CHARLES V.’s son and successor, Philip II., was more a statesman than a soldier. In his youth, however, remarks the learned compiler of the Catalogue, he was accounted a clever tilter, and jousts were frequently organised on the occasions of his visits to Italy, Germany, and Flanders. The Conde de Valencia indignantly rebuts the allegation that this Monarch was opposed to martial exercises and even physically deformed. “The truth of the latter statement may be judged by examining his armour, the lines of which are a model of proportion and regularity.”

To Philip are ascribed six harnesses, arranged like those of his father, each on two or more figures.

The first suit (A189-A216) is styled the arnÉs de lacerÍas, from the tracery of its decorative lengths. It was made at Augsburg in 1545, by Desiderius Colman, a year before that artificer turned out the MÜhlberg suit for Charles V. We extract the following particulars from the Catalogue of 1898:

“It is the young prince’s first armour on becoming a man (18), as stated in the Inventory of the Royal Armoury of 1594. From childhood the Colmans had made his armour, as they had done for his august father, and when it ceased to fit him he distributed it among the youths of the Court. This armour, then, was ordered of Desiderius Colman; but the decoration was doubtless by a Spanish artist in the service of the Prince, named Diego de Arroyo; clear proof of this we find in a note in the Chamberlain’s book, dated Feb. 3rd, 1544 (a date which also appears on the left cuisse of the equestrian figure A190), reading thus: ‘Firstly, Diego de Arroyo designed all the pieces of a suit of armour to be engraved, to send to Germany, so that by it a suit of armour might be made for His Highness—three ducats are given him.’”

Arroyo’s design is composed of wide vertical bands, with Oriental lacework in the centre, engraved on a white ground, and on both edges, gilded foliations mingled with extremely beautiful decorations of the Renaissance period.

Colman in person took his work to Valladolid, at that time the residence of the Court. This appears from the following Imperial schedule, given at Worms, July 29th, 1545. “The King: Don Francisco de los Cobos, &c., and our Chief Accountant of Castile: Colman, our armourer, we have sent to your Court to take certain armour which he is conveying to the Prince our son, and we have granted as salary for each day he may occupy, two florins of fifteen bacos each, and we have paid him here six weeks and because on returning he will need more money, we charge you to provide for paying him there a like amount in this respect.—I the King.”

The first figure (A189, plate 43) shows a suit of foot-armour for jousting. It has an armet with high ridged comb, visor with two slits for the occularium, and beavor freely perforated. The tastefully-decorated breastplate has laminated gussets, and taces to which are attached the conspicuous lamboys. The border of this kilt of steel is embossed, gilded, and etched with the devices of the Golden Fleece, griffins, and scrolls. Espaliers protect the shoulders, rondels the armpits, and small coudes the elbows. The gauntlet of the right hand is notable (plate 106A): it extends in several articulations to the inside of the wrist, where it is closed with a hinge to prevent its slipping off the hand. The leg-armour is peculiar to this description of harness, and has high laminated cuisses accommodated to the curves of the knee; genouillÈres are, therefore, dispensed with. (Compare the suit A149, made in 1541.)

The second figure (A190) bears a fine mid-sixteenth century tilting helm in three pieces. The beavor, perforated at the sides, is screwed on to the upper part of the breast-plate, and is secured to the other parts of the head-piece by side screws, on which the visor revolves; the back of the helm, including skull-piece, comb, and tail-piece is fastened to the backplate, and at the sides of the head to the beavor and visor. On the arm is one of the pieces mentioned at A101, and “slashed” in imitation of the civil dress of the time. With these pieces is shown a target, beautifully etched with fantastic figures in the German style. The superb barding of the horse does not belong to the suit or the period, and will be described later.

To figure A191 are attached a notable morion, with roped comb, and arm guards, waved or imbricated with gold and steel alternately, and delicately etched. The tassets, cuisses, and gauntlets display the same decoration as the rest of the armour. The shield A193 was designed by Diego de Arroyo, like the other pieces.

The armour A217-A230, made in Germany about 1549 for Philip when he was heir-apparent, is that in which he is represented by Titian (Prado Gallery, No. 454) and Rubens (No. 1607). It was in this suit also, that Velazquez represented the Conde de Benavente, who lived nearly a hundred years after it was forged (No. 1090). The component pieces are striped and bordered by wide bands of engraved and gilded arabesques, designed in all probability by Diego de Arroyo. In the second figure (A218, plate 49) the tassets are of unequal length. The fingers of the right gauntlet are united, those of the left joined in couples. The cuisses are laminated, and reach to about the middle of the thigh. This armour appears to have consisted of more pieces than any other in the collection.

Philip’s third suit (A231-A238) was made for him at Landshut in Bavaria, in 1550, by Sigmund Wolf. Many of the pieces are now at Brussels. The ornamentation is chaste, consisting of narrow bands, etched with graceful scrolls and volutes on white burnished steel.

The parade armour (A239-A242) was made for Philip at Augsburg by Desiderius Colman and Georg Sigman, in 1552. An order exists, issued by Philip, directing his treasurer to pay 2,000 gold escudos, on account of 3,000 escudos, which it seems was the price of this splendid harness.

The history of this suit is not without interest. We borrow the following details from Conde de Valencia:

“When Colman undertook this important work, all embossed and damascened, he showed that he could produce very different work to that which generally left his workshops; that is, tilting and war-armour, which only required superficial ornamentation, like the engraving and low relief on the parts least exposed to lance-thrusts. His recognised superiority in this branch of his industry, and especially forging, is attested by his almost exclusively supplying the Emperor and his son, and by the many suits he made for the chief captains and officers of the Imperial Army. Under such circumstances he was justified in wishing to excel also in the making of armour for parade or de luxe, his rivals the Negrolis of Milan, who a little while before had made various magnificent pieces for Charles V.: among them, armour A139.

“However, it does not seem that Colman possessed the necessary skill to undertake a work of this kind alone. So at least it would appear from his co-operating with a person, whose artistic capacity he recognised to such a degree, that he permitted him to place his signature beside his own on the principal piece of the armour.

“This associate was a German silversmith, named Georg Sigman, who, though resident in Augsburg, had not succeeded in getting the municipality to register him as a master in the trade to which he belonged. Colman saw doubtless in the skill of this artist a powerful medium that would permit him to rival the Negrolis in the ornamentation of armour de luxe, and accepted his assistance in return for his using his influence at the Imperial Court on Sigman’s behalf.”

