-11.  Front  St.  farkc  &  lacy  Mch.  Co. 
Charlotte,  N.  C.36  College  St.    )„    » 
Atlanta,  Ga.         45  S.  Prior  St.  }  **  "'  *'  TwUPk"'S  fc 


Dallas,  Tex. 
Chattanooga,  Tenn., 


Keating  Imp.  i  Machine  Co. 
C.  E.  James  4  Co. 


CHEAP  QUICK  LIFTING 

Portable  Hoist. 


74  and  76  Pearl    St.,  BoBton. 


1LIOTYPE: 
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-M05T-APPROVfcP 


THoTo-MtCMANlCAL 
rHoTo'-LITHoCWHIC 


OF  ARCHITECTURAL. 

A\ECHANlCAL,e  OTHER  PFAW- 

PiA<JFA>\5,  ARTISTIC 


PIERCE,  BUTLER  &  PIERCE  MFC,  CO,, 

SYRACUSE,  N.Y.,  U.S.A.,  Manufacturers  of 

H  E  ATI  N  C 
APPARATUS 


FLORIDA 


For  STEAM  or  WATER 

Made  in  19  Sizes  for  Steam. 
Made  in  IS  Sizes  for  Water. 


6000  in  Actual  Use. 


S.  T.  WILLIAMS,  97  William  Streot,  NEW 


I   B.  TABF.B  *  SON,  23  W.  I.akf  St.,  CHICAGO,  Ii.i.. 
fionoral        N-  L-  CHAPPKLI.E  &  Co.,  WASHINGTON,  I).  <'. 
UCllCldl   J    JAS^  P.  Wirnn  &  Co.,  PHII.ADKI.HIHA_,_PA. 

Agencies 


N.  O.  NELSON  MFH.  Co.,  HT.  Lorn,  Mi: 

JOHN  E.  LEWIS,  17  Union  Mtreet,  HUSTON,  MASS. 

UEO.  B.  COBB,  ST.  Loins,  Mo. 

AI.VA  HL'BKAKD  *  Co.,  BALTIMORE,  Mix 

(loss  HEATINO&  PLUMBING  Co. .KANSAS  CITY,  Mo. 

EUROPEAN  i  ROBERT  DAWHON  Co.,  Limited,  STAI.YHRIIHIK,  Ksu. 

AGENCIES:  i  A.  B.  UKCK,  I'opENHAOKN,  DENMARK. 


The  Caldwell  Sash  Balance, 

is  compact,  simple  and  Durable.  It  is  easily  applied  and  is 
superior  to  all  other  methods  for  Balancing  Window  Saeli. 
Adapted  to  old  or  new  windows,  does  not  require  box  frames 
and  does  not  get  out  of  order.  The  Caldwell  Balance  for  Mul- 
lion  Windows  is  the  best  yet  invented. 

N.  B. —  In  ordering  sample  set  give  exact  weight  and  height  of 
each  sash.     Send  for  catalogue  to 

CALDWELL  MFC.  CO., 

288-29O  State  Street,        ROCHESTER,  N.  Y. 


Fttn«BRICK 


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Factor/ 
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ANYBODY  can  use 
the  KODAK.  The  opera- 
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pictures  is  done  at  the  factory,  where  the  cam- 
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S1VIIT 

Ventilator-Fans, 

ESPECIALLY    ADAPTED    FOR 

THE  VENTILATION  OF  PUBLIC  BUILDINGS, 

Theatres,  School-Houses, 
Banks,  Offices,  Paper 
Mills,  Factories,  Brew- 
eries, Malt  Houses, 
Mines,  Restaurants, 
Hotels,  Laundries,  En- 
gine Rooms,  Wool  and 
Tobacco,  Drying,  etc. 

Send  for  Illustrated  Catalogur. 

HUYETT&  SMITH  MFC.  CO., 


THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT  AND  BUILDING  NEWS. 


VOL.  xxv. 


Copyright,  1889,  by  TICKNOR  &  COMPANY,  Boston,  Mass. 


No.    699, 


MAY  18, 1889. 

Entered  at  the  Post-Offlce  at  Boston  as  second-class  matter. 


SUMMARY: — 

Metropolitan  Sewerage  System  for  Towns  near  Boston.  —  The 
Unpaid  Service  of  Mr.  H.  F.  Mills  to  the  State  of  Massachu- 
setts. —  The  Result  of  the  Court  Martial  on  Major  Lydecker. 

—  A  Hint  for  Firemen. — An  Elevator  Accident  at  Provi- 
dence, R.  I.  —  The  Centennial  Arch  in  Washington  Square, 
New  York.  —  Copper.  —  Preserving  Marble  Statuary.  —  Na- 
poleon I  and  the  Artist  David 229 

BUILDERS'  HARDWARE. —XXVI 231 

LETTER  FROM  PHILADELPHIA 233 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  — 

House  of  Frederic  Frelinghuysen,  Esq.,  Lenox,  Mass.  — Gothic 
Spires  and  Towers,  Plate  44. —  The  Age  of  Francis  I,  Plates 
6  and  7.  —  House  of  Mr.  J.  Frank  Collom,  Minneapolis,  Minn. 

—  Auchmuty  Building  owned  by  the  Boston   Real  Estate 
Trust,    Boston,   Mass.  —  Fireplace  designed  by   Mr.  J.  W. 
Bliss.  — House  for  V.  F.  Whitmore,  Esq.,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 

—  House  for  J.  M.  Davis,  Esq.,  Rochester,  N.  Y 234 

LETTER  FROM  BOSTON 234 

LETTER  FROM  CHICAGO 235 

LETTER  FROM  CANADA 235 

LETTER  FROM  BALTIMORE 236 

LETTER  FROM  NEW  YORK 238 

BOOKS  AND  PAPERS 239 

SOCIETIES 239 

NOTES  AND  CLIPPINGS 239 

TRADE  SURVEYS 240 

TTTIIERE  seems  to  be  some  prospect  that  the  so-called  Metro- 
A    P°l'tan    Sewerage   scheme,  by  which   a  large  number  of 
country  villages  several  miles  away  from  Boston  are  to  be 
compelled  by  the  public  authority  to  build  enormously  costly 
trunk-sewers,  for  the  purpose,  as  is  alleged,  of  keeping  their 
sewage  from  defiling  the  waters  around  Boston,  may  be  passed  this 
year.     The  trifling  circumstances  that  the  villages  in  question 
have  never  had  any  sewers  or  sewerage,  and  are  never  likely 
to  have  any,  and  that  the  imposition  of  the  burden  of  construct- 
ing and  maintaining  a  huge  conduit  for  conveying  what  does 
not  exist  may  very  probably  put  some  of  them  into  bankruptcy, 
appear  to  sink  into  insignificance  in  the  minds  of  the  Massachu- 
setts legislators  in  comparison  with  the  glory  of  being  concerned 
in  the  building  of  thirty  miles  or  so  of  brick  conduit  through 
meadows  where  wild  ducks  and  sea-gulls  will  be  the  only  wit- 
nesses of  the  operation,  to  drain  away  the  "  sewage  "  of  towns, 
whose  prosperous  market-gardeners  pay  six  dollars  a  cord  for 
manure,  while  the  cost  of  connecting  the  houses  of  those  who 
will  have  to  pay  for  the  trunk-sewer  with  it  by  any  kind  of 
conduit  would  be  nearly,  if  not  quite,  as  much  as  the  entire 
real-estate  valuation  of  the  towns  in  question,  even  supposing 
that  there  should  then  be  any  sewage  to  convey,  and  that  the 
original  proprietors  of  it  were  disposed  to  give  up  the  advan- 
tage of  using  it  on  their  own  land.     If  there  were  anything  to 
be  gained  by  the  scheme,  even  for  Boston,  it  would  be  easier 
to  speak  of  it  with  respect  as  an  improvement  which  Boston 
might  some  time  be  disposed  to  carry  out  at  its  own  expense ; 
but  as  the  inhabitants  of  the  water-front  of  Boston,  who  are 
now  so  desirous  of  purging  the  air  which  they  breathe  from  the 
.scent  of   the   sewerage  of   Newton,  Arlington  and  Waltham, 
none  of  which  have  ever  had  any  sewer  or  any  sewerage,  have 
for  a  hundred  years  discharged  their  own  drains  through  the 
sea-wall  in  front  of  their  dwellings,  and  still  continue  to  do  so, 
while  the  sediment  from  the  kitchen-sinks  of  their  ancestors, 
undredged  and  undisinfected,  lies  by  the  acre  under  their  noses, 
exposed  at  every  low  tide,  it  would  seem  fitting,  to  say  the 
least,  to  wait  until  there  was  something  about  the  water-front 
of  Boston  capable  of  further  defilement  before  subjecting  the 
villages  in  the  river-valley  above  to  a  ruinous  expense  in  order 
to  forestall  the  possible  addition  of  a  microscopic  quantity  of 
bacteria  to  the  vast  accumulation  which  the  Boston  people  look 
out  upon,  without  any  attempt  to  remove  it  or  check  its  in- 
crease.    It  is  very  likely  that  a  few  houses  or  factories  on  the 
upper  banks  of  the  river  surreptitiously  discharge  their  offal 
into  it;  but  a  simple  enactment,  if  there  is  not  one  already, 
forbidding  the  defilement  of  the  stream,  and  leaving  it  to  the 
persons   concerned  to   find  other    ways   of  disposing  of  their 
refuse,  would,  it  seeuis  to  us,  answer  every  purpose,  withoul 


mposing  a  fearful  burden  upon  thousands  of  innocent  people 
who  never  could,  and  never  would,  make  any  use  of  the  great 
"  trunk  "  sewers,  even  if  they  were  built. 


TITHE  governors  of  Massachusetts  have  been  fortunate  in  the 
JA  material  which  they  have  secured  for  their  State  Boards 
of  Health.  The  original  Board,  under  Dr.  Walcott,  Dr. 
Bowditch,  Dr.  Derby,  Dr.  Folsom,  Mr.  Webster  and  others, 
made  itself  and  the  State  which  it  served  famous  throughout 
the  world  by  the  thoroughness  and  originality  of  its  work,  and 
since  it  has  emerged  from  its  eclipse  under  the  shadow  of  the 
Board  of  Lunacy  and  Charity,  with  which  it  was  for  a  time, 
through  some  administrative  whim,  connected,  it  seems  to  have 
:iitered  upon  a  new  career  of  usefulness.  One  of  the  most 
active  of  the  new  members,  who  has  taken  up  his  duties  quite 
in  the  spirit  of  those  who  have  preceded  him,  is  Mr.  Hiram  F. 
Mills,  perhaps  the  best  authority  on  water-supply  in  the  State, 
and  one  of  the  best  in  the  world.  According  to  the  Engineer- 
ing Record,  Mr.  Mills,  since  he  assumed  his  duties  as  a  member 
of  the  Board  and  chairman  of  its  sub-committee  on  water- 
supply  and  drainage,  has  devoted  himself  to  the  work  of  serv- 
ing his  fellow-citizens  without  compensation,  to  the  serious 
prejudice  of  his  private  practice.  Although  he  has  been  of 
late  years  engaged,  perhaps  principally,  in  advising  as  consult- 
ing engineer  in  matters  of  water-supply,  he  has,  since  his  ap- 
pointment to  the  Board  of  Health,  declined  employment  which 
would  have  brought  him  in  several  thousand  dollars  a  year,  on 
the  ground  that  his  public  duties  would  not  allow  him  time 
enough  to  attend  to  it.  Fortunately,  Mr.  Mills  is,  as  we  under- 
stand, comparatively  a  rich  man  ;  but  it  is  not  always  rich  men 
who  are  most  eager  to  work  for  other  people  for  nothing,  and 
Massachusetts  is  to  be  congratulated  on  being  able  to  command 
such  devotion  from  such  citizens. 


TTTHE  court-martial  which  tried  Major  Lydecker  for  alleged 
*A  neglect  of  duty  in  relation  to  the  new  Washington  aque- 
duct, of  which  he  was  superintending  engineer,  has  sen- 
tenced him  to  a  fine  of  one  hundred  dollars  a  month  for  nine 
months,  with  a  reprimand  for  his  inefficiency.  One  would 
think  that  this  was  a  sufficiently  severe  sentence  for  a  man 
whose  intentions  were  perfectly  honest,  and  who,  on  being  de- 
tailed to  do  work  for  which  he  had  never  had  any  training, 
simply  failed  to  discover  all  the  thieves  who  were  at  work 
around  him,  but  the  newspapers  denounce  it  as  too  light,  and 
insinuate  that  it  would  have  been  much  heavier  if  Major  Ly- 
decker had  not  been  so  popular  in  Washington  society.  They 
call  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  tunnel,  which  cost  about  two 
million  dollars,  is  so  badly  and  fraudulently  built  that  it  is  of  no 
use  whatever,  and  the  money  has  been  simply  thrown  away  ; 
and  then,  by  a  sort  of  logic  which  is  very  popular  among  dis- 
honest contractors  and  bad  mechanics,  inquire  why  Major  Ly- 
decker is  not  made  to  suffer  more  heavily  for  the  "  bad  and 
fraudulent  work  "  done  by  some  one  else,  who  is  left  by  the 
persons  defrauded  in  undisturbed  possession  of  his  fraudulent 
gains,  while  Major  Lydecker  is  mulcted  of  a  large  part  of  his 
narrow  salary,  as  a  warning  to  others  who  may  happen  to  fall 
into  danger  of  being  entrusted  with  public  service  in  relation  to 
building  operations. 


fJJ  NEW  and  valuable  suggestion  is  to  be  found  in  the 
/A  account  of  the  recent  great  fire  in  New  York,  which  is 
'  given  in  Fire  and  Water.  During  the  progress  of  the 
fire,  a  slaughter-house  near  the  river  was  threatened  by  the 
flames,  and  some  men  went  on  the  roof  to  pour  water  on  the 
tar  composition  of  which  it  was  made,  in  order  to  prevent  it 
from  being  kindled  by  the  sparks  which  kept  falling  on  it. 
While  they  were  thus  engaged,  one  of  them  was  struck  by  the 
idea  that  if  the  surplus  water,  which  was  running  off  into  the 
gutters,  could  be  saved,  it  might  be  made  to  afford  still  further 
protection  from  the  impending  disaster.  He  therefore,  with 
some  of  his  companions,  punched  holes  through  the  bottom  of 
the  gutters,  so  as  to  let  the  water  run  through.  By  this  means 
a  sheet  of  water  found  its  way  down  the  walls  and  over  the 
exposed  window  frames  and  sashea,  protecting  them  very  effi- 
ciently against  the  scorching  heat  from  the  buildings  burning 
in  the  neighborhood. 


230 


TJie   American   Architect  and  Building  News.        [ VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  699. 


SINGULAR  accident  took  place  the  other  day  at  Provi 
dence,  where  an  elevator,  which  had  been  allowed  to  dro; 
through  a  shaft  fitted  with  the  Ellithorpe  air-cushion  a 
the  bottom,  forced  its  way  through  the  air-cushion  with  sue! 
violence  that  the  three  men  who  were  in  the  car  were  thrown 
down,  receiving  such  injuries   that  one   of   them  died  at  the 
hospital  the  same  night,  and  the  others,  although  not  fatally 
hurt,  received   severe   injuries.      The  elevator  was  made     _ 
Messrs.  L.  S.  Graves  &  Son,  of  Rochester,  and  the  air-cushion 
was  built  by  the  same  firm  under  a  license  from  the  owners  o 
the  Ellithorpe  patent.     The  car  and  the  air-cushion  had  alread; 
been  tested,  once  by  dropping  the  car  alone,  and  a  second  tim< 
by  dropping  it  with  six  hundred  pounds  of  iron  in  it,  and  in 
neither  cases  was  any  injury  done  to  the  car  or  the  air-cushion 
or  even  to  a  basket  of  eggs,  which  was  placed  beside  the  iron 
in  the  second  experiment.      For  the  third  test,  the  car  was 
dropped  with  two  of  the  representatives  of  the  builders  in  it 
together  with  an  enterprising  newspaper  reporter.     Whether 
the  air-cushion  gave  way  under  the  shock,  as  was  the  case  in  a 
similar  test  made  in  Boston  some  years  ago,  or  whether  an  un 
explained  leakage  of  air  through  the  counterbalance  ways,  or 
some  other  orifice,  may  have  diminished  the  elasticity  of  the 
cushion,  is  uncertain,  but  the  concussion  of    the  fall  was    so 
great  that  all  the  men  received  serious  spinal  injury,  and  in  th 
case  of  the  heaviest  of  them,  who  happened,  moreover,  to  be 
sitting  on  the  floor  of  the  car,  the  injury  was  fatal. 


TTR.  STANFORD  WHITE,  whose  cleverness  in  such 
lal  matters  is  well-known  in  the  profession,  designed  a 
temporary  triumphal  arch  for  the  celebration  of  the 
Washington  Centennial  in  New  York.  The  arch,  views  ol 
which  are  probably  familiar  to  our  readers  in  the  illustrated 
papers,  proved  so  pleasing  to  the  spectators  that  it  has  been 
seriously  proposed,  on  the  suggestion  of  the  Centennial  Com- 
mittee, to  reproduce  the  arch  in  permanent  materials  at  the 
Washington  Square  end  of  Fifth  Avenue,  as  a  memorial  both 
of  Washington  and  of  the  celebration.  As  the  cost  of  the 
undertaking  will  be  between  sixty  and  eighty  thousand  dollars, 
there  is  some  doubt  whether  the  money  can  be  raised  for  it  in 
New  York,  which  is  not  famous  for  the  enthusiasm  with  which 
schemes  for  monuments  are  taken  up ;  but  it  is  not  impossible 
that  the  advantages  presented  by  the  site  for  such  a  structure 
may  tempt  the  rich  inhabitants  of  the  neighborhood  to  sub- 
scribe liberally  enough  to  carry  the  plan  through. 

TIT  HE  Revue  Industrielle  has  an  article  on  the  collapse  of  the 
•J_"  great  French  copper  speculation  which  will  interest  a  good 
many  owners  of  shares  in  copper  mines  on  this  side  of  the 
ocean.  Although  the  writer  of  the  article  thinks  that 
the  copper  syndicate  is  still  strong,  and  is  in  condition  to  make 
at  least  an  honorable  retreat,  he  considers  that  it  committed  a 
fatal  error  in  allowing  the  accumulation  on  its  hands  of  a  stock 
of  copper,  so  large  that  prices  must  inevitably  be  lowered  in 
order  to  get  rid  of  the  burden  of  carrying  it.  At  the  time  of 
the  organization  of  the  syndicate,  the  annual  production 
of  copper  was  about  two  hundred  thousand  tons,  and  the  low 
range  of  prices  had  had  the  effect  of  diminishing  production, 
and  increasing  consumption ;  copper,  as  we  know,  at  that  time 
replacing  iron  for  many  purposes  where  iron  had  previously 
been  used.  On  the  appropriation  of  the  product  of  most  of 
the  mines  by  the  syndicate  and  the  doubling  of  the  price,  a 
change  took  place.  While  consumption  fell  in  1888  nearly 
eight  per  cent  below  the  former  average  of  two  hundred 
thousand  tons,  the  production  rose  to  two  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand,  having  a  surplus  of  sixty-five  thousand  tons,  which 
the  syndicate  was  obliged  to  buy  and  pay  for,  in  order  to  main- 
tain its  prices.  If  the  syndicate  had  been  satisfied  with 
moderate  profits,  watching  the  market  so  as  not  to  check  con- 
sumption, and  had,  by  the  same  means,  made  it  for  the  interest 
of  the  mines  to  restrict  production,  the  affair  might  have  gone 
on  prosperously,  the  supply  and  demand  being  kept  equal,  and 
the  accumulation  of  a  surplus  avoided,  but  the  moment  for  this 
has  passed,  and  nothing  can  be  done  until  the  surplus  stock, 
which  now  amounts  to  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  thousand 
tons,  has  been  sacrificed  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  bankers 
who  have  lent  money  upon  it  as  security. 

T  T     BONNAFE  has  recently  written  to  the  Journal  des  Arts 
I XX.  a  letter  about  the  preservation  of  marble  statues  exposed 
to  the  weather,  which  is  very  curious.     The  announce- 
ment was  made  in  the  official  papers  that  an  appropriation  had 


been  made  for  the  purpose  of  cleaning  the  statues  in  the 
garden  of  the  Tuileries  and  at  the  Luxembourg,  which  had  not 
been  cleaned  for  several  years,  and  M.  Bonnafe  calls  attention 
to  the  fact  that  the  ancients  not  only  did  not  have  to  scrape 
their  statues  to  keep  them  looking  well,  but  that  they  had  the 
art  of  covering  them  with  a  waterproof  coating  of  wax  and  oil, 
which  gave  transparency,  and  a  kind  of  polish,  to  the  marble, 
while  it  prevented  dust  and  the  spores  of  lichens  from  attach- 
ing themselves  to  the  stone.  According  to  Vitruvius,  the 
coating  was  made  by  melting  together  white  wax  and  oil,  and 
putting  it  on  while  hot,  with  a  brush.  This  application  was 
followed  by  one  of  tallow,  and  the  whole  was  then  rubbed  with 
soft  cloths.  Vitruvius  speaks  of  this  treatment  as  being  useful 
for  making  walls  impervious  to  moisture,  and  recommends, 
where  it  is  applied  for  this  purpose,  that  the  wall  should  be 
heated  with  charcoal  stoves,  as  is  now  done  in  applying  various 
waterproofing  preparations.  In  modern  times  the  process  has 
been  occasionally  revived.  In  1803,  when  the  fountain  in  the 
Rue  de  Grenelle  was  cleaned,  Quatremere  de  Quincy,  with  the 
two  official  architects,  resolved  to  apply  the  antique  process  as 
an  experiment.  After  cleaning,  the  marble  of  the  fountain  was 
warmed  by  means  of  charcoal  stoves  or  braziers,  and  covered 
with  a  coat  of  virgin  wax,  mixed  with  poppy  oil.  After  this 
had  soaked  well  into  the  marble,  more  wax  was  put  on  cold, 
and  the  whole  rubbed  with  soft  linen  cloths.  The  result  was 
then  considered  very  satisfactory.  The  marble  was  not  in- 
jured in  the  least  by  the  heating,  and  the  smooth  wax  coating 
was  impervious  to  water,  and  afforded  little  lodgment  to  dust. 


the   reminiscences   of   old   Paris,  which   M.    De 
Cleuziou    publishes    in    La    Semaine   des    Constructeurs, 
appears  a  story  about  the  first  Napoleon  which  we  hope 
may  be  new  to   some   of   our  readers.     In   speaking  of  the 
ancient  College  de  Cluny,  which  existed  until  within  a  few 
years  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Sorbonne,  M.  De  Cleuziou 
remarks  that  the  painter  David  had  a  studio  for  many  years  in 
the  little  church  attached  to  the  building,  and  it  was  here  that 
Napoleon  came  to  see  the  picture  which,  at  the  height  of  his 
fame,  he  had  ordered  from  the  fashionable  artist.     David  had 
been  for  a   long  time   at   work   on   the   painting,  when   the 
Emperor  came,  one  day,  to  see  if  his  picture  was  done,  and  to 
have  a  look  at  it  before  it  was  exhibited  to  the  public.     As  he 
dashed  up,  surrounded  by  his  brilliant  escort  of  generals  and 
marshals,  and  entered  the  old  church  in  which  the  painter  ' 
worked,  the  curiosity  of  the  neighbors  knew  no  bounds,  and 
they  took  advantage  of  every  opportunity  to  see  what  was 
going  on  behind  the  blank  chapel  walls.     The  picture  was  an 
immense  affair,  in  the  most  correct  style  of  high  art,  represent- 
ing the  consecration  of  the  Emperor  ;  and  David  had  applied 
to  it  the  canons  of  the  most  scientific  composition,  filling  the  fore- 
ground with  the  Empress  and  her  ladies,  whose  flowing  robes 
filled  the  unoccupied    corners,  and  lent  variety  and  grace  to 
tke  scene.     Considered  in  itself,  it  would  huve  been,  and  still 
is,  considered  a  fine  picture,  but  its  method  of  treatment  did 
not  at  all  suit  Napoleon,  who  had  no  relish  for  figuring  in  the 
background  anywhere,  and  least  of  all  behind  a  lot  of  women. 
As  the  conqueror  of  the  Pyramids  entered  the  studio,  he  was 
almost  paralyzed  at  seeing  that  his  own  portrait  was  less  con- 
spicuous in  the  picture  than  that  of  the  Empress,  or  even  than 
those  of  some  of  the  ladies-in-waiting.     He  paced  up  and  down 
he  room  for  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour  seeking  in  vain  for  words 
to  give  expression  to  his  feelings.     At  last,  suppressing  his 
rage,  he   said,    "  I   thank  you,  Monsieur   David,  for   having 
represented  me  as  a  true  knight."     The  generals  and  marshals, 
who  had  no  idea  what  he  meant,  smiled  somewhat  faintly. 
'  Yes,"  continued  the  conqueror,  "  Deference  to  the  ladies  ;  we 
must  always  show  deference  to  the  ladies."     Then,  turning  to 
;he  painter,  with  a  world  of  suppressed  rage  and  scorn  in  his 
roice,    he    said,    "  But    what    is    the    Pope    doing    there  ?  " 
'  Nothing,  Sire,"  said  David.     "  And  did  you  suppose  that  I 
ad  him  come  from  Rome  to  do  nothing  ?  "  demanded  Napoleon. 
'  He  might  be  represented  as  giving  a  benediction,"  ventured 
he  artist.     "  It  is  well  ;  let  him  be  shown  giving  a  benedic- 
ion,"  replied  the  Emperor,  and  with  a  curt  "  Good  morning," 
departed.     The  picture  was  completed,  but  a  new  one  was 
>rdered  from  the  painter,  on  the  subject  of  the  "  Distribution 
)f   the   Eagles."     In  the  representation  of   this  scene  there 
ould  be  sure  to  be  no  ladies  to  eclipse  the  Emperor,  and 
)avid  did  not  need  a  second  hint  as  to  the  way  in  which  Bona- 
arte  liked  to  have  the  composition  arranged  in  pictures  in 
vhich  he  figured. 


K 


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O 


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I 


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1LJ 


MAST  18,  1889.] 


Tlie   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


231 


Fig.  379.     Wooden   Door-knob    Attachment. 
Johnston. 


J.  B. 


BUILDERS'  HARDWARE.1  —  XXVI. 

DOOR-KNOBS. 

/  --  A  /A   ff>\  I  -  V     "TTIGURE  379  is  a 

/  /  A    INI\\     \\& 

m  e  ii  t     designed 
for  wooden  knobs. 

(The  shank  is  split 
lengthwise  and  the 
ends  of  the  two 
pieces  cut  away  from 
each  other  on  a  bevel, 
with  wedges  or  lugs 
on  the  outside,  the 

bevels  being  so  cut  that  when  the  surfaces  are  brought  together 

the   lugs   can   enter   a   hole   in    the  wooden  knob  the    same 

diameter  as  the  main  portion  of  shank.     By  then  bringing  the 

opposite  ends  of  the  shank  together,  the  lugs  are  forced  side- 

wise  into  the  wood  so  strongly  that  they  cannot  be  drawn  out 

except  by  breaking  the  parts.     A  light  thimble  fits  over  the 

shank     and 

into     the 

rose,   secur- 

ing      the 

whole. 
Figure 

380     is     a 

form      of 

knob     se- 

cured   bv   a  <r' 

screw    entering    th 

wedging  it  to  any  adjustment  by  reason  of  the  screw 


^3i&v&t 


38°'     Ho"enbecl<'s  Expanding  Spindle  Dgor-knob. 

head  of    the   spindle,    at  the    same    time 

being 


Fig.  381.  Niles  Patent 
Knob.  Chicago  Hard- 
ware Co. 


slightly  larger  than  the  hole  in  the  spindle. 

All  the  foregoing  knobs  are  constructed  with  spindle  ex- 
tended through  the  door  and  continuous  from  knob  to  knob. 
Some  locks  are  so  devised  that  the  spindle  is  done  away  with, 
each  knob  acting  independently  of  the 
other  by  means  of  shoulders  or  extensions 
on  the  shank.  Figure  381  illustrates  the 
form  of  knob  which  is  used  with  all  of 
the  "  Xiles  "  locks.  The  end  of  each 
shank  is  provided  with  a  shoulder  of  about 
the  same  shape  as  the  ordinary  lock  follow, 
acting  directly  against  the  latch-lever. 
The  shanks  rotate  freely  in  the  escut- 
cheons. To  apply  the  knob,  the  shank  is 
passed  through  the  escutcheon  plate  and 
the  shoulder  or  follow  inserted  in  the  lock, 
the  latch-lever  being  pressed  back  with  a 
flat  blade  or  a  screw-driver  until  the  follow 
can  be  snapped  into  position,  which  is 
easily  accomplished  by  inserting  the  shank 
at  an  angle.  The  knob  is  then  brought 
around  square  with  the  face  of  the  door  and  the  escutcheon 
plate  screwed  in  position,  holding  the  knob  so  it  can  be  re- 
moved only  by  moving  the  plate.  The  chief  advantage  of  this 
arrangement  is  that  there  can  be  no  rattling  in  the  lock.  The 
latch  operates  the  moment  the  knob  is  turned,  be  it  ever  so 
little  ;  nor  are  there  any  screws  to  work  loose. 

The  Gilbert  Lock  Company  manufactures  a  knob  es- 
pecially designed  for  their  locks,2  the  construction  of  which 
is  illustrated  by  Figure  382.  In  this,  as  in  the  preceding  ex- 
ample, there  is  no  spindle.  The  knob-shank  is  secured  to  the 
escutcheon,  which  is  boxed  out  sufficiently  to  allow  play  for  a 
lugged  plate,  turning  with  the  shank  and  acting  against  a  lever. 
The  latter  is  hinged  at  the  top  and  fitted  with  an  arm  at  the 
bottom  which  works  in  a  slot  through  the  lock,  drawing  back 
the  latch  by  a  direct,  lateral  action.  The  escutcheon  is  secured 
by  long  screws  above  and  below  the  lock.  There  are  some 
excellent  points  about  this  device.  There  is  no  spindle  to 
work  loose  and  rattle,  no  screws  in  the  shank  to  drop  out,  and 
no  adjustment  of  washers  or  screws,  as  the  knob  has  a  perfect 
adjustment  to  any  thickness  of  door  without  binding.  An  im- 
provement might  be  made  by  so  extending  the  lugs  on  the 
spindle  plate  that  when  the  latch  is  out,  both  lugs  will  bear 
against  the  operating  lever,  in  order  that  the  latch  may  move 
at  once,  no  matter  in  which  direction  the  knob  be  turned. 
This  form  can,  of  course,  be  used  only  with  "  Gilbert  "  locks. 
In  regard  to  appearance,  and  the  materials  used,  knobs  of 

1  Continued  from  page  220,  No.  698. 

2  See  Figure  313  in  a  previous  issue  for  an  illustration  of  the  "  Gilbert  "  locks. 


the  following  materials  are  found  in  the  market.  In  wood, 
they  are  made  of  mahogany,  cherry,  oak,  ash,  apple,  maple  and 
ebony.  Glass  knobs  are  cut,  pressed,  silvered  or  of  black 
glass.  What  are  known  as  mineral 
knobs  are  made  of  earthenware,  porce- 
lain or  lava  and  can  be  had  either 
black,  white  or  grey  in  color.  The 
metals  used  for  knobs  are  brass,  bronze, 
silver,  nickel  and  iron.  Compositions 
of  celluloid,  hemacite,  etc.,  are  also 
used.  The  shanks  in  all  cases  are 
made  of  either  bronze  or  iron,  the 
latter  only  in  the  cheapest  work. 

Wooden  knobs  are  generally  fin- 
ished in  natural  colors,  and  can  be 
obtained  with  wooden  roses  to  match.1 
They  are  very  good,  strong,  and  ser- 
viceable, and  are  excellent  for  inte- 
rior use. 

Glass  knobs  are  somewhat  out  of 
style  just  at  present,  but  are  still  made 
in  a  great  variety  of  forms,  both  cut 
and  pressed,  and  are  really  very  hand- 
some in  appearance.  The  silvered- 
glass  knobs  are  rather  cheap  looking, 
though  the  cost  is  somewhat  higher.  Fi«-  382-  Gilbert's  Lock  and 

v;...     „    OUQ    -I...          .     *__     _/•    ,1 .  .    &          ,       Escutcheon.     Gi 


Figure  383  shows  a  few  of  the  great 


iilbert    Lock  Co. 


variety  of  knobs  made  in  glass. 

Black  glass,  and  what  is  known  as  mineral,  and  white  porce- 
lain are  all  used  a  great  deal  for  common  purposes.  They  are 
cheap,  clean,  and  as  generally  constructed  are  quite  strong. 
Lava  knobs  are  used  but,  little. 

^  The  greatest  variety  of  designs  is  found  in  metal  knobs. 
These  are  made  in  all  shapes  and  in  all  colors.  Some  of  the 
special  shapes  will  be  considered  subsequently  under  the  head 
of  styles  and  design.  Some  of  the  styles  of  iron  knobs  recently 
put  on  the  market  by  the  Yale  &  Towne  Mfg.  Co.,  and 
finished  by  the  Bower-Barff  process  are  very  serviceable  and 
pleasing.  Hopkins  &  Dickinson  have  a  very'dark  rich  bronze 
almost  as  black  as  gun-metal  which  they  use  for  some  of  their 
hardware.  Of  late  years  oxidized  silver  has  come  in  as  a  great 
favorite  for  knobs  and  knob-plates,  and  is  now  worked  up  in  a 


Fig.  383.     Forms  of  Glass   Knobs. 

jreat  variety  of  designs  and  in  several  different  colors.  The 
Yale  &  Towne  Mfg.  Co.,  has  a  grade  of  oxidized  silver  which 
almost  matches  the  dark  bronze  of  Hopkins  &  Dickinson. 

Metal  knobs  are  made  either  oval,  spherical  or  in  a  flattened 
sphere,  egg-shaped  and  indeed  in  an  almost  infinite  variety  of 
shapes  and  designs.  In  the  nicest  grades  of  work,  the  knobs 
are  always  made  to  order.  In  some  of  the  very  choicest  work, 

tnobs  are  gold-plated.     This  increases  the  cost  a  great  deal, 

,o  an  extent,  indeed,  which  renders  it  beyond  the  need  of  the 
ordinary  market ;  but  the  advantage  is  not  so  much  in 
the  looks,  for  a  gold-plate  has  exactly  the  same  color  as  some 
shades  of  bronze,  but  gold-plate  is  absolutely  untarnishable, 

,nd  will  not  change  its  color,  whereas  all  the  finishes  of  bronze, 


232 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.         [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  699. 


silver,  brass  or  nickel,  are  more  or  less  liable  to  change.  The 
various  finishes  for  metal  knobs  have  been  previously  con- 
sidered in  the  introduction. 

The  knobs  of  the  Boston  Knob  Co.,  are  made  of  composition 
presumably  celluloid,  or  at  least  of  that  nature.  Celluloid 
plates  are  bent  over  a  strong  metal  frame,  and  held  in  position 
by  a  brass  rim  which  is  shrunk  on  to  cover  the  joints  between 
the  two  plates.  They  form  a  very  neat  pretty  knob,  Figure 
384.  The  celluloid  is  made  in  a  variety  of  colors,  including 
several  shades  of  blue,  garnet,  black,  malachite,  green,  drab, 

slate,  yellow,  brown  and 
white.  In  many  cases  the 
varied  colors  will  be  an  at- 


Fig.  384. 


Celluloid   Door-knob. 
Knob  Co. 


Boston 


Fig.  385.      Hemacite   Knob. 


traction.     One  would  imagine  this  form  of  knob  made  in  white 
with  a  simple  band  of  brass  around  the  edge  might  be  used 

•          i          • 

very  nicely  in  connection  with  rooms  that  are  furnished  in  the 
prevailing  Old  Colonial  white-aml-gold  style. 

Hemacite  is  a  composition  which  as  nearly  as  can  be  dis- 
covered, consists  of  blood,  glue  and  sawdust.  This  is  pressed 
in  moulds  and  finished  in  several  different  shades,  either  jet 
black  or  a  deep  rich  brown.  Figure  385  shows  the  common- 
est form  adopted  for  hematite  knobs.  They  are  usually  made 
with  face-plates  of  brass  or  bronze,  inserted  in  the  front  of  the 
knob  and  the  edges  of  the  knob  are  milled.  This  composition 
is  most  excellent  for  interior  use.  It  will  wear  indefinitely 
and  is  exceedingly  strong  and  tough  ;  but  is  not  altogether 
suitable  for  exterior  use  as  it  is  said  to  be  affected  by  the 
weather. 

Besides  the  ordinary  double  knobs  it  is  often  desirable  to 
have  a  lever  on  one  side  of  the  door  and  a  knob  on  the  other. 
Figure  386  shows  a  typical  knob  and  T-handle.  There  is,  of 
course,  an  infinite  variety  of  styles  of  this  sort,  some  of  which 

will  be  considered  later  on. 
Figure  387  illustrates  a  so- 
called  ship-handle,  consisting 
of  a  plain  knob  at  one  end  of 
the  spindle  and  a  ring-handle 
at  the  other.  The  form  shown 


Fig.  386.     Knob  and  T- Handle.     Ireland 
Mfg.  Co. 


Fig.  387.     Ship   Handle.     J.    B.   Shan- 
non &  Sons. 


by  Figure  388  is  termed  a  crank-handle,  being  intended  for 
French  windows  and  narrow  style  doors.     The  inner  knob  is 


Fig.  388.     Crank  Handle.      Nimick  &  Brittan. 

kept  away  from  the  jamb  so  that  in  opening  the  door  the  hand 
will  not  be  caught.  The  common  forms  of  pulls  or  handles 
employed  for  sliding-doors  have  been  previously  discussed. 


Fig.  389.     Common   Bell-pull. 


Bell-pulls  are  usually  similar  in  appearance  to  door-knobs, 
and  in  order-work  are  made  exactly  the  same,  and  to  match. 
The  internal  construction  of  the  spindle  however  is  a  little 

different.  Figure 
389  shows  the 
commonest  form, 
the  rose  being  pro- 
vided with  a  long 
hub  fitting  over 
the  spindle,  and 
screwing  into  the 
frame  of  the  door. 
Figure  390  is  a  form  of  lever  bell-pull  suitable  for  out-door 
work.  The  same  form  is  sometimes  used  for  bells  in  the  in- 
terior of  the  house,  although  Figure 
391  is  a  better  and  more  common 
form. 

Door-knockers  are  made  in  a  great 
variety  of  shapes.     A  few  of  these  will 
be  considered   later  on  in  connection 
with  the  designs.     A  single  example, 
Figure    392,    will 
be      sufficient      to 


Fig.  390.     Lever  Bell- 
pull.       Russell  &   Erwin. 


Fig.  391.     Parlor    Bell-lever. 


Fig.  392.     Old-fashioned 
Door-knocker. 


illustrate  a  typical  door-knocker  in  this  connection. 

The  following  table  gives  the  average  retail  prices  of  the 
principal  styles  of  door-knobs.  The  prices  are  for  a  dozen 
pairs  of  medium-sized  (2£  inch)  knobs,  complete,  with  roses 
and  screws  to  match. 


TABLE  OF  DOOR-KNOBS. 


Fig. 

Description. 

Knob. 

Shank 
and  Kose 

Manufacturer. 

Price. 

367 

Knob  with  concealed 

Bronze 

Plated... 

Hii^sell  &  JVwin 

a 

369 

Screwless   Knob  and 

*5.i5 

Escutcheon  combined 

Bronze  .  .  . 

Bronze.  . 

P.  &  F.  Corbin. 

12.50 

372 

Morris  Patent  Door-| 

373 

knob  

' 

Ireland  Mfg.  Co. 

15.00 

Screwless        Knob- 

378 

shank 

" 

*' 

Yale  &  Towne  Mfg.  Co 

18.00 

Phipps  Patent  Door- 

379 

knob  
Door-knob,     expand- 

Wood  

" 

Milford  Door-Knob  Co 

12.00 

381 
382 

Niles  Door-knob  
Gilbert    Door-k  nob 

Bronze  

11 

Chicago  Hardware  Co. 

7.00 
30.00 

384 

and  Escutcheon  
Boston  Door-knob.  .  . 

Celluloid... 

M 

Gilbert  Lock  Co. 
Boston  Knob  Co. 

40.00 

1(1.00 

385 

Hemacite  Door-knob 

Hemacite.  .  . 

Brass  anc 
Hemacite 

Dibble  Mfg.  Co. 

6.00 

386 
387 
390 

Knob  and  T-handle.  . 
Ship  Handles  
Lever  Bell-pulls  

Bronze  
Brass  
Bronze  

Bronze  .. 
Brass  .... 
Bronze  .. 

I  reland  Mfg.  Co. 
J.  B.  Shannon  &  Sons. 
KiUBell  &  Erwin. 

16.00 
16.80 
27.00 

391 

Parlor  Bell-levers... 

H 

» 

27.00 

392 

Antique    Knocker  — 

each  



Common  style  Door- 

Pressed 

o.OO 

knob  



do. 

>it  Glass... 

« 

1U.OU 
18.00 



do. 

Porcelain.... 

[ron  



1.00 



do. 

Cherry  

Sronze.  .  . 



7.50 



do. 

tron 
Bronzed.  . 

Iron  



4.00 

Hr* 

Iron  Bower- 

QO. 

Barff  ed  ..  . 



8.00 



do. 

Plain 
Bronze  .  .  . 

Jronze.  .. 



8.00 



do. 

Figured 
Bronze  .  .  . 

« 



6.00 

There  remains  but  a   single   door-knob   to   be   considered. 

Some  ingenious  person  who  had  been  troubled  by  tramps,  or 
who  imagined  that  everybody  else  was,  devised  a  burglar  door- 
tnob.     This  consists  simply  of   a  knob  on  the  inside  of   the 

:loor,  which  at  the  same  time  is  a  bell,  the  mechanism  of  which 
years  of  use  will  not  disarrange.     It  costs  but  little  more  than 
common  knob  and  can  be  applied  by  any  person,  the  least 
;urn  of  the  outside  knob  causing  the  alarm  to  be  rung  on  the 


c: 
re 

to 


I 


19 


3 

S- 

- 

S 


C5 


.V'l'^«S^.->t:A-          .      '  ' 


MAY  18,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


233 


inside  so  that  immediate  warning  is  given  of  even  an  attempt 
to  enter.  The  knob  is  so  constructed  that  upon  being  turned 
from  the  inside  it  gives  no  alarm.  It  is  known  as  the  Burglar 
Door-knob  and  Window-alarm,  and  is  manufactured  by  Wm.  C. 
C.  Matthews  &  Co. 

ESCUTCHEONS. 

The  term  escutcheon  is  used  to  designate  the  peculiar  lock- 
ing mechanism  of  a  cylinder-lock,  as  has  been  explained  in  the 
previous  chapter.  It  is  also  applied  to  the  finish,  of  metal  or 
other  material,  about  the  key-hole  of  a  lock.  Escutcheons  are 
made  both  with  and  without  drop  or  covering  pieces.  For  in- 
side work  the  drop  had  better  be  omitted,  though  for  front 
doors  both  the  latch  and  the  lock  key-hole  should  be  protected. 
The  common  forms  of  escutcheons  are  too  well-known  to 
require  any  illustration. 

The  following  table  gives  the  average  retail  prices. 

TABLE  OP  KEY-HOLE  ESCUTCHEONS. 


Material. 

Price  per  dozen  pairs 
with  drop  and  screws. 

Price  per  dozen 
without  drop,  with 

pairs 
screws. 

$    50 

$.25 

.75 

.35 

Wood  

.85 

.65 

1.50 

.60 

1.50 

.CO 

"           figured 

1  00 

.42 

[To  be  contiuued.l 


A  FINE  BANKING-ROOM. — STONE 
CARVING.  —  ROCK-FACE  WORK. — MR. 
WINDKIM'S  APPOINTMENT.  —  OLD 
HOMES  NOT  MARVELS  IN  PENNSYL- 
VANIA. 

I 1  TV  THEN  a  work  is  conducted  as 
^  Vx  magn'ficent'}'  as  possible,  its  cost 
\-  '  is  admired  ;  when  well  built,  the 

skill  of  the  workman  is  praised  ;  when 
beautifully,  the  merit  belongs  to  the  architect,  on  account  of  the  pro- 
portion and  symmetry  which  enter  into  the  design."  Whether  in 
mentioning  cost  first  in  his  list  of  the  admirable  qualities  of  a  build- 
ing, and  beauty  last,  Vitruvius  meant  to  put  them  in  the  order  of 
their  relative  importance  is  more  than  doubtful,  but  his  arrangement 
is  very  suggestive  of  the  sentiment  of  the  Philadelphia  public  of  to- 
day. Certainly  there  never  was  a  time  in  the  history  of  the  city 
when  so  much  money  was  being  poured  out  that  each  company's 
building  might  have  a  showier  facade  than  its  neighbor.  The  "  pro- 
portion and  symmetry  "  of  which  the  earnest  old  Roman  speaks  are 
quite  lacking  as  a  rule,  but  excepting  the  use  of  galvanized-iron 
(neatly  sanded)  in  some  of  them,  the  new  fronts  are  being  "  con- 
ducted as  magnificently  as  possible."  A  large  part  of  the 
magnificence  is  apt  to  consist  in  a  lavish  use  of  rock-face  work  of 
varying  degrees  of  boldness.  There  would  seem  to  be  no  valid 
reason  for  the  sudden  outbreak  of  this  style  of  wall  except  possibly  a 
vague  hope  of  the  architect's  that  its  glaring  inappropriateness  might 
startle  the  beholder  into  overlooking  the  childishness  of  the  design. 
The  success  of  this  plan,  however,  may  be  doubted,  for  in  spite  of 
their  jagged  projections  narrow  piers  of  stone  with  broad  window- 
openings  do  not  give  the  restful  effect  of —  say  the  foundation  of  a 
mediaeval  fortress  —  nor  do  the  every-day  red  brick  party-walls  that 
come  confidingly  up  to  the  very  edge  of  these  frowning  heaps  of  per- 
pendicular rock  tend  to  help  the  illusion.  The  Pennsylvania  Company 
for  Insurances  on  Lives  and  Granting  Annuities,  in  the  building  it  is 
now  putting  up  on  Chestnut  Street,  opposite  the  State-house,  has  a 
front  that  in  spite  of  the  rather  questionable  taste  of  its  design, 
shows  an  admirable  way  of  getting  over  the  rock-face-and-party-wall 
difficulty.  It  is  crowned  by  a  gable  that  rises  from  two  huge  steps. 
The  risers  as  it  were,  of  these  steps  are  of  course,  interior  walls  be- 
low the  roof  and  where  they  show  above  it  have  a  surface  of  the  same 
rock-face  as  the  front.  Of  course  the  walls  do  not  run  back  far  from 
the  building  line  before  they  are  quite  hidden  from  the  street,  and 
as  a  matter-of-fact  the  front  part  of  the  building  —  five-stories  of 
small  rooms  —  has  but  little  depth.  Just  behind  it  comes  the  huge 
banking-room  —  with  the  exception  of  the  Brussels  Bank,  the  largest 
in  the  world.  The  room  is  as  yet  quite  unfinished  but  if  its  interior 
treatment  is  as  pleasing  as  its  general  proportions  it  will  be  an  un- 
qualified success,  so  that  the  Company's  clients,  when  once  inside 
will  be  made  to  forget  the  outer  shell,  with  its  amateurish  arrange- 


ment  of  columns  and  piers  and  its  stupid  carving.  And  that  reminds 
me  that  it  is  curious  how  little  attention  people  pay  to  carving: 
years  ago  it  is  safe  to  say  that  all  the  stone-carving  done  on  Phila- 
delphia fronts  was  utterly  bad  —  stupid,  spiritless,  without  feeling, 
and  now  that  we  have  good  carvers  among  us  —  as  good  in  certain 
lines  as  can  be  found  in  New  York  or  Boston  —  we  persist  in  using 
the  old  so-much-a-yard  style  without  its  occurring  to  architects, 
apparently,  that  in  many  cases  a  plain  surface  would  be  better.  It 
is  curious,  I  say,  that  men  who  see  every  day  as  they  walk  down 
Chestnut  Street  such  good  work  as  is  on  the  City  Trust  Building 
should  continue  to  give  orders  for  great  quantities  of  an  inferio'r 
kind.  Still,  so  it  is,  and  after  all  the  great  fault  is  with  the  archi- 
tects, for  the  man  who  is  building  "as  magnificently  as  possible"  is 
perfectly  willing  to  pay  for  the  best  and  only  wants  to  have  it 
pointed  out  to  him.  Having  once  begun  to  speak  of  rock-face  work, 
it  would  be  manifestly  unjust  not  to  mention  the  most  astonishing 
example  of  that  style  in  Philadelphia  —  the  still  unfinished  building 
at  Fourth  and  Walnut  Streets  for  the  American  Life  Insurance 
Company.  It  is  hopeless  as  well  as  quite  unprofitable  to  criticise 
this  abnormal  structure  with  its  beetling  tower  poised  on  a  crooked 
column  and  its  gigantic,  meaningless  stone  mask  gazing  vacantly 
across  the  street  but  it  is  only  right  to  call  attention  to  the  ingenious 
idea  of  the  architect  in  making  the  window-grilles,  although  broad 
enough  to  interfere  seriously  with  the  light,  of  such  unusual  thinness 
as  to  increase  the  massive  look  of  the  building  by  contrast  and  at 
the  same  time  to  assure  the  public  that  its  terrifying  aspect  is  only  a 
joke.  Another  of  the  new  rock-face  buildings  —  but  much  milder 
than  the  last  —  is  the  Union  Trust  Company's,  on  Chestnut  Street, 
where  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  rough  stone  has  not  entire  mo- 
nopoly of  the  front,  for  wherever  carvings  and  mouldings  occur, 
whether  in  stone  or  galvanized-iron,  they  only  accentuate  the  design, 
and  the  design  is  probably  as  flashy  and  as  vulgar  as  anything  that 
has  yet  been  foisted  upon  the  Philadelphia  public. 

In  the  appointment  of  Mr.  James  H.  Windrim,  architect  to  the 
Treasury,  there  is  real  cause  for  congratulation  for  the  country  in 
general  and  for  the  cities  for  which  new  Government  buildings  are 
to  be  designed,  in  particular.  And  it  is  very  fortunate  that  Mr. 
Windrim,  with  a  great  deal  of  work  in  his  office,  should  have  con- 
sented to  take  the  post.  It  would  be  superfluous  to  point  out  the 
immense  amount  of  good  that  may  be  done  by  having  a  thoroughly 
competent  man  in  this  most  exacting  position;  the  Supervising 
Architect,  in  fact,  has  so  much  of  the  business  part  of  architecture  to 
go  through  with,  that  Mr.  Windrim  said  the  other  day,  half  despair- 
ingly, that  he  did  not  see  how  he  could  do  any  designing,  as  his  first 
few  weeks  in  Washington  had  been  entirely  spent  in  signing  his 
name ! 

In  Scrifmer's  Magazine  for  May,  Mr.  Charles  Eliot  Norton  has  a 
most  thoughtful  article  in  which  he  deplores  the  lack  of  old  homes  in 
America.  There  is  much  sad  truth  in  what  he  says,  but  it  must  be 
that  he  docs  not  know  Pennsylvania,  or  even  Philadelphia  whose 
conservatism  (although  a  by-word  and  a  reproach  among  the  more 
restless  cities)  surely  has  its  advantages.  "  The  American  is  a 
marvel  "  says  Mr.  Norton  "  who  lives  as  an  old  man  in  the  house  in 
which  he  was  born,  who  inherits  and  transmits  hereditary  acres  .  .  . 
and  who  closes  his  eyes  at  the  end  of  life  on  the  same  landscape 
which  they  beheld  when  they  first  opened."  If  we  are  to  take  this 
literally,  marvels  make  a  very  large  part  of  the  population  of  Penn- 
sylvania numerically  and  a  still  larger  part  if  we  count  for  anything 
their  importance  in  the  community.  In  order  to  give  some  idea  of 
the  immense  difference  between  Philadelphia  and  other  cities,  we 
must  quote  again :  "  In  Boston  and  New  York,  for  example,  scarcely 
a  house  remains  that  was  a  home  at  the  beginning  of  the  century, 
and  of  the  few  of  this  sort  that  may  still  exist  very  few,  if  any,  are 
occupied  bypersons  of  the  same  social  position,  and  hardly  a  single 
one  by  persons  of  the  same  family  that  dwelt  in  it  fifty  years  ago." 
It  must  be  acknowledged  that  this  would  apply  in  a  modified  form  to 
the  heart  of  Philadelphia  for  the  crowding  business  blocks  are  giving 
the  old  private  houses  near  the  Delaware  a  hard  struggle  for  existence, 
but  on  going  some  distance  from  the  centre  while  keeping  within  the 
limits  of  the  city  we  find  dozens  of  old  houses  built  before  the  Revolu- 
tion (and  some  few  that  date  from  the  seventeenth  century)  where 
none  but  descendants  of  the  original  owners  have  ever  lived  and 
where  the  family-name  is  as  much  a  part  of  the  house  as  the  mortar 
between  its  stones. 

Mr.  Norton  acknowledges  that  in  the  country  it  is  easier  to  find  a 
man  living  in  the  house  that  his  father  has  built  than  it  is  in  the  city. 
This  is  probably  more  true  of  Pennsylvania  than  of  any  other  State. 
Throughout  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  at  least,  the  old  farm-houses  are 
very  rarely  sold  but  are  lived  in  as  a  matter-of-course  by  the  same 
family  generation  after'  generation.  I  say  Eastern  Pennsylvania, 
because  farther  west  the  houses  are  mostly  of  wood  and  very  transi- 
tory and  uninteresting.  Excepting  within  a  radius  of  say  thirty  or 
forty  miles  of  Philadelphia,  the  old  farms  are  exactly  as  they  used 
to  be  and  the  country  has  lost  none  of  its  distinctive  character,  but 
within  the  last  very  few  years  this  charm  has  been  appreciably 
lessened  in  the  immediate  environs  of  the  city.  Cheap  wooden 
houses,  things  never  dreamed  of  by  the  serious-minded  settlers,  are 
springing  up  on  every  side,  utterly  out  of  keeping  with  their  surround- 
ings. Not  only  do  they  ruin  the  landscape  with  their  crude  and 
glaring  colors,  but  instead  of  nestling  as  the  old  ones  do  in  sheltered 
places  in  a  valley,  these  modern  abominations  show  their  sharp  card- 
board angles  outlined  uncompromisingly  against  the  sky. 


234 


The  American   Architect  and  Building  News.      [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  699. 


[Contributors  are  requested  to  send  toith  their  drawings  full  and 
adequate  descriptions  of  the  buildings,  including  a  statement  of  cost.'] 

HOUSE     OF      FREDERIC       FRELINGHUYSEN,       ESQ.,     LENOX,      MASS. 
MESSRS.    ROTCH    &   TILDEN,   ARCHITECTS,    BOSTON,    MASS. 

[Hello-chrome,  issued  only  with  the  Imperial  Edition.] 

GOTHIC     SPIRES     AND    TOWERS,   PLATE   44. —  ST.    NICHOLAS,    NEW- 
CASTLE-UPON-TYNE. 

(.Issued  only  with  the  Imperial  Edition.! 

THE    AGE    OF    FRANCIS  I,  PLATES  6   AND    7. —  COURT-YARD,  BLOIS. 
—  PULPIT    IN   THE    CHURCH    AT    FONTAINEBLEAU. 

[Issued  only  with  the  Imperial  Edition.l 


HOUSE    OF    MR.   J.    FRANK    COLLOM,   MINNEAPOLIS,  MINN.      MESSRS. 
G.    W.    &   F.    D.    ORFF,    ARCHITECTS,    MINNEAPOLIS,    MINN. 

lirllE  body  of  the  work  is  to  be  of  pink  Kasota  stone  and  laid  in 
J  I »  broken  range  with  portions  of  it  laid  in  cobble  stone,  and  trimmed 
in  Pennsylvania  serpentine  stone  for  all  of  the  dressed  and 
carved  work.  The  work  is  being  performed  by  the  day  and  will  cost 
from  $60,000  to  $75,000. 


AUCHMUTY  BUILDING  OWNED  BY  THE  BOSTON  REAL  ESTATE 
TRUST,  BOSTON,  MASS.  MESSRS.  WINSLOW  &  WETHERELL,  AR- 
CHITECTS, BOSTON,  MASS. 

FIREPLACE    DESIGNED    BY    MR.    J.    W.    BLISS. 

HOUSE    FOR    V.    F.    WHITMORE,    ESQ.,    ROCHESTER,    N.   Y.      MR.  OTTO 
'BLOCK,    ARCHITECT,    ROCHESTER,    N.    Y. 

HOUSE     FOR   J.    M.    DAVIS,     ESQ.,      ROCHESTER,     N.    Y.        MR.     OTTO 
BLOCK,    ARCHITECT,    ROCHESTER,    N.    Y. 


THE  COURT-HOUSE.  —  THE  STATE-HOUSE 
ALTERATIONS.- —  HARVARD  COLLEGE 
BUILDINGS.  —  OTHER  BUILDINGS  IN  CAM- 
BRIDGE. 


D 


CURING  the  last  few  months  there  has 
been  but  little  progress  in  much  of  the 
building  in  the  city.  The  Court-house 
has  gone  on  steadily,  and  the  facades  are  practically  completed. 
The  Pemberton  Square  front  reiterates  the  fact  that  a  simple  re- 
peated motive,  if  on  a  large  scale,  is  always  impressive  from  its  size, 
and  is  dignified  in  spite  of  ordinary  detail.  The  great  arcade  is 
certainly  a  thing  for  which  to  be  very  thankful,  a  thankfulness  that 
is  tempered  somewhat  when  the  mouldings  are  considered.  Its 
virtues  are  great  ones  —  the  virtues  that  are  seen  in  the  aqueducts  of 
the  Campagna  and  of  Segovia ;  but  it  will  be  at  its  best  by  moon- 
light, when  all  the  smaller  parts  are  fused  in  the  mass.  The  clock  is 
as  much  a  mistake  as  ever.  A  clock-face  is,  in  pointrof-fact,  merely 
a  dial  over  which  two  hands  travel,  and  requires  only  a  straight- 
forward frame  about  it,  round  or  square  as  may  be,  and  possibly  en- 
riched. Yet,  the  popular  impression  seems  to  be  that  this  dial  is  a 
climax,  a  thing  worthy  of  pedestals,  of  pediments  and  heraldic  sup- 
porters, until  it  becomes  a  very  apotheosis  of  time.  The  halo  very 
seldom  fits  thoroughly  well. 

The  smoke  has  begun  to  clear  from  the  State-house  competition 
skirmish,  and  the  result  is  seen  to  be  better  than  there  was  cause  to 
expect.  Now  that  matters  have  regulated  themselves,  the  question 
can  be  referred  to  without  creating  further  unpleasantness.  The 
protest  of  the  architects  against  the  terms  of  competition  was  taken 
expressly  for  the  purpose  of  destroying  the  effect  of  such  terms  as  a 
precedent.  The  Governor  objected  and  reiterated  his  objection  at 


the  dinner  of  the  Master-Builders,  that  the  architects  asked  him  to 
do  what  the  law,  as  it  stood,  did  not  allow  him  to  do.  This  was  per- 
fectly well-known  at  the  time  of  the  protest,  and  the  Governor  was 
neither  misunderstood  nor  in  any  way  injured  by  the  protest. 
There  was  neither  time  nor  power  to  amend  the  previous  legislation, 
but  there  were  both  to  protest  against  the  result  of  it.  At  a  time 
when  the  public  taste  had  reached  the  point  where  it  takes  an  in- 
terest in  architecture  without  knowing  the  rudiments  of  its  science, 
when  it  mistakes  the  prettiness  of  a  perspective  sketch  from  one 
point  of  view  for  the  character  of  a  monumental  building — which  is  to 
be  walked  through,  and  not  seen  through  the  small  end  of  a  field- 
glass  —  there  was  instituted  a  competition  which,  by  its  terms,  would 
attract  all  the  specious  cleverness  in  the  profession,  while  it 
would  repel,  at  least,  a  good  part  of  the  men  of  restraint  and  of 
studious  qualities.  It  was  time  to  make  a  protest. 

The  old  cry  arose  that  undeveloped  talent  might  appear.  Of  all 
studies,  architecture  is  the  most  gradual  in  its  growth  towards 
achievement.  A  poet  may  be  born,  but  an  architect  must  also  be 
made ;  and  the  belief  that  a  monumental  building  can  be  designed 
by  a  stroke  of  genius  and  without  previous  training,  is  a  faith  in  a 
fortuitous  correlation  of  forces  that  is  scarcely  sane.  The  fact  that 
three  of  the  protestants  were  asked  to  award  the  prizes,  either  in- 
dicated especial  confidence  in  the  quality  of  the  protestants  or —  a  sop 
to  Cerberus.  The  design  as  revised  and  published  in  the  daily  press 
is  quiet,  follows  the  key  set  by  the  old  building  and  is  well-planned. 
The  colonnades  come  in  the  right  places,  the  arcades  over  Mt. 
Vcrnon  Street  give  an  excellent  opportunity  for  a  treatment  that 
is  so  well-handled  in  the  Genoese  palaces  and  in  the  Louvre.  The 
pediment  seems  flat  and  unnecessary.  A  pediment  of  such  a  size  is 
a  very  awkward  thing  to  deal  with,  unless  it  is  filled  with  sculpture, 
a  thing  that  it  would  be  as  well  to  be  chary  in  doing,  as  it  has  rarely 
been  done  respectably  well  since  the  time  of  the  Greeks.  It  is,  of 
course,  impossible  to  judge  the  detail,  but  it  can  easily  be  an  im- 
provement over  that  of  the  present  State-house,  of  which  it  is 
its  weakest  point. 

In  Cambridge  there  are  several  new  buildings  approaching  comple- 
tion, of  which  the  best  is  Hastings  Hall,  the  gables  of  which  are 
especially  well-handled.  It  is  our  chief  bane,  so  far  as  architectural 
effect  is  concerned,  that  each  building  erected  is  a  unit  sufficient  to 
itself,  and  is  unconnected  by  cloister,  arcade,  wall  or  roof  with  anything 
else.  As  a  result,  Harvard  is  devoid  of  interest  as  a  whole,  and  ex- 
cites varying  sensations  as  to  parts.  There  is  no  unity  of  idea,  method 
or  even  a  continuity  of  masses ;  each  building  is  alone  and  lonely, 
and  the  whole  impression  is  one  of  a  lot  of  scattered  fragments,  of  all 
sizes  and  shapes.  This  would  be  well  enough  for  a  country  academy, 
but  should  not  influence  the  disposition  of  the  buildings  of  a  University ; 
and  it  is  much  to  be  hoped  that  at  some  time  the  buildings  of  Har- 
vard may  be  connected  and  made  into  some  sort  of  a  heterogeneous 
whole.  What  is  true  of  Harvard,  is  true  of  all  our  towns,  excessive, 
isolated  individuality  —  a  kind  of  individuality  that  is  insolently 
original.  There  is  an  example  in  the  two  new  buildings  near  Felton 
Hall  —  the  Industrial  School  and  the  Library :  two  more  different 
buildings  it  would  be  difficult  to  find,  as  to  material,  lines  and  masses. 
The  School  is  the  better,  as  it  is  simpler  and  more  direct,  and  is,  on 
the  whole,  a  very  good  building.  It  has  the  motive  which  may  be 
ticketed  the  citadel-gate  motive,  as  an  entrance  with  the  two  flanking 
tourelles,  the  central  arch,  etc.  It  is  very  correct  • —  exact  symmetry, 
contrast  and  concentration  of  interest  upon  the  entrance;  but,  in 
some  way,  it  seems  a  little  affected,  a  little  mediaeval,  and  the  port- 
cullis seems  to  be  lacking.  The  iron  balcony  on  the  central  ventilat- 
ing shaft,  and  the  shaft  itself,  are,  however,  sufficiently  modern.  If 
slate  is  good  enough  for  the  roof,  why  must  tiles  be  used  on  the  bays 
or  tourelles  ?  This  use  of  numerous  materials  is  another  American 
besetting  sin.  As  for  the  Library,  it  is  undoubtedly  picturesque 
(imagine  picturesqucness  set  in  a  treeless  scrap  of  field,  level  as  a 
pond),  but  it  is  the  most  aggressively  sophisticated  building  in 
Cambridge.  Its  whole  manner  implies  a  consciousness  of  making  a 
brave  show  —  under  the  circumstances  —  and  of  educating  the  public 
as  to  what  a  combination  of  tower,  pitched  roof,  arcades  and 
dormers  can  be  if  it  tries,  and  tries  hard.  The  detail  is,  in  some 
places,  too  coarse,  in  others,  too  fine,  there  is  no  sense  of  relation  of 
parts.  The  dormer  finials  are  well  cut,  but  too  finely  cut ;  the  same 
thing  is  true  of  the  arch  mouldings,  and  the  two-storied  caps  are 
painful  travesties  upon  old  models. 

One  man  in  ten  is  born  color-blind,  and  a  color-blind  person  can- 
not tell  the  difference  usually  between  green  and  red.  It  is 
charitable  to  suppose  that  the  person  who  selected  the  stone  for  the 
building  on  Main  Street,  Cambridge,  corner  of  -  —  Street, 
has  the  misfortune  to  be  color-blind;  nothing  else  will  excuse 
the  use  of  a  green  stone  of  the  color  and  texture  of  green  soap. 
Apart  from  this,  there  can  hardly  be  found  a  building  with  fewer 
claims  to  respect ;  it  is  a  mixture  of  split-face  stone,  used  in  too  small 
and  too  square  pieces,  of  heavy  arches,  of  which  the  voussoirs  are 
so  cut  as  to  appear  unconstructive,  of  copper  bays  of  uncouth  outline 
with  unnecessary  terminations,  of  ornament  in  the  wrong  places,  and 
without  vigor  or  method.  It  belongs  to  a  class  of  building  that 
usually  I  would  pass  by  without  a  word,  but,  in  this  case,  from  its 
manifest  cost  and  from  its  pretentiousness,  it  occupies  the  position  of 
a  thing  that  vitiates  the  public  taste,  and  needs  mentioning,  so  far  as 
design  is  concerned,  in  the  same  way  that  the  Cogswell  fountain 
needed  mentioning.  It  may  in  spite  of  this,  however,  be  a  convenient 
and  agreeable  building  in  the  interior,  and  a  very  good  investment. 


MO.  699. 


v- I5.13of) 


&UILDIMG. 

Cor -.Kin^Ston 
Owneh  by  the  E>o2ton  Ketvl 
Occupied  in  pto-e^by-  &rown   burrfell  &  Co 

Winslow   &  Wetherell , 


^ericaij  ^rcljitect  ai?d  Building  IJews,  EQay  13,  1539. 


O 


O 
;o 


O 

- 


S  -o 
co  m 
O  u 


CD 
O 


O 
O 


O 

O 


lo.  699. 


GV«F-D-ORFF  ARCHITECTS 


II 


BUILDING  HEWS,  M*rc  15.1559 


Hdiotjpe  Printing  Co.Boston 


MAY  18,  1889.] 


The  American  Architect  and  Building  News. 


235 


84,397.13 
2,931.42 

$7,328.55 
8,000.00 


A    SUIT  FOR  EXTRA   COMPENSATION. —  THE 
PROPOSED        CONSOLIDATION        OF        THE 
AMERICAN     INSTITUTE     OF     ARCHITECTS 
AND   WESTERN    ASSOCIATION    OF    ARCHI- 
TECTS. —  PROJECTED   OFFICE-BUILDINGS.  —  EXHIBITIONS. 

/CONSIDERING  that  the  city  directory  contains  over  two  hundred 
I  i  names  of  individuals  who  are  actively  practising  architecture  in 
Chicago,  it  is  quite  remarkable  that  their  names  so  rarely  figure 
in  the  courts  in  connection  with  any  proceedings  to  obtain  their  fees. 
Lately,  however,  quite  an  important  suit1  was  brought  in  the 
Superior  Court  by  one  of  our  architects  to  obtain  extra  compensation 
for  unusual  and  extraordinary  services,  which  excited  general  interest 
among  the  profession  here,  several  of  the  prominent  architects 
appearing  on  the  witness-stand.  The  facts  of  the  case  are  as  follows : 
The  defendant  sometime1  since  when  about  to  build  his  restaurant, 
which  cost  nearly  $150,000.00,  and  is  to-day  the  most  elegant  place 
of  its  kind  in  the  city,  made  a  written  contract  with  his  architect  for 
the  regular  professional  service  at  the  rate  of  three  per  cent  instead 
of  five  per  cent.  The  desire  was  to  have  the  building  ready  for 
occupancy  upon  a  certain  date,  but  in  order  to  accomplish  this  it 
soon  became  evident  that  the  greatest  diligence  would  be  necessary 
and  in  order  that  everything  should  be  pushed  along  as  rapidily  as 
possible  and  that  nothing  might  be  delayed,  the  defendant  desired 
his  architect  to  devote  his  entire  time  to  the  building,  promising  him, 
but  not  in  writing,  additional  compensation.  Accordingly  the  archi- 
tect gave  his  personal  supervision  to  the  work  daily,  the  entire  day, 
and  as  a  consequence  the  building  was  occupied  at  the.  desired 
time.  When,  however,  it  came  to  a  settlement  between  the  architect 
and  his  client,  disputes  arose  and  finally  the  case  was  brought  into 
court. 

The  architect  filed  the  following  bill  of  particulars. 

3  per  cent  on  J?14<>,571.00  as  per  original  agreement, 
Special  supervision  daily,  all  day,  2  per  cent, 

Total, 

By  cash  at  divers  times, 
Balance  due  (or  sum  for  which  suit  was  brought),  $4,328.55 

The  defendant  admitted  that  $fi85.70  was  still  due  to  the  archi- 
tect and  upon  this  basis  the  case  was  argued.  Both  parties  waived 
the  jury,  and  the  case  was  submitted  to  the  court,  so  that  the  result 
is  unusually  interesting,  as  no  one  can  say  that  fine  rhetoric  had  in- 
fluence on  an  ignorant  jury. 

The  defendant  submitted  to  the  court :  First,  that  the  services 
rendered  were  simply  the  services  contracted  for  in  the  original 
written  agreement.  Second,  that  the  contract  alone  should  govern 
and  that  a  promise  to  pay  further  compensation  was  a  promise  with- 
out consideration  and  therefore  void  and  not  enforcible. 

On  the  other  hand  the  plaintiff  submitted  that  the  regular 
professional  services  he  had  contracted  for,  did  not  include  any  such 
extraordinary  labor  as  he  had  rendered  at  the  special  request  of  the, 
defendant,  and  that  such  services  were  extraordinary  and  extra 
according  to  all  rules  of  architectural  practice,  and  in  confirmation 
of  this,  some  of  the  prominent  architects  of  the  city  went  upon  the 
witness-stand.  The  court  found  that  under  the  contract  if  it  was 
necessary  that  plaintiff  should  devote  his  entire  time  to  superintend- 
ing the  building  he  was  bound  to  do  so,  but  the  court  further  found 
that  the  plaintiff  at  the  request  of  his  client,  devoted  a  much  greater 
portion  of  his  time  to  the  business  and  interests  of  the  defendant  in 
the  matter  of  the  construction  of  the  building  than  was  necessary  to 
properly  superintend  the  construction  of  the  same  and  much  greater 
than  is  customary  among  architects  in  this  community  under  like 
circumstances.  As  a  result,  judgment  was  given  in  favor  of  the 
architect  for  $2,180.00  and  the  case  has  not  been  appealed. 

An  unusual  amount  of  interest  is  felt  here  in  the  balloting  now  in 
progress  for  and  against  the  consolidation  of  the  Western  Associa- 
tion with  the  American  Institute  of  Architects,  and  the  feeling  so  far 
as  can  be  judged  seems  to  be  practically  unanimous  in  favor  of  such 
consolidation.  Should  the  measure  be  defeated  either  by  the 
extreme  East  or  the  extreme  West,  there  will  be  much  disappoint- 
ment, for  the  feeling  at  this  point  is  of  the  most  cordial  possible 
character  between  the  two  bodies,  of  both  of  which,  indeed,  many 
are  members,  and  this  good  fellowship  has  been  strengthened  by 
several  recent  events,  notably  the  invitation  from  the  Illinois  State 
Association  to  the  Chicago  Chapter  of  the  Institute  to  be  present  at 
their  last  regular  monthly  meeting  and  luncheon,  and  afterwards  to 
accompany  them  through  one  of  the  large  office-buildings  that  is  just 
on  the  point  of  completion.  There  are  several  of  these  buildings 
that  are  particularly  worthy  of  note  but  as  yet,  although  supposed  to 
he  ready  for  occupancy,  they  are  scarcely  so  and  cannot  be  seen  at 
their  best,  until  the  workmen  are  out  of  the  way.  Although  these 
large  structures  are  not  yet  filled  with  tenants,  the  projects  for 
extremely  heavy  buildings  seem  to  continue  and  should  the  sketches 
now  on  the  boards  be  carried  out  some  of  our  large  buildings,  now 


'  Francis  L.  Charnley  vs.  Herbert  M.  Kinsley. 


the  largest  of  their  kind  in  the  world,  will  in  their  turn  be  eclipsed 
by  mammoth  constructions. 

The  curious  scheme  of  bringing  the  old,  historic  Libby  Prison  to 
Chicago  in  sections  and  rebuilding  it  here,  as  mentioned  in  a 
previous  letter,  is  now  being  accomplished.2  A  large  piece  of 
property  has  been  leased  for  ninety-nine  years  and  a  high,  pictur- 
esque stone-wall  with  tower  and  battlements  is  being  built  across  the 
front  so  as  to  completely  hide  from  public  sight  the  old  prison  itself 
until  one  is  inside  the  inelosure.  The  prison  building,  it  is  under- 
stood, is  now  being  taken  down  at  Richmond  preparatory  to  shipping 
it  to  its  new  resting  place,  where  it  will  serve  the  purpose  of  a  war 
museum. 

Art  exhibitions  continue  to  be  numerous  and  well  attended.  The 
Palette  Club  (formerly  the  Bohemian  Club)  an  association  of  ladies 
both  professional  and  amateur,  and  the  most  important  of  its 
kind  in  the  city,  has  had  its  annual  exhibition  where  many 
good  things  were  shown,  some  of  the  charcoal-work  being  very 
far  above  the  general  average  of  work  of  that  kind  in  this  country. 
Some  of  the  water-colors  were  also  very  successful,  while  a  case  of 
miniatures  attracted  unusual  attention.  The  annual  Water-Color 
Exhibition  at  the  Art  Institute  is  now  in  full  blast  and  many  very 
excellent  things  are  shown.  Quite  a  number  of  this  exhibit  had 
already  been  hung  at  New  York  earlier  in  the  season.  The  Chicago 
Artists'  Club  in  a  few  days  will  open  their  exhibit  in  black-and-white 
from  which  their  friends  are  anticipating  much  pleasure. 


:  CANADA ' 


COMPETITIONS.  —  NEW  OFFICE-BUILD- 
INGS.—  THE  ROYAL  VICTORIA  HOS- 
PITAL.—  THK  PARLIAMENT  BUILDING 
AT  TORONTO. —  PROPOSED  BRIDGE  AT 
QUEBEC. — THE  ST.  CLAIR  TUNNEL. 
—  UNDERGROUND  WIRES. 

TIFlIE  Ontario  Association  of  Archi- 
J I  (•  tects,  recently  incorporated,  is  show- 
ing signs  of  activity.  As  a  first 
official  action,  it  is  setting  itself  against  improperly-conducted  archi- 
tectural competitions.  There  is  a  very  strong  feeling  against  com- 
petitions generally,  and  many  look  forward  with  hope  to  the  time 
when  the  public  will  have  learned  that  it  is  serving  its  own 
interests  best  when  it  goes  direct  to  any  architect  it  may  feel 
confidence  in  and  give  him  the  work  it  wishes  to  have  carried  out, 
without  resorting  to  public  competition.  Of  course,  the  idea  of  the 
public  is  that  through  a  competition  more  can  be  got  for  the 
money ;  the  most,  in  fact,  that  money  could  be  possibly  made  to 
produce ;  so  much,  indeed,  that  it  is  doubtful  whether  under  any 
other  circumstances  money  could  be  made  to  go  so  far.  And 
as  the  public  holds  out  what  it  thinks  is-  a  tempting  bait,  it  winks 
and  puts  its  finger  to  the  side  of  its  nose  as  it  contemplates  the  in- 
teresting spectacle  of  hungry  architects,  like  so  many  minnows, 
struggling  to  get  hold  of  it.  But  the  end  of  this  kind  of  thing  is  at 
hand,  and  woe  to  the  committee  who,  in  the  Province  of  Ontario, 
offers  such  an  insult  to  the  profession.  Think  of  the  village  build- 
ing committee  we  suggested  a  few  months  past  as  a  suitable  subject 
for  Dickens's  pen,  and  imagine  the  change  of  expression  on  the 
placid  and  well-satisfied  wardens'  countenances  when  the  thunder- 
bolt from  the  Ontario  Association  of  Architects  descends  in  their 
midst,  taking  them  suddenly  aback,  and  informing  them  that  their 
proposed  competition  must  be  very  differently  conducted  if  they 
wish  architects  of  standing  to  enter  into  it.  The  Secretary  has 
recently  sent  a  circular  to  the  members  of  the  Association,  advising 
them  not  to  enter  into  a  competition  just  advertised,  and  requesting  all 
architects  who  know  of  any  contemplated  competitions  to  communicate 
with  him,  that,  if  necessary,  he  may  take  such  action  as  may  lead,  if 
possible,  to  the  fair  management  of  the  competition.  Such  energetic 
action  is  very  praiseworthy,  and,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  will  be  well  per- 
sisted in. 

The  Confederation  Life  Association  in  Toronto  intends  to  erect  a 
great  block  of  offices  soon,  and  will  probably  throw  the  work  open 
to  competition  before  long.  I  believe  the  preliminaries  of  the  com- 
petition have  been  under  discussion,  and  that  professional  advice 
has  been  obtained  on  the  manner  of  its  conduct.  They  will  prob- 
ably spend  some  $400,000. 

The  Equitable  Life  Association  of  Toronto  and  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  of  Montreal  intend  also  to  erect  large  blocks 
of  offices  this  year.  The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  with 
praiseworthy  and  Christian  humility,  intend  to  surpass  all  other 

•The  providential  wrecking,  near  Maysville,  Ky.,  of  the  freight  train  upon 
•which  was  loaded  the  disjoined  fragments  of  this  notorious  building  will,  we  hope, 
put  an  end  to  this  most  un-American  enterprise.  We  fear,  however,  that  the 
number  of  relic-hunters  in  that  neighborhood  was  not  large  enough  to  cause 
the  total  disappearance  of  the  material.  In  case  the  enterprise  is  carried  on  it 
would  not  be  an  unrighteous  act  for  the  press  to  ensure  its  failure  by  alleging 
that  the  wreck  caused  the  total  loss  of  the  original  material  and  that  the  man- 
agers were  offering  the  public  a  sham  and  fraud.  An  exploded  fraud  is  not  a 
paying  property.— EDS.  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT. 


236 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.       [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  699. 


similar  associations  in  the  splendor  of  their  new  building  and  the 
perfection  of  its  arrangements. 

Mr.  Saxon  Snell  has  appointed  Mr.  J.  R.  Rhind,  an  architect  of 
considerable  ability  in  Montreal,  to  be  superintending  architect 
under  him  for  the  new  Royal  Victoria  Hospital.  Mr.  Rhind  will 
prepare  an  estimate  of  the  cost,  Mr.  Snell  being,  naturally,  un- 
acquainted with  the  details  of  prices  of  material  and  labor  in 
Canada.  The  work  will  be  put  to  tender  as  soon  as  possible,  and 
commenced  with  as  little  delay  as  possible.  The  Hospital  is  to  be 
the  most  perfect  ever  erected,  and  architects  and  students  will  do 
well  to  make  a  study  of  it  as  the  work  proceeds. 

The  plans  of  the  Parliament  Building,  already  half  executed, 
have  been  entirely  rearranged  and  the  front  elevation  completely 
altered,  and  the  design  already  published,  and  which  caused  the  out- 
cry against  the  building,  withdrawn.  Several  hundred  thousand 
dollars  have  already  been  spent.  At  the  present  moment  the  works 
are  at  a  standstill,  owing  to  the  sudden  decease  of  the  contractor, 
Mr.  Lionel  Yorke,  for  many  years  a  prominent  builder  in  Toronto. 
Mr.  Yorke  was  a  much-respected  citizen  and  a  worthy  contractor, 
having  one  of  the  largest  businesses  in  the  city.  He  was  taken  sud- 
denly iU,  and  died  after  a  few  hours  on  April  13.  The  Ontario 
Association  of  Architects  and  the  Architectural  Guild  of  Toronto 
sent  deputations  to  the  funeral. 

The  plans  for  the  Board  of  Trade  Building  have  been  tendered 
on  during  the  last  few  weeks.  The  tenders  are  all  in  by  this  time, 
unless  the  allotted  time  has  been  extended,  so  we  may  soon  hear 
what  it  is  to  cost.  The  general  idea  seems  to  be  that  it  will  foot  up 
to  nearly  $300,000. 

The  Toronto  Court-house  site  is  still  vacant,  and  the  building, 
therefore,  not  yet  begun.  The  corporation  have  not  quite  enough 
money  yet  to  warrant  their  making  a  start,  and  they  will  submit  a 
by-law  soon  to  the  rate-payers  to  ascertain  their  opinion  upon  the 
raisin"  of  8600,000  in  addition  to  the  sum  already  subscribed. 
Justices  and  grand  juries  are  continually  remarking  that  it  is  about 
time  we  had  a  new  court-house,  but  it  must  be  remembered  that 
Rome  was  not  built  in  a  day. 

The  old  city  of  Quebec  is  usually  very  quiet,  and  goes  on  placidly 
with  its  building  operations  without  attracting  much  attention. 
But  some  people  of  an  engineering  turn  of  mind  there  have  sud- 
denly waked  up.  They  have  a  scheme  of  colossal  proportions 
in  view,  and  one  which  one  would  imagine  took  some  of  its 
dimensions,  at  least,  from  the  dream  from  which  they  had  awakened. 
A  deputation  of  sixty  gentlemen  recently  arrived  at  Ottawa  to  in- 
terview the  Government  on  the  subject  of  a  proposed  bridge,  of  canti- 
lever principle,  to  be  constructed  across  the  St.  Lawrence,  six  miles 
above  Quebec.  The  request  of  the  deputation  was  for  a  subsidy  of 
two  million  dollars,  or  interest  amounting  to  one  hundred  and  twenty 
thousand  dollars  a  year,  for  twenty  years,  for  the  purposes  of  the 
bridge.  It  is  difficult  to  see  what  advantages  would  be  gained 
by  such  a  bridge  :  the  ordinary  traffic  is  amply  supplied  by  the 
ferry-boats  nearer  the  city,  and  the  railway  companies  have  sufficient 
means  of  crossing  the  river  at  Montreal  and  Lachine.  The  Govern- 
ment promised  to  give  the  subject  due  consideration,  but  did  not  hold 
out  any  particular  hope  of  success  for  the  scheme. 

The  great  tunnel  of  St.  Glair,  the  object  of  which  is  to  connect  the 
Grand  Trunk  Railway  systems  at  Sarnia  and  Port  Huron,  has  been 
begun.  The  present  connection  is  maintained  by  ferries  which 
transfer  the  trains  from  Point  Edward,  in  Canada,  to  Fort  Gratiot, 
in  Michigan.  The  proposed  tunnel  will  be  about  three  miles  south 
of  the  present  ferry.  The  total  length  of  the  tunnel  will  be  6,800 
feet,  of  which  2,310"  feet  will  be  under  the  river,  1,160  feet  under  dry 
ground  on  the  Canadian  side,  and  2,330  under  dry  ground  on  the 
American  side ;  about  1,500  feet  in  the  part  under  the  river  will  be 
level,  and  from  either  end  of  this  length  there  will  be  an  upward  grade 
of  one  in  fifty,  which  will  be  continued  through  the  cuttings  forming 
the  approaches  on  either  side.  On  the  Canadian  side  the  length  of 
the  ascent  will  be  4,970  feet,  and  on  the  American  side,  4,900  feet. 
The  depth  of  the  lowest  part  of  the  tunnel,  below  the  surface  of  the 
water,  will  be  88  feet  6  inches,  and  the  minimum  depth  from  the  bed 
of  the  river  to  the  top  of  the  tunnel  will  be  15  feet.  The  tunnel- 
casin"  will  be  of  iron,  with  an  internal  diameter  of  30  feet,  and  it 
will  contain  a  single  track.  The  company  carrying  out  the  work  is 
an  independent  company,  and  not  the  Grand  Trunk  Railway  Com- 
pany, and  the  work  is  being  executed  without  contractors.  The 
total  cost  is  estimated  at  $2,500,000,  towards  which  a  subsidy  will  be 
granted  by  the  Dominion  Government  of  $375,000.  The  works  are 
to  be  completed  within  two  years. 

As  the  result  of  a  tour  of  Toronto  Corporation  officials  through 
such  cities  of  the  United  States  as  have  their  telegraph,  telephone 
and  other  wires  placed  underground,  Toronto  is  seeking  legislation 
to  make  the  various  electric  companies  in  that  place  take  down 
their  wires  from  on  high  and  put  them  in  channels  underground.  A 
curious  difficulty  arose  and  caused  several  months  delay  through  the 
inability  of  the  City  Solicitor  to  find  which  Parliament,  the  Pro- 
vincial or  Dominion,  had  power  to  legislate  in  the  matter.  As  it 
proves  he  was  in  the  right  when  he  suggested  application  being 
made  to  the  Ontario  Provincial  Parliament.  But  this  Government 
thought  that  as  the  companies  had  received  their  charters  from  the 
Dominion  Government,  it  was  necessary  to  apply  to  Ottawa  for 
the  required  power.  A  bill  was  consequently  introduced  into  the 
Dominion  Parliament  this  session,  but  it  was  thrown  out,  because  it 
was  proved  to  be  a  Provincial  matter,  and  the  matter  must  be  held 


over  until  the  next  session  of  the  Ontario  Parliament,  before  anything 
can  be  done.  I  do  not  suppose  the  overhead  wires  in  Toronto  are 
more  unsightly  than  they  are  in  any  other  prosperous  city  of  equal 
proportions,  but  they  are  certainly  bad  enough.  Hamilton  is 
certainly  a  smaller  place,  but,  perhaps,  its  wires  are  more  disfiguring, 
because  of  all  the  tough  old  posts  those  stuck  up  in  the  streets  of 
that  little  place  used  to  be  the  very  toughest.  It  is  some  time  since 
I  happened  to  be  in  Hamilton,  so,  perhaps,  they  have  improved  in 
these  matters.  But  you  might  count  at  least  two  broken-kneed  or 
weak-backed  telegraph-poles  there,  to  every  one  that  was  at  all  of  a 
decent  shape.  I  recently  saw  an  account  of  a  trip  to  Canada, 
published  in  England  by  some  Englishman,  and  the  two  things 
which  appear  to  have  struck  him  most  in  Toronto  were  Jarvis 
Street,  which  the  author  saw  in  midsummer,  and  speaks  of  as  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  streets  in  the  civilized  world ;  and  the  quantity 
of  overhead  wires.  Jarvis  Street  is  certainly  very  pretty,  with  its 
avenue  of  shade-trees,  grassy  "  boulevards  "  and  detached  houses  in 
their  gardens ;  but  it  hardly  comes  up  to  Sherbrooke  Street,  Mont- 
real, which  is  much  wider,  and  with  an  avenue  of  much  older  and 
larger  trees ;  and  when  one  looks  roUnd  the  "  civilized  world " 
certainly  the  boulevards  of  Brussells  and  Paris  and  other  Con- 
tinental cities  surpass  it  by  a  long  way.  But  of  its  kind,  Jarvis 
Street  is  a  good  example.  It  will  soon  be  paved  with  Val-de- 
Travers  asphalt,  which  will  make  it  a  particularly  choice  drive. 


THE   ART    COLLECTIONS   OF    MR.    WALTERS. 


ITH  the  last  Saturday  of  April  the  Walters 
fas   closed  to  the   public  for   the 
season.     It  has  been  Mr.  Walters's  custom 


\rJ    gallery  was   closed  to  the   public  for   the 
season.     It  has  been  Mr.  Walters's  custom 
for  several  years  past  to  open  that  portion  of  his 


house  known  as  the  galleries  proper  —  containing  the  principal  paint- 
ings, and  the  Oriental  bronzes  and  ceramics  —  during  the  months  of 
February,  March  and  April,  for  one  or  two  days  in  each  week,  from 
eleven  to  four  o'clock,  for  which  tickets  are  sold  at  fifty  cents 
apiece,  up  to  a  limited  number  for  each  day,  and  the  proceeds 
handed  over  to  the  "  Poor  Association "  of  the  city.  On  certain 
other  days  in  the  same  months  the  galleries,  and  sometimes  the 
whole  house,  are  opened  on  the  same  conditions  to  schools,  art- 
classes,  artists,  etc. ;  and  again,  by  special  invitation,  Mr.  Walters 
occasionally  meets  a  number  of  artists  and  amateurs,  or  some  dis- 
tinguished strangers  in  the  city,  and,  as  a  genial  host  as  well  as  a 
connoisseur,  will  himself  show  and  discuss  with  them  his  treasures. 
From  May  to  February  again  the  house  remains  jealously  closed  to 
the  public,  and  it  is  only  a  visitor  having  some  exceptional  claim  who 
is  admitted  within  its  doors  during  that  time.  It  is  stated  that  about 
six  thousand  persons  visited  the  gallery  by  ticket  during  the  season 
just  over,  covering  in  all  about  twenty  days. 

The  question  is  not  infrequently  asked  by  those  who  have  not 
seen  it,  "What  is  the  Walters  gallery?"  A  great  many  scattered 
accounts  have  been  written  about  it  from  time  to  time,  and  have 
appeared  in  various  newspapers ;  descriptions  of  the  pictures  alone, 
or  of  the  ceramics  or  the  bronzes ;  reports  of  artists'  receptions  given 
at  the  house ;  eulogistic  rhapsodies,  superlatively  burdened  with  lady- 
like adjectives,  from  the  pen  of  some  enthusiastic  visitor  from  another 
city,  but  none  of  these  seem  to  have  accomplished  the  result  of 
giving  a  comprehensive  general  description  of  the  place. 

It  is  not  a  public  building,  a  mere  art  museum  or  a  picture- 
gallery,  originally  designed  for  that  purpose,  in  any  sense  of  the 
word.  It  is  simply  a  dwelling-house,  rather  above  the  average  size, 
and  expensively  constructed  and  decorated  for  its  day,  now  some- 
what uninteresting  in  itself,  and  not  meritoriously  "  old-fashioned," 
which  has,  by  a  very  gradual  process,  and  with  a  fairly  successful 
result,  grown  to  be  the  receptacle  for  one  of  the  most  valuable  and 
most  interesting  collections  of  art-objects,  for  its  size,  now  existing, 
in  America  certainly,  if  not  in  the  world.  The  building  stands  on 
the  south  side  of  Mt.  Vernon  Place,  in  the  middle  of  the  block,  and 
has  a  three-storied  fa9ade,  not  over  thirty  feet  wide,  of  brick  painted 
gray,  with  some  little  white  marble  about  it,  and  a  small  Corinthian 
entrance  portico,  where,  in  the  centre  of  the  ceiling,  hangs  a  rather 
curiously-shaped  little  lamp,  said  to  be  always  burning.  The  in- 
terior arrangement  of  the  house  is  the  somewhat  stereotyped  plan  of 
that  day  —  the  "  three-rooms-deep  "  —  with  a  hall  some  eight  feet 
wide,  on  one  side,  containing  the  stairway,  the  middle  room  being 
rather  imperfectly  lighted  by  an  open  space  near  the  centre  of  the 
building,  and  this  same  general  arrangement  is  maintained  through 
the  three  principal  stories.  Gradually  almost  the  entire  house  has, 
bit  by  bit,  been  abandoned  as  a  home,  and  has  become  an  art- 
depository,  only  one  or  two  of  the  less  important  rooms  being 
reserved  for  domestic  purposes ;  but  the  familiar  and  unchanged 
arrangement  of  the  plan  causes  a  strong  suggestion  of  the  dwelling 


MAY  18,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


237 


still  to  cling  about  it,  which  rather  adds  to  than  detracts  from  its  in 
terest  as  one  strolls  leisurely  through  the  rooms. 

A  number  of  years  ago  an  addition  was  made  at  the  rear  in  the 
form  of  a  one-story  building,  with  interior  dimensions  of  about  65  by 
20  feet,  lighted  from  the  ceiling,  and  covering  the  entire  remaining 
space  of  the  lot,  its  end  wall  abutting  upon  the  narrow  street  that 
bounded  it  on  that  side.  This  was  the  first  picture-gallery ;  but  the 
various  accumulations  that  were  continually  being  gathered  and  re- 
arranged and  systematized  began  ere  long  to  cry  out  again  for  more 
room  to  show  themselves,  and  heroic  measures  had  to  be  adopted  to 
accomplish  the  purpose.  Across  the  narrow  street  on  the  rear  was 
a  building  and  lot  fronting  on  Washington  Place,  and  whose  long 
axis  ran  at  right  angles  to  that  of  Mr.  Walters's  house.  This 
property  was  acquired,  and  while  a  portion  of  it  was  left  for  other 
purposes,  upon  that  part  immediately  opposite  the  existing  gallery 
was  built  a  new  and  larger  one,  about  75  by  25  feet  on  the  interior, 
approximately  fireproof,  and  lighted  from  the  ceiling.  The  city 
authorities'  permission  was  obtained  to  connect  the  two  by  an  en- 
closed bridge,  forming  in  itself  a  little  "  annex "  gallery  across  the 
narrow  street,  which  was  far  below  the  level  of  the  gallery-floor,  and 
the  thing  was  accomplished.  A  very  general  re-arrangement  of  the 
pictures  and  of  the  entire  collection  was  then  undertaken,  a  catalogue 
of  the  pictures  was  published  in  a  very  convenient  and  attractive 
book-form,  the  present  arrangement  for  opening  the  house  to  the 
public  was  established,  and  the  Walters  gallery  stood  complete  as 
we  find  it  to-day. 

As  we  now  turn  to  the  collections  themselves,  we  will  not  attempt, 
in  the  scope  of  such  an  article  as  this,  to  play  the  role  of  either  pro- 
fessional or  amateur  art-critic,  or  of  the  intelligent  reporter,  duly 
primed  with  dimensions  and  money  values,  and  various  items  of 
historic,  legendary  and  romantic  interest  said  to  be  attached  to  many 
special  objects  and  pictures.  The  collection  is  far  too  large  and  too 
varied  for  that,  for  we  are  going  to  see  not  only  a  gallery  of  some 
two  hundred  and  fifty  oil- paintings,  but  also  numerous  water-colors, 
and  an  exceptionally  rare  and  beautiful  array  of  ceramics,  bronzes, 
lacquers,  jade,  silverware,  fabric-stuffs  and  bits  of  furniture,  etc.,  etc., 
and  we  only  propose  to  describe  what  the  general  distribution  of  all 
these  things  are,  and  the  general  impression  produced  as  one 
wanders  leisurely  through  the  rooms,  unattended  by  custodians,  not 
even  provided  with  guide-books  or  catalogues  (except  for  the 
pictures),  and  seldom  annoyed  by  the  crowd  of  uninformed  sight- 
seers common  to  most  art  museums. 

We  will  choose  one  of  the  special  days  when  the  whole  house  is 
thrown   open,  and   passing   through    the  entrance-vestibule,  rather 
elaborately  ornamented   with   bronze   panels   set  into  carved  light 
wood    wainscoting,  a  tiled   floor   and  frescoed   ceiling  —  the  whole 
producing  an  effect  of  rich  decoration  and  good  coloring,  we  present 
our  ticket  to   the  well-known,  dignified  and   polite   negro  footman 
guarding  the  door,  who  receives  it  rather  as  if  it  were  our  visiting- 
card,  and  ushers  us  in  with  something  of  the  courtesy  extended  to  a 
favored   guest,  rather   than   as   a   mere  atom   of  the  six   thousand 
"  public,"  to  all  of  whom  he  must  do  the  same  thing.     We  may  leave 
our  cane  or  umbrella  with  him,  and  purchase  one  of  the  picture- 
catalogues  lying  on  the  table  by  him,  but  neither  action  is  either 
obligatory  or   even  urged  on   his    part.     We  find  ourselves  in  the 
rather  dimly-lighted  hall,  hung  with  Deck  plaques  and  some  good 
Chinese  or  Japanese  panels,  where  stands  also  Rinehart's  original 
marble,  "  The  Woman  of  Samaria."     The  wall  decoration   of   the 
hall  itself,  as  well  as  of  the  parlors  and  throughout  the  house  (except 
in  the  newly-designed  galleries  or  special  rooms)  was  not  done  at  a 
time  when  such  work  was  at  its  best  —  in  fact,  has  little  in  it  to 
attract  special  attention  now  — -  and,  while  not  discordantly  bad,  does 
not  call  for  further  comment.     We  turn  first  into  the  parlors,  on  the 
left  of  the  hall,  the  two  rooms  thrown  into  one  long  one  divided  by 
columns.     They  are  crowded  with  furniture  and  bric-a-brac  of  every 
description,   suggesting   a   combination   of   drawing-room   and    art- 
emporium  —  tallies,  chairs,  cabinets,  pedestals,  brackets,  bronzes  and 
shelves   loaded  with  small  objets   de  virtu  of  many   kinds  —  all  in- 
teresting and  beautiful  and  of  intrinsic  value.     The  only  systema- 
tized classification  apparent  is  an  intentional  and  consistent  aban- 
doning  for  these   rooms  of  any  other  classification  than  a  varied 
collection  of  reproductions  and  smaller  art-objects  of  many  kinds  and 
countries,  more  or  less  modern.     On  the  mantel  are  bronze  copies  of 
Michael  Angelo's  Medici  groups;  in  a  glass  case  is  a  quantity  of 
silver-ware,   vases,   pots,   caskets  and  bowls   of  Turkish,   French, 
English  and  American  make.     On  a  long  row  of  narrow  shelves  is  a 
collection   of  Vienna  cups   and  saucers   and  some  Venetian  glass, 
while  scattered   about   the  room  are  "  Solon "  vases,  some  marble 
busts  and  family  portraits.     But,  somewhat  oppressed  with  the  mass 
of  small  things  we  have  first  "lighted  upon,  and  the  consciousness  of 
all  the  greater  ones  that  lie  before  us,  we  hurry  from  the  parlors  and 
give  a  hasty  glance  back  into  the  dining-room,  feeling  a  little  as  if 
we  were  intruding,  and  that  we  might  unexpectedly  come  upon  our 
host  and  have  to  apologize  for  our  presence.     This,  however,  never 
happens.     In  the  dining-room,  only  two  things  particularly  interest 
us :  the  frieze  running  entirely  round  the  room,  painted  a  number  of 
years  ago  by  a  French  artist  on  canvas  panels,  and  representing  the 
game-birds  of  the  Chesapeake,  treated  naturalistically  in  a  landscape 
of  the  shallow  waters  and  low  shores  of  the  bay  as  a  background ; 
and  there  is  also  a  superb  Sevres  vase  on  a  revolving  pedestal,  treated 
with  the  typical  landscape  decoration.     Before  we  give  ourselves  up 
to  the  galleries  themselves,  on  whose  threshold  we  now  find  ourselves 


—  the  pieces  de  resistance  of  the  whole  house  —  we  will  first  see 
what  there  is  up-stairs.  The  small  room  over  the  hall  we  find 
entirely  devoted  to  a  collection  of  small  water-colors  by  Bonvin, 
marvels  of  minute  detail  and  bright  color,  a  sort  of  Meissonier  treat- 
ment of  still-life,  flowers,  fruits,  and  here  and  there  a  bit  of  a  land- 
scape or  interior.  Now  we  turn  into  the  front  room  over  the  parlor, 
and  hold  our  breath  for  a  moment  at  the  mass  of  gorgeous  colors 
that  lie  before  us.  The  entire  room  is  spread  with  pieces,  large  and 
small,  of  Oriental  fabrics  in  silk  and  satin,  gold  and  silver,  portieres, 
scarfs,  cushion-covers  hanging  over  the  walls  and  upon  every  article 
of  furniture,  most  carefully  and  effectively  distributed,  all  to  be  as 
carefully  folded  and  laid  away  when  the  hours  of  inspection  are 
over.  The  room  directly  in  the  rear  of  this  is  closed,  but  we  pass 
back  to  that  above  the  dining-room.  This  is  one  of  the  most  inter- 
esting and  valuable  portions  of  the  house,  probably  the  only  room  of 
its  kind  in  the  world.  It  is  entirely  devoted  to  a  collection  of 
Barye  bronzes,  massed  together  on  tables  and  in  cabinets  specially 
designed  for  the  purpose,  from  the  little  paper-weight  of  a  coiled 
serpent  or  miniature  dancing  bear  to  the  large,  allegorical  river 
figures  and  the  marvellously  complicated  groups,  such  as  the  tiger- 
hunt  and  others,  with  lion  and  horse  studies  in  every  imaginable 
attitude,  fascinating  in  their  suggestion  of  nature  and  life  and  in 
their  power  of  reserve  and  selection. 

On  the  third  floor  are  two  small  rooms  only  to  be  seen.  One  is 
called  the  "  Marie  Antoinette  "  chamber,  a  little  room  furnished  with 
various  small  pieces  of  the  classically  refined  furniture  of  the  Louis 
Seize  period,  some  of  it  claiming  to  be  genuine,  others  only  repro- 
ductions, all  pretty  and  interesting,  and  the  walls  and  bed  hung  with 
blue  and  white  and  gold  satin  damask  and  white  muslin.  The  other 
small  apartment  is  usually  called  the  "  Dutch  room,"  furnished  with 
some  old  and  odd  pieces  not  corresponding  in  date,  style  or  locality  : 
a  bedstead,  a  cabinet,  a  wardrobe,  a  mirror,  some  old  blue-and-white 
china,  etc.,  each  interesting  in  itself,  but  rather  a  conglomeration  as 
a  whole.  We  may  now  finally  retrace  our  steps  down-stairs  to  the 
gallery,  passing  various  etchings  and  engravings  of  more  or  less 
interest  on  the  walls,  and  in  the  upper  hall  a  table  holding  an  album 
in  which  have  been  gathered  a  number  of  sketches  representing  the 
ideas  of  different  modern  artists  on  the  subject  of  "  prayer." 

Reaching  the  first  floor  again,  and  passing  down  the  long  corridor 
by  the  side  of  the  dining-room,  we  enter  the  first  gallery.  This  was 
in  former  days  where  the  pictures  were  hung,  and  the  walls  are  still 
covered  with  a  sort  of  drab-colored  tapestry;  but  every  available 
foot  of  space  against  the  wall  and  over  the  floor  that  will  not  impede- 
circulation  is  now  occupied  with  the  cases  containing  the  ceramics, 
lacquers,  ivories,  glass,  silver,  jade  and  other  objects  of  the  best 
periods  and  rarest  workmanship.  The  designs  of  the  cases  them- 
selves, and  the  arranging  and  classifying  and  grouping  of  the  objects 
with  careful  regard  to  form  and  color,  show  a  most  artistic  hand, 
and  add  greatly  to  the  impression  produced.  As  we  stand  by  one 
case  filled  only  with  the  most  valuable  bits  of  old  blue-and-white,  we 
may  look  through  the  glass  of  another,  containing  only  ivory  and 
lacquers  and  kindred  objects,  to  gorgeous  masses  of  red  and  orange 
and  green  beyond.  We  tread  softly  over  the  old  Eastern  rugs 
that  strew  the  painted  wooden  floor,  and,  finding  ourselves  in  the 
farther  corner,  we  pass  through  a  little  door  into  the  water-color 
cabinet.  It  is  very  small,  and  closely  hung  with  some  sixty  or 
seventy  frames  of  moderate  size  and  great  variety  of  subject,  but 
none  that  do  not  bear  the  name  of  an  artist  of  high  rank,  some  the 
very  highest.  These  are  Millet,  Bida,  Bonheur,  Detaille,  Ziem, 
Fortuny,  Meissonier,  Rousseau,  Tadema  and  Breton,  all  represented 
in  this  little  box  of  a  gallery.  Our  catalogue  now  comes  into  play, 
and,  as  we  again  pass  through  the  ceramic  gallery,  we  can  only  wish 
it  would  serve  us  some  purpose  here  too ;  but  it .  does  not,  and  the 
task,  indeed,  seems  almost  hopeless  to  give  names  and  numbers  to 
the  hundreds  of  objects  massed  in  those  cases.  If,  however,  this 
could  in  some  way  be  even  approximately  accomplished,  the  intelli- 
gent enjoyment  of  the  gallery  would  be  greatly  enhanced  for  most 
people. 

From  the  other  far  corner  we  pass  under  a  little  green  velvet 
portiere  into  the  annex  of  the  "  bridge,"  where  is  concentrated  the 
special  attractions  of  the  more  delicate  "  peach-blow  "  vases  and  a 
large  case  of  wonderful,  small  Japanese  bronzes.  Here  hang  three 
life-size  portraits  by  Bonnat,  —  one,  the  best,  of  himself — forming  a 
sort  of  introduction  to  the  large  gallery  of  the  oil-paintings,  the  last 
and  most  important  room  of  the  house,  to  which  the  "  bridge  "  is  a  ves- 
tibule giving  access  through  an  unobtrusive  little  green-porti'ered  door 
in  an  extreme  corner,  which  is  almost  lost  to  your  notice  as  soon  as 
you  pass  through  it  and  you  find  yourself  shut  in  by  apparently  four 
solid  walls ;  this  gives  a  peculiar  feeling  of  seclusion,  and  almost  of 
oppression,  as  otherwise  the  dimensions  of  the  room  are  such  as  to 
produce  the  impression  of  a  certain  stateliness,  as  in  a  public  gallery, 
and  seem  to  demand  more  generous  and  evident  entrances  on  the 
main  axis.  This,  however,  could  not  perhaps  have  been  well  avoided 
under  the  conditions  of  the  alterations.  These  walls  also  are  covered 
with  a  drab  tapestry  of  a  conventional  dragon  pattern  ;  the  heavily- 
coved  ceiling  leading  up  to  the  skylight,  starting  from  a  projecting 
cornice,  is  ribbed  and  panelled  in  very  bold  gold  relief  on  a  bronze 
background;  a  low  wainscot  in  ebonized  wooden  panels  surrounds 
the  room  below  the  pictures.  The  entire  floor  is  covered  with  a 
heavy,  rich,  red  carpet,  and  down  the  centre  of  the  room  are  alter- 
nate couches  of  dark-green  velvet  and  low,  flat  cases  of  lacquers. 
We  come  now  to  the  pictures  themselves.  Of  no  part  of  Mr. 


238 


The   American   Architect  and  Building   News.        [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  699. 


Walters's  collection  has  so  much  been  seen,  so  much  written,  and  so 
much  known.  As  we  stated,  we  do  not  propose  to  enter  here  upon 
the  field  of  professional  criticism.  Perhaps  it  would  be  better  if 
such  things  were  only  written  by  artists  themselves,  and  read  only 
by  connoisseurs,  if  we  could  devise  a  means  for  a  connoisseur  becom- 
ing such  without  the  aid  of  a  criticism  in  the  first  place.  It  is  stated 
that  there  are  not  to  be  seen  here  the  pictures  of  the  same  startling 
interest,  either  from  size,  subject  or  brilliant  treatment,  as  are  found 
in  some  other  private  galleries  of  America,  but  it  is  also  acceded 
that  there  is  derived  here  from  the  whole  collection  a  feeling  of  more 
general  satisfaction,  both  to  the  artist  and  the  amateur.  As  is 
well-known,  the  pictures  are  all  modern.  There  are  here  the 
several  familiar  types  to  be  found  in  all  such  collections :  there  are 
those  of  special  merit  and  value  from  authorship  or  technical  hand- 
ling; there  are  those  that  most  attract  public  interest  from  the 
subject  chosen  or  from  brilliant  treatment ;  and  then,  among  all  the 
rest  of  more  or  less  merit,  there  stand  out  conspicuously  those  par- 
ticular ones  —  and  they  are  not  few  —  that  we  feel  and  know  are 
the  best,  without  having  to  give  a  special  reason  for  the  opinion, 
and  that  they  are  very  great  pictures  indeed  for  these  days.  It 
is  only  one  or  two  of  these  that  we  will  mention. 

Looking  at  each  other  from  the  two  opposite  places  of  honor  at 
the  ends  of  the  gallery  are  Corot's  "  St.  Sebastian  "  and  Delaroche's 
"  The  Hemicycle,"  totally  different  from  every  point-of-view,  but 
each  equally  worthy  of  its  place ;  and,  as  we  wander  from  one  to 
the  other,  we  irresistibly  pause  before  Rousseau's  landscape, 
"  Winter  Solitude,"  Tadema's  "  Sappho "  and  his  "  Roman  Em- 
peror," De  Neuville's  "  Surprise  at  Dawn  "  and  Breton's  "  Close  of 
Day."  Dagnan-Bouveret's  "An  Accident"  and  Gerome's  "After 
the  Masquerade"  we  cannot  omit,  but  we  turn  willingly  from  the 
feebleness  of  his  "  Christian  Martyrs "  to  Baron  Leys's  strong  and 
interesting  canvas,  "Edict  of  Charles  V."  Many  others  we  want 
again  and  again  to  go  back  to  and  dwell  upon,  but  the  fading  light 
warns  us  the  hour  for  closing  is  near,  and  we  feel  that  we  have 
attempted  to  see  too  much  at  once,  and  in  too  short  a  time.  To 
thoroughly  enjoy  and  become  familiar  with  all  there  is  to  see  in  this 
house,  experience  has  taught  us  that  our  visits  must  be  frequent  and 
not  too  long  if  we  would  avoid  intellectual  as  well  as  physical 
fatigue. 


THK  TIFFANY  EXHIBIT  FOR  THE  PARIS  EX- 
HIBITION.  THE  DESIRABILITY  OF  EXHIBI- 
TIONS OF  THK  ART  INDUSTRIES.  THE 

WASHINGTON  SQUARE  CENTENNIAL  ARCH. — 
THE    1'ROTESTANT  CATHEDRAL  COMPETITION! 

0NE  of  the  most  interesting  collections  of 
modern  industrial  art  work,  which  it  has 
been  my  fortune  to  see,  was  the  recent  ex- 
hibition at  Tiffany's  of  the  jewelry  and  work  in  precious  metals,  they 
were  about  to  send  to  the  Paris  Exhibition. 

The  jewelry,  while  remarkable  in  its  way,  was  less  interesting 
and  showed  less  of  the  influence  of  modern  methods  on  design  and 
execution.  The  other  pieces,  however,  ranging  from  card-cases 
and  smelling-bottles  to  tea  and  coffee  services,  and  even  a  complete 
toilet-set  with  pitcher  and  bowl,  etc.,  in  hammered  silver,  were 
designed  with  an  appreciation  of  the  qualities  of  the  different 
materials,  textures  and  colors,  that  made  them  fascinating  studies  to 
any  artist,  and  particularly  to  architects.  Not  that  they  were  in 
any  sense  architectural  as  the  word  is  commonly  used,  but  that  the 
architect  could  not  but  see,  in  miniature,  the  same  problems  that  con- 
front him  every  day — how  motives  as  old  as  the  hills  are  revivified 
by  new  and  personal  interpretations,  how  closely  interdependent  are 
beauty  and  fitness,  and  how  much  effect  lies  in  the  true  appreciation 
and  the  straightforwardness  of  the  construction. 

I  have  only  referred  generally  to  this  collection  realizing  the 
futility  of  attempting  any  description  of  particular  pieces.  To  one 
who  has  not  seen  them,  nothing  short  of  a  very  clever  drawing  at 
large  scale  could  render  their  beauties  in  black-and-white,  so 
delicately  and  justly  have  the  different  materials,  textures  and  colors 
been  combined  and  so  good  are  the  details.  Some  of  your  readers 
will  be  fortunate  enough  to  see  them  in  Paris,  and  others  may  on 
their  being  returned.  It  ought  to  be  possible  to  have  these  and 
other  notable  achievements  in  the  art  industries,  publicly  exhibited, 
where  they  could  be  seen  and  studied.  Paris  has  the  Societe  des 
Beaux  Arts  appliques  aux  Industries,  which  holds  periodical  ex- 
hibitions of  the  greatest  interest,  at  which  old  works  and  new  are 
exhibited  side  by  side,  or  special  industries,  as  tapestry  or  cabinet- 
making  are  shown  in  their  chronological  development,  and  it  would 
seem,  as  if  some  such  exhibitions  might  be  initiated  here  under  the 
impartial  direction  of  some  institution  like  the  Metropolitan  Museum, 
or  better  still  through  the  cooperation  of  the  kindred  institutions  of 
the  principal  cities  of  the  country.  The  management  being  in 
capable  hands,  not  only  the  producers  of  art  industrial  works,  but 


private  collectors  of  fine  pieces,  and  all  the  artistic  societies  would 
have  their  sympathies  enlisted  and  could  be  counted  upon  to  con- 
tribute. Many  treasures  now  practically  inaccessible  could  be  seen 
and  studied  by  the  already  large  and  constantly-growing  body  of 
designers.  The  value  of  great  permanent  collections  like  those 
of  the  South  Kensington  Museum,  is  beyond  dispute  in  forming  the 
taste  and  developing  the  ability  of  the  designers,  and  thereby 
influencing  the  perceptions  of  whole  countries  and  adding  to  their 
well-being  and  prosperity.  We  have  already  several  such  permanent 
collections,  barely  outlined  as  yet,  but  increasing  constantly  in 
efficiency  and  scope. 

The  value  of  exhibitions  of  works  of  the  same  character  brought 
together  temporarily  and  embracing  not  only  the  old  but  also  the 
latest  productions  in  the  different  industries  would  have  an  equally 
beneficial  influence  and  would  not  only  not  interfere  with  the  useful- 
ness and  the  resources  of  the  permanent  collections,  but  would,  by 
bringing  vividly  before  people  the  intimate  relation  between  a 
knowledge  of  past  work  and  the  results  of  to-day's,  greatly  stimulate 
their  interest  in  all  such  matters  and  practically  demonstrate  the 
advantage  and  utility  of  all  permanent  collections. 

The  Centenary  Celebration  has  passed  into  history  and  has  been 
treated,  ad  nauseam,  by  the  daily  papers,  in  every  possible  light  and 
from  every  possible  point-of-view. 

We  can  record,  in  connection  with  it,  one  success  scored  by  and 
for  the  profession,  and  none  the  less  gratefully,  that  it  seems  to  have 
developed  in  an  entirely  spontaneous  and  unpremeditated  manner. 

It  seems  that  the  residents  on  and  near  Washington  Square,  in 
casting  about  for  some  fitting  method  of  expressing  their  patriotism 
and  honoring  the  occasion,  determined  to  erect  a  temporary  arch 
across  Fifth  Avenue,  at  Washington  Square,  where  the  avenue  be- 
gins, and  being  of  intelligence  above  the  average,  they  asked  Mr. 
Stanford  White  to  design  their  arch. 

The  houses  on  either  side  of  Fifth  Avenue  and  facing  the  Square 


Centennial  -Arch  across 
rif(h-As^:al  Washington  S 


are  very  simple  brick  houses  with  white  (wooden)  cornices,  etc.,  but 
large  enough  and  quiet  enough  in  design  to  have  much  of  the  charm 
and  dignity  of  Colonial  work,  although  built  somewhere  about  forty 
years  ago.  Mr.  White,  taking  advantage  of  these  circumstances, 
designed  a  very  simple  wooden  arch,  painted  white,  with  a  few 
wreaths  and  ornaments  in  stucco,  and  surmounted  by  an  old  carved 
and  gayly-painted  wooden  Washington,  about  eight  feet  tall.  It  was 
further  effectively  decorated  with  groups  of  flags  and  streamers  of 
bunting  and  numerous  incandescent  lamps  accented  the  main  lines 
for  night  display. 

A  simple  round  arch  spanning  the  street,  resting  upon  panelled 
rectangular  piers  and  crowned  by  a  modillioned  cornice  and  a 
balustrade  was  the  motive,  which  would  have  been  bare  and  cold  but 
for  a  certain  grace  of  proportion  and  an  evident  harmony  with  its 
surroundings.  I  think  every  one  immediately  concerned  must  have 
been  a  little  surprised  at  the  immediate  popular  success  of  this 
unpretentious  wooden  arch;  it  was,  in  a  sense,  the  success  of  the 
celebration,  and  the  suggestion  was  soon  made,  and  as  soon  as  made 
enthusiastically  received  by  every  one,  to  perpetuate  the  arch  in 
marble,  as  a  permanent  record  of  the  event. 

At  a  committee  meeting  it  was  decided  to  raise  bv  popular  sub- 
scription, $100,000  for  the  arch  and  $50,000  for  its  adornment  with 
sculpture.  It  was  further  agreed  to  entrust  the  designing  of  the 
permanent  arch  to  Mr.  White.  In  three  days  after  the  subscription 


N**  f5^ 

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3  53 


MAY  18,  1889.] 


TJie   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


239 


was  opened  about  $10,000  bad  been  subscribed  and  the  whole  amount 
can  without  doubt  be  secured. 

It  will  be  most  interesting  to  see  what  Mr.  White  will  make  of 
this  exceptional  opportunity.  There  are  conditions,  which  make  the 
problem  by  no  means  a  simple  one.  The  wooden  arch  spanned  the 
roadway,  the  piers  resting  and  encroaching  upon  the  sidewalk,  and 
in  order  not  to  block  that  passage  entirely  the  piers  had  to  be 
smaller  than  they  should  have  been  for  the  best  appearance ;  carried 
out  in  stone  they  would  hardly  meet  the  requirements  of  stability 
and  would  certainly  look  thin  and  weak.  The  only  way  out  of  this 
dilemma  would  seem  to  be,  either  to  encroach  upon  the  adjoining 
property  (the  buildings  setting  back  perhaps  twenty-five  feet  from 
the  building  line),  and  the  owners  may  not  see  the  reasonableness  of 
doing  that,  or  to  move  the  site  to  the  lower  side  of  the  street  in  the 
park  where  there  is  plenty  of  room,  thus  changing  radically 
the  relations  to  the  adjoining  buildings. 

The  great  Cathedral  competition  has  reached  another  stage,  it 
being  announced  that  four  of  the  designs  have  been  chosen. 

The  lay  committee,  some  weeks  ago,  selected  three  sets  of  plans, 
but  not  feeling  absolute  confidence  in  their  own  powers  of  dis- 
crimination they  appointed  a  committee  of  two  architects,  Professors 
Ware  and  Babcock  and  one  engineer,  Mr.  John  Bogart,  to  make  an 
independent  choice  from  their  stand-point.  This  committee  reported 
on  Friday  the  10th,  recommending  four  designs  and  it  appears  that 
the  three  previously  selected  by  the  lay  committee  were  also  included 
in  their  choice.  This  coincidence,  which  would  seem  to  point  to  a 
distinguishing  excellence  on  the  part  of  the  three  designs,  so  far 
simplified  matters  that  the  decision  of  the  committee  was  at  once 
affirmed. 

The  author  of  one  of  these  designs,  one  marked  with  three  ara- 
besques in  a  circle,  is  at  present  unknown  to  me.  The  other  suc- 
cessful candidates  are  Messrs.  Potter  &  Robertson,  George  Martin 
Huss,  of  New  York  and  W.  Halsey  Wood  of  Newark. 

The  four  successful  competitors  will  be  required  to  do  some  further 
studying  of  their  designs,  the  exact  nature  of  which  has  not  yet 
transpired  and  it  is  expected  that  by  Fall  the  final  choice  can  be 
made.  One  member  of  the  lay  committee  has  suggested,  according 
to  the  reporters,  that  models,  at  scale,  of  the  designs  might  be 
required,  a  method  of  showing  the  merits  of  the  different  com- 
positions that  would  certainly  be  most  interesting  and  would  offer, 
under  proper  restrictions,  an  excellent  opportunity  for  comparison. 

It  has  also  been  said,  that  it  might  have  to  be  settled  definitively 
what  the  exact  character  of  the  great  Cathedral  should  be,  and  what 
provision  should  be  required  for  the  different  functions,  ceremonials, 
sermons,  etc.,  upon  which  points  it  is  understood  that  the  designs 
submitted,  range  all  the  way  from  the  English  Gothic  Cathedral 
plan,  through  the  Basilica  and  the  Classic  to  the  type  of  St.  Sophia 
with  a  great  central  space  and  hardly  any  transepts  or  apse. 

There  is  every  indication  that  the  competition  has  been  most  fairly 
and  impartially  carried  out  and  that  the  gentlemen  sitting  in 
judgment  upon  the  sixty  designs  submitted,  have  spared  no  pains  to 
arrive  at  the  most  judicious  possible  solution. 


T  ADY  DILKE'S  book1  might  have  been  better  named.  "  Art  in  the 
\  f  Modern  State,"  seems  to  imply  rather  a  history  of  art  or  the 
^"^  culture  of  art  in  modern  times,  than  an  account  of  the  founda- 
tion of  the  French  Academy  and  the  State  patronage  of  art  in 
modern  France.  The  book  is  virtually  a  history  of  French  art 
during  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV,  including  the  foundation  of  the 
Academy  by  Colbert  and  Le  Brun.  Lady  Dilke  has  not  only 
searched  the  National  archives  and  those  of  the  Institute,  and  read 
up  all  authorities  upon  the  subject,  but  she  gives  her  authorities  in 
notes,  and  at  the  end  of  the  volume  reproduces  some  of  the  original 
documents.  Perhaps  the  only  fault  which  can  be  found  in  the  book 
is  a  certain  obscurity  in  the  language  here  and  there,  and  an 
occasional  paragraph  which  is  rather  involved  in  its  meaning. 

The  enumeration  of  some  of  the  chapters  will  give  the  best  idea  of 
the  contents:  I.  France  under  Richelieu;  II.  France  under  Col- 
bert; III.  The  Royal  Academy  of  Architecture;  IV.  The  Royal 
Academy  of  Painting  and  Sculpture;  V.  The  Academy  Schools; 
VI.  Le"  Brun  and  the  Decorators  of  Versailles ;  VII.  Puget, 
Girardon,  Sarrazin  and  Guillain,  Caffieri,  Coysevox,  etc. ;  VIII. 
Engraving;  IX.  Industrial  Arts  —  The  Gobelins  and  the  Savon- 


nene. 


The  art  movement  by  Colbert  was  assisted  by  Louis  XIV's 
ignorant  love  of  grandeur.  When  the  King  determined  to  build 
palaces  for  himself  and  his  mistresses,  regardless  of  cost  to  his  sub- 
jects, who  were  made  the  paymasters,  Colbert  determined  to  profit 
thereby.  Taking  Le  Brun  as  his  leading  artist,  he  brought  into  his 
service  all  the  principal  painters  and  sculptors  of  the  day.  Not  only 
did  Le  Brun  make  designs  for  pictures  and  fountains,  but  he  super- 
intended all  branches  of  the  artistic  work  going  on  at  Versailles, 
Marly  and  the  Louvre,  besides  doing  a  great  deal  of  the  ceiling  decora- 
tion himself.  What  remains  in  finished  works  and  cartoons  (and  an 

» "  Art  in  the  Modern  State,"  by  Lady  Dilke.    Chapman  &  Hall,  London. 


immense  deal  has  perished),  proves  him  to  have  been  an  indefatigable 
and  most  industrious  workman ;  and  although  they  are  often  tainted 
by  the  sham  grandiose,  there  is  a  certain  amount  of  real  magnificence 
in  some  of  his  designs.  No  one  can  walk  down  the  Salle  des 
Glaces,  for  instance,  without  feeling  impressed  with  the  grandeur  of 
the  general  effect,  and  the  beauty  of  the  workmanship  of  much  of 
the  ornament.  But  the  fault  of  it  all  is  the  mixture  of  the  sham  and 
the  true,  without,  apparently,  any  reason  ;  as  for  example,  the 
magnificent  marble  staircase",  with  its  wall  decorated  with  false 
balustrades  and  admiring  men  in  gorgeous  drapery. 

The  teaching  department  of  the  Academy,  seems  to  have  been  of 
gradual  growth,  and  the  Academicians  were  ever  ready  to  shirk  the 
work.  Oddly  enough,  too,  they  were  averse  to  exhibiting  their 
works,  and  had  to  be  forced  to  do  so.  It  were  well,  were  they  (some 
of  them)  of  the  same  opinion  now.  But  if  averse  to  exhibiting,  they 
were  ever  ready  to  undertake  other  laborious  duties,  such  as  provid- 
ing all  requisites  for  their  models  in  life  and  death.  The  model  was 
attached  to  the  Academy  and  received  a  fixed  salary ;  consequently 
he  was  part  and  parcel  of  the  institution ;  and  we  find  a  document 
in  the  archives  which  gives  us  an  account  of  the  cost  of  the  funeral 
of  one  Jean  Fran9ois  Deschamps,  Academy  model  during  the 
treasurership  of  Chardin,  in  1773.  The  grand  total  amounts  to  126 
livres.  On  the  other  hand,  a  grand  banquet  held  about  the  same 
time,  only  cost  the  Royal  Academy  83  livres,  although  the  prices  of 
many  of  the  viands  were  much  the  same  as  at  the  present  time. 

Lady  Dilke  pays  a  just  tribute  to  France  when  she  says  that  in 
the  early  days  as  now,  she  was  at  the  head  of  the  artistic  culture  and 
taste  of  Europe.  Other  countries  have  produced  greater  painters 
and  sculptors ;  but  taking  art  in  a  wide  sense  as  regards  fine  art, 
so  called,  and  artistic  industries,  France  has  always  been  the 
greatest  educator,  and  has  generally  been  the  principal  motive 
power ;  it  has,  in  fact,  been  a  good  organizer  and  a  school ;  where 
the  talents  of  the  individual  have  been  (sometimes  somewhat  too 
much)  lost  in  the  service  of  the  State  and  the  general  proficiency  of 
its  subjects. 


THE    DETROIT    ARCHITECTURAL   SKETCH    CLUB. 

TTTHE  Detroit  Architectural  Sketch  Club,  on  May  9,  1889  — their 
•  I*  second  semi-annual  meeting  —  elected  the  following  officers  for 
ensuing  term :  President,  T.  B.  Laist ;  Vice-President,  W.  B. 
Stratton ;  Secretary,  Clarence  A.  Fullerton ;  Treasurer,  R.  Mild- 
ner ;  Executive  Council,  Jean  A.  Hackett,  Max  Grylls,  and  J.  B. 
Nettleton. 

The  club  finds  itself  on  a  firm  footing,  and  will  banquet  the 
architects  of  the  city,  on  May  16th,  the  architects,  by  the  way,  have 
greatly  assisted  the  club  in  getting  through  their  first  year,  by 
various  means. 

Communications  should  be  addressed  to 

CLARENCE  A.  FULLERTON, 

18  and  19  Burns  Block,  Detroit,  Mich. 


A  SUN-DIAL  IN  PARADISE.  —  Charles  Lamb  was  possibly  not  far 
wrong,  says  The  Horological  Journal,  when  he  conjectured  that  Adam 
had  a  sun-dial  in  Paradise.  Dials  are  probably  older  even  than  alchemy. 
The  Babylonians  had  them;  though  the  Egyptians,  that  wondrous 
people  who  knew  most  of  the  things  the  moderns  have  rediscovered,  seem 
not  to  have  used  them.  The  Babylonians  gave  them  to  the  Greeks ; 
the  Greeks  to  the  Romans ;  and  the  Emperor  Trajan  is  credited  with 
an  epigram  upon  the  art  of  dialing.  Naturally  dials  are  most  frequent 
in  lands  where  the  sun  shines  as  a  matter-of-course  and  not  as  a  rare 
complacence.  French  and  Italian  gardens  are  full  of  them;  to  the 
walls  of  sunny  chateaux  they  are  fixed  in  hundreds.  In  the  old  days, 
when  there  was  time  for  sentiment  and  room  for  it,  sun-dials  were 
favorite  gifts  from  great  personages  to  one  another  —  from  people  to 


marks  the  time  of  day.  But  even  in  our  own  cold  land  of  fibre  and 
complexion  there  are  dials  not  a  few.  In  Mrs.  Gatty's  book  some  800 
inscriptions  are  set  down  ;  and  as  some  favorite  legends  are  common  to 
many  dials,  the  recorded  number  is  probably  close  upon  1,000. 


AN  ATTEMPT  TO  GET  EVEN  WITH  A  LANDLORD.  —  An  instance  of 
the  immemorial  feud  between  landlord  and  tenant,  and  one  particu- 
larly noticeable  because  the  latter  was  hoisted  by  his  own  petard, 
occurred  recently  in  a  fashionable  up-town  neighborhood.  The  tenant 
had  been  on  unpleasant  terms  with  his  landlord  for  nearly  a  year, 
and  took  every  occasion  which  presented  itself  to  make  himself  par- 
ticularly unpleasant.  He  held  a  five  years'  lease  of  the  property,  and 
this  was  to  expire  May  1.  He  sought  to  renew  it,  but  the  landlord 


240 


T7ie    American   Architect  and  Building   News.  •    [ VOL.  XXIV.  —  No.  699. 


absolutely  refused  to  consider  such  a  proposition.  Then  the  tenant 
went  home  to  his  wife  and  remarked :  "  My  dear,  we'll  get  square  with 
that  scoundrelly  landlord."  The  plumbing  in  the  house  had  been 
allowed  to  deteriorate,  and  the  tenant  concluded  that  it  would  be  a 
great  joke  on  the  landlord  to  complain  of  this  to  the  Board  of  Health, 
which,  when  it  discovered  the  unsanitary  condition  of  the  place,  would 
compel  the  landlord  to  improve  it.  So  the  complaint  was  entered  and 
the  sanitary  inspector  made  his  investigation,  and  declared  the  plumb- 
ing to  be  in  an  outrageous  condition.  The  owner  was  notified  of  these 
facts  by  both  Board  of  Health  and  the  tenant.  He  paid  no  attention 
to  either,  except  in  addressing  a  polite  note  to  the  latter,  calling  his 
attention  to  the  lease,  in  which  the  tenant  had  contracted,  in  consid- 
eration of  a  reduction  in  rent,  to  be  responsible  for  all  repairs  which 
might  be  needed  by  the  house  until  the  expiration  of  the  lease.  The 
wholesale  repairs  required  by  the  Board  of  Health  spread  consternation 
in  the  house.  The  family  will  not  go  to  Europe  this  year,  as  was 
expected,  but  will  spend  the  summer  in  some  farmhouse,  and  the  land- 
lord is  regarded  by  his  associates  as  one  whose  success  in  life  has  made 
him  a  veritable  leader  among  landlords.  —  Exchange. 


THE  FREEZING  PROCESS  IN  BUILDING. — The  Chapin  Mining 
Company,  of  Michigan,  has  recently  made  a  very  successful  applica- 
tion of  the  freezing  process  of  Dr.  Poetsch,  for  the  purpose  of  sinking 
a  shaft  through  quicksand.  The  method  of  Dr.  Poetsch  consists  in 
sinking  a  circle  of  pipes  in  the  quicksand,  and  circulating  in  them  a 
freezing-solution  until  the  quicksand  becomes  hard  enough  to  excavate. 
The  shaft  to  be  sunk  in  this  case  was  16  feet  in  diameter,  and  was  to 
pass  through  two  layers  of  quicksand  to  a  depth  of  101  feet,  the  nature 
of  the  ground  having  been  previously  determined  by  boring.  A  circle 
29  feet  in  diameter  was  laid  out,  and  twenty-six  holes,  10  inches  in 
diameter,  were  bored.  Eight-inch  wrought-iron  pipes  were  then  sunk 
in  these  holes,  the  pipes  having  their  lower  ends  closed.  In  each  eight- 
inch  pipe  a  smaller  pipe  was  inserted,  reaching  nearly  to  the  bottom, 
and  the  upper  ends  of  both  systems  were  connected  into  the  circulation 
of  a  freezing-machine.  In  this  way  it  was  possible  to  keep  up  a  con- 
tinuous circulation  of  cold  solution  through  the  pipes,  which  gradually 
absorbed  heat  from  the  ground  and  froze  the  quicksand  until  it  could 
be  worked  without  flowing.  The  shaft  has  been  already  sunk  to  a 
depth  of  over  70  feet,  and  the  quicksand  has  been  frozen  as  hard  as 
rock,  so  that  the  work  is  carried  on  by  blasting.  The  operations  have 
been  completely  successful,  and  without  the  process  the  sinking  of  the 
shaft  would  have  been  an  impossibility.  —  The  Architect. 


Less  than  five  years  ago  there  was  practically  no  market  for  non- 
caking  small  coal.  Now  it  is  in  brisk  demand  at  remunerative  prices. 
The  Eastern  Railway  Company  were  quick  to  perceive  the  economy 
resulting  from  the  use  of  this  mixture  of  the  caking  with  the  dry-burning 
sorts.  At  the  present  time  they  are  using  it  in  large  quantities.  One 
great  advantage  of  the  briquette  industry  lies  in  its  utilization  of  dry- 
burning  small  coal. 


EFFECT  or  DIFFERENT  WOODS  ON  METAL. — The  bearing  of  chem- 
istry upon  construction  is  thus  illustrated  by  the  Lumber  Trade  Journal  : 
It  is  safe  to  say  that  no  two  varieties  of  wood  possess  the  same  essential 
chemical  characteristics,  and  the  instant  one  possessing  much  alkali  is 
placed  near  another  that  gives  acid  in  its  reaction  it  will  invite  rapid 
dissolution  and  decay.  What  is  true  with  reference  to  wood  applies 
with  all  the  force  to  the  other  materials  used  in  structures.  Two  up- 
rights, the  mainstay  of  a  quite  large  country  bridge,  rotted  off  at  the 
ends  when  bolted  together  with  an  iron  bolt.  New  ones  were  put  in  and 
fastened  by  wooden  pins  of  the  same  variety,  and  ten  years  have 
elapsed  and  still  they  stand.  In  the  first  instance  beech,  which  is 
known  to  contain  much  acetate,  was  used,  and  the  iron  soon  oxidized, 
transmitting  the  rot  to  the  wood,  and  though  the  rest  was  perfectly 
sound,  the  wood  about  the  splice  soon  rotted  off,  while  in  the  latter 
case  the  same  wood  from  the  same  tree  was  used,  but  the  wooden  pins 
did  not  rust,  and  the  joint  remains  firm  and  sound  at  this  writing,  and 
it  is  now  nearly  ten  years  since  the  renewal  was  made.  Now  if  a  wood 
like  ash  or  oak,  having  less  acetate  in  its  composition,  had  been  used, 
instead  of  rotting  or  oxidizing  it  would  have  tended  to  preserve  the 
iron,  hence  would  last  longer  than  if  fastened  with  pins  made  of  its  own 
species  of  wood,  or  any  for  that  matter. 

COAL  BRIQUETTES  IN  FRANCE. —  Among  the  new  features  that  dis- 
tinguish the  surface  works  from  those  which  one  remembers  a  year  or 
two  ago,  says  Mr.  Andre  in  The  'Colliery  Guardian,  the  most  prominent 
are  the  washing  and  screening  machinery  and  the  plant  for  the  manu- 
facture of  briquettes.  Great  progress  has  been  made  in  the  former. 
The  latter  has  grown  into  a  very  important  industry,  the  beneficient 
influence  of  which  is  felt  in  the  parent  industry  of  coal  mining.  The 
"small"  and  the  "smudge"  now  find  a  ready  market.  A  few 
memoranda  concerning  this  matter.  At  the  Anzin  collieries  briquettes 
of  various  forms  and  sizes  are  produced.  There  are  the  five  to  eight 
kilogrammes  (11  pounds  to  17.0  pounds)  blocks  for  the  use  of  the  Navy, 
turned  out  by  Kevollier  presses;  perforated  blocks;  and  the  ovoid 
bullets.  The  Fresnes-Midi  Company  manufacture  perforated  blocks, 
and  solid  blocks  of  five  kilogrammes  ( 11  pounds).  The  Noeux  Company 
are  making,  with  a  Couffinhal  machine,  blocks  of  five  to  eight  kilo- 
grammes. The  Carvin  Company  are  producing  small  blocks  of  1.5 
kilogrammes  (3.3  pounds),  as  well  as  the  larger  sizes.  The  Meurchin 
Company  have  directed  their  attention  to  the  production  of  large  blocks 
designed  for  the  special  use  of  torpedo  boats.  The  Escarpelle  Com- 
pany are  occupied  in  the  manufacture  of  large  rectangular  blocks  for 
the  use  of  locomotive  engines.  At  the  Ostricourt  Colliery  there  are 
very  complete  works,  just  erected,  for  the  manufacture  of  blocks  of  all 
sizes  from  one  kilogramme  (2.2  pounds)  upwards,  except  the  largest 
used  in  the  navy.  At  these  works  they  make  the  ovoid  bullets  in  four 
different  sizes.  These  are  sold  mixed  in  definite  proportions,  the  object 
in  view  being  a  more  effective  packing  of  the  blocks  in  the  furnace. 
The  perforated  blocks  made  here  are  rectangular,  grooved  on  the  face, 
and  pierced  with  from  six  to  nine  holes.  Their  weight  is  1.5  kilo- 
grammes. They  burn  freely  and  regularly.  Especially  worthy  of 
notice  at  Ostricourt  is  the  system  of  mixing  caking  and  non-caking 
"small."  By  means  of  revolving  cylinders  a  perfect  mingling  of  the 
two  sorts  in  definite  proportions  is  effected.  This  mixing  of  the  two 
classes  of  coal  constitutes  a  very  important  progress  in  coal  preparation. 


