mm? OJortteU Hmueraitg Siibrarg Strata, I?«n $nrb FROM THE BENNO LOEWY LIBRARY COLLECTED BY BENNO LOEWY 1854-1919 BEQUEATHED TO CORNELL UNIVERSITY 21001 .B89 n i880 VerSl,y ^ B ' b iiwm"«fJil },!l?.„ffi.?.SnJ.,..day...in France olin 3 1924 029 550 757 Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924029550757 BIBLIOMANIA AT THE PRESENT DAY. BIBLIOMANIA THE PRESENT DAY FRANCE AND ENGLAND; SOME ACCOUNT OF CELEBRATED RECENT SALES, GIVING THE PRICES AT WHICH THE MORE IMPORTANT BOOKS WERE SOLD, TOGETHER WITH THE PRICES BROUGHT BY THE SAME BOOKS IN PREVIOUS SALES. FROM THE FRENCH OF PHILOMNESTE JUNIOR. With a Notice and Portrait of Trautz-Bauzonnet. NEW-YORK : J. W. BOUTON, 706 BROADWAY. 1880. ADVERTISEMENT. r i ~\HE publisher believes that he need offer no M apology for placing the present little vol- ume in the hands of the American public. His experience, for the last twenty years, as a bookseller has placed him in a position to appreciate the constant augmentation in number of American book-collectors, and at the same time rendered him aware of the fact that their tastes are by no means limited to English literature. Indeed, French is a language of adoption here. The firm alliance between the two nations during our struggle for independence forged a bond of sympathy which has never been broken. It is not to be wondered at, therefore, that the French nation should have t?iade [3] — A — its influence powerfully felt upon our civilization. In fact, it will often be found that where our manners and customs depart from those of our English forefathers, they approach those of the French in corresponding degree. It is scarcely a matter of surprise, therefore, that the grace of a la Fontaine, the elegance of a Fe?ielon or a Bos- suet, the dramatic force of a Corneille, a Molilre, or a Racine, should fijid as ardent admirers here as in the land of their birth. The title of this little work, however, admonishes us that it is not with the standard French litera- ture that we have here to deal, but rather with zvhat may be appropriately termed its luxuries. The books, whose varying fortunes in the auction- room are herein recounted, owe their interest to a something outside of the contents of the volumes themselves. Here our interest in a volume is awakened by its having belonged to a Alary Stuart, a Madame de Pompadour, a Grolier, or a Maioli ; here our cupidity is excited by the beautiful bind- ing of a Derome or a Du Seuil, or the brilliaticy of a gilding by a Le Gascon j here, on the other - 5 — hand, it is owing to its bearing the autograph of a Bossuet or a Beaumarchais on its fly-leaf. This one interests us as an early edition of a great French author, with variations from the text of subsequent issues. This one again by being one of two or three copies on vellum. All these qualities are appreciated by the American collector as fully as by his French confrere. Many a treasure which has passed through the publisher s hands during the last decade attests this fact. Indeed, he could designate private collections of the illus- trated books of the sixteenth century, and of speci- mens of binding which could vie, in point of choice- ness, with any in Europe. Should this little book be instrumental in adding to their number, or in infusing a little more enthusiasm among our col- lectors in general, its aim will have been fully met. wmm INTRODUCTION. N all ages, men of taste and culti- vation have paid homage to books. Striking examples of the truth of this may be found in antiquity, the middle ages, and times subsequent to the Renaissance. Our intention, however, is not to write a history of book-collecting, that having already been done by such men as Dibdin, 1 Jules Janin, 2 G. Mouravit, 3 and many others, with a breadth of scope which we shall not attempt to rival. Our purpose is merely to exhibit the status quo in 1878, '"Bibliomania" and "Bibliographical Decam- eron." 2 " Le Livre," 1870. 8 " Le Livre " and " La Petite Bibliotheque d' Ama- teur," 1870. [7] and, with this end in view, we have collected together the results furnished by two sales refulgent in the annals of bibliomania. The catalogue of an old sale is rarely preserved, unless it be by a few amateurs, who get it priced ; we deem it opportune, therefore, to recapitulate the more important lots in the Turner and Didot sales — those fetching a thousand francs and over, and ranging up to twenty and even thirty thou- sand francs at times. A few brief notes are added, and, in some instances, a list of prices, brought by the same books at preceding sales, is appended. Striking instances will be found here of the constant rise in value of rare books. The enthusiasm of bibliomania, though at times exaggerated and perverted, we have no desire to condemn. We can comprehend the feverish rivalry of the auction-room, and share the transport of the amateur, who, placing on his shelves some long-coveted volume, exclaims : "I have paid a little too dearly for it, perhaps, but, at all events, it is at length mine." Indeed, nowadays, it must be owned that, to possess a really precious book, in exceptional condition, you must be a man of fortune — in fact, a prince of finance. The choice of books, like the toilet of gentility, is governed by fashion, whose laws — 9 — admit of no appeal. For several years, and more particularly at the present time, she has taken under her wings certain classes of books, which we shall now proceed to pass briefly in review. First, we have the books illustrated by the clever artists of the eighteenth century : Eisen, Gravelot, Marillier, and Moreau. Long_ treated with contempt, these volumes are to-day the object of the most eager re- search. The plates are everything ; the text nothing. The verses of Dorat, the prose of Marmontel, are placed in the choicest libra- ries, always provided they are accompanied by the plates, however. We will give a few examples of this in- fatuation, which, by the way, prompted the production of a capital book from the pen of Henry Cohen 1 which was so well greeted by the public that three successive editions, each further enlarged, have rapidly seen the light ; 3 a fourth, still further enlarged and re- vised, is already a desideratum. To show what a furore exists for this class of books, let us instance the " Temple de 1 ' ' Guide del'Amateurde Livres a Figures et a Vig- nettes du XVIlIesiecle." 2 " The third edition, Paris, Rouquette, 1876, large 8°, xix and 617 pp., in double columns, revised by Charles Mehl. IO Gnide " of Montesquieu. Twenty years ago, the engraved edition of 1772 was worth six or eight francs. The supplement to Brunet 1 informs us that a copy was put as high as four thousand francs in Morgand and Fatout's catalogue. Another copy brought seven thousand nine hundred francs at E. Martin's sale in 1877. A third copy, with Moreau's designs, fetched ten thousand francs. The original editions of our classic au- thors, too long suffered to lie in neglect, have now become indispensable to a select library. Nodier was one of the first to interest himself in their collection. He owned the " Tel6- maque," the " Provinciales," the " Maximes " of La Rochefoucauld, the " Caracteres " of La Bruyere, the "Satires" of Boil eau, and uttered the truth when he said : " the collec- tion of this class of books, though now little in vogue, will attract sooner or later the at- tention of the most fastidious collectors." He added, with justice : " Who could disdain these vouchers of our literary glory, the slightest variation in which, inestimable in the eyes of men of taste, discovers the most 1 " Edited by P. Deschamps and G. Brunet. The first volume was recently published by Firmin-Didot & Co. It comprises the letters A-M. Large 8°, double columns. — II — interesting secrets of composition, and the development of genius, enlightened by ex- perience and matured by time." To-day, the original editions of Mon- taigne, Corneille, Moliere, Racine, Bossuet, La Bruyere, and others, bring enormous prices. They often possess, indeed, merit far superior to mere rarity. The " Essais," the " Maximes," the " Caracteres," were at each re-impression largely re-written, loaded with corrections and additions and many suppres- sions made. These variations have been re- stored by later editors who have given them the attention they deserve. 1 The editions of the French poets printed in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries have also attained exorbitant prices. Of this we shall now proceed to give some examples. The supplement to Brunet, which we have just cited, asserts that a fine copy of the poems of Louise Lab6, the edition of 1555, 2 was sold to Baron James de Rothschild for about fifteen thousand francs — we say about, as the volume was included in a lot of books sold in a lump. Among the books most coveted now- 1 See, among others, the editions of La Rochefou- cauld and La Bruyere, published by L. Hachette & Co., under the skillful supervision of Ad. R6gnier. 8 Lyon, J. de Tournes. 12 adays we may mention the old edition of the " Contes " of Perrault. 1 Brunet, as early as 1S63, cited high prices for it, which, since that time, have been considerably exceeded. The original edition of 1697 brought four- teen hundred and seventy-five francs, at the Double sale. Holland paper copies of the Lamy edition of 1781 are worth their weight in gold. A copy formerly belonging to La Bedoyere, bound in red morocco by Derome, sold for eleven hundred and twenty francs at the Pichon sale, the same copy hav- ing been purchased for seventy-two francs, in 1839. Another copy brought two thou- sand six hundred francs at the Brunet sale, and still another was priced at three thou- sand four hundred francs, in Auguste Fon- taine's catalogue for 1871. For another copy, not quite so fine, Mr. Fontaine is satisfied with twelve hundred francs. The Abbe Prevost's " Manon Lescaut " has ardent admirers. The original separate edition of 1753 was successively sold for a hundred and nine francs, Pixerecourt, 1839; three hundred and fifty-five francs, Potier, 1 See an article by Genin, in the " Illustration," re- printed in Querard, vol. 2, p. 251; an article by E. De- lorme, in the "Revue Contemporaine," Dec. 10, 1861, Sainte-Beuve, " Causeries du Lundi," vol. 5, and " Nouveaux Lundis," vol. I. — 13 — 1870 ; and thirteen hundred and thirty-five francs, Benzon, 1875. This progressive ad- vance in price is remarkable. This cele- brated romance first appeared in 175 1, in volume 7 of the " Memoires d'un Homme de Qualite," which is put at twelve hundred francs in a catalogue of Morgand and Fatout, the 1753 edition being priced at two thousand francs. The 1797 edition, though far cheaper, is still valuable. A copy on large paper, in morocco binding, brought two hun- dred and twenty francs at the Chedeau sale, and one on vellum fetched five hundred and ninety-five francs at the Desq sale. Mr. Harrisse, to whom we are indebted for that excellent work, the " Bibliotheca Ameri- cana Vetustissima," published, in 1875, through Lemerre, an interesting work on the original editions of " Manon Lescaut." 1 The romances of chivalry printed in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries occupy a prominent position among the most valuable books. We shall revert to them in describ- ing those collected by Mr. Didot. Let us merely remark here that, held in contempt till the commencement of the fifteenth cen- 1 8°, 61 pp., 127 copies. See, in regard to Pre- vost, G. Planche, " Revue des D-eux Mondes," Nov. I, 1838; Sainte-Beuve, " Causeries du Lundi," vol, 9, and " Portraits litteraires," vol. 1. — 14 — tury — not a single one is to be found in De Thou's library — they became an object of research to Du Fay, whose books were dis- posed of at auction in 1725. They then brought only ten or twenty francs apiece. Later on the Duke of La Valliere collected a large number of them. Volumes commended by illustrious ori- gin, attested by authentic coats of arms, are nowadays worth their weight in gold. Books bearing the emblems of Henri II. united to those of Diana of Poitiers ; those carrying the emblems adopted by Henri III., or those of Louis XIII., sell for exorbitant prices. Among a multitude of book-collectors whose names will be mentioned again further on, we may designate Grolier, De Thou, Longepierre, Count Hoym, and Girardot de Prefond. The morganatic queens, Madame de Pompadour and Madame du Barry, are cherished by the book-collector. He over- looks much in the lives of these naughty beauties on account of their fine books. It is unnecessary for us to enter into par- ticulars or to repeat what may be found in the works of E. Fournier 1 and G. Brunet. 3 1 "La Reliure," 1864, 12°. 2 " Etude surla Reliure," 1873, sm. 8° — IS — We will merely state that the rage for fine bindings of the last century was not devel- oped till after 1850. J. C. Brunet, the dis- tinguished author of the " Manuel du Lib- raire," was one of the first to set the example in this "douce manie," which manifested itself in an unmistakable manner at the sale of the choice collection of his friend Parison. Then took place, in 1853, an uncompromising struggle between an opulent financier and the fervent bibliographer for an edition of " Telemaque," 1 bearing the arms of Longe- pierre. Mr. Brunet came off victor, paying for the two little volumes seventeen hundred francs. Such a price seemed absurd, and yet, put up at auction again, in 1868, the same copy brought twenty-two hundred francs. We come across it again in Auguste Fontaine's catalogue for 187 1, offered for four thousand francs. It only cost Parison thirty-six francs ! Among the old binders who dressed these volumes which are looked upon to-day as so many precious jewels, we may mention Nico- las Eve, 2 binder to Henri III. ; Le Gascon, 1 Paris, 1717, 2 vols. 12°. 