The herald., 1896-08-21
" here the BibIiOmaniac FOrgets
Earthly Woes
THE GASES OF QUAINTNESS
Which Fascinate the Book Lover and the
Collector
Anticipated and Dogs Eared Volumes with
Storie, Outside as Well as Inside Their
Dilapidated Covers

| hand bookstalls in our big cities to get the
real aroma and atmosphere of books
| These boohstalls arc usually in tie by.
ways, and they are oases of quaintness and
fascination to the bibliomanac and col.
lector. These old boolstalls are usually
sandwlched in between other shops or
down in grimy Easements. The master is
all of piece with his wares, in the scar
and yellow leaf, down at heels, out at ell
| bows, and general air of dilapdation-
| just as the books arc bit the worse on
the outside for the battle of life, but with
in contain heart as pure and young as
| when the back was straight and the cover
| thing of beauty. Few of these old book
| stalls arc ever advertised. One stumbles
! upon them The dingy shelves often hide
| among countless miscellaneous Volumes
rare treasures, veritable finds, editions
long out OF print, autographic editions
that have drfted into this promiscuous
collection of old books no ono knows how.
All these books are old veterans, who
could tale unfold besides that bound and
printed between the covers Some of these
books wear the antiquated garb of vellum,
so fashionable in our eat-grandfathers
days; somo have quaint, black letter type,
with curiously illuminated chapter initials
At tho bookstall the new book counts
for naught, and the shabby old book takes
precedence Many and various are the
reasons why old books acquire their value
They may belong to limited editions or to
editions that have long been out of print;
they may be autographic or have valua-
bic ex libris, or bookplate of some former
owner. Be it primer, almanac, Bible or,
in fact, anything between covers, with this
tzacn rrsas s,Ni Al.
red letter day to the finder. Age at the
bookstall is at premium that in many
cases goes for bargain. The uninitiated
mortal little thinks of all this as he heed
lessly passes these dingy old stalls, while
the collector or bibliomanac is ever on the
qui vive to find an Elzevir, an Aldine or
Bordoni or early American editions with
the Bradford or Benjamin Franklin i'm
print.
Not long since friend of mine became
the happy owner of an extended" edition
of Tho New York Stage" in which
great amount of additional newspaper clip
pings on the stage had been bound in with
the book, besides plates and photographs
of the successive actors and actresses that
have delighted the public for years. This
valuable edition was procured for mere
song, and the same lucky mortal picked
up first edition of Thackeray's works,
with broken backs and dog cared leaves.
My friend showed mo his treasures with
the pride OF q Pompey and told me of tho
remarkable old fellow of whom he had
purchased the books. This old man l aft
erward interviewed, and 1 found him
character. Although not u literary man,
he had inhaled the book atmosphere so
long that by q strange intuition he knew
the inside as well as tho outside of his
wares, rs if the books had confided to him
all their secret being. Then he had CLEAN
ed q lot of valuable information from col
lectors and experts. Out of the confusion
worse confounded that always reigns in a
bookstall the cid vender can produce just
what one asks for without any real search
in dark, dingy, dusty corners, where to
the purchaser disorder seems supreme.
These old stalls have fascination for me.
weave stories about these books that are
now like sollc lives tossed about from pill |
lar to post.
For the collector London offers rare op-
portunitics il the district about St Pauls.
And Paris is unique in the stalls over
hanging the Seine, where all sorts and
conditions Of men hover over all sorts and
conditions Of books while the busy river
glides on between the walled up banks
giving to the observer marvellous effects of
light and shade, and the old city breathes
its strange sell that has won so many
lovers for her from ell quarters Of the globe
Down on the Quay Voltaire the time
passes like the wind, for between the fas-
cinating old books and the panorama of
nature and humanity and the capricious
wreaths of smoke that give shade of
mystery to the scene, I often found that
twilight was slowly yielding to the mys-
terious reign OF night, and l had neglected
my business among the old books and had
been dreaming dreams and seeing visions
And far above the spires and dwellings of
Paris, darkly outlined against a luminous
background of western sky, was the young
crescent moon glistening, q golden scythe
in field of countless stars The old vend-
er bustled about, up and down, locking
up his cases of wares, on business intent,
never so much as giving one glance at the
glorious benediction shed by the parting
day.
Many an hour have spent on the Quay
Voltaire, which is given over to the old
book boxes. These boxes extend from the
Rue du Bac. Sauntering along, one over
looks the floating baths, the swimming
schools and the busy little "mouche'
suedlnDOttlS us uney Ply 10 anu IrO. AL
this section is traditional Paris, and the
famous Latin quarter is but a stones
throw. After one has spent some time
among these old books and the collectors
the types become very familiar and pro-
nounced, such as the student, the priest,
the artist, the lawyer, the bibliomaniac,
and so on. Over tho much travelled Pont
Neuf one continual stream of men of bust
ness, laborers, seamstresses, hucksters,
idlers and sightseers are moving and it is
amusing to see how large q proportion stop
and cast an eye over the old books and
handle them, each taking a homeopathic
dose Of literature gratis, while the river
runs its course below. But the collector
hovers, like bee over the flowers. In
olden times mankind had other employ
ment. They devoted their days and hours
to action; books were to them a dead letter.
Bibliomania seems the outcome of an
everlasting passion of the heart, madness
for books. Book collectors have been at it
from remote times. Sir Hans Sloane, the
founder of the British museum, began in
this humble way to get few books about
him, which ended in that world famous
collection. Here "the small, dark vol
ume, rich with tarnished gold, is cheaply
puachased at its weight in gold. Spring
field Republican.