A PLEA FOR SPECIALISM--(_Continued_)
'Like ships before whose keels, full long embayed
In polar ice, propitious winds have made
Unlooked-for outlet to an open sea.'
WORDSWORTH.
[Sidenote: First Editions.]
TO most of us it matters but little what becomes of our books when we are
dead. We garner them for our own use and benefit absolutely, and when we
are gone they may well be distributed among other book-lovers for aught
we care. No doubt a considerable zest is added to collecting in the case
of those lucky ones who, being established in the land, purpose to 'lay
down' a library for their posterity. In such cases almost invariably
there must be a thought of future value. It is but natural. Whether he
lay down wine or books no man is so foolish as to lay down trash. Such
schemes, however, do not always result in that success which their owner
intended. Like wine, the value of books may 'go off.'
There are two classes of books, however, that he who is wealthy enough to
lay down a library may acquire with perfect assurance. They are, in
fact, gilt-edged securities. One is the original editions of _famous_
Elizabethan and early Stuart authors, the other, the more estimable
_incunabula_. Just as the population of the world increases yearly, so
every year there are more and more book-collectors, and, consequently,
more competition to acquire rarities. Every day, too, the chances of
further copies coming to light are more remote. Books are not
everlasting, and there will come a time when the only fifteenth-century
volumes in existence will be those treasured in velvet-lined boxes and
glass cases.
There can be little doubt that in fifty years' time a collection of
Beaumont and Fletcher's or Massinger's plays in the original quartos will
be worth not merely double its present value, but quadruple and more.
Then there are the famous prose authors of the early Stuart period, such
as Bacon, Barclay, Robert Burton, Daniel, Donne, Drayton, Shelton, and
even the prolific Gervase Markham, to mention only a few. All these are
good investments, as regards their first editions, _for your children's
children_.
As regards the first editions of more modern authors we are on much more
delicate ground. First editions of really great men, such as Milton,
Pope, or Dryden, probably will always command a high price not only on
account of their scarcity but because they are sought for by all students
who make a study of those authors. But when we come to those more modern
writers concerning whose merits tastes differ, then the collector's
activity becomes a gamble. The first editions of Thomas Hardy or Rudyard
Kipling _may_ be worth more than their weight in gold in a hundred years,
but it is also quite possible that succeeding generations will find in
them more of the sentiments of the day than of those innate
characteristics of the human mind which make a book really great, and
will pass them by. This matter, however, has been dealt with in the
chapter on the Books of the Collector, and with regard to bibliographies
of the writings of the chief nineteenth-century authors, you will find
mention of these in the appendices to the later volumes of the
'Cambridge History of English Literature.'
[Sidenote: Folk-Lore, Mysteries.]
25. Folk-lore, Fables, Fairy-Tales, Accounts of Mysteries and
Miracle-Plays, Mummers, Minstrels and Troubadours, Pageants, Masques and
Moralities: an interesting medley. Books of fables, whether by AEsop,
Bidpai, La Fontaine, Gay, or Kriloff, would form an interesting
collection by themselves, and it would be amusing to trace the pedigree
of some of the tales. Our national jokes are said to be very ancient in
origin; possibly some day the Curate's Egg will be traced to a budding
priest of Amen-Ra, lunching with the Hierophant. Then there are books of
proverbs--more than one would think--and the folk-lore of all countries
that provides fairy-tales more entertaining than ever came out of the
head of Perrault or Andersen. Altogether a heading which contains some
fascinating literature.
It is doubtful whether such books as the 'Arabian Nights,' Le Grand's
collections of ancient Norman tales, and Balzac's 'Contes Drolatiques'
should be included here; perhaps _de natura_ they should be classed
rather with 'Facetiae and Curiosa.' The literature upon this subject is a
large one, and there is an excellent list of writings upon Minstrels,
Mysteries, Miracle Plays, and Moralities in the fifth volume of the
'Cambridge History of English Literature,' pages 385 to 394; as well as
in Mr. Courtney's invaluable work.
[Sidenote: Freemasonry, etc.]
26. Freemasonry is another of those subjects (like Architecture, Law, and
Early Science) which usually engage the attentions of those whose
businesses lead, or have at one time led, them to those things. Some of
the booksellers specialise in such works, and the older books on
Freemasonry cannot be said to be of frequent occurrence in the ordinary
booksellers' catalogues. The finest extant library of Masonic books in
the English tongue is said to be at the Freemasons' Hall, in London, but
it is accessible only to Freemasons. A catalogue of it was privately
printed by H. W. Hemsworth in 1869, and more recently by W. J. Hughan in
1888; a supplement to this last appeared in 1895. The Masonic books at
No. 33 Golden Square were also catalogued by Hemsworth (1870), and more
recently by Mr. Edward Armitage--quarto, 1900.
[Sidenote: French Revolution.]
27. The mention of books on the French Revolution at once conjures up the
name of that indefatigable collector and cabinet minister, John Wilson
Croker. During his period of office at the Admiralty he amassed there
more than ten thousand Revolutionary books, tracts, and writings; and
when the accession of the Whigs drove him from his home there, he sold
his entire library to the British Museum. But neither change of
government nor loss of income could cure the fever of collecting and six
years later he had amassed another collection as large as the first. This
also was purchased by the Museum authorities. Before he died he had
garnered a third collection as large as the two previous ones put
together, and this also found a home in Bloomsbury. A 'List of the
Contents' of these three collections was published by the Museum
authorities in 1899. Croker's magnificent collection of letters and
writings on the same period was sold for only L50 at his death; it went
_en bloc_ to the library of Sir Thomas Phillips at Middle Hill.
[Sidenote: Gardens.]
28. What book-lover does not love a garden? 'God first planted a garden:
and indeed it is the purest of human pleasures. It is the greatest
refreshment to the spirits of man,' wrote Bacon. Whether it be the
tranquil beauty of an old-world pleasaunce or the peaceful occupation of
gardening that appeals to the temperament of the bibliophile, certain it
is that the book-lover is invariably a lover of the garden also. To him
the very mention of stone moss-grown walks, a sundial, roses, and green
lawn conjures up a vision of delight. To talk of those who wrote of
gardens would be to mention the literature of all time; for gardens are
as old as the human race. Indeed, 'Gardens were before gardeners, and but
some hours after the Earth,' says Sir Thomas Browne in that most
delightful of discourses, 'The Garden of Cyrus.' A History of Gardening
in England has been compiled by the Hon. Miss Alicia Amherst; a second
edition was published in 1896, and an enlarged edition in 1910. Hazlitt's
'Gleanings in Old Garden Literature' (which contains a bibliography)
appeared in 1887. The famous library of old gardening literature, said to
be the most complete and extensive of its kind, amassed by M. Krelage, a
bulb merchant of Haarlem, has recently been incorporated in the State
Agricultural Library of Wageningen, Holland.[82]
[Sidenote: Heraldry, &c.]
29. Heraldry is the next subject which claims our attention; and under
this head we will include all those works which treat of La Chevalerie
and Noblesse, the Orders of Knighthood, the Templars and Hospitallers,
the Crusades, Peerages, Genealogical Works, Family Histories, books on
Parliament and Ceremonies, Pomps, Festivals, Pageants, Processions, works
on Brasses and Seals, as well as those which treat of the science of
Blazon proper. Here, at all events, is a variety of sub-headings.
The first English bibliography of works upon this subject which our
book-hunter has come across so far is a thin quarto volume entitled
'Catalogus plerumque omnium Authorum qui de Re Heraldica scripserunt,' by
Thomas Gore, and it appeared first in 1668. A second edition was
published in 1674: both are now very scarce. This work contains a list of
writers, both English and foreign, upon Chivalry, Nobility, and such
kindred subjects. But a quarto volume, which appeared in 1650, entitled
'The Art of Making Devises,' translated by T. B[lount] from the French of
H. Estienne, contains, in the preliminary matter, a list of writers on
Nobility. Dallaway's 'Inquiries into the Origin and Progress of the
Science of Heraldry in England,' large quarto, Gloucester, 1793, contains
a list of English heraldic writers, with their works; and Sir Egerton
Brydges published a more copious list in the third volume of his 'Censura
Literaria.' Moule's 'Bibliotheca Heraldica Magnae Britanniae' appeared in
1822, a large octavo. He gives descriptions of 817 English works on
Heraldry, Genealogy, Regal Descents and Successions, Coronations, Royal
Progresses and Visits, the Laws and Privileges of Honour, Titles of
Honour, Precedency, Peerage Cases, Orders of Knighthood, Baptismal,
Nuptial, and Funeral Ceremonies, and Chivalry generally. At the end is a
short list of 211 foreign writers upon these subjects--out of many
thousands. There is an interleaved copy, containing many additions, in
the British Museum.
More recently Mr. G. Gatfield has put forth a valuable work, entitled 'A
Guide to Printed Books and Manuscripts relating to English and Foreign
Heraldry and Genealogy,' an octavo volume of which a limited edition was
printed in 1892. Guigard's 'Bibliotheque Heraldique de la France'
appeared at Paris in 1861. It has a useful bibliography of French books
upon all the subjects chosen by Moule. The Henry Bradshaw Society also
has published rare Coronation tracts and Coronation service books.
Few classes in our list contain more sumptuous volumes than those
comprised under this heading. In our own tongue we have Anstis' and
Ashmole's handsome folios on the Garter, the latter with its beautiful
folding plates; Jaggard's edition (1623) of Favyn's 'Theatre d'Honneur et
de Chevalerie' by an unknown translator, Sandford's 'Genealogical History
of the Kings and Queens of England' (Stebbing's edition, 1707, please),
Milles' 'Catalogue of Honor or Treasury of the Nobility peculiar and
proper to the Isle of Great Britaine,' not forgetting Gwillim (the sixth
edition, 1724) and, of course, Master Nicholas Upton. All these are
handsome folios with copperplate engravings.
The French books on Noblesse are equally sumptuous. 'Le Vray Theatre
d'Honneur et de Chevalerie ou le Miroir Heroique de la Noblesse,' by Marc
de Vulson, Sieur de la Colombiere, appeared at Paris in two folio
volumes in 1648. It is a magnificent book, and a classic in this
department of literature. The same author's 'La Science Heroique' was
published first, also in folio at Paris, in 1644; but in 1669 a second
edition, considerably augmented, was put forth. Of the author I find
nothing further memorable than that, having surprised his wife with a
gallant, he slew them both, and then took a post-chaise to Paris to
solicit the King's pardon, which he immediately obtained. There are many
other equally fine works in French, but it were tedious to catalogue them
here. Two handsome volumes on jousting and tournaments have recently been
put forth. 'The History of the Tournament in England and France,' by Mr.
F. H. Cripps-Day, was issued by Quaritch in 1919, whilst 'The Tournament:
its Periods and Phases,' by Mr. R. C. Clephan, was published the same
year.
Books on seals are much less numerous, though none the less ornate; for
engravings are practically essential here. They are, generally, scarce;
for the circle of readers to which such volumes appeal can never have
been a wide one; so it is improbable that large impressions of any of
them were printed. The 'Sigilla Comitum Flandriae' of Oliver Vredius, a
small folio, with nearly three hundred engravings of mediaeval seals, was
printed first at Bruges in 1639. It is a beautiful volume, the seals
being drawn to scale and exquisitely engraved by four Bruges
engravers--Samuel Lommelin, Adrian his son, Francis Schelhaver, and
Francis his son. Unfortunately the plates became worn after printing off
a few copies (especially those on pages 138, 213, 246), and the early
impressions are much to be preferred. A good test is to turn to the
engraved genealogical tree on the recto of leaf Cc6. In the later-printed
copies the foot of this engraving is most indistinct. A French
translation appeared at Bruges in 1643.
