,collector ,series ,,fine ,,prints ,illustration3 ,the ,collector ,series ,,fine ,,prints ,,by ,,frederick ,,wedmore ,,edinburgh ,,john ,,grant #aije ,,autographs ,,and ,,manuscripts ,,english ,,water-,,colours ,,stamps ,,tapestry ,,lace ,,and ,,embroidery ,,miniatures ,,coins ,,english ,,book ,,plates ,,violins ,,pictures ,,porcelain ,,old ,,bibles ,,ancient ,,glass ,,fine ,,prints ,,by ,,frederick ,,wedmore ,,honorary ,,fellow ,,of ,,the ,,royal ,,society ,,of ,,painter-,,etchers ,new and ,enlarged ,edition1 with ,fifteen ,illustrations ,edinburgh ,,john ,,grant #aije ,,prefatory ,,note ,,for ,,the ,,edition ,,of #aije ,in this ,new ,edition of a book which is supposed to have played some little part in increasing the taste for ,print ,collecting here in ,england1 the few alterations ,i have made1 in the text1 are chiefly verbal ones4 ,i did not want to interfere1 more than was absolutely needful1 with a piece of writing that1 done at one time1 possessed1 probably1 along with all its faults and its deficiencies1 some unity4 ,but it seemed good that certain additions1 hardly outside the lines on which the book had been planned--and which the passing of years1 more than anything else1 had suggested--should be made1 and grouped together in a short1 separate ,chapter--8,postscript3 #aije40 ,that has been accomplished4 ,and this 8,postscript0 deals very briefly with a few artists1 new or not noticed before--deals too with certain changes in money value1 as to which no indication can be more than approximate4 ,it has been necessary to extend1 to a small extent1 the ,bibliography4 ,and it has been convenient to suppress certain of the ,illustrations that appeared in the ,original ,edition1 and to supply others in the place of them4 ,f4 ,w4 ,,london3 ,september1 #aije4 ,,contents ,,chap4 ,,page ,,prefatory ,,note ,,for ,,the ,,edition ,,of #aije #c ,,introduction #i ,i4 ,,the ,,task ,,of ,,the ,,collector #bc ,,ii4 ,,claude1 ,,vandyke1 ,,ostade1 ,,hollar #ce ,,iii4 ,,rembrandt #dh ,,iv4 ,,french ,,revival ,,of ,,etching #ff ,v4 ,,whistler ,,and ,,haden #ajj ,,vi4 ,,later ,,english ,,etchers #abb ,,vii4 ,d,,rer3 ,,the 8,,little ,,masters0 #aci ,,viii4 ,,italian ,,line ,,engravers #aeh ,,ix4 ,,french ,,eighteenth ,,century ,,prints #afi ,x4 ,,turner ,,prints #ahh ,,xi4 ,,mezzotints #bji ,,xii4 ,,lithographs #bba ,,appendix3 ,,certain ,,woodcuts #bda ,,postscript ,,for ,,the ,,edition ,,of #aije #bde ,,bibliography #bej ,,index #bee ,,illustrations ,the ,landscape with the ,obelisk ,to face page #ed ,from ,,rembrandt',s ,etching4 ,lutma3 the ,goldsmith ,to face page #fj ,from ,,rembrandt',s ,etching4 ,clment de ,jonghe ,to face page #fb ,from ,,rembrandt',s ,etching4 ,la ,morgue ,to face page #hb ,from ,m,,ryon',s ,etching4 ,the ,little ,white ,horse ,to face page #adj ,from ,d,,rer',s ,engraving4 ,coat of ,arms with the ,cock ,to face page #adf ,from ,d,,rer',s ,engraving4 ,adam and ,eve ,to face page #aed ,from ,,sebald ,,beham',s ,engraving4 ,panel of ,ornament ,to face page #aef ,from ,engraving by ,,lucas ,,van ,,leyden4 ,dance of ,damsels ,to face page #afd ,from ,,zoan ,,andrea',s ,print after ,,mantegna',s design4 ,saint ,cecilia ,to face page #aff ,from ,,marc ,,antonio',s ,engraving after ,,raphael4 ,le ,jeu de l',oye ,to face page #agh ,from the ,engraving after ,,chardin4 ,la ,toilette ,to face page #ahd ,from the ,engraving after ,,baudouin4 ,the ,straw ,yard ,to face page #aib ,from ,,turner',s 8,liber ,studiorum40 ,spring ,to face page #baj ,from ,,lucas',s ,mezzotint after ,,constable4 ,miss ,oliver ,to face page #bah ,from ,,marchi',s ,mezzotint after ,,reynolds4 ,,fine ,,prints ,,introduction ,in the collecting of ,prints--of prints which must be fine and may most probably be rare--there is an ample recompense for the labour of the diligent1 and room for the exercise of the most various tastes4 ,certain of the objects on which the modern collector sets his hands have1 it may be1 hardly any other virtue than the doubtful one of scarcity2 but fine prints1 whatever ,school they may belong to1 and whatever may be the money value that happens to be affixed to them by the fashion of the time1 have always the fascination of beauty and the interest of historical association4 ,then1 considered as collections of works of art1 there is the practical convenience of their compactness4 ,the print-collector carries a museum in a portfolio1 or packs away a picture gallery1 neatly1 within the compass of one solander-box4 ,again1 the print-collector1 if he will but occupy himself with intelligent industry1 may1 even to-day1 have a collection of fine things without paying overmuch1 or even very much1 for them4 ,all will depend upon the ,school or master that he particularly affects4 ,has he at his disposal only a few bank-notes1 or only a few sovereigns even1 every year8--he may yet surround himself with excellent possessions1 of which he will not speedily exhaust the charm4 ,has he the fortune of an ,astor or a ,vanderbilt8--he may instruct the greatest dealers in the trade to struggle in the auction-room1 on his behalf1 with the representatives of the ,berlin ,museum4 ,and it may be his triumph1 then1 to have paid the princely ransom of the very rarest 8state0 of the rarest ,rembrandt4 ,and1 all the time1 whether he be rich man or poor--but especially1 ,i think1 if he be poor--he will have been educating himself to the finer perception of a masculine yet lovely art1 and1 over and above indulging the 8fad0 of the collector1 he will find that his possessions rouse within him an especial interest in some period of ,art ,history1 teach him a real and delicate discrimination of an artist's qualities1 and so1 indeed1 enlarge his vista that his enjoyment of life itself1 and his appreciation of it1 is quickened and sustained4 ,for great ,art of any kind1 whether it be the painter's1 the engraver's1 the sculptor's1 or the writer's1 is not--it cannot be too often insisted--a mere craft or sleight-of-hand1 to be practised from the wrist downwards4 ,it is the expression of the man himself4 ,it is1 therefore1 with great and new personalities that the study of an art1 the contemplation of it--not the mere bungling amateur performance of it--brings you into contact4 ,and there is no way of studying an art that is so complete and satisfactory as the collecting of examples of it4 ,and then again1 to go back to the material part of the business1 how economical it is to be a collector1 if only you are wise and prudent6 ,of pleasant vices this is surely the least costly4 ,nay1 more2 the bank-note cast upon the waters may come back after many days4 ,the study of engravings1 ancient and modern--of woodcuts1 line engravings1 etchings1 mezzotints--has become by this time extremely elaborate and immensely complicated4 ,most people know nothing of it1 and do not even realise that behind all their ignorance there is a world of learning and of pleasure1 some part of which at least might be theirs if they would but enter on the land and seek to possess it4 ,few men1 even of those who address themselves to the task1 acquire swiftly any substantial knowledge of more than one or two departments of the study2 though the ideal collector1 and ,i would even say the reasonable one1 whatever he may actually own1 is able1 sooner or later1 to take a survey of the larger ground--his eye may range intelligently over fields he has no thought of annexing4 ,from this it will be concluded--and concluded rightly--that the print-collector must be a specialist1 more or less4 ,more or less1 at least at the beginning1 must he address himself with particular care to one branch of the study4 ,and which is it to be8 ,the number of fine ,schools of ,etching and ,engraving is really so considerable that the choice may well be his own4 ,this or that master1 this or that period1 this or that method1 he may select with freedom1 and will scarcely go wrong4 ,but the mention of it brings one1 naturally1 to the divisions of the subject1 and the collector1 we shall find1 is face to face1 first of all1 with this question3 8,are the prints ,i am to bring together to be the work of an artist who originates1 or of an artist who mainly translates80 ,well1 of course1 in a discussion of the matter1 the great original ,schools must have the first place1 whatever it may be eventually decided shall be the subject of your collection4 ,you may buy1 by all means1 the noble mezzotints which the engravers of the ,eighteenth ,century wrought after ,reynolds1 ,romney1 and ,george ,morland1 but suffer us to say a little first about the great creative artists1 and then1 when the possible collector has read about them--and has made himself familiar1 at the ,british ,museum ,print-room say1 with some portion of their work--it may be that though he finds that they are nearly all1 however different in themselves1 less decorative on a wall than the great masters of rich mezzotint1 he will find a charm and spell he cannot wish to banish in the evidence of their originality1 in the fact that they are the creations of an individual impulse1 whether they are slight or whether they are elaborate4 ,the ,schools of early line-engravers1 ,italian1 ,flemish1 ,german1 are almost entirely ,schools of original production4 ,i say 8almost10 for as early as the days of ,raphael1 the interpreter1 the translator1 the copyist1 if you will1 came into the matter1 and the designs of the ,urbinate were multiplied by the burin of ,marc ,antonio and his followers4 ,and charming prints they are1 these ,marc ,antonios1 so little bought to-day4 ,economical of line they are1 and exquisite of contour1 and likely1 one would suppose1 to be valued in the ,future more than they are valued just now1 when the rhyme of ,mr4 ,browning1 about the collector of his early period1 is true no longer-- 8,the debt of wonder my crony owes ,is paid to my ,marc ,antonios40 ,that in the main the earlier work is original1 is not a thing to be surprised at1 any more than it is a thing to lament4 ,the narrow world of buyers in that primitive day was not likely to afford scope for the business of the translator2 the time had not yet come when there was any need for the creations of an artist to be largely multiplied4 ,that time came first1 perhaps1 in the ,seventeenth ,century1 when the immediately accepted genius of ,rubens gave ground for the employment of the interpreting talent of ,bolswert1 ,pontius1 and ,vosterman4 ,again1 there was ,edelinck1 ,nanteuil1 and the ,drevets4 ,it need scarcely be said that extreme rarity is a characteristic of the early ,schools4 ,the prints of two of the most masculine of the ,italians1 for instance1 ,andrea ,mantegna and ,jacopo de' ,barbarj1 are not to be got by ordering them4 ,they have1 of course1 to be watched for1 and waited for1 and the opportunity taken at the moment at which it arises4 ,in some measure there will be experienced the same engaging and preventive difficulty in possessing yourself of the prints of the great ,germans and of the one great ,flemish master1 ,lucas of ,leyden4 ,and if these1 in certain states at least1 in certain conditions1 are not quite as hard to come upon as the works of those masters who have been mentioned just before them1 and of their compatriots of the same period1 that is but an extra inducement for the search1 since there is1 of course1 a degree of difficulty that is actually discouraging--a sensible man does not long aim at the practically impossible4 ,now1 in regard to the early ,flemish master with whom ,drer himself not unwillingly--nay1 very graciously--exchanged productions1 there are yet no insuperable obstacles to the collector gathering together a representative array of his work2 it is possible upon occasion even to add one or two of his scarce and beautiful and spirited ornaments to the group1 such as it may be1 of subjects based on scriptural or on classic themes4 ,to be a specialist in ,lucas van ,leyden would be to be unusual1 but not perhaps to be unwise2 yet a greater sagacity would1 no doubt1 be manifested by concentration upon that which is upon the whole the finer work of ,albert ,drer4 ,of late years1 ,martin ,schngauer too1 with the delicacy of his burin1 his tenderness of sentiment1 and his scarcely less pronounced quaintness1 has been a favourite1 greatly sought for2 but1 amongst the ,germans1 the work that best upon the whole repays the trouble undertaken in amassing it1 is that of the great ,albert himself1 and that of the best of the ,little ,masters4 ,and who1 then1 were the ,little ,masters8 a beginner wants to know4 ,they were seven artists1 some of them ,drer's direct pupils1 all of them his direct successors2 getting the name that is common to them not from any insignificance in their themes1 but from the scale on which it pleased them to execute their always deliberate1 always highly-wrought work4 ,there is not one who has not about his labour some measure of individual interest1 but the three greatest of the seven are the two brothers ,beham--,barthel and ,sebald--and that ,prince of little ornamentists1 ,heinrich ,aldegrever4 ,nowhere was the ,german ,renaissance greater than in its ornament1 and the ,behams1 along with subjects of ,allegory1 ,history1 and ,genre1 addressed themselves not seldom to subjects of pure and self-contained design4 ,rich and fine in their fancy1 their characteristic yet not too obvious symmetry has an attraction that lasts4 ,barthel was the less prolific of the twain1 but perhaps the more vigorous in invention4 ,sebald1 certainly not at a loss himself for motives for design1 yet chose to fall back on occasion--as in the exquisite little print of the ,adam and ,eve--upon the inventions of his brother4 ,there is not now1 there never has been1 very much collecting here in ,england of the ,german ,little ,masters4 ,three pounds or four suffices1 now and again1 to buy at ,sotheby's1 or at a dealer's1 a good ,beham1 a good ,aldegrever4 ,in their own land they are rated a little more highly--are at least more eagerly sought for--but with research and pains 7and remembering resolutely in this1 as in every other case1 to reject a bad impression71 it is possible1 for a most moderate sum1 to have quite a substantial bevy of these treasures2 and though large indeed in their design1 their real art quality1 they are1 in a material sense1 as small almost as gems4 ,mr ,loftie1 who made a specialty of ,sebald ,behams1 was able1 ,i believe1 to carry a collection of them safely housed in his waistcoat-pocket4 ,if we pass on from the ,sixteenth to the ,seventeenth ,century1 we have the opportunity1 if we so choose1 of leaving ,line ,engraving1 and of studying and acquiring here and there examples of the noblest ,etching that has been done in the world4 ,for the ,seventeenth ,century is the period of ,rembrandt--the period1 too1 of that meaner but yet most skilful craftsman1 ,adrian van ,ostade1 and the period of the serene artist of classic ,landscape and ,architecture1 who wrought some twenty plates in aquafortis--,i mean ,claude4 ,in an introductory chapter to a volume like the present1 there is time and space to consider only ,rembrandt4 ,and it cannot be asserted too decisively that in the study and collection of ,rembrandt1 lies1 as a rule--and must1 one thinks1 for ever lie--the print-collector's highest and most legitimate pleasure4 ,and even a poor man may have a few good ,rembrandts1 though only quite a rich man can have them in great numbers and of the rarest4 ,rembrandt is a superb tonic for people who have courted too much the infection of a weakly and a morbid art4 ,not occupied indeed in his representations of humanity with visions of formal beauty1 his variety is unsurpassed1 his vigour unequalled2 he has the great traditions of ,style1 yet is as modern and as unconventional as ,mr ,whistler4 ,of the different classes of ,rembrandt's compositions1 the sacred subjects perhaps--at least some minor examples of them--are the least uncommon2 and in their intimate and homely study of humanity1 and often too in their technique1 the sacred subjects prove themselves desirable4 ,never1 however1 should they be collected to the exclusion of the rarer ,portraiture or of the rarest ,landscape4 ,a ,lutma1 a ,de ,jonghe1 in a fine state and fine condition1 a ,cottage with a ,dutch ,haybarn1 a ,landscape with a ,tower1 attain the summit of the etcher's art1 and1 both in noble conception and magical execution1 are absolutely perfect4 ,why1 such impressions of the ,rembrandt landscapes as were dispersed but two or three years since1 when the cabinet of ,mr ,holford passed under the hammer1 appeal to the trained eye with a potency not a whit less great than can any masterpiece of ,painting2 and1 to speak in very soberest ,english1 no sum of money that it could ever enter into the heart of the enthusiast to pay for them would be1 in truth1 a too extravagant1 a too unreasonable1 ransom4 ,in the ,eighteenth ,century original ,etching falls into the background1 and the skill of the engraver1 in those lands where1 in the ,eighteenth ,century1 it was chiefly exercised--in ,france1 that is1 and ,england--is devoted in the main to no spontaneous creation1 but to the translation of the work of painters4 ,in two mediums1 thoroughly opposed or thoroughly contrasted1 yet each with its own value1 the engraver's labour is executed2 there flourished1 side by side1 the delicate ,school of ,line ,engraving and the noble ,school of ,mezzotint4 ,reproductive or interpretive ,line ,engraving had done great things a generation or so earlier1 and even ,mezzotint was not the invention of the ,eighteenth ,century1 though it was then that the art discovered by ,von ,siegen1 and practised with a singular directness by ,prince ,rupert1 was brought to its perfection4 ,but the ,eighteenth ,century--even the latter half of it--was certainly the period at which both arts were busiest2 and not so much the professed collector as the intelligent bourgeois of the time gathered these things together--in ,england chiefly ,mezzotints1 in ,france chiefly ,line ,engravings--and a very few shillings paid for the ,m#8,ardell or the ,watson after ,reynolds1 and later for the ,raphael ,smith or the ,william ,ward after ,george ,morland4 ,often the engraver was a publisher of his own and other people's prints4 ,that was the case in ,paris as much as in ,london2 and in ,paris1 in the third quarter of the ,eighteenth ,century1 the line engravers issued for a couple of francs or so--and the ,mercure de ,france was apt1 like newspapers in our own day1 to notice the publication--those admirable1 and still in ,england1 too little known prints which record the dignified observation1 the sober1 just suggested comedy of ,chardin4 ,there were exceptions1 of course1 to the common rule that in the period of our first ,georges1 and of ,louis the ,fifteenth1 engraver's work was translation4 ,hogarth1 in the first half of the century--about the time when the ,french line engravers were occupied with their quite exquisite translations of the grace of ,watteau1 ,lancret1 and ,pater--wrought out on copper with rough vigour his original conceptions of the ,rake's and of the ,harlot's ,progress1 and not a few of his minor themes2 but when it came to the rendering into black and white of those masterly canvases of ,marriage la ,mode1 professional engravers1 such as ,ravenet and ,scotin1 were employed to admirable purpose1 and a little later the very colours of the canvas seemed to live1 the painter's very touch seemed to be reproduced1 in the noble mezzotints of ,earlom4 ,and the immense successes of this reproductive engraving1 with the art of ,hogarth1 brings us back to the truth of our earlier proposition2 the period was a period of interpretation1 not of original work1 with the engraver4 ,the whole ,french ,eighteenth ,century ,school1 from ,watteau down to ,lavreince1 is to be studied1 and collected1 too1 in ,line ,engraving4 ,the ,school is not invariably discreet in subject3 ,lavreince has his suggestiveness1 though rarely does he go beyond legitimate comedy1 and ,baudouin1 ,franois ,boucher's son-in-law1 has his audacities2 but against these is to be set the dignified idyl of the great master of ,valenciennes2 the work of ,watteau's pupils1 too2 the works of ,boucher2 ,massard's consummate rendering1 in finest or most finished line1 of this or that seductive vision of ,greuze2 the stately comedy of ,moreau le jeune2 and1 as ,i have said already1 the excellent interpretations of the homely1 natural1 so desirable art of ,chardin4 ,mezzotint really did for all the ,english painters of importance of the ,eighteenth ,century1 and in a measure for certain earlier ,dutchmen1 all that ,line ,engraving accomplished for the ,french4 8,by these men ,i shall be immortalised10 ,sir ,joshua said1 when the work of ,m#8,ardell and his fellows came under his view4 ,gainsborough1 it is true1 was not interpreted quite so much or quite so successfully4 ,but ,romney has as much justice done to him in later ,english ,mezzotint as the luxurious art of ,lely and ,kneller obtained from one of the earlier practitioners of the craft--,john ,smith4 ,morland's continued and justified popularity in our own time is due to nothing half as much as to the mezzotints by ,raphael ,smith1 and ,ward1 and ,young1 and others of that troop of brethren4 ,and it was mezzotint1 in combination with the bitten line for leading features of the composition1 that ,turner1 early in our own century--in #ahjg--;decided to employ in the production of those seventy plates of ,liber ,studiorum upon which1 already even1 so much of his fame rests4 ,liber ,studiorum occupies an interesting and a peculiar position between work upon the copper wholly original and work wholly reproductive4 ,turner etched the leading lines himself4 ,in several cases he completed1 with his own hand1 in mezzotint1 the whole of the engraved picture2 but generally he gave the 8scraping0 to a professional engraver1 whose efforts he minutely supervised and most elaborately corrected4 ,in recent years1 almost as much1 though not quite as much sought for as the ,liber plates of ,turner1 are certain rather smaller mezzotints which record the art of ,constable2 but ,constable himself did nothing on these plates1 though he supervised their production by ,david ,lucas4 ,turner's connection with professional engravers was not confined to the priceless and admirable prints of the ,liber4 ,he trained a school of line engravers1 welcoming at first the assistance of ,john ,pye and of ,george and ,william ,cooke4 ,these two brothers were the engravers mainly of his ,southern ,coast1 and nothing has been more manly than that2 but the work of ,william ,miller1 in the ,clovelly of that ,southern ,coast1 and in a subsequent series1 interpreted with quite peculiar exquisiteness those refinements of light which in ,turner's middle and later time so much engaged his effort4 ,with ,turner's death1 or with the death of the artists who translated him1 fine ,line ,engraving almost vanished4 ,it had all but disappeared when1 nearly fifty years ago1 there began in ,france and ,england that ,revival of ,etching with which the amateur of to-day is so rightly concerned4 ,a few etchings by ,bracquemond--of still-life chiefly--a larger number by ,jules ,jacquemart1 of fine objects in porcelain1 jewellery1 bronze1 and noble stones1 are amongst the more precious products of the earlier part of the ,revival of ,etching1 and they are so treated that they are inventions indeed1 and of an originality that is exquisite4 ,but the greatest event of the earlier years of the ,revival was the appearance1 as long ago as #ahej1 of the genius of ,mryon1 who1 during but a few years1 wrought a series of chefs-d'uvre--inspired visions of ,paris--and died1 neglected and ignored1 in the great city to which it is he who has raised1 in those few prints of his1 the noblest of all monuments4 ,two other men of very different genius and of unsurpassed energy we associate with this revival of ,etching4 ,both are yet with us in the fulness of their years2 and both will occupy the collector who is wise in his generation1 and will be1 one may make bold to say1 the delight of the far ,future as well as of the ,present4 ,i mean ,sir ,seymour ,haden and ,mr4 ,james ,whistler4 ,the prints of ,seymour ,haden shame no cabinet2 the best of ,whistler's scarcely suffer at all when placed beside the master-work of ,rembrandt4 ,but it is dangerous treating much of contemporaries when one's task is chiefly with the dead2 and though ,i might mention many other not unworthy men1 of whom some subsequent historian must take count--nay1 who may even be referred to at a later stage of this volume--,i will confine myself here1 in this introductory chapter1 to just the intimation that ,legros and ,helleu are1 next after the etchers ,i have already named1 those probably who should engage attention4 ,,chapter ,i ,the use and object of this book1 and necessary limitations of its service--,monographs for the specialist--,the point of view of the individual--,the vastness of the ,print-collector's field--,fashions and silly fads--,bartolozzi best in his 8,tickets0--,the ,exaltation of the coloured print--,its general triviality--,the task of the ,collector--,the fine impression--,brilliance--,condition--,th e conservation of prints4 ,a little ,guide to ,print ,collecting such as the present one1 even if written on very personal lines1 not in the least concealing the writer's own prepossessions1 and giving therefore1 quite possibly1 what may seem disproportionate notice of certain masters1 cannot1 of course1 hope to entirely suffice for the special student of any particular man4 ,the special student will not1 if he is reasonable1 find that the little book falls short of its aim1 and fails to do its proper work1 because it does not and cannot possibly supply within its limited volume all the information of which the accomplished student is himself possessed1 and which he feels to be more or less indispensable even to the beginner who desires to be thorough4 ,he will know--and will scarcely need that ,i should here remind him--that not one book1 nor even a hundred books1 can make an expert1 can turn the tyro into a practical connoisseur4 ,what the tyro wants is experience1 all that is learnt by loss and gain1 and by brushing shoulder to shoulder with dealers and brother-collectors and the auctioneer in the auction-room4 ,he wants that1 to become a practical collector at all1 and to become a specialist he wants that and something more4 ,he wants access to and acquaintance with a large and considerable branch of what is now unquestionably an immense literature4 ,there are larger books than this of mine on the general theme of ,print ,collecting1 and they have been written at different times1 with different prepossessions1 with different prejudices1 from different points of view4 ,but over and above these larger books there is a library of monographs on particular masters1 works which are nearly always ,catalogues raisonns1 and often treatises to boot2 and while no one of these monographs can be altogether neglected by the would-be student of the artist with whom it is concerned1 some of them must be among the most cherished of his companions1 among the voiceless but instructive friends whose society is education4 ,no little book then1 like the present one1 can take the place of experience and of the study of many books2 and least of all perhaps can a book which does not affect to be the abstract and brief chronicle of what has been done before1 but which prefers rather to approach its large subject from the point of view of an individual collector1 who yet1 it must be said1 while cultivating specialties1 has not been inaccessible to the charm of much that lies beyond the limits of any fields of his own4 ,so much by way of explanation--by way1 too1 of disarming the kind of criticism which would judge a general endeavour only by the success with which it seemed to meet the needs of a particular case4 ,a ,bibliography of the subject1 which will be found on later pages1 and which must itself be a selection1 comparatively brief1 from the mass of material that bears upon the theme1 will suffice to set the student of the special school or master upon the desirable track2 and meanwhile one thing may be done1 nor1 as ,i hope1 that one thing only3 the would-be tiller of the particular plot may be reminded of the vastness of the land4 ,even of print collecting it is true1 sometimes1 that the trees prevent you from seeing the forest4 ,i have said just now1 in the print-collector's world1 how vast is the land6 ,time1 of course1 tends to extend it--would extend it inevitably1 by reason of new production1 did not ,fashion sometimes intervene1 and1 while opening to the explorer some new tract1 taboo a district over which he had aforetime been accustomed to wander4 ,the fashions of the wise are not wholly without reason1 but the fashions of the foolish have also to be reckoned with4 ,as an instance1 the very generation that has seen the most just appraisement of original ,etching has witnessed too the exaltation of ,bartolozzi and of his nerveless ,school1 a decline of interest in ,marc ,antonio1 even to some extent in ,albert ,drer1 and a silly rage for the coloured print which fifty years since was the appropriate ornament of scrapbook and nursery4 ,i have spoken harshly of two classes of things which within the last few years have found eager purchasers1 and it is incumbent upon me that ,i justify my harshness and warn the beginner all the more effectually thereby4 ,the ,bartolozzis1 then1 which have been puffed so absurdly--what is their real place8 ,to begin with1 they are--and in this one respect they resemble ,marc ,antonios indeed1 and the justly extolled mezzotints which translate ,sir ,joshua--they are the work of an engraver who interpreted the theme of another1 and not of an engraver who invented his own4 ,but this it is evident that they may be1 and yet by no means be criminal4 ,wherein1 it may be asked fairly1 lies their greater offence8 ,it lies in this4 ,that the ,humanity they depict is generally without character--that in no austere and in no captivating1 overwhelming beauty1 but in its feeble grace1 lies its chief virtue4 ,bartolozzi was a good draughtsman4 ,he was no doubt correct habitually1 and he was habitually elegant4 ,academic he was1 though competent4 ,but again1 how terribly monotonous was the order of his beauty1 and how weakly sentimental the design of those--,cipriani and ,angelica ,kaufmann principal amongst them--to whose conceptions he lent at least a measure of support6 ,of ,bartolozzi's works1 the best for the collector are the 8,tickets40 ,they are on a small scale--dainty little engraved invitations or announcements to the public of their day1 giving the opportunity to hear ,giardini or ,madame ,banti1 or some other singer of songs or maker of excellent music4 ,delightful little compositions they undoubtedly are1 with the nude drawn charmingly4 ,half-a-dozen of them ,i would possess with satisfaction4 ,but all the rest6--all those ,bartolozzis which1 as they increase in size1 get 7just as photographs do7 increasingly meaningless6 ,the reasonable collector1 if his instinct be fine or his taste educated1 will not desire these1 even at prices that may be comparatively insignificant1 whilst ,rembrandts1 ,drers1 ,claudes1 ,hogarths1 ,watteaus1 ,mryons1 ,whistlers1 exist to delight the world4 ,the coloured print--for it is time to make some brief allusion to it--is often very 8taking40 ,to the novice who does not think1 it may even appear to be entirely desirable4 ,but1 like the average ,bartolozzi1 it is trivial at best4 ,a pretty enough decoration for the wall of a room in which artistic taste is neither accomplished nor severe1 it has at least to be recognised that its art is hybrid4 ,the weight and value of the light and shade of the engraving are apt to be minimised or discounted by the application of colour2 and the colour1 though put on with ingenuity1 has little of the gradation and the subtle blending1 and nothing whatever of the 8touch10 in which the art of the painter in some measure consists4 ,that is why a set of ,wheatley's 8,cries of ,london10 printed in bistre1 is far better than a set which has the superficial gaiety of many hues4 ,a coloured ,morland is a ,morland murdered4 ,more tolerant may we be of the coloured prints of ,france2 the lighter art of a ,taunay or of a ,debucourt according not so ill with the application of a process which boasts no other charm than the charm of the peu prs4 ,but even where the coloured print is least offensive or least inadequate1 no one can affect to discover in it the more serious qualities of ,art4 ,often1 experts inform us1 the colour was only applied when the original work upon the plate was half worn out--when the plate could yield no longer an impression that was satisfactory4 ,then it was1 at least in some cases1 that the aid of colour--or some approximation to the colour that a painter might have sought to realise--was called in1 and so the opportunity prepared for the foolish rich of our period to pay great prices for an engaging pis-aller4 ,uninstructed acquaintances1 ill-judged dealers1 and the habit of an indolent world to regard old prints as humble examples of decorative furniture--all these combine to make it possible for the beginner1 and even for the man of many winters who is outside ,art1 to spend his time in accumulating objects no one of which is of the first order4 ,even certain print-sellers1 who ought to do much better1 but who possess1 we must suppose1 more of technical knowledge than of sure and well-established taste1 lend themselves to the diffusion of the love of the second-rate4 ,there are several high-class dealers now in ,london1 people of probity and of accomplishment1 some of them young men1 too--a circumstance which bodes well for the future4 ,but those were safer days when the world of the collector lay within narrower limits1 and when the close contact that there was wont to be between a few learned salesmen and a few scarcely less learned purchasers1 who bought1 of course1 gradually1 who never bought things en bloc--who studied and enjoyed1 in fine1 instead of merely possessed--made it an unlikely matter that any quarter would be shown to the unworthy productions of a vague and indifferent art4 ,but the beginner of to-day must take things as he finds them4 ,if the root of the matter be in him1 his mistakes need not be serious4 ,the opportunities for sagacious choice in collecting yet remain frequent4 ,if he collects fine things1 he will not1 of course1 succeed in acquiring so extensive a cabinet as that which rejoiced the heart of his forerunner when prices were much lower--when a ,rembrandt1 now worth a hundred guineas1 was sold for a ten-pound note4 ,he must recognise1 too1 that a very large number of the finest impressions--and it is upon fine impressions only that his mind should be set--have come to be cloistered in ,national1 in ,university1 even in some cases in ,municipal institutions4 ,but yet the field that is open to him is a wide one1 and1 as was said in the ,introduction1 it is possible for diligence and intelligence to accomplish much1 even if unaccompanied by a purse that is big and deep4 ,it has been customary in books on ,collecting to say something about the qualities that are desirable in a print--the qualities1 ,i mean1 that1 in their combination constitute1 not a fine subject--that is a different matter altogether--but a fine impression1 an impression such as the collector should wish to possess4 ,and though1 no doubt1 for certain readers1 the treatise of ,maberly1 and the later and ampler treatise of ,dr ,willshire1 may be without difficulty accessible1 the expert will hold me blameless for not forgetting here the interests of the beginner1 and for therefore going1 though it shall be rapidly1 over ground that1 to the connoisseur1 must needs be familiar4 ,the first and most indispensable requisite1 then1 for a fine impression of a print1 ancient or modern1 is that the plate betray no signs of wear1 so that the scheme of the artist in line and light and shade shall be presented still with virgin intactness4 ,it may be a high ideal to aim at1 but it is not unattainable2 and practically it is as necessary in a ,drer three hundred years old as in a ,whistler which may have been wrought only twelve years ago4 ,very different qualities of surface are1 of course1 sought for in prints of different kinds1 devoted to different effects4 ,the perfection of one plate may be attained when it is 8brilliant02 the perfection of another when it is 8rich40 ,but in all1 the signs of wear1 and1 in nearly all1 the signs of re-touching1 are to be avoided4 ,wear is indicated perhaps most easily by the absence of clearness in lines designed to be distinct1 and by an acquired evenness and monotony in passages which obviously were never meant to be monotonous and even4 ,re-touching is a more subtle matter4 ,it is generally resorted to to repair the wear2 and sometimes the re-touching is the work of the original artist1 and sometimes it is the work of a later craftsman1 concerned in the interests of publisher or dealer1 or it may be in his own1 if it is he who has become the possessor of the plate4 ,but an impression originally rich or brilliant1 or brilliant and rich at once1 may1 by ill-usage1 or even by the absence of a delicate care1 have lost the qualities that commended it to its first possessor4 ,the beginner in print collecting must assure himself not only that the work is still good1 but that the surface is clean and fair4 ,then he must look at the back of the print1 must assure himself1 by careful examination there1 that it has not been 8backed10 or patched1 or mended3 at all events1 that all the mending it has required has been slight and neatly executed4 ,damp is a deadly enemy of prints4 ,they pine for dry warm air as much as a soldier sent from out of ,provence into the chilliness of ,french ,flanders4 8,il parait que a grelottait l-bas10 said a ,provenal once1 to me1 at ,cannes4 ,many a print is as sensitive to dampish cold as is an ,american consumptive4 ,the collector then must diagnose well--must satisfy himself as far as possible that the seeds of disease are not in the print already--and if he buys the print1 he must see to its health carefully4 ,let me here hasten1 though1 to assure him nothing more than reasonable care is required1 and ,i will tell him at once in what it consists4 ,if he frames his print1 he had better order that the thickness of some moderate mount--an eighth or twelfth of an inch is fully enough for the purpose--intervenes between the surface of the print and the glass4 ,the glass may 8sweat0 from time to time1 and obviously its moisture must not be deposited upon the very object it exists to guard4 ,if a print has great money value1 or if from any cause the collector sets much store by it1 it should not remain in any frame for more than a few years without at least a careful re-examination4 ,fresh air will do it good2 and1 moreover1 it is good for the collector's own eye 7whose delicacy ought to be cultivated by all possible means7 that account be taken of a print's appearance not only when it is under glass4 ,if the collector1 instead of framing his print1 puts it in a portfolio1 he must see at least that it is so handled and managed that its surface is not rubbed by the backs of other prints1 or the backs of their mounts4 ,where one print follows another in a portfolio or solander-box1 the mounts of all should be smooth4 ,the portfolio must keep dust out as well as it can4 ,the solander-box will keep dust out much better4 ,and whether the print is in folio or box1 or laid naked in the drawer or shelf of a cabinet1 it should be from time to time looked at1 given1 so to put it1 a 8bath of air0 on a sunny and dry day4 ,a country-house1 unless the walls are very thick and the rooms kept very carefully1 is not the best place for a collection of prints1 which 7in ,england at least7 flourish most in the atmosphere of cities4 ,it is in cities that they require the least solicitude4 ,i know very well1 when ,i say this1 that it will be news to some people that prints require any solicitude at all4 ,i have pointed out that they do1 but also that their possession does not involve any overwhelming responsibility4 ,there is one other point as to the condition of a print--as to that which it is desirable to find in it before we purchase it--that should be touched upon before this chapter ends4 ,that is the question of margin4 ,it may be that some worthy people are almost as sharply divided upon the question of margin as are ,new ,york gourmets upon the question of how many minutes it takes to roast to perfection a canvas-back duck4 ,but the majority of collectors are advocates of margins3 they 8take curious pleasure0 in them1 ,mr ,whistler remarks4 ,a margin undoubtedly has much to recommend it4 ,while a print is mounted1 and even after it is mounted--on those occasions1 ,i mean1 when1 under examination1 it passes from hand to hand--the margin helps to protect it4 ,yet it is evident that a margin has no artistic merit1 and that therefore to establish a very great difference in money value between the print with a margin and the print with none1 is to be rather absurd4 ,of course a print three hundred years old1 which has conserved its margin to some extent1 is a yet greater rarity than a print which has not2 and as rarity--rarity of condition even--is paid for as well as beauty1 there is some just market-value in margin1 no doubt4 ,but1 unlike that fine condition of surface on which ,i have so much insisted1 the possession of margin is by no means strictly necessary4 ,it is sometimes an added grace1 but never1 at least in the case of a print that is ancient1 and that has been subjected probably to many vicissitudes--never in such a case is it an indispensable virtue4 ,rarely does the ample margin go back beyond the ,eighteenth ,century4 ,in your etching by ,mryon or ,haden--done fifty or thirty years ago--you may expect some margin1 fairly4 ,in your noble line-engraving after ,chardin or ,watteau1 you may be glad of some1 and may be grateful and surprised if you find much4 ,in your ,rembrandt1 a little enhances the value4 ,in your ,drer1 an eighth of an inch1 how precious and how rare6 ,in regard to the loss of a margin1 while in the case of a very old print it is due probably to gradual ravages and various little accidents1 in the case of engravings less old1 and especially in the case of engravings which 7mezzotints1 for example7 have always been held most decorative on a wall1 it is due simply to the process of framing4 ,when the mezzotint--or whatever it is--was prepared for the frame1 the knife removed the margin at a stroke1 and with it there perished1 for the future collector1 some chance of exultation and not inhuman boasting4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,the old-world ,etchers1 and their due place in the collector's estimation--,claude--,dumesnil's list of his etched work--,principal pieces--,the money value of ,claude's etchings--,vandyke's etched portraits--,ostade--,richard ,fisher's ,ostades--,their prices--,wenceslaus ,hollar--,the immense volume of his work--,its character--,its appreciation by ,heywood and ,seymour ,haden--,prices of ,hollars in the print-market4 ,as ,i think that1 speaking generally1 the wisest collector is the collector who devotes himself to original work1 we will begin the study of some various departments of the collector's pursuit by a group of chapters on work that is wholly original4 ,and among work that is wholly original1 what is there that--since chronological order cannot require to be strictly observed--deserves to take precedence of the art of ,etching8 ,not only is the art up to a certain point popular to-day--that is a consideration which need not affect the wise collector very much--but it is1 of all the arts of ,black and ,white1 the one which lends itself most readily to the expression of a mood--therefore to the expression of a personality4 ,in ,line-,engraving1 of which the finest examples cannot1 on many grounds1 be esteemed too highly1 the chef-d'uvre is slow of accomplishment4 ,in ,etching1 the hour may produce the masterpiece1 though indeed many a masterpiece has involved something more than the labour of a day4 ,of old-world etchers whose plates should occupy the collector seriously--of old-world etchers between whom he may take his choice1 or1 if he prefer it1 divide his attention--there are1 after all1 but a few4 ,to have named ,claude1 ,vandyke1 ,rembrandt1 ,ostade1 and ,hollar1 is to have named the chief4 ,other ,dutch genre painters than ,ostade of course etched cleverly3 only one with his perfection--his perfection1 ,i mean1 when he was at his best--,bega4 ,behind ,rembrandt was a group of men1 some of whom simply imitated1 others of whom followed in ways more nearly their own4 ,other ,dutchmen1 again1 like ,backhuysen and ,adrian ,van de ,velde and ,zeeman--whom1 nearly two centuries afterwards1 ,mryon worshipped--did work that need not be put aside4 ,latterly it has not been put aside2 for in a recent ,portfolio ,mr ,binyon made it the subject of special study4 ,but still the greater men are the few who were named first4 ,of these great men1 it was ,claude1 ,vandyke1 and ,ostade who wrought the fewest plates4 ,as for ,vandyke1 not only was his work not vast in quantity--his labour upon each particular plate stopped at an early stage4 ,to the copper's detriment1 as many think1 others continued it1 and ,vandyke's etchings are only entirely his own in that first ,stage which is the stage of the sketch4 ,yet are they far indeed from being worthless afterwards4 ,a background is added4 ,the record of character remains pretty much the same4 ,it was not quite thus with ,claude4 ,he1 like other great masters1 and like some small ones1 suffers by the mischief of 8re-touching02 but nothing done upon his plates1 or upon any imitations of them1 carries the work much further than ,claude himself had carried it4 ,with all the free and easy handling of the point1 there is an obvious completeness--a completeness not only for the initiated--in some of the very best of his work4 ,in tone1 in delicacy of chiaroscuro1 the plate of the ,bouvier--the masterpiece for atmospheric effect--is carried as far as it could have been carried by line-engraving4 ,it has indeed quite as much atmosphere1 though not quite as much delicacy of contour1 as the marvellous plates done on about the same scale by the translators of ,turner1 whom ,turner in a measure trained--,i mean especially the men who wrought upon the ,southern ,coast series3 ,george ,cooke with ,margate1 ,horsburgh with ,whitstable1 the incomparable ,william ,miller with ,portsmouth and ,clovelly4 ,claude's ,campo ,vaccino1 again1 is equally finished to the corners2 and so1 of course1 in its perhaps subtler fashion1 is the famous ,sunset 7,dumesnil1 ,no4 #ae74 ,cattle ,going ,home in ,stormy ,weather has the appearance of more summary labour1 a freedom more convincing1 and more appropriate to that effect of atmosphere1 which1 together with the movement of beasts and herdsmen1 the plate is devoted to recording4 ,again1 complete tonality is not sought for--at all events is not obtained--in ,shepherd and ,shepherdess ,conversing1 which yet1 in the rare ,first ,state of it1 which alone is entirely worthy1 is full from end to end of ,claude's happiest and freest1 and--dare one say8--most playful work in the draughtsmanship of foliage4 ,in the ,second ,state one tall tree is deprived of its height and grace4 ,the picture is spoilt1 or1 if not spoilt1 marred4 ,it is now four-and-twenty years since1 at the ,burlington ,fine ,arts ,club1 there was held a well-chosen and perhaps the first and last important exhibition of the etchings of ,claude4 ,dumesnil's list of all ,claude's work in aquafortis includes forty-two prints--some of them unimportant2 and of the forty-two1 the ,burlington ,club1 with access to the best collections everywhere 7whatever modest things may have been said on this occasion to the contrary71 managed to show twenty-six4 ,besides the plates mentioned in the preceding paragraph1 the ,dance by the ,waterside1 the ,dance under the ,trees1 and the ,wooden ,bridge are amongst the things one would covet4 ,in the ,wooden ,bridge there is the whole spirit of the broad ,italian land4 ,a fine ,second ,state1 from the cabinet of some good collector--my own is from ,john ,barnard's--represents the plate perfectly4 ,of the ,bouvier you are lucky if you can get a ,second ,state4 ,sir ,seymour ,haden1 who would never tolerate a bad impression1 long contented himself with a ,third1 though some years before he parted with his things he managed to acquire a ,first4 ,that delightful collector1 ,richard ,fisher1 had a ,first ,state of the ,cattle ,going ,home in ,stormy ,weather1 and a noble little print it was4 ,mr ,julian ,marshall1 who bought rare things in his youth1 and keenly appreciates them 7though1 while in his youth still1 he sold many71 had1 and doubtless retains1 a ,first ,state of the ,rape of ,europa1 which1 in an impression like his own--8early1 undescribed1 before the plate was cleaned10 says the ,burlington ,club ,catalogue--is indeed most desirable4 ,as to the money value of ,claude's etchings1 in the 8,states0 and the conditions in which they are alone desirable1 the prices that were reached at the ,seymour ,haden sale in #ahia are as good an indication as one can well obtain4 ,sir ,seymour's beautiful and silvery ,first ,state of ,le ,bouvier was