52 
House & Garden 
c ~If)ibaut > 
¥all Papers 
si r 
«** ^ 
set the style of the 
Nation. 
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the best. 
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THIBAUT 
WALL PAPERS 
DECORATE 
4 
BRONX WASHINGTON HEIGHTS BROOKLYN 
485 Willis Ave. (New York City) 3621 Broadway. Flatbush & DeKalb Aves. 
BOSTON NEWARK 
96-98 Federal St. 141 Halsey St. 
Old English Interiors in American Homes 
(Continued from page 50) 
The most characteristic feature of the 
Elizabethan and Jacobean houses is the 
square-headed mullioned window. In 
the earlier Gothic period of English 
decoration they were always arched or 
pointed, and this can always be taken 
as a distinguishing feature between the 
Tudor and the Elizabethan and later 
styles. The large bay window, with its 
quaint and sometimes busy patterned 
glazing, also formed one of the most 
important features of the facade. Oc¬ 
casional introduction of stained glass 
further enhanced its effect. 
Many of these old English windows 
have found their way to America, care¬ 
fully taken from their original settings 
and brought here without injury, to be 
installed in American homes as nearly 
as possible in the same way as in the 
original house. There is something in¬ 
timate and livable about these windows 
that makes a decided appeal to the 
American mind 
Next we come to the doorways, chim¬ 
ney pieces, roofs and ceilings, the sim¬ 
plicity of which was the most striking 
feature of the Medieval and Gothic 
styles, and forms a strong contrast to 
the elaboration bestowed upon them in 
later periods. 
The earliest type of door—that in use 
in the ancient keeps—was a cross 
stretcher on the back of a few boards 
like the lid of a packing case, and was 
generally strengthened by wrought iron 
straps. This simple construction was 
succeeded by an obviously better meth¬ 
od, that of framing the thickest pieces 
together and introducing the thinner 
wood as panels. The iron hinges and 
fittings of both the Gothic and Tudor 
doors are worthy of attention. The in¬ 
ternal door and the doorway first be¬ 
came an important feature during the 
Elizabethan era. The earlier simply 
molded arrangement gave way to doors 
flanked by pilasters. The door heads 
were sometimes lavishly ornamented, 
the doors themselves freely molded, 
carved or inlaid, and much fancy dis¬ 
played in their embellishment. 
This rather free treatment, which was 
so delightful, gave way to the more 
stately period before mentioned, after 
the ideas of such trained architects as 
Inigo Jones and others. With the ad¬ 
vent of Christopher Wren and Van- 
brough, pilasters were superseded by 
more massive, almost detached columns 
supporting a bolder frieze and cornice, 
with sometimes a straight, broken or 
semi-circular pediment enclosing a shield 
or similar decoration. The Brothers 
Adam introduced the discreetly en¬ 
riched and carved architraves, friezes 
and cornices so often evoked by their 
names. 
The English Stairs 
The development of the English stair¬ 
case lagged behind, remaining an un¬ 
important feature in decoration until 
the 16th Century. In the ancient keep 
it was usually built of stone, on the 
spiral plan, contrived in the solid mason¬ 
ry, and even at times nothing less primi¬ 
tive than a ladder served to connect 
one floor with another. The develop¬ 
ment of the staircase, when it did start, 
however, was very rapid. 
The width increased enormously, and 
the whole staircase became, in short, 
one of, if not the most decorative fea¬ 
tures in the house. The handrail be¬ 
came massive, the space between it and 
the stout string course filled in with 
turned or square shaped balusters, or, 
as occasionally happened, with carved 
and fretted woodwork. The newel posts 
were important and carried up well 
above the handrail, with their tops 
either wrought into striking shapes or 
crowned with heraldic animals. 
In the late 17th and during the 18th 
Century the one exception to the mak¬ 
ing of everything bolder and heavier 
was the staircase. The massive newels 
were reduced in height, the balustrade 
and handrail made lighter, the string¬ 
course dispensed with, and the ends of 
the steps shown. A notable feature 
again was that the handrail, which had 
previously been straight from newel to 
newel, was ramped, that is, curved up¬ 
ward at each turn of the stair to ob¬ 
tain a proper level. A little carving 
was judiciously introduced in the turned 
balustrade and the end of the steps, 
and finally toward the end of the cen¬ 
tury came the elliptical staircase and 
ihe iron balustrading of the “Adam 
Hall.” 
Chimney Pieces 
Next comes the chimney piece. While 
no longer remaining purely utilitarian, 
it assumed the importance of an archi¬ 
tectural and decorative feature. 
From the earliest times the fireplace 
had always been the object of interest. 
Originally it was placed flush with the 
wall, with a projecting hood to catch 
the smoke, which was carried out of 
the room by a short funnel contrived 
through the wall, but later, when re¬ 
cesses were made and chimney shafts 
introduced, this hood, if used at all, 
became more an ornamental feature 
than a necessity. 
The Gothic chimney pieces often were 
decorative and interesting, but it was 
not until the Elizabethan period, when 
a greater attention was given them by 
their designers, and their dimensions in¬ 
creased, that they became the chief 
feature of the room. Columns, fan¬ 
tastic pilasters or caryatides supported 
the heavy molding over the fire open¬ 
ing, and panels and pilasters, crowned 
by a cornice, reached and apparently 
supported the ceiling itself. These panels 
were generally two or three in number, 
and, as with the ceilings, heraldry 
played an important part in their deco¬ 
ration. The family arms were the chief 
ornament, which form of decoration, 
besides gratifying the family pride, im¬ 
parted a dignity to the room, and if 
any excuse is needed for this display, 
“where should sentiment linger if not 
around the family hearth?” A date was 
sometimes carved on the chimney piece, 
which has assisted to identify many an 
old house, its history and its builder. 
Chimney pieces were originally more 
frequently made of stone than of wood, 
and many splendid examples, finely 
carved, are to be found. Some of the 
finest have been brought to America, 
and placed in rooms with decorations 
coeval with their origin. 
The same changes that we have de¬ 
scribed in the treatment of the doors 
and paneling affected the chimney piece. 
Architects, who had by this time as¬ 
serted themselves, adopted a larger han¬ 
dling of the design, and instead of the 
smaller panels above the fire opening, 
this space was treated in the same fash¬ 
ion as the walls of the room. The 
chimney piece still retained its impor¬ 
tance, but the style of decoration was 
altered, and the insertion of a portrait, 
still life or landscape, diversified with 
architectural ruins, replaced the carved 
panel. This form of decoration gave 
an agreeable note of color and interest 
to the room. 
And now, having considered some of 
its appurtenances, we come to the walls 
of the room itself. 
English Paneling 
Old English oak paneling! It was 
carried all round the walls as a sort 
of lining, but it was not necessarily a 
fixture or looked upon as such, and 
could be taken down with ease; in fact, 
it is recorded that the paneling would 
sometimes pass by bequest to some other 
(Continued, on page 54) 
