[Footnote 442: The passage, above alluded to, is as follows:

At ev'ry auction, bent on fresh supplies, He cons his catalogue with anxious eyes: Where'er the slim Italics mark the page, Curious and rare his ardent mind engage.

The Bibliomania; v. 54.]

[Footnote 443: A slight mention of Mons. Berryer, the father-in-law of Lamoignon, is made at p. 84, ante. The reader is here presented with a more finished portrait of this extraordinary bibliomaniac: a portrait, which will excite his unbounded admiration, if not envy!—for such a careful and voluptuous collector, in regard to binding, was, I believe, never before known; nor has he been since eclipsed. 'M. Berryer, successivement Secretaire d'Etat au Departement de la Marine, Ministre, puis Garde des Sceaux de France, s'etoit occupe pendant pres de quarante annees a se former un cabinet des plus beaux livres grecs et latins, anciennes editions, soit de France, soit des pays etrangers, &c. Par un soin et une patience infatigables, a l'aide de plusieurs cooperateurs eclaires, savans meme en Bibliographie, qui connoissoient ses etudes, delassement de ses places, il avoit recueilli les plus belles editions; de telle sorte qu'il a toujours su se procurer un exemplaire parfait de chaque edition par un moyen simple quoique dispendieux. Si les Catalogues des ventes publiques lui apprenoient qu'il existoit un exemplaire plus beau, plus grand de marge, mieux conserve, de tout auteur, &c., que celui qu'il possedoit, il le fasoit acquerir sans s'embarrasser du prix, et il se defaisoit a perte de l'exemplaire moins beau. La majeure partie des auteurs anciens et modernes de son cabinet a ete changee huit ou dix fois de cette maniere. Il ne s'arretoit qu'apres s'etre assure qu'il avoit le plus bel exemplaire connu, soit pour la marge, soit pour la force du papier, soit pour la magnificence de la conservation et de la relieure.' 'A l'egard des ouvrages d'editions modernes, meme celles faites en pays etranger, M. Berryer vouloit les avoir en feuilles: il en faisoit choisir, dans plusieurs exemplaires, un parfait, et il le faisoit relier en maroquin de choix; le Ministere de la Marine qu'il avoit rempli, lui ayant donne toutes les facilites d'en etre abondamment et fidelement pourvu dans toutes les Echelles du Levant. On collationnoit ensuite pour verifier s' il n'y avoit ni transposition, ni omission de feuilles ou de pages?!!' Cat. M. Lamoignon, 1791. pref. p. ij. iij. Berryer was slightly copied by Caillard (of whom see p. 76, ante) in the luxury of book-binding. 'M. Caillard avoit le soin de faire satiner presque tous livres qu'il faisoit relier, et principalement les grands ouvrages; qu'il est difficile d'avoir parfaitement relies sans ce precede.' Cat. de Caillard; p. x. (avertisement.) But I know not whether Caillard did not catch the phrensy from the elder Mirabeau. In the catalogue of his books, p. II., we are thus told of him:—'l'acquisition d'un beau livre lui causoit des transports de joie inexprimables: il l'examinoit, l'admiriot [Transcriber's Note: l'admiroit]: il vouloit que chacun partageat avec lui le meme enthousiasme.' His biographer properly adds: 'De quelle surprise n'auroit-on pas ete, si l'on eut su que c'etoit la le meme homme qui, du haut de la tribune, faisoit trembler les despotes et les factieux!' Ponder here, gentle reader, upon the effects of a beautiful book! Let no one, however, imagine that we grave Englishmen are averse or indifferent to 'le luxe de la relieure'!! No: at this present moment, we have the best bookbinders in Europe; nor do we want good authority for the encouragement of this fascinating department relating to the Bibliomania. Read here what Mr. Roscoe hath so eloquently written in commendation of it: 'A taste for the exterior decoration of books has lately arisen in this country, in the gratification of which no small share of ingenuity has been displayed; but if we are to judge of the present predilection for learning by the degree of expense thus incurred, we must consider it as greatly inferior to that of the Romans during the times of the first Emperors, or of the Italians at the 15th century. And yet it is, perhaps, difficult to discover why a FAVOURITE BOOK should not be as proper an object of elegant ornament as the head of a cane, the hilt of a sword, or the latchet of a shoe.' Lorenzo de Medici; vol. ii., 79, 8vo. edition. Did Geyler allude to such bibliomaniacs in the following sentence? Sunt qui libros inaurant et serica tegimenta apponunt preciosa et superba. Grandis haec fatuitas! Navicula, sive Speculum Fatuorum; (Navis Stultifera) sign. B. v. rev.]

BELIN. For the benefit—not of the 'Country Gentlemen,' but—of the 'Country Ladies,' do pray translate these Latin words. We are always interested about the pastoral life.

LIS. It only means, Belinda, that this said shepherd was blockhead enough to keep gazing upon his beloved fair, although every glance shot him through the heart, and killed him a hundred times. Still he caressed the cause of his ruin. And so bibliomaniacs hug the very volumes of which they oftentimes know they cannot afford the purchase money! I have not forgotten your account of Dr. Dee:[444] but the ladies were then absent.

[Footnote 444: See p. 262, ante.]

BELIN. Well, let us now go on to the explanation of the fifth symptom of the Bibliomania; which you have called, Copies PRINTED UPON VELLUM!

LYSAND. A desire for books printed in this manner[445] is an equally strong and general symptom of the Biblomania; but, as these works are rarely to be obtained of modern date, the collector is obliged to have recourse to specimens executed, three centuries ago, in the printing offices of Aldus, Verard, or the Giunti. Although the Bibliotheque Imperiale, at Paris, and the library of Count M'Carthy, at Toulouse, are said to contain the greatest number of books, printed upon vellum, yet, those who have been fortunate enough to see copies of this kind in the libraries of his Majesty, the Duke of Marlborough, Earl Spencer, Mr. Johnes, and the late Mr. Cracherode (which latter is now in the British Museum) need not travel on the Continent for the sake of being convinced of their exquisite beauty and splendour. An unique copy of the first Livy, upon vellum, (of which the owner has excited the envy of foreigners) is a library of itself!—and the existence of vellum copies of Wynkyn De Worde's reprint of Juliana Barnes's Book of Hawking, &c., complete in every respect, (to say nothing of his Majesty's similar copy of Caxton's Doctrinal of Sapience, in the finest preservation) are sufficient demonstrations of the prevalance of this symptoms of the Bibliomania in the times of our forefathers; so that it cannot be said, as some have asserted, to have appeared entirely within the last half century.