knocked down at #db2 his ,dance under the ,trees--a ,first ,state too--at #aj2 his ,sunrise 7but it was a ,fourth ,state7 at #e1 #abs4 #f;d42 his ,shepherd and ,shepherdess ,conversing1 in the ,first ,state1 at #g 7and this was cheap72 his ,campo ,vaccino1 in the ,first ,state1 at #f1 #fs4 ,he had no ,wooden ,bridge4 ,at ,richard ,fisher's sale1 in #ahib1 the ,bouvier1 in a ,second or ,third ,state1 fetched #ae1 and a good impression of the ,dance under the ,trees1 #ab4 ,it will be seen that1 rare though ,claude's etchings are1 in good condition1 they do not1 in ,england at least1 when they appear in the auction-room1 command prices that can be called excessive4 ,the etchings of ,vandyke1 at all events the best of them1 have fetched more4 ,it must be that their rarity1 in the most desired condition1 is even greater4 ,sir ,seymour ,haden had a few superb ones4 ,vandyke's own portrait 7,dutuit1 ,no4 #c7 sold in the ,haden sale for #fj2 the pure etching of the ,snyders for #dd2 the ,suttermans for #cj2 the ,lucas ,vosterman1 #ej2 the masterly ,de ,wael--which1 even in an early1 well-chosen impression of a later ,state1 one finds an enviable possession--#ag1 #ajs4 ,the touch of ,vandyke has nothing that is comparable with ,rembrandt's subtlety1 yet is it decisive and immediate1 and so far excellent4 ,and ,vandyke1 however inclined he may have been to undue elegance--an elegance trop voulue--in certain painted portraits1 seized firmly and nobly in his etched portraits of men 7and practically his etchings are only portraits of men7 the masculine character and the marked individuality of his models4 ,of the etchings of ,adrian van ,ostade1 ,mr ,fisher had what was practically a complete collection--he had fifty plates2 and as he was a great admirer of this unquestioned master of technique1 this penetrating even if pessimistic observer of ,life1 he had taken care to have impressions of good character3 in some cases1 as good as it is ever possible to get4 ,inequality of course there was2 and whilst here and there an indifferent impression fell for a few shillings1 sums as important as have been paid for ,ostades were realised for the rarest and the best chosen things4 ,we will consider the prices of the most desirable4 ,for a ,first ,state of the ,man and ,woman ,conversing1 #ac was the ransom4 #ad was paid for even the ,fourth ,state of that rarity1 ,the ,empty ,pitcher4 ,herr ,meder gave #fc for the ,second ,state of a piece which some call spirited and some call savage1 ,the ,quarrel with ,drawn ,knives1 and #bf1 #ajs4 for the ,first ,state of ,a ,woman ,sitting on a ,doorstep4 #hj was paid by the same buyer for the ,first ,state of the ,woman ,singing1 and ,mr ,gutekunst gave #cg for a ,fourth ,state of ,the ,painter4 ,could ,i become the owner of two masterpieces of ,ostade1 the pieces which ,i should think worthy to be dignified with that name1 and which ,i should consequently proceed to possess1 would be ,the ,family and the ,peasant ,paying his ,reckoning4 ,the first--not less excellent than any other in technique--is full of homely piety and truth to common things4 ,it is one of ,ostade's larger pieces2 and at the ,fisher sale1 the ,first ,state1 which had been in the ,hawkins collection1 passed into the hands of ,mr ,deprez for #bc4 ,the ,peasant ,paying his ,reckoning is one of the smaller plates4 ,as the title goes far to imply1 it represents a tavern visitor making ready to leave the cosy interior2 the landlady looking out with keenness for the sum that is due4 ,the piece teems with delicate observation1 not only of character1 but of picturesque detail1 and with light and airy touch4 ,it was a wonderful ,fourth ,state that was in the ,fisher collection2 and #db was the price that ,herr ,meder1 the most enterprising buyer of ,ostades that day1 had to pay to call it his4 ,an excellent connoisseur tells us that the earliest impressions of ,ostades are generally light in tone--that good impressions are also often printed in a brownish ink1 and that they are without the thick line which invariably surrounds the later ones4 ,wenceslaus ,hollar1 born at ,prague in #afjg1 and working a long while in ,london1 under the patronage of ,charles the ,first's ,lord ,arundel1 and dying here amongst us1 in ,gardiner ,street1 ,westminster1 in #afgg1 was a far more prolific etcher than either ,claude1 ,vandyke1 or ,adrian ,van ,ostade4 ,in fact1 that is not the way to put it at all2 for whilst the plates of each of these are to be counted at the most by scores1 the plates of ,hollar mount to the number of two thousand seven hundred4 ,he was a craftsman of great variety and ingenuity of method4 ,but it has1 of course1 to be remembered of him that in certain figure-pieces and mythological subjects at least1 he was interpreter and populariser of the inventions of another1 and that in most of his interesting little views he was a dainty but unmoved chronicler of pure fact4 ,an individual note--a wholly individual note--scarcely belongs to his rendering of landscape or to his vision of the town4 ,yet he is a most sterling artist--not a mere monument of industry--and his quaintness1 only a part of which he derives from his theme1 is undoubtedly attractive4 ,the collector who collects his work has what is a faithful record of some of the individuals and of many of the types of ,hollar's time1 and a fair vision of the ordinary aspect of the outward world of ,hollar's day4 ,the man's industry was1 as we have seen1 colossal1 and even at the best he was but ill-rewarded4 ,fourpence per hour was1 says ,mr ,heywood1 the price paid to him by the booksellers4 ,at present it may be that there is keener relish for his work in ,germany than here with us in ,england2 but one great connoisseur1 as well as fine practitioner of ,etching1 of a generation not yet wholly vanished1 has extolled and collected him1 praising him lately1 it is true1 in terms more measured than those he had at first employed2 and another connoisseur1 not born in earlier years than ,sir ,seymour ,haden1 but earlier cut off1 not living indeed to be old--,i mean the ,rev4 ,j4 ,j4 ,heywood1 who has been named already--was a devoted student of ,hollar's endless labours4 ,he prepared in great degree the ,burlington ,club's ,exhibition of a large fine representative collection of ,hollar's works1 in #ahge1 and wrote the sympathetic preface to the ,catalogue4 ,on ,hollar1 ,parthey has long been the chief ,german authority2 and with ,parthey ,mr ,heywood was familiar4 ,but his own loving observation of the unremitting work of the great ,bohemian engraver of the ,seventeenth ,century--a wanderer in ,antwerp and in ,strasburg1 as well as a long resident in ,london--furnished him with some material of his own1 and the ,burlington ,club ,catalogue of such portion as was exhibited of ,hollar's great volume of production1 should be1 wherever it is possible1 in the hands of the ,hollar collector4 ,it will acquaint him with very many of the most desirable pieces1 and will tell him1 in a form more compact and serviceable than ,parthey's1 much about the recent resting-places of the rarer ,hollar prints4 ,there are a few of these1 of course1 which cannot pass into the hands of any private person4 ,of the large plate of ,edinburgh1 for example1 a thing ,parthey had never seen1 and which was wrought in ,hollar's later time 7in #afgj71 there exist in all the world but two impressions4 ,one is at ,windsor1 the other at the ,british ,museum4 ,when1 however1 the collector has got more than two thousand plates to choose from1 and to watch and wait for1 he need not1 save in sheer 8cussedness10 and because ,humanity is built that way1 trouble very much about what is for ever inaccessible4 ,i do not think that even a colonial millionaire will set himself the task of collecting ,hollar en masse4 ,life is not long enough4 ,the task would fall more properly to a ,german student1 since patience would be wanted yet more than money2 but1 after half a century of work1 the student would pass from us with his self-set task still uncompleted4 ,no3 the sensible collector wants of ,hollar a compact selection4 ,such a group as ,sir ,seymour ,haden exhibited at the ,fine ,art ,society's--along with many other plates1 representing the masters of original etching--would form a nucleus1 at all events4 ,divided into classes in the following way--,topography1 ,portraiture1 ,costume1 ,natural ,history1 and ,history1 that small exhibited group included the ,antwerp ,cathedral1 the ,royal ,exchange1 the ,nave of ,st ,george's ,chapel1 ,charles the ,first1 ,charles the ,second1 one of the plates of the ,muffs--,i trust it was the wonderful study of five muffs alone1 with the wearer's wrists and arms just lightly indicated--and two of the rare set of ,shells1 which are as wonderful as the muffs for texture1 but somehow a little drier4 ,of the plate of the ,nave of ,st ,george's ,chapel1 ,sir ,seymour says that it is the most amazing piece of 8biting0 that he knows1 as to gradation and finesse4 ,along with these plates--if he is fortunate enough to get them--or even in place of some of them1 as his taste prompts him1 let the collector appropriate the sets of the ,seasons and the ,butterflies1 the little ,islington set1 known sometimes as ,six ,views in the ,north of ,london1 and the exquisite single plate 7these topographical plates that ,i am recommending are all small ones7 known as ,london from the ,top of ,arundel ,house4 ,of the 8simple probity0 of ,hollar's work1 and of its rightful charm1 there will then be ample evidence4 ,the prices of good ,hollars have not of late years risen much3 certainly not much in comparison with those of other prints holding positions of about the like honour4 ,much of his work1 therefore1 is quite within the reach of modest and intelligent buyers4 ,the latest really remarkable collection sold was that of ,seymour ,haden1 who had long possessed many more of ,hollar's prints than he found room to exhibit1 with other men's work in ,bond ,street4 ,his greatest rarities--perhaps even his best impressions--fetched good prices1 but they were never sensational3 indeed1 in several instances they did not substantially exceed those realised twenty-three years earlier 7in #ahfh71 at ,julian ,marshall's sale4 ,thus1 at the ,julian ,marshall sale1 the ,long ,view of ,greenwich passed under the hammer at #a1 #aes41 and at the ,haden sale it sold for #b1 #es4 ,london from the ,top of ,arundel ,house1 an impression of singular excellence1 fetched #f in the ,marshall sale2 it fetched at the ,seymour ,haden #i #abs42 but in this case there is reason to suppose that ,sir ,seymour's impression1 though certainly good1 was not equal to ,mr ,marshall's4 ,sir ,thomas ,challoner 7after ,holbein7 fetched #ca1 #ajs4 at the ,marshall sale1 and ,i am not sure that it was not the very same impression that afterwards1 at ,sir ,seymour's1 fetched only #bj4 ,each is described as a 8,first ,state10 and each had belonged in the last century to one of the greatest collectors of his time1 ,john ,barnard1 whose initials1 written in a slow round hand1 8,j4 ,b410 delight the collector1 often1 at the back of a fine print4 ,the two impressions of ,sir ,thomas ,challoner were surely really one4 ,the portrait of ,hollar1 holding his portrait of ,st ,catherine1 reached #f at the ,marshall sale2 only #e at the ,haden4 ,on the other hand1 the ,chalice1 which is said1 generally1 to be from a design by ,mantegna1 was sold for #c1 #ajs4 with ,mr ,marshall's things2 for #e1 #es4 with ,sir ,seymour's4 ,we need not make further comparisons2 but it will be well to end these comments upon ,hollar's money value by some little additional quotation from the priced catalogues of the later and larger sale of his prints4 ,the ,rake's ,lament fetched in #ahia #bb2 the ,antwerp ,cathedral1 in the ,first ,state1 #h2 that neat little set of six ,views about ,islington1 #b1 #ajs4 7which1 if the impressions were all good1 was unquestionably cheap72 the ,royal ,exchange1 in the ,first ,state1 #af2 ,the ,winter ,habit of an ,english ,gentleman1 #h1 #ajs42 the set of ,sea ,shells1 or1 rather1 thirty-four out of the thirty-eight numbers that the set contains1 #fg4 ,hollar1 with such a mass of work to choose from1 and with the interest and excellence of much of it1 appeals to the collector who can dispense1 at times1 with vehemence and passion1 and who finds in quaintness and exactness1 in steady technical achievement1 some compensation for the absence of a vision of exalted beauty4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,rembrandt ,catalogues--,the extent of ,rembrandt's etched work--,the careful buyer3 how may he represent ,rembrandt not unworthily8--,amongst landscape etchings1 the indisputable pre-eminence of ,rembrandt's landscapes--,their influence on the most modern ,art--,the landscapes' rarity--,the most desirable and attainable--,prices--,the landscapes in the ,holford ,sale--,rembrandt's portraits--,portraits of himself--,the best portraits of others--,recent prices of the portraits--,those fine ones that are cheap essentially--,sacred subjects just touched on--,the ,nude--,the methods of ,rembrandt--,etching and dry-point--,simplicity of the means ,rembrandt employed4 ,that great old connoisseur of ,rouen1 ,eugne ,dutuit1 in his two portly tomes1 the uvre ,complet de ,rembrandt 7produced in #ahhc71 catalogues for the convenience of the collector three hundred and sixty-three pieces1 though1 from his long and careful ,introduction1 it is evident that he is not altogether uninfluenced by modern views1 and is willing to discard some few out of that great array of prints4 ,wilson1 the first important ,english cataloguer1 working in #ahcf1 had catalogued three hundred and sixty-nine4 ,charles ,blanc1 about a score of years later1 had reduced the number to three hundred and fifty-three4 ,again1 in #ahgi1 the ,rev4 ,c4 ,h4 ,middleton-,wake had brought the number down to three hundred and twenty-nine4 ,it is hardly likely that before the present chapter is completed--a chapter that must be devoted mainly to the more fascinating works of the greatest mind that ever expressed itself in ,etching--,i shall have said anything of value on what is1 for the student1 an important question--the question of how much of ,rembrandt's long-accepted work the master really executed4 ,for not in a part only of a single chapter of a volume on ,fine ,prints could it be possible to deal satisfactorily with the arguments for and against certain etchings1 the authenticity of which modern ,criticism disputes or doubts about4 ,the matter would require not paragraphs1 but a volume4 ,furthermore1 for anything approaching a final settlement1 it would need such opportunities for comparison as absolutely no one has yet been able to possess4 ,sir ,seymour ,haden1 whose views upon the subject are more defined than most people's--if likewise it happens that they are more revolutionary--has been pleading for a large exhibition and a committee of experts to settle the matter1 and1 at this time of writing1 the exhibition has not been held nor the committee formed4 ,in regard to its decision1 ,i anticipate as likely to be delivered somewhat earlier1 and perhaps with more of unanimity1 the utterance of ,rome upon that question of 8,anglican ,orders10 which now either vexes or sympathetically engages her4 ,but if the moment of connoisseurs' agreement upon the question of the precise number of ,rembrandt's true etchings seems yet remote1 the beginner in the study of the prints of ,rembrandt's may note with benefit two things3 first1 that there does exist the reasonable and long-sustained doubt in regard principally to the 8,beggar0 and a few of the ,sacred ,subjects 7for certain landscapes were discarded long ago71 and that thus a question has arisen into which the student may inquire cautiously1 and1 after much preliminary study1 exercise his own mind upon2 and1 second 7and here comes in immediate comfort for the collector71 that the doubts thrown on two or three score of prints still leave untouched the plates in which intelligent ,criticism has recognised masterpieces4 ,again1 and for his further joy1 if the collector be but a beginner1 or with a purse not deep1 he may note that the masterpieces of ,rembrandt are of the most various degrees of rarity2 that accordingly they differ inexpressibly as to the money value that attaches to them2 and that therefore1 even nowadays1 though the complete or comprehensive collector of ,rembrandt will have to be a rich man1 a poor man may yet buy1 two or three times in every year1 some ,rembrandt etching1 noble in conception1 exquisite in workmanship4 ,a volume like the present is not concerned primarily with the acquisitions of the millionaire1 though it has1 of course1 to take account of them4 ,let us therefore1 just at this stage1 ask ourselves what the careful1 modestly-equipped buyer does well to do1 so that in his portfolios so great a master as ,rembrandt shall not be altogether unrepresented1 and shall not be represented unworthily8 ,ought the beginner to confine himself at first to making a selection from one or two groups only1 out of the number of groups into which1 unless chronological order is to over-ride everything1 the prints of ,rembrandt not unnaturally divide themselves8 ,or ought he to be guided in his choice by some ascertained facts of ,rembrandt's history1 and by the help of dated plates--or by accepting as fixed and final the conjectures as to date which have proceeded from the newer connoisseurship--seek some representation of the art of ,rembrandt at different times of his career8 ,or ought he1 instead of either confining himself to one or two groups or classes of subject1 or seeking to trace at all1 by the few prints of which he may possess himself1 the course of ,rembrandt's progress1 the changes in his method1 see rather that in his portfolios all classes of subject shall have something to represent them1 so that at least in this manner the range of the master--which is one of the most marked of his characteristics--shall be suggested8 ,the chronological plan1 though it has reason on its side and great advantages1 and naturally commends itself to the advanced student who is far already on the road to be himself an expert1 is scarcely good for the beginner2 and this not only because the proper basis of knowledge--the date that is not a shrewd guess1 but a quite certain fact--is often wanting2 but also because the master's methods in etching1 as in painting1 were so many1 and in a measure at least 7even the most varied of them7 were contemporaneously exercised1 that the attempt to represent periods and manners in a collection numerically insignificant becomes ,quixotic or ,academic4 ,perhaps1 then1 the wisest thing is to take one or two great typical groups4 ,for my own part1 ,i should take ,portraiture and ,landscape2 not of course cramping oneself with such ridiculous limitations as 8,portraits of ,men10 8,portraits of ,women0--as if the two1 save for convenience of reference1 should not invariably be considered together4 ,i have said1 for one of my two groups1 ,landscape4 ,i justify it by the indisputable pre-eminence which ,rembrandt's etched landscapes enjoy4 ,even in the dignified and tasteful work of ,claude there are only two or three pieces which hold their own in fascination when the memory is charged with the achievements of the ,dutchman--a magical effect won out of material intractable1 or at the best simple2 for that1 at most1 was ,rembrandt's scenery4 ,the landscape etchings of ,rembrandt's compatriots1 when they come to be measured by his own1 assert only topographical accuracy1 or faithful persevering study1 or1 it may be1 a little manual dexterity1 or their possession of a sense of prettiness which they share even with the work of the amateur4 ,most of the finest landscape etching of later days not only bears some signs of ,rembrandt's influence1 but would have been essentially other than it now is if ,rembrandt's had not existed4 ,the ,dutchman's mark is laid1 strong and indelible1 even upon individualities so potent and distinguished as ,seymour ,haden and ,andrew ,geddes4 ,whistler1 exquisite and peculiar as his genius is1 with the figure1 and with ,thames-side ,london subjects and subjects of ,venice1 would1 had he treated landscape proper1 have either reminded us of ,rembrandt1 or have etched in some wrong way4 ,he would not have etched in some wrong way--we may take that for granted2 he would have reminded us of ,rembrandt1 with a little of himself besides4 ,i have shown1 ,i think1 how clearly1 from the artistic point of view1 the new collector is led to love and seek for ,rembrandt landscapes4 ,but there is one objection1 though it is perhaps not a fatal one1 to concentrating his attention upon them4 ,little of ,rembrandt's work1 except a few oddities of crazy value1 like the ,first ,state of the ,hundred ,guilder1 is rarer or more costly than his landscapes4 ,or1 to be more explicit1 more absolutely and literally correct1 it is rather in this way3 that1 while for a good example of ,rembrandt in any other department of his labours1 it is possible of course to be obliged to give much1 but likewise 7,heaven be praised67 quite possible not to be obliged to give much1 you will never without an outlay of a certain importance be possessed of any one of his landscapes in desirable condition4 ,an outlay of #cj may conceivably endow you with a good impression of one of the most desirable of the minor landscapes4 ,that sum may get you1 and without your having to wait a quite indefinite time for the acquisition1 a ,view of ,amsterdam or a ,cottage with ,white ,palings4 ,it may even get you a rarer1 finer thing1 the ,landscape with the ,obelisk1 or that much slighter landscape piece--that summary1 though of course in its own way very learned1 little performance known as ,six's ,bridge2 the plate which tradition says 7probably not untruly7 was etched by ,rembrandt while the servant of his friend1 ,jan ,six1 who had forgotten the mustard1 went 7somewhere beyond the pantry1 however2 ,i should even think that it was outside the house7 in rapid search of that condiment4 ,illustration3 ,,rembrandt3 ,landscape1 with the ,obelisk4 ,but there1 as far as ,landscape is concerned1 if #cj or thereabouts is to be the limit of your disbursement upon a single piece1 there your collecting stops4 ,if you want a ,cottage with ,dutch ,hay-,barn--very fine indeed1 but not of extreme rarity--sixty1 eighty1 or a hundred pounds1 or more1 must be the ransom of it4 ,you want a ,landscape with a ,ruined ,tower--the print which1 for well-considered breadth and maintained unity of effect 7not so much for dainty finish7 is the 8last word0 of landscape art1 the perfect splendid phrase which nothing can appropriately follow1 after which there is of necessity declension1 if not collapse--it will be a mere accident if fifty guineas gets it for you4 ,it may cost you a couple of hundred4 ,and when8 ,why1 only when a fine collection comes into the market3 such a collection as ,mr ,holford's1 three or four years ago1 or one at least not at all points inferior to it4 ,and that happens not many times in the life of any one of us4 ,again1 there is the ,goldweigher's ,field1 a bird's-eye view of a plain near the ,zuyder ,zee2 a summary1 learned memorandum of the estate and country-house1 with all its appurtenances1 of ,uytenbogaert1 the ,receiver-,general1 of whom there is a representation amongst the ,rembrandt portraits4 ,if you can afford it1 and if fortune smiles upon you by bestowing opportunity of acquisition1 you will want not only the less costly portrait of the ,goldweigher1 but the landscape of the ,goldweigher's ,field4 ,there are rarer things than that in ,rembrandt's work--not much that is more desirable4 #dd was paid for an impression1 probably not quite of the first order1 at the ,firmin-,didot sale1 #ed at the ,liphart1 #gb at the ,holford4 ,the landscapes yet more difficult to find1 command1 of course1 even higher prices1 and this somewhat independently of their artistic interest1 which only in a very few cases--and then with very exceptional impressions--equals that of the prints ,i have already named4 ,of these yet rarer landscapes1 as well as the other ones1 ,mr ,holford's collection was certainly the finest dispersed in recent times4 ,his sale took place at ,christie's in ,july #ahic2 and at it1 for the ,view of ,omval--an exceptionally splendid impression of a somewhat favourite yet not extraordinarily rare subject--#cbj was paid by ,m4 ,bouillon4 ,the subject1 though in impressions of very different quality1 had been sold in the ,sir ,abraham ,hume sale for #dg1 and in the ,duke of ,buccleuch's for #dd4 #agj was paid for the ,three ,trees1 the one ,rembrandt landscape which has a touch of the sensational1 which adds to its real merit the obvious and immediate attractiveness of the dramatic effect4 ,herr ,meder1 the dealer of ,berlin1 bought the ,first ,state of ,the ,three ,cottages for #bge4 ,the sum of #baj was the ransom of the ,first ,state of the slightly arched print ,a ,village with the ,square ,tower4 ,the impression1 which was from the ,aylesford collection1 was of unparalleled brilliance1 and the ,state is of extraordinary rarity1 though ,m4 ,dutuit notes its presence at ,amsterdam and at the ,british ,museum4 ,to ,m4 ,bouillon was knocked down for #bfj a faultless impression of ,the ,canal1 a print which at the ,galichon sale had passed under the hammer for #hj1 and even at the ,buccleuch for #abj4 ,messrs ,colnaghi bought for #ade a most sparkling impression of the rare ,first ,state of the broadly treated ,landscape with a ,ruined ,tower1 more properly called by the ,french cataloguers ,paysage la ,tour1 for in this ,first ,state there is no sign of 8ruin40 ,doubtless when the title by which it is known in ,england was first applied to it1 the amateur was unfamiliar with this rarest ,state1 in which the dome of the tower is intact4 ,in the ,second ,state it has disappeared1 and in the ,third there are other minor changes4 ,the reader will remember that already1 two or three pages back1 ,i have referred to this print as a masterpiece1 than which none is more desirable or more representative4 ,a perfect impression of the ,landscape with a ,flock of ,sheep 7from the ,john ,barnard collection7 sold for #bde2 the ,first ,state of the ,landscape with an ,obelisk for #ahe2 an ,orchard with a ,barn 7the early ,state1 before the plate was cut at either end7 for #agj2 and the ,first ,state of the ,landscape with a ,boat--an impression extraordinarily full of 8bur0--for #bjj4 ,altogether1 the ,rembrandts in the ,holford sale--and ,i shall have to refer to some of them again before ,i finish the chapter--sold for #af1jjj4 ,richard ,fisher's ,rembrandts had fetched about #aejj2 ,sir ,abraham ,hume's1 #djjj2 ,sir ,seymour ,haden's1 #dgjj2 the ,duke of ,buccleuch's1 something over #aj1jjj4 ,the last is a figure which was never expected to be surpassed--hardly1 perhaps1 to be equalled4 ,yet it was surpassed very much4 ,but now it is high time ,i said a little about the desirableness of ,rembrandt portraits and about their money value4 ,no engraved portraiture in all the world1 not even the mezzotints after ,sir ,joshua1 present with so much power so great a range of varied character4 ,for an artistic treatment of ,humanity equally sterling and austere1 you must go back to ,holbein's drawings4 ,for a variety as engaging1 a vividness and flexibility as sure of their effect1 only the pastels by ,la ,tour in the ,museum of ,st ,quentin rival these ,rembrandt records of ,jew and ,gentile1 old and young1 and rich and poor in ,amsterdam4 ,as in painting1 so in etching1 ,rembrandt was himself one of his best models4 ,in no less than thirty-four of his prints--according to the ,catalogue of ,wilson--do we find he has portrayed1 at different ages1 his homely1 striking1 penetrating face4 ,sometimes he is a youth2 sometimes the burden of experience is visibly laid on him2 sometimes he is engrossed with work1 as in the superb ,rembrandt ,drawing2 sometimes1 as in the ,rembrandt with a ,sabre1 masquerading2 sometimes he is depicted with great fulness of record2 sometimes1 as in the admirable little rarity1 ,wilson #cfd 7not catalogued amongst the ,rembrandt portraits1 because the plate has other heads as well71 a few lines1 chosen with the alacrity and certainty of genius1 bring him before us1 sturdy1 sagacious1 and with mind bent upon a problem he is sure to solve4 ,the ,rembrandt with a ,sabre1 at the ,holford sale--a thing almost unique--fell to the bid of ,m4 ,deprez of #bjjj1 and has joined now the other extraordinary possessions of ,baron ,edmond ,de ,rothschild4 ,at the ,holford sale1 the ,rembrandt with a ,turned-up ,hat and ,embroidered ,mantle--an almost unique ,first ,state1 drawn on by ,rembrandt1 but none the better on that account--fetched #dbj4 ,of the ,rembrandt ,drawing there were two impressions4 ,one of them1 which ,mr ,middleton-,wake assures us is the ,first1 and which ,wilson justly describes as at all events 8the finest10 sold for #bhj to ,herr ,meder4 ,the impression was of unmatched brilliancy and vigour1 the whole thing as spontaneous and impulsive as anything in ,rembrandt's work4 ,the second impression sold--an impression to which the honours of a true ,second ,state are now assigned--fetched #hb1 and was borne away by ,mr ,gutekunst of ,stuttgart4 ,that famous ,holford sale1 in which1 as ,i have said already1 the ,rembrandt with the ,sabre sold for a couple of thousand1 and in which the 8,hundred ,guilder0 7,christ ,healing the ,sick7 beat at least its own record1 and was sold for #agej1 contained among the portraits an impression of the elaborate ,ephraim ,bonus1 8with the black ring10 the only one with this singular and somewhat petty distinction which could ever come into the market2 the remaining impressions being tied up permanently at the ,british ,museum and the ,bibliothque ,nationale4 ,m4 ,danlos took it across the ,channel1 having paid #aiej for the opportunity of doing so4 ,the ,burgomaster ,six1 an almost mezzotint-like portrait in general effect--highly wrought1 and with an obvious delicacy--always fetches a high price4 ,at the ,holford sale an impression called 8,second ,state0 fell to ,colnaghi's bid of #chj4 ,at the ,seymour ,haden1 one called a 8,third0--a very exquisite impression--reached #cij4 ,it came from the collection of ,sir ,abraham ,hume1 and ,sir ,seymour1 in the ,preface to his sale catalogue1 properly pointed out that with the ,six1 as with the ,ephraim ,bonus1 what are practically trial-proofs have been erected into 8,states40 ,the ,third ,state of the ,old ,haaring1 a portrait of a venerable1 kindly1 perhaps ceremonious gentleman1 who practised the profession of an auctioneer1 is scarcely less rare than the rest4 ,when found among the ,holford treasures1 it sold for #aij4 ,for nearly the same price the benign portrait of ,john ,lutma1 the goldsmith--an impression in the ,first ,state1 however1 8before the window and the bottle0--passed into the hands of the same buyer4 ,that plate--one of the most admirable in the work of ,rembrandt--affords1 in its ,first ,state1 an instance of the artificial advantage of mere rarity4 ,because certain collectors are accustomed to see it more or less worn1 with the window and the bottle behind the seated figure1 they will never give for it1 even when it is not worn--if the window and the bottle happen to be there--one-third the sum that they pay willingly when those objects are absent1 which ,rembrandt knew were wanted to complete the composition4 ,now1 in the case of the ,great ,jewish ,bride--a portrait really of ,rembrandt's wife1 ,saskia1 with flowing hair--the background is a loss1 clearly1 the earlier ,state being invariably the finer and the more spontaneous4 ,with the ,lutma it is not so4 ,there is no doubt that the additions add charm1 add luminousness1 to the general effect2 but the fine eye is wanted1 the eye of the real expert1 to see to it that the impression which contains these is yet an impression in which deterioration is not visible--that it is1 in fact1 one of the very earliest impressions after the additions had been made4 ,illustration3 ,,rembrandt3 ,lutma4 ,to make an end of the record of great prices fetched by the portraits in the ,holford sale1 let it be said that the ,cornelius ,sylvius--the impression ,wilson pronounced to be the finest--sold for #dej2 that a ,second ,state of the rare1 and on that account1 as ,i suppose1 the favourite portrait of the ,advocate ,van ,tolling1 fetched #ecj2 whilst an exceedingly effective impression of the big portrait of ,coppenol1 the writing-master1 realised no less than #acej4 ,but without touching any one of these great rarities1 modest collectors1 whose modesty yet does not go the length of making them satisfied with second-rate ,art1 may still have noble portraits4 ,six or seven guineas--,i mean1 of course1 when opportunity arises--secures you the quite exquisite and delicately modelled croquis 7but is it not1 after all1 something more than a croquis87 called ,portrait of a ,woman1 lightly etched4 ,rembrandt was very young when he did that1 yet his art was mature1 his point unspeakably vivacious4 ,it is a portrait of his mother4 ,so again1 the ,mre de ,rembrandt au voile noir--the lady sitting1 somewhat austere this time1 with set mouth1 and the old full-veined hands folded in rest--never1 ,i think1 in its happiest impression costs more than #bj--may very likely cost you a good deal less4 ,ten guineas will very likely be the ransom of that charming portrait of a boy-child in profile1 which was once thought to record the features of ,titus1 ,rembrandt's son1 and then those of the little ,prince of ,orange4 ,it is a delightful vision of youth1 demure and chubby1 and in its dainty drawing of light and silky hair1 does even ,whistler's ,fanny ,leyland rival it8 ,are you disposed to venture #cj1 #dj1 #ej8 ,then may you1 in due time1 add to your group a ,first ,state of the most subtle portrait of that meditative print-seller1 ,clment de ,jonghe4 ,it is treated with singular breadth and luminousness1 and of character it is a profound revelation4 ,by the time the ,third ,state is reached--and a good ,third ,state may be worth fifteen or twenty pounds--the thing has changed4 ,indeed1 it has changed already a little in the ,second4 ,but in the ,third1 further work has endowed the personage with the air of a more visible romance2 and in the two succeeding ,states this is preserved1 though the wear of course becomes perceptible4 ,it is well1 by way of contrast1 to possess yourself of this more sentimental record--the ,third1 if possible1 in preference to the ,fourth or ,fifth ,state--besides1 of course1 that subtler and far finer vision of the personage which is ensured by the ,first ,state alone4 ,the time may soon be upon us when a ,first ,state of ,clment de ,jonghe will be worth1 not thirty or forty1 but sixty or eighty guineas4 ,it has always been appreciated1 but it has not yet been appreciated at its true worth4 ,nothing in all the great etched work of ,rembrandt is in craftsmanship more unobtrusively magnificent1 and in its suggestion of complex character nothing is more subtle4 ,illustration3 ,,rembrandt3 ,clment de ,jonghe4 ,it was well1 perhaps1 to insist particularly on the desirableness1 for study and possession1 of these two great branches of the etched work of ,rembrandt1 the ,landscapes and the ,portraits4 ,it would be ridiculous to attack the authenticity of any piece that ,i have mentioned4 ,no one1 so far as ,i am aware1 has ever thought of doing so2 so that with these1 at all events1 as well as with many others1 the collector is safe4 ,but my insistence on the things ,i have selected will not deter explorers from adventures that interest them4 ,the unction1 the vividness1 and the essential dignity even of those ,sacred ,subjects from which he is at first repelled by the presence there so abundantly of the ungainly and the common1 will in the end attract the collector4 ,he will recognise that there was pathos in the life ,rembrandt imagined1 as well as in the life that he observed4 ,and in the ,academical studies1 the representations of the ,nude1 he will recognise that there is ,style constantly1 and beauty now and then4 ,one or two of these1 at least1 he will like to have1 if he can4 ,two of them seem to me better and more desirable than the rest4 ,one is that study of a recumbent woman--,naked ,woman seen from behind--which the ,french sometimes call ,ngresse couche2 but she is not 8,negress0 at all1 but only a stripped woman beheld in deepish shadow4 ,this is one of the least rare4 ,five or six pounds will often buy it4 ,the other is the ,woman with the ,arrow4 ,a slimmer1 lighter1 younger woman than is usual with ,rembrandt1 sits1 with figure turned prettily1 on the edge of a bed4 ,the drawing is not academically perfect1 but the picture is at least living flesh1 graceful of pose1 and seen in an admirable arrangement of shadow and of light4 ,this ,woman with the ,arrow fetched1 in the ,kalle sale1 #bf2 in the ,knowles sale1 #cb4 ,the so-called 8,free ,subjects0 are few1 and the rudest of them1 ,ledikant1 which has yet a touch of comedy in it 7for ,rembrandt was an observer always71 is fortunately of extreme rarity4 ,with not a single one of these ought the collector to be concerned4 ,some ,french artists have known how to make their choice of such subjects pardonable by treating them with grace2 but the eroticism of ,rembrandt--happily most occasional--is1 in the very grossness of its obvious comedy1 reeking with offence4 ,in regard to the arrangement of the prints by the master who is the head and front of the ,dutch school1 and the consummate practitioner of ,etching--,i mean1 the arrangement in the student's mind1 and not only the arrangement in the solander-box--the question of the artist's method of execution plays a not unimportant part4 ,are you to classify your possessions in order of date1 or in accordance with subject1 or with reference to style and manner of work8 ,that third method1 however1 would be found in its result not very different from the arrangement by date4 ,broadly speaking1 it would have affinity with that4 ,for1 as ,sir ,seymour ,haden tells us in an interesting ,lecture called 8,rembrandt ,true and ,false10 which the ,macmillans issued in #ahie1 the ,burlington ,club ,exhibition was itself sufficient 8to disclose the interesting fact that1 dividing the thirty years of ,rembrandt's etching career into three parts or decades1 his plates during the first of these decades were for the most part etched--#8bitten in1' that is1 by a mordant--in the second1 that after having been so bitten in1 their effect was enhanced by the addition of #8dry-point'2 and in the third1 that1 discarding altogether the colder chemical process1 the artist had generally depended on the more painter-like employment of #8dry-point' alone40 ,and in regard to methods of work1 ,sir ,seymour in this ,lecture discredited the statement that ,rembrandt was full of mysterious contrivances1 and that his success as an etcher owed much to these4 8,all the great painter-engravers1 in common with all great artists1 worked simply and with the simplest tools4 ,it is only the mechanical engraver and copyist who depends for what he calls his #8quality' on a multiplicity of instrumental aids which1 in fact1 do the work for him--the object of the whole of them being to make that work as easy to an assistant as to the engraver himself1 and its inevitable effect1 to reduce that which was once an art to the level of a mtier40 ,,chapter ,,iv ,geddes1 a link between ,rembrandt and the ,french ,revival--,the ,etchings of ,millet--,charles ,mryon's work--,the best1 accomplished in but few years--,his 8,paris0--,the ,mryons the ,collector wants--,the prices of some masterpieces--,papers--,mryon ,collectors--,bracquemond's few noble things--,maxime ,lalanne--,jules ,jacquemart's ,etchings--,his still-life pieces practically original--,jacquemart interpreter1 not copyist1 of his subject--,the 8,porcelaine0--,the 8,gemmes et ,joyaux0--,the dry-points of ,paul ,helleu4 ,between the period of the work of ,rembrandt and the middle of the ,eighteenth ,century very little fine work was done in ,etching4 ,the practitioners of the art1 such as they were1 seemed to lose sight of its greater principles4 ,what they lacked in learning and in mastery1 they made up for--so they probably thought--by elaboration and prettiness4 ,only here and there did such a man as our ,english ,geddes--our ,scottish ,geddes1 if the word is liked better--and he not later than the second and third decades of our own century--produce either portrait or landscape in the true method1 with seeming spontaneity1 with means economised4 ,it was in landscape chiefly--most particularly in ,on ,peckham ,rye and ,halliford-on-,thames--that ,geddes most successfully asserted himself1 as1 in his smaller way1 ,rembrandt's true follower1 though in his few portraits 7his mother's1 perhaps1 most notably7 the right decisiveness1 simplicity1 and energy of manner may not be overlooked4 ,in some measure1 it may be supposed1 ,geddes influenced ,david ,wilkie1 who was his friend1 and ,wilkie1 amongst several etchings which were inferior at least to the dry-points of his fellow-workman 7for his small portfolio is not1 on the whole1 worth much71 produced one or two memorable things3 a perfect little genre piece1 called ,the ,receipt--an old-world gentleman searching in a bureau1 while a messenger waits respectfully at his side--being by far the best1 and obviously a desirable possession4 ,but the middle of our century had to be reached before the true revival of the art of ,etching1 anywhere4 ,before it1 ,ingres1 in a single plate1 practised the art in the spirit of the line-engraver4 ,just as it approached1 ,delacroix and ,paul ,huet and ,thodore ,rousseau showed1 in a few plates1 some appreciation of the fact that etching is often serviceable chiefly as the medium for a sketch4 ,but the middle of the century had actually to arrive before the world was in possession of the best performances of ,millet1 ,mryon1 ,bracquemond1 and ,jules ,jacquemart4 ,jean ,franois ,millet executed but one-and-twenty etchings1 according to the ,catalogue of ,monsieur ,lebrun1 the friend and relative of ,sensier1 ,millet's biographer4 ,of ,m4 ,lebrun's ,catalogue--originally issued as an ,appendix to the ,paris edition of ,sensier's ,life of the artist--,mr ,frederick ,keppel1 of ,new ,york1 has published a translation1 with some additional facts which are of interest to the precise student4 ,the etchings of ,millet are1 at the very least1 masterly notes of motives for his painted pictures4 ,but they are often much more than that4 ,often they are entirely satisfactory and final and elucidatory dealings with the themes they choose to tackle4 ,they are then1 quite as much as the pictures themselves1 records of peasant life1 as the artist observed it intimately1 and at the same time vivid and expressive suggestions of atmosphere and light and shade4 ,in effect they are large and simple4 ,in ,etching1 ,millet was scarcely concerned to display a skill that was very obvious1 a sleight-of-hand1 an acrobatic triumph over technical difficulties4 ,etching was to him a vehicle for the expression of exactly the same things as those to which he addressed himself in mediums more habitual4 ,and so we have his ,glaneuses and his ,bcheurs1 his ,dpart pour le ,travail--worth perhaps1 each one of them1 in good state1 a very few pounds each4 ,in ,america ,millet has of late years been particularly appreciated4 ,i should dare to say even that he has been overrated1 owing to a skilfully-worked craze about his painted pictures1 ending with the immense1 ridiculous sensation of the sale of the ,angelus4 ,but in ,france--which1 in the appreciation of all work of art1 is certainly not less enlightened1 but is cooler and more questioning--,millet is also appreciated2 nor1 in ,england1 in #ahia1 was there substantial difficulty in borrowing for the ,burlington ,club ,exhibition of the ,french ,revival of ,etching1 the eleven prints1 lent by ,mr ,justice ,day1 ,sir ,hickman ,bacon1 ,mr ,h4 ,s4 ,theobald1 and ,mr ,alfred ,higgins1 which were deemed a sufficient representation of ,millet's work with the needle4 ,in that ,exhibition the representation of the great work of ,mryon was confined to twenty-five prints4 ,it practically included all his masterpieces2 but it would have been made more extensive had not the ,burlington ,club1 soon after ,i published the first edition of my little book upon this master--and when ,burty's ,memoir was yet fresh--organised a splendid gathering of the prints we owe to ,mryon's high imagination1 keen sensitiveness1 and unstinted labour4 ,i am not concerned to deal here at any length with the story of ,mryon's life1 or with the analysis of his poetic temperament4 ,the question asked about him by the reader of this present book is a comparatively simple one1 but ,i shall have to answer it with fulness--which to possess of the 8sombre epics10 and lovely lyrics1 wrought during the time in which his spirit was most brilliant and his hand firmest8 ,mryon's fame rests on the achievements of a very few years4 ,the period comprised between #ahej and #ahed saw the production1 not indeed of everything he did which may deserve to live1 but of all that is sufficient to ensure life for the rest4 ,many of his pretty and carefully planned drawings were made earlier than #ahej1 and several of the more engaging of his etchings were made after #ahed2 but the four years between these dates were the years in which he conceived and executed his 8,paris10 which was something more than a collection of etched views--it was a poem and a satirical commentary on the life he recorded4 ,moreover1 ,mryon is quite pre-eminently the etcher of one great theme4 ,among richly endowed artists who have looked at ,life broadly1 it is rare and difficult to discover one whose work has evidenced such faithful concentration4 ,it is rare enough to find that concentration even in the labour of such artists as are comparatively unimaginative1 of such as are content to confine themselves to the patient record of the thing that actually is--of such an engraver1 say1 as ,hollar4 ,it is doubly rare to find an imaginative artist of wide outlook and of deep experience so much the recorder of one set of facts1 one series of visions4 ,he will generally have been anxious to give form to very different impressions that came to him at various times and under changing circumstances4 ,now it may have been ,landscape that interested him1 and now ,portraiture1 and now again ideal composition or traditional romance4 ,and in each he may have fairly succeeded4 ,but ,mryon1 though stress of circumstance obliged him to do work beyond the limits of his choice1 did such work1 generally speaking1 with only too little of promptings from within1 to lighten the dulness of the task4 ,there are1 of course1 exceptions--one or two in his ,landscape1 if there are none in his ,portraiture4 ,but the beginning and the end of his art1 as far as the world can be asked to be seriously concerned with it1 lay in the imaginative record1 now faithfully simple1 now transfigured and nobly visionary1 of the city which requited him but ill for his devotion to its most poetic and its most prosaic features4 ,it is the etchings of ,paris1 then1 that the collector will naturally first seek4 ,nearly all the etchings of ,paris are included in what is sometimes known as 8the published set40 ,not that the twelve major and the eleven minor pieces comprised in that were ever really published by fashionable print-sellers to an inquiring and eager public4 ,but they were at least so arranged and put together that this might have happened had ,mryon's star been a lucky one4 ,in ,mryon's mind they constituted a 8work10 to which the few other ,parisian subjects afterwards came as a not unsuitable addition4 ,like the plates of 8,liber ,studiorum10 they were to be looked at 8together40 ,together1 the plates of 8,liber0 represented1 as we shall see better in another chapter1 the range of ,turner's art4 ,together1 the etchings 8sur ,paris0--8on0 and not 8of0 ,paris1 let it be noted--represented ,mryon's vision of the town1 and of its deeper life4 ,in beginning a collection of ,mryon's1 ,i imagine it to be important not only to begin with one of the 8,paris10 but with a very significant example of it--a typical1 important etching4 ,the twelve views--the twelve 8pictures10 ,i should prefer to call them--,mryon himself numbered1 when1 rather late in life1 he issued the last impressions of them4 ,these numbered impressions1 being1 as ,i say1 the very last ,states1 are not the impressions to cherish2 but these are the subjects of them 7and the subjects1 in finer impressions1 will all be wanted7--the ,stryge1 the ,petit ,pont1 the ,arche du ,pont ,ntre-,dame1 the ,galrie de ,ntre-,dame1 the ,tour de l',horloge1 the ,tourelle1 ,rue de la ,tixranderie1 the ,st ,etienne-du-,mont1 the ,pompe ,ntre-,dame1 the ,pont ,neuf1 the ,pont-au-,change1 the ,morgue1 and1 lastly1 the ,abside de ,ntre-,dame4 ,before these1 between them1 and again at the end of them1 are certain minor designs1 not to be confused with that 8,minor ,work10 chiefly copies and dull ,portraiture1 described but briefly in my little book on ,mryon1 which is devoted more particularly to the work of genius with which it is worth while to be concerned4 ,those minor designs which are associated with the 8,paris0 are an essential part of it1 doing humble1 but1 as ,i am certain ,mryon thought1 most necessary service4 ,in a sense they may be called head-pieces and tail-pieces to the greater subjects of which the list lies above4 ,sometimes they are ornament1 but always significant1 symbolic ornament2 sometimes they are direct1 written commentary4 ,either way1 they bear upon the whole1 but yet are less important than those twelve pieces already named4 ,so it was1 at all events1 in ,mryon's mind2 but of one or two of them it is true also that they have a beauty and perfection within their limited scheme1 lacking to one or two of the more important1 to which they serve humbly as page or outrider4 ,the one lyric note of the ,rue des ,mauvais ,garons1 for instance1 is in its own way as complete a thing as is the magnificent epic of ,abside or ,morgue--it is greater far than the ,pompe ,ntre-,dame1 or1 it may be1 than the ,petit ,pont4 ,the late ,mr ,p4 ,g4 ,hamerton--an admirable specialist in ,etching1 but a writer making no claim to the narrower speciality of minute acquaintance with ,mryon--has praised the ,pompe ,ntre-,dame4 ,he has praised it for merits which exist1 and it is only relatively that the praise is1 as it seems to me1 undeserved4 ,the plate is really a wonderful victory over technical difficulties2 but1 in the ugly lines of it1 its realism is realism of too bold an order4 ,the ,petit ,pont is a fine piece of architectural draughtsmanship1 and an impressive conception to boot2 but1 like ,rembrandt's wonderfully wrought ,mill1 it is one-sided--it wants symmetry of composition4 ,the ,abside is accounted the masterpiece of ,mryon1 in right of its solemn and austere beauty4 ,a rich and delicate impression of this print is1 then1 the crown of any ,mryon collection4 ,it must be obtained in a ,state before the dainty detail of the apse of the cathedral1 and the yet daintier and more magically delicate workmanship of its roof1 in soft and radiant light1 have suffered deterioration through wear4 ,it must be richly printed4 ,the ,first ,state is practically not to be found4 ,i suppose that there are scarcely in existence seven or eight impressions of it4 ,it is at the ,british ,museum1 and in the collections of ,mr ,b4 ,b4 ,macgeorge1 ,mr ,avery1 ,mr ,mansfield1 ,mr ,r4 ,c4 ,fisher1 and ,mr ,pyke ,thompson4 ,for the last that changed hands1 fully #abe guineas was paid4 ,mryon had received for it--and gratefully1 in his depression and poverty--one shilling and threepence4 ,i have seen his receipt4 ,but money now will not acquire it4 ,a ,second ,state is therefore the one to aim at2 and1 just because there were so very few impressions taken of the ,first1 that ,i ought1 in my ,catalogue1 to have described them as proofs--more especially as there was no change whatever in the work1 but only in the lettering--it stands to reason that the earliest and best impressions of the ,second 7,i mean these only7 are1 in their exquisite quality1 all that good judges can desire4 ,these are on thin and wiry paper--old ,dutch or ,french--often a little cockled4 ,the green1 or greenish1 paper ,mryon was fond of1 he never used for the ,abside4 ,the poorer impressions of the ,second ,state are on thick modern paper4 ,after the ,second ,state1 which1 when carefully chosen1 is apt to be so beautiful--and is worth1 then1 forty or fifty guineas--there comes a ,third1 a ,fourth1 a ,fifth3 none1 fortunately1 common2 and deteriorations1 all of them2 downward steps in the passage from noble ,art to the miserable issue of a thing which can rejoice the soul no longer1 nor evidence the triumph of the hand4 ,not much more need be said in detail here as to the larger prints of the great 8,paris10 but there is still a little4 ,in the shape and size of the plate1 and by its breadth of distant view1 the ,pont-au-,change is the companion to the ,abside4 ,there are some impressions on the greenish paper1 and some on the thin ,dutch that yields the best of the ,absides4 ,the impression of the ,first ,state in the ,de ,salicis ,sale sold for #cc4 ,the ,pont-au-,change is one of those prints which have submitted to the most serious alterations4 ,a wild flight of giant birds against the rolling sky is the first innovation--it occurs in the ,second ,state--and though it removes from the picture all its early calm and half its sanity1 it has1 as many think1 a charm of its own1 a weird suggestiveness4 ,a good impression1 in this ,state1 is worth1 it may be1 #f or #g4 ,the next change--when the flight of birds gives place to a flight of small balloons 7unlike the large balloon which1 in the ,first ,state1 sails nobly through the sky1 before ever the dark birds get there7--the next change1 ,i say1 is a more pronounced mistake4 ,the ,tour de l',horloge--of which a ,first ,state fetched in the ,wasset ,sale #aj1 and in the ,de ,salicis #bb--;has also submitted to change1 but scarcely in a ,state in which it need occupy the careful collector4 ,in certain late impressions1 ,mryon1 convinced1 in the restlessness of mental ill-health1 that one side of the tall ,palais de ,justice was left in his picture monotonous and dull1 shot great shafts of light across it1 and these became the things that caught the eye4 ,he had forgotten1 then1 the earlier wisdom and more consummate art by which1 when first he wrought the plate1 he had placed the quiet space of shadowed building as a foil to the many-paned window by the side of it4 ,the change is an instructive and pathetic commentary on the ease with which artistic conceptions slip away1 they themselves forgotten1 and the excellence that they had beautifully achieved ignored even by the mind that gave them birth4 ,the ,st ,etienne-du-,mont is one of those etchings which possess the abiding charm of perfect things4 ,in it a subject entirely beautiful and dignified is treated with force and with refinement of spirit1 and with faultless exactitude of hand4 ,it shows--nothing can better show--the characteristic of ,mryon1 the union of the courage of realism and the sentiment of poetry2 in other words1 its realism1 like the realism of the finest ,fiction1 has to be poetic4 ,you have the builder's scaffolding1 the workmen's figures1 for modern life and labour2 the ,gothic stones of the ,collge de ,montaigu1 the shadow of the narrow street1 the closely-draped women hurrying on their way1 for old-world sentiment and the mystery of the town4 ,but ,i suppose a chapter might be written upon its excellent beauty4 ,i mention it here1 partly because it too submits to change1 though change less important than that in the ,pont-au-,change1 and less destructive than that in the ,tour de l',horloge4 ,not to speak of sundry inscriptions1 sundry 8posters10 which ,mryon1 in mere restlessness1 was minded to alter1 he could never quite satisfy himself about the attitude of one of the workmen on the scaffolding4 ,three ,states represent as many changes in this figure1 and all these--as a matter1 at all events1 of minor interest--it is pleasant to collect4 ,here1 in the ,st ,etienne1 as so often in the etchings of ,mryon1 the ,first ,state 7#af in the ,de ,salicis ,sale7 is the one of which the impressions are the most numerous1 though even in this piece of writing1 which does not take the place of a catalogue1 ,i have had occasion to note one instance out of some in which it is not so4 ,but generally it is so4 ,and so the ,mryon collector has to be even more careful than the collector of 8,liber0 about the impression which he buys4 ,he must have an early ,state1 but it is not enough to have an early ,state4 ,he must most diligently teach himself to perceive what is really a fine example of it4 ,he must not fall into the commonest vice of the unintelligent purchaser--be captivated by the mere word1 forego his own judgment1 and buy ,first ,states with dull determination4 ,presently the collector of the 8,paris0 will legitimately want the smaller pieces1 some of which ,i have called 8tail-pieces03 all are commentaries and connecting-links4 ,some are beautiful1 complete1 and significant1 as has already been said1 but generally the significance is more remarkable than the beauty4 ,they bind together1 almost as an appropriate text itself might bind together1 what might otherwise be detached pictures4 ,they complete the thought of ,mryon in regard to his 8,paris10 and make its expression clear4 ,thus1 the etched cover for the ,paris ,set bears the title1 8,eaux ,fortes sur ,paris10 on a representation of a slab of fossiliferous limestone1 suggesting the material which made it possible to build the city on the spot where it stands4 ,then1 there is a set of etched verses wholly without other ornament than may be found in their prettily-fantastic form1 verses that bewail the life of ,paris4 ,again1 lines to accompany the ,pont-au-,change and its great balloon4 ,these things recall ,william ,blake--the method by which the 8,songs of ,innocence0 first found their limited public4 ,again1 the ,tombeau de ,molire--,mryon thinks there must be place in his ,paris for the one representative ,french writer of imaginative ,literature1 the cynic1 analyst1 comedian4 ,and to name one other little print1 but not to exhaust the list1 there is a graceful embodiment of wayward fancy to accompany the ,pompe ,ntre-,dame4 ,it is called the ,petite ,pompe--represents the ,pompe in small2 gives us verses regretting half playfully1 half affectionately1 the removal of so familiar a landmark1 and surrounds all with a flowing border of rare elegance and simple invention4 ,but a few other brilliant and poetical records of ,paris lie1 it has been said already1 outside the published ,set1 claim a place almost with the greater illustrations ,i have spoken of earlier1 and must surely be sought4 ,the ,tourelle1 dite 8de ,marat0 is one of these1 and it is ,mryon's record of the place where ,charlotte ,corday did the deed by which we remember her4 ,except for the interest of observing a change1 due1 ,i may suppose1 to the dulled imagination of a fairly shrewd tradesman--a change by which all symbolism and significance passed out of this wonderful little print--it is useless to have this little etching in any ,state after the ,first published one4 ,for1 after the ,first published one1 the picture and the poem became merely a view3 there is nothing to connect the place with ,marat's tragedy1 and ,mryon has been permitted to represent1 not the ,tourelle1 dite 8de ,marat10 but 8,no4 #bb1 ,street of the ,school of ,medicine40 ,and the ,first ,state is already rare4 ,there were very few impressions of it4 ,it was too imaginative for the public4 ,but here is an instance in which ,trial ,proofs1 generally to be avoided1 may fairly be sought for1 along with the ,first ,state4 ,distributed among different collectors is a little succession of ,trial ,proofs with different dates of ,may and ,june written by ,mryon in pencil on the margin4 ,the first and second belong to ,mr ,macgeorge2 the third was ,seymour ,haden's2 the fourth belongs to ,sir ,james ,knowles2 the eighth--which is the last--belongs to me 7,i got it1 if ,i recollect1 for #h1 #ajs4 and a commission1 at the ,wasset ,sale74 ,even at the beginning of this little sequence of proofs the work is not ineffective2 and at the end it is complete4 ,also outside the published ,set of 8,paris0 are two little etchings which are particularly noteworthy1 and which1 by reason of the extreme1 even astounding1 delicacy of some of their work1 it is1 ,i think1 well to secure in the early state of ,trial ,proof--when one can get the chance4 ,these are the ,pont-au-,change vers #aghd--which no one can possibly confuse with the larger ,pont-au-,change--and ,le ,pont ,neuf et la ,samaritaine4 ,unlike most of ,mryon's ,parisian work1 both are1 not indeed transcripts from1 but idealisations of1 drawings by another4 ,the first dry draughtsman1 in the present case1 was one ,nicolle4 ,as far as the practical presentation of all the subject is concerned1 the ,trial ,proofs of these prints1 which have been sold under the hammer for about #aj each1 are all that can be wanted1 and they possess1 moreover1 an exquisite refinement of light1 of which the published1 and especially the later published1 examples give no hint4 ,all impressions of these two little plates are worthy of respect1 for these plates were never worked down to the wrecks and skeletons of some of the others2 but1 nevertheless1 it is only in the earliest impressions that we can fully see the lovely lines and light and shade of the background in the ,pont-au-,change vers #aghd--;it must be had 8before the great dark rope0--and the sunlit house-fronts 7,van der ,heyden-like1 almost7 of the ,pont ,neuf et la ,samaritaine4 ,of the ,bourges etchings1 which are good1 though none are of the first importance--and they are but few in all--the best is the ,rue des ,toiles4 ,it is a varied picture1 admirably finished4 ,the rest are engaging sketches4 ,amongst the remaining etchings by which ,mryon commends himself to those who study and reflect upon his work1 it is enough1 perhaps1 here1 to speak of three4 ,ocanie3 ,pche aux ,palmes is almost the only quite satisfactory record of that acquaintance that he made with the antipodes4 ,the ,second ,state--with the title--is not scarce at all1 and can never be costly4 ,you may pay1 perhaps1 one or two pounds for it1 and for the first1 say1 four or five4 ,the ,entre du ,couvent des ,capucins ,franais ,athnes--a print devoted in reality to the ,choragic ,monument of ,lysicrates--is the single and the very noble plate which a visit to ,athens1 when he was a sailor1 inspired ,mryon to produce4 ,this rare plate was done for a book that is itself now rare--,count ,lon de ,laborde's 8,athnes au ,,xvme1 ,,xvime1 et ,,xviime ,sicles40 ,even in the ,second ,state the ,entre du ,couvent has fetched about #ab1 in more sales than one4 ,rochoux's ,address ,card1 albeit not particularly rare1 is curious and worth study4 ,it was executed for the only dealer who substantially encouraged ,mryon2 and ,mryon contrived to press into his little plate much of what he had already found and shown to be suggestive in the features of ,paris4 ,symbolical figures of the ,seine and ,marne recline at the top of the design4 ,then there are introduced bits from the ,arms of ,paris1 from the ,bain ,froid ,chevrier 7the statue of ,henri ,quatre71 from ,le ,pont ,neuf1 and from ,la ,petite ,pompe4 ,no one1 of course1 can ask us to consider ,rochoux's ,address ,card very beautiful or grandly imaginative2 but it is ingenious1 and1 like ,la ,petite ,pompe1 though in more limited measure1 it is good as a piece of decorative design4 ,the impressions of ,mryon's etchings are printed on papers of very different sorts4 ,a greenish paper ,mryon himself liked1 and it is one of the favourites of collectors4 ,its unearthly hue adds to the weirdness of several of the pictures1 often most suitably2 but it is not always good4 ,mryon knew this1 and many of his plates--amongst them1 as ,i have said already1 that unsurpassable masterpiece1 the ,abside--were never printed on it4 ,i have a ,rue des ,mauvais ,garons--the thing was ,baudelaire's favourite--upon very bluish gray4 ,a thin old ,dutch paper1 wiry and strong1 white originally and softened by age1 gives some of the finest impressions4 ,other good examples are on ,japanese1 and there are fine ones on thinnest ,india paper that is of excellent quality4 ,modern ,whatman and modern ,french paper have been used for many plates2 and a few impressions1 which1 ,i think1 were rarely1 if ever1 printed by any one but ,mryon himself1 are found on a paper of dull walnut colour4 ,if ,i seem to dwell on this too much1 let it be remembered that very different effects are produced by the different papers and the different inks4 ,the luxurious collector1 possessing more than one impression1 likes to look first at his 8,black ,morgue10 and then at his 8,brown40 ,the two make different pictures4 ,illustration3 ,m,,ryon3 ,la ,morgue4 ,about the ,mryon collections1 it may be said that ,m4 ,niel1 an early friend1 possessed the first important group that was sold under the hammer4 ,then followed ,m4 ,burty's1 ,m4 ,hirsch's1 and afterwards ,m4 ,sensier's4 ,these fetched but modest prices--prices insignificant sometimes--for ,mryon's vogue was not yet4 ,later1 the possessions of ,m4 ,wasset--an aged bachelor1 eager and trembling1 whom ,i shall always remember as the 8,cousin ,pons0 of certain bric--brac-crowded upper chambers in the ,rue ,jacob--were sold for more substantial sums4 ,since then1 the collection of that most sympathetic amateur1 the ,rev4 ,j4 ,j4 ,heywood--one of the first men in ,london to buy the master's prints--has passed into the hands of ,mr ,b4 ,b4 ,macgeorge of ,glasgow1 whose cabinet1 enriched from other sources1 is now certainly the greatest4 ,the ,mryons that belonged to ,sir ,seymour ,haden went1 some years since1 to ,america1 where whoever possesses them must recognise collectors that are his equals1 in ,mr ,samuel ,avery and ,mr ,howard ,mansfield4 ,if too many carefully gathered groups of ,mryon's etchings have left our shores1 others remain--though very few4 ,the ,british ,museum ,print-,room is rich in the works of the master3 many of the best impressions of his prints1 there1 having belonged long ago to ,philippe ,burty1 who early recognised something at least of their merit1 and made1 in the ,gazette des ,beaux ,arts of that day1 the first rough catalogue of them4 ,it is time we turned for a few minutes to ,felix ,bracquemond--a dozen years ,mryon's junior1 for he was born in #ahcc4 ,among the sub-headings to this present chapter there occurs the phrase1 8,bracquemond's few noble things40 ,why 8few08--it may be asked--when1 in the ,catalogue of the ,burlington ,club ,exhibition of the ,french ,revival of ,etching1 it is mentioned that the number of his plates extends to about seven hundred1 and that the list would have been longer had not ,bracquemond1 in his later years1 accepted an official post which left him little time for this department of work8 ,well1 there are two or three reasons why1 with all respect to an indefatigable artist1 ,i still say 8few40 ,to begin with1 no inconsiderable proportion of ,felix ,bracquemond's etched plates are works of reproduction--translations 7like ,rajon's1 ,waltner's1 ,unger's1 some indeed of ,jacquemart's7 of the conceptions of another4 ,these may be admirable in their own way--the ,erasmus1 after the ,holbein1 in the ,louvre1 is more than admirable3 it is masterly--a monument of austere1 firmly-directed labour1 recording worthily ,holbein's own searching draughtsmanship and profound and final vision of human character4 ,but we have agreed1 throughout the greater part of this book1 and more especially in those sections of it which are devoted to the art whose greatest charm is often in its spontaneity1 to consider original work and work inspired or dictated by others as on a different level4 ,then again1 in such of ,bracquemond's prints as are original1 there is perhaps even less than is usual1 in a fine artist's work1 of uniformity of excellence4 ,no very great number of all the plates ,m4 ,beraldi industriously chronicles need the collector busy himself with trying to acquire4 ,the largish etchings of great birds1 alive or dead1 are amongst the most characteristic4 ,with singular freedom and richness--an enjoyment of their plumage and their life1 and a great pictorial sense to boot--has ,bracquemond rendered them4 ,if ,i could possess but a single ,bracquemond1 ,i would have a fine impression of ,le ,haut d'un ,battant de ,porte1 the dark birds hanging there4 ,that plate was wrought in #ahfe4 ,but ,margot la ,critique and ,vanneaux et ,sarcelles--prints of about the same period--likewise represent the artist2 and there is a plate done later1 at the instance of the ,messrs4 ,dowdeswell1 which is certainly a triumph of technique and of character4 ,this is ,le ,vieux ,coq4 ,daubigny1 ,maxime ,lalanne1 ,meissonier1 ,corot1 are all amongst deceased ,french artists who have etched ably4 ,the two last-mentioned--doubtless the most important or most popular artists in their own customary mediums--wrought the fewest plates4 ,corot's are characteristic sketches4 ,daubigny worked more systematically at etching1 and you feel in all his works a sympathetic1 picturesque vision of ,nature2 but his prints never reach exquisiteness4 ,lalanne1 who was prolific with the needle1 had elegance and charm1 and sometimes power1 as well as facility4 ,and1 as a little practical treatise that he wrote upon the subject shows1 he was devoted to his craft4 ,indeed1 he taught it4 ,he was best1 generally1 in his smaller plates3 never1 ,i think1 having beaten his dainty plate of the ,swiss ,fribourg1 which was given in 8,etching and ,etchers10 though a larger ,fribourg--a vision of the great ravine--is very noble1 and nothing is at once more learned and spontaneous than the brilliant print of the ,conflagration in the ,harbour of ,bordeaux4 ,also1 ,lalanne did not share1 and had no need to share1 most etchers' timidity in the treatment of skies4 ,his own are delicate and charming4 ,in the rare proofs of his etchings we can alone prize properly this well-bred observer and graceful draughtsman1 who was only occasionally mediocre4 ,a genius1 wholly individual--and yet in a sense the founder of a school or centre of a group--now occupies us4 ,we pass to ,jules ,jacquemart1 who1 born in #ahcg1 died prematurely in #ahhj2 a child of his century1 worn out by eager restlessness of spirit1 by the temperament1 by the nervous system1 that made possible to him the exquisiteness of his work4 ,the son of a collector1 a great authority on porcelain1 ,albert ,jacquemart1 ,jules ,jacquemart's natural sensitiveness to beauty1 which he had inherited1 was1 from the first1 highly cultivated4 ,from the first1 he breathed the air of ,art4 ,short as his life was1 he was happy in the fact that adequate fortune gave him the liberty1 in health1 of choosing his work1 and1 in sickness1 of taking his rest4 ,with extremely rare exceptions1 he did the things that he was fitted to do1 and did them perfectly2 and1 being ill when he had done them1 he betook himself to the exquisite ,south1 where colour is1 and light--the things we long for most1 when we are most tired in cities--and so there came to him1 towards the end1 a new surprise of pleasure in so beautiful a world4 ,he was happy in being surrounded1 all his life long1 by passionate affection in the circle of his home4 ,nor was he perhaps unhappy altogether1 dying in middle age4 ,for what might the ,future have held for him8--a genius who was ripe so soon4 ,the years of deterioration and of decay1 in which first an artist does but dully reproduce the spontaneous work of his youth1 and then is sterile altogether--the years in which he is no longer the fashion at all1 but only the landmark or the finger-post of a fashion that is past--the years when a name once familiar and honoured is uttered at rare intervals and in tones of apology1 as the name of one whose performance has never quite equalled the promise he had aforetime given--these years never came to ,jules ,jacquemart4 ,he was spared these years4 ,but few people care1 or are likely to care very much1 for the things which chiefly interested him1 and which he reproduced in his art2 and even the care for these things1 where it does exist1 unfortunately by no means implies the power to appreciate the art by which they are retained and diffused4 8,still-life0--the portrayal of objects natural or artificial1 for the objects' sake1 and not as background or accessory--has never been rated very highly or very widely loved4 ,the public generally has been indifferent to these things1 and often the public has been right in its indifference1 for often these things are done in a poor spirit1 a spirit of servile imitation or servile flattery1 with which ,art has little to do4 ,but there are exceptions1 and there is a better way of looking at these things4 ,chardin was one of these exceptions--in ,painting1 he was the greatest of these4 ,jacquemart1 in his art of ,etching1 was an exception not less brilliant and peculiar4 ,he and ,chardin have done something to endow the beholders of their work with a new sense--with the capacity for new experiences of enjoyment--they have portrayed1 not so much matter1 as the very soul of matter2 they have put it in its finest light1 and it has got new dignity4 ,chardin did this with his peaches and his pears1 his big coarse bottles1 his copper sauce-pans1 and his silk-lined caskets4 ,jacquemart did it with the finer work of artistic men in household matter and ornament3 with his blue and white porcelain1 with his polished steel of chased armour and sword-blade1 with his ,renaissance mirrors1 and his precious vessels of crystal1 jasper1 and jade4 ,but when he was most fully himself1 his work most characteristic and individual1 he shut himself off from popularity4 ,even untrained observers could accept this agile engraver as the interpreter of other men's pictures--of ,meissonier's inventions1 or ,van der ,meer's1 ,greuze's1 or ,fragonard's--but they could not accept him as the interpreter1 at first hand1 of treasures peculiarly his own4 ,they were not alive to the wonders that have been done in the world by the hands of artistic men4 ,how could they be alive to the wonders of this their reproduction--their translation1 rather1 and a very free and personal one--into the subtle lines1 the graduated darks1 the soft or sparkling lights of the artist in ,etching8 ,a short period of practice in draughtsmanship1 and only a small experience of the particular business of etching1 made ,jacquemart a master4 ,as time proceeded1 he of course developed2 found new methods1 ways not previously known to him4 ,but little of what is obviously tentative and immature is to be noticed even in his earliest work4 ,he springs into his art an artist fully armed--like ,rembrandt with the wonderful portrait of his mother 8lightly etched40 ,in #ahfj1 when he is but twenty-three1 he is at work upon the illustrations to his father's 8,histoire de la ,porcelaine10 and though1 in that publication1 the absolute realisation of wonderful matter--or1 more particularly1 the breadth in treating it--is not so noteworthy as in the later 8,gemmes et ,joyaux de la ,couronne10 there is most evident already the hand of the delicate artist and the eye that can appreciate and render almost unconsidered beauties4 ,the 8,histoire de la ,porcelaine0 contains twenty-six plates1 of which a large proportion are devoted to the ,oriental china possessed in mass by the elder ,jacquemart1 when as yet there was no rage for it4 ,many of ,albert ,jacquemart's pieces figure in the book3 they were pieces the son had lived with and knew familiarly4 ,their charm1 their delicacy1 he perfectly represented--nay1 exalted--passing without sense of difficulty from the bizarre ornamentation of the ,east to the ordered forms and satisfying symmetry which the high taste of the ,renaissance gave to its products4 ,thus1 in the 8,histoire de la ,porcelaine0--amongst the quaintly naturalistic decorations from ,china and amongst the ornaments of ,svres1 with their boudoir graces and airs of pretty luxury fit for the ,marquise of ,louis ,quinze and the sleek young ,abb1 her pet and her counsellor1 we find1 rendered with an appreciation as just1 a ,brocca ,italienne1 the ,brocca of the ,medicis of the ,sixteenth ,century1 slight and tall1 where the lightest of ,renaissance forms the thin and reed-like arabesque--no mass or splash of colour--is patterned over the smoothish surface with measured exactitude and rhythmic completeness4 ,how much is here suggested1 and how little done6 ,the actual touches are almost as few as those which ,jacquemart employed afterwards in rendering some fairy effects of rock-crystal--the material which he has interpreted1 it may be1 best of all4 ,on such work may be bestowed1 amongst much other praise1 that particular praise which seems the highest to fashionable ,french ,criticism--delighted especially with feats of adroitness3 occupied with the evidence of the artist's dexterity--8,il n'y a rien1 et il y a tout40 ,the 8,histoire de la ,porcelaine0--of which the separate plates were begun1 as ,i have said before1 in #ahfj1 and which was published by ,techener in #ahfb--was followed in #ahfd by the 8,gemmes et ,joyaux de ,couronne40 ,the ,chalcographie of the ,louvre--which concerns itself with the issue of ,state-commissioned prints--undertook the first publication of the 8,gemmes et ,joyaux40 ,in this series there are sixty subjects1 or1 at least1 sixty plates1 for sometimes ,jacquemart1 seated by his ,louvre window 7which is reflected over and over again at every angle1 in the lustre of the objects he was drawing71 would etch in one plate the portraits of two treasures1 glad to give 8value0 to the virtues of the one by juxtaposition with the virtues of the other2 opposing1 say1 the transparent brilliance of the globe of rock-crystal to the texture and hues1 sombre and velvety1 of the vase of ancient sardonyx1 as one puts a cluster of diamonds round a fine cat's-eye1 or a black pearl1 glowing soberly4 ,of all these plates ,m4 ,louise ,gonse has given an accurate account1 in enough detail for the purposes of most people1 in the 8,gazette des ,beaux ,arts0 for #ahgf4 ,the ,catalogue of ,jacquemart's etchings--which are about four hundred in all--there contained1 was a work of industry and of very genuine interest on ,m4 ,gonse's part1 but its necessary extent1 due to the artist's own prodigious diligence in work1 cannot for ever sufficiently excuse an occasional incompleteness of description making absolute identification sometimes a difficult matter4 ,the critical appreciation was warm and intelligent1 and the student of ,jules ,jacquemart must always be indebted to ,gonse4 ,but for the quite adequate description of work like ,jacquemart's--the very subject of it1 quite as much as the treatment--there was needed not only the ,french tongue 7the tongue1 par excellence1 of ,criticism71 but a ,gautier to use it4 ,everything that ,jacquemart could do in the rendering of beautiful matter1 and of its artistic and appropriate ornament1 is represented in one or other of the varied subjects of the 8,gemmes et ,joyaux10 save only his work with delicate china4 ,and the large plates of this series evince his strength1 and hardly ever betray his weakness4 ,he was not1 perhaps1 a thoroughly trained ,academical draughtsman2 a large and detailed treatment of the nude figure--any further treatment of it than that required for the beautiful suggestion of it as it occurs on ,renaissance mirror-frames or in ,renaissance porcelains--might have found him deficient4 ,he had an admirable feeling for the unbroken flow of its line1 for its suppleness1 for the figure's harmonious movement4 ,he was not the master of its most intricate anatomy2 but1 on the scale on which he had to treat it1 his suggestion was faultless4 ,by the brief shorthand of his art in this matter1 we are brought back to the old formula of praise4 ,here1 indeed1 if anywhere1 8,il n'y a rien1 et il y a tout40 ,as nothing in ,jacquemart's etchings is more adroit than his treatment of the figure1 so nothing is more delightful and1 as it were1 unexpected4 ,he feels the intricate unity of its curve and flow--how it gives value by its happy undulations of line to the fixed1 invariable ornament of ,renaissance decoration--an ornament as orderly as well-observed verse1 with its settled form1 its repetition1 its refrain4 ,i will name one or two notable instances4 ,one occurs in the etching of a ,renaissance mirror 7the print a most desirable little possession7--,miroir ,franais du ,seizime ,sicle1 elaborately carved1 but its chief grace after all is in its fine proportions--not so much the perfection of the ornament as the perfect disposition of it4 ,the absolutely satisfactory filling of a given space with the enrichments of design1 the occupation of the space without the crowding of it--for that is what is meant by the perfect disposition of ornament--has always been the problem for the decorative artist4 ,recent fashion has insisted1 sufficiently1 that it has been best solved by the ,japanese2 and indeed the ,japanese have solved it1 often with great economy of means1 suggesting1 rather than achieving1 the occupation of the space they have worked upon4 ,but the best ,renaissance ,design has solved the problem as well1 in fashions less arbitrary1 with rhythm more pronounced and yet more subtle1 with a precision more exquisite1 with a complete comprehension of the value of quietude1 of the importance of rest4 ,if it requires--as ,francis ,turner ,palgrave said1 admirably--8an ,athenian tribunal0 to understand ,ingres and ,flaxman1 it needs at all events high education in the beauty of line to understand the art of ,renaissance ,ornament4 ,such art ,jacquemart understood absolutely1 and1 against its purposed rigidity1 its free play of the nude figure is indicated with touches dainty1 faultless1 and few4 ,thus it is1 ,i say1 in the ,miroir ,franais du ,seizime ,sicle4 ,and to the attraction of the figure has been added almost the attraction of landscape and of landscape atmosphere in the plate ,no4 #bg of the 8,gemmes et ,joyaux0 which represents scenes from ,ovid as a craftsman of the ,renaissance has portrayed them on the delicate liquid surface of cristal de roche4 ,and not confining our examination wholly to 8,gemmes et ,joyaux10 of which1 obviously1 the mirror just spoken of cannot form a part--we observe there1 or elsewhere in ,jacquemart's prints1 how his treatment of the figure takes constant note of the material in which the first artist1 his original1 worked4 ,is it raised porcelain1 for instance1 or soft ivory1 or smooth1 cool bronze with its less close and subtle following of the figure's curves1 its certain measure of angularity in limb and trunk1 its many facets1 with a somewhat marked transition from one to the other 7instead of the unbroken harmony of the real figure71 its occasional flatnesses8 ,if it is this1 this is what ,jacquemart gives us in his etchings--not the figure only1 but the figure as it comes to us through the medium of bronze4 ,see1 for example1 the ,vnus ,marine1 outstretched1 with slender legs--a bronze1 long the possession of ,m4 ,thiers1 ,i believe4 ,one really cannot insist too much on ,jacquemart's mastery over his material--cloisonn1 with its rich1 low tones1 its patterning outlined by its metal ribs2 the coarseness of rough wood1 as in the ,salire de ,troyes2 the sharp1 steel weapons and the infinite delicacy of their lines1 as in ,epes1 ,langues de ,buf1 ,poignards2 the signet's flatness and delicate smoothness--8c'est le sinet du ,roy ,sant ,louis0--and the red porphyry1 flaked1 as it were1 and speckled1 of an ancient vase2 and the clear1 soft1 unctuous green of jade4 ,and as the material is marvellously varied1 so are its combinations curious and wayward4 ,i saw1 one autumn1 at ,lyons1 their sombre little church of ,ainay1 a ,christian edifice built of no ,gothic stones1 but placed1 already ages ago1 on the site of a ,roman ,temple--the ,temple used1 its dark columns cut across1 its black stones re-arranged1 and so the ,church completed--,antiquity pressed into the service of the ,middle ,age4 ,jacquemart1 dealing with the precious objects that he had to portray1 came often on such strange meetings3 an antique vase of sardonyx1 say1 infinitely precious1 mounted and altered in the ,twelfth ,century1 for the service of the ,mass1 and so1 beset with gold and jewels1 offered by its possessor to the ,abbey of ,saint ,denis4 ,it was not a literal translation1 it must be said again1 that ,jacquemart made of these things4 ,these things sat to him for their portraits2 he posed them2 he composed them aright4 ,placed by him in their best lights1 they revealed their finest qualities4 ,some people bore hardly on him for the colour1 warmth1 and life he introduced into his etchings4 ,they wanted a colder1 a more impersonal1 a more precise record4 ,jacquemart never sacrificed precision when precision was of the essence of the business1 but he did not--scarcely even in his earlier plates of the 8,procelaine0--care for it for its own sake4 ,and the thing that his first critics blamed him for doing--the composition of a subject1 the rejection of this1 the choice of that1 the bestowal of fire and life upon matter dead to the common eye--is a thing which artists in all arts have always done1 and for this most simple reason1 that the doing of it is ,art4 ,as an interpreter of other men's pictures1 it fell to the lot of ,jacquemart to engrave the most various masters4 ,but with so very personal an artist as he1 the interpretation of so many men1 and in so many years1 from #ahfj or thereabouts1 onwards1 could not possibly be of equal value4 ,as far as ,dutch ,painting is concerned1 he is strongest when he interprets1 as in one now celebrated etching1 ,van der ,meer of ,delft4 ,der ,soldat und das lachende ,mdchen was1 when ,jacquemart etched it1 one of the most noteworthy pieces in the cabinet of ,m4 ,lopold ,double4 ,it was brought afterwards to ,london by the charming friend of many artists and collectors--the late ,samuel ,joseph--in the hands of whose family it of course rests4 ,the big and blustering trooper common in ,dutch art1 sits here1 engaging the attention of that thin-faced and eveille maiden peculiar to ,van der ,meer4 ,behind the two1 who are contentedly occupied in gazing and talk1 is the bare1 sunlit wall1 spread only with its map or chart1 and1 by the side of the couple1 throwing its brilliant but modulated light upon the woman's face and on the background1 is the intricately patterned window1 the airy lattice4 ,rarely was a master's subject1 or his method1 better interpreted than in this print4 ,the print possesses1 along with all its subtlety1 a quality of boldness demanded specially by ,van der ,meer1 and lacking to prints which in their imperturbable deliberation and cold skill render well enough some others of the ,dutch masters--,i mean the ,eighteenth ,century line engravings of ,j4 ,g4 ,wille after ,metsu and the rest4 ,frans ,hals1 once or twice1 is as characteristically rendered4 ,but with these exceptions it is ,jacquemart's own fellow-countrymen whom he translates the best4 ,the suppleness of his talent--the happy speed of it1 not its patient elaboration--is shown by his renderings of ,greuze3 the ,rve d',amour1 a single head1 and ,l',orage1 a memorandum of a young and frightened mother1 kneeling by her child1 exposed to the storm4 ,greuze1 with his cajoling art--which1 if one likes1 one must like without respecting it--is entirely there4 ,so1 too1 ,fragonard--the ardent and voluptuous soul of him--in ,le ,premier ,baiser4 ,jacquemart1 it may be interesting to add1 etched some compositions of flowers4 ,gonse has praised them4 ,to me1 elegant as they are1 fragile of substance1 dainty of arrangement1 they seem enormously inferior to that last century flower-piece of ,jan ,van ,huysum's--or rather to that reproduction of it which we are fortunate enough to know through the mezzotint of ,earlom4 ,and ,jacquemart painted in water-colour--made very clever sketches3 his strange dexterity of handling1 at the service of fact2 not at the service of imagination4 ,in leaving him1 it is well to recollect that he recorded ,nature1 and did not exalt or interpret it4 ,he interpreted ,art4 ,he was alive1 more than any one has been alive before1 to all the wonders that have been wrought in the world by the hands of artistic men4 ,i have not said a word about the prices of the ,jacquemart etchings4 ,it is still customary to buy a complete series--one particular work4 ,the 8,porcelaine0 set costs a very few pounds3 the 8,gemmes et ,joyaux10 something more--and ,techener's re-issue1 it is worth observing1 is better printed than the first edition4 ,separate impressions of the plates1 in proof or rare states1 sell at sums varying from five shillings or half-a-sovereign--when scarcely anybody happens to be at ,sotheby's who understands them--up1 ,i suppose1 to two or three pounds4 ,i do not think the acquisition of these admirable pieces is ever likely to be held responsible for a collector's ruin4 ,in the ,introductory chapter1 a word of reference to two other ,frenchmen--,legros and ,paul ,helleu--points to the importance which1 in contemporary original ,etching1 ,i assign to these artists4 ,as ,legros has lived nearly all his working life in ,england1 he is treated1 in subsequent pages1 with ,english fellow-workers4 ,even ,paul ,helleu ,i treated with ,englishmen1 in my book called 8,etching in ,england10 because he also has done some part--though a small part--of his work here1 and has been one of the mainstays of our ,society of ,painter-,etchers4 ,but in the present volume--for the purposes of the ,collector--,helleu must be placed with his compatriots4 ,the character of his genius too--his alertness and sensitiveness to the charm of grace rather than of formal beauty1 the charm of quick and pretty movement rather than of abiding line--is ,french1 essentially4 ,he is of the succession of ,watteau4 ,his dry-points1 of many of the best of which there are but a handful of impressions 7purchasable1 when occasion offers1 at three or four guineas apiece71 are artist's snap-shots1 which arrest the figure suddenly in some delightful turn1 the face in some delightful expression4 ,am ,i to mention but two examples of ,paul ,helleu's work--that ,i may guide the novice a little to what to see and seek for in these elegant1 veracious records--,i will name then ,femme la ,tasse1 with its happy and audacious ingenuity in point of view1 and that incomparable tude de ,jeune ,fille1 the girl with the hair massed high above her forehead1 thick above her ears1 a very cascade at her shoulders1 her lips a little parted1 and her lifted arms close against her chin4 ,a ,belgian draughtsman--established in ,paris1 and now approaching old age--has seen of late his reputation extending1 not only amongst collectors of the cleverly odious2 and he has shown imagination1 draughtsmanship1 a nimble hand1 a certain mastery of process4 ,but in a volume from which ,i must exclude so much of even wholly creditable ,art--a volume in which the subject of ,woodcuts1 which of old was wont to interest1 is1 deliberately1 almost ignored--,i adopt no attitude of apology for refusing serious analysis to the too often morbid talent of ,flicien ,rops4 ,a portfolio containing the delightful inventions of ,helleu1 and the great things of ,mryon1 could have no place for the record of ,rops' disordered dream4 ,were ,i to be occupied with any living ,belgian1 it would be with one whose work ,m4 ,hymans1 the ,keeper of the ,prints at ,brussels1 showed me at the ,bibliothque ,royale--,m4 de ,witte4 ,,chapter ,v ,the ,revival in ,england--,whistler and ,haden1 ,classics--,haden's first works--,the 8,agamemnon0--,dry-points--,etchings on ,zinc--,prices--,whistler's ,french ,set--,his ,thames series--,the ,leyland period--,the ,venetian work--,his rarest ,dry-points--,whistler's ,prices at the ,heywood ,sale1 the ,hutchinson ,sale1 and now4 ,in ,england1 the ,revival of ,etching1 so far as one can fix its origin at all1 seems due1 in chief1 to the great practical work of two etchers of individual vision and exceptional power--,whistler and ,seymour ,haden4 ,much writing on the subject--and some of it1 ,i hope1 not bad--has also scarcely been without its effect4 ,it has at least roused and sustained some interest in ,etching1 amongst the public that reads4 ,it cannot1 fairly1 ever have been expected to produce great artists4 ,whistler and ,haden are1 it is now allowed1 amongst the ,classics already4 ,each has a place that will not be disturbed4 ,each is an honoured veteran4 ,the work of ,seymour ,haden has been closed long ago4 ,it is years since he gave his etching-needle to ,mr ,keppel of ,new ,york2 saying1 with significant gesture1 8,i shall etch no more40 ,from the other delightful veteran no such formal declaration has--so far as ,i understand--as yet proceeded4 ,mr ,whistler may even now surprise us by a return from ,lithography4 ,his lithographs1 which will be considered more or less in the final chapter of this book1 are indeed admirable and engaging4 ,but it is by his etchings that ,mr ,whistler's fame will live4 ,and though he began to etch two score of years ago1 one would be sorry even now to feel it was quite certain that the last of his etchings had been done4 ,we will speak of ,seymour ,haden first4 ,he is the older of the two1 and his practical work is admittedly over4 ,his etching1 though conceived always on fine lines1 has somehow always been much more intelligible to the large public than ,whistler's4 ,for years1 in ,england and ,america1 he has enjoyed something as near to popular success as sterling work can ever get2 and in days when ,i was able to pick up for six shillings1 in ,sotheby's auction-rooms1 the dry-point of ,whistler's ,fanny ,leyland--which would now be considered ridiculously cheap at just as many guineas--,seymour ,haden's ,river in ,ireland was selling 7when it appeared and could be bought at all7 at quite substantial prices4 ,his published series of ,etchings1 with the text by ,monsieur ,burty1 and then the eulogies of ,mr ,hamerton1 had done something1 and justifiably1 towards what is called 8success0--the success of recognition1 ,i mean1 as distinguished from the success of achievement1 which was certainly his besides4 ,and then--in the nick of time--there had come the ,agamemnon1 almost the largest fine etching one can call to mind2 for1 in ,etching1 8important size0 often means vulgarity4 ,the ,agamemnon had an immense sale4 ,it was seen about so much1 in the rooms of people who aspired to ,taste1 that it became what foolish men call 8vulgarised40 ,as if the multiplication of excellent work--its presence in many places1 instead of only a few--was positively a nuisance and a disadvantage6 ,anyhow1 ,seymour ,haden had already entered into fame4 ,in #ahhj1 the late ,sir ,william ,drake--an intimate friend who had collected ,haden and admired him--issued1 through the ,macmillans1 a descriptive ,catalogue of ,haden's etched work4 ,the ,catalogue takes note of a hundred and eighty-five pieces4 ,scarcely anything1 ,i think1 is omitted4 ,of the substantial work none bears an earlier date than #aheh2 but fifteen years before that--when he was a very young man1 journeying--,haden had scratched on half-a-dozen little coppers sparse notes of places of interest he had seen in ,italy2 and very long ago now 7when ,sir ,seymour was living in ,hertford ,street7 he showed me1 ,i remember1 the almost unique impressions from these practically unknown little plates4 ,they were impressions upon which a touch or so with the brush had--if ,i remember rightly--a little fortified the dreamy and delicate sketch which the copper had received4 ,there is neither need nor disposition to insist too much on the existence of these plates1 or rather upon the fact that once they were wrought4 ,they scarcely claim to have merit4 ,but the fact that they were wrought shows one thing a collector may like to know--it shows that ,seymour ,haden's interest in ,etching began before the days of that ,french ,revival in which was executed undoubtedly the bulk of his work4 ,these little prints1 then1 as far as they went1 were in quite the right spirit4 ,they were jottings1 impressions--had nothing of labour in them4 ,but in the interval that divides them from the important and substantive work of #aheh1 #ahei1 #ahfj1 and later years1 the artist must have studied closely1 though he was in full practice1 most of that time1 as a surgeon4 ,in the interval1 he had lived1 so to put it1 with ,rembrandt2 he had become familiar with ,claude4 ,and though they influenced1 they did not overpower him4 ,by #ahfd1 there were fifty or sixty prints for ,m4 ,burty to chronicle and eulogise1 in the ,gazette des ,beaux ,arts4 ,the greatly praised ,shere ,mill ,pond had been done in #ahfj4 ,mytton ,hall--which1 unlike ,mr ,hamerton1 ,i prefer to the ,shere--had been wrought one year earlier4 ,it shows a shady avenue of yew-trees leading to an old manor-house which receives the full light of the sun2 and in that print1 early as it may seem1 there was already the breadth of treatment which as years proceeded became more and more a characteristic of ,seymour ,haden's work4 ,in #ahfc came1 amongst many other good things1 ,battersea ,reach1 which in the ,first ,state bore on it this inscription of interest3 8,old ,chelsea1 ,seymour ,haden1 #ahfc1 out of ,whistler's window40 ,to the same year belongs the charming plate1 ,whistler's ,house1 ,old ,chelsea4 ,the tide is out1 the mud is exposed2 on the left is ,lindsay ,row2 and beyond1 and to the right1 ,chelsea ,old ,church and ,battersea ,bridge3 the picturesque wooden pile-bridge of that privileged day4 ,it was not till #ahgj that there came the ,agamemnon--the ,breaking-up of the ,agamemnon1 to give it its full title--a view1 in reality1 of the ,thames at ,greenwich1 seen under sunset light1 the hull of the old ship partially swung round by the tide4 ,this very favourite print exists in a couple of ,states4 ,the ,second1 though less rare1 is scarcely perceptibly less fine than the ,first4 ,in it a smoking chimney1 a brig under sail1 and two small sailing-boats--all of them objects in extreme distance--have been replaced by indications of the sheds of a dockyard4 ,in the ,heywood ,sale1 a rich impression of the ,agamemnon--the ,state not specified1 but in all probability a ,first--sold for #g1 #ajs4 ,in the ,sir ,william ,drake ,sale1 twelve years afterwards--in #ahib--;a ,first ,state