The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1871-02-18
ILLUSTRATED PAPERS.

From the Boston TraUeilsr.
Undoubtedly the popular illustrated papers
of the day might be of great service in the
dissemination of correct art ideas; but that
they fail to great extent in this mission, is
an equally palpable and lamentable fact.
Lacking neither capital, brains, nor enter
prise, there is no reason why our American
publishers should not send out papers in
every respect equal to the best European
prints. Nor is it necessary in order to do
this to reproduce exactly their pictures, as
has been done of late, to an extent that has
given to many of our most popular prints
monotonous degree of uniformity in illustra-
ton. If we are to have in Eoery Saturday,
Hasper's Weekly, and Frank Leslies Iuats-
trated Newspaper, precisely the same pic
lures as are in the Graphic, and London
Illustrated Neaos, why not subscribe
for one of the last-named
papers at once and let the others go;
for certainly people buy this class of papers
more for the pictures than for the reading
matter, however excellent it may be. This
constant and servile copying of foreign
papers has grown to be an abuse. If only
one of our papers reproduced the pictures, it
might do well enough, as plan to cheaper
the foreign commodity, but when nearly all
of the papers take to the same policy, and we
have ''The Last Bivouac" and "The Horrors
J.. of War" running through the whole line, we
are inclined to believe that there is either a
pitiful lack of taste or sense, or a niggsrdli-
ness in expenditure, at the bottom of the
whole matter.
If the illustrations reproduced were well
selected, it would be better. But it often
happens that villainously bad pictures are
published abroad, and these are as eagerly
seized upon as any. 1t seems that picture
has only to be startling to commend itself to
the borrowing propensities of our editors.
AS a case in point, there are sketches, bet
ter called scratches, by one A. Boyd Hough-
ton, which have been largely copied, in all
aosd nsE bad Ss Qualities 5 BY Ss What
Omaha, or the Hunting Buffaloes, both
of which may be seen in EoeryiSatarday?
Vague, to a meaningless extent, uncertain in
drawing, their figures unlike anything in
heaven or earth, they are given prominent
places in q publication which has talent
enough in its management to discriminate
between good and bad picture.
If in intrinsic qualities the above-named
pictures are bad, in aesthetic qualities the
French war pictures are worse. No good can
come Of representation of deserted battle
field, scattered with CHASTITY corpses and dead
horses Such pictures breed nightmares.
They are horrible, but have no pathos. They
appeal to no other sentiment than that NOR
bid craving for horrors, which is too much
gratihed already by our tenth-rate papers in
their vivid and oyerdrawn scenes of murder
and sin.
1t cannot be said that our publishers are
obliged to go abroad for their publications.
1t might have been said twenty five years ago.
But to-day we have artists who could, if in
ducements, pecuniary and other were offered,
produce pictures in every respect equal to
those that that are brought from over the sea.
Every picture reproduced from a foreign
paper is so much money withheld from Anne
rican artists-an injustice to them of which
they rightfully complain. There is both a
lack of patriotism and of sense in seeking
abroad what can be found at home. We are
constantly clamoring for more rapid progress
in art, and at the same time withholding our
aid. We are forever paying gold where we
might buy with greenbacks, and do better in
our bargain. To verify all we have said we
refer the reader to the last numbers of our
most popular illustrated periodicals, and ask
their candid judgment as to which are most
pleasing, the foreign or the American pictures