Studio: international art (39.1907)

Reviews and Notices

Old Pewter. By Malcolm Bell. (London:
George Newnes; New York: Charles Scribner's
Sons.) 7.?. 6d. net.—Although it cannot be claimed
that this new volume of the useful Library of the
Applied Arts contains any information not already
before the public, it deserves recognition on account
of the number and variety of its illustrations, that
include good examples of pretty well every variety
of the humble alloy that has of late years been so
eagerly coveted by collectors.

The Old Man Book. Rhymes by R. P. Stone.
Illustrated by C. G. Holme. (London: John
Lane.) 3^ 6d. net.—Amongst early publications of
the kind which find so much favour at Christmas
we have received a book of droll limericks written
by Mr. R. P. Stone. The illustrations by Mr.
C. G. Holme show a keen sense of humour com-
bined in a happy manner with an instinct for
decorative result. The spacing of the blacks is
very effective, and a certain naivete in the drawing
emphasises the artist's originality and gives con-
siderable charm to his composition.

Monograms and Ciphers. Designed and drawn
by A. A. Turbayne and other Members of the
Carlton Studio. (London: TheCaxton Publishing
Co.) In 1 vol., 37^. 6d. net, or 7 parts, boards,
es. each net.—Mr. Turbayne and his associates
are to be congratulated on the completion of a
work which will prove a valuable source of sug-
gestion to those for whom it is intended. The
aim has been to provide designers and craftsmen—■
the goldsmith, the silversmith, the carriage-painter,
the sign writer, the engraver, the embroiderer—•
with a series of models or working drawings, fol-
lowing the better and simpler tastes of the present
day, and eschewing the florid combinations of the
past, though some examples of the older styles,
denuded of over-elaboration, have been included
for those who prefer them. The drawings are, of
course, too numerous and too diverse to be noticed
here in detail—there are 135 plates of monograms
and ciphers, and 27 plates of alphabets, comprising
more than 1,200 designs in all—but, speaking
generally, the combinations and single letters alike
reveal a developed sense of decorative beauty, and
due regard for the limitations which the use of
such ornamental lettering imposes. Mr. Turbayne
in his introduction to the work has some sound
advice to offer to the craftsman who makes use of
the repertory of models here put before him, the
outcome, as he says, of many years of practical
experience in this branch of work.

Yorkshire Dales and Fells. Painted and de-
scribed by Gordon Home. (London: A. & C.
186

Black.) js. 6d. net.—The author of the new
volume on Yorkshire is a bold man to attempt to
interpret the very subjects so triumphantly rendered
by Turner, and it is not surprising that the
criticism thus challenged should not be altogether
favourable. Some of the drawings are undoubtedly
pleasing, notably the Muker on a Stormy After-
noon, A Rugged View from Wensleydale, a
Jacobean House at Askrigg, and the Courtyard
of Skipton Castle, but others are essentially
prosaic. On the other hand the accompanying
letterpress is well written, and brings out far more
forcibly than do the illustrations, the salient
characteristics of the places and people described.
Mr. Home is evidently, in spite of the inadequacy
of his pictorial expression, a true lover of the land
of Dales and Fells. His account of Richmond,
which he considers the gateway of the Dale
country, is especially interesting, the writer being
evidently thoroughly in touch with his subject.
Very delightful reading too is the account of the
weird walk in the dark amongst the so-called
Buttertubs of Wensleydale, when at any moment a
false step might have meant a violent and lonely
death, and of the valley where was evolved the
quaint legend of the Semmerwater, and a single
ancient cottage is said to be all that is left of what
was once a flourishing town.

Messrs. T. C. & E. C. Jack have inaugurated the
series of " Golden Poets," which they are bringing
out at 2S. 6d. net per volume, under the general
editorship of Mr. Oliver Smeaton, by a capital
selection of the poems of John Greenleaf Whittier,
prefaced by a scholarly introduction from the pen
of Mr. A. C. Benson, who gives a summary of the
poet's life and an able analysis of his personal and
literary characteristics. Some admirable illustra-
tions in colour by Mr. Charles Pears add to the
interest of the volume, which, with its legible print,
neat binding, and generally attractive get-up, augurs
well for the success of the undertaking.

This year's issue of Photograms of the Year
(Dawbarn & Ward) contains 151 pictures printed
on art paper, of which number one-third represent
pictures exhibited at the Royal Photographic
Society's recent show and at the Salon of the
Linked Ring, while the remainder are pictures by
various prominent workers at home and abroad,
America being strongly represented. The collec-
tion contains a number of really beautiful pictures,
but many of them would have been here seen to
better advantage without the borders, mounts and
frames, which have been reproduced with them.
The price of the volume is 2s. paper and 3-f. cloth.