Chapter II: Part 2

“Letterpress printing, even in the edition de luxe, is not an art, and neither the compositor nor the printer is an artist.” This is what was written in the year 1887 by Ludwig Nieper, at that time Director of what is now the Royal Academy of the Graphic Arts and Book Industry at Leipzig, a city which in the present year has in its International Exhibition, embracing every conceivable aspect of the industry as well as the arts most closely bound up with it, furnished such a convincing and impressive demonstration of the culture uniting the nations as perhaps has never been offered before. The conviction expressed in the passage just quoted, repudiating the existence of any influence of art on industrial labour, belongs to a period bereft of any real feeling for art and content with the imitation and repetition of historic styles while eschewing any contact with the practical requirements of the industry. Nowadays we know how beneficial and fruitful for both has been the reciprocal influence of art and industry in every sphere of activity, and that only by this means have we been able to proceed from mere external embellishment to artistic form, from book adornment to a true art of the book. Thus in the space of barely twenty-five years our views of what art really is and what are its functions have radically changed, and it must be left to those who come after us to estimate more correctly than we are able to at the present day, the immense labour which has been accomplished in the space of a generation. The incipient stages in the growth of the new movement in Germany date back some twenty years. At that time we looked with envy at the publications which issued from the private presses of England, and could boast of nothing that could compare with the far-famed “Faust” of the Doves Press; and if to-day we are at length able to stand on our own feet, it would yet be false to assert that the modern art of book production in Germany has developed from within, and to disavow the valuable stimulus and knowledge we owe especially to the English books of that period. And clearly as we perceived that the book in its entirety, with its harmonious co-ordination of type, decoration, composition, paper and binding, should form a work of art, yet only after many mistakes and deviations have we arrived at the goal. Thus nowadays no one would seriously seek to defend such a production as the official catalogue of the German section at the Paris Exhibition of 1900; and so, too, the so-called “Eckmann” type, which at one time was taken up with unexampled enthusiasm—a type in which the designer had contrived to adapt the ancient forms of the “Antiqua” type to the sinuous lines of modern ornament—is now almost completely forgotten. These and many other things which at that time were acclaimed as creative achievements, belong to that class of errors which are really nothing but exaggerated truths. But in the absence of such excesses and that exuberance of feeling which was so violently manifested, it would have been quite impossible to accomplish in so short a time what as a matter of fact was accomplished, and in spite of shortcomings has even now lost none of its importance in the history of the development of a new art of the book.

The first event of significance which followed the renewed recognition of the decorative value of the printed letter was the issue of some new types designed by Otto Eckmann and Peter Behrens respectively, the former slender, delicate, and round, the latter bold, distinguished, and angular, but both alike quite free, natural, and easily legible. It was these founts that really inaugurated the new development; and the foundry of the Gebr. Klingspor which issued them, placed itself by so doing at the head of all those enterprising type-foundries which have since enriched our printing press with a wealth of new and valuable founts. It had come to be recognised that lettering and ornament were closely correlated; that the ornamentation of printed matter could not be regarded as an end in itself, but must be adapted to the character of the lettering in order that the rectangular space of a page should be so filled as to achieve a good general effect and satisfy the sensitive eye. Nothing remained, therefore, but to entrust the designing of new types to artists who had already accomplished good and original work as book decorators; and as none of the numerous German type-foundries desired or indeed could afford to be behindhand in a movement of this kind, it resulted that in the course of a few years the printing presses of the country were inundated with a flood of new “artist” types, of which, nevertheless, only relatively few have been able to survive till now. To design a new type or to re-mould the old forms of “Antiqua” (Roman) or “Fraktur” (German Gothic), so that the new forms should not only have a good black-and-white effect but that the eye should be able to grasp with ease the sequence of “word-pictures” as well as each individual letter and to read the lines quickly and comfortably, is a task of extraordinary difficulty which many who have attempted to grapple with have under-estimated. To obtain an idea of the multitude of difficulties that have to be overcome, one must bear in mind that the fundamental forms of the individual letters are fixed, and that only small changes are possible in the general shape, in the proportions of the component parts, in the alternation of the upright, horizontal, and oblique lines, in the curvature of the so-called “versal” or capital letters, in the serifs, and in the sweep of preliminary or terminal flourishes; that the printed letter, unlike manuscript, is bound up with fixed laws, and that in order to justify its claim to consideration it should, while expressing the artistic individuality of its designer, not be too original and personal if it is to be employed for general use. Further, it should conform to the spirit and ideas of the age, and yet again it ought not to be wholly conditioned by contemporary considerations if it is to survive to a later age, as have many fine founts which the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries have bequeathed to us.

As already said, only a few among our modern German designers of printed types have mastered all these difficulties, and among these few the names of Behrens, Tiemann, Koch, Kleukens, Weiss, and Wieynk are pre-eminent. In the course of some thirteen years that born architect, Peter Behrens, who began as a painter of easel pictures and a decorator of books, and now builds palaces, factory buildings, and gigantic business-houses, has himself designed four founts in which the whole artistic evolution of this strong-willed nature is reflected, and which yet seem so entirely the product of a natural growth that one is quite unconscious of the years of labour spent on their improvement and perfection in the interval between the preparation of the designs and the actual casting of the founts. As compared with the architectonic character of the austere, angular forms of the first Behrens type, the italic or “Kursiv” fount (p. 141) which made its appearance six years later looks more decorative with the gentle sweep and uniform flow of its lines, and in the most successful of the Roman founts the full vigour and monumentality of his later period of activity is clearly expressed; while the most recent of all, the “Mediæval” (p. 140), which was only issued a few weeks ago, is again more ornamental with its uniformly fine lines, and admirably answers to its designation as a type embodying the characteristics of the Italian Renaissance script.