[Footnote 445: William Horman, who was head master of Eton school at the opening of the sixteenth century, was, I apprehend, the earliest writer in this country who propagated those symptoms of the Bibliomania indicative of a passion for large paper and vellum copies; for thus writes the said Horman, in his Vulgaria, printed by Pynson, in folio, 1519: a book, curious and interesting upon every account. 'The greatest and highest of price, is paper imperial. (Herbert, vol i., p. 265.) Parchment leaves be wont to be ruled, that there may be a comely margent: also, strait lines of equal distance be draw[en] within, that the writing may shew fair,' fol. 82. From these two sentences (without quoting Horman's praise of the presses of Froben and Aldus; fol. 87) I think it may be fairly inferred that a love of large paper and vellum copies was beginning to display itself in the period just mentioned. That this love or passion is now eagerly and generally evinced, I shall proceed to give abundant proof; but first let me not forget our bibliomaniacal satirist:

FIFTH MAXIM.

Who blindly take the book display'd By pettifoggers in the trade. Nor ask of what the leaf was made, That seems like paper—I can tell 'em, That though 'tis possible to squint Through any page with letters in't, No copy, though an angel print, Reads elegantly—but "on VELLUM."

Bibliosophia, p. VI.

I proceed to give evidence of the present passion which prevails, respecting books of the description of which we are now speaking, by extracting a few articles from the library of which such honourable mention was made at p. 448-9, ante. They are all

WORKS PRINTED UPON VELLUM.

NO. 241. Epistolae Beati Jeronimi. Impressio Moguntinae facta per Virum famatum in haec arte Petrum Schoiffer de Gernsheym, 2 vols., 1470. A fine specimen of a grand book, superbly bound in blue turkey. Folio. L28 s.7 0d.

242. Sexti Decretalium Opus praeclarum Bonifacii VII., Pont. Max. In Nobili Urbe Moguncia non Atramento e plumali ereaque Penna Cannave per Petrum Schoiffer de Gernsheym consummatum. A.D. 1476. A most beautiful work, superbly bound in blue turkey. 19 19 0

253. [Transcriber's Note: 243.] Constitutiones Clementis Papae Quinti, una cum apparatu Domini Joannis Andreae. Venetiis impress. Ere atque Industria Nicolai Jenson Gallici, 1476. A most beautiful specimen of clean vellum, with a fine illumination, bound in purple velvet. Folio. 21 10 0

244. Leonora, from the German of Burgher, by Mr. Spencer, with the designs of Lady Diana Beauclerc, 1796. Folio. 25 4 0

A beautiful unique copy, with the plates worked on satin, superbly bound in blue turkey.

245. Dryden's Fables, with engravings from the pencil of Lady Beauclerc. A beautiful unique copy, splendidly bound in morocco, with the plates worked on satin. 34 13 0

246. Missale Monasticum secundum Ritum et consuetudinem Ordinis Gallae Umbrosae. Venetiis, per Ant. de Giunta Florentinum, 1503. A most beautiful copy of a very rare book, with plates and illuminations, bound in morocco. Folio. 13 3 6

247. Postilla super Libros N. Testamenti Fratris Nicolai de Lyra. Venet. per Joan. de Colonia et Nic. Jenson, 1481. A fine specimen of beautiful vellum, with illuminations, bound in blue turkey. Folio. 17 17 0

248. The German Bible, by Martin Luther, 2 vols. Augspurg, 1535, folio. A most fair, and beautiful copy, with coloured plates, in the finest preservation, and bound in crimson velvet, with two cases.—'The copies on vellum of this fine edition were printed at the charges of John Frederick, Elector of Saxony, (vide Panzer).' Folio. 52 10 0

249. Le Livre de Jehan Bocasse de la Louenge et Vertu des nobles et Cleres Dames. Paris, par Ant. Verard, 1493. A beautiful work, with curious illuminations, finely bound in blue turkey. Folio. 14 14 0

250. Virgilii Opera cura Brunck. Argentorati, 1789. An unique copy, bound in morocco, with a case. Quarto. 33 12 0

251. Somervile's Chace, a Poem, with fine plates on wood, by Bewick. Printed by Bulmer, 1796. Quarto. A beautiful unique copy, splendidly bound in green, morocco. 15 4 6

252. Poems by Goldsmith and Parnell, with fine plates on wood by Bewick. Printed by Bulmer, 1795. A beautiful unique copy, superbly bound in green morocco. 15 15 0

253. The Gardens, a poem, by the Abbe de Lisle, with fine plates by Bartolozzi, coloured. Printed by Bensley, 1798. A fine book, and bound in green morocco. Quarto. 14 3 6

254. The Castle of Otranto, by the Earl of Oxford. Printed at Parma, 1791. A fine copy elegantly bound in blue morocco. Quarto. 13 2 6

255. Coustumes du Pais de Normandie. Rouen, 1588. A beautiful unique copy, on fine white vellum, the presentation copy to the Duke de Joyeuse; in old morocco. 14 3 6

256. P. Virgilii Maronis Codex antiquissimus in Bibliotheca Mediceo-Laurentiana. Florent. 1741. A curious facsimile of the old MS. bound in yellow morocco, 4to. 17 17 0

257. Junius's Letters, 4 vols., 8vo. Printed by Bensley, 1796. A beautiful unique copy, with the plates also worked on vellum, bound in morocco. 25 4 0

258. Il Castello di Otranto, storia Gotica, Lond. 1795. Beautifully printed, with fine cuts, illuminated, bound in morocco. 4 16 0

259. Milton's Paradise Regained, Poems, and Sonnets, and Latin Poems, with notes, 3 vols. Printed by Bensley, 1796, 8vo. A unique and beautiful copy, bound in blue turkey. 17 6 6

260. La Guirlande de Julie offerte a Mademoiselle de Rambouillet, par le Marq. de Montausier. Paris de l'Imprim. de Monsieur, 1784, 8vo. 'This matchless book is embellished with exquisite miniatures, paintings of flowers, and wreaths of flowers, to illustrate the work, and is one of the most exquisite performances ever produced;' superbly bound in green morocco.

[30 guineas were bidden; but the book was passed on and not sold.]

