Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1877-09-14
The Great CaNtOn Exhibition.

The Great CaNtOn Exhibition.
| We live in era OF Centennials. For tn
past ten years Centennial anniversaries hav'
been celebrated IN all parts of Europe ant
| America They embrace not only the hun
dredth year of an event, but sometimes cele
brate the second, third, fourth, and in on'
instance the one thousnndth' anniversary, n
that of the settlement of Iceland, which tool
place three years ago. These centennia
celebrations will doubtless continue to taxi
place in the United States until lSs3 when
peace took place between Great Britain ant
the United States at the close of the war o
the Revolution.
One of the most interesting events OF thu
kind which has taken place is that of the
four hundredth anniversary Of the introduc
ton of printing into England by William
Caxton. which is now being celebrated nj
South Kensington, in London, and which
seems to awaken very great interest. moi
alone in England. but throughout Europe
and the United States
The whole civilized world is interested in
the art of printing, and during the last fifty
years an extraordinary interest has been
manifested in collections of books of earl
printers, TO show the progress OF the art.
| Men of taste and wealth have We'd with each
other in securing the publications. of Guten-
berg and Faust, the inventors of printing
with movable types and next to them one
or more specimens of other early printers,
down to the year 1900. But enthusiastic
collectors. if their purses are sufficiently
long. do not stop here, but gather specimens
OF the publications o: the presses of the
| early part of the sixteenth century, promi-
| nent among which are those from the Aldlne
| press.
The Germans having had their celehra-
tions connected with the names of the first
| printers, 1t was quite proper that England
| should celebrate the introduction OF the art
in that country 10y Caxt0n. With this view,
the projectors of the exhibition made known
their intentions, and invited all who pos
sessed the publications of CaAton, as well AS
of other early printers in England, to con
tribute to it. The scheme took we'll Queen
Victoria herself being among the first to be
come patron and to contribute largely TO
the collection Prince Leopold, the Arch
bishops of York and Canterbury, the Sta
TONERS Company, the Duke of Deyonshire.
Earls Spencer and StanhOpe, the Bodmn
Library at Oxford Cambridge University.
the University of Ghent and Gottingen, and
the British Museum also contributed some of
their literary treasures. Besides tht st, most
of the private collectors who possessed books
Of the continental printers cont mporary
with Caxton, OF other examples illustrative
of printing and book making cheeriully con
tributed them.
II should here be observed that books from
Cations press as well as those of other early
printed books are OF great conmercal value.
This depends first, on their scarcity, and
second, upon their condition. W some Of
Caxton's publications but single copy is
lpnup a npa upull readily command
5000 Of others from two to ten or more
exist which may be more or less perfect,
some copies being deficient in their title
pages or elsewhere. In some the leaves at
the beginning and end are gone, while others
are soiled and muiilatcd. But clean and
perfect copy OF any of Caxtons IS books IL
worth from 81, 900 TO $1,000.
The earliest of the memorials of CaXton
in the exhibition and the first book printed
III the English language is the "Recuyell of
the Histories of Troye" 1t bears no date.
but is supposed TO have been printed at
Bruges, where Caxton learned his art about
li7I. 1t has the following inscription in the
handwriting of the Queen of Edward lN.
This boke is mine, tluene Elizabet, late
Wife unto the most noble King Edward the
forthe, off whose sooles y beseche almighty
Code to his onfinyght mercy above, Amen"
There Is also copy of the first book printed
in England. by Caxton. entitled The Dictes
and Notable Wise Sayings of the fhiloso-
piers, emprynted by one William Caxton, at
Westmestre, li77." OF the ninety-nine dis
tinct works from Cations press known, eighty
are in the exhibition. But the number of copies
exhibited is l5l. OF these, Queen Victoria
contributes four Lord Spencer, hom his
magnificent library at Althorp tfty-seyen
the Duke of Devonshire, eighteen the Earl
of Jersey. seven. and the Archbishop of
Canterbury. three
But the most valuable printed book lis not
a Caxton. The so-called Mazarine Bible,
printed by Gutenberg and Faust between
1850 and 1i5G, would command four times
that OF the rarest CaXton. \ copy Of this
Bible, or first printed book on paper was
sold at auction, in London in 1873, for e.
$50, and one on vellum for -. 400. One of
these is in the exhibition.
There il also fourteen specimens OF block
books IN the collection. These books pre-
ceded the invention of printing. Each page
of IA block book Is cut from wooden block,
and generally contains some scene from the
Bible OF New Testament. with few lines,
descriptive OF the scene, beneath. The size
is usually quarto or folio, of from twenty
to fifty leaves. These books were executed
from 400 to 1850. Their commercial value
is from Sl,OO0 to $1,000 each. Several OF
these are III the Lenox Library, New York
and We doubt if there aIr any other copies IN
the United States.
Queen Victoria loanet. a number of her
literary treasures to the Caxton exhibition,
an evidence that Her Majesty is II lover of
choice books, and Possesses II fine library.
Among these were the Mentz Psalter. OF
l457. the first printed book bearing II date
(lhe Mazarin Bible has no dntel. III, Queen
also sends copy of the folio Shaksperlan Of
1852 with the autograph OF Charles |.
In the exhibition are also fine series of
Bibles, II collection of ancient music, pOr
traits of distinguished early printers, and II
gallery filled with printing presses OF various
kinds from the ancient two-pull' To the
latest improvements III printing and type
setting machinery. The exhibition WAS
opened on the 3uth Of July with II prayer 10y
the Archbishop OF York. followed hy icw
words 10y Mr.. Gladstone, declaring the cXhi-
hltIon open.
Some odd things cropped out i'll the rocep
tion and selection of books Tor the exhibi-
ton. The managers having requested the
owners of rare and enrly books, illustrative
OF the art of printing, some very curious
ones were sent III. Among them u copy of
Doddrdge's Rise and Progress was rec
"mmcndcd ns fifty years old. very clean, hut
wanting the title page" Numcruu" enquI-
res were mad" for the iirht edition of Shakes
p'are printed 10y CHAton. not knowing that
tnxtun lived hundred and fifty years before
the great bard
A lew oi taXton', publications. nrc IN this
country. la the Lennon lihntry, New York,
are several and We think few are III the
hands of private collectors very fine
specimen Ii IA one OF the well known private
libraries "a ltrnKIi.pFp