Another “Mediæval” type which even excels that just mentioned in clearness and beauty of form has been designed by Walter Tiemann (pp. 146 and 147), who holds the position of instructor at the Royal Academy of Graphic Arts at Leipzig, and devotes himself almost exclusively to the improvement of the art of lettering and book production. Like all the other types designed by this artist, it has less of a personal character about it, and reason more than sentiment has been the guiding motive in the design; but its cool, distinguished reticence gives it a quite exceptional merit. It is, moreover, completely independent of its classical prototypes and their Romanesque imitations; very effective in all its gradations, the use of it is not restricted to the limited editions of our private presses, and in fact it is now one of the most popular founts we have.

The fine Roman types by F. W. Kleukens (pp. 151, 153 and 156) rank among the most gratifying achievements of our new school. They are free from eccentricity of any kind, there is a seductive charm in their unassuming yet distinguished forms, and even the ornamental slender kinds are agreeably clear. In spite of the thinness of their lines the letters belonging to this slender fount combine to make easily legible lines. The Kleukens types are practical as well as attractive, and in conjunction with specially designed borders, initials and decorative devices of all kinds, they are well adapted for the most diverse uses.

Of a far more personal character, but at the same time of a more restricted range of use, are the graceful types by Heinrich Wieynk (pp. 149 and 150). It is the spirit of the Rococo that dwells therein—that epoch to which, with its playful charm and light-hearted grace, we owe so many masterpieces of French typography. Even the superfluous loops and flourishes which were characteristic of that period are encountered again, with many bizarre peculiarities, in the “Kursiv” and “Trianon” of Wieynk, and yet there is a remarkable fluidity and vitality in each stroke; the general effect is highly artistic, and, as the examples now reproduced show, the founts are admirably adapted to numerous purposes.

Many attempts have been made to modernise the old “Schwabacher” type, which dates from the middle of the fifteenth century, and differs from German Gothic, or “Fraktur,” by being more compact. The most successful in this direction so far has been Rudolf Koch, whose “German Script,” in the three different forms here shown (pp. 142 to 145), has once more revealed the rich beauty and massive power inherent in the various kinds of German type. In these boldly designed letters is expressed a manly earnestness and also a simple grandeur which, in the sweeping, powerful forms of the initials, becomes truly monumental. They are, moreover, carefully thought out in all their details, and notwithstanding the strength of the lines, even in the smallest sizes, they are very expressive in their beauty.

Heinz König, too, has had good fortune with his “Schwabacher” type (p. 152). This is remarkably clear, and in its amalgamation of Roman forms with the characteristics of German founts it has proved both sound and serviceable, and it is one, moreover, which offers no difficulty whatever to the foreigner. The curls and loops which the champions of “Antiqua,” or Roman, find fault with in the German styles of type are absent; it is a Gothic purged of all unnecessary details and is at once dignified and decorative.

Among the new “Fraktur” or German Gothic types mention should first of all be made of that known as “Weiss-Fraktur,” which, designed by E. R. Weiss, has been perfected by him after many years of untiring collaboration with the Type Foundry of Bauer and Co. It has remained a purely German type, but is without the flourishes bequeathed by the old German Gothic. The light and open appearance of matter composed with it imparts to it a clarity which is distinctly agreeable, so that one can follow it with ease and comfort while deriving quiet pleasure from the simplicity and definiteness of a type which satisfies in equal degree the requirements of use and æsthetic susceptibility. The Tempel Verlag, in common with a number of other important German publishing houses, has adopted the “Weiss-Fraktur” for its model editions of German classics.

When new desires call for satisfaction and new forms begin to develop, it is always those spheres of activity which offer easy and pleasant possibilities of accomplishment that are selected for experimenting. Thus some fifteen years ago the designing of book-bindings was a favourite occupation of the artists who interested themselves in the reform of industrial art, and many who have now attained to clear and definite ideas do not want to be reminded of the sort of work that was done in those days. Under the influence of Van de Velde’s precept that every line is a force, the wrappers and bindings of books were among the things that were covered with a nervous labyrinth of lines which was expressive only of an attitude of mind radically at variance with all that had gone before. But many who at first occupied themselves with this kind of work in a more or less dilettante spirit, have by quiet, serious labour and steady development mastered its problems and have come to devote themselves almost exclusively to the graphic arts and the industry of book production, so that we now possess an important organisation of the workers in this field—the “Verein deutscher Buchgewerbekünstler”—whose collective exhibition at the International Exhibition now being held at Leipzig is one of the most interesting sections of this great display. Of the artists whose work is represented among the accompanying illustrations, Cissarz, Ehmcke, Kleukens, Köster, Koch, Renner, Steiner-Prag, Tiemann, Weiss and Wieynk belong to this group.

