DOI Heft:
No. 332 (November 1920)
DOI Artikel:Reviews
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.21401#0179
REVIEWS
Eden Phillpotts remarks, are the sign-
manual of Mr. Brangwyn's many-sided
art. And not only does the artist show, to
quote again from the foreword, " what a
very big thing a little plate may be," but
the collection as a whole displays in an
unusual degree the resourcefulness of his
alert imagination in adapting his designs
to the circumstances of each case. 0
A Record of European Armour and Arms
through Seven Centuries. By Sir Guy
Francis Laking, Bart., etc., late Keeper
of the King's Armoury. Vol.11. (London:
G. Bell & Sons, Ltd.)—From an announce-
ment prefixed to this volume it appears
that at the time of the author's death, just
a year ago, all five volumes of this monu-
mental work were already in type, although
only the first was actually printed. In
accordance with his wish Mr. Francis
Cripps Day has taken charge of the re-
maining four volumes and is dealing with
further material entrusted to him by the
author for the purpose. In this second
volume the subject of the head-piece,
already dealt with in part in the first
volume, is continued in four chapters, the
types discussed being those known as the
" salade," the " chapel-de-fer " or " cha-
pawe," the " armet," and the helm, while
in succeeding chapters chain mail, the
gauntlet, the shield and buckler, and the
sword of various types, including swords
of ceremony, are dealt with at length. All
the important examples cited under each
head are illustrated by excellent photo-
graphic reproductions or drawings. 0
Old English Furniture and its Surround-
ings. By MacIver Percival. (London :
William Heinemann.) The feature of this
volume is its multitude of illustrations, the
objects represented comprising not merely
furniture in the usual sense of the word,
but fitments and permanent decorations and
a great variety of appointments and acces-
sories with which houses of the better-class
were equipped in the periods covered by
the book—that is, from the Restoration
down to the Regency. It goes without
saying that an exhaustive treatment of the
subject would require far more than a
single volume of the compass of this one,
and the author has therefore, in treating of
each period, discussed only the typical
characteristics of its productions, 0 0
164
School and Fireside Crafts. By Ann
Macbeth and May Spence (London:
Methuen & Co.)—This eminently practical
and very copiously illustrated handbook
deserves a place in every school and house-
hold. The aim of the authors is "to
suggest employment for mind and hand
such as may without strenuous labour or
expense be carried on in school or home,
and such as may prove stimulating as
leisure work, and to some extent pay its
way as regards cost." Pottery of a simple
character; basket-making, embracing mat,
web, net and coil weaving; needlework,
rug-making (by means of a needle or!a
simple loom), and cord making; decorated
woodwork in relation to articles of domes-
tic use, children's toys, etc., and finally,
decorative leatherwork, are the subjects
dealt with, and the technique in each case
is explained with admirable clearness. 0
Legends and Romances of Spain. By
Lewis Spence, F.R.A.I. Illustrated by
Otway McCannell, R.B.A. (London:
G. G.Harrap & Co.).—This excellent con-
spectus of Spanish romantic literature as
expressed in its cantares de gesta, its roman-
ceros or ballads, its novels of chivalry, its
Moorish romances and various other forms,
including the immortal masterpiece of
Cervantes will, it is hoped, have the result
desired by the author of stimulating the
study of them in the Castilian tongue,
which except as a medium of modern
commercial intercourse has so far remained
largely a lingua incognita among Anglo-
Saxons. It is worthy of note that while
the domination of the Moors left abiding
traces on all the plastic arts of which Spain
has inherited such a rich legacy from the
past, the romantic literature here described,
originating mostly in the northern regions,
is almost entirely free from Musulman
influence. 0 0 a a 0
Messrs. Harrap & Co.'s publications
this season also include reprints of two
of the most popular modern works of
fiction—The Three Musketeers of Dumas,
presented in a new translation which cor-
responds more closely to the original than
some of the translations current, and
Blackmore's Lorna Doone. Both contain
illustrations in colour, the first by Mr.
