, 1873-06-29

swered, II should not think OF sending bid OF
less than 52o, 600! J" We shall know tomorrow
how near the entimato comes to tho actual price,
and whether the Shakespeare first folio, an
nounced as equal to the Daniel copy, is to equal
or surpass it IN price.
The first day, though somewhat deficient in
prices we're certainly, III some cases, o1traor-
binary. Putting Ms. aside, the gem OF the col
lection WAS Bible in two Volumes folio, on
velum with llumnsted capitals. being the first
edition Of the Latin Bible, with 3 date (l462), q
book OF great rarity on paper. but, cur'ously
| enough, less rare on yellu1u, If Brunet is to be
trusted, who sayB that forty copies exist On vel
lum and only twenty on paper. This il due, no
doubt, to the great durability Of vellum and the
| greater care taken OF such copies. The present
] copy has been in number Of Well-known libra
! ries, and has fetched at different sales little
| under or over 81 900. In 1898, it Was sold for
] $lO75 and afrerward, at the Dent sale, for $685.
according to Brunot; but, If remember rightly,
the sum was 81. 1855 q. g., either E173 or E273)
| On Tuesday, the principal bidders we're MessrB.
Ellis, Stevens, and Quaritch, all booksellers, and
it was knocked down to the latter for E780-
50, 300.
| LoSDox, June 6.-m all the annals OF Biblio-
| mania,-and they arc numerous, there is
nothing to equal the last dny's sale Of tho
Perkins Library. There havo been far more
| remarkable collections of books than that owned
! been saics which extended over ten times IS
| many days. There have been sales-though
| not many-which produced in the aggregate
| greater sum than WAS taken in the four days
Perkins c.binet. But never before was there
sale in which 80 few books brought 50 much
money, never ono in which over Ell, 900 $780,
0oo) wore bid in single day, naver one in
hammer tbs four Shakespeare tolos and two
copies Of the Mazarin B.bc. The first
Shakespeare folio in fine condition,
as this vas, is Of -, itselt enough
been almost lost sight of in the spiendor Of
two incomparably more precious volumes.
Probably in no private library we're two copies
OF the MazArin Bible ever before united, ,-cer-
vellum 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 lesst Of these two Never but once
has any printed book brought half 80 much. It
would seem as if tho steadily and rapidly in
creasing prices OF rare books have at last reach
ed point beyond which they cannot much fur
ther go-though mean to make no prediction
There have been various epochs in book-buyiug.
The Roxburgh sale marked one. the Heber an
other, the Daniel another-not to go out Of
England. There we're times when certain books |
wers in fashion and brought high prices, and
other times when other books became the rage
aud the former wero neglected.
The characteristic Of the present period is the |
dearness Of all. Good books, OF no matter what |
description, bring, il good, such prices as we're |
never before dreamed of. Manuscripts, incuna-
bula, early printed books OF the sixteenth CEN
even Spanish poetry and romances, Psalters,
service-books, Adines and Elzoyira. Books Of
Hours, whether manuscript or printed, books
owned by famous men OF women or from famous
libraries, books from the collections OF Grolier, /
de Thou, Longepierre. from Kings libraries or |
their mistresses, books with really fine lluatra-
tions, especially Of the eighteenth century,
books relating to America, tho whole catalogues
~ C1.n1yn boz |
literature and poetry in general, and, lastly,
books remarkable solely for their bindings, are
sought after with an aEidity unsurpassed in any
days, and prices ara paid for them which would
have prevented the formation OF most or all Of |
the great collections of former days.
An apparent exception, furnished by to-day's
sale, is only apparent. The Perkins first folio
Shakespeare brought but E585 while the Daniel
copy, to which the present is probably on the
whole equal, fetched E716, and was bought. as
is well known, for Miss Burdett-Coutts. But
the circumstances Of that sale are not likely to
occur again. copy said to be equal to either
of the two in question has been lately disposed
OF by 8 London bookseller for $685. at private
sale. The three measure alike 1875 by 81 inches.
The Perkins copy. which 1 measured to-day, is
rather over than under those figures both ways.
It has number Of rough leaves on the bottom
edge, and would be matchless copy If the top
like the same proportion as the bottom. But
nearly all the margin is gone at the
top. No really fine copy OF the book is known.
II one should ever turn up in an uncut
state, nobody can say what price it might not
bring. The title Of this copy is rebacked, and
the inner edge mounted, the impression OF the
portrait good, the last leaf unusually sound, and
al the leaves including the verses arc Of course
xas the buyer, and considering how Manchester
aas long competed with London in pictures,
here is nothing extraordinary in fine frat folio
being allowed to 60 to q provincial town. The
both fine copies, and cheap. The fourth was
bought by Mr. Probasco, OF Cincinnati, for ez2,
lso fine copy.
The Mazsrin Bible gota its name from the
act that the copy first known to all bibho-
distinction Of being, probably, The first edition
II the Latin Bible, and the first book printed
With metal types by Guttenberg and Faust. AS
t has no dato (the first edition with a date is
tated conjecturnlly, as not earlier than 1850 nor
ater than 1855 The description in the auction I
er's catalogue follows Dibdin in many particu- l
ara, but Dlbdin Qhough his books, from their 1
han ever) Is no longer an authority, nor is he t
0 be trusted in any matter where a1actness is {
oquired~ However, thore can be little doubt +
hat this book was printed at Mayence, and We | t
ore the sheets were worked oil the cost Of it t
I'D reached 1000 aorlns. Whether on paper or c
u vellnna, it is one Of tho finest books aud c
arest in the world, and one OF the finest as well !
8 earliest specimens Of printing. One can al !
lost agree with The cataloguer that lin con-
smplatiug this work, the mind is lost in aston t
hment that the inventors Of printing should, :
: single effort, have exhibited the perfection t
t their art.n /
The book is in tHo volumes folio (but the vol e
In copies are printed on single, unfolded 8
heets), printed in double columns OF a lines q
sch, excepting the eight, which have 20, and t
1a ninth and senth. which have Il. Il rightly q
nderstood Ar Henry Stevens, the copies On | q
alum differ from the copies on paper to such {
i extent that they are really two different edi- z
ons; the number Of lines varying il the two, .