[Illustration: GODEY'S LADY'S BOOK
TIME IN SEARCH OF CUPID.]
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
VOL. XLVIII.
A Bit of Shopping Gossip, 282
A Bloomer among us, by _Pauline Forsyth_, 396
A Chapter on Necklaces, by _Mrs. White_, 213
A Consideration, 569
Advice to a Bride, 405
A Few Words about Delicate Women, 446
A Gossip on the Fashions, 56
A Great Duty which is Imposed upon Mothers, 464
A Great Mulrooney Story, by _Sylvanus Urban, the Younger_, 27
A Lace Basque, 550
A Lesson worth Remembering, 478
A Loving Heart, by _W. S. Gaffney_, 543
Amateur Gardening, 89
A Mother's Love, by _Mary Neal_, 355
Amor, Vivax, Fragilis, by _H. H., M. D._, 32
An Antidote, 188
Anecdote of Byron, 130
An Incident, by _J. M. C._, 64
Annoyance, by _Beata_, 452
An Ornamental Cottage, 268, 269
A Pleasant Letter, 152
A Portrait, by _Paul H. Hayne_, 64
Appletons', 380
Apron in Broderie en Lacet, 363
A Ruling Passion, 272
A Sketch, by "_Leonora_," 63
A Song, by _Charles Stewart_, 501
A Story of Valentine's Day, by _Mrs. Abdy_, 137
A Strange Incident, 514
Aunt Tabitha's Fireside, by _Edith Woodley_, 150
A Valentine, by _Clara Moreton_, 165
A Warning to Lovers, 187
Babylon, Nineveh, and Mr. Layard, 51, 134, 228
Bearded Civilization, 227
Beauty, by _Miss M. H. Butt_, 346
Be of Good Cheer; it is I, by _R. T. Conrad_, 64
Blessington's Choice, by _Fitz Morner_, 424
Braided Slipper, 261
Braid for Child's Dress, 549
Braid Patterns, 172
Bread-Cloth, 553
Bright Flowers for her I Love, by _Wm. Roderick Lawrence_, 450
Boardman & Gray's Dolce Campana Attachment Piano-Fortes, 5, 101, 277
Bonnets, from Thomas White & Co., 193, 283
Border and Corner for Pocket-Handkerchief, 361
Broderie Anglaise for Flouncing, 173
Camilla Mantilla, 289
Caps, 69, 170, 360, 362, 546
Celestial Love Letters, 118
Celestial Phenomena, by _D. W. Belisle_, 60, 131, 233, 315,
403, 504
Centre-Table Gossip, 89, 187, 282, 379, 477, 569
Charity Envieth Not, by _Alice B. Neal_, 417
Chemisettes, 69, 264, 362
Chemistry for Youth, 81, 185, 279, 566
Child's Dress, 71
Children's Dresses, 1, 92
Chinese Sayings, 548
Costly China, 569
Cottage Furniture, 74, 263, 364, 454, 551
Crochet Tassel Cover, 358
Dairy-House and Piggery, 349
Deaconesses, 273
Decorated Parlor Windows, 97, 166
Design for Screen, 198, 267
Development of the Lungs, 107
Directions for a Letter-Band, 391, 458
Directions for Knitting a Work-Basket, 458
Directions for taking Leaf Impressions, 443
Directions to Ladies for Shopping, 83
Disappointed Love, by _W. S. Gaffney_, 449
Don't Overtask the Young Brain, 337
Dream Picture, by _Mrs. A. F. Law_, 353
Dress--as a Fine Art, by _Mrs. Merrifield_, 25, 347, 412
Dress Collar.--Embroidery, 553
Dress of American Women, 282
Dying, by _Bell_, 165
Editors' Table, 75, 175, 271, 366, 462, 555
Editors' Table-Drawer, 77, 273
Edna, by _Ellen Alice Moriarty_, 164
Ellie Maylie, by _Jennie Dowling De Witt_, 353
Embroidered Antimacassar, 269
Embroidered Collar, 174
Embroidered Screen, 171
Embroidery.--Dress Collar, 553
Embroidery for Petticoats, 68
Embroidery for Shirts, 74, 169
Embroidery with Cord, 458
Enigmas, 87, 185, 280, 377, 474, 567
Eugenie Costume, 292
Evangeline and Antoinette.--Mantillas, 385, 457
Evening Thoughts, by _H. Merran Parke_, 543
Every Lady her own Dressmaker, 570
Fairyland, by _Laura M. Colvin_, 260
Farm House, 444
Fashions, 90, 189, 283, 381, 479, 571
Female Accomplishments, 89
Female Medical Education, 462
Feminology, 273
For the Lovers of Jewelry, 478
Geraniums, _from Mrs. Hale's New Household Receipt-Book_, 565
Godey's Arm-Chair, 82, 181, 275, 371, 467, 561
Godey's Course of Lessons in Drawing, 36, 115, 216, 323, 410, 502
Headdress, 546
A Bit of Shopping Gossip, 282
History of Pearls, Natural and Artificial, 533
House Plants, _from Mrs. Hale's New Household Receipt-Book_, 472
Illuminated, or Vellum-Painting, 538
Influence of Female Education in Greece, 271
Ingenuity of Bees, 133
Instantaneous Flowering of Plants, 161
Instructions for making Ornaments in Rice Shell-Work, 22, 154, 240
Instructions in Knitting, 472
Intellectual Endowments of Children, 409
Interesting Discovery at Jerusalem, 395
I was Robbed of my Spirit's Love, by _Jaronette_, 354
Jacket for Riding-Dress, 364
Juvenile Books.--From Evans & Brittan, 188
Juvenile Fashions, 547
Laces and Embroideries, 379
Lace Mantilla and Tablet Mantilla, 388, 457
Lady's Riding-Boots, 551
Lady's Scarf Mantelet, 357
Lady's Slipper, 363, 552
Lady's Walking-Dress and Diagrams, 262
L'Anglaise Costume, 293
