age frontispieces to many old copies of King
James' Bible. After the tragic close of the reign of King Charles, the
treasures of tapestries he had accumulated were dispersed and sold by
order of Cromwell; but the cartoons remained the property of the nation
and, though lost to sight for another hundred years or so, finally
reappeared from their obscurity, at Hampton Court, and in these later
years, at the Kensington Museum, have again taken their place as one of
the most valuable lessons of earlier centuries. It was probably the
story of these cartoons which inspired the determination which had taken
possession of us, to do a real tapestry, something greatly worthy of
accomplishment.

[Illustration: THE MIRACULOUS DRAUGHT OF FISHES

Arranged (from photographs made in London of the original cartoon by
Raphael, in the Kensington Museum) by Candace Wheeler and executed in
needle-woven tapestry by the Associated Artists.]

When we came to the decision to create tapestries, the actual substance
of them, as well as the art, was a thing to be considered. The wool
fiber upon which they were usually based was a prey to many enemies.
Dust may corrupt and moths utterly destroy fiber of wool, but dust does
not accumulate on threads of silk, neither are they quite acceptable to
the appetite of moths. Therefore, we reasoned, if we did work which was
worthy of comparative immortality, it must be done with comparatively
imperishable material. Fiber of flax and fiber of silk shared this
advantage, and the silk was tenacious of color, which was not the case
with flax; therefore we chose silk and went bravely to our task of
creating American tapestries.

Having decided upon our material, we consulted with our friendly and
interested manufacturers, and finally ordered a broad, heavily marked,
loosely woven fabric which would hold our precious stitches safely and
show them to advantage. The woof of the canvas upon which we were to
experiment was also of silk, not fine and twisted like the warp, but
soft and full enough to hold silk stitchery. In this way the face of the
canvas, or ground, could be quite covered by a full thread of embroidery
silk passed under the slender warp and actually sewn into the woof.

[Illustration: MINNEHAHA LISTENING TO THE WATERFALL

Drawn by Dora Wheeler and executed in needle-woven tapestry by The
Associated Artists, 1884.]

Being thus fully equipped for the production of real tapestries, well
adapted t