HAND BOOK

ART S M TH NO

PRACTICAL SMITHS, DESIGNERS OF IRONWORK

TECHNI CAL AND ART SCHO OLS, ARCHITECTS, ETC.

FRANZ SALE S M EYE RP ROFESSOR IN THE SCHOOL OF APPLIED ART AT KARLSRUHE

AUTHOR OF “ A HANDBOOK OF ORNAMENT ETC .

T R A N S L A T E D

FR O M TH E S E C O N D A N D E N LA R G E D G E RM A N E D I T I O N

W ITH AN I NTRO DUCT I O N TO TH E E NGLI SH E D ITI O N

J. STARKI E GARDN E R

CONTAHUN C} 2 h1 I LLUST R AT I ON S

LONDON

B . T . BATSFORD, 9 4 ,

H IGH HOLBORN

1 89 6 .

SEEN BYPRE55RVATIONSERVICES

Pr in ted i n Germany

R A MM S E E MA N N,L E I P Z I G .

C ONT E NTS .

page

I N TR ODUCT I ON .

I . CONC E RN I NG TH E M A T E R I AL .

1 .

P i g , and cast - iron

mow

-In

gra

mIron in general

SteelWrougt

- ironMalleable cast- iron

. The various k i nds of i ron used in trade by Artistic IronWorkers. Bar- iron

,Fancy - iron , Sheet - iron, Iron -W ire , Iron - tubes

II . TOOL S A N D W OR K M AN SH I P .

“A

W

N

Tools and Machi neryThe Manipul at ion and TI eatm ent of wrought - ironThe Ordinary Iron Combinations

. The Minut iae and Details whi ch occur inost e quently inArtistic Iron -Work

III . TH E H I STOR I CA L D E V E LO PM E NT A R T I ST I C SM I T H I N G .

N

Q

P‘

P

W

N

The AntiqueThe MediaevalThe RenaissanceThe BaroqueThe RococoThe Louis XVI and Empire stylesThe present day

IV . TH E P R I N C I P A L S PH E R E S OF TH E SM I T H .

1 .

2 .

Grilles and balustradesDoors and gates

IV CONTENTS.

Hinges and MountingsLocks and KeysGarg oyles , and hanging SignsCandelabras , Candlest icks , Chandeliers, Coronas and LanternsWash stands and Flower standsCrosses for Graves and TowersArm s and Arm ourAl l other Obj ect s in irono

es

ocz

oi-

w

SUP P L E M E N T .

Tables of Weights and Measuresa . Germ an sheet- iron scaleb . German wire -

scale (m illim eter- scale)c . Table shewing the dim ensions and weights of wroughtiron gas - barrel

d . Table of weights of round bar irone . Table of weights for square bar ironf. Table of we i ghts for flat bar iron per linear m eter inkilogramm es

I NTRODUCTION TO THE E NGL ISH E DITION .

P rofessor Franz Sales Meyer’

s previou s works on the Science of

Ornam ent, of which his“Handbook of Ornament

”

,in the best

‘

known

in this country,entitle his views and writings to respectful

attention,though his knowledge of smith - craft is theoretical rather

than practical . This,to one less highly trained , would have

proved a serious difficulty,but brought up from hi s cradle in an

atmosphere of technical education,he has made him self thoroughly

acquainted wi th the m ! tier of which he treats . P assing from the

Teachers Training College at Meersburg to the Technical Academy at

Carlsruhe,he has been successively appointed teacher in the Ar t Trade

School and the Building Trade School,and finally

,in 1 8 7 9 at the

age Of thirty,P rofessor at that establishment . He has also produced as

jo i nt author,handbooks treating of m etal work

,cabinet work

,carpen

teri ng,and painting .

Of these,the present work is

,to E nglish craftsmen

,undoubtedly

the most interesting.

Addressed especially to art workmen and designers,though not

confined exclusively to German examples,the work is written from the

German standpoint,which di ffers in many respects from the E nglish .

The actual technical operations are of necessity the same,but the tools

differ somewhat . * A large part of the book and of the illustrations

is devoted to modern German productions and design,and in view

of the somewhat severe competition the E nglish sm ith is experiencing,and must anticipate in the future from his c o n frer e s on the Rhine

,

this section is not without its special interest .

The ironworking arts and crafts have been at all times most

earnestly pursued in Germany . The earliest contact of’

Roman armies

with the Teutonic nations found them well equ ipped wi th iron for

war, and throughout the m iddle - ages,references to the steel weapons

of Cologne , P assau ,Innsbruck and other centres of manufacture are

scarcely disgu ised by the quaint spelling. A little later we find

Mr. John J. Hol tzapffel has ki ndly revised this section of the bookwhich must greatly enhance i t s value to English readers .

VI INTRODUCTION TO THE ENGLISH EDITION.

great quantities of “Almagne r i vetts bills,&c . ,

entered in the

inventories of m ili tary stores in this country ; and Henry VII I

settled German workmen in Southwark and Greenwich,when

endeavouring to revi ve the armourers craft in E ngland .Finally

we now know that the most costly su its of arm our in the P aris,

Madrid,and Vienna collections were produced in Augsburg

,Nurem

berg and Munich,whose master arm ourers achieved world - wide cele

br i ty . The most distinguished artists of the day,Wohlgemuth

,Hol

bein,Di i rer

,Mi ehi ch

,Schwarz

,Hirschvogel

,P lotner

,A ldegrever ,

furnished the designs . To the arts of embossing and encru sting

armour with precious m etals,known to antiquity

,these masters added

engraving and etching the steel,besides practising those of painting

,

tinning,and gilding iron known to Theophilu s . P robably too

,the

ar t of iron casting was re - discovered in Germanyhfor cannon of the

largest cal ibre were being cast.

at E rfurt long before the close of the

1 4th century. The art of drawing wire is also credited to one

Rudolf of Nuremberg,who introduced it soon after the year 1 30 0 . I t

i s certain that German ironworkers were peculiarly expert and pains

taking before,as well as after the Renaissance

,and among the marvels

they produced,besides the exquisite shields

,sword - hilts and pierced horse

muzzles,the beautiful work put into domestic utensils

,tools

,i nstru

ments of torture even,strong boxes

,statuettes carved from the solid

,

and such t ou r s - d e - fo r c e as the throne presented to Rudolph I I by

the Augsburgers in 1 5 7 4,now in this country, are m ost remarkable .

I t is not however only the beauty Of the productions themselvesthat makes German ironwork so pecul iarly worthy of study. While

in E ngland,France

,Spain

,Italy

,and the Low Countries

,the iron

indu stries ebbed and flowed with changing fortunes,so that they were

at times in full and active swing,and at other times dormant almost

t o the verge of extinction : they did not langui sh in Germany from

the 1 3th century,

and enjoyed continued and boundless prosperity

without a break,except during the 30 years war, almost until the

invasions of the first Napoleon . Nor were the Opportunities for deve

IOpment afforded to German iron indu stries limited to tim e alone

they had Space and the advantages of racial divergencies as well , for

it appears that blacksm ithing at least was practised ubiqu itously in

the land from the Rhine to the farthest limits of P russia and Au stria ,

and from the confines of Denmark to the Italian frontie r.

INTRODUCTION TO THE ENGLISH EDITION. VII0

Of the earlier styles of German ironwork we know Ii ttl e . Of the

Romanesqu e doors which have preserved their iron hinges and guards ,some resemble in

’

a remarkable manner the rude contemporary work

of central“

France,whilst others im itate the more carefully designed

swaged work of P aris . I t is only in the 1 3th century that black

sm ithing begins to exhibit any independent characteristics in Germany.

At Marburg,Magdeburg

,and many other places we m eet with rather

elegant branching strap - work on 1 3 thcentury doors,ending in singular

little fleur - de - Ii s and vine leaves still derived, bu t diverging considerably,from the French . The divergence continued during the next two

centuries and resulted in some rich and characteristic foliated orna

ment,always based on the vine

,m ingled with fieur - de - lis and tracery

form s . After nearly two centuries,and on the eve of the Renaissance ,

a new style of work appears,at first apparently in Cologne

,based

on the thistle . The origin of this may safely be assigned to the

singular renown achieved by the Matsys family of smiths of Louvain,

a specimen of whose work exists in the cel ebrated Antwerp well - cover .

The thistly look of the foliage in this example is wel l rendered i n

Fig . 4 6 and 4 8,and som e of the corresponding German thistle

designs face it on page 62,and appear in the lantern

,figure 1 7 9 .

Mixed thistle and tracery designs held the field until supplanted by

Renaissance ornament .

The Renaissance work is ful ly illustrated by P rof. Meyer,and

it is at this period more especially that Germany presents a perfectly

unique field for the study of the ironworkers crafts . It i s in the

first place to be observed that the development , of blacksmithing

at‘

least, was entirely left in the hands of the workmen them selves .E xcept as designers of armour

,artists of note did not meddle with

the ironworker,the architects even

,giving the smiths a free

hand and apparently imposing no conditions as to design . There were

no factories , and the nearest approach perhaps to any teaching school

was the concert of a master smith with his numerous apprentices and

assistants . Of designers of ironwork,as designers there were probably

none , the master smith setting the task and directing the work on

strictly traditional lines,with such modifications only as the moment

suggested . The work may ,in most cases

,have been produced with

out drawings , for ironwork designs followed certain definite lines of

precedent, which might be modified within limits , but were not de

VIII INTRODUCTION TO THE ENGLISH EDIT ION.

parted from . Thus Grilles were often worked from a'

threadel ed

centre Of more or less complexity,with the

'

loose ends of bars finishing

in traditional floriated ornament . P rogress was mainly if not wholly

confined to increasing the technical difficulties to be overcome by the

Smith . Not an illu stration or drawing of any scrap of blacksmith’

s

work,drawn for its own sake

,has com e down to u s ; a fact most

remarkable in an age so prolific in studies and designs for the work

of the gold and silver smith . Those among us who desire to see

this state of things reestablished among the craftsmen of the present

day,cannot do better than stu dy attentively the progressive developm ent

of German ironworking,from the close of the m ediaeval peri od until

the style known as Baroque began to change the current of sm ithing .

The new style came from across the French frontier and

spread eventually over a large part,if not the whole of Germany,

changing the character of the design and modifying considerably all

the traditions of the sm ith’

s craft . I t was however but a m ere wave

of fashion compared to the overwhelming change wrought by the

Rococo,which followed and swept alway every landmark of the

smith .. The lilies and passion - flowers

,the tricky i nterlac i ngs, threadles

and Spirals which had been his peculiar pride,and the round bar

itself disappeared at once,only to reappear in our own times . Highly

trained professional designers became indispensible,numbers of pattern

books were published in imitation of the French,and the sm ith as

creator and designer became extinct . The individual fancy of the

workman in Germany coul d in future only be indulged,if at al l

,to

the most limited extent . The designs were essentially French,but

modified in the directions both of extra richness and less restraint .

Though the skill and smithcraft in the finer examples is simply superb ,

the names of the sm ith’s who produced them are never, unless acci

dentally,recorded . Whether this complete revolution was for good

or ill is a debatable question .

29 Albert Embankment

L o n d o n,S . E .

,March

,1 89 6 .

J. STARKIE GARDNER .

INTR ODUCT ION .

The u n i v e r s a l im p o r t a n c e o f i r o n at the present day i sbeyond all question . Two words “R a i l w ay and “S t e am E n g i n esuffice to prove this . I t i s impossible to conceive modern life withouti ron . The plough that tills the land and the weapons that defend itare made of iron . The number of articles form ed out of this civilisingm edium i n every imaginable field is incalcu lable . The armour - platedcolossus that cleaves the waves

,the E iffel - tower with which the modern

Babylon has surpassed all pre - existing bui ldings on earth,the death

dealing giant - gunnery,impress us on the one hand

,while the steel

pen,the needle

,and the watch - spring

,are our indispensable servants on

the other .Iron has been called the proletarian of metals

,and this

,evidently

for the reason that it is to be found everywhere,in worked or un

worked state,furthermore

,becau se it i s in itself both unimposing and

of low value . But on the other hand i t has been found that work ennoble sthis proletarian . I t does not

,l ike its more distingui shed relative

,

gold,present itself to the seeker in a pure and perfect state

,and only

by the employm ent of a mighty amount of physical and m ental powerhas mankind been ab l e to disassociate it from its normal associates .

I ts great powers of resistance its toughness allied to greatelasticity and flexibility

,and the many - sidedness of its qualities have

made it what it now is to u s,and have gone so far that i ts different

forms Steel and Iron enrich our language with the rootsof words .

Iron is in a certain sense a Cu l tu r e - Gau g e . I t has beenutilised and turned to account during

,in round figures , 5 0 0 0 years ;

it has risen i n importance in proportion to the progress of civilisation

,first slowly and then ever qu icker and more uninterruptedly

,

M e y e r , Sm i thing ar t . 1

2 INTRODUCTION.

so that , the present century has produced”

far more'

than all the preced

s areac®pted as the best evidence, a few may bequoted

here,i n order to g i ve a general idea of the rOl e iron plays i n the

present age. The production of raw iron for a year i n the wholewor ld was estimated (1 882 ) at 2 1 00 0 Tens

,or 420 mi llion t s.

By refining the raw material we obtain the following increase invalue . Whereas a ton of iron in the or e represents about 5 s.

,a ton

of raw iron costs about in round figures,while tIie same

weight of unwrought malleable iron already shows a valu e of aboutI f the latter is converted into knife blades i ts value

becom es about £ 2 0 0 0,if into the finest watch - springs its worth

will even reach 56 which latter figure represents a m i l l i o nfo l d fru c t i fi c at i o n o f t h e r aw m a t e r i a l :

I ron is of all metals the greatest factor in the composition ofour planet . Its ores are found in countless places on the earth

’

ssurface . Iron - oxide or combinations of oxygen with iron form anot Ii n important el ement in the rocks forming the earth

’

s cru st .The yellow and red colourings in the deposits Of loam and clay

,

chalk and sandstone,are the results of admixtures of iron . When it

i s considered that the specific weight of the earth’

s mass is greaterthan that of the earth

’

s cru st and that the increase of heat towardsthe interi or would render

,at a lim ited depth

,combinations with

oxygen impossible,one i s forced to the conclu sion that there mu st be

a considerable quantity of iron i n an unalloyed condition in theinteri or of our pl anet .

That iron also form s a constituent part of other heavenly bodi esi s proved by the spectral analysis of our sun

,and of other central

bod ies of t he universe,such as Si rius and Al debaran . In confirma

tion of this conclusion,m e t e o r i t e s fall from time to tim e out of

space on to our pl anet . These straying visitors , which one may assum e

The increase in the last decade but one may be gathered fromthe following figures . The out -

put of raw - ir on in Germ any , includingLuxembourg, amountedin 1 834 to 1 1 0 000 Tons in 1 864 to 905 000 Tons1 844 1 7 1 000 1 874 1 906 000

1 854 369 000 1 884

The production of this m etal , therefore , formerly about doubled itselfwith each decade , while in the course of 50 years i t has increased as

nearly as possible 32 - fold.

1

Germany’s production , Luxembourg included , shows the fol low mg

resu ts

Year I r o n - o r e R aw - i r o n F o rg e d i r o nV alue V alue I Tons V a lue

INTRODUCTION. 3

to be,

fragment s of fixed stars or‘of come ts

,sometimes Cons i st of

na t iv e i r o n,

and poi nt to home s where the atmosphere-

must bewanting in oxygen and composed of hydrogen:

I f we , after these few remarks about iron in general , turn tothe real a im of thi s manual

,the first points to consi der are its

p r o du c t i o n and p r o p e r t i e s,and more particu larly those of

m a l l e a b l e - i r o n . These are dealt with in the fir st se ction,which

is entitled “Th e t e c h n o l o g y o f t h e m a t e r i al”

. The secondsection deals concisely wi th the m a n i p u l a t i o n o f m a l l e a b l e i r o nand the requ isite w o rk i n g t o o l s. The third section treats of theh i s t o r i c a l d e v e l o pm e n t of sm i t h i n g . The fourth

,last

,and at

the same time most comprehensive section,i s that relating to t h e

p r i n c i p a l a p p l i c a t i o n s o f a r t sm i t h i n g and the chief productionsof a r t sm i t h s arranged under chapters . At the end of the m anualare variou s t a b l e s o f w e i g h t s a n d m e a s u r e s

,c a l c u l a t i o n s

,

850 . Such a supplement hardly seems necessary,nevertheless it

will doubtless be welcome to many who find use for a book of thiskind . In like manner the l i s t o f w o r k s r e l a t i n g t o i r o n a n da r t i s t i c sm i t h i n g m ay prove welcom e to some readers . This catalogue may at the sam e time be regarded as a concise list o f t h es o u r c e s from which this work has been compiled .

SECTION I .

THE TE CHNOLOGY OF THE M ATER IAL .

I . IRON IN GE NE RAL .

I ron (German : E i s e n , Latin : fe r rum) is classed among the so

Called base m etals . Chemically pure iron is an elem ent or base

(Fe 5 6) which has only a scientific interest. The iron u sed inarts and m anufacture is no more chem ically pure than that which isfound in nature . The iron ores are

,on the average

,combinations of

iron wi th oxygen . When this oxygen is expelled by means of heatin coal fires

,carbon is absorbed into the metal and t e c h n i c a l i r o n

i s the resu lt .The greater or less preport ion of carbon is of chief importance

in determining the technical quality of iron,whereas other alloys are

l ess u sefu l and in many instances diminish,or even destroy

,the u tility

of the m aterial . Raw,or pig and cast iron contai n , speaking generally,

the largest proportion of carbon,malleable iron the least

,while steel

stands in this respect between the two.

The iron - ores to be pr InCIpal ly considered are1 . M a g n e t i c i r o n - o r e s (with of iron) , of which

,the

best and m ost prized is the Swedish iron ;2 . R e d h em a t i t e o r e s (with of iron) . The principalform s of this are i r o n g l a n c e (Sweden , Lapland and E lba)and r e d i r o n o r e (Germany , France , E ngland , Spain andAfrica) ;

3 . B r o w n i r o n - o r e (with 5 0 to 60 of iron) . A pecul iarform is the so cal led p e a - o r e (Luxembourg, Lorraine , Rhineland

,Thuringia

,Carinthia

,Bohemia and Belgium ) ;

THE TECHNOLOGY OF THE MATERIAL . 5

0

4 . Sp a r ry i r o n - o r e (Carbonate of protoxide of iron) . .Thisonly yields up to 4 8 of iron

,but is good as a flux

(Siegerland , Styria and Thuringia) . In ki dney and ballform s it is called Sp h e r o s i d e r i t e . The clay i r o n - s t o n eand the B l a c k b a n d are m ost u sed in E ngland ;

5 . B og i r o n - o r e . This is formed by the prec i pi tati on of theiron contained in fenny waters . Low lying plains of NorthGermany

,Silesia

,

‘

Holland,Russia 85 0 .

These ores are wi dely distributed over the earth’

s surface . Themanufacture of iron is carried on principally by E ngland

,North

America,Germany

,France

,Belgium

,Austro -Hungary

,Ru ssia and

After the iron - ore has been b r o k e n u p by stamping, cru shi ng,or rol l i ng, s o r t e d and p i c k e d by manual labour, and assisted by prev i ous e x p o su r e t o t h e w e a t h e r or by calcination

,either in Open

hearths or in kilns,the mechanical operation of mixing and getting

the ores ready for smelting follows. This means the m ixing of richand poor ores together in the right proportions , or in case of need

,

the admixture of earthy substances (d e a d s) in order to ensure theproper slag which is of the utmost importance in the next operation .

Fluor - spar,lime

,clay

,quartz and marl are the most u sed fluxes . In

addition to the iron ores old iron is u sed to facilitate the extractionof the raw iron .

The sm elting of ores was originally e ffe c t e d i n O p e n h e a r t h s,

or b l o om e r i e s by which,however

,not raw

,but malleable iron or

steely malleable iron was produced . Smelting - furnaces came into use

about the end of the 1 5 th century,and from these modest beginnings

the b l a st - fu r n a c e s now in general use have gradually been developed . The sm e l t i n g - p r o c e s s in b l a s t - fu r n a c e s is effected byintroducing a continu ou s current of h o t b l a s t or heated air (theblast furnaces remaining in continuou s use for from to 20 years) .The ores and combu stibles are c h a r g e d from above through them o u t h (also called t h r o a t and fu r n a c e t op) together with thefl u x ; the smelted iron is run off every 1 2 to 24 hours from belowthrough the t a p p i n g - h o l e .

In earl ier times charcoal alone was u sed as fuel . When thecheaper coals were introduced

,smelting - works were removed from

The product ion for the year 1 882 gives the following figuresGreat Britain 8 620 000 Tons Russia 463 000 TonsUnited States 4 700 000 Sweden 399 000

Germany 3 1 72 000 Spain 1 20 000

France 2 033 000 Italy 25 000

Belgium 7 1 7 000 Other Countries 1 02 000

Austro Huno a i y 530 000

6 SECTION I .

the richly wooded districts to the coa l basins . It i s,

of the greatestadvantage to find deposits o f i ron - ore and coal together. Coa l i s converted into coke for use in smelti ng , in a manner simi lar to the conversion of wo od into charcoal . !One t . of raw I ron requ i r es in sm elting about t . of coke .

As before mentioned,the greater or less propor tion of carbon

determ ines the d i fference between the three principal sorts of iron.

But the lim its of variation are not determ ined by this alone, for otheralloys

,su ch as manganese

,phosphorus

,silica

,arsenic and sulphur

,

greatly affect the quality of iron . I ron may be described as m a l l e a b l ewhen, on b eing quenched i n water

,it dOes not gain mat erially in

hardness and i s capable of being w e l d e d . Malleable and weldableiron becom es s t e e l when by tempering it is hardened and strikesSparks from flint . R aw p i g a

,or c a s t - i r o n i s that which can be

neither hamm ered nor welded .

Until qui te recently the vari ou s kinds of i ron were classed underthese three principal heads . However

,the progress made in the field

of iron product ion,and the num erou s new proce sses of manufacture

have created a number of intermedi ate and transition form s,so that

the old fashioned classificat i on s are no longer pert in ent,alt hough they

may st i l l remain in use in ordinary parlance . For this reason,before

the various kinds of i ron are discussed,a table 1 3 g i ven on the

next page showi ng the terms now generally adopted and recognisedin modern usage .

2 . P IG AND CAST - IRON .

P i g and c a s t - i r o n (German : Roh or Gu s s - E i s e n) bearsthe first nam e while in the form of un

'

manuf actured blocks (pigs),and the last when representing manufactured arti cles . It contai nsan admixture of carbon o f fr om to it melts at

.from

to 1 30 0 0 of “Celsiu s 1 85 8 0 to 230 8 0 of Fahrenhei t ) andi s,generally speaki ng

,lighter in we i ght in proport ion to the higher

percentage of‘

carbon i t contains . Its Specific weight i s from

to or an aver age of The pressure resi sting poweri s comparatively great, the tension power relat ively small . A peculiarproperty of cast - iron i s i ts s w e‘l l i n g

,whi ch is produced by heating

and whi ch remains after cooling .

Cast I ron is classed as h a r d w h i t e or s o ft g r e y. M o t t l e dp ig is between the two ,

and i s s t r on g qr .we ak mottled accord

ing ' to the preponderance of wh i t e . Or .g r eyt- p i g . Whi te -

pig i scrystal line

,bri ttle and spec ifica lly heavy a nd has a s h r i n k a g e of

from 2 to Grey - pig (has a granular fracture , i s spec ificallylighter

,softer

,tougher and better to manipulate than the white -

pig ;i t -

‘is more flu id and in consequ ence fills the mould better in casting .

THE TECHNOLOGY OF THE MATERIAL.

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8 SECTION I .

I ts shrinkage averages Grey - pig contains some of its carbonin the form of graphite .

3 . STE E L .

S t e e l (German : S t a h l) contains carbon to the extent of fromto it melts at from 1 30 0 to 1 80 0 0 Of Celsiu s (230 8 to

3 20 8 0 I ts specific gravity is from to or an averageof

Under the original mode of working I ron I n Open hearths or

bloom eries and in small furnaces,steel was to a certain extent the

resu lt of accident,as the iron was then of a more or less steely

character (Bloom - steel) . The present methods of produ cing steel can,

in the main,be classified as of three kinds . F i r s t l y steel may be

produced by withdrawing a portion of the carbon contained in them elted iron

,by means of a blast of air . This is effected either

by p u d d l i n g in hearths or furnaces with a moderate blast undercover of slag (puddled steel) , or by an air - blast which is forcedthrough m olten iron contained in pear - shaped retorts

,this consuming

a portion of the carbon and expelling the ~incombu stible impuritiesand slag (Bessemer steel) . In this operation by sampling the slagand also by spectral analysis

,the progress of the process is ascertained .

The s e c o n d k i n d consists in adding the necessary proportion

of carbon to malleable iron (which is notably poorest in carbon) andthu s imparting to it the charact er of steel . For this purpose

malleable iron bar s are placed in closed boxes filled up with cem enting powder (azotic coal ; charcoal , horn and leather - waste

,&c .) and

kept exposed in roasting ovens at a white heat as long as is necessaryto perfect the transformation (cementation steel) .

A t h i r d m ethod of producing steel i s to a certain extent acombination of both of the above processes . Malleable and pig - ironare blended in such; manner that steel i s the int ermediate resul t .

The circumstance that both the so called s h e a r s t e e l,which is

produ ced from p u d d l e d s t e e l by welding,hammering and rolling

,

and the c em e n t a t i o n s t e e l do not give perfect uniformity of

texture,has l ed to the rem elting of these kinds of steel into a com

pact,even

,hom ogenou s mass (cast - steel , crucible - ste el) , the perfecting

of which is completed by means of powerfu l pressure on the stillglowing casting by the steam - hammer .

