Book Collecting: A Guide for Amateurs

by J. Herbert Slater

The book lover however is not content with mere acquisition, he feels it his duty to know something of the inner life, so to speak, of each volume on his shelf—something, that is to say, beyond the outside lettering. He wishes to know the chief incidents in the history of the person who wrote it, under what circumstances it was written and why, how many editions have been published, whether the particular copy is perfect, how much it is worth from a pecuniary point of view, and occasionally the nature of the contents. The word "occasionally" may be considered by some as used in an objectionable sense, implying in fact that book lovers are not always in the habit of reading what they possess. Let the collector of Bibles say whether he is in the habit of reading the various editions which he has been at such pains to collect, and it will then be time enough to inquire into the practices of other collectors who, like himself, though in different departments, may not consider themselves justified in spending the amount of time necessary for careful and satisfactory study. In truth, if all books were read, it is only reasonable to suppose that all libraries would be small; and, as we know the contrary to be the fact, we must acknowledge the truth of the main proposition to a very large extent. The happiness of the book lover, as we know him when in the plenitude of his glory, consists by no means in reading, but in the contemplation of his possessions from afar; an inane treatise on theology becomes the object of his daily prayers when bound in morocco and stamped with the Golden Fleece of Longepierre.

In this short dissertation we have but little to do with the contents of any book. This knowledge can be acquired as circumstances and opportunity offer; we deal rather with extraneous details which are necessary to be known by everyone who aspires to form a collection of books for himself and would know something of the history of each.

Every bibliographer, and also every collector of any eminence, has within reach certain books of reference which experience has shown to be absolutely necessary. Chief among these is Lowndes' Bibliographer's Manual of which two editions have been issued. The first was published in 1834; the second in seven parts from 1857-61, with an appendix volume in 1864, having been re-issued from the stereotype plates without a date in 1871. The latter may frequently be picked up at auction sales for about 25s., but there is this peculiarity about the work, that it really would not seem to be very material which edition is purchased. The book is imperfect and full of errors: it cannot be relied on, and the second edition, which was edited by the late Mr. H. G. Bohn, the eminent bookseller, is as untrustworthy as the first edition. The original plan, which has never been departed from, was to give the names of English authors in alphabetical order, placing under each the title of the works he wrote, with the date of each edition, number of volumes, in many cases the collation, and finally the sums realised at auction. Nothing fluctuates so greatly as auction values, and it is not surprising, therefore, to find that not a single entry in Lowndes under this head can be accepted at the present day. Some of the variations between past and present prices are ludicrous in the extreme, and there is no doubt that anyone who attempted to obtain his knowledge of the value of books from Lowndes' Manual would find himself in possession of a mass of old-time information which would be rather a hindrance to him than otherwise. The Manual is useful because it gives a full and tolerably complete list of English authors, and collates many of their works with considerable care; it is, moreover, the authority quoted by cataloguers, and, being a copyright publication, practically bars the way to any rival work on the same subject. For these and other reasons it is indispensable.

To ascertain the value of a book is an exceedingly difficult operation; in fact, there are many who assert that it is impossible to do so. Booksellers' prices, as disclosed in their catalogues, are not much to go by, for it is notorious that a West End dealer will often charge more than one who is established further East. Again, some London booksellers charge more or less than provincial ones, according to circumstance and the character of their customers. Until recently there were only two ways of becoming an adept in this department, the first and best by practical experience, a method which is not, of course, available to any but dealers and their assistants; and the second, by indexing retail catalogues and striking an average. A third method, that of taking the average of auction sales, was not available until recently, for it is too troublesome, for any save those whose business it is, to attend sales by auction all day long for nine months out of the twelve, in order to obtain the necessary materials.

In 1886, I conceived the idea of fully reporting all sales of any importance taking place either in London or the provinces, and in December of that year the necessary arrangements were completed, with the modification that for the present, at any rate, no notice was to be taken of any book which did not realise at least 20s. by auction. This publication, the success of which amply demonstrates the necessity for its existence, is named Book Prices Current, and already five volumes are published, and a sixth will be ready at the beginning of next year (1893). As a book of this kind would be useless without a full index, the greatest possible care has been taken to make it as complete and as accurate as possible. From Book Prices Current a very good idea of the average value of almost any book may be obtained. Careful note of the way in which the particular volume is bound must, of course, be taken, for this, as might be expected, makes a great difference in the price.

