EMBELLISHED BOOKS .FROM AMERICA.
The Home Book of the Picturesque and The Book -of Home Beauty are two American books for the drawingroem-table :.one, -of the nature of our Landscape Annuals (now, we think, defunct); the other, of our Book of Beauty. Apart from the question of their actual deserts, they may be interesting to many as showing the go-ahead tastes in female charms, and the amount and variety of American power in representing the scenes of nature.
On the latter issue, we think the Transatlantics shim .a favour- able verdict. The illustrations to The Home Book of the Picturesque are chaste in feeling, naturally treated, and selected with dne regard.to artist- ic fitness; while there is no excessive straining after picturemongering or violent effect. Indeed, sonic of the views are rather bits of scenery than landscape according to the rules. The engravers display excellent skill. In Mr. Hunt's works, especially, the delicacy, minuteness without pettiness of so-called finish, and discrimination of objects and surfaces, -contrast very advantageously with many of our English vignettes. The illustrations are from pictures by different artists to the nuniber-of ten ; and a list of several others in the preface shows that the catalosee of American landscape talent is-far from -exhausted in this sample of its doings.
A voluptuous fulness of form seems tole considerably insegoestfor the
-canonized of American bellehood ; and marriage appears toile a necessarystage of initiation, if we may draw an inference frorn-thelact that not a
single "Miss" figures among the enrolled twelve before us. Perhaps there is here some indication of a more seal refinement than has been burlesqued in the legends of .trousered legs of pianofortes, and the Ike.
On the admissibility of-some of the American beauties there can -be no dispute : in other easee the tendency seems to be towards including-mere comeliness and good looks. But we are disposed to pardon a degree of laxity in this respect in consideration of three such heads as the literary- looking beauty Mrs. French, Mrs. W. B. Parker—surely a " Bloomer " that is 'or is to be, and the passionate Sappholike Mrs. S. Ward. And while we are in the forgiving vein, we may throw in some had drawing and occasional flimsiness of engraving,' which detract from the value of the portmits. literary portion of these volumes consists of -sketcheslly various of the 'best-brown American authors-Bryant, Irving, Cooper, Miss Cooper, &c.-in the landscape volume ; and of a gossiping, quotatiaa-ibequered tale, by Mrs. Kirkland, in the book of-beauty.
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