tag="{http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml}a">[2] In the annual volume for 1891 a new scheme has been started, the authors and titles entries appearing in one alphabet in "dictionary form".

CHAPTER II.

THE FIRST ENGLISH AUCTION SALE—FASHION IN BOOK COLLECTING—SPECIAL BOOKS OF REFERENCE RELATING TO PARTICULAR BRANCHES OF BIBLIOGRAPHY.

THE first sale of books by auction which is recorded as having taken place in England was held in Warwick Lane exactly 213 years ago, and Dr. Lazarus Seaman, whose library was dispersed on the occasion in question, appears to have confined his attention strictly to Latin Bibles of the 16th century, the cumbrous works of the Puritan divines, and the great editions of the Fathers—huge folios thought so little of that, allowing for the change in the value of money, they can now for the most part be bought from the booksellers for less than they could then at auction. The reason which prompted this old collector to limit his purchases to works of a single class was in all probability much the same as that which prevails under similar circumstances at the present time, namely, a natural desire for finality, the outcome of an experience which shows plainly enough that in order to form a complete collection of anything its scope must be reduced to the smallest possible compass. As a matter of fact Dr. Seaman appears to have embarked on a somewhat extensive undertaking, for in the period mentioned by far the greater majority of works issued from the press were of a religious nature. Still the incident is valuable from an antiquarian point of view, as it forms a good precedent for a large body of modern collectors who, like Seaman, follow the prevailing fashion of the day. This fashion on being analysed will be found to vary at different periods and to be of longer or shorter duration according to a variety of circumstances which appear to be entirely without the range of argumentative discussion.

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