A New Year's Greeting to a Friend.
[CHAPTER XIII.]
CONCLUSION.
It will be seen in the preceding pages that it was the privilege of the writer to know Caldecott intimately before he had made a name, when his heart and hands were free, so to speak; when he was untrammelled by much sense of responsibility, or by the necessity of keeping up a reputation, and when every day, almost, recorded some new experiment or achievement in his art. Let it be stated here that not at that time, nor ever afterwards in the writer's hearing, was a word said against Caldecott. With a somewhat wide and exceptional experience of the personality of artists, it can be said with truth that Caldecott was "a man of whom all spoke well." His presence then, as in later years, seemed to dispel all jealousies, if they ever existed, and to scatter evil spirits if they ever approached him. No wonder—for was he not the very embodiment of sweetness, simple-mindedness, generosity, and honour?
From the sketch on page [1] of this book, made in the smoke of Manchester, to the "New Year's Greeting" on p. [203], the same happy, joyous spirit is evident; and so, to those who knew him, he remained to the end.
As this memoir has to do with Caldecott's earlier career, and particularly with his work in black and white, the artistic value of his illustrations in colour, especially in his Picture Books, can only be hinted at here.
Caldecott's Picture Books are known all over the world; they have been widely discussed and criticised, and they form undoubtedly the best monument to his memory. But it may be found that some of the best work he ever did (the work least open to criticism) was in 1874 and 1875, before these books were begun; and that the material here collected will aid in forming a better estimate of Caldecott as an artist.