80 
House & Garden 
Italian Seating Furniture and Tables 
of the 18th Century 
(Continued from page 78) 
of the defining bead moldings, and the like date. The worst offenses in table 
decorations are in the same dark blue making—and this applies equally to de- 
and vermilion with occasional dashes of sign and decoration—were committed 
other colors. when the Italian craftsmen were intqxi- 
At the end of the 18th Century and in cated with the vagaries of the Louis XV 
the early part of the 19th, the passion mode in its most extravagant phases, 
for Directoire and Empire modes was, Nearly all Italian table work of this 
of course, fully echoed in Italy as else- epoch is horrible and the less said about 
where, but still with the same agree- it the better. 
able touches of domesticity, which great- By way of sharp contrast, to show 
ly relieved the bombastic aspect so often that the impressionable 18th Century 
noticeable in other furniture manifesta- Italian table maker could redeem his 
tions of the period. At times, too, there ancient good name when removed from 
were evidences of delicacy of concep- the sphere of pernicious influences, we 
tion, both in contour and decoration, may point to the late 18th Century 
that went far to redeem a mode that table (Fig. 17), belonging to the period 
cannot be regarded as of altogether the when the rectilinear spirit had again as- 
happiest possible inspiration. serted its dominance, the period when so 
many of the slender, taper-legged tables, 
18th Century Tables in which posterity now delights, were 
made in England and America after pat- 
In examining Italian tables of the terns by the Brothers Adam, Hepple- 
18th Century, one finds, to a far greater white, Shearer and Sheraton. The lines 
degree than in the seating furniture, are good—there is, of course, the charac- 
evidences of feebleness of design and teristically Italian sharp taper of the 
lack of broad, comprehensive grasp. But legs—and the marquetry and inlay deco- 
the failure to measure up to the standard ration is admirable in pattern, in execu- 
of acceptability was by no means uni- tion and in color. There is not, to be 
versal or even preponderant. Many of sure, the restraint of design to be found 
the tables of the period compare favor- in English pieces, but in the exuberance 
ably in point of design with the best of decoration lies the national peculiar- 
contemporary work of other countries ity, and the exuberance has not trans- 
and, in point of decoration, often ex- gressed the canons of good taste, 
cel. One source of weakness in de- The photographs illustrating this ar- 
sign was the tendency to indulge in tide are reproduced by courtesy of 
over-elaboration. Not a few of the early Cooper Institute (Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 
18th Century tables were distinctly good 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16) ; C. M. 
in line and will not suffer when placed Traver Co. (Fig. 12); Radillo-Pelitti 
beside English and French tables of a Co. (Fig. 17). 
o re 
c ffhat’s the only reason 
dealers offer substitutes 
c or Whittall Rugs 
There are'nvo kinds of stores which feature nationally 
advertised and trade-marked merchandise—those who 
Know The Best and strive to give you the benefit of 
their knowledge and their experience—and those who 
Seek Merely to Impress You with a suggestion of Quality 
by a smattering of articles of Known Worth and Merit. 
Your most reliable merchant 
invariably suggests Whittall Rugs 
But occasionally you will find a dealer who knows 
the Whittall Reputation for Reliability and so buys a 
few Whittall Rugs in the hope that you will accredit 
to his entire carpet department the feeling of Security 
and Confidence created by this Trade Mark 
Such a dealer displays his Whittall rugs prominently 
on the front of his rug racks or places them on the 
top of the piles for much the same reason that the wily 
peddler places the best apples on the top of the barrel. 
He will seldom offer to sell you Whittall 
rugs voluntarily, but you can buy them 
even from him if you will ask for them and 
refuse to accept the substitutes he tries to 
force on you at a greater profit to himself. 
“ Oriental Art in Whittall Rugs " is a beautiful book 
illustrated in colors which you may have by writing 
M. J. Whittall Associates 
QroiflJ Old Cjrax:e|unij >514 Brussels Street Worcester, Massachusetts 
Does the Small Greenhouse Pay? 
(Continued from page 56) 
house definitely in mind—or better still, 
on paper, no matter how rough a sketch 
it may be. Then you can talk with the 
builder about materials, etc., without so 
much danger of getting what he may 
think you ought to have instead of what 
you want. 
Various Styles 
The curved eave type of greenhouse 
has a number of advantages, among 
which are more graceful lines and a clear 
view of the landscape from the inside, 
which is very important in a house to be 
used as a conservatory rather than for 
the mere growing of things. On the 
other hand, with modem methods of 
construction, the eaves of a straight sided 
house do not necessarily constitute a 
weak point, as they used to be in the 
older types of construction. There are 
several patented types of eave on the 
market, all of which are satisfactorily 
strong, clear themselves from ice and 
snow, and do not get leaky. One of the 
little points to look into carefully is to 
see that the lower panes of glass in each 
row are firmly supported and held in 
place, and not dependent on glazing 
points or some other unreliable scheme. 
Lights of glass that can slip are always 
a source of annoyance and expense. 
While not absolutely necessary, side 
ventilation is almost always desirable. 
With modem methods of opening and 
closing the ventilating apparatus by an 
easily turned hand wheel, requiring little 
room and operating all the ventilators 
along one side of the ridge of the house 
from one point, there is little excuse for 
not giving your flowers or vegetables all 
the fresh air that they should have—and 
an abundance of fresh air is one of the 
greatest factors in keeping them healthy 
and in getting the best results. 
The double glazing principle, by which 
a thin layer of air between two panes 
of glass is made to serve as a retaining 
cushion, has been applied with success 
in the construction of small greenhouses 
as well as coldframe sash. In this method 
of glazing the full benefit of the sun’s 
heat may be utilized. This is a parti¬ 
cularly important consideration where 
the greenhouse is to be built attached to 
or against the garage, or in some other 
position where it can be given but little 
shelter by another building. 
Heating Systems 
While steam heating is used for large 
establishments, hot water is usually more 
convenient and satisfactory for the small 
home greenhouse. Even better, however, 
is the vapor-vacuum system. This com¬ 
bines the advantages of both steam and 
hot water. It is as cheap to instal and 
as quick to respond in an emergency as 
steam, without the latter’s disadvantages. 
Without doubt, this system is growing 
in popularity and giving satisfaction. 
Either of the three systems may be used, 
depending on the heating system you 
already have in your residence, if the 
greenhouse is attached or near by, so 
that insulated pipes may be run to it. _ 
The question as to whether or not it is 
feasible to attempt building your own 
greenhouse frequently arises. For one 
who has time and can readily use ordi¬ 
nary carpenter’s and piping tools, it is 
an entirely practical proposition. Houses 
built to standard dimensions, which are 
by far tire best and the most economical 
to buy, require very little fitting in being 
erected. A number of the best green¬ 
house companies make “ready made” 
houses which are designed especially for 
the man who wants the most for his 
money and can do much of the work 
himself. 
