a : I a iy f s Fy i \ =. %, eS ; = ? x! a ; = . j ¥ ee. 5 e vn Yt " - “—_ B: bs Hs f wee \ : . r ay a fo La Up pies PPO De WHE ar TESS ; salty Lup Uy: t iy Os » Rf SYS 14 Ja SS: 4 - SAE at SS Wy crt %"; Uf dldltensW\\ti Tage PLe Ul Gas ass ea de ea ae CPummeret ! OPT IIIT TTS NOs POPC 2 FP ARIAL | = = ge SoS R ASL = y = ae CUMbS tit Reese Bho ajtses sci cincge indus Vil ks ke tlk ath sal Uysd eager 31168 ; Ast ie Gaia) ec bFilex . : * . = /} . i) V, crt} oe J ) vd é ? ee ay! bles ey ee i ’ 7 ; e ? es 2 ; : f yates ¢% * Z ia oe 1] te = ¥ g . ; ‘i vs - \P4 7. > > ff 4 A. ‘WELLINGTON a 00. eS : IMPORTERS, “CONTRACTORS FOR EVERY VARIETY OF ae Plein ad Decorative Tile Wor, NEW. ENGLAND AGENTS FOR : Low's ART, TILES. ‘Fine om Ww ood “Mantels, cand: Injerion. Wood Work. Artistic WiowekE Iron, Pomnenn Mosaic, and | Hea Marble Work. ey : HOUSEHOLD ART ROOMS: A: “Boylston Street, Boston. Shere: Lion Chair Grate An Artistic Open Grate FOR BURNING HARD OR SOFT COAL OR WOOD. It is mounted on casters and can be wheeled into the fireplace, and used for any kind of fuel. Has a_ brick - lined fire- pot, and dumping - grate, making it especially desirable for burning hard or soft coal. Being portable it can be used in any room, while its compact fire-pot con- Fai a ae ml = ALATA Ht pe = H Ui i ‘ SE eS = SS EX oS = SS as. eee ANT tains all the fire and prevents the fire- place jambs from being discolored. One Size Only. Dimensions. — Width in front, 23 inches; Width in rear, 19g inches; Depth, 14 inches. KEY "O meet the growing apprecia- tion of fine Hand - wrought . Decorations in Iron, we have fitted up, in connection with our store, a Black- smith Shop, or Smithy, and have been fortunate in securing the assistance of Mr. Albert Chase, whose artistic designs and careful manipulations are the result of a thorough education and long experience in the working and combination of precious metals and gems. At our suggestion, Mr. Chase during the last two years has, with the assistance of expert ham- | SAW ry, | WELLINGTON’S Improved Ash-Pit Cover. To be placed in the bottom of the fire- place. It is easily opened by pressing the cover on either side, and will remain open while the ashes ave swept into the pit below. mermen, devoted his whole time to studies in iron, where he finds an even larger field for real artwork than in the cold wrought precious metals. So fully has his work been appreciated that we have found it necessary to increase the number of our forges and workmen. It is our intention, as far as possible, to keep a few choice examples in stock, and make special pieces from original designs, embodying the suggestions of our customers. The work thus far has been in Chandeliers, Brackets, Newel Posts, Lanterns, Andirons, Fire Sets, Basket Grates, Door-knockers, Grills, and Candle - holders. We do not attempt to illustrate our best work, as the owners prefer to keep it exclusive. Abies eb, RIDEAU STOVE. An Artistic Open Grate Adapted to any Chimney and can be used with or without Mantel. It has the advantage of being ex- tremely compact, taking up even less room than the ordinary fireplace, while its ornamental character con- tributes largely toward the furnishing of the apartment in which it is placed. Every house has one or more chimneys that can be NS S made available for an open Ht a s ; : aT grate like this, and the ex- E “ ; = — : = = a = Style a > “=== pense being comparatively is 2 == = ; ; slight brings it within the Style B. reach of all. In addition to its use in the home, it is especially adapted for Hotel apartments, business offices, ete. The combustion is always under absolute control, and the strictest economy in the use of coal insured. The iron blower is balanced by weights similar to window-sashes and will remain in any position desired. These weights are suspended in iron tubes to prevent interference of brick or mortar. THE RIDEAU STOVE is made in two styles, “A” and “B,” the only difference being in the ornamentation. In both patterns the Blower and Prame are decorated with rich art castings of Renaissance design, being admirable