The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-10-23
LITERARY CURLOsLT1ES.

Inc safes OF rare AMI curious books in the
London market have been frequently described; /;
but writer in the Corahih Mdgdz,jle ados TO 4
list OF this kind interesting account OF collec-
lions oil old songs and plOclamauons.
SONGS.
mot worth an old song" is a saying of ques-
uonable force. Three volumes oil very rare ana
curious ballaos were sold at Mr. Gutch's sale "a
1858 Tor thirty guineas. In 1852 two hundred
and four humorous, romantic, leSenogWIy l,o y rIe u."
tory, and historical broadside ballads" prBten
in black letter some time between the mluule
ana the end OF the seventeenth century, once IN
the Heber collection, were purchased Dy MT
HaI1iwen at Mr. Uuer.ou's sale, for flO4 l0J
One of the most famous OF such collections was
the Roxborough one. The ballads were nine
hundred in number, ranging from 1870 10 1850,
pasted i'm turee volumes folio, and fetched uL
that famous sale, G475 los. These are
now in the British Museum. In the
wear 1920, at the BIndley SALE four lots
OF ballads and brOadsdos printed between 1910
and 1858, which had been collected by Narcssus
LuttIell, brought G7Sl. But Tar beyond even
this price, in proportion, was the sum given for
some old ballads at MIR. Dauiels sale. They
we're seventy in number, printed between 1859
and 1897 in most beautiful CONDITION, and yield
ing TO no other collection in interest or variety.
Mr., Daniel gave a detailed account of them in
the Illustrated London Ne1os, 1856. Tue price
they were sold for in 1864 was f75O. The
Society of Autiquaries has collection, aud there
are five volumes now at Cambridge, collected by
Pepys. They are divided into heroic romantic,
hunting, love pleasant aud love unfortunate.
A few OF them are old, but mostly they Sre of
PBoCLAMATIoNs.
PrOClamations, when they are offered for sale
bring large prices. A beautiful volume, in DR..
Bandineps collection, of the proclamations OF
Charles |, from 1925 10 1888, sold for ESl. Six
volumes, belonging to the reIgns Of Elizabeth
James /, Charles l, and Charles IL, brought, in
l05S the more moderate sum Of Els. The
most complete col lection in existence of the ORR
glnal black-etter broadside proclamatiOns of
the lIlsh Government, commencing with the
year 1873, and extending through the regns of
Charles ii, James II, William and Mary,
Queen Anne, and George 1, to the year
I7l6,n was bought at the sale of DR.. Cane,
of Kilkenny, 1858, for the Marcbioness
Of Ormonde, for G76. But such volumes
have fetched much larger prices than these. ]
nave heard oil one picked up on an old 6ookstall
for half n crown selling for fl20. There is
very fine collection OF prOClamations in the
library of the Society of Antiquaries. In the
Bodleian is the magnificent volume of Eliza
bethan prOclamations, and the library of
Queens College, Oxford, has a collection which
Is nearly, If not quite, matchless, ranging from
l558 to 1894. 1t contains more than one thou
sand proclamations, to say nothing of a very
large collection of acts, ordinances, ETC., issued
during the Commonwealth. The only portion IN
which 1T is weak Is the time OF Charles /. Butin
addition to this, the same library possesses two
most precious Volumes containing series of
proclamations partly printed and partly in
manuscript, from the time of Henry VII to
l64l. Many of the manuscripts are the original
draughts as prepared for the PriVy Council;
some of the Ellzabethan ones having correc-
and some OF the Caroline ones in that OF Mr..
Secretary Windebank. Two of them are the
original copies in vellum, with the signature of
Charles J. But perhaps the most interesting
paper in the collection is copy of the only
proclamation issued by Lady Jane Grey. 1T is
some what elaborate document, beginning,
"Jane, by the grace of God, Queen" etc., aud
dated Julie 10, 1853" Grafton lost his prv-
lege as Queens printer in consequence of hay
ing printed 1t. IL was at one time supposed to
be unique. Another copy, however, has turned
up, which is now in the possession of the Anti
quarian Society; but it is not to be compared
with the beautiful copy at Queens.
Very curious and interesting proclamatlons
turn up sometimes. Not long since there was
secured for the Royal Library at Windsor one
of Queen Mary, declaring herself to be eHciente
The BOdleian possesses the proclamation dlstr
buted by the Spauiards just before the Armada,
declaring their intentions when they had con-
quered England. Among those exhibited in the
showcases in the British Museum Is that OF
King Charles II, ordering the suppression OF
two OF the works Of Milton, who is therein
stated TO have He'd from justice; that issued
September 10, 17l4, Offering GlOO 600 for the
APPREHENSION OF Prince James should he at
tempt to land in England, and that issued
August %, l745, by Charles Ed ward, prince of
Wales,n Offering 100000 for the Apprehension OF
the 'ElectOr OF HanoyeT."
BINDINGS.
Book collectors sometimes have fancy tor
bindings. Towards the END of the fifteenth con-
tury very beautiful bindings were made for the
Medici, the Della RoVere, The DEste, and other
NOBLE families. Aldus, the famous printer oil
Venice, was perhaps the first to issue books In
different styles OF covering to suit the tastes and
purses of his customers. There are very early
bindings which appear TO have been stamped
from engraved blocks. Some OF them may be
even earlier specimens OF wood engraving than
the spencer st. Christopher
One OF the first collectors whose bindings are
sought after IS Michael Majoli; but II was his
kinsman Thomas MajoU, whose devices auu
style of oInameniatlon were first initiated by
foreign bookbindeIs. Upon his books Is found
the inscription, "Tho. MajOli ct amicor.D Be
sides this, there is his motto, which was geuer
ally "Inimici mea mich non me injchi;' anC
more rarely, as an example IN the BRITISH
Museum, "IngTatis serviTe nephas.' AT the
Libri sale, IN 1859, where there were so man.
MAGNIFICENT specimens of bindings, one volume
sold tor col; another, at the BergeIet sale, pro
duced Gl04.
Gin mnre fnmnns are the WGrOliern hindings