History.
30. History is a somewhat wide subject, for it comprises descriptions of any epoch or sequence of events in the existence of anything! We can read histories of the Glacial Age or of Charles II, of the Quakers or Tasmania, of the life of a cabbage or the Crimean War. Even a dissertation on the development of the inkpot would be deemed history nowadays. For the present, however, we will confine ourselves to that branch of it which treats of thehuman element, nations and communities, and events in their development. We must include travels, politics, diaries, memoirs, and biographies, for all of these are indispensable adjuncts. The voyages of Columbus, the Greville Papers, the Memoirs of Fezensac, and the Paston Letters are no less history than Freeman's 'Norman Conquest,' Froude's 'Armada,' or Napier's 'Peninsular War.' It is a student's subject, and as rational a branch of book-collecting as there be. The collecting of early editions of the chroniclers, English or foreign, is an interesting by-way. The series of British Chronicles issued under the direction of the Master of the Rolls is a fairly complete one, and the works of many other early historians have been published from time to time by the learned societies. A lengthy list of bibliographies is given in Mr. Courtney's work, and there are useful bibliographies at the end of each volume of the 'Cambridge Modern History.'
Under this heading we will include 'Events'; such as the Armada, the Great Fire of London, the Gordon Riots, the '45, but not, I think, the French Revolution or the Napoleonic Era, the literatures of which are of such magnitude as to demand separate headings. There are collections of books on all these subjects and many similar ones which fall naturally under the heading 'History.'
Husbandry.
31. The word 'husbandry' has an old-world flavour now: the classical 'agriculture' is preferred. It is a change, however, that we bookworms and curious antiquaries in nowise relish. The old English or Scandinavian term which came to us from our forefathers is more seemly to our mind than the modern Latin importation. Nowadays any word is better than one drawn from our old English tongue. We may not speak of anything so indelicate as a belly, but we can mention an abdomen in the politest society. Provided we denote them by their Latin or Greek names, we may even mention any parts of our viscera (I may not say bowels) without raising a blush. Mention themin English, and we are at once boors and churls. But the husbandman's occupation has changed with the language. Originally he was merely a hus-bondi, or house-inhabitor, though probably he had more to do with agriculture than the farmer who ousted him. The 'fermor' farmed or rented certain land from his overlord, making what he could out of the tenants on it. And in time even the word 'farmer' will pass out of use. Just as the charwoman to-day insists upon a fictitious gentility, so in years to come the farmer will denote himself an agriculturist, possibly with the epithet 'scientific.' We no longer talk of villeins and carles; both have become sadly perverted in their meaning, although the dictionary still allows the latter to mean 'a strong man.' But, it hastens to add, vindictively, 'generally an old or a rude-mannered one.' So is our language changing.
They are quaint volumes, the older treatises on husbandry, and for the most part they contain an extraordinary medley of information. There is a charm about their titles and language that few other classes of books possess. Poultry, we know, can be obstinate wildfowl, but who nowadays would write of their 'husbandlye ordring and governmente'? Such was the title of Mascall's work put forth in 1581. Pynson printed an interesting book on estate management in 1523 for, probably, John Fitzherbert: 'Here begynneth a ryght frutefull mater; and hath to name the boke of surveying and improuvements.' It is full of curious conceits, even concerning the good housewife who, says Gervase Markham in his 'Country Contentments,' 'must bee cleanly both in body and garments, she must have a quicke eye, a curious nose, a perfect taste, and ready eare.' But these volumes are not easy to find, even though the book-hunter's nose be as curious as a housewife's, and, when perfect, are of considerable value. Tusser's curious rhyming 'Hundred good pointes of husbandrie,' enlarged later to 'Five Hundred Pointes,' is perhaps the commonest of these earlier works. Between 1557 and 1599 it went through eight editions, though the first isknown only by the unique copy in the British Museum. A useful list of writers upon agricultural subjects from 1200 to 1800 appeared in 1908. It is by Mr. D. McDonald.
Illustrated Books.
32. Illustrated Books and Books of Engravings might perhaps have been included as a sub-heading to 'the Fine Arts'; but they form a distinct class and so frequently engage the attention of specialists, that our book-hunter has thought fit to put them in a class by themselves. Some will have only those volumes illustrated by one of the Cruikshank brothers, others prefer Blake's or Bewick's designs, and so on. Some again cleave to the volumes illustrated by Paul Avril or Adolf Lalauze, Kate Greenaway or Randolph Caldecott. With regard to the early book-illustrators, several text-books that will be useful to those who specialise in this subject have been mentioned in the chapter dealing with the Books of the Collector. An excellent conspectus of book illustration, from the earliest times to the present day, is contained in the fifth chapter of 'The Book: its History and Development,' by Mr. Cyril Davenport (octavo, 1907). At the end is a useful list of English and foreign works on book-illustration and its various methods. 'A Descriptive Bibliography of Books in English relating to Engraving and the Collection of Prints' by Mr. Howard C. Levis, was put forth in 1912.
Legal.
