ILLUSTRATIONS OF " GULLIVER'S TRAVELS." pro THE EDITOR OF THE
"SPECTATOR." J Sra,—Your review on Mr. Saintsbury's " Gulliver" indicates an opinion that Swift's great book has never been adequately illus- trated, Have you ever met with Hayward and Moore's edition of 1840, with five hundred illustrations by Grandville P They leave nothing wanting in that quality of definiteness and dis- tinctness which you speak of as the characteristic quality of Swift. I am no judge of the artistic and technical merit of engravings ; but so far as engravings serve to illv,strate a book, and increase the literary and imaginative pleasure to be derived from it, I should place, first, Menzel's illustrations to Kugler's "Life of Frederick the Great," and, second, Gustave Dore's illustrations of the " Contes Drolatiques." After those, though a good way after them, I know nothing that beats Grandville's illustrations of " Gulliver." A few years ago (and, for all I know, now), the three books might be bought for as many pounds in any good second-hand book shop.—I am Sir, ttc., G. 0. TREVELYAN.
TennL,nore Cardens, S.W., January 23A1.
Previous page
