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
excellent catalogue, which cost the compiler of it,
Fontanini, nine years of hard labour, is a most useful and
valuable one; serving as a model for catalogues of large
libraries. See the more minute criticism upon it in _Cat. de
Santander_, no. 6315. My copy, which wants the
title-page, but luckily contains the Latin preface, was
formerly Ruddiman's. The volume has 738 pages: this is
noticed because all the appendixes and addenda are
comprehended in the same.----REVICKZKY. _Bibliotheca Graeca
et Latina, complectens auctores fere omnes Graecia et Latii
veteris, &c., cum delectu editionum tam primariarum, &c.,
quam etiam optimarum, splendidissimarum, &c., quas usui meo
paravi._ PERIERGUS DELTOPHILUS (the feigned name for
REVICKZKY), Berolini, 1784: 1794, 8vo. It was the delight of
Count Revickzky, the original owner of this collection, to
devote his time and attention to the acquisition of scarce,
beautiful, and valuable books; and he obtained such fame in
this department of literature as to cause him to be ranked
with the Vallieres, Pinellis, and Lomenies of the day. He
compiled, and privately disposed of, the catalogue of his
collection, which bears the above title; and to some few of
which are prefixed a letter to M. L' A.D. [enini] (Member of
the French Academy) and a preface. _Three Supplements_ to
this catalogue were also, from time to time, circulated by
him; so that the purchaser must look sharply after these
acquisitions to his copy--as some one or the other of them
are generally missing. Peignot supposes there are only _two_
supplements. _Bibl. Curieuse_, p. 58. When Count Revickzky
came over to England, he made an offer to Earl Spencer to
dispose of the whole collection to his lordship, for a
certain "round sum" to be paid immediately into his hands,
and to receive, in addition, a yearly sum by way of annuity.
So speaks fame. Shortly after this contract was closed, the
Count died; and Earl Spencer, in consequence, for a
comparatively small sum (the result of an immediate and
generous compliance with the Count's wishes!), came into the
possession of a library which, united with his previous
magnificent collection, and the successful ardour with which
he has since continued the pursuit, places him quite at the
head of all the collectors in Europe--for early, rare,
precious, and beautiful, books. Long may he possess such
treasures!--and fleeing from the turbulence of politics, and
secluded as he is, both in the metropolis and at Althorp,
from the stunning noise of a city, may he always exclaim,
with Horace, as the Count did before him--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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