BUSINESS  is  halting  in  nearly  all  directions,  according  to  reports  from 
creditable  sources.  Yet  bank  clearings  indicate  a  greater  volume  of  busi- 
ness than  last  year.  Railroads  are  earning  less,  as  a  rule,  though  stricter 
economy  does  not  allow  the  extent  of  the  fulling  off  to  be  seen.  Bankers 
are  loaning  as  much  capital,  and  mortgages  are  recorded  with  as  great 
frequency  as  last  year,  but  more  are  being  paid  off  than  last  year,  and  the 
volume  of  mortgage  indebtedness  is  on  the  wane.  Within  six  years  one 
hundred  and  seventy  millions  dollars  of  National  bank  currency  has  been 
withdrawn,  and  seventy  millions  will  be  paid  off  two  years  hence,  making 
by  that  time  in  all,  upwards  of  three  hundred  millions.  'Ihe  possibility  of 
a  financial  stringency  must  be  kept  in  sight,  for  the  conditions  are  working 
around  that  way  gradually.  The  examination  of  railway  officials  by  a 
Senate  Committee  only  intensifies  the  appreciation  of  the  difficulties  to  be 
encountered  before  the  questions  involved  can  be  disposed  of.  The  week's 
business  shows  that  trade  is  active.  Permits  for  new  work  are  flowing  in; 
country  work  was  perhaps  never  more  abundant.  Speculators  and  managers 
complain  of  narrow  margins  and  lower  profits,  but  certainly  the  common 
people  are  being  benefited  by  the  existing  cheapness,  and  the  per  capita 
consumption  is  increasing.  The  widespread  effect  of  the  cheapening 
tendency  in  progress  can  be  no  more  comprehensively  ttken  in  than  by 
referring  to  such  frequently  published  figures  as  the  following.  During  the 
past  twenty  years  the  wholesale  price  on  large  lots  of  the  following  articles 
declined  as  here  given:  Sugar,  13c  to  7  2-8c;  Rio  coffee,  Japan  tea,  48c  to 
18c;  butter,  33c  to  24c;  cheese,  18c  to  lie;  wheat,  $1.29  to  11.05;  corn,  $1 
to  49c.  Iron,  steel,  machinery,  tools,  equipments  and  a  thousand  other 
products  have  declined,  and  this  decline  has  been  attended  in  the  great 
mass  by  an  increase  of  consuming  capacity.  Despite  this  decline,  agricul- 
tural and  manufacturing  interests  have  been  prosperous.  How  long  will  this 
downward  tendency  continue?  Until  the  natural  requirements  of  our  in- 
dustrious populace  are  met,  nothing  is  more  natural  than  that  the  effects  of 
this  downward  tendency  should  be  averted,  or  the  attempt,  at  least,  made  to 
do  so,  by  syndicates  and  trusts  and  associations  and  combinations  of  all  sorts. 
Given  a  certain  set  of  acting  and  reacting  forces,  and  the  result  is  inevitable. 
Let  the  great  economic  facts  and  tendencies  only  be  properly  studied,  and 
the  appearance  of  these  combinations  will  be  readily  and  sufficiently 
accounted  for.  Without  wandering  into  essay  style,  it  may  be  roundly 
stated  as  a  conclusion  that  these  threatening  influences  cannot  swing 
beyond  a  certain  point  in  the  arc.  Latent  social  factors  are  ready  to  assert 
existence  and  force  at  the  proper  time  to  protect  the  best  interests  of 
society.  The  architects  and  builders  have  just  as  much  work  as  they  can 
conveniently  handle.  A  few  unimportant  strikes  evince  that  the  chronic  dis- 
content of  "laborers  cannot  be  altogether  allayed.  There  is  an  urgent 
demand  for  new  houses,  a  fact  shown  by  recently  published  reports  of  the 
Land  Department  of  Railroads.  The  generally  oversold  condition  of  tool, 
implement  and  equipment-makers,  especially  west  of  the  mountains,  grows 
out  of  the  heavy  demand  from  agricultural  sections,  from  machinery  build- 
ers and  house  and  shop  builders.  Western  architectural  authorities  state 
that  an  urgent  demand  for  building  material,  especially  lumber,  has  set  in. 
Profits  on  lumber  since  March  1,  especially  in  the  West,  have  been  larger 
than  a  year  ago.  The  general  market  is  steady. 

The  trade  of  the  country  has  been  and  is  being  badly  cut  up  by  Southern 
competition.  A  convention  of  Southern  yellow  pine  manufacturers  was 
held  at  Montgomery  recently,  and  talked  over  uniform  price-lists  and  more 
equitable  freight-rates.  The  poplar  manufacturers  met  at  Cincinnati  last 
week,  and  advanced  prices  on  h'rst  and  second  clear  rough  lumber.  Forest 
fires  have  been  doing  their  usual  damage.  Immense  quantities  of  lumber 
are  being  moved  on  the  Lakes,  much  greater  than  last  year,  and  there  is  a 
demand  for  coastwise  tonnage.  White  nine  in  Eastern  markets  feels  the 
pressure  of  Southern  pine  more  keenly  than  ever.  Southern  mill  products 
are  almost  everywhere  pressing  Northern  mill  products.  Stumpage  values 
are  declining  in  some  localities  in  the  West,  and  speculative  values  are 
announced  on  a  good  deal  of  Southern  lumber  territory.  These  fluctuations 
will  act  advantageously  on  both  sections.  The  export  demand  for  lumber 
is  still  increasing,  and  foreign  dealers  are  carrying  larger  stocks.  The 
brick-makers  all  over  the  country  are  pushing  work  forward,  and  most  of 
them  have  contracts  for  all  the  stock  they  can  delher  inside  of  ninety  days, 
at  least.  Prices  are  strong.  Brick-machinery  makers  are  sold  up.  Cement 
supplies  have  been  running  down.  Slate  manufacturers  are  very  busy  on 
home  and  foreign  orders.  Planlng-mill  supplies  are  under  better  control, 
though  stocks  are  still  large.  The  iron  trade  is  not  very  active,  and  prices 
have  receded  a  little  more.  Textile  production  is  guarded,  lest  a  surplus  of 
stocks  above  reasonable  limits  might  lead  to  cuts  and  auction-sales,  and 
thus  hurt  the  entire  market.  Manufacturers  are  impatiently  awaiting 
better  conditions.  Car  and  locomotive  builders  experience  the  effects  of 
unsatisfactory  returns  of  railroads.  Between  500  and  600  miles  of  pipe- 
line for  oil  and  natural-gas  are  to  be  laid  this  year.  A  fifteen-mile  belt-line 
road  is  talked  of  in  Philadelphia,  to  be  built  this  fall  and  winter.  Ship- 
builders are  not  able  to  keep  pace  with  requirements.  Car-builders  expect 
to  be  overcrowded  next  winter.  Steel  rail-makers  held  a  meeting  at  Phila- 
delphia on  Saturday,  but  failed  to  patch  up  an  agreement.  There  is  quite 
a  rush  of  work  in  most  small  shops  using  lathes.  The  founders  are  not  at 
all  overcrowded,  but  the  outlook  is  good.  Carriage-builders  and  wagon- 
makers  are  busy.  Dry  statistics  of  trade  permit  very  little  food  for 
thought,  except  that  those  who  control  trade  and  production  have  the 
brakes  applied  and  are  slowing  up,  and  are  expecting  to  reach  the  bottom 
of  the  grade  by  July  1,  when  the  country  will  be  dangerously  bare  of 
stocks,  but  with  a  greater  producing  capacity  than  it  ever  had  before. 
There  are  no  fears  entertained  now  of  over-production,  and  but  few  business 
men,  relatively,  are  deeply  in  debt  for  stocks.  A  general  liquidating  has 
been  going  on,  and,  considering  the  volume  of  business  done,  the  book- 
accounts  and  discounted  bank-paper  is  less  thau  the  business  of  the  couutry 
generally  carries. 

S.    J.    PARKHII.L  &  Co.,  Printers,  Boston. 


^rcljitect  ai?d  Building  I^ews,  IQay  15,  1559.        Qo,  699. 


Copyright,  1889,  by  TJCKNOR  &  (Jo. 


I 
O 


U 
m 


I  g 


O 
x 


THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT  AND  BUILDING  NEWS. 


VOL.  xxv. 


Copyright,  1889,  by  TICKNOB  &  COMPANY,  Boston,  Mass. 


No.   700. 


MAY  25,  1889. 

entered  at  the  Post-Office  at  Boston  as  second-class  matter. 


SUMMARY  :  — 

The  American  Architect  Travelling-Scholarship.  —  The  New 
York  Cathedral  Competition. —  A  Workingmen's  Excursion 
to  the  Paris  Exhibition. — M.  Charles  Gamier  on  Sign-boards. 

—  The  History  of  Habitations  at  the  Paris  Exhibition. — 
Foreigners'  Views  of  American   Architecture. — The  Hud- 
son  River  Tunnel.  —  Fire  on   Shipboard  extinguished  with 
Steam.  —  A  Rat  and  a  Water-meter. — The  Tower  of  Pisa 

as  a  Lottery  Prize.  —  An  Opportunity  io  secure  a  Statue.      .  241 

A  FOREIGNER'S  VIEW  OF  AMERICAN  ARCHITECTURE 243 

MALARIA.  — 1 244 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  — 

St.  Peter's  Episcopal  Church,  Albany,  N.  Y.  —  King  Memorial 
Decoration,  St.  Paul's  Church,  Augusta,  Ga. — Views  in 
Verona,  Italy.  —  Competitive  Design  for  Church,  Clergy- 
house  and  Schools  for  Trinity  Corporation,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

—  Design  for  a  Country  House 247 

ITALIAN  CITIES.  —  VII. — VERONA  —  II 247 

AUGCSTE  RODIN.  — VIII 249 

COMMUNICATIONS  •  — 

Licensing  Architects  in  Texas.  —  The  Iowa  Soldiers'  Monu- 
ment  251 

NOTES  AND  CLIPPINGS 251 

TRADE  SURVEYS 252 


HE  list  of  entries  for  the  examination  for  the  American 
Architect  Travelling-Scholarship    will    close   June  1,  and 
during  the    ensuing   week  contestants    will    receive  their 
preliminary  papers  by  mail. 


HE  preliminary  competition  for  the  New  York  Cathedral 
has  ended  in  the  selection  of  four  designs,  the  authors  of 
which  are  to  take  part  in  a  final  competition,  to  be  decided 
about  the  first  of  November  next,  unless  it  should  occur  to  the 
Trustees  that  this  gives  altogether  too  short  a  time  for  the 
elaboration  of  so  important  a  work.  The  authors  of  the  four 
selected  designs  are  Messrs.  Potter  &  Robertson,  William 
Halsey  Wood,  Heins  &  La  Farge  and  George  Martin  Huss, 
with  whom  was  associated  Mr.  John  H.  Buck.  Messrs.  Potter 
&  Robertson  have  long  been  known  in  the  profession,  and  Mr. 
Buck  is  an  architect  of  much  experience.  All  the  others  are 
comparatively  young  men,  but  with  an  excellent  reputation 
among  their  brother  architects.  Mr.  La  Farge,  of  Heins  & 
La  Farge,  is  the  son  of  the  painter. 


WE  have  received  a  circular  from  the  "  Scripps  League," 
calling  our  attention  to  an  expedition  of  workingmen  to 
the  Paris  Exhibition,  which  the  League  is  preparing  at 
its  own  expense.  Never  having  heard  before  of  the  Scripps 
League,  we  are  unable  to  give  particulars  as  to  the  character 
of  the  persons  who  compose  it,  but  it  would  seem  to  be  a  sort 
of  association  of  Western  newspapers,  whose  managers  have 
seen  an  opportunity  for  combining  philanthropy  and  business 
by  sending  out  fifty  men,  thoroughly  skilled  in  their  respective 
trades,  and  capable  of  writing  intelligibly  about  their  experi- 
ences, to  compare  foreign  machinery  and  processes  with  our 
own,  and  give  their  fellow-citizens  and  the  newspapers  that 
pay  their  expenses  the  benefit  of  their  observations.  If  this  is 
really  the  nature  of  the  enterprise,  or,  still  more,  if  it  is  the 
result  of  a  movement  still  more  purely  benevolent,  we  are  glad 
to  wish  it  all  possible  success.  At  the  time  of  the  last  exhibi- 
tion in  Paris,  the  British  Government  sent  over  a  number  of 
workingmen  of  special  intelligence  to  make  observations  similar 
to  those  which  the  Scripps  expedition  has  in  mind,  and  the  pub- 
lished letters  of  these  workingmen  were  among  the  most  inter- 
esting documents  that  appeared  in  relation  to  the  exhibition. 
The  circular  sent  us  says  that  steps  have  already  been  taken 
to  select  men  to  go,  and  the  managers  of  the  affair  desire  that 
organizations  of  the  mechanical  trades  should  correspond  with 
them  in  regard  to  the  selection  of  others.  Further  information 
is  to  be  had  from  the  directors  of  the  Scripps  League  Paris 
Expedition,  Detroit,  Mich. 


TT  CHARLES  GARNIER  wrote  some" time  ago  one  of 
|al,  his  half-serious  essays  on  the  disfigurement  of  city  streets 
by  hand-bills  and  painted  signs,  which  has  a  great  deal 
of  truth  and  reason  in  it,  and  M.  Planat  has  done  his  readers  a 
service  by  reproducing  it  in  La  Construction  Moderne.  M. 
Gamier  complains  that  he  cannot  go  anywhere  in  Paris 
without  having  his  enjoyment  of  the  picturesqueness  and 
architectural  beauty  of  the  streets  nearly  destroyed  by  the 
apparition  of  some  huge  sign  or  rude  picture,  so  enormous  as 
to  take  away  the  scale  of  the  more  worthy  objects  near  it.  As 
he  says,  no  sooner  does  he  begin  to  admire  the  perfect  propor- 
tion and  delicate  detail  of  some  beautiful  front,  than  he  sees  on 
the  side-wall  of  the  adjoining  house  a  representation  of  a  gray 
overcoat,  the  Redingote  Grise  so  familiar  all  over  Paris,  large 
enough  to  clothe  the  Colossus  of  Rhodes,  which  immediately 
destroys  the  effects  he  was  admiring.  The  graceful  windows 
Decome  mere  mouse-holes,  the  carefully  studied  string-courses  and 
cornices  disappear,  and  the  harshness  of  the  colors  of  the  signs 
spoils  the  tone  of  the  whole  view.  Most  people,  as  he  says, 
pay  no  attention  to  these  things,  but  he  cannot  see  why  the 
public  that  does  care  for  them  has  not  a  right  to  have  its  feel- 
ings respected.  No  one,  as  yet,  would  venture  to  go  into  the 
Louvre,  and  paste  his  little  advertisement  on  the  nose  of  the 
Vierge  a  la  Chaise,"  or  would  even  dare  to  hang  a  sign-board 
on  the  tail  of  Charlemagne's  bronze  horse  in  front  of  Notre 
Dame,  yet  the  sign-painter  does  not  hesitate  to  disfigure  the 
•vicinity  of  the  Sainte  Chapelle  with  his  creations,  and  no  archi- 
tect has  hitherto  cared  to  complain  in  public.  With  us  the 
practice  of  painting  or  pasting  signs  on  every  vacant  surface  is 
so  inveterate  that  we  can  hardly  conceive  of  a  city  view 
without  them,  but  while  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  our 

o 

architecture  need  fear  less  injury  from  such  causes  than  that  of 
Paris,  we  can  console  ourselves  by  thinking  that  our  signs  are 
much  less  objectionable  than  those  of  Paris.  It  is  possible 
that  the  unrestricted  competition  of  the  composers  of  advertise- 
ments here  has  been  the  cause  of  the  display  of  more  taste  in 
their  manufacture  than  would  otherwise  have  been  shown ;  but, 
whatever  the  cause  may  be,  it  is  certain  that  American  posters 
and  other  things  of  the  sort  are  superior  to  those  seen  any- 
where else  in  the  world.  When  we  were  first  in  Paris,  many 
years  ago,  there  was  an  exhibition  of  American  posters  and 
hand-bills  going  on  somewhere  in  the  city,  which  was  at  least 
considered  interesting  enough  to  be  advertised.  Since  that 
period,  the  art  of  designing  theatre  hand-bills  and  soap  adver- 
tisements has  made  great  advances  in  this  country,  while  it  has 
stood  still,  apparently,  in  Paris,  and  if  the  exhibition  were  to 
be  repeated,  we  imagine  that  it  would  attract  no  small  atten- 
tion, even  from  such  artists  as  M.  Garnier  himself.  Perhaps, 
in  the  present  stage  of  the  art,  it  might  not  be  a  bad  idea  for 
architects  to  interest  themselves  in  such  matters  a  little  more 
than  they  do.  It  is  getting  to  be  quite  common  for  architects 
to  design  the  sign-boards  which  are  to  be  placed  on  the  build- 
ings erected  under  their  care,  and  the  late  Mr.  Godwin,  in 
England,  gained  a  high  reputation  by  designing  the  costumes 
and  stage-settings  for  many  successful  plays.  By  combining 
these  two  things,  and  arranging  to  show  a  play  attractively  to 
the  outside  world,  as  well  as  to  the  audience,  a  clever  architect 
might  be  of  great  service  to  a  manager.  Of  course  an  artist, 
and  a  good  one,  ought  to  draw  and  color  the  figures  to  be  dis- 
played, but  an  architect  might  with  much  advantage  arrange 
the  surroundings  of  the  picture  to  be  displayed,  so  as  to  give  it 
the  utmost  value  and  effect,  and  might  often  suggest  decorative 
treatments  of  the  composition  or  the  color,  which  would  make 
them  far  more  attractive. 


MONG  the  curiosities  of  the  Paris  Exhibition,  not  the  least 
interesting  will  be  M.  Garnier's  "  History  of  Habitation." 
This  consists  of  a  row  of  dwellings,  beginning  with  a  cave 
formed  of  stones,  and  overgrown  with  weeds  and  vines,  fol- 
lowed by  a  lake-dwelling,  restored  from  the  remains  found  in 
the  Swiss  lakes,  and  this  by  an  Egyptian  habitation  of  the 
type  of  those  existing  in  the  period  of  the  Pharaohs.  Then 
come  Assyrian,  Phoenician  and  Hebrew  houses,  followed  by 
Greek  and  Roman  ones,  and  so  on,  through  those  of  the  Middle 
Ages,  down  to  our  own  time.  In  order  to  utilize  the  build- 
ings, all  the  dwellings  except  the  caves  and  the  Swiss  lake- 
cabins,  about  whose  inhabitants  we  know  absolutely  nothing, 


242 


The   American    Architect  and  Building   News.        [Vou  XXV. —  No.  700. 


are  tenanted  by  people  as  nearly  related  to  the  real  inhabitant, 
as  possible,  dressed  in  costumes  accurately  studied,  and  sur 
rounded  by  furniture  of  the  style  of  the  period  to  which  th 
buildings  are  supposed  to  belong.  In  some  cases  the  occupants 
are  allowed  to  carry  on  a  small  business.  Thus  the  inhabitants 
of  the  Etruscan  house  are  permitted  to  dispense  refreshments 
which  do  not  necessarily  have  the  flavor  of  the  eighth  centun 
B.  c. ;  and  a  real  Persian  qafe  occupies  the  Persian  house,  am 
is  carried  on  by  real  Persians,  dressed  in  their  ancient  costume 
with  Persian  singers  and  musicians  to  divert  the  guests.  In 
the  Roman  house  is  a  glass-blowing  establishment;  the  house  o: 
the  Slavonic  peasants  is  devoted  to  distilling  rose-water  from 
the  roses  of  Kesanlik ;  and  the  Russians  who  live  in  their  cabin 
make  the  characteristic  wooden  goods  of  Russia  for  sale  among 
the  visitors.  Each  house,  by  the  skill  of  the  Parisian  gar- 
deners, is  surrounded  by  the  plants  of  the  country  -to  which  ii 
is  supposed  to  belong.  The  Egyptian  house  is  buried  in 
papyrus ;  cedars  of  Lebanon  surround  the  Hebrew  dwelling 
the  Japanese  house  is  placed  in  the  midst  of  a  garden  of  cydo- 
nias,  hortensias  and  other  Japanese  shrubs ;  and  the  Chinese 
one  is  hedged  with  bamboos,  tea-plants,  azaleas  and  fan-palms 


WE  are  gradually  becoming  wonted  to  having  foreigners, 
especially  Frenchmen,  write  amiable  and  appreciative 
criticisms  on  the  work  that  our  architects  are  doing. 
Other  foreign  critics,  and  particularly  English  writers,  have  a 
way  of  discussing  the  matter  de  haut  en  bas,  so  as  to  leave 
rather  more  sting  than  balm  behind;  but  in  another  column 
will  be  found  a  review  of  our  present  work  from  a  German 
standpoint,  the  general  trend  of  which  is  more  in  line  with 
French  than  English  comment  on  American  architecture.  Not 
only  do  the  French  take  note  of  our  artistic  progress,  but  the 
publication  of  a  translation  of  our  articles  on  "  Builders'  Hard- 
ware," which  is  now  appearing  in  the  pages  of  our  estimable 
contemporary,  La  Construction  Moderne,  shows  that  they  also 
appreciate  the  practical  constructive  ingenuity  of  Americans  at  a 
proper  value.  The  publication  of  these  articles  in  America 
and  in  France,  supported,  as  they  probably  will  be,  by  some 
exhibits  at  Paris,  should  make  this  a  red-letter  year  for  makers 
of  builders'  hardware  in  this  country. 


WORK  has  been  recommenced  upon  the  Hudson  River 
tunnel,  the  necessary  money  having  been  raised  in  Eng- 
land, by  a  loan  of  nearly  three  million  dollars.  A  com- 
mission of  English  engineers  was  sent  out  to  examine  the  plans 
for  the  tunnel,  and  to  inspect  the  work  actually  done  on  the 
ground,  and  their  report,  instead  of  being  very  unfavorable,  as 
was  at  first  reported,  turns  out  to  have  been  very  favorable  — 
so  much  so,  in  fact,  that  the  same  engineers  are  said  to  have 
made  copious  notes  of  the  scheme,  with  a  view  to  repeating  the 
construction  on  a  great  scale  under  the  River  Ganges.  Some 
of  the  English  engineers,  are,  we  believe,  to  stay  and  see  the 
work  carried  out,  and  the  force  now  in  the  tunnel  will  soon  be 
increased,  and  the  undertaking  pushed  rapidly  to  completion. 


~?IRE  AND  WATER  gives  a  curious  account  of  a  fire 
which  took  place  on  an  English  steamer,  on  its  way  to  Rio 
Janeiro.  When  the  ship  was  still  twenty-three  hundred  miles 
from  its  destination,  the  cargo  was  discovered  to  be  on  fire. 
All  the  ordinary  means  for  extinguishing  the  fire  were  em- 
ployed in  vain,  and  the  boats  were  got  read}'  and  provisioned 
for  a  long  voyage.  Having  taken  this  precaution,  the  captain, 
a  man  named  Thompson,  who  deserves  to  be  remembered  for 
his  courage  and  ingenuity,  persuaded  the  crew  to  remain  on 
the  ship,  and  keep  on  at  full  speed  toward  Brazil.  The  fire 
continued  to  spread  through  the  cargo,  and  the  deck  and  sides 
of  the  vessel  became  in  places,  red-hot,  so  that  the  sailors  could 
only  get  about  the  ship  by  spreading  sails  over  the  deck,  and 
keeping  them  constantly  wet.  Holes  were  then  made  in  the 
deck,  and  steam,  under  high  pressure,  injected  from  a  donkey- 
boiler.  This  application  proved  surprisingly  successful,  and 
after  one  night's  work  the  fire  was  so  much  reduced  that  it  was 
at  first  believed  to  have  been  entirely  subdued.  To  finish  it, 
water  was  pumped  into  the  hold  during  the  whole  of  the  next 
day,  but  instead  of  quenching  what  remained  of  the  fire,  it 
seems  to  have  rekindled,  or  at  least  increased  it,  and  in  twenty- 
four  hours  the  deck  and  sides  in  the  vicinity  of  the  conflagra- 
tion were  again  red-hot.  Again  steam  was  injected,  and  again 
the  fire  died  away,  and  the  temperature  of  the  deck  fell.  It 


was  then  discovered  that  the  coal  was  on  fire  in  the  bunkers  on 
the  port  side,  and  it  was  hopeless  to  do  anything  more  except 
to  remove  the  coal.  This  was  done  as  long  as  the  men  could 
work  in  the  bunkers,  and  such  of  the  cargo  as  could  be  reached 
was  taken  out  of  reach  of  the  fire.  Finally,  after  the  crew 
had  fought  the  fire  for  twelve  days,  the  ship  reached  Rio 
Janeiro,  with  all  its  crew  safe  and  sound  except  the  captain, 
who  had  been  badly  burned  on  the  leg  in  fighting  the  flames, 
and  is  to  be  consoled  by  the  presentation  of  a  medal  from  the 
Emperor,  in  recognition  of  his  bravery  and  skill.  The  lesson 
which  architects  will  draw  from  the  story  is  that  for  fighting  a 
fire  in  a  confined  place,  steam  appears  to  be  far  more  effective 
than  water.  In  fact,  in  this  case  the  application  of  water 
seems  to  have  increased  the  fire,  in  a  way  which  can  only  be 
explained  by  knowing  more  about  the  character  of  the  cargo 
than  can  be  learned  from  the  telegraphic  reports. 


MANUFACTURING  firm  in  Milwaukee  had  an  experi- 
ence  recently  with  a  rat,  which  is  instructive.  Noticing 
that  the  bills  for  water  delivered  through  the  meter  were 
unusually  large,  the  managers  ordered  an  investigation,  and  at 
last  discovered  that  the  lead  supply-pipe  in  one  place  ran  in 
contact  with  a  waste-pipe,  also  of  lead.  A  rat,  who  frequented 
the  waste-pipe,  happening  to  be  thirsty,  and  divining,  by  the 
curious  instinct  peculiar  to  such  animals,  the  proximity  of  a 
supply  of  water,  had  gnawed  a  hole  through  the  walls  of  both 
pipes,  in  order  to  get  a  drink.  He  succeeded  in  getting  his 
drink,  but  omitted  to  close  the  hole  again,  and  the  water  con- 
tinued to  flow  through  the  meter,  and  out  again  through  the 
waste-pipe,  until  the  investigation  revealed  what  had  been 
done.  Possibly  some  architect,  who  has  had  experience  with 
rats,  may  do  the  profession  the  service  of  writing  an  essay  on 
the  subject  of  catching  them,  as  well  as  of  preventing  them 
from  doing  mischief.  We  have  heard  it  said  recently  that  a 
rat  will  not  gnaw  a  hemlock  board,  and  that  a  grain-bin  in  a 
stable,  if  made  of  hemlock,  or  lined  with  it,  is  as  safe  against 
rats  as  if  it  were  lined  with  galvanized  iron.  Whether  this  is 
so  we  cannot  say,  but  some  one  ought  to  know  about  the 
matter,  and  if  that  person  will  come  forward  with  his  informa- 
tion, he  will  deserve  the  thanks  of  the  building  community. 


EVERY  one  may  not  know  that  the  renowned  Leaning  Tower 
of  Pisa  has  been  set  up  as  merchandise  by  the  muncipality, 
and,  in  order  to  bring  the  highest  possible  price,  has  beeu 
made  the  capital  prize  of  a  lottery,  which  is  to  be  drawn  at 
some  period  unknown  to  us.  According  to  the  Wiener  Bauin- 
dustrie-Zeitung,  from  which  we  gather  this  information,  the 
city  of  Pisa  has  spent  so  much  money  on  improvements  that  it 
is  practically  bankrupt,  and  its  creditors  are  making  themselves 
quite  disagreeable  by  the  urgency  of  their  demands.  In  this 
strait,  and,  more  particularly,  to  prevent  the  town-hall  from 
being  seized,  the  city  government  has  bethought  itself  of  one 
of  its  pieces  of  antiquity,  and  hopes  to  get  enough  for  the  tower 
to  put  off  its  duns  for  a  time.  Whether  the  tickets  are  being 
eagerly  taken  or  not  we  do  not  hear.  A  native  might,  we 
suppose,  make  a  certain  income  out  of  the  prize  by  charging 
an  admission-fee  to  visitors,  but  a  foreigner  would  be  better  off 
without  it  than  with  it. 


tjTHERE  is  a  chance,  perhaps,  for  one  of  our  cities  to  get  a 

•X*  first-rate  statue,  compared  with  most  American  statues,  at 

a  small  price.     Many  people,  especially  those  who  appre- 

iate  the  Parisian  etablissements  de  bouillon,  will  remember  the 
statue  of  Joan  of  Arc,  which  ornaments  the  middle  of  the  little 
Place  des  Pyramides,  opposite  one  of  M.  Duval's  principal 
establishments.  This  statue,  the  work  of  Fremiet,  has  never 
seen  quite  satisfactory  to  the  artist's  friends,  and  he  has,  as  a 
consequence  of  a  long  course  of  badgering,  determined  to 
replace  it  with  another,  at  his  own  expense.  The  model  for 
;he  new  statue  has  already  been  made,  and  is  to  be  shown  in 

his   year's  Salon  ;   and,  at  the   close   of   the  exhibition,  the 

sculptor  intends  to  have  it  cast  in  bronze  and  put  in  place  of 

,he  present  one.     Now,  as  any  of  Fremiet's  statues,  whether 

•heir  author  or  his  friends  like  them  or  not,  would  be  a  great 

deal  better  than  most  of  the  sculpture  that  does  duty  in  Amer- 

ca,  and  the  "Joan  of  Arc,"  which  will  be  a  mere  load  on  the 

rtist's  hands,  could  probably  be  bought  for  a  low  price,  it  cer- 

ainly  seems  as  if  some  of  the  rich  citizens  of  some  aspiring  city 

might  do  their  fellow-citizens  a  great  service  by  securing  it 

without  delay. 


MAST  25,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


243 


A  FOREIGNER'S   VIEW    OF    AMERICAN    ARCHITECT- 
URE.! 

WHEN  the  conditions  are  consid- 
ered under  which  the  art  of  build- 
ing is  exercised  in  this  country, 
then  a  number  of  favorable  circumstances 
will  be  noticed  on  one  side  that  have  not 
only  aided  in  reaching  the  present  high 
stage  of  development,  but  that  carry  in 
themselves  promise  of  a  still  greater 
future.  But  on  the  other  side  we  cannot 
fail  to  notice  a  number  of  obstacles  and 
retarding  influences,  which,  for  the  time 
being,  will  prevent  America  from  becom- 
ing the  birthplace  of  that  future  style  of 
architecture  the  peculiar  and  unique 
beauty  of  which  is  supposed  by  some  to 
be  destined  to  overshadow  everything  the 
old  world  has  ever  produced  during 
the  long  course  of  its  civilization. 

Foremost  among  the  favorable  circum- 
stances doubtless  is  the  great  wealth  of 
the  country  and  its  political  power  and 
independence.     The   absence   of   jealous 
and  quarrelsome  neighbors  and  the  tradi- 
tional   disinclination    of    the    American 
—  Government  against  meddlesome  and  ad- 
^  venturous  interference  with  the  affairs  of 
others   furnish    a   safe   basis   for   lasting 

peace.  The  entire  energy  of  the  people  is  therefore  devoted  to  win 
and  utilize  the  inexhaustible  treasures  of  the  soil  and  a  competitive 
progress  is  thus  caused,  the  astonishing  results  of  which  are  the  sub- 
ject of  world-wide  admiration.  The  enormous  wealth  accumulated 
in  this  way  enables  governments,  municipal  administrations,  corpora- 
tions and  single  individuals  to  devote  to  building  purposes  amounts 
which  exceed  the  greatest  donations  ever  made  for  the  same  purpose 
by  the  princes,  the  republics  or  the  churches  of  the  old  world. 

In  the  buildings  put  up  by  the  federal  government  the  endeavor  is 
noticed  to  give  expression  to  the  majesty  of  the  highest  power  rest- 
ing in  the  people  itself.  States  and  cities  vie  with  each  other  to  give 
a  monumental  and  imposing  form  to  the  structures  which  are 
destined  to  harbor  their  legislative  bodies,  their  administrations, 
their  courts  of  justice ;  the  great  industrial,  mercantile  and  railroad 
corporations  raise  mighty  buildings  expressive  of  their  sphere  of 
action  ;  wealthy  citizens  and  families  enter  into  a  noble  competition 
in  founding  and  lavishly  endowing  churches,  universities,  libraries, 
schools,  museums,  hospitals  and  other  establishments  of  public  use,  and 
in  all  these  cases  ample  means  are  furnished  to  create  something 
great  and  lasting.  The  characteristic  disfavor  with  which  the 
typical  American  regards  anything  small  or  petty  on  no  occasion 
shows  itself  more  than  in  his  willingness  to  give  unstintedly  in  order  to 
obtain  something  standard  and  sterling. 

In  a  country  like  this,  filled  with  the  restless  spirit  of  enterprise,  the 
architect  will  be  called  upon  to  solve  problems  of  the  most  interest- 
ing kind,  sometimes  wholly  unique,  such  as,  for  instance,  the  construc- 
tion of  an  entire  town,  which  was  completed  in  the  vicinity  of 
Chicago  by  George  Pullman  inside  of  three  years.  Such  circum- 
stances coupled  with  the  independence  of  mental  grasp  and  ideas, 
that  is  produced  by  the  all  pervading  liberty  of  action  and  move- 
ment, will  naturally  tend  to  heighten  the  inventive  and  the  creative 
power  of  those  to  whom  the  execution  of  such  extraordinary  pro- 
jects is  entrusted.  They  will  commence  their  task,  unlike  the 
masters  of  the  old  world,  free  from  those  bonds  in  which  traditions 
and  impressions  of  a  great  past  have  held  the  imagination  since  the 
days  of  youth.  Thus  they  will  produce  something  new  and  unique, 
which  may  bear  the  stamp  of  creative  genius. 

Wherever  there  is  light  there  must  also  be  shadow,  —  this  old  rule 
holds  good  here  as  elsewhere.  The  very  same  circumstances,  which 
favor  the  invention  of  new  forms  also  carry  in  themselves  the  danger 
of  arbitrary  and  whimsical  ideas  taking  the  place  of  the  beautiful 
and  the  practical.  The  eternal  laws  of  beauty,  which  are  recognized 
and  understood  only  after  a  careful  study  of  the  best  monuments  of 
all  ages  are  easily  lost  sight  of  by  those,  who,  without  having  gone 
through  a  thorough  course  of  training,  have  commenced  in  early 
years  to  work  independently.  Similar  opinions  are  evidently  gain- 
ing ground  among  American  architects  themselves;  the  Western 
Association  of  Architects,  for  instance,  has  resolved  that  the  right  of 
architectural  practice  should  be  made  dependant  on  a  State  examina- 
tion. 

Without  at  present  entering  on  questions  of  style,  I  believe  that 
the  great  and  undisputed  advantages  of  the  best  specimens  of  modern 
architecture  in  this  country  mainly  consist  in  the  happy  distribution 
of  the  masses,  in  the  artistic  treatment  of  wall-spaces,  in  the  predomi- 
nance of  gravity  of  expression,  and  above  all  in  the  effective  crown- 
ing of  buildings,  in  the  way  in  which  their  upper  parts  set  off  against 
the  air.  I  do  not  believe  that  these  American  creations  can  be 
excelled  as  regards  profile  and  general  impression  from  a  distant 
point-of-view.  Another  point  that  deserves  commendation  is  the 
sterling  solidity  with  which  elevations  are  constructed.  With  rare 

1  By  C.  Hiuokeldeyn,  former  Technical  Attach^  to  the  German  Legation  at 
Washington. 


exceptions,  there  is  nothing  false,  everything  is  genuine  and  presents 
its  natural  appearance.  The  experienced  observer  will  regard  with 
especial  interest  and  satisfaction  the  excellent  treatment  of  wall- 
spaces  in  natural  stone  material,  the  striking  effect  obtained  by 
finishing  the  surfaces  of  the  freestone  in  their  natural  grain,  some- 
times rough  and  heavy,  sometimes  finer,  and  finally,  in  well  con- 
sidered contrast  thereto  the  charred  and  polished  surfaces  which  set 
forth  to  the  fullest  advantage  the  color  and  the  grain  of  the  various 
kinds  of  granite,  marble  and  sandstone,  of  which  this  country 
possesses  such  a  marvellous  abundance. 

An  equally  healthy  and  novel  treatment  we  find  in  the  better 
specimens  of  brick  buildings  and  in  the  application  of  effective  terra- 
cotta ornaments.  The  interiors  show  the  same  sterling  quality  of 
material ;  in  the  flooring,  the  wainscotting  and  panelling,  be  it  of 
stone,  or  of  glazed  material,  or  of  wood  we  observe  an  excellent 
understanding  of  forms  and  colors,  which  knows  how  to  attain  the 
finest  effects  by  utilizing  all  available  means,  such  as  checker-work, 
colored-stones,  metal  or  glass. 

It  appears  to  me,  however,  that  a  certain  contrast  exists  between 
the  beautiful  exterior,  which  gives  evidence  of  so  much  talent,  and 
the  invention  of  the  ground  plan.  Clearness  and  beauty  of  the 
latter,  which  certainly  should  be  among  the  principal  aims  of 
the  architect,  do  not  seem  to  me  to  receive  sufficiently  weighty  con- 
sideration ;  solutions  are  accepted,  which  might  be  improved  upon 
by  careful  study  and  ripe  experience.  Correct  proportions  in  length 
and  width,  alternation  in  size  and  form  of  plans,  proper  expression 
of  the  relative  importance  of  each  room,  imposing  spans  for  stair- 
ways uniting  in  themselves  the  requirements  of  utility  and  beauty,  in 
short  all  those  elements  of  invention  which  determine  the  impression 
of  space  in  architecture,  do  not  appear  to  me  to  be  considered  as 
much  here  as  they  are  in  the  monumental  structures  of  Europe. 
Sometimes  even,  the  first  practical  requirements  of  air  and  light  are 
not  sufficiently  considered. 

Casting  a  glance  now  at  the  ecclesiastic  architecture  of  the  United 
States,  we  have  to  remember,  that  it  cannot  be  measured  with  the 
same  scale  which  is  applied  to  the  most  perfect  cathedrals  of  the  old 
world ;  but  here  we  must  bear  in  mind  the  youth  of  the  country,  the 
great  number  of  congregations  and  sects,  as  well  as  the  fact  that 
the  means  for  the  erection  of  churches  are  raised  by  the  congrega- 
tions themselves,  without  government  aid.  When  all  this  is  duly 
considered,  then  we  can  only  judge  favorably  of  what  has  been  done 
in  this  field.  From  the  wealthy  and  large  cities  down  to  the  smaller 
townships,  nearly  every  one  possesses  a  number  of  churches,  which  if 
not  grand  and  imposing,  yet  present  a  harmonious  and  pleasing 
appearance.  The  style  of  most  of  them  is  derived  from  mediaeval 
traditions,  but  frequently  happy  and  original  novelties  are  found  and 
the  general  impression  of  nearly  all  of  them  is  beautified  by  nestling 
wall-creepers,  or  by  surrounding  groups  of  trees,  shrubbery,  etc. 

According  to  votes  collected  by  the  American  Architect,  Trinity 
Church,  in  Boston,  is  looked  upon  as  the  finest  building  of  its  kind  in 
the  United  States.  This  church  was  built  by  Gambrel  &  Richardson 
and  doubtless  is  an  important  as  well  as  an  instructive  structure,  be- 
cause it  is  independent  of  all  traditions.  Contemporaneous  opinions 
on  such  a  work  will  always  be  more  or  less  prejudiced  and  final 
judgment  in  this  case  must  therefore  be  left  to  posterity.  From  a 
point-of-view  more  free  than  ours,  she  will  decide  whether  the  more 
wordly  features  of  this  architecture  will  satisfy  future  generations, 
and  will  create  the  same  impression  of  sacred  mystery  that  is  found 
in  the  purely  ecclesiastic  forms  of  the  old  Christian,  the  Romanic, 
the  Gothic,  and  the  Renaissance  periods;  again,  whether  this 
interior,  which  is  devoid  of  the  imposing  crowning  of  a  vault,  in 
majesty  and  grandeur  approaches  the  ideal  as  nearly  as  do  the  vener- 
able works  of  the  past. 

Judging  from  such  a  point-of-view,  it  is  probable  that  many  will 
prefer  to  the  Boston  Church,  the  New  York  Trinity  Church,  built 
by  Mr.  Upjohn.  From  Trinity  as  well  as  from  Grace  Church,  which 
forms  a  beautiful  group  in  connection  with  its  rectory,  a  friendly 
spirit  seems  to  breath  into  the  hastening  and  nervous  life  of  Broad- 
way. Both  are  works  on  which  the  observer's  eye  rests  with 
undivided  satisfaction ;  are  they  less  perfect  or  less  important  be- 
cause they  speak  to  us  in  a  language  of  forms  that  has  become  well- 
known  and  dear  to  us  through  history  and  tradition  ? 

It  would  evince  a  lack  of  correct  judgment  not  to  share  the 
enthusiasm,  with  which  Americans  regard  their  Capitol  at  Washing- 
ton, especially,  when  it  is  remembered,  that  the  building  was  not 
constructed  at  once,  but  was  gradually  made  what  it  is  to-day  :  seven 
architects  share  the  honor  successively  of  having  contributed  to  its 
completion.  From  its  wisely  selected  site,  its  beautiful  contours, 
crowned  by  the  effectively  moulded  cupola,  shine  far  into  the 
country,  dominating  the  entire  landscape.  In  its  general  character 
it  unites  the  refinement  and  the  magnificence  peculiar  to  the  forms 
of  Renaissance,  but  it  is  a  matter  of  regret  that  the  front  elevation  is 
turned  away  from  the  city.  In  view  of  its  manifold  beauties,  how- 
ever, this  defect  is  easily  overlooked,  as  well  as  the  further  ones  of 
the  ground  plan,  with  its  intricate  corridors  and  its  modest  stairways, 
also  the  fact  that  the  cupola  with  its  columns  and  beams  is  not  as  it 
seems  a  solid  stone  construction  but  one  of  iron. 

Among  the  numerous  great  and  magnificent  buildings  put  up  by 
States  and  cities  for  administrative  purpose,  the  Connecticut  Capitol, 
in  Hartford,  appears  to  me  to  be  an  especially  meritorious  work. 
The  Albany  Capitol,  notwithstanding  many  external  beauties  and 
excellent  interior  details,  cannot  be  rated  equally  high  as  regards 


244 


The  American   Architect  and  Building  News.         [VOL.  XXV.  — No.  7  00 


novelty  of  invention  and  general  proportions ;  neither  is  it  to  be  ex- 
pected that  the  present  favorable  opinion  of  the  majority  on  the 
Philadelphia  City-hall,  will  be  indorsed  by  posterity.  The  much- 
contested  selection  of  the  site  was  decided  by  public  vote,  and  the 
architect  in  this  respect  had  to  make  the  best  of  given  and  in- 
alterable conditions.  But,  it  having  been  decided  to  erect  the  build- 
ing on  the  crossing  of  two  main  thoroughfares,  would  it  not  have 
been  natural  to  construct  great  and  imposing  openings  for  them, 
instead  of  the  insignificant  entries  in  which  they  are  now  lost  to 
sight?  Is  it  not  a  non-artistic  exaggeration  to  develop  from  out  of 
this  building  a  tower  rising  to  the  enormous  height  of  535  feet? 
Is  it  too  late  to  hope  that,  at  least,  the  barbarous  idea  may  be 
abandoned  of  crowning  this  dizzy  height  with  the  venerable  figure 
of  William  Penn? 

The  public  buildings  subject  to  the  Treasury  Department  (court- 
houses, post-offices  and  revenue  buildings)  evince  an  unmistakable 
family-likeness  and,  notwithstanding  excellent  execution,  a  lack  of  in- 
ventive talent,  which,  however,  is  readily  understood  by  one  who  knows 
the  system  according  to  which  these  structures  were  designed.  The 
incumbents  of  the  position  of  Supervising  Architect,  in  their  annual 
reports  during  the  last  ten  years,  have  constantly  called  attention  to 
the  difficulty  of  giving  an  individual  appearance  to  buildings  in 
which  the  practical  requirements  are  alike.  This  difficulty  cannot  be 
overcome  by  a  single  individual  moving  in  the  routine  of  office. 
Why,  for  instance,  is  the  impression  of  the  New  York  Post-office  so 
unsatisfactory  a  one  ?  Is  it  not  the  lack  of  contrast  in  the  various 
stories,  the  subdivision  of  all  wall-surfaces  by  means  of  columns 
arranged  on  a  small  and  petty  scale,  and  the  non-artistic  details, 
noticeable,  for  instance,  in  the  absence  of  any  swelling  of  the 
cylindrical  columns? 

If  this  is  compared  with  the  forms  invented  by  a  talented  artist 
for  a  similar  public  building,  for  instance,  the  Jefferson  Market 
Court-house,  built  by  Mr.  Withers,  then  it  must  be  conceded,  that 
success  as  failure  is  not  a  question  of  the  problem  itself,  but  merely 
of  the  way  in  which  its  various  features  are  grasped. 

The  main  buildings  of  great  railroad  corporations  may  be  looked 
upon  as  a  group  in  which  modern  architectural  ideas  appear  most  ex- 
pressively, a  number  of  remarkable  examples  of  which  are  found  in 
the  great  cities.  The  depots  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  in  Phila- 
delphia, of  the  Boston  &  Albany  Road  in  Boston,  the  Dearborn 
depot  in  Chicago,  and  the  Grand  Central  depot  in  New  York,  give 
striking  evidence  of  the  ability  with  which  their  architects  have 
raised  these  buildings  beyond  and  above  the  mere  requirements  of 
practical  use  to  the  sphere  of  monumental  importance. 

Equal  appreciation  is  doubtless  due  to  the  numerous  buildings 
devoted  to  scientific  purposes,  the  universities,  colleges  and  libraries, 
as  well  as  to  the  institutions  of  charity  and  hospitals.  Whose  heart 
would  not  be  filled  with  genuine  satisfaction  on  passing  through  the 
manifold  buildings  of  venerable  Harvard  University ;  who  would  not 
admire  the  grand  institution  of  the  Johns  Hopkins  Hospital,  the  pride 
of  Baltimore?  And  surely  every  one,  who  ever  crossed  the  Potomac 
from  Washington  to  Arlington,  will  retain  the  memory  of  the  im- 
pression made  by  Georgetown  College,  high  above,  with  its  effective 
forms  so  grave  and  yet  so  animated. 

A  decided  disappointment,  however,  is  experienced  on  turning  to 
the  American  institutions  for  public  amusement.  In  the  erection  of 
theatres,  for  instance,  the  instinct  of  business  and  of  utility  on  the 
part  of  the  owners,  has  compelled  the  architects  to  depart  farther 
from  compliance  with  artistic  demands  than  in  any  other  field.  The 
greater  number  of  theatres  are  hidden  behind  dwelling  or  business 
fronts.  These  are,  therefore,  a  priori,  not  to  be  counted  among 
works  of  art ;  but  the  true  character  of  a  temple  of  art  has  rarely 
been  developed,  even  in  those  cases  where  circumstances  permitted 
the  erection  of  an  independent  structure,  standing  free  from  its  sur- 
roundings. It  will  be  conceded,  for  instance,  that  the  exterior  of 
the  New  York  Metropolitan  Opera-house  does  not  betray  in  any 
way  its  destination,  although  the  means  at  disposal  were  ample.  In 
the  interior  there  is  no  lofty  and  spacious  hall,  no  magnificent  stair- 
way, and  the  auditorium,  which  is  reached  through  low  and  in- 
significant ante-rooms,  impresses  us  as  barren  and  cold. 

The  interior  of  the  Casino,  opposite  to  the  foregoing,  doubtless  is 
of  a  high  artistic  order.  Original  and  varied  forms  and  magnificence 
of  colors  unite  in  impressing  the  visitor,  and  carrying  his  mind  into 
the  sphere  of  imagination.  But  it  seems  a  somewhat  strange  whim  on 
the  part  of  the  architects,  Messrs.  Kimball  &  Wisedell,  to  select  for  the 
front  of  a  New  York  theatre  the  forms  of  Moresque  architecture, 
the  massive  wall-spaces  and  small  openings  of  which  are  adapted 
alike  for  defensive  purposes  and  for  affording  shelter  against  the 
rays  of  the  sun  in  a  hot  climate.  Again,  notwithstanding  the  assur- 
ance that  everything  is  fireproof,  an  uneasy  feeling  is  created  when 
ascending  those  winding  stairs  by  the  thought  of  what  might  be  the 
result  of  a  panic  when  everybody  rushes  towards  the  exits. 

One  of  the  most  horrible  examples  in  this  line  is  found  in  the  new 
Opera-house,  at  Chicago,  which  really  is  nothing  but  an  immense 
red  brick  box  of  the  most  incredible  forms  and  proportions.  On 
the  other  hand,  I  would  name  as  works  deserving  all  praise,  the 
Academies  of  Music  in  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore :  in  the  latter  the 
architect,  Mr.  Neilson,  has  succeeded  with  moderate  means  in 
creating  a  simple  but  characteristic  exterior,  an  excellently  arranged 
ground  plan  and  a  pleasing  interior. 

The  mighty  buildings  devoted  to  business  purposes  are  more  and 
more  becoming  a  decisive  element  in  the  appearance  of  the  large 


cities  of  this  country.  The  mere  technical  achievements  found  in 
them,  may  doubtless  be  pronounced  to  contain  the  sum  and  the  sub- 
stance of  all  modern  constructive  possibilities  and  knowledge.  Only 
a  minority  of  them,  however,  will  stand  an  aesthetic  scrutiny  equally 
well.  I  will  depart  from  the  rule  and  only  review  the  favorable 
exceptions.  I  believe  comparison  to  be  admissible  between  the 
proud  Palazzo  Farnese,  towering  with  its  grand  horizontal  lines 
above  the  multitude  of  houses  of  Rome,  and  the  Produce  Exchange 
dominating  in  the  picture  of  lower  New  York.  Nay,  more,  the 
latter  appears  to  me  even  more  impressive  than  the  first  named, 
through  the  addition  of  the  proud  tower,  which,  with  its  calm  and 
beautiful  contour  and  its  effective  composition,  forms  a  far-visible 
characteristic  feature  of  New  York.  The  architect,  Mr.  Post,  a  most 
gifted  master,  in  this  building  has  shown  the  meaning  of  true  and 
genuine  effects  in  architecture.  In  this  simple  work  you  do  not  find 
any  weak  results,  no  playful  divisions,  no  meaningless  ornaments ; 
but  you  find  grave  and  grand  wall-spaces  in  noble  proportions,  and 
decisive  contrasts  in  the  various  stories,  everything  true,  natural, 
practical  and  perfect  in  its  entirety  —  with  perhaps  the  single  excep- 
tion that  the  main  entrances  are  not  sufficiently  characterized,  and 
that  the  form  and  color  of  the  small  projecting  granite  supports,  in  a 
measure,  disturb  the  harmony  of  the  lower  portion. 

A  second  remarkable  example  is  the  well-known  Sloane  Building, 
on  Broadway.  Its  purpose  could  scarcely  have  been  expressed 
better  than  has  here  been  done  by  its  architect,  Mr.  Wheeler  Smith. 
In  the  treatment  of  the  pillars,  in  the  arrangement  of  the  large  light- 
openings,  in  the  placing  of  the  intermediate  columns  of  iron ;  in 
short,  in  the  composition  of  the  whole,  as  well  as  of  the  details,  a 
true  artistic  spirit,  confident  of  success,  is  manifested. 

Now,  very  different,  however,  are  the  latest  works  out  West, 
notably  those  of  Mr.  Beman,  the  gifted  architect  of  Pullman  City. 
In  the  treatment  of  the  freestone  at  Studebaker  Bros,  manufactory 
building,  in  Chicago,  and  at  the  Northwestern  Life  Insurance  Com- 
pany Building,  in  Milwaukee,  a  transition  appears  to  an  affected 
aboriginally,  not  to  say  brutality,  and  the  various  members,  forms 
and  proportions  are  handled  in  a  way  that  can  scarcely  be  pronounced 
a  progressive  one.  The  same  is  true  of  the  almost  grotesque  bank- 
buildings  on  Chestnut  Street,  Philadelphia,  in  the  forms  of  which 
the  last  vestige  of  proper  restriction  appears  to  have  been  lost 
sight  of. 

Finally,  I  have  to  mention  dwelling-houses.  From  Mr.  Hunt's 
magnificent  work  —  the  Vanderbilt  house  —  down  to  the  modest 
foliage-hidden  cottage  of  the  suburbs,  what  wealth  of  imagination, 
what  grace  of  form  and  what  diversity  of  plan  and  exterior  1  Is  it 
erroneous  to  suppose  that  the  great  development  of  dwelling-house 
architecture  in  this  country  is  largely  due  to  the  refining  and 
ennobling  influence  of  its  women? 

I  have  seen  multitudes  of  cosy  houses  in  Washington,  Baltimore, 
Philadelphia,  Allegheny  City,  Chicago,  Milwaukee,  St.  Paul,  Minnea- 
polis, Buffalo  and  Boston,  and  the  impressions  that  I  have  received 
from  such  inspections  I  count  among  the  most  instructive,  pleasing 
and  lasting  ones. 

In  conclusion  of  this  sketch,  I  would  say  that  from  a  point-of-view 
rising  above  national  prejudice,  it  is  to  be  sincerely  hoped  and 
wished  that  American  architects  may  continue  in  the  splendid 
beginning  that  they  have  made,  and  that  they  may  succeed  in 
obtaining  that  place  of  honor  in  the  world's  history  of  culture  at 
which  the  best  of  them  are  aiming  I 


»STAR< 


MALARIA.  — I. 

n  pAUCE  °P  "TfORTUNATELY,  the  question  of 
JUSTICE  •••  hi  malaria  has  not  with  us,  in  our 
temperate  climate,  the  fatal  sig- 
nificance that  it  has  in  the  tropics. 
With  the  exception  of  yellow  fever, 
which  reaches  us  but  rarely,  and  which 
seems  to  require  for  its  development 
something  more  than  the  ordinary 
malarial  condition  —  probably  the  con- 
currence of  filth  —  we  have  no  disease 
of  miasmatic  origin  that  is  seriously 
fatal.  However,  the  milder  but  still 
persistent  types  of  malarial  affection 
are  very  widely  scattered  throughout 
most  of  the  United  States,  and  when 
we  consider  the  degree  to  which  this 
affection  produces  discomfort  and  dis- 
ability, and  the  results  of  its  compli- 
cation with  other  diseases,  we  may 
justly  regard  it  as  one  of  the  most 
serious  scourges  to  which  we  are  sub- 
jected. It  does  not  figure  to  any  great 
extent  in  our  death-rate,  but  it  most 
seriously  aggravates  our  health-rate, 
and  it  lowers  to  a  marked  degree  the 
industrial  capacity  of  communities  subject  to  it. 

This  disease  is  singled  out  for  exceptional  treatment  here  because 
of  the  well-founded  belief  that  it  is  largely  due  to  excessive  soil 
moisture,  and  that  good  drainage  constitutes  almost  universally  its 
most  effective  remedy.  It  is  not  proposed  to  touch  upon  its  charac- 
teristics as  a  disease,  nor  upon  its  medical  treatment;  only  to 


MAY  25,  1889.] 


TJie   American   Architect  and  Bwilding  News. 


245 


consider  its  causation,  and  the  manner  and  extent  to  which  it  may  be 
prevented  or  modified  by  improved  drainage. 

As  to  its  causation,  we  are  really  much  less  clear  now,  when  we 
know  so  much  more  about  it,  than  our  grandfathers  were  with  their 
limited  knowledge  and  more  positive  hypothesis.  A  belief  in  the 
relation  between  malaria  and  undue  soil  moisture  has  prevailed  through 
all  time,  so  far  as  our  records  reach.  There  is  little  doubt  that  not 
only  the  Romans  but  the  races  who  preceded  them  in  southern  Italy 
held  this  belief  and  acted  upon  it. 

The  drainage  works  of  the  Roman  Campagna,  which  are  supposed 
to  have  existed  before  the  Roman  period,  were  probably  carried  out 
with  the  intention  and  with  the  effect  of  increasing  the  salubrity  of 
the  country.  It  is  thought  that  it  is  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  these 
works  have  fallen  into  disuse  that  the  Campagna  owes  its  present 
gravely  unhealthy  state.  The  belief  that  malaria  was  caused  by 
marshy  conditions,  was  formulated  and  clearly  set  forth  by  Lancisi 
in  the  seventeenth  century.  His  writings  and  the  records  of  the 
observations  and  discussions  of  his  successors  for  a  century  and  a 
half  constituted  the  basis  for  MacCullpch's  elaborate  essay1  on  the 
subject,  which,  in  spite  of  its  peculiarly  turgid  style,  remained  until 
recently  a  standard  authority  on  malaria. 

MacCulloch  accepted  in  its  entirety  Lancisi's  theory  that  malaria 
is  due  to  a  combination  of  excessive  moisture,  a  certain  consider- 
able elevation  of  temperature  and  the  decomposition  of  organic 
matter.  These  conditions  were  most  prevalent  in  the  case  of  actual 
marshes,  the  uncovered  borders  of  which  where  known  to  be 
peculiarly  pernicious,  but  malaria  was  found  to  be  produced  exten- 
sively in  lands  which  were  not  at  all  of  a  marshy  character.  Mac- 
Culloch says : 

"  I  am  persuaded  that  it  will  be  found  the  very  common  cause  of  the 
malaria  and  the  disease  produced  by  the  lands  of  this  class.  In  the  ex- 
treme cases,  it  is  inundation  and  subsequent  drying,  falling,  therefore, 
to  be  considered  again  elsewhere,  in  others,  it  is  that  drying  during 
spring  and  summer,  which  follows  the  moist  or  wet  condition  of  such 
meadow  lands,  as  they  are  left  by  the  winter  rains.  Instances  of 
this,  in  all  its  degrees,  abound  every  where ;  but  as  one  established 
example  is  enough,  I  may  point  out  the  lands  about  Fontainebleau,  at 
the  junction  of  the  Yonne  and  the  Seine,  notorious  for  the  '  Fievre  du 
Pays' ;  so  injurious,  that  few  escape  fever  or  intermittent  over  a  con- 
siderable tract,  while  it  is  a  pure  example,  inasmuch  as  there  is  nothing 
else  present;  nothing  but  that  drying  of  moist  meadows,  whether  pre- 
viously inundated  or  otherwise  wetted  in  winter,  which  takes  place 
under  the  summer  heats.  How  extensively  this  cause  operates  as  to 
meadow  lands  in  all  cases,  be  their  character  what  they  may,  I  need  not 
add ;  and  I  may,  therefore,  safely  conclude,  that  wherever  the  heat  of 
the  climate  is  sufficient,  such  tracts  will  be  among  the  most  common 
causes  of  disease." 

He  cites  many  instances  in  England  where  the  presence  of  small 
streams  and  of  soil  moisture  much  less  marked  than  that  of  marshes 
has  led  to  the  production  of  the  disease.  He  also  recognizes  the 
fact  that  complete  saturation  of  the  ground  is  less  to  be  feared  than 
a  less,  but  still  sufficient,  state  of  wetness. 

"This  fact  is,  in  another  sense,  of  some  value,  as  tending  to  explain 
what  I  formerly  remarked  respecting  the  occasional  increase  of  malaria 
in  certain  parts  of  Europe  from  attempts  at  drainage.  It  serves  to 
show  what  was  then  suggested,  that  a  very  wet  state  of  the  soil  was  not 
so  injurious  as  some  one  intermediate  between  complete  inundation, 
or  swampiness  and  absolute  dryness." 

This  bad  effect  of  drainage  he  regarded,  however,  as  only  tem- 
porary, for  he  says : 

"The  simplest  and  the  best  known  case  of  the  diminution  of  malaria, 
is  that  which  arises  from  the  drainage  of  marshes,  swamps  or  fens ; 
and,  to  that  drainage,  governments  and  the  people  both  have  often 
had  recourse  with  this  very  view,  since  this  is  a  part  of  the  subject  on 
which  there  are  no  differences  of  opinion." 

Again,  he  says : 

"To  proceed,  and  to  the  reverse  case,  it  is  plain  that  wherever  a 
tract  of  dry  land  has  been  converted  into  a  marsh  by  inundation, 
whether  from  a  breach  of  the  sea  or  the  overflowing  of  rivers,  we  must 
expect  an  event  the  opposite  of  the  preceding,  or  the  production  of  this 
poison  where  it  was  before  unknown.  I  need  not  dwell  on  a  subject  so 
obvious ;  but  the  history  of  all  lands  is  full  of  events  of  this  nature, 
even  on  a  great  scale ;  while  in  our  own  country,  from  the  inundation 
of  rivers,  even  where  the  effect  is  far  short  of  producing  a  swamp, 
being  often  the  neglected  cause  of  what  are  popularly  called  sickly 
seasons,  in  certain  districts  of  England,  ag  might  easily  be  proved  by  a 
reference  to  facts  in  great  number.  .  .  . 

"I  may  quote  one  instance  among  ourselves  of  the  complete  ex- 
tirpation of  malaria  by  the  drainage  of  a  very  small  piece  of  water, 
and  it  is  worth  quoting,  as  equally  proving  a  then  almost  unsuspected 
cause  and  its  remedy.  This  was  the  North  Loch  of  Edinburgh, 
formerly  noted  for  producing  agues,  which,  since  the  drainage  of  that 
spot,  have  disappeared.  And  even  the  insignificance  of  this  spot 
renders  it  a  valuable  example,  as  proving  how  very  small  a  body  of 
water  is  capable  of  being  a  permanent  source  of  the  disorders  of  that 
nature,  even  in  a  climate  so  little  favorable  to  the  production  of 
malaria  as  is  that  of  Edinburgh." 


In  MacCulloch's  time  the  means  did  not  exist  for  studying  the 
character  and  habits  of  the  minute  organisms  which  are  now  supposed 
to  be  active  in  the  production  of  so  many  of  our  diseases,  but  he  says  : 

"That  the  poison  of  marshes  consisted  in  animalcuhe  invading  the 
body  through  the  lungs,  sometimes,  I  presume,  through  the  stomach 
also,  is  a  speculation  which  dates  as  high  as  Lucretius,  Varro  and 
Columela,  which  seems  to  have  been  renewed  in  the  days  of  the 
microscope,  by  Kircher  and  some  others,  and  appears,  naturally 
enough,  to  have  found  favor  with  Linnaeus." 

One  of  the  most  interesting  of  modern  writings  on  the  subject  is 
an  essay  of  more  than  forty  years  ago  by  Dr.  John  Kearsley 
Mitchell,  of  Philadelphia,  "  On  the  Cryptogamous  Origin  of  Malari- 
ous Epidemic  Fevers."  This  essay  also  was  written  long  before  the 
perfection  of  the  microscope  enabled  us  to  begin  the  study  of 
microbes,  which  is  now  receiving  so  much  attention  in  the  scientific 
world,  but  it  foreshadows  the  results  of  that  investigation  in  a 
rather  remarkable  way.  Dr.  Mitchell  advanced  what  he  called  the 
"  notion "  that  malarial  infection  is  wrought  by  the  action  of  a 
special  cryptogamic  growth,  and  he  made  this  notion  fit  the  various 
conditions  of  locality,  temperature  and  season  favorable  to  the  pro- 
duction of  malaria  in  a  manner  that  seems  prima  facie,  more 
universally  satisfactory  than  any  previous  theory  on  the  subject ;  for 
example,  this  seems,  better  than  any  other  theory  on  the  subject,  to 
account  for  the  fact  that  malarial  fevers  are  much  the  most  active  in 
the  autumn,  at  a  time  when  lands  are  drier  and  when  the  tempera- 
ture is  lower  than  in  summer.  It  is  at  this  season  that  the  growth 
of  fungi  is  the  most  active.  In  like  manner,  if  we  accept  the  fungoid 
origin  we  may  better  understand  how  the  spread  of  the  fungus 
should  be  arrested,  as  is  the  progress  of  malaria  at  times,  by  a  wall, 
a  road  or  a  stream.  Dr.  Mitchell's  essay  cannot  be  regarded  as  of 
scientific  value,  but  it  must  seem  at  least  curiously  prophetic  in  view 
of  the  now  prevalent  theories  which  connect  malaria  with  the  growth 
of  an  infinitesimal  cryptogam,  such  as  the  bacillus  malaria,  of  Klebs 
and  Tommasi-Crudelli. 

Dr.  Mitchell's  suggestion  is  much  more  carefully  and  thoroughly 
worked  out  than  was  that  of  Dr.  Salisbury,  who,  in  a  paper  con- 
tributed to  the  "  American  Journal  of  Medical  Science  "  for  January, 
1866,  laid  claim  to  the  discovery  of  the  cause  of  malarial  fever  in  the 
spores  of  a  very  low  order  of  plant.  He  stated  that  he  had  found 
these  spores  in  the  secretions  of  fever  patients  and  of  no  others,  and 
that  he  had  collected  them  on  glass  plates  suspended  over  marshes  and 
other  malarious  lands.  Starting  from  this  point,  he  proceeds  with 
circumstantial  statements  that  seemed  to  the  unprofessional  mind  to 
be  sufficient  to  show  that  the  plant  producing  these  spores  is  always 
found,  in  the  form  of  a  whittish,  green  or  brick-colored  incrustation, 
on  the  surface  of  fever-producing  lands ;  that  the  spores,  when  de- 
tached from  the  parent  plant,  are  carried  in  suspension  only  in  the 
moist  exhalations  of  wet  lands,  never  rising  higher  (usually  from 
thirty-five  to  sixty  feet)  nor  being  carried  farther  than  the  humid 
air  itself;  that  they  most  accumulate  in  the  upper  strata  of  the  fogs, 
producing  more  disease  on  lands  slightly  elevated  above  the  level  of 
the  marsh  than  at  its  very  edge ;  that  fever-and-ague  is  never  to  be 
found  where  this  plant  does  not  grow ;  that  it  may  be  at  once  in- 
troduced into  the  healthiest  locality  by  transporting  moist  earth  on 
which  the  incrustation  is  forming ;  that  the  plant,  being  introduced 
into  the  human  system  through  the  lungs,  continues  to  grow  there 
and  causes  disease ;  and  that  quinia  arrests  its  growth  (as  it  checks 
the  multiplication  of  yeast  plants  in  fermentation)  and  thus  sus- 
pends the  action  of  the  disease.  Dr.  Salisbury's  theory  was  never 
adopted  by  the  medical  profession,  and  has  now  little  more  than  a 
curious  interest.  Dr.  Mitchell  says : 

"The  only  theoretic  view  of  malaria  to  which  I  incline  is  that  which 
refers  marsh-fevers  and  some  of  the  epidemic  diseases  to  a  living 
organic  cause  capable  of  reproduction  by  germs,  as  is  alleged  of  con- 
tagious diseases ;  but,  unlike  the  latter  in  this,  that  the  germs  are  not 
reproduced  by  the  organism  of  the  sick,  but  exteriorly  to  and  inde- 
pendently of  the  human  body.  In  other  words,  that  as  the  germs  of 
contagious  diseases  are  reproduced  in  the  body,  the  germs  productive 
of  malarious  and  other  non-contagious  diseases  are  elaborated  and  re- 
elaborated  out  of  the  body,  and  independently  of  its  agency.  One  is 
the  product  of  person,  the  other  of  place.  This  notion  is  sustained  by 
the  fact  that  organic  azotized  substances  are  the  only  things  detected 
in  marsh  air  or  dew  which  can  possibly  affect  the  health  injuriously." 

Leon  Colin's  treatise  on  "  Intermittent  Fevers  "  3  is  an  important 
recent  contribution  to  this  discussion.  He  prefers  the  term  intoxica- 
tion tellurique  to  the  common  one,  intoxication  pallustre,  which 
recalls  only  one  of  the  conditions  of  the  toxic  action  of  the  soil.  He 
goes  on  to  say : 

"  It  is  in  more  logical  accordance  with  the  immense  development 
over  the  surface  of  the  globe  of  these  affections,  whose  appearance  is 
subordinate : 

"1.  Neither  to  the  existence  of  marshy  sites,  especially  in  the 
tropical  zone,  where  the  soil  is  rich  enough  and  is  sufficiently  heated 
by  the  sun  to  suffice  for  the  production  of  the  most  energetic  fever- 
producing  miasm ; 

"  2.  Nor  to  local  geological  conditions,  for  these  fevers  may  appear 
on  land  of  very  diverse  formation ; 

"3.  Nor,  finally,  to  the  geographical  distribution  of  certain  plants, 
because  there  may  be  the  greatest  differences  between  the  vegetable 
species  of  regions  that  are  equally  affected." 

» "  Traiti  des  Fi&vres  Intermittmtes."  Paris,  1870. 


246 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News,      [VOL.  XXV.  — No.  7CO. 


He  thus  states  his  opinion  on  telluric  intoxication : 

"This  intoxication  being  the  morbid  result  of  the  productive  power 
of  the  soil  when  this  power  is  not  properly  directed,  we  must  come  at 
last,  therefore,  to  the  cultivation  of  a  suitable  vegetation  in  seeking  the 
sanitary  improvement  of  affected  regions." 

The  summary  of  the  subject  at  the  head  of  his  first  chapter  is  as 
follows : 

"  Fever  is  not  due  to  the  sole  influence  of  marshes.  It  is  not  due  to 
a  special  vegetation.  In  the  greatest  number  of  cases,  and  especially 
in  warm  climates,  it  is  produced  by  the  exhalations  of  the  soil." 

He  says  that  where  marshes  are  wanting,  an  attempt  has  heen 
made  to  supply  the  deficiency  by  the  hypothesis  of  a  sheet  of  under- 
ground water  "constituting  by  its  oscillations,  under  the  influence  of 
rain  and  of  the  waters  that  supply  it,  a  sea  comparable  to  the  pal- 
lustral  type,  and,  like  this,  emitting  its  effluvium  at  the  surface  of 
the  soil  by  reason  of  the  porosity  of  the  layer  that  covers  it.  He 
says: 

"We  are  far  from  denying  the  influence  of  this  underground  water, 
an  influence  so  well  established  during  the  last  century  by  Lind,  who, 
in  Holland,  estimated  the  various  degrees  of  salubrity  of  the  soil 
according  to  the  depth  to  which  it  was  necessary  to  dig  for  wells ;  but 
what  we  do  absolutely  deny  is  that  these  layers  of  water  have  an  action 
comparable  to  those  of  marshes  at  the  surface  of  the  ground;  that 
they,  in  a  word,  constitute  a  pallustral  medium.  .  .  .  The  fibriferous 
miasm  need  not  be  sought  so  far  away,  as  this  seems  irrefutably  to 
prove.  In  those  countries  where  the  absence  of  marsh  has  caused  a  re- 
currence to  the  hypothesis  of  the  existence  of  '  subterranean  marshes,' 
it  is  noticed  during  the  season  of  fevers  that  the  least  rain  suddenly 
increases  the  number  and  gravity  of  the  fevers.  The  more  dangerous 
of  these  rains  are  the  lighter  ones,  those  which,  instead  of  reaching  the 
latent  sheet  of  water  in  the  ground,  are  only  absorbed  by  the  surface- 
soil.  It  is,  therefore,  especially  this  surface-soil  which  is  dangerous, 
and  the  water  below  has  no  other  injurious  influence  than  perhaps  to 
furnish  it  with  the  conditions  of  humidity  necessary  to  noxiousness, 
and  comparable  to  what  results  from  rain.1 

"Furthermore,  it  is  only  at  the  surface  of  the  soil  that  fever  is  pro- 
duced ;  whether  in  the  tropics  or  in  our  own  clime,  there  is  no  special 
danger  in  an  exposure  to  exhalations  from  the  deeper  layers  of  the 
ground,  and  miners  furnish  far  fewer  patients  than  workmen  employed 
in  clearing  and  in  cultivation." 

This  may  be  true  as  relating  to  mines  or  other  deep  excavations. 
It  certainly  is  not  true  with  reference  to  deep  disturbances  of  the 
surface-soil;  it  is  well-known  that  in  our  own  country  excavations 
for  sewers  or  water-pipes  during  malarial  seasons  give  rise  in  suit- 
able localities  to  outbreaks  of  malaria.  San  Diego  was  made  pecu- 
liarly unhealthy  in  the  summer  of  1888  by  the  large  amount  of  street- 
grading  then  carried  on,  with  the  removal  of  considerable  volumes 
of  earth.  Malaria  has  not  been  in  modern  times  a  marked  feature 
of  Paris  and  its  immediate  vicinity,  but  heavy  earth-works  carried 
on  in  the  establishnent  of  a  new  line  of  fortifications  about  the  city 
<*ave  rise  to  widely  prevalent  malarial  diseases,  which  disappeared 
soon  after  the  completion  of  the  work.  Similar  instances  elsewhere 
in  the  temperate  zone  have  been  frequently  observed.  Of  course, 
all  of  this  work  involved  the  disturbance  of  the  surface-soil.  Indeed, 
Colin  himself  says : 

"  We  recall  the  serious  epidemics  of  intermittent  fever  which  were 
developed  in  France  during  the  earthwork  incident  to  the  construction 
of  railroads  — work  that  was  executed  in  great  part  in  dry  countries, 
but  where  the  first  result  was  to  bring  into  contact  with  atmospheric 
air  masses  of  soil  which  had  for  a  long  time  produced  no  growth." 

But  such  disturbance  of  the  surface  in  the  constantly-repeated 
work  of  plowing  and  digging  for  cultivation  has  not  produced  the 
same  result  to  any  marked  extent. 

The  following  quotations  from  the  same  treatise  are  of  interest  in 
this  discussion : 

"  We  are  far  from  pretending  that  fibriferous  miasm  may  not  origi- 
nate in  the  putrid  decomposition  of  vegetable  matters,  as  we  admit, 
further  on,  that  the  soils  richest  in  organic  detritus  will  generally  be 
the  most  dangerous  to  disturb.  But  we  think  that  the  influence  of 
putrefaction  has  been  exaggerated ;  the  rotting  of  flax  is  dangerous, 
more  dangerous  than  Parent-Duchatelet  thought,  but  still  much  less 
than  was  probably  believed  before  the  experiments  of  this  savant. 

"  In  my  opinion,  the  fever  is  caused,  above  all,  by  the  vegetative 
power  of  the  soil  when  this  power  is  not  developed,  when  it  is  not  ex- 
hausted by  a  crop  sufficiently  abundant  to  absorb  it.  Indeed,  in 
marshes  themselves,  vegetation  seems  to  be  the  most  effective  condi- 
tion for  rendering  them  innoxious,  so  that  ponds  surrounded  with  a 
luxuriant  vegetation,  or  of  which  the  surface  is  covered  with  aquatic 
plants,  are  infinitely  less  dangerous  than  marshy  surfaces  which  have 
no  active  vegetation.  .  .  .  When  are  marshes  in  their  most  dangerous 
condition  ?  It  is  when,  by  drying,  we  expose  to  the  air  more  or  less  of 
the  submerged  surface,  when,  consequently,  we  expose  a  soil  of  enor- 
mous vegetative  power,  and  which,  formerly  covered  with  water,  has 
accumulated  perhaps  for  centuries  the  elements  of  this  power.  The 
fevers  which  are  then  produced  are  not  due  to  the  emanations  furnished 
by  the  putrefaction  of  organic  matters  contained  in  the  exposed  earth, 
for  these  fevers  continue  to  be  developed  after  the  marshy  layer  has 
become  solidified  as  more  or  less  dry  ground,  all  putrid  decomposition 
being  arrested. 

"  In  Algiers,  fever  was  developed  in  regions  which  seem  to  offer  con- 
ditions absolutely  the  opposite  of  the  conditions  of  the  swamp,  in  locali- 
ties apparently  the  dryest  and  the  most  sterile,  having  neither  the 
humidity  nor  the  vegetation  nor  the  decomposition  of  a  marsh.  But, 

1  This  is  probably  all  that  the  adherents  of  the  "  Subterranean  Marsh  Theory  " 
claim  for  this  water,  and  it  seems  to  be  enough. 


on  the  other  hand,  these  lands  which  appear  so  sterile  have  an  enor- 
mous productive  power.  In  the  vast  and  sandy  plains  of  Sahel  there 
is  needed  only  a  thread  of  water  and  a  simple  scratching  of  the  earth 
to  produce,  as  by  enchantment,  a  luxuriant  vegetation.  It  seems  as 
though  there  was  in  reserve  in  this  ground  that  which,  developed  by 
the  least  cultivation,  is  as  propitious  to  the  growth  of  crops  as  it  is 
fatal  to  man  if  he  subjects  himself  to  its  influence  before  its  fertility 
has  begun  to  become  exhausted." 

Similar  observations  are  made  in  California  and  in  our  dry 
Western  plains,  many  portions  of  which  are  malarious  under  all 
conditions,  with  a  sudden  and  great  aggravation  on  the  introduction 
of  irrigation. 

"The  richer  the  soil  in  humus,  and  the  more  it  resembles  a  marsh, 
the  less  is  extreme  heat  necessary  ;  on  the  other  hand,  the  less  the 
vegetative  power  of  the  soil,  the  more  heat  is  necessary  for  its  toxic 
action.  This  explains  the  difference  of  conditions  necessary  for  the 
production  of  fever  according  to  season  and  to  climate. 

"The  results  secured  in  a  few  years  in  different  marshes  in  Sologne, 
in  the  Duchy  of  Baden,  near  Mannheim,  in  the  environs  of  Bone  and 
Boufarik  in  Algiers,  and  in  all  the  northwest  parts  of  the  United  States, 
where  fevers  have  singularly  diminished,  demonstrate  with  what  rapidity 
such  transitions  can  be  accomplished.  Whatever  may  be  the  danger  of 
these  works  of  improvement,  they  ought,  once  begun,  to  be  energeti- 
cally and  actively  followed  up;  to  diminish  their  duration  is  to 
diminish  the  number  of  the  victims  who,  in  this  battle  of  man  with  the 
soil,  as  in  all  wars,  are  the  more  numerous  according  as  the  war  is  pro- 
longed. The  works  of  drainage  and  cultivation  at  Slaoueli  (Algiers), 
carried  on  with  rapidity  from  the  start,  caused  the  death  of  8  Trappist 
monks  out  of  28,  and  47  soldiers  out  of  150  detailed  to  them.  In  1848 
the  surroundings  of  the  convent  have  a  new  aspect.  The  soil  is  drained 
and  is  covered  with  fine  crops,  and  with  from  150  to  200  inhabitants 
only  two  succumbed  in  eighteen  months.  To  accelerate  the  work  of 
drainage  and  cultivation  is  to  concentrate  the  mortality  within  a  short 
period,  and  to  hasten  the  definite  establishing  of  salubrity." 

A  peculiarly  pernicious  effect  has  always  been  ascribed  to  the  in- 
vasion of  marshes  and  low  lands  by  the  combined  flow  of  salt  and 
of  fresh  water.  Probably  this  influence  is  felt  in  many  of  our  own 
seaport  localities.  Colin  recognizes  this  as  an  important  feature  of 
his  subject,  saying: 

"  But  when,  instead  of  having  to  attack  a  malarial  site  of  restricted 
size,  whether  a  salting-pond  or  not,  it  is  a  question  of  undertaking  the 
improvement  of  vast  deposits  contiguous  to  the  shore  and  at  the  very 
level  of  the  sea,  presenting  over  an  immense  area  the  especially  in- 
salubrious conditions  of  the  mixture  of  fresh  and  salt  water  traversed 
by  streams  of  such  slight  current  that  their  deposit  adds  to  the  bar  that 
separates  these  marshes  from  the  open  sea,  then  the  means  to  be  used 
will  be  of  various  sorts,  and  the  work  of  transformation  will  be  long 
and  difficult." 

We  know  with  what  admirable  tenacity  the  people  of  Holland  have 
worked  for  the  drainage  of  their  land,  calling  to  their  aid  the  most 
powerful  hydraulic  apparatus  and  employing  steam-power  without 
interruption  for  years.  But  in  countries  where  the  public  wealth  is 
not  so  well  suited  to  the  application  of  such  efforts,  where  the 
population  is  less  dense  and  less  active,  where,  also,  the  climatic  con- 
ditions are  less  favorable  to  the  workmen  because  of  a  high  tempera- 
ture, the  improvement  of  marshes  of  great  extent  becomes  a  task 
much  more  difficult,  and  at  times  impossible.  This  is  illustrated  by 
the  Pontine  marshes  and  others.  He  quotes  from  Melier  the  striking 
illustration  of  Viareggio : 

"  By  reason  of  the  establishment  of  a  barrier  between  the  fresh- water 
and  the  water  of  the  sea,  the  village  of  Viareggio  hitherto  abandoned 
and  consisting  only  of  a  few  fishermen's  huts  grouped  at  the  foot  of  an 
old  tower  where  those  condemned  to  the  galleys  were  confined,  has 
become  an  important  town,  and  so  sought  after  that  the  first  families 
of  Lucca  have  used  it  as  their  summer  resort,  and  have  built  castles 
and  villas  there.  This  fact  of  sanitary  regeneration,  due  only  to  the 
exclusion  of  salt-water,  is  all  the  mere  curious  and  decisive,  because  it 
has  already  had  its  counterproof.  In  1768  and  1769  malaria  suddenly 
reappeared  with  the  force  of  its  worst  days.  In  the  course  of  these  two 
years  there  were  170  deaths  in  the  total  population  of  1,350,  that  is  to 
say,  about  one  in  fifteen.  What  had  happened  1  Only  one  thing ;  the 
barrier  had  got  out  of  order  and  the  mingling  of  the  two  waters  had 
begun  again.  The  barrier  was  repaired  and  the  malaria  disappeared. 
In  the  following  year  there  were  only  thirty-two  deaths,  or  only  one  in 
forty." 

Speaking  of  the  difficulty  attending  the  first  cultivation  of  rich 
malarious  lands,  he  says  : 

"  Fortunately,  modern  agriculture  now  applies  on  the  largest  scale  a 
process  which  singularly  lessens  these  dangers,  and  which  has  the  re- 
sult not  only  of  increasing  the  fertility  of  the  land,  but  further  of 
aerating  the  soil  in  the  most  complete  manner ;  this  process  is  drainage, 
which,  in  the  highest  degree,  has  the  property  of  purifying  the  land  to 
which  it  is  applied.  The  aeration  of  the  soil,  says  Barral,  is  certainly  the 
chief  end  of  the  work  of  cultivation.  The  augmenting  of  aeration  is  an 
effective  means  of  increasing  the  fertility  of  the  soil.  ...  It  may  be 
said  that  there  is  aeration  every  time  that  rain  falls  and  drives  out  the 
stagnant  air  of  the  soil,  and  a  new  aeration  each  time  that  this  water, 
drained  away  little  by  little,  leaves  voids  to  be  occupied  by  air,  which 
will  be  driven  out  again  by  the  next  rain. 

"  Tardieu  says  that  drainage  is  of  the  first  importance  to  the  public 
health.  It  is  now  no  longer  permitted  to  doubt  its  effective  action  in 
improving  the  sanitary  condition  of  the  atmosphere,  and  many  coun- 
tries recognize  the  benefit.  It  has  been  said  in  England  that  drainage 
has,  so  to  speak,  changed  the  climate  of  that  country,  that  in  the 
marshy  districts  of  Lincolnshire,  fogs  have  diminished  nine-tenths  in  in- 
tensity, and  that  the  health  of  the  people  has  been  greatly  benefited.  .  .  . 

"  The  modification  that  the  soil  undergoes  is  not  a  simple  washing 


|o.  700. 


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^rcljitect  and  Building  IJews,  Iljay  25,  1559.  Qo.  700. 


Copyright,  1889,  by  TICKNOR  &  Co. 


MELIOTYPE   PRINTING   CO.,    3OSTON. 


ST.    PETER'S   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH,  ALBANY,    N.   Y. 

R.  M.  UPJOHN,  Architect 


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The  American  Architect  and  Building  News. 


247 


and  drying,  it  is  slowly  produced  and  its  maximum  effect  does  not 
become  active  for  two  or  three  years.  The  most  tenacious  lumps  of 
earth  crack  and  crumble  under  the  alternative  presence  of  air  and  water. 
Water  drains  away  little  by  little  and  air  takes  its  place.  Further- 
more, this  air  with  its  oxygen  also  enters  the  soil  from  below,  reaching 
it  through  the  drains  and  escaping  at  their  joints.  This  action  is  most 
important,  and  is  generally  not  understood  by  agriculturists.  It  is  one 
of  the  principal  agents  of  fertility.  As  Barral  has  proved,  the  oxygen 
of  the  air  penetrating  the  humus  of  the  soil  in  all  directions  comes  into 
contact  with  all  of  the  organic  matters  of  the  surface-layer,  unites  with 
their  carbon  and  forms  an  enormous  quantity  of  carbonic  acid.  This 
is  effective  in  breaking-up  the  adhesion  of  particles  of  clay  which  have 
been  puddled  together ;  it  serves  at  the  same  time  to  dissolve  the  phos- 
phates, carbonates,  oxides,  sulphates,  etc.,  and  place  them  in  a  condi- 
tion favorable  for  absorption  by  the  roots  of  plants.  We  understand 
from  this  the  reason  of  the  enormous  influence  that  the  application  of 
drainage  to  broad  areas  has  exerted  on  public  health.  It  explains  the 
marvellous  results  that  we  have  just  cited,  results  obtained  in  England, 
and  especially  in  Scotland,  and  which  have  led  Graves  to  this  con- 
clusion :  '  The  extinction  of  intermittent  fever  is  the  most  striking,  and 
most  eloquent  of  all  the  modifications  caused  by  drainage.'  " 

GEORGE  E.  WARING,  JR. 
[To  be  continued.] 


[  Contributors  are  requested  to  send  with  their  drawings  full   and 
adequate  descriptions  of  the  buildings,  including  a  statement  of  cost.] 

ST.  PETER'S    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH,    ALBANY,   N.  Y.      MR.   R.   M. 
UPJOHN,  ARCHITECT,  NEW  YORK,  N.  Y. 

[Gelatine  Print,  issued  only  with  the  Imperial  Edition.] 

KING     MEMORIAL     DECORATION,     ST.     PAUL'S     CHURCH,    AUGUSTA, 
GA.        DESIGNED    BY   MR.    F.    S.    LAMB,    NEW   YORK,    N.    Y. 

THIS  occupies  the  entire  west  end  of  St.  Paul's  Church,  Augusta, 
Ga.     The  important  feature  of  the  composition  is  the  central 
figure  of  St.  Paul,  heroic  size,  flanked  on  either  side  by  life-size 
figures  of  the  four  Evangelists.     The  color  scheme  is  very  rich,  and 
in  connection  with  the  oak  is  pronounced  a  decided  success.     The 
work  was  executed  by  Messrs.  J.  &  R.  Lamb  of  New  York. 

VIEWS    IN    VERONA,    ITALY. 

SEE  article  elsewhere  in  tliis  issue. 

COMPETITIVE  DESIGN  KOR  CHURCH,  CLERGY-HOUSE  AND  SCHOOLS 
FOR  TRINITY  CORPORATION,  NEW  YORK,  N.  Y.  MR.  11.  M.  HUNT, 
ARCHITECT,  NEW  YORK,  N.  Y. 

DESIGN    FOR    A    COUNTRY    HOUSE.       MR.    C.  W.    STOUGHTON,    ARCHI- 
TECT,   NEW    YORK,    N.    Y. 


ITALIAN   CITIES.1  - 

VERONA. — II. 


-VII. 


tVMP>    IN  THE  • 
PALACC  GPW5T 

MEtUSEWR/i 
GEKJ1AMY  « 


AVING  contemplated  the  tomb 
of  the  Scaligers,  a  visit  must  be 
made  to  the  Arena,  which,  after 
the  Colosseum  at  Rome  and  the  Am- 
phitheatre at  Nimes  is  the  finest  and 
most  complete  monument  of  its  kind 
which  remains  to  us  from  Roman  an- 
tiquity, only  here  the  aesthetic  effect 
is  spoiled  by  the  painful  feeling  awak- 
ened by  the  historic  recollections 
which  attach  to  these  ruins.  It  is  a 
feeling  from  which  one  never  escapes 
when  he  finds  himself  in  the  presence 
of  the  ruins  of  Roman  grandeur, 
which,  under  an  imposing  exterior 
conceal  grievous  memories :  the  tem- 
ple evokes  the  image  of  human  sacri- 
fices which  have  too  often  soiled  the 
altars  of  pagan  worship;  the  tri- 
umphal arch  recalls  people  who 
perished  under  Roman  conquests ; 
Etruria,  cradle  of  the  arts,  trampled 
upon  by  the  feet  of  the  legionary, 
who  did  not  even  spare  Greece, 
whose  devastation  achieved  later  by 
the  vengeance  of  the  troopers  of  the 
Venetian  republic  was  first  begun 
by  the  Roman  cohorts;  the  circus 
recalls  for  us  those  spectacles  of 
carnage  consummated  to  amuse  the 
crowd  eager  for  blood.  Every- 
where murder,  drama,  massacre  ;  everywhere  man  sacrificed  to  give 
pleasure  to  man,  a  human  life  offered  up  to  gratify  a  crowd  of  other 

'Continued  from  No.  696,  page  204. 


human  beings.  The  arena  at  Verona  is  so  well  preserved  that  even 
to-day  spectacles  can  be  held  there.  At  the  time  of  the  triumphal 
entry  of  Victor  Emmanuel  the  city  held  a  fete  there,  at  which  more 
than  forty  thousand  persons  were  present  —  it  formerly  could  con- 
tain more  than  sixty  thousand.  On  the  outside  it  measures  156 
metres  in  length  by  125  in  breadth.  The  area  reserved  to  com- 
batants was  75  metres  long  and  45  wide.  The  amphitheatre 
contained  45  ranges  of  seats,  which  are  still  perfectly  preserved. 
At  the  two  extremities  of  the  elipse  there  were  two  large  doors,  be- 
low which  run  platforms  or  tribunes  enclosed  by  balustrades.  The 
exterior  of  the  building  is  pierced  by  doors  of  exit  and  corridors 
which  serve  to  facilitate  circulation  and  the  departure  of  the  spec- 
tators. The  doors  are  of  the  Doric  order,  and  some  of  them  still 
bear  above  the  lintel  a  number  in  Roman  figures,  which  probably 
served  to  indicate  the  class  of  people  for  whom  these  different  sections 
and  benches  were  reserved.  It  is  generally  believed  that  this  arena 
was  built  in  the  reign  of  Domitian  or  Nerva,  and  that  the  architect  was 
Lucius  Vitruvius  Cerda,  who  likewise  built  the  arch  of  Gavi.  It  is 
also  said  that  it  was  on  beholding  this  strange  and  terrible  edifice 
that  Dante  conceived  his  idea  of  the  circles  of  the  nether  hell ;  but 
this  is  only  a  supposition,  it  is  confirmed  by  no  historic  document. 

Verona  still  preserves  several  other  remains  of  Roman  antiquity  — 
rare  things  in  northern  Italy,  amongst  others  the  Porta  dei  Borsari, 
which  crosses  the  whole  breadth  of  the  Corso,  and  is  composed  of 
two  arches  surmounted  by  two  tiers  of  round-arched  windows. 
Each  arch  is  framed  with  Corinthian  columns  supporting  pediments 
with  dentils  like  the  larmiers  of  the  Doric  entablature.  It  is  easy  to 
see  that  it  is  a  work  of  a  debased  period,  and  its  destination  would 
be  very  hard  to  determine  from  its  appearance,  if  an  inscription, 
still  preserved,  did  not  inform  us  that  these  two  doors  were  restored 
by  Emperor  Gallienus,  A.  D.  265.  From  the  general  appearance  of 
the  structure,  we  can  conjecture  that  they  were  actually  buiit  under 
the  Antonines. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  Via  dei  Leoni  is  found  an  arch  of  the 
same  name,  which,  although  less  well-preserved,  has  a  more  striking 
air.  To-day  it  is  not  certainly  known  what  was  the  character  of 
this  monument,  and  for  a  long  time  the  question  was  debated 
whether  it  was  an  entrance  to  the  forum  or  a  triumphal  arch. 
These  two  hypotheses  are  inadmissible.  The  Romans  gave  their 
triumphal  arches  a  bolder  and  more  imposing  mien.  As  to  forums, 
they  were  usually  approached  by  an  entrance  whose  monumental 
decoration  never  gave  to  these  places  of  meeting  the  appearance  of 
an  enclosed  space.  I  am  rather  inclined  to  believe  that  the  Area  dei 
Leoni  was  anciently  one  of  the  city  gates,  and  that  its  age  dates  be- 
yond the  reign  of  Titus. 

The  tombs  of  the  Scaligers  form  perhaps  the  most  curious  monu- 
ment which  Verona  possesses,  and  it  may  be  considered  unique  of 
its  kind  ;  but  the  very  numerous  churches  are  still  worthy  of  study, 
for  these,  comprised  between  the  epoch  which  reaches  from  the  sixth 
to  the  fourteenth  century,  offer  every  variety  of  the  Lombard  style, 
and  more  than  in  any  other  city  of  Italy  allow  us  to  take  notice  of 
the  fashion  in  which  this  style  was  formed  and  transformed,  to  be 
subsequently_  absolutely  swallowed  up  by  the  Italian  style.  San 
Lorenzo,  which  dates  from  the  fifth  century  has  lost  in  part  its 
historic  value,  because  it  was  restored  four  centuries  later  by  order 
of  the  Arch-deacon  Pacifique ;  but  the  interior,  which  has  three 
naves,  is  supported  by  columns,  whose  dimensions  and  sections  are 
very  remarkable,  and  which,  by  their  heavy  and  stunted  form,  give 
us  precisely  the  idea  of  an  art  which  still  lacks  dash,  and  which  has 
not  yet  known  how  to  raise  itself  above  the  vulgar  means  of  archi- 
tectural construction.  Santa  Maria  in  Organo  is  a  more  perfect 
building  and  more  boldly  conceived.  Unfortunately  it,  too,  has  been 
restored  by  the  Lombard  kings  of  the  seventh  century  and  by  suc- 
ceeding bishops  ;  and  in  the  last  place  the  facade  has  been  rebuilt 
by  San  Micheli,  a  Veronese  architect,  whose  work  is  certainly 
remarkable,  although  it  has  the  great  misfortune  of  being  attached  to 
a  monument  which  we  would  much  rather  have  retain  its  original 
character.  The  interior  decoration  is  extremely  interesting.  The 
choir  is  painted  by  Paolo  Farinato,  and  the  stalls  are  composed  of 
curious  pictures  in  inlaid  woods,  executed  by  Fra  Giovanni,  one  of 
the  Olivetan  monks.  Formerly  there  was  shown  in  this  church  the 
ass  which  carried  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  Jerusalem  ;  but  little  by 
little  the  monks  thought  they  perceived  that  visitors  turned  in 
derision  from  this  relic,  whose  authenticity  appeared  to  them  very 
doubtful,  and  they  finally  shut  it  up  in  a  closet  of  the  sacristy  from 
which  it  at  length  disappeared. 

The  Church  of  San  Zeno  gives  us  a  nearly  complete  type  of  the 
Lombard  Church.  It  is  composed,  as  were  the  ancient  basilicas,  of 
a  small  structure  superimposed  upon  a  larger  one,  so  that  the  in- 
terior has  three  naves,  the  central  one  of  which  is  more  lofty  than 
the  lateral  ones,  and  the  fa9ade  is  divided  into  two  stories,  the 
lowest  of  which  goes  with  the  gable  of  the  structure  which  serves  for 
the  base  of  the  edifice,  while  the  upper  story  projects  in  the  centre 
and  rises  to  the  pediment  which  crowns  it,  and  is  surmounted  by  a 
cross.  The  superb  square  tower  which  stands  a  short  distance  off, 
and  which  finishes  in  crenellations  in  Ghibelline  form,  formerly  was 
a  portion  of  the  residence  of  the  kings  of  Italy.  The  first  story  is 
cut  at  half  its  height  by  a  range  of  elongated  and  coupled  windows, 
and  the  single  doorway  which  opens  in  the  centre  of  the  design 
declares  itself  under  a  full-centred  arch  projecting  from  the  main 
wall  and  supported  by  two  columns  which  rest  on  two  crouching 
lions,  and  bear  on  their  Corinthian  capitals  equally  couchant  figures 


248 


Tlie   American   Architect  and  Building   News.       [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  700. 


which  receive  the  feet  of  the  arch.  The  panels  which  flank  the 
columns  and  the  void  of  the  tympanum  are  enriched  with  sculptures 
in  relief,  very  roughly  sketched  out,  and  reproducing  very  bizarre 
subjects:  amongst  others  we  see  a  huntsman  on  horseback,  who  is 
accosted  by  the  devil.  People  have  taken  great  trouble  in  times 
past  to  decipher  the  significance  of  this  allegory,  and  President  DCS 
Brosses,  who  had  a  mania  for  solving  everything,  believed  that  the 
sculpture  was  intended  to  represent  a  tradition  of  the  times  depict- 
ing a  certain  king,  who,  having  no  luck  in  his  hunt,  made  a  compact 
with  the  devil  for  the  sake  of  obtaining  a  full  game-bag ;  but  modern 
criticism  has  discovered  that  the  huntsman  quite  naturally  represents 
King  Theodoric,  who  in  his  quality  of  Notary  of  Arius  was  con- 
ceived as  travelling  in  company  with  the  demon  Heresy.  The 
allegory  which  represents  two  cocks  which  have  seized  a  fox,  which 
also"  figures  amongst  the  sculptures,  has  always  remained  a  riddle. 
The  three  interior  naves  are  separated  and  sustained  by  alternate 
pillars  and  columns  whose  capitals  of  barbaric  form  are  enveloped  in 
leafage,  lions,  dogs  and  serpents.  In  the  choir  can  be  seen  the 
statue  of  St.  Zeno,  who  was  bishop  of  Verona  in  362.  This  is  a 
polychromatic  statue  of  grotesque  style  which  represents  the  bishop 
holding  his  cross  in  one  hand,  while  with  the  other  he  holds  a  line 
from  which  dangles  a  silver  fish,  for  St.  Zeno  was  the  patron  saint  of 
fishermen.  In  the  subterranean  portion  of  the  church,  supported  by 
a  forest  of  columns,  is  the  baptistery,  of  prodigious  dimensions  and 
constructed,  as  the  story  goes,  of  a  single  piece  of  hollowed  stone. 
The  story  used  to  be  that  a  holy-water  font  placed  near  by  had  been 
brought  there  by  the  devil  in  person,  who  had  gone  in  search  of  it  to 
Istria  at  the  order  of  St.  Zeno.  In  short,  this  church,  begun  by 
Pepin,  son  of  Charlemagne,  and  restored  by  Otto  I  of  Germany,  be- 
longs almost  entirely  as  to  its  ensemble  to  the  twelfth  century.  The 
sculptures  which  frame  the  principal  doorway  are  perhaps  the  most 
barbaric  in  all  Italy,  if  we  except  those  at  Pisa.  Jesus  Christ,  the 
saints,  and  angels  are  shown  in  grotesque  attitudes,  with  misshapen 
limbs  and  monstrous  heads.  They  are  really  unpleasant,  dispro- 
portioned  caricatures.  One  would  say  that  the  sculptor  wished  to 
turn  the  evangels  to  ridicule.  Art  was  at  the  lowest  depth  of  its 
degradation,  and  while  architecture  was  already  taking  on  just  and 
grave  forms  in  default  of  elegance  the  secondary  arts  crept  on  hands 
and  knees  in  infantile  feebleness.  It  is  well  to  remark  that  in  Italy 
as  in  Greece  and  Rome  it  was  architecture  which  first  broke  the 
mould  of  barbarism  and  disclosed  to  art  more  vast  horizons,  and  that 
it  is  following  the  impulse  and  example  of  architects  that  painters 
and  sculptors  perfected  themselves  in  their  turn.  In  proportion  as 
the  edifice  acquired  polish  and  finish,  the  accessories  were  also 
forced  to  bring  themselves  into  harmony  with  it ;  but  it  was  always 
the  architect  who  took  the  first  step,  and  in  all  Italian  monuments, 
at  Verona,  as  well  as  at  Sienna,  Pisa,  Florence,  Orveto,  and  every- 
where, we  can  still  discover  evidence  that  the  sculpture  and  painting 
always  lagged  behind  architecture,  and  the  frescos,  the  statues,  the 
bas-reliefs,  destined  to  decorate  the  monument,  are  always  inferior  to 
the  monument  itself. 

The  cathedral  which,  although  in  the  first  place  built,  about  the 
tenth  century,  out  of  the  ruins  of  the  Temple  of  Minerva,  really 
dates  from  the  end  of  the  tenth  century  —  the  epoch  at  which  it  was 
rebuilt  —  already  begins  to  present  a  little  more  complete  type  of  the 
Lombard  style,  which  is  a  mixture,  as  we  have  said,  of  Gothic  lightly 
tinctured  with  Byzantine.  The  facade  is  very  harmonious,  although 
still  a  little  cold.  The  two  superposed  gables  are  well  connected  and 
complete  one  another  really  agreeably.  The  decoration  is  richer 
than  that  which  we  see  on  the  faQades  of  an  earlier  date,  although  in 
its  entirety  it  still  preserves  that  aspect  of  bareness  proper  to  those 
periods  when  architecture  is  not  yet  in  possession  of  all  the  resources 
which  can  enrich  its  creations,  and  is  still  constrained  to  exert  all  its 
energy  in  order  to  make  sure  of  equilibrium  and  stability.  The 
portico,  whose  apex  reaches  to  the  height  of  the  rose  window  which 
punctures  the  centre  of  the  design,  is  supported  by  two  twisted 
columns  planted  on  griffins.  Inside  the  Gothic  character  is  more 
prominent,  although  here,  also,  the  mixture  of  styles  is  very  visible, 
especially  toward  the  choir,  built  by  San  Micheli  who,  indeed,  had  all 
the  good  qualities  and  all  the  defects  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
and  by  whom  the  choir  was  connected  with  the  central  nave  by  a 
belt  of  Ionic  columns.  Nevertheless,  in  spite  of  this  jumble,  the 
impression  which  one  experiences  is  soothing  and  satisfying.  This 
is  why  I  do  not  agree  with  M.  Taine,  who  said  apropos  of  this 
cathedral  that  bands,  arches  and  enrichments  are  alone  able  to 
give  a  church  mystic  sublimity,  and  that  when  these  accessories 
are  wanting  the  temple  is  not  a  Christian  one.  That  which  imprints 
upon  a  church  the  Christian  character  is  in  the  first  place  the  degree 
of  Christianity  practised  by  those  who  frequent  it :  I  have  seen  in 
the  country  in  the  hidden  valleys  of  the  Alps  little  chapels  composed 
of  walls  simply  whitewashed,  which  on  Sunday  at  the  moment  when 
the  crowd,  possessed  with  fervor  while  the  priest  officiates  at  the 
altar,  have  an  aspect  much  more  serious  and  inspiring  thap  the  vast 
basilicas  where  Gothic  art  has  displayed  all  its  luxuriousness  of  en- 
richment. 

As  to  that  which  concerns  style,  I  have  already  expressed  my 
modest  opinion  when  speaking  of  the  Cathedral  at  Milan,  that  that 
which  is  called  respect  for  purity  of  style  is  only  proper  to  an  age  of 
feebleness.  The  artist  who  has  imagination  and  genius  is  forced  to 
create  and  break  the  consecrated  formulas.  Style  is  a  barrier  to 
which  only  spirits  lacking  in  fire  and  dash  can  accommodate  them- 
selves, while  all  the  great  inventions  in  the  domain  of  .art  have  been 


made  in  defiance  of  accepted  forms.  Art  is  eternal  and  indefinite, 
consequently  it  must  progress  by  innovation.  When  it  ceases 
making  innovations  it  falls  into  a  period  of  decadence.  Men  who 
work  after  a  determined  style  only  copy.  This  is  so  true  that  there 
is  no  fixed  manner  in  which  one  can  award  honor  to  an  artist  of 
genius.  The  great  masters  have  constantly  modified  their  talent 
during  the  course  of  their  careers.  Is  there,  for  instance,  a  Michael 
Angelesque  style  ?  Raphael,  also,  although  he  died  very  young,  sub- 
mitted his  genius  to  continual  variations,  and  those  who  have  seen, 
for  instance,  the  "  Transfiguration  "  have  some  trouble  in  believin" 
that  it  was  conceived  by  the  same  Raphael  who  painted  the  "  Stanze." 

In  architecture  there  is  perhaps  more  fixedness,  for  here  the 
domain  of  invention  is  circumscribed  by  the  unity  of  a  design.  The 
architect  can  only  trace  lines,  and  it  is  in  disposing  his  curves  and 
right  lines  in  a  certain  manner  that  he  succeeds  in  creating  a  chef- 
d'oeuvre,  but  if  he  happens,  to  achieve  an  original  thing  with  such 
slight  resources  his  merit  is  only  greater.  This  is  why  it  is 
necessary  to  accept  with  much  reticence  the  scholastic  traditions 
which  attribute  certain  elements  of  architecture  to  one  style  rather 
than  to  another.  It  is  agreed,  for  instance,  that  the  pointed  arch 
belongs  in  itself  to  the  Gothic  style,  and  there  has  been  much  dis- 
cussion in  times  past  to  determine  whether  it  was  the  Goths  or  the 
Arabs  who  invented  it.  Now,  it  is  enough  to  know  the  principal 
data  of  Cyclopean  or  Pelasgian  structure  to  be  convinced  that  the 
pointed  arch  was  an  architectural  form  to  which  architecture  would 
be  inevitably  conducted  with  or  without  the  Goths  or  the  Arabs,  and 
that  with  the  full-centred  vault  it  was  called  to  constitute  one  of  the 
principal  elements  of  solidity  and  embellishment.  The  door  of  the 
gallery  of  Tiryns,  for  instance,  was  formed  by  two  jambs  upon  which 
are  supported  two  rows  of  stones  disposed  as  a  triangle,  and  in  like 
manner  over  the  door  of  the  treasury  of  Atreus  at  Mycence  we  see  a 
triangular  opening  upon  which  rests  the  weight  of  the  edifice.  Now 
when  the  triangular  form  was  discovered,  the  reign  of  the  pointed 
arch  was  inevitable,  and  these  were  made,  as  we  see,  long  before  the 
Arabs  or  the  Goths  had  any  architecture.  As  to  unity  of  style, 
about  which  the  pedants  make  so  much  noise,  I  will  remark  once  for 
all  that  the  Greeks,  who  have  remained  our  masters  in  the  art  of  con- 
structing fine  monuments,  paid  little  heed  to  it.  In  the  Sanctuary  of 
Athena  at  Tegetun,  restored  by  Scopas,  the  portal  was  of  the  Ionic 
order,  and  in  the  cella  a  Corinthian  order  was  superimposed  upon  a 
Doric  order.  In  the  temple  at  Bassse  in  Phigalia  a  column  of  the 
Corinthian  order  was  placed  before  the  statue  of  Apollo,  although 
the  interior  of  the  naos  was  supported  on  each  side  by  five  Ionic 
columns.  The  Phillipeion  at  Olympia  was  decorated  inside  with 
Corinthian  columns,  which  did  not  hinder  its  being  flanked  on  the 
outside  with  Ionic  columns.  The  pediments  of  the  temples  contain- 
ing the  treasures  at  Olympia  were  half  Ionic  and  half  Doric.  At 
the  beginning  of  the  fourth  century  before  Christ,  the  three  orders 
of  architecture  were  introduced  in  the  temple  of  Athena  at  Tegetim, 
restored  by  Scopas,  as  already  stated.  Finally,  in  the  Propylea  at 
Athens  the  Doric  and  Ionic  orders  alternated,  as  we  see  at  the  temple 
of  Athena  Apteros  and  the  Erechtheum.  Finally  in  this  same 
acropolis,  which  is  still  the  greatest  and  most  perfect  architectural 
work  which  human  genius  has  yet  produced,  we  see  on  the  face  of 
the  Erechtheum  which  looks  toward  the  Parthenon  a  superb  speci- 
men of  the  caryatid  order,  composed  of  a  range  of  statues  bearing 
upon  their  heads  for  capital  the  moulded  cushions  which  support  the 
entablature.  We  place  these  instances  of  promiscuousness  before 
those  wise  men  who  cite  Greece  as  an  example  of  the  grandeur  which 
art  can  achieve  by  unity  and  purity  of  style.  • 

This  is  wandering  some  distance  from  the  churches  at  Verona.  It 
is  time  we  retraced  our  steps.  H.  MEREU. 

[To  be  continued.] 


TIME  MEASUREMENT.  —  The  American  Analyst  has  this:  "Why  is 
our  hour  divided  into  sixty  minutes,  each  minute  into  sixty  seconds, 
etc  ?  Simply  and  solely  because  in  Babylon  there  existed,  by  the  side 
of  the  decimal  system  of  notation,  another  system,  the  sexagesimal, 
which  counted  by  sixties.  Why  that  number  should  have  been  chosen 
is  clear  enough,  and  it  speaks  well  for  the  practical  sense  of  those 
ancient  Babylonian  merchants.  There  is  no  number  which  has  so  many 
divisors  as  sixty.  The  Babylonians  divided  the  sun's  daily  journey  into 
twenty-four  parasangs,  or  720  stadia.  Eacli  parasang,  or  hour,  was 
subdivided  into  sixty  minutes.  A  parasang  is  about  a  German  mile, 
and  Babylonian  astronomers  compared  the  progress  made  by  the  sun 
during  one  hour,  at  the  time  of  the  equinox  to  the  progress  made  by  a 
good  walker  during  the  same  time,  both  accomplishing  one  parasang. 
The  whole  course  of  the  sun  during  the  fourteen  equinoctial  hours  was 
fixed  at  twenty-four  parasangs,  or  720  stadia  or  360  degrees.  The 
system  was  handed  on  to  the  Greeks,  and  Hipparchus,  the  great  Greek 
philosopher,  who  lived  about  160  B.  c.,  introduced  the  Babylonian  hour 
into  Europe.  Ptolemy,  who  wrote  about  150  A.  D.,  and  whose  name 
still  lives  in  that  of  the  Ptolemaic  system  of  astronomy,  gave  still  wider 
currency  to  the  Babylonian  way  of  reckoning  time.  It  was  carried  along 
on  the  quiet  stream  of  traditional  knowledge  through  the  Middle  Ages, 
and,  strange  to  say,  it  sailed  down  safely  over  the  Niagara  of  the 
French  Revolution.  For  the  French,  when  revolutionizing  weights, 
measures,  coins  and  dates,  and  subjecting  all  to  the  decimal  system  of 
reckoning,  were  induced  by  some  unexplained  motive  to  respect  our 
clocks  anil  watches,  and  allowed  our  dials  to  remain  sexagesimal  —  that 
is,  Babylonian — each  hour  consisting  of  sixty  minutes.  Here  we  see 
the  wonderful  coherence  of  the  world,  and  how  what  we  call  knowledge 
is  the  result  of  an  unbroken  tradition,  of  a  teaching  descending  from 
father  to  son." 


MAT  25,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


249 


AUGUSTE  RODIN.i— VIII. 

THE    DOOR. 

fO  assist  to  a  more 
classified      under- 
standing   of     the 
scene  on   the  door,  it 
may  be  separated  into 
three  time  divisions  of 
subject : 

(1)  Those  who  have 
just  arrived,   and    ex- 
press in   their  actions 
fear,   horror,    indiffer- 
ence, or  mute  surprise. 
Some     stand    erect, 
others   roll  themselves 
together  like  a  ball,  in 
concentric  agony,  and 
others    still,    grasp    a 
foot    or    leg    in    utter 
desperation,  as  though 
that   member  was  the 
cause  of  or  could  amel- 
iorate their  woe. 

(2)  Those  who  seek, 
in  all  the  haste  of  wild 
and    unguided     eager- 
Figure  from  the  Door.      Auguite  Rodin,  Sculptor.       nesS)   the    friends    that 

have   preceded    them. 

They  rush  through  every  nook  and  corner,  over  rock  and  under 
sea,  blindly  feeling,  falling  and  crawling  after  some  never-to-be- 
forgotten  loved  one.  The  pathos  exhibited  by  some  of  these  beings 
is  touching  beyond  measure.  Eyes  filled  with  ever-flowing  tears, 
and  cheeks  cast  in  everlasting  agony.  Not  all  the  pains  of  Hell 
can  quench  this  angelic  sentiment. 

(3)  Those  phantoms  who  have  become  accustomed  to  the  place, 
Of  these,  some  are  continually  affected  by  their  surroundings,  while 
others  vainly  and  persistently  grope  around  in  the  attempt  to  re- 
enact  their  lives  on  earth.  Here  and  there  is  seen  an  isolated  spirit, 
like  the  kneeling  harpy,  who,  perched  on  the  point  of  a  projecting 
rock,  peers  down,  with  the  most  impertinent  curiosity,  into  the 
whirling  circles  below  her.  Another,  a  robust  figure  of  a  man, 
throws  his  arms  around  his  body,  as  if  to  hold  himself  from  bursting 
with  indignation  at  the  awful  sights  which  meet  bis  protesting  eyes. 
A  third,  raises  his  head  and  hands  upwards  in  cursing  reproof  of 
the  punishment  of  faults  for  which  those  who  committed  them  were 
not  responsible. 

In  some  retired  spot  a  majestic  shadow  stands  in  quiet  con- 
templation of  a  Hock  of  delightful  little  male  figures,  who  flit  about 
and  come  and  go,  like  so  many  fairies,  as  careless  of  their  surround- 
ings as  though  they  came  with  a  breath,  and  on  a  breath  would  go. 
The  grave  old  being  that  sits  with  his  legs  well  apart  and  rests  his 
hands  on  his  knees,  represents  a  man  turning  into  a  tree.  On  the 
door  his  back  is  towards  the  observer,  and  while  going  through  this 
peacefully  transforming  process,  he  contentedly  views  the  agitated 
panorama  that  stretches  out  in  an  endless  vista  before  him.  Near 
by,  a  hideous  female  monster  has  caught,  within  the  slimy  meshes  of 
her  serpent  arms  and  legs,  a  gay  and  handsome  youth,  whom  she 
presses  to  her  breasts  with  an  evidently  mutual  satisfaction. 

The  predominant  emotion  expressed  on  the  door  is  that  of  love,  in 
all  of  its  unnumbered  degrees,  phases  and  characteristics,  and  by 
every  kind  and  degree  of  humanity,  both  high  and  low.  Some  of  its 
expressions  find  here  their  appropriate  environment,  while  others 
evidence,  in  their  every  breath,  that  where  love  is  there  is  Heaven. 
If  sweet  submission  and  helplessness  had  any  effect  in  softening 
punishment,  the  very  rocks  themselves  would  melt  in  pity  and  for- 
giveness before  the  appealing  forms  of  the  female  spirits  with  which 
the  sculptor  has  blossomed  his  inferno.  Perhaps  he  means  to 
suggest  that  Heaven  and  Hell  are  individual  rather  than  collective 
localities,  and  that  no  place,  however  dreary,  is  unblessed  by  the 
presence  of  woman's  highest  claim  to  mercy. 

The  sculpture  of  the  pilasters  of  the  door  is  in  low  relief,  and  treated 
with  extraordinary  reach  of  line.  As  pieces  of  color  they  are  almost 
beyond  praise.  The  one  on  the  right  of  the  door  represents  souls 
in  limbo,  and  is  composed  of  figures  of  all  ages  and  sexes  who  have 
sinned  in  ignorance.  The  sculptor  chose  to  treat  this  preliminary  re- 
gion in  order  that  he  might  introduce  infants  and  children,  and  thus 
give  greater  variety  of  form  and  interest  to  the  art-effect.  And  here 
are  scenes  of  the  most  touching  dramatic  interest.  Half-awakened 
mothers  pressing  their  long-lost  infants  to  their  emaciated  and  milk- 
less  breasts ;  children,  in  sweetest  innocence,  calling  in  vain  for  some 
affectionate  recognition  from  the  now  insensible,  but  once  loving 
arms  of  their  parents,  and  aged  souls  gathering  to  themselves  in 
tender  and  comforting  embrace  some  young  and  saddened  spirit. 

The  other  pilaster  illustrates  the  circle  of  love,  and  has  for  its 
principal  subject  the  group  of  "Paolo  and  Francesca,"  already 
described.  It  is  placed  at  the  top,  with  the  back  of  the  lover 
towards  the  observer,  thus  emphasizing,  like  a  crowning  capital,  this 
saddest  of  all  heart  tragedies. 

1  All  rights  reserved.    Continued  from  page  226,  No.  698. 


The  moulded  exterior  sides  of  the  frame  of  the  door,  running  back 
from  the  pilasters  to  its  surface-line,  are  also  decorated  with  figures, 
"Flowers  of  Evil,"  in  low,  high  and  full  relief.  All  arranged  with 
surprising  grace  and  masterly  sense  of  decoration. 

Rodin  is  a  great  admirer  of  Gothic  sculpture,  and  it  has  often 
been  affirmed,  because  of  his  piercing  way  of  seeing  and  reproducing 
Nature,  that  he  was  an  ancient  Gothic  artist  come  to  life  again ;  or 
a  guardian-spirit  sent  back  by  that  secret  and  jealous  guild  to  watch 
over  the  sacred  structures  set  up  by  them  on  their  journey  through 
this  sublunary  sphere.  Certain  it  is  that  the  delicate  and  cunning 
way  in  which  the  figures  have  been  placed  on  the  sides  of  the  door 
gives  no  little  weight  to  this  interpretation  of  the  sculptor's  origin. 

With  this,  as  with  all  the  finer  Gothic  decoration,  there  is  an  in- 
separable connection  between  it  and  its  background. 

The  high-relief  group  of  "  Mother  and  Child,"  occupies  a  small 
panel  above  one  pilaster,  while  its  corresponding  panel  is  filled  by 
two  young  female  forms  embracing  each  other.  The  illustrations  of 
a  few  of  the  sketches  of  groups  and  figures  of  the  door  can  give  but 
a  faint  impression  of  what  it  comprises.  Many  of  them  are  so  in- 
tricate in  composition  that  they  are  impossible  to  render  except  by 
outline.  In  very  fact  they  are  not  subjects  for  illustration  on  paper, 
but  are  combinations  of  forms  only  to  be  fully  seen  in  their  proper 
places. 

If  the  variety  of  individual  action  and  general  movement  on  the 
entire  structure  is  endless,  so  is  the  world  of  emotion  expressed  in- 
describable. Each  and  every  figure  is  as  logically  composed  as  the 
passions  they  represent  are  vibrating  and  individual.  To  attempt  to 
give  any  satisfactory  idea  of  it  would  be  like  trying  to  delineate  the 
inner  life  of  him  who  had  the  sublime  audacity  to  cut  in  twain  the 
infernal  regions,  and  reveal  to  mortal  eyes  the  denizens  thereof  in 
living  fact  and  form. 

The  writer  knows  of  nothing  in  art  that  can  compare  with  the 
door.  It  is  for  pilgrimages. 

Of  the  character  of  the  design,  in  comparison  with  that  of 
Ghiberti,  it  must  be  said  that  it  is  more  original  and  more  varied. 
Over  all  the  figures,  conscious  or  unconscious,  there  is  spread  a  veil 
of  mystery,  a  sense  of  waking  from  a  long  sleep.  It  is  another  world. 

While  formulating  the  scheme  of  the  door,  or  living  through  the  life 
of  shadows  that  inhabit  it,  other  subjects  of  a  kindred  nature  pre- 
sented themselves  to  the  mind  of  the  artist,  and  none  more  forcibly 
than  those  suggested  by  the  poems  of  Baudelaire,  between  whom  and 
Dante  there  is,  in  the  judgment  of  Rodin,  much  community  of  spirit. 
Between  the  two  he  ran  riot  with  the  creative  source  that  flowed  in 
upon  him,  and  from  the  ends  of  his  bewitched  fingers  there  went  out 
a  great  multitude.  One  idea  inspired  by  the  French  poet  is  rep- 
resented in  the  figure  of  "  Sorrow,"  a  young  girl  pressed  down  by 
a  weight  upon  her  shoulder,  and  as  difficult  to  represent,  by  any 
process,  as  the  Syren  group.  Nor  does  any  single  view  tell  its 
whole  story,  for  each  profile  gives  a  new  and  unexpected  grace. 
This  supple  little  creature,  not  more  than  eighteen  inches  high,  is 
regarded  by  the  sculptor  and  his  friends  as  one  of  his  very  best  com- 
positions, and  many  copies  of  it  have  been  made  for  the  latter  in 
both  marble  and  bronze.  Its  commercial  success  was  cut  short  at  the 
beginning,  for  the  first  duplicate  was  ordered  by  an  art-dealer,  who, 
after  it  was  completed,  decided  that  he  did  not  like  it.  Another 
plaster  illustrates  the  thought  contained  in  two  verses  of  Baude- 
laire's poem,  "  The  Death  of  the  Artists,"  which  reads  as  follows : 

"There  are  those  who  have  never  known  their  idol, 
Those  sculptors,  cursed  and  marked  by  a  stigma, 
That  forever  beats  their  breast  and  forehead. 
They  have  one  hope,  strange  and  dark  Ending  ! 
That  Death,  hovering  like  a  new  sun. 
Will  blossom  the  flowers  of  their  souls  !  " 

The  group  is  composed  of  two  figures,  the  poet,  standing  mourn- 
fully, with  his  left  hand  pressed  against  his  forehead,  while  an  un- 
seen female  form,  full  of  the  sweetest  sympathy,  appears  at  his  back 
and  extends  her  arms  almost  around,  without  touching  him.  Always 
near  though  never  known. 

OF  RODIN'S  BUSTS,  STATUES  AND  SKETCHES. 

The  appreciations  of  the  bronze  mask  of  "  The  Broken  Nose," 
given  in  a  previous  article,  resume  pretty  fully  all  that  need  be  said 
concerning  it.  It  is  an  inevitable  reminder  of  early  antique  sculp- 
ture, and  it  is  doubtful  if  anything  of  its  kind  has  been  done 
since  that  period  that  so  closely  resembles  it.  Possibly  a  trifle  dry, 
it  is  yet  carried  to  an  extreme  of  a  great  kind  of  modelling.  It  is 
the  sum  of  modelling,  as  such,  that  the  sculptor  has  ever  done.  And 
that  it  should  be  made  by  a  youth  of  twenty-two  1  The  little 
plaster  bust  of  the  priest  Aymar,  is  also  dry,  though  thoroughly 
studied  as  a  form,  and  the  nature  of  the  subject  preserved  with  in- 
flexible tenacity. 

These  two  pieces  are  all  that  the  sculptor  possesses  of  the  first 
twenty-one  years  of  the  study  of  his  art. 

Of  "  The  Age  of  Brass,"  essays  could  be  written  without  doing 
over  justice  to  its  merits,  and  the  time  will  come  when  such  caressing 
tasks  will  be  more  often  pleasurably  performed  than  now.  Well 
may  this  unlegended  bronze  tempt  the  curiosity  of  the  beholder  to 
find  out  its  meaning,  and  inspire  the  giver  of  names  to  search  his 
mythological  catalogue.  For  nomenclature  is  uncertain  as  the  rid- 
dle of  Omar  Khayydm,  and  as  reticent  as  a  Hindoo  idol. 

Of  Rodin's  larger  figures  not  one  is  so  pure  a  work  of  art  and 


250 


The  American   Architect  and  Building  News.        [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  700. 


sculpture.  Pure,  because  it  is  the  strongest  and  most  spontaneous 
expression  of  his  nature,  burdened  with  neither  name  nor  outward 
purpose.  The  short  history  of  its  origin  has  already  been  told. 
Due  to  the  urgency  of  a  sentiment  so  complete  that  it  formed  itself, 
through  the  aching  hand  of  the  sculptor,  into  a  sphinx,  so  silently 
dramatic  that  none  have  entered  into  its  secret.  It  was  the  first  of 
the  sculptor's  full  statues  seen  by  the  writer,  and  it  seemed  to  him 
the  most  living  piece  of  sculpture,  except  the  Greek,  that  he  had 
ever  seen.  And  he  feels  that  there  is  no  other  way  but  to  set  it  up 
as  a  household  god,  let  loose  the  veins  of  admiration,  and  repeat  with 
ever  increasing  pleasure  the  sense  of  elegance  and  firmness  by  which 
the  noble  Belgian  soldier  has  been  made  immortal.  Immortal,  not 
only  in  the  truthful  transformation  of  his  quivering  flesh  into  bronze, 
but  as  a  symbol  of  the  workings  of  a  poetic  and  mystic  soul. 

In  conception  "  The  St.  John "  is  as  complete  as  its  purpose  is 
evident.  It  seems  an  embodiment  of  the  forerunners  of  all  centuries, 
a  personality  that  gives  authority  to  history.  It  makes  its  own  in- 
visible audience,  and  creates  its  own  atmosphere.  The  primitive 
propriety  of  its  type,  rude  and  ungainly,  is  a  twin  brother  to  its 
faithful  reproduction.  And  it  finishes,  until  a  greater  than  Rodin 
shall  come,  the  whole  race  of  harbingers.  It  is  greater  than  "  The 
St.  John  "  of  Donatello,  because  it  needs  no  accessory  to  indicate  its 
identity.  lie  that  runs  may  read. 

Of  the  type  selected  by  Rodin  to  represent  St.  John  there 
has  been  some  criticism,  because  it  was  affirmed  to  be  physically 
lower  than  that  of  Donatello.  This  criticism  suggest  some  very  in- 
teresting considerations :  of  the  models  of  the  present  day,  the 
different  ways  of  reproducing  them,  and  above  all,  upon  what 
Rodin's  style  of  sculpture  is  founded,  and  requires  more  space  than 
can  be  given  to  these  articles. 

If  "  The  Age  of  Brass "  is  the  sculptor  himself  concealed  in  the 
figure  of  a  young  warrior  waking  from  the  half-sleep  of  unknown 
strength,  in  "  The  St.  John  "  he  is  fully  manifest  as  the  matured 
chieftain  heralding  the  coming  of  a  new  and  reviving  force  in  art. 
But  from  a  truer  point-of-view  the  latter  has  as  little  to  do  with  any 
biblical  purpose  as  the  former  with  an  historical  period.  Both,  are, 
purely  and  simply,  pieces  of  sculpture. 

As  "  The  Broken  Nose  "  was  readily  taken  as  a  reminder  of  the 
antique,  so  the  "  Torso,"  of  the  first  sketch  of  "  The  St.  John," 
would  be  accepted  as  a  veritable  specimen.  To  all  intents  and  pur- 
poses it  is,  for  it  represents,  so  far  as  it  goes,  just  as  tine  a  note.  It 
is  really  the  half-way  point  towards  the  antique.  The  female  figure 
entitled  "  Fragment,"  the  "  Back  View  of  a  Study  of  Ugolino,"  and 
the  "  Torso,"  are  good  specimens  of  a  style  of  modelling  invariably 
characteristic  of  certain  moods  of  the  sculptor,  and  what  he  regards 
as  realistic  sculpture. 

"  The  Men  of  Calais,"  a  sacrificial  procession  of  coporeal  appari- 
tions, people  the  private  studio  of  the  sculptor,  on  the  Boulevard  de 
Vaugirard.  They  are  still  in  plaster,  a  little  over  life-size,  and  not 
quite  completed.  The  committee  having  this  monument  in  charge 
desired  only  one  statue,  that  of  Eustache  de  St.  Pierre,  the  principal 
personage  in  the  memorable  history  of  the  siege  of  Calais,  but  the 
subject  was  too  complete  and  inseparable  in  interest  to  be  divided, 
and  the  sculptor,  nobly  appreciative  of  this  dramatic  whole,  chose  to 
make  the  elligies  of  all  the  heroes,  for  the  price  he  was  to  receive 
for  one. 

And  here  they  stand,  six  in  all,  clothed  in  long  shirts,  each  with  a 
rope  around  his  neck,  as  ready  to  march  into  sculptured  fame,  as 
they  were  five  centuries  ago  into  the  presence  of  a  conquering  king, 
and  thence  to  the  gibbet.  The  inhabitants  of  that  town,  reduced 
by  famine  to  capitulate  after  eleven  months  of  courageous  defence, 
were  summoned  to  deliver  up  to  Edward  III  of  England,  six  persons 
from  among  them  upon  whom  he  could  satiate  his  vengeance.  At 
this  news  the  people  broke  out  into  wailing.  "  But  then  there  up- 
rose the  richest  citizen  of  the  town,  whom  they  called  Mister  Eus- 
tache de  Saint  Pierre,  and  he  spoke  thus  before  them  :  '  Great  pity 
and  great  misfortune  would  it  be  to  see  such  a  people  as  this  perish. 
I  have  so  great  a  hope  of  having  grace  and  pardon  from  our  Lord 
if  I  die  to  save  this  people,  that  I  wish  to  be  the  first,  and  I  will 
place  myself  willingly  at  the  mercy  of  the  King  of  England.'  When 
he  had  said  these  words  the  crowd  was  moved,  men  and  women 
throwing  themselves  down  at  his  feet,  weeping.  Then  another 
citizen,  who  had  two  daughters,  and  was  called  Jean  d'A'ire,  arose, 
and  said  he  would  accompany  his  friend  Mister  Eustache.  This 
noble  example  was  followed  by  two  brothers,  named  Wissant;  lastly, 
two  other  citizens,  whose  names,  some  say  have  not  been  preserved. 
The  whole  six,  with  ropes  around  their  necks,  and  bearing  the  keys 
of  the  town,  were  conducted  by  the  governor,  John  de  Vienne,  to 
the  English  camp.  Edward,  on  seeing  them,  called  for  the  execu- 
tioner ;  but  the  Queen  and  his  son  interceded  for  them  and  obtained 
their  pardon."  Each  figure,  according  to  its  temperament,  expresses 
a  different  emotion.  One  goes  in  humble  submission,  another 
in  repressing  rage,  while  St.  Pierre,  the  most  heroic  of  all,  grasps 
with  trembling  desperation  the  ribbon  upon  which  are  strung  the 
keys  of  Calais'  gates,  raises  his  head  in  contemptuous  defiance,  and 
stretches  up  like  a  proud  saint,  fit  to  face  all  the  conquerors.  None 
of  these  statues  are  god-like,  but  are  intensely,  and  almost  brutally 
human.  Great,  all  the  same,  because  they  are  men  of  their  day,  of 
to-day,  and  will  be  forever.  Nor  do  they  seem  to  feel  for  themselves 
as  individuals,  they  go  as  a  self-sacrificing  answer  against  human 
cruelty,  crying  out  like  giants. 

As  statues  they  have  the  air  and  presence  of  Colossi.      It  is  the 


same  with  many  of  the  figures  on  the  door,  in  a  sense  overriding  the 
prevailing  impression  of  numerical  surrounding,  or  even  of  general 
composite  purpose,  and  forcing  the  observer  to  regard  them  as 
Olympian  beings,  around  which  the  tragedy  of  death  and  hell  goes 
on  as  a  momentary  farce. 

RODIN'S  BUSTS. 

Since  Rodin's  return  to  Paris — 1877  —  he  has  made  busts  of  some 
of  the  most  distinguished  men  in  French  literature,  art,  and  public  life. 
Beginning  in  1881,  with  that  of  Jean  Paul  Laurens,  and  following 
with  Legros,  Hugo,  Dalou,  the  sculptor,  Antonin  Proust,  Rochefort 
and  Henri  Becque,  and  also  those  of  Mesdames  Roll  and  Morla. 

The  Laurens  bust  appears  like  an  early  tribal  patriarch  pushed 
out  of  oblivion  by  some  resurrecting  power,  bearing  upon  his 
venerable  form  the  dust  and  mold  of  forgotten  ages. 

Legros,  a  fiery  sensibility  harassed  by  antagonistic  surround- 
ings, his  lineaments  preserved  in  saving  metal  by  an  almost  painful 
sympathy. 

Hugo  is  an  old  god  put  together  with  the  eagerness  of  a  Titan,  and 
fit  to  mark  an  epoch. 

Dalou  represents  a  class,  the  legend  of  which,  is,  "  He  faced 
sorrow  and  walked  in  loneliness."  A  bust,  sent  into  posterity  with  a 
grip  and  fibre  as  determined  as  that  of  a  conventual  anchorite  who 
preaches  by  his  own  life  the  abnegation  of  every  human  joy. 

Of  no  bust  that  Rodin  has  made  would  there  be  as  much  curiosity 
to  know  what  he  could  get  out  of  it,  as  that  of  Rochefort.  A  cold- 
eyed,  turbulent,  civic  cynic ;  a  fiery  "  sagittary,  whose  shafts  are 
already  regathered  into  the  store-house  of  yesterday."  But  the 
"  bullets  that  the  sculptor  put  on  before,  and  took  off  after  dinner," 
were  the  innocent  outward  semblances  of  a  dissection,  of  which 
Rochefort  had  no  conception,  and  which  have  translated  him  into  a 
force  in  art  and  a  permanent  subject  of  history. 

The  marble  bust  of  Madame  Morla  was  exhibited  in  the  Salon  of 
1888.  Of  over  fifty  newspapers  notices,  all  regarded  it,  with  four 
exceptions,  as  the  best  piece  of  sculpture  there,  and  in  nearly  half  of 
them,  its  author  was  referred  to  as  the  greatest  sculptor  of  his  time. 

Leon  Flee,  in  his  report  of  the  busts  of  the  Salon,  wrote  as 
follows  :  "  .  .  .  they  are  beautiful,  and  yet  we  know  of  a  very  simple 
one,  that  is  still  more  beautiful,  it  is  the  bust  of  a  woman,  by  that 
great  artist  who  is  known  as  Rodin. 

"  We  have  never  seen,  even  in  the  works  of  the  Renaissance,  such 
youthful  lines  or  an  equal  suavity  of  contours.  Those  half-closed 
eyelids,  the  sweetly  raised  head,  the  young  woman  by  Rodin  seems 
to  wake  from  some  dream,  some  mysterious  vision. 
•  "  Her  adorably  modelled  bosom  pushes  back  the  gown  of  fur  that 
oppresses  it.  Strange  creature !  one  would  say  that  she  was 
escaping  from  her  marble  covering  like  a  flower  from  its  verdant 
envelope,  as  fresh,  as  pure,  as  virginal.  It  is  the  master-piece  of 
Rodin,  and  perhaps  the  master-piece  of  the  Salon." 

This  bust  was  the  first  work  purchased  by  the  State,  at  the  Salon, 
for  the  Luxembourg  gallery,  for  the  sum  of  eight  hundred  dollars. 
Exquisitely  charming  as  it  is,  the  sculptor  does  not  regard  it  as  a 
fully  satisfactory  reproduction  of  his  model,  because  it  bears  too 
much  the  impress  of  the  character  of  the  superior  marble  cutter  that 
executed  it.  Rodin  understands  the  fine  fact,  that  just  in  proportion 
that  a  marble  workman  excels  in  his  trade  does  he  unconsciously 
give  his  work  his  own  interpretation  of  the  model  which  he  copies. 
And  this,  in  spite  of  the  most  exacting  means  of  mechanical  measure- 
ment that  he  may  employ.  With  a  sensitive  sculptor  this  is  precisely 
what  is  not  wanted,  and  the  only  way  that  he-  can  insure  the  exact  re- 
production of  his  model  in  marble  is  to  do  the  work  himself.  But  this 
method  is  practically  impossible,  because  he  cannot  afford  to  do  it 
for  the  prices  he  receives.  To  escape  this  unfortunate  condition  of 
things,  Rodin,  like  all  good  sculptors,  prefers  bronze  reproductions 
of  his  models,  and  by  the  wax  process.  In  this  way  his  work  is  not 
changed  by  any  intermediate  hand  in  its  transformation  from  one 
material  to  another.  The  color  of  bronze  is  also  a  matter  to  which 
the  sculptor  gives  the  most  tasteful  attention.  When  possible,  he 
casts  his  models  in  silver. 

The  unfinished  condition  of  the  bases  of  the  Laurens  and  Morla 
busts,  have  been  the  subject  of  considerable  critical  comment,  though 
one  or  two  writers  have  suggested  that  none  knew,  so  well  as  Rodin, 
how  to  make  a  crude  and  unfinished  piece  of  marble  appear  like  a 
work  of  art.  Nor  does  any  one  know  better  than  he  that  certain 
heads,  when  made  into  sculpture,  cannot  be  treated  as  isolated 
divisions  of  the  human  body  but  must  have,  as  a  necessity  of  their 
proper  expression,  some  accompanying  intimacy  of  form,  some 
warmth  of  accessory.  In  his  treatment  of  these  busts  the  sculptor 
has  shown  how  well  he  understands  this  rarely  demonstrated  princi- 
ple in  the  art  of  making  busts,  and  of  the  individual  requirements  of 
his  subjects.  All  is  in  harmony. 

Another  characteristic  of  the  sculptor,  is  that  of  often  stopping 
work  on  a  figure  the  moment  he  has  found,  by  general  movement, 
the  fundamental  object  he  was  seeking,  and  leaving  the  head,  hands, 
and  feet  unfinished.  And  he  gets  so  much  life  into  this  movement 
that  the  most  fastidious  art-lovers  are  glad  to  possess'such  unfinished 
work  in  bronze  or  marble.  Rodin  seems  to  exult  in  reiterating,  in 
this  way,  the  facts  of  primitive  sculpture. 

Physiognomical  details  are  also  often  neglected  by  him,  the  pose  of 
the  head  telling  the  whole  story.  He  seeks  the  great  germinal 
principles  first,  illustrating  the  old  saying  that  the  slightest  touch  of 
a  master  produces  art. 


MAY  25,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect,   and  Building  News. 


251 


In  his  busts  Rodin  makes  men  greater  than  they  are,  he  hides 
himself  in  their  personality.  They  have  the  authority  of  types,  and 
thus  become  the  property  of  mankind.  T.  H.  BARTLETT. 

(To  be  continued.) 


[The  editors  cannot  pay  attention  to  demands  of  correspondents  who 
forget  to  give  their  names  and  addresses  as  guaranty  of  good  faith ; 
nor  do  they  hold  themselves  responsible  for  opinions  expressed  by 
their  correspondents.] 

LICENSING  ARCHITECTS  IN  TEXAS. 

DALLAS,  TEXAS,  MAY  16,  1889. 
To  THE  EDITORS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT  :  — 

Dear  Sirs,  —  The  leading  article  in  the  American  Architect  anil 
Building  News  in  the  issue  of  the  4th  of  May,  in  reference  to  the 
Bill  to  regulate  the  Practice  of  Architecture  in  the  State  of  Texas,  was 
apparently  written  without  properly  studying  the  subject.  You  say : 
"  It  has  been  suggested  in  other  States  that  persons  practising  with- 
out a  certificate  should  be  denied  the  assistance  of  the  courts  in  col- 
lecting payment  for  their  services.  If  any  such  rule  has  been  adopted 
in  Texas,'  it  will  be  best  for  architects  from  outside,  however  well 
qualified,  to  be  cautious  in  accepting  commissions  for  which  they 
may  never  be  able  to  collect  their  pay,"  etc. 

No  such  suggestions  as  the  above  have  ever  been  made  in  the  bill, 
and  you  cast  a  slur  and  make  a  strong  and  deep  cut  at  the  rules  and 
regulations  of  the  Association  of  Architects,  unwittingly,  perhaps, 
but  certainly  in  an  injudicious  and  unkind  manner.  If  other  State 
Associations  have  erred  in  putting  a  premium  upon  dishonesty  on 
the  part  of  proprietors  or  clients,  Texas  has  not  recourse  to  such 
measures,  and  offers  no  hindrances  at  all  to  competing  architects 
from  other  States ;  in  fact,  it  entitles  them  to  the  highest  considera- 
tions at  the  hands  of  the  Association  and  building  public. 

The  bill,  as  formulated,  was  favorably  received  by  the  Committee, 
unanimously  recommended  and  introduced  in  the  House,  but,  owing 
to  pressure  of  business,  was  never  called.  Hence  the  architects  of 
the  State  have  not  the  law  and  protection  you  credit  them  with. 

Enclosed  please  find  the  full  text  of  the  bill  as  presented  to  the 
Legislature  of  the  State  of  Texas,  and  make  such  corrections  in 
your  next  issue  as  may  put  the  Texas  State  Association  of  Archi- 
tects in  the  proper  light.  Yours  truly, 

GEORGE  W.  STEWART,  M.  T.  S.  A.  A. 

