FAMILY MAGAZINE,' 'SUNDAY MAGAZINE,' ETC.
In devoting another chapter to periodicals one must insist upon their
relative importance; for the time and money expended on them in a
single year would balance possibly the cost of all the books mentioned
in this volume. In a naïve yet admirable article in the Christmas
_Bookseller_, 1862, written from a commercial standpoint, the author
says, speaking of some pictures in _Good Words_: 'Some of these,
we are informed, cost as much as £50 a block, a sum which appears
marvellous when we look at the low price of the magazine'; he instances
also the celebrated 'J. B.'[3], 'whose delineations of animals are
equal to Landseer. The magazines to be noticed are those only which
contain original designs; others, _The National Magazine_, the _Fine
Arts Quarterly_, and the like, which relied upon the reproductions of
paintings, are not even mentioned.
THE CHURCHMAN'S FAMILY MAGAZINE
Any periodical containing the work of Millais and Sandys is, obviously,
in the front rank, but _The Churchman's Family Magazine_, which started
in January 1863, did not long maintain its high level; yet the first
half a dozen volumes have enough good work to entitle them to more than
passing mention. This, like _London Society_, was published by Mr.
James Hogg, and must not be confounded with another of the same price,
with similar title, _The Churchman's Shilling Magazine_, to which
reference is made elsewhere. In the familiar octavo of its class, it is
well printed and well illustrated. The first volume contains two full
pages by Millais, _Let that be please_ (p. 15) and _You will forgive
me_ (p. 221); three illustrations by E. J. Poynter to _The Painter's
Glory_ (pp. 124, 131, 136); three by T. Morten (pp. 137, 432, and 531);
five by J. D. Watson, _Only Grandmamma_ (p. 89), _Christian Martyr_
(p. 104), _Sunday Evening_ (p. 191), _The Hermit_ (p. 260), and _Mary
Magdalene_ (p. 346); three by Charles Green to _How Susy Tried_ (pp.
57, 64, 71), and one each to _Henry II._ (p. 385), and _An Incident
in Canterbury Cathedral_ (p. 482), a drawing strangely resembling a
'John Gilbert.' H. S. Marks is represented by _Home Longing_ (p. 113)
and _Age and Youth_ (p. 337); H. H. Armstead by _Fourth Sunday in
Lent_ (p. 245) and _Angel Teachers_ (p. 539); J. C. Horsley by _Anne
Boleyn_ (p. 136); F. R. Pickersgill by _The Still Small Voice_ (p.
586); G. H. Thomas by _Catechising in Church_ (p. 225), and R. Barnes
by _Music for the Cottage_ (p. 289) and _The Strange Gentleman_ (p.
293). Besides these the volume contains others by Rebecca (sister to
Simeon) Solomon (p. 571), L. Huard, D. H. Friston, H. C. Selous, T.
Macquoid, W. M'Connell, T. Sulman, E. K. Johnson (_Spenser_, p. 576),
and J. B. Zwecker--a very fairly representative group of the average
illustrator of the period. The second half of 1863 (vol. ii.) enshrines
the fine Frederick Sandys, _The Waiting Time_, an incident of the
Lancashire cotton famine (p. 91). Another of M. J. Lawless's most
charming designs, _One Dead_ (p. 275), (reprinted under the title of
_The Silent Chamber_), will be found here. M. E. Edwards contributes
two, _Ianthe's Grave_ (p. 128) and _Child, I said_ (p. 405); G. J.
Pinwell is represented once with _By the Sea_ (p. 257); and T. Morten
with _The Bell-ringers' Christmas Story_ (p. 513). The other artists
include H. C. Selous, C. W. Cope, F. R. Pickersgill, E. Armitage, A. W.
Cooper, E. H. Wehnert, E. H. Corbould, Marshall Claxton, P. W. Justyne,
P. Skelton, Paulo Priolo, D. H. Friston, H. Sanderson, Creswick, and
T. B. Dalziel. In vol. iii. (1864) M. J. Lawless has _Harold Massey's
Confession_ (p. 65); C. Green, _Thinking and Wishing_ (p. 223); G.
J. Pinwell, _March Winds_ (p. 232); M. E. Edwards, _At the Casement_
(p. 354); and T. Morten, _The Twilight Hour_ (p. 553). Among other
contributors are Florence Caxton, L. Huard, H. M. Vining, W. M'Connell,
Rebecca Solomon, H. Fitzcook, John Absolon, Percy Justyne, F. W. Keyl,
W. J. Allen.
[Illustration: M. J. LAWLESS
'CHURCHMAN'S FAMILY MAGAZINE'
VOL. II. p. 275
'ONE DEAD']
[Illustration: FREDERICK SANDYS
'CHURCHMAN'S FAMILY MAGAZINE'
VOL. II. p. 91
THE WAITING TIME]
In vol. iv. are J. D. Watson's _Crusaders in Sight of Jerusalem_
(p. 557), T. B. Dalziel's _In the Autumn Twilight_ (p. 441), and
A. W. Cooper's _Lesson of the Watermill_ (p. 339); Florence Caxton
illustrates the serial. And in vol. v. M. E. Edwards's _Deare Childe_
(p. 114), and _The Emblem of Life_ (p. 64), and A. Boyd Houghton's
_A Word in Season_ (p. 409), are best worth noting. Vol. vi. has a
good study of a monk, _Desert Meditations_ (p. 493), and a _Gretchen's
Lament_ (p. 82), by M. E. Edwards. From vol. vii. onwards portraits,
chiefly of ecclesiastical dignitaries, take the place of pictures.
THE SHILLING MAGAZINE
This somewhat scarce publication is often referred to as one of the
important periodicals of the sixties, but on looking through it, it
seems to have established its claim on somewhat slender foundation.
True, it contains one of Sandys' most memorable designs--here
reproduced in photogravure from an early impression of the block, a
peculiarly fine drawing--to Christina Rossetti's poem, _Amor Mundi_. It
was reproduced from a photograph of the drawing on wood in the first
edition of Mr. Pennell's admirable _Pen Drawing and Pen Draughtsmen_,
and in the second edition are reproductions by process, not only of Mr.
Sandys' original drawing as preserved in a Hollyer photograph, but of
preliminary studies for the figures.
The rest of the illustrations of the magazine, which only lived for
a few months, are comparatively few and not above the average in
merit. The numbers, May 1865 to May 1866, contain eight drawings by
J. D. Watson, illustrating Mrs. Riddell's _Phemie Keller_. Thirteen
by Paul Gray illustrate _The White Flower of Ravensworth_, by Miss
M. Betham-Edwards. Others noteworthy are: _Gythia_, by T. R. Lamont;
_Dahut_, and _An Incident_ of 1809, by J. Lawson; _Mistrust_ and
_Love's Pilgrimage_, by Edward Hughes; a fine composition, _Lost on the
Fells_, by W. Small, and a few minor drawings mostly in the text. It
was published by T. Bosworth, 215 Regent Street. This is a brief record
of a fairly praiseworthy venture, but there is really no more to be
said about it.
THE SUNDAY MAGAZINE,
Another sixpenny illustrated monthly more definitely religious in its
aim than _Good Words_, of which it was an offspring, was started in
1865. The illustrations from the first were hardly less interesting
than those in the other publications under the direction of Mr.
