Considered as a trade book, this would have been superb in its class. While it is still handsome as a designer classic, the delicate line illustrations, despite the tint block that gives them warmth, and the well-spaced-pout typography, suffer from the wartime paper which does nothing to enhance them. The binding, with an unfortunate choice of letter for the backbone stamping, makes the book look dull and commonplace on a shelf.

Peter Beilenson, Paul McPharlin, Ernst Reichl (Jurors)