[WE  are  only  too  happy  to  set  this  matter  right,  and  to  express  our  satis- 
faction with  the  draft  of  the  bill,  which  bears  marks  of  the  considerateness 
and  common-sense  which  the  Texas  State  Association  of  Architects  has 
previously  shown  in  regard  to  other  matters.  The  only  regret  we  have  is 
that  the  authentic  information  now  furnished  us  was  not  sent  us  before, 
instead  of  after,  we  found  in  the  daily  papers  the  paragraph  on  which  our 
comments  were  based.  Mr.  Stewart  does  not,  perhaps,  reflect  that  after  a 
statement,  not  obviously  absurd,  has  been  disseminated  all  over  the  world 
by  the  Associated  Press,  it  is  too  late  to  spend  time  in  "  properly  studying  " 
it,  and  we  must  usually  make  our  remarks  upon  it  when  it  comes  to  us,  and 
as  it  comes  to  us,  or  expose  ourselves  to  the  reproach  of  publishing  only  the 
most  antiquated  news.  As  to  the  denial  of  the  assistance  of  the  courts  in 
collecting  bills  for  the  services  of  unlicensed  architects,  we  cannot  find  that 
we  made  any  assertion  whatever  about  the  Texas  bill,  in  regard  to  which 
we  did  not  pretend  to  have  any  information,  but  contented  ourselves  with 
mentioning  what  had  been  proposed  in  other  States,  with  a  suggestion  that 
it  would  be  well  for  architects  who  intended  to  practice  in  States  in  which 
they  were  subject  to  a  special  statute  to  lind  out  what  that  statute  was 
before  they  incurred  any  risk  of  loss  from  its  operation.  Under  the  bill  as 
proposed,  which  will,  we  should  judge,  be  enacted  at  the  next  session  of 
the  legislature,  foreign  architects  who  practice  within  the  State  without  a 
license,  unless  they  visit  the  State  for  the  purpose  of  engaging  in  compe- 
tition, are  liable  to  a  fine  of  not  less  than  one  hundred  or  more  than  five 
hundred  dollars.  Even  this  information  will  be  interesting  to  a  good  many 
of  our  readers,  and,  while  we  repeat  that  the  Texas  Association  seems  to 
have  drawn  up  its  measure  with  the  utmost  moderation  and  regard  for  pro- 
fessional courtesy  towards  their  brethren  outside  the  State,  we  should  have 
been  glad  if  they  had  realized  how  highly  their  brethren  would  have  appre- 
ciated the  early  and  exact  information  on  the  subject  which  they  alone 
could  give.—  EDS.  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT.] 


A    BILL    TO    BE    ENTITLED    AN    ACT    TO    REGULATE    THE    PRACTICE 
OF    ARCHITECTURE. 

SECTION  1.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Texas :  That  here- 
after no  person  shall  pursue  the  business  or  profession  of  architecture  in  this 
State  except  in  accordance  with  the  rules  and  regulations  herein  prescribed. 

SEC.  2.  Within  thirty  days  after  this  act  takes  effect,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of 
the  Governor  to  appoint  and  commission  a  Board  of  Architects,  to  consist  of  three 
professional  architects,  each  of  whom  shall  be  a  citizen  of  the  State  and  shall 
have  practised  the  profession  of  architecture  for  at  least  the  period  of  seven 
years.  The  members  of  said  Board  shall  hold  their  offices  for  the  terra  of  two 
years^  and  until  their  successors  are  appointed  and  qualified  ;  but  no  member  of 
said  Board  shall  receive  any  compensation  for  his  services,  nor  shall  the  expenses 
of  said  Board  become  a  charge  against  the  State.  After  the  first  appointments  of 
said  Board,  all  subsequent  appointments  shall  be  made  only  from  licensed  archi- 
tects within  this  State. 

SEC.  3.  Said  Board  shall  be  styled  the  "  Board  of  Architects  of  the  State  of 
Texas."  They  shall  keep  a  record  of  all  their  proceedings  and  such  records  are 
hereby  declared  to  be  public  records.  The  presiding  officer  of  the  Board  shall  be 
ex-officio  the  custodian  of  such  records  ;  and  copies  of  such  records  certified  by 
the  presiding  officer  of  the  Board  and  attested  with  the  seal  of  the  Board  shall 
be  admissible  in  evidence  in  all  of  the  courts  of  this  State,  and  in  all  cases,  civil 
and  criminal,  without  further  authentication.  The  seal  of  the  Board  shall  con- 
sist of  a  Texas  star  with  the  words  "Board  of  Architects"  around  the  margin. 


SEC.  4.  Within  thirty  days  after  their  appointment,  the  members  of  said 
Board  shall  meet  at  the  Capitol  and  organize  by  a  selection  of  one  of  their 
number  as  presiding  officer,  and  they  may  appoint  one  of  their  number  to  act  as 
Secretary  of  the  Board.  When  organized,  the  Board  shall  have  the  power  to 
administer  oaths  and  to  take  testimony  upon  all  matters  properly  within  their 
cognizance.  Said  Board  shall  meet  regularly  at  the  Capitol  of  the  State  once  in 
every  six  months,  at  such  times  as  may  be  designated  in  the  minutes  of  the 
Board,  and  at  such  other  times  and  places  as  the  presiding  officer  may  designate, 
who  is  hereby  vested  with  authority  to  call  special  meetings  of  the  Board  for  the 
transaction  of  any  business  properly  within  their  cognizance.  Notice  of  all 
special  meetings  of  the  Board  shall  be  given  by  publication  in  some  newspaper 
published  in  the  city  of  Austin  for  five  consecutive  days  before  such  meeting, 
and  in  case  it  is  known  to  the  presiding  officer  that  other  persons  may  have  an 
interest  in  such  meeting,  he  shall  also  notify  such  persons  by  due  course  of  mail. 

SEC.  5.  No  person  shall  practise  the  profession  or  pursue  the  business  of  an 
architect  without  a  license  from  the  Board  of  Architects.  Any  person  desiring 
to  pursue  such  occupation  shall  apply  to  said  Board  for  license,  and  thereupon 
the  Board,  at  pome  regular  or  special  meeting,  shall  proceed  to  examine  the 
applicant  as  to  his  qualifications,  and  with  special  reference  to  the  proper  con- 
struction of  buildings,  the  strength  of  materials,  the  laws  of  sanitation  as 
applied  to  buildings,  and  the  ability  of  the  applicant  to  make  practical  applica- 
tion of  such  knowledge  in  the  ordinary  professional  work  of  the  architect.  -If 
such  examination  is  satisfactory  to  a  majority  of  the  Board,  a  license  shall  issue 
to  the  applicant,  under  the  seal  of  the  Board,  authorizing  him  to  practise  the 
profession  of  architecture  within  the  limits  of  this  State.  All  members  of  the 
Texas  State  Association  of  Architects  shall  be  entitled  to  license  without  ex- 
amination. 

SEC.  ti.  All  licenses  shall  be  subject  to  revocation  by  the  Board  of  Architects, 
for  gross  ignorance,  negligence,  recklessness  or  dishonest  practices  ;  but  before 
any  license  shall  be  revoked  the  holder  thereof  shall  be  entitled  to  at  least  ten 
days  notice  of  the  time  and  place  for  the  hearing  of  the  accusation  against  him, 
and  shall  be  informed  of  the  nature  of  such  accusation.  He  shall  also  be  entitled 
to  process  for  his  witnesses,  and  to  be  heard  by  himself  or  his  counsel,  or  both  in 
open,  public  trial.  And  no  license  shall  be  revoked  except  by  the  unanimous 
vote  of  all  the  members  of  the  Board. 

SEC.  7.  If  any  person  shall  pursue  the  business  or  occupation  of  an  architect 
in  this  State,  without  first  obtaining  a  license  therefor,  in  accordance  with  the 
provisions  of  this  act,  he  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  upon  con- 
viction shall  be  fined  not  less  than  one  hundred  nor  more  than  live  hundred 
dollars.  But  nothing  herein  contained  shall  be  construed  to  prevent  any  person 
in  this  State  from  planning  or  supervising  the  erection  of  his  own  building ; 
nor  shall  the  provisions  of  this  act  apply  to  architects  from  other  States  who 
may  desire  to  compete  for  some  special  building,  public  or  private,  and  who  may 
visit  the  State  in  person  for  such  special  purpose ;  nor  shall  it  apply  to 
students  or  employes  of  licensed  architects  within  this  State,  acting  for  and  by 
authority  of  such  licensed  architects. 

SEC.  8.  The  fee  for  each  license  shall  be  ten  dollars,  which  shall  be  paid  to 
the  Board  of  Architects  upon  delivery  of  the  license,  and  the  fund  thus  accrued 
may  be  expended  by  the  Board  for  the  payment  of  their  travelling  and  other  ex- 
penses. An  itemized  account  shall  be  kept  of  such  receipts  and  expenditures, 
which  shall  be  resorted  to  the  Governor  thirty  days  before  the  regular  meeting 
of  each  legislature. 


THE   IOWA   SOLDIERS'   MONUMENT. 

NEW  YORK,  May  8,  1889. 
To  THE  EDITORS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT:  — 

Dear  Sir,?,  —  Would  you  kindly  inform  me  if  it  has  yet  been 
decided  which  of  the  Iowa  Soldiers'  Monuments  deserve  the  prizes. 
If  a  decision  has  been  made,  it  would  be  of  interest  to  the  public,  as 
well  as  to  the  profession,  if  you  could  give  an  illustration  of  the  suc- 
cessful design.  Respectfully, 

FREDERICK  H.  STEWART. 
[WE  refer  this  question  to  our  readers.  —  EDS.  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT.] 


PAPER  FOR  BUILDING.  —  In  1864  a  hot-headed  French  inventor 
offered  to  contract  for  churches  and  cathedrals,  including  a  peal  of 
bells,  says  The  Paper  Makers'  Circular,  to  be  constructed  entirely  of 
paper.  From  chimes  to  cannons  was  but  one  step,  and  the  Gallic  in- 
ventor announced  Irs  readiness  to  supply  a  train  of  artillery  of  any 
given  calibre,  made  of  the  same  material.  Building-paper  is  enjoying 
a  perfect  boom  just  now,  and  is  proving  a  fine  material  in  the  hands  of 
architects  and  builders  for  several  uses,  inside  and  out.  The  advan- 
tages, briefly  stated,  are  :  Continuity  of  surface,  or  its  adaptability  for 
making  into  rolls  of  almost  any  width  and  length,  and  flexibility  •  or 
by  glueing  several  layers  together  it  may  be  made  stiff,  and  will  stop 
the  passage  of  air  because  of  the  absence  of  joints.  Unlike  wood  it 
has  no  grain,  and  will  not  split.  It  is  unaffected  by  change  of  tempera- 
ture, and  thus  has  an  advantage  over  sheet-metal  for  roofing  materials. 
In  the  fourth  place,  though  in  its  natural  condition  it  is  affected  by 
moisture,  it  can  be  rendered  waterproof  by  saturating  with  asplialte  or 
by  various  other  methods.  Fifth,  being  a  non-resonant  body,  it  is  well 
fitted  to  prevent  the  passage  of  sound.  Finally,  it  is  a  non-conductor 
of  heat,  and  can  also  be  made  of  incombustible  material  like  asbestos  or 
rendered  resistant  to  fire  by  chemical  treatment. 

DOMESTIC  ELECTRIC  HEATING.  — One  of  the  electrical  projects  in  the 
air  at  the  present  time,  says  the  New  York  Electrical  Rotor,  is  the  pro- 
blem of  heating  dwelling-houses  electrically,  without  the  use  of  any 
very  hot  substance.  It  is  claimed  that  wall-paper  can  be  made  in  such 
a  way  that  the  passage  of  currents  of  low  electro-motive  force  will  heat 
it  moderately  warm  to  the  touch,  and  thus  diffuse  throughout  the  room 
an  agreeable  temperature.  This  is,  of  course,  theoretically  possible 
and  may  even  become  feasible  in  a  more  improved  state  of  the  art.  A 
source  of  warmth  coming  from  the  entire  surface  of  a  room  would 
certainly  be  the  perfection  of  house-heating  and  would  do  much  to 
make  this  so-called  temperate  zone  of  blizzard's  sea  blows  endurable. 
Why  may  not  the  artificial  illumination  of  the  future  be  of  the  same 
nature  ?  Kecent  developments  arc  tending  towards  the  possibility  of 
infinite  subdivision.  The  charm  of  a  room  illuminated  with  myriads 
of  candles  is  one  never  to  be  forgotten,  though  it  is  one  which  few  of 
the  present  generation  have  seen.  We  predict  that  the  ultimate  use 
of  the  glow-lamp  for  domestic  purposes  will  be  to  diminish  its  size  and 
increase  its  number. 


252 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.     [VOL.  XXIV.  —  No.  700.. 


INDIA-RUBBER  PAVEMENT.  —  "I  notice  in  the  columns   of  several 
foreign  engineering  journals,"  said  a  Des  Moines  contractor  to  the 
editor  of  the  Iowa  State  Register,  "  that  for  paving  streets  India-rubber 
threatens  to  enter  into  competition  with  asphalt.      This  new  pavement 
is  the  invention  of  a  Mr.  Busse,  of  Leyden,  Prussia,  who  has  introduced 
it  in  Hanover.     He  used  it  first  in  the  summer  of  1887  for  paving  the 
Goethe  bridge,  which  has  a  surface  of  10,764  square  feet.     The  new 
pavement   proved    so   satisfactory   that    about   17,000  square   feet   of 
ordinary  carriage-way  .was  paved  with  it  last  summer.     The  Berlin  cor-  i 
poration,  being  favorably  impressed  with  the  new  pavement,  has  had  a  | 
large  area  paved  with  it  as  an  experiment.     Perhaps  this  is  the  solution  i 
of  necessity  for  a  noiseless  pavement  to  be  used  in  the  vicinity  of  court-  ! 
houses,  churches,  schools  and  libraries,  where  the  car  rolling  over  the 
stony  street  is  an  insupportable  nuisance." 


SODA  LOCOMOTIVES.  —  Four  locomotives  to  be  run  by  soda,  which 
takes  the  place  of  fire  under  the  boiler,  have  been  built  in  Philadelphia. 
They  are  for  service  on  the  streets  of  Minneapolis,  Minn.,  where  steam 
engines  are  forbidden.  The  engine  is  about  sixteen  feet  long,  entirely 
boxed  in,  with  no  visible  smoke-stack  or  pipes,  as  there  is  no  exhaust 
or  refuse.  The  boiler  is  of  copper,  eighty-four  and  one-half  inches  in 
diameter  and  fifteen  feet  long,  having  tubes  running  through  it  as 
in  steam  boilers.  Inside  the  boiler  will  be  placed  five  tons  of  soda, 
which,  upon  being  dampened  by  a  jet  of  steam,  produces  an  intense 
heat.  In  about  six  hours  the  soda  is  thoroughly  saturated,  when  the 
action  ceases.  A  stream  of  superheated  steam  from  a  stationary  boiler 
is  then  forced  through  the  soda,  which  drives  out  the  moisture,  and  the 
soda  is  ready  for  use  again.  The  exhaust  steam  from  the  cylinders  is 
used  to  saturate  the  soda,  and  by  this  means  all  refuse  is  used.  These 
engines  are  the  first  of  their  kind  that  have  been  built  in  this  country. 
They  will  have  the  same  power  as  those  used  on  the  New  York  elevated 
roads.  Soda  engines  are  used  in  Berlin  and  other  European  cities  very 
successfully,  and  they  also  traverse  the  St.  Gothard  tunnel,  under  the 
Alps  where  the  s:eam  engines  cannot  be  used,  because  the  tunnel  can- 
not be  ventilated  so  as  to  carry  off  the  noxious  gases  generated  by  a 
locomotive.  — Railicay  Age. 


THE  DEATH  ROLL  OF  THE  FOKTH  BRIDGE. — A  writer  in  the  Pall 
Mall  Gazette  says  that,  including  five  drowning  cases,  the  fatal  accidents 
from  all  causes  in  connection  with  the  Forth  Bridge  amount  to  53.  As 
regards  those  killed  in  the  actual  construction  of  the  bridge,  there  have 
been  44  lives  lost,  death  taking  place  either  at  the  time  of  the  accident 
or  soon  after.  The  total  number  of  accidents  which  had  occurred  up 
to  September,  1888  — mostly  in  the  four  years  beginning  with 
September,  1884  —  was  543,  of  which  the  greater  part,  of  course,  were 
of  the  description  ranging  from  "  serious  "  to  "  slight."  Of  these  543 
cases,  84  were  treated  in  hospital,  and  450  at  the  homes  of  the  injured 
persons.  The  following  hairbreadth  escapes  are  recorded  :  One  man 
trusted  himself  to  work  at  a  height  of  120  feet  over  the  waters  of  the 
Firth,  simply  grasping  a  rope.  His  hands  got  numbed  with  cold,  his 
grasp  relaxed,  he  fell  backwards  clown,  and  down,  into  the  water;  and 
he  was  fished  up  alive.  In  another  instance  a  spanner  fell  a  distance 
of  300  feet,  knocked  off  a  man's  cap  and  fell  on  the  wooden  stage  at  his 
feet,  and  went  clean  through  a  four-inch  plank.  In  another  ease  some- 
what similar,  a  spanner  which  fell  from  a  great  height  actually  tore  a 
man's  clothes  from  his  waistcoat  to  his  ankle,  and  left  him  uninjured. 
One  of  the  most  thrilling  incidents  I  heard  of  was  that  in  which  the 
"staging,"  or  scaffolding  on  which  the  men  work  high  up  in  mid- 
air, gave  way,  carrying  a  number  of  poor  fellows  in  its  fall.  Two  of 
these  men,  striking  some  portion  of  the  work  in  their  descent,  were 
killed  before  they  reached  the  water  ;  one  or  two  others  who  fell  clear 
of  the  girders  were  rescued  from  the  Firth  little  the  worse  for  their  fall 
and  immersion.  Two  others,  however,  managed  as  they  fell  to  grasp 
at  one  of  the  struts  high  up  above  the  water,  and  there  they  clung  for 
dear  life.  To  effect  their  rescue  was  itself  an  undertaking  of  no  slight 
danger.  But  efforts  were  promptly  made,  and  before  long  the  man  who 
happened  to  be  nearest  the  rescuer  was  reached.  And  this  brave  fellow, 
hanging  there  to  the  ironwork,  actually  persuaded  the  rescuers  to  delay 
taking  him  off  before  they  saved  his  companion  !  "  Never  mind  me !  " 
he  said,  "I  can  hold  a  bit  longer;  go  and  see  to  my  mate,  for  he's 
getting  dazed,  and  he'll  drop!  "  I  am  glad  to  say  that  this  hero  and 
his  mate,  too,  were  saved. 


rv<  THE  strongest  feature  in  the  business  situation  to-day  is  the  springing  up 
of  a  great  number  of  little  industries.  At  no  time  in  the  history  of  the 
country  has  there  been  so  many  new  concerns  started  up.  A  broad  founda- 
tion is  being  laid  for  an  immense  business.  Building  activity  was  never 
greater.  Lumber  dealers  nnd  architects  say  that  more  material  is  going 
into  house  and  ship  and  mill  building  this  year  than  ever  in  the  history  of 
the  country.  With  some  trifling  exceptions  this  is  also  true  of  the  iron  and 
steel  trades.  Disregarding  the  declining  demand  for  railway  material  for  a 
few  months,  the  iron  and  steel  makers  have  had  a  better  demand  for  their 
products  tlmn  during  the  first  four  or  five  months  of  1888.  At  the  present 
time  all  the  pipe-mills  and  sheet-mills  are  orowd»d  with  work.  The  plate 
and  structural  mills  have  nearlv  nil  they  enn  do.  The  Western  wire  and 
steel  nail  manufacturers  are  very  busy.  The  hlooinaries  throughout  the 
country  have  a  good  stock  nf  work  on  hand.  Throughout  the  East  the  bar- 
mills  are  running  half-time,  but  in  the  West  they  are  doine  better.  The 
Southern  blast-fnrnnoes  are  sold  from  two  to  four  months  ahead,  and  even 
in  Pennsylvania  tlie  output  has  decreased  very  little  during  the  past  few 
months.  These  sentiments  do  not  harmonize  with  ordinarv  reports  in 
trade  journals  The  iron  and  steel  maker-'  are  firm  believers  in  the  theorv 
that  the  summer  and  fall  trade  will  be  of  booming  proportion*.  Rnilrond 
nrojectors  and  promoters  are  waiting  till  some  few  things  can  be  dune  whieli 
will  strengthen  "confidence.  Land  speculators  are  giving  it  out  that  during 
the  next  twelve  months  an  unusual  amount  of  new  railroad  construction 


will  be  built  in  new  localities.  Capitalists  interested  in  Southern  railroad- 
building  activity  are  confident  that  double  the  amount  of  railroad-building 
will  be  done  in  the  States  south  of  the  Atlantic  and  New  Mexico  during  the 
next  twelve  months  than  was  done  during  the  past  twelve.  The  little 
manufacturers  employing  from  50  to  300  hands  throughout  the  North  have 
been  very  careful  all  along  to  not  buy  more  material  than  they  thought  they 
actually  needed,  but  within  the  past  two  weeks  fresh  activity  has  been 
apparent  in  many  lines.  The  boot  and  shoe  makers  have  been  very  prudent 
buyers  of  leather,  but  it  is  said  that  they  are  now  purchasin"  larger  stocks 
preparatory  to  an  active  fall  trade.  The  paper-makers  who  have  been  a 
little  apprehensive  of  a  break  in  prices  seem  now  to  be  satisfied  that  the  out- 
put will  not  be  more  than  the  market  will  absorb.  The  manufacturers  of 
staple  hardware  are  holding  their  trade  combinations  together,  and  are 
realizing  better  prices  in  consequence.  The  manufacturers  of  textile  »oods 
are  paying  a  fair  dividend,  and  preparations  are  being  made  in  a  good 
many  centres  to  build  new  mills  and  enlarge  old  ones.  There  is  a  better 
feeling  among  woolen  manufacturers  and  textile,  machinery-makers  they 
say,  than  within  the  preceding  six  months.  In  a  general  way  the  manufac- 
turers of  textile  goods  both  North  and  South  are  extending  their  plants  and 
their  capacity,  and  are  making  preparations  for  a  heavier  production.  The 
tendency  in  prices  generally  is  downward.  Cost  of  production,  if  it  has  not 
reached  its  rock-bottom  basis,  is  not  very  far  from  it.  Manufacturers  and 
large  operators  are  anticipating  a  recurrence  of  the  active  demand  which 
has  so  often  taken  place  after  a  long  period  of  declining  prices.  The 
country  is  not  at  all  overstocked  either  with  crude  material  or  finished 
products. 

The  supplies  of  lumber  are  not  at  all  beyond  what  it  is  safe  to  have  in 
stock.  The  supplies  of  coal  at  shipping  point?  do  not  exceed  from  one  to 
two  weeks'  ordinary  market  requirements.  The  stocks  of  shop  and  mill 
products  are  of  very  restricted  proportions.  The  same  statements  come 
from  Western  warehouse  men  and  jobbers.  From  no  quarters  are  there 
complaints  emanating  of  an  over-supply  of  any  kind.  Manufacturers  are 
keeping  within  sight  of  the  market  demand.  Jobbers  are  refusing  to  carry 
larger  stocks  than  they  feel  that  they  c^n  succeed  in  distributing  in  sixty 
to  ninety  days.  Manufacturing  interests  generally  are  acting  in  a  credit- 
able manner,  contracting  only  for  actual  supplies  as  will  enable  them  to 
meet  their  customers'  wants.  Speculators  in  stocks  find  it  impossible,  so 
they  admit,  to  draw  the  outside  public  into  speculation.  There  are  numer- 
ous quantities  of  railroad,  securities  already  to  be  unloaded  as  soon  as  an 
upward  tendency  can  be  manipulated.  The  public  are  cautious,  —  even 
worse,  are  suspicious  — and  it  is  not  at  all  likely  that  the  schemes  of  stock 
speculators  will  be  realized  this  year;  namely,  that  of  dragging  the  public  into 
a  speculative  movement  in  the  various  lines  of  railway  securities  which  have 
been  so  carefully  bolstered  up  for  months  past.  The  great  business  inquiry 
everywhere  is  :  "Are  we  at  bed-rock  ?"  lu  many  senses  we  are,  but  there 
are  a  few  elements  of  doubt  to  be  eliminated  before  the  general  upward 
movement  that  has  been  so  often  predicted  will  set  in.  The  volume  of 
ship-building  work  is  now  larger  than  it  has  been  for  years.  The  bulk  of 
car-work  placed  last  spring  has  been  done.  More  rails  have  been  made 
and  sold  this  year  than  were  made  and  sold  at  this  time  last  year.  The 
locomotive  establishments  have  only  a  moderate  amount  of  work  on  hand. 
In  four  or  five  places  a  few  hundred  hands  were  discharged  last  week. 
Strikes  are  occurring  in  a  few  Western  coal  mines.  Over-excessive  reduc- 
tions and  compromises  are  probable.  A  heavy  demand  for  bituminous  and 
block  coal  has  set  in  throughout  all  coal  centres  west  of  the  Alleghanies. 
During  the  past  thirty  days  several  large  coal-mining  companies  have  been 
organized  :  two  or  three  to  develop  coal  deposits  in  Alabama  and  Tennessee, 
and  two  or  three  to  develop  coal  deposits  in  Southern  California,  two  in 
New  Mexico,  and  one  not  far  from  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  in  Mon- 
tana. However  the  industrial  prospects  may  be  regarded  by  financial 
writers  in  daily  papers,  the  managers  of  the  great  industries  have  the 
utmost  confidence  in  an  enlarging  demand  and  in  a  general  expansion  of 
activity.  The  Southern  cotton-mill  owners  are  stimulated  to  further  in- 
vestments. Capita  ists  in  Northern  States  are  lending  their  money  and 
encouragement  to  all  manner  of  new  industrial  enterprises,  in  which  cotton 
goods  manufacturing  gets  a  marked  preference.  Extensive  purchases  of 
ore  territory  have  been  made  within  a  few  weeks  past  in  Tennessee,  Vir- 
ginia, Alabama,  and  there  are  rumors  of  a  combination  of  iron-making 
industries  in  and  near  Birmingham  which  will  rival  the  recent  combination 
of  steel-makers  in  Illinois.  The  flow  of  Northern  and  foreign  capital  into  the 
South  and  Southwestern  sections  is  rather  increasing  than  declining.  Two 
years  ago  a  land-speculation  scheme  was  attempted,  and  there  are  signs  of 
its  return. 

In  some  localities  of  Louisiana,  Texas  and  Alabama  land  is  being  held  at 
speculative  figures.  As  a  rule  the  good  sense  of  investors  keeps  them  out 
of  danger,  but  there  is  still  some  undue  speculation  going  ou.  It  would 
assume  much  more  serious  proportions  than  it  has  or  is  likely  to,  but  for  the 
enormous  railroad  construction  which  has  opened  up  so  much  new  territory. 
Capital  finds  all  the  opportunities  that  it  desires.  Western  architects  have 
stated  within  the  past  two  weeks  that  their  anticipations  regarding  small 
house  and  shop  building  throughout  the  Western  States  have  not  been  over- 
drawn. Small  towns  are  gaining  at  the  expense  of  large  ones.  Among  the 
causes  for  this  activity  are  to  be  noticed  these  :  First,  the  industrial  boom 
throughout  the  South.  Second,  increased  mining  activity  in  the  far  West, 
and  third,  the  outflow  of  population  from  the  cities,  into  inviting  localities 
beyond  the  Mississippi,  fourth,  to  larger  and  more  easily  reached  markets 
for  agricultural  products,  and  fifth,  to  the  sense  of  security  felt  by  producing 
interests  all  through  the  West  that  railway  charges  will  be  hereafter  kept  in 
proper  bounds.  The  heretofore  exclusively  agricultural  character  of  the 
West  is  being  broken  up  by  an  infusion  of  the  industrial  spirit  and  hundreds 
of  little  markets  for  agricultural  products  are  springing  up.  Ten  years  ago 
farm  products  had  to  be  hauled  much  longer  distances  to  market  than  now. 
This  decentralization  of  industries  is  but  the  first  part  of  the  great  prosperity 
that  is  developing  this  and  other  regions  west  of  the  Mississippi  River.  This 
development  is  only  in  iU  infancy.  Activity  there  will  react  upon  the  terri- 
tory east  of  the  Mississippi  region  and  is  already  doing  so  with  decidedly 
practical  results.  Agricultural-implement  makers  are  crowded  with  work 
and  have  been  all  the  year  to  meet  the  demand  in  the  West  which  a  few 
years  ago  had  no  existence.  The  developments  of  the  lumber  interests  in 
Arkansas  are  running  a  good  deal  of  capital  to  that  State.  The  extent  of 
this  activity  in  far-off  States  has  not  been  fully  appreciated  by  the  con- 
trollers of  industries  and  of  finances  in  the  East.  'The  foundations  are  being 
i  laid  for  vast  markets  aud  interior  markets  will  be  developed  between 
i  Illinois  and  New  Mexico,  that  will  in  a  few  years  double  and  quadruple  the 
shop  productions  of  that  region.  This  tendency  is  visible  in  the  demand  for 
machinery  and  equipments  of  all  kinds.  Western  Kansas,  Arkansas, 
Colorado  and  other  States  of  the  West  are  chief  factors  in  it,  a  few  years 
ago  absorbing  only  trifling  quantities  of  machinery  and  farming  equipments, 
now  valuable  markets  for  innumerable  products. 

S.   J.    PARKHILL  &  Co.,  Printers,  Boston. 


MAT  25,  1889.] 


The  American  Architect  and  Building  Nems. 


ix 


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GA6OT'5  CREOjoTE:  5TAIN 


ARTHUf  HOOPER  DODO, 
Arc  fit. 


sgsss^fca 


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y£32E 


l.r«ft> 


'•Xts^r 


?mu<c 


^e  Very  c 
arh^Nc 


Very  easy  ffo 


are 


PRICES  are  4O,  6O  and  7B  cents  per  Gallon 

According  to  Color. 
SEND  for  Samples  on  Wood,  and  Circulars, 


,-KH 


tSAMV/EL-  CABOT  f 


TJie    American    Architect   and   Building   News.          [VoL.  XXV.  — No.  700. 


^^  Condensing  or 

COMPOUND  Non-Condensing. 
16  SIZES,    5  to  50O  H.  P. 

Hot  yet  ejsalei  by  any  torn  of  Engine  to 
HIGH  FUEL  DUTY  AND  SIMP  LI  CITY. 


JUNIOR 


STANDARD  s  »*  «•  M.  p. 

SOOO  in  use  In  all  pull  of  the  Civilized  World. 

S  Sizes  in  Stocki 

5  to  50   H.  P. 

An  Automatic  Engine  cheaper  than  a  Slide  Valve. 

WELL  BUILT.  ECONOMICAL.  RELIABLE. 

Over  300  Sold  the  First  Tear. 

All  the  above  built  strictly  to  Gauge  with 

INTERCHANGEABLE  PARTS. 

EIPAISS  CAESISE  IS  STOCS. 

SEND  FOR  ILLUSTRATED  CATALOGUES. 


SELLING   DEPARTMENT  IN  THE 
UNITED  STATES. 

17  Cortlandt  St.         > . 
Hathaway  Building, 
Westingliouse  Boild'g,  I 
156,  158  Uke  St.        J 

608  Chestnut  St.  M.R.  Hurtle,  Jr.  &  Co. 
30!,  301  Washington  AT.  1  KAaAs 

4  Co. 


I  Westingtouse, 

•  Church,  lerr 

4  Co. 


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Boston, 

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Pine  Bluffs,  Ark.  Ceo.  I.  Dj||(y  4  Soni 

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Butte,  Mont.       u  Cnnite  St.    (  Madmen  Co. 

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Portland,  Or.      33, 35  K.  Front  St.  forte  i  Uty  Mch.  Co. 

Charlotte,  N.  C.  36  College  St.    I  -  ... 

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Dallas,  Tex.  {eating  Imp.  &  Machine  Co. 

Chattanooga,  Tenn.,  C.  E.  James  &  Co.  < 


CHEAP  QUICK  LIFTING 

Portable  Hoist 


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THE  BEST  PREPABATIOS  FOR  HOUSEKEEPDIG  IS  A 

WIRE  GAUZE  DOOR 

A*  tuni  Erclusirely  in  the  Xnc  JTuft  Jtattge. 


PERFECT    COOKING 

la  the  moat  important  Item  In  the  domestic  economy. 

a  using  the  Wire  Gauze  Oven  Door  with  the  new 
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new  Hub  Range.  It  is  the  very  highest  grade  of  cook- 
ing apparatus  made,  and  when  quality  is  considered  is 
the  lowest  in  price  of  any  in  the  market.  Over  100,000 
Hnb  Ranges  in  use.  The  Hub  line  of  goods  are  world 
renowned,  and  are  sold  by  dealers  everywhere.  Spec- 
ial circulars  sent  on  application. 

SMITH  A  ANTHONY  STOVE  CO. 

Kamnfa  tunn  of  Ball  Steves.  Ranges  and  Fnrnaces. 
S2  A  54  Union  Street.  Boston,  MagR. 


COMPAGNIE  GENERALE  DES 
ASPHALTES  DE  FRANCE,  /, 

Solf  Proprietors  of  the  Minrg  of  Seyssel. 

E.H.WOOTTON,  35  Broadway,  N.Y. 

General  Agent  for  the  United 


FLOR  IDA 


OR  SOFT 

COAL.GOKE&GAS. 

CONVENIENCE 


ECONOMY. 


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THE  OLDEST  HOUSE  IN  THE  TRADE 

MANUFACTURERS 

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TROY.tS.V 
CHICAGO  »•  NEW  Y OR.K 
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Ventilator-Fans, 

ESPECIALLY    ADAPTED    FOB 

THE  VENTILATION  OF  PUBLIC  BUILDINGS, 

Theatres,  School-Houses, 
Banks,  Offices,  Paper 
Mills,  Factories,  Brew 
eries,  Malt  Houses, 
Mines,  Restaurants, 
Hotels,  Laundries,  En. 
gine  Rooms,  Wool  and 
Tobacco,  Drying,  etc. 

Send  for   Illustrated   Catalogue. 

HUYETT&  SMITH  MFC.  CO., 

TW™.  .,    n         M,..,, 


Asbestos  Flooring1  Felt. 

Patented  Aug.  20,  1872,  for 

FIREPROOFING. 


MAjrTTACTl'BKD    BY 

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MINERS  AND  MANUFACTURERS, 

1  tin      /   /ni  sr  >•<>.?«>       >>it  *•*>*  +  _  /J/iS;  T/i  V. 


ADVERTISERS'    TRADE    SUPPLEMENT. 


No.  83. 


SATURDAY,  MAY  4,  1889. 


VOI.CME   XXV. 
No.   697. 


PAINTS. 

ARCHITECTS  have  an  interest  in  all  devel- 
opments which  directly  or  indirectly  affect 
them.  Working  with  them  to  a  definite  end 
are  the  manufacturers  and  artisans,  who  pre- 
pare and  use  the  materials  employed  in  erect- 
ing buildings,  all  tending  toward  a  higher 
state  of  perfection,  and  all  giving  tangible 
and  eloquent  expression  to  their  motives, 
talent  and  activity  in  the  structures  which 
they  erect.  Is  this  unity  of  interest  between 
the  architect,  the  manufacturer,  and  the 
artisan  fully  recognized?  Is  this  essential 
co-working  intelligently  carried  out?  Do  the 


In  the  manufacture  of  paints,  for  instance, 
there  have  been  developments  which  place 
within  reach  of  architects  an  article  superior 
to  what  has  been,  until  recent  years,  almost 
uniformly  specified  for  the  painting  of  build- 
ings. This  article  is  a  prepared  paint.  It  is 
undeniable  that  there  have  been  good  reasons 
for  adhering  to  the  old  rule  for  paint  specifi- 
cations. Many  worthless  mixtures  have  borne 
the  name  of  paints,  and  architects  who  have 
taken  the  trouble  to  investigate  the  validity 
of  the  claims  made  for  these  mixtures  have 
been  convinced  that  the  paints  were  worth- 
less; or,  if  of  any  value,  that  there  was  no 


to  adopt  ?  There  are  manufacturers  of  brick, 
tile,  ironwork,  trimmings,  and  innumerable 
other  articles  used  in  buildings,  whose 
products  the  architect  specifies  with  confi- 
dence. Why  cannot,  paint  be  made  of  such 
quality  as  to  merit  his  confidence?  It  can 
be.  It  is. 

The  Sherwin-Williams  Faint  is  not  a  mix- 
ture put  upon  the  market  for  the  mere  purpose 
of  enriching  the  men  who  make  it.  It  is  made 
and  sold  to  paint  buildings  with.  It  was 
made  at  the  first  with  some  understanding  of 
the  building  material  it  was  intended  to  cover ; 
with  some  knowledge  of  the  conditions  of 


THE  SHERWIN-WILLIAMS  CO.'S  WORKS  AND  GENERAL  OFFICES 
AT  CLEVELAND, -O.,  U.  S.  A. 


manufacturer  and  the  artisan  catch  the  spirit 
of  the  architect,  comprehend  his  drawings 
and  specifications,  so  that  his  thought  finds 
clear,  tangible  expression  ?  Does  the  archi- 
tect know  the  best  the  various  manufacturers 
can  offer  for  his  use?  Does  he  keep  abreast 
of  developments  and  improvements,  so  that 
his  specifications  call  for  the  best  articles  ? 
Can  he  be  sure  of  satisfactory  results  in  the 
carrying  out  of  his  designs  unless  he_  has 
entire  command  of  his  resources,  and  can 
tii,.,.;f\-  ii.,.  K.--I  .,,.tt  ,..-;•, !^ '> 


assurance  that  the  standard  of  quality,  if 
there  was  one,  would  be  maintained  for  any 
length  of  time.  The  use  of  such  paints  has 
been  found  expensive,  because  of  their  poor 
covering  qualities,  and  still  more  because  they 
would  perish  soon  after  being  applied. 

Is  it  just,  however,  to  judge  prepared  paints 
of  all  kinds  by  an  unfortunate  experience 
with  a  few?  Is  it  consistent  with  an  archi- 
tect's interests  to  stick  closely  to  an  old 
custom  from  a  firm  belief  that  it  is  safe  when 

,v  .1  t        1      .*  1    .11  .   1      1 1      «  f        Vi" 


exposure  to  which  it  would  be  subjected; 
with  a  definite  knowledge  that  it  must  be  a 
preservative;  with  a  clear  conception  of  its 
service  as  a  decorative  element.  With  these 
objects  in  view,  was  it  possible  to  use  any  but 
the  best  materials,  the  completest  facilities, 
the  highest  order  of  talent,  in  its  production  ? 
Is  it  possible  that,  with  such  good  objects  to 
attain  at  the  commencement,  and  a  pheno- 
menally successful  experience  of  nearly  twenty 
years,  during  which  time  this  product  has  con- 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.        [VOL.  XXV.  — No.  697 


fection  in  all  points  of  its  adaptation  to  archi- 
tectural uses,  this  paint  is  unworthy  of  the 
architect's  favorable  consideration?  Would 
it  be  policy  for  a  company  of  honorable 
gentlemen,  who  have  spent  the  most  fruitful 
years  of  their  lives  in  producing,  perfecting 
and  marketing  standard  goods,  who  have 
made  their  products  famous  for  excellence  all 
over  the  continent,  to  sully  their  fair  reputa- 
tion by  letting  the  quality  decline  ?  It  would 
not.  Such  men  have  all  the  emulation  for 
progress  and  perfection  in  their  business  that 
architects  have  in  their  profession.  A  good 
"  prepared  paint  "  is  a  de- 
cidedly important  article  for 
architects  to  seriously  con- 
sider, and  to  include  in  their 
specifications.  The  Sherwin- 
Williams  Paint  has  advanta- 
ges which  will  commend  it  to 
them.  A  profession  like  that 
of  architecture,  which,  more 
than  any  other,  must  be  studi- 
ous and  progressive  to  meet 
the  increasingly  exacting  de- 
mands upon  it,  cannot  afford 
to  ignore  the  claims  of  reliable 
manufacturers. 

THE  SHEHWIN-Wir.LlAMS  CO., 
CLEVELAND,  CHICAGO, 

NEW  YOHK. 


required,  and  the  escape  and  stand-pipe  are 
always  ready  for  use,  thus  providing  a 
means  of  reaching  the  fire  as  well  as  escaping 
from  it. 

Marshall  Brothers  of  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  have 
placed  these  escapes  on  many  of  the  large 
buildings  in  the  country  and  are  prepared 
to  furnish  plans  and  estimates  for  this  class  of 
work. 

They  are  also  manufacturers  of  the  cele- 
brated Marshall  Positive  Safety  Hydraulic 
Steam  and  Hand  Power  Elevators  for 
Passenger  and  Freight  service. 


A  SPIRAL  STAIRWAY. 

A  FIRK-ESCAPK  WHICH  WILL 
RENDER  THE  MOST  DAN- 
GEROUS BUILDING  SAFE. 

WE  call  our  readers  atten- 
tion to  the  illustration  of  the 
Marshall  Patent  Spiral  Stair- 
way Fire-Escape. 

The  great  trouble  with  most 
fire-escapes,  as  experience 
with  their  use  at  fires  has 
shown,  is  that  they  themselves 
are  elements  of  danger,  especi- 
ally where  large  numbers  are 
trying  to  get  away  from  the 
flames. 

The  Marshall  Spiral  Stair, 
way  and  Stand-Pipe  Fire-Es- 
cape is  made  entirely  of  iron, 
and  is  so  constructed  as  to  af. 
ford  an  easy  and  safe  means 
of  escape  to  the  old  and  young 
even  in  a  panic.     The  balco- 
nies connecting  with  the  stair- 
way are  large  and  substantial, 
are   furnished   with   an    iron 
railing,  adding  to  the  beauty 
of  the  building  instead  of  dis- 
figuring  it.      The   stand-pipe 
device  around  which  the  stair- 
way runs,  is  a  feature  worthy 
of  attention  of  hotel  proprie- 
tors and  others  interested  in 
schools,  factories  and    public 
buildings  and  in  fact  wherever 
|arge  numbers  of  either  infants 
or  adults  are  collected  under  one  roof.     The 
centre  column  is  made  of  heavy  wrought-iron 
pipe  and  has  at  each  balcony  and  on  the  roof 
of  the  building  hose  valves,  and  steam  fire- 
engines  can  be  attached  to  base  of  stand-pipe. 
This  feature   is   one  which  very  materially 
assists   firemen   in  handling  the  flames,  and 
thus  saves  property  as  well  as  preserves  lives. 
The  frequent  delays  in  hoisting  fire-ladders  is 
by  this  contrivance  done   away  with.      No 
mechanical    operations    of     any    kind    are 


The   Marshall   Fire-Escape,    Pittsburgh,    Penn. 

For  full  particulars  in  relation  to  both  Fire- 
Escapes  and  Elevators,  address 

MARSHALL  BROTHERS, 
Iron  City  Elevator  Works, 
69  to  76  DIAMOND  STBEET,  PITTSBURGH,  PA. 

HOUSE-LINING. 

THE  hollow  wall  and  empty  floor-space  are 
necessary  features  in  frame-buildings,  and 
whether  it  is  advisable  to  seal  them  tight 
with  inflammable  sheathing-paper,  in  order  to 
obtain  insulated  air,  or  to  gain  it  by  filling-up 


the  spaces  with  a  low  conductor  of  heat,  de- 
pends largely  on  the  practical  working  of 
what  is  considered  an  air-space,  and  again  on 
the  value  of  the  material  forming  the  lining. 

Ten  years  ago  steam-pipes  and  boilers  were 
systematically  covered  with  a  plaster-casing, 
which  was  designed  to  leave  an  inch  or  so  of 
room  for  the  quiescent  air,  but  since  the  in- 
troduction of  mineral  wool  the  fallacy  of  this 
method  has  been  so  thoroughly  exposed  that 
the  device  is  now  limited  to  jobs  not  open  to 
competition.     The  air  on  surface  of  pipe,  of 
course,  conveys  the  heat  immediately  to  the 
interior   of   casing,    and    the 
temperatures    of    both    these 
(  surfaces  are  manifestly  nearly 
the  same  ;  again,  when  cracks 
occur  in  the  casing,  cold-air 
enters  to  replace  the  hot-air, 
thus  creating  a  rapid  circula- 
tion,   which   cools   down    the 
jacket   from   within   and   de- 
ceives   the    owner,  for  he  is 
wasting   fuel    and    does    not 
know  it. 

The  action  of  the  hollow- 
wall  space  is  similar  to  this, 
anJ  quite  as  deceptive.  The 
reason  we  make  special  men- 
tion of  the  theory  is  because 
it  is  widely  accepted  as  true, 
and  its  working  is  so  delusive 
that  it  requires  explanation 
rather  than  trial. 

Wherever  the  idea  of  the 
air  -  space  is  resorted  to, 
whether  on  a  boiler  or  in  the 
side-wall  of  a  dwelling,  it 
simply  introduces  the  proper- 
ties ysf  convection  and  absorp- 
tion as  factors,  and  these 
might  better  be  eliminated  by 
filling  the  space  up. 

The  advantages  of  mineral- 
wool  for  houses  will  become 
apparent  as  we  refer  to  the 
objects  of  such  linings : 

A.  As  to  heat  and  cold. 
—  A  filling  of  mineral-wool 
in  the  ground-floor,  say  two 
inches  thick,  protects  against 
the  dampness  of  cellar ;  in  the 
outside  walls,  from  foundation 
to  peak,  between  the  stud- 
ding, it  will  prevent  the  ex- 
traction of  the  warmth  of  in- 
terior, and  will  destroy  the 
force  of  winds,  which  other- 
wise will  penetrate  and  cause 
draughts;  in  the  roof,  say  two 
inches  thick,  it  will  retain  Ihe 
heat  which  rises  through  stair- 
wells, bringing  about  regular- . 
ity  of  temperature  in  cold 
weather ;  the  upper  rooms  will 
not  receive  the  heat  of  the 
summer  sun  and  store  it  up 
jor  the  occupants  during  the 
night,  but  remain  as  cool  as 
those  on  the  floor  below;  the  water-fixtures 
in  bath-rooms,  closets  and  pantries  will  not 
be  exposed  to  extremes  of  heat  and  cold. 

B.  As  to  sound.  —  As  sound  is  communi- 
cated by  the  actual  contact  of  beams,  and  also 
by  the  vibration  of  the  air  between  them,  it 
can  well  be  understood  how  a  porous  material 
like  mineral-wool  will  have  a  muffling  influence 
on  the  solid  parts  of  a  building,  and  so  occupy 
the  space  that  wave  motion  will  not  be  pos- 
sible. Such  a  lining  is  especially  desirable 


MAY  4,  1889.— No.  83.] 


Advertisers'  Trade  Supplement. 


3 


about  bath-rooms  to  deaden  noise  of  valves 
and  flowing  water. 

C.  As  to   rats,  mice,   insects   and   disease 
germs.  —  The  analysis  of  mineral  wool  shows 
it  to  be  a  silicate  of  magnesia,  lime,  alumina, 
potash   and   soda.      The   slag-wool    contains 
also   some   sulphur   compounds.     It   is   plain 
there  is   nothing  organic   in  the  material  to 
decay  or  to  furnish  food  and  comfort  to  in- 
sects and  vermin ;  on  the  other  hand,  the  fine 
fibres   of    glass    are    irritating    to   anything 
which   attempts   to  burrow  in   them.     From 
our  experience  during  the  past  ten  years,  we 
feel  confident  in  saying  that  new  houses  lined 
with  mineral  wool  will  not  become  infested 
with  'animal  life,  and  old  walls   may  be   rid 
of  their  tenants  by  the  introduction  of  it. 

D.  As  to  fire.  —  Our  incombustible  material 
renders  a  building  slow-burning;  we  do  not 
claim  that  the  structure  will  be  fireproof,  for 
that  is  impossible  so  long  as  inflammable  stuff 
is  used  in  construction.    In  passages  occupied 
by  the   mineral- wool,  flames   cannot   spread ; 
thus  surely  will  they  be  exposed  to  sight,  and 
an  opportunity  for  quenching  them  be  offered 
at  the  outset.     As  an  escape  for  the  inmates,  it 
serves  the  purpose  better  than  all  the  ladders 
ever  devised. 

What  is  described  as  spontaneous  combus- 
tion takes  place  when  the  floor-beams,  for  in- 
stance, have  been  dried  until  the  point  of 
ignition  is  very  low,  and  when  in  conjunction 
with  this,  the  freely-circulating  air  is  charged 
with  moisture.  With  these  two  conditions 
fulfilled,  it  only  needs  the  fanning  action  of  a 
draught  to  start  combustion.  Such  a  coin- 
cidence of  conditions  cannot  be  brought  about 
if  the  spaces  between  beams  are  filled  with  in- 
destructible mineral  wool. 

Mineral-wool  is  invaluable  in  hospitals  and 
asylums  on  account  of  its  arresting  the  spread 
of  fire,  not  to  mention  its  other  properties. 
Equally  important  applications  can  be  made 
with  it  in  public  and  private  schools,  music 
and  concert  rooms,  sounding-boards,  hotels, 
cottages,  country  residences,  charitable  in- 
stitutions, and  in  deadening  the  flats  of  apart- 
ment-houses, and  insulating  the  outside  walls 
of  conservatories,  hen  and  pigeon  houses. 

FRANK  E.  FITTS, 
Successor  to  GEO.  DONBAB  &  Co., 

74-76  PEAKL  STREET,  BOSTON,  MASS. 


THE  CALDWELL  SASH-BALANCE. 
THE  Caldwell  Sash-Balance  is  a  simple, 
durable  and  compact  appliance  for  balancing 
window-sashes.  It  consists  of  a  thoroughly- 
tested  steel  clock-spring,  coiled  within  an  iron 
drum,  around  which  is  wound  a  tempered 
brass  tape  or  ribbon,  which  is  attached  to  the 


sash;  while  the  resistance  of  the  spring  fur- 
nishes the  requisite  tension  or  supporting 
power.  The  tension  of  the  spring  is  con- 
trolled by  means  of  a  brake,  which  is  regu- 
lated by  a  screw  in  the  face-plate,  whereby 
the  balance  may  easily  and  conveniently  be 
adjusted  at  any  time  to  the  exact  weight 
of  the  sash,  and  give  to  the  latter  a  steady  or 
uniform  motion.  The  suspending  tape  or 
ribbon  is  attached  to  the  sash  by  means  of  a 


containing  one  set  of  four  balances  for  the 
two  sashes  of  single  window,  with  all  the 
necessary  screws,  each  sash  requiring  two 
balances.  Full  printed  directions  for  setting 
and  adjusting  the  balances  are  contained  in 
each  box. 

When  ordering  balances,  be  careful  to  give 
the  exact  weight  and  height  of  each  sash. 
THE    CALDWELL    MANUFACTURING   CO., 

288-290  STATE  STREET  .ROCHESTER'  NT. 


tEMtex  flow 


The  Caldwell   Sash-Balance. 


bronze  loop,  held  in  place  by  a  screw,  which 
should  be  slightly  loosened  and  the  loop  un- 
hooked whenever  it  may  be  necessary  to 
remove  the  sash  from  the  frame  ;  and,  in  re- 
placing the  sash,  the  tightening  of  the  same 
screw  over  the  loop  will  secure  the  window  as 
before. 

The  mullion,  or  top-balance,  can  be  applied 
at  the  top  of  the  frame  in  all  windows  where 
it  may  be  impracticable  to  use  the  side- 
balance. 

The  balances  are  put  up  in  boxes,  each  box 


A   BIG  CONTRACT. 

THE  Whittier  Machine  Company  have 
just  signed  the  contracts  for  furnishing  the 
complete  elevator  system,  together  with  the 
boilers  and  the  entire  heating  and  ventilating 
apparatus,  for  the  new  Exchange  Building 
about  to  be  erected  on  State  Street,  Boston. 
The  aggregate  work  represented  by  these  and 
other  important  contracts  which  they  have 
recently  taken,  is  very  large.  They  are  about 
to  have  plans  drawn  for  a  building  specially 
adapted  to  the  construction  of  elevators,  which, 


MINERAL  WOOL. 


THE  BEST  THING   FOR 

House  Lining  or  Pipe  Covering 


Insulation  of  Heat.     Deadening  of  Sonnd.     Protection  Against  Fire.     Prevention  of 
Spreading  of  Fire.    Freedom  from  Rats,  Mice,  and  Insects. 


FRANK  E.  FITTS,  74  and  76  Pearl  St.,  BOSTON. 


Bardsley's  Patent  Wood  Door  Knobs, 

The  engraving  represents  No.  101  Ball  Knob,  a  style  which  is  meeting  with 
great  favor,  as  it  shows  up  the  grain  of  the  wood  nicely,  and  makes  a  handsome 
appearance  on  a  door.  Besides  the  regular  woods  which  we  car  ry  in  stock,  we 
make  them  to  match  special  trim  In  such  woods  as  Antique  Oak,  Red  Oak, 
Sycamore,  Hazel,  Birch,  Bird's-Eye  Maple,  etc.  These  goods  are  first  class  in 
every  respect,  the  trimmings  are  solid  bronze;  and  every  knob  is  warranted. 


BARDSLEY'S  PATENT  CHECKING  SPRING  HINGES 
FOR  DOUBLE  ACTING  DOORS. 

They  operate  absolutely  without  noise  or  violence,  closing  the  door  gently 
and  stopping  it  at  once  in  its  proper  position. 


Descriptive  Price-list  on  application. 

ar. 

B&   im-m    Stx-oct, 


THE  YALE  &  TOWNE  MFG.  CO.,  New  York,  Boston,  Phila.  &  Chicago. 


A.  G.  NEWMAN,  late  NEWMAN  &  CAPRON. 

MANUFACTURERS  OF 

Dm  n  in  Uorrluiorn  Bank,  Office  and  Stoop  Railings  in  Bronze  or  Brass.  Antique  Furniture- 
DIUIIlD  ndlUWdlb  Trimmings.   Electrical  and  Mechanical  Bell-Hanging  Burglar-  Alarms  . 


1180 


1  K7-1  A3  WEST  29th  STREET.  NEW  YORK.  X.  Y. 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.        [VOL.  XXV.— No.  697. 


with  tools  expressly  designed  to  meet  the  re- 
quirements of  the  work,  will  greatly  increase 
the  capacity  of  their  works. 

They  have  recently  put  into  the  Brigham 
Estate  building  on  the  corner  of  Portland  and 
Causeway  Streets,  Boston,  two  horizontal 
steel  boilers,  each  four  feet  in  diameter,  to- 
gether with  two  belt  freight  elevators,  and 
also  constructed  for  the  Piscataquis  Falls  Pulp 
and  Paper  Company  of  Montague,  Me.,  a 
horizontal  steel  boiler,  five  feet  in  diameter ; 
and  have  put  into  the  building  of  the  Boston 
Real  Estate  Trust  on  Lincoln  Street,  Boston, 
two  belt  elevators  for  freight  service. 


old  or  new  work,  and  it  is  very  little  trouble 
in  handling.  It  is  the  cheapest  means  for 
hanging  window-sashes. 

The  Rochester  Balance  is  meeting  with 
great  success  and  the  company  requests  all 
architects  to  send  for  a  free  sample  to  the 

ROCHESTER  SASH-BALANCE  CO., 
COK.  FBAHK  &  CENTER  STREETS,  BOCHESTBE,  N.  T. 

NOTES. 

THE  Lidgerwood  Manufacturing  Company, 
New  York,  find  a  steadily  increasing  demand 
for  their  improved  hoisting-machinery  through- 


ROCHESTER  SASH-BALANCE. 

THE  following  cut  and  the  one  on  the  next 
page  represent  the  Rochester  Sash-Balance 
which  will  prove  of  great  value  to  those  in- 
terested in  the  construction  of  buildings. 

It  consists  of  a  hollow  pulley  containing  a 
coiled  steel  spring,  and  a  braided  sash-cord  for 
suspending  the  sash.  This  cord  is  fastened 
to,  and  winds  on  the  pulley  passing  over  the 
small  wheels,  as  shown  in  sectional  view. 
These  wheels  are  located  in  such  a  manner 
that  the  heft  of  the  sash,  being  fastened  to  the 
cord,  automati- 
cally regulates 
the  tension  or 
lifting  power 
of  the  balance. 
This  is  a  great 
advantage  over 
weights  as  the 
sash  is  always 
accurately  bal- 
anced,  even 
though  they 
differ  in  weight. 
The  cord  runs 
smoothly  over 
the  grooved 
wheels  and  at 
no  place  can  it 
rub  against  the 
balance,  there  is  consequently  no  abrasion  of 
the  cord  or  friction  to  wear  it  out,  but  in  case 
it  becomes  broken  by  accident  it  can  be 
readily  replaced  at  any  hardware  store,  and 
with  very  little  trouble. 

The  advantages  of  the  Rochester  Balance 
are  numerous.  No  boxes  or  pockets  are  re- 
quired in  the  window  frame,  more  light  can  be 
obtained  in  factories,  etc.,  as  the  walls  can  be 
built  solid  against  a  plank  frame  and  the 
room  that  would  be  required  for  box  frames 
could  be  added  to  the  width  of  the  sash. 

The  mortise  for  this  balance  is  made  with  a 
bit,  and  it  is  attached  very  quickly  to  either 


out  the  South.  They  have  recently  appointed 
as  their  Birmingham,  Ala.,  representatives, 
Messrs.  Milner  &  Kettig.  They  are  an  enter- 
prising firm,  and  will  doubtless  meet  with 
much  success  in  handling  this  well-known 
line  of  hoisting  machinery. 


THE  interior  of  the  new  building  erected 
by  the  Murphy  Varnish  Company,  of  Newark, 
from  the  plans  of  J.  H.  Lindsay,  architect, 
has  just  been  completed  by  finishing  the 
decoration  and  placing  the  stained-glass. 
This  work  has  been  executed  by  Messrs.  J.  & 


L7  ALBRO  Co 


POMESTK&  FOREIGN 
OF  EVERY  PESCRIPigON 


FULL  Lint  OF  ^FASOMED-STO^K 


THE  MARSHALL  FIRE  ESCAPE.  (Patented,)  1 

ESTABLISHED  1818. 

MARSHALL    BROTHERS, 

Iron  City  Elevator  Works 

69  TO  75  DIAMOND  ST.,  PITTSBURGH,  PA, 

The  Marshall  Positive  Safety  Passenger  and  Freight 

UXjEXT-^VTOnS, 

Hydraulic,  Steam,  Electric  and  Hand-Power. 

SPIRAL  STAIRWAY  FIRE  ESCAPES  WITH  and  WITHOUT  STAND-PIPE 

1 

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For  Asylums,  Hotels,  Schools  and  Public  Buildings. 

SEND  FOB  CIRCULAR. 

.  O'k: 

L     IH, 

TO  ARCHITECTS  AND  CONTRACTORS: 

We  desire  to  call  your  attention  to  the  Superior  quality  of  Plate  Glass  manufactured 
by  the 

PITTSBURGH  PLATE  GLASS  CO. 

The  Largest  Plates  of  Glass  in  buildings  in  the  cities  of  Chicago,  Cleveland, Detroit,  St. 
Paul,  Syracuse,  Pittsburgh,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  and  many  New  York  buildings,  were  manufac- 
tured by  our  Company. 

The  only  fuel  used  throughout  both  our  works  is  Natural  Gas;  which,  owing  to  its  superior 
heating  power  and  cleanliness,  enables  us  to  produce  an  article  which  cannot  be  surpassed,  besides 
glass  melted  and  annealed  by  our  process  with  this  gas,  is  far  more  durable  and  not  so  liable  to  break. 

We  make  a  specialty  of  three-sixteenths  thickness  for  fine  residences,  also  extra  large  sizes,  wide 
and  long  plates  for  store  fronts,  beveled  and  obscured  plates,  skylight  and  floor  glass. 

With  a  capacity  of  260,000  square  feet  monthly,  we  are  prepared  to  execute  all  orders  promptly, 
and  invite  correspondence. 

WORKS    No.    1,    CREIGHTON,    PA. 

WORKS    No.    2,    TARENTUM,    PA. 

Western  Union  Wire  and  Telephone  connection  in  General  Office  at  Crelghton,  Pa. 

E.    L.   FORD,    Sec. 


COMPOUND  *«*«***++ 

16  SIZES,    5  to  500  H.  P. 

Hot  yet  equaled  1)7  any  form  of  Engine  for 

HIGH  FUEL  DUTY  AND  SIMPLICITY. 

O  13  Sixes  in  Stock. 

oTANDARD  s  to  250  H.  p. 

3000  In  use  in  all  parts  of  the  Ciiilized  World. 

6  Sizes  in  Stock, 

5  to  50   H.  P. 

An  Automatic  Engine  cheaper  than  a  Slide  Valve. 

WELL  BUILT.  ECONOMICAL.  RELIABLE. 

Over  300  Sold  the  First  Year. 

All  the  above  built  strictly  to  Gauge  with 

INTERCHANOEABLE  PARTS. 

EEPAIE3  CABBIED  IS  STOCK. 

SEND  FOR  ILLUSTRATED  CATALOGUES. 


JUNIOR 


SELLING  DEPARTMENT  IN  THE 
UNITED  STATES. 

New  York,         17  Cortlandt  St.         \  „ 
Boston,  Hathaway  Building,     fi£f& 

Pittsburgh,         Westinghouse  Build'g,  f  Chur.eh' Kerr 
156,  158  Uke  St.        J 
608  Chestnut  St.  M.  R.  Muckle,  Jr.  i  Co. 
302, 304  Washington  AT.  )       ,    , 
312  Union  Avenue,  [  fairb,ankl 

1330  Seventeenth  St.        ) 
1619  Capitol  Avenue,  F.  C.  Aver. 
Pine  Bluffis,  Ark.  &».  V.  Dilley  i  Sons. 

Salt  Lake  City,  259  S.  Vain  St.  )  Utah  i  Montana 
Butte,  Mont       i_  Granite  St.    )  Machinery  Co. 

San  Francisco,    21, 23  Fremont  Street,  Parke  4  lacy  Co. 
Portland,  Or.      33, 35  H.  Front  St.  Parke  i  Lacy  Mch".  Co. 


Chicago, 
Philadelphia, 
St.  Louis, 
Kansas  City, 
Denver, 
Omaha, 


Dallas,  Tex. 
Chattanooga,  Tcnn., 


Keating  Imp.  &  Machine  Co, 
C.  E.  James  &  Co. 


MAY  4,  1889.  —  No.  83.] 


Advertisers'  Trade  Supplement. 


R.  Lamb,  of  New  York,  the  color  scheme 
having  been  carried  out  by  Mr.  F.  S.  Lamb. 
The  glass  has  been  done  in  Venetian  and 
Opalescent,  the  general  treatment  being  a 
rich  arrangement  of  delicate  tones  of  color 
and  jewelled  work.  The  most  elaborate  part 
of  the  work  is  in  the  President's  office,  and  in 
the  large  staircase  window.  In  the  latter  the 
date  of  the  establishment  of  the  Company  and 
the  monogram  of  the  tirm  have  been  artisti- 
cally introduced  in  connection  with  ribbons 
and  foliated  work. 


THE  Whittier  Machine  Company  have  re- 
cently constructed  for  the  Charleston  Cotton- 
Mills  of  Charleston,  S.  C.,  two  horizontal 
steel-boilers  each  six  feet  in  diameter,  and 
also  a  belt  freight  elevator;  have  also  put  into 
the  residence  of  Mr.  Franklin  Haven,  on  Mt. 
Vernon  Street,  Boston,  a  plunger  elevator 
for  passenger  service, 

THE  E.  D.  Albro  Co.,  Cincinnati,  O., 
manufacturers  of  veneers  and  thin  lumber, 
report :  "  We  have  a  steady  demand  this 
season  for  our  products.  Builders  and  con- 
tractors appreciate  well-seasoned  lumber  for 
inside  finish,  and  the  quartered  sawed  oak 
and  light-colored  woods  are  being  more  called 
for.  We  have  a  full  line  of  all  kinds,  includ- 
ing white  walnut  (called  butternut),  cherry, 
quartered-oak,  white  maple,  white  ash  and 
mahogany.  Prima  Vera,  or  white  mahogany, 
is  coming  rapidly  into  favor.  This  is  of  a 
beautiful  light-gold  color,  and  finished  like 
satinwood,  which  gives  a  warmth  and  tone 
unexcelled  by  any  other  woods.  They  have 
a  full  stock  of  hard  woods  of  all  thicknesses 
and  kinds." 


THE  ingenuity  of  the  advertiser  is  a  matter 
of  perennial  interest  and  many  a  laugh  is 
caused  by  some  ludicrous  conceit  which  has 
paid  its  own  way  by  catching  the  attention  for 
a  moment.  Some  devices  gain  their  point  by 
serving  as  a  useful  utensil  which  keeps  the 
advertiser's  name  constantly  before  a  special 
public.  This  end  has  been  attained  by  the 
Barstow  Stove  Company  of  Providence,  who 
have  sent  out  to  architects  as  a  reminder  a 
useful  little  pencil  sharpener. 


BUILDING    INTELLIGENCE, 

Reported  for  the  American  Architect  and  Building  Newt. 

HOUSES. 

Philadelphia,  Pa.—  Washington  La.,  n  e  cor.  Head- 
ing R.  R..  three-st'y  stone  dwell,  and  addition  to 
barn;  owner,  W.  R.  Brown,  2145  Dickinson  St. 

Leidu  St.,  v  a,  n  Willow  Grove  Ave.,  three-st'y 
brick  dwell.;  owner,  Michael  Hagerty,  hotel,  Main 
St.,  Chestnut  Hill. 

North  Thirty-ninth  St.,  ffo.  104,  two-st'y  brick 
dwell.;  owner,  Frank  H.  Souden,  3907  Aspen  St. 

Chew  St.,  n  s,  e  Chelten  Ave.,  2  three-st'y  brick 
dwells.;  owner,  James  Morris,  Chelten  Ave.,  Ger- 
mantown. 

Chew  St.,  s  w  s,  4  three-st'y  brick  dwells.;  owner, 
Oliver  P.  Fisher,  Hermit  and  Hancock  Sts.,  Ger- 
man town. 

Hewion  St.,  s  s,  bet.  Tulip  and  Memphis  Sts.,  3 
two-st'y  brick  dwells.;  owner,  James  Macaulay  & 
Sons,  1328  East  Montgomery  Ave. 

Matcher  St.,  e  s,  n  Berks  St.,  25  two-st'y  brick 
dwells.;  owner,  George  Kessler,  1332  Marshall  St. 

Callowhill  St.,  No>.  2532-2534-2536,  3  two-st'y  brick 
dwells.;  owners,  Patrick  &  Lipsett,  1523  Callowhill 
St. 

Tackawanna  St.,  8  s,  bet.  Plumb  and  Margaretta 
Sts.,  two-st'y  brick  dwell.,  with  16»  of  frame  back; 
owner,  Joseph  P.  Yerkes,  4323  Frankford  Ave. 

Sixty-three-and-one-half  St..  w  s,  bet.  Vine  and 
Callowhill  Sts.,  one  three  and  3  two  at'y  buildings: 
builder,  R.  D.  Murphy,  Sixty-fourth  and  Callowhill 
Sts. 

Twenty^nmth  St.,  w  s,  ab.  Ridge  Ave.,  2  three-st'y 
brick  dwells.;  owner,  T.  H.  Helms,  2345  North 
Twenty-seventh  St. 

South  Broad  St..  }fos.  1609-1611,  2  three-st'y  brick 
dwells.;  owner,  Edward  Kelley,  762  South  Ninth  St. 

Taiker  St.,  n  s,  e  Seventh  St.,  5  two-st'y  brick 
dwells.;  contractor,  F.  H.  Markley,  353G  Fairview 
Ave. 

Waterloo  St.,  e  s,  n  Berks  St.,  26  two-st'y  brick 
dwells.;  owners,  Eldridge  &  Stewart,  American  and 
Diamond  Sts. 

Howard  St.,  w  s,  20  two-st'y  brick  dwells.,  two 
with  stores;  owners,  Eldridge  &  Stewart,  American 
and  Diamond  Sts. 

Jefferson  St.,B  s,  w  s  Fourth  St.,  7  two-st'y  brick 
dwells.;  owner,  George  W.  Hancock,  408  Lancaster 
Ave. 


CURNEY 


HOT  WATER  HEATER. 


More  extensively  used  and  with  better 

results  than  any  other  Hot  Water  Heater. 

Conclusively  demonstrating  that 

HORIZONTAL  HEATING  SURFACE 

is  Infinitely  more  effective  than 
Vertical  Surface. 

Gold  Medal  Boston,--1887,    -    -    -    - 

-   -   -   Highest  Award  New  York,-1887, 

-    Highest  Award  Tofonto,~1887.    - 


SPECIAL  SILVER  MEDAL   FOR  EXTRA- 
ORDINARY MERIT,  NEW 
YORK,  1888. 

For  Full  Particulars,  See  Catalogue  Gratis. 

G-URNEY    HOT    ABATER    HEATER    CO., 

237  Franklin  St.,  Boston,  Mass.  New  York  Office,  88  John  St. 

Selling  Agencies  : 

San  Francinco,  J.  J.  Lawton,  418  Fulton  Street.  I  Chicago,  Bice  &  Whitacre  Mfg.  Co.,  42  &  44  W.  Monroe  St. 

Detroit.  T.  R.  Chase,  138  Larned  Street,  West.  Charleston,  S.  C.,  Valk  It  Murdock.  16.  18  &  20  Hanell  St. 

Portland,  Or.,  William  Gardiner  ft  Co.,  184  Third  St.  |  Covington,    Ky.,  J.    I..  Fnsbie,  526  Philadelphia  St. 

MENTIOlf     THIS      PAPER. 


Fl 


e  Generates  bite  Airs  Stun 


STEAM   AND  WARM  AIR  COMBINED 


IN  THE 


COMBINATION 

Steam  and  Warm  Air  Heater, 

Utilising  the  entire  product  of  Combustion  in 
producing  Beat.  A  perfection  for  warming 
Churches,  Schools,  Residences. 

SEND    FOR    CATALOGUE. 

J.  F.  PEASE  FURNACE  CO., 

SYRACUSE,  N.Y.,    and 

75  Union  Street,    Boston,   Mass. 
NEW   YORK,       CHICAGO,        TORONTO. 

Sole  M'f'rs  of  the    ECOXO3IY    WARM    AIR    FURNACES. 


No    Weight*,  Pocket*   or 
Soxes  required. 


CHEAPEST 

Means  for  Hanging  Window  Sash. 

The  ROCHESTER  SASH  BALANCE 

Works  better  than   Weights. 

Heft  of  the  Sash  automatically  Regulates  the  lifting  power 

of  the  Balance. 
Sample  sent  free  to  all  Architects  on  application. 

ROCHESTER  SASH  BALANCE  CO. 

Cor.  Frank  and  Centre  Streets,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 


CELLAR  WINDOW  FRAME  f  SASH. 

13  Sizes.       Secure  and  Durable.       Send  For  Price  List. 

THE  McLAGON  FOUNDRY  CO.,     -    -     NEW  HAVEN,  CONN. 


HIGHEST  AWARD,  AMERICAN  INSTITUTE  FAIR,  DEC.  5th,    1885-6-7-8. 

THE  FORSTNER  AUGER  BIT. 


•OOil'0'8  3H1 


Boring  SMOOTH,  BOUND,  OVAL  or  SQUARE  Holes  for  letting  In  door  1 
etc.       For  flne  carpentry,  cabinet  and  pattern  work. 
Send  K  cents  for  4-8  umple.  or  $4.00  for  a  set,  sent  free,  with  descriptive  list,  on  receipt  of  price. 

THE  BRIDGEPORT  GUN  IMPLEMENT  CO.,  New  York  Office,  I  7J  Maiden  Lane. 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.        [Voi.  XXV.-No^697. 


THE  STURTEVANT 

Steam  Hot-Blast  Apparatus 


FOB 


HEATING  and 
VENTILATING 


of  all  Kinds. 

Send  for  Illustrated,  Treatist 
on  SLeatinv  and  Ventilation. 
B.  F.  STURTEVANT, 

34  Oliver  Street,  Cor.  of  FianHln  St., 

BOSTON,  -    MASS. 

BRANCHES: 
i     115  Liberty  St.,  K.  T. 
31  No.  Canal  St..  Chicago. 


Detroit  Heating  &  Lighting  Go's 

HOT  WATER  HEATER 

(BOLTON'S  PATENT) 

For  Heating  Public  and  Private  Buildings  by  Hot 
Water  Circulation. 

THE  COMBINATION 

GAS  MACHINE 

Tor  Lighting  all  kinds  of  Buildings  and  for  Furmsn- 
ing  Fuel  Gas  for  Manufacturing  Purposes. 

IDEAL  GAS  STOVES. 

WEBER  STRAIGHT  WAY  VALVES. 

DETROIT  HEATING  SUITING  CO. 

Factory  and  Home  Office.  Detroit,  Mich.          Branch  Office,  87  Dearborn  St.,  Chicago. 

Prescott's  Door-Hanger. 


PATENT 


Fire-Proof 
Wire  Lathing, 

For   discounts   and    particu- 
lars apply  to 

NEW  JERSEY  WIRE 
CLOTH  CO., 

TRENTON.    N.  .T 


ft  NciNG'CRESTING  ^RASS 
|& WIRE  COUNTER  RAILINGS 


vtfi  RE- CLOTH 

AND-W/RE-GOODS- 


ESTABLISHED  1854. 


BRACE  HANGER. 


TRUSS  HANGERS 

For  Barns,  Warehouses,  Freight  Stations,  etc. 

BRACE  HANGERS,  concealed  from  view,  for  PARLOR  DOORS. 

No  Koll»  or  Track.     Hangers  for  Elevator 
Doors  a  Specialty.      Send  for  Circular. 

PRESCOTT  HARDWARE  MANUFACTURING  CO. 

108-1  10  Randolph  St.,  Chicago,  III. 


TRUSS     HANGER. 


Wrought  Iron  Hot  Water  Boiler, 


The  Galdwell  Sash  Balance. 

is  compact,  simple  and  Durable.  It  is  easily  applied  and  is 
superior  to  all  other  methods  for  Balancing  Window  Sash. 
Adapted  to  old  or  new  windows,  does  not  require  box  frames 
and  does  not  get  out  of  order.  The  Caldwell  Balance  for  Mul- 
lion  Windows  is  the  best  yet'invented. 

N.  B.— In  ordering  sample  set  give  exact  weight  and  height  of 
each  sash.    Send  for  catalogue  to 

CALDWELL  MFC.  CO., 

288-290  State  Street.        ROCHESTER.  N.  Y. 


^fVft   -"I----     **>   !« 

For  Houses,  Public  Bniliiss,  Greenhouses,  &c 


PETER  DEVINE, 

Office,  387  So.  Canal  St.,  Chicago. 


CHEAP  QUICK  LIFTING 

Portable  Hoist. 


A  deep  and  perma- 
nent Red  for  coloring 
mortar.  The  only  re- 
liable coloring  on  the 


COLORIFIC, 


It  will  not  fade.    Send  for 
sample  and  testimonials. 

FRANK  E.  MORSE, 

SOLE  N.  B.  AGENT. 

7  Coenties  Slip,          New  York 


EUREKA     SHEATHING  -  LATH 


The  Best  Article  in  the  Market. 
Saves  Mortar,  Labor  and  Money. 

Combined  Sheathing  and  Lathing  is  now  well  known  and  is 

meeting  with  great  favor,  both  from  architects  and 

the  public.     Manufacturing  Rights  for  sale. 

Wm.  M.  DWIGHT  &  CO..  Detroit.  Mich. 


Gwilt's  Encyclopedia  of  Architecture. 

and  with  additions  by  WYATT  PAPWOBTH.  F.  B.  I..  B.  A.,  etc.    Clotl 
LONGMANS,  GREEN 


Historical,  Theoretical  and  Practi- 
cal.   Illustrated  with  about  1700  en- 
gravings on  wood.    New  edition  (the 
ninth)    revised,    portions   rewritten 
[,  F.  B.  I.,  B.  A.,  etc.    Cloth,  J17.50. 

&  CO.,   15  E.   16th  Street,  New  York. 


74  and  76  Pearl    St.,  Boston. 


MAT  4,  1889.  — No.  83.] 


Advertisers'  Trade  Supplement. 


DYCKERHOFF 

PORTLAND  CEMENT 

Is  superior  to  any  other  Portland  Cement  made.     It  is  very  finely  ground,  always  uniform  and  reliable,  and 
of  such  extraordinary  strength  that  it  will  permit  the  addition  of  25  per  cent  more  sand,  etc.,  than  other  well- 
known  brands,  and  produce  the  most  durable  work.     It  is  therefore  the  most  economical  to  use.     8,000  barrels 
have  been  used  in  the  foundations  of  the  Statue  of  Liberty.     Architects  and  those  interested  in  Portland  Cement 
will  please  send  for  my  pamphlet,  which  will  be  mailed  free  on  application.     It  contains  valuable  directions  for 
the  employment  of  Portland  Cement,  a  table  of  results  of  the  strength  of  the  Dyckerhoff  Cement  when 
mixed  with  sand  and  broken  stone  in  various  proportions,  together  with  tests  and 
testimonials  of  eminent  Engineers,  Architects  and  Consumers. 

E.  THIELE,  78  William  St.,  New  York. 

SOLE    AGENT    FOR    THE    UNITED   STATES. 


The  KODAK 

ANYBODY  can  use 
the  KODAK.  Tlie  opera- 
tion of  making  a  pict- 
ure consists  simply  of 
pressing  a  button.  One 
Hundred  Instantaneous 
pictures  are  made  with- 
out re-loading.  No 
dark  room  or  chemicals 
are  necessary.  A  di- 
Prlce,  S25.OO.  vision  of  labor  is  of- 
fered, whereby  all  the  work  of  finishing  the 
pictures  is  done  at  the  factory,  where  the  cam- 
era can  be  sent  to  be  re-loaded.  The  operator 
need  not  learn  anything  about  photography. 
He  can  "press  the  button,''  —  we  do  the  rest. 

Send  for  copy  of  KODAK  PRIMER,  with  sam- 
ple photograph. 


The  Eastman  Dry  Plate  and  Film  Co., 

ROCHESTER,  N. 


T. 


THE    BOWER 

SEWER-GAS  TRAP. 

A  |K»ltive  valve-seal  and  a  sound 
water-seal!   The  most  effective  trap 
that  It  offered  to  tb.9  public!  A  com- 
bined valve  and  water  seal!  Wither 
without  the  valve  It  Is 
the  snrest  water  seal! 
Sure  in  action!  Simple 
in    construction! 
Cheap!    Durable! 

The  most  perfect  barrier 
against  Sewer  Gat. 

Illustrative  and  dee- 
iriptive  48-page  pam- 
phlet aent  tree  on  ap- 
plication. 

B.  P.  BOWER  &  CO., 

Manufacturer!, 
leveland,   -    Ohio. 


Troy  Laundry  Machinery  Co., 

LIMITED.      TROT,  N.  T. 

Kalenrooms:  New  Y  orb  and  Chicago. 


The  most  complete  Una  of  machinery  (or  hoteli  and 
Public  Institutions.    Complete  laundries  for  Institu- 
tions our  specialty. 
Estimates?  ornlihed.    Send  for  Illustrated  Catalogue. 


FINE  POLISHliD  BRASS  NUMB-LATCH, 


MANUFACTURED   BY 


J.  B.  SHANNON  &  SONS, 

1020  Market  Street, 

PHILADELPHIA. 

WRITE    FOR    ILLUSTRATED    CATALOGUE. 


BURDITT  &  WILLIAMS, 

ESTABLISHED     1860. 
JManixfacturers    and    .Oealers    in 

FINE    HARDWARE 

FOB 

Dwelling-Houses,  Churches, 

Stores  and  Public  Building's. 

Every  Excellence  of  Mechanism.        Latest  and  most  approved  Styles  and  Finish. 

Special  New  Designs  of  Knobs  in  Cut-Glass.     Patterns  made  to  order  from  Architect's 
Desigrs.    Estimates  made.    Contracts  filled  in  all  Markets. 


*«*»*»  OF™, 


20  DOCK  SQUARE,  BOSTON. 

Our  Hardware  may  be  found  in  important  buildings  in  the  leading  cities  of  the  Country. 


Electric  Time  System 


I=»-ULlDllo 


THE  ONLY  RELIABLE  SYSTEM  IN  USE. 


All  public  buildings  and  Schools 
should  be  supplied  with  Electric 
Time  Dials.  This  system  is  now  in 
use  by  the  New  York,  New  Haven 
&  Hartford  Railroad  Co.  and  many 
others. 


SEND    FOR    CATALOGUE. 


Single   Circuit  Switch  to  be 
attached  to  Tower  Clocks. 


The  Stand,  Elec,  Time  Go, 

NEW  HAVEN,  CONN. 


ELECTRIC    TIME 
DIAL. 


TJie   American   Architect  and  Building  News.       [VoL.  XXV.  —  No.  697. 


TELESCOPE 

Hydraulic  Elevator, 

Recent  improvements  have  been  made  and 
patented  in  the  Telescope  Elevator  which  ren 
der  it  the 

Most  Practical,  Economical  and  Cheapest 
Elevator  yet  devised. 

Constructed  without  the  use  of  Cables,  Rojies,  Pal- 
le  ijs,  Counter  balances,  or  Safety  catches. 

HOT  POSSIBLE  TO  FALL. 

IE.      FZTTS, 

74  and  76  Pearl  St.,  Boston. 


THE  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE  RESTS 
ON  NORTON'S  CEMENT. 

C  THE  TRUSTEES  OF  THE 

J  NEW  YORK  AND   BROOKLYN    BRIDUE, 
/          BROOKLYN,  August  9,  1883. 
MR.  F.  O.  NORTON, 

Dear  Sir: 

During  the  construction  of  the  New  York 
and  Brooklyn  Bridge  upwards  of  100,000  bar- 
rels of  your  cement  were  used.  The  concrete 
with  wliich  the  caissions  were  filled  was  made 
with  your  Cement,  and  the  entire  weight  of  the 
towers  rests  upon  it. 

Your  Cement  has  always  had  the  preference 
at  the  same  price  other  cements  were  offered 
for,  and  during  part  of  the  time  in  important 
parts  of  the  work  it  was  selected,  even  at  a 
higher  price,  on  account  of  its  superiority, 
especially  in  the  points  of  uniformity  of  quality 
and  fineness. 

Without  hesitation  I  can  recommend  your 
Cement  to  those  desiring  a  good  and  reliable 
article.  Very  truly  yours, 

C.  C.  MARTIN, 
Chief  Engineer  and  Superintendent. 

F.    O.    NORTON, 

VH  Sfoadtenu,  IfJSW    YORK. 


Something  New  for  the  Stable. 

Read's  Patent  Harness  Bracket. 


An  Article  lona  wanted  but  never  before  made. 

Holds  the  whole  harness,  takes  no  more  room  than 
the  ordinary  hook  or  peg,  can  be  used  for  both  single 
and  double  harness.  Gives  the  harness-case  a  neat 
appearance,  as  it  carries  the  harness  up  uniformly  in 
width  with  the  saddle,  beside  keeping  the  bridle  and 
breastplate  in  their  proper  shape.  They  are  neatly  ja- 
panned, with  gilt  facings.  Price  918  per  dozen.  Are 
now  in  use  in  over  1 1 HI  li rst-class  private  stables  in  and 
about  Boston. 

Each  bracket  lettered  "  J.  J.  Read,  Boston, 
Mass."  For  sale  by  dealers  everywhere. 

Indorsed  and  approved  by  the  following  named  gen- 
tlemen, all  of  whom  have  them  in  use  : 

Boston:  K.  H.  White,  J.  Montgomery  Sears,  J.  T. 
Morse, , I r.,  Thos.  Motley.  South  Boston:  Benjamin 
Dean.  Cambridge :  F.  A.  Kennedy,  John  Bartlett, 
Chas.  H.  Gass.  Portsmouth,  N.  H. :  Hon.  Frank  Jones. 
Milton :  Col.  H.  S.  Russell,  J.Malcolm  Forbes.  Dedham : 
A.  W.  Nickerson.  Baltimore,  Md  :  J.  D.  Mallory. 
Newton  :  J.  O.  Potter.  C.  E.  Billings,  A.  R.  Mitchell. 
Waltham  :  J.  H.  Ellison.  Readville :  C.  G.  White. 
Beverly  :  Dr.  Chas.  Haddock.  Swampsott ;  C.  P.  Cur- 
tis. Boston,  Mass. :  Waldo  Adams,  with  the  Adams 
Express  Co.  Philadelphia,  Pa. :  Edward  N.  Williams, 
of  the  Baldwin  Locomotive  Works. 

The  public  are  cautioned  against  all  similar  brack- 
ets, not  marked  with  my  stamp,  as  such  brackets  are 
infringements  of  patents  held  by  me. 

Also  cedar-top   riding-saddle  bracket.    Price  93.60 
each.    And  whip-rack  for  English  coach  and  straight 
whip  combined.    Price  50  cents  each. 
JAMES  J.  READ.  13  Tremont  Row.  Room  1O. 


ESTERBROOK'S 


STEEL 
PENS 


FOR  SALE  BY  ALL  STATIONERS. 
THE    ESTERBROOK    STEEL.    FEN  CO. 

80  John  Street.  New  York.  N.  T. 


Southwark  Foundry  and  Machine  Company, 


BOILERS. 

TANKS. 

STEAM 
HAMMERS. 

HEAVY 
CASTINGS. 


BLOWING  AND 
REVERSING 

ENGINES. 
CENTRIFUGAL 

PUMPS. 
STEAM  PUMPS. 


SOLE   MAKERS  OF 


HIOJT    ECONOMY. 


DURABILITY. 


CLOSE    RKOVLAT1ON. 


Hartman's  Patent  Inside  Sliding  Blind, 

A  great  improvement  over  all  other  blinds,  slide  up  and  down  in  the 
window  like  sash,  move  easily,  and  stay  where  placed.  No  hinges,  hence  no 
swinging,  sagging  and  tangling  with  curtains  and  window  drapery.  Must  be 
seen  to  be  appreciated.  Excel  any  other  sliding  blind  in  the  market  for 
economy,  durability,  style,  beauty,  convenience,  etc.  Also  the  most  perfect 
arrangement  for  Fly  Screens,  consisting  of  an  additional  section  which 
slides  same  as  the  blinds;  very  much  admired  by  all. 

They  are  also  made  to  slide  entirely  down  to  the  floor,  Into  pocket,  out 
of  sight,  without  any  additional  expense.  25  per  cent,  cheaper  than  the 
hinged  blind,  and  will  last  double  the  length  of  time. 

No  more  an  experiment;  tens  of  thousands  now  in  use.  Architects  are 
specifying  them.  They  always  give  satisfaction. 

The  only  blind  that  is  furnished  with  an  Automatic  Burglar-Proof  Lock, 
free  of  charge. 

Agents  wanted  everywhere.  Send  for  Illustrated  catalogue  and  prices  to 

HARTMAN  &  DURSTINE, 

No.  72  Larwill  Street,  Wooster,  Ohio. 


WITHBOW    &    HILLOCK,    (Toronto,  Ont.), 

M'f 'rs  for  the  Dominion  of  Canada. 


Wigger's  Patent  Sash  Lifters. 

A    SIMPLE    CONTRIVANCE    DESIGNED   TO  FAC1LI 
TATE  THE  RAISING  AND  LOWERING  OF 

ONE -LIGHT     SASHES. 


A  strip  of  concave-convex  metal,  with  projecting  knobs, 
fitting  over  the  bead  on  the  stile. 

Readily  applied  to  either  new  or  old  work.  Furnished 
in  different  styles  —  brass,  nickel-plated,  white,  japanned, 
etc. —  to  correspond  with  painting  or  other  metal  trim- 
mings. 

Architects,  Builders,  Carpenters  and  Painters  will  be 
furnished  with  Circulars  by  the  Hardware  trade. 


BRAINERD    &    CO., 

Manufacturers'  Agents, 

97    CHAMBERS    STREET,        NEW   YORK- 


ATLANTIC  WHITE-LEAD  &  LINSEED-OIL  CO.. 

MAHUFACTUBBRS  OF 

The  best  and    most    reliable 
White-Lead  made, 

And  anequaled  for 

Uniform 

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Fineness, 

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—  AND  — 


"ATLANTIC" 

PURE 

WHITE  LEAD, 


Pure  Linseed-Oil, 

Raw  Refined  and  Boiled. 


and  Body. 

ADDRESS, 

Atlantic  W.  Lead  &  Lin.  Oil  Co. 

887  Pearl  St.,  NEW   YORK. 


FJEJggBRICK- 


BRICK 

PER 

DAY 


MACHINE 

Self-Loading 
Trucks 


THE 
VERY 
_          BESTX 

bl3stj]esCLAYCRUSHER8l' 

Machines  with  orwithoutCrusherr  6  different  Brickmachines.tsi^ 

AddressTHE  FREY-SH  ECKLER  COMPANY,  BucYHUS,  O. 


TILE 
fromlto20inches 


Enginei 
and  foil 

Factory 
OUTFITS 


PEERLESS  COLORS  FOR  MORCHR. 

BLACK,     RED,     BROWN,     BUFF,     BRIGHTEST     AND     MOST     DURABLE     COLORS     MANUFACTURED. 

Send  (or  Circulars. 

Modellers   and  Manufacturers  of  Architectural  Ornaments 

From  Original  and  Special  Designs  (Catalogue). 

SAMUEL  H.  FRENCH  *'  CO.,  PAINT  MANUFACTURERS,  York  Ave,  &  Callowhill  St.,  Philadelphia,  Pa, 


THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT  AND  BUILDING  NEWS. 


VOL.  xxv. 


Copyright,  1889,  by  TICKNOB  &  COMPANY,  Boston,  Mage. 


No.   701 


JUNE  1,  1889. 

Entered  at  the  Post-Office  at  Boston  as  Beoond-clats  matter. 


SUMMARY : — 

Broken  Volumes  of  the  American  Architect  for  1882,  3  and  4. — 
The  Result  of  the  Ballot  for  the  new  American  Institute  of 
Architects. —  Exhibition  of  the  New  York  Cathedral  Plans 
impossible.  —  A  Charge  of  Suppressing  Information. — 
Swiss  and  Italian  School  Buildings.  —  An  Exhibition  of  In- 
dustrial Art  at  Philadelphia,  Pa.  —  Architects'  Schedule  of 

Charges 253 

MALAHIA.  — II 255 

ROMANTICISM  IN  ART 257 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  — 

House  of  Grange  Sard,  Esq.,  Albany,  N.  Y.  —  House  for  E.  J. 
Barney,  Esq.,  Dayton,  O.  —  Alterations  to  Building  of  the 
New  York  Club.  — Baptist  Church,  Maiden,  Mass. —  Build- 
ing for  the  Berkeley  Co.,  Berkeley,  R.  1 258 

SPANISH  SKETCHES 258 

AUGUSTE  RODIN.  —  IX 200 

COMMUNICATIONS  •  — 

Pointing  for  Concord  Granite.  —  Hemlock  and  Rats 263 

NOTES  AND  CLIPPINGS 263 

TRADE  SURVEYS .  204 


S  we  forgot  last  year  to  offer  certain  broken  volumes  at 
reduced  prices,  as  we  have  made  it  our  practice  to  do,  we 
ought  in  regular  course  to  offer  now  the  broken 
volumes  for  1882  and  1883,  but  we  have  concluded  to  sell  the 
1884  issues  also.  The  broken  sets  for  these  three  years  will  be 
made  up  in  lots  of  twenty  issues  each  and  sold  for  one  dollar 
per  lot.  This  arrangement  will  debar  a  purchaser  from  making 
his  own  selection  but  it  will  enable  him  to  obtain,  as  the  years 
are  nearly  complete,  for  seven  dollars  what  is  usually  sold  for 
more  than  three  times  that  amount. 


HE  ballots  for  and  against  the  consolidation  of  the  Ameri- 
can Institute  of  Architects  and  the  Western  Association 
of  Architects  were  counted  last  week  simultaneously  in 
New  York  and  Chicago.  The  vote  of  the  American  Institute 
was  in  favor  of  consolidation  by  a  nearly  unanimous  vote,  only 
nine  negative  ballots  being  cast,  while  the  Western  Association 
was  even  more  emphatic  in  its  approval  of  the  plan,  three 
votes  only,  out  of  two  hundred  and  sixty-five  cast,  as  we  learn 
from  the  Inland  Architect,  being  against  consolidation.  The 
date  of  the  first  Convention  of  the  new  Institute  has  not  been 
fixed  and  will  not  be  for  some  time  yet,  but  the  profession  is  to 
be  congratulated  on  the  unanimity  with  which  the  reorganized 
National  Association  begins  its  new  career.  May  it  have  a 
long  and  happy  life  ! 


OME  of  the  New  York  papers  are  talking  about  the 
decision  of  the  Trustees  of  the  new  cathedral,  in  regard  to 
the  competitive  designs,  as  if  they  found  some  sort  of 
public  grievance  in  it.  The  Times,  for  example,  thinks  it  very 
strange  that  the  designs  of  comparatively  unknown  men  should 
have  been  selected,  to  the  exclusion  of  those  made  by  archi- 
tects of  long  experience  and  well-earned  fame,  and  thinks  that 
if  a  public  exhibition  of  the  drawings  had  been  made  before  the 
decision,  the  Trustees  would  have  been  assisted  in  coming  to  a 
more  correct  conclusion.  We  are  quite  sure  that  no  architect 
has  been  concerned  in  any  of  these  complaints,  and  hope  that 
the  profession  will  use  all  the  influence  it  possesses  in  repressing 
them,  and  in  upholding  the  decision  of  the  Trustees  as  having 
been  made  with  the  most  conscientious  care,  and  under  the 
best  and  most  impartial  expert  advice  that  this  country  could 
furnish,  and  as  being  final  and  binding  upon  all  persons  who 
think  that  courtesy  and  honor  are  the  first  consideration  in 
such  matters.  The  Times  has  perhaps  a  shadow  of  reason  for 
thinking  that  a  public  exhibition  of  the  designs  might  have 
conduced  to  a  correct  decision,  the  judgment  of  a  large  number 
of  people,  exercised  upon  objects  which  have  become  familiar 
by  repeated  inspection,  being  generally  good,  but  in  the  case 


of  the  cathedral,  as  we  understand,  the  Trustees  wished  to 
have  such  an  exhibition,  but  were  prevented  by  the  refusal  of 
a  majority  of  the  competitors  to  allow  their  drawings  to  be 
shown  in  public  before  the  decision,  so  that  the  blame  for  this, 
if  there  is  to  be  any  blame,  should  fall  upon  the  competitors, 
and  not  upon  the  Trustees,  who  have,  as  it  seems  to  us,  done 
the  best  that  they  could,  and  all  that  any  one  could  do,  to 
secure  for  their  great  church  the  best  design  that  the  architects 
of  the  present  day  can  furnish. 


WHAT  a  common  foible  it  is  of  humanity  —  architectural 
humanity  of  the  American  species  —  to  suspect  enmity 
and  malice  at  every  turn !  This  peculiar  form  of  intro- 
spective sensitiveness  has  long  been  understood  to  be  a  peculi- 
arity of  artists,  but  architects  who  undertake  to  handle  every- 
day matters  in  this  work-a-day  world  ought,  one  would  suppose, 
to  have  enough  common-sense  in  their  make-up  to  be  able  to 
realize  that  ninety-nine  per  cent  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  world 
are  wholly  indifferent  to  the  success  or  failure  of  their  fellows, 
and  that  the  number  who  delight  in  malicious  acts  at  the 
expense  of  others  is  infinitesimal  indeed.  The  latest  instance 
of  this  supersensitiveness  with  which  we  have  been  confronted 
is  the  charge  brought  against  us  by  the  "  friends  "  of  Mr.  W. 
W.  Kent,  who  maintain  that,  in  giving  the  names  of  the  success- 
ful competitors  in  the  New  York  Cathedral  competition,  we  "  sup- 
pressed "  the  fact  that  he  was  associated  with  Messrs.  Heins  & 
La  Farge  in  the  preparation  of  their  design.  As  the  friends  of 
General  William  Sooy  Smith,  who,  it  appears,  was  also  an 
associate  in  this  undertaking,  have  not  brought  a  like  indict- 
ment against  us,  we  infer  that  engineers,  being  of  less  artistic 
temperament,  have  friends  of  sufficient  savoir-vivre  to  know  that 
it  is  not  necessary  to  charge  malicious  "  suppression  "  in  order 
to  effect  a  desired  correction  of  an  inaccurate  statement.  To 
Mr.  Kent  and  General  Smith  we  desire  to  say  that  at  the  time 
our  statement  was  made  we  were  wholly  ignorant  of  their  con- 
nection with  the  competition. 


HERR  CARL  HINTRAGER,  of  Vienna,  is  an  architect 
who  has  chosen  to  make  a  specialty  of  the  design  and  con- 
struction of  school-houses,  and,  in  pursuance  of  this  resolu- 
tion, has  made,  what  architects  who  have  school-houses  to  de- 
sign do  not  always  consider  necessary,  a  study  of  what  has 
been  done  by  others  to  fulfil  the  requirements  peculiar  to  struc- 
tures of  this  sort.  Herr  Hintriiger  is  now,  as  we  learn, 
engaged  in  the  study  of  American  school-houses,  which  will 
furnish  him  at  least  a  rich  variety  of  examples  of  what  to 
avoid,  and,  meanwhile,  has  published  an  essay  on  Swiss  and 
Italian  school-buildings,  which  was  first  read  before  the 
Austrian  Society  of  Engineers  and  Architects,  and  has  but  one 
fault  —  that  it  is  far  too  short.  As  most  architects  know,  the 
ideas  of  the  Swiss  in  regard  to  instruction  in  schools,  the 
division  into  classes,  and  the  separation  of  the  sexes,  are  very 
similar  to  ours,  perhaps  more  nearly  so  than  those  of  any  other 
people  in  Europe,  and  their  school-houses  furnish,  in  con- 
sequence, models  which  can  be  adapted  to  our  use  almost 
without  change.  Moreover,  the  attention  of  architects  has  of 
late  years  been  drawn  particularly  to  their  planning  and  con- 
struction, by  the  well-conducted  competitions  through  which 
designs  for  nearly  all  of  them  are  obtained,  and,  while  the 
earlier  buildings  are  perhaps  no  better  than  ours,  the  more  re- 
cent Swiss  school-houses  are  admirable,  to  a  degree  which  one 
who  has  not  studied  and  compared  many  school-house  plans  can 
hardly  comprehend,  in  all  the  details  of  their  arrangement. 
As  in  most  of  our  States,  education  in  Switzerland  is  com- 
pulsory, all  children  being  required,  by  strict  laws,  zeal- 
ously enforced,  to  attend  school  from  their  sixth  or  seventh 
year  to  their  twelfth,  thirteenth,  fourteenth  or  fifteenth, 
according  to  their  circumstances,  the  cantons  fixing  their  own 
regulations  in  this  respect,  and,  much  more  than  with  us,  the 
erection  of  handsome,  well-planned  and  well-situated  school- 
houses,  "the  people's  palaces,"  as  the  Swiss  call  them,  is  a 
matter  of  pride  to  even  the  smallest  villages,  so  that,  as  Herr 
Hintrager  informs  us,  a  town  like  Aarau  or  Zofingen,  with  four 
or  five  thousand  inhabitants,  will  spend  two  hundred  thousand 
dollars  on  school-buildings,  in  addition  to  the  cost  of  the  land. 
In  the  country  districts,  it  is  common  for  several  villages  to 
unite  in  the  erection  of  a  substantial  and  well-planned  building, 


254 


The    American    Architect   and  Building   News.        [VOL.  XXV.  — No.  701 


which  is  placed  in  the  most  healthful  location  that  can  be  had 
—  never  in  an  abandoned  graveyard,  as  in  a  case  we  once 
heard  of  in  Massachusetts,  and  is  arranged  with  particular 
reference  to  securing  the  best  effects  of  air  and  sunshine  that  it 
is  possible  to  obtain.  There  is  just  now  a  discussion  whether 
an  aspect  due  south  or  southeast  is  most  favorable  to  the 
health  of  the  children  who  are  to  occupy  the  school-rooms,  but 
some  sort  of  southerly  aspect  is  secured  in  nearly  all  school- 
houses.  In  plan,  the  structure  is  divided  like  our  own  modern 
school-buildings,  into  class-rooms,  arranged  to  accommodate 
not  more  than  fifty  pupils  each,  and  approached  by  a  brightly 
lighted  corridor,  often  sixteen  feet  or  more  in  width,  which 
aifords  facilities  for  the  orderly  movement  of  the  children  to 
and  from  their  places,  at  the  same  time  that  it  furnishes  them 
with  a  play-room  for  stormy  weather. 

IT  would  take  too  long  to  mention  the  other  interesting 
pecularities  of  the  Swiss  schools,  which  Herr  Hintriiger 
describes  in  his  book,  but  we  ought  not  to  omit  a  reference 
to  the  gymnasiums,  which  are  attached  to  nearly  all  school- 
houses,  in  compliance  with  the  Federal  Law,  which  was  passed 
in  1878,  and  requires  that  all  Swiss  boys  shall  have  regular 
training  in  gymnastics  during  the  last  six  years  of  their  school 
life.  In  most  cases,  the  gymnasiums,  or  turn-halls,  are  airy 
buildings  immediately  connected  with  the  school-houses,  and 
well  supplied  with  apparatus,  so  that  they  may  be,  and  often 
are,  utilized,  out  of  school  hours,  by  clubs  or  private  persons. 
In  all  but  the  compulsory  addition  of  a  gymnasium  to  the 
other  accommodations,  the  modern  Italian  school-houses  closely 
resemble  those  of  Switzerland.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  ex- 
plain to  any  one  who  has  the  smallest  notion  of  what  has  been 
going  on  in  Europe  since  1860,  that  the  Italy  of  the  German 
writers,  that  produced  nothing  but  hand-organ  grinders,  while 
the  rest  of  Europe  was  trying  to  civilize  itself,  has  long  ceased 
to  exist,  and  the  Italy  of  to-day,  in  its  efforts  for  popular 
education,  presses  closely  on  the  heels  of  Switzerland,  the  fore- 
most of  European  nations.  Herr  Hintriiger,  to  give  an  idea  of 
the  average  amount  of  money  devoted  by  the  Italian  cities 
every  year  to  the  erection  of  schools,  quotes  the  official 
statistics  for  1881,  which  show  that  in  that  year  Turin,  a  town 
of  two  hundred  and  fifteen  thousand  inhabitants,  spent  three 
hundred  and  seventy-five  thousand  dollars  in  new  school- 
houses  ;  Genoa,  with  a  population  of  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
five  thousand,  spent  two  hundred  thousand  in  the  same  way, 
and  Naples,  which  we  commonly  picture  to  ourselves  as  being 
inhabited  almost  exclusively  by  lazzaroni  and  brigands,  ex- 
pended four  hundred  thousand.  As  architects  will  easily  con- 
ceive, the  new  Italian  school-buildings  are  of  the  most  sub- 
stantial character.  As  in  Switzerland,  a  very  wide  corridor, 
with  ample  windows,  occupies  most  of  one  side  of  the  structure, 
and  gives  access  to  the  class-rooms,  which  occupy  the  other, 
and  are  limited  to  a  capacity  of  fifty  scholars  each.  The  class- 
rooms face  directly  south,  and  a  spacious  cloak-room  often 
intervenes  between  them  and  the  corridor.  The  building 
has  no  cellar,  but  the  first  floor  is  raised  above  the  ground,  and 
the  space  under  it  is  left  open,  so  that  the  air  can  circulate 
freely  through  it.  In  Rome,  where  the  antique  traditions 
perhaps  prevail  more  completely  than  in  the  newer  cities  of  the 
north,  the  corridors  and  wardrobes  in  each  story  are  covered 
with  barrel  vaults,  two  inches  thick,  made  of  tiles,  cemented 
together  with  puzzolana,  and  levelled  up  to  receive  the  tile 
floors.  The  roof  is  of  the  same  construction,  but,  to  prevent 
the  heat  of  the  sun  from  affecting  the  rooms  under  it,  dry 
gravel  is  put  over  the  tile  vaults,  and  the  roofing  formed  with 
tiles  covered  with  asphalt. 


'TTN  exhibition  of  American  industrial  art  is  to  be  held  at 
j\  Philadelphia,  in  the  Memorial  Hall  in  Fairmount  Park, 
'  from  October  7  to  November  18  next.  The  exhibition  will 
comprise  objects  of  pottery,  porcelain,  glass-ware,  tiles,  terra- 
cotta, mosaic  and  stained  glass,  and  prizes  are  to  be  given,  on 
the  award  of  competent  experts.  The  stained-glass  section, 
which  is  the  one  which  will  most  interest  architects,  is  under 
the  charge  of  a  committee,  of  which  Mr.  Theophilus  P.  Chand- 
ler, Jr.,  is  chairman,  and  an  earnest  invitation  has  been  issued 
to  all  Americans  engaged  in  making  stained-glass  to  contribute 
their  best  work,  which  will  be  shown  under  as  favorable  condi- 
tions as  possible  by  glazing  the  arcades  in  front  of  the  building. 
In  addition  to  gold,  silver  and  bronze  medals  for  the  best  do- 


mestic, ecclesiastical  and  plain  leaded  work,  a  special  prize  of 
two  hundred  dollars  in  money  is  to  be  given  to  the  author  of 
the  best  cartoon  for  a  figure  or  ornamental  window,  accom- 
panied by  a  sketch  showing  the  scheme  of  color.  Mr.  Chand- 
ler's committee  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that,  although  an 
immense  quantity  of  stained-glass  is  imported  into  this  country 
every  year,  the  art  of  making  it  and  putting  it  together  has 
advanced  greatly  in  this  country  during  the  past  decade,  and  it 
may  well  be  doubted  whether  England,  Germany  or  France 
could  make  a  better  exhibition  of  the  sort  than  would  be  pre- 
sented by  a  collection  of  the  best  work  of  the  best  American 
makers  and  designers.  We  are  willing,  for  ourselves,  to  go 
still  further,  and  to  say  that  in  the  opal  glass  invented  and 
improved  in  America  we  have  a  material  which  has  doubled 
the  resources  of  the  glass-painter ;  while  the  methods  in  which 
even  transparent  glass  is  used  here,  by  plating,  drilling  and  in- 
sertion of  colors,  and  casting  of  pieces,  and  so  on,  afford  whole 
fields  of  delightful  novelty,  as  yet  unexplored.  That  these 
methods  are  always  used  here  with  perfect  taste  we  do  not 
pretend,  but  the  best  of  the  modern  American  work  is,  in  our 
humble  opinion,  so  infinitely  superior  in  technique  to  that  done 
elsewhere  that  a  good  collection  of  it  will  be  worth  a  long 
journey  to  see. 


time  ago,  a  firm  of  architects  wrote  to  the  Engineer- 
iny  and  Building  Record  for  comment  upon  two  forms  of 
schedules  of  charges,  which  they  had  proposed  to  use  in 
their  own  practice  if  they  could  decide  which  was  the  better  of 
the  two.  The  first  schedule  contains  rates  of  commission  for 
buildings  of  different  cost,  at  about  one-half  more  than  the 
common  charges,  with  the  explanation  that  for  these  prices  the 
architects  will  keep,  at  their  own  expense,  a  clerk-of-works 
constantly  on  the  ground  in  the  case  of  structures  important 
enough  to  require  such  care,  and  will  assume  responsibility  for 
the  supervision  of  the  execution  of  the  work.  In  the  second 
schedule,  which  is  more  like  that  in  common  use  among  offices, 
the  fee  is  set  at  various  sums  for  buildings  costing  less  than 
seventy-five  hundred  dollars,  seven  hundred  and  fifty  dollars 
for  those  costing  from  seventy-five  hundred  to  fifteen  thousand 
dollars,  and  five  per  cent  for  those  costing  more  than  fifteen 
thousand  dollars,  the  employment  of  a  clerk-of-works  being 
strongly  advised  in  all  cases,  and  the  stipulation  being  made 
that,  where  one  is  not  employed,  the  architects  will  not  be  re- 
sponsible for  any  defects  iu  workmanship  which  might  have 
been  avoided  by  such  supervision  as  it  is  the  province  of  a 
clerk-of-works  to  give.  To  both  the  schedules  the  usual  clauses 
are  added,  providing  for  the  rate  of  charge  for  monumental  and 
furniture  work,  for  selection  of  stuffs  and  furniture,  for  partial 
service,  ownership  of  drawings,  and  so  on,  besides  some  novel, 
but  excellent  stipulations,  to  the  effect  that  if  the  owner  men- 
tions requirements  both  as  to  the  accommodation  desired  and 
the  amount  to  be  expended,  the  architects  will  not  undertake 
to  conform  to  both  of  them,  but  will  agree  to  conform  to  which- 
ever one  the  owner  may  select,  and  to  comply  with  the  other 
as  nearly  as  circumstances  will  admit ;  and  further,  that  if  the 
owner  specifies  a  certain  limit  of  cost  before  the  working- 
drawings  are  prepared,  and  at  the  same  time  insists  upon  items 
of  accommodation,  structure  and  finish  which,  in  the  opinion  of 
the  architects,  will  cause  the  cost  to  exceed  the  limit  specified, 
the  usual  commission  shall  be  paid  for  the  plans,  even  though 
they  may  be  discarded,  when  the  estimates  are  received,  on 
account  of  the  excessive  cost.  As  it  was  not  our  advice  that 
was  asked  upon  these  schedules,  we  will  not  intrude  it ;  but  the 
publication  in  the  Record  has  hardly  elicited  the  discussion 
that  the  subject  deserves,  and  we  would  like  to  do  what  we  can 
to  revive  the  matter,  and  we  may,  at  least,  express  our  satisfac- 
tion with  the  way  in  which  the  schedules  in  question  have  been 
drawn  up.  If  architects  generally  would  be  as  prudent  and 
business-like  in  making  terms  before  they  began  their  work, 
they  would  be  much  better  pleased  with  their  clients  when 
they  got  through,  and  their  clients  with  them.  The  question 
of  whether  the  architect  shall  under  any  circumstances  provide 
a  clerk-of-works  at  his  own  expense  is  complicated  by  the  con- 
sideration that  the  owner  may  be  more  likely  to  allow  the 
building  to  linger  along,  to  the  great  detriment  of  the  architect, 
if  it  is  the  latter  who  pays  the  clerk-of-works ;  but  there  is 
something  to  be  said  on  both  sides,  and  we  trust  the  whole 
matter  may  be  thoroughly  discussed,  and  some  united  action 
taken,  at  the  first  convention  of  that  vigorous  young  Institute 
which  is  to  do  so  much  for  us  all,  whenever  its  somewhat  pro- 
tracted incubation  shall  be  completed. 


JUNE  1,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


255 


MALARIA.'— II. 

CAREFUL 
study  of  the 
subject  of  ma- 
laria has  recently 
been  made  by  Dr. 
Nicholas,2  the 
Health  Officer  of 
the  Panama  Canal 
Company.  He  says 
that  the  atmosphere 
over  marshes  is 
more  plentifully 

CHUIKH  charged  with  bacte- 
ria and  with  fila- 
mentous algae,  than 

FRANCE  is  that  over  healthy 
land.  He  quotes 
from  Mourel,  who 
says : 

"  The  explanation 
is  to  be  found  almost 
solely  in  the  config- 
uration of  the  marsh 
and  the  change  of  its  level  at  intervals  sufficiently  long  for  the  ground 
uncovered  by  the  water  to  become  completely  dry  —  ground  which, 
dry  at  the  surface,  is  damp  underneath,  and  that  these  zones  occupy 
a  surface  of  considerable  extent.  The  minute  organisms  of  the  marsh 
cannot  escape  into  the  atmosphere  so  long  as  the  ground  remains 
covered  by  a  sheet  of  water.  This  sheet  of  water  is  a  preservative 
screen.  All  who  have  studied  the  progress  of  paludism  understand 
this.  It  is  the  same  with  those  parts  that  are  mainly  humid;  the 
minute  organisms  find  in  this  humidity  a  cause  of  adhesion  sufficient  to 
resist  atmospheric  movement  and  remain  attached  to  their  natural 
medium.  But  let  them  dry,  let  the  chroococaces  which  had  formed  a 
uniform  coating  become  separated  by  heat,  let  these  amibes,  momen- 
tarily transformed  into  minute  pellicles,  lose  all  adhesion  with  the 
bodies  about  them,  and  all  of  these  minute  growths  will  be  lifted  by  the 
least  movement  of  the  atmosphere,  which  may  thus  maintain  them  in 
suspension.  To  appreciate  the  quantity  that  may  enter  the  respiratory 
passages,  it  will  suffice  to  recall  the  fact  that  my  experiments  never 
covered  more  than  100  litres  of  air,  and  that,  notwithstanding,  each 
drop  of  liquid  contained  some  of  these  organisms,  and  if  some  among 
these  had  perished,  others,  on  the  contrary,  had  not  suffered  enough 
from  desiccation  to  prevent  them  from  resuming  their  activity  and  con- 
tinuing (in  the  body)  a  life  all  the  more  active  because  they  there 
found,  at  least,  two  conditions  most  favorable  to  their  existence : 
warmth  and  humidity.  Of  all  of  the  parts  of  a  marsh,  only  one  in- 
terests us ;  it  is  that  which,  recently  dried,  still  retains  at  its  surface 
organisms  dry  enough  to  be  taken  up  by  the  atmosphere,  but  at  the 
same  time  not  dry  enough  to  have  lost  their  life.  It  is  this  zone  that  I 
have  designated  for  a  long  time  under  the  name  of  the  dangerous  zone, 
...  It  is  true  that  in  the  analysis  of  a  salubrious  air,  these  microbes 
may  have  been  seen  to  develop,  after  a  certain  time,  in  the  water  by 
which  the  air  has  been  washed,  or  in  water  of  condensation.  This  has 
always  required  a  considerable  time,  while  in  the  atmosphere  of 
marshes,  I  have  met  them  in  a  full  state  of  development." 

Dr.  Nicholas  thinks  that : 

" These  considerations  relative  to  the  'dangerous  zone '  of  swamps 
explain  why  the  presence  of  visible  water  is  not  indispensable  to  the 
production  of  fevers,  which  may  break  out  in  a  country,  maintain 
themselves,  disappear,  and  reappear  when,  whatever  may  be  the  nature 
of  the  ground,  earthworks  expose  to  the  air  the  products  of  incomplete 
decomposition  which  have  accumulated  in  the  earth  and  are  disengaged 
by  the  excavation  (Cheveruel).  This  is  the  condition  of  the  Roman 
Campagna." 

Nicholas  adduces  the  opinion  of  Leon  Colin  that  the  ground  here 
considered  is  not  properly  a  marsh,  and  that  the  influence  producing 
a  miasm  is  rather  telluric  than  paludal ;  that  it  is  not  the  effect  of 
the  putrefaction  of  organic  matters,  but  of  an  influence  due  to  the 
soil  itself.  Dr.  Nicholas  thinks  that : 

"The  disturbing  of  the  earth  in  the  construction  of  the  Panama 
Canal  was  not  of  itself  the  greatest  source  of  malaria.  Outbreaks  of 
fever  were  not  so  much  in  proportion  to  the  excavations  as  to  the 
changing  of  the  hygrometric  conditions  of  the  ground;  for  at  the 
Isthmus,  as  elsewhere  —  daily  observation  demonstrated  this  in  all 
the  camps  —  the  particular  source  of  tropical  insalubrity  is  a  marsh. 
Excavation  and  filling  are  inoffensive  when  they  do  not  cause  the 
standing  and  stagnation  of  water,  whether  of  rain)  of  springs,  or  of  a 
river.  On  the  contrary,  a  marsh  is  quickly  constituted  in  a  country 
where  the  vigor  of  vegetation  in  the  course  of  a  single  season  covers 
under  a  mantle  of  growing  forest  all  trace  of  the  most  recent  work,  and 
everywhere  where  this  occurs  the  marsh  infects  the  seat  of  the  work, 
and  the  encampment  as  welL  Arid  though  they  are,  the  virgin  lands 
of  hot  countries  need  only  a  stroke  of  the  spade  to  develop  pernicious 
water;  but  they  are  all  made  salubrious  by  drainage,  and,  in  order  that 
malaria  may  be  produced  there,  it  is  always  necessary  that  the  water 
should  have  entered  the  ground  (feconde'  le  steppe),  whether  on  the 
banks  of  the  Tarim  at  an  elevation  of  1  to  3,000  metres,  in  the  desert 
of  Gobi,  or  in  the  fertile  valley  of  the  Euphrates  or  on  the  banks  of 
the  fluctuating  White  and  Blue  Niles.  It  often  suffices  that  the  course 
of  a  torrent,  of  a  river,  or  of  a  small  brook  should  be  arrested  where 
the  banks  are  low,  in  order  that  malarial  mortality  should  be  aggra- 

1  Continued  from  page  247,  No.  700. 
elr£'iss£er'  '^  'Jerrassementi  mP"V  Paludeen,."  par  L.  Dr.  Ad.  Nicholas, 


vated  as  a  consequence  of  inundation ;  and  it  is  thus  that  we  have  seen 
an  increase  in  malarial  death  on  the  course  of  the  Missouri  and  of  its 
affluents,  the  Kansas  and  Yellowstone.  It  is  not  without  interest,  at 
least  when  we  are  considering  the  effect  of  excavations,  to  know  that 
the  number  of  germs,  of  whatever  sort,  decrease  on  virgin  soils  with 
the  depth  of  the  cutting.  Microbists  are  unanimous  in  this  opinion. 
According  to  Frankel,  the  number  of  microbes  at  a  depth  of  1.25 
metres  is  six  times  less  than  at  the  surface.  According  to  Maggiora, 
the  number  is  much  less  in  desert  and  forest  soils  than  in  cultivated 
lands;  that  is  to  say,  as  Duclaux  has  remarked,  the  number  will  vary 
in  a  soil  that  is  neither  inundated  nor  too  dry  with  the  quantity  and 
quality  of  organic  matters.  It  will  be  readily  appreciated  that  Mag- 
giora has  found  the  number  to  be  inversely  to  the  geologic  age  of  the 
ground,  to  altitude,  to  compactness  and  to  impermeability,  and  that 
it  increases  with  the  richness  of  manuring  and  the  thoroughness  of  cul- 
tivation. 

"In  closing,  I  will  confine  myself  to  reminding  coniographcrs,  and 
especially  sanitarians,  that  neither  humus  nor  water,  nor  their  associa- 
tion in  a  marshy  soil,  is  absolutely  necessary  to  the  evolution  of  mala- 
rial germs  in  localities  subject  to  paludal  fevers.  It  suffices  that  these 
germs  find  in  fog  the  humid  medium  that  is  necessary  to  them,  and  the 
fog  does  not  require  for  its  formation  the  presence  of  a  marsh  in  the 
locality.  It  results  from  the  difference  of  temperature  between  two 
contiguous  layers  of  air,  whatever  may  be  the  cause  of  the  cooling  of 
one  or  of  the  warming  of  the  other,  subject  to  the  condition  that  the  air 
contains  watery  vapor.  Aerial  germs  will  grow  in  this  medium  as  well 
as  in  the  '  dangerous  zone'  of  marshes,  which,  until  further  knowledge 
is  obtained,  will  remain  none  the  less,  in  my  opinion,  the  origin  of  im- 
paludism  in  the  immense  majority  of  cases.  In  insisting  on  the  aerial 
marsh  in  Panama,  I  did  not  recall  the  role  attributed  to  fogs  in  the 
Roman  Campagna  by  Baron  Michel  and  by  Leon  Colin,  who  regard 
the  subject  from  different  points-of-view.  Although  these  works  were 
already  old,  and  although  the  influence  of  fogs  has  always  been  ad- 
mitted in  Algiers,  from  the  first  years  of  the  occupation,  as  well  as  in 
Madagascar  in  the  most  recent  experience,  I  was  acting  only  on  my 
own  observation  and  on  the  testimony  of  the  officers  of  the  Canal 
service ;  but  I  am  happy  to  find  support  in  the  opinions  of  learned 
confreres,  although  they  are  differently  founded  from  my  own.  It  is 
not,  let  us  believe,  by  '  condensing  the  miasmatic  vapor  in  the  lower 
strata  of  the  atmosphere  '  that  the  nocturnal  cooling  increases  the  in- 
tensity of  the  miasm,  but  in  creating  the  aerial  marsh  (fog)  in  which 
germs  may  undergo  their  development.  It  is  not  necessary  that 
the  germs  should  emanate  from  the  soil  itself,  that  they  should  come  in 
the  state  of  maturity  from  more  or  less  marshy  neighboring  regions; 
but  such  a  soil  may  be  more  favorable  to  them,  because,  being  moist, 
fertile  or  mountainous,  it  furnishes  more  humidity  to  the  air ;  or 
because,  being  naked,  flat  or  dry,  its  radiation  is  greater,  and  by  giving 
more  heat  to  the  lower  strata  of  the  atmosphere  it  increases  the  thermal 
variations  between  day  and  night. 

"  This  interpretation  does  not  simplify  the  question  of  malarial 
hygiene,  and  I  can  conceive  that  sanitarians  may  have  regarded  the 
conclusions  in  a  certain  sense  desperate.  It  is  not,  however,  unimpor- 
tant to  face  the  evil  where  it  really  exists.  I  have  never  favored  a 
system  of  morals  or  of  therapeutics  which  did  not  begin  by  seeking  out 
the  sore  spots  to  give  them  better  care;  and  if,  in  a  given  locality,  im- 
paludism  has  its  centre  of  action  in  fog,  aside  from  the  necessity  for 
giving  protection  against  the  fog,  it  is  not  always  impossible  to  modify 
the  conditions  of  the  soil  which  favor  its  formation. 

"  Where  the  restricted  area  of  a  marshy  country  has  permitted  us  to 
attack  it  rapidly  and  to  conquer  it  by  a  single  effort,  success  has  almost 
always  been  achieved:  Either  (A)  by  the  direct  drainage  of  the 
ground,  by  open  canals  or  by  underground  conduits,  like  the  system  of 
drainage  which  has  made  healthy  the  environs  of  London  and  the  prin- 
cipal districts  of  England  ;  or  (B),  on  the  contrary,  by  flooding,  which 
transforms  the  marshy  surface  exposed  to  the  heat  of  summer  into  in- 
offensive drowned  marshes,  the  means  anciently  employed  by  Empedo- 
cles,  who  rescued  the  Salentians  from  a  cruel  epidemic  by  discharging 
the  water  of  a  river  over  the  marsh  that  surrounded  their  city.  In  the 
same  manner,  Lancisi  arrested  the  development  of  an  epidemic  caused 
by  the  exhalations  of  the  moat  of  the  fort  of  San  Angelo,  and  that 
frequently  Hollanders  have  in  like  manner  stopped  the  attacks  of  in- 
termittent fever;8  or  (C)  by  filling  the  depressions  of  the  marshy 
soil  with  solid  materials,  bringing  it  to  a  uniform  level,  and  suppress- 
ing the  pond-holes  resulting  from  inequalities  of  grade.  It  is  only 
necessary  to  mention  the  good  results  that  follow  the  regulation  and 
diking  of  canals  and  rivers,  measures  whose  neglect  may  occasion 
serious  epidemics.  The  same  may  be  said  of  accidental  seats  of 
malaria,  which  are  frequently  developed  along  the  line  of  railways  by 
the  neglect  of  accumulations  of  water  forming  in  borrow-pits  estab- 
lished during  construction." 

Loomis  says : 

"  Drainage  is  another  means  which  diminishes,  and,  in  certain  con- 
formations of  soil,  entirely  destroys  malarial  generation.  In  the 
majority  of  marshes,  this  generation  can  be  arrested  or  prevented  by 
free  drainage." 

A  case  of  the  creation  of  malarious  conditions  by  an  obstruction 
of  natural  drainage  was  fully  set  forth  in  1882  in  a  trial  held  before 
the  Superior  Court  at  Pittsfield,  Mass.,  between  the  town  of  Lenox 
and  the  Smith  Paper  Company  of  the  adjoining  town  of  Lee.  The 
paper  company  had  raised  its  dam  and  flooded  a  large  tract  of  river- 
bottom  that  had  previously  been  dry.  In  dry  seasons,  when  the  flow 
of  the  river  was  insufficient  for  its  uses,  the  company  used  the  water 
thus  stored,  thereby  exposing  large  tracts  of  the  flooded  land  to  the 
action  of  the  sun  and  air.  The  flooding  had  the  further  effect  of 


8  It  was  thus  in  1748,  during  the  War  of  the  Succession  of  Austria,  that  the 
Hollanders  inundated  their  kingdom  for  defence.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
summer,  which  was  excessively  hot,  preliminaries  of  peace  were  signed  and 
the  waters  were  drained  off.  Thereupon  a  serious  epidemic  was  developed, 
and  the  States  General  ordered  a  new  inundation  until  the  beginning  of  winter. 


256 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.         [VOL.  XXV.— No.  701. 


preventing  the  adequate  drainage  of  lands  lying  adjacent  to  the  ex- 
tended water  surface,  and  converted  these  into  swamps.  This  was 
accompanied  by  a  serious  outbreak  of  malarial  fever  previously  un- 
known in  that  district,  which  led  to  the  trial.  The  unfortunate  error 
was  made  of  bringing  a  criminal  suit  against  the  company  for  main- 
taining a  nuisance,  requiring  for  its  success  the  unanimous  verdict  of 
a  jury  of  twelve  men,  each  of  whom  must  be  convinced  "beyond  a 
reasonable  doubt"  that  the  cases  of  illness  described  had  been  caused 
by  a  condition  clearly  resulting  from  the  raising  of  the  dam. 

Dr.  Adams's  paper 1  concerning  this  case,  after  summing  up  the 
testimony  on  both  sides,  continues : 

"  The  closing  argument  for  the  defence  was  made  by  Judge  Soule. 
He  called  attention  to  the  difference  of  opinion  among  the  medical  and 
sanitary  experts  as  to  the  causes  of  malaria,  which  rendered  it  impos- 
sible, he  contended,  to  fix  the  responsibility  for  the  sickness  at  New 
Lenox  upon  the  defendants'  dam.  He  quoted  from  the  testimony  of 
nearly  all  the  experts  that  the  malarial  poison  is  introduced  from  with- 
out, and  is  prevalent  in  epidemic  form  over  a  large  region  of  country. 
He  showed  that  only  about  half  the  witnesses  had  noticed  any  bad 
smells  in  the  vicinity  of  the  reservoir,  whence  he  argued  that  the  fact 
of  smells  had  been  exaggerated.  Finally,  he  referred  to  the  impor- 
tance of  the  interests  involved,  and  said  that  the  result  of  removing 
the  defendants'  dam  would  be  to  stop  the  busy  wheels  of  Lowell  and 
Lawrence. 

"The  District  Attorney,  in  closing  for  the  Commonwealth,  quoted 
from  the  testimony  of  witnesses  to  show  that  before  the  dam  was  raised 
the  amount  of  boggy  land  was  very  small,  and  produced  grass;  that 
the  '  pockets '  were  dry,  the  water  clean,  and  the  locality  a  very  healthy 
one.  The  raising  of  the  water-level,  caused  by  raising  the  dam,  made 
the  valley  swampy,  caused  water  to  stagnate  in  the  pockets,  and  con- 
verted a  healthy  valley  into  a  foul  marsh,  where  malaria  found  its 
natural  breeding  place.  The  sufferings,  loss  and  general  deterioration 
of  the  community,  resulting  from  constantly  recurring  attacks  of  fever 
and  ague,  were  well  depicted.  The  remarkable  changes  of  opinion  on 
the  part  of  certain  experts  for  the  defence  were  not  overlooked.  He 
also  showed  that  all  examinations  of  the  reservoir  and  measurements 
of  the  depth  and  fluctuations  of  the  water,  testified  to  on  behalf  of  the 
defendants,  were  made  during  the  present  year  [1882],  when  the  supply 
of  water  has  been  abundant,  and  the  bottom  has  been  hidden  from 
sight.  He  contrasted  this  condition  with  that  in  1880,  when,  in  conse- 
quence of  drought,  a  great  expanse  of  marshy  bottom  was  for  months 
exposed  to  the  sun  and  air,  and  the  deeper  portions  kept  alternately 
wet  ami  drying,  which  condition  is  liable  at  any  time  to  recur. 

"Judge  Brigham,  in  his  charge  to  the  jury,  explained  those  legal 
and  technical  points  which  were  calculated  to  confuse  and  perplex,  and 
placed  the  essential  points  in  the  case  in  their  clearest  light.  He  did 
not  especially  favor  either  side  of  the  case,  but  left  it  for  the  jury  to 
decide  from  the  evidence  whether  or  not  the  defendants'  dam  had  been 
proved  a  public  nuisance  and  a  cause  of  the  prevalence  of  intermittent 
fever  in  its  vicinity. 

"  The  jury,  after  being  out  twelve  hours,  brought  in  a  verdict  of 
'  Not  Guilty.'  " 

This  was  not  a  verdict  justifying  the  raising  of  the  dam,  nor 
against  the  probable  injury  resulting  from  an  obstruction  of  the 
natural  drainage  of  the  land.  It  was  only  a  verdict  that  the  causa- 
tion of  malaria  and  the  method  in  which  the  condition  of  these  lands 
had  caused  malaria  in  this  case  had  not  been  so  established  "beyond 
a  reasonable  doubt "  as  to  warrant  the  conviction  of  the  Messrs. 
Smith  on  a  criminal  charge.  Although  there  is  a  general  concur- 
rence of  opinion  on  these  matters,  there  is  to  this  day  no  such  posi- 
tive and  unquestionable  knowledge  as  would  warrant  such  conviction. 
I  was  an  expert  on  the  side  of  the  Commonwealth  in  this  case,  and 
J  felt  satisfied  that  not  one  of  the  experts  on  the  side  of  the  defend- 
ant would  be  willing  to  assert  that  the  conditions  under  considera- 
tion had  not  better  be  avoided. 

The  suggestion  was  made  some  years  ago  by  Dr.  Bronson,  of  New 
Haven,  though  not  in  distinct  terms,  that  malaria  may  be  trans- 
ported from  one  locality  to  another  through  the  medium  of  popula- 
tion. He  refers  to  its  failure  to  reach  certain  localities  suitable  for 
its  development  because  there  were  no  habitations  to  serve  as  step- 
ping-stones for  its  progress,  the  idea  obviously  being  that  while 
malarial  germs  may  not  be  transported  for  a  considerable  distance 
by  currents  of  air,  they  may  be  carried  in  the  person  of  one  who 
has  contracted  the  disease  in  one  locality  to  ground  elsewhere  favor- 
able to  its  development.  This  idea  is  not  generally  accepted,  nor 
can  it  now  be  proved  to  be  true.  There  is  nothing  in  the  history  of 
the  progress  of  the  affection  by  slow  stages  over  long,  continuous 
reaches  of  country  to  controvert  it.  So  far  as  malaria  has  followed 
the  progress  of  railroad  construction,  for  example,  it  may  have  been 
caused  by  the  successive  development  of  malarious  conditions  as  the 
work  extended.  This,  however,  does  not  satisfactorily  explain  such 
a  movement  as  that  along  the  line  of  the  New  Haven  Railroad  from 
New  York,  and  up  the  Connecticut  River  valley  as  far  as  Vermont 
and  New  Hampshire,  the  movement  taking  place  long  after  the 
completion  of  the  roads. 

All  observations  as  to  the  development  of  malaria  and  as  to  its 
elimination,  while  conforming  more  or  less  completely  to  the  theories 
of  all  the  different  authorities,  tend  only  to  confirm  the  opinion  that, 
so  far  as  nearly  the  whole  area  of  the  United  States  is  concerned, 
this  development  is  in  close  relation  to  undue  soil-moisture  and  to 
the  undue  prevalence  of  fogs  or  mists  resulting  therefrom;  and  that 
by  drying  the  soil,  and  thereby  greatly  reducing  or  entirely  remov- 
ing mist  and  fog,  we  invariably  reduce  the  intensity  of  malaria  or 

1  Jioston  Medical  and  Suryical  Journal,  December  28, 1882. 


remove  it  altogether.  There  is  but  one  known  means  for  effecting 
this  change ;  that  is,  by  removing  the  excessive  moisture  of  the  soil 
both  by  underdrainage  and  by  such  a  regulation  of  the  surface  as 
shall  prevent  the  accumulation  of  standing  water  in  or  on  the 
surface-soil ;  that  is  to  say,  the  sovereign  remedy  for  malaria  is 
drainage  —  not  necessarily  a  thorough  drying  of  the  soil  to  a  great 
depth,  but  only  such  as  will  bring  it  to  its  best  agricultural  condition. 
The  limits  of  temperature  often  assumed  to  control  the  develop- 
ment of  malaria  have  not  been  fixed  with  certainty,  nor  do  writers 
on  the  subject  agree  as  to  what  the  necessary  degree  of  heat  must 
be.  We  have  ample  evidence  that  the  autumn  temperature,  even  of 
our  more  Northern  States,  is  sufficient,  if  other  conditions  are  satis- 
factory, and  if  the  germ  is  present;  that  is,  if  the  soil  is  infected,  for 
it  may  be  safely  assumed  that,  like  many  other  prevalent  diseases, 
malaria  is  due  to  a  living  germ,  whether  the  bacillus  malaria:  or  an- 
other. It  has  been  sufficiently  shown  that  what  was  long  regarded 
as  an  essential  factor,  that  is,  the  active  decomposition  of  organic 
matter,  is  not  indispensable.  Many  soils  poor  in  organic  remains 
are  peculiarly  pernicious  if  sufficiently  moist  and  warm;  while  many 
swampy  localities,  of  which  the  soil  is  made  up  almost  entirely  of 
decomposing  vegetation,  do  not  necessarily  produce  malaria.  If  in 
the  condition  of  actual  saturated  swamps,  they  are  much  less  likely 
to  produce  it  than  are  soils  of  which  the  organic  matter  is  less  in 
quantity  and  in  a  much  less  active  state  of  decomposition,  but  which 
are  still  far  from  being  saturated.  The  malaria-producing  capacity 
of  large  areas  in  California  in  which  organic  matter  is  not  a  promi- 
nent element  of  the  soil,  wherever  irrigation  is  applied,  sufficiently 
illustrates  this. 

In  1378,  I  made  a  sanitary  survey  of  the  east  hank  of  the  Hudson 
River  between  Dobbs  Ferry  and  Tarrytown,  where,  at  that  time, 
there  was  a  considerable  prevalence  of  fever- and-ague.  The  follow, 
ing  is  extracted  from  niy  report  in  that  case: 

My  observations  were  made  chiefly  with  reference  to  fever-and- 
ague  malaria.  It  must  be  stated  at  the  outset  that  we  are  practi- 
cally without  knowledge  as  to  the  causation  of  this  disease.  There 
are,  however,  grounds  for  adopting  a  somewhat  definite  theory  about 
it.  It  seems  clear  that  to  a  certain  extent  the  disease,  which  may 
originate  in  specially  unhealthy  places,  propagates  itself  slowly 
through  human  agency.2  It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  it  has  gradu- 
ally spread  from  its  earlier  centres,  and  extended  for  a  long  distance 
into  districts  where  it  was  previously  unknown.  Instances  of  this 
are  too  familiar  to  need  recounting.  In  like  manner,  districts  where 
the  disease  formerly  prevailed,  and  where  it  had  originated  spon- 
taneously, have  been  made  by  drainage  perfectly  healthy.  For 
example*  the  fens  of  Lincolnshire,  in  England,  and  marshy  districts 
along  the  lower  Thames,  were  formerly  greatly  scourged  with  fever- 
and-ague  and  with  malarial  neuralgia.  The  extensive  drainage 
operations  carried  on  in  these,  districts  have  had  the  effect  of  remov- 
ing these  ailments  entirely  from  wide  districts  where  they  had 
formerly  prevailed  with  the  greatest  severity. 

The  investigations  thus  far  made  lead  to  the  following  belief 
concerning  the  point  which  chiefly  interests  such  localities:  As- 
suming that  fever-and-ague  is  indigenous,  or  that  it  has  been 
brought  to  a  locality  by  the  movement  of  population,  it  seems  clear 
that  it  propagates  itself  only  under  the  influence  of  certain  condi- 
tions of  atmosphere,  which  are  produced  by  undue  soil-moisture,  by 
the  excessive  decomposition  of  vegetable,  matter,  and  by  the  stagna- 
tion of  the  air  caused  by  dense  planting,  and  by  the  absence  of  sun- 
light. 

Assuming,  as  I  believe  one  may  safely  do,  that  fever  and  ague  is 
not  indigenous  in  the  Trvington  neighborhood,  but  has  been  brought 
to  it,  so  far  as  it  exists  there,  by  the  importation  of  cases  of  the 
disease,  we  have  to  look  for  such  local  conditions  as  would  foster  it 
and  lead  to  its  reproduction  and  localization. 

So  far  as  my  examination  warrants  me  in  forming  an  opinion,  I 
should  say  that  there  do  exist,  more  or  less  throughout  the  whole  dis- 
trict examined,  sufficient  resting-places  for  the  infection,  associated 
with  conditions  which  would  naturally  lead  to  its  propagation.  I 
think  it  may  be  safely  assumed  that  a  detailed  examination  of  the 
ground  would  lead  to  the  discovery  of  these  unfavorable  spots,  and 
that  it  is  possible  to  remove  them.  At  the  same  time,  it  must  be 
understood  that  this  opinion  is  not  based  on  positive  knowledge,  for 
such  knowledge  does  not  exist.  All  that  it  is  safe  to  say  is  that, 
judging  from  the  previous  experience  of  the  world,  proper  effort! 
would,  in  all  probability,  result  successfully.  There  are  two  leading 
items  which  have  influence  on  this  question.  Drainage  and  venti- 
lation. 

Drainage.  —  Except  along  the  river,  and  about  certain  ponds  some 
distance  east  from  Broadway,  there  are  few  especially  wet  areas,  but 
there  are  very  many  points  where  small  bits  of  ground  are  too  wet, 
and  these  are  quite  frequently  so  shaded  from  the  sun  as  to  be  more 
than  suspicious.  Also,  the  prevailing  passion  for  ponds,  which  often 
follow  each  other  in  quick  succession  along  the  lines  of  the  brooks,  is 
not  without  its  bad  influence.  These  ponds  are  often  much  too  high 
with  reference  to  the  surface  of  the  ground  adjoining  them ;  they 
are  subject  to  become  filled  with  silt  and  leaves ;  they  are  not 
always  well  supplied  with  fresh-water,  but  are  frequently  fed  with 
water  from  swamps  about  which  it  would  be  unsafe  to  live,  and 
the  brooks  supplying  them  receive  a  good  deal  of  organic  matter 
in  the  form  of  leaves,  etc. ;  in  addition  to  all  this,  the  filtration  from 


8 1  now  attach  much  less  importance  than  I  then  did  to  the  agency  of  the 
person  in  the  spread  of  malaria. 


JUNE  1,  1889.] 


The    American   Architect  and  Building   News. 


257 


these  ponds  is  sometimes  a  source  of  a  springy  condition  of  the 
ground  lying  below  them. 

There  are  still  some  small  areas  and  some  large  areas  which,  in 
the  interest  of  the  whole  neighborhood,  ought  to  be  thoroughly 
drained.  I  judge  that  about  one-half,  or  nearly  that  of  the  whole 
shore  from  Tarrytown  to  Dobbs  Ferry  is  swampy  for  a  greater  or 
less  width,  the  small  bays  cut  off  by  the  railroad  being  imperfectly 
drained,  receiving  much  water  from  the  upland,  being  subject  to  the 
rise  of  the  tide,  and  often  having  considerable  stretches  of  their 
bottom  entirely  uncovered.  All  of  these  conditions  are  unfavorable. 

Ventilation.  —  Perhaps  ventilation  is  not  precisely  the  word  to  ex- 
press what  is  here  meant,  except  in  the  sense  that  what  is  needed  is 
an  abundant  supply  of  fresh-air  and  sunlight.  The  decomposition  of 
organic  matter  in  or  upon  a  damp  soil  takes  on  a  very  different 
character,  according  as  it  is  freely  exposed  to  the  circulation  of  air 
and  to  the  sun's  heat,  or  is  covered  either  by  water,  by  fallen  leaves, 
by  underbrush,  by  dense  planting  or  by  anything  which  may  seclude 
it  from  the  most  active  oxidizing  influences. 

