Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1884-01-12
SAN FRANCISCO LETTER.
THE RECENT AUCTION OF BOOTHS
COLLECTION OF PAINTINGS.
Notes of some Of the Prices-Revie~s Of
the Holiday Txhibiss-cooper Med
icaI conege-soctal Events.
san FRANcGsco, January 9, 1854

ZION OF paintings anu OIlS' Oi0O' "HiSA
was auctioned at Dashaway Hall last night,
attracted great deal of attention, the
hall being full of visitors tor the three or
four days the things were Oh view. Since
the auction is all over one may venture to
remark upon auctioneering methods. When
there is q collection of undoubted merit
and genuineness to be disposed of, the man
ayers who have it in hand take the oppor.
tunity to introduce among the objects of
art a number of wretched, cheap affairs
which, instead of slipping along unnoticed
under the shadow of the fine pieces, tend
to lower the tone of the whole display.
The columbus in Prison." by Brandner,
was very beautiful. The face, sharpened
by grief and yet not embittered ; the deep
set dark eye, at once keen and soft, and
the distribution of light upon the hands
and clothing, satisfied the mind and fancy
by setting them working, and the eyes, by
the good execution. The
HORSES HEAD, BY vERBoECKHovEN,
Attracted most attention after the Colum.
bus. 1t was the head and neck of white
horse thrust through window of brown
boards. A currycomb lay on a small
shelf nailed to the window. Eugene Yer.
boeckhoven is such worshiped name that
one ventures adverse criticism with the
greatest diffidence, but his horses always
seem to me a little bit too smooth and
hard, like china. horses, and the boards of
their stalls too smoothly vanished. He
paints the horses eye, however, full of fire
and affection, large, liquid and seeing
Among the brio. brac was black marble
inkstand made in the shape of Roman
sarcophagus, very heavy and handsome,
and the grusome association rather in.
tensifed a certain fascination odd table
furnishings have for people who live good
deal in their libraries. Two heavy black
marble jardinieres, with large shallow black
basins on rouge antique pedestals, would
make pretty card-receIvers for a lady with
utter tastes. Speaking of pretty things,
l was shown the
REMAINS OF THE HOLIDAY EXHIBIT
At the largest of our jewelry stores. The
proprietors have fitted up the basement
with soft carpet and artistic wall paper and
many gas Jets, and all round the room as
we'll as on the large counter in the center
are exquisite clocks, urns, vases, lamps
and all the useful and useless things that
the silversmith's ingenuity can devise out
of precious metals. a few specimens of
old Worcester porcelain vases were left,
amphoIa with delicate necks, of a mellow
ivory white, with golden flowers in grace
full pattern enamelled upon the swelling
sides. a dainty little antique lamp of
hammered silver accompanied headless
golden barrel for cigarettes, and small
black teakettle over an alcohol lamp of the
worked iron and silver which are combined
so oddly lately-the silver breaking through
in places as if the iron had been worn
smooth-suggested the nervous lady in.
creasing the tidgets she thinks she is allay.
ing with her favorite beverage. Sets of
solid spoons for berries or ices were made
in the shape of leaves, vine, rose and
cress, for the bowl, and twisted handle,
each of the dozen a different design from
the rest. There was a famous big ham,
mered gold punch bowl with branches of
oxidized silver grapes for handles, and
ladle redeemed from a sOupy likeness by
its depth and generous lip.
THE MOST CHARMING PIECE
OF work was loving cup" of silver,
holding almost as much as that of the eel.
ebrated ancestor of the Grand Duchess of
Gerolstein. There were two handles of
grape clusters, and at the base thistle
with it's leaves, a jewel by itself, applied
below an engraved verse with the music of
"Auld Lang Syne." Upstairs saw
butterfly, frog, and bat about an inch
and quarter in length, with gold bodies
thickly set with diamonds. The shapes
are given to the workman in solid form and
he proceeds to prepare them to receive the
stones by filing holes through the gold
plate with tiny file no larger than hair
pin. He can have no guide but his eye, the
piece is so small, but the holes must be
symmetrical, and enough gold, yet not too
much, must be left at the top to set the
diamond in. The under side of the butter
fly's wing showed regular rows of aper-
lures, each bounded by waved line like
that with which leaf is sketched. In the
show-cas were two pink pearls, recently
brought from the South Seas, distinguish
able from pink coral by their delicate
nothing and another singular stone was
a large amber. colored opal set as the body
of a golden tarantula. The opal only
showed its vivid glints of green and red in
certain lights. There is a funny phrase
that some friends of mine use to express the
deplorable state OF not being we'll informed
In current matters. They say of one in
that ungrateful case, He is behind the
lighthouse. l was in that undesirable
obscurity concerning
THE COOPER MEDICAL INSTITUTE
Until ldy gave me programme of lect.
ures to be delivered there this winter,
when | proceeded. upon the date of the
first lecture, to find out what, in fact, the
Cooper Medical College might be. 1t il
magnificent, substantial, tive.story brick
building like one of the University build
ings at Cambridge, with gray stone facings.
1t is well out in the western part OF the
city, but only a block from one of the
principal car lines. The entrance is
directly on the corner Of the street, which
is a pleasant variation. You enter, 90 up
flight OF stairs, turn to the left and find
yourself in a large hall, which, on the
occasion of the lecture, wac filed to over
flowing the audience was composed of
the bone and snew, rather than the hdute
TO'se OF the community, as was to be eX-
pected at popular science lectures, which |
blushed for my ignorance to find was the
second course that had been delivered.
They are free lectures, and this one, on
ne lbAutuGG u Tue LflluN On Vic DOt1Y
was delivered by Professor Z. Gushing, in
evening dress, from notes. He spoke
sensibly and heartily, often humorously,
and rather less than an hour his con-
olusion being that healthy, busy mind
will carry the machine it lives in further
than morbid. timid and over-sensitive
one that dwells on little aches and pains
aud listens TO its own pulses until it is
overwhelmed with its cwn complicated
mechanism After the lecture I saw the
building little, Ga the highest floor of
all is
THE FAMOUS DIssECTISG- ROOM,
Said to be the finest IN the United States.
The system OF ventilation is perfect, the
floor is chemically prepared with a sub
stance which prevents its absorption of
any matter, the dissecting tables, Of which
+bere ara treufy, or more are covered with