THE AMENITIES
OF BOOK-COLLECTING
AND
KINDRED AFFECTIONS

BY
A. EDWARD NEWTON






WITH ILLUSTRATIONS


JOHN LANE, THE BODLEY HEAD
LONDON MCMXX

 

Printed in the United States of America

 

ESSAY INTRODUCTORY

A MAN (or a woman) is the most interesting thing in the world; and next is a book, which enables one to get at the heart of the mystery; and although not many men can say why they are or what they are, any man who publishes a book can, if he is on good terms with his publisher, secure the use of a little space to tell how the book came to be what it is.

Some years ago a very learned friend of mine published a book, and in the introduction warned the “gentle reader” to skip the first chapter, and, as I have always maintained, by inference suggested that the rest was easy reading, which was not the case. In point of fact, the book was not intended for the “gentle reader” at all: it was a book written by a scholar for the scholar.

Now, I have worked on a different plan. My book is written for the “tired business man” (there are a goodly number of us), who flatters himself that he is fond of reading; and as it is my first book, I may be permitted to tell how it came to be published.

One day in the autumn of 1913, a friend, my partner, with whom it has been my privilege to be associated for so many years, remarked that it was time for me to take a holiday, and handed me a copy of the “Geographical Magazine.” The number was devoted to Egypt; and, seduced by the charm of the illustrations, on the spur of the moment I decided on a trip up the Nile.

Things moved rapidly. In a few weeks my wife and I were in the Mediterranean, on a steamer headed for Alexandria. We had touched at Genoa and were soon to reach Naples, when I discovered a feeling of homesickness stealing over me. I have spent my happiest holidays in London. Already I had tired of Egypt. The Nile has been flowing for centuries and would continue to flow. There were books to be had in London, books which would not wait. Somewhat shamefacedly I put the matter up to my wife; and when I discovered that she had no insuperable objection to a change of plan, we left the steamer at Naples, and after a few weeks with friends in Rome, started en grande vitesse toward London.

By this time it will have been discovered that I am not much of a traveler; but I have always loved London—London with its wealth of literary and historic association, with its countless miles of streets lined with inessential shops overflowing with things that I don’t want, and its grimy old book-shops overflowing with things that I do.

One gloomy day I picked up in the Charing Cross Road, for a shilling, a delightful book by Richard Le Gallienne, “Travels in England.” Like myself, Le Gallienne seems not to have been a great traveler—he seldom reached the place he started for; and losing his way or changing his mind, may be said to have arrived at his destination when he has reached a comfortable inn, where, after a simple meal, he lights his pipe and proceeds to read a book.

Exactly my idea of travel! The last time I read “Pickwick” was while making a tour in Northern Italy. It is wonderful how conducive to reading I found the stuffy smoking-rooms of the little steamers that dart like water-spiders from one landing to another on the Italian Lakes.

It was while I was poking about among the old book-shops that it occurred to me to write a little story about my books—when and where I had bought them, the prices I had paid, and the men I had bought them from, many of whom I knew well; and so, when my holiday was done, I lived over again its pleasant associations in writing a paper that I called “Book-Collecting Abroad.” Subsequently I wrote another,—“Book-Collecting at Home,”—it being my purpose to print these papers in a little volume to be called “The Amenities of Book-Collecting.” I intended this for distribution among my friends, who are very patient with me; and I sent my manuscript to a printer in the closing days of July, 1914. A few days later something happened in Europe, the end of which is not yet, and we all became panic-stricken. For a moment it seemed unlikely that one would care ever to open a book again. Acting upon impulse, I withdrew the order from my printer, put my manuscript aside, and devoted myself to my usual task—that of making a living.

Byron says, “The end of all scribblement is to amuse.” For some years I have been possessed of an itch for “scribblement”; gradually this feeling reasserted itself, and I came to see that we must become accustomed to working in a world at war, and to realizing that life must be permitted to resume, at least to some extent, its regular course; and the idea of my little book recurred to me.

It had frequently been suggested by friends that my papers be published in the “Atlantic.” What grudge they bore this excellent magazine I do not know, but they always said the “Atlantic”; and so, when one day I came across my manuscript, it occurred to me that it would cost only a few cents to lay it before the editor. At that time I did not know the editor of the “Atlantic” even by name. My pleasure then can be imagined when, a week or so later, I received the following letter:—

Shortly afterward, a check for a substantial sum fluttered down upon my desk, and it was impossible that I should not remember how much Milton had received for his “Paradise Lost,”—the receipt for which is in the British Museum,—and draw conclusions therefrom entirely satisfactory to my self-esteem. My paper was published, and the magazine, having a hardy constitution, survived; I even received some praise. There was nothing important enough to justify criticism, and as a result of this chance publication I made a number of delightful acquaintances among readers and collectors, many of whom I might almost call friends although we have never met.

