One of the most remarkable collections of pamphlets ever formed was that amassed during the Commonwealth by an enterprising London bookseller named George Thomason. He succeeded in gathering together[87] more than 22,000 pamphlets and tracts relating to the times; and being an ardent Royalist, was at great pains to prevent the collection from becoming known to the authorities. When the Royalist cause was scotch'd by the execution of King Charles, the collection was transferred to Oxford, and lodged in the Bodleian Library for safety; and although Thomason died in 1666, his collection remained at Oxford until nearly a century later, when it was purchased by King George iii. for £300, and presented by him to the British Museum.
It is, of course, quite priceless now, and contains a large number of tracts not otherwise known. A catalogue of the collection was printed by the Museum authorities in 1908, two demy octavo volumes with the title: 'A Catalogue of the Pamphlets, Books, Newspapers, and Manuscripts relating to the Civil War, the Commonwealth, and Restoration, collected by G. Thomason, 1640-1661.'
Philosophy.
46. 'A farmer should be a philosopher,' said Mr. Jorrocks; and although most book-collectors who specialise in philosophical works would disclaim any connection between the two subjects, yet it is not easy to say where philosophy either begins or ends. The dictionaries are very cautious, contenting themselves with the assertion that any 'application of pure thought' or rational explanation of 'things' comes under this heading. Perhaps Mr. Jorrocks was more correct than most of his hearers imagined, for farming in this country certainly requires a deal of pure thought—if it is to be made to pay. For our purpose, however, we will narrow this heading down to those books which deal with the moral aspects of mental influences, and those which centre about the science of metaphysics.
Poetry.
47. Poetry is another heading over which we need not linger. He who specialises in this class of literature may be either a student of English poesy or a lover of prosody. If the former, the following volumes will be of assistance to him.
Thomas Warton's 'History of English Poetry' first appeared in three quarto volumes issued between 1774 and 1781; but a new edition, edited by W. C. Hazlitt in four octavo volumes, was published in 1871. Professor W. J. Courthope's work of the same title was issued in six volumes between 1895 and 1910; whilst Professor G. Saintsbury's 'History of English Prosody from the Twelfth Century to the Present Day,' begun in 1906, was completed in 1910, three octavo volumes.
Privately-printed.
48. Privately-printed Books. A curious byway of collecting, this; for although it comprises books upon every subject under the sun, yet it will not help the collector to acquire knowledge upon any single subject. For some there is doubtless a certain attraction about books that have been put forth surreptitiously, as it were; yet to the ordinary book-collector such volumes seem to partake rather of the nature of pariahs. They are among books, but not of them, lacking the credentials of their companions. They are of three species only: (1) Personal Books; of interest only to a family and its relations; (2) Books refused by the publishing houses as being unlikely to appeal to the general public; (3) Improper books, which, if issued publicly, would most likely incur an action by the Public Prosecutor. Some years ago Bertram Dobell, a London bookseller, collected upwards of a thousand volumes issued in this manner, and published a catalogue of his collection, with interesting notes. This collection was finally sold en bloc to the Library of Congress at Washington, U.S.A., in 1913. J. Martin's 'Bibliographical Catalogue of Privately Printed Books' was published first in 1834, two volumes; but a second edition appeared twenty years later.
School Books.