33. Law need not detain us. Its literature has not merely kept pace with, but has far outstripped, the growth of English Law; and it extends back at least to the 'Tractatus de Legibus' of Ranulf de Glanville, the great Justiciar under Henryii.The collector of ancient law books will probably be a member of one of the four great London seats of law, or at least have access to their famous libraries; there are printed catalogues of all of them. The Advocates' Library at Edinburgh, too, possesses a magnificent collection of ancient law books. A catalogue of it was published by David Irving in 1831, and more recently in seven quarto volumes, 1867 to 1879. If you collect old French'coutumiers,' Cooper's 'Catalogue of Books on the Laws and Jurisprudence of France' may be useful to you. It was printed in octavo, 1849.
Liturgies.
34. The collection of Liturgies is a subject that usually goes hand in hand with the collection of Bibles and theological works. But it is for all that a distinct subject, and may well engage the undivided attention of the collector. 'A New History of the Book of Common Prayer,' by Messrs. Proctor and Frere, is perhaps at present the standard work upon the history of our English prayer book. The latest edition is dated 1914, and it is published by the house of Macmillan. The Rev. W. H. J. Weale's 'Bibliographia Liturgica, Catalogus Missalium, Ritus Latini ab anno 1475 impressorum' appeared in 1886. The Henry Bradshaw Society was founded in 1890 for the publication of rare liturgical tracts; whilst Maskell's 'Ancient Liturgy of the Church of England' (third edition, octavo, 1882) contains a collection of the service books in use in England before the Reformation.
Locally-printed Books.
35. Locally-printed books is a heading of considerable interest from the bibliographical point of view. The term is a wide one, for the volumes it includes range from those printed in a particular country to those produced in an individual town. Has anyone yet attempted to form a collection of books printed in Barbadoes or Java, in Donegal or Dover? Probably; but I am unaware of any attempts at bibliographies. With the growth of the public library in every town of importance throughout the kingdom, there are increasing opportunities for valuable work in this direction; and every year should see the issue of bibliographies by those institutions, works which would contain not merely a list of books printed in each particular town, but a history of printing in that place.
Mr. Falconer Madan's 'Oxford Books' may well serve as a model for such works. It was published in two octavo volumes at Oxford in 1895 and 1912 respectively, the firstvolume being concerned with the productions of the early presses of that town. There are useful lists of books which issued from the early presses of Scotland by Mr. H. G. Aldis, and Ireland by Mr. E. R. McC. Dix. 'The Annals of Scottish Printing,' a large quarto by R. Dickson and J. P. Edmond, was printed at Cambridge in 1890. A model for the county bibliography is the 'Bibliotheca Cornubiensis' of Messrs. G. C. Boase and W. P. Courtney, produced in three octavo volumes, between 1874 and 1882; and there are accounts of the early presses in several English counties, as well as at Cambridge, York, Birmingham and other important towns. But a considerable amount of work has still to be done in this direction. A valuable little book appeared in 1912 issued by the Cambridge University Press. It is entitled 'The English Provincial Printers, Stationers, and Bookbinders, to 1557,' and is by Mr. E. Gordon Duff. There are accounts of the early presses at Oxford, St. Albans, Hereford, Exeter, York, Cambridge, Tavistock, Abingdon, Ipswich, Worcester and Canterbury; and it is a volume that should find a place on the shelf of every bibliophile.
There is an interesting byway in connection with this heading: the collection of English books printed abroad. Is there anywhere a collection of books in the English tongue printed at Paris? One constantly comes across such volumes, especially those issued during the first half of the nineteenth century. After that time, Bernhard Tauchnitz of Leipzig appears to have gathered into his hands the trade of English books printed abroad. Recently our book-hunter came across a curious example of these peregrine volumes. It is a narrow octavo of some three hundred pages, entitled 'An Introduction to the Field Sports of France,' and was printed by Auguste Lemaire at St. Omer (Pas de Calais) in 1846. At the end is the following note: 'The reader will make due allowance for any misprints he may discover, when apprised that the printer knows nothing of the english language, and they chiefly occur in the commencement of the work.' Evidently M. Lemairewarmed to his task as he went on. But the 'Dame of our Ladie of Comfort of the Order of S. Bennett in Cambray' who translated St. Francis de Sales' 'Delicious Entertainment of the Soule' was even more modest. Her version was printed at Douai by Gheerart Pinson in 1632, and apparently neither printer nor translator was very proud of the work, for in the 'Apology for Errors' we are told that 'the printer was a Wallon who understood nothing at all English, and the translatresse a woman that had not much skille in the French.' Still, imperfect though typography and translation be, between them they produced a book that is eagerly sought by collectors to-day.
This is a topic, however, that is full of pitfalls. Hundreds of European-printed books now bear Asiatic imprints; thousands of seventeenth and eighteenth century works printed at Paris bear the imprint of The Hague or some other Dutch town. Our English publishers have not been innocent of this charge either. Many a volume printed in Holland and Germany bears the London imprint. The original edition of Burton's translation of the 'Arabian Nights,' issued by him in London, claims to have been produced at Benares.[83]
Mathematical and Early Scientific.
