Bibliography of Eighteenth Century Art and Illustrated Books: Being a Guide to Collectors of Illustrated Works in English and French of the Period (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from Bibliography of Eighteenth Century Art and Illustrated Books: Being a Guide to Collectors of Illustrated Works in English and French of the Period

To supply this long-outstanding want. Has been my primary motive in collecting the material now offered in book form, which will, I hope, furnish a key to the treasures so eagerly looked for by the connoisseur, though hitherto, for want of adequate guidance, not always looked for with prudence or with knowledge.

My secondary reason - and one, I submit, hardly less worthy of consideration - has been to bring into harmony the productions of English and French literature of a parallel period, and to demonstrate that they are not only not imitative, but that each in its own sphere is creative.

The love of pictures has from time immemorial been a passion more or less easily awakened in the human breast, but just as the early rude delineations of art have undergone a radical transformation, so the standard of appreciation has varied with each succeeding age. In the manuscripts of mediaeval times the dulness and monotony of the caligraphy were relieved by the interspersed decorations; and ornamental capitals, arabesque borders, and illuminated miniatures formed a redeeming feature of the text. The xylographic art, pre cursor of the invention of printing, was a maiden attempt to promulgate and popularize the miniature, which gradually developed into its present state of perfection. In woodcut illustrations Italy (the cradle of this art) and Germany took the lead; and the creations of Botticelli, Beham, Albert Durer, and their respective schools were the means of Spreading widely the culture of taste during the early stages of what may be called our art civilization.

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