[446]It is not because Bodoni printed better than our popular printers—that his books upon vellum are more beautiful than those produced by the London presses—but that the Italian vellum (made of the abortive calf) is, in general, more white and delicate. There is not, perhaps, a lovelier littlevellum bookin existence than theCastle of Otranto, printed by Bodoni in 1796, 8vo. A copy of this, with the plates worked on white satin, was in the collection of Mr. G.G. Mills; and sold at the sale of his books in 1800; no. 181; seep. 447, ante. From the former authority it would appear that only six copies were printed in this manner. By the kindness of Mr. Edwards, I am in possession of a 'Lettera Pastorale' of Fr. Adeodato Turchi—a small tract of 38 pages—printed upon paper, by Bodoni, in a style of uncommon delicacy: having all the finish and picturesque effect of copper-plate execution. But the chef d'œuvre of Bodoni seems to be an edition ofHomer, in three great folio volumes, each consisting of 370 pages, with the text only. The artist employed six years in the preparations, and the printing occupied eighteen months. One hundred and forty copies only were struck off. The copy presented to Bonaparte wasupon vellum, of a size and brilliancy altogether unparalleled.American Review, no. 1., p. 171. January, 1811. In our admiration of Bodoni, let us not forgetDidot: who printed a single copy ofVoltaire's Henriadeupon vellum, in quarto, with a brilliancy of execution, and perfection of vellum, which can never besuppassed. This copy formerly belonged to a Farmer General, one of Didot's most intimate friends, who perished in the Revolution. Didot also printed a number of copies of French translations of English works, upon the same material: so correct, beautiful, and tasteful, that Mr. Bulmer assures me nothing could exceed it. All these small richly-feathered birds were once here, but have now taken their flight to a warmer climate. Our modern books upon vellum are little short of being downright wretched. I saw theLife of Nelson, in two large quartos, printed in this manner; and it would have been the first work which I should have recommended a first-rate collector to have thrown out of his library.[G]Many of the leaves were afflicted with the jaundice beyond hope of cure. The censure which is here thrown out upon others reaches my own doors: for I attempted to execute a single copy of myTypographical Antiquitiesupon vellum, with every possible attention to printing and to the material upon which it was to be executed. But I failed in every point: and this single wretchedly-looking book, had Ipreseveredin executing my design, would have cost me aboutseventy-fiveguineas![G]This book was printed at Bolt Court during the apprenticeship of the printer of this edit. of Biblio., who speaking from remembrance, ventures to suggest that the above remark is rather too strong—although there was confessedly a great deal of trouble in procuring good vellum. He believes onlyonecopy was done; it was the property of Alexander Davidson, Esq. Banker, and, being in his library in Ireland, when the mansion was burned down, it was destroyed. He had insured it for £600—the Insurance office disputed his claim, and a trial at Dublin took place. The late Mr. Bensley was subpœnaed to give evidence of its value, but, being reluctant to go, he persuaded the parties that Warwick, one of his pressmen, who worked it off, was a better witness; he accordingly went, his evidence succeeding in establishing Mr. Davidson's claim. This same Warwick worked off many of the splendid specimens of typography mentioned inBibliomania, being one of the very best workmen in the Printing business—particularly in wood-cuts. He afterwards became private printer to the late Sir Egerton Bridges, Bart., at Lee Priory—and is long since dead.
[446]It is not because Bodoni printed better than our popular printers—that his books upon vellum are more beautiful than those produced by the London presses—but that the Italian vellum (made of the abortive calf) is, in general, more white and delicate. There is not, perhaps, a lovelier littlevellum bookin existence than theCastle of Otranto, printed by Bodoni in 1796, 8vo. A copy of this, with the plates worked on white satin, was in the collection of Mr. G.G. Mills; and sold at the sale of his books in 1800; no. 181; seep. 447, ante. From the former authority it would appear that only six copies were printed in this manner. By the kindness of Mr. Edwards, I am in possession of a 'Lettera Pastorale' of Fr. Adeodato Turchi—a small tract of 38 pages—printed upon paper, by Bodoni, in a style of uncommon delicacy: having all the finish and picturesque effect of copper-plate execution. But the chef d'œuvre of Bodoni seems to be an edition ofHomer, in three great folio volumes, each consisting of 370 pages, with the text only. The artist employed six years in the preparations, and the printing occupied eighteen months. One hundred and forty copies only were struck off. The copy presented to Bonaparte wasupon vellum, of a size and brilliancy altogether unparalleled.American Review, no. 1., p. 171. January, 1811. In our admiration of Bodoni, let us not forgetDidot: who printed a single copy ofVoltaire's Henriadeupon vellum, in quarto, with a brilliancy of execution, and perfection of vellum, which can never besuppassed. This copy formerly belonged to a Farmer General, one of Didot's most intimate friends, who perished in the Revolution. Didot also printed a number of copies of French translations of English works, upon the same material: so correct, beautiful, and tasteful, that Mr. Bulmer assures me nothing could exceed it. All these small richly-feathered birds were once here, but have now taken their flight to a warmer climate. Our modern books upon vellum are little short of being downright wretched. I saw theLife of Nelson, in two large quartos, printed in this manner; and it would have been the first work which I should have recommended a first-rate collector to have thrown out of his library.[G]Many of the leaves were afflicted with the jaundice beyond hope of cure. The censure which is here thrown out upon others reaches my own doors: for I attempted to execute a single copy of myTypographical Antiquitiesupon vellum, with every possible attention to printing and to the material upon which it was to be executed. But I failed in every point: and this single wretchedly-looking book, had Ipreseveredin executing my design, would have cost me aboutseventy-fiveguineas!
[G]This book was printed at Bolt Court during the apprenticeship of the printer of this edit. of Biblio., who speaking from remembrance, ventures to suggest that the above remark is rather too strong—although there was confessedly a great deal of trouble in procuring good vellum. He believes onlyonecopy was done; it was the property of Alexander Davidson, Esq. Banker, and, being in his library in Ireland, when the mansion was burned down, it was destroyed. He had insured it for £600—the Insurance office disputed his claim, and a trial at Dublin took place. The late Mr. Bensley was subpœnaed to give evidence of its value, but, being reluctant to go, he persuaded the parties that Warwick, one of his pressmen, who worked it off, was a better witness; he accordingly went, his evidence succeeding in establishing Mr. Davidson's claim. This same Warwick worked off many of the splendid specimens of typography mentioned inBibliomania, being one of the very best workmen in the Printing business—particularly in wood-cuts. He afterwards became private printer to the late Sir Egerton Bridges, Bart., at Lee Priory—and is long since dead.
Lis.I could go on, 'till midnight, indulging my wishes of having favourite books printed upon vellum leaves; and at the head of these I would putCrammer's Biblefor I want scholarship sufficient to understand theComplutensian Polyglott of Cardinal Ximenes.[447]
[447]See pages160,407, ante.
[447]See pages160,407, ante.
Berlin.So much for theVellum Symptom. Proceed we now to thesixth: which upon looking at my memoranda, I find to be theFirst Editions. What is the meaning of this odd symptom?
