I have picture molding all over my house (just outside Boston) and, since the walls seem to be made of some impenetrable granite-like plaster popular in the 1930s, it's a good thing. If I try to drive a nail, nothing much happens other than a chip in the wall surface and lots of cursing...

Those little 's' hooks are what you need. The larger end curves into the molding. I use them with fishing line - extra strong - which is clear and disappears into the background. Of course you could make a strong statement with cord, or ribbon, or thin rope or whatever.

But, a word of warning: not all picture molding has been installed ready to accept extremely heavy weight/s. You need to be careful that your artwork doesn't overtax the weight capacity of your molding. Proceed with caution.

I lived in a dorm with picture molding and inpenetrable walls. My grandfather used needle-nosed pliers and made me hooks out of pieces of wire coathangers to hang all my pictures; we used thin wire to suspend the pictures from the hooks. They're sturdy and I've re-used them for several things.

I found some great hooks here:

www.houseofantiquehardware.com

And I hung my pictures with suede cord that looks great. I just double or triple the cord for heavier frames and it seems very secure.
http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog.jsp?CATID=cat1934&PRODID=prd31676&source=search

Hi Andrea: I have white molding throughout my house and I buy white hooks on-line from Van Dykes Restorers http://www.vandykes.com/. They have other ones besides just white. Search for "molding picture frame hook" in the search box.

I just moved from a prewar and miss the picture rails. Gracious Home on W. 67th was very helpful as I had a couple framed vintage posters that were very heavy -- although those were the only two items that ended up anchored to the wall and not the rail. I had wanted to hang them from two hooks (one for each corner) and a chain. This is the method employed in many old museums and homes, here and abroad. For the weight I needed to support I couldn't attach a large enough hook to the frame. Gracious Home had a good selection of chains.

while i've used transparent cord for hanging this way i've also used thin twine for a more rustic look and colorful slim ribbons. you can get quite creative with this

Arran, could you show pics of your pictures hanging on the suede twine? Thanks!

I have found the necessary equipment at Home Depot. I did have a disaster on one occasion with a heavy mirror bending the S hook and crashing very loudly to the floor in the middle of the night. That was in my current house, despite my having hung the same mirror in the same way with the same equipment (or so I thought) in a previous apartment. I think some of the hooks don't make any representations of fitness for a particular weight/purpose on the packaging so beware.

I second Arran's rec of http://houseofantiquehardware.com/ ... We have dubiously-sturdy plaster walls but lots of picture molding, and we are using the HoAH Solid Brass Plain Picture Rail Hook in brushed pewter (or something along those lines; it's a dull silver). We use 30-lb fishing line for some pieces and various weights of Ook brand clear picture wire for others. To hang a mirror over our fireplace we use one of the heavy duty hooks from HoAH, in combination with their silk hanging cord--it has wire in the middle for strength. Looks great, too!

A tip for hanging pictures: The closer to the middle of the frame the eye-hooks are (for stringing the wire through), the more the top of the picture will come out form the wall. That gives a very old-fashioned look that you may or may not like... We're trying to mostly hang things from near the top of the frame to keep them as flush against the wall as possible.

what's the best way to secure the wire/cord/etc through the eye hooks? any special boy scout knot needed? we've just moved into a two-flat with picture rails and i'd love to display our pictures.

For added security in earthquake country we get the picture hooks with holes, and always hang pictures from two hooks, one above each upper corner, with picture wire strung down, across, and back up (or fishing line for the lightweight stuff). The holes at the lower end of each molding hook can be used for wrapping the wire, and at the upper end that hooks to the molding you can drive a small nail in to hold them in place. I think ABAG has diagrams on their website under earthquake safety if this doesn't make sense from my description. In San Francisco the hooks themselves can be found in any hardware store priced around 4/$1.

Our landlord had no idea that picture moldings were for hanging pictures and was just delighted that we had found a way to hang all of our art without drilling holes in the wall, which is what he had done. So I think the ignorance you've found is pretty common.

Selena, check out a package of the Ook clear hanging wire--they have a little diagram. Basically you wrap the end around the line a few times and loop it through, then pull tight.

Thanks for all the great tips (and warnings)--I'm inspired to start hanging this very weekend... Andrea.

Michaels - The Arts and Crafts Store sells them in California. I bought a pack of three in gold for about $4.

Question...
I have picture rail mouldings.. however they are made out of plaster and not of wood (very old house)..
I have a 20kg (44 lbs) mirror that I want to hang...

I was planning on hanging it with picture rail hooks with 2 points of anchoring. However, that will be 22lbs or 10kg on each point of anchor and I still do not know if the plaster picture rail can hold that up.

What do you all think? give it a shot or stay clear and drill holes in the brick wall? (putting mirror above fireplace)...

ROBS