fetched #g1 #gs42 a ,second1 #f1 #aes4 ,for convenience' sake1 ,i will name a few more excellent and characteristic works--prints which have ,seymour ,haden's most distinguishing qualities of frankness1 directness1 and an obvious vigour4 ,his etchings are deliberately arrested at the stage of the sketch2 and it is a sketch conceived nobly and executed with impulse4 ,the tendency of the work1 as ,time went on1 was1 as has been said1 towards greater breadth2 but unless we are to compare only such a print as ,out of ,study-,window1 say 7done in #ahei71 with only the most admirable ,rembrandt-like1 ,geddes-like dry-print1 ,windmill ,hill 7done in #ahgg71 there is no greatly marked contrast2 there is no surprise2 there is but a steady and not unnatural development4 ,i put this down1 in part at least1 to the fact that when ,seymour ,haden first took up ,etching seriously 7in #aheh1 remember7 he was already middle-aged4 ,he had lived for years in the most frequent intercourse with dignified ,art2 his view of ,nature1 and of the way of rendering her--or of letting her inspire you--was large1 and likely to be large4 ,yet as ,time went on there came no doubt an increasing love of the sense of spaciousness and of potent effect4 ,the work was apt to be more dramatic and more moving4 ,the hand asked the opportunity for the fuller exercise of its freedom4 ,sawley ,abbey1 etched in #ahgc1 is an instance of this1 and not alone for its merits is it interesting to mention it1 but because1 like a certain number of its fellows amongst that later work1 it is etched upon zinc--a risky substance1 which succeeds admirably1 when it succeeds1 and when it fails1 fails very much4 ,windmill ,hill--two subjects of that name--,nine ,barrow ,down1 ,wareham ,bridge1 and the ,little ,boathouse1 and again that ,grim ,spain which illustrates my 8,four ,masters of ,etching0 are the prints which ,i should most choose to possess amongst those of ,haden's later period2 whilst--going back to the period of #ahfd and #ahfe--,sunset on the ,thames is at the same time a favourite and strong1 and ,fenton ,hook remarkable for its draughtsmanship of tree-trunk and stump4 ,yet earlier--for they belong to #ahfj and #ahei--there are the ,mytton ,hall1 which ,i have spoken of already1 and the ,combe ,bottom4 ,combe ,bottom is unsurpassed for sweetness and spontaneity4 ,and ,mytton ,hall has its full share of that priceless element of ,style which is never altogether absent from ,seymour ,haden's work4 ,again--and most acceptable of all to some of us--,the ,water ,meadow 7which has been circulated very largely7 is1 in a perfect impression1 to be studied and enjoyed as a vivacious1 happy1 sympathetic transcript of a sudden rain-storm in the ,hampshire lowlands1 where poplars nourish and grass grows rank4 ,the collector who can put these things into his folios--and a little diligence in finding them out1 and three or four guineas for each print1 will often enable him to do so--will have given himself the opportunity of confirmation in the belief that among modern etchers of ,landscape1 amongst modern exponents in the art of ,black and ,white of an artistic sympathy with pure and ordinary ,nature1 ,seymour ,haden stands easily first4 ,and to say that1 is not to say that he succeeds equally1 or has equally tried to succeed1 with portraiture or figure-studies4 ,it is not to compare him--to his advantage or disadvantage--with any other artist in the matter of the etcher's peculiar skill and technical mastery4 ,the best collection of ,seymour ,haden's work that has ever been sold in detail was the collection of ,sir ,william ,drake4 ,in it the ,first ,state of ,a ,river in ,ireland--of which only twelve impressions had been taken--fetched #di 7,dunthorne72 and the ,first ,state of ,shere ,mill ,bond1 #ce2 a unique impression of ,battersea ,railway ,bridge fetched #ah1 #ajs4 7,deprez72 ,erith ,marshes1 ,first ,state1 #d1 #ds42 ,combe ,bottom1 ,first ,state1 #c2 ,sunset on the ,thames1 ,first ,state1 #b1 #abs42 and ,sawley ,abbey1 ,first ,state1 #b1 #ds4 ,with the master-etchers of the world--,mryon's equal in some respects1 and1 in some respects1 ,rembrandt's--there stands ,james ,whistler4 ,connoisseurs in ,france and ,england1 in ,america1 ,holland1 ,bavaria1 concede this1 now4 ,it was fiercely contested of old time1 and there is not much cause for wonder in that1 for the work of ,mr ,whistler is1 and has been from the first almost1 so desperately original that the world could hardly be expected to be ready to receive it4 ,and ,mr ,whistler never by anything approaching to cheap issue facilitated familiarity with his work4 ,in #ahfh ,mr ,hamerton wrote of him3 8,i have been told that1 if application is made to ,mr ,whistler for a set of his etchings0--the set1 it may be said in parenthesis1 was a very small one then--8he may perhaps1 if he chooses to answer the letter1 do the applicant the favour to let him have a copy for about the price of a good horse2 but beyond such exceptional instances as this1 ,mr ,whistler's etchings are not in the market40 ,they have been in the market since1 however--everybody knows--and if in #ahfh a 8set0 7the ,thames ,set or the ,french ,set was meant1 presumably7 was valued by ,mr ,whistler at the price of a horse1 of late years a single print1 such as the ,zaandam for instance1 has been valued by ,mr ,whistler at the price of a ,humber cycle4 ,even in the days--some sixteen years ago1 or so--when the work of the delightful master was least appreciated1 there was an enormous difference in the price of a print obtained through what are known as the 8regular channels0 and its price if obtained in open competition1 under the hammer at ,sotheby's4 ,those great days6--or days of great opportunities--when1 as ,i have said before1 ,i became possessed for six shillings of ,fanny ,leyland1 and1 for hardly more than six shillings1 of the yet rarer dry-point1 ,battersea ,dawn4 ,about a dozen years ago1 ,i1 with the enthusiasm of a convert1 began a ,catalogue of ,whistler's prints1 intending it for my own use4 ,i finished it for my brother-collectors1 and for poor ,mr ,thibaudeau1 who refreshed me with money--and a little for ,mr ,whistler1 too1 if he was minded to receive my offering4 ,the only previously existing ,catalogue--that of ,mr ,ralph ,thomas--had been published twelve years earlier1 and had meantime become of little service4 ,there were several reasons for that1 but1 to justify my own attempt--which1 as in the case of ,mryon1 has been justified indeed by my brother-collectors' reception of it--it will suffice if ,i mention one4 ,mr ,thomas1 working in #ahgd1 catalogued about eighty etchings4 ,i1 finishing my work in #ahhf1 catalogued two hundred and fourteen4 ,of the additional number only a few are prints which had been already wrought when ,mr ,thomas wrote1 and which had escaped his notice4 ,by far the greater portion have been etched in more recent years4 ,and many of them are unknown to the amateur--by sense of sight at least--even to this day4 ,whistler's etchings are so scattered1 and so many of them are1 and must ever be1 so very rare1 that ,i could not have done what ,i did if several diligent collectors1 well placed for the purpose1 had not helped me4 ,mr ,thibaudeau himself--the erudite dealer--amassed much information1 and placed it at my service4 ,mr ,samuel ,avery1 when ,mr ,keppel took me to see him in ,east #chth ,street1 in the autumn of #ahhe1 put at my disposal everything he knew2 and his collection was even then the worthy rival of what ,mr ,howard ,mansfield's is now--the rival1 almost1 of ,seymour ,haden's own collection of ,whistler's1 which went to ,america a few years ago3 drawn thither by the instrumentality of a great cheque from ,mr ,kennedy4 ,mr ,mortimer ,menpes--much associated with ,whistler at that time1 and who1 ,i suppose1 retains the fine collection of ,whistler's he then possessed--took much trouble with me in the identification of the rare things he owned1 and ,i had to express my thanks to ,mr ,barrett of ,brighton1 to the ,reverend ,stopford ,brooke1 ,mr ,henry ,s4 ,theobald1 and some of the best-known ,london dealers--to ,mr ,brown of the ,fine ,art ,society1 and ,mr ,walter ,dowdeswell1 an enthusiast for ,whistler1 who furnished me with delightful notes ,i never published1 on the precise condition of the impressions in my own set of the 8,twenty-,six ,etchings40 ,again1 ,i saw--what any one may see--such of the ,whistler prints as are possessed by the ,british ,museum ,print-,room4 ,and1 lastly1 ,i had access1 more than once1 to ,mr4 ,whistler's own collection2 but that unfortunately was very incomplete4 ,it consisted chiefly of the later etchings4 ,it is now about forty years since ,whistler began to etch2 but his work in ,etching has never been continuous or regular1 and though he has done a certain number of things1 some fine1 some insignificant1 since the appearance of my ,catalogue1 of late his work in ,etching appears to have almost ceased4 ,looking back along his life1 one may say1 periods there have been when he was busy with needle and copper--periods1 too1 during which he laid them altogether aside4 ,the first chronicled1 the first completed plate1 was done1 it was believed1 in #aheg--when he was a young man in ,paris4 ,but he told me there existed1 somewhere or other1 in the too safe keeping of public authorities in ,america1 a plate on which1 before he left the public service of the ,states1 he neglected to fully engrave that map or view for the ,coast ,survey which the authorities expected of him1 but did not neglect to engrave upon the plate1 in truant mood1 certain sketches for his own pleasure4 ,the plate was confiscated4 ,young ,mr ,whistler was informed that an unwarrantable thing had been done4 ,he perfectly agreed--he told the high official--with that observation4 ,in removing a plate from the hands of its author before he had completed his pleasure upon it1 its author had been treated unwarrantably4 ,just as my ,catalogue--a 8,study and a ,catalogue10 ,i call it--was going to press1 there arrived from ,new ,york--sent thence to ,london by the courtesy of ,mr ,kennedy1 its owner--an impression from the copper ,i have spoken of4 ,it is a curiosity1 and not a work of ,art--a geographer's view of the coast4 ,it will be noticed from my little anecdote1 that1 at a very early period of his life1 ,mr ,whistler was in the right1 absolutely1 and other people in the wrong--and in the right he has remained ever since1 and has believed it1 in spite of some intelligent and much unintelligent criticism4 ,he has been 7let the collector be very sure of this7 a law unto himself--has worked in his own way1 at his own hours1 on none but his own themes3 the result of it1 ,i dare to think deliberately1 the preservation of a freshness which1 with artists less true to their art and their own mission1 is apt to suffer and to pass away4 ,and with it the charm passes4 ,now ,whistler's newest work--his work of this morning1 be it etching or lithograph--possesses the interest of freshness1 of vivacity1 of a new and beautiful impression of the world1 conveyed in individual ways1 just as much as did his early work of nearly forty years ago4 ,when the comparatively few people whose artistic sensibilities allow them to really understand the delicacy of ,mr ,whistler's method1 shall but have known it long enough1 they will not be found1 as some among the not quite unappreciative are found to-day1 protesting that there is a want of continuity between the earlier efforts and the later1 and that the vision of pretty and curious detail1 and the firmness and daintiness of hand in recording it1 which confessedly distinguished the etchings of ,france and of the ,thames below ,bridge1 are missing to the later plates or the plates of the middle period--to the dry-points of what ,i may term the ,leyland period 7when he drew all three ,miss ,leylands1 their father and their mother too1 and ,speke ,hall1 where they lived71 and to the more recent ,venetian etchings4 ,peccavi6 ,i have myself1 in my time1 thought that this continuity was wanting4 ,i have told ,mr ,whistler with exceeding levity of speech1 that when1 in the ,realms of the ,blest1 he desired1 on meeting ,velasquez and ,rembrandt1 not to disappoint them1 he must be provided1 for his justification1 with his ,thames etchings in their finest states4 ,it would be a potent introduction4 ,but ,i am not sure that the ,venetian portfolios--the 8,venice0 and the 8,twenty-,six ,etchings10 which are most of them ,venetian in theme--would not serve ,mr ,whistler in good stead4 ,for--spite of some insignificant things put out not long after the appearance of my ,catalogue1 along indeed1 or almost along with some fine ones of ,brussels and ,touraine--there is a continuity which the thorough student of ,mr ,whistler's work will recognise4 ,there is often in the ,venetian things--as in the ,doorway of the 8,venice10 and in ,the ,garden and ,the ,balcony of the 8,twenty-,six ,etchings0--an advance in the impression produced1 a greater variety and flexibility of method1 a more delightful and dexterous effacing of the means used to bring about the effect4 ,the ,venetian etchings--some people thought at first they were not satisfactory because they did not record that ,venice which the ,university-,extension-educated tourist1 with his guide-book and his volumes of ,ruskin1 goes out from ,england to see4 ,but ,i doubt if ,mr ,whistler troubled himself about the guides or read the sacred books of ,mr ,ruskin with becoming attention4 ,mr ,ruskin had seen ,venice nobly1 with great imagination2 ,mr ,fergusson and a score of admirable architects had seen it learnedly2 but ,mr ,whistler would see it for himself--that is to say1 he would see in his own way the ,present1 and would see it quite as certainly as the ,past4 ,the architecture of ,venice had impressed folk so deeply that it was not easy in a moment to realise that here was a great draughtsman--a man too of poetic vision--whose work it had not been allowed to dominate4 ,the past and its record were not ,whistler's affair in ,venice4 ,for him1 the lines of the steam-boat1 the lines of the fishing-tackle1 the shadow under the squalid archway1 the wayward vine of the garden1 had been as fascinating1 as engaging1 as worthy of chronicle1 as the domes of ,st ,mark's4 ,yet we had not properly understood ,mr ,whistler's work in ,england1 if we supposed it could be otherwise4 ,from associations of ,literature and ,history this artist from the first had cut himself adrift4 ,his subject was what he saw1 or what he decided to see1 and not anything that he had heard about it4 ,he had dispensed from the beginning with those aids to the provocation of interest which appeal most strongly to the world--to the person of sentiment1 to the literary lady1 to the man in the street4 ,we were to be interested--if we were interested at all--in the happy accidents of line and light he had perceived1 in his dexterous record1 in his knowing adaptation4 ,i must be allowed to say1 however--and it is useful to the collector that ,i should say it plainly--that there was some justification 7much more than ,mr ,whistler1 ,i suppose1 would allow7 for those of us who did not bow the knee too readily before the ,venetian prints4 ,in the ,states in which they were first exhibited1 there was1 with all their merits1 something ragged and disjointed about several of them4 ,mr ,whistler worked more upon them later1 adding never of course merely finicky detail1 but refinement1 suavity4 ,of these particular plates1 the collector should remember1 it is not the earlier impressions that are the ones to be desired4 ,it is1 rather1 the later impressions1 when the plate was1 first1 perfected--then even1 if need arose through any wear in tirage1 suitably refreshed4 ,to return for a moment to ,whistlerian characteristics4 ,though the value of many of his etchings1 as ,mr ,whistler might himself tell us1 consists in the exquisiteness of their execution and of their arrangement of line1 it would be unfair not to acknowledge that amongst the many things it has been given to ,mr ,whistler to perceive1 it has been given him to perceive beautiful character and exquisite line in ,humanity--that1 certainly1 just as much as quaintness and charm in the wharves and warehouses of the ,port1 in the shabby elegance of the side canals of ,venice1 in the engaging homeliness of little ,chelsea shop-fronts4 ,the almost unknown etching of his mother--one of the most refined performances of his career1 as exquisite1 in its own way1 as the famous painting which is displayed at the ,luxembourg--proves his possession of the quality which permitted ,rembrandt to draw with the reticence of a convincing pathos his most impressive portraits of the aged--the ,lutma1 the ,clment de ,jonghe1 the ,mre de ,rembrandt1 au voile noir4 ,again the ,fanny ,leyland1 and ,the ,muff1 and many another print that ,i could name1 attest ,mr ,whistler's solution of a problem which presents itself engagingly1 attractively1 to the ingenious1 and uselessly to the incompetent--the problem of seeing beauty in modern dress1 and grace in the modern figure4 ,whistler1 no more than ,degas1 ,sargent1 or ,j4 ,j4 ,shannon1 sighs for the artificial dignity of the fashions of other times4 ,even at moments when modern ,fashion is not in truth at its prettiest1 he is able to descry a piquancy in the contemporary hat1 and to find a grace in the flutter of flounce and frill4 ,what else after all should we expect from an artist the sweep of whose brush would give distinction to the ,chelsea ,workhouse1 or to the ,st ,george's ,union ,infirmary in the ,fulham ,road1 and for whom1 under the veil of night or dusk1 the chimney of the ,swan ,brewery would wear an aspect not less beautiful than ,king's ,college ,chapel8 ,it has been given to the master of ,etching to see everyday things with a poetic eye4 8,take care of the extremities10 said old ,couture1 to a painter who addressed himself to the figure3 8take care of the extremities1 for all the life is there40 ,but that1 it may truly be answered1 is what ,mr ,whistler has often neglected to do4 ,it may be rejoined1 however1 that where he has neglected to do it1 somehow 8all the life0 has not gone out of his work4 ,and the hand of the man sitting in the boat1 in one of the most desirable of the early ,thames etchings1 ,black ,lion ,wharf1 and 7to name no other instance7 the hands in the painting of ,sarasate of a dozen years ago1 are reminders of how completely it is within ,mr ,whistler's power to indicate the life1 the temperament1 by 8the extremities10 when it suits his work that he shall do so4 ,and the avoidance1 so often commented upon1 of this detail here1 and of that detail there1 itself reminds us of something important--nay1 perhaps of the central fact which determines the direction of so much of this great etcher's labour4 ,it reminds us that whether ,mr ,whistler's work is record of ,nature or not1 it has at all costs to be conclusive evidence of ,art4 ,and for the one as well as for the other1 he has had need to know1 not only what to do--a difficult thing enough1 sometimes--but a more difficult thing yet3 what to avoid doing4 ,in other words1 selection plays in his work a part unusually important1 and he has occupied himself increasingly1 not with the question of how to imitate and transcribe1 but with the question how best to imply and to suggest4 ,in nearly all his periods he is the master of an advanced art1 which gives a curious and a various and a continual pleasure4 ,and now a word or two on what is matter of business to the collector--the business of the acquisition of ,whistler's etchings4 ,unlike the thousand prints which1 in these later days of 8the ,revival10 are the inadequate result of the laborious industry of popular people--and which have served their purpose when1 framed and mounted1 they have covered for a while the wall-paper in every builder's terrace in ,bayswater--works of the individuality1 the flexibility1 the genius in fine of ,whistler1 appeal to the collector of the highest class and of the finest taste1 and1 it may be even1 to him alone4 ,they lie already in the portfolio by the side of ,rembrandts and ,mryons4 ,it is not easy to get them2 or1 rather1 there are some which it is only difficult1 and some which it is impossible1 to possess4 ,certain of the coppers are known to have been destroyed2 others1 which one cannot always particularise1 are in all probability destroyed4 ,then again there are dry-points1 never very robust2 some of them so delicate1 so evanescent1 that the plate1 should it exist1 would prove to be worth nothing4 ,it has yielded1 perhaps1 half-a-dozen impressions1 and they have gone far towards exhausting it4 ,many plates1 again1 exist1 no doubt1 in the late ,state1 or in the undesirable condition1 and some are yet intact1 and others1 like the two ,venetian series--the 8,venice0 and the 8,twenty-,six0--economically managed from the beginning1 have yielded a substantial yet never an extensive array of such proofs as satisfy the eye that is educated4 ,publication--if one can quite call it so--of ,mr ,whistler's etchings first began in #ahei1 when the artist had worked seriously for only two or three years4 ,thirteen etchings1 generally called 8the ,french ,set10 were printed then by ,deltre in ,paris1 in very limited numbers1 on the thin ,japan or ,china or on the good old slightly-ribbed paper that the collector loves4 ,the 8,thames ,set0--sixteen in number1 and consisting of the majority of the ,river pieces executed up to that time--were the next to be offered4 ,but they appeared1 publicly1 only in #ahga1 when1 as ,mr ,ellis was good enough to tell me1 8,ellis ,green0 bought the plates and had a hundred sets printed4 ,their printing was rather dry1 so that it is really by the rare impressions which either ,mr ,whistler himself1 or ,deltre it may be1 had printed1 years before1 that these plates are to be judged4 ,it is these impressions which represent them most perfectly--it is these the true collector demands--though ,i would not speak disrespectfully of the impressions printed by ,mr ,goulding when the ,fine ,art ,society bought the plates of ,mr ,ellis1 or of the subsequent ones printed when ,mr ,keppel1 in his turn1 bought the coppers of the ,fine ,art ,society4 ,of the two other recognised sets--the 8,venice0 of the ,fine ,art ,society and the 8,twenty-,six ,etchings0 of the ,dowdeswells--it must be said first that neither has been subjected to the vicissitudes that attended the earlier plates4 ,the dozen prints in the 8,venice0 were first issued by the ,fine ,art ,society in the year #ahhj2 but1 as ,i have said earlier1 very few of the fine and really finished impressions--of the hundred permitted from each plate--date from as early as that year4 ,the 8,twenty-,six ,etchings10 issued by the ,messrs ,dowdeswell1 were brought out in #ahhf2 ,mr ,whistler himself printing1 with consummate skill1 every mortal copy1 and making the most interesting little changes1 repairs1 improvements1 at the press-side4 ,of most of the subjects there were but fifty impressions4 ,these things are wholly admirable1 and mostly--it is evident--are rare2 but the extremest rarity is reserved for a few of those many plates which do not belong to any set at all1 and were never formally issued4 ,thus ,paris1 ,isle de la ,cit--etched from the ,galrie d',apollon in the ,louvre--is of unsurpassable rarity2 and it is singularly interesting as having1 though with a date as early as #ahei1 very distinct characteristics of a style of which the wider manifestation came much later4 ,the ,first ,state of the ,rag ,gatherers is of great1 though not of quite such extraordinary rarity4 ,the ,kitchen1 in the ,first ,state1 is not exceptionally rare4 ,it should be had1 if possible1 in the ,second1 for1 many years after its first execution1 ,mr ,whistler took it up again1 and then1 and then only1 was it that he perfected it4 ,in subtlety of illumination1 in that ,second ,state1 it is as fine as any painting of ,de ,hooch's4 ,westminster ,bridge is very rare and very desirable in the ,first ,state2 in the ,second--by which time it has gone into the regular 8,thames ,set0 or 8,sixteen ,etchings0--it has lost all its delicacy and harmony3 it is hard and dry4 ,the figure-pieces of the ,leyland period--dry-points1 nearly always--are very rare4 ,they include not only a little succession of portraits--the lovely print of ,fanny ,leyland ,i have referred to already--but likewise a succession of studies of paid or of familiar models1 of which the ,model ,resting is one of the most beautiful4 ,there is ,tillie3 a model1 too3 likewise of great rarity and charm4 ,of the larger etchings1 three of the finest are the ,putney ,bridge1 the ,battersea ,bridge1 and the ,large 8,pool40 ,beyond this scale1 ,etching can hardly safely go4 ,even this scale would be a danger to some1 though ,mr ,whistler has managed it4 ,but then1 that art of his--like ,rembrandt's own--can 8blow on brass0 as well as 8breathe through silver40 ,he 8breathes through silver0 in the dainty rarities of a later time1 the little ,chelsea shop subjects--,old ,clothes ,shop1 ,fruit ,shop4 ,are there half-a-dozen impressions of them anywhere in the world8 ,and then1 the poetic charm of ,price's ,candle ,works--the easy majesty of ,london ,bridge6 ,as to the prices of ,whistlers in the open market8 ,well1 they increase1 unquestionably4 ,some of the very greatest rarities1 it may be remembered1 have never appeared in the auction-room4 ,there are half-a-dozen1 ,i suppose1 for any one of which1 did it appear1 forty or fifty guineas would cheerfully be paid4 ,the average price1 now1 of a satisfactory ,whistler--to speak to the collector very roughly1 and always with the difficulty of striking an average at all--the average dealer's price might now be eight guineas4 ,but we will look at the ,catalogues2 premising1 as has been premised already1 that there are some rarer things than any that are there chronicled4 ,the time when ,mr ,heywood sold his ,whistlers was the fortunate time to buy4 ,a ,first ,state of the ,rag ,gatherers was sold then for less than two pounds2 a ,first of the ,westminster ,bridge 7then called 8,the ,house of ,parliament071 for about five pounds2 and many quite desirable things went for a pound a piece1 and some for a few shillings4 ,in #ahib1 when there came the sale of ,mr ,hutchinson's collection1 and of ,sir ,william ,drake's1 opinion was more formed2 yet nothing like the prices that would be reached to-day were attained then4 ,in ,mr ,hutchinson's collection1 the ,first ,state of the ,marchande de ,moutarde--rare1 but not especially rare--went for #d1 #ajs42 the ,first ,state of the ,kitchen for #h1 #aes42 the ,lime-,burners for #f1 #ajs42 a trial proof of the ,arthur for #aj1 #aes42 a trial proof of the ,whistler for #ae1 #ajs4 ,again1 the ,weary fetched #ab2 the ,first ,state of ,speke ,hall1 #i1 #abs42 the ,fanny ,leyland1 #ae1 #ajs42 ,from ,pickled ,herring ,stairs1 #f1 #fs42 the ,palaces1 #h1 #aes42 the ,san ,biagio1 #g1 #ajs42 the ,garden1 #e1 #ajs42 the ,wool ,carders1 #h2 the ,little ,drawbridge1 ,amsterdam1 #i1 #aes42 the ,zaandam1 #aj4 ,at the ,drake ,sale--a smaller one1 as far as ,whistlers were concerned--ten guineas was given for the ,kitchen2 #ai for the ,forge4 ,it must be added that this ,forge1 which is in the second published set 7the 8,thames series0 or 8,sixteen ,etchings10 call them which you will7 is in the quality of its different impressions more unequal than almost any print ,i know4 ,it varies from an ineffective ghost to a thing of beauty4 ,at #ai1 let us hope it was a thing of beauty2 but very much oftener it is an ineffective ghost--desperately overrated4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,etchers since our great ,classics--,william ,strang--,his individuality1 and obligations to ,legros--,that excellent ,master--,legros's nobility and dignity--,his observation and imagination--,holroyd--,the daintiness of ,short--,c4 ,j4 ,watson--,goff1 flexible and comprehensive--,the qualities of ,cameron--,oliver ,hall's ,landscape--,the question of prices--,contemporary ,prints generally dear4 ,though no very definite commercial values may yet have been established1 in the auction-rooms1 for their work1 many living ,english etchers of a generation later than that of ,whistler and of ,seymour ,haden have been for some time now appealing to the collector2 and their prints--sold chiefly perhaps at the 8,painter-,etcher's10 at ,mr ,dunthorne's1 and at ,mr ,r4 ,gutekunst's--are worthy to be carefully considered4 ,the best of them1 at least1 will rank some day as only second to the classics of their art4 ,indeed1 if the term 8the ,revival of ,etching0 has any meaning1 it is to the best men of the later generation that it must most apply2 for 8revival0 signifies surely some tolerably wide diffusion of interest1 and is a word that could scarcely be used if all we were concerned with were the efforts of two or three isolated men of genius--in ,france1 ,mryon1 ,bracquemond1 ,jacquemart2 in ,england1 ,haden and ,whistler4 ,no1 the collector who addresses himself to the gathering of modern etchings1 must go--or may go1 fairly--beyond the limits of the work of the men ,i have this instant named4 ,but in going beyond them1 very wary must be his steps4 ,he who is already a serious student of the older masters--he who by happy instinct1 or by that poor but necessary substitute for it1 a steady application to the consideration of great models--knows something of the secrets of ,style1 and so will not fall a ready prey to the attractions of the meretricious and the cheap4 ,but the beginner is in need of my warning2 and among the work of the younger generation1 the etching that is already popular and celebrated--more particularly the etching that is obviously elaborate and laboured--is as a rule the work he must eschew4 ,the thing of course to aim at1 is to acquire gradually such 8eye0 and knowledge as will enable him to pounce with safety here and there upon unknown work2 but at first it is well perhaps that in his travels beyond the territory of the admittedly great1 he shall not wander too far4 ,i will give him the names of a few artists1 whom the connoisseur begins to appreciate1--men of whose methods it will be interesting1 and need not be extravagant1 to possess a few examples4 ,of any such men1 here with us in ,england--save indeed ,legros1 whose claims to highest place ,i hold to be yet more incontestable--,william ,strang is the one who has been known the longest1 though the number of his years may still permit him1 ere he pass from us1 to double the already formidable volume of his work4 ,strang has etched in the right methods1 and no one knows much better than he does1 the technique of the craft2 and1 then1 moreover1 though he paints from time to time a little1 it is ,etching--and all of it original ,etching--that is the occupation of his life4 ,and within less than twenty years ,mr ,strang has wrought--well1 say between two hundred and fifty and three hundred plates4 ,it is no good giving the precise number1 for before this book has lain for a month upon the reader's shelf the number will have ceased to be precise4 ,almost as many kinds of subjects as were treated by ,rembrandt have been treated--and no one of them on one or two occasions only--by ,mr ,william ,strang4 ,he has dealt with religious story--caring always1 like ,rembrandt1 and like ,von ,uhde to-day1 for dramatic intensity in the representation of it1 rather than for local colour--he has dealt too with ,landscape1 with ,portraiture1 with grim and sordid aspects of contemporary life4 ,the presence of imagination1 the absence1 almost complete1 of formal beauty1 are the very 8notes0 of ,mr ,strang's work--that absence is so remarkable where it would have been least expected1 that we are1 it may be1 a little too apt to forget that in certain of his masculine portraiture it does not make itself felt at all4 ,he has made etchings of handsome men1 and they have remained handsome4 ,he has even made etchings of men not handsome1 and handsome they have become4 ,but he knows not the pretty woman4 ,and his landscape is endowed but scantily with the beauty it cannot entirely miss4 ,another curious thing about ,mr ,strang's landscape is1 that more even than that of ,legros1 his first great master1 it seems derived from but a little personal observation and an immense study of the elder art4 ,indeed1 ,i am not quite sure whether1 save in the accessories of his figures--such as the potato-basket of one of his woebegone1 limping1 elderly wayfarers--,mr ,strang has ever drawn and observed anything which had not already fallen within the observation of the great original engravers of the remoter ,past4 ,in his dramatic pieces he shows a sense of simple pathos1 as well as of the uncanny and the weird4 ,in ,portraiture ,mr ,strang can be effectively austere and suitably restrained4 ,occasional failures1 or comparative failures1 such as the portraits of ,mr ,thomas ,hardy and of the late ,sir ,william ,drake1 do perhaps but bring into stronger relief the successes of the ,mr ,sichel and of ,ian ,strang1 and many others besides4 ,i must refrain from naming them4 ,when ,mr ,strang has done so much1 and nearly all of it on a high technical level1 it is natural to feel that though out of them all the general collector of etchings might reasonably be satisfied with the possession of a dozen--or1 peradventure1 six--he would like at least to choose them for himself4 ,indeed1 there is no 8best0 to guide him to--no 8worst0 to guard him against4 ,legros has been named as ,strang's first master4 ,he belongs to an older generation1 and if ,i name him here1 between his best-known pupil and some of the younger men1 it is not to minimise his importance1 but in part as a convenient thing1 and in part because1 with his long years of ,english practice1 one hesitates to allow even ,french birth and a ,french first education to cause one to place ,legros outside the ,english ,school that he has influenced4 ,born at ,dijon nearly sixty years ago1 ,legros has been amongst us since #ahfc4 ,but it is not ,english life--or indeed any life--that has made him what he is4 ,he might have done his work--most of it at least but the portraiture--while scarcely wandering beyond the bounds of a ,hammersmith garden4 ,he has been fed on the ,renaissance1 and fed on ,rembrandt2 but yet the originality of his mind pierces through the form it has pleased him to impose on its expression4 ,he gives to masculine character nobility and dignity2 or rather1 he is impressed immensely by the presence of these things in his subjects4 ,his etching of ,mr ,g4 ,f4 ,watts is perhaps--taking into account both theme and treatment--the finest etched portrait that has been wrought by any one since the very masterpieces of ,rembrandt1 nor1 honestly speaking1 do ,i know that it fails to stand comparison even with these4 ,like his most prolific and perhaps also his most original pupil1 who has been spoken of already1 ,legros has little sense of womanly beauty2 but the lines of his landscape--often1 as ,i judge1 either an imagined world or but a faded memory of our own--have refinement and charm4 ,his art is restful--restful even when it is weird4 ,a large proportion of his earlier work records the life of the ,priesthood4 ,in its visible dignity--as ,i have said elsewhere--its true but limited camaraderie1 in its monotony and quietude1 in its magnificence of service and symbol1 the life of the priest1 and of those who serve in a great church1 has impressed ,legros profoundly2 and he has etched these men--one now reading a lesson1 one waiting now with folded hands1 one meditating1 one observant1 one offering up the ,host1 another1 a musician1 bending over the 'cello or the double-bass with slow movement of the hand that holds the bow4 ,dignity and ignorance1 pomp and power1 weariness1 senility1 decay--none of these things escape the observation of the first great etcher of the life of the ,church4 ,communion dans l',eglise ,st ,mdard and ,chantres ,espagnols1 when seen in fine 8states10 are amazing and admirable technical triumphs1 as well as penetrating studies1 the one of religious fervour1 the other of impending death4 ,in ,la ,mort et le ,bcheron--in either version of the plate1 for there are two--the imagination of ,legros is at its tenderest4 ,is not ,l',incendie dramatic1 in its large and abstract way8 ,is not ,la ,mort du ,vagabond--with the storm like the storm in 8,lear0--the one very large etching that is not1 in its scale1 a mistake8 ,i know ,i would not have it otherwise1 though it wants almost a portfolio to itself1 or1 better1 a frame upon the wall4 ,one might go on indefinitely2 but again it is preferable to send the reader to the study of the master's long and serious work--a hundred and sixty-eight pieces there were in #ahgg1 when ,thibaudeau ,malassis published their ,catalogue2 ten years later there were ninety additions to the list2 and to this day ,mr ,legros has not ceased to etch4 ,only the very first of his prints show any evidence of technical incompleteness4 ,the very latest--though no doubt1 by this time1 his own real message has been delivered--the very latest 7they include exquisite landscapes7 show no symptom of fatigue or decay4 ,not more than once or twice1 ,i think1 in all his long career1 has ,legros published his works in sets1 either naturally connected or artificially brought together4 ,charles ,holroyd1 a distinguished pupil of ,legros's1 has twice already published sets--there is his 8,icarus0 set1 and a little earlier in date1 yet in no respect immature1 his 8,monte ,oliveto0 set4 ,holroyd--with individuality of his own1 without a doubt--is yet ,legros's true spiritual child4 ,he has much of his refinement1 of his dignity4 ,did he love the priesthood from ,legros's etchings1 before ever he lived with them in ,italy8 ,rome itself1 ,i suppose1 gave him the love of what is visibly ,classic--and that is a love which ,legros does not appear to share4 ,his composition is generally good2 his sense of beautiful 8line0 most noteworthy4 ,his trees--stone pine and olive1 or the humbler trees of our ,north--are thus not only individual studies1 true to ,nature sometimes in detail1 always in essentials--but likewise restful and impressive decorations of the space of paper it is his business to fill4 ,farm behind ,scarborough shows him homely1 simple1 and direct4 ,was it a ,roman garden1 or ,studley1 that suggested ,the ,round ,temple8 ,in the little plate of the ,borghese ,gardens--my own private plate1 which ,i bought from him when the first impression of it hung at the ,painter-,etchers'--,holroyd consciously abandons much that is wont to attract 7atmospheric effect1 for example71 but he retains the thing for which the plate existed--dignified and expressive rhythm of 8line40 ,that justifies it1 and permits it to omit much1 and to only admirably hint at the thing it would not actually convey4 ,we will turn for a few minutes to another contemporary who has etched in the right spirit--,mr ,frank ,short4 ,some people think that ,mr ,short has not quite fulfilled the promise which only a few years ago he gave1 as an original etcher4 ,for myself1 ,i consider that the fulfilment is1 at most1 only delayed3 not rendered unlikely4 ,mr ,short has been for several years extremely busy in the translation1 chiefly into mezzotint1 of pictures and drawings by artists as various as ,turner1 ,nasmyth1 ,constable1 ,dewint1 and ,g4 ,f4 ,watts4 ,if engravings that are not original inventions are ever worth buying--and that1 of course1 cannot be doubted--these translations by ,mr ,short are worth buying1 eminently4 ,there is not one of them that fails4 ,his flexibility is extraordinary4 ,his productions are exquisite4 ,in a parenthesis1 let me advise their purchase1 when things of the sort are required4 ,but ,short is before us just now only in the capacity of an original etcher1 and1 as an original etcher1 with well-nigh perfect command of technique1 he registers the daintiest of individual impressions of the world4 ,that his field as an observer at first hand is limited1 is certainly true4 ,coast subjects please him best4 ,we have no finer draughtsman of low-lying land1 of a scene with a low horizon1 of a great expanse of mud and harbour deserted by the tide--all their simplicity1 even uncomeliness of theme1 made almost poetic4 ,low ,tide and the ,evening ,star2 ,evening1 ,bosham2 ,sleeping till the ,flood1 are all1 among subjects of this order1 prints that should be secured where it is possible--and where the accumulation of modern etchings is not an inconvenience4 ,in ,stourbridge ,canal and in ,wrought ,nails--both of them finely felt1 finely drawn bits of the ragged1 sordid 8,black ,country0--we have desirable instances of ,mr ,short's dealings with another class of theme4 ,if you want him in a more playful mood1 take ,quarter ,boys--a quite imaginative yet gamesome vision of urchins looking out to sea from the ,belfry of the church of ,rye4 ,c4 ,j4 ,watson has for many years now been etching persistently1 and been etching well4 ,but he has not got1 and could not perhaps quite easily get1 beyond the learned simplicity of ,mill ,bridge1 ,bosham1 done in #ahhh4 ,it is a sketch with singular unity of impression--or rather with that unity of impression which is not so singular perhaps when the work remains a sketch4 ,st ,etienne-du-,mont--a theme from which one would have thought that ,mr ,watson would have been warned off1 remembering how1 once and for ever1 it had been dealt with by the genius of ,mryon--is1 doubtless1 an accurate enough portrait1 but the individuality--where8 ,and without individuality1 such work is an architectural drawing4 ,this ,st ,etienne bears date #ahij2 but since #ahij ,mr ,watson has done finer things--his strong and capable hand stirred to expression by a nature not perhaps very sensitive to every effect of beauty1 but feeling the interest of solid workmanship and something of the charm of the picturesque4 ,ponte del ,cavallo has daintiness1 and some yet more recent work in ,central ,italy and ,sicily--with architecture generally as the basis of its interest--may fall reasonably enough within the province of collectors who can afford to accumulate--who can afford to add well to well and vineyard to vineyard4 ,of the remaining ,english etchers of our time1 ,colonel ,goff1 ,mr ,d4 ,y4 ,cameron1 and ,mr ,oliver ,hall are those whom it will be best to notice at a little length4 ,mr ,macbeth1 ,mr ,herkomer1 ,mr ,w4 ,h4 ,may1 ,mr ,menpes1 ,mr ,raven ,hill--others besides--have brought out prints of which the possession is pleasant2 but it is1 ,i suppose1 the three men whom ,i named earlier who by reason of combined quality and quantity of 8out-put0 most deserve the collector's serious consideration4 ,of these three1 ,goff--a retired ,guardsman1 but no more really an amateur than ,seymour ,haden--is1 ,i take it1 the best known4 ,actual popularity he has been1 for an etcher1 wonderfully near to attaining4 ,he may even now attain it4 ,much of the excellence of his work is easily intelligible2 his point of view1 though always artistic1 is one that can be reached1 often1 by the ordinary spectator of his prints4 ,hence1 his relatively large acceptance--an agreeable circumstance which ,i should be glad to consider was owing exclusively to the skill that is certainly likewise his4 ,colonel ,goff's sympathies are broad2 his subjects admirably varied2 and the vivacity of his artistic temperament allows him to attack each new plate with new interest4 ,he is almost without mannerism in treatment1 and of that which presents itself to his gaze on his journey through the world1 there is singularly little which he is not able artistically to tackle4 ,not quite the architectural draughtsman that ,c4 ,j4 ,watson is1 he yet can indicate tastefully the architecture of church or cottage or city house4 ,his sympathies are with the new as much as with the old1 and that is in part because to him a building is not only1 or chiefly1 a monument with historical associations2 it is1 above all1 an excuse and a justification for an arrangement on the copper1 of harmonious and intricate line4 ,very successfully he has dealt with landscape4 ,is it the seaboard or the town that he depicts1 he can people the place with figures vivacious and rightly displayed4 ,i suppose that he has executed by this time scarcely less than a hundred plates4 ,summer ,storm in the ,itchen ,valley remains the most popular1 and would therefore prove1 in an auction-room1 the least inexpensive4 ,but1 among the pure etchings1 ,pine ,trees1 ,christ ,church1 and ,norfolk ,bridge1 ,shoreham1 and the extremely delicate little print of the ,chain ,pier1 ,brighton1 and ,low ,tide1 ,mouth of the ,hampshire ,avon--with its own dreary but impressive beauty--are to my mind distinctly more desirable1 and should be possessed if possible2 whilst among the dry-points 7and a dry-point can never be common7 ,i would place highest1 perhaps1 the peaceful little ,itchen ,abbas ,bridge4 ,intricate in arrangement of line1 the work of ,colonel ,goff is in actual workmanship less elaborate than that of ,mr ,d4 ,y4 ,cameron1 who1 though now and again1 as in that masterpiece of ,landscape work--,border ,towers--a pure sketcher in ,etching1 much oftener devotes himself to work solid1 substantial1 deliberate rather in fulness of realisation than in economy of means4 ,he is a fine engraver on the copper2 addicted to massive arrangements of shadow and light--giving to these1 wherever there is any fair excuse for doing so1 a little of the ,celtic weirdness ,mr ,strang bestows upon the figure4 ,glamour1 a touch of wizardry1 is in the ,palace1 ,stirling ,castle2 and it is not in that only4 ,a master1 already1 of the arrangement of light and shade--a master1 already1 of technique--,mr ,cameron 7who has studied ,rembrandt so much1 and1 ,i should presume1 ,mryon7 is finding his own path4 ,indeed1 the ,border ,towers shows that all that he has learnt from ,rembrandt he has made his own by this time4 ,how else could he have accomplished what is certainly one of the most complete and significant suggestions of ,landscape wrought in our day6 ,a ,rembrandt ,farm is earlier4 ,it is extremely clever1 but1 as its very name might lead one to conjecture1 it is more distinctly imitative4 ,mr ,cameron was not a master at the moment when he wrought the ,flower ,market2 because1 if he did not make in that the irremediable mistake of choosing the wrong medium--printer's ink1 where one's cry1 first and last1 is naturally for 8colour0--he made at all events the mistake that ,mr ,whistler is incapable of making 7as his etching of ,the ,garden shows71 the mistake of working with a heavy hand1 when what was wanted was a treatment of 8touch and go10 as it were--the very lightest coquetry of line4 ,occasionally ,mr ,cameron has failed2 occasionally his industry has resulted in the commonplace2 but he is a young man still2 the collector must take account of him2 his will hereafter be a very distinguished name2 and meanwhile--now even--the collector of good ,modern ,etching is bound to put into his folios not a few of ,mr ,cameron's sterling prints4 ,mr ,oliver ,hall--a young man also1 and one who paints in water-colour as well as etches--can hardly have done as many plates as ,mr ,cameron1 yet2 and in none of them1 free sketches of landscape--breezy1 immediate1 well-disposed--has ,mr ,hall been so unwise as to emulate the almost ,mryon-like elaboration not inappropriate at all to the architectural subjects of ,cameron4 ,oliver ,hall's is delightful and sufficiently masculine work4 ,after a short period of immaturity1 during which the influence of ,seymour ,haden was that which he most disclosed1 his ,trees on the ,hillside and ,a ,windy ,day testified to great flexibility1 and to some force4 ,the lines of 8foliage10 as people call it--it is the tree1 however1 rather than the leaf--the lines of the tree-form1 however intricate1 did not elude his point4 ,afterwards1 ,angerton ,moss3 ,windy ,day1 and the ,edge of the ,forest1 with its gust-blown trees and threatening sky1 and later still1 ,king's ,lynn from a ,distance1 came to assure us that here was an artist getting at the heart of ,nature--an artist who could bring before us a poetic vision of natural effects4 ,mr ,alfred ,east1 ,mr ,jacomb ,hood1 ,mr ,roussel1 ,mr ,percy ,thomas1 ,mr ,j4 ,p4 ,heseltine1 ,mr ,w4 ,h4 ,may1 ,sir ,charles ,robinson1 ,mr ,axel ,haig1 ,elizabeth ,armstrong 7,mrs ,stanhope ,forbes71 and ,minna ,bolingbroke 7,mrs ,c4 ,j4 ,watson7 ought not to go unmentioned even in a book which has a wider field than 8,etching in ,england0--in which ,i have named some of them less baldly4 ,the inexpert purchaser may like to know what is the sort of price asked generally by its producer1 or by the dealer1 or the ,painter-,etchers' ,society--to which the print may be intrusted--for a new etching4 ,i am here on ticklish ground2 but ,i must make bold to answer1 speaking broadly1 8,far too much40 ,later on--before ,i have quite done with the subject of the ,lithograph--,i shall return to the charge1 on this matter of solid cash4 ,but each class of work stands1 in the matter of price1 on its own peculiar footing2 and here we talk1 not of lithographs1 but of etchings and dry-points4 ,the wholly exceptional genius1 approved by ,time1 and happily yet with us to benefit by the result of his fame1 may be pardoned for asking twelve guineas for one of his most recent etchings4 ,if he gets it1 his rewards are delightfully contrasted with those of ,mryon--who was