New-York tribune., 1907-12-07
Illustrated Holiday Books of Ro-
nance and Poetry.

p tbeir own with every circumstance OF
'oo-anhical 'l. and illustrative luxury at this
Their familiar pages are made doubly
+r.rtive They appeal to the eye with special
- being tricked out with grace of design anG
,,b of color. Particularly ingratiating are
ben the works chosen to represent them
-, - to be works of romantic charm, books
,., The glamour that is appreciated by readers
~ - with the true Christmas spirit. Writ
M of the imagination, old tales, poetry-these
.,nss are never more beguiing than when they
-, in holiday guise. We have capital
.s+1e library of them this year
-er,- honorable place in it belongs TO the
limo in which Mr.. Laurence Housman has
.o,d a number OF Stories from the Arabian
,-.rh+s,' (Charies Scribner's Sons), taking six
~. immortal narratives and condensing them
.+b = deftness that gives us all of the essen
al elements in the original without the sacri-
Go If atmosphere. The text in this volume is,
s,ed so cleverly handled that it woulG y
.b, of publication by itself; but it actually
'-.o.,e in this instance. of course, rather as
~ accompaniment than as an independent
go If work a good half of the volume is
.- IN to a series of fifty drawings, repro
80 in coors. by Mr.. Edmund Dulac- These
- O kind OF Arabian Nights gallery. This
- artist has TO doubt been a. pains 10 make
a. ,ictures illustrations, but his work is to be
;ora6 simply as that of a man who, having
nbled in fairyland has set down his impress
,ons thereof delineating a rout OF quaint
e.n-es against the most picturesque back
DDS imaginable There is touch of the
r....bre in his work; he has feeling for the
.xoh,1 strange and even eerie note that char
..s-izes the ancient romances. Finally he Is
. craftsman of individuality. and has
.h.-ning sense Of color. Some Of his compost
;-, az and
= tone Here and there we note CLINT OF
,o- h,,t the bulk of the drawings lay stress
-, the mere fantasy in the material inter
s,e6 Each one Of these drawings Is afflxed
"a era- mount. The book is one Of the most
artistic OF the wear. ,
Uith il We would bracket the edition OF Inc
I,eoldsbv Legends tE. p Dutton q COB lor
which Mr Arthur Rackham has made a GUAM
,;tv Of drawings. some printed In coiolS anu
n-esented on dark mounts and others IN plach
o15 white which are scattered through the
.ext The mood of Barhams famous nlscei-
- o< nrose and verse is sometimes grim, but
in the main rollicking, and in the Illustration VI
= vr Rackham has freely exploited the vein
of droIlery which he has used 10 such eooo
nnrnose in other holiday books He, too' Is an
.ooomnIisbed craftsman and though as
,,,o-;e, he has not Mir. Dulac's range. subtiety
- r1oz, he rossesses an original quality ana d
,s.al faculty for quiet harmonies OF tone
,lte in his full page drawings and III ms
rienettes he is delightfully."- spirited Inc pun
Hsbers have given TO text and picture an au-
-,irstse setting This volume Is, III fact sulhl'-
,,onslv made Mr. Rackham has also maze 'le
s-szings for the new edition of Alice Au-
.,,,,ras in Wonderland" Doubleday, Page q
col for which Mr. Austin Dobson mas CUM
,osed q pretty proem in verse Inc eoltioii 10
dsintiiv made and there is no denying the Ten
-, .voeuence Of the new illustrations MI
psekham has never been more succeSsiui "'
.,..-as line and color than in these drawings
snd they do some credit, into the pais0IN'
his fancy. Yet we find il Impossible 10 Iolse'
r.,.;ol or the one consurmate and dehnitiFe
.,,-o-or of Lewis Carroll or TO avoid a Ieei-
, 70 raeret that any should nave AZ
..a5 70 coronete with him In some III
.,.s xr F2ackham deals with preclsely tiie
gam. motives that were illustrated "9
ca-rous chosen collaboration, and clever de iie
q he does not emerge unscathed from IiIe All
eritable comparison o
~ ~ great noyelists of the victorian age
ere of course. drawn upon for some OF 'iie nun
s.v nnblications Dickens is represented "s
.7ba Rattle of Life CE. p. Dutton q oop anu
The Haunted Man (same puolishefs'' Pi m
:, .-,3e.ic little volumes with vivacious Illus
frcfiOre color by MI - IL 111
your,e devoted to him, and made on larger
scale is given to THE Holly Tree Inn anu -
Christmas Tree CThe Baker Taylor oolii- @
many, with pict,res by Mr.. George Alfred Will
iams TIE drawings are both in colors anu III
tlack and white The text is printed in a Manu-
sorne oren tyne and is surrounded by tfteo
border Mr Williams has made some pied9o'
little sketches in pencil for Miss Kate Dlohi.'
son sweetser's Boys and Girls from IhacK-
cray" Duffield & Coz. a volume In WHICH Soe
readers are offered some salient figures and IN
cidents from '.Esrnond' Vanity Fair, Inc
kswcomes" and so For children WHO aio
not perhaps quite ready to enjoy the hoEeiiS'
his own terms this book viii serve as d oe-
suiing Introduction For older readers thefe -
The inevitable and always to be welcomed re-
print Of Jane Austen. This year PRICE anu
Prejudice" CE p. Dutton & Coz has been added
to the series Of English Idylls." a series on
which the publishers have lavished dehca'e
print and binding air Brock supplies twenty
four colored illustrations and very decorative
title page TO this issue. A sharp transition car
res US from the quietude of Jane Austen 10 the
ratthng style and adventurous substance OF
Captain Marryat in his Mr.. Mdshipman Easy
e P Putnam's Sons) and to the melodramatc
ingenuity Of Jules Verne i'm his Twenty Thou
sane Leagues Under the Sea- (same publish
'ie'- some readers may choose 90 regard these
as books for boys. but sure that there
are many others who have not been deprived
ny the passage of time OF their gusto for either
Adrryat Verne The present editions are
Illustrated in black and white, but they make
er appeal chiefly the score Of good paper
anu typography. One two American writers
nave their place in the collection Of holiday re-
pints Mr. q. w Cables best book, The
'eAolssmes" Charles Scribners sons, reap
pears in q handsome octave with illustrations