Illustrations by George and Robert Cruikshank constitute the current exhibit in the Widener Memorial Room. A few water color drawings are shown, but the majority of the display consists of engravings made by these artists, sometimes original and sometimes copied from the paintings of other men.
A "Life of Napoleon Bonaparte" edited by W. H. Ireland and published in 1823 is illustrated with some of the more conventional work of George Cruikshank, the plates being engraved by him from drawings by other men. The same thing is true of "An Historical Account of the Battle of Waterloo" written by William Mudford Esq. and printed in 1816. This artist is more appealing, however, in what is the most valuable and probably the most interesting work in the display, namely "The Humorist, a Collection of Entertaining Tales, Anecdotes, Epigrams, Bon Mots, etc., etc." The work is made up of several small volumes illustrated in an uproariously grotesque manner.
Several books called "Divine Emblems," written by Johann Abricht, are illustrated with copper-plate etchings by Robert Cruikshank.
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UP FROM DOWN-UNDER
