Vol. IX, No. 4 
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK 
August, 1907 
E would call attention to the fol- 
lowing letter from one of our old 
customers. If any one of our read- 
ers recognizes the order not heard 
from, she would do well to write 
again more definitely to Mrs. Fil- 
kins. Babies and servants and 
housekeeping are poor aids to mem- 
ory of details. It would be well to 
hang this letter in a conspicuous 
place. 
Dear Keramic Studio : 
If space permits, you might do me (and also other 
Dealers in White China and Materials) the favor of pub- 
lishing something on 
the; inconsequence of women. 
Having had many amusing and exasperating illustra- 
tions of the sweet inconsequence of the dear sex in general, 
it might help both customer and dealer, if you would call 
attention of your readers to several little points that seem 
to escape them when giving orders. 
Item: it is always necessary to sign your name, with 
address to letters. Most dealers are of necessity good 
' 'guessers, ' 'but this precaution saves time to you, and mental 
strain to the dealer. Postmarks are frequently illegible on 
envelope, and often more than one customer lives in a town. 
One of your readers, having noted my AD. has written 
a very irate letter to me stating that she inclosed $6.00 in 
currency with an order for china, and has not received 
any reply. No such order has been received here, and as 
this letter is signed Mrs. , no address at all, post- 
mark illegible, and the name new to me, I must appeal to 
you, to learn if you can furnish address. i -, 
Item: Don't send coin or currency in letters. It is 
unfair to the House, for if lost, always occasions more or 
less ill feeling. Postal employees are not all honest, and 
soon learn to know the houses that are doing a Mail-Order 
business, and are on the lookout for their mail, with its 
possible inclosures. I have suffered repeatedly these last 
two years, from peculations in this way, the Authorities 
seemingly being incapable of locating the thief. Drafts, 
Money-Orders, etc., are easily duplicated, thus no loss 
occurs, but coin and currency never are recovered. 
Item: Don't open an account in your husband's (if 
you are blessed with one) initials or name, and afterward 
send in orders signed with your pet, or christian name. 
It is generally better to give your worser half's name, and 
Mr. "John" is generally to be identified in the City Di- 
rectory, while Mrs. "Pet" is an unknown quantity to 
the Post and Expressman. 
Item: Be "definite" in your order. Don't ask for 
"plates No. 412" leaving it to the dealer's imagination to 
fill quantity and size. This last is the more common omis- 
sion, and frequently makes exasperating delay to the cus- 
tomer, in filling orders, through necessity of asking for 
definite instructions. 
Here endeth the first lesson. 
With best intentions, yours, 
. C. C. Filkins. 
LEAGUE NOTES 
At the triennial meeting of the National League of 
Mineral Painters held at the Art Institute, Chicago, May 8, 
1907, the following officers were elected. : 
President, Mrs. Mary A. Farrington, 1108 Norwood 
Ave., Chicago. 
Vice President, Miss M. Ellen Iglehart, 100 Auditorium 
Bldg., Chicago. 
Recording Secretary, Mrs. Mary J. Coulter, 960 Belle 
Plaine Ave., Chicago. 
Corresponding Secretary, Mrs. Lula C. Bergen, 7404 
Harvard Ave., Chicago. 
Secretary to President, Mrs. lone Wheeler, 941 Fine 
Arts Bldg., Chicago. 
Treasurer, Miss Minnie C. Childs, 4742 Evans Ave., 
Chicago. 
The members of the Advisory Board for the year 
1907-8 are: 
Chairman, Mrs. Mary A. Farrington, 
Vice Chairman, Mrs. Evelyn Beachey, 
Secretary, Mrs. Mary J. Coulter, 
Treasurer, Miss Minnie C. Childs, 
Member from New York, Mrs. C. Church, proxy, Mrs. 
Nellie A. Cross. 
Member from Boston, Mrs. Ella A. Fairbanks, proxy, 
Mrs. Lula C. Bergen. 
Member from Denver, Miss Ida C. Failing, proxy, Mrs. 
lone Wheeler. 
Member from San Diego, Mrs. Nora V. Sullivan, proxy, 
Mrs. Anna H. Abercrombie. 
Member from San Francisco, Mrs. M. E. Perley, proxy, 
Miss M. Ellen Iglehart. 
All clubs and individual members belonging to the 
League are requested to send in their dues for the current 
year promptly. The correspondence of the League is so 
large that in justice to other members those who have al- 
lowed their dues to lapse must be dropped from the roll. 
Unusual advantages are offered to every keramic 
decorator in the League Study Course this year, the plan 
of which was published in the July number of Keramic 
Studio. Every member sending in designs this year is 
entitled to criticisms by Miss Bessie Bennett of the Art 
Institute, Chicago, one of the foremost designers in the 
country. 
At present instruction in keramic designing can only 
be obtained of Miss Bennett by members of the League 
and students at the Art Institute. It is doubtful if so great 
an apportunity can be offered League members again at 
the present cost of membership. It is only made possible 
to offer it this year through the fact that Miss Bennett's 
interest in the success of the League and the advancement 
of keramic art is not a matter of dollars and cents. 
Notes of interest to all members will, through the cour- 
tesy of publishers of Keramic Studio, appear in each 
issue of the magazine, these will enable individual members 
to keep in close touch with all work of the League. Some 
of the best designs of this year will be reproduced occasional- 
ly during the year, these will be selected by merit alone. 
Printed slips containing cuts of the shapes selected 
