A writer _may_ be born who combines the wisdom of Solomon, the power of analysis of Henry James, the understanding of Plato, the philosophy of Emerson, and the style of Montaigne. This manuscript _may_ be transformed into a book by a printer who can look beyond his cases of type, and interpret what Aldus, and Jenson, and Etienne, and Plantin saw, with the artistic temperament of William Morris and the restraint of Cobden-Sanderson. There _may_ be a binding that represents the apotheosis of Italian, French, and English elegance. A reader _may_ be developed through the evolution of the ages competent to appreciate the contents and the physical _format_ of such a volume, “for what we really seek is a comparison of experiences.” Until then the Quest will continue, going constantly onward and upward. Its lure will keep us from slipping back upon false satisfaction and a placid but--shall I say?--a dangerous contemplation of the humanistic idyll. _William Dana Orcutt_ CONTENTS I. IN QUEST OF THE PERFECT BOOK 1 Gutenberg Aldus Manutius Guido Biagi Ceriani Pope Pius XI Sir Sidney Colvin II. THE KINGDOM OF BOOKS 35 Eugene Field John Wilson Mary Baker Eddy Bernard Shaw III. FRIENDS THROUGH TYPE 73 Horace Fletcher Henry James William James Theodore Roosevelt T. J. Cobden-Sanderson IV. THE LURE OF ILLUMINATION 109 Byzantine Psalter Lindisfarne Gospels Alcuin Bible Golden Gospels of St. Médard Psalter of St. Louis Queen Mary’s Psalter Bedford Book of Hours Grimani Breviary Antiquities of the Jews Hours of Francesco d’Antonio Hours of Anne of Brittany V. FRIENDS THROUGH THE PEN 151 Maurice Hewlett Austin Dobson Richard Garnett Mark Twain Charles Eliot Norton William Dean Howells