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. :HENRY ALKEN. By Walter Shaw Sparrow. The first volume of the series " The Sport of Our Fathers." With an introduction by Sir Theodore Cook. (Williams and Norgate. 21s.).7-The present high market value of old sporting prints and the numerous. and - confusing Alkens (all painters) give this volume on Henry Aiken a double interest.. Nomen- clature in this banish family varied between Samuel~ and Henrys, a fruitful cause of chagrin to many a collector from across the Atlantic. Mr. Shaw Sparrow comes, perhaps a little late,- to the rescue. Moreover, he brings good tidings. All the happiest of Alken's work is still, he says, con- tained in three English collections. The letterpress is daunting at times. Dates in a biography ought to be stepping- stones, but Mr. Shaw Sparrow's dates do not help the reader to cross his river without wet feet. Another perplexing habit is his indiscriminate use of initials and names. Never- theless, these very faults arise out of intimacy with and . enthusiasm in his subject. Mr. Oliver Behrens, Lord Dares,, bury, and Mr. Oswald Magniac have made possible the superb illustrations in this volume. Henry Alken's wide rolling landscapes rank him very high indeed among londscapc painters, and his horses are living thoroughbreds. The repro- - ductions in this book do them no injustice. This is a most beautiful gift-book.
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