The scheme of the decoration is as creditable as the execution. On a ground of blackened steel all the pieces are adorned with broad vertical bands, embossed with grotesques, and bordered by narrow outer bands, which are in their turn bordered by pretty trefoil work projecting over the plain ground.

The crest of the burgonet is decorated with laurels and exquisite traceries; the rest of its surface is covered with small figures, birds, scrolls, and foliations charmingly relieved and intertwined. On either side of the crest are medallions representing heroic combats, all delicately chiselled, and with gilded profiles.

At the junction of the visor and helmet may be seen the marks and initials of Colman and Sigman, with the date 1550. Sigman, not content with stamping his initials beside those of his principal, has repeated them with the date 1549 beneath the plume-holder, to commemorate the two years he was employed upon the decoration of the work.

The cuirass is composed of overlapping plates placed horizontally. This species of defence was called the lorica, from being originally made of leather which was modelled, while wet, to the muscles of the human body, and was imitated in the bronze cuirass in late Roman times. The four upper plates which formed the gorget are missing. They were joined to one on which is engraved and gilded the collar of the Golden Fleece. Beneath it hangs the Fleece itself, supported by two nymphs, and beginning the exquisite series of groups which run down the central band. The remaining bands are equally well conceived and executed. The cuisses are similarly composed of plates set horizontally and decorated vertically. About half-way down the thigh the lower edge of the plate is decorated, so that at this point the upper plates could be disconnected from the lower, and used as simple tassets. The genouillÈres are decorated with masks and satyrs. The arm-guards are similar to the rest of the suit. The coudes are admirably embossed and gilded, the design showing a woman wearing the Collar of the Golden Fleece and an Imperial tiara; on each side of her are warriors armed in classic style; the Imperial Eagle is shown on the inside of the piece, and a mask at the elbow. Note the laminated gorget (A239 bis, plate 47B), beautifully decorated in the same way as the rest of the armour, and suitable for wearing over a coat of mail or leather doublet.

The shield A241 (plate 146), belonging to this harness, has a peculiar interest as commemorating the rivalry that existed between the great German and Italian armourers of the sixteenth century. It is in one piece, blackened and richly decorated, embossed and inlaid with gold. From the boss spread radiations enclosed by a laurel wreath, and outside this by a narrow band with the following inscription in German: DESIDERIO COLMAN CAYS MAY HARNASCHMACHER AVSGEMACHT IN AVGVSTA DEN 15 APRILIS IM 1552 JAR (Desiderius Colman, Armourer of His CÆsarean Majesty, finished this on April 15th, 1552). At equal distances round the shield are disposed circular medallions encircled by wreaths of laurel and myrtle, and designed with the following subjects: Strength in a triumphal car drawn by men, Victory in another car drawn by lions, Minerva drawn by horses, and Peace borne on the shoulders of Kings. Between the medallions are seen other Kings enthroned and surrounded by other figures, masks, cartouches, and foliations in great profusion. In the rim between two laurel wreaths, hunting scenes and bull-fights are depicted. In one group Colman has symbolised his supposed triumph over his Milanese competitor by a bull overthrowing a man whose shield bears the word “Negrol.” As a matter of fact the shield is a far less creditable performance than the rest of the armour, nor does the best of Colman’s work deserve to be preferred to the Medusa shield executed by Negroli. In justice to the German it should be added, however, that the shield shows every sign of having been left unfinished. The war-saddle (A242, plate 47B) is the finer work. The subject of the design of the centre-band is Venus riding the waves in a shell drawn by dolphins, and attended by cupids. The sword G47 (see infra) also belonged to this harness.

The armour of Philip II., called the Burgundy-Cross-Armour, was made in 1551 by Sigmund Wolf. The order exists authorising the payment to the armourer on account of the Prince of “two hundred gold escudos in token and part payment of some gilded armour” made for him.

The suit is very richly decorated with bands of the natural colour of the steel on which are etched alternately the Cross of Burgundy or of St. Andrew, and the emblems of the Golden Fleece—all gilded. On the breastplate of the first figure (A263, plate 50) is engraved the image of the Madonna. The cuisses are high and laminated as in former examples. The horse’s bard is very handsome, and seems to be a reproduction in metal of the richly-embroidered caparison usually worn by the Imperial chargers.

The suit A243-262 was made for Philip by Wolf, of Landshut, somewhere about 1554, the date being fixed by the chanfron of the horse being charged with the arms of England, which Philip could only have assumed on his marriage with Mary Tudor. The panoply includes a greater number of pieces for tilting than any other owned by this Prince, and demonstrates his partiality for manly exercises. The decoration consists of wide vertical bands on a ground of burnished steel, gilded and etched with black waves or undulations, and bordered on either side by narrow bands exhibiting a similar design. The armour appears to have comprised about eighty-five pieces, of which seventy-four are in the Madrid collection.

The first figure (A243, plate 48) is conspicuous by the enormous reinforcing piece, or overguard, on the left elbow, and for the symmetry and elegance of the leg-armour.

The gay barding for the horse does not belong to the armour: it comes from the armour of Prince Charles, son of Philip II.: in his inventories all the pieces are enumerated, although the general lines and character of the ornamentation agree with the bards of the Emperor’s time. It was made in Nuremberg by the German armourer, Conrad Lochner the younger, whose mark, together with that of the city, is stamped on the breastpiece and crupper. It includes saddle; reinguard; croupiÈre; flÉchiÈre; poitrel, with large linch-pins; collar; mainfaire, and chanfron, the latter with two large twisted ram’s horns, and above the hind part of the head the shield with the Royal arms. All these pieces are decorated with graceful bands etched with alternating imbrications of iron and gold, which border and cross them in various directions. In the spaces where the steel preserves its natural colour, there are a large number of volutes and palms in relief. The bridle is late sixteenth century, of long strips well filed, like the perforated copas, which are decorated with gold.

The third figure (A245, plate 49) shows various reinforcing pieces for the tilt, to be worn on the preceding suit, A244, with the exception of the helm and tassets—“the total weight being thirty-nine kilogrammes, which could only be supported during the short time occupied by three or four courses and in breaking as many lances.”

The various pieces are adjusted and shaped with marvellous precision. The helm is a triumph of the armourer’s craft, with an occularium four millimetres wide, ventail on the right hand side, and strong beavor coming well down on to the left shoulder, where is screwed a manteau d’armes or target, with raised trellis-work and floral devices etched on the panels. The tassets are of unequal length. The leg-armour again illustrates Wolf’s skill and eye for symmetry. The fifth figure (A247) has preserved the colours of the decorative bands very well.