Ucha t i u S - s t e e l is the result of the practical working - out ofpreviou s attempts to produce steel from the smelting of iron withiron - oxides . The iron mu st be granulated for this process .

Mar t i n s t e e l i s produced by converting pig - iron,with addition

of Sparry iron - ore,into malleabl e iron and mel ting agai n with admix

ture of pig - iron .

The strength or tenacity of steel (absolute , relat ive and reactive)

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1 0 SECTION I .

temperature increaSes . It becomes first r e d :

and then wh i t e - h o t,

the colour rising from dark red to the most dazzling white . Whenwhite - hot mall eable - i ron becomes so soft that it may be bent, stretchedand otherwise worked with the greatest ease ; i t then becomesw e l da b l e

,z'

. c . separate pieces of iron may be hammered togetherinto

‘

one piece . This weldabil ity is one of the most importantqualit ies for. technical purposes . While stil l glowi ng, the outer su rfaceof malleable - iron oxidi ses ; i r o n - s ca le or h amm e r - dr o s s forms andfalls off ; the material loss result ing herefrom i s called s cal e .

As touching the m ethods of producing ma lleable - iron,the Old

Open - hearths and b l o om e r i e s mu st first be mentioned . The doughlike lumps of iron produced from the i ron ores , in charcoal fir es , withthe a id of a direct air - blast

, were called b l o om s , and were forgedinto shape by the hammer . As thi s process gives but smal l resultsand consumes much charcoal

,it is very nearly obsolete

,and now

superseded by the p u d d l i n g process ,fl . e. converting white or grey

pig into malleabl e iron .

Refining i s effected on a refin i ng- hearth . The pig is m elted in

a charcoal fire aided by a strong blast,through which the drops fall

deprived of carbon to coalesce in dough - like lumps below ; these aremechanically separated

,turned over

,&c .

,and again subj ected to the

a i r blast . The refi g process at the same tim e r e fi ne s and fr e e sthe ( i rOn from other Impurities . I f fu st class rawmaterial is u sed

,

one operation completes the process . With inferior raw m ater ial thei ron i s incompletely refined and must be treated a second tim e . A

third r efin ing may be necessary, the second only making it steel like ,and the third c onverting it into malleable iron .

The conversi on of pig into malleable iron by p u d d l i n g iseffected i n puddl i ng furnaces by coal fire ; the coals not being allowed

tO‘co in conta ct withthe iron in consequ ence of the sulphur they

con”The raw, mater i al 1 s melted in a furnace by a current of

intensely'lfe§ted air and flame

,and stirred mechanically through small

apertures,or by rotation of the whole vessel

,until converted into the

dough - like bloom .

The blooms,whether obtained by refining or puddling, are , while

intensely heated,squeezed

,out up, welded together, packeted , brought

into prismatic form, rolled into bars , &c . and thus puri fied from sl ag.

The t i l t - h amme r worke d by water power in former times , has of lateyears been replaced by the .far more advantageous s t e am -hamm e r .

As a rule the refin i ng process gives a purer, closer and tougher ironthan i s Obtain ed by puddling, while , on the other hand, the

i

puddl ing

Operation i s cheaper and more resorted t o, inasmu ch as infe riorquali ties of raw pig may be treated -by i t .

Mal leabl eg i ron pr oduced by paddl ing has of late met wi th severe

competition from i ron Obtained by the B e s sem e r p ro c e s s , tha t is

THE TECHNOLOGY !OF THE MATERIAL. 1 1

Through refin ing , or repeated are - beatings , hammerings and roll ings

changes into one that i s fibrous and interwoven .

By running the iron thus obtained through .di fierent rolli ng - m illsi t becomes closer grain ed and takes the form s requ ired in commerce ,such as

,b a r - i r o n , s h e e t - i r o n

,i r o n - w ir e or t u b i ng s . As in

rolling the widely .set rollers a re gradually f ollowed by o thers runningcloser and closer together

,so also in wire - drawi ng the material i s

drawn through coni cal holes in steel - plates, such holes graduallydim inishing in size. Oft - repeated drawings necessitate pau ses in orderto anneal and scour the m etal .

'

As malleable - iron takes so manyforms

,according to the requirements of trade and of workshops

,it is

discussed m ore Specifically in a later part of this work,so that the

general out line here given may suffice for the present .Malleable - iron as u sed in trade may , as wi l l

'have been gatheredfrom the foregoing

,be of very di fferent qu a l i t i e s . This depends

on the natur e of the raw material,the method of preparation and the

propor tion of impurities . Iron is classified as,s o ft a n d fi b r o u s

,

s o ft a n d b r i tt l e on the one side,and as h a r d a n d t o u gh

,ha r d

a n d i n fl e x i b l e and h a r d a n d b r i t t l e on the other.Good mal leable - iron must possess the followi ng characterist ics

when broken it must show a du l l g l o s s if of l i ght c o l o u r , and

a b r i g h t g l o s s if of a d a r k c o l ou r. If the break i s white andshini ng, or grey and dul l

,it is indicat ive of a low quality. I t mu st

not have been overheated and burnt,mu st have an equ al structure

and be fr ee fr om sl a g,

flaws,cavities

,and other “imperfections .

Forged iron shows,

under otherwise equal circumstances,a more

granulated b reak,rolled - iron a more fibrous one . Rolled - iron should

show e x t e rn al l y a blue - grey to black - grey tint; as a red ti nge poi nt sto cold rolling and a ‘

low degree of tenacity . Forged iron,on the

other hand,i s nearly always r eddi sh

,because it i s treated at lower

temperatures .The most salient fau l t s

_

i n malleable - iron are fl aw s,c i n d e r

h o l e s,s c a b s and s ca l e s (produced in rolling) , l o ngi t u d i n a l c r a c k s

(from imperfe ct welding), de f e cyt i ve e dge s tproduced i n rolling) , v e i n s

(spots of u nequal hardne ss) , ic o l d - s hor t - i r o n and r e d - s e a r (due .to

Be side s the i nspect i on of the brok en parts the fol lowing testsare also used : fi1 . d ropp ing Cthe i ron - bar whi ch i s to !be tried (from

occur ; 2 . d r opp i ng -a weig h t on to the suspended bar ; 3 .

“b end i ng

of bendings requ ired to br eak “

the bar determi ni ng the quality , hard

1 2'

f'

s . 1 "SECTION 1 .

iron crackles in breaking,soft iron does not ; 4 . h amm e r i n g the iron

out while red hot,which must

,if of good quality

,give a knife - like

edge ; 5 . fi l i n g the iron bright and b i t i n g it with diluted acidwhereupon the veins and cracks become p l ainly visible . Furthermore

,

the degree of tenacity may also be ascertained by weighting,and also

by an examination of the uncut ends of ' the bar. P ractical smithsrely mostly on the “right feel

”

,which is sometime s satisfactory

,b ut

as often the reverse . The sizes and correctness of the desired sectionsare determined with the caliper or the standard gauge

,&c .

5 . MALLE AB LE CAST - I RON .

Whereas by the refining process,and by puddling

, p1g i ron I S

decarbonised while in a molten condition,a similar result with castings

can be obtained ' by m eans of the m a l l e a b l e c a s t - i r o n p r o c e s s,

which is as follows : small pieces of casting composed of mottled castiron with the a ddition of m alleable - iron

,are slowly heated to redness

and cooled in cast or wrought - iron chests filled with iron oxide (purered hematite powder

,ru st

,or iron - scale is generally u sed) , whereby

a portion of the carbon is absorbed by the oxygen . A physicalchange seem s t o go hand in hand with the chem ical one

,in a manner

sim ilar to that whi ch in the temperi ng of steel reduces its brittleness .Decarbonised castings

,finished articl es

,balusters

,mountings

,&c . be

come,as it were

, ” intermediate between cast and malleable - iron andmay be treated accordingly . The process i s not new

,although it i s

only of late years that i t has com e generally into use . The changein character of the metal is greatest at the surface and does not penetrate far

,so that only objects of not too great thickness can be u sefully

subjected to it .As locksmith

’

s work and mountings (iron door furniture) , fancyspikes and such like embellishm ents for railings , balustrades , &c .

are principally subj ected to the.

above process,and

'

such- like mal leable - iron castings have long been known to the sm ith

,they mu st

find m ention here .

6 . MERCHANTAB LE I RON USE D B Y TH E SM ITH

Malleable - iron comes to market in the shape of b a r s of r o u n d,

r e c t a n gu l a r or fa n c y s e c t i o n,s h e e t s

,w i 1 e

‘

and tu b i n g s . Thekinds m ost u sed in smithing are b a r and s e c t i o n e d i r o n . Thesemay be in c h a r c o a l - i r o n or o r d i n a ry i r o n

,fo r g e d or r o l l e d .

These m e again classified according to their subsequent u ses 1 nto barsfor rivets

,for railings

,wheel tire - i ron

,&c . ; or

,according to measu 1 e

and weight,into F i ne and Coarse iron , or

,according to quality

,into

E xtra - qu ality,Merchantable iron

,&c .

”

The particul ar names used are

however chiefly determined by the cross - sections .

THE TECHNOLOGY OF THE MATERIAL. 1 30

Q

A word with reference to the product i on of these kinds Of ironis however in place here . Whereas Square and Flat - iron (bars andsheets) are not only produced by rolling but also by forging (Bar

Slit and Nail - rod iron) or through the slitting of plates (E dge - tooliron) , fancy sections are produced exclusively in rolling - m ills . Thesemills

,Speaking generally

,consist Of cast - iron or steel rollers which

are set in contrary revolution by m eans Of powerful machinery . Therollers lie with their axes parallel in iron frames or beds so that aSpace exists between them proportioned to the “section

”

to be produced. Ordinary plain cylinders are used for plate production , whereasfor section work the upper surfaces of these rollers are grooved tothe necessary form s . When the glowing mass Of metal i s introducedinto the Opening it is seized by the rollers

,pu shed through and im

pressed to the section . But,as o n e p a s s a g e through the mill i s

generally not enough,the bar has to pass agai n as often as necessary

and be reheated if it has cooled . As the change of form from theplain bar to the perfect section i s a gradual process

,there are a

number Of rollers,each with a m ore developed section than the other

,

through which the iron passes in turn . Where one pair Of roll s willnot suffice

,two or more frames are united to form a “train

”

. R e v e r si n g r o l l i n g - m i l l s are such as run both backwards and forwards sothat the work is carried on alternately from either end . In ordinaryrolling - m ills the work mu st be brought back again to the only available side . As the rollers in the reversible m ills run first in one

direction and then in the other,the reversing gear i s in regul ar use .

The most complete are the three high trains,in which three rollers

are placed vertically above each other in the same hou sings . Thelower and 'm iddle rollers draw the iron in one direction, while them iddle and upper - Ones work it back again ; this saves tim e , besideshaving other advantages .

Round bars (GmRundeisen) are circular in section . They are madein thicknesses of from 5 m ill imetres or about of an inch upwards .The diam eters increase by m illim etre s up to 80 mm ,

and by 2 m illim etres between 30 and 80 mm

,and beyond 8 0 mm by 5 mm

gradation . The principal defects are im p e r fe c t r o u n d n e s s ands t r i ae on the surface (mostly on Spots Opposite to each other as theconsequences Of flaws in the rollers) .

Square bars (G. : Quadratei sen) are square m section . The sizesare sim ilar to those Of round iron . The defects are : fau l t y s h ap e

,

wa rp e d o r tw i s t e d l e n g t h s,su nk e n

.

s i d e s,b lu n t a n g l e s

,

s t r i ae and p r oj e c t i o n s m illed in on the surfaces and especially on

the edges .Flat - i ron (Ga Flacheisen) comprises in i ts ' broad sense every

right angled section ; in its narrow sense it only applies to thicknesse sOf not less than 3 mm

,an eighth of an inch , and

“

not more ' than

1 4 8120 1 1 0 11 1 .

1 5 0 mm,6 inche s

,broad . When less than 3 min in thic kne ss i t i s

calledHeep- iron (Gm: B a nd e i s e n) . The faults Of fiat and hoop iron

are similar to those of round and square i ron,but less frequent .

The thicknesses Of hoop-

“ iron increase from by mm ; 0 0 . 1’

Of

an inch ; those Of flat - i ron increase by millim etres . The widths increaseat first by one m i l l imet 1 e

,then by 2

,and lastly by 5 mm . Up to the

present tim e there is no universa lly adopted scale Of sizes . Hoop iron

i s Often described as 2 fold,meaning that the width

i s 1 0,

or 20 tim esi ts thickness .When the bre adth exceeds si x inches

this iron is classed as sheet iron .

UnderFancy- i ron is classed all - otherf . bar - iron

'

which shows a definite profilein section

,and serves for Specific trade

purposes . There are many forms Of it,

only a few of which are menti onedhere

,as they are u sed exceptionally in

smithing,namely : h e x a g o n a l and o c t a

g o n a l (a , b, c see Fig . the q u a rt e r

,h a l f and t h r e e - qu a r t e r r o u n d

(d, c, f ), h o l l o w h a l f - r o u n d

,o v a l

and h a l f - o v a l i r o n (g, c a s em e n t

(k) , c o v e r - j o i n t i r o n c h a n n e li r o n e qu a l a n d u n e qu a l a n g l ei r o n s h o r t a n d l o n g T - i r o n

(q, r), d ou b l e -T or H - i r o n (s),U and qu a d r a n ti r o n which last - named i s mu ch usedin Am erica .

F a n c y i r o n i s classed as o r n a

Fig . 1 .

m e n t a l and c o n s t ru c t ive (bu i l d e r s’

Cross Sect ions of’

pancy_ i ron i r o n) according to i ts kind and use . As

touching the latter,so called s t a n d a r d

s e c t i o n s have recently b een adopted .

The lighter kinds Of iron in common use,such as rod and hoop

iron,are put up into bundles in definite lengths , while heavier sorts

and Fancy - iron are sold per bar and by weight .The prices for the variou s kinds Of iron mentioned

,are so

arranged that to the fluctuating basi s or minimum price are addedpercentages in permanent ratio for smaller sections

,pattern

,better

qu ality &c . These e x t r a p r i c e s vary accerdi ng to the manufac

turing distric ts and indivi dual iron - works ; it would lead too far todi scuss this subject in detail .

THE TECHNOLOGY OF THE MATERIAL.

Fi g . 2 . Railing made of Mannstaedt - Iron .

1 5

1 6 g j-

BECTION i f“

Forged iron is only preferred to rolled iron at present for certain spec i al

'

purposes . Only Au stro -Hungary now supplies forged ironin any considerable quantity

,

The s o u r c e s Of,su pp l y are distingu ished according to kind ,

Object and district. It i s u sual in this respect to designate ironaccording to the district where it i s produ ced

,for instance

,Lorraine

,

Westphalian,Styrian,Upper - Silesian Iron

,or els e specifically after

the name Of the works or their owner,su ch as Burbach Iron

,

Stumm’

s Iron .

Of late years the Rolling - m ills Of L. M a n n s t a e d t CO. Of

Kalk,near Cologne

,produce variou s kinds Of ornam ental sections that

are of no sm al l importance to the sm ith . The handsomely profiledbars whether sm ooth

,or decorated with the Vitruvian scroll twists

,

foliations,&c . are rol led while glowing

,and constitute Fancy - iron Of

the higher sort ._

The m anufacture does not,Of course

,perm it Of

undercutting in patterns , but it gives a sharper relief than casting .

These bars may, moreover, be bent, twisted and Split up as required ,SO that Mannstaedt

’

s Ornam ental Iron is in every respect preferableto the cast - iron strips formerly in use

,the more so as the cost i s

moderate . Fig . 2 shows part of a railing made with the enrichedbars referred to

,

‘from a design by H . S e e l i n g .

Sheet - i ron (G. : Bleche) i s either forged or rolled . The forgingor rolling from blooms or slabs is either perform ed singly or elseseveral layers

,separated by a surfacing of loam

,are worked Simul ta

neously . After the sheets are cut,annealed

,cleaned and smoothed

,they

com e to market for sale singly or in bun dles . For ordinary dimen

sions and qualities standard prices are charged ; for sheets Of specialdimensions

,larger sizes

,better qualities or given fashion

,extra - prices

are added .

Sheets are classed according to their thickness as h e a vy ,m e d i um or fi n e . Under the first are numbered a rm o u r p l a ti n g

,s h i p s h e a t h i n g s

,b o i l e r p l a t e s

,t ank p l a t e s ; the medium

and fine sheets are either black,Or white when coated with t i n , z i n c

or l e a d . They are Often known,not by their thicknesses in mm ,

but

by m arks,or the numbers of a particu lar centre of production . The

German Standard Gauge has 2 6 numbers . NO. 1 i s mm thick ,while NO. 2 6 i s only mm thick . The interm ediate thicknessesdo not increase in regular gradation

,smaller additions being made to

the thinner than to the thicker kinds . (See Table in Supplem ent .)Besides the ordinary sheets (lock - plates

,roofing

- sheets,sheets for

pipes,&c .) probably Only the p e r fo r a t e d s h e e t s are u sed in art

smithing . These are u sed partly for technical ends and partly fordecorative purposes

,some Of the designs being very pleasing .

The defects found in sheet - iron are s c a l e s,bu b b l e s , c i n d e r s ,

c r a c k s and d o u b l e - p l a t e s ( the last in consequ ence Of incomplete

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1 8 SECTION I .

welding is done away with,the Mannesmann tubing will certainly

dr ive the kinds Of tubing hitherto in use out of the market . Thisspecial tubing is also of importance to smithing inasmu ch as rosett esand tendrils can be produ ced by Splitting

,bending

,&c . E xperiments

have been made in Munich in this direction with surprisingly favour ableresults . (See the Journal Of the Bavarian Ar t Trades Association

,

Year 1 892,p .

The remarks contained in this present section if taken in connexi on wi th the Tables given in the Supplement

,may perhaps suffice

to enable the builder’

s smith,as also the designer

,and others to Obtain

an accurate knowledge Of these materials,and also serve to furnish

the - layman with the information he seeks . We may therefore passto the Second section

,wherein the tools u sed and the manipulation

of the materials come under discussion .

SECTION II .

WORKING TOOLS AND MANIPULAT ION .

1 . W ORKING TOOLS AND MACH INE RY

Before proceeding to consider the working tools and machineryit is desirable to make a few remarks about the most importantappliances necessary to the carrying out of the art smith

’

s craft .These are the Hearth or Forge ,

together with the requ isitetools . The forge is built Of bricks or made Of iron . I t is an O p e nh e a r t h with a fi r e - p i t in which the fuel (charcoal , coal or coke)i s put . Above the hearth there is u sually a projecting sheet ironhood leading to a flue to receive and carry Off the smoke and gasesevolved . I n order to produce and maintain a fierce fire

,b e l l o w s

are fixed so as to introduce the blast either from the Side or

fr om below. The b e l l o w s were form erly similar to those indomestic u se

,bu t they have been Of late years greatly superseded by

a i r blasts worked from an engine . The bellows,made Of wood and

leather,are called p o i n t e d

,p a r a l l e l or c y l i n d r i c a l according to

their form . They generally consist Of two parts,nam ely the suction

b ellows and the regulator,so that they are

,in fact

,double or com

pensati on bellows capable Of giving an uninterrupted blast. This latteri s however Obtained better by a less cumbersome fa n - wh e e l or somes im ilar arrangement which

,like the bellows

,can be set in motion by

the foot,hand or machinery . In the front part of the forge are

found,as a rule

,a qu e n c h i n g t r o u g h

,hollows and receivers for

fuel and slack . As belonging direct to the forge itself must befurther mentioned the s p r i n k l e r or b ru s h

,p o k e r

,the s h o v e l

,

and the fi r e - h o o k which are respectively u sed to damp,feed and

rake the fire .

2 0 SECTION II .

The tools and appliances to be di scu ssed vary greatly accordingto the work to be executed . First come those u sed in measuri ng

,

and setting out work . Next the supports and m eans Of holdingthe Objects securely ; then the variou s kinds Of hammers u sed inforging

,welding

,&c . ; the tools for cutting and divi ding ; the . dril ls

,

borers,punches

,the screwing - tools

,and lastly all that appertains to

Fi g. 3 . Examples of Sl ide -

gauges .

cold - working and surface finishing . The most important Of these toolswill be discu ssed shortly in the order above m entioned .

a . Appar atus for measur i ng, setti ng out,420 .

The Measures for length are sim ilar to those in general use,nam ely : wooden or m etal rods or rul es

,folding

,or tape m easures .

The Sli de- gauge u sed i n m easuring thicknesses and to deter

Fi g. 4 . Set gauge .

mine bulk and capacity is shown in Fig . 3 . The socket i s generally Of brass

,the slide and cheeks being Of steel . I f the socket i s

scaled as well as the slide the tool can also be used for minutem easurements . For more exact measur em ents the gauge is madewith a vernier.

WORKING TOOLS AND MANIPULATION. 2 1

The Set gauge serves to ascert ain the depth Of drillings , &c .

A plain one wi th regu lating screw is shown in Fig . 4 .

Wi re and Sheet

gauges are Oblong plates Ofsteel with square or roundedc orners having notches alongtheir edges

,which are made

according to a given scaleof dimensions

,increasing

gradually in size . By insertingthe wire or sheet into suchgauge the thickness of thea rticle is at least approxi

mately ascerta i ned(seeFig .

Al l plates,&c . with notches

along their edges,

or elsewhere,

which serve to m easure standarddimensi ons and forms are classedas g auge s . TO these belong therefore the locksmith

’

s gauges whichserve to determi ne the thi cknessand sections Of the wards, size ofthe shaft or barrel Of a key

,85 0 .

As a substitute for such gaugeslead or wax i s Often used .

e - pins and.

(cyli ndrical rods and hollow cyl i n

ders Of steel) serve to fix or define the diameters O

_f holes

,S1zes

of cylinders,800 . These are

e ither specially named accordi ng to their u ses

,or genera

l i sed as calibre gau g es .Various instruments serve

to m easure angles . The mostc ommonly recurring right - anglei s gauged by a simple iron or

steel angle made out Of Onepiece Of metal

,One Of i ts

branches generally being longerthan the other. For the reduetion and measurement Of anglesof 30 0

,4 5 0 and 6 0 0 a right

angled - triangle of which theangles of the hypothenu se re

Fig. 5 . Wire , Sheet, or HOOp iron gauges .

Fi g. 6 Gon i ometer gor s ngflemeasurer.

Fi g. 7 . Various compasses or calipers .

2 2 SECTION II .

present 30 0 and f or 4 5 0'

and For m easuring other angles

the instrum ent shown in Fig . 6 is u seful . The indicator works ona pin and is fixed by an adjusting screw . The number of degrees

in the desired angle is read from the scale .

Of the many Compasses and Cali pers in use the most comm onare : ( se e Fig . 7 ) the ordinary c a l i p e r s and c om p a s s e s (a ,

b

and c) with or without adju sting arrangement ; the calipers for

m easuring the diam eter Of cylinders , &c . (d) ; the same combined with

Fig. 8 . Plane table scribing block .

legs for measuring the insides (c) (by keeping the points at bothends equally wide apart m easurem ents can be Obtained in positionsfrom which it is impossible to withdraw calipers while open) ; andthe c om p a s s e s fo r d e t e rm i n i n g r o u n d an d cy l i n d r i c a l d i m e n

s i o n s (f ) , one end Of which fixes the diam eter and the other the

circumference .In t r a n s fe r r i n g

,p r i c k i n g

,or d r aw i n g the following tools

are u sedThe Drawing- table, a thick right

- angled iron plate which mu st

be absolutely smooth and level because i t serves as a base (see Fig . 8)

WORKING TOOLS AND MANIPULATION. 2 3

0

The Centre-punches. These are small punches with conical pointswhich serve to mark the lines to be followed wi th dots (see Fig .

The Drawing - needle, a slim steel pencil for dotting , andtracing lines . Brass points are som etimes u sed .

The T Squares, Set- squares, &c .

,made of iron or steel .

The Paral lel - rule, an instrument made in variou s form s to

fac ilitate drawing lines parallel with the drawing table .

T o d e t e rm i n e t h e c e n t r e O f a c i r c l e (which is essentialwith work that has to be turned on a lathe) the following are u sed ,namely

the Centre punch,an ordinary centre punch moving i n a

cylindrical box with the end conically widened (see Fig . 1 0,a and b),

and

Fi g. 1 0 .

Inst rum ents for cent ering cylindrical Objects .

the Set angle by which 2 straight lines may be ruled in anyd i rection across the circle

,the intersecting point Of which will be

its centre .

In the fitt i ng- up of machinery

,&c . the perpendicu lar and hori

zontal plane are abta i ned by the use Ofthe P lummet , an elongated m etal knob finishing in a point and

attached to a string ;the P lumb- l i ne, a familiar tool , consisting Of an equi - lateral

triangle with plumm et ; andthe Spi r i t - l evel known to us in its square and tubul ar form s .

b. B locks,anvi ls and gr ipp i ng tools .

The Anvi l , which is made of wrought - iron,serves for hear i ng

or supporting the material to be wrought . I ts upper face consists

2 4 SECTION II .

of a welded steel - plate which is smooth and slightly domed. Thesiz es vary. The anvil i s fixed either to a wooden - block or else set ina cask filled with pressed sand . Sma ller ones are fastened to thebench or remain unfixed. There are beakless

,one - beaked and two

beaked anvils, (Fig . 1 1

,a,b,c) . The beaks are conical continuations

of the fa c e or hammering surface and assist in forging r i ngs,

cur ves,&c . Anvils of smaller and mostly square faces with 2 long

beak s are som etimes called b e a k - i r o n s or b i c k e r n s (Fig . 1 1,d

and Those of cubic form are called . s t a k e s (Fig . 1 1 . f ) . Anvilsoften have holes in the face to receive tools or swages for m o u ldi n g i r o n i n r e l i e f.

