The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 59, July 1955 - April, 1956 Page: 392

Rook Reviews
RUDOLPH L. BIESELE, Editor
Texas Sketchbook: A Collection of Historical Stories from The
Humble Way. By F. T. Fields. Houston (Humble Oil &
Refining Company), 1955. Pp. 92. Illustrations by E. M.
Schiwetz.
The author of the text of this short volume has done a mag-
nificent piece of work in rewriting the history of some of the
highlights of the history of Texas. The stories of the missions as
a landmark of an era; Gonzales, the birthplace of Texas freedom;
Galveston, isle of treasure and adventure; Texas stagecoach inns;
La Salle, the magnificent failure; the border forts; the Texas
Navy; and the shipwreck of Cabeza de Vaca and a half dozen
others are retold with charm and precision. Through the text of
these ninety-two pages one may vicariously seek adventure and
romance with Lafitte at Galveston; spend a night at Fanthrop Inn;
suffer defeat and disappointment with La Salle at Fort St. Louis;
march with Houston to San Jacinto; or ride the wild waves of
the Gulf with the Texas Navy. The text is rigidly concise, factually
complete, and historically correct.
The Texas Sketchbook is illustrated by E. M. Schiwetz whose
sketches are impressively sincere. In each illustration one is aware
of a pleasing balance between the artist's own language of form
and composition and the character of his subject. The artist
allows his subject matter to share in his artistry and, while he holds
to functional designs, he does not, at any time, force the things
he sees into a preconceived pattern. The directness and sincerity
of each sketch, whether it is in pencil, watercolor, pen and ink or
crayon, does not preclude a decorative charm, but does reveal a
sensitiveness to line, texture, and beauty which is expressed by
one who is "at home" in either medium. The sketcher occasionally
turns to the panoramic in his landscapes, but retains a breadth
of design and a sweep of bold rhythm; he arrestingly combines
vigorous sensibility, harmonozing vitality, and poetic charm. He
sketches with equal ease and feeling old Baylor College at Inde-