2 He was also a publisher. He issued, in 1578, a translation of a work by Boccaccio, the " Trait6 des Misadventures." It had for device an engraving on wood, representing Adam's better half, holding in her — i6 — contemporary with Louis XIII.; later, Du Seuil and Boyet, whose work possesses great durability and strength. Padeloup, binder to Louis XV., and theDeromes, confer upon the volumes which passed through their hands a special value.' The art disappeared during the revolutionary tempest, lawless epoch, when books were bound, it is said, in human skin. Then, and under the empire, flourished Bozerian, now much fallen from the esteem in which he was held by his con- temporaries. Amateurs were reduced to the necessity of sending their books to London, in spite of the obstacles then in the way of communication. Renouard states, 2 that he adopted this course for his own satisfaction, hand the forbidden fruit, a device since reproduced in Brunet, vol. I, p. 989. Nicolas Eve followed his craft till 1610, and his son Clovis till 1618. 1 The finest specimen of the binding of the eight- eenth century, the masterpiece of Derome, is a copy of the " Contes " of La Fontaine, 1762, 2 vols. 8°, bound in citron moiocco, with compartments in colors, repre- senting fruits and flowers. For this copy, Mr. Brunet paid six hundred and seventy-five francs at the La Bedoyere sale. It was bought for seven thousand one hundred francs at his own sale, by Auguste Fontaine. A Bordeaux book-collector gave ten thousand francs for it, and afterwards sold it to an American banker established in London. Sent to auction a little while after, these two volumes were sold for thirteen thousand francs. Is this the last of them ? We think not. ' "Catalogue d'un Amateur," 1819, 4vols. 8°. — 17 — as well as for the sake of placing good mod- els in the hands of the Parisian workmen. The Restoration offers, among other names, those of Simier, the royal binder, and Thouvenin, to whom Nodier confided his most valuable books, but who died before carrying out the improvements he meditated making in his art. Later on, we shall speak of the celebrated book-collectors, Grolier, Maioli, Canevari, Longepierre, and others, whose arms confer extraordinary value upon an old book. An impetuous rage for books bearing the arms of Madame de Chamillard has all of a sudden seized upon our collectors. They are beautiful volumes, in excellent bindings of the beginning of the eighteenth century. Their value, formerly very slight, rose with a bound. At the Brunet sale, the " Provin- ciales," 1700, 2 vol. 12 , brought sixteen hun- dred and twenty francs ; the " Theatre " of Corneille, 10 vols. 12 , four thousand one hundred francs (purchased for five hun- dred and fifty francs, at the Soleinne sale, in 1844). At the Pichon sale, the " CEuvres " of Voiture, 1702, 2 vols. 12 , brought one thousand and ten francs; Boileau, 1701, 2 vols. 12°, two thousand one hundred francs; the "Lettres" of St. Augustine, 1701, 6 vols. 8°, five thousand and twenty-five francs. — lb" — At the commencement of one of Mor- gand and Fatout's excellent catalogues, 1 sev- eral interesting pages are devoted to old and modern binding. We borrow a few pas- sages from this sketch, which is worthy of being resuscitated from the catalogue in which it lies buried : " Binding is an art, essentially French, and, it may be added, exclusively Parisian. It has undergone all the alternations of im- provement and decay which have character- ized the history of art in our country. The wealth of composition, the harmonious tone of the morocco, render the ornamental bind- ing of the sixteenth century veritable works of art. In the following century, more at- tention was paid to the execution and finish. The gilding of Du Seuil, and, above all, of Le Gascon, possesses a regularity and bril- liancy which surpass the best work of their predecessors. Towards the end of the cen- tury of Louis XIV., and under the Regency, binding assumes a severer character. The forwarding is executed with greater care. From 1750 the general effect is more sus- 1 May, 1876. These catalogues are not mere dry enumerations of titles. They include numerous notes, often of considerable length, and always full of inter- esting information. They give facsimiles of fine bind- ings, and are usually preserved by collectors with care., — i 9 — tained and connected, the decoration follow- ing the taste of the period, and these bind- ings have nowadays zealous admirers. With the Revolution, the era of good artistic binding closes. Biziaux and Bradel, un- happy imitators of Derome, possess merely a feeble reflection of that master's qualities. With Bozerian and Courteval we are in a state of decided decline. " Bad taste dominates from 1815 to 1840. The ornamentation of the binding then exe- cuted is heavy and pretentious. The for- warding and stitching are carelessly done. Simier and Thouvenin in vain look to the old binders for models which they are incap- able of imitating. Still, a few gildings of the latter are distinguished by clever execu- tion. He is a sham Le Gascon. "It was reserved for Bauzonnet, the suc- cessor of Purgold, to lead back the art of binding to the right path and to its true tra- ditions. He endeavored to renew the chain snapped since Derome. Towards 1833, he made a partner of Trautz, who became his son-in-law in 1840, and who has never ceased, during the course of a long and laborious career, to study to improve his art. He ap- propriated the dominant quality of each of the old bookbinders. Derome, Padeloup, and, before all, Boyet, served him as models — 20 — for the forwarding ; for the binding itself he studied above all the method of Le Gascon ; the brilliancy of the gilding, the equality of its tone, and the regularity of the impression of the tools on the morocco — such are the qual- ities common to the master gilder of Louis XIV., and Trautz-Bauzonnet." We must perforce omit, for want of space, the interesting details of the operations per- formed in this master's workshop. Beating is an art understood by him alone. Trautz has in his employ the last workman who understands it. The sewing, backing, and gilding are reserved for the master himself. " Trautz has had a multitude of tools en- graved, traced from old models, the skillful arrangement of which permits him to vary his designs to infinitude. It may be affirmed, in fact, that he has never executed two bind- ings exactly alike. Each volume possesses a character peculiar to itself — an individual- ity of its own." " It will be scarcely a matter of surprise for us to learn that hardly two hundred vol- umes a year issue from this admirable workshop, or that these volumes should long have been ardently coveted by the cream of collectors." Let us give yet another extract, which we hope none will regret to find here. At the — 21 — head of the catalogue of the Brunet sale will be found a paper signed L. P. and A. L. (Louis Potier and Adolphe Labitte). It contains many interesting details concerning the art of binding, which it affords us much pleasure to reproduce here : "In the second quarter of the seventeenth century, the art of binding undergoes a transformation and shines with a new lustre. From the hands of an artist named Le Gas- con issue volumes which bear testimony to extreme care, even in the smallest details. They are covered with excellent morocco, and the backs, and often the sides, are orna- mented with exquisite designs in gold in the dotted manner, executed with a richness and delicacy altogether unequalled. " Later on, in the latter part of the seven- teenth century, the binder par excellence is Du Seuil. His bindings, less brilliant than those of Le Gascon, but strongly executed, have a something severe and noble about them which recalls the period in which they were executed. They are often bound inside and out. These two binders, with a few other whose names are not so well known, such as Cresson and Levasseur, did work for the most famous collectors of the seventeenth century. "During a considerable portion of the — 22 — eighteenth century the art of binding did not degenerate. Three men of taste and skill, Boyet, Padeloup, and Derome the younger, were then the shining lights. Boyet, a severe binder, sparing in rich gildings, excelled in what constitutes the binding, properly so- called. His works are, perhaps, in their way, the most perfect extant. Padeloup has the same qualities in almost equal degree. Young Derome follows them closely, and is worthy of being placed side by side with them, especially in the first half of his career. The rich bindings in colored compartments and in colors, of Padeloup and Derome, often surpass even the most beautiful specimens of the sixteenth century in point of execution. If, in respect to ornamentation, they cannot sustain the parallel, at all events they hold their own, as even the most exacting col- lectors admit, among the most pleasing pro- ductions of the art in the eighteenth century. Derome senior and Enguerrand also figure among the notable binders of this period." Here are a few examples of the prices brought by some of the fine works in the Brunet sale, thanks to their binding ! Biblia. Lutetiae, 1545, 2 vols. 8°. In a binding of the sixteenth century, having compartments a ?nosaique, with green and white ornaments. Three thousand francs. — 23 — This copy formerly formed part of De Thou's library. It brought seventy-nine francs at the Soubise sale, and six hundred and sixty- five francs at the Renouard sale in 1854. La Sainte Bible. 1707, 8 vols, small 12 , handsomely bound by Padeloup in citron and green morocco, with blue morocco inside, backs a mosaique, the sides bordered by a band of green morocco, tooled to a broad lace pattern. Two thousand and fifty francs. Another copy, also bound by Padeloup, in red morocco, a mosai-qii-e. Two thousand seven hundred francs (which brought five hundred and fifty francs at the De Bure' sale in 1852). Psalterium. Lugduni, Elzevir, 1653, small 12 - Seven hundred francs, thanks to a binding by Boyet in blue morocco. This copy belonged to Count Hoym. L' Imitation. Paris, 1690, 8°, bound by Du Seuil. Fifteen hundred francs. This copy brought twelve livres ten sols, at the La Valliere sale, and five hundred francs at the De Bure sale. Well-executed reproductions of the bind- ings of Eve and Le Gascon, and of volumes bearing the arms of Francis I., Henry II., and Grolier, are to be found in the various numbers of the Bibliophile fran^ais? a very 1 Published by Bachslin-Deflorenne, 1868-1873, — 24 — useful work. They have been collected, to the number of a hundred and six plates, in an album, published by Paul Dams, and form a praiseworthy collection in the eyes of col- lectors who have no chance of seeing the originals, for these monuments of art are scattered in all directions. All classes of books, however, have not participated in the enormous rise experienced by some. There is less inquiry, for instance, for heterodox works than in the preceding century, when they possessed all the charm of forbidden fruit — when the "Christianismi Restitutio" of Servet brought, in 1784, four thousand four hundred francs, an enormous sum for that period, and the " Beatitude des Chrestiens," by an unlucky simpleton, Geoffroy Vallee, reached, in 1764, eight hun- dred and fifty-one francs at the Gaignat sale. To-day we are a great deal better off as re- gards heterodoxy, it being both abundant and cheap. The beautiful editions of the Greek and Latin classics, printed in Holland and Eng- land, have fallen far below the prices obtained for them at the commencement of the cen- tury at the sales of Caillard, d'Ourches, 1 7 vols. imp. 8°, illustrated. It was discontinued in 1873. 1 In 1811. The catalogue, catifully edited by J. C. — 25 — and Firmin-Didot. At that time the rage was for copies on large paper. The Xeno- phon of Oxford, 1703, brought, although im- perfect, fifteen hundred and twenty francs at the MacCarthy sale. The Hesiod of 1737 brought two thousand four hundred and thirty francs at the Mirabeau sale. The " Geographi minores," Oxford, 1712, two thousand francs at the Firmin-Didot sale. It is doubtful whether there be anything like the inquiry for these fine volumes nowadays. Greek and Latin are not in favor with the collectors of the present day. Let us say a few words in passing, con- cerning those collectors of past times whose names are never pronounced, except with well-merited respect. The finest and most select library formed in the sixteenth century, that of the illustri- ous De Thou, was, after undergoing various vicissitudes, amalgamated with that of the Prince of Soubise, and sent to auction in the beginning of 1789. It has been too often described for us to speak of it here. 1 The Brunet, comprises fifteen hundred and seventy-one lots. It contains fine books in every department of knowledge. The collection fetched a hundred and fif- teen thousand francs. The Caillard sale took place in 1808. Two thou- sand six hundred and fifty lots fetched fifty-two thou- sand eight hundred and forty-four francs. 