The Book-Hunter in London Part 8

(1471) is a book worth mentioning, because for beauty and grace it is unsurpa.s.sed by any of the works ever published by the first Italian printers, Sweynheim and Pannartz. The British Museum copy cost in 1775 13 2s. 6d., whilst it is now worth about 25. The superb copy in the British Museum of the _editio princeps_ Juvenal and Persius (printed at Rome about the year 1469) cost the country 13 guineas; a first-cla.s.s example is now valued at 12. On the other hand, the Aldine edition of Martial's 'Epigrammata' (1501) has gone up in value from 2 guineas to 10, or even 17 10s., according to condition. The first edition of Justin (printed at Venice, 1470) has declined, for the British Museum copy cost 13 guineas in 1775, whilst a fine copy may now be had for 10 guineas.

A very different story has to be told with reference to the books and pamphlets produced by the early English printers. Until the latter part of the last century, these items were the despised of the scholarly and aristocratic collector. A few antiquaries found them not without interest, but they had only a nominal commercial value. At the sale of Dr. Francis Bernard, at his 'late dwelling house in Little Britain,' in October, 1698, thirteen Caxtons were sold, as follows:

s. d.

'The Boke called Cathon,' 1483 0 3 0 'Chastising of G.o.ddes Chyldern' 0 1 10 'Doctrinal of Sapience,' 1489 } 'Chastising of G.o.ddes Chyldern' } 0 5 0 'Chronicle of England,' _very old_ 0 4 0 'Dictes and Sayings of the Philosophers,' 1477 0 5 4 'Game and Playe of the Chesse,' 1474 0 1 6 'G.o.defroy of Boloyne,' 1481 0 4 0 'Historyes of Troy,' 1500 0 3 0 'Jason and the Golden Fleece' 0 3 6 'Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye,' 1502 0 3 0 Another copy 0 3 0 'Tullius of Olde Age' 0 4 2 ---------- 2 1 4

Eighty years later, when the library of John Ratcliffe[132:A] was sold at Christie's (March 27, 1776), a collection of upwards of thirty Caxtons came under the hammer, and of these we will only quote seven examples:

s. d.

'Chronicles of Englande,' fine copy, 1480 5 5 0 'Doctrinal of Sapience,' 1489 8 8 0 'The Boke called Cathon,' 1483 5 5 0 'The Polytique Book, named Tullius de Senectute,' 1481 14 0 0 'The Game and Playe of Chesse' 16 0 0 'The Boke of Jason' 5 10 0 'Legenda Aurea,'[133:A] 1483 9 15 0

At the Watson Taylor and Perry sales in 1823, four examples, nearly all fine copies, of Caxton's books realized a total of 239 5s., as follows:

s. d.

'The Life of Jason,' 1476-77 95 11 0 'The Boke called Cathon,' 1483 30 19 6 'Troylus and Creside,' 1484 66 0 0 Virgil's 'Eneidos,' 1490, very fine and perfect 46 14 6

[Ill.u.s.tration: _The Fifty-seven Althorp Caxtons._]

We do not think that the foregoing sets of figures call for any elaborate comment. The present value of each item may be averaged at from 250 to 300, but the majority are absolutely unprocurable at any price. The highest sum ever paid for a Caxton is 1,950, at which amount the only perfect copy known of 'King Arthur,' 1485, was knocked down at the sale of the Earl of Jersey's books in 1885. At the same sale the 'Histoires of Troy,' _circa_ 1474, realized 1,820. In 1812 the Duke of Devons.h.i.+re gave 1,060 12s. for a copy of this book, for which the Duke of Roxburghe had paid 50 a few years previously. The Syston Park copy of the 'Mirrour of the World,' 1481, sold in 1884 for 335; Higden's 'Polychronicon, 1482, is valued at 500; Lord Selsey's copy of Gower's 'Confessio Amantis,' 1483, sold in 1872 for 670; and Lord Jersey's, in 1885, for 810. The 'Hystorye of Kynge Blanchardyn and Princes Eglantyne,' 1485, imperfect, but one of the rarest of this press, realized 21 at the Mason sale, 1798-99, the purchaser being John, Duke of Roxburghe, at whose sale in June, 1812, Lord Spencer gave 215 5s.

