George Spencer Churchill, fifth Duke of Marlborough, the collector of the famous library at White Knights, near Reading, Berkshire, was the elder son of George, fourth Duke of Marlborough, by Caroline, only daughter of John, fourth Duke of Bedford. He was born on the 6th of March 1766, and was educated at Eton, and subsequently at Christ Church, Oxford, graduating M.A. in 1786 and D.C.L. in 1792. At the general election in 1790 he was returned to Parliament as one of the members for Oxfordshire, and in August 1804 he was appointed a Lord of the Treasury, which office he held until February 1806. On the 12th of March in the same year he was called to the House of Lords as Baron Spencer of Wormleighton, and on the death of his father on the 29th of January 1817 he succeeded to the dukedom. In the May following he was authorised to take and use the name of Churchill after that of Spencer, and to bear the arms of Churchill quarterly with those of Spencer, in order to perpetuate in his family the surname of his celebrated ancestor, John, first Duke of Marlborough. He married, on the 15th of September 1791, Susan, second daughter of John, seventh Earl of Galloway, by whom he had issue four sons and two daughters. He died on the 5th of March 1840, and was succeeded by his eldest son, George.
The splendid library which the Duke of Marlborough, while Marquis of Blandford, collected at White Knights was one of the finest in the kingdom. Its two great treasures were the Bedford Book of Hours, now in the British Museum, purchased by the Duke in 1815 at the sale of the library of James Edwards, for the sum of six hundred and ninety-eight pounds, five shillings; and the edition of Boccaccio"s _Decameron_, printed by Valdarfer at Venice in 1471, which he acquired at the Duke of Roxburghe"s sale in 1812, after a spirited contest with his relative, Earl Spencer, at the enormous price of two thousand two hundred and sixty pounds. This copy, Edward Edwards tells us (_Libraries and Founders of Libraries_), had been offered to Lord Sunderland for a hundred guineas just a century before one of his great-grandsons offered more than two thousand guineas for it, and was outbidden by another.
Among many other choice ma.n.u.scripts and rare books the library contained a beautiful Missal, said to have been executed for Diana of Poitiers; no fewer than eighteen Caxtons; the _Bokys of Hawkyng and Huntyng_, printed at St. Albans in 1486; a large number of very rare books from the presses of Machlinia, Pynson, Wynkyn de Worde, and other early English printers; a copy on vellum of the first edition of Luther"s translation of the Bible after his final revision; a collection of Churchyard"s Works in two volumes; many of the early editions of Shakespeare"s plays, together with the first edition of his _Sonnets_; and Ireland"s account of the Shakesperian Forgery, in his own handwriting. The collection was especially rich in missals, books of emblems, and Italian, Spanish, and French romances of chivalry, poetry, and facetiae.
The extravagance of the Duke compelled him to dispose of his magnificent collection during his lifetime, and it was sold in two parts by Mr.
Evans at 26 Pall Mall. The sale, which consisted of four thousand seven hundred and one lots, commenced on the 7th of June 1819 and lasted till the 3rd of July following. It realised but fourteen thousand four hundred and eighty-two pounds, ten shillings and sixpence, a much less sum than that paid for the books by the Duke. The Valdarfer Boccaccio sold for nine hundred and eighteen pounds, fifteen shillings, and the Caxtons fetched one thousand three hundred and sixteen pounds, twelve shillings and sixpence; the highest prices being obtained for Gower"s _Confessio Amantis_, and Chaucer"s _Troylus and Creside_, which realised two hundred and five pounds, sixteen shillings, and one hundred and sixty-two pounds, fifteen shillings. The Book of St. Albans, which was imperfect, fetched eighty-four pounds; Luther"s translation of the Bible, two hundred and twenty pounds, ten shillings; Churchyard"s Works, eighty-five pounds, one shilling; and Shakespeare"s _Sonnets_, thirty-seven pounds. The Missal said to have been written for Diana of Poitiers sold for one hundred and ten pounds, five shillings.