Two of the scarcest English books upon seals were compiled by clergymen.
The first, a thin quarto of 31 pages, is entitled 'A Dissertation upon
the Antiquity and Use of Seals in England. Collected by * * * * 1736,'
and was printed for William Mount and Thomas Page on Tower Hill in 1740.
Its author was the Rev. John Lewis, a former curate at Margate, who died
in 1746. There is an engraved frontispiece of seals, and several
copperplates in the text. It is very, very scarce, and it was some years
before our book-hunter succeeded in obtaining a copy. The other authority
was the Rev. George Henry Dashwood, of Stowe Bardolph. From his private
press he produced, in 1847, a quarto volume consisting of fourteen
engraved plates (by W. Taylor) of seals, with descriptions opposite. It
is entitled 'Engravings from Ancient Seals attached to Deeds and Charters
in the Muniment Room of Sir Thomas Hare, Baronet, of Stowe Bardolph,' and
is common enough. Copies on large paper are not infrequent. But in 1862 a
'second series' appeared. This consists of eight plates and descriptions,
and at the end are two leaves of notes to both series. Our book-hunter
has not yet come across a duplicate (even in the British Museum or at the
Antiquaries) of this second volume, which he was so fortunate as to find
a week after receiving the first.
A publication containing a fine collection of armorial seals was produced
at Brussels between 1897 and 1903. It was published in fifteen parts,
large octavo, and is entitled 'Sceaux Armoiries des Pays-bas et des Pays
avoisinants.' Lechaude-d'Anisy's 'Recueil des Sceaux Normands,' an oblong
quarto which appeared at Caen in 1834, is another of these handsome
books; but we have already lingered too long over this fascinating
heading.
[Sidenote: History.]
30. History is a somewhat wide subject, for it comprises descriptions of
any epoch or sequence of events in the existence of anything! We can read
histories of the Glacial Age or of Charles II, of the Quakers or
Tasmania, of the life of a cabbage or the Crimean War. Even a
dissertation on the development of the inkpot would be deemed history
nowadays. For the present, however, we will confine ourselves to that
branch of it which treats of the human element, nations and communities,
and events in their development. We must include travels, politics,
diaries, memoirs, and biographies, for all of these are indispensable
adjuncts. The voyages of Columbus, the Greville Papers, the Memoirs of
Fezensac, and the Paston Letters are no less history than Freeman's
'Norman Conquest,' Froude's 'Armada,' or Napier's 'Peninsular War.' It is
a student's subject, and as rational a branch of book-collecting as there
be. The collecting of early editions of the chroniclers, English or
foreign, is an interesting by-way. The series of British Chronicles
issued under the direction of the Master of the Rolls is a fairly
complete one, and the works of many other early historians have been
published from time to time by the learned societies. A lengthy list of
bibliographies is given in Mr. Courtney's work, and there are useful
bibliographies at the end of each volume of the 'Cambridge Modern
History.'
Under this heading we will include 'Events'; such as the Armada, the
Great Fire of London, the Gordon Riots, the '45, but not, I think, the
French Revolution or the Napoleonic Era, the literatures of which are of
such magnitude as to demand separate headings. There are collections of
books on all these subjects and many similar ones which fall naturally
under the heading 'History.'
[Sidenote: Husbandry.]
31. The word 'husbandry' has an old-world flavour now: the classical
'agriculture' is preferred. It is a change, however, that we bookworms
and curious antiquaries in nowise relish. The old English or Scandinavian
term which came to us from our forefathers is more seemly to our mind
than the modern Latin importation. Nowadays any word is better than one
drawn from our old English tongue. We may not speak of anything so
indelicate as a belly, but we can mention an abdomen in the politest
society. Provided we denote them by their Latin or Greek names, we may
even mention any parts of our viscera (I may not say bowels) without
raising a blush. Mention them in English, and we are at once boors and
churls. But the husbandman's occupation has changed with the language.
Originally he was merely a hus-bondi, or house-inhabitor, though probably
he had more to do with agriculture than the farmer who ousted him. The
'fermor' farmed or rented certain land from his overlord, making what he
could out of the tenants on it. And in time even the word 'farmer' will
pass out of use. Just as the charwoman to-day insists upon a fictitious
gentility, so in years to come the farmer will denote himself an
agriculturist, possibly with the epithet 'scientific.' We no longer talk
of villeins and carles; both have become sadly perverted in their
meaning, although the dictionary still allows the latter to mean 'a
strong man.' But, it hastens to add, vindictively, 'generally an old or a
rude-mannered one.' So is our language changing.
They are quaint volumes, the older treatises on husbandry, and for the
most part they contain an extraordinary medley of information. There is a
charm about their titles and language that few other classes of books
possess. Poultry, we know, can be obstinate wildfowl, but who nowadays
would write of their 'husbandlye ordring and governmente'? Such was the
title of Mascall's work put forth in 1581. Pynson printed an interesting
book on estate management in 1523 for, probably, John Fitzherbert: 'Here
begynneth a ryght frutefull mater; and hath to name the boke of surveying
and improuvements.' It is full of curious conceits, even concerning the
good housewife who, says Gervase Markham in his 'Country Contentments,'
'must bee cleanly both in body and garments, she must have a quicke eye,
a curious nose, a perfect taste, and ready eare.' But these volumes are
not easy to find, even though the book-hunter's nose be as curious as a
housewife's, and, when perfect, are of considerable value. Tusser's
curious rhyming 'Hundred good pointes of husbandrie,' enlarged later to
'Five Hundred Pointes,' is perhaps the commonest of these earlier works.
Between 1557 and 1599 it went through eight editions, though the first
is known only by the unique copy in the British Museum. A useful list of
writers upon agricultural subjects from 1200 to 1800 appeared in 1908. It
is by Mr. D. McDonald.
[Sidenote: Illustrated Books.]
32. Illustrated Books and Books of Engravings might perhaps have been
included as a sub-heading to 'the Fine Arts'; but they form a distinct
class and so frequently engage the attention of specialists, that our
book-hunter has thought fit to put them in a class by themselves. Some
will have only those volumes illustrated by one of the Cruikshank
brothers, others prefer Blake's or Bewick's designs, and so on. Some
again cleave to the volumes illustrated by Paul Avril or Adolf Lalauze,
Kate Greenaway or Randolph Caldecott. With regard to the early
book-illustrators, several text-books that will be useful to those who
specialise in this subject have been mentioned in the chapter dealing
with the Books of the Collector. An excellent conspectus of book
illustration, from the earliest times to the present day, is contained in
the fifth chapter of 'The Book: its History and Development,' by Mr.
Cyril Davenport (octavo, 1907). At the end is a useful list of English
and foreign works on book-illustration and its various methods. 'A
Descriptive Bibliography of Books in English relating to Engraving and
the Collection of Prints' by Mr. Howard C. Levis, was put forth in 1912.
[Sidenote: Legal.]
33. Law need not detain us. Its literature has not merely kept pace with,
but has far outstripped, the growth of English Law; and it extends back
at least to the 'Tractatus de Legibus' of Ranulf de Glanville, the great
Justiciar under Henry II. The collector of ancient law books will
probably be a member of one of the four great London seats of law, or at
least have access to their famous libraries; there are printed catalogues
of all of them. The Advocates' Library at Edinburgh, too, possesses a
magnificent collection of ancient law books. A catalogue of it was
published by David Irving in 1831, and more recently in seven quarto
volumes, 1867 to 1879. If you collect old French 'coutumiers,' Cooper's
'Catalogue of Books on the Laws and Jurisprudence of France' may be
useful to you. It was printed in octavo, 1849.
[Sidenote: Liturgies.]
34. The collection of Liturgies is a subject that usually goes hand in
hand with the collection of Bibles and theological works. But it is for
all that a distinct subject, and may well engage the undivided attention
of the collector. 'A New History of the Book of Common Prayer,' by
Messrs. Proctor and Frere, is perhaps at present the standard work upon
the history of our English prayer book. The latest edition is dated 1914,
and it is published by the house of Macmillan. The Rev. W. H. J. Weale's
'Bibliographia Liturgica, Catalogus Missalium, Ritus Latini ab anno 1475
impressorum' appeared in 1886. The Henry Bradshaw Society was founded in
1890 for the publication of rare liturgical tracts; whilst Maskell's
'Ancient Liturgy of the Church of England' (third edition, octavo, 1882)
contains a collection of the service books in use in England before the
Reformation.
[Sidenote: Locally-printed Books.]
35. Locally-printed books is a heading of considerable interest from the
bibliographical point of view. The term is a wide one, for the volumes it
includes range from those printed in a particular country to those
produced in an individual town. Has anyone yet attempted to form a
collection of books printed in Barbadoes or Java, in Donegal or Dover?
Probably; but I am unaware of any attempts at bibliographies. With the
growth of the public library in every town of importance throughout the
kingdom, there are increasing opportunities for valuable work in this
direction; and every year should see the issue of bibliographies by those
institutions, works which would contain not merely a list of books
printed in each particular town, but a history of printing in that place.
Mr. Falconer Madan's 'Oxford Books' may well serve as a model for such
works. It was published in two octavo volumes at Oxford in 1895 and 1912
respectively, the first volume being concerned with the productions of
the early presses of that town. There are useful lists of books which
issued from the early presses of Scotland by Mr. H. G. Aldis, and Ireland
by Mr. E. R. McC. Dix. 'The Annals of Scottish Printing,' a large quarto
by R. Dickson and J. P. Edmond, was printed at Cambridge in 1890. A model
for the county bibliography is the 'Bibliotheca Cornubiensis' of Messrs.
G. C. Boase and W. P. Courtney, produced in three octavo volumes, between
1874 and 1882; and there are accounts of the early presses in several
English counties, as well as at Cambridge, York, Birmingham and other
important towns. But a considerable amount of work has still to be done
in this direction. A valuable little book appeared in 1912 issued by the
Cambridge University Press. It is entitled 'The English Provincial
Printers, Stationers, and Bookbinders, to 1557,' and is by Mr. E. Gordon
Duff. There are accounts of the early presses at Oxford, St. Albans,
Hereford, Exeter, York, Cambridge, Tavistock, Abingdon, Ipswich,
Worcester and Canterbury; and it is a volume that should find a place on
the shelf of every bibliophile.
There is an interesting byway in connection with this heading: the
collection of English books printed abroad. Is there anywhere a
collection of books in the English tongue printed at Paris? One
constantly comes across such volumes, especially those issued during the
first half of the nineteenth century. After that time, Bernhard Tauchnitz
of Leipzig appears to have gathered into his hands the trade of English
books printed abroad. Recently our book-hunter came across a curious
example of these peregrine volumes. It is a narrow octavo of some three
hundred pages, entitled 'An Introduction to the Field Sports of France,'
and was printed by Auguste Lemaire at St. Omer (Pas de Calais) in 1846.
At the end is the following note: 'The reader will make due allowance for
any misprints he may discover, when apprised that the printer knows
nothing of the english language, and they chiefly occur in the
commencement of the work.' Evidently M. Lemaire warmed to his task as he
went on. But the 'Dame of our Ladie of Comfort of the Order of S. Bennett
in Cambray' who translated St. Francis de Sales' 'Delicious Entertainment
of the Soule' was even more modest. Her version was printed at Douai by
Gheerart Pinson in 1632, and apparently neither printer nor translator
was very proud of the work, for in the 'Apology for Errors' we are told
that 'the printer was a Wallon who understood nothing at all English, and
the translatresse a woman that had not much skille in the French.' Still,
imperfect though typography and translation be, between them they
produced a book that is eagerly sought by collectors to-day.
