Studio: international art (90.1925)

Art Angles. An invention of much
consequence to framers and people who
frame their own pictures has been made
by Mr. Marshall Wood, of 37, Doughty-
Street, W.C. 1. He has done away with
the necessity for mitres in certain classes
of framing by the use of steel corner
sockets called " Art Angles," into which
flat mouldings can be fitted. The corners
then become the strongest part of the
frame ; they are easy to manipulate, and are
quite plain. At present they are made
only for mouldings up to one inch, and
in twelve shades, but in course of time
the range will be greatly extended. The
device holds out great possibilities in the
direction of making picture and frame a
harmonious decorative whole. We wish,
however, that Mr. Wood had found
another name for his clever invention
than " Art Angles." Already we have
too many " art " cafes, " art " shades,
** art " boots and shoes, and " art " pave-
ments, even. It is time some protest was
made against this persistent vulgarisation
of a word whose real associations are
dignified and elevated. Not 20 per cent,
of the things that are put in frames may
justly claim to be works of art 1 It should
be understood that we have no wish to
make a scapegoat of Mr. Wood in this
matter, for his product is quite sound and
useful. It merely happens that this
alliterative phrase forms a convenient text
for a general observation. 00a
The Colour Prints of William Dickes. By
Alfred Docker. (Courier Press.) The
Victorian colour printers, George Baxter
and William Dickes, have had in modern
times a quite astonishing popularity.
Baxter, certainly, had artistic merits, and
his colour was often good. But though
Dickes may well have been, as the author
says, the " pioneer of colour printing for
the people," we do not think there is much
more to be said in his favour. A weak senti-
mentality, and a dreadful mangling, in the
process of reproduction, of the works of
great artists, was what principally distin-
guished him. He may, however, be con-
sidered amusing, and his print of Queen
Victoria Reviewing Troops, with its incred-
ibly sleek horses and incredibly refined
warriors, deserves at least the epithet
" good fun." W. G.

REVIEWS

BOOKBINDING IN COBALT BLUE
MOROCCO, HAND TOOLED GILD-
ING. BY HUBEL AND DENCK

Festschrift. (Hiibel & Denck, Leipzig.)
Fifty years of solid effort, maintained
ideals and staunch loyalty form the basis
of the success which the great book-
binding firm of Hiibel & Denck are cele-
brating in this, their jubilee year. The
romantic story of a rapid rise to fame from
modest beginnings is written round a
masterly argument on the warfare which
is being eternally waged between man and
machine ; in spite of the wonders achieved
by the iron monster, however, there still
lurks a hankering after the good old days
of handicraft and " quality first," although,
of course, the standard set to-day is the
highest possible attainable, and " the
best" is never too good, 00a

Worthy tribute is paid to the English
school, whose methods and age-long ex-
perience in hand work have placed it in
the foremost rank of bookbinding interests.
And a strong effort is now being made to
secure closer collaboration between artist
and craftsman, with what result may be
judged from the fifty or so beautiful plates
included at the end of the book. We give
here a reproduction of a hand-bound
volume (** Musarion," by Wieland). 0

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