"The illustrations to the new book," Collingwood adds, "were a great advance upon the rough soft-ground etchings of the _Seven Lamps_. He secured the services of some of the finest engravers who ever handled the tools of their art. The English school of engravers was then in its last and most accomplished period. Photography had not yet begun to supersede it; and the demand for delicate work in book illustration had encouraged minuteness and precision of handling to the last degree. In this excessive refinement there were the symptoms of decline; but it was most fortunate for Mr. Ruskin that his drawings could be interpreted by such men as Armytage and Cousen, Cuff and Le Keux, Boys and Lupton.... The mere fact of their skill in translating a sketch from a note-book into a gem-like vignette, encouraged him to ask for more; so that some of the subjects which became the most elaborate were at first comparatively rough drawings, and were gradually worked up from successive retouchings of the proofs by the infinite patience of both parties. In other cases, working drawings were prepared by Mr. Ruskin, as refined as the plates." "Like much else of his work, these plates for 'Stones of Venice' were in advance of the times. The publishers thought them 'caviare to the general,' so Mr. J. J. Ruskin told his son; but gave it as his own belief that 'some dealers in Ruskins and Turners in 1890 will get great prices for what at present will not sell.'" An "Advertisement" in the second volume tells us, "It was originally intended that this Work should consist of two volumes only; the subject has extended to three. The second volume, however, will conclude the account of the ancient architecture of Venice. The third will embrace the Early, the Roman, and the Grotesque Renaissance; and an Index...." The first volume, called _The Foundations_, and having twenty-one plates, and the second, called _The Sea-Stories_, with twenty plates, each cost two guineas. The third volume, called _The Fall_, with twelve plates, cost a guinea and a half. They were bound in cloth, stamped in gold, with the "Lion of St. Mark" on the back. A few copies of both volumes one and two were issued in two parts. The first volume ran into a second edition in 1858, and the second and third were reissued in 1867. Octavo. COLLATION: _Three volumes. Illustrations. Fifty-three plates._ ROBERT BROWNING (1812-1889) 93. Men And Women. | By | Robert Browning. | In Two Volumes. | Vol. I. | London: | Chapman And Hall, 193, Piccadilly. | 1855.