Studio: international art (54.1912)

Reviews and Notices

belina," though we can trace the influence of
various artists, yet we find individuality and
imagination that make us look forward with
interest to seeing more work from her.

The Idylls of the King. By Alfred, Lord Tenny-
son. Illustrated in colour by Eleanor Fortescue
Brickdale. (London and New York : Hodder and
Stoughton.) \$s. net.—We have commented else-
where in this number (p. 143) on the drawings
executed by Miss Brickdale for this edition of
" The Idylls of the King," and it only remains for
us therefore to say that the reproductions of them
seem to us to be very satisfactory, but we think the
border used as a setting for all of them is rather
too obtrusive and detracts from the effectiveness
of the pictures. In other respects the get-up of
the volume is excellent; the type though not large
is clear and restful, and the binding at once
pleasing and appropriate to the contents.

Old English Libraries. By Ernest A. Savage.
Romano-British Buildings and Earthworks. By
John Ward, F.S.A. The Roman Era i?i Britain.
By John Ward, F.S.A. (London : Methuen and
Co.) "]S. 6d. net each.—We have already reviewed
in these pages many of the volumes of " The
Antiquary's Books," which are appearing under
the general editorship of the Rev. J. Charles Cox,
and these last three additions to the series are no
less interesting and not less carefully produced
than their predecessors. The two books by Mr.
Ward are illustrated by many photographs and by
drawings made by the author, while in " Old
English Libraries" Mr. Savage has added a
valuable work to the rather scanty literature
dealing with a very interesting subject. The
series should certainly find a place in every library.

Steinlen and his Art. Twenty-four cartoons.
( London : Chatto and Windus.) 10s. 6d. net.—This
collection of cartoons contains some striking and
characteristic examples of that draughtsmanship
which has made Steinlen famous in the world of
art and a power also in the world of politics. A
Swiss by birth, the artist has won renown as the
portrayer of the proletariat of Paris, whither he
migrated at the age of twenty-three, and though
here and there the light side of plebeian existence
is revealed to us, yet on the whole it is the sad and
the " seamy " side which has furnished him with
most of his themes. So abjectly miserable does
he make some of his men and women appear that
one is inclined to ask whether such types are
possible in "la Ville Lumiere." In the sphere he
has made his own Steinlen is perhaps without a
rival, and one has to go back to Daumier to find
168

his equal in psychological insight. One or two of
the drawings included in this volume remind one
of this great satirist, but for the rest Steinlen is—
Steinlen. He uses colour effectively on occasion
to reinforce his drawing, but on the whole he is, we
think, at his best without any such addition.

Cathedral Cities of Italy. Written and illus-
trated by W. W. Collins, R.I. (London : Heine-
mann.) i6j-. net.—It is not by any means always
the case that an artist combines the dual roles of
author and illustrator with such success as Mr.
Collins has done in this book. He has covered a
good deal of ground, and though of necessity,
seeing that he devotes chapters to no less than
twenty-five different places, in some cases the
letterpress is somewhat restricted, it is interesting,
if brief, and he certainly provides ample fare in
the fifty-six illustrations, all reproductions in
facsimile of his water-colour drawings. For the
most part these are excellent, especially the
cathedral exteriors and out-of-door scenes, but one
or two of the interiors seem to us less successful.

Cathedrals of Spain. By John Allyne Gade.
(London: Constable and Co.) 155. net.—Mr.
Gade writes with an American's enthusiasm for old
things, but it is a well-tempered enthusiasm, which
has resulted in the production of an interesting
volume, and one in which he may fairly claim to
have achieved what he has attempted, namely,
to write a book that "will not prove too technical
for the ordinary traveler, nor too superficial for
the student of architecture." His idea has been
to study the cathedrals from an historical as well
as an architectural standpoint, and to deal with
them also in relation o their surroundings, both
past and present. The work is well illustrated
with reproductions of admirable photographs,
about thirty in number, some of which are effec-
tively printed on a double page, as well as several
plans.

The Works of William Makepeace Thackeray.
Harry Furniss Centenary edition. (London :
Macmillan and Co.) To be completed in twenty
vols. \os. 6d. net per volume.—As the successive
volumes of this collective edition make their
appearance, one is able to realise how prolific
Thackeray's genius was, and consequently what a
huge undertaking is involved in the publication of
a complete edition of his writings. Some of the
volumes run into over seven hundred pages, in-
cluding the bibliographical notes furnished by
Mr. Lewis Melville, and the observations—of
special interest to the illustrator—supplied to most
of the volumes by Mr. Furniss, who in contributing