this sort would soon become as tedious as the amassing of dull armorial _ex libris_, or sorting infinitely subtle varieties of postage-stamps. But seeing the intense passion such things arouse in their devotees, the fact that among children's books there are not a few of real intrinsic interest, ought not to make the hobby less attractive; except that, speaking generally, your true collector seems to despise every quality except rarity (which implies market value ultimately, if for the moment there are not enough rival collectors to have started a "boom" in prices). Yet all these "snappers up of unconsidered trifles" help to gather together material which may prove in time to be not without value to the social historian or the student interested in the progress of printing and the art of illustration; but it would be a pity to confuse ephemeral "curios" with lasting works of fine art, and the ardour of collecting need not blind one to the fact that the former are greatly in excess of the latter. [Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "MISS MOUSE AND HER BOYS." BY L. LESLIE BROOKE. (MACMILLAN AND CO. 1897)] The special full-page illustrations which appear in this number must not be left without a word of comment. In place of re-issuing facsimiles of actual illustrations from coloured books of the past which would probably have been familiar to many readers, drawings by artists who are mentioned elsewhere in this Christmas Number have been specially designed to carry out the spirit of the theme. For Christmas is pre-eminently the time for children's books. Mr. Robert Halls' painting of a baby, here called "The Heir to Fairyland"--the critic for whom all this vast amount of effort is annually expended--is seen still in the early or destructive stage, a curious foreshadowing of his attitude in a later development should he be led from the paths of Philistia to the bye-ways of art criticism. The portrait miniatures of child-life by Mr. Robert Halls, if not so well known as they deserve, cannot be unfamiliar to readers of THE STUDIO, since many of his best works have been exhibited at the Academy and elsewhere. The lithograph by Mr. R. Anning Bell, "In Nooks with Books," represents a second stage of the juvenile critic when appreciation in a very acute form has set in, and picture-books are no longer regarded as toys to destroy, but treasures to be enjoyed snugly with a delight in their possession. [Illustration: ILLUSTRATION FROM "BABY'S LAYS" BY E. CALVERT (ELKIN MATHEWS. 1897)]