Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1884-11-09
nurma AslERIcAN nooKs.

Cthcoco VI UOOnS. AAo A4~f
Americanists composed Of profound stu
dents Of sthnography, and the learned Ger
man saysnts have put up the price OF every
old book on the native races OF the United
States. Since the days when RicaARn
RusH was United States minister to Eng
land, and OBADnH RICH was our despatch
agent, books on the early history OF Amer
lea have been eagerly sought for By Euro
pean bibiophiles, and to-day nearly every
I'D bookseller in England, including, tor
ia lance, such comparatively unimpOrtaui
places as Bath and Bristol make 8 speciality
Of Americana in their catalogues.
In recent years the diffusion of wealth in
this country has led so many TO collect that
the value of Americana has steadily Ia
creased. The sales Of such books in the
libraries of WILLIAM MENGrEs, GEosGE
BISLEY, J. q. Y. ARNOLD, CALEB FIsxE
HARRIS and o,hers-reschihg more than a
thousand dollars in many instances for SIN
Gle yolumes-haye shown that only million
aires can afford these varieties. The shut
ting up Of the scareest books in this way
and in the ever increasing Numbers ofPat-
lie libraries, has led collectors with mod
crate means to turn their attention to more
modern works. English books are practi-
caIly out Of the question. RrsEISs three
books, Modern Painters, Seven Lamps
and Stories of Venice" are quoted at
$500; BURNS first edition sells for $780,
for set of LEIGH HrST'S 1915 is asked
and for first editions of sneh recent writers
as DICxESs and THACEERr from $40 to $50
are asked.
Books printed in America so late as the
last century bring hundreds of dollars each
the Pennsylvania Gazettes, for example.
This brings the collector with moderate
means to the present century, and il will
doubtless surprise those unacquainted with
the state Of the book market to learn how
scarce the books of Yesterday are becoming
There are before US now three difereu;
bookse Hers advertisements asking Tor early
editions Of books by ALDRIcH, BRYANT
HAwrHoRxE, LONGFELLow, LOWELL HOLMES,
THoREAV, WHITTIER and other men, mos,
of whom are living. Many of their work;
we're printed-in editions of a few hundred
most e which are nov destroyed. l. is,
perhaps, worth while to tarry over these
moment to indicate how scarce books M!
become in these days Of lightning presses
How many people know that LoSGEsLL ~
published French grammar? How man
have seen ALDEgBH : "Pampauea, BRrANT
Width Footed Deer" HAwrHoaN2s LIB
erty Tree" Famous Old People" or "Gea,
tie Boyg' Whs knew that JArEs I. FEEL
published a volume Of poems in 1888, JAN.
RUSSELL Lowell in 1889, WHITTIER in 1881
and Pos in 1922 These books ares al
worth several dollars apiece To take an
other illustration of what few would believe
there is DICKENS "Mr. Nightengale's Diary,
published in 1878 for % cents. 1t is nov
worth three dollars. o. b. FROTHINGHAN
Life Of Gerrit Smith" was published bare
ly four years ago at about Two dollars
The first edition was withdrawn on accouu
of certain ilLadvised references, and nov
the exiant copies Of the first edition art
worth five times their original price. 3
more recent instance of this sort Of rarity
is Miss SAlLlE PRATT MCLEAN's novel
Cape Cod Folks" about which a libel suit
has recently been decided In it she satir-
lied living people BY name, and the book
was withdrawn, and the Objectionable edi-
ton is now extremely scarce Take our
own WALT WHITMAN, and his first edition
is worth from fifteen to twenty dollars. Con-
federate literature, printed on brown paper
and bound in wall paper, is getting so be
worth almost its weight in gold, because
every army post library in the country is
buying all it can afford.
From these few instances out of scores ii
will be seen that to buy American books is
to make good investment. Editions de
lure have not been mentioned. because
they-ike the new edition of HAWTHORN
are naturally increasing in value daily. All
this only serves to show. to what advantage
persons Of literary and acquisitive tastes Can
spend their time. There is hardly anything
which can be taken up which will not prove
interesting, instructive and profitable. Take
such comparatively unimportant branch O.
literature as old school books for children.
Who sees now the books their grand.fathers
studied2 1t has been found i'm
possible to get an absolutely complete and
perfect set of all the editions Of WEBSTER 5
Spoilers. These childrens books have
more interest in them than would at first
seem probable, yet IN one of them appears
the first wood-cut illustration of the first
railroad in the United States, and Scores
are filed with the best work of ALEXANDER
ANDERSON, the earEes. and one of the best
wood engravers this country has produced.
These books can now be collected for few
cents apiece. In a few years they will be
worth dollars, for the paper mill is using
them up faster and faster daily In
addition to their money value, they
will be beyond price as materials for
the McMASTER Of the future. But it is
not children's books alone that it will prove
worth while to rescue No one who has not
seen such a collection as that Mr.. s. W.
PESSYPACEER has made, Illustrative Of
Germans in America, will realize how great
aud varied is the number CT books to be
collected on almost any given subject. By
themselves many Of the books have little
value; collected together they form a mass
Of memories pour serrir, as the French
sptly call materials for history. which make