March, 1915 
HOUSE AND GARDEN 
181 
convenience of capricious woman, and this 
year comes a vanity box wonderful in 
construction and decorative in design. The 
idea of the permanent vanity box — as 
compared with those one can carry about 
— is very old. The ladies of Louis XVI’s 
time possessed intricate affairs made up 
from little block-printed chintzes, and 
from these the inspiration for the modern 
reproductions has been caught. The older 
type, however, was not always so out-and- 
out in its purpose; its exterior gave little 
promise of the contents. It looked like a 
calf-bound volume, delicately tooled with 
gold, about twelve inches long, ten wide 
and three high, a most learned and for¬ 
bidding tome on the whole. It was placed 
on the library table, but les belle dames 
knew what lay hid within, and, unsus¬ 
pected, they could prink and powder. 
Nowadays we are more obvious, and 
the vanity boxes shown in illustration look 
their part. They consist of three com¬ 
partments designed to hold toilet necessi¬ 
ties ; a little mirror can be raised up, two 
candles providing sufficient light for mi¬ 
lady’s face. Quaint and simple as are the 
exteriors of the boxes, their exterior deco¬ 
ration may be made as elaborate as one 
wishes. One has a dainty Peroylise de¬ 
sign ; another is along a Chinese pattern 
on black lacquer. The colors are rich and 
warm, and, whether the boxes, closed or 
open, they give it great decorative value. 
These cases may be placed in an en¬ 
trance hall of the country house or in the 
room where ladies place their wraps when 
one is not using the bedroom for that pur¬ 
pose ; moreover, a hostess, in providing 
toilet material in this manner for her 
guests, precludes the necessity of their 
using hers. In a country club they would 
prove of excellent service, for they can be 
of as much use as they are beautiful. 
A Tabby-Cat Chair 
T HE past few years have seen a de¬ 
cided and most certainly welcome 
improvement in the form of furniture for 
children. Just as at one time children had 
to content themselves with sitting in the 
chairs of their elders, so another genera¬ 
tion relieved the inconvenience of these 
little tots by making diminutive reproduc- 
Closed, the modern vanity box is unpretentious and 
bears no indication of its purpose 
tions of their grownups’ furniture. In re¬ 
cent years, however, designers have been 
even more thoughtful for the comfort and 
interests of children, finding that just as a 
middle-aged man prefers a wing chair, so 
does a child take naturally to a chair that 
was created especially for her age and 
size. 
Among the many interesting pieces of 
furniture for children being shown in the 
shops is a black tabby-cat chair, repro¬ 
duced here in illustration. Quite apart 
For the nursery, or home school room, a tabby-cat 
chair might be found attractive 
from its quaint attractiveness is its prac¬ 
ticability. It sits solidly on the floor and 
cannot easily be rolled over because of its 
broad bases, or knocked over because of 
its well-balanced weight. The long tails of 
the cats curl up to form a brace for the 
comfortable back. The seat and back slats 
are painted white. As an adjunct to the 
child’s room, and especially to the home 
schoolroom, the value of this chair will be 
appreciated both by children and parent. 
Madagascar Cloth 
HEN the bungalow, porch or den 
needs a touch of color do not for¬ 
get the Madagascar curtain material, 
which comes in such vivid stripes of 
orange and buff, magenta and buff, in five- 
inch stripes, separated by fine lines of 
green, purple or black. The material is 
woven from dried Madagascar grass, 
which takes and keeps the brilliant color¬ 
ings, and also furnishes a natural fringe 
as a finish. A pillow or two covered with 
this material, a couch cover, a table cover 
or curtains are guaranteed to cheer up the 
dreariest of rooms or the dreariest of days. 
The plain Madagascar cloth — buff — has 
the same light, springy effect that willow 
furniture possesses, and is, besides, a good 
“dirt color” for anv use where brilliant 
stripes are not desired. Two curtains 
sewed together will make a very accept¬ 
able summer couch cover. 
The Unusual in Table Linens 
ORE than ever are hostesses on the 
search for new things that will 
make their tables attractive, and the shops 
are trying to appease this desire not only 
with new articles and materials, but with 
striking adaptations and combinations. 
One can tire of fine damask however 
costly it is, and at the present time it 
would seem to be used less and less. For 
the dinner table, a fine damask cloth is 
still unsurpassed, but for breakfast, 
luncheon, tea, supper and receptions less 
usual and conventional covers are in 
vogue. 
Small squares of Russian crash with 
simple peasant patterns and monograms 
in blue or green or yellow to match the 
breakfast service are being used. If 
there are but two persons at the table, a 
runner may be used made of Italian linen 
edged on either end with heavy crochet 
lace of conventional design, the side edges 
being done in blanket stitch with the hem 
turned over on the right side. This 
makes a serviceable and unusual cover. 
Many old Italian covers are characterized 
by this blanket stitch hem. If the crochet 
lace is of Italian design, distinct style is 
given the cloth. With such a cover use 
for center-piece a bowl or vase of Italian 
pottery. 
Large supper clotbs can be made of this 
same Italian linen. Here again the blan¬ 
ket stitch is used on the edge, with the 
stitches grouped in threes. At each cor¬ 
ner can be inserted an Italian reticella 
square, and around it a simple Italian de¬ 
sign. Always keep the stitches consistent¬ 
ly Italian. At the corners fasten a long- 
tassel of heavy linen thread. With this 
cloth use oblong napkins half the width of 
the ordinary napkin. They are unusual 
and quite as serviceable as the ordinary 
accustomed shape, being large enough to 
protect the lap and not too large to prove 
in the road. They can be decorated In¬ 
putting a small reticella square at one end, 
(Continued on page 210) 
Opened, there are displayed mirror and toilet necessi¬ 
ties sufficient for a momentary prinking up 
