F. R. Pickersgill has some fine pictures in this book, his "Oriana" being full of tender feeling. Sir John Tenniel, too, is very strong, his "Fair Inez" being the best. Sir John Gilbert and Birket Foster are both very powerful; the former in "When I Come Home," "The Two Angels," and "The Wee Thing"; the latter in his "True Love," "Come Awa', Come Awa'," "My Sister Ellen," and "The Graves of the Household." There is a very clever drawing, "The Sailors Journal," by George Thomas, and a grand picture, "The Shipwreck," by Edward Duncan. Among our own drawings in the collection are, "To Mary in Heaven," Emerson's "Threnody," and "My Mother Dear."
Among the first works of importance by Sir John Tenniel that came into our hands to engrave were several drawings for an illustrated edition of Tupper's "Proverbial Philosophy," as well as his contributions to the illustrated publications issued by the Art Union of London. He also made a great many important drawings for the numerous "Fine Art Books" which we produced; among them we would particularly mention "Dramatic Poems," by Barry Cornwall, and "Pollock's Course of Time"; likewise several exceptionally clever drawings for "The Ingoldsby Legends," published by Richard Bentley.
"Poor maiden!" thought the youth, "if thou wert sent."
The Veiled Prophet of Khorassan.
FROM "LALLA ROOKH."
By Sir John Tenniel.
By permission of Messrs. Longman & Co.
One of his most elaborate works was the set of illustrations to "Lalla Rookh." The drawings were all made on the wood with lead pencil, and were fine examples of his varied powers of design and delicate manipulation—such as gave us great pleasure in the rendering. The book was published by Messrs. Longman & Co. If Tenniel had never done any other work than "Lalla Rookh," and those two remarkable books "Alice in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass," they alone would have been sufficient to immortalise him. What a piece of work the frontispiece to the former is! What dignity and rare grotesque humour are shown in both these books! What beautiful pictures "Advice from Caterpillar" and "The Father William" make!—and how perfectly they are all drawn! "Pig and Pepper," "The Kitchen Scene," and "Alice and the Duchess" are among the best.