261. La Vedova, Commedia facetissima di Nic. Buonaparte Cittadino Florentino. Paris, 1803, 8vo. A curious work by an ancestor of the First Consul; a beautiful unique copy, superbly bound in red morocco. 4 4 0

262. The Old English Baron, a Gothic story, by Clara Reeve, 1794, 8vo. Richly bound in blue turkey. 2 0 0

263. The Oeconomy of Human Life, with fine plates, 1795. A beautiful unique copy, with the plates finely tinted in colours and superbly bound in morocco, 8vo. 15 15 0

264. Dr. Benjamin Franklin's Works. Paris, 1795, 8vo. A beautiful unique copy, and bound in crimson velvet. 5 0 0

265. The Dance of Death. Painted by Holbein, and engraved by Hollar, a beautiful unique copy, with the plates exquisitely painted, and very richly bound in red morocco. 17 17 0

266. La Gerusalemme liberata di Torquato Tasso, 4 vols. Parigi Presso Molini, 1783, 8vo. A beautiful copy, bound in green morocco. 9 19 6

267. Catullus, Tibullus, et Propertius, 3 vols. Par. ap. Coustelier, 1743, 8vo. A singularly beautiful copy, and bound in old blue turkey. 14 14 0

268. Opere Toscane di Luigi Alamanni. Leoni. ap. Gryphia, 1552. A most beautiful copy, presented to King Francis I. of France: old morocco. 6 6 0

269. A New Testament in German. Augsburg, 1535, 12mo. A fine copy, with illuminations, of a very rare edition. 2 7 0

Lysander has above noticed the collection of Count M'Carthy of Toulouse. By the kindness of Mr. Roche, banker, at Cork, I learn that this collection 'is a truly splendid one.' The possessor's talents are not confined to the partial walk of bibliography: in his younger years, he was considered one of the first gentlemen-violin players in Europe. He quitted Ireland forty years ago, and now resides at Toulouse, in his 70th year, surrounded by a numerous and respectable family. His leading passion, in book-collecting, (like his countryman's, poor Mr. Quin—who gave 170 guineas for the Spira Virgil of 1470, in membranis!) is marked by a fondness for works printed upon vellum. From Mr. Roche, Mr. Edwards, and other quarters, I am enabled to present the reader with a list of a few of

COUNT M'CARTHY'S BOOKS UPON VELLUM.

Psalmorum Codex; Mogunt. Fust and Schoiffer. Folio, 1457. —— ——; ibid. apud eosdem. Folio, 1459. Durandi Rationale; ibid. apud eosdem. Folio, 1459. Clementis Papae V. Constitutiones; ibid. apud eosdem. Folio, 1460. —— —— —— ——; ibid. apud eosdem. Folio, 1467. Catholicon; ibid. apud eosdem. Folio, 1460. Biblia Sacra Latina; ibid. apud eosdem. Folio, 1462.

[His Majesty and Earl Spencer possess similar copies of these works.]

Franciscus de Retras Comment. Vitiorum; Nuremb. Folio, 1470. Hieronimi Epistolae; Mogunt. Fust and Schoiffer. Folio, 1470.

(Another copy: very large thick paper.)

Priscianus de Art. Grammat. Venet. Vin. Spira. Folio, 1470.

(See p. 407, ante.)

Liber Sextus Decretalium Bonif. Papae VIII. Mogunt. Folio, 1470. Guarini Regulae; Quarto, 1470. Quintiliani Institutiones; Jenson, Folio, 1471. Baptista de Alberti de Amore; Quarto, 1471. de Amoris Remedio: Quarto, 1471. Biblia in Ling. Volg. Folio, 1471, 2 vols. Historia Natur. de Plinio tradotto da Landino; Jenson, Venet. 1476.

(A similar copy is in Mr. Coke's library at Holkam; illuminated, and in magnificent condition.)

Biblia Sacra Polyglotta; Ximenis; Complut. Folio, 1516, &c., 6 vols.

(See page 407, ante; for a brief account of this extraordinary copy.)

Plutarchi Vitae (Lat.); Venet. N. Jenson. Folio, 1478. vol. 1. Aristotelis Opera Varia (Lat.); Venet. Folio, 1483. 3 vols.

(This was the Pinelli copy, and was purchased for 73l. 10s.)

Statii Achilles; Brixiae. Folio, 1485. Chroniques de France, dictes de St. Denys; Paris. Folio, 1493. vol. 2 & 3. Anthologia Graeca; Florent. Quarto, 1494. Lancelot du Lac; Paris. Verard, Folio, 1494. vol. 2. Boccace des nobles Malheureux; ibid. Folio, 1494. Appollonius Rhodius; Florent. Quarto, 1496. Destruction de Troy le Grant; Paris. Folio, 1498. Poliphili Hyperonotomachia; Venet. Folio, 1499. Mer des Histores; Paris. Folio, (no date) 2 vols. Monstrelet Chronique de; Paris. Folio, (no date) 3 vols. Roman de la Rose; Paris. Verard. Folio, (no date) —— de Tristan; ibid. id. (no date) —— d' Ogier le Danois; ibid. id. (no date) —— de Melis et Lenin; ibid. id. (no date)

I have heard that Count M'Carthy's books do not exceed 4000 in number; and of these, perhaps, no private collector in Europe has an equal number printed upon vellum. In our own country, however, the finest VELLUM LIBRARY in the world might be composed from the collections of His Majesty, the Duke of Marlborough, Earl Spencer, Sir M.M. Sykes, Bart., Mr. Johnes, Mr. Coke, and the Quin collection. Yet let us not forget the finest vellum copy in the world of the first edition of Aristotle's works (wanting one volume) which may be seen in the library of Corpus Christi College, Oxford. Of Mr. Edward's similar copy of the first Livy, Lysander and myself (vide Part III.) have spoken like honest bibliomaniacs. Earl Spencer possesses the rival volume, printed by the same printers, (Sweynheym and Pannartz) and upon the same material, in his Pliny Senior of 1470—But let all quiet bibliomaniacs wait with patience till the work of Mons. Praet upon this subject, alluded to at p. 68, ante, shall have made its appearance! and then—let us see whether we can prevail upon some Gnome to transport to us, through the 'thin air,' Pynson's 'Ship of Fools' UPON VELLUM!!]

LIS. Are we as successful in printing upon vellum as were our forefathers?

LYSAND. Certainly not; if we except some of the works from the press of Bodoni—which are oftentimes truly brilliant. But the fault, in general, is rather in the preparation of the vellum than in the execution of the press-work.

LOREN. You have seen, Lisardo, my small volumes of 'Heures,' or 'Missals,' as they are called; some of them in MS. and others in print—and what can be more delicate than the texture of the vellum leaves, or more perfect than the execution of penmanship and printing?

ALMAN. I have often set whole hours, my dear brother, in contemplating with rapture the sparkling radiance of these little volumes; and wish in my heart I had a few favourite authors executed in a similar manner! I should like to employ Bodoni[446] for life.

