Book Collecting: A Guide for Amateurs

by J. Herbert Slater

In the year 1699, for example, a book was published, entitled Entretiens sur les Contes de Fées, in which one of the characters is described as saying, "For some time past you know to what an extent the editions of the Elzevirs have been in demand. The fancy for them has penetrated far and wide to such an extent, indeed, that I know a man who starves himself for the sake of accumulating as many of these books as he can lay his hands on." In the chapter devoted to the Elzevir press, these important publications are treated as fully as space permits, so that at present it will be sufficient to say that for nearly 200 years many generations of collectors have made painstaking attempts to form a complete library of these little books, which, after all, excel only in the quality of the paper and the beauty of the type. For real scholarly merit the editions of Gryphius or Estienne are much to be preferred, but this makes no difference. The Elzevirs were fashionable, much more so than they are now, and accordingly they were valued. It is, moreover, quite possible that they may again rise in popular favour, in which event those far-seeing individuals who are even now imitating the example of the collector mentioned in the Entretiens will reap a rich harvest in case they choose to avail themselves of it. The great guide-book on the productions of this famous press is that by Alphonse Willems, entitled Les Elzevier, Histoire et Annales Typographiques, published at Brussels in 1880, with the Etudes sur la Bibliographie Elzevirienne of Dr. G. Berghman, a kind of supplement to it, published at Stockholm in 1885.[3]

Each publication is given in the order in which it was issued, and what will be found especially useful is an appendix containing a list of the spurious Elzevirs issued from the Dutch presses and of the forgeries which have from time to time been foisted on the confiding amateur. With the assistance of this work, the Elzevir collector cannot go very far wrong, though he will undoubtedly have much to learn from his own practical experience. He will become more or less perfect in his lesson in time, and may take comfort in the reflection that nothing so quickly ensures perfection as a limited series of bad mistakes. As examples of the Elzevir press are of "right" and "wrong" editions, with and without red lines, and are, moreover, usually measured in millimetres with the assistance of a rule which the enthusiastic collector invariably carries about with him wherever he goes, it is evident that there is much to learn and a great deal to be carried in the memory before the amateur can trust himself to become his own mentor.

Difficult as the subject of the Elzevir press is, that of the Aldine press is more so. It was established much earlier—viz., about 1489—and examples are more numerous and altogether more confusing. As a general rule they are also more expensive, and none but rich collectors can afford to compete for examples of the best class. Still, good specimens may occasionally be got for reasonable sums; and as a guide to the subject as a whole Renouard's Annales de l'Imprimerie des Alde (1st ed., 2 vols., Paris, 1803; 2nd, 3 vols., ib., 1825; 3rd, 1 vol., ib., 1834) occupies a unique position. This work is arranged on a similar plan to the Elzevier and is quite as indispensable to the specialist. An ordinary copy of the 2nd ed. will cost about 30s., but the more recent edition can sometimes be got for considerably less.

Those fortunate persons who succeed in forming a good library of early printed books usually consult Dibdin's Bibliotheca Spenceriana, which professes to be nothing more than a descriptive catalogue of books of the 15th century in the incomparable collection of Earl Spencer. It is, however, full of notes by one of the best of English bibliographers. The British Museum Catalogue of Early Printed Books in English, 3 vols., 1884, which is carried down to 1640, and Maitland's Early Printed Books in Lambeth Library, 1843, carried down to 1600, are also frequently consulted. These works are of course supplementary to Lowndes' Bibliographer's Manual and Watt's Bibliotheca Britannica, which, as previously explained, are on the shelves of every collector worthy the name, be he a specialist or not. The department of early printed books may, however, be left without further comment, as not one person out of many thousands is able for obvious reasons to devote his serious attention to it. Public libraries and similar institutions, which may be said to have a continuing existence, frequently contain a good show of works of this class, and, in the opinion of many, are the only suitable repositories for them.

Privately printed books are those which are issued either from a private press or for the benefit of private friends. They are never published in the ordinary acceptation of that term, and cannot be bought at first hand. A good collection of these is of course difficult, though by no means impossible, to acquire; and for the benefit of those who may wish to devote themselves to this department—uninteresting as it undoubtedly is—Martin's Privately Printed Books (1834, 2nd ed., 1854), in 1 vol. 8vo, is readily available. Many of these so-called "books" consist merely of single sheets of letterpress; others, on the contrary, are more pretentious. In the former case they are more correctly termed "broadsides"; and R. Lemon's Catalogue of the Collection of Broadsides, in the possession of the Society of Antiquaries (8vo, 1866), though by no means a perfect book, is certainly the best that can be procured for our purpose.

Early printed American books, or those which in any way relate to the American Continent, provided only they were published during the 16th or 17th centuries, have lately become exceedingly scarce. In June, 1888, nine small quarto tracts, bound in one volume, brought, £66 by auction, a record entirely surpassed by the preceding lot, which, consisting of twelve similar tracts only, brought no less a sum than £555. These prices are of course highly exceptional; but so great is the desire to obtain books of this class that the amounts in question, exorbitant though they may appear to be, were perhaps not excessive.

The amateur may in this instance follow the rule with every confidence. Should he at any time see a work relating to America, no matter where printed so long as it is dated before the year 1700, he should on no account pass it by without very careful consideration; and the same remark applies, though to a less extent, to all books printed in Scotland before that date. In both cases it is probable that the specimen offered for sale will have a most unprepossessing exterior, and in some instances the price asked may be small. This frequently happens, since the more uneducated class of dealers commence by valuing a book from its appearance, and while a coloured plate or two would at once put them on the qui vive there is generally nothing about books of this kind which looks valuable. It is no disparagement to the trade as a whole to say that some booksellers, particularly those who carry on business in small provincial towns, are absolutely ignorant of anything more than the first principles of their trade, and it is out of these that bargains are made. Henry Stevens' Catalogue of the American Books in the Library of the British Museum (1886, 8vo) is from the pen of a late famous bookseller who made many "bargains" in his time and whose profound knowledge of the insides as well as of the outsides of his very valuable collection was in every way worthy of his success.

Shakespearian collectors cannot do better than consult the article "Shakespeare" in Lowndes' Bibliographer's Manual, where every known edition, translation, and commentary professes to be catalogued and also in many cases collated and described. Some of Halliwell-Phillipps' works, though not absolutely indispensable, are nevertheless exceedingly useful.

Bible collectors do not as a rule notice editions later than what is styled the "Vinegar" Bible, published in 1717. They commence with Coverdale's issue of 1535, and proceed onward in regular order, for the most part arranging their collection not according to date but under the various "versions". This subject is very extensive and exceedingly difficult to handle, so much so that, without a competent guide, it will be found impossible to make satisfactory progress. This is provided in Cotton's Editions of the Bible and Parts thereof in English (1821, 2nd ed., 1852), and J. R. Dore's Old Bibles (1876, 2nd ed., 1888). Mr. Dore is probably the best living authority upon English Bibles and Testaments, and his book is in itself amply sufficient for the amateur. It is published by Eyre & Spottiswoode at 5s.

For works on botany consult Pritzel's Thesaurus Literaturæ Botanicæ (Leipsic, 1847-51, 2nd ed., 1872-7, 4to); and for books exclusively relating to tobacco, some of which are very rare and valuable, W. Bragge's Bibliotheca Nicotiana (priv. prin., r. 8vo, 1880).