Lysand.From the time of Ancillon to Askew, there has been a very strong desire expressed for thepossesssionoforiginalorfirst published editions[448]of works; asthey are in general superintended and corrected by the author himself, and, like the first impressions of prints are considered more valuable. Whoever is possessed with a passion for collecting books of this kind, mayunquestionably be said to exhibit a strong symptom of the Bibliomania: but such a case is not quite hopeless, nor is it deserving of severe treatment or censure. All bibliographers have dwelt on the importance of these editions[449]for the sake of collation with subsequent ones; and of detecting, as is frequently the case, the carelessness displayed by future editors. Of such importance is thefirst edition Shakspeare[450]considered, on the score of correctness, that a fac-simile reprint of it has been recently published. In regard to the Greek and Latin Classics, the possession of these original editions is of the first consequence to editors who are anxious to republish the legitimate text of an author. Wakefield, I believe, always regretted that the first edition of Lucretius had not been earlier inspected by him. When he beganhisedition, the Editio Princeps was not (as I have understood) in that storehouse of almost every thingwhich is exquisite and rare in ancient and modern classical literature—need I add the library of Earl Spencer?[451]
[448]All German and French bibliographers class thesefirst editionsamong rare books; and nothing is more apt to seduce a noviciate in bibliography into error than the tempting manner in which, by aid of capital or italic types, theseEditiones PrimariæorEditiones Principesare set forth in the most respectable catalogues published abroad as well as at home. But before we enter into particulars, we must not forget that this sixthsymptonof the Bibliomania has been thus pungently described in the poetical strains of an "aspirant!"SIXTH MAXIM.Who of Editions recks the least,But, when that hog, his mind would feastFattens the intellectual beastWith old, or new, without ambition,—I'll teach the pig to soar on high,(If pigs had pinions, by the bye)How'er thelastmaysatisfy,Thebonne boucheis the "First Edition."Bibliosophia; p.vi.These first editions are generally, with respect to foreign works, printed in the fifteenth or in the early part of the sixteenth century: and indeed we have a pretty rich sprinkling of a similar description of first editions executed in our own country. It is not, therefore, without justice that we are described, by foreign bibliographers, as being much addicted to this class of books: "With what avidity, and at what great prices, this character of books is obtained by the Dutch, andespecially by the English, the very illustrious Zach. Conrad ab Uffenbach shews, in the preface to the second volume of his catalogue." Vogt; p. xx., edit. 1793. There is a curious and amusing article in Bayle (English edition, vol i., 672, &c.) about the elder Ancillon, who frankly confessed that he "was troubled with the Bibliomania, or disease of buying books." Mr. D'Israeli says that he "always purchasedfirst editions, and never waited for second ones," but I find it, in the English Bayle, note D, "he chosethe besteditions." The manner in which Ancillon's library was pillaged by the Ecclesiastics of Metz (where it was considered as the most valuable curiosity in the town) is thus told by Bayle: "Ancillon was obliged to leave Metz: a company of Ecclesiastics, of all orders, came from every part, to lay hands on this fine and copious library, which had been collected with the utmost care during forty years. They took away a great number of the books together; and gave a little money, as they went out, to a young girl, of twelve or thirteen years of age, who looked after them, that they might have it to say they hadpaid for them. Thus Ancillon saw that valuable collection dispersed, in which, as he was wont to say, his chief pleasure and even his heart was placed!"—Edit. 1734. A pleasant circumstance, connected with our present subject, occurred to the Rev. Dr. Charles Burney. At a small sale of books which took place at Messrs. King and Lochée's, some few years ago, the Doctor sent a commission, for some old grammatical treatises; and calling with Mr. Edwards to see the success of the commission, the latter, in the true spirit of bibliomaniacism, pounced upon an anciently-bound book, in the lot, which turned out to be—nothing less than thefirst editionofManiliusby Regiomontanus: one of the very scarcest books in the class of those of which we are treating! By the liberality of the purchaser, thisprimary bijounow adorns the noble library of the Bishop of Ely.[449]An instance of this kind may be adduced from thefirst editionof Fabian, printed in 1516; of which Chronicle Messrs. Longman, Hurst, and Co. have just published a new edition, superintended by Mr. H. Ellis, and containing various readings from all the editions at the foot of the text. "The antiquary," says the late Mr.Brand, "is desired to consult the edition of Fabian, printed by Pynson, in 1516, because there are others, and I remember to have seen one in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, with a continuation to the end of Queen Mary, 1559, in which the language is much modernized."Shakspeare, edit. 1803, vol. xviii., pp. 85, 86. See also what has been before said (p. 233.) of anafteredition of Speed.[450]A singular story is "extant" about the purchase of the late Duke of Roxburgh's copy of the first edition of Shakspeare. A friend was bidding for him in the sale-room: his Grace had retired to one end of the room, coolly to view the issue of the contest. The biddings rose quickly to 20 guineas; a great sum in former times: but the Duke was not to be daunted or defeated. A slip of paper was handed to him, upon which the propriety of continuing the contest was suggested. His Grace took out his pencil; and, with a coolness which would have done credit to Prince Eugene, he wrote on the same slip of paper, by way of reply—lay on Macduff!And d——d be he who first cries "Hold, enough!"Such a spirit was irresistible, and bore down all opposition. The Duke was of course declared victor, and he marched off, triumphantly, with the volume under his arm. Lord Spencer has a fine copy of this first edition of Shakspeare, collated by Steevens himself.[451]We raise the column to the hero who has fought our battles by sea or land; and we teach our children to look up with admiration and reverence towards an object so well calculated to excite the best sympathies of the human heart. All this is well; and may it never be neglected! But there are other characters not less noble, and of equal glory to a great nation like our own; and they are those who, to the adventitious splendour of hereditary rank, add all the worth and talent of a private condition, less exposed to temptation, and suited to the cultivation of peaceful and literary pursuits. Such a character isGeorge John Earl Spencer! A nobleman, not less upright and weighty in the senate than polished and amiable in private life; who, cool and respected amidst the violence of party, has filled two of the most important offices of state in a manner at once popular and effective; and who, to his general love of the fine arts, and acquaintance with classical literature, has superadded the noble achievement of having collected the finest private library in Europe! The reader has already met with sufficient mention of this collection to justify what is here said in commendation of it.... In the deepest recess of Althorpe Park—where the larch and laurustinus throw their dark yet pleasing shade—and where——pinus ingens, albaque populusUmbram hospitalem consociare amantRamis—let the Doric Temple be raised, with its white-marbled columns, sacred to the memory of thisillustrious nobleman! Let his bust, in basso-relievo, with appropriate embellishments, adorn the most conspicuous compartment within: and peace and virtue, and filial affection, will, I am sure, be the guardians of so cherished a spot!ARMS OF EARL SPENCER.DIEU DEFEND LE DROIT
[448]All German and French bibliographers class thesefirst editionsamong rare books; and nothing is more apt to seduce a noviciate in bibliography into error than the tempting manner in which, by aid of capital or italic types, theseEditiones PrimariæorEditiones Principesare set forth in the most respectable catalogues published abroad as well as at home. But before we enter into particulars, we must not forget that this sixthsymptonof the Bibliomania has been thus pungently described in the poetical strains of an "aspirant!"
SIXTH MAXIM.
These first editions are generally, with respect to foreign works, printed in the fifteenth or in the early part of the sixteenth century: and indeed we have a pretty rich sprinkling of a similar description of first editions executed in our own country. It is not, therefore, without justice that we are described, by foreign bibliographers, as being much addicted to this class of books: "With what avidity, and at what great prices, this character of books is obtained by the Dutch, andespecially by the English, the very illustrious Zach. Conrad ab Uffenbach shews, in the preface to the second volume of his catalogue." Vogt; p. xx., edit. 1793. There is a curious and amusing article in Bayle (English edition, vol i., 672, &c.) about the elder Ancillon, who frankly confessed that he "was troubled with the Bibliomania, or disease of buying books." Mr. D'Israeli says that he "always purchasedfirst editions, and never waited for second ones," but I find it, in the English Bayle, note D, "he chosethe besteditions." The manner in which Ancillon's library was pillaged by the Ecclesiastics of Metz (where it was considered as the most valuable curiosity in the town) is thus told by Bayle: "Ancillon was obliged to leave Metz: a company of Ecclesiastics, of all orders, came from every part, to lay hands on this fine and copious library, which had been collected with the utmost care during forty years. They took away a great number of the books together; and gave a little money, as they went out, to a young girl, of twelve or thirteen years of age, who looked after them, that they might have it to say they hadpaid for them. Thus Ancillon saw that valuable collection dispersed, in which, as he was wont to say, his chief pleasure and even his heart was placed!"—Edit. 1734. A pleasant circumstance, connected with our present subject, occurred to the Rev. Dr. Charles Burney. At a small sale of books which took place at Messrs. King and Lochée's, some few years ago, the Doctor sent a commission, for some old grammatical treatises; and calling with Mr. Edwards to see the success of the commission, the latter, in the true spirit of bibliomaniacism, pounced upon an anciently-bound book, in the lot, which turned out to be—nothing less than thefirst editionofManiliusby Regiomontanus: one of the very scarcest books in the class of those of which we are treating! By the liberality of the purchaser, thisprimary bijounow adorns the noble library of the Bishop of Ely.
