New-York tribune., 1908-10-07
THE AMHERST LIBRARY.
A safe Of Great Importance to Occur in London
This Winter


This Winter
From The Pail Mall Gazette.
The great feature of next seasons book sales
will be the dispersal OF the famous library Of
Lord Amherst, which for many years has held
pride OF place Of the finest private col
lectiOns in the kingdom. A considerable time
has elapsed since it was first placed in the
hands or Messrs. Sotheby's cataloguers. and
book collectors had been led to expect the ap-
pearence in the market of these biSliograDhical
treasures during the past The actual
dispersal, however. has been definitely fixed for
next December and January, and there is no
doubt that il will not only be the sale of tie
year, but one that viii have had equal within
the last decade, comparable only to the Ash
DuFnnaiH M ma IN Io3'- 90 whose 400 lots realized
f62,112 the Beckford. the Sunderland, the
Hamilton Palace, the Syston Park and many
more, away back to the forty-five days sale of
the Duke of ROxburghe's collection in 1872
which costing his grace about fj 600 brought
IN f23341 an immense sum at that time al
though the prices were a mere fraction Of tLOse
paid nowadays.
The Amherst library is only fourth of the
size of the Ashburnham, numbering only about
a thousand volumes, but it contains some Of
the rarest books in the world There is, for
example, the celebrated Mazarin Bible, called
because It discovered in the library Of
Cardinal Mazarin, and among other examples
of the first books ever issued after the inver-
ton OF printing the 1860 Cathocon, both
the I465 and the 1866 Cicero, unique DonatuS
fragment illustrating printing from the begin
ming to the full development IF the art at MAY
ence), the 1465 Lectantius (the first book printed
in Italy). and fOliOS from the Venice, Milan
and Parma presses, besides remarka BILE
Speculun1, with the original wOodcuts from the
early Block Book.
Above ALL there is the magnificent set of Cax-
tons no fewer than seventeen in number. eleven
OF which are in perfect condition. Among the
number is Lefevre's Hist orleS of Troy be-
lieved to be the only genuine perfect cApy Of
the first book from Cations press. the first
book printed in the English language. A Cax-
ton in its original binding. in perfect state,
Godfrey de Buloyne's The Conquest of Jerusa-
lem" is an extraordinary rarity All the other
early English presses that Immediately followed
Westminster represented by many valuable
examples. First editions of the English classics
naturally abound in this choice collection in
cludipg a Shakespeare First Folio, IF which
there two copies
AS one of the well defined purposes which
for fifty years aimed at in forming the
library, to illustrate the history of the
Reformation, both in the British Isles and
abroad, especially the history of the Church II
sial tracts this particular section is more COM
plete than any other private library III the king
dom. It includes three Wyclffe New Testa-
ment manuscripts, one being the rare oricinal
version, manuscript of the Scots New Teeta-
ment a series of editions of Tynedale and
Coverdae's versions, and a fine copy Of the
famous 1875 CoveTdale, the first English Bible
The bookbinders art is illustrated by the
most beautiful and scarce examples Of the mas
ters OF the art, both Continental and English
and the series Of royal bindings extends from
the reign of Henry VII to that Of James IL
| Needless to say, this famous library has its full
| complement Of Illuminated manuscriDta illus
! trating the illuminator's art in Italy Flanders
| France and England.