AuonST 12, 1909. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 





I THE RETAIL 



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^^^^^^^s!^ FLORIST...... I 



PULLIAM'S FUNERAL FLOWERS. 



In last week's Review there was a 

 lote from Louisville, describing briefly 

 ,he elaborate display of flowers at the 

 luneral of Harry PuUiam, president of 

 ihe National League of Baseball Clubs. 

 The accompanying illustration shows the 

 display of the florists' handiwork at the 

 grave. Nothing like it ever has been 

 seen in Louisville. It is stated that six 

 wagons were required to transport the 

 flowers to the cemetery. While the lead- 

 ing Louisville florists all were repre- 

 sented, and many designs came from out 

 of town, the larger part of the work was 

 executed by Jacob Schulz. 



IDEALS IN DESIGNING. 



Choosing the Piece. 



Not how many, but how — . We can 

 do much ourselves to bring about the 

 general acceptance of the truth that the 

 value of a design does not consist in the 

 number of flowers employed, but in the 

 manner in which they are used. In the 

 case of funeral work, the choice of the 

 design frame has considerable to do with 

 achievement in designing itself, but the 

 style and execution have even more to do 

 with successful designing. 



The list of purely art designs in ready- 

 made frames is quite limited. They are 

 imaginative creations, and, as such, are 

 really the best and highest ideals yet re- 

 duced to common practice. In this list 

 are included the wreath, basket, spray, 

 vase, table centerpiece and many unusual 

 and quaint receptacles for flowers and 

 foliage. 



Then there are the attempts at repre- 

 senting objects. In this class are found 



such designs as the pillow, harp, lyre, 

 heart, shield, crescent, bell, clock, cross, 

 crown, anchor, star, book, society and 

 lodge emblems, casket cover and canopy. 

 And it must be regretted that this cata- 

 logue includes street cars, locomotives, 

 autos, as well as some choice menagerie 

 specimens. Nobody is saying that the 

 latter list does not contain valuable 

 pieces, but the first list contains the 

 pieces which are of themselves highly 

 imaginative, aside from any ideal treat- 

 ment which they may receive. Neither 

 has anyone been heard to say that the 

 latter pieces named cannot be developed 

 in a highly artistic manner, for they can. 



In Love Vith One's Vor k. 



When the choice of a piece has been 

 made, either by the purchaser or by the 

 florist, let it be executed to the best of 

 your ability. Be as ambitious to be a 

 good designer as you would be to be the 

 possessor of a million dollars. Enjoy 

 your work, even the drudgery parts. It 

 is no gush to say that there are persons 

 who put their whole heart into the work 

 and really love it. 



How far would you trust a doctor who 

 practices on you merely for the money 

 there is in it? What artist's pictures 

 would adorn walls which were painted 

 for the price only? What right has a 

 bookkeeper to your ledger who does not 

 admit the fascinations of his columns 

 and balances? One must not only not 

 dislike, but must greatly like his work 

 to make a success of it artistically, • or 

 financially, either. It seems a pity that 

 the money advantages of a certain policy 

 must be the only things to compel people 

 to sit up and take notice. It must be a 

 hard life to limit one's self to. 



The Top Notch of Capacity. 



If I am to do my best, how shaU I 

 know that I am working to the top notch 

 of my capacity? First, by enlarged am- 

 bitions; second, by dissatisfaction with 

 former attainments. Three-fourths of 

 the work put out by florists could never 

 come within the scope of art work, and 

 should do itself the one justice not to 

 claim to be anything but space filled up. 

 To be sure, there is always a sale for poor 

 pictures and for indifferent work of all 

 kinds. But there are aspirations for the 

 best in all of us, if we but give them a 

 chance, and what is the use of catering 

 to indifference rather than to one's 

 higher instincts? 



The next question that occurs, after 

 having satisfied myself as to whether I 

 am working to the top notch of my 

 capacity, is: To what authority can I 

 appeal for absolute judgment on my 

 work? Who is going to say it is good, 

 bad or indifferent? 



Bound by No Man's Laws. 



It is true that somebody's judgment 

 may help by criticism, or hurt by jeal- 

 ousy. But, after you have, graduated 

 from the rudiments, observed work con- 

 sidered good by a reasonable number of 

 people, felt your own way aroUnd some 

 dark corners which were new to you, re- 

 alized failures and profited by them, you 

 are bound by no man's laws. Do as you 

 please, having had an understanding with 

 the customer whether the work is to be 

 the conventional kind or strictly free 

 and fanciful. Do not pay too much at- 

 tention to what your neighbors are doing; 

 sometimes it is better not to know what 

 they are doing. Be a law to yourself; 

 only, as you learn both by observation 

 and experience, let your laws expand to 

 include new occasions. 



One of the tests of art work in other 

 lines is the length of time that it sur- 

 vives. A mere fragment of sculpture or 

 canvas may lay claim to greatness be"- 

 cause of its perfection. But, though you 

 lavish the thought of years and the ex- 

 perience of a lifetime on a fioral piece, 

 in a few hours its beauty has gone. It 

 begins to deteriorate the minute it leaves 

 your hands. Like a fleeting sunset, its 

 charm vanishes. It looks like time and 



Flowers at the Funeral of Harry PuUiam, at Louisville, Ky. 



