The San Francisco call., 1904-12-18

HOLIDAY
Offering Of Books

noWlns with volumes in holi-
day dress and still other belated ones
making their appearance daily. has
reviewer of books the hardihood to
pass judgment, even though a hasty
one, uncn the merits of these wares
exposed to the eye of the holiday
shopper Though his wisdom were
that of Solomon and his tire,ess en-
durance matched that Of Hercules. yet
could the critic give but halting and
pieoemeal report upon the detailed as
poets Of this sea Of print Noah on
the fortieth day. with the olive bear
ing dove not yet in sight and the
boundless waters still raging. must
have been in ripe condition to become
reviewer for one holiday season.
Reserving the privilege 10 retrace
the ground more At length in several
instances when the press of books is
lightened somewhat, the writer of
these columns VIII endeavor to give
briefly the salient features of some OF
the volumes on his desk that fall un-
der the head Of holiday books. For
the elders and children alike there
are enough TO satisfy every degree of
taste. For the lover Of book as a
book there is reading for year.
one of the most attractive books of
the season is The Lace Book" by n.
Hudson Moore, author of The Old
China Book and The Old Furniture
Book" Though the volume is one de-
signed primarily for the edification of
connoisseurs and those devoted to the
fascinating hobby Of antique collect
ing. the reading Of it by a layman will
be repaid with interest. Even when
the gruff old Swift made his COM
plant
Five hours Csnd who can do it less in0
BY naughty Celia spent in dressing:
The goddess from her chamber issues
Array in lace. brocade and tissues
he but touched upon the chord Of that
particular vanity which has been wom-
ans since the fall OF Eve, and ofttimes
mans. The authors chapter upon the
part lace has played in the sartorial
arts is full of quaint interest. 1t details
cstegOrically the fashions of bygone
times. which exacted more strain on
the pursestrings in answer to the de-
mand for ruffs. webs and lace gew-
gaws than did ever the bread call. We
blush for the men of Stockings time,
who felt the careful disposition of their
lace ruffs 10 be Of more import than
affairs of state.
To illustrate Mr.. Moore's more tech
nicsl disquisitions upon the various
schools Of lace production-the Italian.
the Flemish. the Spanish. ct cetera-
the text is supplemented with seventy
excellent eEgravings, showing both lace
patterns and the manner Of its wear in
famous portraits. The book is in every
way representative of the highest art
in printing and binding. The Frederick
A. Stokes Company of New York pub
lish il at the price Of IS.
A book Of solid material is Russell
Sturgis' Appreciation Of Sculpture -
Those Of US on this coast who have not
been fortunate enough to listen to Mr..
6turgis' lectures may find in his book
the essence Of a complete course in the
Interpretation Of sculpture. The author
does not write above the heads Of those
unversed in the subject of his consider
alton, and for that we can thank him
right heartily, for who has not been
uhamed by the occasional ''topliftical"
tone Of an art work that takes it for
granted that those not Of the elect will
eschew its perusal? AS in his former
work. How TO Judge Architecture" :"
Mr. Sturgis aims TO give the layman a
working grounding in the esthetic sig
nihcance Of the art, so that one may
not stand dumb and unappreciative be-
fore q Victory OF Samothrace or the
Bartholome Monument des Morts. To
do this he devotes the first half OF his
book to q rapid review of the history
Of sculpture from earliest times to the
present, and then continues to discuss
the elements Of form, sentiment and ef-
feet in modern schools of the art. A
thoroughly enlightening manual is
this, well written and well illustrated.
The Baker & Taylor Company Of New
York. publish the book at 81 90.
Fully adorned in true holiday style
is s. r. Crockett's new book. Raider
land" This the author does not pub
nsh as a new Galloway book, but
rather with the intent Ito focus and
concentrate what have already writ
ten for the use Of Galloway lovers and
Galloway travellers" A key to the
authors chosen country, then, is this
new volume, TO be used-and let us
not smile as we say it-in reading his
Galloway tales as we would use a
Baedecker in making the grand tour
Sketches Of things in and about the
border country comprise the sum Of
the volumes contents. They are well
written, because Mr.. Crockett writes
well. but they are far from being alb
sorbing Some Illustrations in rather
fmpressionistic black and white do not
add greatly to the value of the work,
which is estimated in currency at 81 by
its publishers, Dodd, Mead & Co. Of