1 See Brunet, vol. 5 ; " Essai sur la reliure," pp. 47- — 26 — catalogue, hastily prepared by an ill-informed bookseller, hardly indicates the bindings, and gives but a very imperfect idea of this admirable collection. 1 Cardinal Dubois, in spite of his vices, possessed at least one good quality — his fond- ness for books. He left a splendid collec- tion, gathered by an active and intelligent librarian. The catalogue, published in Hol- land in four volumes, 12 , includes about thirty-five hundred volumes, among which are comprised many rare and valuable books. It was purchased for sixty-five thousand livres by Parisian booksellers, who resold it en bloc for eighty thousand — a very high price for that period. 2 We must not overlook Girardot de Pre- fond. The catalogue of his library com- prises fourteen hundred and twenty-eight lots. 3 After selling his books, this collector set to work to form a second library, the larger part of which he sold to a zealous bibliomaniac, Count MacCarthy, for fifty 57 ; and the interesting letter of Baron Pichon inserted in Paulin Paris' " Manuscrits francais de la biblio- theque du roi," vol. 4, pp. 431-438. 1 See Renouard, "Catalogue d'un Amateur," vol. 4, pp. 245 and 247. 2 For fuller account see the " Dictionnaire de Bib- liologie," Paris, Mignon, i860, column 460. 'Seethe " AnnSelitteraire," 1757, vol 1, — 7,-j — thousand francs, at that time a very consid- erable sum. Count Hoym, a Polish ambassador, though an unsuccessful diplomatist, at least occupies a distinguished place among collec- tors. The " Bulletin du Bibliophile," then in its infancy, inserted in its pages in 1838 (pp. 151 and 313) an interesting notice of his beautiful library, signed Claude Gaucher, the nom de plume of Baron Pichon, who is now writing, we believe, a book on this col- lector, who was as intelligent as he was zeal- ous. 1 His catalogue contains four thousand seven hundred and thirty-five lots. Renouard remarks, concerning these books : "Fasti- dious amateurs assert that these volumes, well-bound and in such good condition as they were, had in general one great defect, that of having been cut down too much." One of the best-informed booksellers, M. Potier, ob- serves that this reproach could only have reference to those volumes which the count had had rebound. The Duke of La Valliere collected the most valuable and most considerable library ever formed in France. The manuscripts and the rarest books were sent to auction in 1783. 2 See the " Essai sur la reliure," p. 87, and an arti- cle by F. Grelot in the "Bibliophile francais," vol. 4, pp. 301-307. — 28 — The catalogue forms three nice volumes, 8°, containing five thousand six hundred and sixty-three lots. The prices obtained, placed side by side with those brought by the same books to-day, when they occur at a sale, offer a striking contrast. Such and such old poet, such and such romance of chivalry, then sold for twenty-eight francs, sometimes even less, to-day attains fifteen to eighteen hundred francs, and often more. Count MacCarthy, established in Tou- louse, figures among the most enthusiastic of book-collectors. The sale of his books took place in 1816. The catalogue, edited by the brothers De Bure, is very interesting. It comprises five thousand five hundred and fifteen lots, six hundred and one of which are on vellum. The most valuable monuments of early printing are here in large number: it contains the Psalter and Bible without date printed by Gutenberg. We cannot dwell upon the large sales which have taken place during the last forty years. It would take a volume to do them justice. Let us merely mention here the fol- lowing catalogues of sales : Pixerecourt, 1839, which contains interesting notes; Nodier, 1844; Solar, i860; Radziwill, 1866; Yemeniz, 1868 ; J. C. Brunet, 1869 ; Pichon — 2 9 — and Potier, 1870 ; Benzon, 1875 ; Tufton, and, before all, L. de M. (Lebeuf de Montgermont), 1876, when prices were ob- tained hitherto unheard of, but which were, nevertheless, soon destined to be ex- ceeded. 1 Independently of the public sales, we shall find an index to the height of the thermom- eter of bibliomania in the priced catalogues issued by the principal members of the Par- isian book-trade. We shall confine ourselves, however, to giving a few examples. Here are a few lots taken from the last catalogue of Auguste Fontaine." Hor^e B. V. Marine. Paris, 1543, 4 . Five thousand francs. CEuvres de Villon. Paris, n. d., a l'en- seigne de l'elephant. Fifteen hundred francs. Essais de Montaigne. Bourdeaus, 1580. Two thousand four hundred francs. Edition 1 Let us mention also a little collection formed by Quintio Bauchard. The catalogue, of which only a small number were printed, was published in 1875, and has since been reprinted by Morgand and Fa- tout. (See also Gustave Brunet's work " Livres payes 1000 fcs. et plus depuis 1866," Lefebvre, 1877.) The collection, the formation of which began In 1866, cost thirty thousand francs. It brought a hundred and fifty-four thousand five hundred and sixty-nine francs. ' 2 These carefully prepared catalogues form large volumes of considerable utility to bibliographers, and their interesting notes give them a special value. — 3 o — of 1582, two thousand francs. 1588, 4 , thirty-five hundred francs. 1595, folio, three thousand francs. La Princesse de Cleves, by Mme. de la Fayette. Original edition, 1678. Two thou- sand francs. Gil Blas. 1747, 4 vols. 12 , last edition revised by the author. Sixteen hundred and fifty francs. Le Paysan et la Paysanne Pervertis, by Restif de la Bretonne. 4 vols. 12 . Eight hundred francs. Daphnis et Chloe. 1787, 4 , on vellum, with twenty-nine original drawings and the same number of miniatures. Eight thou- sand francs. Le tiers livre de Pantagruel. Lyon, 1546, small 8°. Twenty-five hundred francs. La Navigation du Roy d' Escosse, Jac- ques Cinquiesme. Paris, 1583. Fifteen hun- dred francs. We will say nothing of a copy of the "CEuvres" of Voltaire, Beuchot's edition, 72 vols. 8°, offered for twenty-five thousand francs, as its elevated price is owing to over eleven thousand eight hundred plates of various kinds having been added — por- traits, views, etc. — a gathering unique in its way. One of Morgand and Fatout's catalogues — 3i — (1878) presents, among a multitude of valu- able books, some lots which we quote as showing the prices quoted on 'Change in the book market. Hors Beatiss. Uirginis. Small 8° (Aldus, r497), in a handsome binding by Trautz- Bauzonnet. Three thousand francs. The Bibliotheque nationale possesses a fine copy of this excessively rare volume. Another copy, bought at Augsburg, is described in the Bibliotheca Spenceriana, No. 1310. Montaigne, Essais. Paris, 1588, 8°, bound in morocco by Du Seuil. Four thou- sand francs. This edition, the last published during the lifetime of the author, and the first in which the third book is found, bears upon the frontispiece: "cinquiesme edition." Nevertheless, only three of those which preceded it are known, to wit : Bour- deaus, 1580, ibid, 1582, and Paris, 1587. Was there another edition, which has thus far eluded all research ? Montaigne, Essais. Paris, 1669, 3 vols. 12 . Six thousand francs. Longepierre's copy, in ordinary condition : moderate price. Corneille (Pierre), Theatre. Also Theatre de Thomas Corneille. Paris, 1668- 1678, 9 vols, small 12 . Five thousand francs. This copy was sold for twenty-four hundred francs at the Potier sale in 1870, and was put — 32 — at thirty-three hundred francs in Auguste Fontaine's catalogue for 1872. 1 Moliere, CEuvres. Paris, 1666, 2 vols. 12 . First collected edition of the nine comedies. Bound in morocco by Trautz- Bauzonnet. Six thousand francs. Racine, CEuvres. 1676, 2 vols. 12 . With " Esther " and " Athalie." Three thou- sand francs. An interesting speculation is : In what direction will the bibliomania of the future run ? Will the rapid rise which has taken place in the last twenty years be maintained ? Will prices still further advance ? We will put our reply in accordance with the views of the intelligent booksellers whom we have before alluded to. The monuments of early typography and the Greek and Latin classics will remain within the sphere of the learned. The spec- imens of early French printing, the poets of the Renaissance, will sustain their prices. But the books that will never cease to be in request are the original editions of the mas- terpieces of the French language, such as the writings of Rabelais, Corneille, Moliere, La Fontaine, and numerous others. One 1 See for further information regarding this valuable edition, the excellent " Bibliographie cornelienne," by E. Picot, Paris, Auguste Fontaine, 1876. — 33 — paramount reason for the maintenance of high prices for valuable books is that volumes formerly belonging to distinguished person- ages and choice copies of books will be seen more and more rarely. Some enter public libraries, others go abroad. At every large sale choice books are bought for England, which rarely return. Many a treasure of this kind has quitted us forever, to enrich the Bibliotheca Spenceriana, preserved in the splendid house at Althorp, or the Bibli- otheca Grenvilliana, bequeathed to the Brit- ish Museum. THE TURNER SALE. HE sale of the Turner library took place from the 12th to the 16th of March, 1878. The catalogue, carefully prepared by one of the most skillful booksellers of Paris, Adolph La- bitte, comprises seven hundred and seventy- four titles. The preface informs us that Mr. Turner set out with the intention of collect- ing the most valuable manuscripts and the rarest works in English, French, Spanish and Italian literature. In order to attain this end, a large fortune was of absolute necessity, together with leisure, and an activity sus- tained by the most indefatigable zeal. The execution of this programme, undertaken with the greatest ardor, encountered an in- [35] -36- evitable obstacle ; the rapid accumulation of volumes choked up his library till he reached a point when he could no longer enjoy his favorite books. He resigned himself, there- fore, to the sale of the French portion of his library, which included, in addition, Latin and a few Italian books. Valuable books of all kinds and fine bind- ings were abundant in this collection, and the prices obtained for them exceeded any- thing heard of before. Of this we shall now proceed to give proof. Biblia Sacra. Paris, A. Vitre, 1666, 4 , bound in morocco by Du Seuil. Five thou- sand six hundred francs. The same copy sold for four pounds sixteen shillings sterling at the Duke of Noailles' sale, London, 1835. ' 1 The catalogue comprises nine hundred and thirty- five lots. The collection brought three thousand one hundred and eighty-eight pounds fifteen shillings ster- ling. The books were fine and selected with taste. We notice among others, the " Anthologia," original edi- tion, twelve pounds ; Buffon, 44 vols., very fine copy of Anisson-Duperron and De Meon, forty-three pounds ; Bayle, " Dictionnaire et CEuvres," 8 vols, folio, large paper, MacCarthy's copy, purchased for eleven hun- dred and seventy-two francs — thirty pounds ; Cicero, Elzevir, 1642, 10 vols., 12°, Gouttard's copy, fifty-two pounds ; the Venice edition, Junta, 5 vols., Grolier's copy, forty-seven pounds; Memoires de l'Academie des Inscriptions, 61 vols, in red morocco, sixty-nine pounds ; Mazarinades, 288 pieces, in 12 vols, bound in morocco by Derome, twenty-six pounds ; Mezeray, - 37 — This elevated price shows what a rage exists for old bindings. In 1784, in the La Valliere sale, a copy in red morocco, washed and re-sized, was sold for twenty-four francs. Pseaultier de David. Paris, 1586, 4 , in a handsome sixteenth century binding. Five thousand francs. This is one of the books which the despicable Henry III. had printed for the use of himself and court in chapel. 1 Le Nouveau Testament. Mons, G. Migeot, 1667, 2 vols, small 8°, in a beautiful binding by Boyet. Fourteen hundred and thirty francs. Brunet writes, in 1863 : a "This edition is only of value when bound in mo- rocco by one of the celebrated binders of the 1643, 3 vols, large paper, thirty-eight pounds. Virgilius, Elzevir, 1647, large paper, thirty-seven pounds ten shillings. 1 In the " Etudes sur la reliure," 1873, p. 35 et seq., will be found a list of the volumes belonging to this contemptible sovereign. They now bring very high prices. The " Breviaire Notre-Dame," 1587, and the " OEuvres spirituelles " of H. de Suso, 1586, which were sold for four hundred and fifty, and four hundred and ninety-five francs at the Brunet sale, brought six hundred and fifteen hundred francs at the Potier sale in 1870. Mr. Guigard, in his useful book, the " Armorial du Bibliophile," Paris, Bachelin-Deflo- renne, gives four distinct blazons of Henry III. One is reproduced in the " Histoire de la Bibliophilie," published by a bookseller named Techener. 