BOOKS AND PUBLICATIONS
The Genesis of the Architect
The Architect in History. By Martin S. Briggs, F. R. I. B. A. Pp. xii + 400, 46 illustrations. Oxford: The Clarendon Press. Price 10s. net.
Mr. Briggs is a painstaking investigator, and in this book, which he dedicates to the R. I. B. A., he seeks to prove the antiquity of the architect’s position as the master of works and the controlling mind in the design of buildings. In pursuit of this thesis he lays under contribution a mass of evidence and quotation, all down the ages, which crystallises into a very considerable volume, although the extent of his subject has compelled him at times to limit his field, as, for example, in the 19th century, which is confined to England alone. What he is really interested to establish is not only that the title of architect is a very ancient one, hut that the holders of it were men, for the most part, of education and social standing, accustomed to meet rulers and to direct the work of the artisan. That is the modem conception of the architect, and it is at variance with the theory of the mediævalist who would relegate him to the position of a talented craftsman who, with the assistance of a hand of his fellows, achieved cathedrals without any pre-conceived scheme or directing authority. That is not a view to which we can subscribe, and, probably, but for a confusion in nomenclature, would never have arisen. For whether the individual who designed buildings was called, as in Ancient Egypt, an overseer of works; architect, as in Ancient Greece and Rome; architect, master-mason, maître d’osuvre, magister fabricæ, or magister operis, etc., in the Middle Ages; or architect, the generally accepted term since the end of the 16th century, there seems little doubt, from the evidence which Mr. Briggs adduces, about his social status and privileges, or his authority in his own particular sphere. The conclusion one must draw is that of Sir Thomas Jackson, that “far from being the humble unknown mechanic that has been supposed, the Master-Mason architect fared socially as well as the architect who represents him at the present day. ” The Middle Ages have all along constituted the real hiatus in the history of the architect, probably, as is pointed out in the book, because many of the architects of the time were laymen and were accorded no place in the monastic records which enshrine the main history of that epoch. From the 17th century onwards, Mr. Brigg’s task is comparatively easy; and in discussing the 19th century England he lets the thesis take care of itself and devotes himself to a racy recital of, and commentary on, the great architectural lights and their doings, finding even a good word for Ruskin, though, by inference, Mr. Briggs leaves him responsible for much of the sordid slum building which is the bane of local authorities to-day, and the despair of their ratepayers. Yet even the history of the giants of the Gothic Revival has its moral on status, for their struggles with governments and lesser authorities to obtain due recognition or, even, their proper fees, proves how very closely the world at large assesses the standing of the architect by the worth he places on his own profession. Mr. Briggs has written an extremely interesting and valuable book, to which he must have devoted an immense amount of labour, and for which his brother architects should be correspondingly grateful.
Old Surrey
The Charm of Old Surrey. Written and Illustrated by H. M. Alderman. Pp. 207, 200 sketch illustrations. London: Henry J. Drane. Price 7s. 6d.
The author puts this forward as an unassuming work that lays no claim to literary merit, but the
guide book method which he has adopted for his letterpress is packed with information about interesting buildings and architectural details in the towns and villages of Surrey, and few things appear to have escaped him. His sketches are a little hard, though informative; but the printer has not been too kind to him in their presentation. Despite these obvious defects, the book should be very useful to those who make the county their playground, and to the many who are apt to think that its charm lies only in its many scenic beauties. Mr. Alderman has his own list, in order of merit, of Surrey’s prettiest villages as follows: — Shere, Betchworth, Chiddingfold, Lingfield, Blechingley, Limpsfield, Compton, Puttenham, Old Woking, Wonersh, Ewhurst and Dunsfold. Some of our readers may disagree with the order, though hardly with the list, which testifies, at any rate, to the author’s extensive roamings over the Surrey countryside.
Timber Measurement
The New Hoppus’s Measurer. Pp. 205. (London: Frederick Warne & Co., Ltd., 1927) Price 2s. net.
This is a new and completely revised edition of Hoppus, whose tables of measures have long been the accepted work of reference for calculating timber contents. The new edition will doubtless prove as useful to those now engaged in the timber trades as the original work has been to their predecessors.
Colour Block Printing
Colour Block Print Making from Linoleum Blocks. By Hesketh Hubbard, R. O. I., R. B. A. Pp. xv + 211. (Breamore, near Salisbury: The Forest Press, 1927. ) Price 12s. 6d. net.
In the last few years there has been a marked revival in colour block print work, as will be evident by an inspection of the better class of print shops. The value of the craft as a means of training hand and eye in art schools is beginning to be recognised. For that reason Mr. Hubbard’s book will be a valuable addition to the somewhat scanty literature of the subject. The linoleum block is dealt with in this volume, as being easier to cut than the traditional wooden one, and though it is not possible to get quite such fine lines on linoleum, it is an ideal material for the beginner, for whom the book is primarily planned. And it could hardly have been planned better, for the whole of the apparatus and every operation in the work of preparing the design and the blocks, cutting the blocks and printing from them, is described step by step, each item of information being illustrated by large clear photographic views which have been specially taken. The book should be invaluable to all those who desire to take up this fascinating branch of art, which is capable of producing very beautiful effects.
Place Names
Origins of Place Names. Second Series (a), M. I. The Elements. Price 1s. 6d. (D) The Cell. By an Ignorant Student. Price 2s. London: Privately printed at The Chiswick Press.
If we briefly note the receipt of these two pamphlets, it is because much care and expense appear to have been entailed in their production, and the result is quite incomprehensible. What connection there is, or can be, between place names, the elements of the chemist, or the cells of the biologist, the author does not attempt to explain. He does not, in fact, touch upon place names at all. We must assume there is a joke somewhere, but it needs one of Artemus Ward’s directing signs.
