New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1903-12-12
FRENCH HOLIDAY BOOKS.
The Best Things of the Christmas
Publishing Season IN Paris.
Paris. December !


The Paris book season for 1904 begins under
dismal auspices. This as especially so with holt
day books 0ivTes detrennes), which this year
lack originality, and do not offer to young read
ers the picturesque actually that characterized
French holiday books in the. pristine days of
Alphonse Daudet FRANCOIS COppet Jules
Verne. Anatole France, questioned to the
cause of the present stagnation in juvenile lit
erature, exclaimed, with a respondent smile:
All! young folk in France have time now
adays to read books, The time is absorbed by
examining for baccalaureate examinations.
cycling, tennis, golf and automobing. Boys
and girls get their intellectual recreation from
the illustrated new spapers and magazines.
They have no spare moments to devote to books.
This is a pity but it is true Another reason
for the book crisis is the mushroom growth of
sparkling little 'revues de fins d'annees' and
one-act plays brought out at the smaller the
aires, where seats can he had for 30 cents.
These theatrical reviews of the salient events of
the year presented with all the glitter and
attraction of electric lights, frisky dancers and
incisive, terse repartee. 1t is a significant ten
dency of Partisan modernity, the development of
newspaper reporting before the footlights A
group of young journalists whose names are
scarcely known beyond the limits of the bOule
vards-AlphOnse Atlas, Provns, Jean Lorrain,
Georges Nanteun. Jean Rochon, D'Harcourt, De
Rauvray, De Lorde Maurice Vaucare and
Daniel Jourda-have made a speciality of clip
ping from the daily papers tn latest ttbit of
Partisan reporting. the up to date crime, the
most sensational episode, the cleverest burglary,
the most piquant society episode or divorce, and
serving it up the stage red hot" like popped
corn or buckwheat cakes. The average Partisan
yOungster prefers to devote a couple of francs
of his weekly pocket money to seeing these cap
and uGfa Of
perusing the more heathfuI holiday books that
might have met with success a dozen years ago.
Besides this, there are cleverly illustrated sup
plements of the "Gaulois," the Petit Journal
| the Figaro" the Petit Parisen," to say moth
ing of the great pictorial weeklies. which pro-
vide more light. instructive reading matter than
can be digested. There seems no longer to he
any raison d'etre for holiday books, and if the
Paris publishing houses depended solely upon
| holiday literature they would be landed in bank
| ruptcy.
Through the courtesy of the French "Cercle de
la Librarie" or Publishers Club, I have before
me complete descriptions Of the holiday books
for 1904. With few exceptions, the leading firms
confne themselves to bringing out novel edi-
tions. newly illustrated. of standard authors.
For instance, Perrin has in press the works of
Lenotre. the architect. in eight superb volumes.
with delicatey cut Autographs of scenes and
episodes of revolutionary Paris and of the cap
tivity of Marie Antoinette. The same house is
sues a beautifully Illustrated edition in three
volumes of Henry HOussayes Premiere Res
tauration' and "Waterloo" Paul OIlendorff
| publishes a new edition of Balzac in fifty vol
umes with illustrations by EdOuard ToudOuZe,
| Albert Lynch ROubaudi, Adrien MOreau and
Georges Cain. Onendorff also issues the works
of Guy de Maupassant in thirty Volumes and
f in min ,-DI1
! trated by Roll, Benjamin Constant, MeissOnier.
Jean Paul Laurens Gavarni Violet lie Due,
! Puvis de Chavannes, Daumier. FrGmiet. T. RO-
| bert-FIeury, FamenE, Maigran, Decamps. Dau-
! beny and Victor Hugo himself. Among the new
! year publications of the Librarie Renouard are
| the fables of La Fontaine. in volume. illus
| trated by Henry NORM; Les Mile ct Une
! Nuts" illustrated bv Robaudi; Don Quchotte
| de In Manche," with black and white drawings
| by NORM, and Les COntes de Perrault" with
| black and white sketches by Robida, Gerbault.
| Job and Zier. The Librarie Renouard has in
hand the series of Great Artists in which the
volumes devoted to Raphael. Durer Vatican.
! Rubens, Titan DelacrOiX, Da Vinci and AIillet
| have already appeared, ana those describing
| Ingres, Poussin. Velazquez, Puget and Van
! Dyck will be ready by Christmas. Flammarion
! issues magnificent edition of Quo Vadis" il
| Illustrated with 12j wood engravings by Lemoine
and hfty-three drawings by Jan Styka Flam-
| marion also publishes Life of Rubens," with
! $50 reproductions of the masters paintings J.
| Hetzel puts on the market the works of Jules
| Verne in forty-two volumes, each containing
upward of forty illustrations by L. BENEFIT
| Among other attractive new editions issued by
Hetzel are illustrated TRANSACTIONS of the works
| of Mayne Reid, selections from Hector Malot
! Jules Sandeau and E. Legouve's "Une EIeve de
! Seize ans" Erckmann-Chatrians "Contes Popu-
| laires' and Hector Malot's Sans Famille"
| GARNER Freres offer edition OF Chateau
| BRAND, in nineteen volumes, containing ninety
! engravings from original drawings by Staal and
! Racinet The work is prefaced by Sainte-
| Beuve's critical analysis Fslix Juven has in
| hand a edition Of Andersen's tales, with 100
! illustrations by Hans Tegner. the Danish
! painter. and by FlOrian Rousseau. Bauer and
| Jungt Calmann-Levy offers a beautiful edition
| of Alexandra Dumass Life of Menge, the
Actor" with thirty colored heliograph illustra-
| tons. Calmann-Ltvy also publishes finely il
| Illustrated new editions of Rene Bazin's Les
| ObeTIe" Alexandra DUmass Three Muske-
| teers," Balzacs Les Chouans with sketches by
LIE Blant, Balzacs la File aux Yeux dor"
| with oolored heoeraph illustrations by Gerbex
! and Prosper Mermee's "Chronique du Regne de
! Charles X" with drawings by Toudouze
| HILBERT publishes new editions of Alphonse
| Daudet, with illustrations by Leandre Dawant
| and Laurens. and also the works OF FRANCOIS
| Coppee, illustrated by FRANCOIS FIameng and
| Dawant. Leon Vanier issues a neat attractive
| edition of Paul Verlaine in six volumes Lee
| mercer places on the market q new edition of
! Inbert de Saint-Amands Les Femmes de Yer
sailles ct des Tuileries," in eight volumes with
| l23 illustrate Tallandier publishes a new
! edition of Rabelais, with Illustrations by ROhida