Lay of the Constant One, by _Mrs. Corolla H. Criswell_, 258
Legend of Long-Pond; or, Lake of the Golden Cross,
by _Fanny Fales_, 506
Let me Die! by _S. M. Montgomery_, 544
Le Printemps Mantilla, 289
Letters Left at the Pastry Cook's, _Edited by
Horace Mayhew_, 58, 128, 247, 334, 414, 499
Lines to a Bronchitis Birdie, by _N. W. Bridge_, 545
L'Isolement, _Translated from the French of Alphonse
de Lamartine, by Wm. A. Kenyon_, 545
Literary Notices, 78, 177, 274, 369, 465, 558
Literature for Ladies, 175
Little Children, 207
Love's Elysium, by _J. A. Bartley_, 55
Madame Caplin's Corsets, 265
Management of Canary Birds, 322
Mantillas, from the celebrated Establishment of G. Brodie,
New York, 4, 72, 100, 167, 168, 196, 197, 267, 290,
291, 392, 458, 482, 483
Manuel Garcia, the celebrated Singing-Master, 366
Manufacture of Pins, 404
Marquise and Navailles.--Mantillas, 389, 457
May-Day, 423
May First, 477
Mrs. Clark's Experience as a Servant, by _Bell_, 508
Mrs. Mudlaw's Recipe for Potato Pudding, by
_The Author of the_ "_Bedott Papers_," 250
Mrs. Murden's Two Dollar Silk, by _The Author of_
"_Miss Bremer's Visit to Cooper's Landing_," 317
"Mustard to Mix."--A Receipt for Young Housekeepers, by
_The Author of_ "_Miss Bremer's Visit to Cooper's Landing_,"
_etc._, 158
My Grandmother's Stand, by _H. B. Wildman_, 65
"My Experience in Babies, Sir!" by _Mary Neal_, 63
My Tulips, by _H. S. D._, 544
Netted Cap, for morning wear, 360
New Revelations of an Old Country, 427
Niagara, 521
Novelties for the Coming Season, 170
Ode from Horace, by _Edw. Newton Van Sant_, 66
Ode to the Air in May, by _Nicholas Nettleby_, 452
O'er Bleak Acadia's Plains, by _Clark Gaddis_, 261
Oh, Lay Her to Rest, by _Florus B. Plimpton_, 40
Old, while Young, by _Mabel Clifford_, 259
On the Porch of the Cataract House, by _Helen Hamilton_, 62
Ornaments, 570
Our Fashion Department, 478
Our Practical Dress Instructor, 168, 262, 357, 453
Painting on Velvet, 393
Parlor Work, 89, 188
Patterns for Embroidery, 172, 270, 365, 456, 554
Petticoat Trimming.--In Broderie Anglaise, 173
Physical Training, 525
Pictures from Dante, 273
Plain Work, 460
Preparations for Company, 26
Presentiment, by _Mrs. Priscilla P. Lompayrac_, 260
Preservation of Food, 487
Public Liberality, 272
Reading without Improvement, 272
Receipts, &c., 87, 186, 280, 378, 475, 567
Remembered Happiness, 433
Remember the Poor, by _Mrs. C. H. Esling_, 165
Roman Women in the Days of the Cæsars, by _H. P. Haynes_, 243
Secret Love, by _Kate Harrington_, 542
Selling the Love-Token, by _Alice B. Neal_, 208
Silent Thought, by _Willie Edgar Tabor_, 440
Singular Inscriptions on Tombstones, 376
Slander, 557
Sleeves, 69, 264
Smyrna Embroidery.--Lady's Slipper on Cloth, 552
Some Thoughts on Training Female Teachers, by _Miss M. S. G._, 336
Song to C. G. D., by _William P. Mulchinock_, 66
Sonnets, by _Wm. Alexander_, 66, 163, 260, 352, 450, 543
Spring, 464
Spring Bonnets, 294, 459
Spring Fashions, 390, 457
Stanzas, by _H. B. Wildman_, 450
Stanzas, by _Helen Hamilton_, 450
Table-Moving, by _Pauline Forsyth_, 235
Taper-Stand, 266
Teaching at Home.--Language, 442
The Borrower's Department, 87, 184, 377, 475, 566
The Children-Angels, by _James A. Bartley_, 162
The Dead Tree, 544
The Dying Wife, by _Phila Earle_, 257
The Economics of Clothing and Dress, 421
The Elixir of Life, by _Charles Albert Janvier_, 354
The Embroidered Slippers.--An acknowledgment of a Holiday Gift, 259
The Evening Walk, by _Richard Coe_, 162
The Fountain Very Far Down, by _Virginia F. Townsend_, 145
The Gleaner, by _Richard Coe_, 449
The Good Time Coming, 75
The Hortense Mantelet and Victoria, 70
The Household, 379
The Interview, by _T. Hempstead_, 352
The Last Kiss, by _Jenny A. M'Ewan_, 541
The Last Moments, by _R. Griffin Staples_, 356
The Life of Man, by _C****_, 261
The Lloyds, by _Mrs. S. J. Hale_, 41
The Manufacture of Artificial Flowers, by _C. T. Hinckley_, 295
The Manufacture of Paper, by _C. T. Hinckley_, 199
The Miser, by _Charles Leland Porter_, 163
The Mother's Lesson, by _Elma South_, 441
The Needle in the Haymow.--A Story for Housekeepers,
by _H. D. R._, 515
The New Sewing-Machine, 127
The Nursery Basket, 570
The Orphan Boy, by _Robert G. Allison_, 163
The Orphan's Departure, by _Margaret Floyd_, 310
The Pedestrian Tour, by _Pauline Forsyth_, 494
The Pet, by _Rosa Montrose_, 449
The Philadelphia School of Design for Women, 271
The Philosophy of Shopping, by _Mrs. Alaric Watts_, 33
The Pleiades, 21
