Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-02-03

Y received q notable gift consist
ing of 159 etchings and char
Il coal drawings of London BY
Joseph Pennell. The donor is
Sir Frederick Macmillan, head OF the
well known London publishing house
b. by whose order the drawings and etch-
d. ings were made to illustrate a book on
: London which Henry James was to
have written but did not The collec-
ton now, through Sir Frederick Mac
fniilanS generosity, becomes part OF
the Pennen Memorial Collection. and
has been placed temporarily on view
in cases in the upper stair hall at the
Library of Congress under the auspices
Of the division Of prints.
~. The collection comprises SO etchings,
all but two of which are listed and
illustrated in the great catalog OF
Pencils etchings lately published. The
two exceptions are works of which the
conlpilers had, until the present mo-
ment, no knowledge. therefore may be
regarded as finds. There are l07 char
coal drawings and two wash cravings
each of a different subject. all setting
forth graphically various aspects of the
London that Joseph Pannell so dearly
loved A few of these works were re-
produced as illustrations to a book on
London by Sydney Dark which was
issued in 1924. The gift of the entire
! collection to the Library OF Congress
was. on the part of Sir Frederick Mac
! milan. graceful as well as generous
act, betokening undoubtedly his esteem
for MT. Penneil and his desire to con-
tribute to his memorial.
These etchingS and drawings were
made between 1886 and 1917, but the
majority undoubtedly were done in
what Mrs. Pennell terms in her intro
duction to the Pennell catalogue, the
late 1905" Practically the earliest is
Chelsea No. g" which is in a style
quite unlike that associated with Mr..
Pennell through his later productions.
When this was done he was I'M
doubtedly influenced by French work
and had not come, as he did shortly
thereafter, under the influence of
Whistler. But this etching shows his
mastery OF drawing, his excellent sense
Of composition. AS the years passed
Re became more deft. more able to SIM
plify his compositions and at the same
time indicate when necessary. elaborate
detail. His line, which in this early
work is strong and firm, became more
sensitive, more delicate, but never lost
its sureneSs.
=.
endless efforts toward perfection; how
he experimented with acids to insure
. satisfactory biting: with inks, with
paper of many kinds; how in his Buck
ingham street chambers he first set up
his own press, clumsy affair. heavy TO
work, requiring every ounce OF physical
strength which he possessed to turn,
press later to be exchanged for one
more readily managed, discarded by the
Bank of England when it installed
presses run by machinery. But 1t was
on the first heavy press, according to
Mrs. Pennell, that the majority OF Mr.
Pencils London etchings were printed,
printed by his own hand and under his
ever watching, critical eye.
1t is customary, when running an
edition from single plate to strike of
few additional copies for definite pur-
poses, such as reproduction. These are
never signed and are not counted In the
original edition. Many Of the prints
Included In the Macmillan gift are of
this sort and for this reason are un-
signed, but a number bear the etcher's
signature.
The charcoal drawings. which are In
The majority, are not less interesting
than the etchings. In some instances
they are even more interesting, as they
are more distinctively personal, indi-
vidual; and they recall Mr.. Pennelfs
interest in nthography. his great war
work series of Autographs for which, all
unknown to himself, these drawings
were perhaps preparation. It was
largely, it viii be remembered. through
Mr.. Pennells efforts that TYPOGRAPHY
came back as an art, and that the Sene-
fielder Club of London was founded;
Artistically and subiectively these
works are of great interest, but that in.
terest Is enhanced by a knowledge OF
the background of life against which
self tells of this in his autobiography,
1.-THE Adventures Of an Illustrator"
s'From 1885," he says, 1--WE had our
headquarters in London and gradually
rot rooted there. There we should have
remained had it not been for the war,
for, when it came and stayed. it was
borne in upon me more and more that
nv place was in my own country"
! First Mr.. end Mrs. Pennell lived in
bloomsbury, then they moved to North
street. Westminster; then to Barton
street-"a lovely old paneled house;
then to chambers in Buckingham street
and after IA years there they built an
apartment on the roof OF Adelphi Ter
race House, where they stayed until
1917. During our 80 years in Lon
DON" Mr.. Pennell says, many people
scame to US. and at one time we took to
having evenings. That was in Bucking-
ham street. and we had them every
Thursday. Some centered around Phil
sMay-not, as at the last, in riding dress,
which Punch more or less compelled
him to wear, as Shannon painted him,
but in solemn black. He was al
ways smiling and balancing himself on
top of the william Morris chart and 1t
never went over, he never fell of. He
: said little but took it all in: every
body loved him. Hartrick, Sullivan,
. Beardsley and Walter Crane would be
there, and Mcclure Hamilton, and we
, would have to rush him out If Whistler
came: and George Moore and Sickert
and McColl would look in. This was
before we all fought. And it was
in those days that we saw SO much of
whistler and all sorts of people crowded
<in-Page, with his delightful stories;
Henry James sitting by the fire in the
fwilight-Abbey sometimes, Sargent a
few times" Here the International So
ciety of Painters. Sculptors. Gravers
was "put on its feet by Whistler" here
the original Society Of Illustrators was
born" and the Senefelder- Club flour
.ished." And sport and literature and
cookery and art and good talk reigned
in our rooms"
( Mr.. Pennell tells Interestingly Of his
association with Henry James and OF
.his working with him illustrating his
books. II am not sure where or when
! first met Henry James, but I recon-
Der the first important letter I got