•: %.*' ' e> ^ /• t> * '^Vfflflmv/tNl o ^^ \ V » n\ KCT^A) ** '^ ("V * ^'\j™Sk/TR, o ^'O » V o. r\l\ low ^^^x c3 V M\K* «? ^ •His* ^^ ^ oVJIAF* V "^ >^ * ■or ^Vf» >»^w^^<» *■ ^ o g^^^ -* AT v% ^^^ IP,* ^^ -^^ •-yOTi* / % 'JH < o * w < <5> - o « ' o,^ ^^ ^^Ho, .f' ^0^ . , _ "°^'^'''/ v-^'<*^'^ "%"'^^V V'"^^'"/'' V''^ r.° *^'\ '-^W.' /\ --W-" *^''"*^ °"W^'" /'% '--^P/ ^""^ . i, ^ * ' ART FOR THE 4. KYK ROSS TURNER \,.> I' ART FOR THE EYE ♦» iBnt \)^s no ooubt t\)U a0 tor gradually groU) ttjtscr toe sl^all Dts^cotjcr at last ttjat t\)t rtr is; a nobler organ tljan tlje car" Suggestions /or School Decoration BY ROSS TURNER THE PRANG EDUCATIONAL COMPANY BOSTON 6^^ I /'\ ^94 8 Copyright, 1897, )Y The Prang Educational Company. '^^OHVi 398. The Norivood Press J. S. Gushing & Co. — Berivick & Smith Norivood, Mass., U.S.A. Foreword. IN this book the writer begs to remind its readers that one may not find within its pages all that might be expected, nor should it as a book be considered large enough to exhaust the subject. This matter of school- room decoration and the enrichment of our schoolhouses opens up a field much broader than any book or books could cover. While this work is not to be considered critical or complete, it is believed that it will prove sug- gestive and helpful. Some things may have been omitted that might even have well been enlarged upon in detail. But if the reader finds suggestions and helpful hints in schoolroom decoration and thereby is better enabled to bring into our schoolrooms and schoolhouses a more attractive element, in the form of artistic surroundings and influences, then through and by such an improved environment, the youth of our country may more generally be brought into a sympathetic relation with the world's best thought, which has always found expression through Art in its various forms. Confiding in the possibility of this consummation, and with a sincere hope that the future has for us and for our children better things in store than have been known or thought of in the past, the writer trusts that the aim which animates his effort will not go amiss. ri t- ° KOSS 1 URNER, Salem, 1897. [ iii] One has no doubt that as we gradually grow wiser we shall discover at last that the eye is a nobler organ than the ear. — John Ruskin. The tint of the flower proceeds from its root, and the lustre of the sea-shell began with its existence. Men are so inclined to content themselves with what is commonest ; the spirit and the senses so easily grow dead to the impression of the beautiful and perfect, that every one should study, by all methods, to nourish in his mind the faculty of feeling these things. For no man can bear to be entirely deprived of such enjoyments : it is only because they are not used to taste of what is excellent that the generality of people take delight in silly and insipid things, provided they be new. For this reason one ought every day at least to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words. — Goethe in Wilhdm Mehter. The child is father to the man. — Wordsworth. The place in which children spend so many hours in so many days should be as attractive in all its appointments as possible. — C. N. Ken- dall, Superintendent of Schools, New Haven, Conn. Children do not learn to speak because taught by professors of the art, doctors in language, but because they live among people who can themselves speak. — John La Farge, Considerations on Painting. [ v] Knowledge Thorvvaldsen ART FOR I. ENVIRON- MENT. . linvironment. " It is beautiful to understand that a thought did never yet die ; that the originator has gathered it^ and created it from the whole past^ so tuill trans- mit it to the whole future.'' — Carlylc. OF the many questions and profound social problems that are now brought before us to consider, no subject has greater significance and is of more signal importance than the question of the im- provement of the condition of the masses of our people through a better and a cleaner environment; no phase of our social development gives greater hope and promise for the future than the interest manifested by the State and by purely social organizations in this great question. This spirit of research and inquiry, evident in so many directions at home and abroad, indicates conclusively that at least a remedy is being sought, for one of the greatest evils of our modern life. Very naturally the schoolhouse itself has not escaped the eye of public opinion, which, in other directions, has often been seemingly too sluggish or too indifferent to the best interests of the community to recognize and suppress an evil once for all. There is, however, sufficient evidence of an active general interest in the health and welfare of our chil- dren to encourage a strong and enlightened minority of our citizens in their efforts to introduce fresher and better condi- tions in the environment of our public schools. In the public estimation the wants and necessities of the primitive schoolhouses were few. The most important thing, sanitation, was usually wofully neglected, — a fault not wholly rectified in these days. Recent reports of a special committee appointed to investigate the condition of the public school buildings in Boston, plainly show that the public conscience [ ■ ] ART FOR i^g^g been pricked to the quick. Indeed, the evil was grave THE EYE. i^ ^ . ' . ° enough to warrant most radical treatment, and it seems most I. ENVIRON- & ^ MENT. likely that the urgent needs of public schools in the matter of improved hygienic conditions will hereafter be well appre- ciated in consequence. Note i. The modern schoolhouse, with its scientific problems in construction and in sanitary maintenance, now receives closer and more sympathetic attention than ever before, and there is reason to expect much in this particular direction in the immediate future. It is of course too much to expect that our present ugly and unwholesome school buildings shall be destroyed and replaced at once by better ones ; but it certainly is practicable to see to it that at least every newly erected building shall be planned with explicit care for hygienic and artistic consideration. This policy, steadily pursued, would remedy the present evils, in the course of time, and without any great increase of expense to alarm tax-payers. If " thoughts are things," taken merely as a proposition, irrespective of any abstract philosophy that there may be in the assertion, and if as " entities " they must find expression in " matter," then is it not self-evident that incipient thought, the tender and susceptible impulse manifested in the budding consciousness of childhood, must needs be carefully and intel- ligently environed, giving to the child surroundings by which it is rightly influenced and modified in its growth and develop- ment ? The ideas which it is desired to express in this work may long have been familiar. The subject is well-nigh limitless. The writer's desire is to put these ideas in motion until they gain irresistible force ; to emphasize the value of art for the eye — Painting, Sculpture, Architecture ; for if we are to train the individual, and hence the nation, to derive pleasure and benefit from what is beautiful