The Practical, 463
There's Music, by _Horace G. Boughman_, 353
The School-Mistress Married, 77
The Schottisch Partner, by _Motte Hall_, 542
The Scotch Piper, 184
The Song-Birds of Spring, by _Norman W. Bridge_, 355
The Spring-time Cometh, 463
The Stolen Match, by _Hon. Caleb Cushing_, 13
The Souvenir; or, The Arrival of the Lady's Book. A Sketch of
Southern Life, by _Pauline Forsyth_, 338
The Toilet, 92, 187, 281, 382, 477, 568
The Trials of a Needle-Woman, by _T. S. Arthur_, 119, 218, 326,
434, 527
The Turkish Costume, 348
The Vork-'Ouse Boy, 83
The _Was_ and the _Is_, by _O. Everts, M. D._, 356
The Wild Flowers of Early Spring-time, 343
The Wild Flowers of the Month, by _H. Coultas_, 523
The Wives Of England, 76
The Wreck, by _Mrs. E. Lock_, 259
They say that she is Beautiful, by _Mary Grace Halping_, 451
Time's Changes; or, Fashions in the Olden Times, 512
'Tis Gold! 'Tis Gold! by _James L. Roche_, 258
'Tis O'er, by _I. J. Stine_, 452
To a Friend on the Day of his Marriage, 545
To an Absent Dear One, by _Fannie M. C._, 355
To Caroline in Heaven, by _Annie B. Clare_, 65
To Ida, by _Horace Phelps, M. D._, 356
Toilet Cover in Crochet, 73
To Laura.--The Friend, by _Beata_, 65
To Miss Laura, 416
To Morning, by _Blanche Bennairde_, 57
To my Brother, by _Mrs. M. A. Bigelow_, 258
To one who Rests, by _Winnie Woodfern_, 451
To our Friend Godey, by _Mrs. A. J. Williams_, 468
To the Gánd'hraj, by _Mrs. E. Lock_, 165
To the New Year, 62
Transplanting Roses, 188
Treasures, 420
True Happiness in a Palace, 367
Truth, by _D. Hardy, Jr._, 550
Truth Stranger than Fiction, 406
Two Mothers? by _Mrs. S. F. Jennings_, 543
Undersleeves, 362, 456
Valentine's Day, 156
Vegetable Physiology, by _Harland Coultas_, 148, 232, 523
Veteran Sailor's Song, by "_Caryl_," 164
Virginia Percy.--A Sketch of Southern Life,
by _Pauline Forsyth_, 108
Washing made Easy, 379
Watch-Pocket.--Broderie en Lacet, 269
We Parted, by _M. A. Rice_, 257
Willie Maylie, by _Cornelia M. Dowling_, 353
What shall be done for the Insane? 555
Why don't Ladies learn to Cook? 549
Woman the Physician of her own Sex, 176
Working and Dreaming, by _Mrs. A. L. Lawrie_, 162
Work-Table for Juveniles, 67, 455
Yankee Doodle with Variations, 473
Zanotti: a Romantic Tale of Italy and Spain, by _Percy_, 300
EMBELLISHMENTS, &c.
_January._
The Pleiades.
Time in Search of Cupid.
The Hortense Mantelet and the Victoria.
Embroidery.
Godey's Latest Fashions.
Children's Dresses.
MUSIC.--The Bluebird Waltz, by _Edward Mack_.
The Hungarian Circle.
Boardman & Gray's Dolce Campana Attachment Piano-Fortes.
Instructions for making Ornaments in Rice Shell-Work.
Godey's Course of Lessons in Drawing.
Fallen Rock-Sculptures at Bavian.
A Gossip on the Fashions.
Work-table for Juveniles.
Embroidery for Petticoats.
Chemisettes, Sleeves, and Caps.
Child's Dress.
Toilet Cover in Crochet.
Embroidery for Shirts.
Cottage Furniture.
Directions to Ladies for Shopping.
Designs for Headdresses.
_February._
The Evening Walk.
Godey's Colored Fashions.
Embroidered Dressing-Gown.
Broderie Anglaise Flouncing.
The Farm Yard.
Window Curtains.
MUSIC.--Andante and Waltz, by _Thos. A'Becket_.
The Moscow Wrapper.
Boardman & Gray's Dolce Campana Attachment Piano-Fortes.
Godey's Course of Lessons in Drawing.
The New Sewing-Machine.
Babylon and Nineveh.
Vegetable Physiology.
Instructions for making Ornaments in Rice Shell-Work.
The Salamanca.
Polka Jacket and Diagrams.
Embroidery for Shirts.
The Pelisse, a favorite style of outside garment.
Caps.
Embroidered Screen.
Patterns for Embroidery.
Braid Pattern.
Petticoat Trimming.--In Broderie Anglaise.
Embroidered Collar.
The Scotch Piper.
_March._
Selling the Wedding-Ring or Love-Token.
Godey's Unrivalled Colored Fashions.
Embroidered Antimacassar.
Watch-Pocket.--Broderie en Lacet.
Embroidery Pattern.
Model Cottage, printed in tints; and ground-plan.
Fashionable Bonnets.
MUSIC.--Pop Goes the Weasel.
The Arragonese and the Valencia.
Design for Embroidered Screen.
The Manufacture of Paper.
Godey's Course of Lessons in Drawing.
Babylon and Nineveh.
Vegetable Physiology.
Instructions for making Ornaments in Rice Shell-Work.
Braided Slipper.
Lady's Walking-Dress and Diagrams.
Cottage Furniture.
Chemisettes and Sleeves.
Madame Caplin's Corsets.
Taper Stand.
Patterns for Embroidery.
Bird's-eye View of Boardman & Gray's Piano-Forte Manufactory,
Albany, N. Y.
Little Girl's Sack and Outdoor Dresses.
Oakford's Spring Fashions for Hats, Caps, &c.
_April._
Departure of the Orphan.