This is a topic, however, that is full of pitfalls. Hundreds of
European-printed books now bear Asiatic imprints; thousands of
seventeenth and eighteenth century works printed at Paris bear the
imprint of The Hague or some other Dutch town. Our English publishers
have not been innocent of this charge either. Many a volume printed in
Holland and Germany bears the London imprint. The original edition of
Burton's translation of the 'Arabian Nights,' issued by him in London,
claims to have been produced at Benares.[83]
[Sidenote: Mathematical and Early Scientific.]
36. 'The seconde parte of the catalogue of English printed bookes' for
sale by Andrew Maunsell in 1595, concerned, we are told, 'the sciences
mathematicall, as arithmetick, geometrie, astronomie, astrologie, musick,
the arte of warre, and navigation.' But it is not my intention to include
musick and the arte of warre here, this heading comprising those works
which deal with mathematics and physics only, with their dependent
subjects, such as (in addition to those mentioned by Master Maunsell)
geodesy, mensuration of all kinds, meteorology, seismography, and books
on chance and probabilities.
Sir Henry Billingsley's edition of Euclid's 'Elements' (1570) is
naturally a rare book, as is John Blagrave's 'Mathematical Jewel,' a
folio issued in 1585. It is one of the earliest English books upon
mathematics. Blagrave[84] was the author of a number of works on
Geometry, Navigation, Dialling, etc.
For a history of mathematics you must turn to the four quarto volumes of
that ingenious Frenchman, M. Jean Etienne Montucla. This work, the
'Histoire de Mathematiques,' first appeared in two volumes in 1758; but
the author devoted the later years of his life to enlarging it and the
new edition was published at Paris in 1799. It was reprinted in 1810.
This mathematician is said to have written a treatise on squaring the
circle, but our book-hunter has not yet come across a copy. 'A History of
Ancient Astronomy' appeared at Paris (quarto) in 1775: it was by that
great man who presided over the memorable assembly at the Tennis Court on
the 20th June 1789, Jean Sylvain Bailly. Four years later he produced a
history of Modern Astronomy from the foundation of the Alexandrian School
to 1730 (three vols. quarto, Paris, 1779-82): and in 1787 came the
History of Indian and Oriental Astronomy from the same pen. All these
contain interesting details of the origin and progress of astronomical
science, with the lives, writings, and discoveries of astronomers. With
regard to our own great mathematician, Sir Isaac Newton, a bibliography
of his works has been published by Mr. G. J. Gray; the second edition
appeared at Cambridge in 1907.
Mr. D. E. Smith's 'Rara Arithmetica,' a catalogue of arithmetical works
which appeared prior to the year 1601, was printed, in a limited edition,
at Boston (United States) in 1908. It is a sumptuously produced work in
two large octavo volumes, copiously illustrated. Professor de Morgan's
'Arithmetical Books from the Invention of Printing to the Present Time'
contains brief notices of a large number of works 'drawn up from actual
inspection.' It was published--a thin octavo of 124 pages--in 1847, and
the books are arranged chronologically; but there is an index of authors.
[Sidenote: Medical.]
37. The collection of early medical books is a hobby that must appeal
chiefly to the chirurgeon. Its sub-headings are not numerous, and each
comprises volumes of considerable bibliographical interest. There are
curious books on 'poysons' as well as upon the commoner branches of
surgery, and there are glorious editions of all the ancient AEsculapians,
such as Hippocrates, Dioscorides, Galen, and Avicenna. Herbals are
doubtless collected by many who are not possessed of medical knowledge,
and a number of them treat more of simples and housewifery than
leechcraft, which is probably one reason of their attraction for the
non-medical collector. But as these volumes in general are so
inextricably bound up with the science of healing, I have thought fit to
include them here. There is no denying that the fascination of these
curious volumes, often (as in Fuch's magnificent tome) containing
woodcuts that are a sheer delight to the bibliographer no less than to
the botanist, is a strong one.
It is a moot point whether works on Early Chemistry or Alchemy should be
included here or under the heading 'Occult,' seeing that they usually
centre about the Elixir of Life and the Philosopher's Stone. Perhaps they
would be classed more accurately with Early Scientific. But for the
purposes of our list I have reserved that heading for those books which
treat of mathematics and physics only. With the early works upon
astrology we need not concern ourselves here: they have more to do with
divination and horoscopes than the craft of healing, so their appeal is
chiefly to the student of the occult. It is impossible, however, to
classify under one heading all those early works which treat of the
beginnings of scientific knowledge. The star-gazer, the herbalist, the
necromancer, and the leech, must be content to share among themselves a
class of books which deals generally with the search into the Great
Unknown.
A useful catalogue of books on Alchemy was printed in two large quarto
volumes at Glasgow in 1906. It is by Professor John Ferguson, and is
entitled 'Bibliotheca Chemica,' being a list of the hermetic books in the
library of Mr. James Young. The three volumes entitled 'Leechdoms,
Wortcunning, and Starcraft of Early England' by the Rev. Oswald Cockayne,
published in the 'Rolls' series, 1864-66, contain a valuable contribution
to the early medical science of this country. Dr. J. F. Payne's 'English
Medicine in the Anglo-Saxon Times' (the Fitz-Patrick Lectures for 1903)
is for the most part a dissertation on that work.
Some of the prescriptions of these early leeches are rather quaint. 'If a
man's head burst . . . let him take roots of this same wort, and bind
them on his neck. Then cometh to him good benefit.' The following is an
excellent remedy for toothache: 'Sing this for toothache after the sun
hath gone down--"Caio Laio quaque voaque ofer saeloficia sleah manna
wyrm." Then name the man and his father, then say: "Lilimenne, it acheth
beyond everything; when it lieth low it cooleth; when on earth it burneth
hottest; finit. Amen."' If after this the tooth still continues to ache
beyond everything, it is evident that there is a wyrm in it. For
stomach-ache, you must press the left thumb upon the stomach and say
'Adam bedam alam betar alam botum.' This is infallible.
Collections of medical authors began at an early date. Van der Linden's
'De Scriptis Medicis, libri duo' appeared first at Amsterdam in 1637,
octavo--a valuable list of authors and the editions of their works. But
it was reprinted with additions several times during the author's
lifetime (he died in 1664); and in 1686 appeared at Nuernberg as a thick
quarto entitled 'Lindenius Renovatus.' Dr. E. T. Withington's 'Medical
History from the Earliest Times,' octavo, 1894, is useful for reference;
whilst Dr. Norman Moore has recently produced (Oxford, 1908) a 'History
of the Study of Medicine in the British Isles.' Dr. E. J. Waring's
'Bibliotheca Therapeutica' was published in two octavo volumes by the New
Sydenham Society in 1878-79. It is a list of the books which have been
written on each individual drug, classes of medicines, and general
therapeutics. There is an index of authors. The first volume of Albrecht
von Haller's 'Bibliotheca Anatomica' was published at London 'in vico
vulgo dicto The Strand' in 1774; the second volume at Zurich in 1777.
Both are in quarto, and are biographical as well as bibliographical. The
same author published a 'Bibliotheca Chirurgica' and a 'Bibliotheca
Medicinae Practicae' at Berne and Basel between 1774 and 1788. His
'Bibliotheca Botanica,' two quarto volumes, appeared at Zurich in
1771-72. For other writers upon Botany you must consult Curtius
Sprengel's 'Historia Rei Herbariae,' two octavo volumes which appeared at
Amsterdam in 1807 and 1808. 'A Guide to the Literature of Botany' by B.
D. Jackson was issued by the Index Society in 1881. Jean Jacques Manget,
a Geneva physician who died in 1742 at the age of ninety-one, was another
voluminous compiler of bibliographies upon medical subjects.
[Sidenote: Military.]
38. Under the heading 'Military' are included not only historical
accounts of military operations but those works which treat of the
military art and the progress of its development. Obviously it is a
subject that is as old as mankind, and dissertations on drill with the
stone battle-axe must find a place here. Many of the books on Arms and
Armour (such as Sir Samuel Meyrick's beautiful folio volumes) are fine
works, and some of the earlier publications on Castramentation and Siege
operations are interesting. We must not forget to mention the beautiful
little Elzevier 'Caesar' of 1536. It is a wide heading, for such books as
the Commentaries of Blaise de Montluc and the Memoirs of Olivier de la
Marche must be included, as they deal in large part with military
operations. Books on Archery, Fencing, and Duelling are also comprised by
this heading.
If this be your subject, our book-hunter trusts that you have been more
successful than he has in your quest for the 'Traicte de l'Espee
Francoise, par Maistre Jean Savaron' (small octavo, Paris, 1610). He
narrowly missed a copy in Paris some years ago, and so far this scarce
little volume of fifty-six pages has eluded him as successfully as the
'Pastissier Francois.' Probably, on account of its slimness, it is
usually bound up with more substantial works, and thus escapes the eyes
of book-hunters and cataloguers. Savaron also wrote a 'Traicte contre les
Duels,' which is equally scarce. Works on duelling are legion, and range
from Carafa's rather large folio entitled 'De Monomachia seu de Duello,'
Rome, 1647, down to the little 'Dissertation Historique sur les Duels et
les Ordres de Chevalerie: Par Monsieur B * * * *,' which is by Master
Jacques Basnage--a duodecimo produced first at Amsterdam in 1720. An
Italian bibliography of this subject by J. Gelli and G. E. Levi appeared
in 1903. For the most part they are uncommon works and not easy to find.
It is a subject that borders closely on the Chivalry of our list, for of
course that subject was (like Heraldry) entirely military in origin. A
'Bibliography of English Military Books up to 1642, and of Contemporary
Foreign Works' was compiled by Captain M. J. D. Cockle and published in
quarto in 1900. Mr. Carl Thimm's 'Art of Fence: a Complete Bibliography'
appeared in 1891; an enlarged edition was put forth in 1896.
[Sidenote: Music.]
39. Books on Music may be divided conveniently into the numerous
sub-headings which treat of particular instruments, songs, printed music
generally, and accounts of the early musicians and their works. Treatises
upon the violin are fairly numerous;[85] but I do not remember having
come across many works on the Jew's harp or ocarina. There are
interesting old books on the virginals, harpsichord, and spinet. Before
the end of the fifteenth century a number of Missalia, Gradualia,
Psalteria, and Libri Cantionum ('quas vulgo Mutetas appellant') had
appeared from the press. The 'Theoricum Opus Musice Disciplina' of
Franchino Gafori, or Gaffurius (which, by the way, is merely an
abridgment of Boethius), is said to be the earliest printed treatise on
music. It was printed first at Naples in 1480. Antiphonals and Troparies
must also be included here.
A new edition of Grove's 'Dictionary of Music and Musicians,' by Mr. J.
A. Fuller-Maitland, appeared in 1904. Dr. Charles Burney's 'General
History of Music' occupied that great English musician between 1776 and
1789--four quarto volumes. 'The Literature of Music,' an octavo by Mr. J.
E. Matthew, was put forth in the series known as the Booklovers' Library
in 1896; whilst the 'Oxford History of Music,' edited by Dr. W. H. Hadow,
appeared in six volumes between 1901 and 1905. M. Henry de Curzon's
valuable work, 'Guide de l'Amateur d'Ouvrages sur la Musique,' was
printed at Paris in 1901. For a bibliography of operas you must turn to
the 'Dictionnaire des Operas,' of MM. Clement and Larousse. Rimbault's
'Bibliotheca Madrigaliana,' which is a bibliographical account of the
musical and poetical works published in England during the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries, appeared in 1847; and you will find a list of
early songs, madrigals, and 'ayres' in the fourth volume of the
'Cambridge History of English Literature,' pages 463-6. Hazlitt's
'Catalogue of Early English Music in the Harleian Library,' was published
in 1862. There are useful articles on early music printing, by Mr. R.