Fi g. 1 1 . Various Anvils .

Swages are u sed when the obj ect to be produced is too difficultor complicated for ordinary forging on the anvil

,as in making three

sided and half- round rods,rounded bodies

, gr ooved forms, and ornam ents . i n reli ef of various kinds . Half- round and 3 - sided rods

,rods

and plates ornamented on one side only,half- round bodies

,and such

l ike,only requ ire one s w a g e , which being made of wrought iron ,

i s steeled on the face and set in the anvil . The iron,which has

b een roughly worked into an approxim ate form beforehand,i s ham

m ered into this swage while red -hot . Whole round form s,bosses

,

s i x and eight - sided rods,&c .

,necessitate a pair of swages or top and

b ottom tool s,which together may form a closed box or tubu lar shape .

The u p p e r s w a g e is generally shaped l ike a s e t - h amm e r. Thea rticles being forged are either kept in one position

,or turned about

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2 6 SE CTION II .

wood , &c . and are sometim es held t ogether by a spring . They fitbetween the jaws of the vice

,their u se being to protect the Obj ect

held from indentations,&c . ;

a Chamfer -

‘

clamp i s a hand - vice,the jaws of which rise

obliquely . This in certain work,su ch as the r emoval of sharp edges

,

is more convenient than those With perpendicular j aws .For small obj ects use is made of theHand - v i ce, for hand use

,a small unfixed vice

,which is Opened

and closed by m eans of a key or flanged screw (Fig . 1 3,a,b) .

The Tai l - v i ce i s a hand - vice fitted with a handle,which latter

is som etim es hollow in order to perm it of manipu lating long articles,

W ire,85 0 . (see Fig . 1 3

,c) .

Fi g . 1 4 . Tongs and pliers .

Next to vices,com e the most important group of shOp tools for

holding objects,the vari ou s kinds of

Tongs. The Smi ths’ Tongs serve to introduce and withdrawarticles from the fire

,and to hold them while being forged . They

are comparat i vely large and have the ordinary form ,or the jaws

may be curved sideways &c . (F ig. 1 4,a,b,c,d) . Closed or Open rings

,

driven with the hammer on to the shanks of the tongs,lighten the

task of continuou s gripping .

The smaller Flat - nosed pli ers u sed especially in the man i pu

l at i onp

of cold m etal,have straight roughened jaws and bent shanks

(Fig . 1 4,e) .

The jaws of P aral lel pl i ers remain parallel to each otherwhether Open or closed (Fig . 1 4

, f) .

WORII ING TOOLS AND MANIPULATION.

W i re or Round - nosed pli ers have conical j aws and serve ,inter alia

,to bend or twist wire (Fig . 1 4

, g) .

0 . Vari ous ki nds of hammers .

Leavi ng aside the c r a n k - h amm e r,which is worked with the

foot,and the s t am p and t i l t - h amm e r which are worked by water

or steam - power and which (in spite of their advantages) have not comeinto general use

,we still find an exceedingly large variety in the

form of

Hand-hammers . These are made of wrought - iron and generallyhave two hardened steel surfaces

,a hole at their centre Of gravity

Fi g. 1 5 . Sm ith’s or hand- hamm ers .

and a handle of white thorn or som e other tough wood of a roundor elliptical section . I f the steel surface of the hammer is broad

,

either circul ar,or quadrate at both ends it i s called a fa c e ; if it i s

narrow,angular or oval at one end it i s a “ pane ”

. Hammers arealso distinguished according t o sizes

,thu s

the Sledge -hammer is from 6 to 2 0 lbs . in weight,has a

handle from 30 to 4 0 inches long and is u sed or swung with bothhands ;

the Smi th’s hand-hammer i s from 2 to 5 lbs . in weight andhas a handle 1 2 to 1 6 inches long ;

the E ngineer’s hammer weighs up to 1 1h. and has a pro

port i onate handle .The cross pane ordinary Hammers have a fa c e and a p a n e

at right - angles to the handle (F ig. 1 5,1 ; 30 and

2 8 SECTION II .

In Strai ght panes the p a n e runs axe - ways parallel with thed irection of the handle (Fig . 1 5

,

The B lock hammer has two slightly dom ed faces .The Flat hammer has two flat faces .The Hol lowi ng hammer has two rounded convex faces, &c .

Set -hammers are not actual hammers as they are not u sed ford irect striking . Their form s are those of hamm ers . They are heldin loose handles and serve

,like chisel s and punches

,to cut

,round

Off,make holes

,850 . S et - hammers are distinguished as strai ght

,Oblique

,

round,&c . ; and as c o l d - c h i s e l s w i t h h a n d l e s

,h a n d l e d c h i s e l s

,

h o l l o w c h i s e l s,c h am fe r i n g h amm e r s

,and such like .

Fig. 1 6.

d. Cutti ng tools .

Besides the Set - hammers other tools are used for cu t t i n g andc h i s e l l i n g . These are

COld or cutting - chi sels. These are classed as s t r a ig h t or

fl a t c h i s e l s with a broad edge (Fig . 1 6,a) , c r o s s c u t c h i s e l s

wi th a narrow e dge (Fig . 1 6,b) , h a l f - r o u n d c h i s e l s (Fig . 1 6, c),

and g o u g e s (Fig . 1 6,d) . Chi sels are made of steel with hard

tempered cutting edges,but not hardened heads

,and are from 3 to

8 inches long .

The Cutt ing - chi sel is wedge - shaped and has a shank,which is

set in the anvil u n d e r the obj ect to be cut (Fig . 1 6,e) . The cutting

can be done on both sides simultaneously,a cold or hot set

bei ng us ed.

Small and thin iron,and wire are cut with

,

Cutt i ng - plyers or ni ppers, the blades of which are of

sharpened steel.

WORKING TOOLS AND MANIPULATION. 2 9

0

Shears are u sed to cut sheet metal , hoop and flat iron , as wellas wire : There are l e v e r s h e a r s , the cutter of which works on a

pin in a fixed lower jaw ; p a r a l l e l s h e a r s which work parallel witha drawing m otion

,and c i r cu l a r cu t t i ng p l i e r s or n i p p e r s the

Fi g. 1 7 . Shears and cutting- pliers or nippers .

jaws of which are round,work on a centre - pivot and overlap but

moderately .

Hand - shears, serving to cut off small and thin pieces Of metal,are sim ilar to ordi nary scissors

,only proportionately stronger in the

Fi g . 1 8 . Metal saws .

front part ; the hinder part s being like those of the dat - nosed pliers

(Fig. 1 7,a) .

Stock - shears are u sed to cut heavier metal and have a i fixhdjaw

,over which a one - armed l ever works on a pin like a

.

hinge

(F ig. 1 7,b) .

30 SE CTION 1 1 .

Fig . 1 7,0,shows a pair of Wi re - pl i ers , the action of which

is made clear by the drawing .

Ci rcular and paral lel shears are mostly powerful tools andare also mu ch u sed in machine - work

,servi ng to out strong sheets

,&c .

Saws are little u sed in art smithing . Metal saws have,

a moreor less hollow bow

,or rib

,like the well known cock - saw. The blade

is narrow,has small

,unset teeth and is generally thinner at the back

than at the cut (Fig . Cock - saw work i s about the same in m etalas in wood .

Fig . 1 9 . Drills .

e. P unches and dr i l ls.

There I S a difference between d r i ft i n g,p u n c h i n g and b o r i n g .

In the first a hole i s driven into or through the metal wi thout lossof weight. In the last the m etal is cut out and removed .

The Bolt - chi sel is generally a half- round chisel which is drivenwith the hammer. The enlarging and correct formation of the holeis continu ed by means of

Steel punches , round square or rectangular,&c . in shape and

of variou s sizes . The lower end is set in the anvil ; these tools tapertowards the point . The hole is driven first from one s i de and finishedfrom the other .

The Punch (used with or without handle) serves to make holes .

WORKING TOOLS AND MANIPULATION. 3 10

Under the iron that is to be pierced is placed a hollow iron cylinder ,the Opening of which is somewhat larger than the diameter of theintended hole . The enlargem ent of the hole may also be effectedwith the punch .

Thin sheet and hOOp iron may also be pierced by means of a

Hollow punch, lead or wood being put undern eath . The hollowin the punch is circular. The discs cut out gradually rise in theshaft as fresh holes are cut and fall ou t through the top end.

Punching machines are Often combined with shears . Thepunch

,according to the nature of the machine

,is worked up and

down by a s c r ew and c e n t r i fu g a l b a l l s or with h a n d l e v e r or

by som e similar contrivance . Such machines are also u sed for pressi ng and stamping sheets . Whereas in drifting (except with the hollowpunch) no m etal is lost, while in punching the piece comes out entire ;i n d r i l l i n g

,which is done by a rotating and pressing motion

,the

material comes away continuou sly in the form of small chips or

powder,the drill falling through the hole . The motion is generally

impart ed to the tool,very rarely to the article being drilled .

With light and s imple machines the m otive power i s the hand ;heavier m a c h i n e ry may be run by hand

,by foot or by m echanical

power (steam ,

Dri l ls are made of steel and hardened to yellow temper. At

the shoulder they are tri or quadrangu lar,or pyram idal or conical

and tapered,this part being fixed into the tool or machine . The

different form s have distingu ishing nam es . The best known and mostu sed are

the Lip dri ll (Fig . 1 9,A) , which cuts either to right or to left ;

it only serves for making small holes and is an imperfect tool ;the Flat dri l l (F ig. 1 9

,B ) , cutting in one direction only and

making holes up to about5/8 th8 of an inch in diameter ;

the Centre - bi t (Fig . 1 9,C and D ) , with a centre point which

governs the motion ;the Half - round B i t (Fig . u sed at the turning - lathe and

producing a smooth wall or side ;the Twi st dri ll (Fig . which is the best

,most rational and

throws the chips well Off .Of the number of contrivances u sed to put drills in motion may

be m entioned

the Fi ddle dri l l , u sed for very small holes . The gut - string of

the bow is twisted round the roller of the drill,the rotary m otion

i s imparted by drawi ng the bow backwards and forwards as in playing the fiddle ;

the Archimedean dr i ll , also for small holes onl y . The motionsi obtained by running a loose socket up and down a spiral shaft ;

32‘

SECTION I I .

the Hand - brace , so called becaus e the necessary pressure isderived from the weight of the chest against knob

;

Fi g. 20 .

Half - round Bit . Ratchet drill .

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34 SECTION II .

secure objects firml y . Flat - cut screws are su ited to large dimensions,

more particularly where m otion is to be produced . Leading screwsare sometimes dual or compound

,the Spiral thread being once or

twi ce grooved . Fastening screws are always Simple . Whereas w o o ds c r e w s taper (screws for fixing wood), m e t a l s c r e w s (for fixingmetals) in addition to other pecu liarities are always cylindrical . The

d i am e t e r of a screw i s that of the thread ; the diam eter of thenternal screw is that of the channel or groove . The variou s descr ipions of Sharp - cut screws are determ ined by the diam eters and thefelat i ve acuteness of the above m entioned triangul ar thread . TheE n g l i s h or Wh i tw o r t h s c r e w is the m ost u sed ; an angl e of 5 5 0

'

form s its basis .The s c r e w - s t o c k - a n d - d i e is u sed in m aking screws . The thread

of the internal screw in the die is cut by means of a

Screw- tap. These are separated into the t a p e r t ap,s e c o n d t ap

and p l u g t ap,or at least into the first and last . Small screw - taps are

worked with the hand vice,larger sizes with special tap-wrenches.

The threads of external screws are cut with

the Screw- plate or di e, a hardened steel plate with tappedscrew - holes

,this tool only serves for sm all sizes . Larger ones are

made withthe Screw- stock , the form s and make of which are numerou s .

They have generally one feature in common,namely

,that two

,three

or more taps with the cutting mother - thread are set in a fram ewhich is screwed up from both ends . There are h i n g e d

,o b l i qu e

,

Wh i tw o r t h and other s c r e w — s t o c k s .The lathe is also u sed in m aking all varieties of screws

,the

cutting - tools consisting of an i n s i d e and an ou t s i d e cu t t i n g - s t e e l .S c r e w - cu t t i n g m a c h i n e s are also in use .

g. App li ances and tools for worki ng cold surfaces .

The most important tools for fin i shi ng- off work are the fi l e s .

These are m ade of hardened steel and are only smooth where theyfit into the handle . Good files are pale grey in colour . They arefirst cut by the fil e - cutter in fine grooves or teeth set forward and

'

then hardened . S i n g l e - c u t fi l e s are grooved,as they have parallel

cuts in one direction only,while d o u b l e - c u t fi l e s are teethed ’ i n

asmuch as the fi r s t c u t i s followed by a second diagonal and somewhat narrower u p p e r - c u t . The number of cuts to the inch

,giving

the degree of fineness or coarseness to the file,i s determined by the !

size and the “ purposes for which it is intended . These tools are

known as r o u gh,m i d d l e

,b a s t a r d and s e c o n d cut

,and the sub

divi sions of sm o o t h - fi l e s (smooth , dead smooth , extra smooth) .

WORKING TOOLS AND MANIPULATION. 3 50

The forms of files are also numerou s and vary according to theirrespective u ses . The m ost common form s are

Flat files rectangular in section,som ewhat bulged in the

direction of their length,tapering

,and cut on three sides . I f of equal

breadth throughout they are called e qu a l l i n g and p a r a l l e l f i l e s ;if tapering towards the point they are term ed c o t t e r fi l e s .

Tr i angular files are equal - Sided in cross section and taper to apoint ; the are known as 3 - square taper

,and Saw fi l e s .

Square files are four - sided in cross section,bulged and tapering .

Kni fe files, look like a coarse knife blade and are trapeziformin cross section .

Round files are circular in cross section ; they are bulged ,tapering

,and have m ostly a single - cut (r a t - t a i l fi l e s) .

Half- round files are sem i - circu lar or show a smaller part of acircle in cross section

,tapering

,with a single - cut on the round and

a double - cut on the flat side .

Enteri ng or cross files are elliptical in cross section .

The object to be filed is generally held in a vice,and the file

pressed i n a forward direction,a backward or a double stroke being

rarely resorted to . The coarse files are first u sed and afterwards thefiner sorts

,the finishing work being sometim es lubricated with oi l .

Of machines u sed in working and finishing surfaces,the m ost

important isthe Lathe. This i s to be found in m ost lock - sm ith

’

s workshops . I t serves not only for tu r n i n g round objects and su r fa c i n g

,

but also for variou s other kinds of work,as screwing

,c ou n t e r

s i n k i n g,s p i n n i n g

,d r i l l i n g

,g r i n d i n g and p o l i s h i n g . The

motion is obtained by means of a treadle worked by the foot or bymechanical force . The form s and construction of a lathe are variou s .Som e general points mu st be noted . On the left Side of the fr am eor b e d is the fixed h e a d s t o c k set in motion by a small wh e e lconnected with a larger disc below (servi ng as fiy - wheel) , and to thelower frame by a strap or cord . On the right is found the s l i d i n gp u p p e t or loose headstock w i t h b a c k c e n t r e which can be movedon the S l i d e or c h e e k Of the fram e . The work is fi x e d betweenthe fixed and loose headstocks

,between which is the h a n d r e s t

,

serving to steady the hand and the turning - tool . When the workis gu ided not by the hand but by mechanical means the s l i d i n gr e s t replaces the h a n d r e s t . I f the shifting of the support i seffected by hand the engine is called a h an d - r e s t - l a t h e . I f theshifting is self- acting by m eans of a r a c k (connected with the d r i vi n g - g e a r through a c o n du c t i n g - S p i n d l e) the machine i s calleda s e l f - a c t i n g - s l i d e - l a t h e .

Lathe tools serve for cutting . The hand tools have woodenhandles ; the slide rest tools are arranged for setting (fixing) . For

3 3:

36 SEOTlON 1 1 .

both uses there are Gouge- tools with curved cu tting edge for theprel iminary work

,P oint - tools of square steel cut diagonally with

obliqu e edges running to a point,and Flat - tools with straight, chisel

like edges for finishing work,and

,besides these there are cutting and

I nsi de- tool s for hollow turning .

Pl ani ngmachi nes and Shaping machi nes are not indispensablein ordinary smi ths’ and skilled lock - work

,so that only a brief reference

i s m ade to them here . I n the former the work i s fixed to a tablewhich moves backwards and forwards in grooves on a bed beneaththe fixed cutting - tool

,the cu t being one way only . The motions by

which the Obj ect is gradually cut smooth,&c . are regular and automatic .

The s h a p i n g - t o o l s are edged i n variou s form s,set in revolution

by the machine and serve to cut grooves,beadings

,&c .

2 . TH E M AN I PULAT ION

AND TRE ATM ENT OF W ROUGHT IRON .

The processes u sed in wrought iron - work,not described in the

preceding chapter,such as drilling

,punching

,swaging

,&c . are briefly

treated in this .The Forging of iron on the anvil with the hammer i s most

satisfactory when the metal i s heated to a b r i g h t r e d . Small piecesare forged by a Single workman ; larger ones requ ire one or mores t r i k e r s . The red - hot iron is cleansed from cinder by knocking iton the anvil and giving it a few light taps with the hammer ; theneglect of this precaution m ay cau se the cinder to be worked intothe m etal . I f the latter is to becom e hard and elastic the forgingcontinues until the iron c o o l s

,or else both hammer and anvil are

wetted . We t fo r g i n g also gives a smooth surface . Obj ects thathave become too hard are a n n e a l e d

,i . c. reheated to a faint red

and allowed to cool gradually.

Wel di ng , i . e. forging two separate pieces into one , is doneunder strong wh i t e h e a t . Both pieces must be equally hot . As

the parts‘

to be welded mu st be as clean as possible they are sprinkledwith loam

,arenaceous quartz

,borax

,sal - ammoniac or some other

substance which prevents oxidation . The striking should be qu icklight at first and gradually heavier

,and proceed from the m iddle

outwards so that the slag may be thoroughly driven out and unevenspots be prevented . We l d i n g by overlapping naturally forms a betterjunction than bu t t w e l d i n g when the ends are only brought togetherthis is a reason why the parts should be prepared as above described

,Spread out , thinned , &c .

,prior to the actual j oining . The

welding together of iron and steel (which takes place principally intool making) is called s t e e l i n g ,

and requ ires great care and Speciaw e l d i n g p owd e r .

WORKING TOOLS AND MANIPULATION . 3 7

Flattening or taking down is equally necessary for lengtheningor widening an object . The blows given with the narrow edge ofthe hammer are more effective than those wi th the broad face . Thegrooves wrought by the former are smoothed ou t by the l atter.

Upsett i ng,or jumping i s the exact reverse of flattening ; it

m eans both thickening and shortening . I t is effected by striking thered - hot piece on the anvil or on a Special jumping - block

,or by hard

hammering on the end .

Bent or twisted pieces are strai ghtened to the right shape . I t

is generally done with the hammer on the anvil,but som etimes a

special straightening - plate i s u sed ; the process may be effected i neither hot or col d state . Flattening , jumping and straighten ing requi rea certain dexterity in handling which is not easy to describe .

Bendi ng may also be done warm or cold . Bending at rightangles is done byhamm ering over anedge of the anvil

,or

the square part of itsbeak

,or with the aid

of a vice . Curves areprodu ced on the roundend of the beak or

on a conical mandrel .In curved bends as c r o l l - h o r n is alsooccasionally u sed .

This i s a, tool which Fig . 24 . Snarl ing tool .

i s fixed into the viceand has two cylindrical prongs form ing a fork . For Spiral windingsand other form s which occur frequ ently in art sm ithing

,Special s c r o l l

t o o l s,p i n s

,&c .

,round which the object is twisted

,are called

into use . These tools have the sam e form that the piece being handledis to take ; the latter is generally of thickish flat iron . Large fiat

curves are produced by placing the iron on two raised and separatedsupports and striking downwards in the m iddle . Sheet iron is bestbent and turned over on b e n d i n g and t i l t i n g m a c h i n e s .

By Embossing i s understood the punching out of roundedbumps called “ b o s s e s The iron may be bossed out when red hotby driving it into a su itable cavity or swage . Bosses are producedby hamm ering the iron when cold

,with su itable ball hammers

,upon

an under - layer of wood or lead .

Large flat domes are obtained by hammering out the sheet - irongradually and from the m iddle towards the edge . In finer work smallbosses are produced by m eans of a Special instrument

,called a snarling

tool,shown in Fi g. 2 4 and is made fast in the vice or onto a

38 SECTION II .

Special block . By striking with the hammer near the fixed end ofthe tool the arm vibrates and its bent striking end produces by percussi on the bosses in the m etal exposed to its blows . The upperpart serves as a gauge for ensuring that the bosses are formed inthe right place .

Impressing sheet iron into hollow and rounded forms is effectedwith the lathe by tool pressure .

Punchi ng i s done with tools of like name,which are short steel

bars rectangular in section,with the edges taken off and tapering

towards the point,which is of many Shapes . Small bosses can be

made with them and the punching - hammer in Sheet - iron,as well as

bead - like or ribbed surfaces . Whereas thin Sheets are generallypunched from the back so that the bosses appear in relief. with thickersheets the ornament is indented with punches or chi sels .

E ngraving consists in cutting fiat,m ostly linear

,designs in

the surface of the Sheet by m eans of the g r a v e r,or g r av i n g - t o o l .

This is generally done by pressure of the hand ; m ore rarely (whenthe work is heavier) with the aid of a hammer. When the latter isu sed and especially when curves are made it i s called

Cutt ing in iron . Iron cutting,engraving and chasing, that i s

the finishing Off of cast or hammered parts either with the graver,

or with punches or other tools,are u sually only u sed in iron in small

artistic objects . These constitute an art in them selves and are rarelyperformed by the skilled sm ith or even locksmith .

E tching i s effected by m eans of acids . The Sheet is first co

vered with a layer of protective wax,asphalt

,or some su itable varnish ;

the parts to be etched are then deprived of the protective agent andthe acid eats into them to the desired depth . Where the surfacewhich is not to be etched is smaller than that which i s to be affectedthe reverse Operation sometim es occurs

,i . c. the protecting material

i s painted or otherwise laid on in the necessary places only . Whenthe acid has acted enough it is cleaned off wi th turpentine . E tchingis principally u sed to ornam ent smaller artistic obj ects

,such as

arm s,&c . Som etimes the etched parts are colour - varnished so as to

give the effect of Niello,or E nam elling .

Ni ello- work m eans that the m etal basis is engraved in thesame m anner as in Copper - plate engraving

,and that the parts cut

away are filled with a substance compounded of su lphur,silver

,Copper

and lead . In m elting in the niello compound the metal work mu stn ot be made red hot or it would waste and become holed .

In Inl aying or hamm ering m etal into m etal,as gold and silver

on iron,the parts to receive the inlay have a dove - tail cut (wider

at the base than at the su rface) , which is produced with a chisel andinto which the softer metals are hamm ered . A simpler and cheaper

,

bu t also less durable way,i s to h a t c h

,and to cut in lines with the

WORKING TOOLS AND MANIPULATION . 39

graver, and hamm er the preciou s metal on to the roughened foundation .

The unembellished parts are afterwards made smooth .

E namell ing , i . e. the m elting on of vitreous paste,is almost

exclu sively applied a t present to cooking utensils,baths

,advertise

m ents,&c .

,and therefore to u seful rather than artistic

Completely smooth and bright surfaces are produced by planing ,

grinding and polishing .

P lani ng is done with the p l a n e , which is made in variou sform s

,but must always have a sharp

,fau ltless edge . The elevations

to be removed are most easily detected by moving the surface undermanipul ation backwards and forwards

'

on a perfectly level,painted

straightening plate .

Grinding is effected either with h a n d - g r i n d s t o n e s or witha wet or dry r e v o l v i n g grindstone . D i s c s o f em e r y

,p um i c e

s t o n e,em e ry - p a p e r and c l o t h

,em e r y - p owd e r or i r o n - s c a l e

are also u sed with oi l,on wood

,leather or lead .

Pol i shing gives the object that degree of smoothness which may

be described as glint . I s i s produced by continuous friction withfin e powder that is taken up by soft leather or wool , moistened withSpirit or oil . L im e

,r o t t e n - s t o n e

,p u t ty p ow d e r and c r o c u s

,

serve,among other things

,as polishing powder . B u r n i s h i n g t o o l s

and a g a t e s are also u sed ; these al so serving to press down i nequal ities in the metal . The Shapes of the steels

,which are set in wooden

handles,depend on the work . Round or cylindrical bodies are best

polished on the lathe .AS iron and steel easily rust under the influence of the air

,

especially of m oisture and wet,the surface is protected sometimes by

m eans of other m etals,or by bronzing

,blackening or tempering

,or

by coating with varnish or oil - colour . In every one of these processes a thorough cleansing from scale

,&c . and a m etallically pure

surface mu st first be obtained if the result is to be satisfactory,and

rust mu st not be allowed to set in beneath the covering material .This i s done by pi ckl ing or removing the surface with diluted sul

phur i c acid ; or by r e h e a t i n g and also by b ru s h i n g and s c r a p i n g .

A coat i ng of l e a d,z i n c

,t i n

,c o p p e r

,b r a s s

,n i c k e l

,

S i l v e r or g o l d may be deposited either by“d ry p r o c e s s

”

,in which

the articles are dipped red hot into the molten metal,or by “we t

p r o c e s s”

,when they are dipped into liqu ids which contain the

metals and chemicals in solution necessary to effect their union ; or

through precipitation by g a l v a n i c a c t i o n ; or by p l a t i n g,when

the covering - metal is pressed or rolled on to the i ron in the form of

thin sheets or plates . With regard to gilding it must be mentioned

at) The iron -works at Gagg e n a u in Baden ha ve of late produced

a rt istic enam elled iron ware .