The Arrival of the Lady's Book.
Apron in Broderie en Lacet.
Latest Fashions.--Spring Dresses.
Camilla Mantilla and Le Printemps Mantilla.
The Columbine and the Snowdrop.--Mantillas.
Eugenie Costume and L'Anglaise.
Spring Bonnet.
The Manufacture of Artificial Flowers.
Godey's Course of Lessons in Drawing.
Model Cheese Dairy-House, and Model Piggery.
Lady's Scarf Mantelet and Diagrams, and Diagrams for Lady's Jacket.
Crochet Tassel Cover.
Netted Cap, for morning wear.
Border and Corner for Pocket-Handkerchief.
Chemisettes, Undersleeves, and Caps.
Lady's Slipper.
Jacket for a Riding-Dress.
Cottage Furniture.
Patterns for Embroidery.
The Husband of your Cook leaving your House.
_May._
The Gleaner.
Godey's Colored Spring Fashions.
Embroidered Dress Undersleeve.
Preparing for Church.
MUSIC.--Let us be Friends. Words by _David Bates, Esq._ Music by
_P. K._
MANTILLAS.--Evangeline and Antoinette; Lace Mantilla and Tablet
Mantilla; Marquise and Navailles Shawl-Mantelet; The Albuera.
Spring Fashions.
Design for a Letter-Band.
Painting on Velvet.
Godey's Course of Lessons in Drawing.
New Revelations of an Old Country.
Farm House.
Ladies' Dresses and Diagrams.
Cottage Furniture.
Back of a Watch-Pocket.
Dice Pattern for Slippers.
Patterns for Embroidery.
Embroidery with Cord.
Spring Bonnets.
Night Dresses.
The Broken Bust.
_June._
Eastport and Passamaquoddy Bay.
Colored Fashions.
Embroidered Dress Collar.
The Truant Detected.
Fashionable Bonnets and Caps.
The Pyramid Talma.
The Scarf Volant.
MUSIC.--The Palace Waltz.
The Empress and the Novada.
Preservation of Food.
Godey's Course of Lessons in Drawing.
The Wild Flowers of the Month.
Artificial Pearls in the Mussel.
Illuminated, or Vellum-Painting.
Caps and Headdress.
Juvenile Fashions.
Braid for Child's Dress.
Lace Basque.
Lady's Riding Boots.
Cottage Furniture.
Lady's Slipper on Cloth.--Smyrna Embroidery.
Design for a Bread-Cloth.
Patterns for Embroidery.
[Illustration: THE HORTENSE MANTELET.]
[Illustration: EMBROIDERY.]
[Illustration: THE VICTORIA.]
[Illustration: CHILDREN'S DRESSES
BY OUR "FASHION EDITOR."]
THE BLUE-BIRD WALTZ.
COMPOSED BY
EDWARD MACK.
_Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1853, by T. C.
ANDREWS, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Eastern
District of Pennsylvania_
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: THE HUNGARIAN CIRCLE.
[From the establishment of G. BRODIE, No. 51 Canal Street, New York.]]
GODEY'S
LADY'S BOOK.
PHILADELPHIA, JANUARY, 1854.
EVERYDAY ACTUALITIES.--NO. XV.
ILLUSTRATED WITH PEN AND GRAVER.
[Illustration: GATEWAY ENTRANCE TO BOARDMAN & GRAY'S FACTORY.]
BOARDMAN & GRAY'S DOLCE CAMPANA ATTACHMENT PIANO-FORTES.
Perhaps we cannot present our readers a more interesting article
on manufacturing, than to give an idea of piano-forte making.
Piano-fortes, in these days, making an almost indispensable article
of furniture in every dwelling; adding so much to the pleasures of
home, and being so much of a companion in all home hours; contributing
so largely to the enjoyments of society, that some little knowledge
of the processes of making, and the materials used, must be not only
interesting to all, but valuable to those who may wish to know how good
piano-fortes should be made.
With this desire, we have selected as our MODEL the large and
flourishing manufactory of Messrs. Boardman & Gray, the eminent
piano-forte makers of Albany, N. Y., celebrated as the manufacturers of
the Dolce Campana Attachment Piano-Fortes, whose instruments were not
only sought after and used by Jenny Lind, Catharine Hayes, and other
celebrities, but by the profession generally throughout the United
States.
Messrs. Boardman & Gray's manufactory is situated at Albany, N. Y.,
occupying the end of a block, presenting a front on three streets
of upwards of 320 feet, the main building of which, fronting on two
streets 208 feet, is built of brick, four stories high above a high
basement-story, devoted exclusively to machinery driven by a forty
horse power engine. The completeness of design of these buildings and
machinery for the purpose used, we believe, has no superior, if any
equal, in this country. Every improvement and convenience is attached
to make the entire perfect, and in going through the premises one is
attracted by the comprehensiveness of the whole concern.
The entrance to the factory of Messrs. Boardman & Gray is by a large
gateway through the centre of the building, next to the office, so
that the person in charge of the office has full view of all that
enter or leave the premises. We pass into the yard, and are surprised
at the large amount of lumber of all kinds piled up in the rough
state. The yard is full, and also the large two story brick building
used as drying sheds for lumber. Here a large circular saw is in full
operation, cutting up the wood ready for the sheds or machine-room.
Messrs. Boardman & Gray have the most of their lumber sawed out from
the logs expressly for them in the forests of Alleghany, Oneida,
Herkimer, and other choice localities in N. Y., and also Canada, and
delivered by contract two and three years after being sawed, when well
seasoned. The variety and number of different kinds of wood used in
the business is quite surprising. Pine, spruce, maple, oak, chestnut,
ash, bass-wood, walnut, mahogany, cherry, birch, rosewood, ebony,
whiteholly, apple, pear-tree, and several other varieties, each of
which has its peculiar qualities, and its place in the piano depends
on the duties it has to perform. The inspecting and selecting of the
lumber require the strictest attention, long experience, and matured
judgment; for it must be not only of the right kind, and free from all
imperfections, such as knots, shakes, sapwood, &c., but it must also be
well seasoned. All the lumber used by Messrs. Boardman & Gray, being
cut two or three years in advance, is seasoned before they receive it;
then it is piled up and dried another year, at least, in their yard,
after which it is cut up by the cross-cut circular saw, and piled
another season in their sheds, when it is taken down for use, and goes
into the machine-shop; and here it is cut into the proper forms and
sizes wanted, and then put into the drying-rooms for six months or a
year more before it is used in the piano-forte.