[Footnote 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 little VELLUM BOOK in existence than the Castle 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; see p. 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'oeuvre of Bodoni seems to be an edition of Homer, 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 was UPON VELLUM, of a size and brilliancy altogether unparalleled. American Review, no. 1., p. 171. January, 1811. In our admiration of Bodoni, let us not forget DIDOT: who printed a single copy of Voltaire's Henriade UPON VELLUM, in quarto, with a brilliancy of execution, and perfection of vellum, which can never be suppassed [Transcriber's Note: surpassed]. 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 the Life 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 my Typographical Antiquities upon 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 I presevered [Transcriber's Note: persevered] in executing my design, would have cost me about seventy-five guineas!]

[Footnote 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 only one copy 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 L600—the Insurance office disputed his claim, and a trial at Dublin took place. The late Mr. Bensley was subpoenaed 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 in Bibliomania, 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 put Crammer's Bible for I want scholarship sufficient to understand the Complutensian Polyglott of Cardinal Ximenes.[447]

[Footnote 447: See pages 160, 407, ante.]

BERLIN. [Transcriber's Note: Belin.] So much for the Vellum Symptom. Proceed we now to the sixth: which upon looking at my memoranda, I find to be the FIRST 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 the possesssion [Transcriber's Note: possession] of original or first published editions[448] of works; as they 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, may unquestionably 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 the first 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 began his edition, the Editio Princeps was not (as I have understood) in that storehouse of almost every thing which is exquisite and rare in ancient and modern classical literature—need I add the library of Earl Spencer?[451]

[Footnote 448: All German and French bibliographers class these FIRST EDITIONS among 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, these EDITIONES PRIMARIAE or Editiones Principes are 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 sixth sympton [Transcriber's Note: symptom] of 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 feast Fattens the intellectual beast With old, or new, without ambition,— I'll teach the pig to soar on high, (If pigs had pinions, by the bye) How'er the last may satisfy, The bonne bouche is 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, and especially 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 purchased first editions, and never waited for second ones," but I find it, in the English Bayle, note D, "he chose the best editions." 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 had paid 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 Lochee'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 the first edition of MANILIUS by Regiomontanus: one of the very scarcest books in the class of those of which we are treating! By the liberality of the purchaser, this primary bijou now adorns the noble library of the Bishop of Ely.]

[Footnote 449: An instance of this kind may be adduced from the first edition of 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 an after edition of Speed.]

[Footnote 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.]

[Footnote 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 is GEORGE 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 populus Umbram hospitalem consociare amant Ramis—

let the Doric Temple be raised, with its white-marbled columns, sacred to the memory of this ILLUSTRIOUS 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!

]

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 Colomies and Reimannus have said about the rarity of La Croix du Maine's Bibliotheque, 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 your first Shakespeare—but give me the last Variorum edition in twenty-one volumes.

LOREN. "Chacun a son gout," yet it may be as well to possess them both. Indeed, I not only have these editions, but a great number of the early plays printed in quarto;[452] which are considered the ne plus ultra of Shakspearian bibliomaniacism.

[Footnote 452: A pretty copious list of these valuable early plays will be found at pages 431-2-3-4, 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 the seventh symptom of the Bibliomania, called TRUE EDITIONS?

LYSAND. My definition of this strange symptom will excite your mirth.[453] Some copies of a work are struck off with deviations from the usually received ones, and although these deviations have generally neither sense nor beauty to recommend them (and indeed are principally defects!), 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?

[Footnote 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, an error bless my notice— Will prize when drill'd into his duty, These lovely warts of ugly beauty; For books, when false (it may be new t'ye), Are "TRUE EDITIONS:"—odd,—but so '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 called TRUE EDITIONS: and as copies, with such variations (upon the same principle as that of Prints; vide p. 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 arrive un accident qui, a telle page et a telle ligne, a occasione un renversement dans les lettres d'un mot, et que ce desordre n'a ete retabli qu'apres le tirage de six ou sept exemplaires; ce qui rend ces exemplaires defectueux presque uniques, et leur donne, a les entendre, une valeur inappreciable; car voila un des grands secrets de cet art, qui, au reste, s'acquiert aisement 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:—Caesar. Lug. Bat. 1636, 12mo. Printed by Elzevir. In the Bibliotheca Revickzkiana we are informed that the true Elzevir 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, which ought to 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. The true edition is distinguished by having at page 108, vol. ii., the incorrect reading "Post Est."—for "Protest."—Virgil. Lug. Bat., 1636, 12mo. Printed by Elzevir. The true edition is known, by having at plate 1, before the Bucolics, the following Latin passage printed 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 the true edition 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 of The 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 perpetual forms."

in the large, it is properly

"beat with perpetual storms."

Which of these is indicative of the true edition? Again: in the small paper, p. 275, line 20, we read properly

"Claudite jam rivos pueri, sat prata biberunt."

in the large paper,

"Claudite jam rivos pueri, sat parta biberunt."

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 a true edition; and so the blunder (a mere transposition of the letters ar) 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 an error in either, to entitle one to the rank of Truism more than another.[H]]

[Footnote 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 a displayed line in 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 an eighth; called a passion for THE 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, this eighth symptom is at present the most powerful and prevailing. Whether it was imported into this country, from Holland, by the subtlety of Schelhorn[454] (a knowing writer upon rare and curious books) may be a point worthy of consideration. But whatever be its origin, certain is that books printed in the black-letter, are now coveted with an eagerness unknown to our collectors in the 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!

[Footnote 454: His words are as follows: "Ipsa typorum ruditas, ipsa illa atra crassaque literarum facies belle tangit sensus," &c. Was ever the black-letter more eloquently described: see his Amoentates [Transcriber's Note: Amoenitates] Literariae, vol. i., p. 5. But for the last time, let us listen to the concluding symptomatic stanza of an "aspirant;"

EIGHTH MAXIM.

