NOTES AND COMMENT

JOHN CASPER BRANNER

The United States has lately lost a great scientific mind, and Brazil a good friend-in fact, one of the best the country ever had. He possessed the true Pan American spirit, not a spirit of control, political, economical, or even intellectual, but a spirit of sympathy. One of the fields of his researches was Brazilian geology, together with Brazilian paleontology, and he became not only a specialist on the subject but a master. The list of his works is very long, yet none exceeds in importance the Geological Map of Brazil, which he completed not long before his demise. His labors on this map had extended over many years, and had always been direct leading him to travel extensively along the coast and in the interior, so that Brazil with its large expanse of territory became as familiar to him as the state of Arkansas.

This intimate acquaintance with the land and its inhabitants is chiefly responsible for the deep attachment he experienced for both—an attachment which extended to the language of Brazil. The President Emeritus of Leland Stanford Jr. University was the author of a Portuguese grammar for the use of English-speaking peoples, and was a clever literary connoisseur of Portuguese and Brazilian writers, of whose works he had gathered a choice collection, dealing especially with history, geography, folklore, and economics. That collection is rightly considered one of the best in the United States. It was always a pleasure to him to add a book to that collection and to undertake one more trip to his dear Brazil. He could not understand the two countries-his own and the South American one-without being bound by ties of a warm friendship.-MANOEL DE OLIVEIRA LIMA, Washington, D. C., March, 1922.

Miss Agnes Blake Poor, who was born at Bangor, Maine, November 10, 1842, died at Brookline, Massachusetts, February 28, 1922, in her eightieth year. Miss Poor translated the Argentine novel Amalia into English and collected numerous translations of Hispanic American authors which were published in her Pan American Poems (Boston Richard G. Badger, 1917). These translations are from every Hispanic

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American country and the book is of much value both for the study of literature and of history. At the request of the Department of State, Miss Poor served as a member of the reception committee of the Pan American Scientific Congress of 1915.

Plans for the Historical Congress which is to open in Rio de Janeiro on September 7, 1922, are proceeding satisfactorily as has been stated recently by Dr. Max Flenias, the director, Dr. Soutomaior and Sr. Carlos da Silveira Carneiro the secretary of the organizing committee of the congress. A large number of monographs has already been presented by Brazilian historians but as yet a fewer number has been received from abroad. The time set for receiving papers has been fixed at June 30, but it is expected that most foreign delegates will bring their monographs with them. However, the commission should be apprised as early as possible of the titles of the papers which will be sent. The organizing session will be held on September 2, according to present schedule, and the congress opened on September 7. It has been learned that the Historical Geological, and Ethnographical Dictionary and Encyclopedia of Brazil which is being prepared by a commission of specialists is well toward completion. This will consist of five volumes of about one thousand pages each, well equipped with maps. There are said to be separate sections on the history and geography of each state. With respect to this congress it is said that all Hispanic-American countries and seven European countries have signified their intention to participate. A number of papers will be presented by scholars of the United States, and there will be several delegates from the universities of this country. Papers may treat any phase of American history or Brazil-American relations, but it is preferred by the committee appointed by the American Historical Association that all papers concern themselves with the history of Brazil or Brazilian-American relations. Those who are interested in this congress may address the managing editor of this REVIEW for further particulars. It is hoped that there will be a hearty response from American scholars and that there will be an excellent sheaf of historical papers. The United States should be well represented by delegates at this important celebration.

ANCIENT PERUVIAN TEXTILE DESIGNS

[In reproducing the following article from Commerce Reports of July 17, 1918 (No. 166) which was taken by that periodical from British and

Latin American Trade Gazette, London, May, 1918, it will be interesting to note the comments on Peruvian Textiles by Dr. Denman W. Ross, of Harvard University. Dr. Ross is an authority on this subject and his remarks (taken from a private communication) are of distinct value. He says: "The Peruvian textiles are very interesting and some of them are beautiful. There There is an important collection at the Natural History Museum in New York. We have some fine examples at the Peabody Museum here at Harvard and at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Perhaps the largest collection of all is at Berlin. It was made by Messrs. Reiss and Säubel who published a work on the subject of ancient Peruvian art, with admirable plates. I have not seen any of the reproductions [see the article below] and have no idea whether they are good or bad. I can hardly imagine them suitable for present purposes. It might be possible to reproduce the color effects without imitating the archaic character of the designs. The weaving is beautifully done. It is tapestry weaving and resembles in some respects those early Coptic fabrics produced in Egypt from the third to the tenth century of our era. There are embroideries also among the Peruvian fabrics of great interest. The best lot of these is in the Boston Museum. They date from the sixth or seventh century of our era and are perhaps the earliest examples in existence."]

