Among the books dated 1860, or issued in the autumn of that year,
are more elaborately illustrated editions of popular poets--all, as
a rule, in the conventional quarto, or in what a layman might be
forgiven for describing as 'quarto,' even if an expert preferred to
call it octavo. Of these Tennyson's _The Princess_, with twenty-six
drawings by Maclise, may be placed first, on account of the position
held by author and artist. All the same, it belongs essentially to the
fifties or earlier, both in spirit and in style. A more ample quarto,
_Poems_ by James Montgomery (Routledge, 1860), (not the Montgomery
castigated by Lord Macaulay), 'selected and edited by Robert Aris
Wilmott (Routledge), with one hundred designs by John Gilbert, Birket
Foster, F. R. Pickersgill, R.A., J. Wolf, Harrison Weir, E. Duncan, and
W. Harvey, is perhaps slightly more in touch with the newer school.
Its engravings by the brothers Dalziel are admirable. _The Clouds
athwart the Sky_ (p. 23), by John Gilbert, and other landscapes by the
same hand, may hold their own even by the side of those in the Moxon
_Tennyson_, or in Wilmott's earlier anthology. Of quite different
calibre is Moore's _Lalla Rookh_, with its sixty-nine drawings by
Tenniel, engraved by the Dalziels (Longmans, 1861). If to-day you
hardly feel inclined to indorse the verdict of the _Times_ critic, who
declared it to be 'the greatest illustrative achievement by any single
hand,' it shows nevertheless not a few of those qualities which have
won well-merited fame for our oldest cartoonist, even if it shows also
the limitations which just alienate one's complete sympathy. Yet those
who saw an exhibition of Sir John Tenniel's drawings at the Fine Art
Society's galleries will be less ready to blame the published designs
for a certain hardness of style, due in great part (one fancies) to
their engraver.
[Illustration: H. H. ARMSTEAD
WILLMOTT'S 'ENGLISH SACRED
POETRY' 1862, p. 49
A DREAM]
[Illustration: FREDERICK WALKER
WILLMOTT'S 'SACRED
POETRY,' 1862
THE NURSERY
FRIEND]
[Illustration: FREDERICK WALKER
WILLMOTT'S 'SACRED
POETRY,' 1862
A CHILD IN
PRAYER]
In Bunyan's _Pilgrim's Progress_ (Routledge), with a hundred and ten
designs by J. D. Watson, engraved by the Dalziels, we are confronted
with a book that is distinctly of the 'sixties,' or perhaps it would be
more accurate to say that most of its illustrations are distinguished
by the broader treatment of the new school. It is strange that
the ample and admirable achievements of this artist have not received
more general recognition. When you meet with one of his designs set
amid the work of the greatest illustrators, it rarely fails to maintain
a dignified equality. If it lack the supreme artistry of one or the
fine invention of another, it is always sober and at times masterly,
in a restrained matter-of-fact way. Some sketches reproduced in the
_British Architect_ (January 22, 1878) display more freedom than his
finished works suggest.
_Quarles' Emblems_ (Nisbet), illustrated by C. H. Bennett, a
caricaturist whose style seems to have lost touch with modern taste,
with decorative adornments by W. H. Rogers, must not be overlooked;
nor Tennyson's _May Queen_ (Sampson Low), with designs by E. V. B.,
a gifted amateur, whose work in this book, in _Child's Play_, and
elsewhere, has a distinct charm, despite many technical shortcomings.
_Lyra Germanica_ (Longmans, 1861), an anthology of hymns translated
from the German by Catherine Winkworth, produced under the
superintendence of John Leighton, F.S.A., must not be confused with
a second series, with the same title, the same anthologist and art
editor, issued in 1868. This book contains much decorative work by John
Leighton, who has scarcely received the recognition he deserves as a
pioneer of better things. At a time when lawless naturalistic detail
was supreme everywhere he strove to popularise conventional methods,
and deserves full appreciation for his energetic and successful
labours. The illustrations include one fine Charles Keene (p. 182),
three by M. J. Lawless (pp. 47, 90, 190), four by H. S. Marks (pp. 1,
19, 57, 100), and five by E. Armitage (pp. 29, 62, 111, 160, 197).
The engraving by T. Bolton, after a Flaxman bas-relief, is apparently
the same block Bohn includes in his supplementary chapter to the
1861 edition of Chatto and Jackson's _History of Wood-Engraving_, as
a specimen of the first experiment in Mr. Bolton's 'new process for
photographing on the wood.' As this change was literally epoch-making,
this really beautiful block, with its companion p. 111, is of historic
interest.