grateful when an old gentleman in the ,french ,war ,office gave him a franc and a half for an impression of the ,abside de ,ntre-,dame1 which1 because of its beauty and of its peculiar and rare 8state10 is worth to-day about a hundred and fifty pounds4 ,but we are not all men of exceptional genius2 and1 in the case of etched work1 which1 without deterioration1 may be issued to the number of fifty or a hundred or a couple of hundred impressions1 is it wise to seek to anticipate what after all may prove not to be the verdict of the world8--is it wise to limit the issue so very artificially by the simple1 ,i will not say the greedy process of asking two1 three1 and four guineas for an impression of a good but ordinary etching8 ,a good etching1 produced by a contemporary artist1 could1 quite to the benefit of the etcher1 be sold for a guinea4 ,if the etcher has not time to print it himself1 or is not1 at heart1 artist enough to wish to do so1 let him send it to a good printer1 with definite instructions how to print it1 and1 on the average1 each impression may cost him half-a-crown4 ,then1 of course1 if he sells it through a dealer1 there will be something for the dealer--perhaps five shillings4 ,say about fourteen shillings will be left for the artist4 ,the fee is insignificant--but1 if you once interest the public1 it may be almost indefinitely multiplied4 ,the price that is prohibitive to the ordinary man of taste--the price that prevents him1 not1 of course1 from buying an etching here and there1 but from forming any considerable collection of etchings--that1 if the artist only knew it1 is the greatest possible disadvantage to himself4 ,he is concerned for his dignity2 his amour-propre1 he sometimes says4 ,but an etching--like a book--is a printed thing2 and the author of a book conceives1 and rightly1 that his amour-propre is wounded rather by absence or narrow restriction of sale than by the moderation--the lowness1 if you will--of the price at which his book is issued4 ,now a dry-point and an ordinary etching stand on different ground in this respect4 ,both are printed things1 indeed2 but whilst the etching will1 according to its degree of force or delicacy1 yield1 without 8steeling10 from fifty to four hundred impressions--and generally quite as near the four hundred as the fifty--a dry-point will inevitably deteriorate after a dozen or twenty impressions1 and may even deteriorate after three or four4 ,each impression1 then1 of a dry-point that is desirable at all1 has its own peculiar value--its rarity to begin with 7unless you work it to death71 and its unlikeness to its neighbour4 ,i blame no good artist1 when he has made a good dry-point1 for asking two or three or four1 or six or seven1 guineas for it4 ,i do not as work of art--as providing me with joy--esteem it any more highly than the etching4 ,the etching1 which ,i ought to acquire at a guinea1 may give me the gratification of a ,wordsworthian poem4 ,it may be--happy chance for every one concerned if it is6--as directly inspired as the ,ancient ,mariner3 it may be a thing conceived and wrought in one of those 8states of the atmosphere0 which 7it is ,coleridge himself who says it7 are 8addressed to the soul40 ,do ,i underrate it8 ,not a jot4 ,but ,i discern that1 like the ,ancient ,mariner1 it can be multiplied in large numbers4 ,the dry-point cannot4 ,even at the risk of being charged with a certain repetition of my argument1 ,i shall return--as the reader has been warned already--it will be somewhere in the chapter on modern ,lithography--to this question of the too extravagant price1 and therefore of the necessarily too restricted sale1 of the contemporary print4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,recent ,interest in ,martin ,schngauer--,a graceful ,primitive--,drer the exponent of the fuller ,renaissance--,some principal ,drers--,their prices at the ,fisher ,sale--,german 8,little ,masters0--,the ,ornament of ,aldegrever--,the range of the ,behams--,altdorfer--,other ,little ,masters--,and ,lucas ,van ,leyden4 ,among the least reprehensible1 and also among the least widely diffused1 of the recent fads of the collector1 there is to be reckoned a certain increase in the consideration accorded to the work of ,martin ,schngauer4 ,if ,martin ,schngauer's ingenious and engaging plates--nave in conception1 and1 in execution1 dainty--came ever to be actually preferred to the innumerable pieces which attest the potency and the variety of ,drer1 that preference might possibly be explained1 but could never be justified4 ,as it is1 however1 no reasonable admirer of 8the great ,albert0 can begrudge to one who was after all to some extent his predecessor1 and not in all things his inferior1 the honourable place which1 after many generations of comparative neglect1 that predecessor has lately taken1 and now seems likely to hold4 ,schngauer1 even more it may be than ,albert ,drer himself1 was1 as it were1 a path-breaker4 ,the interest of the ,primitive belongs to him2 and the interest of the simple4 ,some of his religious conceptions were expressed in prettier form--and form on that account more readily welcomed--than any that was taken on by the conceptions of the giant mind that even now draws us upon our pilgrimage to ,nuremberg1 as ,goethe draws us to ,weimar4 ,the ,virgin of ,schngauer is more acceptable to the senses than the average ,virgin of ,drer1 whose children1 on the other hand 7see especially the delightful little print1 ,the ,three ,genii1 ,bartsch #ff71 have the larger lines and lustier life of the full ,renaissance4 ,a touch of what appeals to us as a younger navet1 and a touch of what appeals to us as elegance1 are especially discernible in the earlier artist's work2 and that work too1 or much of it1 has often the additional attractiveness of exceptional scarcity4 ,likewise1 it is to most of us less familiar4 ,but when all these elements of attraction have been allowed for1 the genius of ,albert ,drer--so much deeper and so much broader1 at once more philosophical and more dramatic1 and expressed by a craftsmanship so much more changeful and more masterly--the genius of ,albert ,drer dominates4 ,if our allegiance has wavered1 if we have been led astray for a period1 by ,martin ,schngauer himself1 it may be1 or by somebody less worthily illustrious1 we shall return1 wearily wise1 to the author of the ,melancholia and the ,nativity1 of the ,knight of ,death and of ,the ,virgin by the ,city ,wall4 ,to study long and closely the work of the original engravers1 is to come1 sooner or later1 quite certainly to the conclusion that there are two artists standing above all the rest1 and that it was theirs1 pre-eminently1 to express1 in the greatest manner1 the greatest mind4 ,one of these two artists1 of course1 is ,rembrandt4 ,and the other is ,drer4 ,illustration3 ,d,,rer3 ,the ,little ,white ,horse4 ,adam ,bartsch1 working at ,vienna1 in the beginning of this century1 upon those monumental books of reference which1 as authorities upon their wide subject1 are even now only partially displaced1 catalogued about a hundred and eight metal plates as ,albert ,drer's contribution to the sum of original engraving4 ,the ,rev4 ,c4 ,h4 ,middleton-,wake1 working in #ahic--;and profiting by the investigations1 all of them more or less recent1 of ,passavant and ,g4 ,w4 ,reid1 of ,thausing1 ,drer's biographer1 and ,mr ,koehler1 the ,keeper of the ,prints at ,boston1 ,massachusetts--has catalogued one hundred and three4 ,the number--not so considerable as ,schngauer's1 by about a couple of score--does not1 as first thought1 seem enormous for one the greater portion of whose life was given to original engraving2 but then1 it must be remembered1 ,drer's life1 though not exactly a short1 was scarcely a long one4 ,and1 again1 whatever may have been the processes he employed1 and even if1 as ,mr ,middleton-,wake supposes1 etched work1 as well as burin-work1 helped him greatly along his way1 the elaboration of his labour was never lessened2 the order of completeness he strove for and attained had nothing in common with the completeness of the sketch4 ,his ,german pertinacity and dogged joy in work for mere work's sake1 never permitted him to dismiss an endeavour until he had carried it to actual realisation4 ,each piece of his is not so much a page as a volume4 ,the creations of his art have the lastingness and the finality of a consummate ,literature1 and of those three material things with which such literature has been compared-- 8marbre1 onyx1 mail10-- as the phrase goes1 of one who wrought on phrases as ,cellini on the golden vase1 and ,drer on the little sheet of burnished copper4 ,of the hundred and three prints which1 in the ,fitz-,william ,museum1 ,mr ,middleton-,wake placed in what he believes to be their chronological order--many1 of course1 their author himself dated1 but many afford room for the exercise of critical ingenuity and care--sixteen belong to the series known as 8,the ,passion upon ,copper10 which is distinguished by that title from the series of seven-and-thirty woodcuts known generally as 8,the ,little ,passion40 ,the 8,passion upon ,copper10 executed between the year #aejg and the year #aeac1 are pronounced 8unequal in their execution10 8not comparing favourably with ,drer's finer prints10 and 8engraved for purposes of sale40 ,now most of ,drer's work was 8engraved for purposes of sale0--that is1 it was meant to be sold--but what the critic may be supposed to mean1 in this case1 is1 that the designs were due to no inspiration2 the execution1 to no keen desire4 ,four much later pieces--including two ,st ,christophers--are spoken of with similar disparagement4 ,i am unable to perceive the justice of the reproach when it is applied to the ,virgin with the ,child in ,swaddling ,clothes--a print of which it is remarked that it1 like certain others1 is 8without any particular charm or dignity2 being taken quite casually from burgher-life1 and only remarkable for the soft tone of the engraving40 ,no doubt the ,virgin with the ,child in ,swaddling ,clothes is inspired by the human life--and that was 8burgher-life0 necessarily--which ,drer beheld2 and it is none the worse for that4 ,it is not one of the very finest of the ,virgins1 but it is simple1 natural1 healthy1 and it is characteristic1 as ,i seem to see1 not only in its technique1 but in its conception4 ,what more fascinating than the little bit of background1 lavished there1 so small and yet so telling8--a little stretch of shore1 with a town placed on it1 and great calm water3 a reminiscence1 it may be1 of ,italy--a dcor from ,venice--a bit of distance too recalling the distance in the ,melancholia itself4 ,but we must pass on1 to consider briefly two or three points in ,drer's work3 points which we shall the better illustrate by reference to the greater masterpieces4 ,the year #adig was reached before the master of ,nuremberg affixed a date to any one of his plates4 ,that is the not quite satisfactory composition1 curiously ugly in the particular realism it affects--and yet1 in a measure1 interesting--,a ,group of ,four ,naked ,women4 ,thausing doubts1 or does more than doubt1 the originality of the design4 ,mr ,middleton-,wake holds that in execution1 at least1 it shows distinct advance upon ,drer's earlier work1 and amongst earlier work he includes no less than three-and-twenty of the undated plates3 putting the ,ravisher first1 with #adid as its probable year1 and putting last before the ,group of ,naked ,women1 a piece which he maintains to be the finest of the earlier prints1 the ,virgin and ,child with the ,monkey4 ,looking along the whole line of ,drer prints1 in what he deems to be their proper sequence1 ,mr ,middleton-,wake observes1 as all observe indeed1 wonderful variations--differences in execution so marked that at first one might hesitate to assign to the same master1 pieces wrought so differently4 ,he argues fully how their dissimilarity is due 8either to a marked progression in their handling0 or to an alteration in their actual method4 ,for quick perception of such partly voluntary change1 the student is referred to an examination of the ,coat of ,arms with a ,skull1 the ,coat of ,arms with the ,cock1 the ,adam and ,eve1 the ,st ,jerome1 and the ,melancholia4 ,the year #aejc was probably the date of the two ,coats of ,arms2 the great print of the ,adam and ,eve carries its date of 8#aejd02 the ,st ,jerome is of #aeab2 the ,melancholia of #aead4 ,the practical point established for the collector by such differences as are here visible1 and which a study of these particular examples by no means exhausts1 is that he must most carefully avoid the not unnatural error of judging an impression of a ,drer print by its attainment or its non-attainment of the standard established by some other ,drer print he knows familiarly already4 ,the aims technically were so very different1 he must know each print to say with any certainty--save in a few most obvious cases--whether a given impression1 that seems good1 is1 or is not1 desirable4 ,the 8silver-grey tone10 for example1 so charming in one print1 may be unattainable in1 or unsuitable to1 another4 ,upon the question of the meaning of certain prints of ,drer1 any amount of ingenious1 interesting conjecture has been expended in the ,past4 ,one of ,mr ,stopford ,brooke's sermons--,i heard it preached1 now many years ago1 in ,york ,street--is a delightful essay on the ,melancholia4 ,for suggestions as to the allegorical meaning of ,the ,knight of ,death1 it may be enough to refer the reader to ,thausing 7vol4 ii4 page #bbe7 and to ,mrs ,heaton's ,life of ,drer 7page #afh74 ,the ,jealousy1 ,drer speaks of1 in his ,netherlands ,diary1 as a 8,hercules40 ,the ,knight and the ,lady1 ,thausing says1 is one of those ,dance of ,death pictures so common in the ,middle ,age4 ,of the ,great ,fortune1 ,thausing holds that its enigmatical design1 with the landscape below1 has direct reference to the ,swiss ,war of #adii1 and this we may agree with2 but1 explaining1 it may be1 too far1 he writes in detail1 8,the winged ,goddess of ,justice and ,retribution stands1 smiling1 on a globe2 carrying in one hand a bridle and a curb for the too presumptuous fortunate ones2 in the other1 a goblet for unappreciated worth40 ,mr ,middleton-,wake1 wisely less philosophical1 urges a simpler meaning4 ,the city of ,nuremberg1 he reminds us1 had1 in compliance with ,maximilian's demand1 furnished four hundred foot soldiers and sixty horse1 for the campaign in ,switzerland1 and at the head of these troops was ,pirkheimer1 to whom on his return his fellow-citizens offered a golden cup4 8,we assume10 says ,mr ,middleton-,wake1 8that it is this cup which ,drer places in the hand of the ,goddess40 ,with the ,swiss ,war are also associated the ,coat of ,arms with the ,cock and the even rarer 7certainly not finer7 ,coat of ,arms with a ,skull4 ,the one may symbolise the anticipated success1 the other the failure1 of the campaign into ,switzerland4 ,illustration3 ,d,,rer3 ,coat of ,arms with the ,cock4 ,a reference to the ,richard ,fisher ,sale ,catalogue 7at ,sotheby's1 ,may #ahib7 affords as ready and as correct a means as we are likely to obtain of estimating the present value of fine ,drer prints4 ,mr ,fisher's collection was unequal2 but it was celebrated1 and it was1 on the whole1 admirable4 ,it was1 moreover1 practically complete1 and in this way alone it represented an extraordinary achievement in ,collecting4 ,its greatest feature was ,mr ,fisher's possession of the ,adam and ,eve in a condition of exceptional brilliancy1 and with a long pedigree1 from the ,john ,barnard1 ,maberly1 and ,hawkins collections4 ,this was the first ,albert ,drer that passed under the hammer on the occasion1 and so opened the sale of the ,drers with a thunderclap1 as it were--,herr ,meder paying #daj to bear it off in triumph4 ,then came the ,nativity1 the charming dainty little print1 which ,drer himself speaks of as the 8,christmas ,day40 ,mr ,gutekunst gave #di for it4 ,a fine impression of the ,virgin with ,long ,hair fetched #ea2 an indifferent one of the more beautiful ,virgin seated by a ,wall1 #aj1 #aes4 ,the ,st ,hubert sold for #dh--;a finer impression of the same subject selling1 in the ,holford ,sale1 just a year later1 for #aej--the ,melancholia1 #ci2 but1 it must be remembered1 the ,melancholia1 though always one of the most sought for1 is not by any means one of the rarest ,drers4 ,the ,knight of ,death passed1 for #ajj1 into the hands of ,mr ,gutekunst4 ,an early impression of the ,coat of ,arms with the ,cock was bought by ,mr ,kennedy for #bj2 the ,coat of ,arms with a ,skull going to ,messrs ,colnaghi for #db4 ,in the ,holford ,sale a yet finer impression of this last subject was bought by ,herr ,meder for #ge4 ,before ,i leave1 for a while at least1 the prosaic questions of the ,sale-,room1 and pass on to direct attention to the artistic virtues of the 8,little ,masters10 let the 8beginning collector10 as the quaint phrase runs1 be warned in regard to copies4 ,it has not been left for an age that imitates everything--that copies our charming ,battersea ,enamel1 tant bien que mal1 and the 8scale-blue0 of old ,worcester1 and the lustre of ,oriental--it has not been left for such an age to be the first to copy ,drer4 ,in fact1 no one nowadays bestows the labour required in copying ,drer4 ,he is copied nowadays only in the craft of photogravure4 ,but1 of old time1 ,wierix1 and less celebrated men1 copied him greatly4 ,this is a matter of which the collector--at first at least--has need to beware4 ,it must be stamped upon his mind that ,drer's work at a certain period did much engage the copyist4 ,it engaged the copyist only less perhaps than did the work of ,rembrandt himself1 through successive generations4 ,and now we speak1 though briefly1 of the seven ,german 8,little ,masters10 of whom the best are never 8little0 in style1 but1 rather1 great and pregnant1 richly charged with quality and meaning3 8little0 only in the mere scale of their labour4 ,the print-buyer who is in that rudimentary condition that he only considers the walls of his sitting-rooms1 and buys almost exclusively for their effective decoration1 does not look at the ,little ,masters4 ,upon a distant wall1 their works make little spots4 ,but in a corner1 near the fire--on the right-hand side of that arm-chair in which you seek to establish your most cossetted guest1 the person 7of the opposite sex1 generally7 whom you are glad to behold--a little frame containing half-a-dozen ,behams1 ,aldegrevers1 to be looked at closely 7pieces of ,ornament perhaps2 exercises in exquisite line71 adds charm to an interior which1 under circumstances of ,romance1 may need indeed no added charm at all from the mere possessions of the collector4 ,still--there are moods4 ,and if the ,german ,little ,masters come in pleasantly enough1 on an odd foot or so of wall1 now and then1 how justified is their presence in the portfolio--in the solander-box--when the collector is really a serious one1 and when he no longer bestows upon living1 breathing ,humanity all the solicitude that was meant for his ,behams6 ,to talk more gravely1 the ,german ,little ,masters should indeed be collected far more widely than they are1 amongst us4 ,scarcely anything in their appeal is particular and local4 ,their qualities--the qualities of the best of them--are exquisite and sterling1 and are for all ,time4 ,the seven ,little ,masters1 on whom the late ,mr ,w4 ,bell ,scott--one of the first people here in ,england to collect them--wrote1 in an inadequate series1 one of the few quite satisfactory books1 are1 ,altdorfer1 ,barthel ,beham1 ,sebald ,beham1 ,aldegrever1 ,pencz1 ,jacob ,binck1 and ,hans ,brosamer4 ,one or two of these may quickly be discerned to be inferior to the others2 one or two to be superior2 but it would be priggish to attempt to range them in definite order of merit4 ,it may suffice to say that to me at least ,aldegrever and the ,behams appeal most as men to be collected4 ,the ,behams--,sebald especially--was a very fine ,ornamentist4 ,aldegrever1 it may be1 was an ,ornamentist yet more faultless4 ,some examples of his ,ornament the collector should certainly possess4 ,and then he will come back very probably to the ,behams1 recognising in these two brothers a larger range than ,aldegrever had1 and a spirit more dramatic--an entrance more vivid and personal into human life1 a keen interest in human story4 ,they were realists1 not without a touch of the ideal4 ,and in design and execution1 they were consummate artists1 and not only--which they were too1 of course--infinitely laborious and exquisite craftsmen4 ,adam ,bartsch has catalogued1 in his industrious way1 according to the best lights of his period1 the works of the ,little ,masters4 ,his volumes are the foundation of all subsequent study4 ,to ,altdorfer he assigns ninety-six pieces 7,i speak of course here1 and in every case1 of pieces engraved on metal72 to ,barthel ,beham1 sixty-four2 to ,sebald ,beham--whose life1 though not a long1 was yet a longer one than ,barthel's--two hundred and fifty-nine2 to ,jacob ,binck1 ninety-seven2 to ,george ,pencz1 a hundred and twenty-six2 to ,heinrich ,aldegrever1 no less than two hundred and eighty-nine2 to ,brosamer1 four-and-twenty4 ,but of late years1 as was to be expected1 certain of these masters have been the subjects of particular study4 ,thus we have1 in ,england1 the dainty little catalogue of ,sebald ,beham1 by the ,rev4 ,w4 ,j4 ,loftie--a book delightfully printed in a very limited edition4 ,that book brings up the number of ,sebald ,beham's assured plates to two hundred and seventy-four4 ,dr ,rosenberg has also1 in much detail1 written in ,german upon the plates of this fascinating artist2 and still more lately ,m4 ,edouard ,aumller has published1 at ,munich1 in the ,french tongue1 elaborate1 though indeed scarcely final1 studies of the ,behams and of ,jacob ,binck4 ,of the ,german ,little ,masters1 ,albrecht ,altdorfer is the earliest4 ,he was only nine years ,drer's junior2 nearly twenty years separate him from others of the group4 ,born it really even at the present moment seems difficult to say where1 ,altdorfer1 ,dr ,rosenberg considers1 was actually a pupil of ,drer's--an apprentice1 an inmate of his house1 probably1 soon after ,drer as a quite young man1 already prosperous and busy1 took up his abode1 with his bride1 ,agnes ,frey1 at the large house by the ,thiergarten ,gate4 ,but whatever was the place of ,altdorfer's birth and whatever the place of his pupilage--and neither matter1 as it seems1 is settled conclusively--,ratisbon is the city in which his life was chiefly spent4 ,there he was architect as well as painter and engraver2 an official post was given him2 and during the last decade of his career his architectural work for ,ratisbon caused1 it is to be presumed1 the complete cessation of his work of an engraver4 ,merits ,altdorfer of course has--variety and ingenuity amongst them--or his fame would hardly have survived2 but ,mr ,w4 ,b4 ,scott1 whose criticism of him was that of an artist naturally rather in sympathy with the methods of his endeavour1 never rises to enthusiasm in his account of him4 ,his drawing is not found worthy of any warm commendation1 nor his craftsmanship with the copper4 ,the great lessons he might have learnt from ,drer1 he does not seem fully to have appropriated4 ,his design is deemed more fantastic4 ,but his range was not narrow1 and apart from his practice in what is strictly line-engraving1 he executed etchings of ,landscape--caring more than ,drer did1 perhaps1 for ,landscape for its own sake3 studying it indeed less lovingly in detail1 but with a certain then unusual reliance on the interest of its general effect4 ,some measure of romantic character belongs to his ,landscape3 8partly intensified10 says ,mr ,scott1 8and partly destroyed1 by the eccentric taste that appears in nearly everything from his hand40 ,the pine had fascination for him4 8,and he loaded its boughs with fronds1 like the feathers of birds1 and added long hues1 vagaries of lines1 that have little or no foundation in ,nature40 ,of both the ,behams1 ,mr ,loftie assures us that they were pupils of ,drer4 ,greater even than the artist ,i have just been writing about1 they show1 it seems to me1 at once an influence more direct from ,drer1 and an individuality more potent1 of their own4 ,barthel1 the younger of the two brothers--one whose designs ,sebald1 with all his gifts1 was not too proud to now and then copy--was born at ,nuremberg in #aejb4 8,le dessin de ses estampes10 writes ,m4 ,aumller1 8est savant et gracieux1 et son burin est d'une lgance brillante et moelleuse40 ,the words--though it is impossible1 in a line or two1 to generalise a great personality--are not badly chosen4 ,exiled from ,nuremberg1 whilst still young1 ,barthel ,beham laboured at ,frankfort1 and1 later1 in ,italy--a circumstance which accounts for something in the character of his work4 ,for1 in ,barthel1 the ,italian influence is unmistakable2 he is1 as ,mr ,scott says truly1 8emancipated from the wilful despising of the graces40 ,in ,italy1 in #aedj1 ,barthel died4 ,sebald ,beham1 the more prolific brother1 whose years1 ere they were ended1 numbered half a century1 was born in #aejj4 ,he remained at home--not indeed at ,nuremberg1 but long at ,frankfort--yet1 remaining at home1 his work was somehow more varied4 ,a classical subject one day1 and peasant life the next1 an ornament now1 and now a design symbolical like his ,melancholia--these interested him in turn2 and1 as for his technical achievement1 his ,coat of ,arms with the ,cock 7for he1 like ,drer1 had that1 as well as a ,melancholia7 would suffice to show1 had he nothing else to show1 his unsurpassable fineness of detail4 8,cette superbe gravure10 ,m4 ,aumller says--and most justifiably1 for technical excellence cannot go any further1 nor is there wanting majesty of ,style4 ,at the ,loftie ,sale some happy person acquired for #d this lovely little masterpiece3 at the ,durazzo ,sale1 #e was the price of it4 ,analysis of ,sebald ,beham's prints shows that of his noble work on metal seventy-five subjects are suggested by sacred and nineteen by 8profane0 history4 ,mythology claims thirty-eight designs1 and ,allegory thirty-four4 ,genre subjects1 treated with the various qualities of observation1 humour1 warmth1 absorb some seventy plates4 ,of vignettes and ornaments1 there are about two score4 ,in #ahha--several years after he had finished his ,catalogue--the ,rev4 ,w4 ,j4 ,loftie sold in ,germany his remarkable collection of ,sebald ,beham's works4 ,next perhaps1 in importance1 in recent times1 to ,mr ,loftie's collection1 was that of ,richard ,fisher--dispersed at a sale ,i have already spoken off4 ,from the ,fisher ,sale1 which was so comprehensive in its character1 we will take note of the prices here in ,england of at least a few fine things--premising that whatever be the prices fetched by an exceptional rarity1 a very few pounds 7often only three or four71 spent carefully1 will buy1 at a good dealer's1 a fine ,beham4 ,in the ,fisher ,sale then1 the ,madonna and ,child with the ,parrot fetched #e1 #ajs42 the ,madonna with the ,sleeping ,child1 #ag1 #ajs4 7,meder72 the ,venus and ,cupid1 #c1 #ajs4 7,deprez72 the magnificently drawn ,leda1 only eleven shillings--but then it must have been a bad impression1 for a fine one at the ,loftie ,sale fetched #d1 #ajs41 and at the ,kalle ,sale1 #f--;,death ,surprising a ,woman in her ,sleep1 #c1 #abs4 7,meder72 the ,buffoon1 and the ,two ,couples1 #e2 the ,two ,buffoons1 ,first ,state1 #g1 #abs4 7,deprez72 the ,ornament with a ,cuirass and the two ,cupids1 #c1 #ajs4 ,at the same sale1 ,aldegrever's ,virgin ,sitting had gone for #g1 #ajs41 and ,barthel ,beham's ,lucretia for #d1 his ,fight for the ,standard for #d1 his ,vignette with ,four ,cupids for #d1 #ds4 ,but it ought perhaps to be remembered that in several cases the representation of the ,little ,masters in ,mr ,fisher's ,sale was not good enough to bring the prices which1 under favourable circumstances1 are wont to be realised by the finest impressions4 ,in regard to ,barthel ,beham1 ,i will add that the highest price accustomed to be fetched by any print of his1 is fetched by his rare1 strong portrait of ,charles the ,fifth4 ,having said what ,i have of it1 ,i cannot say that it is undesirable1 but it is quite undesirable if it stands alone--for it is exceptional rather than characteristic3 in mere size1 for one thing4 ,a ,first ,state of it has fetched as much as sixty pounds3 a ,second ,state averages about twelve4 ,illustration3 ,,sebald ,,beham3 ,adam and ,eve4 ,to ,aldegrever--perhaps the very greatest of the ,ornamentists--the most general of recent students of the ,school1 ,dr ,rosenberg1 does the least justice4 ,mr ,scott1 upon the other hand1 asserts his position with strength2 nor will it be unprofitable for amateur or collector if ,i quote1 at some length1 what he says4 ,the ,behams1 who were great1 and ,altdorfer1 who was scarcely great1 we have--for our present purposes--done with already4 ,but about the others ,mr ,scott may well be heard4 8,george ,pencz10 he reminds us1 8left the ,fatherland and subjected himself to ,italian influence1 both in manipulation and in invention1 while ,brosamer and ,jacob ,binck are of comparatively little consequence40 ,i hope--may ,i say in a parenthesis8--that ,mr ,scott attached great weight to his 8comparatively10 for otherwise he did the charming work of ,jacob ,binck a rude injustice4 ,but to proceed--8,aldegrever is the most worthy successor to ,drer1 and is the greatest master of invention1 with the truest ,german traditions of sentiment and romance1 as well as the most prolific ornamentist4 ,he remains all his life skilfully advancing in the command of his graver1 to which he remains true4 ,like ,lucas of ,leyden1 he lives a secluded life1 and his miniature prints continue to issue from his hands with more and more richness and independence of poetic thought1 until we lose sight of him1 dying where he had lived1 in the small town of ,soest1 without any writer to record the particulars of his modest life40 ,it may be added that ,rosenberg considers not only that ,aldegrever was never under ,drer's direct tuition--though carrying out the ,drer traditions--but also that he was never in ,nuremberg at all4 ,and1 by this means isolating ,aldegrever from the coterie that grew up in the ,franconian town1 ,rosenberg derives him rather from ,lucas van ,leyden4 ,to which ,mr ,scott answers1 that if ,aldegrever never left his native ,westphalia1 never even visited ,nuremberg and ,augsburg1 8he apprehended the movement wonderfully from a distance1 and appropriated as much as he chose--happily for his works--as much as properly amalgamated with his ,northern nature40 ,a great name has passed our lips in discussing this thing briefly4 ,i wish that there were space here--that it had been a part of my scheme to treat1 not so utterly inadequately1 ,lucas van ,leyden4 ,but in a book of this sort--which must seize1 so to say1 upon finger-posts1 where it can--half of the business is renunciation1 and ,i renounce1 unwillingly1 the fair discussion of the great early ,flemish master4 ,drer himself approved of him3 gladly exchanged original prints with ,master ,lucas of ,leyden1 who showed him courtesy on a journey4 ,numerically the work of ,lucas is not inferior--rather the other way--to ,albert ,drer's4 ,his range of subject was hardly less extensive1 though his range of mind was less vast4 ,in a dramatic theme1 ,lucas of ,leyden could hold his own with any one4 ,he had less of unction and of sentiment--less depth1 in fine1 very likely4 ,but the great prints of the ,renaissance in the ,north are not properly represented in a collector's portfolios1 if the work of this master of various and prolific industry is altogether omitted4 ,his draughtsmanship1 though it improved with ,time1 was never the searching draughtsmanship of ,drer1 indeed1 or of one or two of ,drer's followers4 ,yet it was expressive and spirited4 ,and spirit1 vivacity1 a certain grace even1 are well discovered in the rare work of ,lucas in a particular field in which the ,behams and ,aldegrever triumphed habitually and in which ,albert was occasionally great--,i mean the field of ,ornament4 ,the rare ,panneau d',ornements 7,bartsch1 #afd--;dated #aebh71 in scheme of light and shade1 in scheme of action1 in ingenious1 never-wearying symmetry of line1 in telling execution1 reaches a place near the summit4 ,the collector1 when the chance offers1 does well to give the six or seven1 eight or ten guineas perhaps1 which1 in some fortunate hour1 may be its ransom4 ,illustration3 ,,lucas ,,van ,,leyden3 ,panel of ,ornament4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,earliest ,italian ,prints--,they interest the ,antiquary more than the ,collector--,nielli--,baccio ,baldini--,mantegna and his restless energy--,the calm of ,zoan ,andrea--,campagnola--,the ,master of the ,caduceus--,his 8,pagan sentiment0--,marc ,antonio--,his first practice--,his art ripest when his prints interpret ,raphael--,important ,sales of the ,italian ,prints4 ,as one of the chief reasons for the composition of the present volume is that the collector1 whether a beginner or more advanced1 may have ready access to a little book which supplements to some extent1 but does not attempt to supersede1 any one amongst the labours of earlier students--and which treats often with especial prominence themes which it seems lay scarcely at all within the range of their inquiries--it will hardly be expected that much shall be said here on the various departments of ,italian ,engraving4 ,italian ,engraving1 from the nielli of ,florentine goldsmiths to the larger method and selected line of ,marc ,antonio1 has for generations occupied the leisure and been the subject of the investigations of many studious men4 ,volumes have been written about it3 treatises1 articles1 catalogues1 correspondence innumerable4 ,about ,italian ,engraving--in any one of its branches--it would be as easy1 or as difficult1 to say something new1 and at the same time to the point1 as it would be to write with freshness about the decorations of the ,sistine ,chapel or such an accepted masterpiece as the ,madonna di ,san ,sisto4 ,the few words ,i shall write upon the subject will be of a wholly rudimentary character4 ,if the reader wishes to go into this subject elaborately1 ,i refer him at once to experts4 ,no one is less an expert upon it than ,i am2 but partly that all sense of balance shall not be wanting to this book1 and partly that the beginner1 even with this book alone1 shall not grope wholly in the dark1 the place of the ,italians must be briefly recognised4 ,in recognising it1 ,i do not claim to do more1 of my own proper knowledge1 than bring to bear upon the question the results of some more general studies1 and perhaps the sidelights thrown from more particular investigations into other branches of the engraver's achievement4 ,the nielli--those things wrought so minutely by the early goldsmiths1 ,maso da ,finiguerra and the rest--which are the very foundations of ,engraving1 are1 to begin with1 introuvable4 ,to the practical collector then1 it cannot be pretended that they appeal1 though they may engage the attention of the student4 ,then again1 in fine condition1 not spoilt by the re-touching--nay1 re-working--of the plate1 or the wear of the particular impression through its long life of more than three hundred years1 the somewhat maturer work of the great ,primitives1 or of those who1 like ,mantegna himself1 stands1 a link upon a borderland1 is scarcely within the region of practical commerce4 ,the finer work of the line-engravers upon copper1 of the earlier ,renaissance in ,italy1 does not1 save on the rarest occasions1 appear in ,sotheby's auction-room4 ,perhaps its very scarcity1 its gradual absorption during more than one generation1 into such great private collections as are not likely to be dispersed1 and1 yet more1 into national1 or university1 or municipal collections1 into which everything entering takes at once1 and with no period of novitiate1 the black veil--perhaps this very scarcity is accountable for the lack of vivid interest in such work on the part of the collector of modern mind4 ,after all1 even masterpieces have their day3 much more those things of which it must be said1 that though endowed with a great vigour of conception and executed often in trenchant1 if not persuasive1 form1 they do not in execution reach the standards set up for us--and passing now almost into the position of 8precedents0--by the later technique4 ,if1 of the work of the greatest master of the ,german ,renaissance--of the greatest1 most original1 most comprehensive mind in the whole of ,german ,art--it is possible to speak as that very fair and penetrating critic1 ,mr ,p4 ,g4 ,hamerton speaks1 in his general essay on ,engraving1 which appears in the 8,encyclopdia ,britannica10 what is to be said of the earlier ,italians8 ,why1 in the very passage in which ,mr ,hamerton--far too intelligent1 of course1 to deny the greatness of his qualities--devotes to ,drer1 they1 by something more than implication1 are to take their share of the dispraise4 ,after telling us that ,martin ,schngauer's art is a stride in advance of that of 8,the ,master of #adff10 ,mr ,hamerton adds1 8,outline and shade1 in ,schngauer1 are not nearly so much separated as in ,baccio ,baldini1 and the shading1 generally in curved lines1 is far more masterly than the straight shading of ,mantegna4 ,drer continued ,schngauer's curved shading with increasing manual dexterity and skill2 and as he found himself able to perform feats with the burin which amused both himself and his buyers1 he overloaded his plates10--8some0 of his plates1 would here have been a reasonable qualification--8with details1 each of which he finished with as much care as if it were the most important thing in the composition40 8,the engravers of those days0--it is said further--8had no conception of any necessity for subordinating one part of their work to another4 ,in ,drer1 all objects are on the same plane40 ,here ,mr ,hamerton generalises far too much2 but a strong1 exaggerated statement on the matter directs at all events our attention to it4 ,a like criticism could be passed on some1 though1 it must needs be said1 on less1 of the ,italian work of the earlier time4 ,as a rule1 when the pure ,primitives had passed1 ,italian work was less complicated4 ,in ,mantegna himself1 an immense energy in the figure--the completeness with which the artist was charged with the need of expressing action1 and1 it may be1 the sentiment besides1 in which the action had its source--restrained him1 stayed his hand1 diverted his attention from inappropriate or superfluous detail4 ,and there were other ,italian artists of the burin in whom a rising feeling for large and decorative grace had something of the same effect4 ,and when we come to ,marc ,antonio himself--trained though he was as a copyist of ,northern ,schools--we see him able1 when addressing himself to render the compositions of ,raphael1 to subordinate everything to the attainment of noble and elegant contour4 ,the finest ,marc ,antonios--the ,saint ,cecilia and the ,lucretia1 to name but two of them 7respectively #be and #agj in a great ,sale three years ago7--were wrought under ,raphael's immediate influence2 were sculpturesque and simple1 never elaborately pictorial--the result1 no doubt1 in part1 of the circumstance that ,raphael as well as his engraver recognised that if designs 7drawings1 not pictures7 were the objects of copy1 they could be interpreted without going outside the proper art of the engraver4 ,whatever be the fashions of the moment--and ,marc ,antonio's prices1 notwithstanding an exceptional sum for an exceptional print1 are1 in the main1 low--it must be remembered that1 even with his limitations1 it was in him and in his ,school that real pure line-engraving reached maturity4 8,he retained10 says ,mr ,hamerton1 summarising well enough the situation in a sentence--8he retained much of the early ,italian manner in his backgrounds1 where its simplicity gives a desirable sobriety2 but his figures are boldly modelled in curved lines1 crossing each other in the darker shades1 but left single in the passages from dark to light1 and breaking away in fine dots as they approach the light itself1 which is of pure white paper40 ,as general description1 this is excellent2 but if the new collector1 taking to ,marc ,antonio1 and buying him at a time when1 if ,i may adopt the phraseology of ,capel ,court1 his stock is quoted below par1 wishes the opportunity of guidance in the study of the development of his art1 let him take up almost the latest book that deals with the subject with minuteness and suggestiveness1 if it may not be invariably accurate or systematically arranged--,i mean the 8,early ,history of ,engraving in ,north ,italy10 by the late ,richard ,fisher1 whose name as a collector and connoisseur ,i do not mention now for the first time4 ,very interesting too is all that ,mr ,fisher has to say about 8the ,master of the ,caduceus10 ,drer's friend and instructor1 ,jacopo de' ,barbarj1 who1 known as ,jacob ,walsh1 was supposed to be ,german1 although practising much at ,venice4 ,passavant1 who admits some thirty pieces by him1 considers him of ,german birth--a thing allowed neither by ,fisher nor ,duplessis4 8,in single figures0--writes ,mr ,fisher--8we have the best illustration of his talent--,judith with the head of ,holofernes and a young woman looking at herself in a mirror40 ,at the ,british ,museum a bust portrait of a young woman1 catalogued by ,bartsch as amongst the anonymous ,italians1 has been given to ,barbarj4 ,m4 ,galichon considers him eminently ,pagan in sentiment4 ,nor is this incompatible with ,richard ,fisher's statement that in style his ,holy ,families are completely ,italian4 8,la ,gravure en ,italie avant ,marc ,antoine0--a substantial work by ,delaborde--is a book that will not pass unnoticed by those whose choice is for the earlier members of the ,italian ,school4 ,campagnola1 it may be--whose chief piece1 the ,assumption1 fetched more than #ej at the ,durazzo ,sale1 and whose ,dance of ,cupids reach #ej at the ,marochetti--he will find adequately treated there2 and there too are made in compact form certain instructive comparisons between ,mantegna's work and that of ,zoan ,andrea and ,antonio da ,brescia whose labours have their likeness to ,mantegna's own4 ,in the rare1 splendid ,dance of ,damsels--8,dance of ,four ,women10 it ought rather to be1 for in one of its little-draped figures the gravity and fadedness of middle age is well contrasted with the firm and fresh contour and gay alacrity of youth--,zoan ,andrea1 whose prints are 8gnralement prfrables0 to those of ,da ,brescia1 shows finely not only ,mantegna's design1 but that something of his own which the great ,mantuan's design did not give him4 ,many people have written well on ,mantegna2 he provokes people1 he stimulates them2 and ,mr ,sidney ,colvin1 on the so-called 8,mantegna ,playing-,cards10 has written learnedly as an investigator1 giving to designs misnamed and misunderstood their right significance4 ,but it is from ,delaborde that ,i will allow myself to quote one brief passage1 which is full at least of personal conviction4 ,what more especially characterises--so he puts it--,andrea ,mantegna's engraved work1 is that it is 8un mlange singulier d'ardeur et de patience1 de sentiment spontan et d'intentions systmatiques3 c'est enfin dans l'excution matrielle1 le calme d'une volont sre d'elle-mme et l'inquitude d'une main irrit par sa lutte avec le moyen40 ,zoan ,andrea's prints do not present these contrasts4 8,tout y rsulte d'un travail poursuivi avec une parfaite galit d'humeur2 tout y respire la mme confiance tranquille dans l'autorit des enseignements reus1 le mme besoin de s'en tenir aux conqutes dj faites et aux traditions dj consacres40 ,by ,mantegna1 about twenty-five accepted plates have reached our time4 ,by ,zoan ,andrea1 a larger number have at least been catalogued1 and it is argued by some that the least authentic1 as well as the least creditable1 are sometimes those which bear his signature4 ,illustration3 ,,mantegna',s ,dance of ,damsels4 ,did ,i desire to manufacture 8padding10 nothing would be easier than for me to extend to a long chapter this summary assemblage of brief and almost incidental notes on the ,italian ,line-,engraving of the remote ,past4 ,but as the subject itself is one to which ,i have never yet been fortunate enough to devote such a measure of study as might entitle me to claim to be heard when speaking of it1 and as the literature of the subject exists in such abundance for the curious1 ,i can afford to be short4 ,it may1 however1 be of some little interest to the collector1 if1 before passing on to the discussion of another branch of ,print-,collecting in which ,i have ventured to take my own line1 and am willing on all occasions to back my own opinion1 we look a little into such records of the ,sale-room as throw light upon the changing money values of the engravings by ,italian masters4 ,mr ,julian ,marshall1 now with us in his middle age1 began collecting when he was so young that his great sale occurred as long ago as #ahfd4 ,values have changed since that day1 very much4 ,of his four prints by ,mantegna1 only one--,the ,flagellation--fetched more than #ab4 ,that one reached #ba--;an early perfect state of ,the ,entombment going for #aa1 #ajs41 and ,christ descending into ,hell for #i4 ,domenico ,campagnola's ,descent of the ,holy ,ghost then fetched #b1 #bs4 ,at the ,sykes ,sale the same impression had fetched #c2 at the ,harford1 #a1 #aes4 ,at the ,marochetti ,sale in #ahfh1 not a single ,mantegna1 unless ,christ risen from the ,dead1 fetched a price of importance1 and this only ten guineas2 but among the ,marc ,antonios the ,adam and ,eve in ,paradise sold to ,mr ,colnaghi for #acf1 and ,the ,massacre of the ,innocents to ,mr ,holloway for #dj4 ,the ,two ,fauns carrying a ,child in a ,basket--engraved by ,marc ,antonio1 in his finest manner1 after an antique--realised #ef1 and the ,saint ,cecilia #ea4 ,in the ,bale collection1 in #ahha1 the ,st ,cecilia fetched #dj1 and ,mariette's impression of the extraordinarily rare ,dance of ,cupids #bda4 ,that was borne off by ,m4 ,clment1 who was then what ,m4 ,bouillon is now--8marchand d'estampes de la ,bibliothque ,nationale40 ,in the ,holford ,sale1 twelve years afterwards1 ,marc ,antonio's ,adam and ,eve sold to ,m4 ,danlos for #ahj2 the ,massacre of the ,innocents 7from the ,lely ,collection7 to the same dealer for #aij2 and the ,st ,cecilia and ,lucretia both to ,mr ,gutekunst--the first for #ca2 the second for #ff4 ,the great price fetched by a ,marc ,antonio at this ,sale was1 however1 that paid for ,the ,plague--a print which ,m4 ,danlos acquired for #cgj4 ,taking note of such a sum1 one could hardly believe perhaps that ,marc ,antonios were not rising2 but when a master falls1 it is in the minor1 not the more eminent pieces--or1 at least1 in average1 not exceptional impressions--that we trace most certainly a decline of value4 ,and1 taking the ,st ,cecilia alone--one of the most charming of the subjects1 as ,i have said before1 though not one of the rarest--we find1 on the three occasions of its sale that ,i have cited1 a high price1 one less high1 and then again a lower4 ,we find1 indeed1 comparing the prices that were fetched by two impressions not presumably very different--for both were in great ,sales--that in #ahic a ,st ,cecilia brought little more than half of what it brought in #ahfh4 ,the question now for the collector's judgment1 as far as money is concerned1 is1 ,is it safe or unsafe for him to buy at just the present stage of a 8falling market08 ,have ,marc ,antonios touched bottom8 ,if he buys them now1 will he--in the phrase of sprightly ladies 8fluttering0 in 8,south ,africans0--will he be 8getting in on the ground floor08 ,illustration3 ,,marc ,,antonio3 ,st ,cecilia4 ,after ,,raphael 7,from the ,collection of ,a4 ,b4 ,,bach1 ,esq41 ,edinburgh47 ,the collector has a right to ask himself these seemingly irreverent questions4 ,nor will he love ,art less1 or have an eye less delicate1 because he is obliged to ask them4 ,i do not know that the possessions of a prudent collector should--taking things all round--bring him1 if he desires to sell1 much less than he gave for them4 ,it may be quite enough that as long as he keeps and enjoys them1 he shall lose the interest of his money4 ,if1 in the interval1 the value of his prints happens to increase1 so much the better for him--obviously4 ,but he enjoys the things themselves1 and can scarcely exact that increase4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,french ,line-,engravers of the ,eighteenth ,century render well its original ,art--,the ,prints from ,watteau1 ,lancret1 and ,pater--,watteau's ,characteristics--,chardin's ,interiors and ,studies of the ,bourgeoisie--,success of his ,domestic ,themes--,his ,portraits and ,still-,life are never rendered--,the lasting popularity of ,greuze--,boucher ,prints at a discount--,fragonard and ,baudouin--,lavreince and ,moreau4 ,the ,eighteenth ,century in ,france witnessed the rise1 the development1 and the decay or fall of a great ,school of ,art of which the ,english public remains1 even to this day1 all but completely ignorant4 ,the easy seductiveness of the maidens of ,greuze1 with gleaming eyes and glistening shoulders1 has indeed secured in ,england for a certain side