It  is  an  old  but  mistaken  idea  that  it  is  hard  to  grow  a  tree  and 
easy  to  cut  one  down.  The  reverse  of  this  proposition  is  nearer  the 
truth.  Wherever  prosperous  humanity  establishes  itself  there  seems 
to  spring  up,  as  if  by  magic,  a  cloud  of  leafage  and  a  dense  growth  of 
all  manner  of  aborescent  vegetation,  while  every  appeal  having  for 
its  purpose  the  restraining  of  this  ground-cumbering  growth  is  met 
by  the  most  persistent  opposition.  Not  only  will  trees  and  bushes 
and  shrubs  multiply  and  shut  out  acres  upon  acres  from  the  sun's 
rays  and  turn  asii'e  every  breath  of  air,  but  the  trees  and  bushes  and 
shrubs  accumulate  until  they  destroy  each  other's  beauty  to  that 
degree  that  plantations  fifty  years  old  have  generally  lost  their  dis- 
tinctive and  picturesque  character,  and  become  a  mass  of  cramped 
forest  trees,  without  lower  branches ;  or  shrubberies  in  which  no  in- 
dividual plants  can  be  seen ;  only  a  mass  of  uninterrupted  surface 
leafage.  Any  one  who  will  examine  a  country-seat,  which  was 
noted  for  its  fine  planting  fifty  years  ago,  will  find  that  unless  it  was 
specially  fortunate  in  having  a  skilled  landscape-gardener  for  its 
owner,  it  has  lost  its  landscape  beauty,  and  has  become  more  like  a 
primeval  forest  with  bits  of  neglected  undergrowth. 

With  due  deference  to  one's  present  fondness  for  ample  planting, 
and  to  the  general  disposition  not  to  sacrifice  this  year's  beauty  for 
next  year's  gain,  I  must  say  that,  in  my  judgment,  at  least  one-half 
of  the  problem  in  question  might  be  solved  by  a  rigorous  and  vigor- 
ous use  of  the  hatchet  and  the  axe.  I  believe,  too,  that  if  this  were 
more  judiciously  done  not  only  the  future,  but  the  present  beauty 
of  the  whole  region  would  be  as  much  improved  as  would  its  health- 
fulness. 

My  examination  was  too  slight  for  me  to  specify  many  details. 
This  can  be  done  only  after  a  careful  and  minute  examination  of  the 
whole  area. 

Whatever  view  we  may  take  of  the  theories  of  different  authori- 
ties on  the  subject,  we  reach  always  the  same  practical  conclusion. 
Lancisi  and  all  who  succeeded  him  down  to  the  time  of  MacCulloch 
attach  prime  importance  to  paludal  influence.  Dr.  Mitchell  enter- 
tained the  opinion  that  the  causative  agency  of  malaria  is  a  cryptogam 
whose  best  development  takes  place  under  conditions  favorable  to 
the  growth  of  the  commoner  fungi.  Colin  believes  that  malaria  is 
produced  with  greater  or  less  intensity  in  proportion  to  the  inherent 
fertility  of  the  soil,  this  being  prevented  from  exhausting  its  normal 
strength  in  the  production  of  useful  crops,  in  other  words,  that  it  is 
due  to  a  misdirected  energy  of  the  soil.  Nicholas  adheres  rather 
more  closely  to  the  marsh-miasm  theory,  but  believes  that  the  germ 
produced  by  marshes  and  other  wet  or  moist  lands  may  become  de- 
tached from  them,  and  may  propagate  itself  in  and  be  transported 
by  floating  mists.  These  represent  substantially  all  of  the  theories 
that  are  accepted  of  one  or  another  affection  by  those  who  have  con- 
sidered the  subject.  It  is  not  necessary  with  a  view  to  the  elimina- 
tion of  malaria  to  determine  whether  one  or  the  other,  or  more  than 
one,  of  these  theories  are  correct.  They  all  lead  to  the  practical 
conclusion,  already  stated,  that  the  production  and  propagation  of 
malaria  are  favored  and  apparently  controlled  by  the  presence  of 
atmospheric  and  ground-moisture,  and  the  conclusion  is  accepted  by 
all  that,  in  the  reduction  of  the  amount  of  the  moisture,  the  power  of 
production  and  propagation  is  destroyed  or  greatly  lessened. 

Drainage  is  the  chief  agent  by  which  this  is  to  be  effected.  As  an 
accessory  means  to  this  end,  much  importance  is  to  be  attached  to 
the  prevention  of  aerial  stagnation  by  the  removal  of  undergrowth, 
shrubbery,  etc.,  in  order  to  facilitate  a  free  sweep  of  currents  of  all- 
over  the  surface  of  the  ground. 

There  arc  large  areas  in  different  parts  of  the  country  where, 
without  the  presence  of  actual  swamps,  there  are  marked  indications 
of  the  undue  accumulation  of  water,  and  where  these  conditions 
seem  to  give  rise  to  malarial  influences.  They  exist  in  many  cases 
where,  for  financial  reasons,  it  would  not  be  practicable  to  secure 
anything  like  a  thorough  drainage  of  the  land.  Frequently,  hundreds 
of  acres  scattered  here  and  there,  and  occupied  by  worthless  forests 
or  brush,  and  where  other  conditions  prevent  improvement  for 
agricultural  reasons  alone,  would  require  much  less  costly  treatment. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  in  a  great  number,-perhaps  in  the  majority 
of  such  cases,  effective  surface-drainage  would  secure  a  vast  improve- 
ment. I  have  recently  had  occasion  to  recommend  such  treatment 
with  reference  to  a  large  tract  in  Alabama,  where  there  is  so  little 
difference  of  level  that  the  flow  of  storm-water  is  not  only  retarded 
by  slight  elevations  between  low  areas  but  is  not  carried  away  even 


where  the  fall  is  continuous,  though  slight  and  circuitous,  because  of 
the  absence  of  a  suitable  channel  of  discharge.  There  is  no  out- 
lying water-shed  to  accumulate  storm-water  in  such  volume  as  to 
erode  a  channel,  only  a  general  accumulation  of  the  rainfall  of  the 
whole  district  in  slight  depressions  scattered  here  and  there  over  it. 
A  study  of  the  elevations  of  different  parts  of  this  tract  shows  that 
it  would  be  easy  and  inexpensive  to  run  a  main  ditch  on  a  course 
traversing  a  large,  continuous  range  of  these  depressions,  adequate  to 
the  immediate  removal  of  all  storm-water  reaching  them ;  and  to 
grade  down,  in  the  form  of  swales,  outlets  leading  from  isolated 
pockets  to,  or  to  the  vicinity  of,  this  ditch.  The  general  rule 
adopted  is  to  furnish  free  drainage-way  from  every  part  of  the  area 
at  a  depth  of  not  less  than  one  foot  below  the  lowest  part  of  each  de- 
pression, and  to  give  the  main  channel  a  fall  of  not  less  than  five 
feet  per  mile. 

It  is  not  necessary  for  the  purpose  now  under  consideration  to 
make  the  channel  so  large  as  to  secure  the  immediate  removal  of  the 
water  of  heavy  storms  without  overflowing  the  banks.  The  purpose 
is  not  to  put  the  land  in  good  condition  for  agricultural  purposes,  nor 
is  there  for  the  present  end  any  objection  to  its  being  submerged  for 
a  short  time.  The  point  in  view  is  simply  to  make  sure  that  all 
storm-water  falling  on  the  whole  district  shall  be  steadily  and  surely 
removed,  without  lying  at  any  point  for  a  sufficient  time  to  make  it 
sodden  or  to  change  the  character  of  its  vegetation.  As  an  accessory 
improvement,  I  have  advised  the  clearing  out  of  all  bushes  and  the 
thinning  out  of  wooded  tracts,  so  that  wherever  possible  free  access 
may  be  given  to  sunlight  and  everywhere  to  the  circulation  of  air. 

The  foregoing  covers  a  rapid  review  of  the  various  facts  and 
theories  connected  with  this  subject  so  far  as  they  are  applicable  to 
the  present  purpose.  They  all  lead  clearly  to  the  conclusion  that 
whatever  other  incidental  or  accessory  conditions  may  influence  the 
problem,  the  underlying  factor,  at  least,  in  our  climate  is,  in  all  cases, 
one  which  may  be  eliminated  or  rendered  relatively  unimportant  by 
such  improvement  of  the  condition  of  the  ground  as  can  lie  effected 
by  drainage,  or,  in  some  cases,  by  cutting  off  water  by  which  the 
ground  is  saturated. 

The  required  improvement  is  to  be  effected  probably  in  all  cases 
by  carrying  out  precisely  those  methods  of  drainage  which  would  be 
necessary  for  agricultural  improvement.  There  is,  therefore,  no 
occasion  to  recite  methods  here,  only  to  make  reference  to  the 
previous  chapter,  and  to  other  authorities  on  the  subject  of  agricul- 
tural drainage.  GEORGE  E.  WAKINO,  JK. 


ROMANTICISM   IN   ART. 

*  j  j  T  Messrs.  DowdeswelFs 
F\  gallery  in  New  Bond 
/  Street  there  was 
recently  shown  a  repre- 
sentative collection  of  the 
pictures  of  the  great  French 
painters  who  fought  the  bat- 
tle against  academicalism 
some  fifty  or  sixty  years 
ago.  Called  Romanticists 
rather  because  they  be- 
longed to  the  set  of  ro- 
mantic poets — Hugo,  de 
Mussel,  Gauthier  and  Ber- 
lio/  —  than  for  any  partic- 
ular appropriateness  of  the 
term  to  their  own  work, 
they  were,  in  fact,  realists, 
impressionists  and  natural- 
ists. The  movement  was  a 
revolution  against  conven- 
tionalism, a  determination 
to  take  Nature  as  guide 
and  paint  her  truthfully. 
There  is  beauty  and  charm 
of  a  high  order,  added  to 
extraordinary  poetic  feeling, 
in  the  work  of  Claude  le 
Lorrain  and  Caspar  1'ous- 
sin  ;  'but  it  is  not  Nature  as 
we  all  see  her  from  day  to 
day.  Watteau,  O  u  d  r  y  , 
Desportes  and  Chardin  had 
all  in  their  several  styles 
been  more  or  less  natural- 
ists; but  their  successors, 
From  the  sentimental  and  weak 
Greuze,  the  over-Classic  and 
cold  Prud'hon  (refined  and  graceful  though  some  of  his  works  are), 
the  hard  and  stagey  David,  and,  later  on,  the  stiff,  woodeny  and  in- 
tensely uninteresting  Ingres,  looked  upon  Nature  with  contempt. 
To  paint  what  they  saw  was  beneath  the  dignity  of  academical  eyes. 
But  a  band  of  innovators  appeared,  headed  by  Delacroix,  who  deter- 
mined to  paint  the  true  instead  of  the  false,  whether  or  no  they 
suffered  thereby.  Suffer  they  did,  for  Delacroix,  at  the  commence- 
ment of  his  life,  had  to  concoct  a  frame  with  his  own  hands,  being 


Staircase  in  the  Rue  Petit  Salut,  Rouen. 
7/e  Moniteur  ties  Architcctes. 


258 


The   American   Architect  and  Building   News,      [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  7C1. 


too  poor  to  buy  one ;  Millet,  later  on,  only  just  managed  to  keep  him- 
self going ;  and  Diaz,  Daubigny,  Decamps  and  Rousseau  were  very 
poorly  appreciated  by  their  contemporaries.  Even  Corot  was  only 
admired  in  a  sort  of  half-hearted  fashion — Louis  Napoleon  being 
accredited  with  saying  that  perhaps  Corot's  effects  were  true,  "  but, 
for  his  part,  he  had  never  been  out  early  enough  in  the  morning  to 
see  Nature  enveloped  in  these  silvery  mists."  And  now  what  is  the 
fact  ?  People  are  willing  to  give  thousands  for  the  smallest  and 
most  inferior  work  of  any  one  of  these  masters.  Grand  were  they 
as  colorists,  poets  were  they  in  feeling !  but  it  is  heartrending  to 
walk  round  these  galleries  and  see  the  mere  sketches  which  are  now 
valued  at  thousands  of  pounds,  and  reflect  that,  fifty  years  ago, 
masterpieces  by  the  same  men  could  be  bought  for  a  few  hundred 
francs.  The  painters  have  gone  into  silence ;  they  left  the  world 
with  broken  hearts,  sore  and  wounded  for  want  of  a  little  sympathetic 
recognition  from  a  blind  and  stupid  public.  Now  that  it  is  too  late 
the  public  admires  —  and  others  profit.  A  picture  by  Rousseau, 
which  was  sold  for  150  francs  at  a  provincial  exhibition  during  the 
painter's  jeunesse,  fetched  in  Paris,  two  years  ago,  50,000  francs. 
And  so  it  is  all  round.  A  thousand  pounds  is  nothing  for  a  Corot 
or  a  Troyon,  and  £20,000  is  spoken  of  as  a  possible  price  for  a 
Millet! 

The  exhibition  at  Messrs.  Dowdeswell's  included  some  fine  Corots, 
a  dozen  or  so  of  the  still  not-fully-appreciated  Daubignys,  and  some 
examples  by  Troyon,  Millet,  Rousseau,  Diaz,  Dupre,  Delacroix 
and  Decamps;  and,  of  the  Dutch  school,  several  by  Israels,  the 
three  Maris,  Mesdag  and  Mauve.  It  is  a  pity  that  some  of  Geri- 
cault's  sketches  could  not  have  been  added,  and  that  Bonnington 
(much  more  French  than  English)  could  not  have  been  represented, 
though  we  have  had  the  opportunity  of  seeing  the  latter  at  the  Gros- 
venor  during  the  winter. 

This  collection  must  be  a  revelation  to  the  mass  of  Londoners,  for 
many  of  the  painters  are  rarely  seen  here.  Corot,  with  his  silvery 
tones  and  feathery  trees,  his  nymphs  dancing  on  the  green  banks  of 
the  Seine  at  Neuilly  and  Asnieres,  is  pretty  familiar  to  most  English 
people,  but  the  beauty  of  Daubigny's  gray  river  scenes  (mostly  the 
Seine  and  Marne),  his  golden  sunset  hues,  his  placid  pools,  are  only 
known  to  those  who  are  old  enough  to  remember  them  aux  Salons 
d'autrefoii.  Diaz  is  almost  unknown  —  his  marvellous  coloring,  his 
extraordinary  versatility,  being  alike  at  home  in  landscape  and  the 
figure.  But  Diaz  is  somewhat  of  the  conventional  old  master,  as 
compared  with  Daubigny,  Corot  and  Troyon.  What  a  marvel,  too, 
is  the  slightness  of  the  work  of  these  men.  As  a  lady  remarked, 
"  They  don't  look  finished  !  "  But  who  wants  "  finish  ?  "  Is  not  a 
tree  of  Corot's  the  perfection  of  painting,  although  the  leaves  look 
as  if  they  were  blown  onto  the  canvas  by  a  gentle  breeze? 

Whether  Millet  is  not  as  much  overrated  now  as  he  was  depre- 
ciated during  his  lifetime  is  a  question.  His  sentiment  is  charminsr, 
but  his  drawing  is  often  rude ;  and,  even  in  the  former  quality,  he 
does  not  approach  that  poet  of  sadness  and  poverty,  Israels.  One 
of  the  interiors  in  this  exhibition  might  almost  be  a  Do  Hooghe, 
while  his  "Boys'  Swimming  Boats"  is  an  idyl  of  the  sea-shore. 

Amongst  the  Dutchmen,  the  landscapes  of  W.  and  I.  Maris  are 
charming  in  their  realism ;  and,  for  those  persons  who  can  see 
poetry  in  pictures  of  cattle  and  sheep,  there  are  the  works  of  Mauve 
and  Van  Marcke. 

The  collection  included  two  Meissoniers  (another  of  the  over- 
rated artists,  time  will  probably  show)  and  a  Gerome — Frederick 
the  Great  playing  his  flute  in  mud-splashed  boots,  and  surrounded 
by  hounds  and  other  properties  in  splendid  disorder  —  a  picture 
which  must  rejoice  the  hearts  of  the  lovers-of  "  finish  "  and  "  detail." 

Montichelli  is  another  of  the  unappreciated  masters  of  color ;  but 
it  may  be  questioned  whether  the  GeVome  will  not  meet  with  many 
more  admirers,  even  now,  than  the  former's  marvellous  work. 

Messrs.  Dowdeswell  deserve  the  thanks  of  all  lovers  of  French 
art  for  bringing  together  this  fine  collection,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped 
that  the  fallacy  that  France  has  never  had  any  first-rate  landscapists 
may  at  last  be  exploded. 

A  propos  of  fallacies,  I  see  that  French  aquarellistes  will  be  repre- 
sented at  the  International  Exhibition,  and  I  hope  that  English 
people  —  critics,  as  well  as  the  public  —  will  cease  to  affirm  that 
"  water-color  is  not  understood  in  France."  To  my  mind,  aquarelle 
is  far  better  understood  in  France  and  Holland  than  here ;  for  it  is 
pure  water-color,  not  body-color,  nor  is  the  work  niggled  and  stippled 
up.  Let  any  one  compare  the  work  of  some  Dutchmen  now  on  view 
at  the  Fine  Art  Society's  galleries  —  Roeloss,  Bosboom,  Weissen- 
bruch,  Josselin  de  loug,  Basterl  and  Tholen  —  with  that  of  Paul 
Naftel  in  the  same  rooms,  and  I  think  he  will  agree  with  this  state- 
ment. S.  BEALE. 


STILL  WAX  FOR  BUILDING-PAPER.  —  Resin,  as  used  in  building- 
paper,  is  being  largely  replaced  by  a  petroleum  product  called  "still 
wax,"  or  "wax  tailings."  An  important  advantage  in  the  use  of  this 
petroleum  product,  in  connection  with  paper  and  fibrous  substances, 
consists  in  its  non-liability  to  oxidize,  and  thus  produce  spontaneous 
combustion.  Moreover,  it  is  said  to  toughen  with  age,  instead  of  grow- 
ing more  brittle,  like  resin  and  coal-tar  pitch.  It  is  not  more  com- 
bustible than  resin :  it  burns  slowly,  with  a  dull  flame,  producing 
immense  quantities  of  lampblack  of  fine  quality.  It  melts  rapidly  at 
200°  Fahrenheit,  and  in  that  state  combines  perfectly  with  resin, 
asphaltum  and  warm  oil.  Its  use  is,  therefore,  expected  to  increase 
largely.  —  Manufacturer  and  Builder. 


[Contributors  are  requested  to  send  with  their  drawings  full  and 
adequate  descriptions  of  the  buildings,  including  a  statement  of  cost.'} 

HOUSE    OF    GRANGE    SARD,    ESQ.,    ALBANY,    N.   Y.      MR.    H.    H.    RICH- 
ARDSON,   ARCHITECT. 
[Gelatine  Priiit,  Issued  only  with  the  Imperial  Edition.] 

HOUSE    FOR    E.   J.    BARNEY,    ESQ.,    DAYTON,    O.        MR.    8.    8.    BEMAN, 
ARCHITECT,    CHICAGO,    ILL. 

Tins  house  is  built  of  red  Portage  stone. 

AI.TF.RATIONS  TO  BUILDING  OF  THE  NEW  YO1SK  CLUB.  MR.  R. 
H.  ROBERTSON  AND  MR.  A.  J.  MANNING,  ASSOCIATED  ARCHI- 
TECTS, NEW  YORK,  N.  Y. 

BAPTIST    CHURCH,    MALDEN,    MASS.        MESSRS.    SHEPLEY,    RUTAN    & 
COOLIDGE,    ARCHITECTS,  BOSTON,  MASS. 

BUILDING  FOR  THE  BERKELEY  CO.,  BERKELEY,  R.  I.  MESSRS. 
STONE,  CARPENTER  &  WILLSON,  ARCHITECTS,  PROVIDENCE, 
R.  I. 


SPANISH   SKETCHES. 

IN    THE    BASQUE    BORDER-LAND. 

"  Fair  land  !  of  chivalry  the  old  domain, 
Land  of  the  vine  and  olive,  lovely  Spain  ! ' 


The  Cathedral  Front,  St.  Sebastian,  Spain. 

IF  one  were  obliged  to  give  a  reason  for  every  journey,  then  one 
might  stay  at  home.  But  surely,  if  one  need  an  excuse  for  going 
anywhere,  it  may  be  found  in  Spain.  Assuming  this,  let  us 
journey  thitherward,  following  the  route  of  travel  through  England 
and  France,  and  across  the  Pyrenees. 

Fortunately,  the  progression  of  events  in  times  past  has  coincided 
with  the  march  of  progress  in  times  modern.  That  is,  we  may  enter 
Spain  by  rail  and  still  follow  the  line  of  conquest,  or  re-conquest, 
that  gave  Iberus  to  the  Goths  and  Hispania  to  the  Castitians. 
Should  it  be  preferred,  however,  to  enter  Spain  with  the  Africans, 
who  invaded  the  country  in  the  early  years  of  the  eighth  century, 
then  we  may  take  steamer,  occasionally,  for  Gibralter  and  Malaga ; 
or  if  we  would  explore  with  the  Phoenicians,  then  at  Cadiz,  that  city 
on  the  coast  of  Tarshish.  The  northern  entrance  is  the  more  prefer- 
able, especially  in  the  summer  months,  on  account  of  many  things 
hereinafter  to  be  mentioned.  The  sea-service,  of  course,  to  Liverpool 
or  Havre,  is  more  regular  and  comfortable  than  to  the  ports  farther 
south.  Once  in  Paris,  we  find  several  routes  open  to  the  tourist,  and 
even  reasonable  "excursion  rates,"  to  every  important  city  of  the 
Iberian  peninsula. 

We  may  go  by  rail  to  Marseilles,  thence  by  steamer  to  Tunis  or 
Algiers,  skirting  the  north  coast  of  Africa  to  Oran,  whence  to 
Carthagena,  Malaga  or  Tangier  (as  the  ticket  may  read),  returning 
via  Cadiz  or  Malaga,  through  Granada,  Seville,  Cordova,  Toledo, 
Madrid ;  or,  direct  to  Barcelona,  Tarragona,  Valencia  and  Southern 
Spain,  to  Madrid,  etc.,  or  vice  versa.  Another  route,  and  that  I 
shall  now  follow,  carries  one  from  Paris  to  and  through  Bordeaux, 
Biarritz,  and  beyond  this  delightful  resort,  through  a  gap  in  the 
Pyrenees,  to  San  Sebastian,  Burgos  and  Madrid.  I  would  not  seek 
to  deprive  the  subject  of  any  of  its  charm  of  distance,  either  real  or 
imaginary,  nor  to  rudely  tear  away  the  veil  of  history,  romance  and 
poetry,  that  cast  a  glamour  over  its  rugged  features.  But  the  truth 
is,  Spain  is  no  longer  at  a  distance ;  it  is  many  years  since  its  capital 


Ho.  701. 


HHGHITEGT  UNO 


,  JUNE  1  153.9 


COFffll&HT  1889  BY  TICKHOR  «.  C? 


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}Ircl?itect  ai}d  Building  I^ews,  Juije  I,  1559. 


Copyright,  1889,  by  TICKNOR  &  Co. 


?o.  701. 


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ME^IGSTN  HHGHITEGT 


•— 


HiJiDiNGliEWS,  JUNE  1. 1559 


Heliotype  Fni«iagCo.Saston 


^NDHUILDIXG]|EWS,  JUKE  1  1559.        f|o.  701 


COPYBI3HT  IBSSEYTICKNORIC? 


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Tlrcljitect  and  Building  IJews,  Jun.e  1,  1559. 


IJo.  701. 


JUNE  1,  1889.] 


The  American  Architect  and  Building  News. 


259 


was  united  with  the  chief  centres  of  Europe,  by  rail,  though  the 
travelling  public  has  been  slow  to  find  it  out.  Yet,  the  iron-horse 
has  not  invaded  the  country  in  the  ruthless  manner  that  is  his  wont 
elsewhere.  He  has  at  no  time  shown  a  tendency  to  play  the  role  of 
iconoclast,  has  destroyed  no  monuments,  has  not  even  soiled  the 
cherished  relics  with  his  smoke.  The  jealous  provision,  that 
stipulated  for  a  trans-Pyrenean  track  of  different  gauge,  also  pro- 
vided that  no  locomotive  should  enter  the  precincts  of  a  city.  So  it 
is,  that  the  iron-steed  pants  at  the  portals,  impotent,  and  glares  at 
gates  he  cannot  pass  beyond.  Once  beyond  the  mountain-wall  that 
divides  France  from  Spain,  we  find  a  delightful  halting-place  at  San 
Sebastian,  a  coigne  of  vantage  whence  we  may  sally  out  at  leisure 
upon  the  richer  fields  of  the  South.  So  near  the  frontier  as  it  is,  its 
superficial  character  is  French,  as  evidenced  in  the  blocks  of  build- 
ings along  the  boulevard,  the  hotels,  on  the  French  plan,  and  their 
servants,  with  French  airs  and  mannerisms. 

But  it  is  an  agreeable  city,  this  Basque  capital,  clean  and  attrac- 
tive, with  a  wide-awake  air  wholly  its  own,  a  brisk  individuality, 
strikingly  at  variance  with  the  somnolent  habit  of  the  cities  beyond. 
As  is  well-known,  doubtless,  it  lies  in  the  centre  of  the  country  of  the 
Basques,  a  people  who  have  preserved  the  language,  the  customs  and 
traditions  of  most  ancient  times.  Their  province  is  an  unconquered 
one,  left  undisturbed  by  Vandals,  Goths  and  Moors.  Hence  it  is, 
the  Basques  are  arrogant  yet  simple,  brusque  yet  courteous,  well- 
grounded  in  the  belief  that  their  country  was  the  first  created  larM, 
and  their  language,  spoken  by  Adam  in  Paradise  (Adam  of  Eden, 
you  know),  was  brought  here  by  Noah,  or  Tubal  Cain,  sole  survival 
of  the  confusion  of  Babel.  And  do  they  not  believe  that  Ararat  was 
a  peak  of  the  Pyrenees,  and  their  hill  tops  were  the  first  to  emerge 
from  the  wild  waste  of  waters  ?  There  is  little  a  true  Biscayan  will 
not  believe,  provided  it  goes  to  swell  the  prestige  of  his  ancestors. 
Primitive  enough,  this  speech  is,  and  it  may  have  been,  as  certain 


philologists  claim,  once  the  universal  idiom  of  Spain.  They  will  re- 
peat with  glee  the  statement  of  the  Frenchman,  that  they  cannot 
even  understand  each  other,  and  that  if  they  write,  for  instance, 
Solomon,  they  pronounce  it  Nebuchadnezzar.  And  finally,  did  not  the 
arch  enemy  of  man,  el  DiaMo,  wrestle  with  the  language  for  seven 
years,  and  then  give  it  up  in  despair? 

Though  the  streets  of  San  Sebastian  are  mainly  broad  and 
straight,  yet  there  are  narrow  ones  here  and  there,  that  wind 
tortuously  up  the  hill  and  lead  to  nooks  attractive.  Such  a  one  is 
that  in  front  of  the  cathedral,  which  is  buttressed  by  the  older  build- 
ings of  the  city,  and  where  the  facade  of  the  holy  structure 
terminates  the  vista.  Enter  the  cathedral,  and  you  find  it  not  much 
different  from  others  grander,  and  not  nearly  so  distinctive  as  the 
little  church  of  PasageX  a  few  miles  distant.  That,  certainly,  is 
Basque,  in  all  its  appointments.  Besides  the  ordinary  ecclesiastical 
furniture,  which  is  scantily  supplied,  the  floor  is  covered  with  low 
chairs  or  praying-stools,  with  arm-rest,  and  with  little  benches  or 
crickets,  wound  round  with  coils  of  wax  taper,  fathoms  in  a  coil 
apparently.  These  taper  coils  are  placed  above  the  tombs  beneath 
the  floor,  and  in  front  of  portraits  and  images.  Their  ends  sticking 
up,  all  over  the  floor,  remind  one  of  the  heads  of  serpents,  red  and 
white,  raised  threateningly. 

Pasages,  by  the  way,  has  a  land-locked  harbor,  reached  only  by  a 
narrow  inlet,  steep  hills  rise  around  it,  and  on  their  sides  and  on 
narrow  shelves  between  them  and  the  water,  the  town  itself  is  built. 
It  was  formerly  rich  and  royal,  and  many  houses  yet  stand  here  with 
sculptured  escudos  or  escutcheons,  over  their  doorways.  Ruined  and 
decaying  is  this  old  city  now,  yet  the  harbor  is  as  good  as  ever  and 
as  beautiful.  From  this  harbor,  tradition  has  it,  sailed  Lafayette,  when 
he  escaped  from  France,  and  came  to  America  to  offer  his  sword  to  our 
revolutionary  ancestors.  Journeying  back  to  San  Sebastian,  we  are 
beset  by  troops  of  children,  all  happy,  apparently,  and  all  playing 
seriously.  In  a  nook  under  a  cliff  where  a  spring  gushed  forth,  a 
crowd  of  lavanderes,  of  washerwomen  were  assembled,  merrily 
mauling  the  clothes  entrusted  to  their  care,  and  entering  with  spirit 
into  the  fun  of  being  photographed.  For,  my  friend-of-a  day  and 


myself  carried  cameras,  and  popped  at  everything  picturesque  by 
the  wayside. 

The  chief  attraction  of  San  Sebastian  is  its  beautiful  bay,  pro- 
tected by  castle-crowned  hills,  on  the  shore  of  which  La  Concha, 
"the  shell,"  the  wealthy  and  fashionable  disport  themselves  the 
summer  through.  The  Queen-regent,  Christina,  and  the  Spanish 
apology  for  a  King,  Alfonso  XIII,  even  condescend  to  appear  here 
and  wet  their  royal  limbs.  The  Queen,  indeed,  is  a  favorite  here, 
because  she  is  the  mother  of  the  King,  and  because  of  her  own  beam- 
ing presence.  Above  the  town  towers  the  principal  fort,  and  a 
winding  path  leads  away  to  it,  with  glimpses  ever  of  bay  and  shore, 
green  hills,  white  villas,  harbored  vessels,  brown  nets  on  white  walls 
drying,  and  a  glorious  sweep  of  ocean  out  over  the  Bay  of  Biscay. 
The  seaside  slope  is  thickly  strewn  with  graves,  graves  of  English 
and  French  soldiers,  who  came  here  to  fight  over  Spain,  like  two 
dogs  over  a  bone,  in  the  early  years  of  this  century.  For  this  was 


the  last  stand  of  the  French,  here  at  San  Sebastian,  before  they  were 
driven  over  the  border,  by  the  soldiers  of  Wellington,  in  1813.  A 
thankless  task,  that  of  the  Iron  Duke ;  though  the  Spaniards  did  re- 
ward him  with  an  estate  in  Andalusia,  which  a  degenerate  descendant 
owns  to-day.  I  fancy  the  English  general  would  have  had  a 
different  task,  had  Napoleon's  hands  not  been  so  full  elsewhere,  and 
the  best  of  his  soldiers  not  engaged  on  other  fields.  As  it  was,  the 
Duke  played  war  for  several  years,  with  the  tag-rag-and-bobtail  of 
Napoleon's  armies,  throwing  up  earthworks  like  little  hills  all  over 
Portugal  and  Spain,  from  which  he  would  emerge  at  times,  chastise 
a  detached  fragment  of  the  French  army,  and  then  scamper  back 
again  to  his  intrenchments.  But  his  policy  won  the  victory  in  the 
end,  though  the  final  excesses  of  the  Englishmen,  drunk  with  wine 
and  glory,  wen;  tenfold  worse  than  the  French  occupation.  After 


the  French  had  gone,  even  though  they  ravaged  and  ravished, 
Spain's  wish  sometimes  seemed  to  be  that  they  would  return  and  de- 
liver her  from  her  deliverers.  All  are  gone  now;  the  sunken 
mounds  and  the  mossy  marbles  on  that  hill  sloping  down  to  the  sea 
remind  us  what  fools  there  were  in  those  days,  who  would  spend 
thousands  of  lives  and  millions  of  treasure  fighting  for  a  country 
neither  nation  ever  retained.  The  Spaniards,  even  now,  speak  of 
the  French  invasion  and  its  barbarities  with  a  shrug,  but  of  the 
English  deliverance  with  a  grin.  As  we  were  engaged  in  focusing 
our  cameras  upon  the  tombstones,  a  herd  of  goats  came  up  into  the 
field  of  view,  and  one  of  them  climbed  upon  a  tomb  and  stood  there, 
presenting  an  adornment  not  contemplated  by  the  artist  with  satis- 
faction. Down  the  hill,  also,  came  hurrying  a  soldier  from  the  fort, 


260 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.       [VOL.  XXV.  — No.  701. 


with  positive  orders  for  us  to  cease  our  efforts  to  secure  photographs 
on  that  sacred  spot.  It  was  not  out  of  regard  for  the  defunct 
French  and  Britishers  but  for  the  law  of  Spain,  that  forbade  the 
sketching  of  a  frontier  fortress. 

It  may  not  be  amiss  to  remark,  in  this  connection,  that  the 
Spaniards  offer  little  opposition  to  the  photographer.  They  are 
the  most  liberal  of  people;  they  have  long  since  ceased  to  regard 
strangers  with  suspicion.  Were  this  an  account  of  the  experiences 
of  an  amateur  photographer,  I  might  relate  many  adventures,  for  I 
consider  myself  one  of  the  very  first  to  take  up  photography  as  a 
pastime.  Indeed,  when  I  undertook  to  learn  the  art,  that  I  might 
secures  pictures  of  scenes  not  else  obtainable,  I  was  severely  frowned 
upon,  and  the  "  artist "  who  acted  the  part  of  instructor  charged  me 
a  good  round  sum  for  his  teachings. 

That  was  fifteen  years  ago,  in  1874,  and  my  first  essay  was  in 
Florida,  along  the  Indian  River,  and  on  Lake  Okeechobee.  It  was 
the  "  wet  process  "  that  was  in  use  at  the  time,  and  for  a  long  while 
after ;  and  wet  it  was  on  more  than  one  occasion.  I  remember  now 
as  a  nightmare  the  "  dark  tent "  into  which  I  had  to  crawl,  on  my 
hands  and  knees,  after  every  exposure,  and  also  to  coat  the  plate, 
twice  for  each  negative.  It  was  made  small,  for  convenience  sake, 
and  was  hot  and  close,  even  to  suffocation.  It  was  a  "  wet  "  process, 
I  said,  as  applied  to  the  plate  and  the  photographer,  for  the  latter 
was  bathed  in  perspiration  every  time  he  emerged  into  outer  air. 
One  of  my  experiences  is  indelibly  stamped  in  memory,  and  for 
several  weeks  was  indelibly  stamped  upon  my  person,  and  that  was 
when,  one  day,  in  crawling  out  of  my  box,  I  upset  the  "silver  bath" 
—  a  two-quart  solution  of  nitrate  of  silver  —  into  my  lap.  That  I 
survived  the  terrors  of  that  "  dark  tent "  I  attribute  to  a  strong  con- 
stitution and  an  overpowering  love  for  adventure. 

But  to  return  to  the  subject  of  photographing  and  sketching  in 
Spain.  This  interruption  was  the  only  one  that  occurred  to  me. 
I  have  carried  my  camera  to  churches,  cathedrals,  fairs  and  bull- 
fights, and  have  experienced  no  more  difficulty  than  would  arise 
from  a  good-natured  curiosity. 

In  Cadiz,  I  even  photographed  the  interior  of  a  church  while  the 
people  were  at  prayers,  and  the  sacristan  and  chaplain  aided  me  at 


my  work  !  I  secured  not  only  the  picture  I  was  after  (a  copy  of  the 
last  painting  of  Murillo),  but  also  the  people  kneeling  in  front  of 
the  altar.  I  did  not  consider  it  sacrilegious  at  all,  for  I  did  not 
understand  the  prayers,  nor  did  the  people  understand  what  I  was 
doing.  It  was  with  some  anxiety  that  I  prepared  for  photographing 
the  bull-fight,  for  when  the  people's  blood  is  up  they  will  not  allow 
any  obstacle  to  their  enjoyment  of  the  gory  scene.  But,  though 
greatly  bothered  by  the  crowding  of  the  masses,  and  subject  now 
and  then  to  some  good-natured  criticism,  I  experienced  no  difficulty 
whatever.  As  a  rule,  the  crowd  at  a  bull-fight  is  gay  and  thought- 
less. Even  the  stolid  Britisher  cannot  irritate  them,  though  his 
apparent  indifference  sometimes  casts  a  gloom  over  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  his  person.  But  they  resent  nothing  except  an  abridg- 
ment of  the  pleasures  of  the  ring.  They  will  insist  upon  the  last 
horse  as  a  sacrifice  to  toro,  and  the  last,  best  hero  of  tauromachy  in 
front  of  them. 

To  return  to  San  Sebastian.  The  soldier  who  warned  us  away 
from  the  fortress  had  an  air  about  him  that  seemed  to  invite  a 
bribe,  and  I  suggested  to  my  companion  that  a  pesetta  well  placed 
might  secure  us  all  the  exposures  we  desired.  But  she  thought 
otherwise,  and,  sooner  than  expose  her  to  ridicule,  I  did  not  place 
any  coin  in  the  Spaniard's  itching  palm.  That  it  did  itch,  and  that 
he  was  disappointed  in  returning  empty-handed,  one  might  see  by 
his  dejected  air.  A  short  time  after,  I  had  curious  confirmation  of 
the  correctness  of  my  views  in  Paris.  In  a  collection  of  views  owned 
by  a  dealer  there  I  found  some  fine  ones  of  the  very  fort  we  were 
forbidden  to  photograph.  I  asked  the  dealer  how  it  was  he  obtained 
permission,  and  he  said  that  it  cost  him  but  twenty  cents.  He 
described  the  scene  in  all  its  details  with  the  gusto  of  a  Frenchman 
in  his  skill  at  jinesse :  "  You  see,  Monsieur,  the  soldal  he  stand  by 


me  with  hees  hand  behind  him,  so !  and  I  steep  up  and  drop  a  franc 
cento  eet.     Then  the  soldat  he  disappear  ver  suddang." 

An  artist,  an  architect,  might  wish  to  be  informed  of  the  possible 
material  here  in  San  Sebastian  for  a  few  days'  study.  I  should 
think  the  Cathedral  worth  examining,  and,  at  Pasag^s,  the  quaint 
Basque  church  and  the  houses  of  the  decayed  nobility.  For  cos- 
tume-sketches, the  fairs  and  markets  should  be  visited,  and  the 
amphitheatre  where  the  Basque  boys  play  that  peculiar  ball-game 
with  basket-work  bats  —  a  game  as  popular  there  as  base-ball  is  in 
America. 

For  scenery  of  a  quiet  kind,  with  rounded  hills,  curving  shores, 
promontories  fort-surmounted,  and  fields  dotted  with  red-roofed 
farm-houses  and  villas,  the  whole  bathed  in  soft  light  and  delicious 
atmosphere,  one  may  tarry  awhile  at  San  Sebastian.  June  seems  to 
be  the  opening  month  of  the  bathing  season,  though  earlier  months 
are  delightful  for  walks  and  rides. 

This  point  is  a  good  one  for  short  excursions,  but  the  railroad 
leads  southward  to  other  cities  that  are  better  situated  as  centres  for 
extended  exploration.  You  may,  pehaps,  reach  the  pass  of  Ronces- 
valles  by  hard  staging,  or  turn  westward  along  the  shores  of  Biscay. 
In  the  hills,  good  trout-fishing  is  said  to  be  found,  and  examples  of 
what  Spanish  hills  are  like  may  be  seen  along  the  railroad  through 
this  province  of  Vascongadas  on  the  way  to  Burgos. 

FREDKHICK  A.  OBER. 


AUGUSTE   RODIN.i  — IX. 

KODIN'S  DRAWINGS. 


Figure  from  the  Door.      Auguste  Rodin,  Sculptor. 

0NLY  by  some  reproduction  of  process  printing  can  any  adequate 
impression  be  obtained  of  Rodin's  drawings.  Nearly  all  are  in 
water-color,  or  black-and-white,  a  few  only  being  in  pen-and-ink. 
All  of  them  have  a  big  sweep  of  line,  a  great  arrangement  of  mass, 
and  are  very  —  yes,  tremendously  put  together.  A  great  master  is  seen 
in  the  expression  of  light-and-shade,  and  in  the  composition  of  planes. 
They  are  as  rich  as  a  mosaic  of  liquid  precious  stones,  and  as 
palpitating  as  flesh  itself.  If  their  authorship  were  not  known  they 
would  be  justly  accepted  as  the  work  of  a  great  old  master.  In  those 
composed  with  landscape  there  is  the  same  deep  sentiment  of  appro- 
priateness as  shown  in  similar  compositions  by  Barye,  as  well  as  an 
imposing  vastness  of  sea  and  plain.  Many  of  them  are  preliminary 
studies  of  the  figures  on  the  door,  and  embrace,  in  subject,  the  full 
round  of  love's  ever-varying  expression :  all  sculpturesque,  and  all 
vital  with  emotion.  The  almost  imperceptibly  rendered  sketch  of 
the  "  Sculptor's  Dream,"  has  as  much  personal  significance  as  it  is 
beautiful  in  idea.  The  sculptor  musingly  works,  while  the  shadows 
of  his  cherished  fancies  silentlv  assemble  around  him.  It  indicates 
Rodin's  entire  life,  and  illustrates  his  whole  character.  He  has 
lived  in  dreams,  and  his  works  are  the  embodied  forms  thereof.  He 
proposes  to  execute  this  design  for  his  own  tomb. 

RODIN'8   ART    AND    LITERARY    FRIENDS. 

On  the  occasion  of  Rodin's  first  exhibition  of  his  work  in  public 
in  an  art  collection,  some  busts  in  Brussels,  he  found  one  intelligent 
and  appreciative  admirer  among  the  art  writers  of  that  city,  and  the 
same  good  fortune  attended  the  "  Age  of  Brass  "  when  it  was  shown 
there  in  the  early  spring  of  1877.  An  occasional  complimentary 
allusion  was  made  to  this  statue  while  it  was  in  the  Paris  Salon  of 
the  same  year,  but  it  was  not  until  1880,  three  years  after,  when  it 
appeared  again,  in  bronze,  in  company  with  its  immediate  successor 
"  St.  John,"  that  the  Paris  art  writers  began  to  realize  that  a  new  and 
powerful  personality  had  come  into  the  world  of  French  art.  Scores 
of  them,  since  then,  have  written  in  his  praise,  and  many  became 

1  All  rights  reserved.    Continued  from  page  251,  No.  700. 


JUNE  1,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


261 


his  valiant  personal  friends.      Justly  due,  as  well  to  the   genuine 
character  of  the  man  as  to  his  merits  as  an  artist. 

Among  these  writers  are  Octave  Mirbeau,  G.  d'Argenty,  Edmom 
Bazire,  S.  de  Fourcaud,  Roger  Marx,  Andre  Michel,  and  Marce 
Fouquier. 

L'Art  was  the  first  paper  to  defend  Rodin  against  the  accusation  it 
regard  to  "The  Age  of  Brass,"  in  1877.  The  principal  illustratet 
papers  of  Paris  have  published  engravings  of  his  busts  of  Laurens 
Hugo,  Dalou,  and  St.  John,  with  accompanying  text. 

His  friends  and  admirers  among  the  painters  number  such  men 
Jean  Paul  Laurens,  Puvis  de  Chavannes,  and  Claude  Monet;  anc 
among  the  sculptors,  Jean  Paul  Aube,  Adrien  Gaudez,  and  many 
others,  especially  of  the  younger  generation. 

The  Englishmen  who  have  written  about  Rodin  are  W.  S.  Henley 
Claude  Phillips,  R.  L.  Stephenson  and  Cosmo  Monkhouse.  The 
Magazine  of  Art  has  given  more  attention  to  him  than  any  other 
paper,  though  articles  have  appeared  in  The  Portfolio,  Acadtmy 
Whitehall  and  Fortnightly  Reviews,  The  Architect,  Court  and  Society 
and  the  St.  James  Gazette.  Cosmo  Monkhouse  writes  that  Henley 
was  one  of  the  first  Englishmen  to  recognize  the  true  merits  oi 
Rodin,  and  has  done  more  than  any  other  writer  to  make  them 
known  in  England. 

At  first,  some  of  the  English  writers  were  disposed  to  be  a  little 
cold,  guarded  and  patronizing,  even  advising  Rodin  how  to  do  better 
sculpture,  and  accusing  him  of  being  a  reminiscence  of  Michae 
Angelo.  Others  have  been,  from  the  first,  his  warm  admirers.  In 
comparing  the  hundreds  of  articles  by  writers  of  both  countries,  the 
impression  is  made  that  the  Englishman  is  more  disposed  to  argue 
compare  and  reason,  while  the  Frenchman  makes  it  a  matter  oi 
personal  pleasure  to  enjoy  the  manifestations  of  a  new,  fresh  and 
stirring  element  in  the  art  of  his  country. 

All  in  all,  no  artist  of  modern  times  has  been  so  generally  discussed 
by  tongue  and  pen  as  Rodin,  and  with  reason,  for  none  have  broughl 
such  an  amount  of  disturbing  and  vital  baggage  into  the  warehouse 
of  modern  art. 

Among  English  art-lovers  the  sculptor  counts  many  friends,  who 
were  the  first  to  show  their  appreciation  by  buying  his  works.  No 
less  than  ten  duplicates,  in  bronze,  of  "  The  Broken  Nose,"  as  well 
as  copies  of  some  of  his  more  important  small  figures,  busts  and 
groups,  are  owned  in  England,  while  not  one  copy  of  his  great  mask 
has  been  sold  in  France.  [The  first  bronze  duplicate  of  the  bust  of 
"  St.  John  "  sold  in  France  was  bought  by  Mr.  George  A.  Lucas,  a 
well-known  American  art-lover  who  lives  in  that  city,  and  this  as  late 
as  1888,  ten  years  after  it  was  made.]  The  English  appreciation  of 
Rodin  is  due  to  a  large  extent  to  Alphonse  Legros,  one  of  the 
strongest  of  French  artists,  who  has  lived  in  England  for  twenty 
years,  and  is  a  professor  of  art  in  the  Slade  School.  Some  time  in 
1880-81,  a  mutual  friend  brought  Legros  to  Rodin's  studio,  and  the 
account  of  what  was  seen  there  was  carried  across  the  Channel,  to 
the  great  personal,  professional  and  pecuniary  advantage  of  the 
sculptor.  Visiting  Legros  soon  after,  Rodin  made  the  acquaintance 
of  Browning,  Sir  Frederick  Leighton,  Lord  Lytton  and  many  other 
eminent  representatives  of  English  art  and  literature.  They  were 
some  of  the  buyers  of  his  works.  Since  then  he  makes  annual  visits 
to  the  city  on  the  Thames. 

PORTRAITS    OF    RODIN. 

Rodin  himself  has  been  the  submissive  subject  of  the  artist's 
pencil.  Beot,  of  Brussels,  engraved  him,  Bastien-Lepage  made  a 
dry-point  etching,  Liphart  a  pen-and-ink  drawing,  and  Haquette  and 
Sargent  painted  him  in  oil.  The  latter's  picture  was  exhibited  in 
Petit's  gallery,  and  made  a  great  success.  Laurens  has  painted 
Rodin  twice :  once  for  the  latter,  and  the  other  for  his  great  picture 
in  the  Panthe'on,  "  The  Death  of  St  Genevieve." 

SOME    IMPRESSIONS    OP    RODIN'S     IDEAS    ON    ART    AND   ART    EDU- 
CATION, AND   ON   THE   CHARACTER   OF    HIS    OWN    MODELLING. 

If  the  character  of  Rodin's  sculpture  is  radically  different  from 
the  majority  of  that  produced  at  the  present  time,  it  is  to  be  expected 
that  his  ideas  on  art  and  art  education  would  also  differ  from  those 
generally  prevailing  on  those  subjects.  The  almost-universally 
accepted  belief,  which  began  to  spread  soon  after  the  French  Revo- 
lution, and  was  indulged  in  by  Canova,  Thorwaldsen,  and  nearly  all 
the  painters  and  sculptors  who  succeeded  them  for  a  long  time, 
David  among  them,  that  Greek  sculpture  is  an  ideal  representation, 
and  not  a  faithful  reproduction  of  nature,  finds  in  Rodin  a  decided 
opponent.  He  believes  that  Greek  sculpture  is  the  perfection  of 
realism,  nature  simply  and  comprehensively  copied  by  the  strongest, 
healthiest  and  clearest  eyes  and  hands ;  that  the  Greeks  never  con- 
ventionalized their  models  in  the  execution  of  their  statues  as  most 
moderns  do,  nor  slighted  nor  attenuated  the  details,  but  made  them 
as  large,  in  their  scope  and  place,  as  they  did  the  more  extensive 
planes  and  masses. 

He  thinks  that,  following  the  teachings  of  the  French  School  of 
Fine  Arts,  which  are  based  on  the  Canovian  idea,  the  pupils  study 
nature  to  make  it  Greek,  and  copy  the  latter  because  they  think  it 
ideal.  As  a  result,  they  make  imitations  of  the  Greek  that  are  cold, 
conventional  and  weak,  not  representations  of  living  sculpture. 
They,  no  doubt,  wish  to  make  sculpture  that  is  large  and  simple  in 
form,  not  by  a  deep  study  and  respect  of  all  there  is  in  nature,  but 
by  eliminating  too  much  that  is  important  and  characteristic.  It 
may  be  what  they  understand  as  true  Greek,  but  it  is  not  true 
Greek. 


Greek  sculpture,  Rodin  asserts,  is  warm,  strong,  firm,  simple,  true 
to  nature  and  full  of  power.  It  is  life  itself. 

Another  error  of  the  French  school  which  Rodin  regards  as  ob- 
jectionable is  that  known  as  working  in  bas-relief,  or  from  onlv  one 
side  of  the  model,  to  get  what  is  called  "  a  fine  line  or  profile."  It 
is  well  understood  that  by  constantly  looking  at  a  model  from  one 
side  or  from  one  point-of-view,  the  eyes  of  the  pupil  become  so  accus- 
tomed to  looking  in  that  way  that  he  sees  everything  in  bas-relief, 
and  can  neither  see  nor  work  in  any  other  way.  The  result  of  this 
is  that  the  pupil  learns  little  or  nothing  of  the  full,  round  figure,  finds 
it  extremely  difficult  to  make  one,  and  still  more  difficult  to  compose 
two  or  more  figures  together ;  his  work  looks  like  a  bas-relief —  Hat ; 
the  effect,  not  the  fact,  of  a  figure.  Ingres  is  regarded  as  a  great 
sinner  in  this  respect.  He  made  everything  in  bas-relief,  was  very 
fastidious  about  his  outline,  and  neglected  to  put  anything  inside. 

As  a  whole,  Rodin  thinks  that  the  teaching  of  the  School  does  not 
include  a  thorough  comprehension  of  cither  nature  or  the  Greek, 
and  that  its  pupils  are  very  imperfectly  prepared  for  the  execution 
of  great  works  of  art. 

The  future  of  French  art  appears  to  him  to  rest  upon  a  return  to 
a  more  faithful,  serious  and  persevering  study  of  nature,  and  he 
supports  his  opinion  by  referring  to  nature  as  the  compendium  of  all 
the  inspiration  and  principles  of  art,  and  to  the  experience  and 
works  of  all  the  great  artists  of  the  world,  as  unanswerable  illustra- 
tions of  its  truth.  He  says  that  the  human  form  has  its  own  peculiar 
atmosphere,  which,  if  once  entered  into  by  the  artist,  reveals  a 
world  of  charm  and  grandeur;  that  it  is  as  endless  in  its  variety 
of  movement  as  it  is  unlimited  in  its  beauty  ;  that  no  imagina- 
tion can  begin  to  ask  all  that  it  can  give,  and  that  nothing  is 
hidden  by  it,  save  from  those  who  cannot  see ;  that  all  science  and  all 
art  is  centred  in  the  human  form ;  that  everything  that  is  typical 
and  harmonious  should  be  faithfully  copied  by  the  artist,  and,  when 
so  copied,  is  good  and  beautiful  sculpture.  Nature  never  deceives  nor 
makes  false  pretensions.  But  it  must  be  studied  and  copied  with  the 
inflexible  determination  of  a  religious  devotee,  even  servilely.  It 
must  be  seen  with  soul  and  eye. 

Even  if  the  Greeks  were  so  strong  that  they  could  copy  nature 
perfectly  in  all  its  depths  and  subtileties,  there  is  no  reas'on  why, 
in  Rodin's  estimation,  the  principles  upon  which  they  worked 
should  not  form  the  basis  of  all  art-instruction.  He  insists  that  the 
pupil  should  be  taught  what  nature  is,  urged  to  copy  it  with  the 
most  scrupulous  care,  and  to  study  his  model  in  all  its  profiles,  and 
then  he  will  be  able  to  make  full,  round  figures,  as  well  as  bas-reliefs, 
one  as  well  as  the  other.  He  refers  to  Delacroix  as  one  of  the  first 
painters  to  get  away  from  these  false  ideas  of  nature  and  the  antique, 
and  to  succeed  in  arriving  at  a  great  and  truthful  power  of  expres- 
sion. For  the  better  understanding  of  true  sculpture,  Rude  was 
able  to  do  a  great  deal,  and,  though  there  is  much  that  is  cold  and 
dry  in  the  details  of  his  great  bas-relief  on  the  Arc  de  Triomphe, 
its  spirit  is  splendid  and  its  planes  are  immense. 

Carpeaux  was  the  first  sculptor  of  a  later  generation,  though  a 
graduate  of  the  School,  to  emancipate  himself  from  its  teachings. 
He  succeeded  in  putting  life  into  his  work,  in  composing  several 
figures  together,  and  in  making  fine  and  sculpturesque  planes — so 
much  so  that  minor  defects  are  rarely  noticed. 

The  best  French  sculptors  agree  with  Rodin  in  regard  to  the  im- 
perfect teaching  of  the  School,  and  are  trying  to  escape  the  influence 
it  had  upon  them,  and  some  of  them  have  succeeded. 

Rodin  is  also  of  the  opinion  that  the  requirements  for  entering 
the  School  are  not  sufficiently  stringent.  There  are  those  who  affirm 
that  "  it  is  simply  a  mill  that  takes  every  one  in  and  grinds  them  out 
as  artists  —  and  such  artists!"  They  go  so  far  in  its  condemnation 
that  they  are  in  favor  of  closing  its  doors,  at  least  for  a  time,  because, 
all  in  all,  "  it  is  a  formidable  enemy  to  true  art  progress." 

The  practice,  in  and  out  of  the  School,  of  working  with  "  bullets  " 
finds  no  favor  with  Rodin. 

The  sculptor,  instead  of  putting  on  the  clay  with  a  sweep  of  his 
thumb  or  fingers,  and  thus  indicating,  with  his  every  touch,  the  ever- 
important  fact  of  planes,  rolls  it  out  into  a  little  ball,  and  carefully 
places  it  where  he  desires  with  a  slight  pressure  of  his  finger.  A 
figure  thus  made  looks  like  a  mass  of  flattened  bullets.  This  method 
of  modelling  is  not  regarded  as  indicating  a  true  sensibility  of  form, 
jut  a  way  of  hiding  an  incapacity  for  serious  modelling.  It  is  also 
affirmed  that  when  such  work  is  executed  in  marble  it  is  lifeless, 
lard  and  without  character,  because  it  has  no  element  in  it  that  will 
jroduce  sculpture. 

The  Greeks  saw  and  felt  this,  and  they  were  so  strong  that  they 
could  reproduce  what  they  saw  and  felt,  they  could  copy  nature 
>erfectly,  they  understood  the  human  form  to  its  very  depths,  and 
fere  in  accord  with  its  most  intimate  harmony.  Nor  is  their  art 
confined  alone  to  gods,  it  is  in  everything  they  made,  animals  as  well 
as  men. 

The  Greeks  suppressed  nothing,  because  nothing  was  beneath  its 
appropriate  dignity  and  preservation.     All  there  is  in  nature,  is  in 
heir  sculpture. 

The  imitation  of   nature,  without  feeling  or  comprehending  this 
armony  and  atmosphere,  is  not  art. 

And  it  is  also  true  that  all  true  criticism  of  art  is  based  upon  a 
mowledge  and  understanding  of  these  truths,  and  not  upon  taste. 

The  affinity  between  the  conceptive  intuitions  of  the  artist  and  the 
mman  form  is  as  absolute  as  it  is  intimate,  and  as  limitless  as  they 
are  numberless. 


262 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.        [VOL.  XXV.  — No.  701. 


A  model  may  suggest,  or  awaken  and  bring  to  a  conclusion,  by  a 
movement  or  position,  a  composition  that  lies  dormant  in  the  mind 
of  the  artist.  And  such  composition  may  or  may  not  represent  a 
defined  subject,  yet  be  an  agreeable  and  harmonious  whole,  suggest- 
ing to  different  minds  as  many  names. 

The  physical  and  mental  character  of  a  model  regulates,  to  a  great 
degree,  this  affinity. 

A  model  is,  therefore,  more  than  a  means  whereby  the  artist 
expresses  a  sentiment,  thought,  or  experience,  it  is  a  correlative  in- 
spiration to  him.  They  work  together  as  a  productive  force. 

Rodin  speaks  of  Barye  as  the  master  of  masters,  who  clung  to 
nature  with  the  force  and  tenacity  of  a  god  and  dominated  every- 
thing. He  was  beyond  all  and  outside  of  all  art-influences,  save 
nature  and  the  antique.  He  was  one  of,  if  not  the  most,  isolated 
artists  that  ever  lived.  Emphatically  original,  and  the  first  in  the 
world  in  that  kind  of  originality.  He  was  himself  and  himself  alone. 


Figures  from  the  Door.     Augusta  Rodin,  Sculptor. 

"One  thinks  of  him  and  the  Assyrians  together,  though  it  is  not 
known  that  he  knew  anything  about  them.  It  is  impossible  to 
believe  that  he  was  affected  by  them,  because  everything  that  he 
did  was  Barye.  lie  is  too  strong  to  be  generally  liked,  even  in 
France.  Neither  is  he  understood ;  he  belongs  to  the  centuries,  and 
only  after  them  will  he  be  loved.  He  is  our  great  glory,  and  we 
shall  have  to  depend  upon  him  in  coining  generations." 

Rodin  thinks  that  Rude  should  be  placed  next  to  Barye,  and  then 
Carpeaux.  Puget  also  worked  from  nature  and  had  a  fine  perfection 
of  form. 

The  indescribable  abnegation  of  such  men  as  Barye,  Millet,  Rude, 
and  Puget,  is  a  consolation,  as  well  as  a  sorrow  to  every  true  artist. 
They  were  heroes. 

Donatello  was  also  a  student  of  nature,  and  how  varied  he  is:  more 
so  than  Ghiberti,  Michael  Angelo,  or  Signorelli. 

Rodin  says  that  the  "  St.  George  "  of  Donatello  is  all  there  is  of 
Italian  art,  its  sum  and  flower  —  an  angel.  The  other  statues  on 
the  Or'  St.  Michel,  by  this  sculptor,  are  not  so  good.  His  equestrian 
statue,  at  Padua,  is,  in  Rodin's  estimation,  the  best  one  since  the 
Greeks.  All  these  lenders  in  Italian  art  were  colossal,  giants.  Of 
Michael  Angelo,  no  writer,  says  Rodin,  has  touched  the  hem  of  his 
garment,  in  the  appreciation  and  understanding  of  his  immense 
genius.  •  He  was  right  when  he  said  that  Ghiberti's  door  was  fit  to 
be  the  gate  of  Paradise. 

Although  the  dominating  tendency  of  Rodin's  nature  is  Gothic, 
and  bis  work  would  be  classed  in  that  style,  more  than  in  any  other, 
he  is,  in  his  taste  and  admiration  very  cosmopolitan.  Everything 
that  is  good  sculpture,  no  matter  what  its  style  or  date,  gains  his 
warm  appreciation.  If  he  loves  the  sculpture  of  the  Parthenon  the 
best  of  all,  he  is  disposed  to  give  to  Assyrian  sculpture  the  preference 
for  grandeur  of  style  and  expression.  Of  individual  specimens  of 
Greek  sculpture  he  prefers  the  Sleeping  Fawn,  Venus  of  Milo,  and 
the  recently  discovered  Greek  Victory.  Then  follow  the  Ariadne, 
Venus  of  Vienne,  the  bronzes  in  the  Naples  Museum,  the  Marsyas, 
Dying  Gladiator,  and  the  Idol,  at  Florence. 

He  regards  the  statue  of  Demosthenes  as  a  fine  work,  but  not  the 
best  Greek.  For  the  equestrian  Marcus  Aurelius,  "  there  is  no 
name."  "One  of  the  finest  things  in  the  world  is  the  Mercury,  by 
Brian,"  at  the  School  of  Fine  Arts,  in  Paris.  "It  received  the 
Medal  of  Honor  in  1864,  and  it  was  the  most  deserved  one  ever  given 
in  Paris.  The  statue,  as  such,  is  nothing :  but  the  work  on  it  1  Such 
force  and  beauty  I " 

This  unfinished  figure  of  a  sitting  Mercury,  was  found  in  the 
miserable  attic-studio  of  the  sculptor  the  day  after  his  death.  Brian 
died  in  poverty,  and  tradition  has  clothed  the  event  with  this  touch- 
ing story :  Fearing  that  his  clay  model  would  freeze  during  the 
night,  he  covered  it  with  his  only  blanket,  and  thus  deprived  his 
starved  body  of  its  own  protection.  His  frozen  corpse,  witnessed  in 
the  morning  this  final  sacrifice  to  art. 

In  urging  the  study  of  nature  as  the  only  guide  and  inspiration 
for  the  artist,  Rodin  gives  in  words  the  synonym  of  his  own  life- 
work.  Nature  has  revealed  to  him  her  mysteries,  and  those  of  her 
sculptured  counterpart,  the  antique.  He  feels  the  winning  power 
of  the  former,  and  the  truthfulness,  life,  simplicity,  and  never- 
changing  youth  of  the  latter. 

But  it  was  only  at  the  age  of  thirty-five,  and  after  eighteen  years 
of  the  hardest  study,  that  he  was  able  to  fully  assert  his  instincts  and 
trust  implicitly  to  the  teachings  of  nature. 

It  is  a  singular  fact  that  while  he  was  all  this  time  struggling  and 


progressing,  he  was  unable  to  see  anything  in  Barye,  and  accepted 
the  popular  dictum  that  Pradier  and  Ingres  were  veritable  gods.  All 
of  his  early  work,  the  "Broken  Nose"  as  an  example,  was  in  the 
right  way  of  modelling,  and  without  realizing  its  full  significance,  he 
was  studying  his  full  figures  from  all  profiles,  and  learning  to  make 
full  round  statues. 

It  is  easy  to  understand  why  nothing  that  Rodin  did,  from  the 
time  the  "  Broken  Nose  "  was  made,  and  during  the  seven  years  that 
he  was  working  with  Belleuse,  should  please  his  acquaintances; 
it  was  not  the  kind  of  sculpture  then  in  vogue.  It  had  too  much 
nature  in  it  and  not  enough  of  false  Greek. 

Rodin  knew  very  well  that  he  was  doing  a  tremendous  amount  of 
study,  and  his  only  comfort  was  in  the  belief  that  he  was,  at  least,  a 
realist.  His  work  did  not  please  him,  it  looked  small  and  lifeless. 
He  labored  in  faith  and  darkness.  Neither  did  the  sculpture  pro- 
duced by  others  at  that  time  give  him  any  pleasure. 

Constantly  hearing  his  things  condemned,  and  never  attaining  his 
ambition  to  do  strong  and  powerful  work,  he  began  to  think  that  he 
was  not  in  the  right  way.  But  as  he  saw  no  better  he  kept  on, 
following  blindly  his  own  feelings  and  working  harder  than  ever. 
At  last,  he  got  hold  of  nature,  his  modelling  had  life  in  it,  was  more 
supple,  it  had  freedom,  freshness,  and  the  authority  of  a  well-founded 
faith. 

There  was  logic  in  the  movement  of  his  figures,  and  he  expressed 
himself  without  let  or  hindrance.  He  felt  that  he  was  now  a  tru'e 
realist.  He  made  the  "  Age  of  Brass." 

The  character  of  the  "  Broken  Nose,"  as  a  piece  of  sculpture,  is  a 
great  explainer  of  Rodin's  early  life,  a  resume  of  the  superior  tone, 
firm  temper,  and  desperate  grip  that  carried  him  to  victory,  in  spite 
of  all  obstacles. 

It  is  singular,  that  master  as  Rodin  is  of  the  human  form,  and 
familiar  with  all  the  inner  powers  that  actuate  it,  it  is  almost  always 
at  the  very  last  moment  that  he  is  able  to  find  the  exact  movement 
or  expression  that  he  wants  in  a  figure  or  bust.  There  is  the  in- 
evitable wandering  around  in  desolation  and  discouragement,  in  the 
.attempt  to  reproduce  that  which  nature  presents  to  him.  Sometimes 
he  does  not  find  his  movement  or  expression  until  after  the  work  is 
in  plaster,  and  then  he  produces  it  in  clay  and  makes  the  desired 
changes.  The  character  of  his  modelling  is  peculiar.  At  first,  or  in 
its  early  stages,  it  looks  like  the  Renaissance,  but  if  he  carries  it  far 
enough  it  resembles  the  Antique,  as  in  the  case  of  the  torso  of  "  St. 
John."  Carrying  it  far  enough  implies,  with  Rodin,  ample  time  and 
perfect  tranquility.  Two  conditions  that  all  serious  artists  seek  with 
never-failing  persistence. 

In  any  stage  Rodin's  modelling  is  direct,  firm,  full,  and  living ;  it 
never  shows  labor.  His  things  seem  to  have  grown.  He  accents 
the  typical  characteristics  of  his  model  with  taste  and  judgment. 

Rodin  has  been  severely  criticised  for  a  lack  of  taste  in  the 
selection,  and  a  too  faithful  reproduction  of  his  models,  and  for  a  too 

free  representation 
of  the  divine  pas- 
sion of  love.  For 
"having  a  con- 
tempt, at  one  pe- 
riod of  his  career 
—  when  he  made 
the  '  St.  John  '  — 
of  the  merely 
agreeable,"  and  of 
choosing  "  To  ex- 
press his  concep- 
tions in  forms  ex- 
pressive rather 
than  in  themselves 
beautiful,  by  means 
of  gestures  and  at- 
titudes passionate 
and  significant, 
rather  than  at- 
tuned to  rhythmi- 
cal harmony."  The 
St.  John "  has 


Figures  from  the  Door.     Auguste  Rodin,  Sculptor, 


been  pronounced  a  low  physical  and  mental  type,  too  low  to  fitly 
represent  the  great  precursor.  Its  back,  head,  and  feet,  have  been 
pointed  out  as  confirming  evidence  of  the  truthfulness  of  this 
criticism. 

The  "  poetic  realism,"  and  "  the  nobility  of  the  statue,"  have  rarely 
been  questioned. 

To  the  ordinary  observe/  it  would  seem  that  these  objectionable 
parts  help  to  make  the  statue  and  help  to  produce  the  impression  of 
"  nobility  "  and  "  poetic  realism." 

As  a  comparative  allusion  to  the  Renaissance  leader,  it  was  affirmed 
that  Donatello,  Rodin's  "  great  prototype,  even  when  he  accentuated 
to  the  verge  of  exaggeration,  and  sometimes  beyond  that  limit,  the 
aesthetic  type  in  similar  delineations,  never  deprived  it  wholly  of  its 
nobler  physical  characteristics." 

It  has  been  said  that  no  such  perfect  models,  as  those  seen  in  the 
sculpture  of  Donatello  and  Michael  Angelo,  have  ever  existed,  and 
that  one  of  the  unrivalled  excellencies  of  these  sculptors,  consisted 
in  their  power  to  perfect,  in  their  statues,  the  imperfect  living  model. 
The  probabilities  are  that  Rodin  never  thought  or  cared  whether  his 
model  for  the  "  St.  John  "  represented  the  highest  type,  or  whether  the 


JUNE  1,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


263 


head,  back,  or  feet  were  those  of  a  saint  or  sinner.  The  model  ap- 
peared good  to  the  sculptor,  and  was  copied.  For  that  time  and 
purpose  it  suited  the  sentiment  it  suggested. 

Rodin  especially  liked  the  peculiar  type  of  his  model,  its  general 
construction,  and  its  back. 

Both  model  and  statue  represent  a  rude,  earnest  man  of  the  people, 
in  movement  and  attitude  natural,  primitive  and  unstudied,  very 
true  and  very  forceful. 

As  models  go,  the  one  used  for  "  The  Age  of  Brass  "  would  be  con- 
sidered an  excellent  specimen  of  a  young  man.  Some  of  the  female 
figures  on  the  door  would  escape  the  criticisms  made  against  the 
""St.  John,"  and  be  regarded  as  beautiful  enough  to  satisfy  the  most 
fastidious  definition  ofthat  elastieally-defined  adjective. 

The  origin  of  the  "  St.  John  "  is  interesting  as  an  illustration  of 
the  simplicity  of  the  workings  of  the  artist's  mind  on  this  occasion. 
When  the  model  had  taken  off  his  garments,  he  assumed  of  himself 
a  position  natural  to  him.  This  position  suggested  to  the  sculptor 
the  subject  of  "  St.  John  "  ;  he  emphasized  it  and  made  the  statue. 
The  origin  of  "  The  Age  of  Brass,"  though  somewhat  different,  was 
quite  as  simple.  The  sole  idea  in  the  sculptor's  mind  was  to  make  a 
study  of  the  nude,  a  good  figure,  correct  in  design,  concise  in  style, 
and  firm  in  modelling — to  make  a  good  piece  of  sculpture.  For  the 
sake  of  elucidation,  the  process  of  the  origin  may  be  sketched  as 
follows:  The  necessity  of  artistic  action  moves  the  artist  into  contact 
with  nature,  its  recognized  inspirer,  and  he  places  his  model  in 
various  positions,  in  keeping  with  its  character,  until  he  finds  one 
that  is  harmonious  in  every  way.  In  this  instance  the  question  of 
subject  is  not  included.  The  position,  movement,  attitude  of  the 
model,  as  found  by  the  artist,  is  satisfactory  to  him,  and  he  makes 
the  statue.  After  it  is  completed  it  suggests  various  names  and 
subjects  to  those  who  see  it,  though  it  is  really  nothing  more  nor  less 
than  a  piece  of  sculpture  —  an  expression  of  the  sculptor's  sense  of 
understanding  of  the  character  of  his  model,  and  of  his  capacity  to 
reproduce  it  in  clay. 

Whatever  place  this  process  may  occupy  in  the  consideration  of 
art-production,  one  thing  is,  at  least,  certain :  the  existence  of  a 
charming  figure,  from  every  view  mysterious,  and  from  its  left  side 
dramatic. 

In  the  execution  of  these  two  statues,  Nature  was  the  guide  of 
the  sculptor. 

If  the  statue  of  "  St.  John  "  did  not  have  an  immediate  success, 
the  model  from  which  it  was  made  became  at  once  in  great  demand ; 
but,  not  being  understood  and  used  in  accordance  with  his  physical 
and  mental  make-up,  the  statues  that  were  made  from  him  were  not 
in  the  highest  degree  successful.  He  was  placed  in  attitudes  out  of 
harmony  with  himself.  Modern  statues  of  "  St.  John  "  have  been 
nearly  always  represented  as  boys  or  youths.  Rodin  makes  his  from 
a  man  of  middle  age,  in  order  to  more  emphatically  enforce  the 
purpose  of  the  subject :  a  personality  who  approaches  his  hearers 
authoritatively,  and  in  his  function  their  superior. 

Before  leaving  the  "  St.  John  "  and  "  The  Age  of  Brass,"  an  allu- 
sion may  be  made  to  the  places  they  occupy  as  curious  coincidences 
in  connection  with  their  history,  character  and  sentiment.  The 
latter  stands  in  a  retired  corner  of  the  Luxembourg  Garden,  in  the 
centre  of  a  large  grass-plot,  so  that,  obeying  the  accustomed  warning 
provided  for  the  protection  of  the  green  carpet,  the  curious  visitor 
and  the  admiring  art-lover  are  prevented  from  any  near  apprecia- 
tion of  its  beauties. 

The  "  St.  John "  does  not  stand,  like  a  wall-flower,  in  solemn 
processional  contiguity  with  its  scores  of  sainted  and  mythological 
brethren  and  sisters,  but  is  planted  in  the  very  middle  of  one  of  the 
two  aisles  that  divide  the  hall  of  sculpture  of  the  Luxembourg 
Museum. 

The  fault  of  a  too  free  representation  of  the  passion  of  love  was 
first  found  at  the  time  of  the  exhibition  at  Petit's  galleries  of  some 
groups  and  sketches  of  the  figures  made  for  the  door,  and  again 
referred  to  by  some  English  artists  who  visited  Rodin's  studio.  The 
pleasing  terms  used  to  designate  these  works  were  "  vulgar,"  "  in- 
decent," "  illogical,"  "  exaggerated  effects."  Private  criticism  has 
denominated  their  author  as  "  crazy  "  and  a  "  fool." 

Such  tiresomely  inevitable,  but  legitimate,  condemnation  seems  to 
be  the  certain  greeting  given,  by  a  portion  of  the  world,  to  every 
free  and  rich-giving  contributor  of  germinal  productions.  Fortu- 
nately, in  France,  there  is  no  punishment  attached  to  it.  The 
sculptor  may  here  make  his  representations  of  love's  manifold  ex- 
pressions, the  chastity  of  passion,  and  its  amorous  tone  and  glow 
without  fear,  and  in  undisturbed  confidence  that  he  will  find  his  due 
audience,  without  waiting  for  the  "  sane  serenities  of  futurity." 

It  is  certain  that  the  early  Puritans  would  have  burned  Rodin  at 
the  stake,  and  not  less  certain  that  some  of  the  later  ones,  if  in  years 
to  come  they  should  look  upon  the  door,  will  be  tempted  to  clothe 
many  of  its  figures  and  groups  with  a  more  material  veil  than  that 
evolved  from  the  brain  of  one  of  the  sweetest,  purest  and  most 
delicate  souls  that  ever  touched  clay  into  loveliness  and  grace. 

With  everything  that  is  fine  Rodin  goes  to  extremes,  being  an 
excellent  example  of  what  was  never  said  with  a  finer  understanding 
than  by  William  Blake,  that  "  Safety  is  always  in  extremes."  The 
faults  of  men  like  Rodin  are  degrees  of  perfection. 

Rodin  looks  at  and  loves  the  human  form  in  something  the  same 
way  that  he  does  trees.  A  crooked,  gnarled  or  even  eccentric  one, 
if  it  has  character,  gains  his  regard  just  as  much  as  the  one  that  is 
straight  and  regular. 


It  is  generally  understood,  and  with  reason,  that  Rodin  was  a 
pupil  of  Barye  and  Belleuse,  because  it  is  so  stated  in  the  Salon 
catalogues.  The  truth  is  that  he  has  had  no  master,  and  owes 
nothing,  professionally,  to  any  one. 

When  Courbet  sent  his  first  picture  to  the  Salon,  he  wrote  on  the 
card  that  went  with  it,  "  Pupil  of  Nature,"  but  the  authorities  would 
not  accept  this  designation,  as  it  is  an  inexorable  rule  of  that  organi- 
zation that  the  French  exposant  shall  be  the  pupil  of  some  master. 
When  Rodin  sent  "The  Age  of  Brass,"  in  1877,  he  was  obliged  to 
give  the  name  of  some  one,  so  he  put  down  those  of  Barye  and 
Belleuse :  of  the  first  because  he  had  attended  the  classes  of  that 
sculptor  at  the  Jardin  des  Plantes,  though  gaining  nothing  thereby, 
and  of  the  latter  as  a  matter  of  politeness. 

Like  all  young  French  sculptors,  Rodin  tried  time  and  again  to 
make  something  that  would  sell,  in  order  to  lighten  the  load  he  was 
carrying  of  poverty  and  low  wages,  but,  to  his  bitter  sorrow,  he 
could  not  succeed.  Now  he  thinks  that  he  was  fortunate  in  escaping 
that  much-desired  success,  because  he  has  observed  that  that  kind 
of  success  is  a  hindrance,  rather  than  an  assistance,  to  the  exacting 
and  progressive  necessities  of  true  art-development,  and  he  fears 
that  it  would  have  impeded  his  progress. 

As  a  general  rule,  Rodin  does  not  look  with  favor  upon  early  art- 
success,  because,  he  thinks,  it  is  likely  to  hurt  the  young  artist  by 
over-stimulating  his  pride,  lessening  his  sensibility  and  love  for 
thorough  work,  and  leading  him  into  a  superficial  style  of  working. 
To  him,  the  safest  and  surest  way  for  a  young  artist  is  hard,  quiet 
work,  with  no  hurry  to  win  popular  favor,  especially  by  exhibiting 
at  the  Salon.  T.  H.  BARTLETT. 

[To  be  concluded.] 


[The  editors  cannot  pay  attention  to  demands  of  correspondents  luho 
forget  to  give  their  names  and  addresses  as  guaranty  of  good  faith  ; 
nor  do  they  hold  themselves  responsible  for  opinions  expressed  by 
their  correspondents.'] 

POINTING  FOR  CONCORD  GRANITE. 

ST.  Louis,  Mo.,  May  20,  1889. 

To  THE  EDITORS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT  :  — 

Dear  Sirs,  —  What  composition  would  you  recommend  for  pointing 
a  monument  of  Concord  Granite. 

Want  something  about  the  color  of  the  stone  and  durable. 

Portland  cement  is  said  to  be  inadmissable  on  account  of  its  stain- 
ing the  stone.  Yours  respectfully,  MONUMENT. 

[WK  doubt  whether  Portland  cement,  mixed  witli  just  water  enough  to 
make  it  as  damp  as  fresh  loam,  and  thoroughly  compacted  witli  a  calking- 
iron,  or  the  joiuter  forcibly  applied,  would  stain  the  stone,  and  it  is  by  far 
the  best  material  for  the  purpose.  Cement  mixed  with  oil,  which  is  often 
used,  would  stain  the  stone  and  is  not  so  good  as  when  mixed  with  water. 
Keene's  cement,  Parian  cement,  and  Selenitic  cement,  which  can  be  obtained 
of  importers,  are  nearly  white,  but  are  not  very  durable  when  exposed  in 
our  climate.  —  EDS.  AMERICAN  ABCHITECT.] 


HEMLOCK  AND  RATS. 

NEW  YOBK,  N.  T.,  May  28, 1889. 
To  THE  EDITORS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT:  — 

Dear  Sirs,  —  In  your  issue  of  May  25,  on  page  242,  you  jmte 
about  using  hemlock  lumber  for  grain-bins,  as  being  proof  against 
the  gnawing  of  rats.  Several  years  ago  I  had  hemlock  grain-bins 
placed  in  my  stable,  and  in  a  short  time  the  rats  had  gnawed  several 
holes  through  the  hemlock  boards ;  and  they  have  given  me  trouble 
ever  since,  till  I  have  had  to  have  recourse  to  tin.  I  would  recommend 
every  one  wishing  rat-proof  grain-bins  or  other  receptacles  to  line 
them  with  tin  or  galvanized-iron.  Yours  truly, 

H.  L.  HARRIS,  Architect. 


PKOVIDENCE,  E.  I.,  May  28, 1889. 

To  THE  EDITORS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT:  — 

Dear  Sirs,  —  In  reply  to  your  request  for  information  as  to 
whether  hemlock  is  proof  against  rats,  I  have  the  following  ex- 
perience to  offer : 

Some  years  ago  I  had  a  cement  floor  laid  in  a  building  containing 
an  incubator  and  a  brooder.  The  cement  did  not  set  properly,  and 
the  rats,  burrowing  through  it,  carried  off  the  chickens. 

I  had  heard  that  hemlock  would  poison  the  thieves,  and  accord- 
ingly I  laid  a  close- jointed  floor  of  that  wood  over  the  cement.  The 
day  after,  I  found  a  hole  three  inches  in  diameter  gnawed  upward 
through  the  wood  at  one  of  the  joints.  As  fast  as  one  hole  was 
stopped  another  was  made.  HARRY  A.  CHILDS. 


THE  FORESTS  OP  GUATEMALA.  —  A  consular  report  says  the  timber 
of  Guatemala  is  abundant.  There  are  forests  of  mahogany  and  pine, 
and  a  great  variety  of  other  woods  capable  of  being  used  for  manu- 


234 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.     [VOL.  XXIV. — No.  701. 


facturing  purposes.  The  balsam  tree  grows  wild,  mahogany  exists  in 
large  quantity,  and  thus  far  cutting  has  been  confined  to  the  banks  of 
streams,  where  by  means  of  floods  logs  can  be  rafted  to  ports  for  ship- 
ment. The  report  goes  on  to  say  :  Only  a  small  quantity  of  this  timber 
goes  to  the  United  States.  The  great  difference  in  rules  of  measure- 
ment (8  per  cent  against  about  30  per  cent  reduction  on  gross 
measurement)  gives  preference  to  the  markets  of  Europe.  The  prices 
of  merchantable  lumber  in  this  market  are  as  follows :  Pine  at  the  mills 
is  sold  at  4  1-2  cents  a  foot ;  cedar,  5  1-2  cents  ;  mahogany,  6  1-2  cents. 
Oak  is  sold  by  the  piece,  of  various  dimensions.  It  is  hewed  by  the 
Indians  with  their  machates,  and  brought  to  market  on  their  backs. 
The  sizes  are  usually  from  three  to  five  feet  in  length  and  two  to  four 
inches  in  thickness.  There  is  no  fixed  price,  but  a  piece  of  oak 
four  feet  long,  two  inches  thick  and  four  or  five  inches  wide  costs  about 
62  1-2  cents.  The  measurements  given  are  Spanish,  on  the  basis  of  the 
vara  (two  feet  nine  inches  to  the  yard),  and  the  price  in  Guatemalan 
currency,  which  is  about  70  cents  on  the  dollar  in  United  States  gold.  — 
Northwestern  Lumberman. 

THE  FORESTS  OF  ALASKA.  —  It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  whole 
of  that  territory  is  heavily  .timbered,  a  good  deal  of  it  being  as  destitute 
of  timber  as  the  desert  of  Sahara.  There  are  nowhere  any  trees  or  vege- 
tation, except  moss,  above  an  altitude  of  3,000  feet,  the  tree  growth  above 
2,500  feet  being  of  not  much  account.  When  it  is  considered  how 
much  of  the  country  consists  of  lofty  mountains,  the  area  of  timbered 
land  becomes,  under  these  conditions,  somewhat  restricted.  The 
above  remark  applies  of  course,  only  to  that  portion  of  the  territory 
that  has  been  explored,  a  comparatively  small  part  of  the  whole. 
What  of  the  timber  or  other  resources  there  may  be  in  sections  remote 
from  the  coast  no  one  knows.  In  the  far  North,  where  the  country  is 
believed  to  be  less  mountainous,  there  may  be,  and  very  likely  are, 
extensive  forests,  as  is  the  case  on  the  Eastern  continent.  The  most 
common  tree  in  Alaska  is  the  Sitka  spruce;  the  most  valuable,  the 
yellow  cedar.  Both  these  trees  grow  to  a  large  size,  some  of  them 
reaching  a  height  of  250  feet,  with  a  diameter  of  six  feet  near  the 
ground.  Generally  they  are  about  150  feet  high  and  measure  four  feet 
through  at  the  butt.  The  Sitka  spruce  makes  a  good  coarse  lumber, 
much  like  the  spruce  and  fir  of  California.  The  yellow  cedar  is,  how- 
ever, a  much  more  valuable  tree,  having  a  close,  fine  grain,  and  being 
remarkable  for  its  strength  and  durability.  It  is  also  very  fragrant, 
and  taking  readily  a  fine  polish  becomes  a  most  desirable  cabinet  wood. 
Hemlock  is  also  quite  a  common  tree  in  Alaska,  with  willow  and  alder 
along  the  water-courses.  The  bark  of  the  hemlock  will  some  day  be- 
come valuable  for  tanning  purposes.  In  intimating  that  the  forests  of 
Alaska  aro  in  some  sense  restricted,  compared  with  the  extent  of  that 
territory,  is  not  to  say  that  they  will  ever  suffer  extinction.  Centuries 
hence,  when  the  forests  farther  south  have  all  disappeared,  the  coming 
generations  will  be  able  to  draw  their  supplies  from  this  vast  timber 
preserve,  which,  with  its  power  of  reproduction  and  its  immunity  from 
the  ravages  of  fire,  will  prove  practically  inexhaustible.  Owing  to  the 
moisture  of  the  climate  and  the  thick  coat  of  moss  that  everywhere 
covers  the  ground,  it  is  impossible  for  a  conflagration  to  occur  in  the 
forests  of  Alaska.  —  San  Francisco  Wood  and  Iron. 


THE  WASTE  IN  SMOKE.  —  The  weight  of  the  smoke  cloud  which 
daily  hangs  over  London  has  been  estimated  by  Prof.  Chandler  Roberts, 
says  the  Engineering  Times,  to  amount  to  about  50  tons  of  solid  carbon 
and  250  tons  of  carbon  in  the  form  of  hydro-carbon  and  carbonic-oxide 
gases.  Calculated  from  the  actual  result  of  tests  made  by  the  Smoke 
Abatement  Committee,  the  value  of  coal  wasted  in  smoke  from  domestic 
grates  amounts,  upon  the  annual  consumption  of  5,000,000  of  people,  to 
£2,250,500.  The  cost  of  cartage  on  this  wasted  coal  is  calculated  to  be 
.£208,750,  while  the  unnecessary  passage  of  about  1,500,000  horses 
through  the  streets  in  drawing  it,  adds  seriously  to  the  cost  of  street 
cleaning  and  repairing.  Then  there  is  the  cost  of  taking  away  the  extra 
ashes,  .£43,000  per  year.  Summing  it  all  up,  the  direct  and  indirect 
cost  of  waste  coal  may  be  set  down  at  .£2,600,000,  plus  the  additional 
loss  *rom  the  damage  done  to  property  caused  by  the  smoky  atmosphere, 
estimated  by  Mr.  Chadwick  at  £2,000,000,  the  whole  aggregating, 
£4,600,000.  

THE  RECESSION  OF  NIAGARA.  — In  a  recent  address  in  Washington 
before  the  United  States  Geological  Survey,  Professor  Gilbert  gave  the 
following  interesting  information  regarding  the  recession  of  the  ground 
under  Niagara  Falls  :  The  estimate  is  that  for  the  past  forty-four  years 
the  falls  have  receded  at  the  rate  of  two  and  four-tenths  feet  in  a  year. 
The  Horseshoe  Falls  are  at  the  head  of  the  gorge,  and  the  American 
Falls  at  the  eastern  side,  but  the  time  was  when  both  were  together,  be 
fore  the  little  point  called  Goat  Island  was  reached.  The  recession  is 
more  rapid  at  the  centre  than  on  the  sides  ;  as  the  crest  of  the  Horse 
shoe  Falls  retreats  the  water  tends  to  concentrate  there,  and  the  time 
will  probably  come  when  the  sides  of  the  present  falls  will  have  become 
dry  shores.  The  gorge  is  known  to  be  35,500  feet  long.  A  calculatioi 
lias  shown  that  on  this  basis  the  falls  began  to  wear  away  the  rock  of 
the  escarpment  near  Lewiston  —  which  had  not  then  taken  out  a  city 
charter  —  about  7,900  years  ago,  plus  or  minus  certain  items  which  may 
affect  the  rate  of  recession.  The  limestone  is  not  worn ;  it  is  not 
ground  off  by  rocks  or  de'bris  in  the  water  which  comes  to  the  falls 
from  the  clear  depths  of  Lake  Erie.  The  process  is  brought  about  by 
the  undermining  of  the  shale,  which  seems  to  disintegrate  and  suddenly 
crumble.  Frequently  great  masses  break  loose  and  fall  over  the  brink, 
thus  changing  the  character  of  the  fall.  A  deep  basin  of  an  unknown 
depth  has  been  scoured  out  at  the  foot,  probably  by  means  of  ice, 
which  comes  over  the  falls  in  great  quantities  in  the  winter.  —  Exchange. 


directors  of  the  governments  of  Europe  and  America,  or  most  of  them. 
The  details  of  these  preparations  would  make  interesting  and  suggestive 
reading.    The  occasion  for  snch  extraordinary  activity  may  not  be  clear  to 
the  ordinary  mind,  but  it  is,  at  least,  suggestive  of  the  possibilities  of 
serious  international  complications.     To  the  outsider,   the   peoples  and 
nations  of  the  world  seem  to  be  at  peace.    Industry  and  the  creation  of 
wealth  are  absorbing  all  the  energies.    Wealth  is  more  general  and  more 
easily  gathered  than  in  past  times.    People  can  move  from  place  to  place 
and  from  country  to  country  more  readily  and  at  small  cost.    Individuality 
is  asserting  itself,  and  personal  liberty  is  becoming  a  more  valued  prize  to 
the  great  masses  of  the  people.     Governments   are  gradually   becoming 
more  and   more  the  reflection  of  the  popular  wishes.     Wars  and  armed 
conflicts  of  all  kinds  are  becoming  more  dangerous  to  their  instigators. 
The  people  are  more  disinclined  than  they  ever  were  to  increase  the  enor- 
mous load  of  indebtedness  that  wars  create.    The  age  of  warlike  conquest 
has  passed,  and  that  of  peaceable  colonization  has  set  in.    It  must  be 
evident  to  the  most  cursory  observer  that  an  equalization  of  population  is 
'n  progress  that  will  lessen  the  evils  resulting  in  many  European  countries 
rom  overcrowding,  and  increase  the  aggregate  wealth  and  productiveness 
3f  many  new  countries  into  which  population  is  crowding  for  relief.    Then 
why,  it  may  be  asked,  are  all  the  governments  vieing  with  each  other  in 
he  size  of  guns  and  the  power  and  speed  of  war-vessels,  great  and  small,  and 
n  the  strength  and  extent  of  defensive  fortifications  ?    The  instincts  of  the 
>eople  are  against  snch  expenditures  and  against  the  policy  their  construct- 
ion and  maintenance  contemplates,  or,  at  least,  suggests.    Inconsequential 
iouth  American  States  have  within  the  past  few  months  placed  orders  in 
french  foundries  and  ship-yards  for  vessels  and  ordnance  that  would  make 
t  appear  they  feared  an  attack  from  all  the  outside  world.    Italy  is  having 
a  ship-yard  and  a  war-material  establishment  built  by  Krupp  that  in  some 
respects  will  rival  Krupp's  own  works.    That  government,  it  is  well-known, 
las  some  of  the  most  powerful  war-vessels  ever  built  in  its  service.    Its 
engineers  are  to-day  perfecting  plans  for  vessels  and  defences  that  make  it 
appear  all  Europe  is  meditating  an  attack  on  that  people.    The  Spanish 
Government  is  about  selling  vast  tracts  of  forest-land  to  borrow  money  to 
be  expended  in  some  sucli  way.    France  is  animated  with  a  similar  spirit, 
and  her  ship-yards  are  crowded  with  work  for  domestic  and  foreign  use. 
Germany  is  forging  war  material  as  never  before,  and  Great  Britain  pro- 
>oses  to  expend  some  scores  of  millions  on  vessels,  guns  and  defences,  as 
.hough  the  Dorking  campaign  had  almost  set  in.    Belgium  has  a  line  of 
earth-forts  costing  half  a  million  each,  intended  to  be  destructive  to  any 
lostile  fleet  coming  within  range  of  their  guns,  that  are  hidden  from  sight. 
Colonial  dependencies  throughout  the  world  are  being  hedged  about  with 
all  possible  precautions  to  repel  attack,  and  in  America  the  same  spirit  is 
manifest.    This  week,  Secretary  of  the  Navy  Tracy,  advertises  for  three 
more  cruisers,  and  the  ship-yards  on  both  coasts  are  now  crowded  with 
overnment  work  on  war-vessels.    Our  engineers  are  brimful  of  schemes 
f  warlike  defence  for  the  ocean  fronts,  the  Gulf  coast  and  the  Canadian 
border  ;  and  when  all  these  schemes  are  executed,  if  they  ever  are.  fifty 
millions  of  dollars,   at  least,   will   have  disappeared  in    that   direction. 
These  movements  and  measures  stand  put  in  strange  contrast  with  the 
pulpit  and  platform  declarations  of  a  coming  brotherhood  of  man. 

Not  for  years  have  British  and  European  workshops  been  as  busy  as  at 
this  time  in  making  war  material,  and  material  to  assist  in  the  outflow  of 
peoples  from  overcrowded  centres.    Possibly  these  preparations  would  have 
been  made  long  ago  had  steel  and  iron  been  as  cheap  as  at  present. 
Possibly  the  deep  popular  discontent  over  social  and  economic  conditions 
has  much  to  do  with  these  enormous  outlays  in  European  countries.    Ke- 
cent  discussions  on  the  subject  of  "  Fortifications  and  Fleets,"   at  the 
Uuited  Service  Institution  in  England,  throw  much  light  upon  the  whole 
question,  and  show  how  little  has  yet  been  accomplished  in  the  direction 
of  actual  protection  against  enemies.    Here,  in  the  United  States,  we  are 
practically  at  the  mercy  of  enemies,  if  the  conclusions  as  to  England's  de- 
fenses are  correct.    The  conclusion  reached  by  English  naval  and  military 
authorities  is  that  no  land  defenses  can  avail  against  a  hostile  fleet,  and 
that  the  only  safety  for  Great  Britain  lies  in  maintaining  supremacy  on  the 
seas,  so  that  no  hostile  fleet  can  e\  er  reach  her  shores.    If  this  is  a  correct 
conclusion,  where  does  it  place  the  United  States  with  its  many  thousand 
miles  of  practically  unguarded  coast.    The  belief  is  strongly  eutertained 
that  the  long  distance  from  sources  of  hostile  attack  will  save  us,  but  war 
vessels  and  torpedo  vessels  are  as  efficient  on  one  side  of  the  Atlantic  as  the 
other.    Be  the  occasion  for  extraordinary  expenditure  what  it  may  be,  the 
fact  is  that  for  years  to  come  the  nations  of  the  world  will  build  and  build 
and  improve  and  improve  their   ordnance   and  firearms  until  war  will 
become  too  dangerous  to  play  at.    The  demands  created  by  our  own  Gov- 
ernment have,  within  a  short  time,  stimulated  enterprise  to  such  an  extent 
that  our  shops  are  able  to  turn  out  material  of  the  heaviest  kind,  and  of  the 
highest  requirements.    Whether  such  governmental  policies  are  warranted 
by  the  present  conditions,  it  is  hardly  worth  while  to  consider.    The  facts 
are  :  we  are  on  the  eve  of  a  great  expansion  in  the  demand  for  war 
material,  and  American  iron  and  steel  makers  seems  to  fully  understand  it. 
At  this  time  companies  have  plans  completed  to  expend  between  three  and 
four  million  dollars  in  plants,  wherein  the  heaviest  ordnance  and  material 
can  be  supplied.    Already  the  facilities  that  have  been  established  are  such 
as  to  reflect  the  highest  credit  on  our  iron-makers.    The  scarcity  of  nteel- 
raaking  ores  in  Spain  is  leading  to  investigations  as  to  the  availability  of 
ores  in  other  localities.    Large  deposits  that  can  be  used  as  acceptable  sub- 
stitutes are  to  be  had  in  Sweden  and  Canada,  and  it  is   believed  that 
splendid  deposits  of  hematite  ores  are  to  be  had  in  other  parts  of  the  world. 
The  basic  process,  by  which  native  phosphorous  ores  can   be  utilized   is 
being  more  largely  used  in  France,  Germany  and  Belgium.    This  process 
will  probably  soon  be  introduced  into  the  Uuited  States  when  the  present 
pateuts  on  the  Bessemer  process  expire.     The  cost   of   iron  and  steel 
products,  particularly  those  steel  products  made  by  the  improved  processes, 
will  be  considerably  reduced.    The  reduction  in  cost  is  attended  by  a 
corresponding  expansion  of  demand,  as  iron  trade  statistics  for  ten  years 
show.    Temporary  depressions  may  restrict  production,  but  the  general 
tendencies  are  working  in  the  direction   of  an  annual   expansion.    The 
requirements  of  governments  for  the  next  few  years,  and  the  requirements 
of  railroad-builders  and  bridge-builders  will  help  to  widen  the  markets  for 
iron  and  steel  throughout  the  world.    The  fears  of  those  who  apprehend 
that  the  demands  for  those  products  have  reached  their  limits  for  a  few 
years  are  childish.     The  industry  Is  in  its  infancy.    Builders  have  ordered 
fully  50  per  cent  more  this  year  for  structures  than   last,  and  railroad 
managers  are  tearing  out  wooden  structures  constantly  for  iron  and  steel 
work.    Until  all  nations  are  at  peace,  and  standing  armies  disbanded,  the 
makers  of  steel  need  not  fear  any  decadence  in  demand  for  war  material. 
The  outlays  will  necessarily  increase  until  each  nation  feels  itself  as  safe  as 
the  inhabitants  of  aucieut  walled-towns  felt  when  their  walls  were  com- 
pleted. 


TUB  erection  of  defensive  fortifications,  and  the  construction  of  war- vessels 
lor  offensive  and  defensive  purposes,  are  engaging  unusual  attention  of  the 


8.    J.    PABKHILL  &  Co.,  Printers,  Boston. 


JUNE  1,  1889.] 


The  American  Architect  and  Building  News. 


IX 


CABOT5 
E>KICK: 


VATI VE  i 


IIS  IS  A  PECULIAR-  G<?M5INATION  OF   INPE-ss 
/STRUGT1BL&  GUMS  WITH  AN  OILY  SOLVENT 
'MICH  PREVENTS  ThE  PENETRATION  oF  WATEP 
1  INTo  EITl^ER  5RIGKS  o^  MORTAL  IT  OREATLY 
IMPROVES  Tit:  APPEARANCE  op  5PICK-WoKKr  (JIVING  IT 
A  F1CH  EPPEOT,PI^EE  FROM  <j\oSS\  T>E  WHITE  EF^ 
FL°FESOENCE  OP  SALTS  ON  THE  SURFACE  ANP  Tit 

FORMATION  OF  -FUNGUS  is  PREVENTEP:  o\5  IT  15 

MUCH  MORE  ItfPERMEADLE  To  WATEI^  IT  IS  PAR 
5ETTEK  TMANr"LlN5EEP"OlL,ANP'IT  15  NoT  PE5TRo% 
EP  5V  THE  LIME  op  TO  M°RTAK:  WE"  CAN-  R  BOOM* 
MEND  IT  FOR  USE  ON  CMWMEYS.'AS  IT  WILL  PREVENT 
THEIR-  PISINTE(3  RATION  5Y  PF-1VIN6  RAINS,  WHILE 
SUPERIOR  To  ThE  BEST  FAINT  FoR  THIS 
IT  IS  ALSO  MORE  ECONOMICAL  : 

-  •  •A'DDK.eSS  -ORDERS  -AND  •  IN*QJUIK.IEr6  -TO 


S  AMUE  L 


The    American    Architect   and   Building    News.          [VOL.  XXV.— No.  701. 


"  i 


THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT  AND  BUILDING  NEWS. 


VOL.  xxv. 


Copyright,  1889,  by  TICKNOB  &  COMPANY,  Boston,  Mass. 


No.   702. 


JUNE  8, 1889. 


Entered  at  the  Post-Office  at  Boston  as  second-class  matter. 


SUMMARY: — 

An  Architectural  Fellowship  for  Columbia  College.  —  Pro- 
posed Exhibition  by  the  Three  Americas.  —  Theatrical 
Scenery.  —  Vermin  in  Dwelling-houses. — The  Vienna  Court 
Theatre  not  an  Acoustic  Success.  —  New  Sewerage  Work  in 
Paris.  —  An  Artificial  Silk.  —  A  South  American  Transcon- 
tinental Railroad.  —  An  Idea-Competition 265 

BUILDERS'  HARDWARE. —XXVII 2(>7 

EQUESTRIAN  MONUMENTS. —  XVI 209 

ILLUSTRATIONS : — 

The  Cathedral  and  the  Statue  of  Gattamelata,  Padua,  Italy. — 
Competitive  Design  for  Church,  Clergy-house  and  Schools 
for  Trinity  Corporation,  New  York,  N.  Y.  —  Monument  to 
Bartolomeo  Colleoni ;  the  School  of  St.  Mark  and  the 
Church  of  SS.  Giovanni  e  Paolo,  Venice,  Italy.  —  Wooden 
Model  of  Horse  for  Gattamelata's  Monument  at  Padua. — 
House  built  by  John  Bartram  in  17:!0  at  Grey's  Ferry, 
Philadelphia,  Pa. — Science  Hall,  Randolph  Macon  College, 

Ashland,  Va 272 

THE  NICARAGUA  CANAL  ROUTE 273 

BOOKS  AND  PAPERS 274 

SOCIETIES 275 

COMMUNICATION  •  — 

The  New  York  Cathedral  Competition 275 

NOTES  AND  CLIPPINGS 275 

TRADE  SURVEYS 276 


1ITIIE  Trustees  of  Columbia  College  have  voted  to  establish  a 
"J/   Fellowship  in  the  Department  of  Architecture  of  the  Col- 
lege, of  the  value  of  six  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  a  year,  but 
payable  as  a  biennial  gift  of  thirteen  hundred  dollars,  so  that 
the   holder  may  be  enabled   to   pursue   post-graduate   studies 
abroad   during  that  period.       The  fellowship  is  founded  as  a 
compliment  to  Mr.  F.  A.  Schermerhorn,  to  whom  the  Univer- 
sity owes  the  Department  of  Architecture,  which  was  estab- 
lished at  his  instance,  and  at  his  expense  endowed  with  the 
best    equipment    possessed    by   any   architectural    school    in 
the    country,  and    maintained    during    its    early  years.       The 
fellowship  will  be  confined  to  graduates  of   the   Department, 
and  will  be  awarded  after  a  competitive  examination.      This 
makes  the  third  endowed  course  of  study  in  Europe  now  open 
in  this  country  to  students  who  wish  to  compete  for  this  most 
valuable  addition  to  an  architect's  education.     We  do  not,  per- 
haps, realize  that  such  advantages  are  not  offered  in  any  other 
country  in  the  world.     In  France,  it  is  true,  the  Prize  of  Rome 
opens  to  the  fortunate  winner  a  reputation  and  assurance  of 
future  employment  which  the  American  scholarships  do  not, 
but,  in  return,  the  American  scholarships  leave  their  possessors 
much  freer  to  follow  their  own  inclinations  in  the  matter  of 
study,  and,  being  generally  given  to   men  who   have   had   a 
certain  amount  of  practical  experience,  instead  of  to  students 
fresh  from  school,  they  encourage  their  holders  to  sketch  and 
pick  up  knowledge   of   all   sorts,  in  a  way  which  would  be 
injurious  to  persons  just  set  free  from  their  lectures  and  drill 
in  classical  design.     It  is  a  satisfaction  to  think  that  the  more 
such  scholarships  multiply,  the  more  it  will  become  the  habit 
of  young  architects  and  draughtsmen  to  avail  themselves  of  the 
advantages  that  they  offer,  and  the  pleasanter  it  will  be  for 
the  holders   of   the  three  scholarships  to  form  a  little   party 
for  travelling  and  sketching  together.     Experienced  architects, 
who  have  made  their  dozens  of  trips  across  the  ocean,  do  not 
always  reflect,  in  their  surprise  at  the  smallness  of  the  number 
of  applicants  for  the  existing  scholarships,  that  a  prize  which 
consists  in  two  years  of  exile,  alone  among  strangers,  and  in 
countries   where   the   architectural    student   must   necessarily 
depend  upon  his  knowledge  of  foreign  languages  to  enable  him 
to  study  to  advantage  much  of  the  best  work,  presents  a  good 
many  terrors,  as  well  as  attractions,  to  the   average   American 
youth  recently  from    college,  and  an   arrangement   by  which 
the  three  American  travelling-students  may  have  the  advantage 
of  mutual  companionship,  at  least  during  the  first  few  months 
of    their    tour,    would    add    much    to    the    attraction    of    the 
examinations. 


TTT  MOVEMENT  has  been  started  for  a  great  exhibition, 
fl  under  the  auspices  of  the  three  Americas,  to  be  held  in 
Washington  in  1892,  the  four  hundredth  anniversary  of 
.he  discovery  of  America  by  Christopher  Columbus.  Spain 
and  Italy,  both  of  which  have  a  claim  on  the  memory  of 
Columbus,  have,  it  is  said,  shown  a  disposition  to  take  part  in 
-he  celebration,  while  Mexico,  which  had  at  one  time  an  idea  of 

letting  up  an  exhibition  of  its  own  in  the  same  year,  and  in 
icnor  of  the  same  event,  will  probably  be  glad  to  expend  the 

nergy  which  was  not  quite  sufficient  for  its  own  show  to 
making  a  creditable  appearance  at  ours.  The  South  American 
States,  unless  they  should  be  occupied  by  that  time  in  a  general 
war,  which  is  said  to  be  possible,  will  undoubtedly  be  glad  to 
make  another  demonstration  of  their  increasing  wealth  and 
enterprise,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  our  own  people  will  do 
their  best  to  help  the  affair  along.  It  is  said  that  thousands 
of  farms  in  the  United  States  were  mortgaged  in  1876,  in  order 
that  their  owners  might  go  to  the  Philadelphia  exhibition.  If 
.hat  is  so,  it  will  be  about  time  in  1892  for  the  children  of  the 
Centennial  enthusiasts  to  take  their  turn  at  seeing  the  wonders 
of  the  world.  The  site  proposed  for  the  Exhibition  buildings 

s  the  reclaimed  ground  of  the  Potomac  Flats,  close  to  the 
Washington  Monument.  If  this  is  sure  to  be  free  from  danger 
of  malaria,  it  seems  to  be  very  suitable,  and  Washington  itself 
is  as  pleasant  and  attractive  a  town  for  the  purpose  of  cele- 
jrating  a  grand  holiday  as  could  be  found  anywhere.  It  does 
not  appear  just  who  are  the  leaders  of  the  movement  in  this 

ountry  at  present,  but  more  particulars  will  undoubtedly  be 
Forthcoming  before  long. 


HENRI  MAMY  is  publishing  in  La  Construction 
Moderns  some  papers  on  theatrical  scenery  and  effects 
which  may  be  of  use  to  architects.  Some  of  the  appara- 
tus that  he  describes  is  new,  and  in  regard  to  that  which  is  old 
some  useful  hints  are  given.  Most  persons  have  seen  the  rep- 
resentation on  the  stage  of  a  ship  at  sea.  The  ship  in  this  case 
is  placed  on  rollers,  which  run  on  two  pieces  of  plank,  cut  out 
in  the  shape  of  waves.  By  pulling  the  ship  with  a  rope,  it  is 
made  to  pitch  and  roll  in  a  very  lifelike  manner.  The  distance 
is  formed  by  a  painted  scene,  representing  a  storm  at  sea,  with 
black  clouds,  white  foam,  etc.  The  agitation  of  the  foreground 
waves  is  still  obtained  by  the  primitive  plan  of  covering  the 
front  of  the  stage  with  blue  and  green  cloths,  under  which  a 
lot  of  boys  prance  and  run,  producing  a  tolerably  perfect  illu- 
sion. M.  Mamy  says  that  the  two-legged  waves  do  not  always 
behave  as  they  should.  Occasionally  they  are  lazy,  and  the 
director  of  the  theatre  of  the  Porte  St.  Martin  was  accustomed, 
when  he  had  a  marine  piece  on  the  boards,  to  keep  an  eye  on 
the  waves,  and,  when  the  fury  of  his  storm  appeared  to  be  sub- 
siding, he  would  sally  forth,  and,  with  a  few  well-directed  kicks, 
would  reanimate  the  ocean  to  the  point  desired.  In  an  English 
theatre  once,  the  wave-boys,  just  as  the  ship  containing  the 
hopes  of  the  audience  was  in  the  midst  of  its  perilous  drift 
across  the  stage,  struck  for  higher  pay.  The  director  refused 
to  grant  it,  but  a  look  at  his  ship  plunging  and  struggling  in 
the  midst  of  a  dead  calm  changed  his  mind.  He  hurried  back 
to  promise  the  increased  pay,  and  the  sea  was  immediately 
thrown  into  a  commotion  as  violent  as  any  one  could  wish. 
Where  it  is  desirable  to  change  a  scene  with  great  rapidity,  the 
two  scenes  which  are  to  follow  each  other  are  sometimes 
painted  on  opposite  sides  of  strips  of  zinc,  which  are  arranged 
like  the  rolling  slats  of  a  blind.  By  a  single  movement  of  a 
wire,  one  scene  is  transformed  into  the  other.  If  a  costume  is 
to  be  changed,  instead  of  a  whole  scene,  the  transformation  is 
usually  effected  by  having  the  costume  to  be  worn  first  put  on 
over  the  other,  and  making  the  outer  costume  in  two  pieces, 
opening  at  the  sides,  and  fastened  by  lacing-cords  through  eye- 
let-holes provided  for  the  purpose.  The  lower  ends  of  the 
cords  have  rings  on  them,  and  the  upper  ends  are  slightly 
fastened  under  a  rosette  or  some  other  detachable  ornament. 
If,  for  example,  the  godmother  of  the  story  has  to  transform 
herself  into  a  fairy  on  the  stage,  her  peasant  costume  is  put  on 
in  this  way  over  the  robes  of  Fairyland.  At  the  appointed  time 
the  old  lady  places  herself  just  in  front  of  a  small  trap  in  the 
stage,  which  is  previously  marked  with  chalk  for  her  informa- 
tion. At  a  certain  cue  she  places  her  hand  on  her  shoulder, 
where  there  is  a  rosette,  or  perhaps  a  tuft  of  rags,  and  detaches 
the  ends  of  the  strings.  At  the  same  moment  a  hand  emerges 


266 


The   American    Architect  and  Building   News.        [VoL.  XXV.  — No.  702. 


from  the  little  trap  behind  her  and  seizes  the  rings  on  the  cords, 
and  pulls  them,  when  the  peasant's  costume  disappears,  to  give 
place  to  the  airy  skirts  of  the  fairy,  while  the  wand,  the  indis- 
pensable attribute  of  the  stage  fairy,  is  handed  to  her  from  the 
same  trap.  One  of  the  most  effective  pieces  of  stage  machinery 
is  that  by  which  the  heroes  or  heroines  pass  through  solid  walls. 
This  is  arranged  by  having  the  fictitious  wall  or  rock,  or  what- 
ever it  may  be,  made  of  canvas,  with  light  doors  in  it,  which 
close  with  a  spring.  As  the  hero,  closely  pressed  by  his 
enemies,  approaches  the  rock,  he  takes  aim  at  the  proper  spot 
and  darts  through  the  spring  doors,  which  close  so  quickly  after 
him  that  the  audience  does  not  see  how  the  feat  is  performed. 
A  variation  of  this  was  devised  for  use  in  the  "  Roi  Garotte." 
In  that  play  one  of  the  personages  is  seen  on  the  stage,  turn- 
ing over  the  leaves  of  an  immense  book.  The  book  is  illus- 
trated with  pictures,  and,  as  the  leaves  are  turned,  the  people 
in  the  pictures  jump  out  of  the  book,  climb  down  on  the  stage, 
turn  a  few  somersaults,  and  then  jump  back  into  their  places 
on  the  page.  This  curious  effect  was  obtained  by  making  the 
middle  of  the  pages  of  India-rubber,  with  a  cut  through  the 
centre.  The  book  lay  on  a  table,  the  front  of  which  was 
concealed  by  some  other  objects,  while  the  top  was  perforated 
with  a  hole'large  enough  for  a  man  to  get  through,  and  covered 
by  the  book.  A  lively  boy  was  concealed  under  the  table, 
with  such  costumes  as  he  needed,  and  at  a  preconcerted  signal 
he  would  jump  out  through  the  India-rubber,  caper  a  moment 
about  the  stage,  and  jump  back  again. 


SEMAINE  DES  GONSTRUGTEURS  makes  a  com- 
plaint that  is  frequently  heard  here  —  that  it  seems  to  be  im- 
possible to  keep  apartments  of  moderate  size  and  rent  free  from 
vermin.  As  it  says,  in  the  modern,  as  well  as  the  older  houses, 
it  is  the  rule  to  find  bugs  under  the  wall-papers,  which  are  the 
universal  decoration  in  Paris,  most  of  them  belonging  to  colo- 
nies of  emigrants,  which  have  been  sent  out  from  some  slovenly 
household  in  the  neighborhood,  and  have  multiplied  under  the 
papers,  in  spite  of  all  the  efforts  of  the  neater  housekeepers  to 
exterminate  them.  There  are  thousands  of  houses,  inhabited 
by  clean  and  well-bred  people,  where  this  nuisance  persists,  in 
spite  of  all  efforts,  and  La  Semaine  asks  if  there  is  no  remedy, 
short  of  the  substitution  of  paint  for  paper,  which,  though 
effectual,  does  not  please  the  taste  of  the  Parisians.  If  any  of 
our  readers  know  of  anything  that  can  be  done,  many  persons 
will  be  glad  to  hear  of  it.  We  might  suggest  that  the  paste 
for  putting  on  papers  in  such  cases  should  be  mixed  with  corro- 
sive sublimate,  which  would  poison  the  bugs,  besides  preserv- 
ing the  paste  from  souring,  and  need  not  be  dangerous  to  the 
lives  of  the  occupants  of  the  rooms,  but  a  washable  paiut  is  un- 
doubtedly much  to  be  preferred  in  all  such  buildings. 


'TT  RATI1EE  singular  personal  discussion  is  just  now  going 
j\  on  in  Vienna,  over  the  new  Court  Theatre,  which  is 
'  very  magnificent,  but  which  has  the  defect  that  the  actors 
cannot  be  heard  in  it.  The  architect  is  Baron  von  Hasenauer, 
one  of  the  most  distinguished  architects  in  Europe,  and  the 
newspapers  seem  to  have  been  stimulated  by  his  conspicuous 
professional  position  to  lay  a  good  deal  of  blame  on  him  for 
the  bad  acoustic  quality  of  the  buildiug.  Naturally,  Baron 
Hasenauer  does  not  like  this,  and  his  friends  have  undertaken 
to  defend  him  by  explaining  that  the  plan  of  the  structure  is 
not  due  to  him,  but  to  the  late  Professor  Semper,  who  pre- 
pared before  his  death  the  scheme  which  was  carried  into  exe- 
cution by  Hasenauer.  This  explanation,  which  has  probably 
some  reason  in  it,  far  from  allaying  the  trouble,  has,  as  it 
seems,  stirred  up  Professor  Hans  Semper,  the  son  of  the  great 
architect,  who  demands  an  opportunity  to  demonstrate  before 
a  jury  of  architects  that  the  defects  of  the  theatre  arise  from 
errors  in  design  and  construction  which  do  not  exist  in  the 
original  plans,  but  were  introduced  by  Baron  Hasenauer. 
Which  of  the  disputants  is  right  it  is  impossible  to  say,  and,  in 
fact,  in  matters  of  the  acoustics  of  buildings  it  is  beyond  the  power 
of  any  person,  architect  or  not,  to  make  explanations  that  are  of 
any  value  beyond  the  most  rudimentary  observations  for  the 
reason  that  no  one  knows,  beyond  such  simple  observations 
anything  about  the  causes  which  make  a  building  hard  to  hear 
in,  or  the  remedy  for  such  a  state  of  affairs,  if  it  exists.  Mean- 
while, Baron  Hasenauer's  friends,  including  Baron  Hansen  and 
many  other  architects  of  high  distinction,  have  shown  their 
sympathy  with  him  by  presenting  him  with  a  eulogistic  address. 


0N  the  fifth  of  April,  the  order  was  given  for  the  immediate 
execution  of  the  works  which  are  to  extend  the  sewers  of 
Paris,  so  as  to  receive  the  house-wastes  from  the  whole 
city,  instead  of  from  a  small  part,  as  is  now  the  case,  and 
convey  them  to  the  sandy  peninsula  of  St.  Germain,  there  to 
be  used  in  fertilizing  the  market-gardens  from  which  the 
markets  of  Paris  are  to  be  supplied.  The  land  necessary  for 
irrigation  has  been  taken  possession  of,  the  scheme  of  conduits 
needed  for  bringing  and  applying  the  sewage  to  it  has  been 
carefully  worked  out,  and  nothing  remains  but  to  carry  the 
plans  into  execution.  To  see  that  this  task  is  properly  per- 
formed, and  with  due  regard  to  all  public  interests,  a  Commis- 
sion has  been  appointed,  not  only  to  watch  the  construction  of 
the  system,  but  to  observe  the  effects  which  it  produces  from 
year  to  year  on  the  health  of  the  people  who  live  near  the 
irrigation  grounds.  This  Commission  is  to  be  permanent,  and 
is  to  consist  of  five  experts,  one  nominated  by  the  Minister  of 
Agriculture ;  one  by  the  General  Council  of  the  Seine ;  one 
by  the  General  Council  of  the  Department  of  Seine  and  Oise, 
and  a  fourth  by  the  Minister  of  Finance,  while  the  fifth  is 
chosen  by  the  Committee  of  Hygiene,  or,  as  we  should  call  it, 
the  National  Board  of  Health,  of  France.  Each  of  these  ex- 
perts represents  and  defends  a  different  interest,  and  no 
measure  prejudicial  to  the  public  health,  or  the  public  finances, 
is  likely  to  receive  the  votes  of  a  majority  of  the  Commission. 
Every  year  the  members  of  the  Commission  are  required  to 
unite  in  a  report  to  the  Minister  of  Agriculture,  which  is  accom- 
panied by  one  to  the  Minister  of  Finance. 


TTTN  artificial  silk  has  been  invented  by  M.  Duvivier.  The 
f\  substance  of  the  new  fibre  consists  of  gun-cotton,  mixed 
with  gelatine,  and  dissolved  in  strong  acetic  acid.  This 
mixture  is  placed  in  a  receptacle  having  a  small  orifice  at  the 
bottom,  and  the  drop  which  exudes  is  taken  up  and  drawn  out, 
forming  a  silk-like  thread.  This  is  passed  through  three 
baths,  the  nature  of  which  is  not  described,  and  is  then  dried. 
When  dry  it  is  wound  on  bobbins,  or  in  skeins,  which  are  kept 
in  water.  The  color  of  the  thread  is  a  pale  brownish  yellow, 
and  it  has  been  successfully  woven  into  cloth.  On  the  whole, 
the  new  material  does  not  seem  likely  to  come  into  very  fierce 
competition  with  silk.  The  strengtli  of  the  real  silk  fibre  is  so 
far  beyond  that  of  any  imitation  yet  invented  that  it  must  con- 
tinue to  be  preferred  to  any  artificial  product,  unless,  possibly, 
some  sort  of  glass  should  be  devised  tenacious  enough  to  go 
through  the  ordeal  of  spinning  and  weaving. 


1IFIIE  Deutsche  Bauzeitung  gives  some  particulars  in  regard 
A  to  the  new  railroad  which  is  to  cross  the  South  American 
Continent,  from  the  Atlantic  Ocean  at  Buenos  Ayres  to 
the  Pacific  at  Valparaiso.  The  greater  part  of  the  road  has 
already  been  built,  but  the  mountain  section,  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  long,  between  Mendoza,  on  the  side  of 
the  Argentine  Republic,  and  Santa  Rosa,  on  the  Chili  side, 
still  remains  to  be  completed.  At  Mendoza,  the  elevation  of 
the  present  road  above  the  sea  is  about  twenty-five  hundred 
feet,  but  in  a  length  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-four  miles  the 
new  line  ascends  to  a  height  of  nearly  ten  thousand  feet.  The 
summit  is  formed  by  a  tunnel,  about  seven  miles  long,  from 
which  a  descent  of  seven  thousand  feet,  in  a  length  of  thirty- 
two  miles,  leads  to  Santa  Rosa,  where  connection  is  made  with 
the  existing  road  to  Valparaiso.  It  is  expected  that  the  line  will 
be  finished  by  the  end  of  1890,  with  the  exception  of  the  tunnel, 
which  will  take  two  years  longer.  During  the  construction  of 
the  tunnel,  however,  the  road  will  be  open  for  traffic,  pas- 
sengers and  goods  being  transferred  over  the  mountain  pass. 


"idea-competition"  is  just  announced  in  Switzerland  for 
a  National  Museum  in  Berne.  The  competition  is  open 
only  to  Swiss  architects,  who  are  invited  to  send  sketches, 
at  a  scale  of  one  to  two  hundred,  for  the  elevations,  as  we 
suppose,  and  one  to  five  hundred,  which  we  imagine  must  be 
for  the  plans.  Although  the  drawings  will  thus  be  very  small, 
fourteen  hundred  dollars  is  offered  in  prizes,  and  a  most  impos- 
ing array  of  judges  has  been  appointed,  comprising  Professors 
Auer,  of  Berne,  and  Bluutschli,  of  Zurich,  Colonel  de  Saussure, 
of  Geneva,  and  three  well-known  architects,  together  with  Dr. 
von  Esseiiwein,  Director  of  the  Germanic  Museum  in  Nurem- 
burg. 


JUNE  8,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


267 


BUILDERS'  HARDWARE.1— XXVII. 

CLOSET-FITTINGS. 


Fig.  393. 


Fig.  394. 

Turn-buttons. 


Fig.  395. 


OOME  of  the  appliances  included  under  the  title  of  Closet- 
k^  Fittings,  appertain  perhaps  more  truly  to  furniture  than  to 
'  Builders'  hardware,  though  they  are  sometimes  used  in 
connection  with  the  finished  carpenter  work.  The  designation 
of  closet-fittings  is  a  somewhat  arbitrary  one  and  while  not 
strictly  applying  to  everything  considered  under  this  classifica- 
tion, might  include  many  of  the  articles  described  in  previous 
chapters.  The  limitations  will,  however,  be  sufficiently  exact 
for  the  present  purpose. 

The  simplest  appliance  for  securing  the  door  of  a  cupboard 
is  what  is  known  as  a  turn-button.     Figure  393  illustrates  the 

cheapest  form,  consisting  of  a 
metal-bar  or  button  which  is  se- 
|  cured  in  place  by  a  screw  through 
the  centre,  the  screw  being  turned 
in  so  as  to  allow  the  button  to 
rotate  freely.  An  improvement 
is  to  have  the  button  pivoted  on  a 
plate  which  is  screwed  indepen- 
dently to  the  door-frame,  Figure  394,  while  a  plate  is  secured 
to  the  door  for  the  button  to  turn  upon,  or  vice  versa. 

A  turn-button  acts  as  a  bolt,  but  it  is  often  preferable  to 
use  some  other  form.  Any  of  the  flush,  sunk,  raised,  mortise 
or  neck  bolts  described  in  a  previous  chapter  will  answer  for 
a  cupboard,  though  there  are  a  few  styles  which  are  especially 
designated  as  cupboard-bolts.  Figure  395  is  an  example. 
Again,  it  is  often  desirable  to  have  a  spring-catch  on  a  cup- 
board, such  as  that  shown  by  Figure  396,  which  may  be  con- 
sidered as  a  type  of  many  different  styles.  Figure  397  shows 
a  lever-cupboard  catch,  which  works  by  gravity,  without 
springs,  the  catch  being  released  by  raising  the  handle.  Each 
of  these  varieties  can  be  used  for  double 
or  single  doors,  though  with  double-doors 
some  form  of  bolt  is  necessary  in  addi- 
tion. The  book-case  bolts  and  catches 


Fig.  396.     Cupboard-catch. 


Fig.  397.     Cupboard-catch. 


Fig.  398.     Chest-handle. 


described  in  the  chapter  on  bolts  might  properly  be  included, 
also,  in  the  present  category. 

Drawer-pulls  are  made  in  a  great  variety  of  styles,  only  a 
few  of  which  i.eed  be  considered  here.  Figure  398  is  a  cheap 
and  very  common  form  of  wrought-iron  chest  or  drawer  handle, 
suitable  only  for  rough  work.  Figure  399  is  a  very  serviceable 
drawer-pull,  and  in  plainer  form,  with  sides  as  well  as  front 
rounded  in,  is  what  is  commonly  employed  for  china-closets, 
wardrobes,  etc.  Figures  400  and  401  are  drop-handles  for 
nice  work  on  the  same  principle  as  the  first  pull  illustrated. 
The  latter  is  a  very  old  pattern,  such  as  is  found  on  most  of  the 
antique  colonial  wardrobes  and  dressing-cases,  and  is  just  now 

1  Continued  from  No.  699,  page  233. 

In  the  chapter  on  knobs,  the  writer  omitted  to  notice  a  very  simple  and 
effective  form  of  screwless  knob-fastening,  recently  put  on  the  market  by  the 
Hopkins  &  Dickinson  Manufacturing  Company.  In  this  device,  the  spindle, 
which  ia  cut  with  a  screw-thread,  is  rigidly  attached  to  the  shank  and  the  knob 
on  one  side.  The  opposite  shank  has  a  swivel-connection  with  the  knob,  and  is 
threaded  inside  to  screw  over  the  spindle.  In  application,  the  loose  shank  is 


two  shanks  together  and  binding  against  a  washer  on  the  door,  so  that  while 
the  knobs  can  be  rotated  freely,  the  rose-washer  and  consequently  the  shanks, 
will  not  work  loose. 


quite  in  fashion.  Figure  402  is  a  straight  bar-pull  and  P'igure 
403  is  a  serviceable  and  easily  attached  ring  drawer-pull 
occasionally  employed  for  wardrobes.  Figure  404  is  a  type  of 
what  is  particularly  designated  as  a  druggist  drawer-pull,  being 


Fig.  401. 


Fig.  400. 


Drawer-pulls. 


on  the  principle  of  Figure  399  but  with  frame  and  slot  on  the 
face  to  receive  a  card  or  label. 

Drawer-knobs  are  mostly  too  simple  to  require  any  illustration. 
They  are  made  with  heads  of  wood,  porcelain,  mineral,  com- 
position or  metal,  and  are  usually  so  shaped  as  to  dispense  with 


Fig.  403.     Ring-pull. 


Fig.  404.      Druggists'   Drawer-pull. 


a  separate  shank  or  spindle,  the  knob  sometimes  having  a  slight 
metal  rose  or  collar.  In  the  cheaper  grades  the  knob  has 
leaded  into  it  a  gimlet-pointed  screw-threaded  spindle  which 
can  be  turned  directly  into  the  drawer-front ;  but  a  more  satis- 
factory form  has  a  spindle  extending  entirely  through  the 
drawer,  and  secured  by  a  nut  and  washer  on  the  inside.  With 
a  wooden  knob  the  attachment  is  sometimes  made  by  means  of 
a  screw  passing  through  the  drawer-front  and  turning  into  the 


Bookcase  Shelf-pegs. 


Fig.  407.     Coat-hook. 


knob  from  behind.  Wood  or  porcelain  knobs  are  most  suitable 
for  kitchen  and  china  closet  work,  though  no  knob  is  ever  as 
permanent  or  satisfactory  as  a  drawer-pull. 

Figure  405  illustrates  the  ordinary  shelf-brackets.  They  are 
cast  in  malleable-iron  in  sixteen  or  more  sizes  varying  from 
3x4  inches  to  16x20  inches.  The  form  is  a  very  strong  one, 
and  a  great  deal  of  stiffness  is  obtained  with  a  minumum  of 
metal.  They  usually  fail,  when  overloaded,  by  the  upper  arm  or 
flange  breaking  near  the  inner  screw-holes,  but  it  requires  a 
greater  load  than  one  would  suppose  to  break  such  a  bracket. 


268 


The  American   Architect  and  Building  News.         [VOL.  XXV.  — No.  702. 


There  are  many  so  called  "  fancy  "  forms  of  shelf-brackets  in 
the  market  few  of  which  are  in  the  slightest  degree  artistic 
though  most  of  them  are  stronger  than  the  simple  form  shown 
by  the  figure,  on  account  of  having  more  metal-work  between 


Fig.  408. 

the  flanges.     Brass  brackets  are  seldom  required  for  ordinary 
house  work  and  can  usually  be  had  only  on  a  special  order. 

It  is  often  desirable,  in  fitting  up  book-cases  or  china-closets 
to  have  movable  shelves.      Shelf-pins  of    some   sort  are   then 


Fig.  409. 


Fig.  41  I 


used,  holes  being  bored  at  regular  intervals  in  the  sides  of  the 
case  into  which  the  pins  will  fit.  Ordinary  screw-eyes  answer 
very  well  for  most  purposes,  but  are  rather  conspicuous  when 
proportioned  for  heavy  loads,  and  are  not  very  easily  moved. 


Fig.  413. 


Fig.  412. 


Fig.  414. 


Figure  406  illustrates  three  patterns  of  specially  devised  shelf- 
pins.  The  ones  with  square  and  round  heads  are  taken  from 
the  catalogue  of  A.  G.  Newman.  The  rebated  pattern  is  manu- 


factured by  Russell  &  Irwin,  and  holds  the  shelf  so  that  the 
greater  portion  of  the  pin  is  hidden. 

Closet-hooks  are  made  in  so  many  different  styles,  and, 
withal,  are  so  well-known  that  only  a  few  forms  need  be  con- 
sidered, which  will  serve  as  types  for  three  hundred  or  more 
varieties  to  be  found  in  the  hardware  market.  The  hooks  are 
invariably  secured  to  wooden  cleats  which  are  nailed  to  the 
wall  over  the  plaster.  Figure  407  is  a  hat-pin  with  hook  be- 
neath, which  can  be  turned  directly  into  the  wood  by  means  of 
the  screw-thread  on  the  extension  of  the  shank.  Figure  408 
is  held  by  a  nut  turned  up  from  behind,  and  can,  of  course,  be 
used  only  on  some  form  of  hat-rack.  This  and  the  preceding 
are  properly  furniture-trimmings.  Figure  409  is  a  familiar, 
old-fashioned  coat-and-hat  hook  with  porcelain  knobs,  a  very 
serviceable  article  even  though  it  is  not  quite  in  style.  Figure 
410  is  a  form  of  wardrobe  hook  usually  made  in  brass  or  bronze, 
and  Figure  411  is  a  wardrobe  hook  intended  for  dresses  which 
are  to  hang  from  the  ceiling.  A  similar  hook,  Figure  412,  is 
fitted  with  a  gimlet-pointed  screw-shank,  to  screw  directly  into 
the  wood.  A  very  good  wooden  hook,  Figure  413,  is  made  on 
the  same  principle  as  a  harness  hook,  the  hardwood  pin  be- 
ing inserted  from  the  rear  of  the  iron-base  and  bevelled,  so  it 
cannot  work  loose  or  pull  out.  Figures  414  and  415  are  types 


Fig.  415. 


Fig.  416. 


of  the  common  hat  and  coat  hook,  the  latter  being  specially 
designated  as  for  school  use.     Several  styles  of  hooks  are  also 
made  of  bent  steel  wire.  Figure  41  G,  and  are  very  strong,  light 
and  serviceable. 
All  of  the  foregoing  closet  fixtures  can  be  had  in  various 
sizes  and  in  different  materials.      The  following    table    gives 
some  average  retail  prices  which  will  serve  as  guides  in  select- 
ing goods.     The  prices  are  for  a  dozen  medium-sized  fixtures, 
complete,  with  screws. 

TABLE  OF  CLOSET-FIXTCBES. 

Fig. 

Fixture. 

Bronze. 

Japanned  Iron. 

Bronzed  Iron. 

* 

Porcelain. 

393 
394 
395 
3% 
397 
398 
399 
400 
401 
402 
403 

405 
406 

413 
416 

*  .33 
.87 
2.25 
3.00 
3.25 

2.00 
2.25 
4.00 
2.00 
1  50 

«  .10 

.65 

1.35 
.25 
.75 

3.00 
.08 

.20 

.20 

»  .20 

.75 
.87 
.65 
.75 

.38 
1.25 

.30 
1.50 

4.00 
.50 
.25 

.25 

» 

.15 
.30 

.25; 

* 

.35 

.51) 

"           "         with  plate    1|  in 

4.50 
2.50 
2.65 

1.25 
2.50 

Shelf-pins  

Wooden      "      "      "        "     

JUNE  8,  1889.] 


The    American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


269 


EQUESTRIAN    MONUMENTS.1  —  XVI. 

THE    CONDOTTIERI.  —  III. 

fHE  successor  of  Carmag- 
nola,  the  successful  ad- 
versary of  Piccinino,  the 
contemporary  of  Sforza,  Al- 
fonso  the  Magnanimous, 
Federigo  of  Urbino  and  of 
Sigismondo  Pandolfo  Mala- 
testa,  Bartolomeo  Colleoni,  to 
have  achieved  the  success 
and  final  fame  that  befel  him, 
must  have  been  —  well, 
worthy  of  all  the  praise  that 
has  been  showered  upon  him 
as  a  soldier  and  as  a  man. 

Born  of  a  noble  family  of 
Bergamo,  Bartolomeo  in  his 
early  childhood  was  a  victim 

Medal  by   Le   Pisanello    in    Commemoration    of     of  One    of  the    faillilv  intrigues 
the  Taking  of  Rocca  Contrada.  common     to    t  ll  O  s'e    times, 

through  which  his  father  was  slain  by  sundry  cousins  with  whom  he 
had  allied  himself,  but  who  sought  their  own  advancement  by  killing 
him  and  seizing  his  possessions.  After  a  short  stay  in  prison,  Bar- 
tolomeo was  allowed  to  escape  and  live  with  his  mother  in  obscure 
poverty  till  he  was  of  age  to  shift  for  himself.  This  he  did  by  first 
taking  service  as  a  page  in  the  retinue  of  the  Lord  of  Piaeenza;  but 
at  the  age  of  twenty,  having  meanwhile  taken  advantage  of  all  op- 
portunities to  attain  skill  and  address  in  the  use  of  arms,  he  finally 
took  up  the  profession  of  the  roving  soldier,  selling  his  service  here 
or  there  where  he  could  obtain  most  pay.  His  first  real  step  was 
procuring  the  command  of  twenty  men-at-arms  in  reward  for  having 
deserted  the  army  of  the  con- 
dnltiere  Braccio  to  take  ser- 
vice against  him  in  the  army 
of  Queen  Joan.  When  peace 
was  finally  declared  he  sought 
employment  in  the  armies  of 
Venice  under  Carmagnola  in 
the  campaign  against  Filippo 
Maria  Visconti,  and  after  Car- 
magnola's  recall  and  judicial 
murder  by  the  Seignory  of 
Venice  he  continued  in  service 
under  Gattamelata,  who  had 
succeeded  to  the  chief  com- 
mand, and  was  waging  the  Re- 
public's battle  against  the 
famous  Piccinino.  In  these 
years,  between  1432  and  1443, 
his  command  had  been  in- 
creased as  he  approved  him- 
self trusty  and  successful  sol- 
dier till  he  was  the  leader  of 
eight  hundred  men-at-arms, 
and  at  the  death  of  Gatta- 
melata in  1440  he  was  practi- 
cally the  most  prominent  gen- 
eral in  Venetian  employ. 
Further  advance  was,  how- 
ever, checked  by  a  quarrel  in 
1443  with  the  ruling  doge,  and 
Bartolomeo,  in  consequence, 
took  service  with  Filippo 
Maria  Visconti,  who  finally, 
becoming  jealous  of  the  ascen- 
dancy he  was  obviously  ac- 
quiring, threw  him  into  prison. 
Filippo's  death  within  two 
years  caused  Bartolomeo's  re- 
lease, and  he  took  advantage 
of  the  temporary  confusion  to 
seize  his  patrimony  of  Ber- 
gamo in  1447.  From  this 
time  to  1455  he  was  particu- 
larly active  in  changing  his 
paymasters,  twice  serving 

the  Venetians  before,  in  1455,  he  was  elected  commander-in-chief 
of  the  Venetian  forces,  with  a  salary  of  100,000  florins.  In  this  in- 
terval all  his  changes  had  tended  to  increase  both  his  wealth  and  his 
personal  importance.  From  this  time  to  his  death,  in  1475,  he  held 
practically  the  most  important  position  in  all  Italy,  and  it  is  conclu- 
sive evidence  of  the  ability  and  unquestioned  probity  of  the  man  that 
so  jealous  an  employer  as  the  great  Venetian  Republic  should  have 
for  so  long  a  term  left  in  his  hands  the  practically  unqualified  control 
of  its  great  armies ;  and  he  himself  freely  expressed  surprise  that  he 
was  able  to  maintain  his  ascendancy,  and  in  his  declining  years  be- 
sought the  Seignory  never  again  to  entrust  so  great  power  to  a 
single  man. 

'Continued  from  No.  697,  page  211. 


Birtolomeo  Colleoni,  Venice.     Verroohio  and  Leopardi,  Sculptors.     After  an  Etching  by  Unger. 


More  soldier  than  cultivated  man  of  letters,  he  yet  felt  the  move- 
ment of  the  times,  and  followed  the  example  of  others  in  becoming 
the  patron  of  men  of  learning  and  practisers  of  the  arts.  Particu- 
larly was  he  fond  of  building,  and  it  is  less  a  wonder  that  potentates 
of  that  age,  who,  themselves,  had  no  education  in  such  matters, 
should  have  interested  themselves  in  building  than  that  any  should 
have  been  found  willing  to  foster  the  arts  of  painting  and  sculpture. 
In  bricks  and  mortar  the  self-made  leader  of  those  days  may  have 
felt  that  he  had  to  deal  with  substances  that  he  knew  something  about, 
and  could  understand  that  a  certain  height  and  bigness  would  produce 
the  imposing  effect  he  aimed  at,  though  he  may  have  been  as  innocent 
of  all  appreciation  of  proportion  as  of  the  justness  of  the  meter  used 
by  the  poet  who  celebrated  his  success  in  battle.  Be  this  as  it  may, 
it  is  to  the  whims  of  such  men  that  are  to  be  credited  many  of  the 
valued  architectural  monuments  of  Italy  to-day,  and  Colleonij  moved 
by  whatever  motive,  delighted  in  building,  and  building  of  a  useful 
rather  than  an  ornamental  character.  A  man  of  unusual  depth  of 
religious  feeling,  he  felt  it  his  duty  to  use  his  great  wealth  largely  in 
the  service  of  the  Church,  and  accordingly  built  several  churches  and 
monasteries,  and  founded  not  a  few  endowed  charitable  institutions  and 
hospitals,  besides  doing  the  duty  of  an  enlightened  ruler  in  provid- 
ing the  towns  under  his  rule  with  good  water,  strong  walls  and  other 
municipal  conveniences.  Naturally,  Bergamo,  his  native  town,  bene- 
fited most  by  his  care,  and  here  he  built,  or  rather  reconstructed,  the 
former  Sacristy  of  S.  Maria  Maggiore,  so  that  it  might  become  the 
mortuary  chapel  of  his  family,  and  it  is  now  known  as  the  Capella 
Colleoni.  It  is  said  that  in  spite  of  his  general  loyalty  to  the  Church, 
the  Consiglio  della  Misereeordia  disliked  and  resisted  his  desire  to 
sequestrate  this  portion  of  their  belongings  to  serve  for  the  aggran- 
dizement of  himself  and  his  posterity,  and  that,  in  consequence,  he 
had  to  use  force  to  secure  possession  of  it.  Here,  opposite  the  door- 
way, stands  the  rich  and  elaborate  tomb  of  the  great  condottiere,  sur- 
mounted by  an  equestrian  statue  in  gilded  wood,  which  was  voted  to 

his  memory  by  the  town  of 
Bergamo,  and  was  entrusted 
to  the  hands  of  two  German 
sculptors,  named  Sistofiglio  di 
Enrico  Tigri  da  Norimberga 
and  Leonardo  Tedesco.  The 
tomb  itself  is  a  costly  but  not 
very  pleasing  piece  of  work 
by  Giovanni  Antonio  Omodeo, 
who  expended  50,000  gold 
florins  upon  it. 