_Shakespeare: His Birthplace_, edited by J. R. Wise, with twenty-three
pictures drawn and engraved by W. J. Linton (Longmans); _The Poetry
of Nature_, with thirty-six drawings by Harrison Weir (Low), and
_Household Song_ (Kent, 1861), illustrated by Birket Foster, Samuel
Palmer, G. H. Thomas, A. Solomon, J. Andrews, and others, including two
rather powerful blocks, _To Mary in Heaven_ especially, by J. Archer,
R.S.A.; _Chambers's Household Shakespeare_, illustrated by Keeley
Halswelle, must not be forgotten; nor _A Boy's Book of Ballads_ (Bell
and Daldy), illustrated by Sir John Gilbert; but _The Adventures of
Baron Munchausen_, with designs by A. Crowquill (Trübner), is not very
important.
An illustrated edition of Mrs. Gatty's _Parables from Nature_ (Bell
and Daldy) would be remarkable if only for the _Nativity_ by 'E.
Burne-Jones.' It is instructive to compare the engraving with the
half-tone reproduction of the original drawing which appears in Mr.
Pennell's _Modern Illustrations_ (Bell). But there are also good things
in the book by John Tenniel, Holman Hunt, M. E. Edwards, and drawings
of average interest by W. (not J. E.) Millais, Otto Speckter, F. Keyl,
L. Frolich, Harrison Weir, and others. In the respective editions of
1861 and 1867 the illustrations vary considerably.
Another book that happened to be published in 1860 would at any time
occupy a place by itself. Founded on Blake, David Scott developed a
distinctly personal manner, that has provoked praise and censure, in
each case beyond its merit. Yet without joining either detractors
or eulogists, one must own that the Bunyan's _Pilgrim's Progress_
(Edinburgh, 1860), illustrated by David and W. B. Scott, if a most
ugly piece of book-making, contains many very noteworthy designs. It
is possible, despite the monograph of J. M. Gray (one of the earliest
critics who devoted special study to the works of Frederick Sandys) and
a certain esoteric cult of a limited number of disciples, that David
Scott still remains practically unknown to the younger generation.
Yet this book, and Coleridge's _Ancient Mariner_, which he also
illustrated, contain a great many weird ideas, more or less adequately
portrayed, which should endear themselves to the symbolist to-day.
[Illustration: H. S. MARKS, R.A.
WILLMOTT'S 'SACRED POETRY'
1862
A QUIET MIND]
[Illustration: H. S. MARKS
WILLMOTT'S 'SACRED
POETRY,' 1862
IN A HERMITAGE]
[Illustration: FREDERICK SANDYS
WILLMOTT'S 'SACRED
POETRY,' 1862
LIFE'S JOURNEY]
[Illustration: FREDERICK SANDYS
WILLMOTT'S 'SACRED
POETRY,' 1862
A LITTLE
MOURNER]
_Goldsmith's Poems_, with coloured illustrations by Birket Foster,
appeared this year, which saw also many volumes (issued by Day and
Son), resplendent with chromo-lithography and 'illuminations' in
gold and colours. So that the Christmas harvest, that might seem
somewhat meagre in the short list above, really contained as
many high-priced volumes appealing to Art, 'as she was understood in
1860,' as the list of 1897 is likely to include. But the books we deem
memorable had not yet appeared, and the signs of 1860 hardly point to
the rapid advance which the next few years were destined to reveal.
In passing it may be noted that this was the great magenta period
for cloth bindings. 'Surely the most exquisite colour that ever left
the chemist's laboratory,' exclaims a contemporary critic, after a
rapturous eulogy.
The 'wicked fratricidal war in America,' we find by references in the
trade periodicals of the time, was held responsible for the scarcity of
costly volumes at this date. Perhaps the most important book of 1862 is
Willmott's _Sacred Poetry of the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries_ (like
many others issued the previous Christmas). It contains two drawings by
Sandys, which are referred to elsewhere, three by Fred Walker, seven by
H. S. Marks, two by Charles Keene, twenty-eight by J. D. Watson, one
by Holman Hunt, eight by John Gilbert, and others by G. H. Andrews, H.