36. 'The seconde parte of the catalogue of English printed bookes' for sale by Andrew Maunsell in 1595, concerned, we are told, 'the sciences mathematicall, as arithmetick, geometrie, astronomie, astrologie, musick, the arte of warre, and navigation.' But it is not my intention to include musick and the arte of warre here, this heading comprising those works which deal with mathematics and physics only, with their dependent subjects, such as (in addition to those mentioned by Master Maunsell) geodesy, mensuration of all kinds, meteorology, seismography, and books on chance and probabilities.
Sir Henry Billingsley's edition of Euclid's 'Elements' (1570) is naturally a rare book, as is John Blagrave's'Mathematical Jewel,' a folio issued in 1585. It is one of the earliest English books upon mathematics. Blagrave[84]was the author of a number of works on Geometry, Navigation, Dialling, etc.
For a history of mathematics you must turn to the four quarto volumes of that ingenious Frenchman, M. Jean Etienne Montucla. This work, the 'Histoire de Mathematiques,' first appeared in two volumes in 1758; but the author devoted the later years of his life to enlarging it and the new edition was published at Paris in 1799. It was reprinted in 1810. This mathematician is said to have written a treatise on squaring the circle, but our book-hunter has not yet come across a copy. 'A History of Ancient Astronomy' appeared at Paris (quarto) in 1775: it was by that great man who presided over the memorable assembly at the Tennis Court on the 20th June 1789, Jean Sylvain Bailly. Four years later he produced a history of Modern Astronomy from the foundation of the Alexandrian School to 1730 (three vols. quarto, Paris, 1779-82): and in 1787 came the History of Indian and Oriental Astronomy from the same pen. All these contain interesting details of the origin and progress of astronomical science, with the lives, writings, and discoveries of astronomers. With regard to our own great mathematician, Sir Isaac Newton, a bibliography of his works has been published by Mr. G. J. Gray; the second edition appeared at Cambridge in 1907.
Mr. D. E. Smith's 'Rara Arithmetica,' a catalogue of arithmetical works which appeared prior to the year 1601, was printed, in a limited edition, at Boston (United States) in 1908. It is a sumptuously produced work in two large octavo volumes, copiously illustrated. Professor de Morgan's'Arithmetical Books from the Invention of Printing to the Present Time' contains brief notices of a large number of works 'drawn up from actual inspection.' It was published—a thin octavo of 124 pages—in 1847, and the books are arranged chronologically; but there is an index of authors.
Medical.
37. The collection of early medical books is a hobby that must appeal chiefly to the chirurgeon. Its sub-headings are not numerous, and each comprises volumes of considerable bibliographical interest. There are curious books on 'poysons' as well as upon the commoner branches of surgery, and there are glorious editions of all the ancient Æsculapians, such as Hippocrates, Dioscorides, Galen, and Avicenna. Herbals are doubtless collected by many who are not possessed of medical knowledge, and a number of them treat more of simples and housewifery than leechcraft, which is probably one reason of their attraction for the non-medical collector. But as these volumes in general are so inextricably bound up with the science of healing, I have thought fit to include them here. There is no denying that the fascination of these curious volumes, often (as in Fuch's magnificent tome) containing woodcuts that are a sheer delight to the bibliographer no less than to the botanist, is a strong one.
It is a moot point whether works on Early Chemistry or Alchemy should be included here or under the heading 'Occult,' seeing that they usually centre about the Elixir of Life and the Philosopher's Stone. Perhaps they would be classed more accurately with Early Scientific. But for the purposes of our list I have reserved that heading for those books which treat of mathematics and physics only. With the early works upon astrology we need not concern ourselves here: they have more to do with divination and horoscopes than the craft of healing, so their appeal is chiefly to the student of the occult. It is impossible, however, to classify under one heading all those early works which treat of the beginnings of scientific knowledge. The star-gazer, theherbalist, the necromancer, and the leech, must be content to share among themselves a class of books which deals generally with the search into the Great Unknown.
A useful catalogue of books on Alchemy was printed in two large quarto volumes at Glasgow in 1906. It is by Professor John Ferguson, and is entitled 'Bibliotheca Chemica,' being a list of the hermetic books in the library of Mr. James Young. The three volumes entitled 'Leechdoms, Wortcunning, and Starcraft of Early England' by the Rev. Oswald Cockayne, published in the 'Rolls' series, 1864-66, contain a valuable contribution to the early medical science of this country. Dr. J. F. Payne's 'English Medicine in the Anglo-Saxon Times' (the Fitz-Patrick Lectures for 1903) is for the most part a dissertation on that work.
Some of the prescriptions of these early leeches are rather quaint. 'If a man's head burst . . . let him take roots of this same wort, and bind them on his neck. Then cometh to him good benefit.' The following is an excellent remedy for toothache: 'Sing this for toothache after the sun hath gone down—"Caio Laio quaque voaque ofer saeloficia sleah manna wyrm." Then name the man and his father, then say: "Lilimenne, it acheth beyond everything; when it lieth low it cooleth; when on earth it burneth hottest; finit. Amen."' If after this the tooth still continues to ache beyond everything, it is evident that there is a wyrm in it. For stomach-ache, you must press the left thumb upon the stomach and say 'Adam bedam alam betar alam botum.' This is infallible.
