MONASTERY OF SAINTS ULRIC AND AFRA, AUGSBURG.MONASTERY OF SAINTS ULRIC & AFRA, AUGSBURG.
MONASTERY OF SAINTS ULRIC & AFRA, AUGSBURG.
The TOWN HALL in this city, which I mentioned in my last letter, is thought to be the finest in Germany. It was yet exceeded, as I learn, by the old EPISCOPAL PALACE, now dismembered of its ancient dimensions, and divided into public offices of government. The principal church, at the end of theMaximilian Street, is that which once formed the chief ornament of the famous Abbey of Sts. Ulric and Afra.33I should think that there is no portion of the present building older than the fourteenth century; while it is evident that the upper part of the tower is of the middle of the sixteenth. It has a nearly globular or mosque-shaped termination--so common in the greater number of the Bavarian churches. It is frequented by congregations both of the Catholic and Protestant persuasion; and it was highly gratifying to see, as I saw, human beings assembled under the same roof, equally occupied in their different forms of adoration, in doing homage to their common Creator. It was also pleasing, the other day, to witness, upon some high religious festival, the crowds of respectable and well-dressed people (chiefly females) who were issuing from the Church just above mentioned. It had quite an English Sunday appearance. I have said that these females were "well dressed"--I should, rather have said superbly dressed: for their head-ornaments--consisting of a cap, depressed at top, but terminating behind in a broad bow--are usually silk, of different colours, entirely covered with gold or silver gauze, and spangles. The hair appeared to be carefully combed and plaited, either turned up in a broad mass behind, or terminating in ringlets. I asked the price of one of the simplest of these caps--worn by the common order of servants--and found it to be little less than a guinea. But they last long, and the owners attach some importance to them.
Augsbourg was once distinguished for great learning and piety, as well as for political consequence; and she boasts of a very splendidmartyrological roll.34At the present day, all is comparatively dull and quiet; but you cannot fail to be struck with the magnificence of many of the houses, and the air of importance hence given to the streets; while the paintings upon the outer walls add much to the splendid effect of the whole. The population of Augsbourg is supposed to amount to about thirty thousand. In the time of Maximilian, and Charles V. it was, I make no doubt, twice as numerous.
Of the TRADE of Augsbourg, I am not enabled to transmit any very flattering details. Silks, stuffs, dimity, (made here for the first time) and jewellery, are the chief commodities; but for thelatter, connected with articles of dress, there is rather a brisk demand. The reputation of the manufactory ofSeethaler, is deserving of mention. In the repository of this respectable tradesman you will find varieties of every description: rings, buckles, clasps, bracelets, and images of Saints, of peculiar and interesting forms. Yet they complain here of stagnation of commerce in almost every one of its branches: although they admit that the continuance of peace will bring things comfortably round again. The late war exhausted both the population and the treasury of Bavaria. They do a good stroke of business in the concerns of the bank: and this is considered rather a famous place for the management of letters and bills of exchange. With respect to thelatter, some singular customs and privileges are, I understand, observed here: among others, if a bill become due on aWednesday, eight days of grace are invariably allowed.
It was the thoughts of the PUBLIC LIBRARY alone that afforded the chief comfort to the depressed state of my spirits, from the excessive heat of the day. What I mightdo, and at last, what I haddone, within the precincts of that same library, was sure to be my greatest solace during the evening rambles near the ramparts. The good fortune which attended me at Stuttgart, has followed to this place. Within two yards' length of me repose, at this present instant, the firstHorace, and the finest copy imaginable of thePolish Protestant Bibleof Prince Radzivil--together with aLatin Bibleof 1475, byFrisner and Sensenschmidt, in two enormous folio volumes, of an execution of almost unparalleled magnificence. These are no common stimulants to provoke appetite. It remains to see whether the banquet itself be composed of proportionably palatable ingredients.
On leaving Stuttgart, M. Le Bret told me that Messrs. BEYSCHLAG and MAY were the principal librarians or curators of the Public Library of this place; and that I should find them intelligent and pleasant gentlemen. Professor Veesenmeyer at Ulm confirmed this statement. I had a letter from the latter, to the Rector Beyschlag, which procured me an immediate entrance into the library. The Rector's coadjutor, Professor May, was also most prompt to shew me every rarity. In the countenance of thelatter, I saw, what you could not fail to call that of a handsome- looking English gentleman. I had never before so vehemently desired to speak the German language, or for my new acquaintance to speak my own. However, the French tongue was the happy medium of imparting my ideas and propositions to both the gentlemen in question; and we had hardly exchanged half a dozen sentences, when I opened what I considered (and what eventually turned out to be) a well directed fire upon the ancient volumes by which I was at the time surrounded.
The exterior of this library has a monastic form. The building is low and unpretending, having an octangular tower, up the staircase of which you mount to the library. It is situated within a stone's throw of the High Street. The interior of the library is not less unpretending than its exterior: but in a closet, at the hither end, (to the left on entering) are preserved the more ancient, choice, and curious volumes. In one compartment of this cabinet-like retreat are contained thebooks printed at Augsbourgin the infancy of the press of this town:35a collection, extremely creditable in itself and in its object; and from which, no consideration, whether of money, or of exchange for other books, would induce the curators to withdraw a volume. Of course I speak not ofduplicatesof the early Augsbourg press. Two comparatively long rooms, running in parallel lines, contain the greater part of the volumes of the public library; and amongst them I witnessed so many genuine, fair, and original conditioned copies of literary works, of the early period of the Reformation, that I almost sighed to possess them--except that I knew they could not possibly pay the expenses of conveyance.
But for the "well directed fire" above alluded to. It produced acapitulationrespecting the following articles--which were selected by myself from the boudoir just mentioned, and about which neither mystery was observed nor secrecy enjoined. In fact, the contract, of the venders was to be submitted to, and sanctioned by, the supreme magistracy of the place. The Rector Beyschlag hath much of merriment and of wit in his composition. "Now, Sir,"--observed he--"bring those treasures forward which we can spare, and let us afterwards settle about their value: ourselves affixing a price." I desired nothing better. In consequence forth came thefirst(quarto)Horace, without date or place, fair, sound, and perfect: theFamiliar Epistles of Ciceroof the date of 1469, by S. and Pannartz, in a condition perfectly unparalleled in every respect; theLatin BibleofFrisner and Sensenschmidtof 1475, in an equally desirable and pristine condition;36thePolish Protestant Bibleof 1563, with its first rough-edged margins and in wooden binding;St. Jerom's Epistles, printedat Parma, byA. de Portilia--most captivating to the eye; with a curious black-letter broadside, in Latin sapphics, pasted in the interior of the cover; theHistory of Bohemia, by Pope Pius II, of 1475, as fresh and crackling as if it had just come from the printer:Schuzler's edition of the Hexameron of Ambrosius, 1472: theHungarian Chronicleof 1485.... "Ohe jam satis est...." for one bargain, at least,--methinks I hear you remark.
It may be so; but the measure must be fuller. Accordingly, after having shot off my great guns, I brought my howitzers into play. Then commenced a pleasant and not unprofitable parley respecting little grammatical tracts, devotional manuals, travels, philology, &c. When lo!--up sprung a delightful crop ofLilies,Donatuses,Mandevilles,Turrecrematas,Brandts,Matthews of Cracow--in vellum surcoats, white in colour, firm in substance, and most talkative in turning over their leaves! These were mereflorinacquisitions: the preceding were paid for in heavy metal of agoldenhue. It is not fair to betray all that took place upon this Cockerian transaction; but there may be no harm in mentioning that my purse was lightened by upwards of 100 louis d'or. My spirits were lightened in the same proportion. Neither venders nor vendee grieved at the result. Professor May was most joyous; and although the Rector Beyschlag was sonorous in voice, restless in action, and determined in manner--about fixing an alarmingly high price upon thefirst Horace--yet, by degrees, he subsided into a softer note, and into a calmer action--and the Horace becamemineby a sort of contre-projet proposition.
