New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-12-03
uARPER'S IN OTHER DAYS.
ARTISTS ROOMS AND THE MEN
WHO WORKED THERE.
WHO WON FAME IN THE OLD FRANK
TN SQUARE BU1LDING-soME
Mt ANECDOTES.

p00''-- crown ND reader has been familiar
.1Iarner's Monthly Magazine" II not with
WI" 1,-ooklv' and The Bazaar" and among
luz ,,o- generation even those who have not
" - ocouaintance OF "Harper's Greek and
r'.e ,ox,s, or Of the dictionaries published by
b'' Avn at least know THE Round
uN I'D Young People" Beyond the limits
1SV" r,,ited States and their Territories. in
"" p~,,ain and ireland. in India and in all
0Ie"' where the British drum beats, there
the .,sords Of the Queens subjects whose
S 49,, ociations-memories Of rainy days
,org winter eveninGs-include the Image
81. ors,nt double pillared cover design. with
". u,,l4 killed genii and the baskets OF flowers
Wv" .rohsred as pleasantly and almost as IA
,,,..,r es Dicky Doyles immortal apotheosis
~ Pinch. II is many years now since
.,,.-oe-,s Magazine" quietly began It's work
missionary for the promotion Of that Eng
49, snsakine entente co:diale Of which more
'''- 80, heard recently. but which has, in fact
h.s, a long time growing
=. the same time. "Harpers Magazine mas
,,..,,o,,y National history 1t might be in
.,,.,,s - not lnexact. TO call II the pioneer OF
~. rreat American illustrated monthly maya
~. bavond question II has done large
,,o-a IN the building up. or the deVeiopiiieh''
:, that branch Of periodical literature IN whlch
,r,ar,ca most excels. Henry NJ. Alden. at pres
-. and for thirty years past the editor an
s.,,ces an article for future number or the
-..,oz,ne IN which much OF this development
"a, Ia traced No one else, OF course. could
.r., {, he would. anticipate the wealth OF de-
- and Renaissance with which Mr.. Alden is
.,os,tjon 10 enrich such an article. Still. II
,-..,s,b,s from information gathered out OF old
s,.,.,d other sources to make out sufficiently
,-,.rnst,ne rehabilitation Of the work done for
American illustrated literature by the Harpers
monthly and weekly periodicals.
THE HARPERs' PUBLISHING HOUSE.
Til. old building, adorned as TO its front with
that dlsheartened statue Of Benjamin Franklin
ohcb the shadow OF the Brooklyn Bridge and the
,rook4 OF the elevated road combine TO obscure IS
no, much to look at among the skyscrapers OF
New-York in these days But even In these
DAYS II is a large building. larger even than us
Pearl.st. front would suggest, for it stretches
hack through the block TO Gold-st. including
acres Of floors on both sides Of interior court
yard the floors on one side connected with those
on the other by flying bridges at various giddy
heights These bridges open on wonderlul
spiral staircase inclosed in a sort OF tower
which suggests feudalism, and grimly reminds
rim who climbs that the Franklin Square build
ing dates from before the days OF elevators.
And all this recalls. too, the circumstances
under which the present building had It's origin.
In 1853, when "Harper's Magazine" was only
three years old. and "Harpers Weekly" had
not yet begun its career. the Harpers went
through disastrous experience like that when
last week brought 10 the Lippincotts, In Phila-
dephia-their house was burned down.
straightway they set about building, and II is
noteworthy fact that what they built was the
first edihce in New-York constructed on the
modern principle OF iron frameworks, uprtghts
and orders which has made the great Ameri-
an skyscraper a statical possibility. The fut-
re historians OF nineteenth century architect
re may or may not decide to trace the end Of
be century steel skeletoned structure back TO
he Crystal Palace Of 1851 and Paxton's Chats
vorth conservatory; but II they do, they must
make the Harpers' building an important step
n the evolution.
In those days before the Civil War the Har-
p.rs building was one Of the sights OF New
York which seriously minded country visitors
used TO be taken 10 see. In the big office on the
tst floor, into which the swinging doors open
a. the head Of that remarkably ugly wide flight
0. iron steps under the statue, office boys used
70 be posted whose business II was TO act as
understandable wallets de place" like the
guides who show tourists over the palaces and
galleries OF Europe. The tour Of the building
seems to have included those editorial rooms
now on the level Of the elevated road, where the
wondering country readers could be awed by the
spectacle Of the editors editing. 1t must have
had fine effect in advertising the magazine,
this free view Of the places where the thunder
was made
THE ARTISTS ROOMS.
On the same foor just east OF the editorial
rooms. were and are. the artists rooms. though
those days they had probably not learned
call themselves the art department. II was
al Straightforward wood engraving. the illus
Haors, as I rule. drawing on the block
Iho'nas Mast worked in those rooms. Jewell
mere made his portraits on wood. There the
Illustrations OF Western life sent in by J. Ross
o'owne-a forerunner OF Remington, though
even more widely separated from him in style
Gao point Of view than in tne-were copied by
Nano on the wood. So. too. were the Virginia
mountain character sketches Of d. H. Strother
CPorte Crayon'C
~haries Parsons now an old man retired on
's laureis, took charge OF the art department
" 'he Harpers in 1851. There Is a tradition
mat NY Parsons would have gone TO the front
- special artist during the Civil War but
q failure 70 agree with the firm on quas-
'n T" an extra horse and body servant 10
sseO~pany him. II this be true. it only shows
"uch less elaborate were the war prepaTa-
d.. "Aoe by great paper forty years ago.
a. :" any case Mr.. Parsons was not sent 20
p iOnI but stayed behind those windows in
,'% and directed the engraving OF the
"a sent in by Theodore Davis. william
A. =, Waud. and some by Mast himself.
4, muse pictures Of battle scenes. especially
Hdfpers Weekly" have furnished 10 the
4' u many millions Of Americans. and not
hhgNshmen, their concepts Of what the
o. var actually looked like. 1t is amusing In
90 Gays to contemplate the noses usually