﻿January, 
  1907 
  

  

  AMERICAN 
  HOMES 
  AND 
  GARDENS 
  

  

  37 
  

  

  And 
  now 
  as 
  to 
  style. 
  There 
  is 
  no 
  part 
  of 
  our 
  house 
  in 
  

   which 
  every 
  period 
  of 
  architectural 
  design 
  is 
  more 
  frequently 
  

   utilized, 
  helter-skelter. 
  What 
  would 
  look 
  most 
  suitable 
  in 
  

   the 
  average 
  bedroom 
  of 
  our 
  unpretentious 
  country 
  house 
  

   would 
  be 
  a 
  plain 
  wooden 
  frame 
  of 
  a 
  hard 
  wood, 
  well-sea- 
  

   soned, 
  so 
  as 
  neither 
  to 
  crack, 
  shrink, 
  or 
  warp. 
  After 
  being 
  

   well 
  filled 
  it 
  should, 
  if 
  the 
  remainder 
  of 
  the 
  room 
  is 
  painted, 
  

   receive 
  four 
  or, 
  even 
  better, 
  five 
  coats 
  of 
  paint. 
  On 
  top 
  of 
  

   the 
  frame 
  place 
  a 
  shelf 
  supported 
  and 
  connected 
  by 
  a 
  suffi- 
  

   cient 
  bedmold 
  to 
  the 
  moldings 
  below. 
  Project 
  it 
  from 
  eight 
  

   to 
  twelve 
  inches 
  from 
  the 
  wall. 
  Make 
  your 
  facing 
  of 
  equal 
  

   dimensions 
  on 
  the 
  top 
  as 
  on 
  the 
  sides. 
  A 
  great 
  portion 
  of 
  

   the 
  simpler 
  ready 
  made 
  mantels 
  derive 
  their 
  stilted 
  appear- 
  

   ance 
  from 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  the 
  facing 
  above 
  the 
  opening 
  is 
  much 
  

   too 
  large 
  in 
  proportion 
  to 
  the 
  facings 
  of 
  the 
  sides. 
  

  

  If 
  you 
  are 
  uncertain 
  as 
  to 
  the 
  style 
  of 
  your 
  mantel, 
  in 
  a 
  

   room 
  of 
  a 
  decided 
  architectural 
  period, 
  you 
  can 
  do 
  no 
  better 
  

  

  Both 
  of 
  the 
  French 
  mantels 
  are, 
  however, 
  in 
  strict 
  con- 
  

   formity 
  with 
  the 
  surrounding 
  decorations 
  designed 
  and 
  

   studied 
  in 
  connection 
  with 
  the 
  mirrors 
  and 
  panels 
  surround- 
  

   ing 
  them. 
  In 
  illustration 
  No. 
  5, 
  the 
  mantel 
  has 
  become 
  a 
  

   regular 
  monument 
  in 
  its 
  room, 
  as 
  striking 
  as 
  a 
  monumental 
  

   sepulchral 
  composition 
  on 
  the 
  bare 
  walls 
  of 
  a 
  chapel. 
  It 
  is 
  

   modeled 
  after 
  earlier 
  periods 
  marked 
  by 
  the 
  importance 
  or 
  

   clumsiness 
  given 
  to 
  their 
  design. 
  The 
  great 
  bulk 
  of 
  masonry 
  

   takes 
  one 
  back 
  to 
  the 
  French 
  castles 
  of 
  the 
  fourteenth 
  and 
  

   fifteenth 
  centuries, 
  where 
  groups 
  of 
  guards 
  would 
  warm 
  them- 
  

   selves 
  around 
  the 
  logs 
  at 
  each 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  great 
  hall. 
  It 
  does 
  

   not 
  show 
  the 
  careful 
  study 
  and 
  treatment, 
  for 
  instance, 
  of 
  the 
  

   early 
  French 
  Renaissance 
  mantels 
  of 
  the 
  Chateau 
  de 
  Cadillac. 
  

