Oxford Democrat., 1908-05-26
Fryeburg.

The current number of "The Granite
State Magazine contains fine full
page half-tone reproduction of Frye
burg's we'll known artist, Benjamin I.
Newman's, famous oil painting entitled
1.-THE New England Soap Makers"
Under the caption of Character Sketch.
es" the magazine Is to give series q
high class pictures portraying some
phase or condition of real lie, accom-.
panied by brief descriptions of the
pictures, and the reproduction OF Mr..
Newman's painting Is the first OF this
series of pictures. The original OF this
painting by Mr.. Newman-which In the
fullness of its art cannot, of course, be
duplicated ip any half-tone reproduction
of it's most striking both for Its size
and for the character of the work. The
painting portrays the making of soap
according to the old-time method OF
making it upon which, until compar.
atively recent period, the country peo-
pie of New England almost exclusively
relied for their supply Of this household
necessity, and which, in the rural parts
of New England, has not yet fallen into
complete desuetude. Many of the Older
readers of the Democrat will distinctly
recall this old.time custom and method
of making soap. During the year al!
the refuse grease and fat were saved till
spring, and then the good housewife
had to perform one of the hardest oi
the many hard tasks of her life-soar
making. Two posts or large stakes,
with natural crotches or artificial notch.
es at the top to receive cross stick
were firmly inserted in the ground eigh,
or ten feet apart, an old iron kettle hold
ing perhaps II or Is gallons was sus.
pended from the middle of the eros:
stick, and into the kettle was placed
some of the years accumulation o.
grease and fat Near by, blocked up g
foot or two from the ground, stood
hogshead or large barrel nearly fillee
with wood ashes, and into these asheI
we're poured pailfuls of water brough b
from the we'll or spring. When th'
ashes had become moistened beyond th'
| point of saturation, some of the lye was
drawn out through spigot in or nea
the bottom and poured into large ket
tie containing the grease and fat, ant
the boiling of this mixture of grease, ia
and I've for an hour or two converte!
the mixture into soap. The batch o
soap thus produced was taken from tn
kettle and poured into barrel, the ket
tie was replenished with grease, fat ant
I've, and another batch of soap was mad
| in the same manner as before, tn
process being repeated till the gooC
housewife had made soap enough to las
till another spring.
In Mr.. Newman's portrayal of thi
old-time method of making soap, ther
are two human figures superbly draw
in life-like proportions, one of then
being humble woman of the New Eng
land farm, bent by years of toll and cla
in the plain, simple apparel of an oil
fashioned rural community, and tn
other being child sitting on the groun
near the fire and with his chubby han
putting a bit of fuel under the huge iro
pot. The interest of the beholder cen
ters in these two human figures. Th
woman's life-like pose reminds one G
1.-THE Cleaner" "The Shepherds Star
and other famous portrayals of peasan
women by Jules Breton, and there
almost suggestion of the female fgur
in Jean Millet's world renowned genr
masterpiece, "The Angelus."
Every New Englander must find pleas
ure in contemplating this superb wor
of Mr.. Newman's because of its art, br
especially because its art is America
and of the New England type. 1t
the kind of painting which is of lastin
value, and which is sure to be more an
more appreciated as the years roll o
and the trolley car and the automobil
crowd the old fashioned rural custom
into the background If not completed
! out of existence.