The times., 1897-07-25
THE QUAINT OLD ART
OF PAPER CUTTING.

/
4 cutting has become almost a lost art,
| except where 1t is still remembered by
u few old ladies as having been fash
ionable when they were young. Per
haps some of them can stnI take a piece
of paper and a pair of scissors ami eut
out designs, but their hands are TOO oil
| and trenulous to execute as deiicate
and complex patterns as they used TO
| make.
| The designs for these cut papers were
| never drawn, but the paper was general
" doubled so that the pattern, "lrn
unfoIded, was duplex, giving certain
regularity.
/ The girls OF fifty years go became very
| skillful at this work and one lady tells
/ OF often seeing her old mother, as the
/ family sat talking after dinner, draw
! out pair OF small scissors, pick up any
/ envelope or Bit OF paper, and, seemingly
without any thought OF trouble, cut cut
the most exquisite Mowers and ara
I hesques.
| Cut papers were used for many purposes
OF decoration Sometimes they were cut
/ with a TiHg at oae end that slipped over a
/ candle, the leaf of delicate paper lace
hanging down in front of the canaIestie<
| harden, had almost the look or exquisiteiy
| Ike an apron These candle papers, when
| dipped In melted wax and then allowed To
1 carved ivory
4 Sometimes the papers were cut IN rounds
| 70 fit into the htis or watches, and were
] presented By young ladies TO the gentlemen
| of their acquaintance, and the young men
OF thai day counted their popularity by the
number OF watch papers that they received
Young ladies exchanged cut papers with
! each ether az tokens OF friendship, and
| these, shaped Ike hearts, ovdls or enveI-
| opes, were often further embellished By
deIicateiy painted wTeaths and flowers,
| and by the sentimental verses Of tine day
| written upon a space left for them
Sometimes the cut papers were mere
| Iy considered as works of art and as
such were mounted On black hairclota
and framed. No paste was used in the
mounting. as the papers We're too deli
| cate, and besides il would have yei-
! lowed them. The edges were simply
smothed out with a soft brush. and the
glass put over them 10 hold them in
| place.
These large cut papers We're often dons
| in memory Of some one loved and lost.
and the center would be cut in the shape
of funeral uIn and tablet. Upon this
tablet might appear some verse, the
| letters cut out with sharp penknifs
| after tte rest was finished. a f4vorite
| one was:
And reach-thO' lost on earth 1.-The ear OF
! heay'n.
Then would follow the date, and per
haps the words, Beloved, tho Lost"
The only branch OF this art that sull
| seems TO be ell known is that OF silhou-
cites, but this requires much more talent
than the others, for the power OF catching
| likeness is couipa rstiveIy rare.
| The most elaborate siIboUettes had the
eyes and hair afterward touched in with
white Or gold paint The silhouettes them
selves were generally black, but there are
some examples left where the profile was
cut out in white and laid on black.
About fifty years ago little dwarf,
| Miss HunnywelI. made herself quite IA
nous as a professional paper cutter. and
| il was considered the thing" among the
young gentlemen Of that day 10 have a
watch paper cut by Miss HUM ySeA
The manner OF her cutting was very in
genioGs, Tor she had neither hands nor
feet On her right shoulder was some
thing like thumb, on her left side soII.s-
thing that might pass for hand with
two fingers, and with these and her mouth
sac managed to cut out the must exquisite
designs and lace with marvellous rapidity-
Her work was so much in demand. noe
only for its beauty, bat because OF its
being some what OF a curiosity, that the
dwarf, travelling from place TO place, and
J exhibiting herself and her werk, earned
quite a little fortune 1t was enough To
make her mark for a rogue, who mar
reid her. and then ran away with her
money. leaving her penniless.
II is said that after he deserted her the
little dwarf would never cut papers again,
and died in an absolute state OF pengry.
There was q certain Mistress Dolly
Nicholas, OF Petersburg. who was quite
wonderful at this art of paper cutting.
| and her drawing-rooIl Was decorated with
whole series OF pictures from Mazeppa.
Wild horses and all. which she cut out
without the aid of pencil or any guide but
her own fancy
Put this art goes further back than the
time Of Miss HunnyweI or Mistress Mich
olas It is some time early In 100 thai
I y
Correspondehce,'' writes OF her cIcset a,
the farm as decorated with little draw.
ings and cut papers OF my own doing
Later on, when speaking OF a yeung Mr.
Tw yford, who was deeply in love with
her. she says:
'-His mothers cruel treatment Of HIM.
and absolute refusal OF hef consent for his
marrying ne, affected him 50 deeply As
70 throw him into the palsy He lived in
marriage After be wss dead thev found
under his pillow a ut-paper that he had
stolen out OF my closet at the Farm
When Mrs Delany was over seventy
years old she made her first attempt al
5 copying flowers in cut paper
Her manner OF doing it was thus lie
scribed; Having piece OF Chinese pa.
per on the table OF a bright scarlet, Il
4 seranim caught her eye of a similal
color, and, taking her scissors. she amused
! herself in cutting out each flower by bel
: eye in the pa per she laid the paper pet
| ais on a black background, and was 81
plea sed with the effect that she proc I'd
to cut out the calyx, stalks and leaves ia
shades of green. and pastel them down
, and after she completed q spTig OF sera
mum in this way the Duchess of Portland
Il came In and exclaimed, What are yo,
: doing with that geranium2' having taken
the paper imitation for the real flower.
This was the beginning OF the collection
!, of cut-paper flowers, which. before he
death, numbered $50 sheets, each on,