The Holly chieftain., 1897-06-11
eosELlN TAPESTRY OF PARIS.
Expert worLmcn Able to Weave
Only IA single Yard In IA Year.

] ohit u Single \ rru IN u hF"F-
] In one of the older quarters Of an
ricnt Paris, where comparatively few
| Of the thousands Of tourists ever think
! ot penetrating, is one OF the most in
tcresting sights that the great city
|eontains. 1t il Gobelin, an institution
famous in every corner Of the art world
/ for its tapestries. Centuries ago II WIS
.Hmous, and its fame will endure a.
[ long as the world lasts. \ picturesque
group of buildings forms the home of
/ Ibis indust-y-old-timc structures that
have passed through many b!ood-rcd
| periods in the turbulent history OF
, Paris. Revolutions and riots have
/ passed all around without soaring
| hem. Kings, cmpcrors, dcmngogues
and presidents have arisen and fallen,
/ but the wcavers Of Gobclin had little
/ bought of anything but the art
handed down ID, their forcfathers.
tapestry weaving is heritage with
|uinr-tenths of the wurkmen in the his
O1rlc place. Many Of them are direct
descendants OF the first Flemish wcav-
'Fs brought to Paris by Henry ~. in
he last years of the iNtccnth century
Each generation teaches its sons the
Irr. and the admission Of an outsider
Is weaver f. jculously guarded
vuust. Indeed. Il &, just rs difficult
for the rntrrprisiug Paris youth TO push
his Way into the ranks Of the Gobriin
wurlmru as II Is for the great men 10
ruwd into the ranks OF the immortnls.
These wcuvcrs are an independent
lot and they 'vrr" AT the first. when
tho great Henry had TO almost get on
| bi, knee, TO induce them to settle in
i'aris. Eu, the concessions offered by
that asture monarch have been fully
repaid. us since then Paris has been the
center Of the world a. far rs tapestry
weaving is concerned.
Is a bait 10 bring the Gobelins "a
Paris Henry ". offered to make them
urblrmru and members Of the kings
rousrhold Ia addition TO this it was
greed that they were to be free from
tax and also relieved OF the common
rNycusc Of having troops quartcrcd
upon them Moreover. the importation
Of Flemish wcaNings, which might COM
pete with their products, was pruhih-
tied and for all time the factory was tu
be under the protection OF the state
This satisfied the GobrliEs, but when
Tia. institution was at last started in
/ Paris a new difficulty arose which
/ Threatened to upset all the fine plans
/ Il the art-loNimg king. The Flemish
vcuyrrs and artists did not fancy the
] vines Of France. and declared that un-
. less they could have their accustomed
1 t.VtH
| So. TO please the workmen. Flemish
/ hrrNrrics were established and beer
was furnished 10 them free of tax. The
| particular Gohclin who was At the head
| Of the concern Mt this time was named
| Jean or Irhau. He was not n weaver,
| but u dyer. In fact. none of the Gobc-
/ Inns ever sat at loom. They were
/ dVcrs by trade from time immcmorial.
and this Jchuu Gobelin was the greatest
| dyer Of them all. 1t was he who pre-
pared the wonderful blues and ~'ds
whiyh have made the Gobelin tapes
/ tries famous.
Modern dycrS have never reached the
/ degree of perfection which he attained.
particularly in red or scarlet colors.
/ And about this scarlet dye hangs q
tale of tragedy and superstition. This
Jchan WIS so proud of his scarlet dye
| that he one day exclaimed that not even
| the devil himself could surpass him at
| dycing scarlet. Soon after this he went
TO one of the wells in the factory and
never returned Very probably he fell
! into the well and was drowned. but the
/ superstitious folk declared that the
devil had carried him of to make his
famous scarlet dye in the internal re-
gions. At any rate, that was the earth
" end of the great Jehau Gobelin. but
the institution he founded promises TO
live for all time.
The few apprentices who succeed in
gaining admission to the factory now
ndays know that II will he many years
before they are recognized rs weavers
of the first class. The newcomer is ap'
prcuticcd for two years, but II requires
seven or eight years to fully master
the many iutricacies of the art. An ART
:, ,huol is attached 10 the factory, whert
the pupils study from antiques and
from life models. Flower painting is
one of the specialties taught, and as {
! result of this schooling every weaver
in the place is something OF an artist
, MANY OF them have made regulations
as artists and have given up their places
, in the factory to follow the more re
muueratiy. calling.
! MANY of the weasers, after working
for FIVE or six years, receive only s2S
/ yenr. The artist weavers receive 500
a year and the foreman weavers re
h ceive from $500 to 81 900 year. Thes
latter have the actual charge of tn
work being done. position of much re
. sponsihility. as a small error might 81
. riously mar the work of yenrs.-Ch
!, cago Chronicle.
= wells n. nRrometcrs.