Nothing would please Professor May but that I must go home with him, and try my luck in purchasing a few similar rarities out of hisowncollection. I did so. Madame Francs' supplemental supply became gradually diminished, and I began to think that if I went on in this manner I should not only never reachVienna, but not evenMunich. This doubt was frankly stated to my book-guardians; and myducatswere immediately commuted intopaper. The result will doubtless prove the honour of the purchaser; for I have drawn upon a quarter which I had exclusively in view when I made the bargain, and which was never known to fail me. "Surely," thought I to myself as I returned to my hotel, "Messrs. Beyschlag and May are among the most obliging and the most enlightened of their fraternity."
I returned to the Public Library the next morning, as well to conclude a bargain for an exchange of books for certain recent bibliographical publications, as to take a list of a few of the more rare, fine, and curious volumes, in their own collection, which were destinedalwaysto retain their situations.
They have, very properly, the FIRST BOOK PRINTED AT AUGSBOURG: namely,Aurbach's Meditations upon the Life of Christ, of the date of 1468, printed byGunther Zainer. But one of the most uncommon books examined by me was "Augustinus Ypponensis Episcopus De Consensu Evangelistarum: In ciuitate Langingen. Impressus. anno a partu virginis salutifero. Millesimoquadringentesimoseptuagesimotercio. Pridie Idus. Aprilis." The type is very singular; half gothic and half roman. Of the printer and place I know nothing; except that I learnt from the librarians that "Langingen" is situated about ten leagues from Augsbourg, upon the Danube. I made every effort--as well by theducatas by theexchangemethod--to prevail upon them to part with this book; but to no purpose. The blood-freezing reply of Professor Veesenmeyer was here repeated--"ça reste, à ... Augsbourg." This book is unbound. Another volume, of the same equivocal but tempting description, was called "Alcuinus de Trinitate:--IMPRESSUM IN UTTIPURRHAMonasterio Sacto4marty4, Alexadri et Theodri. Ordiis Scti Bndicti. Anno Sesquimillesimo KL. septembris[Hebrew]." It is printed in a rude gothic letter; and a kind of fly leaf contains a wood-cut portrait of Alcuin. The monastery, where this volume was printed, is now suppressed. A pretty little volume--"as fresh as a daisy" (so says my ms. note taken upon the spot) of the "Hortulus Rosarium de valle lachrymarum" (to which a Latin ode by S. Brandt is prefixed), printed by I. de Olpe, in 1499, in the original wooden binding--closed my researches among the volumes executed in the fifteenth century.
As I descended into the sixteenth century, the choice was less, although the variety was doubtless greater. A fine genuine copy ofGeyler's Navicula Fatuorum, 1511, 4to. in its original binding, was quickly noted down, and as quicklysecured. It was a duplicate, and a ducat made it my own. It is one of the commonest books upon the continent-- although therewasa time when certain bibliomaniacal madcaps, with us, pushed the bidding for this volume up to the monstrously insane sum of £42:37--and all, because it was coated in a Grolier binding! Among the theological books, of especial curiosity, my guides directed my attention to the following: "Altera hæc pars Testam i. veteris emendata est iuxta censuras Inquisitionis Hispanicæ ano79. Nouu testam. recusandu omnino est; rejicienduq. propter plurimos errores qui illius scholiis sunt inserti." This was nothing else than the younger R. Stephen's edition of the vulgate Bible of 1556, folio, of which theNew Testamentwas absolutely SEALED UP. It had belonged to the library of the Jesuits. There was a copy of Erasmus, "Expurgatus iuxta censuram Academiæ Louaniæ ano79." The name of the printer--which in the preceding Bible had been tried to becancelled--was here uniformlyerased: but it was doubtless the Basil edition of Erasmus by good old honest Froben and his sons-in-law.38
What think you of undoubted proofs of STEREOTYPE PRINTING in the middle of the sixteenth century? It is even so. What adds to the whimsical puzzle is, that these pieces of metal, of which the surface is composed of types, fixed and immoveable, are sometimes inserted in wooden blocks, and introduced as titles, mottoes, or descriptions of the subjects cut upon the blocks. Professor May begged my acceptance of a specimen or two of the types, thus fixed upon plates of the same metal. They rarely exceeded the height of four or five lines of text, by about four or five inches in length. I carried away, with his permission, two proofs (not long ago pulled) of the same block containing this intermixture of stereotype and block-wood printing.
I believe I have now told you all that appears worthy of being told, (as far as my own opportunities of observation have led me) of the CITY OF AUGSBOURG. I shall leave it (to-morrow) with regret; since a longer residence would, I am persuaded, have introduced me to very pleasant society, and made me acquainted with antiquities, of all kinds, well deserving ofsomerecord, however trivial. As it is, I must be content with what the shortness of my time, and the more immediately pressing nature of my pursuits, have brought me in contact. A sight of theCrucifixion by Hans Burgmair, and the possession of the most genuine copy of theeditio princeps of Horace, have richly repaid all the toil and expense of the journey from Stuttgart. The Horace, and the Protestant Polish Bible of 1563, will be my travelling companions--at least as far asMunich--from whence my next despatch will be dated.39I hope, indeed, to dine at that renowned city ere "the set of to-morrow's sun." In the mean while, adieu.
MUNICH. CHURCHES. ROYAL PALACE. PICTURE GALLERY. PUBLIC LIBRARY.
Munich; Hôtel of the Black Eagle; Aug. 16, 1818.
MY DEAR FRIEND;
Behold me, now, in the capital of Bavaria: in a city remarkable for its bustle, compared with the other German cities which I have visited, and distinguished rather for the general creditable appearance of the houses and public buildings, than for any peculiar and commanding remains of antiquity. But ere I speak of the city, let me detain you for a few seconds only with an account of my journey thither; and of some few particulars which preceded my departure from Augsbourg.
It turned out as I predicted. "Ere the set of sun," ensuing my last despatch, I drove to the principal front of this large, comfortless, and dirty inn; and partook of a dinner, in the caffé, interrupted by the incessant vociferations of merchants and traders who had attended the market (it being market day when I arrived), and annoyed beyond measure by the countless swarms of flies, which chose to share my cutlet with me.
On taking a farewell look of Augsbourg, my eyes seemed to leave unwillingly those objects upon which I gazed. The Paintings, the Town Hall, the old monastery of Saints Ulric and Afra, all--as I turned round to catch a parting glance--seemed to have stronger claims than ever upon my attention, and to reproach me for the shortness of my visit. However, my fate was fixed--and I now only looked steadily forward to Munich; my imagination being warmed (you will say "inflamed") with the thoughts of the countless folios, in manuscript and in print--includingblock-books, unheard and undreamt of--which had been described to me as reposing upon the shelves of the Royal or PUBLIC LIBRARY. In consequence, Hans Burgmair, Albert Durer, and the Elder Holbein were perfectly forgotten--after we had reached the first stage, and changed horses atMerching. From Augsbourg to Munich is but a pleasant and easy drive of about forty-five English miles. The last stage, fromFürstenfelbruckto this place, is chiefly interesting; while the two tall brick towers of the cathedral church of Nôtre Dame keep constantly in view for the last seven or eight miles. A chaussée, bordered on each side by willows, poplars, and limes, brings you--in a tediously straight line of four or five miles--up to the very gates of MUNICH.