The French are supposed to be much better bibliographers than our own countrymen, and if the character of the authoritative works published in either country is a criterion of national merit there cannot be much, if any, doubt that this is so. Lowndes' Bibliographer's Manual takes no notice of books published abroad, and, as they are in the majority, it becomes necessary to seek an additional guide. This is afforded by Brunet's Manuel du Libraire et de l'Amateur de Livres, published at Paris in 6 vols. from 1860-65, and usually found, with the Appendix on Géographie, 1870, and 2 vol. Supplément, 1878-80. In its place it is a much better book than Lowndes', but it is very expensive, frequently bringing as much as £10 and £12 by auction. Here again, however, the values are quite unreliable, and, as in the case of Lowndes', there is no index of subjects whatever. From the three works mentioned very much may undoubtedly be learned about almost any book provided the author's name be known; but as it frequently happened that many authors chose, for reasons satisfactory to themselves, to conceal their names altogether, or in the much commoner instance of the name being forgotten by or unknown to the searcher, an index of subjects becomes a necessity. This is partly supplied by Watt's Bibliotheca Britannica in 4 vols. 4to, 1824, two volumes being devoted to authors and two to subjects, there being also cross references from one to the other. This inestimable work occupied the author the greater portion of his life, and is a monument of industry and research. The auction value amounts to £3 within a fraction, this being one of the few books which has a fixed market price all over the kingdom. Good copies in handsome bindings frequently occur, and are worth £4 to £5. The English Catalogue, initiated by the late Mr. Sampson Low, is a periodical which makes its appearance annually, and, unlike all the other works I have mentioned, is confined entirely to current literature. The title of every work published during the year is given, with the month in which it was issued, the price, and publisher's name, the whole being arranged in one line under the name of the author. At intervals, which do not appear to be strictly defined, collective editions of these annual catalogues, arranged in one alphabet, are published, as well as of the indexes of the titles which are appended to each annual issue.[2]

It is obvious that a work of this kind must be of the greatest utility, and as the English Catalogue is merely a continuation of the London Catalogue and the British Catalogue, the former of which commenced so far back as the year 1811, it will be seen that a comprehensive view can be taken of the whole range of English literature from that date to the present. The Catalogue has not, however, always been so carefully prepared as it is now, and consequently in the earlier days many publications were omitted. When this is the case Lowndes and Watt will be found of material assistance, the latter especially. A complete set of these catalogues, unfortunately, is very difficult to obtain, and as the earlier ones are not indispensable, it may be perhaps advisable to forego them and to commence in 1814. The volumes to be acquired therefore would be London Catalogue, 1816-51; English Catalogue, 1835-63, 1863-71, 1872-80, 1881-89; with the accompanying subject indexes to the London Catalogue, 1814-46; and to the English Catalogue, 1835-55, 1856-75, 1874 (sic)-80. It will be noticed that the dates sometimes overlap each over, but this is an advantage rather than a drawback. Among the other books frequently consulted by both dealers and amateurs are Mr. Swan Sonnenschein's The Best Books; the Reference Catalogue of Current Literature, and Halkett & Laing's Dictionary of Anonymous and Pseudonymous Literature of Great Britain, in 4 vols. These are mentioned together because they are essentially subject indexes and the best of their kind.

Sonnenschein's The Best Books, already in a second and vastly improved edition, is a comparatively recent publication, in which, under subjects arranged systematically, are placed the best current books, whether ancient or modern, on each subject, with the prices, sizes, publisher's name and dates of the first and last editions of each. There are about 50,000 works included, and they together give a very good idea of all the material in the various departments of research which the specialist is likely to have occasion to read or refer to. Old books are included where they are of actual present-day value to the student. The selection is not, of course, entirely made by the author, as it is impossible for him to have read a hundredth part of the books recommended; most probably the list has been compiled from the works of specialists, the various encyclopædias, and so forth; but however this may be, it is a very useful one in the hands of a person capable of discrimination (towards which the numerous critical and bibliographical notes and the system of asterisks are a great help), especially if he live near one or other of the large libraries now springing up in different parts of the country.

The Reference Catalogue of Current Literature, a cumbrous and unwieldy tome, the last issue of which was out of print within a couple of months of its publication, consists of a large number of publishers' catalogues arranged in alphabetical order. Each work mentioned is indexed, and this has been accomplished so fully and accurately that almost any book to be bought new in the market makes its appearance here.

Halkett & Laing's Dictionary is, as the title implies, a record of the anonymous and pseudonymous literature of Great Britain. If an author wrote under an assumed name or anonymously, his real name will be found here, together with a short account of his publications. This work can hardly be said to be indispensable, but it is, notwithstanding, exceedingly useful, and well worth the three and a half guineas which will have to be expended upon it.