Steele, in the Bibliographical Society's Journal for 1903, and by Mr.
Barclay Squire in the third volume of 'Bibliographica.'
[Sidenote: Napoleon.]
40. The collector of books dealing with Napoleon I. has a somewhat narrow
field to range in. There is a large number of English tracts and
pamphlets that deal with the great man and his proposed invasion of
England, as well as biographies, memoirs, and diaries concerning him. A
collection of such works was formed in the later years of the nineteenth
century by an insatiable Grangerite named Broadley, and in due time his
library came under the hammer at Hodgson's. It was a remarkable
collection: anything that concerned 'Boney,' however remotely, was grist
to this collector's mill. A catalogue of his library was compiled and
published by Mr. W. V. Daniel in 1905. M. Gustave Davois' 'Bibliographie
Napoleonienne Francaise' to 1908 was printed in three octavo volumes at
Paris, 1909-11. Of M. Kircheisen's 'Bibliographie du Temps de Napoleon,'
two quarto volumes, published at Geneva in 1908 and 1912, have appeared
up to the time of writing.
[Sidenote: Natural History.]
41. The early books on Natural History would probably be regarded by the
modern zoologist as bibliographical curiosities rather than intelligent
text-books; and truly the accounts of even the larger mammals given by
these early observers of nature are extraordinary. Most of us will
remember reading Caesar's description of the elks in the Hercynian
forest, which slept leaning up against the trees because they had no
joints in their legs. The inhabitants, cunning fellows, sought out the
favoured trees and sawed them nearly through; so that when the
unfortunate elks settled themselves to sleep, the booby-traps came into
operation. Having no joints in their legs, the poor beasts were unable to
rise, and so became an easy prey to the savage Teuton. Herodotus, too,
was somewhat credulous in the matter of animals; Sir John Mandeville was
not always to be trusted; and even Bernard von Breydenbach, who made a
journey to the Holy Land about 1485, beheld strange beasts, like
Spenser's giaunts, 'hard to be beleeved.' But perhaps the palm among
these mediaeval monsters is held by the eale, or, as it became later, the
yale or jall; that strange beast which has survived--in effigy at
least--unto our own times.
It appears that Pliny was the first to discover this singular animal, and
his description of it is recorded in many of those quaint mediaeval
natural history volumes known as 'Bestiaries.' The Reverend Edward
Topsell, in his 'Historie of Foure-footed Beasts' (folio, 1607) thus
describes it:
'There is bred in Ethiopia a certain strange beast about the bignesse of
a sea-horse, being of colour blacke or brownish: it hath the cheeks of a
Boare, the tayle of an Elephant, and hornes above a cubit long, which are
moveable upon his head at his owne pleasure like eares; now standing one
way, and anone moving another way, as he needeth in fighting with other
Beastes, for they stand not stiffe but bend flexibly, and when he
fighteth he always stretcheth out the one, and holdeth in the other, for
purpose as it may seeme, that if one of them may be blunted or broken,
then hee may defend himselfe with the other. It may well be compared to a
sea-horse, for above all other places it loveth best the waters.'
Unfortunately no specimen has been seen by travellers for some years now,
so probably it is quite extinct. Certainly you will not find a jall in
the Zoo, or even at South Kensington, though you may see a very excellent
statue of him on King Henry VIII.'s bridge at Hampton Court.
There are numerous bibliographies of works upon all classes of animals,
fish, flesh, and fowl--even the good red herring.[86] For these you must
turn to Mr. W. P. Courtney's invaluable work. The 'Bibliographia
Zoologiae et Geologiae, a General Catalogue of all Books on Zoology and
Geology,' was compiled by L. Agassiz and H. E. Strickland for the Ray
Society--four octavo volumes, published between 1848 and 1854. A
'Bibliotheca Entomologica,' by H. A. Hagen, appeared at Leipzig, two
octavo volumes, in 1862-63.
[Sidenote: Nautical and Naval.]
42. The next subject, Nautical and Naval, will comprise chiefly
borrowings from other headings; for it will necessarily include books of
voyages and discoveries, works on navigation, meteorology, and
oceanography, as well as geographical books, and such purely nautical
volumes as dictionaries of the marine, the history of ships and
shipping, and accounts of the navy and mercantile fleet. There is a
number of early works on the astrolabe and globes, but you must not
expect easily to come across 'The Rutter of the Sea,' printed by Robert
Copland and Richard Bankes in 1528. It is the first English printed book
on Navigation, being a translation of 'Le Grand Routier' of Pierre
Garcie.
The Society for Nautical Research was founded in 1910, and it issues a
monthly journal known as 'The Mariner's Mirror,' wherein are treated
those subjects which pertain to the history of ships, sails, and rigging;
in fact, everything that has to do with the evolution of the ship. The
original 'Mariner's Mirrour' was a translation (by Anthony Ashley in
1588) of Wagenaar's 'Speculum Nauticum,' first published in 1583.
Needless to say, it is a scarce work, as are all these Elizabethan
volumes upon seafaring. In volume IV. of the 'Cambridge History of
English Literature' you will find two chapters on the literature of the
sea from the pens of those great authorities Commander C. N. Robinson and
Mr. John Leyland. If this be your subject, they will amply repay perusal.
There is an excellent list of early works, pages 453 to 462.
[Sidenote: Numismatics.]
43. Numismatics is one of those subjects which generally engage the
attentions of students rather than book-collectors, for the volumes upon
coins and medals are necessarily text-books for the collector of these
things. Such works are, of course, for the most part illustrated; and
some of the older ones are of considerable interest on account of their
engravings.
It is not only to the collector and 'curious antiquary,' however, that
some of these works are valuable, for in them occasionally the historian
is able to unearth matter scarcely obtainable elsewhere. Menestrier's
'Histoire du Roy Louis le Grand par les Medailles, Emblemes, Deuises,
Jettons, Inscriptions, Armoiries, et autres Monumens Publics' (folio,
Paris, 1693) is one of many such works. It not only contains engravings
of every medal struck to commemorate the birth, life, marriage, actions,
victories, processions, and entertainments of the Roi-Soleil (among them
one commemorating the Siege of Londonderry in 1689), but it has a very
fine folding plate of the Place des Victoires as it was in 1686. This
engraving not only shows the famous monument erected to the glory of
Louis XIV., and destroyed at the Revolution, but gives the details of the
panels and a very full description of it. Thus we may have to hand all
the inscriptions, mottoes, and dates which were graven upon that historic
monument.
[Sidenote: Occult.]
44. Civilisation mates but ill with Romance, and for the passing of
Superstition (the child of Imagination and Romance) none can shed a tear.
Yet at least it served to raise our daily lives out of the rut of
commonplace. Our pulses are no longer stirred at the mere mention of the
word MAGIC, and even BLACK MAGIC is coldly discussed where not so very
long ago none would have dared to speak it save with 'bated breath.' Yet
we are all mystics by birth, and scarce one of us there is who as a child
has not experienced the fear of darkness. We cannot explain it, and
though the child may soon be taught to laugh at his fear, yet none the
less was he endowed with this unaccountable dread of the UNKNOWN.
Among real book-collectors probably this particular branch of specialism
attracts but few; for the greater part of those who collect such works
are students of the occult (whether serious or idle) and have no true
love for their books qua books. Seemingly it is an absorbing hobby, for
those who devote their attention to necromancy soon become known among
their friends.
'Philosophy is odious and obscure;
Both Law and Physic are for petty wits;
Divinity is basest of the three,
Unpleasant, harsh, contemptible, and vile;
'Tis magic, magic, that hath ravish'd me.'
Thus Doctor Faustus, the Gamaliel of those whose study are the arcana of
nature and the world of shadows. Yet whether we be mystics or
materialists what would not each one of us (not necessarily bibliophiles)
give to possess the volume which Faustus had at the hands of
Mephistophilis?
_Meph._ 'Hold, take this book, peruse it thoroughly:
The iterating of these lines brings gold;
The framing of this circle on the ground
Brings whirlwinds, tempests, thunder, and lightning;
Pronounce this thrice devoutly to thyself,
And men in armour shall appear to thee,
Ready to execute what thou desir'st.'
_Faust._ 'Thanks, Mephistophilis; yet fain would I have a book
wherein I might behold all spells and incantations, that I
might raise up spirits when I please.'
_Meph._ 'Here they are in this book.' [_Turns to them._]
_Faust._ 'Now would I have a book where I might see all characters
and planets of the heavens, that I might know their
motions and dispositions.'
_Meph._ 'Here they are too.' [_Turns to them._]
_Faust._ 'Nay, let me have one book more--and then I have done--wherein
I might see all plants, herbs, and trees, that
grow upon the earth.'
_Meph._ 'Here they be.'
_Faust._ 'Oh, thou art deceived.'
_Meph._ 'Tut, I warrant thee.' [_Turns to them._]
Truly a marvellous volume. The astronomical and herbal portions of it we
can understand, and herein doubtless the 'Encyclopaedia Britannica' could
give it points, though possibly in a less handy shape. But even Wecker's
'De Secretis' fails lamentably when it comes to producing whirlwinds or
men in armour. As it is to be presumed, however, that the doctor returned
the volume at length to the owner in person, it is unlikely that the
book-collector will ever behold it--at least in this world.
It is a wide subject, this heading 'Occult,' and includes works on
Alchemy, Apparitions, Astrology, Cheiromancy, Demonology, Devil Lore,
Evil Spirit Possession, the Evil Eye, Hermetic Philosophy, Magic white
and black, Phrenology, Physiognomy, Prophecy, Sorcery and Divination,
Popular Superstitions, Vampires, and Witchcraft. We can even include
Conjuring! Early-printed books on all these subjects are legion, and the
numerous works on Lycanthropy or Werewolves, must also find a place under
this heading. Claude Prieur's curious work is rare though not
particularly valuable; it is a duodecimo printed at Louvain in 1596, and
is entitled 'Dialogue de la Lycantropie ou transformation d'hommes en
loups, vulgairement dit Loups-garous . . . .' Books on Monsters must also
be included here. Dr. Ernest Martin's 'Histoire des Monstres,' octavo,
Paris, 1879, contains a bibliography of this curious subject. The Rev.
Timothy Harley's 'Moon Lore'--another out-of-the-way heading--also
contains twenty-five pages of bibliography. It was printed in 1885.
Savonarola's 'Compendium Revelationum,' the work which probably hastened
him to the stake, you will come across most easily in the anonymous
'Mirabilis Liber,' which appeared at Paris first in 1522. This curious
work also contains the prophecies of Methodius (Bemechobus), the Sibyls,
Augustinus, Birgitta, Lichtenberger, Joachim, Antonio, Catherine of
Siena, Severus, J. de Vatiguerro, G. Bauge, and J. de la Rochetaillee.
Indagine, the author of a curious book on cheiromancy, physiognomy, and
astrology, was really Johann of Hagen, a German Carthusian who died in
1475.
There is a list of some books on Witchcraft, Demonology, and Astrology in
the seventh volume of the 'Cambridge History of English Literature,'
pages 503 to 511; though curiously it omits one of the most interesting
and best-known works on demon-lore--the 'De Natura Daemonum' of Jean
Laurent Anania, a small octavo produced by Aldus at Venice in 1589. It is
an interesting little work which treats of the origin of demons and their
influence on men. The first volume of Mr. F. Leigh Gardner's valuable
'Catalogue Raisonne of Works on the Occult Sciences' appeared in 1903. It
contains books on the Rosicrucians. The second volume, dealing with
astrological works, was issued in 1911; and the third, books on
Freemasonry, in 1912--three slim octavo volumes. Professor John
Ferguson's 'Witchcraft Literature of Scotland' appeared at Edinburgh in
1897. A scarce anonymous work was put forth at London in 1815, with the
title 'The Lives of Alchemistical Philosophers; with a critical catalogue
of books in occult chemistry, and a selection of the most celebrated
treatises on the theory and practice of the Hermetic Art.' It contains
(pp. 95-112) a list of 751 alchemical books. J. J. Manget's 'Bibliotheca
Chemica Curiosa, seu rerum ad Alchemiam pertinentium Thesaurus,' was
printed in two folio volumes at Geneva in 1702.
