THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, SEPTE3IBER 12, 1920
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ByW. B. SEABROOK.
IT remained for a very pretty young
woman hailing: from a quaint old
town in western Pennsylvania to
create the art sensation of the present
year. She is Cora Scovil. She is from
"Washington, Pa., and the particular
art creation which is making her fa
mous is callel a "patch poster.'
The curious thing about all of this
Is that the poster had a very modest
beginning. Instead of first seeing the
light of day in the Academy of Arts
and Sciences or even in the studio of
a famous artist, it began .its carce
on a wash day In a kitchen and on
plebeian Ironing board.
Today the "patch poster" has a
certain field in the artistic world all
to itself. Being an innovation and
clever, it has "caught on.'" In New
Tork City, for example, "patch post
ers" are sharing the place of honor
in Fifth avenue show windows with
priceless works of art. Patch poster
ing at present is in the epidemical
stage and promises to spread all over
the country.
In private life Cora Scovil is Mrs.
Henry Scovil, wife ' of a colonel in
the ordnance department of the United
States army. When Co). Scovil was
called to active duty, his young wife,
who had artistic talent, and who
had been a student in the Chicago Art
Institute, decided that she would "do
her bit" by painting war pictures.
She went to New York, fitted out
a studio and did some work, which
was neither better nor worse than
that of a hundred other calendar post
er artists who were working along
similar conventional lines. It was rec
ognized as meritorious, but It
brought her no fame, and eventually
she returned to the little town of
"Washington, Pa., in full realization
realization of the fact that while she
her work conscientiously, she had
created no more than a very modest
ripple of interest in the great met
ropolis. '
Hags Instead of Paints.
She had practically given up her
art work when she happened to learn
one day that Grant Mitchell, the actor,
who was a personal friend of the Sco
vils, was to appear i a new comedy
role at the Nixon theater1, in Pitts
burg. Immediately it occured to her that
she would like to do a poster of the
actor, and send it to him as a souve
nir of his appearance in the Iron city.
But there were practical difficulties.
She had no poster materials, nor
could any be procured in the town
where she lived. Even if she could
have obtained the paints and brushes.
there was no way to get poster card
board. . It chanced, however, that her eye
caught the smooth, white expanse of
her ironing board, which had been re
cently re-covered with unbleached
muslin.
"My, but wouldn't that make a fine
surface, if it were only cardboard in
stead of cloth!" she said to herself,
and then came the happy thought.
Unbleached muslin is easy to ob
tain anywhere, and soon she had a
43,000,000 PERSONS VISIT NEW YORK'S
AQUARIUM IN 20 YEARS TO SEE SHOW
Recruiting for Tublic Made Easier in Recent Years Due to Unique Boat, "Seahorse," Which Goes Out Weekly
and Returns Loaded With Specimens That Dazzle.
THE world record for sustained at
tendance is held by the New York
aquarium. Over . 43,000.000 visi
tors in 20 years testify to the popu
larity of fish.
No one thinks of visiting New York
without taking in the aquarium, and
these visitors can testify to the fact
that the unique job of acquainting
Americans with the fish that swim in
our waters, in fact, all the waters of
the new world, more of less, is well
done. But the question naturally
arises in the minds of the 6000 odd
persons, from all parts of the world,
who daily go there to pay their re-
.spects to Mr. Fish how are the multi
tude of living specimens procured?
... That is an important feature of the
business of the aquarium, not only to
constantly put on what is positively
the greatest fish exhibit on earth, but
to recruit the cast of performers in
the show.. Devious neans of procur
ing the specimens have been tried, in
. eluding exchange and purchase, but
the best method has only recently
been, put into effect.
Realizing that its collection, great
as it is, is my no means complete,
and that there are still just as many
interesting, rare, curious and freak
fish In the sea as ever Were caught
or displayed in the aquarium, its man
agement ias now gone into the sport
of fishing on a larger scale than ever
before. To do this, through the ef
forts of Dr. C. H. Townsend, director
in charge of the gigantic ,f ish show,
the aquarium is now equipped with its
own fishing boat, which shoves off
once a week from its New Tork dock
and returns loaded down with thou
sands of additional specimens of the
finny clan.
FlMia Safe From Injury.
This supply ship, christened "The
Seahorse," ".: unique among fishing
crrt. Instead of going out to catch
uA with hook and line for food, it
Just Because Artists' Materials Were Difficult to
Obtain This Enterprising Genius Relied Upon Her
Needle and Thread and the Contents of Her Rag Bag
With Which to Make These Pictures.
Corer Scovzl ' &T2cf far
Oruf of fS2r Si'o'y&p.
rectangular piece of it stretched on
a wooden frame.
