with wondrous skill, but the secret of their art had been for centuries hopelessly lost. In place of their quaint characteristic works in which the precious metals were with barbaric splendor all incrusted with rare gems, or teased into endless forms of beauty by an instinct as subtle as that which blends the colors in the shawls of Cashmere and tints with marvellous hues the carpets of Ispahan, there were only the clumsy shapes, which, for the past two centuries, have debased the art of the silversmiths of Germany and of England.

Carefully collecting from convent, chapel, and palace, whatever relics of the old Byzantine masters remained, the modern arts of reproduction were called on to repeat them, and they glow on the pages of the albums made by the printers of Paris, in all their original splendor of color; meanwhile, carefully studied, these works of the old workers in the precious metals proved an inspiration, and among the subjects of the Czar were found those who showed themselves worthy inheritors of the genius that had created them; and behold, a National Art, individual, characteristic and beautiful, leaps forth, a new-born Minerva, to the light.

To have thus called a people to revive its old traditions and re-create its old Art, was worthy a great ruler; to thus reconquer its past was, for the nation, a nobler conquest than is known to the art of war.

If only this great precedent might find followers! If only in Japan, China, and India, the old oriental secrets might be re-discovered, and the crude, inartistic ideas of modern Europeans discarded. If only some voice of power could persuade these Eastern Races to leave "eclecticism" and the imitation of the arts of Europe of any era, to the peoples who have no historic art. The elder nations should be well content to recover, as their richest inheritance, the old secrets of beauty once known to their race.

The Russian Department, rich and interesting in many respects, held in the works of this new born school of native art, so idiomatic and racy, an ever fresh attraction to the often returning visitor.

It was not alone by these evidences of the revival of a lost art, that the Russian exhibitions had an interest and a lesson for Americans, seeking to solve the problem of the possibilities of popular education. In the contributions sent from the Strogonoff School, were results from definite educational work, which made a profound impression; and have already borne fruit both in Europe and the United States. In this school the education of artisans was undertaken with such com

prehension of the general and special instruction needed, and with such wisdom in the adaptation of means to the end proposed, that the results amount to a demonstration. It was shown that it is possible to give to boys systematic training in the use of all kinds of mechanical tools, accompanied at the same time with the necessary literary education. The graduate of this school is an accomplished artisan, familiar with the best methods and tools to be used by the workers in wood, in iron, in stone.

Instead of the haphazard knowledge of the apprentice, picked up in the shop from workmen who take little or no interest in the education of their errand boy, has been here substituted definite training by skilled masters, in which each lesson is a necessary step to the succeeding lessons; no time is wasted, no incorrect knowledge has to be unlearned; definite knowledge is substituted for the "rule of thumb," and the pupil, who as an apprentice to one trade knew nothing of any other, is taught the kind and use of tools needed in working in different materials; he is thus made "master" of all mechanical tools, instead of knowing only a single trade, and is ready to work in whatever craft work offers.

Thus it appears that while laments over the decadence of the system of apprenticeship are rife, and while the revival of the system is admitted as improbable if not wholly impossible, here is found a better way, a method by which, in a shorter time, better workmen and better citizens may be trained, than in the old way. That artisans can be thus efficiently trained is proved by the results effected by the Strogonoff School; it remains for the statesmen and educators of the United States to devise practical applications of this lesson* in the training of American youths.

The lessons taught by the Russian exhibition were, that definite instruction in the fine arts and definite instruction in the mechanic arts, can both be successfully given; that it is possible for a ruler, or for a community, to train both artists and artisans.

This revelation of art progress in Russia came as a surprise to most persons, while on the other hand many were eager to see and to study the results of the much praised English training. In the many attractive and varied collections shown by the exhibitors of Great Britain, there

*For an interesting discussion of this project of direct technical training of boys in the mechanic arts see article on "The Apprenticeship of the Future," Appendix P, Part II.

were everywhere seen the results of the intelligent efforts made by a whole people, and continued for a quarter of a century, to improve, by means of definite industrial art educational training, the manufactures and art products of the country.

To one familiar with their manufactures and so called art-work twentyfive years before, but who had paid no subsequent visit to England, the revelations made by the collections seen at Philadelphia were simply marvellous; for ugliness had been replaced by beauty, poverty of invention by wealth of imagination, barbarism by refinement. So great were the delightful contrasts presented between past recollections and present impressions.

Nor were the happy effects of this surprising change limited to these evidences of the gain in beauty and money value accruing to the old industries from this general adoption of definite art training; the potent and far-reaching influence of the new education, was seen in the many novel and beautiful articles, products of industries absolutely created by this industrial art education; which vindicates its claim to consideration by thus proving its power to add to the resources of a country, not only by vastly increasing the value of old, but also by thus creating new forms of wealth-producing industry.

