The Express.
London, England, 1858-09-01 00:00:00

1, 1858.

MARION'S ILLUSTRATE]) CALLING CARDS.

The " calling card" eras a great invention. It is
soarcely possible to autunsrate the benefits we ow* to it. By
" leaving a card" we 'soap the bore of a dull visit. By
handing our mad to a stupid servant we escape the torture of
hearing oar name antgled. Daelling almost belongs to the
pest ; but when a oedemas gave his acrd or oohed for the
owed of another, did prentior—Barb might have and—by
knee all its fenseity art MN its evil.
The tasteful mad sateryrimiag yeogristoes of the " Pape-
bele Marion," is Begeat-streek have added a finishing grass
to the "calling earl." They have elevated it frqm being a mere
social convenience into bib( an aesthetics] grace of life. By
the rid of photography and the engraver they have substituted
the We •filgire of the owner of the calling card" for the men
letters that form Ws sitea. Year friend may thus lift the
light of him conalsnenes non you, even though you should
be so unfortseate so to be boat home when ha oalls.

The idea is a pretty one, and sasooptible of being turned
to amount in many a petty way. For example, the advent
of • "little Wronger" might be announced by enclosing a
tiny ten with a miniature of baby In Its "christening me'
The, hew much more gra:dent meld he to distribute, in those
envelope which diet • renew an wafted on the wisp of
the post over the land, instead of two squares of paper with
the bride's and bridegroom's names, a card besting their
ben portnits in two ovals conjoined by • Me-lover's knot I
And how gratifying tt wend be to naive, twitted of • bleak-
edged lithographed eon the card a/ the dear deemed beer-
ing his Ilasammta stamped by the monlng aid of the pho-
topapher. The story of the this. nape of every man's
life—hls teptises, mania" and death—might be told in
three Lilliputlea peps of mill-board. An illustrated " alb
lag eard," with P.P.C. In thetorner, would modify an old
adage, end leech we to think of the anent Mend as not lost
to sight, though to memory deer.
A number of these Mustrated "calling cards" are lying
we the table at ankh we write. They are something more
than mere toys, or links of &Max Messrs. Marion have
talented their mostioe to the smitten photographer, Mr.
Herbert Welkin.. Mr. Watkins has attained to distinc-
tion in his profession by combining a 'Melillo know-
ledge of its proems" with delicate and cultivated artistic,
taste. He has principally devoted himself to the photograph
on a large scale. The difficulty of executing large photo-
graphs ha. been a stimulus to his enterprising spirit; and he
has met with the seam his generous MM. Mum.
His photograph portrait of Mr. Charlie Dionne is ass ef the
greatest triumphed the art ; and his Lord Palmerston Le the
only likeness we have seen of the late Premier,
that entirely does him justice. But ambitious though Kr.
Watkins be, and &Imbed to avert the dignity of his
walk It art, he has watered into the graceful ides of Messrs.
Marton with the playful sportiness which is ever a trait of
true genius. The tiny bun portraits which he manes far
the "calling cards," being in many instanoss reductions othis
larger portrait., combine high artistic feeling with delicate
lain. Many of them are not unworthy to rank, as works
of art, with the engraved gems of the sockets. Then Is a
heed of a &anguished diplomatist in the mall Gallatin we
ban alluded to that woeld have don credit to the first gem-
taperer of the old., time.
Why should sot them tiny photographs Morn
in us what costly sculptured gems were for the wealthy
Patricians of Imperial Rome ? It Is the execution, not the
iseterfal, that imparts vane to works of art. The images of
visual objects stamped by the art of the photographer have a
delicacy, truthfulness, and finish far beyond whet could be
imparted by the most sensitive sad ritual home fingers
with the aid of the finest tools. Thais photographic minia-
tures In the hands of artists like Mr. Watkins may be made
to rival the finest of our much-prized cameos. They are
sat the Ins but the more valuable because they
to be nod as the paper °errancy of Nodal in-
tercoms. Art can never exercise its full infinenee over
the Mimi mind at our e. it is wwwwwi W ',eat occasions.
It must let Mom part of our daily domestic life. We lean
Met the decorations of Pompeii that those who bequeathed
to us Moms of sculptured art employed the Mist to im-
part &dashing grace to everything that made home own-
fortabia.

If our preachment can only hare the effect of .d ides
the curiosity of the plaits to Mks a gleam et the illnatrated
calling cards of file Mem Yeziom we know that the eight
of those *sus will emery this further. They are Mica-
lowly cheap—a gutesa, we think. or thinaboate, for the
AM, and half that pries for any memeding hundred. Think
may, gentle reader, for bow moan a as yon my ensure
immortality. The outlay el a Ave-pound note may enable
yen to *Meat so manyfes riviilN of yourself over the world
that, according to the omit:dation of chance., it is insposetble
they should all perish.