HARDWARE.
Having considered metal-work in its more costly branches, we come to
the consideration of hardware, and I am glad that we have now to deal
with such metal-work as results from the use of inexpensive materials,
for it is such that must be generally employed, while works formed of
the precious metals can be used only by comparatively few persons. The
object of art is the giving of pleasure; the mission of the artist is
that of giving ennobling pleasure. If as an artist I give pleasure, I
to an extent fulfil my mission; but I do so, perfectly, only when I
give the greatest amount of the most refined pleasure by my art that
it is possible for me to give. If by producing works which can be
procured by many I give pleasure, it is well that I do so; but if the
many fail to derive pleasure from my works, then I must address myself
to the few, and be content with my lesser mission. Education appears
to be necessary to the appreciation of all art; the artist, then, is a
man who appeals to the educated. If some persons, by their superior
education, are enabled to appreciate art more fully than those who are
ignorant, and can consequently derive more pleasure from it than the
less cultured person, it might then be desirable that the artist
should address himself, through costly materials, to the few, for
thereby he might be giving the greatest amount of pleasure. I always,
however, like to produce works in cheap materials, for then I know
that I form what is capable of giving pleasure to the poor man--if
appreciative--who may possess it, as well as the rich.
In hardware we find two classes of work in the market which appear to
have little in common--the one class being characterised by a
preponderance of excellence, and the other by the dominance of what is
coarse and inartistic. The first class of work is that which is
produced by what are termed ecclesiastical metal-workers; the second
consists of what is generally known as Birmingham ware.
It is an error to suppose that these so-called ecclesiastical--or
mediaeval, as they are sometimes called--metal-workers produce only
ecclesiastical and mediaeval work. On the contrary, some of these
men--and they are now many in number--devote themselves almost
exclusively to domestic work, and most of them fabricate articles in
all styles of art. If I wanted an artistic set of fire-irons, I should
go to one of the ecclesiastical warehouses, for there I have seen many
sets that my reason commends and my judgment approves; but I never saw
a set produced for the general market that I liked; and the most
artistic fenders, grates, and gas-fittings, in almost any style, are
to be got at these shops. I do not mean to convey the impression that
all things made at these ecclesiastical warehouses are good, and that
all things of Birmingham (or Sheffield) manufacture are bad, for I
have seen indifferent works in these mediaeval shops, and I have seen
excellent things from Birmingham--especially I might mention as good
certain gaseliers produced by two of the smaller Birmingham
houses--but as a rule the works found in the mediaeval warehouses are
good, and as a rule the works in hardware produced by Birmingham and
Sheffield are bad, in point of art.
[Illustration: Fig. 163.]
[Illustration: Fig. 164.]
It will appear a mere repetition if I insist that the materials of
which works of hardware are formed be used in the easiest manner in
which they can be worked, and that every article be so formed as
perfectly to answer the end of its formation. Yet I must do so. Let us
look for a common set of fire-irons, and we shall find that nine
pokers out of ten have a handle terminating in a pointed knob. Now, as
the object of this knob is that of enabling us to exercise force
wherewith to break large pieces of coal, the folly of terminating this
knob with a point is obvious. A poker is, essentially, an object of
utility; it should therefore be useful. It is ridiculous to talk
of a poker as an ornament; yet we find it fashionable now to have a
bright poker as an ornament, which is obtrusively displayed to the
visitor, and a little black poker, which is carefully concealed from
view, reserved for use. I cannot imagine what people will not do for
show and fashion, but to the thinking mind such littleness as that
which induces women to keep a poker as an ornament must be
distressing; and until persons who desire to be regarded as educated
learn to discriminate between an ornament and an article of utility,
little progress in art can be made. If a poker is simply a thing to be
looked at, then it may be as inconvenient as you please, for if it
has no purpose to fulfil by its creation it cannot be unfitted to its
purpose. The same remarks will apply to shovel and tongs. If they are
intended as works of utility, then their form must be carefully
considered; but if they are to be mere ornaments I have nothing to say
respecting them.
[Illustration: Fig. 165.]
[Illustration: Fig. 166.]
Utility and beauty are not inseparable; but if an article of any kind
is intended to answer any particular end, it should be fitted to
answer the end proposed by its formation; but after it is created as a
work of utility, care must be exercised in order that it be also a
work of beauty. With due consideration, almost every work may be
rendered both useful and beautiful, and it must ever be the aim of the
intelligent ornamentist to render them so.