H. Armstead, W. P. Burton, F. R. Pickersgill, S. Read, F. Smallfield,
J. Sleigh, Harrison Weir, and J. Wolf. Although the absence of Millais
and Rossetti would suffice to place it just below the Tennyson, it
may be considered otherwise as about of equal interest with that and
the earlier anthology of _Poets of the Nineteenth Century_, gathered
together by the same editor. It is distinctly a typical book of the
earlier sixties, and one which no collector can afford to miss.
_Poetry of the Elizabethan Age_, with thirty illustrations by Birket
Foster, John Gilbert, Julian Portch, and E. M. Wimperis, is not
quite representative of the sixties, but of a transitional period
which might be claimed by either decade. _The Songs and Sonnets of
Shakespeare_, with ten coloured and thirty black-and-white drawings by
John Gilbert, to whatever period it may be ascribed, is one of his most
superb achievements in book-illustration. _Christmas with the Poets_,
'embellished with fifty-three tinted illustrations by Birket Foster'
(Bell and Daldy), can hardly be mentioned with approval, despite the
masterly drawings of a great illustrator. As a piece of book-making,
its gold borders and weak 'tinted' blocks, printed in feeble blues and
browns, render it peculiarly unattractive. Yet in all honesty one
must own that its art is far more thorough and its taste possibly no
worse essentially than many of the deckle-edged superfluities with
neo-primitive designs which are popular at the present time. The
work of this artist is perhaps somewhat out of favour at the moment,
but its neglect may be attributed to the inevitable reaction which
follows undue popularity. There are legends of the palmy days of the
Old Water-Colour Society, when the competition of dealers to secure
drawings by 'Birket Foster' was so great that they crowded round the
doors before they opened on the first day, and one enterprising trader,
crushing in, went straight to the secretary and said, 'I will buy the
screen,' thereby forestalling his rivals who were hastily jotting
down the works by this artist hung with others upon it. But even
popular applause is not always misdirected; and the master of English
landscape, despite a certain prettiness and pettiness, despite a little
sentimentality, is surely a master. There are 'bests' and bests so
many; and if Birket Foster is easily best of his kind, and the fact
would hardly be challenged, then as a master we may leave his final
place to the future, sure that it is always with the great who have
succeeded, and not with the merely promising who just escape success.
Among the minor volumes of this year, now especially scarce, are Dr.
George Mac Donald's _Dealings with the Fairies_, with illustrations by
Arthur Hughes; and several of Strahan's children's books: _The Gold
Thread_, by Dr. Norman Macleod, with illustrations by J. D. Watson,
J. M'Whirter, and others; and _The Postman's Bag_, illustrated by J.
Pettie and others. A curious volume, _Spiritual Conceits_, 'illustrated
by Harry Rogers,' is printed throughout in black letter, and, despite
the title, would be described more correctly to-day as 'decorated'
by the artists, for the engravings are 'emblematical devices' more
or less directly inspired by the emblem books of the sixteenth and
the seventeenth centuries. As one of the few examples of conventional
design of the period, it is interesting. New copies are by no means
scarce, so it would seem to have been printed in excess of the demand,
which, judging by the laudatory criticism it received, could not have
been meagre.
[Illustration: BIRKET FOSTER
'PICTURES OF ENGLISH
LANDSCAPE,' 1864
THE GREEN LANE]
[Illustration: BIRKET FOSTER
'PICTURES OF ENGLISH
LANDSCAPE,' 1864
THE OLD CHAIR-MENDER
AT THE COTTAGE DOOR]
1862, the year of the second great International Exhibition, might have
been expected to yield a full crop of lavishly produced books, but as a
matter of fact there are singularly few. Two important exceptions
occur: Christina Rossetti's _Goblin Market_, with the title-page and
frontispiece by her brother, and _The New Forest_, by J. R. Wise, with
drawings by Walter Crane, 'a very young artist, whom we shall be glad
to meet with again,' as a contemporary criticism runs. Yet, on the
whole the men of the sixties appear to have exhausted their efforts
on the new magazines which had just attained full vigour; hence, as
we might expect, publishers refrained from competing with the annual
volumes, which gave at least twice as much for seven shillings and
sixpence as they had hitherto included in a guinea table-book. Birket
Foster's _Pictures of English Landscape_, with pictures in words by
Tom Taylor (Routledge 1863), contains thirty singularly fine drawings
engraved by Dalziels, of which the editor says: 'It is still a moot
point among the best critics how far wood-engraving can be profitably
carried--whether it can attempt, with success, such freedom and
subtlety of workmanship as are employed, for example, on the skies
throughout this series, or should restrict itself to simple effects,
with a broader and plainer manner of execution.' Its companion was
styled _Beauties of English Landscape_, and appeared much later.
