[List of Notes and Queries volumes and pages]
THE CAXTON MEMORIAL AND CHAUCER'S MONUMENT.
The result of the appeals which have recently been made to the sympathies of the present age for the purpose of erecting a Memorial to our first Printer, and of restoring the crumbling tomb of one of our earliest and greatest Poets, has gone near to prove that the admirers of Caxton and Chaucer are disposed to yield to the objects of their hero-worship little more than lip service. In short, the plan for the Caxton Memorial, and that for the restoration of Chaucer's Monument, have well nigh failed.
The projectors of the former had, indeed, in the necessity of settling what the Caxton Memorial should be, to encounter, at the very outset of their undertaking, one difficulty from which the Chaucer Committee was free; and the uncertainty whether it should assume the form of the symbolical "lamp and fountain" so poetically suggested by the Dean of St. Paul's, or the ideal cast-iron statue of the Coalbrook Dale Company, may have had a sinister effect upon the Subscription List.
Between the suggestive symbol and the fancy portrait there would seem to be little room for hesitation, since the former would merely veil a truth, while the latter would perpetuate a falsehood. But our readers have had before them a third, and, as it seems to us, a far more reasonable proposal, in that made by MR. BOLTON CORNEY for a collective impression of Caxton's original compositions: and we cannot but think that if that gentleman will take the trouble to enter into the necessary details as to the extent of such compositions, and the expense of transcribing and printing them, his scheme may yet be realised, and that too to the satisfaction of all the subscribers to the Caxton Memorial. The following communication indicates the favour with which MR. CORNEY'S proposal will probably be received by the followers of Caxton's art in this country.
I have just read with great pleasure the article on "A Caxton Memorial suggested" in your Number for the 19th of July. I was particularly pleased with the "proposed conditions;" and as an humble follower of the art of which Caxton stands at the head, and as an enthusiastic admirer of that great and talented, and learned printer, I should feel great pleasure in becoming a subscriber, should anything of the kind be undertaken; and have no doubt but that many,—aye, as many as might be required to complete the subscription list, might be found among the printers of this country, who would feel proud to subscribe to such a "Memorial." If anything of the kind should be undertaken, the projectors might depend upon me becoming a subscriber.
HENRY RYLETT, Printer.
Horncastle, Aug. 18. 1851.
The following letter, on the other hand, from a correspondent whose smallest suggestion deserves, as it will be sure to receive, the respectful attention of all who have the pleasure of knowing his high personal character and great acquirements, although pointing at what might be a fitting Memorial of one of the greatest of the Worthies of Westminster, clearly indicates that if MR. CORNEY'S scheme can be carried out it will have the benefit of the writer's encouragement and support:
MR. BOLTON CORNEY'S letter is entitled to much attention. It is satisfactory to learn that the original design has been abandoned. The fountain and the illumination might be a very pretty idea, but it would have sorely puzzled some of our countrymen to connect that memorial in their minds with the name and services of the first English printer.