The Express.
London, England, 1857-11-24 00:00:00

ILLUSTRATED OIFT BOOKS.

That the month before Christmas is to witness the
production of a certain number of volumes brought
out in the highest style of art appears now to have
become a recognised fact with certain of the most
enterprising of our publishers, and one with which
no amount of national trouble is allowed to interfere.
During the two winters of the Russian war it was
imagined that the rage for these gorgeous books,
then bat in its infancy, would have been summarily
stilted by the gloom and depression :generally pre-
valent; but the contrary proved to be the case. The
public purchased freely, even eagerly; and now,
when we are in the midst of a commercial crisis, the
WAR, of these works is is great as ever, and will be,
it is reckoned, fully as successful. This is a matter
of twofold congratulation. First, as evidencing
commercial success; for it must be recollected that
these books do not stand in the same category with
the illustrated editions of Mr. Rogers' " taly" and
" Poems"—works produced at the e of a
wealthy man, content in tie realisation o is refined
ideas, and careless of a remunerative return; but
they are literally pure commercial speculations, in-
vestments in literary taste, artistic talent, and public
appreciation, instead of in consols, mines, or other
tangible securities. Secondly, their large sale shows
that the excellence of the English school of art—
fur nearly all these illustrated works are entirely
national in design and execution—is be-
ginning to be recognised and understood—
that school the followers of which, while lack-
ing the severe and dignified earnestness of their
Outman and the elaborated highly-coloured senti-
mentalism of their French contemporaries, have
shown themselves capable of producing wood illus-
tration' to letter-press, which for natural truth,
force, and energy, for freshness and veriety, and for
skilled and graceful rendering of rural beauty, are
quite unequalled in the world.
We have already noticed two of this year's issue
of these books—the illustrated editions of Poe's and
Bryant's poems; and now the first one we take up is a
gorgeous volume, the mere arrangement of the blue
and gold binding of which is grateful to the artistic
entitled

The Home fictions portrayed by the Poets.
Selected and Edited by CHARLES MACKAY. Em-
bellished with one hundred engravings drawn by
eminent artists, ant engraved by the brothers
Dalziel. London : Rutledge and Co.
Love—with its joys and sorrows, its hopes and
fears, its struggles and triumphs—is the passion
which Dr. Mackay has cheese for the subject of his
volume, and his selection of poetic examples has
been on the whole judleiouly made. On such
matters individual tastes do and will differ, and we
might have suggested the omission of several pieces
which Dr. Mackay has inserted, and the insertion of
several which he has omitted. He has given us but
one specimen of laegfellow's—for instance, " The
Two Angels ;" and in a volume the subject of which
is professedly the tender passion, and which contain
selections from Tennyson, we might expect to find
" The Miller's Wife " or " The Gardener's
Daughter," and we might have thought that every
extract from the Laureatevru worthy of illustration.
These, however, are but slight shortcomings ; and,
taken as a whole, the book reflects great credit on the
editor's taste and judgment. The engravings are,
ppeorstrier,a more beautiful than any that have yet sp-
end the drawings have been executed by
those artists whose names stand in the highest rank
es book illustrator,. Mesas. Millais, rickersgill,
Gilbert, Topliam, and Absolon are amongst the prin-
cipal figure-draughtsmen. Mr. Millais contributes
two drawings, the first of which, illustrating the old
song of "There's use luck about the house, is not
particularly striking; the second design, to " The
Border Widow," exhibits great power and origi-
nality, and is much the lAMB in treatment,.posseseing
the same merits and defects as the illustration by this
artist to Coleridge's " Genevieve," in Messrs. Root-
ledge's last Christmas book.
Mr. Gilbert, hardness and mannerism notwith-
standing, is most excellent. We have scarcely
ever seen him to better advantage than in the
medieval bit, showing the "Last Minstrel" pledg-
ing the Duchess who had "cheered the Child of
Song," or in the highly. poetical design of " Angels'
Visits." Mr. Pickersgiil's " Hero and Leander" is
finely conceived; and the figure of the dead " Orient"
is an admirable piece of drawing, though the grim
old gentleman who is weeping by her side scarcely
realises our notion of her lover. Mr. Tophem has
a very pretty design to the "Irish Emigrant;" but
we object utterly to Mr. Absolou's figure contribu-
tions to the volume, as they are either affectedly
theatrical or grotesquely commonplace. Mr. Tee-
niers dashing medieval cavalcade in " Fair Ines" is
admirable, only to be surpassed in firm and correct
drawing by the figure of his one grim solitary hone-
man is the " Braes of Yarrow ;" while Mr. George
Thomas'e group of " Careless Sailors ever cheery,
including him who " heaves a sigh and toasts his
Nancy,' is the trust bit of character delineation in
the volume, and is perfectly Hogarthian in its fide-
lity to nature.
When we come to the landscape illustrations, and
have to criticise Mr. BirketFoster, we scarcely know
what to say without repeating what we said last
week, and what everybody who has ever studied this
gentleman's productions must echo—that in their
peculiar line there is nothing at all to compare with
them in the annals of modern art. In facility, light-
ness, and. grace—in freedom from imitation or even
eilf-repetinee, which invariably eventuates into
mannerism—in extraordinary elaboration of detail,
and in power of rendering English landscapes in all
their rural beauty, Mr. Foster has no superior—if,
indeed, he have an equal—among those gentlemen
who dabble in pigment, and write R.A. after their
respective names. After Mr. Foster ranks Mr. 8.
Read, who, in his illustration to Happy love" and
" I think on thee," comes very near to what Mr.
Foster did some years ago ; and then comes Mr.
Dodgsou with many exquisite designs, but who, if
he had read " Maud," would have avoided the mite
take of making a seventeenth century lover call her
into the garden. Mr. Harrison Weir manifests great
improvement this year, more especially in his design
of a tract of barren upland covered with sheep (page
193); and it is needless to say that Mr.lhincan ts the
best artist that could be found for such a subject
as " The Shipwreck."
Taken altogether,the illustrations, engraving, and
general appearance of " Home Affections" are more
bustiful and more thoroughly artistic than any
we have yet seen, and we have little doubt of its
proving the favourite gift-book of the season.