for it. According to the latter's note in the copy, 'The Duke and I had agreed not to oppose one another at the [Mason] sale; but after the book was bought, to toss up who should win it; when I lost.' A tract of five leaves, by John Russell, 'Propositio ad ill.u.s.triss. principem Karoleum ducem Burgundie,' etc. (printed probably at Bruges, 1475), of which no other copy is known, was purchased by a bookseller in the West End of London for 2 5s. He sold it to the Duke of Marlborough for 50 guineas, and at his sale in 1819 Earl Spencer purchased it for 120 guineas. There are about 560 examples of Caxton's books in existence. Of these, about one half are in the British Museum, the Althorp or Rylands library (57), at Cambridge, in the Bodleian, and in the Duke of Devons.h.i.+re's library.

Of this total thirty-one are unique, and seven exist only in a fragmentary form. The greater number are safely locked up in public or private libraries, and are not likely, under ordinary circ.u.mstances, to come into the market. A great quant.i.ty of romance has been written respecting Caxtons. In Scott's 'Antiquary,' 'Snuffy Davy' is stated to have bought a perfect copy of the 'Game of Chess,' the first book printed in England, for about two groschen, or twopence of our money.

This he sold to Osborne for 20; it became Dr. Askew's property for 60 guineas, and at the Askew sale it realized 170, the purchaser being George III. '"Could a copy now occur, Lord only knows," e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Monkbarns, with a deep sigh and lifted-up hands--"Lord only knows what would be its ransom"; and yet it was originally secured, by skill and research, for the easy equivalent of twopence sterling.' It has been repeatedly stated that there is no foundation whatever for this anecdote; but Scott himself expressly states in a note that it is literally true, and that David Wilson 'was a real personage.' 'Snuffy Davy' has been identified with Clarke, the bookseller of New Bond Street, whose 'Repertorium Bibliographic.u.m' is a most valuable book.

However that may be, it is certain that the King did not give any such price at any such sale. The King's copy was purchased at West's sale in 1773 for 32 0s. 6d. At the Askew sale the King's purchases did not exceed 300, and the items were almost exclusively editions of the cla.s.sics. It is certain, however, that Caxton's books have experienced many ups and downs. Mr. Blades tells us of an incident in which he was personally concerned. He happened on a copy of the 'Canterbury Tales' in a dirty pigeon-hole close to the grate in the vestry of the French Protestant Church, St. Martin's-le-Grand; it was fearfully mutilated, and was being used leaf by leaf--a book originally worth 800.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _From 'Game and Play of Chesse,' by Caxton._]

Caxton's immediate successors met with a fate similar to his own. The most remarkable feature of Richard Rawlinson's[136:A] library (sold by Samuel Leigh in 1756), which contained nearly 25,000 volumes, consisted in the large quant.i.ty of Old English black-letter books, and these, of course, realized absurdly low figures, as the following list testifies:

s. d.

'The Newe Testament in English,' 1500 0 2 9 'The Ymage of both Churches, after the Revelation of St. John,' by Bale, 1550 0 1 6 'The Boke called the Pype or Toune of Perfection,'

by Richard Whytforde, 1532 0 1 9 'The Visions of Pierce Plowman,' 1561 0 2 0 'The Creede of Pierce Plowman,' 1553 0 1 6 'The Booke of Moses in English,' 1530 0 3 9 'Bale's Actes of English Votaryes,' 1550 0 1 3 'The Boke of Chivalrie,' by Caxton 0 11 0 'The Boke of St. Albans,' by W. de Worde 1 1 0

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Specimen of the type of 'The Boke of St. Albans.'_]

The very high price paid for the 'Boke of St. Albans' is noteworthy, for nearly all the other items are equally rare. In 1844, a copy of this 'boke' was sold as waste-paper for 9d., and almost immediately pa.s.sed into the possession of Mr. Grenville for 70 or guineas. Dr. Mead's copy--one of the only two known--of 'Rhetorica Nova Fratris Laurentii Gulielmi de Sacra,' printed at St. Albans, 1480, sold for 2s. At the Willett sale, in 1813, it brought 79 16s.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Specimen page of Tyndale's Testament, 1526._]

