Edward Hazen

“ Architecture, in the general sense of the word, is the art of planning and erecting buildings of all kinds, whether of a public or private nature; and it embraces within its operations a variety of employments, at the head of which must be placed the Architect. Architecture is of several kinds, such as civil, naval, military, and aquatic ”

“ The composition of music, and its execution either vocally or instrumentally, as well as the business of imparting a knowledge of it to others, are embraced in the employment of the musician; although it is seldom, that all these branches are practised by one and the same individual. Music is one of the fine arts, and, during the middle ages, was one of the branches of what was then considered a learned education. ”

“ It must be evident, even to a superficial observer, that this business, in its different branches, occupies a large space in our domestic industry, since almost every farmer in the country owns a vehicle of some sort, and since the streets of our busy cities and towns exhibit, during a great part of the day, scenes of bustle occasioned, in a great measure, by the passing and repassing of carriages of different kinds. ”

“ This mode of multiplying copies of books was exceedingly slow, and, withal, so very expensive, that learning was confined almost exclusively to people of rank, and the lower orders were only rescued from total ignorance by the reflected light of their superiors. For a long time, during the reign of comparative barbarism in Europe, books were so scarce, that a present of a single copy to a religious house was thought to be so valuable a gift, that it entitled the donor to the prayers of the community, which were considered efficacious in procuring for him eternal salvation. ”

“ In some of the German states, the right is given for the lifetime of the author; in others, it is made perpetual, like any other property; but then the work may be printed with impunity in any of the other states in which a right has not been secured. In Germany and Italy, especially, authors are very poorly remunerated; and in Spain, the book trade has been so much oppressed by a merciless censorship, that authors are compelled to publish their works on their own account. ”

“ From the preceding account, it is evident, that the light of science has shone conspicuously, in Europe, on the domestic animals, in relation to their treatment, both while in health, and when laboring under disease. In the United States, we have no institution for the cultivation of this branch of knowledge. The press, however, has been prolific in the production of works treating on the various branches of the veterinary art; and many persons, by their aid, have rendered themselves competent to administer to animals in cases of disease, in a rational manner. ”

“ One profitable branch of common painting is that of painting and lettering signs. In performing this kind of work, the sign is first covered with two or three uniform coats of paint. The letters are next slightly sketched with chalk or a lead-pencil, and then formed in colors with a camels'-hair brush. When the letters are to be gilt, the process, so far, is precisely the same. The leaf is laid upon the letters, while the paint is in a tenacious state, and is suffered to remain untouched, until the oil has become dry, after which the superfluous gold is removed. ”

“ Carving in wood, in all countries where it has been practised, has ever preceded sculpture, or carving in stone. It is, therefore, an art of the highest antiquity; and, although the same with sculpture in some of its applications, yet it differs from it somewhat in the mode of execution, according with the nature of the material.
3. The art of carving is very extensive in its application, [154] being used in the decorative parts of architecture, both civil and naval, and likewise in ornamenting cabinet-ware, as well as in forming patterns for casting in metals, particularly in iron and brass. ”

“ Silver is a metal of a fine white color, and, in brilliancy, inferior to none of the metals except steel. In malleability, it is next to gold, it being capable of reduction into leaves not more than the 1⁄160000 of an inch in thickness, and of being drawn into wire much finer than a human hair. ”

“ Sculpture is one of the fine arts. In its most extended sense, it includes not only modelling figures in clay, wax, and plaster of Paris, and carving them in wood, stone, and marble, but also casting them in bronze, lead, or iron, as well as enchasing and engraving.
2. The productions of this art are known under various denominations, but the principal are statues, busts, and bas-reliefs. The first of these are entire representations of men or animals in full relief ”

“ Painters, in the execution of their work, commonly lay on three coats of paint. In communicating a white, the two first coats are composed of white lead and oil; and in the last, spirits of turpentine is substituted for the oil, for the inside work. For the outside of buildings, especially in warm and dry climates, this liquid is inapplicable, since it causes the paint to crack and flake off. It is, however, frequently used, when the painter is compelled to do his work at too low a rate, or when he is regardless of his reputation. ”

“ The great obstacle to viewing small objects at the usual distance, arises from too great a divergence of the light reflected from them, which causes the rays to reach the retina before they have converged to a focus. This defect is remedied by convex lenses, which bring the visual point nearer to the eye, and consequently cause the rays to concentrate in a large focus upon the retina. The most powerful microscopic lenses are small globules of glass, which permit the eye to be brought very near to the object. ”

“ Considerable ability in sculpture has likewise been exhibited by native artists of Spain, Germany, Holland, England, and some other countries of Europe; but whatever skill has been displayed in any of these countries has been derived, in an indirect manner, at least, from Italy. In the United States, the fine arts have been cultivated with considerable spirit. An academy for this purpose has been established both in New York and Philadelphia, and a picture gallery has been connected with the Athenæum in Boston, in which the annual exhibition of paintings is respectable. ”