and artistic, it seems evident St. George Donatello I. ENVIRON- MENT. that we must begin at the most susceptible period of life ^^^ ^^^ before the child's mind has been blinded by an ugly and degraded environment. The schoolhouses then are surely the most highly impor- tant ot public buildings, and into them we ought to introduce some great changes. The education of man begins at his bn-th ; long before he can speak, even before he seemingly can understand, he is instructing himself No one can deter- mine actually how soon a child begins to distinguish objects ; hence the importance of choice in the objects which surround him. Two things seem worthy of consideration in this matter of art in the schools: First, the absolute good of the proposed measure. Second, the facility with which it can be executed. It should be borne in mind, " that without ideas there is no real memory," and it is useless to force into the heads of children a lot of words that mean nothing. Let them be taught " things," and let them be given a glimpse into the ideals of beauty embodied in things, and not make of the mind a storehouse of words rather than ideas. In order to determine what education should be, we must endeavor to form some conception of what man with his so- called natural senses really is. It is really of less importance to prevent a man from dying than to teach him how to live. Man, intrinsically, is life. To live is to make use of our senses, of our faculties, of every element of our nature which makes us sensible of our existence. Apprehension by the senses supplies directly and indirectly the material of all human knowledge, or at all events the stimulus necessary to develop every faculty of the mind. Nothing can act upon the senses, or be taken up by them, unless it somehow presents itself in the form of motion. Im- [3] ART FOR THE EYE I. ENVIRON- pressions of light and color, for example, result from the un- dulations of an extremely delicate fluid, the universal ether, MENr. which strikes the eye. Let us begin, then, with the child just as the architect lays his foundation, with such scrupulous and intelligent care that he has absolute confidence in the superstructure. For only by proceeding on like principles can the most satisfactory result be obtained in the educating of youth, thereby establish- ing a basis that will admit of unlimited development. "Look to the environment of the child, and you are laying the corner-stone of an intellectual nation." " Beauty, which is the natural food of the healthy imagination, should be sought after by every one who wishes to achieve the great end of ex- istence, that is, to make the most of himself If it is true, as we have just remarked, that man liveth not by books alone, it is also true that he liveth not by knowledge alone. Poetry, painting, music, the fine arts generally, which delight to manifest the sublime and the beautiful in every various aspect and attitude, fall under the category not of an accidental accomplishment, but of an essential and most noble blossom of a culti- vated soul." — John Stuart Blackie. If we are to educate the individual to the end that the nation may become stronger, that the race may progress, we must begin at the period of life before the mind has become tram- melled, or habituated to its accidental environment ; for very early does a child begin to create an environment for himself, through the dual nature of education : " that which he gives to himself and that which is given to him." There is a preestablished harmony between the "inner" and " outer " relations which makes this matter of environ- ment of the utmost importance. The association of ideas from infancy to adult age is by steps that are only slowly pro- gressive but no less sure and absolute. The Philadelphia Centennial Exposition of 1876 began the creation of an artistic environment which was felt from ocean to ocean ; evidences of this good influence may be found in every town and village. [4] Sophocles Greek Demosthenes Greek THE EYE. 1- ENVIRON- MENT. Again came that magnificent "wave" from the Chicago art for .xhibition ot 1893 which has given an impetus to art, which must be felt for the greater good of the world in all time to come. "The chief problem of education is, in fact, how to bring each human being into effective contact with wholesome knowledge, feeling and thought, and to prevent the inevitable contact with unwholesome knowledge, feeling and thought from being hurtful to him." The Use of Pictures in Schools, J. C. Horsfall, Manchester, England. "Here the theme is creative and has vista." — Walt Whitman. "The power of beauty bears no relation to the price." It has often been said that the American people are with- out any reasonable sense of the artistic; that they do not, as a people, understand or know what art is. How true this statement may be, or false, we must in some way determine by what surrounds us in our every-day life. The most ardent and patriotic American must frankly admit that our cities and towns are, as a rule, not beautiful or fine ; that is, if one will take the trouble to investigate and compare what we have to show with some of the admitted standards of what is artistic and beautiful, recognized as such the world over, — admitting that some portions of many of our towns and villages have, perhaps, handsome buildings, broad streets, stately avenues, and charming public parks. But what place do we find really laid out and constructed on artistic lines and principles ? If perchance the streets and avenues of some town or city are, as a rule, really fine in proportion, and good in the general plan, the artistic effect is generally crippled or wholJy lost by the irregularity and incongruity of the buildings placed upon them. The hovel crowds upon the building of palatial pre- tensions ; a humble structure on one hand is flanked by some tower-like edifice of preposterous architectural proportions on the other, an effect, surprising, to say the least, but neither har- monious nor pleasing from anv recognized artistic standpoint. ■ ['5] ART FOR THE EYE I. ENVIRON- The question may be asked, how are we to vitalize this dormant sense of the artistic among our people, which by MENT. false and ugly environment, has been so repressed as to be of little actual value to the community? How, and by what manner of means, shall we reach the larger portion of our whole population to show them that there is such a thing as a real vital principle in this world known as art ? If, in the education of our children, we strive to improve the whole and not a part of the child, have we a right to ignore that part of a child's nature which is artistic, imaginative, and poetic? Shall the ever " practical " and materialistic side of education be developed to the exclusion of the spiritual and poetic ? We have just as much reason to say that the child shall not study, say, geometry or chemistry, and shall not know any- thing about the best literature, as to deny it the right to be brought up with an artistic and healthful environment. It will not be necessary to build art museums, or to add to the number of our schools for art instruction, to enable our children to be educated in art so far