ABSTRACT
Sir John Rutherford Alcock, who was an important figure in bringing Japanese design to the West, was trained and practised as a surgeon, but later in 1844 was appointed British consul at Foochow. After critiquing the language and style of the work, The Academy went on to say that this work showed that it was not just the French who had discovered Japanese virtues but waspishly concluded that 'Sir Rutherford's dainty volume will probably be a popular little drawing room present'. On 30th January 1878, Dresser delivered a lecture to an audience at the Society of Arts chaired by Sir Rutherford Alcock, when Dresser pointed out that it was 'Sir Rutherford who first gave the author a love for Japanese art'. The Japanese ideas of symmetry are something quite different from those which prevail among Western nations, but it does not follow that they have a less perfect conception of symmetrical order and harmony.
