New-York tribune., 1873-06-19
BIBLIOMANIA.

rvTP ,oRDINARY SALE OF COSTLY BOOKS
THE PERKINS LIBRARY PUT UP AT AUCTION AT HAN
WORTH PARK MAR LoNDoN-DEsCRIPTIoN OF
so,fR RARE NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. PRICES.
,rvou rHE REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRrBUNE1
LONDON, June 5.-The great Perkins sale began on
Tuesday and ends to-morrow-not long period for
the dispersion Of a library But Mr., Perkins's books
can hardly be said to have constituted library.
They re ind me of what once heard distinguished
Frenehman say TO another biblophile-" All, you
have a fine collection of books. have library
which was true He had about 5000 volumes the
other had a certain number Of bibliOgraphcal
rarties There are about S65 titles on the Perkins
catalogue and il contains two classes of books those
which are worthless and those which are priceless
However | will postpone what have to say Oh lhe
library generally till the last days sale is oVer-a
sale which includes an unusually hne DIST Iono VI
Shakespeare and the two Mazarln Bibles. FROM
some whim the owners have chosen 10 sell these
books at Hanworth Park, u miles from LONDON
and il costs whole day. at least from u TO g. to
attend the sale. With an ordinary library, such
mistake would have been fatal, but the Perkins
hooks ould bring their price if sold in Madagascar,
providod only that time enough were given to en-
able b,iyers either to go or send commissions This
library as a whole, is expected to fetch
$4,000: an enormous price for less than
900 lots. Judging from the first days sale,
the estimate will probably be exceeded for the first
day which is by no means the richest, foots up
about $4,000. I asked a bookseller what he sup
posed a Mazarin Bible vellum would bring q" If
wanted it." he answered, should not think Of
sending bid of less than S2OOO0w We shall know
tomorrow how near the estimate comes TO the ac-
tual price, and whether the Shakespeare 6rst folio
announced as equal to the Daniel copy, is to equal
OF surpass it in price.
Tie first day, though somewhat deficient in gen
era interest was very rich in Bibles and the prices
were certainly. in some cases, extraordinary Put
ting Ms aside the gem of the collection was Bible
in two volumes folio. on vellum with illuminated
capitals being the first edition Of the Latin Bible
with a date 1462, book Of great rarity on paper,
but curiously enough, less rare veum. if Brunet
is to be trusted, who says that 40 copies exist on
vellum aud only 20 on paper. This is due, no doubt
10 the great durability Of vellum and the greater
care taken Of such copies. The present copy has
been in a number of well-known libraries, and has
fetched at different sales a little under or little
over $1,000. In 1873 .it was sold for S1O15 and
afterward, at the Dent sale, for $780, according to
BruDet; but if 1 remember rightly the sum was
Sl,365 a. e., either G173 or G273). On Tuesday the
principal bidders were Messrs. Ellis, Stevens. and
Quaritch, all booksellers and it was knocked down
to the latter for $7SO-GS.9OO.
LONDON, June Elm all the annals of Biblio-
mainland they numeTOus-there is nothing to
equal the last days sale of the Perkins Library
There have been far more remarkable collections
Of books than that owned by the late Mr.. Henry
Perkins. There have been sales which extended
over ten times many days. There have been
sales-though not maDy-whch produced in the
aggregate greater sum than taken in the four
days which were found sufficient to disperse Mr..
sale in which so few books brought SO much money.
never one in which over ten thousand pounds
tSJOOO0 were bld in a single day, never one in
which, on the same day, there came to the hammer
the four Shakespeare folios and two copies of the
Mazarin Bible. The first Shakespeare folio in
fine condition, as this was is of itself enough
to give celebrity 10 any SALE but to-day it has
been almost lost sight of in the splendOr of two In
comparably more precious volumes Probably in no
private library were two copies Of the Mazarin
Bible ever before united certainly never before
any copy whether on velum or paper, sold at such
a price as these fetched to-day. More than this.
Never before to-day has any printed book been sold
for so much as the least of these two. Never but
once has any printed book brought half much. 1t
would seem as if the steadily and rapidly increasing
prices Of rare books have at last reached point be-
yond which they cannot much further go-though 1
mean to make no prediction. There have been vari
Gus epochs in bOOk-buyiDg. The Roxburgh sale
marked one the Heber another the Daniel another
not TO 60 out of England There were times when
certain books were in fashion and brought high
prices. and other times when other books became
the rage and the former were neglected.
The characteristic Of the present period is the
dearness Of all. Good books, of no matter what
description, bring if good, such prices were never
before dreamed Of. Manuscripts, incunabula early
printed books of the sixteenth century early English
aud French, Italian and even Spanish poetry and
rumances, Psaltcrs, seryice-books, Aldines and
Elzeyirs. Books of Hours whether Ms. OF printed,
books owned by famous men or women OF from
famous libraries books from the collections of
Groer, de Thou, Longepeue, from kings Libraries
OF their mistresses' books with really fine ilustra-
tions, especially of the eighteenth century, books
relating 10 America, the whole catalogue of early
Shakespeares, and Elzabethan-dramatic literature
and poetry in general. and lastly books remarkable
solely for their bindings, sought after with an
avidy unsurpassed in any days and prices are paid
ior them which would have prevented the formation
Oi most OF AL oil the great collections of former DAYS
Al apparent exception, furnished by to-days sale.
is only apparent Ihe Perkins first folio Shakespeare
brought but G5Sj while the Daniel COPY. to which
the present is probably the whole eoual fetched
G7l6, and was bought, as is well known for Mia
BurdettC QUITS. But the circumstances of that sale
are not likely TO occur again. A copy said IN he
equal 70 either of the two in question has lately been
disposed of by q London bookseller for f525 AT nri
vate sale. The three measure alike 13i by 81 inches
The Perkins copy. which ] measured to-day. is
rather over than under those figures both ways 1t
has number of rough leaves on the bottom edge
aud would be a matchless copy if the top edge had
been spared by the binder in anything like the same