NEW PUBLICATIONS. THE ENCYCLOPEDIA—ARTS AND INDUSTRIES. THIRD NOTICE.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 77, 30 March 1912, Page 13

NEW PUBLICATIONS. THE ENCYCLOPEDIA— ARTS AND INDUSTRIES. THIRD NOTICE.

Arts, handicrafte, and manufactures necessarily occupy a very large proportion of every encyclopedia, though it is imposeible in any such work to enter into the smaller details which are necessary in the text-books provided for practical craftemen. Of such, any man, even of limited means, may easily accumulate a respectable library without going beyond his own particular occupation, besides keeping himself posted from month to month by means oi the "trade" magazines, which within living nlemory have made one of the most conspicuous features of periodical literature, and with which each art and craft is now profusely supplied in every t European language, to say nothing of a growing output of similar character from the Asiatic presses— sealed books to the European reader. An encyclopedia is compelled to summarise and generalise— to give a comprehensive historic view of the whole subject in outline, to describe and picture the art in its' latest developments, and in this way may be as suggestive to the expert as instructive to the unskilled reader. The most casual observer can scarcely fail to note the large space devoted by the new Encyclopedia to the fine arts, and, as in all the more important subjects dealt with, the admirable sense of proportion 6hown. In Architecture, Sculpture, Painting and Engraving, and Music, will be found the historic review — beginning, in the case of .the graphic arts, with prehistoric examples. The reader may not only trace the gradual evolution of the arfc and the ideals embodied, but will be assisted in> forming a just estimate of its present status', and, as far a 6 indications eeem to show, its tendencies and the influences which appear in the present generation to be most potent. Side by side with the historic, the technical, and the critical articles will be found an unrivalled collection of biographies ; and it is no little boon to the reader that, through the new method by which the work has been prepared, the biographical and the general section were both revised up to the same date throughout, and subjected to the same expert supervision, each of these departments thus elucidating the other. While multiplication of pictures was scrupulously shunned, a fine collection of typical illustrations has been admitted. The reader will find the earliest known incised drawings — spirited sketches of deer executed on antlers and bones, and facsimiles of paintings more ancient still '—vigorous representations in three pigments of a bison and a wild boar. The unknown painter flourished in what is now Spain when the dimate was cold and before the Channel divided Britain from the mainland — some fifty thousand years ago. It is a far cry to the twentieth century A.D., yet artists oi our own day acknowledge the genuine gift of their archaic predecessor. Ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Indian art, as well ac the modern national schools, are all dealt with ; and full .attention is devoted to sculpture, as well as gem-cut-ting, numismatics, and the minor' arts. In later days, the arts and crafts have begun to merge into graphic processes and manufactures innumerable, all of which receive due notice ; while here again the biographic department takes count, under the names ot individuals, of the work and influence of men of inventive genius. In , this department alone appeal' the names of a grand assemblage of all ages and peoples, from Archimedea of ancient Syracuse to Sir William Crookes of England and Edison of the United States in our day. There is a special region of the fine arts that stands apart from the pictorial, or tho plastic — all, in fact, that appeal to the eye. Music, unlike these other arts, so ultimately correlated, is unique in that it may claim a world "to itself. The encyclopedists have fully recognised the importance of this department, the treatment of which has been, of. course, committed to the best authorities. Here, again, a single generation has seen marvellous developments. Many who are not yet conspicuous for advanced ag© remember the turmoil which Wagner, archheretic, excited, and the enthusiasm of those who acclaimed hie compositions afc "the music of the future. " Not only are the various technical articles written from a full acquaintance with the musical sentiment of the time and the achievements and ideals of the leading exponents of the arfc, but the historic articles convey an adequate idea of • the masters in former centuries, while under such, headings as Wagner, Grieg, and -StTauss may be found an admirable review of the influence of some of the most stimulating as well as disquieting movements at work in the later developments of the- art. , • The industrial arts in general have been so commercialised and revolutionised by the entering of wonderfully intricate machinery into nearly every branch of art that few — as, for example, gold-beating, which ia carried on in modern .London as in ancient Egypt — remain in the hands- of the skilled craftsman. (Some have predicted that electrodeposition will some day supersede in this department the product of the handworkman, but that day seems remote.) The spinning-wheel and tho hand-loom seem to be on their way to relegation to the museum, and a remarkable number of industries are ' now in process of transition. Half a century ago the writer learnt the printers' art substantially as followed -by Gutenberg and Caxton — the aii is not yet lost, but both compositor and pressman are now largely displaced by power-driven machinery. The Encyclopedia admirably pictures the position of the arts at the moment. Under "Typography," beginning with a long and learned disquisition on the vexed question of the rival claims of Germany and Holland to the invention, the artide gives- description of x both hand and machine methods to date. (We regret that the spelling " forme " — a Gallicism condemned by Blades and other scholarly printers as an affectation — should have been admitted in a work carrying such weight. It is one of the very few blemishes that close examination has shown.) From heavy machinery to delicate apparatus — from their application to every form of industry — the varied developments of modern invention are exhibited in a fashion that is literally "encyclopedic." Any volume of the work supplies examples innumerable. Turn, for example, to "Lace" — an article specially interesting from its many and beautiful illustrations. Here may be seen the various stitches shown in detail, specimens of the typical patterns of lace ot different countries, and examples of beautiful historic garments of various periods ; and as illustrating the achievements of modern machinery, samples of machine luco side by side with handwrought specimens, the stitch and pattern of which have been accurately followed. Turn, for another example, to " Steam Engine," and an exhaustive and comprehensive history of that epochmaking invention traces it from Its beginnings with James Watt and hit immediate successors to Parson* of the twentieth century, whose wonderful turbine is described and illustrated in detail. Truly, the Encyclopedia- ift up tfi date!

