Evening star., 1942-09-11

bound to produce it. would suggest.
that you get one OF the small air
dryers that are for sale in most of
the department stores. Plan to use
these during the warm summer
months, as they remove most of the
moisture in the air. If you have an
electric fan, turn that on in the
closet occasionally to keep the air
moving. One precaution-Be sure
to remove the air dryer when the
heat Is turned on in your house else
it will dry the air out too much and
cause all the leather of your shoes
and luggage to crack.
Dear Miss Novel;: I have an old
portrait which has been in the attic
for some time. 1t is very dirty and
I would like to clean 1t. 1t is also
full of q great many very thin cracks.
Would shellac fill these SO that they
would not show? I would appreciate
any advice you might be able to
give met. d.
Answer-Cleaning and ref1nishing
of old portraits is too technical a
job for me to dare to give you ad-
vice on how to handle it at home.
II the portrait is very old, with the
canvas brittle and the paint cracked,
it may be completely destroyed by
the wrong methods. 1t can be re-
stored to its original charm by being
turned over to an expert and
heartily advise you to take 1t to one
Of the shops in town that can offer
you professional advice on this
problem.
Dear Miss NOVEL;: I have heard
that it is possible to have fine china
mended even when certain pieces
are missing. I have treasured tea
pot and two serving dishes for years
with the idea that I might find a
person to do that. I should like your
advice on the possibility of replacing
pieces of china and whether or not
the mended places show and the
piece Is able to be used after 1t is
mended.-F. S. N.
Answer-It is possible to have
china mended, and it is not impos-
sible to replace lost pieces. Most of
the shops who specialize in this work
have vast file of shards of famous
china and pottery. These may be
skillfully fitted In place and
cemented so that sometimes it is
impossible to detect the mended sec
tion. Many of these do not stand
daily use, but may take their place
on the display shelf for many years
We have several shops in Washing
ton that are known throughout the
world for their excellent workman
ship. They tell me they even have
received broken china and glass
from Army and Navy officers sta
toned in far of places to be mended
and returned. Very often II china
must be matched 1t will take some
time to receive the completed article,
but as far as the workmanship is
concerned 1t is little short Of
amazing.
Dear Miss Novel;: have cherry
desk that I would like to use in a
room with mahogany pieces. Some
one told me that cherry could be
stained to look exactly like mahog-
any, and If this is true I would like
to have mine done. At the present
time it looks much more like a
rather pale walnut and has no spe-
cial distinction of its own.-K. G. S.
Answer-It is true that cherry may
be stained to resemble either walnut
or mahogany, but it will not look
exactly like" either of them. The
grain and texture OF the cherry is
quite different from either of the
other woods and to any one who
knows wood it will still be cherry.
However. any refinisher can stain
the desk to match your mahogany
in both color and finish, and from
across the room an observer will
think all pieces are mahogany.