Notices of New Publications.
We hailed with satisfaction the appearance of the first number of this work, which may well be cited as an example for similar publications. Gladly would we consider it as part of a series to be hereafter extended over the whole of England, and if such an idea had been entertained, it would have been difficult to select any district better suited for the commencement of such an undertaking. The number of fine churches, and the variety of styles, and of interest attaching to them, could hardly be surpassed in any other part of the country. The Northamptonshire steeples have long been proverbial for their beauty, and the other parts of the churches are not unworthy of them. We were therefore fully justified in considering such a work as not one of mere local interest, but promising to be of great value to all who can appreciate the ancient architecture of England. The subsequent numbers have not disappointed the expectations which we were led to entertain: as a work of art only, it is worthy of a place in every good library, the engravings being distinguished by their beauty, not less than by their accuracy, and there are ho appearances of a falling off, either in the steel plates, or the woodcuts.
While we give this general approbation cordially and sincerely, we cannot shut our eyes to minor defects, which grow more evident as the work proceeds. The plan adopted by the Society, is to describe minutely, first the Exterior, then the Interior, and, lastly, to give a summary of the two under the title of Architectural History; the obvious effect of this is a great deal of repetition, and wearisome reading. If the object of the Society had been book-making, to swell out scanty materials into a bulky volume, or volumes, all praise would be due to their ingenuity; a better plan could hardly have been devised for giving the least possible information in the largest possible number of words; yet we have no doubt that the real object of the Society is the reverse of this; they would gladly condense a superabundance of materials into the smallest possible space. They must know that the work is not likely to be profitable, and that a mere dry description of the architecture of a single county, extended to three or four volumes, is not likely to be very acceptable to the public. They have in fact pledged themselves to confine the work to two volumes, but to accomplish this, they must materially alter and abridge their plan.
While the engravings leave nothing to be desired on that score, we could be well content with a fourth part of the letterpress. One of Rickman's terse notices, in a single paragraph, gives us a clearer idea of what to expect to find in a church that we do not know, than a dozen pages of tedious description of all its parts, from which we rise puzzled and bewildered. The use of such descriptions is not to compare each detail on the spot with
