To the Duke of Sussex's Catalogue, and those of Lea Wilson, George Offor, Francis Fry, William Maskell, W. J. Loftie, W. J. Blew, Farmer-Atkinson, Lord Ashburnham, and the Rev. W. Makellar of Edinburgh, we must go for the means of bibliographically estimating the editions of the Scriptures and the Prayer-Book; and the Huth and Caxton Exhibition Catalogues should be consulted. The ordinary English and American collector seldom goes beyond English, French, German, and Latin Bibles. Of all these, not even excepting the Fust and Gutenberg or Mazarin, the original impression of the Scriptures in French, published at Paris and Antwerp in six volumes between 1523 and 1528, is by far the rarest; and the next place or rank is perhaps due to the German one, printed at Zürich in the same number of volumes, 1527-29, of which an imperfect copy is in the Huth Library. The Mazarin Bible has grown rather commoner of late years. It is certainly much more so than Coverdale's English one of 1535 in a perfect state, or Tyndale's New Testament of 1526. It is a point about it not generally known, that the extant copies on vellum and on paper differ.
For History, Genealogy, Topography, and well-nigh all other branches of human science, the student finds himself referred to the Middle-Hill Library, now in course of gradual dispersion; but this is far richer in the manuscript than in the printed book department. He may also profitably consult the catalogues of Mr. Hartley and Mr. Tyrrell (City Remembrancer), of whom the second collected largely on London.
Mr. Bolton Corney, Mr. Grenville, and Mr. Jadis made voyages and travels, books relating to America, and the first-named literary adversaria, distinct features in their enormous aggregate of volumes.
Information on early English poetry and the drama may be sought in the catalogues of Sykes, Perry, Caldecott, Heber, Chalmers, Jolley, Wolfreston, Way, Daniel, Corser, Collier, Frere, Bliss, Bright, Mitford, Ouvry, Bandinel, Halliwell-Phillipps, and of course Huth.
Mr. Brook Pulham concentrated his attention on the writings of George Wither, Mr. Bragge on works illustrative of Smokers and Tobacco, and Major Irwin on the occult and supernatural.
Mr. Henry Pyne during a long series of years made an extensive collection, restricted to English books dated prior to the year 1600, and as a rule, it must be added, to the commoner class of publications.
CHAPTER V
Voyages and travels—Their strong American interest—Maryland and Pennsylvania—New Plymouth—Sir John Mandeville—Columbus and Vespucci—Early medical literature—Harvey and the circulation of the blood—Occult literature—Phenomena—Technical works—The paddle-wheel—Books printed in a special manner—Chapbooks—Garlands—Ballads—Broadsides—Street advertisements—General or miscellaneous collections—Omnivorous buyers—Richard Heber, Sir Thomas Phillipps, James Crossley—A moral deduced—Most interesting types of collector—Advantages connected with restriction to personal tastes or wants—Dangers of emulation and servility—Mr. Quaritch's Dictionary of Collectors—Various sorts of genuine collector.