I have already stated that where editions of the works of famous modern authors containing plates were originally issued in parts, such parts should, on no account, be bound up in volume form. The result of such a course cannot be better illustrated than by taking the well-known _Pickwick Papers_ as our example, and studying the following prices, all realised at auction quite recently:-- _Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club_, original ed., with illustrations by Seymour & Browne, and the Buss plates, _complete in numbers_, 1837, 8vo, L8 10s.; L12 14s.; L8 10s.; L6 5s.; L11 5s. _Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club_, original ed. (_bound_), with illustrations by Seymour & Browne, and the Buss plates, 1837, 8vo, L1 (half calf), L1 1s. (half calf), L3 (calf extra), L2 12s. (half morocco extra), L2 5s. (half calf extra), L1 7s. (half morocco extra), L3 10s. (calf, gilt, an unusually clean copy, recently sold at the Mackenzie sale). The evidence furnished by these quotations is conclusive, and illustrates the principle better than anything else can do, that, in the present state of the English book market, it is the height of folly to bind up original parts of this nature. If, however, it must be done, the depreciation in value may be reduced to a minimum by binding in the best style, and taking care that not only all the covers, but even the pages of advertisements, are bound up also. On no account must the edges be cut, or in any way tampered with, or the value will sink from pounds to shillings on the instant. I shall conclude this chapter by calling attention to the expression "large paper," so often noticed. It has been the practice for many years, on publishing certain classes of books, to print off a limited number of copies on "large paper," or paper of a larger size than that used for the ordinary copies. Thus, the second edition of Bewick's _Birds_, in 2 vols., 1804, is found in no less than three sizes, ordinary copies in demy 8vo, large paper copies in royal 8vo, and largest paper in imperial 8vo. The text is in each instance precisely the same, but the books themselves are larger in size as we ascend the scale. The well-known _Badminton Library_ of sports and pastimes is printed in two sizes, and as large paper copies are invariably limited in number, their value is always greater than that of their more humble brethren. Whether they maintain their original published value is another question which can only be solved by reference to particular cases as and when they arise. CHAPTER VI. THE RENOVATION OF BOOKS--DAMP--GREASE MARKS--SURFACE STAINS--BOOK WORMS AND OTHER PESTS.