22 
HOUSE & GARDEN 
other roofing materials 
it would buckle in sum¬ 
mer and crack in win¬ 
ter, especially the thin 
rolled lead which has 
not the same body as 
the lead cast in sheets, 
to be found on old Eu¬ 
ropean roofs. They 
decry its use for spouts 
for the same alleged 
reason of too great ex¬ 
pansion a n d contrac¬ 
tion for our climate. 
The truth of the 
matter is that lead can 
be used with just as 
satisfactory results in 
Beside cast designs a great deal of our c lj ma te as ill Ellg- 
cut or pierced work has been used , , , , . ■ 
land, but the majority 
of roofers and mechan¬ 
ics neither understand how to work with it nor wish to take 
the trouble to learn, and, as “plumbers” are no longer crafts¬ 
men delighting in the artistic capabilities of the material from 
which they take their name, but mere mechanics in sanitation, 
lead has been degraded from its place 
of honor to the lowest among the baser 
metals. 
For roofing or spouting, lead should 
not be rolled, but cast in sheets and 
then wrought into the 'desired shapes. 
This gives greater body and increases 
cost perceptibly, but as an offset to this, 
it should be borne in mind that it does 
not rust and is practically indestructible. 
When put in place it is there to stay, 
and, considering its permanent quality, 
it is unreasonable to be niggardly about 
the first cost. There are hundreds of 
specimens of leaden down-pipes in Eng¬ 
land that have lasted for centuries, so 
it seems that no great weight is to be 
attached to the cry about their special 
susceptibility to frost. They should, of 
course, be of ample proportions, for size 
is a great safeguard, and, whether of 
lead or of copper, they ought to be 
square, as they are then less liable to 
burst. 
Methods of Treatment 
From the Thirteenth Century, or per- . . , 
, i ti i . 1 he rain-water head 
haps earlier, leaden down-pipes were in conjunctlon with 
used m England ■—• they seem to have 
been a peculiarly English device—and 
the leadworkers or “plombiers” delighted in adorning with 
most cunning craft the rain-water heads at the eaves, the 
sockets and ears that joined the lengths and attached them to 
the face of the wall, and even to the front of the pipe itself. 
Of all the so-called baser metals, none lends itself more readily 
to the craftsman as a medium for architectural decoration in 
a varied range of treatments. Because of its softness and its 
unusual malleability it can be cast, hammered out, rolled, 
pierced and cut with ease and without a costly plant. 
Of the manifold objects for which lead was used none were 
more varied in execution or pleasing in conception than the 
rain-water heads. Some of them were of extremely intricate 
pattern, while others were quite simple and relied more on 
shape than on richness of ornament for their charm. Heraldic 
devices were always favorite subjects with the leadworkers, 
and, in fact, we may say with all craftsmen in the decorative 
arts at a certain period. They fully realized the decorative 
value of heraldry and covered their productions with shields, 
crests, supporters and mantlings, all of which admirably suited 
the usual size and shape of the water heads. Beasts, birds, 
flowers, leaves and fruit, geometrical patterns, grotesques and 
sometimes monograms, dates and initials were also common 
forms of ornament for the water heads and the sockets and 
ears. 
Besides the cast designs, a great deal of cut or pierced work 
was used on both heads and sockets. On one of the heads 
shown among the illustrations, a modern one, by the by, 
showing how happily the craft may be revived, cut work has 
been used in conjunction with a design of fruit and leaves 
wrought from the plain cast sheet. Another method of treat¬ 
ing the water-heads was to set pierced panels a little space out 
from the real front so that the fretwork had a shadowed 
background to throw it into strong relief. No matter whether 
the decoration of the rain-water beads was simple or ornate, 
no matter whether it was cast, wrought or pierced, the texture 
and face of the metal were such that however bold the pattern, 
however vigorous the treatment, the finished product always 
possessed delightful mellowness and suavity. 
Though the blacks and whites of weathered lead are beauti¬ 
ful in themselves, the leaden rain-water heads were sometimes 
colored and gilded, as the metal lends itself well to the applica¬ 
tion of pigment. Chevron striping and heraldic devices, 
blazoned in their proper tinctures, were effective and made 
particularly pleasing bits of color against the masonry of the 
walls. Sockets and ears were necessarily less elaborate, as they 
did not offer as much surface for embellishment. 
When decorated, the leaden heads, pipes and sockets were 
rich in fancy and full of vitality, for tbe material yielded a 
facile medium for the expression of individual genius and 
imagination; when plain, they were of a good bold shape that 
depended on grace of line for all its charm. There are numer¬ 
ous examples of old leadwork of both 
descriptions that would serve as models 
for modern craftsmen with great benefit 
to our architectural resources. 
The Limitations of Copper 
Copper, the other metal suitable for 
rain-water heads and down-pipes, en¬ 
joys present favor to such a degree that 
it needs no apology to set people think¬ 
ing. Its chief recommendations are, 
perhaps, its color and durability, al¬ 
though it is also malleable, but not 
nearly as much so as lead, and hence 
not so easily worked by the craftsman. 
It can scarcely be expected, therefore, 
that exterior copperwork should show 
the spontaneity to be met with in a 
leaden medium. Of course, patterns 
may be stamped or pressed in the sheet 
copper while hot, but the process re¬ 
quires carefully made dies and appara¬ 
tus, for there is danger of the metal 
tearing under the strain and there is 
always an aspect of hardness and in¬ 
tense angularity about such work that 
it is apparently impossible to eliminate. 
The most satisfactory way of deal 
ing with copper water-heads and sockets 
seems to be to keep the design simple 
and to rely upon shears and solder to accomplish results. Cop 
per is not suitable for the same kinds of decorative processes 
as lead; for rain-water heads, cutting and soldering or else 
pressing are the only processes that can be used. Owing, there¬ 
fore, to limitations in the nature of the medium, the same 
wealth of devices cannot he wrought in copper that we find 
in lead. Designs could, in¬ 
deed, be cast in copper, but 
it would require a much 
greater quantity of metal 
and the expense would pre¬ 
clude it becoming a com¬ 
mon practice. A comparison 
of the lead and copper rain¬ 
water heads in the illustra¬ 
tions will show at once the 
restrictions to design im¬ 
posed by the character of 
the latter metal and, at the 
same time, the freedom of 
fancy and choice of methods 
enjoyed by the craftsman in 
lead. 
The examples of copper 
pipe-heads show taste and 
a great deal of originality. 
can be successfully used 
a gargoyle or grotesque 
Pierced panels set out from tbe 
real front throw the fretwork 
into strong relief 