4 0 SECTION ‘

I I .

that other processes are known,nam ely m ercury g i l d i n g

,in which gold

in amalgam with quicksilver i s laid on and the l atter evaporated byheat ; and l e a f - g i l d i n g

,in which the gold - leaf is pressed onto a

prepared and roughened m etal surface and polished with a steelbur nisher ; or m erely attached by size in the ordinary way .

Browni ng or bronzing consists in creating an artificially oxi

di sed surface,the oxide protecting the m etal from further ru sting .

(I t i s specially appli ed to fowling - pieces,&c .)

B lackening consists of smoking the article over a fire of resinouswood and then bru shing ; or the articles are smeared with linseed Oi l

and this is b u r n t off over a fire .

Varni shing with a transparent m ixture of linse ed Oi l andtu rpentine protects uncovered surfaces . Oi l i n g

,or smearing

.with

t a l l o w m ay beV arni shing

‘

wi th iron asphalt or tar - varnish,or coating with

oil - colour i s chiefly confined to coarser article shaving less carefu llyworked surfaces and toobjects that are exposedto the weather . Beforethe actual painting takesplace a g r ou n d c o a t

,

consisting of lead paintor graphite is laid on .

I n former times decoraFi g. 25 . Specim ens of weldings . tive effects were som e

times produced by polychromatic treatm ent

,and of late attempts are being made to revive

the fashion . There is scarcely any objection to be raised to thisfrom the point of view of sty l e

,provided always that it i s governed

by good taste .

3 . THE ORD INARY M E THODS OF JOIN ING

I RON - W ORK .

Vari ou s methods are u sed to unite and fasten together separatepieces of iron ; the most important of which to the

"

smith mu st nowbe briefly enumerated .

The Weldi ng together of separate parts i s the most effective ,and the means best su ited to the sm ith’s craft

,although it is not

A preventative against rust , called M a n n o c i t i n m ade by thefirm of E d . Mul l e r M ann in Charlott enburg,

has been much recomm endedof lat e .

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42 SECTION II .

Off flu sh with the surface ; or it can have a head like a rivet, witha screw - nu t under which a disc of tin is sometimes placed

,fixing

the other end . The first m entioned screws are made fast and loosenedwith the s c r e w - d r i v e r

,which resembles a chisel ; whereas .the nut i s

fixed and loosened by m eans of a w r e n c h or S p a n n e r . This tool ismade in Specific sizes . There is also an adju stable s c r e w - wr e n c hwhich can be set to any desired size .

Riveting and screwing occur also,without m entioning countless

other instances,when pieces of iron are d r aw n d o wn and l a p p e d

or b u t t e d t ogether .

Drawing down and r i vet ing often replaces welding and isprincipally adopted in flat - iron scroll - work . I t consists in placing

F ig. 27.

Various m ethods of fastening ironwork together .

a piece which is brought down to a thin edge against another

(Fi g. 2 7,a) . I f the piece that is to be so fixed i s not thinned off

,

or only partially SO,a step - like cut is made at the place where it

is to j oin (Fig . 2 7,b) .

Intersect ing , especially when flat or square - iron pieces crosseach other

,may be done without thinning either of the parts , which

are bent outward s (Fig . 2 7,c) , or each part is thinned or cut away

to the extent of one half,

so that they are flush on both Sides

(Fig . 2 7,d) .

For passing one bar through another a fitting hole (Fig . 2 7,e,

f, g) mu st be punched or drifted .

WORKING TOOLS AND MANIPULATION. 4 3

Tenoning and pinning are adopted more particularly to fixcast iron spear - points and pine - apples

,&c .

,to balustrades

,railings

,&c .

(Fig 2 7,h,i ).

A much u sed mode of fastening,where two or several parts are

to be fixed together,i s

the Col lar . The iron u sed i s generally rectangular or half- roundin section (Fig . 2 8

,a,b,c,d,c) .

Fig. 28 . Collars and wedges .

Sometimes the collars are tightened by means of a Wedge

(Fig 2 8, f) . The wedge is an effective m ode of j oining and can be

easily loosened again,but it i s m ostly u sed t o finally tighten up work

(Fig . 2 8, g, h) .

Fi g. 29 . Folds.

By Shr inking on col lars is m eant the hammering of red - hotrings

,hoops

,850 . over the parts to be secured . AS they shrink in

cooling they give a firm hold .

FOl di ng i s only u sed in sheet - iron . There are s i n g l e (Fig . 2 9,a)

and d o u b l e - fo l d s (Fig . 2 9,b) and overlapping folds (Fig . 2 9

,c) .

44 SE CTION I I .

4 . W ORK DE TA ILS OF MOST FREQUENT OCCURRE NCE

IN THE SM ITHS'

ART .

Although the number of these is alm ost countless and t hey varym aterially in style with the variou s periods of art ; som e , which are

constantly recurring and form,as it were

,the AB C of the “form

language of the sm iths’

art,m ay be mentioned. No pretence to

completeness is m ade,yet such as are referred to m ay prove u seful

to those desiring to make practical u se of this m anual .Let us first consider the

o r n am e n t a t i o n o f b a r s,

beginning with‘ the cross sections . The rolling - m ills of

the present day are able toproduce fancy bar - iron withstellate

,cruciform

,and many

other such sections . Theseare

,however

,not frequ ently

u sed and were form erly un

known . In the m iddle - agesbar or rod - iron was not

seldom ornamented by chiselling and punching simple patterns into it (Fig . 3 0

,d) , or

the edges were fretted (Fig .

3 0,e) . By the u se of swages

regularly shaped p r o t u b e ra n c e s were produced (Fig .

30, f ) . Swages are also u sed

to produ ce m ou l d e d sw e l li n g s (Fig . 30

,Of late

this is done more Simply,if

less genuinely and solidly,by

slipping malleable cast - ironFi g. 30 ' Ornamented bars . sockets

,85 0 . over the bar and

riveting them (Fig . 3 0,h) .

A good,effective and long - known process is the Twi st ing of

bars while red hot,which can be done with the aid of the tongs in

light work,but which in heavier work requ ires the help of a screw

stock or wrench (Fig . 30,i,1c) .

Scroll ing into volutes i s universally practised . There are manyvarieties of these . Thu s the bar may be bent with the scroll wrenchor round a scroll ing iron without varying the section of the bar

(Fig. 3 1,a) , or it may be drawn down or snubbed , thu s varying the

cross section (Fig . 3 1,b) , or it can be slit into 2 or 3 volutes

WORKING TOOLS AND MANIPULATION.

’

4 5

(Fig . 3 1 , c) . The inner end of the volute is often ornamented witha rosette

,

or knOp (Fig. 3 1,d) .

The Sli tt i ng and opening out as a break in the length of ab a r is effective but uncommon (Fig . 3 1

,e) .

Spindle - shaped Spi ral twi sts , especially of round rods andthick wi res

,are more common (Fig . 3 1

, f ).

i . rm.

Fig . 3 1 . Bars scrolled into volut es , slits , i n terlac i ngs, spiral - twists ;forged flat ornam ents .

Repeated interlacings, a kind of plaiting, are favourite form sin the renaissance style (Fi g. 3 1

, g, h, i ) .The Hammering out of bars int o Flat ornaments

,su ch as

leaves,masks

,or grotesques

,also Often recur in the same period of

art (Fig . 3 1,k,I,on) . The outline is cut out with the chisel or

shears and then finished off with the file .The Beat ing of scrol l ends into forged or embossed l eaves

c arries the art a step farther,and reached great technical perfection

SECTION II .

WORKING TOOLS AND MANIPULATION.

Fi g . 34 . Examples of rosettes .

Fi g. 35 . Spear- heads and knops

4 7

4 8 SECTION I I .

in the baroque and rococo ages . The principal natural motive is thea canthus . Fig . 3 2 shows a number of foliage patterns (a to f ) .

Fig . 36 . Cartouches, shields and masks .

The Acanthus husks may be mentioned here . They serve aso rnam ental envelopes to the bars

,or as free ends

,or cappings to

t hem (Fig 32 , g, h, i ) . One Often finds in the latter position

Fi g. 37 . Wreaths and sprays .

es (fl e u r - d e - l i s) ; these were often u sed as moti ves in them i ddle - ages and frequ ently recur later (Fig . 33

,a,b,

They are!only one of the pecul iar form s of

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5 0 SECTION II .

into Open work,slightly chased

,embossed

,&c . Fig . 3 6

, f shows anexample from Wertheim on the Maine .

Masks and grotesques, occur not infrequently in richly forgedwork

,and are mostly embossed ou t of Sheets

,less frequently forged

from the solid (see Fig . 36,d,

Such details requ ire a very skilfulhand and artistic capacity

,if they are to prove satisfactory

,other

wise they are best left alone . Herein the lim it,of that which appeared

to be feasible,both in respect of material and of technic

,has been

reached,

if not already overstepped .

Garlands, festoons , wreaths and sprays representing naturalflowers also requ ire skill and taste . They are in other respects easyto make and rarely fail in producing a good effect . They appear ingrilles as subsidiary and ornam ental embellishments

,and on wrought

iron works of larger dimensions . Fig . 3 7 Shows three Specim enscom ing under this heading .

By Appl i ed work i s understood the process whereby sectionedbars and ornamental details are applied to smooth iron surfaces orstout iron Sheets as shown in Fig . 38 . Such applications are mostfrequ ent in looks and their mountings .

Lastly,reference mu st be made to Ornamental chain work,

which may take very m any form s and styles , according to the purposefor which it is intended

,and to the dimensions requ ired . I t i s u se d

for hanging coronas,chandeliers

,wall - lights

,85 0 . (see Fig .

The forego i ng almost exhau sts what is to be said concerning theindividual form s and types in general use. The sections which followwill

,with the aid of their illu strations

,furnish further d a t a in

elucidation of what has already been said .

S E CTION III .

H ISTOR ICAL DE VE LO PM E NT OF THE ART

OF SM ITH ING .

1 . T H E A N T I QU E .

Although it will be endeavoured in this section to give a pictureof the historical development of the technics of smithing

,no attempt

will be m ade to deal wi th the question of how iron was producedin earlier times

,about which only incomplete information has com e

down to us,and especially as archaeologists and experts are in some

respects in disagreement regarding it . Those,however

,who are

interested in this part of the subject are referred to the highly meritor i ous work written by Dr . Lu dw i g B e c k on the H i s t o ry o f I r o ni n i t s r e l a t i o n t o t e c h n i c a l a n d h i s t o r i c a l cu l tu r e d e v e l o pm e n t

,published by V i e w e g Son

,B runswi ck .

I t is now known that the produ ction of iron and its u se areof very ancient date

,far older than has u sually been supposed and

certainly dating back to prehistoric times . In the B r i t i s h Mu s eu ma piece of iron is to be seen which an E nglishman

,J. R . H i l l

,found

in one of the inner m asonry joints of the great pyram id of Cheops .This broken part of a working tool probably shows the greatest

,

historically proved antiqui ty,nam ely about 40 0 0 years . Articles of

iron found in other places and the wal l - paintings on their gravesShow that the ancient E gyptians u sed iron weapons

,sickles and other

tools,ship - Sheati ng, &c .

,which they mu st either have m ade them

selves,as was probably the case in most instances

,or which they

drew from E thiopia,the inhabitants of which pursue the iron industry

to this day .

5 2 SECTION III .

I ron was equally known in ancient Assyria and Babylon . Theexcavations have brought to light am ong other things iron finger

- rings,

bracelets,weapons

,chains

,hamm ers

,knives and saws . V i c t o r P l a c e

even found a complete iron store at Khersabad . The principal part,

estim ated at 3 5 8 tons,consisted of pieces of iron pointed towards

each end and having a hole near the one end,which were identified

as unwrought ingots . The perforation was probably to facilitate trans

port by stri nging the blocks together .

I n Phoenicia and P alestine iron also came early into use . I n

the Bible (Genesis Ch. 4,v . 2 2) one reads that Tubal - cain , the son

of Lam ech an d Zillah,was an instructor of every ar t i ficer in brass

and iron”

. The like was the case in P ersia,India

,China and Japan .

The Chinese claim that steel was invented 2 0 00 years B . C.

,and

Indian steel was also favourably known long before our chronology .

Further ‘

evi dence of the antiquity of iron -working is found in philological compari sons . The Sanscrit word for iron is ‘ayas the P ersian

(Zend)“ayanh

”

,Old Gothic “ais

”

,Old High German “

a i si n”

,

‘I san

“ isen”

,Anglo - Saxon “ iren

”

,E nglish “iron

”

,Old Norse “ i arn Swedish

“j arn Spanish “hierro Italian “ferro Latin “ferrum and French“ fer” (see B e c k

’

s work) .Cultu re came from the E ast

,from E gypt and from Western

Asia to Greece and thence t o Italy,and after what has been said

above,it wou ld be too strange to even suggest that the Greeks and

Rom ans did not know and u tilise iron . That they did know it andunderstand how to work it

,is shown in m any of their writings ; it

i s made evident by their painted vases and has - rel iefs and it is provedby the (few) iron articles which have been discovered .

Iron and steel were already known to Homer . Schliemannd i sinterred iron objects in Troy and Mycena . Glances of Chios

(6 0 0 years B . C.) is held to be the inventor of welding or solderingiron . Not only were weapons of attack and defence

,agricu ltural

implem ents and al l sorts of objects made of iron ; the m eta l was u sedalso for ornam ental vessels and statues

,the latter being made of

embossed pieces which were afterwards put together. Thu s , we hearof an artistically wrought - iron base to a Silver vessel at Delphi

,of

an iron statu e of Hercules,840 . Various Greek cities

,as Corinth and

Athens,had recognised markets for ironwares . Although the best steel

came from Chalybes and India,the Laconian and Lydian steels were

also prized Sm iths’

tools,as they are pictured on Grecian vases

,

represent anvils,hammers

,pincers

,&c .

,and even their bel lows are to

all intents and purposes the sam e as those in use at the present day .

The articles found in E tru scan and Roman graves,the excavations

at P ompei,Vulci

,Cervetri

,Caero and many other places have also

brought iron weapons and utensils to light. Searing - irons,fire - hooks

,

tripods,locks

,keys

,brasiers

,m oney - chests were oft en made of iron ;

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE ART OF SMITHING. 5 3.

0

so likewise were the weapons for use,whereas those for ornament

were made of bronze or brass . I t was cu stomary to wear iron ringsas the insignia of a free -man and

,probably

,also for u se in sealing

up doors , 840 .

E ven if in the early ages iron was principally imported in Italyfrom the I sland of E lba

,the Romans

,on the other hand

,after having

acqu ired the sovereignty of the world,most undoubtedly produced and

worked iron in variou s provi nces,for instance

,in Spain

,on the Rhine

,

in Carinthia, and it may well be assumed that they found this indu stryalready in existence in such parts .

When we attempt,and it i s almost in vain to do so

,to sum

up the position of the smith’

s ar t in antiqu ity,the following points

are salient . First,iron is very much more sensi tive to oxidation and

to rust,than bronze . The most of that found has actually turned to

powder and du st,and that which still exists is eaten away and unattractive .

There can be no doubt that the ancients,as the ru le and not the

exception,only u sed iron and steel where probably no other material

would so well answer the purpose,such as for tools and weapons,

and these of the simplest form s that would serve the purpose . For

Show and for articles of luxury the brilliancy of bronze and of thepreciou s metals was given the preference . Ordinary labour was performed by the slave ; skilled labour cou ld be undertaken by the freeman : We thus find a second reason for assuming that things whichwere to Show artistic finish

,such as bronze lamps and vessels

,were

hardly ever made of iron . In any case,that which modern museum s

have to Show of ant iqu e iron - work cannot be for one moment heldin comparison with the bronze and brass - work

,the ceram ic and

sim ilar arts of the sam e period .

The state of the ancient iron indu stry may be briefly summedup. Greeks and Romans knew iron ; they produced it in open hearthsor in sm all ovens with the aid of natural wind draught or by bellows ;they thus produced a material bearing sometimes the

'

character ofmalleable - iron

,and som etimes that of steel ; they u sually employed

it for articles which could not well be made of other material andonly very exceptionally gave these objects a distinctly artistic form .

To cast - iron and to the production of malleable - iron and of steel asknown to the present age they were strangers

,and

,in consequence of

the then state of science and of i ts technical appliances had naturallyto remain so . Antiqu ity has thu s bu t slightly affected the late rdevelopment of the Smith

’

s - art and its influence is therefore impercept i ble .

2 . THE M I DDLE - AGE S .

During the collapse of the universal sovereignty of Rome and inthe confusion arising from the m igration of races a great portion of

5 4 SECTION I I I .

a ntiqu e cu lture became lost and therewith mu ch of the highly developed technic both of art and of manufacture . But this statem entcan scarcely be said to apply to the art of sm ithing . First of all

,

a s seen in the last chapter,the iron indu stries of the ancients were

,

in respect of art,of an entirely subordinate nature

,and

,on the other

side,the unending campaigns and wars

,which arose in the stage

between the old and new periods of culture,were enough to secure

the progress of at least one branch of sm ithing,namely the armourers

,‘which necess ity compelled for good or evil to stride in the directiono f developm ent . E ven adm itting that the requ irement of such tim esm ade the quality of the material u sed

,and its practical fitness to the

a im in view,rather than m ere external form s

,the chief qu estion

,yet

nevertheless the seeds of further developm ent were sown,even of the

very form s used'

i n later and more peacefu l times .

The m iddle - ages thu s had the privilege of introducing smiths’

work into the regions of architecture and to some domestic u ses,and of

discovering styles su itable to these requ irements . I n this m ediaevalnations were su ccessful in a high degree . Artistic sm ithing of them iddle - ages has indeed handed down to u s Specim ens which showastonishing skill and a fine sense of form . But our wonder is i ncreased when we realise the exceeding simplicity of the applianceswherewith such resu lts were brought about

,and when we reflect that

hammer and anvil were,as a rule

,the only tools u sed

,and that each

rod,each wire

,each sheet had to be wrought

,and that neither these

nor the rolled material obtainable now in every form and size,were

to be had ready - made when they were produced .

I t mu st,however

,be remarked that perfecting the technical

m eans of production does not invariably tend to render the artisticwares of handicraftsmen m ore perfect . Closer consideration makesthis truth m ore apparent . I t must

,among other analogou s examples

,

be obvious that repeated forging and welding improves the quality o f

iron ; bu t , not only did m anual labour furnish a better iron than thataveraged by the m echanical Operations of the present age ; but theexternal appearance of handwork has something fresher

,more original

and interesting than machine productions,although the latter are un

deniably neater and more exact in appearance . Let hand - needleworkbe compared with machine embroidering

,and the same conclu sion

follows,and this applies to other branches of art with equal force .

Bu t then,hand work with the comparatively simple tools employed

demanded also a great sacrifice of time . Machinery,as the substitute

for handicraft,owes its existence to the striving aft er shortening

and lightening of labour and to the ensuring cheapness of production .

For these,as well as for other technical reasons

,the older manual

work was not in a position to produce objects of large dimensions ;

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE ART OF SMITHING . 5 50

when these were here and there successful ly accomplished the resultsare surprising and entitled to the highest appreciation .

P utting the armourer’

s art aside for the present,the fourth section

of this manual being specially devoted to it,the sm iths

’

work of them iddle - ages in connection with architecture and indu stry commencedfrom about the l 0 th century to deserve notice . At least it is tothis period that the oldest work which has com e down to us datesback . In the 1 2 th and 1 8 th centuries the smiths

’

productions becom ealready highly important .

Here too it was that the church enlisted art into her serviceand gave the most important orders . Let u s first take note of theornaments for doors and gateways

,and for chests and presses, of the

window - fastenings and grilles,

of standard and hanging candelabra

Fi g. 40 . Parts of Romanesque door- furniture .

a . The Cathedral of Puy en Velay by E breuil . b . The church of E lacincourt , Gironde . c . The church of the holy sepulchre , Neuvy . i 2th century .

From Vi ol l et - l e -Duc .

For secular purposes,such as the embellishm ent of castles and of

corporation buildings,we find other important items including fire

dogs and other hearth - furniture,wall - anchors

,door - knockers

,&c .

The external appearance of the smiths’

work of the Romanesqueage presents little that is elegant ; the form s are ful l, heavy, and givethe impression of great solidity . They accord in their simplicitywith the styles of architecture and ornamentation prevalent at thesam e period

,and present similar characteristics . The most elegant

and the richest work i s found in door - furniture,belonging especially

to the latter part of the Romanesque age and in the period of transitiou to Gothic . It corresponds with the wooden constru ction of them i ddle - ages with its small

,grooved and tongued narrow boards

,which

,

in them selves,afforded little scope for ornamentation until ironwork began

to be spread over the large flat surfaces . Although the original purpose may only have been to join the wood - work well and securely

,

5 6 SECTION I II .

the Spirit of decoration soon assum ed the foremost position . Instead- of the simple tongu e

,angle

,and cross garnet hinges

,and the crescent

shaped straps,which wer e especially favoured in the earliest part of

this period,rich scrolls

,twining over the whole of

'

the ‘door andforming a pecu liar ornamentation

,began

to appear. Noteworthy door - furnitureof this kind is found in the cathedralsof P aris

,Liege

,and Rou en

,all of which

date from the 1 3th century .

Characteristic features of Romanesqueiron work are the slitting of bars andscrolling the parts (see Fig . 4 0

,b) , the

welding together of separate bars intocomplex bars

,the forging in swages of

ornam ents,such as rosettes

,stars

,&c .

,

and also the peculiar conformation of

the leaves,with their hol lowi ngs and

rounded contours (see Fig . This

Fi g. 4 1 . Detail of door- furniture work was all , to use the now current

Liege cathedral . 1 3th century .

expression,

“forged out of the piece,

i . c. it consisted of one whole,made

up of many parts welded together, and without the aid of screws ,rivets

,&0 . Most distinctive i s the technic of the forged grilles and

Fi g . 42 . Details of a Rom anesque fire -

guard . 1 3th century .

of the implements ,of that period ; which instead of being secured

together with nails are bound with ties or collars (see Fig .

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5 8 SECTION III .

riveting was also employed ; individual swages , or loose forgings wereriveted onto the principal parts (see Fig .

The section of the leaf - work became altered ; the bars beinghammered out to thin sheet - like metal and cut into definite‘ outlines

,

as well as bent,stamped out

,or embossed (see Fig . Bars were

also twisted . Graving - tools,chisels and punches are added to the

Fi g. 46 . Gothic details in wrought - iron .

tools in use . The complete effect becomes richer and more animated .

This improvem ent increases gradually till Gothic art reaches its zenith .

Boldly curved,long drawn out designs , crab l ike leaf form s charac

t er i se this period,in which already all sorts of articles were made

of iron ; elegant chandeliers and lanterns and even iron - furniture .

Much flat ornament was requ ired for lockwork . Keys were also s om etimes ornamented . The embellishments were tastefully fretted and

“HISTORICAL DE VELOPMENT OF THE ART OF SMITHING. 5 9

their effects enhanced by a backing of coloured cloth or leather, &c .

(see Fig . Scarcely any other material was so well adapted as

Fi g . 47 .

Late Gothic door-knocker. l oth century . In pri vate ownership at Augsburg.

Fig. 48 . a . Details of the wel l cover n ear the Cathedral at Antwerp .

I) . From the Cathedral a t Prague . 1 4th century . c . Lat e Gothic door ring.

wrought - iron to the principles of decoration used in the nobler periodsof Gothic art (see Fig.

60 SECTION I I I .

The later degenerate Gothic style created much that i s not

decidedly tasteful or consistent,inasmuch as it shows the stilted and

heavy work,introdu cing the fish- bladder and other unsu itable motives

to the graceful styles of wrought - iron work (see Fig . It was at .this period also that a questionable naturalism was introduced , in theshape of gnarled branches serving as door - knockers

,650 . (see Fig .

The production of stone and wooden profiles in iron will bediscu ssed in the next chapter . I f we summari se the results of thedevelopm ent of wrought - iron work during the m iddle - ages

,it will

be seen that,with comparatively simple appliances

,work on an im

portant scale was executed ; that in respect of technical routine,and

richness and variety of artistic effect,it did not equal later styles ;

though on the other hand,it carried the constructive principles of

wrought - iron to a degree of perfection that has hardly been equalledsince . I t is

,m oreover

,clear that the m iddle - ages are entitled to the

credit of having made the first attempts to treat wrought - iron polychrom atically

,to give it the effect of colour by m eans of paint and

at the same tim e by su ch m eans to afford it protection from the

destructive influence of ru st.An exhau stive and richly illu strated description of the smiths’

work of the m iddle - ages is given by V i o l l e t - l e - Du c in hi s “D i c t i o nn a i r e r a i s o n n ! d e l

’

a r chi t e c t u r e volume 8,under the heading

of “ S e r ru r e r i e”

(Locksmith’

s work), to which work special attentionis called .

3 . TH E RE NA ISSANCE P E R IOD .

