Milford chronicle., 1893-09-15
t4opd
FORMS OF DnAUIY
Made from All Substances at
the Fair.
rHE MANurAoTUREs BUILDNe


WORLDS FAIR, Sept. g. = lspeciall =
Beneath the high arched and iron CIR
dered roof Ctself a marvel Of science and
artl Of the Manufactures and Liberal Arts
building are gathered the richest results
of a thousand years Of the skill and taste
OF ali mankind from Nova Zembia to Pat
agonic. It is impossible to mention a
substance from grass to gold or from gos-
sa1ner so light that it must be shown un-
der glaes because a breath would watt it
away. to tie hardest flint, but one may
find It there in scores or even thousands OF
forms. Tbere one might, if life were not
SO bries that days only can be given where
months are too short, trace that evolution
of the arts Of every race Of mankind and
gather abundant materials for the elucida-
ton of an answer TO the great question
why does each nation develop its arts
along its own peculiar line despite the in
huence Of other nations2
On those forty acres Of floor space is
piled q real wealth exceeding that OF
many an ancient city Of renown, and the
work embodied in the articles has been
roughly computed as equivalent to the la
Dor Of 10000 skilled men for twenty years.
Are you interested in ivory? There you
may find il in hundreds OF forms from the
polished elephant tusk down to comical
figures an inch in length on the faces OF
which the patient and skillful Japanese
have depicted all the emotions Of human
ity. In wooli It is not possible in col
umn Of print like this to give the bare
names of the fabrics, from delicate stuts
worth their weight in gold to heavy robes
and cashmere shawls and Navajo blankets
so closely woven that water can be carried
in them. In silk? Familiar as they are,
language can scarcely convey an idea OF
the delicate fabrics wrought on the looms
Of France by artists (they cannot be called
artisans) of such skill that, it is said, chill
dren followed their parents IN the same
line Of work for two generations before
the hereditary talent was developed up TO
that capacity.
In wood there is more scroll work and
of a greater variety than was ever before
collected in one place, and the carvings can
but be mentioned because they cannot be
described. Leather, which seems in COM
mon so very plain and hOmely an object Of
use. is there the basis for fine art, and
when one sees the changes wrought in 1t
he IS almost persuaded that If no other
substance were available refined civiliza-
tion might easily find expression in that
alone All the metals, precious or useful,
are worked into objects of surprising
beauty. Under the hands Of the japanese
the common distinction is lost sight of and
iron Is made as precious as gold by the
artistic work done on it. In so plebian an
article as clay, including the finer kinds
of earth, there are over 1900 articles in
every conceivable form and style of beauty
from the s., 600 vase down to bits Of pot
terry no longer than ones thumb, but glow
ing with color and rich in elaborate deco
rations.
Other buildings are merely parts Of
worlds fair; this is worlds fair In
bronzes, vases, damascened work and some
other lines it so far exceeds any previous
exhibit that comparison seems ridiculous.
There is a touch of the humorous, too, in
the surprising uses made of many sub
stances. Snakeskin does not suggest |
beauty, bnt here it is seen in many lovely |
forms. The show Of parchments is pm
plete. Vellum is exhibited in evelt
style Grass, grains, gums, kRaX, |
teeth, hair, paper, bark, bone, fish .Ecales,
coral, rushes, bambO04t5e the
skins of all the animals leaves oa,eSssiG,fif u
md roots, are all wOrkef,s W. & tl,e ,u 4
beauty. The most - ;;n,egination |
leld with the los- cannot picture
IN artistic %, .nediy substance, but you
sanfi -
> lOr, ecthere are those who say that
building itself is a greater curiosity
OF rather greater triumph of skill-than
nything in it. Il has often been de-
\ 'ibed, but the main points will bear one
4 e repetition. It is 1857 feet long and
7s1 feet wide, with height along the CEN
tral hall of 24515 feet, and deducting there
from the roof and the space below the
floor tie height in the clear interior is 2O3
feet. The sides and corner paviliOns Of
course are lower. Over all this central
section extends single span truss Of 3e2
feet. Deducting the side support there is
thus a self-suppOrting, iron arched roof
8i;4 feet in the clear, without pillar or in
cline brace, the largest roof OF the KIND IN
the world There are 100000 pounds of
steel in the trusses of central hall and
., 900, 600 pounds Of iron in the nave; and
all these magnificent arches and girdeTs,
an the iron in the rOofin fact, were sold to
st. Louis parties before being placed here. |
There are over s, 900, ,O0Ofeet of lumber in
the floor and five average carloads Of nails. |
One thousand cottages of 25 by so feet |
each could be placed in the building; and |
as one walks through the space occupied |
by a particular nation he often comes upon |
q separated building which by comparison /
seems small till he enters and finds it a /
miniature worlds fair. Thirty great stair
cases lead to the galleries. Two avenues
fifty feet wide traverse the building in its /
Two extensions, crossing in the center; five
narrow avenues on each side run the full /
length and twice as many cross these from /
side to side In almost every open spacg'
ies the building and chiefly at the intersees
ehoot OF pceeEts.afa 'as.-s-o ,e easy seats for
hat Agtagesting feet ref are the famous
bell chimes s.as.sa1a ant cof experience and
taste pronounce equal 20 anything in Eu-
rope. At intervals these enliven the null
.itude Of sightseers with the sweetest mu-
SIC and In the course Of a day one may
hear the national airs Of the principal ma
sions, alternated with the worlds famous
hymns and a few light and popular
pieces.
When / first entered this building was
50 overwhelmed that at once abandoned
all thought Of consulting the catalogue or
making study Of any one section. On
whichever side I turned my eyes l saw
such displays Of mHgnificence that I could 1
not fix my attention on any one detail.
But on my second day there I managed to
on the Japanese pavilion,
which Is a curious and beautiful structure
and literally packed with marvels in deli
cate handiwork leaving barely room for
cne to walk between the divisions. On
the second day Austria and Germany oc-
cupied my time, but when l took the
French section for my third study, all I
had seen Of beauty seemed but an intro
duction.
There is the great Dore vase, one Of the
wonders Of the world. There are the finest
bronzes ever produced in France, and
therefore probably the finest IN the world.
There are crystal goods arid delicate clocks
and watches, exquisite pottery and china,
furniture Of a beauty and finish to make
q woman sick with longing and cutlery Of