The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1886-04-08
"A COSTLY MANIA.
Ihe Most Curious Specimen Of the
Idiosyncrasies of Character.

A|G MDs6 CURIOUS specimen OF tn6
Idiosyncrasies of Character.
There are few among the idiosyn-
-srasies of character more curious than
/ the passion for making collections of
things esteemed singular or valuable.
Some men gather together museums of
the most absurd and incongruous char
acter, in which cast-off clothing, an
cient furniture, old coins, defunct uten-
sils and forgotten fashions are mingled
confusedly with valuable or valueless
books, manuscripts and autographs.
One person has an incredible mania for
every conceivable kind of buttons, and
heaps up an enormous collection of all
sorts, shapes, sizes and materials. An
others special weakness is postage
stamps, and all the civilized govern
ments of the globe are ransacked to
make his collections of stamps perfect.
A third dotes upon street ballads, and
gathers thousands of doggerel rhymes
together, to be scattered to the four
winds, probably, by their next possess
scr. Still another is addicted TO old
coins. and will show you his assortment
OF rusty coppers and begrimed silver
pieces with fatherly pride, while he
| tells no end of stories of the very rare
| cent of such year, and of the almost
unknown half-dollar of such another.
We know one man, not wholly devoid
of sense, who has made collection of
andirons, or those old-fashioned sup
i, porters of fire-wood which used to or
nament the wide, open fire-placas of
'sauld lang syne." We verify believe
that he would travel fifty miles to
secure new and unique pattern of that
once familiar household utensil.
From the world-famous Mr.. Toodles
Of the comedy, who would buy all the
useless trumpery at auctions, including
coffins, because it was $50 handy to
have 'em in the house," to the pas
sionate collector of rare books, or the
enthusiast of fine pictures, there is a
wide interval. Yet there is something
of the singular and of the unreasonable
common to both. Does not every book
| collector, unless he is man of single
| aim as well as infiexible purpose, buy
| multitudes of books which he does not
| want and never readsp If this is not
| at once attasted by the self-conscious-
| ness of the reader, twill be fully borne
out by the well-knoWn and notorious
experience of multitudes. We have
the testimony of experts to prove that,
of all the private libraries collected
with such cost and pains by the multi
tudes of men of taste and fortune,
about nine-tenths come to the hammer
in the lifetime of the collectors OF the
remaining tenth the greater portion
are scattered, upon their decease, by
the same inexorable agency. How
seldom is the taste for books inherited!
'sHe heapeth up riches and knoweth
not who shall gather them,'' is even
truer OF rich libraries than of pecuniary
wealth. Cicero's only son was
blockhead, and the children of Daniel
Webster did not inherit their fathers
genius. The five libraries on special
subjects, which the devotees of angling,
chess. horsemanship, anecdotiana,
chemistry, magic, etc., have sedulously
assembled, are nearly always dispersed,
and that which it cost from quarter
to half a century to gather is scattered
irremediably in a few hours.
The casualties which occur to scat
ter collections of books in the lifetime
of their owners are numerous and po-
tential. With some the means give
out long before the taste is gratifed or
the desire for collecting satisfied. With
others want of room to store grow
ing collection operates as remorselessly
as want of means to others. Good house,
wives are proyerbially jealous of many
books, doubtless for double reason,
and there are few, indeed, who will
suffer the encroachments of an over
flowing library upon their favorite sit
ting-room or parlor, or any space sed-
uously devoted to show or use. So the
poor book collector, despairing of get
ting room in his present domicile, and
unable, perhaps, topull down his house
and build bigger, abandons the pursuit,
and ''sells OUT in self-defence. With
many others the passion for collecting
proves transitory, and disappears as
suddenly and 49, mipusly as it arrived.
Boston and M ek are always full
of private libraries, sent to auction or
to private sale, by amateurs with whom
the mania for book collecting is an ex-
hausted sensation. The books are
eagerly seized upon by fresh book-hunt-
ers, and solemnly shelved in private
haunts in all parts of the country, to
be used, enjoyed, abused or neglected,
in turn, until the time arrives for them
to take up their inevitable round.--
Racfos, PaI~1oof