Bibliomania; or Book-Madness: A Bibliographical RomanceDibdin, Thomas Frognall
History
Bibliomania; or Book-Madness: A Bibliographical Romance
Dibdin, Thomas Frognall
Bibliography; Bibliomania; Book collecting; Books -- Prices
[Footnote 160: Let us go quietly through the modern French
school of bibliography.----Mons. JOSEPH VAN-PRAET is
principal librarian of the Imperial collection at Paris, and
is justly called, by some of his fellow-labourers in the
same career, "one of the first bibliographers in Europe." He
is known to me, as a bibliographical writer, only by the
part which he took, and so ably executed, in the Valliere
catalogue of 1783. Peignot informs us that M. Van-Praet is
now busy in composing a little work--which I am sure will
rejoice the hearts of all true bibliomaniacs to be apprised
of--called a _Catalogue raisonne_ of books PRINTED UPON
VELLUM; for which he has already prepared not fewer than
2000 articles! See the _Curiosites Bibliogr._, p. iij. Among
these VELLUM articles, gentle reader, I assure thee that
thine eyes will be blest with the description of "THE SHYP
OF FOOLES," printed by Pynson, 1509! The urbanity and
politeness of this distinguished librarian are equal to his
knowledge.----GOTTHELF FISCHER, a Saxon by birth, and
librarian of the public collection at Mentz, has given us
the following interesting treatises, of which, I believe,
not five copies are to be found in this country:
namely--_Essai sur les Monumens Typographiques de Jean
Gutenberg, &c._, an. x. [1801], 4to.: and _Descriptions de
raretes typographiques et de Manuscrits remarquables, &c._,
Nuremb., 1801, 8vo.--the latter is in the German language,
and has cuts--with a portrait of Fust. By this time, the
work has most probably been translated into French, as it is
frequently referred to and highly spoken of by foreigners.
Peignot [_Dict. de Bibliologie_, vol. iii., p. 128] refers
us to the fine eulogy pronounced upon Fisher [Transcriber's
Note: Fischer] (not yet 40 years of age) by Camus, in his
"Voyage dans les departemens reunis," p. 12.----LAMBINET
will always be remembered and respected, as long as printing
and bibliography shall be studied, by his "_Recherches
Historiques Litteraires et Critiques, sur l'Origine de
L'Imprimerie; particulierement sur les premiers
etablissemens au_ XVme _siecle dans la Belgique_," &c.,
Brux., an. vii. (1798), 8vo. It is, indeed, a very
satisfactory performance: the result of judgment and
taste--rare union!----In like manner, RENOUARD has procured
for himself a bibliographical immortality by his _Annales de
l'Imprimerie des Aide_, 1803, 8vo., two vols.: a work almost
perfect of its kind, and by many degrees superior to
Bandini's dry _Annales Typog. Juntarum._, Lucae, 1761. In
Renouard's taste, accuracy and interest are delightfully
combined; and the work is printed with unrivalled beauty.
There were only six copies of it printed upon LARGE PAPER;
one of which I saw in the fine collection of the Rt. Hon. T.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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