The same scheme of decoration is exhibited by the armour (A274-A276) made in 1558 for the unfortunate Prince Charles, son of Philip II. It was made for him by Sigmund Wolf when the Prince was thirteen or fourteen years of age. The difference in size between the right and left pauldrons goes to prove that the Prince was slightly deformed, as has, indeed, been often asserted. The first figure (A274, plate 52) has a morion with high comb, visor, and beavor secured by a hook on the left and a button on the right side. The tassets are continued to the knee after the lobster-tail style then becoming fashionable.

Of the arms and detached pieces of armour ascribed to Philip II., and included in the Armoury, the most remarkable is the sword (G47) belonging to the parade-armour A239.

The blade is of diamond section, with a short groove below the tang. The first third of its length is adorned with engravings and small squares of gold, enclosed in which we find these inscriptions, on one side—PRO FIDE ET PATRIA. PRO CHRISTO ET PATRIA. INTER ARMA SILENT LEGES SOLI DEO GLORIA; on the other—PVGNA PRO PATRIA. PRO ARIS ET FOCIS; NEC TEMERE, NEC TIMIDE, FIDE SED CVI VIDE. On the ricasso is the mark of the maker, Clement Horn, of Solingen. The hilt is the most remarkable in the collection. It is blued and carved in gold relief in the Italian renaissance style. The centre of the guard is decorated with numerous figures in high relief on a gilded ground; one quillon curves downwards, the other upwards, and both end in the heads and busts of men entwined about with spirals. From a cartouche engraved with the Judgment of Paris on the guard, springs an exquisite counter-guard composed of two beautiful Caryatides united by volutes. The grip is of quadrangular section, and formed with four pieces of rock-crystal engraved in gold. The pommel, which is the most admirable part of the composition, is formed by two volutes, which hold and press between them the head of an old Satyr, whose expression reveals his vexation; in the curves of the volutes are two little genii. They grasp and tread on festoons of fruit, which are gathered up at the back of the pommel by the god Vertumnus, beneath whom, on an oval cartouche, Hercules is seen in combat with the Nemean lion.

The sword G48, believed to have been the work of the Toledo maker Martinez Menchaca, and the property of Philip II., is flat, with three pierced channels in its upper third. The hilt is German, and highly ornate. The quillons and guards resemble the coils of a serpent, and are elaborately chased and incrusted with silver. They are further adorned with masks, torsos, and nude figures within medallions, the whole being designed and executed with much taste. The hilt of the sword, G49, attributed to the Conde de CoruÑa (Viceroy of Nueva EspaÑa in 1580), is another beautiful piece of work, the decoration being less elaborate, but on the whole more tasteful than that of the sword G48. It is of Spanish (Toledo) make, but the maker’s name remains unknown.

Perhaps the most magnificent suit in the whole Armoury is the Parade Armour (A290, plates 53, 53D) made for King Sebastian of Portugal (1554-1578) by Anton Pfeffenhauser of Augsburg.

“Examined from the artistic point of view,” says the Conde de Valencia, “this is Pfeffenhauser’s masterpiece, and places him on a level with, if not above, the best German armourers of his time. True, he falls into the mistake of over-ornamentation, and his figures are incorrectly designed; but the composition and embossing are bolder than Colman’s, and, above all, his chiselling is of inimitable precision and clearness. With regard to the style of the decoration, on comparing the capricious combinations of figures, scrolls, and other features of the ornamentation with the designs published by Hefner Altenech, we are led to believe that it was the work of either Hans Mielich, of Munich, or some other German artist of the same age and equal ability.”

The sixteen pieces of the armour are blackened, and gilded only at the nails, clasps, and plume-holder. The burgonet is cast in one piece and richly embossed. On the comb are seen Tritons, sea-horses, dolphins, and Nereids; the major portion of the surface is occupied by battle scenes, the warriors wearing classic garb, and fighting on the backs of elephants—an allusion, like the coat-of-arms carried by one of the warriors, to the Portuguese conquests in India; at the base of the skull are represented Diana, Hercules, Neptune, and Amphitrite; and on the cheek-pieces, each of three laminÆ, are the images of Strength and Justice.

The decoration of the other pieces consists in the customary wide vertical bands, traversing the body from the gorget to the ankle. On the widest and midmost band is the figure of Jupiter; beneath him is Diana; and, lastly, the infant Hercules strangling the serpents. The other bands, both on breast and backplates, likewise display mythological subjects. The pauldrons are even more richly ornamented than the other pieces: at the back and front they are embossed with designs representing respectively Power, Victory, Peace, and Navigation.

The coudes display the four figures of the Cardinal Virtues. Beautiful emblematic groups and figures adorn the genouillÈres and demi-jambs. The tassets are detachable half-way up the thigh. The gauntlets correspond in decoration and elegance with the rest of this magnificent suit.

The armour of Philip III. belongs to the period of the decadence of the armourer’s craft. The final victory of the firearm in the long struggle between attack and defence was now very generally recognised, and complete suits of armour were worn mainly for display. Tilting, too, was going rapidly out of fashion. By the middle of the seventeenth century the burgonet, cuirass, and tassets were well-nigh the only pieces of armour worn in the field.

The suit B1 to B3 (plates 82 et seq.) presented to Philip III. when Prince, at the age of seven, by his brother-in-law, Carlo Emmanuele, Duke of Savoy, is obviously one of the harnesses intended for ornament, and not defence. It is a beautiful example of Italian art, including twelve pieces, worked in gilded iron, and decorated with innumerable figures, masks, &c., in the low relief contained in cartouches, scrolls, and bands—all embossed and damascened. There is no leg-armour attached to the suit, and the gauntlets have disappeared.

The helmet, or celada de engole, has a large mask on the visor, and at the sides Victory and Fame; on the outside part of the collar, Strength and Prudence, and on the other, the Ducal Crown; on the breastplate the figure of Fortuna, accompanied by two winged genii, with a phylactery on which is the word SPANIA; and in different places, Justice, Temperance, and various small symbolic figures, which may also be seen on the backplate, the pauldrons, and the armlets. It bears no armourer’s mark.

B2. Infantry morion, forged in one piece, with similar decoration to the preceding; a mask, in front on the forehead figures representing Abundance and Prosperity, grotesques, and trophies.