I t follows as a matter of course that as the mental and culturedlife of a people rises or sinks

,so the arts advance or recede in sym

pathy . Th i s is seen in the transition from the antique culture tothat of the m iddle - ages ; and even more in the mighty progressivechange from the latter to that of the renaissance period . The strugglefor m ental freedom

,the striving to substitute a principle allowing of

life - like and fancy - fre e action for one confined within a strict,dry

and narrow set of rul es,finds most vivid illustration in the emanc i

pat i on of the arts during the renaissance . I f this was not equallythe case in each particu lar branch of art

,this arose from the fact

that m any varying extraneous circumstances influenced the process oftransition in greater

,or less

,degrees . We have to consider careful ly

whether the technical resu lts in any particu lar field of art reachedtheir highest point

,or only a stage in the process of development

,

during the transition . Fur ther it is a long recognised fact that them inor arts are dependent on their m other and teacher

,Architecture ,

for their growth,just as children are dependent on their parents . The

minor arts,Speaking generally

,requ i re a generation for the influ ence

exerci sed upon them by architectural changes to be felt to the full

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE ART OF SMITHING. 6 10

extent . The traditions of handicrafts are more unyielding,than those

of high ar t .

On these and other grounds

changes in s tyle are not aecom

pl i shed suddenly and violently, bu tby degrees ; a mixture is found ,an intercalation , or amalgam ationof the preceding with the succeedi ng styles . This amalgamationbrings together things of doubtfulstyle with those which are naiveand charming in the highest degree

,

and to which a certain originalitycannot be denied . We see thisparticularly in the ornament of

the transition from Romanesqu eto Gothic ; but it i s still m orepronounced in that between Gothicand renaissance , or , as it is called

,

“ the early renaissance’

Breaking off these observations Details of a, late -Gothicin order to revert to the object bracket . 1 5 th century .

of this manual , it mu st be understood that

,while i n architecture and wall - painting

,art reverted to

antique models (hence the term renaissance meaning a new

Fi g . 50 . Keys of the l oth,1 6 th and i 7 th centuries .

birth), such could not be the case with smithing , simply because thi slatter branch of art was

,comparatively Speaking

,very little developed

62 SECTION III .

in the antiqu e. Hence it was compulsory to retain and follow upthe highly developed sm ith - craft of the m iddle - ages . The changeswhich appeared were due principally to the ou tward changes of formand fancy

,to which art as a whole had to adapt itself. Side by side

however with the new,the earlier traditions held their ground for a

long tim e,so that in iron - work

,Gothic details are by no m eans rare

Fig. 5 1 . Link- holders and horse - rings in the courtyard of the Bargel loi n Florence . 1 5 th century .

until,and even beyond

,the end of the 1 5 th century. Fig . 4 9 shows

a portion of a large bracket belonging to this period . The Gothicfil ling of the Spandrel stands in contrast with the outer scroll - workwhich already ha lf belongs to the renai ssance style . In Fig . 5 0

,a,

b and c are shown three keys of which the first belongs to the 1 5 th,the second to the 1 6 th and the third to the 1 7 th century . Whereas

H ISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE ART OF SMITHING. 6 3

the first a is strictly Gothic ; the secondI) still Gothic in its details ; the ornam entof the third c is already “ b a r o qu ethe fundam enta l form being in all threethe sam e .

In Italy,where the Gothic never

secured a real footing , or,as Semper

puts it,where its principles were

neither recognised nor understood,Gothic

models were not forthcoming for the

use of the sm ith in the sam e degree as

in France and in Germany . The wroughtiron work of the Italian renaissance i sconsequ ently pecu liar to itself

,with

Oriental,old Italian

,Byzantine and even

antiqu e rem i n i scenses . The link - holders,

cressets for burning pitch,horse - rings

and door - knockers of Ital ian palaces areoften remarkably Simple in appearance ;their ornam entation being frequently flat,and produced by geometrical punchi ngs

(se e Fig . Richer designs som etimestake an architectonic character which isfar better su ited to stone than to wroughtiron work (see Fig. Late Gothic ironwork both inFrance andGermany howeverwas being equally forced into the sam edirection as is shown by Fig . 5 3 .

With the further development of

Itali an renaissance a much greater freedomin form soon became apparent . Correctform is found in the organic volutesand tendril - like ornam ent (see Fig .

the addition of grotesques and emblem sled to creations which were both richin fancy and charm ing in effect . Speakinggenerally

,Italian sm ithing retained a

tasteful simplicity,without overloading

,

whereas in the more northern countriesfar greater richness was developed .

The crisp and tangled form s of thelate Gothic followed on French andGerman soil designs which were certa i nly clearer and nobler i n detail , bu twhich

,on the whole

,produced a no less

Fi g. 5 2 .

Wrought- iron lantern , Florence .1 5 th century . (After Semper . )

Fig. 53 . Details of Go thicwrought- iron work .

SECTION III .

Fig . 54 . Altar rail at Santa Maria degli Scalzi in Venice .

Fi g . 55 . Circular grille‘ in Augsburg.

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6 6 SECTION III.

'by being forged in swages r esembl i ng . knops and mouldings turnedby the lathe (see Fig . Round iron above all cam e into especialfavour. The cutting of the acanthu s leaves was excellent and simple

,

recalling the antique . The Open elegant tendril - like ornam ents wereenhanced in richness and effect by embossing - and lining

,or etching .

Colouring was resorted to either completely or else in combination

Fi g . 5 7 . Iron grille . German renaissance . 1 6th century .

The Amm erl i ng collection , Vienna .

partial fir e gilding . Combinations of wrought - iron with brassand bronze came into use

, especially in Italy ; thus key bows aresometimes of brass or bronze while the remainder is of iron

. In them iddle and notably at the close of the 1 7 th century a material changeof style began to be felt

,which will be treated of in the next

chapter .

6 8 SE CTION III .

A retrospect Of the renaissance period gives the following resu lts

While the m iddle - ages raised art sm ithing,from the constructive

59 . Wrought- iron flowers. German and Belgian renaissance .

point of view,to the highest point

,it was reserved to the renaissance

to sweep away the formal degeneracy of the late Gothic , to bring about

HISTORICAL DEVE LOPMENT OF THE ART OF SMITHING. 69

simplicity and refinem ent, and finally endow the art with the highestperfection of beauty of form of which it is capable . The renaissancealso had the privilege of greatly popularising the armourer

’

s craft andof Opening up the widest fields to wrought - iron work generally.

This period materially enlarged the field of Operations,especially in

ornam ental work and small work,by introducing a general application

of embossing,engraving

,etching

,inlayi ng

,and gilding . The renais

sance divided the work of the sm ith into distinct gu ilds with ad

vantageous results .I t enjoyed material advantages over the m iddle - ages

,inasmuch

Sconce . Germ an renaissance .

as better material,in the shape of bars

,Sheets and wires

,was already

obtainable . The i ntroduction of iron - casting i s also due to this period,

though it could in its primitive stage in no wise compete withwrought - iron

,and was in fact lim ited almost exclusively to fire backs

and stove plates .

4 .THE B AROQUE P E RIOD.

The “ b a r o qu e and “ r o c o c o periods have long been regardedas periods of decadence following upon the renaissance

,and conse

quently treated with proportionate contempt . One is more tolerantof late . I t is now

,on closer exam ination

,admitted that they

,too

,

have their proper pecul iarities and good points,among which art

smithing takes a foremost place . One has become accustomed to

regard them as independent styles . The present manual adopts thi sview al l the more readily as its subject specially justifies theirseparation .

The learned are by no means in agreement as to whence thename “ b a r o q u e

”

is derived . The term “ baroqu e is commonlyunderstood to mean “ oval

,distorted

,&c . in so far applicable to this

7 0 SECTION III .

particular style as the adpressed , squeezed together , volutes formdi stingu ishing features of it (see Fig . This style is special lyemphasised in architecture in the buildings erected for the Society of

Jesu s,whence it i s not uncommonly called the J e su i t s ty l e .The transition from tru e renaissance to baroqu e was

,naturally

,

no sharper,and is far less defined

,than that between m edimval and

the renaissance .

The influ ence of the new style upon the sm iths’

art is principally that described below . The pompou s taste of the tim e whichverged on overloading in architecture

,obtained a hold on this branch

of indu stry. In technique it stood at its highest point,but becam e

even more refined and eclectic in appl i

cation . The first a im was to Obtain greatand sumptuou s effects ; hence it was

“

u sedon a larger scale

,and i n relation to brass

and bronze . Round iron gave place torectangular and especially to square iron .

The m ethod of threading bars thr ougheach other

,or interpenetration

,gave place

to halving and oversetting . Forgingsapplied on sheet iron backings (see Fig .

becam e more freely u sed . Bars were Oft enbent into angles and form ed peculiar geom etric i nterweavi ngs (see Fig . Thecontour of leaves becam e bolder. Leavesand volutes were scrol led forward beyondthe plane of the grille towards the spectator (see Fig . Moul ded iron wasmore u sed and cam e into favour for crossties and for developing form s correspondi ng

P i cr . 6 1 .

with the Open - work pedi ments found inD

architecture (see Fig . Rosettes,

knops and acanthu s husks were u sed moreprofusely . Front and back elevations differed m aterial ly , i c. theapplication of decoration to one side only found favour. Flowers became more naturalesque in style . Wreaths and festoons came intovogue . Cert ain parts of the grille were treated as back - grounds ,and fil l ed with narrow crossing rods ornamented with smal l rosettesat their intersections (see Fig . 64 and 6 8 , b) . Crowns

,often far too

large,cartouches

,initials and coats - of - arms wrought in sheet - iron

,did

m ore harm than good . Little ball s and rings were placed as connexionswher e scrol ls and bars did not come into direct contact (se e Fig .

With heavy iron for the constru ctive par ts , sl ighter metal served for

the ornament,and while renaissance gril les were often made out of

one kind of bar,the baroque grille frequently required half- a - dozen

Panelled grille . Baroque .

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE ART OF SMITHING. 7 10

and more different sections of bar - iron . While the m iddl e - ages and

the renaissance aim ed at produ cing uniform effects by even distribution,

the baroqu e concentrated its rich efl’

ects in prominent places,leaving

subordinate ones empty and plain in appearance and even redu ced tostraight bars (see Fig . That grilles

,to which the foregoing

remarks chiefly apply,and balcon ies

,balustrades

,&c .

,shoul d follow the

Fi g. Balcony . French .

curves and contour s of bu i ldings,often presenting not flat but convex

surfaces,was necessary to fit them to the architecture . As framings to

Fi g. 63 . Details in wrought - i ron . Baroque .

parki and other large entrance - gates,and breaks in railings

,archi tec

tural pilasters with their capitals and bases were reproduced i n

wrought - iron,and that mostly with taste and success (see Fi g.

Sim ilar in treatment,although less important and striking

,are

the changes to be noted in smaller objects,such as ornaments and

utensils . Retrogression rather than progress is shown in these fields .Mu ch that was made of wrought - iron during the renaissance was now

7 2 SECTION III .

produced i n other materials . The baroque style as shown by theforegoing, was intrinsicall y Opposed in principle to small productions

,

and in this respect the result is but a logical sequence . Fig . 6 8 i n

c onclusion,presents a series of details which a re characteristic of the

period now discu s sed .

A striving after pomp,Opulence and grandeur

,an eclectic refined

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67 .Wrought- iron capital s . After e Berain . 1 7 th century.

Fi g. 68 . Various details of wrought- iron work of the Baroque .

7 6 SECTION III .

greatly vary,this is not however the place to discu ss the question .

Method and skill in manipulation reached their climax during thisperiod .

The applications of iron - work during both the baroque and rocococovered about the same ground . Grilles and Sign brackets were thechief item s in use . Door and cabinet enrichments became small and

F ig. 69 . The in signia of a guild . M i ddl e of 1 8 th century .

Royal Art and Industrial Museum , Berlin .

unimportant ; they were reserved and made of bronze or brass bypreference

,at least where it was a question of rich effects . These

materials were also preferred for chandeliers and other furniture :iron was no longer distinguished enough . The proletarian amongm etals was commonly u sed only where no other material wou ld serve

the purpose .

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE ART OF SMITHING. 7 7

Window - gri lles became scarcer. As the times had become lessdangerou s they were no longer necessary. But

,on the other hand

,

balcony rail ings and balustrades becam e all the more num erous .Chur ches and palaces were , as heretofore , provided with large pom

Fi g. 70 . Pan el for sta i rcase . 1 8th century .

pens - looking iron gates . But,above all it was the p arks which

Opened up wide field for grilles and railings,as may be observed

Fi g . 7 1 . Wrought- iron details . Rococo .

at Versail les,Wurzburg and Schwetzingen . As regards tavern and

craftsmens’

sign brackets and Signs for gu ilds,there was an increased

rather than decreased demand . Wrought - iron became more popul arthan ever in this particul ar branch . Nearly every l ittle town

,every

village,can still Show suchlike art blossom ings . The same is the

7 8 SECTION III .

case with regard to fan - light grill es and,at least in certain districts

,

to crosses for steeple and churchyard .

On investigating the characteristic featur es of the wrought - ironwork of the rococo period the first thing that strikes the eye i s theabandonment of symmetry al ready referred to (see Fig . Another

Fi g. 72 . Wrought - iron detai l . Rococo .

point is the m arked avoidance of straight lines . These are onl y re

tai ned when the nature of the construction positively requ ired them,

Fi g. 73 . Wrought- iron detail . Rococo .

or the use intended,precluded other treatm ents . A geometri c design is

only found as a rul e when the work is but a poor skeleton arrangement

,or where in isolated parts it serves as a reposeful contrast .

I n its place we have arbitrary,di sordered and wild scroll - work (see

Fig.

Flat bars with rectangular section came into favour. Volutes

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE ART OF SMITHING. 7 9

and foliage were treated more luxuriantly and thrown into more dari ngrelief. Acanthus foliage was , as in the Gothic , once more drawn out , anddeeply cleft with pecu liar outlines (see Fig . 7 1 , a) . Unmeaning, indefinabl e elements appear in the decoration (see Fig . 7 1

,c) . The

crinkling of the foliage is also pecu l iar to the period (see Fig . 7 1,d) .

Fi g . 74 . Grave - cross .

I t is evi dent that this was produced i n the desire to avoid flat surfacesas mu ch as possible and to throw more life into the work by simplemeans . This process recalls the “ru stic” and the “Verm icelli

”

carvingof stone in architecture and wall - decorations of the sam e period .

Characteristic,again

,is the pleasing interspersion of naturalistic

flowers and fru its . Sprays,garlands and festoons fill up every empty

80 SECTION I I I .

Space and illustrate the spirit of the craftsm en of the period in an

eminent degree (see Fig .

What would the art - smith of the 1 2 th century have said couldhe have seen such a specim en of work as thi s ! Then again

,and these

are very characteristic,meandering

,interwoven

,wavy

,and similar

borderings on a small scale are introduced in the winding outlinesof the general ornam ent

,and thu s apparently played about the same

part as the balls and rings u sed in the boroque (see Fig . But

these things belong to a comparatively speaking,later date . They

are either of the Lou i s XV I style,or link it with the rococo .

Thehighest development and luxuriance in point of techniqu e

,the aban

donment of architectural and constructive ru les,in favou r of arbitrary

,

exuberant decoration and a gradual giving up of the smaller kinds of

work in the service of architecture,form the characteristic features of

the rococo period .

6 . TH E LOUIS XV I AND E M P IRE STYLE S .

These two periods are condensed into one for the sake of sim

pl i c i ty. The rococo had reached the culminating - point : all had beendone that cou ld be done . The reaction was now in favour of sim

pl i c i ty, af a return to the older ways .’

Not much good came of it .The m ovement was not of original growth ; it was the result ofnecessity . Architecture fell back upon would be classical

,but Oft

times tediou s,styles

,and it was

,of course the sam e with art - smithi ng .

Antique vitruvian scrolls,interwoven and flowery borders were intro

duced into grilles . The foliage became stiff and small ; attenuatedlaurel garlands and wreaths with manifold bows and ribbons

,enframed

plain ellipti c shields . Grave - crosses and tavern signs became extrem elysober. From afar they look quite pretty and lead one to expectsomething satisfactory ; but , on nearer approach

,they are commonly

not worth the trouble of drawing . E verything continu ed to degeneratefrom the beginning of the reign of Loui s XV I until the P hilistinestand - point is reached which

,in general

,characterised the second quart er

of the present century .

Figure 7 4 shows a grave - cross dating from this period .

7 . THE P RE SE NT DAY .

The breaking out of the French revolution seems to have beena turning - point in the history of art ju st as it was in the hi storyof nations . The wave s of this m ighty movement carried away theprevalent styles as it reduced m any other things to mere ruins . I t

i s tru e that the revolution did not directly affect the majority of

races,but it materiall y broke down French influence

,or

,where that

remained,new roads

,nevertheless

,becam e opened up. The time of

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8 2 SECTION I II .

public to give such orders,though that stage may be attained in the

course of a few years .I f ‘we ask Whether modern smithing has already found a style

of its own,the question may undoubtedly be answered in the affir

Fig. Ornam ent by F . B rechenmacher of Frankfort on the Maine .

mat i ve,even although superficial appearances would seem to assert

the contrary . We are too closely surrounded by our present artproductions to be able to take so comprehensive and undisturbed aview as those presented by m ore distant ages . Let any one examinea good piece Of wrought - iron work of the present day and one of

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE ART OF SMITHING. 83

former times. Will he ever m istake one for the other if b e'

baseven a limi ted knowledge of the matter? Certainly not

,but why?

Firstly,because modern industry works with very different m eans ;

CARL S I EBZ A C? “wa s .”

Fi g. 76 . Portrait in Relief of the Grand Duke Frederick of Baden ,embossed in iron by Professor Rudolf Mayer of Karlsruhe .

machinery has altered and mul tiplied the tools ; the present ability toobtain rolled - iron in so many form s , the machine - made rivets

,knops

,

rosettes,&c . gives to contemporary smithing a modern imprint and

6 *

84 SECTION III .

leads t o different combinations and constructions . Secondly,its field

of employment has‘

m aterially altered and is in part entirely new .

Let u s,for instance

,consider lighting - apparatu s . In the place Of oil

lamps and candles,or

,at least concurrently with them ,

are foun dgas and electric - lighting . Now

,these newly introduced s ources of

l ight‘

requ ire supports of materially divergent character. Thirdly,

our vi ews'

as to style,and external form

,are different . Modern times

have often been branded as without style Simply because work isdone in all styles

,and all possi ble periods are drawn upon for models .

This revival of the variou s styles of former days , - this universal manysidedness

,this adapting of a m edley of styles to modern requirem ents

,

will alone suffice to set a peculiar stamp on the styl e‘

of to - day .

Two distinct ways are clearly recognisable as those by whichthe sm iths

’

art has reached its present state of efficiency. One of

these is found in the circumstance that from the plain railing andgrille work

,which

,until a few decades back

,answered all purely v

practical purposes,the rich and elegant door grilles and fan - lights

,

&c . now to'

be found were developed by a very gradual addition of

ornam ent . The other way was by directly imitating and copyingol d models . I t has become a fashion to copy as exactly as possible

,

retaining both their good and bad points,the known and recognised

obj ects which are stored up in our mu seum s,and to sell the same

to lovers of art and connoisseurs. This course,as compared wi th the

first,has many dangers

,nevertheless it mu st be recognised as serving

as a means to an end . I f the administrations of our mu seums,

schools,and associations of art and indu stry unite to raise the art

of sm ithing to she utm ost point of their power,they will be but

fulfilling_their duty and obligations . But the basis of all success

lies in the workshop and it i s deserving of the highest recognitionthat masters

,su ch as P u l s

,as Kr amm e in Berlin

,as M i l d e

,as

G i l l a r in Vienna and others made it their task already in early daysto restore sm ithing once more to i ts right position .

In 1 8 8 7 the Baden Ar t - Indu stry Association offered a prize forfinished smiths

’

work and collected the competing exhibits,together

with variou s things connected with the art in a Special exhibition .

About 6 0 exhibitors,hailing from all parts of Germany

,sent in over

3 0 0 obj ects made by them,and some of the work was of the highest

excellence . This exhibition was exceedingly interesting and exactlycalculated to afford a picture of what the modern smiths of Germanycould produce . The picture was most pleasing and proved clearlythat the efforts made on all sides to return to genu ine smithing andto restore the craft to its original and early state , were being crownedwith success . A new feature

,which is likely to have a future

,was

presented in the shape of articles made of embossed and forged d e l t am e t a l

,a kind of bronze of most beautiful colour .

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE ART OF SMITHING. 8 5

This i s not the place to discuss the exhibition in detail . Themost important articles were photographed and reproduced in phototype fOI

We illustrate this section of the historical developm ent of the

art of sm ithing with two of the objects from this exhibition

Modern,

German Art - Sm ithing in 7 parts , each with 6 plates inphototype at 5 m arks each . Biele feld’s library (Liebermann Karlsruhe .

Smiths’ work by of Frankfort on t 3 Maine .

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE ART OF SMITHING. 8 70

represented in autotype . One is an ornamental piece of detail,a

tendril by F . B r e che nm a che r of Frankfort (see Fig . Thisprize work shows extraordinary boldness in smithing and can , i n

controvert ibly,be ranked as high as any work of the last century.

The second object is (see Fig . 7 6) a profile - portra it in relief of the

Grand Duke Frederick of Baden . With this piece of work,which

was not for competition,P rofessor Ru d o l f M a y e r of Ka r l s ru h e

,

who chased it,showed what a high degree of artistic capability there

is in wrought - iron,and how much can be done with it by duly

skilled hands .

Since the first appearance of this book the sm ithing - art has not

been idle . B r e chenm a che r’

s laurels gave such an impetus that‘

good smith i ng I s now nearly everywhere actively cu ltivated . Thenumber of real art - sm iths has so increased in this short time thatthey cannot all be named here . The space available for i llu strationsi s,moreover, too lim i ted to permit of Showing specimens of all the

various kinds of objects for which wrought - iron is Suitable . Figures 7 7and 7 8 furnish examples which accident has placed at the author’sdi sposal

,

SE CTION IV .

THE PRINCIPAL FIE LDS OF ART SMITHING .

I . GRILLE W ORK AND B ALUSTRADE S .

As shown in the preceding section,the fields for the application

of wrought - iron appear under different periods and styles to havebeen subject to certain changes and vicissitudes . Among the obj ectswhich were alm ost without exception and in all times made of wroughtiron

,balu strades and closing grilles may be counted . This at least

holds good from the tim e of the m iddle - ages up to the present day .

The antiqu e,however

,seems to have made no use of wrought - iron

railings,inasmuch as no .

reference is made to them by old writersand no specimens have cOme down to us. Where railings are depictedon vases or on scu lpture they are -

of su ch a nature as to exclude theidea of wrought - iron having been the m aterial employed .

From the early middle - ages we find,on the contrary

,that wrought

iron grilles or railings were introduced,at first

,as was natural

,in

simple and inartistic form,windows and other orifices for light were

small and often consi sted Of Ioop - holes only,so that grilles could

under no circumstances assum e.

large dimensions . The fin i shi ng- Off

of parapets,balconies and su ch - like was executed in massive stone

work,so that in these again wrought - iron could play no part. Then

again,for doors and gate - ways grille work hardly even entered into

consideration,as the times demanded them to be closed with heavy

wooden folds studded with iron for defensive purposes . The firstattempts at artistic grille work are probably to be found in fire

screens and articles of furniture of a similar nature . Already inFig . 4 2 su ch a screen is shown . I t is wrought out of the piece anddates

,to all appearances

,from the 1 3 th century.

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90 SECTION IV.

de - lis (see F ig. 80 and Square - iron was alm ost invar i ably used .

The ornamental parts were mostly made of thinner flat - iron . Thevertical bars plac ed anglewise

,passed through holes either punched

or chiselled in the cross ra

I n the late - Gothic period another style of gri lle is found , inaddition to the above . As in carving

,geom etri c patterns were pro

duced in flat iron which recall thewall - pai nting and textile art ofthe same period

,and for the most

part worked out evenly without anyspecial right way up. This formof grille work is very effective

,

requ ires only simple work and isespecially su ited for large pieces .

The task of finishing the topof a grille of this kind is far m oredifficult than in the first - namedkind

,in which every vertical bar

Fi g . 81 . Cresting of grille in the had its free end. AS a rule,only

Cathedral, Top louse . the main bars of such even surfaced1 0m cent From “ Onet ' l e‘Duc geometric grilles

,which divide them

into reg i ons , finish in lilies or other flowers , 640 . An independent crestinghaving no connec tion with the other parts was sometimes placed over

Fi g. 82 . Geometrical design s of grilles.

a . Chapel screen in the Cathedral at Perugia .

b . From the Campo Santo at Santa Croce , Florence .

the geometric areas . Fig . 82 Shows two geometric railings of this kind,the basis being in both the quatre foil .

The employment of grille work increased further during therenaissance , and this not only in churches but al so in private hom esand in public bu ildings , such as Townhal l s , E xchanges , 860 . Low

THE PRINCIPAL FIELDS or ART SMITHING. 9 1

balustrades are also to be found along with the high grilles. Staircases and fl ights of steps as al so the approaches to chancels and platforms , offered welcome Opportunities for the use of balustrades. Orielsand alcoves were often divided off from the princi pal appartment bygrilles . The wi ndow - Openings and fan - lights were richly grilled.

Square and angled iron became replaced by preference wi thround iron. In order to avoid needless repetition , the reader i sreferred back to what is saidin sect i on 3 with regard to theremaining changes in styles andperiods of work .

Rena issance grille workmay be classed under threegroups. First the early styleof grille formed of bars wasreta ined, together with the sam ekind but with added ornament,and such modifications as thenew style demanded. Fig . 83

gives two examples of this class .The one on the left still exhi bi ts Gothic reminiscences, al

though it belongs,both in respect

of time and in i ts foliage , tothe renaissance .

The sec ond group consistsof the further development of

geom etrical tracery, carried outin the flat. I n combinationwith the predom inant quatrefoil designs of the Gothic pe riodare to be found numerous othervarietie s

,such as the diagonal

trellis in which paral lel ba rscross each other obliquely.