[Illustration: Fig. 167.]
[Illustration: Fig. 168.]
Iron is capable of being wrought in various ways; it maybe cast, or
hammered, or cut, or filed. Casting is the least artistic mode of
treating iron; but if iron is to be cast, the patterns formed should
be so fully adapted to this method of manufacture that the mode of
working may be readily apparent. It is foolish to seek to make
cast-iron appear as wrought-iron: cast-iron should appear as
cast-iron, and wrought-iron as wrought-iron. Cast-iron is brittle,
and must not be relied upon as of great strength; while wrought-iron
is tough, and will bend under great pressure rather than break.
Wrought-iron can be readily bent into scrolls, or the end of a rod of
metal can be hammered flat and shaped into the form of a leaf, and
parts can either be welded together or fastened by small collars,
pins, or screws. One or two illustrations of good wrought-iron work by
Skidmore, Benham, and Hart, are given in the engravings.
As an illustration of a simple railing, is figured one shown in the
International Exhibition of 1862 (Fig. 163), which is in every respect
excellent. Its strength is very great, yet it is quaint and beautiful.
As it was shown it was coloured, and the colours were so applied as to
increase its effect and beauty. If the student will carefully devote
himself to the consideration of excellent works in metal, he will
learn more than by much reading. Let him procure, if possible, the
illustrated catalogues of such men as Hart of London, Hardman of
Birmingham, and Dovey of Manchester, and study the sketches which he
will there see, and he will certainly discover the principles of a
true art, such as he must seek to apply in a manner concordant with
his own original feelings.
[Illustration: Fig. 169.]
Of our illustrations, the example by Skidmore (Fig. 161) furnishes us
with an excellent mode of treatment. Iron bands are readily bent into
volutes, or curves of various descriptions, and the parts so formed
can be united by welding, screws, or bolts. Hardman's gate (Fig. 165)
is in every respect excellent; it is quaint, vigorous, and
illustrative of a true mode of working metal. The two foliated
railings (Figs. 166, 167) are also very meritorious. They are simple
in design, and their parts are well fastened together. I advise very
strongly that the student carefully consider the illustrations which
accompany this chapter.
In iron-work the manifestation of a true constructive principle is
beyond all things desirable. Iron, being a strong material, should not
be formed into heavy masses unless immense weight has to be
sustained, or very great strength is required. If we form lamps,
candelabra, and such works of iron, it is obvious that the portions of
metal employed in their construction may be thin, as the material is
of great strength. Were we to form such works of wood, then a greatly
increased thickness of material would be necessary, in order that the
same strength be secured, as wood is not nearly so strong as iron.
My remarks will have special reference to wrought-iron, as cast-iron
cannot so fully be said to have a constructive character. The small
railing (Fig. 163) is an admirable illustration of a true constructive
formation, as the parts are all held together, and strengthened to a
wonderful degree, by the introduction of a horseshoe-shaped member.
This railing is worthy of the most careful study, for its strength is
great. Besides strength we have also beauty. The horseshoe form,
especially when judiciously applied, is far from being offensive.
Utility must come first, and then beauty, and so it does in this
particular railing; but here we have great simplicity, and a correct
structural character has been arrived at in its production rather than
any elaboration of the principles of beauty.
From the catalogue of J. W. Dovey, of Manchester, I select an
illustration of structure in the form of a candelabrum which is highly
satisfactory in character as a simple work (Fig. 168). There is a
solidly-formed heavy base, an upright stem terminating in a
candle-holder. There is an arrangement for catching waste grease, and
extra strength is given to the stem by four slender buttress-like
brackets, which are securely and well attached to the base and to the
stem above; and these are strengthened by two hoops, which prevent
their bending under pressure.
[Illustration: Fig. 170.]
Figs. 169 and 170, the former being a ridge or wall cresting, and the
latter a stair railing, are each illustrations of a correct treatment,
inasmuch as strength (a structural quality) and beauty (an art
quality) are secured at the same time. Fig. 169 is admirably
constructed, only it is a little slender above the middle horizontal
line. These two illustrations are also from Mr. Dovey's catalogue.
In the catalogue just named, and in those previously named also, many
good examples may be found illustrative of the successful combination
of true structural qualities with a considerable amount of beauty, and
also acknowledging the strength of the material by the lightness of
the parts.