The rarity of the English translations of the Bible and New Testament arises from just the opposite cause which has operated in making the early productions of the English press so scarce. The latter were for the most part neglected out of existence, whilst the former were literally read out of it. A complete copy of the _editio princeps_ Coverdale, 1535, is, we believe, unknown. One ill.u.s.tration will sufficiently indicate the enhanced value of this book, and the ill.u.s.tration may be taken as a general one in respect to this cla.s.s of book: The Perkins copy, which realized 400 in 1873, was purchased at the Dent sale in 1827 for 89 5s. The more perfect of the only two copies known of Tyndale's New Testament, first edition, 1526, in the Baptists' Library at Bristol, is of great interest, and well deserving of a mention in this place. It has no t.i.tle-page. Underneath a portrait, pasted to the first leaf, is this inscription:

'Hoh Maister John Murray of Sacomb, The works of old Time to collect was his pride, Till oblivion dreaded his care; Regardless of friends intestate he dy'd, So the Rooks and the Crows were his heir.'

[Ill.u.s.tration: _John Murray, of Sacomb, Book-hunter._]

On the opposite leaf is a printed statement to this effect: 'On Tuesday evening (13 May, 1760) at Mr. Langford's sale of Mr. Ames's books, a copy of the translation of the New Testament by Tindall, and supposed to be the only one remaining which escaped the flames, was sold for fourteen guineas and a half. This very book was picked up by one of the late Lord Oxford's collectors ['John Murray' written in the margin], and was esteemed so valuable a purchase by his lords.h.i.+p, that he settled 20 a year for life upon the person who procured it. His Lords.h.i.+p's library being afterwards purchased by Mr. Osborne, of Gray's Inn, he marked it at fifteen s.h.i.+llings, for which price Mr. Ames bought it.' (John Murray died in 1748.) On the other side of the leaf is another note, in ma.n.u.script: 'N.B. This choice book was purchased at Mr. Langford's sale, 13th May, 1760, by me John White [for 15 14s. 6d.], and on the 13th day of May, 1776, I sold it to the Rev. Dr. Gifford for 20 guineas.' Dr.

Gifford was an a.s.sistant librarian at the British Museum, and left his library to the use of the Baptist Society at Bristol.

Before leaving the subject of Bibles, we may refer to one of the most interesting events of the book-sale season of 1836, when, at Evans's on April 27, the superb copy of St. Jerome's Bible, executed by Alcuin for Charlemagne, came up for sale. Commenced about the year 778, it was not completed till 800. When it was finished it was sent to Rome by his friend and disciple, Nathaniel, who presented it to Charlemagne on the day of his coronation; it was preserved by that monarch until his death.

Its subsequent history is full of interest, and would form an entertaining chapter in the Adventures of Books. After its first owner's death, it is supposed to have been given to the monastery of Prum in Lorraine by Lothaire, the grandson of Charlemagne, who became a monk of that monastery. In 1576, this religious house was dissolved, but the monks preserved the ma.n.u.script, and carried it to Switzerland to the abbey of Grandis Vallis, near Basle, where it reposed till the year 1793, when, on the occupation of the episcopal territory of Basle by the French, all the property of the abbey was confiscated and sold, and the ma.n.u.script in question came into the possession of M. Bennot, from whom, in 1822, it was purchased by M. Speyr Pa.s.savant, who brought it into general notice, and offered it for sale to the French Government at the price of 60,000 francs; this was declined, when the proprietor knocked off nearly 20,000 francs from the original demand, but still without effecting a sale. M. Pa.s.savant subsequently brought it to England, and offered it to the Duke of Suss.e.x, who, however, declined it. It was then offered to the British Museum for 12,000, then for 8,000, and at last for 6,500, which he declared an 'immense sacrifice.' Unsuccessful at every turn, he resolved to submit it to auction, and the precious volume was entrusted to Evans. It was knocked down for 1,500, but to the proprietor himself. After a further lapse of time, Pa.s.savant sold the volume to the British Museum for 750. This splendid ma.n.u.script is a large folio in delicate and beautifully formed minuscule characters, with the beginnings of chapters in fine uncials, written in two columns on the purest vellum. If this magnificent ma.n.u.script were now offered for sale, it would probably realize at least 3,000.

