28 AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
outlets according to his best judgment, the result being a 
house by no means overlighted. Unfortunately, the elec- 
trician had been given the wiring contract for a lump sum 
and without definite specifications—just a general under- 
standing to do a satisfactory job. Only after the fixtures 
were up was it discovered that the circuits were overloaded, 
i.e., had to carry more 16-candle-power bulbs (or their 
equivalent) than is allowed by the regulations of the Na- 
tional Board of Fire Underwriters. Consequently, several 
two-light brackets had to be replaced by one-light brackets, 
a sixty-watt tungsten substituted for three regular pear 
lamps on the dining-room dome, and one ceiling fixture 
omitted altogether. The only alternative was rewiring, at a 
cost three times that of the original wiring. Of course, the 
fixtures salesman should have insisted on plans showing the 
arrangement of outlets on circuit, and the man who did the 
hanging should have reported the situation before making 
the installation. But they didn’t, and the electrician, not 
being financially responsible, the final outcome was a poorly 
lighted house and a considerable loss to the firm who sold 
the fixtures. If the lighting had been planned first, and the 
blue-prints marked with outlets, and lights to outlet given to 
the electrician as part of his specifications, this would not 
have happened. 
I cannot sufficiently emphasize the difference that exists 
between the simple rooms in light colors and the elaborate 
rooms in dark colors. The latter take from two to five times 
as much light, without being satisfactorily illuminated. With 
gas there is much more reason for avoiding fixtures than 
with electricity. ‘The electric bulbs can turn up or down or 
at any angle, making it easy to control the field of distribu- 
tion, but gas open-flames point up only, and must be kept far 
from the ceiling lest they burn or smoke it. For a long time 
electric fixtures copied the awkwardness necessary to open- 
flame gas installation, and, of course, combination gas and 
electric fixtures are still obliged to do so. Only recently did 
there seem to come understanding of the completeness of 
the release from cramping conditions. Now we point our 
electric fixture lights up or down or at any angle, and locate 
the lights in the ceiling or close to it, or eighteen inches 
below it, or wherever else the best and most- agreeable 
distribution can be obtained. 
The open-flame gas fixture is an ugly thing that casts ugly 
shadows below, and the mantle flames, pointed either up or 
down are not much better. But a single mantle flame, high 
in a small light room, with abundant ceiling and wall reflec- 
tion, is the extreme of economy and effectiveness. Groups 
of mantle flames on a single fixture destroy the attractive- 
ness of a room, and burn the eye quite as badly, though 
differently, as the clear glass electric bulb. Mantle flames 
are best and most effective, as well as least ugly, in a large 
room when installed on brackets extending far enough from 
the wall to give good wall reflection. “Two of them are 
sufficient to light a room 12x22. ‘This is the cheapest 
illumination known in cities where the price of gas is reason- 
able and the gas is of fair quality. 
Of fixtures and brackets the shades are a most important 
part. While frosted, round, and pear, and cone bulbs can 
be used uncovered, the desire, founded on reason, to in- 
crease the area while decreasing the intensity of the luminous 
surface makes the use of crystal, iridescent, or opalescent 
glass shades common. The crystal shades of better quality 
are ground and ribbed, ground and cut, or plain ground 
{roughed or frosted or sandblasted). They come in the 
most various shapes and sizes, from narrow to wide, making 
it possible to secure any desired distribution, and the ma- 
jority of them are planned to cover the regular 16-candle- 
power incandescent bulb. The light of this being slightly 
orange, is very agreeable when sifted through the frosted 
shade. ‘The incandescent shades are extremely interesting, 
January, 1912 
with their mysterious tones and rainbow tints, but only the 
light ones are satisfactory from the illumination point of 
view. The dark ones absorb too much light. Particularly 
interesting and fairly economical of light are the pearl and 
crystal iridescents. Leaded shades are satisfactory on fix- 
tures and brackets in the luminous tones only—the golden 
yellows and soft browns and pale greens. Silk shades are 
comparatively opaque, but very beautiful, especially to direct 
the light down from upward-pointing candle lights. Of 
course, they are lined with white cambric to increase the 
reflection. Beautiful beyond description are the carved ala- 
baster bowls imported from Italy. They glow with a milky 
light that brings out the beauty of the carving sufficiently, 
but not too much. The designs are classic, and they demand 
a classic environment. The glass imitations of alabaster are 
surprisingly good and far less expensive. Alabaster bowls 
and lanterns of various styles and materials are especially 
suitable for entrance halls, where brilliant illumination is 
not desired. The material of which most fixtures are made 
is brass, which is very obedient in the foundry, or on the 
lathe, or under the hammer, or in the press. It also takes 
numerous finishes easily, and holds them well when they are 
well applied. But the finish of very cheap fixtures is fleeting 
and looks more stained and spotted after six months than it 
should after six years. The metal work of very cheap fix- 
tures also lacks durability, being so thin and weak that slight 
knocks and injuries injure it beyond repair. ‘The finest 
fixtures are made of bronze, that might be described as a 
‘‘sublimated kind of brass.”” It costs much more and is more 
difficult to cast and work, but is vastly harder and more dur- 
able, interpreting the most delicate outlines definitely, and 
deserves the reputation in the arts it acquired thousands of 
years ago. At the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New 
York, the bronze statuettes and other objects from Roman 
and pre-Roman days are a permanent testimony to its 
durability. 
Once polished brass and bright gilt appealed to the multi- 
tude; now even they accept dull brass and dull gilt. But 
there are other finishes, like antique brass and yellow bronze 
and Pompeian, that should be more generally ordered. The 
antique brass finish is particularly good on the hand-ham- 
mered brass fixtures and brackets for Mission and rustic 
rooms. Pompeian (vert antique) is above all a finish for 
porches and out-of-door pieces, and for pieces in the classic 
styles (being reproduced from the ancient bronzes that 
during the ages turned a white and flecked green of delight- 
ful texture). Yellow bronze is much warmer than dull 
brass, and better for living-rooms and rooms fairly rich in 
color. Gold and silver, which increases the cost by twenty 
per cent, are suitable only for more expensive fixtures. 
Fixtures that deserve to be put in a class by themselves 
on account of their great beauty are those in carved wood 
or compo, principally in the Gothic and Italian Renaissance 
styles and styles derived from them. The finishes are an- 
tique gold, antique silver, and antique oak, often with poly- 
chrome, and the effects are large and noble without the 
ponderosity of metal. Compo fixtures are at least a third 
cheaper than carved wood, and do not split like wood when 
subjected to moisture. But they do check and chip, slightly, 
which, with reasonable care, does not injure them—rather 
accentuating the antique character with which they are born. 
Fixtures in similar models that will not check or chip are 
those in the so-called armor bronze, which is copper-plated 
compo. 
Among attractive novelty fixtures are those with ground 
and slightly tinted glass shades, enameled in color. ‘These 
are suitable for dining-rooms and Mission-rooms and un- 
conventional rooms generally. They give a very soft and 
agreeable light, and have a distinct decorative character of 
their own. Another feature is, they are not at all expensive. 
