New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1886-11-29
ILLUsTRATED BOOKS.

1887. mas,
THE CLOSING SCENE By T,SMs BqcAI Iippncott
d I1ns1sa'saii s ~ 40 fA''''''''" "
rur EARI,s RETURN BY OWEN MrRnDIrT: Wit, with
Drawings by W. L. Taylor. Boston, Is'es ~ A""''''
1856
ton. Lee Shepard, 1887.
rAT1yREs HAIIEIUJAH. Illustrated and Arranged by
IRENE +. JEROME PIP 80
THE MESSAGE OF THE BLUEBIRD. Illustrated .; ana
Arranged by irene T. JEROME. PIP To- '''~''
Lee 4 Shepard, 1886
"Cbristmas in the Olden Time" presents series
80 baerfu, mixtures 70 which the lines of the text
,tana in relation little more than that OF captlous
Massrs Fem Garrett Sandman, HasSam ana 'he
other artists have depicted the festivities OF an
oldtime Christmas in the approved fashion, ana 'ho
halliday reader will be in a mood to sympa,niNe
readily with the goodwill and mirth OF their Illus,
trations. The wood engravings are supplemented
nv n variety of marginal ornamentation ana ihi.a"'
ie,terng printed like the text IN delicate INK. Inv
sboxy cover of the volume cannot be treated WIN
mnch respect but the contents are cheerful aua IL"
ntlng. liz.
Mr.. Reads poem of autumn is meagre suo,eo'
for all this display of illustrative art put 'no
traitors have done their part well ana .he "oou
anpravinc is usually excellent Inc disti"c''o
feature of the book is its representation VI
Amar;can landscupe art which is set form I'D 'no
,rork of Messrs Murphy. Crane. 1ryon, H. ID.
,Tones Dewey. Gibson and Garrett. Nearly all
tbe,r ,lustr ,tions show The fondness Tor oi's Vi
natural scenery which characterize our Vounso'
landscape painters, distinction fr IN the ionu-
ness for views" more or less panoramic WHICH,
prevailed when topography was deemed ihoro III
than pictorial effect. The landscape stuoles
are GENERALLY we'll composed and pleasing. anu 'no
f;oure work by Messrs. Howard Pyle, W. II. Low
and Others Is attractive, If not remarKaoie' VIC
seldom. even IN this day of pcture-makers, came
npon book so minutely illustrated IN "n,cn '"'
toy, is 30 completely over-ridden by the lllustra-
80 Int the result "a entitled to honorable rank
among the minor examples OF current liiustraeeo
literature.
"Tbe Ear,s Return" which was published IN an
Ameucan collection of Robert BulweTs verse
twenty wears ago. and repubished In q similar COL
lection ten years later appears separately, we
believe for he first time 1t may be, as the puDish
ers claim, that in popularity TINS poem ranks neA'
TO Lucille" We are not so much concerned WIN
the rank of "Owen Meredith's" verse as whole.
nor with critical classification of his works, as with
the adap.abllity of this poem to illustration for
this purpose The Earls Return Is an exceHeht
choice. The dramatic narrative brings before us
the figures of pathetic heroine. grim earl, a
broken-hearted lover seeking revenge. rough SEN
Ill.
seen against a background of gray stone castle and
barren shore ASIDE from the picturesque SUBJ
iects offered by the rugged castle walls" the
stone tower square to the man,, the
"Greot South Court" and the varied chances
for portrayng the wasting sorrow OF the
flair ladyev veritable Mariana of the Moated
Grange there are he really dramatic episodes OF
her death in the swart Earrs arms the torchhght
burial on the shelly shore. the flying and hight
inc IN the blazing castle and the burning ships.
All this is material ready to the hand OF the artist
who is thus spared the travail of evolving from DIS
inner consciousness ideas against which the author
might bitterly protest In the true >enSe OF the
word Mr. Tavlor's drawings are illustrative of the
text, which is more than can be SAID OF some more
ambitious work. His = fair adye" will be sure of
sympathy, even though her features and form I'M
dergo such transformations from one lllustra-
ton to another as to suggest change OF
models The more stirring incidents are depicted
with considerable force, although the work, taken
throughout, is uneven. ln the picture OF the mlh-
stre lover singing in the nall the chief figures are
absurdly posed to say nothing OF careless drawing
The head and tail pieces are usually expressive
and ceverly DONE yet one the Silhouette OF hguIes
discovering the fire IS simply comic The floral
ornamentation IN text and margin Is not especially
strong, but on the other hand the artist has not
illustrative work from that of flabert Dys down.
Mr. Tavlors work shows fancy rather than imagi-
nation but il also shows intelligence, sympathetic
interest i'm the subject and spirit OF
honest endeavOr, the resu is OF when are
ON the whole very creditable. None OF his work III
illustration which we have seen seems TO us so
good as this He is not master OF
the human figure. which after all does not
distinguish him from the majority of our illustra-
tors and we are conscious that the artist like the
etcber of to-day, has been greatly helped IN many
instances by the printing. Most OF the fuli-p"ge
pictures are photo-etchngs printed in sepia, blue
aud darker colors and this color printing Is moro
lenlent to negl MT figure-work than is the more
exact wood engraving. 1t is probably the diff
entity of obtaining correct values in the negatives
which has caused the confusion of values which we
nften feel here as IN the pictures OF the lady SIT
ting in her oaken chair, and lying at the Earl S
feet and for that matter III the irontlspiece.
Smokiness lack of texture and want OF depth are
no more conspicuous here than III most current
process prints, for we have not yet acquired the
skill in manipulation which Is an important help
in processes invented and reaching their greatest
perfection abroad, but adopted here IN modlhed
forms The wood engravlngs are good, and the
paper typography and makeup OF the DOCK
are excellent The pale tntng of the page borders
is ia danger of being mistaken for a stain' ana
might have been omitted. The book should take
good rank among the illustrated literature of the
year. and it would safe 20 predict for it con-
siderable popularity.
Mr. w. l.. Taylor has furnished variety of
rather conventional illustrations for Tennysons
poem. His opportunities, of course, have not been
so distinct as in " The Earfs Return" and the
work which he has done Is popularity pleasing
rather than really forcible Some OF his illustra-
tons especially certain female figures. are suffi-
GENTLY agreeable, but Others, like one on page H.,
are crude and imaginative power is almost entirely
wanting The drawings have been reproduced in
wood engravings.
The last books upon list represent curious
combination OF liking for nature, for bird and