The Brochure Series of Architectural Illustration, Vol. 1, 1895 | Page 5

A well-selected collection of foreign photographs has come to be as
necessary and invariable a feature in a well-equipped architect's office
as good drawing instruments or as Vignola's treatise on the Roman
Orders. But unfortunately a really satisfactory collection of
photographs is seldom within the reach of more than a small proportion
of the architects who could use them to advantage. This is partly on
account of the expense of a good collection, as photographs can hardly
be bought for less than twenty-five cents each, and partly on account of
the difficulty of finding a desirable stock from which to make
selections on this side of the Atlantic. Nearly all of the most valuable
collections have been gathered together abroad by the owners and are
the result of gradual accumulation, probably extending over years of
travel, and representing no small investment of money.
Such a collection, it is needless to say, is not within the grasp of the
young and struggling draughtsman, but he, of all others, would profit
most by possession and use of such a treasure if it could be placed in
his hands. It would help to form and direct his tastes, making him
familiar with the masterpieces of the past, and would furnish a basis for
comparison of the current work about him.
Of course a draughtsman in any of the larger offices will have certain
opportunities to study and work from the collection in the office library.
This is a valuable privilege, but it is only open to a few out of the many
draughtsmen in the country, and is not to be compared in its resulting
benefits to the actual possession of even a very much smaller
collection.
* * * * *
It is the purpose of the BROCHURE SERIES to place in the hands of
draughtsmen a most carefully selected series of photographic
reproductions, chosen both for their educational value and their
usefulness as practical reference material for everyday work. This can
be done at one fiftieth the cost of ordinary photographs, and thus be
easily within the reach of any draughtsman.
No attempt will be made to follow any systematic arrangement of the
subjects presented, although it will be frequently found advisable, as in

the present issue, to group a number of subjects of more or less related
character. The main result to be sought for is the presentation of the
greatest amount of the most valuable material in the most available
shape, and at the least cost. The possibility of realizing this ambitious
purpose remains to be demonstrated. It need only be said that this
initial number is put forward as an earnest of the work to follow.
* * * * *
A most important feature in recent educational work as applied to
architecture is to be found in the formation of a number of classes, or
ateliers as they are called, modelled in the main after those in Paris.
They are all formed with the purpose of furnishing instruction in those
elements of academic design which are unattainable in the routine
experience of office practice. The details of arrangement for
accomplishing this purpose vary somewhat in the different ateliers. We
believe the first to be started was the one connected with the office of
Messrs. Carrère & Hastings in New York. Here a limited number of
students, both young men and young women, are received, and as a
return for the instruction given them are expected to render such
assistance in the regular work of the draughting-room as they can. This
service is exactly similar to the "niggering," as it is called, required by
long-established custom of the younger men at the Ecole des
Beaux-Arts at Paris, which is one of the most valuable features of the
school work. In Paris by this method the younger students have an
opportunity to come in personal and intimate contact with those more
advanced, and have the benefit of working on larger and more
important work than they are capable of undertaking unaided. In the
new atelier a problem in design is given to the class, thus more than
ordinarily equipped for the work before him.
[Illustration: VII. Portion of the Façade of the Ca D'oro, Venice.]
His work while abroad was systematic, well directed, and untiring, and
no one of the succeeding scholars has labored to better advantage or
accomplished more than he, although each in turn has had the example
and experience of his predecessors as a guide and stimulus to increased
endeavor. Mr. Blackall's time was devoted largely to travel, together
with the sketching and measuring of important work.
Since his return he has built up a successful and varied practice.
As an active member of the Boston Society of Architects and the first

president of the Boston Architectural Club,