Who dreams the Type should please us all, That's not too thin, and not too tall, Nor much awry, nor over small, And, if but ROMAN, asks no better— May die in darkness:—I, for one, Disdain to tell the barb'rous Hun That Persians but adore the sun Till taught to know our God—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 of black-letter tomes:

In red morocco drest, he loves to boast the 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 unfold The 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 called Gothic by some, old English by others; but printers give it the name of Black-Letter, because its face taking in a larger compass than Roman or Italic of the same body, the full and spreading strokes thereof appear more black upon 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's Printer's Grammar; 1808, p. 41. To these authorities we may add, from Rowe Mores, that 'Wynkyn de Worde's letter was of The Square English or Black 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 his Traite elementaire de L'Imprimerie, p. 185, refers us to an elucidation of the Gothic letter ('appele du nom de certains peuples qui vinrent s'etablir dans la Gothie, plus de quatre cens ans avant J.C.') in one of the plates of Fournier's Dictionnaire 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 the BLACK-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 the Speculum Salutis sive Humanae 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 his Amoenitates Literariae: vol. iv. 295-6: and so did Maichelius in his Introd. ad Hist. Lit. et Praecip. 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 premier degre, qu' un BON BIBLIOMANE ne peut voir sans trepigner 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 at SIXPENCE, 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 your Bibliomania!) it brought A 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, was HIRSUTUS: 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 the English books that were printed in the Black-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 his Caxton, had three sheets of Treveris, unknown to antiquaries, and wanted to a perfect [collection of] Pynson but 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 of JOHAN DE TREVISA, and, when he was merry, regaled us with a quotation from the Shippe of Fools.' RAMBLER, no. 177.—Nor was the Doctor himself quite easy and happy 'till he had sold, in the character of a BOOKSELLER, 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 my conscience. 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 attending Walsall 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 for SIXPENCE, a Tusser, 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] the PORSON of 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 the Black-Letter may perform, when temperately and skilfully exercised.

[Footnote 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 swallow every 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 the Bibliomania; and this consists in a fondness for books which have been printed for PRIVATE DISTRIBUTION[456] only, or at a PRIVATE 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 a Private 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 book Cognoscenti.

[Footnote 456: The reader may not object to be made acquainted with a few distinguished productions, printed for PRIVATE DISTRIBUTION. The reader is indebted to Mr. Bulmer, at whose elegant press these works were printed, for the information which follows:—MUSEUM WORSLEYANUM; by Sir Richard 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 EPISTOLAE; 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'S Gaudia 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 ORKNEY and on the NORTH-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 of Stroma; 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 the Cathedral of St. Magnus, and at the close, at p. 9, a vignette of a Tomb in the Cathedral. To these succeed two plates, presenting Views of the Inside of the Cathedral, and an Arch in the Cathedral.—The third chapter commences at p. 11, with "The Earl of Orkney's Palace," to which a vignette of a Street in Kirkwall is prefixed. It ends at p. 12, and is followed by a plate exhibiting a view of the Door-way of the Earl's Palace; by another of the Hall of the Earl's Palace; and by a third containing two Views, namely, the Inside of the Hall, and, upon a larger scale, the Chimney in the Hall.—"The Bay of the Frith" is the subject of the fourth chapter; which exhibits at the beginning a vignette of the Hills of Hoy. It closes at p. 14, with a vignette of The Dwarfy Stone. Then follow six plates, containing a view of the Bay of Frith, a View from Hoy, two views of the Eastern and Western Circles of the Stones of Stennis, and two views of Stromness.—The next chapter is entitled "Duncansbay or Dungsby-head," which bears in front a vignette of Wick, and at the end, in p. 16, a vignette of the Castle of Freswick. Three plates follow: the first presenting a view of Duncansbay-Head: the second, Views of the Stacks of Hemprigs and the Hills of Schrabiner or Schuraben; the third, a View of The Ord.—"The Castle of Helmsdale" is the title of the succeeding chapter, to which is prefixed a vignette of Helmsdale Castle. It ends at p. 19, with a vignette of the Bridge of Brora. Then follow two plates, presenting Views of Helmsdale Castle, and the Coast 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 of Dunrobin Castle, and after the close of the chapter, at p. 23, four plates; the first of which is a View of Dunrobin Castle and the surrounding scenery; the second, a smaller View of the Castle: the third, a View of Druid Stones, with another of Battle 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 of Rosslyn Chapel. It is followed by four plates; the first exhibiting a View of a Column in Rosslyn Chapel; the second, a Door-way in the Chapel; the third, the Tomb 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.]

LIS. You allude to the STRAWBERRY HILL Press?[457]

[Footnote 457: For the gratification of such desperately-smitten bibliomaniacs, who leave no stone unturned for the possession of what are called STRAWBERRY HILL Pieces, I subjoin the following list of books, printed at the celebrated seat of Sir Horace Walpole (afterwards Lord Orford) at Strawberry Hill: situated between Richmond and Twickenham, on the banks of the Thames. This list, and the occasional bibliographical memoranda introduced, are taken from the collection of Strawberry Hill books in the library of the Marquis of Bute, at Luton; all of them being elegantly bound by Kalthoeber, in red morocco.——I. Two Odes by Mr. Gray. "[Greek: phonanta synetoisi]," Pindar Olymp. II. Printed for R. and J. Dodsley, 1757, 4to., 19 pages, 1000 copies. In these copies there is sometimes (but very rarely) prefixed a short poem of six stanzas, in alternate rhyme, "To Mr. Gray, on his Poems." As there were only six copies of these verses printed, I subjoin them:

Repine not, Gray, that our weak dazzled eyes Thy daring heights and brightness shun, How few can track the eagle to the skies, Or, like him, gaze upon the sun!

The gentle reader loves the gentle muse, That little dares, and little means, Who humbly sips her learning from Reviews, Or flutters in the Magazines.

No longer now from learning's sacred store, Our minds their health and vigour draw; HOMER and PINDAR are revered no more, No more the Stagyrite is law.

Though nurst by these, in vain thy muse appears To breathe her ardours in our souls; In vain to sightless eyes, and deaden'd ears, Thy lightning gleams, and thunder rolls!

Yet droop not GRAY, nor quit thy heav'n-born art: Again thy wondrous powers reveal, Wake slumb'ring virtue in the Briton's heart. And rouse us to reflect and feel!

With antient deeds our long-chill'd bosoms fire, Those deeds which mark'd ELIZA'S reign! Make Britons Greeks again.—Then strike the lyre, And Pindar shall not sing in vain.

