The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1903-08-12
THE CITY OF COLOR.
NEW YORK A PICTURE OF PLEASING
CONTRASTS IN HUES.

CON IRAoIS IN HUES.
The American Metropolis In This
Respect SURPRISES All the Great
Monotone Tinted Capitals of the
Occidental World.
New York has been written about
from almost every possible point OF
view architectural, commercial, p0lit-
ical and social Yet SO far as we know
il has never been properly appreciated
for the one thing in which 1t surpasses
NIL the other great capitals of the occi-
dental world, and that Is for Its color
Those of us who live here all our lives
or who absent ourselves for only brief
and fnconsiderable periods Of time
never know how extraordinary Is the
environment In which we have been
placed 1t Is only the stranger with an
artistic sense or the native who has
been long away who gets the full ef-
feet of this city of ours In its unique
prismalic foridity of hue such as viyi-
fes no other city of Its kind.
If you Will think for moment and
of Europe as a colorist would see them
you Will be struck by the fact that each
one Is II monotone. London has the
dull, dingy, smoky hue of Its own No
vcmber fogs, and as you pass along Its
miles and miles OF streets, weller OF
unvariegated facades and hOmely chin
ncy pots, your impression will be
4 10
great smudge, hideous and unrelieyed
beneath sky of watery paleness
which merely accentuates n little more
the dlngy hue of everything beneath 1t.
Paris equally represents monotone,
delicate gray that Is neat and clean and
that adds to the symmetry and har-
monIousness of the whole effect, but
that Is seldom diversified by warmer
tones Berlin Is monotone In buff,
and Rene, like Paris, for the most
part, a monotone In gray.
one thinks at first OF Naples as
city brilliant with the hues of the
south, but little reflection will show
that II Is not the city itself which can
be rightly SO regarded but rather the
setting OF the city as one perceiyes 1t
from the ship on which he enters the
glorious bay or from the Capo di POSI-
lipo. The intense blue of the sky, the
emerald of the surrounding hills, the
sparkle on the waters that lap its
crescent shore, the huge dun slope Of
Nesuvius, with its golden smoke, and
Capri In the distance swimming In
golden mist these things afford an I'M
forgcttnblc dream of perfect coloring
But Naples itself! The place Is ns
commonplace and dirty and dcpress
ing MS Gonstantinople, which also from
n distance chents you Into thinking II
colorist's paradise.
II Is New York alone which, after
delighting the eye with the beauty of
It's harhor, embraced by the long
slopes of billowy green, fascinates the
eye by the brilliuncy and diversity OF
its color scheme. The sky IL as blue
as that which Is arched above the
Mediterranean. Its sunshine Is as
bright. and II Is sifted down upon the
city like gold dust scattered by lay
ish hand But the sky aud the sun
Hight merely intensity the vlyidness OF
the color contrasts which are visible
ut every turn. Here is no convention,
no conformity. no desire for h0rmo-
NOUS effect. The snowy Wilderness of
marble and the clean gray of granite
are everywhere intermlngled with the
cheerful bun or the warm, rich reds
of brick Patches OF green appear at
the end of every vista.
The enormous display windows of
the shops are Il riot of blues and vel
lows and pale rose and hellotrope and
scarlet. Gliding catches and reflects
the sunlight ut every turn Flags and
strcamers and multicolored awnings
add TO the effect, SO that every street
is a vertable spectrum Throughout
the whole length and breadth of the
island city color abounds in tiecks and
splashcs II Is Just II bit harbaric.
possibly, but II is also wonderful and
striking.
70 the sober dullness of Madrid or
Rome or London II Is what the Pom.
pelham wall paintings are to the quiet
canNaSes of IIarpignips not art. but
instinct nevertheless with scnsuous-
ness and II glow that stir one strange
ly. II you are n native of New York
perhaps YOU never noticed this. Yet
all the same IL is set before you every
day, and II You viii only think OF II
the next time YOU 20 out of doors you
Will perceive II as II revelation and
will know that whatever else New
York may be Il Is, ut amy rate, color
city, and ms such 1t Is one that has no
rival New York Commercial Adver-
tiser.