as to have at least some practical know- ledge of the subject. The method which will bring about this result seems very simple and direct. First, we must surround the child in his earliest years with an environment that will stimulate the creative and artistic sense. Second, we must provide for the child the best instruction and training in our power to exercise and develop his own gifts of artistic appreciation and creation. We must give him opportunities for culture and also help him to use his opportunities. For, of course, children of them- selves see but a very little of what there is in fine art. People have to do some studying if they want to really appreciate a genuinely good thing. [6] " Yes, it is all very simple : a line or two on the paper, and the ART FOR spectator sees his friend, or a great landscape is spread for him; the THE EYE. glories of sea and sky ; and of passion, the cadences of action. Yes, that would be easy if any one could see in it whatever he chose to. But '' ENVIRON- the decision of the creator of the drawing is final. The variety of I"ENi. dreamland into which we enter depends on his manner of opening the «, gate. And the less he does, or rather appears to do, the more effort is required for all that we have to do. We scarcely wonder at it, and it is only in certain greater cases that we recognize, through our uplifting and exhilaration, how grand that simple effort may be." — John La Farce, Considerations on Painting. We must begin in the kindergarten; the walls of the school- room must be a prime factor in the art education of a child. The schoolroom walls must speak of the ideal to the eyes ot the child. We should adorn the walls of the schoolroom with objects intended to create for the child an artistic atmosphere; the child would then grow surrounded by what is good and wholesome in art ; he would become familiar with the master- works of ages, and absorb unconsciously what is true and good and beautiful. - Then the right sort of elementary art lessons would gradually increase his power to consciously appreciate what is ideal so that he would naturally become capable of taking in more and more from every real work of art which he has a chance to see. What may not be the influence of a careful, intelligent, and systematic creation of an environment for the mind of the child, so that, by means of its power to absorb from its surroundings, the intrinsic self may grow, and, with the help of the right training, develop into the real man ? [7] "The development of the imagination, upon the power of which both absorption of knowledge and creative capacity depend, is, therefore, a matter of supreme importance. To this necessity educators will some day open their eyes, and educational systems will some day conform. . . . The richest and most accessible material for this highest education is furnished by art. . . . The material upon which this great power is nourished is specifically furnished by the works which it has created. . . . The eye is trained to discover the line of beauty by companionship with the works in which it is revealed with the greatest clearness and power." — Hamilton W. Mabie. " A thing of beauty is a joy forever ; Its loveliness increases 5 it will never Pass into nothingness, but still will keep A bower quiet for us, and a sleep full of sweet dreams, health and quiet breathing." — John Keats, Endymion. [8] \ L "i**^ Madonna and Child Donatello 11. The Walls of a Schoolroom. IN any scheme of decoration for a schoolroom, it is im- room portant that there shall be a spirit of harmony and repose ever present. The decoration should not be in- trusive, but made subordinate to a general effect. The color scheme should include everything in the room, — the wall- surfaces, woodwork, curtains, the pictorial and plastic objects placed upon the walls. We should consider also the light in the room, — the situation in its relation to direct sunlight, and the time of the day it is to be used ; this is very important and should govern the character of the decorations and the general tone of the room. Lastly, but not least, comes the choice of the decorative objects in pictorial and plastic form. The first problem to be solved will be to tone or color the bare white walls and the woodwork in the room. We must select and use only colors that will not absorb the light and that will produce a perfectly flat-colored surface without shine or lustre. The colors should be harmonious, responsive, and cheerful ; never dull, heavy, or depressing. To that end the use of brown, violet, or slate-color, unless of a very del- icate, light shade, should, as a rule, be avoided. If the wood- work is of natural wood so much in fashion at present, then many tones of colors may be safely used with it. But if the woodwork has been previously painted or grained, we must begin our color scheme at this point. We will suppose a room to have a warm, yellow light during the time it is in use. The treatment of such a room may require us to modify the effect of light; the color of the woodwork may be dark, the walls a soft, neutral gray, of a tone that will temper the sunlight, A room in one of the Boston schoolhouses has the woodwork treated in a dark, rich bottle-green ; the walls are a [ 9 ] ART FOR THE EYE. II. THE WALLS OF A SCHOOL- ttZ ^Ji^ rich buff yellow. The casts are ivory white, placed somewhat THE EYE. ^ -^ *- well up on the walls, producing as a whole a very restful, WALLS OF A harmonious effect. Another very charming room may be ROOM. mentioned. The walls are a soft Venetian red, tempered with white ; the woodwork is of natural wood, varnished ; casts above are used in this room with excellent effect. Should a room have a cold, imperfect, or a mixed light, it is well to give the walls heroic treatment ; terra-cotta, Venetian red buff, russet, yellow, or a pale citron tone would be agreeable. A dark or imperfectly lighted room would be best treated with light colors. In this way a room which would otherwise have a gloomy and depressing effect may be made to seem really light and cheerful. On the other hand, a room which has a surplus of light may have its glare much softened by giving the walls a subdued color which will absorb some of the light instead of reflecting it like white plaster. Some allowance should be made as to the tones used in schoolrooms for different sexes ; the color in a boys' room may be more vigorous and stronger than that which would be used in a room occupied by girls, as the former are gen- erally less sensitive to color effects than the latter. The use of different tones of one color on the walls will be found desirable ; the effect is usually more satisfactory than that of a number of different colors, which, if not applied with extreme care, would produce an unpleasant impression. A large room lighted with strong sunlight would admit of the woodwork being of a deep mahogany, cherry, or a dull, rich red ; the walls would look well in a soft, pearly-gray color, the curtains a deeper shade of gray, the picture-mould- ing the same as the woodwork. It may be also desirable that a room should have a frieze ; a simple cornice should break the line between the wall sur- face and the ceiling ; below the cornice place the picture- [ 'o] Madonna and Child Benedetto da Maiano mouldino;. The depth of the frieze must be determined bv '^^'^ ^°^ => r ^ : jHE EYE. the wall-surface of the room, — 12, i c, or 20 inches would ' . II THE not be too wide. The color of the frieze may be several walls of a tones lighter, of the same color of the walls, the picture- room. moulding darker than the wall surfaces, or slightly darker than the color on the band of the frieze. The object of the frieze is to make a band of color under the ceiling and to modify the height of the room. The best material for tinting the schoolroom walls seems to be, all things considered, oil color ; oil paint is less liable to injury from dust, insects, and dampness. The surface of walls and woodwork should not shine or have a lustre ; the color should be laid on perfectly flat and blended with a broad, stiff brush, producing a clear, even tone of color. The use of wall-paper or fresco-color, save on the ceilings, does not seem at present to be desirable. The ceilings should be usually of a light color so as not to absorb the light. A creamy white tone has been used with success in a number of cases. It would be difficult to give precise direc- tions as to how the walls of a room should be toned : this must be left to the discretion and artistic judgment of those having the matter in charge ; a very good and safe rule is to consider each room separately, yet in direct lines with a color scheme for the whole building. When the walls and woodwork of the schoolroom are in readiness for the pictures and plaster casts, we should consider that each and every object or picture should have a definite place in the room ; a wall-space may be desirable to show a picture, yet not well suited to give the proper light and shade to a plaster cast. The latter may look unusually well in some portions of a room with a cross or mixed light ; a space above a door or in the corner of the room, dimly lighted, might be well adapted to show the form of a plaster cast. [ >> ] ART FOR £)q i-,q^ pkce oblects on the walls of any room — and more THE EYE. r J J especially a schoolroom — as arbitrary adornments only; WALLS OF A everything should have a distinct place and purpose in a ROOM. scheme of art decoration. The true object of ornamentation is to simplify, not to elaborate and confuse, the artistic im- pression. A reproduction of a work of art, or a plaster cast, must necessarily, for schoolroom purposes, be of sufficient size and clearness of detail to be seen from every part of a room ; very few engravings are thus suitable, especially as they require glazing, which is objectionable; and from the character of the technique are not usually effective enough to " carry " to any considerable distance in a schoolroom. We may use paintings, good lithographs, reproductions, engravings, photographs of various processes, solar prints, and plaster casts. Of these the lithographic reproductions, photographs, solar prints, and casts are at present best adapted to use in our scheme of decoration. The "solar print" is one of the most available, considered from all points of view, — size, cheapness, and having the capacity of carrying its effect, — not requiring glass to protect its surface ; if a solar print is carefully mounted on cloth and framed in simple dark-colored wood, the effect produced is very artistic and at comparatively small expense. "The picture needs no ornament but itself, and it would be a pity that the bordering should receive half the attention." — Rousseau, Emile. The choice of subjects is well-nigh infinite ; almost any good photograph may be found in a good lithographic reprint or a solar reproduction. To assist teachers or persons interested in procuring for a schoolroom good reproductions, a list has been prepared and included in this book, which will enable them to make a selection, according to circumstances. It might be well in the beginning to advocate a spirit of [ 12 ] The Maiden of Lille St. John Donacello aiisterir\' in schoolroom decorations, to impress the pupils ^^'^ ^°^ ' • 11 THE EYE. With a sense ot a reserxe force rather than to bewilder them II. THE h\ a pi-odi!i;alit\- of what miirju he considered decoration. It walls of a is better to have a tew thoroughly fine things which children room. are led to feel are particularly worth knowing and having than to appear to make a great show by covering the walls. We should bear in muul that these pictures and casts are not at all the sort ot things usually passing as decorative art, — \"ery different, and above the average product of pictorial art, so-called. This study and exhibit ot educational art in the schools has a purpose higher and more serious than mere adornment or ornamental appendages on the walls ot a room. They should illustrate a grander and broader text-book ot art and history than any book of the kind now in use, and should represent -something to the eye that no text-book could give; tor wall decorations can teach as well as books. We should discourage any and every attempt at mere " prettiness " in our scheme of schoolroom decoration. It is quite true that little chikiren are easily pleased with mere gavety in color and imitativeness in pictures, but the purpose of the school is not simph' to please them, but to get them to take honest pleasure in the very /^est things. " Culture indefatigablv tries, not to make what each raw person may like the rule by which he fashions himself; but to draw ever nearer to a sense of what is indeed beautiful, graceful, and becoming, and to get the raw person to like that. ... Its ideal of human perfection is an inward spiritual activity, having for its characters increased stccctness, iiicifascd light, increased Ufc^ increased sympathy.'''' — Matthew Arnold. School decoraticMi should be simple, yet impressive in char- acter; artistic, yet educational in form. Do not attempt to create an effect by glitter or show, in the objects you employ, or any undue craving for the picturesque or artistic in the cheap and affected sense that so many understand these terms. [ '3 ] ' ART FOR THE EYE. Anything that is shallow, on the one hand, or overdrawn and exaggerated, on the other hand, should have no place in our II. THE WALLS OF A scheme of schoolroom decoration SCHOOL- ROOM. "The teaching of literature and geography, as well as history, would be greatly advanced by a well-chosen series of pictures in the schools." — Edwin D. Mead. A school building, properly decorated, might be made a museum for the comparative study of the history of art and architecture. The hall-ways and stairs, as well as the rooms themselves, could be thus used. A room could be devoted to Egyptian, Assyrian, and prehistoric art ; another to Greek, Roman, and mediaeval art ; two or more rooms to the art of the Renaissance ; some rooms to colonial art and Amer- ican history. The halls and assembly rooms would be well adapted to display large casts, like the Hermes of Praxiteles, Venus of Melos, Apollo Belvidere, etc. ; the walls of the stairway might be utilized to display small photographs, etch- ings, prints, architectural fragments, and ornaments in plaster,, such as are used in the decorations