HOUSE AND GARDEN 
September, 
1912 
155 
tion. Everything that tends to obscure the outline must he 
sedulously avoided. 
When we pass beyond dates, letters, monograms and such sim¬ 
ple symbolic designs as circles, swastikas or triangles that can be 
expressed in outline, we step into the field of the silhouette. Any 
subject that lends itself to clean cut, simple and unmistakable por¬ 
trayal in a silhouette may be attempted for a wall device with con¬ 
fidence. In silhouette making, of course, objects must be shown 
in profile and unless that profile is clear and strong and character¬ 
istic it is better not to attempt it. It is a waste of time and labor 
to heed more than the outline of the silhouette; it will scarcely be 
noticed. In one instance a copper mermaid fixed to the side of a 
chimney has her scales and tresses of hair all carefully cut in the 
surface of the metal, but unless you get very close and look sharp 
never a scale or a hair will you see. The lady of the waves would 
have been better for decorative purposes without either and a little 
more attention instead to the shape of her outline. 
Of course design and material mutually interact and what has 
just been said is applicable to metal wall devices of bold pattern 
designed to be seen from a distance. When the decorative ele¬ 
ment becomes more of a consideration and there is a chance to 
get a good near view of the wall device, other materials, such as 
stone, cement and terra-cotta come within the range of possi¬ 
bility. Sometimes where architectural enrichment is the sole end 
in view, marble or stone plaques bearing classical subjects give a 
wide scope of choice. In this method of using wall devices we 
can learn much from the Italians. There is some blank wall 
space, perhaps, at the end of a pergola or in a spot plainly visible 
from the house or garden, a wall space that in its blank condition 
will always be an eyesore. Why not enliven it and make it say 
something through the medium of a wall device? It may be that 
a plaque with della Robbia's singing boys is just the thing needed 
in that place. If the space is small and the wall roughcast, a Ma¬ 
jolica medallion can be inserted to good purpose. 
Della Robbia and other similar designs can be cast in cement or 
baked in terra-cotta and are perfectly weather-worthy. A use¬ 
less and unsightly window in an outbuilding was treated in the 
way just suggested with happy result. The outbuilding in ques¬ 
tion is near the house and used for garden tools, tennis nets and 
the like, but the boarded-up window in its gable end, plainly vis¬ 
ible from the library, was a useless blot. The aperture was 
studded and lathed, leaving the frame as a molding, and a large 
oval cement medallion, on which was cast a madonna, was se¬ 
curely fastened to the backing. All the space between the me¬ 
dallion and the window frame was then filled in with a thick mix¬ 
ture of concrete plastered on the laths. This concrete surface was 
colored blue, so that the medallion is thrown into bold relief. 
Aided by the growth of vines, this treatment has- entirely changed 
the outlook from the windows of the house. 
People are apt to be shy of using color or gilding in exterior 
ornament, but in the case of some wall devices it is absolutely 
necessary and besides has the authority of good precedent. To 
mention only one instance, there is the Golden Dog of Quebec. 
No one would accuse the Quebec post-office of being garish or 
gaudy because of the gilded device of the dog set in its front wall; 
in fact, if it were not gilded it would be lost sight of and nine- 
tenths of the visitors to that quaint old city would never know the 
interesting tale of the building that once stood where the post- 
office now stands and from which, when it was torn down, the 
historic Golden Dog was transferred to its present place. Color 
and gilding may look crude and glaring at first, but under the in¬ 
fluence of the weather they will soon mellow and cease to be 
conspicuous. 
Where the device is graven in the stone it is often necessary to 
pick it out in black to make the design visible. A good example 
of this is the device on the wall of a little old farm house. On 
(Continued on page 174.) 
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The initials of the occupants set in the chimney or wall of a house are 
a legitimate device. If of copper or iron, they look well against 
gray stone 
1 he wall design may suggest some historical belief. This tulip scheme 
is said to be connected with the old Assyrian emblem of immortality 