Johann Vincenz Cissarz had in 1900 already advanced to such prominence in this branch of work that the artistic arrangement of the German Typographical Section at the Paris Universal Exhibition was entrusted to him. A long way behind as this catalogue now is, it was nevertheless at that date an exemplary achievement as regards type, ornament, printing, and binding; and to the large number of commissions it brought the artist may be due the fact that thereafter his chief attention was bestowed on the art of the book, in spite of his penchant and decided genius for painting of a decorative and even monumental character and his particular partiality for the etching-needle. From Dresden Cissarz migrated, first to Darmstadt and then to Stuttgart, where as teacher at the Royal School of Applied Art he found a welcome opportunity of communicating to others his own sound principles in regard to the internal and external arrangement of books, and already he is able to look back upon a teaching career which has been very successful. And here, too, many grateful tasks have fallen to him, not only in connection with special events, such as jubilees, presentation addresses, and such things, but more especially in the course of work undertaken for the publishing houses of Stuttgart. Though the luxurious binding executed by hand in costly materials may be superior in an artistic sense, yet from the economic and cultural point of view the tastefully designed bindings produced in large quantities by the publishing houses are of greater importance. A series of these publishers’ cases of diverse design is illustrated on pages 168 and 172, and it shows how successfully the designer has utilised the space to display his boldly lettered title or to cover the whole field with becoming ornament.

Hugo Steiner-Prag, who first became known through his poetic drawings for children’s fairy tales and books of verses, has also for some years past taught at the Royal Academy of Graphic Arts at Leipzig. His chief successes have been won as an illustrator, but from the bindings now reproduced (pp. 166 and 167) it will be seen that he has a marked talent for the embellishment of the book. By means of simple lines and decorative ornament, usually confined to a well-proportioned centre field, he achieves really charming effects.

Karl Köster was at one time a pupil of Peter Behrens, and in order to be able to take advantage of all the possibilities open to the bookbinder he has not shrunk from learning the craft in the regular way. Thus in the course of his work he has not been wholly concerned with the external embellishment of the book, which he always endeavours to harmonise with its contents, but has also kept in view the practical purpose of the binding as a protective covering for the book. His great skill in achieving delightful effects with the simplest means is amply demonstrated by the numerous bindings he has designed for publishers. Thus in the bindings here illustrated, “Heimkehr” and “Buch Joram” (p. 169), three lines of lettering suffice to animate and decorate the entire surface; but he is quite capable of employing much richer decorative devices with discretion and good taste. From the way in which he has placed a simple cross of violet leather in the richly ornamented middle field of his red missal binding (p. 163), to show to the greatest advantage the colour of the amethysts set in the silver mounts, it may be inferred that he is capable of producing new and peculiar arrangements of form and colour without breaking with the best traditions. In his second missal binding the form of the cross which dominates the entire space is distributed over twelve circular panels or fields, of which the middlemost is worked with a white leather inlay and gold-tooling. The other circles are lined with violet leather, and with the four amethysts of the corner rosettes, the sea-green morocco, and the rich gilding, produce a splendid effect of colour.

Among the professional craftsmen who yielded to the new ideas of book production Paul Kersten is perhaps the best known, as he is without doubt the most successful. With an extensive practical experience, which has mastered all the technical possibilities, he combines artistic susceptibility and a literary aptitude which has enabled him to uphold the objects he has at heart in thoughtfully written essays and books. As head of the Technical School for Bookbinders in Berlin he is in a position to exercise an educative influence in the best sense. The bindings illustrated on pages 164 and 165 enable one to judge of his technical versatility and his methods of decoration, which are not restricted to a particular scheme. They are without exception leather bindings in which the title is placed independently on the back or within a panel left for it, the ornamentation of the cover being therefore uninfluenced by it. In bindings of a richer character he is very fond of utilising a diversity of colours for the sake of the animating effect. Thus in his dark-blue morocco binding, whose centre panel is occupied by five hexagons within circles, the flowers displayed therein are of red, green, and violet leather; while in the chamois binding of Baudelaire’s “Fleurs du Mal,” for the ornamentation of which, in gold and blind stamping, no fewer than 18,000 impressions were required, leather overlays in seven different colours were used. But even with such an abundance of decoration one is not conscious of any excess, but only perhaps that agreeable sense of assurance which the practised hand communicates. Three colours, black, red and blue, are employed for ornamenting the calf-binding with a circular centre panel, the decoration of which is carried out by a special process of tooling and staining.

Of a much simpler character is the work of Franz Weisse, who likewise has come from the ranks of the handicraftsmen, and is now engaged as teacher at the School of Applied Art in Hamburg. The simple but bold stamping in which the decoration of his pigskin binding (p. 170) is executed comports well with the outspoken candour of Grimmelshausen’s “Simplicissimus.” A feature of interest is the use of the “batik” process[A] for producing floral ornament spread over the sides and back of the parchment binding.

[Footnote A: Batik is a process of producing patterns by means of dyes and resists; it has long been in use in the Dutch East Indies, whence it was introduced into Holland, and now has a considerable vogue both there and in Germany, Austria and Hungary.]

Again, in the richly decorated bindings of F. A. Demeter (pp. 161 and 162) one observes the sure hand of the experienced practitioner who knows how to take advantage of the beauties of material and technique in the fulfilment of his artistic aims. His ornamentation is certainly not quite original, but is distinguished by a clever decorative treatment of floral motives and a tasteful application of them; and even when he completely covers the back and sides with decoration of a uniform character, one does not feel that it is overdone. A beautiful example of his work is the binding with a design of leafage in gold on a reseda-green leather. Demeter also is a professional binder, and at present is head of the applied art department of the Hübel and Denck wholesale bindery at Leipzig. Even these large industrial concerns, equipped for the wholesale production of cheap bindings, have been obliged to take account of the growing desire for books that have an artistic value, and to attach to their establishments special departments in which, under the supervision of artistically minded craftsmen, not only simple bindings in “boards,” but also the costly and elaborate kinds of binding requiring most careful hand-work, are prepared.