of the Agassiz Schoolhouse in Jamaica Plain, Boston, with very happy effect and purpose. There is one feature in many schoolrooms that is difficult to combine agreeably in any scheme of color decoration ; that is, the blackboard. This disagreeable surface of a sooty black or gray is all too large and ugly, and ought to be changed to some more agreeable tone. Why not use a soft greenish gray color or greenish slate color ? Either will show chalk marks as well as black. In one of the Cambridge schools a pleasant gray has been adopted for this purpose, and has met with approval. While it would of course be impossible to abolish blackboards all at once, it is practicable to insist on the im- proved coloring in all new school buildings and to gradually introduce the preferable color when boards are being repaired or renewed in old buildings. It ought not to be necessary to [ H] St. John Donatello remind teachers that pictures drawn in colored chalk on a ^^'^ ^°^ '^ . . THE EYE. /p/ack-ho3.vd are likely to be very bad in their color effect and - II. THE an injury to the effect of a room as a whole. Note 2. walls of a There are a large number of objects in pictorial and plastic room. form, varying in size and cost, available for schoolroom deco- ration. This enables almost any school to possess objects of artistic value. We shall as a rule be limited to such forms of decoration as the reproductive processes afford. The condi- tions under which we live do not seem favorable at this time to the introduction of fresco, or other forms of permanent decoration ; the most of our school buildings would not admit of such a thing. We may, however, hope that good original color decorations will yet be possible, and complete this noble work. When mural decorations become practicable in our school buildings, we shall have introduced a powerful element into our educational system, — fresco, — which Vasari says is " truly the most virile, most sure, most resolute, and durable of all the modes of painting." If we should adopt a standard of color effect, perhaps that of the fresco might be selected. Fresco has a soft, beautiful tone of color, quite different from any other kind of mural decoration ; a color or tone having the effect of fresco color would be, generally speaking, harmonious and agreeable to the eye. Color effects are indeed not as far off as we may suppose ; some excellent color work is now to be had at verv reasonable cost, besides some very creditable work in the form of colored reproductions, published in this country. The Fitzroy So- ciety of London, England, organized by a number of talented men in a noble spirit of devotion to good, wholesome art, is publishing a form of art decoration at small cost, for schools, hospitals, club-rooms, etc. Some of them are admirable for this purpose, being characterized by good, vigorous drawing, [ '5 ] ART FOR f^j^g color, and decorative effect, worthy of place on any wails. THE EYE. ' . ... . Belville, the eminent French critic, thus praises this good 11. THE ' . . . . WALLS OF A work : " They [the Fitzroy Society] realize that beauty is ROOM. stronger than the beast, and that the constant method of nature and one of the most striking manifestations of God is to liberate, awaken, and broaden the domain of art." Note 3, To bring about the proper conditions for schoolroom art decoration in the community, several things are necessary. It will be advisable to have a committee composed of the edu- cated, cultivated, travelled people of the place ; people who know something about art, in theory, at least. Try to interest all sorts of people to contribute funds to do the work properly.* If possible, have the members of your school committee interest themselves, that they may have the walls of the buildings placed in a proper condition to receive what you wish to put upon them. In regard to the place in our schools to begin this work, I should always say, at the beginning. The Kindergartners have made a step forward in introducing in their systems a germ of art ; we must continue in this direction and begin our work in the primary schools. ' ' The Kindergarten takes the selfishness out of the pampered rich as well as the evil out of the poor." The true value of an art education comes in at this period of a child's life. If children are surrounded in the earliest years of their school life by the influence of good books and gentle manners, why should we not add to these the silent influence of color and works of art on the walls about them ? * Do not ask for contributions in the form of pictures, etc. It will be a mistake, for the kindly intentioned people are liable to offer pictures which are either hopelessly poor in themselves or hope- lessly unsuitable for the school in question, and such a situation of affairs is most difficult to handle discreetly. Let the choice of pictures be made always by undoubtedly competent people, else the evil consequences may not be easily overcome. [ '6 ] Statuette of David Mercie Let the decoration of a schoolroom and the artistic influences ^^"^ ^'^^ surrounding them in every-day hre be such as to unfold the 1 1 TH P faculties and develop the full powers of the child. walls of a That pictures should affect the child as works of art, at once, room. is not the aim of school decoration ; children at first distinguish outline, color, form, and gradually a combination of them all ; they need know nothing at first of the execution, of the tech- nique. Appreciation of technique will grow as they advance in their own drawing and color lessons. " When I look at the brush-mark of a Japanese painter, — which is but a sweep of India ink, — it may have for me modelling, color, air, texture, the sense of weather, of wet, heat, or windy cold, a feeling of reticence or of fulness of detail. Between his few lines I will feel the water of the rushing waterfall or the wet surfaces of the ricefield. "The black etched line of Rembrandt will give me a far-spreading horizon not in the direction of his line but running to it. A few . scratches of his will make the earth sink or rise, remain solid or be covered with water ; — no longer in fact be ink and paper, but light and air and shadow and varying form." — John La Farge, Considerations on Painting. The object of an art education for the children in our schools should be to develop in the pupils a sense of harmony and of unity, to cultivate within them a regard and love for beauty, to lead them to idealization, which is the great power of art, and to give them the ability for art expression by putting them on friendly terms with the works of the greatest masters ; it should reveal to them the ideal world which they might otherwise never know of. And it should bring out individual power to idealize plain facts ; that is, to see the ideal, the higher kind of reality, that is hinted at or foreshadowed or implied in them. It would be eminently proper for every schoolroom to have placed in the most conspiciious position an artistically good bust or portrait of some eminent American citizen, the patriot and statesman. This might be called a shrine of American patriotism. In the ancient Roman house, the atrium contained [ 17 ] ART FOR |-]^g