File:American homes and gardens (1913) (14762017966).jpg

Identifier: americanhomesga101913newy (find matches)
Title: American homes and gardens
Year: 1905 (1900s)
Authors:
Subjects: Architecture, Domestic Landscape gardening
Publisher: New York : Munn and Co
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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in fancifulpatterns, scrolls, crescents,stars, or interlaced triangles.One can easily imagine oneof our forefathers treadingthe darksome way to even-ing service or special townmeeting, with such a lanternin his hand. As late as 1798 we findthat these old lanterns werestill used in the country dis-tricts near New York, wherethe darkness and bad roadsmade them a necessity. To-day, however, unless in somecountry district, they arerarely seen. Harking back to the originof the lantern, we find thaton the fifteenth day of thefirst month in the ChineseNew Year, there is held aFeast of Lanterns. Thestreets and houses are deckedwith hundreds of paper lan-terns of every conceivableshape and gaudy coloring.Some of them are thirty feetin diameter and so con-structed that a whole com-pany of friends can be entertained inside the globe. Cov-ered with silk, and adorned with vivid paintings of birdsand flowers, many of them are of great value. The picturesque effect of these lanterns can well be im-
Text Appearing After Image:
Hand Lantern, 1 780 Watchmans Lantern, 1 720 Pinched lantern, 1700 July, 1913 AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 257 agined, as the city is hungwith thousands upon thou-sands, varying in size andshape, hanging from the lowhouses, the leafy trees, orthe bamboo poles. In the Holy Bible, lan-terns are mentioned anddoubtless were in commonuse among the Hebrews. Itis thought that they adoptedthis form of light which wasused in Egypt, after theirperiod of servitude in thatcountry. The earliest rep-resentation of a real lanternwas found in a fresco uponthe walls of an Egyptiantomb. This shows a soldiercarrying, suspended from astaff, a lantern of simple ironframework, covered with acylinder of oiled paper re-sembling the more primitiveChinese lanterns. The Greek poets speak ofthis kind of lighting and allagree that Diogenes in hissearch for an honest man inthe city of Athens, carried alantern, but of what designwe are not told. The best and most trans-parent horn lanterns, accord-ing to an ancient R

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