Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-07-20

fancy to red and gold wallpaper that would
| kill every picture on her walls you can rest
assured she got it. Sales, sales, big sales
and plenty Of them regardless Of character,
SO long as they run into money, was the all
day struggle OF the sales force; and when
could not see my way to put heavy blue
plush on dainty Marie Antoiuette chairs, or
cover ceiling with gold paper, I was
frowned down upon as crank with no head
for business"
He paused for a moment meditatively.
"We had cook" he continued, ''that was
going back to the old country on visit, and
nothing would do but she had to blow in
about SIS of her savings toward fixing her.
self up bit for the tour. The day she
started she was sight. She had black
silk dress and green plush coat, passe-
menterie all over her iront and bestrewn
with lace on her back, while pink feather,
tan shoes and red parasol completed the
awful rig. She had selected each article
separately as it struck her fancy, not think
ing of the combination. Well, do you
know nine women out of ten furnish
house In that same way. 1t is surprising
how little the well-dressed, stylish, lntelli-
gent refined woman of to-day knows about
interior decoration. And vet the reason is
plain. In dress, woman, il womanly, will
follow the fashion plates. Occasionally she
originates details, but generally she feels
safest when following what Worth and
Nine. Louise dictate; but in house dressing
she has no fashion and she fails unconscious
ly into selecting this or that for no other
reason than our cook had-completely at
the mercy of the money grabbers. No won
der those fellows look on the professional
decorator, educated in the various epochs OF
house decoration, as a nuisance-sanle as
the wrecker regards the beacon light as an
interference with his vocation.
"But do you know what is being at
tempted now?" continued the speaker. after
slight pause and with gratilied look on
his face. ''There is a strong effort being
made by decorators to organize an associa-
tion which shall force upon the public a
clearer understanding of the principles of
artistic furnishing. The prevailing styles,
you know. in dress and millinery are pub
lished, week after week, day after day, the
country over. in thousands of papers and
magazines, informing all who can read as
they run, what is correct in dress; it Will be
the main object of this association, under
stand me, to adopt this idea aud to start on
the same broad road of travel, illustrative
plates OF correct interior furnishing It's
good idea and certainly worth trying. For, 1
mark what 1 tell you, people are just
awakening to the charm and interest at
tached to the home beautiful. Personal
dress has for years been the chief medium
for the indulgence of ones artistic mood.
But in ten years from now this qualification
will find big outlet in the furnishings of
ones household. And people who now put
all on their back will think more OF their |
side walls and desolate aleoves.
ga man on Broadway some time ago !
showed me piece of rose-tinted brocade.
There's something ricb,' said he. 4 have |
just filled an order for the'walls of Mrs. |
Blanks ballroom-S20, 900 for the wall |
hangings alone. What do you think of |
that? thought of the cook. but didn't say |
so. 1 thought again: Or what use is q |
decorator in place like this, where all are |
striving to sell quantity not quality. The |
salesman piles up the dollars and the |
decorator piles up his protests. Cash |
against art. tell you, my boy, as long as
the American people are so densely ignorant |
on the subject of house furnishing they are |
going to be feeced; or nine-tenths the |
men who wait on them know nothing what |
ever OF the art side of the subject. They |
are PAID Tor selling the goods and the S20, 900 |
sale is what talks"
My informant was right. The dense |
stupidity OF the average upholstery goods |
salesman is thicker than Congo jungle. |
You go into some stores aud are shown |
Louis XVI. NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. ter the |
style of that day, but il you asked the sales |
man to show you "Marie Antoinette'' the |
chances are he wouldn't be able to do it,
that history tells Us Marie |