_Early English Poems, Chaucer to Pope_ (Sampson Low, 1863), is another
book of the autumn of 1862, which like the rest is a quarto, with an
elaborately designed cover and the usual hundred blocks delightfully
engraved, after John Gilbert, Birket Foster, George Thomas, T.
Creswick, R.A., R. Redgrave, R.A., E. Duncan, and many others. Although
there is no reference to the fact in the book itself, many of the
illustrations had already done duty in other books, or possibly did
duty afterwards, for, without a tedious collation of first editions, it
is difficult to discover the first appearance of any particular block.
Probably this was the original source of many blocks which afterwards
were issued in all sorts of volumes, so frequently that their charm is
somewhat tarnished by memories of badly printed _clichés_ in children's
primers and the like.
[Illustration: FREDERICK SHIELDS
DEFOE'S 'HISTORY OF
THE PLAGUE,' 1862
THE PLAGUE-CART]
_The Life of St. Patrick_, by H. Formby, is said to be illustrated by
M. J. Lawless, but the labour in tracking it was lost; for, whoever
made the designs, the wood-engravings are of the lowest order, and
the book no more interesting than an illustrated religious tract is
usually. A sumptuously produced volume, _Moral Emblems_ (Longmans),
'from Jacob Cats and Robert Fairlie,' contains 'illustrations freely
rendered from designs found in their works,' by John Leighton. The
text is by Richard Pigot, whose later career affords us a moral emblem
of another sort; if indeed he be the hero of the Parnell incident,
as contemporary notices declared. Its two hundred and forty-seven
blocks were engraved by different hands--Leighton, Dalziel, Green,
Harral, De Wilde, Swain, and others, all duly acknowledged in the
contents. It is only fair to say that the decorators rarely fall to
the level of the platitudes, interspersed with Biblical quotations,
which form the text of the work. Among other volumes worth mentioning
are: _Papers for Thoughtful Girls_, by Sarah Tytler, illustrated by
J. E. Millais; _Children's Sayings_, with four pictures by Walter
Crane; _Stories of Old_, two series, each with seven illustrations by
the same artist; _Stories little Breeches told_, illustrated by C. H.
Bennett; and volumes of Laurie's _Shilling Entertainment Library_,
including probably (the date of the first edition is not quite clear)
Defoe's _History of the Plague_, with singularly powerful designs by
Frederick Shields,--'Rembrandt-like in power,' Mr. Joseph Pennell
has rightly called them; and _Puck on Pegasus_, a volume of humorous
verses by H. Cholmondeley Pennell, illustrated, and well illustrated,
by Leech, Tenniel, Doyle, Millais, Sir Noel Paton, 'Phiz,' Portch,
and M. Ellen Edwards. The Doyle tailpiece is the only one formally
attributed, but students will have little difficulty in identifying the
work of the various hands represented in its pages. A volume, artless
in its art, that has charmed nevertheless for thirty years, and still
amuses--Lear's _Book of Nonsense_ appeared this year; but luckily its
influence has been nil so far, except possibly upon modern posters;
Wordsworth's _Poems for the Young_, with fifty illustrations by John
Pettie and J. M'Whirter; an illustrated edition of Mrs. Alexander's
_Hymns for Little Children_, mildly exciting as works of art, _Famous
Boys_ (Darton), illustrated by T. Morten; _One Year_, with pictures by
Clarence Dobell (Macmillan), and _Wood's Natural History_, with fine
drawings by Zwecker, Wolf, and others, are also in the sterile crop of
the year 1862. _Passages from Modern English Poets_ (1862), illustrated
by the Junior Etching Club, an important book of its sort, is noticed
elsewhere.
