The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1877-11-06

a HellC OK q curious ana Almost For
gotten Art--Wonderful Picture OF the
City Troop-The Old Mans Remini-
SCIENCES of Distinguished Men.
From the Philadelphia Times.
In a large room on the ground
floor Of the building s2S Walnut
street is now on exhibition picture
of a kind not often seen in those
days. 1t is nearly forty feet long,
and represents tho Philadelphia
City Troop, mounted, marching in
columns of fours. Every officer is
in his proper position, and all are
in full uniform. Including the two
buglars in front, there arc seventy
two figures in the picture. In the
production of this curiosity no paint
was used, no photographers in
struments or other machiner y
brought into requisition, but the
entire pageant-men, horses, uni
forms, arms, accoutrements and
tlags-is cut out of paper of differ
ent appropriate colors with a pair
of small scissors. The faces of the
soldiers are not intended as like.
nesses, but it is 50 arranged that a
photograph of each members face
may be placed where it properly
belongs and SO make the picture a
lasting memento of the present
membership for future generations
to look upon.
Mr.. William H. Brown, the con.
structor of this curious picture, is
a relic of the past generation, and 4
representative of an art now almost
entirely lost or forgotten. He was
born in Charleston, S. g., in 1908.
His father was well-known mer.
chant of that city. His brother,
Alexander H. Brown, is one of the
Oldest members of the South Caro>
lima bar.
HE TRIES FORTUNE HERE.
After having finished his educa-
tion at the Garrison Forest Acade-
my, near Baltimore, Mr.. Brown
came to this city and took q posi-
ton with Gillingham Tevis & Co :,
auction and commission merchants,
on Market street, in which firm his
brother-in-law, Pope Mitchell, was
at that time partner He married
here, and although he has wandered
much, he has ever since considered
Philadelphia his home. From his
earliest years he showed rernarka-
bio facility in cutting out pictures.
In conversation with Times rep
resentative the old man said: :
"When L WAS scarcely moro than a
baby all my mother had to do to
keep me quiet was to give me a
piece of paper and a pair Of
scissors" In school he was noted
for the caricatures of his associates
which he produced. Finally he
adopted silhouette portrait making
as profession, travelling all over
the country, cutting" friends and
strangers alike. He received sit,
tings from all tho most distinguish
ed men of the day. He has a
scrapb book filed with compli-
mentary press notices of his work.
n 1916 Mr.. Brown published a
work. containing full-length silhou~
cite ikenesses from originals, cut
by his own scissors, of John
Marshall, John Quincy Adams,
Richard Channing Moore, Andrew
Jackson, John Forsyth, William
Henry Harrison, John 9. Calhoun,
De Witt Clinton, Richard M. john
son, Joel Roberts Poinsett, Alexan-
der Macomb, Martin Van Buren,,
Samuel Lewis Southland, Henry
Clay, Henry A. Wise, Thomas n.
Benton, John Tyler, Levi Wood
bury, Thomus Cooper, Daniel Web
ster, Bishop White, Silas Wright,
Nathaniel p. Talmadge, Felix
Grundy, Dixon Hall Lewis and
John Randolph. The work con-
tained biographical sketch of each
in a letter press and q .fac simaile
autograph letter from each, many
of them addressed to the author.
Mr.. Calhoun's letter, written in a
delicate, lady-like hand, but bold