At first view, Munich looks like a modern city. The streets are tolerably spacious, the houses are architectural, and the different little squares,or places, are pleasant and commodious. It is a city of business and bustle. Externally, there is not much grandeur of appearance, even in the palaces or public buildings, but the interiors of many of these edifices are rich in the productions of ancient art;--whether of sculpture, of painting, of sainted relics, or of mechanical wonders. Every body just now is from home; and I learn that the bronzes of the Prince Royal--which are considered to be the finest in Europe--are both out of order and out of view. This gallant Prince loves also pictures and books: and, of the latter, those more especially which were printed by theFamily of Aldus.
Upon the whole, there is something very anglicised in the appearance both of this city and of its inhabitants. Of the latter, I have reason to speak in a manner the most favourable:--as you shall hear by and by. But let me now discourse (which I must do very briefly) of inanimate objects--or works of art--before I come to touch upon human beings ... here in constant motion: and, as it should seem--alternately animated by hope and influenced by curiosity. The population of Munich is estimated at about 50,000. Of course, as before, I paid my first visit to the CATHEDRAL, or mother church of NÔTRE DAME, upon the towers of which I had fixed my eyes for a whole hour on the approach to the city. Both the nave and towers, which are of red brick, are frightful in the extreme; without ornament: without general design: without either meaning or expression of any kind. The towers cannot be less than 350 feet in height: but the tops are mere pepper-boxes. No part of this church, or cathedral, either within or without, can be older than the middle of the fifteenth century.40
The interior has really nothing deserving of particular description. But I check myself in an instant: Ithassomething--eminently worthy of distinct notice and the most unqualified praise. It has a monument of the EMPEROR Louis IV. which was erected by his great-grandson Maximilian I. Duke of Bavaria, in 1603-12. The designer of this superb mausoleum wasCandit: the figures are in black marble, the ornaments are in bronze; the latter executed by the famousKrummper, of Weilheim. I am ignorant of the name of the sculptor. This monument stands in the centre of the choir, of which it occupies a great portion. It is of a square form, having, at each corner, a soldier, of the size of life, bending on one knee and weeping: supporting, at the same time, a small flag between his body and arm. These soldiers are supposed to guard the ashes of the dead. Between them are three figures, of which two stand back to back. Between these two, somewhat more elevated, is raised the figure of the Emperor Louis IV.--dressed in his full imperial costume. But the two figures, just mentioned, are absolutely incomparable. One of them isAlbert V.in armour, in his ducal attire:41the other isWilliam V.habited in the order of the golden fleece. This habit consists of a simple broad heavy garment, up to the neck. The wearer holds a drawn sword in his right hand, which is turned a little to the right. This figure may be full six feet and a half high. The head is uncovered; and the breadth of the drapery, together with the erect position of the figure, and the extension of the sword, gives it one of the most commanding, and even appalling, airs imaginable. I stood before it, till I almost felt inclined to kneel and make obeisance. The entire monument is a noble and consummate specimen of art: and can hardly have any superior, of its kind, throughout Europe.
Perhaps I should add that the interior of this Church contains twenty-four large octagonal pillars, dividing the nave from the side aisles: and that around these latter and the choir, there are not fewer than twenty-four chapels, ornamented with the tombs of ancient families of distinction. This interior is about 350 English feet in length, by about 145 in width.
Of the other Churches, that of St. MICHAEL, attached to thelate College of the Jesuits,--now forming the Public Academy or University, and containing the Public Library--is probably the most beautiful for its simplicity of ornament and breadth of parts. Indeed at this moment I can recollect nothing to be put in competition with it, as a comparatively modern edifice. This interior is, as toRomanarchitecture, what that of St. Ouen is as toGothic: although the latter be of considerably greater extent. It is indeed the very charm of interior architecture: where all the parts, rendered visible by an equal distribution of light, meet the eye at the same time, and tell their own tale. The vaulted roof, full 300 English feet in length, has not a single column to support it. Pilasters of the Corinthian order run along each side of the interior, beneath slightly projecting galleries; which latter are again surmounted by rows of pilasters of the Doric order, terminating beneath the spring of the arched roof. The windows are below the galleries. Statues of prophets, apostles, and evangelists, grace the upper part of the choir--executed from the characteristic designs of Candit. The pulpit and the seats are beautifully carved. Opposite the former, are oratories sustained by columns of red marble; and the approach to the royal oratory is rendered more impressive by a flight of ten marble steps. The founder of this church was William V., who lies buried in a square vault below: near which is an altar, where they shew, on All Saints Day, the brass coffins containing the ashes of the Princes of Bavaria. The period of the completion of this church is quite at the end of the sixteenth century.42But ere I quit it, I must not fail to direct your attention to a bronze crucifix in the interior--which is in truth a masterpiece of art. My eye ran over the whole of this interior with increased delight at every survey; and while the ceremony of high mass was performing--and the censers emitted their clouds of frankincense--and the vocal and instrumental sounds of a large congregation pervaded every portion of the edifice--it was with reluctance (but from necessity) that I sought the outward door, to close it upon such a combination of attractions!
Of the nine or ten remaining churches, it will not be necessary to notice any other than that of St. CAETAN, built by the Electress Adelaide, and finished about the year 1670. It was built in the accomplishment of a vow. The pious and liberal Adelaide endowed it with all the relics of art, and all the treasures of wealth which she could accumulate. It is doubtless one of the most beautiful churches in Bavaria:--quite of the Italian school of art, and seems to be a St. Peter's at Rome in miniature. The architect was Agostino Barella, of Bologna. This church is in the form of a cross. In the centre is a cupola, sustained by pillars of the Corinthian order. The light comes down from the windows of this cupola in a very mellow manner; but there was, when I saw it, rather a want of light. The nave is vaulted: and the principal altar is beneath the dome, separating the nave from the choir. The façade, or west front, is a building of yesterday, as it were: namely, of 1767; but it is beautiful and striking. This church is considered to be the richest in Munich for its collection of pictures; but nothing that I saw there made me forget, for one moment, the Crucifixion by Hans Burgmair.43I should say that the interior of this church is equally distinguished for the justness of its proportions, the propriety of its ornaments, and the neatness of its condition. It is an honour to the city of Munich.