In 1863 Millais' _Parables of our Lord_ was issued, although it is
dated 1864. Of the masterpieces it contained a reviewer of the period
wrote: 'looked at with unfeeling eyes there is little to commend them
to the average class of book-buyers.' This, which is no doubt a fairly
representative opinion, may be set against the wide appreciation
by artists they aroused at the time, and ever since, merely to
show that the good taste of the sixties was probably confined to a
minority, and that the public in 1867 or 1897, despite its pretence
of culture, is rarely moved deeply by great work. It is difficult to
write dispassionately of this book. Granted that when you compare it
with the drawings of some of the subjects which are still extant, you
regret certain shortcomings on the part of the engravers; yet, when
studied apart from that severe test, there is much that is not merely
the finest work of a fine period, but that may be placed among the
finest of any period. We are told in the preface that 'Mr. Millais
made his first drawing to illustrate the _Parables_ in August 1857,
and the last in October 1863; thus he has been able to give that
care and consideration to his subjects which the beauty as well as
the importance of _The Parables_ demanded.' It is not necessary to
describe each one of the many illustrations. Those which appeared
in _Good Words_ are printed with the titles they first bore in the
notice of that magazine. The other eight are: _The Tares_, _The
Wicked Husbandman_, _The Foolish Virgins_, _The Importunate Friend_,
_The Marriage Feast_, _The Lost Sheep_, _The Rich Man and Lazarus_,
and _The Good Shepherd_, all engraved by the brothers Dalziel, who
(to quote again from the preface), 'have seconded his efforts with
all earnestness, desiring, as far as their powers would go, to make
the pictures specimens of the art of wood-engraving.' Here it would
be superfluous to ask whether the designs could have been better
engraved, or even whether photogravure would not have retained more of
the exquisite beauty of the originals. As they are, remembering the
conditions of their production, we must needs accept them; and the
full admiration they demand need not be dashed by useless regret. In
place of blaming Dalziels, let us rather praise lavishly the foresight
and sympathy which called into being most of the books we now prize.
Indeed, a history of Dalziels' undertakings fully told would be no
small part of a history of modern English illustration. If any one who
loves art, especially the art of illustration, does not know and prize
these _Parables_, then it were foolish to add a line in their praise,
for ignorance of such masterpieces is criminal, and lukewarm approval a
fatal confession.
[Illustration: J. E. MILLAIS
'THE PARABLES OF OUR
LORD,' ROUTLEDGE, 1864
THE PRODIGAL
SON]
[Illustration: J. E. MILLAIS
'THE PARABLES OF OUR
LORD,' 1864
THE TARES]
[Illustration: J. E. MILLAIS
'THE PARABLES OF OUR
LORD,' ROUTLEDGE, 1864
THE SOWER]
It is difficult to place any book of 1863 next in order to _The
Parables_; despite many fine publications, there is not one worthy
to be classed by its side. Perhaps the most important in one sense,
and the least in another, is Longmans' famous edition of the _New
Testament_, upon the preparation of which a fabulous amount of money
was spent. Yet, although an epoch-making book to the wood-engraver,
it represents rather the end of an old school than the beginning of a
new. Its greatly reduced illustrations, wherein a huge wall-painting
occupies the space of a postage-stamp, the lack of spontaneity in its
formal 'correct' borders, impress us to-day more as curiosities than as
living craft. All the same, it was considered a marvellous achievement;
but its spirit, if it ever existed, has evaporated with age; indeed,
one cannot help thinking that it was out of date when it appeared.
Ten years earlier it would have provoked more hearty approval; but,
with Millais' treatment of the similar subjects, who could look at
this precise, unimaginative work? That it ever exercised any influence
on wood-engraving is doubtful, and that it repaid, even in part, its
cost and labour is still more problematical. Bound, if memory can be
trusted, in sham carved and pierced oak, it may be still encountered
among the _rep_ and polished walnut of the period, a monument of
misapplied endeavour. Its ideal seems to have been to imitate
steel-plates by wood-blocks. Just as Crusaders' tombs had been modelled
in Parian to do duty as match-boxes, and a thousand other attempts,
then and since, with the avowed intention of imitation, have attracted
no little common popularity; so its tediously minute handiwork no doubt
won the approbation of those whose approval is artistic insult. One has
but to turn to the tiny woodcuts of Holbein's _Dance of Death_ to find
that size is of no importance; a _netsuke_ may be as broadly treated as
a colossus, but the art of the miniature is too often miniature art.
Therefore, side by side with the splendour of Millais, this mildly
exciting 'art-book' comes as a typical contrast. No matter how Millais
was rewarded, the mere engraver in this case must have been paid
more, if contemporary accounts are true; yet the result is that nobody
wants the one, and every artist, lay or professional, who is awake to
really fine things, treasures a chance impression of a _Parable_, torn
out of _Good Words_, as a thing to reverence.