B3. Shield, for combat on foot. A medallion covers the centre, on which are represented Jupiter, Neptune, and Mars destroying the Moors; around are four Ephesian Dianas on estipites (pedestals in the form of inverted pyramids), and between them an equal number of panels with warlike and mythological subjects: the decoration of the groundwork is completed by other subjects similar to those of the preceding pieces. Diameter 0.39.

The half-suit B4-5 (plate 84), also presented to the successor of Philip II. in his childhood, is believed to be the work of Lucio Picinino. The decoration is very beautiful and less profuse than in the preceding example. On the wide middle band of the breastplate may be seen a mask upheld by two nude figures, the goddess Pallas, satyrs, &c. Festoons with masks extend from band to band. The pauldrons bear grotesque masks, and the coudes symbolical figures.

The harness, A291-294 (plate 54), seems to have been made in Milan by Lucio Picinino, and was presented by the Duke of Savoy to Philip III. “Although it belongs to the decadent period of the Italian Renaissance,” remarks the Conde de Valencia, “it is assuredly one of the handsomest pieces of work turned out by the Milanese armourers of the late sixteenth century.” The panoply is unfortunately very incomplete, owing to the strange course having been adopted of dressing with parts of it the corpse of the Infante Carlos, who died in 1632.

The whole suit is profusely decorated with reliefs and gold and silver damascene work. The burgonet displays three masks—on the visor (which is in two pieces), and at the base of the skull. The upper edge of the breastplate is roped. In the centre of the chest is an embossed mask; beneath it a panel with the figure of Victory, seemingly held in position by chains, and by two male figures. Below it and on either side are grotesque masks. The pauldrons (one of which has a bufe or passe-garde), the tassets, cuisses, genouillÈres, and demi-jambs are similarly decorated with cartouches and medallions with martial and allegorical subjects.

“The rich covering for the horse is also incomplete. It is composed of pieces of the two distinct bards mentioned in the Inventory, one ‘inlaid with gold and silver, fluted, and in relief, all adorned with blue stones (lapis lazuli) and yellow stones and illuminated crystals’; and the other, ‘with the same pieces as the one above, lacking nothing, and this is of gilded iron in relief.’

“Saddles, chanfrons, and mainfaires of both bards are preserved, these sets being that of the dragon chanfron on the horse A190, and that with the inlaid work on the present figure; but the cruppers and poitrels of both have been broken up, and their component parts have been mostly dispersed abroad. What was preserved in the Armoury, now without stones or crystals, together with other remains found in the ancient edifice after the fire, constitute the crupper and poitrel of this horse.”

To the first decade of the seventeenth century belongs the suit (A338-A346) attributed to the third Duke of Escalona. It has a tilting helmet with visor in two pieces, and a shutter in the ventail; the leg-armour is still complete. The elaborate ornamentation, consisting of wide vertical bands etched, alternating with trophies, medallions, and lacework, has lost much of its richness, owing to the disappearance of the blackening and gilding.

The horse’s barding is older than the armour; it is of the early sixteenth century, and the style of the ornamentation appears to be Spanish Renaissance. The several pieces of which it is composed are decorated with trophies, flowers, grotesques, and other devices in good taste, etched, and part of them engraved by hand. On the poitrel may be seen St. James on horseback, fighting against the Moors, accompanied by two warriors of antiquity. The chanfron has the escutcheon of the Alvarez de Toledo family, the surname of the celebrated Duke of Alba, from whom possibly it might have come.

The days had passed when Spanish Kings sent to Augsburg for their harness, and in 1620 we hear of a Royal armour factory at Pamplona in Navarre. The first specimen of its work is the parade armour made for the Duke of Savoy by order of Philip III. (A350-353, plate 62). Being a presentation suit, it was lavishly decorated with vertical bands and panels, with a bordering of trefoils of silver in relief. The initial letter, and the ducal crown and palms of Savoy figure in the ornamentation; and on the centre band of the cuirass may be seen the arms of the County of Nice—a crowned eagle gazing at the sun.

Philip III.’s half-suit of armour, numbered A354-355, was also forged at Pamplona. It is of steel-plated iron, and of extraordinary thickness. It is blued and decorated at the borders with bands on which are chiselled flowing scrolls, animals, grotesques, &c. A graceful edging of silver trefoils in relief finishes off the bands. The helmet, or cabasset, has a drooping brim, and is forged in two pieces. The breastplate is adorned by the Collar of the Golden Fleece, and another collar or riband (engraved), from which hangs the medal of the Immaculate Conception. A curious feature is the seven indentations made by the bullets of an arquebus, and each set with silver pearls. These marks do not say much for the quality of the metal, which is ten millimetres thick. The backplate, which is only three millimetres thick, has been perforated by the bullet. The arms are defended by espaliers reaching to the elbow, where they meet the cuffs of the gauntlets.

At Pamplona were also made six half-suits of boys’ armour for the three sons of Philip III.—the Infantes Philip, Charles, and Ferdinand. These suits (B13-B20, plates 87, &c.) are composed of closed helmet, gorget, cuirass, and the usual arm armour. The steel is blued, and each piece is decorated at the edge with the Collar of the Golden Fleece. The rest of the surface is divided by beautiful foliations in silver into diamond-shaped sections, in which are displayed the Tower and Lion of Spain, the Pillars of Hercules, warlike trophies, and the Double-headed Eagle.

The suit A360-368 (plate 58) was made in the first years of the century, in Italy, apparently for the Prince Filippo Emmanuele of Savoy, who died in 1605, aged 19. It consists of closed tilting helmet, gorget, cuirass, tassets, and the usual pieces for the limbs. All the pieces are richly decorated, but the blackening of the groundwork and the gilding of the ornamentation have disappeared. The crown of Savoy, with the palms and olive-branch, and groups of trophies are etched in rhomboidal sections formed by intertwined lovers’ knots, the emblem of the ducal house.

The same scheme of decoration is apparent on the two suits (A369, A377) of Italian make that were the property of the victor of St. Quentin, Prince Emmanuele Filiberto of Savoy, Grand Admiral of Spain (1588-1624). On the first suit certain Spanish heraldic devices, such as the Tower and Lion, may also be seen associated with the emblems of Savoy.

The last period of armour is illustrated by the suits belonging to King Philip IV. Six of these were sent to him from Brussels by his aunt, the Infanta Isabel Clara Eugenia, wife of the Archduke Albrecht.

