Studio: international art (18.1900)

Reviews of Recent Publications

and the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood had never
exhibited as a society, the name of Dante Gabriel
Rossetti would still have been renowned and his
influence upon present-day art would still have
been strong. Mr. Bate's work shows much careful
and appreciative study of his subject, and the large
number of well-printed illustrations have been
selected with excellent judgment.

Gullivers Travels. By Jonathan Swift. Illus-
trated by Herbert Cole. (London and New
York: John Lane.) Price 6s.—A good book is
always worthy of good print, good paper, and good
binding. Low-priced editions, cheaply printed on
cheap paper, should be confined to books of the
hour—to books which, having once been skimmed
through, we never want to read again—to books
for the waste-paper basket or the fire-back. Mr.
Lane's new edition of the Travels is one that may
be handled with satisfaction and read with comfort.
Mr. Herbert Cole's pen-and-ink illustrations are
powerfully drawn, and show an excellent under-
standing of the humour of the Dean's story.

The Pilgrim's Progress. By John Bunyan.
(Edward Arnold.) Price 30^. net.—This sumptuous
white vellum-bound edition of Bunyan's allegory
is the third book printed at the Essex House Press,
which was founded by Messrs. C. R. Ashbee and
Laurence Hodson for the purpose of keeping alive
the traditions of good printing revived by William
Morris. As in the case of the two preceding
volumes issued from this establishment, the
Treatises of Benvenuto Cellini and the Hymn of
Bardaisan, the most noteworthy feature in the
book is the fount of type chosen, which is both
clear and dark, and altogether excellent of its kind.
Moreover, it is arranged with well-proportioned
margins, so that each page of letterpress in itself,
without further decoration, is a distinctly beautiful
object.

Great Masters in Painting and Sculpture,—
Messrs. George Bell & Sons (London) are issuing
a series of monographs under the above title, which
promises to be one of exceptional interest. The
volumes already issued consist of an account of
the life and works of Bernardino Luini, by G. C.
Williamson, Litt.D., to which is appended an ex-
cellent and useful catalogue of paintings, in various
parts of Europe, by this distinguished artist; Velas-
quez, by R. A. M. Stevenson, a reprint of the very
valuable critical account published some time ago
under the title of The Art of Velasquez, and reviewed
in these columns, with a list of the works by the
painter and a bibliography; and Andrea del Sarto,
by H. Guinness, to which is also appended a
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catalogue of works. The volumes are freely illus-
trated by reproductions in photographic process,
and the reasonable price at which they are issued
(five shillings each) should insure a good reception
from the public.

The Arabian Nights. Illustrated by W. H.
Robinson, Helen Stratton, A. D. McCormick,
A. L. Davis, and A. E. Norbury. (London:
George Newnes, Limited.) Price 155.—Although
uniform in size with the excellent edition of Hans
Andersen's Fairy Tales, recently issued by the
same publisher, The Arabian Nights is less satis-
factory in general appearance. The reason of this
is perhaps not at once apparent, nor is it an alto-
gether vital one to the popular success of the book ;
but still it is one which we think ought to be
pointed out. The volume is illustrated upon every
one of its 472 pages. The quality of the illustra-
tions is for the most part good, although instances
are not lacking of careless and apparently hurried
work. The great fault in the drawings lies in their
lack of uniformity and want of proportion in relation
to each other, and to the page upon which they
appear. The scale of the drawings is continually
varying. At one time a full-length figure occupies
the entire height of the page ; while on the opposite
side a totally different scale of size is adopted.
Or one finds a row of huge heads with a solid
black background facing figures in a light scratchy
outline. It is impossible for a book to appear
satisfactory under such scrap-book conditions.
Each leaf should be made to "compose" satis-
factorily with its opposite fellow, and all figures
throughout the volume should be kept as uniform
in scale as possible. The quite satisfactory illus-
tration of these tales has not yet been accom-
plished. It is a big work, and the would-be illus-
trator should pass many months in the bazaars of
Tunis and Constantinople, in the streets and houses
of Cairo and Damascus, making plentiful notes of
what is to be found there. That the result would
repay the outlay cannot be questioned.

Embroidery. By W. G. Paulson Townsend.
(London and New York : Truslove, Hanson, and
Comba.) Price 3s. 6d. net.—A most useful little
handbook, full 01 good technical instruction in
respect to stitches, and plentifully illustrated with
notable examples of old and new work. The
author, who is the design master of the Royal
School of Art Needlework, is to be congratu-
lated upon his modest little treatise. The very
low price at which it is published brings it within
the means of many to whom it may be of real
service,