One of the most interesting movements in the textile-factory world is the adoption of the ancient designs of Peru. Those who have traveled in the land of the Incas and have been privileged to see something of their old civilization must have been impressed with the multiplicity and beauty of their artistic designs, still preserved in almost their pristine beauty on the walls of their ruined buildings and in the remnants of cloths woven in the days of long ago. It is quite possible to recognize the extreme delicacy of the textile fabrics which the ancients wove with the most primitive implements. The elegance and harmony of the designs have appealed with so much force to certain manufacturers in the United States that some of the leading cotton printers have adopted them as their patterns for the coming year. There is no question that when produced these prints will enjoy an immence vogue, and not in Latin America only. They are bound to appeal with equal force to customers of the Old World, and thus British mills might with advantage take note of an innovation which is probably destined to have the influence of a revolution.

The advantage possessed by our North American rivals in the South American cotton-print market lies principally in the fact that they have in their museums a number of excellent specimens of the original Inca designs, while the American School of Design, which has taken. up with enthusiasm the idea of adopting them, has for some time past been forming as complete a collection of the patterns as it has been possible to get together, with the result that the coming season is likely to see the production of a number of really beautiful designs. There exists no reason why British manufacturers should not enjoy similar privileges. Copies of the Peruvian fabric designs can be obtained and their colors reproduced with fidelity.

The ancients of Peru, by a curious coincidence for there could not possibly have been any intercourse with their contemporaries in India and Egypt-seem to have used much the same kind of processes in printing their designs upon the fabrics they manufactured. Both Herodotus and Pliny, among early historians, have told us about the cloths of vegetable fiber made by the ancients; but in all likelihood the fabrics of the Peruvians were of even a more remote date. In some respects the methods of to-day bear strong resemblance to the older practice. The chief difference consists in the patterns now being engraved upon copper rollers and several colors being printed at one time. Just as to-day the coloring matter of dyes is not affixed by merely printing it on the material but is secured by means of a substance known as mordant, so did the Peruvians make use of a property which caused the dye to adhere and to withstand a test of thousands of years' wear and tear.

Experts have declared that in the direction of technical and artistic value the designs in question have no equal. They must undoubtedly have been wholly original, and could have owed their inception to no outside influences. The very isolation of the huge Peruvian Empire, anterior to the invasion of the Spaniards, shows that the people must have been dependent entirely upon their own efforts and creative genius. The existing examples of their fabrics show a wide range, from the crudest to the finest of woven webs, composed of the most delicate filaments that human hands have probably ever fashioned, while the enduring quality of their handiwork has been abundantly proved.

The fact that the idea of using these singularly attractive designs for cotton prints, destined alike for the markets of the Old and the New World, has "caught on" is proved by the knowledge that in response to an offer of competitive designs made by some North American cotton

mills, no fewer than 1,000 separate drawings, among them being some exquisite examples, have been sent in. These drawings have been on public exhibitions and appear to have attracted an immense amount of attention and almost universal approval. Moreover, these very novel designs have made their appearance at a very propitious time, since, owing to the war, it has proved impracticable for the great textile industry to secure decorative suggestions from the customary sources. Not only have the ancient Peruvian designs been adopted for cotton prints, but a number have been or will be used upon silk material and for ribbons, etc. There is no doubt that modern photography and machinery will be enabled to do full justice to the charming schemes of drawing and color that distinguish these long-concealed and completely forgotten Peruvian fabrics.

It would seem that the discovery, which is bound to lead to such farreaching results, comprises some thousands of pieces of cloth resplendent in coloring and ornamented with a medley of designs as beautiful as they are original. The marvelous technique shown by the untrained but highly gifted artists has occasioned astonishment among the mill owners of North America, although those who have traveled in Peru, especially to Cuzco and in Mexico-perhaps to the ruins of Mitlawould feel no such surprise, having seen the almost unlimited range of designs which the remants of the vast buildings therein still bear upon their shattered walls, over their moldering doorways, and even (in this case resembling the Egyptian temples and royal tombs of Erfu) in underground passages where the light of day could never have penetrated.

One design that is now being reproduced and is likely to prove good seller" is taken from a rich poncho or horseman's cloak, in shape not unlike the same kind of garment that is worn by most cavaliers in Spanish countries to-day. The drawing is in squares, and some of these show human figures greatly distorted but highly attractive-animals, and geometrical designs. Some of these are very intricate and will bear a close and minute scrutiny, while others are bold and daring in their delineation and coloring.

In regard to coloring, it is doubtful whether any modern cotton printing can excell them. The dyes employed are very brilliant, and, what is more, they have retained their original luster and radiancy to the fullest extent. The dye used was evidently a vegetable product, the secret of which has passed with the users. No Gobelin tapestry can show such perfect coloring as some of these Peruvian productions. In another case the design is made up of a repetition of a single figure, but