of that artist's work a measure of notice in excess of its real importance2 and a succession of accidents and the good taste of two or three connoisseurs out of a hundred--they were men of another generation--have made this country the home and resting-place of some of the best of the pictures and drawings of ,watteau4 ,but even ,watteau is not to be found within our ,national ,gallery4 ,there ,greuze and ,lancret--,chardin having but lately joined them with but a single pleasant but inadequate picture--there ,greuze and ,lancret1 seen at least in what is adequate and characteristic1 share the task of representing ,french ,art of the period when it was most truly ,french4 ,they are unequal to the mission4 ,and until some can join them who will fulfil it better1 the painted work of the ,french ,eighteenth ,century will hardly receive its due4 ,fortunately1 however1 ,french ,eighteenth ,century artists fared well at the hands of the line-engravers4 ,even of a painter who possessed more than many others the charm of colour1 it could be said by one of the keenest of his critics that the originality of his work passed successfully from the picture to the print4 ,that is what ,denis ,diderot wrote of ,jean ,baptiste ,simon ,chardin1 and it is true of them all1 from ,watteau downwards4 ,theirs was the century of ,line-,engraving in ,france1 as it was that of ,mezzotint in ,england4 ,and the practitioners of ,line-,engraving and of ,mezzotint were something beyond craftsmen4 ,not only were they artists in their own departments--some of them painted1 some of them designed3 they were in sympathy with ,art and possessed by its spirit4 ,hence the peculiar excellence of their work with burin or scraper--the high success of labours which their intelligence and flexibility forbade to be simply mechanical4 ,an ,exhibition which at my suggestion the ,fine ,art ,society was good enough to venture on1 eleven years ago--but which attracted so little attention from the great public we wanted to engage1 that it must some day1 ,i suppose1 be repeated--aimed to show those engravings in which1 with fullest effect1 the line-engravers of the ,eighteenth ,century rendered the thought and the impression of painters or of draughtsmen who were1 in most cases1 their contemporaries4 ,watteau was the first of these painters4 ,the prints after his pictures were chiefly wrought in the years directly following his far too early death4 ,his friend1 ,m4 de ,julienne1 planned and saw closely to the execution of that best monument to ,watteau's memory4 ,cochin and ,aveline1 ,le ,bas and ,audran1 ,surugue and ,brion1 ,tardieu and ,laurent ,cars1 worked dexterously or nobly1 as the case might be1 in perpetuation of the master's dignity and grace4 ,lancret and ,pater were often translated by the same interpreters4 ,chardin's work was popularised--as far as ,france is concerned--a very few years after1 and with substantially the same effect4 ,later in the century1 some changes which were not all improvements1 began to be discernible in the newer plates4 ,the manly method of which ,laurent ,cars was about the most conspicuous master1 yielded a little to the softer practice of the interpreters of ,lavreince or to the airy yet not inexact daintiness of the method of the translators of ,moreau4 ,the later style of engraving was suited to the later draughtsmanship and painting4 ,probably indeed it was adopted with a certain consciousness of their needs4 ,anyhow1 not one of the conspicuous figures in the history of ,french ,eighteenth ,century ,design--except ,latour1 who practically has not been reproduced at all--can be said to have suffered seriously at the hands of his translators4 ,what ,french pictorial artists thought and saw and tried to tell1 upon their canvases and drawing papers1 is1 in the main1 to be read in the prints after their works4 ,in these prints we may note alike the triumphs and the failures of the real ,french ,school4 ,there is no denying its deficiencies4 ,but it is as free from conventionality as the great ,school of ,holland--as independent of tradition--and it is as true to the life that it essays to depict4 ,along the whole of the ,eighteenth ,century--not in ,france only--,watteau1 who lived in it but twenty years1 is the dominating master4 ,to put the matter roughly and briefly1 he is the inventor of familiar grace in ,art4 ,his treatment of the figure had its perceptible influence even upon the beautiful design of ,gainsborough2 and the way in which he saw his world of men and women dictated a method to his successors in ,france1 down to the revival of the more academic ,classicism4 ,artists--when they have been so comprehensive as to occupy themselves with other people's ,art--have known generally that ,watteau's name has got to stand among only ten or a dozen of the greatest1 but the ,english amateurs1 or rather ,english picture and print buyers1 are still but few who are acquainted with his range and feel the sources of his power4 ,he has not been very popular1 because1 according to ordinary notions1 there is but scanty subject in his designs4 ,the characters in his drama are doing little--they are doing nothing1 perhaps4 ,but as the knowledge of what real ,art is1 extends1 and as our sensibility to beauty becomes more refined1 we shall ask less1 in presence of our pictures1 what the people are doing1 and shall ask more1 what they are4 ,are they engaging8--we shall want to know4 ,are they pleasant to live with8 ,watteau placed a real humanity in an ideal landscape2 but it was still a chosen people that entered into his ,promised ,land1 and the chosen people were ladies of the ,court and ,theatre1 and winning children1 and presentable men4 ,his pictures--all the large1 elaborate1 finely wrought prints after them--are the record of what was in some measure in these people's daily lives1 yet it was even more in his own dream4 8,toute une cration de pome et de rve est sortie de sa tte1 emplissant son uvre de l'lgance d'une vie surnaturelle40 ,through all his art he takes his pleasant company to the selected places of the world1 and there is always halcyon weather4 ,sometimes it is only the comedians of his day--whose mobile faces ,watteau had seen behind the footlights of the stage--who make modest picnic1 as in the ,champs ,elyses 7the engraving by ,tardieu7--find shade as in the ,bosquet de ,bacchus 7the engraving by ,cochin71 or enjoy at leisure the terraced gardens1 the vista1 the great trees of the ,perspective 7the engraving by ,crepy74 ,and sometimes--inhabitants no more of a real world--the persons of his drama prepare1 with free bearing1 to set out upon long journeys4 ,it is now a pilgrimage to ,cythera 7,l',embarquement pour ,cythre1 or the ,insula ,perjucunda7--suddenly they have been transported indeed to the 8enchanted isle0 7,le ,bas's drawing of the distant mountains in ,l',ile ,enchante1 is1 ,i may say in an underbreath1 a little indefinite and puzzling74 ,in any case the land that ,watteau's art has made more beautiful than ordinary ,nature1 is peopled by a ,humanity keenly and finely observed1 and portrayed with an unlimited control of vivacious gesture and of subtle expression4 ,the unremitting study that made not only possible but sure an unvarying success1 in themes so manifestly limited1 is evidenced best in such collections of ,watteau's drawings as that acquired gradually by the ,british ,museum1 and that yet finer one inherited by the late ,miss ,james1 and now1 alas6 dispersed4 ,there the complete command of line and character is best of all made clear1 and the solid groundwork for success in ,watteau's pictures is revealed4 ,elsewhere--in the 8,masters of ,genre ,painting0--,i have found space to explain more fully than can be done in these pages1 that however manifestly limited were his habitual themes1 his range was really great enough1 since--not to speak of the 8,elysian ,fields0--it covered the landscape and the life of the ,france he knew4 ,he has drawn beggars as naturally as did ,murillo2 negroes as fearlessly as ,rubens2 people of the bourgeoisie as faithfully almost as ,chardin4 ,and1 far from the cut chestnut-trees on whose trimmed straightness there falls in an unbroken mass the level light of his gardens1 ,watteau draws at need the open and common country1 peasants and the soldiery1 the baggage-train passing along the endless roads from some citadel that ,vauban planned4 ,what ,watteau saw was the sufficient and the great foundation of all that he imagined1 and his art's abandonment of the everyday world was to exalt and to refine1 rather than to forget it4 ,the line-engravings after ,watteau--largeish1 decorative1 vigorous while delicate--remain comparatively inexpensive4 ,a rare impression 8before letters0 attains1 perhaps1 now and then a fancy price2 but ,time has very little affected the money value of the impressions with full title1 which1 if reasonable care is exercised1 can be secured in fine condition1 of such a dealer as ,colnaghi1 here in ,england1 and in ,paris1 of ,danlos1 say1 or of ,bouillon--occupied though they all of them are1 habitually1 with more costly things4 ,often two or three sovereigns buy you an excellent ,watteau1 clean and bright1 and not bereft of margin4 ,to have to give as much as #e for one1 would seem almost a hardship4 ,and the work of ,lancret and ,pater--ingenious1 interesting practitioners in ,watteau's ,school--may be annexed at an expense even less considerable4 ,lancret was but a follower of ,watteau3 ,pater was confessedly a pupil4 ,we shall have to come to ,chardin to find in ,french ,art the next man thoroughly original4 ,and ,chardin was a great master4 ,but ,lancret and ,pater1 though they are but secondary1 are still interesting figures4 ,neither of them1 imitative though they were in varying degrees--neither of them made any pretentions to their forerunner's inspired reverie4 ,lancret1 as far as his invention was concerned1 was at one time satisfied with a symbolism that was obvious1 not to say bald4 ,at another1 as in the sedate ,l',hiver 7engraved by ,le ,bas71 and the charming pictures of the games of children1 ,le ,jeu de ,cache-cache and ,le ,jeu des ,quatre ,coins 7both of them engraved by ,de ,larmessin71 he was gracefully real1 without effort at a more remote imagination than the themes of reality in gentle or in middle-class life exacted4 ,at another time again1 he lived so much in actual things1 that he could make the portraits1 not of deep grave men indeed such as the ,bossuets and the ,fnelons of the ,seventeenth ,century1 but of the lighter celebrities of his careless day4 ,that day was ,louis the ,fifteenth's--8c'tait le beau temps o ,camargo trouvait ses jupes trop longues pour danser la gargouillade40 ,and ,lancret painted ,mdlle4 ,camargo 7and ,laurent ,cars engraved her71 springing to lively airs4 ,voltaire had said to her1 distinguishing all her alacrity and fire from the more cautious graces of ,sall1 the mistress of poetic pantomime--,voltaire had said to her-- 8,les nymphes sautent comme vous1 ,et les ,graces dansent comme elle40 ,and the truth of the description is attested by ,lancret's picture1 and by the rosy and vivacious pastel in ,latour's ,saint-,quentin ,gallery4 ,pater1 a fellow-townsman of ,antoine ,watteau's1 was his pupil only in ,watteau's later years4 ,at that time ,watteau suffered from an irritability bred of an exhausting disease and of a yet more exhausting genius4 ,master and pupil fell out4 ,but1 in his last days of all1 ,watteau summoned to him the painter who had come from his own town1 and in a month1 for which the younger artist was ever grateful1 ,pater was taught more than he had ever been taught before4 ,the pupil had the instinct for prettiness and grace1 and in cultivating it ,watteau was useful4 ,but there was one thing the master could not teach him--originality4 ,and his record of the engaging trivialities of daily life1 where pleasure was most gracious and life most easy1 was undertaken by a mind wholly contented with its task4 ,the mind aspired no farther4 ,the faces of ,watteau1 especially in his studies1 are often faces of thoughtful beauty2 sometimes1 of profound and saddening experience4 ,but1 like a lesser ,mozart--and the ,mozart of a particular mood--,pater proffers us his engaging allegro4 ,the aim of all his art--its light but successful endeavour--is summed up in the title of one of the prettiest of his prints and pictures4 ,it is1 ,le dsir de plaire4 ,presently we leave that world of graceful fantasy1 which ,watteau invented1 and his pupils prolonged--a world in which dainty refreshments are served to chosen companies under serene skies--and1 still in the full middle of the ,eighteenth ,century1 we are face to face with the one great artist of that age whom ,watteau never affected4 ,chardin was the painter of the bourgeoisie4 ,with a persistence just as marked as that of the most homely ,dutchmen1 but with a refinement of feeling to which they were generally strangers and which gave distinction to his treatment of his theme1 he devoted himself to the chronicle of prosaic virtues4 ,in his ,art1 no trace of the selected garden1 of the elegant gallantries1 of the excitement of ,love1 in the gay or luscious weather4 ,the honest townspeople know hardly a break in their measured sobriety4 ,they are mothers of families2 the cares of the mnage press on them2 house-work has to be got through2 children taught1 admonished1 corrected4 ,never before or since have these scenes of the kitchen1 the schoolroom1 or the middle-class parlour1 been painted with such dignity1 such truth1 such intimacy1 and such permissible and fortunate reserve4 ,we see them to perfection in ,chardin's prints--in the prints1 ,i mean1 that were made after him1 for he himself engraved never4 ,there are two other sides of his ,art which the contemporary line-engravings do not show4 ,one of them is his mastery of still-life--his great and exceptional nobility in the treatment of it4 ,there is just a hint of that1 it is true1 in the delicate engraving of ,l'conome1 and the broader1 richer engraving of ,la ,pourvoyeuse2 but for any real indication of it1 and even that is but a partial one1 we must come to ,jules de ,goncourt's etching of the ,gobelet d',argent1 which suggests the luminousness1 the characteristic reflets1 and the touche grasse of the master4 ,the other side of ,chardin's talent which the engravings do not represent1 is his later skill in professed portraiture1 and especially in portraiture in pastel1 to which the fashionable but well-merited triumphs of ,latour directed him in his old age4 ,but the deliberate limitations of the ,eighteenth ,century prints do not in any way invalidate the excellence1 the completeness even1 of their performance4 ,the collector should address himself to their study4 ,a little diligence1 a little patience1 and a hundred pounds1 and it would not be impossible to form a collection in which nothing should be wanting4 ,i remember that ,i gave ,m4 ,lacroix or ,m4 ,rapilly1 in ,paris1 not more than seventy-five francs an impression for pieces in extraordinarily fine condition1 and with margins almost intact4 ,illustration3 ,,chardin3 ,le ,jeu de l',oye4 ,chardin went on working till he was eighty years old4 ,he enjoyed popularity1 and he outlived it4 ,from #agch to #ageg1 there were issued1 in close succession1 the engravings1 about fifty in number1 which1 with all their differences1 and with all sorts of interesting notes about them1 ,m4 ,emanuel ,bocher has conscientiously and lovingly catalogued4 ,they were published at a couple of francs or so apiece2 their appearance was wont to be welcomed in little notices in the ,mercure de ,france1 just as the ,standard or the ,times to-day might applaud a new ,cameron or a new ,frank ,short2 and they hung everywhere on bourgeois walls4 ,the canvases which they translated were owned1 some by a ,king of ,france1 and some by a foreign ,sovereign4 ,little in the work of the whole century had greater right to popularity than the ,jeu de l',oye1 with its exquisite and homely grace--,surugue has perfectly engraved it--,l',etude du ,dessein1 austere and masterly 7,le ,bas has rendered well the figure's attitude of absorption71 ,le ,bndicit1 with the unaffected piety1 the simple contentment of the narrow home1 and ,la ,gouvernante1 with the young woman's friendly camaraderie and yet solicitude for the boy who is her charge4 ,at last ,fashion shifted4 ,chardin was in the shade4 ,even ,diderot got tired of him2 though it was only the distaste of a contemporary for an excellence too constantly repeated--and the artist betook himself1 with vanished popularity1 to changed labours4 ,but the vogue had lasted long enough for his method to be imitated4 ,jeaurat tried to look at common life through ,chardin's glasses4 ,but ,jeaurat did not catch the sentiment of ,chardin as successfully as ,lancret and ,pater had caught the sentiment of ,watteau4 ,and along with a little humour1 of which the print of the ,citrons de ,javotte affords a trace1 he had some coarseness of his own which assorted ill with ,chardin's homely but unalloyed refinement4 ,chardin was profound2 ,jeaurat1 comparatively shallow4 ,you look not without interest at the productions of the one2 you enter thoroughly into the world of the other4 ,the creation of ,chardin--which his engravers pass on to us--has a sense of peace1 of permanence1 a curious reality4 ,reality is that which to us of the present day seems above all things lacking to the laboured and obvious moralities of ,greuze1 who was voluptuous when he posed to be innocent1 and was least convincing when he sought to be moral4 ,yet ,greuze1 when he was not the painter of the too seductive damsel1 but of family piety and family afflictions1 must have spoken to his own time with seeming sincerity4 ,even a liberal philosophy--the philosophy of ,diderot--patted him gently on the back1 and invited him to reiterate his commendable and salutary lessons4 ,but the philosophy was a little sentimental1 or it would scarcely have continued to ,greuze the encouragement it had withdrawn from ,chardin4 ,the ,greuze pictures chiefly engraved in his own time were his obtrusive moralities4 ,they now find little favour4 ,but ,levasseur's print of ,la ,laitire and ,massard's of ,la ,crche casse--elaborate1 highly wrought1 and suggesting that ivory flesh texture which the master obtained when he was most dexterously luxurious--these will fascinate the ,sybarite1 legitimately1 during still many generations4 ,before the first successes of the painter of that ,laitire and that ,crche casse1 there was flourishing at ,court1 under the ,pompadour's patronage1 the 8rose-water ,raphael10 the 8bastard of ,rubens40 ,this was ,franois ,boucher4 ,the region of his art lay as far indeed from reality as did ,watteau's 8enchanted isle10 and it had none of the rightful magnetism of that country of poetic dream4 ,it was not1 like ,watteau's land1 that of a privileged and fortunate humanity1 but of 8,false ,gods1 and ,muses misbegot40 ,where ,boucher tried to be refined1 he was insincere2 and where he was veracious1 he was but picturesquely gross4 ,his notion of ,olympus was that of a mountain on which ample human forms might be undraped with impunity4 ,that ,olympus of a limited imagination he frequented with industry4 ,but1 as a decorative painter1 there is no need to undervalue his fertility and skill1 his apparently inexhaustible though trivial impulse2 and if few of his larger compositions have deserved those honours which they have obtained1 of translation into elaborate line-engraving1 hosts of the chalk studies which are so characteristic of his facile talent were appropriately reproduced in fac-simile by the ingenious inventions of ,demarteau4 ,these fac-similes were very cheap indeed not many years ago1 nor are they to-day expensive4 ,of ,boucher's more considered work1 engraved in line1 ,la ,naissance de ,vnus1 by ,duflos1 and ,jupiter et ,lda1 by ,ryland1 are important and agreeable1 and1 as times go1 by no means costly instances4 ,fragonard1 besides being a nobler colourist than ,boucher--as the silvery pinks and creamy whites of the ,chemise en leve1 at the ,louvre1 would alone be enough to indicate--was at once a master of more chastened taste and of less impotent passion4 ,he was of the succession of the ,venetians4 ,fragonard came to ,paris from the ,south--from amidst the olives and the flowers of ,grasse--and he retained to the end a measure of the warmth and sunshine of ,provence4 ,the artistic eagerness1 the hurried excitement1 of some of his work1 is much in accord with his often fiery themes2 but in ,l',heureuse ,fecondit1 ,les ,beignets1 and ,la ,bonne ,mre 7all of them engraved by ,de ,launay7 the collector can possess himself of compositions in which ,fragonard depicted domestic life in his own lively way4 ,that is only one side of his mind1 and1 like his love of dignified and ordered artificial ,landscape1 it is little known4 ,elsewhere he showed himself a skilled and an appreciative observer of wholly secular character1 and he embodied upon many a canvas his conception of ,love--it was not to him the constant devotion of a life1 but the unhesitating tribute of an hour4 ,le ,verre d',eau and ,le ,pot au ,lait are good gay prints1 but not for every one4 ,in ,le ,chiffre d',amour1 ,affection1 which with ,fragonard is rarely inelegant1 becomes for a moment sentimental4 ,contemporary with ,fragonard were a group of artists who1 more than ,fragonard1 left ,allegory aside1 and exercised their imagination only in a rearrangement of the real4 ,these were the ,french ,little ,masters3 amongst them1 ,lavreince1 the ,saint-,aubins1 ,baudouin1 ,eisen1 ,moreau le jeune4 ,they had seen the life of ,paris--,baudouin1 the debased side of it2 but even ,baudouin had some feeling for elegance and comedy4 ,eisen was above all an illustrator4 ,augustin de ,saint-,aubin1 a man of various talents1 displayed in little things1 is studied most agreeably in those two pretty and well-disposed interiors1 ,le ,concert and ,le ,bal par4 ,they are his most prized pieces2 and prettiness having often more money value than greatness1 they are worth more than any ,watteaus--they are worth full twenty pounds the pair4 ,and that is all ,i can afford to say of ,augustin de ,saint-,aubin4 ,lavreince and ,moreau must be spoken of a little more fully4 ,nicholas ,lavreince was by birth a ,swede1 but1 educated in ,paris and practising his art there1 he was more ,french than the ,french4 ,edmond and ,jules de ,goncourt1 the best historians of the ,painting of the time1 do not much appreciate him3 at least in comparison with ,baudouin4 ,they say that ,baudouin's method was larger and more artistic than ,lavreince's1 whose way was generally the way of somewhat painful finish4 ,i have seen by ,lavreince one agreeable water-colour which has all the impulse of the first intention1 and1 so far1 belies the ,de ,goncourts' judgment4 ,but the judgment is doubtless true in the main4 ,that does not make ,lavreince a jot less desirable for the collectors of prints4 ,both he and ,baudouin wrought to be engraved1 but ,lavreince's work was done with a much larger measure of reference to that subsequent interpretation4 ,the true gouaches of ,lavreince are of extraordinary rarity2 and if their method is in some respects less excellent than that of the companion-works of ,baudouin1 their themes are more presentable4 ,lavreince1 in his brilliant portrayal of a luxurious1 free-living ,society1 sometimes allowed himself a liberty our century might resent2 but ,baudouin's license--save in such an exquisite subject as that of ,la ,toilette1 which depicts the slimmest and most graceful of his models--was on a par with that of ,rtif de la ,bretonne4 ,a proof before all letters of the delightful ,toilette--engraved so delicately by ,ponce--is worth1 when it appears1 some twelve or fifteen pounds3 a more ordinary1 a less rare impression1 is worth perhaps three or four4 ,illustration3 ,,baudouin3 ,la ,toilette4 ,baudouin--in too much of his work--was the portrayer of coarse intrigue in humble life and high3 ,lavreince and ,moreau1 masters of polite ,genre1 with subjects wider and more varied1 the chroniclers of conversations not inevitably tte--tte4 ,for vividness and intellectual delicacy of expression in the individual heads1 one must give the palm to ,moreau4 ,the ,de ,goncourts claim for him also pre-eminence in composition2 but in one piece at least--in the ,assemble au ,concert1 engraved by ,dequevauviller--,lavreince runs ,moreau hard4 ,and ,lavreince1 ,i can't help thinking1 has an invention scarcely less refined4 ,what can be gentler1 yet what if gentle can be more abundant comedy than his1 in the ,directeur des ,toilettes8--the scene in which a prosperous ,abb1 an arbiter of ,taste in women's dress1 dictates the choice to his delightful friend1 or busily preserves her from the chances of error4 ,and very noteworthy is ,lavreince's way of availing himself of all the opportunities for beautiful design--beautiful line1 at all events--which were afforded him by the noble interiors in which there passed the action of his drama4 ,those interiors are of the days of ,louis ,seize1 and are a little more severe1 a little less intricate1 than the interiors of ,louis ,quinze4 ,musical instruments1 often beautiful of form--harp1 harpsichord1 and violoncello--play their part in these pictorial compositions4 ,prints from ,lavreince1 like prints from ,moreau1 are too gay and too agreeable not to be always valued4 ,england and ,america will surely take to them1 as ,france has done long ago4 ,it has been claimed for ,moreau--,moreau 8le jeune10 to distinguish him from his less eminent brother--that he is yet more exact than ,lavreince is1 in his record of the fashions of his period in furniture and dress4 ,and sometimes1 on this very account1 his effect is more prosaic--just as at the contemporary theatre the accessories are apt to dominate or dwarf the persons of the drama4 ,yet ,moreau's people have generally some interest of individuality and liveliness1 and these characteristics are nowhere better seen than in the two series which he designed to show the life of a great lady from the moment of motherhood and the daily existence of a man of fashion4 ,these prints--such as ,c'est un ,fils1 ,monsieur2 ,la ,sortie de l',opra2 ,la ,grande ,toilette--should be possessed1 let me tell the collector1 with the 8,a4,p4,d4,q40 still upon them3 not in a later state4 ,moreau1 besides being a charming and observant draughtsman1 was himself a delicate engraver2 but he left to others 7,romanet1 ,baquoy1 and ,malbeste amongst them7 the business of reproducing his story of the ruling classes--of the leaders of ,society--and it was sufficiently popularised4 ,having regard to what it was--a story1 to some people1 of irritating even though of elegant triviality--perhaps it was as well for those ruling classes of the ,ancien ,rgime that it did not go further--that it was not actually broadcast4 ,of ,beaumarchais's pungent comedy the saying has since passed round1 that it was the ,revolution 8en action40 ,so envy or contempt might surely have been fostered by the wide-spread perusal of ,moreau's exquisite1 unvarnished record1 and the ,revolution have been advanced by a day4 ,with ,moreau's art1 the ,eighteenth ,century closes4 ,there is an end of its luxury and its amenity--an end of the lover who insists and the lady who but lightly forbids4 ,there followed after it the boneless1 nerveless1 still eminently graceful pseudo-classicism of ,prud'hon1 and the sterner pseudo-classicism of ,david1 which recalled the ideal of men to a more strenuous life4 ,but that life was not of the ,eighteenth ,century4 ,the inflexible ,david1 like the dreamy ,prud'hon1 was an artist for another age4 ,the graceful1 graceless ,eighteenth ,century--with its own faults1 and no less with its own virtues--had said its last word4 ,familiar and luxurious1 tolerant and engaging1 it had expressed through ,art the last of its so easily supported sorrows and its so easily forgotten loves4 ,,chapter ,x ,the range of ,turner ,prints--,his earlier ,engravers--,his 8,liber ,studiorum0--,its etchings1 proofs1 completed mezzotints--,its money value--8,liber0 ,collectors--,the 8,southern ,coast0 ,series--,the 8,england and ,wales0--,the 8,richmondshire0 ,prints--8,ports0 and 8,rivers of ,england0--,the ,turner ,prints secure the ,master's fame4 ,turner prints constitute a class apart4 ,the prints which others made after ,turner's drawings and pictures1 the prints he executed to some extent or wholly himself1 the engravings in line and the engravings in mezzotint1 are all of them wont to be collected not so much as part of the representation of a particular method of work1 but rather as the representation of an individual genius and of a whole school of the most highly skilled craftsmen4 ,the ,turner prints range in period from a year at least as early as #agid to a year at least as late as #ahef--;for though ,turner was then dead1 one or two of the finest engravers whom he had employed were at that date still labouring in the popularisation of his pieces4 ,they range in size from the dainty vignette a couple of inches high1 to the extensive plate--a wonder of executive skill1 yet often1 too1 a wonder of misplaced ingenuity--which may be three feet long4 ,between them come the very masterpieces of the landscape engraving of last century--line-engravings like the 8,southern ,coast02 mezzotint supported by etching1 like the 8,liber ,studiorum40 ,they range in value between a couple of shillings or so--the price1 when you can get the print1 of a specimen of the early publications in the 8,copper-plate ,magazine0--to1 say1 well shall we say to #ej8--the price of an exceptional proof of a fine1 rare subject in 8,liber40 ,in point of number1 those of which account may reasonably be taken by the student of our greatest ,landscape artists through the charming medium of his prints--or if you will by the student of ,engraving who finds in pieces after ,turner alone a sufficient range of method in the illustration of ,landscape--in point of number those which there need be no desire to ignore or forget1 reach1 roundly speaking1 to four or five hundred4 ,it is possible to make the study and acquisition of them the main business of the life of an intelligent collector4 ,mr ,w4 ,g4 ,rawlinson is perhaps amongst existing connoisseurs the one whose knowledge of the engravings by ,turner1 and after him1 is the widest and most exact4 ,mr ,rawlinson has greatly extended the sum of his own knowledge since he penned that catalogue raisonn of the 8,liber ,studiorum0 which remains his only published contribution to the history of the prints of ,turner4 ,the book is of much value2 but though1 broadly considered1 it remains an adequate and serviceable guide1 there must by this time be a good many corrections in the matter of 8,states0--rarely is it that the issue of a ,first ,edition of a descriptive catalogue of engraved work does not elicit1 from one source or another1 some information1 the existence of which the author had had no reason to surmise4 ,and1 moreover1 it may be hoped that ,mr ,rawlinson's more extended studies in the field of his particular inquiry will bear fruit some day in the production of another volume1 devoted this time to the tale of the great series of ,line-,engravings and the less numerous productions in pure ,mezzotint4 8,liber10 remember--the master-work1 which is thus far the only one to have been elaborately discussed or chronicled by any critic--is the result of a combination of ,mezzotint with ,etching4 ,but we will go back a little1 and will take the prints--or such of them as there is cause to mention--in due order4 ,i recollect ,mr ,rawlinson saying to me1 not many months ago--in speaking of the little publications of the 8,copper-plate ,magazine0 and of such-like small and early work--that ,turner was never properly engraved till he was engraved by ,james ,basire2 and ,i think1 upon the whole1 that this is true4 ,at a later period1 ,turner himself protested that he was never properly1 at all events never quite perfectly1 engraved1 till he was engraved by ,john ,pye--but then that was for a quite different order of work from that which occupied him in the first years of his skilled and accomplished practice4 ,what ,mr ,rawlinson meant was1 that whereas the engraver--tasteful and in a measure delicate1 yet slight and wanting wholly in subtlety of realisation and treatment--who did the little prints in the 8,copper-plate ,magazine10 such as the ,carlisle and the ,wakefield1 failed to translate into his art all the really translatable qualities of the immature yet interesting work to which he addressed himself1 ,basire1 in the brilliant and solid prints which served as head-pieces to the 8,oxford ,almanacks10 from #agii to #ahaa1 did the most thorough justice to their mainly architectural themes4 ,it was in the year in which ,basire finished--and ,turner's art1 by this time1 had1 of course1 greatly changed--that there was executed by ,john ,pye the very work 7,pope's ,villa7 which extorted from ,turner what it may be was his first warm tribute of admiration to anybody who translated him4 ,but four years before this1 ,turner1 with ,charles ,turner1 the engraver in mezzotint1 had begun the publication of the immortal series of 8,liber ,studiorum40 ,the set of prints which ,turner issued as his 8,liber ,studiorum0--with an allusion1 tolerably evident1 to the 8,liber ,veritatis0 of ,claude--is but one series of several with which the ,english master of ,landscape occupied himself during the fifty years1 or more1 of his working life4 ,but it is the first series that was conceived by him2 and it is1 in the best sense1 the most ambitious2 and it remains the noblest and the most representative4 ,in its actual execution ,turner had a greater hand--an incomparably greater hand--than in that of any of its successors2 and its scheme permitted a variety1 an effective suddenness of transition1 denied to the artist when1 in later years1 he was depicting that portion of the county of ,yorks which is known as ,richmondshire1 or the 8,southern ,coast10 or the 8,rivers of ,france10 or the 8,ports of ,england10 or even all the places which it pleased him to choose for one of the most elaborate of his publications1 8,the ,picturesque ,views in ,england and ,wales40 ,a long tether was allowed him1 unquestionably1 in some of these sets2 but in the 8,liber0--as it is called1 briefly and affectionately1 by collector and student--there was no question of tether at all4 ,in it1 a subject from ,classical ,mythology might stand side by side with a subject drawn from ,english barton and hedgerow--,i am1 as it were1 naming ,procris and ,cephalus1 sacus and ,hesperie1 the exquisite though homely ,straw ,yard1 the entirely prosaic ,farm ,yard with a ,cock4 ,the interior of a ,london church1 with its ,georgian altar and its pews cosily curtained for the most respectable of bourgeois1 might be presented in near neighbourhood to some study which ,turner had recorded of the eternal hills1 or of a great storm that gathered1 rolled over1 and passed away from ,solway ,moss4 ,illustration3 ,,turner3 ,the ,straw ,yard4 ,i have used the word 8study10 since it is ,turner's own4 ,but each plate in 8,liber ,studiorum0 is much more than a study4 ,it is a finished composition4 ,turner spared neither time nor pains--though in this case1 as in others1 he was careful1 where that was possible1 to spare money--in making his work all that the wisest lover of his genius might expect it to be4 ,whatever rivalry there was with the 8,liber ,veritatis0 of ,claude--the later portions of which were issuing from the house of ,boydell at the very moment that ,turner was planning the 8,liber0--the rivalry was conducted upon no equal terms4 ,i say nothing in depreciation of ,claude's 8,liber ,veritatis40 ,in it1 one of the greatest practitioners of mezzotint engraving--,richard ,earlom--reproduced1 with learned simplicity1 ,claude's masterly memoranda--the sometimes slender yet always stately drawings in the preparation of which ,nature had counted for something1 and ,art had counted for more4 ,claude's bistre sketches1 by their dignity and style--even the hurried visitor to ,chatsworth may know that--are akin to the landscapes of ,rembrandt1 to the studies of ,titian4 ,but the artist of the 8,liber ,veritatis0 worked in haste1 worked purposely in slightness1 and more than one generation separated him from the engraver who was to execute the plates4 ,turner worked with elaboration1 and worked at leisure1 and he etched upon the plates1 himself1 the leading lines of his composition1 and he was in contact with the engravers1 and his directions to these accomplished craftsmen were rightly fastidious and endlessly minute4 ,claude too was an etcher1 yet it is not in the 8,liber ,veritatis0--it is in the rare and early ,states of his ,shepherd and ,shepherdess ,conversing1 of his ,cowherd 78,le ,bouvier071 of his ,cattle in ,stormy ,weather--that 7as a previous chapter has insisted7 we are to find proof of his skilled familiarity with that means of expression which ,turner employed as the basis of his work in the 8,liber40 ,claude1 when he etched1 etched for ,etching's sake1 and used with pleasure and with ease the resources of the etcher's art4 ,turner restricted ,etching within narrower limits4 ,when one remembers the circumstance that1 having etched the outlines1 on the plate1 he took a dozen or a score1 perhaps1 of impressions from it before he caused the work in mezzotint to be added1 it is difficult to assert that he did not attach a certain value to the etched outlines4 ,and indeed they are of extraordinary significance and strength3 they show economy of labour1 certainty of vision and of hand4 ,it is very well that they1 as well as the finished plates1 should be collected4 ,but1 in his pleasure in possessing himself of these rare1 noble things1 the collector must not allow himself to forget that they were essentially a preparation and a sustenance for that which was to follow--for that admirable mezzotint on which the subtlest lights and shadows of the picture1 its infinite and indescribably delicate gradations1 were intended to depend4 ,of this ,mezzotint it is time to speak4 ,its employment1 though it proved--as ,i think ,i have implied already--wonderfully conducive to the quality of the 8,liber0 plates1 was not resolved upon at first4 ,the process of aquatint1 in which much work was done about that time--in which1 only a very few years before 8,liber0 began1 ,turner's friend1 ,thomas ,girtin1 had produced some broadly-treated views of ,paris--had1 at first1 been thought of4 ,negotiations were opened with ,lewis1 and he executed in aquatint one of the plates1 which ,turner did indeed eventually use1 but which he was careful not to use in the earliest numbers of the publication4 ,the superiority of ,mezzotint he recognised quite clearly4 ,he employed the best mezzotinters4 ,he busied himself to instruct them as to the effects that he desired4 ,he learnt the art himself1 and himself mezzotinted1 with great exquisiteness1 ten out of the seventy-one plates4 ,he worked1 in later stages1 upon all the rest of them2 obtaining generally the most refined beauty1 but working in such a fashion as to exhaust the plate with extravagant swiftness4 ,then he touched and retouched1 almost as ,mr ,whistler has touched and retouched the plates of his ,venetian etchings4 ,so delicate1 so evanescent1 rarity is not an aim1 but a need1 with them4 ,the publication of the 8,liber0--the great undertaking of the early middle period of ,turner's art--began in #ahjg1 and its issue was arrested in the year #ahai4 ,it was never completed--seventy-one finished plates were given to the world out of the hundred that were meant to be4 ,but ,turner had by that time proceeded far with the remainder1 of which twenty plates1 more or less finished1 testified to a gathering rather than a lessening strength4 ,by the non-publication of these later plates1 the collector--if not necessarily the student--is deprived of several of the noblest illustrations of ,turner's genius4 ,nothing in the whole series shows an elegance more dignified than that which the ,stork and ,aqueduct displays2 the mystery of dawn is magnificent in the ,stonehenge2 and never was pastoral landscape--the ,england of field and wood and sloping hillside--more engaging or suggestive than in the ,crowhurst4 ,the mention of these plates--the hint it gives us as to difference of subject and of aim--brings up the question of the various classes of composition into which ,turner thought proper to divide his work4 ,his advertisement of the publication affords a proof of how widely representative the work was intended to be2 nor indeed1 did the execution at all fall short of ,turner's hope in this respect4 ,the work was to be--and we know1 now1 how fully it became--an illustration of ,landscape ,composition1 classed as follows3 8,historical1 ,mountainous1 ,pastoral1 ,marine1 and ,architectural40 ,and further1 it is said in the advertisement1 8,each number contains five engravings in mezzotint3 one subject of each class40 ,but ,turner1 in these matters1 was extraordinarily unmethodical--,i should like to say 8muddled40 ,each number did contain five engravings1 and they were 8in mezzotint10 with the preparation in etching2 but it was by no means always that there was one subject of each class1 for ,turner divided the ,pastoral into simple and what he described as 8elegant0 or 8epic0 ,pastoral 7,mr ,roget thinks that the 8,e4,p40 means 8epic071 and the very first number contained a ,historical1 a ,marine1 an ,architectural subject1 but it contained no ,mountainous1 for the ,pastoral was represented in both of its forms 78,p40 and 8,e4,p4074 ,the actual publication was exceedingly irregular4 ,sometimes two numbers--or two parts1 as we may better call them--were issued at once4 ,sometimes there would be an interval of several years between the issue of a couple of parts4 ,there is no doubt that as the work progressed ,turner felt increasingly the neglect under which it suffered4 ,gradually he lost interest in its actual issue--but1 never for a moment in its excellence4 ,charles ,turner1 the admirable mezzotint engraver--who1 it should hardly be necessary to say1 was no relation of the greater man--had charge of 8,liber0 in its early stages4 ,the prints of the first parts bore an inscription to the effect that they were 8,published by ,c4 ,turner1 #ej ,warren ,street1 ,fitzroy ,square40 ,but in #ahaa--when three years had elapsed since the publication of the fourth part--the fifth came out as 8,published by ,mr ,turner1 ,queen ,anne ,street1 ,west0--and 8,mr ,turner0 meant1 of course1 the author of the work4 ,charles ,turner1 who had engraved in mezzotint every plate contained in the four parts with whose publication he was concerned1 engraved1 likewise1 several of the succeeding pieces4 ,thus his share in the production of 8,liber0 was greater than that of any of his brethren4 ,william ,say's came next to his in importance--importance measured by amount of labour--and ,mr ,rawlinson has pointed out that ,william ,say approached his work with little previous preparation by the rendering of ,landscape4 ,the remark is1 in some degree1 applicable to most of ,say's associates4 ,the engraver in mezzotint1 at that time1 as in earlier times1 flourished chiefly by reproducing ,portraiture4 ,raphael ,smith and ,william ,ward--great artists who were still living when the 8,liber0 was executed1 but who had no part in the performance--had been employed triumphantly1 a very little earlier1 in popularising that delightful art of ,morland1 in which landscape had so large a place4 ,dunkarton1 ,thomas ,lupton1 ,clint1 ,easling1 ,annis1 ,dawe1 ,s4 ,w4 ,reynolds1 and ,hodges complete the list of the engravers in mezzotint who worked upon the 8,liber40 ,admirable artists many of them were1 but the collector1 if he is a student1 cannot forget how much the master1 the originator1 dominated over all4 ,mr ,ruskin and several subsequent writers have written1 with varying degrees of eloquence1 of originality1 and1 ,i may add1 of common sense1 as to the moral1 emotional1 or intellectual message the 8,liber0 may be taken to convey4 ,this is scarcely the place in which to seek to decipher with exhaustive thoroughness a communication that is on the whole complicated and on the whole mysterious4 ,the reader may be referred to the last pages of the final volume of 8,modern ,painters0 for what is at all events the most impressive statement that a prose-poet can deliver as to the gloomy significance of ,turner's work4 ,mr ,stopford ,brooke--rich in sensibility and in imaginative perceptiveness--follows a good deal in ,mr ,ruskin's track4 ,i doubt if ,mr ,hamerton or ,mr ,cosmo ,monkhouse--instructive critics of a cooler school--endorse the verdict of unmitigated gloom1 and ,i have myself 7in a chapter in a now well-nigh forgotten essay of my youth7 ventured to hold forth upon the intervals of peace and rest which 8,liber ,studiorum0 shows in its scenes of solitude and withdrawal3 the morning light1 clear and serene1 in the meadows below ,oakhampton ,castle2 the graver silence of sunset as one looks wistfully from heights above the ,wye1 to where1 under the endless skies1 the stream deploys to the river4 ,i am referring1 of course1 to the ,oakhampton ,castle subject1 and to the ,severn and ,wye2 but the argument might have been sustained by allusion to many another print4 ,more important to our present purpose than to settle accurately its moral mission or to agree upon the sentiment of this or that particular plate1 is it to value properly the sterling and artistic virtues which 8,liber0 makes manifest4 ,of these1 however1 there is one thing only that ,i care to emphasise here4 ,let all beauties of detail be discovered2 but let us even here1 and in lines that are of necessity brief1 lay stress upon the all-important part played in the plates of 8,liber0 by one old-fashioned virtue1 that will yet be fresh again when some of those that may seem to supplant it have indeed waxed old4 ,it is the virtue of ,composition4 8,liber ,studiorum0 shows1 in passage after passage of its draughtsmanship1 close reference to ,nature1 deep knowledge of her secrets2 but it shows ,i think yet more the unavoidable conviction1 alike of true worker and true connoisseur1 that ,nature is1 for the artist1 not a ,deity but a material3 not a tyrant but a servant4 ,in the near and faithful study of ,nature--and nowhere more completely than in the prints of 8,liber0--,turner did much that had been left undone by predecessors4 ,but he was not opposed to them--he was allied to them--in his recognition of the fact that his art must do much more than merely reproduce4 8,nature10 said ,goethe1 8,nature has excellent intentions40 ,and by ,composition1 by choice1 by economy of means1 sometimes by very luxury of hidden labour1 it is the business of the artist to convey these intentions to the beholders of his work4 ,how much does he receive8 ,how much of himself1 of his creative mind1 must we exact that he shall bestow8 ,let us come down1 immediately1 to money matters1 and other practical things for the collector's benefit4 ,it is still possible1 here and there1 in an auction room1 to buy an original set of 8,liber ,studiorum0--a set1 that is1 as ,turner issued it--but it is never desirable4 ,for ,turner1 who was not only a great poet with brush and pencil1 and scraper and etching needle1 but an exceedingly keen hard bargainer and man of business1 took horrible care 7or just care1 if we choose to call it so7 that the original subscribers to his greatest serial should never get sets consisting altogether of the fine impressions4 ,he mixed the good with the second-rate3 the second-rate with the bad4 ,it was not till collectors took to studying the pieces for themselves1 and making up collections by purchase of odd pieces here and there--rejecting much1 accepting something--that any sets were uniformly good4 ,the first fine set1 perhaps1 was that1 in various ,states1 which was amassed by ,mr ,stokes1 and passed on to his niece1 ,miss ,mary ,constance ,clarke4 ,to have the marks of these ownerships at the back of a print1 is--in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred--to have evidence of excellence4 ,twenty years ago1 one could buy such a print1 now and then1 at ,halsted's1 the ancient dealer's1 in ,rathbone ,place2 and have an instructive chat to boot1 with an old-world personage who had had speech with 8,mr ,turner40 ,even now1 in an auction room1 one may get such a print sometimes4 ,another of the very early collectors was ,sir ,john ,hippesley1 who bought originally on ,halsted's recommendation1 and who--having been for years devoted to works of other masters--ended by breakfasting1 so to speak1 on 8,liber ,studiorum03 on the chair opposite to him1 as he sat at his meal1 a fine print was wont to be placed4 ,amongst living connoisseurs1 ,mr ,henry ,vaughan and ,mr ,j4 ,e4 ,taylor1 ,mr ,stopford ,brooke and ,mr ,w4 ,g4 ,rawlinson1 have notable collections of very varying size and importance4 ,mr ,rawlinson believes much more than ,i do--if ,i understand him aright--in the desirability of possessing engravers' trial proofs--in a certain late stage4 ,most engravers' proofs are1 of course1 mere preparations1 curious and interesting1 but in themselves far less desirable than the finished plates to whose effects of deliberate and attained beauty they can but vaguely approximate4 ,of course if you are so exceedingly lucky