[449]An instance of this kind may be adduced from thefirst editionof Fabian, printed in 1516; of which Chronicle Messrs. Longman, Hurst, and Co. have just published a new edition, superintended by Mr. H. Ellis, and containing various readings from all the editions at the foot of the text. "The antiquary," says the late Mr.Brand, "is desired to consult the edition of Fabian, printed by Pynson, in 1516, because there are others, and I remember to have seen one in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, with a continuation to the end of Queen Mary, 1559, in which the language is much modernized."Shakspeare, edit. 1803, vol. xviii., pp. 85, 86. See also what has been before said (p. 233.) of anafteredition of Speed.
[450]A singular story is "extant" about the purchase of the late Duke of Roxburgh's copy of the first edition of Shakspeare. A friend was bidding for him in the sale-room: his Grace had retired to one end of the room, coolly to view the issue of the contest. The biddings rose quickly to 20 guineas; a great sum in former times: but the Duke was not to be daunted or defeated. A slip of paper was handed to him, upon which the propriety of continuing the contest was suggested. His Grace took out his pencil; and, with a coolness which would have done credit to Prince Eugene, he wrote on the same slip of paper, by way of reply—
Such a spirit was irresistible, and bore down all opposition. The Duke was of course declared victor, and he marched off, triumphantly, with the volume under his arm. Lord Spencer has a fine copy of this first edition of Shakspeare, collated by Steevens himself.
[451]We raise the column to the hero who has fought our battles by sea or land; and we teach our children to look up with admiration and reverence towards an object so well calculated to excite the best sympathies of the human heart. All this is well; and may it never be neglected! But there are other characters not less noble, and of equal glory to a great nation like our own; and they are those who, to the adventitious splendour of hereditary rank, add all the worth and talent of a private condition, less exposed to temptation, and suited to the cultivation of peaceful and literary pursuits. Such a character isGeorge John Earl Spencer! A nobleman, not less upright and weighty in the senate than polished and amiable in private life; who, cool and respected amidst the violence of party, has filled two of the most important offices of state in a manner at once popular and effective; and who, to his general love of the fine arts, and acquaintance with classical literature, has superadded the noble achievement of having collected the finest private library in Europe! The reader has already met with sufficient mention of this collection to justify what is here said in commendation of it.... In the deepest recess of Althorpe Park—where the larch and laurustinus throw their dark yet pleasing shade—and where
let the Doric Temple be raised, with its white-marbled columns, sacred to the memory of thisillustrious nobleman! Let his bust, in basso-relievo, with appropriate embellishments, adorn the most conspicuous compartment within: and peace and virtue, and filial affection, will, I am sure, be the guardians of so cherished a spot!
ARMS OF EARL SPENCER.
DIEU DEFEND LE DROIT
It must not, however, be forgotten that, if first editions are, in some instances, of great importance, they are in many respects superfluous, and only incumber the shelves of a collector; inasmuch as the labours of subsequent editors have corrected the errors of their predecessors, and superseded, by a great fund of additional matter, the necessity of consulting them. Thus, not to mention other instances (which present themselves while noticing the present one), all the fine things which Colomiés and Reimannus have said about the rarity of La Croix du Maine's Bibliothéque, published in 1584, are now unnecessary to be attended to, since the publication of the ample and excellent edition of this work by De La Monnoye and Juvigny, in six quarto volumes, 1772.
Lis.Upon the whole, I should prefer the best to the first edition; and you, Lorenzo, may revel in the possession of yourfirst Shakespeare—but give me the last Variorum editionin twenty-one volumes.
Loren."Chacun a son gout," yet it may be as well to possess themboth. Indeed, I not only have these editions, but a great number of the early plays printed in quarto;[452]which are considered thene plus ultraof Shakspearian bibliomaniacism.
[452]A pretty copious list of these valuable early plays will be found at pages431-2-3-4, ante.
[452]A pretty copious list of these valuable early plays will be found at pages431-2-3-4, ante.
Belin.Much good may these wretchedly printed volumes do you! Now let me proceed with my pupil. Tell us, good Lysander, what can you possibly mean by theseventh symptomof the Bibliomania, calledTrue Editions?
Lysand.My definition of this strange symptom will excite your mirth.[453]Some copies of a work are struckoff with deviations from the usually received ones, and although these deviations have generally neither sense nor beauty to recommend them (and indeed are principallydefects!), yet copies of this description are eagerly sought after by collectors of a certain class. What think you of such a ridiculous passion in the book-way?
[453]Observing the usual order of notification, we will first borrow the poetical aid of "an aspirant:"SEVENTH MAXIM.Who dares to "write me down an ass,"When, spying through the curious mass,I rub my hands, and wipe my glass,If, chance, anerrorbless my notice—Will prize when drill'd into his duty,These lovely warts of ugly beauty;For books, whenfalse(it may be new t'ye),Are "True Editions:"—odd,—butso'tis.Let us proceed to see whether this biting satire be founded upon truth, or not. Accidental variations from the common impressions of a work form what are calledtrue editions: and as copies, with such variations (upon the same principle as that ofPrints; videp. 501-2, ante) are rare, they are of course sought after with avidity by knowing bibliomaniacs. Thus speaks Ameilhon upon the subject:—"pendant l'impression d'un ouvrage il est arrivé un accident qui, à telle page et à telle ligne, a occasioné un renversement dans les lettres d'un mot, et que ce désordre n'a été rétabli qu'apres le tirage de six ou sept exemplaires; ce qui rend ces exemplaires défectueux presque uniques, et leur donne, â les entendre, une valeur inappréciable; car voila un des grands secrets de cet art, qui, au reste, s'acquiert aisément avec de la memoire."Mem. de l'Institut: vol. ii., p. 485. The author of these words then goes on to abuse the purchasers and venders of these strange books; but I will not quote his saucy tirade in defamation of this noble department of bibliomaniacism. I subjoin a few examples in illustration of Lysander's definition:—Cæsar. Lug. Bat.1636, 12mo.Printed by Elzevir.In the Bibliotheca Revickzkiana we are informed that thetrueElzevir edition is known by having the plate of a buffalo's head at the beginning of the preface and body of the work: also by having the page numbered 153, whichoughtto have been numbered 149. A further account is given in my Introduction to the Classics, vol. i., p. 228.—Horace, Londini, 1733, 8vo., 2 vols. Published by Pine. Thetrueedition is distinguished by having at page 108, vol. ii., theincorrectreading "Post Est."—for "Protest."—Virgil.Lug. Bat., 1636, 12mo. Printed by Elzevir. Thetrueedition is known, by having at plate 1, before the Bucolics, the following Latin passageprinted in red ink. "Ego vero frequentes a te literas accepi." Consul de Bure, no. 2684.—Idem.Birmingh. 1763, 4to. Printed by Baskerville. A particular account of thetrueedition will be found in the second volume of my "Introduction to the Classics," p. 337—too long to be here inserted.—Bocaccio.Il Decamerone, Venet. 1527, 4to. Consult De Bure no. 3667; Bandini, vol. ii. 105, 211; (who, however, is extremely laconic upon this edition, but copious upon the anterior one of 1516) and Haym, vol. iii., p. 8, edit. 1803. Bibl. Paris., no. 408. Clement. (vol. iv. 352,) has abundance of reference, as usual, to strengthen his assertion in calling the edition "fort rare." The reprint, or spurious edition, has always struck me as the prettier book of the two. These examples appeared in the first edition of this work. I add to them what of course I was not enabled to do before. In the second edition ofThe Bibliomania, there are some variations in the copies of the small paper; and one or two decided ones between the small and large. In the small, at page 13, line 2, we read"beat with perpetualforms."in the large, it is properly"beat with perpetualstorms."Which of these is indicative of thetrueedition? Again: in the small paper, p. 275, line 20, we read properly"Claudite jam rivos pueri, satpratabiberunt."in the large paper,"Claudite jam rivos pueri, satpartabiberunt."It was in my power to have cancelled the leaf in the large paper as well as in the small; but I thought it might thereby have taken from the former the air of atrueedition; and so the blunder (a mere transposition of the lettersar) will go down to a future generation in the large paper. There is yet another slight variation between the small and large. At p. 111, in the account of the catalogue of Krohn's books, the concluding sentence wholly varies: but I believe there is not anerrorin either, to entitle one to the rank ofTruismmore than another.[H][H]During the youth of the printer of this book, a curious mistake occurred: a splendid folio work was going on for Dr. Bonnell Thornton; in a certain page, as printers technically say,a space stood up; the Dr. (not understanding printers' marks) wrote on a head page "take out horizontal line at p. so and so"—the compositor inserted these words as adisplayed linein the head-page whereon they were written—the reader passed it in the revise—and it was so worked off! Being eventually detected—the leaf was of course cancelled.
