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Leader (1850-1860), 17th March 1855, Edition 2 of 2, Page 17, Our readers probably know that the Art J...

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      The Annual Meeting Of The Literary Fund ...

      humour by Mr . Chablbs Dickens , whose genuine and noble respect for his own calling is only one of his many titles to the esteem and affection of the H ^ ry craft . His description of the « Council , " which" never could meet , neve r did meet , had noplace of meeting , and nothing to do , was in his happiest manner ; and when he asked the public what they would ^ of a board of directorsthat did not direct , of a bench of judges who did . not iud-e of a jury that did not deliberate or find a verdict , of a physician appointed never to prescribe , of a surgeon directed never to set a bone , of a fireman enjoined never to go within fifty miles of a fire , or of picked officers of the Humane Society being tred up not to approach the water —it was difficult to imagine a satisfactory reply . But as to limiting the new Committee to literary men exclusively we have heard objections , which , with all respect , we take the liberty to state , without adopting them . Since literary men , it is alleged , are , upon the whole , the recipients , and moneyed men the patrons it is not unnatural that the latter should expect some share in the management . It is apprehended , too , that the funds would fall off considerably ° \ nother and perhaps more serious objection we will preface by the remark that it does not apply to the men on the present Committee , but to the principle upon which the Committee is composed . When literary men fall into difficulties , they would , it is said , in a great proportion of instances , prefer to have their cases judged by men of rank and standing , rather than by their more successful fellow-labourers . There are particular cases of men who micrht , in the turn of fortune , become applicants to the Society , whose enemies are almost certain to reside amongst their own class , whose friendships do not lie within their own class , and whose expectations of aid would be poor indeed if they depended upon the sympathy of their literary brethren . The proceedings of the present annual meeting are subject to the publicity which drives some guarantee that any erroneous measures will be corrected ; and these are points , we think , which may well be taken into consideration during the present year . ; # There is one case which appears to be an illustration against the obj ection we have heard expressed—the case of Angus Reach . Mr . Reach is known to the public for some very lively sketches of society ; he is known ' to his own profession for an extraordinary degree of versatility and activity ¦; he is known to his friends for possessing one of the kindest and most faithful hearts that lave ever , beat ^ He is a man who would have been the darling of the clan , hfthose Highlands from which he drew his birth ; but m the fever of London life , under the severe pressure of newspaper work , with great temptation to spur his own facility for executing it , his brain has been overtaxed . His . means of earning bread for himself and his family have broken down ; his intellectual lifeis snapped short while he survives with his affections and his responsibilities . Recovery can be hoped from no thing except repose . We are proud to notice that literary men are amongst the first to co-operate with men of leisure in procuring assistance for Mr-Reach , of a sufficient amount to be lasting in its utility . Among * st other means , a benefit performance is to take place at the Olympic Theatre , on Saturday , the 31 st instant , the performances ( including , we believe , a cantomime ) being sustained by amateurs well known in literature and in connexion with charitable efforts of this kind . Here , then , is a case where MrTTtB ' ' sowFprofessiolT ^ teps ' fdfward to assist him ; but it is a peculiar case in the severity of the affliction , and in the fact that wherever he has gone Angus Reach has made many friends , and not a single enemy .

      M»Tr.H 17. 1855.1 The Leader. 257 ¦ - — ...

      M » tr . H 17 . 1855 . 1 THE LEADER . 257 ¦ - — _^^^^^ i ^^^ iH ^^ IMSl ^—i » l ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ . » - — _ . ^^ s % .-m '• . _ ¦__ ^ _ i _ _ ?__ . J . V _ AaMftAlw / kH vvrtilAri Of the lete in themselveswhich

      The Art Of The Ancients. Torso Kvmt, Kun...