busts to the " great and good " ; so we should place the THE EYE. & ° 1 -1 J • 1 visible tokens of our best and noblest before our children in the 11- THE . . . WALLS OF A schoolroom as object lessons in patriotism and history. In ROOM. some kindergarten and primary schoolrooms the use of tiles may be of considerable advantage, especially if the tiles are properly painted in harmonious colors ; decorated with figures, flowers, letters, and familiar objects ; a room with a wainscoting of tiles would be admirably decorated, not to mention the cleanliness which would commend it to all. And this leads to another suggestion. How charming a schoolroom without direct sunlight would look, adorned with modern reproduc- tions, such as are now made in the Conte-Galli works in Florence, of Luca della Robbia ware ! When we remember the beautiful Madonnas, the serene and holy " Santi " gar- landed with fruit and flowers, exquisite in form and color, such as can only be found in the matchless work of the Italian Renaissance, we could imagine a truly delightful, artistically beautiful schoolroom, — fit for a prince ! Yes, and is it not better for our own little ones to become peers and princes in body and mind through development under a beautiful and healthy environment than to become thugs and hoodlums through the tendencies aroused by what is ugly and degrading ? The employment of art decorations in our schoolrooms furnishes much thought for the future ; we may live assured that this application and apprehension of a system of art decoration in nowise promises any considerable addition to the number of our amateur painters or sculptors, but our children will more thoroughly acquire a knowledge of history, and their minds will be opened to the visible impression of the best thoughts of the past represented in the art work of that time. The text-book of the future will be more than a storehouse of words ; it will convey ideas, facts, and not mere figures of speech. [i8 ] A Cast from the Celebrated "Wooden Madonna" of Nuremberg The aim of the new education, in which " Art for the Eye" t.^ ^^e takes so essentially a permanent part, is to stimulate the innate thought in humanity, to develop genius truly, and bring the walls of a intelligence into direct relationship with life and the object room. appertaining thereto. As 1 have suggested before, the edu- cation afforded by an artistic environment is not all that is needed. Children need art training at the same time. " By the discipline of hve hundred years they had learned and inherited such power that whereas all former painters could be right only under restraint, they could be right, free. Tintoret's touch, Luini's, Correg- gio's, Reynolds', and Velasquez's, are all as free as the air and yet right. 'How very fine,' said everybody. Unquestionably, very fine. Next said everybody, ' What a grand discovery ! Here is the finest work ever done, and it is quite free. Let us all be free then, and what fine things shall we not do also ! ' With what results we too well know ! "Nevertheless, remember you are to delight in the freedom won by these mighty men through obedience, though you are not to covet it. Obey, and you shall also be free in time ; but in these minor things, » as well as in great, it is only right service which is perfect freedom." — RusKiN, Oxford Lectures on ^' Colour.^' This art training must necessarily be very simple and ele- mentary. It cannot go far toward the making of artists. But if it is sensibly managed and helps children to express fairly the ideals they have learned to appreciate or which they have created for themselves, it will be of immense service to the children, and through them to the community. We may not hope by such means to bring forth great geniuses in art, any more than our universities aim to produce great poets, but by a well-directed and proper en- vironment we may reasonably hope to create a generation of something more than faultless spellers. Even a little tech- nical training increases the capacity for appreciating good art; and if the training is thoroughly good so far as it goes, it must at least offer to real genius the best conditions for its spontaneous appearance among us. " How are we to bring the community to realize this ; how make it known that in the' starved heart and brain of child- [ '9] ART FOR hood lies involved the waste of later life : bring; it to see that THE EYE. unless in the school we enrich children's natures in ways for II. THE -11 -1 WALLS OF A which 'the three R's are of no avail, we have no right to ROOM. expect that they will make good use of what ' the three R's ' give them ?" [20] Abraham Lincoln Descamps n III. Choice of Objects. URING the past few years I have frequently received inquiries regarding the definite choice ot objects best adapted for schoolroom decora- tion. I have carefully looked over many lists and catalogues of pictorial and plastic objects, and selected from them some things which I regard as especially desirable and beautiful for schools. Many of the objects enumer- ated in the list which follows, I have personally selected and used successfully in a number of instances. This list might be much extended and enlarged, but it will be ample to make a beginning at least. Modern processes of repro- duction make the number of pictorial objects available well- nigh infinite. I have selected the casts from P. P. Caproni's artistic cata- logue ;'-vthe solar prints, photographs, and reproductions from the lists of William H. Pierce & Co., Boston ; the Prang Educational Company, Boston ; Frank Hegger, New York ; and I am also much indebted to the admirable list of casts and pictures suggested by Misses Stella Skinner and M. R, Webster, of New Haven, Conn. : a small work, but of real value. The firms are indicated in the accompanying list by signs as follows : • P. P. Caproni and Bro., Boston. 8, lo, 12 Newcomb St. >|< William H. Pierce .i' Co., Boston. 352 Washington St. ►f< The Prang Educational Company, Boston. 646 Washington St. • Frank Hegger, New York. 288 Fifth Avenue. Note 4. * The illustrations in this book are taken from this catalogue by the kind permission of P. P. Caproni and Bro. [21] ART FOR THE EYE. III. CHOICE OF OBJECTS ART FOR THE EYE. III. CHOICE OF OBJECTS. Works appropriate for Kindergarten and Primary Schools. CASTS. Heads, Figures, Etc. Classic and Renaissance. Medusa No. 970,* Madonna. Benedetto da Maiano. Circular .... 850. Madonna. Luca delta Robbia. Square 813. Infants, from the Children's Hospital in Florence. Luca della Robbia. Nos. 8 1 2 C, 8 I 2 D. The "Choir Boys." Seven Panels. Luca della Robbia, Nos. 800-811. These are especially recommended for schools. They vary some- what in size, averaging, perhaps, 40x35, and are in bold relief, well adapted for half-lights. They should be placed rather well up on the walls ; the entire series make an admirable effect in a school- room. The tone of the walls may be a light Venetian red, or light yellow ochre tint, somewhat inclined towards lemon color. See Grammar and High School list. Bust of a Laughing Boy .... Donatello. No. St. John " Bust of a Young Girl .... " Bust of a Boy Desiderio da Settignano. Madonna Michael Ajigelo. Madonna and Child. Square . Madonna and Child .... Panel, St. John. Very low relief Lion's Head Donatello. Modern. • Maiden. Museum of Lille, France • Bust of Columbus • Two Circular Reliefs . . . . Night and Morning . . . . • Knowledge Canova. Thorzvaldsen. No. II A, * The numbeis are from the catalogue of P. P. Caproni. 