Page:The museum, (Jackson, Marget Talbot, 1917).djvu/149

Rh throughout its length, which hangs from the moulding and to which the pictures are attached by means of a screw which passes through a hole in the bar. This process holds the picture rigidly in place but is very ugly, and the wide iron strips hanging at regular intervals give one a disagreeable impression, even when they are painted the same color as the wall, for they always hang out far enough from the wall so that a shadow is cast on either side which makes a distinct line up and down. Chains have this same disadvantage and also another, in that it is difficult to make a picture hang straight on the two sides, although it is a great convenience to be able to hang the pictures from the floor instead of from a high ladder. The chains, however, have to be especially made for museum work and can not be obtained on the market in America. Much the most attractive way of hanging pictures from a moulding is with the use of an ordinary picture wire. Copper wire can only be used once without becoming much twisted and it is liable to break if allowed to hang bent. The ordinary brass wire has the disadvantage of being very susceptible to atmospheric conditions, rusts and becomes weak very easily. The strongest of the picture wires on the market is the braided steel, the ordinary picture wire, which can be had