Collections of medical authors began at an early date. Van der Linden's 'De Scriptis Medicis, libri duo' appeared first at Amsterdam in 1637, octavo—a valuable list of authors and the editions of their works. But it was reprinted with additions several times during the author's lifetime (he died in 1664); and in 1686 appeared at Nürnberg as a thick quarto entitled 'Lindenius Renovatus.' Dr. E. T. Withington's 'Medical History from the Earliest Times,' octavo, 1894, isuseful for reference; whilst Dr. Norman Moore has recently produced (Oxford, 1908) a 'History of the Study of Medicine in the British Isles.' Dr. E. J. Waring's 'Bibliotheca Therapeutica' was published in two octavo volumes by the New Sydenham Society in 1878-79. It is a list of the books which have been written on each individual drug, classes of medicines, and general therapeutics. There is an index of authors. The first volume of Albrecht von Haller's 'Bibliotheca Anatomica' was published at London 'in vico vulgo dicto The Strand' in 1774; the second volume at Zurich in 1777. Both are in quarto, and are biographical as well as bibliographical. The same author published a 'Bibliotheca Chirurgica' and a 'Bibliotheca Medicinae Practicae' at Berne and Basel between 1774 and 1788. His 'Bibliotheca Botanica,' two quarto volumes, appeared at Zurich in 1771-72. For other writers upon Botany you must consult Curtius Sprengel's 'Historia Rei Herbariae,' two octavo volumes which appeared at Amsterdam in 1807 and 1808. 'A Guide to the Literature of Botany' by B. D. Jackson was issued by the Index Society in 1881. Jean Jacques Manget, a Geneva physician who died in 1742 at the age of ninety-one, was another voluminous compiler of bibliographies upon medical subjects.
Military.
38. Under the heading 'Military' are included not only historical accounts of military operations but those works which treat of the military art and the progress of its development. Obviously it is a subject that is as old as mankind, and dissertations on drill with the stone battle-axe must find a place here. Many of the books on Arms and Armour (such as Sir Samuel Meyrick's beautiful folio volumes) are fine works, and some of the earlier publications on Castramentation and Siege operations are interesting. We must not forget to mention the beautiful little Elzevier 'Cæsar' of 1536. It is a wide heading, for such books as the Commentaries of Blaise de Montluc and the Memoirs of Olivier de la Marche must be included, as they deal in largepart with military operations. Books on Archery, Fencing, and Duelling are also comprised by this heading.
If this be your subject, our book-hunter trusts that you have been more successful than he has in your quest for the 'Traicté de l'Espée Françoise, par Maistre Jean Savaron' (small octavo, Paris, 1610). He narrowly missed a copy in Paris some years ago, and so far this scarce little volume of fifty-six pages has eluded him as successfully as the 'Pastissier François.' Probably, on account of its slimness, it is usually bound up with more substantial works, and thus escapes the eyes of book-hunters and cataloguers. Savaron also wrote a 'Traicté contre les Duels,' which is equally scarce. Works on duelling are legion, and range from Carafa's rather large folio entitled 'De Monomachia seu de Duello,' Rome, 1647, down to the little 'Dissertation Historique sur les Duels et les Ordres de Chevalerie: Par Monsieur B * * * *,' which is by Master Jacques Basnage—a duodecimo produced first at Amsterdam in 1720. An Italian bibliography of this subject by J. Gelli and G. E. Levi appeared in 1903. For the most part they are uncommon works and not easy to find. It is a subject that borders closely on the Chivalry of our list, for of course that subject was (like Heraldry) entirely military in origin. A 'Bibliography of English Military Books up to 1642, and of Contemporary Foreign Works' was compiled by Captain M. J. D. Cockle and published in quarto in 1900. Mr. Carl Thimm's 'Art of Fence: a Complete Bibliography' appeared in 1891; an enlarged edition was put forth in 1896.
Music.
39. Books on Music may be divided conveniently into the numerous sub-headings which treat of particular instruments, songs, printed music generally, and accounts of the early musicians and their works. Treatises upon the violin are fairly numerous;[85]but I do not remember having come across many works on the Jew's harp or ocarina.There are interesting old books on the virginals, harpsichord, and spinet. Before the end of the fifteenth century a number of Missalia, Gradualia, Psalteria, and Libri Cantionum ('quas vulgo Mutetas appellant') had appeared from the press. The 'Theoricum Opus Musice Disciplina' of Franchino Gafori, or Gaffurius (which, by the way, is merely an abridgment of Boethius), is said to be the earliest printed treatise on music. It was printed first at Naples in 1480. Antiphonals and Troparies must also be included here.