410 418 434 442 765 766 773 780 433- 500. 893 A. 888. ["] Bust of the Young Augustus Roman Heads of Animals. • Head of a Horse, Parthenon No. 13^2. • Head ot a Horse, Capitol in Rome 13^1. • Panel, Flight of Time, PVilliam Hunt 896. • Head of a Bull 1326. • Head of a Goat M2Q. • Head of a Tiger 1336. Small Heads of Animals, • Horse. No. 1363. • Ram. No. 1364. • Bull. No. 1351. • Lion. 1365. • Rabbit. 1367. • Dog. 1347- • Pig. 1366. Miscellaneous Objects, Ornamental and Architectural. • Panel Festoon with Shell No. 1401. > • Bunch of Grapes I4°7' • Olive Leaves .-.,.... 1421. • Panel Festoon, Flowers, Roses, etc I442- Casts of Ornament. Classic. • Egyptian Lotus. No. 1498. • Acanthus Leaf. No. 1500. • Greek Design. 1503. • Greek Design. 1529. • Greek Design. 1506. • Gothic Design. HZ^- Renaissance. • Scroll. French. No. 1535. • Scroll. French. No. 1534. ART FOR THE EYE. III. CHOICE OF OBJECTS. PHOTOGRAPHIC AND LITHOGRAPHIC REPRODUC- TIONS, ETC. From Paintings. # 5|< ^ Madonna of the Chair Raphael, Italian. • The Nativity Muller, German. • Virgin Enthroned Abbot Thayer, American. • Madonna and Child Morelli, Italian. Dignity and Impudence Landseer, English. Member of the Humane Society ... an [ ^3 ] ART FOR THE EYE. III. CHOICE OF OBJECTS. Horse Fair ..,,,,.,. Rosa Bofiheur, French. ^ Pharaoh's Horses . Herrick, Etiglish. :^ Haymakers' Rest J. Dupre", Fre?ich. 5tc Charity Briton Riviere, English. »^ Oranges (Water-color reproduction in colors), y^. C. Nowell, American. ^ Roses in Glass " " " M. Silsbee, American. ^ Yellow Roses " From Casts. ^ • Hermes of Praxiteles, Head and Shoulders Greek. >|< Head of Apollo Belvidere " * Head of Minerva " Architecture. 5l< Pyramid of Cheops, Egypt and River Nile. >|< ►f* Sphinx and Pyramids. The Island of Phila;. • >t=: Castle and Bridge of San Angelo, Rome . Italy. >|< Cathedral and Bell Tower, Florence . . " H< Ducal Palace (Facade), Venice ..." • >K Grand Canal, Church of the Salute, Venice " • >fc Taj-Mahal with Gardens, Agra . . . India. >K *i* Cathedral of Notre Dame, Exterior Paris France. • H< Cathedral of Rouen, Exterior .... " O >l< Cathedral of Cologne, Exterior . . . Germany. • >K Windsor Casde England. ;j< Melrose Abbey Scotland. ^ ►f" Capitol at Washington, West Front . . America. >|< Mount Vernon Mansion Virginia. ■^ Independence Hall Philadelphia. From Nature. ^ • Falls of Niagara ISlew York. Portraits. Washington. Oliver Cromwell. Scott, >i* Lincoln. Longfellow. Frankhn. ^ Webster. Whittier. Shakespeare. [24] Boy Desiderio da Settignano Works appropriate for Grammar and High Schools. CASTS. Statuettes Assyrian. • Lion weight, full size. Interesting in the study of art history. Original in bronze. British Museum. No. 2.* Egyptian. Statuettes. For historical study. • Sphinx. No. 8. • Pasht. No. 17. • Idol. 9. • Sphinx. London. • Idol. 13. • Sphinx. Louvre, Paris. • Mummy, 14. ART FOR THE EYE. III. CHOICE OF OBJECTS. Greek. Busts and Statues. Hermes of Praxiteles, Athens, Greece No. 300. Venus of Melos. For a large room or well-lighted hallway the full- , size figure may be used ; for a smaller room, the reduced copy of head and shoulders might be better , . . . Bust of Homer Bust of Zeus, or Jupiter (colossal), Vatican, Rome Head of Hypnos, British Museum Demosthenes, Vatican, Rome . Minerva Giustiani, Apollo Belvidere, full size, Sophocles, • Statue of Polvhvmnia, No. 307 317' 319 326 334 339 353 • Pudicitia, " " 90 • Head of Sappho, Naples 375 Roman. • Bust of Young Augustus No. 385. Renaissance. • Statue of St. George. Full size ; very desirable for an assembly room or large hallway Dotiatello. No. 222. • Head of a Youth " 415. • " " San Giovanni ** 416. " San Georgio ' * The numbers are from the catalogue of P. P. Caproni. [ ^5 ] + ■7- ART FOR THE EYE. HI. CHOICE OF OBJECTS. Head of a Young Girl No. 418 San Lorenzo Donatella. Mirietta Strozzi " Italian Princess. ...... " a Boy Desiderio da Settig?ia?io. a Young Girl .... Luca della Robbia. a Young Man, portrait . , Afitonio Pallajok. 419 430 431 434 43 5 446 447 Reliefs. • Madonna and Child Donatella. low relief No. 765 766 768 769 770 771 773 774 778 800-811 • St. John, low relief ....... • St. Cecilia, " " (two sizes) ... • St. John • The famous "Choir Boys," Luca della Robbia. Designed for the Cathedral in Florence. All very beautiful, and in bold relief. See Kindergarten and Primary School list. No. I. Seven boys singing from a book. No. 2. Five boys singing from a scroll. No. 3. Six boys playing on trumpets. No. 4. Six children playing on cymbals. No. 5. Five boys playing on drums. No. 6. Three girls playing on lyres. No. 7. Seven girls playing on lutes. A number of these casts may be procured at a reduced size. • The two famous Bambini, or Infants, Luca della Robbia. Nos. 812 C and 81 2 D. The originals, in a glazed terra cotta ware known by the name of that artist, are on the facade of the Children's Hospital in Florence. • Madonna (oval top), 30x30 Luca della Robbia. No. 814. Verrocchio. 843- Rassellino. 854. Michael Angela. 865. [ ^6] Columbus Canova ART FOR THE EYE. XT ^ III. CHOICE No. 246. OF OBJECTS. German. • The Wooden Madonna (so-called) in the National Museum of Nurem- burg, Germany T^r„ . .n '"• CHOICE • King Arthur (Peter Vischer), Innspruck, Tyrol. Modern French. • Statuette, David Mercie. No. 239. Photographic and Lithographic Reproductions, Etc. Egyptian. Karnak. Greek Temple and Hypostyle Hall. • ^ Sphinx and Pyramid, near view. Great Pyramids and River Nile. ►f< Statues of Memnon, large. Island of Phil^e. Greek. ►f« Acropolis, Athens, with Temple of Jupiter in foreground. Greece. • Pafthenon Theseion, Temple of Theseus Selections from the Frieze of the Parthenon. Nos. 3, 4-10. Girls bearing Water Jars Temple of the Wingless Victory • Hermes with Infant Dionysus • Venus of Melos Victory of Samothrace Stele of Aristokles ►!< Temple of the Erectheion Roman. Forum of Trajan Rome, Italy. ►f« Coliseum. Exterior • Arch of Septimus Severus • kfi Arch of Constantine • Arch of Titus Arch of Trajan • Castle and Bridge of San Angelo ►t« Basilica of St. Peter's with Colonnade .... • ►!