THE QUEST OF THE ANTIQUE.
The Quest of the Antique. By Robert and Elizabeth Shackleton. (John Milne. 10s. Gd. net.)—" The Quest of the Colonial" is the title which the authors have actually prefixed to their book, and which runs throughout the volume. And this explains what its subject really is. "Colonial" is the term which is applied on the other side of the Atlantic to anything, furniture or other, that goes back to times earlier than the War of Independence. Mr. and Mrs. Shackleton, therefore, describe the experiences of collecting in the United States. New York, Philadelphia, Virginia, Delaware, Connecticut, and Massachusetts are the States which they have explored with this purpose. To a British reader this, of course, diminishes the interest. The circum- stances are not so easily realisable, and the whole thing becomes somewhat remote. On the other hand, there is a certain satisfaction in this very remoteness. There is a bond of common interest—who does not like this picking up of bargains? —and there is no suspicion of disappointment. We have our own happy hunting-grounds, and we have no call to envy the lucky finds that have been made in New England, or the Middle States, or the South. It is a really charming story that we have here. "The kettle began it," coming by inheritance; then one thing and another were picked up; then an appropriate house was found ; and then began a long-con- tinued "quest of,the colonial." It had its disappointments. One sale was over when they arrived ; at another, which they were warned not to attend, extraordinary bargains were picked up,— as mahogany chairs of the Late Empire for a shilling each But it had its successes, or the book would hardly have been written. And some of the trophies are made real for us by being delicately pictured. Finally, there are some useful hints for the avoiding of frauds. It would be strange if there did not abound "old Dutch silver" in a common form. "Dutch" is a magic word in New York, as Norman is here, and Holland, as befits a commercial country, has established an industry which supplies the demand.
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