The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-06-12 00:00:00

SPLENDID COLLECTION OF PAINTINGS, &c.

There is now on view at the Exhibition-rooms, Post-office-
place, a very beautiful and highly valuable collection of paint-
ings, by the most celebrated masters of the several continental .1
schools. They are the property of a gentleman of fortune,
and are placed in the hands of Messrs. Winstanley and Sons,
for exhibition for a short time previous to their final depar-
ture. They occupy the two exhibition-rooms and part of the
ante-rooms, and comprise paintings by Spanish, Italian,
Flemish, Dutch, German, and British artists. We have
derived much gratification from an inspection of these pro-
ductions, many of which are of a first-rate character. We
may instance amongst those that struck us as superior, the
following .
No. 10.—Repose in Egypt, exhibits a fine enamel tone of
colouring. By Barocio.
14.—An Italian Landscape, (large), perhaps the finest in
the room. The distant objects in repose are beautiful.
By Claude de Lorraine.

29.—St. Francis. A good portrait. By Morillo ; an artist
to whom the collector appears to have been attached.
21.—A fine elaborate landscape. By A. Pynaker.
31.—The Triumph of Faith. By Morillo. The face of the
Virgin representing Faith, and upborne by Cherubim from
earth towards heaven, is loveliness itself.
57.—A fine dark portrait of Michael Swertz, by himself.
81.—Two Poor Boys, eating water melons and grapes.
This, too, is by Morillo, and to our taste is one of the best
in_ the collection. It is a droll subject.; but is a masterly
production.
87.—The Deserter taking leave of his Family, by Morland,
is both admirably drawn and coloured.
103.—A Head of Sobieski, by Rembrandt, has all the cha-
•racteristics of that great master.

107.—Virgin and Good. Morillo.
111.—A full-length Portrait, the size of life, of Gerard
Peters, painter and sculptor, the friend of Vandyck, by Van-
dyck himself, is, we think, the very first portrait in the room.
The face and hands are superb.
117.—Angels bearing the mutilated Body of St. Catherine
to Heaven, by Carlo Maratti. The ashy paleness of death
rests on the countenance of the saint. The other figures are
finely executed.
122.—Interior of a Cabinet, by Van Kessels, curious and
minute. _ _ _

129.—Portrait of Stanley, a Poet, one of the Stanley Fa-
mily, by Kneller, finely painted.
137.—The Deity appearing to Adam and Eve after their
transgression, by Domenichino, a fine original. The intro-
duction of the alarmed lion and the innocent and unaffected
lamb is a sublime conception.
141.—Seeing and Feeling, a pair, by Morland, excellent.
144.—A Landscape, with Sarcophagus and reposo, by
Poussin le Mer, is very fine.
158.—The Marriage of George Fourth with Caroline of
Brunswick, by W. Hamilton, R.A., is a very large picture,
of some merit.

There are also several good marble busts, a series of unique
paintings from the works of Rubens, called the Luxembourg
Gallery, &c. ; but we must conclude our notice by recom-
mending an carly visit to the whole collection, which we shall
again notice.

THE HAND-BOOK OF TRANSFER LITHOGRAPHY.

Our talented townsman, Mr. Miller, lithographer, has
just published a very neat and useful little work, founded on
practical experience, under this title. The title-page alone,
executed in a beautiful, we may say a masterly style, need
but be referred to in proof of the taste and minute execution
of the author, and the perfection in printing which he has
attained after many years of devotion to the art. Ir. a manu-
script preface, elegantly lithographed, Mr. Miller says :
" This compendium has been written chiefly to assist those
in mercantile and in public offices, who use, or intend to use,
lithographic presses, to multiply copies of manuscripts, plans,
&c. ; and may be considered a desideratum, inasmuch as the
treatise written by the inventor of lithography, and the various
manuals which have subsequently appeared, treat principally
of the art of drawing on stone, and of the printing of chalk
drawings. The information contained in magazines and
other popular works, though generally accurate, so far as re-
spects the theory of chemical printing, is seldom correct in
practical detail, and is found to be of little service to begin-
ners.

" In the absence of concise and exact instructions, limited
to the transfer manner of lithography, this nAND-BOOK may
be found useful, and may save the trouble of gleaning notices
and recipes, connected with this branch, from larger publi-
cations.'
The author commences by a brief but interesting history
of the principles upon which lithography is founded, and its
almost accidental discovery by Alois Senefelder, who found
that limestone absorbed and retained grease, which repels
water. That artist, however, proceeded on the principle ap-
plied to etchings on copper, namely, the eating away of the
ground-work of the one on which anything was drawn or
written with printing ink, so as to leave the writing in relief
or elevation—the impression being then taken as from print-
ing types or a wood-cut. He did not, however, perfect his
inventiori until the idea of damping the stone occurred to
him, which superceded the etching portion of the operation.
The original method was to draw or write every thing
priori in reverse on the stone. This method, though good,
is not- now absolutely necessary, the object being attainable
to a great degree of sharpness and fineness of line through
the medium of transfer paper. It is to facilitate this opera-
tion that Mr. Miller puts forth the practical directions in
the present little treatise, and, unlike the mass of scientific
men, he is no niggard of his information,—but furnishes, in
a concise and comprehensive manner, a perfect clue to an
art which has frequently been abandoned by persons desirous
of prosecuting the art, for want of the assistance of so able a
director. He also gives a drawing of an improved litho-
graphic press, remarks on the best qualities of stones and
ink, the manner of printing, &c.,—in fine, every requisite
direction for the guidance of the aspirant to perfection. The
work is written in a perpicuous and unassuming manner,
and does much credit to the author, both in style and exe-
cution. The price is moderate ; and as lithography has be-
come a valuable and pleasing study, equally applicable, not
only for the printing of designs, plans, manuscripts, and
other useful purposes, but for elegant recreation in drawing,
&c., we trust Mr. Miler's exertions will be duly appreciated,
and that his book will find its way into general circulation.