These drying-rooms, of which there are three in the establishment, are
kept at a temperature of about 100° Fahrenheit, by means of steam from
the boiler through pipes. As fast as one year's lot of lumber is taken
down for use, another lot is put in its place ready for the next year.
In this way, Messrs. Boardman & Gray have a surety that none but the
most perfectly seasoned and dry lumber is used in their piano-fortes.
Their constant supply of lumber on hand at all times is from two to
three hundred thousand feet, and as Albany is the greatest lumber mart
in the world, of course they have the opportunity of selecting the
choicest lots for their own use, and keeping their supply good at all
times.
The selection of the proper kinds of lumber, and its careful
preparation, so as to be in the most perfect order, constitute one of
the most important points in making piano-fortes that will remain in
tune well, and stand any climate.
[Illustration: DRILLERS' ROOM.]
Here is the motive power, and a beautiful Gothic pattern horizontal
engine of _forty horse power_, built at the machine works of
the Messrs. Townsend of Albany, from the plans, and under the
superintendence of Wm. McCammon, Esq., engineer now in charge of
the Chicago (Ill.) Water-works. The engine is, indeed, a beautiful
working model, moving with its strong arm the entire machinery used
throughout the building, yet so quiet that, without seeing it, you
would hardly know it was in motion. In the same room is the boiler,
of the locomotive tubular pattern, large enough not only to furnish
steam for the engine, but also for heating the entire factory, and
furnishing heat for all things requisite in the building. Water for
supplying the boiler is contained in a large cistern under the centre
of the yard, holding some 26,000 gallons, supplied from the roofs of
the buildings. The engine and boiler are in the basement (occupying the
basement and first story in one room), at one end of the building, and
are so arranged that all the machinery used in the different stories is
driven throughout by long lines of shafting put up in the most finished
manner, while the entire manufactory is warmed in the most thorough
and healthy manner by steam from the boiler, passing through some
8,000 feet of iron pipe, arranged so that each room can be tempered
as required. At the same time, ovens heated with steam through pipes
are placed in the different rooms to warm the materials for gluing and
veneering. The glue is all "made off" and kept hot in the different
rooms by means of iron boxes with water in them (in which the glue-pots
are placed), kept at the boiling point by steam passing through pipes
in the water: thus the boiler furnishes all the heat required in the
business.
[Illustration: ENGINE AND BOILER.]
We pass to the next room, where we find the workmen employed in
preparing the massive metallic (iron) plates used inside the pianos,
from the rough state, as they come from the furnace. They are first
filed smooth and perfect to the pattern, then painted and rubbed even
and smooth, and are then ready for the drilling of the numerous holes
for the pins and screws that have to be put into and through the plate
in using it. (A view of the drilling-machines and workmen is given with
the engine.)
Into each plate for a seven octave piano, there have to be drilled
upwards of 450 holes, and about 250 of these have pins riveted into
them for the strings, &c.; and these must be exactly in their places
by a working pattern, for the least variation might make much trouble
in putting on the strings and finishing the piano. Of course, these
holes are drilled by machinery with that perfection and speed that can
be done only with the most perfect machines and competent experienced
workmen. And these metallic plates, when finished and secured in the
instrument correctly, give a firmness and durability to the piano
unattainable by any other method.
[Illustration: MACHINE-ROOM.]
In the same room with the drilling-machines we find the leg-making
machines, for cutting from the rough blocks of lumber the beautifully
formed "ogee" and "curved legs," as well as sides, of various patterns,
ready for being veneered with rosewood or mahogany. The body of the
legs is generally made of chestnut, which is found best adapted to
the purpose. The leg-machine is rather curious in its operations, the
cutting-knives revolving in a sliding-frame, which follows the pattern,
the leg, whilst being formed, remaining stationary.
Our first impression on entering the machine-shop is one of noise and
confusion; but, on looking about, we find all is order, each workman
attending his own machine and work. Here are two of "Daniel's Patented
Planing-Machines," of the largest size, capable of planing boards or
plank of any thickness three feet wide; two circular saws; one upright
turning-saw, for sawing fancy scroll-work; a "half-lapping machine,"
for cutting the bottom framework together; turning lathes, and several
other machines, all in full operation, making much more noise than
music.
The lumber, after being cut to the length required by the large
cross-cut saw in the yard, and piled in the sheds, is brought into this
machine-room and sawed and planed to the different forms and shapes
required for use, and is then ready for the drying-rooms.
In this machine-room, which is a very large one, the "bottoms" for the
cases are made and finished, ready for the case-maker to build his case
upon. If we examine them, we will find they are constructed so as to be
of great strength and durability; and, being composed of such perfectly
seasoned materials, the changes of different climates do not injure
them, and they will endure any strain produced by the great tension of
the strings of the piano in "tuning up to pitch," amounting to several
tons.
