The Washington herald., 1912-02-29

r. r. Brooks Company was founded
IN. Washington, to accentuate the diff
ference. One need only compare the
work of fifteen, or even of ten years
ago, with that of the present, to be
convinced that the art movement, so
far as lighting fixtures is concerned, is
a matter of recent growth, and that its
wonderful development IN the past few
years is a tribute to the enthusiastic
welcome accorded to it by the public.
Passing from the French room, the
visitor IS ushered into the colonial
room. where a gracious and delightful
simplicity of design is the dominant
note Here we find an intensely Amer
ican style of art, and a surety in ham
origin. The craftsman is here perhaps
seen at his best
Colonial Style Purer.
While the artist cannot, in the CO.
lonial design. exercise his imagination
with the same luxuriance and abandon
as is possible in the French school, he
is by no means limited He works
largely in straight lines. For instance,
symphonies of straight lines, reaching
an acme of grace and a subtle unity of
effect which entrances the eye The
same is true of the smaller fixtures
which project from the walls and from
the stately standards which work from
the floor upward, instead of from the
ceiling downward.
In other words, the colonial style Is
purer and more chaste than the French,
and IS keenly suggestive of the days
when the ante-Revolution country
gentlemen" danced the minuet with his
lady, and when the great estates of
Maryland and Virginia were IN their
fullest bloom 1t appeals to many Gus
toners of the E. F. Brooks Company
more readily than any other type of
design for the reason that it IS native
and of true American origin.
In another room the carved wood"
school is found in all its efflorescence.
This IS one of the most recent develop
ments in gas and electric fixture de-
sign. Its name is fairly descriptive,
sgnifying that the grace and charm of
carved wood, as It IS seen in modern
furniture products, is here transferred
to the molds of which fixtures are
made. The imitation, if such il can be
called, is perfect, and many of the fix
lures seem like gilded and tinted woods
pendent from above or gracefully pro-
jecting from the walls. The Adams"
room, revealing all the bizarre and an
gular effects of new and highly popu-
lar school, is also bound to interest and
attract many visitors
Proud of -Showrooms.
1--WE are intensely proud of these
showrooms," said a member of the
Brooks firm the past week They are
unique. There is nothing like them il,
the country. l anticipate that many of
the leading experts IN fixture design
will make frequent journeys to Wash
ington in order to inspect these rooms
and make models of them. The con-
ception is purely our own. Nowhere
else are the modern designs so artis-
ticaIly classified. We know that the
four rooms will be of interest not only
to the public, but in the trade circles
where original conceptions of this type
are deeply appreciated and widely
copied"
That is the story in the nutshell The
E. F. Brooks Company is branching
forth into new fields and presenting be-
fore the Washington public showrooms
the artiand magnihcence of which can
be appreciated only by personal inspec-
ton. All of them are covered with
costly rugs which enter neatly into the
unity of the various color schemes, and
the walls also have a warmth and vi
vacity of tint which contribute to the
effectiveness of the entire display.
On the north side of the store will
be found all the variety of fixtures, such
as plumbing, gas stoves, and fireplace
fixtures, needed in the modern Office
building, the great metropolitan hotels,
the mansions, and homes. This display
is equally as large, ample, and effective
as that of the lighting fixtures. Every
thing is of the latest and most modern
type, for the company is determined to
open its career in its new home without
a single piece which can. possibly be re-
garded as passe or out of date or out
moded.
Employ Best Mechanics.
The unity and classification of the
various fixtures is as obvious in this
branch of the store as in the other The
business. Offices of the firm viii be in
this side of the establishment
The best OF mechanics are employed
bv the E, F. Brooks Company. There
are forty of them employed the year
around. All of them are experts, and
know their business from alpha to
omega. Likewise, the excellent corps Of
statesmen are in a position to aid; the
customer in his selection of style or
type. because of their seasoned knowl-
edge of what is most effective in va
rious types of homes. Nothing has
been overlooked in the equipment of
the new establishment, either as re-
CARDS its stock or It force Of sslesmsn
md mechanics.