A new edition of Grove's 'Dictionary of Music and Musicians,' by Mr. J. A. Fuller-Maitland, appeared in 1904. Dr. Charles Burney's 'General History of Music' occupied that great English musician between 1776 and 1789—four quarto volumes. 'The Literature of Music,' an octavo by Mr. J. E. Matthew, was put forth in the series known as the Booklovers' Library in 1896; whilst the 'Oxford History of Music,' edited by Dr. W. H. Hadow, appeared in six volumes between 1901 and 1905. M. Henry de Curzon's valuable work, 'Guide de l'Amateur d'Ouvrages sur la Musique,' was printed at Paris in 1901. For a bibliography of operas you must turn to the 'Dictionnaire des Opéras,' of MM. Clement and Larousse. Rimbault's 'Bibliotheca Madrigaliana,' which is a bibliographical account of the musical and poetical works published in England during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, appeared in 1847; and you will find a list of early songs, madrigals, and 'ayres' in the fourth volume of the 'Cambridge History of English Literature,' pages 463-6. Hazlitt's 'Catalogue of Early English Music in the Harleian Library,' was published in 1862. There are useful articles on early music printing, by Mr. R. Steele, in the Bibliographical Society's Journal for 1903, and by Mr. Barclay Squire in the third volume of 'Bibliographica.'
Napoleon.
40. The collector of books dealing with Napoleoni.has a somewhat narrow field to range in. There is a large number of English tracts and pamphlets that deal with the great man and his proposed invasion of England, as well as biographies,memoirs, and diaries concerning him. A collection of such works was formed in the later years of the nineteenth century by an insatiable Grangerite named Broadley, and in due time his library came under the hammer at Hodgson's. It was a remarkable collection: anything that concerned 'Boney,' however remotely, was grist to this collector's mill. A catalogue of his library was compiled and published by Mr. W. V. Daniel in 1905. M. Gustave Davois' 'Bibliographie Napoléonienne Française' to 1908 was printed in three octavo volumes at Paris, 1909-11. Of M. Kircheisen's 'Bibliographie du Temps de Napoléon,' two quarto volumes, published at Geneva in 1908 and 1912, have appeared up to the time of writing.
Natural History.
41. The early books on Natural History would probably be regarded by the modern zoologist as bibliographical curiosities rather than intelligent text-books; and truly the accounts of even the larger mammals given by these early observers of nature are extraordinary. Most of us will remember reading Caesar's description of the elks in the Hercynian forest, which slept leaning up against the trees because they had no joints in their legs. The inhabitants, cunning fellows, sought out the favoured trees and sawed them nearly through; so that when the unfortunate elks settled themselves to sleep, the booby-traps came into operation. Having no joints in their legs, the poor beasts were unable to rise, and so became an easy prey to the savage Teuton. Herodotus, too, was somewhat credulous in the matter of animals; Sir John Mandeville was not always to be trusted; and even Bernard von Breydenbach, who made a journey to the Holy Land about 1485, beheld strange beasts, like Spenser's giaunts, 'hard to be beleeved.' But perhaps the palm among these mediæval monsters is held by the eale, or, as it became later, the yale or jall; that strange beast which has survived—in effigy at least—unto our own times.
It appears that Pliny was the first to discover this singular animal, and his description of it is recorded in many of thosequaint mediæval natural history volumes known as 'Bestiaries.' The Reverend Edward Topsell, in his 'Historie of Foure-footed Beasts' (folio, 1607) thus describes it:
'There is bred in Ethiopia a certain strange beast about the bignesse of a sea-horse, being of colour blacke or brownish: it hath the cheeks of a Boare, the tayle of an Elephant, and hornes above a cubit long, which are moveable upon his head at his owne pleasure like eares; now standing one way, and anone moving another way, as he needeth in fighting with other Beastes, for they stand not stiffe but bend flexibly, and when he fighteth he always stretcheth out the one, and holdeth in the other, for purpose as it may seeme, that if one of them may be blunted or broken, then hee may defend himselfe with the other. It may well be compared to a sea-horse, for above all other places it loveth best the waters.'
Unfortunately no specimen has been seen by travellers for some years now, so probably it is quite extinct. Certainly you will not find a jall in the Zoo, or even at South Kensington, though you may see a very excellent statue of him on King Henryviii.'s bridge at Hampton Court.
There are numerous bibliographies of works upon all classes of animals, fish, flesh, and fowl—even the good red herring.[86]For these you must turn to Mr. W. P. Courtney's invaluable work. The 'Bibliographia Zoologiae et Geologiae, a General Catalogue of all Books on Zoology and Geology,' was compiled by L. Agassiz and H. E. Strickland for the Ray Society—four octavo volumes, published between 1848 and 1854. A 'Bibliotheca Entomologica,' by H. A. Hagen, appeared at Leipzig, two octavo volumes, in 1862-63.
Nautical and Naval.
42. The next subject, Nautical and Naval, will comprise chiefly borrowings from other headings; for it will necessarily include books of voyages and discoveries, works on navigation, meteorology, and oceanography, as well as geographical books, and such purely nautical volumes as dictionaries of themarine, the history of ships and shipping, and accounts of the navy and mercantile fleet. There is a number of early works on the astrolabe and globes, but you must not expect easily to come across 'The Rutter of the Sea,' printed by Robert Copland and Richard Bankes in 1528. It is the first English printed book on Navigation, being a translation of 'Le Grand Routier' of Pierre Garcie.
