Jan Gordon: Some Craftie Arts
" Some Craftie Arts " by Jan Gordon was published in 1930. The dedication reads "To NETTA PEACOCK As a souvenir of our long standing friendship and of seat No. J7." I remember being annoyed by this book when I first read it. The humour seemed forced and self conscious. The idea though is quite entertaining. Browsing through the catalogue of the British Museum catalogue, Jan Gordon happens across the entries classified under "Art" and sees much potential for laughter. The dust jacket announces that "Mr. Gordon has made a strange, witty and instructive book from this material, giving at times almost Rabelaisian sidelights on centuries past and present." To set the scene, Jan Gordon writes: "The catalogue of the British Museum Library stands like a rampart, double ringed about the citadel of the librarians, a monument to the cataloguer's art. Its function is to inform. The catalogue was not planned to amuse nor would the use of