Alexander Strahan. Indeed, it would be unjust not to express very
clearly and unmistakably the debt which all lovers of black-and-white
art owe to the publisher of these magazines. The conditions of
oil-painting demand merely a public ready to buy: whether the artist
negotiates directly with the purchaser, or employs an agent, is a
matter of convenience. But black-and-white illustration requires a
well-circulated, well-printed, well-conducted periodical: not as a
middleman whose services can be dispensed with, but as a vital factor
in the enterprise. Therefore drawings intended for publication imply
a publisher, and one who is not merely a man with pronounced artistic
taste, but also a good administrator and a capable man of business.
These triple qualifications are found but rarely together, and when
they do unite, the influence of such a personality is of the utmost
importance. Mr. Strahan, who appears to have combined in no small
degree the qualities which go to make a successful publisher, set on
foot two popular magazines, which, in spite of their having long passed
their first quarter of a century, are still holding their own. A third,
full of promise, _Good Words for the Young_, was cut off in its prime,
or rather died of a lingering disease, caused by that terrible microbe
_the foreign cliché_. Others, _The Day of Rest_ and _Saturday Journal_,
also affected by the same ailment, succumbed after more or less effort;
but the magazines that relied on the best contemporary illustrators
still flourish. The moral, obvious as it is, deserves to be insisted
upon. To-day the photograph from life is as popular with many editors
as the _cliché_ from German and French originals was in the seventies;
but a public which tired of foreign electros may soon grow weary of the
inevitable photograph, and so the warning is worth setting down.
[Illustration: J. MAHONEY
'SUNDAY MAGAZINE'
1866, p. 825
SUMMER]
[Illustration: J. W. NORTH
'SUNDAY MAGAZINE'
1865, p. 328
WINTER]
Like its companion, _Good Words_, it has known fat years and lean
years; volumes that were full of admirable drawings, and volumes that
barely maintained a respectable average. From the very first volume of
the _Sunday Magazine_ we find among others R. Barnes, A. Boyd Houghton,
M. E. Edwards, Paul Gray, J. Lawson, F. W. Lawson, J. W. North, G. J.
Pinwell, and Marcus Stone well represented. The standard of excellence
implied by these names was preserved for a considerable time. To this
Pinwell contributes two drawings, _The House of God_ (p. 144) and
_Only a Lost Child_ (p. 592), a typical character-study of town life.
Paul Gray has a full page, _The Maiden Martyr_ (p. 272), engraved by
Swain; either the drawing is below his level, or it has suffered
badly at the hands of the engraver. _The Orphan Girl_ (p. 296), _Clara
Linzell's Commentary_ (p. 401), and _Dorcas_ (p. 617), by the same
artist, are all interesting, but do not represent him at his best. The
single contribution by A. Boyd Houghton, _Friar Ives_ (p. 384), is not
particularly good. In _Winter_, by J. W. North (p. 328), we have a
most excellent drawing of a snow-clad farm with a thrashing machine at
work in the distance, and two children in the foreground. The delicacy
and breadth of the work, and its true tonality deserve appreciation;
it was engraved by Swain. _Drowned_ (p. 585), by Marcus Stone, is not
very typical. _The Watch at the Sepulchre_ (p. 940), by J. Lawson, is a
spirited group of Roman soldiers. _Caught in a Thunderstorm_, by R. P.
Leitch, engraved by W. J. Linton, is interesting to disciples of 'the
white line.' Edward Whymper supplies the frontispiece, _The Righi_.
M. E. Edwards, in the drawings to _Grandfather's Sunday_ (pp. 481,
489), appears to be under the influence of G. H. Thomas. Robert Barnes
has twenty illustrations to _Kate the Grandmother_, and one each to
_Light in Darkness_ (p. 25) and _Our Children_. A series of fourteen
to _Joshua Taylor's Passion_, engraved by Dalziel, are unsigned; the
style leads one to credit them to F. A. Fraser, who in later volumes
occupied a prominent position. F. W. Lawson, in _A Romance of Truth_
(pp. 641, 649) and _The Vine and its Branches_ (p. 904), has not yet
found his individual manner. The rest of the pictures by T. Dalziel, F.
J. Slinger, R. T. Pritchett, F. Eltze, W. M'Connell, etc., call for no
special comment.
In 1866 J. Mahoney's _Summer_, the frontispiece to the volume, is a
notable example of a clever artist, whose work has hardly yet attracted
the attention it deserves; _Marie_ (p. 753), a study of an old woman
knitting, is no less good. Birket Foster's _Autumn_ (p. 1) is also
a very typical example. Paul Gray's _Among the Flowers_ (p. 624), a
group of children from the slums in a country lane, is fairly good.
W. Small, in _Hebe Dunbar_ 'from a photograph' (p. 441), supplies an
object-lesson of translation rather than imitation, which deserves
to be studied to-day. In it, a really great draughtsman has given
you a personal rendering of facts, like those he would have set down
had he worked from life, and thereby imparted individual interest to
a copy of a photograph. This one block, if photographers would but
study it, should convince them that a good drawing is in every way
preferable to a 'half-tone' block from a photograph of the subject; it
might also teach a useful lesson to certain draughtsmen, who employ
photographs so clumsily that the result is good neither as photography
nor as drawing, but partakes of the faults of both. Three designs to
the _Annals of a Quiet Neighbourhood_, by Dr. George Mac Donald, (pp.
641, 713, 785), the first quite in the mood of the hour, a capital
piece of work, and _A Sunday Afternoon in a London Court_, complete Mr.
Small's share in this volume. Robert Barnes supplies the other eight
drawings to Dr. Mac Donald's story, and another, _The Pitman and his
Wife_ (p. 17), an excellent specimen of his 'British Workman' manner.
F. J. Shields, a very infrequent contributor to these magazines, has
a biblical group, '_Even as thou wilt_' (p. 33). Edward Hughes (who
must not be confounded with Arthur Hughes, nor with the present member
of the Old Water-Colour Society, E. R. Hughes) is responsible for
_Under a Cottage Roof_ (p. 192), _The Bitter and Sweet_ (p. 249), _The
First Tooth_ (p. 337), and _The Poor Seamstress_ (p. 409); although a
somewhat fecund illustrator not devoid of style and invention, his work
fails to interest one much to-day. J. Gordon Thomson, so many years the
cartoonist of _Fun_, is represented by _On the Rock_ (p. 544). F. W.
Lawson's _Hope_ (p. 120) and A. W. Bayes's _Saul and David_ (p. 703),
with a drawing of wild animals drinking, by Wolf, complete the list of
original work, the rest being engraved from photographs.
[Illustration: S. L. FILDES
'SUNDAY MAGAZINE,' 1868, p. 656
THE FARMER'S DAUGHTER]
[Illustration: A. BOYD HOUGHTON
'SUNDAY MAGAZINE'
1867, p. 817
A LESSON
TO A KING]
[Illustration: A. BOYD HOUGHTON
'SUNDAY MAGAZINE'
1867, p. 258
LUTHER THE
SINGER]
[Illustration: A. BOYD HOUGHTON
'SUNDAY MAGAZINE'
JOHN BAPTIST]
[Illustration: J. MAHONEY
'GOOD WORDS' 1868, p. 672
YESTERDAY
AND TO-DAY]
[Illustration: J. W. NORTH
'SUNDAY MAGAZINE'
1867, p. 609
ANITA'S PRAYER]
[Illustration: G. J. PINWELL
'SUNDAY MAGAZINE'
1868, p. 704
MADAME DE
KRUDENER]
In 1867 A. Boyd Houghton is well to the fore with twelve illustrations
to the serial story by Sarah Tytler, _The Huguenot Family in the
English Village_, besides full-page drawings, some in his best manner,
to _A Proverb Illustrated_ (p. 33), _Heroes_ (p. 129), _Luther the
Singer_ (p. 256), _The Martyr_ (p. 348), _The Last of the Family_ (p.
