The herald., 1897-02-25
AN ESSAY ON SCREENS

from the saint Elmo mine nave JUST
been received and gave s1sS per ton.
AN ESSAY ON SCREENS
Some Styles nay Be Made at Small Cost,
Others Are Elaborate
I am quite sure that we make too little
both of the comfort and the beauty de-
rivable from screens and often wonder
to see them treated rather as a necss-
sary evil than as a delightful opportun-
ity Of enrichlng, enlivening or making
dignifed room which Is lacking in
| either OF these three qualities.
For time we depended almost en-
tirely on Japan and China to supply u
| with those comforts, but nowadaws one
must be able to purchase very choice
specimens to find anything which has
the least distinction, and even bamboo
| frames are only available on rare occa-
sions. AS seldom as one wearies Of even
inferior forms of oriental art, OF the
| whole catalogue Of designs and mate
rlals imported in screen form, we are
| surely very tired unless we exempt the
dainty little bedroom specimens In
| shades Of gray upon white, relieved with
little gold, and the always fresh blue
and white for country use.
The frail, snowy empire affairs. with
| their gilded frames and monotonous
decorations, have a "Reminiscences Of
powder and high heels which is attrac-
tive, but they are such toys and so in
harmony with the extremely artificial
and uncomfortable methods used In fur
nishing at the time to which they be-
| long that they lack charm to me and
never SAVIOR of home.
We have used both too little and too
much wood In preparing screens. In a
| room rich with mahogany beautiful ef-
| fects can be produced by having four
finely veneered panels, chosen from
dark veined wood, set in lightly carved
| solid frames. These should be polished
as pianos are finished and Joined to-
| gether by highly ornamental brass
hinges and stood upon heavy brass claw
| shaped feet. In the center of each panel
a cipher monogram in brass can be in
serted, but they are far more beautiful
| In their own rich color and mounting,
and, though the primal use of the screen
may be to conceal pantry door or keep
| away a draft, no richer background can
be found for a lady's figure and head. I
have said veneered because solid panels
of old mahogany, OF the rare quality
mean, cost too much to make the sugges-
tion of their use OF any real value.
Oak also can be used with excellent
| effect in panels, with the same brass
hinges and feet or with those made in
| imitation of Nuremberg ironwork. If
stained in either so called "old English
or forest green" tints and left unvar-
| nished and unpublished, they make capi-
tai backgrounds for paintings. the sub
jects for which may be suggested by the
surroundings.
Painted screens of strong gray canvas
| stretched on perfectly seasoned frames
| as portrait canvases are stretched and
| without any wood showing may, where
real art is applied to their adorning. be
made truly beautiful. In dining-room
where much brown is used. especially
that of walnut, panels Of ripening grain,
| with the rich gold of ripe Indian corn
for the dominant color, could be made
most effective. One panel which re-
| call as very fine represented the rough
boards of a barn door, on which hung
q huge bunch of yellow ears, with their
dry husks braided between. 1t was
| studied from nature on a western farm
and made veritable Sunshine in a shady
place" Used with grace and not too
| conventionally, these bread-makhng
grains have pleasant appropriateness
| also.
| So far I have spoken only of dining
room screens, and there are two other
| materials easily obtainable which ara
| equally as appropriate in this important
| room and in the library. I have perso-
| nally had great success in covering plain
heavy frames with builders cloth, such
as Is used in window openings, and over
this having the paper hanger put what
comes uncolored in sort of unbleached
tint. The designs are usually fine, and
| large conventional flower patterns an
| swer the purpose best Having decided
on the paper you think most appropriate.
choose also a border of the same sort,
and then, when the frame Is covered,
| let the painter put on a coat of some
| neutral tint, true leather color or nut
| brown or silver drab, and from this
| basis work up series of lighter and
darker tints which simulate old Spanish
| leather. Give to the centers of the flow
| ers faint dash of silver or bronze
| gold and drop in at the shop as the work
progresses, giving hints here and there,
an ordinary house painter not being
| likely to have seen any genuine bit OF
| CordOva work or even the extremely ex-
pensive French papers which copy 1t.
This will not make a cheap screen, but
it Will be as beautiful as one made of
a material wholly out of the ordinary
reach and appropriate to any refined and
| quiet room giving a peculiar elegance
| and old world character to it's surround
| lngs. The frame must be strong, cross
barred from side to side, and the wood
| must be beyond the chance of warp
| ing, and great care must be used in keep
ing 1t In one position while wet, The in
side should be of coarse linen or light
| canvas, painted in one tone, choosing
the basis color of tLs ~:eather" side
The feet and hinges should be iron or
! very dull plain brass.
Corduroy or velveteen put on abso-
lutely plain with heavy, appropriate
nails, both sides of the screen alike, pro-
duces beautiful effects. 1t shelters from
dangerous drafts from open windows
and doors; it cuts off awkward corners
and ugly exists; it enriches by giving a
| considerable amount of color without
| its having been put in place simply for
! color's sake, which always has a mere
trictous and inelegant effect, and it
makes most pictorial background
| New York Post.
| Ho for Reton1oi
New management! New attractions!
| Conducted on liberal and modern
plan. Cuisine unequaled-best the mar.
ket affords-ten degrees warmer than in