The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1882-05-11
A THING OF REAnrv

Picturesque B. & o." the latest
Offering 70 the public by the passenger
department of the Baltimore s. Ohio
railroad, Is revelation of artistic excel.
lence, Of superb taste, and of a liberality
which appears TO have no limit. Lord
and Pangborn, since they assumed the
reins At Baltimore, have time after time
demonstrated an originality and exquis-
tie taste in advertising matter, SEEM
;ngly without end. One after another
novelty has appeared, each in succession
exciting admiration for beauty of de.
sign, perfect printing an6 exceedingly
effective handling. Certainly no rail-
road in the world has a higher reputa-
ton for the standard OF its advertising
matter, and Judging from the enormous
increase of its passenger business, il
pays. With all the company's proven.
bal enterprise, il is to be questioned if
such work as "Picturesque B. & o."
was ever anticipated even by richly in
dulged public looking always for the
finest Of everything from the road. To
give away q book of hundred and fifty-
two pages, printed upon the thinnest
and poorest of paper with anything in
shape Of a binding, would ordinarily be
deemed liberal, but to present without
money and without price so magnificent
q 3 volume as Picturesque b.
q o." is royal munificence.
The leading publishing firms
Of the country never produced in paper
cover for the trade book to be COM
pared with this for artistic taste, remark
ably high character of ensrayings and
faultless printing. 1t is from the press
Of knight & Leonard, of Chicago, and
the printing of cuts and letter press
alike is the finest exhibition OF two
graphical art ever made by a western
house. The paper is of the best, and
the cover by the American Book Note
Co, of New York, is gem. Pangborn
planned and wrote the book, and the
rare taste displayed in the arrangement
of the pages proves that he is by no
means. going backward. The descrip-
tive matter is easy, gossipy and UMPIRE
tentiOus, Indicating the authors news
paper experience in times gone by. The
great charm of the book, however, lies
in the matchless series OF engravings, no
less than seventy or more of them being
by the famous Moran, whose paintings
in the capitol building at Washington
have been pronounced beyond all com
parison, the grandest ever made for the
government. In the pOrtraying of noun
tain scenery Thomas Moran stands con-
fessedly without peer in the world, and
the touch Of his pencil is inspiration
itself. In several respects the engrav-
ings he has made specially for "Pictur-
esque b. Il o." are departure from for
mer methods in the treatment of aimos-
phere, sun and moonlight effects With
out single exception the drawings
were made direct from nature,
many weeks having been spent upon
the sketching tour. w. Hamilton Glib
son, whose knowledge of nature and
whose delineation of the floral kingdom
are exquisite beyond expression, has in
this work several gems, created express
ly for 1t. There is a series of vigorous
character sketches by Sol Eylinge, a
name as familiar as household words |
where Harper's is taken. w. i. Shop |
pard has also series of character |
sketches illustrative of Virginia life,
and barley himself never produced more |
strikingly natural effects. Two marine |
views by Davidson are marvels of detail |!
and execution, and give new proofs of |
this distinguished artists claim to be- |
ing the leading marine draughtsman of |
the country. Ferris, Smedley and War |
rem contribute gems, and all and all no
such collection of entirely new illustra-
lions was ever before gathered in a sim
gle publication. Not one of them has
been published in any other work, and
every one was made for this work there
fore the freshness is without flaw. The
engravers who have been engaged upon
the blocks embrace the most noted
names known in artistic circles. The
result is that one can scarcely believe
that many of the illustrations are not on
steel, they are cut so marvelously fine
and true. With such an exhibition as
Picturesque B. & o." makes of the art
Of wood engraving by Americans, Euro
pesn artists will have TO look TO their
laurels, for not only are the most famous
of English and German engravers equal
ed, but in not few instances excelled.