August, 1921 
49 
FOOT-SCRAPERS FROM 
COLONIAL HOUSES 
That Are In Use To-day 
Whether the Colonial craftsman 
painted a delicate piece of wall 
paper, carved a superb mantel or 
wrought a foot-scraper at his 
forge, he took that definite pride 
in turning out a satisfactory 
product which alone distinguishes 
the finest craftsmen 
F EW parts of the Co¬ 
lonial house show 
more clearly than the foot- 
scraper how carefully each 
detail of craftsmanship was 
studied by early home build¬ 
ers. The range of design 
was limited, and the forms 
few. In spite of this, each 
individual example was 
wrought with a remarkable 
feeling for the decorative 
value of a flowing or spiral 
line. The pattern generally 
consisted of a central plate, 
flanked by spiral ends. 
The spiral motif seems to dominate these early 
designs and was executed either simply or with 
more florid finish, according to the skill of the 
craftsman. This example is from a house in 
Hartford, Ct., built about 1830 
(Left) While the range of designs is limited, 
each of these foot-scrapers was wrought with 
an individuality that gives it a difference from 
its fellows. This comes from a house in 
Cheshire, Ct., built about 1810 
From an old house in Alexandria, Va., 
comes this example, showing the prev¬ 
alence of the spiral motif in all parts 
of the Atlantic seaboard 
The flowing lines in this example from 
a Long Island farmhouse are char¬ 
acteristic of the feeling for decorative 
value in these early iron workers 