393), and _A Lesson to a King_ (p. 817). W. Small is only represented
twice, with _Wind me a Summer Crown_ (p. 65) and _Philip's Mission_
(p. 752). J. W. North has three admirable drawings, _Foundered at Sea_
(p. 280), _Peace_ (p. 560), _Anita's Prayer_ (p. 609), the first and
last of these, both studies of shipwrecks, deserve to be remembered
for the truth of movement of the drawing of the waves, and one doubts
if any sea-pieces up to the date of their appearance had approached
them for fact and beauty combined. Both are engraved by Dalziels in an
admirably intelligent fashion. F. W. Lawson's _The Chained Book_
(p. 104) and _The Revocation of the Edict of Nantes_ (p. 496), and
_In the Times of the Lollards_ (p. 529), all deal with acrimonious
memories of the past. After the scenes of cruelty, persecution, and
martyrdom which unfortunately are too often the chief dishes in the
_menu_ of a religious periodical, it is a relief to turn to the
_Cottar's Farewell_ (p. 417), by J. D. Watson, or to the 'Norths'
before quoted. This most straightforward and accomplished study of a
dying peasant and his family shows the dignified and simple treatment
which the artist at his happiest moments employed with complete mastery.
In 1868 A. Boyd Houghton is again the most frequent contributor of
full-page designs; a bare list must suffice. _Sunday at Hippo_ (p.
57), _Three Feasts of Israel_ (p. 67), _Paul's Judge_ (p. 88), _Sunday
Songs, Sweden_ (p. 112), _The Charcoal Burners_ (p. 118), a drawing
which looks like an intentional 'exercise in the manner of Gustave
Doré,' who, despite his enormous popularity in England, seems to have
had singularly little influence on English artists, so that this
stands out as a unique exception. Houghton has also _The Feast of
the Passover_ (p. 185), _The Poor Man's Shuttle_ (p. 273), _Feast of
Pentecost_ (p. 296), _Samuel the Ruler_ (p. 357), _George Herbert's
Last Sunday_ (p. 424), _Baden-Baden_ (p. 520), _The Good Samaritan_ (p.
552), _Church of the Basilicas_ (p. 561), _Joseph's Coat_ (p. 616),
_St. Paul Preaching_ (p. 681), and _The Parable of the Sower_ (p. 777).
G. J. Pinwell is seen in three examples, _A Westphalian Parsonage_
(p. 192), _Madame de Krudener_ (pp. 704, 785); S. L. Fildes is here
for the first time with _The Farmer's Daughter_ (p. 656); J. Pettie
has a small drawing, _My Sister_ (p. 176); J. Wolf, a clever 'lamb'
study (p. 529); and W. Small a most typical, almost mannered, _Sunday
Morning_ (p. 182). J. Mahoney supplies twenty-eight illustrations
to _The Occupations of a Retired Life_, by Edward Garrett, besides
separate plates, _Sunday Songs from Denmark_ (p. 16), _Love Days_
(p. 137), and _Just Suppose_ (p. 649). J. Gordon Thomson contributes
eighteen drawings for Dr. George Macdonald's _The Seaboard Parish_,
and others of no particular interest are attributed to Shield, F. A.
Fraser, C. Morgan, Miles, Lamont, and Pasquier. Here, as in many other
volumes, are vignettes and tail-pieces by T. Dalziel, some of them most
admirably drawn and all charmingly expressed in the engraving.
In 1869 A. Boyd Houghton still maintains his position. This year his
drawings are _Wisdom of Solomon_ (p. 16), _The Jews in the Ghetto_ (p.
44), _Martha and Mary_ (p. 65), _Rehoboam_ (p. 85), _Jewish Patriotism_
(p. 125), _Sunday in the Bush_ (p. 161), _Miss Bertha_ (pp. 384, 513),
_Babylonian Captivity_ (p. 633), _John Baptist_ (p. 641), and _Samson_
(p. 760). G. J. Pinwell illustrates Edward Garrett's _The Crust and
the Cake_ with thirty-four cuts. In one of these (p. 529), as in two
other designs by the same artist, you find that in drawing the lines
of a harpsichord, or grand piano, he has forgotten that the reversal
required by engraving would represent the instrument with its curve on
the bass, instead of the treble side--a sheer impossibility, which any
pianist cannot help noticing at a glance. His one other contribution
this year is _The Gang Children_ (p. 25). Represented by a solitary
example in each case are J. M'Whirter, _Sunday Songs_ (p. 12); J.
Pettie, _Philip Clayton's First-born_ (p. 69); Edward Hughes, _Mother
Mahoney_ (p. 196); Towneley Green, _Village Doctor's Wife_ (p. 505);
Robert Barnes, _A Missionary in the East_ (p. 57); and Arthur Hughes,
_Blessings in Disguise_ (p. 156). J. Mahoney has _The Centurion's
Faith_ (p. 60), _Building of the Minster_ (p. 352), _Hoppety Bob_ (p.
417), _Roger Rolf_ (p. 608), and _Christmas Eighteenth Century_ (p.
252). Francis Walker, with his _Sunday Songs_ (p. 93), _Bird Fair,
Shoreditch_ (p. 409), _Feast of Tabernacles_ (p. 600), _Widow Mullins_
(p. 673), and _A Little Heroine_ (p. 736); H. French, with '_It is
more blessed_' (p. 229), and _A Narrative Sermon_ (p. 632); and F. A.
Fraser with _Jesuit Missions_ (p. 101), _Wesley_ (p. 152), _The Year_
(p. 217), _A Queer Charity_ (p. 576), and _A Schwingfest_ (p. 665); the
three latter belong by rights to the men of the seventies rather than
to the group with which this volume is concerned.
[Illustration: A. BOYD HOUGHTON
'SUNDAY MAGAZINE'
1868, p. 777
THE PARABLE
OF THE SOWER]
[Illustration: ARTHUR HUGHES
'SUNDAY MAGAZINE'
1871 p. 10
MY HEART]
[Illustration: ARTHUR HUGHES
'SUNDAY MAGAZINE'
1869, p. 156
BLESSINGS IN
DISGUISE]
[Illustration: J. LEIGHTON
'SUNDAY MAGAZINE'
1871, p. 408
A PARABLE]
In 1870 A. Boyd Houghton, one of the heroes of the sixties, reappears
with five contributions, one, quite out of his ordinary manner, being
a design for a group of statues, _St. Paul's Companions_ (p. 33); the
others are _My Mother's Knee_ (p. 16), _Sunday at Aix-les-bains_ (p.
88), Achsah's _Wedding Gifts_ (p. 104), and _Sister Edith's Probation_
(p. 600). J. Mahoney signs but two: _A Sun-dial in a Churchyard_ (p.
704) and _Passover Observances_ (p. 736). F. A. Fraser and
Towneley Green supply the illustrations to the serials. W. J. Wiegand
contributes decorative head-pieces, and Hubert Herkomer has two
drawings, _Diana's Portrait_ and _Diana Coverdale's Diary_.
In 1871 Houghton has but two: _A Woman that was a Sinner_ (p. 104) and
_The Withered Flower_ (p. 512). Arthur Hughes, in three delightful
designs, _My Heart_ (p. 10), _The First Sunrise_ (p. 302), and _Tares
and Wheat_ (p. 353); J. Mahoney with _Diet of Augsburg_ (p. 417) and
_Our Milkmen_ (p. 217); and W. Small with _The Sea-Side Well_ (p.
