CURRENT LITERATURE.
Chefs d'CEuvres of Art and Masterpieces of Engraving. (Sampson Low
Co.)—This is a most meritorious work, of which it is difficult to speak with sufficient praise. The scheme, which is under the management of Mr. G. W. Reid, Keeper of the Prints and Drawings of the British Museum, is to take photographs of some of the best specimens in that collection, a collection well known to be one of the best in the world. There is, as far as regards the works of living artists, an unhappy, but, as far as we can see, an unavoidable conflict between the facilities of photography, facilities which it seems so unreasonable to relinquish, and the just rights of genius and labour to their proper remuneration. It is monstrous that an engraver should spend months every year of toil in the reproduction of pictures, and that before a hundred impressions are sold the market should be flooded with faultless imitations of his work which utterly spoil his market ; and yet it seems unreasonable to reject facilities at once so great and so effective. Happily there is enough of available art to satisfy every one where the conflict of interests does not exist. Here we have four photographs of masterpieces of engraving, each of them as good, it will hardly be too much to say, for all practical purposes of enjoyment as the original, and sold at a price very little exceeding two shillings a piece. The four are "A Landscape," after Gaspar Poussin ; "The Temple of Apollo," after Claude ; West's "Death of Wolfe," and Sir Joshua Reynolds' "Holy Family." Each photograph is accompanied by a short notice referring either to the particular work, or generally to the artist, by some well-known artist. All four are excellent ; if we had to choose among them we should prefer the first, which seems to us simply perfect. We wish all success to Messrs. Low's most praiseworthy undertaking.
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