The Brickbvilder (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1915 Excerpt: ... the height of the rail. These wood wainscots were never elaborate affairs; generally, they consisted of simple panels with occasionally a balancing of the newels by a flat pilaster treatment. As mentioned in the previous article, the Georgian development of the baluster led to attenuation and delicacy. A usual treatment was the use of two or three different designs to a tread, although this is not inevitable. Indeed, a favorite variation from the turned types was a square spindle, sometimes with groovings on the face and sometimes without. The start of the rail was made from a small, unobtrusive newel surrounded by a circle of balusters. The other variant, a start from a prominent and projecting newel, although frequently used, was never particularly happy. The string was always an open one with step ends in console form, sometimes beautifully carved, but more usually with a simple design cut in the flat and applied. The infinite variation in these designs adds great fascination to the study of these old stairways. It was not until the end of the period that the landing newels were entirely done away with and the string continued in one line; in most of the examples, the newel projected down to receive the string and to be ornamented below by some simple drop. Stairway in House of C. D. Gibson, Esq., New York, N. Y. McKim, Mead & White, Architects The soffit of the stairs demands some attention. In the older work the first flight was usually supported by a base of paneling-, and the soffit so concealed. The soffit of the top flight was filled in flat with plaster on a line with the bottom of the string, sometimes paneled and sometimes left plain. The practice of showing the soffits of the individual steps as if they were solid blocks, common in the lat...