"Penelope's Progress." By Lady Angela Forbes, author of "The Broken Commandment." London: G. Bell and Sons, Limited. (Whit- ( combe and Tombs.) Lady Forbes vividly realises the scenes of her own imagination, and has the power of picturesque description. Her beautiful and wilful heroine has the artistic temperament and a passion for tho stage, the fancied .charms of which she finds illusory. ' Her almost incredible incaution brings her into ctrange associations, and assiduous study of the part of the- heroine of, "The Wild Duck," and the literature of revolt favoured by the gifted- elocutionist who is her chief stage tutor, have an influence little conducive to the prudent ordering of her own life. , In fact, the author Brings her bark very close to the rock^. There are incisive pictures of "society" women — heartlees, corrupt,, and vindictive, yet tolerated on account of their control of wealth and their lavish party-giving. The frontispiece in colour, representing Penelope as she leaves the stage with the bouquet she has gained, has almost the delicacy of a miniature painting. , J'Whistle-binkie : a Collection of Songs for the Social Circle." Glasgow : David Robertson and Company, Limited. (S. and W. Msckay.) Though this quaintly-named book has passed through various editions, and has been a prized household companion in many Scottish homes for over two generations—though its title is known, to all— it has more than once passed out of print, and early editions are not easily obtained. ' We doubt whether it is as familiar to the younger Scots of to-day aa to their grandfathers, and we think that the Glasgow publisher has done well in issuing a reprint in th<> two- volume form moat approved of the earlier editions. It is just eighty years since the first seriee under this title was issued by David Robertson, who died in 1854, but whose name survives in the firm that etill issues the book. Like Topsy, it "growed," for succeeding series appeared, until, in the finally revised issue of 1890, they numbered five, besides a supplement of "Nursery Songs." The book, in ( its present form — the five 'successive series allowing each other in* their original order, with memorial notices of the earlier company of writers — is not' only an interesting miscellany and an unrival- ' led treasury of modern ballad and lyric yerse, but It is of historic value," marking an »ra in the history of national toetry, for in 1832 the popular ballad literature was in crude chap-book >. form, defiled by much vulgarity and impurity. Robertson, the publisher, conceived the idea of substituting worthier material in worthier form, and with the co-operation of men such as Motherwell, Ballantine > .Carnie, Wingate, Carrick, Gilfillan,' and others (much of whose best work .was. specially written for this collection), issued the book which has not only been a perpetual \ stimulus to tuneful Scots, but has held its place as the premier collection of the kind. Later years saw the accession of David Vedder, Andrew Park, and other well-known names, and we notice the favourite "Cuddlo Doon" by Alexander Anderson, well known as "Surfaceman," whose death we but recently recorded. Turning over the pages, it seems as 'f no modern Scottish short poem that has gained general recognition is absent. There is not only /the work of writere like BaUantine and Motherwell, where tenderness is the dominant note, but verses overflowing with rich humour. The hundred or bo of "nursery" aongs include suoh household fay- . ourites as "Willie Wiukie," "Castles in the Air," "Wee Joukydaidles," and "The Wonderfu' Wean. 1 ' This attractive Is,6ue- should create a new demand for the tinte-honoured collection. ' "■' From the George Robertson and Company Proprietary, Melbourne, we have "Four Hundred Good Stories," collected by Robert Rudd Whiting. They are reprinted from the department entitled " Under the Spreading Chestnut Tree" in Everybody's Magazine. This capital little book of anecdote and humour bearsout its title, and though no jest book ever compiled can. claim originality, this one has avoided as far- as possible the beaten path. Two of the best stories are embodied in the "Introduction," tracing ! the pedigree of 'some good jokes of to-day to remote antiquity. The editor has thoughtfully provided a classified 'ndex for the convenience of after-dinner speakers and political orators^ whereby we are sble to record the gratifying fact that there is no mother-in-law joke in the book nor any reference to the South Sea Islander and 'his banquet of missionary..