Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1878-03-15
Mr., Henry Stevens, OF London, and his List OF
BibIes,

who know MT. ot''euS' ~
reputation, as son of the late Henry
Stevens, of Barnet, and for time OF Bur
lington, and as a collector, whose enterprise
aided BY his fathers ransackings OF the book
stores, Libraries and garrets Of Vermont mas
s.rinned our State of thousands Of valuable |
historical books, records, newspaper mes
etc. which now rest on the shelves OF the |
British Museum. Our readers Will thank
us for copying it :
LONDON, Feb. 22.-Mr. Henry Stevens has |
reprinted in separate and very elegant vol
ume that portion of the Ca1ton Exhlbition
Catalogue which was his own work, and
dealt with Bibles. of favor there Is never |
any want in any production OF Mr. Henry |
Stevens. He Is an iluStration-not the only
one. but one of the best-ot the truth tha'
Bibliosrarher need not be a DryaSdust that
the patient industry which aecumuiates a
store Of minute facts is sometimes enlIvened
bv wit and humor. Mr.. Henry Stevens IL
in his own departments one OF the most ac-
complished of living photographers Nobody
Knows more than he does about books relat-
iog tn America. 1t is he who has brought
tovethcr that unrivalled collection in the
British Museum "a collection more conplete
than any collection that has been made in or
for America or that ever can be maue.
rnbapnilv IL contains such number oil
books, either unique or so rare thar tney
.lmost never occur, or so seldom occurring
together in the same library, yet OF such
value fer the history of America, that the
American student who occupies himself with
INQUIRIES about his own country must come
here to pursue them to the end lhere
never can be library in America so rlch
in American books as this foreign collection
is. Not a pleasing reflection, certainly, 10
the patriotic American. don't know that
Mr.. Stevens can fairly be reproached win
his share in bringing about such state Oh
things, though but for him the state OF things
might never have existed. His business was
and is that of buyer and seller Of books as
agent and otherwise and the British Museum
early employed him as such. and got the
benefit of his multifarlous and accurate
knowledpe. He Was at work for that IL
stitution when the rage for early printed
American books and books concerning Amer
lea had hardly begun. Books which now
fetch pounds could then be had Tor as many
uepce. Books which then passed tor worth
less and were neglected BY al! but one or two
spacious enthusiasts, are now ranked
among the rarest and most precious OF bloli-
ogranbical prizes. Had the Library Com
mittee of Congress-if such committee
existed at that time-sought Mr.. Stevens )
services. no doubt he would have done Tor
the great library at Washington what he has
| done for the greater library of London. nc
hottest posterity will deplore the short
| sighted ignorance which permitted these
treasures to seek a final resting place any
where out of America.
On Bibles, Mr.. Stevens is perhaps, as
strong as on Americana. | can think oil
no Englishman who is so high an authority
as this Vermonter, Tin all photographer
knowledge relating to printed Bibles; Inc
committee of last years Ca1ton kxhibition'
when they had finally resolved to group
Bibles as a distinct class. chose Mr.. Stevens
to take charge of them. Under his foster
ing, the class became a large one; curious
" so considering that this was Caxton
Exhibition and that Caxton printed no
Bible. Mr.. Stevenss theory was, however
to show in his own department, tine history
of printing as illustrated by the printed
Bible, from 1850 to 1877. The class con-
tains over 500 titles, and the list is OF course
representative only. How far 1t is from
being exhaustive NAV be seen from Mr.. Ste
yenss statement, that he has been endeavor
ing during the last quarter OF a century Oh
more, to compile complete list OF printed
Bibles from the earliest period to the present
time, and the very remarkable result IS
table of some 10000. titles representing
about 35 900 volumes. The collection
of last Summer seems small indeed compared
with the 5000 titles in the library o.
Wolfenbuttel, or the 5000 in the Roya
Library of Stuttgart, or the 10000 OF th'
British Museum the latter the richest col
lection in the world, yet itself containing
hardly more than half the number OF separ
ate editions which have actually beer
printed. Mr.. Stevens mentions the Lenol
Library of New York a. probably unsurpass
ed in rare and valuable editions, especial.
in the English language, by any library
public or private. lie ought to know, 10
be formed it. The reader who may hap
pen to be ignorant of photographed rudi
mepts nay wonder how it is that catalogue
of 90 small collection as the 500 volume
in the Caxton Exhibition can have 50 grea
value. The secret lies partly IN tn
neculiar character of the collection, and tn
method by which it was brought together
One man, Mr.. Henry j, Atkinson, len
above 400 editions. Some of those, say
Mr.. Stevens, are of very considerable rarlt,
and value, while others, though not Of tn
choicest or rarest kind, are. very many o
them, of the middle class of Biblical bib!iog
raphy, which are so difficult to meet with
and which are of such immense importance
the student in arriving at clear history o
editions, versions and TRANSACTIONS. Ina
remark touches one of the weak points Q
bibliography, and, still more, Of book collec
tors There is a craze for rarity, and boo
which somebody else does not want ha
little value for the biblomaniac. Scores G
these editions, continues Mr.. Stevens, ar
not in the British Museum. and he know
, not where else 20 lay hands on them.
The other thing that makes this catalogu
of so much worth is the quality OF the wor
done on it The Introduction is master
piece in its way. The titles are given wit
a fullness and accuracy which he who ha
been most often tormented by the oppost
! qualities in the generality of catalogues vii
best appreciate. And the notes are wha
, notes should bc-briei sometimes, also, No
brleD accounts oil the book or edition i
question, its history or peculiarities, 1t
merits and defects, its place with reierenc
to other copies of the same book, and so on
, The Introduction contains, moreover,
( learned and ingenious treatise on the grea
Coyerdale Bible, the first Bible printed
t the English tongue. To Mr.. Stevens be
t longs the merit OF establshinga strong prof.
t ability that the Coverdale Bible was printe
nj Antwerp finished October /, 1850 b
: Jacob Van Meteren. and not, as heretOtOr
= generally believed, at Zurich, by Frosch(
$ yer. He himself considers the point proved
and not only this, but that Van Meteren, an
p not Coverdale, was the probable translator
D Coserdale being only the reyiser- The Cor
e sentative Brton, ever slow to accept ne
4 iGels or facts, shrinks from adopting tw
i such startling propositions at once. especn
D ly the latter Mr.. George Bulen- Keeper
j the Printed Books, British Museum, IN h
0 Preface to the General Catalogue OF tn
r Caxton Exhibition, shows himself inclined
c admit the first proposition, but dlssents II
0 togetber from the second We shall, | dal
C saw, hear more about the matter in NJ
!. Steyens's forthcoming book on Printe
Bibles, to which he refers the ''courageor
reader" He himself also has courag
enough to dedicate this present volume
n the Burromaster and Council of the City
!. Antwerp, a. successors to the enllghtenf
- and liberty loving Burgomasters and CounC
-, Of the same ancient and renowned city,
whom our ancestors owed their first Engli-
Bible.
a At the end OF the volume will
+ found-what cannot be found elsewhere-
n full and true history Of the production OF Il