Sometimes the book he selects for the perpetration of his daily fraud is laughingly inappropriate; and we once knew a man of fashion who acquired his entire literary reputation through being caught with a back volume of the Nautical Almanac under his nose, and a gorgeously bound copy of Barnard Smith's Arithmetic on his knees. He was comparing the two with the air of a Lord Chancellor on the woolsack, and looked positively annoyed when compelled to leave his engaging occupation.

These three classes of book-collectors are general lovers, and it is only the first who is in the slightest degree true to his calling; the others are bastard Bibliophiles, mere brassy imitations of the genuine gold.

Besides these, however-which, be it understood, are not placed together as belonging to the same family, but only for purposes of convenience-we have a long list of specialists, who in their turn may be separated under many heads. There are private libraries of every sort and kind in endless profusion, and almost as many specialists; in fact, as is the average man, so is the average library. These we may treat of hereafter in their order, commencing with the solid mahogany case filled with school prizes, or the works of some scholar of the family long since dead, and continuing with the flimsy collection of drawing-room books, or two-shilling novels: the "fast" library; the "goody-goody” library; and last of all, the "good" library of well selected and carefully-read books, which, strange to relate, is as rare as the others are common.

M. A. G.

THE first work ever printed on paper of English manufacture was the De Proprietatibus Rerum, issued by Wynkyn de Worde from his press at Westminster, in 1495. In the same year the first practical work on chess made its appearance; Ye Game and Playe of ye Chesse, by Caxton, is merely a moralization of the game. The first book printed in italics was a copy of Virgil, from the Aldine Press at Venice, 1501; and it may also be mentioned that this was the result of the earliest attempt to produce cheap books, by compressing the matter into a small space and reducing the size of the page. The first attempt at blank verse in English bears the title, Elizabeth Triumphans: Concerning the Damned Practices that the Devilish Popes of Rome have used," etc.; it bears date 1588. White paper was first used in England in 1690; before this nothing but brown was manufactured. The first circulating library in London was established at No. 132, Strand, in 1740.

THE MIDDLE HILL SALE.*

HE sale of the first portion of the library of the late Sir Thoinas Phillipps practically brought the season 1885-6 to a close; and although the sale cannot by any means be said to have come up to general expectation, still the books, such as they were, were in good condition, and seem to have been judiciously selected. It may turn out that the auctioneers have reserved the choicer specimens until a more convenient season, for August is not too favourable a time for sales by auction of any kind, and one of the worst months in the year for the dispersion of libraries. Likely purchasers are for the most part away, and besides that, the market has become glutted at that season of the year, and stands urgently in need of rest. The catalogue of the Middle Hill Sale comprises 3,346 lots, and the total amount realized was £2,200 15s., a comfortable sum, but not by any means so large as might have been expected. The first book of any importance was the De Peruviæ Regionis, of Apollonius, printed at Antwerp by Bellerus in 1567, which realized £1 9s., a similar copy was knocked down at the Stevens sale on the 1st of July last for one shilling more. Belknap's History of New Hampshire, 3 vols., Philadelphia, 1784-92, £1 14s. Maximilianus Transylvanius, De Mollucis Insulis, Cologne, 1523, £13; this very curious and excessively rare little volume is the original edition of the celebrated Voyages of Magellan. The author of the epistle was a relation of Christopher Haro, the friend and companion of Magellan in this voyage, which commenced in August, 1519, and ended in September, 1522. A copy of the third edition, published in 4to., 1536, sold at the Stevens sale (Lot 328) for £4 10s.

IOS.

Anderson's Genealogical History of the House of Yvery, 2 vols., 1742, £8 5s. Lane's Arabian Nights, original edition, 3 vols., 1840, £1 18s. (see Book-Lore, ante, p. 46). Foster's Arabian Nights, 5 vols., 24 fine engravings from Smirke's designs, 1810, £1 10s. Aubrey's Natural History and Antiquities of Surrey, 5 vols., 1719, £4 8s.; this copy on small paper was slightly imperfect, or it would have brought more, a copy on large paper sold at the Hartley sale for £18 (see Book-Lore, ante, p. 43). Beloe's Anecdotes of Literature and Scarce Books, 6 vols., uncut, 1814, £1 10s. Bishope's New England Judged, London, 1661-7, slightly imperfect, and sold with all faults, £3; a better, but still imperfect copy, sold at the Stevens sale for £5 5s. It is not often that this work is found with both parts and appendix complete. Hubbard's Present State of New England, London, 1677, £12 10s. The great feature in this book is the map, which is hardly ever found to exist; a copy without it is not worth more than £1 IOS. Josselyn's Account of Two Voyages to New England, London,

The first portion of the library of the late Sir Thomas Phillipps, Bart., F.R.S., of Middle Hill, Worcestershire, and Thirlestaine House, Cheltenham. August 3, and seven following days (Sotheby, Wilkinson and Hodge).