249), _One of Many_ (p. 446), and fourteen illustrations to _The
Story of the Mine_, are about the only remnants of the old army. John
Leighton, a frequent contributor of decorative borders and head-pieces,
has a typical full-page, _A Parable_ (p. 408). The 'seventies' are
represented by R. Macbeth's _Tom Joiner's Good Angel_ (p. 313); and C.
Green (who, like Small, belongs to both periods) with his designs to
_The Great Journey_ (p. 119) and _Mills of Clough_ (pp. 560, 728).
CASSELL'S MAGAZINE,
A popular monthly periodical that is still in full vigour under a
slightly altered title, started in the decade immediately before the
date that this book attempts to cover. As _Cassell's Family Paper_,
a large folio weekly, beyond the fact that the ubiquitous Sir John
Gilbert did innumerable good things for its pages, one is not greatly
interested in it. But in 1865 it was changed to a quarto shape, and
although L. Huard supplied the front page pictures to vol. i., and so
the artistic position of the paper was not improved, yet soon after
the change we find a great illustrator contributing the weekly drawing
for its chief serial. For despite the indifferent engraving accorded
to many of the blocks and the absence of any signature, the autograph
of William Small is legible in every line of the illustrations to
_Bound to the Wheel_ which started with vol. ii. in August 26, 1866,
and has sixteen half-page illustrations. This was followed by _The
Secret Sign_, with the same artist for a few chapters. Then another
hand appears, and soon after the monogram F. G. shows that the second
Gilbert (a brother, I believe, of the more famous artist) has replaced
W. Small. To one drawing of another serial, _The Lion in the Path_,
the signature of T. Morten is appended.
In April 1867 its title is changed to _Cassell's Family Magazine_, and
it is printed on toned paper. The serial, _Anne Judge, Spinster_, by F.
W. Robinson, has thirty illustrations by Charles Green. No doubt the
originals were worthy of that admirable draughtsman; indeed, despite
their very ordinary engraving, enough remains to show the handling
of a most capable artist. The succeeding serial, _Poor Humanity_,
is illustrated by B. Bradley. J. D. Watson contributes occasional
drawings--_Ethel_, on p. 22, being the first. M. Ellen Edwards also
appears, with F. W. Lawson, F. A. Fraser, Henley, C. J. Staniland,
R. T. Pritchett, M. W. Ridley, J. Mahoney, and G. H. Thomas. It is
noteworthy of the importance attached to the illustrator at this date,
that the names of those artists who have contributed to the magazine
are printed in bold type upon the title-page to each volume. These, as
later, bear no date, so that only in volumes bound with the wrappers in
British Museum fashion can you ascertain the year of their publication.
In vol. iii. (May 1868 onwards) you discover on p. 9 a drawing,
_Cleve Cliff_, by G. J. Pinwell. Its serial, _A Fight for Life_, is
illustrated by G. H. Thomas, whose pictures are not signed, nor have
I found that the authorship is attributed to the artists within the
magazine itself. But in the 'In Memoriam' volume, published soon
after his death, several are reprinted and duly credited to him. They
were all engraved by W. Thomas. The first appearance of S. L. Fildes,
_Woodland Voices_, is on p. 137 of this volume. T. Blake Wirgman has
also a notable composition, _A Sculptor's Love_, and in this and in
volume iv. there are other drawings by Fildes, Pinwell, and many by F.
Barnard, F. S. Walker, and other popular draughtsmen of the period.
[Illustration: FREDERICK SANDYS
'THE ARGOSY'
1866, VOL. I. p. 336
'IF']
In 1870 we find another change, this time to a page that may be a
quarto technically, but instead of the square proportions we usually
connect with that shape, it seems more akin to an octavo. The
illustrations are smaller, but far better engraved and better printed.
W. Small illustrates Wilkie Collins's cleverly-constructed story, _Man
and Wife_, with thirty-seven pictures. His character-drawing appears at
its best in 'Bishopriggs,' the old Scotch waiter, his love of beauty of
line in two or three sketches of the athlete, 'Geoffrey Delamayne,'
the working villain of the story. The dramatic force of the group on
p. 305, the mystery of the scene on p. 529, or the finely-contrasted
emotions of Anne Silvester and Sir Patrick on p. 481, could hardly
be beaten. The other contributors to this vol. i. of the new series,
include R. Barnes, Basil Bradley, H. K. Browne, W. R. Duckman, E. H.
Corbould, M. E. Edwards, E. Ellis, S. L. Fildes, F. A. Fraser, E.
Hughes, F. W. Lawson, H. Paterson, and others, most of whom it were
kindness to ignore. For side by side with Mr. Small's masterly designs
appear the weakest and most commonplace full pages. Hardly one, except
S. L. Fildes's _A Sonnet_ (p. 9), tempts you to linger a moment. In
vol. ii. the serial story, _Checkmate_, is illustrated by Towneley
Green. The drawings throughout are mainly by those who contributed to
the first volume. In the third volume, Charles Reade's _A Terrible
Temptation_ is illustrated by Edward Hughes; a somewhat powerful
composition by J. D. L[inton], p. 377; one by W. Small (p. 9), and
others by J. Lawson, F. W. Lawson, M. E. Edwards, are all that can
claim to be noted.
BELGRAVIA
This illustrated shilling monthly, the same size and shape as most of
its predecessors, was not started until 1866, and its earlier volumes
have nothing in them sufficiently important to be noticed. In the
seventies better things are to be found.
THE ARGOSY
This monthly periodical, as we know it of late years, suggests a
magazine devoted to fiction and light literature, with a frontispiece
by some well-known artist, and small engravings in the text mostly
from photographs, or belonging to the diagram and the record rather
than to fine art. I am not speaking of the present shilling series,
but of the long array of volumes from 1868 until a few years ago.
Nor does this opinion belittle the admirable illustrations by Walter
Crane, M. Ellen Edwards, and other artists who supplied its monthly
frontispiece. But the first four half-yearly volumes were planned
on quite different lines, and these deserve the attention of all
interested in the subject of this book, to a degree hardly below that
of the better-known magazines; better known, that is to say, as
storehouses of fine illustrations. As these volumes seem to be somewhat
scarce, a brief _résumé_ of their contents will not be out of place. In
the year 1866 we have William Small at his best in twelve illustrations
to Charles Reade's dramatic novel, _Griffith Gaunt_. Whether because
the ink has sunk into the paper and given a rich tone to the prints, or
because of their intrinsic merit, it is not quite easy to say, but the
fact remains that these drawings have peculiar richness, and deserve
to be placed among the best works of a great artist not yet fully
recognised. One design by F. Sandys to Christina Rossetti's poem, _If_,
is especially noticeable, the model biting a strand of hair embodies
the same idea as that of _Proud Maisie_, one of the best-known works
of this master. A. Boyd Houghton has a typical Eastern figure-subject,
_The Vision of Sheik Hamil_; Edward Hughes one, _Hermione_; Paul Gray,
a singularly good drawing to a poem _The Lead-Melting_, by Robert
Buchanan. Another to a poem by George Macdonald, _The Sighing of the
Shell_, is unsigned, whether by Morten or Paul Gray I cannot say,
but it is worthy of either artist; J. Lawson has one to _The Earl
of Quarterdeck_, M. Ellen Edwards one to _Cuckoo_ and one to _Cape
Ushant_, a ballad by William Allingham; a group, with Napoleon as the
central figure, is by G. J. Pinwell, and J. Mahoney contributes three:
_Autumn Tourists, Bell from the North_, a girl singing by a Trafalgar
Square fountain, and _The Love of Years_. The next year, 1867, is
illustrated more sparsely. _Robert Falconer_, by George Macdonald,
has one unsigned drawing, and nine by William Small; these, with _A
Knight-Errant_ by Boyd Houghton, make up the eleven it contains. In the
next year Walter Crane illustrates the serial, _Anne Hereford_, by Mrs.
