27 
February, 
19 21' 
for the purpose of conduct¬ 
ing waste water. In the 
first place lead is a pliable 
and workable material for 
hand craft, this virtue alone 
giving it superiority over 
any other medium. Then, 
too, lead requires no paint¬ 
ing, no finishing and little 
repairing, being more re¬ 
sistant to the effects of 
water than any other of the 
usable materials. It weath¬ 
ers beautifully, turning to 
a lovely shade of silvery- 
gray, streaked with darks 
and lights. Lead also of¬ 
fers the unique distinction 
of being capable of orna¬ 
mentation, particularly with reference to bright 
tinning. Color may even be used in rare in¬ 
stances. 
Lead rain heads seem to have been a pecu¬ 
liarly English device. There are to be found 
examples ascribed to as early a date as 1525, 
while references are found in historical writ¬ 
ings which would indicate the use of lead as a 
rain-water discharge medium some two cen¬ 
turies earlier. Examples of lull rain-water 
systems of lead are available from 1670. In 
the old times lead work was an art apart, 
like carpentry or cabinet work; it 
borrowed neither from stone nor 
wood in its designs. Mediaeval 
lead, as one authority expresses it, 
was wrought like a colossal gold¬ 
smith's work. 
J7th Century Heads 
The first few years of the 17th 
Century brought further heads of 
charmingly decorative design, many 
of them beautifully delicate and of 
the most excellent craftsmanship. 
Designs with checkers, chevrons, 
and strapping, all brightly tinned, 
were exceedingly effective, espe¬ 
cially after weathering. Intricate 
designs were pierced into the most 
lacy patterns and applied flat, giv¬ 
ing. in the sunlight, a remarkable 
play of light and shade. Flat 
pierced panels of bolder but no less 
lovely designs were often used, 
especially in the making of pipe- 
sockets. It is to this period that 
we owe much of what is best in the 
basis of our modern designs. 
Heraldry and coats-of-arms, as 
well as turrets and Masonic em¬ 
blems were of course among 
We have become so accustomed to the rounded trough and the galvanized pipe 
that we often miss the possibilities in decorative pipes and gutters. The formal, 
elaborate designs require, of course, a formal house of pretentious size, but even 
small houses could afford a simple elaboration at these points. The two designs above 
are for lead gutter piping, copies of old examples found in English houses. These 
woidd serve admirably to finish many types of eaves 
The pipe socket can also be 
elaborated. At the point where 
pipes join or change their course 
a design such as this in lead or 
cast iron could be used 
Where the house has 
heavy overhanging 
eaves a design such as 
this is employed, and 
can be elaborated to 
suit the architecture 
the earliest designs used. 
Almost none of these de¬ 
tails, however, is of any 
value to our American 
usage, fascinating as they 
undoubtedly are in their 
own environment. 
The usual way of mak¬ 
ing the earlier heads was by 
the application of layer on 
layer of sheet lead, or “sim¬ 
ple plumbing”. Nor does 
our modern craftsman work 
differently, except that 
molded heads have become 
more common, especially 
where a number of similar 
heads are to be used. 
Molded leadwork, however, 
lacks much of the charm of the built-up work 
for it always has a sanded surface and lacks 
the hand-made touch. 
Modern Systems 
The usual modern lead rain-water system 
is comprised of several parts, all of which are 
open to decorative treatment. Even the gutter- 
pipe may be decorated, its possibilities running 
all the way from a simple rope border to 
schools of brightly tinned little fishes swim¬ 
ming thoughtlessly along and dis¬ 
appearing down the hungry goose¬ 
neck which leads from the gutter 
to the pipe-head. 
It is the pipe-head, of course, 
which must receive the most careful 
design, if the system is to be a 
success. The pipe-head may be 
considered as a separate piece of 
design or it may be combined with 
the goose-neck and the two parts 
treated as a whole. 
Decorative down pipes and pipe- 
sockets complete the system to the 
ground where the water is received 
either into a decorative cistern or 
a ground drain. 
For the fine country house where 
expense is not a fundamental con¬ 
sideration there is to be found the 
greatest wealth of decorative possi¬ 
bility in the use of these lead rain¬ 
water discharge systems. Particu¬ 
larly effective are those heads de¬ 
signed for special places, such as 
elongated heads for occasional use 
between dormers or ells. Corner 
heads are unusual, too, and are 
adaptable for use with either outer 
or inner corners. 
(Continued on page 54) 
Gutters, water-heads and pipe sockets all give oppor- 
tunity for the owner to put his own stamp of indi- 
viduality upon his house. An heraldic motif, the date, 
the symbol of his hobby, any of these could be 
worked into the decorations and the whole design 
worked out in harmony with them. This example 
is designed for a seashore house or the home of 
a man especially interested in ships 