The first of these (A380-393) dates from 1624. It is shown on two figures, both with the same decoration of vertical bands traced on a groundwork of gold. On the shield may be deciphered the initials M. P. with a crown and three fleurs-de-lys, which leads the Conde de Valencia to hazard the conjecture that the armourer may have been one of the Petits, who served Louis XIII. of France. The harness includes the complete leg-armour, which now was never worn in the field; but the second figure (A381, plate 60) has, instead, the lobster-tail tassets, which were in actual use.

The second presentation suit (A394-401) is that in which Philip IV. is represented by Velazquez in the portraits in the Prado, numbered 1,066 and 1,077. It seems to have been originally blackened with the edges and rivets gilded, but probably lost its hue when worn by the illustrious Don Juan JosÉ, natural son of Philip IV., in his Italian campaign in 1652.

The armour A408-413 was among the gifts presented by the Archduchess Isabel Clara. It was very elegantly decorated with bands of gold and silver, chiselled by hand in zig-zag fashion. The next suit, A414-421, from the same donor, was worn by Don Juan JosÉ, who is shown wearing the cuirass on a bust in the Prado gallery.

The two remaining suits attributed to Philip IV. were the gift of his brother, the Cardinal Infante Ferdinand. The first (A422, plate 59) has the lobster-tail tassets, and is blued and decorated with vertical bands of medallions with various subjects. This suit was formerly, for some obscure reason, ascribed to Columbus. The second suit (A423-428) was originally blued and gilt, but the natural colour of the metal has now reasserted itself. The armour is distributed over three figures, and includes several pieces fast becoming obsolete at that time (1632). Notice the unusual size of the garde-de-rein on the first figure.

With these suits the Cardinal sent another for his boy-nephew, Prince Baltasar Carlos (1629-1646). This armour is little more than a toy, and preserves its blackening and gilding almost unimpaired.

The magnificently engraved collar and gorget numbered A434-A441 (plates 93, 94) are now known to represent the siege of Ostend (1601-1604) and the Battle of Nieuport (1600). The details are executed with marvellous clearness, and the chiselling reflects the greatest credit on the unknown artist. The horseman in the centre group on the gorget is probably the Archduke Albrecht, who distinguished himself by his valour at the Battle of Nieuport. These pieces were worn over a buff jerkin, such as was used by Cromwell’s Ironsides.

This brief survey of the principal objects of interest in the Royal Armoury at Madrid may be fittingly concluded with some account of the origin and vicissitudes of that establishment. Its nucleus was the armour accumulated by the Emperor Charles V., not with a view to a collection, but for his personal use. Philip II. was not slow to recognise the value of the treasure bequeathed him by his father. On his return to Madrid, upon the death of his wife, Mary Tudor, Philip deposited all the Emperor’s armour in a building specially designed for its reception, and added to it from time to time trophies won from the enemies of Spain, and such antiquities of national and military interest as he could procure. His good example was followed by his successors till the manufacture of defensive armour altogether ceased at the end of the seventeenth century, while the spoils of war became every year rarer towards the close of the eighteenth.

A calamity befell the collection at the outbreak of the War of Independence. The people of Madrid, in their eagerness to procure arms, invaded the building on December 1st, 1808, and carried off more than three hundred swords and other weapons with which to attack the French. And three years later Joseph Buonaparte foolishly piled the contents of the Armoury in the garrets, in order to make room for the dancers in the hall.

In the reign of Isabel II. the collection was re-installed and re-arranged. A catalogue was issued for the first time in 1849, the author being Don Antonio Martinez del Romero—a work displaying considerable research and industry, but full of errors, and completely superseded by the catalogue published in 1898 by the Conde de Valencia de San Juan.

It was to that gentleman that the late King Alfonso XII., soon after his accession, entrusted the complete re-organisation of the collection. This was a work presenting extraordinary difficulties, and after three years of incessant labour, the Conde had the mortification of seeing a fierce fire break out, which in the night of July 9th, 1884, reduced to ashes sixty-two flags taken from the enemy, twenty leather shields, and all the wooden figures prepared for the arrangement of the armour.

Without hesitation the work was begun all over again. The King added new and priceless acquisitions to the collection, among these being eleven examples of fifteenth-century brigandine armour (quilted jackets with the additional protection of plates of iron secured among the pads) discovered in Aragon, and several of the finest pieces in the armouries of the Dukes of Osuna and del Infantado.

Her Majesty Queen Cristina, during her regency, was not forgetful of the interest taken by her lamented husband in this magnificent Museum of Arms; and, thanks to her, the number of its treasures has been materially increased. Nor is it likely that any opportunity of adding to the value and usefulness of the collection will be neglected during the reign of a young Monarch devoted, like so many of his illustrious ancestors, to manly exercises and chivalrous traditions.

---

THE
SPANISH SERIES

Edited by ALBERT F. CALVERT

A new and important series of volumes, dealing with Spain in its various aspects, its history, its cities and monuments. Each volume will be complete in itself in an uniform binding, and the number and excellence of the reproductions from pictures will justify the claim that these books comprise the most copiously illustrated series that has yet been issued, some volumes having over 300 pages of reproductions of pictures, etc.

Crown 8vo.

IN PREPARATION

• Goya
• Granada
• Velazquez
• Toledo
• Royal Palaces
• Madrid
• Leon, Burgos, &c.
• Valladolid, Segovia, &c.

UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME

MURILLO

A BIOGRAPHY AND APPRECIATION. ILLUSTRATED BY OVER 165 REPRODUCTIONS FROM PHOTOGRAPHS OF HIS MOST CELEBRATED PICTURES

While the names of Murillo and Velazquez are inseparably linked in the history of Art as Spain’s immortal contribution to the small band of world-painters, the great Court-Painter to Philip IV. has ever received the lion’s share of public attention. Many learned and critical works have been written about Murillo, but whereas Velazquez has been familiarised to the general reader by the aid of small, popular biographies, the niche is still empty which it is hoped that this book will fill.

In this volume the attempt has been made to show the painter’s art in its relation to the religious feeling of the age in which he lived, and his own feeling towards his art. Murillo was the product of his religious era, and of his native province, Andalusia. To Europe in his lifetime he signified little or nothing. He painted to the order of the religious houses of his immediate vicinity; his works were immured in local monasteries and cathedrals, and, passing immediately out of circulation, were forgotten or never known.

UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME

SPANISH ARMS AND ARMOUR

A HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE ROYAL ARMOURY AT MADRID. ILLUSTRATED WITH 386 REPRODUCTIONS FROM PHOTOGRAPHS

Although several valuable and voluminous catalogues of the Spanish Royal Armoury have, from time to time, been compiled, this “finest collection of armour in the world” has been subjected so often to the disturbing influences of fire, removal, and re-arrangement, that no hand catalogue of the Museum is available, and this book has been designed to serve both as a historical souvenir of the institution and a record of its treasures.