One of the most individual of the German artists who have devoted themselves to the modern art of the book is Emil Preetorius. He is a born illustrator, and has mastered all the various means of expression in equal degree; even in the very concise outline of the silhouette he achieves an abundance of characterisation and vitality. The silhouettes shown here (p. 160) are from a popular edition of Daudet’s “Tartarin de Tarascon,” which he has embellished and illustrated with refined artistic feeling; they figure there merely as the decorative headpieces to certain of the chapters, and serve as a jocose premonition of what is to follow. They are not the actual illustrations of the book, but they certainly afford an excellent idea of the happy way in which with these queer little black figures he has caught the grotesque comicality of this strange adventure. He is also fond of giving the reader in his title-pages a foretaste of what awaits him, of expressing graphically, in drawings often containing a number of figures, the contents and spirit of the books in which they appear. His figures are mostly those of people who lived in the “Biedermeier” age; they have a distinctly old-fashioned look about them, but none of that sentimental “gush” which so often makes the so-called “Stimmung” pictures of that period unpalatable to us moderns. While having a decided partiality for the peculiarities and foibles of the “Biedermeier” folk, Preetorius is thoroughly modern in feeling; his drawings are austere rather than sweetly sentimental, and even their æsthetic defects are pertinent to his art.

The part played by various enterprising and ideally minded publishing houses in fostering and stimulating that pleasure in beautiful books and their acquisition which has increased to such an extraordinary degree in Germany during the past decade must not go unrecorded here. Among these the firm of Eugen Diederichs, of Jena, claims primary consideration because of the ungrudging spirit in which it has afforded to all who have made a name in the sphere of artistic book-production an opportunity of displaying their ideas and skill. This firm caters for all the manifold cultural tendencies of our age, and its publications being of a serious character, the collaboration of these artists has been in the main restricted to wrappers and bindings, title-pages, initials, ornamental borders, and other decorative details. On the other hand, there are houses, such as that of Georg Müller in Munich, which besides good decoration go in largely for book illustration, in which also numerous and interesting developments have taken place, including a revival of various processes—such as wood-engraving, lithography, and etching—that had fallen largely into disuse, but now once more enjoy considerable favour for the purpose of book illustration. The Insel-Verlag of Leipzig, S. Fischer of Berlin, Paul and Bruno Cassirer of Berlin, Kurt Wolff of Leipzig, and many others, have helped materially in this reflorescence of German illustrative art. But at the same time, there are more than a few who hold that a well-printed book with unimpeachable letterpress, paper and binding requires neither decoration nor illustration, and that its intrinsic merit depends on the perfect manner in which the technical work is carried out. Thus the celebrated editions of the Hyperion Press and the splendid issues of the Century Press of the Munich publishing firm of Hans von Weber are brilliant examples of German typography; nor need the publications of the Janus Press of Leipzig, produced with consummate technical care under the supervision of Walter Tiemann and Carl Ernst Poeschel, fear comparison with the books that issue from the private presses of England. These volumes are only printed in small editions of one hundred and fifty to two hundred copies, and satisfy the utmost demands of discriminating bibliophiles. Of distinction on account of their typically German character are the “Rudolfinische Drucke,” brought out by Rudolf Koch in association with Rudolf Gerstung at Offenbach, and published by Wilhelm Gerstung. In these books, which are also genuinely German in their contents, everything is expressly avoided which in any way deviates from the considerations of chief importance—proper spacing of the letters and the well-balanced composition of the page of letterpress in Koch’s essentially German fount, together with uniform excellence of workmanship throughout. Thus only the title-pages are specially designed, and the body of the letterpress is but sparingly relieved with the imposing initials belonging to this fount; but the bindings, with their cover-papers cut and printed by the artist himself, also bear witness to the virile beauty of his art. Of a more arresting and luxurious character are the productions of the Ernst Ludwig Press of the Grand Duke of Hesse, the artistic supervision of which has been entrusted to F. W. Kleukens; and the costly editions de luxe of the Pan-Press of Berlin, which are embellished with lithographs by Slevogt, Corinth and Pascin, or etchings by Geiger or Walser. Such productions, however, are beyond the scope of this work.

What Germany is now able to offer in the art of book production is superabundantly shown in the International Exhibition which is being held this year at Leipzig. That after barely a score of years we should have seriously ventured to invite the civilised races to peaceful competition in this special domain is a proof that we are conscious of the value of our work, and do not fear the verdict of the world.

