Atlas of Classical Portraits. By W. H. D. Rouse. (Dent
and Co.)—These two little books, one dealing with Greece and the other with Rome, are intended, as the preface tells us, for schoolboys. The preface expresses a hope that a boy who has looked at their portraits will not be inclined to mix up Socrates and Sophocles. Portraits bring history from the abstract into the concrete, and it matters comparatively little from the educa- tional point of view whether the portraits are authentic. In the present instance the Roman statues are far more likely to be the people they represent than the Greek.
Those who are interested in the various processes of engraving, either on metal or wood, will find a mine of information in Messrs. Singer and Strang's Etching, Engraving, and other Methods of Printing Pictures (Kegan Paul and Co., 159. net). A separate chapter deals with each process. Mr. Strang shows, by an original plate in most cases, the actual practice of the method described. Those who are yague as to the essential difference between "dry point" and ordinary etching with acid, will be glad to find examples of both styles, and will fully realise the beauty
of the velvety line of the dry point in the example given. It is impossible here to do more than indicate the nature of this book, which, besides being filled with detailed information of a technical kind, has also an interesting chapter on "How to Enjoy Prints," and an extensive bibliography.
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