New-York tribune., 1899-12-10
GRANGERISM.
THE FAsCINATING PURSUIT or EXTRA
ITJ.TCTRATINC

l., boo,, collectors call the harmless art Of the
grangcrite a crime They who so harshly Judoe
grangerism are not necessarily 'bgot5 OF the
iron time" they may be owners Of valuable
hooks who have suffered from the nrOadS Of the
larccnou5 kind Of grangerite. Rather more than
q hundred years ago. one James Granger pub
Iishod a Biographical History of England
which was Just the sort Of book which should
have been profusely illustrated, as it was not
those who bought copies set to work stealing
engravings OF all the worthless recorded in the
book and interviewing or pa5ting them in. TINS
is one account of the word: the other IS that
Granger himself first hit upon the idea OF extra
illustrating one book with pictures taken from
another, Increasing both its bulk and It's interest
1t is plain that the taste or passion for
grangcrizing may be a temptation to theft, just
as the taste Cor collecting rare books or curious
umbrellas often is. But in the latter day con-
ditions Of New York life with illustrated litera-
ture 50 cheap and 50 plentiful as it is, this
temptation is surely not strong that any one
may accuse the grangerite Of otherWise lair
character to be habitually victim Of its power.
The average grangarlte Of this city, it is safe to
say is an honest man; one Of the most en-
thusiastic of the fraternity even holds an eX-
altcd position in the Police Department.
This Official as the offender sees him at his
official desk. is a plain bUsncsslike, expeditions
man. In his hours-or his quarters Of an hour, to
be more exact-of relaxation, you have only to
mention rare prints or books, and he changes
TO the ripe, scholarly dilettante; his uniform
buttons hold fast, but his face and voice be-
come those Of the man whose heaven is lined
with bookshelves. It is then that he will talk
to you about the Joys Of honest grangerism, on
condition that you swear upon the Book not TO
publish his name, for he has the refined book
mans horror of notorety
"A friend Of mine" he said lately, "let one of
you newspaper men into his library once un-
awares and very soon he had the annoyance Of
seeing himself and his treasures all spread out
in print, more or less accurately. Why should
he have been singled out? There are thousands
Of men in New-York who make this their hobby.
Some Of them are rich and others are not Inc
rich amateurs Of extra illustrating generally pay
other people to do the work for them, and so
they have no pleasure in it but the pleasure Of
possession. / very much prefer to do all my
own Work-or | did, when | had time. 1t ~
long time since have been able TO do anything
Of the kind; my collection of books Is away in
the country
If the rich who leave the work to others have
less pleasure in the pursuit Of grangorism. they
do more good by it. The work IS delicate, not
unhealthy and a means Of livelihood to some
scores Of people in NewYork TO understand
exactly what the work is it must first be noted
that if an ordinary book be used as a scrap
book even to a small extent, the boarcs will not
be fiat they will cape apart; or, if you tie the
book to make it shut. the boards will bend. To
grangerze a book properly without putting 1t
into a new binding you must reduce the thick
,;.l, - ;II,tct t.,,.-
printed This is done either by fairly splitting
the paper or by rubbing it away from the back.
Either is a work that requires great care and
skill
In addition to this there is the "inayng" by
which the thin split. rubbed engraving is
mounted on drawing paper or millboard. the
work being done neatly. and the edges of the
inlay 50 perfectly bevelled down. that only an
expert could distinguish the effect from that Of
print direct on the solid background. The de-
inlaid picture with that depression, as If a steel
plate had been squeezed into the paper when
moist which is called plate mark"
The amateur of grangersm who wants his
book cmbellished with extra illustrations up
and down its broad margins-as Eugene Field
loved to do with his own very original pen and
ink skctches-may send the volume to the pro-
fcssiona grangcrite. and either indicate where
the extras are to be introduced or trust to the
taste and judgment Of the artist. II he can get
his book unbound. or if he does not object to de-
stroyinE the binding, he can have the extras
mounted and mtereave them in the book where
he thinks them likely to throw most light upon
the text The usual charge for inlaying on ordl-
nary drawing paper quarto size, is fifteen cents
a sheet, but this is subject to a considerable
augmentation for larger sizes, plate marking or
a better quality of paper.