2 Vol. 5, p. 750. -3§- latter part of the seventeenth century ; it then fetches from thirty to forty francs if the binding be in good condition. The fine copy of Count Hoym, sold for twenty-one francs in 1811, would now bring a far higher price." 1 Historiarum Veteris Instruments Icones. Lugduni, M. and C. Trecksel, 1538, 4°, in old morocco binding. Three thousand francs. The original edition, containing the ninety-two engravings alter Holbein. Brunet at one time priced it at from sixty to eighty francs. Copies bound in morocco were sold twenty years ago for from a hundred and fifty to two hundred francs. 2 Annotationes Jacobi Lopidis Stanici contra Erasmum. In Academia complu- tensi, 1619, folio. Three thousand francs. A volume possessing little intrinsic value, 1 Between 1862 and 1878 we note a few sales : La Villestreux (bound by Boyet), two hundred and fort)'-five francs ; Benzon, four hundred francs ; Tufton, two hundred and sixty francs — Pixer6court's copy, bound in morocco by Du Seuil, bought for twenty-three francs and a half in 1839. 3 The merits of each plate are discussed in F. von Rumohr's book "Hans Holbein der Jungere (Leipzig, 1836), p. 60 et seq. It contains a letter from Leon de Laborde, dated Dec. 6, 1833. He writes : " You ask me what I think of the Bible of Holbein. It is charm- ing ; that is all I can say about it. Some pages are full of spirit ; others again have been marred by igno- rance. But the spirit of Holbein is still visible, like a piece of gold glistening at the bottom of a stream." — 39 — but in a beautiful calf binding, with com- partments in black and gold, with the name and device of Grolier, the prince of book collectors in the sixteenth century. It is unnecessary for us to say anything of the life and books of this celebrated amateur. Mr. Le Roux de Lincy having made them the subject of a very substantial and learned volume, 1 which leaves little to be said. Let us remark, however, that, two years before, the same subject was touched upon in the " Fantaisiesbibliographiques " of G. Brunet. 2 Bourdaloue, Sermons. Paris, 1707-1734. 16 vols. 8°, bound in old morocco. One thousand and forty francs. Since the close of the last century, copies of this much es- teemed edition have brought comparatively high prices. 3 We could cite plenty of sales since i860, but confine ourselves to mention- ing those bringing five hundred and sixty francs at the Potier sale in 1870, and four hundred and eighty francs in February, 1878. Let us take advantage of the opportunity to mention the " Pensees sur divers sujets " par Bourdaloue, pr6cedees d'une Introduction par Silvestre de Sacy. 4 The "Journal des 1 Paris, Potier, 1866. 5 Paris, J. Gay, 1S64, pp. 269-297. 3 See Brunet. ' Paris, Techener, 1868, 2 vols, 12°, xxviii., 454 and 512 pages. AO Savants," 1869, p. 374, pronounces this pre- face a masterpiece in style, sentiment and reasoning. Calvin, Declaration pour maintenir la vraye foi que tiennent tous chrestiens contre les erreurs detest ables de mlchel Servet. Geneve, J. Crespin, 1554, 8°, bound in morocco, by Padeloup. Fifteen hundred and ninety-nine francs. This very rare book possesses great interest. In it Calvin at- tempts to justify the execution of the unfor- tunate Servet, of which he was mainly the cause. This copy formerly belonged to Girardot de Prefond, one of the most dis- tinguished book collectors of the preceding century ; and it was also sold at the sale of Aime-Martin in 1847, Lot 64, where it brought fifty francs. Let us remark, by the way, that this catalogue, which contains eleven hundred and thirty-four lots, is one of the most remarkable, as it offers an important assem- blage of autograph manuscripts, and books annotated by celebrated men. Bernardin de Saint Pierre, Bossuet, Diderot, Erasmus, La Fontaine, Madame de Maintenon, Marot, Montaigne, and Racine, are to be found in it. The recovery of the majority of these precious writings would be of great interest. Servet would furnish an opportunity for a lengthy -41 — bibliographical essay, but it would be out of place here. 1 Plessis-Mornay (Ph. du), " Response au livre publie par le sieur evesque d'Evreux." Saumur, 1602, 4 , in a hand- some contemporary morocco binding. Two thousand francs. With eight autograph verses by the author — a fact which, together with the beauty of the binding, accounts for the high price reached by it. Le Livre coustumier du pays de Nor- mendie (1483). 2 vols, folio, bound in old calf. Fifteen hundred francs. Brunet gives a long account of this edition, and cites a copy, described as very fine, but erroneously so, which brought three hundred francs at the sale of Le Prevost ; then a copy bound in wood in the sixteenth century, two hundred and fifty-six francs at the Luzarche sale ; 2 and then another, bound in morocco, five hundred and five francs at the Potier sale. 1 As regards the opinion of Michelet on the conduct of Calvin towards Servet, see the "Bulletin de la Societe de l'histoire du Protestantisme francais," Feb- ruary, 1858 : " Servet et Calvin ; Hommes et Choses," by Chas. Romey, pp. 121-172 ; and a notice by Mr. Tollin in the " Historisches Taschenbuch," fiinfte folge, vierte Jahrgang, 1874. It is not generally known that a notice of the writings of Servet, printed in Dauphiny, by Colomb de Batines, is to be found in the " Revue de Vienne," 1838, pp. 204-213. 2 See note to Lot 854. Montaigne, Essais. Bourdeaus, S. Mil- langes, 1580, two parts in one vol., 8°, bound in morocco, by Trautz-Bauzonnet. Fifteen hundred francs. Original edition, with numerous readings varying from the suc- ceeding editions. It has continued to rise in value. In 1784, at Hangard's sale, a fine copy bound in morocco, washed and re-sized, was sold for twenty-four francs. It has since been sold for two thousand and sixty francs at the Radziwill sale, and for nineteen hundred francs at the Lebeuf de Montger- mont sale ; othei copies brought sixteen hundred and Mty francs at the Potier sale, and fourteen hundred and twenty francs at the Benzon sale. De Thou's copy, bound in vellum, purchased for twenty francs in 1789, only fetched eleven francs in 181 1 at the sale (a very fine one, by-the-bye) of Firmin- Didot. In 1844, at Nodier's sale, it reached five hundred and twenty-seven francs, a price then looked upon as exorbitant. If it were to reappear under the hands of Mr. Labitte, or Mr. Techener, it might now bring as much as two or three thousand francs. Bossuet, Politique tiree des paroles de l'Ecriture sainte. Paris, 1709, 4 , bound in morocco. • Two thousand three hundred francs. Large paper copy, with the arms of — 43 — the Duke of Maine, from the library of Louis- Philippe. Peletier (Jacques), l'Arithmetique, l'Algebre. Lyon, J. de Tournes, 1554, 8°. One thousand and sixty francs. Copy bound in calf, with compartments, bearing the arms of the celebrated Cardinal Charles of Lor- raine. The high price is due to the binding, apart from which, however, the book is in demand. At the Coste sale it brought thirty- two francs. As for its scientific worth, we shall be able to ascertain that when a much- needed work makes its appearance, to wit : a history of the mathematical sciences in France. Vasari, le Vite de' piu excellenti pittori. Firenze, 1550, 3 vols, in 2, 4 , bound in old morocco. Eleven hundred francs. With the arms of the Grand-Duke of Tus- cany, Cosmo de Medici. In November, 1869, a copy with the arms of Cardinal de Gran- velle was sold for eight hundred and sixty francs. Books formerly belonging to this illustrious prelate are very rare. 1 Vecellio, De gli Habiti antichi et moderni. Venegia, 1590, 8°, bound in mo- rocco, by Trautz-Bauzonnet. Two thousand four hundred and eighty francs. An uncut 1 In regard to Vasari consult an article by Mr. Rio in the " Revue Contemporaine," Sept. I, 1874. — 44 — copy, perhaps unique in that condition. It came from the Pinelli library, from which it was sold for sixteen shillings. Since then it has been put in a binding which accounts for the major part of the high price brought by it. This book was formerly much cheaper. At the sale of the beautiful Caillard library, in 1806, a copy bound in morocco was sold for fourteen and a half francs. More recently other fine copies have brought from two to three hundred francs at the Chedeau, Ye- meniz, Desq, Van der Helle, and other sales. Suite d'Estampes pour servir a l'his- TOIRE DES MCEURS ET DU COSTUME. Neuwied, 1776-1779. 3 parts in 1 vol. folio, in English morocco binding. Thirty-three hundred francs. Comprising thirty-eight prints, twelve of which are after Freudenberg and twenty-six after Moreau, the text being by Restif de la Bretonne. 1 Horatius. Londini, 1733-37, 2 vols. large 8°. Five thousand francs. A desirable edition, but the enormous price brought by it is due to one of those eighteenth century 1 Consult in regard to this fine book the excellent " Bibliographie et Iconographie de Restif de la Bre- tonne," by Paul Lacroix (Paris, A. Fontaine), a master- piece of patient and scrupulously exact investigation, and the " Guide de l'Amateur de Livres a figures," by Henry Cohen, third edition (1876), column 403. - 45 — bindings for which " on fait des folies." This one was in blue morocco, the back and sides a mosaique, with incrustations of red morocco, representing flowers. Ovidius. Venetiis, Aldus, 1515-1516, 3 vols. 8°. Fifteen hundred and fifteen francs. Copy formerly belonging to Marc Lauren, of Bruges, a Flemish emulator of Grolier and Maioli. He is referred to in the " Essai sur la reliure," p. 21. At the Didot sale, a Statius, Aldus, 1502, with the arms of this amateur, brought five hundred and ninety francs. Alioni Astensi Opera jucunda. Ast, 152 1, small 8°. Twelve hundred and twenty francs. A curious collection of macaronic and French poems. The latter were reprinted in 1836/ under the supervision of J. C. Brunet, who added an interesting introduc- tion. 2 The copy of this distinguished bibli- ographer, bought by Mr. Turner for eight hundred and five francs in 1867, was sold to him for six hundred francs by Crozet the bookseller. It had been sold before at the Hanrott sale for fifteen pounds sterling, and at the Heber sale for seventeen pounds sterling, although it wanted two leaves. 1 Paris : Silvestre, small 8°, 108 copies. 2 The " Comedie e Farse Carnavaleschi," of Alion, were reissued in Milan in 1865, iS°. - 4 6- Another copy brought seventeen hundred and ten francs at the Libri sale in 1847. ' Le Rommant de la Rose. Paris, Galliot du Pre, 1529, small 8°. One thousand francs. The Giraud and Solar copy brought two hundred and ninety-nine and three hundred and fifty-five francs, while the Labedoyere copy brought eighty francs, and was sold again at the Pichon sale for four thousand seven hundred francs (Lot 470). Other copies : Double sale, one thousand francs ; Benzon, six hundred and twenty francs ; Brunet, Renouard's copy, fifteen hundred francs. Le Champion des dames (by Martin Franc). Without place or date (Lyons, about 1485), folio, bound in morocco by Bauzonnet. Two thousand nine hundred francs, bought for one thousand and fifty francs at the sale of L. Double. A copy brought fifteen hun- dred and fifty francs at the Techener sale, in 1865 ; a copy of the handsome edition of Galliot du Pre, 1530, bought for eleven hundred francs at the Yemeniz sale, went for eight hundred and fifty francs in the Benzon sale. Other copies brought respectively: Brunet, fourteen hundred and fifty francs ; Danyau, thirteen hundred and twenty-five 1 See Brunet, vol. 1, p. 183. — 47 — francs ; Yemeniz, eight hundred francs, sold again at the Benzon sale for thirteen hundred and fifty francs. Boccace, le Temple, la ruixe d'aulcuxs nobles. Paris, Galliot du Pre, 1517, folio, bound in morocco by Derome. Four thou- sand francs. The only other sale cited by Brunet of this rare volume is that of the vel- lum copy in the MacCarthy sale, in 1816, purchased for the Bibliotheque du Roi for eleven hundred francs. Les Controverses des Sexes masculix et femixix (by Gratien du Pont). Toulouse, 1534, small folio, handsomely bound by Niedree. Fifteen hundred francs. Brunet cites sales at from twenty-five to a hundred and ninety francs. Later, at the Chedeau sale, it brought four hundred francs ; M * * *, June, 1876, thirteen hundred and fifty francs. There is a copy in the Cigongne catalogue, Lot 433. It is illustrated with curious rudely executed woodcuts. Magxy (Olivier de), Odes. Paris, Wechel, 1559, 8°, bound in morocco, by Trautz-Bauzonnet. Twelve hundred and fifty francs. It brought only six francs at the Meon sale in 1S04, and seven hundred and fifty-five francs at the Turquety sale. The various productions of this poet, said to have been the intimate friend of the cele- - 4 8- brated Louise Labe, are nowadays in great demand. The " Gayetez," 1554, and the "Soupirs," 1557, brought thirteen hundred and twelve hundred and seventy-five francs, respectively, at the sale of Baron Pichon. Let us observe that the " Gayetez,'' although at times excessively free, are invested with the royal license, a fact of which other ex- amples may be cited. The licentious "No- vellas " of Morlini appeared in Naples in 1520, with the papal license. We may also instance the license accorded by Louis XIII. to the "Chansons" of Gaultier Garguille. in 1632, " lest imitators should publish songs still more dissolute." Brunet (a bibliographer, and not a litera- ry man, be it understood) characterizes