Catalogue of the Collection of Engravings Bequeathed to Harvard College by Francis Calley Gray
By . Cambridge : Welch, Bigelow, & Co.
CATALOGUES, as a general rule, seem to belong to that class of books which are characterized by Charles Lamb as biblia a-biblia, books which are no books, like “court-calendars, directories, pocket-books, draught-boards, bound and lettered at the back ”; but the work before us is an exception to the rule, as Charles Lamb himself, with his love of prints, would have admitted. It is a remarkable production, deserving a permanent place on the shelves of every lover of art. The collection of engravings which it describes was made by the late Francis Calley Gray, a man of a vigorous, active, and highly cultivated mind, of whom the preface says, with strict truth, that “ in variety and accuracy of knowledge he was admitted, by common consent, to have had no superior in the community in which he lived.” His range of reading was immense, his love of knowledge was a ruling passion to the last, and his memory held with a tenacious grasp everything it had once seized. He was often in Europe ; and his early visits were made at a time when few Americans, at least few cultivated Americans, went abroad. What he saw in Europe developed in him a love of art, in addition to that love of literature which was born with him, and had been fostered by all the means and appliances which his native country could furnish. He began early to buy engravings, and having ample means, he became gradually the owner of the large and precious collection which is here minutely described. His purchases were made with judgment and taste. He was not an artist himself, nor was he largely endowed with the imaginative and poetic element; and his collection was made to Satisfy his love of knowledge as well as to gratify his love of beauty. It was his aim to gather a series of engravings which should be of value as a history of tire art, and many of his acquisitions were made with that view. His engravings and his library were regarded by him as complementary to each other and parts of one whole.
Mr. Gray devised his collection to Harvard College, and with it a choice library of works and several valuable illustrated works. It was his request that a catalogue should be prepared by Mr. Louis Thies, who had been for many years a diligent student of art, whose knowledge of engravings was extensive and accurate, and who was entirely familiar with the collection, having been, indeed, the agent through whom many of its choicest treasures were acquired. The Catalogue before us, which has been a long time in preparation, was drawn up in compliance with Mr. Gray’s request. And a glance at almost any page will furnish an answer to a question which has been sometimes asked, —why the publication has been so long delayed ; for nearly every page contains proof of the immense amount of thorough and conscientious labor which the compiler has bestowed upon his modest task. Not only have all the approved manuals and monographs been consulted, but much of the information contained in the Catalogue is the fruit of personal observation and long-continued research in the galleries, collections, and print-shops of Europe; and the compiler does himself no more than justice when he expresses in his preface the hope “ that the pains which have been taken to determine the states of the prints, and to make reference to the original pictures, will prove of use to other collectors, as well as to future compilers of manuals of engravings.”
To all such persons indeed the Catalogue will prove an invaluable aid. We doubt whether there is in our language a manual of the kind which, within its range, is so full of useful information. There have been larger collections than Mr. Gray’s, and catalogues of them; but such catalogues do not equal this in thoroughness and completeness. Here we have a large and admirable collection, with a catalogue which is absolutely perfect in all that the print-collector can desire. It is a marvel of accurate knowledge and persevering research. And no amount of book-knowledge alone would have sufficed to prepare it. Mr. Thies has spent many years in Europe, is very familiar with the great picture-galleries there, and with such collections of engravings as are accessible to the public; and we presume there is not a dealer in engravings, in France, Germany, and. England at least, whose treasures he has not examined. Thus a great deal of the information he has put into his pages is derived at first hand.
And in the consciousness of having produced a thorough piece of work, which the few will appreciate, Mr. Thies must find compensation and consolation for the fact that the value of his immense labors cannot be apprehended by the many. Indeed, the Catalogue is perhaps open to the criticism of presuming too much upon the knowledge of the reader, and not condescending enough to his ignorance. Its value to the general reader might have been greater, had there been an Introduction, with some elementary information as to the kinds of engraving, the processes, the several states of a plate, and the style and manner of great engravers. But we are not disposed to criticise a production which docs so much honor to Mr. Thies’s knowledge, industry, and taste, and is so informed with the spirit of the true artist, whether working with pen, pencil, chisel, or burin ; and that is the love of excellence for its own sake.