everything.' There is no such book, and there never could be such a
book. Omniscience may be a foible of men, but it is not so of books.
Knowledge, as Johnson said, is of two kinds, you may know a thing
yourself, and you may know where to find it.[24] Now the amount which
you may actually know yourself must, at its best, be limited, but what
you may know of the sources of information may, with proper training,
become almost boundless. And here come the value and use of reference
books--the working of one book in connexion with another--and applying
your own intelligence to both. By this means we get as near to that
omniscient volume which tells everything as ever we shall get, and
although the single volume or work which tells everything does not
exist, there is a vast number of reference books in existence, a
knowledge and proper use of which is essential to every intelligent
person. Necessary as I believe reference books to be, they can easily be
made to be contributory to idleness, and too mechanical a use should not
be made of them. Very admirable reference books come to us from America,
where great industry is shown, and funds for publishing them never seem
to be short. The French, too, are excellent at reference books, but the
inferior way in which they are printed makes them tiresome to refer to.
Larousse's _Grand Dictionnaire_ is a miracle.
A good atlas is essential as a reference book, and maps of the locality
where we live. A good map of old London is very useful in studying
_Pepys' Diary_ for instance. A good verbal dictionary is essential.
Sometimes several should be in use: thus, Halliwell's _Archaic
Dictionary_ and Nares' _Glossary_ are useful in studying Shakespeare.
Richardson's _Dictionary_ embodies all the good points of Johnson's
_Dictionary_, and is very excellent for quotations. Poetical
_Concordances_ and _Dictionaries of Quotations_, both prose and poetry,
are useful, though very rarely does one find the quotation required in
any professed book of quotations. A good _Biographical Dictionary_ is a
joy; such is Lippincott's, an American work. A good _Classical
Dictionary_ is also necessary, and may be supplemented by Smith's
_Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography_. It would be interesting to
see how far it would be possible to collect an ideal reference library,
and this, I think, has never been carefully done. It must be borne in
mind that reference books are not all books arranged alphabetically
(though the man who first wrote an alphabeted book should be Canonised).
Reference books consist of such works as Rawlinson's Historical Works,
Wilkinson's _History of the Ancient Egyptians_, and Fergusson's _History
of Architecture_. All such books are reference books, and many thousands
more. I think it will be found a good plan in the library to keep
reference books (viz., those which are likely to be in frequent use) in
a separate case--perhaps a revolving case--and in no library should this
section be neglected. Mr. Walter Wren, the well-known coach, once
lectured on 'What is Education?' and in his lecture he made the
following remarks:--
'I think the first thing that made me a teacher was my noticing, when a
boy, how men and women read books and papers, and knew no more about
them when they had read them than they did before. . . . . Lots of
people seem to know nothing, and to want to know nothing; at any rate,
they never show any wish to learn anything. I was once in a room where
not one person could say where Droitwich was; once, at a dinner of
fourteen, where only one besides myself knew in what county Salisbury
was. I have asked, I believe, over a hundred times where Stilton is, and
have been told twice--this when Stilton cheese was handed. I mention
this to show the peculiar conservative mental apathy of Englishmen.'
'A reader should be familiar with the best method by which the original
investigation of any topic may be carried on. When he has found it, he
appreciates, perhaps for the first time, for what purpose books are for,
and how to use them. . . . . No person has any claim to be a scholar
until he can conduct such an original investigation with ease and
pleasure.' The foregoing was the advice of a well-known American
librarian.
FOOTNOTE:
[24] Those who read everything acquire something, and especially they
acquire, as the Bishop of Oxford (Dr. Wilberforce), once said, the
invaluable power of knowing where, when they wanted first-hand
information, they could most easily obtain it. That is the knowledge of
the lawyer; and the knowledge of the lawyer, if he is competent,
gradually becomes of the kind which qualifies him to be a
judge.--_Spectator_, January 2nd, 1897.
