Evening star., 1938-11-05
Index Of Design Lends
Today's Homes Early
American Lore
Reseoreh Brings Out
Best Traditions
For Reproduction
Special Dispatch TO The Star.

Special Dispatch TO The Star.
BOSTON, Mass, Nov. 5.-The ma
tional love of early American home
furnishings is finding new inspira-
ton in the fascinating material be-
ing collected for the Index of Ameri-
can Design. Various sections of the
country have specialized in various
phases of the country-w wide research.
Massachusetts, for instance, concen-
trated on crewel work, while Con-
necticut workers focused their at
tention on the early New England
chest.
Launched three years ago, this
Federal art project of the Works
Progress Administration has had be.
tween 400 and 500 artists and re-
search workers engaged in it, record
ing by photograph and colored rem
dering examples of American design
from the early 17th century to the
close of the 10th. Nearly 10000
plates have been completed so far
This tremendous undertaking will
in the future, prove invaluable to
students and to designers in every
field.
Already Widely Shown.
Some of the art work and photo
graphs have already been displayed
in half a hundred cities-in large
department stores, in art centers, in
universities and colleges. Firmly in
trenched in popular favor as early
American is, these displays-viewed
as they have been by millions of
people have undoubtedly created
an even deeper interest in things
Colonial.
AS it is to be expected, this in
terest is reflected in the purchases
made by the public. Reports of fur
niture sales show the favor in which
early American pieces are held.
With the Government furnishing
Its embassies in this period and the
public developing consistent
"Americanism" in its tastes, these
periods, in maple, and in mahog-
any and walnut, are slated for stel-
lar roles. Refined and scaled to
room size, this furniture has moved
from the solid South and New
England shores into homes in all
sections of the country.
Interest In giving these pieces an
effective and authentic background,
OF course, runs high. Home owners,
planning the painting of walls and
woodwork to give treasured furni-
ture a truly beautiful setting. find
much inspiration in the Williams
burg restoration as we'll as in many
other sources.
Paneled and CoIored.
Elizabeth Burris- Meyer, in her
Historical Color Guide" writes:
"One misapprehension which exists
concerning the interiors of New
England houses is that they were
all white. Many of the rooms were
paneled and, by carefully peeling
of the successive coats of paint,
certain typical colors may be found,
such as chocolate brown, apple
green, pale primrose, yellow, deep
pumpkin. dark red, robins egg blue
and French gray"
The tremendously impressive In
dex of American Design, with it's
record of early native crafts, will
prove of great value as a source
Of color inspiration. Miss Burris-
Meyer says, on the subject of crafts
as a color source: The crafts of
the early Americans have hardly
been touched as a color source,
principally because their naivete and
simplicity of color and design have
been taken for crudity and they
have been overlooked for more i'm
pressive but less sincere arts.
Much of the color in the SAM
piers is childlike and amusing. Oc-
casionally, however, a sample will
be found with rare grace of color
and design which is astonishing.
Other sources of the same kind are
painted chests, hutches, trunk lin
ings, boxes and painted glass"