DOI issue:
No. 263 (February 1915)
DOI article:Reviews and notices
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.21212#0081
Reviews and Notices
Penny’s painting of the native life and customs is
as graphic and vivid in words as is Lady Lawley’s
m pictures; and the book should be read by all
who are desirous of acquainting themselves with
this important part of a great country which has
displayed towards the Empire in these stirring
times a fealty and love upon which Great Britain
must dwell with pride and gratitude.
Etching: A Practical Treatise. By Earl H.
Read. (New York and London : G. P. Putnam’s
Sons.) icm. 6d. net.—Mr. Read’s treatise answers
in all respects to its title, and meets a need which
has long been felt for a text-book suited to the
requirements of the student who has little or
no practical acquaintance with the implements,
materials, and methods employed in etching.
There are in existence, it is true, some excellent
handbooks on this subject, but they are either out
of print and very difficult to obtain or their scope
goes a good deal beyond the needs of those for
whom this treatise is intended. The author con-
fines himself here to the subject of etching in the
strict sense of the word, and to dry-point and soft-
ground etching, and does not include mezzotint
and aquatint or the photo-mechanical processes
within the scope of his book. He sets forth and
illustrates by means of clearly drawn diagrams
where necessary the numerous items of equipment
employed by the etcher, and then proceeds to
describe step by step the various operations usually
or occasionally performed in the production of a
finished plate, such as the preparation of the
metal-plate itself, laying the ground, smoking, the
execution of the drawing, reversing and transferring,
biting and re-biting, proving, and so forth. He
then explains the methods used for making ad-
ditions and corrections, and finally, after giving an
account of dry-point and soft-ground etching, he
deals with the all-important problem of printing
which, as he truly remarks, is an art in itself.
Pottery : for Artists, Craftsmeti and Teachers.
By George J. Cox, A.R.C.A. (New York and
London: Macmillan and Co.) $s. 6d. net.—
Books galore have been published, and very many
have we reviewed in these pages, which deal interest-
mgly and exhaustively with the productions of the
potter from the standpoint of their appeal to the
collector and amateur of ceramics. This excellent
work by an author who, if we mistake not, had
until quite recently a pottery at Mortlake at which
he produced some very beautiful ware, is a model
text-book to this fascinating and useful handicraft;
and it mnst be commended whole-heartedly for the
true spirit of artistic-craftsmanship in which it is
written, for the interesting and thorough manner in
which the subject is handled as well as for the
admirable arrangement of material in the book,
which is further well supplied with appendices
giving all details as to equipment necessary and a
glossary of terms, materials, &c. Whether tracing
rapidly the history of this ancient and noble craft,
or discussing various processes and methods of
practice, Mr. Cox writes with the assurance and
enthusiasm of the earnest craftsman, and he em-
bellishes his interesting and convincing letterpress
with useful explanatory illustrations and diagrams
which have a value and a decorative beauty pecu-
liarly their own, and very rarely found in drawings
in a technical handbook.
We have received from Mr. Anthony R. Barker
a set of six original lithographs of Belgium which
we commend to the notice of connoisseurs and
collectors, not solely because the entire net pro-
ceeds of sale will be handed to the Duchess of
Venddme’s Belgian Relief Fund, but because their
artistic merits deserve recognition. The subjects
included in this “ First Belgian Portfolio ” are of
particular interest at this moment, and comprise a
view of Antwerp with its cathedral from across the
Scheldt; an exceedingly picturesque view of Dinant
seen through the trees from the opposite bank of
the Meuse; an equally attractive view of the
Chateau de Valzin in the Ardennes, and another of
Namur at the confluence of the rivers Meuse
and Sambre; a typical Flemish landscape ; and,
finally, a full view of Alalines Cathedral. All these
subjects have been drawn direct on the stone by
the artist, who has felicitously used a delicate
sanguine tint in conjunction with black on a buff
ground. The edition is strictly limited to one
hundred copies at five guineas each, and one proof
in each set is signed by the artist. The portfolio
measures 18 by 15 inches and is published by the
artist at 491 Oxford Street, London.
Collectorsof the “Poster” stampswhich have been
coming into use of late, should not omit to secure
two sets which have been specially designed by
Mr. Frank Brangwyn, A.R.A. and Mr. Edmund
Dulac respectively, for the Red Cross Fund organ-
ised by the “Daily Mail” and “Evening News.”
Those of Mr. Brangywn are an eloquent testimony
to the services rendered by the institution for whose
benefit they are published, while those of Mr.
Dulac consist of classical figures symbolising
“ Faith,” “ Hope,” “ Courage,” “ Assistance,”
Each set of six stamps is published at 6d.