_Boudoir Libraries._
Women have their own way of loving books. They are very rarely students,
and more rarely still do they amass really great libraries, though many
of the famous women of history have done so. Yet a woman likes to have
her own books, and she likes, too, to have them separate from her
husband's or her brothers', or the general family collection. Most women
like tiny editions fitted into tiny cases.[25] Colour is much more to a
woman than to a man, and in the binding of her books she will very often
be very happily inspired. I think that it is in De Maistre's _Journey
Round my Room_ that he says, 'It is certain that colours exercise an
influence over us to the extent of rendering us gay or sad, according to
their shades.' Charming tiny bookcases are now sold in various woods and
in all sizes, and these have the advantage of being easily moved from
place to place. A very pretty effect can be produced by a book-screen,
but this, to be of service for taking books, must be placed in a room
larger than most boudoirs. In choosing bindings for small books do not
be surprised if, when bound, your books are not as flexible as they
should be. The easy opening of a book, and this particularly applies to
small books, depends very much upon the thickness of the paper used, and
small books printed on thick paper will never open well. Much blame is
often heaped upon binders in this direction which is by no means their
fault. Roan, parchment, vellum, morocco, and buckram are all suitable
for boudoir bindings. Very pretty effects are produced by binding a
series of small books in vellum with green lettering-pieces, and green
edges instead of gilded edges. White backs, with pink or blue
lettering-pieces, are also very dainty; and a pretty effect of another
kind is produced by dark brown polished calf, with round backs, raised
bands, and yellow edges.
Reference books, such as verbal dictionaries, dictionaries of
quotations, a classical dictionary, an atlas, or a biographical
dictionary, should always be to hand; and even when these are in the
large library, duplicates should be kept in the boudoir.
In a very charming book, already referred to, called _The Story of my
House_, there is certain practical advice which seems to be the result
of much experience and excellent taste on the part of the writer.
'With regard to the bookcases themselves, their height should depend
upon that of the ceilings, and the number of one's volumes. For
classification and reference it is more convenient to have numerous
small cases of similar or nearly similar size, and the same general
style of construction, than a few large cases in which everything is
engulphed. With small or medium-sized receptacles, each one may contain
volumes relating to certain departments or different languages, as the
case may be; by this means a volume and its kindred may be readily
found.'
'The style and colour of the bindings, also, may subserve a similar
purpose; as, for instance, the poets in yellow or orange, books on
nature in olive, the philosophers in blue, the French classics in red,
&c. Unless methodically arranged, even with a very small library, a
volume is often difficult to turn to when desired for immediate
consultation, requiring tedious search, especially if the volumes are
arranged upon the shelves with respect to size and outward symmetry.
This may be avoided by the use of small bookcases and a definite style
of binding.'
I think here that the boudoir library should have its own catalogue, and
every bookshelf marked or numbered. Every boudoir library should have a
catalogue.
'In a room ten and a half to eleven feet high, five feet is a desirable
height for the bookcases. Besides the drawers at the base, this will
afford space for four rows of books, to include octavos, duodecimos, and
smaller volumes. The shelves should, of course, be shifting. . . . . By
leaving the top of the bookcase twelve to thirteen inches wide, ample
space will be allowed for additional small books, porcelain, and
_bric-à-brac_. It must be borne in mind that tall bookcases, in addition
to the inaccessibility of the volumes in the upper shelves, have little,
if any, space for pictures on the walls above them.'
It may be appropriate here to remind readers of an essay in Addison's
_Spectator_ upon my Lady's Library.
'Some months ago, my Friend, Sir Roger, being in the Country, enclosed a
Letter to me, directed to a certain Lady, whom I shall here call by the
name of _Leonora_, and as it contained Matters of Consequence, desired
me to deliver it to her with my own Hand. Accordingly, I waited upon her
Ladyship early in the Morning, and was desired by her Woman to walk into
her Lady's Library till such time as she was in Readiness to receive me.
The very Sound of a _Lady's Library_ gave me a great Curiosity to see
it; and as it was some time before the Lady came to me, I had an
Opportunity of turning over a great many of her Books, which were ranged
together in very beautiful Order. At the end of the _Folios_ (which were
finely bound and gilt) were great Jars of _China_, placed one above
another in a very noble piece of Architecture. The _Quartos_ were
separated from the _Octavos_ by a Pile of smaller Vessels, which rose in
a delightful Pyramid. The _Octavos_ were bounded by Tea Dishes of all
Shapes, Colours, and Sizes, which were so disposed on a wooden Frame
that they looked like one continued Pillar indented with the finest
Strokes of Sculpture, and stained with the greatest Variety of Dyes.
