December, 19 13 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



111 



found on the shores of Tyre. The Egyp- 

 tians early used gorgeous colors obtained 

 from plant and mineral sources, dyeing 

 being a well developed art even then. 



The Oriental peoples, the fame of 

 whose rugs is unsurpassed, sacredly 

 guard the secrets of their dyes, which 

 have been handed down and improved by 

 one generation after another. The fam- 

 ous tapestries of the Middle Ages and of 

 more modern times have been colored 

 with these dyes taken directly from 

 nature and brewed by the skilled dyester, 

 while the simple materials woven by our 

 grandmothers were dyed with bark of 

 walnut, leaf of sumac or root of indigo. 

 All this has been changed by the mar- 

 velous discovery made by the chemist 

 Perkins in 1856. While experimenting in 

 his laboratory with aniline from coal tar 

 he found the dye substance mauveine. 

 This discovery followed bv many others 

 in time completely revolutionized the 

 process of dyeing. 



There are at present hundreds of dye- 

 stuffs made from coal tar products, which 

 produce an infinite variety of shades and 

 pure colors. Those who make these dyes 

 employ constantly numbers of chemists 

 to discover new dyes and to perfect the 

 method of using them. 



Considerable has been written in criti- 

 cism of aniline dyes, and much of this 

 criticism is just. The chief difficulty is 

 that these dyes are so much purer than 

 the natural dyes that the resulting colors 

 are crude and hard. Also many of the 

 colors are fugitive and fade to ugly tones. 

 When properly used, however, beautiful 

 and fast colors may be obtained with 

 greater certainty and much more cheaply 

 than with the vegetable dyes. Vegetable 

 dyes are still used largely by craft work- 

 ers. With the exception of logwood and 

 indigo, natural dyes have almost disap- 

 peared from commercial use. Cochineal, 

 the brilliant color used to produce the 

 red coat of the British soldier, is extracted 

 from the bodies of the female of a small 

 bug; feeding on cactus plants. 



Primitive people still use natural dyes. 

 When they tint yarn with aniline dyes 

 as some Western Indians have done of 

 late years, their products are anything but 

 artistic, since they do not know how to 

 handle these colors. 



Persia protects the beauty of her fam- 

 ous rugs by a law making it a capital 

 offense to carry aniline dyes into the 

 country. 



Those dyes chosen to produce the best 

 results in unskilled hands are especially 

 prepared in small packages for vegetable 

 or for animal fibres. The dyer needs only 

 to use common salt or vinegar as an as- 

 sistant. Certain dye stuffs produce a fast 

 color on a fibre, while others require the 

 action of some chemical to fix the dye 

 stuff to the fibre. The chemical, which 

 is used to combine with a dye and fix it 

 upon a fibre, is called a mordant. A dye 

 which requires a mordant for one fibre 

 may not require it for another. In gen- 

 eral, vegetable fibres require mordants 

 more than animal fibres. 



With certain classes of dyes hard water 

 must not be used, as the calcium and mag- 

 nesium in the water precipitate the dye 

 stuff, while impurities like iron or organic 

 matter may cause trouble. Careful solu- 

 tion of the dye stuff that it may be evenly 

 distributed, regulation of the temperature 

 of the solution, and the proper use of 

 ants are all important precautions. 

 A recent development in amateur dyeing 

 is the use of oil paints and gasoline. The 

 process is quite simple. The desired color 



L 



Efficiency and Proficiency 



are the essentials of success 



FOR upwards of a quarter of a century Steinway 

 & Sons have maintained a special department 

 for the designing and manufacture of pianos in period 

 and art cases, to harmonize with any plan of archi- 

 tecture or decoration. 



This Art Department, created for the distinct 

 purpose of catering to the discriminating taste of a 

 select clientele, employs, at a considerable cost, its 

 own artists, designers, decorators and carvers. Its 

 Efficiency and Proficiency are such that it stands 

 unrivalled by any other piano house. Every 



STEINW5Y 



ART PIANO 



is a true representation of its respective period — a veritable 

 gem of beauty and perfection. A visit to the Steinway Studios 

 will reveal that in these masterpieces of pianocraft music and 

 decorative art are so deftly blended that they at once command 

 the admiration and praise of architect, artist and connoisseur. 



STEINWAY & SONS 



Steinway Hall 

 107-109 East 14th Street, New York 



Subway Express Station at the Door 



How Will The Beams Be Held 

 Where They Abut Their Supports? 



Will they be cut away by 

 Framing ? 



Will you depend merely on 

 Spiking ? 



Have your architect specify 

 Lane's Steel Joist Hangers in your 

 house and the walls will never settle. 



Lane's Joist Hangers are everlasting. 



LANE BROTHERS COMPANY 



Wilson Avenue Poughkeepsie. N. Y„ 



Lane Double Hangers 