Henry Wood, and also a poem, _Margaret_, by his sister.
[Illustration: A. BOYD HOUGHTON
'THE ARGOSY'
1866, VOL. I. p. 500
THE VISION OF
SHEIK HAMIL]
[Illustration: G. J. PINWELL
'THE QUIVER'
1867
THE SAILOR'S VALENTINE]
THE QUIVER
This semi-religious monthly magazine, published by Messrs. Cassell and
Co., was not illustrated at first. It is almost unnecessary to describe
it volume by volume, as a reprint of its principal illustrations was
made in 1867, when fifty-two pictures were sandwiched between poems,
and published in a small quarto volume entitled '_Idyllic Pictures_,
drawn by Barnes, Miss Ellen Edwards, Paul Gray, Houghton, R. P.
Leitch, Pinwell, Sandys, Small, G. Thomas, etc' The curiously
colloquial nomenclature of the artists on the title-page is the only
direct reference to their share in the book, which is well printed, and
includes some admirable illustrations. The book is now exceptionally
scarce, and like its companion, _Pictures of Society_, selected from
_London Society_, must be searched for long and patiently. Personal
inquiries at all the accessible shops in London, Bath, and Edinburgh
failed to find one bookseller who had ever heard of either book. Yet,
in spite of it, single copies of both turned up alternately on the
shelves of men who were at the moment of its discovery glibly doubting
its existence. The ignorance of booksellers concerning this period is
at once the terror and the joy of the collector. For when they do know,
he will have to pay for their knowledge.
Yet it would be unfair to the reputation of a periodical which issued
so many designs by representative artists of the sixties to dismiss it
without a little more detail. Started as a non-illustrated paper on
October 6, 1864, it entered the ranks with a very capable staff. In
1866 a third series on toned paper still further established its claim
to be considered seriously, and the fact that these few years supplied
the matter for the volume just mentioned shows that it fulfilled its
purpose well. In volume i. third series (1866), pictures by A. Boyd
Houghton will be found on pages 532, 585, 664, 728, 737, 776, and
868; and in vol. ii. 1867, he appears upon pages 88 and 456. Those by
William Small (pp. 90, 232), G. J. Pinwell (pp. 60, 641), and J. D.
Watson (p. 596) also deserve looking up. M. W. Ridley, an illustrator
of promise, is also represented. In vol. iii. 1868, J. D. Watson's
designs on pages 25, 57, 497, 680, 713, and 745 are perhaps his best.
Drawings by John Lawson (p. 108), Hubert Herkomer (p. 73), A. Boyd
Houghton (pp. 97, 705, 721, 737), S. L. Fildes (pp. 327, 417, 433), G.
J. Pinwell (pp. 121, 193, 449, 481, 585 and 753), C. Green (p. 241),
J. Mahoney (p. 328), and T. B. Wirgman (p. 649) all merit notice. In
vol. iv. many of the above artists are represented--S. L. Fildes (p.
396), J. D. Watson (p. 407), W. Small (p. 696), and the designs by S.
L. Fildes and J. D. Watson in the Christmas number being perhaps the
most noticeable. Other frequent contributors include R. Barnes, C J.
Staniland, M. E. Edwards, J. A. Pasquier, G. H. Thomas, F. W. Lawson,
and Edith Dunn. Although not to be compared artistically with its
rivals, _Good Words_ and the _Sunday Magazine_, it is nevertheless a
storehouse of good, if not of exceptionally fine, work.
THE CHURCHMAN'S SHILLING MAGAZINE,
A periodical of the conventional octavo size, affected by the
illustrated shilling periodicals of the sixties, was commenced in 1867.
The first two volumes contain little of note, and are illustrated by
R. Huttula, John Leigh, E. F. C. Clarke; the third volume has M. E.
Edwards, and in the fifth volume Walter Crane supplies two full pages
(pp. 267, 339). Despite the fact that it credited its artists duly in
the index, and seemed to have been most favourably noticed at the time,
it may be dismissed here without further notice.
TINSLEY'S MAGAZINE
This shilling monthly was started in August 1867 with illustrations by
'Phiz,' W. Brunton, D. H. Friston, and A. W. Cooper. A. Boyd Houghton's
contributions include _The Story of a Chignon_ (i. p. 544), _For the
King_ (ii. p. 149), and _The Return from Court_ (ii. p. 377). J. D.
Watson appears in vol. iii. pp. 87, 399, 665, and a drawing, signed
A. T. (possibly Alfred Thompson), is on p. 207. But the magazine,
although published at a shilling, and therefore apparently intended as
a rival to the _Cornhill_ and the rest, is not important so far as its
illustrations are concerned.
THE BROADWAY
This international magazine, heralded with much flourish in 1867 by
Messrs. Routledge, is of no great importance, yet as it was illustrated
from its first number in September 1867 to July 1874, it must needs be
mentioned. Examples of the following artists will be found therein:--F.
Barnard, G. A. Barnes, W. Brunton, M. E. Edwards, Paul Gray, E. Griset,
A. B. Houghton, R. C. Huttula, F. W. Lawson, Matt Morgan, Thomas Nash,
J. A. Pasquier, Alfred Thompson, and J. Gordon Thomson.
SAINT PAUL'S,
Yet another shilling magazine which was started in October 1867, and
published by Messrs. Virtue and Co., is memorable for its twenty-two
drawings by Millais. These appeared regularly to illustrate Trollope's
_Phineas Finn the Irish Member_. A few illustrations by F. A. Fraser
were issued to _Ralph the Heir_, the next story, and to _The Three
Brothers_, but from 1871 it appears without pictures. By way of
working off the long serial by Trollope, _Ralph the Heir_, independent
supplements as thick as an ordinary number, but entirely filled with
chapters of the story in question, were issued in April and October
1870. So curious a departure from ordinary routine is worth noting.
GOOD WORDS FOR THE YOUNG,
A most delightful children's magazine, which began as a sixpenny
monthly under the editorship of Dr. Norman Macleod in 1869, bids
fair to become one of those books peculiarly dear (in all senses) to
collectors. There are many reasons why it deserves to be treasured.
Its literature includes several books for children that in volume-form
afterwards became classics; its illustrations, especially those by
Arthur Hughes, appeal forcibly to the student of that art, which is
called pre-Raphaelite, Æsthetic, or Decorative, according to the
mood of the hour. Like all books intended for children, a large
proportion of its edition found speedy oblivion in the nursery; and
those that survive are apt to show examples of the amateur artist
in his most infantile experiments with a penny paint-box. From the
very first it surrounded itself with that atmosphere of distinction,
which is well-nigh as fatal to a magazine's longevity as saintliness
of disposition to a Sunday-school hero. After a career that may be
called truthfully--brilliant, it suddenly changed to a periodical of
no importance, illustrated chiefly by foreign _clichés_. How long it
lingered in this state does not concern us. Indeed, it is only by a
liberal interpretation of the title of this book that a magazine which
was not started until 1869 can be included in _the sixties_ at all; but
it seems to have continued the tradition of the sixties, and until the
first half of 1874, although it changed its editor and its title (to
_Good Things_), it kept the spirit of the first volume unimpaired; but
after that date it joined the majority of uninteresting periodicals for
children, and did not survive its recantation for many years.