Now for the colors.
In the absence of paints she made
use of an qld box containing bits
of colored ribbons, odds and ends of
silks and patches in short a kaleido
scopic jumble of fabrics that would
have served to reconstruct Joseph's
coat of many colors, or to make . a
"crazy quilt" such as our great-grandmothers
spread over their old-fashioned
four-poster beds three gen
erations ago.
And instead of brushes, she had
recourse to thread and needle, sup
plemented by a jar of paste.
Half whimisically, and half in earn
est, she dipped into her "skibbadge
box" as a painter would use his pal-
hunts them in nets, and the greatest
possible care is taken not to injure
the catch, but to keep them alive and
well. To do this, the "Seahorse" is
separated amid-ships by water-tight
bulkheads from the fore and after sec
tions. The middle section is similar
to a well, and is provided with a con
stant change of seia water through
many holes bored in the hull. The
well is 11x10 feet at the bottom, of
such goodly size that the fishermen
are enabled to catch the large fishes
and land them alive in New Tork,
which, from time to time, enter the
trap nets that are laid in the Long
island waters.
The "Seahorse" is rot a big boat
as fish craft go, being only 35 feet in
length over all, but she is thoroughly
seaworthy and most scientifically ar
ranged. For power she uses a two
cylinder, four-cycle Frlsble engine,
and in case this ;.hould break down,
is equipped with a suit of sails.
This boat has only been in opera
tion since June but has already
proven its value, having been the me
dium of bringing additional hun
dreds of the finny tribe into the tanks
of New York's gigantic fish show.
Already the "Seahorse" has made
about 20 trips to sea returning from
the briny with a total of about 18,000
fishes. The trips are made about once
a week and each jaunt is of approxi
mately 24 hours' duration, the boat
going quite a distance out past the
fishing banka, the. mecca for fisher
men from the- metropolis. On its
most recent trips it has been able
to get more Interesting and valuable
specimens than was possible early in
the summer due to the fact that dur
ing the latter part of August and
early part of September ' many odd
specimens of the finny tribe -come
northward from tropical seas.
Ponder for a moment, you amateur
wielder of the rod, and think of this
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lette. For the actor's hair, she used
brown corduroy, and achieved a start
lingly realistic effect.
Little, ' bright blue circles of silk
for the iris of the eye, and a tiny
bright bead for the pupil!
With such a start, the rest was
easy.' The costume presented no dif
ficulties. She simply sewed or pasted
day's catch of the crew of the "Sea
horse": 1 cow-nosed ray, 3 dog fish,
20 weak fish, 40 puffers, 4 daylight
flounders, 3 sea robbins, 3 blackfish,
10 young mackerel, 20 spots, 12
crockers, 11 fluke, 2 bluefish, 1 sand
shark, 2 lobsters, 20 rock crabs and
6 king crabs. Tes, many of them are
of the ordinary type but the "Sea
horse" has Just started to get In Its
work. Many a bait slinger would be
satisfied with such a catch during a
season's duration.
On Boats Depends Stock.
The aquarium has put its own fish
ermen to work at a most opportune
time, as due to various reasons it is
now dependent almost entirely on
the boat for additional members to
the cast of the great fish show. This
has come about because neither rail
roads nor steamships have, due to
freight congestion, found it possible
to stock its tanks with new fish as
in other years. Also many of the
boats whloh formerly brought fish
to the aquarium have experienced
trouble in the matter of hiring help
and have consequently quit fishing.
But with the aid or the. "Seahorse"
the stock of the tanks has been re
pleted to such an extent that the
aquarium has- just been enabled to
exchange some rare and choice speci
mens with the Boston, Philadelphia
and Detroit aquariums, which were
badly in need of them. .
Dr. C. H. Townsend, the director in
charge of the gigantic fish- show, has
tried for some time to have the aqua
rium equipped with its own boat. Now
that his long looked for desire has
been realized he is very optimistic
and believes that during the coming
year all records for number of visit
ors to the aquarium will be shattered,
because of the curious and unique
specimens he will have to show.
Among those freaks now present in
, the aquarium tanks, thanks to the
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on the surface of the muslin the
proper fabrics, first carefully traced
out and cut into the proper shapes.
And as a final touch, ..she cro
cheted a flower in the coat lapel.
Mr. Mitchell, when he saw the
"patch poster." was immediately
struck with the originality of the
Idea, and suggested to her that she
might develop it into a new and
work of .the"Seahorse," may be men
tioned the puffer fish, well named
because upside down or right side up
he can relax to normal or blow him
self up to four times his natural size.
