The Cyclopedia of Home Arts. With nearly 600 Illustrations and
Designs. Edited and compiled by Montague Marks. (C. A. Pearson. 7s. 6d.)—This is a comprehensive and well-arranged book, dealing chiefly with the technical side of art. The first part treats of drawing and painting, from pencil drawing, lithography, and etching to water-colour and oil painting. The author goes into great detail in the chapters on colour work, and though most of the advice ill very good, we cannot help wondering what the result of following the " receipts " (we can use no other word) for painting sheep in a landscape, for instance, would be. But this only shows how impossible it is to lay down rules for the painting of a picture, as the difficulties that arise in the course of the work must be dealt with individually. It is different in the case of handicrafts ; there rules and receipts are essential, and the worker, whether in clay, wood, leather, or metal, will find much to help him in this book. Perhaps the most interesting articles are those on design, in which the writer points out the differences between the naturalistic and the conventional treatment of flowers in a pattern. Generally the best results come from a conventional arrangement of natural details. Of course, this applies to animal and bird forms, as well as to flowers. A good example of this is given on pp. 896 and 897 of
the two ways of treating almond-blossoms, one as a picture and the other as a decoration. The illustrations are an important feature of the volume, and, as many of them are full working size, they will be particularly useful to the craftsman.
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