ALEXANDER, TENTH DUKE OF HAMILTON, 1767-1852
A good library had no doubt existed in Hamilton Palace for a considerable period of time, but Alexander, tenth Duke of Hamilton, who was born on the 5th of October 1767, and died on the 18th of August 1852, was the first of his line who was a book-collector on an extensive scale. He formed a large and very choice collection of printed books, but that of his ma.n.u.scripts was of still greater interest and value. It was wonderfully rich in Bibles and portions of the Scriptures, Missals, Breviaries and Books of Hours, many of them having been written and illuminated for Francis I., King of France, the Emperor Maximilian, Pope Leo X., the Duke of Guise, and other distinguished personages. The finest of these was a copy of the Gospels in Latin, known as "The Golden Gospels," written about the end of the eighth century in gold letters upon purple vellum, which was at one time the property of King Henry VIII. Another famous ma.n.u.script in the library, valued at five thousand pounds, was the _Divina Commedia_ of Dante, ill.u.s.trated with upwards of eighty original designs attributed to Sandro Botticelli, now in the Royal Library at Berlin.
In addition to his own books, the Duke acquired the whole of William Beckford"s splendid collection by his marriage with Beckford"s daughter Susan Euphemia. William, the eleventh Duke, who was born on February the 19th, 1811, and died on July the 15th, 1863, added considerably to the library, but his successor was reluctantly obliged to part with it, and it was advertised to be sold by auction on June 30th, 1882. Before, however, the time appointed for the sale, the Royal Museum at Berlin, by a private arrangement, acquired the whole of the ma.n.u.scripts for a sum which is believed to have amounted to about seventy-five thousand pounds, and they were divided between that Inst.i.tution and the Royal Library at Berlin. A portion of them, which related to Scottish history, was purchased of the Prussian authorities by the British Museum; and ninety-one other ma.n.u.scripts which were not required by the Berlin Museum, including the "Golden Gospels," were sent to Sotheby, Wilkinson and Hodge, by whom they were sold on the 23rd of May 1889 for fifteen thousand one hundred and eighty-nine pounds, ten shillings and sixpence.
The "Golden Gospels" was bought by Mr. Quaritch for one thousand five hundred pounds. The printed books were sold by the same auctioneers on May 1st, 1884, and seven following days. The sale consisted of two thousand one hundred and thirty-six lots, and realised twelve thousand eight hundred and ninety-two pounds, twelve shillings and sixpence. The following are a few of the rarest and most interesting books, and the prices they fetched--_Boecius de Consolatione Philosophie_, printed by Caxton in 1477-78, one hundred and sixty pounds; Dante"s _Commedia_, printed at Florence in 1481, with twenty engravings by Baccio Baldini, three hundred and eighty pounds; the Poems of Pindar in Greek, printed by Aldus in 1513, with the arms of France and the monogram and devices of Henry II. and Diana of Poitiers on the binding, one hundred and forty-one pounds; the Prince of Conde"s copy of _L"Hystoire du Roy Perceforest_, Paris, 1528, with his arms on the covers, one hundred and eighteen pounds; a dedication copy, printed upon vellum, and bound for James V., King of Scotland, of Hector Boece"s _History and Croniklis_, translated by b.e.l.l.e.n.den, and printed at Edinburgh in 1536, the binding having on the upper cover IACOBVS QVINTVS, and on the lower REX SCOTORVM, eight hundred pounds; a Collection of Architectural Designs, executed with pen and ink by J. Androuet du Cerceau, in a beautiful binding attributed to Clovis Eve, two hundred and forty pounds; De Bry"s _Collectiones Peregrinationum_, in eleven volumes, bound in blue morocco by Derome, five hundred and sixty pounds; Book of Common Prayer, 1637, folio--King Charles I."s copy, with numerous alterations in his own handwriting which were used in printing the Scottish Prayer-book of the same year, usually termed Laud"s Book. Prefixed to the Order for Morning Prayer the King has written: "Charles R.--I gave the Archbp. of Canterbury comand to make the alteracons expressed in this Book and to fit a Liturgy for the Church of Scotland, and wheresoever they shall differ from another Booke signed by us at Hampt. Court Septembr. 28, 1634, our pleasure is to have these followed rather than the former; unless the Archbp. of St. Andrews and his Brethren who are upon the place shall see apparent reason to the contrary. At Whitehall, April 19, 1636"--one hundred and thirty-seven pounds.