The Genesis of the Architect
The Architect in History. By Martin S. Briggs, F. R. I. B. A. Pp. xii + 400, 46 illustrations. Oxford: The Clarendon Press. Price 10s. net.
Mr. Briggs is a painstaking investigator, and in this book, which he dedicates to the R. I. B. A., he seeks to prove the antiquity of the architect’s position as the master of works and the controlling mind in the design of buildings. In pursuit of this thesis he lays under contribution a mass of evidence and quotation, all down the ages, which crystallises into a very considerable volume, although the extent of his subject has compelled him at times to limit his field, as, for example, in the 19th century, which is confined to England alone. What he is really interested to establish is not only that the title of architect is a very ancient one, hut that the holders of it were men, for the most part, of education and social standing, accustomed to meet rulers and to direct the work of the artisan. That is the modem conception of the architect, and it is at variance with the theory of the mediævalist who would relegate him to the position of a talented craftsman who, with the assistance of a hand of his fellows, achieved cathedrals without any pre-conceived scheme or directing authority. That is not a view to which we can subscribe, and, probably, but for a confusion in nomenclature, would never have arisen. For whether the individual who designed buildings was called, as in Ancient Egypt, an overseer of works; architect, as in Ancient Greece and Rome; architect, master-mason, maître d’osuvre, magister fabricæ, or magister operis, etc., in the Middle Ages; or architect, the generally accepted term since the end of the 16th century, there seems little doubt, from the evidence which Mr. Briggs adduces, about his social status and privileges, or his authority in his own particular sphere. The conclusion one must draw is that of Sir Thomas Jackson, that “far from being the humble unknown mechanic that has been supposed, the Master-Mason architect fared socially as well as the architect who represents him at the present day. ” The Middle Ages have all along constituted the real hiatus in the history of the architect, probably, as is pointed out in the book, because many of the architects of the time were laymen and were accorded no place in the monastic records which enshrine the main history of that epoch. From the 17th century onwards, Mr. Brigg’s task is comparatively easy; and in discussing the 19th century England he lets the thesis take care of itself and devotes himself to a racy recital of, and commentary on, the great architectural lights and their doings, finding even a good word for Ruskin, though, by inference, Mr. Briggs leaves him responsible for much of the sordid slum building which is the bane of local authorities to-day, and the despair of their ratepayers. Yet even the history of the giants of the Gothic Revival has its moral on status, for their struggles with governments and lesser authorities to obtain due recognition or, even, their proper fees, proves how very closely the world at large assesses the standing of the architect by the worth he places on his own profession. Mr. Briggs has written an extremely interesting and valuable book, to which he must have devoted an immense amount of labour, and for which his brother architects should be correspondingly grateful.
Old Surrey
The Charm of Old Surrey. Written and Illustrated by H. M. Alderman. Pp. 207, 200 sketch illustrations. London: Henry J. Drane. Price 7s. 6d.
The author puts this forward as an unassuming work that lays no claim to literary merit, but the
guide book method which he has adopted for his letterpress is packed with information about interesting buildings and architectural details in the towns and villages of Surrey, and few things appear to have escaped him. His sketches are a little hard, though informative; but the printer has not been too kind to him in their presentation. Despite these obvious defects, the book should be very useful to those who make the county their playground, and to the many who are apt to think that its charm lies only in its many scenic beauties. Mr. Alderman has his own list, in order of merit, of Surrey’s prettiest villages as follows: — Shere, Betchworth, Chiddingfold, Lingfield, Blechingley, Limpsfield, Compton, Puttenham, Old Woking, Wonersh, Ewhurst and Dunsfold. Some of our readers may disagree with the order, though hardly with the list, which testifies, at any rate, to the author’s extensive roamings over the Surrey countryside.
Timber Measurement
The New Hoppus’s Measurer. Pp. 205. (London: Frederick Warne & Co., Ltd., 1927) Price 2s. net.
This is a new and completely revised edition of Hoppus, whose tables of measures have long been the accepted work of reference for calculating timber contents. The new edition will doubtless prove as useful to those now engaged in the timber trades as the original work has been to their predecessors.
Colour Block Printing
Colour Block Print Making from Linoleum Blocks. By Hesketh Hubbard, R. O. I., R. B. A. Pp. xv + 211. (Breamore, near Salisbury: The Forest Press, 1927. ) Price 12s. 6d. net.
In the last few years there has been a marked revival in colour block print work, as will be evident by an inspection of the better class of print shops. The value of the craft as a means of training hand and eye in art schools is beginning to be recognised. For that reason Mr. Hubbard’s book will be a valuable addition to the somewhat scanty literature of the subject. The linoleum block is dealt with in this volume, as being easier to cut than the traditional wooden one, and though it is not possible to get quite such fine lines on linoleum, it is an ideal material for the beginner, for whom the book is primarily planned. And it could hardly have been planned better, for the whole of the apparatus and every operation in the work of preparing the design and the blocks, cutting the blocks and printing from them, is described step by step, each item of information being illustrated by large clear photographic views which have been specially taken. The book should be invaluable to all those who desire to take up this fascinating branch of art, which is capable of producing very beautiful effects.
Place Names
Origins of Place Names. Second Series (a), M. I. The Elements. Price 1s. 6d. (D) The Cell. By an Ignorant Student. Price 2s. London: Privately printed at The Chiswick Press.
If we briefly note the receipt of these two pamphlets, it is because much care and expense appear to have been entailed in their production, and the result is quite incomprehensible. What connection there is, or can be, between place names, the elements of the chemist, or the cells of the biologist, the author does not attempt to explain. He does not, in fact, touch upon place names at all. We must assume there is a joke somewhere, but it needs one of Artemus Ward’s directing signs.