   For 
  successful 
  French 
  treatment, 
  merely 
  from 
  a 
  point 
  of 
  view 
  

   of 
  monumental 
  mantel 
  design, 
  we 
  must, 
  however, 
  search 
  in 
  

   the 
  later 
  periods 
  of 
  Louis 
  XIV 
  and 
  Louis 
  XV, 
  when 
  such 
  men 
  

   as 
  David 
  Marot, 
  Berain, 
  etc., 
  were 
  executing 
  their 
  conscien- 
  

  

  "Uji 
  

  

  8 
  — 
  A 
  Good 
  Copy 
  of 
  an 
  Old 
  English 
  Type 
  

  

  9 
  — 
  Of 
  Colonial 
  Type, 
  but 
  Slightly 
  Mongrel 
  

  

  than 
  also 
  conscientiously 
  to 
  carry 
  out 
  your 
  mantel 
  in 
  the 
  

   style 
  of 
  the 
  room. 
  Nothing 
  could 
  have 
  looked 
  as 
  charming 
  

   or 
  in 
  better 
  keeping 
  with 
  the 
  room 
  in 
  illustration 
  No. 
  1 
  as 
  

   its 
  Louis 
  XVI 
  mantel. 
  It 
  is 
  absolutely 
  historically 
  correct, 
  

   probably 
  a 
  copy 
  of 
  an 
  old 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  best 
  design 
  of 
  the 
  

   period. 
  It 
  has 
  the 
  low 
  mantel 
  shelf, 
  in 
  Louis 
  XVI 
  work, 
  sel- 
  

   dom 
  above 
  4 
  feet 
  3 
  inches, 
  the 
  broad 
  ornamented 
  frieze, 
  with 
  

   neither 
  classical 
  architrave 
  nor 
  cornice 
  molds, 
  the 
  curved 
  iron 
  

   facings, 
  and 
  wide 
  opening. 
  Illustration 
  No. 
  2 
  gives 
  another 
  

   mantel 
  of 
  the 
  same 
  period. 
  They 
  are 
  both 
  simple 
  and 
  re- 
  

   strained, 
  especially 
  in 
  comparison 
  with 
  the 
  immediately 
  pre- 
  

   ceding 
  style 
  of 
  Louis 
  XV, 
  illustration 
  No. 
  4. 
  Here 
  the 
  treat- 
  

   ment 
  is 
  generally 
  artificially 
  unrestrained, 
  again 
  character- 
  

   istic 
  of 
  the 
  decoration 
  of 
  its 
  time. 
  There 
  is 
  hardly 
  a 
  straight 
  

   outline 
  of 
  an 
  unbroken 
  surface. 
  The 
  moldings 
  and 
  angles 
  are 
  

   broken 
  by 
  shells 
  and 
  conventionalized 
  scrollwork. 
  The 
  lin- 
  

   ings 
  and 
  facings 
  are 
  of 
  cast 
  iron 
  with 
  elaborate 
  figures. 
  

  

  tious 
  work. 
  In 
  illustration 
  No. 
  7, 
  we 
  have 
  a 
  good 
  type 
  of 
  

   the 
  hooded 
  Renaissance 
  mantel. 
  

  

  For 
  our 
  common, 
  every 
  day 
  household 
  needs, 
  we 
  must, 
  I 
  

   believe, 
  go 
  to 
  another 
  period 
  of 
  architecture 
  to 
  procure 
  man- 
  

   tels 
  in 
  harmony 
  with 
  the 
  surroundings 
  of 
  our 
  daily 
  life. 
  In 
  

   England 
  we 
  find 
  the 
  greater 
  portion 
  of 
  their 
  prototypes. 
  

   Mantels 
  similar 
  to 
  those 
  in 
  Wilton 
  House, 
  Knousley 
  Hall, 
  

   Belton 
  House, 
  etc., 
  are 
  the 
  direct 
  historic 
  predecessors 
  of 
  

   some 
  of 
  our 
  best 
  Colonial 
  ones. 
  Even 
  in 
  the 
  great 
  residences 
  

   similar 
  to 
  Hampton 
  Court 
  Palace 
  or 
  Holmes 
  Lacy, 
  Hereford, 
  

   if 
  we 
  omit 
  the 
  carvings 
  of 
  the 
  overmantels 
  and 
  thereby 
  ob- 
  

   serve 
  the 
  simple, 
  restrained 
  proportions 
  of 
  Inigo 
  Jones' 
  work, 
  

   we 
  find 
  numberless 
  variations 
  of 
  the 
  forms 
  and 
  general 
  pro- 
  

   portions 
  we 
  are 
  to-day 
  fittingly 
  employing. 
  We 
  can 
  rob 
  the 
  

   whole 
  fireplace 
  and 
  mantel 
  from 
  the 
  old 
  English 
  living 
  and 
  

   dining-rooms 
  (illustration 
  No. 
  8) 
  and 
  set 
  them 
  up 
  in 
  our 
  

   own 
  country 
  house 
  and 
  they 
  will 
  look 
  almost 
  as 
  much 
  at 
  home 
  

  

  