The Society for Nautical Research was founded in 1910, and it issues a monthly journal known as 'The Mariner's Mirror,' wherein are treated those subjects which pertain to the history of ships, sails, and rigging; in fact, everything that has to do with the evolution of the ship. The original 'Mariner's Mirrour' was a translation (by Anthony Ashley in 1588) of Wagenaar's 'Speculum Nauticum,' first published in 1583. Needless to say, it is a scarce work, as are all these Elizabethan volumes upon seafaring. In volumeiv.of the 'Cambridge History of English Literature' you will find two chapters on the literature of the sea from the pens of those great authorities Commander C. N. Robinson and Mr. John Leyland. If this be your subject, they will amply repay perusal. There is an excellent list of early works, pages 453 to 462.
Numismatics.
43. Numismatics is one of those subjects which generally engage the attentions of students rather than book-collectors, for the volumes upon coins and medals are necessarily text-books for the collector of these things. Such works are, of course, for the most part illustrated; and some of the older ones are of considerable interest on account of their engravings.
It is not only to the collector and 'curious antiquary,' however, that some of these works are valuable, for in them occasionally the historian is able to unearth matter scarcely obtainable elsewhere. Menestrier's 'Histoire du Roy Louis le Grand par les Medailles, Emblemes, Deuises, Jettons, Inscriptions, Armoiries, et autres Monumens Publics' (folio, Paris, 1693) is one of many such works. It not only containsengravings of every medal struck to commemorate the birth, life, marriage, actions, victories, processions, and entertainments of the Roi-Soleil (among them one commemorating the Siege of Londonderry in 1689), but it has a very fine folding plate of the Place des Victoires as it was in 1686. This engraving not only shows the famous monument erected to the glory of Louisxiv., and destroyed at the Revolution, but gives the details of the panels and a very full description of it. Thus we may have to hand all the inscriptions, mottoes, and dates which were graven upon that historic monument.
Occult.
44. Civilisation mates but ill with Romance, and for the passing of Superstition (the child of Imagination and Romance) none can shed a tear. Yet at least it served to raise our daily lives out of the rut of commonplace. Our pulses are no longer stirred at the mere mention of the wordmagic, and evenblack magicis coldly discussed where not so very long ago none would have dared to speak it save with 'bated breath.' Yet we are all mystics by birth, and scarce one of us there is who as a child has not experienced the fear of darkness. We cannot explain it, and though the child may soon be taught to laugh at his fear, yet none the less was he endowed with this unaccountable dread of theunknown.
Among real book-collectors probably this particular branch of specialism attracts but few; for the greater part of those who collect such works are students of the occult (whether serious or idle) and have no true love for their books quâ books. Seemingly it is an absorbing hobby, for those who devote their attention to necromancy soon become known among their friends.
'Philosophy is odious and obscure;Both Law and Physic are for petty wits;Divinity is basest of the three,Unpleasant, harsh, contemptible, and vile;'Tis magic, magic, that hath ravish'd me.'
'Philosophy is odious and obscure;Both Law and Physic are for petty wits;Divinity is basest of the three,Unpleasant, harsh, contemptible, and vile;'Tis magic, magic, that hath ravish'd me.'
Thus Doctor Faustus, the Gamaliel of those whose study are the arcana of nature and the world of shadows. Yet whether we be mystics or materialists what would not each one of us (not necessarily bibliophiles) give to possess the volume which Faustus had at the hands of Mephistophilis?
Meph.'Hold, take this book, peruse it thoroughly:The iterating of these lines brings gold;The framing of this circle on the groundBrings whirlwinds, tempests, thunder, and lightning;Pronounce this thrice devoutly to thyself,And men in armour shall appear to thee,Ready to execute what thou desir'st.'Faust.'Thanks, Mephistophilis; yet fain would I have a bookwherein I might behold all spells and incantations, that Imight raise up spirits when I please.'Meph.'Here they are in this book.' [Turns to them.]Faust.'Now would I have a book where I might see all charactersand planets of the heavens, that I might know theirmotions and dispositions.'Meph.'Here they are too.' [Turns to them.]Faust.'Nay, let me have one book more—and then I have done—whereinI might see all plants, herbs, and trees, thatgrow upon the earth.'Meph.'Here they be.'Faust.'Oh, thou art deceived.'Meph.'Tut, I warrant thee.' [Turns to them.]
Meph.'Hold, take this book, peruse it thoroughly:The iterating of these lines brings gold;The framing of this circle on the groundBrings whirlwinds, tempests, thunder, and lightning;Pronounce this thrice devoutly to thyself,And men in armour shall appear to thee,Ready to execute what thou desir'st.'
Faust.'Thanks, Mephistophilis; yet fain would I have a bookwherein I might behold all spells and incantations, that Imight raise up spirits when I please.'
Meph.'Here they are in this book.' [Turns to them.]