DOCK BONDS.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD,

SIR,—It is not generally known that the dock bondholders'
security is to be taken away from them ; that the corporation,
to carry a favourite crotchet of a certain crack-brained alder-
man—such crotchet giving them immense patronage—are
giving up, ♦oluntarily, the right of exclusively making docks
on the shores of the Mersey. I advise the bondholders to
look to it before it is too late. Let them call a meeting
without dela , and remonstrate with the corporation ; and,
though I do not think there is-present danger to them, yet 1
would advise all the bondholders to get as quietly out as they
can. There is not much safety connected with an undertak-
ing, when, to meet the views of half-crazy projectors, such
reckless changes are submitted to.—Yours, 0. P.

A HINT TO MR. ALDERMAN EARLE AND

OTHERS.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD,

Sir,—l am in the habit of sending a-FriQWI,,,I; in
London a paper, containing our town council proeeedings—
in a letter lately received he writes me—" Town Council
Proceedings always very much amuse and interest me, they
have the advantage, I consider, of more personality among
the members than ours." So that you perceive the rude and
personal language used by some of our " representatives,"
is noticed by an obscure individual at a distance.—Yours,
A CONSTANT READER.
Liverpool, June 10, 1840.

THE WEST INDIES.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

SIR,—As very great ignorance prevails respecting cur
West Indian Colonies, and the anti-colonial factions are so
strenuously exerting themselves, it seems necessary that some
means should be adopted to counteract the falsehoods so in-.
dustriously circulated by them ; to point out the resources of
these colonies ; and the advantages this country may derive
from them. Mr. Shomburk being generally considered an
impartial writer, in no way connected with any party, I
would beg leave to suggest the propriety of his work being
published in a cheaper form, and extensively circulated
through the country, as it affords the most recent and authen-
tic information.-1 am, &c., AGITATOR.
Liverpool, 51h June, 1840.

THE OBSERVANCE OF THE SABBATH.

TO FILE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

Sin,—l cannot help remarking the conduct of the self-
styled liberal of the present day. You will recollect that a
few of the respectable hair-dressers of this town formed them-
selves into a body, endeavouring to put an end to the irre-
ligious and indecent practice of opening their shops on the
Sabbath day, in so doitb, they had to contend. I am sorry to
say, against some of the liberal magistrates, for the first case
that was brought forward against an offender, Mr. Bolton
and a brother liberal were the presiding magistrates, and they
expressed great sympathy for the parties who had broken the
law, adding that the policemen might be better employed ;
and a subscription was got up in court to pay the fine they
were compelled by law to inflict.
It would occupy too much of your valuable space to give
you a history of what the trade had to contend with, against
some others of Mr. Bolton's school, but I may add that the
Watch Committee issued out a proclamation that the law
should be enforced, and they afterwards allowed themselves
to be beat by a very few, (not more that 20) of the most
humble of the trade, and to say the least, not the most re-
spectable. Bnt, Mr. Editor, I wish to shew you further, the
inconsistency of these liberal gents. They are now wishing
to open the Botanic Gardens for the benefit of the humbler
classes on the Sabbath day, yet these persons had not the
humanity to relieve the master hair-dresser or his apprentice
boy, who is compelled to attend his shop from six in the
morning till nine or ten at night, and on Saturdays till twelve,
one, or two, on the Sunday mornings, and on the latter morn-
ings from six till one or two in the afternoon, and sometimes
the whole of the day ; and I beg further to assure you, that
the magistrates above alluded to, were made fully acquainted
with the evils complained of in this letter and many others
not now mentioned. In conclusion, if these persons are so
desirous of benefitting the poOr man and improving the con-
dition of the apprentices, why, I would ask, have they not
supported the respectable part of the trade, who wished, for
the sake of religion—for the sake of humanity—and for the
sake of decency, to close their shops on the Sabbath day, so
as to afford them, their families, and apprentices, an op-
portunity of enjoying that day—as the Lord has commanded ?
I beg to observe, as an act of justice to Mr. Blackburne,
that he is an exception to those persons I have above alluded
to, he being, as well as myself—a reformer.

I am, Sir,
Your very obedient servant.
WILLIAM BRUMFITT,
10th June, 1840.