The paintings and objects of art belonging to the Duke of Hamilton were sold in July 1882, and realised three hundred and ninety-seven thousand pounds.
SIR MARK MASTERMAN SYKES, BART., 1771-1823
Sir Mark Masterman Sykes, Bart., was the eldest son of Sir Christopher Sykes, second baronet, of Sledmere, Yorkshire. He was born on the 20th of August 1771, and in his seventeenth year was sent to Brasenose College, Oxford. In 1795 he served the office of High Sheriff of Yorkshire, and on the death of his father in 1801 he succeeded to the t.i.tle and estates. He was elected Member of Parliament for the city of York in 1807; was again returned in 1812 and 1813, and retired on account of ill health in 1820. Sir M. Masterman Sykes was twice married.
His first wife was Henrietta, daughter and heiress of Henry Masterman of Settrington, Yorkshire, and on his union with her in 1795 he a.s.sumed the additional name of Masterman. She died in 1813, and in the following year he married Mary Elizabeth, daughter of William Tatton Egerton, and sister of Wilbraham Tatton Egerton, of Tatton Park, who survived him.
Sir Mark died at Weymouth, on his way to London, on the 16th of February 1823. He had no children, and was succeeded by his brother, Sir Tatton Sykes.
Sir M. Masterman Sykes early developed a love for books, and the magnificent library which he formed, one of the finest private collections in England, was the result of upwards of thirty years"
unremitting and careful work. Some of the rare volumes it contained, we are informed in the preface to the sale catalogue of his library written by the Rev. H.J. Todd, "were procured during the collector"s travels abroad, but many of them were acquired at the dispersion of the libraries of Major Pearson, Dr. Farmer, Steevens, Reed, the Rev. Mr.
Brand, the Duke of Roxburghe and others, but especially of that of the late Mr. Edwards, from whom the celebrated Livy of 1469 was obtained--the only known copy of the first edition of Livy on vellum."
Among the princ.i.p.al treasures of the collection were the Gutenberg Bible; the Psalter of 1459, on vellum; the _Rationale Divinorum Officiorum_ of Durandus, on vellum, 1459; the _Catholicon_ of Joannes Balbus de Janua, 1460; the Latin Bible of 1462, on vellum; and the Epistles of St. Jerome, on vellum, 1470: all printed at Mentz.
The library was especially rich in early editions of the Greek and Latin Cla.s.sics, and on its shelves were to be found the only copy known to exist on vellum of the first edition of Livy, printed at Rome by Sweynheym and Pannartz about 1469, to which we have already referred; the first edition of Pliny, printed by Joannes de Spira at Venice in 1469; that printed at Rome by Sweynheym and Pannartz in 1470; a copy on vellum of the beautiful 1472 edition from the press of Nicolas Jenson of Venice; and the earliest editions of Homer, Cicero, Horace, Virgil, Tacitus, Terence, and Valerius Maximus.
The library also contained the Dante printed at Foligno in 1472, and that printed at Florence in 1481; the first issue of the Latin translation of the Letter of Columbus, printed at Rome in 1493; a fine copy of the _Poliphili Hypnerotomachia_, printed by Aldus at Venice in 1499; the Aldine Petrarch of 1501; several rare Missals and Books of Hours, the most notable of them being a vellum copy of the Vallombrosa Missal, printed at Florence in 1503; and a copy of the _Tewrdannck_, also on vellum, printed at Nuremberg in 1517.
There were several Caxtons, among them being _The Myrrour of the World_ and Higden"s _Polychronicon_.
The literature of the reigns of Elizabeth and James I. was well represented, and the library contained a copy of that rare work, Archbishop Parker"s _De Antiquitate Ecclesiae Britannicae_.
The collection also comprised several fine and interesting ma.n.u.scripts.
