Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1885-11-28
HOLIDAY BOOKS.
SOME OF THE BEAUTIES OF THE
BOOK PRESS.
What the Publishers are Pro
viding for the Holiday
Book Gifts.

ooohs ioi TIC hoiioayS, tnan are gwen to
the people each festival season from the
book press of America. Some of these, out
side the beautifully printed and richly
mounted volumes of standard histories.
political works and art volumes, and
which are almost countless in their variety,
are before US.
For the Christian reader, what could be
more acceptable, for instance, than Rev.
DIR. Thompson's The Land and the
Book" 1t is royal octave of over 700
pages of large, clear print, and profusely
and richly illustrated New York: Har-
per Brothers, DR.. Thompson was forty
five years missionary in Syria and Pales-
tine, and his book, written with the en-
thusiasm of sincere Christian, the grace
of a finished scholar and the practical
style of close and careful observer treats
of the Holy Land. 1t is series of biblical
illustrations drawn from the manners and
customs, the scenes and scenery of that
region.
From John B. Alden, New York, we have
two more octave gilt-top volumes of the
works of John Ruskin, selling at 81 80
each. The first embraces A JOY For
ever" Munera Pulveris," Unto this
Last" " The Two Paths and The Storm
| Cloud; )" and the other, Poems, " Eagles
Nest" Sesame and Lilies" Golden
River and Pleasures of England" Rus
kin ranks among the foremost of prose-
poets but few readers are aware that in
his early years he gave promise of high
excellence as poet, in the ordinary accep-
tation of the word. He, however gave
| up verse-making before he had fairly
passed from youth to early manhood
The three lectures entitled THE Pleasures
of England" were delivered in 1884, by
Ruskin, during his second tenure of the
Slade Professorship." The clever little
| fairy story of The King of the Golden
River" was written in 1S41, when the
| author was twenty-five. 1.-The Eagles
Natural Science to Art" were delivered be-
fore the University of Oxford in 1872; and
Sesame and Lilies" suggestive ESSAYS on
education, were originally put forth in
1865. "A Joy Forever" consists primarily
of couple of discourses delivered nearly
thirty years ago, the subjects being The
Discovery and Application of Art and The
Accumulation and Distribution of Art"
Munera Pulveris," literally translated,
means " The Gifts of the Dust but the
scope of the book is indicated by the Sec
ondary title, Essays on the Elements of
Political Economy" One of the yery
latest of Ruskin's lectures, delivered at the
London Institution early in the year
1884, is 1.-THE Storm-Cloud of the Nine
tenth Century"
From the Century Company, New York.
! we have the two bound parts of "St.
Nicholas" the youths illustrated maya
| zine (Vol. XII, November 1884, to April
1885, and May, 1885, to October, 1885,.
Mary Mapes Dodge, the editor, has
| achieved wonderful success in the conduct
| of this monthly magazine, and among the
boys and girls of America it is a great
| favorite. The best artistic skill and the
best literary talent of the whole country
are drawn upon for the pages of this work.
The volume contains no less than thirteen
serial stories and papers that are illustrated,
| and host of short stories by such writers
as Frank Stockton, Julia Schayes, Nora
Perry, Laura f. Richards, Rachel Caren,
Mary Halleck Foote and others. Besides
these are poems by the late Helen Hunt
Jackson, Whittier, Lucy Larcom Mrs.
Piatt, c. G. Rossetti, Helen Cone, Palmer
Cox and other gifted writer's and also
pages OF music, papers about animals his
tory, art, science, travel, etc. The two
books are elegantly bound.
For housewives, books devoted to house
wifery will be particularly acceptable in
the holiday season as gifts, even though less
handsome In appearance than usual holt
day books. Here, for instance, is Mrs.
Washington's g Unrivalled Cookbook and
HouSekeeper's Guide" issued by Harper e..
Bros, New York. 1t is largely compiled
from private sources. Among the others
are 200 creole receipts from family in
which they have been heirlooms for over a
century. No other cookbook has been is
sued with SO complete list of creole re-
ceipts. The volume embraces English.
Scotch, French, German, Italian and Rus
sian receipts. The list of Russian SOUPS
will be found to be especially new to Amer
leans, as also many of the Italian monastic
dishes. 1t is a compact volume of 629
pages. The volume treats also of cleaning
preparations, cookery for camping out,
bottled drinks, toilet and medicinal re-
ceipts, dietary for infants, invalids etc.
From A. L. Bancroft & Co., San Fran
cisco, we have Charles Scribner's Sons New
York; issue of a volume entitled Chill
drens Stories in American History" 1t is
by Henrietta Christian Wright, and it is
illustrated by J. Steeple Davis. The sub
jects treated are Ancient America :"
g The Mound Builders, )" 1.-The Red Men,
The Northman" Columbus and the
Discovery of America" THE Cabots,"
" Vespucius, Ponce De Leon, " Balboa"
" Cacheco de Naca, " Cortez and the Con-
quest of Mexico" e Pizzaro and the Con-
quest of Peru" " De Soto" "Verrazano."
Cartier, THE Huguenots," Raleigh"
" Pocahontas, Henry Hudson" Ponti-
ac, Story of Acadia" 6 The Revou-
ton etc. The author is clear, terse, in
teresting writer, and makes her text deeply
interesting. The volume is neatly illus
trated. 1t is an octave of over $50 pages.
From the Century Publishing Company,
New York, we have the Century Maya
zine bound, for the volume xxx. y from
May to October, 1885. One could scarcely
select more useful volume or one better
suited to general tastes. Every one knows
the character of the matter that appears in
the Century, and how choice and di-
versified it is. The volume, bound in gold
cloth with gilt top, sells at s. 80; in green
cloth, at s., and in half Russia, at 81 30.
Whoever has not the monthly numbers
and would keep pace with the best current
magazine literature should possess this
book. The rebellion series of papers bv
noted Generals, both Union and Confeder-
ate, make the book of especial value.
THE Satin-Wood Box is handsome
volume by j. T. Trowbridge, neatly illus
trated and prepared for children. 1t sells
at 81 %, at c. S. Houghtons, Sacramento,
and is from the press of Lee d Shepard
Boston. Trowbridge's name is sufficient
guarantee to parents, who are in search of
wholesome but entertaining literature for
their sons and daughters, of the high char
acter of the book. Mr.. Trowbridge always
has a purpose in his writings, and this time
he has undertaken to show how very near
an innocent boy can come to the guilty
edge, and yet be able, by fortunate circum-
stances, to rid himself OF all suspicion OF
evil.
"Harper's Young People" Harper &
Bros, New York; A. L. Bancroft & Co.,
San Francisco; is a choice holiday
volume. 1t is a large quarto of $50
pages and embraces the 81 weekly numbers
of Harper's Young People" journal. 1t
is Justly popular paper, but in its bound
form it makes up book rich in illustra-
ton, exceedingly varied in matter and in
character of the articles, stands second to
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