75
Penny’s painting of the native life and customs is
as graphic and vivid in words as is Lady Lawley’s
m pictures; and the book should be read by all
who are desirous of acquainting themselves with
this important part of a great country which has
displayed towards the Empire in these stirring
times a fealty and love upon which Great Britain
must dwell with pride and gratitude.
Etching: A Practical Treatise. By Earl H.
Read. (New York and London : G. P. Putnam’s
Sons.) icm. 6d. net.—Mr. Read’s treatise answers
in all respects to its title, and meets a need which
has long been felt for a text-book suited to the
requirements of the student who has little or
no practical acquaintance with the implements,
materials, and methods employed in etching.
There are in existence, it is true, some excellent
handbooks on this subject, but they are either out
of print and very difficult to obtain or their scope
goes a good deal beyond the needs of those for
whom this treatise is intended. The author con-
fines himself here to the subject of etching in the
strict sense of the word, and to dry-point and soft-
ground etching, and does not include mezzotint
and aquatint or the photo-mechanical processes
within the scope of his book. He sets forth and
illustrates by means of clearly drawn diagrams
where necessary the numerous items of equipment
employed by the etcher, and then proceeds to
describe step by step the various operations usually
or occasionally performed in the production of a
finished plate, such as the preparation of the
metal-plate itself, laying the ground, smoking, the
execution of the drawing, reversing and transferring,
biting and re-biting, proving, and so forth. He
then explains the methods used for making ad-
ditions and corrections, and finally, after giving an
account of dry-point and soft-ground etching, he
deals with the all-important problem of printing
which, as he truly remarks, is an art in itself.
Pottery : for Artists, Craftsmeti and Teachers.
By George J. Cox, A.R.C.A. (New York and
London: Macmillan and Co.) $s. 6d. net.—
Books galore have been published, and very many
have we reviewed in these pages, which deal interest-
mgly and exhaustively with the productions of the
potter from the standpoint of their appeal to the
collector and amateur of ceramics. This excellent
work by an author who, if we mistake not, had
until quite recently a pottery at Mortlake at which
he produced some very beautiful ware, is a model
text-book to this fascinating and useful handicraft;
and it mnst be commended whole-heartedly for the
true spirit of artistic-craftsmanship in which it is
written, for the interesting and thorough manner in
which the subject is handled as well as for the
admirable arrangement of material in the book,
which is further well supplied with appendices
giving all details as to equipment necessary and a
glossary of terms, materials, &c. Whether tracing
rapidly the history of this ancient and noble craft,
or discussing various processes and methods of
practice, Mr. Cox writes with the assurance and
enthusiasm of the earnest craftsman, and he em-
bellishes his interesting and convincing letterpress
with useful explanatory illustrations and diagrams
which have a value and a decorative beauty pecu-
liarly their own, and very rarely found in drawings
in a technical handbook.
We have received from Mr. Anthony R. Barker
a set of six original lithographs of Belgium which
we commend to the notice of connoisseurs and
collectors, not solely because the entire net pro-
ceeds of sale will be handed to the Duchess of
Venddme’s Belgian Relief Fund, but because their
artistic merits deserve recognition. The subjects
included in this “ First Belgian Portfolio ” are of
particular interest at this moment, and comprise a
view of Antwerp with its cathedral from across the
Scheldt; an exceedingly picturesque view of Dinant
seen through the trees from the opposite bank of
the Meuse; an equally attractive view of the
Chateau de Valzin in the Ardennes, and another of
Namur at the confluence of the rivers Meuse
and Sambre; a typical Flemish landscape ; and,
finally, a full view of Alalines Cathedral. All these
subjects have been drawn direct on the stone by
the artist, who has felicitously used a delicate
sanguine tint in conjunction with black on a buff
ground. The edition is strictly limited to one
hundred copies at five guineas each, and one proof
in each set is signed by the artist. The portfolio
measures 18 by 15 inches and is published by the
artist at 491 Oxford Street, London.
Collectorsof the “Poster” stampswhich have been
coming into use of late, should not omit to secure
two sets which have been specially designed by
Mr. Frank Brangwyn, A.R.A. and Mr. Edmund
Dulac respectively, for the Red Cross Fund organ-
ised by the “Daily Mail” and “Evening News.”
Those of Mr. Brangywn are an eloquent testimony
to the services rendered by the institution for whose
benefit they are published, while those of Mr.
Dulac consist of classical figures symbolising
“ Faith,” “ Hope,” “ Courage,” “ Assistance,”
Each set of six stamps is published at 6d.
75