[Sidenote: Pamphlets and Tracts.]
45. The collecting of Pamphlets and Tracts is an interesting byway of
book-collecting. They are of almost every description under the sun. Some
collectors will have those that deal with Parliamentary proceedings, some
specialise in the Marprelate and No Popery tracts, some in the Satires of
the Restoration journalists, whilst others will gather Pasquinades,
Mazarinades, and Political pamphlets, as well as those that deal with
some particular social or historical event. It is a subject that,
perhaps, comprises more grotesque titles than any heading in our list.
Knox's famous 'First Blast of the Trumpet against the Monstrous Regiment
of Women' must certainly have been rather startling to Queen Bess, and
Attersoll's 'God's Trumpet sounding the Alarme' (quarto, 1632) is
vigorous; but the personal invective displayed by some of the Elizabethan
and early Stuart pamphleteers is hard to beat. 'An Olde Foxe Tarred and
Feathered,' 'A New Gag for an Old Goose,' 'A Whip for an Ape,' and 'An
Almond for a Parrat,' are all curious, but surely the palm is carried by
the following effort of John Lyly (against Martin Marprelate), put forth
in 1589:
'Pappe with an Hatchet. Alias A figge for my Godsonne. Or Cracke
me this nut. Or A Countrie cuffe, that is, a sound boxe of the
eare, for the idiot Martin to hold his peace, seeing the patch
will take no warning. Written by one that dares call a dog, a
dog, and made to prevent Martin's dog daies. Imprinted by John
Anoke, and John Astile, for the Baylive of Withernam, cum
privilegio perennitatis, and are to bee sold at the signe of the
crab tree cudgell in thwackcoate lane.'
In 1523 Richard Bankes printed a curious little tract with the following
title: 'Here begynneth a lytell newe treatyse or mater intytuled and
called The IX. Drunkardes, which treatythe of dyuerse and goodly storyes
ryght plesaunte and frutefull for all parsones to pastyme with.' I hasten
to add that the 'parsones' of Mr. Bankes' day were not necessarily in
holy orders. It was printed in octavo, black letter, and the only copy
that seems to be known is in the Douce collection at the Bodleian.
Professor Edward Arber's 'Introductory Sketch to the Martin Marprelate
Controversy,' which appeared in 1895, contains a list of the more
important tracts connected with that subject; and you will find Mr. W.
Pierce's 'Historical Introduction to the Marprelate Tracts' (1908)
useful. There are valuable lists of, and information upon, pamphlets of
most descriptions and of all periods in the volumes of the 'Cambridge
History of English Literature.' Mr. A. F. Pollard's 'Tudor Tracts,
1532-1588' appeared in 1903.
One of the most remarkable collections of pamphlets ever formed was that
amassed during the Commonwealth by an enterprising London bookseller
named George Thomason. He succeeded in gathering together[87] more than
22,000 pamphlets and tracts relating to the times; and being an ardent
Royalist, was at great pains to prevent the collection from becoming
known to the authorities. When the Royalist cause was scotch'd by the
execution of King Charles, the collection was transferred to Oxford, and
lodged in the Bodleian Library for safety; and although Thomason died in
1666, his collection remained at Oxford until nearly a century later,
when it was purchased by King George III. for L300, and presented by him
to the British Museum.
It is, of course, quite priceless now, and contains a large number of
tracts not otherwise known. A catalogue of the collection was printed by
the Museum authorities in 1908, two demy octavo volumes with the title:
'A Catalogue of the Pamphlets, Books, Newspapers, and Manuscripts
relating to the Civil War, the Commonwealth, and Restoration, collected
by G. Thomason, 1640-1661.'
[Sidenote: Philosophy.]
46. 'A farmer should be a philosopher,' said Mr. Jorrocks; and although
most book-collectors who specialise in philosophical works would disclaim
any connection between the two subjects, yet it is not easy to say where
philosophy either begins or ends. The dictionaries are very cautious,
contenting themselves with the assertion that any 'application of pure
thought' or rational explanation of 'things' comes under this heading.
Perhaps Mr. Jorrocks was more correct than most of his hearers imagined,
for farming in this country certainly requires a deal of pure thought--if
it is to be made to pay. For our purpose, however, we will narrow this
heading down to those books which deal with the moral aspects of mental
influences, and those which centre about the science of metaphysics.
[Sidenote: Poetry.]
47. Poetry is another heading over which we need not linger. He who
specialises in this class of literature may be either a student of
English poesy or a lover of prosody. If the former, the following volumes
will be of assistance to him.
Thomas Warton's 'History of English Poetry' first appeared in three
quarto volumes issued between 1774 and 1781; but a new edition, edited by
W. C. Hazlitt in four octavo volumes, was published in 1871. Professor W.
J. Courthope's work of the same title was issued in six volumes between
1895 and 1910; whilst Professor G. Saintsbury's 'History of English
Prosody from the Twelfth Century to the Present Day,' begun in 1906, was
completed in 1910, three octavo volumes.
[Sidenote: Privately-printed.]
48. Privately-printed Books. A curious byway of collecting, this; for
although it comprises books upon every subject under the sun, yet it will
not help the collector to acquire knowledge upon any single subject. For
some there is doubtless a certain attraction about books that have been
put forth surreptitiously, as it were; yet to the ordinary book-collector
such volumes seem to partake rather of the nature of pariahs. They are
among books, but not of them, lacking the credentials of their
companions. They are of three species only: (1) Personal Books; of
interest only to a family and its relations; (2) Books refused by the
publishing houses as being unlikely to appeal to the general public; (3)
Improper books, which, if issued publicly, would most likely incur an
action by the Public Prosecutor. Some years ago Bertram Dobell, a London
bookseller, collected upwards of a thousand volumes issued in this
manner, and published a catalogue of his collection, with interesting
notes. This collection was finally sold _en bloc_ to the Library of
Congress at Washington, U.S.A., in 1913. J. Martin's 'Bibliographical
Catalogue of Privately Printed Books' was published first in 1834, two
volumes; but a second edition appeared twenty years later.
[Sidenote: School Books.]
49. The collecting of old School Books is a branch of our hobby that
seldom engages the bibliophile's attention. Doubtless the recollection of
many painful hours spent in their company is responsible for their
neglect. Yet there is a charm about the early-printed Mentors of our
youth which it is impossible to deny, and there is a growing demand for
them--as the booksellers will tell you. The number that has disappeared
from the ken of bibliographer must be large, for it is difficult to
imagine a more unpopular type of book--at least with those who are
obliged to use them; and if your taste has altered to such an extent that
you now desire them above all things, you may reasonably hope to unearth
many a curio.
Our earliest printers were concerned with such works. In 1483 John
Anwykyll's Latin Grammar was printed at Oxford, and we must not forget
Caxton's 'Stans Puer ad Mensam,' put forth in 1478. Pynson issued a
'Promptorium Puerorum sive Medulla Grammaticae' in 1499, and De Worde
printed others. Most of the productions of the famous St. Albans press
were school books, to the annoyance of the boys at the Grammar School
there. Hoole's 'New Discovery of the Old Art of Teaching School' is
understood to have been a most unpopular discovery among his scholars. It
was first printed at London in 1660, and was reprinted in facsimile at
the University Press, Liverpool, in 1913. At the end of this reprint is a
useful bibliography of ancient school books, from the fifteenth to the
eighteenth century.
Hoole's pupils must have been somewhat out of the ordinary. 'N.B.,' he
remarks in 'The Usher's Duty,' 'Those children that are more
industriously willing to thrive, may advantage themselves very much by
perusal of _Gerards Meditations_, _Thomas de Kempis_, _St. Augustins
Soliloquies_, or his _Meditations_, or the like pious and profitable
Books, which they may buy both in English and Latine, and continually
bear about in their pockets, to read on at spare times.' Upon enquiry at
one of our larger public schools, however, I find that the number of
children--even those who are more industriously willing to thrive--who
advantage themselves by continually bearing these pious books in their
pockets is not large.
[Sidenote: Sport.]
50. The next heading in our list, Sports, Games, and Pastimes, naturally
comprises a large number of sub-headings. The term 'sport' may be
confined[88] conveniently to those subjects which have to do with
animals, such as Angling, Coaching, Cock-fighting, Coursing, Falconry,
Hunting, Horses, Racing, Steeplechasing, and Shooting. Other subjects,
chiefly of an outdoor nature, may be classed as Pastimes, such as
Archery, Boxing, Fencing, Mountaineering, Skating, and Yachting. Then
there are the diversions of short duration governed by rules, which we
call games, such as Cricket, Curling, Bowls, Football, Cards, Chess, etc.
There are bibliographies of almost all these, which you will find in Mr.
Courtney's work. If you are fond of hunting you will enjoy Mr.
Baillie-Grohman's edition of the famous 'Livre de Chasse' of Gaston
Phoebus, Comte de Foix. It was translated into English by Edward, Duke
of York, between 1406 and 1413, under the title 'The Master of Game'; and
to this reprint of 1909 is added a list of old hunting books, and a
valuable glossary of ancient hunting terms and phrases. 'La Chasse de
Loup,' a small quarto printed at Paris in 1576, is a scarce work. It
consists of but 22 folios, and has 14 large woodcuts, and it is by Jean
de Clamorgan, Seigneur de Saane. But you will find this treatise in _La
Maison Rustique_.
Books on cock-fighting are not very numerous, nor of frequent occurrence.
A number of such works are mentioned by Mr. Harrison Weir in that part of
'Our Poultry' which deals with game-fowl. 'The Royal Pastime of
Cockfighting,' by R. H. (_i.e._ Robert Howlet), a duodecimo printed at
London in 1709, is now very scarce and valuable; but a facsimile reprint
(100 copies) was issued in 1899. 'The Cocker,' by 'W. Sketchly, gent.,'
is of fairly frequent appearance, though a copy will cost you four or
five pounds. But it has been reprinted at least twice. A small volume
entitled 'Cocking and its Votaries' by S. A. T[aylor] was put forth in
1880, but our book-hunter has not yet been so fortunate as to come across
a copy.[89] It was, I believe, privately printed. Old Roger Ascham was a
keen devotee of this sport, and wrote a volume entitled 'The Book of the
Cockpit'; but no copy of this work is known (at least to bibliographers)
to exist at the present day. 'But of all kinds of pastimes fit for a
Gentleman,' he writes in 'The Scholemaster,' 'I will, God willing, in a
fitter place more at large declare fully, in my _Book of the Cockpit_;
which I do write to satisfy some.' From which it seems that he was
actually engaged upon the book. Apparently there is no record of its
publication, though an old devotee of the sport once told Mr. Harrison
Weir that he had seen a copy. 'The Commendation of Cockes and
Cock-fighting; Wherein is shewed, that Cocke-fighting was before the
comming of Christ,' by George Wilson, the sporting Vicar of Wretton, was
printed in black letter by Henry Tomes 'over against Graies Inne Gate, in
Holbourne,' in 1607. I wish you luck, brother collector, but I cannot be
sanguine that you will ever come across a copy though it was many times
reprinted. The tenth edition is dated 1655.
