New-York tribune., 1902-08-23

I
, publication of the New Variorum edition of
! Macbeth a revised edition has been prepared
! by Horace Howard Furness. jr. In it the text
! of the First Folio has been adopted, whereby it
is brought into accord with the later volumes OF
/ the series Also many criticisms and textual IL
Illustrations which have appeared within this
/ term Will be found therein duly condensed: thus
! incorporating the literature which, down to the
present year. has accumulated about this trag-
edy. It Will re published before Christmas by
! the ]. B. Lippincott Company.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle told an amusing In
! cident the other day at a dinner OF the Au-
! thors Club, III London. 1t seems that the first
! intination of the news of his knshthood came
| 20 him in a bill from his gunsrnith, which
clerk of the latter had addressed Sir Sherlock
| Holmes" The gunsmith's clerk, worthy and
| credulous man. had no idea of perpetratins
Joke but had written the superscription III SOBER
| earnest having heard that men who are knight
ed adopt a new with the title, ana thaI
| Dr. Conan Doyle would naturally take the name
of his famous detective.
One of the most elaborate of their books on
artistic subjects is in preparation by E. 2. Dut-
ton & Co. It is by Bernhard Berenson, VINO mas
studied and written much about the Renaissance
painters of Italy His book is called tine Draw
ings of Florentine Painters, ClassIted ana De
scribed" 1t is described the first serious at
tempt ever made in comprehensive manner 10
study the drawings of the Italian masters. Ihelr
paintings have been carefully studied. but IN
respect Of their drawings everything is chaos'
There never has been any comprehensive sur
vey Of the field: there exists scarcely any ac-
curate information and no recognized starloafo
of taste. Collectors alone have taken an IN
terest in drawings and the high sounding ndliies
which these amateurs loved to attach to their
own possessions have usually been handed on as
a part of the legacy when the collection mas
passed, as it has often done into public mu-
scum" Mr. Berenson has undertaken to clas-
eifv all Florentine drawings in public and pri-
vate collections according to their authorship
For this purpose he has made a catalogue
raisonne, where each drawing is discussed, with
the reasons for the attributions he gives it Tne
text consists of twelve chapters devoted to
reconsideration OF those Florentine artists whose
drawings remain, viewed in the fresh light that
these peculiarly intimate records of their aims
and talents throw on their career There VIII
be two hundred facsimile Illustrations in htho-
graph of the exact size and color of the orig
inaIs Of which the publishers say that, except
for the paper, only an expert could tell them
from the drawings they reproduce This book
will be in two folio volumes in edition Of 800
copies of which 105 for the United States.
DOCKS
be considerably more numerous than ever be-
fore in the history of the publishing trade in
this city. So the publishers generally say, and
the autumn lists so far as they have been dis
closed, bear out the statement Many OF the
leading houses hold back these lists from the
public until the first Of September, or there
after from a general desire to wait until the
book buying public. returned from the en-
crossing occupations of the summer vacation,
,y,r1i m he n
terested in literary matters Some OF them.
however have been published. and into the
others It has been possible to get more or less
Of a peep. The publishers are going TO oHer
not only many books. but many Of uncommon
attractiveness and Importance as well; and they
expect a correspondingly large volume OF ousi-
ness This they believe not only because of the
quality of the books they have ready for the
fail market. but from the reports OF their sales
men. who have already begun their campaign
throughout the country. The prosperity OF the
last few years shows no signs OF dlmlnutlon,
and the prosperity of the country IS always
promptly reflected in the business OF the pup
llshers People are always ready 10 spend
money on books when money is plenty.
Max Nordau seems to have been deeply i'm
pressed by Thomas Dixon's novel. The Leop-
ards Spots: he calls il master work which
he put down with "a quivering heart. Mani!
he writes, are you conscious of your immense
responsibility? Have you deliberately undone
the work of Harriet Beecher Slower?
Nine Sarah Grand. author of Babs the I'M
possible" published by the Harpers last year.
is at work a play in cola boration with Mr.
George r SIMS The play begun by Nine.
Grand in joint authorship with Robert Buchan-
an whose death materially postponed the COM
pletion Of the work.
The secret Of the authorship Of The Confes-
sions Of q Wife" is still impenetrabe. Mr. Glider.
Of "The Century" and the author. himself or
herself, being the only persons known who are
aware Of the true identity Of Mary Adams.
The confessions Will appear a book this fall.
having, as they did not have in the magazine. a
series of illustra tions. These by Granville
Smith
Ciouverneur Morris, whose vivacious Tom
Beauling' disseminated amusement last year.
has now another book of somewhat more seri-
Gus import and wider scope, Aladdin O'Brien,"
in which the climax during famous
battle Of the Civil War. Mr.. Norris. by the
way will have an extravaganza in the Septem
Der number of The Century" entitled The
Sultan Of Bad Bad
The series" has proved itself to be popular
with many publishing houses. on account Of its
value and convenience to the public, and new
ones are continually begun. The Appletons
who already have q number OF them in full
swing propose TO start another OF which they
will make Hosmer's History OF the Louisiana
Purchase" the first. It is to be devoted TO less
familiar byways OF United States history in