Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1891-10-02
SELLING BY PHOTO.
THE CAUSE OF THE DECLINE or
THE DRuMMeRs GRIP.

z
Bulky samples Have Given Way TO Photo
grsphs--CoIored pressntmsnts or DELI
cate Wares and Intricate Mechanisms.
Employment for Women.
The commercial tourist is being divorced
from his travelling bags, or, to speak more
Ierseiy, the drummer is dropping his grips"
The only infallible mark Of the drummer
will 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
my man used to bear from place to place,
and which were, 80 to speak, his badge OF
once, ne has replaced with counterfeit 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 manner that there liz no installing
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 colorine-like
the stoves and Inachinery--are simply pho
tograpbed in black and white But the pho
SO6iHPAAo uic thC 'ci Otct VI tltlf klnQ, ana
set forth each part with a faithfuiness that
is remarkable. In the most intricate ma
chinery every bit of betting, every wheel.
cog, arm and elbow is most understandably
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.
mer 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 are wonderfully delicate.
and it is 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 a
usual thing. 1t requires much more art than
the ordinary painter of photographs uses in
putting touch of carmine 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.
The 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 it is to be of any value. It needs
not only accurate but strong eyes, steady
and delicate touch, and most painstaking
patience.
Young women are the very ones out of all
the world in whom all Of these qualities are
combined, and that is the reason that this
pretty toll is given them so universally.
But there is another reason-an old, famil-
lar reason. A man could not make enough
to keep him. The work must be done by
! girls who have homes. To be sure, one car
make s.. 80 a day at the coloring of the photo
graphs of china or ric-a-brac, and now and
then by working over hours and very stead
lily it might be possible to make a. Suci
arduous work could hardly be repeated OF
two successive days, however. But, though
this wage is not bad, it has the drawback o.
being fiuctuating and unreliable. One weel
there may be quantities of work, the mex
week none at all.
One of the conditions of successful photo
graph painting of this fine nature is absolute
silence. A positive concentration of tn
faculties is needed, and most of the girls VIII
do the work have little studios where the,
can quietly work by themselves. Here, witt
big aprons protecting their dresses, thei
photographs set on little incline'
board before them, and their case o
liquid paints close at hand, they patientl
strain their young eyes over the almost in
finitesimal figures which they are colorin2
1t is very combining, and no doubt the spas
modic demands are blessings in disguise, TO
continued application to it would be apt t
tell seriously upon the nervous system.
The tinting of the photographs of furn
ture is simpler ON the whole although man
wholesale houses have their furniture VI
holstered in cretonne before it is photo
graphed Cretonne, of course, admits c
coloring, which plush does not.
The business is one which is likely to il
crease steadily and to extend 70 man
branches of commerce which have not "
investigated it.
This fact has been recognized by the des
mute school on the west side, and the art {
coloring commercial photographs is anon
the industries in which the pupils are bein
instructed The abnormal development
, sight and touch which all deaf mutes posse
{ makes them especially fitted for this work.
A woman who was one of the first to advi
. teaching artistic branches i'll this school sa
, the other day: No one who has NJ
, watched the development of these chi
l dren can imagine what a difference ii
! introduction of the light arts has made
Q their lives They have gained in self-respec
Q as well as in enjoyment of life. Many
!. them had been regarded as little less than il
:, beetle in their own homes, and some had be-
g the recipients of all the cuffs and kicks tn
t that an ill-natured household chose to besto
u upon them. At the very best they were co
g sidered great cross.
d ''In the school, after thorough system
y communication had been established, we
o structed them in the common branches a
3, then gave them an industrial course. I
girls were taught dressmaking, the boys CT
S, pentering. But it seemed to us finally tn
, we were making mistake in putting the
IS in competition with such great number
d oyercrowd these trades As an experimel
ee we put teacher in modelling in the scho
le You can imagine nothing more touching tn
$, the scene the first morning we gave them
Id CLAW. They took to it as ducks do to wat
er There was nothing of the awkwardness
'. handling it which most children show at fiji
Why, they began making things of their o
accord Immediately, and some of the ia
which had ALWAYS been as blank as W
az previously were lit up with sudden vivaci
81 1t was the same with drawing, for which
y engaged teacher from the Art institu
" From these experiments we gathered coura
y We perceived that we could make engravs
~ designers, wood carvers, architects and de
40 rators out of our poor unfortunate childr
ne and in time we shall try to do all that
~ Chicago Times.
:, The Laws of Nature.
nv 1t is singular to contrast the growing sp
al. .Nf.