There were, some half century ago, about a dozen more churches;--but they have been since either destroyed ordesecrated. From the Churches, I must conduct you, but in a very rapid manner, to some of the public buildings; reserving, as usual, my last and more leisurely description for the PUBLIC LIBRARY. Of these buildings, theHôtel de Ville,Theatres, andRoyal Residence, are necessarily the most imposing in size, and most attractive from their objects of public utility or amusement. The Royal Palace was built by Maximilian I.--a name as great in the annals of Bavaria, as the same name was in those of Austria about a century before. This palace is of about two centuries standing: and its eastern façade measures 550 English feet in length. It abounds, within and without, with specimens of bronze ornaments: and two bronze lions (the work of Krummper, after the designs of Candit) which support the shields of the Electoral houses of Bavaria and Lorraine, have been considered superior to the Lion in the Place of. St. Mark at Venice. This immense pile of building contains three courts. In that of "the Fountain," to the left, under an arch, is a huge black pebble stone, weighing nearly 400 Bavarian pounds. An old German inscription, of the date of 1489, tells you that a certain Bavarian Duke, calledChristopher the Leaper, threw this same pebble stone to a considerable distance. Near it, you observe three large nails driven into the wall. The highest of them may be about twelve feet from the ground:--the mark which Christopher the Leaper reached in one of his frolicksome jumps. I find they are lovers of marvellous attainments, in Bavaria:--witness, the supposed feat of the great Emperor Maximilian upon the parapet wall at the top of the cathedral of Ulm.44
To describe the fountains and bronze figures, in these three courts, would be endless; but they strike you with a powerful degree of admiration--and a survey of every thing about you, is a convincing proof that you have entered a country where they shrink not from solidity and vastness in their architectural achievements: while the lighter, or ornamental parts, are not less distinguished by the grace of their design and the vigour of their execution. Will you believe it--I have not visited, nor shall I have an opportunity of visiting, theInterior? An interior, in which I am told that there are such gems, jewels, and varieties--such miracles of nature and of art, as equally baffle description and set competition at defiance. As thus:--a chapel, of which the pavement is mosaic work, composed of amethysts, jaspers, and lapis lazuli: of which the interior of its cupola is composed of lapis lazuli, adorned with gilt bronze: wherein is to be seen a statue of the Virgin, in a drapery of solid gold, with a crown upon her head, composed of diamonds:--a massive golden crucifix, adorned with precious stones--and upon which there is an inscription cut upon an emerald an inch square: again, small altars, supported by columns of transparent amethyst, &c.
I will say nothing of two little caskets, studded with cameos and turquoises, in this chapel of fairy land--(built by Maximilian I.) of which one contains two precious pictures by Jean d'Aix la Chapelle--and the other (of massive gold, weighing twenty-four pounds) a painting of the resurrection and of paradise, in enamel. Even the very organ is constructed of gold, silver, ebony, turquois and lapis lazuli ornaments; of pearls and of coral. As to the huge altar of massive silver--adorned with cariatides, candelabra, statues, vases, and bouquets of the same metal--and especially thepix, lined with diamonds, rubies, and pearls--what shall I say of these--ALL the fruit of the munificent spirit of MAXIMILIAN?" Truly, I would pass over the whole with an indifferent eye, to gaze upon a simple altar of pure gold--the sole ornament of the prison of the unfortunate Mary Queen of Scots; which Pope Leo XI. gave to William V. Elector of Bavaria-- and which bears the following inscription:
EXILII COMES ET CARCERIS IMAGOHAEC MARIAE STUARDAE, SCOT. REG.FUIT, FUISSET ET CAEDIS, SI VIXISSET.
Not less marvellous things are told of theJewelleryin this palace of wonders:--among which the BLUE DIAMOND ... attached to the order of the Golden Fleece--which is set open, and which, opposed to the sun, emits rays of the most dazzling lustre,--is said to be the nonpareil of coloured precious stones. It weighs 36 carats and 144 grains. Of thePearls, that called the PALATINAT, half white and half black, is considered the greatest curiosity; but in a cabinet is preserved the choicest of all choice specimens of precious art and precious metals. It is a statue ofSt. George and the Dragon, of the height of about a foot and a half, in pure and solid gold: the horse is agate: the shield is of enamelled gold: the dragon is jasper: the whole being thickly studded with diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and pearls--to the number of at least two thousand! Another cabinet contains the crowns of emperors, dukes and.... But you are already dazzled and bewildered; and I must break off the description of this ENCHANTED PALACE.
What is of easy access is rarely visited. I asked several of my acquaintance here, whether this spectacle were worth seeing?--and they as frequently replied in the negative as in the affirmative. But the PICTURE GALLERY Ihaveseen, and seen with attention;--although I am not likely to pay it a second visit. I noted down what I saw: and paid particular attention to the progress of art in the early German school of painting. I knew that this collection had long enjoyed a great celebrity: that it had been the unceasing object of several of the old Dukes of Bavaria to enrich it; and that the famous Theodore, equally the admirer of books and of pictures, had united to it the gallery of paintings collected by him at Manheim. It moreover contained the united collections of Deux- Ponts and Dusseldorf. This magnificent collection is arranged in seven large rooms on the same floor. Every facility of access is afforded; and you observe, although not so frequently as at Paris, artists at work in copying the treasures before them. In the entrance-hall, where there is a good collection of books upon the fine arts, are specimens byMasaccio,Garofalo,Ghirlandaio,Perugino,Lucas de Leyden,Amberger,Wohlgemuth,Baldonetti, Aldegrave,Quinten Matsys--with several others, by masters of the same period, clearly denoting the order of time in which they are supposed to have been executed. I was well pleased, in this division of the old school, to recognise specimens of my old friends Hans Burgmair and the Elder Holbein; and wished for no individual at my elbow so much as our excellent friend W.Y. Ottley:--a profound critic in works of ancient art, but more particularly in the early Italian and German Schools.
To conduct you through all these apartments, or seven rooms, with the methodical precision of an experienced guide, is equally beyond my inclination and ability. Much as I may admire one or twoTitians, one or two of theCaraccischool, the same number ofVeronesesandSchidones, and a partial sprinkling of indifferentRaffaelles, I should say that the boast of this collection are the pictures byRubens and Vandyke. Of the former there are some excellent portraits; but his two easel pictures--the one, theFall of the Damned, and the other theBeatitude of the Good--are marvellous specimens of art. The figures, extending from heaven to earth, in either picture, are linked, or grouped together, in that peculiarly bold and characteristic manner which distinguishes the pencil of the master.45The colouring throughout is fresh, but mellow and harmonious. Among the larger pictures by this renowned artist, areSusanna and the Elders, andthe Death of Seneca; the latter considered as a distinguished production. But some of the whole length portraits, by the same hand, pleased me better. The pictures of Rubens occupy more particularly the fourth room. Vandyke shines in the second, sixth, and seventh rooms: in which are some charming whole length portraits--combining, almost, the dignity of Titian with the colouring of Rembrandt:--and yet, more natural in expression, more elegant in attitude, and more beautiful in drawing, than you will find in the productions of either of these latter artists.
If the art, whether of sculpture or of painting, take not deep root, and send forth lusty branches laden with goodly fruit, at Munich--the fault can never be in thesoil, but in the waywardness of theplant. There is encouragement from every quarter; as far as the contemplation of art, in all its varieties, and all its magnificence, can be said to be a stimulus to exertion. When the re-action of a few dozen years of peace shall have nearly obliterated the ravages and the remembrance of war--when commerce and civil competition shall have entirely succeeded to exaction and tyranny from a foreign force--(which it now holds forth so auspicious a promise of accomplishing)--and when literature shall revert within its former fruitful channels of enlightening the ignorant, gratifying the learned, and illustrating what is obscure among the treasures of former times--then I think Munich will be a proud and a flourishing city indeed.46But more of this subject on a future occasion.
Let us take a walk abroad--in the fields, or in the immediate vicinity of the town--for methinks we have both had sufficient in-door occupation of late. One of the principal places of resort, in the immediate vicinity of Munich, is a garden--laid out after the English fashion--and of which the late Count Rumford had the principal direction. It is really a very pleasing, and to my taste, successful effort of art--or rather adaptation of nature. A rapid river, or rivulet (a branch of theIser) of which the colour is a hazy or misty blue, very peculiar--runs under a small bridge which you pass. The bed of the river has a considerable descent, and the water runs so rapidly, as to give you the idea that it would empty itself in a few hours. Yet--"Labitur et labetur in omne volubilis ævum." I strolled frequently in the shady walks, and across the verdant lawns, of this pleasant garden; wherein are also arbour-covered benches, and embowered retreats--haunts of meditation--where
... voices, through the void deep sounding, seizeTh'enthusiastic ear!
