October, 19 13 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



367 



sorts of novelties, from such 

 literary productions as those 

 of the Duchess de Duras to 

 the newest toilet productions, 

 with science and art some- 

 where in between. Paris, 

 too, had become a city of 

 circuses, and of sideshows; 

 nearly every street corner 

 boasted of its montebank or 

 its conjurer, or you might 

 have found the Boulevard 

 du Temple much given over 

 to waxworks and the like. 

 It was the time of what ap- 

 peared to be great national 

 prosperity and the arts had 

 never appeared to have 

 flourished so vigorously — at 

 least the art of perfume- 

 making and the art of the 

 silhouettist! The "little arts" 

 have always been regarded 

 with tender solicitude by the 



French, and no people has A simple design in "Piqure d'£pingle" somewhat crudely executed 

 been more prolific in its ingenious devices along the lines 

 which, for instance, immortalized the name of the inventor 

 of "shadow portraits" in the term given their designation. It 

 is unfortunate, so far as the curious are concerned, that his- 

 tory has neglected to hand down to us the name of the in- 

 ventor of those quaint conceits which bear the name given 

 them by their French sponsors — "Piqures d'Epingle," that designs are somewhat crudely executed. Latterly color was 

 is to say, designs pricked by a needle-point. We would give introduced as an accessory to the art at which period the 

 them the English name "needlepoint pictures" were it not "Piqure d'Epingle" assumed the appearance of the valentine 

 that the domain of Lace has appropriated "needlepoint" in of later date of which it appears to have been the fore- 

 such a manner to its own use that one can not disassociate runner but not losing in any way in contrast with them. 



the two things bearing 

 names so very similar. Now 

 these "Piqures d'Epingle," of 

 which the reader will find 

 some examples illustrated 

 here, certainly proved them- 

 selves to be one of the suc- 

 cesses of the period of the 

 Restauration above referred 

 to notwithstanding which 

 fact their vogue quickly died 

 out and the art appeared to 

 have become a lost one. In- 

 deed, the writer doubts if 

 very many collectors have 

 ever heard of these pictures 

 which were first traced upon 

 white paper or white bristol 

 board, and then worked out 

 by pricking through the en- 

 tire design with a needle 

 which process caused the 

 lines to stand forth in re- 

 lief. "Piqures d'Epingle" 

 soon became a lamp-light 

 pastime in the salons, and many of the artists of the day 

 seriously turned their attention to their attractions. As the 

 artists in these paper fantasies became more skilful they 

 employed various sized needles to produce lines of various 

 fineness and some of the specimens extant are remarkable 

 for the infinite pains exhibited in producing them. Other 



A pair of early nineteenth century "Piqures d'Epingle," showing the use of water color as a decorative accessory 