the '"Poesies" of Olivier de Magny as insignifi- cant. The critics of the present day are by no means of this opinion. Viollet-le-Duc finds in his " Odes " the perfume of olden times, and Sainte-Beuve gives them warm praise. Coquillart, GJuvres. Galliot du Pre, 1532, small 8°, bound in morocco by Laferte. Five thousand four hundred and fifty francs. Renouard's copy, with wide margins, pur- chased for five hundred francs at his sale in 1854. It fetched ten times the price paid for it. A copy bound by Trautz-Bauzonnet, brouarht two thousand six hundred francs at — 49 — the sale of Lebeuf de Montgermont. Let us mention in passing the excellent edition of Coquillart's works, published by Charles d'Hericault (Bibliotheque elzevirienne, 1857): the Essays on Coquillart and the " Vie bour- geoise " in the fifteenth century are very in- teresting. Cretin (G.), Chantz royaulx. Paris, J. Sainct Denys, without date, small 8°, bound in old morocco. One thousand and thirty francs. Very rare edition, which we have looked for unavailingly in the most copious catalogues. Marot (Clement), GEuvres. Lyon, J. de Tournes, 1546, 16 , bound in morocco by Du Seuil. One thousand and forty francs. Brunet cites fine copies sold for from ten to forty-three francs. Desportes (Philippe) Premieres CEu- vres. Paris, Mamert Patisson, MDC. 8° Three thousand five hundred and five francs. A very high price, due to an exceedingly beautiful contemporary binding in olive mo- rocco, with compartments ornamented with rolls and branches of foliage. Author's copy, which formerly belonged to the learned Ballesdens, whose signature is on the title page. It was also in the Cailhava and Aim6- Martin sales. Parny, CEuvres. Paris, Didot, 1808, 5 -$6- vols., large i8° Twelve hundred francs. Large paper copy on papier vttin. An exor- bitant price, accounted for in some degree by the sumptuous binding by Trautz-Bauzon- net in blue morocco, with rich and elegant compartments. La Fontaine, Fables. Paris, 1678-1694, 5 vols., 12 , beautifully bound in morocco by Boyet. Eleven thousand nine hundred and fifty francs (bought by the Comte de Mos- bourg). Valuable edition, in an excellent binding. Morgand and Fatout put this edi- tion at the comparatively moderate price of twelve hundred francs, and ask three thou- sand four hundred francs for the original edition (Paris, D. Thierry, 1668, 4 ). Aug. Fontaine values the 12 edition at two thou- sand four hundred francs. La Fontaine, Contes. Amsterdam (Paris), 1762, 2 vols., 8°, in old morocco bind- ing. Twelve hundred francs. Farmers- general edition, much sought after nowa- days 1 . These two volumes figure at the same price (twelve hundred francs) in the catalogues of Aug. Fontaine and Morgand and Fatout. Parnasse satyrique du Sieur Theo- phile. Without place (Holland), 1660. 1 See the " Guide de l'amateur," by Henry Cohen, 1870, column 232. — Si — Small 12°, bound in morocco by Bauzonnet. Eleven hundred and eighty francs. A very fine copy of one of the least edifying of vol- umes, but a small part of which was really written by Theophile (Viaud), the remainder being by Motin, Sigongne, Regnier, and others. It usually goes for less. Potier sale, two hundred and sixty-five francs ; Brunet, three hundred francs ; H. Bordes (Nodier's copy, seventy-seven francs in 1844) six hundred francs. Let us remark, how- ever, that a fine copy reached one thousand francs at the sale of " Un Amateur " (E. Martin) in 1869. This work is included in the Elzevir collection, although not produced in their printing office. Lenio Salentino (Ant.) Oronte gi- gante. Vinegia, 1531, in a beautiful six- teenth century binding. Four thousand four hundred francs. Very rare and sole edition of this chivalric poem. Copy with the in- itials of Henry II. and Diana of Poitiers. Plautus, ComcedijE deux vrays amants par Enee Silvius. Without place or date, 8°, in morocco. Eleven hundred francs. The Ye- meniz copy, purchased for a thousand francs. Brunet cites an edition differing from this one. The author became Pope, under the title of Pius II. Written in Latin, this story enjoyed a success attested by the nu- merous reprints and translations of it into various languages. Sir Thomas More thus appreciates this celebrated composition : " Tedious and uninteresting story ; very false and labored style of latinity." Historia del Cavallero Don Polindo. — 106 — Toledo, 1526, 4 , handsomely bound by Lor- tic. Two thousand nine hundred and ninety- nine francs. This romance of chivalry is extremely rare. Not a bookseller in Paris possesses a copy. This copy was bought for eighty francs, unbound, at the sale of Louis- Philippe. In 1729, a copy, bound up with another valuable book, did not bring over eleven francs. Cervantes, Don Quixote. 1608-1615, 2 vols. 4 . Twenty-five hundred francs. Second edition of the first part and original edition of the second. Victorii, Vari.s lectiones. Florentise, 1553, folio. Fifteen hundred and five francs. Maioli's copy. Gasparinus, Epistol^. Without date, 4 . Seventeen hundred francs. First book printed at Paris, in 1470. In times past it brought fifty to a hundred and twenty francs, but in 1857, at the Libri sale, it fetched five hundred and twenty francs. Plutarchus, Vit^e et Moralia. Lug- duni, 1566-1577, 4 vols. 12 . Two thousand one hundred francs. Copy of Marguerite de Valois. In a beautiful binding, to which is due the high price brought. L'Histoire ecclesiastique de Nicephore, traduite en francois. Paris, 1567, folio, in old binding-. Twelve hundred francs. — 107 — Presentation copy to Charles IX., with his arms and device. Twelve hundred francs. Bought at the Pichon sale. Mr. Lortic dis- covered the name of the binder of Charles IX. in Ambr. Pare's "Traite de la Peste" (where no one would have thought of looking for it) : it was Claude Picquet, rue Saint-Jacques. Pauli Jovii, de vita Leonis decimi. Florentise, 1549, folio. Three thousand eight hundred and fifty francs. The price is solely due to the copy, which is a very beautiful one, having belonged to Grolier, whose name and device it bears. Le petit fardelet des faits. Lyon, 1483, folio. Fourteen hundred francs. This is a French translation of the " Fasciculus temporum" of Werner Rolewinck. Appar- ently only two copies of this edition are known — that in the Bibliotheque Sainte- Genevieve and this. La Chronique Martinianne de tous les papes. Paris, Ant. Verard, without date (about 1503), folio. Fifteen hundred francs. Bought for fourteen hundred and fifty francs at the Double sale. This chronicle was writ- ten by Martin the Pole. Flavien Josephe, Lhystoire faicte franchise. Paris, 1530, folio, handsomely bound in morocco by Lortic. Four thousand and twenty francs. Vellum copy : another — 108 — copy, imperfect, wanting the frontispiece and two leaves, was sold for a hundred and ten francs at the MacCarthy sale. Xenophontis Opera (Greece). H. Ste- phanus, 1581, folio, in a most beautiful old morocco binding. Six thousand francs. Presentation copy to James I. of England, which is the sole reason for this high price. In ordinary condition it is of little value. DlODORE SlCILIEN, LeS TROIS PREMIERS livres. Paris, 1535, 4°, bound in morocco by Bozerian. Twelve hundred francs. Vel- lum copy. There is another copy in the Bibliotheque nationale, which is described by Van Praet. 1 It was purchased in 1824, at the low price of seventy-two francs, at the Chardin sale. It did not exceed fifty francs at the La Valliere sale. Procopius, De bello persico. Romse, 1509, 4 , in a fine fifteenth century binding. Six thousand francs. Maioli's copy. Froissart, Croniques. Paris, A. Verard, without date, 4 vols, in 3, folio, handsomely bound. Five thousand five hundred francs. Verard published two editions, without date, of Froissart. Brunet prices each at from four hundred to six hundred francs, prices considerably exceeded nowadays. He only quotes sales of vellum copies. 1 Catalogue, vol. 5, p. 46. — iog — Monstrelet. Paris, A. Verard, without date, 3 vols, in 2, folio, very handsomely- bound by Lortic. Thirty thousand five hun- dred francs. Vellum copy, purchased for eighteen thousand francs of the book- seller Techener in 1862. Three copies, on vellum, are mentioned by Van Praet, 1 includ- ing the copy in the Bibliotheque nationale, for which eighteen hundred francs were paid at the MacCarthy sale in 1817. Le Livre des statuts de l'ordre Sainct Michel. Without place or date (Paris, about 1530), 4 . Thirteen hundred and fifty francs. Vellum copy, bearing the arms and initials of Henry II., together with the emblems of Diana of Poitiers. This illustri- ous origin accounts for its high price. Other copies did not bring more than forty and seventy francs at the Ourches and Coste sales. We saw a copy at Messrs. Payne & Foss's, in London, who asked five guineas for it. Valerius Maximus. Moguntiae, 1471, P. Schoyffer, folio, bound in English morocco. Two thousand nine hundred and fifty francs. Vellum copy. Onlv six or seven copies are known. One of them was sold for sixty ' "Catalogue," vol. 5, p. 106, and "Second Cata- logue," vol. 2, p. 63 — no — pounds sterling at the sale of Sir Masterman Sykes in 1826. Vincent de Beauvais, le quart volume. Paris, N. Couteau, 1531, folio, in an old morocco binding of the sixteenth century. Fourteen hundred francs. Very fine copy, with the arms of the Count of Mansfelt. In England valuable books find no less passionate admirers than in France, and prices equally high are paid for them. The more widely scattered wealth of Great Brit- ain, however, enables her collectors to in- dulge in extravagances from which French- men would shrink back in alarm. ^ ^Ar 8S51NB?w3 4o^M MW ^feJlW-" ^i ISSN |j4t" ^cJ'w'i * StSDila MTEsSfV * Y^Jt* ^ffiZffl&BS*St* KSUi? THE PERKINS SALE. E regret not possessing catalogues of several recent sales, but at least we can mention that of the collection of Mr. Henry Perkins, June, 1875, eight hundred and sixty-five lots. Splendid manuscripts were included in it, of which we shall not treat just now, reserv- ing them for a special work. As for the printed ones, we can at least cite some im- portant sales. Biblia Sacra. The edition printed at Mentz between 1450 and 1455, and known as the Mazarine Bible. Vellum copy. Three thousand four hundred pounds sterling. A copy on paper of the same edition. [in] — 112 — Two thousand six hundred and ninety- pounds sterling. Biblia Sacra. Moguntiae, 1462 (first edition with a date). Copy on vellum. Seven hundred and eighty pounds sterling. It occurred in the Gaignat, La Valliere and MacCarthy sales, bringing thirty-two hun- dred, four thousand and eighty-five, and four thousand seven hundred and fifty francs ; and in England, from a hundred and twenty-six to two hundred and seventy-five pounds ster- ling. The Duke d'Aumale possesses a copy. Biblia. Without place or date (Mogun- tise, Mentelinus, about 1466), bound in mo- rocco by Derome. Seventy-five pounds ster- ling. Biblia. Venetiis, Jenson, 1476, on vel- lum. Two hundred and ninety pounds ster- ling. It brought seventy-one and a hundred and sixty-eight pounds sterling in other sales. 1 Collection des classiques latins in usum Delphini. 60 vols. 4", bound in mo- rocco, with the arms of France. Two hun- dred and forty pounds sterling. 1 Let us remark that a copy of the first English edi- tion of the Bible, 1535, was sold for four hundred pounds sterling, notwithstanding that the frontispiece and two leaves had been replaced in facsimile. Not a single perfect copy is known. This was the Dene copy. - H3 — Hor^e. , Ant. Verard, without place or date (Paris, 1488), on vellum. Very fine copy. Two hundred and twenty-five pounds sterling. Having a hundred and sixty-eight leaves of twenty-nine lines to a full page. Brunet mentions another copy, having a hundred and sixty-two leaves of twenty lines to a page. MlSSALE SECUNDUM RITUM AuGUSTENSIS Ecclesi^e. Dilengae, 1555, on vellum (un- known to Van Praet). One hundred and eighty pounds sterling. MlSSALE DICTUM MOZARABES (ET BrEVI- arium). Toleti, 1500-1506. Two hundred and ninety-five pounds sterling. Bought for two thousand one hundred and forty francs at the Gaignat sale. The MacCarthy copy was withdrawn at one thousand and twenty francs. Brunet, after citing several other sales, notably the Hibbert, sixty-four pounds sterling, adds : " These two volumes would doubtless not bring the same price now." We see, on the contrary, that they have very largely increased in value. Missale Romanum. Romae, 1496, presen- tation copy to Pope Alexander VI., on vel- lum. Three hundred and seventy-five pounds sterling. Neither Panzer nor Van Praet were acquainted with this fine book. MlSSALE AD USUM ECCLESI^E SARISBURI- — ii4 — ensis. Parisiis, Prevost, 1527, on vellum. Ninety-five pounds sterling. At this time, and a little while before the Reformation was propagated in England, French printers executed books of liturgy for the use of the English churches. The Rouen printers were kept actively employed with work of this description. 1 Institution d'un prince chrestien, par Talpin. Paris, 1563, 8°. Copy bearing the arms of Anne of Austria. One hundred and nine pounds sterling. This price for a book of no value whatever, in ordinary condition, appears to us so high that we should be tempted to suppose it an error of the tran- scriber of our priced catalogue. PSALTERIUM SECUNDUM CONSUETUDINEM Ord. Carthusiensium. 