EEPOET OP NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1915. 121 



Elizabeth Copeland. There are also some interesting examples of 

 bookbinding, leather work, by Miss Eleanor Sweringen, Miss Marion 

 Lane and Miss Elsie Ingle ; baskets by Mrs. Helen Tanquary Smith ; 

 and lamps and other objects by various contributors. 



Beginning now with the rooms opening from the foyer, the first 

 of these on the east side, which measures about 36 by 30 feet and 

 contains two large windows and two doors, has been given over to 

 a most charming and instructive exhibit. No single class of objects 

 is specifically on display, but selections from the various kinds 

 deemed necessary to obtain harmony and elegance, to secure com- 

 fort and pleasurable effect, have been combined and arranged in a 

 manner to demonstrate the j)ossibilities of American manufacture 

 toward satisfying the most fastidious tastes in the furnishing and . 

 equipment of a family living room. It is the most gratifying form 

 of exhibition in showing, in the lesson designed to be taught, the 

 actual utilization of American art products, with the added sugges- 

 tion of a manner of applying them. The scheme, originating with 

 the editors of "Good Furniture," was carried out in detail and 

 elaborated by Mr. William Laurel Harris, an associate editor of 

 that magazine and a well-known mural painter. The result has 

 proved an unqualified success, due to the friendly cooperation of 35 

 different artists, craftsmen, business houses and manufacturers. All 

 of the furniture came from Grand Rapids makers, the drapery silks 

 were woven at the mills of the Cheney Brothers, and the rugs were 

 made by an American Persian rug manufactory. There are pictures 

 on the walls and examples of sculpture, favrile glass and pottery, 

 besides some stenciled and embroidery work. 



Drawing upon a descriptive account of the room, published else- 

 where, it may be said that the general tone is of a golden brown, 

 rich in color, on a cool gray plaster wall. The dominant effect is 

 obtained largely by the use of silks with woven tapestries and panels 

 of richly tooled leather, painted and gilded. On these deep warm 

 tones the objects of art in bronze, pottery and favrile glass take on 

 an added lustre and develop a singular charm. An unusual feature 

 which adds much to one's pleasure at night are the shades for the 

 electric fixtures, made of parchment and heavy leather cut in pat- 

 terns and decorated with gold and color. This same note of sump- 

 tuousness and magnificence is repeated on the four sides of the room. 

 The gold of the leather enhances the golden tones of the silk cur- 

 tains, which, with their rich brocade of a Jacobean character, are 

 not only very handsome in themselves but represent one of the most 

 characteristic industries of an artistic nature that America has pro- 

 duced. The woven tapestries on the walls are charming in their 

 quiet texture and lend themselves to the general scheme of deco- 

 ration. They are deserving of the highest commendation. The 