BINDING-CASES DESIGNED FOR ALEXANDER KOCH, DARMSTADT]

FRANCE

THE ART OF THE BOOK IN FRANCE. BY E. A. TAYLOR

Lingering in thought over the far-away days of the glorious bibliographic and typographical past that France has enjoyed, one finds little has happened, amidst all the changes which have swept over those arts in recent years, to disturb the employment of her bibliopegic artists. There are few of her remaining old streets through which one passes without being attracted in one way or another to the sign of the _relieur-doreur_. To give a remarkable instance of this unique position one has only to recall the sale of the collection of the Vicomte de la Croix-Laval in 1902, in which the books were not catalogued in the names of the author but in that of the bookbinder. But this is not surprising when we consider the excellent craftsmanship of such men as G. Canape, Chambolle-Duru, S. David, Charles Lanoë, Marius Michel, G. Mercier, René Kieffer, and the fascinating execution of the designs on vellum by André Mare. Yet it is not uncommon to hear the travellers’ comment that books with an attractive outside appearance are non-existent in Paris. Unlike England, France expends little additional labour on the lasting, apart from the certain attractive qualities of cloth or paper-covered board casings, while modern end-papers, as known in other countries, have so far found little consideration. Much energy is focussed on the _edition de luxe_, embodying the work of popular artists, good paper and type, the result being a limited number of paper-covered volumes, all excellently produced, but very often disappointing in their page arrangement and design and the suitability of text to type and type to illustration.

But this leads me into an explanatory discussion on the old printer’s independence of other craftsmen whose art is now divided into separate and recognised trades. And it is remarkable that it should be so to such a great extent, for fewer places other than Paris are so sympathetically enjoined to their artists. It may be the fault of the artist who is more enwrapped in his craft than the art evolved in its ultimate end.

Within the last few years, however, printing has vastly improved, and this has been due in no small measure to the efforts of MM. G. Peignot and Sons. As early as 1900 the Peignot type foundry introduced a new typography with frankly modern tendencies, the best testimony of their efforts at that time being the productions of “Grasset,” following with the “Auriol,” and later on the Bellery-Desfontaines types and ornaments. At the same time, not desiring to lose touch with that which in typography of the past is most intrinsically valuable for to-day, a little booklet issued lately, entitled “Les Cochins,” by the two brothers Peignot, clearly demonstrates the results of their attainment. This booklet, apart from being a catalogue of their research, has behind it the primary desire that editors and printers should try to realise the significance of a typographical revival in France, and the influence it would have on all branches of the graphic arts.

Despite the remarkable progress that process work has made, apart from the most ingenious inventions and machinery being of French origin, wood-engravers and wood-engraving, as employed for illustrative purposes, maintain a prominent and more unique position in France than in any other European country. Amongst the most recent productions of note “Daphnis et Chloé” (p. 190), printed and published by M. L. Pichon, is uncommonly good, in fact all that issues from M. Pichon’s little establishment is unusually refined. Then there are others, but space will not permit me to dwell on each one’s excellent qualities. However, I must not neglect to mention the remarkable edition of “Le Grand Testament de François Villon,” which I have seen in preparation by M. A. M. Peignot, with illustrations and especially designed type by Bernard Naudin; also some thoughtful little volumes in the series “Les Maîtres du Livre,” published by MM. Georges Crès et Cie under the direction of M. Ad. van Bever; and if it were not for the thoughtful, untiring efforts of such editors as M. Lucien Vogel, of the “Gazette du Bon Ton,” and publishers of _éditions d’art_ as MM. A. Blaizot, L. Carteret, H. Floury, F. Ferroud, Jules Meynial, R. Helleu, René Kieffer, E. Rey, Octave Charpentier, E. Lévy, and H. Piazza, the bibliophiles of Paris would have a poor output from which to select. From amongst others the notable and varied publications of the libraries Ollendorff, Larousse, Hachette et Cie, A. Fayard et Cie, Caiman Lévy, Plon-Nourrit et Cie, Adrian Sporck, L. Michaud, E. Flammarion and A. Vaillant should be noted. Finally I must not forget to mention the powerful influence of the “Société des Amis des Livres,” “Les Cent Bibliophiles,” the “Société Normande du Livre illustré,” and the “Société du Livre d’Art Contemporain”; and without a prolonged description of each _Société_ it must suffice to mention the prosperity the “Société des Amis des Livres” enjoys under the presidency of M. Henri Beraldi, the originator of the “Société des Bibliophiles de Paris” and a publisher of note. Amongst his first efforts “Paysages Parisiens,” by Emile Goudeau, and G. Montorgueil’s “Paris au Hasard,” both illustrated by Auguste Lepère, are the most distinguished, and to him my thanks are due for his kindly interest in my bibliographical quest, and to the President of “Les Cent Bibliophiles,” M. Eugène Rodrigues, for his generosity in placing at my disposal pages and illustrations from his admirable collection.

After all, it is to men like these, and to the organizations to which they belong, that France owes the prominent bibliographical position she holds, and the freedom her excellent artists and craftsmen enjoy in retaining for us in fitting garb the minds of the great, be they echoes of the past or turbulent cries in the dark, the songs of the open and sunlight, the sonnets of autumn and shade, or the love in the laughter of children.

(_In the possession of Mons. H. Piazza_)]

(_In the possession of Mons. H. Piazza_)]

(_In the possession of Mons. Paul Adam_)]

(_In the possession of Mons. L. Vauxcelles_)]

BOOKBINDING IN PARCHMENT, TOOLED AND COLOURED. BY ANDRÉ MARE]

(_Lent by Maison Hachette & Cie._)]

