The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1936-04-24


TAxCO, Mexico. April 24.-The
- first American to COME to Tax
co was William Spratling. an Ala
baman with sensitive tastes. He is
still here.
He bought house in Taxco eight
years ago. He was here two years
before there was anybody to talk
English to. He'll probably live
here long time, because he likes 1t.
Spratling is only one OF about
$4,000 americans in Mexico. But he's
about the best known of the $1,000.
He has achieved sort of fame by
reviving native handicraft in these
parts.
When you hear, back home that
some expatriate American is trying
to restore the lost artistry of he
Aztecs, you picture a man with long
hair and a great CLASSY zeal in his
eyes, doing work" for God or
posterity or something. I am happy
to report that no such fire burns in
the head of Ell Senior Spratling.
THE truth is he hired six In
l. dams and set them to ham
mering out silver ornaments for
the good old American reason that
he had to make living. And
pretty quick, too. For he had Just
$40 left when this idea hit him two
and half years ago.
1t turned out to be quite an idea.
has now f1ourished into a business.
and it is practically overwhelming
him. He employs rs Indians, and
makes lot of money. and doesn't
have time to do the things he
really wants to do.
He really wants to write. He's
a good writer, too. He published a
beautifully sensitive book on Mex
leo about five years ago. illustrated
it himself.
A ND that's another thing.
n Spratling is an artist. 1t
seems to me he is great artist, but
OF course only know what I like.
He doesn't draw any more, either.
And that isn't all he can do.
He's an architect. Studied It in
school, and taught it in New Or
leans for many years. But" he
says. Il escaped from that
So that leaves him an unusual
mixture of literati and common ev-
ary-day working man. He's nice
fellow, too.
IT'S QUEER about this native
l. handicraft b business. Spratling
copies a design from an Aztec relic,
and shows the Indians how to make
it. They're just copyists. They don't
have any ideas themselves. Nothing
has been handed down In the way
of design tradition. II he turned
them loose, they'd copy something
out of magazine.
Spratling would like to do some
modernistic designing of his own in
silver, but he knows that for psyche
logical reasons he must keep it ma
tive. His boys make silver pendants,
bracelets. pins and so on. They also
pound out tin candlesticks. picture
frames and ash trays. 1t takes one
Of them all day to make little ash
tray.
CPRATL1NG is somewhere near
- 40. He is medium-sized and
thin. His black hair is grazing a
little. he has small mustacine, and
an exceptionally long chin. He wears
no coat or tie. Of course he speaks
Spanish like a native.
He drifted into Mexico via two
or three summer vacations, and
then just didn't go back He mon
keyed around all over Mexico and
wrote his book, and then did an
unbroken three :. and a half-year
stretch of simply sitting here in
Taxco doing nothing. He didn't
get tired sitting. but he got hungry.
So he started his shop.
He likes the Mexicans, and the
SOWH, anu Ine lie. But ne QOeSn Z
go clear overheard, the way ex-
patriates do in novels. He knows It
isn't perfect here, by long shot.
But he likes it.
He goes to New York once In a
while, but is glad to get back.
He took me to his house for lunch.
1t was l o'clock and he said he alb
solutely had to be back at the shop
by 2. After lunch he said he
guessed he'd take little nap SO
I did too, and it was quarter after
4 when Mexican boy came to wake
us up and say the shop had been
full of American tourists for two
hours waiting to buy things, and
nobody could speak English to them,
and what the hell was he to do?
Viva Senior Spratling. Viva life