MINIATURES IN THE XVIIITH AND XIXTH CENTURIES by Donough O'BrienReview by: RAYMOND LISTERJournal of the Royal Society of Arts, Vol. 99, No. 4859 (2ND NOVEMBER, 1951), pp. 949-950Published by: Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and CommerceStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41368117 .

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2ND NOVEMBER 1951 GENERAL NOTES The following is a translation of one of the early records of the French Society : " Monsieur de Lasteyrie described what he had seen during his visit and, in particular, that Society founded in London in 1754 under the title 'The Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce'. He recounted all the services which it had rendered to Industry in England.

"At this time a large number of learned Societies existed in Paris; but those which were more specially concerned with Industry were badly organized and inefficient.

"This matter was discussed for some time and it was recognized that there was a need in Paris for a Society for Encouragement on the same lines as that in London and the foundations of this institution were laid forthwith".

HENRY COLE AND THE GREAT EXHIBITION At the close of the Festival of Britain it is not inappropriate to cast yet another

glance backwards to the event which the nation has just been commemorating. T о whom is the chief credit for its achievement due ? Apart from the outstanding part played by Prince Albert, the claims of Henry Cole are indisputable and were reinforced by contemporary comment in The Times of 29th October 1851, an extract from which was reprinted in The Times of 29th October, 1951, and is republished here by permission of the Editor. It may be noted that (Sir) Henry Cole was Chairman of Council of the Society in 1850 and 1852, and (Sir) Charles Wentworth Dilke in 1857 and 1858.

"Both Colonel Reid and Mr. Dilke have, we understand, declined the remuneration for their valuable services offered them by the Royal Commission. The former does so on the ground that being retained in the Government pay while acting as chairman of the Executive Committee, he was bound in a measure by military etiquette to act on behalf of the Exhibition without any additional emolument. The latter, with singular disinterestedness, has given his time and talents to the great undertaking gratuitously, as a matter of personal feeling preferring to do so, and being fortunately able to afford that sacrifice. Mr. Cole accepts the offer of the Royal Commission, and does so in a spirit with which the public, we are sure, will readily sympathize. His Government salary has been suspended during his labours in the service of the Royal Commission, and his private means do not enable him to decline terms of remuneration which no one can doubt that he has far more than earned .... He has from the outset been the master-spirit of the Exhibition, being, more than any single individual, its originator, and impressing upon it more largely and decisively than anyone else the character and shape which it has assumed. The public are little aware how much of the source of the grand spectacle which has just terminated is due to his talents and energy .... In every stage of the undertaking, from its conception to its close, his hand and head may be traced; nor is it any derogation to the pre-eminent position and services of the Prince Consort to say that while his has been and must continue the chief name in connexion with the Great Exhibition, that of Mr. Henry Cole must be recognized as his Prime Minister's . . .

NO TES ON BOOKS

miniatures in the xviiiTH and XIXTH centuries. By The Hon. Dotiough O'Brien . Batsford , 1 95 1. 3 gns

A book on late eighteenth and nineteenth century miniatures has long been overdue, and for that reason Mr. O'Brien's book has been eagerly awaited, since its

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JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF ARTS 2ND NOVEMBER 1951 preliminary announcement, by all those who are interested in the subject. Most of the miniaturists mentioned in this book have been greatly neglected for the last eighty to a hundred years ; although when one looks through those miniatures which are reproduced in this work, the reason is quite plain, for, as a whole, they are rather a dull lot. However, they represent a definite development in the art's history, and, without an appreciation of this fact, it is impossible to understand what has happened to miniature painting since.

It is a pity, therefore, that Miniatures in the XVIIIth and XlXth Centuries is not a better book, and that it does not rise to the occasion so well as one feels it might have done. Many of its shortcomings seem to be due more to carelessness, and a disregard of the book as a complete unit, than to lack of knowledge of the subject. It is a pity that Chapters VI to IX were not expanded into a really comprehensive dictionary of the miniaturists of the period. That would have made a far more valuable contribution to the literature of the art than the book as it now stands, with its many mistakes and careless lapses. As an example of the latter I will quote what the author has to say on page 22 regarding certain materials: "Miniatures were painted on parchment or card, and in some cases on chicken skin". Surely a collector of Mr. O'Brien's experience knows that "chicken skin" is a misnomer for a very fine kind of vellum ; if so, he should have said so, instead of bringing it in in such a way as. to encourage the perpetuation of the error. In the very same paragraph he says: "Ivory came into use in the middle of the eighteenth century" ; the truth is, that ivory was used for miniatures somewhat earlier than this, the credit for its first use in this respect being popularly attributed to Bernard Lens (1682-1740), although there are good reasons for believing that it may have been used even earlier.

On page 190 we are told : "Unlike a picture a miniature needs a magnifying glass to- improve the vision". This is nonsense. A miniature, if it is well painted, should require nothing of the kind; it should stand4 on its own, and, by its line and brilliance of colour, convey its beauty without the necessity for using scientific instruments. It is statements like this which do so much harm to miniature painting, which present it as an exotic and affected art, divorced from reality. Samuel Cooper, Nicholas Hilliard, George Engleheart, and others like them, show their full strength without our having to view their work through a lens. It is only that miniaturist, whose main claim to fame is his mincing technique, whose work improves under a magnifying ' glass.

The author has caused a slip to be placed in the front of the book, apologizing for,, and listing, some sixty-odd mistakes in the text. Even this is not exhaustive, as I discovered others as I read through the volume, and I would venture to suggest that, whatever the cause, such a constellation of mistakes should not occur in a book costing £3 35 od.

In spite of all its faults, and in spite of the mediocre quality of its plates, the book is likely to remain a standard treatise on the subject for some time to come. As such it must be counted an important work, but one can only hope that its readers will be able to sort out its errors from its admittedly valuable contents.

RAYMOND LISTER

an introduction то the science of photography. By Katharin Chamberlain , Sc.D. The Macmillan Company , New York , 1951. $6.50.

Any young person considering photography as a career is badly served by the educational facilities available in England. Courses in photography at technical colleges are few and mostly concerned with portrait and commercial work. However, two thirds of the photographic material now manufactured are used in other than these fields and many of these demand of the photographer more than a superficial knowledge of the photographic process. Failing suitable training courses, what:

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