DOI issue:
No. 93 (December, 1900)
DOI article:Reviews
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.19786#0237
Reviews
as is here displayed Histories and historical
sketches of Geneva are not lacking, but the charm
of Messrs. Fatio & Boissonnas' work consists in
their successful attempt to fix on paper, by means
of a photographic process of the very first order,
the traces of the past left on crumbling wall and
time-worn building. The simple and tasteful design
of intertwined earsof corn and poppies that decorates
the cover of the Campagne Genevoise is well chosen
and of pleasing effect. This volume deals with the
rural history of the little canton from prehistoric
times down to the present day. It isafar cry from such
remote periods to the 19th century, and Mr. Fatio
has displayed rare selective judgment in sifting the
mass of interesting information at his command.
He has succeeded in finding "tongues" in quaint
stones and relics of a long dead past, "books" in
rural fountain, grange, and castle, and " good" in
the successive changes through which this delightful
Genevese country district has passed in the course
of ages. What Messrs. Fatio & Boissonnas have
done for the neighbourhood of Geneva in this first
volume, they have accomplished with equal success
for the city itself in the second, Geneve a travers
les Siccles, the ivy-leaf design on the cover of which
is suggestive of the evergreen memories that cling
about the old city. We are made witnesses of the
vicissitudes through which the city has passed, the
modifications that buildings, industry, arts and
science have undergone in the lapse of time. We
see first of all Geneva at its origin, then as the city
of the Bishops, after as the stronghold of the
Reformation, later as taking on the impress of
Italian and French influence in the seventeenth
and eighteenth centuries, and finally as the
" cosmopolitan city " that it is to-day, its ancient
glory disappearing before the invasion of " civilised
barbarism."
Characters of Romance. By William Nicholson.
(London : William Heinemann.) This large post
folio, of sixteen compositions, is not only one
of the most important of Mr. Nicholson's
works, but it is also one of the most notable.
It is notable because the drawings are
thoroughly individual both in conception and in
technique. The artist may have been inspired by
the Japanese or by the early European wood-
engravers, but he cannot be said to be an imitator
of either. The broad, solid masses, characteristic
of Mr. Nicholson's early compositions, have given
place in the present series to more broken effects, in
which a heavy, soft line, akin to that of the reed
pen, plays a prominent part in conjunction with
colour-washes. The composition of the subjects,
as usual, is excellent—the colour value in its rela-
tion to the composition, apart from the line value,
being most carefully observed. The drawings,
To hi 1 Silver, Porthos, Commodore Trunnion, Mr.
Weller, and Miss Fotheringay and Captain Costi-
gan, are among the best of the characters por-
trayed. We are permitted, by the courtesy of the
publisher, to reproduce the last-named.
In the Ice World of Himalaya. By Fanny
Bullock Workman and William Hunter
Workman. (London : Fisher Unwin.) Price i6.f.
The fascination of the glorious mountain scenery
upon the eastern and north-eastern frontiers of
Kashmir has attracted many travellers who, whether
engaged upon political or business duties, or
intent upon the pleasures of the chase, have
found their way over the difficult passes and wild
and lonely roads that lead to Ladakh, to Nubia,
or to Baltistan. But rarely have they been able to
record their impressions more graphically than
have the writers of this most interesting book of
travel. Since the pioneer journey of Robert Shaw
over the Karakormu into Kashgaria, much greater
attention has been given by travellers to these
regions of eternal ice and snow, and if their
journeyings are not made without difficulties and
even dangers, they are accompanied by a satisfac-
tion and delight which only a mountaineer can
fully realise. The present account is accompanied
by some excellent maps and a large number of
reproductions from good photographs.
A Little Tour in France. By Henry James.
Illustrated by Joseph Pennell. (London :
Heinemann.) — Gommencing with Tours, the
author describes in turn his impressions of
Blois, Amboise, Bourges, Toulouse, Carcassonne,
Aries, Avignon, and many intermediate places.
Charmingly written, the volume would form an
excellent companion to an intelligent traveller who
would make the same tour—and a better one
could scarcely be devised for the artistically-
disposed wanderer. Mr. Pennell's numerous
illustrations are for the most part but slightly
drawn ; they are good enough as memoranda, but
are a little too slap-dash for general appreciation.
