New-York tribune., 1874-12-15
or BOOKS AS GIFTS.

or BOOKS AS GIFTS.
Books may be divided into, 1. Books to be
looked at g. Docks to be smelt Of 3. Books
to be consulted; 4. BJOls to be read. Under
the first head are to be ranked the sump-
tuous; the volumes which are really pieces Of
vertu-the marvels of Typography. engraving,
and binding-works which by persistent liz
dustry and at lavish expense have been pro-
fusely illustrated and "cxtended"-yolumes
the owner of which holds lis breath as yOa
turn the lcaves-things which, despite the
sneers of the utilitarian, we assert to be OBJ
iects just as beautiful il themselves as fine
pieces of plate, or exquisite specimens OF gold
or silver work. To the thoroughbred book
hunter, We need say nothing of that flavor OF
/" mid decay" which reaches the delighted
nostril as some tall folio is opened, perhaps
for the first time in q century. Books for ref
erence, as our careful, honest, useful friends
know, demand no explanatory expatiation.
Books to be read uggest nunbcrieSs sIbdi-
visions, and present field into which it Is
unnecessary now to enter. Only may we. in
passing, mention books which, by no effort OF
the human will, by no penitential persistence.
by no conscientious devotion, by no surrender
of long days aud longer nights, by no aid Of
valiant resolution, can possibly be read through.
Pity may carry us on for twenty pages; Gu
rosity for twenty more; q wild desire to do
something which nobody has ever done, may
help us to hObble a little further; and then in
the very middle muddle of the s0mniTerOus
volume the reading faculty breaks down, and
we replace the poor thing upon the shelf.
commencing it to the bright little worms, and
charitably hoping that it will agree with them
Books intended for holiday purchasers are
naturally put forward in holiday raiment. and
this may be either cheap or costly, III bad
taste or good. Even as Bridget going to
church with six months wages upon her broad
back. bears hagrant and highly y-illuminatei
resemblance to her tastefuly -araycd mis-.
tress, 80 Connecticut subscription book.
extra gilt within an inch of its life, aid po.-
ished after the similtude of palace.
suggests the loveiest work of famous binders
Only glance. however, is enough to show
you what a Tittebat Titmouse of a book it is.
Its vanished back creaks and snaps as
you open it. And. once open, the expo
sure of humbugging rule-work, of pages dis.
proportiOnate to the letter, of worn-out steel
plates, of bad wood engravings badly printed,
makes one blush to be caught in such COM
pany. We have had in hand for many
years Treatise upon the Influence of Center
Tables upon Popular Literature, to which. when
it shall be printed, the reader is referred.
There are many things to be said of ths
beauty and propriety of books as gifts. For
the just beginning bits of humanity they have
long been esteemed welcome donations. GOOdy
Two Shoes (Which some think was written by
Goldsmith) has trudsed through generation
after generation. Jack was killing his Giants
when our great grandmothers were in the
pinafOres Of the period. Il. CrusOe. Mariner.
and his goats are mortal only as to the other
end of immortality. Whoever hit upon the
idea of cOloring chidren's books must have
been a genius in his way. These the only
works of art which are above crticism-these
lively smOoches, these broad daubings, these
enchanting gamboges and vermeils. and
indigo-blues! Blessed are the babes who can
still find delight in the brilliant and the
mOnstrOus. For taste has invaded even this
privileged pictorial domain and the spruce.
fOppishly finished woodcuts make ds sigh for
the coarse, strong work of Blake, and for the
rural veracity of Bewick.
A holiday book, whether for old or young,
without illustration. would now be considered
an impertneuce Inside the glowing covers
must be q hundred vignettes, tail-pieces, initial
letters, and appropriate designs, with the fiery
red line bounding the domain Of faery. Often
"the picture for the page atones." as Pope ILL
naturedly said Of Quarles and his Emblems
and certainly well-pictured foolish book is
better than ungarnished and unmitigated in
anity. A good illustration serves as Q crutch
for the haltins fancy, and may even supply
r. n 4
reads: a was an Archer and shot ut o
Frog" and sees that reptile expiring with
the Ereen-coated and conquerng above him.
he takes his first step in the humanities with
greater ease and precision for the sight. Is
not the same primer pedagogy good for stupid
adults, doomed to a lifetime Of the concrete,
and too indolent to fashion for themselves an
idealf
Or the economy of book giving. it is not
necessary for us =" say "'uch. If tho volume