The various exhibits with which the writer illustrates his narrative are reproduced to the number of over 300 on art paper, and the selection of weapons and armour has been made with a view not only to render the series interesting to the general reader, but to present a useful text book of European armoury for the guidance of artists, sculptors, antiquaries, costumiers, and all who have practical interest in historical accuracy.

UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME

THE ESCORIAL

A HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE SPANISH ROYAL PALACE, MONASTERY AND MAUSOLEUM. ILLUSTRATED WITH PLANS AND 278 REPRODUCTIONS FROM PICTURES AND PHOTOGRAPHS

The Royal Palace, Monastery, and Mausoleum of El Escorial, which rears its gaunt, grey walls in one of the bleakest but most imposing districts in the whole of Spain, was erected to commemorate a victory over the French in 1557. It was occupied and pillaged by the French two and a-half centuries later, and twice it has been greatly diminished by fire; but it remains to-day, not only the incarnate expression of the fanatic religious character and political genius of Philip II., but the greatest mass of wrought granite which exists on earth, the leviathan of architecture, the eighth wonder of the world.

In the text of this book the author has endeavoured to reconstitute the glories and tragedies of the living past of the Escorial, and to represent the wonders of the stupendous edifice by reproductions of over two hundred and seventy of the finest photographs and pictures obtainable. Both as a review and a pictorial record it is hoped that the work will make a wide appeal among all who are interested in the history, the architecture, and the art of Spain.

UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME

CORDOVA

A HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE ANCIENT CITY WHICH THE CARTHAGINIANS STYLED THE “GEM OF THE SOUTH,” WITH OVER 155 ILLUSTRATIONS

Gay-looking, vivacious in its beauty, silent, ill-provided, depopulated, Cordova was once the pearl of the West, the city of cities, Cordova of the thirty suburbs and three thousand mosques; to-day she is no more than an overgrown village, but she still remains the most Oriental town in Spain.

Cordova, once the centre of European civilisation, under the Moors the Athens of the West, the successful rival of Baghdad and Damascus, the seat of learning and the repository of the arts, is now no more than a third-rate provincial town; but the artist, the antiquary and the lover of the beautiful, will still find in its streets and squares and patios a mysterious spell that cannot be resisted.

UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME

SEVILLE

A HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT, WITH 300 ILLUSTRATIONS

Seville, which has its place in mythology as the creation of Hercules, and was more probably founded by the Phoenicians, which became magnificent under the Roman rule, was made the capital of the Goths, was the centre of Moslem power and splendour, and fell before the military prowess of St. Ferdinand, is still the Queen of Andalusia, the Spanish Athens, the foster-mother of Velazquez and Murillo, the city of poets and pageantry and love.

Seville is always gay, and responsive and fascinating to the receptive visitor, and all sorts of people go there with all sorts of motives. The artist repairs to the Andalusian city to fill his portfolio; the lover of art makes the pilgrimage to study Murillo in all his glory. The seasons of the Church attract thousands from reasons of devotion or curiosity. And of all these myriad visitors, who go with their minds full of preconceived notions, not one has yet confessed to being disappointed with Seville.

The author has here attempted to convey in the illustrations an impression of this laughing city where all is gaiety and mirth and ever-blossoming roses, where the people pursue pleasure as the serious business of life in an atmosphere of exhilarating enjoyment.

UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME

THE PRADO

A GUIDE AND HANDBOOK TO THE ROYAL PICTURE GALLERY OF MADRID. ILLUSTRATED WITH 221 REPRODUCTIONS FROM PHOTOGRAPHS OF OLD MASTERS

This volume is an attempt to supplement the accurate but formal notes contained in the official catalogue of a gallery which is considered the finest in the world. It has been said that the day one enters the Prado for the first time is an important event like marriage, the birth of a child, or the coming into an inheritance; an experience of which one feels the effects to the day of one’s death.

The excellence of the Madrid gallery is the excellence of exclusion; it is a collection of magnificent gems. Here one becomes conscious of a fresh power in Murillo, and is amazed anew by the astonishing apparition of Velazquez; here is, in truth, a rivalry of miracles of art.

The task of selecting pictures for reproduction from what is perhaps the most splendid gallery of old masters in existence, was one of no little difficulty, it is believed that the collection is representative, and that the letterpress will form a serviceable companion to the visitor to The Prado.

UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME

TOLEDO

A HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE “CITY OF GENERATIONS,” WITH OVER 480 ILLUSTRATIONS

The origin of Imperial Toledo, “the crown of Spain, the light of the world, free from the time of the mighty Goths,” is lost in the impenetrable mists of antiquity. Mighty, unchangeable, invincible, the city has been described by WÖrmann as “a gigantic open-air museum of the architectural history of early Spain, arranged upon a lofty and conspicuous table of rock.”

But while some writers have declared that Toledo is a theatre with the actors gone and only the scenery left, the author does not share the opinion. He believes that the power and virility upon which Spain built up her greatness is reasserting itself. The machinery of the theatre of Toledo is rusty, the pulleys are jammed from long disuse, but the curtain is rising steadily if slowly, and already can be heard the tuning-up of fiddles in its ancient orchestra.

In this belief the author of this volume has not only set forth the story of Toledo’s former greatness, but has endeavoured to place before his readers a panorama of the city as it appears to-day, and to show cause for his faith in the greatness of the Toledo of the future.

UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME

GRANADA AND THE ALHAMBRA

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE MOSLEM RULE IN SPAIN, TOGETHER WITH A PARTICULAR ACCOUNT OF THE CONSTRUCTION, THE ARCHITECTURE, AND THE DECORATION OF THE MOORISH PALACE, WITH OVER 450 ILLUSTRATIONS

This volume is the third and abridged edition of a work which the author was inspired to undertake by the surpassing loveliness of the Alhambra, and by his disappointment in the discovery that no such thing as an even moderately adequate illustrated souvenir of “this glorious sanctuary of Spain” was obtainable. Keenly conscious of the want himself, he essayed to supply it, and the result is a volume that has been acclaimed with enthusiasm alike by critics, artists, architects, and archÆologists.