Varieties belonging tothe second

Fig . 83 . Renaissance grilles .

group are shown In F1 83 84 a . Grille closing a chapel in Freiburgand 8 5

,the last being taken cathedral , Bad . End of 1 6

'6h cent.

from the author’

s “Manual of b . From St . Mary’

s church , Dantzig.

Ornamentation”

.

Beginning of 1 7 th cent .

The third group compri ses the P a n e l s consisting of frameworkfilled in regularly with some Specific pattern . Inasmuch as theserarely oc cur in the styles of the middle - ages they may be countedas belonging to the innovations introduced under the renaissance . Theform of the fil ling is of cour se governed by the position it is to

9 2. SECTION IV .

fu lfil . Along with the vertical and horizontal rectangular fillingare to be found the square

,the circle

,the ellipse

,the stilted and

depressed arch,the semicircle and the lozenge which for the most part

form the basis of the pattern. The right angle,square

,circle and

ellipse are principally u sed in door a nd wi ndow fil lings,while the

stilted and depressed arches,and the sem icircle

,are adapted to fan

lights . Lozenge - shaped panellings and those with irregu lar anglesare found almost only in staircase - balustrades

,where the slanting

position following the steps necessitates such change of f orm . Besidesthese

,

are occasionally. to befound all sorts of arbitraryform s

,of which the regu lar

and irregular polygons andthe Spandrel form s are entitledto Special menti on .

Two principal f eaturesserve to form a basis forthe classification of panellings .The designmay Show a distincttop and a bottom end

,when

it i s Simply symm etrical . Oragain

,the ornament may be

developed from the centre inall directions in equal proport ions

,when i t is b i - sym

metrical or repeating . I n thefirst casewehave an u p r ight ,and i n the last a c e n t r a lfilling . The m iddle of acentral filling is not un

commonly distinguished bya rosette . Little divergenciesfrom absolute symmetry andperfect regularity often occurso far as to affect detail

Fi g. 84 . Repeating designs for wrought- iron only without disturbing thepanels . I If t f th h l

a . At Santa Maria sopra Minerva , Rom e .

r egu

lzr O

S

(

42116

8b . From Venice .

c . At the Ospedale Maggiore , Milan .

natural hues whl ch governthe ornament are the d i a

g o n a l,vertical and horizontal lines . The square

‘

thu s divides into8 equal tri angul ar spaces fil led with the ornament . Fig . 8 6 showssome square panels with ornam ent belonging to the renaissance period .

Inasmuch as the c i r c l e presents no ready lines of subdivision ,the fil l i ng

- i n is u sually by radial l ines dividing it into any number

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9 4 SECTION IV .

of equal parts . The comm onest subdivision is into three,four

,si x

and eight (see Fig . 8 7,b) . Sometim es the circular panel is filled wholly

with an upright,symmetrical design (8 7, a) .

E l l i p t i c a l window - Openings,sometimes erroneously cal led o v a l

,

appear sometimes with upright and som etim es with horizontal axes.

The large and small axes suggest the natural lin es whereby thee llipses can be divided into four equal parts (see F i g.

I t is the same with panels which have som ewhat the same form

Fi g. 86 . Square panels in wrought - iron .

a . and b . French Renaissance . c . and d . German Renaissance .

as an ellipse with elliptical ends and with or without parallel sides

(see Fig .

The s t i l t e d and the d e p r e s s e d a r c h e s and the s em i c i r c l e ,which are u sed in fan - lights

,are som etimes filled in with an upright

,

symmetrical ornament,or

,and this is specially the case with sem i

circles,with many radial subdivisions

,but in su ch cases

,in order to

avoid the inelegant meeting of the radial bars at one centre, a smalleropen semicircle

,or one which is ornam ented independently , i s intro

duced . I t also happens occasionally that the sem icircle i s divided i n

to separate zones,each one of which i s treated as a band Of ornament

THE PRINCIPAL FIELDS OF ART SMITHING. 9 5

in itself.Fig

. 9 0 shows a depressed arch ; Fig . 9 2 represents two stiltedarches and Figures 9 1 , 9 3 and 9 4 are specimens of sem icircular fillings .

D i am o n d or L o z e n g e shapes are less often u sed as a panel

because this shape of

window - Opening so rarelyoccurs in architecture . Theyare more often to be foundin joiners - work and doors .The ornamentation is eitherdiagonal from a centralpoint

,or it is symmetric

and vertical . I t is notuncomm on in grille workformed by the crossing ofdiagonal bars

,to find the

logenze- shaped subdivisions

filled in,in order to pro

duce more variety in whatwould otherwise present amonotonous appearance .

When the distribution i s

judicious a good effect i sproduced . Fi g. 9 5 showssom e specim ens of lozengeshapes filled in .

Sim ilar in treatm ent tothe lozenges

,which are

nearly always placed withthe axes vertical and seldomhorizontal are the squaresplaced on the angle . Theornamentation is almost i nvariably from the centre

(see Fi g.

In R e gu l a r p o l yg o n s the angles and thecentre points suggest points

0 O b .

ofdeparture for l l nespassmgF

'

87 C'

1 1 G Rlg . Ircu ar pane erman ena I ssance .through the centre and 611a . Saint Savi our i s , Prague .

vi di ng them into equal b . From an Augsburg house . 1 550 .

Spaces,a radial arrange

ment again being most effective (see Fi g.

The R e c t a n gu l a r is by far the most frequently used form of

frame - work , as will be readily understood . This is used,both vert i

cally and horizontally , according to whether the wings of the design

9 6 SECTION IV.

Fig . 88 . E lliptical Panels .

a.From Pisa , Via S. Martino . b . From Verona . c . From Venice .

Fi g. 89 .Wrought- iron Panels from Venice . Italian Renaissance .

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Fig. 9 1 Fan - light. German Renaissance .

‘

Fi g. 92 . Fan- lights .

“

a . Venice . b . Innsbruck.

Fig. 93 . Fan - light. Italian Renaissance .

THE PRINCIPAL,FIELDS OF ,

ART SMITHING. 9 9

Fi g . 94 . Fan- light . Italian Renaissance .a. At S. Giovanni in Monte , Bologna. l b . At Sta . Maria Form osa, Venice .

c . At v i a Garibaldi , Perugia . d . At . S. Antonio , Pisa .

1 0 0

Lozenge P anels .

Renaissance .a . and b . In the Town Hall ,W i i rzburg. c . From Rom e .

Fig. 96 . Quadrate Panel , from the Campo Santo , Bologna .

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Fi g. 99 . Upri ght rectangular Renai ssance P anel s. a . From the Abbey ofStrahow,

‘P rague . b .e - In the Church of St . Blasius , Muhlhausen in Thuringia ,m i d 1 7 th century . 0 . From Padua .

1 00 . Staircase Panels . a . and b . From the house Zum alt enburg Frankfort on the Maine . l 6th century . c. and d. From the Cathedral

of Thann in Alsace . 1 6th century .

SECTION IV .

already shows a very finely designed and executed grille which:presents the same kind of variation . I t represents the celebratedrailings round the monument to the Emperor Maxim ili an in theFranciscan Church at Innsbru ck and shows among other things what

Fi g. 1 02 . Cresting to the Augustus Fountain , Augsburg.

effects may be produced by rhythm and contrast , inasmuch as theSpaces with geom etrical ornam ent alternate with those i n whichorganic plant orm s predom inate . The sam e exampl e also Shows how

such grilles may finish i n

crestings or terminals . Thereader will not have failedto notice that various detailsforming parts of this gloriou sSpecim en of wrought - ironwork have been used i n

preceding illu strations .Fig . 1 0 2 shows part of

the cres ting to the Augustu sFountain at Augsburg . The

grille work and balu stradesof the baroque have beendi scussed in the third sectionin connexion with changes instyle . As the smiths

’

art of

this period was exercisedprincipally in the service of

princely courts,grilles and

Fi g. 1 03 . Side - sections of window- railings gate s for gardens and parksat Verona .

take the leading position .

Church exteriors and interiors also present specimens of magnificentgrilles , In the architecture of palaces and the residences of thewealthy

,balconies are next in importance

,and the window grilles

,

which now take peculiar form s . These window grille s are often bowed

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Fi g . 1 05 .Baroque panels . a . From a gate finished in Oxford in 1 7 1 3 .

b .Froi n a house in Freiburg, Switzerland. 0 . From Vienna . d . From Padua .

THE PRINCIPAL FIELDS OF ART SMITHING. 1 0 7

namely : that, as a rule , they were not built up of several ,

equallylarge panels forming a whole ; but of small panels alternating withl arge

,narrow with broad

,plain with r ich ones, &c . The crestings

belonging to'

them are not often materially distinct from those previ ous ly in use (see Fig. 1 0 8 and

A fashion of grille,a part Of whose design was made up of

r ods intersecting each other at right angles,so as to leave empty

rectangular spaces of different sizes,whilst the remainder was composed

o f scrolls,rosettes

,&c .

,must have appeared a new departure . Fig . 9 8

i llustrates this style .Finally

,the designs Shown in Fig . 1 1 2 represent several baroqu e

panels in the then prevalent taste .Straight lines and pronounced structural features disappeared during

the transition from the baroque to the rococo period and made way

Fig. 1 06 . Baroque Panel .

for frames of scrolls and flourishes . Thi s,indicates at the same time

that panel work formed the principal feature in railings,grilles and

balustrades . Bars were necessari ly retained for park railings and otherlarge enclosures

,but these were combined with the arrangem ents and

distribution pecu liar to the baroque,to su it which the deta ils of the

pilaster,cresting

,&c . were equal ly modified .

Symmetrical designs were gradually discarded in,

favour of

a symmetrical,this was the case even with fan - lights and window Open

ings where such an arrangement was hardly tolerable .In Figures and 1 1 5 three panels are shown which

belong partly to the transition from the baroqu e to the rococo,and

partly to the latter. Fi g. 7 0 also represents an example belongingto this period.

As far as regards the grille work of the present age,'

i t'

consists

1 0 8

partly~

of more or less direct copies of spec imenS'

of earlier styles,and

partly thi s applies principally to work of a plainer kind of desi gnsof specifically moderncharacter. ‘ In the latterthe work clearly showsthe endeavour to produ cea

' good and rich effectwith the least possibleexpenditure of tim e andm oney . The set - squareand compass play t-he chi efpart in the drafting of

design s,and strip and

sheet - iron are frequently the

5’

only materials u sed in the

g execution . The principalfields for the employmentof modern gates and grillesare garden and tomb rails

,

is rectangular door - panel s

5 and fan - lights,balconies

,

g window - grilles and stair

23° rails . The wrought ironbaluster - rai ls

,which foll ow

g, each other in regular order,

qand support and j oin the

CS steps with the hand - rail,

re call the time when ironP : casting was in the aseen"f

‘deney. Ti mid attempts arealso occasionally made tointroduce grille work intofurniture . Su ch experiments

go hand- i n - hand with the

prevalent fashion,in room s

,

alcoves,antechambers

,bay

Windows,&c .

,which a im

at reproducing the so - calledOld germ

'

an style . The

Space to which this manualmu st be confined does notadm it of illustrating all inthis connexion .

Fig. 1 1 6 to 1 2 1 , however , give some idea of the direction of

the modern art .

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o n s s dofibwi m,F —l -l —T

— l

Fi g. 1 1 0 . Cresting to the Hercules Fountain at Augsburg .

Fi g. 1 1 1 . Window grille , St George’s church , Halle on the Saale . 1 744.

THE PRINCIPAL FIELDSOF"

ART SMITHING. 1 1 1

2 . DOORS AND'

GATE S .

Setti ng aside the qu estion of wooden doors embellished lwi thiron - work

,which

,can be better dealt with in the next chapter , and

Fi g. 1 1 2 .Patterns of Baroque grilles . a

‘

. San Mart i no , Pisa . b . and c . Venice .

treating only of open- work iron doors and gateways ; the m iddle

ages present little for ’

consi derat i on , inasmuch as wooden doors were

Fi g. 1 1 3 . Fan - light grille to a house in Como .

Fi g. 1 1 4 . Fan - light from Innsbruck.

Fig. 1 1 5 . Rococo panel from Schoenenberg ,near Zurich .

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1 1 4'

SECTION? Iv:

principal ly u sed at that period . Where iron gates are found in chapel,

grave,and similar enclosures

,the style i s generally simple in character.

A part of the fixed grille of vertical bars is bound together and

revolves wi th the aid of pins sockets . Where grill es are firmedof mul ti tudinou s repeating geometric ornaments a sufficient portion issecurely fastened togethe r

’

and)

ut il i sed as” the gate. While vertical

F i g. 1 1 8 . Modern tomb - railing , by Professor Th . Krauth , Karlsruhe .8 *

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1 1 8 SECTION IV.

bars are carried through and thus form their own crestings it is not

necessary in the other class of gri ll es to make the gate of the entireheight . When carried up to the ful l height , however, the gate wassurmounted with a cresti ng of special ornam ental character

,or else

the crest-ing is fixed to a hori zontal bar form ing a lin tel so that i tdoes not move with the gate .

Independent iron gates werenot u sed commonl y until the

renaissance . This applies as muchto the bar as to the geometricdesigns . Independent rectangul arfill ings are best adapted for theornam entati on of doors . A fram estrong enough to prevent any sagging is filled with the grille workand hung on pivots or hinges andcan be m ade fast by means

.of

buttons,latches bolts or locks .

Where the door is not i ndependent

,as for instance when it form s

part of a chancel - grille,and where

it i s incorporated in larger works,

the ornam entation of the gate i sgenerally in the sam e taste as therest of the design

,but made richer

in order to distingu ish it somewhat from the mass . This appliesmore particu larly to crestings andis especially appropriate wherethe door is central and dominatesthe wings (see Fig .

When the door filling presentslines whi ch are not in accordwith the general design

,they are

frequently constru ctional and are

Fi g. 1 2 1 . Modern Grilles .

required to counteract the tensiona . and b . By F .Ki efhab er , Magdeburg. and to prevent the door from

0 From Venice . sagging through i ts own weight .The li ne of stress run s diagonally

from the lower hinge or angle to‘

the Opposite top angle. In doubledoors the two diagonal ties constitute a symm etrical figure . As thi si s not the case with single doors symm etry is usually restored byaddi tions that are not actually needed

,the simplest taking the form

of the St . Andrew’

s cross . The sagging of heavy doors is m ost easilyprevented by means of a roll er fixed beneath the free end of the door

,

THE.PRI

NCIPAL FIELDS .OF ART SMITHING.

and running on a rail . Double doors requ ire stops,unless they close

in a complete frame,either a vertical fixed m iddle bar

,or since this

1 2 0 SECTION IV:

wou ld usuall y be in the way,an iron stop rising sli ghtly above the

ground (the bottom end of a m iddle bar) or a sill,against which at

l east the bottom of the door may stop . Where the leaves do notc lose on each other they cannot be secured by ordinary fastenings (atleast not by ordi nary locks) . These remarks do not apply to renaissancewi cket - gates hung in larger doors or gates

,to doors of furniture

,

reliquaries and shrines,&c .

,becau se these were of too insignificant a

weight to m ake stops requi site .

F ig. 1 23 . Tabernacle door from the Minster, Villi ngen .

The bu lky locks of the renaissance sometimes produ ced verydisturbing effects in open ironwork grilles

,especially when the doors

were single . In order to rem edy this drawback as much as possiblea broad

,horizontal connecting - band was frequently introdu ced at the

height of the lock,and such band bore not only the look

,but also a

door - knob,or ring . (Compare the two chancel doors , Fig . 1 23 and

This cross - band divided the doo r into two separate panels,just

as large doors are often divided into a number of panels (see Fig .

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Fig . 1 25 . Gate to the Silver Chapel , Franciscan Church , Innsbruck.

Fi g. 1 26 . Gate , 1 75 1 . Art - Industry Museum , Leipzig .

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2 —6 sscr i ioN’

IV.!

stays'

. It i s only qu ite rec ently tha t“

one occasionally finds richerornamental gates m and public in the larger

‘

Fi g. 1 29 . Modern gate , designed by Peter Sipf, Frankfort on the M

These are'

i‘

fi'

part

THE PRINCIPAL FIELDS OF ART SMITHING.

0

At Fig. 7 7 i s represented a ; specimen . of a gate tOp, and threeother examples which are available either for gate s or for balustrades

,

are represented”

in Fig .

“ 1 30, and

1 2 8 SECTION IV .

3 . MOUNT I NGS .

Wrought - i ron m ountings are principally u sed for doors,windows

and furniture . These were u sed most lavishly in the m iddle - ages and

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SECTION IV.

the renaissance period so that,on the average

,som ewhere about one

tenth part of the wood work was covered . From that tim e mountingsbecam e gradual ly redu ced in quantity ; they continued to lose in importance until by the time the rococo was reached only about 1

[2 5 0 th,and later a still smaller fraction of the wooden sur face was coveredby them . Moreover

,brass and bronze entered into formidable com

petition with'

wrought - iron for mountings . I t is only in the lastdecade that wrought - iron has resumed its post of honour in thi srespect

,although it cannot be pretended that the demand for it

,as

yet,stands on anything like an equal footing with that of either the

mediaeval or the renaissance eras . From what has been said it isevi dent that our attention must be mainl y directed to such form erperiods .

Directing our m inds in the first place to D o o r fu r n i tu r e wecome across various kinds of S t r a p - h i n g e s

,D o o r - r i n g s

,and

D o o r - k n o c k e r s,as well as L o c k s . As the next chapter is devoted

to the last - named,only the form er will be treated of here .

Wooden doors were made out of grooved and tongued narrowboards during the Romanesqu e and Gothic periods . The hingesgenerally covered the whole surface of the door ; these served partlyto bind the wood - work firmly together and partly to form the con

nexi on wi th the pivots on which the doors turned . These last - men

t i oned hinges generally stretched across the door and are called S t r aph i n g e s owing to their long

,narrow form . If another band of iron

is run perpendicul arly over the other and either rivetted or screwedon at the crossing - point

,frequ ently embellished

,with a rosette the

Cr o s s b a n d is produ ced . Bands to strengthen the door - corners atright angles are call ed A n g l e b a n d s

,&c .

These hinges and mounts served two purposes ; both to strengthenthe door

,and to ornam ent it ; the m ore necessary since the wood

work presented in itself bu t little scope for embell ishm ent . Doorswere consequ ently sometimes enti rely covered wi th open - work ironplates

,good effects being produced in such cases by judiciously placing

the nails,by clever Spacing and by embossing or app li queis . These effects

were enhanced,particu larly when painted or heightened with a back

ground,such as cloth or leather .

As,during the renaissance

,fiat grooved and tongued wood - work

gave place to mortised,

or in other words,the renaissance door s

consisted of a wooden fram e -work filled with panels,hinges could no

longer cover the whole surface of the door. This was also no longernecessary from the decorati ve point of vi ew

,since the panels were

made ornamental by marqueterie or inlay. The development of the

hinge had to be confined to the narrow frame - work and became

broader than long . The Bu t t or H i n g e,as this form is called ,

was often ornamented by fretting and lining by carving and

Fig . 1 33 . Door hinges .

1 32 SECTION IV.

chi sel l i ng , embossing from the back or chasing particul ar parts,engra

ving,etching

,&c . The butts or the pivots were also frequ ently

Fig. 1 34 . Door hi nges , Liege Cathedral . 1 3th century

ornamented as they became of more importance owing to the narrowing

of the Wings or straps of the hinge .

A discussion of the details of form and style may ju stly beom itted as these have already been referred to in Section I I I . Fig . 1 33

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¢ o o$$ 7

Fig. Window fastenings of the m iddle - ages , after V i ol let - le-Duc .

Fi g. 1 40 . Renaissance hinges &c .

Fi g. 1 41 . Chests , of the m iddle - ages, after Vi ol l et -

‘

l e -Duc .

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1 38 SECTION IV .

often made to take the first placeand is therefore turned into elegantOpen - work with a back - gr ound .

As regards W i n d o w fa s t e ni n g s the interest i s centered morein the mechanical execution thanin artistic finish . The woodenwindow - frame i s too narrow to

allow of an unhindered spreadingou t of the ornam ent . Butt andother hinges were therefore u sedin order to secure the windowsto the fram e ; angled - strips strengthened the corners

,while turn

buckles,bolts

,latches

,catches

,

espagnolettes and other contrivancesserved for opening and shuttingthe windows . Fig . 1 39 shows afew specim ens of m ediaeval windowfurniture from Vi ol let lo Duc ;

while Fig . 1 40 represents othersof the renaissance .Fittings were much u sed i n

furniture . In addition to the hinges ,locks

,lood and knob - handles

,

other objects were added thatserved no practical purpose but

that of ornament . P resses andchests were especially subjects forrich ornamentation

,and

,in these

again,the greatest wealth of deco

ration is found i n the middleages and the transition to therenai ssance . The style of decoration is shown in Fig . 1 4 1 and1 4 2 which represent respectivelytwo chests and a l inen press .These ornam ents

,especial ly in

the later period,were frequently

tinned in order to give a morebrilliant appearance and to preservethem from ru st. In the baroqueand rococo periods the hinges

,lock

plates,the plates beneath the hand

les,850 . were cut out of thin sheets

THE PRINCIPAL FIELDS OF ART SMITHING. 1 390

and richly embossed . They assumed the charact er of stamped work,

whi ch certainly produced an opul ent , sumptuous character, but didnot equal the solidity and beauty of the more substantial works of

the earlier period (see Fig .

4 . LOCKS AND KE YS .

That not only the Greeks and Romans,but also the

E gyptians understood theu se of locks

,is evidenced

by among other things,the

di scovery of keys and of partsof locks . These mechanisms

,

however,were relatively

simple and very different fromthose now in use . As theyonly have an archaeologicalinterest those who desire tolook more closely into thequestion are referred to

Special works on the sub

j ect , among which E r n s tNot l i ng

’

s“Studies concern

ing old Roman door andtrunk locks (published byJ . Schneider

,Mannheim 1 8 7 0)

must be specially named .

The mediaeval and re

naissance periods were veryinventive with regard tocunning and complicatedlock - construction

,though the

t rouble devoted thereto didnot always coincide withthe degree of se curity actua lly attained . Certain it isthat the present day pro

Fi g. 1 44 . Mediaeval locks .

duces far greater “95 11 1135 a . Beginning of 1 5 th century . At Sigm aringen .

wi th much simpler means . b . 1 3th century . (Aft er V i oll et - l e-Duc . )But

,on the other hand

,

these earlier periods showed artistic effects with locks and keys which,

generally speaking,we seek in vain at the present day. The main

feature has,in modern times

,been transferred from the artistic to

the essentially practical side .It would lead us too far were all the different constructions of

1 40 SECTION IV.

earlier locks to be described. A few remarks must suffice . E ven inearly times a sort of padlock was in use

,which had ‘a moveabl e hasp

,

which hooked into the trunk - lock and into which the bolt or catchwas shot . Sometimes the method was reversed

,so that one end of

the hasp was attached to a bolt,while the other entered the lock and

was secured (see Fig . 1 44 ,b) . In the latter form it could also be

u sed as a door - lock while the ordinary form was only suited to

chests and trunks . The external change of form to which this kindof lock was subj ected by suppressing the hasp and causing the boltto shoot into a separate bolt or box S t a p l e can be recognised bycomparing the two specimens shown in Fig . 1 4 5 . Locks made i nthe manner Shown at b are call ed B o x or Ca s e - l o c k s

,becau se the

mechanism i s concealed in a case ; this distingu ishes them from the

Fig. 1 45 . a . Chest- lock , 1 5 th century . In the Bavarian Nat ional Museum ,

Munich . b . 1 3th century- lock, Angers (V i ol let - le -Duc) .

Op e n Sp r i n g,Ca t c h or Sn a p - l o c k s

,the work of which is ex

posed (See Fig . I f the lock - case is enlarged in such manne ras to cover the staple (and thu s prevent the bolt from being pu shedback

,the possibility of which is also done away with by a box staple)

a complete r i m l o c k is the result. The m ore ancient locks closeby m eans of a so - called Sp r ing or Sh o o t i n g - b o l t

,i . e. the bolt is

pressed forward by a Spring and the turning of the key is necessaryto unbolt the lock and to Open the door

‘

or lid . These locks arecalled German locks in order to distinguish them from the F r e n c hTum b l e r loc k (invented by Freitag at Gera in the kind now

in universal use for hou se - doors . A complete door - lock is made upof a l a t c h

,B o l t and a Ni g h t - l a t c h . A bolt is called d o rm a n t

when it is shot out of the catch by a turn of the lever ; it i s called

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1 42 SECTION IV.

a Sp r i n g - b o l t when it is pu shed backwards and forwards horizontallyby the pressure of a spring

,like an ordinary bolt

.The motion is

given by a latch,or bar

,lever

,or knob - handle

.

A bolt is single or double - turned according as to whether ithas one or two - front wards . (Front - wards are the places cut out

of the bolt which the key must catch into in order to effect theleverage .) A lock may be made to Open from both sides or fromone side only. In order to secure the bolt when it is shot h om eTum b l e r s are u sed . These are checks or catches fitting into thebolt and lifted out of the same by the action of the key.

F ig . 1 47 . Mediaeval escutcheons.

a . From Cologne . b . From Prague . 0 . to e . 1 4 th and i 5 th century .

