New-York tribune., 1902-06-21
" THE CLD."
MR.. ARCHER HUNTINGTON's SUPERB
EDITION OF THE SPANISH CLASSIC.

MR.. ARCHER HUNTINGTON's SUPERB
EDITION OF THE SPANISH CLASSIC.
1t is refreshing to turn from the mass Of
ephemeral literature that the printing presses
are pouring forth in unceasing floods to under
takings that show after all the existence Of a
really scholarly taste among authors and
publishers, and the survival in some quar-
tiers at least of a desire to treat literature a
plane higher than that OF mere CommerciaIism.
One of such undertakings, to which We have
from time TO time had occasion to refer with
pleasure is the Series of books published by
Houghton. Mif1n & Co. for the most fastidious
lovers of good literature in form near per-
feet the skill Of the modern printer and binder
can make 1t. Another and unusually striking
one is the elaborate publication by Mr.. Archer NJ
Huntington of the first really adequate edition
in the original text and in a translation of his
own. Of the great Spanish national epic, The
Cid This is based solely on the scholarship,
and industry Of Mr.. Huntington himself,
Neither of these publications be called
con .lercial venture. Messrs. Houghton Mif-
fin & Co. have chosen books for their con-
sunmate reproductions that are not for
month, and that could not be Doomed" to a
circulation Of hundred thousand in any con-
ceivable manner. While they may belong often
to out Of the way corners Of literature, they are
such as appeal to the cultivated taste. Such in
pTe-emineut measure will be the three folio vol
| umes Of Montaignes Essays" in the Florio
translation that this firm intends to make its
crownirg achievement in bookmaking, repro
ducing so far as the resources Of this age will
permit the spirit Of tie golden age of French
printing. While the price charged for the choice
books of this series doubtless relnlburses the
publishers fer the cost Of manufacture, their
greatest reward, il is easy to believe is not the
small profit that may accrue. but p'ide in hav-
ing done piece of work of artistic value in en-
1 TTT and hi T2NlFp hon lie
whose literary value is paired with tne highest
standard of craftsmanship. and in securing the
adherence and admiration Of the cultivated folk
whose good opinion is worth having. Still less
can Mr. Huntingtons work be classed among
commercial ventures. 1t is the direct expression
Of his own literary enthusiasm.
The family of the late Coils P. Huntington
have shown decided taste for letters in various
ways said who knew them the other day.
Mr.. Archer VI. Huntington the railway mag
mates adopted son, is an authority on Spain
and Spanish literature, and has paid especial
Of the country and its literature. Fully to un-
derstand this, a knowledge Of Arabic well
of Spanish is necessary. and Mr.. Huntington is
not only master Of that most difficult Ian
guage, but has collected a ma gnifcent library
Of Arabic literature, which is considered TO be
far and away the finest of the kind in this coun-
try Mr.. Huntington has, Of course. travelled
extensively in Spain, where he has himself gone
TO acquire the books that form his library, and
had published several volumes relating TO Spain
before he embarked upon the great undertaking
embodied in his translation of The Cid a
Notebook in Northern Spain appeared in 1898
and he has also republished a curious old Eng
lish translation of the letters of the Baroness of
Aulnay, The Ingenious and Diverting Letters
of the Lady --; Travels into SPAIN
Mrs Archer NJ. Huntington has also taken
lively interest in the subject of her husbands
study and two three years ago a volume Of
Folk Songs from the Spanish appeared, with
her name as translator. Mr.. Hunt ngton'S aunt,
Mrs. Ellen NJ. H. Gates, who is also his mother
in-law, is poet herself, and has published The
Treasures of Kurium,' volume of verses. one
of which, ON Christmas Day. has also been
issued GDarately little booklet"
Mr.. Huntington's publication Of THE Cid'' is
TO be in three volumes. Of which the second is
just now appearing. The first, containing the
Spanish text Of the epic. published in Sep
tember 1897. The second contains the English
notes and variants. with careful presentation,
line by line, Of the peculiar readings and abbre-
Viations Of the manuscripts, and with other
critical apparatus. These volumes illustrat-
ed by photographers, taken from photogra phs
made by Mr.. Huntington himself, under his
direction, during various expeditions made along
the route of the Cid, described in the poem.
How far this publication is from any thought
of commercial advantage is shown by the fact
that the edition is limited to one hundred copies
which are, II is needless TO say, prepared with
q lavish expenditure of taste and skill, printed
with a special type special paper, with red
through the text. and presenting in every way
the highest qualities of the printers skill.
Though they thin volumes, the price is SO
apiece Mr.. Huntington himself is giving away
a considerable number of the few copies that
are printed, but If they were all sold It is
scarcely likely that the amount realized would
peSln TO cover the expenditure that must have
been made to bring the book out. Mr.. Hunting
tons activity a literary and a scholar
packed by OF the great fortunes of the
United states, is a remarkab bic one. in this age
OF materialism 1t is an honor alike to himself
and TO the community.