In 1869 Arthur Hughes has twenty-four drawings to George Macdonald's
_At the Back of the North Wind_, and ten to the earlier chapters of
Henry Kingsley's _Boy in Grey_. The art of A. Boyd Houghton is seen in
three instances: _Cocky Locky's Journey_ (p. 49), _Lessons from Russia_
(p. 101), and _The Boys of Axleford_ (p. 145). J. Mahoney has about a
dozen; H. Herkomer one to _Lonely Jane_ (p. 28); and G. J. Pinwell one
to _Black Rock_ (p. 255). Although, following the example set by its
parent _Good Words_, it credits the illustrations most faithfully to
their artists in a separate index, yet it developed a curious habit
of illustrating its serials with a fresh artist for each instalment;
and, as their names are bracketed, it is not an easy task to attribute
each block to its rightful author. The list which I have made is by my
side, but it is hardly of sufficient general interest to print here;
as many of the sketches, despite the notable signatures upon them, are
trivial and non-representative. Other illustrations in the first volume
include one hundred and fifty-five grotesque thumb-nail sketches by W.
S. Gilbert to his _King George's Middy_, and many by F. Barnard, B.
Rivière, E. F. Brewtnall, E. Dalziel, F. A. Fraser, H. French, S. P.
Hall, J. Mahoney, J. Pettie, T. Sulman, F. S. Walker, W. J. Wiegand, J.
B. Zwecker, etc.
In 1870 Arthur Hughes contributes thirty-six illustrations to _Ranald
Bannerman's Boyhood_, by George Mac Donald (who succeeded Dr. Macleod
as editor), forty-eight to the continuation of the other serial by the
same author, _At the Back of the North Wind_, four to the concluding
chapters of Henry Kingsley's _Boy in Grey_, and one to _The White
Princess_. A. Boyd Houghton has but two: _Two Nests_ (p. 13), _Keeping
the Cornucopia_ (p. 33); _Miss Jane_ 'wandering in the wood' (p. 44) is
by H. Herkomer, while most of the artists who contributed to the first
volume reappear; we find also E. G. and T. Dalziel, Charles Green,
Towneley Green, and Ernest Griset.
[Illustration: PAUL GRAY
'THE QUIVER'
COUSIN LUCY]
[Illustration: H. HERKOMER
'GOOD WORDS FOR THE YOUNG'
1870, p. 44
WANDERING IN
THE WOOD]
[Illustration: A. BOYD HOUGHTON
'GOOD WORDS FOR THE YOUNG'
1870, p. 28
DON JOSE'S
MULE]
[Illustration: ARTHUR HUGHES
'GOOD WORDS FOR THE YOUNG'
1871, p. 100
BARBARA'S
PET LAMB]
[Illustration: ARTHUR HUGHES
'GOOD WORDS FOR THE YOUNG'
1871, p. 145
MERCY]
[Illustration: W. SMALL
'THE QUIVER'
BETWEEN THE
CLIFFS]
In 1871, Arthur Hughes, the chief illustrator of this magazine, to
whose presence it owes most of its interest (since other artists
are well represented elsewhere, but he is rarely met with outside
its pages), contributes thirty pictures to Dr. George Mac Donald's
_Princess and the Goblin_, and fourteen others, some of which have been
republished in _Lilliput Lectures_ and elsewhere,--one,
_Mercy_ (p. 195), reappearing in that work, and again as the theme of
a large painting in oils, which was exhibited at the Royal Academy
1893, and reproduced in _The Illustrated London News_, May 3rd of
that year. A. Boyd Houghton, in _Don José's Mule_ (p. 28), has a most
delightfully grotesque illustration, and in two drawings for _The
Merry Little Cobbler of Bagdad_ (pp. 337-338), both in his 'Arabian
Nights' vein, is typically representative. For the rest, W. Small in
_My Little Gypsy Cousin_ (p. 95), a good full page, and Ernest Griset
with ten of his humorous animal pictures, combine with most of the
artists already named to maintain the well-deserved reputation of
the magazine. In 1872 Arthur Hughes supplies nine delightful designs
for _Gutta-Percha Willie_, by the Editor; twenty-four to _Innocent's
Island_, a long-rhymed chronicle by the author of _Lilliput Levée_,
and a curiously fantastic drawing to George Mac Donald's well-known
poem, _The Wind and the Moon_. Some one, with the initials F. E. F.
(not F. A. F.), illustrates _On the High Meadows_ in nineteen sketches;
with the exception of two by J. Mahoney, the rest of the pictures are
chiefly by F. A. Fraser, T. Green, F. S. Walker, W. J. Wiegand, and J.
B. Zwecker.
In 1873 the magazine changed its name to _Good Things_. The most
attractive illustrations are by Arthur Hughes: ten to _Sindbad in
England_ (pp. 25, 89, 129, 193, 236, 432, 481, 594, 641), two to _Henry
and Amy_ (pp. 72, 73), and one each to _A Poor Hunchback_ (p. 17), _The
Wonderful Organ_ (p. 24), and _My Daughter_ (p. 136). J. Mahoney has a
small design, _The Old Mill_ (p. 600). The rest are by Ernest Griset,
W. J. Wiegand, and Francis Walker. On and after 1874 the _cliché_
enters, and all interest ceases. At this time the business of trading
in _clichés_ had begun to assume large proportions. You find sometimes,
in the course of a single month, that an English periodical hitherto
exclusively British becomes merely a vehicle for foreign _clichés_. In
this instance the change is so sudden that, excepting a few English
blocks which we may presume had been prepared before, the foreigner is
supreme. That, in at least three cases, the demise of the publication
was merely a question of months is a sequel not to be regretted. But we
need not assume too hastily that the _cliché_ killed it--possibly it
had ceased to be profitable before, and the false economy of spending
less has tempted the proprietor to employ foreign illustrations.
BRITANNIA,
Another shilling illustrated magazine, was started in 1869. The British
Museum, it seems, possesses no set, and my own copy has disappeared,
excepting the first volume, but so far as that proves, and my memory
can be trusted, it was illustrated solely by Matt Morgan, a brilliant
but ephemeral genius who shortly after migrated to New York. The
peculiarity of this magazine is that, like _The Tomahawk_, a satirical
journal illustrated by the same artist, its pictures were all printed
in two colours, after the fashion of the old Venetian wood-blocks.
The one colour was used as a ground with the high lights cut away;
the other block, for the ordinary convention of line-drawing. Some
of the pictures are effective, but none are worthy of very serious
consideration.
DARK BLUE
Although _Dark Blue_, a shilling monthly magazine, did not begin until
March 1871, and ran its brief career until March 1873 only, it deserves
mention here, because quite apart from its literary contributions
which were notable, including as they did Swinburne's _End of a
Month_, Rossetti's _Down Stream_, its earlier volumes contain at least
two drawings that will be prized when these things are collected
seriously. Besides, it has a certain _cachet_ of its own that will
always entitle it to a place. Its wrapper in colours, with three
classically-attired maidens by a doorway, is singularly unlike that of
any other publication; possibly F. W. L. would not be anxious to claim
the responsibility of its design, yet it was new in its day, and not
a bad specimen of the good effect of three simple colours on a white
ground. Its serial, _Lost_, a Romance by J. C. Freund, was illustrated
by F. W. Lawson, T. W. Perry, T. Robinson, and D. T. White; and its
second serial, _Take care whom you trust_, by M. E. Freere and T. W.
Ridley. A full-page drawing (they are all separately printed plates in
this magazine), by Cecil Lawson, _Spring_, is far more interesting.
_Musaeus_, by A. W. Cooper, a somewhat jejune representation of the
Hero and Leander motive, and other illustrations by E. F. Clarke, W.
