THE BROCHURE SERIES

OF ARCHITECTURAL ILLUSTRATION.

VOL. I. JULY, 1895. No. 7.







ITALIAN WROUGHT IRON.

The wrought iron of the middle ages, and of the time of the Renaissance,
and even down to the last century, in Italy, France, and Germany showed,
in the crudest examples, the principal virtues of all true decorative
art. The reason is not far to seek. The difficulties in the way of
working the material with ease imposed certain limitations in design and
execution which could not well be disregarded. The lack of machinery
(which is responsible for much of the uninteresting character of our
modern work) necessarily compelled the use of comparatively simple and
straightforward methods. It was difficult to avoid the tell-tale marks
of the smith's work, and there were limits beyond which his skill could
not carry it. Furthermore the designer, taking these limitations into
account, learned to make the most of his possibilities, and to adapt his
design to the material--to design in the material. How different from
the methods generally in use now! Designs made to imitate something done
in another material, turned out by the hundred from a machine which
leaves no indication of its work, with all interest of craftsmanship