Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1883-12-08
RECENT PUBLICATIONS.

THIS RAVEN. BY Edgar Allan Poe; illustrated by
Gustave Dore, with Comment by Edmund C.
Stedman. New York: Harper Bros. San
Francisco: A. L. Bancroft Co. Royal qusrto;
$40.
The examples are not many in the world
where the conception OF the artist who H.
Illustrates text rises superior to the fancy
or thought of the author of the lines,
but in Dore's illustration of Poe's Rs
ven it is true in q marked degree.
We have seen no work of the EN-.
inent artist that to a greater extent
testifes to the unlimited fancy character
istic OF his genius. In some respects it is
holder than the work of his pencil on Mil
tons great work, though the field is by no
means SO broad. For that very reason,
therefore, the capacity of the artist was
more severely tested. There can be given
no description of this splendid art work
that will convey an adequate idea of the
mastery design and the brilliant execu-
ton. The book is one of the finest add.
lions to art in literature of the day. AZ
holiday book it is particularly valuable.
Whoever selects it a gift for friend
testifies to his own good taste and his sp-
probation OF the taste of the recipient. The
volume Is large, royal quarto,
richly bound in boards, muslin and leather
to taste, and the engravings appear upon
the finest quality of paper. The title.page
presents design of the bust of Palas,
tanked by profile heads of Dore and Poe.
The Comment on the poem is by Ed
mund c. Stedmsn, in letter-press that is
credit of the highest order to the typo.
graphic taste of the publishers. This
comment covers six double broad column
pages, and constitutes an essay that is a
| most fitting introduction to the work.
Then follows plate weird, bold and full
of life, illustrative of the single word,
"Nevermore," and full of the ghostly the
fearful, the mysterious. The six pages
succeeding present the poem, followed by a
frontispiece to the illustrations, which are
| twenty. in number. The artists who
cut the designs are Juengling Buechner,
Claudius, Muller, Fietze, zimmerman,
King, johnson, Standenbauer, French,
! Schelling, Kruell, Bernstrom and Hoskin
We may not enter upon any attempt to
describe these brilliant examples of Dore's
unequaled genius. They constitute in
themselves one of the best lessons of his
mastery art. Each one is a study to
which there may be given long examina-
ton. There is not revealed at glance the
meaning OF any one OF them. They grow
before the sight they suggest the widest
fancies they awaken the dullest imagina.
ton they disclose their depth and breadth
deeper and broader as they fare studied,
until one is all but lost in the immensely OF
the wild fancy of the artist.
DULcE DoNUM. The BURDEN or SONG. BY Benja.
| min F. Taylor, LII d. Chicago 5. c. Grggs &
| Co. Sacramento: W. a. c. $. Houghton
Small quarto; "a.
Several years ago it fell to our lot to
"notice" Mr.. Taylor's first poetical vol
ume. We then READ it with pleasure
which advanced to the plane of admira.
ton. Several more recent volumes have
| passed over our table, and with each we
have justified our estimate of the ability
and poetic gifts of the author. 1t certainly
cannot be written down of him that he is
| is the slightest degree an imitator his
| originality is too marked for the charge of
imitation to attach. We give an example
of the poems from volumes before US we
give few lines from his California
Year and "'The Sun that Never Sets - :
| Beyond the midland Rocky range
That wrinkles up the rugged world,
Where gray volcanoes sat and smoked
Like burgomasters weird and strange,
And watched the columns as they curled;
| Where old DEFENDERS crowned and ClOaked
| Have seen a thousand Junes 90 by,
a thousand winters leave the line,
| Cast down upon the rocks TO die,
| Until the granite cTags grow white
With icy bones and Arctic fight
And grave-clothes decked with pine
Where grim Sierra shows her teeth,
Medusl East, Minerva West,
nursing B1reas at her breast,
The charmed and halted years beneath,
She fronts two worlds with pale intent
| And smiles across the Continent
From The Sun that Never Sets we
make these extracts
| Pacifc's waters turn to wine,
The ripe red sun is glowing down,
| With Orient pOmp and gloomy pine,
Wears rubies in its pumy crown
And shadows in its column brown.
With click and stroke Of slender oar
The fishers time their hOmeward turn,
| And pulling for Aleutian shore.
Where dusky red the watch-tres burn,
They haul their gittering spois astern.
| lis sunset on Alaska's rocks,
Aleutiau Isle and Behring's Bay,
It's sunrise where Atlantic shocks
The coast Of Maine in rugged play
And dOmes Of forest shed the day.
The volume is handsomely illustrated,
and makes very fitting holiday souvenir.
There are several patriotic poems in the
volume-indeed the love OF country, devo-
ton TO the cause of freedom and loyalty to
free government pervades the major por-
| ton of DR.. Tsylor's writings.
SRvsN SPANISH CITIES AND THE WAY To THEM. By
Edward F. Hale. Boston Roberts Bros. Sacra-
mento W. A. Il G. 5. HOughtOn. Svo., 81 %.
This is an interesting little volume de-
scriptive of the chief cities i'm INTEREST," of
the land OF Spain. Mr. Hale paid several
visits to Spain, and by Observant habit
and scholarly requirements was peculiarly
fitted to make notes for the sketches thus
presented. The author has been largely
student of history, and especially of Span
ish history. His book is full of interest,
and besides being brilliantly descriptive,
is critical Of the country, the people, their
habits, religion, government, present con-
dition and future possibilities.
No number in any way superior to it has
appeared prior to this, in the history of
that admirable art journal, the 6 Art Am.
ateur, for December, published and edited
by Montague Marks, New York. In the
matter of text it is critical, though just and
choice, while varied and answering to all
tastes In patterns, designs and illustra-
tions it is very rich for this month, and
should satisfy the most exacting, The de-
signs for hammered brass and those pre-
senting examples of fourteenth century
Moorish ornaments, are especially curious
and interesting. An especially valuable
paper is the editorial supplement on the
Cesnola sculpture frauds and the trial re-
sulting therefrom. This supplement is
illustrated, showing exactly how old stat
ues are prepared for the gullible and the
confding rich patrons of art. The examples
of the brush work of Charles Sprague
Pierce form very attractive part of the
| nnmher- as also the chapter on decoration