The rise in the value of the First Folio Shakespeare only dates back for about a century. Beloe, writing in 1806, states that he remembers the time when a very fine copy could be purchased for five guineas. He further observes, 'I could once have purchased a superb one for 9 guineas'; and (apparently) this 'superb' example realized 13 guineas at Dr. Monro's sale in 1792. At the end of the last century it was thought to have realized the 'top' price with 36 guineas. Dr. Askew had a fine copy of the Second Folio, which realized at his sale, in 1775, 5 10s.--it had cost 2-1/2 guineas at Dr. Mead's sale--the purchaser being George Steevens. In this book Charles I. had written these words: 'DUM SPIRO, SPERO, C. R.,' and Sir Thomas Herbert, to whom the King presented it the night before his execution, had also written: 'Ex dono serenissimi Regis Car. servo suo Humiliss. T. Herbert.' Steevens regarded the amount which he paid for it as 'enormous,' but at his sale it realized 18 guineas, and was purchased for the King's library, and is now, with some other books bought by George III., at Windsor. Steevens supposes that the original edition could not have exceeded 250 copies, and that 1 was the selling price. Its rarity ten or a dozen years after its first appearance may be gauged by the fact that Charles I. was obliged to content himself with a copy of the Second Folio; its rarity at the present moment will be readily comprehended when it is stated that during the past ninety years only five or six irreproachable examples have occurred for sale. The copy for which the Duke of Roxburghe gave 34 guineas, realized at his sale 100, and pa.s.sed into the library of the Duke of Devons.h.i.+re. The example in the possession of the Baroness Burdett-Coutts is a very fine one; it was formerly George Daniel's copy, and realized 682 guineas at his sale in 1864. Height makes a great difference in the price of a book of this sort. For example, a good sound example measuring 12-1/4 inches by 8 inches is worth about 136; another one measuring 13-1/8 by 8-3/8 inches would be worth 300, and perhaps more. Dibdin, with his usual prophetic inaccuracy, described the amount (121 6s.) at which Mr. Grenville obtained his copy as 'the highest price ever given, or likely to be given, for the volume.' As a matter of fact, the time must come when it will be no longer possible to obtain a perfect copy of this volume, which to English people is a thousand times more important than the Gutenberg Bible or the Psalmorum Codex.

The following list is believed to contain all the finest examples known at present:

FIRST FOLIO EDITIONS OF SHAKESPEARE, 1623.

Inches Inches High. Wide. Present Possessor.

Los...o...b.. 12 8 Sotheby's 12-1/4 8 Gardner 12-3/8 8 Mr. Huth.

Stowe 12-3/8 8-1/8 Poynder 12-1/2 8-1/8 Ellis 12-5/8 8-1/8 Earl of Crawford.

Quaritch's Catalogue 12-11/12 8 Thomas Grenville 12-7/8 8-3/8 British Museum.

Holland 12-3/8 8-1/2 Duke of Devons.h.i.+re 13-1/8 8-1/8 Chatsworth.

George Daniel 13-1/8 8-1/4 Baroness Burdett-Coutts.

Beaufoy Library 13 8-3/8 Locker-Lampson 13 8-3/8 Rowfant Library.

Gosford (Earl of) 12-7/8 8-3/8 Lord Vernon 13-1/16 8-3/8 America.

Hartley 13-1/8 8-1/2 John Murray 13 8-1/2 Albemarle Street.

Thorold 13-3/8 8-1/2 America.

Sir Robert Sydney, } Earl of Leicester, } with his arms on } sides; original old } 13-3/8 8-3/4 Mr. C. J. Toovey.

calf, with lettering,} full of rough } leaves }

The Second, 1632, Third, 1664, and Fourth, 1685, Folios have considerably advanced in value--the Second has risen from 15, at which the Roxburghe copy was sold in 1812, to nearly 200; George Daniel's copy, of the purest quality from beginning to end, and one of the largest known, sold for 148, but fairly good copies may be had for half that amount. The Third Folio, which is really the rarest, as most of the impression was destroyed in the Great Fire of London, has gone up from 20 or 30 to 200, or even more when the seven doubtful plays have the separate t.i.tle-page; and the Fourth Folio from 5 to about ten times that amount. But the most remarkable feature in connection with Shakespeare, so far as we are just now concerned, is the change which has taken place in the value of the quartos. We give below a tabulated list of first editions, in which this change will be seen at a glance:

Former Recent Price. Price.

s. d. s. d.