But SKELL must not be deprived of his share of praise in the construction of this interesting pleasure ground. He was the principal active superintendant; and is considered to have had a thorough knowledge ofoptical effectin the construction of his vistas and lawns. A Chinese pagoda, a temple to Apollo--and a monument to Gessner, the pastoral poet--the two latter embosomed in a wood--are the chief objects of attraction on the score of art. But the whole is very beautiful, and much superior to any thing of the kind which I have seen since leaving England.
I told you, at the beginning of this letter, that it was market-day when we arrived here. Mr. Lewis, who loses no opportunity of adding to the stores of his sketch book, soon transferred a group of MARKET PEOPLE to his paper, of which you are here favoured with a highly finished copy. The countenances, as well as the dresses, are strongly indicative of the general character of the German women.
I was surprised to be told, the other day, that the city of Munich, although lying upon a flat, apparently of several miles in circumference, is nevertheless situated upon very lofty ground:--full twelve or thirteen hundred feet above the level of the sea--and that the snow-charged blasts, from the Tyrolese mountains, towards the end of autumn, render it at times exceedingly cold and trying to the constitution. But I must now revert to the city, and proceed at once to an account of the most interesting of ALL the public edifices at Munich--in my very humble, and perhaps capricious, estimation. Of course you will instantly catch at what I mean. "What, BUT the edifice which contains THE PUBLIC LIBRARY?" 'Tis wisely conjectured; and to this boundless region of books, of almost every age and description, let us instantly resort: first paying our respects to the Directors and Librarians of the establishment.
Of the former, the BARON VON MOLL, and MR. FREDERIC SCHLICHTEGROLL are among the principal: of the latter, Messrs. SCHERER and BERNHARD have the chief superintendence: of all these gentlemen, more in my next.47At present, suffice it to say, that I was constantly and kindly attended during my researches by M. Bernhard--who proved himself in the frequent discussions, and sometimes little controversies, which we had together, to be one of the very best bibliographers I had met upon the continent. In the bibliographical lore of the fifteenth century, he has scarcely a superior: and I only regretted my utter ignorance of the German language, which prevented my making myself acquainted with his treatises, upon certain early Latin and German Bibles, written in that tongue. But it was his kindness--his diffidence--his affability, and unremitting attention--which called upon me for every demonstration of a sense of the obligations I was under. It will not be easy for me to forget, either the kind-hearted attentions or the bibliographical erudition of M. Bernhard ...
"Quæ me cunque vocant terræ."
Be it known to you therefore, my good friend, that the PUBLIC LIBRARY at MUNICH is attached to what was once theCollege of Jesuits; and to which the beautiful church, described in a few preceding pages, belonged. On the suppression of the order of Jesuits, the present building was devoted to it by Charles Theodore in 1784: a man, who, in more than this one sense, has deserved well of his country. Would you believe it? They tell me that there are at leasthalf a hundredrooms filled by books and MSS. of one kind or other--including duplicates--and that they suppose the library contains nearerfour, thanthree hundred thousand volumes! I scarcely know how to credit this; although I can never forget the apparently interminable succession of apartments--in straight lines, and in rectangular lines: floor upon floor: even to the very summit of the building, beneath the slanting roofs--such as I had seen at Stuttgart. Buthereit should seem as if every monastery throughout Bavaria had emptied itself of its book-treasures ... to be poured into this enormous reservoir.
But I will now begin my labours in good earnest. An oblong, narrow, boudoir-sort of apartment, contains the more precious MSS., the block books, and works printed upon vellum. This room is connected with another, at right angles, (if I remember well) which receives the more valuable works of the fifteenth century--the number of which latter, alone, are said to amount to nearlytwenty thousand. In such a farrago, there must necessarily be an abundance of trash. These, however, are how under a strict assortment, or classification; and I think that I saw not fewer than half a dozen assistants, under the direction of M. Bernhard, hard at work in the execution of this desirable task.
LATIN MS. OF THE GOSPELS;in small folio. I have no hesitation in ascribing this MS. to the ninth century. It is replete with evidences of this, or even of an earlier, period. It is executed in capital letters of silver and gold, about a quarter of an inch in height, upon a purple ground. Of course the MS. is upon vellum. The beginning of the text is entirely obliterated; but on the recto of the XVth leaf we read "Explt Breuiarium."
LATIN MS. of the GOSPELS; inlarge folio. This is a more superb, but more recent, MS. than the preceding. Yet I suspect it to be not much later than the very early part of the eleventh century. It is executed in a large, lower-case, roman letter: somewhat bordering upon the Gothic. But the binding, at the very outset, is too singular and too resplendent to be overlooked. The first side of it has the crucifixion, in a sort of parallelogram frame work--in the centre: surrounded by a double arabesque, or Greek border, of a most beautiful form. The whole is in ivory, of a minute and surprisingly curious workmanship. The draperies partake of the character of late Roman art. Round this central ivory piece of carving, is a square, brass border, with the following inscription; which, from the character of the capital letters, (for it is wholly composed of such) is comparatively quite modern:
GRAMMATA QVI QVERIT COGNOSCERE VEREHOC MATHESIS PLENE QVADRATVM PLAVDAT HABEREEN QUI VERACES SOPHIE FULSERE SEQUACESORNAT PERFECTAM REX HEINRICH STEMMATE SECTAM.
In the outer border are precious stones, and portraits, with inscriptions in Greek capital letters. These portraits and inscriptions seem to me to be perfect, but barbarous, specimens of Byzantine art. Around the whole are the titles of the Four Gospels in coeval capital letters. The general effect of this first side of the book-cover, or binding, is perfect--for antiquarian genuineness and costliness. The other side of the binding contains representations of the cardinal virtues, in brass, with the lamb in the centre: but they are comparatively modern. The interior of this book does not quite accord with its exterior. It is in pure condition, in every respect; but the art is rather feeble and barbarous. The titles to the Gospels are executed upon a purple ground. The larger subjects, throughout the illuminations, are executed with freedom, but the touch is heavy and the effect weak. The gold back grounds are rather sound than resplendent. Yet is this MS., upon the whole, a most costly and precious volume.
LATIN PSALTER. Probably of the latter part of the twelfth century. The text is executed in a lower-case gothic. In the Calendar of Saints are found the names of Edward the Martyr, Cuthbert, Guthlac, Etheldrith, and Thomas à Becket. I think I am fully justified in calling this one of the richest, freshest, and most highly ornamented PSALTERS in existence. The illuminations are endless, and seem to comprise the whole history of the Bible. In the representations of armour, we observe the semicircular and slightly depressed helmet, and no nasels. I must now lay before you a MS. of a very different description--called
The ROMANCE OF SIR TRISTRANT;48in verse. This ms. is wholly in the German language; written in the XIIIth century, and containing fifteen illuminations. M. Schérer, the Head Librarian, was so obliging as to furnish me with an account of it; having himself translated, as literally as possible, the original text into our own language.
I shall now put together a few miscellaneous notices, taken, like all the preceding, from the articles themselves--and which you will find to relate chiefly to books of Missals and Offices, &c. I shall begin, however, with a highly illuminated MS. called
The TWELVE SIBYLS. This beautiful book is doubtless of the XVth century. It begins with a representation of the "Sibila Persica." The principal merit of these illuminations may, by some, be thought to consist in theirfreshness; but others will not fail to remark, that the accompaniments of these figures, such as the chairs on which they sit, and the pillars which form the frame work of the pieces, are designed and executed in a style of art worthy of the Florentine School of this period. Every Sibyl is succeeded by a scriptural subject. If the faces of these figures were a little more animated and intelligent, this book would be a charming specimen of art of the XVth century. TheErythræan Sibylholds a white rose very prettily in her left hand. TheAgrippinian Sibylholds a whip in her left hand, and is said "to have prophesied XXX years concerning the flagellation of Christ." This volume is a thin quarto, in delightful condition; bound in yellow morocco, but asuffererby the binding.