Under this heading also are included books on Dogs, Cats and Bees (!)
though the inclusion of the latter reminds one of the story of the
imported tortoise, which the customs officials (after much debate)
decided was an insect, and therefore not liable to quarantine! Then there
are books of sporting memoirs, sporting dictionaries, sport in particular
countries, as well as works which treat of Maypoles and Mumming,
Festivals, and old English pastimes.
Books upon Dancing, Cards, Chess, and other games all have their
devotees. 'A Bibliography of Works in English on Playing Cards and
Gaming,' by Mr. Frederic Jessel, appeared in 1905, octavo. The library of
M. Preti of Paris, a well-known chess-player who devoted his attention to
the history of the game, was sold at Sotheby's early in 1909. It included
362 lots, comprising some 1600 volumes; but the entire collection
realised only L355. The sale catalogue is a useful one--if you are so
fortunate as to come across it. But there is a numerous bibliography and
you will find a list of such volumes in Mr. W. P. Courtney's 'Register of
National Bibliography.'
[Sidenote: Theology.]
51. Theology and the Lives of the Fathers of the Early Christian Church
is a field of such magnitude that we may divide it conveniently into
periods or countries or controversies. Books on the Council of Trent
engage the attentions of some, others are attracted by the history of the
Waldenses or the Byzantine Churches. Some again specialise in the
writings of certain great characters, such as Bonaventura, Augustine, or
Erasmus. A 'Bibliotheca Erasmiana, ou Repertoire des Oeuvres d'Erasme'
appeared at Ghent in 1893 and was followed four years later by a new
edition. Similarly there are now accounts of the writings of almost all
the great Churchmen, such as Cranmer, Latimer, Tindale, Laud, Ken, etc.
The only bibliography of Knox with which I am acquainted is that appended
to the six volumes of Laing's edition of his works, published at
Edinburgh 1846-64.
[Sidenote: Tobacco.]
52. Tobacco is a cheery subject for the book-collector, and somehow the
very word conjures up a vision of warmth and comfort.
'My pipe is lit, my grog is mix'd,
My curtains drawn and all is snug;
Old Puss is in her elbow-chair,
And Tray is sitting on the rug.'
What book-collector, I do not mean book-speculator, does not smoke a
pipe? I refuse to believe that any book-lover could possibly sit in an
easy chair before the fire and pore over Browne's 'Hydriotaphia,'
Sidney's 'Arcadia,' More's 'Utopia,' or Cotton's 'Montluc' (all in folio,
please) without a pipe in his mouth. Why, it is unthinkable. Yet the
books which treat of tobacco are not all couched in that tranquil tone
which is induced by the soothing weed. 'The whole output of literature on
tobacco,' writes Professor Routh, 'is eminently characteristic of the age
in its elaborate titles, far-fetched conceits, and bitter invective. The
spirit of criticism is so strong that even the partisans of the weed
satirise the habits of the smoker.' King James's 'Counter Blaste to
Tobacco,' first issued in 1604, Braithwaite's 'The Smoaking Age,' 1617,
and Barclay's 'Nepenthes, or, the Vertues of Tobacco,' 1614, have all
been reprinted of late years. Bragge's 'Bibliotheca Nicotiana' was
printed at Birmingham in 1880.
[Sidenote: Topography.]
53. Topography and County Histories need not detain us. Anderson's 'Book
of British Topography' is a list of County Histories, etc., that had
appeared up to 1881; and Mr. A. L. Humphrey's 'Handbook to County
Bibliography' amplifies and carries the record down to 1917. With this
heading we can include the collection of Atlases and Maps. Sir H. G.
Fordham's 'Studies in Carto-Bibliography, British and French, and in the
Bibliography of Itineraries and Road Books' contains a useful
bibliography of this subject. It was published by the Clarendon Press in
1914.
[Sidenote: Trades.]
54. Books on Trades should form an interesting series for the collector.
Works on 'Dialling' and Clock-making are frequent enough, but I do not
remember to have come across very many books which treat of the
locksmith's art or coach-making, though such volumes appear from time to
time in the catalogues. There must be treatises on almost every trade
under the sun; our book-hunter possesses a small volume which deals with
the making of sealing-wax and wafers. Old treatises on brewing must be
plentiful, as doubtless are volumes on all the larger and more important
industries; but are there manuals for the loriner, the patten-maker, the
umbrella-manufacturer? Doubtless there are, though they must be few in
number, and scarce too, since those for whom they were intended probably
would not be the best preservers of books. Only about a century ago a
small manual was put forth for the use of those whose business was the
heraldic decoration of carriage-panels. It was very popular in the trade,
but is now scarcely to be had, and when found is invariably filthy and
dilapidated. Like the little 'Pastissier Francois,' such practical
treatises soon go the way of all superseded books.
[Sidenote: Travels and Voyages.]
55 and 56. Travel books and Voyages have already been discussed under the
heading 'Foreign Parts'--the first subject with which I have dealt in
detail. Most globe-trotters nowadays are members of the Royal
Geographical Society, and the Library Catalogue of that institution is a
valuable one for reference. It was printed in 1895, under the care of Mr.
H. R. Mill.
* * * * *
And so I bid you farewell, brother book-hunter. There is no subject with
which I have dealt but could have had a volume to itself: my aim
throughout has been to strike the happy medium between a tedious list of
titles and editions and a description too brief to be of interest. Thank
you for your patience and sympathy (of the latter indeed I was assured at
the outset, for we book-hunters are a class that knows no other feeling
when reading about our beloved books), and allow me to express the
sincere wish that good fortune may attend you on your expeditions. May
your 'finds' be frequent, cheap, clean, tall, perfect, and broad of
margin, and may you never suffer from borrowers, bookworms, acid-tanned
leathers, clumsy letterers and insecure shelf-fastenings. May good
scribbling paper, sharp pencils, uncrossed nibs, clean ink and
blotting-paper be ever at your hand, and may your days be passed in
wholesome leisure, in the divine fellowship of books. _Vale._
THE END.
FOOTNOTES:
[82] Msr. F. C. Wieder, the librarian, writing to the 'Times Literary
Supplement' of 6th February 1919 (p. 70), states that 'the catalogue is
in preparation, and arrangements will be made that the books of this
library can be sent on loan to foreign students through the intermediary
of public libraries.'
[83] See note on p. 78.
[84] The moated manor-house (Southcote, near Reading) which he built
provides an excellent example of the way in which learned men (especially
mathematicians!) go astray when they insist upon being their own
architects. A more unhandy house it is difficult to conceive; and in
winter-time the dinner must invariably have been cold by the time it
reached the dining-room. The writer of these lines prospected it from
attics to cellars some years ago, but as usual "drew blank."
[85] Mr. E. Heron-Allen's 'De Fidiculis Bibliographia' was issued in
parts, and forms two small quarto volumes, 1890 and 1894; but only about
sixty complete sets are known to exist.
[86] Dodd's 'Essay towards a Natural History of the Herring,' 1752,
contains a chapter of bibliography.
[87] You will find the whole tale--a most interesting one--in
'Bibliographica,' vol. iii., p. 291, from the pen of Mr. Falconer Madan.
[88] Lord Lovat's definition of 'Sport' was as follows: 'Sport is the
fair, difficult, exciting, perhaps dangerous pursuit of a wild animal
that has the odds in its favour, whose courage, speed, strength and
cunning are more or less a match for our own, and whose death, being of
service, is justifiable.' But this seems to apply more to hunting than
anything else; it certainly precludes coaching, cock-fighting, racing,
and steeplechasing.
[89] The copy in the Pittar sale at Sotheby's in November 1918 was
extra-illustrated and finely bound. It fetched L9, 15s.
INDEX
_Achademios_, Skelton's, 11.
Aeschylus, translations of, 71.
Aesop, the _Fabulous Tales of_, 12.
_Aethiopica_, the, 86.
AFRICA, books on, 206, 209.
Agincourt Expedition, the, 50.
AGRICULTURE, books on, 238.
A Kempis, Thomas, 217.
Alaric's grave, 104.
ALCHEMY, books on, 245, 256.
Alfred, king, 101.
---- his tomb, 104.
Allibone's _Critical Dictionary_, 163.
AMERICANA, 210.
Ames' _Typographical Antiquities_, 7, 8, 169.
Amyot, Pere, 86.
Ancillon, Charles, 81.
Andrada, Tomaso de, 155.
Anjou, Rene duc d', 87.
Antiphonaries, Spanish, 129.
Aquinas, Thomas, 37.
_Arabian Nights_, the, 77.
Arber's _Term Catalogues_, 162.
ARCHITECTURE, books on, 211.
ARCTIC and ANTARCTIC, books on, 206.
Aristophanes, translations of, 71.
Armorial bindings, 115 n.
Arthur, King, his character, 89.
Ascham, Roger, on books of Chivalry, 87.
---- on Cambridge, 38.
---- his _Book of the Cockpit_, 262.
Association books, 172.
ASTROLOGY, books on, 253-256.
ASTRONOMY, books on, 244.
Attic Theatre, the, 73.
Auctions, the history of book-, 187.
_Auction Records, Book-_, 191.
Augustine, St., on Varro, 154.
Austen, Jane, her _Mansfield Park_, 113.
---- on novels, 63.
AUSTRALIA, books on, 207.
_Aymon, the Four Sons of_, 14, 15.
Balin and Balan, 95.
BALLADS, 220.
_Ballatis, Gude and Godlie_, 13.
Bankes's _IX. Drunkardes_, 257.
BARBARY, books on, 209-210.
Barbier's _Ouvrages Anonymes_, 169.
Barbier, Louis, 154.
Barclay's _Euphormionis_, 11.
Barocci, Giacomo, his library, 181.
Barrow, a desecrated, 103.
Barton, Elizabeth, her book, 13.
Basse, Nicholas of Frankfort, 178.
Beckmann, Johann, on catalogues, 176-178, 180, 188.
Belvedere, motto at, 38 n.
Bernard, Dr. Francis, 13 n.
BEWICK, books on, 168.
BIBLES, 212.
_Bibliographica_, 167.
Bibliographies of Bibliographies, 170.
---- some early, 154-156.
BIBLIOGRAPHY, 150-156, 160-170.
---- compiling a, 151-153, 156.
---- examples of great industry in, 154.
---- the objects of, 150.
_Bibliography_, Mr. Courtney's _Register of National_, 170, 205.
---- Growoll's _English Book Trade_, 181.
Bigmore and Wyman's _Bibliography of Printing_, 167.
Bill, John, 181.
BINDING, _see_ BOOKBINDING.
BIOGRAPHIES, 213.
---- Dictionaries of, 217.
Bishop, a Tudor, his town house, 19.
Black Prince, the, 90, 92.
---- his household book, 18.
Blackie, Professor, quoted, 59.
Blades' _Life of Caxton_, 165.
Blagrave's Manor-house, 244 n.
BLOCK-BOOKS, Sotheby on, 166.
Boccaccio, on translating, 73.
Bonaventura, 37.
_Book-Auction Records_, 191.
_Book of Curtesye_, the 223.
_Book of Good Manners_, the, 14.
_Bookhunter_, Burton's, 21.
_Book-Prices Current_, 191.
BOOKS PRINTED ABROAD, ENGLISH, 242.
Books, the care of, 126.
---- the charm of old, 106-108.
---- cleaning, 145-149.
---- English printed abroad, 242.
---- the five classes of, 120-122.
---- imperfect, 112, 116-120.
---- lost, 10-21.
---- repairing, _see_ BOOKBINDING.
---- travel far afield, 17.
Bookbinders, London, 139.
BOOKBINDING, 135-140.
---- books on, 135, 136.
---- leathers, 137, 138.
