Morning journal and courier., 1886-04-14
DECORATIVE WORK IN AMBER. Its Use in Ornamenting Surface of
 StippI1ng or of Lfncrusta.

From the Decorator and Furnisher1
 l Amber is used considerably in minor deco
 ratiye work, as in jewelry and kniek-knacks.
 Its expense of course precludes it's employ
 ment on an extended scale, though one can
 easily imagine that beading of it around a 1 room decorated in yellow would add dain- 1 ty charm to it, and that small fragments of 1 it might be combined in mosaic ornament
 on surface of stippling or of lincrusta.
 Our decorators, if they to take the hin t,
 might save up amber beads and fragments
 of the mouthpieces of cigarholders that fall
 in their way, to see what they can accom-
 plish in this direction. beautiful design
 executed in bits of amber, and sunk into a
 wall something after the fashion of the pieces of glass that form the leading notes
 of color in jeweled window, would be a 1 novelty at all events, and that it would be | an artistic one there is little doubt. In small pieces this substance is not expensive, but | the price, as in the case of diamonds, aug | ments in geometrical rather than arithmeti- l cal ratio, as the size increases. Thus piece | as big one's little finger joint would be 1 worth about a quarter of a dollar, but a l piece of twice that size would be worth sev- 1 eral hundred per cent more, and if the size were again doubled the increase in value would be in still higher proportion. The l largest piece in the world that is without blemish is in the Mark Museum in Dantzic l and weighs eight pounds The owner re- l fused $S 800 for it.
 l Frederick the Great bought thirteen pound lump a curiosity for about that sum- but though heavier it is impure and is cracked and porous. It is kept in a mine ralogical museum in Berlin. The Empress l of Russia has priceless tea set made of am l Der, but it is presumed that she does not l drink tea from it very often. A complete pipe, carved from the same material, was smoked by Frederick William III. of Prus- 1 sia, father of the reigning Kaiser, and the bowl of it is decorated with an excellent re- lief portrait of its owner. Frederick the Great owned beautiful flute of amber-the flute was his pet instrument-and this, to- gether with the pipe, is preserved in Fer l lin collection. Amber with insects in it is quite common, the unfortunate bugs and 1 flies having alighted on the gnm it was flowing down the bark of the trees, and sticking fast as it slowly enveloped them, while fragments of bark and leaves further attest it's vegetable origin. But it remained for A. T. Stewart to discover piece that en- closed perfect fish, or rather to discover a Stewart bought it for $4, 800. Some very pretty jewelry is made Of amber, it's rich, sherry like color and high polish emitting it to be more used in personal adornment than it ever has been. If it were more scarce such jewelry would be eagerly sought for. There are ear-drops like transparent gold; necklaces of amber buttercups and daisies pins in the form of wild roses, and backs for combs studded with little globes of amber. l It has been combined with frosted silver, fl- l igree work. gold and pearls with good effect. I Clouded amber, showing streaks of white l and gray that marked the slow convolutions | of the gum as it trickled down, is much es teemed by and costs more than trans | parent amber, but the clear article is most | pleasing as decorative material, as it has the ! most brilliancy, softness and color. There | are some possibilities in amber worth testing. !