DOI Heft:
No. 334 (January 1921)
DOI Artikel:Reviews
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.21392#0058
REVIEWS
to be rather in the position of a soldier
who cannot say whether the battle in
which he is engaged will end in victory
or defeat, because all he can see of it is
the turmoil and confusion immediately
around him. But what he can see he
discusses thoughtfully and with reasonably
dispassionate judgment, and for that
reason his book will be valuable for
reference in years to come, when the
agitations of to-day have become a matter
of history. In many ways the best things
in the book are the criticisms of prominent
modern artists—criticisms which can be
frankly commended for their shrewdness
of insight and their judicial fairness of
statement. Here Mr. Marriott is ad-
mirably sure of his ground, and says
what he has to say with the sincerest
conviction. 0 0 0 0 a
The Eighteenth Century in London.
By E. Beresford Chancellor, M.A.,
F.R.Hist. Soc. (London : B. T. Batsford,
Ltd.)—Few among the modern writers
on London of the past are so well primed
with knowledge of the subject as Mr.
Beresford Chancellor, and his latest con-
tribution, accompanied as it is by a very
large number of excellent and well-chosen
illustrations, the majority of them re-
productions of contemporary prints and
drawings, makes a strong appeal to the
many who find in London's history an
interesting field of study. Largely con-
cerned with various aspects of the social
life of the period, his sketch takes in also
the topographical features of the Metropolis
at that date, especially in the West End,
and special reference is made to churches
and other public edifices erected as well as
to some of the more important residential
buildings, while to complete the picture
there is a brief but interesting account
of the artistic developments which dis-
tinguished the eighteenth century, 0
An Embroidery Book. By Anne Knox
Arthur. (London: A. & C. Black.)
Like several other excellent handbooks
of the crafts issued in recent years, this
one emanates from the teaching staff of
the Glasgow School of Art, where the
craft of the needleworker especially is
Zealously cultivated and encouraged. Some
charming examples of the craft are shown
in the numerous coloured and other
42
illustrations, most of them being articles
of daily use, and the large number of
clearly drawn diagrams and clear and
concise explanations of a hundred and
one methods of using the needle and other
implements will be appreciated by those
who consult the book. 000
Nollekens and his Times. By John
Thomas Smith. New edition edited and
annotated by Wilfred Whitten. 2 vols.
(London : John Lane.)—This reprint is
from the second edition of Smith's book,
published in 1829, and includes a series
of memoirs of contemporary artists from
the time of Roubiliac, Hogarth and
Reynolds to that of Fuseli, Flaxman
and Blake, which formed a sort of appendix
to the biography of Nollekens. Smith—
known as " Rainy Day" Smith and
" Antiquity " Smith—was a topographical
draughtsman of some note and became
Keeper of Prints at the British Museum.
He had previously been a pupil of
Nollekens and continued an intimate
friend of the sculptor till his death in
1823. His disappointment at not sharing
as he had expected in the huge fortune
which Nollekens had amassed appears
to have prompted the publication of this
biography, described by Mr. Gosse " as
the most candid biography in the English
language," but crammed as it is with
gossip and tittle - tattle, it is generally
accepted as a truthful narrative. Apart,
however, from the purely biographical
details in connection with the chief figure
and many other notable people of the
period, the book is of great interest for
its information about the topography of
London west of the City, and Mr.
Whitten's numerous notes enable the
reader to identify many places and build-
ings which in the course of a century
have changed or disappeared. Both
volumes are lavishly illustrated. 0 0
Every year since 1903 Mr. William
Monk, R.E., has issued a Calendarium
Londineuse comprising on a convenient
sized sheet an original etching by him
of a London subject with a calendar of
the year in simple classic type. This
year the subject of the etching is London
Bridge viewed from the Southwark side.
The Calendar for 1920 bore an etching
of the Cenotaph in Whitehall. 0 0
to be rather in the position of a soldier
who cannot say whether the battle in
which he is engaged will end in victory
or defeat, because all he can see of it is
the turmoil and confusion immediately
around him. But what he can see he
discusses thoughtfully and with reasonably
dispassionate judgment, and for that
reason his book will be valuable for
reference in years to come, when the
agitations of to-day have become a matter
of history. In many ways the best things
in the book are the criticisms of prominent
modern artists—criticisms which can be
frankly commended for their shrewdness
of insight and their judicial fairness of
statement. Here Mr. Marriott is ad-
mirably sure of his ground, and says
what he has to say with the sincerest
conviction. 0 0 0 0 a
The Eighteenth Century in London.
By E. Beresford Chancellor, M.A.,
F.R.Hist. Soc. (London : B. T. Batsford,
Ltd.)—Few among the modern writers
on London of the past are so well primed
with knowledge of the subject as Mr.
Beresford Chancellor, and his latest con-
tribution, accompanied as it is by a very
large number of excellent and well-chosen
illustrations, the majority of them re-
productions of contemporary prints and
drawings, makes a strong appeal to the
many who find in London's history an
interesting field of study. Largely con-
cerned with various aspects of the social
life of the period, his sketch takes in also
the topographical features of the Metropolis
at that date, especially in the West End,
and special reference is made to churches
and other public edifices erected as well as
to some of the more important residential
buildings, while to complete the picture
there is a brief but interesting account
of the artistic developments which dis-
tinguished the eighteenth century, 0
An Embroidery Book. By Anne Knox
Arthur. (London: A. & C. Black.)
Like several other excellent handbooks
of the crafts issued in recent years, this
one emanates from the teaching staff of
the Glasgow School of Art, where the
craft of the needleworker especially is
Zealously cultivated and encouraged. Some
charming examples of the craft are shown
in the numerous coloured and other
42
illustrations, most of them being articles
of daily use, and the large number of
clearly drawn diagrams and clear and
concise explanations of a hundred and
one methods of using the needle and other
implements will be appreciated by those
who consult the book. 000
Nollekens and his Times. By John
Thomas Smith. New edition edited and
annotated by Wilfred Whitten. 2 vols.
(London : John Lane.)—This reprint is
from the second edition of Smith's book,
published in 1829, and includes a series
of memoirs of contemporary artists from
the time of Roubiliac, Hogarth and
Reynolds to that of Fuseli, Flaxman
and Blake, which formed a sort of appendix
to the biography of Nollekens. Smith—
known as " Rainy Day" Smith and
" Antiquity " Smith—was a topographical
draughtsman of some note and became
Keeper of Prints at the British Museum.
He had previously been a pupil of
Nollekens and continued an intimate
friend of the sculptor till his death in
1823. His disappointment at not sharing
as he had expected in the huge fortune
which Nollekens had amassed appears
to have prompted the publication of this
biography, described by Mr. Gosse " as
the most candid biography in the English
language," but crammed as it is with
gossip and tittle - tattle, it is generally
accepted as a truthful narrative. Apart,
however, from the purely biographical
details in connection with the chief figure
and many other notable people of the
period, the book is of great interest for
its information about the topography of
London west of the City, and Mr.
Whitten's numerous notes enable the
reader to identify many places and build-
ings which in the course of a century
have changed or disappeared. Both
volumes are lavishly illustrated. 0 0
Every year since 1903 Mr. William
Monk, R.E., has issued a Calendarium
Londineuse comprising on a convenient
sized sheet an original etching by him
of a London subject with a calendar of
the year in simple classic type. This
year the subject of the etching is London
Bridge viewed from the Southwark side.
The Calendar for 1920 bore an etching
of the Cenotaph in Whitehall. 0 0