The Book-Hunter in London: Historical and Other Studies of Collectors and CollectingRoberts, W. (William)
History
The Book-Hunter in London: Historical and Other Studies of Collectors and Collecting
Roberts, W. (William)
Bibliomania; Book collecting; Booksellers and bookselling -- England -- London
Nichols, in his 'Literary Anecdotes' (iv. 493), mentions that Dr.
Taylor, who about the year 1732 was librarian at Cambridge, used to
relate of himself that one day throwing books in heaps for the purpose
of classing and arranging them, he put one among works on Mensuration,
because his eye caught the word _height_ in the title-page, and another
which had the word _salt_ conspicuous he threw among books on Chemistry
or Cookery. But when he began a regular classification, it appeared that
the former was 'Longinus on the Sublime,' and the other a 'Theological
Discourse on the _Salt_ of the World, that good Christians ought to be
seasoned with.' Thus, in a catalogue published about eighty years ago
the 'Flowers of Ancient Literature' are found among books on Gardening
and Botany, and Burton's 'Anatomy of Melancholy' is placed among works
on Medicine and Surgery. Some blundering bibliographer has classed the
'Fuggerarum Imagines,' the account of the once mighty Italian family,
among botanical works, under the 'Resemblance of Ferns.' Dibdin states
that he once saw the first Aldine Homer in a country bookseller's
catalogue described as 'a beautiful copy of the _Koraun_.' The Rev. John
Mitford sent to a Woodbridge bookseller for a copy of Shelley's
'Prometheus Unbound,' and received the answer that no copy of
'Prometheus' _in sheets_ could be obtained--a misconception which
Bernard Barton promptly forwarded to London, to Charles Lamb's great
content. We have heard of the following blunder, but have never actually
seen it:
'SHELLEY--Prometheus, unbound,' etc.
' ---- ---- another copy, olive morocco,' etc.
The nearest approach to it occurred a few years ago in a Glasgow
auctioneer's catalogue: 'Lot 282, Sir Noel Paton's Illustrations,
Shelley's _Prometheus_, unbound, 12 plates, N.D.' As a matter of fact,
the copy was bound in cloth. 'Please send the ax relating to a justus
pease' is a phrase which will be remembered by readers of 'Guy
Mannering.' Only recently a post-card reached Messrs. Smith, Elder and
Co. requesting the immediate despatch of a copy of 'Hard on Horace,'
which was the inaccurate, or perhaps waggish, sender's rendering of the
'Hawarden Horace.' This will be remembered with the request for 'The
Crockit Minister,' by Stickett, and 'Sheep that Pass in the Night.' Some
of the foregoing budget can scarcely be placed to the discredit of the
cataloguer, but they are sufficiently _apropos_ to be included here.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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