[453]Observing the usual order of notification, we will first borrow the poetical aid of "an aspirant:"
SEVENTH MAXIM.
Let us proceed to see whether this biting satire be founded upon truth, or not. Accidental variations from the common impressions of a work form what are calledtrue editions: and as copies, with such variations (upon the same principle as that ofPrints; videp. 501-2, ante) are rare, they are of course sought after with avidity by knowing bibliomaniacs. Thus speaks Ameilhon upon the subject:—"pendant l'impression d'un ouvrage il est arrivé un accident qui, à telle page et à telle ligne, a occasioné un renversement dans les lettres d'un mot, et que ce désordre n'a été rétabli qu'apres le tirage de six ou sept exemplaires; ce qui rend ces exemplaires défectueux presque uniques, et leur donne, â les entendre, une valeur inappréciable; car voila un des grands secrets de cet art, qui, au reste, s'acquiert aisément avec de la memoire."Mem. de l'Institut: vol. ii., p. 485. The author of these words then goes on to abuse the purchasers and venders of these strange books; but I will not quote his saucy tirade in defamation of this noble department of bibliomaniacism. I subjoin a few examples in illustration of Lysander's definition:—Cæsar. Lug. Bat.1636, 12mo.Printed by Elzevir.In the Bibliotheca Revickzkiana we are informed that thetrueElzevir edition is known by having the plate of a buffalo's head at the beginning of the preface and body of the work: also by having the page numbered 153, whichoughtto have been numbered 149. A further account is given in my Introduction to the Classics, vol. i., p. 228.—Horace, Londini, 1733, 8vo., 2 vols. Published by Pine. Thetrueedition is distinguished by having at page 108, vol. ii., theincorrectreading "Post Est."—for "Protest."—Virgil.Lug. Bat., 1636, 12mo. Printed by Elzevir. Thetrueedition is known, by having at plate 1, before the Bucolics, the following Latin passageprinted in red ink. "Ego vero frequentes a te literas accepi." Consul de Bure, no. 2684.—Idem.Birmingh. 1763, 4to. Printed by Baskerville. A particular account of thetrueedition will be found in the second volume of my "Introduction to the Classics," p. 337—too long to be here inserted.—Bocaccio.Il Decamerone, Venet. 1527, 4to. Consult De Bure no. 3667; Bandini, vol. ii. 105, 211; (who, however, is extremely laconic upon this edition, but copious upon the anterior one of 1516) and Haym, vol. iii., p. 8, edit. 1803. Bibl. Paris., no. 408. Clement. (vol. iv. 352,) has abundance of reference, as usual, to strengthen his assertion in calling the edition "fort rare." The reprint, or spurious edition, has always struck me as the prettier book of the two. These examples appeared in the first edition of this work. I add to them what of course I was not enabled to do before. In the second edition ofThe Bibliomania, there are some variations in the copies of the small paper; and one or two decided ones between the small and large. In the small, at page 13, line 2, we read
"beat with perpetualforms."
in the large, it is properly
"beat with perpetualstorms."
Which of these is indicative of thetrueedition? Again: in the small paper, p. 275, line 20, we read properly
"Claudite jam rivos pueri, satpratabiberunt."
in the large paper,
"Claudite jam rivos pueri, satpartabiberunt."
It was in my power to have cancelled the leaf in the large paper as well as in the small; but I thought it might thereby have taken from the former the air of atrueedition; and so the blunder (a mere transposition of the lettersar) will go down to a future generation in the large paper. There is yet another slight variation between the small and large. At p. 111, in the account of the catalogue of Krohn's books, the concluding sentence wholly varies: but I believe there is not anerrorin either, to entitle one to the rank ofTruismmore than another.[H]
[H]During the youth of the printer of this book, a curious mistake occurred: a splendid folio work was going on for Dr. Bonnell Thornton; in a certain page, as printers technically say,a space stood up; the Dr. (not understanding printers' marks) wrote on a head page "take out horizontal line at p. so and so"—the compositor inserted these words as adisplayed linein the head-page whereon they were written—the reader passed it in the revise—and it was so worked off! Being eventually detected—the leaf was of course cancelled.
Alman.It seems to me to be downright idiotism. But I suspect you exaggerate?
Lysand.In sober truth, I tell you only what every day's experience in the book-market will corroborate.
Belin.Well!—what strange animals are you bibliomaniacs. Have we any other symptom to notice? Yes, I think Lysander made mention of aneighth; called a passion forthe Black-Letter.Can any eyes be so jaundiced as to prefer volumes printed in this crabbed, rough, and dismal manner?
Loren.Treason—downright treason! Lisardo shall draw up a bill of indictment against you, and Lysander shall be your judge.
Belin.My case would then be desperate; and execution must necessarily follow.
Lis.I shall be better able to form an opinion of the expediency of such a measure after Lysander has given us his definition of this eighth and last symptom. Proceed, my friend.
Lysand.Of all symptoms of the Bibliomania, thiseighthsymptom is at present the most powerful and prevailing. Whether it was imported into this country, from Holland, by the subtlety of Schelhorn[454](a knowingwriter upon rare and curious books) may be a point worthy of consideration. But whatever be its origin, certain is that books printed in theblack-letter, are now coveted with an eagerness unknown to our collectors inthe last century. If the spirits of West, Ratcliffe, Farmer, and Brand, have as yet held any intercourse with each other, in that place "from whose bourne no traveller returns," which must be the surprise of the three former, on being told, by the latter, of the prices given for some of the books at the sale of his library!