      THE ART OF THE ANCIENTS . Torso Kvmt , Kunstler , und Kunstwerke der Alien . Von Adolf Stahr . In Zwei Ma & ster Theil . { . Torso . The Art , Artists , and Art-Remaxns of the Ancients . In Two Parts . First Part . By Adolf Stfta ^ ^^ ^ ^ The books of which a reviewer can say that he has read every word , and has laid them down wishing for more , are far from being as plentifuja . blackberries , especially in German literature Professor Stahr s Torso ^ however , is one of these exceptional books : we have read it from beginning to end with delight , and are eager for the second part , which is yet to appear . The naL of Adolf Stahr is will known in Germany , and not unknown in England , as that of a writer who «» ite « thoug h . . ohol ^ p wi Arefined tasfe , and who has that rare mastery of the ™ wieldy j ^ ™? J"gggg m r ^;»™* ffi ^ ^ iffssaas . ^ i fs ^^ ci ^^^&^^ a ^ g ^ rank ; but his Weimar und Jena may be read with pleasure by the idlest vcW lady and his Jahr in Italien is a favourite companion of artistic travels His pre eminent talent lies m description bo * of natural ^ ener yand works otart- he has not only an intense susceptibility to the beautijul , bu ? ¥ e is L Sk sion of thenc e word which will WW j *™*™*™ to the mind of the reader . These excellent qualities arc remarkably ^ exhibited in his latest and yet uncompleted work , the title of which we have ¦ asffiri ^^ velyVise on kreek art , and who is so happy as to have ti ^ and ogjj Palace we recommend Professor Stahr ' s book . It will not tell him every UiinTbut it w ?( T do him the greater service of creating a thirst for more kn Tle ^ y ^ ieTs Z ? occapiaa with the consideration of the physical geoiaplw of Sreece and the characteristics of the Greek races then-SSfcion and political institutions , as bearing on the development of art . A chapter on Daedalus , the mythic father of Greek art , whom tradition connects German critics in maintaining a view which is opposed to all ™ aJogy ani to the direct evidence furnished by oriental and Greek remains , lon S a * te' * had been given up by English , French , and Italian investigators of tne rghestrank It ? s aVact characteristic of our good ^ "Vi ^^ n ? ( w ° , something like those Fakirs that seek for the divine light hy perpetually contemplating the end of their noses , generall y pnde ^ what things must be in their studies , and think it an idle business to « q » ' « J ™ things are ) , that when Ludwig Ross , a distinguished traveller and ^ critic after diligently investigating the remains of art in the ^ "ZZwlture Levant , enunciated the opinion that the social , religious , ^ J ^ " " hS thS of Greece could not be understood apart from the supposition that the Greeks had been influenced by the culture of earlier P °° P » ts - *" r , ' f , , temptuously decried as a » Tourist . " Of course , a man who 1 " *™*™ U ™ tho fact mist be incapacitated for forming the ™ **?' * . £££ tKy spirit of investigation has arisen among the Herman « " *«» ° J tl ic ™* ™ £ * £ ¦ Sfi & assa , : ? ys :, ^ w jS ^ !^^^ iffjR « K ^ g 2 . -a ^ * --tho rude , to develop the imperfect , to ennoble tho common .

      Our Readers Probably Know That The Art J...

      Our readers probably know that the Art Journal commenced a new existence with the new year ; or , to speak more exactly—for there was no case of suspended circulation—that the existence of the journal entered an era , promising at the outset a general freshness sufficient to tempt Those to buy who never bought before , And those who always bought to buy the more . Three numbers of this new series are before us , containing matter enough to show that a real plan of extension and improvement was involved in the change . Papers on " Design as applied to Ladies' Work , with incidental remark ' s on dress , carry Art into regions whero novelty will not be its least recommendation . It may seem cruel to enforce the severe canons of Marlborough Mouse Tectonics against anything so ephemeral as embroidered flounces , figured silks , muslin prints , or « potichomanic ; " but when we find that the censor of petticoats is a censor in petticoats , liable to Potichomanio and all other affections of the gentler sex , our chivalrous impulse to defend the weak is instantly negatived . Wo can but admire the eloquent earnestness with which Mrs . Mkrrifield applies the decorative principles advocated by Owen Jonks , Diqby Wyatt , and other leading authorities , to oricntsil tinting , tatting , and tambouring ; knitting , netting , and crochet . If there bo embroidered slippers , waistcoats , or braces in store for us , we only hope that " direct imitation of natural objects" will not enter into the designs . We shall never be able to reconcile our acceptance , and consequent oncourno-cment , of such art-manufactures with the sentiments awakened by Mrs . MiiuuiriEUJ . The pictorial attractions of tlio Art Journal include the prints from the " Royal Gallery , " a series published m a separate form . Opportunities for the employment of design arc likewise afforded by a series of papers on British artists ; by connected gatherings oi antiquarian gossip on the subject of Amirkcut Durku and his times ; und by catalogues raisonnJs of tho Marlborough House collection , as well as of the different exhibitions as . they open to tho public . Mr . Pynk continues his Nomenclature of Pictorial Art , " and Professor Hunt begins a series of articles on " British Industries "—a wide range of subject , but not too wide f

      for his experience to illustrate . papers , comp , have appeared in the new series , the most important by far is a summary of the trial of " Talbot versus Laroche , " involving the question of patent right in photography . The Art Journal is , with perfect justice , proud ot having its former arguments confirmed by the decision of Chiet Justice Jbrvis . A verbatim report of the charge to the jury is given at length , and . forms a complete exposition of the state in which this trial found and lett the photographic world . That the public may be fairly , congratulated ^ the issue is , we think , sufficiently clear , from the grounds on which Mr . . box Talbot claimed entire monopoly of all inventions and improvements in pliotoqraphy since his introduction of the paper process . To make this claim include the beautiful collodion process , it was contended that pyrogallic . acid is gallic acid , and that the film spread over glass by . means of collodion ( gun cotton dissolved in ether ) is practically nothing more or less than paper . The manifest absurdity of this plea was confutation enough without much need of scientific evidence . As to the plea that the pyrogalhc acid , used as the developing agent in the collodion process , is the same as gallic acid , but more rapid inaction , the public , including lay-photographers , might entertain some doubts , did not the evidence of Mr . Tamot ' s principal witness decide the point against him . Dr . Hoffman admitted , on cross-examination by Mr . Serjeant Byi * s , that he had published an opinion to the effect that pyrogaliic acid was a new acid . Other chemical distinctions , of scarcely less importance , were brought under discussion , but it would be out of our province to notice such questions in detail . All who are interested to any extent in the process of photography should read the comments on this action in the Art Journal .

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), March 17, 1855, page 17, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_17031855/page/17/