On turning back to a scrap-book, where a number of them were preserved
by the present writer in the late sixties, the old surprise comes
back with irresistible force to find that things which he then ranked
first still maintain their supremacy. At that time, when the wonders
of Japanese Art were a sealed book, the masterpieces of Dürer and
Rembrandt, the triumphs of Whistler, and the exquisite engravings of
the French wood-engravers, past and present, all unknown to him, he,
in common with dozens of others, was conscious that here was something
so great that it was almost uncanny, for, obvious and simple as it
looked, it yet accomplished what all others seemed only to attempt.
There are very few pictures which after thirty years retain the old
glamour; but while the Longmans' _New Testament_ when seen anew raises
no thrill of appreciation, the _Parables_ appear as astoundingly great
to one familiar with modern illustrations as they did to an ignorant
boy thirty years ago. Other _fetishes_ have gone unregretted to the
lumber-room, but the Millais of 1863 is a still greater master in 1896.
They builded better than they knew, these giants of the sixties, and
that the approval of another generation indorses the verdict of the
best critics of their own may be taken as a promise of abiding homage
to be paid in centuries yet to come.
Curiously enough, among some literary notes for Christmas 1863, we
find that 'early next year Messrs. Dalziel hoped to issue their
Bible pictures,' and the writer goes on to praise several of the
drawings--notably the Leightons, which were even then engraved: this
note, nearly twenty years before the book actually appeared, is
interesting, but it must not be thought that the time was devoted
entirely to the engraving or in waiting for the perfection of
photographic transfer to wood.
An English edition of Michelet's _The Bird_, illustrated by Giacomelli
(Nelson), was issued this year, and the highly wrought naturalistic
details of the engravings became extremely popular. Its 'pretty'
finish, and tame, colourless effect influenced no little work of the
period, and, coupled with the _clichés_ of Gustave Doré engravings, so
lavishly reprinted here about this date, did much to promote a style
of wood-engraving which found its highest expression in the pages of
American magazines years afterwards, and its lowest in the 'decorated'
poems of cheap 'snippet' weeklies, which to-day are yet imitated
unconsciously by those who work in wash for half-tone processes.
The next important volume of the year, after Millais' _Parables_,
judged by our standard, is unquestionably Dalziels' edition of _The
Arabian Nights_ (Ward, Lock, and Tyler)--'illustrated by A. Boyd
Houghton,' one feels tempted to add to the title. But although the
book is often referred to as the work of one artist, as a matter of
fact it is the work of many. Houghton does not even contribute the
largest number; his eighty-seven designs are beaten by T. Dalziel's
eighty-nine. Nor is he the greatest draughtsman therein, for there
are two by Millais. Still, notwithstanding these, and eight by John
Tenniel, ten by G. J. Pinwell, one by T. Morten, two by J. D. Watson,
and six by E. Dalziel, it is for Houghton's sake that the book has
suddenly assumed importance, even in the eyes of those who do not
search through the volumes of the sixties for forgotten masterpieces,
but are content with _Once a Week_, the _Cornhill Gallery_, and
Thornbury's _Legendary Ballads_. One thing is beyond doubt: that
with the _Arabian Nights_ and the others on this short list you have
a National Gallery of the best things--not the best of all possible
collections, not even an exhaustive collection of specimens of each,
but a good working assortment that suffices to uphold the glory of 'the
golden decade,' and can only be supplemented but not surpassed by the
addition of all the others.
The book was issued in weekly numbers, as you see on opening a
first edition of the volume at the risk of breaking its back. Close
to the fold appears the legend, 'Printed by Dalziel Brothers, the
Camden Press, N.W.,' etc. It was eventually issued in two volumes
in October 1864, but dated '1865.' Mr. Laurence Housman's volume,
_Arthur Boyd Houghton_ (Kegan Paul, 1896), and his excellent article
in _Bibliographica_, are available for those who wish for a fuller
appreciation of this fine book.
[Illustration: A. BOYD HOUGHTON
DALZIELS' 'ARABIAN
NIGHTS,' p. 149
NOUREDDIN ALI ON
HIS JOURNEY]
By the side of the books already mentioned the rest seem almost
commonplace, but another edition of _The Pilgrim's Progress_, with one
hundred illustrations by T. Dalziel, must not be overlooked. These
show that one of the famous engravers was also an artist of no mean
importance, and explain much of the fine taste that distinguished the
publications of the firm with which he was associated. Elsewhere the
many original designs by other members of the firm go to prove this up
to the hilt.
