The Harbours of England

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The Harbours of England, by John Ruskin

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Title: The Harbours of England
Author: John Ruskin
Illustrator: J. M. W. Turner
Release Date: May 23, 2007 [EBook #21591]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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Library Edition
THE COMPLETE WORKS OF JOHN RUSKIN
STONES OF VENICE VOLUME III
GIOTTO LECTURES ON ARCHITECTURE HARBOURS OF ENGLAND A JOY FOREVER
NATIONAL LIBRARY ASSOCIATION NEW YORK CHICAGO

THE COMPLETE WORKS OF JOHN RUSKIN
VOLUME X
GIOTTO AND HIS WORKS LECTURES ON ARCHITECTURE THE HARBORS OF ENGLAND POLITICAL ECONOMY OF ART (A JOY FOREVER)

THE HARBORS OF ENGLAND.

CONTENTS.
PAGE THE HARBORS OF ENGLAND 1 I. DOVER 34 II. RAMSGATE 36 III. PLYMOUTH 38 IV. CATWATER 40 V. SHEERNESS 41 VI. MARGATE 43 VII. PORTSMOUTH 46 VIII. FALMOUTH 49 IX. SIDMOUTH 51 X. WHITBY 52 XI. DEAL 54 XII. SCARBOROUGH 56

EDITOR'S PREFACE.
"Turner's Harbors of England," as it is generally called, is a book which, for various reasons, has never received from readers of Mr. Ruskin's writings the attention it deserves. True, it has always been sought after by connoisseurs, and collectors never fail with their eleven or twelve guineas whenever a set of Artist's Proofs of the First Edition of 1856 comes into the market. But to the General Reader the book with its twelve exquisitely delicate mezzotints--four of which Mr. Ruskin has declared to be among the very finest executed by Turner from his marine subjects--is practically unknown.
The primary reason for this neglect is not far to seek. Since 1877 no new edition of the work has been published, and thus it has gradually passed from public knowledge, though still regarded with lively interest by those to whom Mr. Ruskin's words--particularly words written in further unfolding of the subtleties of Turner's art--at all times appeal so strongly.
In his own preface Mr. Ruskin has told us all that in 1856 it was necessary to know of the genesis of the Harbors. That account may now be supplemented with the following additional facts. In 1826 Turner (in conjunction with Lupton, the engraver) projected and commenced a serial publication entitled The Ports of England. But both artist and engraver lacked the opportunity required to carry the undertaking to a successful conclusion, and three numbers only were completed. Each of these contained two engravings.
Part I., introducing Scarborough and
Whitby, duly appeared in 1826;
Part II., with Dover and Ramsgate,
in 1827; and in 1828
Part III., containing Sheerness and
Portsmouth, closed the series.[A] Twenty-eight years afterwards (that is, in 1856, five years after Turner's death) these six plates, together with six new ones, were published by Messrs. E. Gambart & Co., at whose invitation Mr. Ruskin consented to write the essay on Turner's marine painting which accompanied them. The book, a handsome folio, appears to have been immediately successful, for in the following year a second edition was called for. This was a precise reprint of the 1856 edition; but, unhappily, the delicate plates already began to exhibit signs of wear. The copyright (which had not been retained by Mr. Ruskin, but remained the property of Messrs. E. Gambart & Co.) then passed to Messrs. Day & Son, who, after producing the third edition of 1859, in turn disposed of it to Mr. T. J. Allman. Allman issued a fourth edition in 1872, and then parted with his rights to Messrs. Smith, Elder & Co., who in 1877 brought out the fifth, and, until now, last edition. Since that date the work has been out of print, and has remained practically inaccessible to the ordinary reader.
[A] To ornament the covers of these parts, Turner designed a vignette, which was printed upon the center of the front wrapper of each. As The Ports of England is an exceptionally scarce book, and as the vignette can be obtained in no other form, a facsimile of it is here given. The original drawing was presented by Mr. Ruskin to the Fitz-William Museum, at Cambridge, where it may now be seen.
It is matter for congratulation that at length means have been found to bring The Harbors of England once more into currency, and to issue the book through Mr. George Allen at a price which will place it within the reach of the reading public at large.
The last edition of 1877, with its worn and "retouched" plates,[B] was published at twenty-five shillings; less than a third of that sum will suffice to procure a copy of this new issue in which the prints (save for their