a man as to have been able to pounce upon the particular proof which was the last of the series1 you possess a fine and incontestable thing2 but generally an early impression of the ,first published ,state represents the subject more safely and assuredly2 and1 failing that1 an early impression of the ,second ,state2 and so on4 ,an indication of priority is no doubt well--but it is well chiefly for the feebler brethren4 ,you must train your eye4 ,having trained it1 you must learn to rely on it4 ,books and the knowledge of ,states are useful1 but are not sufficient4 ,in the few years that elapsed between the establishment of 8,liber0 as avowedly fit material for the diligence and outlay of the collector1 and the great sale of the 8remainders0 in ,turner's own collection--which only left ,queen ,anne ,street in #ahgc1 some two-and-twenty years after his death--prices for fine impressions of the 8,liber0 plates1 bought separately1 were high4 ,then1 in #ahgc1 during that long sale at ,christie's1 a flood of prints1 and many of them very fine ones1 came upon the market4 8,would they ever be absorbed80 it was asked4 ,they were absorbed very quickly4 ,but just until they were absorbed1 it was1 naturally1 possible1 not only to choose 7at the dealer's1 chiefly1 who bought big lots2 at the ,colnaghi's and ,mrs ,noseda's1 particularly7--it was possible to choose sagaciously1 out of so great a number1 and to choose cheaply too4 ,then 8markets hardened40 ,the various writings calling attention to the wisdom of collecting had probably their effect4 ,then things slackened again4 ,and now1 though rare proofs and very fine impressions--which are what should be most cared about--hold their own1 there is a certain lull in the activity of buying4 ,the undesirable impression goes for very little4 ,yet the fluctuations1 such as they are1 either way1 are of no vast importance4 ,of any but the very rarest1 or very finest subjects1 six to twelve guineas gets a good ,first ,state4 ,three to six guineas may be the price of a good ,second4 ,a ,third or ,fourth or ,fifth ,state fetches less1 unless--as in an exceptional instance1 like the ,calm--it is preferable4 ,of all the different subjects1 the rarest is ,ben ,arthur4 ,in a fine impression--with the cloudland and the shadows not impenetrably massive--it is exceedingly impressive4 ,but never as a thing of power should ,i rate it above ,solway ,moss or ,hind ,head ,hill2 or1 as a thing of beauty1 above ,severn and ,wye4 ,no great collection of the 8,liber ,studiorum0 has been sold of late years1 but if we go back to the year #ahhg1 we can give a few prices culled from the catalogue of the ,buccleuch ,sale4 ,an engraver's proof of the ,woman with a ,tambourine fetched #ae1 #aes4 there2 an engraver's proof of ,basle1 #bg2 a proof of the ,mount ,st ,gothard1 which at least must have had the virtue of approaching finish1 fell to ,colnaghi's bid of #ee2 the ,first ,state of the ,holy ,island ,cathedral1 which sold for #c1 #cs41 must either have been poor or monstrously cheap1 though the plate is one in which1 even to the collector with the most trained eye1 the possession of the ,first ,state is not strictly necessitated3 the subject is among those--and they are not so very few--in which the ,second ,state1 well chosen1 is altogether adequate4 ,the ,first ,state of the ,hind ,head ,hill reached #ad1 #ads42 the ,first of the ,london from ,greenwich1 with its noble panorama of the long stretched ,town and winding river1 reached #ae1 #aes4 ,a proof of the ,windmill and ,lock reached #ca2 a ,first ,state of the ,severn and ,wye1 #ba2 a ,first ,state of the ,procris and ,cephalus1 #aa2 a ,first ,state of the ,watercress ,gatherers1 #aa1 #aas4 ,the pure etchings1 which ,i have written of in an earlier paragraph in this chapter1 sell1 generally speaking1 for three or four guineas apiece2 the etching of the ,isis1 which is extremely rare1 fetched at the ,buccleuch auction #ac1 #acs4 ,by the ,fine ,art ,society #gd was paid for a ,first ,state of the ,ben ,arthur4 ,the plates least eagerly sought1 or in inferior condition1 went for all sorts of prices between a pound or two and four or five guineas4 ,i think1 as far as value may be judged without the presence of the particular impressions which were sold1 the little list ,i have now given above may fairly indicate it1 but no quite thorough indication can be got without an immense accumulation of detail1 and1 on the reader's part1 an immense knowledge in interpreting it4 ,it is not unintentionally that we have lingered long over the 8,liber40 ,but more than one other great series must engage at all events a brief attention4 ,in #ahad began the famous 8,southern ,coast0 series1 which was brought to an end in #ahbg4 ,for these prints1 engraved in admirable and masculine 8line10 chiefly by the brothers ,george and ,william ,cooke1 ,turner had made water colours1 whilst as a preparation for the 8,liber10 he had made but slight though finely considered sepia drawings--mere guides and hints to himself and the engravers he employed upon the plates3 things whose significance was to be enlarged3 not things to be merely copied and scrupulously kept to4 ,in quite tolerable condition the ordinary impressions of the 8,southern ,coast0 plates are to be had in large book-form2 but the collector1 buying single piece by single piece1 at one or two or three guineas each1 seeks generally impressions before letters or with the scratched title4 ,of course the variations in condition are noticeable1 but in the firm 8line0 of the 8,southern ,coast10 they are at least much less noticeable than in the delicate and evanescent mezzotints of 8,liber40 ,the year in which the publication of the 8,southern ,coast0 was finished--when prints picturesque and vivid1 and in some cases1 as in the ,clovelly of ,william ,miller1 perfectly exquisite1 had been presented of the most interesting seaboard places between ,minehead and ,whitstable--that year was the period at which the publication of the third great series1 the 8,england and ,wales10 was begun4 ,it was to have extended to thirty parts or more3 each part containing four subjects4 ,but1 like 8,liber10 it received1 on its first issue1 no full and satisfying measure of encouragement1 and though it reached its twenty-fourth part1 it did not go further4 ,it was published at about two guineas and a half a part4 8,england and ,wales0 sets forth with great elaboration of line engraving the characteristics of the later middle period of ,turner's art1 so far as black and white can set it forth at all4 ,that was the period in which subject was most complicated and most ample--even unduly ample--and in which ,turner dealt at once with the most intricate line and with all sorts of problems of colour1 atmosphere1 illumination4 ,the work of all that period1 from #ahbg1 say1 to ten years onwards--with many of its merits1 its inevitable shortcomings1 and its immense ambition--the 8,england and ,wales0 represents4 ,the work of various engravers trained by ,turner for the interpretation of all that was most complicated1 it will ever be interesting and valuable4 ,such prints as ,stamford1 ,llanthony ,abbey1 and the noble ,yarmouth stand ever in the front line4 ,the last1 like the ,clovelly of the 8,southern ,coast10 is a work of ,william ,miller1 the old ,quaker engraver1 whose rendering of ,turner's delicate skies no other line engraver has approached--not even ,william ,cooke1 who did so well that troop of light little wind clouds in the ,margate of the 8,southern ,coast40 ,admirable then1 indeed1 many of these things must be allowed to be2 and in this sense they are almost unique1 that scarcely anything else has possessed their qualities4 ,yet on the whole one admires 8,england and ,wales0 with reservations4 ,one's heart goes out more thoroughly to 8,liber0 and to 8,southern ,coast40 ,there are other series which must not be passed over altogether--the 8,richmondshire ,set10 of which the first print was executed1 ,i think1 in #ahbj1 though the whole volume was not issued till #ahbc4 ,it too is in line3 the finest print of all1 perhaps the ,ingleborough4 ,then there are six 8,ports of ,england03 impressive1 varied little mezzotints1 unsupported by etching--prints in one of which ,turner has set down1 for all time1 his clear1 unequalled perception of the beauty of the ,scarborough coast-line4 ,then there are the 8,rivers of ,england10 with the noble ,arundel1 the restful ,totness4 ,then there are1 in line1 the almost over-dainty yet miraculous little prints of 8,rivers of ,france40 ,then there are the wonderful vignettes in illustration of ,walter ,scott4 ,these1 like the illustrations to the ,rogers' 8,poems0 and the 8,italy10 with which they have the most affinity1 are luminous and gem-like4 ,the ,rogers illustrations of course deteriorate in later editions2 the 8,italy0 of #ahcj and the 8,poems0 of #ahcd are the ones that should be possessed2 and were the present volume of a wider scope and addressed to the book-collector1 ,i should allow myself to say here what it seems ,i do say here1 without 8allowing myself0--that the collector should get1 if possible1 a copy in the original boards1 and may give #e for that as safely as a couple of sovereigns for a re-bound copy4 ,turner is represented on many a side by the engraver's art1 and in most cases with singular good fortune4 ,for some1 there are the vignettes which have the finish of ,cellini work4 ,for some1 it may be1 the large1 more recent plates1 the ,modern ,italy and ,ancient ,italy1 that hang1 ,i cannot help considering1 rather ineffectively upon the wall3 too big1 not for their place1 but for their method of execution--and yet1 like so many1 wonderful4 ,he is represented best of all perhaps in works of middle scale--in the virile line of the 8,southern ,coast10 and the unapproachable mezzotint and etching of the 8,liber40 ,if everything that he has wrought with brush or pencil were extinguished1 these things1 living1 would make immortal his fame4 ,,chapter ,,xi ,the healthy appreciation of ,mezzotint--,its faculty of conveying the painter's very touch--,landscape ,scenes in ,mezzotint--,comparative ,rarity of ,landscapes--,the ,constables--,vast volume of ,rare ,pieces and ,portraits--,the ,prints after ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds--,dr ,hamilton's ,catalogue--,the smaller number of ,gainsboroughs--,increased appreciation of ,romney--,mr ,percy ,horne's book on these men--,george ,morland--,the cost of ,mezzotints now1 and when first issued4 ,of modern fashions in ,print ,collecting1 the appreciation of mezzotints is assuredly one of the healthiest1 and--apart from the question of the very high prices to which mezzotints have lately been forced--there is only one drawback to the pleasure of the collector in bringing them together3 the collector of mezzotints has to resign himself to do without original work4 ,the scraping of the plate in these broad masses of shadow and light--a method immensely popular as means of interpretation or translation of the painter's touch--has from the days of the invention of the process by ,ludwig von ,siegen to the days of its latest practice1 never greatly commended itself to the original artist as a method for fresh design4 ,there are a few exquisite exceptions2 and perhaps there is no sufficient reason why there should not be more2 but the exceptions best known1 and most likely to be cited1 the prints of ,turner's 8,liber ,studiorum10 are exceptions only in so far as regards that small proportion of the whole--about ten amongst the published plates--wrought by ,turner himself4 ,and1 further1 the collector1 if he cares much for ,landscape subjects1 will note that landscapes in mezzotint are comparatively few4 ,it was in the ,eighteenth ,century that the production of mezzotint was most voluminous2 and the ,eighteenth ,century took little interest in ,landscape4 ,in the earlier half of our own century--ere yet the art had almost ceased to be practised--the world was given a few famous sets of landscapes in mezzotint2 but they were very few4 ,turner's 8,liber0 7with its backbone of etching7 was followed by the half-dozen pieces of the 8,ports of ,england10 and by 8,rivers of ,england10 or 8,river ,scenery10 as it is sometimes called1 8after ,turner and ,girtin40 ,and then1 well in the middle of the half-century1 we were endowed with the delightful1 now highly prized mezzotints1 which were executed by ,david ,lucas after the works of ,constable1 homely when they were sombre1 homely too when they were most sparkling and alive4 ,they too1 the 8,constable's ,english ,landscape0--like the 8,liber0 prints of ,turner--were influenced1 for better or worse1 by the supervision of the creative artist4 ,the tendency of ,lucas may have been to make them too black--even ,constable never blamed him for making them1 likewise1 massive4 ,sparkle and vivacity1 as well as obvious breadth and richness1 were wanted in adequate renderings of ,constable2 and all these1 by the adaptability of ,lucas's talent1 by his rare sympathy1 were obtained4 ,illustration3 ,,david ,,lucas3 ,,constable',s ,spring4 ,in our own day1 several meritorious artists--,wehrschmidt and ,pratt and ,gerald ,robinson and others--have done1 in several branches1 interesting work in mezzotint2 and ,frank ,short1 in one print especially that ,i have in my mind1 after a ,turner drawing--an ,alpine subject--and again in a decisive mezzotint1 ,a ,road in ,yorkshire1 after ,dewint 7a road skirting the moors7--is altogether admirable4 ,and1 to name yet a third instance of the art of this flexible translator1 there is the quite wonderful little vision of the silvery grey ,downs1 after a sketch by ,constable in the possession of ,henry ,vaughan1 whose greater ,constable1 the ,hay ,wain1 was generously made over to the nation4 ,the work of ,david ,lucas1 himself--even in the radiant ,summerland1 or in the steel-grey keenness of the ,spring--did not excel in delicacy of manipulation ,frank ,short's delightful rendering of ,constable's vision of the ,downs4 ,but ,i am not to dwell longer upon particular instances4 ,we are brought back to the fact that it is not1 generally speaking1 in examples of ,landscape ,art that the collector of mezzotints must find himself richest4 ,the collector's groups of landscapes will be limited--and in the first place are the rare ,proofs--,lucas's ,proofs--after ,constable4 ,in the collection of religious compositions1 of genre pieces1 of theatrical subjects1 of 8fancy0 subjects--in which that which is most 8fancied0 is the prettiness of the female sex--in sporting and in racing subjects 7amongst the latter there are a few most admirable prints after ,george ,stubbs71 and most of all1 of course1 in portraits1 from the days of ,lely to the days of ,lawrence1 there will be opportunities of filling portfolio after portfolio1 drawer after drawer4 ,it is difficult1 ,i think1 for the collector--still more for the student who has not a collector's practical interest in the matter--to realise what is actually the extent of that contribution to the world's possessions in the way of ,art1 which has been made1 and all within about two hundred years1 by the engravers in mezzotint4 ,some eighteen years ago1 an ,irish amateur1 ,mr ,challoner ,smith1 began the publication of a ,catalogue which1 when it was concluded1 several years later1 had extended to five volumes4 ,it was a colossal labour4 ,styled by its compiler 8,british ,mezzotint ,portraits10 it really includes the chronicle of many firings which at least are not professedly portraits--yet it excludes many too4 ,whatever it excludes1 its bulk is such1 that1 amongst the mass of its matter1 it comprises full descriptions of between four and five hundred plates by one artist alone4 ,the man is ,faber1 junior4 ,fifty plates are chronicled by an engraver more modern of character1 more popular to-day--,richard ,earlom2 amongst them1 more than one of the genre or incident pictures after ,wright of ,derby 7in which a difficult effect of chiaroscuro--an effect of artificial light--is treated boldly1 vigorously1 not always very subtly71 and the marvellously painter-like plates of ,marriage la ,mode1 so much more pictorial than the brilliant line-engravings executed much earlier after those subjects4 ,but not1 be it observed1 mentioned by ,challoner ,smith amongst the ,earloms1 are two other prints in which1 in the reproduction of still-life1 engraving in mezzotint reaches high-water mark2 ,i mean the now most justly sought-for plates after the ,fruit and ,flower ,pieces of ,van ,huysum4 ,by ,james ,watson1 a contemporary of ,earlom's1 more or less1 about a hundred and sixty prints are described4 ,by ,j4 ,r4 ,smith--who engraved so many of the finest of the ,sir ,joshuas--there are described two hundred1 but by the ,john ,smith who1 a century earlier1 recorded almost innumerable ,knellers1 there are all but three hundred4 ,the difference in the number of plates produced by the younger men and by the elder--,james ,watson1 ,earlom1 and ,j4 ,b4 ,smith upon the one hand2 ,john ,smith and ,faber on the other--finds its explanation in the tendency of mezzotint to become more elaborate1 more refined1 more perfect1 presumably slower1 during the hundred years or so that separated the beginning1 not from the end indeed 7for the end1 strictly speaking1 is not yet71 but from the very crown and crest of the achievement4 ,much of the early work is very vigorous4 ,john ,smith1 especially1 was within limited lines a sterling artist2 though mainly1 like the portrait painters that he worked after1 without obvious attractiveness and indeed without subtlety4 ,the exceedingly rare examples of ,ludwig von ,siegen and of ,prince ,rupert show that these men--at the very beginning even--were artists and not bunglers4 ,but when one compares that early work1 ,john ,smith's even--done1 all of it1 when the art was but in its robust childhood--with the infinitely more refined and flexible performance of the men of the ,eighteenth ,century1 one wonders only at the great body of achievement1 dexterous1 delicate1 faultlessly graceful1 vouchsafed to the practitioners of mezzotint during the last decades of that later epoch4 ,and between the distinctly later work and the distinctly earlier1 of the less engaging executants1 there came1 be it remembered1 the masculine art of ,m#8,ardell1 a link in the chain2 for ,m#8,ardell learnt something from the early men1 and was the master of more than one of the more recent4 ,he is admirable especially in his rendering of the portraits of men4 ,a vast proportion of the work of the first practitioners of ,mezzotint appeals rather to the collector of portraits for likeness' sake1 than to the collector of prints for beauty's sake and ,art's4 ,such a collector is a specialist the nature of whose specialty obliges him to amass a certain amount of artistic production without necessarily having any great regard for the ,art that is in it4 ,we are not concerned1 in this volume1 with this specialty1 honourable and serviceable as it may be--a book which1 by reason of more pressing claims1 leaves out of consideration the manly and yet highly refined labours of ,nanteuil1 ,edelinck1 the ,drevets 7masters of reproductive work in pure 8line 071 may well be pardoned if it does not pause over mere portraiture--,i mean1 the less artistic portraiture--in mezzotint4 ,the collector who is as yet but a beginner should be encouraged to direct his eye to the more statedly and purposely artistic--to the hill-tops where he will find already1 as his comrades in research1 those who have brought to the task of collecting a long experience and a chastened taste4 ,in other words1 the generation of ,reynolds and of ,gainsborough1 or else the generation of ,romney and of ,morland1 has to be reached before the mezzotint collector can lay hands on the great prizes of his pursuit4 ,the perfectly translated art of these painters is amongst the few things which may be accounted popular and yet may be accounted noble4 ,in saying this1 ,i do not preclude myself from saying also that ,i think the sums given at present for the most favourite instances of mezzotint engraving are distinctly excessive4 ,we will look at a few of them in detail1 on a later page4 ,fashion knows little reasonableness--but little moderation--and hence it is that a translation of ,reynolds1 gracious and engaging1 commands1 if it happens to be at all rare1 the price1 and often more than the price1 of an original and important creation of ,drer's1 or even of ,rembrandt's4 ,but what shall we say when we have to recollect that1 at the present moment1 even the mezzotints after ,hoppner are ridiculously dear6 ,of all the masters of the ,eighteenth or early ,nineteenth ,century1 it is ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds who has been engraved most amply4 ,it is safe to say that there are something like four hundred prints after his painted work--prints of the great time1 ,i mean1 ending not later than #ahbj1 and taking1 amongst others1 no account of the smaller plates of which ,s4 ,w4 ,reynolds executed so many4 ,the latest and best ,catalogue of these great ,reynolds prints is that of ,dr ,hamilton--a labour of diligence and loving care undertaken in our own generations4 ,of the painters of the ,british ,school1 ,morland probably comes next to ,reynolds1 in respect of the number of engravings executed after his work4 ,apart from prints in stipple1 there exist after ,morland something like two hundred mezzotints4 ,a systematic ,catalogue1 with states and all1 is still to be desired1 as a sure practical guide to the collector of ,morland2 but meanwhile useful service has certainly been rendered by the ,exhibitions at the ,messrs ,vokins's1 for these were wonderfully comprehensive1 and with them careful lists--only just short of being catalogues raisonns--have been issued4 ,william ,ward--,morland's brother-in-law--and ,j4 ,r4 ,smith1 with whom he was associated1 were his two principal engravers2 but many another accomplished craftsman had a hand in popularising his labours by reproducing his themes--amongst them ,john ,young1 the author of the rare and little known1 and poetic plate1 ,travellers4 ,mr ,percy ,horne--himself1 like ,dr ,hamilton1 a well-known collector--has done for ,gainsborough and ,romney what ,dr ,hamilton has done for ,sir ,joshua4 ,in one volume1 charmingly illustrated with a few specimen subjects1 ,mr ,percy ,horne has issued a ,catalogue of the engraved portraits and fancy subjects painted by ,gainsborough and by ,romney--the ,gainsborough pieces of which he has taken note having been published between #agfj and #ahbj2 the ,romneys1 between #aggj and #ahcj4 ,by ,gainsborough1 there are eighty-eight1 of which seventy-seven are portraits4 ,the numbers include some in stipple and a few even in line1 but the bulk are1 of course1 mezzotints4 ,by ,romney--somehow more popular with the engravers1 and1 it would seem1 with the public--there are no less than a hundred and forty-five1 of which a hundred and thirty-six are portraits4 ,but it is difficult1 in this matter1 to draw the line very sharply1 owing to the habit of the beauties of that day to be painted not only as themselves1 but 8as ,miranda10 8as ,sensibility10 and the like4 ,mr ,horne himself reminds us1 by cross references in his index1 that even of the few ,romneys which he has chosen to catalogue as 8fancy subjects10 some are in truth portraits4 ,among the engraved ,romney portraits1 no less than twenty are avowed representations of the fascinating woman who inspired ,romney as did no other soul1 and without whose presence he not seldom pined4 ,she came to him first as ,emma ,hart1 or ,emma ,lyon1 mistress of ,charles ,greville4 ,he knew her afterwards as the wife of ,sir ,william ,hamilton4 ,the modified and unforbidding ,classicism of her beauty accorded well with his ideal--helped perhaps to form it--and1 admirable as is much of the work of his in which she had no place1 ,romney is most completely ,romney when it is ,lady ,hamilton he is recording4 ,the value of an average ,romney print is to-day at least as high as that of an average ,reynolds1 and much higher than that of an average ,gainsborough4 ,an exceptional print like his ,mrs ,carwardine1 than which nothing is finer--a well-built gentlewoman1 seen in profile1 in close white cap1 her head bent prettily over a nestling child1 and her arms clasped at his back--sells for about a hundred guineas1 and1 in a fine impression1 is scarcely likely to fetch less4 ,it was engraved by ,j4 ,r4 ,smith in #agha4 ,very beautiful and delicate1 though not perhaps so extremely rare1 is the ,elizabeth1 ,countess of ,derby1 engraved by ,john ,dean4 ,two hundred pounds has been fetched by ,raphael ,smith's engraving of ,romney's ,lady ,warwick4 ,of ,gainsboroughs1 perhaps the very finest is one engraved by ,dean2 this is the ,mrs ,elliot1 a print of #aggi2 a very great rarity2 a thing of delightful and dignified beauty1 and in its exquisite delicacy1 quite as characteristic of the engraver as of the original artist4 ,it is a long time since any impression has been sold4 ,about #gj was the last chronicled price for it4 ,it would fetch more1 so experts think1 did it reappear to-day4 ,illustration3 ,,reynolds3 ,miss ,oliver4 ,the highest price ever yet paid for a print after ,sir ,joshua is1 as ,i am told1 #cej2 and this was given for an impression of ,thomas ,watson's print after the picture sometimes called 8,an ,offering to ,hymen0--the ,hon4 ,mrs ,beresford1 with the ,marchioness ,townshend and the ,hon4 ,mrs ,gardiner4 ,for a while1 the ,ladies ,waldegrave1 engraved by ,valentine ,green1 was considered at the top of the tree4 #bgj has been cheerfully paid for it4 ,mr ,urban ,noseda--than whom no dealer in ,england is a greater specialist in mezzotint1 for he has inherited1 it seems1 his mother's eye--the eye which made that lady so desirable a friend to the collector1 a quarter of a century ago--,mr ,urban ,noseda 7if ,i can get somehow to the end of a sentence so involved and awkward that ,i am beginning to feel it must necessarily be very clever too7 tells me1 from ,notes to which he has had access1 that the original price of even the most important of these ,sir ,joshua prints was never more than a guinea and a half1 and that not a few were issued at five shillings4 ,the ,morland prices still seem moderate when compared with those of average ,sir ,joshuas3 actually cheap when compared with those that are finest and rarest4 ,lately1 the charming pair1 ,a ,visit to the ,child at ,nurse and ,a ,visit to the ,child at ,school1 fetched1 at ,sotheby's1 twenty-seven guineas2 the ,farmer's ,stable fetched1 at the ,huth ,sale1 #aa1 #ajs42 the ,carrier's ,stable1 not long since at ,christie's1 fetched twenty-one guineas2 ,fishermen going out1 by ,s4 ,w4 ,reynolds1 has realised #ag2 ,the ,story of ,letitia1 a small set1 has realised #cj1 but would to-day fetch more--in fine condition4 ,mr ,noseda says--and ,i suppose those other great authorities on ,mezzotint1 ,messrs ,colnaghi1 would confirm him--that the original prices of the ,morlands ranged from seven and sixpence to a guinea4 ,great as the difference is between the sum first asked and the sum now obtained1 ,i cannot in the case of this so genial1 graceful1 acceptable1 observant master1 think it is excessive4 ,a generation that has gone a little mad over ,j4 ,f4 ,millet1 and other interesting ,french rustic painters1 may allow itself some healthy enthusiasm when ,george ,morland is to the front4 ,,chapter ,,xii ,lithography1 the convenient invention of ,senefelder--,its recent ,revival due to the ,french and ,whistler--,legros--,fantin--,whistler's ,lithographs only inferior to his ,etchings--,c4 ,h4 ,shannon's ,lithographs the best expression of his art--,lithography and ,etching compared--,will ,rothenstein--,oliver ,hall--,the ,lithographs of ,roussel--,other ,draughtsmen--,the contemporary ,lithograph foolishly costly4 ,a final chapter ,i devote to another of the most justifiable and reasonable of the more recent fads in ,print ,collecting--to a branch of the collector's pursuit far less important1 indeed1 and far less interesting than ,etching1 far less historic than ,mezzotint1 but far more creditable than the mania of the inartistic for the pretty ineptitude of the coloured print4 ,i am speaking of ,lithography4 ,men who are familiar with the later development of artistic work1 know that not exactly alongside of the very real and admirable ,revival of ,etching1 but closely following behind it1 there has proceeded some renewal of interest in the art of drawing upon stone1 which1 in #agif1 was invented by ,senefelder4 ,often1 however1 nowadays1 it is not literally 8on stone40 ,without defending the change--and yet without the possibility of violently accusing it1 seeing the achievements which at least it has not forbidden--,i may note that1 as a matter of fact1 a transfer-paper1 and not the prepared stone1 is1 very frequently in our day1 the substance actually drawn on4 ,well1 the renewal of interest in the art of ,lithography owes much to ,frenchmen of the present generation1 and much to ,mr ,whistler4 ,i say 8the present generation0 in talking of the ,french1 because 7not to speak of the qualities obtained two generations ago by our ,english ,prout71 ,gavarni's 8velvety quality0 and the 8fever and freedom of ,daumier0 were noticeable1 and might have been influential long before the days of our present young men4 ,the work of ,fantin-,latour1 has been to them an example1 and the noble work of ,legros1 and the work of ,whistler4 ,fantin-,latour--that delightful painter of flowers and of the poetic nude--has endowed us in ,lithography as well as in ,painting with reveries of the nude1 or of the slightly robed4 ,they are all done in freely scraped crayon4 ,a few of them--such as ,the ,genius of ,music1 or the quite recent ,to ,stendhal or ,les ,baigneuses--the collector of lithographs is bound to possess4 ,but ,i must turn1 in detail1 to ,mr ,whistler4 ,mr ,tom ,way1 who knows as much about ,lithography as any one--and more1 perhaps1 than any one about the lithographs of ,whistler--assured me1 a year since1 that something like a hundred drawings on the stone1 or transfer-paper 7for ,mr ,whistler sometimes uses the one and sometimes the other71 had been wrought by one whose reputation is secure as the master-etcher of our time4 ,since then ,mr ,way has accurately and eulogistically catalogued them4 ,they amount now1 or did when ,mr ,way finished his catalogue1 to exactly a hundred and thirty4 ,but ,mr ,whistler is always working4 ,let us recall a few of them--most1 though indeed by no means all of them1 were first seen in an exhibition held in the rooms of the ,fine ,art ,society4 ,before then1 they were wont to be shown privately1 to ,amateurs1 by one or two dealers4 ,earlier still1 they were not shown at all2 though a few of the finest of them had been long ago wrought4 ,there was that most distinguished drawing that was published for a penny in the ,whirlwind--the lady seated1 with a hat on1 and one arm pendant4 ,it is called ,the ,winged ,hat4 ,as in ,mr ,whistler's rare little etching of the slightly-draped cross-kneed girl stooping over a baby1 one enjoys1 in ,the ,winged ,hat1 the suggestion of delicate tone on the whole surface3 the working of the face is particularly noteworthy by reason of the subtle way in which the draughtsman had suggested1 by means of the handling of his chalk1 a different texture4 8,by means of the handling of his chalk10 did ,i write8--perhaps a little too confidently4 ,one can't quite say how he did really get it4 ,but he has got it1 somehow4 ,then there is that admirable portfolio1 of only five or six1 the ,goupils published--containing the ,limehouse1 mysterious1 weird1 and unsurpassable1 and a ,nocturne1 wholly exquisite4 ,again1 there is ,battersea ,bridge1 of #ahgh1 which1 good though it is1 does not stand comparison with ,mr ,whistler's etchings of the same and similar themes4 ,then there is a rare subject which people learned in ,lithography are wont to account a masterpiece in the method--a drawing tenderly washed3 a thing of masses and broad spaces1 more than narrow lines4 ,it is called ,early ,morning1 and is a vision of the ,river at ,battersea4 ,it is faint--faint--of gradations the most delicate1 of contrasts the least striking--a gleam of silver and white4 ,later1 among many others1 there have been that drawing of a draped model seated which appeared in the now rare 8,l',estampe ,originale02 the fin portrait of ,m4 ,mallarm--a writer so difficult to understand1 that by the faithful his profundity is taken for granted--some slender1 lissome nudes or semi-nudes1 most characteristic of ,whistler2 the ,st ,giles's ,church1 the ,smith's ,yard1 ,lyme ,regis1 the ,belle ,dame paresseuse1 with the quality of a chalk drawing2 the ,belle ,jardinire1 which has something1 but by no means all of the infinite freedom of the etching of ,the ,garden2 again1 ,the ,balcony with people peering down from it1 as if at a procession--and procession indeed it was1 since the thing was wrought on the day of ,carnot's funeral4 ,then1 in the ,forge and ,the ,smith of the ,place du ,dragon there is the tender soft grey quality which people learned in these things conceive1 ,i think generally1 to be impossible to 8transfer40 ,but of the younger artists who have worked in ,lithography it is time to say something4 ,mr ,frank ,short1 with his placid dream of ,putney1 with the intricate rhythm of line of his ,timber-,ships1 ,yarmouth1 should not be passed by4 ,nor ,mr ,francis ,bate1 who1 to draw as he has drawn1 and see as he has seen1 ,the ,whiting ,mill1 could not possibly have been wanting in originality of expression or of sight4 ,nor ,mr ,george ,clausen1 again1 whose ,hay ,barn bears witness not only to his easy command of technique1 but to his flexibility4 ,it is one of those treatments of rustic life in which ,mr ,clausen has been wont to show the influence of ,millet1 if not of ,bastien ,lepage4 ,it is of a realism artistically subdued1 yet undeniable4 ,of the work of ,c4 ,h4 ,shannon ,i must speak a good deal more fully1 for of ,c4 ,h4 ,shannon1 ,lithography is the particular art4 ,he is no beginner at ,lithography3 no maker of first experiments4 ,i do not know that he--like ,mr ,short--is an engraver in any way4 ,he is not1 like ,mr ,whistler1 celebrated on two continents as etcher and painter to boot4 ,he is above all things draughtsman--draughtsman poetic and subtle4 ,the air of ,lithography he breathes as his native air4 ,c4 ,h4 ,shannon's art it is by no means easy for the healthy normal person to appreciate at once4 ,it is possible even for a student of the matter to lose sight of ,shannon's poetry and sensitiveness1 in a fit of impatience because the anatomy of his figures does not always seem to be true1 or because his sentiment has not robustness4 ,i have a lurking suspicion that ,i was myself rather slow to appreciate him4 ,few people's appreciation of the original in ,art1 comes to them all at once4 ,and touchy folk--unreasonable1 almost irresponsible--are apt to blame one on this account4 ,one has 8swallowed one's words10 they say--because one has modified an opinion4 ,the world1 even the intelligent world1 they querulously grumble1 was not ready to receive them4 ,is that so very amazing8 ,themselves1 doubtless1 were born with every faculty matured--they possessed1 upon their mother's breasts1 a nice discrimination of the virtues of ,lafitte of '#fi4 ,some of us1 under such circumstances1 can but crave their tolerance--we were born duller4 ,of lithographic technique1 ,mr ,c4 ,h4 ,shannon--to go back to him1 after an inexcusable digression--is a master2 and here let it be said that not only does he draw upon the stone invariably1 whilst ,mr ,whistler 7it has been named before7 sometimes does and sometimes does not draw on it1 but he insists also upon printing his own impressions4 ,he has a press2 he is an enthusiast2 he sees the thing through4 ,the precise number of his lithographs it is not important to know4 ,what is important1 is to insist upon the relative 8considerableness0 of nearly all of them4 ,with him the thoroughly considered composition takes the place of the dainty sketch4 ,faulty the works of ,charles ,shannon may be1 in certain points2 deficient in certain points2 but rarely indeed are they slight1 either in conception or execution4 ,of each one of them may it be said that it is a serious work3 the seriousness as apparent in the more or less realistic treatment of ,the ,modeller as in ,delia1 ideal and opulent and ,titianesque4 ,the ,ministrants1 of #ahid1 is perhaps his most important4 ,what is more exquisite than the just suggested movements of ,the ,sisters8 ,sea-,breezes is noteworthy1 of course1 in composition1 and refined1 of course1 in effect4 ,before ,i go on to discuss a few others of the modern men1 it may be more interesting to remind the reader--it may be1 even to inform him--what is and what may hope to be ,lithography's place4 ,in such signs of its revival as are now apparent1 he will surely rejoice4 ,one does rejoice to find an artist equipped with some new medium of expression--some medium of expression1 at all events1 by which his work1 while remaining autographic1 may yet be widely diffused4 ,and the art or craft of ,lithography1 whatever it does not do1 does at least enable the expert in it to produce and scatter broadcast1 by the hundred or the thousand if he choose1 work which shall have all or nearly all the quality of a pencil or chalk drawing1 or1 if it is desired1 much of the quality even of a drawing that is washed4 ,this is excellent2 and then again there is the commercial advantage of relatively rapid and quite inexpensive printing4 ,but what the serious and impartial amateur and collector of ,fine ,art will have to notice on the other side1 is1 first of all1 that ,lithography is not richly endowed with a separate quality of its own4 ,with work that is printed from a metal plate1 this is quite otherwise4 ,mezzotint has a charm that is its own1 entirely4 ,and ,line-,engraving has the particular charm of ,line-,engraving4 ,and ,etching--the biting1 which gives vigour now1 and now extreme delicacy2 the printing1 which deliberately enhances this or modifies that2 the burr1 the dry-point work1 its intended effect2 the papers1 and the different results they yield1 of tone or luminousness--all these things contribute to1 and are a part of1 ,etching's especial quality and especial delight4 ,a comparison between ,lithography and ,etching in particular--putting other mediums aside--leads to further reflections4 ,lithography lacks the relief of etched work4 8,you can't have grey and black lines0--a skilled etcher says to me1 who enjoys ,lithography as well as ,etching1 and sometimes practises it--8you can't have grey and black lines1 in that the printing of a lithograph is surface-printing1 and every mark upon the stone prints equally black4 ,therefore for grey work in ,lithography1 you must have a grain upon the stone--or on the transfer-paper--that your drawing is made on40 ,and he adds1 8,whatever can be done upon a lithographic stone1 can be done with a much higher quality upon a plate40 ,and the soft grey line1 he says1 when got upon the stone--8well1 if that is what you want1 in a soft-ground etching it can be got much better40 ,as to ,mezzotint again1 to compare the quality of a fine mezzotint from copper1 with any quality that is obtainable in stone1 would1 generally1 be absurd4 ,we are brought back1 however1 to that which is ,lithography's especial virtue and convenience--it gives the autographic quality of the pencil drawing1 of the chalk drawing1 of the drawing that is washed4 ,when1 in these last words1 ,i tried to indicate ,lithography's natural limits1 and said1 practically1 that its main function was to produce 8battalions0 where ordinary drawing must produce but 8single spies10 ,i said nothing that need encourage readers to suppose that its process lay perfectly at the command of every draughtsman1 and that the first-comer1 did he know well how to draw1 would get from the lithographic stone every quality the stone could yield4 ,and this being so1 it can surprise no one if in a chapter on the ,revival of ,lithography ,i give conspicuous place to the young men who have really fagged at it1 rather than to the possibly more accomplished1 the certainly more famous artists who have drawn just lately on the tracing-paper1 oftener than not in complimentary recognition of the fact that now a hundred years have passed since ,alois ,senefelder invented the method which1 half a century later1 ,hulmandel did something to perfect4 ,mr ,c4 ,h4 ,shannon--pre-eminently noticeable among these younger men--has been discussed already4 ,we will look now at the work of another of them--,mr ,will ,rothenstein1 whose mind1 whose hand-work1 is conspicuously unlike ,mr ,shannon's1 in that1 though he can be romantic1 he can scarcely be poetic4 ,a vivid realism is his characteristic1 and1 with that vivid realism1 romance1 phantasy1 caprice--either or all--may find themselves in company2 but poetry1 hardly4 ,mr ,rothenstein--as there is some reason1 perhaps1 for telling the collector--is not only young1 but extremely young4 ,his series of ,oxford lithographs were wrought1 most of them1 when he was between twenty and two-and-twenty years old4 ,it was an audacious adventure1 with youth for its excuse4 ,for this set of ,oxford portraits was to be the abstract of the ,oxford of a day4 ,in it1 ,professors and ,heads of ,houses are--men who for perhaps a generation remain in their place--but in it1 too1 are athletes1 engaging undergraduates1 lads whose achievements may become a tradition1 but whose places know them no more4 ,the first part of the 8,oxford ,characters0--that is the proper name of it--appeared in ,june #ahic4 ,in it1 is the portrait of that great ,christ ,church boating man1 ,w4 ,l4 ,fletcher1 and a portrait of ,sir ,henry ,acland1 for which another more august-looking rendering of the same head and figure was after a while substituted4 ,again1 there is an admirable vision of ,max ,mller--,mr ,rothenstein's high-water mark1 perhaps1 in that which he might probably suppose to be the humble art of likeness-taking4 ,quite outside the charmed ,oxford life are the subjects of some of ,mr ,rothenstein's generally piquant portraits4 ,there is the portrait of ,emile ,zola1 for instance4 ,i never saw the man4 ,this may or may not be a terre--terre view of him4 ,most probably it is4 ,but certainly the face1 with its set lips and hollow cheeks1 is cleverly rendered1 though in such rendering we may fancy not so much the author of the ,faute de l',abb ,mouret and of the ,page d',amour1 as the author of ,nana and of ,le ,ventre de ,paris4 ,again1 there is a portrait1 at once refined and forcible1 of that great gentleman1 path-breaking novelist1 and dainty connoisseur1 ,edmond de ,goncourt1 elderly1 but with fires unquenched in the dark1 piercing eyes1 and the great decoration1 so to say1 of snow-white hair4 ,then again1 the pretty1 pleasing lady1 the fresh young thing with her big bonnet--the lady seen full-face1 her lips drawn so tenderly4 ,such flesh and blood as hers1 had the ,millament of ,congreve4 ,if sometimes in them the anatomy of the figures is expressed insufficiently1 these works are at least executed with well-acquired knowledge of the effects to which ,lithography best lends itself4 ,it can escape no one that1 whatever be their faults1 the artist utters in them a note that is his own4 ,to trace1 with fairness1 the revival of ,lithography1 even in ,england only1 it should be mentioned that a generation after the achievements of ,samuel ,prout--his records of architecture in ,flanders and in ,germany--and the somewhat overrated performances of ,harding1 the members of the ,hogarth ,sketching ,club made one night1 at the house of ,mr ,way1 the elder--the date was the #aeth of ,december1 #ahgd--;a set of drawings on the stone4 ,they must be rare1 now4 ,indeed the only copy ,i have seen was that shown to me at the printing-house in ,wellington ,street4 ,one of the best was ,charles ,green's drawing of two men--ostlers1 both of them1 or of ostler rank--one of them lighting his pipe4 ,the hand is excellently modelled3 the light and shade of the whole subject has crispness and vigour4 ,sir ,james ,linton contributed a ,coriolanus subject1 in something more than outline1 though not fully expressed--and yet it is beautifully drawn4 ,mr ,coke sent a ,massacre of the ,innocents1 classic and charming in contour2 while to look at the ,sir ,galahad of ,mr ,e4 ,j4 ,gregory is to recall to mind completely the great ,romantic ,gregory of that early day4 ,in the ,paris ,exhibition of ,lithographs and in that at ,mr ,dunthorne's1 there have figured a group of subjects done lately by well-known ,academicians and others1 and printed--some of them with novel effects--by or under the close direction of ,mr ,goulding1 that famous printer of etchings1 who now1 it seems1 has the laudable ambition of rivalling1 as a printer of lithographs1 the great house of ,way4 ,he has his own methods4 ,the original work is of extremely various quality4 ,much of it was produced somewhat hurriedly4 ,i do not mean that the drawings were done rapidly1 or that it would have been wrong if they had been2 for1 obviously1 the rapid drawing of the capable is often as fine as the slowest1 and has the interest of a more urgent message4 ,i mean that they were done1 for the most part1 by those not versed1 as yet1 in such secrets as ,lithography possesses4 ,yet1 coming often from artists of distinction1 many of them have merits4 ,not much is finer than a girl's head1 by ,mr ,watts4 ,it is mostly 8in tone02 and it is scarcely too much to say of it that it is strong as anything of ,leonardo's--as anything of ,holbein's1 one might as easily declare1 did not ,holbein's name suggest1 along with strength1 a certain austerity which ,mr ,watts mostly avoids4 ,there is a graceful figure-drawing by ,lord ,leighton1 who was interested in the new movement1 but who was far too sensible to set vast store by what--as ,i remember that he wrote to tell me--was the only lithographic drawing he had ever executed4 ,there are strong studies by ,sargent--rather brutal perhaps in light and shade--of male models1 whose partial nudity there is little to render interesting4 ,we are brought back then to the work of artists not ,academicians at all--men some of them comparatively young in years1 but older in a faithful following of the lines on which the craft of ,lithography most properly moves4 ,there is ,mr ,c4 ,j4 ,watson1 for instance4 ,the personal note--which1 ,i cannot conceal it1 ,i esteem most of all1 and most of all must revel in--the personal note may be1 with him1 a little wanting2 but thorough craftsman he undeniably is4 ,and by ,mr ,oliver ,hall1 one of the most delightful of our younger etchers1 who as an etcher has been treated in his place1 there is a vision of some grey sweeping valley--,wensleydale--with trees only in middle distance1 or in the remote background4 ,in it1 and perhaps even more especially in that quite admirable lithograph1 ,the ,edge of the ,moor1 we recognise that way of looking at the world which we know in the etchings2 but the intelligence and sensitiveness of the artist have suffered him1 or led him rather1 to modify the work3 to properly adapt it to the newer medium4 ,the ,edge of the ,moor is1 ,i have implied1 quite masterly2 and then again there is a tree-study in which ,mr ,hall recalls those broad and massive1 yet always elegant sketches made by the great ,cotman1 in the latest years1 generally1 of a life not too prolonged4 ,again1 among fine lithographs exhibited or not exhibited1 there is1 by ,mr ,raven ,hill1 ,the ,oyster-,barrow--a marvellously vivid1 faithful study of 8,over the ,water0 7or of ,dean's ,yard1 it may be7 by night--and the equally momentary1 spontaneous vision of ,the ,baby1 with the rotundity of ,boucher1 and more than the expressiveness of the late ,italian3 a baby lost1 one must avow1 to all angelic dreams1 and set on carnal things4 ,perhaps ,mr ,george ,thomson's best lithograph remains the ,brentford ,eyot1 though there is charm of movement in at least one figure-study4 ,by ,mr ,charles ,sainton there is a luxurious head of just the type one might expect from the author of silver-points seductive and popular4 ,mr ,walter ,sickert's work1 whether you like it or not1 at least has1 visibly1 its source in personal observation and deliberate principle4 ,by ,m4 ,thodore ,roussel there are a whole group of lithographs1 dainty and delightful1 exquisite and fresh--with so much of his own in them1 as well as something1 of course1 of ,mr ,whistler's4 ,by the side of his ,scene on the ,river--a quaint ,battersea or ,chelsea bit1 ,i take it--place one of his supple nudities1 and against his supple nudity1 place his ,opera ,cloak4 ,charming6 all of them4 ,the man is a born artist--he not only draws but sees3 sees with refinement and distinction4 ,and there must come a time when ,roussel's work will be appreciated far more widely4 ,by ,mr ,jacomb ,hood there is a spirited elderly man's portrait1 and an ,idyll--a ,classical or an ,arcadian pas de quatre--of singular1 unwonted charm4 ,by ,mr ,corbett1 the semi-classical landscape painter1 there is a nude study--a torso1 magnificently modelled4 ,by ,mr ,solomon ,solomon there is a ,venus1 correct in draughtsmanship of course2 nor wanting in dramatic quality1 for it is not the undressed woman of too many students1 but ,aphrodite herself--8,vnus1 sa proie attache40 ,and