That Part of the Library which was designed for the Reception of Plays
and Pamphlets and other loose Papers, was enclosed in a kind of Square,
consisting of one of the prettiest Grotesque Works that ever I saw, and
made up of Scaramouches, Lions, Monkies, Mandarines, Trees, Shells, and
a thousand other odd Figures in _China_ Ware. In the midst of the Room
was a little Japan Table, with a Quire of gilt Paper upon it, and on the
Paper a Silver Snuff-box, made in the Shape of a little Book. I found
there were several other Counterfeit Books upon the upper Shelves, which
were carved in Wood, and served only to fill up the Number, like Fagots
in the muster of a Regiment. I was wonderfully pleased with such a mixt
kind of Furniture, as seemed very suitable both to the Lady and the
Scholar, and did not know at first whether I should fancy myself in a
Grotto, or in a Library.'
FOOTNOTE:
[25] Napoleon was a great lover of small books. 'An insatiate reader
while on his travels, Napoleon complained, when at Warsaw, in 1807, and
when at Bayonne, in 1808, that his librarian at Paris did not keep him
well supplied with books. "The Emperor," wrote the secretary to Barbier,
"wants a portable library of a thousand volumes in 12mo., printed in
good type without margin, and composed as nearly as possible of forty
volumes on religion, forty of epics, forty of plays, sixty of poetry, a
hundred of novels, sixty of history, the remainder, to make up the
thousand, of historical memoirs. The religious works are to be the Old
and New Testament, the Koran, a selection of the works of the Fathers of
the Church, works respecting the Aryans, Calvinists, of Mythology, &c.
The epics are to be Homer, Lucan, Tasso, Telemachus, The Henriade, &c."
Machiavelli, Fielding, Richardson, Montesquieu, Voltaire, Corneille,
Racine, and Rousseau were also among the authors mentioned.'
_Bookbinding._
As far as I am aware there are only four bookbinders in London who may
be trusted not to mutilate a book, and there are only two who have any
sense of design and harmony of colour. In sending a book to be bound,
if you value the book, you cannot be too careful or minute in giving
instructions as to your wishes.
I think the best way to assist by advice is to picture a number of
everyday instances of people requiring books to be bound, and to take
such familiar cases instancing well-known books and show how each case
can best be dealt with.
First of all, the right leather to use for binding is morocco. This is
best; more durable, and a better choice of colour is given you.
Half-morocco is good, but see that you get a good wide strip of morocco,
and that it is not all cloth sides with a very narrow spine of leather.
Valuable books should never be cut down. In many cases the top edges may
be gilded which is a preservative from dust, but there are many other
cases where instructions should be given to 'gild on the rough,' the
three other sides should be left alone.
I will first take the case of the 'Cambridge' _Shakespeare_, the
hand-made paper edition, already spoken of, where each play has been
issued in a separate volume, and in all forty thin volumes. Now the
first question to settle is: Shall I have each of the forty volumes
bound separately, or shall I bind the forty in twenty double volumes? or
another question may arise in your mind, Shall I keep the book in its
neat linen cover as published, and get another small paper copy, and
bind that instead? Such questions must be settled--each one for himself.
All I will say now is that the large paper forty volume edition when
bound in twenty double volumes makes a very ideal copy of a great
English classic; so, presuming that it is to be bound, you must choose
the style of binding. It should rest between half-morocco and whole
morocco, the latter costing about double the former. I think
half-morocco is right for the book in most cases, whole morocco being
unnecessarily expensive. Then comes colour, which must largely be
referred to your own taste--olive-green, brown, dark red, and light
apple green, would all be appropriate colours to choose from. The binder
should have a book of colours and shades ready for you to select one
from. Be sure and see that you have a coarse-grained levant morocco,
which is much handsomer than the less good hard fine-grained morocco;
of course it should be a polished or crushed levant binding, though when
you see the pattern piece of leather it will be rough and unpolished. At
any rate select a colour which, when polished, will work '_clean_.' Do
not select anything _very light_ in morocco, it will probably not work
'clean,' but come out spotted even when new.
