“One of the most beautiful books of modern times.”—Ely Gazette.
“No traveller could desire a more sumptuous remembrancer.”—To-day.
“A very handsome art-work.”—Melbourne Argus.
MOORISH REMAINS
I N S P A I N
By ALBERT F. CALVERT
UNIFORM WITH “THE ALHAMBRA”
SOME PRESS NOTICES
“This book is certainly a store-house of Moorish ornament; of plates and illustrations there are literally hundreds, numbers of them printed in colours and gold, drawn out geometrically.... The wealth of illustration cannot be gainsaid; and with it Mr. Calvert has made a genuine and very successful attempt to grapple with the problem of the working out of the bases of the Moorish geometrical designs, so amazing in their ultimate intricacy. In a series of diagrams, nearly two hundred in number, the astonishing complexity of the designs based on the triangle, rectangle, pentagon, and hexagon is unravelled with a completeness that surpasses anything of the sort with which we are acquainted. It is an excellent piece of work, which gives Mr. Calvert’s book a real value of its own.”—Times.
“Mr. Albert F. Calvert has in this sumptuous volume produced an artistic chef d’œuvre as well as a deeply interesting historical treatise on one of the most picturesque periods of European history. Here we have in a series of graphic word-pictures the marvellous exploits of the Moors in the Peninsula, the foundation of an empire which lasted for several centuries, and has left marks of its eminence in arts and in learning, in a record of brilliant scholars and in architectural remains which are still the wonder of travellers. The influence of Moorish art is still felt among nations to whom the word Saracen is but a name, and Mr. Calvert has performed a useful work in bringing together for the benefit of artists and students the masterpieces which the ravages of time, neglect, and hatred have still spared in Spain.... Mr. Calvert deals in these pages with Cordova, Seville, and Toledo, and gives us drawings of the most famous Moorish buildings therein, with complete details of the wonderful decorative art lavished upon them by now forgotten architects and artists. These are faithfully reproduced in the illustrations, which form a veritable treasure-house of suggestion for moderns. The author has, indeed, brought Spain to the doors of Englishmen who are unable to visit that country, and placed its treasures fully before them. It only remains to add that the volume is produced in a style worthy of the object.”—Daily Telegraph.
“A volume which is not only rich in elaborate reproductions of Moorish designs in outline and colour, but is animated by a warm admiration for the great race which has left us so many tributes to beauty. Modestly as Mr. Calvert states his claims, the reader should not neglect his eloquent introduction, in which he reminds us that it was to the Moslem Spain first owed some permanent national organisation.... The present condition of the monuments which remain is briefly described in subsequent chapters dealing with Cordova, Seville, and Toledo. Mr. Calvert’s thorough study of Arabian work enables him to give the student valuable aid in distinguishing what are the monuments which belong to the golden age of Islamic achievement. He shows how little there is of this time in Seville, though Spanish taste endeavoured to maintain the tradition for four centuries after the Moorish spirit had given way before the conquering Christian.”—Morning Post.