DOI issue:
No. 54 (September, 1897)
DOI article:White, Gleeson: Some Glasgow designers and their work, [2]
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.18389#0257
Some Glasgow Designers
TEA CADDY, TEA SHOVEL, AND TABLE
BY J. HERBERT MCNAIR
summary of their author's meaning may be given.
In one for John Turnbull Knox you see a falcon
JAHLk BY CHARLES R. MACKINTOSH
230
(the Knox crest), not heraldically displayed, but
hovering over the tree of knowledge which enfolds
with its branches the spirits of art and poetry.
These hold in their hands rose buds (conven-
tionalised into baby heads) and lilies, em-
blematical of painting and sculpture. The little
hea'ds above represent the dew breathing on the
tree inspiration which comes from above. In
another for George Stanser McNair occurs a refer-
ence to the family crest—a mermaid. The three
figures represent a fountain, while conventional
drops falling from their hands burst into mer-
babies. That these bookplates do not convey all
this to every chance spectator is quite true ; but
MUSIC STOOL BY J. HERBERT MCNAIR
those familiar with the works of many modern
painters will readily own that to interpret a design
by Khnopff, a play by Maeterlinck, or a painting by
Gustave Moreau, demands almost as much idealism
as their creators themselves have incorporated with
the work. To own so much is not to convey a
hidden sneer at these dark sayings upon a harp, nor
to declare oneself too fond of common-sense to
tolerate other modes of expression. As the puzzle
of a poet's meaning seems an open riddle to some,
and a sealed book to others, so designs of the
ultra-symbolical order appeal only to those in close
sympathy, and are in themselves neither better nor
worse because they choose to do so. To me, I
confess, it seems that whatever charm these designs
possess, is not in any ways dependent on their
TEA CADDY, TEA SHOVEL, AND TABLE
BY J. HERBERT MCNAIR
summary of their author's meaning may be given.
In one for John Turnbull Knox you see a falcon
JAHLk BY CHARLES R. MACKINTOSH
230
(the Knox crest), not heraldically displayed, but
hovering over the tree of knowledge which enfolds
with its branches the spirits of art and poetry.
These hold in their hands rose buds (conven-
tionalised into baby heads) and lilies, em-
blematical of painting and sculpture. The little
hea'ds above represent the dew breathing on the
tree inspiration which comes from above. In
another for George Stanser McNair occurs a refer-
ence to the family crest—a mermaid. The three
figures represent a fountain, while conventional
drops falling from their hands burst into mer-
babies. That these bookplates do not convey all
this to every chance spectator is quite true ; but
MUSIC STOOL BY J. HERBERT MCNAIR
those familiar with the works of many modern
painters will readily own that to interpret a design
by Khnopff, a play by Maeterlinck, or a painting by
Gustave Moreau, demands almost as much idealism
as their creators themselves have incorporated with
the work. To own so much is not to convey a
hidden sneer at these dark sayings upon a harp, nor
to declare oneself too fond of common-sense to
tolerate other modes of expression. As the puzzle
of a poet's meaning seems an open riddle to some,
and a sealed book to others, so designs of the
ultra-symbolical order appeal only to those in close
sympathy, and are in themselves neither better nor
worse because they choose to do so. To me, I
confess, it seems that whatever charm these designs
possess, is not in any ways dependent on their