Then there are the shark suckers,
very odd chaps, which somewhat re
semble a flotilla of submarines in
dead storage. They take, their im
prisonment on indeterminate sentence
philosophically.
Mr. Prickly Ray, a somewhat angu
lar freakish specimen of the deep,
must not be overlooked, as he has
such a very human look that visitors
go into peals of laughter when they
witness his antics. Then there is
the mud puppy, a rdog of the deep.
With a set of curious Mnd'leg3 to
match those up in his bow, this spec
imen might pass as a marine version
of the Dachshund. He is never muz
zled, however, not even in dog days.
Canada-Cuba Are Linked.
ST. JOHNS, The Cuban consul at
St. Johns announces that he is in
receipt of advice from the Cuban
consul-general at Ottawa that the
Gulf Navigation company of New Or
leans has Inaugurated a steamsnip
service between Canada and Cuba.
The head office for Canada will be
n Toronto and will be presided over
by Ceasar Barranoco. The first
steamer to be placed in the service
the S. S. Gonzaba, 2500 tons, recently
launched from the Dominion Ship
building company's yards, 'Is now in
Cuba-
The regular ports of call will be
Toronto. Montreal. St. Johns. Hali
fax and Cuban ports, with Halifax
andi St. Johns as the Canadian ter
minals in the winter months.
Economizing Fuel Necessary.
PARIS. New ideas for economizing
coal and other fuel are sought by
the authorities and 100,000 francs in
prizes have been offered by the Seine
department for Ideas and inventions
this fall. Under the provisions of the
Spa conference agreement, France
will have, from all sources, slightly
less than 60 per cent of her needs in
coal and now, in the sultry heat of
summer, the people are beginning to
worry about the shivers of the com
ing winter.
Vv
-a1- 'a
successful form of poster art. On
his advice, 'she had the process pat
ented, and did a number of- more
elaborate "patch posters" (several
of which are reproduced on this page)
and took . them to New Tork.
They created a furor of interest.
Her success was immediate and com
plete. Her work began to appear in
windows along Fifth avenue, and now
she has entered into negotiations with
leading theatrical managers who
wish to make lavish use of the
ONCE WEALTHY
SAVED
Career of Charles Beresford, Said
Man Is Found by Police and
NEW YORK. Sept. 11. Charles
Beresford, reputed to have been
wealthy when he retired 25
years ago from the iron manufactur
ing business, who says he is related
to the late Admiral Lord Charles
William de la Poer Beresford, is re
covering from a condition bordering
on starvation in . the Kings county
hospital, Brooklyn-
Although the tall, . wliite-baired
man who is registered at the hospital
as "67 years old, no home," made an
effort to hide from his friends of
better days his present deplorable
plight. It was his story of his recent
experiences In England and Ireland,
and the statement of an associate of
Representative John McCrate of
Brooklyn, Beresford's lawyer, that es
tablished his identity.
His statement to a reporter that
during a recent visit to England he
was robbed of 6000 and that he was
forced to borrow money for his re
turn voyage to this country was borne
out in a measure by Representative
MoCrate's associate last night.
After a successful career as an iron
manufacturer with properties near
Albany, he retired with a considerable
fortune. Mr. Beresford told a reporter.
From that time up to a few months
ago he lived in boarding houses and
hotels. He was nevex married and
has no relatives in this country. Sev
eral months ago he went to Man
chester, England, to settle up some
business affairs, and from there to
Ireland to take care of property mat
ters. He said conditions in Ireland were
unbearable while he was there, and
he was glad to get out of the country.
One night, he said, a woman who
lived next door to the people he was
visiting sold four pigs. That night
the raiders former soldiers called
at the house and demanded the money,
he said, and when the woman said
she had none they dragged her from
.
"patch poster" in the lobby displays
this fall.
The most startling effect of the
"patch posters," aside from their nov
elty and decorative value, is their
astonishing realism. At a consider
able distance, they resemble oil paint
ings, but come closer, and you ob
serve that the button which you
imagine is lined with a realism ri
valling Goya looks real because it
Is real, and that the pair of crumpled
gloves which suggest at a distance
STEEL MANUFACTURER IS
FROM STARVATION BY FRIENDS
to Be Related to Prominent British Family, Singular One Fortune Gone,
Placed in Hospital in Brooklyn, Where Now He Is Recovering.
the house and searched her home un
til they found the "pig money" hidden
in a mattress.
Beresford said that was enough for
him and that lie went back to Man
chester intending , to return to this
country. While there, he said, he was
robbed of the 6000 pounds he had
gone to England to collect and left
with only a five-pound note, at the
present time much less than $25.
With this money he went to Ire
land, he said, and from friends bor
rowed enough to come back to the
United States.
