Evening star., 1922-03-19
BY CROSsLEY DAVIES.

! PARIS, M2rcn y, 1SLL.
4 y American in Paris possesses
~ a house to which the Oft
~ misused word "antiQue" can
be truthfully applied. That
house has been nineteen years In the
building. or rather the rebuilding.
and is now on the point OF compile
tion. The American who owns 1t Ia
Herbert Haseltine. the sculptor, i'm
itating, perhaps, the crafty uncle OF
Aladdin, who bought old lamps for
aew; and, evoking the same genii to
transport from the heart Of Paris
dwelling centuries old, this ingenious
and resourceful craftsman has ac-
complished the seeming impossible.
Mr.. Haseltine is not only an artist
of genius whose work Is known
throughout the civilized world, but
also Is an ardent collector. and con-
noisseur of curios. During his service
in the American Army and in his
previous travels through France.
Spain and other parts of old Europe
he managed to pick up wonderful
collection of the knick-knacks that
are so dear to the heart of the artist.
Not forgetting the many little. tricks
of the trade that he had learned IN
the camoufiage section of the 'Ameri-
can Army, the sight of some work
men at Rouen demolishing an old
18th century house Immediately gave
him the original idea of buying all
the old material, transporting it to
Paris, and building himslef. with
this and other materials that he had
been collecting for more than nine
teen years, not a new house, but an
old one. "
LIE has succeeded so we'll that a
stranger suddenly transported to
the dwelling would imagine himself
not in Paris, but in some obscure lit
tie village Of Normandy. In fact.
everything has been done by Hasel-
tine to obtain the effect not of a
house set up as an exhibition, but of
a house that belongs just where 1t Is
"a dwelling that grew on the spot
with the passing Of the centuries.
To obtain this effect the sculptor
used only originally old material. The
red tile roof seems to be in immedf-
ate danger Of caving in in the mid
die, the walls slant at a dangerous
angle, as they do in many very old
houses, and the rafters are black.
seemingly with the smoke of ages.
To obtain this smoked effect Hasel-
tine burned green wood and rubbish
nd OF
the chimney. When he opened the
windows the next day he was obliged
to put on his gas mask, but twas
worth it.
From the outside the house itself is
very hard to find. Indeed, one may
pass and repass the little blind alley
bordered by a. bleak wooden fence,
upon which is inscribed in faded let
terS "Impasse Raffet," without SO
much as dreaming Of the treasures
concealed within. The sculptor tells
tho story of a very rich client who
stepped out of her automobile to pay
him a visit, but who turned up her
nose at what she considered a dirty
old alley" and refused to permit her
dainty feet to proceed up the stony,
unpaved incline that led to the mas
terpiece within. Despite this misad-
venture Haseltine wouldn't exchange
the house for it's weight in gold.
The first sight Of this curious manor
Immediately gives one an impression
Of oldness. This is obtained by the
great Gothic door dating from the
latter part of the fifteenth century,
which Haseltine had found at Avig-
non, and the forbidding iron grills on
the small prisonlike window that the
sculptor had picked up in Spain.
* X y
THE front entrance reminds one
strangely of some ancient abbey.
such as that at Mont Saint-Michel,
for instance. but as the creaky. old
door clanks shut upon its heavy
hinges the monasterial illusion is i'm
mediately superseded by the quiet
beauty Of the inner court, wherein is
situated the wing that comprises the
old Normandy house. reached by an