Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-07-19
A R T N O T E s.

! Congress which is of extraordinary interest
from an artistic as well as literary stand
point, for the volumes have been arranged
chronologically according to date of publi
cation and therefore afford an opportunity
to observe the progress made during the
first three centuries in both printing and
| the art of Illustration.
| This collection comprises books of early
travels and voyages, Bibles, incunabula,
| sermons, tracts, etc, newspapers, both
American and foreign, and volumes from
the Franklin press, besides early romances
and rare first editions of famous works
Two cases are given up exclusively to an
exhibition of bindings which embraces some
of the best examples of the bookbinders
art produced in England, France, Germany
| Holland, Spain and Italy from the middle
| of the sixteenth to the close of the eight
| zenith century. Among these is a little vol
| ume bound by LIE Gascon in 15S2 which
| bears the arms of Nillars, archbishop of
| Vienna, on its cover, and ante-dating this
| some twelve years is rich edition of lie
| Kline Spritu3li,' belonging to the library of
the great Foscarini, Doge of Venice. The
style of most of these ancient bindings is
| armorial, their cover designs being COM
| posed of a narrow conventional border and
the insignia of either the owner or the ruler
| during whose reign they were bound. There
| is a dignity and fitness in the SIMPLICITY and
| neatness of these bindings from which some
| of the publishers of the present day might
CLEAN helpful lesson.
The cover to a Roman missal dated
| 1868 is an exception to this rule of simplnr-
| lty, as it is example of the most elab-
| crate binding done in that early period In
| the same case with this missal is a huge
plank book evidently intended for the safe
| keeping of engravings, which is marked
| with the arms of Louis XIV and must
therefore date back beyond III. From the
eve Brothers bindery, an example is shown
| mr. frn,,, lo
| comes one stamped 1I24. A German hymnal
OF 1I9S is housed in a velvet binding which
is well nigh covered by an elaborate silver
| hligree device and a little book bo1nd i'm
| Dordrecht in 1850 wears a curious cover of
hsh skin and is ornamented with silver-gilt
ciaSps chased with cupds. Besides these
mere are examples of early Lyonnaise
| painted binding Q551, early Venetian inter
| laced binding 1920, Beardini stamped bind
ing uo3D and Armenian binding of 1920
All are In excellent state of preservation
ana even the colors of most are apparentlv
niue faded These, with but three or four
| exceptions, have been loaned by Mr. A ]
| Parsons, director of the print department
OF the library, from his own private col
| lection. "
Next to this exhibit are the cases contain
ing the collection of oriental books and
ondlngs recently presented to the Library
| or Congress by Mr.. Rochill which are in
| terestinS to study in connection with these
as they were produced during identicallv
| the same centuries
| pi,
over to rare first editions there is com,
| of the first folio edition of Shakesnaara -
WORKS publiShed in 1929, which has as a
lrontsplece portrait of the poet engraved
| by MARTIN Droeshout which comes as near
being an authentic likeness probahly &c
any in existence. So rare indeed is this and
al other portraits of Shakespeare made
either during or shortly after his lifetime
that they are now almost unattainabIe
and when changing owners command fahn
| lous prices. There is also a first edition
of Chaucer, published in 1913. which shows
| wondrOusly queer pictorial title MAGE
Inc original Robinson CruSoe is also there
| cut in wood, by which method a book of
romances written by Nicolas Chretien. in
1000, is likewise oddly illustrated. The evo-
| luton of the graphic art is indeed admira bIv
! shown in this exhibition. and it is some
what surprising to note how it sprang into
existence almost simultaneously with the in
Ventlon of printing. In one of the first books
| printed in Nuremberg with date quaint
old picture of Noah IS ark is to be found from
| which one might suppose the toy man must
have made his first model. I.uther's Bible
printed IN Zurich In 1924, shows a profusion
of complicated wood cuts after the Durer
method of confused composition and the
| Cranmer and later editions give a variety
of Tenderings of the same themes The
| Franklin press was meager in its use of
Illustrations, but among the books of travel
one again meets with profusion of pictures
and maps, most of which highly imagi-
| native.
| with great care and discrimination, so that
| it will prove of unusual interest to the
general public as well as to artists and
| scholars.
Miss Alice NJ. Reading has just completed
a portrait of the late Henry Herbert Balcb,
esq, of eastern Maryland which is excellent
in color and has been pronounced an ad-
| mirable likeness Miss Reading has spent
| of doors
studies of horses, work which she finds
| most interesting.
|
| The annual closing exhibition of the
Washington School of Design was post
poned until fall in order to include in it
the work done by the students during the
vacation months. Miss Rynex, the director,
| is spending the summer at Front Royal
| Va, where she is doing some decorative de-
| signs in burnt wood and making some out
of-doOr sketches.
From Boston we hear that R. F. Brooks
of that city has completed III his Paris
studio the casts for the bronze statues Of
Charles Carroll of Carrolton and john
Hanson, by which Maryland is to be repre-
scented in the statuary hall at the Capitol
The Maryland legislature appropriated s24,-
| GOO for these statues in 1898 and it is be-
| lieved that they will arrive in this city be-
| fore the opening of the next session of
Congress. The sculptor purposes exhibiting
the casts in the next Salon.
/
The well-known French painter. ]. F.
| Raffaelli, claims to have invented a new
| form of paint which, combining the good
| qualities of both oils and pastels, should
| prove an ideal medium NJ. kaffaeli exhib-
tied his invention short time ago to
number of artists in his own studio paint
ms before them small picture with the
| odd little sticks which was said to Closely
| resemble a work in oils ard to be highly.
! successful. II indeed this new medium be