_Louis XIII. and Anne of Austria._ Sainct Johan Zebedee L?Apocalypse, Myst?re (Paris, 1541). Blue morocco, richly ornamented with gold tooling and the crowned cyphers of Louis XIII. and Anne of Austria, by A. Ruette.
Beckford (1882), ?255.
_Demetrio Canevari, Physician to Urban VIII._ Tirante il Bianco (Vinegia, 1538). A perfect specimen of Canevari?s library, in Venetian red morocco, with his device.
Beckford (1883), ?111.
_Du Fresnoy._ Luca.n.u.s de Bello Civili (Lugd. Bat., 1658). Red morocco, richly ornamented with gold tooling, with arms and monogram of H. Pet.i.t Du Fresnoy stamped on the sides and back, by Boyet.
Beckford (1882), ?84.
_Marguerite de Montmorency, Dame de Fosseteau._ d.u.c.h.esne, Histoire genealogique de la maison de Montmorency et de Laval, 2 vols.
in 1 (Paris, 1624). Old olive morocco, the sides and back covered with the MF and device (the Marguerite) of Marguerite de Montmorency.
Beckford (1882), ?120.
A few instances of the work of the great French binders follow, and it will be seen that the work of no binder is more appreciated by collectors than that of Monnier:--
_Clovis Eve._ Coloured Drawings of Maps and Plans of places in France, executed in 1602 and 1603 for Henry IV.?s own use.
Olive morocco, covered with fleurs de lis, the King?s arms forming the centre ornament, with his crowned H at each corner.
A magnificent specimen of Clovis Eve?s art.
Beckford (1882), ?375.
_Boyet._ In the second portion of the Sunderland library there was a small volume in old crimson morocco (Cicero, _De Officiis_, Amst. ex off. Elzeviriani, 1677), which was not specially described, nor the t.i.tle printed in capitals. It did not look worth many pounds, but Mr. Quaritch obtained it after an exciting contest with Mr. Morgand for ?120. The cause of the excitement was this: from the character of the end papers it was judged that the book had been bound by the French binder Boyet. Specimens of his handiwork are very rare, and hence the great price.
_Deseuil_ (or _Du Seuil_). In the second portion of the Beckford library was a copy of the Leyden edition of Macrobius (1670), bound in red morocco doubl? by Deseuil. This fetched ?39, while another copy in vellum only realised 16s.
Here is another instance of the increased value of a copy of a book bound by a good binder. A copy of Montaigne, _Essais_, 3 vols. 8vo (Amst.: Elzevir, 1659), bound in red morocco double by Deseuil, brought ?200, while another copy, bound by Roger Payne in red morocco, only sold for ?12, 10s.
A small duodecimo volume bound by Deseuil (Longus, Les Amours Pastorales de Daphnis et Chloe, _Paris_, 1788) was sold at G.
Daniel?s sale in 1864 for ?92.
_Monnier._ Decor Puellarum (Venetia: N. Jenson, 1471). Girardot de Prefond?s copy, a magnificent specimen of Monnier?s binding, in blue morocco, ornamented with flowers worked on variegated leathers, and stamped in gold.
Beckford (1883), ?530.
---- De l?Imitation de Jesus Christ traduction nouvelle (Paris, 1690). Large paper. Citron morocco, magnificent specimen of Monnier?s binding.
Beckford (1882), ?356.
---- Corneille, Rodogune. Au Nord [Versailles], 1760. Madame de Pompadour?s own copy, printed under her eyes in a northern apartment of the Palace of Versailles, in yellow morocco; fine specimen of Monnier?s binding.
Beckford (1882), ?325.
It has. .h.i.therto been the fine French and Italian bindings that have fetched the high prices, but now some of the beautiful English bindings of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries are coming in for their share of consideration. At the Earl of Orford?s sale (1895) R. Wood?s ?Essay on Homer? (1785), bound by Roger Payne by order of Wood?s widow for presentation to Horace Walpole, sold for ten guineas. There is an interest in this book as having fallen into the hands of Goethe when his powers were first developing themselves, and it strongly interested him. Robert Wood was Under-Secretary of State in 1762, and he related an affecting anecdote of Lord Granville, a statesman known now only to the few. Wood was directed to wait upon the President of the Council (Lord Granville) a few days before he died with the preliminary articles of the Treaty of Paris. ?I found him,? he continued, ?so languid that I proposed postponing my business for another time; but he insisted that I should stay, saying that it could not prolong his life to neglect his duty,? adding a quotation from Homer, which may be found in Mr. Matthew Arnold?s discourses on Homeric translations.
EARLY EDITIONS OF MODERN AUTHORS
The last five-and-twenty years has seen the rise of a new taste in early editions of the works of modern authors, and a new cla.s.s of bibliographers has arisen to describe these books.
Mr. J. H. Slater (the editor of ?Book Prices Current?) has published a useful guide to this subject, ent.i.tled ?Early Editions: a Bibliographical Survey of the Works of some popular Modern Authors.