Wooings and Weddings in Many Climes. By
Louise Jordan Miln. (London: C. Arthur
Pearson, Ltd.) Price i6.r.—The brilliant authoress
of When we were Strolling Players in the East may
be congratulated upon her latest work on Wooings
and Weddings. It is brightly written, and skirts
many curious phases of the subject with much tact
and discretion. Twenty-eight chapters are devoted
to marriages in almost as many different countries;
as is here displayed Histories and historical
sketches of Geneva are not lacking, but the charm
of Messrs. Fatio & Boissonnas' work consists in
their successful attempt to fix on paper, by means
of a photographic process of the very first order,
the traces of the past left on crumbling wall and
time-worn building. The simple and tasteful design
of intertwined earsof corn and poppies that decorates
the cover of the Campagne Genevoise is well chosen
and of pleasing effect. This volume deals with the
rural history of the little canton from prehistoric
times down to the present day. It isafar cry from such
remote periods to the 19th century, and Mr. Fatio
has displayed rare selective judgment in sifting the
mass of interesting information at his command.
He has succeeded in finding "tongues" in quaint
stones and relics of a long dead past, "books" in
rural fountain, grange, and castle, and " good" in
the successive changes through which this delightful
Genevese country district has passed in the course
of ages. What Messrs. Fatio & Boissonnas have
done for the neighbourhood of Geneva in this first
volume, they have accomplished with equal success
for the city itself in the second, Geneve a travers
les Siccles, the ivy-leaf design on the cover of which
is suggestive of the evergreen memories that cling
about the old city. We are made witnesses of the
vicissitudes through which the city has passed, the
modifications that buildings, industry, arts and
science have undergone in the lapse of time. We
see first of all Geneva at its origin, then as the city
of the Bishops, after as the stronghold of the
Reformation, later as taking on the impress of
Italian and French influence in the seventeenth
and eighteenth centuries, and finally as the
" cosmopolitan city " that it is to-day, its ancient
glory disappearing before the invasion of " civilised
barbarism."
Characters of Romance. By William Nicholson.
(London : William Heinemann.) This large post
folio, of sixteen compositions, is not only one
of the most important of Mr. Nicholson's
works, but it is also one of the most notable.
It is notable because the drawings are
thoroughly individual both in conception and in
technique. The artist may have been inspired by
the Japanese or by the early European wood-
engravers, but he cannot be said to be an imitator
of either. The broad, solid masses, characteristic
of Mr. Nicholson's early compositions, have given
place in the present series to more broken effects, in
which a heavy, soft line, akin to that of the reed
pen, plays a prominent part in conjunction with
colour-washes. The composition of the subjects,
as usual, is excellent—the colour value in its rela-
tion to the composition, apart from the line value,
being most carefully observed. The drawings,
To hi 1 Silver, Porthos, Commodore Trunnion, Mr.
Weller, and Miss Fotheringay and Captain Costi-
gan, are among the best of the characters por-
trayed. We are permitted, by the courtesy of the
publisher, to reproduce the last-named.
In the Ice World of Himalaya. By Fanny
Bullock Workman and William Hunter
Workman. (London : Fisher Unwin.) Price i6.f.
The fascination of the glorious mountain scenery
upon the eastern and north-eastern frontiers of
Kashmir has attracted many travellers who, whether
engaged upon political or business duties, or
intent upon the pleasures of the chase, have
found their way over the difficult passes and wild
and lonely roads that lead to Ladakh, to Nubia,
or to Baltistan. But rarely have they been able to
record their impressions more graphically than
have the writers of this most interesting book of
travel. Since the pioneer journey of Robert Shaw
over the Karakormu into Kashgaria, much greater
attention has been given by travellers to these
regions of eternal ice and snow, and if their
journeyings are not made without difficulties and
even dangers, they are accompanied by a satisfac-
tion and delight which only a mountaineer can
fully realise. The present account is accompanied
by some excellent maps and a large number of
reproductions from good photographs.
A Little Tour in France. By Henry James.
Illustrated by Joseph Pennell. (London :
Heinemann.) — Gommencing with Tours, the
author describes in turn his impressions of
Blois, Amboise, Bourges, Toulouse, Carcassonne,
Aries, Avignon, and many intermediate places.
Charmingly written, the volume would form an
excellent companion to an intelligent traveller who
would make the same tour—and a better one
could scarcely be devised for the artistically-
disposed wanderer. Mr. Pennell's numerous
illustrations are for the most part but slightly
drawn ; they are good enough as memoranda, but
are a little too slap-dash for general appreciation.
Wooings and Weddings in Many Climes. By
Louise Jordan Miln. (London: C. Arthur
Pearson, Ltd.) Price i6.r.—The brilliant authoress
of When we were Strolling Players in the East may
be congratulated upon her latest work on Wooings
and Weddings. It is brightly written, and skirts
many curious phases of the subject with much tact
and discretion. Twenty-eight chapters are devoted
to marriages in almost as many different countries;