Deserving especial notice were a beautiful illuminated Office, on vellum, of the Virgin Mary, executed for Francis I., King of France; the original Report of Convocation to Henry VIII. on the Legality of his proposed Divorce from Anne of Cleves, subscribed with the autograph signatures of the Archbishop and all the Bishops and Clergy a.s.sembled in Convocation, dated July 9th, 1540; and an autograph ma.n.u.script of Dugdale"s Visitation of the County of York in 1665-66.
Sir M. Masterman Sykes possessed an immense collection of prints. It included a complete set of Bartolozzi"s engravings which is said to have cost Sir Mark nearly five thousand pounds; his collection of portraits was considered to be one of the best in the kingdom; and Dibdin declared that his "Faithornes and Hollars almost defied compet.i.tion." He also acc.u.mulated a considerable number of pictures, bronzes, coins and medals.
All the collections were dispersed by sale in 1824. The books were sold by Mr. Evans of Pall Mall in three parts, commencing on the 11th of May and continuing until the 28th of June. The total amount realised was eighteen thousand seven hundred and twenty-nine pounds, sixteen shillings. The prices obtained were by no means high. The Gutenberg Bible, which was a very fine one, fetched less than two hundred pounds, and the copy of the Mentz Psalter, for which Mr. Quaritch subsequently gave four thousand nine hundred and fifty pounds at Sir J. H. Thorold"s sale in 1884, sold for one hundred and thirty-six pounds, ten shillings.
The Latin Bible of 1462 was disposed of for the same sum; and the unique vellum Livy, which cost Sir Mark nine hundred and three pounds at the sale of Mr. Edwards"s books in 1815, realised but four hundred and seventy-two pounds, ten shillings. This volume was bought by Messrs.
Payne and Foss, who sold it to Mr. John Dent, and at the sale of his collection in 1827 it was acquired for two hundred and sixty-two pounds, ten shillings by the Right Hon. Thomas Grenville, who bequeathed it to the British Museum in 1846. The three ma.n.u.scripts mentioned--The Office of the Virgin Mary, the Report of Convocation on Henry VIII."s divorce from Anne of Cleves, and Dugdale"s Visitation of the County of York--fetched respectively one hundred and sixty-three pounds, sixteen shillings; two hundred and fifteen pounds, five shillings; and one hundred and fifty-seven pounds, ten shillings.
Sir M. Masterman Sykes was one of the original members of the Roxburghe Club, and in 1818 printed for presentation to the members a portion of Lydgate"s Poems. He was the "Lorenzo" of Dibdin, who describes him as "not less known than respected for the suavity of his manners, the kindness of his disposition, and the liberality of his conduct in all matters connected with books and prints."
RICHARD HEBER, 1773-1833
Richard Heber, styled by Sir Walter Scott "Heber the Magnificent, whose library and cellar are so superior to all others in the world," was the eldest son of Reginald Heber, lord of the manors of Marton in Yorkshire, and Hodnet in Shropshire, and was half-brother to Reginald Heber, Bishop of Calcutta. He was born in Westminster on the 5th of January 1773, and was first educated under the private tuition of the Rev. George Henry Gla.s.se; afterwards proceeding to Brasenose College, Oxford, where he graduated B.A. in 1796, and M.A. in the following year. In 1822 the University conferred on him the degree of D.C.L. On the death of his father in 1804, Heber succeeded to the estates in Yorkshire and Shropshire, which he considerably augmented and improved. He was one of the founders of the Athenaeum Club, and in 1821 he was elected a representative in Parliament for the University of Oxford, but resigned his seat in 1826. From his earliest years he was an ardent collector, and Dibdin says that he had seen a catalogue of Heber"s books, compiled by him at the age of eight; and when ten years old he requested his father to buy some volumes at a certain sale, where "there would be the best editions of the cla.s.sics." Of many of his books he possessed several copies, and on being asked by a friend why he purchased them, he seriously replied: "Why, you see, Sir, no man can comfortably do without _three_ copies of a book. One he must have for his show copy, and he will probably keep it at his country house. Another he will require for his own use and reference; and unless he is inclined to part with this, which is very inconvenient, or risk the injury of his best copy, he must needs have a third at the service of his friends." Soon after the peace of 1815 Heber paid a visit to the Continent to collect books for his library, and in 1825 he again left England for a considerable period for the purpose of still further adding to his literary stores. On his return in 1831 he spent his