---- prescription for, 137, 139-140.
BOOKBINDINGS, Armorial, 115 n.
---- collecting, 203.
---- old, their value, 113-115.
---- paper, 116, 141-145.
---- polishing old, 141.
---- preservative for, 141.
---- repairing, 109-115, 141-145.
BOOKCASES, 128-134.
BOOK-COLLECTORS, the Doctor, 42.
---- the Genealogist, 40-42.
---- the Sailor, 43.
---- the Soldier, 49.
---- the Traveller, 44-48.
BOOKPLATES, works on, 115 n.
BOOKSELLERS, books upon, 182 n.
---- Mr. McKerrow's _Dictionary of_, 183.
BOOKSHELVES, making, 128-134.
---- staining, 131, 132.
BOTANY, early, 245-247.
Boucicault, Marshal Jean, 213-214.
Bouillon, Godfrey de, 89.
Bourchier, Sir Henry, 181.
Box, an old, 18.
British Museum Catalogue, 163.
---- ---- talking in the Reading Room of the, 34.
Brittany, old books in, 28.
---- old hostel in, 29.
Britwell Court Library, 210.
BROADSIDES, 220, 228.
Browne, Sir Thomas, 52.
---- quoted, 104, 233.
Bruce, King Robert, 93.
Brunet, J. C., 22.
---- his _Manuel de Libraire_, 163.
Brydges' _British Bibliographer_, 162.
Buckram for shelves, 132.
Bunyan's _Pilgrim's Progress_, 66.
Burney, Admiral James, 208.
Burns' _Poems_, value of, 190.
---- ---- a unique copy of, 173.
Burton, John Hill, quoted, 59.
---- his _Bookhunter_, 21.
Burton's _Arabian Nights_, 78 n.
Bury, Richard of, quoted, 65.
Byron's _English Bards_, 190.
---- _Poems_, 189.
Byron, J., _Wreck of the Wager_, 47.
Caesar, the Elzevier, 21-22, 24.
Calderon, translations of, 73.
Cambridge and Roger Ascham, 38.
---- books, Mr. Sayle on, 165.
Camelot, 95, 97, 98.
Campbell, Thomas, quoted, 47.
CARD GAMES, books on, 262.
Castiglione, Baldassare, 19.
Cataloguer, an Abbey, 54.
CATALOGUES, bound at the end of books, 183-187.
---- early booksellers', 174-181.
---- a Restoration one, 184.
---- of Nicholas Basse, 178.
---- John Bill, 181.
---- Johan Cless, 180.
---- George Draud, 180.
---- William Jaggard, 181.
---- Andrew Maunsell, 181.
---- Sweynheim and Pannartz, 179.
---- Christian Wechel, 178.
Caxton, his advertisement, 175.
---- binding by, 20.
---- book by, 20.
---- his _Book of Good Manners_, 14, 223.
---- on Chivalry, quoted, 90.
---- his _Four Sons of Aymon_, 14, 15.
---- _The Life of_, by Blades, 165.
---- a lost book by, 11.
---- and Malory, 98, 99.
---- his _Metamorphoses of Ovid_, 11.
---- on rebinding a, 114.
---- his _Recueil des Histoires_, 99.
---- his _Speculum_, 14.
Cervantes' _Don Quixote_, 66, 74.
'Chafynghowys,' the, 34.
Chance, 201.
CHAPBOOKS, 220, 228.
Charlemagne, a story of, 196.
_Chasse de Loup, La_, 261.
Chaucer, quotations from, 1, 56, 94.
Cheke, Sir John, 132.
CHESS, books on, 262.
CHIVALRY, books on, 234.
---- a collector of books on, 200.
---- England the home of, 92.
---- romances of, 86-90, 227, 228.
---- and 'Sport,' 91.
_Chronograms_, Hilton's, 168.
CIVIL WAR, books on the, 221.
CLASSICS, the, 61, 70-73.
---- collecting the, 222.
Claudin, M. Anatole, works by, 166.
Cleaning books, 145-149.
Clement's _Bibliotheque Curieuse_, 164.
Clerkenwell, books bought in, 3, 18.
Cless, Johan of Frankfort, 180.
COCKFIGHTING, books on, 261.
COLLATING, 119, 152-153.
Collectors, _see_ BOOK-COLLECTORS.
Collins, William, of Chichester, 11, 12.
Colombiere, La, books by, 235-6.
COMMONPLACE BOOKS, 54-57.
COMMONWEALTH, books on the, 221.
_Companions to Greek_ and _Latin Studies_, 73.
Conon, lost books by, 55.
Cook, Captain, 207-208.
COOKERY BOOKS, 222.
Cooper's _Thesaurus_, 226.
CORONATION BOOKS, 235.
_Cortigiano, Il_, 19 n.
Corvinus, Matthias, 86.
COSTUME, books on, 224.
Cotton, Sir Robert, his library, 133.
Cotton's _Typographical Gazetteer_, 168.
Courtney's _Register of National Bibliography_, 170, 205.
Crabbe, quotation from, 31.
Cranmer on the Maid of Kent, 13.
Crawford, the Earl of, his _Bibliotheca Lindesiana_, 220, 221.
CRIMES, books on, 225.
Croix du Maine, F. de la, 155.
Croker's French Revolution collections, 233.
Cromwell, Thomas, 15, 19.
CURIOSA, 228.
Curll, Edmund, 185-6.
---- his edition of Prior, 9, 10.
_Curtesye_, the _Book of_, 223.
Dante, translations of, 75.
David's book-stall, 3.
_Defence of Women_, the, 16.
_De Gloria et Nobilitate_, 4.
DEMONOLOGY, books on, 255.
_De Re Heraldica_, 8.
Despeisses, Anthony, 51.
_De Studio Militari_, 5-8.
Dibdin's works, 169.
DICTIONARIES, 226.
Digressions, 51-54.
Disraeli, Isaac, quoted, 37.
Don, story of a, 79.
_Don Quixote_, 66, 74.
DRAMA, books on the, 226.
Draud, George of Frankfort, 180.
DRESS, books on, 224.
Drinking-horns, 102.
Dryden's _Aeneid_, 72.
DUELLING, books on, 248.
Duff, Mr. E. G., books by, 161, 166, 183, 242.
---- quoted, 12, 13, 14, 16.
Du Fresnoy, Lenglet, 108.
Du Guesclin, Bertrand, 92, 216 n.
Dumas, Alexandre, 22-24.
Eale, the, 250-1.
EARLY-PRINTED BOOKS, 227.
---- ---- ---- authorities on, 164-166.
EARLY ROMANCES, 227.
_Ebrietatis Encomium_, 186.
Editions good and bad, 69-70.
Elks, the Hercynian, 250.
_Elzeviers_, 21 _seq._, 187.
ENGRAVERS and ENGRAVING, authorities on, 167.
---- ---- books on, 240.
ENTOMOLOGY, books on, 251.
_Epicoene or the Silent Woman_, 13.
_Epitaph of the King of Scotland_, the, 11.
Errata, on, 170-1.
Este, Alfonso d', 38 n.
ETYMOLOGIES, 226.
_Euphormionis Lusinini Sat._, 11.
Euripides, translations of, 71.
EXTRA-ILLUSTRATING, 125.
Fabert, Abraham, 182.
_Fabulous Tales of Esope_, 12.
FACETIAE, 228.
Farringdon Road, _the_, 18.
_Faust_, translations of, 75.
Faustus his book, 254.
Fenn, Sir John, 20.
Fetherstone, Henry, 181.
Fitzgerald's _Polonius_, 192.
---- translations, 73.
_Flore et Zephyr_, 189.
Forgeries, book, 118-120.
_Four Sons of Aymon_, the 14, 15.
FREEMASONRY, books on, 232, 255.
FRENCH REVOLUTION, the, 82, 233.
---- ---- Croker's Collections on the, 233.
Gairdner, James, quoted, 20.
GARDENS, books on, 233.
Gavaudan, quoted, 88.
Genealogist, the, 40-42.
GENEALOGY, books on, 234.
_Geology_, books on, 251.
Gibbon, Edward, 81.
GIPSIES, book on, 229.
Giunta Terence, a, 3-4.
Goeree, William, 182.
Goethe, translations of, 75.
_Golden Legend_, the, 217.
_Goste of Guido_, the, 11.
Graesse's _Tresor de Livres Rares_, 164.
Grail, the Holy, 89, 93, 97.
---- ---- appears to the Knights, 99, 100.
GRANGERISING, 122-125.
Graves, the desecration of, 103-105.
Greek, aids to reading, 72, 73.
---- Incunabula, 166.
---- theatre, 73.
Growoll's _Book-Trade Bibliography_, 181.
Grude, Francois, 155.
Hain's _Repertorium_, 164.
Hamerton, P. G., on Interruptions, 33.
---- on reading the classics, 62.
Harrison, Mr. Frederic, on reading, 59, 60, 67, 79.
---- on the classics, 72.
---- _The Choice of Books_, 72.
Hazlitt, W. C., on lost books, 12, 14.
---- his _Bibliographical Collections_, 161-2.
Health, books on preserving, 224.
Heine, translations of, 76.
Heinz, quoted, 31.
Heliodorus, 84.
Henry VII. and Winchester, 98.
HERALDRY, books on, 234.
HERBALS, 245-247.
Herbert, George, his _Jacula Prudentum_, 56.
Herbert, Sir Henry, _Office Book of_, 227.
Herbert, William, lost books described by, 12.
Hilton's _Chronograms_, 168.
Hinard, Damas, 74.
_Historie of Judith_, the, 11.
HISTORY, books on, 237.
Hoccleve, 90.
Homer, translations of, 71-2.
Hoole's _New Discovery_, 260; his pupils, _ib._
Horace, on translating, 72.
Hospitallers, 200, 214.
Hotel du Lion d'Or, 29.
Housewife, the perfect, 239.
Hozier, Pierre d', 40.
Humphrey, Lawrence, 4.
Humphreys, Mr. A. L., quoted, 67, 69.
HUSBANDRY, books on, 238.
Hyde Abbey, 104.
Hyeres, the monk illuminator at, 37.
_Hygiasticon_, 224.
Illuminator of St. Honorat, the, 37.
Illuminators, the Winchester, 101-2.
ILLUSTRATED BOOKS, 240.
_Imitatio Christi_, 217.
Incunabula, definition of, 167 n.
---- _see_ EARLY-PRINTED BOOKS.
Interruptions, 33-35.
_Jacula Prudentum_, 56.
Jaggard, William, 181.
Jall, the, 250-1.
JEST BOOKS, 228.
---- ---- some early, 16.
Jonson, Ben, lost works of, 13.
_Judith, the Famous Historie of_, 11.
Karslake's _Notes from Sotheby's_, 162.
Keats' _Endymion_, 113.
Keeper of the Abbey muniments, 54 n.
Kempis, Thomas a, 217.
Kennet, Bishop White, 210.
_King Glumpus_, 189.
Koberger, Anton, 176.
L'Abbe's _Bibliotheca_, 155.
La Colombiere, books by, 235-6.
La Fontaine, Jean de, 39.
La Marche, Olivier de, 215.
La Monnoye, Bernard de, 154.
Lang, Andrew, on Elzeviers, 21.
---- his imperfect books, 112.
Large Copper, story of a, 116-117.
Large Paper copies, 203.
LAW, books on, 240.
Lawler's _Book-Auctions_, 187.
_Lesclarcissement de la Langue Francoyse_, 15.
_Library, the_, by A. Lang, 21.
Library, 'laying down a,' 230.
Libraries, two old country, 19-20.
Lion d'Or, the, 29.
LITURGIES, books on, 241.
