XXI 1 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



May, 1913 



kvi GUARANTEED 

 **■ PLUMBING 

 FIXTURES 



r I ^HE bathroom made sanitary and beautiful with Standard" 

 ■*■ fixtures — is an investment in cleanliness and comfort { 

 from which the whole family draw daily dividends in pleasure 

 and in health. The Guarantee Label each piece bears, is 

 our specific assurance to you of highest sanitary quality and 

 a long life of splendid service. 



Genuine "Standard" fixtures for the Home 

 and for Schools, Office Buildings, Public 

 Institutions, etc., are identified by the 

 Green and Gold Label, with the exception 

 of one brand of baths bearing the Red and 

 Black Label, which, while of the first 

 quality of manufacture, have a slightly 

 thinner enameling, and thus meet the re- 



quirements of those who demand "<$tattdai'd" 

 quality at less expense. All "Standard" fix- 

 tures, with care, will last a lifetime. And 

 no fixture is genuine unless it bears the 

 guarantee label. In order to avoid sub- 

 stitution of inferior fixtures, specify 'Standard" 

 goods in writing (not verbally) and make 

 sure that you get them. 



Standard <$atritar.©1l>f9. Co. Dept. 23 PITTSBURGH, PA. 



New York 

 Chicago 

 Philadelphia 

 Toronto, Can. 

 Pittsburgh 

 St. Louis 



. 35 West 31st Street 

 900 S. Michigan Ave. 

 1215 Walnut Street 

 . 59 Richmond St. E. 

 . 106 Federal Street 

 100 N. Fourth Street 



Cincinnati . . 633 Walnut Street 

 Nashville . 315 Tenth Avenue, So. 

 New Orleans, Baronne & St.JosephSts. 

 Montreal, Can. . 215 Coristine Bldg. 

 Boston . . John Hancock Bldg. 

 Louisville . 319-23 W. Main Street 

 Cleveland . 648 Huron Road, S.E. 



Hamilton, Can., 20-28 Jackson St., W . 

 London, 57-60 Holborn Viaduct, E.C. 

 Houston, Tex., Preston and Smith Sts. 

 Washington, D.C. . Southern Bldg. 

 Toledo, Ohio . 31 1-321 Erie Street 

 Fort Worth, Tex., Front and Jones Sts. 



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A striking ex- 

 ample of modern return 

 to the classic in outdoor dec- 

 oration is shown in this Garden 

 Gazing Globe. A crystal ball mounted 

 within easy reach of vision on a pedestal ( 

 chaste and artistic design. 



The Garden Gazing Globe 



is a stately and beautiful garden ornament. It re- 

 flects all the shifting charms of the landscape. Here 

 is one of the many letters from delighted owners. 

 "I am more than pleased with it, and the landscape views 

 developed in it are not only interesting to ourselves, but 

 are enjoyed by all of our friends." 



May we send descriptive booklet and cir- 

 culars with prices to-day? 



Stewart Carey Glass Co. 



Indianapolis, 



Ind. 



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CHINESE LACQUER WORK 



BECAUSE of the present vogue of 

 Chinese Chippendale furnishings, and 

 since many decorators are seeking lacquered 

 work of one kind and another for use in 

 such rooms, a few works regarding lacquer 

 and lacquer manufacture in the land of its 

 birth may not he out of place at this time, 

 says a writer in The Decorative Furnisher. 



The best lacquer varnish in China is pro- 

 duced in Szechwan, Hunan, and Kwangsi 

 Provinces, and the best work in lacquer for 

 centuries has been done in Foochow, 

 though considerable good work has come 

 out of Ningpo. The especially hard and 

 durable finish of certain Foochow work is 

 said to have been learned from Japanese 

 sources, though there is considerable un- 

 certainty as to this fact and as to the con- 

 nection of the work in China and Japan. 

 In China, lacquering generally has been ap- 

 plied to small objects, such as tables, trays, 

 boxes, carved figures and the like. Com- 

 mercially it is employed at present largely 

 for the finish of small tables, teapots, trays, 

 and similar goods made more or less on 

 foreign models for use of foreigners. 



The exact process of preparing lacquer 

 not only differs as between China and 

 Japan, but differs in the nature of each 

 piece of work, the article made, the color 

 and quality. In general, the basis of all 

 lacquering is a varnish obtained from the 

 resinous juice of the Rhus vemicifera or 

 ''uruso-no-ki," "urushi," or "varnish tree," 

 cultivated in many parts of China and 

 Japan for the purpose. 



This liquid, in its various qualities, is 

 the basis of all lacquering, and variations in 

 treatment begin with the various ways and 

 degrees of refining the liquid. 



The lacquer is poisonous until dry. Even 

 Chinese workmen accustomed to use it 

 often cover their faces while working with 

 the liquid varnish. Persons often contract 

 poisoning from passing through a grove of 

 varnish trees being tapped. Foreigners 

 coming into contact with undried lacquer 

 work often suffer poisoning of hands or 

 face. 



The application of the varnish also rep- 

 resents highly differentiated and refined 

 processes. In general, the wood to be 

 lacquered is a soft dry pine. The surface 

 and corner of the article are made as 

 smooth as Chinese process renders it pos- 

 sible. The joints are filled with oakum, 

 paper pulp, or strips of grass cloth ; the 

 corners are rounded or smoothed ; paper is 

 pasted over the joints or rough places, and 

 everything possible is done to present as 

 smooth a surface as possible for the varnish. 

 The article is then coated with a prepara- 

 tion of emery powder, vermilion, or gam- 

 boge, which is allowed to dry, and the whole 

 is then polished or ground down by pumice 

 stone, powdered sandstone, or powdered 

 deerhorn or various other similar sub- 

 stances. The preparation is again applied 

 and ground down again. 



The lacquer itself is then applied with a 

 broad, soft brush as evenly as possible and 

 in a room from which all wind and dust 

 and as much light as can be dispensed with 

 are excluded, the idea being to apply the 

 lacquer and have it dry in a dark, damp 

 place, free from all possibility of dust. 



After the varnish dries it is ground down 

 or polished with powdered stone or deer- 

 horn or similar substances, and another ap- 

 plication is made, dried, ground, and pol- 

 ished. The process is repeated according 

 to the nature of the article and the quality 

 of the work, three coats representing an 

 ordinary minimum and fifteen to eighteen 

 coats an ordinary maximum. For solid 



