928 PROCEEDINGS OV SECTION J. 



The latter building' afforded the architect a splendid field for 

 the display of his genius, and he has left there a rich record 

 of the fauna of the world modelled in terra cotta, and so 

 incorporated with tlie building as to form an integral part of 

 its construction. This is as it should be, and the structure 

 itself could not be mistaken for other than a Natural History 

 Museum even without its contents, whilst, as a building it 

 stands out prominently as an example of the possibilities of 

 terra cotta construction. 



Within the last twenty or thirty years a most marked 

 revival of the applied arts has been progressing in England. 

 This artistic revolution has once more thrown bi'ickwork to 

 the front, with the result that good bricks, capable of high 

 artistic treatment, are now made to satisfy the public demand. 



All lovers of honesty and purity in architecture must 

 indeed be rejoiced at the better state of things now prevailing 

 in the mother country, for they may rest assured that the 

 movement once established in the great heart of the Empire 

 will not be stayed until it has reached its remotest bounds. 



Some time after the revival of brick as a modern artistic 

 building material, its influence did not extend far beyond the 

 limits of the metropolis, but as time rolled on it gained a foot- 

 hold in first one and then another provincial centre, until at 

 last its conquests extended beyond the seas. 



In the United States of America the movement has been 

 taken up by the artistic section of the community with an 

 enthusiasm and vigour characteristic of that energetic people. 

 It is not long since the Americans were regarded as a most 

 inartistically disposed nation ; they were known to be capable 

 of carrying out big undertakings and perfecting ingenious 

 labour-saving appliances, but America was the last country 

 to whicli the enquirer after architectural truth would have 

 turned ; but now she is teaching the world valuable lessons in 

 the artistic and truthful treatment of modern buildings. 



Of course America is a large and heterogeneous country, and 

 the modern revival of truthful brickwork is of such recent 

 date that it would be unreasonable to expect examples of this 

 architecture widely dispersed throughout the Western 

 Continent. Yet they do exist in some of the more favoured 

 localities, and promise, at no distant date, to be an important 

 factor in architectural evolution. 



As yet the popular taste for artistic brickwork has not 

 reached Australia, but its arrival is merely a question of 

 time. Scouts and pioneers are not lacking, but their success 