——II. A journey into England, originally written in Latin, by Paul Hentzner. In the year 1598. Printed 1757. Advertisement of 10 pages in a fine large beautiful type, printed on paper of great delicacy. The body of the work, which is printed in a smaller type, occupies 126 double pages; on account of the Latin and English being on the opposite pages, each page is marked with the same number. Only 220 copies of this curious and elegant work were printed.—III. Fugitive Pieces in Verse and Prose. Pereunt et Imputantur. MDCCLVIII. 8vo. Two pages of dedication "To the Honourable Major General HENRY SEYMOUR CONWAY:" two pages of a table of contents, body of the work 219 pages. Printed with the small type: and only 200 copies struck off.—IV. An account of Russia as it was in the year 1710. By Charles Lord Whitworth. Printed at S.H. MDCCLVIII, 8vo. Advertisement 24 pages, body of this work 158—with a page of errata, 700 copies printed. This is an interesting and elegantly printed little volume.—V. A parallel, in the manner of Plutarch, between a most celebrated man of Florence, and one scarce ever heard of in England. By the Reverend Mr. Spence, 1758, 8vo. This is the beautiful and curious little volume, of which mention has already been made at p. 86, ante. Seven hundred copies of it were printed; and from a copy, originally in the possession of the late Mr. John Mann, of Durham, I learnt that "the clear profits arising from the sale of it being about 300l., were applied for the benefit of Mr. Hill and his family." (Magliabechi was "the man of Florence;" and Hill "the one scarce ever heard of in England.") A copy of this edition, with MS. notes by Mr. Cole, was purchased by Mr. Waldron, at the sale of George Steevens's books, for 3l.6s. It was reprinted by Dodsley: but the curious seek only the present edition.——VI. Lucani Pharsalia, MDCCLX, 4to. This is the most beautiful volume, in point of printing, which the Strawberry Hill press ever produced. A tolerably copious account of it will be found in my Introduction to the Classics, vol. ii., p. 53. Kirgate the printer (recently deceased) told me that uncommon pains were taken with its typographical execution.——VII. Anecdotes of Painting in Englaud [Transcriber's Note: England]; MDCCLXI. four volumes; Catalogue of Engravers, 4to., one volume. This is the first, and, on account of having the earliest impressions of the plates, the best edition of this amusing, and once popular work. It was reprinted in quarto, in 1765; of which edition I believe 600 copies were struck off. Again, in 1786, crown 8vo., five volumes, without the plates.——VIII. The Life of Edward Lord Herbert of Cherbury, written by himself. Printed in the year MDCCLXIX, 4to. Dedication of two pages to Lord Powis. Advertisement six pages, not numbered. After this, there should be a "Genealogical Table of the family of Herbert," which is very scarce, on account of its being suppressed by Mr. Walpole, for its inaccuracy. The life occupied 171 pages. "Mr. Walpole," says the late Mr. Cole, "when I was with him in the autumn of 1763, at which time the book was partly printed, told me that either one or two hundred copies were to be printed; half to be sent to the Earl of Powis, and the other half he was to reserve for himself, as presents to his friends; so that, except the book is reprinted by some bookseller, privately, as probably it will, it will be a curiosity. It was not published till the end of June, 1764, when the honourable editor sent it to me.——IX. Poems by Anna Chambers, Countess Temple. MDCCLXIV, 4to. This volume, containing 13 poems on various subjects, is printed in 34 pages, with a large, but not very elegant type. Only 100 copies were struck off.——X. The Mysterious Mother. A Tragedy, by Mr. Horace Walpole. Sit mihi fas audita loqui. Virg. Printed at S.H., MDCCLXVIII. 8vo. No vignette on the back. First leaf, errata, and "persons" [of the play.] Printed with the small type on 120 pages; after which follows a "postscript" of 10 pages. Only 50 copies printed. An uncut copy was recently sold for 6l. 15s.——XI. Cornelie vestale. Tragedie. Imprimee a S.H. MDCCLXVIII, 8vo., 200 copies. The title-page is followed by a letter "a Mons. Horace Walpole." A page of the names of the actors forms the commencement of the work, which contains 91 pages, neatly printed. Only 200 copies printed, of which 150 were sent to Paris.——XII. Poems by the Reverend Mr. Hoyland, MDCCLXIX, 8vo. The advertisement ends at p. iv.; the odes occupy 19 pages. Although this little volume is not printed with the usual elegance of the S.H. press, it is valuable from its scarcity, on account of its never having been re-printed. Only 300 copies were struck off.——XIII. Original Letters from K. Edward VI. to Barnaby Fitzpatrick, 1772, 4to. I am not acquainted with any circumstance, intrinsic or extrinsic, that renders this small volume sought after.——XIV. Miscellaneous Antiquities, or a collection of curious papers: either republished from scarce tracts, or now first printed from original MSS. Two numbers printed by Thomas Kirgate, MDCCLXXII, 4to. No. I. Advertisement of two pages, ending p. iv. The number contains besides: CONTENTS. Chap. I. "An account of some Tournaments and other martial Diversions." This was reprinted from a work written by Sir William Segar, Norroy; and is called by the author, Honour, Military and Ceuill, printed at London in 1602. Chap. II. Of "Justs and Tournaments," &c., from the same. Chap. III. "A Triumph in the Reigne of King Richard the Second, 1390," from the same. Chap. IV. "A Militarie Triumph at Brussels, Anno 1549," from the same. Chap. V. "Of Justs and Tourneaments," &c., from the same. Chap. VI. "Triumphes Military, for honour and loue of Ladies: brought before the Kings of England," from the same. Chap. VII. "Of the life and actions in Armes since the reigne of Queene Elizabeth," from the same. Chap. VIII. "The original occasions of the yeerely Triumph in England." All these tracts are taken from the above work. No. II. Second leaf, a plate of a head from the original wood-cut by Hans Holbein. CONTENTS. This number is almost entirely occupied by the "Life of Sir Thomas Wyat, the elder," copied by Mr. Gray from the originals in the Harleian Collection, now in the British Museum. This extends to p. 54, after which is an Appendix of eight pages on a few miscellaneous subjects. Five hundred copies were printed.——XV. Memoirs du Comte de Grammont, par Monsieur le Comte Antoine Hamilton. Nouvelle edition, Augumentee denotes et eclaircissemens necessaires. Par M. HORACE WALPOLE. MDCCLXXII, 4to. The title-page is succeeded by a dedication "a Madame ——," in six lines and a half, printed in a very large type. Then follows an "Avis de L'Editour," and "Avertissement," occupying three pages. An "Epitre a Monsieur le Comte de Grammont,' continues to p. xxi: then a "Table des Chapitres," to p. xxiii., on the back of which are the errata. The body of the work extends to 290 pages; which are succeeded by "Table des Personnes," or index, in three pages. These memoirs are printed with the middle size type; but neither the type nor paper are so beautiful as are those of Hentzner's Travels, or the comparison between Magliabechi and Hill. PORTRAITS. 1. Le Comte Antoine Hamilton, faces the title page. 2. Philibert, Comte de Grammont, opposite the "Epitre:" badly executed. 3. A portrait of Miss Warminster, opposite p. 85, in the style of Worlidge's gems. 4. Mademoiselle d'Hamilton, Comtesse de Grammont, faces p. 92. This engraving, by G. Powle, is executed in a style of beauty and spirit that has seldom been surpassed. 5. Lord Chesterfield, second Earl, in the style of the preceding; very beautiful. There were only 100 copies of this edition printed, of which 30 were sent as presents to Paris.——XVI. The Sleep Walker, a Comedy: in two acts. Translated [by Lady Craven] from the French, in March. Printed by T. Kirgate, MDCCLXXVIII, 8vo. It is printed in the small type on 56 pages, exclusively of viii. introductory ones, of "prologues" and "persons," &c. Only 75 copies were printed: and of these, one was sold for 4l. in the year 1804, at a public auction.——XVII. A Letter to the Editor of the Miscellanies of Thomas Chatterton. Printed by T. Kirgate. MDCCLXXIX, 8vo. This title is preceded by what is called a bastard title: and is followed by 55 pages of the work, not very elegantly printed. Only 200 copies.——XVIII. The Muse Recalled, an ode occasioned by the nuptials of Lord Viscount Althorp (the late Earl Spencer) and Miss Lavinia Bingham, eldest daughter of Charles, Lord Lucan, March vi., MDCCLXXXI. By William Jones, Esq. Printed by Thomas Kirgate, MDCCLXXXI. 4to. Eight pages, exclusively of the title-page. Printed in the middle size type; but neither the paper nor typographical execution are in the best style of the S.H. press. Only 250 copies printed.——XIX. A Description of the Villa of Mr. Horace Walpole, youngest son of Sir Robert Walpole, Earl of Orford, at Strawberry Hill, near Twickenham, Middlesex. With an inventory of the Furniture, Pictures, Curiosities, &c. Printed by Thomas Kirgate, MCCLXXXIV, 4to. This book contains 96 pages in the whole. It was preceded by a small quarto impression of MDCCLXXIV: which is scarce; and of which there are large paper copies. The work entitled Aedes Walpolianae was printed in MDCCLXVII.

