[1] Numerous invitations were extended by manufacturers in New York and vicinity to visit their factories, and prizes amounted to several hundred dollars were offered for various designs, and a variety of valuable art specimens presented.
The work done included carpets of all grades, oil cloths, linoleums, wall papers, stained glass, carved and inlaid wood panels, printed silks and silkalines, ribbons, upholstery fabrics, portieres, table linen of all kinds, calicoes, prints, awnings, lace, fan mounts, book covers, china, Christmas, Easter, and menu cards.
Not only were orders filled for American manufacturers, but there were international opportunities as well: to Leeds and York, England, patterns for ingrains; to Carlsbad, Austria, designs for china; to Dundee, Scotland, patterns for table linen and towel borders; and to Japan, designs for printed and embroidered silks.
[1] The school is open to any young woman of good moral character upon payment of the required tuition fee.
Pupils desiring to enter the advanced classes will be required to present specimens of their work—free-hand drawing—flowers from nature or conventionalized ornamental figures, scrolls, and so forth.
[1] During the first two or three years of the school's existence, lectures were given to the students by prominent artists and designers, but these were discontinued because the classes soon assumed such proportions that there was not room enough to accommodate all who wished to hear them.
The courses of instruction included elementary and advanced work in ornamental and practical designing as applied to carpets, rugs, wall paper, oilcloth, stained glass, lace, silk, calico, book covers, and so forth.
[1] In Cory's opinion, there was hardly any branch of industry in which artistic skill and taste was a component part which had not benefited by this class of schools.
They have trained up a distinctively American class of designers, illustrators, and decorators whose talents have contributed to the development and success of many establishments, especially those engaged in the printing and textile industries.
She wrote in 1891: "By far the greater number of graduates are at work in their own homes, and are not employed regularly at a stated salary by any manufacturer.