What the Laureate of the day, inspired by the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle,
sang in 1748,--
"Th' Almighty hand, which first her shores secured
With rolling oceans, and with rocks immured,
Which spread her plains, and bade her flocks increase,
Designed Britannia for the Land of Peace;
Where Commerce only should exert her sway,
And musing Science trim th' unfading bay"--
was in 1851 recognised by the whole civilised world, not as a poetical
fiction, but as a practical, we had almost said a political, truth.
Hence the Crystal Palace, that glorious Temple of Concord, which those
potent genii Fox and Henderson, at the bidding of the arch-magician
Paxton, raised before our eyes, to put to shame the visionary glories of
the _Arabian Nights_;--and hence the avidity with which, like
ministering sprites, all the great manufacturers and producers, artists
and artizans, vied with each other in assembling beneath its fairy dome
the masterpieces of their respective skill, ingenuity, and science.
Hence, too, the unfading interest with which, day after day, from May
until October, did thousands upon thousands press forward to gaze upon a
scene unparalleled in the world's history, whether for costliness of
display or moral grandeur.
Of such an event--of such a scene, which it was acknowledged fairly
represented the productive genius of the whole world, all may well
desire to preserve some remembrance; and whatever may be the fate of the
Crystal Palace, the great gathering of the nations which assembled under
its roof has found an imperishable monument in the three handsome octavo
volumes which form _The Official Descriptive and Illustrated Catalogue
of the Great Exhibition_, 1851. In this great and useful record--the raw
materials for which were furnished by no fewer than _fifteen thousand
authors_--we have not only an account of every article exhibited,
accompanied in many instances by valuable notes from the ablest
scientific pens, pointing out the leading features of interest in the
objects described--which annotations again are rendered still more
valuable by the twelve hundred woodcut illustrations which are scattered
through these pages,--but we have also Mr. Cole's valuable Historical
Introduction, illustrating the Rise of the Exhibition, its Progress and
Completion; Mr. Digby Wyatt's able account of the Construction of the
Building and of the mechanical applications employed; and Mr. Ellis'
interesting description of the Revision and Preparation of the
Catalogue; when we add that it contains, moreover, all sorts of Indices
and Lists for facilitating references--our readers will, we think, agree
with us that this most complete, instructive, and extraordinary
Catalogue may fairly be regarded as _An Encyclopædia of the Industry of
all Nations in 1851_, and as such should find a place not only in every
factory and workshop, but in every study and educational establishment
within the realm. To meet the requirements of those who cannot purchase
the _Illustrated Catalogue_, Messrs. Spicer have issued a corrected and
improved edition of the _Official Catalogue, with Alphabetical Indices
of Names and Subjects, and British and Foreign Priced Lists_: while to
enable the non-scientific reader to understand, and to furnish the
scientific reader with the results, or, as we might term it, a
summing-up of the details to be found in the works already described,
they commissioned Mr. Robert Hunt to prepare a _Handbook to the Official
Catalogues; an Explanatory Guide to the Natural Productions and
Manufactures of the Great Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations_,
1851; and that gentleman has so ably executed his task, that, though
some who may only wish for general views and impressions may content
themselves with his _Handbook_, the majority of the purchasers of the
larger Catalogues must secure Mr. Hunt's interesting volume as an
indispensable companion to them.
When we read the announcement that Mr. Planché was about to publish _The
Pursuivant of Arms; or Heraldry founded upon Facts_, we looked for a
work in which good common sense and sound antiquarian knowledge would be
found applied to an important branch of historical learning, which has
been too often followed by men whose disregard of the former, and want
of the latter gift, have done much to justify Voltaire's biting sarcasm
upon heraldry. Nor have we been disappointed. The work is one of facts
rather than of inferences; and although the accomplished gentleman now
at the head of the College of Arms, to whom, "as an able antiquary and
worthy man," the work is most appropriately dedicated, may probably
dissent from some of Mr. Planché's views, he will, we are sure, admit
that they are cautiously advanced, and maintained with learning and
ability; and that the _Pursuivant of Arms_, with its numerous woodcut
illustrations drawn from old seals, monuments, &c., is a valuable
contribution towards a more perfect knowledge of heraldic antiquities.
Few books of travels in the East have excited greater attention, on
their first appearance, or maintained their popularity for a longer
period, than the lively volume entitled _Eothen_. In selecting it,
therefore, for the Eleventh and Twelfth Parts of _The Traveller's
Library_, Messrs. Longman have shown their determination to maintain the
interest of that excellent series of cheap books.
CATALOGUES RECEIVED.--C. Skeet's (21. King William Street, Strand)
Catalogue No. 3. of Old and New Books; W. Lumley's (56. Chancery Lane)
Bibliographical Advertiser No. 9., Ninth Series; E. Stibbs's (331.
Strand) Select Catalogue of a Collection of Books; W. S. Lincoln's
(Cheltenham House, Westminster Road) Seventy-fifth Catalogue of English,
Foreign, Classical and Miscellaneous Cheap Second-hand Books; and
Supplementary Catalogue of Italian Books.