lastly--since ,i cannot merely catalogue--there is ,mr ,anning ,bell1 who has bestowed on us enjoyable designs--book-plates hors ligne indeed1 so charming are they in their reticence and grace and measured beauty4 ,in ,lithography1 we may be thankful for the ,tanagra-like grace of his ,dancing ,girl4 ,but 8,why ,tanagra80 am ,i asked4 ,because ,classical without austerity3 provokingly ,modern1 and yet endowed with the legitimate and endless fascination of ,style4 ,and now1 to end with1 it seems advisable to say something on the very practical matter of the acquisition of lithographs by the collector1 and on their cost4 ,the money value of the lithograph is most uncertain4 ,when the lithograph appears in a popular magazine--the actual lithograph1 remember2 no merely photographic reproduction of it--it is1 on publication1 valued at a couple of shillings1 or at a shilling1 or1 as in the extraordinary case of publication in the extinct ,whirlwind1 even at a penny4 ,the prices ,i have named are1 most of them at least1 absurd2 but on the other hand the dealer's price--sometimes the original artist's price--for an impression1 is wont to be excessive4 ,a lithograph can be printed--as magazine issue suffices to show--in considerable numbers4 ,nothing restricts it as the ordinary unsteeled etching is restricted3 still less1 as the dry-point is restricted4 ,there is no reason1 except the scantiness of the public demand1 why it should not be issued in an edition almost as large as that of the average book4 ,nor is the printing costly4 ,nor has the drawing on stone or transfer-paper involved anything more of labour1 skill1 or genius1 than is involved in the preparation of a single chapter of a fine novel--of a single paragraph in a fine short story4 ,yet while the novel sells probably at six shillings1 and the whole short story 7and other short stories along with it7 sells1 very likely1 at three-and-sixpence1 the impression of a lithograph--unless1 as ,i have said before1 it be published in a magazine--is seldom sold for less than a guinea or two4 ,the ,fine ,art ,society asked something like three guineas apiece1 ,i think1 for the lithographs of ,whistler1 even when it first exhibited them4 ,things1 of course1 have occurred that have raised their value since4 ,i mentioned the circumstance to a man who was interested in the question1 both as artist and connoisseur4 8,you do not want to vulgarise lithographs10 he said1 8by issuing too many impressions40 ,i wonder how many impressions of ,gray's 8,elegy0 have been issued8 ,and how many of the 8,ode to ,duty08 ,and ,i wonder whether ,wordsworth and ,gray have been 8vulgarised10 because the fruit of their genius has been widely diffused8 ,,appendix ,,certain ,,woodcuts ,though when this volume was first planned1 it was supposed that in its regular course it might embrace a chapter upon ,woodcuts1 mature consideration and the progress of the work revealed to me the undesirableness of treating either by my own or by a more qualified hand the theme of ,woodcuts1 at any important length2 and in adding here a ,note on certain examples of that ancient art1 it is convenient that ,i should say plainly why the matter is left to an ,appendix4 ,first1 then1 treatment exhaustive1 or adequate1 could only have been supplied by some one other than myself3 my own knowledge of woodcuts being merely that of an outsider who cannot withhold a measure of interest from any departments of ,art4 ,to have invited the continued presence of an expert--an enthusiast in the particular thing--would have been at least to deprive the book of that unity of sentiment which comes of undivided authorship1 and which even in a work of this sort may conceivably be a benefit3 moreover1 although a complete ,guide to ,old ,prints must include of necessity many words about ,woodcuts1 it was doubtful whether the subject of 8,fine ,prints0 involved even a mention of them4 ,i mean1 it might be argued1 plausibly1 that ,woodcuts1 however fine in their design--and the design of the giant ,drer was given to some of them--are in the very nature of things scarcely 8fine0 in execution4 ,to say that the best recall the utterance of noble sentiment by rough and uncouth tongue1 is not for a moment to minimise their sterling worth4 ,lastly1 too1 the collectors of them--in ,england at least--are scanty in the extreme4 ,when--one may ask--do they appear at ,sotheby's8 ,as objects of research1 they seem hopelessly out of fashion4 ,it may be that they had their day when only the ,past was thought interesting4 ,but it has been one of the objects of this book to acknowledge specially the interest of more modern achievement1 and not to call contemporary genius only 8talent10 until it is contemporary no longer1 and1 being dead--and dead long since--may be accorded its due4 ,but ,i should like to tell the beginner in the study of ,prints one or two quite elementary things--as1 for instance1 that the best and the most numerous of old ,woodcuts are ,german2 that not a few of the earlier masters of ,copperplate ,engraving carried out upon the wood-block certain of their designs2 that in the days of ,bewick the art had a certain revival1 finding itself well adapted--in book illustration at all events--to the rendering of ,bewick's homely and rustic themes4 ,and so one might go on--but after all1 ,book ,illustration is no part of one's theme4 ,let it just be mentioned about ,bewick--before we leave the ,english woodcuts for the earlier masters--that the rarest and in some respects the most important of his works 7not1 ,i think1 the most fascinating7 is the piece known as the ,chillingham ,bull4 ,when only a few impressions had been taken from it1 the original block split4 ,hence the print's scarcity2 and in its scarcity we see in part at least the cause of its attractiveness4 ,a passage in the last annual report made by ,mr ,sidney ,colvin to the ,trustees of the ,british ,museum--in his capacity as ,keeper of the ,prints--reminds me of a splendid gift made lately to the nation by the munificence of ,mr ,william ,mitchell3 a gift which the possession of money alone1 and of a generous intention1 could not have empowered him to make2 only deep knowledge1 and real diligence in the art of collecting1 made the thing possible4 ,through ,mr ,mitchell's gift there passes into the store-house of the ,department of ,prints this connoisseur's collection of ,german and other ,woodcuts1 including a series of those by ,albert ,drer1 which is almost complete1 and 8quite unrivalled10 ,mr ,colvin says1 8in quality and condition40 ,the whole array includes #abij early woodcuts1 chiefly1 as will be seen1 ,german1 and constituted for the most part as follows3--#ajd by anonymous ,german artists of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries2 #aea single cuts by ,albert ,drer1 together with the ,little ,passion 7set of proofs71 the ,life of the ,virgin 7first state1 without text71 and the ,great ,passion1 the ,life of the ,virgin1 and the ,apocalypse 7all with ,latin text1 edition of #aeaa72 #fc by ,hans ,schaufelein1 including two sets of proofs of two series of the ,passion2 #ah by ,hans ,springinklee1 including #ad proofs of illustrations to 8,hortulus ,anim02 #g by ,wolfgang ,huber2 #cf by ,hans ,baldung2 #g by ,johann ,wechtlin2 #ai by ,hans ,sebald ,beham2 #dc by ,lucas ,cranach1 including a unique impression of the ,st ,george1 printed in gold on a blue ground2 #fj by ,albert ,altdorfer2 #dj by ,hans ,burgkmair2 #cac by or attributed to ,hans ,holbein2 #i by ,urs ,graf2 #ab by ,heinrich ,holzmller2 #ad by ,j4 von ,calcar2 #e by ,jost ,amman2 #aa by ,anton von ,worms2 #af by ,lucas van ,leyden2 #f attributed to ,geoffroy ,tory2 one attributed to ,marie de ,medicis2 the large view of ,venice by ,jacopo de' ,barbarj1 first state2 #i by ,niccol ,boldrini2 #e by ,i4,b4 with the bird4 ,an inspection of this collection alone1 in the ,museum ,print ,room1 constitutes1 at first hand1 an introduction to the study of an ancient1 quaint1 and pregnant art4 ,so much had ,i written when there came to me a note from ,mr ,o4 ,gutekunst1 curiously confirming1 on the whole1 the view that ,i had taken as to the small place filled by ,woodcuts1 generally1 in the scheme of the modern collector4 ,it is not1 however1 so much on this account that ,i print the note here1 as because it contains one or two particulars--especially as to money value--not named by me1 and which may be of interest4 8,the history of ,woodcuts10 says ,mr ,o4 ,gutekunst--instructing my ignorance--8begins1 as you know1 practically with printed books in which the woodcuts took the place of the miniatures1 etc41 in ,manuscripts4 ,during almost the whole of the ,fifteenth ,century the ,woodcut was thus confined to illustration1 and belongs far more to the bibliophile than to the ,print-collector4 ,vide #8,biblia ,pauperum' and similar works--in ,italy1 ,germany1 and the ,netherlands--,block ,books1 ,incunabula1 etc41 etc4 ,the great period of ,wood ,engraving as a distinct art by itself--a then and now appreciated mode of expression of the artist--is the first half of the ,sixteenth ,century40 ,mr ,gutekunst then cites to me works by masters1 some of whom have been named4 8,there were ,drer1 ,cranach1 ,holbein1 ,altdorfer1 ,brosamer10 he says4 8,fine specimens of these men's work1 particularly portraits1 and when printed in one1 two1 or more colours1 are now1 and always must have been1 exceedingly rare1 with prices varying from1 say #bj to #hj for single very fine specimens4 ,the decadence begins with ,jost ,amman1 for instance1 in ,germany1 and ,andreani1 say1 in ,italy1 where the works of earlier1 and more particularly the masters of the wrong half of the ,sixteenth ,century1 were reproduced in chiar-oscuro40 ,with the exception perhaps of the remarkable impressions in ,mr ,mitchell's collection1 ,mr ,o4 ,gutekunst asserts that the finest specimens always were most appreciated in ,germany1 and adds1 8,there has ever been more interest taken in ,woodcuts by ,german collectors than by any others40 ,,postscript3 #aije ,i somehow omitted from the ,first ,edition of this book the reference ,i ought to have made to ,charles ,jacque4 ,it is not necessary to treat him at length2 for1 while few etchers have been more prolific1 it must always be recollected that to be prolific is not to be important4 ,it is by quality that an artist1 in any ,art1 alone becomes important4 ,charles ,jacque's quality varies4 ,many of his etchings are merely dexterous memoranda of his pictures--done for his own service1 presumably1 rather than for the world4 ,even here1 he can often be very spirited2 sometimes even very desirable4 ,he has done most vivacious croquis4 ,and1 for those whom the vivacious croquis does not content1 it should be named that he has done likewise highly serious and more obviously well considered work1 full of the true pictorial quality--and done it with the force of a painting in monochrome1 and with an etching's spontaneity4 99 99 99 99 99 ,it happens that ,i have just a little amended1 in the text of this volume1 the reference to ,maxime ,lalanne4 ,by way of exception1 that reference is not now quite as it stood at first3 so that perhaps it may not be necessary to say anything more of ,lalanne here1 except just this--inequality is his characteristic1 as well as elegance4 ,he knew his business too well ever to work unadroitly4 ,methods of all sorts lay at his command--,i do not mean 8tricks40 ,but what did not lie at his command1 was invariable fineness or freshness of vision4 ,that is not to be wondered at4 ,now1 however1 that we have seen1 at ,mr ,richard ,gutekunst's1 the artist's own ,collection of his etchings1 we have seen for the first time what they can be--in quite perfect impressions4 ,and the result is1 that true ,collectors1 who hitherto have been little busied about him1 will look to it that ,lalanne does not remain unrepresented in their portfolios4 99 99 99 99 99 ,since ,i made my reference to ,mr ,d4 ,y4 ,cameron1 in the text1 that most serious artist has more than justified anything ,i may have prophesied about him4 ,in the old spirit1 yet with even more marked excellence1 he has continued and extended his work2 and it will not be deemed out of place for me to mention that two years ago he had done so much and so well1 that ,i addressed myself to making a ,catalogue of what he had up to that time produced4 ,my own belief in him is made evident by recording this circumstance4 ,and a considerable ,public--now eager for his prints--shares my convictions about him4 99 99 99 99 99 ,muirhead ,bone1 in the lines that are now being written1 finds himself named for the first time in this book4 ,of the younger etchers1 there is absolutely no one who1 ,i do not mean as regards variety of theme1 but as regards perfection and intricacy of work upon a given plate1 can accomplish so much4 ,his certain and brilliant draughtsmanship1 and his skill in the technique of ,etching--of ,dry-,point especially--have been applied chiefly to records1 un-,mryon-like--that is to say1 vivacious and very matter-of-fact1 rather than solemn or poetic--of vanishing ,london4 ,behold his ,clare ,market4 ,if the old 8,gaiety0 ,theatre disappears from the ,strand1 ,mr ,muirhead ,bone finds it in his heart to be consoled by a new one4 ,and he depicts the slow departure of the old1 and the up-building of the new4 ,he1 more than any one1 has revealed the interest of scaffolding4 ,but he is not always re-building4 ,sometimes--as in his plate called the ,shot ,tower1 but really devoted1 not to that only1 but to ,waterloo ,bridge and the ,north ,lambeth ,shore--nothing is threatened4 ,and there is a hay-mow by him1 8seen0 in dry-point1 very much as ,dewint would have seen it in ,water-colour4 ,broad1 yet extraordinarily observant1 is ,muirhead ,bone's work4 99 99 99 99 99 ,at the ,annual ,exhibitions of the ,royal ,society of ,painter-,etchers1 there have been noticed--since the year when ,fine ,prints first appeared--contributions1 not in the least to be despised1 by ,miss ,constance ,pott and ,miss ,margaret ,kemp-,welch4 ,really1 some of them--,miss ,kemp-,welch's simple ,in the ,marsh1 for instance--are so good that they should almost suffice to enable their authors to survive the deplorable disadvantage of being only women4 ,quite hopefully may one look on the artistic future of these ladies--on the public recognition of it4 99 99 99 99 99 ,at present1 however1 ,i find in the work of a man not yet spoken of--,mr ,e4 ,charlton--more absolute unity1 without monotony of repetition--more artistic individuality1 in fine4 ,why is it not already better known8 ,useless question1 as far as the big ,public is concerned1 when people go into the ,exhibition and fancy that some of the best work is the self-assertive work of ,mr ,brangwyn1 that leaps to their eyes4 ,the ,german proverb says--or ,mr ,robert ,browning once told me that it said--8,what has a cow to do with nutmegs80 ,and what have people who do not understand in the least the spirit of ,etching1 got to do with modest1 thoughtful little records of harbours1 quays1 and all that lies about them--of warehouse1 boat and barge--by this dainty1 accurate draughtsman1 ,mr ,charlton1 who does not want to knock any living mortals down--metaphorically speaking--by the work of his needle1 but to charm them rather1 to put on them the spell1 wrought on those who are worthy to receive it1 by the rhythm of intricate line8 ,the lines that delight me on a quay--in a harbour--by the sheds and steamers of ,newhaven or ,lymington1 say--delight me yet more1 because they are refined upon1 in the modest etchings of ,mr ,charlton4 ,among contemporary ,frenchmen1 ,eugne ,bjot1 with his ,montmartre and ,seine pieces1 must unquestionably be named--and some of his work possessed4 99 99 99 99 99 ,and now we come down to grosser matter--to questions of ,price4 ,scattered about the volume1 will be found references to prices given for noble prints--and prints not noble--and of these references some are not as representative as they were eight years ago4 ,i will not go into great detail here2 but ,i will say a few things4 ,first1 ,i will say that1 broadly speaking1 the tendency is towards a marked increase in money value1 particularly for good work1 and good original work4 ,some few interesting artists--it is true--scarcely hold their own4 ,the money value of ,hollars--not of late years excessive--has not materially increased4 ,hogarth's prints are1 ,i consider1 quite absurdly cheap--but foolish people1 not in the least particular as to the things they read1 are sometimes very squeamish as to the things they see4 ,some ,dutch etchers1 not discussed much in the course of my volume1 are amongst those towards whom sensible interest turns4 ,it cannot be long before the admission is made generally1 that ,bega--with his truth of action and his magnificence of composition1 addressed to tavern themes--is fully ,ostade's equal1 and not at all his follower4 ,of course1 the greatest ,dutchman--,rembrandt--increases steadily in money value4 ,there is no fine print by ,rembrandt which--bought at the current price for it--should not be1 in the phrase of stock-brokers1 a very 8safe lock-up40 ,drers1 too1 have rightly gone higher2 and there must be more and more recognised the happy invention and the perfect craftsmanship of the ,behams and ,aldegrever4 99 99 99 99 99 ,interest shifts a little in regard to the ,mezzotints after ,sir ,joshua4 ,the money value of his pretty women--generally of title--has been so high1 that1 if there is common-sense left in the land1 it can scarcely get much higher2 but knowing people are beginning1 ,i believe1 to buy the less celebrated women--such as the ,miss ,oliver it may be 7in the illustration to the present edition of this book7--and the finer of the mezzotint portraits of men1 not only after ,sir ,joshua1 but after ,romney4 ,turner's 8,liber0 is looking up again1 and the demand for ,constables--,david ,lucas's smaller mezzotints--will certainly not diminish4 ,french ,eighteenth ,century ,prints--whether the grave ,chardins1 the stately ,watteaus1 or the lighter records of light loves--are worth more than when ,i wrote eight years ago3 partly because well-to-do ,english people of taste have now taken to buying them4 ,as for the 8coloured print0--at the best1 rather dainty--it will1 ,i trust1 have had its day before long4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the best ,modern ,etching--whether ,english or ,french--is more and more valued4 ,a set of ,seymour ,haden's ,paris publication1 8,etudes l',eau ,forte0--consisting of twenty-five prints1 worth1 eight years ago1 about thirty guineas together--sells to-day for a hundred and twenty4 ,still more conspicuous1 however1 is the rise in ,mryons and ,whistlers4 ,at the ,wickham ,flower ,sale1 in ,london1 last ,december1 ,mryon's print of the ,morgue--a ,second ,state--fetched #hf2 his ,st4 ,etienne-du-,mont1 #eh2 his ,galrie de ,ntre-,dame1 #ef4 ,there was no fine ,abside at that ,sale2 but elsewhere a fine ,first ,state has fetched over #bjj1 and a fine ,second ,state1 #adj4 ,as for ,whistlers1 at the ,wickham ,flower ,sale--to take three instances of different periods in the master's work--the ,kitchen went for thirty-one guineas2 the ,garden for forty2 and ,pierrot1 ,amsterdam1 for fifty-six4 ,,bibliography ,,alvin1 ,,louis4 ,catalogue ,raisonn de l'uvre des trois frres1 ,jean1 ,jerome1 et ,antoine ,wierix4 #hvo4 #ahff4 ,,andresen1 ,,andreas4 ,der ,deutsche ,peintre-,graveur1 oder die ,deutschen ,maler als ,kupferstichsammler4 ,two vols4 #ahfd-gc4 ,,apell1 ,,aloys4 ,handbuch fr ,kupferstichsammler4 #ahhj4 ,,aum,,ller1 ,e4 ,les ,petits ,matres ,allemands4 ,barthel et ,sebald ,beham4 #hvo4 #ahha4 ---- ,les ,petits ,matres ,allemands4 ,jacques ,binck4 #hvo4 #ahic4 ,,bartsch1 ,,adam4 ,le ,peintre-,graveur1 and ,supplement4 #bb vols4 #ahjc-dc4 ,b,,raldi1 ,,henri4 ,les ,graveurs du ,dix-,neuvime ,sicle4 #dto4 ,,blanc1 ,,charles4 ,l'uvre ,complet de ,rembrandt4 ,two vols4 #hvo4 ,,bocher1 ,,emmanuel4 ,les ,gravures ,franaises du ,dix-,huitime ,sicle4 ,six volumes at present1 viz43-- ,nicholas ,lavreince4 #ahge4 ,pierre ,antoine ,baudouin4 #ahge4 ,jean ,baptiste ,simon ,chardin4 #ahgf4 ,nicolas ,lancret4 #ahgg4 ,augustin de ,st ,aubin4 #ahgi4 ,jean ,michel ,moreau1 le jeune4 #ahhb4 ,,bourcard1 ,,gustave4 ,les ,estampes du ,dix-,huitime ,sicle4 #ahhe4 ,,bryan1 ,,michael4 ,dictionary of ,painters and ,engravers4 #hvo4 #ahfe4 ,supplement1 by ,ottley4 #hvo4 #ahhf4 ,a ,new ,edition1 by ,graves4 #hvo4 #ahhd-hf4 ,a ,new ,edition1 #aije4 ,,chavignerie1 ,,emile ,,bellier de la1 et ,,louis ,,auvray4 ,dictionnaire ,gnral des ,artistes de l',ecole ,franaise4 ,two vols4 #ahhe4 ,,cohen1 ,,henri4 ,guide de l',amateur des ,livres ,vignette1 du ,,xviiime ,sicle4 #ahgc4 ,a ,new ,edition4 #ahhj4 ,,cumberland1 ,,george4 ,an ,essay on the ,utility of ,collecting the ,best ,works of the ,ancient ,engravers of the ,italian ,school4 #dto4 #ahbg4 ,,cust1 ,,lionel4 ,drer's ,prints 7,portfolio ,series74 ,,daniell1 ,,frederick ,b4 ,catalogue ,raisonn of the ,engraved ,works of ,richard ,cosway1 ,r4,a4 ,with a ,memoir of ,cosway by ,sir ,philip ,currie4 #ahij4 ,,delaborde1 ,,le ,,vicomte ,,henri4 ,la ,gravure en ,italie avant ,marc ,antoine4 #ahhb4 ---- ,le ,dpartement des ,estampes la ,bibliothque ,nationale4 ,,didot1 ,a4 ,,firmin4 ,histoire de ,gravure sur ,bois4 #hvo4 #ahfc4 ---- ,les ,graveurs de ,portrait en ,france4 #hvo4 #ahge-gg4 ---- ,les ,drevet3 ,catalogues ,raisonns de leur uvre4 #ahgf4 ,,dobson1 ,,austin4 ,life and ,works of ,william ,hogarth4 #ahia4 ,,drake1 ,sir ,w4 ,r4 ,a ,descriptive ,catalogue of the ,etched ,work of ,francis ,seymour ,haden4 #hvo4 #ahhj4 ,,duchesne ,,ain4 ,essai sur les ,nielles4 #hvo4 #ahbf4 ,,duplessis1 ,,george4 ,de la ,gravure de ,portrait en ,france4 #hvo4 #ahge4 ,,duplessis1 ,,george 7and ,,bouchot74 ,dictionnaire des ,marques et ,monogrammes de ,graveurs4 #hvo4 #ahhf4 ,,dutuit1 ,,eug,,ne4 ,manuel de l',amateur d',estampes4 #hvo4 #ahha-hh4 ---- ,l'uvre ,complet de ,rembrandt4 ,three vols4 #dto4 #ahhc-he4 ,,fagan1 ,,louis4 ,catalogue of ,woollett's ,engraved ,works4 #hvo4 #ahhe4 ---- ,catalogue of ,faithorne's ,engraved ,works4 ---- ,collector's ,marks4 #dto4 #ahhc4 ,,fisher1 ,,richard4 ,early ,history of ,engraving in ,italy4 #ahhf4 ,,gilpin1 ,,william4 ,an ,essay on ,prints4 #hvo4 #agha4 ,,gonse1 ,,louis4 ,l'uvre de ,jules ,jacquemart4 #ahgf4 ,,haden1 ,,francis ,,seymour4 ,about ,etching4 #hvo4 #ahgh4 ---- ,etched ,work of ,rembrandt4 ,a ,monograph4 #ahgi4 ,h,,diard4 ,catalogue of ,lithographs by ,fantin-,latour4 ,,hamerton1 ,,philip ,,gilbert4 ,etching and ,etchers4 #ahfh4 ,a ,second ,edition1 revised4 #ahhj4 ,a ,third ,edition4 #ahhj4 ,,hamilton1 ,,edward4 ,a ,catalogue ,raisonn of the ,engraved ,works of ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds4 #ahgd4 ,a ,second ,edition4 #ahhj4 ,,harrington1 ,h4 ,,nazeby4 ,supplement to ,drake's ,catalogue of ,haden's ,etchings4 #aijc4 ,,horne1 ,,henry ,,percy4 ,an ,illustrated ,catalogue of ,engraved ,portraits and ,fancy ,subjects by ,gainsborough and ,romney #ahia4 ,,hymans1 ,,henri4 ,histoire de la ,gravure dans l',ecole de ,rubens4 #hvo4 #ahgi4 ---- ,l'uvre de ,lucas ,vosterman4 #ahie4 ,,jackson1 ,,john4 ,a ,treatise on ,wood ,engraving4 #hvo4 #ahci4 ,a ,second ,edition1 enlarged4 #ahfa4 ,,le ,,blanc4 ,manuel de l',amateur d',estampes4 ,two vols4 #hvo4 #ahed4 ,,le ,,blanc4 ,catalogue de l'uvre de ,j4 ,g4 ,wille4 #hvo4 #ahdg4 ---- ,catalogue de l'uvre de ,robert ,strange4 #hvo4 #ahdh4 ,,lehr1 ,,max4 ,wenzel von ,olmtz4 #ahhi4 ---- ,der ,meister der ,liebes ,garten4 #ahic4 ---- ,the ,master of the ,amsterdam ,cabinet 7,chalcographical ,society74 #ahid4 ,,leymarie1 ,l4 ,,de4 ,l'uvre de ,gilles ,demarteau l'ain1 ,graveur du ,roi4 #ahif4 ,,lippmann1 ,f4 ,der ,italiensche ,holzschnitt4 #hvo4 #ahhe4 ---- ,the ,art of ,wood ,engraving in ,italy in the ,x,vth ,century 7,english edition of the above work74 ,,loftie1 ,rev4 ,w4 ,j4 ,a ,catalogue of the prints of ,hans ,sebald ,beham4 #ahgg4 ,,maberly1 ,j4 ,the ,print ,collector4 #ahdd4 ,,malassis1 ,a4 ,p41 and ,,thibaudeau4 ,catalogue ,raisonn de l'uvre ,grav et ,lithographi d',alphonse ,legros4 #hvo4 #ahgg4 ,,marshall1 ,,julian4 ,engravers of ,ornament4 #hvo4 #ahfi4 ,,meaume1 ,,edouard4 ,recherches sur la ,vie et les ,ouvrages de ,jacques ,callot4 ,two vols4 #ahfj4 ,,meyer1 ,,julius4 ,allegemeines ,kunstler ,lexicon4 ,,middleton-,,wake1 ,rev4 ,c4 ,h4 ,catalogue of the ,etched ,work of ,rembrandt4 #ahgh4 ,,moore1 ,,sturge4 ,altdorfer 7,unicorn ,press ,series7 #ah4 ,albert ,drer4 #aije4 ,,nicholson1 ,r4 ,george ,morland4 #ahif4 ,,ottley1 ,w4 ,y4 ,history of ,engraving4 ,two vols4 #dto4 #ahaf4 ,,papillon1 ,j4 ,b4 ,m4 ,trait ,historique et ,pratique de la ,gravure en ,bois4 #agff4 ,,parthey1 ,g4 ,hollar ,catalogue4 #hvo4 #aheh4 ,,passavant1 ,j4 ,d4 ,le ,peintre-,graveur4 ,six vols4 #hvo4 #ahfj-fd4 ,,pye1 ,,john1 and ,j4 ,l4 ,,roget4 ,notes on the 8,liber ,studiorum0 of ,turner4 #hvo4 #ahgi4 ,,rawlinson1 ,w4 ,g4 ,descriptive ,catalogue of ,turner's 8,liber ,studiorum40 #hvo4 #ahgh4 ,,redgrave1 ,s4 ,dictionary of ,artists of the ,english ,school4 ,a ,new ,edition4 #ahgh4 ,,rosenberg1 ,,adolf4 ,s4 and ,b4 ,beham4 #ahge4 ,,rovinski1 ,,dmitri4 ,l'uvre grav de ,rembrandt4 ,reproductions des ,planches originales dans tous leurs ,etats successifs4 #ahij4 ,,scott1 ,,william ,,bell4 ,albert ,drer1 his ,life and ,works4 #ahfi4 ,the ,little ,masters4 ,,smith1 ,j4 ,,challoner4 ,british ,mezzotint ,portraits4 ,five vols4 #hvo4 #ahgh-hc4 ,,smith1 ,,william4 ,cornelius ,vischer4 #hvo4 #ahfd4 ,,thausing1 ,,moritz4 ,albert ,drer1 ,english translation4 ,two vols4 #ahhb4 ,,tiffin1 ,w4 ,b4 ,english ,mezzotint ,portraits4 #hvo4 #ahhc4 ,,way1 ,t4 ,r4 ,whistler's ,lithographs3 a ,catalogue4 ,,wedmore1 ,,frederick4 ,mryon1 and ,mryon's 8,paris10 with a ,descriptive ,catalogue of the ,artist's ,work4 #hvo4 #ahgi4 ,a ,second ,edition1 revised4 #hvo4 #ahib4 ---- ,whistler's ,etchings3 ,a ,study and a ,catalogue4 #hvo4 #ahhf4 ,a ,second ,edition1 enlarged4 #ahif4 ---- ,etching in ,england4 #ahii4 ---- ,cameron's ,etchings3 a ,study and a ,catalogue4 #aijc4 ---- ,constable3 ,lucas3 with a ,descriptive ,catalogue of the ,prints they did between ,them4 #aijd4 ,,willshire1 ,w4 ,h4 ,an ,introduction to the ,study of ,ancient ,prints4 #ahgd4 ,second ,edition4 ,two vols4 #ahgg4 ---- ,early ,prints in the ,british ,museum4 ,two vols4 #ahgi-hc4 ,,wilson1 ,j4 78,an ,amateur074 ,a ,descriptive ,catalogue of the ,prints of ,rembrandt4 #hvo4 #ahcf4 ,,woltmann4 ,holbein und seine ,zeit4 ,two vols4 #ahff-fh4 ,,wornum1 ,r4 ,n4 ,life of ,holbein4 #ahfg4 ,,index ,abside de ,ntre-,dame1 #gb1 #gc1 #gd ,adam and ,eve1 #add1 #adf1 #aff sacus and ,hesperie1 #aib ,agamemnon1 #aja1 #ajd ,aldegrever1 #ae1 #aed1 #aee1 #aef ,altdorfer1 #aej1 #aea ,amsterdam1 ,view of1 #ec ,ancient ,italy1 #bjg ,angerton ,moss1 #ace ,annis1 #aih ,antonio da ,brescia1 #afd ,antwerp ,cathedral1 #dd1 #df ,arche du ,pont ,ntre-,dame1 #gb ,arms of ,paris1 #ha ,armstrong1 ,elizabeth1 #ace ,arundel1 #bjg ,arundel1 ,lord1 #db ,assemble au ,concert1 #ahe ,assumption1 #afd ,audran1 #aga ,aumller1 #aej1 #aeb1 #aec ,aveline1 #aga ,avery1 ,samuel1 #hc1 #aji ,baby1 ,the1 #bcd ,baccio ,baldini1 #afa ,bacon1 ,sir ,hickman1 #fi ,les ,baigneuses1 #bbj ,bain ,froid ,chevrier1 #ha ,balcony1 ,the1 #aab ,bale1 ,sackville1 #aff ,bal ,par1 ,le1 #ahc ,barnard1 ,john1 #ch1 #adf ,barrett1 ,edward1 #aji ,bartolozzi1 #be1 #bf ,bartsch1 ,adam1 #ada1 #adi1 #afc ,basire1 ,james1 #aij ,basle1 #bjc ,bate1 ,francis1 #bbe ,battersea ,bridge1 #abj ,battersea3 ,dawn1 #ajh ,battersea ,railway ,bridge1 #ajg ,battersea ,reach1 #ajc ,baudelaire1 #hb ,baudouin1 #ahc1 #ahd ,bcheurs1 ,les1 #fh ,beham1 ,barthel1 #adi1 #aej ,beham1 ,hans ,sebald1 #adi1 #aej1 #aeb-aed ,beignets1 ,les1 #ahb ,bjot1 ,eugne1 #bdh ,bell1 ,anning1 #bce ,ben ,arthur1 #bjc1 #bjd ,bndicit1 ,le1 #agi ,beraldi1 #hd ,beresford1 ,hon4 ,mrs1 #bah ,binck1 ,jacob1 #adi1 #aee ,binyon1 #cf ,black ,lion ,wharf1 #aaf ,blanc1 ,charles1 #dh ,bocher1 ,emanuel1 #agi ,bolingbroke1 ,miss1 #aca1 #ace ,bolswert1 #ac ,bone1 ,muirhead1 #bdf ,bonne ,mre1 ,la1 #ahb ,bonus1 ,ephraim1 #ei ,border ,towers1 #acc ,borghese ,gardens1 #abi ,bosquet de ,bacchus1 #agc ,boucher1 ,franois1 #aha1 #ahb ,bouillon1 ,jules1 #aff1 #age ,bouvier1 ,le1 #ch1 #ci1 #aic ,boydell1 ,alderman1 #aic ,bracquemond1 #hb ,brentford ,eyot1 #bcd ,brion1 #aga ,brocca ,italienne1 #hi ,brooke1 ,stopford1 #aji1 #ade1 #aih1 #bja ,brosamer1 ,hans1 #adi ,buccleuch1 ,duke of1 #eg1 #bjc ,buffoon and ,two ,couples1 #aed ,burty1 ,p41 #hb1 #hc ,butterflies1 #de ,calm1 ,a1 #bjc ,camargo1 ,mlle41 #agf ,cameron1 ,d4 ,y41 #acc1 #acd ,campo1 ,vaccino1 #cg1 #ci ,canal1 ,the1 #ef ,carrier's ,stable1 #bai ,cars1 ,laurent1 #aga1 #agf ,carwardine1 ,mrs1 #bah ,cattle ,going ,home in ,stormy ,weather1 #cg1 #ch ,cecilia1 ,saint1 #afb1 #afg ,c'est un ,fils1 ,monsieur61 #ahf ,chain ,pier1 ,brighton1 #acc ,chalice1 ,the1 #df ,challoner1 ,sir ,thomas1 #df ,champs ,elyses1 #agc ,chantres ,espagnols1 #abg ,chardin1 #ah1 #ai1 #cd1 #hg1 #agg-ahj ,charlton1 ,e41 #bdg ,charles the ,fifth1 #aed ,chemise en leve1 #ahb ,chiffre d',amour1 #ahc ,christ ,healing the ,sick1 #eh ,christ ,descending into ,hell1 #aff ,christopher1 ,saint1 #adb ,cipriani1 #bf ,clare ,market1 #bdf ,clarke1 ,mary ,constance1 #bja ,claude1 #af1 #cg-ci ,clausen1 ,george1 #bbe ,clment1 #aff ,clint1 #aih ,clovelly1 #ba1 #cg1 #bje1 #bjf ,coat of ,arms with the ,cock1 #add1 #adf1 #adg1 #aec ,coat of ,arms with a ,skull1 #add1 #adf1 #adg ,cochin1 #aga ,colnaghi1 #ef1 #ei1 #adg1 #age1 #bjb1 #bai ,colvin1 ,sidney1 #afd1 #bdc ,combe ,bottom1 #ajf1 #ajg ,communion dans l',eglise ,st ,mdard1 #abg ,concert1 ,le1 #ahc ,conflagration in ,bordeaux1 #he ,constable1 #bj1 #baj1 #baa1 #bdi ,cooke1 ,george1 #ba ,cooke1 ,william1 #ba ,coppenol1 #fj ,corbett1 #bce ,coriolanus1 #bca ,corot1 #he ,cottage with ,dutch ,hay ,barn1 #ag1 #ed ,cottage with ,white ,palings1 #ec ,crepy1 #agc ,crowhurst1 #aif ,crche ,casse1 #aha ,dance of ,cupids1 #aff ,dance of ,damsels1 #afd ,dance by the ,waterside1 #ch ,dance under the ,trees1 #ch1 #ci ,dancing ,girl1 #bce ,danlos1 #aff1 #afg ,daubigny1 #he ,david1 #ahg ,dawe1 #aih ,day1 ,mr ,justice1 #fi ,dean1 ,john1 #bah ,death ,surprising a ,woman1 #aed ,debucourt1 #bg ,delaborde1 #afd ,deltre1 #aah ,delia1 #bbf ,demarteau1 #ahb ,dpart pour le ,travail1 ,le1 #fh ,deprez1 #bc1 #eh1 #ajg ,derby1 ,elizabeth1 ,countess of1 #bah ,dsir de ,plaire1 #agg ,dewint1 #abi1 #baa ,diderot1 #agj1 #aha ,directeur des ,toilettes1 #ahe ,dowdeswell1 ,walter1 #aji ,drake1 ,sir ,william1 #ajb1 #ajf1 #aba ,drevet1 #ac1 #bad ,duflos1 #ahb ,dumesnil1 #ch ,dunkarton1 #aih ,dunthorne1 #ajf1 #abb ,duplessis1 #afc ,durazzo1 #afd ,drer1 ,albert1 #ad1 #aci-adg1 #afa ,earlom1 #ig1 #aic1 #bab1 #bac ,early ,morning1 #bbd ,easling1 #aih ,east1 ,alfred1 #ace 8,eaux-,fortes sur ,paris10 #gg ,edelinck1 #ac ,edge of the ,forest1 #ace ,edge of the ,moor1 #bcc ,edinburgh1 #dc ,eisen1 #ahc ,elliot1 ,mrs1 #bah ,ellis1 ,f4 ,s41 #aah ,embarquement pour ,cythre1 #agc ,empty ,pitcher1 #dj 8,england and ,wales10 #bje ,entombment1 #aff ,entre du ,convent des ,capucins1 #hj ,epes1 ,langues de ,buf1 ,poignards1 #id ,erasmus1 #hd ,erith ,marshes1 #ajg ,etienne-du-,mont1 ,st1 #gb1 #gf tude de ,jeune ,fille1 #ih ,etude du ,dessein1 #agi ,evening1 ,bosham1 #acj ,faber1 junior1 #bab ,family1 ,the1 #da ,fanny ,leyland1 #fa1 #aja1 #aae1 #aba ,fantin-,latour1 #bbb ,farm behind ,scarborough1 #abh ,farmyard with a ,cock1 #aib ,farmer's ,stable1 #bai ,femme la ,tasse1 #ih ,fight for the ,standard1 #aed ,fisher1 ,richard1 #ch1 #da1 #eg1 #adf1 #aec1 #afc ,fisher1 ,r4 ,c41 #gc ,fishermen ,going ,out1 #bai ,flagellation1 ,the1 #aff ,forge1 ,the1 #aba ,four ,naked ,women1 #adc ,fragonard1 #ahb1 #ahc ,fribourg1 #he ,fruit ,shop1 #abj ,gainsborough1 #bae1 #bag1 #bah ,galrie de ,ntre-,dame1 #gb ,galichon1 #afc ,garden1 ,the1 #aab1 #aba ,geddes1 #eb1 #ff1 #fg 8,gemmes et ,joyaux de la ,couronne10 #hi1 #ia1 #ig ,genii1 ,the ,three1 #adj ,girtin1 #aid ,glaneuses1 ,les1 #fh ,gobelet d',argent1 ,le1 #agh ,goff1 ,colonel1 #aca-acc ,goldweigher1 ,the1 #ee ,goldweigher's ,field1 #ed1 #ee ,goncourt1 ,edmond et ,jules de1 #ahd ,goncourt1 ,edmond de1 #bca ,gonse1 ,louis1 #ij1 #if ,goulding1 #aah1 #bcb ,grande ,toilette1 ,la1 #ahf ,gregory1 ,e4 ,j41 #bcb ,green1 ,charles1 #bca ,green1 ,valentine1 #bah ,greenwich1 ,long ,view of1 #de ,greuze1 #ai1 #ahj1 #aha ,grim ,spain1 #aje ,gutekunst1 #da1 #eh1 #adg ,gutekunst1 ,o41 #bdd ,gutekunst1 ,r41 #abb ,haaring1 ,old1 #ei ,haden1 ,seymour1 #ch1 #ci1 #fd1 #ajj-ajg ,hall1 ,oliver1 #acd1 #ace1 #bcc ,halliford-on-,thames1 #ff ,halsted1 #bja ,hamerton1 ,p4 ,g41 #gc1 #ajg1 #afj1 #afa ,hamilton1 ,lady1 #bag ,hamilton1 ,dr1 #baf ,haut d'un ,battant de ,porte1 ,le1 #hd ,heaton1 ,mrs1 #ade ,helleu1 ,p41 #bb1 #ih ,herkomer1 #aca ,heureuse ,fecondit1 ,l'1 #ahb ,heywood1 ,rev4 ,j4 ,j41 #dc1 #hb ,higgins1 ,alfred1 #fi ,hill1 ,raven1 #bcd ,hind ,head ,hill1 #bjc ,hippesley1 ,sir ,john1 #bja ,hirsch1 #hb ,hiver1 ,l'1 #agf 8,histoire de la ,porcelaine10 #hh1 #hi1 #ij1 #ie1 #ig ,hodges1 #aih ,hogarth1 #ah ,holbein1 #eg ,holford1 #ag1 #ee1 #eh1 #aff ,hollar1 ,wenceslaus1 #cf1 #db-dg ,hollar1 #df ,holy ,island ,cathedral1 #bjc ,hood1 ,jacomb1 #ace1 #bcd ,hoppner1 #bae ,horne1 ,percy1 #baf ,holroyd1 ,charles1 #abh1 #abi ,horsburgh1 #cg ,hubert1 ,saint1 #adg ,huet1 ,paul1 #fg ,hulmandel1 #bbi ,hume1 ,sir ,abraham1 #eg ,hutchinson1 #aba ,huysum1 ,jan ,van1 #ig ,hymans1 ,henri1 #ii ,ile ,enchante1 ,l'1 #agd ,incendie1 ,l'1 #abg ,ingleborough1 #bjf ,in the ,marsh1 #bdg ,isis1 ,temple of1 #bjd 8,italy10 ,the1 #bjg ,itchen ,abbas ,bridge1 #acc ,jacque1 ,charles1 #bde ,jacquemart1 ,albert1 #hf ,jacquemart1 ,jules1 #hf-ig ,jealousy1 #ade ,jeaurat1 #ahj ,jeu de ,cache-cache1 #agf ,jeu de l',oye1 #agi ,jeu de ,quatre ,coins1 #agf ,jewish ,bride1 ,the ,great1 #fj ,jonghe1 ,clment de1 #ag1 #fa1 #fb ,joseph1 ,samuel1 #ie ,jupiter et ,lda1 #ahb ,kemp-,welch1 ,margaret1 #bdg ,kennedy1 #aji1 #aaa ,keppel1 ,frederick1 #fh1 #ajj1 #aji ,king's ,lynn1 #ace ,kitchen1 ,the1 #aai ,kneller1 #bac ,knight of ,death1 ,the1 #ade1 #adg ,knowles1 ,james1 #gi ,koehler1 #ada ,lacroix1 #agi ,laitire1 ,la1 #aha ,lalanne1 ,maxime1 #he ,lancret1 #ah1 #age ,landscape with a ,flock of ,sheep1 #ef ,landscape with an ,obelisk1 #ed1 #ef ,landscape with a ,tower1 #ag ,large 8,pool10 ,the1 #abj ,larmessin1 ,de1 #agf ,lavreince1 #ahd1 #ahe ,lebrun1 #fg ,leda1 #aed ,ledikant1 #fc ,legros1 ,alphonse1 #abf-abh1 #bbb ,leighton1 ,lord1 #bcc ,lely1 #bj ,letitia1 ,the ,story of1 #bai ,lewis1 #aid ,leyden1 ,lucas van1 #ad1 #aef1 #aeg 8,liber ,studiorum10 #bj1 #ahi1 #bjd 8,liber ,veritatis10 #aia1 #aic ,lime-,burners1 #aba ,linton1 ,sir ,j4 ,d41 #bca ,little ,boathouse1 #aje ,loftie1 ,rev4 ,w4 ,j41 #aej1 #aec1 #aed ,london from the ,top of ,arundel ,house1 #de ,london from ,greenwich1 #bjc1 #bjd ,london ,bridge1 #abj ,low ,tide and the ,evening ,star1 #acj ,low ,tide3 ,mouth of the ,hampshire ,avon1 #acc ,lucas1 ,david1 #bj1 #baj1 #baa1 #bdi ,lucretia1 #afb1 #afg ,lupton1 ,thomas1 #aih ,lutma1 #ag1 #fj ,m#8,ardell1 #bj1 #bad ,maberly1 #bi ,macgeorge1 ,b4 ,b41 #gc1 #gi1 #hb ,madonna with the ,sleeping ,child1 #aed ,mansfield1 ,howard1 #gc1 #hc ,mantegna1 #ac1 #afa1 #afd1 #afe ,marc ,antonio1 #ac1 #afb ,marchande de ,moutarde1 #aba ,margate1 #cg ,margot la ,critique1 #hd ,marriage la ,mode1 #ai ,marshall1 ,julian1 #ci1 #de1 #df ,maso da ,finiguerra1 #aei ,massard1 #ai1 #aha ,master of the ,caduceus1 #afc ,master of #adff1 ,the1 #afa ,may1 ,w4 ,h41 #aca ,meder1 #da ,meer1 ,van der1 #if ,melancholia1 #adj1 #add1 #ade1 #adg ,mre de ,rembrandt au ,voile ,noir1 #fa1 #aae ,mryon1 #ba1 #fi-hc ,metsu1 #if ,middleton-,wake1 ,rev4 ,c4 ,h41 #di1 #ada1 #adc ,mill ,bridge1 ,bosham1 #acj ,miller1 ,william1 #ba1 #bje ,millet1 ,jean-,franois1 #fg1 #fh ,ministrants1 #bbg ,miroir ,franais1 #ib ,mitchell1 ,william1 #bdc ,modern ,italy1 #bjg ,mont ,st ,gothard1 #bjc 8,monte ,oliveto10 #abh ,moreau le jeune1 #ai1 #ahf ,morgue1 ,the1 #gb ,morland1 #ab1 #baf1 #bai ,mort et le ,bcheron1 ,la1 #abg ,mort du ,vagabond1 ,la1 #abg ,muff1 ,the1 #aae ,muffs1 #dd ,mytton ,hall1 #ajc1 #ajf ,naissance de ,vnus1 #ahb ,naked ,woman seen from behind1 #fc ,nanteuil1 #bad ,nativity1 ,the1 #adj ,nave of ,st ,george's ,chapel1 #dd ,niel1 #hb ,nine ,barrow ,down1 #aje ,nocturne1 ,battersea1 #bbc ,norfolk ,bridge1 ,shoreham1 #acb ,north of ,london1 ,six ,views in the1 #de ,noseda1 ,mrs1 #bjb ,noseda1 ,urban1 #bai ,oakhampton ,castle1 #aii ,ocanie1 #hj ,old ,clothes ,shop1 #abj ,oliver1 ,miss1 #bdi ,omval1 #ee ,orage1 ,l'1 #if ,ornament with a ,cuirass1 #aed ,ornament1 ,panel of1 #aeg ,ostade1 #cf1 #dj1 #da ,out of ,study-,window1 #ajd ,painter1 ,the1 #da ,palaces1 #aba ,palace1 ,stirling1 #acc ,paris1 ,isle de la ,cit1 #aai ,parthey1 #dc ,passavant1 #ada 8,passion1 ,little10 #adb 8,passion upon ,copper10 #adb ,pater1 #agf1 #agg ,peasant ,paying his ,reckoning1 #da ,peckham ,rye1 #ff ,pencz1 #adi1 #aee ,pennell1 ,j41 #aca ,perspective1 #agc ,petit ,pont1 #gc ,petite ,pompe1 #ha ,pickled ,herring ,stairs1 #aba ,pine ,trees1 ,christchurch1 #acb ,plague1 ,the1 #afg ,pompe ,ntre-,dame1 #gc ,pont-au-,change1 #gb1 #gd ,pont-au-,change vers #aghd1 #gi1 #hj ,pont ,neuf1 #gb ,pont ,neuf et la ,samaritaine1 #gi ,pope's ,villa1 #aia 8,ports of ,england10 #bjf1 #bjg ,pott1 ,constance1 #bdg ,pourvoyeuse1 ,la1 #agh ,premier ,baiser1 #if ,price's ,candle-,works1 #abj ,procris and ,cephalus1 #aib ,putney1 #bbe ,putney ,bridge1 #abj ,pye1 ,john1 #aia ,quarrel with ,drawn ,knives1 #da ,quarter ,boys1 #acj ,rag ,gatherers1 #aai ,rape of ,europa1 #ci ,raphael1 #ab1 #afb ,rapilly1 #agi ,ravisher1 ,the1 #add ,rawlinson1 ,w4 ,g41 #ahi1 #aij1 #bja ,receipt1 ,the1 #fg ,reid1 ,g4 ,w41 #ada ,rembrandt1 #af1 #ag1 #dh-fe1 #hh ,rembrandt ,drawing1 #eg1 #eh ,rembrandt with a ,sabre1 #eh ,rembrandt with a ,turned-up ,hat1 #eh ,rembrandt ,farm1 ,a1 #acc ,rve d',amour1 #if ,reynolds1 ,sir ,joshua1 #ab1 #bae1 #baf 8,richmondshire10 #bjf ,river in ,ireland1 #aja 8,rivers of ,france10 #bjg ,road in ,yorkshire1 #baa ,rochoux's ,card1 #ha ,roget1 ,j4 ,l41 #aif ,romanet1 #ahf ,romney1 #ab1 #bag ,rops1 #ii ,rosenberg1 ,dr1 #aej1 #aee ,rothenstein1 ,will1 #bbi ,round ,temple1 #abi ,rousseau1 ,thodore1 #fg ,roussel1 ,thodore1 #bcd ,royal ,exchange1 #df ,rubens1 #ac1 #agd ,rue des ,mauvais ,garons1 #hb ,rue des ,toiles1 #hj ,rupert1 ,prince1 #ah ,ruskin1 #aih ,salire de ,troyes1 #id ,san ,biagio1 #aba ,sawley ,abbey1 #aje ,say1 ,w41 #aig ,schngauer1 ,martin1 #aci1 #adj1 #afa ,scotin1 #ai ,scott1 ,w4 ,b41 #adi1 #aea1 #aee ,sea ,shells1 #df ,seasons1 ,the1 #de ,senefelder1 #bba ,severn and ,wye1 #aii1 #bjd ,shannon1 ,c4 ,h41 #bbe-bbg ,shepherd and ,shepherdess ,conversing1 #ch1 #ci ,shere ,mill ,pond1 #ajc1 #ajf ,short1 ,frank1 #abi1 #acj ,shot ,tower1 #bdg ,sichel1 ,mr1 #abe ,sickert1 ,walter1 #bcd ,siegen1 ,ludwig von1 #bji ,six1 ,burgomaster1 #ei ,sleeping till the ,flood1 #acj ,smith1 ,challoner1 #bab ,smith1 ,john1 #bj1 #bac ,smith1 ,j4 ,raphael1 #ah1 #bac ,smith of the ,place du ,dragon1 #bbd ,snyders1 #dj ,sortie de l',opra1 #ahf 8,southern ,coast10 #bjd1 #bje ,speke ,hall1 #aba ,spring1 #baa ,stamford1 #bjf ,stonehenge1 #aie ,stork and ,aqueduct1 #aie ,stourbridge ,canal1 #acj ,strang1 ,ian1 #abe ,strang1 ,william1 #abd1 #abe ,summerland1 #baa ,summer ,storm1 #acb ,sunset1 #cg ,sunset on the ,thames1 #aje ,surugue1 #aga ,suttermans1 #dj ,sylvius1 #fj ,tardieu1 #aga1 #agc ,taunay1 #bg ,taylor1 ,j4 ,e41 #bja ,techener1 #ig 8,thames ,set10 #aah1 #aba ,thausing1 #ade ,theobald1 ,h4 ,s41 #fi ,thomas1 ,ralph1 #ajh ,thompson1 ,j4 ,pyke1 #gc ,thomson1 ,george1 #bcd ,three ,trees1 ,the1 #ee 8,tickets10 #bf ,tillie1 #abj ,timber ,ships1 #bbe ,toilette1 ,la1 #ahd ,toilette1 ,la ,grande1 #ahf ,tolling1 ,van1 #fj ,tombeau de ,molire1 #gh ,tour de l',horloge1 #gb ,tourelle1 dite 8de ,marat01 #gh ,tourelle1 ,rue de la ,tixranderie1 #gb ,trees on the ,hillside1 #acd ,turner1 ,charles1 #aia1 #aig ,turner1 ,j4 ,m4 ,w41 #bj1 #ba1 #ahh-bjh1 #baj 8,twenty-six ,etchings10 #aag1 #aah ,two ,buffoons1 #aed ,two ,fauns1 #aff ,vandyke1 #cf1 #ci ,vanneaux et ,sarcelles1 #hd ,vaughan1 ,henry1 #bja1 #baa 8,venice10 ,the1 #aab1 #aag ,venus and ,cupid1 #aed ,vignette with ,four ,cupids1 #aed ,vieux ,coq1 ,le1 #he ,virgin by the ,city ,wall1 #adj1 #adg ,virgin with the ,child in ,swaddling ,clothes1 #adc ,virgin and ,child with the ,monkey1 #add ,virgin with ,long ,hair1 #adf ,vokins1 #baf ,vosterman1 ,lucas1 #dj ,vosterman1 #ac ,wael1 ,de1 #dj ,wakefield1 #aia ,walsh1 ,jacob1 #afc ,ward1 ,william1 #aig ,wareham ,bridge1 #aje ,water ,meadow1 #ajf ,wasset1 #ge1 #hb ,watercress ,gatherers1 #bjd ,watson1 ,c4 ,j41 #bcc ,watteau1 #aga-age1 #agg1 #aha ,way1 ,t4 ,r41 #bbb ,weary1 #aba ,westminster ,bridge1 #aai1 #aba ,wheatley1 #bg ,whistler1 #ajj1 #ajg-aba1 #bbb-bbd ,whistler's ,house1 #ajc ,whitstable1 #cg ,wilkie1 ,sir ,david1 #fg ,willshire1 ,dr1 #bi ,windmill ,hill1 #ajd1 #aje ,windy ,day1 #acd ,winged ,hat1 ,the1 #bbc ,witte1 ,de1 #ii ,woman with the ,arrow1 ,the1 #fc4 ,yarmouth1 #bjf ,zaandam1 #ajg1 #aba ,zoan ,andrea1 #afd ,,the ,,end ,,printed ,,by ,,oliver ,,and ,,boyd1 ,,edinburgh4 ,uniform with this ,volume ,the ,coin ,collector ,by ,w4 ,carew ,hazlitt ,new and ,revised ,edition ,illustrated with #ab full-page ,plates depicting #abi ,rare ,pieces ,pub #gs4 #f;d4 net ,,contents ,introductory--,collectors and ,collections--,value of ,coins--,unique or ,remarkable ,coins--,greek ,coins--,rome--,continent of ,europe--,united ,kingdom--,the ,coin ,market--,terminology--,bibliography--,d escription of ,plates--,index4 8,mr ,hazlitt is an expert in regard to coins2 his book from the practical standpoint is trustworthy40--,notes and ,queries4 8,we may say at once that we have a very interesting and instructive volume before us4 ,the subject is1 of course1 only lightly touched upon1 and no attempt at dealing with any section of it in detail is made4 ,this is as it should be in a book on coins in general40--,antiquary4 8,perhaps as excellent an introduction to the study of a delightful pursuit as could have been written40--,daily ,telegraph4 8,abreast of the latest discoveries and theories1 and is sure of a welcome from the general reader as well as from the collector40--,scotsman4 8,this admirable volume gives a bird's-eye view of the whole4 ,it is clear that ,mr ,hazlitt is not only an enthusiast in the subject of his book1 but also a student whose knowledge is at once singularly wide and remarkably accurate40--,publishers' ,circular4 ,uniform with this ,volume ,old ,violins ,by ,rev4 ,h4 ,r4 ,haweis ,new ,edition ,illustrated by #ab full-page ,plates of ,violins by ,celebrated ,makers ,pub #gs4 #f;d4 net ,,contents ,prelude--,violin ,genesis--,violin ,constitution--,violins at ,brescia--,violins at ,cremona--,violins in ,germany--,violins in ,france--,violins in ,england--,violin ,varnish--,violin ,strings--,violin ,tarisio--,violins at ,mirecourt1 ,mittenwald1 and ,markneukirchen--,violin ,treatment--,violin ,dealers1 ,collectors1 and ,amateurs--,postlude--,dictionary of ,violin ,makers--,bibliography and ,description of ,plates4 8,in matters pertaining to ,old ,violins he is known as a specialist1 and1 moreover1 one who writes in a pleasant flowing style1 which cannot be said of all specialists4 ,his #8,old ,violins' therefore scarcely needs recommendation4 ,he discourses about ,italian1 ,french1 and ,english violins1 about varnish1 strings1 bows1 violin dealers1 collectors1 and amateurs4 ,there are some fine plates1 a dictionary of violin makers1 and a bibliography4 ,the book is one for reading1 and also for reference1 and in its lighter pages for recreation40--,athenum4 ,the ,book ,collector ,by ,w4 ,carew ,hazlitt ,a ,general ,survey of the ,pursuit1 and of those who have engaged in it1 from the ,earliest ,period to the ,present ,time2 with an ,account of ,public and ,private ,libraries1 and ,anecdotes of their ,founders or ,owners1 and ,remarks on ,bookbinding and on ,special ,copies of ,books1 illustrated with a beautiful photogravure of a famous sale of books at ,sotheby's1 square cr #hvo1 art canvas1 gilt top1 fore and under edges uncut4 ,pub #gs4 #f;d4 net 8,as ,mr ,hazlitt shows1 his field of choice is wide enough4 ,ancient typography fascinates some1 but here a long purse is needed4 ,bibles and ,testaments1 ,liturgies1 ,books of ,hours1 or similar devotional works appeal to others4 ,the ,british ,museum ,library1 for instance1 is singularly rich in editions in all languages of the #8,imitatio ,christi4' ,books of travel1 of voyages1 and on topography1 such as county and town histories1 have all their devotees1 and of late years the search for ,alpine literature has become so much keener that some books1 printed barely forty years ago1 have quite doubled their published price4 ,yet even the systematic collector1 as ,mr ,hazlitt tells us1 often runs risks4 ,here1 as among all things human1 fashions and whims exist1 and a particular class of literature may have #8booms' and #8slumps1' like certain #8stocks' of a questionable character4 ,the books1 for instance1 in ,william ,morris's library were #8below mediocrity in state1' and of little intrinsic value1 yet they excited keen competition1 and went for sums #8which were simply absurd4'0--,standard4 8,the subject abounds with stories1 for1 indeed1 in a sense which the author of the aphorism little imagined1 habent sua fata libelli4 ,we might fill columns with curiosities about the buying and selling of books from these pages4 ,mr ,hazlitt1 however1 is not of the non-literary collectors2 no man could write such a book as this about the subject if he were4 ,readers1 therefore1 as well as buyers1 may find #8,the ,book ,collector' to their taste4 ,then there is the eleventh chapter1 with its many interesting anecdotes of inscriptions2 often the casual name or note which some purchaser or owner of a bye-gone time has written will be of more interest than the volume itself40--,spectator4 8,there is pleasure nevertheless--nay1 much intellectual and sometimes pecuniary profit--in the pursuit1 when intelligently pursued4 ,mr ,hazlitt discourses pleasantly on every side of book-collecting1 and his book will be valued by all interested in the subject40--,chambers' ,journal4 ,illustrated with upwards of #dej ,engravings on ,wood ,amateur's ,guide to ,architecture ,by ,s4 ,beale ,embracing ,egyptian1 ,assyrian1 ,roman1 ,grecian1 ,italian1 ,renaissance1 and ,early ,english ,specimens of ,tombs1 ,doors1 ,windows1 ,arches1 ,bridges1 ,aqueducts1 ,balconies1 ,roofs1 ,supports1 ,porticos1 ,turrets1 ,steeples1 ,pillars1 ,columns1 ,ornaments1 ,capitals1 ,mouldings1 examples of ,wood ,carving1 etc4 ,post #hvo4 ,pub #cs4 #f;d4 ,,contents ,,part ,i43 ,introductory--,general ,outlines4 ,,part ,,ii43 ,trabeated or ,beam ,architecture--#a4 ,egypt2 #b4 ,chalda1 ,assyria1 and ,persia2 #c4 ,india2 #d4 ,china2 #e4 ,japan2 #f4 ,asia ,minor2 #g4 ,greece2 #h4 ,sicily4 ,,part ,,iii43 ,round-,arched ,architecture--#a4 ,etruria and ,rome2 #b4 ,early ,christian ,churches2 #c4 ,byzantine ,churches2 #d4 ,romanesque ,churches2 #e4 ,norman2 #f4 ,saracenic4 ,,part ,,iv43 ,pointed1 or ,gothic ,architecture4 ,,part ,v43 ,renaissance ,architecture--,architectural ,examples which may be studied in ,london4 8,admirably adapted to fill the position it assumes4 ,it explains in the simplest possible manner the distinctions1 not only between the various styles of architecture1 but between the different styles of ornamentation2 and in every case there is an illustration1 which cannot fail to fix in the mind the distinctions of which the author has been talking40--,scotsman4 99 99 99 99 99 ,transcriber's note ,minor punctuation and formatting errors have been changed without notice2 otherwise spelling and punctuation has been retained as published4 ,the following ,printer errors have been changed4 ,,changed ,,from ,,to ,page #g3 8,,meryon',s ,etching0 8,m,,ryon',s ,etching0 ,page #g3 8,the ,straw-,yard0 8,the ,straw ,yard0 ,page #cc3 8case is it an indispensible 8case is it an indispensable virtue0 virtue0 ,page #dd3 8,hollar a compact selecttion0 8,hollar a compact selection0 ,page #fh3 8and his ,bcheurs0 8and his ,bcheurs0 ,page #gb3 8,galerie de ,ntre-,dame0 8,galrie de ,ntre-,dame0 ,to face ,page #hb3 8,,meryon3 ,la ,morgue0 8,m,,ryon3 ,la ,morgue0 ,page #ajg3 8,coombe ,bottom1 ,first 8,combe ,bottom1 ,first ,state0 ,state0 ,page #aba3 8,lime ,burners0 8,lime-,burners0 ,page #aba3 8ghost--desperately 8ghost--desperately over-rated0 overrated0 ,page #add3 8,arms with the ,skull0 8,arms with a ,skull0 ,page #adg3 8,arms with the ,skull0 8,arms with a ,skull0 ,page #aei3 8spoilt by the retouching0 8spoilt by the re-touching0 ,page #agj3 8,jean ,baptiste ,simeon 8,jean ,baptiste ,simon ,chardin0 ,chardin0 ,page #agb3 8,what ,french pictorial artist 8,what ,french pictorial thought0 artists thought0 ,page #ahf3 8,la ,sortie de l',opera0 8,la ,sortie de l',opra0 ,page #bdc3 8,jacopo de ',barbarj0 8,jacopo de' ,barbarj0 ,page #bef3 8,buffon and ,two ,couples0 8,buffoon and ,two ,couples0 ,page #bef3 8,chemise enleve0 8,chemise en leve0 ,page #bef3 8,arms with the ,skull0 8,arms with a ,skull0 ,page #bef3 8,dance by the ,water-side0 8,dance by the ,waterside0 ,page #beg3 8,epes1 ,langues de ,bufs10 8,epes1 ,langues de ,buf0 ,page #beg3 8,etude de ,jeune ,fille0 8tude de ,jeune ,fille0 ,page #beh3 8,jeu de ,cche-cche0 8,jeu de ,cache-cache0 ,page #beh3 8,little ,boat-house0 8,little ,boathouse0 ,page #bei3 8,mort et le ,bucheron1 ,la0 8,mort et le ,bcheron1 ,la0 ,in the ,index on ,page #bei1 there is an entry for 8,pennell1 ,j41 #aca04 ,that name doesn't appear on that page or anywhere else in the book4 ,all other inconsistencies are as in the original4