Colleoni  sought  to  perpetu- 
ate his  name  and  fame  not 
only  in  his  native  town  but 
also  in  a  somewhat  audacious 
way  at  Venice,  the  scene  of  his 
•latest  and  greatest  glory.  At 
his  death  in  1475,  it  was  dis- 
covered that  he  had  be 
queathed  to  the  Venetian  Re- 
public the  greater  part  of  his 
wealth  — more  than  100,000 
ducats  —  on  the  condition  that 
a  statue  should  be  erected  in 
his  honor  on  the  Piazza  of  S. 
Mark  where,  as  perhaps  he 
knew,  the  law  forbade  that 
any  statue  should  be  placed. 
Municipal  pettifogging  found 
a  way  to  secure  the  inheri- 
tance by  complying  with  the 
letter  of  the  testament,  and 
the  wily  counsellors  construed 
it  that  the  square  in  front  of 
the  School  of  S.  Mark  was 
the  place  intended,  and  there 
they  erected  the  most  impres- 
sive equestrian  monument  that 
the  world  now  contains. 
Burkhardt  states  that  the  Re- 
public benefited  by  Colleoni's 
death  because  it  confiscated 
his  property,  but  this  seems 
to  be  unlikely  in  the  face  of 
the  subsequent  erection  of  the 


statue,  since  such  frugal-minded  rulers  would  hardly  have  squan- 
dered a  portion  of  their  gain  by  devoting  it  to  the  glorification  of  its 
last  possessor. 

It  is  not  possible  here  to  examine  into  the  discussion  concerning 
what  portions  of  the  monument  were  due  to  Verrochio  and  to 
Leopardi,  the  two  sculptors  whose  names  have  gained  about  equal 
glory  from  being  associated  with  the  work.  The  commission  was 
first  entrusted  to  Verrochio  and  he  had  probably  carried  his  work  on 
the  model  a  long  way  toward  completion  before  there  came  to  his 
jealous  ears  a  rumor  that  the  work  was  to  be  taken  from  him  and 
assigned  to  a  pupil  of  Donatello's,  one  Vellano  of  Padua.  Being  a 
marT  at  once  self-respecting  and  quick  of  temper,  Verrochio  forth- 
with smashed  the  clay  model  of  the  group  on  which  he  had  labored 
so  long  and  at  once  left  the  city.  The  angry  city  fathers  passed  an 


270 


The  American   Architect  and  Building  News.      [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  7C2. 


edict  of  eternal  banishment  against  him  and  declared  his  life  forfeit 
in  case  he  should  ever  again  put  foot  on  Venetian  territory. 
Verroehio  took  his  fate  coolly  and  remarked  to  the  herald  who 
brought  him  the  sentence  of  banishment,  that  even  if  the  Republic  did 
cut  off  his  head  it  would  not  enable  any  one  else  to  put  a  head  on 
Colleoni's  horse.  This  homely  truth  germinated  slowly  and  bore 
fruit,  for  after  the  lapse  of  eight  years  the  sentence  of  banishment  was 
revoke. 1  and  the  sculptor  was  promised  not  only  immunity  but  double 
pay  if  he  would  return  to  Venice  and  resume  his  work.  Return  he 
did  and  went  to  work,  but  it  was  too  late ;  nature  was  fatigued  or 
the  current  of  artistic  ideas  was  checked  and  before  he  was  able  to 
bring  the  group  once  more  into  shape,  death  put  an  end  to  his  labor. 
Just  how  much  he  had  accomplished  is  a  matter  of  dispute  between 
the  learned  in  matters  of  art,  and  it  is  not  desirable  here  to  go  into 
the  discussion.  It  is  apparently  safe  to  assume  that  even  if  his 
early  sketches  determined  the  final  character  of  the  group  he 


Head  of  Bartolomeo  Colleoni.     From  L'Art. 

succeeded  in  bringing  the  horse  only  anywhere  near  to  completion  at 
its  present  size.  It  was  Verroehio's  desire,  and  so  expressed  in  his 
will,  that  his  pupil  Lorenzo  di  Credi  should  go  on  with  the  work,  but 
the  authorities  decided  differently  and  awarded  the  task  to  Leopard!, 
a  Venetian  sculptor.  The  petulent  temper  of  the  Venetian  rulers 
was  continually  bringing  them  into  positions  where  they  had  to  eat 
humble-pie  or  retract  their  own  words,  and  in  order  that  the  work 
might  go  on  it  was  first  necessary  to  remit  Leopardi's  sentence  of 
banishment,  laid  upon  him  because  found  guilty  of  forgery. 

To  Leopard!  is  due  the  figure  of  the  rider,  the  pedestal,  probably 
some  of  the  trappings  of  the  horse,  and  perhaps  he  it  was  who  by 
some  subtile  changes  endowed  (he  animal  with  a  closer  approximation 
to  animation  than  any  other  sculptor  has  ever  achieved.  The  vitality 
of  the  composition,  its  reality  so  to  speak,  make  this  monument  the 


The  Horses  of  Colleoni,  Gattamelita  and  one  of  the  Bronze  Horses  of  Venice. 

standard  of  excellence  with  which  all  equestrian  sculpture  —  of 
greater  age  as  well  as  of  less  —  may  be  compared.  It  is  the  ideal, 
the  almost  unapproachable  rendering  of  the  truthful  conception 
of  an  artistic  monument.  Here  are  a  man  and  a  horse  each  having 
the  attributes  that  belong  to  the  living  animal,  while  in  addition  the 
master  has  endowed  them  with  the  very  essence  of  monumentality, 
each  having  character  enough  to  make,  if  separated,  a  remarkable 
piece  of  sculpture  while,  allied,  the  superiority  to  all  other  com- 
positions is  a  fact  of  whose  infallibility  the  observer  is  more  impressed 
each  time  he  brings  into  comparison  with  the  group  some  other 
monument  which  ranks  high  as  an  artistic  success.  To  select  for 
favorable  comparison  with  this  masterpiece  of  the  Renaissance 
period  the  often-derided  equestrian  group  of  Joan  of  Arc,  by 
Fremiet,  in  the  Place  des  Pyramides  in  Paris,  will  probably  cause 
many  to  feel  that  praise  of  the  modern  work  is  an  injudicious  way  to 
enforce  the  applause  awarded  to  the  elder  monument.  But  as  the 


Venetian  monument  reveals  a  real  man  and  a  real  horse,  so  the 
Parisian  group  presents  a  real  horse  bestridden  by  a  real  woman. 
In  both  cases  the  sculptor's  conception  of  his  subject's  character  is 
competently  rendered.  The  fiery  impetuosity  of  youth  merged  in 
the  sedate  impassiveness  of  mature  age  is  adequately  declared  at 
Venice  just  as  the  emotional  impulse  of  inspired  girlhood  is  shown 
at  Paris.  The  remorseless  doggedness  of  the  onward  movement  of 
Colleoni's  horse  befits  the  character  of  his  rider  as  the  most  irresisti- 


Roman  Cavalier  by  Verroehio.      A  Statuette  in  a  Collection  at  Genoa.      From  L'Jrt. 

ble  and  impressive  figure  of  his  day,  just  as  the  great  Norman  horse 
which  bears  the  Maid  of  Orleans  adds  to  her  femininity  the  needed  ele- 
ment of  force  by  suggesting  successful  accomplishment  of  her  purpose 
through  the  introduction  of  an  element  of  weight  and  strength.  More- 
over both  riders  are  riding  as  such  riders  should,  the  girl  raising  her- 
self in  her  stirrups  in  her  excitement  and  depending  on  them  for 
support  as  a  woman  naturally  would  when  she  found  herself  for  the 
first  time  seated  astride,  while  the  man  rides  as  only  the  perfect 
horseman  can  ride.  Nothing  can  surpass  the  magnificent  action  of 


Gattamelata,  Padua.     Donatello,  Sculptor. 

Colleoni's  body,  rigid  from  knee  to  hip  but  above  that  point  yielding 
to  every  motion  of  his  steed  so  as  to  ease  the  animal  in  every 
possible  way  and  prevent  saddle  galls.  In  the  whole  range  of 
equestrian  sculpture  there  are  few  riders  who  have  such  a  seat  as 
this,  few  who  look  as  if  horseback  riding  were  an  everyday  affair 
and  not  a  mere  matter  of  picture-making.  Usually  the  sculptor 
places  a  forked  biped  upon  the  back  of  a  quadruped  and  makes  a 
union  between  them  by  means  of  saddle  and  stirrup-leathers,  but 
there  are  few  besides  Leopard!  who  seem  to  have  conceived  that  it 
was  possible  for  a  man  to  keep  his  seat  without  the  aid  of  the 
harness-maker. 


0.  702. 


MEI\lG*N  'fl^GHITEGT  flNl)  Br 


18  S3  BYTLCKHOR 


5  1359. 


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^Irclntect  ai?d  Building  I^ews,  Juije  5,  1559. 


IJo.  702. 


Copyright,  1889,  by  TICKNOR  &  (Jo. 


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,  JUKE  5.  1559          ]$O.  702. 


JUNK  8,  1889.] 


The  American  Architect  and  Building  News. 


271 


The  monument  was  unveiled  in  March,  1496,  and  Leopard!,  the 
survivor,  was  showered  with  applause  for  the  manner  in  which 
the  work  had  been  finished. 

Those  who  seek  to  award  to  Leopard!  the  largest  share  of  this 
successful  work  do  so  by  belittling  Verrochio,  declaring  that  he  knew 
little  about  the  making  of  an  equestrian  statue,  had  few  models  to 


equestrian  sculpture,  and  the  animation  of  this  little  group  is  not  so 
dissimilar  in  kind  from  that  which  inspires  the  Colleoni  group  as  to 
lead  one  to  put  too  great  faith  in  the  assertion  that  it  was  Leopardi's 
genius  alone  that  saved  the  monument  at  Venice  from  being  merely 
commonplace.  The  statement  that  Verrochio  was  greatly  indebted 
to  his  study  of  Donatello's  equestrian  statue  of  Gattamelata  at  Padua 


fj&'v^LW* 


study,  and  had  made  no  previous  essays  in  this  line  of  work.  The 
existence  in  a  private  collection  at  Genoa  of  an  equestrian  statuette 
ascribed  with  seeming  reasonableness  to  Verrochio  may  be  taken  as 
evidence  that  at  some  time  in  his  career  he  had  given  attention  to 


is  not  improbable,  and  there  is  no  reason  why  Verrochio  should  not 
have  been  eagerly  willing  to  consult  the  work  of  a  master  whom  he 
must  have  been  ready  to  acknowledge  as  his  superior. 

Properly  speaking,  the  monument  at  Padua  should  be  considered 


2T2 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.       [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  702. 


I 


among  the  earliest  of  the  condottiere  monuments,  not  only  in  point  of 
date  but  because  of  its  intrinsic  merit  and  the  renown  of  the  artist 
who  made  it. 

The  son  of  a  baker,  Erasmo  (or  Stephano  or  Franceso)  da  Narni, 
nicknamed  Gattamelata,  achieved  greatness  in  true  condottiere  fashion 
—  through  personal  prowess  and  the  perception  of  how  and  when  to 
take  advantage  of  the  opportunities  that  the  perpetual  warfare  of 
the  times  threw  in  his  way.  While  still  a  young  man,  he  was  made 
commander-in-chief  of  the  Venetian  forces  in  their  war  with  the 
Milanese,  and  in  that  position  contended  successfully  with  such  great 
leaders  as  Ludovico  Sforza  and  Piccinino.  At  his  death,  in  1443, 
his  son  determined  to  erect  a  statue  to  his  memory,  and  assigned  the 
task  to  Donatello,  who  seems  to  have  preferred  to  devote  himself  to 
glorifying  an  Italian  leader,  rather  than  to  perform  the  same  service 
for  Alphonso  of  Aragon,  who  about  the  same  time  sought  to  have 
him  execute  a  similar  monument  to  commemorate  his  capture  of 
Naples  in  1442. 

The  difficulties  in  the  way  of  Donatello  were  not  a  few,  since,  first, 
equestrian  sculpture  was  for  him  an  untried  field  of  art,  and  there 
were  at  that  time  few  statues  of  the  kind  in  Italy,  and  tin-,  means  of 

getting  at  them 
were  lacking,  part- 
ly because  of  the 
imperfect  means  of 
communication,  and 
partly  because  it 
was  not  possible  to 
visit  at  will  what 
might  be  at  the 
time  hostile  terri- 
tory; and,  in  the 
second  place,  it  was 
an  unusual  thing  to 
undertake  the  cast- 
in"  in  bronze  of 

o 

so  large  a  statue. 
What  is  thought  to 
be  the  wooden 
model  of  one  of  his 
lull-size  studies  for 
the  horse  is  still 
preserved  in  the 
Palazzo  della  Ragi- 
oire  at  Padua, 
which,  at  a  later 
day,  was  used  in 
some  civic  festivity 
to  bear  an  elligy  of 
Jupiter  in  proces- 
sion. Not  unnatu- 
rally, the  horse 
shows  traces  of  be- 
ing inspired  by  the 
horse  of  Marcus 
Aurelius  at  Rome, 
and  the  bronze 
horses  of  St. 
Mark's.  Indeed, 
there  is  a  very  per- 
ceptible family  like- 
ness between  the 
horses  of  St.  Mark's 
and  those  which  bear  Marcus  Aurelius  at  Rome,  Gattamelata  at 
Padua,  Colleoni  at  Venice,  Cosmo  de'  Medici  at  Florence  and  Henri 
IV  at  Paris  ;  and  no  less  can  be  said  of  the  horse,  as  indicated  by  his 
drawings,  which  Leonardo  da  Vinci  hoped  to  execute  for  his  statue 
of  Ludovico  Sforza.  There  is  a  sedate  propriety  of  air  about  all 
these  beasts,  as  if  they  felt  that  not  only  they  must  represent 
worthily  the  character  of  the  steeds  habitually  used  by  their  masters 
in  daily  life,  but  that  also  their  deportment  must  lend  an  added 
dignity  to  a  memorial  that  was  erected  not  for  a  day,  but  for  all 
time.  Place  one  of  these  sturdy,  if  slightly  heavy,  horses  by 
the  side  of  some  of  the  light-limbed,  capering  chargers  or  circus 
trick-horses  which  are  modelled  for  the  statues  of  the  present  day,  and 
one  receives  a  useful  object-lesson  in  the  value  of  mere  static  force 
as  an  element  in  producing  a  satisfactory  result  —  an  element  as 
useful  to  observe  in  sculpture  as  in  architecture.  In  short,  it  is  the 
monumental,  not  the  merely  pictorial,  statues  that  best  stand  the  test 
of  time. 

Donatello  was  employed  about  nine  years  in  the  execution  of  this 
monument  —  think  of  it,  you  American  makers  of  soldiers'  monu- 
ments!—  and  the  monument  was  finished  in  1453. 


DONATELLO.  —  Donate  di  Niccolo  di  Betto  Bardi,  called  Donatello,  was  born 
in  Florence  in  1386.  His  most  noted  works  are  a  statue  of  David  in  the  Bargello ; 
one  of  St.  Mark  aud  one  of  St.  George,  both  on  the  exterior  of  Or  San  Michele ; 
a  monument  to  Pope  John  XXI11  in  the  Baptistery  at  Florence  ;  the  reliefs  of 
dancing  children,  in  the  Uftizi ;  the  external  pulpit  of  the  cathedral  at  Prato  ; 
and  the  group  of  Judith  and  Holofernes  in  the  Loggia  de'  Lanzi  at  Florence.  He 
was  much  honored  and  assisted  by  Cosimo  and  Piero  de'  Medici.  He  died  in  1468 
and  was  buried  in  the  Church  of  San  Lorenzo,  at  Florence. 

VERROCHIO. — Andrea  Clone  di  Michele,  called  Verrochio.  Born  in  Florence, 
1432.  Apprenticed  to  Giuliano  Verrochio,  a  goldsmith,  from  whom  he  took  the 
name  of  Verrochio,  which  he  has  been  generally  said  to  hare  acquired  on  ac- 


Sepulchral  Monument  of  Colleoni,  Bergamo.     From  the 
Art  Journal. 


count  of  his  wonderful  correctness  of  eye.  Teacher  of  Leonardo  da  Vinci.  Died 
in  Venice,  1488.  Principal  works  —  Incredulity  of  St.  Thomas  ;  David  ;  Boy  and 
Dolphin  ;  Monument  to  Piero  and  Giovanni  de'  Medici  and  Tomb  of  Salvaggi 


Tornabuoni. 


aggia 


(To  be  continued.) 


[Contributors  are  requested  to  send  with  their  drawings  full  and 
alequatf  descriptions  of  the  buildings,  including  a  statement  of  cost.] 

THE    CATHEDRAL     AND    THE     STATUE   OF    GATTAMELATA,    PADUA, 

ITALY, 

[Gelatine  Print,  issued  only  with  the  Imperial  Edition.] 

IIE  chir.ch  of  San  Antonio  is  understood  to  be  the  work  of 
Nicolo  Pisano,  designed  in  1237,  begun  in  1259  and  finished  in 
the  main  in  1307  though  parts  were  not  built  till  1475.  A  con- 
flagration caused  its  very  complete  restoration  in  1749.  The  build- 
ing measures  280  feet  in  length,  138  feet  across  the  transepts  and  is 
116  feet  high.  "St.  Antonio  has  no  less  than  eight  cupolas,  which, 
together  with  the  two  lofty  octagonal  bell-turrets,  give  the  building  a 
thoroughly  Eastern  appearance.  As  seen  from  the  northeast,  the 
grouping  of  the  domes  and  turrets  is  very  picturesque,  its  great  size 
and  variety  of  outline  giving  it  a  peculiar  and  novel  grandeur; 
pointed  and  round  arches  are  used  boldly  together,  the  walls  are 
everywhere  panelled,  and  there  are  great  varieties  of  brick  corbel 
courses.  The  detail  on  the  whole  of  this  striking  building  is  meagre 
and  disappointing,  the  color  of  the  red  brick  is  too  light,  and  stone 
is  but  sparely  used.  The  church  was  completed  in  1307,  with  the 
exception  of  the  cupola  over  the  choir,  which  was  not  added  till 
1424." 


COMPETITIVE  DESIGN  FOR  CHURCH,  CLERGY-HOUSE  AND  SCHOOLS 
FOR  TRINITY  CORPORATION,  NEW  YORK,  N.  Y.  MR.  F.  C. 
WITHERS,  ARCHITECT,  NEW  YORK,  N.  Y. 

IN  order  that  the  main  entrance  should  be  as  near  as  possible  to 
the  Ninety-third  Street  station  of  the  Elevated  Railroad',  a  tower, 
26  feet  square,  has  been  placed  at  the  northeast  corner  of  the  lot, 
to  serve  as  a  porch.  This  porch  leads  directly  into  a  large  lobby, 
capable  of  accommodating  150  people.  From'  this  lobby  the  main 
body  of  the  church  is  reached  by  three  doorways,  one  facing  the 
centre  of  the  nave,  and  the  others  the  passages  in  the  aisles.  Seats, 
all  of  which  face  the  altar,  are  provided  on  this  floor  for  1,206 
people,  including  the  movable  benches  in  the  centre  passage,  which 
is  11  feet  wide.  Galleries,  which  are  arranged  in  the  nave  over  the 
lobby  and  in  each  of  the  transepts,  will  accommodate  a  total  of  252 
persons.  The  galleries  in  the  transepts  are  set  back  so  as  not  to 
interfere  with  the  view  through  the  arches  at  the  end  of  the  aisles. 
Each  of  the  galleries  has  its  separate  staircase.  In  the  chancel  are 
stalls  for  G2  choristers  and  clergy,  and,  as  its  width  is  great  (38 
feet),  a  passage  is  made  behind  the  stalls  on  either  side  of  the  exit 
of  communicants  through  an  opening  on  each  side  of  the  chancel- 
arch. 

Ample  exits  from  the  church  are  provided,  there  being,  besides 
those  into  the  lobby,  a  porch  in  each  of  the  transepts,  a  separate 
entrance  for  the  choristers  on  the  south  side,  near  to  the  robino-- 
room,  and  the  clergy  would  have  a  separate  entrance  on  the  west, 
for  the  convenience  of  the  clergyman  in  charge. 

The  "  Chapel  for  Daily  Prayer "  runs  parallel  to,  and  is  of  the 
same  length  as  the  chancel,  and  has  a  separate  entrance  to  it  from  a 
porch  on  Ninety-second  Street.  It  will  accommodate  161  worship- 
pers, and  can  be  thrown  open  and  made  a  part  of  the  church  in  case 
of  great  crowds. 

A  detached  house,  containing  about  1,400  square  feet,  is  provided 
for  the  clergyman  in  charge,  on  the  northwest  corner  of  the  lot. 
This  location  is  the  most  desirable,  as  being  near  the  chancel,  and 
more  private  than  if  connected  with  the  other  buildings,  with  the 
advantage  also  of  having  three  sides  open  to  the-  light  and  air.  The 
house  for  the  rector  (when  needed)  containing  about  2,000  square 
feet  on  a  floor,  is  located  on  the  southwest  corner. 

The  building  for  the  Sunday-school,  etc.,  containing  over  4,000 
square  feet,  adjoins  the  church  on  the  southeast  corner  of  the  lot, 
having  its  principal  entrance  on  Ninety-first  Street.  The  plan 
provides  a  large  room,  60  feet  by  30  feet,  on  the  ground-floor  for  the 
parish  school.  A  room  for  the  Sunday-school,  67  feet  6  inches  by 
80  feet  0  inches,  with  a  smaller  one  (25  feet  by  18  feet)  adjoining  it 
for  the  infant-class,  is  arranged  on  the  second  floor,  having  direct 
communication  with  the  gallery  over  the  lobbv  in  nave.  The  prin- 
cipal staircase  would  lead  direct  to  a  large  hall  in  the  third  story,  of 
the  same  size  as  the  room  below  it. 

Well-lighted  rooms  for  class-rooms,  or  for  the  guilds  and  societies 
can  be  arranged  in  the  basement  of  this  building,  with  an  outer  en- 
trance on  Ninety-first  Street,  and  a  staircase  to  the  ground-floor 
above. 

On  the  west  side  of  this  building  a  private  entrance  from  the 


JUNE  8,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


273 


churchyard  leads  to  the  rooms  provided  for  the  junior  clergy,  viz, 
three  sitting-rooms  with  bed-rooms  attached,  a  general  parlor  on  the 
first  lloor  and  a  dining-room  on  the  second  floor,  with  pantries,  bath- 
room, etc.  The  sexton's  rooms  will  be  found  on  the  third  floor,  with 
a  lift  from  the  basement  for  hoisting  supplies,  and  another  to  the 
butler's  pantry  on  the  floor  below.  Doorways  are  provided  for 
direct  communication  with  the  main  hallways  of  school,  hall,  etc.,  on 
each  floor. 

The  walls  of  the  church,  etc.,  are  designed  to  be  built  of  rock- 
faced  ashlar  laid  in  random  courses,  Schenectady  or  North  River 
bluestone  being  recommended  for  this  purpose,  with  dressings  of 
either  Belleville,  N.  J.,  sandstone,  or  Indiana  limestone. 

The  church  floor  would  rest  on  iron  beams  with  fireproof  arches. 
Hollow  tile  would  be  used  for  furring  and  partitions,  and  the  stair- 
cases of  school  building  would  be  fireproof,  enclosed  with  brick  walls. 

The  church  and  adjoining  buildings  would  be  lighted  by  electricity 
and  warmed  by  steam  generated  in  a  separate  boiler-house,  which  is 
located  in  a  central  position,  with  access  to  it  from  the  street  by  a 
cartway,  and  so  placed  in  an  enclosed  yard  as  to  be  hidden  from 
view. 

There  would  be  a  basement  under  the  whole  of  the  church,  and,  if 
desired,  the  western  end,  which  is  the  highest  out  of  the  ground,  can 
be  finished  off  for  guild  rooms  or  other  purposes,  access  to  which 
would  be  by  a  staircase  from  the  cloister,  as  well  as  from  the  church 
yard. 

The  style  of  the  church  is  that  known  as  Gothic  of  the  "  Early 
English  "  period. 

It  is  estimated  that  the  church,  chapel,  and  ndjoining  buildings, 
can  be  well  and  substantially  built  for  $325,000. 

A  ground  plan  of  the  rectory  is  given,  but  the  building  is  not 
included  in  the  above  estimate. 

MONUMENT  TO  BARTOLOMEO  COLLEONI.  VERROCHIO  AND  LEO- 
PARDI,  SCULPTORS.  THE  SCHOOL  Of  ST.  MARK  AND  THE 
CHURCH  OK  SS.  GIOVANNI  E  PAOLO.  VENICE,  ITALY. 

SEE  article  on  "  Equestrian  Monuments,"  elsewhere  in  this  issue. 
A  larger  illustration  of  the  equestrian  portion  of  this  monument  may 
be  found  in  the  American  Architect  for  April  25,  1885. 

WOODEN    MODEL    OK    HORSE    FOR   GATTAMELATA's    MONUMENT    AT 
PADUA.       DONATELLO,    SCULPTOR. 

SEE  article  on  "  Equestrian  Monuments,"  elsewhere  in  this  issue. 

HOUSE  BUILT  BY  JOHN  BARTRAM  IN  1730  AT  GREY'S  KERRY, 
PHILADELPHIA,  PA.  SKETCHED  BY  MR.  KRANK  HAYS,  PHILA- 
DELPHIA, PA. 

SCIENCE    HALL,    RANDOLPH    MACON    COLLEGE,    ASHLAND,  VA.      MR. 
W.    M.    POINDEXTER,    WASHINGTON,    D.    C.,    ARCHITECT. 


THE  NICARAGUA   CANAL   ROUTE. 

0N  the  30th  of  Nov- 
ember, 1887,  an  ex- 
pedition sailed 
from  New  York  aboard 
the  steamship  "  Hon- 
do "  to  survey  and  locate 
the  route  of  an  inter- 
oceanic  canal  across  the 
territory  of  the  Repub- 
lic of  Nicaragua.  The 
party  included  a  cor- 
respondent  of  The 
Times,  through  whom 
our  readers  were  in- 
formed, from  time  to 
time,  of  the  welfare  and 
progress  of  the  expedi- 
tion until  the  comple- 
tion of  the  main  features 
of  the  survey,  in  July, 
1888.  Most  of  the  sur- 
veyors and  draughtsmen  returned  home  about  that  time,  but  several 
of  the  party  remained  in  Nicaragua,  and  have  since  been  employed 
in  perfecting  details  and  making  more  elaborate  surveys  and  in- 
vestigations with  reference  to  certain  important  parts  of  the  con- 
templated work. 

In  the  meantime  a  charter  has  been  granted  by  the  United  States 
Government  to  the  Maritime  Canal  Company  of  Nicaragua,  certain 
important  diplomatic  questions  have  been  satisfactorily  arranged, 
the  work  of  the  survey  expedition  has  been  elaborated,  and  prepara- 
tions are  now  completed  for  dispatching  men  and  materials  to  rein- 
force the  party  who  have  remained  in  the  field,  and  for  beginning 
the  construction  of  the  canal  which,  it  is  hoped,  will  in  a  few  years 
connect  the  Atlantic  Ocean  with  the  Pacific,  and  revolutionize  the 
trade  routes  of  the  world. 


The  central  portion  of  Nicaragua,  from  north  to  south,  is  occupied 
by  the  main  Cordillera  of  the  Isthmus,  which  is  here  greatly  reduced 
in  altitude,  and  consists  merely  of  a  confused  mass  of  peaks  and 
ridges  of  an  average  elevation  of  about  one  thousand  feet.  Between 
this  mountainous  region  and  the  shore  of  the  Caribbean  Sea  stretches 
a  low,  level  country,  covered  with  a  dense  forest.  West  of  the 
mountain  zone  is  a  broad  valley,  about  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  extending  from  the  Gulf  of  Fonseca 
southeasterly  to  the  boundary  of  Costa  Rica.  The  greater  part  of 
this  valley  is  occupied  by  the  two  lakes,  Managua  and  Nicaragua, 
the  latter  110  miles  long  and  from  50  to  60  wide— an  inland°sea 
twice  as  large  as  Long  Island  Sound.  Between  these  lakes  and  the 
Pacific  Ocean  is  a  narrow  strip  of  land,  varying  from  twelve  to 
thirty  miles  in  width.  The  drainage  of  the  lakes  and  the  entire 
valley  around  them  passes  through  the  San  Juan  River,  and  dis- 
charges into  the  Caribbean  Sea  at  Greytown. 

The  lowest  pass  across  the  backbone  of  the  New  World  from 
Behring  Straits  to  the  Straits  of  Magellan  is  up  the  valley  of  the 
San  Juan  and  across  the  Lajas-Rio  Grande  "divide,"  between  Lake 
Nicaragua  and  the  Pacific. 

The  eastern  section  of  the  proposed  canal,  from  Greytown  to  the 
first  lock,  a  distance  of  ten  miles,  is  entirely  in  sand  and  soft  clav, 
and  the  surface  elevation  varies  from  three  to  twenty  feet  above  the 
sea-level.  In  this  section  the  line  of  the  canal  cuts  the  small 
streams  San  Juanillo  and  Deseado  each  twice,  and  these  streams  and 
the  shallow  lagoon  Benard  are  to  be  diverted  into  new  channels, 
easily  dredged  through  the  alluvial  soil.  The  forest  growth  alon<' 
this  section,  especially  in  the  six  or  seven  miles  nearest  the  sea,  is 
dense,  but  of  the  kind  peculiar  to  low,  swampy  regions,  consisting  of 
low  palms,  with  small  roots  penetrating  the  ground  loosely  and 
slightly.  The  borings  do  not  show  any  sunken  logs  or  tree-trunks 
buried  in  the  alluvial  deposits. 

The  first  lock  has  a  lift  of  31  feet,  and  from  it  to  the  second  lock, 
7,620  feet,  the  cutting  is  still  in  clay  and  sand.  The  average  eleva- 
tion of  the  surface  is  about  the  level  of  the  water  in  the  canal ;  in 
some  places  it  is  lower,  and  some  lateral  embankments  will  be 
necessary.  The  prism  of  the  canal  in  these  two  sections  is  120  feet 
on  the  bottom,  30  feet  depth,  210  feet  surface  width,  side  slopes,  1£ 
to  1,  and  area  of  water  prism,  4,1)50  square  feet.  Lock  2  is  founded 
upon  and  partially  excavated  in  bed-rock.  Its  lift  is  30  feet. 

From  this  to  the  summit  lock,  a  distance  of  2,570  feet,  the  excava- 
tion will  be  entirely  in  clay  and  sand.  A  small  amount  of  lateral 
embankment  will  be  required.  Lock  3  will  be  almost  wholly  ex- 
cavated in  the  bed-rock  near  the  end  of  the  mountain  spur  which 
forms  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  creek  Josephina,  a  considerable 
tributary  of  the  Deseado  from  the  north.  From  the  point  of  this 
spur  south  of  the  lock  a  dam  77  feet  high  and  820  feet  long  on  the 
crest,  thrown  across  the  Valley  of  the  Deseado  to  a  high  hill  on  the 
south  side,  will  impound  and  raise  the  water  in  the  upper  valley  of 
the  Deseado  to  an  elevation  of  106  feet  above  sea-level.  The  basin 
thus  formed  is  about  four  miles  long,  nearly  straight,  2,000  feet  wide 
and  30  feet  deep.  The  water-shed  draining  into  it  will  be  about  15 
square  miles. 

At  the  western  extremity  of  the  Deseado  Basin  begins  the 
"Deseado-San  Francisco  divide  cut,"  16,300  feet  long,  and  of  147 
feet  average,  and  333  maximum,  depth.  The  material  is  almost 
entirely  homogeneous  trap-rock,  covered  to  an  average  depth  of  24 
•feet  with  clay  soil.  The  canal  prism  is  80  feet  on  the  surface,  80 
feet  on  the  bottom  and  30  feet  deep,  and  the  sectional  area.  2,400 
square  feet.  The  side  slopes  are  in  rock,  I  to  1,  and  in  earth, 
IJtol. 

From  the  western  end  of  this  cut  to   the  mouth  of   the  Cano 
Machado,  which  enters  the  San  Juan  three-and-onc-half  miles  below 
the  mouth  of  the  San  Carlos,  is  twelve-and-one-half  miles  along  the 
located  line  of  the  canal.     This  portion  of  the  canal  is  made  up  of  a 
series  of  short  cuts  or  sections,  from   150  to  1,400   feet  in  length, 
alternating  with  basins  formed  by  impounding  the  drainage  of  the 
San  Francisco  Valley  by  a  series  of  embankments  south  of  the  canal 
line.     The  total  length  of  the  several  cuts  is  2.47  miles.     The  total 
length,  on  the  crest,  of  embankments,  walls  and  dams  necessary  to 
impound  the  drainage  of  the  65  square  miles  of  watershed  of  the 
San  Francisco  Valley,  and  hold  it  up  to  the  level  of  106  feet  above 
the  sea,  is  33,320  feet,  sub-divided  as  follows:  Masonry  walls,  6,735 
feet ;  embankments  on  firm  ground,  varying  from  54  feet  in  height, 
12,395   feet;  embankments  across  swamps,  varying  from   50  to  67 
feet  in  height,  14,190  feet.     The  prism  of  the  canal  through  the  cuts 
is  80  feet  on  the  bottom,  184  feet  on  the  surface,  and  30  feet  deep, 
with  a  sectional  area  of  3,673  square  feet.     The  material  to  be  ex- 
cavated is  almost  entirely  red  clay,  with  a  very  small  amount  of  rock. 
Just  below  the  mouth   of   the  Cano  Machana,  between  the  two 
steep,  rocky  hills,  is  the  Ochoa  Dam,  across  the  San  Juan  River. 
The  width  of  the  river  at  this  point  is  1,133  feet,  and  its  average 
depth  at  low  stage  is  6.6  feet.     The  dam  will  be  1,255  feet  on  the 
crest  and  52  feet  high.     It  will  back  up  the  water  of  the  San  Juan 
to  Lake  Nicaragua,  a  distance  of  64  miles,  and  maintain  the  surface 
of  the  lake  at  an  elevation  of  110  feet  above  the  sea.     The  upper 
San  Juan  will  thus  be  converted  into  a  lagoon-like  extension  of  the 
lake.     The  width  of  the  upper  river  at  present  varies  from  420  to 
1,300   feet,  and  its  navigation   at  low  stage  is  interrupted  by  five 
rapids.     Raising  the  water  by  means  of  the  dam  will  largely  increase 
the  river's  width,  and  give  a  clear  width  of  30  feet  over  all  the  rapids 
except  the  upper,  or  Toro  Rapids.    Between  these  and  the  lake  a 


274 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.        [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  702. 


small  amount  of  dredging  and  some  submarine  rock  excavation  will 
be  necessary  to  obtain  a  thirty-foot  channel. 

From  Fort  San  Carlos,  at  the  head  of  the  river,  across  the  lake  to 
the  west  side  is  56  J  miles,  and  for  a  distance  of  13.7  miles  out  into 
the  lake  it  will  be  necessary  to  dredge  in  soft  mud,  at  some  points 
1 7  feet,  to  obtain  a  thirty-foot  channel.  The  remainder  of  the  lake 
is  as  free  as  the  open  sea.  On  the  west  side,  the  excavation  will 
begin  1,400  feet  from  the  shore,  from  which  the  canal  will  extend  in 
a  straight  line  up  the  valley  of  the  Lajas  and  Guscoyol  3.7  miles. 
It  will  then  curve  across  the  flat  divide,  the  crown  of  which  is  41J 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  lake,  and  25,600  feet  from  the  lake. 
From  the  divide  the  canal  will  pass  down  the  valley  of  the  brook 
Chocolata,  and  8,600  feet  west  of  the  divide  will  enter  the  gorge  of 
the  Rio  Grande,  through  which  it  will  continue  13,300  feet  to  the 
eastern  end  of  the  Tola  Basin,  a  total  distance  of  nine  miles.  The 
prisms  of  the  canal  for  this  distance  are :  For  8,260  feet  from  the 
lake  surface  —  width,  210  feet;  bottom  width,  120  feet ;  depth,  30  feet ; 
area  of  water  prisms,  4,950  square  feet ;  for  26,000  feet  through  the 
divide,  80  feet  width  of  surface,  80  feet  bottom,  30  feet  depth ;  area 
of  water  prism,  2,400  square  feet ;  through  the  gorge  of  the  Rio 
Grande  —  surface  width,  184  feet;  bottom,  80  feet;  depth,  30  feet; 
area  of  water  prism,  367,389  feet.  The  slope  of  the  surface  is 
gradual  and  regular.  The  bulk  of  the  material  is  to  be  excavated 
in  rock,  which,  throughout,  is  overlaid  to  a  depth  of  14  feet  by  vary- 
ing strata  of  hard-pan,  white  and  blue  clay,  and  sand  and  black 
loam. 

From  the  western  end  of  the  gorge  of  the  Rio  Grande  to  the  head- 
gate  of  Lock  No.  4,  a  distance  of  29,000  feet,  the  line  of  the  canal 
passes  over  the  flat,  gradually-inclined  floor  of  the  valley  of  the  Rio 
Grande  and  the  Rio  Tola.  A  dam  2,020  feet  long  and  74  feet  high 
across  the  gap  through  which  the  streams  of  this  valley  flow  to  the 
Pacific  will  impound  the  drainage  of  83  square  miles  of  country,  and 
form  a  lake  with  a  superficial  area  of  a  little  more  than  six  square 
miles,  and  a  depth  varying  from  30  to  70  feet.  The  surface  of  this 
lake  will  be  110  feet  above  sea-level,  the  same  level  as  the  great  lake 
itself.  On  the  west  side  of  the  basin,  and  north  of  the  dam,  there 
will  be  a  double  lock  with  a  combined  lift  of  85  feet,  entirely  exca- 
vated in  the  rock  of  the  hills,  and  forming  the  northern  abutment  of 
the  dam.  The  line  of  the  canal  through  and  from  the  double  lock  to 
the  Pacific  is  straight. 

Lock  No.  6  is  8,355  feet  from  the  tail  gate  of  the  double  lock,  the 
third  and  lowest  lock  of  the  Pacific  flight,  with  a  lift  varying  from 
21  to  29  feet.  The  prism  of  the  canal  throughout  this  distance  is 
184  feet  on  the  surface,  80  feet  on  the  bottom,  30  feet  deep,  and  area 
of  water  prism  3,673  square  feet.  Lock  No.  6  drops  the  canal  to 
the  level  of  the  Pacific,  and  from  here  to  the  Pacific  high-water  line, 
6,000  feet,  the  material  to  be  excavated  consists  entirely  of  recent 
alluvial  and  littoral  deposits,  sand,  gravel,  shells  and  mud. 

To  sum  up :  The  total  distance  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific 
by  the  Nicaragua  route  is,  in  round  numbers,  170  miles,  divided  as 
follows : 

Miles. 

Lake  navigation 56i 

River  navigation &4 

Basin  navigation 20^ 

Actual  canal  only 29 

Total 170 

The  summit  level  is  154  miles  long. 

It  is  estimated  that  thirty-two  vessels  can  pass  through  any  lock ' 
of  the  canal  in  one  day.  This  allows  forty-five  minutes  for  each 
lockage.  The  estimated  net  tonnage  per  vessel  is  1,750  tons,  which 
are  the  figures  for  Suez  in  1883.  This  gives  a  total  annual  tonnage 
of  20,000,000.  It  is  believed,  however,  that  the  locks  will  be  equal 
to  forty-eight  lockages  a  day  for  vessels  of  at  least  2,000  tons.  This 
would  give  an  annual  tonnage  of  35,000,000. 

The  estimated  cost  of  the  canal  is,  in  round  numbers,  $66,000,000, 
including  a  contingent  sum  of  25  per  cent.  These  estimates  include 
the  electric-lighting  of  the  canal,  the  lighting  and  buoying  of  the 
lake  and  the  harbors,  and  railroads  and  telegraphs  from  the  lake  to 
the  Pacific  and  from  Greytown  to  the  dam. 

It  is  estimated  by  conservative  authorities  on  the  subject  that  the 
business  of  the  canal  will  amount  to  from  5,000,000  to  6,000,000 
tons  in  sight  on  the  day  it  is  opened.  —  New  York  Times. 


IN  looking  over  the  first  six  numbers  of  this  work,1 1  am  inclined  to 
question  the  correctness  of  the  title.     There  is  nothing  of  the  real 
Japanese  about  it  except  the  original  motives  or  sketches.     All 
else  is  French  and  German,  and  the  illustrations,  as  they  appear  in 
the  text  and  in  the  full-page  illustrations,  are  French  process-work 
—  called  engravings,  —  simply  etched  relief-plates,  with  some  modifi- 
cations in  the  more  important  examples. 

The  chief  charm  about  Japanese  art  is  the  unaffected  directness  and 

« Artistic  Jtpan :  a  monthly  illustrated  journal  of  arts  and  industries.  Com- 
piled by  S.  Bing,  with  the  assistance  of  Mr.  William  Anderson,  MM.  Ph.  Burty, 
Victor  Champier  Tn.  Duret,  Mr.  Ernest  Hart.  MM.  Edmond  De  Goncourt,  Louis 
Gonse,  Eugene  Guillaume,  Paul  Mantz,  Professor  Roberts-Austin,  MM.  Roger 
Marx,  Antonin  Proust,  etc.  The  English  edition  is  under  the  editorship  of  Mr. 
Marcus  B.  Huish.  London  :  Sampson  Low,  Marston,  Searle  &  Rivington. 


frank  simplicity  in  the  way  of  handling  of  all  the  black-and-white 
work,  and  much  of  the  reeds  and  grasses,  flowers,  etc. 

There  is  a  little  stork  on  page  10,  No.  2,  that  is  made  with  three 
strokes  of  the  brush,  that  gives  one  a  vivid  impression  of  the  bird  ; 
and  on  one  of  the  full-page  plates  in  No.  3  we  have  three  frogs  made 
of  metal,  with  jointed  legs,  like  any  other  manikins,  that  are  no  end 
funny;  but  is  this  high  art? 

Running  through  the  six  numbers,  we  find  little  else  than  rough 
sketches  —  reproductions,  mind,  not  the  original  "  engravings  "  —  in 
the  text. 

We  are  unable  to  see  why  the  majority  of  these  should  be  repro- 
duced and  placed  before  the  Western  mind  with  a  distinct  "  stand 
and  deliver  "  challenge  for  its  admiration. 

No  one  questions  the  superb  work  in  bronze  and  cloisonne',  which 
have  been  the  charm  of  all  fine  collections  of  bric-a-brac,  and  which 
have  brought  liberal,  not  to  say  fancy,  prices. 

And,  in  a  work  of  this  high-sounding  title,  may  we  not  look  for  a 
sample  of  fine  arrangement  in  the  construction  of  the  pages? 

There  is  hardly  a  page  in  the  six  numbers  we  have  where  the 
text  illustrations  do  not  run  way  over  the  type  limit,  and  in  many 
cases  so  far  that,  in  binding,  much  of  the  intention  of  the  artist  must 
be  entirely  lost.  A  little  bit  of  eccentricity  in  this  way  may  have 
the  virtue  of  novelty ;  but,  if  it  is  to  be  the  rule,  why  not  carry  it  to 
the  types  —  say  have  twenty  lines  on  one  page  and  three  lines  on 
another  ?  Surely  that  would  give  additional  variety.  And,  except 
as  sketches,  is  the  bulk  of  the  work  worthy  of  serious  consideration 
for  the  average  mind  of  a  high-grade  European  or  American  painter. 

The  colored  landscapes  have  no  value.  They  are  little  better 
than  what  one  sees  on  the  five-cent  fans  which  are  hawked  about 
the  streets  when  the  thermometer  is  in  the  nineties.  The  masks 
and  vases  are  hardly  to  be  classed  among  the  higher  examples  of 
Japanese  art.  In  the  collection  of  Professor  Morse  we  see  hundreds 
of  forms  that  are  not  only  finer,  but  more  typical  of  "  Artistic 
Japan." 

The  reeds  and  flowers  are  most  unquestionably  fine  —  as  sketches 
or  decorations,  as  you  will  —  but  we  will  venture  to  say  that  Hamil- 
ton Gibson  and  Harry  Fenn  have  done  equally  clever  work,  and 
certainly  truer  to  nature.  This  is  written  in  no  carping  spirit. 
The  comparison  may  be  made  by  any  one  who  is  familiar  with  the 
work  of  these  two  artists. 

In  the  plates  of  pure  decorative  work  the  Japanese  show  at  their 
best.  Some  of  the  finer  bits  of  close  ornamental  work  might  have 
been  done  in  the  American  Hank-Note  Company's  establishment  on 
the  geometric  lathe  ;  but  in  the  larger,  broader  examples  we  have 
what  we  have  been  taught  to  admire,  and  our  admiration  is  given 
most  ungrudgingly. 

Quaint  fancy,  delicate  invention,  curious  conceits,  run  through  all ; 
but  is  this  the  kind  of  art  before  which  we  must  bow  the  knee?  It 
is  most  unquestionably  clever  ;  but  does  it  fit  our  needs,  may  we  say 
our  civilization  ?  The  brocades  and  stuffs  open  up  another  field. 
Here  we  have  quiet,  harmonious  tones  that  are  a  charm  to  the  eye, 
such  as  the  taste  of  other  nations  rarely  gives  us.  I  fancy  it  was 
from  such  fabrics  that  the  Kensington  Art  School  got  its  color 
schemes.  They  are  restful  and  charming  to  the  last  degree. 

Some  examples  of  these  magnificent  weavings  may  be  seen  in  the 
Boston  Art  Museum ;  but  do  not  some  of  the  embroideries  in  the 
same  collection,  handsome  as  is  the  work,  "  yell  "  like  a  newly-gilded 
sign  ?  Next  to  frankness  and  intention,  should  not  all  great  art  have 
that  fine  quality,  repose  ?  The  "  Dark  Secret "  is  good  for  once  in  a 
while,  as  is  the  circus  ;  but  can  we  live  with  it? 

I  am  aware  of  the  fact  that  many  artists  of  rank  have  been 
smitten  with  the  Oriental  craze,  but  I  do  not  remember  any  instance 
in  which  their  work  was  seriously  influenced  by  it. 

I  find  in  the  Japanese  colored  work  nothing  but  false  perspective, 
bad  drawing  and  flat  tints.  I  speak  now  only  of  the  landscape  and 
figure  work.  I  see  nothing  of  what  is  known  to  us  as  tone  and 
quality. 

The  best  of  the  European  and  American  artists  have  little  to  learn 
from  our  almond-eyed  friends  in  the  matter  of  correct  drawing,  com- 
position or  color,  but  in  metal-working  we  must  take  the  back-seat. 

Their  inlaying  and  carving  is  superb.  Skill  and  patience  they 
have  to  a  degree  that  is  not  possible  in  the  busy  whirl  of  our 
Western  climate. 

One  word  about  the  covers  of  the  several  numbers.  Each  differs 
from  the  other,  and  each  is  striking  and  taking  to  the  eye. 

The  color-printing  on  the  covers,  and  through  the  several  numbers 
on  the  various  full-page  plates,  leaves  nothing  to  be  desired.  Gillot 
has  certainly  done  his  work  most  splendidly;  but,  after  all,  is  this 
not  Japanese  art  translated  by  French  process,  and  is  it  always  at 
its  best? 

As  art-work,  one  piece  of  Morse's  pottery  —  the  original  work  of 
Japanese  hands  —  is,  in  the  largest  sense,  worth  many  numbers 
of  Artistic  Japan. 


ONE  WAT  TO  GET  A  GATE.  —  An  old  tenant-farmer,  on  paying  his 
rent,  told  his  landlord  that  he  wanted  some  timber  to  build  a  house, 
and  would  be  much  obliged  if  he  would  give  him  permission  to  cut 
down  what  would  answer  for  the  purpose.  "No!  "  said  the  landlord 
sharply.  "Well,  then  sir,"  the  farmer  went  on,  "will  you  give  me 
enough  to  build  a  barn?"  "No!"  "To  make  a  gate,  then?" 
"  Yes."  "That's  all  I  wanted,"  said  the  farmer  —  "and  more  than  I 
expected."  —  Timber  Trades  Journal. 


JUNE  8,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


275 


ENGINEERS     SOCIETY   OF    WESTERN    PENNSYLVANIA. 

*TJT  the  monthly  meeting  of  this  Society,  held  May  21,  a  large 
AH  and  highly  intelligent  audience  gathered,  attracted  by  the 
/  promised  light  to  be  thrown  on  the  graphophone  and  phono- 
graph. The  President,  J.  A.  Brashear,  occupied  the  chair.  After 
the  election  of  four  (4)  new  members,  Louis  S.  Clarke  gave  a  very  in- 
teresting history  of  the  inception  of  the  idea  of  fixing  sound,  and  the 
progressive  steps  to  the  present  graphophone,  illustrating  his  words 
with  diagrams  on  the  black-board  and  showing  the  present  position 
of  the  process  by  the  instruments  themselves,  which  for  an  hour  sang 
songs,  recited  pieces,  and  repeated  over  and  over,  what  was  spoken 
into"  them.  As  yet  its  main  use  is  to  take  the  place  of  the  steno- 
grapher, its  record  is  correct  and  if  the  type-writer  errs,  he  can  go 
back  to  the  graphophone  and  find  his  error.  It  is  a  wonderful  inven- 
tion and  no  one  can  say  what  its  future  may  be.  Meeting  adjourned 
at  10  P.  M.  Next  meeting  to  be  held  June  18,  prox. 


[The  editors  cannot  pay  attention  to  demands  of  correspondents  who 
forget  to  give  their  names  and  addresses  as  guaranty  of  good  faith ; 
nor  do  they  hold  themselves  responsible  for  opinions  expressed  ly 
their  correspondents.] 

THE  NEW  YORK  CATHEDRAL  COMPETITION. 

NEW  YORK,  N.  Y.,  May  31, 1889. 
To  THE  EDITORS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT  :  — 

Dear  Sirs,  —  At  this  time  when  competitions  form  such  an  im- 
portant feature  for  the  selection  of  designs  for  all  buildings  of 
importance,  and  are  looked  upon  with  so  much  favor  by  owners  and 
committees  having  the  selection  of  an  architect  at  their  control,  as 
well  as  being  responded  to  so  universally  by  architects  in  general, 
a  few  suggestions  relative  to  the  advantage  and  weakness  of  the 
system,  may  not  be  mal  a  propos.  During  the  past  few  years  much 
advancement  and  progress  has  been  made  in  "  Instructions  to  Archi- 
tects," whereby  the  scale,  size  and  number  of  drawings,  positions, 
angles  and  distances  of  perspectives,  and  the  method  of  rendering 
are  regulated  and  make  the  designs  uniform  and  comparable ;  as 
regards  size,  cost  and  composition  these  requirements  are  very 
generally  accepted  and  adhered  to  by  the  competitors,  and  there  is 
little  to  be  wished  for  in  this  branch,  unless  it  be  that  those  having 
the  matter  in  charge  should  signify  their  preference  for  some 
particular  style,  when  they  are  partial  to  any.  Then  the  efforts  of 
all  might  be  directed  in  the  same  channel,  thus  giving  a  greater 
number  for  the  owner  to  choose  from  and  the  exclusion  of  fewer  be- 
cause of  their  being  of  a  style  not  acceptable.  This  would  give  to 
all  the  same  opportunity  and  not  handicap  such  as  have  had  no 
personal  knowledge  of  the  likes  and  dislikes  of  owners  or  committees 
previous  to  receiving  the  information.  The  more  minute  and  explicit 
the  directions  are,  the  more  nearly  will  all  the  contributors  hit  the 
mark  and  more  successful  will  be  the  competition.  With  all 
the  advancement  for  the  preparation  of  drawings,  the  judging  them 
remains  in  the  same  unsatisfactory  condition  it  always  has  been  in, 
no  steps  having  been  taken  for  improvement,  and  consequently  after 
each  decision  there  is  dissatisfaction  among  the  defeated  members, 
charges  of  favoritism  and  unfairness  are  made  and  evil  is  the  out- 
growth of  what  should  engender  only  honest  exertions  and  good- 
natured  rivalry.  Architects,  being  intelligent,  are  quick  to  see  and 
admit  a  better  thing  when  the  judgment  is  just,  but  being  human  are 
slow  to  forget  (a  real  or  imaginary)  unjust  criticism  ;  to  avoid  which 
the  most  particular  pains  should  be  taken.  The  designs  should  be 
sent  sealed  to  the  judges,  and  should  be  regarded  by  them  as  strictly 
private,  no  one  (but  the  judges)  being  allowed  to  see  any  portion 
of  them  until  the  final  decision  is  made  public,  (and  not  as  is  some- 
times the  case  students,  competitors,  and  strangers  being  permitted 
to  examine  them  at  leisure).  When  a  decision  is  made,  all  the 
drawings  should  be  on  exhibition  to  the  competitors  and  their 
friends.  The  greatest  difficulty  to  overcome,  is  that  of  deciding 
which  design  offers  the  greatest  advantages  and  is  best  fitted  to  be 
executed.  The  system  of  Judge  and  Jury  of  Courts,  has  been  so 
long  tried  and  is  so  nearly  perfect,  as  a  means  of  reaching  the 
correct  solution  of  intricate  matters,  that  the  same  rules  that  govern 
the  selection  and  workings  of  these  may  well  be  adopted  as  the  best 
means  of  deciding  competitions.  The  judge  to  be  appointed  by  the 
owner  or  committee  and  the  jurors  selected  from  practising  archi- 
tects and  engineers,  who  are  not  interested  personally  in  the  com- 
petition, and  to  be  appointed  by  a  vote  of  the  competitors  and  to  be 
satisfactory  to  all  concerned;  by  this  method,  all  the  various  features 
of  the  several  designs  would  be  picked  out  and  properly  weighed 
and  placed  to  the  credit  of  each  competitor  according  to  a  carefully 
prepared  table  of  points  which  should  be  named  in  the  paper  of 


instructions.  This  method  would  do  away  with  the  injustice  that  is 
often  done  to  some  contributions  through  the  prejudices  of  one  man 
for  a  particular  school,  and  would  bring  about  the  result  of  making 
competitions  much  more  effectual  and  satisfactory  to  the  principals 
and  architects.  The  feeling  would  then  be  among  the  members 
that  at  least  their  plans  would  have  proper  consideration  and 
representation  and  stand  or  fall  upon  their  own  merits.  The  motto 
system  is  of  but  little  value  for  the  purpose  it  is  intended  (that 
of  leaving  the  architects'  identity  unknown).  The  aim  is  to  secure 
the  best  plan  ;  and  any  architect  can  form  a  very  good  guess  of  the 
author  of  a  set  by  his  design,  method  of  rendering,  and  individuali- 
ties that  must  he  visible  to  any  one  who  would  be  likely  to  be  called 
as  a  judge.  If  this  is  the  case,  it  seems  that  a  truer  insight  into  the 
plans  might  be  obtained  by  permitting  each  competitor  to  appear  be- 
fore the  judge  and  jury  and  explain  his  plan  to,  and  be  examined  by 
them.  This  method  would  insure  a  thorough  examination  into  each 
design.  It  would  be  interesting  to  know  how  decisions  are  arrived 
at  under  the  present  system.  They  certainly  do  not  always  seem  to 
be  decided  according  to  the  real  merit  and  are  often  unsatisfactory 
and  extremely  uncertain.  Take  for  instance  the  competition  of  the 
Cathedral  of  "  St.  John  the  Divine."  There  were  about  seventy 
designs  submitted  by  architects  from  home  and  abroad,  among  whom 
were  such  men  as  R.  M.  Hunt,  H.  M.  Congdon,  Potter  &  Robertson, 
R.  W.  Gibson,  Withers  &  Dickson,  J.  C.  Cady  &  Co.,  Renwick, 
Aspinwall  &  Russell,  R.  M.  Upjohn,  C.C.  Ilaight  and  McKim,  Mead 
&  White.  The  name  of  any  of  them  would  be  a  guaranty  of  an  im- 
posing edifice,  all  of  them  having  had  great  experience  in  church 
architecture,  and  are  able  to  show  many  examples  of  their  work  ; 
and  yet  in  the  decision,  Messrs.  Potter  &  Robertson  is  the  only  com- 
petitor in  the  above  list  that  has  received  mention,  the  other  names 
being  comparatively  unknown,  and  without  examples  of  their  work 
to  give  confidence  that  they  are  able  to  carry  a  building  of  that 
importance  to  a  successful  completion  if  the  work  should  be  intrusted 
to  the  care  of  one  of  them.  The  fairness  of  the  decision  cannot  be 
admitted,  or  disputed,  until  all  the  designs  are  exhibited  which  it  is 
hoped  they  will  soon  be,  thus  assuring  the  defeated  competitors  and 
the  profession  generally  that  the  judgment  has  been  free  from  bias. 
It  is  a  remarkable  coincidence,  it  might  almost  be  said  an  improbable 
one,  that  the  lay  committee  should  have  selected  three  designs,  and 
afterward,  the  expert  examiners  should  likewise  have  chosen  the 
same  three  and  added  a  fourth,  unless  preference  had  been  expressed, 
or  those  selected  are  decidedly  the  best ;  but  to  many  it  must  appear 
strange,  that  three  of  the  successful  competitors  are  men  recently 
established  in  business  and  that  but  one  of  the  older  and  more 
experienced  members  of  the  profession,  has  been  able  to  furnish  any- 
thing equal  to  theirs.  Where  are  we  to  look  for  an  explanation  of 
three  "  dark  horses  "  having  outrun  all  the  established  records.  Is 
it  the  decline  of  the  older  architects,  the  more  than  remarkable  pro- 
gress of  the  coming  man,  or  as  they  stand  are  competitions  failures  ? 

A   NON-COMPETITOR. 

[As  our  correspondent  remarks,  "the  fairness  of  the  decision  cannot  be 
admitted  or  disputed,"  and  need  not  be.  as  people  know  almost  nothing 
about  the  manner  iu  which  the  actual  decision  was  made.  The  tenor  of  the 
foregoing  remarks,  if  we  rightly  apprehend  their  drift,  seems  to  imply  a 
veiled  allegation  that  in  some  way  the  experts  are  responsible  for  the 
existence  of  a  "remarkable  coincidence"  seeing  that  the  reporters  of  the 
daily  press  have  thought  fit  to  assert  that  the  choice  of  the  experts  coincided 
with  that  made  by  the  trustees.  It  seems  to  us  that  until  the  experts' 
report  is  published  all  criticisms  upon  the  conduct  of  this  competition  should 
be  classed  with  the  statement  of  the  New  York  Star  which  alleged  that 
"two  of  the  committee  of  three  experts  who  passed  upon  the  plans  of  the 
church  were  not  qualified  by  education  or  training  for  their  duty  !  "  —  EDS. 
AMERICAN  ARCHITECT.] 


WESTERN  LAKES  DRYING  UP. — The  lakes  in  eastern  Oregon,  as 
well  as  in  Nevada,  are  drying  up.  In  some  instances  the  water  in  the 
lakes  is  subsiding  because  the  streams  which  empty  into  them  have 
been  diverted  from  their  natural  channels  for  the  purposes  of  irrigation, 
but  the  continuous  drought,  doubtless,  has  had  much  to  do  with  the  low 
stage  of  water  in  them.  The  Herald,  published  in  the  new  county  of 
Harney,  Oregon,  says  not  over  four  square  miles  of  the  original  bed  of 
Warner  Lake  is  now  covered  with  water,  whereas  in  1805  there  were  seven 
feet  of  water  where  the  land  is  now  dry,  and  this  spring  a  stack  con- 
taining 300  tons  of  hay  was  burned  on  land  which  in  1874  was  surveyed 
as  Warner  Lake.  Goose  Lake,  which  once  reached  Lakeview,  Oregon, 
is  now  five  miles  away,  and  Malheur  Lake,  in  Harney  County,  is  eight 
feet  lower  than  at  any  period  within  the  memory  of  the  oldest  in- 
habitant. In  this  county  Humboldt  Lake,  which  some  years  ago  com- 
prised a  sheet  of  water  sixteen  or  eighteen  miles  long  and  from  eight  to 
twelve  miles  wide,  is  now  only  a  few  miles  long  and  perhaps  a  mile  or 
two  wide.  The  Humboldt  has  not  discharged  any  water  into  the  lake 
for  several  years,  and  a  large  area,  which  was  covered  several  feet  with 
water  at  one  time,  is  now  as  dry  as  any  other  part  of  the  Humboldt 
Valley.  It  is  a  fact,  however,  that  the  lake  was  as  low  nine  or  ten 
years  ago  as  it  is  to-day,  and  that  five  years  ago  it  was  as  high  as  it  was 
ever  known  to  be.  Immigrants  in  early  days  who  saw  the  Humboldt 
discharge  an  immense  volume  of  water  into  the  lake,  or  "  sink,"  as  it  was 
called,  believed  it  had  a  subterranean  outlet;  but  that  idea  was 
erroneous,  as  the  volume  of  water  was  reduced  by  evaporation,  not 
drainage. —  Winnemucca  (Nev.)  Silver  State. 


27o 


TJie    American   Architect   and  Building   News.      [VOL.  XXIV.  —  No.  702. 


THE  SUEZ  CANAL.  —  It  appears  that  the  number  of  vessels  which 
passed  through  the  Suez  Canal  last  year  was  3,440,  of  a  gross  bur- 
den of  9,437,957  tons.  The  corresponding  number  of  vessels  which 
passed  through  the  canal  in  1887  was  3,137,  of  an  aggregate  burden 
of  8,430,043  tons ;  and  in  1886,  3,100  vessels,  of  an  aggregate  burden  of 
8,183,313  tons.  The  transit  revenue  collected  last  year  was  £2,593,291, 
as  compared  with  £2,314,404  in  1887,  and  £2,261,095  in  1886.  Of  the 
vessels  which  passed  through  the  canal  last  year,  2,625  were  British, 
187  French,  146  Italian,  163  German,  and  121  Dutch.  No  other  country 
figured  in  the  list  for  100  ships.  The  proportion  of  British  vessels  pass- 
ing through  the  canal  is  increasing,  having  been  2,625  in  1888,  as 
already  indicated,  2,330  in  1887,  and  2,331  in  1886.  It  will  be  seen  that 
Great  Britain  figured  for  76 1-4  per  cent  in  the  whole  movement  of  ves- 
sels through  the  canal  last  year ;  the  French  proportion  being  5  1-2  per 
cent;  the  Italian,  4  1-2  per  cent ;  the  German,  4  3-4  per  cent ;  and  the 
Dutch,  3  1-2  per  cent.  It  is  certainly  not  a  little  remarkable  that, 
although  the  canal  was  made  with  French  capital,  Great  Britain  has 
secured  the  lion's  share  of  the  benefits  resulting  from  it.  Of  the  3,440 
vessels  which  passed  through  the  canal  last  year,  1,008  went  through 
during  the  darkness  of  night.  —  Engineering, 

SECRET  WRITING  BY  MEANS  OF  TYPEWRITERS.  —  A  device  for 
secret  writing  by  means  of  the  typewriter  is  mentioned  in  the  Paper 
World  as  a  recent  invention.  It  requires  two  typewriters  similarly 
adjusted.  They  are  so  constructed  that  the  type  can  be  shifted  from 
their  normal  position,  so  that  the  operator,  striking  the  key  in  the  usual 
way,  really  writes  other  letters  than  those  in  his  copy,  forming  a  cipher 
copy.  The  receiver  adjusts  his  machine  in  an  opposite  direction,  and 
writes  from  the  cipher  copy,  and  his  machine  records  the  letters  of  the 
original  copy.  The  principle  is  very  simple,  says  the  Mechanical  News, 
and  it  at  once  suggests  the  possibility  of  applying  the  principle  of  the 
combination  lock  to  such  a  contrivance  for  all  typewriters,  so  that  each 
owner  of  a  machine  can  set  it  to  any  combination,  which  only  he  and 
his  correspondent  should  know.  This  must  be  feasible,  and  if  the  new 
invention  is  of  any  use  at  all,  its  usefulness  would  be  much  increased 
by  such  a  plan.  

THE  ACTION  OF  CREOSOTE  ON  CHIMNEY  FLUES.  —  Attention  has 
lately  been  called  to  the  peculiarly  corrosive,  and  consequently 
destructive,  effect  of  the  creosote  of  wood  soot  upon  chimneys,  owing 
to  the  fact  that  the  creosote  thus  formed  from  the  slow  combustion  of 
wood  contains  so  large  a  proportion  of  pyroligneous  vinegar  or  crude 
acetic  acid ;  this  acid  being  formed  in  large  quantities  when  the  com- 
bustion of  wood  is  slow,  many  quarts,  in  fact,  being  condensed  in  cold 
weather  where  a  large  wood  fire  is  very  much  checked,  only  a  few 
hours  being  required  for  such  condensation.  The  acid  in  question  dis- 
solves lime  readily,  carrying  it  away  in  solution,  and  in  this  manner 
the  mortar  is  frequently  entirely  removed  from  the  tops  of  chimneys  in 
the  country,  new  ones  suffering  in  the  same  way  as  the  old,  instances 
being  numerous  where  the  top  courses  of  brick  in  chimneys  only  two 
years  old  have  become  entirely  without  support  other  than  that  afforded 
by  the  sand  with  which  the  lime  was  mixed.  —  Philadelphia  Press. 


ANIMAL  LIFE  IN  WELL-WATER.  —  The  fauna  of  well-water,  as 
shown  by  Professor  Vejdovsky's  examination  of  231  wells  of  Prague, 
comprises  111  species  of  organisms,  including  20  varieties  of  amoeba- 
like  organisms,  12  varieties  of  flagellate  infusoria,  45  varieties  of  other 
infusoria,  24  varieties  of  worms,  and  10  varieties  of  Crustacea.  These 
varieties  are  washed  by  surface  water  into  the  wells,  where  they  live  in 
the  mud  on  the  bottom,  their  presence  in  the  water  above  being 
indicated  by  a  turbid  appearance.  Danger  from  wells  containing  them 
arises  chiefiy  from  the  putrefying  organic  matter  supporting  them, 
which  greatly  favors  the  development  of  fungi  which  prey  upon  the 
human  body.  —  Exchange. 


THE  BABYLONIAN  EXPEDITION.  —  Since  the  beginning  of  February, 
the  Babylonian  expedition  sent  out  by  the  University  of  Pennsylvania 
has  been  exploring  the  ruins  of  Nirter,  whose  site  is  marked  by  an 
immense  mound,  about  sixty  miles  southwest  of  ancient  Babylon,  and 
bordering  on  the  Afflosch  swamps,  so-called  from  the  tribe  of  Aifik 
Bedouins  that  dwell  near  by.  Niffer  is  identical  with  old  Babylonian 
Nippirn,  founded  about  3,000  years  before  the  Chrjstian  era.  In  its 
ruins  lie  buried  the  remains  of  the  famous  Bel  temple,  which  will  be 
systematically  explored  and  doubtless  yield  splendid  results. — Jewish 
Messenger.  

ANCIENT  TOMBS  DISCOVERED  AT  NAPLES.  —  A  subterranean  chamber 
has  been  discovered  under  a  house  on  the  hillside  at  Naples.  Along 
the  centre  runs  a  mosaic  pavement  and  on  each  side  there  is  a  double 
row  of  sepulchres  hewn  in  the  rock,  the  fronts  of  which  are  stuccoed 
and  painted  and  decorated  with  terra-cotta  and  marble  reliefs.  Within 
the  tombs  were  perfect  skeletons,  vases  and  other  objects,  the  antique 
lamps  being  in  such  good  condition  that  when  the  new  find  was 
inspected  by  a  party  of  German  archaeologists  the  workmen  made 
use  of  them  to  light  up  the  vaults.  The  many  well-preserved  inscrip- 
tions are  chiefly  in  Greek,  with  some  Latin,  and  prove  that  the  epoch  of 
these  tombs  was  about  1,000  is.  c.  Other  tombs  in  a  second  chamber 
have  not  yet  been  excavated.  Similar  catacombs  have  heretofore  been 
found  in  this  locality.  —  Pall  Mall  Gazette. 


THE  EGYPT  EXPLORATION  FUND.  —  Few  educational  enterprises 
have  yielded  larger  results  for  the  amount  invested  than  the  Egypt 
Exploration  Fund.  Expending  annually  since  1883  between  $7,000  and 
§8,000,  it  has  discovered  or  disclosed  the  following  interesting  sites; 
Pittrom  (the  treasure  city  of  Exodus  i,  11).  Goshen  Tahpanhes  (the 
Daphnae  of  the  Greeks),  the  city  of  Onias,  Zoan,  Am,  Naukratis,  and, 
latest  of  all,  Bubastis  (the  Pi-Besetti  of  the  Scriptures).  These  dis- 
coveries have  been  conducted  in  a  thoroughly  scientific  manner  and 
have  yielded  rich  results  regarding  the  sciences,  arts  and  industries  of 
past  ages,  the  early  sources  of  Greek  history,  and  particularly  Bibical 
and  secular  history.  —  The  Chuutauyuan. 


A  VAST  amount  of  projected  work  depends  upon  the  establishment  of,  or 
rather,  the  restoration  of,  confidence  among  investors,  native  and  foreign. 


_      rci£D 

Years  ago,  the  bulk  of  railroad  construction~was  done  'out  of  the  pockets"of 
outsiders.  Now  it  is  doue  mainly  out  of  the  earnings  of  existing  com- 
panies. Home  investors  are  incredulous  and  suspicious,  and  many  foreign 
investors  are  quietly  refusing  to  part  with  their  money  in  new  American 
railway  enterprise*.  Notwithstanding  these  things,  the  streets  hear  rumors 
of  parallelling  schemes  under  the  management  of  parties  deeply  interested 
in  existing  lines,  and  these  rumors  aver  that  these  new  roads  are  to  be  built 
to  depreciate  the  stocks  of  established  lines,  in  the  interest  of  huge  stock- 
jobbing speculators.  Be  they  true  or  false,  they  go  to  show  that  the  arena 
of  conflict  between  opposing  speculative  interests  is  to  be  widened  and 
lifted  out  of  the  old  ruts.  These  schemers  assert  that  speculative  capital 
must  have  employment,  and  that  there  is  no  more  inviting  field  for  its 
operation  than  in  hammering  down  values  on  old  lines  by  the  uncalled-for 
construction  of  new  ones.  The  effect  of  fuch  a  policy  would  naturally  be 
to  reduce  the  capitalization  of  a  vast  amount  of  existing  railway  property, 
and  on  the  outside  public  the  results  would  be  rather  beneficial.  Wild  as 
such  a  scheme  may  appear  to  be,  its  conception  is  natural  and  logical,  and 
its  outcome  would  probably  be  a  consolidation  in  greater  or  less  degree  of 
existing  competing  lines.  In  fact,  this  very  result  has  more  than  once  been 
predicted  by  leading  railway  authorities  as  inevitable  and  desirable  when 
the  inevitable  arrives.  The  mob  spirit  has  animated  capital  thus  far  in 
much  of  the  construction  that  has  been  done.  Scientific  or  economic  con- 
siderations have  played  a  minor  part  in  the  work.  The  result  has  been  a 
withdrawing  of  small  investors  on  one  hand,  and  a  precipitation  of  tariffs 
on  the  other,  accompanied  by  protective  legislation  and  agencies  in  the 
shape  of  commissions.  The  point  ou  which  large  investors  are  most  con- 
cerned is  :  How  can  the  railroad  problem  be  so  disposed  of  as  to  open  up 
safe  and  abundant  opportunities  for  investment  ?  This  element  has  favored 
commissions  to  that  end.  Up  to  present  writing  they  have  not  answered 
expectations.  Railroad  companies  are  disposed  to  monopolize  all  good 
opportunities,  and  to  bnild  roads  before  they  are  needed  to  that  end. 
There  are  paper  roads  now  built  over  40,000  miles  long.  Some  count  over 
50,000  miles.  It  is  said  in  financial  circles  there  is  enough  money  to  build 
them.  It  is  demonstrated  that  labor,  material,  machinery  and  equipments 
are  as  low  as  they  are  likely  to  be  for  years  ;  hence  there  is  no  risk  in 
buildiug  new  Hues  if  the  builders  can  afford  to  wait.  But  right  here  is  the 
secret.  The  brains  want  just  enough  outside  capital  in  their  companies  to 
kick  in  or  out,  up  or  down,  as  it  suits  them,  and  in  this  way,  by  temporarily 
depressing  stocks  and  compelling  these  outsiders  to  sell  out  at  a  sacrifice,  to 
make  their  roads  cost  them  practically  so  much  less.  In  short,  outsiders 
are  to  be  let  in  to  help  build  new  roads,  and  then  be  kicked  out,  with  a  dime 
for  their  dollar.  Englishmen  see  and  stay  out.  For  all  this,  there  will  be 
enough  slieep  to  help  out  this  programme.  The  manipulations  are  being 
shrewdly  carried  ou.  Commercial  indications  are  favorable.  The  volume 
of  business  is  ahead  of  last  year,  though  just  now  freight  shipments  East 
over  the  trunk-lines  are  one-half  what  they  were  last  year.  Money  is  ex- 
tremely active,  loans  at  New  York  one  day  last  week  reaching  the  highest 
known  limit  of  $412,500.000.  Considerable  gold  shipments  have  been  made 
lately,  and  the  Euglish  banks  now  hold  fifteen  million  dollars  more  than 
last  year. 

The  earnings  on  seventy-three  roads  for  third  week  of  May  show  a  slight 
increase  over  same  week  last  year.  The  iron  trade  shows  more  strength. 
Last  week  90,000  tons  of  steel-rails  were  sold,  and  there  are  inquiries  for 
about  seventy  thousand  tons,  for  new  roads  mostly.  Crude-iron  production 
is  maintained  throughout  the  country,  but  the  Northern  furnaces  are 
restricting  while  Southern  are  expanding  output.  The  month  of  June  will 
be  a  good  one  among  makers  of  pipe,  plate,  sheet  and  structural  iron. 
Producers  of  anthracite  coal  have  advanced  prices  10  to  25  cents  East,  West 
and  South.  Output  up  to  date  is  1.312,453  tons  less  than  last  year.  Soft 
and  splint  coal  production  is  about  the  same  as  last  year.  Strikes  have 
temporarily  restricted  output  in  a  few  localities,  but  this  is  made  up  else- 
where. The  lumber  trade  is  active,  and  for  the  most  part  prices  are  main- 
tained. Lake  and  coast  tonnage  craft  are  crowded  with  contracts.  Prices 
have  weakened  at  some  points.  One  of  them  Chicago.  One  reason  is  that 
hardwoods  are  crowding  out  softwoods.  New  kinds  of  wood  are  being  used 
for  flooring,  ceiling  find  general  interior  finish.  Even  yellow  pine  that 
promised  to  sweep  white  pine  out  of  the  market  for  interior  work  is  itself 
feeling  the  pressure  of  other  and  more  desirable  kinds.  Eastern  Michigan 
lumber  manufacturers  will  cut  200,000.000  feet  less  than  last  year,  and 
mills  will  probably  shut  down  September  1.  The  action  of  the  poplar 
association  in  raising  prices  is  generally  favored  among  middlemen  who 
hope  thereby  to  increase  their  margins.  Indian  and  Chinese  labor  is  being 
extensively  used  in  British  Columbia  to  manufacture  lumber  to  the  dis- 
advantage of  competing  interests  on  the  American  side,  and  Norwegian 
sailors  are  monopolizing  the  ocean  traffic.  Alaska  cedar  of  a  quality  far 
superior  to  Puget  Sound  cedar  is  being  introduced  on  the  Pacific  coast.  It 
cuts  50  per  cent  clear.  South  American  lumber  markets  are  taking  large 
quantities  of  spruce  and  pine  from  American  and  Canadian  markets,  and 
also  large  quantities  of  the  best  lumber  on  the  Pacific  coast.  The  Liverpool, 
England,  market  is  calling  for  heavier  supplies  of  American  lumber,  soft 
and  hard  ;  poplar,  walnut  and  Southern  pine  are  particularly  wanted. 
British  markets  are  absorbing  much  larger  quantities  of  lumber,  and 
dealers  are  carrying  more  abundant  supplies.  In  manufacturing  circles  on 
this  side  predictions  continue  to  be  made  of  an  advancing  tendency  in  raw 
and  finished  markets.  The  most  impartial  observation  fails  to  develop 
strong  arguments  in  support  of  this  view.  Producers  in  all  industries  have 
brought  about  a  cooperation  of  effort  that  makes  a  gorging  of  trade 
channels  next  to  impossible.  Years  ago  there  was  no  machinery  for  such 
purpose,  and  there  was  besides  a  lack  of  confidence.  Disasters  and  depres- 
sions have  taught  business  interests  to  hang  together,  and  it  is  this 
fraternization  that  saves  looses  and  gives  to  trade  movements  a  greater 
regularity  and  certainty.  Hence  it  is  that  no  sudden  expansion  of  values 
can  be  reasonably  looked  for  ;  besides  capacity  is  equal  to  an  extraordinary 
demand.  It  is  this  trade  combination  that  accounts  fur  the  carrying  of 
more  moderate  stocks,  and  for  the  policy  now  so  generally  pursued  of 
working  on  orders.  Viewing  the  indiistii.'il  problem  from  every  side,  it  is 
impossible  to  infer  with  good  reason  that  a  sudden  expan-ion  of  values  is 
probable.  The  reaction  in  Great  Britain  to  stronger  prices  is  simply  a 
return  to  normal  values.  That  activity  will  probably  continue  a  long  time 
because  distant  regions  are  beiug  filled  up  with  an  enterprisinsr  and  in- 
dustrious populatiou  whose  labor  uuder  the>e  new  conditions  will  be  much 
more  productive  than  under  former  crowded  conditions  when  competitiou 
restricled  earning  power  at  minimum  limits.  In  our  own  land  all  the 
agencies  visible  are  working  iu  the  direction  of  lower  prices,  in  spite  of  the 
syndicating  tendencies. 


JONE  8,  1889.] 


The  American  Architect  and  Building  News. 


IX 


CA5OT5 
E>f\ICK: 

PRE5ER 

VATI VE  i 


IIS  IS  A  PECULIAR  C9MBINATION  OF 
>TRVGTIBLE  (H/MS  WITM  AN  OILY  SOLVENT 
VMIOM  PREVENTS  ThE  PENETRATION  oF  WATEF 
INTO  EITHER-  5R-IGKS  o^  MoR-TAF-;  IT  GREATLY 
IMPROVES  TO  APPEARANCE  op  5JtlCK*WoKK,<JIVIN<J  IT 
A  F1CW  EPPECT,P^EE  FROM  G\95S\  ThE  WHITE  EF^ 
FL°FESOENCE:  OF  SALTS  ON  THE  5VRPACE  ANP  Tit 

FOKMATION  OF  PUNGUS  is  PREVENTED  0^5  IT  15 

MUCH  MOR.E  IMPERMEADLE  To  WATEP-  IT  IS  PAR- 
5ETTER  TM^N  LlNSEEP  OlL.AMP  IT  15  NoT 
EP  BY  TME  LIME  op  TI*E  N°RTAR:  WE1  CAN 
MEND  IT  FOR  USE  ON  CHWMEYS.  AS  IT  WILL  PREVENT 
THEIR-  PISINTE<3  RATION  5Y  PP-IVIN(5  RAINS,  WHILE 
SUPERIOR-  To  TI^E  BEST  FAINT  PoR  THIS  PURPOSE, 
IT  IS  ALS°  MORE  ECONOMICAL- 

-  •  •  ADDRESS  -ORDERS  -AND  -INQJIMR.IE:6  -TO 


^LSQ  MANUFACTURE  P5  of  CFEo$<?TE  STAINS  &  ANTIPXFE- 


The    American    Architect   and   Building    News.          [VOL.  XXV.- 


THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT  AND  BUILDING  NEWS. 


VOL,  XXV. 


Copyright,  1889,  by  TICKNOB  &  COMPANY,  Boeton,  Muse. 


No.    703, 


JUNE  15,  1889. 


Entered  at  the  Post-Office  at  Boston  as  second-class  matter. 


SUMMARY: — 

Pavement  in  New  York  City  and  elsewhere. — Brick- veneered 
Buildings.  —  Desiccating  the  Dead.  —  The  Rebuilding  of 
Modern  Rome. —  The  Tomb  of  Philippe  Pot  secured  for  the 
Louvre. — Artificial  Coffee.  —  The  "Miraculous  Carbon- 
Soda  Stove  " 277 

OLD  COLONIAL  WORK  OF  VIRGINIA  AND  MARYLAND. — I.    .     .    .  279 

AUTUMN  JOURNEYS  IN  MEXICO.  —  V 282 

ILLUSTRATIONS : — 

Christ  Church,  Bruton  Parish,  Williamsburg,  Va.  —  Miners' 
Hospital,  Hazleton,  Pa.  —  Sketches  at  Williamsburg,  Va. — 
Bust  of  Mme.  Morla. —  Branch  Bank  of  America,  Philadel- 
phia, Pa.  —  Alterations  for  N.  W.  Taylor,  Esq.,  Cleveland, 
O.  —  Competitive  Design  for  City- Hall  and  Library,  Lowell, 

Mass 282 

AUGUSTE  RODIN.  —  X 283 

SAFE  BUILDING.  — XXVIII 285 

COMMUNICATION  •  — 

The  Horses  of  Italian  Statues 287 

NOTES  AND  CLIPPINGS 287 

TRADE  SURVEYS 288 

BY  special  authority  from  the  legislature,  the  city  of  New 
York  is  to  be  allowed  the  sum  of  four  million  dollars,  or 
more,  to  be  spent   in   renewing  and   repairing  pavements 
during  the  next  three  years,  and  some  of  the  daily  papers  are 
indulging  in  what  appears  to  us  very  rash  expectations  as  to  the 
result  of  the  expenditure  of  so  much  money.     It  is  not  that 
there   is   no  one  in  New  York  who  understands   the   art  of 
paving  streets,  for  from  New  York  have  come  some  valuable 
contributions  to  the  literature  of  the  subject ;  but  an  Ameri- 
can who  supposes   that    the    lavish    distribution    of  municipal 
funds   implies   any    particular   benefit   to  citizens    in  general 
shows  an  ignorance  of  "  practical  politics "  which  we  should 
hardly  look  for  in  a  metropolitan  journal.     In  other  countries 
the  object  of  paving  city  streets  is  usually  the  diminution  of 
the  noise,  dust   and    labor  of    traffic   through    them,  and   the 
systems  which  accomplish  this  result  most  effectually  are  those 
most  favored  by  the  municipal  authorities.     With  us,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  primary  object  of  pavements  appears  to  be  the 
furnishing  of  employment  to  as  many  voters  as  possible,  and 
for  as  long  a  time  as  possible,  and  that  pavement  is  the  most 
favored  which  provides  this  with  most  certainty.     Next  to  the 
political  value  of  a  pavement,  the  most  important  point,  accord- 
ing to  the  testimony  of  some  of  the  persons  who  ought  to  know 
best,  is  the  prospect  of  financial  advantage  which  it  offers  to 
the  persons  who  decide  whether  it  shall  be  used,  and  in  this 
respect   the   patented   pavements  offer  attractions  which  are 
generally  in  inverse  ratio  to  their  value  to  the  public.     The 
proprietors  of  these  patents,  it  is  true,  usually  make  brilliant 
promises  about  their  goods,  apparently  as  a  sort  of  sacrifice  to 
public  opinion,  but  as  the  promises  are  not  fulfilled,  and  the 
people  in  authority  are  quite  willing  that  they  should  not  be, 
the  result  to  the  public  is  simply  the  continuation  of  the  costly 
and  miserable  system  under  which  it  has  suffered  for  so  many 
years.     It  is  not  so  very  long  since  we  saw,  for  some  days 
before  an  election,  the  watering-carts  banished  from  Broadway, 
and  their  places  supplied  by  a  horde  of  men  with  watering- 
pots,  for  the  avowed  purpose  of  gaining  votes  for  the  party  in 
power,  and  the  inner  history  of  the  paving-departments  of  our 
large  cities  would  probably  afford  more  details  of  this  sort  of 
political   management   than  any    other   branch   of   our  public 
administration.     Of  course,  it    is  useless    to   expect  any   real 
service  to  the  public  from  such  a  system,  and  experience  shows 
that  the  greater  the  amount  of  money  to  be  distributed,  the 
more  shameless  is  the  impudence  with  which  it   is  stolen,  or 
used  to  keep  thieves  in  office.     If  the  people  of  New  York,  or 
rather,  those  who  rule  them,  really  wish  to  extricate  the  city 
from  its  disgrace  as  the  worstrpaved  city  in  the  civilized  world, 
they  can  easily  do  it  by  authorizing  a  commission  of  men  who 
understand   something   about   the   matter,  and   who  will   not 
under  any  circumstances  steal  their  fellow-citizens'  money,  to 
find  out  what  is  best,  and  have  it  applied  to  the  streets  in  the 
best  way,  and  at  an  honest  price.     It  is  hardly  necessary  to 
say    that   every    other    town    that   has    tried    the    experimei 
thoroughly    has    come    to    the    conclusion    that    natural    rock 


asphalt,  on  a  concrete  foundation,  is  the  best  pavement  yet  de- 
-ised.  In  this  country  asphalt  has  been  sedulously  disparaged 
iy  persons  interested  in  other  pavements,  and  discredited  by 
he  failure  of  multitudes  of  pretended  "  asphalts,"  consisting  of 
,oal-tar  and  sand,  but  the  fact  remains  that  in  certain  places  in 
^ew  York  and  Boston,  where  the  natural  asphalt  has  been  laid 
>y  private  enterprise,  it  has  resisted  for  years  the  heaviest 
raffic,  while  stone  pavements  around  it  have  been  ground  into 
lust.  With  such  examples  constantly  before  them,  joined  to 
he  experience  of  foreign  cities,  and  the  almost  unaiimous 
estimony  of  expert  writers,  it  would  be  incredible,  if  it  were 
lot  for  the  exigencies  of  politics,  that  the  municipality  of 
Boston  should  go  on,  year  after  year,  shovelling  soft  sand  and 
)ebbles  on  its  most  fashionable  streets,  to  be  immediately  re- 
luced  to  a  mass  of  filth,  through  which  ladies  wade  and 
carriages  plough,  until  it  is  dried  up  and  blown  away  in  dust, 
,o  be  replaced  the  next  year  by  another  dose ;  or  that  New 
fork  should  be  content  to  receive  its  foreign  guests  into  the 
unspeakable  mire  of  West  Street,  with  the  cool  explanation,  to 
>eople  fresh  from  Piccadilly  or  the  Rue  de  la  Paix,  or  the 
quais  of  Genoa,  that  the  "  traffic "  of  Beacon  Street  or  Sixth 
Avenue  renders  it  impossible  to  maintain  anything  on  either 
of  them  but  a  pavement  of  soft  mud.  It  is  often  alleged,  as  an 
irgument  against  the  use  of  asphalt-pavements  in  this  country, 
.hat  when  wet  they  are  slippery,  and,  therefore,  dangerous  to 
icrses,  but  General  Gillmore  found  this  notion  quite  un- 
bunded,  statistics  showing  that  the  accidents  to  horses  on 
asphalt  pavements  were  no  more  frequent  or  more  serious  than 
on  stone  blocks,  while  the  labor  of  traction,  and  the  danger  of 
distressing  and  overstraining  horses,  is  far  less.  It  would  be 
well  worth  while,  even  if  the  benefit  to  the  nerves  of  the 
Itizens  which  would  follow  from  the  adoption  of  smooth- 
lavements,  over  which  carriages,  perhaps  with  rubber  tires, 
ike  those  now  being  introduced  in  Berlin,  would  roll  almost 
loiselessly,  were  considered  of  no  importance,  for  some  one  to 
reckon  the  saving  to  the  New  York  express  companies  and 
teamsters  of  time  and  horseflesh  incident  to  the  substitution  of  a 
od  asphalt  roadway,  kept  clean,  for  the  present  pavements. 
Very  little  can  be  accomplished  in  this  country  for  the  public 
good  in  the  abstract,  but  the  mention  of  dollars  would  cause 
;he  express  companies  to  prick  up  their  ears,  and  such  a 
demonstration  as  might  be  easily  made  of  the  unnecessary  tax 
which  they  pay  every  year  as  a  tribute  to  the  ignorance  and 
dishonesty  of  paving-departments  would  convert  them  into 
zealous  friends  of  a  reform  which  has  been  too  long  delayed. 


W 


so  common  in  some  parts  of  the  West,  and  by  no  means 
unknown    in    the     Eastern     States,    in    which    a    frame 
covered  with  boarding  is  cased  with  a  four-inch  wall  of  brick, 
held  to  the  boards  by  nails  driven  in  the  joints  of  the  brickwork, 
but  every  one  may  not  be  aware  that  this,  so  far  from  being 
an  invention  of  our  own  degenerate  times,  is  a  revival  of  a 
somewhat  similar  practice  of,  perhaps,  the  sixteenth  century. 
In  a  lecture  delivered  some  time  ago  by  Mr.  Lacy  W.  Ridge 
on  the  English  half-timbered  houses,  the  lecturer  said  that  on 
the  advent  of  the  real  Queen  Anne  style,  which  was  nothing 
more  nor  less  than  an  imitation  of  the  buildings  in  Holland 
belonging  to  the  Dutch  friends  of  the  Prince  of  Orange,  the 
English  proprietors   of  half-timbered   houses   who   wished  to 
Conform  to  the  new  fashion  very  frequently  veneered  the  fronts 
of   their  buildings  with  a   brick  facade  after  the  Amsterdam 
pattern,  leaving  the  half-timber  work  substantially  intact  behind 
it,  where  it  may  still  be  found  by  the  curious  architect.     In  the 
southern  part  of  England  a  still  simpler  method  of  converting 
the  antiquated  wood  framing  into  the  new  brick  style  was  in 
vogue,  consisting  in  the  veneering  of  the  wood  and  plaster  work 
with  narrow  tiles  made  to  imitate  the  face  of  a  brick,  and  re- 
bated at  the  upper  and  lower  edges,  so  that  they  lapped  over 
each  other.     They  were  made  soft,  as  English  bricks  and  tiles 
still  are,  so  that  they  could  be  nailed  through  the  upper  edge, 
and  the  rebate  of  the  tile  above  covered  the  heads  of  the  nails. 
How  the  stone  window-sills  were  managed  in  this  case  we  are 
not  informed.     With  our  veneered  fronts,  the  stone  sills  and 
lintels,  if  any  are  used,  can  be  made  four  inches  thick,  and  will 
stay  in  place  tolerably  well ;  but  the  art  of  making  a  stone  sill 
half-an-incli  thick,  and  nailing  it  to  a  timber  construction,  if  it 
ever  flourished,  has  been  lost. 


278 


Tlic,    American    Architect   and  Building   News.        [Vou  XXV.  —  No.  703- 


CURIOUS  scheme  has  been  started  in  New  York.  Some 
one,  who  wishes,  apparently,  to  combine  the  pleasures 
of  being  cremated  and  being  buried  proposes  to  build  an 
immense  "mausoleum,"  containing  cells  for  forty  thousand 
bodies,  which  are  to  be  "  desiccated  "  by  a  current  of  dry  air, 
and  preserved  in  this  condition  for  an  indefinite  period.  The 
advantage  of  being  desiccated  is  that  if  a  person  does  not 
happen  to  be  dead  when  he  is  placed  in  the  cell,  the  desiccation 
does  not  hurt  him,  as  cremation  or  being  buried  would,  and  he 
can  lie  there  comfortably,  breathing  the  dry  air,  until  some  one 
comes  to  let  him  out.  Another  alleged  merit  of  the  system  is 
that  the  faces  of  the  people  treated  by  it  will  remain  "  without 
discoloration  or  material  change,"  so  that  their  friends  may 
have  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  them  at  any  time.  The  building 
is  to  be  constructed  of  concrete,  with  a  facing  of  stone,  and 
might  at  least  be  made  an  imposing  architectural  object,  what- 
ever may  be  the  success  of  the  chemical  processes  involved. 


T  T  FliLIX  NARJOUX  has  published  a  little  book,  con- 
1X1.  taiuing  his  observations  on  modern  Italy,  as  seen  by 
•*  an  architect  during  a  tour  of  professional  inspection. 

Among  other  things,  M.  Narjoux  gives  some  particulars  in 
regard  to  building  speculations  in  modern  Rome  which  are 
curious,  even  to  an  American.  In  1870,  Rome  was  a  quiet 
papal  city  of  one  hundred  and  forty-five  thousand  inhabitants, 
filthy,  crowded  and  unhealthy.  On  the  twentieth  of  September 
in  that  year  the  Italian  national  troops  took  possession  of  the 
town,  after  a  few  hours'  bombardment,  and  its  rejuvenation 
began.  The  Italian  court  first  took  up  its  quarters  there, 
the  King  and  his  family  occupying  the  Palace  of  the  Quirinal, 
while  the  members  of  the  suite  accommodated  themselves  as 
best  they  could  among  the  dirty  rookeries  whose  owners  were 
willing  to  take  the  invaders  as  tenants.  With  the  court,  how- 
ever, came  a  multitude  of  merchants,  working  people,  and 
others  who  had  been  dependent  for  their  living  upon  the  court 
patronage,  and  these  found  themselves  almost  without  shelter. 
A  demand  for  new  houses  arose  in  consequence,  and  building 
beo-an  in  all  directions.  The  increase  of  population  often 
reached  twenty  thousand  in  a  year,  and  the  new  comers  found 
homes  for  themselves,  according  to  their  rank  and  wealth,  in 
various  portions  of  the  town.  The  northern  suburb  of  the 
town,  comprising  the  high  region  of  the  Quirinal  and  Esquiline 
hills,  near  the  royal  palace,  was  appropriated  by  the  richer 
ones,  and  here  were  built  the  new  railway  station  and  such  new 
Government  ollices  as  were  found  necessary  ;  while  the  poor 
immigrants  were  obliged  to  content  themselves  with  the  terri- 
tory around  the  Colosseum  and  the  slope  of  the  neighboring 
Coelian  hill,  or  seek  more  distant  quarters  near  the  Vatican; 
and  the  southern  part  of  the  town,  beyond  the  Baths  of  Cara- 
calla,  was  taken  up  by  manufactories.  The  region  of  the 
Quirinal  and  the  Esquiline,  which  contained  the  best  houses, 
was  the  first  to  be  built  up.  A  wide  street,  the  Via  Nazionale, 
was  laid  out  to  connect  it  with  the  old  portion  of  the  city,  and 
the  price  of  land  on  this  street  increased  enormously.  Lots 
which  were  worth  in  Ia70  about  twenty  cents  a  square  foot 
soon  advanced  to  six  or  eight  dollars  a  foot,  and,  even  after 
the  speculation  had  got  well  underway,  a  building  which  was 
completed  in  1880,  at  a  total  cost  of  sixty  thousand  dollars, 
was  sold  for  eighty  thousand,  resold  for  one  hundred  thousand, 
then  sold  again  for  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  to  its 
present  owner,  who  offers  it  for  one  hundred  and  sixty 
thousand,  and  is  sure  of  finding  a  purchaser  at  that  price.  As 
usual  in  such  cases,  the  best  property  has  proved  to  be  that 
used  for  retail  business.  While  the  huge  apartment-house?, 
which  were  built  in  great  numbers,  have  of  late  been  unsalable 
and  unrentable,  the  shops  on  the  Via  Nazionale  grow  every 
year  more  crowded  with  customers,  and,  therefore,  more  valuable 
to  their  owners  and  tenants ;  and  even  the  old  business  streets, 
like  the  Corso,  have  revived,  so  that  a  lot  on  this  street,  which 
is  to  be  occupied  by  a  new  dry-goods  store,  after  the  fashion  of 
the  Bon  Marche  in  Paris,  was  sold  for  twenty  dollars  a  square 
foot.  It  is  curious  that  these  new  structures,  which  reoccupy 
the  site  of  the  busiest  part  of  ancient  Rome,  are  in  many  cases 
rendered  very  costly  by  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  a  good  foun- 
dation in  the  vast  accumulation  of  debris  which  covers  the 
ruins  of  the  imperial  city.  It  is  not  at  all  uncommon  to  find  a 
distance  of  sixty  feet  between  the  present  surface  and  the 
natural  soil  below,  while  the  foundations  of  many  buildings 
have  been  carried  down  seventy  feet,  so  that  the  cost  of  the 
foundation  often  exceeds  that  of  the  entire  superstructure. 


IIE  Louvre  has  just  come  into  possession  of  the  tomb  of 
Philippe  Pot,  one  of  the  great  Burgundian  nobles  of  the 
fourteenth  century,  which  has  for  a  long  time  been  one  of 
the  principal  curiosities  of  Dijon,  and,  with  its  eight  monks, 
with  deep  hoods,  carrying  the  figure  of  the  dead  knight  on 
their  shoulders,  is  known  from  photographs  and  drawings  to 
many  of  onr  readers.  The  tomb,  which  is  one  of  the  best 
existing  specimens  of  the  remarkable  Burgundian  school  of 
sculpture  of  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries,  has  had  a 
rather  singular  history.  It  was  originally  set  up  in  the  abbey 
of  Citeaux,  and  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  work  of  some  of 
the  monks  of  the  convent.  In  1791,  as  we  learn  from  the 
account  given  in  La  Semaine  des  Constructeurs  by  M. 
Rivoalen,  it  was  taken  from  the  monastery  to  one  of  the 
churches  of  Dijon,  which  had  been  officially  set  apart  as  a 
repository  of  public  property.  Some  time  afterwards,  in  a  way 
which  is  not  explained,  the  tomb  appeared  in  the  hall  of  the 
residence  of  the  Count  de  V.,  at  Dijon,  and  here  it  remained 
without  objection  until  1886,  when  the  descendant  of  the  Count 
who  first  exhibited  it  as  his  own  expressed  a  desire  to  sell  it. 
When  this  was  announced,  the  archaeologists  of  Dijon  took 
alarm,  and  endeavored  to  find  some  means  of  preventing  the 
Count  from  carrying  out  his  intention.  The  first  step  was  to 
persuade  the  prefect  of  the  Department  of  Cote-d'Or  to  bring 
suit  for  the  recovery  of  the  monument,  on  the  ground  that  it 
was  public  property,  which  had  been  unlawfully  removed  from 
the  State  depository,  and  was  subject  to  reclamation  at  any 
time.  The  first  court  which  considered  the  case  decided  in 
favor  of  the  prefect,  but  the  Count  appealed  to  a  higher 
tribunal,  which  reversed  the  judgment  of  the  court  below, 
holding  that  the  undisturbed  and  unquestioned  possession  of 
the  tomb  by  the  Count  and  his  ancestors  for  eighty  years  or 
more,  without  any  suspicion  of  having  obtained  it  wrongfully, 
entitled  him  to  the  protection  of  the  right  of  prescription 
granted  by  the  Code.  The  Count,  however,  having  established 
his  right  to  the  property,  offered  it  at  a  reasonable  price  to  the 
Administration  of  the  National  Museum,  which  immediately 
purchased  it,  and  put  it  in  the  Louvre,  with  the  rest  of  the  fine 
collection  of  mediaeval  sculpture  which  is  stored  there. 


1TTIIE  wooden-nutmeg  industry  seems  to  have  fled  from  Con- 
JL  necticut  to  establish  itself  at  Cologne,  where  a  manu- 
facturer announces  that  since  1884  he  has  devoted  himself 
exclusively  to  the  construction  of  machines  for  making  arti- 
ficial coffee,  and  is  now  prepared  to  furnish  these  useful 
articles  in  any  quantity.  As  an  inducement  to  purchasers,  he 
offers  to  present  with  each  machine  a  recipe  for  preparing  the 
material,  and  adds  that  although  the  sale  of  adulterated  food  is 
visited  with  severe  penalties  in  Germany,  there  are  many 
countries  where  such  obstacles  to  trade  do  not  exist,  and  where 
the  enterprising  possessor  of  one  of  his  machines  may  enjoy  the 
liberal  profits  due  to  the  exercise  of  his  skill,  without  fear  of 
having  his  career  interrupted  by  criminal  proceedings.  The 
material  used  in  these  machines  is  roasted  Indian  corn,  or  some 
other  nutritious  cereal,  which,  on  turning  a  crank,  is  carved 
into  grains  so  closely  resembling  those  of  the  roasted  coffee 
berry,  after  the  usual  grinding,  that  they  cannot  be  dis- 
tinguished from  them,  and  can  be  sold  for  them  without  fear 
of  detection,  unless  the  buyer  applies  some  chemical  or  micro- 
scopic test.  Of  the  two,  the  microscopic  test  is  by  far  the  best. 
If  suspected  grains  are  thrown  on  ether,  they  will  float  for  a 
time  if  genuine,  but  will  sink  immediately  if  composed  of 
roasted  cereals  without  further  falsification,  but  by  greasing  the 
artificial  coffee,  so  as  to  confer  upon  it  something  of  the  oily 
nature  of  the  real  berry,  it  will  behave  in  the  same  manner 
under  the  test. 


WE  mentioned  some  time  ago  the  frankness  with  which  the 
editor  of  the  Wiener  Bauindustriezeitung  spoke  of 
the  results  of  his  investigation  into  the  merits  of  the 
"  Miraculous  Carbon-Soda  Stove,"  which  he  had  had  set  up  in 
his  office  for  a  thorough  test.  The  memory  of  what  he  went 
through  at  that  time  in  the  pursuit  of  knowledge  seems  to  have 
rankled  in  his  mind,  for  we  find  in  a  recent  number  a  note 
about  the  "  suicidal  stink-pot "  known  under  the  name  of  the 
Miraculous  Carbon-Soda  Stove,"  saying  that  the  Vienna 
authorities,  in  a  special  meeting,  had  ordered  that  the  sale  or 
use  of  the  apparatus  called  by  that  name  should  be  forbidden, 
on  account  of  its  dangerous  properties. 


JUNE  15,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


279 


OLD    COLONIAL 


WORK    OF  VIRGINIA   AND  MARY- 
LAND.—I. 


WILLIAMSBURG.  —  THE    TOWN. 


TIFlIE  ancient  quiet  of  this  old  place,  the  residence-town  of  the 
•  I*  royal  governors  and  officers  of  the  crown  in  His  British 
'  Majesty's  colony  of  Virginia,  has  been  little  disturbed  by  the 
irreverent  onslaught  of  nineteenth-century  progress,  and  as  the 
English  traveller,  Burnahy,  wrote  of  it  in  1759,  "a  pleasant  little 
town  with  wooden  houses  and  unpaved  streets,"  so  will  the  modern 
wayfarer  find  it  — an 
eminently  respectable 
and  highly  conserva- 
tive old  burgh,  proud 
of  its  vanished  great- 
ness and  of  its  years. 
The  railroad,  which 
sets  one  down  from 
Richmond  or  Hamp- 
ton, merely  skirts  the 
outer  edge  of  the  town, 
and,  being  out  of 
sight,  obtrudes  itself 
upon  the  general 
([iiaiutness  and  age  of 
the  place  only  by  the 
infrequent  rush  and 
clatter  of  a  passing 
train.  From  the  ve- 
randa of  the  inn  one 
has  a  very  agreeable 
first  impression  of  a 
long  stretch  of  wide 
"dirt-road,"  bordered 
by  two  rows  of  trees, 
and  having  a  strag- 
gling, broken  line  of 
rather  low  and  small 
old  brick  or  wooden 
houses  on  either  hand. 
This  is  Duke  of 
Gloucester  Street,  a 
pleasant,  high-sound- 
ing old  name,  which 
invokes  in  the  mind 
of  the  tourist  in  search 
of  the  picturesque  a 
sense  of  lively  grati- 
tude toward  the  old 
burghers  for  not  hav- 
ing christened  their 
single  important  thor- 
oughfare in  the  more 
usual  commonplace 
way. 

Williamsburg     was 
founded,  under   its 

original  name  of  Middle  Plantation,  in  1632,  through  an  order 
granting  fifty  acres  of  land  and  exemption  from  general  taxation  to 
any  one  settling  there. 

In  August,  1676,  when  General  Bacon  and  his  victorious  army  of 
rebels  encamped  there,  it  was  only  a  small  village  of  straggling  little 
houses. 

Bacon  had  driven  Governor  Berkeley  to  refuge  in  Aecomack, 
defeated  the  Indians,  and  made  himself  master  of  Virginia.  He 
now  called  a  great  convention  together  at  Middle  Plantation,  and, 
after  a  powerful  harangue  and  a  stormy  debate,  which  lasted  from 
noon  to  midnight  of  August  3,  persuaded  those  present,  among  whom 
were  several  members  of  the  royal  council  and  many  "  prime  gentle- 
men "  of  the  colony,  to  sign  a  declaration  of  their  determination  to 
stand  by  General  Bacon,  to  "  rise  in  arms  against  "  Berkeley,  who 
was  denounced  a  traitor  and  a  rebel  "  if  he  with  armed  forces  should 
offer  to  resist  the  General ;  and  not  only  so —  if  any  forces  should  be 
sent  out  of  England  at  the  request  of  Sir  William  or  otherways,  to 


his  aid,  that  they  were  likewise  to  be  opposed "  —  and  much  more 
of  a  like  revolutionary  tenor.  The  scene  was  one  of  the  most 
striking  and  significant  in  l,he  early  history  of  the  colony. 

In  1698  Governor  Nicholson  removed  the  seat  of  government  from 
Jamestown,  then  "  containing  only  three  or  four  good  inhabited 
houses,"  to  Middle  Plantation,  where  he  planned  a  large  town,  whose 
streets  were  designed  to  form  the  letters  W  and  M,  in  honor  of  their 
Majesties,  William  and  Mary  of  England  —  a  conceit  never  carried 
out. 

Williamsburg  was  thenceforward  the  scene  of  the  most  important 
incidents  in  the  growth  of  Virginia,  and,  though  never  attaining  any 
greater  importance  as  a  town  than  it  now  has,  was  ever  thought  a 
pleasant  place  to  live  in,  and  has  numbered  among  its  residents  or 
visitors  many  great  and  famous  men. 

A    WHEN    COURT-HOUSE. 

In  the  immediate  foreground,  as  one  looks  westward  up  the  long, 
wide  street,  lies  the  old  "  bowling-green,"  a  generous,  unenclosed 
square  of  smooth,  close-cropped  turf,  on  one  side  of  which,  and 
fronting  upon  the  street,  stands  the  court-house,  a  quaint  little  bit  of 
architecture  commonly  accredited  to  Sir  Christopher  Wren. 

The  building  is  a  simple  oblong  in  shape,  and  of  one  story  in 
height.  The  walls  are  substantially  built  of  small  English  brick  of 
a  very  pleasing  dull-red  color.  The  windows,  high  above  the  ground, 
are  tall  and  narrow,  and  all  the  openings  are  crowned  by  semicircular 
arches,  the  dark,  glazed  brick  used  for  header  vouissoirs  accentuat- 
ing them  in  a  simply  effective  way.  The  spandrels  are  now  filled-in 
with  painted  boards,  which  have  doubtless  taken  the  place  of  the 

original  round-headed 
sash  and  fan-lights. 
Where  the  thickness 
of  the  wall  is  reduced, 
at  the  floor-level,  the 
offset  is  covered  with 
rounding  moulded 
brick.  There  is  a 
wide  stone  platform, 
with  three  steps  to 
the  ground,  before  the 
doorway,  over  which 
projects  the  roofed 
pediment  of  a  portico, 
of  which  the  columns 
are  wanting.  There 
is  no  evidence  that 
they  were  ever  in 
place,  nor  does  the 
eye  miss  them  greatly 
after  it  has  had  time 
to  become  a  little  ac- 
customed to  their  ab- 
sence, which  is,  at 
first,  strikingly  con- 
spicuous. A  wooden 
cornice,  composed  of 
a  few  simple  mould- 
ings, is  carried  around 
the  building.  The 
caves  have  a  moderate 
projection.  The 
double-sloped  roof  is 
crowned  with  a  tall 
octagonal  lantern  of 
graceful  form,  termi- 
nating in  a  wooden 
finial  surmounted  by 
a  wrought-iron  vane 
of  rich  workmanship. 
On  the  stone  steps 
are  grouped  some 
idlers,  listlessly  talk- 
ing and  chewing  as 
they  bask  in  the  faint 
November  sunshine. 
Court  is  in  session 

within,  and,  as  we  pass,  the  crier  comes  out  upon  the  platform  and 
calls  aloud  in  booming  tones  a  string  of  names. 

The  trees  which  stand  betide  the  walk  all  up  and  down  the 
street  are  very  beautiful  and  effective  in  shape,  and  all  the  more  in- 
teresting when  one  learns  that  they  are  mulberries,  and  the  relics 
of  a  craze  which  from  time  to  time  played  a  not  insignificant  part  in 
Colonial  Virginia,  and,  in  fact,  throughout  all  the  thirteen  colonies. 
Attempts  to  grow  the  silk-worm  were  renewed  again  and  again  in 
spite  of  failures,  and  the  successive  trials  were  continued  over  a 
period  of  about  one  hundred  and  sixty  years,  reaching  down  to  the 
beginning  of  the  Revolution.  Mulberry  trees  were  planted  every- 
where. One  finds  them  in  numbers  about  the  great  old  manor- 
houses  on  the  river,  and  here  they  picturesquely  adorn  the  Duke  of 
Gloucester  Street  in  the  capital  itself.  The  craze  came  over  from 
England,  as  did  everything  else  in  those  days,  where  it  originated  in 
an  effort  of  the  merchants  to  escape  the  paying  of  good  English  gold 
for  shining  silk,  —  that  coveted  product  of  fair  France.  The 


"Iamb  of  Elclward 
governor  o 


280 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.         [VOL.  XXV.  — No.  703. 


Jamestown  people  had  a  try  at  the  mulberries,  and  Bent  some  silk  to 
England,  creating  a  tremendous  excitement  among  the  enthusiasts 
"at  home,"  and  so  encouraging  the  hopeful  that,  in  1620,  a  lot  of 
French  silk-growers  were  sent  out  to  give  the  experiment  a  fair  trial 
in  Virginia.  Nothing  seems  to  have  come  of  this  enterprise,  and  the 
stirring  times  of  the  Indian  massacre  of  1622  doubtless  drove  the 
skilled  "mounseers  "  away  to  sunny  France  again. 

Charles  the  First  was  always  interested  in  the  silk-growing,  which 
he  encouraged  in  his  own  ineffectual  way.  It  went  on  under  the 
Commonwealth,  and  we  find  good  Edward  Digges,  in  1655,  turning 
out  as  much  as  four  hundred  pounds  of  fine  silk.  Later,  the  House 
of  Burgesses  passed  a  law  requiring  the  planting  of  one  mulberry- 
tree  to  every  ten  acres  of  land.  Great  rewards  were  promised  suc- 
cessful growers.  In  1668  we  hear  of  three  hundred  pounds  sent 
over  as  a  present  to  Charles  the  Second.  Then  there  came  a  period 
when  the  caterpillars  languished  and  died,  and  the  Burgesses  undid 
the  law  as  to  the  compulsory  planting  of  mulberry-trees.  There  was 
another  mulberry  revival  when  the  Huguenot  refugees  came  over, 
and  in  1730  more  silk  was  sent  home  to  England;  but  nothing  came 
of  it  all  at  last,  except  the  grand  old  gnarled  and  knotted  bolls  and 
spreading  branches  of  the  trees,  which  we  find  composing  effectively 
into  foregrounds  in  these  ancient  places. 

CHRIST    CHURCH,    BRUTON   PARISH. 

Not  far  beyond  the  court-house  is  old  Bruton  Parish  Church, 
standing  within  the  walled  enclosure  of  its  "  God's  acre,"  and  rear- 
ing its  graceful,  Wren-like  tower  amid  the  spreading  branches  of  tin 
ancient  trees.  Our  eighteenth-century  Englishman,  Mr.  Burnaby, 
has  set  down  old  Bruton  as  "  an  indifferent  church,"  but  then  it  was 
comparatively  new  in  his  day,  and  had  scarce  yet  felt  the  beautify- 
ing touch  of  time. 

The  vestry-book  of  the  parish  of  Middlesex  in  the  year  1CC5  con- 
tains an  entry  directing  the  building  in  Middlesex  of  a  church  similar  to 
the  church  of  Bruton  Parish.  That  this  was  a  wooden  building  seems 
likely  from  an  entry  in  the  Bruton  records  of  1678  giving  the  list  of 
donors  to  a  new  brick  church,  headed  by  John  Page,  who  gives  twenty 
pounds  in  money  and  the  land  for  church  and  churchyard.  The 
name  of  Bruton  seems  to  have  been  originated  by  Mr.  Sudwell,  who 
so  called  the  parish  in  memory  of  his  birthplace  at  Bruton,  in  Somer- 
set, England.  He  also  gave  twenty  pounds  toward  the  new  building, 
and  Philip  Sudwell  twenty  pounds,  and  many  others  gave  five  pounds. 
And  John  Page  was  allowed  to  put  up  a  pew  in  the  chancel,  where 
there  was  also  one  for  the  minister. 

As  soon  as  the  church  was  dedicated,  the  vestry  made  it  known 
in  the  community  that  it  was  intended  to  enforce  the  penalty  of  so 
many  pounds  of  tobacco  against  those  who  failed  in  their  attendance 
at  church,  and  it  is  to  be  presumed  that  delinquents  were  few  there- 
after. 

There  seems  to  have  been  from  the  first  a  great  struggle  between 
the  royal  governors  and  the  church  people  as  to  the  induction  of 
their  ministers.  The  Governor,  as  representative  of  the  King,  was 
the  nominal  head  of  the  church,  and,  as  such,  claimed  the  right  of 
the  appointment  of  ministers,  and  was  otherwise  inclined  to  interfere 
with  the  functions  of  another  great  personage,  the  Commissary  of 
the  Bishop  of  London.  There  was  much  unseemly  squabbling  over 
this  matter  between  these  rival  powers.  In  1696  the  salary  of 
ministers  was  fixed  at  sixteen  thousand  pounds  of  tobacco,  in  lieu 
of  £100  per  annum,  which,  the  parishioners  had  complained,  they 
were  unable  to  pay.  The  incumbents  of  Virginia  livings  were  not, 
as  a  rule,  men  of  a  high  order,  if  we  may  believe  the  traditions  of 
their  profligacy.  One  is  said  to  have  fought  a  duel  in  his  church- 
yard to  settle  a  quarrel  at  cards,  another  thrashed  his  contumacious 
vestry,  and  then  preached  them  a  sermon  celebrating  his  victory : 
swindling  of  tradesmen,  gambling,  and  attendance  at  horse-races  and 
cock-fights  seem  to  have  been  quite  common  among  them,  and,  finally, 
the  evidence  is  unmistakable  that  they  all,  to  a  man,  got  gloriously 
drunk  at  dinner  whenever  they  could.  These,  indeed,  were  the 
manners  of  the  times,  and  perhaps  the  worthy  parishioners  were  not 
so  shocked  as  one  might  suppose  by  this  unministerial  behavior  of 
their  clergy.  However,  the  faithful  continued  the  struggle  with  the 
governors  until  they  finally  won  the  right  of  hiring  their  parsons 
from  year  to  year,  a  system  which,  no  doubt,  largely  increased  the 
godliness  of  deportment  and  improved  the  odor  of  sanctity  in  these 
reverend  gentlemen. 

By  all  odds  the  most  distinguished  churchman  of  colonial  times,  in 
Virginia,  was  James  Blair,  Rector  of  Bruton  Parish,  from  1710  to 
1743.  He  was  the  founder  and  first  president  of  William  and  Mary 
College,  and  Commissary  to  the  Bishop  of  London.  His  parish  of 
Williamsburg,  or  Middle  Plantation,  was  reported  to  the  Bishop 
of  London,  in  1723,  as  ten  miles  square.  His  ministry  "com- 
menced," says  Meade,  "  under  the  administration  of  Governor 
Spottswood,  and  with  a  tender  from  the  Governor  to  the  vestry  of 
aid  in  building  a  new  church,  the  plan  of  which  was  sent  by  him, 
and  is,  I  presume,  the  same  with  that  now  standing.  Its  dimensions 
were  to  be  twenty-two  feet,  with  two  wings,  making  it  a  cross  as  to 
form.  The  Governor  offered  to  build  twenty-two  feet  of  the  length 
himself." 

Blair  was  the  most  energetic  of  men,  and  always  foremost  in  the 
affairs  of  Church  and  State.  He  kept  up  an  endless  warfare  against 
the  royal  governors  in  matters  relating  mainly  to  the  church,  and  he 
defeated  them  in  succession  and  single-handed.  Even  the  genial 


and  cultivated  Alexander  Spottswood,  that  distinguished  soldier  and 
most  accomplished  gentleman,  did  not  long  live  in  amity  with  the 
staunch  and  invincible  old  polemic,  and,  as  the  Governor  himself 
admits,  it  was  not  the  parson  who  was  worsted. 

Blair's  quarrel  with  Sir  Edmund  Andros  was  a  famous  one,  and 
he  fairly  drove  the  successor  of  Andros,  Sir  Francis  Nicholson,  from 
the  colony. 

Bruton  Church  is  really  very  beautiful.  The  gable  on  the  east 
end  is  densely  covered  in  ivy,  and  the  suns  and  storms  of  many 
years  have  so  mellowed  and  harmonized  the  whole  that  one  is  in- 
capable of  criticising  the  church  in  detail.  No  doubt  it  is,  after  all, 
but  an  indifferent  affair,  as  our  friend,  the  Archdeacon  Burnaby,  insists, 
but  the  softened,  warm,  yellowish-red  tone  of  the  old  bricks,  the  simple 
dignity  in  the  lines  of  the  building  and  the  fair  proportions  of  the 
old  bell-tower,  the  clinging  ivy,  the  background  of  fine  old  trees,  of 
grassy  yard  and  mouldering  mossy  tombs,  all  so  eloquent  in  the 
tender  loveliness  of  age,  unite  in  a  picture  which  has  in  it  a  good  bit 
of  old  England,  and  is  full  of  quiet  charm.  The  tin  roof  which 
replaced  the  ancient  shingles  was  an  unhappy  mistake,  and  we  may 
hope  that  the  better  taste  which  now  controls  the  parish  will,  some 
day,  restore  the  nobler  covering.  Going  in  through  one  of  the 
wronght-iron  gates  set  in  the  low  wall  of  brick  which  surrounds  the 
churchyard,  one  wanders  among  the  tombs  in  that  subdued  enjoy- 
ment of  the  solemn  beauty  of  the  place  found  only  in  an  ancient 


garden  of  the  dead.  Here  are  some  quaint  old  stones,  rich  in 
sculptured  heraldic  device,  and  bearing,  in  graceful,  antique  letter, 
stately  tribute  to  the  deeds  and  virtues  of  the  sleepers  beneath. 

Here,  under  a  twisted  mulberry  in  the  southeast  sunny  angle  of 
the  wall,  lies  "  Barradall,  armiger,"  beneath  a  tomb  blackened  and 
seamed  with  age,  but  very  good  in  design,  and  bearing  a  splendid 
sculptured  crest  and  a  Latin  eulogy  of  that  worthy  jurist  of  the 
colony,  upon  the  flat  top  stone.  And  not  far  from  the  tower,  at  the 
western  end  of  the  church,  among  a  group  of  the  larger  tombs,  is  the 
very  noticeably  handsome  monument  erected  by  a  grateful  colony  to 
the  memory  of  Edward  Nott,  late  their  Governor,  "a  lover  of  man- 
kind and  bountiful  to  his  friends,"  who  died  August  23,  1706,  at  the 
age  of  forty-nine.  The  lettering  of  this  inscription  is  particularly 
good,  and  the  armorial  bearings  carved  above  it  are  rich  in  scrolled 
foliation.  At  the  head  and  foot  and  on  the  sides  of  the  tomb  are 
relievos  in  white  marble  carved  by  a  well-skilled  hand.  These  hand- 
somely carved  marbles  were,  of  course,  brought  over  from  the  mother 
country,  the  work  being  of  much  too  fine  a  quality  to  have  been 
executed  in  the  colony.  Edward  Nott  was  the  first  deputy  of  the 
Earl  of  Orkney,  who  was  made  Titular-Governor  of  Virginia,  in 
1704,  but  never  came  out  to  his  province.  Nott's  administration 
lasted  only  two  years,  and  he  died  in  office,  having  won  the  affection 
of  the  colony  by  his  wise  and  beneficent  government. 

The  large  white  marble  monument  of  the  Bray  family,  close  by,  is 
also  very  imposing.  The  larger  tombs  are  being  cleaned  and  re- 
stored in  a  very  satisfactory  and  intelligent  way  under  the  auspices 


JUNE  15,  1889.] 


TJie    American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


281 


of  the  lady  parishioners  of  Bruton.  Those  of  Nott  and  Bray  have 
been  lifted  out  of  the  ground  into  which  they  had  partially  sunk,  and 
their  carvings  have  been  cleaned  so  as  to  reveal  the  beauty  of  the 
work,  without,  however,  losing  the  inimitable  mellow  tones  with 
which  old  time  has  glorified  them. 

In  another  part  of  the  yard,  lying  half-hid  among  the  long  grass, 
is  a  plain  gray  slab  of  stone  setting  forth  in  eloquent  simplicity  that 
"  Here  lyes  the  corps  of  Hugh  Orr,  hammerman  in  Williamsburg — • 
1 764  "  —  and  many  graves  there  are  unmarked  by  stone  or  mound, 
most  eloquent,  perhaps,  of  all. 

The  interior  of  Bruton  has  little  to  reward  the  eye  of  the  curious. 
There  is,  to  be  sure,  the  alleged,  and  doubtless  perfectly  authentic, 
Pocahontas  font,  in  which  they  baptized  the  wild  princess  after  they 
had  talked  her  into  becoming  a  Christian,  and  the  wife  of  John 
Rolfe.  There  is,  also,  some  interesting  communion-plate  belonging  to 
Bruton  parish :  the  Jamestown  service,  presented  by  one  Morrison 
to  the  old  Jamestown  Church,  is  of  heavy  silver,  rather  crudely 
fashioned,  and  probably  made  in  Jamestown,  where  there  were  cap- 
able artificers,  sent  out  among  the  original  companies.  The  "  Queen 
Anne  "  service  is  of  gold,  and  richly  chased  with  the  arms  of  Beau- 
champ,  and  of  another  family.  The  work  is  said  to  have  been  done 
by  Harache,  a  French  emigre,  who  had  been  in  the  employ  of  the 
great  Marlborough.  The  third,  a  heavy  silver-service,  was  presented 
to  Christ  Church,  Bruton  parish,  by  George  the  IIT;  it  bears  the 
royal  arms  handsomely  chased  on  flagon,  chalice  and  paten,  and  is 
delicately  wrought  upon  the  edges  with  a  shell  design.  Drawings  of 
these  sacred  vessels  may  be  seen  in  Buck's  "  Old  Plate."  Archi- 
tecturally, the  interior  of  the  church  contains  very  little  of  interest. 
It  is,  however,  rich  in  historical  associations,  and  the  imagination 
easily  peoples  the  old  place  with  the  phantoms  of  departed  greatness. 

Up  there,  in  the  gallery,  sat  the  "  quality,"  in  the  older  time, 
when  they  came  in  their  great  state-coaches  to  church  from  their 
plantations  on  the 
York  or  the 
James.  From 
Rosewell,  over  on 
the  York,  came 
the  great  Page 
family,  the  de- 
scendants of 
Colonel  John 
Page,  who,  as  we 
have  seen,  was 
one  of  the  origi- 
nal patrons  of 
Bruton.  At  their 
splendid  house  of 
Rosewell,  and  on 
their  neighboring 
estate  of  Shelly, 
the  Pages  lived 
like  the  grand 
seigneurs  they 
were.  The  old 
Indian  name  of 
Shelly  was  Wero- 
mocomoco,  and  it 
was  here  that 
grim,  old  Pow- 
hatan  set  up  his 
court,  and  feasted 
in  royal  state 
upon  the  luscious 
oysters  of  the 
York.  The  Pages 
were  great  churchmen,  and  staunch  upholders  of  the  Establishment. 
Their  estates  were  of  vast  extent,  and  Matthew  Page,  adding  to  them 
the  great  adjoining  tract  of  Timber  Neck,  in  1690,  by  his  marriage 
with  Mary  Mann,  broadened  the  family  acres  into  a  princely  domain. 
Mann  Page,  his  son,  built  Rosewell-h'ouse,  in  1725,  having  brought 
the  bulk  of  the  material  from  England,  as  was  usual  in  that  time. 
Rosewell  is  ninety  feet  square,  an  imposing  pile,  and  the  interior 
was  finished  in  all  the  elegance  of  wainscoted  walls,  mahogany  stairs 
and  carved  mantels. 

The  building  of  these  splendid  and  costly  manor-houses  in  the 
infant  colony,  as  yet  hardly  more  than  the  unreclaimed  wilderness, 
was  a  curious  instance  of  the  ostentatious  grandeur  of  the  period, 
exaggerated  as  it  was  among  these  lordly  planters  of  Virginia  who 
emulated  the  pride  and  luxury  of  their  English  prototypes. 

Despite  the  wildness  of  the  life  they  led,  their  society  was  dis- 
tinguished for  courtliness  of  manners  and  for  a  boundless  hospitality, 
the  traditions  of  which  is  still  an  active  principle  in  the  households 
of  their  descendants. 

Educational  facilities  were  very  limited  in  the  colony.  The  sons 
of  the  richer  families  were  sent  to  William  and  Mary,  or  to  Eng- 
land. Outside  of  these  two  resources  there  was  nothing.  But,  after 
all,  they  picked  up  somehow  enough  learning  to  fit  them  for  the 
management  of  their  great  plantations,  to  look  after  the  growth  and 
final  sale  of  the  great  staple,  the  tobacco-crop,  and  to  direct  the 
training  of  their  negroes  in  the  trades  and  avocations  of  varied 
kinds  exercised  upon  the  larger  places,  to  see  to  the  importation  of 
the  household  necessities  and  luxuries  from  England,  and,  above  all, 


to  acquit  themselves  gallantly  at  race  and  rout,  in  the  parlor  or  the 
woodland  camp.  To  the  personal  beauty  of  the  women  who  graced 
their  homes  canvases  by  many  a  famous  hand  bear  witness,  and  that 
they  practised  all  the  domestic  virtues  in  a  high  degree  in  the  midst 
of  the  reckless  living,  the  prodigal  hospitality  and  wild  profusion  of 
the  times,  we  have,  also,  the  amplest  testimony.  Then,  as  now,  the 
reputable  wayfarer  in  the  Old  Dominion  found  every  door  open  to 
him,  and  warm-hearted  entertainers  eager  to  house  'and  feed  and 
help  him  on  his  journey.  The  taverns  were  small,  comfortless  grog- 
shops. The  plantations  were  isolated,  and,  as  there  were  few  roads 
worthy  the  name,  communication  between  them  was  mainly  by  the 
rivers  upon  which  all  the  great  places  were  located.  As  the  country 
became  more  settled  and  roads  were  opened,  the  planters  went  in  for 
fine  horses,  and  set  up  their  studs  of  hunters  and  racers,  often  bred 
from  famous  imported  stallions  of  great  value.  Their  equipages  were 
of  great  splendor.  General  Spottswood,  living  in  retirement  at 
Yorktown,  advertises  in  the  Virginia  Gazette,  in  1737,  to  sell  his 
"coach,  chariot,  chaise  and  coach-horses,"  and  "one  of  the  best- 
made,  handsomest  and  easiest  chariots  in  London."  And  so  the 
great  people  rode  in  state  in  their  family-coaches  to  church,  with 
pomp  of  sleek-coated,  prancing  coach-horses  and  splendor  of  glitter- 
ing crested  panels. 

And,  standing  here  in  the  warm  sunshine  in  the  doorway  of  the 
ancient  house  .of  God,  we  may  fancy  the  Rosewell  coach  reined  up  at 
the  gates,  and  discharging  its  aristocratic  burden  of  satin-robed 
beauties  and  brave  gentlemen  on  a  bright  May  morning  in  the  later 
colonial  times ;  and  we  may  see  young  Mr.  Jefferson,  at  present  an 
undergraduate  of  old  William  and  Mary,  stepping  down,  to  hand  out 
with  graceful  empressment,  the  lovely  mistress  Rebecca  Burwell, 
whom  he  adores  just  now,  and  who  had  the  distinguished  honor  of 
refusing  the  embryo  statesman's  heart  and  hand  somewhat  later. 
We  will  picture  Mr.  Jefferson  to  our  imagination  as  a  rather  slim 
and  callow  youth,  at  this  time,  with  curling  locks  of  rufous  gold,  de- 
bonnair,  and  of  courtly  manner.  With  him  is  his  friend,  John  Page, 
of  Rosewell,  his  chum  at  William  and  Mary,  and  the  fellow-patriot 
with  whom  he  listened  to  the  denunciatory  thunderings  of  Henry  in 
the  House  of  Burgesses,  and  sweet  Anne  Randolph,  and  his  friend, 
Ben  Harrison.  As  they  enter  the  old  church,  wherein  their 
ancestors  have  worshipped  for  generations,  and,  with  rustling  of 
skirts,  preening  of  feathers  and  smoothing  of  rumpled  laces,  march 
to  their  seats  among  the  aristocrats  in  the  gallery,  the  admiring 
commoners  look  on  from  their  places  on  the  floor  below. 

Williamsburg  was  always  the  great  centre  of  fashion  in  the  old 
colony  times.  The  "  season  "  lasted  during  the  session  of  the 
House  of  Burgesses  and  the  Supreme  Court,  and  when  the  time 
arrived  for  the  meeting  of  those  august  bodies,  every  considerable 
planter  in  the  country  roundabout  bundled  his  family  into  the  great 
state  coach-and-six,  and  drove  up  to  the  Capital  for  a  few  weeks  of 
brilliant  gayety. 

The  Royal  Governors  and  other  officers  of  the  Crown  vied  with 
one  another,  and  with  the  citizens,  in  the  splendor  and  luxury  of 
their  dinners  and  balls.  There  were  horse-races  and  many  other 
sports,  and  gambling  ever  fast  and  furious,  and  now  and  then,  at 
dawn  of  day,  there  was  the  gleam  of  crossing  swords  or  the  flash  in 
the  pan  of  a  duelling-pistol  out  behind  the  town,  on  a  sequestered 
bit  of  turf  beneath  the  trees,  where  hot-blooded  gentlemen  settled 
the  undetermined  issues  of  the  night,  of  love  or  play.  There  was 
feasting  and  dancing  at  the  Raleigh  Tavern,  and  the  plays  of 
Shakespeare  and  Congreve  were  given  by  the  "  Virginia  Company," 
from  London  ;  and  thus  pleasantly  did  the  life  of  the  old  capital 
roll  on  up  to  the  sterner  times  of  the  Revolution. 

But,  whatever  wild  gayety  and  riotous  dissipations  may  have  filled 
the  week,  old  Christ  Church  of  Bruton  received  them  within  her 
venerable  walls  when  the  Sabbath  came  round,  and  with  becoming 
decorum  these  aristocratic  squires  and  dames  and  beaux  and  belles, 
of  the  younger  England,  listened  to  the  word  of  God  in  the  old  fane  of 
their  forefathers.  A.  B.  BIBB. 

(To  be  continued. 


PUGET  INLET  TIMBER  BELT. — A  lumber  pile  made  of  boards  each 
100  feet  long  and  6  feet  in  width  would  be  an  unprecedented  sight  in 
the  East,  but  a  gentleman  recently  returned  from  a  visit  to  the  coast  of 
the  North  Pacific  Ocean,  says,  that  piles  of  lumber  such  as  that  are 
common  at  the  mills  on  Pugct  Sound.  "Hoards  100  feet  long  and  6 
feet  wide,  without  a  knot  in  them,"  he  said,  "  arc  common  cuts  from 
the  gigantic  fir  trees  of  the  Puget  Sound  forests.  These  trees  grow  to 
the  enormous  height  of  250  feet,  and  the  forests  are  so  vast  that 
although  the  saw-mills  have  been  ripping  500,000,000  feet  of  lumber 
out  of  them  every  year  for  ten  years,  the  spaces  made  by  these 
tremendous  inroads  seem  no  more  than  garden  patches.  Puget  Sound 
has  1,800  miles  of  shore-line,  and  all  along  this  line,  and  extending 
thence  on  both  sides  miles  and  miles  farther  than  the  eye  can  see,  is 
one  vast  and  almost  unbroken  forest  of  these  enormous  trees.  There 
is  nothing  like  it  anywhere  on  the  Pacific  coast.  An  official  estimate 
places  the  amount  of  standing  timber  in  that  area  at  500,000,000,000 
feet,  or  a  thousand  years'  supply,  even  at  the  enormous  rate  the  timber 
is  now  being  felled  and  sawed.  The  timber  belt  covers  30,000,000 
acres  of  Washington  Territory,  an  area  equal  to  the  States  of  Vermont, 
Massachusetts,  Connecticut  and  New  Hampshire.  The  markets  for 
the  Puget  Sound  lumber  are  entirely  foreign,  being  South  America, 
Australia,  Central  America,  and  the  Pacific  Ocean  islands."  —  Phila- 
delphia Item. 


282 


The   American   Architect  and  Building   News.      [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  7C3. 


AUTUMN  JOURNEYS   IN   MEXICO.1  — V. 

TO    TOI.ITCA    AND    BEYOND. 


Plaza  del  Mercado,  Toluca,  Mex. 

0CCASIONALLY  one  meets  in  Mexico  would-be  sightseers  who 
feel  aggrieved  that  Mexican  towns  should  be  old  and  somewhat 
out  of  repair,  upon  whom  the  j>icturcs<|uencss  belonging;  to  age 
and  historic  association  is  lost,  and  who  express  themselves  as  though 
disappointed  at  not  finding  the  City  of  Mexico  fresh  from  the  hands 
of  a  modern  architect.  What  preconceived  ideas  of  Mexico  they 
had,  or  what  led  them  to  journey  towards  that  country  it  would  be 
diflicult  to  guess,  but  being  there  they  might  find  in  Toluca  that  new- 
ness and  freshness  which  would  in  part  atone  for  their  disappoint- 
ment over  the  age  and  decay  of  some  of  the  other  towns.  For  only 
a  few  years  ago  the  Tolueanos  developed  a  fondness  for  rebuilding 
and  modernizing  and  the  result  has  been  the  remodelling  of  all 
their  public  buildings  and  that  has  stimulated  the  possessors  of  private 
buildings  to  fall  into  line,  and  now  Toluca  presents  the  appearance 
of  a  new  city.  It  is  the  capital  of  the  State  of  Mexico,  and  no 
better  sign  of  the  prosperity  of  that  State  can  be  found  than  in  the 
comeliness  of  the  buildings  in  which  the  officers  of  State  transact 
their  business. 

Glaring  discrepancies,  startling  contrasts,  annoying  incoherences 
are  very  apt  to  occur  where  this  process  of  rebuilding,  in  part,  an  old 
city  goes  on.  Hut  the  architects  of  Toluca  were  wise  in  their  gener- 
ation and  have  avoided  all  such  perils.  When  they  set  out  to 
replace  the  severe  and  monotonous  fronts,  which  are  characteristic 
of  Mexican  architecture,  with  newer  and  more  ornate  styles,  they 
sought  their  models  not  in  the  English  of  two  and  three  centuries 
ago,  not  in  the  French,  with  its  mansard  roofs,  not  in  the  Russian, 
long,  cold-winter  style  of  architecture  —  but  in  Greece. 

The  result  is  most  pleasing.  The  buildings  retain  their  former 
arrangement  which  was  adapted  to  the  requirements  of  the  climate, 


Interior  of  the  Church  of  Our  Lady  of  Carmen,  Toluca. 

the  chief  feature  of  which  is  the  patio  or  open  court,  and  the  Roman 
arch  is  extensively  used.  In  one  ease,  however,  a  Grecian  temple 
has  served  as  a  model  for  a  building.  It  is  the  Municipal  School 
near  the  Church  of  Our  Lady  of  Carmen.  It  is  a  perfect  little  gem 
of  architecture,  save  that  it  occupies  a  site  below  the  level  of  the 
street  upon  which  it  fronts.  A  little  filling-in  of  the  lot  (it  stands  a 
hundred  feet  or  so  back  from  the  street),  would  have  made  it  the 
most  satisfactory  building  of  its  kind  in  Mexico.  The  new  market 
is  an  exception  to  the  prevailing  style  of  architecture  in  the  new 
Toluca :  it  is  Pompeiian,  the  interior  painting  especially.  It  is 
beautifully  neat  and  clean,  a  great  rarity  in  Mexican  markets,  and  is 
worth  a  visit.  But  Toluca  is  a  remarkably  clean  city  throughout. 
It  has  a  good  natural  drainage  and  its  streets  are  so  constructed  as 
to  allow  the  water  to  run  off  without  obstruction. 

But  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  in  their  efforts  to  renew  the 

1  Continued  from  No.  679,  page  299. 


Tolucanos  have  lost  all  reverence  for  antiquity.  Not  so.  Witness 
many  a  quaint  bit  of  old  architecture  to  be  seen  in  and  about  the 
city.  Witness  more  particularly  a  passageway  leading  from  a  street 
to  the  parish  church  of  San  Francisco,  not  at  all  conforming  to  the 
plan  of  that  church  as  it  now  stands,  but  nevertheless  preserved,  as 
we  are  informed  by  an  inscription  upon  one  of  three  archways  there- 
in, that  they  may  remain  as  relics  of  the  first  Catholic  temple  ever 
erected  in  Toluca.  Among  the  new  public  buildings  in  the  centre  of 
the  city  are  the  foundation  walls  of  what  is  to  be  a  large  and 
magnificent  church.  It  is  more  than  fifteen  years  since  the  work 
was  begun.  Elsewhere  in  Mexico  there  are  scarcely  any  churches 
in  process  of  erection,  and  only  of  late  years  have  any  been  restored. 
It  may  be  significant  of  the  enjoyment  on  the  part  of  the  Romish 
Church  in  the  State  of  Mexico  of  immunity  from  the  oppressive 
attitude  which  the  Government  has  assumed  towards  the  Church  else- 
where. Toluca  is  not  especially  a  city  of  churches  as  most  Mexican 
cities  arc,  but  the  few  churches  which  the  city  possesses  arc  worth 
visiting  and  contain  some  good  paintings.  The  Church  of  Nuestra 
Senora  del  Carmen,  has  a  rococo  interior,  but  its  chief  interest  lies 
in  its  curious  old  furniture,  and  its  small  organ  which  is  probably  the 
first  organ  made  on  this  continent. 

Toluca  is  situated  in  a  valley  of  the  same  name,  over  eight 
thousand  six  hundred  feet  above  the  sea-level  and  dominated  by  the 
extinct  volcano,  Nevada  de  Toluca.  Only  one  city  in  the  Republic 
is  of  greater  altitude.  Its  population  is  about  fifteen  thousand.  It 
is  reached  by  the  Mexican  National  Railway  from  the  City  of 
Mexico,  distant  about  forty-five  miles.  The  railway  has  recently 
become  a  highway  between  the  cities  of  the  United  States  and  the 
Mexican  capital. 

The  journey  up  from  the  City  of  Mexico  is  delightful.  Leaving 
the  valley  of  Mexico  the  road  enters  the  mountains  on  the  west  and 
winds  around  among  them  in  making  its  ascent  to  Cima,  which  is 
exactly  ten  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  Thence  the 
road  gradually  descends  but  in  the  same  circuitous  manner,  affording 
magnificent  views  all  along  of  maguey  plantations,  picturesque 
villages,  and  wild  mountain  gorges.  The  train  runs  along  the  side 
of  the  mountain  directly  over  Ocoyoacan,  so  that  the  passenger  may 
obtain  a  bird's-eye  view  of  that  curious  town. 

