The daily gazette., 1877-05-28
Fashions In Furniture.

A fancy among the amateur uphol-
sterers of the day Is Eastlake furniture.
The fundamentalidea of this invention
is the abandonment of the superficial and
cultivation of the solid and down right.
Our chairs, tables and escritoires are for
ced to present themselves in dishabille;
pins, joints wedges and dovetails all
clear, open and, without a pun, above. :.
board. The timbers are heavy, the legs
thick Nothing ID upsettable, or capable
of being hurt Ii by unforeseen miracle
unset. Sofas and reception-cbairs are
modelled after the stools and benches in
the beer-houses ofTeniers and the dining
room of Luther. No fastening is adnis-
sible that does not reveal itself frankly,
without pretence of being something
else or of not being at all. Honest work
is the keynote, aud no work can be
honest that Is ashamed TO show itself or
lodges In any way.
against veneer is pleasant to see. 1t is,
however, subject TO the fault of most re-
vols, that it ovbrshoots the mark. 1t
pushes one very good principle at the
| expense of another Fidelity In carpen-
try, like fidelity in everything else, is
quits attainable without involving tile
rude. A good and strong thing may
very well be at the same time beautiful
thing. When it is matnt constantly to
| address the cultivated eve, and to elevate
as well as recognize taste, 1t must be so
| Beauty excludes the cumbrous and un
| couth. 1t declines to. force upon us the
processes of the mere workman, but seeks
to decorate and disguise them. IL take;
the object, in other words, frein his
hands and passes it for completion TO the
artist. Aud the latter we should remem
ber, cannot thoroughly play his part i
| n
remiss. The foundation cannot but b'
good if the finished product be elegran
and fitted to its purpose, economical OF
aesthetic; and that is all we need want Il
see or know of it. There is not thu
slightest necessity of parading construc
ton. If the ceiling above us be smooth
well shaped and without flaws, we know
that the beams OF the arch on which 1t i
suspended are stout and well laid. Wha
need of proving IT by the exposure o
bare oak or bare brick? To effect tha
demonstration by tearing away OF sacri
ficing frescoes and delicate mouldings i
like taking off flesh and skin to show tn
bones.
Under some circumstances the displa,
OF construction ID desirable Other cor
siderations than additional cost me.
render it so. In such cases it may evel
be emphasized by carving or other dc
| cOratlOnS. The rafterS ana struts OF
Gothic roof and The hinges of a cathedra
door or an oaken or ebony chest are of
ten so used But it is the beauty, rathe
than the use, of beam or hinge that thei
makes it pleasing, although the com
bination of the two qualities is als'
gratifying The inlaid scrolls of iron
brass or silver which we admire are o
no use to the hinge, any more than tn,
lanterns and interlaced groins are to thu
roof. t..
But we hear complaints that the age i
reasserting itself, that veneer is smother
ing EasIlake, aud that the paraded con
struction is in turn becoming sham
The bolt-heads are glued on, the dovetap
painted and the metal-work mere tracery
Eastlake furniture thus becoming weake
than that it assumes to exceed ii
strength. The solution is clear enough
Heaviness is not necessarily strength
for portable articles it conflicts wit
strength. And good Workmanship an,
good art may march together. To
great extent they imply each other.-E
c. b. in Lppiadoh.