The N i ght - b o l t can only be set in motion from one side . A

protruding knob can be pushed backwards and forwar ds by the hand,

or the motion is produ ced by turning a knob &c .,

As m odern locks,of which there are many varieties (such as com

bination trigger Brahma Chubb - locks,

are generally devoidof ornam ent the discussion m ay be confined to the external partsconnected with the construction of ancient looks,

The next point to consider is that affecting K ey- p l a t e s or

E s cu t c h e o n s . These conceal the places where the woodwork is cut

away in order to make room for the key and they also in certa incases (sunk locks) serve for the l ever - pin of the bolt ; they are oftenmade the subjects of much ornamentation (see Fig . 1 4 7 and

THE PRINCIPAL FIELDS OF ART SMITHING. 1 43

Besides the cartouche and foliage it is not uncommon to find figureand grotesque designs

,as

,for instance

,the form s of armoured

knights,&c .

,serving as key - plates .

Al most all the latches in the older door - locks took the form ofa sort of door - handle ; they were also often ornam ented , although suchembellishm ents did not

,as a rul e

,make their use more easy

,so that

the modern,plain

,unornam ented door - handles are certainly far more

Fi 1 48 . Renaissance escutcheons .

a . and b . In the collection of antiquities a t Stuttgart . c . In theNational Museum , Munich .

convenient. Fig . 1 49 shows an ornam ented door - handle of the timeof the renaissance .

The L o c k - c a s e is,in its simplest form

,prismatically quadrangular

and is made up of the lock - plate and sides . These last - nam edform the R i m and the one in the front

,through which the bolt

is shot is called the F r o n t - s t i l e . The case may also be made inthe form of a very low truncated pyramid as is shown in the locksillu strated by Fig . 1 4 5 . In richer lock - work the rectangular case isreplaced by curved form s (see Fig . This figure shows at the

1 4 4 SECTION IV .

Fi g. 1 49 . Door - handle and key pl ate

at the Industrial Hall , Wertheimon the Main e .

Fig . 1 50 . Ornamental cases to old German locks .

same tim e pretty clearly how'

these lock plates were ornamented .

E tching,

”

engraving,part gilding

and also Open - work were resorted to.

In Op e n l o ck s the visible partsof the works are the ones whichare often ornamented . The sameapplies to P u z z l e - l o c k s and E scu t c h e o n l o c k s

,secret escutch

eons being often added in orderthat only the initiated may beable to insert the key. Fig . 1 5 1

represents a modern,Open lock

constru cted in the style Of oldGerman locks

,the mechanism being

shown in the illustration . (Compare this with Fig .

The K ey itself has still to bem entioned . This

,so far at least

as ornamental specimens are concerned

,consists of 4 parts

,viz .

the B o w,the B o s s

,the B a r r e l

and the B i t (see Fig . TheB ow

,i . e. the handle

,som etimes

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1 4 6 SE CTION IV.

mostly round in section, but Specim ens with triangular or quadrate or

stellate sections,850 . are also found .

Fi g. 1 52 . Key , 1 7 thcentury .

Cylindrically hollow keys are describedas b o r e d ; if the section of the barrelshows any other form they are calledfa n c y. Such barrels

,which are not

easy to make,were much in vogu e

during the middle - ages and the renaissance . Solid barrels or stem s areextended beyond the bit in order tofacilitate their insertion into the keyhole

,whereas hollow - barrelled keys pass

over the drill - pin of the l ock . TheB i t generally appears quadrate (seenfrom the front) , whereas it may showdifferent shapes when looked at from

above,bearing resemblances to numerals

,

letters,&c . Where the lock counta i ns so

called w ar d s the bit has so - called w a r d s,

and gu a r d s,and s t e p s

,or a combination

of these . (Fig . 1 5 3,a. has only wards

,the

others showing combinations of wards andsteps .) Those shown here and previou slyin Fig . 5 0 will doubtless suffice to givean idea of the characteristics of keys fromthe artistic point of view . The enormou skeys u sed to show the calling of the gu ildand the beakers made in key - form may bementioned before qu itting the subject.

a GARGOYL E &B RACKE TS AND HANG ING SIGNS .

As is wel l known,it was form erly the

practice to allow the rain - water collectingin the gu tters of the roof to dischargei tself through gargoyles directly into thestreet instead of carrying it down to theground by means of pipes

,as is now the

case . These gargoyles projected over thestreet . I t i s less the aim to discuss these

water - spouts which , taking the form s of dolphins,masks

,850 . were

mostly made of sheet - iron,than to discuss the wrought - iron bearers

and stays which supported them . These bearers were mostly plain ,rod - like props or stays

,but often they were richly ornamented ,

THE PRINCIPAL FIELDS OF ART SMITHING. 1 47

the lines of stress commonly governing those of the ornamentFig . 1 5 4 shows such an ornamentation .

Fi g. 1 53 . Renaissance keys .

Wrought - iron brackets were u sed forthe most varied of purposes . They genera lly served as bearers

,the object to be

supported being either placed upon thefree end or hung from it

,the other end

of the bracket being fixed to the wall insuch wi se that it was either rigid or elseworked on pivots .

I n the mediaeval age large bracketswere often put up in the churches to r e

m ove the covers of baptismal font s . Thesecovers were either raised by m eans of achain running through a pulley

,or else

m oved aside by m eans of a swingingbracket . A portion of one of these bracketshas already been Shown in Fig . 49 .

At this same period brackets alreadyserved as candle - sticks (see Fig .

The idea of bracket - lights retains its i nfluence to the present day. Fig . 1 5 6 pres ents an example in the Italian late - Renaissance style

,while Fig . 1 5 7 shows us a

handsom e modern gas - bracket .Details of a staylat e Renaissance .

1 0*

.SECTION IV.

The bracket was al so f requently u sed in early tim es as the bearerof g u i l d and t r a d e - s i g n s . L ocksmiths

“

were particul arly given toshow their cal l i ng by hanging out a key

,as may be seen in Fig . 1 5 8 .

The like idea was adopted for inns and taverns,the signs being

sometim es painted and som etim es executed in relief in wrought - iron,

according to the nature of the design . Fig . 1 5 9 and 1 6 0 Show such

1 55 . Gothic candl e - bracket . E nd of l 7 i:hcent .Germanic Museum ,

Nuremberg.

Fi g. 1 56 . Gilt Light-bracket . Verona Cathedral .

tavern - signs . Wall - brackets generally take . the form of a console or

of a right - angled triangle . The first - m entioned form (see Fig . 1 6 3)is the m ore effective from an aesthetic point of view ; the last is themore constructive

,as the principal rod running out from the wall i s

supported by a stay set at an angle,thu s leaving a triangu lar Space

to be filled in with ornamentation (se e Fig . 1 6 1 andThe m ain arm is also frequ ently supported from above

,in which

case the triangle i s formed on the upper side . These supporting staysare ornamented sim ilarly to those of gargoyles .

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SE CTION IV .

bracket direct and crudely out of the w all a back -

platefi s generally

introdu ced to which the arm s are secured either in form of a flat bar fixedto the wall

,or a small cartouche is employed . Where the main iron of

the bracket is inserted into the wall a rosette may also serve to

remove the impression of bareness . When a bracket is used for gasor electric light a tube i s employed in order to supply the gas or

carry the wires .

THE PRINCIPAL FIELDS OF ART SMITHING. 1 5 1

6 . CANDE LABRAS ,CANDLE ST ICKS , CHANDE L IE RS ,

CORONAS AND LANTE RNS .

Wrought - iron was employed in very early times as a materialfor various illuminating - apparatus

,becau se like other m etals its i n

Fi g. 1 59 . Modern tavern Sign , Renaissance style , designed by DirectorC. Schick , Cassel .

combu stibility makes it specially suited to the purpose . The formand finish of the apparatus varied of course with the progress of

tim e as much as the method of lighting itself changed . Oi l or

1 5 2 SECTION IV .

lamplight, candle and torchlight, gas and electric light, each requ irespec 1fic and distinct arrangements . The m ore ancient appliances for

gIv mg l i ght stand in certain contrast to those of the present day,

which arises from the fact that the first often combined high artisticfinish with great imperfection from the practical point of view,

whereas- modern lighting - apparatus imm ensely surpasses the ancient

l n respect of techniqu e and utility,but does not , as a rul e , equal

them‘

in respect of art .

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1 5 4 SECTION IV .

I f the various lighting - appliances are classified,the followi ng

types wi l l appear distinct from each other,namely : the u p r i g h t

c a n d l e - s t i c k,which

,in larger si zes

,is also known as a s t a n d a r d

c a n d e l a b r a,the h a n d or p o r t a b l e c a n d l e s t i c k

,the b r a c k e t

l i g h t,the l a n t e r n s and h a n g i n g or su s p e n d e d l am p s , the

c o r o n a s and the m odern p e t r o l eum l am p s . Let these he discussedin their order.

The u p r i g h t or standing candlestick was the candle - holder of

THE PRINCIPAL FIELDS OF ART SMITHING.

the mediaeval and renaissance periods and is still that of moderntimes . The word i s derived from c a n d e l a a candle . The middleages gave the preference to conically - tapered prickets ; the presentage is more inclined towards cylindrical sockets in which the candle

1 65 . Modern Sign board, designed Carlsruhe .

is fixed . The candlestick generally consi ts of a base,a shaft and

nozzle . The first is often round and fiatt i sh,or else a tripod in the

style of the antiqu e candelabra feet,in order to secure greater firmness .

The nozzle at the top generally finishes off with a candle pan or platein order to catch the melted drops . I f this saucer is removable it i s

1 5 6 SECTION IV.

called a “ bobeche In standing candelabra the upper part spreadsou t into branches provided with candle - sockets . In . mediaeval timescomparatively high candelabra were not uncommon

,especially in

Fi g . 1 66 . Modern Sign board , designed by E . Crecelius .

churches (see Fig . The renaissance and baroque periods Showvery handsom e and rich specimens

,for instance that of the 1 7 th

century (Fig . E arlier ages also furnish us with models for

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Fi g. 1 69 . Three branched candelabrum ,Baroque .

Fi g. 1 68 . Candlestick in San Pedro , Tarrasa , Spain , 1 4th century .

Fi g. 1 70 .

Modern candlest ick ; by E . Puls,Berlin .

Fi g. 1 7 1 . Modern candelabrum ,

designed by Archit ect Zaar,executed by E . Puls , B erlin .

Fi g . 1 72 .

Renaissance candlestick . i 7 th century.

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Fi g. 1 76 . Modern candlestick,designed by the Author.

THE PRINCIPAL FIELDS OF ART SMITHING. 1 6 3

generall y broader than its height. The renaissance was much givento them and developed a great wealth of designs . Candl esticks in thestyle of Fig . 1 7 2 are frequently met with . The socket holding thecandle cou ld be moved Spirally up and down , according to the lengthof the candle . Invention was active at this period in devising ad

j ustable m echanism to su ch kinds of utensil s (see Fig . Som etimesan extingui sher was added

,as shown in two of the modern examples

shown in Fig . 1 7 4 and 1 7 6 . Wrought - iron portable candlestickshave of late come much into fashion and offer occasion for veryori ginal designs .

Wal l l i g h t s are,as the term implies

,lighting appliances which

are fixed to walls pilasters,columns

,&c . Sometimes they are secur ed

permanently,so as to be immoveable , at other times they are made

Fi g. 1 77 . Candle bracket, German Renaissance . National Museum ,

Munich .

moveable on a pivot or hinge . They may be made to hold one or

many lights . In arrangement and finish they are u sually Similarto the brackets . already discussed

,the branches being fitted with

prickets or sockets,or wi th the requisite burners

,according as to

whether they are to serve for candles,

oi l or gas,&c . Compare

Fig . 60,1 5 5

,1 5 6 and 1 5 7 . Fig . 1 7 7 shows a further specimen of

ordinary renaissance form,while Fig . 1 7 8 represents a modern swinging

bracket for one candle ornam ented wi th flowers and foliage .H a n g i n g l am p s and l a n t e r n s may be Open or closed , that is

glazed with glass . They are the outcom e of the necessity of havinga light which coul d not be upset

,which coul d be raised and lowered

and which coul d be protected against the influence of wind anddraughts . Hanging lamps and lanterns are specially su ited to openair uses

,corridors

,vestibul es

,stair cases and sim il ar spaces. They

c am e into u se in early times and are capable of being produced in

1 1 *

1 64 SECTION IV.

handsome , elegant design s without any difficulty. Owing to the greatimprovem ents made in glass manufacture of late years it has become

possible to produce ball - shaped and other form s of bent glass and

Fig. 1 78 . Modern candle bracket, designed by the Author.

thus,where so desired

,to dispense with the box - like shapes glazed

with sheet glass to which form er tim es were confined . Fig . 1 7 9

shows an Open Gothic lantern made to hold a number of candles,

while Fig . 1 8 0 depicts a closed modern lantern glazed with roundels .

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Fi g. 1 80 .\ Modern lantern , by Emil Hopst, Berli n .

THE PRINCIPAL FIELDS OF ART SMITHING. 1 67

l

to be well suited to iron - work,and has moreover brought wi th i t

many offences against style and good taste .

7 . W ASH STANDS AND FLOW E R STANDS .

The renaissance smith had evi dently the antique tripod in mindwhen he first attempted to design the three - legged w a s h s t a n d s .

Fi g. 1 81 . Wrought- iron Renaissance corona .

Such articles are often found on Italian,as well as on German soil

,

and they frequently Show great richness combined with excellentworkmanship . The frame - work is generally made of square iron

,

while the ornamental additions are of slighter bar - iron . In combination with this is often found a holder. for a water j ug ; and evena

_

pla ce for hanging towels . Fig . 1 8 5 shows a wrought - iron tripodof Italian origin dating from the 1 7 th century . This is already very

Fi g. 1 82. Modern Gasaliers . (Krauth and Meyer’s Work on locksm ithing.)

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CARL S l fi ttC?

1:

Modern chandelier, by H . Hammer, Carlsruhe .

Fi g . 1 87 . Modern flower stand,designed by the Author.

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mo ( whi m.

F i g. 1 90 . Modern hat and coat stand,designed by Prof. Th . Krauth .

THE PRINCIPAL FIELDS OF ART SMITHING.

a

rich in style and it must be adm itted that m ore simple designs‘generally give better outlines .

Su ch tripods have greatly come into fashion of late years ; they

Fi g. 1 9 1 .

Venetian "landier" . 1 5 77 .

Austrian Museum .

serve as wash stands,as stands for w i n e - c o o l e r s

,take the form of

fl o w e r s t a n d s,o c c a s i o n a l t a b l e s

,&c . P ainted porcelain plates

,

rich majolica ware,or m etal trays are u sed wi th them as card trays

,

and table - tops . Flower tables,on the other hand , are fitted with

Fi g. 1 92. Various crosses for towers and graves.

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Fi g. Grave cross designed by Prof. Krauth .

THE PRINCIPAL FIELDS OF . ART SMITHING. 1 7 9

pri ate to its purpo.

se it takes the form of a high table with a smalltop. Similar forms are employed for r e a d i n g - d e s k s

,only that in

such case the top is sloping instead of‘

flat .

Fig. 1 95 . Modern grave cross, designed by the Author.

This is the place to m ention the h a t and c o a t - s t a n d s whichhave of late been frequently m ade of wrought - iron and which often

1 2 *

1 80 SECTION IV.

combine a Stand for sticks and umbrel las,When the tripod gives place

to a sheet - iron tray . Two specim ens a re shown in Fig . 1 89 and 1 9 0 .

There are no old models for such fur niture and it is improbable thatthey were known .

Final l y,reference may be made to a n d i r o n s or fi r e - d o g s

,

which where often made of wrought - iron during the m iddl e - ages,

the profile frequently taking the appearance of standards (see Fig .

As with the Open fire - places,

.these utensils have fallen into disu se .

8 . CROSSE S FOR GRAV E S AND TOW E RS .

I n early tim es,from about the end of the m iddle - ages

,the latin

form of cross was made ornam enta lly of wrought - iron in order toprovide fini al s for the summits of towers

,spires and gables of churches

and chapels ._This symbol ic ornam ent was often very simple , though

no less frequently very .rich and elegant. The actual constru ction of

the cross was generally of stou t bar - iron,whi le the ornam ental

additions “were of lighter make . .The arm s of the cross were generallyfinished o ff with leaves .or flowers

,in plainer work with spear - heads

or lance - points ; the upper arm was also frequently made to serve as

a vane or weather - cock . The rectangular spaces between the arm swere ornam ented with rings or scroll designs

,which served at the

same tim e to strengthen the whole . Whereas the crosses on gableswere

,almost without exception flat

,and on one plane

,spires

,&c . were

sometim es fitted with crosses,the arm s of whi ch were not only directed

to right and left,but to the front and back

,radiating from the centre

and thus produ cing a richer perspective effect .Duri ng the renaissance it was also customary to decorate graves

with iron crosses . A very great number of these grave - crosses may

be foun d in ol d German churchyards . The baroqu e and rococo periodsand also that of Lou is XVI retained this practice; later on stonemonuments took the place of such crosses

,and it is onl y qu ite of

late years that the ol d custom is b eing revived . Grave - crosses di fferfrom crosses for spires

,&c . in m ore : ample detail

,since they may be

inspected closely and moreover they bear m emorial tablets .These tablets are often placed i nsi de a metal case for the sake

of protection ; they frequently contain , . i n addi tion to name,dates of

birth and death of the deceased,a religious or secular quotation

,as

,

for instance

(on the outside)Fear and love for God he ever b ore ;Stranger , now unclose the door'

(on the inside)Here he rests from earthly pain ;Stranger , close the door aga i n !

”

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Fig. 1 97. Grave cross , designed by E .

- BOpst , Berlin .

THE PRINCIPAL FIELDS OF ART SMITHING. 1 83

I S not this both naive and pious at the sam e time and a wellplanted hint to the inquisitive to close the door of the tablet in orderto secure a longer duration to

‘

the record of the departed ?Among the ill ustrations to this chapter Fi g. 1 9 2 shows a sheet

from the author’

s work on“ The science of ornam ent

”

on which twoold grave crosses are seen with

‘ some old and m odern spire crosses .Fig . 1 9 3 to 1 9 7 represent five other grave crosses

,one old and four

m odern,of which the last has , in addition to the mem orial - tablet - case

,

a basin to hold holy water. In certain districts are al so found ar

rangements to receive flowers,candles

,&c .

,according to the cu stoms

prevalent in such parts .

9 . ARMS AND ARMOUR .

The chapter on arm s is of prominent interest even although thevery many stil l extant specimens may no longer directly serve asmodels for the sm ith - craft of the present day. The manufacture of

m odern weapons is qu ite different,and generally speaking devoted

strictly to mechanical accuracy so that the old masterpieces apartfrom their historical interest

,only furnish ornam ental studies applicable

to other branches of the art.The armourer

’

s art is of the oldest and was already highlydeveloped in antiquity. Damascu s was one of the cities where itwas first practised . Damascus - blades have a world - wide reputationthat extends back for thousands of years . Their elasticity and toughnesswas obtained through repeated weldings and blendings of small

,thin

metal - plates or wires of iron or steel of various degrees of hardness .The patterns brought ou t on the surface by etching with acids iscal led “ damask grain

”

,and these patterns vary greatly according to

the way in which the metal has been worked . The armourer’

s artpassed on from Damascu s and from the E ast in general until i t reachedthe Greeks and Romans

,who

,however

,made use of iron or steel for

the blades only,employing other materi al s for the handl es and orna

m ental addi tons,and for shields and armour. After the collapse of

the universal Roman domin ation,what remained of the craft of the

antique armourer In the confused migration of races is survived to bedeveloped in the western lands of the m iddle - ages.

In the time of Charlemagne,armour helmets and shields were

already made of iron or else strengthened with iron . From the 1 1 th

to the 1 4th centuries warriors wore iron Shirts of mail ; the fu llsu its

,of plate armour

,came into use later on . It is su ch arm our

that presents the highest interest as to its technique and artisticdecoration

,. for it comprises the finest work ever wrought in iron

,or

,

it may be said, which skilled labour has ever produced. A newindustry

,one strictly restricted wi thin recogni sed limits , was soon

F ig, 1 98 . Old sketch design for a decorated suit of armour.

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1 8 6 SECTION IV.

important m etal - heaters,harness - makers

,helmet - makers

,&c . The

great collections of armoury such as those of the Arm eria at Madridand of Turin

,the Ambras col lection at Vienna

,that of the Bargello

Fig. 200 . Ornamental detail of the breastplate of a su1 t of Chr i st i an 1 1 .

at Florence,&c .

,show us a wealth of most wonderfulwork

,the major

part of which em anated from German armourers .The helmet

,the gorget , ,

the breast and backplates, .the shoul der

THE PRINCIPALF IELDS OF ART SMITHING. 1 8 7

guards,the arm-

guards, the thigh and leg - guards,the gauntlets and

sollerets,with many others were al l necessary parts of a complet e su it

of armour (see Fig .

When one considers how difficul t it sometim es is to obtain awell - fit ti ng sui t of clothes from the m odern skilled ta ii or , it will

Fi g. 201 . Sword-handle. Bargello , Florence .

be easy to imagine what difficulties were connectedtwi ththe productionof a su it of armour of satisfactory fit. To this difficul ty was superadded the ornam ent requ i red by rich and distingui shed personagesfor parade and other important occasions . To these requ irements are

due the very pearls of art. Besides the hol lowing . out and embossingwhich of themselves demanded unu sual Skill ‘ and which

,moreover

,

1 88 7.

f SECTION IV. I'

_

served in part as . ornam entation,there was the etching

,engravi ng,

inlayi ng gilding .

Fi g. 202.

Various swords and daggers .

One 1 8 S i mply astounded at the correctnees of style and the ex.cel l ent effects whichresulted from ornam ent producel

dw i th. the aid of these

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Fig. 204 . Pikes,halberds and partisans . Bargello , Florence .

Fig . 205 . Halberd .l 6 th Century .

1 9 2 SECTION IV.

processes . I t mu st however be ‘

remembered that such first - class artistsas D i i rer

,Holbein

,Michlich

,Al degrever , and Burgkmayr did not find

it beneath their dignity to furnish armourers and sword - cutlers withsketches and designs for their work . Fig. 1 9 9 shows sundry ornam ental details of an etched helmet

,:and in Fig . 2 0 0 is seen the ornam ent

on the breast plate of a German s u it of arm our .Helmet and armour are defensive weapons to which the s h i e l d

mu st be added .

I n the early parti

of the m iddle - ages this was not made of iron,

owing to its large dim ensions,so that it was

,at most

,only studded

with iron . Later on,in the renaissance

,it became gradually handier

and smaller until at last,as With armour

,it was dispensed with

altogether,or only u sed for show. Iron becam e the favoured material

for shields,and their surface .was decorated in harmony with the rest

of the arm our.’

The - form s which occur m ost frequently in paradeshields of the later period

,. are the circular

,those with m ore or less

fanciful cartou che shapes,and the .almond Shape .

The helm et was next . i n“

importance to the shield and receivedthe m ost conspicu ou s a ttention and honour . Whereas the old form sof heaum e

,the -flat - and round helmets

,the helm

,basinet and armet

were,comparatively speaking

, ‘plain and simple , the Burgundian helmets ,“ bourgi nots

”

and .morions,

‘which c am e up later , often showed anover - rich ornam entation .

Among the o ffe n s i v e w e a p o n s the on e and tw o - h a n d e ds w o r d s were the most Important and general . However this cut

and - thru’

st weapon may vary In respect of size and finish,three parts

are invariably found . These are : 1 ) the b l a d e , which may be sharpon one or both sides

,and at the point whi ch is generally more or

less tapered ; it i s mostly straight . and less often curved (like a cutlass),rarely waved

,and sometim es

,in order to reduce i ts weight

,it has

so - called blood - grooves ; it is m ostly plain or ornam ented with etchingor engraving . 2) the h i l t or ha n d l e which holds the t a n g of theblade and is fitted with either a pommel

,a cross

,a sword - shell or

basket . 3) the s h e a t h or sc ab b a r d with or without b e l t. I t isself - evident that the hilt and scabbard were the parts most ornamented ,and to this end other materials were often used . Here

,again

,it i s

to the ornam ent rather than'

to .the practical u se that attenti on hasto be given . The hilts deserve more especial notice ; it will be seenthat many of these are made o f iron and that

'

very considerable painswere taken in piercing and working the specim ens which are tobe found in all collections of i mportance . (Compare Fig . 2 0 1

and 20 2 )The d a g g e r or p o i g n a r d . is a sword In mm I atur e in which

the cross - part may either disappear altogether or assume a smallerform . Sometimes it i s furn

’

ished with a guard , but never with a

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1 94 SECTION IV .

of a wooden shaft to which i s fitted an iron Spike shaped like a leafor an awl ; p a r t i s a n s , which are spears with flat blades and sym

metrical side - point s ; b i l l s , fa u c h a r d s and fo r k s , taking the formsof sickles

,scythes

,&c . ; b a t t l e - a x e s and h amm e r s ; and h a l b e r d s

(derived perhaps from“he l m b a r t e

”

,cleave helm et

,or from “ halbe

barte a half - blade) which was a combinat i on of the pike or partisanwith the battle - axe ; c l u b s , m o r n i n g - s t a r s (clubs with iron prickles) ,fl a i l s

,and many other arms . Halberds and partisans m ore especially

cal l for attention,owing to their elegant outlines and the splendid

ornam entation of their blades . A number of such weapons are shownin F i g. 2 0 3 to 2 0 6 .

I f we compare the flint,bone and fish- Spine weapons of primi

tive races with those which are the glory of the renaissance,we obtain

a survey of the two extremes of artistic handicraft in a special field,

m ost of which“

are inconceivably different.The invention of gunpowder and the introdu ction of fire - arm s

brought this special ar t to an undeserved end . Guns have undeniablyafforded opportunities for artistic decoration

,as i s evidenced by our

mu seum s,nevertheless they are so far behind their precursors both i n

number and kind that it i s not necessary to go beyond the simplem ention of the fact. Moreover

,the present age is

,unfortunately

,too

matter - of - fact and practical to care to ornament its weapons of sport andwar ; where su ch attemp t i s made the resu lt i s not always happy, inSpite of the innumerable and glorious examples handed down to us

from our forefathers .