Plates to the edition of 1784.

1. Frontispiece, Gothic; motto on a scroll, "Fari quae sentiat." 2. North Front of Strawberry Hill. 3. Entrance of Strawberry Hill. 4. View of the Prior's Garden, at ditto. 5. Chimney in the Great Parlour. 6. Chimney in the China Room. 7. Chimney in the Yellow Bedchamber. 8. Do. —— —— Blue Bedchamber. 9. Staircase at Strawberry Hill. 10. Library at ditto. 11. Chimney Piece of the Holbein Chamber. 12. The Gallery. 13. Chimney in the Round Room. 14. The Cabinet. 15. View from the Great Bedchamber. 16. Garden Gate. 17. View of the Chapel in the Garden at Strawberry Hill. 18. The Shell Bench. 19. View from the Terrace at Strawberry Hill. 20. East View of the Cottage Garden at Strawberry Hill. There were only 200 copies of this edition printed.

The following may amuse the curious reader:

"Mr. Walpole is very ready to oblige any curious persons with the sight of his house and collection; but as it is situated so near to London, and in so populous a neighbourhood, and as he refuses a ticket to nobody that sends for one, it is but reasonable that such persons as send should comply with the rules he has been obliged to lay down for shewing it:—Any person, sending a day or two before may have a ticket for four persons for a day certain;—No Ticket will serve but on the day for which it is given. If more than four persons come with a ticket, the housekeeper has positive orders to admit none of them;—Every ticket will admit the company only between the hours of twelve and three before dinner, and only one company will be admitted on the same day;—The house will never be shewn after dinner, nor at all but from the first of May to the first of October;—As Mr. Walpole has given offence by sometimes enlarging the number o [Transcriber's Note: of] four, and refusing that latitude to others, he flatters himself that for the future nobody will take it ill that he strictly confines the number; as whoever desires him to break his rule does in effect expect him to disoblige others, which is what nobody has a right to desire of him;—Persons desiring a ticket may apply either to Strawberry Hill, or to Mr. Walpole's, in Berkeley Square, London. If any person does not make use of the ticket, Mr. Walpole hopes he shall have notice: otherwise he is prevented from obliging others on that day, and thence is put to great inconvenience;—They who have tickets are desired not to bring children."——XX. A copy of all the Works of Mr. Walpole that were printed by him before his death, 1784, 4to. This brochure, which has been called "rare" in book-auction catalogues, has been sold for upwards of two guineas.——XXI. Postscript to the Royal and Noble Authors. MDCCXXXVI, 8vo. There should be, before the title-page, an outline etching of "Reason, Rectitude, and Justice, appearing to Christin de Pisan, &c., from an illumination in the library of the King of France," which is exceedingly well engraved. The work contains only 18 pages: and there were but 40 copies printed. The Royal and Noble Authors were first printed in 1759, 8vo. 2 vols.——XXII. Essai sur l'Art des Jardins Modernes, par M. Horace Walpole. Traduit en Francois, par M. Le Duc de Nivernois, en MDCCLXXXIV. Imprime a S.H. par T. Kirgate, MDCCLXXXV. With an opposite title in English, 4to. It contains 94 double pages, and every page of French has an opposite one of English. Not printed in the best manner of S.H. A copy of this book was sold for 3l.; at a sale in 1804.——XXIII. Bishop Banner's Ghost. Printed by T.K. MDLCCXXXIX, 4to. On the first leaf is the following "Argument." "In the gardens of the palace of Fulham is a dark recess: at the end of this stands a chair, which once belonged to Bishop Bonner. A certain Bishop of London (the late Beilby Porteus) more than 200 years after the death of the aforesaid Bonner, just as the clock of the gothic chapel had struck six, undertook to cut, with his own hand, a narrow walk through this thicket, which is since called the Monk's walk. He had no sooner begun to clear the way, than lo! suddenly up started from the chair, the ghost of Bishop Bonner, who, in a tone of just and bitter indignation, uttered the following verses." This curious publication contains only four pages of stanzas, written in alternate rhyme, of 8 and 6 feet metre.——XXIV. The Magpie and her Brood; a fable, from the tales of Bonaventure de Periers, valet de chambre to the Queen of Navarre; addressed to Miss Hotham. This is a very scarce poetical tract of four pages only; subscribed H.W.——XXV. Fourteen different pieces, printed at Strawberry Hill, of verses, cards, &c. This title I borrow from a book-auction catalogue. At a sale in 1804, these detached pieces were sold for 2l. 2s.; but it is not in my power to identify them. Whether they be the same "parcel of scraps, and loose leaves of poetry, epigrams," &c. which, according to a daily newspaper, were sold at the commencement of this year "for 16 pounds," I am also equally ignorant. See Kirgate's Catalogue, 1810, no. 420.——XXVI. Hieroglyphic Tales, 8vo. Only seven copies printed; idem, no. 380. From newspaper authority, I learn that these tales formed "a small pamphlet of two sheets, crown 8vo.," which were sold for 16l.; and I understand that the late Mr. G. Baker was the purchaser. N.B. They are incorporated in the author's printed works; but this is not having the first and true edition! There is nothing like the comfort of bleeding smartly for exhibiting these fourth and fifth symptoms of the Bibliomania! Vide pp. 521, 525, ante.——XXVII. Additions to First Editions of Walpole's Lives of the Painters, sewed.——XXVIII. The Press at Strawberry Hill to his Royal Highness the Duke of Clarence, a Poem.——XXIX. The Master of Otranto in durance.——XXX. Air, a Poem.——XXXI. A Poetical Epistle to Mrs. Crewe.——XXXII. A Poetical Epistle to Lady Horatio Waldegrave, on the Death of the Duke of Ancaster.——XXXIII. The Press at Strawberry Hill to Miss Mary and Miss Agnes Berry, a Poetical Epistle. [These last seven articles are taken from Mr. Cuthell's catalogue of 1811.] I should add that a much more copious and complete list, though not possessing all the intelligence here communicated, was prepared by the late Mr. George Baker for press; and printed, since his decease, for donations to his particular friends. Only twenty copies of this bibliographical brochure are said to have been executed. We will now take leave of the PRELUM WALPOLIANUM by subjoining a copy of the most elegant title-page vignette which ever issued from it.



