DOI issue:
No. 34 (January, 1896)
DOI article:Reviews of recent publications
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.17295#0275
Reviews of Recent Publications
Z/hjL 6-&>£ use, ksruriX)
Jacob and the Raven. By Frances M. Peard.
Illustrated by Heywood Sumner. (London :
George Allen.)—This collection of original stories
for children has the uncommon merit of being
written with freshness and power, and it should
meet with much favour from little folk. Mr.
Sumner designs with considerable breadth, and his
illustrations are charming bits of decoration.
Zelinda and the Monster. Retold after the old
Italian version and done into pictures by Mary
Stuart Wortley, Countess of Lovelace. (Lon-
don : Dent & Co.)—This version of the old story
of Beauty and the Beast differs in some particulars
from that in our nursery books. It is charmingly
told and sumptuously illustrated, and would make
a delightful little gift book.
The Queen of the Fishes. A Story of Valois. ^^^hUlMX. to-e Son% cu^SOru)
Adapted by Margaret Rust and decorated with
Pictures and Ornaments cut on the wood by
Lucien Pissaro, and printed by him in divers
colours and gold at his Press in Epping. Price 20s.
(London: John Lane.)—In approaching a criticism I <mx>tkxsr /^JCcx^unj >\X^r
of such a book as the one under review, it is neces-
sary we should bear in mind what the artist-engraver
has evidently desired in his own mind to accom-
plish. That it is an essay in the production of
the "decorated book" is at once apparent; and
that it is an effort which is successful to a degree "goodnight" (david nutt) drawing pa- louis davis
far in advance of many more pretentious works of
recent date, is the conclusion one must inevitably come to after a careful perusal. What is a "deco-
rated book " ? Not by any means
of necessity the book full of beau-
tiful pictures. There are many
such, containing reproductions of
work by the most eminent painters,
which, as artistic books, do not
bear comparison with the achieve-
ments of the early printers. The
harmony of text with illustration,
the satisfactory decoration of the
page, the limitations and exi-
gencies of printed matter—these
are some of the considerations
which affect the artistic condi-
tion of the book. The produc-
tions of the Kelmscott Press and
the efforts of the Birmingham
School have done not a little to
open the eyes of the public to
the possibilities of beauty in the
printed book. But Mr. Pissaro,
in the fascinating effort before
us, has gone a step or two farther
1 jacob and the raven " (george allen) drawing by heywood sumner than his COlltempOrarieS. He
258
Z/hjL 6-&>£ use, ksruriX)
Jacob and the Raven. By Frances M. Peard.
Illustrated by Heywood Sumner. (London :
George Allen.)—This collection of original stories
for children has the uncommon merit of being
written with freshness and power, and it should
meet with much favour from little folk. Mr.
Sumner designs with considerable breadth, and his
illustrations are charming bits of decoration.
Zelinda and the Monster. Retold after the old
Italian version and done into pictures by Mary
Stuart Wortley, Countess of Lovelace. (Lon-
don : Dent & Co.)—This version of the old story
of Beauty and the Beast differs in some particulars
from that in our nursery books. It is charmingly
told and sumptuously illustrated, and would make
a delightful little gift book.
The Queen of the Fishes. A Story of Valois. ^^^hUlMX. to-e Son% cu^SOru)
Adapted by Margaret Rust and decorated with
Pictures and Ornaments cut on the wood by
Lucien Pissaro, and printed by him in divers
colours and gold at his Press in Epping. Price 20s.
(London: John Lane.)—In approaching a criticism I <mx>tkxsr /^JCcx^unj >\X^r
of such a book as the one under review, it is neces-
sary we should bear in mind what the artist-engraver
has evidently desired in his own mind to accom-
plish. That it is an essay in the production of
the "decorated book" is at once apparent; and
that it is an effort which is successful to a degree "goodnight" (david nutt) drawing pa- louis davis
far in advance of many more pretentious works of
recent date, is the conclusion one must inevitably come to after a careful perusal. What is a "deco-
rated book " ? Not by any means
of necessity the book full of beau-
tiful pictures. There are many
such, containing reproductions of
work by the most eminent painters,
which, as artistic books, do not
bear comparison with the achieve-
ments of the early printers. The
harmony of text with illustration,
the satisfactory decoration of the
page, the limitations and exi-
gencies of printed matter—these
are some of the considerations
which affect the artistic condi-
tion of the book. The produc-
tions of the Kelmscott Press and
the efforts of the Birmingham
School have done not a little to
open the eyes of the public to
the possibilities of beauty in the
printed book. But Mr. Pissaro,
in the fascinating effort before
us, has gone a step or two farther
1 jacob and the raven " (george allen) drawing by heywood sumner than his COlltempOrarieS. He
258