examples of that artistic period. It is designed for a border of Low’s Art Tiles, as shown in the cut, and when so set the effect is highly artistic. For those who desire something still more elaborate, we can furnish the grate in various styles of Bronze or Brass finish. We solicit correspcncence with Architects, Interior Decorators, Specialists, as well as with consumers direct. Agencies are, or will be, established in every city in the United States. Prices of either “ A” or “B” Pattern delivered on board cars in Boston, $25.00. This price includes all the ironwork used. The Fire Brick Linings are supplied by the mason who sets the grate, or can be furnished by us if desired. Bronze Finish, for either of above patterns, $15.00 extra. Antique Brass Finish, for either of above patterns, $15.00 extra. Fire Brick Linings, extra, $1.25. Height of grate, 38 inches; width, 24 inches; depth, 11 inches; weight, when packed, ready for shipping, 18 Ibs. We can also furnish Andirons, Iron Backs and Jambs, I'ireplace Fixtures, etc. WELLINGTON’S for Smoke 7x15 IMPROVED CHIMNEY THROAT. This is unquestionably the greatest improvement in fireplace building that has yet been made, and is meeting with favor at the hands of architects and builders. It is smooth inside and comes to a thin edge ~ Opening ) Xe \\ } across the front (A, Figure 2), has no dead air SS P Ny N space, and no projections to prevent the smoke ( , \ s) Ws going direct to the chimney. It is perfectly tight, 4 \ \ SON avoiding danger from fire, has a perfect working = y ‘HA | \ damper, needs no mantel bar (except for brick ih \ } facing), requires no special skill in setting, is built G \ in less time than a brick heading, and does not ; require as expensive material. PATENT APPLIED FOR, wa _ Digitized by the Internet Archive In 2023 with funding from Columbia University Libraries https://archive.org/details/fireplacestoriesOOharr A LASS OF 76, ART ‘TILE FROM J. G. & J. F, LOW, Ta Sov VuHATae GAG Ta ANAS AANA Grooneasnesia tbe AbTus GOST RST Ale Side iusauean cauaaeals sic siceTURiMRUaAiS Ean iiawneloc aie Sciam STORIES FROM THE TILES. NRE eG IN(C 18: SOUND SIS. BY AMANDA B. HARRIS. OW well I remember, as if it was but yesterday, of reading, when a child, a biography of somebody who lived in an old-fashioned house with an open fire- place in the nursery, and the mother used to mec Her children around her and tell them-Bible stories from the tiles. I have not the shadow of an idea whose biography it was; but those fire-place stories brightened up the whole book, and their light has come all the way down these years, and ASSYRIAN TILES, is with me yet. All imaginative children have their little streaks of romance, their harmless fancies and dreamings : and one of mine was that I might sit in just such 2 IOVS IRS RIEU NOE SIE Oye HIE SS), a room and learn stories of the tiles. No doubt there were deep window-seats, too, where one could curl up and read books of ballads, the Arabian Nights, and Fyrotssart. They all belonged together; and what a charm there was about them! Those tiles, with the crude figures and impossible landscapes, in blue on dull yellowish ground, came from Hol- land. Odd sort of folks are the Dutch; with certain peculiarities and customs that as much belong with them as their own bodies do; and the tiles are their very own, and no other people’s. To England I used to imagine they must have gone over when some of the princesses of the Low Country (which is generic for Bra- bantaablainau!t Oranece anda know not how many, Hames). married into the English royal fam- TERSIAN TILES. ily ; but of course it was earlier than that, when Dutch merchants were encour- aged to trade with their neighbors across the German Ocean. ue From England first, and then direct from Holland, the fashion came over here. Many a house in New England had at least. one set of Dutch tiles. Usually MOORISH TILES. they were Scripture scenes, or Dutch landscapes. You know a Dutch interior, you know a Dutch country wherever you see it; for the Hollanders run in the same groove: unprogressive, lethargic, satisfied, which