MAY 10, 1900. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



723 



Wire Designs. 



For the purpose o£ finding out wliat 

 was the latest in floral wire .lesigns, 

 we recently visited the extensive 

 manufacturing establishment of Reed 

 .^ Keller, whose address may be found 

 on the opposite page. 'Ibis is a mosc 

 remarkal)le place. A vast collection 

 of wire designs is to lie found there, 

 many of them belonging to and speak- 

 ing volumes of the past — the very 

 long ago of floriculture, and others 

 as up-to-date as any other element in 

 our business. 



Much — in fact, most — of the very 

 best and newest in American floral 

 design work is never illustrated be- 

 cause it is usually done in a great 

 hurry and we have very few retail 

 florists who are also photographers. 

 This is also the case in wire work. 

 Scarcely a day passes but what yiui, 

 I. or the other fellow visiting Reed Ac 

 Keller's gets something specially 

 made to suit the exigencies of :hat 

 particular work; we bind the flrm to 

 secrecy, and the thing, in many cases 

 valuable and new, is lost to the trade. 



Perhaps you know that the wire- 

 workers of to-day have heaps of 

 trouble of their own. Most every 

 gravedigger looks forward to the few 

 cents or dollars he can dishonestly 

 get by the sale of frames left on the 

 graves — indeed, of late there has been 

 Quite a large business done in this 

 way. The wire work in every large 

 cemetery is collected, many times 

 liefore the flowers of sorrow are faded, 

 sold to speculators, repainted and re- 

 sold to florists in the city at whole- 

 sale prices, and it may be truly said 

 that some frames thus go backward 

 and forward for years. We know that 

 to be "up-to-date" means cheap, 

 shoddy and glarish. rhat business— 

 we mean of course the flower part, 

 the mainspring of which is sentiment 

 — is often devoid of principle, and is 

 used as a cloak for all that is small 

 or shallow in human nature. 



By the purchasing of this kind of 

 material we encourage crime of a 

 ghoulish variety, and don't doubt it 

 that if the general public or your own 

 customers become convinced of it the 

 trade will suffer; no one cares to put 

 a frame so purchased on the bier of 



a friend— no, not even yourself — and 

 we'd like to see the miserable trafiic 

 stopped. We promise to attend to it 

 in this city. We mention this matter 

 here because we have been looking at 

 several grades of stock. Kvery good 

 "maker-up" knows the value of 

 strong, well made wire frames; they 

 are the foundation to bis work. Well, 

 of late years the market has been 

 flooded with cheap, poorly made 

 frames. The manufacturers tell us it 



Log Casket Cross. 



is necessary in order to compete 

 against the cemetery ghouls. 



But let us return to the principal 

 ob.iect of this article. Whilst most 

 florists are content to have their wires 

 painted green, the tendency, at least 

 for show or sample work, seems to 

 go toward gilded work. They look 

 better and richer if your kind of trade 



necessitates your keeping frames 

 hung prominently in your store, or 

 your customers always "want to see 

 the size." 



There is nothing specially new in 

 wire work, but there are many very 

 useful designs which deserve to l)e bet- 

 ter known. Every florist is suppo.sod 

 to be acquainted with the badges and 

 insignia of every important .-.oiiety, 

 for many of them will have nothing 

 l)ut a facsimile of sucii sent as tokens 

 to funerals of members; therefore, if 

 you have not already done so. get a 

 collection of national and interna- 

 tional flags and society emblems; you 

 may not need them to-day, l)ut you 

 tnight to-morrow. The designs men- 

 tioned and sketched here have mostly 

 lieen originated by Reed & Keller. 



The casket log cross makes a most 

 beautiful design. It can be mad&any 

 size, the most popular being 42 inches 

 long with 18-inch cross beam. The 

 frame is round and otands on feet 

 which raises it just sutficiently to 

 clear the casket when finished. It is 

 necessary to make this design solid. 

 This can best be done by the use of 

 violets, carnations, lily of the valley. 

 Iiansies, or any small flower. One 

 flower or color is best; a cluster can 

 be arranged at the cross beam. Em- 

 blematic designs must of necessity be 

 made somewhat stiff to conform to 

 outlines, and many times the finest 

 effect and most expression can be got 

 by compact work; the finish is 

 the important part. Vou know there 

 is not so much talent required to what 

 artists call "block out" a design' as 

 there is to "tone" it. 



The cross, no matter how made, 

 will always represent one emblem of 

 Christianity. The wreath stands for 

 immortality and is the most classic 

 of all designs. A few years ago cres- 

 cent wreaths were most popular; now 

 the even width is mostly used. Many 

 imagine that the tendency to narrow 

 the variety of funeral designs injures 

 that section of our business; that peo- 

 ple don't care to send the same kind 

 of design. It is true that the craze 

 for distinction is still rampant, but 

 it is not so fierce as it used to be. 

 People recognize the fact that comedy 

 can be employed even in a funeral de- 

 sign, and.jttough many florists are 

 willing to play the comedian if paid 

 for doing so, still the age is becom- 

 ing more intelligent and values in- 

 congruity at the market rates. You 

 can put varietal values even in 

 wreaths and bunches, and we would 

 rather see a demand for greater va- 

 riety of flowers than an extra rush 

 on foolish designs. 



There is. though, an inclination on 

 the part of some florists to dispense 

 with mossed designs altogether. You 

 are doubtless aware of the fact that 

 there has recently been an infusion 

 of high-collared, kid-gloved, dry- 

 goodsie looking know-it-alls into our 

 retail business who do not like to 

 dirty their bejeweled fingers by using 

 wet moss. That's the element flori- 

 cultiire has most need to dread and 