“ In large establishments for making coaches and other vehicles of the best workmanship, the operators confine their attention to the execution of particular parts of the work; for example, one man makes the wheels, another the carriage and body, another fashions and applies the iron, another does the painting and polishing, and another the trimming. In smaller establishments, a greater proportion of the work is executed by one person.
5. The wheels of the coach, as well as those of every other vehicle in which they are used, are composed of a hub, and several spokes, and felloes. ”

“ The carpenter and joiner are guided, in the performance of their work, by well-defined rules, drawn chiefly from the science of Geometry, and which they have learned from imitation and practice, as well as, in many cases, from the valuable works which have been published on these branches of the art of building. ”

“ The flourishing state of the art in Italy, for so long a period, might be expected to have produced a taste for its cultivation in other parts of Europe; but this was the case only to a limited extent. No other countries have yet been particularly distinguished for artists in this branch of the fine arts, except Flanders and Holland; and these were chiefly indebted for the distinction to Peter Paul Rubens, of Antwerp, who was born at Cologne, in 1577, and to Paul Van Rhyn Rembrandt, who was born in 1606, in his father's mill, near Leyden. ”

“ The art of Masonry includes the sawing and cutting of stones into the various shapes required in the multiplied purposes of building, and in placing them in a proper manner in the walls and other parts of edifices. It is divided into two branches, one of which consists in bringing the stones to the desired form and polish, and the other, in laying them in mortar or cement.
2. The rocks most used in building in the United States, are marble, granite, greenstone, scienite, soap-stone, limestone, gypsum, and slate. ”

“ Titian was also liberally patronised at Rome, and in other parts of Italy, as well as in Spain and Germany, chiefly as a portrait and landscape painter. The unrivalled productions of these great masters, however, were fatal to the art in Italy, since their superior excellence extinguished emulation, by destroying the prospect of equal or superior success. ”

“ The applications of glass are so exceedingly extensive, that it is inconvenient, if not impossible, to manufacture every species of it at one glass-house or at one establishment. Some, therefore, confine their attention to the production of window glass, and such articles of hollow ware as may be made, with profit, from the same kind of paste. Others make [181] vials and other species of ware, employed by the druggist, apothecary, and chemist. And again, the efforts, at some factories, are confined entirely to the manufacture of flint glass, or to that of plate glass for mirrors. ”

“ The blacksmith operates in wrought iron and steel, and, from these materials, he fabricates a great variety of articles, essential to domestic convenience, and to the arts generally.
2. This business is one of those trades essential in the rudest state of society. Even the American Indians are so sensible of its importance, that they cause to be inserted in the treaties which they make with the United States, an article stipulating for a blacksmith to be settled among them, and for a supply of iron. ”

“ Microscopes are either single or double. In the former case, but one lens is used, and through this the object is viewed directly; but, in the latter case, two or more glasses are employed, through one of which a magnified image is thrown upon a reflecting surface, and this is viewed through the other glass, or glasses, as the real object is seen through a single microscope.
21. The solar microscope, on account of its great magnifying powers, is the most wonderful instrument of this kind. The principles of its construction are the same with those of the camera obscura. ”

“ The principle of induration by heat, is the same in the manufacture of earthen wares as in making bricks; and, as the latter can be more easily dispensed with than the former in a primitive state of society, it is but reasonable to suppose that earthen ware was first invented; but the art of making bricks must have been practised before the deluge, or the posterity of Noah would not have attempted so soon as about one hundred years after that catastrophe, to build a city and a tower of these materials. ”

“ If perfectly pure, it is denominated gold 24 carats fine; if alloyed with one part of any other metal or mixture of metals, it is said to be 23 carats fine. The standard gold coin of the United States and Great Britain is 22 carats fine; or, in other words, it contains one-twelfth part of alloy. Gold, made standard by equal parts of copper and silver, approaches in color more nearly to pure gold than when alloyed in any other manner.
5. Gold is found in veins in mountains, most usually associated with ores of silver, sulphurets of iron, copper, lead, and other metals. ”

“ The fine arts were nearly extinguished in Greece, by the conquest of the Romans; who, with ruthless rapacity, seized upon, and transferred to their metropolis and villas, the superb works of taste with which the country abounded. By these means, however, a taste for the arts was produced among the Romans, who encouraged with great liberality the Greek artists who resorted in great numbers to their city.
30. The arts at length declined at Rome, and finally became nearly extinct in that city, soon after Byzantium was made the capital of the Roman empire, in 329 of the Christian era. ”

“ Contracts for the erection of buildings are often made with the carpenter, as master-builder or architect. In such cases, it is his business to employ persons capable of executing every kind of work required on the proposed edifice, from the bricklayer and stone-mason to the painter and glazier. It not unfrequently happens, however, that the person himself, who proposes to erect a building, chooses to employ the workmen in the different branches. ”