The Coalville times. [volume] (Coalville, Utah) 1894-1923, 1896-05-01

bc constantly increased by age, says an
exchange.
/ Unlike the British museum and some
F foreign libraries. the congressional Is
/ not rich In stock Of historic manu-.
scripts whose associations make them
/ priceless Two reasons have combined
10 preclude the possibility Of such coll
. lection. The nrst Is that the compare
two youth " the nation has prevented
their accumulation and delayed their
being gathered In 10 q place OF general
deposit The second Is that those yalu-
able written documents which do exist
are widely scattered and divided among
large number of custodlans.
/ As an illustration. the original OF the
declaration Of independence and a sim
liar written document OF n patriotic
character. which could not be pur-
caaod at any price arc kept in the state
department library. together with lot
OF mcmontocg roles and souvenirs.
/ other documcntH Of national Interest
are found In an OF the executive depart
monts. In most Of tho state capitals and
even IN remote and out-of-the-way
places. The last viii aud testament OF
George Washington "a to be seen In the
/ clerks office Of the little old brick court
house at Fairfax. Va.
/ II ~ almost ccrinntyFthat In the
course OF time not only all the books
but also the documents and lnstru-
monts Of writing connected with ma
tlonal history will be collected and
form a valuable ana interesting section
In the congressional library
hut when all things are taken into
consideration II will be found that tho
congressional library has n fair quota
Of rare and curious publications. both
OF foreign and home issue. A point has
always been made TO purchase what
ever books may be OF interest or utll-
ity. while tho operation OF the copy
right law adds each year thousands Of
volumes OF the miscellaneous assort-
mont.
when the reporter asked Mr.. A. r.
Spoford. the veteran librarian. who Ii
familiar with almost every book Of
which he ls the custodian. concerning
the age and value OF the moro rare vol
umes In the library, he said.
"The llbrar, OF congress. while not
notably rich In early printed books. has
many hundreds OF volumes OF great rar-
fly and value. OF books printed prior
10 the year 1900 or what are known as
Incunabula. or cradle books. published
In the infancy OF the art Of printing.
there are some 400 volumes. represent.
Ing every year from 1867 TO 1900. These
are all printed In black letter or Gothic
type. and are propOnderatcly In the
Latin language, although some are In
Italian and French.
The oldest book In the library Ia n
'Cons:i,atlon OF 81. Clement a folio of
1867, on large. handmade paper. In
beautiful gothic type. and ls remarka.
bic for the elegance and uniformity OF
what printers would term the linking
In fact, the cvennoss OF tho impression
on every leaf would do credit TO tho
best printing Office OF the nineteenth
century.
Among the most valuable and inter,
ostlng Of early printed books In ouI
national library are the first editions
OF many notable English writer's. Thor,
"a an original OF the FIRST Shakespeare
folios Of 1923. as well as original cop,
les OF the three succeeding editions Of
tho immortal bard in folio.
"The first edition Of Millions Para.
disc Lost, OF Buttons Anatomy OF Mel,
ancholy' and OF walton's Complete
Angler. rare and curious book. arS
also found
"Some very early blnck-lottcr trans
lations Of the Greek and Latin au,
thors. ms oyld's 'Mctamorphoses.
Pllny's Natural History Virgil, Ho,
mer, Seneca'a Morals, Cicero, Plu,
tarch's Lives. Livy etc. are 10 be found
in the collection. Tho FIRST editions Of
most OF the great English writer's OF the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries
have been gathered, while OF authors
who are honored with several reprinted
editions. the last and the best editor
is also generally found.
I'm early printed books relating t.
America, both north and south" he con
tinued. 1.-THE congressional library Il
particularly rich. Here may be seer
John Smiths map OF New England
printed In 1916, which Is actually AZ
account OF Virginia, and is the frs
history OF that early colony, put fortl
with n map. Numerous tracts an,
PAMPHLETS relating to Virginia, publish
ed between 1909 and 1850, are also
here.
THE original OF Hlamor's Vlrglnli
history. Thomas History OF Pennsylya
mia. Deuton's New York, Josselynl
New England. Lawson's Carolina, Led
erors Virginia, with map, and other
too numerous TO name in this collection
are among the precious nuggets Of thi
government library.
Some OF the most valuable and IN
common OF the Americana. In the YER.
rare cases when put up at auction from
priyate libraries. bring from 500 4
e.OO each