the library-第16章

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　M。　Didot　from　a　rubbish　heap　in　an　English　cellar；　had　its　due　illuminations。　　In　the　earliest　books　the　guide　to　the　illuminator；　the　small　printed　letter；　does　not　appear；　and　he　often　puts　in　the　wrong　initial。

3。　　Irregularity　and　rudeness　of　type　is　a　〃note〃　of　the　primitive　printing　press；　which　very　early　disappeared。　　Nothing　in　the　history　of　printing　is　so　remarkable　as　the　beauty　of　almost　its　first　efforts。　　Other　notes　are　…

4。　　The　absence　of　figures　at　the　top　of　the　pages；　and　of　signatures　at　the　foot。　　The　thickness　and　solidity　of　the　paper；　the　absence　of　the　printer's　name；　of　the　date；　and　of　the　name　of　the　town　where　the　press　stood；　and　the　abundance　of　crabbed　abbreviations；　are　all　marks；　more　or　less　trustworthy；　of　the　antiquity　of　books。　　It　must　not　be　supposed　that　all　books　published；　let　us　say　before　1500；　are　rare；　or　deserve　the　notice　of　the　collector。　　More　than　18；000　works；　it　has　been　calculated；　left　the　press　before　the　end　of　the　fifteenth　century。　　All　of　these　cannot　possibly　be　of　interest；　and　many　of　them　that　are　〃rare；〃　are　rare　precisely　because　they　are　uninteresting。　　They　have　not　been　preserved　because　they　were　thought　not　worth　preserving。　　This　is　a　great　cause　of　rarity；　but　we　must　not　hastily　conclude　that　because　a　book　found　no　favour　in　its　own　age；　therefore　it　has　no　claim　on　our　attention。　　A　London　bookseller　tells　me　that　he　bought　the　〃remainder〃　of　Keats's　〃Endymion〃　for　fourpence　a　copy！　　The　first　edition　of　〃Endymion〃　is　now　rare　and　valued。　　In　trying　to　mend　the　binding　of　an　old　〃Odyssey〃　lately；　I　extracted　from　the　vellum　covers　parts　of　two　copies　of　a　very　scarce　and　curious　French　dictionary　of　slang；　〃Le　Jargon；　ou　Langage　de　l'Argot　Reforme。〃　　This　treatise　may　have　been　valueless；　almost；　when　it　appeared；　but　now　it　is　serviceable　to　the　philologist；　and　to　all　who　care　to　try　to　interpret　the　slang　ballades　of　the　poet　Villon。　　An　old　pamphlet；　an　old　satire；　may　hold　the　key　to　some　historical　problem；　or　throw　light　on　the　past　of　manners　and　customs。　　Still；　of　the　earliest　printed　books；　collectors　prefer　such　rare　and　beautiful　ones　as　the　oldest　printed　Bibles：　　German；　English；as　Taverner's　and　the　Bishop's；or　Hebrew　and　Greek；　or　the　first　editions　of　the　ancient　classics；　which　may　contain　the　readings　of　MSS。　now　lost　or　destroyed。　Talking　of　early　Bibles；　let　us　admire　the　luck　and　prudence　of　a　certain　Mr。　Sandford。　　He　always　longed　for　the　first　Hebrew　Bible；　but　would　offer　no　fancy　price；　being　convinced　that　the　book　would　one　day　fall　in　his　way。　　His　foreboding　was　fulfilled；　and　he　picked　up　his　treasure　for　ten　shillings　in　a　shop　in　the　Strand。　The　taste　for　incunabula；　or　very　early　printed　books；　slumbered　in　the　latter　half　of　the　sixteenth；　and　all　the　seventeenth　century。　It　revived　with　the　third　jubilee　of　printing　in　1740；　and　since　then　has　refined　itself；　and　only　craves　books　very　early；　very　important；　or　works　from　the　press　of　Caxton；　the　St。　Albans　Schoolmaster；　or　other　famous　old　artists。　　Enough　has　been　said　to　show　the　beginner；　always　enthusiastic；　that　all　old　books　are　not　precious。　　For　further　information；　the　〃Biography　and　Typography　of　William　Caxton；〃　by　Mr。　Blades　（Trubner；　London；　1877）；　may　be　consulted　with　profit。