A CALENDAR. This is a pretty little duodecimo volume, containing also short prayers to Christ; and embellished by a representation of the several months in the calendar. Each illumination has a border, and its apposite characteristic subject attached to the month. Among the latter, those of October and November are vigorously touched and warmly finished. A picture of the Deluge follows December. The scription is in a neat roman character. This book is bound in lilac velvet, with silver clasps, and preserved in a yellow morocco case.
OFFICE OF THE VIRGIN. An exquisite little octavo or rather duodecimo; bound in silver, with coloured ornaments inlaid. The writing, in small roman, shews an Italian calligraphist. The vellum is white, and of the most beautiful quality. The text is surrounded by flowers, fruits, insects, animals, &c. The initial letters are sparkling, and ornamented in the arabesque manner. But the compositions, or scriptural subjects, are the most striking. Among the more beautiful specimens of high finishing, is the figure of Joseph--with the Virgin and Child--after the subject of the Circumcision. Upon the whole, the colours are probably too vivid. The subjects seem to be copies of larger paintings; and there is a good deal of French feeling and French taste in their composition. The rogue of a binder has shewn his love of cropping in this exquisite little volume. The date of 1574 is upon the binding.
MISSAL: beginning with the "Oratio devota ad faciem dni nostri ihu xpi--A most exquisite volume in 8vo.: bound in black fish skin, with silver clasps of an exceedingly graceful form, washed with gold, and studded with rubies, emeralds, and other coloured stones. The head of Christ, with a globe in his hand, faces the beginning of the text. This figure has a short chin, like many similar heads which I have seen: but the colours are radiant, and the border, in which our Saviour is bearing his cross, below, is admirably executed. The beginning of St. John's Gospel follows. The principal subjects have borders, upon a gray or gold ground, on which flowers are most beautifully painted: and some of the subjects themselves, although evidently of Flemish composition, are most brilliantly executed. There is great nature, and vigour of touch, in the priests chanting, while others are performing the offices of religion. TheAnnunciationis full of tenderness and richness; and, in theChrist in the manger--from whose countenance, while lying upon the straw, the light emanates and shines with such beauty upon the face of the Virgin--we see the origin perhaps of that effect which has conferred such celebrity upon the NOTTE of CORREGIO. What gives such a thorough charm to this book, is, the grace, airiness, and truth of the flowers--scattered, as it were, upon the margins by the hand of a faëry. They have perhaps suffered somewhat by time: but they are truth and tenderness itself. The writing is a large handsome square gothic.
OFFICE OF THE VIRGIN: bound in massive silver--highly ornamented, in the arabesque manner, and washed with gold. The back is most ingeniously contrived. But if the exterior be so attractive, the interior is not less so--for such a sweetly, and minutely ornamented, book, is hardly to be seen. The margins are very large and the text is very small: only about fifteen lines, by about one inch and three quarters wide. Upon seeing the margins, M. Schérer, the head-librarian, exclaimed, "I hope that satisfies you!" But they are by no means disproportionate--and the extraordinary colour and quality of the vellum render them enchanting. We come now to the ornaments. These are clusters of small flowers, strung in a pearl-like manner, and formed or grouped into the most pleasing and tasteful shapes. The figures are small, with a well indicated outline. How pretty are the little subjects at the foot of each month of the Calendar! And how totally different from the common-place stiffness, and notorious dullness, of the generality of Flemish pieces of this character! This book has no superior of its kind in Europe; and is worthy, on a small scale, of what we see in the superb folios of Matthias Corvinus.49
A BOOK OF PRAYERS--almost entirely spoilt by damp and rottenness within. I should think, from the writing and illuminations, it was executed between the years 1450 and 1480. The outside is here the principal attraction. It is a very ancient massive binding, in silver. On each side is a sacred subject; but on that, where the Crucifixion is represented, the figure to the right has considerable expression. At the bottom of each compartment are the arms of Bavaria and of the Dukes of Milan. This is a precious treasure in its way.
The present is probably the proper place to notice theprincipal gem--in the department of illuminated books of devotion--preserved in the Royal Library at Munich:--I mean, what is called, ALBERT DURER'S PRAYER BOOK. This consists merely of a set of marginal embellishments in a small folio volume, of which the text, written in a very large lower-case gothic letter, forms the central part. These embellishments are said to be by the hand of ALBERT DURER: although, if I mistake not, there is a similar production, or continuation, by LUCAS CRANACH. They are executed in colours of bistre, green, purple, or pink; with a very small portion of shadow--and apparently with a reed pen. Nothing can exceed the spirit of their conception, the vigour of their touch, and the truth both of their drawing and execution. They consist chiefly ofcapriccios, accompanied by the figure or figures of four Saints, &c. They afford one addition to the very many proofs, which I have already seen, of the surprising talents of Albert Durer: and, if I remember rightly; this very volume has been lithographised at Munich, and published in our own country.50
Descending lower in the chronological order of my researches, I now come to the notice of four very splendid and remarkable folio volumes, comprising only the text of the SEVEN PENITENTIAL PSALMS: and which exhibit extraordinary proofs of the united skill of theScribe, theMusician, thePainter, and theBook Binder--all engaged in the execution of these volumes. Of each of these artists, there is a PORTRAIT; but among them, none please my fancy so much as that of GASPAR RITTER, the book-binder. All these portraits are executed in body colour, in a slight but bold manner, and appear to me to be much inferior to the general style of art in the smaller and historical compositions, illustrative of the text of the book. But Gaspar Ritter well merits a distinct notice; for these volumes display the most perfect style of binding, which I have yet seen, of the sixteenth century. They are in red morocco, variegated with colours, and secured by clasps. Every thing about them is firm, square, knowing and complete. The artist, or painter, to whom these volumes are indebted for their chief attraction, was John MIELICH; a name, of which I suspect very little is known in England. His portrait bears the date of 1570.
Looking fairly through these volumes--not for the sake of finding fault, or of detecting little lapses from accuracy of drawing, or harmony of composition--I do not hesitate one moment to pronounce the series of embellishments, which they contain, perfectly unrivalled--as the production of the same pencil. Their great merit consists in a prodigious freedom of touch and boldness of composition. The colouring seems to be purposely made subordinate. Figures the most minute, and actions the most difficult to express, are executed in a ready, off-hand manner, strongly indicative, of the masterly powers of the artist. The subjects are almost interminable in number, and endless in variety.
I shall now proceed at once to an account of the xylographical productions, or of BLOCK BOOKS in the public library of this place; and shall begin with a work, of which (according to my present recollection) no writer hath yet taken notice. It is aLife of Christ, in small quarto, measuring scarcely five inches by four. The character of the type is between that of Pfister and the Mazarine Bible, although rather more resembling the latter. Each side of the leaf has text, or wood cut embellishments. The first eight pages contain fifteen lines in a page: the succeeding two pages only thirteen lines; but the greater number of the pages have fourteen lines.