1519. On vellum (known to neither Panzer nor Brunet). Seventy-four pounds sterling. Ceremonies et coutumes religieuses, 1723-26. 11 vols, in 9, folio, large paper, bound in morocco by Derome. Ninety-eight pounds sterling. Purchased for seventy -three pounds ten shillings at the Sykes sale. PtolomjEus, latine. Romas, 1478, folio. Eighty pounds sterling. The highest sale 1 See Brunet, vol. 3, p. 767, and Lowndes' Bibliogra- pher's Manual. - ii5 — recorded by Brunet for this valuable work, the first in which maps engraved on metal are found, is nine hundred and seventy-five francs. 1 Saint Lambert, les Saisons. Paris, 1796, 4 , on vellum (unique), with four orig- inal designs by Chaudet, a poor artist. Thirty-three pounds sterling. The copy sold at the sale of Prince Galitzin, in 1825, for four hundred francs. We omit English works bringing high prices, as they do not interest French col- lectors. We note, however, that a fine copy of the first folio Shakespeare, 1623, sold for five hundred and eighty-five pounds sterling, not so much as was obtained for another copy in 1864 at the Daniel sale — seven hun- dred and sixteen pounds two shillings ster- ling. 1 We notice an article of Mr. Chas. Muller in the " Archives des Missions scientifiques," second series, vol. 4, pp. 279-298, on the Manuscripts of Ptolemy's Geography. THE PAYNE SALE. E have just received a priced cata- logue of a sale, not very consider- able, but still remarkable in point of view of the rarity of the books contained in it. It took place last April (1878). The books came from the library of a well-known bookseller, Mr. Payne, whose name, associated with that of Mr. Foss, has been long known throughout Europe to those interested in books. Mr. J. T. Payne suc- ceeded to his father's business, 1 and as soon 1 James Payne died at Paris in 1809. While lying at the point of death he had an account given him of the prices brought at a sale which was just then taking place. Informed that a collector who desired to obtain the original edition of Caesar, had not succeeded in getting it on account of having arrived a few minutes [»7] — IIS — as the events of 1814 opened to the English access to the continent, he travelled over Italy, Germany, and Holland, and got together a large number of books of great value, which he obtained at moderate prices, and sold to the British collectors at a considerable advance. Messrs. Payne and Foss are the gentlemen given out as the editors of the " Bibliotheca Grenvilliana,'' ' a well-executed catalogue, enriched with instructive notes, of a magni- ficent collection bequeathed to the British Museum. Mr. Payne, like many other distinguished booksellers, such as De Bure and Renouard, was unable to see legions of fine volumes pass through his hands without being tempted to reserve some of them for himself. Those he kept were selected with great taste, and he understood, at the same time, how to keep within bounds his passion for fine books. His library, which was rather difficult of too late, he exclaimed, "When one wants a Caesar of 1469, one doesn't dine," and expired. — Renouard, " Catalogue d'un Amateur," vol. 4, p. 92. 1 3 vols. 8°, 1842-1848. This library consisted of twenty thousand two hundred and ten volumes : it cost its owner, who was born in 1755, and died Dec. 31, 1846, more than fifty-four thousand pounds sterling. See what Brunet says about it, vol. 3, p. 662 ; also G. Mason in the " Bulletin du Bibliophile," 1854, pp. 102 and 279. — ii 9 — access, was held in high esteem, and, there- fore, the volumes issuing from it were eagerly contended for, and the prices ob- tained show that the thermometer of biblio- mania has a tendency to rise more and more. Let us cite a few examples. Mr. Payne, like all judicious and tasteful collectors, had a great fondness for the masterpieces of the Elzevirian typography. We find in his library : Csesar, 1635, bound in morocco, twenty-two pounds sterling (Ren- ouard's copy sold for fifty-nine francs in 1854). Renouard describes it as the finest copy known after that of the Bibliotheque du roi, bought of Gouttard in 1780. Commines, 1648, blue morocco. Forty- eight pounds ten shillings sterling. Boccaccio, Decamerone, 1656, uncut, but stained. Eighty-seven pounds sterling. Tite-Live, 1678, uncut, and with covers off. Twenty-two pounds ten shillings ster- ling. Bought by the Duke d'Aumale. Virgile, 1626, bound in blue morocco by Derome. Fifty pounds two and sixpence sterling. A'Kempis, De Imitatione. Bound in old morocco. Twenty-eight pounds sterling. L'Ecole de Salerne, 165 i, on Dutch vellum. Thirty-four pounds ten shillings sterling. — 120 — Mr. Payne shared the enthusiasm inspired nowadays by books formerly belonging to celebrated book collectors and volumes bound by celebrated binders. Sannazarius. Aldus, 1535, Grolier's copy. Eighty-nine pounds five shillings sterling. Brunet cites it as sold for thirteen pounds sterling at the Dent sale in 1827, and it has been since sold for two thousand seven hundred francs at the Double sale. Vita di M. Aurelio imperadore. De- metrio Canevari's copy, physician to Pope Urban VIII. Seventeen pounds ten shillings sterling. Meditations de l'amour de Dieu. 1587, small 8°, with the arms of Henri III. and the device "Spes mea Deus." One hundred pounds sterling. Bossuet, Exposition de la doctrine catholique. 1686, small 12°, bound in blue morocco. Longepierre's copy. One hundred and twenty-eight pounds sterling. Officium B. Marine Virginis. Antuer- piae Plantinus, 1573, 4°, beautifully bound, with the arms of De Thou. One hundred and eighty pounds sterling. The badly- prepared catalogue of the Soubise sale in 1789 contains this " Officium," 1575, 8°, Lot 586, which sold for eight pounds sterling. A 12 volume, without any value in 121 ordinary condition, " Reflexions des Saints Peres," 1708, reached twenty-four pounds sterling, thanks to a binding by Padeloup. Let us finish with an incunabulum : Thom* de Aquino de Articulis Fidei. Small 4 , fourteen leaves, printed with the same characters as the " Durandi Rationale," printed at Mentz, in 1459, but the imperfec- tion of the justification gives reason to regard it as still older. Eighty-six pounds sterling. Brunet cites two sales at two pounds six shillings and four pounds fourteen shillings sterling. mma APPENDIX ttSsrs? ^/""^ f*"" is fei3# THE SECOND DIDOT SALE. jlHE most important of the collec tion is undoubtedly the celebrated Missal of Charles VI., Lot 17. This admirable MS. is thought to have been executed in the early part of the fifteenth century for Charles VI., of France. It afterwards came into the possession of his daughter Catherine, consort of Henry V., of England, and her descendants. This superb book is written on fine vellum, and is embel- lished with one hundred and seven large, and four hundred and twenty-eight small, minia- tures, besides two frontispieces, the whole executed by Burgundian artists. It brought seventy-six thousand francs, being obtained by Auguste Fontaine, a Paris bookseller, — 126 — notwithstanding the competition of the Eng- lish booksellers, who would doubtless have carried it to the British Museum. Among the finest and highest-priced books after the above comes Lot 30, " Of- ficium Beatae Mariae Virginis," certainly a very pretty MS., but its chief value arose from its associations, it having been owned by Anne of Austria, whose arms it bears. It was in a charming binding in old red mo- rocco bound inside and out, and richly gilt by Le Gascon in his best manner. No wonder this exquisite little volume fetched twenty-seven thousand francs. Lot 26 possessed an excellence of another, perhaps of a soberer, sort, a little more real, and certainly more artistic, to recommend it to the attention of the more exacting of col- lectors. It was a little book of Hours, in size a 16 , embellished with fifty-six of the most beautiful miniatures imaginable, large and small, of the Flemish schools, attributed, or at least the more important ones, to the cele- brated Flemish artist, John Memling. After saying this, it is hardly necessary to state that its possession was sharply contested for, and that the purchaser had to pay a pretty high price for it — twenty thousand eight hundred francs. Along with these treasures, there were — 127 — several fine MSS. of the Bible, of Psalters in Latin, Evangelistaries and a Commentary on the Apocalypse by St. Beatus, in Latin ; a valuable MS. of the twelfth century, with numerous colored miniatures, Lot n, which brought thirty thousand five hundred francs. Lot 12, Historia Sancti Johannis, a MS. of the fourteenth century, with ninety-six min- iatures, brought fifteen thousand three hun- dred francs. Some Graduals, several other missals, among others the Missale Ecclesiae Turonensis (Lot 27), a splendid MS. on vel- lum, of the sixteenth century, embellished with miniatures admirably drawn and col- ored, and executed by artists of the Touraine school. It brought twenty thousand francs. A charming little gem of a manuscript — "Abr6g6 de l'instruction du Chretien," &c, Lot 37, written by the famous caligrapher Jarry, in a handsome binding by Le Gascon, ornamented with small tools in the dotted manner, brought eight thousand francs. Be- sides these, there were many superb books of Hours, from the libraries of illustrious per- sonages, together with works on law, philos- ophy and the sciences. The curious little collection (Lot 45) I notice last, on account of its totally different character from the preceding. It is humor- ously called " Le livre d'Heures de Bussy- — 128 — Rabutin." Book of hours ! What kind of hours are meant? It is a little album con- taining eight admirably painted portraits executed by order of the witty and facetious Count Bussy, and which represent, as was well known at the time, personages connected with the court, whose wives had committed " des faux pas." It is very probable that this wicked fellow Bussy had good reasons for knowing what he asserts. At that period, it seems, they made use of a peculiar euphemism to designate these unfortunates, and this is what Boileau intended when he wrote these significant lines : " Moi, j'irais epouser une femme coquette? J'irais, par ma Constance, aux affronts endurci, Me mettre au rang des saints qu'a celebres Bussy ?" This charming gallery of saints, in an attractive contemporary binding, brought twenty-five thousand francs. Mr. Didot paid twenty thousand for it. He made a witty remark when this gem was taken to him. "There are very few saints for so much money!" said he. In fact, Bussy did not despair of adding to their number, for there still remained eight blank leaves in this rel- iquary. Who knows how many might be seen there to-day had it not been for a lettre de cachet and an imprisonment in the Bastille, — I2g — brought on by other satires, which came to interrupt the gallant Count Bussy in his work of canonization ? I now pass on to the printed works, in which division were also included large numbers of valuable books. In the first place, come several works of the highest importance and rarity, specimens of woodcuts and of engraved type executed before the invention of movable letters by Gutenberg — block books, in fact. First, Lot 46, Ars moriendi — a precious collection of woodcuts, of small folio size, ornamented with curious illustrations attributed to Lau- rens Coster, a Dutch printer. This went for eighteen thousand francs. Lot 47, the Apoc- alypse, first xylographic edition, supposed to have been executed in Germany, and con- taining rude and most quaint illustrations, went for fourteen thousand five hundred francs. Lot 48, another xylographic edition of the Apocalypse, also of German execu- tion, containing the same kind of illustra- tions as the preceding lot, brought five thousand nine hundred francs. Among the more recently printed works, we find in Theology, the New Testament, Lot 67, printed at Lyons, about 1474, looked upon as one of the earliest books printed in France, small folio, which fetched three — 130 — thousand five hundred and fifty francs. Lot 70, "Rationale divinum officiorum," printed at Mentz in 1459, on vellum, and in a hand- some binding of the fifteenth century, brought six thousand francs. Among the Liturgical works were in- cluded about seventy books of Hours, printed in France and elsewhere, the finest of which, Lot 103, "Heures a 1'usage de Rouen," printed by Verard in 1488, handsomely bound by Cap6 en mosaique, was sold for six thousand nine hundred francs, and several others, published by Geoffroy Tory and Simon de Colines, also brought high prices. Among theological works, Lot 167, " Or- loge de Sapience," printed in 1493, on vellum, small folio, handsomely bound by Trautz- Bauzonnet, brought nine thousand five hun- dred francs. Jurisprudence was represented by but a few books, but those few were all valuable. I shall only notice two : the " Coustumier du pays de Poictou," Lot 178, printed in 1514, the only copy known, having belonged to Francis I., whose arms are on the binding, brought five thousand five hundred francs, and Lot 179, " Coustume, etc., de Bourbon- noys," an octavo volume, printed about 1521, only copy known, on vellum, bound by — I3i — Trautz-Bauzonnet, brought five thousand francs. I pass