LOCALLY-PRINTED BOOKS, 241.
London, books hidden in, 18.
Londonderry, medal of the siege of, 253.
_Long Meg of Westminster_, 16.
Lost books, 10-21.
Louis IX (St.) and the Saracens, 90.
Louis XIV., his monument, 253.
Louvre library, the, 134.
Lovelace's _Lucasta_, 120.
Lowndes' _Bibliographer's Manual_, 161.
LYCANTHROPY, books on, 255.
Mackenzie, Sir G., quoted, 192.
MAGIC, books on, 253-6.
Maid of Kent, the, 13.
Maimbourg, Louis, 186.
Malory, Sir Thomas, 95-99.
---- his _Morte d'Arthur_, 13, 88, 95-101.
---- and Caxton, 98, 99.
Malta, the Knights of, 200-1, 214.
MANNERS, books on, 223.
_Manners, the Book of Good_, 14.
_Mansfield Park_, 113.
Margaret of Scotland, 17.
Markham's housewife, 239.
---- _Thyrsis and Daphne_, 13.
Mariner's Mirror, the, 252.
Marmol, Luis del, 209-210.
Marprelate Tracts, 256.
MATHEMATICS, books on, 243.
MASQUES, books on, 226, 232.
Maunsell, Andrew, 181.
MEDICAL BOOKS, 245.
---- ---- a collector of, 42.
_Meg of Westminster_, 16.
Melanchthon, Philip, 59.
MEMOIRS, 213.
Menestrier's _Louis le Grand_, 252.
MILITARY BOOKS, 247.
Milton, quotations from, 88, 94, 95, 105, 127, 193.
---- his _Comus_, 191.
MINSTRELS, books on, 232.
MIRACLE PLAYS, books on, 232.
MODERN AUTHORS, valuable works of, 188-193.
---- ---- bibliographies of, 231-2.
Monastic rules, 34.
MONSTERS, books on, 255.
Montluc, Blaise de, 110-111.
Montmorency, Henri, duc de, 215.
MOON LORE, 255.
MORALITIES, books on, 232.
More's _Defence of Women_, 16.
Morte d'Arthur, _see_ Malory.
Mouse, the painted, 196.
MUSIC, books on, 248.
_Myriobiblon_, 55.
MYSTERIES, books on, 232.
NAPOLEON, books on, 249-250.
NATURAL HISTORY, books on, 250.
NAUTICAL BOOKS, 251.
_Neuf Preux, le Triomphe des_, 89, 216, 228.
_New England Canaan_, 211.
Newspapers, on reading, 64.
Newton, Sir I., bibliography of, 244.
Nightingale, Miss, on interruptions, 33.
Night working, 35.
_Nigramansir_, the, 11.
Normandy, Robert of, 201.
Notes, editors', 70.
Novels, on reading, 63.
---- the first, 84-85.
NUMISMATICS, books on, 252.
Occleve, 90.
OCCULT, books on the, 253.
Olaf, King, 201.
_Optimates_, by L. Humphrey, 4.
Ordnance, mediaeval, 49.
_Original Poetry by Victor and Cazire_, 190.
Ormsby, John, on romances, 86.
Osorio's _De Gloria_, 4.
Ovid's _Metamorphoses_, by Caxton, 11.
_Oxford Books_, by Mr. F. Madan, 165.
PAGEANTS, books on, 226.
Painted Mouse, a, 196.
_Palmerin d'Olive_, 205.
Palsgrave, John, 15.
PAMPHLETS and TRACTS, 256.
Panzer's _Annalen_, 165.
_Pappe with an Hatchet_, 256.
_Passionate Pilgrim, the_, 10.
_Pastissier Francois, le_, 21-28.
---- ---- prices of, 21, 24, 25.
Paston Letters, the, 20.
Pedigree hunting, 40.
'Pegs,' 102.
_Perceforest_, quotation from, 92.
---- description of, 93 n.
'Peregrine' volumes, 242.
Peron, the, 95-97.
PHILOSOPHY, books on, 258.
Photius, 55.
_Pilgrim's Progress, the_, 66.
Pinson, Gheerart, 243.
Place des Victoires, monument in the, 253.
PLAYS, books on old, 226.
Pliny on Seclusion, 36.
POETRY, 258.
_Poems by Two Brothers_, 189.
---- _on Various Occasions_, 189.
Pollard, Mr. A. W.'s _Fifteenth-Century Books_, 165-6.
Pollio, Asinius, 133.
Pope on Curll, 185.
---- quotation from, 68.
Portugal, a convent in, 17.
PRAYER BOOKS, works on, 241.
Precentor, the, 33 n.
Prescriptions, some early, 246.
PRESSES, CELEBRATED, 219.
PRICES OF BOOKS, 189-192, 227-8.
---- ---- some early, 179.
---- ---- on determining, 171-173.
_Prices of Books_, Wheatley's, 173-4.
PRINTERS' MARKS, books on, 169-170.
Printers, Mr. McKerrow's _Dictionary of_, 183.
Prior, his pirated _Poems_, 9, 10.
PRISONS, books on, 225.
PRIVATELY-PRINTED BOOKS, 203-4, 259.
PROCLAMATIONS, 221.
Proctor's _Early Printed Books_, 165.
Prophecies, a book of, 255.
Provence, a monk of, 37.
PSEUDONYMS, books on, 168.
Pynson, Richard, 11, 14, 15.
Quaritch's _General Catalogue_, 162.
Querard's _Supercheries Litteraires_, 169.
Quotations, doubtful origin of, 56, 57.
---- wrongly assigned, 57 n.
Rabelais, translations of, 76.
Racine and Heliodorus, 86.
Rainman, John, 177.
Ratdolt, Erhart, 176.
READING, the art of, 59-70, 78, 81-83.
---- wide, 79-81.
REBELLION TRACTS, 221, 222.
REBINDING, 109-116.
Recommending books, 59.
Regnault, Francois, 181.
Rene d'Anjou, 87.
REVOLUTION, THE FRENCH, 82, 233.
Rigging, an authority upon, 43.
ROGUERY, books on, 225.
ROMANCES OF CHIVALRY, 86-90, 227, 228.
Romance, the spirit of, 94-5, 102.
ROSICRUCIANS, books on the, 255.
Rouen, an old inn at, 26.
Round Table at Winchester, the, 100, 101.
Rowlands' Tracts, 225.
Roydon Hall, 20.
St. Amand, Gerard de, 52.
St. Augustine on Varro, 154.
St. Bernard on Solitude, 35.
St. Honorat, the monk of, 37.
St. Katherin of Siena, 21.
St. Louis and the Saracens, 90.
St. Margaret's _Devotional_, 17.
---- ---- _Life_, by Pynson, 11.
Sallengre's _L'Elogie de l'Ivresse_, 186.
Sanchez's _Bibliografia Aragonesa_, 170.
SARACENIC literature, 209.
Savaron, Jean, 248.
Savonarola's Compendium, 255.
_Sawyer, Tom, The Adventures of_, 66.
Sayle's _Books at Cambridge_, 165.
Schiller, translations of, 76.
Schoeffer's catalogue, 174.
SCHOOL BOOKS, OLD, 259.
Scipio Africanus, quoted, 38, 57 n.
Scott, Dr. E. J. L., 54 n.
_Scott's Last Expedition_, 69.
SEA, books on the, 251-2.
SEALS, books on, 236.
Seilliere, Baron A., the library of, 22 n, 227.
Seymour, Richard, Esq., 187.
SHAKESPEAREANA, 218, 219.
Shakespeare's _Passionate Pilgrim_, 10, 228 n.
---- Plays, 14, 17.
---- _Titus Andronicus_, 17.
Sharon Turner on digressions, 52.
---- on Romances, 88.
Shelley, quotation from, 38.
---- _Adonais_ and _Queen Mab_, 189, 190.
---- _Original Poetry_, 190.
SHELVES, 128-134.
Ships, an authority upon old, 43.
'Shorn lamb' proverb, 56.
Skelton, John, lost books by, 11.
Slater's _Early Editions_, 191.
Solitude, 35-39.
Sophocles, translations of, 71.
Sotheby on block-books, 166.
SOUTH SEAS, books on the, 207.
Southcote Manor-house, 244 n.
Spanish folios, 129.
SPECIALISM, the advantages of, 194 _seq._
Specialists, subjects of, 202-3.
_Speculum_, Caxton's, 14.
_Speculum Principis_, Skelton's, 11.
Spenser, quoted, 31.
SPORT, books on, 260.
---- definition of, 260 n.
Stael, Madame de, 52.
Staining bookshelves, 131, 132.
---- leaves of books, 149.
STAINS, removing, 146-149.
'Stationers,' 177.
Sterne, Laurence, 56.
Sweynheim and Pannartz, 179.
Syon College library, 12, 21.
Taylor, Bayard, 75.
Tennyson, A. and C., 189.
---- _Helen's Tower_, 192.
Terence, a Giunta, 3, 4.
Thackeray's _Flore et Zephyr_, 189.
---- King Glumpus, 189.
Theagenes and Chariclea, 85.
THEOLOGY, 263.
_Thesaurus Cornucopiae_, 171-172.
Thomas Aquinas, 37.
Thomas a Kempis, 217.
Thomason, George, 257.
_Thyrsis and Daphne_, 13.
Titles, some curious, 256-7.
_Titus Andronicus_, 17.
TOBACCO, books on, 263.
Tombs, the desecration of, 103-105.
TOPOGRAPHY, books on, 264.
TRACTS, 256.
TRADES, books on, 264.
Traveller, the library, 44-48.
TRIALS, books on, 225.
_Triomphe des Neuf Preux, le_, 89, 216, 228.
Tristram on a white horse, 88.
Trunk, an old, 18.
Trusler's _Honours of the Table_, 223.
Turner, Sharon, on Digressions, 52.
---- on Romances, 88.
University Don, a widely read, 79-81.
Upton, Nicholas, 5-8.
Urquhart, Sir Thomas, 76.
Varro, St. Augustine on, 154.
Vaughan, Stephen, 15, 16.
Vellum, brown, 138.
---- perishable, 138.
_Venus and Adonis_, 14, 228 n.
'Venus de Milo,' 133 n.
Verard, Antoine, 166, 176.
'Victor and Cazire,' 190.
Vincent's _True Relation_, 211.
Virgil, translations of, 72.
Voragine, Jacobus de, 217.
Wace, quoted, 93.
_Wager_, H.M.S., the loss of, 47.
'Wagstaffe, Theophile,' 189.
Walloon printer, a, 243.
Walton's _Compleat Angler_, 191, 192.
'Wargus,' 105.
Warton, Thomas, 11.
WASHING AND CLEANING, 146-149.
Wechel, Christian, 178-9.
WEREWOLVES, books on, 255.
Westminster Abbey muniments, 54 n.
Wheatley's _Prices of Books_, 173-174.
Willems, Alphonse, 24, 187.
Willer, George, 177, 178.
William the Conqueror, 201.
Winchester, 95-102.
---- ancient customs of, 102.
---- Castle hall at, 100, 101.
WITCHCRAFT, books on, 255.
Wolvesey Castle, 101.
Worde, Wynkyn de, 13, 14, 15, 21.
Wordsworth, quoted, 36, 77, 95.
Ximenes, Cardinal, 36, 37.
Yale, the, 250-1.
ZOOLOGY, books on, 250.
Transcriber's Notes:
Obvious punctuation errors repaired.
Page 81, "adminster" changed to "administer"
Page 101, "seul a" changed to "seul a"
Page 267, "pere" changed to "Pere"
Page 273, "Litteraires" changed to "Litteraires"
End of Project Gutenberg's The Book-Hunter at Home, by P. B. M. Allan