[Illustration: Fig. 171.]
Those who reside in, or visit, London, will do well to go to the South
Kensington Museum, and study a large and splendid, candelabrum of
Messrs. Hurt, Son, and Peard, which is well worthy of consideration.
It is rather heavy, and is of enormous strength, but in most other
respects it is highly commendable. It, is beautiful, well
proportioned, and illustrative of a correct treatment of metal.
Besides this, it exemplifies the manner in which stones or jewels may
be applied to works in hardware with advantage. As a further
illustration of a correct and very beautiful treatment of metal, we
give one segment of the Hereford Cathedral Screen (Fig. 171), the work
of that most intelligent of metal-workers, Mr. Skidmore of Coventry.
This screen was shown in the International Exhibition of 1862, in
London, and was from there removed to its place in the cathedral. All
who can will do well to view this beautiful work, which is one of the
finest examples of artistic metal-work with which we are acquainted.
Notice the ease with which iron may be treated if a correct mode of
working be employed. Let a bar of iron be taken which is about half an
inch in thickness, by 1-1/4 broad. This can be rolled into a volute
(the filigree mode of treatment), or its end can be hammered out into
stems and leaves, and to it can be attached other leaves by rivets,
screws, or ties, or it can be bent into any structural form. To the
student I say, study the shapes into which simple bars of iron can be
beaten, both mentally and by observing well-formed works.
[Illustration: Fig. 172.]
Brass, copper, and other metals may be associated with iron in the
formation of any works. If well managed, brass and other bright metals
may act as gems--that is, they may give bright spots; but where the
bright metals are used with this view, care must be exercised in order
that the bright spots be formed by beautiful parts, and that their
distribution be just, for that which is bright will attract first
attention.
Before leaving this part of our subject, I must call attention to a
hinge by Hardman, of Birmingham, which was shown in the International
Exhibition of 1862, as it is both quaint and beautiful (Fig. 172). The
door to which this hinge was applied opened twice; the first half
opened and folded back on the second half, and then the two halves
opened as one door, as will be seen from the illustration. It is very
desirable that we have a little novelty of arrangement in our works.
We are too apt to repeat ourselves, hence it is a sort of relief to
meet with a new idea.
It is impossible that I take up each article of hardware and consider
it separately. All I can do is to point out principles, and leave the
learner to consider and apply them for himself--principles which, once
understood, may result in the construction of many excellent works,
and may lead to the formation of a correct judgment respecting such
objects as may be brought forward for criticism. I will, however, just
call attention to gas-branches, as they are often wrongly constructed.
A gas-branch is a duct through which gas is to be conveyed. It must be
strong if it is to be exposed to pressure, or if it runs the chance of
coming in collision with the person, as do standard lights in public
buildings. The main part of a gas-branch is the tube or pipe which is
to convey the gas, but this may be supported in many ways, as by such
buttress-like brackets as in the candelabrum shown in Fig. 168; and if
there are branch tubes for several lights, these may well be connected
with the central tube, not only by their own attachment, but by
brackets of some sort, or with one another by some connecting parts.
Whether the gas-branch be pendent or standard, this mode of
strengthening the tube-work should be employed, for the tubes
themselves are but slightly held together, and by pressure being
brought to bear upon them, a dangerous and expensive escape of gas may
result.
In the manufacture of gaseliers one or two of the smaller Birmingham
houses have certainly distinguished themselves by the production of
works both beautiful and true; and these lead me to think that a
better day is dawning for Birmingham, in which its art shall be
exalted rather than degraded, and shall be such as will win to it the
esteem of the world rather than call forth the execrations of
art-loving people.
As to the colouring of iron I can say little. In my judgment the best
modes of colouring metals were originated by Mr. Skidmore of Coventry,
of whom I have before spoken. His theory is this, that metals are best
coloured by the tints of their oxides. When a metal, especially brass,
is seen in a furnace in a molten condition, the flames, where the
oxygen of the atmosphere is uniting with the vapour of the metal,
present the most resplendent tints. The same thing in a lesser degree
occurs in the case of iron, but here the colours are less brilliant,
and are more tertiary in character. Mr. Skidmore applies to a metal
the colours seen in the flames of the furnace where it melts. Without
attempting to limit the colourist to any theory whereby his ideas
might be restricted, I must say that Skidmore's colouring of the
metals is very good.