Before the reader's eyes are finally turned from a contemplation of this elegant device—and as connected with the subject of PRIVATE PRESSES—let me inform him that the Marquis of Bute is in possession of a thin folio volume, exhibiting paintings, upon vellum, of the various devices used by Pope Sixtus V., in the frontispieces of the several works which issued from the APOSTOLICAL PRESS, while he filled the Papal Chair. To a tasteful bibliomaniac, few volumes would afford so much delight as a contemplation of the present one. It is quite a keimelion in its way!]

LYSAND. I do; but I have not so ardent an admiration of these volumes, as the generality of collectors. On the contrary, I think that the Hafod Press has, by one single production only, outweighed the whole of the Walpolian lucubrations; at least on the score of utility.

I might here add, to the foregoing symptoms, a passion to possess works which have been suppressed, condemned, or burnt; but all these things rank under the head of causes of the rarity of books; and as an entire volume might be written upon this symptom alone, I can here only allude to to [Transcriber's Note: second 'to' erroneous] the subject; hoping some diligent bibliographer will one day do for us what foreigners have done for other nations.

Thus have I, rather slightly, discussed the Symptoms of the Disease, called The Bibliomania. During this discussion, I see our friend has been busy, as he was yesterday evening, in making sketches of notes; and if you examine the finished pictures of which such outlines may be made productive, you will probably have a better notion of the accuracy of my classification of these symptoms.

It is much to be wished, whatever may be the whims of desperate book-collectors, that, in some of those volumes which are constantly circulating in the bibliomaniacal market, we had a more clear and satisfactory account of the rise and progress of arts and sciences. However strong may be my attachment to the profession of the cloth, I could readily exchange a great number of old volumes of polemical and hortatory divinity for interesting disquisitions upon the manners, customs, and general history of the times. Over what a dark and troublesome ocean must we sail, before we get even a glimpse at the progressive improvement of our ancestors in civilised life! Oh, that some judicious and faithful reporter had lived three hundred and odd years ago!—we might then have had a more satisfactory account of the origin of printing with metal types.

LIS. Pray give us your sentiments upon this latter subject. We have almost the whole day before us:—the sun has hardly begun to decline from his highest point.

LYSAND. A very pretty and smooth subject to discuss, truly! The longest day and the most effectually-renovated powers of body and mind, are hardly sufficient to come to any satisfactory conclusion, upon the subject. How can I, therefore, after the fatigues of the whole of yesterday, and with barely seven hours of daylight yet to follow, pretend to enter upon it? No: I will here only barely mention TRITHEMIUS[458]—who might have been numbered among the patriarchal bibliographers we noticed when discoursing in our friend's CABINET—as an author from whom considerable assistance has been received respecting early typographical researches. Indeed, Trithemius merits a more marked distinction in the annals of Literature than many are supposed to grant him: at any rate, I wish his labours were better known to our own countrymen.

[Footnote 458: We are indebted to the Abbe TRITHEMIUS, who was a diligent chronicler and indefatigable visitor of old Libraries, for a good deal of curious and interesting intelligence; and however Scioppius (De Orig. Domus Austriac.), Brower (Vit. Fortunat. Pictav., p. 18.), and Possevinus (Apparant sacr. p. 945), may carp at his simplicity and want of judgment, yet, as Baillet (from whom I have borrowed the foregoing authorities) has justly remarked—"since the time of Trithemius there have been many libraries, particularly in Germany, which have been pillaged or burnt in the destruction of monasteries; so that the books which he describes as having seen in many places, purposely visited by him for inspection, may have been destroyed in the conflagration of religious houses." Jugemens des Savans; vol. ii., pt. i., p. 71, edit. 12mo. It is from Trithemius, after all, that we have the only direct evidence concerning the origin of printing with metal types: and the bibliographical world is much indebted to Chevelier (L'Origine de l'Imprimerie de Paris, 1691, 4to., pp. 3-6.) for having been the first to adduce the positive evidence of this writer; who tells us, in his valuable Chronicon Hirsaugiens (1690, 2 vols. folio), that he received his testimony from the mouth of Fust's son-in-law—"ex ore Petri Opilionis audivi,"—that Guttenburg [Transcriber's Note: Gutenberg] was the author of the invention. The historical works of Trithemius were collected and published in 1601, in folio, two parts, and his other works are minutely detailed in the 9th volume of the Dictionnarie [Transcriber's Note: Dictionnaire] Historique, published at Caen, in 1789. Of these, one of the most curious is his Polygraphia: being first printed at Paris, in 1518, in a beautiful folio volume; and presenting us, in the frontispiece, with a portrait of the abbe; which is probably the first, if not the only legitimate, print of him extant. Whether it be copied from a figure on his tomb—as it has a good deal of the monumental character—I have no means of ascertaining. For the gratification of all tasteful bibliomaniacs, an admirable facsimile is here annexed. The Polygraphia of Trithemius was translated into French, and published in 1601, folio. His work De Scriptoribus Ecclesiasticis, Colon, 1546, 4to., with two appendices, contains much valuable matter. The author died in his 55th year, A.D. 1516: according to the inscription upon his tomb in the monastery of the Benedictines at Wirtzburg. His life has been written by Busaeus, a Jesuit. See La Monnoye's note in the Jugemens des Savans; ibid.