Beyond  Toluca  the  Mexican  National  continues  its  way  to  other 
interesting  cities,  and  through  a  country  where  the  retention  of  Indian 
names,  such  as  Tlalpujahua,  Tepetongo,  Chapatuato  and  Zintzunt- 
zan,  attest  that  the  native  races  still  exist  there.  This  region  was 
the  seat  of  the  Matlatzinca  Indians  before  the  advent  of  the  Aztecs. 
Morelia,  two  hundred  and  twenty  miles  from  the  City  of  Mexico,  is 
the  beautiful  capital  of  the  State  of  Michoacan.  Being  too  far  off 
from  the  City  of  Mexico  to  have  suffered  very  much  from  the  violent 
"reform  "of  I860,  or  to  be  influenced  by  the  anti-Catholic  tenden- 
cies of  the  leading  men  of  the  Mexican  metropolis,  Morelia  remains  a 
stronghold  of  Romanism.  Its  claims  upon  the  attention  of  the 
historian  are  based  upon  its  having  furnished  birthplaces  for  two  of 
Mexico's  revolutionary  heroes,  Iturbide  and  Morelos,  and  a  suitable 
place  for  the  execution  of  the  patriot  Matamoras,  in  1814.  As 
evidence  that  republics  are  not  always  ungrateful,  the  house  in 
which  Morelos  first  saw  the  light  and  that  in  which  he  lived  for  a 
time,  are  each  marked  with  a  suitably  inscribed  tablet;  and  it  was  to 
perpetuate  his  memory  that  the  name  of  the  city  was  changed  in 
1828  from  Valladolid  to  Morelia.  The  cathedral  in  Morelia,  in  the 
style  of  the  Spanish  Renaissance,  occupying  an  entire  block,  is  well 
worth  seeing.  Its  interior  decorations  of  carved  wood,  Mexican 
onyx  and  some  silver  are  especially  interesting. 

Still  farther  off  toward  the  northern  terminus  of  the  Mexican 
National  is  the  town  of  San  Miguel  Allende,  interesting  in  many 
particulars,  but  principally  on  account  of  its  recently  restored  church. 
It  is  the  only  approach  to  the  Gothic,  so  far  as  I  know,  in  Mexico. 
The  strangest  tiling  about  it  is  that  the  restoration  was  the  work  of 
a  native  of  San  Miguel  who  had  no  architectural  training  whatever, 
and  traced  all  of  his  working-drawings  upon  the  ground  where  his 
masons  were  at  work.  The  only  comment  to  be  made  upon  his 
success  in  such  an  undertaking  is,  that  it  is  greater  than  would 
naturally  be  expected.  ARTHUR  HOWARD  NOLL. 

(To  be  continued.) 


[Contributors  are  requested  to  send  with  their  drawings  full  and 
a'lequatf  descriptions  oj  the  buildings,  including  a  statement  of  cost.] 

CHHIST   CHURCH,    11UUTON    PARISH,    WILLIAMSBURG,    VA. 
LGelatiue  Print,  issued  only  with  the  Imperial  Edition.] 

SKE  article  on  "  Old  Colonial  Work  in  Virginia  and  Maryland," 
elsewhere  in  this  issue. 

MINERS'   HOSPITAL,   HAZLETON,   PA.,      MR.   BENJAMIN   LINFOOT, 
ARCHITECT,  PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 

HIS  is  a  State  Institution  for  accident  cases  only  and  comprises  a 
central  administration  building,  running  north  and  south,  and  two 
large  general  or  so-called  "open  wards  "  connecting  with  the  same 


IJt 


IP.  703. 


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1559 


COrffllSHT  1689  BY  TICKNOR  I  C« 


J|o.  703.        |[MEPVIGSN 


1889  BY  TICKHOR  i  C« 


1559 


Tlje  ^njericai?  ^rcljitect  ai](l  Building  I^ews,  June  15,  1559.  tyo.  703. 


Copyright,  1889,  by  TICKNOR  &  (Jo. 


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COFffllSHT  1889BYT1CKHOR1C9 


ALTERATIONS     FOR 


CLARENCE  O.AAEY,  AKCHT. 


of  America.. 
Grcrman  town 
"Pklla,   F<x. 


MHGHITEGT  ^ND  BUILDING  HEWS ,  JTOE  15  1 5 59       J|o.  70  3 


IBSSBYTICiaroRlC? 


O3HI 


JUNE  15,  1889.] 


The  American  Architect  and  Building  News. 


283 


and  running  east  and  west.  The  administration  building  contains 
on  the  first  floor  to  the  right  of  the  entrance  a  patients'  reception- 
room  and  the  apothecaries'  office  and  bedroom,  the  apothecaries' 
office  being  connected  by  a  private  stairway  with  the  basement, 
where  the  bulky  supplies  for  bandages  and  other  purposes  will  be 
kept.  To  the  left  of  the  entrance  is  the  board-room.  The  bay 
alcove  leading  from  the  same  will  be  occupied  by  the  superintend- 
ent's desk.  Next  to  the  board-room  comes  a  private  stairway, 
leading  to  the  resident  faculty's  apartments  in  the  second  story  and 
the  patients'  dining-room,  with  a  pair  of  dumb-waiters  connecting  it 
with  the  kitchen  and  pantries  in  the  second  story.  Back  and  to  the 
right  of  the  cross  hall  is  the  receiving  and  operating  room  and  to 
the  left  the  kitchen  entrance  and  stairway,  hoist  and  conveniences 
for  the  working  staff.  In  the  cross  halls  connecting  the  wards  with 
the  central  building  are  located  the  patients'  sitting-room  on  the  one 
side  and  a  pair  of  isolated  wards  on  the  other,  the  remaining  space 
being  devoted  to  nurses'  rooms,  linen-rooms,  patients'  wardrobes  and 
dirty-linen  shutes,  these  latter  connecting  with  the  basement.  In 
the  extreme  ends  of  the  large  wards  are  situated  the  patients'  baths, 
wash-rooms,  water-closets  and  two  glass-enclosed  porches  to  be 
used  in  the  winter  as  sun-parlors.  The  second  floor  front  is  to 
be  occupied  by  the  resident  physicians,  and  comprises  a  sitting  and  bed 
room  for  each  and  a  dining-room  common  to  both  suites  of  rooms;  a 
coroner's-jury  room  and  the  back  portion  of  the  floor  to  the  kitchen, 
scullery,  pantries,  store-room  and  servants'  dining-room.  The  third 
floor  is  devoted  entirely  to  the  help,  the  front  portion  to  bedrooms 
and  the  back  to  the  laundry.  The  boilers  are  contained  in  a 
separate  building  in  the  rear  of  the  main  structure,  but  connected 
with  the  same  by  means  of  a  duct  underground  all  walled  up  and 
arched  over.  This  annex  also  contains  the  dead-house  and  the 
place  for  holding  autopsies. 

All  the  internal  constructional  walls  are  of  brick  and  the  stair- 
ways of  iron,  the  exterior  foundation  walls  up  to  the  water-table  all 
being  built  of  local  stone  and  the  superstructure  will  be  of  brick  and 
terra-eotta,  relieved  with  Indian  limestone  heads  and  sills  and  bands 
of  Cleveland  buff  brick.  The  roof  will  be  covered  with  the  best 
Lehigh  slate,  the  ridges  covered  with  terra-cotta  cresting  and  the 
tower  with  galvanized-iron  and  copper  finials. 

The  floor  area  of  the  open  wards  is  2,430  feet,  or  101  square  feet 
to  each  bed,  and  the  wards  being  18  feet  high,  the  patients  have  each 
1,404  cubic  feet  of  air.  In  the  isolated  wards  the  quota  will  be  a 
little  in  excess  of  the  above  figures. 

The  heating  and  ventilation  will  be  accomplished  by  means  of  two 
Blackman  disc-fans,  one  for  driving  the  heated  air  into,  and  the 
other  for  exhausting  the  vitiated  air  out  of  the  va.  ious  wards  and 
other  apartments.  These  fans  will  be  driven  night  and  day,  winter 
and  summer,  in  the  latter  instances  of  course  forcing  and  changing 
the  air  at  the  outside  normal  temperature.  The  plant  is  designed 
to  be  capable  of  changing  the  entire  atmosphere  in  all  the  first-story 
rooms  and  wards  once  in  every  twenty  minutes  and  all  the  second 
and  third  story  rooms  once  in  every  thirty  minutes  and  in  zero 
weather  to  maintain  a  steady  and  continuous  heat  throughout  the 
interior  of  the  building  of  seventy  degrees  Fahrenheit. 

The  steam  power  will  be  furnished  by  two  thirty  horse-power 
horizontal  tubular  boilers,  one  for  supplying  the  heat  and  the  other 
for  operating  the  engines,  driving  the  fans  and  laundry-machinery 
and  also  the  pumps.  One  of  the  latter  will  be  a  Dcane  double-acting 
fire-pump,  with  ten-inch  cylinder,  three-inch  suction  and  two-inch 
discharge.  This  is  to  be  arranged  for  filling  the  tank  in  the  fourth 
story  for  supplying  the  building  with  water  and  also  for  sprinkling 
the  lawns  and,  should  the  emergency  arise,  for  fire  purposes. 

The  laundry  will  have  a  complete  outfit  of  rotary  washers,  centri- 
fugal dryer,  starch  digester,  blue-tubs,  drying-room,  French  mangle, 
etc. 

The  total  accommodation  is  fifty  beds  (all  males)  and  the  cost 
$60,000  or  $1,200  per  bed  without  furniture. 


SKETCHES     AT     WILLIAMSBURG,     VA.,     BY    MR.    A.    B.    BIBB,    ARCHI- 
TECT,  WASHINGTON,    D.    C. 

SEE  article  on  "  Old  Colonial  Work  in  Virginia  and  Maryland," 
elsewhere  in  this  issue. 


BUST    OF    MME.    MORLA.        PORTION     OK     THE     DOOR    FOR    THE    MU- 
SEUM   OK    DECORATIVE   ART.      AUGUSTE    RODIX,    SCULPTOR. 

BRANCH    BANK    OF    AMERICA,    PHILADELPHIA,    PA.        MR.    CHARLES 
W.    BOLTON,    ARCHITECT,    PHILADELPHIA,    PA. 

ALTERATIONS     FOR    N.     W.     TAYLOR,     ESQ.,     CLEVELAND,     O.        MR. 
CLARENCE    O.    ARKY,    ARCHITECT,    CLEVELAND,    O. 

COMPETITIVE     DESIGN     FOR     CITY-HALL    AND     LIBRARY,    LOWELL, 
MASS.      MESSRS.  WAIT  &  CUTTER,  ARCHITECTS,  BOSTON,  MASS. 


AUGUSTE   RODIN.1  — X. 

[The  following  comments  on  Rodin  were  furnished  the  writer  by  one  of  the 
ablest  of  the  younger  French  sculptors.] 

lODIN'S  life,  since  he  came 
to  Paris,  in  1877,  is  an  old 
story    in    the    history    of 
French  art,  but  none  the  less 
interesting  because  it  has  been 
so  often  told.     Every  forcible, 
original  and  living  artist,  from 
Delacroix   down,  has   had  the 
same   obstacles  to  contend 

•against.  They  are  in  human 
nature.  It  is  the  way  things  go. 
The  Age  of  Brass,'  when 
it  appeared  in  the  Salon  of 
1877,  was  such  an  astounding 
piece  of  modelling  even  to  the 
best  sculptors,  that  we  were  all 
completely  taken  off  our  feet. 
Those  who  could  not  explain 
ita  existence  by  the  ordinary 

Female    Satyrs.     Upper    Right-hand     Corner     process    of     makin<*     Sculpture, 
of   Door.     Auguste.Rodin,    Sculptor.  were  oblige(1)  ;„    spjte   Qf    them. 

selves,  to  say  that  it  must  be  a  cast  from  nature,  a  trick  by  no 
means  rare  in  these  days.  I  don't  think  that  the  men  who  made  this 
accusation  against  Rodin,  really  knew  or  thought  at  the  time  what 
they  were  saying,  or  were  conscious  of  the  gravity  of  the  charge. 
They  had  to  say  something.  No  one  thinks  so  now.  The  appear- 
ance of  this  statue,  and  that  of  its  immediate  successor,  'The  St. 
John,'  was  the  loudest  clap  of  art-thunder  that  has  been  heard 
in  France  for  a  hundred  years.  Usually  it  takes  about  fifty  years,  in 
France,  for  a  real  work  of  art  to  get  a  hearing.  Such  statues  are  too 
much  for  the  general  average  of  artists,  and  those  who  occupy  them- 
selves with  art. 

"  It  is  curious  to  observe  that  but  very  few  of  the  historical  writers 
on  art  have  said  anything  about  Rodin.  He  must  die  first.  Rodin 
came  by  an  unauthorized  route.  He  is  not  a  graduate  of  the  School, 
and  his  work  must  first  be  hated.  Every  master  and  every  real 
masterpiece  that  we  have  got  in  Paris  has  passed  through  the  same 
experience.  When  Rude's  great  bas-relief  on  the  Arch  of  Triumph 
was  first  shown  to  the  public,  it  was  universally  condemned,  and  so  was 
his  statue  of  Marshal  Ney,  more  especially  by  the  sculptors  of  the 
School.  The  same  was  true  of  Carpeaux's  groups  on  the  Tuilcries, 
and  if  Lcfuel,  the  architect,  had  had  his  way,  they  would  have  been 
taken  down.  Carpeaux  went  to  the  Emperor  and  complained  against 
Lefuel's  intentions,  and  the  result  was  that  they  were  preserved. 
The  sculptor's  group  on  the  Opera  was  generally  condemned,  and 
even  the  architect  did  not  like  it.  It  took  seven  years,  and  the 
death  of  the  sculptor,  before  his  group  of  the  '  Four  Quarters  of  the 
World,'  for  the  fountain  of  the  Luxembourg  Garden,  was  accepted 
by  the  city.  Fremiet's  equestrian  'Joan  of  Arc'  had  no  more  bitter 
opponents  than  the  artists  of  Paris.  So  bitter  that  they  talked  of 
petitioning  the  Common  Council  to  take  it  down. 

"  Great  art  in  France  has  had  a  strange  history,  especially  in 
modern  times.  All  of  her  strongest  men  have  been  more  or  less 
martyrs  to  her  voluntary  neglect,  instead  of  children  of  her  care. 
Barye,  Corot,  Millet,  Rousseau  and  many  others  are  examples. 
Those  men  owe  nothing  to  their  country.  Courbet,  the  greatest 
painter  of  modern  times,  was  persecuted  like  a  criminal,  and  driven 
to  exile  and  death  by  his  own  country's  government.  A  mighty 
spirit,  who,  though  going  out  in  disgrace,  left  a  wake  of  glory  behind 
him  for  future  ages  to  glorify. 

"  Barye  received  the  accustomed  marks  of  distinction  from  art 
authorities,  but  they  neglected  to  encourage  his  genius.  The 
personality  of  Barye,  as  shown  in  his  works,  was  repellant  to  all 
prevailing  art  interests,  and  the  principles  upon  which  those  works 
are  made  are  almost  wholly  ignored. 

"  It  was  a  personal,  not  a  national  influence  that  recognized  Rodin. 
A  few  artists  saw  his  merits  and  had  the  courage  to  extol  them.  It 
needed  an  unusual  independence  on  the  part  of  Turquet  to  have 
anything  to  do  with  Rodin,  as  he  ran  the  risk  of  offending  all  of  our 
art  authorities.  Turquet  was  an  independent  in  art  matters,  and 
acted  for  the  interests  of  the  best  art.  lie  did  an  immense  deal  of 
good  ;  was  a  valiant  friend  of  Rodin,  and  deserves  all  praise. 
The  Salon  jury  would  only  give  Rodin  a  third  class  medal,  while  he 
ought  to  have  had  the  Medal  of  Honor  when  he  exhibited  'The 
Age  of  Brass'  and  'The  St.  John.'  But  Turquet  bought  the 
statues  all  the  same.  It  is  perhaps  not  too  much  to  say  that 
Turquet  created  Rodin.  The  commission  for  the  door  is  the  most 
important  one  of  this  century.  Rodin  made  himself.  His  life  has 
been  a  very  hard  one.  I  know  by  experience  what  it  is  to  work  for 
commercial  sculptors.  Nothing  is  more  menial  for  a  proud,  sensi- 
tive, independent  and  simple  nature.  Rodin  is  all  that,  besides 
being  a  great  artist.  These  sculptors  are  a  rough  set,  and  I  can't 
imagine  anything  worse  than  for  a  man  who  had  made,  or  was  cap- 
able of  making,  a  figure  like  '  The  Age  of  Brass,'  to  be  obliged  to 
earn  his  bread  by  working  for  such  employers.  Yet  Rodin  was  not 
alone.  Brian,  who  made  the  finest  piece  of  modelling  in  French 
sculpture,  worked  for  commercial  sculptors  all  his  life.  I  remember 
when  Rodin  had  only  fourteen  cents  with  which  to  get  a  meal.  But 

'  All  rights  reserved.    Continued  from  page  2C3,  No.  701. 


284 


TJie   American   Architect  and  Building  News.       [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  703. 


it  is  in  this  way  that  much  of  the  greatest  French  art  has  been  pro- 
duced. Belleuse  was  the  most  capable  of  Rodin's  employers,  but  he 
had  no  idea  of  the  latter's  ability.  During  the  contest  over  '  The 
Age  of  Brass,'  in  1877,  and  while  Kodin  was  working  for  him,  he 
not  only  neither  expressed  any  interest  or  sympathy  for  Kodin,  but 
said,  when  asked  what  kind  of  a  fellow  Rodin  was,  '  Oh,  he  is  a  good 
workman,  but  he  copies  anything  and  everything  that  he  happens  to 
see.'  After  Belleuse  saw  that  Rodin  was  making  friends,  he  got  him 
to  work  at  Sevres,  and  asked  Rodin  to  make  his  bust,  which  Rodin 
did,  and  gave  it  to  him.  But  even  while  doing  that  his  way  of  work- 
ing did  not  please  Belleuse,  and  the  latter  used  to  exclaim  in  half-in- 
dignation, '  Sacred  name  of  Rodin,  he  has  worked  for  me  for  ten 
years,  and  I  have  not  been  able  to  print  myself  upon  him.  He  will 
never  be  able  to  model  as  I  want  him  to.'  Besides  the  annoyances 
of  working  for  ignorant  employers,  there  is  the  degrading  influence 
of  bad  methods.  How  Rodin  lived  through  it  all,  and  escaped  its 
demoralization  is  indeed  a  wonder.  That  he  did  proves  him  to  be 
possessed  of  immense  individuality,  and  a  tenacity  of  purpose  unsur- 
passed. The  best  half  of  his  life  was  passed  under  these  conditions. 
Night  and  Sunday  work  saved  him  from  artistic  and  intellectual 
ruin.  And  all  this  for  the  sake  of  art. 

"  Barye  and  Fremiet  were  botli  more  fortunate,  for  they  got  clear 
of  this  servitude  much  sooner. 

"  France  is  deservedly  renewed  in  art,  not  by  reason  of  a  general 
art  interest,  but  because  of  a  few  individuals.  It  is  the  same  with 
Italy.  The  Renaissance  represents  centuries  of  Italian  existence,  yet 
it  was  made  by  a  few  men. 

"  France  has  never  made  her  Delacroixs,  Baryes,  Millets,  Rudes, 
Fremiets  and  Rodins.  They  have  made  her,  and  in  spite  of  herself. 
They  have  made  the  sky  of 'French  art  luminous  —  by  suffering. 

"  What  is  sweeter  than  human  sympathy.  These  men  had  to  wring 
sympathy,  courage  and  perseverance,  out  of  misery,  neglect  and 

abuse.     They  seem  to  me  more 
than  mortal. 

"  The  School  would,  of  course, 
be  Rodin's  enemy;  it  was  at  the 
start,  for  he  could  not  get  into 
it.  Seriously  speaking,  it  can't 
be  blamed,  for  no  school  or  art 
organization  can  do  much  for 
personalities  like  his.  It  is  be- 
yond their  scope.  Each  must 
look  out  for  itself.  Men  like 
Barye,  Millet,  Rodin  and  others 

4S&?*VB    ^F~~    "^    s'"'''ar     nature,    cannot    be 
'•^raiK'SB  identified   with   any  art   organi- 

^RPa  zation,  nor  can  the  latter  reach 

~>jJFjjM&L     ^f       them.     The  purpose  of  a  school 
H^      of  art,  and  all  art  societies,  is  to 
i  SrglH  care    for    the     average.      They 

''jrff^F  "ve>  anc'  are  powerful  for  the 
'"*'^@t8iiPk  ('ay>  I'"'  these  men  are  forever. 
'y'  ^vXTlL  Schools  are  never  sincere,  sin- 
t  £$$&tkJ$il  ferity  is  only  with  individuals. 
rrfJ^a^SUj  Genius  has  no  worse  enemy  than 
\,  ^ESs»»r»lSr  those  who  assume  to  be  learned. 

Neither    are   such   men  taught, 
either  by  schools  or  themselves  ; 
they  observe,   are   inspired  and 
grow.     The  growth  and  develop- 
ment of  individuality  is  a  personal  matter.     Our  greatest  men  were 
not  graduates  of  the  School. 

"  Rodin  has  many  enemies  who  say  that  his  things  are  tortured 
shapes,  without  art,  reason,  logic  or  significance.  The  same  has 
been  said  of  all  original  minds.  He  is  the  only  one  of  our  sculptors 
who  has  a  real  understanding  of  the  nude.  His  power  of  execution 
is  prodigious.  There  is  no  one  like  him. 

"  The  times,  fortunately,  have  changed  since  forty  years,  more 
especially  in  regard  to  the  writers  on  art.  Then,  there  were  but  a 
very  few  who  were  not  opposed  to  the  great  artists.  Now,  there  are 
many  who  are  on  the  look-out  for,  and  are  quick  to  recognize  every- 
thing that  is  original,  powerful  and  suggestive.  As  soon  as  they 
found  Rodin,  they  supported  him,  and  did  not  hesitate  to  proclaim 
his  surpassing  merits,  as  well  as  to  protest  against  the  injustice  done 
him  by  the  jury  of  the  Salon.  The  press  are  decidedly  in  Rodin's 
favor.  Roger  Marx  and  others  long  ago  pronounced  him  the  first 
statuary  of  his  time,  and  they  were  right.  It  is  to  the  credit  of  these 
writers  that  it  is  now  very  difficult  for  conventional  influences  to  kill 
a  real  artist  in  Paris.  If  Millet  had  lived  in  these  days  it  would 
have  been  easier  for  him. 

"  We  have  never  had  a  sculptor  who  is  so  intense  as  Rodin.  Barye 
is  often  heavy,  in  spite  of  his  power ;  perhaps,  because  of  it.  Car- 
peaux  was  sometimes  careless  in  his  impetuous  rush  for  effect, 
and  Fremiet,  though  the  most  distinguished  mind  in  sculpture  of 
modern  times,  and  perhaps  since  many  centuries,  is  sometimes 
almost  dry. 

"Do  I  think  Rodin  has  had  influence  on  the  art  of  his  country? 
Yes,  a  great  influence,  but  in  a  quiet,  though  important  way.  He 
has  already  begun  to  cut  a  deeper  mark  upon  his  age  than  any  other 
artist,  and  for  these  reasons:  All  the  tendencies  of  his  nature  and 
work  are  natural  and  inspiring,  just  what  all  young  and  many  old 
artists  need,  and  have  been  long  looking  for.  His  work  is  nature, 


and  that  can  be  followed  without  fear  or  danger.  It  is  the  chief 
encouragement  that  students  need,  and  it  brings  them  the  most  joy 
in  their  studies.  His  work  has  an  endless  and  safe  attraction,  a 
healthy  stimulant. 

"He  was  immediately  felt  and  admired  by  the  young  artists  and 
students  at  the  School.  He  has  a  great  many  quiet  followers. 
Barye,  for  one  reason  or  another,  did  not  touch  the  young.  Neither 
does  Fremiet.  I  don't  speak  of  the  School,  for  no  great  sculptors 
have  come  out  of  it.  Great  artists,  like  Barye,  Fremiet,  Chavannes 
and  Millet,  never  have  followers.  They  are  landmarks  to  worship. 
Rodin  is  an  exception.  He  has  given  an  impetus,  in  the  urging  to  a 
regard  for  individuality  and  the  more  serious  study  of  nature,  that 
no  other  of  our  artists  has  been  able  to  give.  He  is  very  human 
and  sympathetic,  and  free  of  all  conventionalism.  He  is  the  only 
sculptor  talked  about  by  the  students,  and  thought  about  by  older 
men.  He  is  an  encourager  to  individuality. 

"  Not  long  ago  I  went  to  isit  my  old  studio  at  the  School,  and  the 
most  important  news  the  boys  had  to  tell  me  was,  that  they  had 
Rodin's  old  model.  And  this,  years  after  he  had  got  through  with 
him. 

"  The  audacious  life  and  truth  of  Rodin's  modelling  has  opened  a 
good  many  eyes,  of  painters  as  well  as  sculptors.  The  fertility  of  his 
genius  has  been  an  inspiration  to  many. 

"  I  said  that  his  influence  was  quiet.  It  is  so  because  the  time  has 
not  yet  come  for  those  who  are  affected  by  him  to  speak  openly  in 
favor  of  such  a  revolutionary,  nor  to  own  allegiance  to  a  force  that 
is  so  antagonistic  to  the  insipid  conventionalism  of  the  day.  But 
they  study  nature  harder  than  ever,  and  swear,  in  private,  by  Rodin. 

"He  has  also  a  great  many  imitators,  some  of  them  men  of  ability, 
and  although  it  is  always  a  poor  kind  of  art  that  is  inspired  or  pro- 
duced by  the  influence  of  any  man,  however  great,  deceiving  only 
the  ignorant,  it  shows  that  a  new  force  is  felt,  and  that  some  one  is 
trying  to  improve  on  what  he  had  previously  done. 

"  If  Rodin's  influence  is  quiet,  it  is  also  slow,  in  a  certain  very 
significant  sense.  Slow,  because,  while  his  example  is  heartily 
acknowledged,  his  work  is  regarded,  by  many,  as  almost  too  strong 
and  intense,  and  it  will  take  a  long  time  for  it  to  be  fully  accepted. 
To  any  but  very  strong  men  his  things  are  so  great  that  they  are 
demoralizing.  The  figures  on  the  door  are  almost  incredible.  He  is 
certainly  one  of  the  most  varied  and  original  sculptors  in  all  art- 
history. 

"  After  all,  any  serious  consideration  of  French  art-history  must  be 
made  upon  the  basis  of  humanity,  and  not  on  that  of  nationality. 
The  obstacles  its  artists  have  encountered,  and  the  indifference  and 
contumely  they  have  suffered,  must  be  set  down  to  the  discredit  of 
common  human  nature,  not  to  the  imperfections  of  art  organizations." 

RODIN   AS    AN    ARTIST. 

The  origin  of  "  The  Age  of  Brass,"  and  "  The  St.  John,"  show  the 
simplest  side  of  Rodin's  art-nature,  the  figuns  on  the  door  and 
the  "  Men  of  Calais  "  illustrate  the  intricate  side,  and  reveal  the  full 
scope  of  his  artistic  and  intellectual  ability.  The  first,  are  the  result  of 
his  earliest  intimacy  with  nature,  the  last,  of  his  capacity  of  analyti- 
cal and  synthetic  examination,  and  his  power  of  philosophical 
induction.  In  them  is  manifested  the  full  round  of  his  understanding, 
of  the  intricate  relationship  between  the  various  emotions  and  their 
physical  expression.  They  embody  the  complete  programme  of  his 
loves  and  likes,  in  individual  illustration  and  symbolism;  and 
his  feeling  for  geometrical  arrangement,  singly  and  in  groups.  Vivid 
as  Rodin  is  in  the  artistic  consideration  of  a  subject,  as  especially 
shown  in  the  figures  on  the  door,  his  scientific  leanings  are  now  so 
strong  that  he  works  much  from  a  geometrical  point-of-view.  Having 
become  master  of  his  art-instincts,  he  now  ordains  processes  of  work- 
ing. He  dreams,  reflects,  and  organizes. 

Rodin  is  original,  without  limit,  clear  and  penetrating;  generative 
and  dramatic  in  his  conceptive  vision,  delicate  in  sentiment,  and 
rapid  and  powerful  in  execution.  These  qualities,  pushed  into 
activity  by  an  unsurpassed  intensity,  have  enabled  him  to  produce  a 
new  world  of  sculpture.  A  new  and  strange  one,  a  beautiful,  fertile, 
and  emotional  world ;  startling,  authorizing  its  own  existence. 

Rodin  recognizes  no  filtered  formula,  however  poetic  or  beautiful, 
he  lives  in  the  primitive  domain  of  nature.  The  towering  audacity 
of  his  personality  is  only  equalled  by  his  loyalty  to  what  he  has  lived. 

Not  a  decorative  artist,  like  Michael  Angelo,  or  Carpeaux,  but 
more  human  than  the  first,  and  clearer  than  the  last,  the  deepest 
seer  of  nature  since  Donatello.  A  terrible  worker  and  a  night- 
worker.  Among  rude  men  by  day,  at  night  a  companion  of  the  stars. 

Reflecting  no  influence,  and  carrying  the  mark  of  no  master.  He 
corrected  himself,  and  of  himself  became  unconsciously  possessed. 

If  it  is  necessary  to  class  him,  it  would  be  among  the  Gothics. 

With  him,  as  with  them,  it  is  life,  first  and  last. 

He  is  an  elemental  force,  a  (low  of  new  and  reviving  blood. 

He  has  been  called  the  Wagner  of  sculpture.  If  it  is  true  that  the 
great  composer  has  exceeded  all  moderns  in  joining  music  to  words 
in  their  highest  relationship,  then  the  comparison  is  just,  for  Rodin 
has  knitted  emotion  and  form  together  in  equal  intimacy.  In  this 
he  has  excelled  all  modern  artists.  By  his  knowledge  of  the  human 
form  he  has  gained  the  right  to  revel  with  the  imagination  in  unre- 
strained liberty.  He  knows  the  sensibility  of  the  nude,  and  adores 
it  in  all  its  details.  His  modelling  is  correct,  expressive  and  rich. 
With  him  art  has  no  age.  Excuses  he  does  not  need,  his  faults, 
necessary  ruins,  have  been  his  needed  supports. 


JUNE  15,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


285 


Rodin  has  also  been  called  "  the  greatest  living  sculptor  of 
morceaux,"  because  his  work  has  been  hitherto  confined  to  single 
figures,  or  groups  of  not  more  than  two  figures.  He  has  not  yet  com- 
pleted any  compositions  like  that  by  Kude  on  the  Arc  de 
Triomphe,  or  those  by  Carpeaux  on  the  Opera,  and  Palace  of  the 
Tuileries.  Great  sonnets  he  has  written  in  sculpture,  but  no  epic 
poem,  as  the  door  is  not  complete. 

Because  of  this,  and  in  face  of  all  that  he  has  done,  cautious 
critics  suspend  conclusive  judgment.  "  Wait  until  the  door  is  done," 
they  say,  "  and  we  will  determine  his  place  and  destiny." 

The  fact,  that  every  one  of  the  hundreds  of  figures  made  for  the 
door  are  complete  compositions  of  themselves,  often  representing  all 
there  is  of  a  given  sentiment,  and  that  as  a  whole,  they  comprise  the 
entire  expression  of  human  sorrow,  and  its  attendant  emotions,  seems 
to  have  been  forgotten  by  these  timid  friends  of  art.  Even  if  these 
images  were  never  put  together  in  any  composite  correspondence, 
they  would  still  form  a  logical,  unique,  though  unconventional  com- 
position. So  little  does  Rodin  sympathise  witli  the  circumstances 
that  have  surrounded  him  during  the  past  ten  years,  that  to  day,  in 
the  full  possession  of  his  powers,  his  sole  ambition  is  to  re-live  the 
time  of  "  The  Age  of  Brass;  "  to  begin  again  to  make  a  simple  piece 
of  sculpture  without  reference  to  subject,  and  independent  of  all  in- 
tricate abstraction.  To  enjoy  the  pleasure  of  the  soul  as  its  emotion 
is  passing  out  of  the  ends  of  his  fingers  into  a  piece  of  clay. 

RODIN    AS    A    MAN. 

It  has  been  well  said  by  some  unknown  writer  who  visited  Rodin's 
studio,  that  "If  tribulation  purifies  and  fortifies  a  man,  Auguste 
Rodin  ought  to  be  an  angel  by  this  time,  with  the  virility  of  a  god. 
Yet  he  is  a  timid,  tender  nature,  dreamy  and  given  to  abstraction. 
When  you  meet  him  he  seems  to  descend  from  the  clouds  and  to 
come  from  the  assembly  of  the  immortals.  He  looks  at  you  with  two 
large,  soft,  yet  piercing  blue  eyes  that  excuse  the  necessity  of  an  in- 
troduction. He  is  a  small  man,  blonde,  with  a  fluvial  beard,  short 
hair,  beautiful  hands,  and  very  simple  and  direct  in  all  his  move- 
ments. His  voice  is  low,  very  agreeable,  and  he  uses  the  simplest 
language." 

In  height  Rodin  stands  about  five  feet  and  seven  inches,  and 
weighs  one  hundred  and  forty  pounds.  His  head  is  large,  percep- 
tives  immense,  line  of  forehead  and  nose  almost  pure  Greek,  promi- 
nent nose,  and  projecting  well  out.  The  forms  around  the  eyes  are 
large  and  fine,  strong  cbin,  and  firm  mouth.  He  is  slightly  short- 
sighted, and  wears  glasses.  lie  talks  art  as  he  makes  it. 

Though  living  all  his  life  in  the  studio,  he  is  a  keen,  correct  and 
large  observer  of  men  and  things,  and  has  gathered  in  the  inevitable 
conclusions.  He  judges  human  nature  as  absolutely  as  he  does  art : 
on  principle,  mercilessly;  on  the  score  of  sympathy,  with  the  tender- 
ness of  a  warm  and  considerative  heart. 

Fortunate  in  having  neither  taste  for  luxury,  love  of  society,  or 
care  for  the  world's  applause,  he  has  been  all  the  better  able  to 
endure  the  monstrous  necessities  of  his  early  life,  and  the  prostitu- 
tion of  every  art-sensibility  that  he  desired  to  keep  pure  while  work- 
ing for  his  bread.  Tbougli  tormented  by  a  turbulent  imagination, 
his  savage  tenacity  carried  him  safely  through.  Master  of  himself, 
never  violating  his  own  nature,  he  has  preserved  himself.  He  has 
escaped  the  turmoils  and  complexities  of  modern  life,  and  enjoyed 
to  its  full  the  best  of  encouragement,  the  invariable  censure  of  every 
one. 

Fortunate,  also,  in  escaping  the  falsities  of  any  regular  system  of 
art-education,  he  has  not  been  obliged  to  unlearn  that  which  bad 
systems  have  taught.  Traditions  have  never  seriously  affected  him ; 
confiding  in  himself,  he  went  ahead,  blindly,  as  he  knew,  but  always 
ahead,  surrendering  nothing,  conciliating  none. 

If  the  memory  of  the  misery  of  the  first  forty  years  of  his  life  has 
left  so  bitter  an  impression  that  now,  when  he  is  fairly  comfortable, 
he  can  hardly  realize  the  change,  he  makes  no  complaint  nor  finds 
fault  with  any.  The  philosophic  healthfulness  of  his  nature,  the 
world  of  art,  and  the  possession  of  the  best  of  wives  have  long  since 
confirmed  him  in  the  love  of  peace  and  work  as  the  very  boons  of 
earthly  comfort.  Never  dreaming  of  attaining  any  great  excellence 
in  his  profession,  or  occupying  a  high  position  in  the  world,  he  has 
suffered  no  disappointments  of  ambition,  and  is  content  with  the 
chances  of  good  and  bad  as  they  have  happened.  Professional 
slights  have  never  disheartened,  nor  misfortune  or  abuse  frustrated 
him.  He  has  run  his  race,  thinking  of  and  seeing  nothing  but  his 
goal,  the  pleasure  of  work.  In  that  he  has  found  his  highest  happi- 
ness, and,  as  he  joyously  says,  "  My  years  have  been  thus  spent  in 
pure  delight.  Happiness  is  found  in  one's  self ;  work  brings  it." 
With  such  a  simple  programme,  Rodin  has  had,  in  the  largest  sense, 
the  best  of  luck.  Such  a  life  is  an  ideal  realism. 

Rodin  is  bold,  proud  and  simple.  He  has  had  something  to  say, 
and  the  good  fortune  to  say  it.  Of  nothing  does  he  speak  with  so 
much  warmth  as  of  the  hearty  appreciation  and  continued  friendship 
of  his  first  art  friends,  who  gathered  around  him  in  1877-78-79. 
Those  who  have  helped  him  when  lie  needed  help  are  "  men  of  gold." 

Rodin  has  always  been  a  great  reader,  not  of  novels,  but  of 
jKschylus,  Dante,  Shakespeare  and  Lamartine.  Always  carries  a 
book  in  his  pocket.  He  cares  nothing  for  dates,  knows  little  as  to 
when  exhibitions  of  his  works  took  place,  and  rarely  saves  a  cata- 
logue. Never  writes  anything  except  the  shortest  and  most  concise 
letters  of  business  or  friendship.  Is  extremely  scrupulous  in  these 
matters,  and  as  faithful  and  generous  to  his  friends  as  he  is  exacting 


in  his  art.  He  has  little  respect  for  the  average  art-intelligence,  but 
believes  in  individual  effort.  He  views  with  no  mild  concern  the  in- 
creasingly prevailing  and  downward  tendency  of  art  at  the  present 
time ;  its  disposition  to  cater  to  everything  that  is  opposed  to  truth, 
serious  study  and  good  taste ;  its  cowardly  subservience  to  haste, 
love  of  money  and  vulgar  luxury. 

He  thinks  that  the  world  is  easily  pleased,  and  that  the  day  for 
great  things  in  art  has  passed;  that  the  nerve  and  heroism  displayed 
by  such  men  as  Millet,  Barye  and  Rude  find  little  place  in  the  souls 
of  modern  artists,  and  that  even  respect  for  the  art-productions  of 
other  centuries  has  nearly  died  out.  The  modern  urgency  to  have 
wide  streets  at  the  expense  of  destroying  precious  examples  of  archi- 
tecture he  regards  as  a  sacrilege  as  unpardonable  as  it  is  unneces- 
sary. Critical  as  he  is  of  his  own  country,  he  still  believes  that  it 
has  not  lost  all  its  taste,  and  that,  with  proper  effort,  a  great  future 
of  art  awaits  it. 

Public  and  private  appreciation  of  Rodin  has  been  rapidly  on  the 
increase  during  the  past  few  years.  In  1887,  his  old  enemy  at 
Sevres  was  discharged,  and  M.  Deck  was  appointed  in  his  stead. 
The  latter,  fully  understanding  the  sculptor's  merits,  immediately 
invited  him  to  resume  the  decoration  of  vases,  free  of  all  conditions, 
at  his  own  studio,  at  his  own  pleasure,  and  at  his  own  price. 

In  the  same  year,  1887,  Rodin  was  appointed  by  the  Minister  of 
Fine  Arts  as  one  of  the  four  sculptors  who  were  to  form  a  part  of 
the  State  Art  Commission  for  the  jjreat  exposition  of  1889. 

In  January,  1888,  he  received  the  long-delayed  decoration  of  the 
Legion  of  Honor,  through  the  influence  of  his  old  and  ardent  friend, 
Antonin  Proust,  former  Minister  of  Fine  Arts.  Two  banquets  were 
given  him  in  memory  of  this  event :  one  by  a  select  company  of  friends, 
and  the  other  by  eighty  of  the  more  distinguished  artists  and  writers 
of  Paris.  The  sculptor's  praises  were  sung  by  no  less  than  four 
poets  on  these  occasions,  and  their  words  confirmed  by  orators  and 
men  of  state.  Perhaps  the  most  significant  tribute  yet  paid  to 
Rodin  was  his  election,  by  the  sculptors  of  Paris,  as  a  member  of  the 
jury  of  the  Salon  for  1888,  and  it  may  be  safely  asserted  that  as  long 
as  he  shall  act  with  that  body  the  history  of  another  "  Age  of  Brass  " 
will  not  be  repeated.  T.  H.  BARTLETT. 

[The  end.] 


SAFE   BUILDING."  — XXVIII. 

VOL.  II.  —  I. 
THE   NATURE    AND    USES    OF    IRON   AND    STEEL. 


HE  introduction  of  the  use  of  iron  into 
the  construction  of  buildings  has  practi- 
cally   revolutionized   modern   architect- 
ure;   the    introduction  of    steel  promises  to 
make  equally  great  changes.      The   cost   of 
these   materials   is   comparatively   so    much 
greater  than  the  ordinary  materials  used,  such 
as  brick  and  wood,  and,  again,  the  uniformity 
of  their  composition  and  strength  is  such,  that 
in  their  use  the  smallest  factors-of-safety  are 
fes^T use(l  '    tllat  is>  the  s'ze  °f  material  used  is 
very  much  more  nearly  equal  to  its  ultimate 
strength  than  is  the  case  when  using  cheaper 
or  less  uniform  materials.     Where,  therefore, 
we  "  run  so  closely  to  the  wind,"  it  is  essen- 
tial that  the  nature  and  use  of  the  material 
be  thoroughly  understood  by  the  architect.     Iron  is  used  in  three 
Three  Kinds  of  different   kinds  in  building;   namely,  wrought-iron, 
Iron.  steel,  and  cast-iron.     Each  has  its  uses  and  merits, 

and  its  disadvantages.  All  are  really  but  iron  in  different  combina- 
tions. Their  differences  depend  mainly  on  the  amount  of  carbon  they 
contain.  The  more  carbon,  the  more  brittle,  but  harder  is  the  iron. 
The  less  carbon,  the  more  flexible  and  elastic,  but  softer  is  the  iron. 

Wrought  or  rolled  iron  is  the  softest,  that  is  iron  in  its  purest  form. 
As  it  combines  with  itself  a  small  amount  of  carbon,  it  becomes  soft 
steel.  The  absorption  of  more  carbon  makes  harder  steel,  until 
finally  it  becomes  cast-iron.  Pure  or  real  metallic  iron  does  not 
occur  in  nature,  in  commercial  quantities,  if  at  all.  It  is  extracted 
Iron  Ores.  from  the  various  ores  of  iron,  the  chief  of  which  are 

known  as  magnetite,  red  and  brown  hematite,  limanite,  siderite,  etc., 
being  various  combinations  of  iron,  with  oxygen,  forming  oxides;  of 
carbon  and  oxygen  forming  carbonates  ;  and  of  hydrogen  and  oxygen 
forming  hydrates.  Other  minerals,  rich  in  iron  ore,  are  found,  but 
cannot  be  used  in  the  manufacture  of  irons,  on  account  of  the  lar^e 
percentages  of  sulphur,  copper,  phosphorus  and  other  substances 
they  contain,  which,  if  present  in  the  finished  product  even  to  the 
smallest  extent,  render  it  unfit  for  most  uses. 

In  the  manufacture  of  pig-iron,  the  ore  —  or  preferable  an  intelli- 
gent mixture  of  ores  —  after  being  broken  in  the  stamping-mill,  and 
Manufactureof  washed  in  streams,  and  then  roasted  or  calcined  in 
Pig-iron.  kilns  to  remove  the  moisture  and  carbonic  acid,  is 
smelted  in  a  blast  furnance  with  the  addition  of  coal  or  coke  (or  a 
mixture  of  both),  as  fuel,  and  limestone,  or  some  substitute,  as  a 
«  flux."  The  blast  furnace  itself  is  roughly  of  the  form  of  an  up- 


righthollow  cylinder,  sometimes  100  feet  high,  but  usually  from  50  to  80 
feet  high  and  from  20  feet  to  25  feet  in  diameter.  The  structure 
Blast  Furnace,  has  a  strong  masonry  foundation  on  which  rest  about 


1  Continued  from  page  5,  No.  6M. 


286 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.        [VOL.  XXV.  — No.  703. 


eight  cast  or  wrought  iron  columns,  some  10  to  20  feet  in  height. 
These  sustain  a  plate-iron  casing  enclosing  the  whole  furnace  from 
bottom  to  top.  Inside,  the  furnace  is  of  the  shape  of  two  truncated 
cones,  placed  base  to  base  over  each  other,  with  a  short  cylinder  at 
Hearth  and  the  bottom,  being  thus  somewhat  narrower  at  the  top 
Crucible.  and  bottom.  The  bottom  of  the  furnace  is  called 
the  "  hearth ; "  about  5  feet  to  7  feet  above  the  hearth  is 
the  "  crucible ;  "  from  hearth  to  crucible  the  furnace  is  cylindrical 
and  from  G  feet  to  12  feet  diameter.  From  the  crucible  to  the 
"  bosh  "  which  is  some  20  feet  to  30  feet  above  the  hearth,  the  fur- 
nace enlarges  to  some  14  feet  to  20  feet  diameter,  sometimes  even  25 
feet  diameter.  From  here  to  the  "  throat "  which  is  the  extreme 
top,  the  furnace  narrows  down  again,  being  some  10  feet  to  15  feet 
diameter  at  the  top.  The  furnace  is  lined  inside  with  an  infusible 
lining  of  fire-brick,  and  the  charging  of  ore,  flux  and  fuel  is  kept  up 
constantly,  and  of  course  the  fire  and  smelting  process  kept  going, 
without  stop,  barring  accidents,  for  many  months  at  a  time,  and  until 
this  lining  gives  out ;  as  a  rule,  the  fire  is  continuous  for  from  two  to 
four  years.  The  lower  end  of  the  furnace  is  closed  save  for  an 
orifice  at  the  bottom  pierced  through  the  walls  about  horizontally 
and  known  as  the  "  hearth."  In  this  pit  the  melted  iron  as  it  is 
reduced,  being  heavier  than  the  flux,  impurities  or  fuel,  settles  down 
and  collects,  until  sufficient  is  obtained  to  justify  the  tapping  or  with- 
drawal of  the  plug  from  the  orifice,  when,  of  course,  the  pressure 
from  above  forces  out  the  molten  iron,  which  being  thus  withdrawn 
Casting  Pig-  flows  off  through  dikes  and  furrows  in  the  sand  of 
iron.  the  casting-house  floor.  This  tapping  is  done  from 

three  to  four  times  every  twenty-four  hours.  The  main  or  feed 
channels  through  which  the  metal  flows  off  directly  from  the  furnace 
are  known  as  the  "  sows " ;  at  right  angles  to  these,  at  frequent 
intervals,  are  the  short  furrows  known  as  the  "  pigs."  These  are  of 
convenient  size  for  handling,  and  when  cooled,  are  broken  from  the 
"  sows"  and  form  what  is  known  in  commerce  as  "pig-iron." 

Just  under  the  crucible,  that  is,  above  the  level  to  which  the 
melted  iron  is  allowed  to  rise  in  the  hearth,  or  some  3£  feet  to  6  feet 
above  the  hearth,  there  are  from  five  to  eight  radial  openings  in  the 
walls  of  the  furnace  admitting  the  "  tuyeres "  which  are  blast 
nozzles,  cooled  by  the  circulation  of  water  in  them,  and  through 
which  hot  or  cold  air  is  forced  horizontally  into  the  blast  furnace. 
Hot  and  Cold  The  product  is  known  accordingly  as  "  hot  blast"  or 
Blast.  "cold  blast."  The  pressure  under  which  this  air 

has  to  be  forced  in,  varies,  according  to  circumstances,  between  3 
and  13  pounds  per  square  inch. 

As  already  remarked,  the  walls  of  the  furnace  widen  out  above 
this  forming  what  is  known  as  the  "  bosh  "  or  the  main  body  of  the 
furnace.  Above  this  the  walls  usually  narrow  down,  the  narrowing, 
however,  depending  upon  the  ore  used  or  the  product  desired.  This 
part  is  called  the  "  stack."  In  the  bosh  and  in  the  stack  the  distinctive 
phenomena  of  the  blast-furnace  mainly  take  place.  The  top  where 
the  walls  always  narrow  down  considerably,  forming  the  "  throat "  of 
the  furnace,  is  usually  closed  nowadays  by  a  cone  drawn  up  against 
a  conical  hopper,  and  only  opened  to  allow  of  the  charging  of  ore, 
flux  and  fuel,  which  is  done  in  alternate  layers,  after  lowering  the 
cone  a  little.  The  cone,  of  course,  being  again  drawn  up  tightly 
into  place,  after  the  charging.  The  furnace  is  kept  constantly  full 
Charging  to  the  throat,  being  charged  as  often  as  the  material 

Furnace,  settles  or  is  withdrawn.  The  charge  usually  con- 
sists, first,  of  from  1  to  3  tons  of  fuel  —  (coal,  or  coke,  or  both)  — 
and  then  a  mixture  of  ores  in  proportion  of  1^  ton  of  ore  to  each  ton 
of  fuel.  After  this  the  limestone  or  flux  is  put  in,  being  in  weight 
from  40  per  cent  to  GO  per  cent  of  the  ore.  The  materials  are 
hoisted  to  the  top  in  iron  barrows  by  proper  machinery.  Where  the 
tops  of  furnaces  are  kept  closed,  the  blast  —  (or  heated  gases  at 
the  top)  —  is  conducted  off  through  flues  immediately  underneath 
and  around  the  top.  Part  of  these  heated  but  otherwise  waste  gases 
Hot  Blast.  are  then  passed  through  iron  flues  to  the  brick 

chambers,  called  "  hot  blast  stoves,"  or  around  iron  pipes,  and  serve 
to  heat  the  "  blast  "  or  feed  draught  of  the  furnace,  where  a  "  hot 
blast "  is  used,  thus  saving  fuel,  increasing  the  output  and  effecting  a 
considerable  change  in  the  nature  of  the  pig-iron. 

The  air  for  the  hot  blast  is  heated  by  passing  it  through  the  above 
mentioned  iron  pipes  around  which  the  gases  play ;  or,  where  the 
brick  chambers  are  used,  the  gases  are  turned  into  the  chambers 
alternately,  that  is,  one  after  another  until  the  brick  linings  of  one 
set  of  chambers  are  highly  heated ;  the  gases  are  then  turned  into 
the  alternate  set  of  chambers  and  the  air  to  be  used  in  the  hot  blast 
is  admitted  to  the  first  set  and  becomes  quickly  heated  to  a 
temperature  of  from  900°  to  1500°  F.  by  contact  with  the  hot  bricks. 
As  these  cool  the  process  is  reversed,  the  alternate  chambers  being 
now  used.  These  chambers  are  about  1 7  feet  diameter,  60  feet  high 
cylinders  of  plate-iron,  made  air-tight  and  lined  with  fire-brick. 
The  interior  being  lined  with  a  mass  of  intersecting  flues  of  fire- 
brick. The  balance  of  the  hot  gases  which  do  not  pass  to  these 
chambers  are  used  to  heat  the  boilers,  which  supply  the  necessary 
steam-power  for  the  hoisting  machinery,  forced  blasts,  etc. 

The  process  of  smelting  ores  into  pig-irons  is,  then,  roughly  this : 
The  ore,  flux  and  fuel  are  charged  into  the  furnace  from  the  top,  in 
alternate  layers  at  stated  periods.  A  fierce  fire  is  kept  going  and 
supplied  with  the  necessary  air  (either  hot  or  cold)  for  combustion  at 
Description  of  the  bottom  by  means  of  a  forced  draught.  As  the 
Process.  above  layers  descend  in  the  furnace  they  change 
their  nature.  The  fuel  gives  out  carbonic  oxide  which  reduces  the 


iron.  The  latter  gradually  separates  from  its  impurities  and  com- 
bines with  more  or  less  carbon  from  the  fuel.  The  ashes  of  the  fuel 
and  impurities  of  the  ores  combine  with  the  flux  (the  melted  lime- 
stone), and  when  all  reaches  the  bottom  we  have  the  pure  melted 
iron  (with  more  01  less  carbon)  at  the  very  bottom  or  hearth ;  over 
this,  in  the  crucible,  float  the  melted  flux  and  combined  impurities ; 
above  come  layers  of  less  perfect  iron,  flux,  partly-consumed  fuel, 
and  so  on  to  the  top.  Before  drawing  off  the  melted  iron  at  the 
bottom,  the  impurities  and  flux,  known  as  the  "slag,"  immediately 
above  the  melted  iron,  are  first  drawn  off.1 

To  be  more  technical  in  the  above  description,  we  should  say  that 

Chemical  tne   ores   of    iron,   whether   oxides,   carbonates   or 

Process,  hydrates,  are  reduced    either  by  their  preparatory 

roasting  or  during  their  early  passage  down  the  top  of  the  furnace 

shaft  to  the  state  of  oxide  of  iron  (ferric  oxide). 

The  ensuing  reaction  in  the  furnace  is,  therefore,  for  all  practical 
purposes,  the  reduction  of  this  ferric  oxide  (Fe2  O3)  when  red  hot  by 
the  action  of  carbonic  oxide  (C  O)  produced  by  the  incomplete  combus- 
tion of  the  fuel  farther  down  the  furnace.  The  iron  gives  up  its  oxygen 
to  the  carbonic  oxide  leaving  metallic  iron  (which  then  takes  up  with 
some  carbon)  and  carbonic  dioxide  (C  O2)  which  passes  away  in  the 
waste  gases.  It  should  be  noted  here  that  pure  metallic  iron  is 
infusible  at  the  temperature  obtainable  in  the  blast-furnace.  Its 
combination  with  carbon,  however,  to  the  extent  of  from  2  per  cent 
to  5  per  cent  renders  it  easily  fusible,  and  constitutes  the  pig  or  cast 
iron.  Were  it  not  for  this  fact  the  blast-furnace  would  be  impracti- 
cable, as  can  be  readily  imagined. 

The  mission  of  the  limestone  or  other  fluxes,  is  mainly,  when 
melted,  to  effect  a  more  ready  fusion  or  separation  of  the  earthy 
Use  of  Flux.  impurities  or  "gangue"in  the  ore  and  to  take  up 
the  ashy  remnants  of  the  fuel.  It  is  found  that  the  earthy  bases  are 
more  fusible  to  an  extraordinary  degree  when  they  are  present 
together  in  numbers.  Further,  the  addition  of  lime  takes  care  of 
the  silica  present  in  the  ores,  which  otherwise  would  unite  with  the 
iron,  forming  silicates  of  iron,  which,  though  fusible,  are  difficult  of 
reduction,  and  further  prevent  to  a  certain  extent  the  taking  up 
of  carbon  by  the  reduced  iron,  thus  entailing  a  waste  in  two  ways. 
The  ordinary  gangue  or  matrix  of  iron  ore  itself  is  clayey  (argilla- 
ceous) or  quartzose  (silicious).  The  addition  of  lime  or  limestone 
(or  dolomite)  results  in  the  formation  of  a  "  slag  "  which  is  readily 
fusible  at  the  existing  temperature.  This  slag,  which  when  cold 
somewhat  resembles  bottle-glass,  is  much  lighter  than  the  molten  iron, 
and  as  it  collects  above  it,  is  drawn  off  just  before  casting  from  the 
surface  of  the  melted  iron  in  the  hearth  through  openings  placed  at 
the  proper  level,  just  below  the  crucible. 

To  undertake  to  enumerate  all  of  the  brands  of  pig-iron  used  in 
Brands  of  casting  would  be  an  endless  task.  A  few,  however, 

Pig-lron.  may  be  here  mentioned. 

Amongst  those  principally  used  in  the  New  York  market  are  : 

Coltness, 

Sunimerlee, 

Shotts, 

Langloan, 

Dalmellington, 

Clyde, 

Eglinton, 

Glengarnock, 

Gartsherrie.  j 

Cleator, 

Lowther, 

Lonsdale. 

Manhattan,  (New  York),       ] 

Low  Moor,  (Virginia), 

Thomas,  (Penn.), 

Crane,  (Penn.), 

Musconetcong,  (Penn.), 

Sloss,  (Alabama), 

Woodward, 

Spearman, 

Carbon, 

Granger, 

South  Pittsburgh, 

Alice, 

Citico, 

Chattanooga, 

Hudson, 

Cold  Spring, 

Sheridan, 

Leesport, 

Coleraine, 

Brier  Hill, 

Secaucus, 

Castle, 

Poughkeepsie, 

Copley, 

Glendon, 

Andover, 

Taylor, 

Cornwall, 

Bethlehem, 

Stanhope, 

Allentowu, 

Harry  Clay, 

Harrisburg, 

Mill  Creek. 

All  pig-irons  are  graded  in  three  kinds,  namely,  Mill  iron,  Foundry 
Grading  of  iron  and  Bessemer 8  iron.  Each  of  these  is  again 

Pig-lron.  subdivided  into  the  following  six  grades: 

1  This  slag  forms  the  basis  of  the  "  mineral  wool,"  largely  used  for  various  pur- 
poses. 

*  For  makers'  names  and  addresses,  see  "The  Directory  of  the  Iron  and  Steel 
Works  of  the  United  States,"  published  by  the  American  Iron  and  Steel  Associ- 
ation, 201  S.  4th  Street,  Philadelphia. 

'Any  foundry  iron  which  is  sufficiently  low  in  phosphorus  (not  over  0,1  per 
cent)  and  silicon  call  be  used  in  the  Bessemer  process. 


All  Scotch  irons  :  used  as  softeners,  in  connection 
with  scrap-iron  or  lower  grmles  of  American  pig- 
iron  for  cheap  and  inferior  castings. 


Knglish  Bessemers  :  are  soft  and  strong  and  are 
used  in  place  of  best  Scotch  iron. 


All  American  brands.'  The  Manhattan  is  very 
tine ;  Secaucns  and  Castle  are  very  strong ; 
Thomas  and  Glendon  are  very  popular  and  their 
Nos.  1  and  2  largely  used  for  strong  and  good 
castings.  The  last  three  on  the  list  are  weak 
and  soft  cinder  irons  and  are  unfit  for  architect- 
ural uses,  being  used  principally  for  stove-plates 
and  pipe  making. 


JUNE  15,  1889.] 


TJie   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


287 


No.  1. 

No.  2. 

No.  3. 

Grey  Forge. 

Mottled. 

White. 

"  No.  1  "  is  the  best  and  strongest,  "  No.  2  "  the  next  best,  and  so 
on  to  the  "  White,"  which  is  the  poorest  quality.  Grey  irons  contain 
more  graphitic  carbon  and  are  softer  and  more  fusible  than  white 
irons,  which  contain  more  combined  carbon,  and  are  much  harder 
and  more  brittle. 

If  the  pig-iron  on  fracture  is  dark  grey  with  spots  it  is  soft  and 
will  run  freely  into  the  mould,  making  a  good  casting  but  not  a 
strong  one.  Black  specks,  if  present,  mean  carbon.  If  the  carbon 
in  the  iron  is  chemically  combined,  it  will  show  white  metal,  with  no 
specks,  on  fracture,  in  which  case  the  iron  is  very  hard  and  brittle 
and  will  not  flow  easily  into  the  mould,  but  will  make  a  very  strong 
casting. 

For  rolling  or  mill  work  the  most  used  are  the  Nos.  2  and  3,  Grey 
Forge  and  Mottled  of  the  mill  irons.  For  castings  the  most  used  are 
the  Nos.  1,  2  and  3  and  Grey  Forge  of  foundry  irons;  the  Mottled 
and  White  being  usually  sold  for  cheap  mill-work. 

For  steel  the  iron  should  be  as  free  as  possible  from  phosphorus 
and  sulphur,  and  the  same,  so  far  as  possible,  for  rolled-iron.  The 
presence  of  these  makes  iron  fluid  and  soft  and  good  for  fine  castings, 
but  unfits  it  for  rolling  or  forging. 

Irons  for  mill  and  steel  work  are  usually  much  stronger  than  for 
foundry  work. 

Scotch  irons  are  used  in  castings  to  make  the  melted  iron  more 
Scotch  fiuid,  to  soften  it;  but  they  greatly  weaken  the  cast- 

Softeners,  ing.  For  very  fine  castings,  Coltness  is  the  best  and 
softest.  For  ordinary  architectural  castings,  such  as  columns, 
lintels,  etc.,  either  Glyngarnoek  or  Eglinton  (both  Scotch  irons)  can 
be  used  ;  using  one-third  Scotch  to  two-thirds  of  some  good  American 
iron ;  using  Nos.  1  and  2  of  the  latter  in  equal  proportions. 

Sloss  (American)  iron  is  now  frequently  used  by  good  manu- 
facturers as  a  softener  in  place  of  Scotch  iron. 

For  good  and   yet  strong  castings,  use   Thomas,  Crane,  Copley, 

Strong0  Manhattan,  Low  Moor,  Glendon  or  Coleraine.     Add 

Plg-lrona.  Sloss   or    Scotch  for  extra  fine   castings.      Or  add 

Glendon,  Secausus  or  Castle  for  extra  strong  castings,  using  the  No. 

1  mill  irons  for  the  strongest  work. 

For  rolled  iron-work  use  Glendon,  Andover,  Taylor,  Thomas, 
Stanhope,  Allentown,  Cornwall  or  Bethlehem.  The  latter  two  being 
used  for  steel. 

There  is  a  very  strong  and  tough  charcoal  iron  from  South 
Carolina,  but  it  is  used  mainly  for  car-wheels,  being  too  expensive 
for  ordinary  work,  other  tough  charcoal  irons  are  made  in  many 
places  from  Michigan  to  Alabama. 

In  every  case  the  better  qualities  (Nos.  1  and  2)  will,  of  course, 
give  the  best  results. 

Unwin  compiles  (from  a  paper  published  by  Mr.  Turner  in  the 
Transactions  of  the  Iron  and  Steel  Institute  of  1885)  the  following 
Tables  of  percentages,  density  and  weight,  for  cast-iron: 

TABLE   XXVI. 

ANALYSIS  OF  CAST  IKONS. 


Greatest  softness 

"        hardness 

"        general  strength ... 

"        stillness 

"        tensile  strength. ... 
"        crushing  strength. 


Combined 
Carbon. 

Graphitic 
Carbon. 

Silicon. 

0,15 

3,1 

2,5 





under  0,8 

0,50 

2,8 

1,42 





1,0 





1,8 

over  1,0 

under  2,G 

about  0,8 

TABLE   XXVII. 

DENSITIES  AND  WEIGHTS  OF  CAST  IRONS. 


MATERIAL. 

Density. 

Weight  per  cubic 
foot  in  ibs. 

6,80 
7,20 
7,35 
7,50 

425 
450 
458 
474 

For  wrought-iron  Unwin  gives  this  analysis  : 

Carbon  0,02  to  0,25  per  cent;  Manganese  0,0  to  0,3  per  cent; 
Silicon  0,0  to  0,2  per  cent;  Sulphur  0,0  to  0,015  per  cent;  Phos- 
phorus the  same,  and  Pure  Iron  99  to  99,5  per  cent. 

For  steel,  of  course,  the  proportions  vary  greatly  with  the  amount 
of  carbon  it  contains.  Louis  DE  COPPET  BEKG. 

[To  be  continued.! 


[The  editors  cannot  pay  attention  to  demands  of  correspondents  wJio 
forget  to  give  their  names  and  addresses  as  guaranty  of  good  faith  ; 
nor  do  they  hold  themselves  responsible  for  opinions  expressed  by 
their  correspondents."] 

THE  HORSES  OF  ITALIAN  STATUES. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  June  10, 1889. 
To  THE  EDITORS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT:  — 

Dear  Sirs,  —  Your  contributor  in  his  admirable  and  interesting 
papers  upon  "  Equestrian  Monuments "  remarks  upon  the  family 
resemblance  of  the  antique  bronze  horse  ridden  by  the  Marcus 
Aurelius  of  the  Capitol  and  the  horses  of  the  Middle  Ages  under 
Colleoni  and  others.  I  remember  that  the  Aurelius  charger  seemed 
to  me  very  unsatisfactory  till,  seeing  the  monument  itself  at  Rome,  I 
had  the  opportunity  to  compare  it  with  Roman  horses  used  by  Pius 
IX  in  his  carriage  and  for  mounting  the  Papal  guard.  I  think  it 
clear  that  these  black  horses  are  of  the  same  stock  as  the  one  which 
served  the  sculptor  of  the  Marcus  Aurelius  as  a  model.  They  differ 
greatly  from  the  English  blood  horse,  derived  from  the  Barb  by 
careful  breeding.  Yet  it  is  to  bo  remembered,  in  discussing  the 
question,  that  the  Romans  of  the  Empire  conquered  and  controlled 
for  years  the  country  of  the  Barb  and  of  the  Arab  horse. 

M.  C.  MEIGS. 


AN  EMPIRICAL  TEST  FOK  LEAD.  —  The  minutest  quantities  of  lead 
in  potable  waters  may  be  detected  by  a  simple  method.  The  apparatus 
needed  is  an  ordinary  tumbler  and  two  perfectly  bright  and  clean 
knitting  needles.  Fill  the  glass  nearly  full  of  the  water  to  be  tested, 
and  add  eight  or  ten  drops  of  acetic  acid,  or,  in  its  absence,  a  teaspoon- 
ful  of  vinegar.  If  the  water  be  quite  turbid,  double  or  even  treble  thia 
quantity  may  be  used.  The  needles  should  be  carefully  revolved 
occasionally.  If  lead  be  present  in  the  minutest  quantity,  in  the  course 
of  a  short  time  dark  or  black  spots  will  appear  upon  the  needles,  and  in 
the  course  of  six  or  eight  hours  the  entire  surface  in  contact  with  the 
water  will  be  covered  with  a  gray  coating,  the  depth  of  color  of  which 
will  depend  upon  the  amount  of  lead  in  the  fluid.  From  time  to  time  a 
needle  should  be  withdrawn  and  examined  with  a  magnifying  glass,  if 
necessary,  to  determine  whether  or  not  a  deposit  is  being  formed.  The 
same  needle  should  be  withdrawn  each  time,  and  one  needle  should  be 
left  in  contact  with  the  fluid  three  or  four  hours  longer  than  the  other. 
After  removal  they  should  be  placed  in  a  dust-free  box  and  left  for 
twenty-four  hours,  as  in  cases  where  the  amount  of  lead  is  exceedingly 
small  a  deposit  may  be  formed  which  cannot  be  immediately  detected, 
but  which  after  standing  for  twenty-four  hours  becomes  very  percepti- 
ble, the  color  being  a  yellow  or  reddish  yellow.  —  National  Druggist. 


SOAPSTONE  AND  ITS  USES. —  Attention  is  being  called  to  the  unap- 
preciated uses  and  preservative  qualities  of  soapstone,  a  material  which 


the  inside  of  a  steamer,  which  is  not  exposed  to  the  action  of  salt-water, 
like  the  bottom,  corrodes  much  more  quickly  than  the  outside.  It  has, 
too,  an  additional  quality  in  this  line,  one  which  adapts  it  in  a  remark- 
able degree  as  a  protective  paint  for  ships,  and  this  is  the  extreme  fine- 
ness of  its  grain  ;  indeed,  ground  soapstone  is  one  of  the  finest  materials 
producible,  and  from  experiments  made,  it  is  found  that  no  other 
material  is  capable  of  taking  hold  of  the  fibre  of  iron  and  steel  so 
readily  and  firmly  as  this.  It  is  also  lighter  than  metallic  pigments, 
and  on  this  account,  when  mixed  as  a  paint  it  is  capable  of  covering  a 
larger  surface  than  zinc  white,  red  lead  or  oxide  of  iron.  In  China, 
soapstone  has  long  been  largely  used  for  preserving  structures  built  of 
sandstone  and  other  stones  liable  to  crumble  from  the  effect  of  the 
atmosphere,  and  the  covering  with  powdered  soapstone  in  the  form  of 
paint  on  some  obelisks  in  that  country  composed  of  stone  liable  to 
atmospheric  deterioration  has  been  the  means  of  preserving  them  intact 
for  hundreds  of  years.  —  Exchange. 

THE  SAN  DIEGO,  CAL.,  FLUME.  —  It  is  claimed  that  the  recently 
completed  San  Diego  flume  is  the  most  stupendous  ever  constructed  in 
the  world,  being  only  a  little  short  of  thirty-six  miles  long.  An  idea  of 
the  gigantic  character  of  the  work  may  be  obtained  from  the  fact  that 
the  amount  of  lumber  consumed  was  more  than  nine  millions  of  feet, 
or,  allowing  the  very  considerable  yield  of  1,000  feet  to  each  tree,  not 
less  than  9,000  trees  were  required.  In  the  course  of  the  flume  there 
are  some  315  trestles,  the  longest  of  these  being  1,700  feet  in  length, 
eighty-five  feet  high,  and  containing  one-quarter  of  a  million  feet  of 
lumber.  Another  trestle  is  of  the  same  height,  and  1,200  feet  long,  the 
main  timbers  used  in  both  of  these  being  ten  by  ten  and  eight  by  eight,  be- 
ing put  together  on  the  ground  and  raised  to  their  position  by  horse-power. 
The  number  of  tunnels  in  the  course  of  the  flume  is  eight,  the  longest 
of  which  is  2,100  feet,  the  tunnels  being  in  size  six  by  six  feet,  with  con- 
vex-shaped roofing;  each  mile  of  the  flume  required  an  average  of  one- 
fourth  of  a  million  feet  of  lumber  for  its  construction,  and  the  redwood 
used  entirely  in  the  box  is  two  inches  in  thickness  throughout. — 
Exchange. 


288 


TJie    American   Architect   and  Building   News.      [VOL.  XXIV.  —  No.  703- 


SILICA  m  IKON  SMELTING.  — Capt.  G.  G.  Mullins,  a  retired  officer  of 
the  regular  army,  is  making  efforts  to  introduce  into  the  iron  and  steel 
foundries  of  Chicago  an  invention  which,  it  is  claimed,  increases  the 
working  qualities,  tensile  strength,  and  resilience  of  the  metal  in  its 
various  forms.  The  novelty  of  the  invention  is  the  use  of  silica  in  the 
furnace.  Silica  has  been  considered  a  detriment  to  iron  ores,  and 
invention  heretofore  has  striven  to  separate  it  from  the  metal  rather 
than  utilize  it.  Captain  Mullins  claims  that  the  adverse  agent  is  in 
reality  silicon,  the  base  of  silica,  and  not  silica  itself.  While  silicon 
renders  iron  coarse  in  crystal,  weaker  and  more  brittle,  silica  properly 
applied  has  an  opposite  effect.  In  a  pamphlet  published  by  the  com- 
pany pushing  his  patents,  the  precise  method  of  using  the  silica  is  not 
given,  but  effects  are  scheduled,  which,  if  obtainable,  should  revolu- 
tionize the  character  of  the  iron  and  steel  output.  Prof.  J.  B.  Johnson, 
civil  engineer  of  the  Washington  University  at  St.  Louis,  is  given  by 
Captain  Mullins  as  authority  for  the  statement  that  the  silica  process 
produces  a  uniformity  of  structure,  close-crystalled,  and  fine-grained  to 
a  degree  not  found  in  unsilicated  iron;  greater  freedom  from  blow- 
holes; a  combined  softness  and  toughness  which  better  adapts  the 
metal  for  the  lathe ;  twenty-two  per  cent  increase  in  tensile  strength, 
and  ninety  per  cent  increase  in  resilience,  or  a  power  to  withstand 
shock  nearly  double  that  of  ordinary  iron. —  Chicago  Tribune. 


HAW  POND'S  GOINGS  AND  COMINGS.  —  Haw  Pond  is  about  seventeen 
miles  east  of  Cordele,  and  is  perhaps  one  of  the  most  wonderful  natural 
curiosities  in  Georgia.  It  is  situated  in  a  low  place,  with  hills  on  every 
side  sloping  down  to  it.  Indeed,  it  is  down  hill  for  miles  in  going  to 
the  pond  from  any  direction.  Just  at  this  time  every  year  the  water 
gradually  goes  down  a  few  feet.  Then  there  is  a  rush  of  water,  a 
tremendous  roar,  and  within  a  few  minutes  every  drop  of  water  disap- 
pears. This  has  happened  for  years,  and  it  has  never  been  known  to 
prove  a  disappointment  to  those  who  go  to  witness  the  disappearance. 
Last  Thursday  about  a  dozen  Cordelians  left  here  for  the  pond.  They 
carried  fishing  tackle  in  abundance,  and  spent  a  day  and  night  catching 
any  number  of  the  finest  specimens  of  the  finny  tribe.  They  met  about 
fifty  others  who  had  gathered  at  the  pond  to  fish  and  wait  for  the  water 
to  disappear.  Where  the  fishermen  dropped  their  lines  to  the  depth  of 
ten  feet  Thursday  night,  there  was  scarcely  a  drop  of  water  Saturday 
morning.  In  a  day  the  water  had  disappeared  completely.  For  miles 
around  the  ground  is  said  to  be  unstable  and  liable  at  any  moment  to 
sink.  Only  a  few  weeks  ago  the  bottom  dropped  out,  and  now  only  the 
tops  of  the  trees  can  be  seen  above  ground.  Every  year  large  crowds 
from  the  surrounding  county  gather  to  witness  the  disappearance,  and 
this  year  there  were  perhaps  one  hundred  and  fifty  people  there.  In 
the  fall,  when  there  is  rain  in  abundance,  and  the  streams  are  full  of 
water,  Haw  Pond  fills  up  and  waits  for  the  springtime,  when  it  disap- 
pears again.  —  Atlanta  Constitution. 


THE  OLD  EGYPTIAN  ENCAUSTIC  PROCESS.  —  In  the  older  Egyptian 
mummies  the  face  of  the  outer  casing  is  usually  modelled  in  relief,  in  a 
purely  conventional  way,  but  in  this  latest  form  of  burial  under  the 
Koman  Empire  a  portrait  of  the  deceased  was  painted  on  a  very  thin 
piece  of  wood  and  then  fixed  over  the  dead  face.  It  is  very  remarkable 
to  find  such  fine  coloring  and  skilful  drawing  in  work  of  this  late  date, 
which  must  have  been  turned  out  of  an  ordinary  undertaker's  work- 
shop. The  portraits,  both  male  and  female,  are  most  vivid  and  life- 
like ;  the  ladies  are  mostly  dressed  in  a  purple  garment  and  the  men 
in  white,  with  a  red  orphrey.  The  modelling  of  the  flesh  is  very 
skilful,  and  in  some  cases  the  coloring  reminds  one  of  the  Venetian 
school  from  its  rich  depth  of  tone.  A  special  point  of  interest  about 
these  paintings  is  their  technical  execution  in  the  hot  wax,  or  encaustic 
process,  as  it  was  called.  The  pigments  were  mixed  with  melted  wax, 
and  then  fixed  in  their  place  by  holding  a  charcoal  brazier  near  the 
surface  of  the  painting,  as  is  described  by  Vitruvius.  The  some- 
what lumpy  impasto  of  the  surface  is  due  to  the  hardening  of  the 
melted  wax  when  the  brush  touched  the  cold  surface  of  the  panel,  and, 
owing  to  the  non-absorbent  nature  of  the  wood,  the  subsequent  applica- 
tion of  heat  was  not  able  to  drive  the  wax  below  the  surface,  as  was 
the  case  with  encaustic  painting  upon  stucco.  One  of  these  portraits  is 
noticeable  from  its  ornamental  framing  with  a  flowing  pattern,  formed 
by  pressing  wooden  stamps  upon  soft  stucco,  which  was  afterward  gilt, 
a  process  exactly  like  that  which  was  so  often  used  to  decorate 
medieval  pictures  on  panel,  especially  retables,  or  ancone,  as  the 
Venetians  called  them.  —  Tlie  Saturday  Review. 


THE  strongest  feature  and  most  important  tendency  in  the  commercial 
and  general  business  situation  is  the  decided  tendency  of  prices  in  the 
downward  direction,  notwithstanding  all  that  lias  been  said  concerning  re- 
oupenitive  agencies  at  work.  In  every  direction,  almost,  symptoms  of 
declining  prices  are  observable.  The  forces  at  work  in  this  direction  are 
stronger  than  business  men  and  financiers  generally  believe.  Every  week 
or  so,  elaborately-prepared  articles  appear  in  our  trade  and  financial  papers 
proving  beyond  the  possibility  of  a  doubt  that  at  last  and  fiually  bottom 
prices  have  been  reached,  aud  that  now  is  the  most  favorable  time  for 
parties  who  have  money  to  invest  in  railway  and  other  securities,  and  to 
put  money  in  the  various  new  enterprises.  The  outside  public  does  not  act 
upon  these  suggestions.  Foreign  capitalists  show  the  same  indisposition,  or 
rather,  suspiciousness.  '1  hroughout  our  own  country  every wl  ere  this  is  at 
work  to  crowd  prices  still  a  little  lower.  As  an  indication  of  this  in  railroad 
securities,  it  is  to  be  noted  that  commissioners  of  railroads  have  informed 
managers  of  all  the  railroads  running  through  the  State  of  Missouri  that  on 
June  25  they  will  he  required  to  show  cause  why  rates  should  not  he  re- 
duced from  ten  to  fifteen  per  cent  after  July  15  This  action  is  the  result 
of  similar  action  taken  some  time  ago  in  Iowa,  Kansas  and  other  Western 
States.  The"Q'"  system  has  given  notice  that  on  Motid,  y  a  reduction 
iii  latcs  upon  its  lines  will  go  iuto  effect.  Lake  Superior  lines  have  also 


reduced  rates.  The  Chicago  &  Alton  has  reduced  rates  on  lumber  to 
Missouri  River  points.  Like  reductions  have  also  been  enforced  on  several 
Southern  roads  and  in  some  roads  in  the  far  Kast,  notably  in  Ohio  and 
Pennsylvania  and  New  York.  The  explanation  of  this  is  simply  that  com- 
petition is  working  its  way  into  railroad  matters,  as  it  has  in  all  other  direc- 
tions. Railroad  managers  have  for  years  maintained  a  belief  that  their 
arbitrary  rates  could  be  maintained,  and  they  have  disregarded  more  or 
less  the  appeals  of  shippers  and  the  public  generally.  They  would  not 
permit  fair  rates.  Recent  reductions  in  prices  clearly  show  that  a  remodel- 
ling of  schedules  will  now  take  place  throughout  the  country.  The  work 
will  be  done  gradually,  but  no  power  can  arrest  it.  One  fact  worth  refer- 
ring to  in  this  survey  is  from  the  statements  made  by  small  manufacturers 
and  shippers  along  lines  of  roads  throughout  the  country,  to  the  effect  that 
the  Interstate  Commerce  law  is  helping  to  build  up  little  industries  and 
little  villages  throughout  the  country,  which  development  a  few  years  ago 
was  impossible.  No  harm  is  to  be  feared  from  the  lowering  of  price?. 
The  industries  of  the  country  are  arranging  themselves  over  again  with 
reference  to  cost  and  production.  New  England  manipulators  largely 
controlled  the  hoot  and  shoe  trade.  Massachusetts  has  no  longer  such 
nflnenee,  and  it  is  not  such  an  important  factor  in  the  paper  trade.  Wis- 
consin, Michigan,  Indiana  and  other  States  are  coming  to  the  fore  with 
mills  with  the  finest  equipments  and  with  water-power  in  many  cases,  which 
reduces  the  cost  of  production  way  below  any  price  thought  probable  a  few 
years  ago.  The  makers  of  paper-making  machinery  are  reporting  them- 
selves unusually  busy  with  contract  work  for  new  mills,  and  old  mills  have 
jeen  compelled  to  adopt  the  policy  of  putting  in  new  machinery,  in  order 
,o  prevent  themselves  from  being  crowded  under.  The  manufacturers  of 
mrdware  of  all  kinds,  especially  throughout  the  New  England  States,  have 
jegun  to  do  a  busy  summer's  work  for  the  fall  and  winter.  Contrary  to 


request.    In  fact,  carriage-builders,  especially  in  the  West,  say  that  this 
season  has  been  an  exceptionally  good  one  in  all  respects,  excepting  their 
margins  on  work.    Throughout  the  New  England  States  there  is  compara- 
tively little  just  complaint  among  manufacturers.    The  textile  mills  are 
running  very  well      At  Fall  River,  the  dividends  paid  and  the  new  factories 
projected  and  building  show  that  the  great  industry  there  is  in  a  healthy 
condition.    Throughout  the  smaller  towns  and  villages  considerable  new 
work  is  going  on.    Jobbers  and  commission-house  men  are  advising  a  con- 
donation of  the  conservative  management  of  the  past  few  months,  but  at 
the  same  time  they  feel  much  more  hopeful  than  they  did  during  March 
and  April.    The  recent  large  auction  sales  at  advancing  prices  have  given 
confidence  to  the  trade  and  to  manufacturers.    Another  good  indication  is 
;he  fact  that  a  great  deal  of  American  textile  machinery  is  now  under  con- 
tract not  only  for  mills  in  the  South,  but  for  mills  in  the  New  England  States. 
The  hosiery  manufacturers  despite  the  sharp  and  bitter  competition  of 
European  makers  is  guiding  itself  into  new  markets  where  competition  is 
less  hurtful,  and  the  pioneers  in  the  movement  are  achieving  a  success 
which  shows  that  energetic  enterprise  is  able  to  lead  competition  in  the  long 
run.     There  is  nothing  in  the  textile  manufacturing  situation    that    is 
actually  discouraging.    The  woolen  goods  manufacturers  expect  to  do  a 
large  business.    The  cotton-goods  mills  are  now  nearly  all  well  employed. 
Stocks  are  now  by  no  means  unwieldy,  and  the  consumption  of  goods  in  all 
sections  of  the  country  has  not  fallen  below  the  average  of  recent  years.    On 
the   contrary,   the    average   has    been  exceeded.      The  manufacturers   of 
machinery,  of  boilers,  engines  and  implements,  especially  for  agricultural 
use,  have  had  an  excellent  season,  and  while  the  stocks  of  implements  in 
Western  distributing  centres  are  large,  the  best  authorities  there  do  not  believe 
that  there  will  be  any  stocks  left  over  after  the  buyers  have  come  in.     It  is 
the  intention  of  the  farming  interests  of  the  West  to  extend  their  area,  as  it 
is  the  intention  of  the  cotton-growers  of  the  South  to  increase  their  cotton- 
producing  territory.    The  fair  prices  for  cereals,  and  the  advancing  prices 
for  cotton,  have  served  to  strengthen  confidence  throughout  the  agricultural 
regions  and    elsewhere.      A  great    deal    of  new   Western  and   Southern 
territory  has  been  opened   up  within  the  past  twelve  months.    The  old 
stories  of  the  influx  of  capital  into  the  West  and  South  can  only  be  told 
over  again,  so  no  very  extended  reference  to  it  is  necessary.    The  furnaces 
of  the  South  are  selling  every  ton  of  iron  they  can  make.    The  daily  con- 
sumption of  crude  and  finished  iron,  of  cheap  dry-goods,  and  of  shop  and 
mill  products  generally,  is  growing  with  amazing  rapidity  in  all  the  Western 
and  Southern  States.    New  industrial  centres  are  springing  up.    Northern 
Iron-maker*  dnre  not  place  prices  up  for  iron  without  consulting  the  iron- 
men  of    the  South.      The  Michigan    and   Wisconsin    lumbermen  cannot 
advance  prices  of  lumber  to  Missouri  River  points  without  taking  into 
account  the  movements  and  opinions  of  the  lumber  operators  in  Arkansas, 
Mississippi  and  Georgia.    There  is  a  centralizing  process  on  one  hand  aud  a 
decentralizing  process  on  the  other  hand.    No  one  centre  exercises  the  same 
controlling  influence  that  it  did  a  few  years  ago.    Monogahela  Valley  coal 
is  likely  to  be  driven  out  of  Missouri  River  points.    The  new  coal  develop- 
ments all  over  the  West  are  making  industrial  possibilities  clear  beyond  the 
conception  of  the  average  newspaper-reader.    While  all  these  things  are 
true,  there  are  influences  at  work  which  call  for  more  prudence.    This  is 
being  shown  by  a  great  many  business  men.    Occasional  symptoms  of 
a  stringency  in  money  have  taken  place  recently,  and  dealers  "have  failed 
because  of  the  impossibility  of  collecting  money  to  meet  their  obligations. 
Commercial  agencies  do  not  sound  any  alarm  as  yet  over  these  difficulties,  but 
the  attention  of  commercial  men  and  financiers  is  directed  to  the  possibility 
of  greater  difficulties  in   the  collection  of   debts  and  the  settlement  of 
accounts.    The  iron  trade  began  to  improve  last  week  most  unexpectedly. 
'Jhe  chief  strength  was  manifested  in  Pennsylvania,  more  particularly  in 
Philadelphia.     Finished   iron   has  been  advanced  nominally  $2  per  bin. 
Steel-rails  are  held  at  50  cents  higher  than  a  week  ago.    Crude  iron  has  not 
been  advanced,  for  notwithstanding  the  fact  Southern  iron  might  be  crowded 
in  ucder  any  advance.    There  is  an  enlarged  demand  and  a  wider  inquiry 
in  nearly  all   Eastern  markets   between   Boston  and   St.  Louis.     Heavy 
lumber  shipments  continue  from  Chicago,  Savannah  and  Mobile  to  Eastern 
markets.    The  great  disaster  in  Pennsylvania  will  call  for  immense  quanti- 
ties of  lumber,  iron  and  steel,  as  well  as  a  vast  quantity  of  mill  aud  shop 
products.     Some  thirty  to  forty  bridges  of  considerable  size  were  lost  in 
that  catastrophe,   besides  cars,  locomotives,  shop  equipments,   tools  and 
machinery  without  estimate.    The  Cambria  iron  Works  were  not  as  badly 
damaged  as  first  supposed,  and  it  is  thought  that  nearly  all  departments  of 
this  works  will  be  in  operation  by  the  1st  of  July.    Last  week  the  steel  rail 
allotment  was   increased  200,000   tons.      Railroad-builders    have  not  yit 
begun  active  work,  but  probably  will  in  July;  hut,  it  is  not  yet  too  late  for 
some  surprises  in  this  direction.    Mining  operations  in  nearly  one-half  of 
the  anthracite  coal  fields  of  Pennsylvania  were  temporarily  t-uspeiided  by 
floods,  but  work  will  be  resumed  next  week  in  many  mines. 

S.    JU    PAKKHILL  &  Co.,  Printers,  Boston. 


JUNE  15,  1889.] 


The  American  Architect  and  RuMmy  News. 


CA5OT5 


L  VATI VE  i 

•  •»*MN|          t~    ~-    -"  ~ 


IIS  IS  A  PECULIAR  COMBINATION  OF 
/STRVGTI5LE-  (H/MS  WITH  AN  OILY  SOLVENT 
VMICH  PREVENTS  TFE  PENETRATION  oF  WATEF 
INTO  E1TFER  BRICKS  op-  Mpp-TAP~:  IT  ^P-EATLY 
IMPROVES  TIf;  AFFEAPANCE  op  5  PIC  K*WoKK,  DIVING-  IT 

A  F1GH  ErPECT,PI^EE  FPOM^L0^-  T>E  WMITE 
FL°PESCENCE.OF  SALTS  ON  THE  SURFACE  ANP 
FORMATION  op  FUNGUS  is  PREVENTEP;  <v\s  IT  is 

MUCH  MORE'  IMPERMEABLE  To  WATEP-  IT  IS  PAR- 
BETTER  .THAN  LlNSEEP  OIL',  AMP  IT  IS  NoT  Pfi$TRo% 
EP  BY  THE  LIME  op  TFE  M°RTAR:  WE  CAN  RECOM* 
MEND  IT  PoR  USE  ON  CMl^YVIEYs,  AS  IT  WILL  PREVENT 
THEIR  PISINTEd  RATION  5Y  PF-IVIN6  RAINS,  WHILE 
SUPERIOR  TO  TFE  5EST  FAINT  FoR  THIS  PURPOSE, 
IT.  IS  'ALS<    MOR  E  ECONOMICAL  • 


]tLSQ  MWUrACTUHERS  of  CPEo$9TE  STAIN*  6"  ANTI  WE 


The    American    Architect   and   Building    News.          [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  703. 


From1 


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TOWERS. 


THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT  AND  BUILDING  NEWS. 


VOL.  xxv. 


Copyright,  1889,  by  TICKNOB  &  COMPANY,  Boston,  Mags. 


No.    704. 


JUNE  22,  1889. 

Entered  at  the  Poet-Office  at  Boston  as  second-class  matter. 


SUMMARY: — 

The  Use  of  Structural  Steel.  —  The  Electric  Current  and  the 
Death  Penalty  in  New  York.  —  Tests  of  Roofing  Slates. — 
Theatrical  Machinery.  —  The  Ethics  of  Competitions  as 
understood  in  Buenos  Ayres.  —  A  Private  Electric  Railway 
in  Scotland.  —  Attendance  at  the  Technical  High  School  at 

Berlin. — A  large  Naval  Steam  Engine. 289 

BUILDERS'  HARDWARE. — XXVIII 291 

LETTER  FROM  CHICAGO 293 

ILLUSTRATIONS : — 

Extension  to  the  Adams  House,  Boston,  Mass. —  Brereton  Hall, 
Cheshire;  Bramshill,  Hampshire;  Moreton  Hall,  Cheshire; 
Crewe  Hall,  Cheshire.  —  Dining-halt  at  Chenonceaux.  —  The 
Tombs  of  the  Scaligers,  Verona,  Italy.  —  Portion  of  the 
Tomb  of  Can  Signorio,  Verona,  Italy.  —  Monument  to  the 
Duke  of  Brunswick,  Geneva,  Switzerland. —  House  at  Man- 
chester, Vt.,  for  E.  S.  Isham,  Esq  ,  Chicago,  111  — House  of 
George  M.  Jones,  Esq.,  Greensburgh,  Pa.  —  House  of  J.  F. 

Sinnott,  Esq.,  Rosemont,  Pa 294 

LETTER  FROM  WASHINGTON 294 

LETTER  FROM  CANADA 295 

LETTER  FKOM  NEW  YORK 29ti 

EQUESTRIAN  MONUMENTS. —  XVII 297 

BUILDING  LAW 299 

SOCIETIES 300 

TKADB  SURVEYS 300 


QUESTION  of  extreme  importance  to  architects  in  this 
country  has  recently  been  raised  in  Europe  in  exactly  the 
form  in  which  it  presents  itself  to  us.     The  Government 
of  Roumania.  having  occasion  to  build  two  great  bridges  over 
the  Danube,  procured  designs  from  native  engineers,  and  had 
them  worked  out  in  detail,  and  then   found  itself  confronted 
with  the  question  whether  it  would  be  better  to  use  steel  or 
iron    in    their  construction.     The   Roumanian   engineers,  who 
are  mostly  educated  abroad,  do  not  lack  skill,  and  in  this  case 
they  showed  in  a  signal  manner  that  they  possessed,  what  is,  if 
possible,   better    than    skill,  modesty    and    common-sense,   for, 
instead  of  evolving  from  their  moral  consciousness  an  opinion 
as   to   the  relative  merits   of   the   two  materials,  they  frankly 
confessed  that  they  did  not  know,  and  that  very  few  men  did 
know,  which,  in  the  present  stage  of  the  manufacture  of  rolled 
iron  and  steel,  would  be  the  safest  and  best  for  the  purpose. 
The   Roumanian   Government,  therefore,  sent   to   the  General 
Council  of  the  great  French  semi-military  corps  of  the  Pouts 
et  Chaussees,  asking  for  its   advice   on    the   subject,  on   the 
ground  that  the  French  engineers  were  more  familiar  with  the 
question,  and   had   better  opportunities   of   judging,  and   that 
their  opinion  would,  therefore,  be  of  more  value  than  that  of 
the  native  professional  men.     In  response  to  this  request,  the 
Council  of  the  Pouts  et  Chaussees  appointed  a  commission  of 
three  members,  who  not  only  prepared  a  careful  opinion,  based 
on  French  experience,  but  made  a  number  of  original  experi- 
ments,   to   determine   obscure    points,    and   consulted   foreign 
engineers  known  to  have  had   exceptional   opportunities  for 
forming  opinions  which  would  be  of  value.     The  result  of  all 
these   investigations   was    presented   in   a   report,   which   has 
been   printed  in  the  Annales  des  Pouts   et   Chaussees,  and    is 
certainly  the  most  important  contribution  to  the  literature  of 
construction  which  has  appeared  for  a  long  time.     After  recall- 
ing the  disastrous  failures  which  followed  the  early  attempts  to 
substitute  steel  for  iron  in  construction,  and  which  are  familiar 
to  architects,  the  report  says  that  the  manufacture  of  mild  steel 
has  of  late  been  very  greatly  improved,  so  that  the  lack  of 
homogeneity  which  led  to  most  of  the  early  accidents  is  now 
not  much  to  be  feared,  while  the  methods  of  rolling  and  work- 
ing, and  particularly   of  riveting,  have   also  been   modified   to 
suit  the  peculiar  qualities  of  the  material,  with  signal  success. 
At  the  same  time,  the  price  of  steel  has  been  lowered  until  it 
is  now  in   Europe  about  ten  per  cent  more  expensive,  weight 
for  weight,  than  rolled-iron.     Under  these   circumstances,  the 


commission  says  that  "  both  for  naval  and  civil  constructions 
steel  of  good  quality  may,  in  a  great  number  of  cases,  be 
used  with  perfect  safety  in  place  of  iron."  In  the  case  pre- 
sented to  it,  of  the  bridges  across  the  Danube,  the  commission 
says  that  for  the  wide  spans,  which  are  crossed  by  girders  more 
than  five  hundred  feet  long,  it  would  be  particularly  desirable 
to  use  steel,  not  only  for  economy  of  money,  since  the  neces- 
sary strength  could  be  obtained  with  forty  per  cent  less  weight 
of  steel  than  of  iron,  and  even  at  the  European  prices,  The 
steel  would  cost  considerably  less ;  but  because  the  load  on  the 
piers,  which  stand  on  very  soft  ground,  would  by  the  use  of 
steel  be  considerably  diminished.  For  the  short  side  spans  the 
gain  by  using  steel  would  be  much  less,  and  here  it  advises 
that  the  option  should  be  left  with  the  contractors  to  obtain 
the  required  strength  with  either  iron  or  steel,  but  it  remarks 
that  even  for  these  the  steel  would  be  more  reliable,  if  not 
cheaper,  since  the  manufacture  of  rolled-iron  has,  in  its  opinion, 
deteriorated  about  as  fast  in  Europe  as  that  of  steel  has  im- 
proved. With  us,  it  is  probable  that  the  manufacture  of  iron 
in  the  best  mills  is  still  kept  up  to  the  high  American  standard, 
and  we  are  not  sure  that  the  steel-mills  here  have  improved 
their  processes  as  much  as  those  in  Europe,  but  the  prices 
fixed  by  the  rolling-mill  combination  are  here  the  same  for 
steel  as  for  iron,  for  equal  weights,  and  we  can  afford  to  allow 
a  considerable  margin  for  uncertainty  as  to  the  quality  of  the 
steel,  and  still  save  a  good  deal  of  money  by  its  use.  The  sub- 
ject is  so  extremely  important  that  we  hope  it  may  occur 
either  to  the  revivified  American  Institute  of  Architects,  or  to 
the  Society  of  Civil  Engineers,  to  collect  some  reliable  in- 
formation of  the  kind  in  regard  to  American  structural  steel, 
before  another  year  has  gone  by.  If  we  are  not  mistaken] 
some  tests  have  been  recently  made  of  steel  and  iron  beams  at 
the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology,  under  the  direction 
of  Professor  Lanza,  and  the  results  of  these  will  certainly  be 
of  the  utmost  value. 


CURIOUS  matter  of  jurisprudence  is  under  discussion  in 
New  York.  A  law  went  into  operation  there  on  the  first 
of  January,  abolishing  executions  by  hanging,  and  order- 
ing the  substitution  of  death  by  electric  shock.  The  first 
person  who  has  had  an  opportunity  of  trying  the  new  plan  is 
one  Kemmler,  who  murdered  somebody,  probably  without 
taking  a  great  deal  of  trouble  to  do  so  in  the  most  agreeable  and 
painless  way,  and  has  in  consequence  been  condemned  to  lose 
his  own  life  by  the  least  unpleasant  process  that  science  has 
been  able  to  devise,  as  a  means  of  deterring  others  who  may  be 
meditating  the  slaughter  of  their  fellow-men.  Fortunately, 
perhaps,  for  Mr.  Kemmler,  but  unfortunately  for  people  who 
do  not  wisli  to  murder  any  one  else  or  to  be  murdered  them- 
selves, a  powerful  influence  is,  it  is  said,  being  exercised  to 
have  the  sentence  commuted,  or  the  method  of  execution 
changed,  the  plea  urged  being  that  the  Constitution  forbids  the 
infliction  of  "cruel  or  unusual  punishments  "  ;  but  the  fact  that 
a  poor  and  friendless  murderer  is  able  to  command  the  services 
of  some  of  the  ablest  and  most  expensive  lawyers  in  the  State 
in  defending  such  a  worthless  and  ridiculous  plea  indicates,  to 
the  mind  of  experienced  persons,  that  some  wealthy  corpora- 
tion lias  found  it  for  its  interest  to  obstruct  the  course  of 
justice,  and  public  opinion  points  to  the  electric-light  companies, 
which  are  said  to  fear  that  the  connection  of  electric  currents 
and  judicial  executions  in  the  public  mind  may  injure  the  sale 
of  electricity.  Whether  this  idea  is  well  founded,  we  cannot 
say,  although  one  would  think  that  the  almost  weekly  deaths 
of  innocent  persons  by  the  electric  current  might  tend  to 
prejudice  people  against  it  quite  as  strongly  as  that  of  a  con- 
demned criminal ;  but  if  Mr.  Kemmler  should  save  his  neck, 
or  rather,  we  suppose  we  should  say,  his  nerves  by  this 
interference,  we  hope  he  will  be  placed  on  exhibition  as  an 
example  of  what  the  electric-light  companies  can  do  in  the  way 
of  saving  life  when  they  find  it  for  their  interest  to  exert  them- 
selves in  that  direction. 


TITHE    Wiener  Bauindustriezeitung,  one  of   the  most  useful 

JJ-    technical  journals  which  comes  to  our  office  table,  contains 

some  tests  of  the  quality  of  roofing-slate,  which  are  new. 

It  seems  that  an  important  lawsuit  against  a  contractor  turned 


290 


The   American    Architect  and  Building   News.        [Vou  XXV.  —  No.  704. 


to  some  extent  upon  the  quality  of  the  slate  used  on  the  roofs 
of  a  row  of  houses,  and  an  expert  chemist  was  appointed  by 
the  court  to  examine  the  slate,  and  give  testimony  concerning 
their  quality,  and  concerning  the  properties  of  roofing-slate  in 
general,  about  which  few  architects  or  builders  know  much 
with  certainty.  The  result  of  his  investigations  is  well  worth 
remembering  by  every  one  who  has  to  do  with  roofing-slate. 
He  found  that,  as  a  rule,  all  slates  contain  fine  lines,  running 
parallel  with  what  may  be  planes  of  secondary  stratification  or 
of  crystallization.  By  holding  a  roofing-slate  a  little  below  the 
eye,  and  inclined  from  it,  these  lines  may  be  seen.  If  they 
run  parallel  with  the  long  side  of  the  slate,  this  is  properly  cut, 
and,  if  of  good  quality,  will  keep  its  place  in  the  roof.  If  the 
lines  run  across  the  slate,  or  at  an  angle  with  its  sides,  it  is 
likely,  whatever  the  quality,  to  break  across,  or  lose  a  corner, 
at  the  least  provocation.  The  hardness  or  specific  gravity, 
contrary  to  the  usual  belief,  gives  no  reliable  indication  of  the 
quality  of  a  slate.  A  better  test  consists  in  striking  them 
together,  or  tapping  them  with  a  hard  substance.  If  they  ring 
clearly  under  this  treatment,  they  are  likely  to  be  good,  and  a 
dull  sound  on  percussion  generally  shows  a  poor  slate.  The 
familiar  experiment  of  setting  the  slates  upright  in  a  dish  of 
water,  and  noting  how  far  the  water  ascends  by  capillary 
attraction  in  the  substance  of  the  slate,  is  still  one  of  the  best 
tests  that  can  be  made.  In  a  good  slate  the  water  should  rise 
only  slightly  above  the  surrounding  surface.  A  slate  which 
draws  up  the  water  to  a  considerable  height  should  be  avoided, 
as  likely  to  be  destroyed  by  frosts  and  weathering.  Some 
slates,  apparently  hard  and  non-absorbent,  decompose  on 
exposure  to  the  air,  by  chemical  action.  These  are  best 
detected  by  placing  samples  in  test-tubes,  and  covering  them 
with  a  saturated  aqueous  solution  of  sulphurous  acid.  A  bad 
slate  will  begin  in  a  few  days  to  crumble  away,  while  a  good 
sample  will  resist  the  action  of  the  acid  for  weeks,  or  even 
months.  If  a  portion  of  the  slate  to  be  examined,  when  powd- 
ered, and  covered  with  muriatic  acid,  effervesces  strongly,  the 
presence  of  carbonate  of  lime  is  shown,  and  the  slate  should 
not  be  used.  If  another  sample,  when  powdered,  and  strongly 
heated  in  a  test-tube,  gives  off  a  yellow  sublimate  of  sulphur, 
with  a  smell  of  sulphurous  acid,  the  slate  contains  iron  pyrites, 
and  will  not  be  durable  on  a  roof. 


MMAMY  gives,  in  La  Construction  Moderne,  some  more 
detail  of  theatrical  machinery,  which  may  be  of  use  to 
architects  who  have  theatres  to  build  and  furnish. 
Speaking  of  the  snow  and  rain  of  the  stage,  he  says  that  the 
imitation  of  the  natural  phenomena  is  not  usually  very  perfect. 
For  rain,  it  is  usual  to  employ  a  long  wooden  box,  partly  inter- 
rupted at  intervals  by  partitions  of  wood  or  sheet-iron,  through 
which  small  pebbles  or  dry  peas  are  allowed  to  descend,  with  a 
noise  faintly  resembling  that  of  a  shower.  Snow,  on  the  stage, 
usually  consists  of  bits  of  paper,  thrown  down  from  above.  The 
illusion  is  anything  but  perfect,  but  the  better  substitutes,  such 
as  portions  of  wool  or  cotton  batting,  are  too  expensive  for  use. 
One  would  think  that  wood-fibre,  as  prepared  for  paper- 
making,  and  bleached,  might  be  a  cheap  and  good  material,  but 
we  do  not  know  that  it  has  ever  been  tried.  Great  improve- 
ments have  recently  been  made  in  stage  artillery.  The  old 
fashion  was  for  the  actors  to  fire  blank  cartridges  at  each  other, 
but  occasionally  a  ball-cartridge  would  get  into  the  guns,  to  the 
detriment  of  the  person  who  happened  to  be  standing  in  front 
of  them,  and  one  actor  was  killed  on  the  stage  merely  by  the 
wad  of  a  cartridge  supposed  to  be  perfectly  innocent.  For 
this  reason,  in  well-regulated  theatres,  the  actors  are  not  now 
allowed,  even  with  blank  cartridges,  to  aim  at  each  other,  but 
must  fire  in  the  air,  and  the  guns  are  all  loaded  by  the  stage 
armorer,  and  are  only  fired  once,  for  fear  of  some  mischance, 
so  that  a  large  number  of  guns  is  required.  By  the  new  sys- 
tem, invented  by  M.  Philippe,  Secretary  of  the  Bouffes- 
Parisiennes,  the  guns  used  on  the  stage  contain  a  long  spiral 
spring,  which  carries  a  needle  at  the  end.  The  piece  is  loaded 
by  compressing  the  spring,  which  is  retained  by  a  simple 
mechanism,  and  inserting  in  the  muzzle  a  cork,  which  contains 
a  charge  of  fulminating  mercury.  On  pulling  the  trigger,  the 
spring  is  released,  and  the  needle  strikes  the  fulminate,  which 
explodes,  blowing  the  cork  into  dust,  without  injury  to  any 
one.  Guns  of  this  sort  can  be  aimed  directly  at  their  victim 
without  danger,  and  may  be  reloaded  by  those  who  carry  them, 
so  that  their  use  saves  a  good  deal  of  trouble  and  expense,  and 
they  are  rapidly  becoming  popular  among  managers. 


IT  is  rather  a  comfort  to  think  that  there  is  one  place  in  the 
world  where  the  ethics  of  competitions  are  as  little  under- 
stood, or  regarded,  as  in  this  country.  This  benighted  place 
is  Buenos  Ayres,  where  a  competition  was  invited  last  year  for 
a  grand  public  building.  The  sketches  were  to  be  handed  in 
on  the  first  of  January,  and  on  the  appointed  day  three  archi- 
tects submitted  designs.  All  these,  on  examination,  were 
pronounced  unsatisfactory,  and  a  new  competition  was  called 
for,  to  close  on  the  first  of  April.  Eleven  architects  responded 
to  the  second  invitation,  and,  after  a  suitable  time  had  elapsed, 
they  were  notified  that  the  Government  had  decided  to  do 
nothing  more  about  the  competition,  but  to  have  its  plans 
drawn  by  the  official  architect,  and  they  could  have  their 
drawings  back  by  sending  for  them.  The  Deutsche  Ba.uzeitu.ng 
thinks  that  this  is  a  warning  against  engaging  in  foreign  com- 
petitions, and  we  might  add  that  it  ought  to  be  a  warning  to 
us,  who  are  much  worse  off  than  the  German  architects  in  this 
respect,  to  make  up  our  minds  quickly  not  to  submit  any  longer 
to  the  South  American  method  of  conducting  such  affairs,  and 
take  steps  to  enforce  our  decision. 


*T\  HOUSE  in  Scotland  has  been  provided  with  a  private 
f\  electric  railway,  to  convey  its  inmates  to  and  from  the 
railroad  station,  which  is  about  a  mile  and  a  quarter  away. 
Power  is  obtained  from  a  waterfall  some  three  miles  off,  by 
means  of  a  turbine  wheel,  attached  to  a  dynamo,  and  giving  a 
current  of  forty  amperes,  at  four  hundred  volts  pressure.  The 
conductors  are  bare  copper  wires,  making  a  complete  metallic 
circuit.  The  conductors  along  the  line  consist  of  soft-iron  rods, 
supported  above  the  sleepers,  and  insulated.  The  line  is  of 
thirty  inches  gauge,  and  a  handsome  car  is  provided,  which  can 
be  run  at  the  rate  of  thirty-five  miles  an  hour.  Although  the 
railway  is  principally  used  for  communication  with  the  station, 
sidings  have  been  arranged,  so  that  it  can  be  used  for  the  pur- 
poses of  the  farm.  One  would  think  that  a  line  of  this  kind 
might  be  advantageously  employed  as  an  addition  to  the  con- 
veniences of  our  own  mountain  hotels.  There  are  many 
places  where  the  transit  from  the  station  to  the  hotel  is  made 
by  crowded  and  uncomfortable  vehicles,  which  could  be  re- 
placed by  an  electric  car,  driven  by  water-power,  at  a  great 
saving  of  expense,  and  with  increased  satisfaction  to  the  public. 

0NE  of  the  most  famous  technical  schools  in  Europe  is, 
as  was  lately  shown  in  the  American  Architect,  the 
Technical  High-School  in  Berlin,  which  graduates  archi- 
tects, as  well  as  engineers,  mechanical  engineers,  designers 
of  ships,  and  so  on,  and  it  is  interesting  to  compare  the  statistics 
which  the  Deutsche  Bauzeitung  gives  in  regard  to  it  with  those  of 
our  own  schools  of  the  sort.  During  the  winter  term  of  1888-69, 
the  total  number  of  pupils  in  the  school  was  eight  hundred  and 
seventy-three.  Of  these,  one  hundred  and  eighty  were  students 
of  architecture,  one  hundred  and  eighty-one  followed  the  course 
in  constructive  engineering,  three  hundred  and  twenty-three 
were  mechanical  engineers,  eighty-four  studied  naval  engineer- 
ing, and  one  hundred  and  five  took  the  general  courses  in  mathe- 
matics and  natural  philosophy.  For  the  instruction  of  these 
students  there  were  sixty  professors,  twenty-seven  tutors,  and 
eighty-eight  assistants.  The  students  appear  to  come  from  all 
parts  of  the  world,  one  hundred  and  twenty-three  being 
foreigners.  Eleven  of  these  were  from  England,  ten  from  Rou- 
mania,  thirty-five  from  Russia,  two  from  Siam,  two  from  Japan, 
twenty-five  from  Norway,  and  nine  from  North  America. 


TIJIIE  largest  steam-engine  in  the  world  is  that  constructed 
\j  for  the  new  Italian  cruiser  "  Sardegna."  It  really  consists 
of  four  triple-expansion  engines,  which  can  be  used  lo- 
gether  or  separately,  as  desired,  the  entire  combination  being 
capable  of  developing  a  force  of  twenty-two  thousand  nominal, 
or  twenty-five  thousand  actual  horse-power.  The  ship  is  driven 
by  twin  screws,  and  two  engines  are  connected  to  the  shaft  of 
each  screw,  but  one  screw  can  be  stopped  altogether  if  the 
vessel  is  to  be  turned  around,  or,  for  ordinary  sailing,  one 
engine  only  may  be  used  for  each  screw ;  but,  in  case  it  should 
be  necessary  to  increase  the  speed,  the  other  engines  can  at 
once  be  connected  and  the  full  power  exerted.  As  usual  with 
naval  machinery,  a  large  number  of  auxiliary  engines  are  used. 
On  the  "  Sardegna  "  there  are  no  less  than  twenty  compound 
auxiliary  engines  for  feeding  the  boilers,  keeping  up  the 
draught,  and  so  on,  besides  a  great  variety  of  single-cylinder 
machines. 


22,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building 


291 


BUILDERS'  HARDWARE.1  —  XXVIII. 


HOOKS. 


Fig.  41  7.     Screw-hooks. 


Fig.  4  1  8.     Bird-c.ge  Hook. 


BESIDES  the  hooks  de- 
scribed iu  the  last 
chapter,  there  are 
other  forms  which  cannot 
be  classed  as  closet  hard- 
ware. Figure  417  illus- 
trates several  varieties  of 
brass  screw-hooks.  A  is 
made  in  nine  sizes,  from  -J 
inch  to  2  inches  in  length. 
The  same  form  is  made 
with  a  sharp-pointed  shank 
instead  of  a  screw,  intended 
to  be  driven  into  the  wood. 
B  is  known  as  a  cup-hook, 
intended  to  go  on  strips  to 
receive  cups,  which  are 

hun  tj]e     hand]e     oyer 


the  hook.  This  form  is  made  in  five  sizes,  from  1£  to  2f 
inches  long.  C  is  termed  a  looking-glass  hook.  D  is  an 
acorn-hook,  made  in  six  sizes,  from  2  to  4-^  inches  long.  E 
and  F  are  both  picture-hooks.  The  former  is  made  in  six 
sizes,  from  f  inch  to  If  inches.  Figure  418  represents  a  hook 
similar  to  the  preceding,  but  with  a  longer  shank,  being  made 
iu  seven  lengths,  from  four  to  ten  inches  :  it  is  designated  as 
a  bird-cage  hook. 

Picture-moulding   hooks    are    made    in    quite    a    variety   of 
shapes,  a  few  of  which  are  shown  by  Figure  410.     The  most 


Fig.  419.     Picture-moulding  Hooks. 


Fig.  420.     Chandelier- 
hook.     J.  B.  Johnston. 

common  form  is  the  second  one  on  the  upper  row,  it  being 
made  to  match  the  common  stock  picture-moulding.  A  very 
serviceable  hook,  not  illustrated  here,  is  made  with  flat  brass, 
with  the  ordinary  contour,  quite  broad  at  the  top  where  it  fits 

over  the  mould- 
ing, but  narrowing 
at  the  bottom  to 
receive  the  cord 
or  wire.  Mould- 
ing-hooks are  usu- 
ally made  in  three 
sizes,  and  are 


Fig.  422.     Hammock-hook. 


Fig.  421.  Chandelier- 
hook  with  Catch.  J. 
B.  Johnston. 


Fig.  423.     Clothes-line  Hook.          Fig.  424.     Awning-hook. 


always  of  brass  or  bronze.  Chandelier  hooks,  Figure  420,  are 
intended  to  screw  through  the  lath  and  plaster  into  the  ceiling 
beams  or  the  furring,  the  screw  part  being  2£,  4,  6  or  8  inches 
long.  Figure  421  shows  a  chandelier-hook  provided  with  a 
catch,  so  that  nothing  can  slip  out  when  once  hooked. 


1  Continued  from  No.  702,  page  268. 


Hammock-hooks,  Figure  422,  are  made  of  f  inch  galvanized 
or  tinned  wrought-iron.  Clothes-line  hooks,  Figure  423,  are 
also  sometimes  used  for  hammocks,  though  less  suitable  on 
account  of  the  friction  of  the  rope  in  the  hook.  A  lighter  form 
of  clothes-line  hook  is  made  to  be  attached  by  two  screws. 
These  hooks  are  made  in  three  sizes. 

Awning-hooks,  Figure  424,  are  made  to  drive  into  the  wood, 
and  be  caught  in  eyelets  in  the  awning.  They  are  manufac- 
tured in  sizes  from  1£  to  6  inches. 

BRACKETS. 

Shelf-brackets  have  been  previously  discussed.  Some  form 
of  inclined  bracket  is  often  desirable  to  support  the  side-rail  of 
a  flight  of  stairs.  One  of  the  simplest  consists  of  a  bent  plate, 
Figure  425,  screwed  to  the  wall  on  an  angle,  so  as  to  bear 
against  the  under  side  of  the  rail.  A  better  form  is  screwed  to 


Fig.  425.   Stair-rail  Bracket. 
Reading  Hardware  Co. 


Fig.  426.    Stair-rail  Bracket. 
Reading  Hardware  Co. 


Fig.  427.  Stair-rail 
Bracket.  Shepard 
Hardware  Co. 

the  wall  in  a  vertical  position,  and  has  a  swiveled  bar  or  plate 
which  adjusts  itself  to  any  angle  of  the  stair-rail.  Figures  426 
and  427  illustrate  two  styles.  Similar  brackets  are  made  with 
fixed  rail-plates,  and  there  are  a  number  of  varieties  in  the 
market  differing  from  those  described  chiefly  in  regard  to 
finish. 

Bar-rail  brackets,  Figure  428,  are  intended  to  support  a 
round  rail  such  as  is  usually  carried  across  the  front  of  a  bar-room 
counter.  The  first  form  shown  is  sometimes  used  to  support  a 


Fig.  428.     Bar-rail  Bracket.     J.  B.  Shannon  &  Sons. 

round  stair-rail,  and  when  made  of  plain  bronze,  presents  a  very 
good  appearance.  A  bracket  like  the  second  form  is  some- 
times used  to  support  an  iron  foot-rail  at  the  base  of  a  bar  or 
counter. 

All  these  brackets  can  be  had  in  either  bronze  or  bronzed 
iron. 

I.ETTKRS    AND    PLATES. 

Very  few  styles  of  letters  and  numbers  are  kept  in  stock  by 
hardware  dealers.  Plain,  Roman  characters,  Figure  429,  are 
usually  the  only  ones  on  hand.  They 
are  in  seven  sizes,  from  £  inch  to  3 
inches  high,  and  are  secured  to  the 
door  or  the  woodwork  by  blind 
tacks,  soldered  to  the  back  of  the 
pieces.  They  can  be  had  in  either 
bronze,  brass  or  nickel-plate. 

Letter-plates   are   often    used    to 


Fig.  429. 


cover  the  letter- 
slot  through  office- 
doors.  Figure  430 
shows  one  style, 
with  a  recessed 
slot  protected  by  a 
hinged  flap.  This 
is  essentially  what 
is  commonly  em- 
ployed. On  fly- 
doors  some  form  of  P'g.  430.  Letter-Plate.  Hopkins  &  Dickinson  Mfg.  Co. 

plate  is  desirable  on  each  face  of  the  door  to  prevent  the  paint 
being  soiled,  and  such  plates  are  often  marked  "push" 


292 


The  American   Architect  and  Building  News.         [VoL.  XXV.  — No.  704. 


Fig.  431.     Label-plate. 


or  "  pull."  They  may  be  of  porcelain,  iron,  bronze,  brass  or 
nickel-plate,  the  first  material  being  the  cleanest  and  most 
easily  cared  for.  They  are  made  in  all  varieties  of  design,  but 

, .  are    in     principle 

too  simple   to    re- 
quire any  illustra- 
I  tion. 

Label-plates  are 
made  to  order  in 
porcelain  quite  ex- 
tensively for  drug- 
gists' drawers. 
There  are  also 
plates  manufac- 
tured to  go  on 
drawer-fronts  and 
receive  card- 
labels,  the  upper 
part  of  the  plate 
being  thinner  than 

O 

the  rest,  so  that 
the  card  can  be 
slipped  in  from 
above.  Figure  431 
will  illustrate  the 
general  form  of  a 
label-plate.  The 
neatest  style  has  a 
plain,  rectangular 
outline  in  bronze.  Label-plates  are  made  in  several  sizes  from 
about  1  x  2£  inches  to  2  x  4  inches. 

Figure  432  shows  a  plate  a  little  foreign  to  the  present 
topic,  it  being  used  to  stiffen  the  joints  of  light  screen-doors. 
It  is  provided  with  tongues  which  enter  (irmly  into  the  wood  in 
each  direction,  and  prevent  any  sagging  or  settling.  The 
plates  are  sold  in  sets,  each  set  including  six-corner  irons  and  a 
knob  or  handle,  with  the  necessary  screws.  The  list-price  is 
$5  per  dozen  sets,  in  bronzed  iron. 

FOOT-SCRAPERS. 

Foot-scrapers  are  used  much  less  than  formerly.  A  simple 
form,  consisting  of  a  thin-plate  supported  by  one  or  two  plain 
drive-shanks  is  always  advisable,  however,  for  the  piazza  of  a 
country  house.  Figure  433  shows  a  more  elaborate  scraper, 
intended  to  be  screwed  to  the  floor  or  step.  A  form  often  seen 


Fig.  432.     Screen-door  Corner-iron.     E.  C.  Stearns  Si  Co. 


Fig.  433.      Foot    Scraper. 
Johnston. 


J.   B. 


Fig.  434.     Foot  Scraper.     J.  B.  Johnston. 


in  some  parts  of  the  country,  Figure  434,  is  set  in  a  pan  or 
dish,  intended  to  collect  the  scrapings.  The  other  varieties 
found  in  the  market  differ  only  in  design  or  finish,  but  not  in 
principle.  Foot-scrapers  are  usually  of  Japanned  cast-iron. 

BELL    HARDWARE. 

The  subject  of  bell-fittings  is  too  extensive  to  be  considered 
very  fully  in  detail,  especially  as  bell-hanging  is  a  trade  by 
itself,  and  the  house-carpenter  has  usually  very  little  to  do 
beyond  hanging  the  simplest  kind  of  kitchen-bell  or  fitting  a 
gong  to  the  back-door.  The  front-door  is  fitted  with  a  bell- 
pull,  as  explained  in  the  chapter  on  knobs.  This  is  connected 
with  wires  which  usually  are  carried  down  to  the  cellar-ceiling, 
and  across  and  up  to  the  kitchen.  The  corners  are  turned  by 
the  aid  of  bell-cranks.  Figure  435  shows  the  form  of  crank 
generally  fitted  just  inside  of  the  bell-pull,  and  Figure  436 
shows  a  complete  set  of  bell-hanging  fixtures,  including  the 
bell,  'which  is  secured  to  the  wall  by  a  spike  driven  through 
the  centre  of  the  spiral  coil.  The  elasticity  of  the  coil  and  the 
connected  spring  is  so  great,  that  when  the  fixtures  are  pro- 
perly set,  the  least  pull  at  the  front-door  will  cause  the  bell  to 
ring.  Figure  437  illustrates  a  different  form  of  bell-carriage, 
made  by  the  Russell  &  Erwin  Manufacturing  Company. 

For  the  back-door  it  is  customary  to  use  some  form  of  gong 


which  can  be  screwed  to  the  inner  face  of  the  door.  In  the 
cheapest  makes  the  bell-strike  is  operated  by  a  handle  on  the 
outside,  which  on  being  drawn  down,  releases  a  spring-hammer. 


Fig.  435.     Bell-crank.     Rus- 
sell &  Erwin  Mfg.  Co. 


Fig.  436.      Bell-hangings. 


Fig.  437.    Bell-carriage. 
Russell  &  Erwin    Mfg. 
Co. 


Some  gongs  are  made  so  as  to  give  a  double-stroke.  Figure 
438  illustrates  a  double-stroke  bell  which  works  with  a  pull 
instead  of  a  lever.  There  is,  also,  in  the  market  a  bell  pro- 
vided with  a  spring  escapement  which  is  set  by  pulling  the 


Fig.  438.     Double-stroke  Pull  Gong-bell.     Russell  Si  Erwin  Mfg.  Co. 

handle,  and  gives  a  continuous  ring  like  that  of  an  electric-bell, 
lasting  about  five  seconds.  This  is  known  as  "  Bushby's 
Escapement  Bell." 

GATE-FIXTURES. 

Ordinary  strap-hinges    are    sometimes    used    for  gates,  and 
there  are  a  few  forms  of  heavy  vvrought-iron  butts  which  also 


Fig.  439.     Self-closing   Gate-hinge, 
St.  Lou'u  Pattern.    Shepard  Hard-         Fig.  440.     Seymour's  Gate-hinge.     H.  &  F. 
ware  Co.  Corbin. 

answer  for  the  purpose ;  but  there  is  in  the  hardware  market 
quite  a  variety  of  fixtures  especially  devised  for  gates,  and  the 


JUNE  22,  1889.] 


The    American   Architect  and  Building   News. 


293 


special  forms  are  usually  preferred.  Gate-hinges  are  always 
arranged  to  be  self-closing,  generally  acting  by  gravity. 
Shepard's  St.  Louis  pattern,  Figure  439,  has  the  bearing- 
surfaces  of  the  lower 
hinge  made  on  a  sharp 
incline,  so  that  when 
the  gate  is  opened,  it 
is  lifted  bodily,  and 
descends  in  closing. 
This  principle  is  em- 
bodied in  several  differ- 
ent patterns.  It,  of 
course,  permits  the 
gate  to  open  only  in 
one  direction.  With 


Fig.  441.     Gate-hinge.      Shep- 
afd  Hardware  Co. 


"  Seymour's  "      hinge, 

Figure    440,  the    gate 

is  practically  suspended 

from  the   upper  pivot, 

and     bears    laterally 

against    two    pivots    at 

the  bottom,  so  spaced, 

that  when  the  gate  is 

open,     the     bottom     is 

thrown  out  more  than 

the    top,    and    its  own 

weight    is   sufficient  to 

close  it.     Figures   441 

and  442  are  variations 

of  the  same   principle, 

a    simpler    application 

of  the  idea  being  shown  by  Figure  443.     All   of  these  will 

open  both  ways. 

GATE-LATCHES. 

A  very  common  form  of  gate-latch  is  shown  by  Figure  444. 
It  consists  of  a  bent  lever  which  is  mortised  through  the  gate- 
frame,  the  bolt  catching  in  a  strike  on  the  post.  A  spring 
keeps  the  bolt  thrown  out,  and  the  beveled  strike  permits  the 


Fig.  442.     Gate-hinge.     Shepard  Hardware  Co. 


latch  to  be  self-closing. 


With  a  strike  which  is  beveled  eacli 


Fig.  444.       Mortise  Gate-latch 
Ireland  Mfg.  Co. 


Fig.  443.     G»te-hinge   No.   20.      Shepard  Hardware 
Co. 


Fig.  445.  Broads's  Patent  Gate- 
latch.     Ireland  Mfg.  Co. 


way,  this  latch  can  be  used  for  a  double-swing  gate.  Figure 
445  shows  a  latch  which  is  very  commonly  used  with  gates 
swinging  only  one  way.  The  catch  acts  by  gravity  alone. 
Figure  446  represents  a  gravity,  mortise  catch.  The  latch 
shown  by  Figure  447  is  planted  on  the  face  of  the  gate-frame, 
and  works  with  a  spring.  The  latch,  Figure  448,  is  planted 
on  the  edge  of  the  gate-frame,  which  has  to  be  kept  cor- 


respondingly away  from  the  post.     The  Yale  &  Towne  Manu- 
facturing Company  has  a  somewhat  similar  gate-latch,  Figure 


Fig.  446.     Gate-latch  No.  2. 
Shepard  Hardware  Co. 


Fig.  447.     Seymour'l  Gate-latch.     P.  &  F.  Corbin. 


449.     Both  are  opened  by  pressing  down  one  of   the  arms. 
"  Seymour's  "   cylindrical  gate-latch,   Figure   450,  is  mortised 


Fig.  448.     Gate-Latch,     No.   20.     Shepard 
Hardware    Co. 


Fig.  449.      Leeds's  Gate-Latch. 
Yale  &  Towne   Mfg.  Co. 


Fig.  450.     Seymour's  Cylindrical  Gate-Latch.      P.  &  F.  Corbin. 

through  the   gate-frame,  and   opens  when   the  handle   is  de- 
pressed. 

There  are  many  other  styles  of  gate-hinges,  but  few  which 
differ  materially  from  those  we  have  considered. 

[  To  be  contiuued.l 


SIXTEEN  -  STORY      BUILDINGS.  —  PROPOSED 
ORDINANCE     TO    RESTRICT    THE     HEIGHT 
OF     BUILDINGS.  —  THE     TACOMA      BUILD- 
ING.— A  PATENT  AND  CLAIM  FOR  ROYAL- 
TIES.—  THE    OWINGS    BUILDING. 

TTlARADOXICAL  as  the  remark  may  appear,  it  is  at  this  moment 
1^  difficult  to  guess  whether  the  era  of  very  high  buildings  in  Chicago 

has  ended,  or  whether  it  has  just  begun. 

From  the  old-time  four-story  office-building,  the  number  of  floors 
slowly  crept  up  to  six,  then  eight,  then  ten,  and  now  thirteen  and 
fourteen  stories  seem  about  to  be  abandoned  in  the  proposed  new 
gigantic  structures  of  sixteen.  However,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
city  fathers  have  been  revolving  in  their  minds  if  they  shall  not  take 
a  hand  in  the  matter  and  stop  such  "  sky-scrapers,"  so  that  as  this 
letter  is  written  an  ordinance  is  pending,  which,  if  passed,  will  prac- 
tically end  the  construction  of  general  office  and  commercial  build- 
ings over  nine  or  ten  stories  in  height.  Since  the  completion  of  some 
of  "the  high  buildings  there  has  been  some  complaint  and  many  news- 
paper articles  relative  to  the  absence  of  sunlight  in  some  of  the  streets 
and  offices  lined  by  these  huge  constructions.  Between  the  shadows 
cast  by  these  buildings  and  the  pall  of  black  smoke  continually  hanging 
over  us,  the  sun  has  been  almost  banished  from  some  of  the  business 
portions  of  Chicago.  As  a  result  of  the  lamentations,  the  matter  has 
been  under  consideration  by  the  Common  Council  for  some  time,  and 
several  schemes  have  been  proposed,  notably  one,  that  no  building 
should  be  erected  whose  height  exceeded  the  width  of  the  street 
upon  which  it  was  situated.  This,  however,  has  been  somewhat 
modified,  to  that  the  ordinance,  as  it  will  be  presented  to  the  Council 
for  action,  while  taking  into  consideration  the  different  widths  of  the 
streets,  does  allow  a  slight  excess  over  such  width.  But  in  no  case 


294 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.      [VOL.  XXV. — No.  704. 


can  any  building  (towers,  spires,  etc.,  are  excepted)  extend  over 
125  feet  above  the  sidewalk-line  without  the  written  consent  of  one- 
half  of  the  property-owners  on  both  sides  of  the  street  in  that  block 
where  such  building  is  to  be  erected.  Within  a  few  days  this  ques- 
tion will  undoubtedly  be  decided,  since  (however  questionable  the  act 
may  be)  a  permit  for  one  of  these  new  high  structures  has  been 
refused,  pending  action  by  the  Common  Council.  What  the  outcome 
will  be  is  a  very  uncertain  matter,  as  both  sides  claim  that  they  are 
sure  of  victory ;  but,  should  the  ordinance  be  passed,  there  is  no  doubt 
but  that  the  Question  of  its  legality  would  very  shortly  be  tested  in 
the  courts,  as"  there  are  now  on  the  boards  four  or  more  of  these 
gigantic  structures  shooting  up  sixteen  stories  into  the  air.  Should 
the  promoters  of  these  buildings  be  unable  to  obtain  the  requisite 
permission  from  adjoining  property-owners  as  very  likely  would  be 
the  case,  they  would  not  give  up  without  a  struggle. 

For  the  past  few  years  many  conservative  people  have  been  assert- 
ing that  no  more  office-room  was  needed  in  Chicago,  but  each  year 
larger  and  finer  buildings  have  been  erected,  only  to  be  at  once  filled 
by  desirable  tenants,  and  still  the  work  continues  without  any 
apparent  abatement.  Not  only  are  new  and  magnificent  buildings 
constantly  going  up,  but  many  old  ones  are  being  entirely  remodelled, 
and,  where  possible,  additional  stories  put  on.  Offices  that  are  either 
dark  or  difficult  of  access  are  a  drug  on  the  market,  and  owners  of 
old  buildings  are,  to  their  sorrow,  beginning  to  recognize  this  fact 
even  more  than  ever  since  the  first  of  last  May,  when  two  more  new, 
large  and  well-arranged  buildings  were  thrown  open  to  the  office- 
renting  public. 

The  Tacoma  Building,  thirteen  stories  high,  at  the  corner  of 
Madison  and  La  Salle  Streets,  has  probably  been  the  subject  of  more 
comment  (both  intelligent  and  unintelligent)  than  any  building  lately 
erected  in  that  district.  The  construction  of  the  two  fronts  is  that 
of  the  iron  column  covered  with  masonry  that  has  been  so  frequently 
used  in  Chicago,  although  in  this  case  it  would  seem  as  if  it  had  been 
reduced  to  its  last  expression,  since  most  of  the  piers  have  only  one 
thickness  of  either  brick  or  terra-cotta  around  the  iron  core.  The 
window-space  is  thus  increased  to  its  utmost.  Large  bays,  also  of 
iron  framework,  protected  by  terra-cotta,  project  from  the  second 
floor  and  extend  through  every  story  to  the  cornice.  This  method 
of  iron  construction,  although  not  carried  to  quite  such  an  extent,  is 
one  that  has  been  employed  here  and  probably  in  other  cities  for 
many  years.  An  account  of  a  special  piece  of  such  construction 
was  published  in  one  of  the  Eastern  engineering  papers  some  six 
years  ago,  but  lately  an  architect  in  Minneapolis  comes  forth  and 
heralds  to  the  world  that  it  is  his  invention,  and  that  he  has  patented 
it,  and  practically  tells  people  that  any  one  building  iron  columns 
into  walls  would  be  infringing  upon  his  patents,  and  hence  could  be 
prosecuted.  Some  parties  are  said  to  have  been  fools  enough  to 
be  frightened  into  paying  a  royalty.  The  owners  of  the  Tacoma  Build- 
ing duly  received  notice  that  it  was  an  infringement  on  this  patent, 
and  that  they  would  have  to  pay  a  royalty.  At  last  reports,  how- 
ever, the  patentee  has  not  considered  it  advisable  to  push  his  claim. 
The  rooms  of  the  building  in  question  are  extremely  irregular  in 
shape,  but  every  portion  of  the  building  is  well  lighted  and  without 
a  dark  corner,  so  that,  with  the  exception  of  the  elevator-space  being 
too  small,  the  method  of  planning  has  been  a  great  success.  Built 
avowedly  as  a  money-making  scheme,  and  every  consideration  of 
looks  made  entirely  subservient  to  that  of  utility,  it  is  only  to  be 
wondered  that  the  exterior  looks  as  well  as  it  does.  It  is  exactly 
what  it  purports  to  be  —  straightforward  construction  repeated  story 
after  story,  and  covered  with  brick  and  terra-eotta,  with  a  little 
attempt  at  a  change  of  design  in  the  upper  stories,  where  some 
loggias  are  introduced.  Apropos  of  this  building  and  another  of 
somewhat  similar  character  now  being  erected,  one  of  the  city  papers 
remarked  :  "  Beauty  and  prominence  were  the  high  aims  of  ancient 
architecture  :  for  this  the  labors  of  many  men  for  many  years  were 
thrown  into  a  single  structure.  From  the  modern  economic  stand- 
point such  labor  was  buried,  since  it  never  became  self-aggrandizing 
in  the  form  of  capital.  Chicago  utilitarians  are  not  given  to  apos- 
trophizing the  shades  of  the  Greeks  or  Romans,  or  to  make  burnt 
offerings  to  bygone  ideals.  Chicago  is  notably  fireproof,  and, 
although  lines  of  beauty  in  arches  and  columns  are  all  very  well, 
the  man  of  business  is  not  to  be  deterred  from  getting  what  he  calls 
his  money's  worth  by  any  frivolous  objections  made  by  devotees  of 
the  aesthetic.  .  .  .  These  buildings,  in  justice  to  the  builders  and 
architects,  must  be  viewed  as  nothing  more  nor  less  than  huge 
money-making  schemes  in  what  may  be  called  commercial  archi- 
tecture, where  space,  light,  convenience  and  safety  are  essential." 

This  is  really  the  key-note  to  all  of  these  huge  buildings  already 
built  or  about  to  be  built.  They  are  specimens  of  "commercial 
architecture,"  and  as  such  they  are  unquestionably  a  success ;  but, 
when  viewed  in  any  other  way,  it  takes  the  most  deceiving  drawing 
from  impossible  points  of  sight,  and  with  impossible  sunlight  and 
shadows,  to  make  them  even  approach  within  hailing  distance  of  the 
artistic.  The  interior  of  "  The  Tacoma  "  is  plainly  finished  in  oak, 
with  a  high  white  marble  wainscoting  in  the  halls.  Nearly  every  room 
or  suite  of  rooms  has  its  vault,  and  all  are  furnished  with  coat-closets 
and  toilet  facilities.  The  entrance-doors,  which  are  light,  and  not 
great  cumbersome  things,  have  the  styles  and  rails  covered  on  both 
sides  with  light  bronze-work,  making  a  pretty  effect  in  a  manner  as 
yet  new  here.  At  one  time  it  was  not  intended  to  utilize  the  attic, 
except  for  pipes,  tanks,  etc.,  but  eventually  it  was  decided  otherwise, 
and  the  heavy  iron  water-tanks,  although  in  place  nearly  two  hundred 


feet  above  the  sidewalk,  were  bodily  raised  eighteen  feet  and  placed 
on  the  roof  —  a  feat  which  the  contractors  declare  to  be  the  highest 
job  of  raising  ever  done  in  the  world.  It  may  be  interesting  to  note 
that  the  average  price  of  rental  per  square  foot  of  floor-surface 
(above  the  second  floor)  is  not  far  from  $1.45. 

The  other  new  building,  "  The  Owings,"  has  already  gained,  even 
outside  of  Chicago,  a  notoriety  on  account  of  an  accident  that 
occurred  there  a  few  months  ago.  This  building  presents  much 
more  claims  to  the  picturesque  than  "  The  Tacoma,"  and,  moreover,  it 
is  very  fortunately  so  placed,  on  a  corner,  that  its  best  features  can 
be  seen  from  a  distance,  and  to  the  very  greatest  advantage.  It  has 
a  steep  roof,  gables  and  a  corner-tower,  but  the  eleven  stories  of 
"  commercial  architecture "  before  arriving  at  the  cornice  are  a 
severe  strain  upon  artistic  effort.  However,  artistically,  it  is  prob- 
ably the  most  satisfactory  building  yet  constructed  of  its  kind.  The 
exterior  is  a  combination  of  stone,  brick  and  terra-cotta,  but  all  in  a 
gray  tone  which  has  nothing  bright  or  pretty  about  it,  and  materially 
detracts  from  the  general  effect.  The  best  feature  of  the  building 
is  the  main  entrance,  with  a  large  Gothic  pediment  extending  up 
through  two  stories,  and  elaborately  carved. 

The  ground-plan  of  the  building  is  small,  scarcely  larger  than  the 
auditorium  tower,  but  the  rooms  seem  to  have  been  economically 
arranged. 


[Contributors  are  requested  to  send  with  their  drawings  full  and 
adequate,  descriptions  of  the  buildings,  including  a  statement  of  cost.] 

EXTENSION    TO    THE  ADAMS  HOUSE,  BOSTON,  MASS.      MR.    W.  WHIT- 
NEY  LEWIS,    ARCHITECT,    BOSTON,    MASS. 

[Hello-chrome,  issued  only  with  the  Imperial  Edition.] 

BRERETON  HALL,  CHESHIRE  ;   BRAMSHILL,  HAMPSHIRE  ;   MORE- 
TON  HALL,  CHESHIRE  ;   CHEWE  HALL,  CHESHIRE. 

[Issued  only  with  the  Imperial  Edition.! 

THESE  prints  are  reproduced  from  Samuel  Hall's  "Baronial  Halls 
of  England." 

AGE    OK    FRANCIS    I. — THE    DINING-HALL,    CHENONCEAUX. 
[Issued  only  with  the  Imperial  Edition. 1 

THE    TOMBS    OK    THE    SCALIGERS,    VERONA,    ITALY. 

SEE  article  on  "  Equestrian  Monuments  "  elsewhere  in  this  issue. 

PORTION    OK    THE    TOMB    OF    CAN   8IGNOP.1O,    VERONA,    ITALY. 

SEK  article  on  "Equestrian  Monuments"  elsewhere  in  this  issue. 

MONUMENT     TO     THE     DUKE     OK     BRUNSWICK,     GENEVA,     SWITZER- 
LAND.     M.   J.    KRANEL,    ARCHITECT.      M.    CAIN,    SCULPTOR. 

SEE  article  on  "  Equestrian  Monuments  "  elsewhere  in  this  issue. 

HOUSE     AT     MANCHESTER,    VT.,    FOB     E.    S.    ISHAM,    ESQ.,    CHICAGO, 
ILL.      MR.    K.    W.    STICKNEY,    ARCHITECT,    LOWELL,    MASS. 

HOUSE     OK     GEORGE     M.    JONES,    ESQ.,   GREENSBURGH,    PA.      MR.   J. 
A.    DEMPWOLK,    ARCHITECT,    YORK,    PA. 

HOUSE    OK   J.  K.    SINNOTT,    ESQ.,    ROSEMONT,     PA.      MESSRS.    HAZLF- 
HURST    &   HUCKEL,    ARCHITECTS,    PHILADELPHIA,    PA. 


APARTMENT-HOUSES  AND  HOTELS.  —  THE 
PORTLAND,  THE  RICHMOND,  THE  MALT- 
BY,  THE  MORTON,  THE  EBBITT, 
WILLARDS,  THE  ARLINGTON,  ETC. 

eight  or  nine  years  ago  the  first  apartment-house  or  flat- 
building  was  erected  in  Washington.     It  was  an  innovation  as 
an  investment,  and  I  heard  many  business  men  express  doubts 
as  to  its  being  a  paying  investment  in  a  city  where  there  was  still  an 


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Copyright,  1889,  by  TiCKNOH  &  Co. 


HSLIO-CHROME 


UPPER    PART   OF   EXTENSION   TO   ADAMS   HOUSE,    BOSTON,    MASS. 

W.  WHITNEY  LEWIS,  Architect. 


JUNK  22,  1889.] 