But we must pass on to the next room. We step on a raised platform
about four feet by eight, and, touching a short lever, find ourselves
going up to the next floor. Perhaps a lot of lumber is on the platform
with us, on its way to the drying-rooms. On getting on a level with
the floor, we again touch the magic lever, and our steam elevator
(or dumb waiter) stops, and, stepping off, find ourselves surrounded
with workmen; and this is the "case-making" department. And here we
find piano-forte cases in all stages of progress; the materials for
some just gathered together, and others finished or finishing; some
of the plainest styles, and others of the most elaborate carved work
and ornamental designs. Nothing doing but making cases; two rooms
adjoining, 115 feet long, with workmen all around as close together as
they can work with convenience. Each room is furnished with its steam
ovens, glue heaters, &c. The case-maker makes the rims of the case,
and veneers them. He fits and secures these to the bottom. He also
makes and veneers the tops. This completes his work, and then we have
the skeleton of a piano, the mere shell or box. The rim is securely and
firmly fastened to the strong bottoms, bracing and blocking being put
in in the strongest and most permanent manner, the joints all fitting
as close as if they grew together; and then the case is ready to
receive the sounding-board and iron frame. The bottoms are made mostly
of pine; the rims of the case are of ash or cherry, or of some hard
wood that will hold the rosewood veneers with which they are covered.
The tops are made of ash or cherry, sometimes of mahogany, and veneered
with rosewood. We will now follow the case to the room where the
workmen are employed in putting in the sounding-board and iron frames.
[Illustration: SPINNING-MACHINE.
SOUNDING-BOARD AND IRON-FRAME ROOM.]
The sounding-board is what, in a great measure, gives tone, and the
different qualities of tone, to the piano. Messrs. Boardman & Gray
use the beautiful white, clear spruce lumber found in the interior
counties of New York, which they consider in every way as good as the
celebrated "Swiss Fir." It is sawed out in a peculiar manner, expressly
for them, for this use, selected with the greatest possible care, and
so thoroughly seasoned that there is no possibility of its warping
or cracking after being placed in one of their finished instruments.
The making of the sounding-board the requisite thinness (some parts
require to be much thinner than others), its peculiar bracing, &c.,
are all matters that require great practical experience, together with
numberless experiments, by which alone the perfection found in the
piano-fortes of Messrs. Boardman & Gray, their full, rich tone giving
the most positive evidence of superiority, can be attained.
We will watch the processes of the workmen in this department. One
is at work putting in the "long-block" of hard maple, seasoned and
prepared until it seems almost as hard as iron, which is requisite, as
the "tuning-pins" pass through the plate into it, and are thus firmly
held. Another workman is making a sounding-board, another fitting
one in its place, &c. &c. All the blocking being in the case, the
sounding-board is fitted and fastened in its place, so as to have the
greatest possible vibrating power, &c.; and then the iron frame must be
fitted over all and cemented and fastened down. The frame is finished,
with its hundreds of holes and pins, in the drillers'-room, and the
workman here has only to fit it to its place and secure it there; and
then the skeleton case is ready to receive its strings and begins to
look like what may make a piano-forte.
Spinning the bass strings, and stringing the case, come next in order.
In the foreground of the last plate, we have a curious-looking machine,
and a workman busy with it winding the bass strings, a curiosity to
all who witness his operations. To get the requisite flexibility and
vibration to strings of the size and weight wanted in the bass notes,
tempered steel wire is used for the strings, and on this is wound
soft annealed iron wire, plated with silver; each string being of a
different size, of course various sizes of body and covering wire are
used in their manufacture. The string to be covered is placed in the
machine, which turns it very rapidly, while the workman holds the
covering wire firmly and truly, and it is wound round and covers the
centre wire. This work requires peculiar care and attention, and, like
all the other different branches in Messrs. Boardman & Gray's factory,
the workmen here attend to but one thing; they do nothing else but spin
these bass strings, and string pianos year in and year out.
The case, while in this department, receives all its strings, which
are of the finest tempered steel wire, finished and polished in the
most beautiful manner. But a few years since, the making of steel music
wire was a thing unknown in the United States; in fact, there were
but two factories of note in the world which produced it; but now, as
with other things, the Americans are ahead, and the "steel music wire"
made by Messrs. Washburn & Co., of Worcester, Mass. is far superior in
quality and finish to the foreign wire. The peculiar temper of the wire
has a great influence on the piano's keeping in tune, strings breaking,
&c., and, as the quality cannot always be ascertained but by actual
experiment, much is condemned after trial, and the perfect only used.
[Illustration: KEY-MAKERS' DEPARTMENT.]
The preparation of what is termed the "keyboard" is one of peculiar
nicety, and the selection of the lumber and its preparation require
great experience and minute attention, so that the keys will not spring
or warp, and thus either not work or throw the hammers out of place,
&c. The frame on which the keys rest is usually made of the best of old
dry cherry, closely framed together to the form required for the keys
and action. The wood of the keys is usually of soft straight-grained
white pine, or prepared bass-wood. Both kinds have to go through many
ordeals of seasoning, &c., ere they are admitted into one of the
fine-working, finished instruments of Messrs. Boardman & Gray. The
keys are made as follows: On a piece of lumber the keys are marked
out, and the cross-banding and slipping done to secure the ivory; the
ivory is applied and secured, and then the keys are sawed apart and
the ivory polished and finished complete. The ebony black keys are
then made and put on and polished, and the key-board is complete; the
key-maker has finished his part of the piano. The ivory used is of the
finest quality, and an article of great expense; its preparation from
the elephant's tusks, of sawing, bleaching, &c., is mostly confined to
a few large dealers in the United States. The most important concern
of the kind is that of Messrs. Pratt, Brothers & Co., of Deep River,
Conn., who supply most of the large piano-makers in the Union. As the
ivory comes from them, it is only in its rough state, sawed out to the
requisite sizes for use, after which it has to be seasoned or dried
the same as lumber, and then prepared and fastened on the key; then to
be planed up, finished, and polished, all of which requires a great
amount of labor, much skill, and experience. Besides ivory, Messrs.
Boardman & Gray use no small quantity of the beautiful variegated
"mother-of-pearl," for keys in their highly ornamental, finished
piano-fortes, a material itself very costly, and requiring a large
amount of labor to finish and polish them with that peculiar richness
for which their instruments are so celebrated. In this, as in the other
departments, each workman has his own special kind of work; nothing
else to attend to but key-making; his whole energies are devoted to
perfect this part of the instrument.