is a very comfortable state to be in; what was good for their ancestors ten generations back is good enough for them. It would be safe to say that they. will manufacture just such tiles next year —if they do it at all—as_ they LOL SAP IA GEO BS) TOES, % made ten centuries ago. There are the windmills, the canals, the lazy barges, clipped trees, trim willows, gabled houses with sharp-pitched roofs, and church- spires like candle-extinguishers, to say nothing of the milkmaids, cowboys, storks, and swans. Old Delft-haven must have been pictured many a time, so foreign, so strange: Amsterdam likewise. You see these subjects, these IN HOLLAND. places, on the tiles, which could have been made nowhere else in the wide world; the national stamp is on them, as much as the Japanese is on Japan things; Dutch-land —its mark. Ti But the Old Testament scenes! what ideas those folks had! I have in mind a set in an ancient house, about to be taken down, where we went at the risk of slumping through into the cellar. They were in pairs, matching from side to side, with one odd one in the middle at the top, and there would have been twenty- 4. AITRECE LT AC LE Sl ONS seven if modern vandals had let them alone. Noah’s ark was a small house with two windows, set in a boat: and a Dutchman in a cardigan jacket was drowning in water that did not come up to his waist. Moses, smiting the rock, was reach- ing at it with a long pole, as if he was afraid to go nearer, like a boy touching off a cannon: he was in a frock and leggins, his hair was banged, and he had elbow sleeves. Jacob, with staff in hand, and wearing a broad-brimmed Quaker hat which might have been made in a Massachusetts hat factory last week, was going on a journey toward a windmill. The temple at Jerusalem was a castle with a crusad- er’s flag flying from the tower; but the climax of the grotesque was reached in David the shepherd boy, who had horned animals, which a lady who was present mistook for pumpkins with two stems. IV. In the stately mansion at Cambridge once called ‘‘ the Bishop’s Palace,” where Burgoyne was kept when prisoner-of-war, were tiles in both the great square rooms occupied by him. It is understood that he had the range of the whole build- ing; but these two, the parlor and sleeping-room over it, were especially for his use. The lower room has elaborate carving, and deep window- seats, the same as when he was there; the fireplace has an iron back repre- senting Minerva with her shield, and the tiles show the storks and swans, the windmills and barges; some of them have been replaced, but many of the originals are still preserved. In the chamber is the same beveled mirror bedded in the chimney-piece, and on the walls is the landscape paper with Italian scenes and figures, which by the flickering firelight must have looked alive enough to haunt one’s dreams. One can imagine the captive British— general, in his scarlet coat and lace ruffles and powdered hair, coming down those broad stairs, of a morning, into that wainscoted hall, and looking off, XN eR Ea eA GES poy OTL ES: 5 past the sentinel, over the terraced garden with its flights of stone steps, its arbors and graveled walks bordered with box, to the street where the despised Continental soldiers were passing and repassing, and having everything their own way in spite of King George and his army. They make one think of pictures by medizeval draughtsmen who had no idea SASS { pre “se z= PANG) "~) ENGEL D HOS WI FE CSREES (S = Gad ae ay, CS BURGOYNE A CAPTIVE AT CAMBRIDGE. of form or perspective. These are genuine Delft, real antiques, in black indigo blue on acrackly, yellow-white ground; and besides the ubiquitous storks, canals, and things, they picture the seasons ; and some of the Scriptural ones have chapter and verse. How queer and how quaint they are! and if anybody should tell you they wére made by the first Dutchman, you might safely believe it. 6 FOL ie? 101 | Ong S11 LLL: Ve One of the earliest instincts of the human race was to try to make pretty things. The “ceramic craze” is as old as the world; and all peoples have had it, down to the Piutes who made this wabbly, half-baked little pitcher before me, which somebody brought across the continent in a carpet-bag. It is a long way down from the first tile tomsieiaes “thing of beauty” as a Low “plastic sketch,” but as straight as the chap- ters in a book. The builder in Assyria moulded a brick, but was not satisfied till he could ornament it. Before, it was utility; but after that, it was art. In Persia, color was the chief thing; their ALCESTE.