The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-11-04
AMERICAN OWNED CAPTIONS.
COSTLY SPECIMENS or TIE FIRST
ENGLISH BOOKS.

A. Least One Volume Uni ue-specimens
or tho work Of the FIRST English Prtnter
That Are orth Thousands OF ellArs
The Seventeen Amherst Cautions,
valued at 100000. May Come Here.
I'VE sun four years ago gave . list OF
fbe Caxton imprints owned in this city :.
Allowing hat New York's public and pri-
vate Libraries included a limited but on the
rLole extremely important collection of
the books issued by thef first English printer.
Since 1902 many Cations rave come to this
country. j. Pierpont Morgan. a few months
after the article was published. purchased
an English library which contained
shirtv-two OF these ~rarities. Several other
specimens have also crossed the Atlantic,
o collector in Baltimore securing, for in
stance, the coetliest Of all the books
printed by William Caxton, the s2,225
Royal Book"
The portion Of the library 80 Lord Am
herst Of Hackney, now in the hands Of a
London dealer TO be sold by private treaty.
Includes seventeen Cations, which, it has
been rlmored. may come 70 the United
States. These Cations, eleven OF which
sre perfect--a remarkably high average
comprise the following works: -Recuyell
81 the Historyes OF Troy printed in Bruges
shout 1874, the first book printed In the
English language. perfect: The Game
and Plays Of the Chesse.' Bruges. about
ia7S, perfect; -Dictes Of the Philoso-
ohers.- Westminster. l477. the first book
printed in England; Moral Proverbs"
1873; DE Consultations P~hilosophie," about
i47s, perfect; Mirror Of the World" 1881 A..
perfect; fully Of Old Age" 1881. perfect
Godfrey OF Boloyne.' 1881, project; POLY
ehronicon,' 1882; Golden Legend 1884,
arSt edition; Golden Legend" about 1887,
second edition; -Fayts OF Arms" 1889, per
feet; -Eneydos,' 1900, perfect: -Four Ser
snons," 1891, second edition; -Chastising of
Gods Children" 1891, perfect; "A Treatise
Of Love" about 1893, perfect, and Golden
Legend" 1893, third edition, perfect.
This remarkable series Of Cations, which
h valued at about $500 900, includes one
rarity, the -Recuyell, T" which alone is worth
about s25 900, and two other notable items,
the Chess Book and the Godfrey" which
would realize about $4,000 each.
Even If the series remains in England.
America can still take satisfaction in the
knowledge that American libraries now
include an extraordinary collection Of the
works produced at the first English printing
press, at least one Of the specimens being
unique, several others practically unique
as far as condition is concerned. and more
than a dozen others ranking with the finest
copies owned in Great Britain.
One library, Mr.. Morgan's, contains
Ehirty five Cations, among which are ex-
smples Of all the fonts Of type used by
England's first typographer. The British
Muaa,,pa has oi0hfu fxa r. ytopa ~ which
twenty-five are duplicates, thus reducing
the number to sixty.
The Spencer Caxtons, now in the RyIands
Library in Manchester. comprise fifty-seven
separate works. The Cambridge University
Library Possesses forty-one different Tor,
counting duplicates, fifty-two) examples.
The Morgan collection comes next with
thirty-ive works and thu ranks as the
fourth largest in existence.
Three Of these imprints we're acquired in
1900, when Mr.. Morgan purchased the
library Of the late Theodore irwin Of Oswego.
The remaining thirty-two specimens came
20 him in the summer Of 1902. when he Sc
cured in England at a cost Of a little less
than ESQ 900 the Bennett collection Of early
printed books and manuscripts.
This Californian collection starts on with
SbNN "
in Buges about ld7I and notable as the
earliest book issued in the English language.
Twenty copies exist. only three Of which
are perfect, one OF them being Lord Am
herst's, which cost him eI,s2o at the Jersey
sale in 1885.
As far back as 1912, the ID lie Of Devon
shire gave s1,oeO los. for the Roxburghe
copy. Iac'ung tn, last leaf. but otherwise
elmo md hnaSfin0 The apNo0ranh si0nafura
of Eti,abeth Grey, Queen of Edward ".
Tn MD.yan COY cost Lord Ashburnham
onlr f55 in 1852, and at his second sale in
1891 res Did for 1850. II lac Is forty-nine
l~eayc-, bat in other respects is sound
and 1nn. In any CO idition. no wever, the
'Recuyell" possesses excessive rarity; and
the book is the cornerstone Of all oollec-
tons 81 Cax ons.
The "Recueil,' the original version Of
tlis romance. viii h is also among the
Morgan Ca1t ms, is the first book printed
In the French language. 1t was probably
printed by Caxton in Bruges about 1i75,
Only three perfect copies are extant, and
one Of them is in tn library Of the present
King Of EnZla7d.
OF the three imperfect examples Of the
hook. Mr.. Morgan's is the finest, lacking
only thirty-three leaves. It cost Lord
tshburnham but e27, and.resoki at his sale
for 1900.
Mr.. Morgan's third Caxton exceeds the
"Recuyell" and the "Recueil" in rarity,
only two copies being known. This is the
French tract entitled Les DeTrenieres
Chooses printed in Bruges about 1873.
For more than half a century the British
Museum copy, lacking one leaf, wac sup
posed 70 be unique. A second copy, with
two leaves missing, was discovered in
1884, and after several changes OF owner
ship lie now in the bankers collection.
The London dealer who unearthed IL
priced IL at E5OO. but it's present value is
fully four times this sum. The book is a
treatise on death, judgment. heaven and
hell. Caxton later issued IL in Ennliah "a