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
The following prices, for some of the more rare and
interesting articles, will amuse a bibliographer of the
present day. The chronicles of Fabian, Hall, and Grafton,
did not altogether bring quite L2: though the copies are
described as perfect and fair. There seems to have been a
fine set of Sir Wm. Dugdale's Works (Nos. 3074-81) in 13
vols. which, collectively, produced about 30 guineas.
In _Spanish literature_, the history of South America, By
Don Juan and Ant. di Ulloa, Madr. fol. in 5 vols., was sold
for L5: a fine large paper copy of the description of the
Monastery of St. Lorenzo, and the Escorial, Madr. 1657,
brought L1 2_s._: de Lastanosa's Spanish Medals, Huesca,
fol. 1645, L2 2_s._
In _English_, the first edition of Shakespeare, 1623, which
is now what a French bibliographer would say "presque
introuvable," produced the sum of L3 3_s._; and Fuller's
Worthies, 18_s._!
_Fine Arts, Antiquities, and Voyages._ Sandrart's works, in
9 folio volumes (of which a fine perfect copy is now rarely
to be met with, and of very great value) were sold for L13
13_s._ only: Desgodetz Roman edifices, Paris, 1682, L4
10_s._: Galleria Giustiniano, 2 vols., fol. L13 13_s._ Le
Brun's Voyages in Muscovy, &c., in large paper, L4 4_s._ De
Rossi's Raccolta de Statue, &c. Rom. 1704, L6 10_s._
Medailles du Regne de Louis le Grand, de l'imp. Roy. 1. p.
fol. 1702, L5 15_s._ 6_d._
The works on _Natural History_ brought still higher prices;
but the whole, from the present depreciation of specie, and
increased rarity of the articles, would now bring thrice the
sums then given.
Of the _Greek and Latin Classics_, the Pliny of 1469 and
1472 were sold to Dr. Askew for L11 11_s._ and L7 17_s._
6_d._ At the Doctor's sale they brought L43 and L23:
although the first was lately sold (A.D. 1805) among some
duplicates of books belonging to the British Museum, at a
much lower price: the copy was, in fact, neither large nor
beautiful. Those in the Hunter and Cracherode collections
are greatly superior, and would each bring more than double
the price.
From a priced copy of the sale catalogue, in my possession,
I find that the amount of the sale, consisting of 5126
articles, was L3091 5_s._
The _Prints and Drawings_ of Mr. Folkes occupied a sale of 8
days; and his _pictures_, _gems_, _coins_, and _mathematical
instruments_, of five days.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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