Suggestions for Christmas 
Joints so made by painstaking German workers of 
the fifteenth century are still intact. In other mat¬ 
ters besides joinings “Quaint” furniture follows the 
best traditions of the craft. The Spanish and Rus¬ 
sian morocco comes from the goat and the calf, and 
is unequaled for durability—a quality that cannot 
be claimed for sheepskin. 
In Northern Europe, where forests were abundant, 
religious ideas in the Middle Ages were expressed in 
wood. This was left in its natural state, or covered 
with stucco and colored. The finest specimens have 
come down to us from the Tyrol, the Rhine country, 
Niirnberg, and throughout Flanders. The painted 
virgin in her shrine at an Italian street corner, became 
the carved virgin of a little German town. These 
little masterpieces—from the very primitive, simple 
thirteenth century work to the sixteenth century 
products so wonderfully intricate in detail—are to¬ 
day reproduced in plaster. These copies so closely 
simulate the grain of the wood, the worm holes, and 
the faded paint, that the difference in substance is 
hard to detect. Beside the many “mother and child” 
groups, we have that exquisite single figure—the 
Virgin of Niirnberg. The twelve-inch reproductions 
of this great work of an unknown master are easy 
to find. But they should come from a good 
dealer. The cheaper statuettes have been made 
from copies of copies, and are slovenly and unfaith¬ 
ful in detail. 
Did any one—even a collector—ever have too 
many trays ? The tray, or server, or salver, or 
plateau, or plate, or whatever you choose to call it, 
has always been a much-prized accessory in house¬ 
keeping, and even holds an honored place in history. 
For was it not on one of the salvers in the castle of 
Mach^erus that the head of John the Baptist was 
presented to Herod And was not the heir of Spain 
presented to his father, as were many other royal 
heirs, on a golden salver ? These “birth trays” were 
so much a feature of etiquette in high circles in the 
Middle Ages, that great artists like Masaccio and 
Gaddi did not disdain to design them. Most of the 
fine antiques have been bought up; but quantities 
of modern ones may be had—from the common 
kitchen tray to the latest importation from England — 
the polished mahogany tray. Between these two 
kinds, come innumerable others varying in material 
and shape. One woman uses nothing but the old- 
fashioned lacquer trays—-not the imitation with gold 
decalcomanie figures, but the original decoration that 
“won’t come off.” Another collects hand-made brass 
and copper trays. These are inexpensive, and with 
their beautiful play of rose and gold tints puts to 
shame the cold icy polish of the conventional silver 
server. And now the latest thing in trays is made of 
wood—oval, circular, oblong, with or without glass 
protector. The glazed ones would look exactly like 
a mahogany portrait frame, were it not for the brass 
handles. They come from twelve to thirty inches 
in length, and the price even for the largest size is 
reasonable. The same thing in dark oak runs a 
little cheaper. An inlaid mahogany tray that could 
he used either in serving or as the top to a small table 
would delight the heart of any woman who serves 
afternoon tea. 
Machine carving may satisfy those who want 
quantity rather than quality; but with those whose 
taste has been developed by experience and general 
culture it can never take the place of hand-carving. 
The mark of the chisel is quite as important as the 
enthusiastic rendering of a design planned for wood. 
However, if we had to trust to native American labor 
for our hand-carved furniture there would be little 
of it. The majority of carvers in a famous American 
firm established over half a century, whose furniture 
is of distinguished merit, are of foreign birth. The 
American would rather run a machine than take 
years to learn a handicraft; and the opportunity to 
learn is only just now beginning to be offered 
him by our trade and art schools and arts and crafts 
societies. 
Women with a keen feeling for beauty like hand¬ 
made jewelry. They insist on individuality in their 
personal ornaments, and love the lines and surfaces 
that come to metal only beneath the hammer of the 
patient workman. We have in this country a few 
isolated jewelry craftsmen who understand ornament 
as it was understood before the world was commer¬ 
cialized. 
The workshop of such a craftsman is a fascinating 
place. His tools comprise forge and anvil, blowpipe, 
hammers and mallets of every conceivable shape, 
chasing tools; about him are sheets of gold, silver, cop¬ 
per, bronze, and little trays of stones bright and dull. 
He gloats over his bits of labradorite that show the 
deep green-blue of the peacock eye; he will show you 
beryl that runs through all the shades of green, blue, 
and gold; he has lapis from Chile, opal and turquoise 
matrix from Mexico, dusky tourmalin from Maine, 
transparent rose quartz from Arizona, and pieces of 
malachite, fluorite, etc., whose mysterious hues are far 
more beautif ul in his eyes than the hard glitter of the 
diamond. An unusually attractive pendant is made 
by beating into an irregular disc a nugget of gold or 
silver, then piercing it by some quaint design, and 
studding it with one of the above stones. 
People who regard the artistic value of a gift will 
enjoy buying Newcombe Pottery. It is made in the 
South, from Mississippi clay, and the products of the 
South furnished the motifs for the designs used. 
Every piece passes the scrutiny of a severe jury. 
Such protection is not guaranteed to the purchaser 
by all potters. Newcombe tea sets are particularly 
lovely. No pattern is ever duplicated. Each has 
individuality and shows a high standard of artistic 
excellence. 
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