1674, £3 5s., this was a perfect and very tall copy (Stevens, Lot 239, £2 14s.). Morton's New England Canaan, Amsterdam, 1637, a sound and perfect specimen, £10 5s. (Stevens, Lot 342, £13).

A very cheap lot was the Historia Verdadera de la Conquista de la NuevaEspaña, folio, Madrid, 1632, which was sacrificed for £1 Is.; we were under the impression that a good copy, such as this was, is worth from £3 to £4, and such we think will turn out to be the case. Kingsborough's Antiquities of Mexico, also the Monuments of New Spain, together 9 vols., with nearly 1,000 elaborate plates by Aglio, coloured from the originals, sold for £33 10s. ; and another copy, without the Monuments, and with the plates uncoloured, £15 10s. This work is said to have cost upwards of £30,000 to produce, and the noble author died in a debtor's prison at Dublin in consequence of his expenditure. As an illustration of the misfortune which seems to persistently follow some people all their lives, it may be mentioned that had Viscount Kingsborough lived a few months longer he would have become Earl of Kingston, and inherited a fortune of more than £40,000 a year.

On page 33 of the present volume of Book-Lore, we collated Ashmole's History and Antiquities of Berkshire, Reading, 1736, and stated that a copy had sold at the Hartley sale for £2 5s.; this price was exceeded in the present instance, a good specimen going for £6 2s. 6d. Atkyn's Ancient v. Present State of Gloucestershire, the original edition, 2 vols., 1712, slightly imperfect, and sold with all faults, £5 10s.; at the Hotham sale (Lot 1413) a perfect copy of the edition of 1768 sold for £10.

Bigland's Historical, Monumental and Genealogical Collections relating to Gloucestershire, is a book that always sells well; but the copy was in this instance enhanced in value by the introduction of Sir Thomas Phillipps's continuation of the unfinished second volume, printed at his private press at Middle Hill. The continuation comprised 8 parts, of which only fifty copies were printed, and of some none remain, £15 15s. This may be pronounced a very cheap lot, since not long ago a copy as above (but wanting Part VIII.) was sold by auction for as much as £26. Our readers may perhaps like to know that copies of Part VIII., which was only issued nine months ago, may be had on application to Mr. T. F. Fenwick, Thirlestaine House, Cheltenham.

The rarest of all the editions of Cæsar's Commentaries is that printed at Rome in 1469, by Sweynheym and Pannartz, and it is very seldom that a copy is found complete. Sir Thomas Phillipps's copy was no exception to this rule, for it had many leaves inlaid, and was badly stained in parts; still it brought £8, a good round sum for such an imperfect specimen.

After this comes a long list of works of little or no importance, and it is not until we arrive at Lot 1047 that any improvement takes place. This lot comprised a very fine specimen of Füst and Schoiffer's edition of Cicero, printed at Moguntia (Mayence) in 1465. The book, which was perfect with the exception of the last leaf, brought £58.

Dugdale's Monasticon Anglicanum, new edition, 8 vols., 250 plates, 1846, £14 15s.; the same author's History of St. Paul's, first edition, 1658, £2 18s.

Here another hiatus occurs, and it is not until Lot 1509 is reached that prospects begin to look brighter. Hodgson's History of Northumberland, vols. i.-vi., Newcastle, 1820-58, relieves the surrounding gloom, and was disposed of for £33 10s.; Jones's History of Brecknock, 1805-9, for £3 19s.; Hoare's History of Modern Wiltshire, 6 vols., 1822-43, £35; and Lipscomb's History and Antiquities of Buckingham, 4 vols., complete in 8 parts, for £6 17s. 6d.

One of the most tiresome books to collate is Nichol's History and Antiquities of Leicester, which was published very irregularly in parts between the years 1795-1811; a tolerably perfect copy in 7 parts, the description of which occupies nearly three-fourths of a page in the catalogue, sold for £30.

