April 28, 1898] 



NA TURE 



603 



which are here given in a much reduced, and conse- 

 quently very poorly executed, form ; but though the 

 Builder retains the leading position amongst architectural 

 papers, it cannot by any means be held to be a fully 

 representative depository of the modern architecture even 

 of England. 



Very many of the best buildings never are illustrated 

 at all, either because the architects do not care to pub- 

 lish, or else do not take the trouble to have elaborate 

 drawings made solely for publication ; while, on the j 

 other hand, there is a flood of second-rate work that is 

 given to the world for obvious commercial reasons. 



To rely upon the illustrated journals for a knowledge 

 of modern work is as hopeless as the proceedings of an 

 American critic, who in all good faith tried riding down 

 the main streets of the metropolis on the top of an 

 omnibus, in the expectation of forming an impression of 

 the quality of modern architecture in London. 



For a book with this title, the subjects illustrated are 

 too incomplete for it to possess the scientific value that 

 a comprehensive treatise would contain, and in the 

 letterpress the same inadequacy prevails. 



The best section is that on State and municipal archi- 

 tecture, the subject that seems to have the greatest in- 

 terest for the author ; but that on the highly important 

 question of domestic work is only slightly treated, and 

 that on church architecture is on lines which, we feel, 

 would hardly be endorsed by those to whom the greatest 

 progress in this branch, in modern times, has been due. 



This is not the only section in which the tone of the 

 work is unfortunate. The style in which it is written is 

 hasty and journalistic, and we do not quite like the 

 writer's method of making points by quoting what ap- 

 pears to have been said to him in private conversation, 

 where views are apt to be expressed with a greater 

 vivacity, not to say exaggeration, than the speaker would 

 use in the more deliberate statement of writing. 



The truth is, that there is no royal road or cheap 

 handbook to a knowledge of modern architecture. 

 The serious student must hunt up the buildings for him- 

 self, even if they are five miles from a railway station. 

 The performances of a great architect are seldom known 

 until his death, and perhaps not even then. The public 

 have no knowledge of Nesfield, Devey, or Bentley, to 

 take three names at random — none of whom, by the way, 

 are mentioned in this book — except that, as regards the 

 last, the writer seems to think that because the new 

 Roman Catholic cathedral drawings have not been given 

 to the Builder, that therefore " it is a design about which 

 there is a great reluctance to give any definite inform- 

 tion " ; a very amusing remark in view of the fact that 

 students interested in the matter have long ago bought 

 copies of a publication in which the scale drawings and 

 full particulars of this remarkable design have been 

 given. 



The book on perspective is one of those innumerable 

 works that the modern craze for examination produces ; 

 it is designed to meet, as quoted on the title-page, the 

 requirements of four examining bodies, and as the author 

 is instructor to the Royal Naval cadets on the Britannia, 

 he has the necessary teaching experience to make his 

 work likely to be helpful to the unlucky souls con- 

 demned to these examinations. To the architect, for 

 NO. 1487, VOL. 57] 



whom also the book is intended, perspective should 

 present itself as an almost indispensable accomplishment, 

 but one which it is also far more important to acquire 

 through practice than theory. It is a rule that in per- 

 spective drawing, there are many ways of arriving at the 

 desired result ; and as a matter of fact, except in a few 

 universal points, most draughtsmen have their own 

 methods of reaching a given result. We never yet met 

 a student who used the method given in Chapter xii. for 

 making a sketch, but possibly it might be of service to a 

 beginner. As specimens of drawings — a rather im- 

 portant, though neglected point — the illustrations leave 

 something to be desired, and when architecture is given 

 the design is also not the best selected. This, un- 

 fortunately however, is universal in many text-books. 

 In Chapter xvi. the defects of perspective in photography 

 are explained, and a useful method of correction is given, 

 constituting a good feature of the work. 



A diagram is also given of how to set a centrolinead, 

 showing the increasing value attached to this, useful 

 instrument, which every student should be taught to 

 handle. 



The book is clearly arranged and well referenced, 

 which is an important point for actual use, because 

 whatever method of perspective setting-up the student 

 uses, it is indispensable that he shou'd have it at his 

 fingers' ends, so that he may not be hampered in de- 

 voting himself to an artistic result in his drawing ; but, 

 inasmuch as the memory is apt to be treacherous in 

 such matters, facility of reference is an invaluable saving 

 of time. 



The volume on carpentry and joinery has also been 

 written with the special object of preparing for ex- 

 aminations, and the present work refers to the first or 

 preliminary course of the City and Guilds Institute, 

 which is dealt with from a practical point of view ; but a 

 better title would be " mensuration, physics, plane and 

 solid geometry, &c., as applied to carpentry, &c.," the 

 bulk of the volume being taken up with these subjects. 

 The book forms a good introduction to the subject, 

 which we welcome as a method and an inducement for 

 the British craftsman to study his craft in a more scientific 

 manner than has been the case in the past. One or two 

 points might be revised. Fig. 53 shows a pointed arch 

 in stone which is scientifically wrong, as the meeting of 

 the two arches should be a straight joint in order that 

 each section may move independently without causing a 

 fracture. Problem No. 90 could be described accurately 

 instead of approximately by the " trammel " method, as 

 indeed is explained in Problem 91. It is, perhaps, 

 advisable to adhere only to exact methods for the 

 workman, as he is liable to get muddled between two 

 methods. 



The exercises placed at the end of each chapter are 

 well arranged, and should teach the workman to think 

 for himself — a most important point. 



Some misprints are, perhaps, inevitable where so many 

 figures and letters are introduced, as 39° for 30' on 

 p. 169. The chapter on isometric projection will be 

 found very useful for explaining joints, &c., but the 

 lettering to the diagrams is not as distinct as it might 

 be, and could be improved by the author if a future 

 edition is required. The chapters on setting out of 