[454]His words are as follows: "Ipsa typorum ruditas, ipsa illa atra crassaque literarum faciesbelle tangit sensus,"&c.Was ever the black-letter more eloquently described: see hisAmœntatesLiterariæ, vol. i., p. 5. But for the last time, let us listen to the concluding symptomatic stanza of an "aspirant;"EIGHTH MAXIM.Who dreams theTypeshould please us all,That's not too thin, and not too tall,Nor much awry, nor over small,And, if butRoman, asks no better—May die in darkness:—I, for one,Disdain to tell the barb'rous HunThat Persians but adore the sunTill taught to knowourGod—Black-Letter.Bibliosophia: p. vii.However cruel may be the notes of one poet, it seems pretty clear that the glorious subject, or bibliomaniacal symptom, of which we are treating, excited numbers of a softer character in the muse of Dr. Ferriar: for thus sings he—inspired by the possession ofblack-lettertomes:In red morocco drest, he loves to boastThe bloody murder, or the yelling ghost;Or dismal ballads, sung to crowds of old,Now cheaply bought for thrice their weight in gold.v. 62-65.Ev'n I, debarr'd of ease and studious hours,Confess, mid' anxious toil, its lurking pow'rs.How pure the joy, when first my hands unfoldThe small, rare volume, black with tarnished gold!The Bibliomania, l. 135-8.But let us attend to a more scientific illustration of this eighth symptom. 'Black-Letter, which is used in England, descends from the Gothic characters; and is therefore calledGothicby some,old Englishby others; but printers give it the name ofBlack-Letter, because its face taking in a larger compass than Roman or Italic of the same body, the full and spreading strokes thereof appear moreblackupon paper than common.'Smith's Printer's Grammar; edit. 1755, p. 18. The same definition is given in a recent similar work; with the addition that 'black-letter is more expensive than Roman or Italic, its broad face requiring an extraordinary quantity of ink, which always gives the best coloured paper a yellow cast, unless worked upon that of a superior quality. It has a good effect in a title-page, if disposed with taste.' Stower'sPrinter's Grammar; 1808, p. 41. To these authorities we may add, from Rowe Mores, that 'Wynkyn de Worde's letter was ofThe Square EnglishorBlack face, and has been the pattern for his successors in the art.'Of English Founders and Foundries; 1778, 8vo. p. 4, 5. 'The same black-letter printer,' says Palmer or Psalmanaazar, 'gave a greater scope to his fancy, and formed such a variety of sorts and sizes of letter that, for several years after him, none of his successors attempted to imitate him therein.'General History of Printing; p. 343. It is not necessary to collect, in formal array, the authorities of foreigners upon this important subject; although it may be as well to notice the strange manner in which Momoro, in hisTraité elémentaire de L'Imprimerie, p. 185, refers us to an elucidation of the Gothic letter ('appelé du nom de certains peuples qui vinrent s'établir dans la Gothie, plus de quatre cens ans avant J.C.') in one of the plates of Fournier'sDictionnaire Typographique: vol. ii. p. 205—which, in truth, resembles anything but the Gothic type, as understood by modern readers.—Smith and Mr. Stower have the hardihood to rejoice at the present general extinction of the black-letter. They were not, probably, aware of Hearne's eulogy upon it—'As it is a reproach to us (says this renowned antiquary) that the Saxon language should be so forgot as to have but few (comparatively speaking) that are able to read it; so 'tis a greater reproach that theBlack-Letter, which was the character so much in use in our grandfathers' days, should be now (as it were) disused and rejected; especially when we know the best editions of our English Bible and Common-Prayer (to say nothing of other books) are printed in it.'Robert of Gloucester's Chronicle: vol. i., p.lxxxv. I presume the editor and publisher of the forth-coming fac-simile re-impression of Juliana Barnes's Book of Hawking, Hunting, &c., are of the same opinion with Hearne: and are resolved upon eclipsing even the black-letter reputation of the afore-named Wynkyn De Worde.—A pleasant black-letter anecdote is told by Chevillier, of his having picked up, on a bookseller's stall, the first edition of theSpeculum SalutissiveHumanæ Salvationis(one of the rarest volumes in the class of those printed in the middle of the fifteenth century) for the small sum of four livres!L'Origine de l'Imprimerie; p. 281. This extraordinary event soon spread abroad, and was circulated in every bibliographical journal. Schelhorn noticed it in hisAmœnitates Literariæ: vol. iv. 295-6: and so did Maichelius in hisIntrod. ad Hist. Lit. et Præcip. Bibl. Paris, p. 122. Nor has it escaped the notice of a more recent foreign bibliographer. Ameilhon makes mention of Chevillier's good fortune; adding that the work was 'un de ces livres rares au premièr degré, qu' unbon Bibliomanene peut voir sans trépigner de joie, si j'ose m'exprimer ainsi.'Mem. de l'Institut. vol. ii. 485-6. This very copy, which was in the Sorbonne, is now in the Imperial, library at Paris.Ibid.A similar, though less important, anecdote is here laid before the reader from a communication sent to me by Mr. Wm. Hamper of Birmingham. '"Tusser's Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry, black-letter, sewed," was valued atsixpence, in a catalogue of a small Collection of Books on the sale at the shop of Mr. William Adams, Loughborough, in the year 1804: and, after in vain suing the coy collector at this humble price, remained unsold to the present year, 1809, when (thanks to yourBibliomania!) it broughta Golden Guinea.'—I have myself been accused of 'an admiration to excess' of black-letter lore; and of recommending it in every shape, and by every means, directly and indirectly. Yet I have surely not said or done any thing half so decisive in recommendation of it as did our great moralist, Dr. Johnson: who thus introduces the subject in one of his periodical papers.—'The eldest and most venerable of this society, wasHirsutus: who, after the first civilities of my reception, found means to introduce the mention of his favourite studies, by a severe censure of those who want the due regard for their native country. He informed me that he had early withdrawn his attention from foreign trifles, and that since he begun to addict his mind to serious and manly studies, he had very carefully amassed all theEnglish booksthat were printed in theBlack-Letter. This search he had pursued so diligently that he was able to show the deficiencies of the best catalogues. He had long since completed hisCaxton, had three sheets ofTreveris, unknown to antiquaries, and wanted to a perfect [collection of]Pynsonbut two volumes: of which one was promised him as a legacy by its present possessor, and the other he was resolved to buy at whatever price, when Quisquilius' library should be sold. Hirsutus had no other reason for the valuing or slighting a book than that it was printed in the Roman or the Gothick letter, nor any ideas but such as his favourite volumes had supplied: when he was serious, he expatiated on the narratives ofJohan de Trevisa, and, when he was merry, regaled us with a quotation from theShippe of Fools.'Rambler, no. 177.—Nor was the Doctor himself quite easy and happy 'till he had sold, in the character of abookseller, a few volumes—probably of black-letter celebrity. Mr. Boswell relates that 'During the last visit which the Doctor made to Litchfield, the friends, with whom he was staying missed him one morning at the breakfast table. On inquiring after him of the servants, they understood that he had set off from Litchfield at a very early hour, without mentioning to any of the family whither he was going. The day passed without the return of the illustrious guest, and the party began to be very uneasy on his account, when, just before the supper hour, the door opened, and the Doctor stalked into the room. A solemn silence of a few minutes ensued; nobody daring to enquire the cause of his absence, which was at length relieved by Johnson addressing the lady of the house as follows: "Madam, I beg your pardon for the abruptness of my departure this morning, but I was constrained to it by myconscience. Fifty years ago, Madam, on this day, I committed a breach of filial piety, which has ever since lain heavy on my mind, and has not until this day been expiated. My father, you recollect, was a bookseller, and had long been in the habit of attendingWalsall Market; and opening a stall for the sale of his books during that day. Confined to his bed by indisposition, he requested of me, this time fifty years ago, to visit the market, and attend the stall in his place. But, Madam, my pride prevented me from doing my duty, and I gave my father a refusal. To do away the sin of this disobedience, I this day went in a post-chaise to Walsall, and going into the market at the time of high business, uncovered my head, and stood with it bare an hour before the stall which my father had formerly used, exposed to the sneers of the by-standers, and the inclemency of the weather: a penance, by which I have propitiated Heaven for this only instance, I believe, of contumacy towards my father."'—Is it not probable that Dr. Johnson himself might have sold forsixpence, aTusser, which now would have brought a 'golden guinea?'
