Trésors

1857 · 3220484 — <p><em>Small folio; pp. 4 vii i 3-300 4 'Index' with two chromolithographic frontispieces showing the exterior and interior of the exhibition building bound within the preliminaries; numerous wood-engraved illustrations throughout the text; a little browned and spotted in places; in the original publisher's red cloth ornamented and lettered in gilt blind-stamped fleurons in the corners; hinges repaired and overall a good copy.</em></p><p>1857 was a turning-point in the history of art appreciation. The exhibition with its 16000 items on display made the public aware of the fabulous wealth of pictures by old masters and objects of art of every kind hidden away in English country houses and at the same time it opened up a new period of art-historical studies. The preface is at pains to extol the education value of the exhibition and to make known to the people of England the art-wealth of their own country and by inducing a greater familiarity with the beautiful to increase and extend its refining influence.</p><p>gThe Art-Treasures Examinerg contains a series of articles probably under the editorship of the journalist William Blanchard Jerrold who contributed articles on various subjects. Other contributors included Henry Ottley on art criticism schools of painting and engraving; the poet Charles Swain contributing short plays on art; James Astbury Hammersley on watercolour art; George Jackson on photography; Charles Allen Duval on the spirituality of art; G.W. Anthony 'Peregrine Sketchly' on British landscapes and modern painting; a 'History of Caricature' by the radical Dr Robert Blakey and possibly as the most interesting contribution a series of fourteen autobiographical articles by Henry Merritt 1822–1877 the picture conservator and art critic who had risen from a very poor background: 'Where my shoes came from was never satisfactorily explained'.</p><p>British landscape painters and the modern gallery by gBritish Art and Artistsg; a gHistory of Caricatureg by the radical Dr Robert Blakey gModern Galleryg by G.W. Anthony and possibly as the most interesting contribution a series of fourteen autobiographical articles by Henry Merritt 1822–1877 the picture conservator and art critic who had risen from a very poor background: 'Where my shoes came from was never satisfactorily explained'.</p> Manchester, Alexander Ireland & Co., 22, Market Street, … W. H. Smith & Son, 186, Strand, London,