I bought this painting from Charles Dickens’ friend, old Mrs. Haines, as it hung in her inner parlour or sanctum. I also bought from the old lady an old crockery clock-case, depicting the young Pretender and Flora MacDonald; also a separate figure of Flora MacDonald. The old dame talked the while of her recollections of uninteresting (!) folk, such as Lord Byron and Charles Dickens. To hear her talk of her own father, a Thames waterman, landing Byron at the Tower stairs, carried one in fancy almost back to Wenceslaus Hollar’s London, with its picturesque quaintness. Describing Dickens’ appearance when first he came to London, she spoke of him as having somewhat the look of a groom. Then she pointed with pride to the plain chair in which Dickens, in later years, spent many an hour of many a day reading her husband’s library books.
This house, No. 24, Fetter Lane, has long been pulled down, and the foregoing remarks are from my memory of my last call there about nineteen years ago. In an article shortly afterwards (5th January, 1884) in the Pall Mall Gazette—I have just looked it up in one of my commonplace books—are many curious particulars, and two good illustrations: “The walls are lined all round with books that have long been forgotten by the world, all arranged with some attention to regularity. A little angular counter protects them from the profane touch of curio-hunters. This is covered with old books, prints, tarnished silver, glass cases, tattered engravings, and paintings cracked and stained. In one corner Dame Haines sat down. ‘Here,’ she said, ‘I have seen Dickens sit many hundreds of times, and here he used to lean his shoulder on the counter. Ah!’ she went on, making a movement with her hands, and with ecstasy expressed on every one of her wrinkled features, ‘I can see him now, with his pleasant face, his quiet, rippling laugh and his gentle ways.”
Now, the earlier bookplates hailing from the more northern colonies of America differ generally from those of southern colonies. Most of the early northern families were of stern, unimaginative mettle, rather despising as unholy anything so “worldly” as an ex libris, and bringing few such gewgaws with them in their trunks. On the other hand, what bookplates they in time adopted were home-made, and if not fine works of art, they were of essential interest as a bit of history.
The southern colonies, on the other hand, were frequented by a more polished and wealthy class, bringing along with them the trappings and social trinkets of their old society.
Mr. E. N. Hewins, in his extremely valuable treatise on American bookplates, gives the book-label of the Rev. John Williams, dated 1679, as the earliest dated example. This is particularly interesting, as the said John Williams was a native. He was born at Roxbury, in Massachusetts, his grandfather having settled there in about the year 1638.
John Williams graduated at Harvard in 1683, was ordained in 1688, and became the first pastor of Deerfield, a frontier town. On the night of February 28th, 1704, Deerfield was attacked by about 300 French and Indians. A great number of citizens were captured; two of John Williams’ children and a negro servant were killed; and then he, with his wife and remaining children, were forced to march for Canada. On the second day out, his wife, falling exhausted, was at once slain with a tomahawk. Urged on, they marched 300 miles to their destination.
After a long while John Williams was ransomed, and came back to his faithful charge of Deerfield in 1706. One daughter, Eunice, was still kept a captive, and her after history was very remarkable. She was only a child of eight when captured; but in time she forgot the English language, became a Roman Catholic, and married an Indian. She lived to a great age, and several times visited her relations, but refused to give up any of the habits or dress of Indian life.
Another early native-wrought label ex libris is that dated 1704 for the books of Thomas Prince. He, too, was of an old stock, his grandfather having emigrated from Hull in 1633.
Thomas Prince became pastor of the Old South Church in Boston. A fine scholar and linguist, he made valuable collections, both manuscript and in print. Some of these stored in the tower of the Old South Church, of great interest for the early history of America, were unfortunately destroyed by the British forces in 1775.
Now we find a bookplate known to have been engraved on copper by a native engraver.