over, in the Science and Art divi- sion, the various editions of Montaigne, La Rochefoucauld, La Bruyere, Xenophon, etc., to a very interesting and extremely rare Italian work on duelling, Lot 238, G. B. Susio, " I tre libri della Ingiustitia del duello," 1555, choice copy, in a handsome binding, with the arms of the Constable Anne de Montmorency, sold for five thousand francs. Then there is Lot 258, " Ambroise Pare, La Maniere de traiter les plaies faictes tant par hacquebutes que par fleches, * * * et par la pouldre a canon," printed in 1552, a unique copy on vellum, dedicated to Henry II., in a hand- some contemporary binding, sold for six thousand francs. We ought to notice the whole of the vol- umes on the fine arts, the works illustrated with woodcuts and copperplates, gathered together by this eminent and erudite col- lector who discoursed so excellently on these various subjects. The books of emblems, the collections of dances of death, which brought such high prices, the volumes con- taining accounts and illustrations of public festivals, etc., form an important part of the catalogue. But I have already gone too far in this notice. I will wind up by citing the — 132 — famous collection of forty-four original drawings of Holbein, for the celebrated work " Les Simulacres de la Mort," of which Mr. Didot gives an interesting account in his " Essai sur la Gravure sur Bois." This valu- able collection brought twenty thousand francs. The proceeds of the two sales, with the sale of prints, which included the rarest engravings, from the old masters to the artists of the eighteenth century, were mag- nificent. The total already exceeds two mil- lion francs. The first sale of books brought eight hundred and fifty thousand francs ; the second nine hundred and five thousand francs, and the sale of engravings over five hundred thousand francs. While these are the most valuable and important portions of this famous collection, there still remains a much larger number of interesting books, of minor value, which will also be sold at auction later on. If I have dwelt a little too long on these details, my readers must consider the extenu- ating circumstances. We take pleasure in describing as well as in admiring so many treasures, and the criticism which might have been uttered regarding certain copies which left a little something to be desired, becomes mute before a collection of rarities and curi- — 133 — osities of the first rank, which would have been sought elsewhere in vain. — J. de Beau- champs in " Le Livre." TRAUTZ-BAUZONNET. O all but collectors, the name of the subject of this little sketch is most probably altogether un- known. In most dictionaries of biography, his name would be looked for in vain. But to the book collector, and to admirers of fine binding generally, his name is familiar as a household word. It is to them that the following short account is addressed. George Trautz — usually styled Trautz- Bauzonnet, he having, in accordance with commercial usage, joined to his own name that of the man to whose business he suc- ceeded — stands at the head of binders most popular with contemporaries. In the latter [135] -136- part of his life, indeed, the rage for his bind- ings became a mania, carried almost to the point of absurdity. A volume, bound by him, at once acquired in the auction room, or at the booksellers', an increase of value equal to double or treble the price of the binding, or even more. Trautz-Bauzonnet charged high prices for his work, but, notwithstanding, it remained in great demand. There were collectors who would have hesitated at nothing in order to obtain a specimen of his work. To pay for the simplest kind of binding of a small volume a hundred francs, or for a binding a mosaique two or three thousand francs, requires a good deal of enthusiasm for binding ; yet this was frequently done. Just as a buyer of pictures prides himself on pos- sessing, even when buying it at its weight in gold, a canvas of a celebrated artist, so the book collector plumes himself on having a binding of Trautz-Bauzonnet to exhibit to his friends. The reason for this is to be found in the fact that Trautz-Bauzonnet was altogether absorbed in his art. He had preserved, or rather rescued from oblivion, the methods of the famous binders of preceding centuries. Vet his binding is stamped with an origin- ality so peculiarly his own, that the merest — 137 — tyro in binding recognized it at a glance. He knew how, in imitating the good points of the old binders, to avoid their defects. It was apparent that he had studied the style in which the famous binders of the sixteenth century, especially Nicholas Eve and Clovis Eve, binders to Henry II., Henry III., Henry IV., and Margaret of Valois, had or- namented their work. From Le Gascon, that charming binder and inimitable gilder of the time of Louis XIII., he had learned how to apply those elegant small tools, so admirably cut, that modern artists experience the great- est difficulty in copying them. He under- stood how to give to his work that firmness and solidity which was carried by no one to a higher degree of perfection than Du Seuil, the foremost binder of the century of Louis XIV. He came near to the perfection of forwarding and general elegance, of which Boyet, who practised the art towards the end of the seventeenth century, and beginning of the eighteenth century, has left such match- less specimens. He understood how to turn to account the many models of graceful binding executed by Padeloup, binder to the regent, and the most celebrated collectors of the first half of the eighteenth century. Of Derome, Anguerran, Mouilli6, and Bradel, I say nothing. They certainly did some fine - 138- work, but they represent a period of decline, and their work is generally marred by a cer- tain negligence which is in keeping with the effeminate manners of the time. Still, possi- bly, he may have borrowed from Derome the elegance and finish of some of his beautiful bindings a mosaique. When a revival takes place, its influence is felt in everything. Belles-lettres, the arts and sciences, and the various industries, all experience its beneficent effects, and advance together towards improvement and perfec- tion. Without referring to remote ages, or to those brilliant periods in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, in which such an im- portant intellectual and artistic development took place, do we not find confirmation of this truth in the expansion, intellectual, artistic, and scientific, displayed at the deeply interesting epoch of 1830, in our own time. Of the present, I say nothing : it admits of discussion ; nor of the future, for that, though we look forward to it with con- fidence, we are unable to answer for. Admitting, then, an undeniable progress in literature, naturally leading to progress in bibliography and book collecting, it was naturally to be expected that bookbinding should partake of the same development. Tn fact, in the period between 1830 and 1840, — 139 — Purgold, Thouvenin, and Bauzonnet, aban- doning the poor, if not absolutely bad, styles of the Directory, the Empire, and the Restoration, began to execute fine and durable bindings for collectors. In three generations these were to acquire the ele- gance and richness of those of Trautz-Bau- zonnet. George Trautz was born at Pforzheim, in 1808, a little town in the Duchy of Baden. When fourteen years of age he was appren- ticed to a binder in Heidelberg, where he remained from 1822 to 1825. When seven- teen years old he became a journeyman, and worked successively in various cities of Ger- many — Munich, Nordlingen, Stuttgart, and Wurtemberg. At length, in 1830, he went to Paris, where he first worked at a small binder's, named Kleinhaus, with whom he remained three years. In 1833, he entered as a gilder the establishment of Bauzonnet, who had succeeded Purgold, marrying the latter's widow. From the first, Trautz brought the work of his master into promi- nence by the taste and richness of its orna- mentation. He soon acquired that sureness of hand which hardly ever failed him, even in his last days. Two or three years prior to his demise, in fact, he executed for promi- nent collectors some binding a mosaique — 140 — which may be ranked with his most remark- able work. In 1840, he married Miss Purgold, daugh- ter-in-law to Bauzonnet, who then took him into partnership. He worked with his father-in-law for several years, until the latter's retiring in 1851. During this period of eleven years, their work was signed Bau- zonnet-Trautz. Although the work of the two partners was excellent, collectors did not begin to run after them until Trautz definitely assumed control of the bindery. From that time, the infatuation for his bind- ings among collectors went on increasing, till, now the great binder is departed, there is no knowing where it will stop. In 1869, George Trautz was created a knight of the Legion of Honor, being the first binder who has obtained that distinc- tion. He died in Paris, November 6, 1879, aged seventy-one years. 1 He has left practically no successor, his son not having learned his father's trade, and Trautz did not wish, it would seem, to communicate to any one, the secret of his method of gilding. Mr. Motte had charge of the forwarding in his establish- 1 Strange to say, his father-in-law, Bauzonnet, sur- vives him, being nearly ninety years old. — hi — ment for some time, and will bind the books left unfinished by Trautz-Bauzonnet. But who will now attend to the gilding and ornamentation ? We are ignorant whether Mr. Motte has ever done any of this kind of work. Perhaps the exacting collectors who would have nothing to do with any binder but Trautz-Bauzonnet will be reduced to being content with the severe bindings which take their name from the Jansenists. Unless some new binder arises capable of satisfying the tastes of book collectors, we are probably doomed, in spite of the fine work of two or three new binders, who were almost on a par with Trautz-Bauzonnet, to see Jansenism revive in bookbinding, if not in Mother Church. — From Le Livre. EXTRACT PROM THE CATALOGUE J. W. BOUTON, PUBLISHER, IMPORTER AND BOOKSELLER, 706 BROAD WA Y, N. V. ft ~"\HE subscriber begs to call attention to his large m and carefully selected stock {upwards of 30,000 -*- volumes) of Fine, Rare and Curious Books and Afamtscripts, including a?i unusually large and choice assemblage of works bearing upon the Fine Arts ; Picture Galleries, Books of Prints \ Collections of Etchings, Orna- mental and Decorative Art, &*c., dye, together with the best Library Editions of Standard Authors, English and French, in all departments , suitable for the library — Spec- imens of Early Typography, P.Ianuscripts, Illuminated Missals, Books of Hours, &c, , <5rV. Catalogues of second-hand Books, old and ?zew, issued at intervals, and will be sent to any address upon receipt of stamps for postage. . J. W. BOUTON, importer, bookseller and publisher, 706 Broadway. American Agent for L'Art. Revue Hebdomad aire illustre", . . Quarterly. Gazette des Beaux Arts, Monthly. Portfolio. P. G. Hamerton, Editor, . . Monthly. The Etcher, Monthly. The Antiquary, Monthly. Rembrandt, the Complete Works of. With Descrip- tion and Notes by Charles Blanc, reproduced under the supervision of Firmin Delangle, and forming a Catalogue Raisonne of all of Rembrandt's plates, with reproductions in fac-simile of me whole of his etchings, by a new process which dispenses en- tirely with retouching, comprising in all three hun- dred and fifty-six plates. The work is in three volumes, royal folio, and a portfolio 24x31. The edition will consist of 500 copies, each copy being numbered, divided up as follows : 400 copies, letterpress on papier velin, plates on Holland paper $150.00 80 letterpress on Holland paper, plates on Holland and Japanese paper 300.00 20 letterpress on Whatman paper, plates on Holland, Japanese, and Whatman paper. . 600.00 u This edition, the first and only complete one, includes the twenty-two unique plates 0/ the Museum of Amsterdam, the unii/ue plates of the British Museum, those of the Museum op Vienna, and of the Bibliotheque Nationale of Paris. Not only have we drawn from the private collections which have been graciously placed at our disposal, but ive have, thanks to the kind- ness of Messrs. Clement, Danlos, Delisle, Loysel, and Ad. The- baudeau, had the use of magnificent impressions, which we could have obtained nowhere else. ' Baetsch (Adam). Le Printkr-Graveur. With all the 59 plates, with the extra etchings handsomely printed on papier velin. 21 vols, crown 8°, full polished calf, extra, gilt tops, uncut. $95.00. Leipzig, 1854, &c. The Same, in parts. 