November, 19 13 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



385 



a garden scene with dancing fig- 

 ures, by Arthur E. Blackmore. 



In close harmony with the 

 French styles is that of the 

 Adam brothers, who were the 

 English exponents of the Louis 

 XVI manner of decoration, with 

 all its classic refinement and sim- 

 plicity. These instruments are 

 produced in satinwood, the 

 wood so extensively used by the 

 Adam brothers, forming, as it 

 did, an excellent background 

 for their low-toned decoration 

 and Wedgewood panels with 

 cameo figures. The piano il- 

 lustrated on page 386 was 

 adapted, in design, from a 

 dressing-table in the South Ken- 



Piano adapted from a Marie Antoinette harpsichord 



decoration of the music-room 

 not to be obtained by the stereo- 

 type, undecorated piano, as 

 well as giving a feeling of a 

 more intimate ownership of the 

 instrument — which is primarily 

 the object in designing the "art 

 piano." 



Personal preferences and vo- 

 cations also have their part in 

 producing an element of indi- 

 viduality in the final result. For 

 example, the Wagnerian enthu- 

 siast delights in the interpreta- 

 tion of his favorite operas and 

 in the reproduction of scenes 

 and characters from these 

 operas. Classical, mythological 

 and historical subjects as well 



sington Museum, decorated by Angelica Kauffmann, and is a have found favor, while the Shakespeare piano, with scenes 



characteristic example of the Adams' treatment in piano 

 cases. 



Another example of Louis XVI decoration, as shown 

 on page 387, is a mahogany piano with gilded carvings 

 and painted decorations toned down in color to harmonize 

 with the other furniture in the room, and is also a charac- 

 teristic example of the brush of Mr. Blackmore. 



Perhaps an added touch of interest in the decorated piano 

 is the personal element which often supplies motifs for deco- 

 ration. This makes a consistent effect in the harmonious 



and characters from his plays, together with the one with 

 decorations illustrative of Irving's "Sleepy Hollow" tales 

 and Longfellow's and Whittier's poems, make a strong ap- 

 peal to the person of literary tendencies. 



Composers and musicians have also had their piano cases 

 carved and decorated to exemplify their own themes and 

 compositions in ornamental treatment of both words and 

 music. Then, too, a remarkable example which demon- 

 strates how far the interest in one's vocation can be carried, 

 exists in a piano belonging to a certain manufacturer of 



An excellent example of the Colonial style adapted to piano decoration 