Faust.'Now would I have a book where I might see all charactersand planets of the heavens, that I might know theirmotions and dispositions.'
Meph.'Here they are too.' [Turns to them.]
Faust.'Nay, let me have one book more—and then I have done—whereinI might see all plants, herbs, and trees, thatgrow upon the earth.'
Meph.'Here they be.'
Faust.'Oh, thou art deceived.'
Meph.'Tut, I warrant thee.' [Turns to them.]
Truly a marvellous volume. The astronomical and herbal portions of it we can understand, and herein doubtless the 'Encyclopædia Britannica' could give it points, though possibly in a less handy shape. But even Wecker's 'De Secretis' fails lamentably when it comes to producing whirlwinds or men in armour. As it is to be presumed, however, that the doctor returned the volume at length to the owner in person, it is unlikely that the book-collector will ever behold it—at least in this world.
It is a wide subject, this heading 'Occult,' and includes works on Alchemy, Apparitions, Astrology, Cheiromancy, Demonology, Devil Lore, Evil Spirit Possession, the Evil Eye, Hermetic Philosophy, Magic white and black, Phrenology, Physiognomy, Prophecy, Sorcery and Divination, PopularSuperstitions, Vampires, and Witchcraft. We can even include Conjuring! Early-printed books on all these subjects are legion, and the numerous works on Lycanthropy or Werewolves, must also find a place under this heading. Claude Prieur's curious work is rare though not particularly valuable; it is a duodecimo printed at Louvain in 1596, and is entitled 'Dialogue de la Lycantropie ou transformation d'hommes en loups, vulgairement dit Loups-garous . . . .' Books on Monsters must also be included here. Dr. Ernest Martin's 'Histoire des Monstres,' octavo, Paris, 1879, contains a bibliography of this curious subject. The Rev. Timothy Harley's 'Moon Lore'—another out-of-the-way heading—also contains twenty-five pages of bibliography. It was printed in 1885.
Savonarola's 'Compendium Revelationum,' the work which probably hastened him to the stake, you will come across most easily in the anonymous 'Mirabilis Liber,' which appeared at Paris first in 1522. This curious work also contains the prophecies of Methodius (Bemechobus), the Sibyls, Augustinus, Birgitta, Lichtenberger, Joachim, Antonio, Catherine of Siena, Severus, J. de Vatiguerro, G. Baugé, and J. de la Rochetaillée. Indagine, the author of a curious book on cheiromancy, physiognomy, and astrology, was really Johann of Hagen, a German Carthusian who died in 1475.
There is a list of some books on Witchcraft, Demonology, and Astrology in the seventh volume of the 'Cambridge History of English Literature,' pages 503 to 511; though curiously it omits one of the most interesting and best-known works on demon-lore—the 'De Natura Daemonum' of Jean Laurent Anania, a small octavo produced by Aldus at Venice in 1589. It is an interesting little work which treats of the origin of demons and their influence on men. The first volume of Mr. F. Leigh Gardner's valuable 'Catalogue Raisonné of Works on the Occult Sciences' appeared in 1903. It contains books on the Rosicrucians. The second volume, dealing with astrological works, was issued in 1911; and the third, books on Freemasonry, in 1912—three slimoctavo volumes. Professor John Ferguson's 'Witchcraft Literature of Scotland' appeared at Edinburgh in 1897. A scarce anonymous work was put forth at London in 1815, with the title 'The Lives of Alchemistical Philosophers; with a critical catalogue of books in occult chemistry, and a selection of the most celebrated treatises on the theory and practice of the Hermetic Art.' It contains (pp. 95-112) a list of 751 alchemical books. J. J. Manget's 'Bibliotheca Chemica Curiosa, seu rerum ad Alchemiam pertinentium Thesaurus,' was printed in two folio volumes at Geneva in 1702.
Pamphlets and Tracts.
45. The collecting of Pamphlets and Tracts is an interesting byway of book-collecting. They are of almost every description under the sun. Some collectors will have those that deal with Parliamentary proceedings, some specialise in the Marprelate and No Popery tracts, some in the Satires of the Restoration journalists, whilst others will gather Pasquinades, Mazarinades, and Political pamphlets, as well as those that deal with some particular social or historical event. It is a subject that, perhaps, comprises more grotesque titles than any heading in our list. Knox's famous 'First Blast of the Trumpet against the Monstrous Regiment of Women' must certainly have been rather startling to Queen Bess, and Attersoll's 'God's Trumpet sounding the Alarme' (quarto, 1632) is vigorous; but the personal invective displayed by some of the Elizabethan and early Stuart pamphleteers is hard to beat. 'An Olde Foxe Tarred and Feathered,' 'A New Gag for an Old Goose,' 'A Whip for an Ape,' and 'An Almond for a Parrat,' are all curious, but surely the palm is carried by the following effort of John Lyly (against Martin Marprelate), put forth in 1589:
'Pappe with an Hatchet. Alias A figge for my Godsonne. Or Cracke me this nut. Or A Countrie cuffe, that is, a sound boxe of the eare, for the idiot Martin to hold his peace, seeing the patch will take no warning. Written by one that dares call a dog, a dog, and made to prevent Martin'sdog daies. Imprinted by John Anoke, and John Astile, for the Baylive of Withernam, cum privilegio perennitatis, and are to bee sold at the signe of the crab tree cudgell in thwackcoate lane.'