[454]His words are as follows: "Ipsa typorum ruditas, ipsa illa atra crassaque literarum faciesbelle tangit sensus,"&c.Was ever the black-letter more eloquently described: see hisAmœntatesLiterariæ, vol. i., p. 5. But for the last time, let us listen to the concluding symptomatic stanza of an "aspirant;"
EIGHTH MAXIM.
However cruel may be the notes of one poet, it seems pretty clear that the glorious subject, or bibliomaniacal symptom, of which we are treating, excited numbers of a softer character in the muse of Dr. Ferriar: for thus sings he—inspired by the possession ofblack-lettertomes:
But let us attend to a more scientific illustration of this eighth symptom. 'Black-Letter, which is used in England, descends from the Gothic characters; and is therefore calledGothicby some,old Englishby others; but printers give it the name ofBlack-Letter, because its face taking in a larger compass than Roman or Italic of the same body, the full and spreading strokes thereof appear moreblackupon paper than common.'Smith's Printer's Grammar; edit. 1755, p. 18. The same definition is given in a recent similar work; with the addition that 'black-letter is more expensive than Roman or Italic, its broad face requiring an extraordinary quantity of ink, which always gives the best coloured paper a yellow cast, unless worked upon that of a superior quality. It has a good effect in a title-page, if disposed with taste.' Stower'sPrinter's Grammar; 1808, p. 41. To these authorities we may add, from Rowe Mores, that 'Wynkyn de Worde's letter was ofThe Square EnglishorBlack face, and has been the pattern for his successors in the art.'Of English Founders and Foundries; 1778, 8vo. p. 4, 5. 'The same black-letter printer,' says Palmer or Psalmanaazar, 'gave a greater scope to his fancy, and formed such a variety of sorts and sizes of letter that, for several years after him, none of his successors attempted to imitate him therein.'General History of Printing; p. 343. It is not necessary to collect, in formal array, the authorities of foreigners upon this important subject; although it may be as well to notice the strange manner in which Momoro, in hisTraité elémentaire de L'Imprimerie, p. 185, refers us to an elucidation of the Gothic letter ('appelé du nom de certains peuples qui vinrent s'établir dans la Gothie, plus de quatre cens ans avant J.C.') in one of the plates of Fournier'sDictionnaire Typographique: vol. ii. p. 205—which, in truth, resembles anything but the Gothic type, as understood by modern readers.—Smith and Mr. Stower have the hardihood to rejoice at the present general extinction of the black-letter. They were not, probably, aware of Hearne's eulogy upon it—'As it is a reproach to us (says this renowned antiquary) that the Saxon language should be so forgot as to have but few (comparatively speaking) that are able to read it; so 'tis a greater reproach that theBlack-Letter, which was the character so much in use in our grandfathers' days, should be now (as it were) disused and rejected; especially when we know the best editions of our English Bible and Common-Prayer (to say nothing of other books) are printed in it.'Robert of Gloucester's Chronicle: vol. i., p.lxxxv. I presume the editor and publisher of the forth-coming fac-simile re-impression of Juliana Barnes's Book of Hawking, Hunting, &c., are of the same opinion with Hearne: and are resolved upon eclipsing even the black-letter reputation of the afore-named Wynkyn De Worde.—A pleasant black-letter anecdote is told by Chevillier, of his having picked up, on a bookseller's stall, the first edition of theSpeculum SalutissiveHumanæ Salvationis(one of the rarest volumes in the class of those printed in the middle of the fifteenth century) for the small sum of four livres!L'Origine de l'Imprimerie; p. 281. This extraordinary event soon spread abroad, and was circulated in every bibliographical journal. Schelhorn noticed it in hisAmœnitates Literariæ: vol. iv. 295-6: and so did Maichelius in hisIntrod. ad Hist. Lit. et Præcip. Bibl. Paris, p. 122. Nor has it escaped the notice of a more recent foreign bibliographer. Ameilhon makes mention of Chevillier's good fortune; adding that the work was 'un de ces livres rares au premièr degré, qu' unbon Bibliomanene peut voir sans trépigner de joie, si j'ose m'exprimer ainsi.'Mem. de l'Institut. vol. ii. 485-6. This very copy, which was in the Sorbonne, is now in the Imperial, library at Paris.Ibid.A similar, though less important, anecdote is here laid before the reader from a communication sent to me by Mr. Wm. Hamper of Birmingham. '"Tusser's Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry, black-letter, sewed," was valued atsixpence, in a catalogue of a small Collection of Books on the sale at the shop of Mr. William Adams, Loughborough, in the year 1804: and, after in vain suing the coy collector at this humble price, remained unsold to the present year, 1809, when (thanks to yourBibliomania!) it broughta Golden Guinea.'—I have myself been accused of 'an admiration to excess' of black-letter lore; and of recommending it in every shape, and by every means, directly and indirectly. Yet I have surely not said or done any thing half so decisive in recommendation of it as did our great moralist, Dr. Johnson: who thus introduces the subject in one of his periodical papers.—'The eldest and most venerable of this society, wasHirsutus: who, after the first civilities of my reception, found means to introduce the mention of his favourite studies, by a severe censure of those who want the due regard for their native country. He informed me that he had early withdrawn his attention from foreign trifles, and that since he begun to addict his mind to serious and manly studies, he had very carefully amassed all theEnglish booksthat were printed in theBlack-Letter. This search he had pursued so diligently that he was able to show the deficiencies of the best catalogues. He had long since completed hisCaxton, had three sheets ofTreveris, unknown to antiquaries, and wanted to a perfect [collection of]Pynsonbut two volumes: of which one was promised him as a legacy by its present possessor, and the other he was resolved to buy at whatever price, when Quisquilius' library should be sold. Hirsutus had no other reason for the valuing or slighting a book than that it was printed in the Roman or the Gothick letter, nor any ideas but such as his favourite volumes had supplied: when he was serious, he expatiated on the narratives ofJohan de Trevisa, and, when he was merry, regaled us with a quotation from theShippe of Fools.'Rambler, no. 177.—Nor was the Doctor himself quite easy and happy 'till he had sold, in the character of abookseller, a few volumes—probably of black-letter celebrity. Mr. Boswell relates that 'During the last visit which the Doctor made to Litchfield, the friends, with whom he was staying missed him one morning at the breakfast table. On inquiring after him of the servants, they understood that he had set off from Litchfield at a very early hour, without mentioning to any of the family whither he was going. The day passed without the return of the illustrious guest, and the party began to be very uneasy on his account, when, just before the supper hour, the door opened, and the Doctor stalked into the room. A solemn silence of a few minutes ensued; nobody daring to enquire the cause of his absence, which was at length relieved by Johnson addressing the lady of the house as follows: "Madam, I beg your pardon for the abruptness of my departure this morning, but I was constrained to it by myconscience. Fifty years ago, Madam, on this day, I committed a breach of filial piety, which has ever since lain heavy on my mind, and has not until this day been expiated. My father, you recollect, was a bookseller, and had long been in the habit of attendingWalsall Market; and opening a stall for the sale of his books during that day. Confined to his bed by indisposition, he requested of me, this time fifty years ago, to visit the market, and attend the stall in his place. But, Madam, my pride prevented me from doing my duty, and I gave my father a refusal. To do away the sin of this disobedience, I this day went in a post-chaise to Walsall, and going into the market at the time of high business, uncovered my head, and stood with it bare an hour before the stall which my father had formerly used, exposed to the sneers of the by-standers, and the inclemency of the weather: a penance, by which I have propitiated Heaven for this only instance, I believe, of contumacy towards my father."'—Is it not probable that Dr. Johnson himself might have sold forsixpence, aTusser, which now would have brought a 'golden guinea?'
