290 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



August, 1 9 13 



WW 





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A wood and copper cage 

 definite idea of the extent and 

 variety which exists, has been 

 formed by that most inde- 

 fatigable of collectors, Mr. 

 Alexander W. Drake, of New 

 York. The creating of the 

 collection has occupied many 

 hours of his travels into for- 

 eign lands and has involved 

 many adventures almost as in- 

 teresting, in the homes and 



haunts of foreign peoples who have come to America, and 

 so extensive is the assortment of cages which he has gath- 

 ered that it takes one into the homes of almost every 

 country beneath the sun, and represents the architectural 

 achievements of almost every people. 



The accompanying illustrations of bird cages in Mr 



A simple and primitive cage 

 family of red birds or parra- 

 keets. It seems to belong in 

 an interior such as were painted 

 for the benefit of us who have 

 come after by Vermeer and 

 certain of his companions. 

 Surely the cage must have 

 hung in its original setting close 

 by a casement window filled 

 with leaded glass. Nearby 

 there must have been a mantel 



An early Dutch cage 



laden with much blue and white Delft, and below the mantel 

 there was doubtless a shining array of brass pots and 

 kettles over the fire. 



Equally typical of Holland and quite as beautiful, though 

 in a wholly different way, is the Dutch cage which appears 

 upon page 290. In this instance the cage, instead of being 

 of carved wood is of old Delft with scenes of Dutch domestic 



Drake's vast collection afford an idea which could never be 



conveyed by mere words of the quaint beauty and infinite life painted under the glaze. A little panel painted in a 



variety of what most of us regard as the most common- geometrical design is the end of a tiny drawer in which is 



place and prosaic of domestic 

 or household objects. We 

 are so accustomed to seeing 

 cages of wire, either of brass, 

 iron or copper, and in mere- 

 ly a few hopelessly uninter- 

 esting shapes, turned out by 

 the thousand in our factories 

 and on sale in every "bar- 

 gain basement," that it is 

 something of a revelation to 

 discover that in other lands 

 and in earlier days when a 

 greater attention was paid 

 to the beautifying of the 

 commonplace cages of un- 

 usual interest and of a high 

 decorative value were made. 

 The Dutch cage upon page 

 289 is a type and an example 

 of the artistic thrift and care 

 which the patient and home- 

 loving Hollanders have al- 

 ways lavished upon objects 

 of household adornment. 

 Chip-carved by some tireless 

 craftsman in 17 14, its brown 

 wood has aged to a rich and 

 mellow bronze, and one likes 

 to imagine it occupied by a 



An early Dutch bird cage of Delft ware, with decoration of Summer 

 and Winter scenes. Drake collection 



placed the bird's food. One 

 can hardly imagine pottery 

 of any kind being used for 

 such a purpose, but the pa- 

 tient craftsmanship of the 

 old Dutch potters was far 

 beyond our understanding, 

 and the achievements of 

 their cunning were never 

 more interesting than in this 

 old bird cage. Another cage, 

 also of Delft and similar in 

 some respects to this in Mr. 

 Drake's collection, is treas- 

 ured in the Metropolitan 

 Museum, although it is there 

 regarded as an example of 

 ceramic art rather than as a 

 bird cage. 



The domestic and deco- 

 rative arts of Russia possess 

 an individuality and interest 

 which is especially their own, 

 and one of several of Russia's 

 contributions to this collec- 

 tion is the bird cage shown 

 upon page 292. The cage is 

 modeled after a home in 

 Russia; a weather-vane 

 adorns the uppermost point 





