TAPESTRIES: THEIR ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND RENAISSANCE. By George Leland Hunter. With four full-page Plates in Colour, and 147 Half-tone Engravings. Square 8vo. Cloth. 16s. net.
⁂ This is a fascinating book on a fascinating subject. It is written by a scholar whose passion for accuracy and original research did not prevent him from making a story easy to read. It answers the questions people are always asking as to how tapestries differ from paintings, and good tapestries from bad tapestries. It will interest lovers of paintings and rugs and history and fiction, for it shows how tapestries compare with paintings in picture interest, with rugs in texture interest, and with historic and other novels in romantic interest; presenting on a magnificent scale the stories of the Iliad and the Odyssey, the Æneid and the Metamorphoses, the Bible and the Saints, Ancient and Medieval History and Romance. In a word, the book is indispensable to lovers of art and literature in general, as well as to tapestry amateurs, owners, and dealers.
THE VAN EYCKS AND THEIR ART. By W. H. James Weale, with the co-operation of Maurice Brockwell. With numerous Illustrations. Demy 8vo. 12s. 6d. net.
FROM STUDIO TO STAGE. By Weedon Grossmith. With 32 full-page Illustrations. Demy 8vo. 16s. net.
⁂ Justly famous as a comedian of unique gifts, Mr. Weedon Grossmith is nevertheless an extremely versatile personality, whose interests are by no means confined to the theatre. These qualities have enabled him to write a most entertaining book. He gives an interesting account of his early ambitions and exploits as an artist, which career he abandoned for that of an actor. He goes on to describe some of his most notable rôles, and lets us in to little intimate glimpses “behind the scenes,” chats pleasantly about all manner of celebrities in the land of Bohemia and out of it, tells many amusing anecdotes, and like a true comedian is not bashful when the laugh is against himself. The book is well supplied with interesting illustrations, some of them reproductions of the author’s own work.
FANNY BURNEY AT THE COURT OF QUEEN CHARLOTTE. By Constance Hill. Author of “The House in St. Martin Street,” “Juniper Hall,” etc. With numerous Illustrations by Ellen G. Hill and reproductions of contemporary Portraits, etc. Demy 8vo. 16s. net.
AND THAT REMINDS ME. By Stanley Coxon. With a Frontispiece and 40 Illustrations. Demy 8vo. 12s. 6d. net.
⁂ The author, who began life on board a merchantman and ended his working career in the Indian Civil Service, has put together his reminiscences in a very readable form. In Burma, India, and Australia, he lived a life of adventure, and combined his duties with an experience of sport. His stories include a good deal of big game shooting, and his description of the social side of life, and the characteristics of native races is highly amusing.
The hardships of a life at sea thirty-five years ago are told in true sailor fashion, and the author’s varied experiences have been turned to good account for the production of a narrative which includes the life of a middy in the Merchant Service, active service in the Royal Indian Marine and the suppression of dacoity. The author then spent some years in Burma. The visit of Prince Albert Victor to Rangoon is a pleasant incident in a series of events, all of which are highly interesting.
THE STORY OF DON JOHN OF AUSTRIA. By Padre Luis Coloma, S.J., of the Real Academia Española. Translated by Lady Moreton. With Illustrations. Demy 8vo. 16s. net. ⁂ “This book has all the fascination of a vigorous roman à clef ... the translation is vigorous and idiomatic.”—Mr. Osman Edwards in Morning Post.