The American Architect Vol. CXIII Wednesday, January 23, 1918 Number 2196
MODERN BALCONY RAIL IN WROUGHT IRON
The Development of Wrought Iron
Second Article*
By C. Howard Walker THE later medieval centuries, from the twelfth
to the beginning of the sixteenth, saw the
growth and development of armor, which is a distinct art in itself, and was absolutely differentiated from the work of the smith which related to structural work. At its beginnings, made of sheet metal shaped to fit the human form, wrought and tempered carefully and with great skill, armor, other than offensive or defensive weapons, was of separate pieces, articulated and correlated to defend against the mace and the sword every vulnerable
*The preceding article by Mr. Walker appeared in issue of December 5, 1917.
part of man’s organism. Whether it were made of scales or of chains or of plate, its first essential was that it should be minimized in weight without permitting its protective qualities to be jeopardized. It therefore became delicate and scientific in line and surface proportionately to the importance of its possessors, and the armorers became known as artists, received admiration and were often famous. But armor itself was so controlled by the absolute exigencies of its use that variations in its design were either definite improvements to its efficacy or were merely either edge or surface treatment which neither added weight nor diminished its protective
Copyright, 1918, The Architectural & Building Press (Inc.)
MODERN BALCONY RAIL IN WROUGHT IRON
The Development of Wrought Iron
Second Article*
By C. Howard Walker THE later medieval centuries, from the twelfth
to the beginning of the sixteenth, saw the
growth and development of armor, which is a distinct art in itself, and was absolutely differentiated from the work of the smith which related to structural work. At its beginnings, made of sheet metal shaped to fit the human form, wrought and tempered carefully and with great skill, armor, other than offensive or defensive weapons, was of separate pieces, articulated and correlated to defend against the mace and the sword every vulnerable
*The preceding article by Mr. Walker appeared in issue of December 5, 1917.
part of man’s organism. Whether it were made of scales or of chains or of plate, its first essential was that it should be minimized in weight without permitting its protective qualities to be jeopardized. It therefore became delicate and scientific in line and surface proportionately to the importance of its possessors, and the armorers became known as artists, received admiration and were often famous. But armor itself was so controlled by the absolute exigencies of its use that variations in its design were either definite improvements to its efficacy or were merely either edge or surface treatment which neither added weight nor diminished its protective
Copyright, 1918, The Architectural & Building Press (Inc.)