New-York tribune., 1901-11-24
SOME COSTLY BOOKS.
RARE, UNIQUE AND EXTRA ILIUSTRATEp
VOLUMES RECENTLY BOUGHT
ABROAD.


taken up book collecting with characteristic
| ergy and spirit, and they are complaining of
the way in which the best auction offerings
snapped UP for shipment to the United States.
Hardly an auction private sale is held in
London that some of The choicest books do not
fall into American hands, and the same is true
of the Paris sale The foreign collectors. as a
rule, will bid just high and higher. a
principle which loses them many books they
would like to keep in the country. J. w.
Bouton, of No. 10 West Twenty -eighth-st.. found
this to be the case on his recent trip to Europe.
and secured a number of books, many Of
| which cannot be duplicated at any price. His
! purchases made in London, Paris Florence and
other cities the Continent, have just been
| forwarded him. and exhibition in
this city.
/ The most valuable work in the shipment is
special copy of the Life of Edmund Kean. from
Published and Original Sources" by f. w.
Hawkins, which is held at $1,7-o The work.
/ originally in two volumes. octave, has been
tended 10 eight volumes, folio, by the insertion
of several hundred portraits and plates, auto
graph letters. rare pIaybilIs, pamphlets
and carica lures. The set was made several
years ago by we'll to do Paris bookbulder who
intended it for his The old man spent much
time and care in the work, and so disguised
when the failed to appreciate it that he
placed the books with London bookseller.
The set is bound in full dark green morocco,
has embematically fooled sides and backs, and
inside borders 10y Lortic. The portraits consist
of full page mezzotint and line engraVngs and
water colorS. and many of them show Edmund
Kean in private dress in the characters in
which he achieved renown. Along the artists
. and enEravers are Sir Joshua Reynolds. Thomas
Lane. Sir Thomas Lawrence. Romney. Harding,
Han and Dighton. There are playbilIs from l.
dozen theatres at which he appeared. including
first appearance bills in a number of characters.
Another special copy. which is priced at
- 800 is an extension OF Redgrave's Dictionary
Of Artists Of the English school" BY the ins@r-
ton OF | 1J1 portraits Of the various artists
mentioned. and reproductions of their most ia
nous works the set has been extended %
twelve Volumes folio. Many of the engrarinSs
! are Of exceeding rarity in proof state
| Then there is an interesting Italian Bible, La
sacra Biblia" which bears the book plate #
''Williarn Penn Esq Proprietor of Pennsylvania,
/ 1903" In support Of the theory that this was
/ Penn's Bible bookmen call attention to the fact
/ that he studied theology the Continent under
one OF the abIest French Protestauts. Moses
! Amyrault. and later travelled extensively IN
Italy The volume has been rebound but the
Locr, plate was taken from the old cover and
pasted the new.
/ of the TareSt Dickens items th'it mas tp-
! reared in the auctions for many years is an
extra-illustrated copy of the original edition
Of three of Dickens's .ooks-"Master Hum
phrey's Clock" "Old Curiosity Shop" and Bar
/ nabv Rudge"-bound in one. 1t was originally
| In the celebrated Wright collection. and carries
a number of Illustrations by Sibson, Jacob
/ Parallel Brush and others
Charles IFS copy of The Book of Common
| PRAYER" under date of 1868 is another interest
ing i1nportation. 1t is finely printed on large
paper, ruled with red lines and decorated. The
black morocco cover bears Charles's monogram
surrnounted by a crown, in the corner of each
panel
| Cardinal de Medicis copy Of THE Nuremberg
| CbronfcIo" which was recently discovered IN
Florence is included in the shipment 1t bears
his stamp on the first page, and is we'll pre-
carved when one considers that it was printed
in 1893.
An interesting specimen of inlaid work for
the purpose of securing uniform size is "A Col
lection of Thirty Eight Pamphlets, Being Bl-
ographics and Records of the Trials of No
torious Highwaymen and Murderers of the
Eighteenth Century" 1t is illustrated with
seventy rare prints and portraits of the prin-
cipal personages mentioned An extra-illus-
trated set of ten volumes has been made of
Lord Byron's "Poetical Works (siX Volumes
and Letters and Journals of Lord Byron" edit