'The Merry Wives of Windsor,' 1818 18 0 0 385 0 0 'Much Ado About Nothing,' {1797 7 10 0 {1818 17 17 0 267 10 0 'Love's Labour Lost,' 1818 40 10 0 316 10 0 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' {1805 2 2 0 {1818 12 10 0 116 0 0 'The Merchant of Venice' {1815 9 9 0 {1818 22 1 0 270 0 0 'King Richard II.,' 1598,[143:A] 1800 4 14 6 108 3 0 '2 Henry IV.,' 1797 (one leaf MS.) 8 8 0 225 0 0 'Henry V.,' 1818 5 7 6 211 0 0 '1 Henry VI.,' 1801 38 7 0 50 0 0 'Richard III.,' 1818 33 0 0 351 15 0 'Troilus and Cressida,' 1800 5 10 0 110 0 0 'Romeo and Juliet,' 1800 6 0 0 160 0 0 'Hamlet,' 1812 4 13 0 36 0 0 'King Lear,' 1800 28 0 0 70 0 0 'Oth.e.l.lo' (1622), 1818 56 14 0 155 0 0 'Pericles,' 1812 1 15 0 40 0 0 'Lucrece' 21 0 0 250 0 0 'Venus and Adonis'[143:B] (Malone's copy) 25 0 0 315 0 0 'Poems' 70 0 0 'Sonnets' {1800 3 10 0 {1812 21 0 0 230 15 0

[Ill.u.s.tration: _t.i.tle-page of the First Edition of 'The Compleat Angler.'_]

What is true of the Shakespeare quartos and folios is also true in a slightly less accentuated degree of the first editions of the sixteenth and seventeenth century poets and dramatists. Dibdin describes a Mr.

Byng as having purchased the only known copy of Clement Robinson's 'Handefull of Pleasant Delites,' 1584, at a bookstall for 4d.; at his sale this 'Handefull' was sold for 25 guineas to the Duke of Marlborough, at whose sale, in 1819, it fetched 26 15s.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _From the 'Pilgrim's Progress,' Part II._]

Puttenham's 'Art of English Poesie,' 1589, and Gascoigne's 'Works,' are two other striking ill.u.s.trations of the increase in the value of old English poetry, although the books themselves are of comparatively minor importance from a literary point of view. Isaac Reed well remembered when a good copy of either might have been had for 5s. In the first and second decades of this century the prices had gone up to about 5, but the present values would be nearer 20. Spenser's 'Faerie Queene,'

1590-96, early in the century could have been had for 3 12s.; it now realizes ten times that amount if in fine condition. Milton's 'Paradise Lost' has increased in the same ratio. Lovelace's 'Lucasta' has risen from 11 guineas to nearly 50. The market value of a first edition of Walton's 'Compleat Angler,' 1653, in 1816 was 4 guineas; in 1879 this book fetched 52; it has since realized 310. Rarer even than the first Walton is the first edition of Bunyan's 'Pilgrim's Progress,' 1678; Southey, writing in 1830, declared that the date of the first publication of this work was at that time unknown, since no copy could be traced. Not long after this an example--still in possession of Capt.

Holford, of Park Lane--turned up, and was valued at 50; during the last few years four more have been unearthed: three of these are in England, and the other is among the treasures of the Lenox Library, New York. The commercial value of a copy is probably not much less than of a first Walton. Although the first edition of the first part of the 'Pilgrim's Progress' has always been considered so rare, the second part is even rarer; indeed, only three copies are known to exist: one (very imperfect) in the Astor Library in New York, one in the Rylands Library, and the other in the hands of a collector in London. Till some ten years since the two English copies were not known to exist; they were both bought in one bundle for a few s.h.i.+llings in Sotheby's sale-room. The imperfect American one was supposed to be unique till these came to light.