In his preface to the first edition, Mr. Calvert wrote: “The Alhambra may be likened to an exquisite opera which can only be appreciated to the full when one is under the spell of its magic influence. But as the witchery of an inspired score can be recalled by the sound of an air whistled in the street, so—it is my hope—the pale ghost of the Moorish fairy-land may live again in the memories of travellers through the medium of this pictorial epitome.”

UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME

VELAZQUEZ

A BIOGRAPHY AND APPRECIATION. ILLUSTRATED WITH 142 REPRODUCTIONS FROM PHOTOGRAPHS OF HIS MOST CELEBRATED PICTURES

Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velazquez—“our Velazquez,” as Palomino proudly styles him—has been made the subject of innumerable books in every European language, yet the General Editor of this Spanish Series feels that it would not be complete without the inclusion of yet another contribution to the broad gallery of Velazquez literature.

The great Velazquez, the eagle in art—subtle, simple, incomparable—the supreme painter, is still a guiding magnet of the art of to-day. This greatest of Spanish artists, a master not only in portrait painting, but in character and animal studies, in landscapes and historical subjects, impressed the grandeur of his superb personality upon all his work. Spain, it has been said, the country whose art was largely borrowed, produced Velazquez, and through him Spanish art became the light of a new artistic life.

The author cannot boast that he has new data to offer, but he has put forward his conclusions with modesty; he has reproduced a great deal that is most representative of the artist’s work; and he has endeavoured to keep always in view his object to present a concise, accurate, and readable life of Velazquez.

UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME

MADRID

A HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE SPANISH CAPITAL, WITH OVER 300 ILLUSTRATIONS

Madrid is at once one of the most interesting and most maligned cities in Europe. It stands at an elevation of 2,500 feet above the sea level, in the centre of an arid, treeless, waterless, and wind-blown plain; but whatever may be thought of the wisdom of selecting a capital in such a situation, one cannot but admire the uniqueness of its position, and the magnificence of its buildings, and one is forced to admit that, having fairly entered the path of progress, Madrid bids fair to become one of the handsomest and most prosperous of European cities.

The splendid promenades, the handsome buildings, and the spacious theatres combine to make Madrid one of the first cities of the world, and the author has endeavoured with the aid of the camera, to place every feature and aspect of the Spanish metropolis before the reader. Some of the illustrations reproduced here have been made familiar to the English public by reason of the interesting and stirring events connected with the Spanish Royal Marriage, but the greater number were either taken by the author, or are the work of photographers specially employed to obtain new views for the purpose of this volume.

UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME

GOYA

A BIOGRAPHY AND AN APPRECIATION. ILLUSTRATED BY REPRODUCTIONS OF 600 OF HIS PICTURES

The last of the old masters and the first of the moderns, as he has been called, Francisco JosÉ de Goya y Lucientes is not so familiarised to English readers as his genius deserves. He was born at a time when the tradition of Velazquez was fading, and the condition of Spanish painting was debased almost beyond hope of salvation; he broke through the academic tradition of imitation; “he, next to Velazquez, is to be accounted as the man whom the Impressionists of our time have to thank for their most definite stimulus, their most immediate inspiration.”

The genius of Goya was a robust, imperious, and fulminating genius; his iron temperament was passionate, dramatic, and revolutionary; he painted a picture as he would have fought a battle. He was an athletic, warlike, and indefatigable painter; a naturalist like Velazquez; fantastic like Hogarth; eccentric like Rembrandt; the last flame-coloured flash of Spanish genius.

It is impossible to reproduce his colouring; but in the reproductions of his works the author has endeavoured to convey to the reader some idea of Goya’s boldness of style, his mastery of frightful shadows and mysterious lights, and his genius for expressing all terrible emotions.

UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME

LEON, BURGOS AND SALAMANCA

A HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT, WITH OVER 350 ILLUSTRATIONS

In Leon, once the capital of the second kingdom in Spain; in Burgos, which boasts one of the most magnificent cathedrals in Spain, and the custodianship of the bones of the Cid; and in Salamanca, with its university, which was one of the oldest in Europe, the author has selected three of the most interesting relics of ancient grandeur in this country of departed greatness.

Leon to-day is nothing but a large agricultural village, torpid, silent, dilapidated; Burgos, which still retains traces of the Gotho-Castilian character, is a gloomy and depleting capital; and Salamanca is a city of magnificent buildings, a broken hulk, spent by the storms that from time to time have devastated her.

Yet apart from the historical interest possessed by these cities, they still make an irresistible appeal to the artist and the antiquary. They are content with their stories of old-time greatness and their cathedrals, and these ancient architectural splendours, undisturbed by the touch of a modernising and renovating spirit, continue to attract the visitor.

UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME

VALLADOLID, OVIEDO, SEGOVIA, ZAMORA, AVILA AND ZARAGOZA

A HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT, WITH OVER 325 ILLUSTRATIONS

The glory of Valladolid has departed, but the skeleton remains, and attached to its ancient stones are the memories that Philip II. was born here, that here Cervantes lived, and Christopher Columbus died. In this one-time capital of Spain, in the Plaza Mayor, the fires of the Great Inquisition were first lighted, and here Charles V. laid the foundation of the Royal Armoury, which was afterwards transferred to Madrid.

More than seven hundred years have passed since Oviedo was the proud capital of the Kingdoms of Las Asturias, Leon, and Castile. Segovia, though no longer great, has still all the appurtenances of greatness, and with her granite massiveness and austerity, she remains an aristocrat even among the aristocracy of Spanish cities. Zamora, which has a history dating from time almost without date, was the key of Leon and the centre of the endless wars between the Moors and the Christians, which raged round it from the eighth to the eleventh centuries.

In this volume the author has striven to re-create the ancient greatness of these four cities, and has preserved their memories in a wealth of excellent and interesting illustrations.

UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME

ROYAL PALACES OF SPAIN

A HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE SEVEN PRINCIPAL PALACES OF THE SPANISH KINGS. PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED

Spain is beyond question the richest country in the world in the number of its Royal Residences, and while few are without artistic importance, all are rich in historical memories. Thus, from the Alcazar at Seville, which is principally associated with Pedro the Cruel, to the Retiro, built to divert the attention of Philip IV. from his country’s decay; from the Escorial, in which the gloomy mind of Philip II. is perpetuated in stone, to La Granja, which speaks of the anguish and humiliation of Christina before Sergeant Garcia and his rude soldiery; from AranjuÉz to Rio Frio, and from El Pardo, darkened by the agony of a good king, to Miramar, to which a widowed Queen retired to mourn: all the history of Spain, from the splendid days of Charles V. to the present time, is crystallised in the Palaces that constitute the patrimony of the Crown.