-— Al TLASTIC. SKETCH. tiles were in kaleidoscopic combina- tions, peacock blues on a dazzling white ground, with all the iridescence of a peacock’s plumage; opalescent, lovely. The Moors—read of theirs in stories of the Alhambra, of the blue and gold, like polished precious stones. VI. Tiles that are like pictures, elegant single wall decorations, or simple, effective scenes in high relief for fireplace and frieze, belong rather to our day and to our inventive genius. It is to be held a rare piece of good fortune if one can go to Chelsea where the Low art tile works are and see for one’s self where and how some of the most exquisite, some of the most perfectly lovely things of the kind in the world are made. The materials for many sorts of ceramics are to . . x ‘“ ” R 7 be found in this country; as for those which are ie Gene. used at Chelsea, the kaolin is from North Carolina, the feldspar from Connect- icut, what they call the lean clay from Missouri, and the fat clay is from ed fe Ha Sint CESS TO ESS, 7 New Jersey where there are deposits which are historic—the very “‘ fuller’s earth” such as was used by Washington’s soldiers to cleanse their buckskin breeches with in Revolutionary days. For making tiles it is first ground fine; and the room is like Tennyson’s mill, The very air about the door Made dusty with the floating meal, only instead of meal read gray dust. After being ground it is received into a tank where it is moistened enough to take off the dryness without being lumpy. Near by are the presses, worked on the same principle as many cheese-presses you must have seen in dairy-rooms, by an upright screw; give ESCAPING A SIMOON,—A PLASTIC SKETCH. it a twist or two, and whatever is in the mould beneath, be it cheese-curd or be it clay, must submit to the inevitable. Into the mould, which is just the size and shape of the tile that is to be, the workman puts the clay dust, fits in the die, and brings to bear a pressure anywhere from twelve to thirty tons power—a tremendous and awful one — removes it, and there, as if by magic, is your tile ready for the first firing, so solid that it will stay in shape, although you can break it, if you like, as you would bread. NEES No need to dwell upon this, or the familiar firing process, or the coloring which is applied in liquid form with a brush, or the after firing. The combi- 8 PER TES LAG TS OPES, nation of colors, and the relief, by which objects are perfectly reproduced, are secrets, belonging to the Messrs. Low; attained by costly and persistent trials with different clays and pigments and processes, by patient, skilful, artistic experimenting; resulting in “a new kind of ceramics” which gained in the English exhibition the gold medal over all English pottery. The very first Ee y eae a. ory THE BUSINESS OFFICE OF THE MESSRS, LOW, AT CHELSEA, MASS, success of getting an imprint on the clay dust tile was with a mullein leaf, which, in desperation Mr. Low snatched up in the back-yard of the works, and he said he went fairly out of his head with delight, and worked all night experimenting. . VIII. To see what has come of it, one may go to the Household Art Rooms in Boston, where are shown the productions of the Messrs. Low. But first a word about that piece of cstheticism, the little one-storied, one-roomed’ house \ Cee eA GPRS TORE Ss. 9 adjoining the works in Chelsea, which is the business home of eG ands | ake Low. It might have been a cottage of Cromwell’s time. I] expected to find John Bunyan sitting in the chimney corner, and Evelyn at work on_ his herbarium, and to see Izaak Walton coming in presently with a string of fish. A sloping room, with dull red walls, a sage-green dado, and orange ceil- ing; with many- paned, broad, low windows in early English style — perhaps Anne Hathaway’s sitting- room had such — bow-backed chairs, and a tall clock, a sunken fireplace with an antique, iron fire-set; on the mantle - shelf, AT THe LOW TILE WORKS. —THE PRESSES, candlesticks and vases of some other day than ours, and such a long-necked jar!