ART. IX.-Ornamental Printing.

The Token and Atlantic Souvenir. A Christmas and New Year's Present. Edited by S. G. GOODRICH. Boston, 1833.

We remember to have seen an amusing tale, which represented Cicero, who had in some unexplained way returned to earth, as lost in wonder at the various inventions and improvements of the Germans; and if the perturbed spirit of the venerable ancestor of Mr. Oldbuck, the rival of the fame of Faust and Caxton, could be made visible to us, he would be scarcely less astonished, on learning what advances have been made in his own important art. This art has not unjustly been regarded as the mother of all subsequent reform; but its charity has not been forgetful of its own claims; and it is itself perhaps the best example of the general superiority of modern arts over those of former times. All this is well; it is fortunate that typography can thus adapt itself to the demands of luxury; for there are many at the present day who would hardly be induced to read at all, excepting by the magic of a beautiful edition: and if Mr. Irving's Sketch-book had been printed in black letter, with illustrations similar to those which formerly adorned the primer, it would have found but a cold welcome in the fashionable world. The author of Waverley intimates a doubt, whether such appliances are proper in order to induce people by their attractions to do, what they would not do from a sense of duty; but it is certainly better, that duty should be done from an inferior motive, than not performed at all. Men may be allured to the study of natural history by beautiful forms and golden plumage, rather than the deep things of comparative anatomy; but it is well if in any way, they can become conversant with nature. The beautiful fictions of Sir Walter Scott have attracted many to the study of history, who, but for them, would have cared very little for the past.

In this point of view, independently of other merit, the annuals of the last few years are not without their value; but there is another, in which they assume a character of more importance. The fine arts are not apt to flourish in a young and prosperous community: like many other luxuries, if they

have not the transparent atmosphere and brilliant sun to bring them to perfection, they must be quickened into life by the artificial heat of the conservatory. Painters and sculptors find no encouragement to fix their residence on the Arkansas or the Yellow Stone; and even near the Hudson and the Charles, the ordinary demands of the publisher would by no means animate the engraver to the highest efforts of his art. No one doubts the importance of these arts in giving a grace and ornament to life; it is even believed that they aid society in its progress to liberality of feeling and refinement, by making men familiar with the beautiful. Whatever tends to introduce them where they might not otherwise have appeared, at least so early; whatever aids their progress to perfection, ought certainly to be regarded with an eye of public favor.

It would be difficult to enumerate the modes of industry, exhibited in works like these: the reason why so few have yet been published, is probably the difficulty of combining those modes with the requisite degree of skill. A publisher must first be found, who is willing to risk large surns on the doubtful venture of the public taste; an editor, apt to perceive the shiftings of the fashionable gale, and skilful to trim bis sail, so as to float gallantly before it. The brilliant creations of the painter must not be wanting, nor the laborious talent of the engraver, with his slow and patient toil; and when to these we add the separate tasks of the printer, the binder, and a host of others, each endeavoring in his own vocation to surpass all those who have gone before him, we shall have an illustration of the division of labor, superior to those of Say and Adam Smith.

The art of the engraver, in particular, required in this country some such encouragement as this. Before the publication of these annuals was begun, a marvellous change had been accomplished, as any one who remembers the finest prints of forty years ago will readily perceive; but, owing to the extemporaneous manner in which most works are of necessity issued from the press, and the importance of rendering them as cheap as possible, there were no means of urging the engraver to the highest efforts of his art, or of recompensing him for making them. His calling is not that of a copyist merely; it combines some of the highest qualities of that of the painter; and the difficulty of succeeding in it is apparent from the smallness of the number of engravers, who have risen to

distinguished eminence. The work before us has been the means of encouraging the efforts of a promising young artist, Cheney, whose beautiful prints have ornamented its successive volumes, and who is now pursuing his studies abroad. Various other deserving artists have been incited to excel by the liberal compensation, which the publisher of works like these is able to offer. If no other benefit be derived from them, this, at least, may be justly mentioned to their praise.

The literary character of these annuals is very various, in other countries as well as here; and whoever is disposed to speak with harshness of our own in this respect, will do well to remember, that it is no extravagant compliment to say, that those of England are not at all before them. The object of publishers has too often been, to adorn their table of contents with distinguished names; when, in nine cases out of ten, the articles attached to them are poor enough. In works, consisting of so many articles by many different hands, there must of necessity be much diversity in point of merit; but so far ast we have observed, the Token has had no undue proportion of bad ones, and a fair proportion of the good. As far as names of literary distinction go, it has probably been richer than any other in the country; or if the Atlantic Souvenir has formed an exception to the remark, it could probably claim no superiority.

It was, however, principally with a view to the ornamental part of the execution of these annuals, that we have been induced at this time to refer to them; and certainly in this respect they have been very creditable to the country, notwithstanding some great disadvantages under which the publishers have labored. Several of them have, in fact, been discontinued in consequence of these disadvantages; among others, the Talisman, which acquired much reputation in New York, the Western Souvenir, published a few years since in the city of Cincinnati, whose site was forty years ago a desert, and another, which was issued in the Territory of Michigan. The Atlantic Souvenir and Token are the only very prominent ones which yet survive, and they have been at length united. The extent of public patronage will not probably admit of so liberal expenditures in the preparation of these ornamental publications here, as in England: there is not the same privilege of selecting engravers, or the finest subjects for engraving, nor is there the same facility in executing the finest specimens of typography: but, with all these circumstances of dis

couragement, these works have been executed with uncommon skill and beauty. Those who praise the superiority of foreign ones to ours may recollect, that if they would encourage the latter as liberally as they do the former, the distinction would soon be removed. In point of beauty of typography, and of binding, the difference is very slight; as respects the prints, there are some in the work before us which foreign artists cannot easily excel: we refer particularly to those entitled 'Guardian Angels,' and the Portrait.' It is not unreasonable to suppose that it has been enabled to retain that place in the public favor, which others have lost, by the superiority of its execution, and the labor which has been devoted to it, in order to render it generally acceptable.