time in seclusion between his country residence at Hodnet, near Shrewsbury, and his house at Pimlico, devoting himself to the last days of his life to the increase of his immense collection. He died at Pimlico of an attack on the lungs, accompanied with jaundice, on the 4th of October 1833, and was buried at Hodnet on the 16th of the following month. The Rev. Mr. Dyce in a letter to Sir Egerton Brydges, gives a melancholy account of his end. "Poor man," he writes, "he expired at Pimlico, in the midst of his rare property, _without a friend to close his eyes_, and from all I have heard I am led to believe he died broken-hearted: he had been ailing for some time, but took no care of himself, and seemed indeed to court death. Yet his ruling pa.s.sion was strong to the last. The morning he died he wrote out some memoranda for Thorpe about books which he wished to be purchased for him. He was the most liberal of book-collectors: I never asked him for the loan of a volume, _which he could lay his hand on_, he did not immediately send me.[91] Heber, who was a man of deep learning, numbered among his friends Porson, Cracherode, Canning, Southey, Dr. Burney, Sir Walter Scott, and many other distinguished persons. Sir Walter dedicated the sixth canto of _Marmion_ to him, and alludes to his library in the following lines:--
"Thy volumes, open as thy heart, Delight, amus.e.m.e.nt, science, art, To every ear and eye impart; Yet who, of all who thus employ them, Can like the owner"s self enjoy them?-- But, hark! I hear the distant drum!
The day of Flodden Field is come.-- Adieu, dear Heber! Life and health, And store of literary wealth."
The number of volumes acc.u.mulated by Heber was enormous. He collected ma.n.u.scripts as well as printed books. At the time of his death he possessed eight houses overflowing with books. At Hodnet he had built a new library which he is said to have filled with volumes selected on account of their fine condition; and so careful was he of these, that occasionally he used to engage the whole of the inside places of the coach for their conveyance from London. The walls of all the rooms and pa.s.sages of his house at Pimlico were lined with books; and another house in York Street, Westminster, which he used as a depository for newly purchased books, was literally crammed with them from the floors to the ceilings. He had a library in the High Street, Oxford; an immense collection at Paris, which was sold in the years 1834 to 1836; another at Ghent, sold in 1835; and others at Brussels and Antwerp, together with smaller gatherings in several places on the Continent. Dibdin estimated the total number of volumes in Heber"s collections in England at one hundred and twenty-seven thousand five hundred, but other calculations have placed it at a somewhat lower figure. The whole of the libraries which he possessed in England and on the Continent probably contained from one hundred and forty-five thousand to one hundred and fifty thousand volumes, as well as a very large number of pamphlets; and they are believed to have cost him about a hundred thousand pounds. As Heber was an accomplished scholar as well as a collector, his books were chosen with ability and judgment. He was a purchaser at every great sale, and so keen was he in the prosecution of his favourite pursuit, that on hearing of a rare book he has been known to undertake a coach journey of several hundred miles to obtain it. His library was particularly rich in the works of the early English poets, and his collection of Greek and Latin Cla.s.sics, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and French books was very extensive and choice, but he had a great objection to large paper copies, because they occupied so much room on his shelves. He possessed also a number of books printed in Mexico; and among his ma.n.u.scripts were to be found the letters and papers of Sir Julius Caesar, the autograph ma.n.u.script of _The Monastery_, by Sir Walter Scott, and a large collection of the letters of distinguished men. For a considerable period his will could not be found, although diligent search was made for it, both at home and abroad, and his sister, Mrs.
Cholmondeley, was on the point of taking out letters of administration, when it was accidentally discovered by Dr. Dibdin among some books on an upper shelf at Pimlico. As it did not contain any directions as to the disposal of his books, those in England, together with some brought from Holland, were sold by Sotheby and Son, Evans, and Wheatley at a series of sales extending over four years, and realised fifty-seven thousand five hundred and fifty-four pounds, twelve shillings. The catalogue is in thirteen parts, bearing the dates 1834-37. His books on the Continent, with the drawings and coins, fetched about ten thousand pounds more.