A perusal of these prices may probably not impress the reader with any lofty notions of the superiority of the black-letter; but this symptom of the Bibliomania is,nevertheless, not to be considered as incurable, or wholly unproductive of good. Under a proper spirit of modification, it has done, and will continue to do, essential service to the cause of English literature. It guided the taste, and strengthened the judgment, of Tyrwhitt in his researches after Chaucerian lore. It stimulated the studies of Farmer and Steevens, and enabled them to twine many a beauteous flower round the brow of their beloved Shakspeare.
It has since operated, to the same effect, in the labour of Mr. Douce,[455]thePorsonof old English and French Literature; and in the editions of Milton and Spenser, by my amiable and excellent friend Mr. Todd, the public have had a specimen of what theBlack-Lettermay perform, when temperately and skilfully exercised.
[455]In the criticisms which have passed upon Mr.Douce's"Illustrations of Shakspeare and Ancient Manners," it has not, I think, been generally noticed that this work is distinguished for the singular diffidence and urbanity of criticism, as well as depth of learning, which it evinces; and for the happy illustrations of the subjects discussed by means of fac-simile wood-cuts.
[455]In the criticisms which have passed upon Mr.Douce's"Illustrations of Shakspeare and Ancient Manners," it has not, I think, been generally noticed that this work is distinguished for the singular diffidence and urbanity of criticism, as well as depth of learning, which it evinces; and for the happy illustrations of the subjects discussed by means of fac-simile wood-cuts.
I could bring to your recollection other instances; but your own memories will better furnish you with them. Let me not, however, omit remarking that the beautiful pages of the 'Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border' and 'Sir Tristrem' exhibit, in the notes, (now and then thickly studded with black-letter references) a proof that the author of 'The Lay,' 'Marmion,' and 'The Lady of the Lake,' has not disdained to enrich his stores with such intelligence as black-letter books impart. In short, although this be a strong and general symptom of the Bibliomania, it is certainly not attended with injurious effects when regulated by prudence and discretion. An undistinguishable voracious appetite to swallowevery thing, because printed in the black-letter, must necessarily bring on an incurable disease, and, consequently, premature dissolution.
There is yet one other, and a somewhat generally prevailing, symptom, indicative of the prevalence of theBibliomania; and this consists in a fondness for books which have been printed forPrivate Distribution[456]only, or at aprivate press. What is executed for a few, will be coveted by many; because the edge of curiosity is whetted, from a supposition that something very extraordinary, or very curious, or very uncommon,is propagated in this said book, so partially distributed. As to works printed at aPrivate Press, we have had a very recent testimony of the avidity with which certain volumes, executed in this manner, and of which the impression has been comparatively limited, have been sought after by bookCognoscenti.
[456]The reader may not object to be made acquainted with a few distinguished productions, printed forprivate distribution. The reader is indebted to Mr. Bulmer, at whose elegant press these works were printed, for the information which follows:—Museum Worsleyanum; by SirRichard Worsley; 1798, 1802, Atlas Folio, 2 vols. The first volume of this work, of which 200 copies were printed, was finished in May, 1798, and circulated, with the plates only of vol. ii., amongst the chosen friends of Sir Richard Worsley, the author; who was, at that time, the diplomatic Resident at Venice from our Court. The second volume, with the letter-press complete, of which only 100 copies were printed, was finished in 1802. The entire expense attending this rare and sumptuous publication (of which a copy is in the library of the Royal Institution) amounted to the enormous sum of 27,000l.and from the irregularity of delivering the second volume of plates, in the first instance, without the letter-press, many of the copies are incomplete.——The Father's Revenge;by the Earl of Carlisle, K.G.&c., 1800, 4to. A limited impression of this very beautiful volume, decorated with engravings from the pencil of Westall, was circulated by the noble author among his friends. I saw a copy of it, bound in green morocco, with the original letter of the donor, in the library of Earl Spencer at Althorp.——Mount St. Gothard:By the late Duchess of Devonshire, folio. Only fifty copies of this brilliant volume were printed; to a few of which, it is said, Lady Diana Beauclerc lent the aid of her ornamental pencil, in some beautiful drawings of the wild and romantic scenery in the neighbourhood of Mount St. Gothard.——Dissertation on Etruscan Vases;by Mr. Christie. Imperial 4to. With elegant Engravings. Only 100 copies of this truly classical volume were printed. From the death of one or two of the parties, who became originally possessed of it, as a present from the author, it has fallen to the lot of Mr. Christie to become, professionally, the vender of a work which he himself never meant to be sold. A copy was very lately disposed of, in this manner, for 14l.——Bentleii Epistolæ;Edited by[the Rev.]Dr. Charles Burney: 1807, 4to. This is one of the most beautiful productions of the Shakspeare press; nor are the intrinsic merits of the volume inferior to its external splendour. The scarcer copies of it are those in medium quarto; of which only 50 were printed: of the imperial quarto, there were 150 executed.—I add two more similar examples, which were not printed at the Shakspeare press:—Lord Baltimore'sGaudia Poetica; Lat. Angl. et Gall. with plates. (No date). Large quarto. Only ten copies of this rare volume were printed, and those distributed among the author's friends: a copy of it was sold for 6l.10s.at the sale of Mr. Reed's books: see Bibl. Reed, no. 6682. It was inserted for sale in the catalogue of Mr. Burnham, bookseller at Northampton, A.D. 1796—with a note of its rarity subjoined.——Views in Orkneyand on theNorth-Eastern Coast of Scotland. Taken in 1805. Etched 1807. Folio.By the Marchioness of Stafford.—The letter-press consists of twenty-seven pages: the first of which bears this unassuming designation; "Some Account of the Orkney Islands, extracted from Dr. Barry's History, and Wallace's and Brand's Descriptions of Orkney." To this chapter or division is prefixed a vignette ofStroma; and the chapter ends at p. 5. Then follow four views of the Orkney Islands.—The next chapter is entitled "The Cathedral of Kirkwall," which at the beginning exhibits a vignette of theCathedral of St. Magnus, and at the close, at p. 9, a vignette of aTomb in the Cathedral. To these succeed two plates, presenting Views of theInside of the Cathedral, and anArch in the Cathedral.—The third chapter commences at p. 11, with "The Earl of Orkney's Palace," to which a vignette of aStreet in Kirkwallis prefixed. It ends at p. 12, and is followed by a plate exhibiting a view of theDoor-way of the Earl's Palace; by another of theHall of the Earl's Palace; and by a third containing two Views, namely, theInside of the Hall, and, upon a larger scale, theChimney in the Hall.—"The Bay of the Frith" is the subject of the fourth chapter; which exhibits at the beginning a vignette of theHills of Hoy. It closes at p. 14, with a vignette ofThe Dwarfy Stone. Then follow six plates, containing a view of theBay of Frith, aView from Hoy, two views of theEastern and Western Circles of the Stones of Stennis, and two views ofStromness.—The next chapter is entitled "Duncansbay or Dungsby-head," which bears in front a vignette ofWick, and at the end, in p. 16, a vignette of theCastle of Freswick. Three plates follow: the first presenting a view ofDuncansbay-Head: the second, Views of theStacks of Hemprigsand theHills of Schrabiner or Schuraben; the third, a View ofThe Ord.—"The Castle of Helmsdale" is the title of the succeeding chapter, to which is prefixed a vignette ofHelmsdale Castle. It ends at p. 19, with a vignette of theBridge of Brora. Then follow two plates, presenting Views ofHelmsdale Castle, and theCoast of Sutherland.—The subject of the next chapter is "Dunrobin Castle," (the ancient seat of her Ladyship's ancestors, and now a residence of her Ladyship,) which presents, at the beginning, a vignette ofDunrobin Castle, and after the close of the chapter, at p. 23, four plates; the first of which is a View ofDunrobin Castleand the surrounding scenery; the second, a smaller View of theCastle: the third, a View ofDruid Stones, with another ofBattle Stones in Strathflete: and the fourth,Dornoch, with the Thane's Cross.—The last chapter is entitled "The Chapel of Rosslyn," to which is prefixed a vignette ofRosslyn Chapel. It is followed by four plates; the first exhibiting a View of aColumn in Rosslyn Chapel; the second, aDoor-way in the Chapel; the third, theTomb of Sir William St. Clair; and the fourth,Hawthornden, the residence of the elegant and plaintive Drummond; with whose beautiful Sonnet, to this his romantic habitation, the volume closes:"Dear wood! and you, sweet solitary place,Where I estranged from the vulgar live," &c.Of the volume which had been thus described, only 120 copies were printed. The Views were all drawn and etched by her Ladyship: and are executed with a spirit and correctness which would have done credit to the most successful disciple of Rembrandt. A copy of the work, which had been presented to the late Right Hon. C.F. Greville, produced, at the sale of his books, the sum of sixteen guineas.
