The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1882-11-26

z9u,ppet, Lortic or Marius Michel; the amateurs
Of the fourth category seek the original seven
Of the us!rated books he eSSieen,S O cs
tpry witt, the plates Of Eiscn, Cochin, ,draveloi,
i9f the Basers Of Dorat s" 700 H Tor the
"Chnnsons Of Iabordc $500 for the la Fon-
cgory we have the collectors Of the curiositics
OF the literature OF the past, the early editions
the r"Ss GS nj sS @ of nI
Tours q French Gothic, ~ books; 10. the
ninth the few French collectors who buy rare
foreign books Ike the Adine Dream Of Poly,
h O, " ac h sas w r
Of manuscripts and ncunab ula, they arc so
rnre nowadays that they need not he mentioned.
Tho critics and satirists who scoir ut book
lovers. accuse them. among many other ugly
charges, of being the slaves Of fashion. That
not be denied but tho changes in that fashion
ARE not due merely to ,canrlcc, The changes
are intimately connected with the literary and
which they arc due belong TO the domain of the
science Of sociology At the, time Q, tho Re-
ing tho humanists set the fashion Of the Greek
and Latin classics. This fashion lasted ns long
as ,ho supremacy Of Latin rs the d'rlom1ntic
ward tho end of the eighteenth ccn,ury-and
fine editions OF tho classics remained dear.
A. the Comte d'lloym's sale it was the
foos Of Latin dissertnti ons, Spunhcim,
and Montfaucon that fetched the highest
mo Hai w, shs er9 TRY OF
Latin began to decline. The voltarians en-
dcavor to break with tho past altogether; at
the end OF tho eighteenth century Europe seeks
in order, stlll further 70 discrelit ,thc vulgar
the middle ages. 1t was the humanists who
invented the phrase and myth OF the barbar;;
OF the as in by wh then f
was continued with other motives by the re-
formers. by the Jansenists. and bv tho Votair;;
the Immediate and still living fcudal past. and
urged systematic war against the proceeding
s.rd s a S TnGa Srss Ds
turtles had the air ola conspiracy aga INST truth"
The reaction that set in after the French
| fury to perceive that civilization does not date
from yesterday. Hence they began. to turn
had " Ianed
had finally demolished tho ruins OF ieudalism;
WIS to Tes2e the ana
possible to, regret them 10 study them, and to
cherish what relics of them remained How
large, share the bbiophiles have had in form;
ing the artistic literary, and social formula OF
modern times ! need not say. To their re-
is due to "a great extent the rehabilitation Of
| the middle ages. the romantic movement. the
renewal OF the methods OF history, the nions
lectual. and artistic life Of the past. the crea-
ton of museums. the multiplication of private
of the past, those souvenirs of ancestors 10
each of which fibre of our heart instinctively
And in this rehabilitation OF the past and this
| pious collection Of its relics and souvenirs all
the credit is not due to the French. England
and Germany not only originated the literary
impetus, but also set the example Of storing up
the debris of preceding civilizations. For how
candles in the precious tones that came from
the libraries OF the middle ages Do not
| owe to the commercial thrift of these pepper
the tragedies OF OVID? How many volumes;
the exiled mobility did the French olution
send to The paro,ic q tbs
Indeed. II it had not been for the foreign in
vasi on. we should probably have almost, en-
LOST thu the a nf s ad IF
OF ST; Aaur. TO say nothing OF piles of auto;
graphs; parchments memoirs EN-. eatalognesi and
Hsrmitase iibr%ry at St. PeiersbarF and = the
many. Austria. and England are a standips
proof Of the service rendered TO letters by the
snnrr'4 and b"oteh saXons Teut sai, and
picked up from under, the fee. q the French.
much they may be influenced by fashion. arc
not simply crazes. They are n man Hesitation
conscience toward the past OF race, a testi-
mony o. true patriotic love. consisting In q re-
tons which have made the greatness Of 4 coun.
try. These remarks apply NOT only to that
great and vigorous French nationality which
| imposes upon the Western world its literature
its art and its fashions. but to every nation
that has a history.
To return once more TO practical biblophil-
ism. 1t is this reaction which explains anC
justitl"s the immense commercial value OF ole
TSrs book T. c9mrar"l ih ,nH hoS y.ns
OF no value. says Voitaire. II that be the case
paintings by Raphael are Of no vnnee,; So too j
IL tsls i'm tl. -
women would not seek them wher'with tc
siorn their beauty No. given the love OF books
rarity Fnrhsrmore, since books have become
relics, taking the place in our modern houHc
en1s Of ths Roman IHrs and nnatr or Of lh'
from dissertation. Hence ut the nidot sale, q
S:nnaznr" 4 vol. svo, AlJus, 1885 # AN in
it was Groliers copy. with his binding an,
motto. For the same reason enormous price
ar, paid for volumes that have belonged Il
Dime dc Ppitiers Canavar DE Thou, Lou
MIL and other notable collectors. Anothc
element in Z he calculation of the va Ne OF u bool
is the artistic quality both Of the book and q
tn. bind ing. and il is in this art g sens. tina
the modern amateurs snrpass their preiccrs
absurd. we must bear in mind thcS" three
elements of value, with all til" ,c9hcomitan eie
mcnts which they inv?lv" namely. rarity arts
tic quality. and association.
At the present time while til. price Of iln
illustrated book. of the eighteenth and also o
the present century is, still rising, the gr"a
vp..u. in France is for the original editions ~
the French Classics The French have b"ci
somewhat ta-ly in rendering this honag. I
the founders of their literary language. Still
the English were. comparatively speaking, no
shakespeare documents. The prices nowaday
ar" terrible. The Rabnlais of l!4l thrne vo!
nmr-. u'!ar;". large papnr bound by Padclour
is priced 81 1900: til" Montaign" OF 1880 wv
volumes, octave, is estimated ~ 1920; the Cor
nellie 1864 GO four volumes, octave is quoted
sieur de Molidre.' Paris, Gau- Barbin. 1919
seven volumes. duolocimo, 81 900 tonly fou
copies known: "Euvres lie Racine 1876 Q.
thr'r volumes. duodecimo, original edition
~ 900
These are of course very rare editions which
besides their extreme curiosity. have AL tn
value OF manuscripts. In contrast with thrs
! brWillnring figures. let mo cite this simpl
fact: When Victor Cousin began to study tn
society If the seventeenth century he paid -
for the thiriy-two original uunrto pamphlets /
| which the dramatic works of Pierre CORNELL
were first published The value Of these thirty
two uuurtOs is now something like st,iOO! Sti
another simple fact for the Qualification or NJ
griva,iun Of bibliophrs: In 1864 in n boo
box on the Quai Saint Michel VI. Paul Lacroi
bought and paid two francs, or forty cents, r.
the original edition Of the "Turtut1e.' whic
was sold in the Ddot sale recently for $3.50
But enough Of these figures. Bhidpnilism
n gentle passion, Il doU'p mduic and whntnvc