London, 1894.?
I have taken some particulars from this book, and supplemented them with a note of the prices realised at the remarkable sale of Mr. Alfred Crampton?s collection in 1896. I have also added a few books sold since that date.
Among the first of modern books to sell for high prices were the ill.u.s.trated novels of d.i.c.kens and Thackeray, and to be valuable these must be in perfect condition, with the original wrappers, &c. After these come the other books ill.u.s.trated by Cruikshank, ?Phiz,? Leech, and others, viz., Ainsworth?s and Lever?s novels, Surtees? Sporting novels--?Sponge?s Sporting Tour,? ?Jorrocks?s Jaunts,? ?Handley Cross,?
&c.
Of poets, Sh.e.l.ley?s pieces were among the first to attain high prices, and Byron?s among the last.
_Arnold._--Matthew Arnold?s ?Strayed Reveller. By A.,? 1849, and ?Empedocles on Etna,? 1852, have long been cla.s.sed among the rare books.
The former was published at 4s. 6d., and its usual price now is ?4, but a copy has fetched ?7. The latter was published at 6s., and is now valued at from ?3, 10s. to ?6.
Beckford, _Poetical Sketches_.
Gaisford (1890), ?40.
Blake (W.), _Songs of Innocence and of Experience_ [1789].
Engraved and coloured by Blake, in green morocco by Lewis.
Sir W. t.i.te, ?61. Lord Beaconsfield, ?85. Beckford (1882), ?146.
---- _Milton: a Poem._ Engraved throughout, and ornamented with designs by Blake, blue morocco by Mackenzie.
Beckford (1882), ?230.
_Browning._--Robert Browning?s first publication, which appeared when its author was in his twenty-first year, is a great rarity.
?Pauline; a Fragment of a Confession. ?Plus ne suis ce que j?ai ?t?, Et ne le s?aurois jamais ?tre.?--_Marot._ London: Saunders & Otley, Conduit Street, 1833.?
Mr. Slater says that there are about eight copies known, and that it was supposed to be worth ?40 or ?50. A copy, with an autograph note by the author, was sold at Alfred Crampton?s sale for ?145. Mr. Thomas J. Wise printed a facsimile reprint in 1886, which has been used by the forger to deceive. Mr. Slater had seen a ?doctored? copy of this reprint, in which Wise?s t.i.tle and prefatory note were removed, the paper was rotted to make it porous, and the leaves were smoked to give them a mellow appearance. Mr. Wise?s paper is thicker than the original, and Mr.
Slater gives a hint how to distinguish the two:--
?On the final page (71) appear the words--?Richmond, October 22, 1832.? If the word ?October? is printed in _thin_ italics the book is without doubt a reprint. So far as I am aware, there is no other difference between Mr. Wise?s excellent reprint and the original (the paper excepted).?
_Burns._--The most amazing price ever realised for a modern book was that of ?572 for ?Poems chiefly in the Scottish dialect. By Robert Burns. _Kilmarnock_, 1786.? The original price of this octavo volume was three shillings. The history of the very fine copy sold in Edinburgh in February 1898 is traced back about eighty years by a writer in _Literature_. In 1870 it was sold for six guineas to G. B. Simpson, of Dundee, who sold it in 1879, with some other books, to A. C. Lamb for ?124. The price of the Kilmarnock Burns has steadily advanced from ?3, 10s. in 1858 to ?111 in 1888, and then it made the immense leap to ?572.
_Byron._--?Poems on Various Occasions? (Newark, 1807, 8vo) sold at Alfred Crampton?s sale for ?45. ?The Waltz? (1813, pp. 27), published without a wrapper at 3s., sold at the same sale for ?55. Mr. Slater says that an uncut copy has been sold by auction for ?86.
_Meredith._--A fine uncut copy of George Meredith?s Poems, 1851, sold at a sale of Rare Books and Ma.n.u.scripts (Sotheby, March 1897) for ?17, 10s.
Another copy with alterations in the author?s autograph (Sotheby, June 1897) sold for ?25.
_Morris._--The beautiful issues of William Morris?s Kelmscott Press advanced in price in many instances before publication, and are likely, now that the supply has ceased, to advance still more; but they vary very much according to the literary rank of the books. The edition of Keats, published at 30s., was sold lately for ?12. Sh.e.l.ley?s Poetical Works, in three volumes 8vo, was sold at Sotheby?s early in 1898 for ?8.
Chaucer?s Works, folio, is out of print, and was marked by Messrs. J. & J. Leighton at ?30.
_Rossetti._--The first printed work of Dante G. Rossetti is of great rarity. The poet was thirteen years old when the lines were composed, and fifteen when they were printed. The t.i.tle is ?Sir Hugh the Heron: a Legendary Tale, in four parts. G. Polidori?s Private Press, 15 Park Village East, 1843. Private Circulation only,? pp. 24. A copy was sold at Sotheby?s in 1890 for ?16. Miss Christina Rossetti?s first poems, privately printed at the same press, have brought seven guineas.