J. Hennessey, M. Fitzgerald, D. H. Friston, S. P. Hall, J. A. H. Bird,
are commonplace designs engraved by C. M. Jenkin; but _The End of a
Month_, a study of two heads, by Simeon Solomon, and _Down Stream_,
by Ford Madox Brown, (here reproduced from the original drawing on
wood by kind permission of Mr. Frederick Hollyer), represent the work
of two artists who very rarely appeared as magazine illustrators. The
literature includes many names that have since become widely known, but
the project failed, one imagines, to secure popular support, and so it
must be numbered with the long list of similar good intentions.
THE BRITISH WORKMAN
It would be unjust to ignore a very popular penny magazine because of
its purely philanthropic purpose. For from the first it recognised the
importance of good illustrations as its great attraction, and enlisted
some of the best draughtsmen to fulfil its didactic aim. We cannot help
admiring its pluck, and congratulating the cause it championed (and
still supports), and its fortune in securing coadjutors. The first
number, issued in February 1855, has a design, the _Loaf Lecture_, by
George Cruikshank on its first page; for some time H. Anelay and L.
Huard were the most frequent contributors; then came John Gilbert and
Harrison Weir, the earliest important Gilbert being _The Last Moments
of Thomas Paine_ (January 1862). As a sample of white-line engraving,
a block after a medallion of the _Prince Consort_, by L. C. Wyon, and
another of _H.M. The Queen_, would be hard to beat. Among these more
frequent contributors, we find drawings by J. D. Watson, _My account
with Her Majesty_ (August 1864) and _Parley and Flatterwell_ (December
1865) being the most notable; and others by A. W. Cooper, and lastly
many by R. Barnes, whose studies of humble life yet await the full
appreciation they deserve. These large and vigorous engravings maintain
a singularly high level of excellence, and, if not impeccable, are
yet distinctly of art, and far above the ephemeral padding of more
pretentious magazines.
THE BAND OF HOPE REVIEW
Of all unlikely publications to interest artist or collector a
halfpenny monthly devoted to teetotalism might take first place. Not
because of its price, nor because it was a monthly with a mission,
for many cheap serials have attracted the support of artists who gave
liberally of their best for the sake of the cause the publications
championed. _The Band of Hope Review_ is no esoteric pamphlet, but a
perfect instance of a popular venture unconcerned, one would think,
with art. It would be easy to claim too much for it; still the good
work in its pages merits attention. It was started in 1861 as a folio
sheet about the size of _The Sketch_, its front page being always
filled by a large wood-engraving. The first full page, by H. Anelay,
a draughtsman whose speciality was the good little boy and girl of
the most commonplace religious periodicals, promises little enough. A
series of really fine drawings of animals and birds by Harrison Weir
commenced in No. 2. The third issue included a page by L. Huard, whose
work occasionally found its way to the shilling magazines, although
the bulk of it appeared in the mass of journals of the type of the
_London Journal_, _Bow Bells_, etc. In the fifth number John Gilbert
(not then knighted) appears with a fine drawing, _The Golden Star_;
J. Wolf, honourably distinguished as an illustrator of animals, is
also represented. For December 1862 John Gilbert provided a decorative
composition of _The Ten Virgins_, that is somewhat unlike his usual
type. In August 1865 Robert Barnes appears for the first time with
admirably drawn boys and girls full of health and characteristically
British. Afterwards one finds many of his full pages all vigorous and
delightfully true to the type he represents. In August 1866 a group,
_Young Cadets_, may be selected as a typical example of his strength
and perhaps also of his limitations. In 1870 the falling off apparent
everywhere is as noticeable in this unimportant publication as in those
of far higher pretensions. Here, as elsewhere, the foreign _cliché_
appears, or possibly the subjects were engraved specially, and were
not, as was so often the case, merely replicas of German and French
engravings. But all the same they are from oil-paintings, not from
drawings made for illustration.
[Illustration: UNKNOWN
'LEISURE HOUR'
1864
ENOCH ARDEN]
[Illustration: SIMEON SOLOMON
'LEISURE HOUR'
1866, p. 604
THE FEAST OF
TABERNACLES]
[Illustration: SIMEON SOLOMON
'LEISURE HOUR'
1866, p. 540
THE DAY OF
ATONEMENT]
THE LEISURE HOUR
The publications of the Religious Tract Society have employed an
enormous mass of illustrations, but as the artist's name rarely appears
at the period with which we are concerned, either in the index
of illustrations or below the engravings, the task of tracing each
to its source would be onerous and the result probably not worth the
labour.
Yet, in the volumes of the _Leisure Hour_ for the sixties, there are
a few noteworthy pictures which may later on attract collectors to
a periodical which so far appealed more, one had thought, to parish
workers than to art students.
The 1861 volume starts with the 471st number of the magazine,
illustrated by 'Gilbert' (probably Sir John). In 1863 coloured plates
are given monthly, three being after originals by the same artist,
but, although attributed duly in the advertising pages of its wrapper,
the name of the design does not appear in the index. With 1864 a
surprise faces you in the illustrations to _Hurlock Chase_, which
are vigorous, dramatic, and excellently composed, full of colour and
breadth. That they are by G. Du Maurier internal evidence proves
clearly, but there is no formal recognition of the fact. Robert Barnes
has a full page, _Granny's Portrait_ (p. 825). _Enoch Arden_ is by
'an amateur whose name the publishers are not able to trace.'[4] In
1865 the illustrations to _The Awdries_, also unsigned, are distinctly
interesting; later the well-known monogram of J. Mahoney is met with
frequently. In 1866 a series of ten illustrations of the ceremonies
of modern Jewish ritual, domestic and ecclesiastical (pp. 72, 167,
216, 328, 376-475, 540, 603, 653, 823) appear. Contrary to the rule
usually observed here, they are entitled, 'by S. Solomon.' These are,
so far as I know (with four exceptions), the only contributions to
periodical literature by Simeon Solomon, an artist who at this date
bade fair to be one of the greatest pre-Raphaelite painters. They are
distinctly original both in their technical handling and composition,
and excellently engraved by Butterworth and Heath. For their sake no
collector of the sixties should overlook a book which is to be picked
up anywhere at present. The illustrations to _The Great Van Bruch
property_, unsigned, are most probably by J. Mahoney. Others include
_George III. and Mr. Adams_, a full page by C. J. Staniland (p. 494);
a series of _Pen and Pencil Sketches among the Outer Hebrides_, R.
T. Pritchett; _Finding the body of William Rufus_, J. M. In 1867 J.
Mahoney illustrates the serial, _The Heiress of Cheevely Dale_, and
contributes a full page, _The Blue-Coat Boy's Mother_ (p. 812);
Whymper has two series, _On the Nile_ and _A trip through the Tyrol_,
both oddly enough attributed to him in the index. Silent, with scarce
an exception, as regards other artists, the sentence, 'engraved by
Whymper,' finds a place each time. In 1868 are more Mahoneys; in 1869
Charles Green illustrates the serial.
