GUIDE TO THE ARTS

New Zealand Listener, Volume 32, Issue 823, 6 May 1955, Page 12

GUIDE TO THE ARTS

THE OXFORD JUNIOR ENCYCLOPAEDIA, Volume XII, The Arts; Geoffrey Cumber-lege-Oxford University Press, English price 30/

(Reviewed by

J.

M.

ENTH in order of appearance, twelfth (and last) in numerical sequence, The Arts is pictorially the most resplendent and stimulating of the Junior Encyclopaedia volumes so _ far published. The topics covered-litera-ture,. drama, music, painting, sculpture, architecture-do, of course, provide an unparalleled opulence of material, but the richness of an illustrator’s resources multiply his (in this case, her) problems. Helen Mary Petter, who has acted for the O.U.P. throughout the project as illustrations editor-and fulfilled her duties with distinction-is here the Volume Editor as well. This additional responsibility, and the freedom of choice which goes with it, has no doubt contributed materially to the pictorial quality of Volume XII. Miss Petter’s craftsmanship as an illustrator is almost an art in itself and has not been seen to better advantage than it is here. She selects well, with a keen eye for the appropriate and illuminating picture; fastidiously avoids the banal and the hackneyed, and has been admirably served by the process engravers. Indeed, the | pictures which she has selected for the | Encyclopaedia-already some thousands in number-are in themselves a liberal education, The text offers the reviewer equally small scope for complaint. There are the occasional (and apparently unavoidable) typographical errors-there is, for example, a literal in the second clerihew on page 94, and Ngaio Marsh’s fictional hero is deglamourised to Inspector Allen in the note on detective stories-but one has to scratch hard to find such slips, which seem more infrequent than in earlier volumes. Nor are there any omissions of substance in the subject-matter. Film enthusiasts may be disappointed that the cinema is not yet rated as an art, but they were handsomely treated in Volume IX (Recreations). One legitimate ground for criticism, however, is the inadequate reference to strictly contemporary trends in the arts (as distinct from "modern art" or "modern poetry’ in a general sense), and to particular contemporary artists. The short story, for example, is covered without naming a single living writer save A. E. Coppard, .who is mentioned in a parenthesis. Benjamin Britten is given a passing reference in Modern Music, but is not mentioned in the section dealing with Opera. A little more attention to the contemporary scene, however brief the references, would have en‘hanced the value of the volume to the young student. Nevertheless, youth is here well served-and more than youth. Parents who will this year be facing the ordeal of School Certificate and other external examinations should not be without this volume.