The morning times., 1895-10-06

the ordinary woman whose gentle artistic
taste must out is busy doing some really
lovely and valuable decoration on wood
and leather with a hot platinum pencil.
A few years ago she began with half
dozen pokers stuck between the bars of the
sitting-room crate, and by skiIlfully using
the clumsy iron points on nicely sandpa-
pered board burnt in some good effects.
Now, however, all that clumsy method has
been done away with, and next to the use
of water colors there is no nicer heater or
more tempting occupation for ambitious
hands than typography.
A little box holding So worth of tools con-
tains a bottle of benZoline, an alcohol
lamp, rubber tube and blower, with
platinum point. For 20 cents more panel
of white rood can be bought, all ready for
experiment The paraphernalia VIII &C.
cupy Just a corner, or a little table by way
of a workshop, and the process is as clean
as knitting or embroidery. 1t is also nearly
as easy, for though Ruskin says every per-
son who knows how to read and write
can and should learn how to draw,
draughtsmansnip is not at all necessary to
do very charming things in typography.
If any woman has visions of handmade
Christmas gifts, already turning in her
brain, she can easily crafty her generous
impulses by making numbes of articles
with her So Photographic outfit, that any
one should be glad to have. Just to get
her hand in and have the management of
her tools, board for chess or draughts is
the incest piece of experimental work.
There isscarcely an art supply shop thatdOes
not keep on hand the requisite wooden
boards for this, and also the exact pat
tern for the squares, that can b laid down
and traced on the wood, after which the
beginner needs only to go over the line
with her red-hot platinum point There
is no difficulty on that head, for all one has
to learn is to keep the left hand regularly
pressing the rubber bulb at one end of the
tube that pumps evaporating benzon gas
out of the bottle and into the other end of
the tube, where the right hand guides the
heated pencil over the wooden surface.
After the first bit of work has been nicely
finished any transferred pattern can be
burnt out on wood, provided taste and care
is exerted, and a wood panel really well
| burned is an ornament to take rank with
first-rate etchings. Now, the woods to use
are oak, elm, ash. holly, tulip, cedar chest
nut and teak, and the leading virtue to prac-
tice in this as well as in any other fancy
work is to choose wisely as to the object to
be made.
One clever and ambitious woman wains-
cotted the walls and paneled the doors of
her bathroom with handsome topographic
designs. Desk letter boxes, medicine cases,
silver chests, tops for folding tea tables
and library boxes, meant to hold packs of
cards. sets of chess men, &C.. are the ne west
and incest gifts in pyrography on wood.
1t is in leather that the most novel work
is now done. A hide can be bought all
dressed and dyed, then cut and decorated,
after being mounted like painters can
vas on a wooden frame Tall screens and
folding photograph frames, center pieces
for library reading tables, complete desk
outfits, jewel cases of fragrant Russell
leather and coverings for tabourets and
window seats when done out of leather
that is rich red, brown or green and en-
graved with platinum point, will beautify
house for generations. Perhaps the
most interesting effect yet achieved was
shown in a friezc recently finished by the
owner of beautiful oak panel library
Her frieze was made of brown leather, en-
graved in huge. dragons, ramping about
elaborate coats Of arma-