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Art

The Pack of Autolycus by A. D. Hope

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May 1979, no. 10
The Pack of Autolycus

In the world of theatre and concert economics, the inelegant but expressive term, ‘bums on seats’ seems to be here to stay.

The books we buy or borrow (for borrowing patterns affect library sales) are the equivalent of theatre tickets. Books which keep an optimum number of bums on desk or living room chairs are just as good news to publishers and booksellers as prosperous box office returns to entrepreneurs. Most books take at least twice as long to read as a performance does to sit through so it is not inappropriate that they usually cost more. The writing, production, and intelligent selling of books is highly ‘labour intensive’. Books remain the cheapest form of entertainment, inspiration and instruction if one takes into account the permanence of printed paper and its portability, and allows for the numbers of people who often read one copy of a work, even from private shelves. Unlike cassettes, print’s chief competitor, the enjoyment of printed books requires no more equipment than the human eye.

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Greek Vases In The National Gallery Of Victoria

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October 1978, no. 5

During the last twenty-five years the National Gallery of Victoria has built up, under the guidance of Professor A.D. Trendall, a notable collection of Greek vases, not only from mainland Greece but also from the Greek colonies of southern Italy. The collection is now presented to the public in this handbook, which is based upon an earlier work by the same author, Greek Vases in the Feltoil Collection (Melbourne, 1968), but includes the many vases acquired in recent years. The text, which takes the form of a brief history of Greek vase-painting written around the National Gallery collection, is clear and easy to read: each vase is described concisely and placed in its historical context. All vases discussed are illustrated in 16 plates placed at the end of the booklet. The quality is, for the most part, good, and photographs of the whole vase as well as details are given, a practice which allows an appreciation of the shape as well as the painting. Those who wish to know more about the individual vases will consult the extensive references in the notes. Those who wish to pursue further the study of Greek vase-painting will find a general bibliography and a short note on other collections in Australia.

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