El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-01-24


proportion. His work compares IA
vorably with that of the best silver
smiths of that period
The decoration of the Revere sill
yer is Of equal merit The old Boston
! families, with their mingling of aris-
tocratic and democratic tastes. were
/ fond Of crests, armorial designs and
! cartouches enclosing initials, names
and inscriptions. This gave Revere a
rare opportunity to exercise his talent
I for engraving and re9ousse work
Paul Revere's most famous piece,
and the premier piece OF silverware
/ IN this country Is the large punch
bowl made for the Sons OF Liberty
and now owned by Marsden J. Perry,
/ of Providence. There are in existence
a few other pieces of historic signifi-
! canoe, but for the most part Revere
generally in fashion IN those days
1T is impossible to place a correct
money value on Revere silver. Per-
! hapS $50 to 800 an ounce comes fair
" near to an average estimate. but
much OF it is practically priceless"
About Colonial Furniture.
Mrs Young, who had the extreme
good fortune Of being a guest Of the
Mount HollyOke alumni, in the spring
of 1903, and spending a day with Mr..
WalteIss pictures and D.. Crim's col
lection of antiques at Baltimore, went
into detailed description of the Dun
can Phyfe furniture. During the years
she lived In Washington. Mrs. Young
made innumerable pilgrimag es to this
mecca Of art and described, among
other pieces eight armed chairs once
owned by Francis Scott Key, Of star
Spangled Banner" fame. They were
sold by order Of the court of Balti-
more 10y Thomas J. Lindsay and EN-
lily c Price, executors of Ella G. Crim)
to the highest bidder, Pierpont Nor
gan, for $1,000 apiece. Her attention
was called to three beautiful old ma
hogany chairs, two Of which were
SheTitOn in contour, and a slab-top
table with brass tipped, paw feet
made by Duncan Phyfe and now in
the Halsey collection. There are not
many more than 100 pieces of genuine
Duncan Phyfe furniture to be found
in museums or private collections to-
day. It is unfortunate, for Amer cans
are awakening to the fact that the
cabinet maker of 100 years ago is OF
some Importance. Most Of the books
on furniture either fail to mention
Phyfe or dismiss him with a few
words as one of the many followers
OF Sheriton.
He was more than that" declared !
Mrs. Young, for, while he owed much
to his English contemporary, he de- /
veloped a style all his own, an Amer Z
lean style. and the best of his work
is equal to anything produced by I
Sheriton or Hepplewhite- An ex-
animation Of such pieces as are found |
in the collection Of r T. Haines Hal I
sey, Of New York, cannot fail to ava
ken an enthusiastic admiration for
the exquisite feeling for line. color ,
and detail which animated the work
OF this post-Revolutionary craftsman I
Fortunately. however. there are signs .
Of a revival"
Cabinet Maker with a Soul.
Mrs. Young told Of dusty. crowded |
little shop on 26th street, New York. 4
just east of Third avenue. where Ia
Dor two men by the name of Hagen, 1
who learned their trade of furniture +
making from their father, Ernest Ha- /
gen Oately deceased), an inspired
craftsman Of the old school To the
persistence and artistic enthusiasm of /
the senior Hagen we owe the little
now known about Duncan Phyfe. Mr.. /
Hagen followed every clue. inter-
viewed every surviving relative, and 3
before he died. set down his discov-
cries in q note book. the contents of +
which Mrs. Young briefed concerning
his life and art and where his crafts
manship could be found
''rhe value Of an understanding Of
old furniture lies not merely in SEN
timental satisfaction and pleasing
retrospect, averred the speaker. 1t
viii give US vigorous commentary on ]
the economic history and social man
ners OF the times in which il was
made A knowledge Of period style in
furniture IS very necessary to those
who are collecting antiques. and who
would properly furnish a home"
Cobb Talks on Prohibition.
Zach Lamar Cobb made short talk
for prohibition as a conservative,
purely economical measure, against
waste, and pleaded for America to
1e
sustain its independence Before we
can win victory in Europe, We must
win a victory within ourselves, and
at home" he said.
Mrs Hughes announced that she
had appointed Mrs. F. ". Seward to
represent the art department on the
committee. Those named
to suggest the ticket for officers Of
the art section are Mesdames c. H
Campbell. ". I. Crockett, W. 5. VAL
sntine, R B. Stevens and ". A
Beeson-
Ned for next Wednesday, it being the
fifth Wednesday in the month.
x
There IS no lag in interest at the
Soldiers club Wednesday night en-
which the ". c. 7. U.
S providing for the war service board 7
or the month Of January. Last night S
program included selections from the
linth engineers quartet, numbering
corp. Leroy Williamson, n. Spicer.
Pvt VIII Kiakel and c. A. Litrman;
'ocal number by Miss Eileen Klugel,
'peratic selections by Pvt Edward
Campbell. and unison singing oy more =
han so men in khaki, who cane t. l
.njoy the excellent program given
lnder the direction of Madame May
-oeser and Mrs. Donna KlugeL Mrs.
" R. Weeks, Nine. Loeser and Miss
klugel served.
Y