The Royal Palaces of Spain are open to visitors at stated times, and it is hoped that this volume, with its wealth of illustrations, will serve the visitor both as a guide and a souvenir.

BY ALBERT F. CALVERT

THE ALHAMBRA

OF GRANADA, BEING A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE MOSLEM RULE IN SPAIN FROM THE REIGN OF MOHAMMED THE FIRST TO THE FINAL EXPULSION OF THE MOORS, TOGETHER WITH A PARTICULAR ACCOUNT OF THE CONSTRUCTION, THE ARCHITECTURE AND THE DECORATION OF THE MOORISH PALACE, WITH 80 COLOURED PLATES AND NEARLY 300 BLACK AND WHITE ILLUSTRATIONS (NEW EDITION)

Size 10 × 7-1/2. Price £2 2s. net

PRESS NOTICES

“It is hardly too much to say that this is one of the most magnificent books ever issued from the English Press.”

Building World.

“One is really puzzled where to begin and when to stop in praising the illustrations.”

Bookseller.

“The most complete record of this wonder of architecture which has ever been contemplated, much less attempted.”

British Architect.

“A treasure to the student of decorative art.”

Morning Advertiser.

“Mr. Calvert has given us a Book Beautiful.”

Western Daily Press.

“It is the last word on the subject, no praise is too high.”

Nottingham Express.

“May be counted among the more important art books which have been published during recent years.”

The Globe.

“Has a pride of place that is all its own among the books of the month.”

Review of Reviews.

“Has in many respects surpassed any books on the Alhambra which up to the present have appeared in our own country or abroad.”

El Graduador, Spain.

“It is one of the most beautiful books of modern times.”

Ely Gazette.

“One of the most artistic productions of the year.”

Publishers’ Circular.

“The most beautiful book on the Alhambra issued in England.”

Sphere.

“The standard work on a splendid subject.”

Daily Telegraph.

“A remarkable masterpiece of book production.”

Eastern Daily Press.

“A perfect treasure of beauty and delight.”

Keighley News.

“A magnificent work.”

Melbourne Age, Australia.

“Immense collection of fine plates.”

The Times.

“A standard work, the compilation of which would credit a life’s labour.”

Hull Daily Mail.

MOORISH REMAINS IN SPAIN

BEING A BRIEF RECORD OF THE ARABIAN CONQUEST AND OCCUPATION OF THE PENINSULA, WITH A PARTICULAR ACCOUNT OF THE MOHAMMEDAN ARCHITECTURE AND DECORATION IN THE CITIES OF CORDOVA, SEVILLE AND TOLEDO, WITH MANY COLOURED PLATES, AND OVER 400 BLACK AND WHITE ILLUSTRATIONS, DIAGRAMS, ETC., DEDICATED BY PERMISSION TO H.M. KING ALFONSO XIII.

Crown 4to. (7-1/2 × 10 ins.) Price £2 2s. net

PRESS NOTICES

“The making of this book must surely have been a veritable labour of love; and love’s labour has certainly not been lost.”

Pall Mall Gazette.

“The best age of Moorish architecture in Spain is shown with remarkable vividness and vitality.”

The Scotsman.

“A most gorgeous book.... We cheerfully admit Mr. Calvert into the ranks of those whom posterity will applaud for delightful yet unprofitable work.”

Outlook.

“A large and sumptuous volume.”

Tribune.

“The illustrations are simply marvels of reproduction.”

Dundee Advertiser.

“One of the books to which a simple literary review cannot pretend to do justice.”

Spectator.

“A special feature of a work of peculiar interest and value are the illustrations.”

Newcastle Chronicle.

“The illustrations are given with a minuteness and faithfulness of detail, and colour, which will be particularly appreciated and acknowledged by those who are most acquainted with the subject themselves.”

Liverpool Post.

“It is impossible to praise too highly the care with which the illustrations have been prepared.”

Birmingham Daily Post.

“It is illustrated with so lavish a richness of colour that to turn its pages gives one at first almost the same impression of splendour as one receives in wandering from hall to hall of the Alcazar of Seville; and this is probably the highest compliment we could pay to the book or its author.”

Academy.

“It is certainly one of the most interesting books of the year.”

Crown.

“The occasional delicacy of design and harmony of colour can scarcely be surpassed ... a valuable and profusely illustrated volume.”

Guardian.

“An excellent piece of work.”

The Times.

“Mr. Calvert has performed a useful work.”

Daily Telegraph.

“A truly sumptuous volume.”

The Speaker.

“Mr. Calvert has given a very complete account of the evolution of Moresco art.”

The Connoisseur.

LIFE OF CERVANTES

A NEW LIFE OF THE GREAT SPANISH AUTHOR TO COMMEMORATE THE TERCENTENARY OF THE PUBLICATION OF “DON QUIXOTE,” WITH NUMEROUS PORTRAITS AND REPRODUCTIONS FROM EARLY EDITIONS OF “DON QUIXOTE”

Size Crown 8vo. 150 pp. Price 3/6 net

PRESS NOTICES

“A popular and accessible account of the career of Cervantes.”

Daily Chronicle.

“A very readable and pleasant account of one of the great writers of all time.”

Morning Leader.

“We recommend the book to all those to whom Cervantes is more than a mere name.”

Westminster Gazette.

“Nothing could be more useful than this careful and authoritative book.”

Vanity Fair.

“It is made trebly interesting by the very complete set of Cervantes’ portraits it contains, and by the inclusion of a valuable bibliography.”

Black and White.

“Nothing better could be desired.”

Literary World.

“A capital and most interesting little book.”

The Queen.

“Excellent little volume.”

The Graphic.

“A book full of information and of convenient compass.”

Onlooker.

“A handy, compendious life, with good Quixotic pictures.”

Rapid Review.

“Can be heartily recommended to all who want to know something of the life of Cervantes.”

Nottingham Express.

“Mr. Calvert is entitled to the gratitude of book-lovers for his industrious devotion at one of our greatest literary shrines.”

Birmingham Post.

“Should be greatly appreciated by all lovers of the chivalrous Knight.”

Dublin Express.

“A most interesting rÉsumÉ of all facts up to the present time known.”

El Nervion de Bilbao, Spain.

“The most notable work dedicated to the immortal author of Don Quixote that has been published in England.”

El Graduador, Spain.

“Although the book is written in English no Spaniard could have written it with more conscientiousness and enthusiasm.”

El Defensor de Granada, Spain.

---