36 The Humming Bird. 



THAT WONDERFUL. LAST NAIL. 



Mrs. Potter Palmer will put the finishing 



touch on the Woman's Building with hammer 



and spike of costly make. 



Mrs. Potter Palmer, President of the Board of Lady 

 Managers of the Exposition, as already announced, will 

 drive the last nail used in completion of the Woman's 

 Building. This nail will be furnished by the women of 

 Montana, and will be a very wonderful one, as is indicated 

 by this description of it given by the Helena, Montana, 

 Independent :— 



The nail has been so made as to form the back or cross 

 bar of a brooch, which is to be a shield bearing the coat of 

 arms of Montana reproduced in native gold without a trace 

 of alloy in its composition. The shield will be of gold, and 

 the symbolical figures will be made of the same metal but 

 of different colors. The waterfall in the foreground will be 

 of light colored gold sunk into the shield, and the plow and 

 pick, standing at the foot of the falls, will be of a darker 

 shade, as will be the background or relief. The wreath 

 surrounding the escutcheon v/ill be of native gold, and the 

 figures of the two men supporting the whole on either side 

 will also be of the same rich, yellow gold. Underneath 

 will be the scroll, bearing the motto of the state, " Oro y 

 Plata." In the two upper portions of the wreath two 

 Montana sapphires will be inserted. Instead of merely 

 engraving the figures, each will be wrought separately and 

 then fastened together, making the task of shaping the 

 brooch not only a delicate, but exceedingly difficult one, and 

 one that will require much skill and patience. 



To Mrs. J. E. Rickards, of Butte, belongs the credit of 

 the happy idea of making the last nail, one of such interest. 

 In design, the nail, which is being made by a Butte jeweller, 

 will be the counterpart of an ordinary twelve-penny nail 

 and will be composed of three strips with silver in the centre 

 and the gold and copper on either side. The nail and brooch 

 are distinct articles and after the former has been driven, it 

 will be drawn from the wood, fastened to the brooch and the 

 whole presented to Mrs. Palmer. 



The women of Nebraska have undertaken to furnish the 

 hammer with which this "last nail" will be driven. A 

 description of the hammer has not yet been given, but it is 

 the intention to make it worthy of the aristocratic nail with 

 which it will be brought in contact by Mrs. Palmer. It has 

 been suggested that it be made of native Nebraska woods, 

 inlaid with gold, silver, and pearl. 



