New-York tribune., 1896-06-20

the Sc OF the American Church: MDCCCHTSii'
lei berkeley UpdIke The Merrymcunt Pfess'
Boston. Mass MDCCCXCVi.
fayorite figure of the bibliophie'e imagina-
ton is the p!ous monk OF the Middle Ages Deho-
ing over a page Of parchment In MS cell anu
prayerfuly adorning the fair white surface VIII"
arabesques Of color and quaint form. 30 power
fully has this primitive artist imposed h'hs7iA
upon the modern mind as the type Oh al
skill and temper. in the making and DECORATING -
books that his methods, no matter how archaic
they NAV be have been erected into uaui''o"'
His successor the early printer followed as Ia.
nc he could in the monks cautious footsteps' ana
yood hooks ever since their times have been, IN
the uoet ambitious hands, productions based on
q neo-rnediaeval ideal. The chief bookmaklng eI-
fort of recent years Mr.. William Morris great
eRrprise at Kelmscott Manor House Is d Piooi
OF this But Mr.. Morris, aiming to snow lol'h TIC
perennial virtue of medieval styles III pr'h''"s
and bookmaking generally. has really proved '''"'
q hook 10 be perfect. must be part and parcel OF
Tho ara in which II Is made. His editions are
heaufifll-no one could dispute that-Dut they
are beautiful In an antiquarian sense II Is I'M
possible to enjoy reading them. Ih'y are i''u
away on shelves inclOsed in glass, ana thcS "'0
taken down as blue china Il, or Chlhese NoiS
e,oa Iovers of fine books who have waited pa
tiently for modern art and mechanism 10 pro"u'e
+bo narfact volume have looked in vain toward
the Kelmscott press. They have gone on "a''i"s
They need wait no longer. The perfect book Is
here work produced in America with all the ue-
yot,onal sincerity Of the Middle Ages returned 10
harmonlze with elements exactly representative
., roodern taste and skill. 1t is the Altar BOOK
nublished by Mr. D. p. Updike at the Merrymount
PRESS In Boston an achievement when may
fairly be said to mark an era In bookmaking mere
and across the sea. This book owes none OF us
beauty TO any one pon; Of decorative illustrative
or merely luxurious excellence II is fne because
II Is symmetrical. book as admirable 10: use as
II is beautiful to the eye Of the behoIder MT Up
dixie has taken from the Book OF Common prayer
oil those offices which are directly involved in
.,s services at the altar OF the Church. namely,
tho Collects. Epistles and Gospels the Commun-
,on service the Collects. Epistes and Gospels Tor
the Communion of the Sick; for the Visitation or
Prisoners for a Thanksgiving to Almighty God
for the Fruits Of the Earth; for the Ordering o1
Descons. for the Ordering of Priests for the
CONSIDERATION Of Bishops. and for the Consecra-
tton Of a Church or Chapel There Is added also
the musical notation of such parts of these ser
vices as may be said or sung by the Priest follow
ing in the main the early English style of Mer-
becke which still endures In the custom Of the
Church These few lines set forth the teXtual
contents of the Altar Book. There s much more
however. to be said Mr.. Updike has proceeded In
the evolution of his book exactly as the monk or
the Middle Ages proceeded; that is he has spent
unon each detail a loving care which leaves It i'm
peccable At the same time. differing from Mr.
Morris he has refused TO depart in the treatment
of any detail from the standard Of common-sense
which keeps book upon readable as we'll as
upon an artistic decorative plane After all, a
,,<1h fhn
officiating Priest or it is worse than useless. Ac-
cordngly the type designed by Mr.. b. G. Good
hue for the present volume is massive yet open
and as the text is printed on heavy opaque
English paper also made especially for this vol
ume there is not moments difficulty expe-
rienced in reading page after page.
The employment Of red ink for the marginal
and sub-titles in this book gives each page the
rubricated appearance Of old liturgcal books
without making the text look spotty. as is
ueually the case with modern applications Of
the old idea. The present work does not strike
the eye with the imperfections Of an old idea
used over again. Mr.. Updike balances his types
so we'll that the page is invariably as clear and
as "reasonable'-we can use no other word-as
though the very last word Of sane modernity
were beirg said within the covers OF the volume
in Its artistic and mechanical aspects as we'll as
in It's actual literature For each one OF th'
great feast days Mr. r. Aiming Bell an accom-
plished English draughtsman. has designed
large illustration: and for this Mr. Goodhue has
provided a decorative border in black anc
white. adjoining the opposite page in the sam
wav. All through the book Mr.. Goodhue ha'
drawn initial letters for the various divisions
text and these are not merely artistic drawings
thev are little studies in symbolism most tact
fully developed The spiritual character OF Mr.
Bells Illustrations does not always prove salts
factory Indeed, If one were seeking In carp
ing mood to find flaws in the book, they might p'
found in the shallowness Of Mr.. Bells imagin
ative gifts If he had cOntented himself VIII
such an imitation Of Albrecht Durer as face'
the Collect and Episte for Trinity Sunday, ol
with the elaboration Of such Burne-Jone'
angel as appears opposite the offices for f-astel
Day. and had not attempted Independent char
acterzations like that of the Madonna in MS
Christmas plate, he would have made himsel
more acceptable. He has fine technical habit
based apparently on early Italian and German
engravings. and his spaces are always wei
nlled This last fact, indeed. saves him from
doing any real harm to the Altar Book. HIS
Illustrations are so charmingly decorative. an(
Mr.. Goodhue has inclosed them In such exquisite
borders that criticism Of the book ends as IT be
gins with unqualified admiration.
Mr. Updike has not been satisfied with tn
mere gathering of so many decorative pictures
and borders within his book, nor with the EN-
ployment Of fine paper and a handsome pig
skin binding He has had the type set up unde
his personal supervision, he has had the print
ing executed on the De Nnne press with ever,
possble care, and the beauty Of the book con
sists in it's standing absolutely complete. wori
of art iawless in its proportions ana practcall!
fawless in every mnutest point. Even tn
colophon was expressly designed by Mr.. Sher
born. in London. man who stands at the hea'
Of his profession, and he has also engraved
small svmbolical plate for the title page. Neve
has a book issued from the hands OF an Ameri
can or an English publisher in nobler guise thal
this 1t is a masterpiece Of the art when ma
40 searchingly watched over its growth, ana
promises TO strengthen that art through man