"The halls of nearly all the companies were consumed in the great fire, so that most of their buildings date from the last years of the house of Stuart, and in later times some have been rebuilt in a style of profuse magnificence. Nevertheless, there is hardly one which does not contain some picturesque bit of architecture or wood-carving, curious portrait, quaintly carved figure, beautifully illumined charter, or splendid piece of plate. The wood-carving in many is superb,--in none finer than in the Brewers' Hall,--and the combination of the dark color of old oak with the bright tinctures of painted armorial bearings occurs in endless and always picturesque variety. The quite self-content and the half-private character of the guilds have prevented a thorough investigation of their history. They themselves feel, as any one who with the feeling of ownership dines often in such halls as theirs must come to feel, that no one but one of themselves could do them justice; that a haberdasher alone could write of haberdashers, a grocer of grocers, a vintner of vintners. One or two good histories of particular companies have been written by members, but all the general accounts are deficient in thoroughness. It must be remembered, too, that these ancient corporations suffered a terrible shock at the hands of the law-officers of Charles II., who forced open their muniment chests, asked why and wherefore about everything, and demanded their money or their lives. The 'quo warranto' was hardly forgotten when more modern attacks began; royal commissions were threatened, and the guilds which had never done harm, and thought that merit enough, were perpetually asked why they did not do good, and those who obviously did good, why they did not do more. "Thus assailed from time to time, but so far surviving assault, no wonder that the companies are a little suspicious of strangers and not too anxious to admit criticising historians." Brochure Series Competition "P." Readers of THE BROCHURE SERIES who are amateur photographers, as well as those who have made collections of architectural photographs, will be interested in our newly announced "Competition P," details of which are given, under that heading, in the advertising pages of this issue. [Illustration: PLATE LXVI STATIONER'S HALL: GREAT HALL] Transcriber's Note: Italics are indicated by _underscores_. Small capitals have been rendered in full capitals. A number of minor spelling errors have been corrected without note. End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Brochure Series of Architectural Illustration, vol. 06, No. 8, August 1900, by Various