"In England and Ireland at the
present time a man's life Isn't worth
a nickel, if he has a nickel, as the
raiders-take anything and everything
they can get their hands on," said
Mr. Beresford.
Later it was learned that Beres
ford's legal affairs had been taken
care of by Congressman McCrate. and
the reporter went to the Congress
man's law office. There an associate
said that six months ago he went with
Mr. Beresford to get a passport for a
trip to England. Several times in
the past few years, the lawyer said,
Mr. Beresford had gone to England
to establish his relationship with the
Beresford family, which owns vast
estates in Ireland.
The recent voyage, he said, was for
the purpose of collecting from the
British government rentals for prop
erties in Ireland, which were being
used by the government for conva
lescent hospitals for returned sdldlers.
When he returned about three months
ago, the lawyer said he was told by
Mr. Beresford that the first payment
on these rentals had been stolen from
him by the "raiders."
"Mr. Beresford and Congressman
McCrate were very good friends," said
the lawyer. "The former often came
to the office here and from time to
time I beard much of his story. He
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the technique of a Titian are in
fact real gloves, skillfully sewn into
the composition.
But while Cora Scovil has in one
sense departed from all artistic tra
ditions, she has this quality in com
mon with every man or woman who
has felt the artistic desire to create
that, failing to secure the materials
she desired, sne made use of what
ever material was at hand and forced
it to serve the purpose.
Giotto, who. smashed the conven
tional Byzantine traditions of paint
ing, and set the people of Florence
to shouting in the streets almost a
thousand years ago, was first dis
covered by Cimabue. seated on a
hillside near Fiesole. scratching
rude pictures on a piece ef slate with
no better instrument than a sharp
pointed stone.
The story is told of both Bernard
Palissy and Bevenuto Cellini that
when they could obtain no firewood,
for the furnaces which they used,
respectively, in baking their porce
lains and casting their bronzes, they
used the household furniture for fuel.
(Jaupin. perhaps the most ultra
modern of the moderns, unable to
procure more canvas in faroff Ta
hiti, painted many of his astonish
ing creations on the rough wooden
floors and walls of his hut in the
wiIUsl
Pouter F.ffccts in Prehistoric Days.
And if you go back, via the Mu
seum of National History, to the art
of the savage A'frican tribes, or that
of the modern eakimo, you will find
them using flat bits of bone, tanned
leather, slabs of rock in fact any
thing that comes to easiest to hand,
for a Hurfare on which to draw or
paint their pictographs and decora
tions. Failing in paint, pencils or
brushes, anything is made to serve
their purpose, from a sharp pointed
stick, or a shark's tooth, to gorgeous
purple dyes secured from mollusces,
and applied with a feather or rab
bit's foot.
And Cora Scovil, determined to
create her poster in a Pennsylvania
town where artists' materials were
as difficult, at the moment, to ob
tain as they would have been in
Tahita or the Artie, fell back as a
last resort on the muslin from her
ironing board and the contents of
her rag bag.
Thus, necessity becomes the mother
of invention in the realm of art as
well as of science, and the clever
inventor of the "patch poster" is
reaping today the reward of her
originality. .
said that he had run away from Eng
land when quite young and after
much time at sea, went to Australia
and from there came to this country.
After he retired from business he
made many trips to England to re
establish his position there and it was
some time before he was given his
proper status by other members of
his family.
"That he .finally did get back Into
the Beresford fold is evidenced by the
fact that his latest trip was for the
purpose of collecting his share of
the money due the family for the use
of the estates In Ireland. Mr. Beres
ford, I understand, was a cousin of
Lord Charles, but I am not sure he
ever told me just how he was related
to the Beresford family. He formerly
lived in the Bronx," but I have no idea
just where."
The old man was picked up In a
hallway on Fulton street. Jamaica.
He had gone there to face death
rather than to face the friends who
did not know of his financial adver
sity. The police took him to the
Richmond Hill hospital and from there
he was transferred to the Kings
county institution. After nourishment
he told the hospital attendants he
had not eaten previously In three
days. It was some time before he
was able to talk because of his weak
ened condition.
Women Saw Way Out of Jail.
AKRON, O. Three women prison
ers sawed tl.eir wav to freedom at
the county jail. They are Carrie
Childs, aged 24. negress, charged with
pocketpicking; Marie Hamilton. 20,
negress, charged with cutting to kill,
and Pearl White. 26, charged with
pocketpicking. The women occupied
the same cell. The escape was made
the more daring by reason of the lo
cation of the cell directly over the
jail office. The woman, after sawing
the bars, dropped to the ground di
rectly in front of the office window.