Heber edited the works of Persius Flaccus, Silius Italicus, and Claudia.n.u.s. He also reprinted the _Caltha Poetarum, or the b.u.mble Bee_, of T. Cutwode, from the edition of 1599, for the Roxburghe Club, and a.s.sisted in the preparation of the third edition of Ellis"s _Specimens of the Early English Poets_.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 91: _The Book Fancier._ By Percy Fitzgerald (London, 1887), p.
230.]
RICHARD GRENVILLE, FIRST DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM, 1776-1839
Richard Temple Nugent Brydges Chandos Grenville, first Duke of Buckingham, was born in London on the 20th of March 1776. He was the eldest son of George Grenville, Earl Temple, who was made Marquis of Buckingham in 1784. He began collecting books at a very early age, and in 1798 had already commenced the formation of a library at Stowe; and the acquisition of the ma.n.u.scripts and papers of Thomas Astle, Keeper of the Records in the Tower; the Irish ma.n.u.scripts from Belanagare, the seat of The O"Conor Don; the State Papers of Arthur Capel, Earl of Ess.e.x, Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland in the reign of Charles II., together with some other purchases, placed his library among the finest private collections in the kingdom.[92] On the death of his father in 1813 he succeeded to the t.i.tle, and nine years later he was created Duke of Buckingham and Chandos. In 1827, in consequence of his great expenditure on his various collections, and the munificence with which he had entertained the royal family of France, he found himself in embarra.s.sed circ.u.mstances, and left England, remaining abroad about two years. In 1834 he was compelled to sell his furniture, pictures, and articles of virtu, but did not part with his books, which, on his death on the 17th of January 1839, pa.s.sed into the possession of his only son, Richard Plantagenet Temple Nugent Brydges Chandos Grenville, who was born on February the 11th, 1797. The habits of the son were not less extravagant than those of his father, and in 1847 the effects at Stowe and his other residences were seized by bailiffs, and in August and September 1848 the pictures, furniture, china, plate, etc., were sold by auction, realising over seventy-five thousand five hundred pounds. The printed books in the library were sold by Sotheby and Wilkinson, on January 8th, 1849, and eleven following days, and January 29, and eleven following days. There were six thousand two hundred and twelve lots in the two sales, which brought ten thousand three hundred and fifty-five pounds, seven shillings and sixpence. The extensive and valuable series of engraved portraits contained in the Duke"s ill.u.s.trated copy of the _Biographical History of England_, by the Rev. James Granger, was sold by the same auctioneers on March 5th and eight following days, and a continuation of it by the Rev. Mark n.o.ble, together with some other engravings, on the 21st of March and five following days. There were two thousand two hundred and one lots in these two sales, for which the sum of three thousand seven hundred and ninety-nine pounds, eighteen shillings and sixpence was obtained. The ma.n.u.scripts were bought by the Earl of Ashburnham for eight thousand pounds. The collection of printed books in the Stowe library was inferior in interest to that of the ma.n.u.scripts, but it contained some rare and choice volumes. Amongst them was a block-book, _The Apocalypse_, which sold for ninety-four pounds; _Missale ad usum Ecclesiae Andegavensis_, on vellum, printed in 1489, sixty-three pounds; Le Fevre"s _Recuyles of the Hystoryes of Troye_, printed by Wynkyn de Worde in 1503, fifty-five pounds; a complete set of the twenty-five parts in eight volumes of De Bry"s _Collectiones Peregrinationum_, printed at Frankfurt in 1590-1634, eighty-one pounds; De Bry"s _Relation of Virginia_, translated by Hariot, printed at Frankfurt in 1590, sixty-three pounds; the first Shakespeare folio (mended, and the t.i.tle-page slightly imperfect), seventy-six pounds; fine, large, and perfect copies of the second and third folios, eleven pounds, five shillings and thirty-five pounds; Shakespeare"s _Poems_, 1640, seven pounds, ten