—the iden- tical narrow-necked jar that Mistress Stork used when she invited. the fox to dinner! Such a precious old-world place !— one longed to carry it off bodily as the rarest piece of bric-a-brac. IX. At the Household Art Rooms in Boston, as at the various Low agencies in the larger cities, different fireplaces are fitted up with sets of tiles to show the effect. One design represents a flight of swallows across the top, and pots of poppies at the sides; at the back of another, there is perhaps the 10 FIRESPEA €CHOSLTORLLS: AT THE LOW TILE WORKS.—THE FIRING. “Fire Fiend,” the hearth in exquisite square tiles, while around the fireplace runs a vine with flowers. or . berries, and birds are in the corners. It is the very hight of luxury; and to. sit’ before the fire with such decoration means to dream dreams of lovely things, to fancy stories of the spring, of the time of apple-blossoms and the singing of birds. The costliest of all these rarely beautiful sets was one thousand dollars ; another was seven hundred and _ fifty, while simpler designs could be had for ten to twenty dollars. In a room farther back they show “all the different styles of their tiles. One pattern (‘“‘because we must have a name”) is ‘‘dropped eggs on toast. another is ‘‘sliced cucumbers.” There are the Renaissance, Queen Anne, Japanese, the apple- blossom, and new apple-blossom, hawthorn, buttercup, ama- ranth, daisy, sunflower, “bird and berry,” patterns — imagine them, imagine what may come of artistic work, exquisite coloring, per- fection of outline, life-likeness, with such subjects as these! Imagine everything that is charming, each that you see a study of some _ beautiful thing! Imagine a flight of birds around your fireplace —— most graceful SOME “‘ LOW” TILES. of all winged creatures, swallows! Storks stand in corners, and I think there must have been owls. TRL ES Tate ALG Le Se OCT: II The colors run differently and shade themselves while in a fluid state; and the man who explained things to me said you can never tell exactly how they will be till the tiles come out of the kiln. In general they are shadings and blendings of brown, gold, green gold, olive, claret, and a peculiar metallic blue, in infinite and graceful combinations, tints, and tones. XI. Still another, the innermost room, displays on the walls a whole exhibition of their exquisite ‘plastic sketches” in high relief, poems in clay, pictures in clay, modeled by hand, unique as they are beautiful, and set off by frames of plush in sage-green, maroon, old gold, and other effective colors. There are land- scapes, antique heads, human figures, in-door scenes, omer ie Bs animals—a gallery of delights. Some are amusing, sete like “Eureka” where a donkey has found a thistle and is braying the news to his friends, and “Late to Dinner” which depicts a drove of swine on the start. “The Pathfinder” is a blind man led by a dog; “Twilight,” a woman trying to thread her needle; “All the World,” a woman clasping her baby; “The. Milky Way,” a herd of cows coming home; ‘‘Noon,” a group of sheep lying down in a pasture. 