ust as anyone who sets out to collect prints or antiques must provide himself at the outset with certain books necessary for obtaining a knowledge of the subject, so the book-collector must gather to himself those works which, if studied carefully, will enable him to become thoroughly conversant with the objects of his favourite pursuit. To the real collector there is no more delightful reading than the literature which deals with the subject he has made his own; and the more ample and specialised it be, the greater will be his delight.
What bibliophile has not read, and read again, such delightful works as Burton's 'Book Hunter,' Blades' 'Enemies of Books' and 'Life and Typography of William Caxton,' 'The Library' and 'Books and Bookmen' by Andrew Lang, Harrison's 'Choice of Books' and 'Among my Books,' Clark's 'Care of Books,' Edwards' 'Libraries and Founders of Libraries,' and many others of equal charm? Indeed, these volumes may well be among the first that he who embarks upon the peaceful sea of book-collecting gathers to himself. Nor is there any less fascination in the more specialised works, such as Mr. Gordon Duff's 'Early Printed Books,'[52] 'English Provincial Printers,' and 'The Printers of Westminster and London to 1535,' Bradshaw's 'Collected Papers,' Mr. A. W. Pollard's 'Early Illustrated Books,' Wheatley's 'Prices of Books,' Professor Ferguson's 'Aspects of Bibliography,' and the publications of the Bibliographical Society. All these and many others are necessary if we are to acquire a thorough knowledge of old books. They are, or should be, in every large public library; and we may read them through and through at our leisure, learning more from each perusal.
There are certain works, however, which the book-collector should himself possess, for he will have continual recourse to them throughout his book-collecting career. Doubtless some of them will make an inroad upon his purse, but it will be money well spent, and the knowledge which he will gain from them will save him many a shilling. Their acquisition must be looked upon in the same light as the shelves and fittings of the library.
General Bibliographies.
First of all we will take those bibliographies which deal with books published in the English language, and there are certain of these volumes that are indispensable to the book-collector. Among them are Lowndes' 'Bibliographer's Manual,' in six octavo volumes, last published in 1869[53] (alas! sadly deficient, but still of considerable use), which one can have for about a pound, and Hazlitt's valuable 'Bibliographical Collections and Notes on Early English Literature,' complete in eight octavo volumes, published between 1867 and 1903. The Bibliographical Society's publications, from 1893 onwards, are of the greatest value, comprising lists of English printers, early editions of rare books, lists of early English plays, tales, and prose romances, with numerous bibliographies. For recourse to these, probably it will be necessary to visit the nearest important public library, though one may purchase individual numbers from time to time at the second-hand booksellers'.
Arber's 'Term Catalogues,' published in three quarto volumes between 1903 and 1906, gives a complete list of works entered at Stationers' Hall from 1668 to 1709. It followed the same author's 'Transcripts of the Registers of the Worshipful Company of Stationers of London, 1554-1640,' which was privately printed in five volumes between 1875 and 1894. A second 'Transcript' of these registers, from 1640 to 1708, was issued similarly in 1913-14, in three more volumes.
Sir Egerton Brydges' 'British Bibliographer' (in which he was assisted by Joseph Haslewood) was published in four octavo volumes, 1810-14, and is an entertaining work, though not one which it is necessary that the collector should acquire. The second edition of his 'Censura Literaria' appeared in ten volumes in 1815, and the 'Restituta; or Titles, Extracts, and Characters of Old Books in English Literature revived,' was published in four volumes, 1814-16. All these afford interesting reading; but they are for the armchair and fireside rather than the desk: and the information that they contain must not always be regarded as infallible. Payne Collier's 'Account of the Rarest Books in the English Language,' which appeared in two volumes in 1865, is rather more dull than its title suggests. Karslake's 'Notes from Sotheby's' is useful, being a compilation of 2032 notes from catalogues of book-sales between 1885 and 1909.
Quaritch's 'General Catalogue of Books' is useful for reference. It comprises short descriptions of more than 38,000 works, and was published in 1887 in six volumes. An additional volume containing an index to the whole was issued in 1892. The catalogue of the Huth Library, five large octavo volumes published in 1880, is also valuable. Then there is, of course, the British Museum catalogue, which was printed in 1884 under the title 'A Catalogue of Books in the Library of the British Museum, printed in England, Scotland, and Ireland, and of Books in English printed abroad, to the year 1640': three octavo volumes.
For an actual list of the published works of all British authors of note, one must consult the 'Dictionary of National Biography': while the more detailed bibliographies to each volume of the 'Cambridge History of English Literature' are of great assistance, though they vary considerably, and do not pretend to be complete. Allibone's 'Critical Dictionary of English Literature and British and American Authors,' in three volumes, was published by Lippincott (Philadelphia) between 1859 and 1871. There is a supplement to it by J. F. Kirk, which appeared in two volumes in 1891. It is a work of considerable value to the bibliographer.
With regard to the books printed abroad (as well as in England), it is essential that the collector procure a copy of Brunet's 'Manuel de Libraire et de l'Amateur de Livres,' a most valuable work dealing with the literature of all countries. The last (fifth) edition of this great work was published in six octavo volumes at Paris, 1860-65. In 1870 a companion volume by Pierre Deschamps was issued, entitled 'Dictionnaire de Géographie Ancienne et Moderne à l'Usage du Libraire,' a dictionary of the Latin and Greek names of places with their modern equivalents and some account of the first presses at those places. There is a modern-ancient index. A supplement to the 'Manuel' was published by MM. P. Deschamps and Gustave Brunet in two volumes, 1878 and 1880. The complete work, in all nine large octavo volumes, 1860-1880, cost formerly about £18; however, a reprint of the fifth edition—an exact facsimile in type and size—was issued by Brockhaus of Leipzig (at ten pounds the set) in 1920. Graesse's 'Trésor de Livres Rares et Précieux' is also valuable. It comprises books in all tongues and contains a mass of bibliographical information. Published in six quarto volumes (vol. 6 is in two parts) between 1859 and 1867, a supplement was issued in 1869: in all seven volumes.[54]
