The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-07-14

testament has the autograph Of George
Augustus SaIa, the English author.
A special treasure IN DIR. Wriglhts col
lection Is the first polyglot psalter edited
by Agnostino Gillstiniani and published
by Petrus Paulus Porrus at Genoa, in
1916. 1t Is in Hebrew, Greek, Arabic
and Chaldee. The long marginal notes
to Psalm XIX. contain the first printed
biography of Christopher Columbus. An
other rare book, indeed, somebody has
called 1t zone of the rarest books owned
in America is folio manuscript of
the fourteenth century. 1t is written
in red and black Ink and is a beautiful
specimen of bookmaking by hand. The
manuscript contains the epistles Of St.
Paul in Latin.
There are several Dutch Bibles in the
collection. One, printed at Dordrecht in
1883, contains the whole Book Of Psalms
with the musical notes used by uhe
Mennonite church. A negro testament,
translated into the language of the ne
groes of Sarinam by Moravian mission
aries in 1929 is especially valuable be-
cause only four copies of the book are
now extant. The dialect in which 1t IS
written has persisted Of this book
Southey said: 1T Is the most valuable
book that has fallen in my way" Dr..
Wriglt's collection of the various edi-
tions of the English Bible is complete.
OF these the Peshito Syriac New Tesla
ment, octave in size, translated by Rev.
Dr. Murdoch in 1851, has been pronounced
by a writer the most exact, felicitous
and divine
Two books in the collection are from
the press of the famous Elzevirs. One,
New Testament, was published in
Leyden in 1863 1t is bound in seaIslzin
over oak boards and is held together by
two repousse silver clasps. The other
is Bible in two large folio volumes,
published in Leyden in 1868. There are
30 Illustrations in the book, represent.
ing the highest art of engraving 200
years ago. The pictures are copper plates
A book that is not a Bible, but that
is close to the church for all that, takes
up great bit of room in the library,
for it is very long, very wide and very
thick. 1t was written slXty-two years
after Cortez conquered Mexico, 1880, for
the Cathedral of ST. Frances in the City
of Mexico 1t is made of very stiff and
very thick vellum and contains the Gin
trots' to be sung at mass during the
entire Christian year The psalms are
written in black letters more than an
inch high. Ten years of work and an
immense amount of money were expended
before the book was completed.
While DIT. Wrights library is made up
entirely of Books of the church," it is
by no means made up entirely of BIZ
bles In his travels the collector has
visited nearly every country on the face
of the globe and in every place he has
picked up some rare and curious books.
Russia, Palestine, France, Germany, Eng
land and the countries of the New World
as well, have contributed Their share Of
the books that now surround him in his
study. These books represent every age
and every cline. All of them are vail
liable, for the possession Of each has
cost their collector the labor Of search
as well as the expenditure of money To
many no doubt, their mute present in
a room suggests the vanity of all things;
but they also suggest much happiness as
well. The man who makes the book
obtains thereby, or is, at least, amused;
the man who owns it owns a companion
that will always give him of it's best.
M. G. F.