Notable examples of these new creations were seen in the numerous specimens of the "Doulton Ware" and the "Lambeth Faience," the beautiful results of the alliance entered into between Mr. Sparkes, then, art master of the government "Lambeth Art Training School", now, in charge at South Kensington, and the Messrs. Doulton, the well known potters of Lambeth, who, before the advent of Mr. Sparkes had been only potters;-makers of useful articles, of chemical utensils and of drain pipes, into which entered no element of beauty.

In striking contrast with these homely, useful articles, which were shown in Philadelphia in great abundance, were the above mentioned art potteries shown by the same firm, in looking on which, one saw, how, under the inspiration of art, their productions had indeed

"suffered a sea change

Into something rich and strange."

The charming transformation of Cinderella, effected by the change from the ugly rags of the kitchen maid to the shining robes worn by the beautiful partner of the Prince, was not more exquisite or complete.

This triple alliance between Capital, Industry and Art, recalls that

entered into, nearly a century before, between Flaxman and Josiah Wedgwood; which it resembles no less in the nature of the combination than in its charming results. Each created a new industry for the workers, and thus added a new source of revenue to the nation.

If he who causes two blades of grass to grow where only one grew before is indeed, as has been so often repeated, a benefactor to his race; what praise shall not be given to those who, at the same time provide new delights for the sense of beauty and create employment for the otherwise unemployed, by evoking from the hitherto unused stores of nature, materials for new forms of use and beauty.

No American fails to recognize this truth when applied to inventions and machinery. He realizes it if in no other way in his admiration for the vast fortunes and fame, due to their discoveries, accruing to Howe and McCormick, Morse, Edison, and Bell.

In two ways the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia offered important suggestions to all observers who were not blinded by igno rance or prejudice. In the first place by showing the resources of this continent, in the abundance and surpassing excellence of its natural treasures, the raw material of countless hitherto undeveloped manufactures; and secondly, by demonstrating the relative inferiority of Americans in most of the productive industries in which the fine arts enter as an important element. In reference to this aspect of the case Professor Walter Smith, the State art director, spoke as follows to the Massachusetts teachers at Worcester December 28, 1878: "No thoughtful American can have examined the two great exhibitions at Philadelphia and Paris, as I have done, without feeling that his country does not show well at such displays in comparison with many European coun tries. It used to be the monopoly of England to stand lowest in the visible evidences of civilization, as seen in her manufacturing industries. I am sorry to be obliged to say that to-day we in America have inherited that reputation which England has lost. You must bear with me in thus speaking the truth to you, because I am here myself to share in the reproach and to do my part in its removal." *

A similar mortifying lesson was taught the manufacturers and people of Great Britain in 1851. How quickly they comprehended it, and how successfully they have overcome that inferiority, was triumphantly

*"Industrial Education and Drawing as its Basis." Address by Prof. Walter Smith, before Massachusetts Teachers' Association, Worcester, December 28, 1878. Published by Normal Art School, 1878, pp. 31.

shown in their comprehensive and beautiful displays at the Centennial, to which reference has just been made. It will be strange and humiliating indeed if Americans cannot improve upon the lessons so plainly given.

By what instrumentalities this wonderful and beneficient industrial revolution in Great Britain has been accomplished-efforts in which the Royal Family, the Parliament, the manufacturers, the educators, the artists and the workers of England all heartily coöperated, and in which the revenues of the realm were freely expended; appropriations for the purchase of works of art for the South Kensington, and other museums, being granted by Parliament with a liberality rarely shown by the Congress of the United States, for other purposes than for the improvement of rivers and harbors; will be found fully set forth elsewhere in this Report,* and is more or less familiar to all who have heard, as who has not, of the South Kensington Government Schools and Museums. In his Worcester address already quoted, Professor Smith, after his reference to the low condition of artistic manufactures in America, portrays, as follows, the situation in England in 1851, contrasting it with the surprising improvement effected in a few years, as shown by the English displays at the Paris Exhibition in 1878. The conceded qualifications of Professor Smith for undertaking such comparative studies give great weight to his words, while the conclusion reached, namely, that the United States needs only to adopt like educational methods to enable her to achieve like triumphs, hardly needs expression. Professor Smith says:

"In the Great Exhibition of 1851, the English critic had to walk through the industrial department of his native country with bowed head and a sensation of shame. In the Paris Exhibition of 1878, he could examine English work with head erect and a feeling of honorable pride. And though this may be regarded as a sentiment only, it is one which has a very metallic character, intimately associated with dollars and cents, and with that which makes life worth living.

"I have seen and watched this transformation of the industries of a nation, from a condition of semi-barbarism to one of the greatest refinement; from the comparative worthlessness of rude labor to the highest development and value of matured skill. It is an inevitable result brought about by human means. It is something the nation is proud of and finds intensely profitable. But there is no mystery about

* See Part I, Appendix F.