Studio: international art (2.1894)

New Publications

'TURF, NEAR EXMOUTH, FROM C. G. HARPERS

nity under such circumstances. Nor can anything any other offerings in kind ? Again, what splendid
be said in defence of the practice of splitting up hangings of embroidery the ladies of a parish might
Scripture texts or quotations from hymns, piece- combine to execute from the designs and under
meal, a word or two (sometimes perhaps an odd the superintendence of a competent artist! The
syllable where there is not space enough for the needlework need not necessarily be elaborate. The
entire word) for each window-sill all round a Nativity and the Adoration of the Shepherds or of

the Kings, might be carried out simply in broad
applique or outline embroidery, and yet make a
most beautiful and suitable ornament. How much
better it would be to have only one such piece of
work, and, in spite of its sameness, to produce it
again and again, year after year, rather than to
keep up the worthless variation of perishable
" decorations " ! Warm alike in the protection
they afford against draughts, and in the contrast of
colour against the bare stone, textile hangings are
surely the most seasonable form of decoration.

BOOKS FOR CHRISTMAS PRESENTS,
AND OTHERS.

From Paddington to Penzance. By Charles
G. Harper. (London : Chatto & Windus.)—Of
the hundred and five drawings by the author,
which adorn this bright and readable narrative of
a west country pilgrimage, several—Cam Urea, A
Cornish Moor, &c.—have already appeared in our
pages, not for their subjects' sake, but as examples
in the technique of drawings for process, in which
craft Mr. Harper is an expert. Therefore the

paddington to Penzance." ' "(chatto and" windus) Praise> easy enough to bestow, must not be given

here, but, on the other hand, we may call attention

church. The couplet, " Hark the - Herald- f° the very interesting character of these blocks as

Angels-sing glory-to the new —born hloc^\ BY permission of the publishers we are

King," in fragments alternating with intervals enabled t(? delude two others from this handsome

more or less wide, is an instance so common octav1° vol*mue> *'hichc sh°uld be one. °f the most

in this connection that use has made the ludi- P°Pu,lar Spooks of the year, especially to those

crousness of it by this time to pass unnoticed. wh° know the distn.ct Mn HarPer, Plctures 30 well>

Cheap and nasty tinsel and paper and criticises sometimes <o severely.

banners, shields, scrolls, &c, of which
the ecclesiastical milliner advertises
an ample selection at Christmas-time
and at most of the great festivals,
have little to recommend them be-
yond the fact that, sorry substitutes
as they are, they yet do represent
the old and noble tradition of hang-
ing church walls, &c, with tapestries
and other draperies during festal
seasons. There are many beautiful
stuffs now produced which are ad-
mirably suited for such purposes—
e.g., brocatelles, printed velveteens,
and stayned linens, the last being the
only material that can be used in
some places on account of the damp,
in addition to more elaborate hang-
ings, such as hand-woven tapestries
or embroideries. Tapestries, it is
true, are costly—too costly as a rule
to be provided out of the ordinary
funds of a parish. But why should
not wealthy benefactors sometimes

make such gifts to a church just as " st. Catherine's hill, Winchester," from c. g. harper's

they give stained-glass windows, or "paddington to penzance." (chatto and windus)

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