ORNAMENTAL WROUGHT IRON WORK 
Austrian , Modern 
Robert 
TN considering the progiess, one might 
even say evolution, of present day archi¬ 
tecture in America, we are struck with the 
tendency to break away from rigorous tra¬ 
dition: the adapting of old means to novel 
ends or the devising of new means themselves. 
In the larger cities this partly results from 
the novel conditions under which we live, 
the improvements in materials and mechanics, 
and the primary necessity of economizing 
space. The “sky scraper,”—a bridge set on 
end—is quite without precedent and, almost as 
much a triumph of engineering as architecture, 
is quite typical of our aims and achievements 
in structural work to-day. To what extent has 
this new growth in 
architecture affec¬ 
ted its decorative 
accessories,or how 
will they be affec¬ 
ted in the future ? 
Ornamental 
iron work, cast 
and wrought, has 
always been inti¬ 
mately connected 
with and fostered 
by architecture. 
And iron in one 
form or another 
enters so largely 
into our modern 
construction that 
the question of its 
application from both an aesthetic and an en¬ 
gineering point of view is highly important. 
Ultimately, the fashion in iron work must be 
affected by the fashion in architecture. 
What are we in America producing in, 
particularly speaking, wrought iron, and 
what relation does it bear to progress in other 
branches ? Is it as yet a national art ? And 
if not, to what extent is it dependent on 
foreign sources for inspiration and precedent ? 
To arrive at any conclusion we must turn 
to what other nations have done and are 
doing in this branch of ornamentation. A 
concise history of the craft of ornamental 
iron-working has yet to be written. There 
are not a few bro¬ 
chures on the sub¬ 
ject, but they are 
sketchy and in¬ 
complete. Nota¬ 
bly that attempted 
by Jean Lamour, 
Iron Master in 
Ordinary to his 
Most Christian 
Majesty, Louis 
XV.”—a capable 
designer and 
craftsman, but not 
a good historian. 
Imbued with the 
stilted classical 
spirit of his time, 
he practically con- 
DOOR HINGE, CATHEDRAL OF PARIS 
