DOI Heft:
No. 365 (August 1923)
DOI Artikel:Reviews
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.21398#0140
REVIEWS
Glassmaking in England. By H. J.
Powell. (Cambridge: The University
Press.) 255. net. Readers of The Studio
are no doubt familiar with the beautiful
glassware produced over a long period by
Messrs. James Powell & Sons at the
famous Whitefriars Works, and they will
welcome this volume from the pen of the
late H. J. Powell, whose long association
with the firm and love of his work helped
to keep alive the finest traditions of a
craft now threatened with total extinc-
tion by the commercial, machine-made
productions of the present day. Glass-
making as an art was Mr. Powell's absorb-
ing interest, and surely no one could have
been found better qualified to place on
record its origins and development in this
country. The value of the volume is en-
hanced by the inclusion of a large number
of illustrations of fascinating examples
representing different periods. Their beauty
of form, texture and ornament, intensify
one's dissatisfaction with the common-
place commercial articles which the
modern housewife has to endure. Dare one
venture to hope that a time will come when
ordinary domestic glassware will per-
petuate in some measure the quality and
distinction of these old pieces i 0 a
English Interiors in Smaller Houses, 1660-
1830. By M. Jourdain. (London : B. T.
Batsford, Ltd.) 245. net. The many de-
lightful examples of unassuming domestic
architecture happily surviving in different
parts of the country are more accessible in
these days, and we have begun to realise,
to a fuller extent, their interest and im-
portance and to appreciate their beauty
and refinement. In many respects they are
more valuable to the student of architecture
than those palatial “ Seats of the Mighty "
which have been illustrated so abundantly
of late years for the edification of the
public. These smaller houses, which, as
Mr. Jourdain points out “ were not de-
signed by architects of note in their pro-
fession but by obscure and minor men
. . . '' possess a quiet charm, a dignity and
repose often lacking in their more preten-
tious rivals. These qualities are apparent
in the treatment of interiors, and the
interesting collection of illustrations which
120
Mr. Jourdain has compiled should serve
as a useful corrective to the idea that
elaboration and size enhance in any way
the aesthetic value of a well-conceived
scheme of decoration. a a a
Little Books on Old French Furniture. II.
French Furniture under Louis XIV. By
Roger De Felice. Translated by F. M.
Atkinson. (London : William Heinemann,
Ltd.) 45. 6d. net. A volume of value and
interest to the collector or student rather
than to the artist or art-loving public. The
author sets forth in pleasant fashion the
various conditions which influenced the
work of such men as Le Brun and Andre
Charles Boulle, designers of great ability,
whose artistic activities were supervised by
the Grand Monarch himself. The author
points out that the so-called Louis XIV.
style, with its formal elaboration and gen-
eral sumptuousness, was almost entirely
confined to the royal palaces and the abodes
of a few Court favourites. This volume,
however, is devoted primarily to such
records as have survived of the less pre-
tentious work of the period, and a number
of interesting pieces are illustrated showing
the type of furniture produced for more
modest households. These were for the
most part of provincial origin, and were
mere echoes of the more elaborate speci-
mens executed for the King and his satel-
lites. They do not approach in interest or
significance the achievements of contem-
porary craftsmen in this country.
The Present State of Old English Fur-
niture. By R. W. Symonds. (London:
Duckworth & Co.) 63s. net. This book
should be very helpful to the amateur col-
lector, as the author is at great pains to
describe clearly the tricks and subterfuges
employed by “ fakers " and the means by
which spurious specimens may be detected.
Mr. Symonds's text is supplemented by a
large number of illustrations of genuine
old pieces, some of them very beautiful.
Incidentally, if they were modern copies
or “ fakes ” they would still be beautiful.
“ Ship-Models." In the prospectus of this
work, the illustrations on the first and last
pages were, by a clerical error, dated 1650.
The correct titles should read: Dutch
Man-of-War, 1650-70, and English Man-
of-War, 1580-1600.
Glassmaking in England. By H. J.
Powell. (Cambridge: The University
Press.) 255. net. Readers of The Studio
are no doubt familiar with the beautiful
glassware produced over a long period by
Messrs. James Powell & Sons at the
famous Whitefriars Works, and they will
welcome this volume from the pen of the
late H. J. Powell, whose long association
with the firm and love of his work helped
to keep alive the finest traditions of a
craft now threatened with total extinc-
tion by the commercial, machine-made
productions of the present day. Glass-
making as an art was Mr. Powell's absorb-
ing interest, and surely no one could have
been found better qualified to place on
record its origins and development in this
country. The value of the volume is en-
hanced by the inclusion of a large number
of illustrations of fascinating examples
representing different periods. Their beauty
of form, texture and ornament, intensify
one's dissatisfaction with the common-
place commercial articles which the
modern housewife has to endure. Dare one
venture to hope that a time will come when
ordinary domestic glassware will per-
petuate in some measure the quality and
distinction of these old pieces i 0 a
English Interiors in Smaller Houses, 1660-
1830. By M. Jourdain. (London : B. T.
Batsford, Ltd.) 245. net. The many de-
lightful examples of unassuming domestic
architecture happily surviving in different
parts of the country are more accessible in
these days, and we have begun to realise,
to a fuller extent, their interest and im-
portance and to appreciate their beauty
and refinement. In many respects they are
more valuable to the student of architecture
than those palatial “ Seats of the Mighty "
which have been illustrated so abundantly
of late years for the edification of the
public. These smaller houses, which, as
Mr. Jourdain points out “ were not de-
signed by architects of note in their pro-
fession but by obscure and minor men
. . . '' possess a quiet charm, a dignity and
repose often lacking in their more preten-
tious rivals. These qualities are apparent
in the treatment of interiors, and the
interesting collection of illustrations which
120
Mr. Jourdain has compiled should serve
as a useful corrective to the idea that
elaboration and size enhance in any way
the aesthetic value of a well-conceived
scheme of decoration. a a a
Little Books on Old French Furniture. II.
French Furniture under Louis XIV. By
Roger De Felice. Translated by F. M.
Atkinson. (London : William Heinemann,
Ltd.) 45. 6d. net. A volume of value and
interest to the collector or student rather
than to the artist or art-loving public. The
author sets forth in pleasant fashion the
various conditions which influenced the
work of such men as Le Brun and Andre
Charles Boulle, designers of great ability,
whose artistic activities were supervised by
the Grand Monarch himself. The author
points out that the so-called Louis XIV.
style, with its formal elaboration and gen-
eral sumptuousness, was almost entirely
confined to the royal palaces and the abodes
of a few Court favourites. This volume,
however, is devoted primarily to such
records as have survived of the less pre-
tentious work of the period, and a number
of interesting pieces are illustrated showing
the type of furniture produced for more
modest households. These were for the
most part of provincial origin, and were
mere echoes of the more elaborate speci-
mens executed for the King and his satel-
lites. They do not approach in interest or
significance the achievements of contem-
porary craftsmen in this country.
The Present State of Old English Fur-
niture. By R. W. Symonds. (London:
Duckworth & Co.) 63s. net. This book
should be very helpful to the amateur col-
lector, as the author is at great pains to
describe clearly the tricks and subterfuges
employed by “ fakers " and the means by
which spurious specimens may be detected.
Mr. Symonds's text is supplemented by a
large number of illustrations of genuine
old pieces, some of them very beautiful.
Incidentally, if they were modern copies
or “ fakes ” they would still be beautiful.
“ Ship-Models." In the prospectus of this
work, the illustrations on the first and last
pages were, by a clerical error, dated 1650.
The correct titles should read: Dutch
Man-of-War, 1650-70, and English Man-
of-War, 1580-1600.