You will now select 'end papers.' These, I am sorry to say, are mostly
very ugly, though there have recently been made some beautiful cloudy
coloured papers, which now and then, and apparently by accident, are
very beautiful, and they are also rather expensive. Some of the Japanese
papers have pretty and very unobtrusive marblings worked upon them, and
occasionally, too, a brocade paper looks well; but for a classic, the
plainer the better, and very often a monotint end paper, or even a plain
white, looks exceedingly well. In the matter of end and side papers, it
is as well to know that these can very easily be altered even after the
book is finished. The revival of flat backs has been the cause of some
disputing. I think myself that the pleasure with which the trained eye
regards the flat back is sufficient excuse for it. As far as technique
goes, the flat back is, I believe, just as lasting and as flexible as
the round. Much must however be determined by the size and shape of the
book as to whether a flat back is adopted or not. The _Shakespeare_
which is now under consideration, when _bound in double volumes_, would,
I think, look well with a flat back, and with flat raised bands between
the panels; whereas, when bound in forty single volumes, it would be
better to have a round back.
As to decoration and finish, the most lamentable errors of taste are
often committed. Over-adornment is a curse. A person sees an attractive
pattern lying in a shop, and wants all his or her books bound like it,
without for a moment considering the anachronisms and impossible
combinations that will thereby be perpetrated. It is the same with
clothes. A man sees another man with a fine coat, and he straightway
thinks he, too, will have a coat of that same make and pattern. Never
does it occur to him to gauge the stature or character of the man who
was first wearing the coat. There is yet a good deal of the monkey and
the ape left in us. We seem to do our best to stifle our individuality,
and reduce our souls to one sad dead level of accursed and wicked
imitation. Some day we shall have our eyes opened, and then see that a
man may break the whole of the Ten Commandments at once, and yet he
shall be saved if he be not vulgar, and it is both senseless and vulgar
to copy old bindings on to modern books. The only decoration which the
copy of Shakespeare could require is a gilt line, or double gilt lines,
round the panels of the back. The full gilt back is fortunately becoming
extinct. It may well die.
Decoration of books should only be carried out when we are sure we have
an appropriate design, and when we are sure that the book is worth it.
There are now some other details to be looked after. I refuse to class
them as minor details, because towards the making of the perfect book
everything right is _essential_.
(1) The _Shakespeare_, being a book printed on paper of good quality,
should have the top edge gilt, but the other sides should be left
untouched or very slightly trimmed. (2) There should be one or two
markers in each volume, and the colour of these markers should
harmonise with the colour of the binding. (3) The lettering should be
chosen yourself. There should be a principal title _stamped boldly and
deeply_, and subordinate lettering stamped lower down and in smaller
type. Thus SHAKESPEARE'S WORKS or SHAKESPEARE merely in the top panel,
with the editor's name underneath, and then below should be lettered the
plays contained in each volume, and below that, at the foot, the date of
publication. (4) Three weeks to a month at least should be allowed for
the binding of such a work. (5) A folded copy in quires of a book is
always preferable to a cloth-bound copy. (6) If a binder should ever
suggest either a padded binding, a russia leather binding, or a tree
calf binding, you may instantly leave his premises, for he cannot
understand his business.
It will be understood that the rules which apply to the binding of this
Shakespeare equally apply to most other books. I propose, however, to
take such instances as I think present difficulties not already met, and
see how they can be overcome.
A second instance shall be the new edition of _Pepys' Diary_. The fact
that this, and many other books, are published volume by volume makes it
somewhat difficult to know whether to bind them at once or not to do so.