It is curious to find 1864 the date of the 'new' illustrated edition of
_The Ingoldsby Legends_ (Bentley).[6] Those familiar with contemporary
volumes would have hazarded a time ten to fifteen years earlier, had
the matter been open to doubt. It is profusely illustrated by Leech,
Tenniel, and Cruikshank, but in no way a typical book of the sixties.
_English Sacred Poetry of the Olden Time_ (Religious Tract Society,
1864) was issued this year. It contains F. Walker's _Portrait of a
Minister_ (p. 184); _The Abbey Walk_ (p. 6), and _Sir Walter Raleigh_
(p. 60), by G. Du Maurier; ten drawings by J. W. North, three by C.
Green, three by J. D. Watson, and many by Tenniel, Percival Skelton,
and others, all engraved by Whymper; _Our Life illustrated by Pen and
Pencil_ (Religious Tract Society, undated), is a similar book with
designs by J. D. Watson, Pinwell, C. H. Selous, Du Maurier, Barnes, J.
W. North. Aytoun's _Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers_ is another book
of 1863 that is noticeable for its illustrations, from designs by
[Sir] Noel Paton. _Robinson Crusoe_, with one hundred designs by J. D.
Watson (Routledge); Wordsworth's _Poetry for the Young_, illustrated
by J. Pettie and J. M'Whirter (Strahan, 1863); C. H. Bennett's _London
People_, and the same artist's _Mr. Wind and Madam Rain_ (Sampson Low);
_Hymns in Prose_ by Mrs. Barbauld, illustrated by Barnes, Whymper,
etc.; Dr. Cumming's _Life and Lessons of our Lord_, with pictures by
C. Green, P. Skelton, A. Hunt, and others; yet another _Pilgrim's
Progress_, this time with illustrations by H. C. Selous and P. Priolo
(Cassell), and another _Robinson Crusoe_, illustrated by G. H. Thomas
(Cassell); The _Family Fairy Tales_, illustrated 'by a young lady of
eighteen,' signed M. E. E., the first published works of M. Ellen
Edwards, who soon became--and deservedly--one of the most popular
illustrators of the day; _Homes without Hands_, by J. G. Wood, with
animal drawings by F. W. Keyl; _Hacco the Dwarf_, with illustrations,
interesting, because they are (I believe) the earliest published work
by G. J. Pinwell; and _Golden Light_ (Routledge), with eighty drawings
by A. W. Bayes, are some of the rest of the books of this year that
must be dismissed with a bare record of their titles.
_The Lake Country_, with illustrations drawn and engraved by W. J.
Linton (Smith and Elder, 1864), is of technical rather than general
interest. Champions of the 'white line' will find practical evidence
of its masterly use in the engravings. _The Victorian History of
England_ (Routledge, 1864) has at least one drawing by A. B. Houghton,
but, so far as a rapid turn over of its pages revealed, only one--the
frontispiece. _The Golden Harp_ (Routledge) appears to be a re-issue
of blocks by J. D. Watson used elsewhere. _What Men have said
about Women_ (Routledge) is illustrated by the same artist, who is
responsible--indirectly, one hopes--for coloured designs to _Melbourne
House_, issued about this time. _The Months illustrated with Pen and
Pencil_ (Religious Tract Society, undated) contains sixty engravings by
Butterworth and Heath, after J. Gilbert, Robert Barnes, J. W. North,
and others; uniform in style with _English Sacred Poetry_, it does
not reach the same level of excellence. A book, _Words for the Wise_
(Nelson), illustrated by W. Small, I have failed to see; a critic calls
attention to it as 'the work of a promising young artist hitherto
unknown to us.' _Pictures of English Life_, with sixteen engravings
by J. D. Cooper, after drawings by R. Barnes (Sampson Low), contains
blocks of a size unusual in books. The superb drawings by Charles Keene
to _Mrs. Caudle's Curtain Lectures_ (Bradbury and Evans) enrich this
prolific period with more masterpieces.
[Illustration: FREDERICK WALKER
'ENGLISH SACRED POETRY'
R. T. S.
PORTRAIT OF
A MINISTER]
[Illustration: G. J. PINWELL
'WAYSIDE POESIES,' 1867
KING PIPPIN]
[Illustration: AUTUMN]