'Pappe with an Hatchet. Alias A figge for my Godsonne. Or Cracke me this nut. Or A Countrie cuffe, that is, a sound boxe of the eare, for the idiot Martin to hold his peace, seeing the patch will take no warning. Written by one that dares call a dog, a dog, and made to prevent Martin'sdog daies. Imprinted by John Anoke, and John Astile, for the Baylive of Withernam, cum privilegio perennitatis, and are to bee sold at the signe of the crab tree cudgell in thwackcoate lane.'
In 1523 Richard Bankes printed a curious little tract with the following title: 'Here begynneth a lytell newe treatyse or mater intytuled and called The IX. Drunkardes, which treatythe of dyuerse and goodly storyes ryght plesaunte and frutefull for all parsones to pastyme with.' I hasten to add that the 'parsones' of Mr. Bankes' day were not necessarily in holy orders. It was printed in octavo, black letter, and the only copy that seems to be known is in the Douce collection at the Bodleian.
Professor Edward Arber's 'Introductory Sketch to the Martin Marprelate Controversy,' which appeared in 1895, contains a list of the more important tracts connected with that subject; and you will find Mr. W. Pierce's 'Historical Introduction to the Marprelate Tracts' (1908) useful. There are valuable lists of, and information upon, pamphlets of most descriptions and of all periods in the volumes of the 'Cambridge History of English Literature.' Mr. A. F. Pollard's 'Tudor Tracts, 1532-1588' appeared in 1903.
One of the most remarkable collections of pamphlets ever formed was that amassed during the Commonwealth by an enterprising London bookseller named George Thomason. He succeeded in gathering together[87]more than 22,000 pamphlets and tracts relating to the times; and being an ardent Royalist, was at great pains to prevent the collection from becoming known to the authorities. When the Royalist cause was scotch'd by the execution of King Charles, the collection was transferred to Oxford, and lodged in the Bodleian Library for safety; and although Thomason died in 1666, his collection remained at Oxford until nearly a century later, when it was purchased by King Georgeiii.for£300, and presented by him to the British Museum.
It is, of course, quite priceless now, and contains a large number of tracts not otherwise known. A catalogue of the collection was printed by the Museum authorities in 1908, two demy octavo volumes with the title: 'A Catalogue of the Pamphlets, Books, Newspapers, and Manuscripts relating to the Civil War, the Commonwealth, and Restoration, collected by G. Thomason, 1640-1661.'
Philosophy.
46. 'A farmer should be a philosopher,' said Mr. Jorrocks; and although most book-collectors who specialise in philosophical works would disclaim any connection between the two subjects, yet it is not easy to say where philosophy either begins or ends. The dictionaries are very cautious, contenting themselves with the assertion that any 'application of pure thought' or rational explanation of 'things' comes under this heading. Perhaps Mr. Jorrocks was more correct than most of his hearers imagined, for farming in this country certainly requires a deal of pure thought—if it is to be made to pay. For our purpose, however, we will narrow this heading down to those books which deal with the moral aspects of mental influences, and those which centre about the science of metaphysics.
Poetry.
47. Poetry is another heading over which we need not linger. He who specialises in this class of literature may be either a student of English poesy or a lover of prosody. If the former, the following volumes will be of assistance to him.
Thomas Warton's 'History of English Poetry' first appeared in three quarto volumes issued between 1774 and 1781; but a new edition, edited by W. C. Hazlitt in four octavo volumes, was published in 1871. Professor W. J. Courthope's work of the same title was issued in six volumes between 1895 and 1910; whilst Professor G. Saintsbury's 'History of English Prosody from the Twelfth Century to the Present Day,' begun in 1906, was completed in 1910, three octavo volumes.
Privately-printed.
48. Privately-printed Books. A curious byway of collecting, this; for although it comprises books upon every subject under the sun, yet it will not help the collector to acquire knowledge upon any single subject. For some there is doubtless a certain attraction about books that have been put forth surreptitiously, as it were; yet to the ordinary book-collector such volumes seem to partake rather of the nature of pariahs. They are among books, but not of them, lacking the credentials of their companions. They are of three species only: (1) Personal Books; of interest only to a family and its relations; (2) Books refused by the publishing houses as being unlikely to appeal to the general public; (3) Improper books, which, if issued publicly, would most likely incur an action by the Public Prosecutor. Some years ago Bertram Dobell, a London bookseller, collected upwards of a thousand volumes issued in this manner, and published a catalogue of his collection, with interesting notes. This collection was finally solden blocto the Library of Congress at Washington, U.S.A., in 1913. J. Martin's 'Bibliographical Catalogue of Privately Printed Books' was published first in 1834, two volumes; but a second edition appeared twenty years later.