< Pantheon, or Mausoleum of Agrippa Temple of Vesta Temple ot Sybilla in Tivoli , Near Rome [ ^7 ] ART FOR Pompeii, Forum and Mt. Vesuvius Italy. THE EYE. ^ Italian. OF Sbj°ects. Palazzo Vecchio . . . . Florence. Church of Santa Croce, Fa9ade " Church of Santa Annunziata, with Facade of the Children's Hospital " Ponte Vecchio " • San Miniato " % Bridge of the Rialto Venice. % Bridge of Sighs (so-called), with Facade of the Ducal Palace % Grand Canal, with Palaces and Church of the Salute " Church of San Giorgio " • ,^ Cathedral of St. Mark's, Fa9ade ..... % >|< Statue of Bartolemeo CoUeoni. Side view ... " Church of the Frari " • Cathedral of Milan Italy. • >K Padua. Statue of Gattamallata. Side view, large. Donatella " French. • Cathedral of Chartres France. • Cathedral of Rheims " Spanish. • Cathedral in Seville Spain. % Giralda Tower " German. St. Sebaldus Church, Nuremburg. Fa9ade . . Germany. English. • St. Paul's London, England. • Houses of Parliament " " • Durham Cathedral England. American. White House Washington, D. C. >i* Capitol at Washington. East view " " Washington Monument " " Smithsonian Institute " " University of Virginia Charlottesville. Memorial Arch, Fifth Avenue Nezv 7'ork, N. }', [ ^8 ] \ Stele of Aristokles Greek Lincoln Monument. St. Gnuciens Chicago, III. ^^^ ^^^ Shaw Monument. " Bosto7t, Mass. o • r /J 71^ ■"• CHOICE Chapin Monument. " bpniigpeld, Mass. Qp OBJECTS. Farragut Monument. " ^ew York, N.7'. Views of the Columbian Exposition Chicago, 111. ►J" Court of Honor, Art Building, etc " " St. Paul's Church New Tork, N.T. City Hall " Brooklyn Bridge Trinity Church. Richardson Boston, Mass. Tower, Clarendon Street Church. Richardson . Public Library State House. Bulfinch From Paintings. ^ The Aurora. Guido Reni. ' ie- Spring. Sandro Boticelli. Hemicycle. Paul Delaroche. Beaux Arts. Paris. % ^ Madonna of the Chair. Raphael. • ►J* Sistine Madonna. " • ►fi Madame Le Brun. Le Brun. • ►!< Madame Le Brun and Child. Le Brun. % ^ The Gleaners. Millet. Declaration of Independence. Trumbull. U.S.Capitol. Wash., D.C. Embarkation of the Pilgrims. IVier. " " " Madonna Enthroned. Abbot Thayer. The Prophets. John Sargent. Public Library. Boston, Mass. Automedon. Henri Regnault. Museum of Fine Arts. " Garden of the Gods, Colorado. Falls of Niagara. ^ The North Woods. Reproduction of water colors Winslozv Homer. ►J< The Eastern Shore Twelve Typical Illustrations in Architectural Subjects. Parthenon, exterior. Greek .... Athens. Coliseum, " Roman .... Rome. St. Sophia, interior. (Byzantine) . . Constantinople. St. Mark's, exterior, front. Romanesque. l^enice. [ ^9 ] • >i> No. I. • ►!- No. 2, No. 3. • ►!* No. 4 ART FOR • No. «;. THE EYE. • No. 6. III. CHOICE OF OBJECTS. • No. • *i> No. 7- 8. • No. 9- • No. lO. ^ No. 1 1. No. 12. Notre Dame, Paris, rear view. Gothic . Pan's. Chartres Cathedral. " . . Fra?ice. Westminster Abbey *' . . London. St. Peter's, exterior (court with colonnade) Roman Rome. The Taj, exterior. Indian India. St. Paul's. Classic London. Capitol, Washington " ..... United States. Tower, Trinity Church. Richardson. Romanesque Boston, Mass. [30] i.hV.*«*>i*f«5y U ' K Lion's Head Donatello Notes. ART FOR THE EYE. Note I. — Boston Herald Report: March 20, 1896; '\pril 27, 1896. of objects. Voluminous but interesting reading. Note 2. — A very ingenious device is now in use, in the "Gilbert Stuart" School in Dorchester, Mass., that in a measure will do away with much that is objectionable in the school blackboard. Gray linen curtains, mounted on rollers, are drawn down across the blackboard when not in use. These curtains may be of a tone harmonious with the color of the walls and woodwork of a room, and it will be an easy way to make the surface of a blackboard harmonize with the general tone of color in a schoolroom. Note 3. — The agency for the sale of the Fitz Roy Publications in Boston is at the "Guild of the Iron Cross," No. 45 Joy Street, where catalogues of the Society's Publications may be obtained at small expense. Among the admirable things published by this Society I should like to mention "St. George and the Dragon," Haywood Sumner, an upright picture in colors, 49 x 3 i inches. The "Four Seasons" by the same artist, 37 X 19 inches. "Love rules his kingdom without a sword," etc. Note 4. — Any one desiring additional information as to prices of casts, reproductions, pictures, etc., should apply to the different firms for catalogues, etc. ; a few of the most desirable addresses are given. The Berlin Photographic Co., 14 East 23d St., New York, Braun, Clements & Co., 257 Fifth Ave., " " The J. C. Witter Co., 853 Broadway, " " =^ Frank Hegger, 288 Fifth Ave., " " Wm. H. Pierce & Co., 352 Washington St., Boston. The Prang Educational Co., 646 " " " t A. W. Elson & Co., 146 Oliver St., P. P. Caproni & Bro., 8, 10, 12 Newcomb St., " * Especially fine photographic work, f Portraits of eminent Americans. [31 ] PHOTOGRAPHIC ENLARGEMENTS FOR SCHOOL DECORATION. Works of Art, Paintings, Sculpture, and Architecture. Suitable alsio foi* Cliucational anD l>ccoratitie purpo0r0 3In Colleges;, ilibraricg, public 115uili)ing0, l^alU of ]^ritiate EesftDence^, OUR SPECIALTY is LARGE SIZES for Framing, from Three Feet to Eight Feet in length — the true decorative dimensions. Our stock of 4000 subjects consists of Novelties and Sizes not to be obtained elsewiiere. MANUFACTURERS OF LANTERN SLIDES. SEND FIVE CENTS FOR A CATALOGUE. WM, H, PIERCE & CO., 352 Washington Street, ART PUBLISHERS. BOSTON, MASS. [3^ ] LHFe'07 Nike (or Victory) of Samothrake, in the Louvre. Found in the Island of Samothrake, 1863. This statue was part of a vo- tive offering, commemorative of a great naval victory, doubtless that of Demetrius of Macedonia over Ptolemy of Egypt, off Cyprus, B. C. 306. It stood upon a pedestal representing the prow of a ves- sel. The goddess is represented as rushing forward in battle, bearing in one hand a mast and with the other hold- ing a trumpet to her lips. This copy is one of the many plaster reproductions of antique and modern sculptures made by Messrs. P. P. CAPRONI & BRO. OF BOSTON, who for many years have supplied with their casts schools, col- leges, academies, institutions, and also many lovers of sculpture throughout the country for the decoration of their artistic homes. THE MESSRS. CAPRONI ISSUE A CATALOGUE WHICH THEY SEND FREE ON RECEIPT OF FOUR CENTS IN STAMPS FOR POSTAGE., i33 ] FINE REPRODUCTIONS of photographs from famous buildings, monu- ments, and paintings are published by The Prang Educational Company for schoolroom decoration. It is with great pleasure that I express my full appreciation of your success in reproducing by lithographic process the well-known photographs of the Maison Braun series. The first five pictures (Roman Coliseum, Roman Forum, Pyramids and Sphinx, Arch of Constantine, and Madonna della Sedia) reached us a few days ago, and have called forth the most favorable comment from the members of our faculty. Your litho- graphic reproductions are most admirable substitutes for the real photographs, the tone and clearness of which they imitate in a remarkable manner. These reproductions, being as perfect as they are inexpensive, will not fail to be appreciated by all teachers who understand the educational value of good pictures in the classroom. Your series with its real artistic merit will not only prove helpful in teaching History and Geography, but will also be valuable for esthetic training in school and home. Wishing you much success in this publication, I am Yours respectfully, Maximilian P. E. Groszmann, Ph.D. Superintendent of the Ethical Culture School, log W. J^th St., New York City. CATALOGUES IV ILL BE SENT ON APPLICATION. The Prang Educational Company, BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO 646 Washington St. 5 West i8th St. 151 Wabash Avenue. 13^ 22 1 Qi^^m «§.\k * A^ ^ "> Wilis' * <■? >>>■ - '* — ••- .^^^^. ;^', -^Z ,^^. *^^^^^ ,^', \/ , •^ -.^m^,- /\ '-^P-' /% l^'° /\ '°"^^*' ^^^^* ■■ '0^ . -> .«^^ MAY 85 i ^"- '^•^^^ ^ N. MANCHESTER, ■.■; ^ INDIANA 46962 ■ *