A catalogue raisonné of the works of the most eminent Dutch, Flemish, and French painters : in which is included a short biographical notice of the artists, with a copious description of their principal pictures; a statement of the prices at which such pictures have been sold at public sales on the continent and in England; a reference to the galleries and private collections, in which a large portion are at present; and the names of the artists by whom they have been engraved; to which is added, a brief notice of the scholars & imitators of the great masters of the above schools
John Smith's catalogue raisonné of Dutch, Flemish and French painters, first compiled by a London picture dealer and reissued by Sands in 1908, lists attributions, provenance and sale prices for collectors, dealers and connoisseurs. The plates are halftone photogravures after old master paintings: a girl leaning on her hands in soft chiaroscuro, a painter's self-portrait at his easel, and harbour views with masts, quaysides and classical architecture under heavy skies, useful as soft-edged tonal portrait and marine imagery.
