New subscribers should order at once, thus securing a complete volume,
containing one hundred illustrations. Considering the selection and
quality of reproduction, fifty cents is an exceedingly low rate for
these.
An index and title-page for the first volume of THE BROCHURE SERIES
have been prepared for the convenience of those who wish to bind their
copies, and they will be mailed free to any subscriber upon request.
Since the introduction to the public of THE BROCHURE SERIES in its
present form a year ago, five-cent magazines have been made fashionable.
Their number is countless, and they are of all degrees of value and
interest. A year ago the experiment was a comparatively untried one
and the policy of THE BROCHURE SERIES was necessarily more or less
experimental, but it has now crystalized into fairly settled shape. In
its main feature, the illustration of historic architecture, it must
appeal to all who have any connection with the architectural profession.
An architect can never have too many photographs, provided they are well
classified and accessible; and it is practically impossible that anyone
shall have _all_ of the one hundred photographs given in a year's
volumes of the magazine, as they are drawn from so many different
sources. The classification of subjects is of itself sufficient reason
for buying THE BROCHURES, even provided they duplicate photographs
already owned.
The educational features of the magazine relating to architectural
societies, schools, and public competitions have proved of unusual
interest to the younger members of the profession, and during the coming
year it is hoped that more importance can be given to this work. The
cooperation of all who are concerned in organizations of this character
is earnestly solicited.
The competitions which have been offered from time to time under the
direction of the magazine have proved so successful that an effort will
be made to establish them as a regular feature, and it is hoped that at
least one competition a month can be looked for in future.
+Wanted+
Draughtsmen's Addresses.
We intend issuing, the coming year, a number of interestingly
illustrated announcements of new architectural publications and
importations. We want to send these to every architectural student
and draughtsman in the United States and Canada. If you are not on our
subscription list, send us your _residence_ address for our circular
mailing list. Address a postal card as below, putting simply your
address on the back. If you are in an office, have the other fellows put
their residence addresses on the same card. We prefer to address mail
matter to your residence, as there is less danger of miscarriage. Do not
get the idea that by sending your address you are ordering something you
will be asked to pay for. All the expense, except the postal card, is
on our side. If we can't get out announcements interesting enough to
attract your attention and occasionally secure an order, it will be our
loss. Address:--
Bates & Guild,
6 Beacon Street,
Boston, Mass.
_For Circular List._
[Illustration: XCVII.
Old Manor House, Lythe Hill, England.]
+Brochure Series Competition No. 3.+
The designs submitted in the competition closing December 20 for the
advertising page of the Boynton Furnace Co. proved of even greater merit
as a whole than those submitted in the first competition, and it has
been difficult to decide which has the best claim to the prize; but the
judges have finally decided to award the first place to Mr. William L.
Welton, of Lynn, Mass., and his design is given on advertising page xiii
of this number. Of the reasons for this award some will be evident at a
glance. The effect of the page as a whole is striking and unique. To
be sure, there is a certain suggestiveness of Mr. Binner's familiar
advertisements for the Pabst Brewing Co., but the similarity goes no
further than the selection of Egyptian motives and the simple, flat,
silhouette-like treatment. Mr. Welton has merely gone to the same
source of inspiration, and his design is just as good in its way as Mr.
Binner's. The idea of connecting the character of the ornament with the
advertisement is carried out in both cases. The Pabst advertisements all
state that the history of brewing begins with Egypt, while Mr. Welton
has very cleverly used the Great Pyramid of Cheops as a graphic
illustration to indicate the area covered by the heaters built by the
Boynton Furnace Company.
[Illustration:
DESIGN BY W. B. OLMSTED.]
If any suggestions were to be offered towards the improvement of this
design, they would be mainly in the direction of refinement in drawing.
The lettering is not what it might be, especially at the top in the name
of the company, which is somewhat confused. The monogram, an unimportant
feature from an advertising point of view, is given the most important
position in the design.
[Illustration:
DESIGN BY PIERRE LIESCH.]
The following competitors, in the opinion of the judges, deserve
honorable mention: W. B. Olmsted, 118 Lake Street, Elmira, N.Y.; Pierre
Liesch, 53 State Street, Boston, Mass.; P. G. Gulbranson, 31 West
Street, Boston, Mass.; F. Chouteau Brown, 31 East Newton Street, Boston,
Mass.; William J. Freethy, 85 Water Street, Boston, Mass.
Mr. Olmsted's design, which is illustrated herewith, is, like the design
which he submitted in the last competition, in many respects distinctly
the best of the collection. It is unfortunate in representing a heater
not made by the Boynton Furnace Company, but very suggestive of a
pattern made by one of their competitors in the trade. If it were not
for this unfortunate slip, it would be given first place. The idea is
good and the treatment all that could be desired. It is good advertising
and meets the conditions directly and well.
[Illustration:
DESIGN BY P. G. GULBRANSON.]
The design of Mr. Liesch has the virtue of being unusual, and would
arrest the attention of many who might not be attracted by the preceding
one. The lettering in this case, although done with exceptional taste,
is not sufficiently clear and readable to be entirely satisfactory as
an advertisement.
Mr. Gulbranson's design is of more interest as a drawing than as an
advertisement. To the readers of THE BROCHURE SERIES this characteristic
would doubtless appeal, while it might be of no value in an
advertisement intended for a different clientage.
[Illustration:
DESIGN BY F. CHOUTEAU BROWN.]
Mr. Brown's design has an interest of a different sort. It is crude in
treatment, purposely so no doubt, but the idea is so unusual, with a
quaint touch of humor, that it would be sure to attract attention. If
space would allow, several of the remaining designs could be reproduced
to advantage, and would give a wider field for comparison.
[Illustration: XCVIII.
Old Manor House, Lythe Hill, England.]
+Notes.+
Attention has already been called in these columns to the efforts of
the Henry F. Miller Piano Co. to foster the designing of artistic piano
cases. Their later designs are a long step away from the conventional
and hopelessly ugly piano cases that have been put out by the piano
trade universally. They reason that the piano, as an artistic
instrument, should have an artistic setting, and it is to draw the
attention of architectural designers to this point that they have
already given prizes for one competition, and purpose offering another
prize, probably of $100, for a second competition. The making of
special designs for piano cases has fallen largely into the hands of
custom-furniture makers simply because the work of piano factories has
for years carried its own condemnation. The furniture maker often is
forced to buy a new piano, from stock, and build it over as best he can,
charging a price that is almost prohibitory. Since the Miller factory
has been equipped with the best facilities for special case work it has
become possible for architects to have their own designs intelligently
executed without unreasonable expense, or to secure unfinished cases
should they wish a cabinet maker to execute their designs. The Miller
Company is one of the few piano companies in a position to undertake
this departure. The character of their pianos as superior instruments
was established years ago, and every succeeding year has added to their
reputation. The fight for a front-rank position as instrument makers has
been won. Now they begin to fight for artistic case building, and they
deserve the sympathy and encouragement of every American architect. The
work of the pioneer is always hard, and it is seldom the pioneer who
gets the benefits from this work. Should this move of the Miller Company
prove that better designed cases will be appreciated by the public,
every piano maker in the country will follow suit, but none seem to have
the courage to strike out independently with the same aim. The piano
shown on this page is the Wagner Grand exhibited at the World's Fair,
while their Colonial design is shown in their advertisement. They are
the two extremes.
[Illustration.]
One could hardly get a more attractive case for ordinary purposes than
the Colonial pattern.
[Illustration: XCIX.
Old Farm House, Lythe Hill, England.]