Munsey's Magazine, January 1898

Munsey's Magazine, January 1898

This issue opens with "Artists and Their Work," an illustrated art criticism section discussing the upcoming New York auction of the Stewart Picture Gallery, a notable collection assembled by Paris-based connoisseur William H. Stewart. The gallery is particularly strong in Spanish painters including Fortuny, Zamacois, and Madrazo, containing seventeen paintings by Fortuny alone. The section also notes recent New York architectural developments, including expansions to the Metropolitan Museum and the upcoming National Academy of Design building, designed by prize-winning architects Carrère & Hastings. Brief commentary addresses Russian marine painter Aivazovsky's eightieth birthday celebration.

The issue features the opening installment of "The Castle Inn," a historical novel by Stanley J. Weyman, set in 1767 England. The narrative introduces Sir George Soane, a dissolute young aristocrat traveling by carriage with a gambling peer and Colonel Berkeley. A mysterious cloaked woman stops their carriage near Oxford, seeking Colonel Berkeley to engage in a duel for justice, and persuades the accommodating Soane to abandon his companions and accompany her into town.