[Illustration: ACTION-MAKING MACHINE, ETC.]
In this department, we again see the perfection of machine-work. The
action is one of the most important things in the piano-forte. On its
construction and adjustment depends the whole working part of the
instrument; for, however good the piano-forte scale may be, or how
complete and perfect all the other parts are formed, if the action is
not good, if the principle on which it is constructed is not correct,
and the adjustment perfect, if the materials used are not of the right
kind, of course the action will not be right, and it will either be
dead under the fingers, without life and elasticity, without the power
of quick repetition of the blow of the hammer, or soon wear loose,
and make more noise and rattling than music. Thus will be seen the
importance of not only having that action which is modelled on the best
principle, but of having an instrument constructed in the most perfect
and thorough manner. All parts of it should be so adjusted as to work
together with as much precision as the wheels of a watch.
Messrs. Boardman & Gray use the principle which is termed the French
Grand Action, with many improvements added by themselves. This they
have found from long experience to be the best in many ways. It is
more powerful than the "Boston, or Semi-Grand;" it will repeat with
much greater rapidity and precision than any other; it is far more
elastic under the manipulation of the fingers; and, to sum up all, it
is almost universally preferred by professors and amateurs, and, what
is still a very important point, they find, after a trial and use of
it for many years, that it wears well. What is technically called the
action consists of the parts that are fastened to the key, and work
together to make the hammer strike the strings of the piano when the
key is pressed down. The parts made of wood, consisting of some eight
or ten pieces to each key, are what compose the action-maker's work;
and, although they are each of them small, still on their perfection
and finish depends much of the value of the instrument in which they
are used. Various kinds of close-grained wood are used in their
construction, such as white holly, apple or pear-tree, mahogany, hard
maple, red cedar, &c., and other kinds as are best adapted to the use
put to. They have to be closely fitted; the holes for the centre pins
to work in must be clothed with cloth prepared expressly for this
work. Buckskin of a particular finish, and cloth of various kinds and
qualities, are used to cover those parts where there is much friction
or liability to noise, and every part so perfectly finished and fitted
that it will not only work smoothly, and without any sticking or
clinging, but without noise, and yet be firm and true, so that every
time the key is touched the hammer strikes the string in response.
The action-maker completes these different parts of the action; and
then another workman, who is called the "finisher," fits them to the
keys and into the case of the piano; but, before we enter into his
room, we will see to the preparation of another important part of the
action, namely, the hammer. This is another extremely important thing
in piano-forte making; the covering of the hammers is one of the most
peculiar branches of the business. It is one that long experience and
minute attention can alone perfect. The hammer head is generally made
of bass-wood, and then covered with either felt prepared for this
purpose, or deer or buckskin dressed expressly for this business.
The preparation of buckskin for piano-forte makers is at this time
quite an important trade, and the improvements made in its dressing
of late years have kept full pace with the other improvements in the
piano. The peculiar ordeal they undergo we cannot here explain; but
we can only see the beautiful article finished for use. Some of them
for the under coatings or layers are firm and yet elastic and soft,
while those prepared for the top coating or capping are pliable and
soft as silk velvet; and these, when correctly applied, will form a
hammer which, if the piano-forte is perfect otherwise, will always give
the rich, full organ tone for which the pianos of Messrs. Boardman
& Gray are so celebrated. Those employed in covering and preparing
hammers do this exclusively, and must perfect their work. They give
the greatest number of coats, and the thickest buckskin to the hammers
for the bass strings, and then taper up evenly and truly to the treble
hammers, which have a less number of coats and of the thinnest kinds;
and then, after the hammer is fitted to the string in the piano, and
it has been tuned and the action adjusted, it goes into the hands of
the hammer finisher, who tries each note, and takes off and puts on
different buckskin until every note is good, and the tone of the piano
is perfectly true.
[Illustration: FINISHING-ROOM.]
We left the piano-case in the hands of the persons employed in putting
on the beautifully polished steel strings, whose vibrations may yet
thrill many a heart, or bring the starting tear. After it has its
strings, it goes to the finisher, whose duties consist in taking the
keys as they come from the key-maker, the action as prepared, and the
hammers from the hammer-maker, and fitting them together and into
the case, so that the keys and action work together; adjusting the
hammer to strike the strings, and putting the dampers in their proper
places to be acted on by the keys and pedals; making and fitting the
harp, or soft stop; adjusting the loading of the keys to make a heavy
or light touch, and thus doing what may be termed the putting the
machinery together to form the working part of the piano-forte. And,
when we consider that each key in one of Messrs. Boardman & Gray's
piano-fortes is composed, with its action, of some sixty-five to
seventy pieces, and that there are eighty-five keys to a seven octave
instrument, making a sum total of nearly six thousand pieces, and
that many of these pieces have to be handled over many times before
they are finished in the piano, one is not a little surprised at the
immense amount of work in a perfect piano-forte. But these six thousand
pieces only compose the keys and action alone, and consist of wood,
iron, cloth, felt, buckskin, and many other things; and, as a matter of
course, each piece must be made and fitted with the greatest exactness,
and the most perfect materials alone must be used. The "finishing,"
it will be seen at once, is another important branch, and requires
long experience, close attention, and workmanship. Messrs. Boardman &
Gray have many workmen employed in this department at finishing alone.