12 ATER VEE INTE, TE PRAT OWI OT OE Sy. Mr. Arthur Osborne, the young sculptor to whose creative fancy these charming works are due, has modeled expressly to accompany this article for WipE Awake two bas-reliefs, the typical “lad” and “lass” of ’76. “PEACE, MY CHILDREN.” —A PLASTIC SKETCH, PRESS OF STANLEY & USHER, BOSTCN. ; H ART TILE FROM J. G. & J. F. LOW. WOOD MANTELS Pe ONS ORIGINAL SDE SIGNS, A SPBCLALTY. We are prepared to ae make Artistic Wood Wave? Mantels from original designs simple or elaborate, painted or aaa Meany kind of ‘hard, == Sa ee wT Ii wood. Contracts solic- || ited for Hotels and al | Apartment Houses. uN =e ce Mlmkersof fine fur... s2 niture from original designs, richly carved or plain. We employ none but the best workmen: we hold. ourselves responsible for every piece however inexpensive, and solicit inspection of designs, workmanship, and prices. the Rideau Stove, Canopy Stove, Improved SS * Fireplace Throat and Damper, the ‘Tilting Ash-Pit Cover, Lion Chair Grate, Mycene Grate, etc. THE, CANOPY: OPEN GRAS In Four Sizes, for Anthracite or Bituminous Coal or Wood. HE demand for a Portable Stove, that would retain all No. I, Canopy Square. the advantages of a decorative Open Fireplace, led, after a long ae of CED ERIC T NS, to ea seae tor leisiess ote 4o in. High, 27 in. Wide, Fire Opening, 14 in. Wide. CaNOpy OPEN GRATE or STOVE. It is simple and artistic in form, and the open fire is under perfect control. It will burn hard or soft coal, wood or coke, is complete in itself, and requires no skill in setting. It can be set in the chimney with or without Tile sur- rouncings, or may be used as a Portable Stove, requiring only the ordinary stove-pipe connection with the chimney. On the following pages we show the different forms in which it is made. The front of the grate is circular in form and _ projects into the room, with a Canopy over the fire to carry away the smoke and gas. By this arrangement the heat from the fire is radiated in all directions, and, if required, the sliding door can be moved partly forward to serve as a screen. There is a chamber around the fire for the circulation of fresh air, thus making the most perfect ventilation. This grate is simple and decorative, and will keep an open fire more than 30 hours without attention. No. 2, Canopy Franklin. 4o in. High, 27 1-2 in. Wide, r4-in. Fire Opening. Portable, and has the Tile Facing and Hearth. The top and sides have the shape of the old Franklin Stove, and the top is ornamented with Brass Balls. (The above cut represents the stove closed.) No. 4, A portable Open Stove or Grate, with Tile Hearth or Canopy Fireplace. Facing, and Tiles covering the entire top and sides. The 30 in. High, 18 in. Wide, Fire | Blower is divided in the middle, and the two halves slide Opening, in. : teiaericey On a to the right and the left, and when open expose the To be set in brick with | entire fire. as broad Tile Facing and Hearth as required, the Tile No. 3, Canopy Mantel. acing and Hearth to be set in cement, or if without tiles, 34 1-2 in. High, 26 in. Wide, 14-in. Fire Opening. using brick or marble for Has Tile Hearth and Facing, and is intended to set in facing and hearth, It can | }yick, flush with the mantel facing, same as our Rideau easily be fitted into an or- | Stove. The hearth may be even with the floor, or raised dinary fireplace, without the jhe are i Vy mee ’ slightly above it. necessity of tearing out the old work. SEND FOR - CIRCULAR. AVERY LIE ' MOSAICS. PERFECT REPRODUCTION OF POMPEIAN MOSAICS, HEARTES, Ate Vestibule or Hall Floors, = TAD NE INR uum" a ©: A WELLINGTON & co. tae Era | - ablest American and foreign artists. @ the old fay SW hea portraits were cut out of black paper from shadows of faces, t pens people had no beautiful gn Bia penne all their own. < The Best Llustrated Magazine tit the World Ti vee fOr Young People is = NW TDR AWAKE, _ With a thousand (1900) quarto pages a year @f best literature of widest range by the most famous American and foreign authors, and half a thousand (500). pices - the va Sendi To cents in stamps for specimen copy, tol sy Soe ee meter BR Lieinion.é & Co., EM Bus. Boston, Mass. U. ONE OF THE LARGEST. COLLECTIONS — IN THE WORLD.) NA \ l dder. _. Modeled by Vedder. — i A & U 5 i J. ~ :? - ' a a ee INCLUDING. a6 De Forest Celeb ated Indian 6 llection, The Suith & fo ie (0.3, ~ And Our Own a cop -Back and es | THE SUN’ “HOUSEHOLD ART Boylaton Birect ‘ROOMS: 2 E ze SS i i idee Ys er. 2 $ as fis ts yar nae z Ss < % fe 3 } fy ¢ \ 41hd / I “paqys 0D J ‘ i l er SEE I } 2 He es =f 7 = Lt Se } ia god “s ba oe y | 5 - - f k 5 HG moe \ ETRE ee f s j