Following　the　categories　into　which　M。　Brunet　classifies　desirable　books　in　his　invaluable　manual；　we　now　come　to　books　printed　on　vellum；　and　on　peculiar　papers。　　At　the　origin　of　printing；　examples　of　many　books；　probably　presentation　copies；　were　printed　on　vellum。　There　is　a　vellum　copy　of　the　celebrated　Florentine　first　edition　of　Homer；　but　it　is　truly　sad　to　think　that　the　twin　volumes；　Iliad　and　Odyssey；　have　been　separated；　and　pine　in　distant　libraries。　　Early　printed　books　on　vellum　often　have　beautifully　illuminated　capitals。　Dibdin　mentions　in　〃Bibliomania〃　（London；　1811）；　p。　90；　that　a　M。　Van　Praet　was　compiling　a　catalogue　of　works　printed　on　vellum；　and　had　collected　more　than　2000　articles。　　When　hard　things　are　said　about　Henry　VIII。；　let　us　remember　that　this　monarch　had　a　few　copies　of　his　book　against　Luther　printed　on　vellum。　　The　Duke　of　Marlborough's　library　possessed　twenty…five　books　on　vellum；　all　printed　before　1496。　　The　chapter…house　at　Padua　has　a　〃Catullus〃　of　1472　on　vellum；　let　Mr。　Robinson　Ellis　think　wistfully　of　that　treasure。　　The　notable　Count　M'Carthy　of　Toulouse　had　a　wonderful　library　of　books　in　membranis；　including　a　book　much　coveted　for　its　rarity；　oddity；　and　the　beauty　of　its　illustrations；　the　〃Hypnerotomachia〃　of　Poliphilus　（Venice；　1499）。　　Vellum　was　the　favourite　〃vanity〃　of　Junot；　Napoleon's　general。　　For　reasons　connected　with　its　manufacture；　and　best　not　inquired　into；　the　Italian　vellum　enjoyed　the　greatest　reputation　for　smooth　and　silky　whiteness。　　Dibdin　calls　〃our　modern　books　on　vellum　little　short　of　downright　wretched。〃　　But　the　editor　of　this　series　could；　I　think；　show　examples　that　would　have　made　Dibdin　change　his　opinion。

Many　comparatively　expensive　papers；　large　in　format；　are　used　in　choice　editions　of　books。　　Whatman　papers；　Dutch　papers；　Chinese　papers；　and　even　papier　verge；　have　all　their　admirers。　　The　amateur　will　soon　learn　to　distinguish　these　materials。　　As　to　books　printed　on　coloured　papergreen；　blue；　yellow；　rhubarb…coloured；　and　the　like；　they　are　an　offence　to　the　eyes　and　to　the　taste。　　Yet　even　these　have　their　admirers　and　collectors；　and　the　great　Aldus　himself　occasionally　used　azure　paper。　　Under　the　head　of　〃large　paper；〃　perhaps　〃uncut　copies〃　should　be　mentioned。　　Most　owners　of　books　have　had　the　edges　of　the　volumes　gilded　or　marbled　by　the　binders。　　Thus　part　of　the　margin　is　lost；　an　offence　to　the　eye　of　the　bibliomaniac；　while　copies　untouched　by　the　binder's　shears　are　rare；　and　therefore　prized。　　The　inconvenience　of　uncut　copies　is；　that　one　cannot　easily　turn　over　the　leaves。　　But；　in　the　present　state　of　the　fashion；　a　really　rare　uncut　Elzevir　may　be　worth　hundreds　of　pounds；　while　a　cropped　example　scarcely　fetches　as　many　shillings。　　A　set　of　Shakespeare's　quartoes；　uncut；　would　be　worth　more　than　a　respectable　landed　estate　in　Connemara。　　For　these　reasons　the　amateur　will　do　well　to　have　new　books　of　price　bound　〃uncut。〃　　It　is　always　easy　to　have　the　leaves　pared　away；　but　not　even　the　fabled　fountain　at　Argos；　in　which　Hera　yearly　renewed　her　maidenhood；　could　restore　margins　once　clipped　away。　　So　much　for　books　which　are　chiefly　precious　for　the　quantity　and　quality　of　the　material　on　which　they　are　printed。　　Even　this　rather　foolish　weakness　of　the　amateur　would　not　be　useless　if　it　made　our　publishers　more　careful　to　employ　a　sound　clean　hand…made　paper；　instead　of　drugged　trash；　for　their　more　valuable　new　productions。　Indeed；　a　taste　for　hand…made　paper　is　coming　in；　and　is　part　of　the　revolt　against　the　passion　for　everything　machine…made；　which　ruined　art　and　handiwork　in　the　years　between　1840　and　1870。

The　third　of　M。　Brunet's　categories　of　books　of　prose；　includes　livres　de　luxe；　and　illustrated　literature。　　Every　Christmas　brings　us　livres　de　luxe　in　plenty；　books　which　are　no　books；　but　have　gilt　and　magenta　covers；　and　great　staring　illustrations。　　These　are　regarded　as　drawing…room　ornaments　by　people　who　never　read。　　It　is　scarcely　necessary　to　warn　the　collector　against　these　gaudy　baits　of　unregulated　Christmas　generosity。　　All　ages　have　not　produced　quite　such　garish　livres　de　luxe　as　ours。　　But；　on　the　whole；　a　book　brought　out　merely　for　the　sake　of　display；　is　generally　a　book　ill　〃got　up；〃　and　not　worth　reading。　　Moreover；　it　is　generally　a　folio；　or　quarto；　so　large　that　he　who　tries　to　read　it　must　support　it　on　a　kind　of　scaffolding。　　In　the　class　of　illustrated　books　two　sorts　are　at　present　most　in　demand。　　The　ancient　woodcuts　and　engravings；　often　the　work　of　artists　like　Holbein　and　Durer；　can　never　lose　their　interest。　　Among　old　illustrated　books；　the　most　famous；　and　one　of　the　rarest；　is　the　〃Hypnerotomachia　Poliphili；〃　〃wherein　all　human　matters　are　proved　to　be　no　more　than　a　dream。〃　　This　is　an　allegorical　romance；　published　in　1499；　for　Francesco　Colonna；　by　Aldus　Manucius。　　Poliam　Frater　Franciscus　Columna　peramavit。