The  American  Architect  and  Building  News. 


295 


abundance  of  ground  available  for  separate  dwellings.  This  first 
apartinent-house  called  "  The  Portland  "  was  designed  by  Messrs. 
(Jluss  &  Shultz.  On  the  exterior  it  is  brick  trimmed  with  large  galvan- 
ized-iron  window  heads  and  cornice.  It  is  excellently  arranged  inside 
for  its  purpose.  All  the  rooms  are  well  lighted  being  on  one  of  the 
acute-angled  corners  so  common  in  Washington  at  the  intersections 
of  avenues  and  streets.  It  has  entrances  both  on  Vermont  Avenue 
and  Fourteenth  Street.  Its  construction  is  fireproof,  the  joists  being 
iron  with  terra-cotta  arches  sprung  between  them  and  the  principal 
partitions,  if  not  all,  are  of  terra-cotta. 

"  The  Richmond  Flats,"  corner  1 7th  and  H  Streets,  were  built  five 
or  six  years  later  from  drawings  made  by  the  late  Mr.  Carl  Pfeiffer 
of  New  York.  Its  exterior  is  very  artistic  and  pleasing.  The  base- 
ment and  first  story  are  of  Hummelstown  rock-face  brownstone. 
The  other  portions  of  the  building  are  of  brick  trimmed  with  the 
same  brownstone.  The  whole  is  capped  with  a  large  steep  roof  of 
red  tile  broken  by  quaint  wooden  dormers.  On  the  corner  of  1 7th 
and  H  Streets  a  circular  tower  starts  at  the  street  and  rises  to  some 
distance  above  the  roof-level  in  a  slender,  tapering  and  effective  tile 
roof,  capped  with  an  open  belvedere.  In  style  the  building  might  be 
called  a  free  treatment  of  Tudor  Gothic.  When  this  building  was 
first  erected,  considerable  dissatisfaction  was  expressed  at  the  lack 
of  light  in  some  of  the  rooms  and  halls.  Last  year  an  addition  was 
made  to  this  apartment-house  on  the  H  Street  side,  when  possibly 
these  defects  were  remedied.  It  is  a  pity  that  this  building  was  not 
erected  with  fireproof  construction.  The  interior  framing  is  with 
ordinary  wooden  joists  and  stud  partitions.  These  two  buildings 
have  demonstrated  the  fact  that  apartment-houses  are  a  paying  in- 
vestment in  Washington,  at  least  in  fashionable  localities. 

"  The  Maltby  "  designed  by  Mr.  Robert  Stead,  was  completed  in  the 
early  part  of  this  year.  It  is  finely  situated  at  the  intersection  of  New 
Jersey  Avenue  and  B  Street,  N.  E.,  and  overlooks  the  Capitol  Park. 
From  its  upper  windows  a  fine  view  of  the  broad  Potomac  River  can 
be  obtained.  Its  exterior  is  of  brick,  simple,  but  effective.  The 
roof-line  is  somewhat  marred  by  the  ogee  curve  given  to  the  corner 
tower  roof.  This  is  different  from  the  form  of  the  roof  shown  on 
drawings  published  before  completion,  and  was  caused  by  an  incon- 
gruity in  the  District  Building  Regulations,  requiring  everything 
above  a  certain  height  to  be  of  iron  construction  no  matter  of  what 
the  lower  portion  is  built.  The  lower  twelve  or  fifteen  feet  of  this 
tower  roof  could  have  been  built  of  wood  and  the  upper  six  feet  built 
of  iron.  To  avoid,  possibly,  an  "  extra  "  the  roof  was  kept  lower  than 
was  originally  intended  as  the  Building  Inspector  had  ordered  iron 
above  a  certain  point. 

Decidedly  the  most  pretentious  apartment-building  in  the  city  is 
"  The  Morton  Flats  "  now  in  process  of  erection  on  H  Street  and 
15th.  It  is  owned  by  Vice-President  Morton,  and  was  designed  by 
Hubert  Pirsson  &  Co.,  of  New  York.  The  exterior  is  poor  in 
design,  lacking  in  dignity  and  repose,  for  such  a  large  building  and 
one  so  costly.  Its  cost  is,  I  understand,  between  $250,000 
and  $300,000.  The  first  two  stories  are  of  a  light  colored  stone, 
above  it  is  of  brick  and  galvanized-iron.  This  easily  worked  sheet- 
metal  is  brought  into  service  for  belts,  oriel  windows,  cornice, 
finials,  dormers,  and  verandas.  Its  details  are  bold  and  obtrusive, 
stamped  and  molded  metal  being  used  with  almost  unlimited 
liberality.  Although  this  building  lacks  in  dignity  and  refinement  it 
gives  one  the  impression  that  it  is  determined  to  assert  itself  by  its 
mass  and  overloaded  tawdry  finery.  It  is  framed  with  wooden  joist 
protected  by  a  concrete  of  stone,  ashes  and  cement,  and  hence  it  is  called 
fireproof. 

"  The  Woodmont  "  on  Iowa  Circle,  is  an  apartment-house  formed 
by  [with  additions]  a  combination  of  private  dwellings.  The  ex- 
terior is  entirely  lacking  in  architectural  effect,  and  the  interior 
shows  an  effort  to  adapt  rooms  to  uses  that  they  were  never  intended 
to  serve. 

The  apartment-houses  described  above  have  elevators,  cafes, 
kitchens,  and  other  conveniences  called  for  in  modern  houses  of  this 
character. 

There  have  been  built  a  number  of  smaller  flat-buildings  in  the 
last  year  without  such  conveniences.  The  only  one  worthy  of  men- 
tion being  "  The  Frederick,"  by  Mr.  J.  G.  Hill.  It  is  simple  and 
refined  in  design,  the  first  floor  being  used  for  stores  and  the  three 
upper  doors  as  apartments. 

Washington  is  very  much  in  need  of  a  first-class  hotel,  not  from  the 
upholsterers'  and  caterers'  standpoint,  bat  from  the  architects'  point- 
ot-view.  The  hotels,  with  one  exception,  are  all  old  buildings,  built 
years  before  the  War,  or  a  combination  of  old  hotel,  old  dwelling- 
houses,  new  additions  and  alterations.  "  Willard's,"  "  The  Ebbitt," 
"  The  Arlington,"  and  others  have  this  history.  They  have  grown 
gradually  as  their  custom  demanded.  It  makes  their  exterior  and 
interior  one  mass  of  incongruities :  low  ceilings  where  there  should 
be  high  ones,  stairways  and  steps  where  you  would  least  expect 
them,  insignificant  staircases  suitable  for  medium-size  dwellings 
where  you  would  expect  a  grand  hall  and  stairway,  odd,  crooked  and 
unexpected  halls,  poorly  lighted  and  ventilated  rooms  and  an 
enormous  amount  of  combustible  material  ready  in  case  of  a  fire. 
But  the  many  curious  necessities  of  such  a  growth  can  be  easily 
imagined  by  any  architect.  The  National  and  Metropolitan 
Hotels  were  built  as  hotels,  but  they  are  not  up  to  the  modern 
acceptation  of  the  term.  The  Hotel  Normandie,  finished  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  present  year,  is  well  arranged  in  the  interior,  with  all 
modern  requirements  of  a  hotel.  The  exterior  seems  to  have  been 


designed  from  the  dwelling-house  standpoint.  The  entrances, 
windows,  treatment  of  projections  and  other  details  convev  the  im- 
pression of  a  number  of  very  tall,  elongated  dwellings.  It  fails  to 
give  any  idea  of  its  purpose  and  is  devoid  of  unity.  "  The  Ar- 
lington "  has  commenced  the  erection  of  another  extensive  addition 
to  cost  about  $150,000,  from  plans  made  by  Harvey  L.  Page.  From 
newspaper  accounts  the  front  is  designed  to  conform  with  the  front 
of  the  old  building,  —  a  monotonous,  flat,  brownstone  front  pierced  by 
numerous  small  windows,  and  topped-off  with  an  ugly  mansard  roof. 
The  addition  will  be  probably  nearly  as  large  as  the  present  hotel. 

The  large  building,  well-planned,  well-designed,  well-constructed, 
well-lighted,  well-ventilated,  with  proper  stairways,  halls,  and  other 
modern  conveniences  in  the  hotel  line  is  still  a  thing  of  the  future  so 
far  as  Washington  is  concerned. 

There  have  been  many  rumors  that  such  a  hotel  would  be  built  in 
the  near  future,  but  they  are  apparently  only  rumors. 


:  CANADA ' 


THE  GROWTH  OF  TORONTO. —  "JUSTI- 
FICATION" PLEADED  TO  A  LIBEL 
SUIT.  —  STREET  PAVING.  —  PAVING 
IN  TORONTO  AND  MONTREAL.  —  THE 
CANADIAN  ROYAL  ACADEMY.  —  ART 
ASSOCIATIONS. 


TTTHE  City  of  Toronto  is  at  present  in  a  state  of  transition  from 
« I »  boyhood  to  manhood  —  from  a  village  to  a  great  commercial 
centre  —  the  greatest  commercial  centre  of  the  Dominion.  At 
the  beginning  of  this  decade  the  population  numbered  about  100,000, 
and  it  was  then  exactly  an  English  county  town,  not  of  the  manufac- 
ing  kind,  but  more  like  the  cathedral  cities,  without,  however,  the 
prominence  of  the  cathedral  and  its  adjuncts.  The  streets,  mostly 
avenues  of  shade-trees,  with  grassy  margins  to  the  roads,  the  houses 
of  the  gabled-villa  style,  and  the  shops  of  small  three-story  buildings, 
as  a  rule,  its  warehouses  pokey  and  dingy,  and  not  up  too  much. 
But  though  its  appearance  was  that  of  a  cathedral  town,  there  was 
none  of  that  delicious  sleepiness  and  quiet  about  the  movements  and 
doings  of  its  inhabitants  that  characterize  these  places,  and  to-day 
we  see  the  result  of  the  steady  progress  that  was  quietly  proceeding, 
only  outwardly  manifested  by  the  continual  growth  of  private  houses. 
The  population  now  close  on  1 75,000,  of  whom,  at  least,  20,000  are 
dwellers  in  their  own  houses,  is  of  the  most  go-ahead  kind,  and 
progress  is  the  watchword  of  the  day.  A  by-law  has  recently  been 
passed  by  a  large  majority  of  freeholders,  to  enable  the  city  to  raise 
$600,000  towards  the  erection  and  completion  of  the  Court-house  and 
City-hall  building,  in  addition  to  the  sum  already  in  hand,  which 
brings  up  the  total  cost  of  the  building  to  a  million-and-one-third. 
This  building,  together  with  nine  other  great  blocks  now  in  hand,  or 
for  which  contracts  are  now  being  let,  brings  up  the  amount  being 
laid  out  on  these  ten  buildings  to  nearly  four-and-one-half  millions  of 
dollars ;  and,  in  consequence  the  streets  present  a  curious  appear- 
ance, a  six-story  building  stands  next  a  three-story,  adjoining  which 
is  a  frame  tenement  a  story-and-one-half  in  height.  A  little  inn  will 
be  suddenly  transformed  into  a  great  hotel,  and  the  occupants  of  a 
tumble-down,  cranky-looking  club-house  emerge  from  their  obscurity 
and  take  possession  of  a  miniature  palace.  Vacant  land  existing  is 
not  sufficient  for  its  spreading  energies,  and  a  slice  has  to  be  taken  off 
the  Bay  and  turned  into  solid  ground  for  the  accommodation  of  its 
railway  systems,  while  at  another  part  water-meadows  are  being  re- 
claimed and  transformed  into  building-lots  for  warehouses  and 
factories. 

There  is  one  little  matter  that  bothers  both  people  and  Corporation 
extremely,  and  that  is  the  material  for  road-paving.  A  libel  suit  has 
just  been  decided  in  favor  of  the  defendant  who  put  in  a  plea  of 
"justification"  on  the  subject  of  cedar-block  pavements.  The  de- 
fendant was  the  proprietor  of  a  daily  paper,  and  courageously 
attacked  the  system  under  which  the  block-pavings  were  laid.  This 
naturally  resulted  in  a  libel  suit,  the  contractors  being  the  plaintiffs, 
but  the  plea  of  justification  saved  the  defendant,  and  a  great  victory 
was  gained  for  the  ratepayers  over  maladministration  of  the  City 
Engineer's  Department.  As  one  of  the  immediate  results,  the  con- 
tractors have  petitioned  for  an  additional  price,  declaring  it  to  be 
impossible  to  obtain  the  wood  of  the  quality  specified  for  the  figure 
named  in  their  accepted  tender  and  contract.  These  block-pave- 
ments are  simply  short  cedars  laid  on  end,  and  the  interstices  filled- 
in  with  gravel.  They  form  fine  receptacles  for  ordure  and  dirt  which 
naturally  sinks  into  the  vertical  fibres  and  pores  of  the  wood,  while 
frost  or  heavy  rain  causes  them  to  rise  sometimes  completely  out  of 
the  ground,  at  which  times  the  block-paved  streets  are  worse  than 
corduroy-roads.  A  kind  of  asphalt,  laid  in  blocks  a  few  inches  thick, 
has  been  tried,  but  has  not  been  a  success,  and  now  a  few  streets  are 
to  be  laid  with  asphalt,  floated  on  hot,  and  in  a  liquid  state,  which, 
while  new,  makes  a  beautiful  roadway,  but  it  is  doubtful  whether  it 


296 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.       [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  704. 


will  stand  heavy  traffic.  It  has  been  successfully  tested  as  to  the  effect 
of  frost  upon  it,  and  appears  not  to  be  injured  at  all  by  the  weather. 

Montreal,  for  many  years,  has  been  content  with  the  old-style 
macadam-roads,  and  the  innocence  with  which  the  Corporation  went 
on  laying  down  this  kind  of  road  and  repairing  them  with  cart- 
loads of  stones  dumped  over  holes,  left  to  be  levelled  and 
trodden  in  by  the  ordinary  traffic  was  worthy  of  the  Middle  Ages. 
Some  streets  are  paved  with  granite  setts,  to  the  fearful  distraction 
of  thoughtful  people  who  inhabit  the  offices  on  either  side  of  street, 
but  asphalt  has  been  introduced  and  successfully  experimented  on 
in  one  or  two  streets. 

People  are  always  attempting  to  compare  Toronto  and  Montreal  — 
a  very  impossible  feat  —  for  as  I  have  remarked  before,  the  two  cities 
are  of  an  entirely  different  nature.  But  there  is  one  point  which  is 
verv  characteristic  of  the  cities,  and  upon  which  a  comparison  is 
possible  and  legitimate.  I  have  already  alluded  to  it  with  regard  to 
Toronto.  It  is  that  while  Toronto  with  its  population  of  1 75,000, 
has  20,000  people  living  in  houses  they  own  themselves,  Montreal, 
out  of  its  population  of  200,000,  has  only  11,000  dwellers  under  their 
own  roofs.  In  Montreal  private  wealth  is  concentrated ;  there  live 
Canada's  millionnaires,  Canadian  Pacific  Railroad  magnates,  while  in 
Toronto,  where  there  is,  I  believe,  but  one  solitary  millionnaire 
resident,  money  is  far  better  distributed.  This  affects  indi- 
viduals, and  has  no  reference  to  companies  and  societies.  Canada 
is  not  often  visited  by  such  calamities  as  so  unfortunately  occur  so 
often  in  the  United  States,  and  on  such  a  scale  there  as  to  have 
almost  become  proverbial  throughout  the  world,  and  it  is  some  time 
since  we  have  had  any  great  conflagration.  But  the  recent  fire  in 
St.  Sauveur,  a  suburb  of  Quebec,  described  in  detail  in  the 
daily  press,  has  proved  just  such  another  example  of  the  proverb 
concerning  shutting  the  stable-door  when  the  horse  has  escaped,  as  is 
so  frequently  to  be  met  with  on  this  continent.  No  water-supply 
until  we  are  all  burnt  out  and  our  houses  levelled  to  the  ground,  and 
then  the  Corporation  instantly  sets  about  a  water-system  which  it 
would  never  have  dreamed  of  but  for  the  fire.  But  all  disasters  pale 
before  the  awful  calamity  of  the  Conemaugh  Lake.  A  water- 
spout, a  part  of  the  same  storm  which  burst  the  dam,  swept  away  a 
part  of  the  small  town  of  Cobourg,  on  the  north  shore  of  Lake 
Ontario,  doing  half-a-million  of  damage,  and  destroying  the  lives  of 
about  a  dozen  people. 

The  fine  arts  are  being  practised  and  encouraged  just  now  in 
Canada,  as  they  have  not  been  heretofore.  Art-schools  and  art- 
associations  are  springing  into  existence  everywhere,  while  both  the 
Government  and  corporations  are  giving  encouragement  to  sculptors 
by  orders  for  statues  of  public  men.  A  great  deal  more  might  be 
done  than  is  at  present,  and  the  fine  arts  do  nut  receive  the  encour- 
agement they  deserve ;  but  that  is  a  thing  that  will  come ;  a  country 
has  to  be  educated  to  the  appreciation  of  art,  and  to  the  knowledge 
that  the  fine  arts  are  necessary  to  it  for  its  thorough  civilization. 

The  Canadian  Royal  Academy,  whose  headquarters  are  at  Mont- 
real, has,  unfortunately,  admitted  into  its  membership  men  who  are 
not  artists  proper,  who  have  very  little  spark  of  the  artist  in  their  com- 
position, as  well  as  a  few  who  are  not  artists  in  any  sense  of  the 
word,  who  do  not  even  understand  the  first  principles  of  art,  but, 
who  from  one  cause  or  another,  take  a  passing  interest  in  art-subjects 
sufficiently  strong  to  make  them  subscribe  the  small  admission  sub- 
scription. It  has  thus  become  a  kind  of  mongrel  society,  the  result 
of  poverty,  which,  in  the  desire  to  accumulate  funds,  caused  the 
promoters  of  the  association  to  admit  "  artless "  men.  The  dis- 
advantage to  the  association  shows  itself  principally  in  the  working 
of  sub-committees,  upon  which  often  these  inartistic  members  get 
seats,  and  the  result  of  the  deliberations  is  often  —  as  indeed,  one 
could  only  expect  —  very  distressing  to  artists.  The  small  gallery  at 
Montreal  is  hard  to  keep  up,  but  the  Academy  does  itself  really 
more  harm  than  good  by  admitting  such  men  to  full  membership. 
A  recent  photographic  group  of  about  a  dozen  members  of 
"  R.  A.'s  "  contains,  at  least,  two  figures  who  know  about  as  much 
about  art  as  an  ordinary  stonecutter.  Patience  is  a  hard  thing  to 
practise,  but  it  is  patience  alone  which  will  make  a  success  of  art- 
associations  in  a  new  country.  The  President  of  the  Academy,  who 
has  a  very  fine  gift  for  landscape-painting,  Mr.  L.  R.  O'Brien,  has 
gone  to  England  for  the  summer  to  make  further  studies  of  English 
country-scenery.  He  has  recently  had  on  view  a  collection  of  his 
paintings  of  views  in  the  Rockies,  made  during  a  tour  there  last 
summer. 

The  Ontario  Society  of  Artists  is  nowholding  its  seventeenth 
annual  exhibition  of  paintings,  and  it  is  wonderful  to  see  how 
greatly  and  how  rapidly  art  is  progressing  in  Canada  in  the  hands  of 
students ;  if  only  the  wealthy  could  be  induced  to  patronize  art  to  a 
more  genuine  extent,  we  should  soon  have  an  Academy  to  be  proud 
of.  It  is  not  the  talent  that  is  wanting  nor  the  will  to  study  for  its 
development,  but  its  development  depends  entirely  upon  the 
encouragement  extended  to  it  by  the  public.  No  greater  mistake 
was  ever  made  than  when  customs-duties  were  imposed  upon  works 
of  art.  Our  students  need  examples  badly  for  their  study. 


THE  LATE  COMPETITION  FOR  THE  PROPOSED 
CATHEDRAL  OF  8T.  JOHN  THE  DIVINE.  — 
SOME  GROUNDS  FOR  THE  DISSATISFACTION 
WITH  THE  RESULT.  —  THE  DIFFERENCES 
BETWEEN  LIMITED  AND  OPEN  COMPETI- 
TIONS. 

HE  results  of  the  Cathedral  competition 
have  furnished  the  topic  of  absorbing  in- 
terest, ever  since  the  names  of  the  four 
chosen  competitors  were  wormed  out  of  an  apparently  unwill- 
ing committee  by  the  omniscient,  irrepressible  newspaper  reporter. 

There  has  been  in  the  profession  a  very  general  feeling  of  surprise, 
not  unmixed  with  disappointment,  that  in  a  competition  of  such  im- 
portance and  fraught  with  such  far-reaching  possibilities  for  good  or 
evil  to  our  art,  the  prizes  have  gone  to  men,  for  the  most  part  inex- 
perienced and  unknown,  or  known  only  as  clever  draughtsmen.  And 
this  whilst  others,  of  wide  experience  and  tried  ability  are  known  to 
have  taken  part  in  the  competition. 

This  unexpected  result,  together  with  a  certain  air  of  mystery  that 
has  seemed  to  shroud  all  the  the  details  of  the  programme  and  all 
the  acts  of  the  committee,  has  inspired  an  amount  of  newspaper  com- 
ment and  criticism,  that,  whilst  in  a  way  flattering,  as  seeming  to 
show  a  wide  popular  interest,  has  been  on  the  whole  unfortunate,  for 
it  has  tended  to  befog  the  real  issues,  has  given  our  zealous  corre- 
spondents a  chance  to  air  their  grievances  or  their  hobbies  and  has 
disseminated  a  deal  of  misinformation  which  not  always  being  perti- 
nent came  perilously  near  at  times  to  being  impertinent.  As  for 
instance,  an  article  published  while  the  drawings  were  in  the  hands  of 
the  committee,  and  before  they  had  had  time  to  come  to  any  conclu- 
sions, which  in  an  ex-cathedra  manner  took  up  the  cudgels  in  favor 
of  a  certain  style  and  a  particular  disposition  of  plan.  This  article, 
or  editorial  was,  without  a  doubt,  honestly  and  innocently  written,  it 
showed  more  than  a  passing  familiarity  with  architectural  styles,  and 
was  both  earnest  and  readable,  but  in  spite  of  the  absence  of  inten- 
tion to  offend,  probably  much  to  the  writer's  surprise  and  disgust,  it 
had,  and  it  seems  to  me  rightly,  to  many  readers  the  appearance  of 
an  attempt  to  influence  the  minds  of  the  jury,  as  had  also  the  doubt- 
less equally  innocent  publication  in  one  of  our  dailies,  of  a  reproduc- 
tion of  one  of  the  competing  designs,  with  appropriate  reportorial 
elucidation. 

After  the  names  of  the  four  selected  competitors  were  made  public, 
the  newspaper  comments  took  an  even  wider  range,  and  all  the 
picturesque  aspects  of  the  contest  were  brought  out  and  made  the 
most  of.  Without  a  shadow  of  reason,  without  an  atom  of  reliable 
evidence  it  was  affirmed  or  insinuated  that  all  the  participants  were 
ignorant  or  biased,  while  little  or  nothing  was  brought  out  tendin" 
either  to  explain  the  feeling  of  disappointment  that  existed  very 
generally,  or  to  remove  it. 

To-day  that  feeling  still  persists  in  all  its  force  and  I  should  not  be 
surprised  if  it  had  even  infected  the  committee  itself,  and  made  the 
gentlemen  who  compose  it,  feel,  individually  and  collectively,  that  it 
might  be  an  open  question  whether  the  great  outlay  of  talent,  of 
time  and  of  money  on  the  part  of  all  concerned,  was  destined  to  pro- 
duce commensurate  results. 

There  is  one  factor,  as  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  see,  that  more 
than  any  other  single  one  has  tended  to  bring  about  the  present  state 
of  dissatisfaction  and  that  is  the  action  of  the  architects  most  immedi- 
ately concerned.  I  mean  the  originally  invited  competitors. 

In  order  to  point  out  what  seems  to  be  the  weakest  link  in  the 
chain,  I  shall  have  to  go  back  to  the  first  steps  taken  and  follow  the 
competition  through  all  its  stages,  and  I  would  say  here  that  I  put 
forward  my  arraignment  of  the  profession  in  all  diffidence,  having 
found  the  greatest  difficulty  in  getting  reliable  information  upon 
many  important  points. 

It  was  generally  understood  when  the  programme  was  first  sent  out, 
that  Professor  Ware  had  drawn  it  up,  and  this  I  have  no  doubt  influ- 
enced the  invited  competitors  not  to  cavil  at  conditions  which  might 
seem  unwise  to  them,  but  which  were  new  and  untried  and  therefore 
not  proven  to  be  bad.1  It  was  most  unfortunate,  whatever  the  reason, 
that  the  programme  was  not  thoroughly  discussed  by  the  invited  archi- 
tects and  its  provisions  weighed,  and  where  found  wanting  their 
objections  and  the  reasons  for  them  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  com- 
mittee. The  members  of  the  committee  are  not  only  exceptionally 
intelligent  and  fair-minded  men,  of  the  highest  standing,  but  they 
showed  in  the  programme  an  evident  desire  to  make  every  reasonable 
concession  to  the  architects,  in  order  to  secure  the  best  possible  re- 
sults. They  were  hampered,  without  definitely  realizing  it,  by  not 
knowing  exactly  what  kind  of  a  cathedral  they  wanted  (how  far  to 
carry  the  compromise  between  church  traditions  and  modern  innova- 
tions) and  still  more  by  finding  in  architectural  practice  no  definitely 
developed  rules  for  the  conduct  of  competitions,  and  no  consensus  of 
opinion  on  the  subject  amongst  such  of  the  architects  as  they  sought 

'  It  transpired  later  that  Professor  Ware  while  discussing  with  a  member  or 
members  of  the  committee  the  conditions  of  competitions  in  general  was  in  no- 
wise responsible  for  the  programme  of  this  competition  in  particular. 


JUNE  22,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and 'Building  News. 


297 


guidance  from.     The  resulting  programme  seems  to  have  been  a 
patch-work  of  entirely  good  but  partly  irreconcilable  conditions. 

The  first  of  these  difficulties,  while  forcing  them  to  leave  their 
instructions  vague  in  important  particulars,  was  unavoidable,  and 
seems  to  have  been  judiciously  met  by  the  proposed  selection  of  four 
equally  favored  designs.  The  other  difficulty  should  have  been 
remedied,  it  seems  to  me,  by  concerted  action  on  the  part  of  the 
invited  competitors,  who  had  a  splendid  opportunity  to  render  a  most 
valuable  service,  the  good  influences  of  which  would  have  been  felt 


community  for  them  and  for  their  profei 
while  the  present  status  is  harmful  to  us  all,  and  diminishes  our 
power  for  good. 

Of  course,  whether  it  is  an  unloaded  gun,  an  innocent  live  wire  or  a 
subway  man-hole,  it  is  much  easier  for  the  onlooker  to  explain  the 
case  to  the  coroner's  jury,  than  for  the  victim  to  profit  fully  by  his 
past  experience.  One  cannot  say,  "  I  told  you  so,"  or  use  the  ex 
post  facto  argument  in  any  form  without  feeling  a  little  mean,  and  my 
only  excuse  for  doing  it  now,  is  that  the  weaknesses  I  see  now,  I  did 
not  see  before,  and  they  are  not  isolated  instances  but  part  and  par- 
cel of  our  development  as  a  profession.  The  full  discussion  there- 
fore of  any  short-comings  there  may  be  in  the  competition,  one  phase 
of  which  has  just  been  watched  by  us  all,  will  help  to  clear  the 
way  for  more  intelligent  future  action,  whether  this  particular  compli- 
cation ever  recurs  or  not.  The  programme  for  the  Cathedral  com- 
petition seems  to  me  to  be  fatally  defective  in  the  following  par- 
ticulars : 

First.  In  trying  to  unite  a  paid  competition  amongst  invited  com- 
petitors, with  an  unpaid  competition  open  to  all  comers.  Either  one 
may  be  brought  to  a  successful  issue,  but  only  under  entirely  differ- 
ent conditions.  In  the  former  the  selection  of  a  certain  limited 
number  of  competitors  presupposes  that  any  one  of  them  would 
become  the  architect  of  the  building  to  the  satisfaction  of  those  invit- 
ing him,  and  that  his  work  or  his  attainments  have  satisfied  them 
upon  that  point.  All  the  competitors  start  fairly  and  equally  and 
the  sending  of  designs  under  a  cipher  is  meant  to  continue  that  fair- 
ness and  equality  up  to  the  moment  when  one  competitor  is  chosen. 
There  is  no  more  reason  in  such  a  competition  for  holding  a  public 
exhibition  of  the  designs  than  for  chosing  the  competitors  by  public 
ballot.  A  public  exhibition  after  the  selection  of  the  design  or  the 
award  of  prizes  is  interesting  and  justifiable  in  the  case  of  quasi- 
public  buildings. 

In  the  other,  the  open-to-all  competition,  there  is  no  guaranty  what- 
ever that  the  originator  of  the  design  selected  will  be  qualified  to 
undertake  satisfactorily  all  the  duties  of  architect.  The  design  may 
be  the  unquestioned  best,  the  indications  of  construction,  or  the 
estimates,  or  specifications  may  be  all  that  could  be  desired  and  yet 
the  designer  himself  not  satisfy  the  requirements  of  the  responsible 
committee  :  whether  it  be  his  youth  or  inexperience  or  the  color  of 
his  hair,  they  will  not  and  should  not  be  asked  to  accept  him, 
unknown  and  unsought  by  them,  just  because  after  a  careful  com- 
parison and  a  full  opportunity  for  investigation  they  have  chosen  his 
design.  The  open  competition,  naturally,  if  its  conditions  are  fair 
and  the  prize  important  will  be  liable  to  attract  a  large  number  of 
competitors,  a  large  proportion  of  whom  will  be  comparatively  young 
and  inexperienced.  If  everything  is  fair  the  chances  are  in  favor  of 
a  certain  number  of  unknowns  being  chosen.  The  public  exhibition 
before  the  award  in  such  a  case  would  seem  to  be  a  most  excellent 
safeguard  against  the  dissatisfaction  which  is  otherwise  almost  sure 
to  develop  in  some  quarter.  I  am  assuming  that  the  open  competi- 
tion we  are  discussing  is  for  a  building  of  sufficient  importance  to 
attract  public  attention.  If  the  public  interest  centres  on  one  or 
more  of  the  designs,  their  preference  is  worth  knowing  and  weigh- 
ing, if  it  does  not,  that  fact  alone  makes  any  general  complaint 
impossible.  The  cipher  is  of  but  little  use  where  there  is  a  public 
exhibition  as  the  favorities  are  sure  to  be  known,  on  the  other  hand, 
it  is  not  nearly  so  valuable  a  safeguard  as  favoritism  is  much  less  to  be 
feared  in  the  face  of  public  comment. 

The  building  cannot,  in  an  open  competition,  be  unrestrictedly 
given  to  the  author  of  the  successful  design,  and  that  is  the  weak 
point  of  such  competitions  in  this  country  where  there  is  no 
recognized  standard  of  professional  proficiency.  Perhaps  safe- 
guards could  be  elaborated,  such  as  examinations  or  the  right  to 
associate  another  and  qualified  architect  with  himself,  which  would 
make  it  reasonably  safe  and  sure  to  appoint  the  successful  designer. 
Second.  The  pledging  of  the  committee  not  to  exhibit  the  designs 
without  the  consent  of  all  the  invited  competitors.  This  question 
should  not  have  been  left  open,  but  should  have  been  settled  by  the 
common  action  of  the  architects  themselves  before  getting  to  work. 
As  it  is,  being,  I  believe,  about  equally  divided,  both  sides  feel  that 
they  are  hardly  used.  Whether  to  exhibit  now  or  not  is,  as  I  have 
indicated  above,  dependent  upon  the  other  conditions.  In  this  in- 
stance it  has  certainly  been  unfortunate  and  the  direct  cause  of  much 
of  the  dissatisfaction,  that  the  committee  have  felt  that  they  were 
pledged,  until  relieved  by  the  unanimous  action  of  the  invited  archi- 
tects, to  the  profoundest  reticence  as  to  all  their  actions.  So  that 
a  great  competition  in  which  every  intelligent  person  was  interested 
has  been  and  still  is  shrouded  in  mysterious  gloom. 

Third.  There  seems  to  have  been  an  intention  on  the  part  of  the 
committee  to  get  from  the  architects  the  slightest  sort  of  sketches 
giving  motives  only  with  but  a  hint  of  detail,  and  from  amongst  these 


to  select  a  limited  number  for  further  elaboration.  This  intention, 
as  I  say,  was  obvious,  but  it  was  not  made  binding  and  there  was 
plenty  of  time;  the  result  was  that  each  competitor  used  all  the  time 
he  could,  feeling  sure  that  some  at  least  amongst  them  would  have 
carefully  worked-out  drawings  and  not  wanting  to  be  left  at  too 
great  a  disadvantage  in  point  of  rendering.  An  architect  could  have 
made  this  part  of  the  programme  so  as  to  obtain  more  equal  results, 
and  consequently  a  fairer  chance  for  comparison.  The  moral  of  it 
all  is,  that  we  should  all  of  us  put  our  shoulders  to  the  wheel  and  not 
spare  ourselves ;  whenever  we  have  a  chance  use  it  to  bring  about 
collective  and  united  action  in  such  direction  as  seems  best.  Let  us 
act  through  the  Institute,  the  Chapter,  the  League  or  through 
fortuitous  groups  brought  together  through  the  prospect  of  engaging 
in  competition,  but  let  us  always  act  together. 

With  full  liberty  of  discussion,  in  constant  intercourse  with  men  of 
the  most  diversified  callings,  in  a  quasi-judicial  position  between  our 
clients  and  their  contractors,  we  are  in  no  danger  of  becoming 
narrow  and  can  surely,  if  slowly,  build  up  that  necessary  body  ol 
traditions  and  precedents  which  will  be  recognized  and  accepted  by 
the  public  as  soon  as  we  learnto  live  up  to  them  ourselves. 


EQUESTRIAN    MONUMENTS.'  —  XVII. 


Statue  of  Francis  I,  Prague,  Bohemia.      Kranner,  Sculptor. 

'TFBOUT  all  that  is  known  of  the  equestrian  statue  of  the  Emperor 
fH  Zeno  which  once  crowned  the  Palace  of  Theodoric,  the  founda- 
/  tions  of  which  to-day  bear  the  Castel  San  Pietro  at  Verona,  is 
that  it  was  so  large  that  pigeons  flew  through  its  wide-distended  nos- 
trils to  their  nests  in  the  belly  of  the  horse.  But  Verona  claims 
attention  here  not  by  reason  of  what  is  no  longer  there,  but  because 
it  possesses  a  famous  group  of  sepulchral  monuments  which  bear 
equestrian  statues  and  which  are  the  type  of  a  small  number  of 
similar  structures  of  a  later  day  which  may  be  considered  together 
with  them. 

Crowded  together  in  a  little  square  at  the  side  of  S.  Maria  Antica, 
enclosed  within  a  high  grating  of  exquisite  trellis-work  in  wrought- 

in,  interwoven  in  which  are  innumerable  small  ladders  —  the 
symbol  of  the  family  —  stand  the  monuments  of  the  Scalas,  for  more 
than  a  century  the  rulers  of  the  territory.  Descended  from  a  plebeian 
ancestor  named  Villani,  who  made  a  fortune  by  dealing  in  ladders, 
the  family  boldly  avowed  its  origin,  adopted  the  ladder  as  its 
token  and  is  commonly  known  in  history  as  the  Scaligers,  or  ladder- 
bearers.  The  tombs  of  the  earlier  members  of  the  family  are  lowly 
in  form  and  unpretentious  in  design,  but  like  the  actual  sarcophagi 
of  the  more  elaborate  monuments  their  sides  bear  in  very  low  relief 
sculptured  scenes  of  not  a  little  artistic  value.  It  is  not  unnatural  that 


1  Continued  from  No.  702,  page  272. 


298 


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the  first  one  of  imposing  character  should  be  that  of  the  most  noted 
member  of  the  family,  the  famous  Can  Grande,  who  was  not  only  a 
capable  leader  and  ruler  but  also  a  patron  of  the  arts  and  as  such 
deserved  the  monument  erected  to  his  memory,  a  monument  which 
Kuskin  characterizes  as  the  "  consummate  form  of  the  Gothic  tomb." 
This  monument  [1329]  is  built  over  the  entrance  doorway  to  the  little 
graveyard  and  in  design  sets  the  example  followed  by  the  two  other 
equestrian  monuments  of  the  group  by  representing  the  prince  both 
in  life  and  in  death,  for  above  the  recumbent  figure  which  lies  upon 
the  sarcophagus  is  reared  a  steep-pitched  canopy  upon  the  summit 
of  which  is  borne  the  more  than  life-size  equestrian  figure  of  Can 
Grande,  with  his  winged  helmet  slung  to  his  back.  There  is  a  well- 
studied  simplicity  about  this  monument  which  makes  it  stand  out  in 
agreeable  contrast  with  the  florid  exuberance  of  the  latest  of  the 
three  monuments,  the  one  which  Can  Signorio  caused  to  be  erected 
during  his  own  life-time  and,  after  the  manner  of  Louis  XI  of 
France,  who  as  a  safe-guard  against  future  torment  used  to  wear 
about  his  hat  a  band  of  leaden  saints,  adorned  the  structure  with 
the  effigies  of  saints  and  virtues  whom  he  had  totally  disregarded 
during  his  life.  The  tomb  of  Mastino  II  [1351],  by  Perino  of  Milan, 
stands  between  these  two  both  actually,  chronologically  and  as  a 
matter  of  art ;  like  the  others  it  is  crowned  with  an  equestrian  figure 
on  the  summit  of  a  canopy  which  shelters  the  recumbent  effigy  of  the 
prince.  It  is  one  of  the  commonest  features  of  life  in  all  times  that 
the  founder  of  a  family,  the  gatherer  of  wealth,  the  respected  mem- 
ber of  society  of  his  time  should  be  succeeded  by  a  degenerate  son 
whom  the  surroundings  of  his  childhood's  home  have  prevented  from 
acquiring  the  steadfastness  and  ruggedness  of  character  which  less 
favorable  circumstances 
• — as  the  world  calls 
them  —  engendered  in 
the  sire.  Such  an  ob- 
servation might  be  made 
with  reference  to  Mas- 
tino II,  although  he  was 
not  the  immediate  suc- 
cessor of  Can  Grande. 
The  possessor  of  a 
larger  income  than  was 
enjoyed  by  any  poten- 
tate of  the  day,  it  was 
not  unnatural  that  Mas- 
tino should  be  able  to 
procure  the  pleasures 
which  wealth,  power 
and  the  lax  morality 
of  the  Italian  society  of 
the  day  placed  within 
his  easy  reach.  Suc- 
cess in  the  lists  of  love, 
which  he  was  prone  to 
enter  at  every  chance, 
secured  him  many  ene- 
mies and  involved  him 
in  many  contentions 
which  caused  the  loss 
and  absorption  of  much 
of  his  wealth  and  pow- 
er, so  that  though  his 
court  was  the  largest 
and  most  famous  for  the 
rank  and  quondam  pow- 
er of  its  attendants  — 
at  one  time  there  were 
not  less  than  two-score 
dethroned  princes  who 
had  sought  haven  at  his  court  —  the  reckless  license  of  his  life  had 
greatly  diminished  the  patrimony  which  passed  on  to  his  successor 
Can  Signorio.  Still  Mastino  was  in  many  ways  an  able  ruler  and  the 
internal  condition  of  the  Veronese  territory  never  before  touched  so 
high  a  mark,  and  if  it  is  ever  proper  to  commemorate  the  existence 
of  a  ruler  without  scrutinizing  too  closely  the  moral  propriety  of  so 
doing,  Mastino  has  certainly  as  good  a  right  to  his  monument  as  had 
the  Duke  of  Brunswick,  and  better  than  Can  Signorio  who  had  such 
becoming  doubts  as  to  his  own  worthiness  being  recognized  by 
posterity  that  he  found  it  desirable  to  erect  his  monument  during  his 
own  lifetime.  Of  the  entire  group,  Street  says :  "  What  either 
Cologne,  or  Ratisbon  or  the  Wiesen  Kirche  at  Soest  is  to  Germany, 
the  Choir  of  Westminister  Abbey  or  the  Chapter-house  at  Southwell 
to  England,  Amiens  Cathedral  or  the  Sainte  Chapelle  of  Paris  to 
France,  that  is  the  Cemetery  of  the  Scaligeri  in  Verona  to  Italy,  the 
spot,  that  is,  where  at  a  glance  the  whole  essence  of  the  system  of  a 
school  of  artists  may  be  comprehended,  lavished  on  a  small  but  most 
stately  effort  of  their  genius." 

Of  the  monument  of  Can  Signorio  by  Bonino  da  Campione,  the 
latest  [1375]  and  most  elaborate  of  these  monuments,  Street  says  he 
is  "  afraid  it  is  the  most  commonly  admired."  By  one  man,  at  least, 
who  was  able  to  give  expression  to  his  feeling,  it  certainly  was 
admired.  When  the  will  of  the  exiled  Duke  Charles  of  Brunswick, 
who  for  three  years  had  found  a  home  in  Geneva,  was  opened,  in 
August,  1873,  it  was  found  that  he  had  bequeathed  his  large  wealth 
to  that  city  on  certain  conditions,  one  of  which  was  stated  in  the 


Otho  t  in  the  Market-place,  Magdeberg. 


following  terms  :  "  It  is  our  will  that  our  body  shall  be  deposited  in 
a  mausoleum  raised  above  the  ground  which  shall  be  erected  by  our 
executors  at  Geneva  in  a  prominent  and  dignified  position.  The 
monument  shall  be  surmounted  by  our  equestrian  statue  and  sur- 
rounded by  those  of  our  father  and  grandfather,  of  glorious  memory, 
after  the  design  attached  to  this  testament,  in  imitation  of  the  tomb 
of  the  Scaligers  at  Verona.  Our  executors  will  build  the  said  monu- 
ment in  bronze  and  marble  by  the  hands  of  the  most  eminent  artists, 
using  as  many  millions  of  our  estate  as  may  be  necessary." 

Here,  then,  was  a  man  who  since  he  was  deposed  in  1830  in  favor 
of  his  younger  brother  had  travelled  widely  and  frequented  culti- 
vated society,  yet  selected  the  tomb  of  Can  Signorio  as  the  one  of  all 
others  he  would  chose  as  a  model  for  the  resting-place  for  his  own 
ashes.  The  selection  of  the  model  is  almost  as  much  a  mystery  as  his 
reason  for  bequeathing  his  wealth  to  a  city  with  which  he  had  but  a 
short  and  chance  connection.  Perhaps  the  first  mystery  can  be  ex- 
plained by  the  supposition  that  he  saw  that  the  execution  of  a  similar 
monument  offered  a  grand  chance  for  consuming  a  vast  amount  of 
money  —  and  so  preventing  his  municipal  legatee  from  misspending 
too  much  of  its  bequest.  For  the  second  mystery  no  better  solution 
has  ever  been  offered  than  the  tale  that  once  when  he  was  visiting 
the  Cathedral  of  St.  Pierre  in  Geneva,  his  attention  was  attracted 
by  some  well-preserved  monuments  which,  he  ascertained,  had  been 
in  existence  for  hundreds  of  years.  This  information  is  surmised  to 
have  suggested  that  here  was  a  peace-loving  community  who,  without 
its  being  particularly  made  worth  their  while,  yet  preserved  monu- 
ments for  hundreds  of  years,  and  that  here,  therefore,  was  just  the 
place  where  one  who  was  thinking  of  perpetuating  his  name  by  a  post- 
humous monument 
.might  hope  for  its  long- 
est survival  —  particu- 
larly if  a  bribe  were 
judiciously  adminis- 
tered. The  whole  af- 
fair looks  like  the  act 
of  a  vain  and  rather 
foolish  man. 

Be  this  as  it  may, 
the  city  accepted  the 
bequest  and  placed  the 
work  of  erecting 
the  monument  in  the 
hands  of  M.  Jean 
Franel,  architect,  who 
carried  it  out  to  a  scale 
one-fifth  larger  than  its 
model.  He  secured  as 
his  assistants  :  M.  Cain 
for  the  equestrian 
statue,  the  lions  and  the 
chimeras;  M.  Iguel  for 
the  sarcophagus  and  the 
bas-reliefs,  and  MM. 
Thomas,  Millet, 
Schcenewerk  and  Ries- 
ling for  the  statues  of 
the  Duke's  ancestors ; 
M.  Topffer  for  the  me- 
dallions, and  M.  Custor 
for  the  rest  of  the  work. 
Except  in  the  matter 
of  scale,  the  moderniz- 
ing of  some  of  the 
detail,  and  the  individu- 
alizing of  the  sculpt- 
ures so  as  to  have  appli- 


cation to  the  Brunswick  family,  the  structure  at  Geneva  is  a  close 
copy  of  the  one  at  Verona,  almost  the  only  effort  at  originality  being 
the  introduction  of  the  lions  and  chimeras  as  auxiliaries,  and  the 
way  in  which  basins  of  water  of  different  shapes  and  sizes  have  been 
combined  with  the  monument  itself,  which  looks  out  from  the  Place 
des  Alpes  over  the  lake. 

The  equestrian  figure  itself  is  a  good  one,  and  the  horse  is  one  of 
the  small  class  of  motionless  animals  which,  when  properly  handled, 
are  more  satisfactory  than  even  the  successful  ones  which  indicate 
locomotive  effort  of  more  or  less  pronounced  character.  Where  the 
horse  is  quiescent,  the  rider,  in  whose  honor  the  monument  is  created, 
obtains  more  consideration  from  the  observer.  In  this  case,  how- 
ever, the  altitude  at  which  the  horse  and  man  are  set  give  them 
about  as  much  value  as  an  ordinary  weathercock. 

In  the  cases  of  the  tombs  of  the  Scaligers  and  of  the  Duke  of 
Brunswick  the  equestrian  figure  crowns  the  composition,  while  the 
tomb  proper  is  sheltered  beneath  the  canopy.  In  two  other  cases, 
the  Otho  I  at  Magdeberg  and  the  Francis  I  at  Prague,  use  is  made 
of  the  canopy  to  shelter  the  equestrian  portions  of  the  monument. 

While  searching  for  connecting  links  between  the  sculpture  of  the 
later  Roman  Empire  and  the  early  part  of  the  mediaeval  period  it  at 
first  seemed  likely  that  the  only  existing  statue  that  could  be  credited 
to  the  Dark  Ages  was  that  of  Otho  I  at  Magdeberg,  which  has  some- 
times been  ascribed  to  the  tenth  century,  and,  in  such  case,  would 
possibly  have  been  erected  during  Otho's  life  or  shortly  after  his  death. 
The  evidence  of  historic  facts  and  the  internal  evidence  afforded  by 


JUNE  22,  1889.] 


TJie   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


299 


the  statue  itself,  however,  refute  this  theory,  though  they  do  not 
deprive  it  of  the  honor  of  being  one  of  the  oldest  portrait  statues  on 
horseback  of  the  mediaeval  period.  When  the  monument  was  re- 
paired in  1858  by  a  Herr  Holbein  it  was  found  not  to  be  a  monolithic 
statue,  as  had  been  supposed,  but  one  built  up  out  of  seventeen  pieces 
of  sandstone  held  together  by  iron  dowels,  and  an  analysis  of  the 
stone  showed  it  to  be  of  the  same  composition  as  that  with  which 
the  thirteenth-century  portions  of  the  cathedral  were  built ;  this, 
taken  in  connection  with  the  evidence  afforded  by  the  style  and 
workmanship  of  the  group,  makes  it  probable  that  the  statue  was  cut 
at  that  time,  and  probably  by  some  of  the  sculptors  who  were  em- 
ployed on  the  cathedral.  The  fact  that  the  entire  town  was  twice 
destroyed  by  fire,  once  in  1180  and  again  in  1207,  while  the  monu- 
ment bears  no  signs  of  injury,  is  testimony,  also,  against  a  very  early 
date,  though,  as  the  monument  was  restored  in  1540  and  in  1651,  as 
well  as  in  1858,  there  is  no  reason  why  the  wounds  of  both  fire  and 
time  should  not  have  been  healed  over  and  over  again.  Although  of 
stone,  the  statue  is  gilded,  and  when  at  its  latest  restoration  the 
gilding  was  renewed  traces  were  discovered  of  an  earlier  red  coating, 
which  was  supposed  to  be  merely  a  coat  applied  to  prepare  the  stone 
surface  for  gilding.  But  the  fact  that  Otho  the  Great,  as  did 
Charlemagne  and  Louis  XII,  took  a  leading  part  in  the  actual 
administration  of  justice,  connects  him  intimately  with  the  history  of 


Charles,    Duke  of    Brunswick,   Geneva,   Switzerland. 
Algetnaine  Z 


M.  Cain,   Sculptor.      From  the 


the  derivation  of  German  law,  and  in  the  early  legal  annals  he  is 
spoken  of  as  "  rufus,"  and  sometimes  as  "  sanguinis,"  so  that  it  is 
not  at  all  improbable  that  the  red  coating  was  not  a  preparation  for 
a  coat  of  gilding,  but  was  at  one  time  the  final  color  of  the  statue  — 
at  a  later  day  it  is  known  to  have  been  painted  white,  to  ape  marble. 
This  association  of  the  statue  with  the  law  of  the  realm  has  other 
support  in  that  the  monument  is  supposed  to  stand  on  the  spot 
where  in  Otho's  time  stood  "  the  scaffold  under  the  lime-tree  on  the 
market-place"  —  -the  tree  of  blood  where  sentence  of  death  was 
carried  out.  It  is  thought,  too,  that  the  large  cloak  worn  by  the 
emperor  was  intended  to  typify  his  judicial  attributes. 

The  amiable  family  affection  or,  more  likely,  the  less  amiable 
pride  of  race  that  led  the  Duke  of  Brunswick  to  surround  his  monu- 
ment with  statues  of  "our  father  and  grandfather,  of  glorious 
memory  "  was  also  exhibited  in  the  case  of  the  monument  of  Otho  I 
where  the  shaft  that  supports  the  canopy  and  its  enclosed  equestrian 
statue  is  reinforced  by  pedestrian  statues  of  the  Emperor's  more  or 
less  illustrious  ancestors  —  some  quite  as  savage  and  uncivilized  as 
illustrious. 

A  variant  upon  the  same  theme  was  effected  at  Prague  where,  in 
1850,  on  the  Franzcnsquai,  was  erected  a  monument  to  Francis  1, 
where  the  encompassing  auxiliary  statues  were  made  to  represent  not 
the  worthy  forebears  of  the  Kmperor  but  the  sixteen  districts  of 
Bohemia,  while  the  Virtues  with  which  Can  Signorio  inconseo.uently 
surrounded  his  own  sarcophagus  and  which  are  recalled  by  the  two 
female  figures  that  lead  the  horse  of  Otho,  are  in  the  case  of  the 
Bohemian  monument  replaced  by  allegorical  figures  which  represent 
the  hackneyed  typical  groups  of  the  present  more  material  day.  A 
sermon  could  be  based  on  the  substitution  of  the  groups  that  now 


everywhere  symbolize  Art,  Commerce,  Industry  and  Science  for  the 
figures  that  in  a  less  sophisticated  age  stood  in  similar  positions  for 
the  cardinal  virtues.  It  was  only  a  fashion,  to  be  sure,  and  probably 
often  hypocritically  followed,  but  it  really  seems  as  if  artists  must 
have  been  able  to  produce  nobler  work  when  they  were  habitually 
trying  to  typify  some  ennobling  Christian  virtue,  as  Justice,  or  some 
merely  savage  one  as  Courage,  than  when  they  are  trying  to  glorify 
Trade  —  with  its  suggestions  of  greasiness  and  evil  smells. 

The  monument,  seventy-seven  feet  high,  Gothic  in  style  and  sug- 
gesting in  general  the  Eleanor's  crosses,  was  designed  by  Kranner, 
and  the  statues  were  the  work  of  Joseph  Max,  father  of  the  well- 
known  painter  of  to-day,  Gabriel  Max. 


CAN  GRAXDE.  —  Can  Francesco  della  Scala  called  the  Great,  was  the  most 
illustrious  of  his  family.  He  was  appointed  captain  of  the  league  made  by 
Verona,  Mantua,  Brescia,  and  other  towns  against  the  Marquis  of  Este,  Lord  of 
Ferrara  whom  he  defeated  and  obliged  to  withdraw  to  Ferrara.  He  sub- 
sequently became  the  head  of  the  Ghibelline  party  in  Lombardy.  In  1329,  he 
took  Treviso,  but  was  a  few  days  after  seized  with  a  violent  fever,  which  carried 
him  off  at  the  age  of  39.  He  was  a  liberal  patron  of  literature  ami  the  arts,  and 
his  court  was  attended  by  poets,  painters  and  sculptors,  Dante  and  Boccaccio 
have  both  written  of  him. 

DUKE  OF  BRUNSWICK. —  Charles,  eldest  son  of  Duke  William  Frederick,  was 
born  in  1801.  He  was  educated  in  England  with  his  brother  William,  but  dis- 
played such  frivolity  of  character,  that  his  guardian,  the  Prince  Kegent,  delayed 
putting  the  government  of  Brunswick  into  his  hands  until  more  than  a  year 
after  he  had  attained  his  majority.  In  1830,  his  subjects,  weary  of  his  ex- 
travagances, rose  against  him;  he  fled,  and  in  the  following  year  was  deposed  by 
the  German  Diet.  During  the  remainder  of  his  life  he  resided  chiefly  at  Paris 
and  Geneva,  immersed  in  pleasure,  and  on  his  death  (in  1873)  bequeathed  liis 
immense  property  to  the  latter  city. 

AUGUSTS  NICOLAS  CAIN.  —  Born  at  Paris  in  1822.  He  was  a  pupil  of  Kude  and 
Guionnet.  He  is  in  the  very  first  rank  of  sculptors  of  animals,  and  has  produced 
a  great  number  of  works,  gaining  several  medals  at  the  Salon.  The  Luxem- 
bourg contains  his"  Vulture  on  the  head  of  a  Sphinx  ";  and  in  the  Tuileries  garden 
may  be  seen  his  tine  groups  of  "  A  Lion  killing  a  Crocodile,"  and  "  A  Liou  bring- 
ing a  dead  Peacock  to  its  Cubs."  Two  of  his  most  important  works  are  ••  A 
Rhinoceros  attacked  by  Tigers."  and  "  A  Lioness  and  her  Cubs  with  a  dead 
Boar." 

CHARLES  FRANCOIS  MARIE  IOUEL.  —  Born  at  Paris  in  1827.  A  pupil  of  Rude. 
Medals  in  1864  and  1868.  Among  his  works  are  "  Ixj  Chasseur,"  a  statue  executed 
for  the  "  Cour  du  Manege  "  of  the  Louvre;  statues  of  St.  Albert,  St.  Paul  and  St. 
Peter;  a  number  of  decorative  sculptures  and  many  busts. 

ALEX  ANDRE  SCH<EXEWERK.  —  Born  at  Paris,  1820.  Pupil  of  David  d'  Angers, 
Jollivet  and  Triqueti.  His  principal  works  were  "  The  Young  Tarentine  "  ; 
"Rape  of  Dejanira";  "Lulli"  (in  the  Grand  Opera);  "St.  Thomas  Aquinas" 
(for  the  facade  of  the  Sorbonne);  "Hesitation";  and  "  Mime-Dompteur."  His 
statues  entitled  "  Young  Girl  at  the  Fountain  "  and  "  In  the  Morning  "  are  in  the 
Luxembourg.  Schoeuewerk  died  in  1885. 

JEAN  FRANEL.  —  A  Genevese  architect  died  in  1886.  Besides  the  Duke  of 
Brunswick  Monument  he  was  the  architect  of  the  University  in  the  same  city. 

AIME  MILLET.  — Born  at  Paris  about  181G.  Pupil  of  David  d' Angers  and 
Viollet-le-Duc.  He  made  his  debut  as  a  painter  at  the  Salon  of  1842  and  con- 
tinued to  exhibit  pictures  until  1852.  It  is  as  a  sculptor,  however,  that  his  chief 
fame  has  been  gained.  His  plastic  works  include  "  Ariadne  "  and  "  Cassandra 
placing  herself  under  the  protection  of  Pallas,"  both  at  the  Luxembourg ; 
"Vercingetorix,"  erected  at  Alise-Sainte-Reine  ;  the  tomb  of  Murger;  "Apollo 
and  the  Muses  of  Poetry  and  Dancing,"  on  the  Grand  Opera ;  astatueof  Chateau- 
briand, erected  at  St.  Malo  ;  one  of  Denis  Papin,  at  Blois  ;  the  tomb  of  the 
Princess  Christine  de  Montpensier,  at  Seville  ;  three  colossal  figures  of  Prudence, 
Commerce  aud  Finance  for  the  facade  of  the  Comptoir  d'Escompte  de  Paris  ;  a 
statue  of  "Physics"  for  the  Nice  Observatory;  the  tomb  of  a  Prince  of  Saxe- 
Coburg  Got  ha  ;  a  statue  of  George  Sand  for  La  Chatre  ;  one  of  Edgar  Quinet,  at 
Bourg  ;  one  of  Phidias  for  the  Luxembourg  garden  ;  and  "  Civil  Justice,"  made 
for  the  Maire  of  the  First  Arroudissement  of  Paris. 

FRANCIS  I,  Emperor  of  Austria.  —  Born  in  1768  ;  was  the  eldest  son  of  Leopold 
II,  then  Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany,  who  became  Emperor  of  Germany  in  1790. 
Leopold  dying  in  1792,  Francis  was  elected  Emperor  of  Germany  under  the  title 
of  Francis  II.  He  joined  Frederick  William  II  of  Prussia  in  the  war  against 
France,  but  was  compelled  to  conclude  the  peace  of  Campo  Formio,  in  1797.  He 
renewed  the  war,  in  alliance  with  England  and  Russia,  in  1799,  but  was  again 
obliged,  by  the  defeats  of  Marengo  and  Hohenlinden,  to  agree  to  the  treaty  of 
Luneville  (1801).  In  1804,  he  proclaimed  himself  Emperor  of  Austria  (Francis  I), 
and,  after  the  disastrous  campaign  of  1805,  and  the  establishment,  under 
Napoleon's  protection,  of  the  Confederation  of  the  Rhine,  he  issued  a  manifesto, 
declaring  that  he  abandoned  the  title  of  German  Emperor,  and  the  dignity  and 
position  of  head  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire  (1806)  In  1809  a  fresh  outbreak  of 
hostilities  with  France  was  followed  by  the  humiliating  peace  of  Schonbrunn. 
Francis  reluctantly  granted  Napoleon's  request  for  the  hand  of  his  daughter, 
Maria  Louisa.  In  the  German  "  War  of  Liberation "  (1812-14),  Francis,  with 
Frederick  William  of  Prussia,  was  at  the  head  of  the  movement,  and  was  present 
in  person  till  the  end  of  the  campaign.  In  1814,  he  returned  to  Vienna,  amid  the 
rejoicings  of  his  subjects,  and  after  the  conclusion  of  the  peace  of  Paris,  found 
all  his  losses  made  good  to  him.  The  remaining  years  of  his  reign  were  prosper- 
ous. He  died  in  1835,  endeared  to  his  subjects  and  the  idol  of  the  Viennese. 

[To  be  continued.] 


TEHHE  HAUTE,  IND.,  May  29, 1889. 
To  THE  EDITORS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT:  — 

Dear  Sirs,  —  A  builds  a  block  of  tenement-houses,  and  employs  B, 
an  architect,  to  prepare  plans,  let  and  superintend  the  works,  C  is 
contractor  and  D  a  sub-contractor.  The  specification  has  this  clause 
in  it :  "  The  contractor  or  his  sub-contractors,  and  his  and  their  work- 
men mu^t  agree  (and  this  writing  is  the  agreement)  that  they  shall 
remove  from  the  building  any  work  or  material  not  in  accordance 
with  the  plans,  details,  elevations,  all  drawings  and  specifications. 
And  they  must  agree,  that  the  opinion  and  decision  of  the  architect 
is  binding  to  them,  as  well  as  it  is  to  the  proprietor."  The  sub- 
contractor D.  signs  a  contract  with  the  main  contractor  C,  to  the  same 
effect ;  that  is,  that  the  opinion  and  decision  of  the  architect  is  hind- 
ing  to  all,  etc. 

The  specification  further  reads,  that  it  must  not  be  understood 
that  the  sub-contractors  will  receive  certificates  dnCect  from  the  super- 
intendent. The  main  or  principal  contractor,  only,  will  receive 
these,  assigned  for  the  special  benefit  of  the  sub-contractor. 


300 


Tlie,    American   Architect   and  Building   News.      [VOL.  XXIV.  —  No.  704. 


Now  D,  the  sub-contractor,  quarrels  with  C,  the  main  contractor, 
as  to  certain  works  to  be  done  and  which  he  (D)  tries  to  avoid  : 
finally  he  is  compelled  to  do  them,  and  gives  final  receipt  for  all  his 
work,  including  all  disputed  matters.  A  day  after,  D,  the  sub-con- 
tractor, calls  on  the  arcliitect  with  a  hill  of  extras,  one-fourth  of  which 
the  architect  acknowledges  as  correct,  and  three-fourths  as  incorrect, 
and  then  because  the  architect  refuses  to  agree  on  the  whole,  D  sues 
the  principal,  A,  for  a  number  of  items  and  damages  in  which  all  the 
disputed  matters  settled  with  the  main  contractor  C,  figure  again. 

The  question  before  the  architect  B,  is  this : 

Question.  —  1.  Shall  the  specifications  and  contract,  stand  good  before 
the  law,  where  it  says  that  the  main  contractor  shall  only  get  certifi- 
ca/es  to  be  assigned  to  the  sub-contractor  f 

2.  Shall  the  agreement  of  A  with  the  main  contractor  and  his  sub- 
contractor, '•  that  the  opinion  and  decision  of  the  architect  is  binding 
to  them,  as  well  as  to  the  proprietor,"  remain  valid  in  laic  1 
As  you  have  a  legal  gentleman  attached  to  your  editorial  staff,  we 
will  be  pleased  to  see  the  American  Architect's  answer  to  these  ques- 
tions as  it  is  a  matter  in  which  every  citizen  making  a  contract  for  a 
building,  is  interested.  Respectfully,  V.  &  S. 

Answer.  —  We  do  not  find  anything  in  the  contracts  and  other 
facts  referred  to  in  the  above  communication  to  prevent  D,  the  sub- 
contractor, from  collecting  his  claim  from  A,  the  owner,  providing  he 
can  satisfy  a  jury  that  the  work  which  he  claims  as  an  extra  was 
ordered  by  the  owner  or  by  the  architect,  and  in  the  latter  case  that 
the  architect  had  authority  to  give  the  order.  The  terms  of  the  con- 
tract and  the  fact  that  there  was  any  contract  at  all  between  the 
plaintiff  in  the  action  and  the  principal  contractor,  would  have  noth- 
ing to  do  with  the  case  except  as  evidence  tending  to  rebut  the 
plaintiff's  claim  that  the  work  in  question  was  done  under  contract 
between  him  and  the  owner.  The  decision,  however,  in  such  cases 
is  always  with  the  jury;  a  written  contract  between  the  plaintiff 
and  some  third  party  is  evidence  merely  and  not  conclusive ;  and  if 
the  jury  believes  that  the  owner  and  plaintiff  entered  into  a  separate 
and  distinct  arrangement  for  the  work  in  question  they  will  find  for 
the  plaintiff. 

The  clause  in  the  sub-contract  subjecting  all  matters  of  dispute  to 
the  decision  of  the  architect  would  have  no  binding  force  in  any 
action  between  one  of  the  parties  to  this  contract  and  a  third  party. 
The  .owner  not  being  a  party  to  the  contract  could  take  no  advan- 
tage of  the  clause. 

Whether  the  receipt  given  by  the  sub-contractor  to  the  main 
contractor  covered  the  work  in  question  would  also  be  a  question  for 
the  jury  ;  if  the  work  was  outside  the  sub-contract  and  undertaken 
under  a  direct  arrangement  with  the  owner,  of  course  a  receipt  given 
to  the  main  contractor  would  not  bar  the  sub-contractor  from  recover- 
ing (he  price  agreed  upon  with  the  owner. 

We  are  therefore  compelled  to  answer  both  of  the  questions  which 
our  correspondent  puts  at  the  end  of  his  communication  in  the  nega- 
tive :  that  is  to  say,  the  specifications  and  contract  would  not  "  stand 
good  before  the  law,"  nor  would  the  decision  of  the  architect  be 
binding,  at  least  in  the  sense  which  our  correspondent  means.  This 
whole  question  like  most  of  the  disputes  that  are  continually  arising 
in  the  building  trade,  is  one  of  fact  simply  ;  and  the  best  way  to 
avoid  them  is  for  the  architect  not  to  get  a  general  authority  from 
the  owner  to  order  extras,  but  whenever  anything  is  needed  that  is 
not  in  the  contract,  to  make  a  new  formal  contract  in  writing  either 
with  the  main  contractor  or  some  other  person. 


THE    SYRACUSE    SKETCH-CLUB. 

•  FIT  Syracuse  a  sketching-club  has  just  been  formed,  to  be  known 
AH  as  "  The  Syracuse  Sketch-Club,"  and  to  be  composed  of  the 
/  draughtsmen  (both  architectural  and  mechanical)  and  a  few 
others  interested  in  art  matters  of  our  city.  This  is  a  subject  that 
has  been  long  thought  of  and  talked  about,  and  now  that  we  have 
made  a  start  it  is  our  purpose  to  make  a  success  of  it.  These  gentle- 
men were  chosen  as  officers  for  the  first  year :  James  A.  Randall, 
President ;  James  A.  Johnson,  Vice-President ;  William  H.  Lord, 
Secretary  and  Treasurer.  You  will  confer  a  favor  on  the  draughts- 
men by  noticing  this.  Yours  truly, 

WILLIAM  H.  LORD,  Secretary  and  Treasurer. 


of  the  principal  cities  where  this  period  reached  its  highest  develop- 
ment. 

The  principal  works  of  the  architects  of  the  Renaissance  were 
then  discussed,  and  the  different  phases  it  took  in  Rome,  Florence, 
Venice  and  Sienna.  The  views  were  well  arranged  and  admirably 
selected. 

An  exhibition  is  being  held  at  the  club-rooms  of  a  number  of 
water-colors  made  by  Mr.  Dwight  Blaney,  while  on  a  recent  trip  to 
the  Bermudas. 


BOSTON    ARCHITECTURAL   CLUB. 

THE  Boston  Architectural  Club  held  its  fortnightly  conversazione 
Thursday  evening,  June  13. 

Mr.  C.  Howard  Walker  gave  an  informal  talk  on  Italy,  illustrat- 
in"  his  remarks  with  stereopticon  views.  Speaking  at  first  of  the 
impressions  one  gains  from  modern  Italy,  he  passed  at  once  to 
Rome.  Dividing  the  architecture  into  three  periods  :  Classic, 
Gothic  and  Renaissance,  he  dwelt  at  length  on  each.  He  showed  views 
of  the  Roman  Forum,  explaining  the  modern  excavations  and  dis- 
coveries; then  taking  each  of  the  principal  buildings  and  triumphal 
arches,  related  their  history  and  explained  their  architectural  char- 
acteristics. Passing  to  Pompeii,  and  showing  the  principal  buildings 
of  that  city,  he  took  up  the  Gothic  period  and  illustrated  by  views 


TRADE   SURVEYS. 

THE  tenor  of  commercial,  financial  and  railroad  returns  for  the  past  six 
days  puts  a  decidedly  better  coloring  upon  general  trade  and  manufai'tur- 
ing  conditions  of  the  country.  Quite  a  number  of  statistical  returns  hiive 
been  published,  a  study  of  which  indicates  the  general  drift  of  trade  which 
lias  heretofore  been  observed.  The  conclusion  drawn  from  the  bulk  of  this 
information  is  that,  first,  the  volume  of  traffic  has  begun  to  increase,  that 
margins  in  several  lines  of  trade  are  a  little  more  satisfactory,  that  the 
crop  reports  are  more  uromising,  that  the  distribution  of  merchandise 
throughout  the  interior  of  the  country  has  improved,  that  money  is  easier 
both  in  financial  centres  East  and  in  distributing  centres  West,  as  railroad- 
builders  are  regaining  confidence  for  the  operations  of  the  coming  six 
mouths  ;  that  failures,  considering  the  amount  of  business  transacted,  are 
declining,  and  that  the  condition  of  the  wage-workers  throughout  the 
country  is  better  than  thirty  days  ago.  There  are  a  number  of  other  points 
that  might  be  mentioned  as  showing  the  growing  strength  in  the  general 
business  situation,  but  the  above  are  sufficient  at  present.  The  gross  earn- 
ings on  130  railroads  show  an  increase  of  nearly  one-and-a-quarter  million 
dollars.  The  actual  earnings  in  May  for  these  roads  footed  up  $31,483,240. 
The  mileage  is  77,403  miles,  or  nearly  3,000  more  than  last  year.  The 
earnings  increased  5.61  per  cent ;  the  mileage,  3.70  per  cent.  Nine  North- 
western roads  earned  more  this  year  than  last,  which  is  saying  a  good  deal 
considering  all  the  unfavorable  reports  that  have  been  received.  The 
Southern  railroads  do  not  show  such  favorable  earnings.  For  five  months 
129  roads  earned  $9,788,197  more  than  last  year.  A  great  deal  might  be 
added  concerning  the  earnings  of  individual  roads,  but  reports  are  more  in- 
structive. In  a  general  way  the  railroad  situation  throughout  the  country 
is  improving.  There  is  no  doubt  now  entertained  on  Wall  Street  that  the 
traffic  for  the  coming  six  months  will  exceed  the  traffic  of  the  same  six 
mouths  last  year.  Strange  to  say,  this  confidence  is  not  influencing  stock 
speculators.  Good  stocks  are  not  to  be  had,  and  poor  stocks  are  not 
wanted.  The  outside  public  are  still  refusing  to  speculate.  English  capital 
is  seeking  other  than  railroad-building  channels.  Railroad-building  for  the 
next  six  months  is  very  uncertain.  Last  week,  contracts  for  20,000  tons  of 
steel-rails  were  placed  in  Eastern  mills.  This  week,  from  present  indica- 
tions, about  40,000  tons  will  be  placed,  three  quarters  of  which  will  be  for 
Western  and  Southern  roads.  The  trunk-lines,  between  New  York  and 
Chicago,  will  buy  very  soon  from  10,000  to  15,000  tons  of  rails  to  repair  with. 
Rails  are  hardening  in  price.  Small  lots  are  selling  now  at  $28,  as  against 
$27  a  month  ago.  The  additional  allotment  recently  granted  will  allow 
urgent  buyers  to  obtain  what  they  need  for  midsummer  work.  The  coal 
situation  is  not  satisfactory.  The  consumption  as  compared  to  last  year  is 
somewhat  less,  being  due  to  the  diminished  output  of  iron  and  steel.  The 
small  shop,  railroad  and  general  manufacturing  requirements  are  fully  up 
to  last  year.  The  anthracite  regions  have  been  put  in  better  producing  shape, 
but  the  cost  of  production  has  not  been  decreased,  in  fact,  it  has  gradually 
increased  owing  to  the  great  depth  at  which  coal  is  to  be  sought.  There  is 
a  great  stir  among  the  miners  of  bituminous  coal,  and  within  the  last  thirty 
days  four  or  five  companies  have  been  organized  to  develop  new  territory, 
most  of  it  in  Virginia  and  Kentucky.  Small  companies  are  organizing  in 
the  far  West,  and  the  disposition  to  develop  mining  territory  heretofore  re- 
ferred to  is  growing. 

In  the  lumber  trade  the  demand  has  not  imp-oved  as  much  as  timber 
speculators  anticipated.     Building  operations  are  absorbing  all  that  was  ex- 
pected, but  the  wholesalers  and  retailers  are  catering  to  this  trade,  instead 
of  buying  large  quantities  are  buying  only  such  lumber  as  their  customers 
will  want.    For  this  reason  stocks  in  large  cities  are  declining.    The  whole- 
salers have  discovered  that  when  they  buy  heavily  they  will  crowd  prices  up 
on  themselves.    In  order  to  protect  themselves  they  are  buying  omy  for  re- 
quirements.   The  attempt  in  Georgia  to  combine  on  yellow  pine  has  been 
practically  a  failure.    Outsiders  came  in  and  offered  lots  to-day  at  last 
year's  prices.    They  are  still  doing  this  and  no  doubt  will  continue  this 
policy  till  the  close  of  the  season.    The  strong  companies  there  have  the 
alternative  of  either  dropping  prices  or  finding  stocks  accumulating  on  their 
hands.    Besides  this,  great  development"  are  being  made  in  Mississippi, 
Arkansas  and  to  some  extent  in  Texas,  and  the  supply  of  cypress,  yellow 
pine  and  other  woods  in  Western  markets  is  crowding  out  white  pine  and 
influencing  white  pine  quotations.     During  the  past  two  weeks  reports  have 
been  received  from  a  number  of  leading  architects  in  Chicago,  St.  Louis, 
and  from  architects  in  the  far  northwest  territory.    They  report  a  very 
active  distribution  of  iron  and  steel,  merchant  steel,  sheet-iron,  barbed-wire, 
and  farm  and  building  equipments  as  well  as  builders'  hardware.    The  small 
machine-shops  between  Pennnvlvania  and  the  Mississippi  river  are  crowded 
with  work.    The  ship-work  now  in  the  lake  ship-yards  is  as  good  as  it  could 
be.    The  leading  iron-works  making  structural  shapes  are  also  as  crowded 
with  work  as  they  have  been  at  any  time  for  years.    In  Pennsylvania  some 
20,000  or  30,000  tons  of  material  will  be  placed  under  contract  before  the 
first  of  September.    Builders  are  crowded  with  work  as  fast  as  possible. 
No  strikes  have  occurred,  and  it  is  now  an  assured  fact  that  so  far  as  the 
building  trades  are  concerned  there  will   be  no  trouble  up  to  the  close 
of    the    season.      Information   from   labor  sources   seems   to   point  to  a 
determination  upon  the  part  of  labor  organizations  next  year  to  precipitate 
an  eight  hour  legislation.    A  reactionary  tendency  is  at  work  among  certain 
labor  organizations,  but  at  this  writing  it  is  not  possible  to  say  whether  the 
conservative  or  radical  elements  will  win.    The  radical  element  is  made  up 
largely  of  foreign  workmen  who  believe  that  the  present  opportunity  is  the 
most  opportune  for  the  establishment  of  an  eight  hour  working-day"      The 
Ameiican  element  are  not  contributing  as  largely  in  such  a  revolution  but 
are  willing  of  course  to  profit  by  it  and  probably  will  bring  up  the  rear 
should  a  general  strike  be  resolved  upon.    The  brick-makers  throughout  the 
country  are  hurrying  forward  work  on  spring  contracts  and  thus  far  have 
been  able  to  meet  all  requirements.    The  demand  for  cements,  lime,  lath 
and  shingles  has  been  extraordinary  and  notwithstanding  tho  heavy  dis- 
tribution of  such  stocks  supplies  are  now  as  full  as  they  have  been  at  any 
time  this  year.     Within  the  past  thirty  days  heavy  shipments  of  mining 
machinery  have  gone  into  the  far  West  to  new  companies  which  nre  now 
negotiating  for  largo  quantities  of  new  machinery  in  a  very  expeditious  and 
economic  manner. 


JUNE  22,  1889.] 


The  American  Architect  and  ftuilding  News. 


IX 


ertor  o 


f  fbi? 


is 


GABOT'5  CREQ5oTE  5TAIN-. 
or  jingle?.  Fences,  Clajiboar  A  Ets-c. 


ARTHUR   HOOPER  DODO, 
Archt. 


X 


~*  »•  i~i"'l>-"l 


Very 

t-  v 

qvve  <a  muc    vwre  arr^n 
P  fUnnl*.  w^ile  l"T>cy  are  c 
Very  easy  fe  d 

»  * 


PRICES  are  4O,  6O  and  78  cents  per  Gallon 

According  to  Color. 
SEND  for  Samples  on  Wood,  and  Circulars, 


.568. 


>7<?  Kl  t  BY-6T  •  • 


The    American    Architect   and   Building   News.          [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  704. 


HALF-TIMBER   HOUSES. 


THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT  AND  BUILDING  NEWS. 


VOL.  XXV. 


Copyright,  1880,  by  TICKNOR  &  COMPANY,  Boston,  Mass. 


NO      705. 


JUNE  29,  1889. 


Entered  at  the  Post-Office  at  Boston  as  second-class  matter. 


SUMMARY:  — 

Incorporation  of  the  American  Fine  Arts  Society.  —  The  Na- 
tional Kree  Art  League.  —  Brockton,  Mass.,  in  search  of  u 
City-hall.  — Some  Reflections  on  the  Steps  taken.  — A  Rus- 
sian Competition  held  more  than  a  Hundred  Years  ago. 
—  Criticisms  upon  a  new  Staircase  in  Westminster  Hall.  — 
Knighthood  bestowed  on  Mr.  A.  W.  Blomfield 

OLD  COLONIAL  WORK  OF  VIRGINIA  AND  MARYLAND.  —  II.  .     .     . 

AUTUMN  JOURNEYS  IN  MEXICO.  —  VI 

ILLUSTRATIONS  :  — 

House  of  G.  G.  Haven,  Esq.,  Lenox,  Mass.  — House  for  I.  W. 


301 
303 
305 


—  House  and  Stahle,  Haverford  College  Station,  I'a. 

PARIS  EXHIBITION 

THE  LOTUS  IN  ANCIENT  ART.  —  VI.    . 

BOOKS  AND  I'APERS 

BUILDING  LAW 

COMMUNICATION  •  — 

An  Owner's  Right  to  give  Orders  . 

NOTES  AND  CLIPFINOS 

TRADE  SPRVKVS.      ...          ... 


306 
306 
308 
310 
311 

311 

311 
312 


'TT   SCHEME  which   has   long  been  discussed  in  New  York 
rj_  has  finally  taken  definite  shape,  in  the  incorporation  of  the 
'        American   Fine  Arts  Society,  which  includes  representa- 
tives of  the  present  Society  of  American  Artists,  the  Archi- 
tectural  League,    the    Art   Students'   League,    the    Society  of 
Painters  in  Pastel,  and  the  New  York  Art  Guild,  and  is  to  be 
maintained  under  the  joint   patronage    and    control    of    these 
societies,  and  of  such   others  as  may  join   the  movement  here- 
after.    The  object  of  forming  the  new   corporation   is  to  give 
the  societies  interested  a  better  opportunity  than  they  have  yet 
had  for  combining  their  efforts  and  influence  for  the  purpose  of 
promoting  the  good  of  the  fine  arts,  in  whatever  way  may  seem 
advisable,  and  the  first  step  toward  that  end  which  has  occurred 
to   the  managers  of  the  new  society  is  to  consist  in  the  erec- 
tion of  a  building,  which  is  to  contain  rooms  where  works  of  art 
may  be  exhibited,  as  well  as  permanent  accommodations  for  the 
various  societies  represented  in  the  new  federation.     The  rents 
have  been  fixed  at  the  moderate  rate  of  fifty  cents  per  annum 
per  square  foot  of  floor-space  occupied,  for  the  portion  perma- 
nently taken  up  by  the  societies,  and  twenty-five  dollars  a  day 
for  the  use  of  the  galleries.     The  New  York  daily  papers  say 
that  this  small  sum  pays  for  the  use  of  all  the  galleries  together, 
and  that  they  are  to  be  arranged   to  be  used  for  concerts  and 
other  entertainments,  as  well   as   for    exhibitions,  so  that    we 
imagine  that  there  must  have  been  some  slip  in  the  original  re- 
port, which  we  leave  our  readers  to  correct  according  to  their 
own   judgment.     The  capital   to  be  used  for  carrying  out  this 
modest  plan  is  fixed  at  fifty  thousand  dollars,  and  is  to  be  raised 
by  subscriptions  of   one   hundred  dollars  each.     Besides   the 
stock,  coupon  bonds  are  to  be  issued,  the  interest  on  which  is 
to  be  paid,  if  earned  from  rents,  but  if  the  rents  should  not  be 
sufficient  to  pay  the  interest,  the  holders  of  the  bonds,  by  sur- 
rendering their  coupons,  may  obtain  free  tickets  to  the  various 
exhibitions  to  be  held  in  the  building  during   the  year.     Be- 
side the  stock-holders  and  the  bond-holders,  there  is  to  be  a 
class   of  Fellows,    who,  by  the   contribution  of   one  hundred 
dollars,  are  to  be  entitled  through  life  to  five  season  tickets  to 
all    the   exhibitions  given    by  the   Architectural    League,  the 
Society  of  American  Artists,  and  the   Society  of  Painters   in 
Pastel.     The  proceeds  from  the  sale  of  such  fellowships  is  to 
be  devoted  partly  to  extinguishing  the  bonded  debt  of  the  cor- 
poration, while  the  rest  is  to  be  distributed   among  the  con- 
stituent societies  in  equitable  proportion. 

'fj  NOTHER  artistic  association,  with,  however,  a  special 
f\  purpose,  which  has  just  been  formed  in  New  York,  is  the 
'  National  Free  Art  League,  an  organization  of  artists  anr 


other  persons  interested  in  art,  intended  to  promote,  by  the 
number  and  character  of  its  members,  and  the  influence  they 
may  exert,  the  repeal  of  the  unjust,  ridiculous  and  injurious 
laws  in  regard  to  the  importation  of  foreign  pictures  and  statues 
which  have  so  long  annoyed  our  artists.  The  names  of  the 
officers  of  the  League  are  in  themselves  sufficient  to  show  the 
seriousness  of  the  movement,  and  the  energy  with  which  it  is 
likely  to  be  carried  on.  The  President  is  Mr.  J.  Carroll  Beek- 
with,  the  Vice-President  is  Mr.  William  M.  Chase,  the  Treas- 
urer is  Mr.  Henry  Marquand,  and  the  Secretary  is  Mr.  Kenyon 
Cox.  Besides  the  officers,  more  than  five  hundred  artists  and 
lovers  of  art  are  enrolled  as  members,  and  many  applications  for 
membership  are  daily  received.  There  are  no  membership 
dues,  and  persons  interested  in  the  purposes  of  the  League  are 
invited  to  send  their  names  to  the  Secretary,  Mr.  Kenyon  Cox, 
14,i  West  Fifty-fifth  Street,  New  York,  upon  which  they  will 
be  enrolled,  upon  signing  the  Articles  of  Association,  and  will 
>e  kept  informed,  from  time  to  time,  of  the  progress  of  the 
movement,  and  the  success  of  the  work  undertaken  by  the 
League. 


IIFHE  Brockton  Knterprise  makes  some  suggestions  in  regard 
\j  to  obtaining  designs  for  a  new  city-hall  for  that  town, 
which  are  open  to  criticism,  in  the  interest  of  the  citizens. 
tt  remarks  that  a  competition  among  architects  has  been  pro- 
>osed,  but  says  that  the  fear  has  been  expressed  that  "  an 
open  race  of  the  kind  would  only  be  entered  by  second-class 
irchitects,  and  that  the  big  firms  would  not  submit  any  plans." 
As  the  people  of  an  ambitious  and  prosperous  town  like 
lirockton  naturally  want  something  better  than  second-class 
professional  service,  the  Enterprise  proposes  to  meet  the 
liHiculty  by  having  the  City-hall  Committee  do  "  as  a 
similar  committee  has  done  in  Haverhill,"  that  is,  "  to 
jdvertise  in  the  Boston  papers  that  at  a  certain  hour  of  a 
certain  day  they  will  be  in  session  at  the  present  City-hall  to 
•onsult  with  architects  who  will  submit  plans  for  the  proposed 
building."  We  should  say  that  it  would  be  well  for  the  people 
interested,  before  following  this  advice,  to  find  out  what  result 
such  a  course  has  had  in  Haverhill.  Among  respectable  archi- 
tects the  idea  of  dancing  attendance  on  "  a  certain  day  "  upon 
a  committee  that  does  not  know  what  it  wants,  and  has  taken 
no  pains  to  find  out,  and  can  think  of  no  better  way  of  en- 
liyhtening  itself  than  to  let  a  lot  of  builders'  clerks  and 
draughtsmen  talk  to  it  for  an  hour,  all  at  the  same  time, 
would  be  about  as  uninviting  as  anything  that  could  be  pro- 
posed, unless,  perhaps,  it  should  be  surpassed  by  the  next 
piece  of  counsel  offered  by  the  Enterprise,  which  is  that  "  the 
ri^ht  to  reject  any  or  all,  and  not  to  pay  for  an}'  not  accepted, 
could  be  reserved,"  and  it  adds,  as  if  it  could  think  of  nothing 
more  enchanting  to  the  professional  mind  than  this  prospect, 
that,  "  The  more  architects  that  compete,  the  better  for  Brock- 
ton." 


WE  had  stipposed  that  this  way  of  thinking  and  talking 
about  architects  and  competitions  was  obsolete  in  any 
civilized  community.  To  show  how  absurd  and  ridicu- 
lous it  seems  to  any  one  who  knows  anything  about  plans  and 
buildings,  we  will  suppose  that,  instead  of  a  city-hall,  the 
people  of  Brockton  want  a  map  of  the  town.  They  appoint  a 
committee,  which  sets  an  hour  on  which  all  its  members  will 
be  at  leisure  from  their  respective  avocations,  and  invites 
engineers  and  surveyors  to  meet  it.  The  first  surveyor  asks 
whether  the  town  requires  a  topographical  survey,  or  one 
showing  merely  boundaries.  The  committee  reflects.  None 
of  its  members  have  ever  heard  of  a  topographical  survey,  arid 
have  not  the  least  idea  what  it  may  be.  but  they  do  not  like  to 
say  so,  and  the  name  sound*--  well,  se'they  answer  that  that  is 
what  they  want.  The  i.uxt  visitor  is  a  scientific  person,  who 
thinks  that  the  survey  ought  to  be  geological,  and  is  made 
happy  by  being  told  that  it  will  be  an  excellent  thing  to  have 
it  geological  as  well  as  topographical.  Each  of  the  other  in- 
quirers has  a  different  idea,  and  all  the  ideas  seem  to  the  com- 
mittee, which  comprehends  few  of  them,  to  be  excellent.  The 
intending  competitors  go  back  to  their  offices,  each  with  a 
different  notion  of  what  is  required,  and  set  at  work.  At  a 
given  time  a  mass  of  plans,  of  the  most  diverse  description,  and 
involving  immense  labor,  is  presented  to  the  bewildered  com- 
mittee. Even  then,  the  idea  of  asking  for  advice  from  some 


302 


The   American    Architect   and  Building   News.        [Vou  XXV.— No.  705. 


one  who  understands  the  subject  does  not  occur  to  them,  and 
after  looking  at  the  drawings,  with  a  feeble  pretence  of  under- 
standing them,  for  a  few  hours,  they  adjourn.  On  reassembling, 
they  find  that  a  member  has  brought  a  friend  along  with  him, 
a  person  of  local  reputation  and  influence,  whom,  after  much 
persuasion,  he  had  induced  to  "  take  part  in  the  competition," 
and  who  has  "  brought  in  his  plan."  The  "  plan  "  is  simply  a 
collection  of  old  plots,  gathered  partly  from  imagination,  and 
partly  from  the  Registry  of  Deeds,  harmonized  and  "  doctored  " 
as  the  case  may  require,  and  with  the  streets  dashed  in  with  a 
bold  hand.  The  author  of  this  "design,"  which  represents 
about  half-a-day's  work,  explains  that  he  is  "  no  hand  at 
making  pretty  pictures,"  but  "  looks  to  the  common-sense  of 
the  thing,"  and  stands,  wreathed  in  smiles,  while  the  delighted 
committee  examines  his  production.  As  one  after  another  dis- 
covers his  grandmother's  wood-lot  on  the  plan,  the  satisfaction 
of  the  members  increases,  and  without  more  ado,  the  chairman 
puts  the  vote,  all  the  other  plans  are  rejected,  and  the  new 
coiner  is  unanimously  selected  to  prepare  a  map,  which  is  only 
found  to  be  incorrect  and  valueless  after  he  has  got  his  pay. 


0F  course,  American  committees  will  resent  the  idea  that  they 
are  not  perfectly  capable  of  giving  any  instructions  as  to  the 
preparation  of  designs  for  a  city-hall,  and  of  judging  the 
designs  after  they  are  submitted,  but  the  fact  is  that  they  are 
not  capable  of  doing  so,  and  architects  know  that  they  are  not, 
and  nearly  all  the  most  reliable  architects  in  Massachusetts  have 
agreed  to  have  nothing  to  do  with  public  competitions  where 
their  work  is  not  to  be  judged  by  experts,  and  where  the  de- 
signs submitted  are  not  to  be  made  in  accordance  with  a  pro- 
gramme drawn  up  by  competent  hands,  and  issued  to  all  alike, 
in  which  proper  compensation  is  promised  without  reserve  to 
the  author  of  the  best  plan.  Nothing  else,  as  they  know, 
offers  any  chance  of  satisfaction  either  to  architects  or  to  the 
people  for  whom  they  build.  It  ought  not  to  be  necessary  to  say 
that  the  essential  part  of  a  public  building  is  the  plan.  With 
a  good  plan,  a  good  building  can  be  made  with  cheap  materials  ; 
without  a  good  plan,  no  expenditure  of  money  can  make  a 
good  building.  On  the  plan  of  such  a  building  depends  not 
only  whether  large  sums  of  money  shall  be  buried  forever  in 
tortuous  corridors,  dark  courts,  useless  space  where  it  is  not 
needed,  and  rooms  too  small  for  use,  but  whether  an  additional 
outlay  shall  be  required  e-,  ery  year  for  burning  gas  in  places 
which  "turned  out"  not  to  have  daylight,  and  for  extra 
service  for  overcoming  inconveniences  of  arrangement;  and  no 
lay  committee-man  can  judge  for  such  details.  Every  archi- 
tect has  seen  plans  which  pass  muster  with  lay  committees,  in 
which  important  rooms  are  supposed  to  be  illuminated  by 
areas  marked  "  Light  and  Air,"  in  which  there  would  be  no 
more  light  or  air  than  at  the  bottom  of  a  well,  while  partitions 
stand  over  nothing,  towers  appear  unexpectedly,  supported  on 
the  roof,  and  the  stairs  in  one  story  prove  to  be  entirely  inde- 
pendent of  the  story  above  or  below.  The  only  remedy  for 
these  inadvertences,  after  the  building  is  executed,  is  a  very 
costly  process  of  remodelling.  The  best  means  of  prevention, 
which  is  in  this  case  a  hundred  times  cheaper  than  cure,  is  the 
employment  of  a  first-rate  architect.  From  quacks  in  medicine 
a  sick  man  may,  with  the  help  of  his  imagination,  and,  per- 
haps, a  lucky  chance,  get  relief  from  his  pains,  but  the  archi- 
tectural quack  cannot  administer  doses  of  brick  and  mortar  at 
random  with  good  effect,  and  he  who  would  have  his  brick  and 
mortar  distributed  judiciously,  economically  and  beautifully 
must  apply  to  persons  capable  of  doing  so,  and  must  offer  them 
what  they  consider  fair  treatment  to  obtain  their  services. 


SEMAINE  DES  CONSTRUCTECRS  publishes  an 
account  of  a  long-forgotten  competition,  which  took  place 
in  Russia  in  the  year  1764,  when,  we  must  remember,  Russia 
was  little  better  than  an  empire  of  Cossacks  and  Tartars.  The 
city  of  St.  Petersburg  was  at  that  time  rapidly  developing  from 
a  cluster  of  huts  into  the  capital  of  a  powerful  government,  and 
it  was  decided  to  try  to  improve  it  after  some  definite  and  well- 
considered  plan.  With  this  view,  the  Empress  Catherine 
'appointed  a  commission,  which  announced  a  competition  on  a 
model  which  might  have  been  familiar  then,  but  has,  unfortu- 
nately, since  gone  out  of  use.  All  architects  and  amateurs  in 
Russia  were  invited  to  furnish  suggestions  for  a  plan  for  laying 
out  the  city,  a  map  of  which  was  supplied  them  on  application. 
Three  months  was  allowed  for  the  preparation  of  the  sketches, 
which  were  to  be  handed  in  under  cipher.  The  judgment 


which  followed  was  the  most  curious  part  of  the  affair,  for  the 
jury  consisted  of  all  the  people  in  Russia  most  skilled  in  the 
subject ;  namely,  the  competitors  themselves.  Immediately  on 
the  delivery  of  the  sketches,  they  were  to  be  exhibited  for 
fifteen  days  in  a  place  where  all  the  competitors  could  have 
free  access  to  them,  and  there  each  competitor  was  requested 
to  examine  them,  and  write  a  careful  criticism  of  all  the  plans 
except  his  own,  designating  particularly  the  portions  of  each 
plan  which  appeared  to  him  most  successful  and  best  adapted 
for  carrying  out.  At  the  end  of  the  appointed  period  the  com- 
missioners were  to  consider  the  designs  and  the  criticisms,  and 
decide  for  themselves  what  plans,  or  portions  of  plans,  should 
be  carried  into  execution,  and  it  was  promised  that  the  authors 
of  schemes,  or  parts  of  schemes,  selected  for  execution  should 
be  employed,  by  preference,  in  carrying  them  out;  while  even 
those  whose  projects  were  not  approved  were  to  receive  a  com- 
pensation "  in  proportion  to  their  labor."  Whether  this  curious 
competition  was  ever  carried  so  far  as  to  the  actual  selection  of 
a  plan  in  the  way  promised  we  do  not  know,  but  some  student 
of  Russian  history  can,  perhaps,  inform  us. 


unfortunate  official  in  England  recently  took  it  into 
his  head  to  improve  Westminster  Hall,  which  has  long 
been  a  sort  of  neglected  corner  among  the  Government 
buildings,  by  putting  a  staircase  in  it,  and,  as  he  might  have 
expected,  has  brought  a  storm  of  criticism  and  ridicule  about 
his  ears  by  doing  so.  It  is  very  likely  that  nobody  wanted 
the  staircase  for  use,  but  that  probably  would  have  made  no 
difference  in  the  criticisms,  which  appear  to  be  directed  at  every- 
thing, whether  of  any  importance  or  not,  which  has  any  con- 
nection with  the  structure.  As  it  happens,  the  unfortunate 
official  in  question,  thinking  to  make  the  building  under  his 
charge  more  interesting,  had  some  heraldic  animals  carved  on 
the  top  of  the  newel-posts.  He  could  hardly  have  put  any- 
thing more  innocent  there,  but  no  sooner  had  they  appeared 
than  a  member  rose  in  the  House  of  Commons,  to  inquire  "  why 
those  stone  carvings  of  birds  and  beasts  "  had  been  put  on  the 
pedestals  flanking  the  Westminster  Hall  stairs.  The  supervis- 
ing official  explained  that  the  "  birds  and  beasts  "  were  simply 
heraldic  objects,  which  were  taken  from  the  coats-of-arms  of 
various  Kings  and  Queens  of  England,  and  served  to  designate, 
in  an  indirect  way,  the  sovereigns  who  had  done  most,  since 
the  time  of  William  Rufus,  for  the  improvement  and  decora- 
tion of  the  Hall.  One  would  think  that  this  answer  would  be 
enough  for  a  sensible  man,  but  it  was  not  enough,  it  appears, 
for  a  member  of  the  House  of  Commons,  and  a  second  ques- 
tion was  propounded,  inquiring  whether  "  the  Right  Honor- 
able gentleman  was  himself  responsible  for  many  of  the  fear- 
ful creatures  in  Westminster  Hall."  This  sort  of  interpellation 
seems  to  have  been  too  much  for  the  temper  of  the  "  Right 
Honorable  gentleman,"  who  replied  that  "  he  was  not  responsi- 
ble for  the  fearful  creatures,  either  in  Westminster  Hall  or  in 
this  House."  "Much  laughter"  followed  these  elegant  dialectics, 
and  the  original  questioner,  who  appears  to  have  felt  that  he 
had  got  the  worst  of  the  discussion,  avenged  himself  by  threaten- 
ing to  move  for  a  reduction  of  his  opponent's  salary.  Why  the 
official  did  not  retort  by  demanding  an  investigation  into  the 
state  of  his  questioner's  account  with  the  washerwoman,  we 
cannot  see,  but  it  is  possible  that  a  sense  of  decency  may  have 
come,  somewhat  late,  to  his  aid.  In  fact,  the  circumstance 
that  he  had  consented  to  putting  anything  so  harmless  as  heral- 
dic leopards  on  the  newel-posts  indicates  that  this  may  have  been 
the  case,  while  the  well-regulated  mind  must  shudder  at  the 
thought  of  the  decorations  that  would  have  been  suited  to  his 
opponent's  taste,  if  their  official  positions  had  been  reversed. 


MR.  A.  W.  BLOMFIELD,  a  well-known  English  architect, 
has  just  received  the  honor  of  knighthood,  to  the  great 
satisfaction  of  the  editor  of  the  Builder,  who  thinks  that 
architects  in  England  have  of  late  been  altogether  too  much 
overlooked  in  the  distribution  of  honors  of  the  kind.  It  does 
not  appear  that  any  particular  work  of  Mr.  Blomfield's  has 
earned  for  him  this  recognition,  but,  like  most  things  of  the 
kind  in  England,  it  seems  to  have  been  the  long-delayed  re- 
ward of  many  years  of  skilful  and  honorable  practice.  Ameri- 
cans know  very  little  of  the  effect  upon  a  man's  happiness  of 
the  addition  of  a  title  to  his  name,  but  very  many  American 
architects,  to  whom  his  name  and  reputation  are  familiar,  will 
be  glad  to  join  with  the  English  friends  of  Sir  Arthur  Blom- 
field  in  congratulations  suitable  to  the  occasion. 


JUNE  29,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News, 


303 


I' 


OLD    COLONIAL    WORK    OF  VIRGINIA   AND  MARY- 
LAND.i— II. 

THE    WYTHE    HOUSE. 

[UST  north  of  the  church-yard,  and 
fronting  upon  a  grassy  open  known 
as  "Palace  Green,"  on  the  upper 
1  side  of  which  stood  Lord  Dunmore's 
house,  or  "  the  Governor's  Palace,"  as 
it  was  called  among  the  patriots  of 
'75,  stands  a  fine,  old,  square  brick 
house  which,  the  inquiring  stranger 
will  be  informed,  "  was  once  General 

Washington's  headquarters."  Historical  accuracy,  however,  resolves 
this  tradition  into  the  lesser  fact  that  Washington  spent  the  night  at 
this  house,  the  house  of  his  friend  George  Wythe,  on  his  way  to  join 
Lafayette  at  Yorktown  in  the  latter  part  of  September,  1781. 

The  old  house  is,  however,  quite  interesting  on  its  own  account, 
and  on  going  up  to  have  a  look  at  it,  I  was  very  courteously 
admitted,  and  had  the  pleasure  of  walking  about  the  broad  hall  and 
large  square  rooms,  and  the  further  good  fortune  of  hearing  a  sketch 
of  tlie  history  and  a  legend  or  two  about  the  old  house,  which,  I  think 
I  cannot  do  better  than  transcribe  here,  as  literally  as  may  be. 

The  Wythe  House,  as  this  old  homestead  is  called,  was  built  by 
Colonel  Louis  Taliaferro  and  given  as  a  marriage  portion  to  his 
daughter,  the  wife  of  George  Wythe,  who,  to  quote  one  of  his  biog- 
raphers, was  "  the  pure  and  virtuous  Chancellor,  a  member  of  the 
House  of  Burgesses,  a  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  a 
Member  of  Congress,  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Delegates,  Judge  of 
the  Court  of  Appeals,  a  member  of  the  Conventions  on  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States,  and  Professor  of  Law  at  William  and 
Marv  College.  To  him  was  reserved  the  honor  of  devising  the 
emblems  and  motto  of  the  shield  of  Virginia."  Wythe  enjoyed 
the  intimacy  of  Jefferson,  Mason,  Washington,  and,  in  short,  of  the 
brightest  minds  of  his  day  in  Virginia. 

The  Chancellor's  end  was  a  tragic  one,  for  he  was  poisoned  by  a 
nephew  to  whom  he  had  bequeathed  a  large  portion  of  his  property. 
Though  he  died  in  Richmond,  Williamsburg  claims  his  ghost,  and  it 
is  said  that  on  the  anniversary  of  his  death,  the  8th  of  June,  a 
shadowy  form  in  antique  garb  glides  from  out  the  closet  of  his 
chamber  in  the  old  house,  and  a  cold  hand  is  gently  laid  upon  the 
face  of  the  sleepers  in  the  room. 

After  the  Chancellor's  death  the  property  passed  into  the  hands 
of  Mr.  Henry  Skipwith,  the  third  husband  of  the  beautiful  Elizabeth 
Byrd,  of  Westover  on  the  James. 

The  wraith  of  the  fair  Elizabeth,  also,  occasionally  honors  Wythe 
House  with  a  manifestation,  appearing  in  full  ball  dress,  with  sweep- 
ing train  of  rich  brocade  and  high-heeled  scarlet  slippers  with 
diamond  buckles. 

Yet  another  spectral  tenant  was  known  in  the  flesh  as  the  consort 
of  Governor  John  Page,  who  purchased  Wythe  House  upon  the 
death  of  Colonel  Skipwith,  and  it  is  whispered  that  even  the  stately 
form  of  the  Father  of  his  Country  himself,  who  was  always  a  great 
friend  of  Wythe's,  has  been  seen  in  the  halls  and  on  the  broad  stair- 
way. 

Time  would  fail  me  to  tell  of  the  wierd  sounds  that  are  heard,  the 
doors  that  open  without  the  touch  of  mortal  hands,  the  phantom 
shapes  which  have  been  seen  gliding  through  the  halls  and 
corridors.  But,  one  and  all,  these  ghosts  are  ghosts  of  high  degree 
and  of  unexceptionable  deportment,  and  never  in  the  least  have  they 
encroached  upon  the  peace  and  comfort  of  the  residents  of  Wythe 
House. 

There  is  nothing  especially  noteworthy  in  the  architecture  of  this 
old  mansion  unless  it  is  the  air  of  solid  and  substantial  comfort 
which  it  wears.  The  plan  is  a  very  simple  one  —  a  wide  central  hall 
through  the  middle  of  the  house,  and  two  rooms  on  either  side  of  this, 
each  having  four  windows  and  a  great  fireplace.  I  did  not  examine 
the  arrangement  of  the  second  story.  The  kitchens  and  offices  are 
in  a  rear  building. 

WILLIAM    AND    MARY. 

The  college  buildings  stand  marshalled  on  three  sides  of  the  old 
campus  at  the  western  end  of  Duke  of  Gloucester  Street,  the  main 
house  facing  toward  the  street  while  the  President's  house  and 
Brafferton  stare  at  one  another  across  the  campus.  The  two  latter 
are  plain  square  buildings  of  considerable  age.  The  schools  have 
been  three  times  destroyed  by  fire.  The  original  buildings  were 
"  the  composition  of  Sir  Christopher  Wren,"  and  presumably  very 
fine.  They  were  burned  in  1 705,  "  the  Governor  and  all  the  gentle- 
men that  were  in  town  coming  to  the  lamentable  spectacle,  many  of 
them  getting  out  of  their  beds."  Of  the  second  structure  we  only 
know  that  Mr.  Jefferson,  who,  by  the  way,  was  a  tremendous  critic 
in  architectural  matters,  though  perhaps  not  always  successful  in  the 
application  of  his  theories  to  practice,  thought  it  looked  very  like  a 
brick-kiln.  There  is  now  very  little  of  interest  about  the  place  from 
an  architectural  point-of-view,  or  to  one  in  search  of  the  picturesque. 
The  statue  in  white  marble  of  Narborne  Berkeley,  Baron  of 
Botetourt,  which  stands  in  the  centre  of  the  campus,  was  erected  by 
the  Assembly  shortly  after  the  death  of  Lord  Botetourt  in  1770,  in 
grateful  memory  of  a  governor  who  was  everywhere  esteemed 


'Continued  from  No.  703,  page  281. 


throughout  the  colony.  He  was  a  liberal  patron  of  the  college  to 
which  he  gave  many  prizes,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  he  was 
earnestly  striving  to  win  from  the  home  government  repeal  of  the 
acts  which  had  given  such  offense  to  the  colonists.  The  ravages  of 
;ime  or  fortunes  of  war  have  despoiled  the  marble  baron  of  his 
aristocratic  nose,  and  some  night-prowling  and  irreverent  under- 
graduate has  recently  affixed  a  gory  streak  of  red  sealing-wax  across 
;he  august  countenance,  lending  an  ensanguined  and  hostile  look 
,o  the  benign  features. 

Old  William  and  Mary  enjoys  the  distinction  of  being,  after 
Harvard,  the  oldest  college  in  America,  and  she  has  counted  among 
icr  sons  very  many  of  the  great  ones  of  our  land,  having  "  sent  out 
:or  their  work  in  the  world  twenty-seven  soldiers  of  the  Revolution, 
two  attorney-generals,  nearly  twenty  members  of  Congress,  fifteen 
senators,  seventeen  governors,  thirty -seven  judges,  a  lieutenant- 
general  and  other  officers,  two  commodores,  twelve  professors,  four 
signers  of  the  Declaration,  seven  cabinet  officers,  a  chief  justice,  and 
;hree  presidents  of  the  republic." 

In  colonial  times  it  was  the  only  educational  establishment  of  the 
rank  of  a  college  in  all  Virginia,  and  directed  the  intellectual  train- 
ing of  a  majority  of  the  best  men  in  the  colony,  although  a  very 
aristocratic  few  of  the  sons  of  the  wealthier  families  were  sent  over 
to  Eton  and  Oxford. 

The  history  of  the  college  is  closely  interwoven  with  that  of  James 
Blair,  Commissary  to  the  Bishop  of  London  and  Rector  of  Bruton 
Parish,  who  was  its  founder,  first  president  and  lifelong  defender. 
The  colony  sent  him  to  England  on  a  mission  to  King  William  in 
[>ehalf  of  the  projected  institution,  and  he  returned  in  1693  with  the 
charter  of  the  college  signed  by  their  august  majesties,  William  and 
Mary.  It  was  liberally  endowed  with  rich  lands,  a  sum  of  £2,000 
arrears  of  quit-rents,  one  penny  per  pound  on  exports  of  tobacco, 
the  office-fees  and  emoluments  of  Surveyor-General  and  a  seat  in 
the  Assembly,  and  was  founded  as  "  a  seminary  of  ministers  of  the 
Gospel  where  youths  may  be  piously  educated  in  good  letters  and 
manners ;  a  certain  place  of  universal  study,  or  perpetual  college  of 
divinity,  philosophy,  languages,  and  other  good  arts  and  sciences." 

The  English  Attorney-General  Seymour,  when  ordered  to  draw  up 
the  charter,  objected  to  the  expenditure  of  public  funds  for  making 
divinity-students  while  England  was  at  war  and  wanted  soldiers,  and 
to  the  redoubtable  Blair,  who  urged  that  Virginians  had  souls  to 
save  as  well  as  the  English,  he  thundered  out,  "  Souls !  Damn  your 
souls  !  Make  tobacco  !  " 

In  the  library,  among  many  costly  treasures  in  rare  old  volumes 
and  prints,  are  two  portraits  of  Parson  Blair  done  at  different 
periods  in  the  stormy  and  eventful  life  of  that  fiery  old  polemic. 

THE   POWDER-HOUSE. 

There  are  to  be  seen  at  the  post-office,  in  Williamsburg,  some  very 
interesting  old  files  of  the  Virginia  Gazelle,  a  journal  which  was 
started  at  Williamsburg  in  173G,  and  was  the  first  and,  for  many 
years,  the  only  newspaper  published  in  the  colony.  Its  columns 
contained,  beside  a  preponderance  of  local  news,  the  latest  advices 
from  England  and  the  Continent  not  more  than  a  month  or  two  out 
of  date,  The  fortnightly  mail  from  the  North  and  the  monthly  post 
from  the  South,  dignified  commentaries  on  current  topics,  and 
advertisements  of  quaint  and  curious  flavor.  Among  the  locals  this 
one  about  the  old  powder-house  affair  is  worth  reading : 

"  This  morning,  between  three  and  four  o'clock,  all  the  powder  in 
the  magazine  to  the  amount,  as  we  hear,  of  twenty  barrels,  was 
carried  off  in  His  Excellency  the  Governor's  wagon  escorted  by  a 
detachment  of  marines  from  the  armed  schooner  'Magdalen,'  now 
lying  at  Burwell's  Ferry,  and  lodged  on  board  that  vessel "  —  where- 
upon "  the  whole  city  was  alarmed  and  greatly  exasperated."  In  a 
later  issue,  account  is  given  of  indignation  meetings  among  the 
citizens,  and  the  full  text  of  a  long-winded  and  eloquent  address  of  re- 
monstrance by  the  Hon.  Peyton  Randolph  and  a  deputation,  upon 
hearing  which  Lord  Dunmore  flies  into  a  fine  rage,  and  talks  of  burn- 
ing the  town. 

A  few  days  after,  we  read,  the  people  seize  all  the  arms  in  the 
powder-house,  and  His  Lordship  sends  over  to  the  "  Forney,"  lying 
at  Yorktown,  for  troops.  A  squad  of  soldiers  are  marched  over  to 
Williamsburg,  and  mount  guard  on  Palace  Green  before  the 
Governor's  house.  The  "  Fowey's "  captain  meanwhile  has  in- 
formed Mr.  Thomas  Nelson,  the  principal  citizen  of  Yorktown,  that 
in  case  the  Williamsburgers  attack  his  men  the  guns  of  the 
"  Fowetj"  will  open  upon  Yorktown  without  further  warning.  The 
warlike  aspect  of  affairs  finally  reaches  a  climax  when  news  is 
brought  that  Patrick  Henry  is  marching  on  the  capital,  at  the  head  of 
5,000  men,  to  demand  redress  of  these  tyrannous  abuses.  In  the 
last  chapter  of  the  story  Lord  Dunmore  pays  the  value  of  the 
powder,  and  Mr.  Henry's  forces  disband  and  return  to  their  homes. 

The  powder-house  was  built  by  Alexander  Spottswood  early  in  the 
eighteenth  century.  This  Governor  is  said  to  have  done  more  for 
the  general  improvement  of  the  colony  than  any  of  his  predecessors. 
He  was  the  son  of  a  distinguished  Scottish  cavalier  who  had  died 
upon  the  scaffold  for  devotion  to  his  King.  A  brave  soldier  —  he 
served,  it  is  said,  on  the  staff  of  Marlborough  —  and  a  most  accom- 
plished gentleman,  Spottswood  possessed  administrative  abilities  of  a 
high  order.  His  policy  of  peace  with  the  Indians  was  eminently  suc- 
cessful, and  his  project  of  requiring  the  ehiefs  of  tribes  to  send  their 
sons  to  be  trained  in  the  schools  of  the  whites  was  productive  of 
great  good. 


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The  American   Architect  and  Building  News.         [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  705. 


The  most  picturesque  incident  of  Governor  Spottswood's  rule  wa 
his  leading  a  party  of  young  explorers  from  Williamsburg  across  th 
Alleghanies  and  into  the  unknown  regions  beyond.  It  was  a  roya 
frolic,  and  in  about  six  weeks  the  expedition  rode  back  covered  wit' 
glory  and  stocked  with  romantic  stories  of  the  marvels  of  that  ttltim> 
Thule,  the  beautiful  Valley  of  Virginia.  Spottswood  dubbed  hi 
young  adventurers  "  Knights  of  the  Horseshoe,"  and  before  disbanc 
ing  the  company  he  gave  them  each  a  golden  horseshoe  to  be  wor 
thereafter  upon  the  lapel  in  memory  of  the  affair.  King  Georg 
hearing  of  these  brave  doings  intimated  his  gracious  pleasure  bj 
sending  over  to  Spottswood  a  little  jewelled  horseshoe  and 
baronetcy. 

On  leaving  office  the  Governor  retired  to  his  country-seat  at  Ger 
manna,  whither  came  Colonel  Byrd,  of  Westover,  in  due  course,  t 
visit  his  old-time  friend,  finding  "Colonel  Spottswood's  cnchantei 
castle  on  one  side  of  the  street  and  a  baker's  dozen  of  ruinous  tene 
ments  on  the  other  side ;  there  was,  also,  a  chapel  about  a  bow's 
shot  from  the  Governor's  house,  at  the  end  of  an  avenue  of  cherry 
trees,"  and  the  Governor's  iron  foundries,  the  first  in  the  colony. 

The  old  powder-house,  to  return  from  our  little  digression,  is  a  tal 
eight-sided  brick  tower  crowned  with  a  high  conical  roof.  The 
double  wall  has  fallen  in  on  one  side  and  bulges  badly  on  the  other 
faces,  the  decaying  roof-timbers  threaten  to  collapse,  and  the  hand 
some  wrought-iron  finial  leans  dismally  askew.  The  old  "  powder 
horn  "  is  almost  a  wreck,  indeed.  The  surroundings  are  not  what  on 
could  wish  for  so  interesting  a  relic ;  in  fact,  the  old  magazine  stands 
in  a  stable-yard,  and  is  partly  hid  from  the  view  of  the  passer-by  on 
Duke  of  Gloucester  Street  by  tall  and  very  unbeautiful  board-fences 
A  movement  is  on  foot  to  purchase  the  building,  with  a  small  plat  o 
ground  about  it,  from  the  present  rather  unappreciative  owner 
When  this  much  may  be  accomplished,  it  is  proposed  to  rebuild  the 
fallen  wall  with  the  old  bricks  which  lie  where  they  fell,  to  tie  the 
walls  securely,  to  support  the  roof  with  some  auxiliary  framing,  ant 
so  to  arrest  the  threatened  collapse  of  the  tower.  But  a  small  sum 
will  be  needed  to  carry  out  the  work. 

The  subsequent  use  of  the  "  powder-horn  "  has  not  been  decided 
upon,  but  it  has  been  suggested  to  use  it  as  a  museum  of  Con- 
tinental relics.  It  would  add  to  its  interest  if  its  ancient  character 
of  an  armory  could  be  preserved,  and  a  collection  of  colonial  and 
revolutionary  arms  and  munitions  of  war  stored  therein.  In  due 
course  the  scheme  will  be  more  definitely  stated  in  this  journal,  and, 
perhaps,  assistance  of  a  very  modest  character  besought  from  it: 
readers  who  are  lovers  of  things  quaint  and  beautiful. 

JAMESTOWN. 

The  road  from  Williamsburg  to  the  ancient  site  of  Jamestown,  as- 
suredly not  among  the  best  of  roads,  passes  out  of  the  town  by  the 
campus  of  old  William  and  Mary,  and,  soon  leaving  behind  the  strag- 
gling houses,  bears  off  toward  the 
southwest  over  a  rolling  country. 
Plunging  into  little  valleys,  scal- 
ing steep,  short  hills,  winding 
through  belts  of  the  forest  prim- 
eval, or  diving  into  dark,  damp 
places  where  gnarled  roots  and 
stumps  combine  with  mud-holes 
of  amazing  muddiness  to  produce 
an  interesting  variety  of  sensa- 
tions, the  old  road  meanders  on 
toward  the  river,  growing  ever 
worse.  Descending  at  last  into 
a  reedy  marsh  of  broad  extent, 
which  is  crossed  upon  a  bed  of 
roughest  corduroy,  bearing  evi- 
dence of  complete  submergence 
at  high  water,  and  suggestive  of 
being  a  very  uncomfortable  place 
on  a  dark  night  and  a  full  tide, 
and  on  the  further  side  of  the 
marsh  going  over  a  shaky  bridge 
which  spans  the  inside  channel  of 

the  river,  the  road   arrives  upon   the  historic   soil  of  Jamestown 
Island. 

From  this  point  there  formerly  stretched  to  the  mainland  a  narrow 
neck  of  land,  where  readers  of  colonial  history  will  remember  Sir 
William  Berkeley  and  his  motley  troop  from  Accomack  making 
their  famous  stand  against  the  invading  army  of  the  rebel  Bacon. 
But  the  isthmus  is  long  since  sunk  out  of  sight,  and  now  the  yellow 
waters  of  the  James  lap  all  sides  of  the  former  peninsula.  The 
island  contains  nearly  seventeen  hundred  acres,  lying  in  a  long, 
narrow  strip  of  land,  two-thirds  of  whose  entire  area  is  marsh 
subject  to  overflow.  Near  the  western  end  of  the  island  is  the 
crumbling,  mossy,  ivy-grown  ruin  of  a  brick  church-tower,  about  all 
that  is  left  of  the  ancient  place.  Standing  in  a  copse  of  fine  old 
trees,  the  ruined  tower  is  very  picturesque,  and  has  an  interest  in 
itself  apart  from  that  which  clings  to  it  as  the  oldtime  place  of 
worship  of  that  wonderful  band  of  adventurers  who  founded  James- 
town, the  first  permanent  English  settlement  in  America.  The 
tower  is  eighteen  feet  square,  and  is  pierced  on  two  of  its  sides  by 
high,  round-arched  openings.  It  is  built  of  a  small,  dull-red  English 
brick  laid  in  the  Flemish  bond. 
Beyond  it  the  foundations  of  the  old  church  are  traceable,  cover- 


ing an  oblong  square  of  twenty-eight  (28)  by  fifty-six  (56)  feet,  and 
close  by  is  a  mossy,  crumbling  wall  built  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
eighteenth  century  from  the  ruined  wall  of  the  old  enclosure  around 
about  one-third  of  the  original  churchyard.  Within  are  some  ancient 
tombs,  upon  which  one  deciphers,  under  the  moss  and  rime,  quaint 
epitaphs  of  old  Amblers  and  Jacquelines,  Sudwells  and  Lees.  Of 
these,  the  Jacquelines  and  Amblers  for  many  generations  were  the 
principal  owners  of  the  island,  while  the  Lees  and  Sudwells  were  of 
Green  Spring,  some  few  miles  distant,  and  famous  as  the  home  and 
place  of  retirement  of  that  staunch  old  royalist,  Sir  William  Berkeley. 
When  the  worshipped  head  of  his  august  master,  Charles,  fell  on 
that  dismal  morning  in  1649  at  Whitehall,  the  old  cavalier,  his 
governorship  given  to  the  hated  Roundhead,  his  idol  dead,  the  faith 
for  which  he  had  lived  and  would  gladly  have  died,  the  jus  divineum, 
trampled  under  foot  by  clods  and  boors,  found  in  that  peaceful 
rural  life,  in  the  company  of  his  wife  and  friends  at  his  modest 
house  at  Green  Spring,  a  balm  for  all  his  wounds.  Here  he  waited 
and  watched  events,  through  those  long,  stern  years  of  the  Protecto- 
rate, until  old  Noll  was  gone  and  the  son  of  Charles  had  come  unto 
his  own  again,  when  the  fierce  old  knight  held  the  reins  once  more 
over  the  young  colony.  Berkeley  died  in  England  in  1G77,  leaving 
Green  Spring  to  his  widow,  who  afterward  married  Colonel  Philip 
Sud  well. 

"  Something  special  in  the  way  of  notice  is  due  to  the  condition 
of  the  tombs  of  Commissary  and  Mrs.  Blair,  the  latter  being  the 
daughter  of  Philip  Sudwell,  of  Green  Spring,  who  married  Sarah 
Grymes,  of  Middlesex.  The  tombs  were  placed  side  by  side,  and 
were  very  heavy  and  strong.  The  platform,  sides  and  ends  were  of 
white  freestone,  and  the  interior  filled  with  bricks  well  cemented. 

The  top  slabs,  on  which  the  in- 
scriptions were  made,  are  of  dark 
ironstone  or  black  marble.  A 
sycamore  shoot  sprang  up  be- 
tween the  graves,  and  is  now  a 
large  tree.  In  its  growth  it  em- 
braced, on  one  end  and  on  the 
top,  the  tomb  of  Mrs.  Blair,  one- 
third  of  which  lies  embedded  in 
the  body  of  the  tree  and  is  held 
immovable.  All  the  interior,  con- 
sisting of  brick,  and  two  of  the 
side  stones,  have  been  entirely 
forced  out  of  their  places  by  the 
tree,  and  lie  scattered  around, 
while  the  dark  ironstone  is  held 
in  the  air  three  feet  above  the 
surface  of  the  earth,  fast  bound 
by  the  embrace  of  the  body  of  the 
tree,  into  which  it  is  sunk  be- 
tween one  and  two  feet,  the  in- 
scription being  only  partially 
legible.  On  the  other  side,  the  whole  tomb  of  Commissary  Blair 
has  been  forced  from  its  place  by  the  roots  and  body  of  the  tree,  and  is 
broken  to  pieces  in  all  its  parts."  This  account  of  the  old  grave- 
yard is  from  Bishop  Meade's  "  Old  Churches,"  and  the  date  of  the 
ruined  tower  is  discussed  at  some  length  by  the  same  eminent  au- 
thority, who  says : 

"  As  there  are  conflicting  opinions  concerning  the  date  of  the 
erection  of  this  old  church  —  some  affirming  that  what  we  see  are 
the  ruins  of  that  which  was  destroyed  in  Bacon's  Rebellion,  while 
others  affirm  the  building  of  a  new  one  after  that  event  —  we  will 
briefly  state  the  facts  bearing  on  the  case.  The  history  of  the  suc- 
cession of  the  Jamestown  churches  is  as  follows  :  The  first  place  of 
worship,  as  described  by  Captain  Smith,  was  made  of  the  awning, 
or  old  sails,  taken  from  vessels  and  fastened  to  trees.  The  second  was 
a  very  plain  log  building,  which  was  burned  down  in  the  second  or 
third  year  of  the  colony,  during  the  ministry  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hunt." 
In  his  "  History  of  Virginia,"  Captain  Smith,  himself,  writes  at 
some  length  about  the  church  and  its  pastor : 

The   log  church   first   erected  was   burned  down  the  following 
winter  with  many  other  houses.     Mr.  Hunt  lost  all  his  books  apd 
verything  else  but  the  clothes  on  his  back.     Yet  none  ever  saw  him 
repine  at  his  loss." 

Robert  Hunt  came  over  in  1606  with  the  first  company,  and  was 
>y  all  accounts  a  most  noble  character. 

"  Upon  any  alarm  he  was  as  ready  at  defence  as  any,  and  till  he 
;ould  not  speak  he  never  ceased  to  his  utmost  to  animate  us  continu- 
ally to  persist." 

The  "  Advertisements  for  the  Unexperienced  Planters  of  New 
England  or  Elsewhere,  etc.,"  a  pamphlet  published  by  John  Smith 
n  1631,  contains  a  more  detailed  account  of  the  churches  during  his 
tay  in  the  colony  : 

"  When  I  went  first  to  Virginia,  I  well  remember,  we  did  hang  an 
•wning- — which  is  an  old  sail  —  to  three  or  four  trees,  to  shadow  us 
rom  the  sun  ;  our  walls  were  rails  of  wood,  our  seats  were  unhewed 
rees  till  we  cut  planks,  our  pulpit  a  bar  of  wood  nailed  to  two 
eighboring  trees ;  in  foul  weather  we  shifted  into  an  old  rotten  tent, 
or  we  had  few  better,  and  this  came  by  way  of  adventure  for  new. 
'his  was  our  church  till  we  built  a  homely  thing  like  a  barn,  set  up 
n  crotchets,  covered  with  rafts,  sedge  and  earth ;  so  was  also  the 
alls.  The  best  of  our  houses  were  of  the  like  curiosity,  but  the 
most  part  far  much  worse  workmanship,  that  could  neither  well 


JUNE  29,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building   News. 


305 


defend  wind  nor  rain  ;  yet  we  had  daily  Common  Prayer  morning 
and  evening,  every  Sunday  two  sermons,  and  every  three  months 
the  holy  communion  till  our  minister  died.  .  .  ." 

During  Smith's  survey  of  the  Chesapeake,  not  the  least  of  his 
great  achievements,  the  Indians  burned  the  church.  He  had  it  re- 
built at  once  upon  his  return.  "  Now  the  building  of  the  palace  was 
stayed  as  a  thing  needless,  and  the  church  was  repaired." 

Of  the  further  history  of  the  churches,  Meade  says :  "  The  third 
was  a  larger  and  better  one,  probably  of  wood,  built  during  the 
presidency  of  Captain  Smith,  and  in  a  ruinous  or  neglected  condi- 
tion when  Lord  De  La  War  arrived,  in  1611,"  who  immediately 
ordered  that  the  church  be  thoroughly  repaired.  Strachey,  Secre- 
tary and  Recorder  of  the  colony,  gives  this  description  of  it:  "  It  is 
in  length  three-score  foot,  in  breadth  twenty-four,  and  shall  have  a 
chancel  in  it  of  cedar,  a  communion-table  of  black  walnut,  and  all 
the  pews  of  cedar,  with  fair,  broad  windows,  to  shut  and  open  —  as 
the  weather  shall  occasion  —  of  the  same  wood,  a  pulpit  of  the  same, 
with  a  font  hewn  below  like  a  canoe,  with  two  bells  at  the  west  end. 
It  is  so  caste,  as  it  be  very  light  within,  and  the  Lord  Governor  and 
Captain-General  doth  cause  it  to  be  kept  passing  sweet,  and  trimmed 
up  with  divers  (lowers,  with  a  sexton  belonging  to  it.  Every  Sunday, 
when  the  Lord  Governor  and  Captain-General  goeth  to  church,  he 
is  accompanied  by  all  the  counsellors,  captains,  other  officers  and  all 
the  gentlemen,  with  a  guard  of  Halberdiers  in  his  Lordship's  livery 
of  fair  red  cloakes,  to  the  number  of  fifty,  on  each  side  and  behind 
him.  His  Lordship  hath  his  seat  in  the  Quoir,  in  a  great  velvet 
chair,  with  a  cloth,  with  a  velvet  cushion  spread  before  him,  on 
which  he  kneeleth,  and  on  each  side  sit  the  council,  captains  and 
officers,  each  in  their  place,  and  when  he  returneth  home  again  he 
is  waited  on  to  his  house  in  the  same  manner." 

"This  was  doubtless  the  same,"  says  Meade,  "  in  which  Governor 
Yeardley,  with  the  Councillors  and  Burgesses,  held  their  legislative 
session  in  1G19;  and,  as  we  read  of  no  other  church  being  built 
between  that  time  and  167C,  when  the  town  and  church  were  burned 
down  by  Bacon,  it  is  most  probable  that  this  was  the  building.  In 
opposition  to  the  theory  that  the  present  are  the  ruins  of  the  old 
church  which  was  burned  in  the  rebellion,  is  the  fact  that  the  dimen- 
sions of  the  church  which  Smith  built  and  Lord  De  La  War  repaired 
were  different  from  the  one  whose  ruins  are  now  seen.  The  dimen- 
sions of  the  former  were  twenty-four  by  sixty ;  those  of  the  latter 
twenty-eight  bv  fifty-six.  Other  circumstances  there  are  which 
render  it  almost  certain  that  another  church  had  been  built  since 
the  destruction  of  the  one  by  Bacon.  Not  only  was  there  a  goodly 
number  of  families  residing  in  the  place  for  some  time  after  this,  but 
the  Court-house  and  House  of  Burgesses  were  there  until  the  removal 
of  the  seat  of  government  to  Williamsburg  after  the  year  1705. 
Although  the  governors  may  have  lived  at  Green  Spring,  yet  some 
of  the  officers  of  the  Government  belonging  to  the  port  and  legisla- 
ture were  there ;  and  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  they  would  live 


About  the  only  memorial  of  Captain  Smith,  and  at  the  same  time 
the  only  specimen  of  the  architectural  achievements  of  the  first 
settlers  to  be  found  in  Virginia,  is  the  chimney  of  the  log-house  built 
by  Smith  for  Powhattan  at  Werowoeomoco.  The  stone  of  which 
the  chimney  is  built  appears  to  be  a  shell  rock.  There  is  a  great 
fireplace,  eight  feet  wide,  four  feet  deep  and  six  feet  high.  Before 
many  years  the  rapid  encroachments  of  the  river  will  have  under- 
mined the  ruined  tower,  and  the  last  relic  of  Jamestown  will  sleep 
beneath  Powhattan's  turbid  Hood.  A.  B.  BIBB. 

LTo  be  continued.] 


AUTUMN  JOURNEYS   IN   MEXICO.  — VI. 

QUKRlvTARO. 


F; 


VERY  one  who 
has  heard  of 
Mexico  has  some 
idea  of  Maximilian 
and  that  he  was  in 
some  way  connected 
with  the  political  his- 
tory of  the  country. 
And  all  who  have 
heard  of  Maximilian 
know  that  he  met  his 
sad  fate  in  Queretaro. 
Consequently  every 
tourist  in  Mexico  is 
strongly  inclined  to 
make  a  pilgrimage  to 
Queretaro  in  the  in- 
terests of  an  historical 
knowledge  which,  in 
most  cases,  is  limited 

to  the  Spanish  Conquest  and  the  death  of  Maximilian.  But  for 
this,  few  tourists  would  ever  see  that  city,  though  once  attracted  to 
it  by  affection  for  the  amiable  Austrian  whose  melancholy  end  en- 
deared him  to  the  world,  a  great  deal  of  interest  is  to  be  found  there. 
It  is  a  beautiful  city,  in  a  lovely  situation.  As  one  surveys,  from 
the  Convent  de  la  Cruz,  (where  Maximilian  had  his  headquarters), 
or  from  the  Cerro  de  las  Campanas  (the  Hill  of  the  Bells),  where  he 
laid  down  his  sword  with  the  sad  words,  "I  am  no  longer  an 
Emperor,"  and  where  he  was  afterwards  executed,  the  city  with  the 
picturesque  towers  of  its  fifty-six  churches,  the  broad  level  fields 
which  surround  it,  all  under  cultivation,  and  the  beautiful  hills  which 
close  it  in  on  every  side,  one  may  suspect  that  the  Austrian  Arch- 
duke, who  was  already  tired  of  the  Imperial  task  he  had  undertaken, 


for  thirty  years  without  a  church." 

Our  reverend  author  goes  on  to  cite  the  circumstance  of  Governor 
Andros  presenting  communion-plate  to  the  Jamestown  Church  in 
1694,  that  a  silver  font  was  given  to  it  by  the  Amblers,  which  is  still 
in  evidence,  and  that  no  marks  of  fire  are  discoverable  about  the 
ruins,  and  he  finally  concludes  "  that  the  ruins  which  we  now  behold 
are  those  of  a  church  put  up  since  the  rebellion  of  Bacon  in  1076." 
As  one  sees  the  old  tower  standing,  dismantled,  but  beautiful,  among 
the  ancient,  stately  trees,  memory  almost  unconsciously  tries  to 
rehabilitate  the  times  and  the  men  who  have  made  the  place  famous 
in  the  world's  historv.  Foremost  of  them  all  stands  forth  the  grand 
plebeian  name  of  John  Smith,  the  chief  actor  in  the  settlement  of 
Virginia.  There  is  hardly  in  all  history  a  figure  more  picturesque 
than  that  of  this  indomitable  man.  His  life  was  a  romance,  and  full 
of  marvel.  Dying  quietly  in  London  in  1631,  he  sleeps  in  St. 
Sepulchre's,  where  a  stone  bearing  his  arms,  his  three  Turk's  heads, 
and  his  motto,  "  Vincere  est  vivere,"  is  to  be  seen  before  the  com- 
munion-table. A  tablet  to  his  memory,  engraved  with  a  sonorous 
epitaph,  beginning : 

"Here  lies  one  conquered  that  hath  conquered  kings, 
Subdued  large  territories,  and  done  tilings 
Which,  to  the  world,  impossible  would  seem.1' 

was  destroyed  in  the  great  fire  of  London  in  1666. 


disgusted  with  the  treachery  of  his  pretended  friends,  and  sorrowing 
over  the  loss  of  his  beloved  Carlotta,  found  other  attractions  in 
Queretaro  than  its  ecclesiastical  strength,  and  the  promises  of  the 
Imperialists  who  thronged  the  town.  For  Maximilian  was  eminently 
iesthetic.  He  was  a  far  better  judge  of  scenery  than  of  human 
character  or  of  political  probabilities. 

He  used  a  happy  expression,  however,  when  he  called  the  place 
"  the  mouse  trap."  After  he  had  established  himself  in  the  town, 
the  Republican  "armies  began  to  gather  from  every  quarter.  In  a 
short  time  they  had  a  line  of  artillery  upon  the  hills  encircling  the 
valley.  Then  followed  the  siege  with  all  the  horrors  which  always 
pertain  to  a  seige  :  the  treachery  of  Lopez,  the  surrender,  the  farcical 
trial,  the  heroic  death.  These  are  the  subjects  upon  which  one 
reflects  as  one  stands  upon  the  Cerro  and  looks  out  over  QuenStaro. 

Surely  Maximilian  left  his  impress  upon  the  city.  It  is  impossible 
to  dissociate  his  memory  from  the  place.  The  Church  of  the  Cross 
(de  la  Cruz)  still  stands,  so  does  the  old  monastery  in  which  the 
Emperor  was  held  a  prisoner.  And  the  town  is  full  of  staunch 
Imperialists  still,  who  warmly  cherish  the  memory  of  their  fallen 
chief.  Some  years  ago  they  petitioned  the  government  for  per- 
mission to  erect  a  memorial  of  their  unfortunate  Emperor.  The 
government  would  permit  only  a  mark  to  be  placed  upon  the  site  of  the 

'Continued  from  No.  703,  page  282. 


306 


The  American   Architect  and  Building  News.      [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  7C5. 


execution.  The  memorial  erected  in  accordance  with  this  reluctant 
concession  is  a  model  of  good  taste.  Three  blocks  of  feldspar,  of  a 
pinkish  hue,  such  as  is  found  in  quarries  in  the  neighborhood  and  is 
extensively  used  for  building  purposes  in  Quere'taro,  mark  the  spot 
where  Maximilian  and  his  two  brave  companions  in  arms  and  in 
death,  fell.  They  are  simply  inscribed,  Maximiliano,  Miramon,  and 
Mejia,  respectively,  and  each  bears  the  fatal  date,  "  Junto  19  de 
1867."  They  are  enclosed  by  a  high  iron  railing  upon  a  stone  base, 
supported  by  corner  posts  of  the  same  colored  stone.  Each  post  is 
surmounted  by  a  plain  Roman  cross. 

There  is  at  least  one  object  of  especial  architectural  interest  to  be 
found  in  Queretaro.  It  is  the  stone  aqueduct  which  supplies  the 
city  with  water  from  springs  five  miles  distant.  The  aqueduct 
leads  up  to  the  mountains  two  miles  away,  and  a  tunnel  completes 
the  distance.  Some  of  the  arches  in  this  aqueduct  are  ninety  feet 
high.  Good  masonry  was  executed  in  those  old  days  in  Mexico,  and 
the  mortar  between  the  huge  stones  which  compose  this  aqueduct 
shows  no  signs  of  crumbling,  though  the  work  was  done  over  a 
hundred  and  fifty  years  ago.  The  cost  of  the  work  is  set  down  as 
$124,000,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  money  was  furnished  by 
Baltasar  de  Zuniga,  Marques  de  Velero  de  Aguila,  who  was  Viceroy 


of  Mexico  in  the  years  1716  to  1722.  It  was  not  every  Spanish 
Viceroy  who  looked  out  for  the  requirements  of  his  subjects  as  well 
as  Zuniga,  and  the  gratitude  of  the  city  has  been  expressed  by 
erecting  a  monument  to  his  memory  in  tiie  plaza.  Thus  Queretaro 
perpetuates  the  memory  of  two  men  distinguished  in  the  history  of 
Mexico.  One  was  the  unfortunate  Austrian  who  undertook  to 
"  regenerate  Mexico."  The  other  was  the  thirty-sixth  viceroy.  It 
might  be  suspected  that  it  is  not  a  very  loyal  republican  city :  it  is 
one  of  the  Church's  strongholds,  and  the  Church  and  the  Republic 
"agreed  to  disagree  "  some  time  since. 

Qucretaro  is  reached  from  the  capital  by  means  of  the  Mexican 
Central  Railway,  which  places  many  and  great  opportunities  at  the 
disposal  of  the  tourist,  for  making  autumn  journeys  in  Mexico.  A 
former  correspondent  has  embraced  these  opportunities  and  given 
the  readers  of  The  American  Architect  the  benefit  of  his  busily  em- 
ployed pen  and  pencil  in  Guanajuato,  Lagos,  Chihuahua,  and  else- 
where. This  railway  brings  to  the  tourists'  especial  notice  one  of 
the  most  stupendous  works  of  engineering  to  be  found  anywhere. 
It  is  tje  famous  Tajo  de  Nochistongo,  or  drainage-cut,  designed  to 
drain  one  of  the  lakes  of  the  Mexican  Valley  which  imperiled  the 
City  of  Mexico.1  It  was  first  constructed  as  a  tunnel  four  miles  in 
length.  Failing  to  accomplish  its  work  in  that  form  it  was  subse- 
quently opened  as  a  deep  cut.  When  the  Mexican  Central  Railway 
sought  an  entrance  through  the  mountain  wall  surrounding  the 
Mexican  Valley,  the  Tajo  de  Nochistongo,  having  served  its  original 
purpose,  furnished  the  desired  means  of  ingress.  The  railway  runs 
along  a  shelf  excavated  upon  the  side  of  the  cut,  and  affords  an 
excellent  opportunity  to  examine  this  interesting  relie  of  the 
engineering  skill  of  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries,  with- 
out leaving  the  train. 

In  a  short  time  lateral  branches  of  this  railway  will  be  opened, 
connecting  the  Gulf  with  the  Pacific,  Tampico  with  the  San  Bias, 
and  opening  up  other  interesting  portions  of  Mexico  for  the 
inspection  of  tourists,  and  provide  opportunities  for  other  autumn 
journeys  in  Mexico,  without  necessitating  roughing  it  to  the  extent 
of  employing  the  primitive  modes  of  travel,  the  litera,  the  pack  mule, 
and  the  ililii/fncia.  ARTHUR  HOWARD  NOLL. 

[The  end.] 


[  Contributors  are  requested  to  send  with  their  drawings  full  and 
alequate  detcription's  of  the  buildings,  including  a  statement  of  cost.] 

HOUSE  OF    G.    G.  HAVEN,  ESQ.,  LENOX,  MASS.      MR.  J.  D.  JOHNSTON, 

ARCHITECT,    NEWPORT,    R.    I. 

[Oelfltitifl  Print,  issued  only  with  the  Imperial  Edition.! 
1  See  No.  604,  of  The  American  Arrhitect. 


HOUSE      FOR    I.    W.    ALLEN,      ESQ.,    YORK,     PA.      MR.     B.     F.     WILLIS, 
ARCHITECT,    YORK,    PA. 

HE  materials  of  this  house  are  :  native  dark-blue  limestone  in 
large  blocks  with  red-brown  pointing  for  first  story.  Second 
story,  shingles,  light-red  stained.  Roofs,  dark-blue  slate.  Win- 
dows filled  with  26-oz.  Chance  sheet  crystal  glass.  Interior,  sand- 
finished  walls  for  oil  painting,  hard-wood  floors,  selected  ordinary 
sawed  oak  and  rift  or  comb-grained  selected  North  Carolina  pine. 

PERSEVERANCE  LODGE  NO.  46,  KNIGHTS  OF  PYTHIAS,  CHESTNUT 
HILL,  PHILADELPHIA,  PA.  MR.  GEORGE  T.  PEARSON,  ARCHI- 
TECT, PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 

THE  building  is  pointed  stone,  contains  two  stores,  two  dwellings, 
a  large  lodge-room  and  open-timbered  roof  with  ante-rooms  in  the 
third  story.  It  has  been  contracted  for  at  SI 2,500. 

