Wichita eagle., 1888-07-20
SELLING BY PHOTO.
THE CAUSE OF THE DECLINE OF
THE pRUMMER'S GRIP.

cate Wares and Intricate Mechanisms.
Employment for Women.
The commercial tourist is being divorced
from his travelling bags, or, to speak more
tersely, the drummer is dropping his ''grips.
The only infallible mark of the drummer
viii now be the pockets which bulge with
paper covered novels The cause Of the de-
cline of the gripsack is the colored photo
graph The bulky samples that the travel
ing man used to bear from place to place
and which were, 50 to speak, his badge of
Office, he has replaced with couuterfeit pre-
sentiments Of the same.
Delicate, true, light and compact, these
pictures, carried about in the pocket, can
represent an immense quantity Of goods in
such 6 manner that there is no mistaking
tint, quality, texture or size. They repre-
sent everything from machinery to bric-a-
brac and from kitchen stoves to ladies' slip
pers. Those which need no coloring-iike
the stoves and macbinery-are simply pho
tographed in black and white. But the pho
tographs are the very best Of their kind, and
set forth each part with faithfulness that
is remarkable. In the most intricate ma
chinery every bit of betting, every wheel,
cog, arm and elbow is most understandable
produced from every point of view.
But the inviting albums are those which
contain the colored photographs. These are
used in particularly large quantities by the
crockery and the furniture houses The for
ner find use for them because their wares
are SO fragile; the latter because they are SO
cumbersome. The pictures Of the bric-a-brac
and the fine china ere wonderfully delicate,
and it is q surprise to learn that the micro
scope IS never used in the painting Of them
The work IS done entirely by young women
One photographer keeps eight or ten quite
steadily employed The work is taken to the
houses of the artists, and done there as q
usual thing It requires much more art than
the ordinary painter Of photographs uses in
putting touch Of carnine on the cheeks or
dash Of azure on the eyes of portrait. The
painting Of texture is several degrees above
this, and this must be thoroughly understood.
Tie soft satin wear, the Worcester and royal
Dresden, the queen and Bohemian, the clays
and porcelains, all have very different fin
ish. which must be preserved in the photo
graph if II is to be OF any value It needs
not only accurate but strong eyes, a steady
and delicate touch, and most painstaking
patience.
Young women are the very ones out Of all
the world III whom all OF these qualities ara
cUubia... and that is the reason that this
pretty Toll IS given them SO universally.
But th-ie is another reason-an old, famil-
lar reason 4 man could not maze enough
10 keep him. The work must be done by
girls wno have homes. To be sure, one can
make 81 & day at the coloring OF the photo
graphs Of china or brlc-a-brac, and now and
then Dy wor G1g over hours and very stead
ily it might be possible TO make "a Such
arduous work could hardly be repeated on
two successive days, however. But, though
this wage is not bad, it has the drawback Of
being fuctuating and unreliable. One week
there may be quantities of work, the next
week none at all
One Of the conditions Of successful photo
graph painting of this fine nature is absolute
silence 4 positive concentration Of the
faculties is needed, and most OF the girls who
do the work have little studios where they
can quietly work by themselves Here, with
big aprons protecting their dresses, their
photographs set on little inclined
board before them, and their case Of
liquid paints close ct hand, they patiently
strain their young eyes over the almost in
4illLScAlLLliI % IiSA are
1t is very conining, and no doubt the spas
modjc demands arc blessings in disguise, for
continued application to it would be apt to
tell seriously upon the nervous system
The Uniting Of the photographs OF furni-
ture is simpler on the whole, although many
wholesale houses have their furniture up
holstered in cretonne before it is photo
graphed. Creropne. OF course, admits Of
coioriag, which plush does not.
The business is ore which IS likely to in
crease steadily and 70 extend to many
branches of commerce which have not yet
iuvestig gated it.
THIS fact has been recognized by the deaf
mute school on the west side, and the art of
coIoring commercial photographs is among
the industries in which TIE pupils are being
instructed. The abnormal development Of
sight and touch which all deaf mutes possess
makes them especially fitted for this WORK
a woman who was one of the first TO advise
teaching artistic branches in this school said
the other day: NO one who has not
watched the development of these chill
dren can imagine what difference the
introduction of the light arts has made in
their lives. They have gained in self-respect,
as well as in enjoyment Of life. Many Of
them had been regarded as little less than i'm
beetle in their own homes, and some had been
the recipients of all the cuffs and kicks that
that an ill-natured household chose to bestow
upon them. At the very best they were coz
sidered great cross.
In the school, after thorough system Of
communication had been established, we in
structed them in the common branches and
then gave them an industrial course The
girls were taught dressmaking. the boys car
pentering. But 1t seemed to Us finally tia.
we were making mistake IN putting them
IN competition with such a great number as
overcrowd these trades. As an experiment.
we put teacher in modelling in the school
\ GU can imagine nothing more touching than
the scene the first morning we gave them the
clay. They took to it as ducks do to water
There was nothing Of the awkwardness in
handling it which most children show at first.
Why, they began making things OF their own
accord Immediately, and some Of the faces
which had always been as blank as wall
previously were 1t up with sudden vivacity.
Il was the same with drawing, for which we
engaged q teacher from the Art institute.
From these experiments we gathered courage.
We perceived that we could make engrave-s.
designers. wood carvers, architects and deco
rators out Of our poor unfortunate children.
and in time We shall Try to do ell that
Chicago Times