Not wishing to strain the rather precarious friendship with Mr. Sedgwick which was the outcome of my first venture, it was several years before I ventured to try him with another paper. This I called “A Ridiculous Philosopher.” I enjoyed writing this paper immensely, and although it was the reverse of timely, I felt that it might pass editorial scrutiny. Again I received a letter from Mr. Sedgwick, in which he said:—

it. Now, as any editor would tell you, there is no valid reason for a paper on Godwin at this time, but your essay is so capitally seasoned that I cannot find it in my heart to part with it. Indeed I have been gradually making the editorial discovery that, if a paper is sufficiently readable, it has some claim upon the public, regardless of what the plans of the editor are. And so the upshot of my deliberation is that we shall accept your paper with great pleasure and publish it when the opportunity occurs.

The paper appeared in due course, and several more followed. The favor with which these papers were received led the “Atlantic” editors to the consideration of their reprint in permanent form, together with several which now appear for the first time. All the illustrations have been made from items in my own collection. I am thus tying a string, as it were, around a parcel which contains the result of thirty-six years of collecting. It may not be much, but, as the Irishman said of his dog, “It’s mine own.” My volume might, with propriety, be called “Newton’s Complete Recreations.”

I have referred to my enjoyment in writing my “Ridiculous Philosopher.” I might say the same of all my papers. I am aware that my friend, Dr. Johnson, once remarked that no man but a block-head writes a book except for money. At some risk, then, I admit that I have done so. I have written for fun, and my papers should be read, if read at all, for the same purpose, not that the reader will or is expected to laugh loud. The loud laugh, in Goldsmith’s phrase, it may be remembered, bespeaks the vacant mind. But I venture to hope that the judicious will pass a not unpleasant hour in turning my pages.

One final word: I buy, I collect “Presentation Books”; and I trust my friends will not think me churlish when I say that it is not my intention to turn a single copy of this, my book, into a presentation volume. Whatever circulation it may have must be upon its own merits. Any one who sees this book in the hands of a reader, on the library table, or on the shelves of the collector, may be sure that some one, either wise or foolish as the event may prove, has paid a substantial sum for it, either in the current coin of the realm, or perchance in thrift stamps. It may, indeed, be that it has been secured from a lending library, in which case I would suggest that the book be returned instantly. “Go ye rather to them that sell and buy for yourselves.” And having separated yourself from your money, in the event that you should feel vexed with your bargain, you are at liberty to communicate your grievance to the publisher, securing from him what redress you may; and in the event of failure there yet remains your inalienable right, which should afford some satisfaction, that of damning

The Author.

“Oak Knoll,”
Daylesford, Pennsylvania,
      April 7, 1918.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Book-Collecting Abroad 1 II. Book-Collecting at Home 36 III. Old Catalogues and New Prices 65 IV. “Association” Books and First Editions 107 V. “What Might Have Been” 129 VI. James Boswell—His Book 145 VII. A Light-Blue Stocking 186 VIII. A Ridiculous Philosopher 226 IX. A Great Victorian 249 X. Temple Bar Then and Now 267 XI. A Macaroni Parson

tag="{http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml}a">292 XII. Oscar Wilde 318 XIII. A Word in Memory 343 INDEX: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Caricature of Two Great Victorians Frontispiece in Color

W. M. Thackeray and Charles Dickens

Title of “Paradise Lost.” First Edition 6 Title of Franklin’s Edition of Cicero’s “Cato Major” 9 Letter of Thomas Hardy to his First Publisher, “Old Tinsley” 12 Page of Original MS. of Hardy’s “Far from the Madding Crowd” 14 Bernard Quaritch 14 Title of MS. of “Lyford Redivivus” 16 Bernard Alfred Quaritch 16 Samuel Johnson 20

Painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds about 1770, for Johnson’s Step-Daughter, Lucy Porter. Engraved by Watson

Page of Prayer in Dr. Johnson’s Autograph 23 Title of Keats’s Copy of

Spenser’s Works 24 Portrait of Tennyson Reading “Maud” to the Brownings, by Rossetti 26 Dr. Johnson’s Church, St. Clement Danes 31

From a pen-and-ink sketch by Charles G. Osgood

Inscription to Mrs. Thrale in Dr. Johnson’s Hand 32 Inscription to General Sir A. Gordon in Queen Victoria’s Hand 35 George D. Smith 36

Photographed by Genthe

Autograph MS. of Lamb’s Poem, “Elegy on a Quid of Tobacco” 40 Dr. A. S. W. Rosenbach 42

Photographed by Genthe

Title of “Robinson Crusoe.” First Edition 45 Title of “Oliver Twist” 47

Presentation Copy to W. C. Macready

Original Illustration for “Vanity Fair” 48

Becky Sharp throwing Dr. Johnson’s “Dixonary” out of the carriage window, as she leaves Miss Pinkerton’s School