It is precisely the dotted ground, in the draperies, that impresses me with a notion of the antiquity of these cuts. Such a style of art is seen in all the earlier efforts of wood engraving, such as theSt. Bernardinusbelonging to M. Van-Praet, and the prints pasted within the covers of Mr. George Nicol's matchless copy of the Mazarine Bible, upon vellum, in its original binding.51M. Bernhard also shewed me, from his extraordinary collection of early prints, taken from the old MS. volumes in this library, several of this precise character; and to which we may, perhaps with safety, assign the date of 1460 at the latest. I have been particular in the account of this curious little volume, not so much because it is kept in a case, and considered to beunique, as because, to the best of my recollection, no account of it is to be found in any bibliographical publication.
EXHORTATION AGAINST THE TURKS, &c.: of the supposed date of 1455. This is the singular tract, of which Baron Aretin (the late head librarian of this establishment) published an entire fac-simile; and which, from the date of M.cccc.lv appearing at the bottom line of the first page, was conceived to be of that period. M. Bernhard, however,--in an anonymous pamphlet--proved, from some local and political circumstances introduced, or referred to, in the month ofDecember--in the Calendar attached to this exhortation--that thegenuinedate should rather be 1472. This brochure is also considered to be unique. It is a small quarto, of six leaves only, of which the first leaf is blank. The type is completely in the form of that of Pfister, and the paper is unusually thick. At the bottom of the first leaf it is observed, in ms. "Liber eximiæ raritatis et inter cimelia bibliothecæ asservandus. F. Er."
ARS MEMORANDI, &c. Here are not fewer thanfive copiesof this well known--and perhaps first--effort of block-book printing. These are of the earliest dates, yet with trifling variations. The wood cuts in all the copies are coloured; some more heavily than others; and in one of them you observe, in the figure of St. Matthew, that red or crimson glossy wash, or colour, so common in the earliest prints--and which is here carried over the whole figure. One of these five copies is unbound.
ARS MORIENDI. Here are two editions, of which one copy is indisputably the most ancient--like that in Lord Spencer's library,52--but of a considerably larger size, in quarto. There can be no doubt of the whole of this production being xylographical. Unluckily this fine copy has the first and last pages of text in ms. The other pages, with blank-reverses, are faintly impressed in brown ink: especially the first, which seems to be injured. A double-line border is round each page. This copy, which is bound in blue morocco, has also received injury from a stain. I consider the second copy, which is bound in red morocco, to be printed with moveablemetaltypes. The ink is however of a palish brown. I never saw another copy of this latter impression.
BIBLIA PAUPERUM.In Latin. I doubt whether this be the first edition; but at any rate it is imperfect.In German: with the date of 1470. Here are two copies; of which I was anxious to obtain the duplicate (the largest and uncoloured,) for the library in St. James's Place; but the value fixed upon it was too high; indeed a little extravagant.
The APOSTLES CREED.In German. Only seven leaves, but pasted together--so that, the work is an opistographised production. This is a very rare, and indeed unique volume; and utterly unknown to bibliographers. Each cut is about the same size, and there are twelve in the whole. There is no other text but the barbarous letters introduced at the bottom of the cut.
MIRABILIA URBIS ROMÆ. Another generally unknown xylographic performance; printed in the German language: being a small quarto. I have secured a duplicate of this singular volume for Lord Spencer's library, intending to describe it in theÆdes Althorpianæ.53
The LIFE OF ST. MEINRAT;in German, in a series of wood-cut representations. This Saint was murdered by two men, whose Christian names were Peter and Richard, and who were always afterwards haunted by a couple of crows. There is a German introduction of two pages, preceding the cuts. These cuts are forty-eight in number. At the thirtieth cut, the Saint is murdered; the earlier series representing the leading events of his life. The thirty-first cut represents the murderers running away; an angel being above them; In the thirty-second cut, they continue to be pursued. The thirty-third cut thus describes them; the German and the version being as follow; "Hie furt man die mord vo danne un wil schleisse vn redern die rappen volget alle zit hin nach vn stechet sy." "Here they bring the murderers, in order to drag them upon the hurdle to execution, and to break them upon the wheel. The crows follow and peck them."
In the thirty-fourth cut Peter and Richard are tied and dragged at the heels, of a horse. In the thirty-fifth they are broken upon the wheel.
TheCalendar of Regiomontanus--A decidedly xylographical production; the first date is 1475, the last 1525. A fine sound copy, but cropt. In a duplicate copy the name of the mathematician is given at the end.
CANTICA CANTICORUM. First edition. A beautiful copy; cropt, but clean. Sixteen cuts, uncoloured. The leaves have been evidently pasted together. Another copy, coloured; but of a later date. In fine preservation. A third copy; apparently the first edition; washed all over with a slight brown tint, and again coarsely coloured in parts: This copy singularly enough, is intermixed with portions of the first edition (as I take it) of theApocalypse: very clumsily coloured. A fourth copy, also, as I conceive, of the first edition; rather heavily coloured. The back grounds are uncoloured. This is larger than the other copies.
DEFENSIO IMMACULATÆ CONCEPTIONIS B.M.V.Without place; of the date of 1470. This is a Latin treatise; having four cuts in each page, with the exception of the first two pages, which exhibit only Saints Ambrose, Austin, Jerom and Gregory. At the bottom of the figure of St. Austin, second column, first page, it is thus written; "f.w. 1470." In the whole sixteen pages. The style of art is similar to that used in the Antichrist.54Of this tract, evidently xylographical, I never saw or heard of another copy.
The foregoing list may be said to comprise thechief raritiesamong the BLOCK BOOKS in the Public Library at Munich; and if I am not mistaken, they will afford no very unserviceable supplement to the celebrated work of Heineken upon the same subject. From this department in the art of printing, we descend naturally to that which is connected with metal types; and accordingly I proceed to lay before you another list ofBook- Rarities--taken from the earlierprinted volumesin this most extraordinary Library.
We will begin with the best and most ancient of all Books:--the BIBLE. They have a very singular copy of what is called theMazarine edition: or rather the parent impression of the sacred text:--inasmuch as it contains (what, I believe, no other copy in Europe contains, and therefore M. Bernhard properly considers it as unique)four printed leaves of a table, as directions to the Rubricator. At the end of the Psalter is a ms. note thus: "Explicit Psalterium, 61." This copy is in other respects far from being desirable, for it is cropt, and in very ordinary calf binding.Mentelin's German Bible. Here are two copies of this first impression of the Bible in the German language: both of which have distinct claims to render them very desirable. In the one is an inscription, in the German language, of which M. Bernhard supplied me with the following literal version: "Hector Mulich and Otilia his wife; who bought this Bible in the year of Our Lord, 1466, on the twenty-seventh day of June, for twelve florins." Their arms are below. The whole is decidedly a coeval inscription. Here, therefore, is another testimony55of the printing of this Bible at least as early as the year 1466. At the end of the book of Jeremiah, in the same copy, is a ms. entry of 1467; "sub Papa Paulo Secundo et sub Imperatore Frederico tertio." The second copy of this edition, preserved in the same library, has a German ms. memorandum, executed in red ink, stating that this edition is "well translated, without the addition of a single word, faithful to the Latin: printed at Strasbourg with great care." This memorandum is doubtless of the time of the publication of the edition; and the Curators of the library very judiciously keep both copies.
A third, or triplicate copy, of Mentelin's edition--much finer than either of the preceding--and indeed abounding with rough edges--was purchased by me for the library in St. James's place; but it was not obtained for a sum beneath its full value.56
Here is a copy ofEggesteyn's Latin Bible, containing forty-five lines in a full page, with the important date of "24th May, 1466"-- in a coeval ms. memorandum. Thus, you see, here is a date two years earlier57than that in a copy of the same Bible in the Public Library at Strasbourg; and I think, from hence, we are well warranted in supposing that both Mentelin and Eggesteyn had their presses in full play at Strasbourg in 1466--if not earlier. This copy of Eggesteyn's first Bible, which is in its original binding of wood, is as fine and large as it is precious.