The work is done by the piece, as many of the different branches are
under the personal superintendence of the foreman, whose duty it is to
see that the work is made perfect; for the workman is liable for the
materials he destroys. One great improvement made by Messrs. Boardman
& Gray, and placed in all their piano-fortes, we believe is not used
by any other maker. We refer to their metallic OVER damper register
and cover. The dampers are held in their places by wires or lifters
passing between the strings and through the register, which holds them
as they are acted on by the keys and pedal. This register is usually
made in the old way, of wood, and placed _under the strings_, and,
consequently, the weather acting on the wood is liable to warp or
spring the register, and thus throw these wires or lifters against the
strings, causing a jingling or harsh jarring when the piano is used;
and, then, the register being placed beneath the strings, and the
lifters passing through it and above the strings to the dampers, of
course they are liable to accidents, and to be bent and knocked out of
place in many ways by anything hitting the dampers, as in dusting out
the instrument, &c. But this improvement of Messrs. Boardman & Gray
covers all these defects in the old register. Theirs, being of iron, is
not affected by the changes of the weather or temperature of different
houses and rooms; and, then, being placed _above_ the strings, the
dampers are at all times protected from injury. Consequently, their
piano-fortes never have any jangling or jingling of the strings against
the damper wires. This we believe to be a most valuable improvement,
and, at the same time, the beautiful metallic damper cover is highly
ornamental to the interior of the piano-forte.
When the case is thus finished, it can be tuned for the first time,
although all is yet in the rough and unadjusted state; and from
the finisher, after being tuned, it passes into the hands of the
"regulator."
(Concluded next month.)
THE STOLEN MATCH.
BY HON. CALEB CUSHING.
The vesper bell had tolled the hour of _oraciones_, in Valladolid,
at the close of an autumnal day, in the year 1469, and the crowds of
worshippers reverted to their accustomed pleasures and pursuits, after
making their evening salutation to the Virgin. Small parties of armed
horsemen had been seen to enter the city during the day, who one by
one disappeared under the half opened and quickly shut gateway of
here and there a dark stone dwelling, whose grated windows and heavy
walls seemed to be designed to guard its inmates against the assault
of feudal enemies, quite as much as to shelter them from the elements.
But the spectacle of military array was of too ordinary occurrence to
awaken the attention of the plodding burghers, who, muffled in their
large cloaks, were sufficiently happy to remain unmolested themselves
by the mail-clad cavaliers, without seeking to pry into their business;
to do which, would only have subjected such over-curious persons to
fierce words, and perchance rude blows to back insulting speech. And
it was vain to speculate on such a matter, in times when grandee and
peasant alike made war at will on their own account; and no powerful
chieftain moved without a retinue of right good lances beside him,
inured to violence, and bound to follow his banner for weal or woe. As
the sun descended behind the mountains of Leon, a sharp wind rushed
along the valley of the Duero, and sweeping up the Pisuerga filled
Valladolid with its chilling blasts; but the tramp of steeds and the
clang of armor still rang upon the ear, long after night had thrown her
dark mantle over the gothic towers of the city.
Occupying a large space on a side of the Campo Grande, at one extremity
of the city, stood a stately edifice, rising amid the numerous churches
and long ranges of unsightly convent walls, which formed the prominent
objects in that immense irregular square. The richly ornamented front
of this mansion, although its heavy carved mouldings and friezes, and
indeed its entire surface, had acquired the deep brown hue of venerable
age, was yet untouched by the hand of decay; and in its mass no less
than its ornaments bespoke the wealth and consequence of its occupant.
Indeed, the coat of arms of ample size, overhanging, as it were, the
keystone of a huge arched gateway, which, being placed in the centre
of the façade, constituted the sole entrance to the inner court-yard,
and the apartments of the building, afforded conclusive evidence that
it belonged to one of the proud nobles of Castile. Its lower range of
windows was guarded by strong stanchions or bars of iron, extending
longitudinally up and down, and built fast into the solid masonry.
Balconies, also of massive iron bars, but wrought into tasteful shapes,
and resting upon sculptured slabs of stone, jutted out in relief from
the window-sills of the upper windows, which were secured by means
of thick shutters of carved oak, made to open inwards, like folding
doors, and fastened by movable stanchions of a peculiar form, called
_fallebas_, somewhat resembling in make and movement the iron crane
used for hoisting merchandise. Within the quadrangle or _patio_, where
a small fountain played into a marble basin, was a postern door, which
conducted through a terraced garden towards the outer wall of the city.
A small, square turret, rising at each corner of the roof, rather for
ostentation than use, completes the picture of the town residence of
Don Juan de Vivero.
Late in the evening, a solitary cavalier, attended only by a _mozo de
espuelas_, or groom, spurring along his weary steed, rode up to the
front gate of this house, and knocked for admission. At the signal, the
_mirilla_, or little door in the gateway, just large enough to look
through and see what was without, was cautiously unclosed; and to the
challenge of the porter the whispered reply of "_Gente de paz_," in the
well known voice of Don Gutierre de Cardenas, caused the gate to be
quickly unbarred for the reception of the horseman and his follower.
The appearance of Don Gutierre, as he became exposed to the light of
the torches within, indicated a plain citizen; it might be a common
trader, it might be a mere artisan; and ere he had well dismounted
and given his jaded and travel-soiled horse to the domestics, a
lady hastily entered, who started at the garb and appearance of the
new-comer; but without waiting for the usual exchange of salutations--
"Now what tidings, señorito, for my lady," cried she, "and why dost
thou come hither thus travestied and alone, when we look for other
attendance?"
"Content thee, Doña Beatriz," said the cavalier, "and conduct me
straight to thy lady, or to the lord Archbishop, if he be here."
"I trow," answered Doña Beatriz, "she will welcome thee none the
better for the precious specimen thou wearest of the skill of Zaragoza
tailors, nor for carrying into her presence thy sweet person covered
with dust from every bypath, between Osma and Valladolid, nor for
speeding so ill in thy mission."
"Content thee, again, I say, and lead on," rejoined he, "lest I be
tempted, in guerdon of thy swift wit, to kiss thy soft hand unbidden;"
and he followed the laughing Doña Beatriz to the apartments of her
lady. Scarce had their footsteps died away on the staircase, when Don
Juan de Vivero was summoned in all haste to the presence of his fair
guest; and the hurry of sudden preparation, and the eager looks of
anxious expectation pervaded the late quiet household.