In the case of the new edition of _Pepys' Diary_, as neither the binding
of the large or small paper is unsightly, it should be left until
complete, one good reason for this being that, if it be bound volume by
volume as published, the binder will require a pattern volume each time,
and your pattern volume will be lying about his workshop each time a
volume is published. To register a pattern is by no means advisable in
the case of a really well-bound series of books. It may do well enough
for scientific and other journals, when great nicety of detail is not so
much required. In the case of well-bound volumes, a pattern should
accompany the order. A book like _Murray's Dictionary_, volumes of which
are slow in completing themselves, the parts of the volumes, current and
incomplete, should either be tied up in paper, and kept together, or
they should be placed between two pieces of millboard on the shelf where
they will finally be placed.
A third instance shall be an old book which requires repairing or
restoring. We will suppose that it is an old copy of _Clarissa Harlowe_,
which you have picked up on a country book-stall. Now the binding is
probably very much broken, and, being very dry, is getting rapidly
worse. It is time, therefore, that it went into hospital, and at the
bookbinder's hospital very clever operations are performed. To restore a
binding, paste is rubbed over the leather, and, after it is dry, it is
washed over with a thin solution of glue size. Again, when dry, the
volume is varnished and afterwards rubbed over with a cloth upon which a
few drops of sweet oil have been dropped. Here is one operation just in
outline. There are very many others, which I can only refer to. If there
are ink marks on any of the volumes of your _Clarissa_, which you wish
removed, this can probably be done so that no trace is left. Similarly
many grease-spots can be effectually removed. If a page is torn, it can
be repaired, or if a piece of it is missing, it can be facsimiled, and
the whole of the inside of the volume can be washed throughout. Never
destroy an old binding if you can help it, and never obliterate marks of
ownership, for it is interesting to trace the owners of a book. If a
bookplate is in your _Clarissa_, and you wish your own to appear,
transplant the former one to the end cover, and put your own in the
front if you wish. Never have such a book as we are now discussing cut
down. A book has recently been written and published by Mr. C. G. Leland
on _Mending and Repairing_, in which the author recommends the amateur
to repair his own books. I believe Mr. Leland is an expert hand at many
arts and crafts, but I do not think that every amateur should attempt
experiments in repairing his own books unless he means to give a great
deal of time to it, which very few would, I think, care to do.
The following remarks, taken from a review, I think by Mr. A. Lang, are
valuable:--'The binder is often very mischievous. He not only "cuts
down" books, impairing their shapeliness and ruining them for sale, nay,
even cutting off lines, but he is apt to lose fly-leaves, with imprints,
and rare autographs. What he rejects may have a merely fanciful or
sentimental interest, still that interest can be expressed in terms of
currency. An eighth of an inch in margin may represent a large sum of
money, and it is just as easy not to cut down the volume. Old bookplates
ought to be kept, on new bindings of old books. They are the pedigree of
a volume. The ancient covers, if discarded, should be examined. They are
often packed with fragments of old manuscripts, deeds, woodcuts, or
engravings. The ages have handed books on to us; it is our duty to hand
them on to coming generations, clean, sound, uninjured.'
The fourth case shall be paper-bound novels, English and French
editions, and Tauchnitz copies. I have no hesitation in saying that the
best material is Buckram. It has the merit of being good--that is to
say, durable, cheap, artistic, and not harsh to handle, as many linens
are. There are some half-a-dozen good colours in Buckram, and these,
when relieved by lettering-pieces of some contrasting colour, can be
made most decorative and economical. I believe buckram is in every way a
most excellent material for binding, and for students who buy and use
German and French text-books published in paper, this material is
excellent for their libraries as well.
Here may be added a few words as to Pamphlets and Magazines. It has
been recommended that Pamphlets be kept in boxes, which may be placed
upon the shelves as books, but this will not be found either convenient
or secure. The best way is to bind Pamphlets in volumes according to
size, or if _very_ numerous, according to date or subject, and let them
each be entered separately in the catalogue. In the cataloguing of
private libraries it is sometimes thought that certain sections, such as
pamphlets and magazines, are not worth entering, but the only safe rule
is that, if it is worth keeping, it is worth cataloguing. Single
pamphlets should be bound in limp roan, and volumes of pamphlets in
buckram or half-calf, with full lettering on the back.