Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-06-02

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dicate the effort that is now made to tighten
the effect of the piano. These are DIVIDED
and united by an arch itself pretty mimic
architectural feature. On other pianos tney
are divided into clusters of columns. a
Chickering baby grand piano intended ior
Mr.. Sandford is of satin wood with
INLAID FEsTooNs OF PEARL
and the legs here are small clustered col
umns of ebony. A still further rehnement
| appears in a piano which is to be sent 10
Mr.. Sanderson in England. This Stem
way grand. in this case of mahogany which
Cottiers is treating like an old Sheraton
spinet, the front support being divided into
three tapering legs. This is all part OF
movement to which the piano has sue
cumbed, and greatly to its gain.
As I have said the present fashion re-
quires pianos of light wood, or treated In
harmony with the present light mode of in
terror decoration, except where the room De
mands different treatment. The point is the
| room prescribes the piano. In Constantine
pie, for example, Byzantine styles prevail
The Sultan of Turkey had Steinway up
right prepared for his use or some one OF the
| ladies of his family. This was an ebony
upright with Byzantine ornament lnlald In
gilt Another upright grand is now on the
point OF going to him for some other or more
favored member of his family, constructed
in the same way of ebony and gilt, but much
more elaborately inlaid, the case being a
mass of gilt inlay after Byzantine designs.
The saloon of the "Alva," in W. Z. Van
derbilt's steam yacht, is in first empire style;
accordingly the Steinway upright is OF ma
hogany with applied ornament in brass, the
round pillars being elaborately festooned
with brass wreaths. On the other hand In
the Japanese room of Mrs. Kennedy,
Steinway upright of ebony has perforated
and solidly carved panels divided as the
Japanese treat their panels, and as sep
arate and center panel cloissoure PLAGUE,
the borders elsewhere being of inlays OF
ivory.
LIBRARY PIANOS
are very severe in style, and usually in oval.
Such one designed by Mr.. Bruce Price
| for Mr.. Pratt, of Ohio, has an oblong up
per panel of perforated carving In which
the foliation and cherubs heads are equal to,
/ and in feeling resemble old Italian carving.
But this is the only ornament of the piano.
One of the most remarkable pianos pro-
duced has been a Steinway upright for Mr.
Norman B. Ream, of Chicago, shaped like
Turkish pagoda and evidently intended for
! a Turkish room. It is of satin wood, inlaid
and relieved with colors.
! But space fails to tell of the numerous
! and costly instruments which have been
| specially designed for particular rooms In
| Mrs. James B. Floods fine San Francisco
music room the satin wood grand piano is
| superb, much in the same way as that OF
Sir Donald Smith, italian in character, the
luxurious, acanthus leaf being used to mark
off the recessed form of the keyboard. Mr..
Potter Palmer, of Chicago, one of whose
habits is to buy pianos, is the owner of sew
| eral of these magnificent new creations.
But the piano is not the only instrument
now in the decorative line. AS it happens,
the most decorative of all instruments, the
harp, has not been restored to favor in
private life. The harp compares well.
Lovely woman is never so picturesque as
embracing its graceful form. Miss Maud
Morgan, in Greek drapery and filleted beside
her harp is
FEAST FOR THE EYES,
rather than the ears. But to accomplish the
! harp is too much for the amateur. More
over it spoils the fingers, and the manicure
would forbid this as in the days OF long
nails she prohibited the piano. But in the
same proposition the banjo, guitar and the
mandolin are inferior For these one need
only make a pretty pretense, and nothing
more readily combines into picturesque
arrangement than one of these stringed in
struments placed with artful art against
some drapery. The mandolin, the most
musically unsatisfactory, but the most dec
orative in form, is in highest feather. The
mandolins come from Naples, and connois-
seurship has in few cases demanded any
thing more than its graceful but essential
form. An exceptional instance is Jersey
woman who has $500 mandolin overlaid
with tortoise shell, inlaid with pearl and
her monogram in gold. The mandolin is
played with a tortoise shell tooth, and to
spare the sounding board which would
otherwise be scratched through, drugget,
so to say, of tortoise shell always covers the
place. This is one Of the principal fields of
inlay, and in the $500 instruments the de-
sign was butterfly in myriad small bits of
pearl.
The guitar, so lohg neglected, has for the
same reason regained favor. With careless
art it arrests the eye and makes one of those
centers of attraction that it is now the fash
| ion to create. Moreover, with ribbon of
becoming hue, it may be strung jewel-like
idly about the neck if one can strum little
and greatly assist the human tableau. If
one has fortunately nice one, no other in
strument can furnish so perfect an accom-
paniment. Accordingly many beautiful
guitars answer to the renewed demand.
Even the banjo responds in silver mount
ings and pearl inlays. 1t is much affected
by younger girls. who find it compares we'll
with youth and good humor and gay satin
ribbons. But not alone young girls. One
of the most beautiful banjos is owned by Mr..
Sylvester Hilton, for which the pegs of
ivory were specially carved.
IT CoNoUERs TIME.
The only instrument which has in fact re-
sisted the temper of the times is the violin.
There are gold mounted bows, but decora-
tion goes no further. What the violin anna
teur covets is Guarnerius, or a Stradiva-
rius, or if not modern violin, that shall
look like one. The violin makers prices
provide for making the varnish look poor
and worn in places so much extra. But the
desire for decorative instruments cannot
outstrlp the violin enthusiast who keeps the
precious fiddle in the dark seclusion of its
box. Miss Daisy Bowman, Of BROOKLYN, is
the fortunate possessor of a Guarnerius.
Miss Helen Willard plays upon an Amoti.
Miss Winifred Rogers, Miss Kate Manson,
OF the Fifth Avenue Hotel, Mrs. Woodward,
ex-Mayor Hewitt'S daughters. are all dis
tinguished amateurs with precious instru-
ments.
Mr.. John W. Waters, of Brooklyn, has a
collection of old violins, and you may find
him many fine day at Fletcher's RECALLING
himself with the sounds OF many fiddles.
Mr.. Willis Norverl. of Boston, has two
Strads of 1710 and liza, costing 1900 and
$4,000 each.
Mr.. Thurlow Weed Barnes, of Albany,
an amateur of no mean pretensions. has
Strad of 1705 costing 5000, and Gaspar
da Salo of 1912 for which he paid 81, 900.
These are exceptions, and only verify the
rule that the arts in all their various forms
have been enrolled in the service of decora-
tion, and, as has been shown, with most
interesting results.