The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-07-23
EAsTLdKE FURNITURE.


Like Wellington boots, Byron shirt col
lars. and Brougham carriages, the style Of house
hold furniture recently brought into fashion
by Mr.. Eastlake has taken tue meme OF it's
patron. Il stlake chairs, EsctiaKe tables, and
Eas flake bedsteads, washstands. bureaus. de skis
side0oards. and even mantelpleces, have come
To be regular articles Of commerce. Their char
acteristics are; angular, Instead OF curved out
lines solid wood. instead oi yeneering; oil CT
shellac IN placc OF varnish; and profession Of
iIl.iu tiles aud brass or nickel hines or lochs
covering the surface. In general, this style 4
furniture may be said TO be IA TEL rodu,tion Il
that IN use several centuries ago. before mod rn
cabinet making bad reached its present per:ec-
ton, and when furniture Was made by house
carpenters. or. a. they are called la England
ioiner-. 1t EXHIBITS the same obtrusiveness of
the framework, and the same rudeness Of carv-
ins aud ornan entstion which may ne observed
IN the paneiling and timbering of me so called
Tudor mansions. Jhis suggestion Of antiquity,
~ much as its other qualities. has made 1t popu-
lar, aud IL receive the aid Of romantic feeling
like that which leads people To set up suits Of
iron ermor III their balls, MI their windows with
stnined glass, aud initiate 10 pine clapboards the
massive turrets aud frowning battiements OF
ancient Gothic castles. what Pugin did for
medieval Architecture, Eastlake has done for
the furniture of the same period, aud with
something lie equal success.
Justice to Mr. Lasil Ike requires US 10 say that
IN Recommending mis- style oI furniture he was
gui led by sound principles and had good pur-
pose. His soul. lac the soul If al artists re-
VOTED from the 81 ns and uglinvss which
abound In English dwelling bouse-, nd In his
"Niuls on IloDsohold Taste " b. G set himself to
accomplishing ret orm. To show the difference
between furniture 80 II ought % hc and furiii-
turo as II ought not TO be, he gave examples
from an earlier epoch. when tue very Limitations
Of mechanical arr 'urbade those prrvetsipns OF
taste which modern skill has rendered cosy
Thus, h Presents with approval the drawing of
a common Windsor chair. the work OF a coun
Try cartwright, because, he says, the principles
Of It's construction are sound, and It's d,oora-
ton in accordance with necessary forms. For
similar re- son he refers to models VI tables,
chests OF drawers. ana cabinets made 10y work
men not much more accomplished than the
cartwright, aud praises them FOR their honest
truthiulness. He counselled an imitation, not
Of the corrse clumsiness Of these articles, bat
the singlcncss Of purpose which they mani
feited. h would nave our modern cAD,net
makers WORK IN the spirit OF the old joiners out
MOI with "a slav1sh adherence To their designs.
a forEetfulness of this rule has led to results
E.s1l.ke. Our shops and our houses have been
invaded by hosts Of articles watch have no
other merit than that OF recalling by their
quaint odditN ty-goue period Of history, or BY
L., glitter ana nus hlness OF their nentation
d"nghiing the un,uitivated eve. A 81 iare
stih-bacAei chair may be pleasing from It's sug-
gesu 'ns, and colorcd ties or brignt meta
hinges may lend Il Kind OF odlnancy TO desk
OF s'de0odrd, bat they are not the last achieve
ment "i art, nor the perfection Of comfort aud
usefulness. our household apirtm ms are
mostlN lued up for d lily use. aud to MI them
win chi' cts whose chief merit Is the pleasure
We IKE Ia locking at them, Is to give up sui
stance Tor shadow.
II may he doubted, indeed, whether much OF
what Is suld as EAstl-ke furniture Is, for ANY
purpose, A. good as less ptetentious kind. 1t
is hhe hi@hl, sllced disues In cookery, winch
soon weary the palate, while modest Deef and
pot toes hold their own, day in ana day out. for
a lifetime. Tnrre Is SUCH IL tuiug as having
coma on utensils too pretty. Ii has teen well
SAID thst the best dressed man or woman is one
whose toilet attracts no special attention, but
merely produces a vague sense of satisfaction IN
the heholder So well furnished room Is not
that which attracts the eye to this, that, aud
the other prominent piece Of furniture, but well
comes the incQmer with general air Of quiet
ELEGANCE. Indeed. IL II II sign of the progress Of
taste among US that gaudy carpets, wall papers.
and furniture covering, have been very much
supplanted "f late oy those of quiet and uuOb-
truslve patterns, and tue extreme vogue OF
tins Il Atlake furniture Is sep backward,
which viii have u be retraoed. 1t Is a iran
sitory fashion, which must run it's cour.e, but
thai course will soon be flushed, and tue ge u
eral onward movement be resumed.