AUSTRIA

THE ART OF THE BOOK IN AUSTRIA. BY A. S. LEVETUS

Like other countries Austria has, in all that relates to the book, gone through periods of high developments, followed by a time of inactivity which could but lead to eventual decay. That in the past many works of a high artistic value as regards printing, illustrations, type, and binding, in fact all the qualities which go to make an artistic production, were issued by the various presses, many books still existing go to prove. On the whole the printers of Austria were never very numerous, and she has never been a book-producing centre, even in the Capital itself, as have been many German cities, such as Nuremberg, Augsburg and Leipzig. Under the Empress Maria Theresa the art of the book flourished, for being possessed of a fine artistic nature, she granted many privileges to the makers of books, and set great value on such volumes as were real works of art. Her son, Joseph II, who during his youth, following the custom of the time, adopted a trade, chose printing, and mastered it thoroughly. He likewise granted certain privileges to the printers and in every way encouraged the art. During the second half of the eighteenth century the Art of the Book developed considerably. New types were invented, woodcut engravings gave way to copper engravings, the paper was of the best quality, the bindings of the finest leather and of beautiful design, everything, including the end-papers, reached the highest standard. But reaction was inevitable in Austria as it was in other countries, for the age of machinery had come. Hand-made paper, which had furnished a staple trade in Moravia since 1520, when the first paper-mill was founded in Gross-Ullersdorf, deteriorated; the printing-machine took the place of the hand-press; the fine hand-tooled leather bindings were forced to yield to the more commercial article.

But in Austria, as elsewhere, the Art of the Book was to be reborn, and it was William Morris who was to give the impulse, for the fame of the Kelmscott Press had reached Vienna. The men of the new school, Alfred Roller, Josef Hoffmann, Koloman Moser, Baron Myrbach, Rudolf von Larisch, and others have spread the new teaching. The moment was the right one, the need of reform in all and everything concerning book-production was recognised as part of the programme when the general question of the teaching of art was raised in 1897; but the regeneration of the Art of the Book really dated from the beginning of the present century. It must not be thought that no efforts had been made to rescue the art previous to the great reform. Far from it. Twenty-five years ago the first steps were taken by the founding of the Imperial “Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt für graphische Kunst,” an institution for teaching and experimenting in graphic art, where from the first excellent work was done under Hofrat Eder. The “Hof- und Staatsdruckerei” (Imperial and State Printing Office) had been called into existence eighty years previously. But the great impetus was given some dozen years ago when men trained in the new school of thought in decorative art were appointed teachers in the various schools and institutions.

The Art of the Book in Austria in its modern aspect is but young, but its development is most interesting. All that is best in graphic art of the past served as the ground-work on which to build the art of our time; and this artistic basis being of so fine a calibre, sound and sure, has led to very satisfactory results. First, in the teaching of ornamental writing under Professor Rudolf von Larisch. He has expounded his tenets in his “Unterricht in ornamentaler Schrift,” a work of great value to all interested in this subject. What he aims at is form, configuration and spacing, to add rhythm to the letters themselves, and to harmonise one with another in the building-up of the word; for even the simplest of words rightly rendered should be decorative. He does not consider the creating of new forms of paramount importance, but sets much store on the relation of the letter to the word, the word to the sentence. These should fit into one another in the same manner as the component parts of a perfect piece of architecture, for, as in architecture we see the foundation of all art, so in lettering the basis of all book decoration is to be sought. This theory is supported by the study of early printed works and more particularly so in those printed towards the end of the sixteenth century. Here we see the aim was to achieve harmony in type, ornament and illustration. This, too, is the aim of those who produce artistic books other than those issued by the ordinary publisher. Unfortunately there are but few of the former class in Austria. But many of the Austrian artists are engaged in illustrating books for German and other publishers. In Vienna, Artur Wolf has published some very fine works illustrated by Franz von Bayros, Ferdinand Staeger, and other artists; Konegen’s series of children’s books, illustrated by Marianne Hitschmann-Steinberger, are full of charm and understanding of child life; Gerlach and Wiedling’s books for children have been illustrated by various artists: Professor Czeschka, Karl Fahringer, F. Staeger, Franz Wacik, Fräulein Frimberger among others. That excellent work is being done may be gathered from our illustrations. Fräulein C. Hasselwander has done very good work as an illustrator of children’s stories; C. Köystrand has won renown as an illustrator of refined humour; Ferdinand Staeger is one of the best-known illustrators of the “Münchner Jugend,” and a draughtsman of great variety and vitality; Wenzel Oswald and Gustav Kalhammer are past students of the Imperial “Kunstgewerbeschule” in Vienna and are essentially decorative in their art; while Dagobert Peche hails from the Imperial Academy and his work is of a highly decorative character. Alfred Keller is an architect by profession, as is Dagobert Peche, but he is also an illustrator of books, his chief _forte_ lying in line drawing.

Some of the Austrian artists excel in the designing of book-bindings, and it is safe to say their work will achieve lasting fame. The mention of names such as Professors Josef Hoffmann, Koloman Moser and Czeschka, are sufficient to vouch for this assertion; Anton Hofer and Rudolf Geyer, both past students of the Imperial Arts and Crafts School, have also done some very beautiful work which will live. All these artists have produced bindings which in quality of design, material, and workmanship are all that could be desired.

In the designing of new types excellent results have been achieved. “Czeschka’s Antiqua,” the invention of Professor Czeschka, is extremely beautiful in its simplicity. It has been acquired by Messrs. Genzsch and Heyse, of Hamburg, and is illustrated on page 211.

Dr. Rudolf Junk’s new type is characterized by the same high qualities though it differs widely in form from that of Professor Czeschka; Herr Mader’s type is less clear, though it is interesting. For this Professor Hoffmann has made the borders and ornament. Fräulein Schmidt may also be counted amongst those who have created new and interesting types. These have all been published by the “Hof-und Staatsdruckerei.”