1 0 . ALL OTH E R OBJE CTS IN I RON .

Although it was attempted in the previous pages to arrange thewhole field covered by the sm ith into separate and appropriatechapters

,there still remain a number of obj ects not dealt with

,and

to be m entioned before concluding this manual . Some of these wereformerly produced by the gu ilds connected with this art

,while others

are still made and u sed .

First of all there are the h o r s e m u z z l e s which,to a certain

extent,belong to the preceding chapter . These peculiar objects

,which

have gone entirely ou t of u se,are to be found in collections

,som e

of them showing su ch splendid workm anship that they deserve,at

l east,not to be overlooked .

B e l l c o t s for small bells in courtyards and passages,as well as

b e l l - p u l l s were often m ade of ornam ental w rought - iron and suchare com ing into vogu e again (see Fig . 2 0 7 and The last

,

especially when they take the form of natural floral hangings,seldom

fail in produ cing a good effect .V a n e s or w e a t h e r c o c k s made of pierced sheet - metal with

THE PRINCIPAL FIELDS OF ART SMITHING.

elegant outlines were articles in moderate re que st from early timesand are continually requ ired at the present day (see Fi g.

V e s s e l s,such as l am p s and fi e l d fl a s k s are now and again

found of iron ; the latter of large dimensions , holding as much as

1 2 gallons,and even more (see Fig .

Ta b l e n e c e s s a r i e s,at least

k n i v e s and fo r k s are often madeof iron

,down to the present tim e

,

and this not only as regards theblades

,but also the handles .

The sam e remark applies tos c i s s o r s and s h e a r s . Of coursethe ornament is chiefly confinedto the handles ; for when the bladesare embellished it can only be bym eans of engraving

,etching or

inlaying (see Fig .

E very day wo rk i n g - t o o l sor such as serve for special purposes

,such as hammers

,tongs

,

fire - irons,compasses

,&c .

,are also

found in museums when ornamented

,as in the Germanic

Museum at Nuremberg . These,

like many other things connectedwith the art

,present in them

selves little more than historicalvalue however interesting they maybe . Many of these article s were theresults produced by journeym enor masters as proofs of their skilland title to be received into thelocksm iths

’

or smiths’

gu ild,and

entailed a sacrifice of time andpains in no way commensuratewith the price generally paid forsuch work .

Among the articles now madeof wrought - iron which are atpresent popular

,and which

,pos

207 . Belloot . Upper Austria .

sio

b ly ,may becom e still more so

,are c a s k e t s ; etching and applied

p i erced open sheet - metal form the ornament,the handles and lock

giving scope for further embellishment . In like manner,and rightly

so, the frames of fi r e - s c r e e n s are of late made of wrought - iron

,

1 3 ”

1 9 5

Fi g. 208 . House bell , designed by Arwed Rossbach , execut ed byHerm . Kayser, Leipzig .

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Fi g . Scissors .

CA RL S l f fi f a

Modern fire screen b Berlin .

Fi g. 21 3 . Wrought - iron clock - case by Reinhold Kirsch , Munich .

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SUP P L E M E N T .

TAB LE S OF W E IGHTS AND M EASUR E S .

a . German sheet - i ron sca le.

German wi r e - sca le (mi l limeter - sca le) .

This scale comprises 1 00 NOS To find the diameter divide the particularNO by 1 0 . The following table gives the NOS a t intervals of 5 ,

thus 5 ,1 0

,1 5

,&c .

An English yard i s m t r . or m i llim eters . The m eterhas 1 00 0 m i llim eters , or 1 00 cent im eters .

An English pound ( avdp . ) weighs gramm es. Theki logramm e has 1 000 gramm es .

2 0 4 SUPPLEMENT .

c. Table shewi ng the dimensi ons and wei ghts of wrought- i ron gas - bar rel .

cl . Table of weights of round bar i ron.

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2 0 6 SUPPLE MENT .

f. Table of weights for fla t bar i ron

Thickness in m illimeters

o 7 4 8

0 9 86

0 8 1 2

2 7 8 0

2 840

2 80 9

2 9 6 5

5 1

1

7

SUPPLEMENT . 20 7

per li near meter i n ki logr ammes .

Thickness in m illimeters

1 6 8 7 8 5 1 0

2 840

2 ,2 8 1 2 ,40 2 2

,5 7 0 8

,0 84 8

,4 8 5 4

,29 0

2 6 20 8,8 7 2 8

,5 5 6 8

,7 4 5 4 6 80 5

,62 0

2,5 8 5 2

,7 29 2

,9 80 8 1 20 8

,8 1 5 8

,5 1 0 8

,7 0 5 8

,9 0 0 4

,8 80 5

,850

82 24 4 8 3 6 48 82 28 5 8 4 0 6 0

2 ,889 8,49 6 8

,7 1 8 3

,9 80 4 8 7 0

8,0 4 2 8

,2 7 6 8

,5 1 0 4

,6 8 5 5

,8 5 0

4 64 1 8 1 9 0

4 ,0 5 6 4 6 80 4,9 9 2 5 6

,2 4 0 7

,80 0 9

,8 60

4,5 6 8 4

,9 1 4 5

,2 7 0 6 ,8 1 8 6 , 76 69

,02 5 1 0,5 8

5 0 7 0 5 4 60 5 8 80 6 2 4 4 6 6 80 7 0 2 0 7 4 1 0 7 8 5 0 9 7 1 1 7 0

5 5 7 7 6,0 0 6 6 440 6

,868 7

,2 9 8 7

,7 22

6,0 84 6

,5 5 2 7

,0 20 7

,9 5 6 8

,42 4 8

,8 9 2 9

,8 64

7 6 1 0

9 828

99 5 0

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A HANDBOOK OF ORNAMENT .

With 30 0 Plates , con ta in ing abou t z, 0 0 0 I l lustra t ions of the E lemen ts and the

appl i ca t ion of De cora t ion to obje c ts, by F . S . MEYER,Pro fessor at the Schoo l

o f Appl ied Art , Karlsruhe . Second Engl ish Ed i t ion , rev ised by HUGH STANNUSF . R . I . B . A .

,Lec turer on Appl ied Art at the Nat iona l Art Schools

,Sou th

Kensington . Th i ck 8vo,c lo th gi l t , gi l t top Pr i ce

-

“ A Library , a Museum,an E ncyc lopaedia

,and an Art Schoo l i n one . To riva l i t as a

book of reference one must fi l l a boo kcase . The qua l i ty of the draw ings i s unusual ly h igh,

the cho i ce of examp les i s s ingu lar ly good . The text i s we l l diges ted .

The Work i s practi ca l ly an ep i tome o f a hundred Wo rks on Des ign .

”The Studi o .

“ The author’s acquain tance w i th o rnamen t amazes , and hi s three thousand sub jects are

gleaned from the finest wh i ch the w orld affords . As a treasury of ornament drawn to sca lei n al l sty les , and deri ved from genu ine concre te ob j ects , we have no th ing i n England wh i chw i l l not appear as poverty - s tri cken as compared w i th P rofessor Meyer '3 Book . The Archi tec t .

“ The book i s a m ine of wea l th even to an ord inary reader , wh i le to the Student o f Artand Arche o logy i t i s s imply ind ispensable as a reference book . We know o f no one workof i ts kind tha t approaches i t for comprehens iveness and h istori ca l accuracy . ” Sc i ence and Art .

A HANDBOOK OF ART SM ITH ING .

For the use o f Prac t i cal Sm i ths,Designers and o thers

,and i n Art and Techn i cal

Schools . By F . S . MEYER,Au thor o f

“A Handbook of Ornamen t” . Translated from the Se cond German Ed i t ion . With an In troduct ion to the Engl ishEd i t ion by J . STARK I E GARDNER . Con ta in ing 2 1 4 i l lustrat ions o f Domest i c and

Arch i tectural Wrough t Iron work of the Med ieval an i Rena issance Periods .

8vo,clo th . Pr i ce 6 ]

ENGLISH MEDUE VAL FOLIAGE AND COLOURED DE CO

RAT ION.

By JAS . K . CO LL ING . A Series of Examples taken from Bui ld ings of the Twel fthto the Fi fteen th Cen tury. 7 6 l i thog r aphi c p la tes ,

a nd 79 woodcu t i l lu

s t r a t tons , w i th Tex t . Royal 4 to ,c lo th

, gi l t top Pr i ce I 8/“ The Author’s book i s one wh i ch i t i s a p leasure to recommend . He has done hi s

work as we l l as i t cou ld be done , and w e trust he may be en couraged by the succe ss of

th is book to take up some o ther deta i ls o f Mediaeva l wo rk . The Archi tect .

DETA ILS OF GOTH IC WOOD CARV ING .

Be ing a series o f draw ings from original work of the XIVth, and XV th c enturies.

By Franklyn A . CRALLAN . Late Instru ctor i n Wood Carv ing ,Muni c ipal

Teehn i cal Col lege , DerbyTh is work w i l l cons ist of 34 p lates , of wh i ch two w i l l be doub le , reproduced by Pho to

Tint pro c ess from the origina l fu l l - s ized draw ings made by the author , ch iefly from Churchesi n Derbysh ire . No rfo lk , and Surrey , also from the Cathedra l Churches o f E ly , Peterbo rough ,and Linco ln , and the Abbey Church at Westm inster .

The s ize of the p lates w i l l average 1 2 by 81 12 i n . ,p rinted on paper I ; by I t i n . , and

they w i l l be accompa i ned by short descript ive text .THE PR ICE OF TH E WORK

,IN SUITABLE PORTFOLIO ,

\V l LL BE 2 1 S . TO SUBSCRIBERS ONLY .

UPON PUBLICATION TH E PRIC E W ILL BE RAI S ED TO 2 8 S . [ IN PREPARATION .

SPE C IMENS OF ANTIQUE CARVED FURNITURE AND

WOODWORK .

Measured and drawn by ARTHUR MARSHALL,A . R . I . B . A .

, 5 0 Photo- lz’

thog r ap/zed

p la tes o f E ngl i sh Examples, wi th Se c t ions , Mould ings , and De tai ls,

and Des

cr ipt i ve Tex t con tain ing numerous o ther de ta i ls . Fo l io,half- bound i n cal f

Pr i ce net .

Th is Work i s the mos t com plete and va luable that has been i ssued i l lustrat ing o ld

E ngl ish Carved Woodwork . I t i s fi l led w i th usefu l Deta i ls drawn to a large sca le , so as to

make i t inva luable to Woodcarvers .

“ To al l who are intere sted i n the beaut i fu l and usefu l art o f wood - carv ing , the bookunder our no ti ce w i l l be very we lcome . I t i s a fo l io w i th c lear i l lustrat ions , fi t to use as

working cop ies , of many authentic specimens of antique carved furn itu re and woodwork .

Sa turday Rev i ew .

HE PPELWH ITE’

S CAB INE TMAKE R AND UPHOLSTE RER’S

GUIDE .

A comple te facs im I le reproduct ion of th is rare work conta in ing over 30 0 charm ingde signs on 1 2 7 plates , of every art i cle of Househo ld F urn i ture . By A . HEPP ELW H ITE Co . Smal l fo l io

,hal fbound Pr i ce [ I n pr epa r a t i on .

“The i r t ea - caddies,tea - trays

,tops o f card - tables and dress ing - tables are mo s t charm ing

examples o f beau t i fu l des ign and arrangemen t . The boo k taken as a who le i s u sefu land mo dest , and nearly a lways qurte p ract icable ,

so that among the i r 30 0 de‘s igns there are

scarce ly twenty w h ich m ight no t,w i th advantage , be reproduced .

” A ldam Hea ton i n“ Furni ture and Decora t i on of the 1 8th Cen tury.

”

SHE RATON’

S CAB INE T MAKE R AND UPHOLSTE RERS’

DRAWING BOOK.

With the rare Append ix and Accompan imen t .‘ A comple te Reproduc t ion of th is

scarce and cost ly Vo lume,w i th 1 2 2 pla tes of Examples o f al l kinds o f Furn i

ture and De tai ls designed by THOMAS SHERATON,th i ck 4to , c lo th , gi l t top

( 1 80 2 ) Pr i ce 2 / I o / net . [ j ust pu b l i shed .

CH IPPENDALE’

S “TH E GENTLEMEN AND CAB INE T - MAKER’S

D IRECTOR .

A comple te facs im i le of the 3rd and rarest Ed i t ion,o f th is ce lebrated work con

tain ing 2 0 0 p l a tes of Des igns o f Cha irs . Sofas,Beds and Couches

,Tables

,

Library Book Cases,C lock Cases

,S tove Gra tes

,& c . &c . Fo l io

,hal f- cal f ( l 7 6 2 )

Pri ce net .

“ Th is shou ld be consu l ted by every Studen t o f Furni ture . I t i s Ch ippenda le ’s Wo rk

reprinted , conta in s hi s own Designs , and shows the manner i n wh i ch the 1 8th CenturyCab inet - maker went abou t hi s work .

”C . R . ASH BEE , Hon . D i rector of the Gui ld a nd School

of Ha ndi craf t .

FURNITURE AND DE CORATION IN ENGLAND DURINGTHE XVI I ITH CENTURY.

Facsim i le Reproduc t ions of the Cho i cest Examples from the Works of CH .P PEN

DALE,ADAM

,R ICHARDSON

,HE P P E LW H ITE

,SHERATON

,PERGOLES I

,and o thers .

Selec ted and Described by JOHN ALDAM HEATON . Conta in ing 2 0 0 fo l io pla tes ,w i th descript ions . Pr i ce i n Four C lo th Port fo l ios 6 / net .

,or Bound i n

Four Volumes i n clo th 7 / net .

The Furn iture o f the latter ha lf of the las t century has , o f late , so common ly come to

be regarded as the best the wor ld has yet p roduced , and the cost o f obta in ing a comp le te set

of the I l lustra tions i s so great , that i t has seemed advisable to now publ ish a set o f reproduct i ons o f the mo st adm I rcd and the mos t usefu l .

“ Mr . A ldam Heaton ’s name i s that o f a rea l au thori ty 0 11 the sub ject , and , as the resul t

p roves , no bette r judge cou ld have been chosen to direct such a publ icat ion . H i s me tho dhas been to go through the series of some twenty pubhcat i ons ,

publ ished be tween 1 740 and

1 80 0 , and to se lect whate ver des igns appeared to him the mos t va luable . The rari ty o f theon gi na l vo lumes

, and the ve ry h igh pri ces wh ich they rea l ise at sa les, put them pract Ica l ly

out o f the reach o f the archI tec t and cab inet - maker o f to - day , so that,

I f any use i s to be

made o f them i t mus t be through some of the reproduct ions t ch modern pro cess pri nt ingmakes poss ible .

” The Ti mes .

DE CORAT IVE DE SIGNS.

By ROB ERT ADAM . A Series of S i x fine large plates of Ce i l ings , Scrol l Ornament , & c .

,be ing transfers taken from the original d rawings i n the Soane

Museum by R . CHARLES . Oblong 4to , fo lded i n wrapper. Pri ce net .

DECORATIVE WROUGHT IRON WORK OF THE I 7TH AND

I STH CENTUR IE S.

1 6 la rge photo- l i thog r aphi c pla tes , con ta in ing 7 0 Engl ish examples of MeasuredDraw ings , by D . J. EBB ETT S , of large and smal l Gates

,Screens

,Gri l les

,Pane ls

,

Balustrading, & c . Fo l io,boards

,c lo th back . Pri ce

A HISTORY OF DE SIGN IN PAINTED GLASS .

By N . H . J . WESTLAKE , F . S . A . Con ta in ing 46 7 beau t i ful i l lustrat ions . 4 vols,

smal l fol io,clo th . Pr i ce 5 I’l ol

The arrangemen t of th is valuab le work,the mos t complete yet a ttempted on i ts

sub jec t , i s as fol lows , and the volumes w i th the except ion of vo lum e I may be

had separate ly at the pri ces affi xed :VOLUME I . Par t I . From the Earl iest Examples un t i l the E nd of the Twe l fthCen tury. Part II . S ingle F igures and S imple Compos i t ions o f the Th irteen thCen tury. Part III . Medal l ion and Grisa i l le Windows o f the Th irteen th Cen tury.

VOLUME I I Par t IV . In troduc t ion,

and Engl ish Fourteen th Cen tury Work .

Part V . French,German

,and I tal ian Fourteen th Cen tury Work

,G r isai l le

,and

Quarries of the Fourteenth Century. Pr i ce I l l /VO LUME I II . Part V I . In troduc t ion

,and Preface to the F i fteen th C en tury ;

Engl ish Figure Windows of the F i fteen th Cen tury. Part V II . The Jesse Tree,

Engl ish Subjec t and Windows o f the F i fteen th Century. Par t VIII . FrenchSub jec t and Figure Windows of the Fi ftheenth Cen tury

,G erman and I tal ian .

Part IX. Heraldry,Round le ts

,Monogram s

, Quarr ies,& c . Pr i ce I / I o /

VO LUME IV . Pre face and In troduct ion to the S ixteenth Cen tury. Engl ish and

Fore ign P a inted G lass i n England o f the S ix teen th and Seventeen th Cen tur ies .

French,Flem ish , Dut ch , Germ an

,Ital ian and Span ish Pa inted G lass o f the

Six teenth and Seven teenth Cen turies . The Jesse Tree,Ornamen tal Windows

,

& c . Index . Pr i ce

ANCIENT WOOD IRONWORK IN CAMBR IDGE .

By W . B . RE DEARN,the Let terpress by JOHN WILL I S CLARK ,

2 9 f a lz'

o l i t /zo

g r ap/zed pla tes drawn to a good scale . C lo th, gil t , a handsom e vo lume . Pri ce

Th is Work , giving an interest ing and usefu l series of E xamp les, i s but l i ttle known .

The few cop ies ex isti ng are o ffered for the presen t at the reduced pri ce as above .

REMAINS OF ECCLE SIAST ICAL WOOD -WORK.

A Series o f Examples o f Stalls,Screens

,Book - Boards

,Roo fs

,Pulpi ts , & c .

,con ta in ing

2 1 plates beaut i ful ly engrav ed on Copper, from drawings by T . TALBOT BURY,

Arch t . 4 to halfbound Pr i ce F irs t pub l ished at 2 5 s .

PROGRE SSIVE STUD IES OTHER DE SIGNS FOR WOODCARVE RS

i n var ious Styles,Shee t No . I . , consist ing of Progress ive Stud ies, E lemen tary and

Advan ced . for Class Teach ing. Shee ts Nos . I I .

,I II .

,and IV .

,includ ing a

var ie ty of objec ts su i table for Wood - Carv ing ; Table , Spinn ing Ch l ir,Koran

S tand , Frames,B e l lows

,& c

,by M iss E . R . PLOW DEN

,w i th a Pre face by M iss

ROW E . The Shee ts folded i n royal 8vo, por t fol io Pr i ce 5 / net .

H INTS ON WOOD CARVING.

For Beginners , by ELEANOR ROW E , w i th a Pre fac e by J . H . POLLEN . 4thEd it ion

,

rev ised and en larged , i l lust r a ted . 8vo , sewed Pri ce I / or c lo th Pri ce

H INTS ON CH IP CARVING.

(C lass Teach ing and o ther Northern Styles) , by ELEANOR ROW E . 4 0 i l lus tr a t i ons .

8vo,sewed Pr i ce I / or bound i n c lo th Pri ce

Miss ROW E i s at the Schoo l of Art Woodcarv ing, and her books are publ ished under thesanct ion of the Science and Art Departmen t .

PLASTE RING,PLAIN AND DECORATIVE .

A Prac t i cal Treat ise on the Art and C raft of P lastering. Inc lud ing ful l descr ipt ionso f the var ious Too ls, Materials Processes and Appl iances employed . With over

50 ful l - page plates, and about 30 0 smal ler i l lustrat ions i n the tex t . ByWILL IAM M ILLAR . With an Introduc t ion ,

treat ing of the H istory o f the Art,

w i th numerous examples . 4 to , c lo th Pri ce 1 8/ net . [ 1 72 pr epa r a t i on .

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A H ISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE .

For the Studen t , Craftsman,

and Amateur . Be ing a Comparat ive View o f theH istor i cal S tyles from the Earl iest per iod . By PROFESSOR BAN I STER FLETCHER

,

and BANI STER F . FLETCHER,

With 1 1 5 plates printedi n co l lo type from large pho tographs , and o ther i l lustra t ions i n the tex t . Th i ckcrown 8vo

,c lo th gil t . Pr i ce 1 2 16 . [ j us t pu b l i shed .

“We shal l be amazed i f i t i s not immediate ly recogn ized and adopted as pa r excel lence thes tuden t ’s manua l o f the h isto ry o f arch i tecture .

”— Archi tect .

“ Concise ly w ri tten and p rofuse ly i l lus trated by p lates o f a l l the typ i ca l bui ldings o f eachcoun try and period . The authors have w ri tten a book wh i ch appears to fu lfi l the necessaryqua l ifications o f be ing of moderate compass , and g iving i n a comp lete and c lass ified fo rm theresu l ts of the latest researches o f arch i tectura l h is torians and archae o logi sts , and at the same

t ime furn i sh ing the s tudent xx i th a comparat ive and analyt ica l view of the sub j ect . I tw i l l fi l l a vo i d i n our l iterature .

”— Bu i ldi ng News .

“ The arch i tectura l studen t i n search o f any part icu lar fact w i l l readi ly find i t i n th is mos tmethodi ca l work as comp le te as i t W e l l can be .

”— Ti mes .

“ A handy and. compact vo lume adm irable a l ike i n p lan and execu t ion . I t Is

scarce ly poss ible , w ith in the com pass of 30 0 sma l l pages to carry comp leteness further .

Na t i ona l Observer.

RENAISSANCE ARCH ITE CTURE AND ORNAMENT IN S PAIN .

A Series o f Examples se lec ted from the purest execu ted be tween . the years1 50 0 by ANDREW N . PRENT ICE

,Arch i tec t . 6 0

.p la tes , reproduced byPho to - l i thography and Pho to Process

,from the drawings made by the author

d uring recent v is i ts to Spa in . With the except ion o f fiv e or s i x perspec t ivev iews

,the plates consis t of geome tri cal draw ings care ful ly prepared on the Spo t

from m easurem en ts,and inc lude de ta i ls o f Facades , Pat ios , S ta ircases

,Doors

,

Windows,Ce i l ings, B racke ts , Capi tals , and o ther de ta i ls i n Stone and Wood

,

toge ther w i th examples o f Iron Screens,Bal con ies and o ther spec imens of

Me tal Work & c . & c . A Short Descript ive Tex t i s added . Fo l io,handsom e ly

bound i n c lo th gi l t Pr i ce“ There i s no doubt that o f a l l the books wh i ch have Span i sh bu i ld ings for sub j ect , Mr .

P rent i ce ’s w i l l be found the most fasc inat ing by an E ngl ish Arch itect . ”

— Archi tec t .“ Fo r the draw ing and p ro duct ion o f th is book one can have no wo rds but p ra ise .

I t i s a p leasure to h ave so good a record o f such admi rab le A rch i tectura l D raw ing , free , firm ,

and de l i cate .

”— Bri t i shArchi tect .

ITALIAN RENAISSANCE DETAIL AND ORNAME NT .

D rawn by G . J . OAKE SHOTT , Arch i te c t , “ Bu i ld ing News” and“Aldw i nckle” Trave l l ing Studen t . 4 0 l i thog r aphi c p la tes , royal fo l io s tronglybound i n c lo th . Pr i ce

One o f the bes t p roduced and mo st usefu l o f pro fess iona l i l lustrated wo rks we have seen

for some t ime i s the ‘De ta i l and Ornamen t o f the I tal ian Rena i ssan ce’

,by Mr . Geo rge J.

Oake shot t . The seri es o f fo rty p lates inc ludes some exqu is ite examp les o f Renaissance art

i l lustrated a lmos t entire ly i n the fo rm o f geometrica l draw ings . We have no th ing but p ra isefo r th is wo rk , w h ich i s th roughout carefu l ly and consc ient ious ly carried ou t . The autho rdeserves comm endat ion fo r hi s ch o ice o f sub j ects , no less than for hi s i l lustrat ion o f them .

”

B ri t i shA rchi tect .THE ORDE RS OF ARCH ITECTURE — GRE E K

,ROMAN

,

I TALIAN .

Se lected from Normand’s Paral le ls and o ther Author i t ies. Ed i ted w i th No tes byR . PHENE SP I ERS . Second Ed i t ion ,

w i th four new plates , inc lud ing one o f

Greek Mould ings , by R . W . Sc HULTz. 2 4 p l a tes , imperial 4 to ,c lo th Pri ce 1 0 16 .

“ A most usefu l wo rk for arch i tectura l studen ts Mr . Sp iers has done exce l len tse rv i ce i n edi t ing th is work , and hi s notes on the p lates are very approprI ate and useful . ”

Br i t i shA rchi tec t .

“ The book i s certain ly a tho rough ly p ract i ca l w ork , bringing carefu l representat ions o f

the C lass i ca l Orde rs readi ly and c learly w ith in the modes t reach o f most students , and canno tfa I I to be u sefu l as a book of reference .

”— Bu i ldi ng N ews .

“ Should be cons i dered as an indispensable possess ion by al l students of archi tec/zurpl .rc i tec t .

B . T . B A T S F O R D ,

A R C H I T E CTUR AL AR T B O O K S E LLE R PUB L I SH E R .

9 4 ,H IG H H OLB O R N , L O N D ON .