Rowland Wheelwright and the other by
the same artist and Mr. William Sewell. 0
Eden Phillpotts remarks, are the sign-
manual of Mr. Brangwyn's many-sided
art. And not only does the artist show, to
quote again from the foreword, " what a
very big thing a little plate may be," but
the collection as a whole displays in an
unusual degree the resourcefulness of his
alert imagination in adapting his designs
to the circumstances of each case. 0
A Record of European Armour and Arms
through Seven Centuries. By Sir Guy
Francis Laking, Bart., etc., late Keeper
of the King's Armoury. Vol.11. (London:
G. Bell & Sons, Ltd.)—From an announce-
ment prefixed to this volume it appears
that at the time of the author's death, just
a year ago, all five volumes of this monu-
mental work were already in type, although
only the first was actually printed. In
accordance with his wish Mr. Francis
Cripps Day has taken charge of the re-
maining four volumes and is dealing with
further material entrusted to him by the
author for the purpose. In this second
volume the subject of the head-piece,
already dealt with in part in the first
volume, is continued in four chapters, the
types discussed being those known as the
" salade," the " chapel-de-fer " or " cha-
pawe," the " armet," and the helm, while
in succeeding chapters chain mail, the
gauntlet, the shield and buckler, and the
sword of various types, including swords
of ceremony, are dealt with at length. All
the important examples cited under each
head are illustrated by excellent photo-
graphic reproductions or drawings. 0
Old English Furniture and its Surround-
ings. By MacIver Percival. (London :
William Heinemann.) The feature of this
volume is its multitude of illustrations, the
objects represented comprising not merely
furniture in the usual sense of the word,
but fitments and permanent decorations and
a great variety of appointments and acces-
sories with which houses of the better-class
were equipped in the periods covered by
the book—that is, from the Restoration
down to the Regency. It goes without
saying that an exhaustive treatment of the
subject would require far more than a
single volume of the compass of this one,
and the author has therefore, in treating of
each period, discussed only the typical
characteristics of its productions, 0 0
164
School and Fireside Crafts. By Ann
Macbeth and May Spence (London:
Methuen & Co.)—This eminently practical
and very copiously illustrated handbook
deserves a place in every school and house-
hold. The aim of the authors is "to
suggest employment for mind and hand
such as may without strenuous labour or
expense be carried on in school or home,
and such as may prove stimulating as
leisure work, and to some extent pay its
way as regards cost." Pottery of a simple
character; basket-making, embracing mat,
web, net and coil weaving; needlework,
rug-making (by means of a needle or!a
simple loom), and cord making; decorated
woodwork in relation to articles of domes-
tic use, children's toys, etc., and finally,
decorative leatherwork, are the subjects
dealt with, and the technique in each case
is explained with admirable clearness. 0
Legends and Romances of Spain. By
Lewis Spence, F.R.A.I. Illustrated by
Otway McCannell, R.B.A. (London:
G. G.Harrap & Co.).—This excellent con-
spectus of Spanish romantic literature as
expressed in its cantares de gesta, its roman-
ceros or ballads, its novels of chivalry, its
Moorish romances and various other forms,
including the immortal masterpiece of
Cervantes will, it is hoped, have the result
desired by the author of stimulating the
study of them in the Castilian tongue,
which except as a medium of modern
commercial intercourse has so far remained
largely a lingua incognita among Anglo-
Saxons. It is worthy of note that while
the domination of the Moors left abiding
traces on all the plastic arts of which Spain
has inherited such a rich legacy from the
past, the romantic literature here described,
originating mostly in the northern regions,
is almost entirely free from Musulman
influence. 0 0 a a 0
Messrs. Harrap & Co.'s publications
this season also include reprints of two
of the most popular modern works of
fiction—The Three Musketeers of Dumas,
presented in a new translation which cor-
responds more closely to the original than
some of the translations current, and
Blackmore's Lorna Doone. Both contain
illustrations in colour, the first by Mr.
Rowland Wheelwright and the other by
the same artist and Mr. William Sewell. 0