Among Sir Thomas Phillipps's privately printed publications may be mentioned the Oxfordshire Monumental Inscriptions, Evesham, 1826, believed to be the only copy containing the plates, £3; the Visitation of Somersetshire, 1838-42, a book very seldom found perfect, as it generally wants the rare second part, pp. 109-52, £3 5s.; Monumental Inscriptions in the County of Wilton, 1822, of which only six copies were printed, £14 10s.; a book of Glamorganshire Antiquities by Merrick, 1825, one of the rarest and most valuable productions issued from this press, £6 5s.; a set of nine indices to the Post-mortem Inquisitions, £12 125.; Collectanea de Famulis Diversis quibus nomen est Phillipps, I vol. in 2, £16. Of this extraordinary collection, continued by Sir T. Phillipps up to the time of his death in 1872, only four or five perfect copies exist, and not one of these had hitherto occurred for sale by auction, though an imperfect copy once brought £12. Our readers will find other examples of the Middle Hill Press in the Hartley Catalogue, Lot 551 et seq.

Suckling's History and Antiquities of Suffolk, 2 vols., 1846-8, numerous fine plates, £4 5s. Pliny's Natural History, libri xxxvii., first edition, Venice, Joannes de Spira, 1469, £36. There are few productions of ancient printing more interesting than this, whether we consider the magnificence of its execution, the importance of the publication, or the interest excited by the printer of it. Our wonder is increased on examining this voluminous book of about 700 pages, when we learn from the testimony of the printer's brother that it was executed within a space of time not exceeding three months. From the same authority it also appears that only 100 copies of it were struck off. The De Limare copy sold for 3,000 francs; La Vallière's for 1,700 francs; the Duke of Grafton's for £40 19s. ; and Sir M. Sykes's for £35 14s.

Shaw's History and Antiquities of Staffordshire, 1798-1801, 2 vols., of which the first was on large paper, sold for £18 5s., and with this we close our notice of the sale. We had certainly looked for a greater variety of publications from the Middle Hill Press; but possibly, as we have before hinted, the auctioneers have advised that most of these rare and valuable productions should be kept back until the new season, when, as experience shows, they will be much more likely to obtain substantial recognition at the hands of collectors.

EARLY EDITIONS OF THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. OLLECTORS of early editions, no matter of which author so long as he is worth reading, possess the great advantage of being able to compare his book in its several stages of growth. Many of the alterations have more likely than not a history attached to them, and hence the study of biography becomes a necessity. For this reason collectors of early editions may generally be relied on as friends, so to speak, of the authors on their shelves. We do not refer now to those whose sole idea is possession, and who put off from day to day, and eventually for all time, even the most desultory perusal of the works they buy; but to the conscientious collector who recognises in his books something more than extrinsic merit; such a collector, in fact, who can exclaim with Gibbon, "A taste for books is the pleasure and glory of my life; I would not exchange it for the wealth of the Indies."

How many persons there may be in this country who are imbued with such sentiments as these is an open question. In all probability they constitute a mere fraction of the great army of book-lovers. They are, however, the aristocracy among Bibliophiles, the populus as distinguished from the great mass of the plebs.

Originally, no doubt, it was the love of comparison which actuated the purchase of early editions, and as the number of real workers in this department of literature was necessarily small, prices were correspondingly low.

If, for example, the first folio of Shakespeare's Plays was worth in the market ten shillings and no more, there would still be an active competition for it among those who require the volume for purposes of study or comparison with later editions; but we venture to state that the folio would go absolutely begging among the class who look affectionately at it from a distance, and measure the tallness" thereof in elevenths of an inch. It was not the workers who ran up the price of a perfect copy to £716 2s. at Daniel's sale, but the drones.

66

This journal, like its predecessor, enjoys the reputation of being devoted to the interests of those who take pleasure in the contents of their books, but who nevertheless love them for themselves as well. If all persons were equally moderate as this model class, prices of books would fall rapidly, and it would be possible to obtain an editio princeps for something less than the prohibitive price now put upon it.

Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress is, as is well known, in two parts, and up to a comparatively recent date not a single copy of the first edition of either was known to exist. Bibliophiles of all kinds, workers and drones alike, were considerably puzzled to know the why and the wherefore of this. Bunyan, it is true, was once thrown into Bedford Gaol; but so far as can be ascertained his book had,

E