I shall continue, miscellaneously, with the earlier printed books.T. Aquinas de Virtutibus et Vitiis; printed byMentelinin his smallest character. At the end, there is the following inscription, in faded green ink;Johannes Bamler de Augusta hui9libri Illuiator Anno 1468. Thus Bamler should seem to be an illuminator as well as printer,58and Panzer is wrong in supposing that Bamlerprintedthis book. Of course Panzer formed his judgment from a copy which wanted such accidental attestation.Ptolemy, 1462: with all the maps, coloured.Livy(1469): very fine--in its original binding--full sixteen inches high.Cæsar, 1469: very fine, in the original binding.Lucan, 1469: equally fine, and coated in the same manner.Apuleius, 1469: imperfect and dirty. The foregoing, you know, are all EDITIONES PRINCIPES. But judge of my surprise on finding neither the first edition ofTerence, nor ofValerius Maximus, nor ofVirgil59--all by Mentelin. I enquired for the firstRomanorBologna Ovid: but in vain. It seemed that I was enquiring for "blue diamonds;"60--so precious and rare are these two latter works.
Here are very fine copies of thePhilosophical works of Cicero, printed by Ulric Han--with the exception of the Tusculan Questions and the treatise upon Oratory, of the dates of 1468, 1469--which are unluckily wanting. M. Bernhard preservesfourcopies of theEuclidof 1482, because they have printed variations in the margins. One of these copies has the prefix, or preface of one page, printed in letters of gold. I saw another such a copy at Paris. Here is theMilan Horace of 1474--the text only. TheCatholicon by Gutenberg, of 1460: UPON VELLUM: quite perfect as to the text, but much cropt, and many pieces sliced out of the margins--for purposes, which it were now idle to enquire after; although I have heard of a Durandus of 1459 in our own country, which, in ancient times, had been so served for the purpose of writing directions on parcels of game, &c.Catholicon of 1469 by G. Zeiner; also UPON VELLUM, and equally cropt--but otherwise sound and clean. This copy contains an ancient manuscript note which must be erroneous; as it professes the first owner to have got possession of the book before it wasprinted: in other words, anunitwas omitted in the date, and we should read 1469 for 1468.61
Among the more precious ITALIAN BOOKS, is a remarkably fine copy of the old edition of theDecameron of Boccaccio, called theDeo Gracias--which Lord Spencer purchased at the sale of the Borromeo library in London, last year. It is quite perfect, and in a fine, large condition. It was taken to Paris on a certain memorable occasion, and returned hither on an occasion equally memorable. It contains 253 leaves of text and two of table; and has red ms. prefixes. It came originally from the library of Petrus Victorius, from which indeed there are many books in this collection, and was bought by the King of Bavaria at Rome. What was curious, M. Bernhard shewed me a minute valuation of this very rare volume, which he had estimated at 1100 florins--somewhere about £20. below the price given by Lord Spencer for his copy, of which four leaves are supplied by ms. Here is a magnificent copy of theDante of 1481, with XX CUTS; the twentieth being precisely similar to that of which a fac-simile appears in the B.S. This copy wasdemandedby the library at Paris, and xix. cuts only were specified in the demand; the twentieth cut was therefore secreted, from another copy--which other copy has a duplicate of the first cut, pasted at the end of the preface. The impressions of the cuts, in the copy under description, are worthy of the condition of the text and of the amplitude of the margins. It is a noble book, in every point of view.
I was shewn a great curiosity by this able bibliographer; nothing less than a sheet, orbroadside, containingspecimens of types from Ratdolf's press. This sheet is in beautiful preservation, and is executed in double columns. The first ten specimens are in thegothicletter, with a gradually diminishing type. The last is thus:
Hunc adeas mira quicunq: volumina querisArte uel ex animo pressa fuisse tuoSeruiet iste tibi: nobis (sic) iure sororesIncolumem seruet vsq: rogare licet.
This is succeeded by three gradually diminishing specimens of the printer'sromanletter. Then, four lines of Greek, in the Jensonian or Venetian character: next, in large black letter, as below.62
But a still greater curiosity, in my estimation, was a small leaf; by way ofadvertisement, containing a list of publications issuing from the press of a printer whose name has not yet been discovered, and attached apparently to a copy of theFortalitium Fidei; in which it was found. Luckily there was a duplicate of this little broadside--or advertisement--and I prevailed upon the curators, or rather upon M. Bernhard (whose exclusive property it was) to part with this Sibylline leaf, containing only nineteen lines, for a copy of theÆdes Althorpianæ--as soon as that work should be published.63Of course, this is secured for the library in St. James's Place.
I am now hastening to the close of this catalogue of the Munich book- treasures. You remember my having mentioned a sort of oblong cabinet, where they keep the books PRINTED UPON VELLUM--together with block books, and a few of the more ancient and highly illuminated MSS. I visited this cabinet the first thing on entering--and the last thing on leaving--the Public Library. "Where are yourVellum Alduses, good Mr. Bernhard?" said I to my willing and instructive guide. "You shall see onlytwoof them"--(rejoined he) but from these you must not judge of the remainder." So saying, he put into my hands thefirst editions of Horace and Virgil, each of 1501, and bound in one volume, in old red morocco. They were gems--almost of the very first order, and--almost of their original magnitude: measuring six inches and three eighths, by three inches and seven eighths. They are likewise sound and clean: but the Virgil is not equal to Lord Spencer's similar copy, in whiteness of colour, or beauty of illumination. Indeed the illuminations in the Munich copy are left in an unfinished state. In the ardour of the moment I talked of these two precious volumes being worth "120 louis d'or." M.B. smiled gently, as he heard me, and deliberately returned the volumes to their stations-- intimating, by his manner, that not thrice that sum should dispossess the library of such treasures. I have lost my memoranda as to the number of these vellum Alduses; but the impression upon my mind is, that they have not more thansix.
Of course, I asked for a VELLUMTewrdanckhsof 1517, and my guide forthwith placedtwoMEMBRANACEOUS copies of this impression before me:--adding, that almost every copy contained variations, more or less, in the text. Indeed I found M.B. "doctissimus" upon this work; and I think he said that he had published upon it as well as Camus.64This is about the ninety-ninth time that I have most sensibly regretted my utter ignorance, of the language (German) in which it pleaseth M. Bernhard to put forth his instructive bibliographical lucubrations. Of these two copies, one has the cuts coloured, and is very little cropt: the other has the cuts uncoloured, and is decidedly cropt.
With the Tewrdanckhs, I take my leave both of the public library of Munich and (for the present) of its obliging and well-informed Second Librarian. But I must not leave this WORLD OF BOOKS without imparting to you the satisfaction which I felt on witnessing half a dozen grave-looking scribes employed, chiefly under the direction of M. Bernhard, in making out a classed catalogue ofFifteeners--preparatory to the sale of their Duplicates. This catalogue will be important in many respects; and I hope to see it in my own country within two years from the date of the present epistle.65
And now methinks it is high time to put the concluding paragraph to this said epistle--so charged with bibliographical intelligence respecting the capital of Bavaria. You must give it more thanoneperusal if you wish to digest it thoroughly. My next, within forty-eight hours hereof, will leave me on the eve of departure from hence. In the meanwhile, prepare for some pleasant BOOK TIDINGS in my ensuing despatch.