Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-07-28
sbo5t M midlle q the century was by no

| HUOuL Inc U1lQQl6 VI kilc Woo " @A'
means destitute OF taste.
d. THE FAME OF THE PRESENT DAY.
NJ AT the present time, the large majority o
the fans made in England are very common
affairs of paper or white wood, sometimes
coarsely pierced and decorated with flowers
Similar cheap fans are. also made in Wen
ma, whence large numbers are exported.
The dress fan Of a high character is now
almost exclusively manufactured, in Paris.
limo other city does modern fan COM
4 mandsthe price Of $780, and the makers
may well claim to have made al Europe
tributary to them, admitting, however, that
they cannot rival the cheapand remarkable
quality Of the Chinese fans.
The fan like the pin is the work of many
hands-the painter, the carver, the glider,
and the ieweler, with several inferior arti-
Fans. In some instances the fan is the de-
sign Of an eminent artist, who thus gives
to it uniform and harmonious character.
In the report Of the DELEGATIONS Ouvrieres,
Paris universal exhibition of 1867, it is sta
ted that the fan stick is specially made in
the department d r0ise, and that mother-of
deari, ivory, bone, sandal wood, and other
domestic and foreign woods are ilsed-the
manufacture In mother of pearl being
carried on at Andeville, and in OH
er materials at st. Genevieve.
Entire families devote their time to the
work. The finely painted mount is exclu-
sively Paris work, the best artists being
frequently employed. The fans thus pro-
duced are made under the direction of the
principal dealers In the city, and usually
represent some speciality which belong to
their produce. GT
USE, INFORMATION, AND ORNAMENT.
In the eighteenth century the fan was
used to record the event of the day.
Fashion, music literature, politics were
alike made subserVient to its power, and TO
an extent which can now be hardly inn
agined. The opera, the theater, the SEN
ate or the church became the medium of
its exhibition. Thus when Dean Swift's
"GulliVer's Travels" appeared, all the prin-
cipal events were depicted on both sides Of
the fan. The same result followed the pro-
duction Of the " Beggars' Opera, 1.-THE favor
tie songs in which were painted on the
fans, and ispolitical emblems were so rife
that lady's opinion was as readily known
by her fan as by her patches" A similar
practice prevailed In France, and In the
time of the revolution their artists were
fond ofrecording the principal events of the
period upon fans, among which may be
mentioned, "The Mountain Child of the
Republican Constitution" "The Triumph
of National Religion over Atheism, Fanati-
cism, and Skepticism," "The Fete of Agri-
culture" etc.
Occasionally though very rarely, fans were
adapted in the ornamentation to the useful.
At the close of the eighteenth century a fan
was advertised in The World especially
adapted to frequenters of the opera, and
was thus described: 6The fans present at
one view the number of boxes, including
the additional ones; the names of subscri-
bers, etc, and have been carefully compared
with the plan of the house as kept at this
Office"
- EMINENT FAN ARTISTS.
In the eighteenth century fan-making
was an extensive and important business,
and called into requisition the talents oftbe !
highest and best painters, many of whom
commenced life as fan-painters. In Eng |
land at this period an Italian artist named |
Pozzi, painted fans from designs supplied by |
West, Reynolds and Capriani, and which, |
according to Miss Burney, were painted |
On leather, thereby meaning chickens |
skin" which she described as being "more |
beautiful than could well be imagined" In !
ike manner France produced in the eigh-
.eenth century many artistic men with |
whose names fans are intimately associated. |
them may be mentioned Vatican,
Godefroy, Frangenard, Boucher, LEU and
Willefls.
"vERNIs MARTIN"
The art called ''Vernis Martin" has been |
much employed in the decoration of fans,
but little appears TO be known of the origi-
nal designer of this novel and beautiful
work. Martin is reported to have been a
coach painter in Paris in the reign of Louis
XIV, and was The inventor of the fire var
lish which bears his name. lie was prob
IDLY skilled In all the heraldic and artistic
decorations then lavished upon carriage pan
is. He has been described as ga famous
PAINTER and chemist"-his fame is celebra-
ed in the verse of Voltaire; AMI it is evil
lent that he was something more than
mere t'UerniSSuer" as has been supposed.
dis fans, though remarkable for their fine
7arnish, are far more distinguished by their
peculiar beauty, and novelty of their orna-