19 DECEMBER 1863, Page 23

Ruined Abbeys and Castles of Great Britain and Ireland. Second

series. By William Hewitt. Photographically Illustrated. (London: Alfred W. Bennett. 1863.)—Tho application of photography to the illustration of works like that of Mr. Hewitt has created quite a revo- lution in the class of publications known as Christmas "Gift-books." The castles and abbeys described by him are associated with many of the most deeply interesting periods and events in English history, and it is in such cases that a photograph possesses immeasurable advantages over any engraving, however accurate. Ruined architecture, too, appears to greater advantage in photographs than any other description of scenery, and those in the volume before us by Messrs. Thompson, Sedgefield, Ogle, and Hemphill, are admirably taken. The book is extremely well got up, and is altogether one of the best of the many photographically illustrated works issued by the same publisher.