In the provinces Bohemia holds the first place in the Art of the Book, which is but natural considering how high a prestige Prague, Pilsen, Kuttenberg, and other of her towns enjoyed in bygone ages. In modern graphic art and book-decoration many Czech artists have distinguished themselves. The various reproductions here show that their inspirations are those of the true artist. To these must be added Zdenka Braunerová, Adolf Kašpar, and Vojtěch Preissig. That the publishers are collaborating with the artists is a good sign, and the next few years will no doubt see further developments. The fact that the modern movement in Bohemia in the Art of the Book is still in its infancy, and that, in spite of this, so much that is good has already been done, speaks well for the future.

SILVER BOOKBINDING, WITH LEATHER INLAY AND GOLD TOOLING. BY ANTON HOFER]

THE ART OF THE BOOK IN HUNGARY

The development of art in Hungary reached its highest point in the fifteenth century. The influence of the Italian renaissance made itself felt in this country sooner than anywhere else, for Mathias Corvinus gathered round him at his Court a great many Italian artists and humanists, and acquired numerous finely painted books and manuscripts. The few remaining treasures of his library, called _corvinas_, are wonderful examples of renaissance book-illustrations, mostly the work of Italian miniaturists, for it would seem that Hungarian artists were not employed by the King. Political conflicts and wars put an end to the progress of art, and then came the domination of the Turks, who destroyed, or allowed to perish, the existing monuments of art.

There are many reasons to account for the long period of depression in book-production and illustrative art which followed. Up to as late as the middle of the nineteenth century the educated classes in Hungary adopted Latin for conversation, and it was also the official and legal language of the country. Students went to Italy and Germany to acquire culture. Consequently foreign influences were paramount, and only the cheapest books were produced at home. The native typography could not compete with that of other countries, the art of the book fell into decay, and Hungarian artists were only employed in work of lesser importance.

The books which have been published in Hungary during the last few years show a distinct advance when compared with those previously produced. This is in a large measure due to the training offered at the National Arts and Crafts School at Budapest, where opportunity is given for the study of typography, and characters based on the national art have been introduced and popularized. There is a special class for designing script based upon the best of the old national manuscripts which combine the most desirable qualities—legibility and artistic form. Three excellent examples of the work of the students are reproduced on pages 237 to 239.

Hungary is happy in possessing a number of really clever book decorators, though many of them have settled outside their native country, and their work has in some respects little of the purely national characteristics. A notable example of this is to be found in the drawings of the Marquis Franz von Bayros, a Hungarian by race, Croatia being his native province, whose work bears no relation to his nationality. Delicate, refined, and eminently decorative, it possesses a grace which recalls the poetic charm of the _fêtes galantes_, and is yet, in its technical dexterity and subtle comprehension of the requirements of black-and-white, modern in feeling. We reproduce some charming examples of this artist’s work.

Very different in conception and treatment, but more national in character, is the decorative illustration by Charles Kós (page 236) for his poem, “The Death of Attila”; while other eminent book-decorators are Willy Pogány, many of whose drawings have been published in England, Alexander Nagy and Kriesch-Körösföi, both leaders of the famous Gödöllö group of artists. Nagy is a master of line, endowed with a poetic imagination, and he adopts with wonderful success those forms in which the Hungarian nation is so rich. Characteristic of his art is the headpiece shown on this page. A quaintly treated frontispiece by Blasius Busay is also reproduced. The original design was executed in burnt cork.

SWEDEN

THE ART OF THE BOOK IN SWEDEN BY AUGUST BRUNIUS

In Sweden, as elsewhere, the latter half of the nineteenth century brought about a brighter period for the Art of the Book as regards typography, quality of paper, and binding. Still the decay had hardly been as great as in other branches of decoration and handicraft. Two publishing firms, P. A. Norstedt, Stockholm, and Berling, Lund, have maintained a high standard of book-making. On the other hand, a more artistic character was adopted between 1870 and 1880 by using traditional means, by imitating Gothic manuscripts, or by a somewhat arbitrary use of Old Northern ornamental art. The renaissance, which in Sweden burst forth at the beginning of the nineties, originated in a revival of interest in the decorative arts, especially in the textiles of the Viking and Saga periods. The Old Northern spirit ran like an undercurrent through the life of the whole country, and culminated in Artur Hazelius’s epoch-making museum work, Skansen and the Northern Museum. Just at the right moment there was added a practical study of modern bookmaking in England and on the Continent. A whole generation was seized by the new ideas which were proclaimed with such power by William Morris.

To initiate a movement, combining as it does artistic and practical knowledge, a passionate idealist is required. Such an idealist is Waldemar Zachrisson, a printer of Gothenburg (born 1861). He studied in Sweden and at the best printing firms in Hamburg, Leipzig, Vienna, Berlin, and St. Petersburg, and developed his taste by constant study of the masterpieces of great times and the new English and American fine printing practised by Morris and De Vinne. As soon as he had secured his own great business he began to work for the raising of the whole trade. He founded a union of experts, “Allmänna Svenska Boktrycka-reföreningen” (Swedish Printers’ Society), which worked for the establishment of the Museum of Industrial Art in Stockholm and the Technical School for Industrial Art in Gothenburg. In a number of ways, through artistic advertisements and articles in the trade papers, he tried to prepare the ground for a higher standard in the printing-trade generally, and his distinct practical outlook made his efforts eminently successful.