A    FAMILY    HOTEL,  MINNEAPOLIS,  MINN.      MR.  H..M.  JONKS,  ARCHI- 
TECT,   MINNEAPOLIS,    MINN. 

Tins  building  is  built  of  brick  and  brownstonc. 

MEMORIAL    LIBRARY,  ACTON,  MASS.      MESSRS.  HARTWELL    &    RICH- 
ARDSON,   ARCHITECTS,    BOSTON,    MASS. 

COMPETITIVE  DESIGN  FOR  CHURCH,  CLERGY  -  HOUSE,  AND 
SCHOOLS  FOR  TRINITY  CORPORATION,  NEW  YORK,  N.  Y.  XMR. 
II.  M.  CONGDON,  ARCHITECT,  NEW  YORK,  N.  Y. 

HOUSE     AND     STABLE,    HAVERFORD     COLLEGE     STATION,     PA.      MR. 
\V.    EYRE,    JR.,    ARCHITECT,     PHILADELPHIA,    PA. 


PARIS   EXHIBITION. 


IN  my  last  article  or  pro- 
logue    to    the    studies 


which  we  are  going  to 
make  on  the  Exhibition 
of  188'J,  I  passed  in  rapid 
review  the  Universal  Ex- 
hibitions which  have  pre- 
ceded it.  To-day,  that  of 
1889,  has  been  opened  for 
more  than  a  month,  and 
the  echo  of  its  colossal 
success  lias  certainly 
reached  you.  The  mag- 
nificent fete  which  marked 

the  inauguration  on  the  Gth  of  May,  at  which  200,000  persons  were 
present,  has  been  described  in  all  'the  newspapers,  and  I  need  not 
dwell  on  this  point.  I  only  wish  to  lay  stress  on  the  enormous 
number  of  paying  visitors  during  the  month  of  May,  namely, 
2,208,045.  In  1878  there  were  only  1,269,675.  This  difference  was 
all  the  more  remarkable,  for  in  1878  the  Exhibition  was  opened  the 
1st  of  May,  and  this  one  was  opened  only  on  the  6th. 

We  are  going  to  enter  the  Exhibition  through  the  Trocadero,  and 
the  glance  that  we  shall  cast  over  the  Champ  de  Mars  will  give  the 
most  exact  idea  of  the  general  arrangements  of  the  buildings.  But, 
first,  let  me  speak  a  moment  of  the  classification  adopted,  which 
differs  slightly  from  that  of  1878.  The  creation  of  special  classes  for 
hygiene,  viticulture  and  pisciculture  are  good  minor  changes.  In 
the  language  adopted  for  exhibitions,  the  manifestations  which  re- 
spond to  a  general  idea  is  styled  a  "  group,"  and  a  "  class  "  is  each 
special  order  of  the  manifestation.  Group  1  is  consecrated  to  the 
fine  arts,  and  is  divided  into  three  classes.  Group  2,  to  education 
and  educational  supplies,  and  to  the  liberal  arts.  It  is  divided 
into  twelve  classes  which  have  a  connection,  of  course,  with  the 
fashioning  and  enlarging  of  the  human  intelligence.  Group  3, 
furniture  and  accessories,  contains  twelve  classes.  Group  4,  tissues 
and  clothes,  contains  eleven  classes.  We  have  next  group  5,  the  ex- 
tractive industries,  raw  and  manufactured  products.  Group  6,  tools 
and  processes  of  mechanical  industry,  and  electricity.  Group  7, 
alimentary  products.  Group  8,  agriculture,  viticulture,  pisciculture, 
and  group  9,  horticulture. 

Now  let  us  begin  our  visit  and  enter  the  Trocaddro.  The  gardens 
of  the  Trocaddro  are  occupied  by  the  exhibitions  of  horticulture  and 
arboriculture,  and  contain'no  other  structures  save  a  restaurant,  the 
pavilion  of  Public  Works,  the  very  original  one  of  Waters  and 
Forests,  and  several  little  kiosks  and  greenhouses.  From  beyond 
the  Pont  de  Jena  the  Eiffel  tower  raises  its  giant  height,  and  lets 
us  see  between  its  arches  the  palaces  and  gardens  on  the  Champ  de 
Mars.  At  the  back,  like  the  horizon  line,  lies  the  machinery- 
gallery,  cut  in  two  parts  by  the  elegant  silhouette  of  the  central 
dome  of  the  palace  of  the  industrial  sections.  On  the  right  and  left, 
corresponding  with  the  galleries  of  the  foreign  sections  are  the  two 
palaces  of  the  liberal  and  fine  arts,  whose  domes  glitter  in  the  sun. 


1?0.  703.  ,5lMEI^(i«JN  'flHGHITEGT   HNI)  BUILDING  [JEWS  .  JlTJE  29.1559. 


HI  188.1  BY  TlfX'1 


A     FAMILY     HOTEL,   MINNEAPOLIS. 


SitiiTfft  Prating 


O.  705. 


HN  H^GHITEtoT  HNI)  $UJLD1NG  ^EWS,  JUNE29. 


C9PYHi6HI  186S  BY  TICKNOR  iC» 


>* 
t 

ft 


T 
f 


Ifltji 

§•?=•  ?  5  s 


MHGHITEGT  £ND}£rainNG]|EWS,  JUKE 29.1550      \}o.  701 


COmiGHT  1889  BY  TICKKOR  t  r.« 


fi  n-HfW—f-      -'~i    r  U 


,JrNE2  9. 155!)      $o.  705. 


C3P'iE!GHI  !889  BY  TICKKOR  4  r. 


Htliiffpt  fruiting  Ci.Satm. 


Jk  WM-C-RIOMAROSON, 


.  BOSTOM 


Tlje  TlrQericai}  ^rcljitect  arjd  Building  IJews,  Jurje  29,  1559.  Qo.  705. 


Copyright,  1889,  by  TICKSOR  &  Co. 


I 
O 

en 


I 


H       < 

O     m 


JUNE  29,  1889.] 


The  American  Architect  and  Building  News. 


307 


At  the  foot  of  the  great  tower,  on  the  terraces,  in  the  gardens,  on  the 
hank,  everywhere  in  fact,  is  a  very  ant  heap  of  picturesque  con- 
structions, projections,  pavilions,  towers,  pointed  roofs  and  domes, 
which  declare  themselves  against  the  clear  sky  or  stand  out  on  the 
greensward.  In  the  first  plane,  perhaps  in  a  little  too  regular  form, 
we  note  the  marshalling  of  the  "  history  of  the  dwelling-place."  On 
the  left,  along  the  quays  are  the  galleries  of  agriculture  stretching 
out  to  join  the  esplanade  of  the  Jnvalides,  the  colonial  exhibitions 
and  those  of  history  and  hygiene.  Passing  under  the  tower  without 
stopping,  since  it  is  not  yet  finished,  and  the  elevators  only  operate 
as  far  as  the  first  story,  let  us  direct  our  steps  towards  the  central 
dome,  admiring  as  we  go  the  beautiful  monumental  fountain  which 
occupies  the  middle  of  the  garden.  This  fountain,  the  work  of  M. 
Coutan,  represents  the  vessel  of  progress  bearing  the  City  of  Paris 
who  stands  erect  surrounded  by  Fame,  with  her  trumpet,  and 
allegorical  figures  personifying  modern  life.  The  fountain  consists 
in  all  of  twenty-four  figures,  fifteen  of  which  are  colossal,  and  from 
3.60  to  4  metres  in  height.  The  silhouette  is  agreeable,  full  of 
movement  and  very  decorative. 

We  arrive  thus  before  the  central  dome,  which  serves  as  triumphal 
entrance  to  the  industrial  sections.  This  entrance  is  declared  by  a 
great  bay  cut  at  half  its  height  by  a  projecting  balcony.  The  coving 
is  decorated  with  cartouches  and  medallions  in  brilliant  colors.  On 
each  side  is  a  pylon  crowned  by  an  enormous  head  in  the  round.  A 
frieze  of  the  escutcheons  of  cities  occupies  the  length  of  the  pedi- 
ment, which  is  crowned  by  the  ship  of  the  Citv  of  Paris.  The  dome 
is  decorated  with  caliochons,  with  cartouches,  winged  sphinxes,  and 
lions'  heads  and  garlands.  A  monumental  statue  crowns  it,  which 
represents  France  distributing  crowns  to  the  nations.  This  is  the 
work  of  M.  Uelaplanche.  Two  groups,  one  by  M.  Uautherin, 
"  Commerce,"  and  the  other  by  M.  Gauthier,  "  Industry,"  placed  at 
the  foot  of  the  pylons,  complete  this  luxurious  composition,  which  we 
can  only  criticise  when  we  examine  very  near  at  hand  a  decoration 
which  is  somewhat  exaggerated  and  heavy  in  its  details.  This  dome 
has  been  built  by  M.  15ouvard,  architect  of  the  galleries  of  the  in- 
dustrial section.  Now  the  interior  is  altogether  magnificent.  Its 
diameter  is  30  metres  and  its  height  50  metres.  An  enormous 
frieze  of  figures  by  M.  Lavastre,  the  decorator  of  the  Opera, 
decorates  the  entire  circumference  above  the  balcony  of  the  first 
story,  and  represents  all  the  nations  coming  to  pay  their  respects  to 
France  at  the  Exhibition  of  1889.  The  yellow  tone  of  the  interior 
decoration  of  the  dome  has  a  very  brilliant  and  warm  effect.  It  is 
magnificent.  Before  us  stretches  the  Gallery  of  Honor  30  metres 
wide  and  175  metres  long,  which  leads  to  the  machinery-gallery. 
Before  entering,  let  us  cast  a  glance  at  the  exhibition  of  national 
manufactures,  which  occupies  the  lower  door  and  first  story  of  the 
central  rotunda.  The  ground-floor  is  occupied  by  the  exhibition  of 
Sevres,  arranged  on  two  platforms  or  in  niches  of  green,  where  are 
arranged  decorative  vases.  One  of  the  important  pieces  is  the  Paon, 
3.54  metres  in  height  by  1.90  in  breadth,  and  all  white.  At  the 
right  and  left  two  halls,  11  metres  by  20,  contain  the  tapestries  of 
Beauvais.  On  the  first  floor,  which  we  reach  by  four  staircases,  is 
found  a  circular  balcony  G  metres  wide,  hanging  over  the  vestibule 
of  the  dome,  on  which  is  to  be  established  the  retrospective  exhibi- 
tion of  ceramics.  The  balcony  forms  a  loggia  to  the  grand  gallery  of 
30  metres,  and  opens  also  on  the  ga.  den.  Two  halls  of  similar 
dimension  as  those  on  the  ground-floor  contain  the  exhibition  of 
Gobelins.  Amonst  the  most  beautiful  of  pieces  I  will  mention  the 
decoration  of  M.  Galland  for  the  Hall  of  Apollo,  in  the  Palace  of  the 
Elys^e.  It  consists  of  .seventeen  hangings,  which  bear  a  succession 
of  allegorical  figures,  the  Muses,  the  Poems  and  Pegasus  as  a  central 
panel.  Next,  the  panels  of  M.  Lavastre,  Science;  M.  Lefevre, 
Nymphs  and  Bacchus ;  M.  Chardin,  Sylvan  Music  and  Warlike 
Music;  of  M.  Urbaiu  Bourgeois,  Innocence;  and,  finally,  the  work 
of  Messieurs  Desgoffes,  Paul  Flandrin,  Lansyer,  Bellel,  Maloisel  and 
Curzon.  The  compositions  of  M.  Ehrmann  for  the  National 
Library  must  also  be  remarked  :  for  the  first  story,  two  figures  repre- 
senting "  Print,  "  and  "  Manuscript,"  and  for  the  lower  floor  the  grand 
panels  of  "  Literature,"  "  Science  "  and  "  Arts."  Opposite  to  these 
and  of  the  same  dimensions,  that  is,  8  metres  by  5,  is  the  magnificent 
tapestry  "  the  Goddaughter  of  the  Fairies,"  a  composition  by  M.  Maze- 
rolles,  the  artist  decorator,  who  has  just  died.  To  complete  the 
exhibition  of  national  manufactures,  there  must  be  mentioned  the 
very  beautiful  pieces  called  "  Savonnerie,"  which  derive  their  name 
from  the  State  manufactory  where  this  kind  of  product  was  made 
for  the  first  time.  It  was  at  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth 
century  that  a  Frenchman,  named  Pierre  Dupont,  suggested  to 
Henry  IV  the  idea  of  installing  at  Paris  a  carpet  factory  after  the 
Oriental  style.  The  establishment  was  treated  and  occupied  during 
a  century,  on  the  Qua!  de  Billy,  a  building  which  had  formerly  been 
used  as  a  soap  factory.  Hence  the  name  "Savonnerie."  In  1728, 
this  manufacture  was  united  with  that  of  the  Gobelins.  The  work- 
shops of  the  Savonnerie  are  represented  at  the  Exhibition  by  five 
allegorical  panels,  which  are  destined  to  decorate  the  Palace  of 
the  Elysee,  and  symbolizing,  after  the  composition  of  M.  Lamcire, 
Science,  Art,  Industry,  War  and  Maritime  Affairs. 

Entering  the  30-metre  gallery,  the  first  thing  which  strikes  our 
eyes  is  an  isolated  mosaic  door.  It  was  made  at  the  National  manu- 
factory of  Mosaics,  at  the  Gobelins,  after  the  composition  of  M.  Paul 
Sedille.  On  each  side  two  female  figures  drawn  by  M.  Luc-Olivier 
Merson,  symbolize  "  Tapestry  "  and  "Ceramics."  This  door,  whose 
colors  are  a  little  vivid,  seems  small  in  the  midst  of  this  grand 


gallery,  and  the  general  effect  of  it  is  not  very  elegant,  but  it  forms 
in  the  centre  of  the  gallery  a  point  of  departure  for  the  most  in- 
teresting and  rich  specimens  of  different  industries  represented  in 
different  classes.  Among  the  most  curious  exhibits,  I  will  mention 
the  window  of  ceramics  and  glass,  the  work  of  M.  Emile  Galle",  of 
Nancy ;  a  church  altar  in  goldsmith's  work,  by  M.  Poussielgue ;  a 
little  panel  in  porcelain  and  Limoges  faience,  by  M.  Charles  Havi- 
land ;  and  finally  the  very  important  exhibition  of  Messieurs 
Thiebaut  Bros.,  which  consists  of  art-bronzes  :  among  its  most 
beautiful  pieces  may  be  remarked  the  model  of  the  equestrian  statue 
of  Etienne  Marcel,  by  Idrac  &  Marqueste,  the  original  of  which  is  at 
the  Hotel-de-Ville.  We  likewise  see  a  sufficiently  elegant  fountain 
of  mosaic  work,  a  fine  old  piano,  by  Erard,  a  window  of  Lyons  silk, 
and  marbles  from  off  the  house  of  Cantini,  of  Marseilles. 

The  exhibit  of  copper-work  made  by  Laveissiere  occupies  a  very 
important  place,  and  is  arranged  in  an  original  and  decorative  man- 
ner as  a  kind  of  enormous  trophy  composed  of  copper  apparatus  used 
in  distilling  and  refining.  Here  may  be  noted  retorts  three  metres 
in  diameter  and  tubes  ten  metres  long  without  seam. 

lleturning  towards  the  rotunda,  let  us  cast  a  look  on  the  monumental 
doors  erected  by  the  exhibitors  at  the  entrance  of  their  sections. 
These  doors  are  almost  all  magnificent,  and  the  architects  of  the  dif- 
ferent classes  have  entered  into  rivalry  in  the  matter  of  style  and  rich- 
ness of  their  compositions.  To  the  right,  on  leaving  the  rotunda,  we 
find  that  of  the  jewellers,  composed  of  two  classical  arcades,  and  with  a 
rather  cold  general  effect.  On  the  other  hand,  the  door  to  the  cera- 
mic section  is  quite  another  affair.  Constructed  by  M.  Marcel 
Desliguieres,  it  is  wholly  of  terra-cotta,  faience  and  ceramic  work.  It 
is  composed  of  a  grand  central  arch  resting  on  a  strong  sub-basement 
decorated  with  foliage,  after  the  Indian  style;  above  two  niches,  one 
on  each  side,  with  female  statues  symbolizing  "  Ceramics,"  by  M.  Lor- 
mier,  sculptor,  and  "Mosaics,"  by  M.  Iloussin,  sculptor.  These  two 
statues,  all  of  enamelled  faience,  form  two  superb  bits  of  ceramic- 
work.  The  tympanum  of  the  arch  is  decorated  with  pretty  mosaic 
work  on  a  gold  background  representing  "  Earth  "  and  "  Fire,"  symbol- 
ized by  two  female  figures.  The  frieze  is  decorated  with  rosettes  of 
faience  in  a  succession  of  small  arches,  and  the  whole  is  crowned 
by  a  cresting  which  stops  against  a  motif  of  figures,  with  a  decorative 
vase.  On  each  side  of  the  entrance  door  is  a  portico  of  two  arches 
separated  by  a  central  column  and  surmounted  by  a  frieze  with 
figures  in  faience  forming  panels.  Two  statuettes  resting  on  culs- 
de  lampes,  crown  the  summit  of  two  pilasters,  which  limit  this  motif 
of  arcades,  and  which  themselves  are  surmounted  by  a  decorative 
panel  with  a  vase  above.  A  balustrade  of  enamelled  lava  completes 
this  extremely  brilliant  whole  in  a  rendering  of  Italian  Renaissance. 
M.  Marcel  Desliguieres,  architect,  had  as  co-laborers  in  the  execution 
of  this  doorway  our  most  able  ceramicists,  Brauet,  Boulanger,  Gillet, 
Mortreux,  Luebnitz,  Muller,  etc.  After  the  brilliancy  of  this  door- 
way, that  of  the  furniture  and  tapestry  section  seems  severe.  This 
last  is,  nevertheless,  enlivened  by  two  decorative  panels  by  M. 
TochcS,  which  are  very  luminous  in  effect. 

After  the  two  doors  of  the  horological  section,  original  enough, 
but  not  sufficiently  studied,  by  M.  Abel  Chancel,  and  that  of  the 
bronze  section,  which  is  sufficiently  commonplace,  we  find  ourselves 
in  front  of  the  doorway  leading  to  the  metallurgical  section,  designed 
by  M.  Schmidt.  This  is  one  of  the  best,  if  not  the  most  successful, 
in  my  opinion.  It  is  entirely  made  with  motifs  derived  from  metal- 
lurgy and  pieces  of  iron  or  steel,  which  are  exhibited  by  the  iron- 
works of  Pompey,  and  in  spite  of  the  dryness  of  each  of  these 
elements,  taken  by  itself  it  forms  a  whole  which  is  extremely  original 
and  even  amusing.  The  consoles  in  iron  spiral  springs,  the  cartouches 
formed  of  tampions  of  locomotives  of  polished  steel,  the  columns,  all 
the  decoration,  in  a  word,  is  obtained  without  drawing  on  any  matter 
foreign  to  that  which  constitutes  the  exhibit  of  metallurgy.  Another 
door  composed  in  the  same  feeling  but  less  successful,  is  vil-it-vis  to  it 
and  still  belongs  to  the  metallurgical  class.  It  is  the  work  of  M. 
Guerinot. 

Passing  more  rapidly  before  the  door  of  forest  industries,  whose 
originality  is  too  labored  and  becomes  baroque,  and  also  before  that 
of  portable  arms,  which  is  too  meagre  in  its  decoration,  we  will  stop 
with  pleasure  before  the  door  of  the  woollen-goods  department, 
designed  by  M.  Courtois.  Suffice  it  to  say  the  whole,  Renais- 
sance in  style,  is  very  decorative  and  very  brilliant  in  color.  It  consists 
of  three  bays,  fashioned  by  marble  columns  of  a  very  beautiful  violet 
tone,  heightened  by  gilding  on  the  capitals,  and  a  brilliantly  effec- 
tive central  motive  composed  by  M.  Toche,  whom  we  always  find 
on  hand  where  there  is  need  of  ability  and  fine  coloring.  The 
panels,  painted  by  M.  Rochegrosse,  and  representing  weaving 
and  dyeing,  having  a  somewhat  Japanese  effect,  complete  this  door, 
which  is  one  of  the  successes  of  the  gallery. 

By  the  side  of  this,  rustling  with  gold  and  decorations,  is  the  door- 
way of  the  silk  department,  very  academical  in  design  and  somewhat 
severe  as  a  whole,  but  it  has  a  beautiful  ordonnance  and  does  not 
lack  for  character. 

The  last  two  before  reaching  the  rotunda  are  less  interesting, 
although  there  is  ability  in  that  of  the  one  ably  composed  by  M.  E. 
Bertrand,  who,  unfortunately,  was  afraid  of  giving  too  much  projec- 
tion and  relief  and  has  fallen  into  the  other  extreme. 

We  have  seen  the  vestibule  and  gallery  of  honor,  and  in  another 
article  we  will  pass  through  the  French  industrial  section,  stopping 
by  preference  before  the  products  which  are  associated  with  archi- 
tecture and  decoration.  M.  BRINCOUKT. 


308 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.       [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  705. 


THE  LOTUS  IN  ANCIENT  ART.1  — VI. 

THE    ANTHEMION   AND   THE    LOTUS. 


I 


FN  specifying  the  Anthemion  as  a  lotus 
motive,  it  is  important  to  insist  on  a 
historic  aspect  of  artistic  and  decorative 
development,  which  is  not   apparent  in  a 
time  of  eclectic  copying  like  our  own.     In 
a   time   which   has    imitated    and    mixed 
together  the  decorations  of  every  national 
style  and  of  every  epoch  of  history  it  is 
I  not  easy  to  grasp  the  fact  that  in  the  origi- 

nal development  of  decorative  art  it  has  followed  a  specific  course 
of  evolution,  in  which  ornaments  of  a  certain  character  were  con- 
fined originally  to  certain  centres,  from  which  they  have  radiated  or 
travelled  in  certain  directions  according  to  historical  causes. 

Since  the  beginning  of  Greek  history,  at  least,  there  is  one  law  of 
decorative  evolution  for  which  there  is  abundant  evidence  ;  viz.,  that 
each  successive  style  has  followed  a  definite  sequence  of  development 
from  the  simpler  to  the  more  ornate  phases  of  a  given  motive.  In 
the  architectural  decoration  of  the  Renaissance,  Gothic  and  Roman- 
esque styles,  every  step  in  the  elaboration  of  the  ornamental  style 
argues  a  sequence  in  time,  and  follows  a  definite  development  from 
the  simple  to  the  ornamental,  from  the  ornamental  to  the  elaborate, 
and  from  the  elaborate  to  the  complex,  over-burdened  and  super- 
fluous, after  which  the  style  becomes  lifeless  and  fossilized,  and  finally 
disappears.  The  various  distinctions  in  the  nomenclature  of  the 
English  Gothic  are  simply  distinctions  expressing  this  general  law. 
In  the  ornamental  style  of  the  Renaissance  between  1500  and  1550, 
it  is  sometimes  possible  for  an  expert  to  date  the  monuments  accord- 
ing to  the  sequence  of  style  in  ornament  within  a  given  decade.  In 
the  Greek  vases  of  the  fifth  and  fourth  centuries  B.  c.  similar  differ- 
ences of  style  enable  the  expert  to  fix  the  dates  occasionally  within  a 
quarter  of  a  century. 

In  the  case  of  the  Greek  anthemion  there  is  a  parallel  develop- 
ment, and  at  a  certain  stage  the  influence  of  plant  forms  distinct  from 
the  lotus  is  clearly  apparent.  This  influence,  especially  leaf  decora- 
tions, is,  however,  later  than  the  close  of  the  fifth  century  B.  c.,  and 
the  later  anthemions  are  always  built  upon  an  elementary  scheme 
which  remains  the  same,  and  which  preserved  its  simpler  aspect 
through  that  time,  at  least. 

This  elementary  scheme  is  that  of  two  scrolls  or  spirals  support- 
ing a  palmette.  In  architecture,  the  anthemion  form  of  the  Par- 
thenon may  be  cited  as  an  example  (No.  37).  Nos.  38  and  39  are 
from  Athenian  tombstones  of  a  later  date,  and  may  be  quoted  as 
examples  of  the  more  ornate  subsequent  development,  which,  how- 
ever, adheres  as  regards  the  skeleton  of  the  plan  to  the  original 
scheme  of  37. 

In  defining  the  anthemion  as  a  lotus  motive,  it  is  this  elementary 
scheme  which  is  in  question. 

Considering  the  great  abundance  of  examples  of  Greek  decoration 
in  pottery  antedating  the  fifth  century,  and  the  relative  scarcity  of 
other  material,  it  is  clear  why  pottery  examples  will  furnish  the 
greatest  number  of  transitions  and  connecting  links  in  the  illustra- 
tion which  is  required.  To  reach  the  second  stage  of  the  later 
anthemion  we  turn  to  the  pottery  of  Rhodes.  The  first  stage  is 
illustrated  by  the  pottery  of  Cyprus.  The  third  stage  and  complete 
illustration  of  the  anthemion,  as  directly  connected  with  the  lotus,  is 
at  present  writing,  and  within  my  knowledge,  only  furnished  by  the 
pottery  of  Melos. 

According  to  the  geographical  sequence  from  East  to  West,  and 
in  view  of  the  greater  independence  of  the  Rhodian  Greeks  from 
Oriental  influence,  as  compared  with  the  absolutely  dominant  Ori- 
entalism of  Cyprus,  we  have  a  right  to  expect  in  the  pottery  of 
Rhodes  and  from  its  earliest  examples  a  more  Grecianized  expres- 
sion of  the  lotus  form.  On  the  other  hand,  the  close  relations  of 
Rhodes  with  the  Greeks  of  the  Nile  Delta  from  the  time  of  their 
establishment  in  Egypt  in  the  eighth  century  B.  c.  would  explain 
that  dominance  of  the  lotus  in  its  pottery  decoration  which  the  most 
casual  examination  will  reveal,  and  which  is  also  the  rule  for  the 
Greek  pottery  of  Naukratis. 

Among  the  various  forms,  we  select  that  which  is  clearly  a  more 
Grecianized  expression  of  the  Cypriote  lotus  motive,  through  which 
we  have  found  one  way  to  an  explanation  of  the  Ionic  capital.  No. 
1  shows,  for  convenience  of  reference,  a  repetition  of  this  now 
familiar  form  of  ornament.  With  No.  2  we  enter  on  the  first  stage 
of  the  Greek  lotus  anthemion.  Without  any  sort  of  doubt,  this 
ornament  is  a  Grecianized  development  of  the  Cypriote  voluted 
lotus.  The  curling  calyx  leaves2  have  grown  into  spirals;  the 
upper  portion  is  a  Greek  decorative  treatment  of  the  simplified  lotus 
form,  the  whole  filled-in  with  conventional  decoration.  We  have 
pointed  out  that  the  Greco-Phoenician  pottery  of  Cyprus  can  clearly 
date  its  typical  examples  back  to  the  fifteenth  century  B.  c.,  at  least. 
There  is  no  Rhodian  pottery  of  the  class  in  question  which  could  be 
placed  earlier  than  the  eighth  century  with  any  certainty.  Thus 
the  sequence  both  in  time  and  in  geographical  relation  is  a  clear  one. 
No.  3  is  a  variant  showing  that  we  are  dealing  with  a  Rhodian  type, 
and  not  an  isolated  example,  and  No.  4  is  a  related  motive  from  a 
vase  found  on  the  island  of  Thera. 

« Continued  f  rom  page  226,  No.  698. 

!  Compare  the  calyx  leaves  from  nature,  Cut  6,  Article  I,  "  The  Ionic  Capital 
and  the  Lotus." 


The  palmate  portion  of  No.  4,  is  part  of  a  lotus-rosette  (ovary 
stigma)  and  related  to  the  Egyptian  lotus  palmette  as  this  has 
been  already  explained  in  previous  articles. 

We  are  now  prepared  to  take  advantage  of  the  Chigri  capital  No.  5, 
of  the  Egypto-Phoenician  ivory  details  of  Nineveh  No.  C ;  above  all,  of 
the  Egyptian  palmettes,  to  which  they 
are  related,  and  whose  derivation  from  the 
combination  of  the  lotus-rosette  (ovary 
stigma)  with  the  voluted  lotus  has  been 
previously  explained. 

The  typical  Egyptian  forms  are  re- 
peated here  (Nos.  7-14)  from  preceding 
articles  in  order  that  the  vase  lotus,  Fig- 
ure 4,  may  be  clearly  recognized  as  a 
Grecianized  and  more  elaborately  deco- 
rative treatment  of  the  combination  10  to 
14,  inclusive,  and  of  the  motives  5  and  6. 
A  parallel  is  offered  by  the  Rhodian 
lotus  form  at  15  as  far  as  the  rosette  com- 
bination is  concerned. 

Figure  1C  offers  a  typical  example  of  a  Rhodian  vase  of  the  style 
from  which  the  details  2,  3,  4  and  15  are  taken.  These  vases 
belong  to  a  period  com- 
prehending the  eighth 
and  seventh  centuries  — 
probably  the  sixth  as 
well.  The  style  of  dec- 
oration in  bands  of  ani- 
mals—  deer,  geese,  etc., 
is  well  recognized  as  one 
preceding  that  in  which 
fi  g  u  r  e  d  compositions 
from  the  Greek  myths 
are  represented,  although  it  continued  after  this  later  one  began. 
I  he  most  archaic  vases  of  this  later  class  were  apparently  made  first 
in  centres  nearer  the  mother  country. 

It  is  from  the  Island  of  Melos,  or  from  a  pottery  centre  of  manu- 
facture which  has  so  far  revealed  itself  by  examples  found  on  that 


Island,  that  the  most  archaic  class  of  vases  figured  with  Greek  myths 
derives  its  examples.  Few  of  these  vases  are  known,  but  their  im- 
portance for  the  history  of  Greek  pottery  has  been  recognized  in  a 
special  publication  devoted  to  them  by  Pro- 
fessor Conze,  of  the  Berlin  Museum.  They 
are  supposed  by  him  to  date  from  the  seventh 
century.  The  dates  of  particular  pieces,  as 
between  the  vases  of  Rhodes  and  Melos,  do 
not,  however,  offer  cause  for  anxiety,  as  it  is  a 
matter  of  general  information  that  in  the  de- 
velopment of  Greek  art,  local  schools  were 
variously  formed,  and  that  they  frequently 
perpetuated  local  types  beyond  the  time  of  a 
more  perfected  art  in  other  quarters.  More-  i  u 

over,  the  ornaments  of  the  Melian  vases  are  clearly  enough  lotuses 
when  attention  is  turned  to  them,  although  this  has  not  been  noticed 
in  the  publication  of  Professor  Conze,  or  otherwise.  In  my  own 
observation  it  was  the  Melian  lotuses  which  first  suggested  the  loti- 
form  origin  of  the  anthemion.  It  occurred  to  me  that  vases  of  the 


12 


13 


14 


Rhodian  style  ought,  on  account  of  geographical  position,  to  exhibit 
connecting  links  with  the  lotus  forms  of  Cyprus,  and  these  were  then 
found  by  turning  to  Salzmann's  publication  of  Rhodian  vases  in  his 
Necropole  de  Camire." 

In  the  decorative  details  from  this  and  other  vases  of  the  same 
class,  we  meet  a  development  of  the  lotus  form  which  passes  directly 
over  to  the  Greek  anthemion.  The  transitions  are  found  in  details 
of  one  and  the  same  vase.  There  is  no  difficulty  in  recognizing  in 
the  ornament  1 7  a  doubled  lotus  —  whose  spirals  are  elaborations  of 
volutes  similar  to  those  of  4,  3  and  2  —  which  again  have  been 
recognized  as  more  Grecianized  forms  of  1. 

In  the  ornament  18  the  relation  to  17  is  clear.  As  contrasted 
with  1 7  the  pointed  petals  are  replaced  by  the  palmette,  as  in  4  and 


JUNE  29,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News. 


309 


15.  The  general  resemblance  as  regards  proportions,  and  without 
reference  to  the  spirals,  to  the  Egyptian  lotus  palmetto  in  gold  re- 
peated at  19  is  apparent.  It  is  also  to  be  remembered  that  the 
Egyptian  motives  figured  at  11,  14  and  at  19,  are  quite  frequently 

found  in  the  ornamented 
metal-work  discovered  in 
Greek,  Phoenician  and  Etrus- 
can tombs,  so  that  a  direct 
influence  of  such  designs  on 
the  vase  decorators  may  be 
easily  admitted.  The  inti- 
mate" relations  of  the  Greeks, 
in  general,  with  those  of 


16 


18 


Naukratis  would,  however,  be  a  sufficient  explanation  for  this  and  all 
other  Egyptian  influences. 

As  regards  the  general  proportions  of  the  lotus  and  palmetto,  and 
without  reference  to  the  volutes,  a  resemblance  may  also  be  traced 


20 


22 


23 


between   a   Sicilian-Greek  architectural   lotus  palmotte    figured   by 
Hittorf  (20),  and  the  lotus  palmettes  18  and  19. 

Our  next  step  with  the  lotus  forms  of  Melos  is  decisive,  especially 
in  view  of  the  fact  that  21  and  18  are  figured  on  the  same  vase. 
Two  points  are  to  be  noticed,  the  free  development  of  the  palmetto 
from  the  stiffer,  more  formal,  aspect  seen  at  19,  and  the  inversion  of 
the  lower  scrolls.  The  Greek  decorative  feeling,  pure  and  simple, 
has  captured  the  lotus  palmette,  and  it  appears  at  22,  another 


24 


26 


motive  from  the  same  vase,  in  a  typical  Greek  form.  This  motive 
exactly  resembles  the  upper  portion  of  21.  It  may  be  compared  to 
the  more  schematic  Rhodian  lotus  anthemion  4,  for  indication  of  the 
sequent  steps  by  which  Greek  ornamental  art  developed  from  its 
Egyptian  prototypes. 

The  motive   22   is  an  excellent  type  of   the  Greek  anthemion, 
because  in  it  the  two  component  parts  of  palmette.  and  spiral  are 

equally  balanced.  The  scheme  of 
Greek  ornamental  decoration,  as  re- 
gards its  scrolls  and  spirals,  is  con- 
tained in  this  one  example,  or  develops 
from  it  by  simple  decorative  changes, 


27 


28 


of  which  the  most  important  appear  on  the   same   type  of  vases. 

No.  23  develops  from  22  by  a  simple  inversion  of  one  scroll. 

By  carrying  the  lower  unfinished  curves  of  22  around  and  upward 
till  they  meet  above,  we  obtain  another  tvpical  form  of  the 
anthemion  (24).  In  this  case  the  balance  of  dimension  between 
spirals  and  palmette  seen  in  23  has  given  way  to  an  enlargement  of 
the  palmette  and  diminution  of  the  spirals.  The  same  variant 


appears  in  union  with  intermediate  palmettes  in  the  detail  25  from  a 
Rhodian  vase.  Both  belong  to  the  perfected  art  of  the  fifth  century. 
The  contrary  alternative  of  palmette  diminution  and  scroll  enlarge- 
ment is  represented  by  26,  also  of  the  perfected  Greek  art  of  the 
fifth  century  from  a  Rhodian  vase. 

If  we  add  to  these  illustrations,  the  detail  shown  at  27  from  a 
Greek  vase  found  in  Italy,  we  shall  have  fairly  covered  the  typical 
cases  of  the  anthemion,  all  reducible  to  elements  which  appear  in  22 
and  23. 

We   are   now   prepared   to   understand  that   peculiarity  of    the 

anthemion  borders  of  the  per- 
fected Greek  art  which  alter- 
nates recognizable  lotuses  with 
the  anthemion  proper,  as  shown 
*n  '^6  detail  °f  metal  decoration 
(Greco-Etruscan  art)  at  28,  and 


in  so  many  of  the   borders   published   by  Owen  Jones  of  which  a 
series  is  shown  at  2!),  Owen  Jones's  details. 

On  the  hypotheses  so  far  accepted  that  the  recognizable  lotus 
motives  of  perfected  Greek  art  are  Egyptian  but  that  the  anthemion 
is  Assyrian,  we  are  required  to  find  some  meeting  point  where  the 
two  foreign  forms  united  before  they  passed  to  the  Greeks.  This 
meeting-point  could  only  be  in  Phoenician  decoration  and  here  all 
the  indications  point  to  a  transmission  of  an  Egyptian  lotus  palmette 
to  Assyria  as  starting-point  of  the  Assyrian  forms.  A  reaction  of 
the  Assyrian  palmette  on  Greek  decoration  may  easily  be  conceded 
and  very  probably  took  place  through  later  Babylonian  or  Persian 
transmission  by  way  of  Asia  Minor,  but  at  a  time  when  the  typical 
anthemion  was  already  perfected.  The  main  indication  that  the 
Assyrian  palmette  did  not  influence  the  early  development  of  the 
anthemion  is  the  fact  that  it  does  not  appear  on  any  of  the  archaic 
Rhodian  and  Melian  vases  which  illustrate  this  development  and  that 
the  archaic  anthemions  do  not  indicate  this  influence.  If  the 
Assyrian  form  hail  any  influence  on  the  Greek  it  must  have  travelled 
to  the  Greeks  by  local  stages,  and  yet  the  intermediate  pottery  of 
Cyprus,  and  the  archaic  pottery  of  Rhodes,  are  absolutely  destitute 
of  any  such  palmette  forms.  On  the  theory  of  local  trans- 
mission the  influence  should  be  first  apparent  exactly  in 
these  localities.  A  rare  case  of  Cypriote  lotus  palmette  is 
shown  at  30,  the  only  instance,  so  far  published  in  the 
distinctively  Cypriote  pottery.  The  upper  portion  of  this 
design  may  be  conceived  as  the  preparatory  or  earlier 
archaic  form  of  4,  but  it  has  no  close  relations  to  the 
Assyrian  palmette. 

We  are  forced  to  conclude  therefore  that  Assyrian  and 
Greek  ornamental  art  are  divergent  branches  of  a  common  tree 
which  was  rooted  in  Egypt  and  Phoenicia. 

As  the  starting-point  of  these  observations  was  the  Ionic  capital 
we  may  return  to  this  starting-point  to  observe  once  more  that  only 


37 


by  the  views  presented  can  we  unify  that  form  of  Proto-Ipnic  in 
which  the  central  triangle  appears  between  the  volutes  with  the 
alternate  form  shown  by  the  capital  of  Chigri  (Neandreia)  Figure  5. 
With  this  we  may  now  unite  the  capitals  recently  published  bj 


by  Mr 


310 


Tfie   American   Architect  and  Building  News.        [Vox..  XXV.  — No.  705. 


Trowbridge  in  the  American  Journal  of  A rclueolor/y  (31,  32,  recently 
discovered  nix-Laic  Athenian  Capitals,  33  related  capital  from  a 
Greek  vase) ;  The  Syrian  Proto-Ionic  capital  of  Mashnaka  (34)  is 
repeated  from  the  second  paper  on  the  Ionic  capital  for  purpose 
of  comparison  with  these.  All  are  illustrations  of  the  stages  by 


which  the  ultimate  Greek  form  was  reached.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
assume  or  demonstrate  a  graded  precedence  of  time  as  regards  these 
individual  instances.  Let  them  be  local  or  traditional  survivals  of 
earlier  forms  and  the  argument  remains  the  same.  Such  survivals 
may  be  demonstrated  for  the  anthemion  even  in  the  Greco-Roman 
art  as  appears  by  illustrations  35,  36,  motives  from  terra-cotta  reliefs 
in  the  Campana  collection  of  the  Louvre. 

[The  end.] 


WM.  II.  GOODYEAU. 


Mil.  OILMAN  has  rendered  an  important  service  to  social 
science  in  collecting  in  a  convenient  little  volume  l  authentic 
accounts  of  all  the  experiments,  successful  or  unsuccessful, 
which  have  been  made  in  sharing  business  profits  between  employers 
and  employes,  up  to  the  present  time,  in  regard  to  which  informa- 
tion was  available.  It  is  easy  enough  for  persons  interested  in  the 
subject  to  find  elsewhere  glowing  accounts  of  the  success  of  this  or 
that  particular  scheme;  but  an  unprejudiced  review  of  the  whole 
subject,  presenting  the  bad,  as  well  as  the  good  side,  is  the  onVy 
thing  that  is  of  real  use  to  people  who  are  disposed  to  take  an  active 
part  in  social  reforms,  and  this  is  just  what  Mr.  Gihnan  has  given 
us.  He  has,  himself,  naturally  enough,  a  high  opinion  of  the  value 
of  participation  in  profits  as  a  remedy  for  the  antagonism  between 
master  and  man  which  has  brought  so  many  misfortunes  to  the  com- 
munity, but  he  does  not  allow  his  prepossessions  to  color  his  presen- 
tation of  the  facts,  and  he  deserves  our  gratitude  for  his  scrupulous 
fairness. 

It  is  curious  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  successful  profit-sharing 
enterprises  date  from  1847-48,  the  era  of  the  fever  for  liberty  which 
attacked  the  people  of  so  many  European  countries,  and  ended  in  a 
dozen  unsuccessful  revolutions.  The  most  famous  of  all,  the  Maison 
Leclaire,  entered  upon  the  practice  of  its  system  in  1842 ;  but  Leclaire 
lived  in  Paris,  the  hot-bed  of  socialistic  ideas,  and  was  an  enthusiastic 
student  of  social  and  economic  questions,  so  that  it  is  natural  enough 
that  he  should  have  begun  to  put  in  practice  the  ideas  that  he  had 
gathered  a  few  years  before  the  propaganda  which  had  affected  him 
began  to  make  its  way  into  the  outside  world. 

It  is  curious  to  learn  that  a  theorist  was,  against  his  will, 
the  author  of  the  solution  of  the  problem  which  perplexed 
Leclaire.  From  an  ambitious  and  industrious  apprentice  he 
had  become  a  successful  master  house-painter  and  decorator, 
and,  being  warmly  attached  to  his  workmen,  he  was  anxious  to 
devise 
to  the 

an  imperfect  one,  which  consisted  in  encouraging  his  men  to  form 
permanent  connections,  in  lending  them  money  without  interest,  in 
promoting  the  establishment  of  a  mutual-aid  society,  supported  by 
subscriptions,  and  in  maintaining  a  strict  discipline  in  a  trade  which 
had  the  reputation  of  comprising  the  worst  and  most  reckless  of  all 
Parisian  workmen.  About  1835,  Fregier,  then  chief  of  a  Govern- 
ment bureau,  and  fresh  from  the  agitations  which  ended  in  the  coro- 
nation of  Louis  Philippe,  conceived  the  idea  of  writing  a  book  on 
the  "  Dangerous  Classes,"  who  had  made  themselves  so  unpleasantly 
conspicuous  a  few  years  before,  and  went  to  Leclaire  as  a  man  who 
could  probably  furnish  him  with  information  on  the  subject.  He 
found  in  him  a  social  theorist  like  himself,  and  the  two  had  many 
discussions  on  the  questions  which  interested  them  both.  In  the 
course  of  these  Fregier  propounded  the  doctrine  that  there  was 


Bo 


'  "  Profl-Shar'mg  between  Employer  and  Employe,"  by  Nicholas  Paiiie  Oilman, 
oston  :    Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.    1889. 


nothing,  so  far  as  he  could  see,  which  would  do  away  with  the 
antagonism  between  employer  and  employed,  of  which  Leclaire  com- 
plained, except  the  participation  of  the  workman  in  the  master's 
profits.  Leclaire,  as  he  says,  "emphatically  rejected"  this  idea, 
which  was  quite  inconsistent  with  the  economic  theories  contained 
in  his  books,  and,  moreover,  seemed  to  him  entirely  impracticable. 
Nevertheless,  the  novelty  of  the  notion  attracted  him,  and,  as  he 
says,  it  took  root  in  his  mind.  Five  years  later,  after  Fregier's  book 
was  finished  and  printed,  Leclaire  was  overwhelmed  with  orders, 
and,  in  thinking  how  he  could  contrive  to  fulfil  them  all,  he  "per- 
:eived  all  at  once  a  way  "  in  which  he  could  apply  Fregier's  profit- 
sharing  idea,  and  at  the  same  time  serve  his  own  interests  and  those 
of  his  best  workmen.  Frdgier  himself,  on  hearing  of  the  scheme, 
discouraged  it,  urging  all  sorts  of  objections,  but  Leclaire  was  deter- 
mined to  try  it,  and  in  June,  1840,  he  assembled  his  best  workmen, 
to  the  number  of  eighty  or  ninety,  and  explained  to  them  his  plan, 
by  which  he  proposed  to  divide  the  profits  of  his  business  with  them. 
As  those  acquainted  with  workmen  can  understand,  the  proposition 
was  received  very  coldly,  and  it  was  not  until  two  years  later,  after 
a  long  series  of  formal  and  informal  discussions  with  the  men,  that 
the  plan  was  actually  put  in  operation.  In  February,  1842,  a  cir- 
cular of  rules  and  terms  was  issued,  by  which,  in  February,  1843,  a 
division  was  to  be  made  among  the  members  of  the  noyau,  or  nucleus, 
consisting  of  forty-four  of  the  men  who  had  been  longest  in  his 
employ,  of  a  certain  part  of  the  profits  of  the  year's  operations. 
The  men  submitted,  rather  than  acceded.  Many  of  them  thought 
that  some  trick  was  being  played  on  them,  and  one  of  the  working- 
men's  newspapers  openly  denounced  Leclaire  as  having  contrived  a 
scheme  to  lower  wages ;  but  the  majority  of  the  members  of  the  noyau 
thought  that  he  probably  meant  well,  and  consented  to  trust  his 
jood  faith  until  the  end  of  the  year,  but  without  counting  much  on 
their  dividend. 

The  twelve  months  went  by,  not  very  prosperously,  but  sufficiently 
so  to  provide  something  for  the  workmen,  and  Leclaire,  who  had  the 
lively  genius  of  a  true  Frenchman  prepared  a  little  sensation  for 
the  men.  On  the  12th  of  February,  1843,  he  called  together  the 
men  composing  the  noyau,  and,  standing  before  them,  threw  down 
upon  a  table  a  bag  containing  nearly  twenty-five  hundred  dollars  in 
in.  Then,  opening  the  bag,  he  distributed  the  money  among  the 
men.  Probably  few  of  them  had  ever  had  fifty-six  dollars  at  once 
in  their  hands  before,  and,  as  might  be  imagined,  from  that  time  the 
success  of  the  scheme  was  assured. 

Leclaire  was  of  altogether  too  active  a  temper  to  be  satisfied  with 
the  system  he  had  established.  After  a  year  or  two,  finding  that 
the  encouragement  which  it  offered  to  the  men  had  made  them 
reliable  enough  to  be  left  a  little  to  themselves,  he  began  some  chemical 
researches  on  his  own  account,  to  try  to  discover  some  substitute  for 
white  lead,  whose  poisonous  effects  on  his  workmen  he  knew  only  too 
well.  With  the  help  of  Chevreuil  he  decided  that  oxide  of  zinc  pre- 
sented the  most  advantages,  and  after  securing  some  zinc  mines,  he 
established  a  factory  for  the  preparation  of  this  substance  which  has 
ever  since  been  exclusively  used  by  him  and  his  successors. 

Returning,  after  this  benevolent  undertaking  had  been  fairly 
started,  to  his  profit-sharing  plans,  he  took  up  the  problem  of  making 
the  yearly  dividend  more  useful  to  the  men  by  inducing  them  to  lay 
it  by  as  a  provision  for  old  age  instead  of  spending  it.  He  found 
his  men  quite  averse  to  exchanging  any  part  of  their  cash  dividend 
for  the  prospect  of  a  retiring  pension,  so,  without  wasting  time  in 
discussion  he  coolly  informed  them  that  unless  they  agreed  to  what 
he  thought  best,  he  would  add  to  the  noyau,  as  he  had  a  right  to  do, 
so  many  new  members  that  the  dividend  of  each  would  be  very 
small.  The  men  could  not  well  resist  this  argument,  and  concluded 
to  accede  to  his  plan,  by  which  thirty  per  cent  only  of  the  year's 
profits  was  divided  among  the  workmen  in  cash,  and  twenty  per 
cent  was  reserved  as  an  addition  to  the  fund  of  the  Mutual  Aid 
Society,  from  which  pensions  are  paid  to  superannuated  members 
and  to  the  families  of  those  who  die. 

Until  1871,  participations  in  the  profits  of  the  house  were  confined 
to  the  noyau,  but  in  that  year  Leclaire  pushed  his  idea  to  its  com- 
plete expression,  by  procuring  the  passage  of  a  resolution  by  the 
noyau,  admitting  to  the  benefits  of  participation  all  the  employes, 
even  to  the  apprentices  and  the  temporary  journeymen,  so  that  now 
every  man  who  does  a  day's  work  with  the  Maison  Leclaire  shares 
proportionately  in  the  year's  profits. 

On  the  13th  of  July,  1872,  this  great  man  died  in  his  cottage  at 
Herblay,  leaving  behind  him  a  strong,  experienced  and  well  organized 
association,  which  he  had  accustomed  to  doing  without  him  by 
withdrawing  formally  some  years  before  from  the  firm,  and  which 
has  gone  on  ever  since  in  a  course  of  quiet  prosperity.  Although  he 
transmitted  to  his  heirs  only  the  comparatively  modest  fortune  of  a 
quarter  of  a  million  of  dollars,  he  often  said  that  "  he  could  not  have 
accumulated  so  much  even  by  fraudulent  means  without  the  partici- 
pation of  his  men  in  his  profits." 

Something  of  the, same  feeling  seems  to  be  common  among  the 
masters  who  have  successfully  admitted  their  employes  to  a  shaie  in 
their  profits.  In  nearly  all  cases  when  they  speak  of  the  matter, 
they  declare  that  it  has  been  with  them  a  purely  business 
matter,  that  it  has  been  profitable  to  them  as  well  as  to  their  men, 
and  that  they  are  not  entitled  to  any  credit  as  philanthropists. 
However  that  may  be,  there  is  no  question  that  participation  pro- 
motes good  feeling  and  consideration  on  both  sides.  Even  the  public 
usually  has  occasion  to  remark  gratefully  the  politeness  and  attention 


JUNE  29,  1889.] 


The   American   Architect   and  Building   News. 


311 


with  which  it  is  treated  in  the  profit-sharing  establishments,  and 
Mr.  Oilman's  hook  gives  many  instances  of  mutual  good  feeling  be- 
tween masters  and  men,  which  form  a  pleasant  contrast  to  the 
usual  morals  and  manners  of  "  business."  In  fact  one  of  the  most 
interesting  things  shown  in  the  book  to  those  who  believe,  as  we  do, 
that  the  prudent  and  honest  use  of  one's  own  and  other  people's 
property  ought  to  form  a  part  of  every  child's  education,  is  the  etfect 
fpf  profit-sharing  in  teaching  workmen  to  be  careful  about  small 
things.  In  one  establishment  described,  the  men  are  so  business- 
like that  no  one  will  even  hand  over  to  another  an  unfinished  piece 
of  work  without  getting  a  receipt  for  it,  and  there  are  many  similar 
instances  of  a  minute  care  for  details  in  such  establishments  which 
would  do  credit  to  the  more  skilful  and  experienced  manager. 


WHAT    IS    MEANT    BY   WORK    SATISFACTORY    TO    THE     OWNER? 

TJGREEMENTS  that  work  or  materials  to  be  furnished  by  one 
r\  party  to  a  contract  shall  be  "  satisfactory  "  to  the  other,  the  pur- 
/  chaser,  are  of  quite  common  occurrence,  particularly  in  building 
contracts.  The  exact  me-ning,  however,  of  the  word  "  satisfactory  " 
may  differ  in  different  cases,  and  is  not  always  easy  to  determine. 
Sometimes  it  is  held  to  mean  "  reasonably  satisfactory  "  ;  that  is  to 
say  if  the  work  was,  in  fact,  properly  done,  the  owner  could  not 
avoid  payment  by  returning  it  and  saying  that  he  was  dissatisfied 
with  it. 

Sometimes,  on  the  other  hand,  the  word  is  to  be  taken  in  its 
literal  meaning;  and,  if  the  owner  is  dissatisfied  with  the  article  and 
returns  it  to  the  manufacturer  or  contractor,  the  latter  can  recover 
nothing.  In  such  cases,  however,  if  the  work  cannot  be  returned,  as 
when  permanently  affixed  to  the  defendant's  premises,  the  plaintiff 
would  generally  be  entitled  to  maintain  an  action  for  the  fair  value 
of  the  article  deducting  what  it  would  cost  the  owner  to  make  it 
satisfactory. 

If  the  architect  or  owner,  or  whoever  draws  the  contract,  intends 
to  reserve  the  right  to  reject  the  material  if  personally  unsatis- 
factory to  the  owner,  this  intent  should  be  made  clear  by  appropriate 
and  unmistakable  language.  If  the  matter  is  left  in  doubt,  taking 
the  instrument  as  a  whole,  the  courts  will  be  inclined  to  construe  the 
contract  as  meaning  to  the  "  reasonable  "  satisfaction  of  the  owner. 

These  remarks  are  induced  by  the  recent  decision  of  the 
Massachusetts  Supreme  Court  in  Hawkins  vs.  Graham,  a  case  where 
steam-fitters  sought  to  recover  a  bill  for  a  heating  apparatus.  Our 
readers  will  probably  recollect  that  earlier  in  the  year  reference  was 
made  in  the  editori.il  columns  of  this  paper  to  a  somewhat  similar 
case  arising  in  France,  and  may  be  interested  to  note  the  extreme 
diversity  of  the  reasoning  adopted  by  the  courts  in  the  two  cases. 
The  facts  also  were  different ;  in  the  French  case  the  apparatus  did 
not  work,  and  in  the  Massachusetts  case  it  did  work  properly,  though 
not  "  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  owner." 

In  the  Massachusetts  case  the  Court  lays  down  the  common  law  as 
follows : 

"The  only  question  in  this  case  is  whether  the  written  agreement 
between  the  parties  left  the  right  of  the  plaintiff  to  recover  the  price 
of  the  work  and  materials  furnished  by  him  dependent  upon  the 
actual  satisfaction  of  the  defendant.  Such  agreements  usually  are 
construed  not  as  making  the  defendant's  declaration  of  dissatisfaction 
conclusive,  in  which  case  it  would  be  difficult  to  say  that  they 
amounted  to  contracts  (Hunt  vs.  Livermore,  5  Pick.  395,  397), 
but  as  requiring  an  honest  expression.  In  view  of  modern  modes  of 
business,  it  is  not  surprising  that  in  some  cases  eager  sellers  or  sell- 
ing agents  should  be  found  taking  that  degree  of  risk  with  unwilling 
purchasers,  especially  where  taste  is  involved.  .  .  . 

"  Still,  when  the  consideration  is  of  such  a  nature  that  its  value 
will  be  lost  to  the  plaintiff,  either  wholly  or  in  great  part,  unless  paid 
for,  a  just  hesitation  must  be  felt,  and  clear  language  required  before 
deciding  that  payment  is  left  to  the  will,  or  even  to  the  idiosyncra- 
cies  of  the  interested  party.  In  doubtful  cases  the  courts  have  been 
inclined  to  construe  agreements  of  this  class  as  agreements  to  do  the 
thing  in  such  a  way  as  reasonably  ought  to  satisfy  the  defendant." 

In  the  contract  in  question  it  was  provided  that  the  apparatus 
should  be  satisfactory  to  the  owner,  and  there  was  also  this  clause : 

"  In  the  event  of  the  system  proving  satisfactory  and  conforming 
with  all  the  requirements  as  above  provided  for,  the  sum  of  $1,575, 
as  above  provided  for,  to  be  paid  by  me,  after  such  acknowledgment 
has  been  made  by  the  owner  or  the  work  demonstrated." 

The  Court  held  that  the  words  "or  the  work  demonstrated" 
qualified  the  word  "  satisfactory,"  so  that  the  contract,  taken  as  a 
whole,  bound  the  defendant  to  pay  for  the  apparatus,  if  it,  in  fact, 
worked  properly. 

Oftentimes  in  building  contracts  it  is  important  for  the  owner  to 
retain  an  absolute  right  of  rejection,  and.  generally,  no  injustice  is 
thereby  done  the  contractor.  For  instance,  it  is  generally  provided 
that  either  the  owner  or  architect  may  reject,  absolutely,  certain  of 
the  materials  used  in  the  building  (as  piles,  foundation  stone,  etc.), 
which  are  "  unsatisfactory,"  this  being  found  to  be  practically  the 
easiest  way  of  compelling  the  contractor  to  furnish  proper  material. 
Here  no  injustice  is  done,  for  of  course  the  material  rejected  can  be 


taken  away  by  the  contractor,  he  has  only  the  expense  of  carting ; 
and  there  is  no  inducement  for  the  owner  to  be  unreasonable  in  his 
approval  of  the  material,  as  such  a  course  would  only  tend  to  delay 
the  work. 

The  above  case,  however,  shows  that  it  is  important  that  the  right 
of  rejection  should  be  expressed  in  unqualified  terms. 


[The  editors  cannot  pay  attention  to  demands  of  correspondents  who 
forget  to  give  their  names  and  addresses  as  guaranty  of  good  faith  ; 
nor  do  they  hold  themselves  responsible  for  opinions  expressed  liif 
their  correspondents.] 

AN   OWNER'S   RIGHT    TO   GIVE   ORDERS. 

BALTIMORE,  Mi>.,  June  18,  1S89. 
To  THE  EDITORS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT  : — • 

Dear  Sirs,  —  Please  give  me  an  opinion,  in  the  columns  of  your 
paper,  on  the  following  case : 

A  being  the  building-committee  and  B  the  architect.  A  employs 
B  to  prepare  designs  and  superintend  the  erection  of  a  large  school- 
building.  The  contract  containing  the  usual  clause  as  to  ownership 
of  drawings  was  signed  by  all  parties.  After  the  work  had  been  in 
progress  for.  some  time  and  all  the  detail  drawings  had  been  finished, 
A  begins  to  ignore  B.  and  gives  orders  to  contractors  directly  con- 
trary to  those  given  by  B.  B  remonstrates  with  A,  and  points  out 
the  evils  that  may  arise  from  such  a  course.  A,  however,  pays  no 
attention  to  B  but  continues  to  interfere,  giving  the  contractor 
orders  which  will  ruin  the  design  of  the  structure,  even  if  it  does 
not  jeopardize  the  safety  of  the  building.  B  has  sent  a  notice  to 
contractor  to  return  all  drawings  and  refuses  to  give  them  to  A, 
unless  A  agrees  to  allow  him  to  finish  work  his  way.  Has  B  any 
right  to  pursue  such  a  course,  and  can  he  demand  a  commission  for 
any  part  of  his  work  ?  Yours  truly,  C.  E.  GARDINER. 

[B  is  wrong.  He  is  engaged  to  do  certain  work,  and  is  to  receive  pay  for 
doing  it.  If  he  refuses  to  complete  wliat  he  engaged  to  do,  he  cannot  claim 
any  of  the  promised  compensation,  unless  he  has  an  agreement  of  some 
kind  entitling  him  to  withdraw  at  pleasure  and  to  be  paid  for  partial 
service.  As  to  interference  with  his  directions,  he  seems  to  forget  that  the 
building  belongs  to  A,  who  has  .1  perfect  right  to  construct  it  in  any  way 
that  he  chooses.  It  is  not  likely  that  the  contract  requires  that  the  building 
shall  be  erected  as  B  wants  it,  aud  not  as  A  wants  it,  and  in  default  of  some 
such  contract,  B  gives  directions  only  on  sufferance  from  the  owner,  who 
can  supersede  and  contradict  them  at  his  own  sweet  will.  All  that  B  can  do 
is  to  make  sure  that  the  catastrophes  which  may  follow  A's  directions  are  not 
visited  on  his  head,  by  giving  timely  and  liberal  warnings  as  to  the  probable 
consequences  of  them.  In  a  French  court  he  might  stand  some  chance  of 
being  consoled  for  his  experiences  by  having  damages  awarded  him  for  in- 
jury to  his  professional  reputation  through  the  mangling  of  his  design,  but 
an  American  jury  would  find  it  hard  to  comprehend  anything  like  artistic 
property.  —  EDS.  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT.] 


PROPOSED  SUBMARINE  BRIDGE  UNDER  THE  SOUND.  —  Under  the 
paradoxical  name  of  a  submarine  bridge,  a  design  has  been  put  forward 
by  a  Swedish  engineer,  Mr.  Rudolf  Lilljeqvist,  A.  M.  I.  C.  E.,  for 
making  a  permanent  railway  communication  between  Sweden  and 
Copenhagen.  Although  only  2^  miles  apart,  traffic  is  frequently  in- 
terrupted during  the  winter  mouths  by  ice,  and  the  trade  between  the 
two  countries  greatly  inconvenienced.  The  proposed  structure,  which 
would  join  Elsinore  to  Ilelsinghorg,  is  a  bridge  composed  of  100  feet 
spans,  and  carrying  a  single  line  of  railway.  It  is  to  be  submerged  to 
such  a  depth  as  to  allow  ample  seaway  for  all  classes  of  ships  to  pass 
over  it.  To  protect  the  trains  against  the  water  the  entire  bridge  is  to 
be  surrounded  and  encased  by  a  tube,  composed  of  an  outer  skin  of 
iron  and  an  inner  skin  of  steel,  with  the  intervening  space  filled  with 
concrete.  The  weight  of  the  tube  would  be  such  that  it  would  nearly 
float,  and  thus  would  not  be  subject  to  any  transverse  strains.  It  is 
foreseen  that  the  outer  skin  might  possibly  rust  away  in  course  of 
years,  but  it  is  believed  that  the  concrete  would  remain  intact  and 
perfectly  protect  the  steel.  The  piers  would  consist  of  ordinary 
caissons  filled  with  concrete  and  placed  about  100  feet  apart.  The 
tubes  would  rest  on  these  piers  and  the  girders  would  take  a  bearing  on 
blocks  inside  the  tube  immediately  over  the  piers.  The  tube  would  be 
built  in  100-foot  lengths,  floated  out  and  lowered  into  place.  The  piers 
would  be  built  in  concrete  by  aid  of  caissons,  and  their  surface  would 
be  formed  to  receive  the  tubes,  which  would  be  firmly  secured  to  them. 
As  an  additional  safeguard  a  massive  collar  of  concrete  would  be 
moulded  over  the  joint.  The  concrete  shell  would  be  in  lengths  to 
allow  for  expansion,  while  the  metal  shells  would  be  continuous.  It  is 
proposed  to  use  in  the  erection  pontoons  of  the  kind  which  have  been 
successfully  employed  in  building  the  Tay  Bridge.  These  are 
rectangular  in  form,  and  have  a  leg  at  each  corner  worked  by  an 
hydraulic  ram.  Such  a  pontoon  is  floated  into  place  and  then  the  legs  are 
thrust  out  until  the  whole  becomes  perfectly  stable.  On  these  pontoons 
would  be  placed  all  the  necessary  appliances  for  founding  the  piers  and 
lowering  the  tubes  into  position.  The  estimate  places  the  cost  between 
OOO.OOO/.  and  700,000*.  for  the  submerged  portion,  without  the  approach 


312 


TJie    American   Architect   and  Building   News.      [VOL.  XXIV.  —  No.  705. 


tunnels.  The  advantages  claimed  for  this  scheme  over  a  submarine  tun- 
nel are  the  safety  and  rapidity  of  construction,  and  the  avoidance  of 
unforeseen  difficulties.  —  Engineering. 

FANS  OR  HOT- WATER.  —  The  entire  absence  of  sanitary  arrange- 
ments in  Chinese  towns  and  villages  being  well-known,  it  goes  without 
saying  that  the  laws  of  hygiene  are  utterly  and  entirely  neglected. 
There  is  no  isolation  of  infectious  diseases,  and  no  attention  is  paid  to 
causes  of  death  unless  there  is  supposition  of  violence.  According  to 
our  ideas,  therefore,  Chinese  cities  ought  to  be  hotbeds  of  disease,  sub- 
jected regularly  to  those  terrible  epidemics  which,  with  us,  are 
invariably  associated  with  the  neglect  of  sanitary  laws.  Strange  to  say, 
such  is  not  the  case.  Epidemics  come  and  go  without  any  apparent 
reason,  appearing,  perhaps,  suddenly,  causing  a  heavy  mortality  for  a 
short  time,  and  then  as  suddenly  disappearing  again,  thus  affording  an 
endless  field  of  speculation  to  the  foreign  savant.  But,  speaking  gener- 
ally, Chinese  towns  enjoy  an  immunity  from  these  dangerous  outbreaks 
almost  as  complete  as  that  of  well-drained  European  communities,  and 
the  cause  of  this  puzzling  and  curious  phenomenon  has  been  variously 
explained.  The  fact  is  all  the  more  striking  when  taken  in  connection 
with  the  contaminated  water-supplies  of  Chinese  towns,  the  effect  of 
which  on  Europeans  has  been  manifested  over  and  over  again  in  the 
heavy  mortality  which  overtook  them  previous  to  the  adoption  of 
precautions  enjoined  by  modern  sanitary  science.  The  healthiness 
of  Chinese  cities  has  been  ingeniously  attributed  by  some  people  to  the 
universal  habit  of  fanning,  a  practice  which  is  said  to  keep  the  atmos- 
phere in  constant  circulation.  How  far  this  explanation  can  be  deemed 
to  suffice  we  must  leave  to  experts  to  decide,  but,  so  far  as  a  contami- 
nated water-supply  is  concerned,  we  believe  the  real  secret  of  immunity 
from  its  evil  effects  to  lie  in  the  universal  custom  of  boiling  all  water 
intended  for  drinking.  As  a  matter-of-fact,  the  Chinese  never  drink 
cold  water.  The  national  beverage,  which,  in  a  true  sense,  may  be 
said  to  cheer  but  not  inebriate,  is  tea,  and  this  is  always  "  on  tap," 
even  in  the  houses  of  the  very  poor.  The  native  aversion  to  cold  water 
is  undoubtedly  carried  to  extremes,  and  certainly  induces  diseases 
which  might  easily  be  avoided  by  a  judicious  system  of  outward  appli- 
cation. In  the  matter  of  ablutions  it  must,  however,  be  admitted,  that 
the  Chinese  enjoy  facilities  which,  however  little  they  are  taken 
advantage  of,  are  far  in  advance  of  anything  within  the  reach  of  the 
poorer  classes  of  our  own  favored  land.  Every  little  hamlet  in  China 
has  a  shop  where  hot  water  can  be  bought  for  a  trifling  sum  at  any 
hour  of  the  day  or  night.  Even  in  a  small  fishing  village  on  a  remote 
island  in  the  Gulf  of  1'echili,  where  the  writer  spent  six  weeks  under 
very  unpleasant  circumstances  during  a  severe  winter,  this  was  the 
case,  and  a  great  convenience  it  proved  —  The  National  Review. 


cable  treatment.  The  wood  thus  coated  should  present  a  neat 
appearance,  and  should  be  capable  of  receiving  a  coat  of  ordinary  paint, 
nor  should  either  coating  deteriorate  within  a  moderate  time.  The  best 
substances  for  such  application  are  cyanide  of  potassium  and  asbestos 
paint.  — fire  and  Water. 

MALI.KAIILE  BRONZE.  —  A  patent  has  been  taken  out  both  in  Eng- 
land and  France,  by  Mr.  A.  Sentcx,  Mr.  C.  Marechal  and  Mr.  A. 
Saunier,  establishing  a  process  for  producing  malleable  and  ductile 
bronze  bars  or  plates  which  are  free  from  cracks  and  blow-holes,  are 
"  inoxidizable,"  and  which  may  be  "  rolled  and  drawn  with  the  greatest 
ease.''  Moreover,  the  metal  has  the  appearance  and  "  sonorosity  of 
gold."  One-and-a-half  kilos,  of  tin  are  purified  by  melting  under  nitre. 
Ten  kilos,  of  copper  are  melted  and  50  grammes  of  equal  parts  of 
nitrate  and  cyanide  of  potassium  are  added  for  the  double  purpose 
of  reducing  the  oxides  and  "fattening"  the  metal.  Then  25  grammes 
of  bitartrate  of  potassium,  with  tlie  same  quantity  of  cyanide,  are  add- 
ed, and,  after  poling,  the  tin  is  introduced;  25  grammes  each  of  sal- 
ammoniac  and  cyanide  are  thrown  on,  1  gramme  of  "  phosphuret  of 
copper  "  introduced  to  "  impart  mildness,"  and  20  grammes  of  "  Mar- 
seilles soap  "  added,  which  still  further  "  fattens  "  the  metal.  Finally, 
1  gramme  of  sodium  is  added  at  the  moment  of  casting.  The  metal,  if 
cast  in  sand,  may  contain  more  tin,  and  if  the  proportion  of  tin  'be 
reduced,  the  quantity  of  phosphorus  and  sodium  may  be  increased.  — 
Iron  World. 


AN  ELECTRIC  INDICATOR  FOR  LIGHTNING-RODS.  —  A  new  instrument 
for  recording  when  a  lightning-conductor  has  acted  is  being  brought 
out  by  Messrs.  Hoyer  and  Glalm,  of  Schoncbeck.  Briefly  described, 
this  instrument  consists  of  a  galvanometer  with  a  long  magnetized 
needle  pivoted  on  a  horizontal  axis,  and  kept  horizontal  by  a  small 
weight.  Below  the  needle  is  a  soft  iron  core  surrounded  by  a  solenoid, 
which  is  coupled  as  a  shunt  between  two  points  of  the  lightning  con- 
ductor; and  if  this  core  becomes  excited,  one  or  the  other  end  of  the 
magnet  is  attracted,  and  remains  attached  by  virtue  of  its  own  perma- 
nent magnetism.  The  inventors  thus  hope  that  the  instrument  will 
indicate  not  only  through  which  conductor  a  lightning  discharge  has 
passed,  but  also  the  direction  of  the  discharge,  whether  up  or  down. 
Instruments  would  be  fixed  on  the  various  lightning-conductors,  and  by 
mere  inspection  of  them  after  each  thunderstorm  it  would  be  easy  to 
sec  which  of  the  conductors  are  most  likely  to  be  chosen  by  the  light- 
ning, and  should  therefore  receive  the  most  attention  to  keep  in  good 
order.  —  Inventor.  

HISTORIC  INUNDATIONS.  —  No  flood  so  disastrous  as  that  in  the 
Conemaugh  region  has  ever  before  been  known  in  the  history  of  this 
country.  In  the  Mill  River  disaster  near  Northampton,  Mass.," in  1874, 
in  which  a  number  of  villages  were  destroyed  through  the  bursting  of 
an  ill-constructed  reservoir,  only  144  were  lost,  and  in  the  same  year, 
when  the  rivers  of  Western  Pennsylvania  overflowed  their  banks  as  the 
result  of  an  unusual  downfall  of  rain,  the  number  of  persons  who  were 
drowned  was  but  220.  In  the  year  1758  more  than  400  families 
were  drowned  in  an  inundation  at  Glasgow  ;  at  Uort,  in  Holland,  in 
1421,  the  sea  broke  in  and  drowned  100,000  people,  and  in  the  most 
memorable  of  all  inundations — that  which  in  1530  was  caused  in 
Holland  by  a  general  failure  of  the  dykes  —  the  loss  of  life  was 
reckoned  at  400,000.  In  Catalonia,  in  1617,  50,000  persons  perished  by 
flood ;  in  Silesia,  in  1813,  6,000.  The  loss  of  life  during  the  recent  floods 
in  Austria- Hungary  and  in  China  has  never  been  fully  reckoned  up, 
and  though  100,000  persons  are  said  to  have  been  drowned  in  the 
Chinese  inundations,  the  figures  are  not  trustworthy.  —  New  York 
Commercial  Advertiser. 

To  PROTECT  WOOD  AGAINST  FIRE. —  An  investigation  has  been 
made  by  Professors  Boudin  and  Donny,  of  the  Ghent  University,  at  the 
requisition  of  the  Belgian  Minister  of  Public  Works,  in  regard  to 
rendering  wood  uninflammable.  They  reported  that  to  deprive  wood 
to  a  considerable  extent  of  the  property  of  catching  and  communicating 
fire  it  is  sufficient  to  coat  it  with  a  suitable  composition.  A  practical 
process  must  not  be  too  expensive  nor  take  too  much  time,  and  the 
substance  used  must  not  attack  any  metal  used  in  connection  with 
the  wood.  Two  methods  of  treatment  may  be  mentioned.  One  is  the 
injection  of  saline  solutions,  which  appears  but  little  applicable  except 
to  small  pieces  of  wood,  and  may  be  dangerous  in  the  case  of  wood  of 
large  dimensions.  A  concentrated  solution  of  phosphate  of  ammonia, 
although  expensive,  is  undoubtedly  the  best  substance  to  apply  by  in- 
jection. Certain  substances,  notably  chloride  of  calcium,  should  be 
rigorously  excluded,  because  they  would  keep  the  wood  constantly 
damp.  This  method  may  be  applied  to  small  articles  by  immersion, 
and  the  solution  should  be  hot.  In  the  majority  of  cases,  including  ex- 
isting structures,  applying  some  coating  with  a  brush  is  the  only  practi- 


THEBB  exists  a  deep  anxiety  in  business,  railroad  and  financial  circles 
over  the  possibility  of  a  reaction  from  the  present  healthful  conditions 
The  exportation  of  nearly  ten  million  dollars  in  gold  within  two  weeks  and 
of  some  twenty-eight  millions  since  April,  the  decline  in  the  surplus 
reserves  within  a  year  from  nearly  twenty-six  millions  to  some  nine 
millions  at  this  time,  the  urgent  demands  for  funds  in  the  West,  the  nar- 
rowing margins  in  all  lines  of  business,  the  general  upward  tendency  in 
prices  —  these  and  other  facts  and  influences  are  taken  by  many  to  indicate 
that  a  turn  may  be  taken  that  will  be  to  the  disadvantage  o'f  those  who 
have  large  engagements  at  fixed  prices  On  the  other  hand,  one  hundred 
railroad  companies  show  an  increase  in  gross  and  net  earnings  over  last 
year,  but  this  comparison  is  made  with  roads  which  lost  twenty-three 
million  dollars  last  year.  The  stocks  of  anthracite  coal  are  increasing  and 
are  now  almost  one  million  tons.  The  soft  coal  trade  is  about  as  active  as 
usual,  but  the  mining  capacity  east  of  the  Mississippi  is  away  ahead  of 
demand.  Lumber  operations  are  conducted  on  a  large  scale,  and  last  week 
some  of  the  largest  contracts  of  the  season  were  placed,  not  onlv  among 
railroad  companies,  but  in  the  trade  at  large.  Car-builders  are  in  the 
market  to-day  for  oak  and  yellow  pine.  Walnut  exporters  are  doin"  well 
Poplar  holds  its  own  everywhere.  Trade  combinations  in  lumber,  "except 
in  Georgia,  are  maintaining  their  grip.  The  policy  of  wholesalers  and 
retailers  is  to  buy  as  the  trade  calls,  and  to  avoid  accumulations.  It  is  this 
that  accounts  for  the  generally  strong  prices.  In  iron  and  steel  no  striking 
transformation  is  apparent.  Steel-rail  mills  are  filling  up,  and  prices  are 
now,  for  the  first  time  this  year,  strong  at  .$28  in  the  East  on  all  except  ex- 
ceptionally large  orders.  Bridge-iron  makers  are  also  better  off  than  for 
months,  and  in  this  statement  plate-iron  makers  may  be  included.  Nail- 
makers  have  been  getting  rid  of  large  accumulations.  Crude-iron  makers 
are  doing  what  they  can  to  push  prices  on  fall  deliveries  upwards.  There 
is  no  room  for  speculative  movements  in  petroleum.  Wool  is  quiet,  but 
strong.  Textile  manufacturers  are  making  excellent  progress,  carefully 
avoiding  such  a  production  as  would  threaten  to  jeopardize  prices  through 
enforced  auction  sales.  Imports  are  heavy,  but  the  consumptive  require- 
ments are  extraordinary.  It  is  proper  here  to  remark  again  that  the  trust- 
forming  tendencies  are  stronger  than  ever ;  that  new  combinations  are 
being  made  and  projected  ;  that  capital  is  more  confidently  seekin»  oppor- 
tunities therein.  The  smaller  interests  are  obliged  to  combine  in  a  great 
many  instances.  Legislative  control  has  not  retarded  or  controlled  these 
combinations,  and  they  have  apparently  entered  upon  an  era  of  greater 
activity  and  scope.  In  many  respects  their  formation  is  but  the  natural 
outcome,  and  is  in  conformity  to  the  general  law  of  progress.  In  some 
other  respects  damage  is  being  done  and  greater  damage  threatened. 
Eventually  there  will,  no  doubt,  be  a  sort  of  popular  granger-like  agitation 
and  protestation  against  the  entire  system. 

The  architects  are  closing  a  very  successful  half-year.  Their  statements 
for  the  coming  half-year,  so  far  as  made,  point  to  even  greater  activity. 
House-building,  especially  of  small  houses,  has  been  \erv  profitable,  par- 
ticularly in  the  newer  and  smal'er  manufacturing  centres  throughout  the 
interior.  The  distribution  of  lumber  of  the  past  thirty  days  shows  the 
extent  of  building  activity.  Building  labor  is  in  demand  Wages  are 
good,  and  there  are  no  strikes  worth  noting.  The  larger  cities  west  of  the 
Mississippi  are  keeping  up  their  last  year's  record.  Chicago  lumber  dealers 
have  contracts  for  about  all  the  stuff  they  can  get  out.  The  builders  of 
houses,  factories,  bridges  and  of  large  manufacturing  establishments  in  the 
sections  now  the  theatre  of  the  general  industrial  revival,  have  about  all 
they  can  hurry  through  before  cold  weather.  What  has  been  said  of  the 
activity  in  the  Southern  States  can  only  be  repeated  so  far  as  opportunities 
for  investment  are  concerned,  there  are  as  many  as  ever,  and  the  inflow  of 
capital  continues.  Leading  financial  authorities  remark  that  there  never 
was  a  period  when  so  much  investing  was  going  on  in  purely  industrial  and 
commercial  channels.  Of  course  the  whole  business  world  is  on  tip-toe  for 
a  general  advance  in  values  that  will  make  plants  and  investments  more 
productive,  but  the  reasons  for  such  anticipation  are  difficult  to  assign. 
The  ship-builders  were  never  busier,  and  in  a  few  montns  one  of  the  finest, 
if  not  the  finest  yard  on  the  American  continent  will  be  open  for  work  at 
Newport  News.  The  Bethlehem  Gun  Works  are  being  hastened  forward, 
and  much  heavy  machinery  is  being  put  in  to  turn  out  exceptionally  large 
work.  There  is  nothing  to  warrant  fears  of  a  reaction  in  trade.  A  larger 
percentage  of  business  is  being  year  by  year  done  on  practically  a  cash 
basis.  The  West  is  yearly  becoming  more  and  more  financially  and  com- 
mercially independent  of  the  East,  and,  therefore,  self-supporting.  A  panic 
or  depression  in  one  locality  is  not  as  likely  to  extend  to  others  as  a  few 
years  ago.  National  legislation  is  becoming  less  political  and  more  of  a 
business  character,  and  business  interests  and  requirements  are  more 
clearly  studied,  and  the  wishes  of  business  men  more  respected. 

S.    J.    PARKHILL  &  Co.,  Printers,  Boston. 


JUNK  29,  1889.] 


The    American    Architect   and  Building   News. 


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merican    Architect   and   Buildimj   News.         I  VOL.  XXV.  -  No.  705. 


O 


ADVERTISERS'    TRADE    SUPPLEMENT. 


No.  84. 


SATURDAY,  JUNE  i,  1889. 


VOI.DMI  XXV. 
No.   701. 


THE    "PERFECTION"   STEAM-RADI- 
ATOR. 

RECOGNIZING  the  demand,  which  is 
apparently  universal,  for  a  direct  Radiator 
for  Steam  and  Hot-water  Heating,  which 
shall  be  more  perfect  as  regards  construction 
and  design  than  anything  hitherto  manu- 
factured, we  desire  to  call  attention  to  the 
"  Perfection  "  Radiator. 

After  thoroughly  investigating  all  the  radia- 
tors now  in  the  market,  and  obtaining  reports 
from  experts  and  consum- 
ers in  all  sections  of  the 
country,  we  have  endeav- 
ored to  produce  an  ar- 
ticle that  is  superL  •  to 
all  its  predecessors,  both 
in  appearance  and  con- 
struction. 

Our  new  radiators  are 
manufactured  in  plain  or 
ornamental  style,  as  pre- 
ferred, and  we  have 
aimed  to  produce  a  de- 
sign upon  the  ornamen- 
tal loop  which  is  appro- 
priate and  in  perfect  ac- 
cordance with  the  most 
advanced  ideas  of  artistic 
decoration  of  iron  sur- 
faces, at  the  same  time 
avoiding  all  appearance 
of  clumsiness  and  harsh- 
ness of  outline. 

In  entirely  dispensing 
with  all  forms  of  remova- 
ble tops,  we  think  we 
have  made  a  long  stride 
in  the  line  of  improve- 
ment. A  removable  top 
seems  to  us  to  be  quite 
unnecessary,  and,  if  put 
upon  a  radiator  which 
has  no  projecting  base,  it  is  architecturally 
incorrect,  and  gives  the  radiator  a  top-heavy 
appearance.  It  is  very  liable  to  be  broken, 
and  obstructs  the  free  circulation  of  air 
through  the  radiator.  It  also  collects  dust 
and  dirt  and  causes  the  currents  of  warm  air 
to  impinge  against  the  walls,  producing  un- 
sightly discolorations.  It  makes  the  radiator 
appear  too  prominent  and  bulky  as  compared 
with  its  surroundings.  It  does  not  increase 
the  efficiency  of  the  radiator,  and  we  cannot 
see  wherein  it  is  of  any  possible  good  except 
to  hide  the  clumsy  joints  of  poorly  constructed 
radiators ;  hence  our  reason  for  discarding  this 
form. 


Our  design  for  the  upper  portion  of  the 
radiator  embraces  all  that  is  required.  It  has 
a  graceful  finish.  It  has  a  flat  top.  It  will 
not  break.  It  will  not  accumulate  dirt.  The 
decoration  of  the  upper  and  lower  portions  of 
the  radiator  are  in  perfect  harmony,  as  may 
be  observed  by  examining  the  cut. 

The  result  of  our  efforts  is  that  we  have 
produced  a  radiator  which  is  architecturally 
correct  and  in  perfect  taste  artistically. 

Our   improved    construction    secures   free, 


nipple  we  use  makes  a  permanent  joint,  and 
the  longer  it  is  in  place  the  tighter  it  becomes. 
The  loops  of  our  steam-radiators  are  connected 
at  the  bottom  only  with  the  same  style  of 
nipple  as  above  described  for  hot-water 
radiators. 

The  supply  and  return  openings  are  adapt- 
able to  any  of  the  different  systems  of  piping 
now  in  use.  We  have  erected  an  entirely 
new  plant  for  the  exclusive  manufacture  of 
radiators,  equipped  it  with  the  most  perfect 
special  machinery  obtain- 
able, and  have  at  present 
a  capacity  for  producing 
10,000  feet  of  radiation 
daily.  Any  letters  of 
inquiry  or  other  commu- 
nications with  which  we 
may  be  favored  will  re- 
ceive our  prompt  and 
careful  attention,  and  we 
shall  be  pleased  to  quote 
terms  for  large  or  small 
quantities. 

MICHIGAN    RADIATOR   & 
IRON     MANUFACTUR- 
ING   CO., 
DETROIT,  Mien. 


The  "  Perfection  "    Steam  Radiator. 

unobstructed  and  large  openings  for  the 
passage  of  steam  and  water.  The  loops  have 
the  full  areas  of  heating-surface  which  we 
claim  for  them,  and  our  castings  are  as  per- 
fect as  the  finest  irons  and  the  best  workmen 
can  make  them. 

The  loops  of  our  hot-water  radiators  are 
screwed  together  top  and  bottom  with  right 
and  left  nipples  made  of  steel,  and  by  this 
process  the  loops  are  drawn  tightly  together 
and  held  firmly  in  place,  the  face  of  each  loop 
at  point  of  contact  being  milled  perfectly 
smooth  and  true.  No  packed  joints  are  used, 
nor  joints  of  any  kind  which  require  bolts  or 
rods  to  hold  the  loops  together.  The  screwed 


A  POPULAR  WIN- 
DOW-BLIND. 
THE  Ilartman  Patent 
Sliding  Window -Blind, 
advertised  on  another 
page  of  this  issue,  is  rap- 
idly growing  into  public 
favor,  and  has  already 
gained  a  widespread  rep- 
utation such  as  no  other 
blind  of  the  kind  has  at- 
tained. 

One  of  the  important 
features  connected  with 
it  is  its  Burglar-Proof  Lock,  which  comes 
attached  with  each  set  of  blinds  free  of 
charge.  This  is  an  advantage  that  no  other 
blind  in  the  market  has ;  and  in  these  days 
of  house-burglary  and  robbing,  it  is  an  item  of 
no  small  consideration,  and  may  save  the 
owner  and  home  many  times  the  cost  of  the 
blind,  and,  perhaps,  life  also.  Reader,  if  you 
are  building,  you  cannot  afford  to  use  any 
other  blinds.  They  have  many  other  advan- 
tages over  all  other  blinds,  which,  for  want  of 
space,  we  cannot  enumerate.  The  highest 
recommendation  they  can  have  is  the  unpre- 
cedented and  constantly  increasing  demand 
for  them  by  architects,  builders  and  the 


TJie   American   Architect  and  Building  News.        [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  701. 


public,  so  that  each  yearly  output  forjthe  past 
few  years,  doubles  that  of  the  former  year, 
and  judging  from  present  prospects,  the 
fourth  year  since  their  invention,  will  double 
again  the  output  of  last  year. 

The  cut  represents  the  "Novelty  Style" 
of  the  blinds,  which  is  a  modification  which 
has  certain  conveniences  that  are  often  pre- 
ferred to  the  common  styles.  In  this  the 
blind-sections  are  made  in  the  usual  manner. 
But  the  inside  divisions  of  the  lower  section 
is  made  to  swing  on  hinges,  so  as  to  open  and 
shut  at  pleasure,  while,  at  the  same  time,  the 
section  slides  up  and  down  in  connection  with 
the  other  sections. 

Five  patents  have  already  been  issued, 
while  three  more  applications  for  important 
improvements  are  now  pending  in  the  United 
States  Patent  Office. 

The  manufacturers  are  receiving  hundreds 
of  voluntary  and  unsolicited  recommen- 
dations  from   parties  having  them   in 
use. 

Dr.  D.  H.  Howell,  M.  D.,  of  Atlanta, 
Ga.,  writes  to  a  friend  as  follows,  dated 
May  7,  1889  :  "Having  used  the  Hart- 
man  inside  sliding-blinds  in  my  new 
residence,  I  consider  them  the  best  blind 
of  the  kind  on  the  market." 

Such  expressions  of  commendation 
as  the  following  are  quite  frequent : 

"  I  thank  you  for  sending  me  the  best 
blind  I  ever  saw." 

"  We  continue  to  like  them." 
"  The   ladies    especially  are  pleased 
with  them." 

"  I  would  have  no  other  blinds." 
"  They   are    par    excellence.      I  be- 
speak   for   them   an   immense    trade," 
etc.,  etc. 

If  you  are  building,  rememl>er  it  has 
no  equal,  a  burglar-proof  lock  goes  with 
each  set  of  blinds  free  of  charge.  Send 
for  illustrated  catalogue  and  prices. 
Agents  wanted  everywhere.  States 
rights  for  sale.  Address 

HARTMAN  &  DURSTINE, 

WOOSTER,  O. 


the  delivery  promised  for  June  1.  Other 
large  tools  will  be  added.  The  new  shop  is 
rendered  necessary  by  the  company's  heavy 
run  of  orders  for  large  compound  engines. 

A    PROSPEROUS    MONTH. 

Although  the  month  of  May,  1889,  will  not 
go  down  into  history  as  an  unusually  pros- 
perous one,  from  a  business  standpoint,  the 
Westinghouse  Machine  Company  report  orders 
received  for  the  first  twenty-one  days  of  the 
month  as  follows :  Westinghouse  Automatic 
Compound  Engines,  17  (1,885  horse-power); 
Westinghouse  Standard  Automatic  Engines, 
19  (745  horse-power) ;  Junior  Automatic 
Engines,  30  (745  horse-power) ;  21  days' 
totals,  66  (3,375  horse-power). 

If  the  remaining  ten  days  of  the  month 
show  the  same  ratio,  this  will  prove  to  be  a 
very  prosperous  month  in  the  company's  his- 
tory. 


WESTINGHOUSE  MACHINE  CO. 

AMERICAN    MACHINERY   IN   SPAIN. 

THE  great  "  Tarzuela "  at  Madrid, 
Spain,  which  is  the  largest  theatre  in 
the  kingdom,  has  recently  introduced 
a  complete  installation  of  electric-light- 
ing, under  the  supervision  of  Mr.  L. 
Delannoy,  mechanical  engineer,  of  Bar-  ^^ 
celona;  a  12  and  20  x  12  Westing- 
house  Automatic  Compound  Engine, 
built  at  Pittsburgh,  being  used  as  the  motor. 

HAVANA      INTRODUCES      THE     MECHANICAL 
GLOW-WORM. 

The  Spanish-American  Light  and  Power 
Company  of  Havana,  Cuba,  have  completed 
their  new  plant,  which  is  now  in  very  success- 
ful operation.  The  power  consists  of  one  13 
and  22  x  13  (125  horse-power)  and  one  10 
and  18  x  10  (65  horse-power)  Westinghouse 
Automatic  Compound  Engines. 

INCREASING   ITS   CAPACITY. 

The  Westinghouse  Machine  Company  of 
Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  is  fitting  up  a  new  machine- 
shop,  for  large  work,  on  the  east  side  of 
Twenty-fifth  Street  and  Liberty  Avenue.  A 
very  large  new  planer,  by  William  Sellers  & 
Co.,  is  already  erected  and  in  operation,  and 
a  large  new  cylinder  boring-machine,  of  spe- 
cial design,  by  the  Pond  Machine  Tool  Com- 
pany, is  now  in  process  of  construction,  with 


does  one  man  succeed  in  business  and  another 
man  fail?  If  one  has  a  due  regard  for  his- 
tory, it  would  perhaps  be  nearer  the  truth  to 
ask  :  Why  do  three  men  succeed  in  business 
and  ninety-seven  fail  ?  In  so  far  as  the  manu- 
facturing business  is  concerned,  the  agents  of 
the  Westinghouse  Machine  Company  have 
recently  been  making  some  investigations  that 
at  least  afford  a  clew  to  the  answer.  In  order 
to  obtain  statistics  for  use  in  their  catalogues, 
this  company  sent  experts,  fully  equipped 
with  the  necessary  instruments,  to  visit  a 
number  of  the  most  prominent  manufacturing 
establishments  in  the  country,  where  permis- 
sion was  asked  to  test  the  consumption  of 
power  by  each  machine.  As  a  rule,  this  was 
readily  obtained  from  the  owners,  they  seem- 
ing much  interested  in  the  results.  It  is  only 
necessary  to  indicate  a  few  of  the  results  ob- 
tained to  make  clear  the  point  aimed  at. 
yj^  Nearly  all  were  wasting  one-half  (J)  of 
their  engine's  power  (or  one-half  of  the 
daily  consumption  of  fuel)  before  com- 
mencing actual  work,  the  product  from 
which  constituted  the  maintenance  of 
the  business.  One  prominent  establish- 
ment was  wasting  sixty-five  (65)  per 
cent  of  its  fuel  and  power  ;  another  was 
wasting  seventy-three  (73)  per  cent, 
thus  leaving  only  twenty-seven  (27)  per 
cent  of  the  engine's  power  to  earn 
money  with.  Another  celebrated  firm 
(known  all  over  the  West)  was  using 
a  60  horse-power  engine,  of  which  55 
horse-power  was  being  consumed  in 
dead  work,  thus  leaving  5  horse-power 
with  which  to  produce  goods  for  sale 
without  overtaxing  the  engine.  It  is 
an  "up-hill"  business  to  make  money 
in  manufacturing  under  such  circum- 
stances. Sensible  people  should  be 
more  economical.  What  is  the  use  of 
economizing  in  wages  and  in  the  cost 
of  raw  materials  when  such  reckless 
waste  as  above  indicated  is  permitted 
in  many  of  our  most  prominent  estab- 
lishments V  Few  people  in  this  coun- 
try seem  to  realize  the  amount  of 
money  that  can  be  wasted  in  a  year 
through  the  steam-pipe.  The  pro- 
verbial "  rat-hole  "  will  not  compare 
with  it.  The  manufacturer  who  has 
learned  to  economize  at  the  steam-pipe 
has  learned  one  of  the  most  important 
secrets  of  success. 

WESTINGHOUSE  MACHINE  CO., 

PITTSBURGH,  PA. 


,,.[iiil!!:iy 


The  Hartman  Patent  Sliding  Window-blind. 
ORDERS    FOR    COMPOUND   ENGINES. 

Among  the  orders  for  their  new  automatic 
compound  engines  received  by  the  Westing- 
house  Machine  Company  for  the  first  three 
weeks  in  May,  the  following  prominent 
buyers  may  be  mentioned :  Baldwin  Locomo- 
tive Works,  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  one  200  horse- 
power; Southern  Cotton  Oil  Company,  Mem- 
phis, Tenn.,  one  250  horse-power  and  one  200 
horse-power ;  Omaha  &  Council  Bluffs  Rail- 
way and  Bridge  Company,  Omaha,  Neb., 
three  200  horse-power;  L.  Delannoy,  Barce- 
lona, Spain  (for  Clariana,  Ciuro,  Pubeonat  & 
Co.),  one  35  horse-power ;  Electric  Improve- 
ment Company,  San  Francisco,  Cal.,  one  80 
horse-power  and  one  35  horse-power;  Penn- 
sylvania Institute  for  Feeble-Minded  Children, 
Elwyn,  Pa.,  one  50  horse-power  and  one  35 
horse-power. 

SUCCESS    IN   MANUFACTURING. 

The  question  has  often  been  asked :  Why 


DIXON'S   SILICA-GRAPHITE 


PAINT. 

A  PAINT  to  give  satisfaction  should  be  a 
protection  against  heat,  cold,  the  changes 
of  temperature,  the  wear  and  tear  of  storms, 
and  rust.  It  should  be  durable,  easily  laid  on, 
cover  well,  and  economical. 

Graphite  and  Silica  stand  equally  well  ex- 
treme cold  and  the  changes  of  temperature  • 
they  cannot  be  touched  by  rust,  and  both  are 
a  sure  protection  against  the  influence  of  a  salt 
atmosphere. 

Graphite  is  very  light.  One  pound  of 
Graphite  is  three  times  the  bulk  of  one  pound 
of  white  lead,  and  twice  the  bulk  of  mineral 
paints;  hence  in  use  we  guarantee  Dixon's 
Graphite  Paint  to  cover  fully  twice  the  surface 
of  white  lead  or  mineral  paints. 

The  natural  color  is  a  slate,  but  we  can 
furnish  it  in  all  shades  from  a  slate  to  a  jet 
black,  suitable  for  regular  surface  painting  or 
trimmings  for  houses,  out-buildings,  metal  or 
shingle  roofs,  bridges,  locomotive  work, 


JUKE  1,  1889.  — No.  84.] 


Advertisers'  Trade  Supplement. 


3 


agricultural  implements,  and,  in  short,  all 
exposed  wood  or  metal  surfaces  needing  a 
durable  and  economical  paint. 

Graphite  is  one  of  the  forms  of  carbon.  It 
is  healthful  in  itself  and,  as  it  is  unaffected  by 
contact  with  any  known  substance,  it  suffers 
no.  chemical  change  and  remains  always  the 
same.  All  the  ingredients  of  Dixon's  Graphite 
Paint  are  harmless.  Painters  will  suffer  no 
cramp  or  colic  in  using  it,  and  cistern-water 
gathered  from  roofs  -painted  with  this  paint 
will  be  perfectly  pure. 

A  tin  or  metal  roof  painted  two  good  coats, 
with  a  third  coat  put  on  the  following  year, 
will  not  need  repainting  for  fifteen  years 
unless  worn  by  walking  on  or  otherwise 
abused. 

There  appears  to  be  no  limit  to  the  time 
that  a  tin  roof  will  last  if  it  is  protected  from 
atmospheric  action  by  means  of  paint,  and  is 
not  worn  or  injured  by  walking  on  or  other 
causes.  Testimonials  we  have  received 
show  that  tin  roofs  painted  with  Dixon's 
Graphite  Paint  have  not  only  lasted  fifteen 
years  without  repainting,  but  required 
originally  only  from  one  to  two-thirds  as  much 
paint. 

Iron  has  a  tendency  to  oxidize  from  the 
moment  it  leaves  the  hammer  or  rolls,  and 
should  be  painted  to  protect  it  from  the  rust 
which  .attacks  the  metal  and  soon  destroys  it. 

Bituminous  paints,  as  well  as  those  contain- 
ing variable  quantities  of  lead,  were  formerly 
considered  the  best,  but  their  failure  has  been 
made  apparent  when  the  structures  to  which 
they  were  applied  have  been  of  sufficient  size 
to  be  subject  to  the  many  changes  of  the 
weather  as  well  as  constant  vibration. 
Dixon's  Graphite  Paint  has  been  found,  by 
careful  and  practical  tests,  to  be  peculiarly 
suited  for  iron  work. 

In  1884  the  Trenton  City  Bridge  Company 
painted  their  bridge  (1275  feet  long)  across 
the  Delaware  River  with  Dixon's  Graphite 
Paint,  and  inspection  now  (1888)  shows  that 
after  four  years'  wear  the  paint  is  as  good  as 
the  day  it  was  put  on. 

For  metal  roofs,  bridges,  locomotive  work, 
agricultural  implements,  and,  in  short,  all  ex- 
posed metal  surfaces  needing  a  durable  and 
economical  paint,  nothing  can  be  found  that 
will  begin  to  equal  Dixon's  Graphite  Paint. 

For  house-trimmings,  out-buildings,  shingle 
roofs,  boats,  wooden  bridges,  agricultural 
implements,  fences,  etc.,  Dixon's  Graphite 
Paint  is  the  best  that  can  be  used,  for  less 
paint  is  required,  and  it  is  almost  everlasting. 

It  is  prepared  thick,  ground  in  oil,  about 
the  consistency  of  a  stiff  paste,  in  10,  25,  50, 
and  100  pound  packages,  and  in  barrels  of 
about  450  pounds,  or  thinned,  ready  mixed 
for  the  brush,  in  5, 10,  and  25  gallon  packages, 
and  in  barrels  of  from  40  to  50  gallons. 
JOSEPH  DIXON  CRUCIBLE  COMPANY, 

JERSEY  CITY,  N.  7. 


are  made  with  special  reference  to  heating 
water  quickly  and  economically;  and  at  the 
same  time,  are  so  constructed  as  to  create  a 
quick,  positive  circulation,  which  is  an 
absolute  necessity  in  heating  by  hot-water 
circulation.  They  are  pronounced  by  the 
most  experienced  experts  in  the  country  as 
having  more  power,  size  for  size,  and  being 
far  in  advance  of  any  hot-water  heater  hither- 
to made. 

First,  they  present  two  and  one-half  times 
more  surface  to  the  direct  action  of  the  fire 
than  any  boiler  made,  size  for  size.  This 
surface  is  designated  and  parties  can  intellig- 
ently ascertain  the  amount  of  capacity  each 
boiler  has. 

Second,  the  construction  of  the  heater  is 
such  that  each  particle  of  the  water  is  com- 
pelled to  pass  around  and  over  the  fire  seven 
different  times  in  its  natural  course  through 
each  section  alternately,  one  after  another, 


discharges  the  heat  effectually,  and  universally 
give  the  best  of  satisfaction. 

Fourth,  the  enormous  fire-surface  which 
each  section  exposes  to  the  direct  action  of 
the  fire,  produces  great  heating  results. 
Eighty-five  per  cent  of  the  square  feet  of 
boiler  surface  is  direct  fire-surface,  and  fifteen 
per  cent  is  flue-surface,  which  gives  us  two 
and  one-half  times  more  fire-surface  than  any 
boiler  yet  constructed,  size  for  size. 

These  boilers  have  been  used,  giving  excel- 
lent satisfaction,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  testi- 
monials which  will  be  sent  at  request  and  we 
respectfully  call  attention  to  these  popular 
''  Perfect "  Heaters  of  all  who  are  desirous  of 
obtaining  a  powerful  Hot-Water  Boiler  for 
heating  purposes. 

By  sending  us  a  rough  sketch  of  the  first 
and  second  stories  of  a  house,  giving  size 
and  height  of  rooms  and  halls,  designating 
those  which  are  to  be  heated,  and  marking 
which  way  is  north,  we  can  intelligently 
advise  as  to  the  proper  size  required  to  heat 
the  house  in  cold  weather;  and  give  also  any 
other  information  relative  to  piping  radiators, 
etc. 

These  heaters  are  adapted  for  burning 
hard  or  soft  coal,  or  natural-gas.  Owing  to 
their  construction  any  of  the  above  fuels  can 
be  used  with  equal  success. 

RICHARDSON  &  BOYNTON  CO., 
232  &  1!34  WATER  STREET,  NEW  YORK,  N.  Y. 


A  LARGE  number  of  Catholic  schools  on 
Staten  Island,  N.  Y.,  have  been  plastered 
with  King's  Windsor  Cement,  and  we  are 
informed  more  will  soon  be  plastered  with  the 
same  material. 

The  office  of  J.  B.  King  &  Co.,  the  manu- 
facturers, is  at  24  State  Street,  New  York. 
The  plastering  department  is  in  charge  of 
Mr.  Lovell  H.  Carr. 


«  PERFECT  "  HOT-WATER  HEATERS. 
WE  show  herewith  an  illustration  of  the 
"  Perfect "  Hot-Water  Boilers.  These 
boilers  arc  becoming  very  popular  throughout 
the  country,  from  the  fact  that  they  have  the 
enormous  heating  capacity  which  experience 
has  found  to  be  absolutely  necessary.  They 


thus  becoming  hotter  and  hotter  before  reach- 
ing the  mains,  a  result  not  heretofore  accomp- 
lished ;  consequently  the  upper  sections  of 
our  boiler  are  the  hottest,  showing  by  actual 
fact  that  instead  of  the  lower  sections  doing 
all  the  work,  each  and  every  section  is  doing 
its  share,  and  the  water  is  raised  in  tempera- 
ture on  its  way  upward  to  the  mains.  No 
other  boiler  is  made  producing  this  same  im- 
portant result,  as  the  majority  of  boilers  are 
constructed  s>o  that  the  water  virtually  passes 
only  once  over  the  fire  and  then  into  the 
direct  water  columns,  thus  passing  off  to  the 
mains.  Whereas  in  the  "  Perfect  "  Boilers 
the  water  in  the  lower  section  has  to  pass  to 
the  next  section  above,  and  then  through  the 
third  section,  and  so  on  up  to  the  mains. 
The  result  is  great  power  with  an  economical 
use  of  fuel. 

Third,  with  the  "  Perfect "  Heaters  the 
formation  of  steam  and  the  stoppage  of  circu- 
lation is  an  utter  impossibility,  as  their  con- 
struction compels  the  water  to  flow  in  a 
natural  manner  through  each  of  the  water 
sections,  which  are  each  exposed  to  the  fire, 
giving  a  quick,  positive  circulation  which  is 
unprecedented,  and  compelling  the  water, 
when  leaving  the  boiler,  to  leave  it  hot.  The 
great  difficulty  heretofore  in  ordinary  Hot- 
Water  Boilers  has  been  their  slow,  sluggish 
circulation.  The  "  Perfect "  Boilers  work  to 
the  contrary.  The  circulation  is  rapid  and 


METAL  INTERESTS. 

THE  rapid  progress  made  in  artistic  metal 
goods  during  the  past  ten  years  can  only  be 
^n*' appreciated  by  a  visit  to  the  show-rooms  of 
the  large  manufacturers.  Specially  promi- 
nent can  be  mentioned  the  industry  of  gas 
and  electric  fixtures.  A  visit  to  the  spacious 
show-rooms  of  the  Archer  &  Pancoast  Manu- 
facturing  Company,  whose  principal  ware- 
rooms  are  at  900  Broadway,  New  York,  with 
™^£jji  branch  stores  at  270  and  272  Wabash  Avenue, 
Chicago,  and  12  West  Street,  Boston,  will  dis- 
close pretty  much  everything  that  inventive 
genius  and  mechanical  skill  have  been  able  to 
produce  in  the  way  of  artistic  illuminating  ap- 
paratus, while  the  assortment  of  fine  metal- 
work  is  unsurpassed  in  any  city  in  the  world. 
Here  an  observer  will  note  that  every  detail 
of  the  architect  and  interior  decorator  has 
been  followed,  so  that  harmony  may  reign 
supreme  when  the  house  is  finished. 

The  illuminating  fixtures  of  to-day  are  de- 
signed with  a  view  of  furnishing  interiors,  be 
they  for  gas,  electric-light  or  both  combined ; 
these  fixtures  are  made  of  bronze,  and  fin- 
ished in  many  different  colors  to  suit  each 
particular  case.  Cast-iron  is  wrought  into  many 
curious  shapes  for  illuminating  fixtures,  its 
most  expensive  treatment,  being  polished. 

The  magnitude  of  the  above-mentioned 
company  can  only  be  realized  by  a  tour 
through  their  factory  at  Thirty-third  Street 
and  First  Avenue,  New  York,  where  are 
employed  one  thousand  skilled  workmen, 
under  the  experienced  supervision  of  Mr. 
Chas.  H.  Fischer. 

ARCHER  &  PANCOAST  MFG.  CO., 
898-900  BROADWAY,  NEW  YORK,  N.  Y. 


THE  well-known  maker  of  pumping  ma- 
chinery, Henry  11.  Worthington,  has  just 
opened  a  branch  office  at  338  Sibley  Street, 
St.  Paul,  Minn.  This  is  an  addition  to  offices 
at  New  York,  Boston,  Philadelphia,  Chicago, 
St.  Louis  and  San  Francisco. 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.        [VOL.  XXV.— No.  701. 


NOTES. 

THE  Whittier  Machine  Company  have  re- 
cently constructed  for  Messrs.  F.  W.  Bird  & 
Son,  of  East  Walpole,  Mass.,  two  horizontal 
steel-boilers,  each  six  feet  in  diameter. 

MR.  JOHN  WILLIAMS,  who  is  one  of  the 
most  earnest  promoters  of  the  modern  revival 
of  artistic  wrought  metal-work,  has  removed 
his  establishment  to  544-556  West  Twenty- 
seventh  Street,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

MR.  GEORGE  WESTINGHOUSE  is  having 
his  summer  residence  at  Lenox,  Mass., 
plastered  with  King's  Windsor  Cement.  Mr. 
II.  Dodge  of  Pittsfield,  the  contractor,  reports 
that  he  never  saw  finer  plastering. 

ON  May  1,  1889,  the  firm  of  C.  A.  Blessing 
&  Co.,  of  New  York,  was  dissolved  by  mutual 
consent.  The  business  in  plumbing  goods  of 
the  above  firm  will  be  continued  by  George  A. 
Blessing  and  Henry  Stein,  Jr.,  at  52  Cliff 
St.,  under  the  name  George  A.  Blessing  &  Co. 

DR.  MEREDITH'S  new  church  in  Brooklyn, 
one  of  the  largest  churches  in  that  city,  is 
plastered  with  King's  Windsor  Cement,  and 
is  worthy  the  attention  of  architects  and 
builders. 


THE  N.  Y.  C.  &  H.  R.  R.  R.,  have  given 
King's  Windsor  Cement  for  plastering  walls 
and  ceilings,  a  severe  test,  with  the  result  of 
which  they  were  so  well  pleased,  that  John 
D.  Fouquet,  the  head  architect  has  given  J. 
B.  King  &  Co.,  a  very  strong  letter  recom- 
mending it  to  all  who  want  first-class  plaster- 
ing. 

THE  new  station  of  the  New  York  and 
Northern  11.  R.  at  Yonkers,  N.  Y.,  has  just 
been  plastered  with  King's  Windsor  Cement, 
and  is  worthy  of  the  attention  of  all  in  that 
vicinity  who  contemplate  building.  Mr. 
George  Kdward  Harding,  40  Exchange  Place, 
New  York,  Architect,  and  Mr.  Perry,  Con- 
tractor. 


WE  have  had  the  pleasure  of  viewing  an 
exhibition  of  Mr.  Wm.  Scott  Morton's  Tyne- 
castle  Modelled  Canvas,  in  a  private  room  of 
Messrs.  W.  &  J.  Sloane's  premises  in  New 
York,  and  are  glad  to  be  informed  that  the 
Tynecastle  Company  intends  in  the  fall  to 
open  an  office  in  that  city  where  a  permanent 
display  of  that  highly  artistic  material  will 
always  be  on  view  for  the  convenience  of 
architects  and  decorators. 


IT  may  interest  engineers  and  architects  to 
know  that  Twenty-four  Inch  Steel  Beams  are 
now  made  in  America. 

The  announcement  is  made  that  we  have 
successfully  rolled  this  size. 

We  inform  our  friends  and  customers  that 
we  have  a  stock  of  Twenty-four  Inch  Steel 
Beams  on  hand. 

The  lightest  section  weighs  80,  the  heaviest 
100  pounds  per  foot. 

Correspondence  solicited. 

CARNEGIE,  PHIPPS  &  CO.,  LIMITED. 


MESSRS  W.  D.  ALLEN  &  COMPANY,  Chi- 
cago, who  represent  the  New  York  Belting 
and  Packing  Company,  New  York,  in  that 
city,  have  just  issued  a  new  and  attractive 
catalogue,  containing  full  description  of  their 
large  line  of  vulcanized  rubber  goods.  The 
cover,  which  is  of  a  good  quality  of  paper,  is 
of  a  buff  tint,  and  printed  in  red  and  bronze ; 
a  view  of  the  Company's  warehouse  and  sales- 
rooms, 151  Lake  Street,  being  shown  on  the 
back.  It  is  a  pamphlet  of  forty  pages,  pro- 
fusely illustrated,  typographically  correct  in 
every  particular,  and  great  care  and  much 
labor  has  evidently  been  bestowed  in  its  pre- 
paration and  production.  Its  perusal  cannot 
fail  to  be  of  benefit  to  those  interested  in  the 
line  of  goods  which  Messrs.  W.  D.  Allen  & 
Company  handle. 


Southwark  Foundry  and  Machine  Company, 


BOILERS. 

TANKS. 

STEAM 
HAMMERS. 

HEAVY 
CASTINGS. 


BLOWING  AND 

REVERSING 

ENGINES. 

• 

CENTRIFUGAL 

PUMPS. 
STEAM  PUMPS. 


SOLE  MAKERS  OF 


X*ox*1:ezr-^Lllezi. 

HIGH    JBCOlfOlHY. 


CLOSE    REOVLATIOK. 


THE  BEST 

IS  THE 

CHEAPEST 

IN  THE 

END 


This  especially  applies  to  a  roof  and 
what  it  is  Covered  with. 


"OLNEY" 
TERNEPLATES 

Have   the   heaviest  coating  possible,  re- 
taining all  the  Metal  the  sheet  will  hold. 


FOB  SALE  ONLY  BY 


WM.   Q.   WALES, 

Dealer    in    Tinplates,    Sheet    Irons, 
Sheet  Zinc,  etc. 

26  OLIVER  STREET,       BOSTON,  MASS. 


TO  ARCHITECTS  AND  CONTRACTORS: 

We  desire  to  call  your  attention  to  the  Superior  quality  of  Plate  Glass  manufactured 
by  the 

PITTSBURGH  PLATE  GLASS  CO. 

The  Largest  Plates  of  Glass  in  buildings  in  the  cities  of  Chicago,  Cleveland,  Detroit,  St. 
Paul,  Syracuse,  Pittsburgh,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  and  many  New  York  buildings,  were  manufac- 
tured by  our  Company. 

The  only  fuel  used  throughout  both  our  works  is  Natural  Gas;  which,  owing  to  its  superior 
heating  power  and  cleanliness,  enables  us  to  produce  an  article  which  cannot  be  surpassed,  besides 
glass  melted  and  annealed  by  our  process  with  this  gas,  is  far  more  durable  and  not  so  liable  to  break. 

We  make  a  specialty  of  three-sixteenths  thickness  for  fine  residences,  also  extra  large  sizes,  wide 
and  long  plates  for  store  fronts,  beveled  and  obscured  plates,  skylight  and  floor  glass. 

With  a  capacity  of  2fiO,000  square  feet  monthly,  we  are  prepared  to  execute  all  orders  promptly , 
and  invite  correspondence. 

WORKS    No.   1,    CREIGHTON,   PA. 

WORKS    No.    2,    TARENTUM,    PA. 

Western  Union  Wire  and  Telephone  connection  in  General  Office  at  Creighton,  Pa. 

E.    L.    FORD,    Sec. 


Bardsley's  Patent  Wood  Door  Knobs, 


The  most  desirable  medium 
priced  KNOBS  in  the  market. 
Handsome  in  appearance,  beauti- 
fully and  durably  finished,  and 
pleasant  to  the  hand.  Every  Knob 
warranted  not  to  come  loose  or 
give  oat  In  any  way.  Besides  th« 
regular  woods  which  we  carry  in 
stock,  we  make  them  to  match 
special  trim  in  such  woods  as  Sy- 
camore, Hazel.  Birch,  Whitewood, 
Yellow  Pine,  etc, 

The  engraving  represents  No.  116 
Knob,  list  price,  )$4>.5O  per  dozen 
pairs.  We  also  have  Door  Stops 
and  Shatter  Knobs,  hand-turned 
and  polished  to  match  the  Door 
Knobs,  which  cost  but  little  more 
than  the  common  goods. 
Price  L'st  on  application. 


,   59  Elm  St,   New  York, 


The  Yale  &  Towne  MTg  Co  , 


(NEW  YORK,  BOSTON,  PHILADELPHIA 


,         DV0.ft.V4.^|        X   u.iJ- 

AND    CHICAGO. 


A.  G.  NEWMAN,  late  NEWMAN  &  CAPRON. 


MANUFACTURERS   OF 


Cino  Drnil7Q  UarrlufQro  Bailk-  Office  and  Stoop  Railings  in  Bronze  or  Brass.  Antique  Furniture- 
rlllC  DIUlluj  Hdl  Undid)  Trimmings.   Electrical  and  Mechanical  Bell-Hanging  Burglar- Alarms . 

Warerooms,  118O  BROADWAY.         Factory,  157-163  WEST  29th  STREET,  XEW  YORK,  N.  Y. 


JUNK  1,  1889.  — No.  84.] 


Advertisers'  Trade  Supplement. 


DYCKERHOFF 

PORTLAND  CEMENT 

Is  superior  to  any  other  Portland  Cement  made.     It  is  very  finely  ground,  always  uniform  and  reliable,  and 
of  such  extraordinary  strength  that  it  will  permit  the  addition  of  25  per  cent  more  sand,  etc.,  than  other  well- 
known  brands,  and  produce  the  most  durable  work.     It  is  therefore  the  most  economical  to  use.     8,000  barrels 
have  been  used  in  the  foundations  of  the  Statue  of  Liberty.     Architects  and  those  interested  in  Portland  Cement 
will  please  send  for  my  pamphlet,  which  will  be  mailed  free  on  application.     It  contains  valuable  directions  for 
the  employment  of  Portland  Cement,  a  table  of  results  of  the  strength  of  the  Dyckerhoff  Cement  when 
mixed  with  sand  and  broken  stone  in  various  proportions,  together  with  tests  and 
testimonials  of  eminent  Engineers,  Architects  and  Consumers. 

E.  THIELE,  78  William  St.,  New  York. 

SOLE    AGENT    FOR    THE    UNITED   STATES. 


INVALUABLE     TO     ARCHITECTS. 

Safe  Building. 

BY  LOUIS  De  COPPET  BERG. 

Series  I.    Square  8vo.     Illustrated  with  numer- 
ous formulae,  diagrams  and  tables.      .     $5.00 

"The  author  proposes  to  furnish  to  any  earnest 
student  the  opportunity  to  acquire,  so  far  as  books 
will  teach,  the  knowledge  necessary  to  erect  safely 
any  building.  First  conies  an  introductory  chapter  on 
the  Strength  of  Materials.  This  chapter  gives  the 
value  of,  and  explains  briefly,  the  different  terms 
used,  such  as  stress,  strain,  factor-of-safety,  centre  of 
gravity,  neutral  axis,  moment  of  inertia,  etc.  There 
follows  a  series  of  chapters,  each  dealing  with  some 
part  of  a  building,  giving  practical  advice  and  numer- 
ous calculations  of  strength  ;  for  instance,  chapters 
on  foundations,  walls  and  piers,  columns,  beams,  roof 
and  other  trusses,  spires,  masonry,  girders,  inverted 
and  floor-arches,  sidewalks,  stairs,  chimneys,  etc." 

These  papers  are  the  work  of  a  practising  architect, 
and  not  of  a  mere  bookmaker  or  theorist,  Mr.  Berg, 
aiming  to  make  his  work  of  the  greatest  value  to  the 
largest  number,  has  confined  himself  in  his  mathe- 
matical demonstrations  to  the  use  of  arithmetic, 
algebra,  and  plane  geometry.  In  short  these  papers 
are  in  the  highest  sense  practical  and  valuable. 

TICKNOR    AND    COMPANY,    Boston. 


HAZAZER  &  STANLEY, 

32  &  34  Frankfort  Street, 
NEW  YORK. 


GOMPAGNIE  GENERALE  DES 
ASPHALTES  DE  FRANCE,  /_, 

Sole  Proprietors  of  the  Mines  of  Seyssel. 

E.H.WOOTTON,  35  Broadway,  N.Y. 

General  Agent  for  the  United 

States  and  Canada,  and  Importer 

of  Bitumen  Damp-Coarse. 


FENcNG'CRESTING^RASS 

&WIRE  COUNTER  RAILINGS 


VOIRE-CUOTH-S 

-  GOODS 


STAR  ENCAUSTIC  TILE  COMPANY, 

Manufacturers  of  Superior  Gas-Burned  Plain  and  Encaustic  FLOORING   TILE,  for  Hearths  and 

Floors  In  Banks,  Hotels,  Depots,  etc.     Natural  Gas  the  only  Fuel  Used. 


Prescott's  Door- Hanger, 

BRACK   WANmr,R_  ^^ 


BRACK  HANGER. 


TRUSS  HANGERS 

For  Barns,  Warehouses,  Freight  Stations,  etc. 

BRACE  HANGERS,  concealed  from  view,  for  PARLOR  DOORS. 

No  Kolls  or  Track.      Hangers  for  .Elevator 
Doorg  a  Specialty.      Send  for  Circular. 

PRESCOTT  HARDWARE  MANUFACTURING  GO. 

I O8  -  I  I O  Randolph  St.,  Chicago,  III. 


TKUSS     IIAXGEK. 


No    Weights,  Pockets   or 
Soxes  required. 


CHEAPEST 

Means  for  Hanging  Window  Sash. 

The  ROCHESTER  SASH  BALANCE 

Works  better  than    Weights. 

Heft  of  the  Sash  automatically  Regulates  the  lifting  power 

of  the  Balance. 
Sample  sent  free  to  all  Architects  on  application. 

ROCHESTER  SASH  BALANCE  CO. 

Cor.  Frank  and  Centre  Streets,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 


Detroit  Heating  &  Lighting  Go's 

HOT  WATER  HEATER 

(BOLTON'S  PATENT) 

For  Heating  Public  and  Private  Buildings  by  Hot 
"Water  Circulation. 

THE  COMBINATION 

GAS  MACHINE 

For  Lighting  all  kinds  of  Buildings  and  for  Furnisn- 
ing  Fuel  Qas  for  Manufacturing  Purposes. 

IDEAL  GAS  STOVES. 

WEBER  STRAIGHT  WAY  VALVES. 

DETROIT  HEATING &IMTIM CO. 

Factory  and  Home  Office,  Detroit,  Mich.          Branch  Office,  87  Dearborn  St.,  Chicago. 


The   American   Architect  and  Building  News.        [VOL.  XXV.  — No.  701. 


THE  MARR  CONSTRUCTION  COMPANY 

omc  representative  electric  Hgbt  plants  erecteo 
bv.  Gbe  flDarr  Construction  Company  sbowino 
an  important  variety  of  conditions  ano 
ties  successfully  overcome: 


HOOSAC 
TUNNEL. 

CHICAGO, 
ILL. 

UNITED  STATES 
SENATE. 


The  lighting  of  this  the  longest  tunnel  in  the  country  (4!  miles)  has  for 
years  been  regarded  as  an  impossibility.  It  has  now  (March,  1889)  been  success- 
fully completed  and  contains  1,250  16  candle  incandescent  lamps. 

A  central  station  with  an  ultimate  capacity  of  40,000  lamps.  All  the  wires 
being  underground.  A  marvel  of  compactness,  both  in  steam  and  electrical 
completeness.  The  light  has  not  been  stopped  an  hour  since  the  dynamos 
were  started. 

An  isolated  plant  of  1,300  16  candle  power  lamps  operated  on  the  alternating 
system.  It  is  remarkable  on  account  of  the  completeness  of  the  inside  (con- 
cealed) wiring,  the  admirable  distribution  of  light,  and  the  economy  of  its 
operation. 


JU1Z  DE  FORA,         This  plant  is  operated  by  water-power,  the  "feeder"  lines  being  of  great 
RlfA/ll     <;     J        length.      The  station  is  4   miles  distant  from  centre  of  distribution  of  lights, 
and  shows  what  can  be  accomplished  by  even  a  distant  water-power. 

NE\V  ORLEANS  The  Peculiar'tv  °f  this  central  station  system  is  its  immense  pole  line,  com- 

,  A  prehending  more  weight  of  copper  than  any  other  built  up  to  the  time  of  its 

L/i. 

erection. 

WEYEKS  CAVE,         The  lighting  of  this  great  cave  was  attended   by  many  difficulties.      The 
i/-  A  arrangements  of  lights  were  made  entirely  by  this  company,  and  include  many 

incandescent  lamps  of  25,  50,  75,  and  150  candle  power. 


HAVANA, 
CUBA. 

SKOWHEGAN, 
ME. 


The  first  system  ever  built  in  Cuba  by  an  American  company.  It  consists  of 
both  arc  and  incandescent  lights  and  is  now  running  successfully. 

The  electricity  is  generated  by  water-power  six  miles  from  the  centre  of 
lighting.  When  the  power  was  first  turned  on  it  was  found  to  light  success- 
fully. It  is  operated  on  2,000  volts! 


Many  other  plants  of  larger  or  smaller   size  might  be  mentioned.      Our  work  can  be  seen  in 
all  parts  of  the  country.     We  are  erecting  plants  of  from  50  to  40,000  lamps  capacity. 


General  Office, 
PITTSBURGH 


INTERESTED  PARTIES  ARE  CORDIALLY  INVITED      New  York  Office, 
TO  SEND  FOR  ESTIMATES.  IVIBKOADWAT.N.T. 


THE  MARR  CONSTRUCTION  COMPANY, 


F.  S.  MARR,  President 


H.  M.  DOUBLEDAY,  Vice-President  and  Gen'l  Manager. 
THOMAS  SPENCER,  Chief  Electrician. 


JUNE  1,  1889.  — No.  84.] 


Advertisers'  Trade  Supplement. 


FRINK'S 


Are  used  with  oil,  gas.  electric  or 
day  light.  Strongly  endorsed  by  the 
leading  Architects,  and  are  in  use  in 
most  of  the  prominent  Churches, 
Theatres,  Art  Galleries  and  Public 
Buildings  In  this  country. 

Among  the  prominent  buildings  lighted  by 
Mr.  Frlnk  within  the  past  few  months  are  the 
following :  — 

ART   GALLERIES. 

Mrs.  R.  L.  Stuart,  871  5th  Aye.,  New  York. 

Eden  Musee  Co.,  55  West  23d  St.,  New  York. 

L.  A.  Lanthier,  22  E.  16th  St.,  New  York. 

Fif-.h  Avenue  Art  Galleries,  866  5th  Ave.,  New  York. 

Century  Club,  109  E.  15th  St.,  New  York. 

Fifth  Ave.  Auction  Rooms,  240  Fifth  Ave.,  New  York. 

Boussod,  Valadon  &  Co.,  303  Fifth  Ave.,  New  York. 

G.  W.  Lininger,  Omaha,  Neb. 

David  C.  Lyall,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

THEATRES. 

Miner's  Newark  Theatre,  Newark,  N.  J. 
Commonwealth  Hall,  Orange,  N.  <J. 
Titusville  Opera  House,  Titusvllle,  Pa. 
Academy  of  Music,  Petersburg,  Va. 
Opera  House,  Helena,  Ark. 
Perking  Opera  House.  Springfield,  Mo. 
Opera  House,  Wilkes-Barre,  Penn. 
Opera  House,  Anniston,  Ala. 
Opera  House,  Carbondale,  Penn. 
Opera  House,  Paris,  Mo. 
Opera  House,  Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

CHURCHES. 

First  Baptist,  Minneapolis,  Minn. 
First  Presbyterian,  Westfleld,  N.  J. 
Holy  Trinity,  Hoboken,  N.  J. 
Central  Congregational,  New  York. 
West  Harlem,  M.  E.,  New  York. 
Christ  Episcopal,  Jordan,  N.  Y. 
First  Congregational,  Williamstown,  Mass. 
First  Baptist,  Franklin,  hid. 
Euclid  Ave.  Congregational,  Cleveland,  O. 
Second  Congregational,  New  London,  Conn. 
Twenty-Second  St.  Baptist,  Louisville,  Ky. 
Methodist  Episcopal,  Chatham,  N.  Y. 
Universalist,  Titusville,  Pa. 
Presbyterian,  Greenwich,  Conn. 
St.  Stephen's,  Worcester,  Mass. 
Trumbull  Ave.  Presbyterian, Detroit,  Mich. 
Methodist  Episcopal,  Hemington,  N.  -I. 
Jane  St.  M.  E.,  New  York. 
First  Unitarian,  I>eerfl"ld,  Mass. 
St.  Kose,  Lima,  N.  Y. 
St.  John's  M.  K.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Methodist  Episcopal,  San  Kernardino,  Cal. 
First  Baptist,  Columbus,  Miss. 
Methodist  Episcopal,  Ontario,  Cal. 
Church  of  the  Ascension,  Hamilton,  Ont. 
Madison  Ave.  Reformed.  New  York. 
Centenary  M.  E.,  Newark.  N.  J. 
Greenwood  Baptist,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Seventh  Day  Baptist,  Plainfield,  N.  J. 
Zion,  Greene,  N.  Y. 

West  Side  Ave.  Presbyterian,  Jersey  City,  N.  J. 
English  Lutheran,  Hazletou,  Pa. 
Brick  Church,  Presbyterian,  Orange,  N.  J. 
Methodist  Episcopal,  Austin,  Minn. 
First  Baptist,  Johnstown,  P». 
Presbyterian  Church,  Horsebeads,  N.  Y. 
Methodist  Episcopal.  Hackettstown,  N.  J. 
Trinity  Church,  Portland,  Cenn. 
Dwight  Place  Church,  New  Haven,  Conn. 
First  Presbyterian,  Galveston,  Tex. 
Classon  Ave.  Presbyterian,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Tomktns  Ave.  Congregational,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Baptist,  Beverly,  Mas«. 

Agbury  Memorial  M.  E.  Church,  Providence,  R.  I. 
St.  Bernard's,  Raritan,  N.  J. 
Cumberland  Presbyterian,  Murfreesboro,  Tenn. 
First  Presbyterian,  Englewood,  N.  J. 
Pilgrim  Congregational,  Duluth,  Minn. 
First  Congregational  Church,  St.  Albans,  N.  Y. 
Garland  St.  M.  E.  Church,  Flint,  Mich. 
Summer  Ave.  M.  E.  Church,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Tabernacle  Baptist,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Baptist  Church,  Bristol,  Conn. 
Lutheran  Church,  Wooster,  O. 
Centenary  M.  E.  Church,  Jacksonville,  111. 
Eliot  St.  Congregational,  Newton,  Mass. 
St.  George's  Church,  Astoria,  N.  Y. 
St.  Luke's,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
First  Methodist  Kplscopal,  Portland,  Oregon. 
Centenary  M.  E.  Church,  Norfolk,  Va. 
Grace  M.  E.  Church,  Red  Hank,  N.  J. 
East  Reformed,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Uustavus  Adolpaus  Lutheran,  New  York. 
Third  German  Baptist,  New  York. 

Correspondence  invited.  Estimates  with  spe- 
cial desiyns  furnished  when  requested. 

I.    P.    FRINK, 

551  Pearl  Street,    -    NEW  YORK. 


A.  C.  BARTLETT,  A.S.HOPKINS, 

President.  Vice-Pres.  and  Gen.  Mgr. 

J.  G.  SANBORN,  Sec'y  and  Treas. 

THE  HENRY  DIBBLEE  CO,, 

Fireplace  Furnishings, 
MANTELS, 

GRATES  and  TILES 

Fine    Brass    and    Onyx 
Goods, 

266  &  268   Wabash  Ave., 
o: 


C^VGrO. 

We  Invite  inspection  and  correspondence. 
We  claim  to  have  the  best  designs  and  the 
most  complete  stock  to  select  from  in  the 
United  States.  We  make  a  specialty  of  line 
ordered  « ork  from  designs,  which  are  kept 
exclusive,  in 

MANTELS,  SIDEBOARDS, 
DINING-ROOM  SETS, 

HALL  SEATS,  ETC.,  ETC. 

Send  six  cents  in  stamps  for  our  Illustrated 
Fireplaces." 

When  you  write,  mentivn  this  paper. 


Antique  Hinge  Plates 


ON  HAND  AND  MADE  TO  ORDER  FROM  ARCHITECTS'  DRAWINGS. 

J.  B.  SHANNON  &  SONS, 


lOSO    TVT.ni-lt.ot    Sti-oot, 


WRITE    FOR   ILLUSTRATED    CATALOGUE. 


BURDITT  &  WILLIAMS, 

ESTABLISHED     1860. 
Manufacturers    and    Uealers    in 

FINE    HARDWARE 

• FOB 

Dwelling-Houses,  Churches, 

Stores  and  Public  Buildings. 

Every  Excellence  of  Mechanism.        Latest  and  most  approved  Styles  and  Finish. 

Special  New  Designs  of  Knobs  in  Cut-Glass.     Patterns  made  to  order  from  Architect's 
Desig:  s.     Estimates  made.    Contracts  filled  in  all  Markets. 


20  DOCK  SQUARE,  BOSTON.  ••*»•"  •»'»«•• 

Our  Hardware  may  be  found  in  important  buildings  in  tbe  leading  cities  of  tbe  Country. 


Electric  Time  System 


THE  ONLY  RELIABLE  SYSTEM  IN  USE. 


All  public  buildings  and  Schools 
should  be  supplied  with  Electric 
Time  Dials.  This  system  is  now  in 
use  by  the  New  York,  New  Haven 
&  Hartford  Railroad  Co.  and  many 
others. 


SEND    FOR    CATALOGUE. 


Single   Cirruit  Switch  to  be 
attached  to  Tower  Clocks. 


The  Stand,  Elec,  Time  Go, 

NEW  HAVEN,  CONN. 


TIMB 


in  .11.. 


TJie   American   Architect  and  Building  News.       [VOL.  XXV.  —  No.  701. 


DIXON'S 


Graphite  Paint 

Will  cover  twice  the  surface  of  I 
White  lead.    Two  coats  -will  [ 
last  oil  a  tin  or  metal  roof  ten 
years,   and   on   a  boiler   front. 
three  years. 

SEND  FOR  CIRCULAR  AND 
TESTIMONIALS. 

Jos.  Dixon  Crucible  Co. 

JERSEY  CITY,  H.J. 


Union  Spring  Hinges 

ARE 

SIMPLE,   KASIL.Y    SET 

CANNOT  BK  PUT  OK  WBOHO. 

They  work  either  way,  right  « 
left.  All  sizes.  Single  or  dou- 
•      ble  acting. 

For  Win  Screens  *r  Light  Boon 

they  have  no  equal. 
Bend  for  Price  List. 
M.  W.  ROBINSON.  Sole  Agent, 
79  Chambers  Sk.  New  York 


Troy  Laundry  Machinery  Co., 

LIMITED.       TKOY,   N.  T. 
SiUi-Mrooraa :  New  York  and  Chicago 


The  moat  complete  line  of  machinery  (or  hotel!  an 
Public  Initttitloni.    Complete  lanndrle>  for  Instltt 

Uoni  onr  gpeolalty. 
Eatimatei  furnished.    Send  for  Illustrated  Catalogne 


Something  New  for  the  Stable. 

Read's  Patent  Harness  Bracket. 


J.n  Article  long  tountcu  bul  never  before  made. 

Holds  the  whole  harness,  takes  no  more  room  than 
the  ordinary  hook  or  peg,  can  be  used  for  both  single 
and  double  harness.  Gives  the  harness-case  a  neat 
appearance,  as  it  carries  the  harness  up  uniformly  in 
width  with  the  saddle,  beside  keeping  the  bridle  and 
breastplate  in  their  proper  shape.  They  are  neatly  ja- 
panned, with  gilt  facings.  Price  Wl  8  per  dozen.  Are 
now  in  use  in  over  100  first-class  private  stables  in  and 
about  Boston. 

Each  bracket  lettered  "J.  J.  Read,  Boston, 
Mass."  For  sale  by  dealers  everywhere. 

Indorsed  and  approved  by  the  following  named  gen- 
tlemen, all  of  whom  have  them  In  use  : 

Boston:  K.  H.  White,  J.  Montgomery  Sears,  J.  T. 
Morse,  Jr.,  Thos.  Motley.  South  Boston  :  Benjamin 
Dean.  Cambridge :  F.  A.  Kennedy,  John  Bartlett, 
Chas.H.Gass.  Portsmouth,  N.  H. :  Hon.  Frank  Jones. 
Milton:  Col.  H.  S.  Russell,  J.Malcolm  Forbes.  Dedham : 
A.  W.  Nickerson.  Baltimore,  Md  :  J.  D.  Mallory. 
Newton  :  J.  C.  Potter,  C.  E.  Billings,  A.  R.  Mitchell. 
Waltham  :  J.  H.  Ellison.  Readvllle  :  C.  G.  White. 
Beverly  :  Dr.  Chas.  Haddock.  Swampsott ;  C.  P.  Cur- 
tis. Boston,  Mass. :  Waldo  Adams,  with  the  Adams 
Express  Co.  Philadelphia,  Pa. :  Edward  N.  Williams, 
of  the  Baldwin  Locomotive  Works. 

The  public  are  cautioned  against  all  similar  brack- 
ets, not  marked  with  my  stamp,  as  such  bracket*  are 
infringements  of  patents  held  by  me. 

Also  cedar-top   riding-saddle  bracket.    Price  93.60 
each.    And  whip-rack  for  English  coach  and  straight 
whip  combined.    Price  50  cents  each. 
JAMES  J.  READ.  13  Tremont  Row,  Room  1O. 


CSTERBROOK'S 

•*  _^**m~m**__ 


STEEL 
PENS 


FOR  SALE  BY  ALL  STATIONERS. 
THE    ESTERBROOK    STEEL    PEN  CO. 

20  John  Street.  New  York.  N.  T. 


I 


The  Smith  Hot  Blast  Apparatus, 

For  Heating  and  Ventilating1. 

No  other  apparatus  has  as  large  and  light  running  a  fan 

wheel  by  half. 
No  other  apparatus  can  drive  half  as  largo  a  volume  of  air 

over  the  steam-healing  pipes  with  anywhere  near  as 

little  power. 
No  other  apparatus  handles  cold  air  in  the  fan  and  pushes 

it  hot,  direct  from  heater  into  buildings  to  be  heated. 
For  further  information  address, 

HUYETT  &  SMITH  MF6.  CO.,  Detroit,  Mich. 


Hartman's  Patent  Inside  Sliding  Blind, 

A  great  improvement  over  all  other  blinds,  slide  np  and  down  in  the 
window  like  sash,  move  easily,  and  stay  where  placed.  IN  o  hinges,  hence  no 
swinging,  sagging  and  tangling  with  eunains  and  window  drapery.  Must  be 
seen  to  be  appreciated.  Kxcel  any  other  sliding  blind  in  the  market  for 
economy,  durability,  style,  beauty,  convenience,  etc.  Also  the  most  perfect 
arrangement  for  Fly  Screens,  consisting  of  an  additional  section  which 
slides  same  as  the  blinds;  very  much  admired  by  all. 

They  are  also  made  to  slide  entirely  down  to  the  floor,  Into  pocket,  ont 
of  sight,  without  any  additional  expense.  26  per  cent,  cheaper  than  the 
hinged  blind,  and  will  last  double  the  length  of  time. 

Ifo  more  an  experiment;  tent  of  thousands  now  in  use.  Architects  are 
specifying  them.  They  always  give  satisfaction. 

The  only  blind  that  is  furnished  with  an  Automatic.  Burglar-Proof  Lock, 
free  of  charge. 

Agents  wanted  everywhere.  Send  for  illustrated  catalogue  and  prices  to 

HARTMAN  &  DURSTINE, 

No.  72  Larwill  Street,  Wooster,  Ohio. 


WITHROW    &    HILLOCK,    (Toronto,  Ont.), 

M'f  rs  for  the  Dominion  of  Canada. 


Wigger's  Patent  Sash  Lifters. 


Af  SIMPLE    CONTRIVANCE    DESIGNED   TO  FAOII.I 
TATE  THE  RAISING  AND  LOWERING  OF 

ONE -LIGHT     SASHES. 


A  strip  of  concave-convex  metal,  with  projecting  knobs, 
fitting  over  the  bead  on  the  stile. 

Readily  applied  to  either  new  or  old  work.  Furnished 
in  different  styles  —  brass,  nickel-plated,  white,  japanned, 
etc. —  to  correspond  with  painting  or  other  metal  trim- 
mings. 

Architects,  Builders,  Carpenters  and  Painters  will  be 
furnished  with  Circulars  by  the  Hardware  trade. 


BRAINERD    &    CO., 

Manufacturers'  Agents, 
97    CHAMBERS    STREET,        NEW    YORK 


'ATLANTIC' 

PURE 

WHITE  LEAD, 

—  AND  — 

Pure  Linseed-Oil, 

Raw  Refined  and  Boiled. 


MANUFACTURERS  OP 


ATLANTIC  WHITE-LEAD  &  LINSEED-OIL  CO., 

The  best  and   most    reliable 
White-Lead  made, 

And  unequaled  for 

Uniform 

Whiteness, 
Fineness, 

and  Body. 

ADDRESS, 

Atlantic  W.  Lead  &  Lin.  Oil  Co. 

887  Pearl  St.,  NEW   TORK. 


ESTABLISHED    1818. 


MARSHALL    BROTHERS, 

Iron  City  Elevator  Works 

69  TO  75  DIAMOND  ST.,  PITTSBURGH,  PA, 

The  Marshall  Positive  Safety  Passenger  and  Freight 


Hydraulic,  Steam,  Electric  and  Hand-Power. 

SPIRAL  STAIRWAY  FIEE  ESCAPES,  WITH  and  WITHOUT  STAND-PIPE, 
For  Asylums,  Hotels,  Schools  and  Public  Buildings. 

SEND  FOR  CIRCULAR. 


NA     American  architect  and 
1      architecture 

A322 
v.25 


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