[456]The reader may not object to be made acquainted with a few distinguished productions, printed forprivate distribution. The reader is indebted to Mr. Bulmer, at whose elegant press these works were printed, for the information which follows:—Museum Worsleyanum; by SirRichard Worsley; 1798, 1802, Atlas Folio, 2 vols. The first volume of this work, of which 200 copies were printed, was finished in May, 1798, and circulated, with the plates only of vol. ii., amongst the chosen friends of Sir Richard Worsley, the author; who was, at that time, the diplomatic Resident at Venice from our Court. The second volume, with the letter-press complete, of which only 100 copies were printed, was finished in 1802. The entire expense attending this rare and sumptuous publication (of which a copy is in the library of the Royal Institution) amounted to the enormous sum of 27,000l.and from the irregularity of delivering the second volume of plates, in the first instance, without the letter-press, many of the copies are incomplete.——The Father's Revenge;by the Earl of Carlisle, K.G.&c., 1800, 4to. A limited impression of this very beautiful volume, decorated with engravings from the pencil of Westall, was circulated by the noble author among his friends. I saw a copy of it, bound in green morocco, with the original letter of the donor, in the library of Earl Spencer at Althorp.——Mount St. Gothard:By the late Duchess of Devonshire, folio. Only fifty copies of this brilliant volume were printed; to a few of which, it is said, Lady Diana Beauclerc lent the aid of her ornamental pencil, in some beautiful drawings of the wild and romantic scenery in the neighbourhood of Mount St. Gothard.——Dissertation on Etruscan Vases;by Mr. Christie. Imperial 4to. With elegant Engravings. Only 100 copies of this truly classical volume were printed. From the death of one or two of the parties, who became originally possessed of it, as a present from the author, it has fallen to the lot of Mr. Christie to become, professionally, the vender of a work which he himself never meant to be sold. A copy was very lately disposed of, in this manner, for 14l.——Bentleii Epistolæ;Edited by[the Rev.]Dr. Charles Burney: 1807, 4to. This is one of the most beautiful productions of the Shakspeare press; nor are the intrinsic merits of the volume inferior to its external splendour. The scarcer copies of it are those in medium quarto; of which only 50 were printed: of the imperial quarto, there were 150 executed.—I add two more similar examples, which were not printed at the Shakspeare press:—Lord Baltimore'sGaudia Poetica; Lat. Angl. et Gall. with plates. (No date). Large quarto. Only ten copies of this rare volume were printed, and those distributed among the author's friends: a copy of it was sold for 6l.10s.at the sale of Mr. Reed's books: see Bibl. Reed, no. 6682. It was inserted for sale in the catalogue of Mr. Burnham, bookseller at Northampton, A.D. 1796—with a note of its rarity subjoined.——Views in Orkneyand on theNorth-Eastern Coast of Scotland. Taken in 1805. Etched 1807. Folio.By the Marchioness of Stafford.—The letter-press consists of twenty-seven pages: the first of which bears this unassuming designation; "Some Account of the Orkney Islands, extracted from Dr. Barry's History, and Wallace's and Brand's Descriptions of Orkney." To this chapter or division is prefixed a vignette ofStroma; and the chapter ends at p. 5. Then follow four views of the Orkney Islands.—The next chapter is entitled "The Cathedral of Kirkwall," which at the beginning exhibits a vignette of theCathedral of St. Magnus, and at the close, at p. 9, a vignette of aTomb in the Cathedral. To these succeed two plates, presenting Views of theInside of the Cathedral, and anArch in the Cathedral.—The third chapter commences at p. 11, with "The Earl of Orkney's Palace," to which a vignette of aStreet in Kirkwallis prefixed. It ends at p. 12, and is followed by a plate exhibiting a view of theDoor-way of the Earl's Palace; by another of theHall of the Earl's Palace; and by a third containing two Views, namely, theInside of the Hall, and, upon a larger scale, theChimney in the Hall.—"The Bay of the Frith" is the subject of the fourth chapter; which exhibits at the beginning a vignette of theHills of Hoy. It closes at p. 14, with a vignette ofThe Dwarfy Stone. Then follow six plates, containing a view of theBay of Frith, aView from Hoy, two views of theEastern and Western Circles of the Stones of Stennis, and two views ofStromness.—The next chapter is entitled "Duncansbay or Dungsby-head," which bears in front a vignette ofWick, and at the end, in p. 16, a vignette of theCastle of Freswick. Three plates follow: the first presenting a view ofDuncansbay-Head: the second, Views of theStacks of Hemprigsand theHills of Schrabiner or Schuraben; the third, a View ofThe Ord.—"The Castle of Helmsdale" is the title of the succeeding chapter, to which is prefixed a vignette ofHelmsdale Castle. It ends at p. 19, with a vignette of theBridge of Brora. Then follow two plates, presenting Views ofHelmsdale Castle, and theCoast of Sutherland.—The subject of the next chapter is "Dunrobin Castle," (the ancient seat of her Ladyship's ancestors, and now a residence of her Ladyship,) which presents, at the beginning, a vignette ofDunrobin Castle, and after the close of the chapter, at p. 23, four plates; the first of which is a View ofDunrobin Castleand the surrounding scenery; the second, a smaller View of theCastle: the third, a View ofDruid Stones, with another ofBattle Stones in Strathflete: and the fourth,Dornoch, with the Thane's Cross.—The last chapter is entitled "The Chapel of Rosslyn," to which is prefixed a vignette ofRosslyn Chapel. It is followed by four plates; the first exhibiting a View of aColumn in Rosslyn Chapel; the second, aDoor-way in the Chapel; the third, theTomb of Sir William St. Clair; and the fourth,Hawthornden, the residence of the elegant and plaintive Drummond; with whose beautiful Sonnet, to this his romantic habitation, the volume closes:
Of the volume which had been thus described, only 120 copies were printed. The Views were all drawn and etched by her Ladyship: and are executed with a spirit and correctness which would have done credit to the most successful disciple of Rembrandt. A copy of the work, which had been presented to the late Right Hon. C.F. Greville, produced, at the sale of his books, the sum of sixteen guineas.
Lis. You allude to theStrawberry HillPress?[457]