From the first pen-and-ink sketch, by Thackeray, afterwards elaborated

Specimen Proof-Sheet of George Moore’s “Memoirs of My Dead Life” 50 Title of George Moore’s “Pagan Poems” 51

Presentation Copy to Oscar Wilde

Title of Blake’s “Marriage of Heaven and Hell” 52 Charles Lamb’s House at Enfield 54 Inscription by Joseph Conrad in a Copy of “The Nigger of the ‘Narcissus’” 56 The Author’s Book-Plate 60 Henry E. Huntington 72 Stoke Poges Church 74

A fine example of fore-edge painting

Title of Blake’s “Songs of Innocence and Experience” 80 “A Leaf from an Unopened Volume” 82

Specimen page of an unpublished manuscript of Charlotte Brontë

Title of the Kilmarnock Edition of Burns’s Poems 85 Fifteenth-Century English MS. on Vellum: Boëthius’s “De Consolatione Philosophiæ” 90 Title of George Herbert’s “The Temple.” First Edition 97 First Page of a Rare Edition of “Robinson Crusoe” 102 Autograph MS. of a Poem by Keats—“To the Misses M—— at Hastings”

href="@public@vhost@g@gutenberg@html@files@44360@[email protected]#page_105" class="pginternal" tag="{http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml}a">105 Inscription to Swinburne from Dante Rossetti 106 Autograph Inscription by Stevenson, in a Copy of his “Inland Voyage” 109 Title of a Unique Copy of Stevenson’s “Child’s Garden of Verses” 110 New Building of the Grolier Club 114 Inscription to Charles Dickens, Junior, from Charles Dickens 116 Illustration, “The Last of the Spirits,” by John Leech For Dickens’s “Christmas Carol” 116

From the original water-color drawing

Autograph Dedication to Dickens’s “The Village Coquettes” 118 Title of Meredith’s “Modern Love,” with Autograph Inscription to Swinburne 121 Inscription by Dr. Johnson in a Copy of “Rasselas” 125 Inscription by Woodrow Wilson, in a Copy of his “Constitutional Government of the United States” 126 Inscription by James Whitcomb Riley 128 Charles Lamb 130 Frances Maria Kelly 132 Miss Kelly in Various Characters 136 MS. Dedication of Lamb’s Works to Miss Kelly 137 Autograph Letter of Lamb to Miss Kelly 139 Charles and Mary Lamb 144 James Boswell of Auchinleck, Esqr. 146

Painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds. Engraved by John Jones

Samuel Johnson in a Tie-Wig 150

Painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds. Engraved by Zobel

Inscription to Rev. William J. Temple, from James Boswell 159 Title of Mason’s “Elfrida.” First Edition 163 MS. of Boswell’s Agreement with Mr. Dilly, reciting the Terms agreed on for the Publication of “Corsica” 167 MS. Indorsement by Boswell on the First Paper drawn by him as an Advocate 168 Dr. Johnson in Traveling Dress, as described in Boswell’s “Tour” 174

Engraved by Trotter

Inscription to James Boswell, Junior, from James Boswell 176 Samuel Johnson 184

Painted by Sir Joshua

Reynolds. Engraved by Heath Inscription to Edmund Burke, by James Boswell 185 Mrs. Piozzi 186

Engraved by Ridley from a miniature

Extract from MS. Letter of Mrs. Thrale 191 Title of Miss Burney’s “Evelina.” First Edition 199 Mrs. Thrale’s Breakfast-Table 200 Samuel Johnson. The “Streatham Portrait” 204

Painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds. Engraved by Doughty

MS. Inscriptions by Mrs. Thrale 206 Title of “The Prince of Abissinia” (“Rasselas”). First Edition 207 MS. of the Last Page of Mrs. Thrale’s “Journal of a Tour in Wales” 219 Miss Amy Lowell, of Boston 222 Samuel Johnson 225 William Godwin, the Ridiculous Philosopher 227 Charles Lamb’s Play-Bill of Godwin’s “Antonio” 236 MS. Letter from William Godwin 241 Anthony Trollope 250

From a photograph by Elliot and Fry

Temple Bar as it is To-day 268 Old Temple Bar: Demolished in 1666 276 Temple Bar in Dr. Johnson’s Time 280 Temple Bar 291 First Page of Dr. Johnson’s Petition to the King on Behalf of Dr. Dodd 306 Mr. Allen’s Copy of the Last Letter Dr. Dodd sent Dr. Johnson 312 Caricature of Oscar Wilde 319

From an original drawing by Aubrey Beardsley

“Our Oscar” as he was when we loaned him to America 326

From a contemporary English caricature

MS. Inscription to J. E. Dickinson, from Oscar Wilde 342 Harry Elkins Widener 344 Title of Stevenson’s “Memoirs of Himself” 349

Printed for private distribution only, by Mr. Widener

Beverly Chew 350 Henry E. Huntington among his

Books 352

Photographed by Genthe

Harry Elkins Widener’s Book-Plate 355