Goldsmith's 'Vicar of Wakefield' sixty years ago was 'uncollected'; a quarter of a century ago it sold for 5; ten years ago it was worth 10; in 1891 a remarkably tall and clean copy, in the original calf as issued, sold at Sotheby's for 94. Gray's 'Elegy,' 1751, sold for 1 16s. in 1888, and for 70 since then. Apropos of this 'Elegy,' there are only three uncut copies known, and one of these was obtained by Mr.

Augustine Birrell, Q.C., a few years ago by a stroke of great good luck.

He happened to be pa.s.sing through Chancery Lane one day, and, having a little time at his disposal, dropped into Messrs. Hodgson's rooms, where a sale of books was in progress. At the moment of his entry some volumes of quarto tracts were being offered, and taking one of them in his hand, he opened it at random, and saw--a fine uncut copy of the famous 'Elegy'! He bought the lot for a few s.h.i.+llings. It may be mentioned that the original ma.n.u.script of Gray's 'Elegy' sold for 130 in 1854.

Such are a few of the excessively rare books, whose appearance in the market is at all times an event in the book-collecting world. Partly as an ill.u.s.tration of our forbears' wit, and partly as a list of curious and highly imaginary t.i.tles, the following article from the _London Magazine_ of September, 1759, is well worth quoting here:

'_BOOKS selling by Auction, at the Britannia, near the Royal Exchange._

_By_ L. FUNNIBUS, _Auctioneer_.

'"Grat.i.tude," a Poem, in twenty-four cantos, from the original German of Lady Mary Hapsburgh, published at Vienna in the year 1756.--"Machiavel the Second, or Murder no Sin," from the French of Monsieur le Diable, printed at Paris for le Sieur Daemon, in la Rue d'Enfer, near the Louvre.--"Cruelty a Virtue," a Political Tract, in two volumes, fine imperial paper, by Count Soltikoff.--"The Joys of Sodom," a Sermon, preached in the Royal Chapel at Warsaw, by W. h.e.l.lsatanatius, Chaplain to his Excellency Count Bruhl.--"The Art of Tr.i.m.m.i.n.g," a Political Treatise, by the learned Van-Self, of Amsterdam.--"Self-Preservation," a Soliloquy, wrote extempore on an Aspen Leaf on the Plains of Minden; found in the pocket of an Officer who fell on the First of August.--"The Art of Flying," by Monsieur Contades; with a curious Frontispiece, representing Dismay with Eagle's Wings, and Glory with a pair of Crutches, following the French Army.--"The Reveries of a Superannuated Genius, on the Banks of Lake Liman, near Geneva," by M. Voltaire.--"The Spirit of Lying," from "L'Esprit Menteur" of Monsieur Maubert.--"Political Arithmetic," by the same Author; in which is proved to Demonstration that Two is more than Five, and that Three is less than One.--"The Knotty Question Discussed," wherein is proved that under certain circ.u.mstances, Wrong is Right, and Right is Wrong, by a Casuist of the Sorbonne.--"A New Plan of the English Possessions in America," with the Limits _properly_ settled, by Jeffery Amherst, Geographer to his Britannick Majesty.--"The Theory of Sea-fighting reduced to Practice," by E. Boscawen, Mariner.--"A Treatise on the Construction of Bridges," by I. Will, and I. Willnot, Architects, near the Black-Friars, at Louvain.--"The Spirit of Treaties," a very Curious Tract, in which is fairly proved, that absolute Monarchs have a right to explain them in their own sense, and that limited Princes are tied down to a strict observance of the letter.--"The Conquest of Hanover by the French, in the year 1759," a tragi-comic Farce, by a French officer.--"A Letter of Consolation from the Jesuits in the Shades, to their afflicted brethren at Lisbon," the second edition.--"The Fall of Fisher," an excellent new Ballad, by ---- Harvey, Esq.--"The Travels of a Marshal of France, from the Weser to the Mayne"; shewing how he and 10,000 of his companions miraculously escaped from the hands of the savage Germans and English; and how, after inexpressible difficulties, several hundreds of them got safe to their own country. Interspersed with several Curious Anecdotes of Rapes, Murders, and other French Gallantries; by P. L. C., a Benedictine Monk, of the Order of Saint Bartholomew.'