From dustjacket: "The endeavor in this book will be to call attention to the principles of construction in pictures, to reason upon these principles and explain how they came to be formulated." So says the author in his preface.
The practical character and comprehensive range of this valuable book are apparent from a few of the chapter headings: "Pictorial composition and the eye; the real properties of pictures", "How the eye takes in pictures", "Basic plans of pictorial compositions", "Symmetrical compositions", "Pyramidal compositions", "Circular and elliptical compositions", "Tunnel-like compositions", "Compositions of converging lines to a focus", "The silhouette", "Patterns of light and shade", "Landscapes and seascapes".