shillings; Prynne"s _Records_, three volumes, 1665-70, one hundred and forty pounds; the fourth volume, printed in 1665 or 1666, believed to be unique, three hundred and thirty-five pounds; Houbraken"s _Heads of Ill.u.s.trious Persons_, two volumes, 1756, folio, large paper, with first states and duplicate proofs of the plates, etc., ninety-one pounds; Bartolozzi"s Engravings, a collection of six hundred and sixty plates in various proof states, bound in eight folio volumes, sixty-two pounds; Boydell"s Prints, five hundred and forty fine impressions, bound in nine folio volumes, seventy-eight pounds, fifteen shillings; Lysons"s _Topographical Account of Buckinghamshire_, inlaid in eight volumes, atlas folio, and super-ill.u.s.trated with four hundred and eighty drawings, etc., five hundred and forty pounds; and Lysons"s _Environs of London_, large paper, eighteen volumes quarto, super-ill.u.s.trated with eight hundred drawings and a large number of plates, one hundred and thirty-three pounds. The Duke, who died at the Great Western Hotel, London, on July the 29th, 1861, was the author of _Memoirs of the Court and Cabinets of George III._, 1853-55, two volumes; _Memoirs of the Court of England during the Regency_, 1856, two volumes; _Memoirs of the Court of George IV._, 1859, two volumes; _Memoirs of the Courts and Cabinets of William IV. and Victoria_, 1861, two volumes; and _Private Diary of Richard, Duke of Buckingham and Chandos_, 1862, four volumes; together with a few political works.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 92: A descriptive catalogue of the ma.n.u.scripts in the Stowe library by the Rev. Charles O"Conor, D.D., the Duke"s librarian, was printed in 1818-19.]
HENRY PERKINS, 1778-1855
Henry Perkins, who was born in 1778, was a partner in the well-known firm of Barclay, Perkins and Co., brewers, but he does not appear to have taken an active part in the business, and he spent the later part of his life in retirement among his books at Hanworth Park, Middles.e.x.
He died at Dover on the 15th of April 1855.
Mr. Perkins, who was a Fellow of the Linnean, Geological and Horticultural Societies, possessed a small but exceedingly valuable library, which, among many other extremely rare books, contained two copies of the Gutenberg Bible, one on vellum and the other on paper; a copy on vellum of Fust and Schoeffer"s Latin Bible of 1462; a copy of the Coverdale Bible; several works from the press of Caxton, and the first four editions of Shakespeare"s Plays. It also comprised many fine ma.n.u.scripts, some of them superbly illuminated. Mr. Henry Perkins bequeathed his books to his son, Mr. Algernon Perkins, and after his death in 1870 they were sold by auction at Hanworth by Gadsden, Ellis and Co. on the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th of June 1873. There were but eight hundred and sixty-five lots in the sale, but they realised an average of thirty pounds, or a total of twenty-five thousand nine hundred and fifty-four pounds, four shillings, the largest sum ever obtained for a library of the same extent. The vellum copy of the Gutenberg Bible was purchased for the Earl of Ashburnham for three thousand four hundred pounds; and the paper copy, now in the Huth library, fetched two thousand six hundred and ninety. Fust and Schoeffer"s Latin Bible of 1462, which Mr. Perkins acquired at the sale of Mr. Dent"s books for one hundred and seventy-three pounds, five shillings, sold for seven hundred and eighty pounds; while the copy of Coverdale"s Bible, which wanted the t.i.tle and two following leaves and the map, realised four hundred pounds; and the 1623 edition of Shakespeare"s Plays brought five hundred and eighty-five pounds. The ma.n.u.scripts also went for large sums. John Lydgate"s _Sege of Troye_, a magnificently illuminated ma.n.u.script on vellum of the fifteenth century; _Les OEuvres Diverses_ of Jehan de Meun; and _Les Cent Histoires de Troye_ of Christine de Pisan, of about the same period, sold respectively for thirteen hundred and twenty, six hundred and ninety, and six hundred and fifty pounds. The prices obtained for the books were generally greatly in excess of those given by Mr. Perkins for them.