On Iron Fences
Dear Editor:
I have just read the charming article by Lauren Bennett about Back Bay iron fences (August 15). It’s really wonderful to come across a detailed description of the history and restoration-techniques of beautiful iron fences in Boston, and the distinctions between cast iron and wrought iron (which was new to me). How delightful to read a well-written piece on so arcane a subject. One small correction: the phrase “mortise and tenant” should read, of course, “mortise and tenon” (no self-respecting tenant would ever want to be bodily inserted into the joint-cavity of a mortise, no matter how beautiful his or her landlord’s fence might be).
Alan Levitan