DOI issue:
No. 64 (July, 1898)
DOI article:Studio-talk
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.21969#0151
Studio-Talk
FINGERrPLATE BY EDGAR SIMPSON
for its art director Mr. Eyres, so many years con-
nected with the Coalbrookdale Co., throwing in
its lot with the modern revival, and raising the
craft to something near its ancient level of excel-
lence
Mr. EdgarWood, of Man-
chester, was responsible
for the decoration of a
singularly pleasant folding
trade card for Mr. George
Wragge, of Manchester,
and for the design of
some notable pieces of
metal work at the stand
devoted to that manufac-
turer’s work. A wrought-
iron gate, some charming
128
lock-plates and casement fittings, were at
once novel, fit, and highly decorative.
Close by, the Bostwick Gate and Shuttle
Co. displayed a pierced sign for “ the Ship
Hotel,” admirably simple and simply ad-
mirable.
Mr. J. E. C. Carr, in two designs for metal
work, whether intended for “ cast ” or beaten
metal, has proved himself influenced by the
new spirit of bas-relief, which forsakes nymphs
and nudities for moyen age costume, and finds
the less sinuous lines of drapery therein not ill
adapted for pattern. He also displays a sense
of the importance of broadly treated surfaces,
which serve to emphasise the richness of pure
pattern freely added in certain parts. The
lock-plates and the hanging lamps prove that
he is not one who designs in pen and ink, but
realises that he is dealing with “ form ” rather
than line. This distinction is always difficult
to express in words, and yet surely it marks
the vital difference between the real craftsman
and the translator. Many people can interpret
cleverly; but transferring a flat pattern to a
relieved surface, or to the full “ round,” often
reveals unsuspected defects. A drawing over-
ornate looks poor, a design balancing well in
a line drawing is often hopelessly unsatisfac-
tory in the mass. Mr. Carr obviously keeps
his material in view, and whether he does or
does not make elaborate preliminary drawings,
the fact that moulded forms were evidently in
his mind from the first is clear even from a
study of these few specimens.
As a summary of some of the best charac-
teristics of French art of various periods the ex-
hibition at the Guildhall Art Gallery has much
claim to be considered as of unique importance.
It is, in spite of its comparatively small size, most
hinge by GEORGE WRAGGE
FINGERrPLATE BY EDGAR SIMPSON
for its art director Mr. Eyres, so many years con-
nected with the Coalbrookdale Co., throwing in
its lot with the modern revival, and raising the
craft to something near its ancient level of excel-
lence
Mr. EdgarWood, of Man-
chester, was responsible
for the decoration of a
singularly pleasant folding
trade card for Mr. George
Wragge, of Manchester,
and for the design of
some notable pieces of
metal work at the stand
devoted to that manufac-
turer’s work. A wrought-
iron gate, some charming
128
lock-plates and casement fittings, were at
once novel, fit, and highly decorative.
Close by, the Bostwick Gate and Shuttle
Co. displayed a pierced sign for “ the Ship
Hotel,” admirably simple and simply ad-
mirable.
Mr. J. E. C. Carr, in two designs for metal
work, whether intended for “ cast ” or beaten
metal, has proved himself influenced by the
new spirit of bas-relief, which forsakes nymphs
and nudities for moyen age costume, and finds
the less sinuous lines of drapery therein not ill
adapted for pattern. He also displays a sense
of the importance of broadly treated surfaces,
which serve to emphasise the richness of pure
pattern freely added in certain parts. The
lock-plates and the hanging lamps prove that
he is not one who designs in pen and ink, but
realises that he is dealing with “ form ” rather
than line. This distinction is always difficult
to express in words, and yet surely it marks
the vital difference between the real craftsman
and the translator. Many people can interpret
cleverly; but transferring a flat pattern to a
relieved surface, or to the full “ round,” often
reveals unsuspected defects. A drawing over-
ornate looks poor, a design balancing well in
a line drawing is often hopelessly unsatisfac-
tory in the mass. Mr. Carr obviously keeps
his material in view, and whether he does or
does not make elaborate preliminary drawings,
the fact that moulded forms were evidently in
his mind from the first is clear even from a
study of these few specimens.
As a summary of some of the best charac-
teristics of French art of various periods the ex-
hibition at the Guildhall Art Gallery has much
claim to be considered as of unique importance.
It is, in spite of its comparatively small size, most
hinge by GEORGE WRAGGE