LITERATURE AND ART.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 11872, 25 January 1902, Page 4 (Supplement)

LITERATURE AND ART.

"Poems and ants," by J. Wilson McLaren, an enlarged edition of " Scots Poems and Ballants," published in. 1892, will be issued shortly by Mr. John Grant, of Edinburgli. In view of the expiration of the copyright of the first edition of Darwin s " Ihe Origin of Species 99 Mr. L*Turray has published an excellent shilling issue of the authorised and revised edition that will still enjoy copyright for several years. " Blighted Billets Doux" is the title of a small humorous book by Mr. Arthur Eliot, to be published by Messrs. Greening and Co. Mr. Eliot has written the lyrics for the forthcoming musical piece, " Hidenseek," at the Globe Theatre.

Messrs. Methuen's " Library of Devotion" receives two additions: " Tho Thoughts of Pascal,'"' edited, with an introduction and notes, by Mr. C. S. Jerram, and an edition of " On the Love of God," by St. Francis de Sales, for which Canon Knox-Little is responsible.

Messrs. J. M. Dent and Co. will publish very shortly "Napoleons Letters to Josephine, 1796-1813," which have now for the first time been collected and translated by Mr. Henry V. Hall. The volume will be illustrated" with several photogravure portraits of Napoleon and Josephine.

A new book for young people is announced by Messrs. Dent, entitled '"Hie, Gospel Story of Jesus Christ," by Mrs. Hutchison. It will present the Authorised Version of the Gospels as a continuous narrative. Mr. Patten Wilson has supplied a number of illustrations and an, illuminated cover design.

Mr. Guilbert Pitman has terminated his

position as London manager to Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons, Limited, which post he has held for close on twenty years, and is commencing business for himself. He proposes to establish a new weekly shorthand magazine. Mr. Pitman is a nephew of the late Sir Isaac Pitman. v

Messrs. Harper will publish shortly a work entitled " Great Religions of the World," a volume of articles on the religions and beliefs of the universe, by various writers, amonjL, whom are Sir A. C. Lyall, K.C.8., Professor Rhys Davids, librarian of the Royal Asiatic Society, Cardinal Gibbons, and Mr. Frederic Harrison. ,

It has hitherto been impossible, says the Academy, save by guesswork based on internal evidence, to assign either to Professor Aytoim or to Sir Theodore Martin the authorship of any on» of the " Bon Gaultier Ballads." Tho dual authorship has been sedulously maintained, the mystery guarded. At last, however. Sir Theodore has divulged one of the secrets of the prison house. He has informed Me, Anthony C. Deane, the compiler of A Little Book of Light Verse," that Aytoun was "responsible" for " The Massacre of the Macpherson." This is well worth noting. Moreover, it is a fact —is it —that since the publication of the "Ballads" Sir Theodore has never printed over his name any verse conceived in the same delightful and admirable spirit.

The ultimate ideal of the modern artistic printer seems to be to revert to the primitive methods of Caxton, or even to those of the monastic book-builders in the pre-print-ing-press days. The Craftsman's- Guild, of Boston, U.S.A., has apparently realised its wildest dreams by publishing an edition of Gray's " Elegy" without having had recourse to anything so vulgar as type. Each and every letter, initial, and border has been originally drawn, and then engraved and most carefully printed upon one side of the folded sheet. The decorative designs consist of thirty-two initials, seventeen half borders, an appropriate title-page, and cover design. Two stanzas of the poem are given place on each page. The size of the sheets is based upon a stately quarto printed by Manutius Aldus in Venice in 1496, which measures 9J; by 12. Gold leafnot gold paint, mind you—lias been used in the illuminations. The edition is limited to 150 copies on hand-made paper and ten copies on Japan vellum, so no doubt 150 millionaires will soon be in possession of these pricelessly valuable copies of a poem which to them will hot have a tenth of the interest of " tape" news and " Wall-street" quotations.