Lately in Sweden the common feature in the aims for developing the art of the book has been the accentuation of the national character. The difficulties have here been considerable. As yet we do not possess a fount designed by a Swedish artist, but the types we have are founded on an old predilection for the Roman type. Already in 1550 the Roman type had been introduced into Sweden. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries Swedish taste was concentrated upon Dutch and French models. The Roman type which is now used in Sweden, and which is cut in Hamburg, suggests Caslon’s somewhat modernized type. It is called “Mediæval-Roman,” and has many advantages, is easy to read, and has an unassuming simplicity. The light tone may perhaps sometimes seem monotonously grey. English readers will certainly find its resemblance to the English type, but will also easily discover the differences.

It is characteristic of Swedish printing that it appears to best advantage and is most personal in publications of an occasional character intended for a select public. The rest of the productions are on a considerably lower level. To English and French tastes our _belles lettres_ show an astonishing lack of typographical unity. There is a great variety in the size and makeup, and also various many-coloured paper covers, both of good and bad style, are used. However, an improvement has occurred in the last few years, a quieter taste has manifested itself. A good step forward is the excellent publication of Swedish classics issued by the “Svenska Vitterhetssamfundet” (the Swedish Literature Society), and printed at Albert Bonnier’s works. Here a severe and pure style is combined with exquisite material, and great care is bestowed upon the typography. An undertaking like this would be a credit to any country. In equally good style is the Swedish edition of Olaus Magnus’s “Historia de Gentibus Septentrionalibus,” published by another society, the “Michaelisgillet” (the Michael Guild). It was written about 1550 by the last Catholic Archbishop of Sweden, who was one of the greatest travellers and most interesting writers of the Renaissance. The text is illustrated by old woodcuts, which had been carried out according to Olaus Magnus’s own designs. Two volumes of this splendid work have been printed by Almqvist and Wiksell, Uppsala.

In a similar manner the great Handicraft Exhibition at Stockholm in 1909 produced four Swedish classics; they were given as prizes in a lottery. These four books were arranged and printed by four different firms, an achievement which could not have been accomplished ten years earlier.

This general survey of the art of the book during the last decades would be incomplete if it did not mention a printing firm which, through its good typography, now occupies a prominent position. The two brothers Hugo and Carl Lagerström have bestowed a great deal of labour on trying to attain a higher level in printing. They learnt their trade in Germany, England, and France, and worked for some years—one in Stockholm, the other in Copenhagen—before they founded the Lagerström Brothers printing firm in 1903. They have also taken a prominent part in the arts and crafts movement generally. They started a paper called the _Nordisk Boktryckarkonst_ (Northern Art of Printing), and founded two societies, one of which is the abovementioned “Michaelisgillet.” Dr. Isak Collijn, a distinguished librarian, was the third founder.

The first book Lagerström Brothers printed was a kind of typographical prospectus. Among the eight volumes by August Strindberg there is a chemical work called “Antibarbarus.” This book was decorated by a young artist, Artur Sjögren, who is a book-decorator with a profound knowledge of old Swedish typography. The book was printed in a small choice edition on hand-made paper, and four pages are shown here (pp. 249 to 252). Since then Lagerström Brothers have published numerous large and small books, always for a more limited public, but at a price which only slightly exceeds the ordinary book-prices. Their productions express the same ideas of compromise that the English Medici Society is striving for.

The bibliophile public in Sweden leans towards the old books, and would not support a real aristocratic book-business on new lines and with modern aims. Lagerström Brothers, however, have printed some of the most beautiful Swedish books, with and without decoration: a couple of historical memoirs from the time of Charles XII; a series of small books selected from old Swedish literature; and finally, a reprint of a book which certainly has no equivalent in English literature, but which all the same would probably have some interest for an English public. The title is “Bonde-practica,” and it is a kind of text-book for peasants in nature-study and hygiene, partly written in verse. The book was published for the first time in 1662. It is a collection of observations founded on the theories of astrology, and told with much humour. This book reveals the Swedish outlook on life and the education of the people in olden times. Leon Welamson, a young artist, has made for the new edition of this curious old book some simple and vigorous illustrations, which without being imitations are executed in the old style. It is a masterpiece of Swedish typography.

Book illustrations and decoration play an important part in the modern art of the book. Illustrated books have always been popular, and many of our best artists of to-day began their careers as illustrators. Carl Larsson is a typical Swedish illustrator and a distinguished painter. He illustrates, in colour or black-and-white, his own text. But he belongs to an older school in so far as he does not pay so much attention to the claims of decoration. Olle Hjortzberg is a comparatively young artist. He is in part influenced by the modern English school of book decorators, and has done work that would satisfy even the most exacting critics. He has acquired an extraordinary mastery over the early Christian language of symbols, and has in his books used it in an ornamental manner with great success. At present he is engaged on a richly decorated “State” Bible, (“Gustav V’s Bible,”) a gigantic undertaking, in which both artist and printer hope to surpass themselves (p. 248).

While Olle Hjortzberg and Artur Sjögren are more closely attached to the technique of the book, Einar Nerman, one of the youngest Swedish artists, is more independent. He has illustrated several children’s books and has done some caricatures. There is a touch of the rococo in his drawing, and elegance combined with a bold wit which proves some French influence. His curving lines bring forth a “roguishness” that is unparalleled in Swedish art, and can compare with the best foreign examples. The illustrations to the well-known tale by Hans Andersen, “Peter the Swineherd” (p. 256), are purely original.