New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1886-11-21
BOOK ILLUSTRATION.
CALDECOTT AND HIS WORKS
RANDOLPH CALDECOTT. Personal Memoir Of III
Early Art Career BY HENRY BLACKBURN. Syo. pp
xvi, 2lO. George ROutledgo * Sons

J" WASHINGTON IRVING. Illustrated by RANDOLPH Cal
~ DEcoTT Svo.. PIP. Kill. 1897. Macmillan 4 Co.
n r. olph Gale cott died in Florida. Mt the az
I'll Of forty. in the flush Of career OF rcmarkabl
~ promise. lie not artist OF hich thinning
an early work. performed for periodca TN lie
q the pressure OF necessity. was not Of that kin
&c which usually develops the best Of mans latcn
n powe's. His natural gifts. howe, er were ricl
% enough TO overcome many defects Of education
re he exhibited alm fr the first SIN eritv am
j in some respects siren tn OF touch which cooc
u III ICES were prom to ieco nze: AMI dtripy thl
last ten years of his life he putting forth more
81 and more individuality both OF feeln, and OF
y manner from which great thin IS might have been
n expected His growth at this time was 40 vicorous
that justified in believing that he would
have become. II he had lived, one OF the most dis
tin Uished illustrators OF our time In 'eed in a
certain kind of work he had already left nj, ivals
far bell ni. Mr. Bacllbuin's sympathetic sketch.
owedly written more to accompany the one hun
dred and seventy two specimen illustrations scat
tered through it thin as a bogra' n.y. exhibits his
TREND and felOw-labOrc in most attractive lipbt
Tor Caldecott was a man Of en- raging personal quail
ties lie began life as bankers clerk and t,u ned
to art by an irresistible Impulse with little mr. no
systematic PREPARATION for its exercise. The spcci-
mems OF his early sketches many OF them taken
from the hea 'ings and spare rayes Of private let
tcrs are no better drawn than scores of other recrc
ations of a vagabonf pen, which some of us can
mat h in our CORES ondence but with all their
faults Of carelcSsncss AMI ignorance they are gen
orally strung AM nearly all OF them have a touch
Of humor which not more than four or five Eng
'ish artists Of that day-Leech. Doyle Keene. IT.
X Bowne-could approach An excellent example
81 this humor is shown in "Clinching an Arr-
| mcnt' enc in debating society published in
| the "London Society magazine in 1871 This is |
what the uncritcal observer would call n rough |
hasty sketch but little eXamin1ticn viii show |
how surely every one Of the few strokes tells and
how alive is every figure with exubcrant drollery
Faces AMI attitudes hcc. slightly as they are ind
Gated al ST nifcant Of ridiculous character:
an no two tyl rs the same.
Going to London n search ~ employment. Calde-
colt became popular Contributor to the illus
taed magazines an1 newspapers. He worked
Isl eciay for "Lcn Ion Society "The Graphic
and The Pictorial World made few drawings
for "Funch' an "TIarper's Magazine" and a
great nany for The New York Gra hic" and co
operated with Mr. Blackburn in pictorial book
Il travels in the IIarz mountains As might be
Supp sed there was much hack-work in all this
which would not he worth while to rI,.ser e
hut there were also some charmin, DRAWN full
OF grace an spirit II is proof OF the m nj real
fhrr that in the midst of the hurry, pressure an
4
STR or AM more careful. lie was also studyin
the technical rart of his profession with great
ca n'.'tncSs and essayin, various branches of his
art-oi Ia niny. modelling. decorative designn,-
with always incrcaS sicress In his decorative
work which is MT much known in this country. he
showed a sym athletic comprehension OF animals :,
nd especially OF the humor of birds Few artists
have seen more of the 4 n that lies in docs cranes
md pe'icans Illustrated journalism led him to q
ay considerable attention to the production Of | o.
artistic effects by the simplest possible methods -
uitable for the rapid aroduction Of drawings for
he tyre press and out Of this professional re o.
uiremcnt hc evolved q style which was to a con- u
iderable extent his own 1t was not outline. in re-
he strict sense Of the word 1t had little in com sc
non with the manner Of Flaxman Gillray. Cruk II
hank. Leech. Doyle. or Walter Crane THE kew 10 n
was inc power OF line. or IN other words W
the art Of leaving out a science He thought re
ong and seriously how the desired cfct was to -
e suggested. before trying it on papcr remember as
NJ, as he used to say. that the fewer the lines gu
he fewer the errors Mr.. blackburn reprints some a
xcellent specimens Of this manner one Of the best to
eng design OF two horses caci "Youth and
ge' or this the bocrapher says: "1he horses III
ere not quite satisfactory to himself: but the mr.
,ntlment OF the picture. the open air effect of early pc
'ring. the crisp grass. the birds nests forming in pa
re almost lcafss trees. the effect OF distance in as
Cated in a few lines-and above al the feeling he
sky produced by the untouched background We
ere sl<ilfully suggested in the large diagram isn
ore familiar examples of simple line effects are to mi
seen in the famous picture books Of Caldecotts Ca,
ter years / a
IL was in ls74 that he becan with the e,ngraver %
mes ID. Cooper. the illustration OF the Christmas a Il
apters Of Washington Irvng's "Slxctch Book Sol
&c book was published by Macmillan the follow y"
year. under the title of "Old Christmas and | tor
rs succeeded by similar selection from "Brace- tina
idge Hall in 1875 Mr.. Blackburn truly saws Tor
at these two works mark a most eventful period
Caidecotts career when a sense OF beauty and
ness in design seemed TO ha been revealed 70
70 as IL were. In vision and when his serious NJ
ides seemed TO be bearing fruit for the first MAJ MAJ
no. when he felt. he never felt before the Emu
Of his art and the want of severe .,
lining for his profession. Thcn-but not till then Iii
lid the lines Of Punch 'On the late Randolcb su
ldecott' written in February 1856, apply OK. Nj
ly; she
Sure never pencil stceped in mir+h eyes
80 closely kept to grace and beauty whic
Yet, strange to say. "Old Christmas was NJ. of in
cd by leading London publisher, TO whom IL cion.
first offered. on the ground that the ilustra ease
rs were fppant and vulgar The fact is that poI per
10 CHRISTMAS not only indicated surprising tinhC
nge in Caldecott but it seemed to omen new mist
IN book Illustration. Rarely indeed had an ted
st caught so pTsfectlv tho ver-v s,.,r,. -, -, VII
,ho ,,,s,. ma, - ''"i. anu eNlo forty
viz Ills plCtuIcS were not decorations sOnal
O gift book they were illuninat;ra d..,r,a In
.rting oil tho oo,,, - "c'ieii'' feare
. W. WV -N"i'' ""iiior' accessibility, poetry, a wrt
lleDeSB ana VIII or the beautiful teyt in
,vere ea+ To ,ro eho,,,d -. -. - 'i"D' his "
'u "hiei Jake 10 catalogue chang
masterpieces In this gallery OF exquisite de- eostu
q the tyt "a nj e.cceptrsc oL.r.e.. When
= :, 80, -, -. Ut OF Woinhny had
e, OF ]ovlal good nature. OF youthful vyacty room
fine bits OF winter landscape. the spirited wa, was
lis, the glowing interior-we should hardly mute
!" where to stop. But tie artistic excellence was
,o,+;c,,,o, du.,r,-.. - eNccHeH'0 drank
-' "N'>1 ~""HA-S was d lar less important been
latiOn than the artists extraor1in.ry ,a % bnt Il
N'y IV"OI VI He To-