THE SUNDAY AT HOME
This magazine, uniform with the _Leisure Hour_ in style and general
arrangement, is hardly of sufficient artistic interest to need detailed
comment here. Started in 1852 it relied, like its companion, on Gilbert
and other less important draughtsmen. In the sixties it was affected a
little by the movement. In 1863 there is one design by G. J. Pinwell,
_The German Band_ (p. 753), several by C. Green, and one probably by
Du Maurier (p. 513), who has also six most excellent drawings to _The
Artist's Son_ in the number for January, and one each to short stories,
_John Henderson_ and _Siller and Gowd_, later in the year. A serial
in 1865 and one in 1866 are both illustrated by J. Mahoney; and, in
the latter year, W. Small supplies drawings to another story. Beyond
a full page, obviously by R. Barnes, there is nothing else peculiarly
interesting in 1866; in the 1867 volume F. W. Lawson and Charles Green
contribute a good many designs. In 1868 S. L. Fildes has one full page,
_St. Bartholomew_ (p. 329), and F. A. F. appears; in 1869 Charles
Green is frequently encountered, but the magazine is not a very happy
hunting-ground for our purpose.
OTHER SERIAL PUBLICATIONS
Serial issues of Cassell's _History of England_, the _Family Bible_,
and other profusely illustrated works might also repay a close search,
but, as a rule, the standard is too ordinary to attract any but an
omnivorous collector. Still, men of considerable talent are among
the contributors, (Sir) John Gilbert for instance, and others like
H. C. Selous, Paolo Priolo, who never fell below a certain level of
respectability.
_Golden Hours_, a semi-religious monthly, started in 1864 as a penny
magazine. In 1868 its price was raised to sixpence, and among its
artist-contributors we find M. E. Edwards, R. Barnes, and A. Boyd
Houghton (represented once only) with _An Eastern Wedding_ (p. 849).
In 1869 Towneley Green, C. O. Murray, and others appear, but the
magazine can hardly be ranked as one representative of the period. Nor
is it essential to record in detail the mass of illustrations in the
penny weeklies and monthlies--to do so were at once impossible and
unnecessary; nor the mass of semi-religious periodicals such as _Our
Own Fireside_ and _The Parish Magazine_, which rarely contain work that
rises above the dull average.
THE BOYS' OWN MAGAZINE
The art of this once popular magazine may be dismissed very briefly.
J. G. Thomson made a lot of designs to _Silas the Conjuror_ and other
serials. R. Dudley, a conscientious draughtsman whose speciality was
mediæval subjects, illustrated its historical romances with spirit
and no little knowledge of archæological details. A. W. Bayes, J. A.
Pasquier, and others adorned its pages; but from 1863 to its death it
contains nothing interesting except to a very rabid collector.
EVERY BOY'S MAGAZINE
This well-intentioned periodical (Routledge, 1863, etc.), except for
certain early works by Walter Crane, would scarce need mention here.
Its wrapper for 1865 onwards was from a capital design by Walter Crane,
who contributed coloured frontispieces and titles to the 1864 and
1865 volumes. C. H. Bennett illustrated his own romance of _The Young
Munchausen_. In 1867 it called itself _The Young Gentleman's Magazine_;
an heraldic design by J. Forbes Nixon, with the shields of the four
great public schools, replaced the Crane cover. T. Morten, M. W.
Ridley, and others contributed. A. Boyd Houghton illustrated _Barford
Bridge_, its serial for 1866, and Walter Crane performed the same
offices to Mrs. Henry Wood's _Orville College_ in 1867. These few facts
seem to comprise all of any interest.
AUNT JUDY'S MAGAZINE
The sixpenny magazine for children, edited by Mrs. Alfred Gatty, issued
its first number, May 1866. The artists who contributed include F.
Gilbert, J. A. Pasquier, T. Morten, M. E. Edwards, E. Griset, F. W.
Lawson, E. H. Wehnert, A. W. Bayes, A. W. Cooper, and others. There are
two drawings by George Cruikshank, and later on Randolph Caldecott will
be found. In both cases the illustrations were for Mrs. Ewing's popular
stories, which had so large a sale, reprinted in volume-form. Neither
in the drawings nor in their engraving do you find anything else which
is above the average of its class.
Two other magazines remain to be noticed out of their chronological
order, both of little intrinsic importance, but of peculiar value to
collectors.
EVERYBODY'S JOURNAL,
A weekly periodical the size of the _London Journal_, and not more
attractive in its appearance, nor better printed, began with No. 1,
October 1, 1859, and ceased to exist early in the following year;
probably before the end of January, since the British Museum copy in
monthly parts is inscribed 'discontinued' on the part containing the
December issues. That a complete set is not in our great reference
library is a matter for regret; for the first published illustration
by Fred Walker, which was issued in _Everybody's Journal_, January 14,
must needs have been in the missing numbers. Those which are accessible
include drawings by (Sir) John Gilbert, T. Morten, and Harrison Weir,
none of peculiar interest. Among the names of the contributors will be
found several that have since become widely known.
ENTERTAINING THINGS
This twopenny monthly magazine, which is probably as unfamiliar to
those who read this notice as it was to me until a short time since,
was published by Virtue and Co., the first number appearing in January
1861. It contains many designs by J. Portch, F. J. Skill, M. S.
Morgan, E. Weedar, W. M'Connell, P. Justyne, and W. J. Linton, none
being particularly well engraved. But it contains also Walter Crane's
first published drawing--a man in the coils of a serpent (p. 327),
illustrating one of a series of articles, _Among the Mahogany Cutters_,
which is not very important; another a few pages further on in the
volume is even less so. Collectors will also prize _A Nocturne_ by
G. Du Maurier, and some designs by T. Morton (_sic_). The Christmas
number contains a delightful design by A. Boyd Houghton, _The Maid of
the Wool-pack_, and another drawing by Du Maurier. The publication
ceased, according to a note in the British Museum copy, in May 1862.
Among rarities of the sixties this magazine may easily take a high
place, for one doubts if there are many copies in existence. Should the
mania for collecting grow, it is quite possible this volume, of such
slight intrinsic value, will command record prices.
BEETON'S ANNUALS
These were of two sorts, a badly printed shilling annual, which
appealed to children of all ages, and a six-shilling variety, which
appealed to those of a smaller growth. In the higher-priced volumes
for 1866 T. Morten, J. G. Thomson, and J. A. Pasquier appear. In the
shilling issue, an independent publication, are more or less execrably
engraved blocks, after C. H. Bennett, G. Cruikshank, Jun., and others
who would probably dislike to have their misdeeds chronicled. These
publications added to the gaiety of nations, but when they ceased no
eclipse was reported. Yet a patient collation of their pages renewed
a certain boyish, if faded, memory of their pristine charm, which
the most cautious prophet may assert can never be imparted anew to
any reader. _Kingston's Annuals_ and _Peter Parley's Annuals_, also
revisited, left impressions too sad to be expressed here. Nor need
_Routledge's Christmas Annuals_ be noticed in detail. _Tom Hood's Comic
Annuals_, which contained much work typical of the seventies, although
it began its long career in 1869, includes so little work by heroes of
the 'sixties' that it need not be mentioned.
The mass of penny magazines for children do not repay a close search.
Here and there you will find a design by a notable hand, but it is
almost invariably ruined by poor engraving; so that it were kinder
not to attempt to dispel the obscurity which envelops the juvenile
'goody-goody' literature of thirty years ago.
[Illustration: G. DU MAURIER
'PUNCH.' MARCH 3, 1866
A LEGEND OF CAMELOT, PART I]
[Illustration: G. DU MAURIER
'PUNCH.' MARCH 10, 1866
A LEGEND OF CAMELOT, PART II]
[Illustration: G. DU MAURIER
'PUNCH.' MARCH 17, 1866.
A LEGEND OF CAMELOT, PART III]
[Illustration: G. DU MAURIER
'PUNCH.' MARCH 24, 1866
A LEGEND OF CAMELOT, PART IV]
[Illustration: G. DU MAURIER
'PUNCH.' MARCH 31, 1866
A LEGEND OF CAMELOT, PART V]