April, 1907 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



159 



bulbs, which could be of frosted glass 

 r.ithcr than clear glass. The group of 

 wires hanging from the center bowl 

 would also be attached to the circle, and 

 would hang so as to come just below 

 the copper band. Such a center orna- 

 ment would bring a large price, and yet 

 would be extremely easy to make. 



Sconces in the form of plaques would 

 also be suitable for candles or for elec- 

 tric-light receivers. Artistic and simple 

 lanterns can be made of glass, with 

 metal-work frames. The latter should 

 be of brass or copper, and many are the 

 devices which could be made use of for 

 extinguisher-tops and spherical crowns 

 suggested for such lanterns. Antique 

 Cypriote glass, or Tiffany glass in yel- 

 lows, blues, and sea-greens, giving an 

 iridescent effect, could be used in con- 

 nection with brass or copper supports, 

 and would be adaptable either for elec- 

 tricity or gas. These could be used 

 singly in a hall or hanging from brack- 

 ets in a sitting-room from the side- 

 walls, and would give a unique appear- 

 ance to any room in which they form 

 parts of the decoration. 



Lamp-shades can also be made of 

 sheet or metal, the background being 

 pierced to diffuse the light. These are 

 quickly anci easily made, as they are 

 hammered on the flat and not curved 

 until ready for the finishing touches. 



Door-plates and a small panel to go 

 arounci the electric button add a distinctive feature to a 

 front door, and are a mode of decoration which has also 

 been overlooked. 



A copper mantelpiece exhibited at an Arts and Crafts 

 Exhibition, could be used to hide a modern atrocity. The 

 play of color from deep purple to pale pink on the copper 



In Making this Type of Ware Specially 

 Contrived Gauges Are Fitted Into the 

 Object and the Design Worked-up 

 on the External Face 



mantelpiece designed and executed in 

 Husck Studios of New York, showed 

 what effective results can be obtained 

 through coloring by the action of heat. 



In this craft especial attention must 

 be given to making the design re- 

 strained, so as to emphasize the parts 

 that stand out in relief, thereby forming 

 a contrast between repousse and back- 

 ground. 



Were it necessary to argue for mak- 

 ing repousse work in copper or brass it 

 would be easy to point out some of the 

 results accomplished by it. It is charm- 

 ing work to do, with all the charm of 

 (original and creative work. One must, 

 of course, be interested in it or one will 

 not succeed in it any more than one 

 would make a success of anything else 

 In which one was not interested. But 

 I can not imagine any one taking up 

 repousse work without, almost at once, 

 developing the keenest interest in its 

 mechanical processes and in the results 

 accomplished by the simple tools re- 

 quired for it. 



And, then, while one is thus engaged, 

 one is creating a work both of beauty 

 and of utility. A vase or a plaque has 

 use, even if it be but to stand on a shelf 

 or hang on the wall; for every object 

 of beauty within the house has its own 

 message of pleasure to tell to those who 

 do no more than look at it. Of the 

 strictly utilitarian work In copper and 

 brass — objects of use that may be made in these materials — 

 sufficient has already been said. 1 he useful adaptations are 

 almost without end, and here again fresh notes of beauty are 

 given to the house, and fresh satisfaction comes to the worker 

 for what has personally been accomplished. However, it is a 

 work that speaks for itself. 



The School and the Children in Civic Betterment 



HE value of missionary effort among chil- 

 dren has long been recognized by those en- 

 gaged in civic betterment. The child is not 

 only benefitted, but the parent is often 

 reached. This discloses the value of the 

 child in the campaign for civic betterment. 

 The child is reached through the school, and 

 both school and child form, therefore, a force to be con- 

 sidered and one of marked value. 



The limits by which the school and the child are circum- 

 scribed in civic betterment are sufficiently obvious. It must 

 be kept within personal bounds. The child is not concerned 

 with the larger problems of municipal art — but it may learn 

 to keep Itself neat; It may learn to appreciate the cheering 

 effect of a growing plant or flower; if the school building is 

 standing In well made grounds, the lesson of outward beauty 

 about it will not be lost. These are ideas the child will take 

 home. Some effort at home betterment may follow — not 

 necessarily, but the chances are well worth taking. 



Much patience is needed for this kind of work. Chiltlren 

 resent reformation even more bitterly than the average poli- 

 tician. The work must be done with great caution and ex- 



treme care. Yet rightly done It will yield results. There is 

 ample evidence on this point. Even In New York's East 

 Side, which is the typical overcrowded spot of America, chil- 

 dren have learned some of the first lessons of home improve- 

 ment and carried these lessons home, where they have led to 

 unexpected results. They ha\e learned — some of them — 

 some of the merits of clean streets; they have learned that 

 there Is a public cleanliness and a private cleanliness that 

 must be heeded In every large city; they have learned that 

 some school buildings are better to look upon and better 

 to go to school in — the first lesson in architectural apprecia- 

 tion — than others; they have learned how rooms and halls 

 may be brightened with flowers and foliage; they have 

 learned the merits of healthy games played on public play- 

 grounds; they have. In some cases, awakened to the fact that 

 a little more order at home would improve things, although 

 they may know neither the way nor the wherefore. All these 

 are matters completely within the scope of civic embellish- 

 ment; they are matters that affect the child, his parents and 

 his home life; It seems reasonable to hope that these early 

 lessons will give more notable results In later years that will 

 amply compensate for the original effort. 



