The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-05-21
PRIVATE LIBRARIES.
,cu-pRICED BOOKS OWNED BY
DISTINGUISHED AMERICANS.

DIsTINGUISH HE'D AMERICANS.
1rterview With Charles Southeran
THE Library of Bancroft, the Histo-
-,or-.Tey Gould's Immense Collec-
.,or of Rare Books-Fabulous Prices
"a for Books-Robert Hoe as a
Bionophile.
NEW YORK, May 19.-"Roscoe Conkling
os an excellent judge of books, and biblio-
1S[ists will enjoy rare opportunities of
i.-,ast,nent if his library is offered for
sale" -
,t,;onbilist. in a recent interview with the
Tor Mr.. Southeran was born among
"oolys He is an Englishman, and his uncle
;. +ba head of the English book houses of
So,+beran, in Piccadilly, London. He has
s.,,diad hooks since he could read and has
Town ND among them. For years he has
20, connected with the press of this coun-
t.r as book reviewer and literary critic.
~ has handled more books and manuscripts
SION anv other man in the country, knows
II obout the private libraries of all the
tibliomaniacs and knows by instinct
,rbo+ber an old manuscript is worth 10 cents
or 800. He possesses a rare knowledge OF
+bo treasures of missals, curios, rare edi-
tione engravings, erotica and manuscripts
Ea was found recently at his office on
Broadway examining the books of l.. Del
,1onte. an old Cuban. He chatted pleas
nntIv about the books and about the buyers.
~ bohemian his room presented an odd
G1IGcalS mo-
crriints we're strewn in every direction; dust
law thick on some of them. They were al
-vsitinr for him to study and to catalogue
,.aodv for sale No one can handle these
hooks until Mr.. Southeran has looked at
+bon Many bibliophile would be willing to
1--WE ANYTHING to he able to see
9hem and handle them. Talk
inc of valuable books Mr.. Southeran said
"fbe highest price ever paid for book was
$4,000. 1t was for vellum mlssal which
Ipos presented to King Henry VIII. by Pope
1eo The missal was accompanied by g
document making King Henry the defender
Of the faith. 1t is now in the possession OF
the German government. Charles ii. gave
II To an ancestor of the Duke of Hamilton
and it was sold few years ago in the sale
Of the Duke of Hamilton's library. There
is Hebrew Bible in the Vatican. Attempt:
have often been made to purchase it. The
LEWIS of Venice offered to give its weight in
rod The offer was declined. The Bible
Consists Of vast roll of manuscript which
requires two men to carry it, and the
offer would have totaled up about 500, 600
This is the largest offer ever made for one
book"
The most valuable manuscript in this
country, Judging from the price paid, is
in the possession of John Jacob Aston 1t
is the Sforza Missal and was bought in
April last year for SIS 500. 1t is of a relig.
ious Character and is by Francesca Fiippo
Lippi the great Florentine artist of the
Renaissance, and was prepared from Gale
azzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan, and
brotBr-in-law of Louis XI. King of France.
1t is;manuscript measuring 1879 inches by
81 iches; it has 4S4 pages of vellum and
is bdndin red morocco. 1t is dated in the
ffte4th century.
AIT of missals, consisting Of five vol
umeI was bought in March of last year by
s. Buryea of Brooklyn. 1t cost 5000 and
comrises the choir books with the full
musal score used in a European monas-
terry 1t was written in the fifteenth CEN
fury The bindings are very strong. Iron
nail4re studded all over the covers.
Ii Lunettes DIES Princes, published in
1523y Galliot du Pre-, sold recently for
S2Oq is small volume, measuring about
6 mfs by inches 1t was bound by
Trak-Bauzonnet in crushed levant mo-
rocd The work on the cover both inside
andutside is very handsome.
Alittle volume called "Chansons ct
Mo$" sold for 5000. 1t is one of the
hanbmest bound books ever made. The
bindg is exquisite. 1t was made for
Hen II. of France and was presented by
himE love gift to his mistress Diana of
Poites. 1t measures 81 inches by "a
inch 0O6 contains pllH M. Rrau
ton bs is the owner now. 1t is superbly
bouln original French binding, richly
goldpoled and mosaiced and gauffered
edgan modern purple velvet leather
lnedrop case.
r4lan manuscript sold little while
agot $235. These manuscripts are very
rardt rs magnifcently illustrated manu-
scrilcodex of Firdusi's Epic of Kings"
1t hforty-five pages of large paintings,
wilbur superb headings, painted in the
stypf Persian photography Its size is
l42fches by S$s inches, and is bound in
m0fco.
Imperfect copy of the first folio of
ShaSpeare's Comedies, Histories and
Iradles, published according to the true
onial copies in London, printed by Isaac
Iaard and Edward Blount in 1923, was
soltecently. 1t is a thick small folio,
me nring 1874 inches by 81 inches, and
Wapoqnd by j. Clarke in the STYLE of
Rdr Payne and in Russian extra gilt.
Ihe are thirty-six plays in it. A perfect
coAls worth $4,000. A second folio of
SShespeare, printed by Thomas Coates and
Kart Alot, and sold at the sign of the
lex Beare," in st. Paul's Churchyard, in
i0i sold for Sly So Itmeasured - inches
tDyP4 inches and was bound by w. Pratt
crushed levant morocco, with super
glh1arlelan gold tooling inside and with
solhorders and gilt edges. A fourth folio
Oh fakespeare is worth SS7. 1t contained
SsN new plays never before printed.
II1g We're " Pericles, Prince of Tyre" 1.-THE
4hon Prodigal," "The History of Thomas
~ Cromwell. "Sir John Odcastle,"
FRA CobEam," 1.-THE Puritan Widow"
Yorkshire Tragedy" and 1.-THE Tragedy