Poetry and Pictures from Thomas Moore, with
Illustrations on wood. London : Longmam.

A volume of a similar description to the fore-
going, except that the poetical selections are all
from " him who in all names could tickle the town,"
and that the illustrations, from being printed on
plain instead of tinted paper, do not show to such
advantage. The pencils of nearly all the same
artists have been employed upon it. We have Mr.
Birkst Foster's views of sweet Innisfullen, and
" that vale in whose bosom the bright waters meet."
We have Mr. George Thomas's soldiers and sailors.
Mr. Mancan's ships, Mr. Pickersgill's lovers, and
Mr. Topham's pretty girls all Jo cap). But in
addition to this, we have some excellent designs
from a stranger—an American artist, Mr. Jasper
Cropeey—who, if we mistake not, is likely to make
a name in this country. He poseemme a clever mind
and a ready hand, and some of his national bits—
such as the Dismal Swamp, the wreck on the
coast of " Cold and pitiless Labrador," and the falls
of the Mohawk river—are specially fresh and vigo-
rous. The volume is also adorned with numerous
graceful and poetical vignettes from the facile pen-
cil of Mr. Hacker.

The Shipwreck. A Poem. By WILLIAM FAL-
comm. Illustrated by BIBLES Fosraa. Adam
and C. Black, Edinburgh.
The illustrations of this well-known poem are en-
tirely from tho hand of Birket Foster, and fully
sustain his reputation.

The Prime* of Prato ; or, Lays of Bethlehem.'
Selected from the British Poets. Illustrated.
London: Seeley, Jacksom, and Halliday, Fleet-
street.
This, u its name imports, is a selection of reli-
gious poems, but the subjects scarcely afford scope for
such illustrations as have been deigned for them.
Mr. Foster's landscapes, and Mr. Lomb Stock's
figures, are the meet worthy of notice.

Picture Fables. Drawn by Orro SPZIETEII.
London : Rutledge.
A charming book for children. There is an im-
mense amount of comic power in the drawing of the
animals, and the German fables have been closely
translated into euy verse.