If the "NOTES AND QUERIES," in the course of its career, had only called
the attention of antiquaries to the necessities of collecting epitaphs
and inscriptions to the dead found in churches, and thus brought into
active exertion a large number of zealous and intelligent recorders of
monuments, its usefulness would have been fully established; but the
multitude of suggestive hints and recommendations constantly appearing
in its pages, added to the great amount of precise and unquestionable
knowledge given to the public through its means, have established the
publication as of the greatest importance to archæologists, and literary
men generally.
A noble and highly regarded author (Lord Braybrooke) has recently shown
the necessity for recording the existence of painted historical
portraits, scattered, as we know they are, throughout residences of the
nobility and gentry, and from thence too often descending to the humble
dwelling or broker's warehouse, through the effluxion of time, the ill
appreciation, in some instances, of those who possess them, or the
urgencies of individuals: but there are other memorials of eminent
persons extant, frequently the only ones, which, falling into the
possession of but few persons, are to the seeker after biographical or
topographical knowledge, for the most part, as though they had never
existed. I allude to Privately Printed Books and Privately Engraved
Portraits. Surely these might be made available to literary persons if
their depository were generally known.
How comparatively easy would it be for the readers of the "NOTES AND
QUERIES," in each county, to transmit to its pages a short note of any
privately engraved portrait, or privately printed volume, of which they
may be possessed, or of which they have a perfect knowledge. Collectors
could in most instances, if they felt inclined to open their stores,
give the required information in a complete list, and no doubt would do
so; but still a great assistance to those engaged in the toils of
biographical or other study could be afforded by the transmission to
these pages of the casual "Note," which happens to have been taken at a
moment when the book or portrait passed under the inspection of a
recorder who did not amass graphic or literary treasures.
As respects some counties, much less has been done by the printing press
to furnish this desideratum; at least that of privately engraved
portraits. In Warwickshire, a list of all the portraits (with a few
omissions) has within a few years been brought before the public in a
volume. In Norfolk, the _Illustrations of Norfolk Topography_, a volume
containing an enumeration of many thousand drawings and engravings,
collected by Dawson Turner, Esq., of Great Yarmouth, to illustrate
Blomefield's History of the county, is also a repertory of this kind of
instruction, as far as portraits are concerned. Privately printed books
are entirely unrecorded in this and most other localities. Without the
publication now mentioned, persons having no personal knowledge of Mr.
Turner's ample stores would be not only unacquainted with that
gentleman's wonderful Norfolk collection, but also ignorant that through
his liberality, and the elegant genius and labours of several members of
his family, the portfolios of many of his friends have been enriched by
the addition of portraits of many persons of great virtues, attainments,
and learning, with whom he had become acquainted. In Suffolk, the
veteran collectors, Mr. Elisha Davy, of Ufford, and Mr. William Fitch,
of Ipswich, have compiled lists of portraits belonging to that county.
These are, however, in manuscript, and therefore comparatively useless;
though, to the honour of both these gentlemen let it be said, that no
one ever asks in vain for assistance from their collections.
I trust it can only be necessary to call attention to this source of
knowledge, to be supported in a view of the necessity of a record open
to all. I have taken the liberty to name the "NOTES AND QUERIES" as the
storehouse for gathering these scattered memorabilia together, knowing
no means of permanence superior, or more convenient, to literary
persons, although I am not without fears indeed, perhaps convictions,
that your present space would be too much burthened thereby.
As the volume of "NOTES AND QUERIES" just completed has comprised a
large amount of intelligence respecting the preservation of epitaphs,
the present would, perhaps, be appropriately opened by a new subject of,
I am inclined to think, nearly equal value.