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H ARDWARE is the jewelry of the 
house fabric. Under ordinary cir¬ 
cumstances its pattern and choice are gov¬ 
erned by the same principles that govern the 
jewelry of a gentleman : it must be simple, of 
excellent design and utilitarian. If the 
jewelry is other than that, the chances are 
that it is a little outward indication that the 
gentleman is but a “gent,” and if the hard¬ 
ware departs from the foregoing standard 
we may generally expect either ostentation 
or meaningless eccentricity. 
Hardware mounts or 
fittings are required for 
doors, shutters, case¬ 
ments, closets, c u p- 
boards, drawers and va¬ 
rious other sorts of 
built - in furniture. 
Lighting fixtures are 
purposely excluded from 
this list, as they are 
dealt with elsewhere. 
The usual materials of 
which domestic hard¬ 
ware may be made are 
brass, bronze, iron and 
glass. 
Brass hardware is 
finished plain, with lac¬ 
quer or with a mat sur¬ 
face. Of these methods 
of finishing, only the 
first can be conscientiously 
A window lift of 
distinction for a 
French room 
Suitable for a Louis XVI 
ception room or library 
recom¬ 
mended for universal use and permanent satisfaction. A 
lacquer finish may prove a 
labor saver for a time, but 
there are two objections to 
it: it gives the brass a bad, 
unnatural color, and, after 
dampness or wear has once 
begun to streak it with black 
lines or patches, nothing will 
redeem its appearance, and 
brass polish only makes it 
worse. A matt surface may 
do well enough in certain 
cases, but it never responds 
to a little well-directed ef¬ 
fort like a plain brass sur¬ 
face, which is always full of 
vitality and susceptible of a 
high polish. It does, it is 
Four 
true, require more attention, but its beauty, 
attested by the old brasses of Holland, fully 
compensates for the labor involved in keep¬ 
ing it in good condition. 
Bronze ordinarily does not require polish¬ 
ing, and is almost always better looking when 
left to the action of the atmosphere and or¬ 
dinary wear. Any finishing preparation ap¬ 
plied is apt to spoil the color and destroy the 
lively quality of the metal. The scope for 
the appropriate use of bronze hardware of 
any kind is extremely limited, and it is apt 
to look out of place unless 
its accompaniments are of 
great elegance and exactly 
suited to it. As a substi¬ 
tute for brass under ordi¬ 
nary conditions it is not de¬ 
sirable. 
Wrought iron hardware 
may be given either a black 
or a bright finish. There 
are several ways in which 
the black finish may be ap¬ 
plied. The metal may be 
painted with a mixture of 
lampblack and banana oil. 
This is easy to apply, 
dries quickly and leaves a 
smooth, dull black surface 
of agreeable quality. Then 
again, black Japan paint 
may be used. This also 
dries quickly and is particularly satisfac¬ 
tory in taking a tight hold upon a metal surface. Another 
preparation is especially com¬ 
pounded by some of the finer 
iron workers, and is baked 
on the metal upon the forge. 
It is extremely durable and 
of 'such thin body that it 
does not clog up nor obscure 
any finely engraved lines of 
decoration on the surface of 
the ironwork. Finally, ordi¬ 
nary black paint may be used 
satisfactirily on some of the 
coarser hardware, though 
the previously mentioned 
preparations are preferable, 
and even cheap, cast iron 
fittings may be made fairly 
presentable by this means. 
Old Dutch door 
hinges suitable 
in a Colonial 
house 
examples of modern hardware proving how hardware can be the 
jewelry of the house 
ITS DECORATIVE VALUE WHEN PROPERLY PLACED—SOME GUIDES TO 
CHOOSING THE RIGHT KINDS—HOW TO KEEP IT IN GOOD ORDER 
fillllllllllllllllllllllllllllllillM 
15 