21 vols, paper, uncut. $60.00. " Cet ouvragc dont Vautettr est mart &. Vienne, le 21 Aout, 1820, est certainement le plus exact qu 'on possede en ce genre. Les quelques exemplai-res qu'on avait pu completer au moyen de la rtiimpression des premiers volumes e'tant de/d disparus du com- merce, cet ouvrage est redevenu rare." Les Elzevif.r. Histoire et Annales Typographiques. Par Alphonse Willems. A large volume of upwards of 600 closely printed pages in double column, with colored front, and folding plates of fac-similes, &c. Thick 8°, boards uncut. $9.00. Bruxelles, r88o The Same. Edition d'Amateur, beautifully printed on heavy Holland. paper, forming 2 vols., small 4 , ^paper, uncut. $20.00. Bruxelles, 1880 IV- A Superb Work on Ornamental Binding. La Rei.ieur Francaise, depuis l'invention de 1'Im- primerie jusqu'a la fin du XVIHe siecle par MM. Marius Michel, Relieurs-Doreurs. A large volume handsomely \ nnted on heavy tinted paper by Messrs. Plon & Cie., profusely illustrated with figures in the text, and 22 large etched plates of full size, from the most notable specimens in public and private collections. (Plates printed by Salmon.) Impl. 8° (colombier), broche. $15.00. A Limited Number Printed on Japan Paper, fabrique du Mikado, with the frontispiece before the letter and artist proof, with remarque. Impl. 8° (colombier), broche. $30.00. The important work now offered to the public is the Jirst really serious effort at a history 0/ an art of the greatest interest to admire?'S of books. Illustrator's Hand-Book. Sieurin (M. J.). Manuel de l'amateur d'illustrations, gravures et portraits pour 1'ornement des livres francais et etrangers. Handsomely printed on toned paper. 8°, paper, uncut. $4.50. Paris, 1875 This manual supplies in a measure a want long felt by collec- tors and others. It gives a list of the suites of plates, portraits, &*c, adapted for illustrating the works of Frencli and English authors, the various conditions in which they are to be found, period of issue, and other particulars of importance to the illus- tralor. Book and Print Collector's Guide. Guide de l'Amateur de Livres a Figures et a Vignettes du XVIIIe Siecle, par Henry Cohen. Trois- ieme edition. Entierement refondue et augmentee par Chas. Mehl. Handsomely printed on heavy laid paper. 1 large vol. roy. 8°, broche. $7.50. Paris Edition limited to 651 copies. Indispensable to amateurs and collectors, and full of inter- esting notes and bibliographical memoranda, not elsewhere to be met with. L'GEuvre de Moreau le Jeune. Catalogue Raisonne et Descriptif avec notes iconographiques et biblo- graphiques par M. J. F. _Maherault, precede d'une notice biographique par Emile de Najac, portrait, thick 8°, pp. 568, handsomely printed on Holland paper. $9.00. Paris, 1880 The Same, printed on Whatman paper, uncut. $12.00. Paris, 1880 BibliogrAphie Molieresque, ou Description rai- sonnee de toutes les editions des Comedies et des GEuvres de Moliere, &c, &c. 2me edition, revue, corrigee, et augmentee. Par Paul Lacroix. One large vol. 8°, broche. $9.00. Edition 0/500 copies only. BIBLIOGRAPHIE ET Iconographie DE TOUS LES Ouvrages de Restif de la Bretonne, compre- nant la description des editions originales, des re- impressions, des contrefacons, des imitations. &c, y compris la nomenclature des Estampes, &c. Par Paul Lacroix. 8°, broche. $9.00. Paris Edition 0/ '500 copies. Les Dessinateurs d'Illustrations AU DIX-HUITIEME Siecle. Par le baron Roger Portalis. Printed on Holland paper, with front, by Jacquemart. 2 vols. 8°, paper, uncut. $15.00. Paris, 1877 Edition 570 copies only. Willshire (Wm. H.). An Introduction to the Study and Collection of Ancient Prints. Frontispiece, plates of monograms, and illustrations. Hand- somely printed. 2 large vols, demy 8°, half mo- rocco, gilt top, $n. 00. Tkis new edition entirely supersedes the previous one, hav- ing, in addition to much new matter, full lists of monograms and marks of celebrated collectors and amateurs. A work indis- pensable to the Print Collector, being a concentration in one volume of all the varied information relative to the History of Engraving and of Ancient Prints. The Works of William Unger. A series of seventy-two etchings after the old masters. With critical and descriptive notes by C. Vosmaer. Comprising the most celebrated paintings of Tin- toretto, Ruysdael, Rembrandt, Guido, Poussin, Rubens, Ostade, Jan Steen, Van Dyck, Wouver- mans, Paul Potter, Frans Hals, Veronese, Jor- daens, Van der Velde, Brouwer, etc. Ten parts folio, 16x22 inches, printed on heavy Dutch paper, $60.00. Or half morocco, extra, gilt top. $80.00. " No engraver who ever lived has so completely identified him- self with painters he had to interpret as Professor Unger in the seventy-two plates which compose his' tVorks.' He can adopt at ■will the most opposite styles, and work on each with ease, a fluency such as other men can only attain in one manner — their own — and after half a lifetime. Indeed, one would not be going far wrong to describe Professor Unger as an art critic of very uncommon insight, who explains the sentiment and execution of great paint- ers with an etching needle instead of a pen. •VI Edition de V Amateur. Fables de La Fontaine. Illustrees & 1'Eau-forte, par A. Delierre, with prefaces, notes, &c. The text sumptuously printed from large old-style type on heavy papier a la cuve. With 48 superb full-page etchings, designed and etched by Delierre. Impl. 8°. Paris, Quantin The work will be published in 13 parts — at inter vals of three months — with 6 full-page etchings to each part. Ordinary edition, on heavy paper (a small impression only.) Per part, $4.50. Special impression, 50 copies (numbered), text printed on India paper, plates in two states, viz., on Holland, with letters, and on Japan paper before letters. Per part, $10.00. Special Impression, 50 copies (num- bered), text printed on Whatman paper, plates with letters on Holland, and before letters on Japan. Per part, $10.00. Judging from the initial number, which is now ready, this new edition of the Fables de JLa Fontaine bids /air to overshadow, both in artistic and typographic excellence, any and all the edi~ tions hitherto published. Le Costume Historique. To consist of 500 plates, 300 of which are in Colors, Gold, and Silver, and 200 in " Camaieu " (or Improved Tinted Lithog- raphy), representing Authentic Examples of the Costumes and Ornaments of all Times among all Nations, with numerous choice specimens of Fur- niture, Glass, Ornamental Metal Work, Arms and Armor, Useful Articles, Modes of Transport, &c. Published under the direction of M. A. Racinet. With explanatory Notices and an Historical Dis- sertation (in French). Mode of Publication. — The complete Work, which is to form Six Volumes of 400 pages, will consist of Five Volumes of Plates (each containing One Hun- dred, with Notices) and one of Text ; and will be published in Twenty Parts, at intervals of three months. Parts I. to IX. now ready. Price, per part, small 4 , (8^ by 7j^ inches), in portfolio $4-50 Large paper, in folio (16 by Iij/tj inches), im- pressions on tinted paper, in portfolio 9.00 Each Part will contain 25 plates. On completion the prices will be raised 25 per cent. Rowlandson the Caricaturist. A Selection from his Works, with Anecdotal Descriptions of his Famous Caricatures, and a Sketch of his Life, Times, and Contemporaries. With nearly 400 Illustrations. By Joseph Grego. Two vols, large 4 , half morocco. $20.00. Tree calf. $35.00. " Mr. Grego 's excellent account 0/ the works of Thomas Row- landson, .... illustrated with some 400 spirited, accurate, and clever transcripts from his designs The thanks of all wko care for what is original and personal in art are due to Mr. Grego for the pains he has been at, and the time he has ex- pended, in the preparation of this very pleasant, very careful, and adequate memorial." — Pall Mall Gazette. Albert Durer, sa Vie et ses CEuvres. Par Moriz Thaussing. Traduit de l'Allemand, par Gustave Gruyer. Fine portrait and 75 beautiful copper-plate reproductions from his most notable works, by the Amand-Durand process. Roy. 8°, paper, uncut. $12.00. Paris, Didot, 1879, & c - Bibliography of Printing. With notes and illus- trations, compiled by E. C. Bigmore and C. W. H. Wyman. Vol I. — A to L. Foolscap 4 , xii and 450 pp., with 116 cuts of Printers' Marks, Fac-sim- iles of Block-prints, &c, half morocco, price $20.00. London, 1880. Only 250 Copies Printed, and type distributed. New Illustrated Library Edition. History of the Ingenious Gentleman, Don Quixote of La Mancha. Translated from the Spanish, by P. A. Motteux. Illustrated with thirty-seven orig- inal Etchings, specially prepared for this Edition by M. Adolphe Lalauze. To be completed in Four Volumes, in the following sizes. Vol. I. now ready. Demy 8° edition, ordinary paper, in cloth, un- cut. Per vol $6.00 Roy. 8°, Large Superfine Paper, with India im- pressions of the plates. Per vol 13.00 Limited to 200 copies, nearly all of which are taken up. The translation adopted is that by Motteux. Of this trans- lation Blackwood's Magazine says : — " This is, we think, out of all sight, the richest and best. Shellon's Quixote is undoubtedly well worthy of being studied by tlie English scholar; but it is far too antiquated an affair to ser?'e the purposes of the English reader. Motteux, the translator of Cervantes and Rabelais, possesses a native humor which no other translator that vje ever met with has approached." Vlll The Portfolio : An Artistic Periodical, edited by Philip Gilbert Hamerton. Illustrated with Etch- ings, Autotypes. Wood-cuts, Facsimiles, Engrav- ings, Heliogravures, &c. Published monthly. Subscription reduced to ten dollars per annum. Sent, postage free, to any part of the United States, on receipt of the subscription price. The Etcher. A Magazine of Etched Work of Artists. Each part containing three large and beautiful Etchings. Edited by Henry Cundall, of the South Kensington Museum. Monthly parts, at $12 oo per annum. Examples of Modern Etching. Edited, with notes, by Philip Gilbert Hamerton, Editor of the " Port- folio." Twenty Plates, by Balfcuricr, Bodmer, Bracquemond, Chattock, Flameng, Feyen-Perrin, Seymour Haden, Hamerton, Hesseltine, Laguiller- mie, Lalanne, Legros, Lucas, Palmer, Rajon, Vey- rassat, etc. The text beautifully printed on heavy paper. Folio, tastefully bound in cloth, full gilt, $10.00. A set of proofs 0/ the plates in the above %'olume alone aj e worth in the London market ^10 ioj. Etchings from the Nationai Gallery. A series of eighteen choice plates by Flameng, Le Rat, Rajon, Wise, Waltner, Brunet-Debaines. Gaucherel, Richeton. &c, with Notes by Ralph N. Wornum (Keeper of the National Gallery). Handsomely printed on heavy paper. Folio, tastefully bound in cloth, full gilt. $10.00. French Artists of the Present Day. A series of twelve fac-simile engravings, after pictures by Gerome, Rosa Bonheur, Corot, Pierre Billet, Legros, Ch. Jacque, Veyrassat, Hebert, Jules Bre ton. &c. , with Biographical Notices by Rene Menard. Folio, tastefully bound in cloth, gilt, $10.00. New Series. Examples of Modern Etching. A series of 20 Choice Etchings by Queroy, Brunet-Debaines., Hamerton, George, Button, Wise. Legros, Le Rat, Seymour-Haden. &c , &c. with descriptive text by P. G. Hamerton. Folio, cloth, gilt. $12.00 La Renaissance en France. Par Leon Palustre (Di- recteur de la Soc. Francaise d'Archeologie). Il- lustrated under the direction of Eugene Sadoux. To be published in about 30 parts, small folio (13x18 in.), with 5 large full-page etchings, and 10 to 15 etchings printed in the text. The text printed from new characters on vellum paper, with rubricated in- itials, head and tail-pieces, in the most superb manner. The price of these numbers will vary, according to size and importance, from $4.50 to $9.00. Subscriptions must be for the entire work. Up to the present time no work has been published giving a full survey of the Renaissance^ that wonderful period when the arts were transformed and regenerated in a body. The soil of France is covered with monuments bearing witness to' this great 7>wvement, but, while many are in ruins* others are forgotten in the rural districts or extinguished by more recent constructions. The author has journeyed through the various provinces of France for many years, and the present book is the result of his patient researches. It effects a restoration all the more valuable from the fact that it vindicates the national art of France from the charge of being a mere imitation of Italian art. The illustra~ lions are from pictures sketched on the spot, and unite scrupulous fidelity with the highest artistic excellence. L'Art, Ancienne et Moderne a l'Exposition DE 1878. Par MM. Beaumont, Biais, Bonaffe, Darcel, Duranty, Ephrussi, Lavoix, Paul Mantz, H. Havard, Montaiglon, &c. Illustrated with 45 full-page Etchings by Jacquemart, Boilvin, Champollion, Flameng, Gaillard, Gaucherel, Lalauze, Le Rat, and others ; also, several hundred engraved cuts in the text. Two very large vols. impl. 8°, hand- somely printed on heavy tinted paper — paper un- cut. $15.00. Hf. mor. $24.00. Paris, 1879 Two superb volumes, of upwards of $00 pages each, offering a full and comprehensive survey of the A rt Treasures, A ncient and Modern, gathered at the Great Exhibition in 1878, with critical and descriptive notices by the best special writers in the various departments. Duplessis (Georges). Histoire de la Gravure, en Italie, en Espagne, en Allemagne, dans les Pays- Bas, en Angleterre et en France, suivie dedi- cations pour former une collection d'estampes, par Georges Duplessis (conservateur-adjoint a la Biblio- theque Nationale). Handsomely printed, and illus- trated with 73 facsimiles of celebrated engravings, reproduced by the Amand-Durand process. Super- royal 8", paper. $8.00. Paris, 1880 PRESS OF HENRY M. TOBITT, go ANN ST., in . Y. •8$8R6 4m