Jf unit lure of all tfje 
#reat Cpocfts 
^IT'he many and varied Exhibits so 
^ engagingly arranged in the 
Twelve Galleries of this establishment 
constitute a veritable encyclopaedia of 
the cabinetmaker’s art 
C[ Here, indeed*, may one give the 
fullest expression to personal 
preference in selecting each piece of 
Furniture and each Decorative Object, 
whether the scheme in view involves 
an entire house or a single room. 
Cl This noteworthy collection is as 
comprehensive as any gathering of 
distinguished Furniture could well be: 
equal alike to the modest requirements 
of the small apartment and the 
elaborate demands of the town house, 
or country estate. Whatever the 
problem, its solution may be realized 
here, amid harmonious surroundings 
and at well within moderate cost. 
Suggestions may be gained from de luxe prints 
of charming interiors, sent gratis upon request. 
Grand Rapids Rirniture Company 
INCORPORATED 
34'36 West 32 ~ Street 
New York City 
A bit of early 18 th Century Italian iron work used to grace a 
modern garage gateway. It really makes the whole composition. 
Charles Welling, architect 
Smithcraft as an Ally to Architecture 
(Continued from page 21) 
should not lead us into the silly and 
amateurish affectation of demanding a 
multiplicity of hammer marks all over 
the surface till the iron looks as though 
it had had small-pox. 
However fascinating the technical side 
of iron working may be, we must more 
directly heed the large relation of dec¬ 
orative smithing to architecture and its 
applicability as an architectural embel¬ 
lishment to enrich the buildings that are 
being erected to-day and shall be erected 
to-morrow and all the days following. 
Decorative smithing has its own tra¬ 
ditions, its own types of design peculiar 
to certain periods and corresponding to 
contemporary architectural expression. 
There was just as much development, 
just as much progressive change of style 
in ironwork, as in the making of furni¬ 
ture or in the evolution of architecture 
or of any other art, and all its changing 
aspects were affected by influences just 
as subtle and gradual in their working 
as were the agencies that determined the 
varied growths and manifestations of 
other arts and industries. 
To cite only a few instances of the 
part decorative smithing played in the 
past, we might mention the strap hinges 
with diverging, foliated scrolls and the 
elaborate strap-work, or “cramps,” em¬ 
anating from them and used to enforce 
and enrich medieval oaken doors. Key- 
plates, locks, knockers and door pulls, 
too, afforded the smiths a chance to dis¬ 
play their decorative skill and originality. 
Foreign Iron Works 
Of the Italian decorative ironwork, 
the most familiar examples to the ma¬ 
jority of people are the balconies, lan¬ 
terns, lamp brackets and torch holders 
that grace the exteriors of old buildings 
in North Italian cities. 
In France the iron gates and railings 
of the Louis XIV period are enough to 
impress the most heedless with the tre¬ 
mendous decorative value of this sort 
of metal work. 
In England, from the time of William 
and Mary onward, to say nothing of 
antecedent work, the smiths produced 
the most graceful creations from which 
it is impossible for anyone, blessed with 
eyes to see or taste to appreciate, to 
withhold admiration. The popularity of 
this type of adornment was phenomenal 
and it was put to every conceivable use. 
Following the example set by Hampton 
Court, every important seat or mansion 
became adorned with magnificent fore¬ 
court and garden gates, screens and 
(Continued on page 52) 
Wrought iron window grill, showing 
adaptation of Italian inspiration to 
modern needs. Mellor & Meigs, 
architects 
